from http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/martinshawwrites.htm We will bring them to justice, or we will bring justice to them', promised President George W. Bush in his address to Congress on 21 September. And to other states, at least - but by implication also to any internal critics - he directed the stern message: 'You are either with us or… Continue reading The third way 22 September 2001
The West has made itself responsible for the starving Afghan children 23 September 2001
from http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/martinshawwrites.htm No American soldier is yet (openly) on Afghan soil, or even an American plane overhead. But already our TV screens are beginning to be filled with piteous pictures of the starving Afghan children. This starvation is patently not, at the present time, the fault of the United States or the West except in… Continue reading The West has made itself responsible for the starving Afghan children 23 September 2001
Decadence and airpower, 31 October 2001
from http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/martinshawwrites.htm 'They have one hope: that we are decadent, that we lack the moral fibre or will or courage to take them on.' Tony Blair 30 October 2001 No one doubts the will of Mr Blair, or President Bush, to defeat al-Qaida and the Taliban, although many question if they really have a workable… Continue reading Decadence and airpower, 31 October 2001
The fall of Kabul: challenges of liberation, 13 November 2001
from http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/martinshawwrites.htm With the Taliban's abandonment of Kabul, the West is beginning to proclaim the liberation of Afghanistan. The cassette players come out and the beards off, a payoff from the B52s. As Polly Toynbee put it in response to this column's criticisms: bombing is unheroic but effective. For the third time in a decade,… Continue reading The fall of Kabul: challenges of liberation, 13 November 2001
The centre must hold, 11 December 2001
from http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/martinshawwrites.htm It is now three months since the events that 'changed the world'. In the semi-conclusion of the war in Afghanistan, the Bush administration has overthrown the Taliban, the protectors of those responsible for 9/11, although it has not ended al-Qaeda. The price has been considerable loss of life among civilians (Jonathan Steele, The… Continue reading The centre must hold, 11 December 2001
When is a massacre not a massacre? (Jenin) 21 April 2002
The simple answer to this question would seem to be, when it is committed by the Israeli 'defence' forces. 'Brutal yes. Massacre no', writes Peter Beaumont in The Observer, while a correspondent takes me to task along similar lines: 'your reference on theglobalsite to the Jenin "massacre" is highly misleading since it gives the impression… Continue reading When is a massacre not a massacre? (Jenin) 21 April 2002
India-Pakistan: the new empires square off, 29 May 2002
from http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/martinshawwrites.htm The depth of the historic turning-point of 2001-2 is fearfully underlined by the latest news from the sub-continent. The latest link in the chain of events that began with 9/11, continued with the Afghanistan war and saw an ever-more barbarous Palestine-Israel war threatens to dwarf them all. All-out war threatens between two of… Continue reading India-Pakistan: the new empires square off, 29 May 2002
Reply to Eric Herring’s defence of John Pilger on Iraq, 2001
Martin Shaw Fallout from an earlier war A belated reply to Eric Herring's defence of John Pilger on Iraq As the West opens its third war of the global era in Afghanistan, the unfinished business of the first war, in the Gulf in 1991, continues. In Iraq, millions suffer the effects of the stalemate between… Continue reading Reply to Eric Herring’s defence of John Pilger on Iraq, 2001
Iraq: a bombing campaign too far, February 2002
http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/202shaw.htm The US had a right to wage war against the perpetrators of the terrorist massacre in New York and Washington and their allies, but it was not right to do so. Although the war in Afghanistan has destroyed the Taliban and weakened al-Qaida, it has brought death to many innocents. On conservative estimates, at… Continue reading Iraq: a bombing campaign too far, February 2002
Regime change without war: Iraq, 16 February 2003
From http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/ The majority in the Security Council believe that inspections are working, and like the millions on the streets see no need for war. However the case against the Iraqi regime has as much to do with human rights as weapons. Many Iraqis believe that nothing will change without outside intervention. In the present stalemate, a way… Continue reading Regime change without war: Iraq, 16 February 2003
Martin Shaw 