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Day 17: Hearts, minds and bodybags Posted: Saturday, April 5, 2003 Britain admits there may be no WMD's in Iraq Well into the war that was supposed to rid Iraq of its alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, a senior British official admitted on Saturday that no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction may after all be found. Bringing aid and the Bible, the man who called Islam wicked  Wounded Iraqi soldiers are treated in the emergency room of al-Yarmuk hospital in Baghdad AFP PHOTO/RAMZI HAIDAR Iraq denies US have entered Baghdad Heavy fighting erupted on Saturday between the US Marines and Iraqi forces trying to beat off invading troops as the invading forces claimed that their armoured columns have moved deep into Baghdad for the first time. Easter Egg Hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction This past Monday was April Fool's Day. A day for playing harmless jokes and tricks on others. The Bush Administration are the ones playing the jokes, which are anything but harmless. The butt of the jokes are Americans, the Iraqis, and the world. Americans have had a joke played on them by being conned into a war that they were told would make them safe, by relieving Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Oil as a weapon of power The Bush administration's energy policy relies on a rising consumption of oil both in the United States and globally by one-third over the next 20 years, making a greater supply of oil crucial, said Michael Renner, a senior researcher and security expert at Worldwatch Institute. Why Britain wants this war "The reality is that Britain is being asked to embark on a war without agreement in any of the international bodies of which we are a leading partner – not NATO, not the European Union and, now, not the Security Council…. The US can afford to go it alone, but Britain is not a superpower. Our interests are best protected not by unilateral action but by multilateral agreement and a world order governed by rules." Robin Cook, former British Foreign Minister, in his resignation speech, 18th March 2003. Time to stand up to America Victory in Iraq is at hand for Australia, Britain and the United States. It could take days, it could take weeks, but this was always going to be the result. As shorthand, we call it a war but it is more accurately an invasion followed by an occupation. It is what you get when the people in charge of the most powerful military apparatus the world has ever seen decide to take over a distant, small, friendless country. Fog of war shrouds the facts As US forces mounted their dramatic assault on the Saddam international airport on the southwestern outskirts of Baghdad late on Thursday the city was plunged into darkness as the power went off completely for the first time since war began. Hearts, minds and bodybags In Vietnam in 1972 there was a hearts and minds programme called chieu hoi to entice the population in the south to rally to the government. The late Gavin Young of the Observer quipped: "I think the Americans have bitten off more than they can chieu hoi ." Is this the case with Iraq if, whatever happens in Baghdad, liberation turns to occupation and resistance? After the war, a lingering legacy of hate Opposition to the war in Indonesia is near-universal. The President, Megawati Soekarnoputri, has condemned the coalition attack as an "act of aggression, which is in contravention of international law". There have been demonstrations in virtually every sizeable Indonesian town, including a protest of about 200,000 in Jakarta last Sunday. Congratulations! It's Liberation Time. (Flash)   Printer friendly version  Send page by E-Mail |