I can’t quite believe what I heard last night from Retired Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd – once Chief of the Air Force.
This was reported in the Guardian Thursday 16 September 2004 – The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time last night that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. Iraq war was illegal and breached UN charter, says Annan.
This is what Shepherd said on the 7.30 Report talking to Chris Uhlmann – These are extracts:
‘we as Australia have to ask the question of ourselves: do we want to continue to stand up for Western values? Do we want to do good things for the people of Iraq and possibly northern Syria, do we want to help them? And do we want to also stay in lockstep with our American friends and allies? (my emphasis) Air Marshall don’t you remember ‘we’ bombed Iraq back into the stone age – destroyed their infrastructure, killed civilians and shattered the dreams of the then younger generation.
And on sending planes:
‘Once again, I think as Australia, we have to ask the question of ourselves: do we want to stand up for those values that we believe in? Do we want to help our American friends and allies, who unfortunately still have to take the leadership role in the world? And at a practical level, would it be good experience for our young Air Force men and women? I’m sure they do a wonderful job. (my emphasis) So Iraq (version 3.0) is going to be good PRACTICE ? What! Lets get our fine young men and women to practice their shooting skills on real people.
And
‘we should remember, we’ve spent a fair bit of our national treasure in Iraq over the years. We don’t want to waste that investment.
The cost of the Iraq war to Australian taxpayers is estimated to have exceeded A$5 billion.
I refer you to US General (retired) Wesley Clarke who outlines the advanced planning for the destruction of the Middle East – planned by the Neocons in the Pentagon.
Who is Clarke? Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr. (born December 23, 1944) is a retired General of the United States Army. He spent 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Clark commanded Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War during his term as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000. He joined the 2004 race for the Democratic Party presidential nominee.
How can we make clear visionary decisions – if we don’t understand the mistakes of the past?