You know you’re living in an empire when the most recent election is likely to make a bigger difference to distant nations than to your fellow voters. In the run-up to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, I initiated an email campaign to express opposition to the Bush administration's attempts to force the Republic of Armenia into their Coalition of the Willing. Letters to ministers and ambassadors are not exactly weapons of choice in the class struggle; nevertheless, the email campaign has strengthened the hands of opponents of the deployment, including opponents within the Defense and Foreign Ministries in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
Below you will find an exchange of several messages that were generated during the email campaign. This exchange reveals something about the manner in which the Bush administration has been roping weak leaders of impoverished countries into the Coalition of the Willing.
October 31, 2004 Dear Friends, Sixteen years ago, when an earthquake ravaged Armenia we rallied to her side. Today, thousands of Armenians might well become victims of yet another disastrous upheaval. But this time it is neither tectonic plates nor Turkish troops that pose the threat. This time, the threat is coming from a handful of short-sighted politicians and ministers in Yerevan. The President of the Republic of Armenia and members of his administration have proposed to deploy fifty to sixty members of an Armenian contingent to Iraq. Although they claim that the contingent will provide only “humanitarian assistance,” it is to fall under the command of the Polish force, which is part of the U.S.-led coalition that is occupying Iraq. There are around 25,000 Iraqi Armenians. Some of us have received many reports of threats and reprisals against the Armenian community in that country, and we have read their petitions and the petitions of their church officials, imploring leaders in Yerevan to abandon the deployment plan. The vast majority of our compatriots in Armenia share their concern. Recently, the independent polling group, Vox Populi, conducted a telephone survey in Yerevan, which showed that 60 percent of the respondents opposed the deployment of Armenian troops in Iraq--and only 6 percent approved. Armenia’s National Assembly must approve the deployment before it can take place. So far, no date has been set for the vote, but it might take place some time after the November 2 presidential election in the U.S. Despite overwhelming popular opposition to the deployment, it is not a foregone conclusion that the National Assembly would vote it down. It is urgent, in the run-up to the U.S. election, that we Armenians in the West join hands with our compatriots in Iraq and join voices with the people of Armenia, in opposing this deployment. Please take a moment to voice your concern to:
Explain that you oppose the proposed deployment of Armenian troops to Iraq. Remind them that such a deployment will adversely affect Armenia’s relations with its neighbors, especially Russia and Iran, and that it will isolate Armenia from its long-standing friends in the Arab countries. Remind them, too, that the deployment could precipitate bloodshed and a mass exodus of Armenians and other Christians from their country, Iraq. We are in a position now to make a difference. With sincere appreciation, Markar Melkonian P.S.: Please forward this message to friends, church groups, cultural associations, and student associations. |
The email message above was forwarded far and near. A follow-up message appears below:
November 4, 2004 Dear Friends, Judging from reports we have received from Armenia, there is enormous opposition to the proposed deployment of Armenian troops to Iraq. If you were among the many people who sent an email opposing the deployment, you might have received the following message from the office of the foreign ministry of Armenia:
Here is my response to that message:
When ministers use the phrase “complicated issue,” it often means that they are getting ready to make the wrong decision. In the wake of the U.S. election, we need to redouble our efforts to oppose the proposed deployment. If you have not yet sent a message expressing your opposition to the deployment, please take a moment to do so. Write to:
and
Explain that you oppose the proposed deployment of Armenian troops to Iraq. Remind them that such a deployment will adversely affect Armenia’s relations with its neighbors, especially Russia and Iran, and that it will isolate Armenia from its long-standing friends in the Arab countries. Remind them, too, that the deployment could precipitate bloodshed and a mass exodus of Armenians and other Christians from their country, Iraq. Opposition to the deployment plan extends to Armenia’s own Defense and Foreign Ministries. We are indeed in a position to make a difference. With much appreciation, Markar Melkonian |
