Alison Croggon wrote:
>
> At 10:50 PM -0400 4/9/03, Frederick Pollack wrote:
> >Unspeakable.  And Stuart Ross's email.  Unspeakable.  You'll exploit
> >anything, won't you.  Even maimed bombing victims.  It's interesting how
> >malleable truth is.  It is TERRIBLE that Unintended Consequences haven't
> >quite come into play as much or as fast as you wanted.  But there's no
> >need to rethink - you can still warn against them.
>
> I'm sorry Frederick, but to my mind those Unintended (or actually I
> think Intended) consequences are happening already.  By which I mean
> the aggressive US warnings to Iran, Syria and North Korea.  These are
> of course all nations which haven't been disarmed in preparation for
> war.  I know this alarms me.
>
> The triumphalism here is distasteful.  I'm sorry, I don't ever recall
> saying that Saddam Hussein was a wonderful guy, or that he ought not
> be out of power.   I do recall expressing deep unease about US
> imperialist intentions.   I agree, it's good that he's gone for the
> people who suffered under him; I wonder whether what follows will be
> the democratic, just state you claim; I fear that it will not be.  A
> democracy that votes in a fundamentalist Islamic government would
> not, I gather, be welcome?
>
        Certainly not.

> I'm afraid that from the news reports I've seen that the bombing of
> Baghdad was every bit as horrific as I feared it would be.  Below is
> another view of the conflict.
>
> Best
>
> A
>
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> To: "Ljk63" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 11:52 AM
> Subject: IPT Update: Word from Baghdad; A Campaign that is just Beginning
> (April 9, 2003)
>
> Friends-
>
> Our team in Baghdad just called.  It is difficult for us to convey the
> obvious
> relief that we experienced upon hearing from them.  The phone
> disconnected three times giving us less than 10 minutes to communicate
> with them.  They told us U.S. soldiers and tanks are on streets and street
> corners, they seem to be everywhere.  Further, they expressed with great
> emphasis that an excessive amount of bombs have rained down on
> Baghdad for the last week.
>
> Today as we watch on television the countless hours of reporting on the
> tangible and symbolic destruction of a Saddam Hussein statue, the number
> of injured civilians, families losing loved ones, lootings, fires, and
> fighting
> increases.  Meanwhile our team in Amman attended a press briefing where
> they heard statements from United Nations humanitarian coordinators.
> These statements have gone unmentioned in the mainstream media.
>
> Carel de Rooy director of UNICEF in Iraq stated, "Before this conflict took
> place UNICEF had networks and systems in Iraq that helped achieve our
> life-saving vaccination campaigns, nutrition campaigns, and work in
> education.  What is horribly worrying about the looting, chaos, and break
> down of order, is that those systems we counted on may completely
> collapse," he added that at the beginning of this week, the UNICEF Iraq
> appeal has received just 1/5th of its funding.  "This is obviously and
> simply
> not enough.  We have an emergency on our hands.  Our actions in the next
> few weeks will determine the physical and mental well-being of a generation
> of Iraqi children."
>
> A representative from the World Health Organization, speaking to the
> increasing humanitarian crisis added, "Reports from Baghdad tell of serious
> civilian casualties and growing pressure on hospitals and health workers.
> Electricity supplies are erratic, the standby generators are being
> overworked to the point of collapse; many hospitals are running short of
> clean, safe water, staff are working extremely long hours in unimaginable
> circumstances and some vital surgical and medical supplies are running
> short...in a hospital with a basic infrastructure not functioning, and where
> doctors and nurses have to perform difficult emergency surgical operations
> and provide intensive care without access to some of the most basic
> services and supplies."
>
> Months prior to the "shock and awe" onslaught, UN officials, as well as
> delegates with the Iraq Peace Team, had warned and protested against the
> use of such violence due to the realities Iraqis are faced with today, the
> realities as outlined in the statements above.  Adding greater concern to an
> already desperate situation, UNHCI commented on the inability for UN
> agencies to enter Iraq at the current time, because of the lack of safety on
> the roads and access to warehouses and offices.
>
> As our team in Baghdad continues to bear witness, we ask all of you to
> continue to do the work that has just begun.  The urgency for water and
> relief
> that is felt by many civilians throughout Iraq is one that must be heard and
> echoed throughout the world until their needs are met.  In the most recent
> diary from our team in Iraq, Cynthia Banas wrote, "Death, destruction,
> maiming, and lifetime trauma are the consequences of war.

        I think I've responded to this point.

 We have
> witnessed children frightened beyond their years, and have seen their
> mangled bodies in the hospital. War for them will never end."
>
> Thank you for your work.  Thank you for caring.
>
> Bitta Mostofi, for Voices in the Wilderness
>
> --
>
> Alison Croggon
> Editor
> Masthead Online
> http://au.geocities.com/masthead_2/
>
> Home page
> http://www.users.bigpond.com/acroggon/