Letter
to the editor
Spain wrong for siding with U.S.
How
can anyone praise the government of Spain
for siding with the United States against
the will of its own people? In a democracy
the function (and the responsibility) of
the government is to carry out, represent
and stand for the will of its people.
In the case of the proposed war on Iraq,
the government of Spain does not represent
the will of its people, and therefore looses
its credibility as a democratic government.
Just like Oliver North, Jose Maria Aznar
should not assume that “he knows better
what is good for his people.” This is what
dictators like Franco, Stalin and Pinochet
did. In a real democracy the government
serves the will of its citizens.
The reasons Aznar has given to the Los Angeles
Times are terrible excuses for supporting
a war. Pursuing strong ties with the Unites
States does not mean saying ‘yes’ to whatever
U.S. policy is, especially when talking
about initiating a war that could kill and
maim hundreds of thousands of people. Saying
yes to importing cotton from the United
States is not the same as saying yes to
a war.
A war is the most horrific human endeavor.
It involves trying to solve problems by
killing our human brothers and sisters.
To say yes to killing, one must have a better
reason than pleasing the country, which
is waging the killing. It is like supporting
the bully in high school when he beats weak
children because it is good to be on the
bully’s side. If Aznar has better reasons
(moral reasons) for supporting war, he ‘forgot’
to mention them to the L.A. Times.
During WWII, Austria followed the same logic
Aznar is following now, and cooperated with
Hitler against the will of the Austrian
people. Like Aznar, the government said,
“we want a strong relationship with Germany.”
The Ausrian government did not weigh the
moral aspect of the war, or the will of
the Austrian people. They wanted strong
ties with the strongest force in Europe
at the time, and for the first four years
of the war (1939-1943) they got it. However,
during the same period, the Germans
slaughtered four million Jews, 10 million
Russians and one million Gypsies.
No, my human brother Oscar, you do not support
a war because you want good relations with
a super power (now, the only super power).
You go to war only when it is the will of
your people, or when you must defend yourself.
The citizens of Spain do not see Iraq attacking
them any time soon.
No, my friend, Aznar, a peace-seeking leader
from Europe should not support a war in
which so many humans may be killed only
for political and economical gains. Aznar
must look for a higher moral ground. (This
is why his citizens do not support the war;
Aznar has not establish such ground.)
Finally, you used the word solidarity in
the title of your article. Solidarity is
when two parties have the same interest,
the same cause. Aznar and the Spanish people
have no interests in Iraq. Aznar has interests
only in the political and economical gains
the U.S. administration can give him as
a reward for supporting the war. This is
not solidarity; this is the lowest form
of receiving bribe. This is what the Chicago
White Sox did in 1919 when they threw the
World series. The players did not show solidarity
with the gamblers who gave them money. They
took the money and threw the World Series
against the will of hundreds of thousands
of their fans who trusted them.
The bottom line is that Aznar is a puppet.
If the United States would have been against
the war, so would have Aznar. In regards
to the war on Iraq, ‘Spain shows no spine.’
—
Yehuda Maayan
Cal State Long Beach student
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