Why

ARE WE at war with Saddam Hussein or aren’t we? If we
are, why do we have our blokes in Baghdad broadcasting
Saddam’s propaganda to us, when none of his blokes in
the West are broadcasting our stuff to Iraq?

Not only that. We have military
analysts on our side explaining
what the strategic options are in
the coming ground war, complete
with diagrams. So if Saddam's
generals haven’t been able to
think up the possibilities by
themselves, we are doing it for
them.

All of which must please the
enemy, if I may describe Saddam
that way without being denounced
as a bigot. (These days, one never
knows what the liberal limits of
permissible description are. One
does not want to upset the human
rights mob.)

The Second World War took
place a long time ago, of course,
and times change. But even the
dottiest democrat of those days
would not have stood for what is
going on now, which is no way to
win a war.

There were no Allied reporters
standing in the ruins of Dresden
while the Germans stacked up tens
of thousands of bodies for burn-
ing.

Even if Hitler had invited them,
our response would have been,
“Thanks but no thanks. We agree
that the destruction of cities is
dreadful and uncivilized. But we
didn’t start this. You did. And he
who sows the wind reaps the
whirlwind.”

I thought of that when all the
fuss was taking place over the
destruction of that air-raid shelter
— or whatever it was — in
Baghdad.

There were our side’s reporters,
taking the cameras into the rubble
and relaying the harrowing stories
of survivors.

With Saddam's approval, they
assured us that there were no signs
of the structure having also Geen a
command post, which was what

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work hard to

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2

VA

Doug
Collins _

ON THE OTHER HAND

our side said it was. And then
they went off to the hospitals to
get shots of little kids who had
been burned and maimed.

Not one of those reporters in
Baghdad reminded us that Sad-
dam had quite recently promised
to place foreign hostages in mili-
tary targets to discourage Allied
bombing; or that as a mass
murderer (of the Kurds, for in-
stance) he would be quite capable
of putting his own people in dan-
gerous places for the propaganda
value of their deaths.

Nor did they point out that
even if the Iraqi version of the at-
tack was true, the wiping out of a
sheiter did not mean that deliber-
ate destruction of civilian targets
was taking place. On the contrary,
the news conce’itration on the
event showed unly that it was ex-
ceptional. :

They couldn’t say those things
because Saddam was in control.
They were simply doing his speak-
ing for him. Which leads one to

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don’t they send Jane
Fonda to cover the war?

the conclusion that broadcasts
from enemy territory should not
be permitted.

Censorship? Of course. War is
not a game. It is not a high school
debate. It is not an editorial. It is
not something designed to im-
prove TV ratings.

It is a matter of life and death,
and when you are in it you are in
it. We would soon wake up to
that if Saddam were capable of
hitting London, New York and
Toronto, as he is capable of hit-
ting the armed forces we have in-
structed to do the dirty work for
us.

Let me say it again. An argu-
ment might be made for the kind
of coverage Saddam is getting if
our version of events were as
available to Iraq as its version is
to us. But it is not, and never will

2.

As for the military experts and
their works, can you imagine simi-
lar public discussions taking place
before the Ailied invasion of
Europe in 1944?

You know, stuff like, ‘““Well,
here is the Pas de Calais, the
shortest route across the Channel
to France. However, it must also
be the most strongly defended
point on the whole of the French
coast. So it might pay us to go for
some other place. Normandy, for
instance.”’

The coverage of the Gulf War is
like what we saw from Vietnam:
Western reporters welcomed by
Uncle Ho Chi Minh; searing shots
of villages being destroyed and
children running down the road in
flames. It’s a wonder that Jane
Fonda hasn't turned up in

: Baghdad.

But there was no coverage in
North Vietnam of what Uncle Ho
was doing to the south. And we
all know what the effect was.

It is not true that the camera
cannot lie. It can lie massively. By
omission.

a es

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HEARING

THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE IN
BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Royal Commission is now conducting an inde-
pendent, detailed study of the provision of health care
in this province, As part of the process, a series of
public hearings is being held to give the Commission
an opportunity to hear the ideas and suggestions of
individuals, groups, and institutions. For this area,
the meeting is scheduled for:

Space is limited.

Delbrook Community Centre
February 26 & 27, 1991
Tuesday: 9:30-Noon & 1:30-5:00 pm

Wednesday: 1:30-5:00 pm & 7:30-10:00 pm

You are encouraged to come to the hearing. If you wish
to makea written submission please send your brief to
the Commission office as scon as possible.

The Commission will make recommendations designed
to ensure continued access for all citizens to responsive
and cost-efficient health care into the next century.

T'S YOUR HEALTH WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT. WE NEED YOUR INPUT.

ROYAL COMMISSION ON HEALTH

Mr. Justice PD. Seaton, Chairman
9th Floor, 1285 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4B1
Telephore: 660-0165 Fax: 660-1098

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