One hundred thousand Iraqis died and the Western allied forces suffered many casualties, yet still we do not have a definitive answer to the question "Was the Iraqi war justified?" The Iraq Inquiry under Sir John Chilcot has been listening to evidence from the main protagonists this week including former Prime Minister Tony Blair (29.01.10). Very little has been added to the discussion as a result of the inquiry, which leaves the question of justification a matter of subjective judgment. This is bad news for victims' relatives seeking closure. http://www.dubaixpats.com/
It is easy to look back seven years later and wonder why the war happened. No weapons of mass destruction were found and no second resolution was passed by the UN to approve military action in the first place. The argument that Saddam Hussein was a corrupt leader running a corrupt regime is not enough to support the widespread killing, civilian as well as military, that ensued. There are many such regimes around the world which do not attract the ire of the west. So what happened and why did the invasion seem like the right course of action at the time for so many people, yet quickly became a source of horror?
The only answer is that two years after the disaster of 9/11 the west, and in particular America, was still looking for a scapegoat to pay for the worst terrorist atrocity of all time. 9/11 left the US shocked and fearful and inconsolably humiliated. 3000 innocent citizens died when suicide pilots flew aircraft into the Twin Towers. I remember the air of paranoia that followed that attack, and the popular outcry calling for revenge. The Iraq War, though no democratically elected leader would ever admit to the fact, was part of that traumatic post 9/11 grasping for a military resolution. Just like the relatives of wartime victims now, the American people needed closure for the attack on the towers and Saddam Hussein was the perfect target. He practically goaded the west for months with his threats of owning weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps Hussein had his own agenda, an excuse to involve the whole of the Arab world in a united alliance against the west. That thankfully never happened. But the sight of the mass destruction of Iraqi cities, with many thousands of innocent men women and children dying, was too much for the majority of people´s sensibilities and it was not long before the tide of public opinion turned against the war.
The lessons to be learnt are simple ones. First, public opinion is fickle. One minute the mob might be baying for blood, and the next be horrified at the sight of blood being shed. Second, revenge is never a good reason for war. Self-defence is the only good reason for war. Third, UN procedures must be adhered to if there is enough time. The forty-five minute strike story, whether true or not, illustrates a scenario when UN procedures might not be fast enough to react to events in a real life attack, so someone has to make the call. We elect presidents and prime ministers to do just that. In the case of Iraq, the paranoia and international tension following 9/11 is itself a justification for what followed.
Milton Johanides is a retired businessman, church elder, writer and artist. He has been featured on BBC TVs Songs of Praise, owned numerous art galleries and once ran an award winning picture framing business in Scotland. The views expressed in these articles are his own. email:miltonjohanides@yahoo.co.uk
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