February 20, 1998

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

With all that saber-rattling going on about Iraq, more and more Americans are becoming profoundly ashamed of a politically embattled and wounded US President's role in the service of the enemies of truth and freedom in the Middle East. President Clinton, embroiled in scandal after scandal, may need this saber rattling to survive in power, but it is unworthy of a country like America to play the bully on behalf of Israel.

If we go by what the media tell us, it often seems as if the brute force of America is something that the Arab countries can't withstand. Not so.

Eric Margolis, the half-Jewish, outspoken columnist of the Toronto Sun, did a neat little summmary of little-known American setbacks in the Middle East, many of which we don't hear about. How many, for instance, have heard about the Bay of Camels, described in this Margolis column as "the CIA's biggest flop since Cuba"?

This article is a chronological account of American failures in that part of the world, starting with 1947. It is worth savoring in its entirety and can be found at http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/margolis.html, but I just wanted to give you a condensed glimpse, as Margolis has summarized the situation:

1958: Britain's Iraqi puppets, King Faisal and Nuri as-Said, are overthrown by the bloodthirsty Col. Kassim. The U.S. uses Kassim to attack Nasser. Kassim is murdered by Col. Aref in a CIA-mounted coup. Then Aref's helicopter is blown up. A few murders later, the CIA helps engineer into power a promising, young, Baath Party enforcer, Saddam Hussein.

1969: The U.S. elbows Britain out of Libya to gain control of its high-grade oil. The CIA overthrows the British puppet, King Idris, and in one of its most brilliant moves - helps into power a young, reformist colonel, Moammar Khadafy. When Khadafy subsequently complains the Arabs are being robbed of their oil by the West, and raises prices, he goes onto America's hit list.

1976: The U.S., Iran and Israel secretly arm Iraq's Kurds and promote their rebelion to destabilize Iraq. A Kurdish revolt plays a major role in igniting the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) in which one million died. The U.S. abandons the Kurds and gets chummy with Baghdad.

1980: Saddam Hussein becomes America's most important Mideast ally in trying to crush Iran's Islamic revolution. Urged on, armed and financed by the U.S., Saddam invades Iran in 1980. The CIA and Pentagon supply military advice and intelligence on Iran. U.S. and British Intelligence help Iraq obtain its chemical and biological warfare capabilities.

1996: The Bay of Camels is the CIA's biggest flop since Cuba. Urged on by President Clinton, the CIA mounts an elaborate coup against Saddam Hussein. Iraqi exiles are armed and trained by the CIA to march on Baghdadf from U.S./British-ruled Kurdistan. The CIA organizes a cabal of generals to assassinate Saddam. Public places in Baghdad are bombed, many civilians killed, in order to "destabilize" Iraq (this while the U.S. is busy denouncing terrorism).

But Saddam's spies have infiltrated the plot. The whole operation collapses. The CIA's agent network in Iraq is rolled up. Many Kurds back Saddam, turn on pro-U.S. Kurds. CIA agents in Kurdistan run for their lives, abandoning allies and tons of documents. Saddam is strengthened. The CIA's inept director, John Deutsch, is fired for this Mother of All Fiascos.

Republicans now urge more of the above to keep the Mideast calm. You certainly can't argue with success."

So what can you as an American citizen do? Take your pen in your hand and let your representatives know you're fed up!

Here is one fine example, as written by one ZGram reader to her Senator:

"Dear Senator McCain;

I oppose Clinton's plan to bomb Iraq.

First, Iraq poses no threat to the U.S.

Second, dozens of other countries already have the weapons that Iraq seeks to develop. (Also, did not the US initially give Iraq weapons and chemicals to assist them in their war against Iran)?

Third, the bombing will do nothing to reform the Iraqi government or alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people. In fact, the overkill of the 1991 war destroyed the capabilities of the people have fresh water, utilities, etc. Saddam wasn't hurt - the common people were!

We have been treated to a massive, privately sponsored propaganda campaign demonizing Iraq along with Sadam Hussein. Nowhere has there been any discussion of the real interests served by the destruction we are about to visit on Iraq. Indeed, there seems to be a powerful taboo against any public mention of those interests in the U.S.

Nowhere has there been any discussion of the moral dimension and long-run consequences of our "drop the bombs and disappear" strategy - our use of high-tech conventional weapons as an instrument of state terror to blackmail weaker nations into yielding to our will.

We are losing our credibility as a nation of peace everywhere in the world. We are sacrificing our ideals of fair-play to the interests of a small, vocal, minority who would also enjoy peace if they espoused fair-play in their agenda.

As a senior citizen I am sick of war and I am sick of sacrificing our young men and women on a contrived battlefield."

Thought for the Day:

"Clinton is very positive toward Israel and the Jews, and Monica and I are Jews."

(William Ginsberg, attorney for Monica Lewinsky, as quoted in the Yediot Ahronot and reported on page 53 in the March issue of WRMEA)

Comments? E-Mail: irimland@cts.com

Back to Table of Contents of the Feb. 1998 ZGrams