The Crisis In Iraq created By ISIS.Back to pages in history

by Sanjeev Pai. It was Mid Mar 2003 when US Of A attacked Iraq ostensibly to act against Dictator Saddam Hussien .

Was He a Hardliner Muslim? Was he a Despot ? The media had carefully prepared a bluster about Saddam . But no one told us that he was a nonradical, he respected & had protected minorities. Indian Gurudwaras were well protected under Saddam's Rule. Then was it only for oil that Iraq was unsettled ?

An Indian MP had then written about India joining Proamerican forces to liberate IRAQ . My response then to the article.

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Extra Ordinary Issue-Column by Pritish Nandy(TOI Dated 18 Mar 2003)

Pritish Nandy’s article ‘Stop Lionizing Saddam’ is populist piece and arm chair criticism at its best likely to appeal to couch potatoes in the comfort of their living room, or to necessarily fill up the blanks in news paper by a local celebrity who is under compulsion to speak on all matters under the sun in view of his brand value. The article does not merit so much space that is accorded to it.

Mr Nandy should realize that International relations are not viewed through a narrow periscope, but are based on convergent views & long-term policies that affect peoples of both the nations; their strategic & political interests. Most important, are the cultural identities that have been forged thru centuries. These matters- the practitioners of International relations will vouch, outlive minor aberrations & individual proclivities in the long run and best be ignored the nations lumber on course righting the minor variations/deviations. International policies are sum total of national perception & not based on individual views/perception, or on local political compulsions .It should be remembered that what Saddam is doing or not doing to his nation is a Sovereign matter of that country, to be tackled by the people of Iraq and not by President Bush. To ask Saddam to quit and back USA at this point of time will be in violation of Inter national Practices & precedents.

What could be more na?ve than to suggest backing USA “hard nosed political choice” to further our Economic Interest. Will that help tilt US scales on our side?Has it in the past? The USA has always tended to take a position that subserves its strategic interest.If you wish to ally with USA you ought to align your policies with them & further US interest in the region ,whether in your interest or not,there is no middle path .It would make us look more like underdogs lapping Uncle Sam’s feet. The hapless nation of 100 million who have no foothold and no national character. USA as well as Indians know that our interest lie in Asia remaining free from political Interference and the control of oil is not in the super power hands skewing the equation and making us the third world colonies of USA.

In fact any war without the sanction of UN will be in a grey area. The USA may be called upon to answer for the Genocide of the people of Iraq and the same precedent applied in case of war crimes against the Chezc leader Milosovich could be applied against these leaders even if they do not submit to the jurisdiction of these courts or are not signatories to the International Court Of Justice i.e., if the evidence leads to perpetration of war crimes. It is only then the UNO will be able to be of consequence & relevance to the rest of the world or it will peter away like the League Of Nations and probably herald the onset of polarized forces and a replay of Second World War.

I shudder to think if Mr Nandy is to shape the countries future as the elected leader