Today will be recorded in history as the day that war broke out in Iraq - again. After "Operation Desert Storm", and "Operation Desert Fox", the US, closely supported by Britain, will finally act to topple Saddam Hussein through military means.
The tragedy here is that the black and white notion of being for or against war is deeply flawed. With war, people will die. Without war, people will die.
UN sanctions, sponsored by the US, has claimed the lives of untold numbers of children, the elderly, and other vulnerable poor. Millions exist malnourished in the resultant poverty created by this inhumane pressure. It is not the leaders, who have their hands on the wealth of the nation, who ever suffer from such actions.
Yet without war this suffering will continue. Perhaps for years. Perhaps even for decades.
With war there is always the danger of civilian casualties - collateral damage, as it is euphemistically referred to. And don't forget that the professional armies of the USA and Britain are up against conscripts, who are themselves neither the progenitors nor the supports of this conflict - merely civilians in another dress of clothing.
For the moment the damage to the USA and UK on the world stage is considerable. They are seen are warmongers. There is deep divisions within public opinion regarding the issue. The political fallout is the resignation of ambassadors and elected officials.
However, at some future point the military forces attacking Iraq will bring in the world's media and show them the prepared stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. This will be their final justification. And in the end, it will make the position of the USA and Britain on the issue of invasion not simply stronger, but insurmountably justified upon the general world stage. And France will be particularly humiliated for its objections, especially as its motivations in blocking a second UN resolution have had far more to do with national business interests in Iraq, than any humane peace ethic.
And, no doubt inevitably, any show of captured stockpiles of chemical and biological weaponry will bring some cynicism and open conspiracy theory. Whether or not the Iraqi regime ever had any, you can be assured that we will see those stockpiles.
Repeatedly, Tony Blair has tried to claim that this is a morally justified war. This is an old tactic, historically used to dress up immoral justification. It is the prerogative of the weak to claim that any war, any conflict, be moral.
The real reason for the conflict, as many already know, significantly involves US strategic oil interests. While Saddam Hussein remains in power he is regarded as a threat to the precious US oil supplies coming out from the Gulf. And who better to finish the work of George Bush Senior but George Bush Junior?
As we watch US strategic policy in action, and the efforts of Tony Blair to ensure that the USA refrains from isolationism, a little thing has also happened.
Quietly, quite unnoticed, foundationist.org opens itself for public view, and opens its forum.
Whatever happens in the near, or distant, future, regarding this issue, let this place remain a haven of peace. Let us ensure that whatever we become as a mere internet site, let is not be forgotten what the ultimate synthesis of all world religion comes down to: Divinity is expressed through compassion.
Let that not be a mere motto, but our guide, and our purpose, and let us take that to the world in whatever way each and every one of us may be able to do so.
Welcome to foundationist.org. Welcome to the beginning of foundationism. Welcome to the future.
Peace, Love, and Harmony,
brian
The tragedy here is that the black and white notion of being for or against war is deeply flawed. With war, people will die. Without war, people will die.
UN sanctions, sponsored by the US, has claimed the lives of untold numbers of children, the elderly, and other vulnerable poor. Millions exist malnourished in the resultant poverty created by this inhumane pressure. It is not the leaders, who have their hands on the wealth of the nation, who ever suffer from such actions.
Yet without war this suffering will continue. Perhaps for years. Perhaps even for decades.
With war there is always the danger of civilian casualties - collateral damage, as it is euphemistically referred to. And don't forget that the professional armies of the USA and Britain are up against conscripts, who are themselves neither the progenitors nor the supports of this conflict - merely civilians in another dress of clothing.
For the moment the damage to the USA and UK on the world stage is considerable. They are seen are warmongers. There is deep divisions within public opinion regarding the issue. The political fallout is the resignation of ambassadors and elected officials.
However, at some future point the military forces attacking Iraq will bring in the world's media and show them the prepared stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. This will be their final justification. And in the end, it will make the position of the USA and Britain on the issue of invasion not simply stronger, but insurmountably justified upon the general world stage. And France will be particularly humiliated for its objections, especially as its motivations in blocking a second UN resolution have had far more to do with national business interests in Iraq, than any humane peace ethic.
And, no doubt inevitably, any show of captured stockpiles of chemical and biological weaponry will bring some cynicism and open conspiracy theory. Whether or not the Iraqi regime ever had any, you can be assured that we will see those stockpiles.
Repeatedly, Tony Blair has tried to claim that this is a morally justified war. This is an old tactic, historically used to dress up immoral justification. It is the prerogative of the weak to claim that any war, any conflict, be moral.
The real reason for the conflict, as many already know, significantly involves US strategic oil interests. While Saddam Hussein remains in power he is regarded as a threat to the precious US oil supplies coming out from the Gulf. And who better to finish the work of George Bush Senior but George Bush Junior?
As we watch US strategic policy in action, and the efforts of Tony Blair to ensure that the USA refrains from isolationism, a little thing has also happened.
Quietly, quite unnoticed, foundationist.org opens itself for public view, and opens its forum.
Whatever happens in the near, or distant, future, regarding this issue, let this place remain a haven of peace. Let us ensure that whatever we become as a mere internet site, let is not be forgotten what the ultimate synthesis of all world religion comes down to: Divinity is expressed through compassion.
Let that not be a mere motto, but our guide, and our purpose, and let us take that to the world in whatever way each and every one of us may be able to do so.
Welcome to foundationist.org. Welcome to the beginning of foundationism. Welcome to the future.
Peace, Love, and Harmony,
brian
