A LESSON IN NATIONAL DIGNITY

by Professor Roland G. Simbulan

Manila, Philippines

25 March 2003

 

 

The brazen Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq by the armies of Exxon, British Petroleum (BP), Texaco, Chevron, Amoco, Shell Oil, and Teneco have enraged most governments and peoples of the world.  It is these top U.S. and British oil companies which are most excited at the post-Invasion oil and gas bonanza their aggressor armies will land-grab from the Iraqi people.  But the "shock and awe" bombings of key Iraqi cities and towns especially Baghdad as seen on television have only angered and enraged peace-loving peoples of the world. The display of high technological and military capacity for mass destruction by foreign aggressors will never "shock and awe" people who have a strong sense of national dignity, decency and love of their homeland.  

 

The defiant resistance of the Iraqi people to the foreign invasion of their homeland by foreign colonialists is a lesson in self-determination and national dignity. The Iraqi people's resistance to foreign invasion is just; the US-UK invasion of Iraq is unjust, illegal and violates all norms of international law. It does not deserve any kind of support and should be condemned in the most vehement terms. The Arroyo government in the Philippines and its similarly subservient and lapdog officials have forgotten that not-too-long ago, when we were invaded by foreign colonialists, our freedom fighters and martyrs who fought for self-determination were branded as criminal bandits and "insurgents" by the invading foreign armies who claimed to be our "liberators".  This current invasion brings back memories of the Spanish, American and Japanese aggressors in the Philippines, and our martyrs and heroes who died and fought to defend every inch of the desecrated land of our ancestors.

 

George W. Bush and Blair, because of their invasion of the cradle of civilization Iraq, today have in fact become the principal recruiters of the Al Qaeda and other so-called terrorists. Thanks to them, enemies of the United States and the U.K. will have no problem recruiting volunteers who want to retaliate for what they have done to the birthplace of Moses.  The US-UK invasion of Iraq has only exposed the real nature of the No. 1 super terrorist state today, the United States whose invasion of Iraq is now being protested in all cities in America. The arrogant use of brute military power shows that the sole superpower after the Cold War is driven to maximize its spoils even illegally in its "globalization hegemony."

 

Truly, the Iraqi people may have no match to the joint technologically-advanced military machine of the world's biggest superpowers.  But, as shown by the people of Vietnam in the past, a people determined to preserve their national dignity and sovereignty as well as self-determination will prevail over technological and military superiority even against the strongest superpower on earth. The US-UK invaders are now indeed in "shock and awe" at the defiant resistance on all fronts in all parts of Iraqi territory as the Iraqi people and their heroic army fight their battles to defend their homeland, despite overwhelming odds.  The Iraqi people are today waging a life and death struggle for the national defense of Iraqi territory and this is what is giving "shock and awe" to the foreign invading armies.

 

The US-UK invaders led by war criminals like Bush and Blair who have violated the very spirit and Charter of the United Nations, as well as international law and isolated themselves from international public opinion, are being met by the fierce determination of the Iraqi people.  The US-UK aggressors with the oil companies they represent, are living in a pipedream if they think they can occupy a sovereign country and just land-grab its oil and gas resources in the name of fighting terrorism, disarming it of weapons of mass destruction or removing a local despot. They do not understand love of country, national dignity and self-determination.

 

Our prayers go to the Iraqi people as they effectively and heroically fight foreign invaders. As for the US-UK foreign aggressors, if they persist in their invasion of the sacred soil of Iraq, and continue their state terrorism which masquerades as a war on terror, they will be buried there no less by the Iraqi people who are showing us what national dignity and self-determination means. 

THE GREATEST THREAT TO WORLD PEACE
by Prof. Roland G. Simbulan

    "Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power.

We have guided missiles and misguided men."
                         -Martin Luther King

     It is exactly four hours before the 48-hour timetable for war against Iraq set by U.S. President George Bush expires. Like the Roman Legions of Julius Caesar centuries ago, the American Legions of George W. Bush are poised to strike,  occupy a sovereign and oil-rich country and impose Pax Americana, the modern version of Roman conquest in the Persian Gulf.

     This is an illegal war, an unjust war. It violates the very spirit and Charter of the United Nations which was inaugurated on the very soil of the United States 47 years ago. It is an invasion and war that has been condemned by all religions of humankind-from the Pope at the Vatican, to the Muslims and Hindus of the world. It has been condemned by Nelson Mandela and the majority of the world leaders and nations who are members of the United Nations. This planned invasion by the United States and its so-called "coalition of the willing" has made the U.S. the greatest threat to world peace today, isolated as never before politically. Many independent foreign policy analysts say that President Bush's action will dismantle decades long gains of American diplomacy and goodwill and could engulf the world in catastrophe.

