Top five myths about this war

After a long and tense prelude the United States is finally at war. It had to come to this; the decision to invade Iraq had been made long before the pitiful charade of UN resolutions and inspections. It was just a question of when. Now that military invasion is under way, it is useful to pause and reflect on the series of lies and fabrications the American public has been bombarded with over the past few months. Here are some of these myths:

Diplomacy was given a chance. Contrary to popular belief, the Bush administration did not fail in its diplomatic efforts. It just never tried because it never wanted a peaceful resolution. Bush claims that all diplomatic means were exhausted, but he has a funny interpretation of the word 'diplomacy.' For his administration, diplomacy means coercing and bullying the international community so that everyone goes along with this war. What Bush wanted was international legitimacy for his war, and not a peaceful disarmament of Iraq. Isn't diplomacy meant to serve as a civilized alternative to conflict? The American public is deceived when it is told that war was the last option. It was the first one all along.

U.S. media offers fair and balanced news. Talk to any international student here at Tufts and he or she will tell you that a different coverage is given to this war everywhere else in the world. I am not talking about Iraqi state TV or Al-Jazeera, whose partiality is more than questionable. I am talking about the news people get in Mexico, Spain, Canada and even Britain. Take a look at BBC or TVE (Television Espa?±ola), which are both, incidentally, from nations that support this war. You will see a more balanced picture, which includes the point of view of the millions of people around the world who oppose this war, the plight of thousands of displaced Iraqi civilians, and the suffering of those directly affected by military action. In the US, coverage of anti-war protests has been extremely limited, not to mention Iraqi refugees and Iraqi casualties. The networks seem to rejoice in presenting retired army generals with pathetic comments on military strategy over a map of Iraq, as if it were an NFL game. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is presented with the horrors of war.

This war is being fought to free the Iraqis. Few things irritate the international community more than the cheesy names given to military operations. So now this whole thing is about freeing the Iraqis from evil Saddam, right? Funny how the excuses for military action change so rapidly and without question from the public. What about disarming Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction? Wasn't that the original objective? Well, in case the US doesn't find them, the Pentagon can cover itself by claiming justice was done against the evil dictator. Never mind that the US collaborated with him and supported his regime in the 80's. If there is one thing the US does not care about it is the Iraqi people. Yes, the military is doing its best to avoid civilian casualties, and yes, precision-guided bombs are a much-welcomed technological improvement. But that is not just good will. They are just fighting simultaneously in another front: international public opinion.

Iraqis will welcome US troops as liberators. Most Iraqis don't like Saddam; they fear him. To say that they are happy with his regime would be an outright lie. Saddam is an oppressive tyrant with no regards for human rights and liberties. But nobody likes to be invaded. And if there is anything Iraqis hate more than Saddam, it is the US. They will defend their country against the foreign invader, and there will be some bloody battles ahead. We have already seen this in the places like Basra, Umm Qasr, and Nasiriya. Certainly, many Iraqis will be glad when regime change takes place, but they will not show full support for American troops before Saddam is captured or killed and his ruthless Baath party dismantled.

Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda are linked. This one is the mother of all myths. It is startling to see the results of the media manipulation campaign undertaken by the Bush administration. Although there is no conclusive evidence whatsoever that Hussein and Bin Laden collaborate in any way, the Bush administration has succeeded in convincing the majority of the American people that they are partners in crime. In fact, recent polls reveal that a majority of Americans believe Saddam Hussein was, in some way or another, behind the terrorist attacks of 9-11. A fictitious and very effective link between these two sworn enemies has been firmly established in the minds of many Americans through a relentless campaign of deception. No wonder they support Bush and his war.