A Collection of Writings
You were born in a concentration camp, you know the history of Europe's occupation by Hitler, yet you denounce Bush and the USA (yes, my home) and even have the presumption to say that we should apologize to Saddam for daring to remove an evil dictator who has littered the landscape of Iraq with the corpses of his own people. Do you think thousands of Kurds were killed by the common cold? Iraq is about the same size as your timid country and you wonder why we can't find Anthrax or other "weapons of mass destruction!" Exactly how much space do you think a barrel of chemical gas takes up? It will be years before we know the full extent of their weapons program, yet Europe cries for instant answers even though as usual they ducked out of the fight. Why is it you have sprouted a conscience with regard to what the "horrible" USA has done to Iraq (how dare we free the people of Iraq) but you choose to ignore what happened under the dictatorship of Saddam. Do you think the USA likes being the policeman of the world? Unlike you, we REALLY have a conscience and will not sit back and let the world be overrun by evil. Consider the "human shields" who went to Iraq before the most recent conflict and then "yiped" their way back home when it was announced that Saddam had ordered them to actually be shields at sites that would be bombed (military installations) instead of the schools and mosques where they had intended to stand guard as shields, knowing full well that the US would not attack these sites (even though Saddam uses mosques, schools, and women and children as shields). How convenient for you and the rest of Europe that your conscience allows you to ignore the EVIL of Saddam yet vilify President Bush and Tony Blair for standing up to a most foul dictator. Bush is so terrible to you, yet the rulers of France and Germany who have been in bed with Saddam for years are terrific chaps! You will need both hands and your feet to count the number of European "peace-loving" countries who have been supplying Saddam with the weapons that were recently used to kill American and British soldiers! Sorry to say Miss Pitt, I will not be visiting your sorry web site again (not a great loss, as it is quite pathetically put together). Do me and the rest of the world a favor -- before you spout off about a situation you clearly know nothing about, try doing a little research! You might start by turning off the BBC!
Poor Misguided American
Dear Poor Misguided American,
Thank you for your reasoned diatribe on the situation in Iraq. Pity you felt unable to append your name to it. I must assume that you are a seasoned veteran of a number of international conflicts and have suffered under a few totalitarian regimes to be able to voice your support for what has happened there in such lucid and considered terms. I also assume you have visited Iraq personally and are still in contact with Iraqis who have given you the advantage of up to the minute intelligence on what is happening there and the general consensus of opinion of the citizens? Unfortunately from the hundreds of letters I have received from Americans about my comments on the website, you are only the third to give me the benefit of your opposition to my views.
It is true that I have had some experience living under an oppressive regime. Some might go so far as to say the most oppressive regime of certainly the 20th Century, maybe of the last three centuries. So you see I do have a small inclination of what war is all about. My first husband was a Colonel in the US Marine and served three tours in Vietnam. My present husband was an RAF pilot in Korea.
What I am opposed to is being dragged into a war against a state that is not directly threatening mine on a trumped up charge thought up by an unelected President and supported by our poodle-like Prime Minister, whom I helped to elect, but who acted against the wishes and interests of my chosen country. This of course makes me wildly anti-American. I should not be allowed to think my own thoughts. But from the Constitution I thought that was what being American was all about. Electing a constitutional President by the majority of the people, for the people, and saying what you think without fear. Some of your leading politicians seem to think so. Even those who promised that Iraq was overflowing with WMD's are now cooling their verbosity.
I'm sorry if the opinions of a weak kneed European upset you. But there are a few things I must reiterate. In two World Wars America stood on the sidelines while Europe was torn apart by strife and only decided to take part when the outcome was predictable and financially rewarding. Then there was the Suez affair when the national and economical interests of England and France were threatened and we decided to do something about it. America's reaction was to side with our enemies because of commercial interest. The Falklands is another instance when America decided not to either stay out of it or join us. Instead they engaged in 'shuttle diplomacy' when the act of standing behind us could have obviated the need for war. Thank God for weak kneed Maggie Thatcher. But of course there was no angle for the US to exploit in this conflict. There is also the matter of the IRA. For 30 years The IRA ravished the cities of England, financed principally by the USA. American Presidents even visited Ireland while bombs were being exploded in London. My daughter and I were actually shopping in Harrods when that was bombed - an experience that I will never forget. In fact America never really acknowledged International Terrorism until 9/11. Their reaction to that showed how little they knew about what was going on in the real world.
Although I am not at all proud of the role the UK took in the Iraq affair, I find one of your comments interesting and would be happy to have enlightenment. "It will be years before we know the full extent of their weapons program, yet Europe cries for instant answers even though as usual they ducked out of the fight." Ducked out of the fight? I find that statement bewildering. Especially as the American Military managed to kill and wound so many Brit soldiers with 'friendly fire'. Is this when they were ducking out of the fight? Or maybe they had deserted to the Iraq Army and were in the process of preparing the weapons of mass destruction? Or being mean to an American non-combatant Major.
I also particularly liked the bit about us being in bed with Saddam. The amount of military supplies we exported to Iraq fades into insignificance when compared with the targeted sale of armaments the USA sent to Iraq and Iran prior to the first Gulf War. It would be interesting to find out how many American and British troops were killed by artillery supplied by the USA to Saddam.
Just one last comment, if I may. My best friend Nazrine is the daughter of the ex- mayor of Baghdad who left Iraq in 1986. On a number of occasions I have gone back to Iraq with her to visit members of her family still living there. I found the Iraqis extremely hospitable and welcoming. In spite of the fact that they have been living under a virtual blockade for over a decade. In fact most of them felt that the 'sanctions' were doing more damage than 'Saddam's EVIL regime'.
She is still in close touch with her relatives and if you think the 'Coalition' is winning hearts and minds I think you are soon to be sadly disillusioned. As some sage recently wrote. 'If you have a wasp's nest in your roof don't beat it with a stick.' Instead of dropping billions of dollars worth of bombs on innocent Iraqis and devastating the oldest civilisation on the planet, we would have done more good just dropping the dollars. Sorry I let a 'we' slip out there. You have obviously cut us weak kneed Brits out of the loop.
And another thing. What exactly did you do in Columbia when the army were killing the people en masse? And Argentina when Videla was rounding up students and throwing them into the Tigris? I lived in Buenos Aires at the time and I can't remember seeing American troops in the city. That was probably because they were meddling in another backward country a few thousand miles away and couldn't be bothered to take on a modern army on their own door step.
All of which makes me anti-American! Which I am not. I lived in America for many years and my daughter is a citizen. I have many close friends in America and love the warmth and generosity I receive whenever I visit. My first choice of residence is England because the English are not jingoistic and do not feel the necessity to wrap themselves in a flag. They know who they are. Even the police don't find it necessary to carry guns. If, for any reason, I had to leave here, my second choice would be America, But I guess I have burned my bridges now.
I'm sorry you don't like my website. An American magazine. Film Fax, voted it the third best on the internet. I guess they are wrong as well.
Oh yes! I watch BBC and CNN before I form my opinions.
*****
If anyone wants an argument I'll be at the NEC Birmingham 26 - 27th July and then at SECC Glasgow 23 - 24th August.