Tlahui-Politic. No. 7, I/1999
Confession of the bombs
Información enviada al Director de Tlahui. Puerto Rico 27 Apr 1999.
CONFESSION OF THE BOMBS.
Yesterday's bad boys become today's models of propriety; Lockheed
Corporation and other industries of death grease the legislators' palms with legal gifts.
By Eduardo Galeano.
The United States and its NATO allies are discharging a torrent of
missiles on Yugoslavia, or on what is left of what was once
Yugoslavia. According to the official reports, those attacking are
moved by the rights of the Kosovo Albanians, victims of a "war of
ethnic cleansing" unleashed by Milosevic's Serbian forces.
According to President Clinton, the western democracies cannot
stand by and allow this "inadmissible human catastrophe."
The worst "war of ethnic cleansing" and the most "inadmissible
human catastrophe" in the history of the Americas in the twentieth
century took place not that long ago in Guatemala, above all in the
decade of the eighties. Guatemalan indigenous peoples were the
principal victims of this massacre, which produced one hundred
times more dead than in Kosovo, and twice the number of displaced persons. In his recent tour of Central America, President Clinton
asked to be forgiven for the support his country gave to those
military men, exterminators of Indians, who were trained, armed,
and advised by the United States. Why doesn't Clinton demand that
Milosevic apply this successful doctrine of washing of hands? The
bombing raids might be stopped in return for a formal promise, that
in the year 2012 or 2013, for example, Yugoslavia's president could
ask the cadavers of Kosovo to forgive him and all would be well, end of story, sin absolved, what's done is done. And the killing could continue unabated.
The U.S. president was bogged down in his sex scandal, and Robert
de Niro and Dustin Hoffman invented a war in order to distract the
attention of the respectable public. In the film, called "Wag the
Dog," this invented war was launched on behalf of the Albanians.
Now, once again in an effort to save Albanians, the film continues
in another medium. Its Hollywoodesque nature remains intact however: the planes take off, they seem to have been designed on
some movie set, and night after night explosions like fireworks light
up Yugoslavia's sky. As was true during the bombing raids against
Iraq, this spectacle does not give us images of the enemy's dead,
and there are no dead on our side. As long as the bombs fall from
above, this real war will continue pretending to be virtual reality. If
ground troops are used, and the attacking countries begin to receive
their heroes back in coffins, it will be another story.
Meanwhile, NATO continues celebrating, with fanfare, its half
century of life. And, as the old saying goes, they're throwing the
house out the window. This is the most expensive birthday party in
history: without counting the value of lives and property destroyed
in Yugoslavia, because the long and short of it is that there is no
enemy who doesn't deserve what's coming to him, and every night
of bombing raids costs $330 million dollars. According to the
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (March 30, 1999. ), on the first
night of this war alone the U.S. spent as much money as Clinton
promised to the countries of Central America after they were
devastated by Hurricane "Mitch." And that's not all. There were those who were asking what NATO's role might be, since the
Communist threat to Eastern Europe no longer exists. The
company's general manager, Javier Solana, wasted no time in
responding to such insidious doubts. Twenty years ago, Solana
shouted "No!" to NATO. Ten years ago and speaking on behalf of
the Spanish government, he uttered a much-quoted phrase. The
U.S. had just unleashed its war against Iraq, and Solana said: "They
asked our opinión, but after the fact." Today he explains that
NATO is "defending peace," at the tune of a million dollars per
missile.
The great powers are the ones who practice crime and recommend
it. No one breaks the law so often. These bombing raids poke fun at
international law, and also at NATO's charter. Against a bloody
dictator like Milosevic, we are told, anything goes, including the
unthinkable. Against Milosevic? On our television screens, at least, the Hitler of the Balkans looks healthy and fit. The people are the
ones who suffer. The wars against Iraq, as well--violations of every
law ever passed--have been justified in the context of the urgency
of overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Years pass, bombing raids succeed bombing raids, and the so-called Hitler of the Middle East
continues alive and well. Yet how many Iraquis have died?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics' official report (January,
1992), 145,000 Iraquis and 124 U.S. citizens were killed in the war
of 1991.
And how many continue to suffer as a consequence of that
blockade theoretically destined to overthrow the dictator? How
many suffer the hunger imposed by international economic
sanctions? According to the latest Red Cross report, in this decade
alone the number of Iraqui babies born with below-normal weight,
has multiplied by six.
And if it really were true that NATO's heart has been broken by
"ethnic cleansing"? Is saving the threatened minorities worth
destroying everyone? It would be moving, indeed, if NATO was
responding to injustice. But in that case, why have they not bombed
Turkey? Hasn't Turkey exercised a systematic purge of the Kurdish
people? Why does Yugoslavia deserve punishment and Turkey
applause? Perhaps because Turkey is one of our own, a member of
NATO. But more likely because Turkey is one of the best
customers of the West's war industry.
This war, like all wars, serves as a giant display case for the
exhibition and sale of arms. The prize offering continues to be the
F-117, that began its devastating career killing Panamanians at the
end of 1989. And anyone can take a tumble; not every marketing
campaign is successful. One supposedly invisible F-117 suddenly
became visible and was shot down. The accident cost U.S.
taxpayers $45 million dollars, not counting the weapons on board.
This war, like all wars, justifies military spending. The great
Western powers, armed to the teeth, need clients. And they also
need enemies. Not very long ago, at the beginning of this year,
when the second war against Iraq was coming to an end, the
Pentagon's generals warned: "Our stockpile of missiles is getting
depleted." Immediately, President Clinton announced a $12 billion
dollar increase in the already immense military budget. This is 15%
of the federal budget called, who knows why, Defense Budget. And
Clinton presides over a country with a million and a half soldiers,
willing to die who knows why.
NATO was born as The United States' right arm in Europe.
Although Russia no longer supports anyone, NATO continues to
grow, and with it grows Washington's hegemony and the market of
the U.S. arms industry. For Poland, Hungary, and the Czech
Republic to pass their good conduct test, they had to become members of NATO and buy the latest weaponry from the United
States. Yesterday's bad boys become today's models of propriety by
renovating their arsenals and achieving the level of
"interoperationality" NATO demands. So that the U.S. Congress approves these new memberships, Lockheed Corporation and other
industries of death grease the legislators' palms with legal gifts.
Recently a scandal broke out in Great Britain. It was revealed that
the most prestigious universities, the purest charitable institutions
and the largest hospitals had invested their employees' pension
funds in the weapons industry. Those responsible for education,
charity, and public health explained that they were putting their
money in the industries that produce the highest earnings, and these
are precisely those that make arms. A spokesperson for Glasgow
University said it all:
"We don't make a moral distinction. We want our investments to
make money, not be ethical." If the bombs falling on Yugoslavia
could speak as well as they can explode and kill, would they speak
the truth?
"My dear bombs, are you the mortal instruments of Good?"
"A little more respect, my friend. We are good business!"
Eduardo Galeano is the author of The Open Veins of Latin
América.
From: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners prpowpp@aol.com
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