Last
updated: Saturday, 8 March, 2003 15:07
War against Iraq? |
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| Southampton
school kids protest at West Quay |
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Thousands of British servicemen and women are preparing for action
in the Gulf. But at home, opinion is divided on whether to use force
against Iraq.
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Is it right to wage war on Iraq? Or do you think the West has
got it all wrong?
Do you agree with the anti-war protests or the approach taken
by the British and American Governments?
| Click
here
to join the debate, and add your comments |
| Zena
Bright, Eastleigh |
| Comment:
I do not agree with war. Too many innocent people suffer.
There is already enough sadness in this world with natural
disasters and man made ones in the name of religion. ! |
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| Anon
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| Comment:
war is not a good thing, i am a survivor. wait some time and
do whatever you can to solve it peacefully. sadam is not part
of america,why do we want war against him? |
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| Joshua
, Wellfleet, Mass. |
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Comment:
I don't agree with Bush's campaign agains Iraq mostly because
he is endangering not only the Civilians of Iraq but also
his own men. During the Gulf War the U.S. was using anti-tank
shells made of depleted uranium 238.
When
it explodes it breaks into aerosolized particles which are
easily inhalable. The long term effects of getting these
radioactive particles leads to cancer. This can lead to
the death of anyone who is in the vecinity of the explosions.
Another issue is what if the U.S. attacks and we win.
Iraq
is a Muslim nation that has typically strict rules that
differ from Western civilization. It would be wrong to expect
that they change their religion and adopt western culture
and beliefs.
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| Fiona
Taylor, Southampton |
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Comment:
It would be wonderful if the war could be stopped before
it began by Saddam saying "ok I'll leave".
However
we all that it is a pipe dream and that he has to be gotten
rid of once and for all.
I
am personally split because my son is in training with the
Army having joined in January of this year at Harrogate,
one of the Army college's.
It
is a job that has to be done and done with the minimum amount
of bloodshed. The government has to listen to the people
as well as trying to tread a fine line. What really worries
me is this. What if all these asylum seekers are actually
infiltrating this country and are planning to unleash their
wrath once we go into the fray out in Iraq. What measures
are the Govt. going to put into action then?
Another
thing that gives grave concern is the fact that the poor
armed forces already deployed are only receiving one meal
a day and water is in short supply. Which poor soul is going
to be hung out to dry for that blooper?
However
it is not only the overseas troops that are having to put
up with lousy/not enough food. As I said earlier my son
is at Harrogate and the food is below par there.
Not
only does he have to tolerate curry and chips, and no sunday
roast!! but he is spending his wages on food from the NAAFI
or pizzas being brought in. He's only 17, still growing
and not eating a balanced diet.
It
was always assumed that an army marches on its stomach,
do they have pizza delivery boys in Iraq?
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| PoLiTiKaL15!,
sOuThAmPtOn |
| Comment:
"an eye for an eye,leads the whole world blind!" martin sed
it all! the end about British Asianz and the trouble it'll
cause for us is so tru! |
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| William,
Austin |
| Comment:
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good
men to do nothing.’ |
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| Scott
Wassner, Pensacola Beach,FL,USA |
| Comment:
All real Americans are sick of the anti-war retoric. Our president
Bush is willing to show the strength needed to change the
face of Iraq from oppression to freedom. Saddam will fall
and the people of Iraq will enjoy the freedoms of the western
world; freedom of speech, the right to vote, the right to
be treated with dignity, etc. The anti-war groups would exercise
their rights and deny the people of Iraq the same as well
as the will of mankind! |
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| zita
bowley, laurel,maryland |
| Comment:
let us have more time for the inspectors. no war - no unnecessary
bodybags. |
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| Jeri
Jo, Dover AFB |
| Comment:
Whether you are for or against the war, please remember not
to be against the MILITARY members. They are NOT the enemy.
The sacrifice everyday for YOUR freedom to protest! |
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| Taryn,
Boulder, Colorado |
| Comment:
Saddam is an insane and wrong dictator. If his actions in
the past cannot be classified as evil, then what can? However,
although this is true, war is not the solution, and it is
definitely not the solution with the incentives that Bush
has set forth for out speculation. His concern lies in the
stabilization of the US oil supply and living up to his father's
presidency. he wishes to surpass his father and accomplish
what he could not: getting rid of Saddam. And so, all that
I can say is that war is not the solution until we have some
hard evidence and good incentives to go forth. Also, when
half of the US allies have not agreed and the UN is against
war, where is the rightness of it? |
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| Richard,
Bournemouth |
| Comment:
I think it is necessary to remove the despot now. Later will
lead to more bloodshed. The concern I have is that it could
escalate / snowball into a larger conflict. I think that there
is a great deal of misinformation from both sides. However,
someone who kills anyone they deem a threat, even their own
relatives (in little position to defend themselves) and generally
slaughters segments of his population. Threatens and invades
his neigbours, has no qualms about using chemical weapons
DEFINATELY requires removal. Don't fob me off with the 'oil'
platitudes, I dislike George Bush, but he may be dodgy but
he isn't at all comparable with Saddam. |
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| Hamish,
Queensland, Australia |
| Comment:
So what happens after America has invaded Iraq? The fundamentalist
muslims such as Osama and the Secular Muslims such as Saddam
have a reason to put their grievances aside and work together
in terrorising western nations, as now they have even less
to lose. The US, who lies to the public saying they are fighting
the war on terror are only fuelling the fire are now too powerful
for their own good with a war-monger like Bush in power. The
UN is made irrelevant and we have no global governing nation.
