Mr. Editor:
This “third world native” would like to know what all the fuss is about concening the North Korean missiles.
The “family of Western European nations” has them. India, Pakistan, and China has them. Even little Israel with its 3 million population has them.
Nelson Mandela’s government inherited them and promptly got rid of them on the grounds that they were only intended to kill Africans, thus remaining the only true leader of a free world who thinks and acts like one.
So, tell me. I should trust white western nations to have this technology, but not non-white nations? I should trust white western Europe and the USA to look out for the best interests of North Korea and Iran?
If creating a missile of any sort is a macho test that nations must pass, and the west is super-macho, is it not “normal” for the other nations to want to do this also?
Now India and Pakistan got theirs in secret, so, allegedly, did Israel and South Africa during apartheid. Did the west demand that Botha’s government get rid of his, that Israel disarm? In fact would it not be true to say that Israel’s nuclear capacity was funded by American aid?
I cannot help but conclude that white Western European nations think that the world is theirs, theirs to destroy, and they built the capacity to do just that, but they do not trust the destructive capacity in the hands of others who are blithely referred to as rogue states.
These nations, led by the USA, colluded in the destruction of an ancient country’s artifacts, people and infracstructure, on the trumped up charge that they had weapons of mass destruction. Now that that lie has been exposed, including the “yellow cake from Niger” bit, westerners continue to destroy Iraq daily. Which western nation had pleaded with the Gang of One to cease and desist?
If you were the leader of one of these non-western countries, treated with contempt by the west who want to force their lifestyles, values and economic domination on eyeryone, what would you do to protect yourself and your people from them? If they were constantly saber-rattling at you, what would you do?
This is not to say that everything in the west is bad. What is bad is the fact that the west believes it has the God-given right to force everyone to do as it says. In fact, one leader of the west behaves as if he thinks he is God.
I would suggest that leading papers and other media stop parroting the White House and ask themselves what the panic is really about? “Capable of reaching the United States” must not be another filmsy excuse for war without end to keep putting money into the pockets of the warmongers. It is not good for the world to have one dominant “super power”. This is not a family where the father is in charge, but a community of nations.
Suppose China decides to attack North Korea, would we insist that they cease and desist, or will we stand gleefully by, while using our superior satellite information to help guide their missiles “home” to targets?
It is not reason to panic if the balance of power in world affairs is shifting eastwards. Europe has been dominant for about six hundred years and have made a bit of a mess. They started the “arms race” among themselves. Which European and North American nation has decommissioned its nuclear missiles? If my neighbour across the pond builds a two story house and keeps expanding, why should he be threatened if I add a half story to mine? He would be threatened if he believes that the whole pond is really his, and all I am entitled to is a tent on the other side.
Linda E. Edwards
Linda, you are so right!!
I am a Trini living and working in London as an Internet Engineer and before that, I spent 9 years in the US doing the same.
Working and even living amongst the people in these developed countries,have given me a fascinating insight into their thoughts and reasoning process.
These people think they are god`s gift to the human race when in reality they are nothing more than civilised barbarians/mongols, perhaps that`s why they like raw meat(steak done rare)!!
Right and wrong has now become whatever they say it is not what you and I know it to be, I hereby illustrate:
1. When a country can invade another sovereign country,
overthrow/imprison it`s leader and murder his 2 sons
under the pretext of this country having weapons of
mass destruction which we all knew from the beginning
was a big fat lie.
2. When a country can imprison people indefinitely with no
contact with their relatives, no access to legal advice, no
trial and torture and murder them with no redress.
(Guantanamo Bay).
3. Is it just me, or have you ever noticed that whenever the
whole bs about terrorism begins to wane, a rather grainy,
doctored video of Bin Laden mysteriously surfaces at the
right moment,to remind people that they are still under
threat(rather conveniently of course).
4. Right now Israel is playing a mas down in the Gaza strip
with the Palestinians, they have even openly threatened to
assasinate the Palestinian Prime Minister, not a peep out
of the so called guardians of democracy, as far as I can
remember,the Palestinian Prime Minister is a democratically
elected leader!!!
5. This brings me to this piece of sh**t organization known
as the UN Security Council, this has to be one of the
biggest con/headgame of the century, imagine this, the
big guns, US,Germany, Russia, China, France have armed
themselves with nuclear weapons and now say it`s illegal
for anyone else to have it other than on their say so, not
only that ,only they alone have the right to bring a
resolution before that august body to be voted upon ,and
if anyone of them are againt it ,they have the right to veto
effectively meaning the minority rules!!What utter crap
is that?
