It's foolish to attack Iraq

Reading what Tan Sri Hasmy Agam said in Focus (The Sunday Star, 23 February 2003 Page 28) which I quote “It won’t be easy trying to put an end quickly to this whole episode. Iraq is a difficult and complex country ………….” I would like to highlight the phrase“difficult and complex”. The U.S. should learn from its Vietnam experience before it loses billions or even trillions of US dollars which can be put to better use and thousands upon thousands of virile, young men. The Americans lost the Vietnam War. What next?

Does the white man underestimate the Asian because he is physically smaller? The Americans should have read up all about the Vietnamese before they went to war. If you look at American history, they only have a mere 227 years, no history to shout about. Methuselah, Abraham and most of the prophets of The Old Testament lived more than 4 times longer. Historians claim that any nation without at least 500 years has no history.

The Americans have suddenly found themselves at the peak of the power pinnacle, not because they were smart enough to invent this and that of war but because they were smart enough to steal the ideas of the Chinese. Any American who cares to challenge my daring claim should take a look at the Discovery channel programmes on Ancient Discoveries and Inventions. The Americans themselves did the programmes.
From the basic knowledge they scrounged from ancient Chinese records they invented the most destructive weapons of war imaginable. In that, they are the best. The U.S. is the only nation which has the largest collection of such weapons that can wipe out Earth in a heartbeat, to use a hyperbole.

Due to its short history it does not have time to learn how to handle this incredible power. President Bush looks like a fighting cock on TV these days and he reminds us of an angry 13 year-old, deprived of his favourite toy. And so much power in the hands of such a man is dangerous indeed. Old President Bush would have responded differently. Young President Bush lacks the maturity to handle such an affront to American supremacy.

The learned Tan Sri must have read well Iraq’s history. Iraq sits at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It was once the heartland of Mesopotamia (meaning “land between two rivers”) or also known as Sumeria. It is believed by both historians and archeologists that this is where it all began. Civilization began here. Read about the great kings and the great wars and you will understand that the U.S. will never subdue the ancient Iraqi spirit. After 14 years of trade sanctions they are still surviving. They did not beg for medication in exchange for oil. Others negotiated it for them.

Such ancient people grow stronger in the face of adversity. Read the Epic of Gilgamesh and see how he fought against Death. These people had survived for millions of years. If the U.S. attacks we can be sure the Iraqis would rather they perish and Baghdad vanish into the sands of the desert, never to be seen again, and become another huge “tel” (mounds), awaiting American archeologists a few thousand years from now, that is, if this world is able to survive for that long. These future American archeologists would then go ooh-aahing over their finds, not knowing that their largely “uneducated” President Bush had caused the end of a great civilization. An “uneducated” president can’t be expected to think of that. I do not give a damn about Saddam Hussein but the history of the region is close to my heart. J.D.Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye said that absolute power corrupts absolutely and Plato said that democracy gives rise to corruption. What we need is philosopher-kings but alas, most existing kings today are mindless laggards.

In conclusion, what is puzzling is the fact President Bush came to associate the destruction of the WTC in NY with Iraq. It’s only logical for somebody to strike back when he’s pushed into the wall and finds it impossible to breathe. It’s a survival instinct. People should know that it is dangerous to push others to the edge. They’ll fight back or perish. The U.S. pushes a lot of nations around. Why pin it on Iraq? I’m hoping for peace to come so that one fine day in the near future I shall be able to travel there to see the land where it all began, and hopefully not where it all ends too.

Note : This article is the original version of that which was published in the Dear Editor page of The Star dated 26 February 2003.