Iraq

Tired of the never-ending Iraq issue, I got a book looking for escape for a while. I thought that if I distract myself a little bit with a reading of classic literature, perhaps my mind could find some peace. I chose “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, thinking that I could travel to those places where the myth and adventure gave another name to our everyday tasks. The edition that I have is from Penguin Classics and there is a large introductory note from Dr. N. K. Sandars. But when I started to read the introductory note, I realized something that we, the westerners always have take for granted.

The introductory notes described how the Sumerians tables, which contain the original or the oldest preserved testimony of the epic, were discovered and sent to the British Museum along with many other artifacts and sculptures from the Assyrian Empire. There is a long description of the works of Austen Henry Layard, a young Englishman, which in 1839 he embarked toward Ceylon for an overlaying journey, but he stopped in Mesopotamia with the intention to do a reconnaissance trip to some Assyrian mounds. The extent of the value of the tablets was not realized until the tablets were deciphered. Although the decipherment was started in Baghdad by Henry Rawlinson, which was a British political agent and former army officer, the majority of the task was performed in the British Museum.

The fact that watching, or reading about European people were “unearthing” ancient civilizations testimonies in an exotic place, is an act that we always take as a natural process. I think that when we watch any of the films from “Indiana Jones”, we think that he is a great guy and we cheer when he beats the “bad” guys.

After reading the introductory note from Dr. Sandars, I got interested in what was happened in that region during that time. I was thinking what the position of the Iraqi government was, letting remove testimonies from his history to another country. I have found that there was not such thing as Iraq as a country during that time. The region was part of the Ottoman Empire and some European countries settled agencies in Baghdad and Basra. The control of Iraq oil resources and the strategic location were the main reasons to establish the British interest in the region. After World War I, and based on the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Iraq was formed as a country, a very artificial mix, in which ancient disputes among Kurds, Muslim Shiites, Georgian and Assyrian descents. Perhaps the intent to create a community with a great deal of diversity was planned; there is room for skepticism in every history lesson.

Nowadays, once again the western “civilization” is trying to rule over this convulsion region. Dictating the way of life of its inhabitants and hoping to seize the rich resources that will help to continue the well-oiled machine of Global Capitalism. Again, the British Empire tries to be in the spot. This time the British agent is performing as a jester or talking head of another master; in spite of the enormous internal opposition to his current foreign policy.

It is undeniable that an equal society based on the western world model is almost a dream in that region, especially if we consider all the cultures and historical backgrounds. Perhaps that is our main mistake, and we have to ask ourselves if the western democracy is feasible and achievable for all.

It is undeniable that the current Iraq leaders are very despotic, as despotic they can be. But in any rate, this issue will never justify the potential disastrous situation of a war in that region. Fortunately, some countries have raised their voice and have stopped the bullies. The arrogant attitude of the U.S. and British Administration are as despotic as the enemy that they try to overthrown.

It is so pathetic to see how those bullies are trying to convince and bribe some nations to get their support that the ideals of freedom and justice are becoming as empty concepts in their mouth. They have mounted a campaign of terror and fear that; it is only matched with the lack of sight and human ethos in their goals.

 We have to continue our support to those who oppose the bloodshed and killing of innocent people. The following are the following components of an initiative that will prevent a war conflict in the region. These statements have been posted in several websites.

1. only the multilateral UN route was acceptable to deal with Iraq (a position that Tony Blair has now been almost forced into accepting, with his proviso of ‘unreasonable’ vetoes); ·
2. lengthy and heavy inspections; ·
3. a rethinking of sanctions, which currently hit only the Iraqi people and not Saddam; ·
4. an insistence on a fresh initiative on the Israel–Palestine conflict; ·
5. an emphasis that the fight against terrorism was the top priority; ·
6. setting out when, if ever, pre-emptive action is acceptable (probably taking existing closely delimited UN principles on this).

Let’s give a peace a chance, let’s join to create a better place to live, let’s respect all human lives, and let’s utilize the greatest quality that Mother Nature has given us: to be rationale, to think and discern, to communicate and reach a common goal. 

Alejandro Puerto

USA 2003