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Let‘s call off the war You probably don‘t remember a young woman named Nayirah alâ€" Sabah, but you should. She was instrumental in startuing the Gulf War seven years ago The global public relations company Hill and Knowlton arranged for her to tesuly at US Congressional hearings into the situation in Kuwait. She talked about how she had witâ€" nessed Iraqi soldiers taking Kuwaiti babies out of incubators, leayâ€" ing them to die so that the incubators could be shipped back to Iraq It was a compelling story, and it was repeated many times by politicians and the media (thanks to the fact that Hill and Knowlton had distributed thousands of videotapes of her testimony}. The only problem with the story was that it wasn‘t true. Young Nayirah, it seems, was not the hospital volunteer that she clarmed to be but was actually the daughter of Kuwait‘s ambassador to the United States It‘s worth remembering that the subsequent congressional motion to send American troops passed by only five votes. As in Canada, subsequent events regrettably led to increased popular support far action, but the American public was intually deeply skeptical of the need to atiack Iraq in 1991. That‘s why carefully scripted propaganâ€" da such as Nayirah‘s story was so important m I‘m not trying to say that Saddam Hussein is an angel, nor some kind of CPAT T § IPTOETNETAE | benevolent dictator. But, hes no worse than any number of dictators that the CIA has put into power all around the world (ot years. Indeed, the Americans didn‘t seem to mind dealing with him when he was at war with Iran. Moreover, many other countriese â€" including America‘s ally Isracl â€" are guilty of breaking far more UN resoluâ€" tions than Iraq. Surcly there are better ways of responding to a dicâ€" tator than by killing his subjects. A military solution is no solution at all Fortunately, both the international community and ordinary peoâ€" ple are proving to be much harder to convince this time. Only Britgin (under a Labour government... shudder) has embraced the American government‘s cause with complete enthusiasm. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Germany are offering limited (though still too much} support. while countries like Russia, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are openly opposed to military action. Meanwhile, public optnion is strongly against going to war, even in the United States. The Clinton administration was shocked when theit carefully staged Town Hall meeting in Columbus, Oho showed massive opposition to US policy on Iraq. Here in Canada, Prime Minister Chretien opened the "debate" on Canada‘s position by announcing that, regardless of public opinion, Canada‘s position would essentially be whatever the US wanted it to be. The Liberals also repeatedly blocked attempts to put the matter to a vote This war should be called off. Bombing civilians is not an acceptâ€" able way t0 conduci foreign policy. If the US goes against the wishâ€" es of its people and insists on going to war, Canada should not go along for the ride. N enough people get that message to their Member of Parliament. Canada may still be able to maintain its international reputation Chronicle Waterloo Town Square 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2 Tclephone 886â€"2830 f“ hf_".z'. k.Lx-'A%’a}-g\er ANOTHER VIEW OPivION In spite of progress over the weekâ€" end. some of our leaders are again telling us that it‘s time to go to war with Iraq, and they are using similar stories to make their case (some of which might even be true). More civilâ€" 1ans and conscripted soldiers need to die in order to teach Saddam Hussein who is boss. More bombs need to be dropped in order to make the world sale for otl sales. At least they‘re not trying to tell us that Kuwaiti "democâ€" tacy" is at stake this time. Jennifer Bettke Editor: Deborah Crandall Tim Gardner Bob Vrbanac Display Advertising: Classified: Kâ€"W schools have been hit by a fluâ€"like illness, and whether it‘s influenza or not, its enough like it to make its victims misâ€" erable beyond description. o The flu outbreak is anything but funny. Older folks and babies are particularly vulnerable, and so are people with heart and lung disease. popmnsnmmen Happfly, the Hams government is taking action to quell the outbreak. Starting Friday, its going to be illegal to exhale. Edifice Complex: Nine developers have shown an in interest in the old Seagram site, and that bodes well for prompt development The proposals include a hotel (natch!), affice buildings and apartment lofts And a big taxpayer worry will be met. The financial ability of the developers is among the criteria for selection. Thats important. Such projects always draw dreamers who., as they say about ranchers, are all hat and no cattle. Major Accounts: Bill Karges Denise Tucker Lynn Mitchell Circulation/office Canada won a record number of medals, but most Canaditans will take no comfort from that. We didn‘t win the gold in men‘s hockey. and for most of us that makes the Games a bust Ah well, money isn‘t everything. Sometimes it‘s not even 99 per cent. Fiveâ€"Ring Binder: Have the Olympics: lefu . @eetaett your body clock in a shambles? Welcome to the lodge! Ah well, the next Olympics is in Salt Lake City, which isn‘t half a world and 14 hours away Our hockey players gave it their best shot, and sometimes that‘s the way the puck bounces. You could say the same for our silverâ€"winning women‘s team The family that smokes together chokes together Most lukewarm viewers have complained the Games were boring, but you have to suspect that it was more due to that mixup in time zones than lack of drama. One wornan said she‘d stop watching the Olympics because the iceâ€"dancing judging was a farce. That‘s a bit like complainâ€" ing about the refereeing of TV wrestling matches, isn‘t it? I{ you‘re an Elvis Stojko fan, you may feel that but for his Circulation: Jerry Fischer Matthew Haves Production: Muhe Martin Darlene Rovle Chank Mebeaaady ++ Group Publisher: Cheryl McMenemy The Waterloo Chronicle is published by The Fairway Group, a division of Southam Inc. ~ 73 King St. S., Suite 201, Waterloo ON. N2J IP2 886â€"2830 255 Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the newspaper S fi nans: /+ a t e "Chaons se tss 4 4s . \\‘\’\\\ fia'\\\\-\\‘\‘ ONCE OVER LIGHTLY injury he would have bagged gold, but the experts sav that even at his best he couldn‘t have beaten the gold medallis: Russian, Ilia Kulik. Finally, 1 was intrigued by snowboarding, one af the fastest growing sports. For those of you who aren‘t famihar wit Solemn moments: The Olympics, the flu wave and othe happenings came around last week as usual while th Supreme Court was airing Canada‘s future as a nation You have to suspect that the parents of must of the young smokers also smoke. They set a horrible example. In essence, they‘re saying that the famih that smokes together chokes tagether Cable Rates: To be fair, 1 can‘t think of a cable company «tss where that isn‘t regarded as practicing extortion. Â¥up. «ahl compamies have replaced hydro, water and the phon providers as the No. 1 whipping boys. Still, I‘m not knocking public relations. If you don‘t thins that PR works, just consider the countless thousands «! Canadians who now think yogurt tastes good No, you can‘t suggest that life should stop while the argn ment goes on. It‘s just that you‘d like to feel that the con frontation rated maybe a tenth of the attention paid the Olympics The Fairway Group A division of Southam Inc And no time difference to contend with snowboarding â€" it‘s what you do when you mad at your lifeâ€"insurance agent 1 doubt it. It seems to me that if the vounger folk want something, they usually get i. In parâ€" ticular, that applies to young women and girl> who now seem to be smoking like Chicago after the fire. Ifs and Butts: Governments are hoping th> a $1.50â€"aâ€"carton increase in the price of cigs reties will discourage young people from smek ing It‘s particularly sad to see the number of high school kids who can‘t wait to hit the street and light up a cancer stick. If they could only «e the real price they‘ll pay for their addiction Well, no wonder you can‘t fit anything more into this thing.... \ It‘s loaded with Senators.... Subscription rates $45 yearly in Canada $90 yearly outside Canada +G§1.