Playing blame game on Iran-Iraq war

In reference to a letter from Daniel Teegan (Jul 25), firstly his “He must be aware that Iran has not gone to war against another nation” remark: It would be interesting to hear his definition of the Iran-Iraq war, with widespread use of chemical weapons and estimates of up to 1.5m dead.

It was initiated by Iraq, the same Iraq that the West eventually came to the support and invitation of its people to overthrow its dictator. If they had acted sooner, maybe those 1.5m might still be alive.

Secondly, a lot of the casualties in Iraq were caused by Iranian-backed groups and was Iraq-on-Iraq violence and not deaths caused by western troops (it might have been more if it weren’t for their presence). Today, as the Syrian people plead for support and are being slaughtered in the streets, no help is coming.

It’s easy to denounce the US, the world’s largest aid-giver, the same US who pulled Europe back together after its blood-letting spree in the “emergency” called the Second World War, again in my view a little too late. Maybe the lesson from the same emergency when an estimated 50m to 70m died, is that intervention is necessary.

Iran’s people tried to gain some freedom but met with an iron fist, murders, and draconian censorship. If anything is populist, it’s the gut reaction to put down America automatically. Isn’t it great to have short memories and selective vision?

Ehud Bar Av K

Shemona

Israel