Middle East
Viewpoints
Air Strikes Against Iraq
AMMAN Al-Arab Al-Youm (independent), Feb. 20: Israel is the one that deserves to be bombed, not Iraq. When U.S. planes bomb Baghdad, they are striking against the capital of a country that has been besieged for 10 years on the pretext that the Iraqi leadership has intentions to own weapons of mass destruction or to threaten the security of others. But Israel is the only country in the world that continues to occupy the land of other people, to kill people, and to use developed weapons.
—Taher Udwan
JERUSALEM The Jerusalem Post (conservative), Feb. 19: Ultimately, President Bush’s policy toward Iraq will determine whether he plans to continue a “policy” of fudging and denial raised to the level of a high art, or be a leader who will demonstrate that the West is not powerless against weak but brutal local bullies like Saddam Hussein. The litmus test is not what happens with sanctions, but whether the United States leads the way in supporting the Iraqi people against a hated and dangerous regime.
TAIPEI China Times (on-line), Feb. 20: From Bush’s move to attack Iraq to his announcement to implement missile defense and his recent statement to push for brand-new high-tech weaponry, we can very clearly see U.S. determination to maintain its position as the single superpower in the world. But [Washington’s] determination will surely clash with [a] rapidly growing China.
LONDON The Times (conservative), Feb. 20: There is nothing singular in Saddam’s willingness to terrorize his own subjects in order to maintain his hold on power. It is the stock-in-trade of regimes from Zimbabwe to Burma, against whom we heft no swords. What is exceptional about Sad dam, and left unsaid by our government, is the threat he poses to us by his development of weapons of mass destruction....Only by proclaiming that we are eliminating him in the pursuit of our own interests rather than in the name of a bogus “humanitarianism” will we serve notice to all who would disturb our peace.
—Michael Gove
FRANKFURT Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (conservative), Feb. 19: With a bang, George W. Bush stepped on the stage of international politics. The message could not have been clearer following the creeping erosion of sanctions, Iraq’s arms modernization, and the strategic vacuum in dealing with the Iraqi leader during the last years of the Clinton administration. Since the system of inspections has collapsed, the Iraqi arms apparatus continues to work unhindered and unobserved. One can easily imagine the consequences if nothing is done to prevent it.
—Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger
MOSCOW Rossiskaya Gazeta (official), Feb. 20: It is very reminiscent of the Cold War days....Condoleezza Rice has stated that Russia is a threat to the West, particularly to Europe. The Pentagon’s new chief has accused Moscow of selling military technology to rogue states....Combining the little “hot” war with a new “cold” one has the same goal as Truman [had] when he sought to intimidate Russia.
—Vsevolod Ovchinnikov
GLASGOW The Herald (independent), Feb. 17: Saddam Hussein had clearly been goading the United States and Britain....Although the response...was the heaviest in three years, it was proportionate.
CHENNAI The Hindu (centrist), Feb. 19: Bush’s knee-jerk policy defining the new air strike flies in the face of the very idea of smart sanctions with its intrinsic emphasis on humanitarian ethos. This can only denote that an adventurist policy with regard to Iraq is in tune with the present Bush administration’s cavalier spirit, as reflected by its sci-fi pursuit of a missile defense system.
