Questions for Colin Powell
In view of the continuous American propaganda about war (bordering between hypocrisy and absurdity) I am compelled to make my disgust public.
I would like Colin Powell to address the following issues on Wednesday, when he addresses the U.N. Security Council:
1. Which country has the history of turning human beings into vapors by unleashing weapons of mass destruction -- Iraq or the U.S. (Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki etc.)
2. Shouldn't we clean up the old mess before setting out to create new mess ? Shouldn't the U.S. finish off what it started to accomplish in Afghanistan before launching on newer crusades to cleanse the world of its evil? Is the purpose to litter the world with U.S. marines and GIs?
3. Shouldn't the U.S. aggression against Iraq be dealt with the same way as the world dealt with the Iraqi aggression in 1990- 1991?
4. Do we discern a pattern in the U.S. foreign policy here -- Taliban propped up in Afghanistan and the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. In their search for enemies in a unipolar world are they putting out of power people they brought to power earlier? Or are these belated acts of repentance ?
5. If the threat from Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction, are those, in the hands of Bush, (which he is threatening the world with) harbingers of peace?
6. Once Saddam is removed who will be next? -- North Korea surely. What argument will Uncle Sam come up with? Does the U.S. have the moral right to condemn the North Koreans for abandoning the redundant NPT, when the U.S. itself refused to ratify the CTBT in 1999?
7. Are the world leaders, ranging from the Pope to the Davos chaps, people of unsound judgment or have the U.S. hawks lost their listening ability?
8. What news channel do the U.S. leaders hear or watch? Have they not seen people in their own country and the world over shouting for peace while Saddam's people voice unequivocal support for their leader ?
The list of questions is endless. The most painful question is: Are the Americans so desperate for the oil that they might not live to use? That answer should suffice until we hear more from Powell.
PAYAL BAJAJ, Jakarta