 |
| Blair and Bush launch Iraq war based on false information |
Why are Governments keeping silent about the undeniable fact that the
terrorism and security crises Europe is facing comes as a direct result
of the Iraqi war.
Also, as more and more innocent
victims die as a result of terrorism in Europe and around the world,
Governments need to recognize the facts and identify the culprits who
provided false information to the so-called "coalition of the willing"
which resulted in more than a million civilian and military deaths.
During
the years following the aftermath of the Iraqi war it should be crystal
clear to our political leaders that military actions are not the answer
to solving any political crises So far this strategy has only
increased the security problems around the worls and resulted in a very
unstable political and social environment..
Across Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Turkey people have crossed borders
and traveled many kilometres within their own country to find respite
from war.
Millions have crossed continents and have ended up in Europe seeking
that same respite. By and large it's taken Europe by surprise. Opinions
vary on how to deal with the crisis. Some say Europe and the US should
step up. Others say the rich Gulf states should use their enormous
wealth to help.
The fact remains: why is no Government
leader in the US or Europe backing the obvious that a strategic mistake
was made by the invasion and occupation of Iraq? Can our Governments
still be trusted ?
March 2003 was the pivotal point. Based on controversial evidence
that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the war drums
beat loudly.
The WMD claim was eventually publicly discredited by the CIA's own
Iraq survey group report . That report proved whispers and intelligence community doubts from the time that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
But it wasn't just those who questioned the evidence. Mass opposition
from the British and American public concluded in marches in various
Western capitals opposing the war.
Those voices went ignored and in March 2003, the then US president George Bush Bush
and the British prime minister Tony Blait met in the Azores, Portugal, with the
Spanish prime minister, and set into motion events that now include the
dead body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi that washed up on a Turkish
beach.
The Arab Spring was officially launched when Mohamed Morsi, who became Egypt's first democratically elected
president, was toppled by the military in 2013. Initially it was not
religious or even violent in nature.
It was popular anger at dictators propped up by the West coupled with frustration at the lack of economic development.
Down the dictators fell, and with them, decades of religious
suppression. That religious fervour found expression in anger at the US'
role in Iraq.
Suddenly religious groups were able to speak freely, and freely they did, mainly about the US and its role in the region.
Then when the protests reached Syria, President Bashar al-Assad knew
he didn't want to suffer the same fate as his Arab counterparts.
The West quickly abandoned him and said no negotiations while he was
in power. Left with little choice he moved on those that opposed him in a
violent and bloody manner.
The Iraq war was the war too far - the one that has changed the Middle East.
It was the war that solidified and unified disparate young men from
different countries into following the path of violent jihad.
Had the Iraq war not happened, then Saddam Hussein would have been contained as he was.
This dictator was a threat to freedom and to his own people, but was no longer a threat to his neighbours.
The leaders of ISIL and other radical groups would have found death
in Afghanistan or prison elsewhere. However, hindsight and "what if" are
the words of those that have the luxury of not living in a tent.
The Iraq war did happen.
The refugee crisis is happening.
Now the only questions the
world perhaps should be asking is how we can bring about a political
solution to the war in Syria and how we bring all sides to the table.
What the refugee crisis has done is force the Western European public
to think. Whether they can force their governments to act and bring
about a solution is another question.
The architects of the Iraq war still say their actions had nothing to do with the current crisis.
It
is high time that the US, EU members states and other Nations,
including China and Russia step up to the plate and let international
justice take its course by prosecuting those who lied about the weapons
of mass destruction, for war crimes.
In the same
breath, these nations under auspices of the United Nations should also
declare the Middle East a nuclear and military free zone and weapon
sales to this area should be prohibited.
The NATO,
which has outlived its cold war purpose should be disbanded, and
replaced by a Multi-National Development Network to initially benefit
the populations of Middle Eastern and North African Nations, and
eventually also other nations ravaged by famine, war or tribal
conflicts.
All this might sound like a utopian fantasy
or unattainable dream, but it is certainly worth the effort and a far
more productive proposition than enriching the weapons industry which is
killing millions of innocent civilians around the world today.
EU-Digest
