The Gulf that Divides us

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Discursive Essay The Gulf that divides us

As war with Iraq looms ever closer, the world teeters on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. American and British troops are stationed in Kuwait, and warships are in the Gulf, ready to invade Iraq as soon as ordered. Saddam Hussein has been given a deadline to destroy his weapons of mass destruction and America is currently considering a second resolution to achieve the backing of the United Nations, or to invade Iraq unilaterally. America and Britain are the main countries who believe in the necessity of armed combat to strip Saddam Hussein of his powers, while Germany, France and Russia have yet to be convinced that the solution does not lie through some more peaceful method. This essay will discuss the political and moral stances of the most influential countries on the Iraq situation and attempt to explain the case for and against war.

America is possibly the most pugnacious country on this issue. America views Iraq as unfinished business from the time of the Gulf War, twelve years ago, and feels Iraq has flouted the sanctions placed upon them by the United Nations. After /11 George W Bush commenced his war on terrorism and following the expulsion of the Taliban from Afghanistan, Bush outlined his "axis of evil" as North Korea, Iran and Iraq. America views Saddam Hussein as a ruthless dictator, an opinion held almost globally, Iraq is a dictatorship with little or no human rights. Saddam Hussein has gassed and tortured thousands of his people, and to speak against the government is an offence punishable by death. Also, Saddam Hussein is believed to have weapons of mass destruction, both biological and chemical, at his command, hidden from the United Nations weapons inspectors, making Iraq a threat to America and the western world. Today, America is the sole superpower in the world, and as such could almost be said to have an obligation to act, as it is the only country who can, they have almost no excuse not to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people.

Britain, while perhaps not as hostile as America is nonetheless definitely ready for war. After the tragedy of /11 Tony Blair positioned himself "standing shoulder to shoulder" with America and the war on terrorism. Consequently he is now finding it hard to extricate himself from some aspects of America's plan of attack which he is not completely in agreement with. However, he has possibly been a restraining influence on the cavalier attitude of George W Bush. Despite his collusion with America, most in Britain remain to be convinced of the necessity or morality of a war with Iraq, and there have been massive anti-war rallies in cities such as Glasgow, Manchester and London. Over seventy percent of British citizens have stated they will only be in agreement with a war when the clear authority of the United Nations is behind it. Tony Blair faces an uncertain political future due to his stance on the war. Many of his own supporters and party members are against the war, and polls show he has rapidly been losing support among the general public since talks of a war began. There have even been rumours that members of the Labour party will call for a vote of no confidence in Tony Blair if America and Britain go ahead bilaterally without the backing of the United Nations.

There are many valid reasons why it is necessary and morally right to attack Iraq. Saddam Hussein has inflicted a reign of terror on his people since his ascension to power over twenty years ago. Iraq is a dictatorship with little or no human rights, since the beginning of Saddam Hussein's reign, literacy and life expectancy have fallen, while child mortality is on the increase. Saddam Hussein is also believed to have weapons of mass destruction, and it has been established that he has biological and chemical weapons, which he is prepared to use. Saddam Hussein has been torturing and gassing his own people for years, the Kurds in northern Iraq have principally suffered the brunt of Saddam Hussein's hostilities. Also, Saddam Hussein is alleged to have links with terrorists such as Al-Queda and be content to sell them biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. There is, furthermore, the spurning of previous United Nations sanctions and the initial refusal of the weapons inspectors. These acts of defiance by the Iraqi government evoke the thought that as Iraq is not willing to heed International law it must be chastised. As such, war is inevitable so it is wiser to strike at a time of convenience for the United Nations, rather than when war is forced upon us, as happened in 1, leading to the Second World War.

Several other countries in the United Nations are unconvinced of the necessity of armed combat; France, Germany and Russia have all, to varying degrees, expressed reservations over the necessity of a war with Iraq and have promised to do their utmost to impede any resolution from being passed. Germany is perhaps the country most vehemently against the war, but is not considered as important from a global standpoint, as she is not a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and as such has no power to veto the resolutions taken by the United Nations. Subsequently the two members ardently at variance with war, who do have this authority, France and Russia, have taken a more active role to oppose the call for war. The more vociferous of these two nations has been France, and it has therefore been France which has aroused the majority of America's anger. An enlightened senior American diplomat recently dubbed the French "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" and it has been rumoured that French Fries in Washington are being called Freedom Fries, to avoid Americans even mentioning the French.

If this war does come to pass, as is increasingly probable, it will have a devastating effect on Iraq. For the last twelve years Iraq has suffered sanctions from the United Nations, restricting the supplies of provisions and medicine exported there. This has only increased dependency in the iron-fisted rule of Saddam Hussein. If his regime is toppled, it is possible that the society of Iraq could collapse. Bush believes that democracy will bloom in Iraq and hopefully set in motion the peace process between Israel and Palestine. In reality, however, it is more probable that Iraq, which has three main tribes, the Sunni Arabs, the Kurds and the Shi'ite Arabs, could degenerate into an inter-warring state, therefore the war would not improve the lives of the Iraqi people, but instead plunge them into a perpetual state of chaos and uncertainty. Saddam Hussein has no illusions of surviving an attack from America, and he realises his main hope lies in dividing the forces against him. Members of the Iraqi government have already promised they will not meet the western forces in the desert but will instead drag the conflict into heavily populated areas, thus maximising the civilian casualties and minimising the efficiency of American and British tactics.

However persuasive the war propaganda may seem, the necessity of war must be questioned, and the problems and risks of war taken into consideration, before any kind of military expedition can justifiably be embarked upon by any country in the west. There is no proof of Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons, both biological and chemical, only what America has suspected him of concealing from the United Nations weapon inspectors. Since the Gulf War, Iraq has suffered sanctions and as a result is now so weakened it poses no veritable threat to the western world. There are no proven links with terrorists or Al-Queda and it seems interesting that this assumed, much publicised link omits the fact that Osama Bin Laden and many Al-Queda terrorists are Saudi, a country which America supports. This is arguably a war for profit, not lives as America has been accused of coveting the rich oil fields of Iraq for some time now. In the past, we have not interfered in the political workings of other eastern countries and it is inexplicable why we should begin with Iraq, when the humanitarian situation in countries such as Burma, China, Zimbabwe and North Korea is so much worse. The fall of Saddam Hussein could cause problems throughout the Arabic world, and heighten the confrontation between Israel and Palestine, as Iraq is Arabic country ostensibly under attack for flouting United Nations sanctions, while Israel is supported by America, and has ignored countless sanctions over the years as it further invades Palestinian territory with weapons of mass destruction openly in her possession, this again casting doubt on America's motives on attacking Iraq.

Having carefully studied the issue to date, it can be concluded that before a war with Iraq is instigated the decision should be taken on the balance of caution and the inevitable risks involved with war with a country possibly armed with biological and chemical weapons against the moral obligation to act against a ruthless dictator and to secure peace for the future. The risks of doing something must be weighed against the risk of doing nothing. Is it a case of "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" or is it a case of "For evil to triumph it is only necessary that good men do nothing"?

By Pamela Brough

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