During the past months, US President George W. Bush has tried vainly to justify a military offensive against Iraq by claiming that Iraq is harboring weapons of mass destruction. Now it's official: the United Nations Inspection Team revealed its findings yesterday that Iraq has NOT restarted its nuclear program. This finding should be enough to abort US war plans.
It is apparent, however, that the US is bent on INVADING Iraq, nuclear weapons or no. This is part of its geopolitical agenda in the Middle East: apart from ensuring a steady oil supply, the US is clearly intent on strengthening its foothold in a region that it deems threatening to its national security. It has deployed about 150,000 troops in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf area, assassinated an alleged Al Qaeda official in Yemen last November through remote satcom technology and turned a blind eye to the Israeli genocide against Palestinians. The US is exploiting and exacerbating complex Middle East conflicts to further assert its global dominance.
What is "good" for the US unfortunately spells disaster for the rest of us. The invasion of Iraq and the massacre of innocent Iraqis will increase, not diminish, terrorist attacks by Islamicist fanatics and spark outrage among Muslims everywhere. If the Philippine government supports the US on this, our vulnerability as targets for terrorism will likewise increase as this country's image as an unthinking American lapdog is further reinforced.
Second, the economic impact of this offensive might bolster the US economy, but weaken the global economy, and especially the Philippine economy. Oil prices will go up, the peso will further weaken against the dollar and thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) will be displaced.
The most compelling reason against an attack versus Iraq is of course the death and devastation it will wreak against Iraqis. In the Gulf War of 1991, waged by the elder George Bush, an undocumented number of Iraqi children died as US warplanes bombed hospitals and pharmaceutical factories. That war did not displace Saddam Hussein who is a confirmed tyrant, but also the head of a sovereign nation. The US does not have the moral ascendancy, nor the wherewithal under international law, to expel him, especially so in the face of a strong international consensus against such an action. And even if a US-initiated campaign removes Saddam from power, it will be over the bodies of countless Iraqis who may in fact be resisting him in their own way. The US has no right to sacrifice the lives of those people for whatever benevolent goal it might claim to have.
The UN Inspection Team's report compels the US to desist from attacking Iraq. To disregard it would be to trample on the rules of civilized international relations. We call on the Arroyo government to declare its respect for the UN findings and to clearly state its position against any US military offensive in Iraq. The Arroyo government is obligated to protect national interest and to uphold the international community's will over the selfish interests of the US. We must resist war as a way of life and attempt to salvage whatever is left of peace, order and diplomacy.
28 January 2003
MARIE VICTA LABAJO
Secretary General
AKBAYAN CITIZENS' ACTION PARTY
