|
Attack on Iran: Morality Lost in the Garden of Deceits
By Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar
10/06/07 "ICH" -- --- Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war
(Julius Caesar Act III, Scene I). The call for war against Iran
was issued by no other than Mr. Bernard Kouchner the foreign
minister of France, a country with the motto of Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity. France the home of Voltaire and
Rousseau is now calling for war against a country that has never
threatened France or its neighbours. France a nuclear power with
illustrious colonial past is urging others to be aware of the
dangers that nuclear weapons pose.
From the other side of the Atlantic we hear the same cries for
more war, death and destruction. As though the death of 650000
Iraqis was not enough, we are urged to prepare ourselves for
another war. We are told that by killing more civilians,
creating more refugees, destroying more bridges, power plants,
schools, hospitals and factories we are going to be safer and
live better lives.
Recently Mr. Greenspan told us what we already knew: namely that
Iraq was invaded because of its oil. This of course was not the
first time that we heard this and it certainly will not be the
last either. But who cares? Here we see President Bush and his
allies illegally attacking and destroying a country, making
millions homeless and starting a civil war without a slightest
sign of remorse. They went to steal the natural resources of
Iraq and they did it and are doing it. And now they want more.
Yesterday it was Iraq; tomorrow it will be Iran and the day
after it will be Venezuela. When the president of the world’s
only superpower acts like a thief, what protection is there for
the rest of the world? The very same people that brought us the
Iraq tragedy are using the same excuses to repeat their misdeeds
again.
In late August, “Iran and the Vienna-based International Atomic
Energy Agency released a plan laying out a step-by-step
timetable of cooperation with the goal of resolving by December
issues that have been under investigation for four years. Agency
officials have praised the timetable as a breakthrough and
Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Tuesday said the
investigation into his country’s nuclear activities was now
closed.”
This agreement was hailed as a success by the IAEA and UN. The
problem with this agreement is that it takes away the excuse
needed by Bush and Co to implement their strategy of strangling
Iran and get their hands on Iran’s oil and gas. Naturally, just
like the case in Iraq, they have dismissed the agreement saying
that it was not enough. Then the talk of war intensified, with
US, Israel and then France talking loudly about an eventual
attack on Iran. The main aim of these shrill voices is to take
the people’s attention away from the IAEA-Iran agreement and
back to some illogical talk of Iran’s threat to the world.
It is said that if you tell a lie big enough and often enough,
people will eventually come to believe you. Having used this
tactics in Iraq with some success, they believe they can do it
again. They believe that people will eventually come to believe
that Iran is a serious threat to the world and grudgingly accept
another war. And the good thing about this is, so they believe,
that this time they don’t even have to produce any evidence of
wrongdoing by Iran. They just have to say that they have
prevented Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in the “future”.
Very logical, isn’t it?
The fact that these same countries posses lots of nuclear
weapons is irrelevant, so we are told. We are to believe that
Israel, Pakistan, India, US, UK, France, China and Russia are
all exception to the rules. Other countries that enrich Uranium
are also exceptions. It is only Iran with its vast natural
resources that is a danger to the world peace and prosperity.
Israel has over 200 nuclear weapons and last year was involved
in one of the most savage attacks on Lebanon. She also recently
bombed Syria. Yet we hear no protest from the so called
“civilized world”. Pakistan, a dictatorship, with its tremendous
security problems (Taliban, Al Qaeda, etc) has nuclear weapons
and is awarded F16s. India tested nuclear weapons and was
awarded trade and nuclear technology transfer agreements.
What is the moral lesson from all this? There is none; the law
of the jungle rules. Those who can steal will steal. Those who
can rape will do so with impunity. There is no punishment for
the strong; it is the weak that has to pay. Meanwhile we pretend
to believe all their lies and keep hoping for cheaper oil and
higher share prices; otherwise we have to face our own
complicity in their crimes. After all who elected them and who
re-elected them? Our very silence makes us an accomplice.
As you read this you should think about all those Iraqis that
have been killed, the 2.5 million Iraqis that had to flee the
carnage in their country and a similar number of internal Iraqi
refugees. You should think about all the lies that you have been
told and ask yourself these questions: do I want another
incident like Iraq? Can I stay silent and accept more killings
and destruction? Is it OK for the powerful to commit armed
robbery?
If one finds it difficult to answer these questions, then
perhaps one should follow what Bertrand Russell said: “We have,
in fact, two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach
but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom
preach”.
Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar lives in Norway. He is a management
consultant and a contributing writer for many online journals.
He can be contacted by e-mail
at:Bakhtiarspace-articles@yahoo.no
Copyright Abbas Bakhtiar, all rights reserved.
Click
on "comments" below to
read or post comments
Comment
Guidelines
Be succinct, constructive and
relevant to the story.
We
encourage engaging, diverse and
meaningful commentary. Do not
include personal information such
as names, addresses, phone
numbers and emails. Comments
falling outside our guidelines
– those including personal
attacks and profanity – are
not permitted.
See our complete
Comment
Policy and
use
this link to notify us if you
have concerns about a comment.
We’ll promptly review and
remove any inappropriate
postings.
Send Page To a Friend
In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational
purposes. Information Clearing House has no
affiliation whatsoever with the originator of
this article nor is Information ClearingHouse
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
|
