We can all play our part by making a resolution for peace
The Universe
(January 14, 2007)
The New Year came in with little hope that salvation would come and the peace would reign on earth. We have to work harder for that.
There have been positive developments in the past year in the Congo and elsewhere, but much more has to be done. The hanging of Saddam Hussein solves nothing but inflames even more violence in the Middle East.
Pope Benedict bravely appealed to Muslims to abandon all violence especially violence in the name of religion, and yet Western nations who have rejected true Christianity are just as violent. Extreme fundamentalist Christians see a holy war as justified to defend Israel and the Holy Land, claiming it was bequeathed to them alone by God.
The history of the past thirty years has sad tales to tell. In Iraq, Palestine, Darfur and many places where aggression, war and death is the brutal response to disputes between humans, Western nations have had a hand.
They are the greatest weapons traders of all time, and their corruption and bribery causes the death of millions of innocents. Indeed, Britain has covered-up a bribery scandal over selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Today, despite the welcome end of the cold war the nuclear weapons are still at the ready.
Britain is planning to renew and upgrade its Trident missiles, Iran is determined to have their own nuclear bomb, and North Korea is further developing its own nuclear ambition.
The West is a provocative and prolific sower of poisoned political seeds. The masters of the multinationals want to control everything and everyone through their chosen puppets.
The Iranian bitterness towards the West especially the United States administration of neo-conservatives (supported by the religious right), is not so much based on the fear of a Christian Crusade but on the instigation of a coup and deposing of a nationalist leader who nationalized the oil industry.
In his place they installed the Shah who tried to establish a non-Islamic secular state.
This infuriated the religious clerics and devout Muslims who, led by Khomeini, took power and held hostage the US Embassy staff. This party still hold political power today.
Their leader is constantly vowing to wipe Israel off the map and actively supports Islamic militants.
When Saddam Hussein declared war on neighboring Iran, the West rushed to support him with arms. The British arms industry supplied toxic substances know-how and with German help, built factories to make chemical and biological weapons. A German company provided the deadly poison gases as they did in World War II.
Saddam used them against his own people, and the Kurds. The USA’s Bell corporation supplied the helicopters to Saddam to spray the clouds of death on the hapless Iranians.
Little wonder the Iranians want to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein was supported by the West, until he invaded Kuwait and threatened the Western industries oil supplies, then he was declared a monster and a threat to world peace. The Western powers claimed, but never proved he possessed weapons of mass destruction (ironically chemical weapons given by themselves).
That was the paper-thin justification of the invasion of Iraq. It was aggression for the sake of getting cheap oil, and a chance to plunder billions of the good American taxpayers money through corrupt reconstruction projects. It was a violation of the UN charter.
Now 3,000 young American troops are dead, 25,000 wounded and 300,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Western forces can't get out so George Bush is going to send in more troops.
Will they ever learn that violence leads to more violence?
Each of us can stick to a new year resolution to put aside aggressive words and behavior toward our family and all others, and resolve to be supportive, understanding, compassionate and develop a strong will to see justice done and peace and goodness prevail. [End]
Fr. Shay Cullen is a Columban missionary: PREDA Centre, Kalaklan, Olongapo City. www.preda.org
