Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Iraq, history: Dali lama Posted here Wednesday, September 10, 2003 at 7:48:46 PM     Wise to consider that in the long run the incursion into Iraq may look OK, despite the mangled logic and leadership and implementation and follow through. We need to be prepared for such an outcome.   Dali Lama: Iraq War May Be Justified Wednesday September 10, 2003 11:09 PM By SCOTT LINDLAW Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Dalai Lama said Wednesday that the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan may have been justified to win a larger peace, but that is it too soon to judge whether the Iraq war was warranted. ``I think history will tell,'' he said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, just after he met with President Bush. ``In principle, I always believe nonviolence is the right thing, and nonviolent method is in the long run more effective,'' said the Dalai Lama, who after the Sept. 11 attacks had implored Bush to avoid a violent response by the United States. The exile Tibetan leader, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, said the Vietnam War increased suffering and was a ``failure.'' But, he said, some wars, including the Korean War and World War II, helped ``protect the rest of civilization, democracy.'' He said he saw a similar result in Afghanistan - ``perhaps some kind of liberation.'' ``The people themselves, I think, suffer a lot under their previous regimes,'' he said. But he was adamant that the United States not lose sight of rebuilding Afghanistan. The Dalai Lama urged Bush, in a letter on Sept. 12, 2001, to ``think seriously whether a violent action is the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation and people in the long run.'' Asked whether the Iraq war was just, the Dalai Lama said the situation there is ``more complicated'' and will take more time before he can judge. ********

Iraq: From Japapn, use asks tribute Posted here Wednesday, September 10, 2003 at 6:32:21 PM     Views from overseas often try to reflect the best of American values, against current realities.   Contributions for Iraq seem like tributes Often, when we actually see a person we usually see only on television, that person strikes us as unexpectedly small. The White House struck me the same way when I saw it in the U.S. capital for the first time. Of course, it was a stately and elegant edifice. But I thought it was small for the symbol of a superpower. In fact, I heard some Americans say in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that one of the reasons the terrorists did not target the White House was that its small size made it difficult to aim a hijacked airliner at. The small White House has sent out massive ``bills.'' While asking Congress to appropriate an equivalent of about 10 trillion yen to finance operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday urged Japan, Europe and states in the Middle East to make financial contributions as countries that ``will benefit from the success of freedom'' in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States resorted to military action in Iraq despite misgivings expressed by a considerable number of countries. Getting bogged down with the Iraqi occupation, Washington seeks massive financial contributions from other nations, even letting it be known that it will collect the sums it has asked for. Criticisms are prominent in the American and European media that the war in Iraq was based on overly optimistic prospects and that Bush has switched the focus from weapons of mass destruction to the war on terror. The mess in Iraq has fundamentally resulted from the Bush administration's pursuit of unilateralism. In his farewell address, George Washington, the first American president, said, ``Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. ... Nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded.'' (A Japanese translation of the text of Washington's address is available in the form of a collection of American presidential speeches, published by Hara Shobo.) About 200 years have passed since then. The times and relations between the United States and the rest of the world have drastically changed. But Washington's farewell address holds out eternal lessons to be learned by all leaders. ********

Iraq: opinion from Yahoo: get out of iraq .. but... Posted here Wednesday, September 10, 2003 at 4:18:00 PM     And another. This one proposes a solution to Iraq - leave - but the damage could be intense, showing that terror wins (against a bully US). so it seems to me we are stuck in a very bad place with no good outcome. If we support the US it really supports Bush, which many do not want to do. To not support the US and let Iraq become a new Kosovo (ethnic violence) would be terrible. Can the UN emerge as a real alternative? The UN is not liked either but letting it take over, wit chance of international support and finance,  looks to many as the best of three bad options. The real answer is to get the hell out before one more American or Iraqi gets killed in a lost cause. "Leaving now would place Iraqis under violent usurpers and set a precedent that could haunt the U.S. government for years," argues The New York Times' Christopher Marquis, but we've already blown our chance to make a good first impression. More money, more men, more international involvement--those were good ideas back in March. Now it's too late to avoid the ostracizing of the United States or the Afghanistanization of Iraq. ********