More than a month has elapsed since the onset of the American aggression. The mask of its coalescing instigators has now fallen betraying their hideous, barbarous face. They have violated international law to exterminate the Iraqi people and scorch its earth. The term "barbarous" becomes an euphemism when we note the blatant inequality of the forces involved in the conflict, with a coalition of thirty-one countries warring against a single State, and pouring on its civilians a deluge of bombs, which equate in their combined impact, 20 times the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.
The above reasons, as well as the other reasons which I expounded earlier, induce me to state that this is the real first world war, a war which involves a coalition of almost the whole Western world against an isolated people.
A. FIVE MOTIVES
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It is henceforth clear to international public opinion that the United States - the main instigator of the war - and its allies have not engaged the war in order to "liberate" Kuwait nor to implement the washington-inspired "Security Council resolutions." There are at least five motives behind the strategy of the United States :
1. The United States, seeking to develop a new international order, of which it has actually become the unchallenged champion following the collapse of the Soviet block, cannot tolerate the emergence, in the oil-rich and strategically important Gulf region, of a country that attempts to escape its hegemony to thwart its plans.
2. By seeking to achieve technological self-reliance, Iraq represented a threat to the vested interests of the West by challenging its ability to continue to sell turn-key technologies.
3. The Iraqi military industry and army have gained enough experience, technological know-how and power to challenge the regional military supremacy of Israel - an outpost of Western, or more specifically American, domination.
4. The West reckons that a powerful Iraq is all the more dangerous that
it represents the cradle of cultures and is a major custodian of the collective
memory of Arabs and Muslims. The revival of Arab-Islamic cultures is seen
as a threat to the Judaeo-Christian value systems.
5. After the fall of conventional colonialism and the exhaustion of
"neo-colonialism", it became essential for the West to assert its decisive
role in the new world governance through the launching of a "post-colonial"
era. No matter what Iraq did, the West had to make it toe to the line,
applying, once again, but under different forms, the old scenario of world
partition. The crux of the matter was to nip in the bud any attempt by
a country of the South to attain credible technological and military power.
Iraq began to do so, hence the American orchestration of a local dispute
fuelled and turned into a conflict warranting swift and massive intervention.
B. FIVE CRIMES
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What tangible effects were produced by the five factors stated above?
And what was the general outcome? Five crimes have been perpetrated against
mankind under the banner of the new international disorder.
1. A savage aggression was launched against the Iraqi people, children, women, old and sick alike. Neither civil shelters, nor houses, hospitals, or water sources were spared. 75,000 bombing raids have been recorded to date. Even if we assume
that there was an average of only three victims per raid, that would make up a total of 225,000 martyrs. Has this caused any qualms to the world community? Has it prompted any condemnation of America and its allies? Have the champions of international legality made any representation when the prime principle of human rights, that is the right to life, was blatantly violated? Has any leader denounced this violation of international conventions on the protection of civilians during war times, which are supposed to be applicable to everybody? I would say nobody has--or hardly anybody!
2. Aggression against Iraq was compounded with a crime which was just as horrid: a crime against the environment: the fauna and flora, the earth, the sea, water sources and the biosphere. However, international environment conservation organizations, which generally respond quickly and vehemently in situations of lesser gravity, have kept a low profile this time.
3. The destruction of a cultural and civilizational heritage belonging
to all mankind was perpetrated for no reason but to wipe out memory. But
this is hardly surprising as some of those who shelled the Baghdad Museum
as well as other Arab- Islamic cultural cannot claim to be the custodians
of a civilizational heritage as ancient as that of Iraq.
4. The feelings of over 1,200 million Muslims have been hurt by the desecration of the Islamic holy shrines and the flouting of their beliefs and sacred values. It is an unjustifiable act which will remain ever engraved in the conscience of each and
every Muslim. Indeed, Muslims will never forget that the West has desecrated their holy land by turning it into a hellish battle-field.
5. The fifth crime lies in the violation of international law and legality
and the contempt shown for the Security Council, the United Nations Organization
as well as the other international institutions. These, under pressure
from the Western countries, have promptly ignored their mission in upholding
world peace and security and turned into strongholds of aggression, massacre
and injustice.
C. FIVE CONSEQUENCES
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Given these reasons and the ensuing crimes, what consequences have they produced which deserve pondering on the part of Arab countries and the whole Third World? There are five such consequences at least:
1. The end of the myth of a civilized West : The West, which used to profess the values of civilization, modernity and respect for human rights, has so far shown only aggressive inclinations and a spirit of the Crusades. This is the reason why all third World countries, particularly Arab-Islamic ones, will ultimately realize that their future depends on a much greater degree of "self-reliance" and South-South cooperation.
2. The West's arrogance and lack of understanding vis-à-vis other civilizations : Islamic States must draw a lesson from this situation. They must adhere more strongly to their Islamic identity and civilization. Islam is indeed the advocate of a liberation ideology which rejects all forms of cultural spoliation and assimilation such as those left behind by colonialism.
3. The widening of the rift between Arab leaders and their peoples
: It is clear that the ambitions, struggles and feelings of people
are diametrically opposed to the designs, options and interests of their
rulers. Consequently, the struggle for democracy, freedom of expression
and human rights is a fundamental condition for the survival of a given
country. Yet, the Gulf war has revealed that a group of intellectuals had
rallied the banner of the West, embracing its cause wholeheartedly by either
overtly supporting its crusade against the Iraqi people or by adopting
a mute stance.
4. A hard lesson for the Arab world : It must understand that the mastering of knowledge, science, technology, communication and information constitutes the sole means to build its future without relying on the West. It must also understand that South-South cooperation may advantageously replace the existing relations between the North and the South, which are based on domination and exploitation as can be seen today in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
5. The Arab world will no longer be the same as before : The
West has been preparing for some time the new "post-colonial" era with
its "new international order", up a new international order, but the Gulf
war and its aftermaths will inevitably change the nature of relations within
the Arab world itself as well as between it and the West.
Rabat, February 18, 1991.
* Al-Alam, Rabat, 21st February, 1991.
* Al-Khabar, Algiers, 21st February, 1991.
* Algerian Radio, Algiers, 23rd February, 1991.
* Eshourouq, Tunisia, 7th March, 1991.