The possible insitigation of a holywar emmits, causing an
eye for an eye mentality using weapoins of mass destruction.
The US sets up a base in Iraq to protect Israel and futher
its iuntimidation of Muslim nations. What happens if we dont
go to war? Peacekeepers and weapons inspectors are poured
into Iraq to continue to search, police and restrict Saddam
from commiting war crimes. The power of the people in the
western world is proven to Muslim nations that though the
leaders have terrorised muslims for years, this is not the
opinion of the western civilian, thus reducing the hostility
for muslims to kill westerners through terrorism. The people
of Australia have spoken in our peace protests saying we dont
want war and this has been televised in Iraq by Suddam to
stick it up Bush and Howard, however Bush has construed this
to say if you dont want Saddam then you must want war. Saddam
is an evil tyrant that should be stopped, but only when we
have clear evidence that will hold up in the UN, unlike the
lies and disproven evidence given so far, what is the hurry
to kill innocents and start something that there is no going
back on. |
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| Alex,
Bournemouth |
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Comment:
Couldn't agree with Phil more, lets do it, and do it now,
the situation in Iraq is out of control, they patently have
more weapons than they are letting on (even though we propably
sold them most of the components to build them) they are
still clearly in breach of resolution 1441, this is wrong
and demands immediate military action.
Who
cares if George Bush is fighting his fathers war! someone
has to - whats the matter with you people, i have read some
comments about the Children of Iraq... yawn what about mine
and your children, we are in a position to do something
about it, and should do so now
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| Isabelle,
Bournemouth |
| Comment:
Why should we go to war it's not Blair and Bushes family that
could be killed!!! think of the children and familys in England
I WANT TO LIVE MY LIFE! |
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| M
j, Bournemouth |
| Comment:
most of the e-mails have been against war, and rightly so,
do you not think that the truth is held back. Like all wars
most of what you see is propaganda on both sides it should
be sorted by UN there are better things to spend the cost
of a war on. |
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| Scott
Bell, Las Vegas Nv |
| Comment:
We witness protests on a daily basis against going to war
in Iraq. There are loud condemntions of war in any case. There
are concerns about deaths of Iraqi citizens. There are concerns
that this war is only over oil and power. And the related
question of whether or not the deaths that will occur are
justified for the oil and the power. All are very valids points.
However, I have never seen anything except general pronouncements
of these ideas with no facts, no discussion, no exchange of
ideas. The most egregious of human sins have been based on
simple generalizations with no discussion of facts and fallacy.
The Spanish Inquisition was in pursuit of the Rightousnesss
of God and his word.........Or was it? Adolph Hitler was taking
evolution is the hands of science and pointing the human race
to perfection.......or was he? Pol Pot was purging his people
of the chains of capitalism and enslavement......Or was he?
Sadam Hussein is just a harmless fanatic who has the right
to his own opinion and the right to rule his people and nation
as he sees fit......Does He? War can only be a final option
after all others have been exhausted. This is a rule of nature
that has become more vital today than ever before. But, if
all other options are ineffective and a threat to human existence
continues to grow then is it responsible of any person to
not use what means necessary to neutralize that threat? I
have never seen a list of facts, proven facts, pro and con
for the elimination of Sadam Hussein. I would be happy to
see such a list and then use these facts to follow a logical
path to a solution. I don't mean a list of fantasy ideas,
generalizations, moral pronouncements or wishful thinking.
Until then, I can only ask......WHY NOT GO TO WAR? |
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| Michael
Morrison, Tulsa |
| Comment:
First and foremost, I do not always agree with my country.
But it is my country and to stand against your country makes
you appear cowardly to your enemies. I do not know the full
intensions of my Government, but I do know there is more Natural
Gas sitting below the states I am in then Crude Oil in ALL
of the middle east. We have plenty of fossil fuels. Saddam
Genocides Kurds AND his own people. They love him because
they fear him and others just love him. We could play the
'what if' genre, and say "What if France gets free oil from
IRAQ to Veto the U.S.? What what Germany? Why is Russia asking
the U.S. to handle the Korea nuclear problem when Russia and
China sit right next to them?" Point is - people don't want
to deal with it - so let's appoint someone else. People believe
conspiracies all too quickly and do not study the history
of what they are against. Or look at what could happen if
no action is attempted. So what is Saddam massacres hundreds
of people at the time of his choosing. You would love the
tyrant that would kill YOU if you didn't under the same circumstance.
His people have no choice. |
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