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NO ONE can tell John Peters and John Nicol
anything about the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime.
They suffered grievously for fighting
against the Iraqi despot in the war to free Kuwait.
They were shot down, captured, beaten and
tortured. Yet yesterday, as another 100 British planes were ordered to the
Gulf, both former airmen spoke out against waging a new war on Iraq.
Like others who have actually taken part
in military conflict, they understand it is necessary but must be the last
resort.
And we are not yet at that stage in the
struggle to control Saddam. He may want to possess weapons of mass
destruction, he may want to attack other nations, but there is no evidence
he is anywhere near being able to.
That is why so many former military men
have come out against war at the moment. Like John Peters and John Nicol,
they don't believe action is necessary - and think it might be dangerous.
We know the British generals are dubious
about invading Iraq. Their opposite numbers in the US are likely to feel
the same.
As ever, the politicians who order in
troops do so from a position of comfort and safety. Neither George W. Bush
nor Tony Blair have personal experience of warfare.
They should listen to the men who do.
Charles is right http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12616661&method=full&siteid=50143
The following letter is
written by a veteran of the first Gulf War. He's started Veterans for
Common Sense -- a group of former military folks who oppose the current
plans for war on Iraq. If you or someone you know are interested in
joining him, please check out their website: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org
Twelve years ago, in February of 1991, I
crossed the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq with the 24th Infantry
Division. Back then I was a 20-year-old Abrams tank crewman, and I fought
in several battes in southern Iraq. I can say from personal experience,
the media got it wrong. The first Gulf War wasn't clean, it wasn't pretty,
and it wasn't precise. In the chaos and destruction of battle, anything
can happen. We killed a lot of people.
Like many of the men and women I served
with, I do not believe that President Bush or Secretary of State Powell,
in his presentation at the United Nations on Wednesday, has made the case
that Iraq poses an imminent threat to the United States. Without proving
imminent threat, the administration has failed outright to justify its
rush to war. Many senior military leaders, including Generals Norman
Schwarzkopf, Anthony Zinni and Wesley Clark, have all questioned the
wisdom of another war with Iraq.
Thousands of veterans of all U.S. wars
have stepped forward, marched in demonstrations and raised their voices to
say that the nation they defended should not be attacking other nations.
There is no sense of just cause in the U.S. armed forces today. Most
recently we veterans have been joined in our message by families with
loved ones in the military.
Tens of thousands of American soldiers and
hundreds of thousands of Iraqis could die in a long, drawn-out war in
Iraq.
We need your help to spread our message
that veterans oppose this war. We can win without war. How can you help?
Join Veterans for Common Sense. Whether you are a veteran, or you have a
family member in the military, or you simply support our message, you can
join us in calling for a common sense approach to Iraq. We need your
support.
To find out more, please visit: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ |
