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http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_77530,0012.htm The Hindustan Times October 4, 2002 Editorial Cost of one bullet The post-Cold War world, which leaves a single superpower with no balancer, is now getting truly murky. Carrot-and-stick was the age-old trick of great powers — to be used against those they wished to bring to heel. In the era of superpower rivalry, the threat of massive retaliation did just as well. All of that succeeded in making the world a fairly unsafe place, though it was maintained that the balance of terror was instrumental in holding the peace. Even that uncertain theoretical construct has now been removed. Not content with postulating the patently self-serving doctrine of “pre-emption” in a bid to prepare the ground for a military attack on Iraq, the US now appears to have decided to tread the dangerous and ethically forbidden territory of ordering the assassination of a head of government, though this is forbidden by American law except when the killing occurs in the course of a US-backed coup. In effect, then, the US law is flexible and this suits President George W. Bush perfectly. The White House Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer, has said that “the cost of one bullet” to take out Saddam Hussein would achieve the US goal of a regime change more quickly and cheaply than an American attack which could cost up to $200 billion. Mr Fleischer has, of course, taken care to note that the Iraqi leader’s assassination should be carried out by Iraqis themselves. In June, however, the president reportedly signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to undertake a comprehensive programme to topple Mr Hussein. Thus, Mr Fleischer is unlikely to be taken at face value when he says that his “one bullet” observation “is not a statement of administration policy”. When in the past the US sought the assassination of Fidel Castro (who is fortunate to be still with us), Salvador Allende and Patrice Lumumba, it relied on secrecy. In contrast, the White House official’s remarks stand out as brazen. Quite clearly, America’s Iraq gambit is not only about disarmament. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
