To Finding Solutions
Denis Halliday says destruction is not the way to deal with Iraq. A peaceful solution can come from recognising the roots of problems
The Irish Times
December 19, 1998
Question: So, apart from speaking out and taking a moral stand, what do we do?
That is a question I am asked frequently. Of course, there is no simple answer. However, we could start by controlling arms sales and build-up everywhere, including in the Middle East and in Iraq. I would support that 100 per cent.
Meanwhile, drop the sanctions that are so devastating to the Iraqi people. For the longer term, we could recognise some of the root causes of the conflict between Kuwait and Iraq. Maybe we could acknowledge that Kuwait had been an integral part of Iraq for 3,000 years before some British cartographer carved it out for geopolitical reasons in the 1890s.
We might recognise some of the debt-related problems between Iraq and Kuwait after the Iran-Iraq War. We could try to understand the charges of slantdrilling of Iraqi oil by Kuwait in the border area.
In my view, none of these issues warrants the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, no matter how undemocratic and exploitative the Kuwaiti family regime, but it helps us to focus on a rationale for aggression rather than the misleading political spin we usually hear.
And until we establish the root causes of angst and begin to resolve them, or at least try to assist in a process of resolution by the countries concerned, the potential for aggressive behaviour will likely remain.
And whereas the US and Britain can destroy the military infrastructure, they cannot destroy the minds and misapplied skills of Iraqi scientists. And we know how easy it is to manufacture appalling and deadly devices. So, in short, physical destruction is not the answer. That is a futile short-term irrational action of desperate men.
The ultimately constructive and peaceful solution is to begin to understand the causes of tension and crisis. And offer to support their resolution. It can be termed preventive diplomacy. Right now, Iraq is surrounded by much more powerful neighbours, armed largely by the US. They are militarily well stocked, including missiles armed with nuclear warheads. Worse, some have proved to be inexcusably aggressive themselves, as we have seen in regard to Lebanon, and much more recently than the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, sadly ignored in the double standards of the member-states controlling the UN Security Council.
And as for the appalling nuclear, chemical and other weapons of mass destruction, one might well ask who supplied Iraq with chemical weapons for use against the Iranian forces in the first place? Who has used nuclear force anywhere in the world? Not Iraq.
Regarding other ghastly means of killing, including chemical weapons, many countries of the world, and some in the Middle East, are armed to the teeth, courtesy of the US and Europe. Yesterday’s ally is today’s monster,and can become one or the other when politically convenient. In the meantime, the responsibility has to be shared.
For the United Nations, its credibility is undermined by the Security Council’s improper resolutions sustaining economic sanctions, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iraq. UNICEF estimates that approximately 5,000 children die every month from preventable diseases; another 30 per cent suffer malnutrition, and many more are likely to be stunted physically and mentally for the rest of their lives.
This is caused by the actions of member-states of the UN. And people ask me why I resigned after more than 30 years!
I would like to see the Irish Government take a lead in proposing that a panel of international jurists be assembled to review the resolutions of the Security Council and establish some constraints for the future.
The council needs a legal watch-dog, an international authority higher than the International Court so that its actions would ensure acceptable standards consistent with the United Nations Charter, the Declaration onHuman Rights and the Rights of the Child.
It is sad to note that whereas warfare is governed by international conventions (The Hague and Geneva), the application of often deadly sanctions is not.
Today, we not only have the killing of innocents via sanctions, we have an illegal attack on Iraq that has split the five permanent members of the Security Council and further offended the Arab and Islamic world, a part of the world that is integral and essential for world peace now and even more so for the future.
To be less than altruistic: whereas the power and influence of European and North American “culture” declines, the influence of Islamic culture is growing. Fewer people speak English today than 10 years ago. Many more speak Arabic, and projections show a rapid increase in the next century.
Rather than warfare, let us focus on bringing Iraq back into the community of nations. Let us talk rather than kill. Do missiles bring about sincere co-operation?
No matter how difficult, let us try dialogue. Encourage the peoples of the Middle East to find compromise and solutions to their many differences. They might look at the ASEAN model – the co-operative association of nine nations of south-east Asia – and see how it fits. Focus on trade, financial support, development co-operation, employment opportunities and sustainable economies for the years ahead when oil runs out.
They do not need the continuing interference of Europe and the US, but they may need support, investment and a global environment conducive to positive results, including shutting down arms manufacture and sales.
And let us also take the United Nations back to the moral and legal high ground where it belongs.
Denis Halliday
An Irishman, is the former United Nations humanitarian director for Iraq
© The Irish Times
The Irish Times, Dublin, go to http://www.irish-times.com/
More on Halliday, go to http://www.accuracy.org/halliday
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Sam Husseini sam@accuracy.org, Institute for Public Accuracy Tel: 202-347-0020, 915 National Press Building Fax: 202-347-0290, Washington, DC 20045.