Respondents to the first message were overwhelmingly opposed to an Armenian deployment to Iraq. However, one or two respondents supported Armenian participation in Bush's war. The message below is from JG, a former U.S. ambassador to one of the Gulf States:
November 4, 2004 TO: MARKAR MELKONIAN CC: VARTAN OSKANIAN (FONMIN. ARMENIA) I DISAGREE WITH YOUR ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION, VIEWS AND POLITICAL POSITIONS ON THE MATTER OF THE DEPLOYMENT OF ARMANIAN TROOPS TO IRAQ. I AM BACK FROM IRAQ WHERE I SPENT 18 MONTHS AS SES [?] ADVISOR IN CPA/DOD [Coalition Provisional Authority/U.S. Dept. of Defense] IN THE MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION. IF ARMENIA IS TO RECEIVE ALL SORTS OF BENEFITS FROM THE USG [U.S. Government] FROM POLITICAL TO ECONOMIC, MILITARY/STRATEGIC ASSISTANCE, IT HAD BETTER SIDE WITH THE USG FOREIGN POLICY IN IRAQ AND THE MIDDLE EAST. ALSO, I BELIEVE THAT IRAQ WILL BE UP AND RUNNING AS A POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWER HOUSE IN THE REGION IN THE SPACE OF 2 YEARS. I WAS TOLD BY SEVERAL SENIOR IRAQI OFFICIALS: "WE WILL REMEMBER WHO WERE OUR FRIENDS DURING OUR TIMES OF DIFFICULTIES." NOW THAT PRESIDENT BUSH HAS WON BOTH THE POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTES OF THE AMERICANS, YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT WITH THE JOINT PARTICIPATION OF THE IRAQIS, WE WILL CLEAN UP IRAQ OF FOREIGN INSURGENTS, TERRORISTS AND REMNANT SADDAM'S LOYALISTS. A STRONG IRAQ IS GOOD FOR ARMENIA. Ambassador JG |
My response to the former ambassador's message:
November 4, 2004 Subject: Credibility problem. Dear Mr. JG, I recall very clearly my father returning from a visit to Vietnam in 1974 and repeating to me what an American general there had told him: America and its allies in Vietnam had won the war, and it was just a matter of time before the last remnants of the "terrorists" and "foreign fighters" were mopped up. A year later, a tank flying the flag of the National Liberation Front crashed through the gate of the American quislings' palace. Your report reminds me of what that general told my father. You wrote that "IRAQ WILL BE UP AND RUNNING AS A POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWER HOUSE IN THE REGION IN THE SPACE OF 2 YEARS." I'm going to go out on a limb here, sir: That will not happen. If this is what you were told, then I'm afraid I have even less confidence in your judgment. Armenia most certainly must NOT side with U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. It is a policy that failed in Iran and failed in Lebanon, and it will fail in Iraq, too. (It is also a policy that is enormously unjust. But then as an ambassador, I suspect that the word "justice" and its cognates make you want to laugh.) You wrote that "Senior Iraqi Officials" will remember who were their friends during times of difficulty. Well so will the Iraqi resistance. Armenians have already given their lives in the war against terrorism. They gave their lives in the Soviet Army, fighting against the very same embryonic Taliban and Islamist fanatics whom George W. Bush's father had armed, trained, and coddled with my tax money. Back then, the Soviets called Osama Bin Laden and his followers "terrorists," but Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and the ambassadors were calling them "Freedom Fighters." You have a credibility problem here. If Canada and Mexico can excuse themselves from the Coalition of the Willing, then Armenia certainly can. (And by the way, I haven't seen Israel listed on any of the rosters of Coalition Partners. Why is that?) More than anything--more than your logical incoherence, your far-fetched prognostications, and your poor judgment--what bothers me most about your message is how lightly you pass over the threats that Iraqi Armenians face, and the long-term threat of political isolation facing the Republic of Armenia. We don't need any more Americans crying for slaughtered Armenians. We've had more than our share of that already, thank you. Sincerely, Markar Melkonian |
The ambassador has the final word:
November 4, 2004: Thank you for your response. Now I understand your true color. You must be a Kerry supporter. No matter what facts you are told, you will continue with your obstinate color blind judgement. Amb. JG |
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