     The invasion of Iraq by the United States will have consequences on the American nation and people. It will make United States territory the most dangerous place on earth and its people an endangered species. By breaking the very rules of multilateralism through United Nations Security Council resolutions, the United States will open a Pandora's box that could explode in its own face.

    George W. Bush and his oil-hungry warmongers have given the world the negative example of irreversible conflict. If the American legion invades Iraq,  who will be next?  It has placed the U.S. military might of war, power and greed above diplomacy in the resolution of conflict. While it asks a small sovereign country to disarm, its own arsenal bristles with the most modern weapons of mass destruction which it flaunts and even sells for  profit to other countries.

     If war is instigated by George W. Bush anytime from now, a war that will result in the death of many Iraqi civilians and as a further consequence, many more American lives will be endangered by his unilateral action, he will become a global war criminal. A war criminal for violating the Charter of the United Nations and causing the death of thousands, even possibly hundreds of thousands of civilians. He should be tried as a war criminal and treated as such.

5AM, Manila
March 20, 2003

Hey, Hey, USA, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today?

Reinier J. Kanis

British Columbia, Canada

As a Canadian, never in my life have I witnessed the massive numbers of our citizens taking to the streets in protest.  Historically, Canadians are passive and demonstrations were limited to extremists who carefully plan and canvass demonstrators to participate.

Today, Canada is angry with its neighbor -- an anger not seen since the American invasion of Canada almost 100 years ago. Canadians are demonstrating in the streets, not waiting for a planned demonstration during business hours, but in the middle of the night by the thousands in cities across Canada.

Canadians chanting “Hey, hey, USA, how many kids did you kill today?” Canadians, unlike their leaders who are more concerned about how to do business with USA, display the sentiments that most of our leaders fear to show.

Canadian leaders, like American citizens, fear to speak the truth for fear of ridicule by the tyrants in control of the economy.  The Dixie Chicks in the USA are a prime example.  Americans, in a display not seen since Nazi Germany, turn their media into a national frenzy in an attempt to destroy them.  But, instead, for a week, Dixie Chicks got more publicity than Saddam Hussein.

Canadians do not want to pump blood into their cars, and are not afraid to say so. Canadians across Canada are chanting “No blood for oil.”

Americans living in Canada interviewed by CBC, were positively unanimous on the issue that Americans have no idea what’s going on in the world.  The press in the U.S. is so Pro- Bush that living in Canada became an eye-opening experience.

Canadians protesting this illegal act of war are saying this makes us all sick, and are asking Canadians to call in to work and declare they are too sick to work.

To buy American is to support its ideology and those it massacres in its name. As a Canadian, I can no longer purchase American products without knowing it is marked with the blood of innocents.

This day will go down in infamy, as the day Democracy in America died.

Return the Blindfolds of Justice

Katherine Vinluan-Arellano

Makati City, Philippines

Today is a sad day in the history of mankind.  The first bomb that hit Iraq, apparently, removed the blindfolds of Justice.  Instead of punishing a criminal, regardless of who he is, Justice peeks to see if he is of the right race and faith to commit the crime.  If he is, his act is one of courage and heroism, worthy of praises and applause.

I am almost sure that if it were anyone but the president of the great United States of America leading this war on Iraq, everyone would condemn it for what it is, a pure act of genocide.  But it appears that this war is not a crime against humanity.  Why?  Simply because it is being waged by the chosen one, anointed as god-the-almighty-dollar.  So hastily, god-the-sans-morals and god-the-holy-massacre sit on the left and right of his throne, as a whole choir of angelic media practitioners sing songs of paranoia and lies to make people fall on their knees in obedient adoration.

This war is aimed at gaining control of Middle East oil by the world's leading energy consumer and net importer -- the U.S.  At the same time, it is a means of significantly boosting the arms industry -- dominated by the U.S.  This war is extremely dangerous as it is just one of the first steps in a nation's quest for unlimited power and world domination.  More than that, this war heralds a new stage in our civilization or de-civilization where the most civilized or the most barbaric of mankind will declare victory in the end.

History is being written today -- whether or not it writes off a whole breed of civilized men and revives barbarians will depend on how soon we return the blindfolds of Justice and stop psychopaths from playing God. 

* Article by Roland G Simbulan - For a full professional background of Professor Roland G. Simbulan (Click Here)