Sunday, January 26, 2003

Nuclear Targeting Being Prepared for Iraq I can't believe more people haven't picked up on this LA times article today by William Arkin on nuclear targeting lists in Iraq being prepared by the Strategic Air Command and the Joint Chiefs. Apparently some of the secret planning ordered by Rumsfeld includes drawing up lists of options for nuclear targets in Iraq. U.S. nuclear strikes would be used on such targets as deeply buried bunkers, or if Iraq scores a major hit on U.S. troops using non-conventional weapons. This is in a planning stage only--but as Arkin points out, the planners have crossed a line. For the first time they are not targeting nuclear weapons at an enemy in retaliation for a nuclear strike, but are lumping them in with other conventional options, as one tool among many, to use on Iraq. The madness of these people is unbelievable. "We have to destroy the village in order to save it" was a famous quote from an army commander, as he torched a vietnamese straw house on TV. It epitomized our failure in Vietnam, as the U.S. was so blinded by anti-communism that it could not see and respond to a genuine national liberation movement. Imagine the consequences for us if we nuke Iraq. Already, we are provoking a mad race to rearm with nuclear weapons, as it appears to the rational world the only legitimate way to stand up to the U.S. We have madmen for war planners, and unless someone gets a grip on these ideologues, we will pay for their folly for generations. In Lexington today we had over 120 people to hear someone who had just returned from two and a half weeks in Iraq.  He showed a video of some of his interviews, streetlife, and visits there.  The striking thing was how poor a country this is--we have arrayed our fire power against what is in essence a third world country.  The other striking and very moving thing about the video was the normalcy of the Iraqi people.  The speaker was asked if Iraqi's were preparing for war.  He said no--they just could not think about it.  Most were in denial, and even the ones who felt it was inevitable simply had no concept of the American firepower being lined up against them.  They felt very fatalistic.  The criminality of George Bush is his willingness to sacrifice innocent men and women, who have done nothing to deserve attack and death, on the alter of his political goals and his fundamentalism. Bush has always mocked human life, if that person was of a different class or culture, or if he could gain politically by death. If this criminal thinking is expanded to nuclear weapons as well, as is implied today by the LA times, we will live with the consequences of his reckless madness for generations.  We have a monster on our hands, who would contemplate nuclear strikes against a defenseless nation.  We must all unmask this evil in our midst.  [ some of these thoughts were also posted on the collaborative No War blog.] 10:57:25 PM   comment []

© Copyright 2003 Toby Sackton. Last update: 2/2/2003; 5:54:55 PM.