6. Have you ever noticed that “the axis of evil” are composed
of non white nations?So it begs the question,”Is the so
called war on terrorism a war againt non white nations?
7. So in conclusion I say to Iran, continue your testing, I say
to North Korea continue test firing your missiles until you
get it right, because you deserve the right to nuclear
weapons as anyone else, India or Pakistan test fired a
nuclear missile recently, once again not a peep from the
two-tongued guardians of democracy.
I am a peaceful man but if my enemy attacks me with a
gun,at that point I do not want to be holding a 3 canal, I
want to be in posession of a gun also to defend myself
fairly, but fairness is not the way of the “guardians of
democracy is it?”
One Love,
KingofKings(London)
Truthout.com’s current news item of July 10 says Japan is considering a pre-emptive strike against N. Korea. With what? So Japan has long range missiles too? or are to to be supplied from one of the other arms merchants for this purpose? What will the “family of Western European Nations” say to this, or are they the ones pushing fire from behind?
It was my understanding that by treaties agreed to after WW11, Japan was forbidden to have this kind of weaponry. So what are we hearing now? Japan, China, and the west aligned against North Korea?
Could this be why Pyongyang feels the need for missiles to protect itself?
The craziness continues, and the warmongers reap billions in profit. Notice how, in the case of the Israeli incursion into Gaza, they are busy smashing infrastructure, to return the Palestinians to dependency, poverty and Israeli generated aparthied.
The BBC reported on Monday, at 20.00 hours GMT, that India had fired a long range ballistic missile, which like that of North Korea, crashed. “It is capable of reaching China”. Not a peep out of the Americans about this ominous failure. One might ask why. I thought long range misslies being fired off like teenagers with slingshots was an international concern.
India is open to American businessmen, and its computer techies are critical to the running of the American computer business. Teachers from there are helping to staff inner city American schools. North Korea remains closed to western business exploitation.
So, India’s missiles, capable of reaching a country with one fifth of the world’s people, are nothing to fuss about.
Remember the Boxer Rebellion in China? That was about China’s refusal to allow western business to influence its culture. The west won, eventually. Now China is winning again. Everything in Walmart is made in China(A mild exagerration, this), and suddenly China is America’s friend.America will not talk to N. Korea unless China, Japan and other eastern nations are there too.
Politics is money. Money is politics.
I think you might have missed the Mark here. There is no real fuss about K_o_ R_ ea testing missils or they would have kept their word and shoot them down. The Man needs to invade the other nation I r a n for the P I P e L i n. Route. I n dia and Paki made a D e al With Them to put down a L I N e. The M a n Has to SToP IT.
An extension of the colonial powers dominating and shaping the world in their own image and likeness in order to serve self-interests which are political but have an economic basis. This was the case when they embarked upon slavery as a means of production and engaged in genocidal wars of conquest and expansion. The most significant change in their methods came about as a result of intelligence(spying) technology and the nuclear and other destructive weapons which make up the arsenal with which weaker nations are threatened into submission.
As one of the commentators on the main article pointed out, the United Nations has been tailored to fit the needs of imperialists, now given freedom of movement under the “globalization,” “fight against terrorism,” and “human rights” slogans. It is laughable and quite obvious that the United States of America, which has been recognized by comparative historical research as the most brutal among slaveholding societies and among the last to abolish it, cannot seize the moral mantle and become the mouthpiece and standard bearer of freedom and democracy.
The relations among nation states would continue to be colored by the “might is right” perspective. Thus, a mockery is made of doctrines and declarations they themselves have created. For example, there shall be no preemptive action taken against another sovereign state. The bopsy twins–Bush and Blair–demonstrated that this did not apply to them. The bombing of civilian targets and civilian infrastructure are war crimes, but this does not apply to Israel and the atrocities being committed in Gaza, Palestine and Lebanon. In fact, no international legal consequence seem to attach to Israel’s numerous violations of formal laws allegedly in place to promote peace among nations.
The double standards and varying interpretations of international law, depending on whether one happens to be the USA, Western Europe and the expanded NATO group of nations, or, on the other hand Iraq, North Korea, Iran or any of the so-called underdeveloped nations, will continue unabated. There are same weights but different measures in the imperialist order–“the new world order”–of relations among the world’s peoples.
We must not stand idly by but must organize and agitate to put a stop to these injustices. Is massa day done?
Bush is not that smart he is really very stupid he is only after the money.
Like all practice of racism in history it was always about money for richer folks. It was the less fortunnate members of the ruling classes that believes that there is more to it. Bush will not attack Soudi because they are still selling their oil to the US even if 17 of the 19 came from there.