JourneyOnline
The US-led military offensive in Iraq has strengthened its neighbour Iran, and led to a weakening of the moral authority of the United States, US civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson said during a visit to Britain.
"Saddam [Hussein] was a manufactured threat," Jackson told Ecumenical News International on 12 November. "We had him contained through inspection by the United Nations, and there were no weapons of mass destruction."
He added, "The war was about oil and hegemony, and not human rights. The action has resulted in a loss of moral authority and strengthened Iran."
The civil rights leader is in Britain for a four-day visit at the invitation of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and Regent’s Park College in Oxford, where Jackson is to help launch a programme designed to encourage more young black people to pursue higher education.
At a London media conference on 12 November, Jackson also warned about growing inequalities between the world’s rich and poor.
"We have globalised capital but not human rights, and we are more technically savvy than ever before," he told ENI, "but we are, at the same time, at greater risk resulting from the disparity between those living in a surplus culture and those living in a deficit culture, who do not have enough resources to barely survive."
During his 11-14 November visit to Britain, Jackson is to deliver a public lecture at Regent’s Park College to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition by Britain of its transatlantic slave trade.
Referring to calls for Britain to apologise for its involvement in slavery, Jackson said that an apology alone would be empty unless it was accompanied by some form of positive action to address the outcome of the slave trade.
While at Regent’s Park College, a Baptist institution, Jackson will inaugurate a programme called ASPIRE to encourage more young black people to pursue higher education.
ASPIRE will carry out research into the reasons behind the under-representation of black young people in higher education in Britain, and investigate and promote ways to improve their access to universities.
Andy Bruce, leader of CTBI’s racial justice team, said, "The insights and perspective Jesse Jackson will bring to Britain and Ireland from his 40 years of social justice work in the US will surely inspire and empower those who continue the struggle on this side of the Atlantic."
Ecumenical News International
Photo : WORLD NEWS
