A NZ Muslim view on re-invading Iraq

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John Key and the National Party are once again behaving like sheep in one of the most complex and dangerous conflicts of this time. It seems as if most people in New Zealand except the National party have negative feelings towards sending troops to Iraq, which is probably why there has been little democracy in this decision-making process.

Who is really surprised though? Since the National party came into Parliament they have done little else than make fools out of New Zealanders, and the fact that they got in for a third-term shows that they pretty much succeeded.

However, the public opinion about whether to involve ourselves in this way in Iraq seems to be unanimous. Nobody, except President Obama and his blind followers want another war on our hands. Key knows this, which is why he is not asking for a vote on it – he knows we will say no and I really don’t think he is willing to face that reality.

Nobody wants a repeat of last time and the fact that world leaders don’t see that the outcome will be disastrous scares me. ISIS may or may not be affected when troops are deployed, but civilians will definitely be stuck in the crossfire. With ISIS on one side and Western troops on the other, where exactly are they supposed to go?

As Green MP Russell Norman said in parliament this week, there are other options if only they are willing to see it. Humanitarian aid and diplomatic solutions such as putting pressure on Saudi Arabia, the biggest supplier to ISIS are just a couple of examples.

From a New Zealand point of view however, we have issues closer to home that this government has been completely silent about. Gross human rights violations are happening in West Papua. Hundreds of refugees are living on rickety boats off the coast of Australia or in detention centres in Papua New Guinea because Australia apparently has no space (seriously though, that place is massive). When did anybody hear Key or anyone in the National party speak out about it and ‘refuse to do nothing’? They haven’t because nothing is exactly what they’re doing. Then obviously there are our own domestic issues.

Of course I’m not saying that one human rights violation is more important to tackle than the other. But I do think it’s interesting that the only case of it that our Prime Minister is willing to do anything about, however disastrous it may be, is the one that is the hot topic at the White House right now.
John Key and the National Party are once again behaving like sheep in one of the most complex and dangerous conflicts of this time. It seems as if most people in New Zealand except the National party have negative feelings towards sending troops to Iraq, which is probably why there has been little democracy in this decision-making process.

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Who is really surprised though? Since the National party came into Parliament they have done little else than make fools out of New Zealanders, and the fact that they got in for a third-term shows that they pretty much succeeded.

However, the public opinion about whether to involve ourselves in this way in Iraq seems to be unanimous. Nobody, except President Obama and his blind followers want another war on our hands. Key knows this, which is why he is not asking for a vote on it – he knows we will say no and I really don’t think he is willing to face that reality.

Nobody wants a repeat of last time and the fact that world leaders don’t see that the outcome will be disastrous scares me. ISIS may or may not be affected when troops are deployed, but civilians will definitely be stuck in the crossfire. With ISIS on one side and Western troops on the other, where exactly are they supposed to go?

As Green MP Russell Norman said in parliament this week, there are other options if only they are willing to see it. Humanitarian aid and diplomatic solutions such as putting pressure on Saudi Arabia, the biggest supplier to ISIS are just a couple of examples.

From a New Zealand point of view however, we have issues closer to home that this government has been completely silent about. Gross human rights violations are happening in West Papua. Hundreds of refugees are living on rickety boats off the coast of Australia or in detention centres in Papua New Guinea because Australia apparently has no space (seriously though, that place is massive). When did anybody hear Key or anyone in the National party speak out about it and ‘refuse to do nothing’? They haven’t because nothing is exactly what they’re doing. Then obviously there are our own domestic issues.

Of course I’m not saying that one human rights violation is more important to tackle than the other. But I do think it’s interesting that the only case of it that our Prime Minister is willing to do anything about, however disastrous it may be, is the one that is the hot topic at the White House right now.

