By Fatemeh Keshavarz
Scott
Ritter, the Chief UN inspector in Iraq for eight years, the man who insisted
Iraq had no WMDs, is on the road again. He spoke in St. Louis, Missouri, in
early April. His main message "Iran is not a threat to anyone. Speak up against
a disastrous war with Iran!" Why is it so crucial to listen to Mr. Ritter and
not take lightly the statement of the presidential hopefuls, Clinton and McCain,
who contemplate this war with ease?
Living in peace prevents one
from seeing the depth of the disaster that is war. Statistics, though
significant for understanding catastrophes, can themselves become masking
devices that convert human tragedy into innocuous numbers: 4,000 Americans dead,
30,000 wounded, many more affected in ways that only they and their families
know. On the Iraqi side the death and displacement figures are in the millions.
What do these numbers really mean?
Target
Iran: The Truth About the
White House's Plans for Regime Change
by Scott Ritter
(buy from
amazon)
Last week, my feminist
economist friend R. discovered this first hand when she visited a refugee camp
housing 35, 000 displaced Iraqis in Said Zeinab, one of the poorest suburbs of
southern Damascus in Syria. This is only one group. The statistics say the total
number of refugees in Syria is 1/5 million. Many think that estimate to be
modest. In her e-mail to me, R. does not quote statistics. The reality she is
looking at is too enormous to fit into numbers "it is absolutely shocking" she
says "it is unbelievable. Five years after the war begun, the Iraqis are still
fleeing. The Syrians and the UN are both overwhelmed."
Yet, these refugees are the
lucky ones. Unlike those who hit Jordan's closed boarders, these people were let
into Syria. Now they face the problems that all refugees do: finding work to
survive while maintaining their dignity, and providing their families with food
security, medical care, and education. Even as they chase after hard manual
labor with next-to-nothing wages, they must protect their youngsters against
more formidable enemies: drug dealing and prostitution. They are not always
successful.
R. is in pain to emphasize the
decency of these people. They work hard to maintain their dignity, she explains.
I don't need any convincing. Refugees are often decent people who face
atrocities forcing them to flee. The question is how to stop the process that
creates refugees: war and violence.
Fatemeh Keshavarz is the author of Jasmine
and Stars: Reading More than "Lolita"
in Tehran (order from
amazon) |
That is why Scott Ritter who
worked hard to prevent the Iraq war is on the road again. Mr. Ritter is a former
marine who has sworn to defend America with his life. He has the expertise of a
top intelligence officer and extensive experience in the Middle East. Could
anyone explain to the millions of displaced Iraqis why did we not listen to an
expert like him and stop the unjustified war that destroyed the fabric of their
society?
Mr. Ritter has a new book,
"Target Iran: The Truth about the White House's Plans for Regime Change" (Nation
Books). In the concluding section of this book, which the Journal of
International Affairs calls a "tremendous success," he observes "There will
be a war between the United States and Iran, unless some dramatic intervention
occurs that changes the political dynamic in Washington."
"Changing the political dynamic
in Washington" seems like a colossal task. But the sense of helplessness is an
illusion. As members of a democratic society, we have the ability to listen and
the power to speak. There are many reasons why it is important to listen to
Scott Ritter this time and speak against a new war. Chief among them: the world
does not need any more graveyards or refugee camps.
There is a human tragedy
that can still be prevented: a war on Iran.
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