MAILBOX Friday, February 1, 1991 - North Shore News - 7 Mulroney ignores Palestinians Deas Editor: I appreciate Bob Hunter's column of Jan. 20 in which he shows how the hypocritical policies of Western powers and especially of the USA led to the present Gulf War. 1 would like to add one morc proof of our present govern- ment’s hypocrisy. On Jan. 17, when traqi rockets wounded 12 Israelis in Tel Aviv, within hours Mr. Mulroney condemned the act in Parliament, wrote a letter to the Isracli Pritme Minister and com- forted the Canadian Jewish community. When a few days earlier Israeli bullets killed dozens and wound- ed over one hundred Palestinians Mr. Mulroney remained mum, deaf and blind. In both cases citizens of the same country were involved, but in one case victims were Jewish and in the other they were Palestinian and thus not worthy of Mr. Mulroney’s attention. Shall we assume that Mr. Mulroney is ready to resuscitate the inglorious past by treating Canadians differently according to ethnic origin? Alexander Kadulski North Vancouver "Heaven help us all!’ Dear Editor: Whether we are for or against war one thing is clear. Canada is now at war. What truly disturbs me is knowing who is leading us in this deadly enterprise. Watching our theatrical Prime Minister sound off in front of the trained seals and self-satisfied pork- barrellers that make up our am- ateurish government sends a cold shiver down my spine. It makes me shudder to con- template that the fate of Canada, in a war situation, is in the hands of such truly incompe- tent people. The ‘“‘brilliant’’ Minister of Justice was seen holding forth on. military stcategy and. in- telligence matters, something she obviously does not know any- thing about. She mentioned that her husband had suggested she stay in bed, sage advice which I hope she will heed. 1 realize that it is too much to hope that MP Mary Collins will simply depart the scene, but perhaps she will have the decen- cy, now that the situation is tru- ly serious, to step down from her position as ‘‘Associate Minister of National Defence,” whatever that is. The dreadful Disneyland at- mosphere is compounded by an opposition which seems to be void of real ideas. The Liberals in their confusing manner con- tradict each other — and the NDP’s spout unhelpful, childish “tadvice.”’ _ As expected, the expensive, bloated Senate is totally useless. George Bush is fond of saying ‘God Bless America.’’ I say, “Heaven help us all."* A.V. Duch West Vancouver Weapons industry is the real villain Dear Editor: Now that we are being subjected daily to a barrage of propaganda in favor of our war with Iraq, it is probably futile to argue in favor of peaceful means of resolving conflicts. Nowhere in the frenzy of the media comment have I seen any ac- knowledgement of the fact that the top villains in this are those who manufacture and sell weapons on the open market. Most active in this lucrative practice are the government, corporations and citizens of the United States, followed closely by those of the Soviet Union, then France, then Britain and Jast, but hardly least, the Israelis, who act as middlemen for any nations whose leaders wish to avoid the stigma of selling weapons of destruction. Throughout the Iran-Iraq war, these nations earned vast sums by supplying the hardware, while the leaders of the warring states let their subjects serve 2s software. On the The weapons manufacturers are now no doubt rubbing their hands in- glee at the expectation of further business, now that their products are being used up at a brisk rate. Furthermore, now that all those gruesome weapons have been tested in combat, those who make fortunes from inventing and improving them can look forward to lots of customers who want them to perfect new horrors. The future looks great for the weapons trade. And that trade will boom, unless peace activists in all countries raise a mighty howl of protest at the weapons business, and urge, as strident- ly as possible, that their governments and the United Nations work re- lentlessly and unceasingly in striving to stop the development of new and improved weapons. M. Burbidge North Vancouver : yx Lhe public is being deceived Poem: War for Peace HOME FRO Dear Editor: A war for peacc. What good is all this fighting for, Ni i nS So people can die for the price of war? Innocent children and still more Continue to die from this bloody war. Upon the streets the dead do lie While the aircralt bombers light up the sky. How many more thousands must die Before all you nations give peace a try. Dear Editor: Wa U.S. pressured the U.N. into giving the Canada is invoived in an alliance which is terror-bombing a capital city. If the U.S.-led force wants Iraq out of Kuwait it should attack Iraqi forces, not civilians. Apart from a few correspondents repor- ting eye-witness accounts of missiles land- ing, most of the information about the Gulf War is coming from coalition military sources. The media has forgotten that the first casualty in any war is the truth. One of the most tragic casualties of this conflict is the United Nations. The way the Jan. 15 deadline tears away the last veil of independence and exposes its vulnerability. War fever has whipped up hatred of Saddam Hussein. Have we forgotten that he was foted in the White House after his invasion of Iran and the chemical killing of 3,000 Kurds? The U.S. must destroy Saddam Hussein and his army because it challenges U-S.- based multi-national control of Middle East oil reserves. Colin Smith North Vancouver How dare you leaders sit and stare At the destruction you've caused us to bear. Bush and Saddam, you’re quite the pair, ~ [guess Kuwait you both will never share. Why can’t you leaders understand That you’re fighting over a piece of land! Iraq is levelled down to sand Yet no surrender from the [ron Hand. When will this useless blood shed end? Will the nations come and unite as friends, Or will this battle start a trend? [ hope and I pray it will all soon end! Lucy Oh West Vancouver Israelis will gain most from war with Iraq Dear Editor: Are we to eliminate Hussein just to replace him with Shamir? At war’s end the full consequences are not really apparent. We must not forget that Israel is a tiny country and that Outside of military victory for the allies, what lasting 200,000 immigrants arrived last year alone. benefit accrued to the world in the Second World War? Such numbers mean expansion into Arab lands The frenzied build-up of arms in the Persian Gulf by the We will not have to wait 10 years to see who gains the U.S, and the United Nations strongly indicates that they were most from the Persian Gulf War. At this point it looks like a solely and unalterably dedicated to war. planned war to clear the way for Israeli expansion. Are we to repeat the blunders of the Second World War? J.H. Campbell Victoria