[Peace-discuss] More tho'ts/Sadam capture

[John Baldridge]

Hey, everyone,

What I will undoubtedly find most insufferable is the way the Bushies 
will play this up as some sort of ultimate "victory" in Iraq.  There 
will likely be a show trial, followed by a firing squad, all presided 
over by Cheney and Wolfowitz's handpicked Iraqi Council members, and 
covered in full color and stereo by all the news networks, who will milk 
it for all they can.  Meanwhile, as word of his capture spread through 
Iraq, another car bombing killed 17 people west of Baghdad, and another 
US soldier was killed in a separate incident.  I suspect that Hussein's 
capture will change things very little on the ground, but time will tell.

As far as Jenifer's comments on the UN, she is absolutely right that 
many Iraqis blame the UN for over a decade of hardships, hence the 
attacks on UN offices and workers.  One of the problems with the UN is 
that it is, in many ways, a very dis-unified entity.  When it comes to 
security issues, actions (or inactions) reflect the will of a small 
group of elite nations.  When it comes to matters of humanitarian 
assistance and aid, the UN reflects a much broader contribution from 
countries and NGOs that really do want to be constructive.  Iraq is an 
excellent example of a case where the powerbrokers in the Security 
Council undermined the potential of the rest of the UN to do effective 
humanitarian work in Iraq.  The refusal to ease sanctions--even in light 
of real concessions on the part of the Iraqi government--made what UN 
efforts there were (i.e., the Oil-for-Food Program, etc) inadequate and 
insulting to many.  And the inability of other nations to force a change 
in UN sanctions policy left many with the impression (perhaps rightly 
so) that the organization's security apparatus is so fundamentally 
flawed that, in Iraq, the UN as a whole has done more harm than good.

But then, on the other hand, unless we want to continue with the 
existing dog-eat-dog nation-statism that defines much of global politics 
and militarism today, the UN is the only game in town when it comes to 
cooperation and action on a worldwide scale.  In areas other than 
security, the UN enjoys tremendous success:  the WHO, UNICEF, and many 
other UN organizations continue to broker and maintain international 
agreements that benefit the general population.  In the realm of 
security, the track record is much poorer, though there are some notable 
successes when it comes to cleaning up the mess left behind by 
unilateral intervention (take Haiti, for example).  With the right 
planning and execution, a UN operation could go a long way to 
stabilizing Iraq and legitmizing whatever form of government emerges 
there next.  The strucure of the Security Council, however, will make 
this difficult.

All of this points to the need for drastic reform of the UN Security 
Council.  We've all known this for at least a decade, and the past 10-12 
years have driven the point home hard with a number of object lessons, 
Iraq chief among them.  But this doesn't mean we should give up on the 
UN.  Kucinich's call for the UN to be the prime mover in post-war Iraq 
is a reaffirmation that he, if elected president, will re-engage with 
the world community through this representative body, and place America 
on a path to greater multilateral cooperation.  Yes, it would be hard to 
convince other member states to assume the risks of a UN operation in 
Iraq, but then, if we can get Bush out next year, and replace him with 
someone less atavistic, that might restore some of the confidence we 
have lost among other countries. 

Peace,

John.






>Hi Ricky,
>
>So Saddam Hussein, never a treat to the US, has been captured and now folks will believe that they are safer as a result???  My favorite quote is attributed to Albert Einstein and goes like this --  "The tyranny of the ignoramuses is insurmountable and assured for all time."  Even so, I think the Demos will EMPHASIZE that Saddam was NOT a threat, and his capture, while appropriate under the inappropriate circumstances of the US presence in Iraq, makes him a martyr and thus we are now even LESS safe than before, especially under the hated George Bush.....I'm betting the attacks on US soldiers will escalate, maybe attacks worldwide.... I'm not sure that this does guarantee 4 more years for Bush et al, but priaise Allah that the election isn't tomorrow..... And there's still that pesky job loss thing....
>
>Did you catch Taraq Ali on AR yesterday?  Yeah, sure, 8am and 6pm w/ 2 yr old twins.... He was GREAT, as usual.  Said UN presence would be no better than US presence because the Iraquis hate the UN as much as the US bec of the devasting sanctions imposed by US/UN past 11 years.....Finally explains to me why the UN workers there were attacked, 30 dead, including someone pretty well respected by those whom I respect..... So what's Kucinich's thinking when he sez US out, UN in.???  And why on earth would the UN take that on?  Not that US is ever gonna give up control, so moot....
>
>Thanks for your thought-provoking e-mail.
>
>Jenifer
>
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