Iraqis 'forgotten victims of terror':

Tragic events of July 7 in London have been happening every day for the last 13 years in Iraq

Gulf Daily News

18 July 2005

AS some of you mourn the loss of more than 50 people in the London bombings, pause for a few moments to think about others who are as innocent as those in London and are dying every day in greater numbers.

The tragic events of July 7 in London have been happening every day for the last 13 years in Iraq.

The "democratic" countries of the two big 'B's have been bombing Iraq ever since 1991.

Killing people by planting bombs in underground trains or the red double decker bus is as "barbaric" as killing innocents by cruise missiles, B One Bombers, F16s, F18s or the Jaguar bombers.

These killings are as immoral if not more, because these are authorised by the 'elected' leaders.

The Bush Administration has wasted no time in taking advantage of tragedy to once again advance its own agenda of endless war and colonial occupation.

The news is not that bombs killed more than 50 people it is that those people live in London rather than Basra.

The US and British occupation of Iraq causes the deaths of an average 20 people a day, every day.

Bush and Blair do not stop their meetings to grieve over these deaths, nor do the news channels stop everything to give round the clock updates on these casualties, because the victims of these crimes are Iraqi civilians and their deaths are considered unimportant by the corporate-owned media and politicians.

In his response to the events in London, Bush declared. "The war on terror goes on", signalling that he will cynically use this tragedy to justify the continued occupation of Iraq, an occupation that brings death, destruction and torture to the people of Iraq on a daily basis.

Bush and Blair claim to be fighting terror, but everything they have said so far has been a lie. The truth is that their illegal war and the ongoing occupations of Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan are themselves acts of terror.

The killings in Afghanistan are going on unabated although we do not hear too much about these now.

Is it legal and civilised to drop 'Daisy Cutters' on innocent people in Afghanistan, while killing in London is 'barbaric'?

Ever since 9/11, so-called, terrorism has been on the increase. If the leaders of the big two powers and those lesser ones who are in cahoots with them really want to put an end to this, should they not realise that their present policies are in fact faulty and increasing this threat?

But the question is, do they really want to change it, or is it serving their inner real purpose to perpetuate their presence in the oil rich pastures of the present (the Gulf) and the future (the Caspian Basin).

Should they not try to alleviate the miseries they are causing to others from where 'terrorists' are being recruited?

Is it civilised to incarcerate hundreds of people in Guantanamo for years without any charge or trial and then release a few after three years, without even a 'sorry'?

It is understandable to honour your dead with tears, but do not cry for war, or praise disgraced leaders.

Qasim Alikhan

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