KURTENBACH: The Fuss about Iran

[Oscar]

KURTENBACH: The Fuss about Iran

February 9, 2012

To the Editor,

This letter is about the possibility of war against Iran. If that did happen, would Canada be involved? Canadians should be concerned.

In 2010, global military spending amounted to $1.630 billion. The US topped the list at $698 billion. China took second place at $119 billion. Of the top ten arms spenders, India and Italy came in last at $41.3 billion and $37.0 billion respectively.

To comprehend how wars are facilitated, we need to understand how arms traders and the manufacturers of the weapons of war operate.

For example, the British arms company BAE Systems obtained the largest contract that South Africa ever signed. It involved the sale of 24 jets. Only 11 of those have ever been operational! This deal had been contracted with the help of $180 million in bribes. The British Serious Fraud Office [SFO] prosecuted. After the smoke and mirrors trial was over, BAE paid a miniscule fine of $500,000.

A few years prior to the above shenanigans, British police alleged that BAE Systems paid $9 billion in bribes on the Al Yamamah deal with the state of Saudi Arabia. This was, or could have been, the largest arms deal in the world. However, British Prime Minister Tony Blair pressured the SF0 to halt its investigation. No one was ever charged!

Presently. America's Lockheed Martin is producing thousands of F-35 fighter jets. Apparently Saudi Arabia has already purchased 65 of these death-dealing machines. No one seems to really know what the present cost of one F-35 could be. It has been suggested that it could be around $200 million each. One really has to wonder how much pressure did
international arms dealers and Lockheed Martin have placed on Canada's government to negotiate for the price of these jets?

The present government of Israel, under the leadership of its right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is pounding the drums of war in order to stop Iran from producing a nuclear bomb. Israel appears to have the total support of the Harper government. In his last State of the Union address regarding actions against Iran, President Obama stated that "All
options are on the table." In a recent visit to the USA, speaking to the American Congress, Netanyahu received a standing ovation 27 times! It is ludicrous to even imagine that Iran would be stupid enough to try to destroy Israel, which is the world's tenth largest military power. Although Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons, it is generally assumed that they are in possession of 75 to possibly 400.

We Canadians may not agree with all aspects of Iran's government, or the culture and religions of its people, but we should remember that Iran is a country with a civilized history of 7000 years. Throughout centuries, Iran has struggled with internal problems but even more so with aggression by foreign powers. However, in the last one hundred years or
so, Iran has not invaded any other country.

The issues contributing to this explosive situation are fairly straight forward.

Israel wishes to keep extending its settlement programs and control into Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank. Members of Netanyahu family have stated that their plan was to make life so hard for the Arabs in the area that they would have to leave those that Israel covets. At the same time, Israel and its allies often quote Palestinians and their allies of threatening to drive the people of Israel into the sea. The American administration sees Israel as a strong military power in the Middle East to enhance US global military power, thereby ensuring American access to great reserves of oil in the Middle East.

Iran is being made the victim for an excuse to start another war. Canada has the right and the responsibility to act diplomatically in resolving these explosive issues as a peacemaker. We do not have a moral right to add to the horrors of war, as we did by dropping bombs on cities in Libya.

Leo Kurtenbach,
Saskatoon,
Phone: 652-5129