Hi Derrel.
Tony Blair is a good man. He seems to be motivated by principle, in
contrast
with George W. Bush who is merely opportunistic. Likely some good will come
from the removal of Saddam from power over Iraq. But don't be misled into
thinking that this good is the motivation for this campaign. Restoring Iraq
is an after-thought--an unanticipated cost that Bush finds himself needing
to pay in the absence of other forms of legitimation. On balance, it's hard
to take much solace in these peripheral positive accompaniements of the
destruction of a cooperative world order.
David Kirshner
___________________________________________
To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
cc:
bcc: David H Kirshner/dkirsh/LSU
Subject: Re: An Open Letter to George W. Bush
Derrel Fincher <Derrel@Fincher.com>
03/19/2003 11:44 AM ZE9
Please respond to xmca <font size=-1></font>
The excerpt below is from Tony Blair's speech
(http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page3295.asp).
Derrel
>I recall a few weeks ago talking to an Iraqi exile and saying to her that
>I understood how grim it must be under the lash of Saddam.
>
>"But you don't", she replied. "You cannot. You do not know what it is like
>to live in perpetual fear." And she is right. We take our freedom for
>granted. But imagine not to be able to speak or discuss or debate or even
>question the society you live in. To see friends and family taken away and
>never daring to complain. To suffer the humility of failing courage in
>face of pitiless terror. That is how the Iraqi people live. Leave Saddam
>in place and that is how they will continue to live.
>
>We must face the consequences of the actions we advocate. For me, that
>means all the dangers of war. But for others, opposed to this course, it
>means - let us be clear - that the Iraqi people, whose only true hope of
>liberation lies in the removal of Saddam, for them, the darkness will
>close back over them again; and he will be free to take his revenge upon
>those he must know wish him gone.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Apr 01 2003 - 01:00:07 PST