Yeah, Let's put Saddam back in charge of his wonderful country and get on with the human drops from helicopters. There are just so, so many delicious ways to torture, maim and kill people!
--- Eustace <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The Trial of Saddam Hussein / > Anti-war Movement Must Reject Colonial 'Justice' > > By Sara Flounders, co-director of the International > Action Center > > The trial of Saddam Hussein, which has opened with > much international > publicity, is a desperate attempt to justify and > convey some > legitimacy on the criminal U.S. invasion and > occupation of Iraq. It is > an effort to demoralize and divide the resistance to > the occupation. > It has nothing to do with justice or truth. > > All the political forces internationally that have > opposed the > 15-year-long U.S. war on Iraq--which has included > starvation > sanctions, bombing and invasion--should also oppose > all the efforts to > justify the continued occupation, including the > present trial of the > former Iraqi leader and seven members of his > government. > > Regardless of the wide spectrum of political views > on the character of > Saddam Hussein's government, it is essential to > oppose this U.S. > justification for the war. To be silent on this > issue is to give > credibility to a U.S.-created phony court at the > giant U.S. command > center called the Green Zone. > > The U.S. government has no right to have even one > soldier in Iraq. It > has no right to bomb, sanction or starve the Iraqi > people. It has no > right to impose a colonial government or to > establish courts in Iraq. > It has no more right to decide the fate of Saddam > Hussein than it does > to control the oil and resources of Iraq. > > The detention of Saddam Hussein and his > co-defendants, along with tens > of thousands of other Iraqis, is all based on a > criminal, illegal war > of aggression. > > The Iraqi Special Tribunal and the trial of Saddam > Hussein are also a > violation of international law. The Geneva > Convention, to which > Washington is a signatory, explicitly forbids an > occupying power from > creating courts. In addition, the trial itself, > along with the total > isolation of the defendants and denial of all > visitation and legal > rights violates the International Convention on > Civil and Political > Rights. > > The defense lawyers who have stepped forward have > been threatened and > intimidated. Two lawyers on the defense team have > been assassinated. > > Today in Iraq there is no judicial system. There are > no codes, no > laws, no courts. There still is no agreement on a > constitution. The > entire structure of the Iraqi state was destroyed. > In its place is > only the most brutal form of outright military > domination. > > The Iraqi Special Tribunal has been illegitimate > since its very > formation. It is a creation of L. Paul Bremer III of > the U.S., former > head of the Coalition Provisional Authority--the > illegal, occupying > power. Bremer initially appointed Salem Chalabi, the > nephew of Iraqi > Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, to organize and > lead the court. > > Chalabi had returned to Iraq from exile with the aid > of U.S. tanks in > April 2003. He opened a law office to draft the new > laws that have > reopened Iraq to foreign capital, in collaboration > with the law firm > of former Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith, a > war profiteer, an > ideologue of the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld cabal and a > principal > architect of the war. > > Bremer also appointed the tribunal judges. The > funding and the > personnel are totally controlled by U.S. forces. The > U.S. Congress has > appropriated $128 million to fund the court. Of > course, the court has > no jurisdiction over crimes committed by U.S. forces > in the invasion > and occupation! > > Role of demonization > > The trial underway now is part of the sustained U.S. > effort to totally > demonize Saddam Hussein. This has been an essential > part of the > 15-year war on Iraq. > > U.S. propaganda has relentlessly described Hussein > as an evil madman, > a brutal dictator and a threat to the entire planet > who was poised to > strike with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons > within minutes. He > was charged with having a role in 9/11 and being in > league with al-Qaeda. > > Both Republicans and Democrats knew this was a > fraud. U.S. bombs had > destroyed Iraq's entire industrial capacity. But no > politician was > willing to challenge the demonization. > > Every U.S. war against oppressed peoples and nations > has begun with > saturating the entire civilian population with war > propaganda that so > demonized the leader of the targeted population that > any crime was > treated as acceptable and beyond question. This has > been true since > the wars against Native populations and the > demonization of Sitting > Bull, Crazy Horse, Geronimo and many, many other > Indigenous leaders, > up to the leaders of every progressive or > revolutionary struggle over > the past 50 years. > > It doesn't matter how mild or committed to > non-violence the leader is. > Consider the case of the kidnapped former priest, > President > Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti, who was charged > with corruption, drug > running and gang violence. Today President Hugo > Chávez of Venezuela > and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran are > increasingly portrayed > as madmen, dictators and evil incarnate. > > Since the days of the Roman Empire, victor's justice > has meant > humiliation, degradation and placing the defeated > leader in the dock > in order to establish a new order. It hides the > brutality of > overwhelming force and gives legitimacy to the new > rulers. > > The trials of Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner in the > ante-bellum South > were the slaveowners' way of cloaking the violence > and degrading > brutality of slavery in "god-given" property rights. > The kidnapping > and trial of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic > after the 78-day > U.S/NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, in which hundreds of > civilians died, > was a similar case of victor's justice. > > U.S. and WMDs > > While the U.S. demonizes Saddam Hussein, it should > be remembered that > the Pentagon has used weapons of mass destruction > not only in Iraq but > against countless other defenseless populations, > from Korea and the > Philippines to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Nicaragua, > Grenada, Libya, > Lebanon and Yugoslavia. > > It is the U.S. military machine that should be put > on trial for having > used the most horrendous weapons, from nuclear bombs > to === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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