10 COMMENTS

  1. It seems to me that there may be a number of regimes, whilst condemning ISIS on the outside are inwardly using them for as long as they can to their own advantages.
    It’s taken me a while to think this through a bit and I now wonder what part the Kurds could play in all of this. They seems to me to be a common denominator, being hated from a number of quarters. Why is it that these people, along with Palestinians seem to have no land to call their own, is it because where they would find themselves takes chunks out of several countries, Syria, Iraq, Turkey to name a few? It almost seems to me that the likes of Syria, Iraq, Turkey etc are letting ISIS do their dirty work where the Kurds are concerned.
    I reckon it might be the Kurds that need support and that they could be pivotal in putting ISIS down.
    Trouble is, after that, you still have tribal factions all over the shop there who just seem to be hanging out to get to killing each other. Maybe the west should just leave them to it.
    Brutality seems to be a way in many countries around the world, an open refugee door in countries like ours is not the answer, though, it needs sorting at source.
    One of things that need to go is religious fanaticism (preferably religion altogether) so that women can gain their rightful place in these places, have their influence on what goes on (notice that all of these countries where violence is the norm are very patriarchal) and take control of their own fertility so that population pressure on resources can be reduced.
    I have thought about this for a while and still have no idea what is the answer other than these people drag themselves into the 21st century and forget about knocking the world back into the dark ages or this stupid end of days nonsense that some seem to have latched onto.
    I am damned if I know, it has a Pandora’s box feel to it all.

  2. Well for one I would say ISIS is a rather big humanitarian crisis if we are to compare one crisis to another. Also in regards to civilian causalities, these are going to occur no matter what, the war is already being fought and thousands are already being killed. And if ISIS gains more territory even more will suffer at their hands.

    The main reason I think Western troops should remain in support/training roles rather than used as a ground force is too prevent ISIS using it as propaganda and recruitment material. Currently there are no immediate plans to use Western ground troops.

  3. Let me get this straight. 1. Saudi Arabia is a major, possibly the biggest, financier of ISIS. 2. the United States is one of ISIS’s biggest enemies. We are (presumably) enemies of ISIS but apparently friends with Saudi Arabia. 3. We are friends of the United States. Isn’t this all just a tad contradictory? That is why we shouldn’t get involved in this war: because the west hasn’t yet figured out who are the real enemies here. The people who we think are our friends may well turn out to be our enemies and National is blind to the danger.

  4. I really can’t understand why we are not deploying our troops to protect the organizations who can help the thousands of refugees caused by the on going wars in and around Iraq and to undertake rebuilding work.

    In that way we can support all people of the area whether they be Kurd, Shia, Sunni, Syrian, Yazidi, Christian or who ever. In every one of these groups innocent people are suffering terribly.

    And as far as Daesh let’s use our position on the Security Council to force their funders to stop funding them. Saudi Arabia and Turkey seem to be heavily implicated here.

  5. We can’t ‘invade’ a country who has asked for our help. It’s like saying Britain ‘invaded’ France in WW2. Let’s go and at least try to quell the evil of these Islamic, yes Islamic bastards.

  6. “However, the public opinion about whether to involve ourselves in this way in Iraq seems to be unanimous ”

    How can you be oblivious to the fact that public polls on the matter have revealed 48 percent in support and only 42 percent opposed.

  7. Considering ISIS has managed to create safe streets at night, immunisation for children, hospitals, food, infrastructure, running water and electricity in their ‘occupied’ towns.
    Compared to over a decade of anglo-alliance occupation that has failed in all the above counts of stability and civilisation then who are the bastards here?
    Sure, some ugly cleansing, but we and others villify and kill for our own beliefs: Childhood deaths by poverty because of Rogernomics, suicides in jails, the criminalisation of dissent, the bullying of insurance companies against the vulnerable in chch…
    We’re as fundamentalist as ISIS, EXCEPT, they get the power and water running and the yanks can’t or won’t. I say leave them to their sultanate and us to our democracy/ police/ nanny state, and can only concur with the above commentator on the rights of woman. Free them, give them economic sovereignty, and watch the world fall into place, who knows, we might try it here.

    • How wonderful to read such a potent articulation of our present world, thank you Warlock of Firetop Mountain 🙂

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