Not a clash of civilizations, but a will to dominate on the part of the Americans
The interview below is given for documentary purposes we do not endorse all of its contents.
Apic: On the eve of this war announced by President Bush, can we speak of "a clash of civilizations" which could oppose the East and the West, the Muslim world and the Christian world, as some are predicting?
Abdul Amir Al-Anbari: It is very difficult to speak of a conflict between civilizations, when we see that one of the personalities most committed against the war is Pope John Paul II. The best embodiment of an authentic civilization is the Holy See, which is strongly committed against the war and favors peace and support of the Iraqi people. This commitment is shown by all, from the Pope right down to the smallest church in Baghdad.
Instead of speaking of a conflict of civilization, it would be better to underline the will to dominate and the colonizing logic of some American circles desirous of laying hands on the Middle Eastern oil and protecting Israeli expansion. It is in no way a conflict of a religious character. We clearly see that the present position of the Holy Father is not only to protect the Catholic Church, but the whole of mankind, and this is giving him an influence throughout the world, within the Muslim world, among the Buddhists, and even among the Jews who love peace.
Apic: Can we imagine that with the fall of the regime set up by the "Baas" party which protects minorities the Christians may be endangered by the possible rise of the fundamentalists?
Abdul Amir Al-Anbari: I do not think so, because, fortunately, in Iraq we live in a society which is not based on religion and where people live in true conviviality. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the State. Very often people do not really know the religious belief of their neighbors or friends: they may be Christians, Armenians, Sunnites, Chiites, Mazdeans, Yesidis
without it being known. There are so many religious denominations, particularly in the north, that the existence of some of them remains unknown by the public at large. In the 50s, when I was serving my term in the army in that area, I discovered in some villages people who worshipped the sun! Nobody had ever talked about them.
In the case of an American invasion, I think that all the Iraqis will fight together. Everybody unites when there is an aggression from the outside. It will not be for them first of all a question of supporting the government of Saddam Hussein or the Baas party, but of fighting for their country, their home, their land, their family. It may be a bloody war, for the Americans as well as for the Iraqis. We have the experience of the British occupation in the 1920s after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The British paid a heavy price for having desired to take over the country: over 2000 soldiers and officers of His Majesty died in the conflicts, as well as many Iraqis.
Apic:Do you think that Iraq is sufficiently supported by the Arab countries?
Abdul Amir Al-Anbari: The support is too weak and not very substantial, because most of the Arab regimes are either weak or sold out to the American interests and answer to all they ask by saying simply: "Yes, Sir!" The feeling of the Arab people in the streets is very different, they are opposed to an aggression against Iraq thousands have offered themselves as "human shields" to protect the country but in most of those countries, public opinion is muzzled.
What is happening to us is not only the Iraqis business, but concerns all of mankind because the US will not stop after such a good start. If they can intervene with impunity, violating international law and getting around the Security Council of the United Nations, which alone is fit in this case to decide upon waging a war or not, they will turn their attention to other nations: Venezuela, Mexico, Syria, Iran
Having declared the Security Council to be irrelevant and having considered international law "obsolete", the one and only world superpower will dictate its decisions according to its good pleasure. The Americans will take action against other states, that is for sure. Their motives are about control of the oil resources Iraqs reserves are second only to those of Saudi Arabia and of the protection of Israel.
Apic: The US and their allies state that Iraq still detains weapons of mass destruction.
Abdul Amir Al-Anbari: These are mere pretexts to induce people into error. The weapons of mass destruction have been put out of use by the UN disarmament inspectors. They have been looking for others for years, but they have never found them. Biological weapons cannot keep for many years
Iraq has not been able to import the materials and products necessary for the making of such weapons for more than ten years.
Basically, the reasons for the war are not a matter of the defense of the rights of man, the institution of democracy or the respect of international law, for there are so many other countries where one could intervene for these reasons, but it is simply not done! In fact, it is a matter of laying hands on the oil of the Gulf, to the benefit of the United States and controlling the supply of European countries.
Apic: What consequences can be foreseen in the event of an American attack? By reason of the embargo, the signs of a state of general dilapidation on the medical, social, familial, psychic level are already found in abundance
Abdul Amir Al-Anbari: In my view, what is going to happen could well be some sort of genocide, for our country has already been living for more than ten years under the UN embargo, which means that the population is lacking everything: food, medicines, equipment. What is found on the market is very expensive, so only a minority of more or less rich people can afford it.
While before the Gulf War our medicine was, in many areas, the most advanced of all the Arab countries, our hospitals are now lacking everything. Baghdad was a very westernized city, rich in schools and universities. Women never hide their face under a veil and are active in the social life. But things are changing under the pressure we are having to bear; new mosques are flourishing and the tchador is starting to appear in the south
Apic: The majority, almost two thirds of the population, which receives food aid through the UN "Oil for Food" program, is in danger of suffering from the war.
Abdul Amir Al-Anbari: The "Oil for Food" program was interrupted on Monday by the Americans. We do not know what is going to happen to people tomorrow. The 40% of the population who could manage to get by are from now on going to have very serious problems too. In the event of an American aggression, innocent people will be the first to suffer the consequences of a destructive war, the effects of which are always felt by the weakest and the most vulnerable.
