Questions on Bush’s War on Iraq by James Carroll, July 23, 200, Boston Globe.
French Sources: U.S. to Attack Iraq ‘Soon’ by Amir Ore, Friday, July 19, 2002 in Ha`aretz (Israel) The U.S. operation to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will take place in the coming months, even before November’s Congressional elections, according to high-level sources in the French government following talks with American decision-makers and professionals in Washington. Frequent media reports about difficulties in deploying American troops and completing preparations for the operation are meant, according to French government experts, as disinformation to achieve tactical surprise with regard to the timing, place and method of the assault. This will partly make up for the lack of strategic surprise given Bush’s declared policy and Saddam’s preparations to absorb an attack.
US PLANNING TO RECRUIT ONE IN 24 AMERICANS AS CITIZEN SPIES
by Ritt Goldstein, Sydney Morning Herald, 7/15/02. The Bush Administration aims to recruit millions of United States citizens as domestic informants in a program likely to alarm civil liberties groups.
EDITORIAL: WHAT IS OPERATION TIPS? Washington Post, 7/14/02
THE JUSTICE Department is not saying much about the Terrorism Information and Prevention System — otherwise known as Operation TIPS — which is due to begin as a pilot program later this summer. Apparently the only public information about the program, in fact, is on a government Web site, which describes it as “a nationwide program giving millions of American truckers, letter carriers, train conductors, ship captains, utility employees, and others a formal way to report suspicious terrorist activity.”
GULF WAR II: How a War With Iraq Will Change the World
It’s not if but when. Here are the consequences, FORTUNE, July 8, 2002
By Bill Powell. Predictions of possible chaos in the Middle East, rising oil prices, and falling consumer confidence if the U.S. invades Iraq.
Invading Iraq Would Be Misguided and Illegal by Marjorie Cohn, Striking Iraq would further destabilize the Middle East and have disastrous consequences for the United States. Moreover, there is no legitimate justification for attacking Iraq, Chicago Tribune, July 9, 2002
The Human Cost of War: Afghan Civilian Casualties May Exact a Toll in U.S. Public Relations Battle by Leela Jacinto, ABC News, July 9, 2002
Protect Palestinians Now by Helena Cobban, The 3.5 million Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza urgently need international protection. Now facing humanitarian disaster, they need protection to ensure access to the basic requisites of human life. The Christian Science Monitor, Opinion, July 8, 2002
Too Much Collateral Damage:’Smart Sanctions’ Hurt Innocent Iraqis by Hans von Sponeck, As UN co-ordinator of the oil-for-food program from 1998 to 2000, I write from privileged experience into humanitarian conditions in Iraq. Six years of revisions to sanctions policy on Baghdad have repeatedly promised “mitigation” of civilian suffering. Yet, in 1999, Unicef confirmed our worst fears: that one child in seven dies before the age of 5 — an estimated 5,000 excess child deaths every month above the 1989 pre-sanctions rate. Four months ago, Unicef reported that more than 22 per cent of the country’s young children remain chronically malnourished… Toronto Globe & Mail, July 2, 2002
Afghan Survivors Recount U.S. Raid by Adam Brown, Associated Press, 7.2.02
Scores are Killed by US Bomb at Afghan Wedding by Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Kim Sengupta, Independent/UK, 7.2.02
Kabul condemns US bombing, KABUL, July 2: Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday deplored as unjustifiable the US bombardment on Sunday of a wedding party in a remote village, which killed 40 people. Dawn
Not In Our Name: US Artists and Activists Damn ‘War Without Limit’ by Duncan Campbell, Guardian of London. A group of leading American writers, actors and academics have signed a statement strongly criticizing their government’s policies since September 11. It is an indication of a growing feeling that the administration is promoting its own agenda on the back of the attacks. June 14, 2002.
Middle East Reflections by Jennifer Bing-Canar, Middle East Peace Program Director, AFSC, Chicago. State Terrorism and Life in the Middle East.
War and Oil — Resources and Background Material
Emerging Oil War By Ashfak Bokhari, Dawn
Terror War and Oil Expand US Sphere of Influence: GIs build bases on Russia’s energy-rich flank, by Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor
The Geopolitics of Oil in Central Asia, The Institute of International Relations
Oil and War Do Mix, A review of Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict, by Michael T. Klare. New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Co., 2001, reviewed by Richard A. Matthew.
Karzai to Discuss Pipeline with Turkemenistan, Pakistan
Reuters, 05.12.02
What Is A Terrorist? by Jeff Cohen, Common Dreams Most Read Essay for May. Friday,
in Los Angeles
On party, gender, race and class, TV news looks to the most powerful groups, by Ina Howard. On an average weeknight, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News are tuned in by approximately one-quarter of television-viewing homes in the U.S. (Nielsen Media Research, 2001)– about two-thirds of the U.S. public that claims to follow current events regularly (Pew Research Center, 2000). In 22 minutes the newscasts deliver snapshots of national and international news that not only frame current events for the public, but influence story selection at local affiliate stations, at radio outlets and in print media. In addition to putting topics on the nation’s agenda, the networks help set the range of debate on those issues by selecting sources who ostensibly represent the interests and opinions of the population. FAIR Report
Unprecedented Wave Of Grassroots Activism On Welfare Reform —
More Than 15,000 People To Be Involved In Events
I Am Jewish – poem by Jeff Epton, reflections on being Jewish in the midst of the Middle East Crisis
Cynthia McKinney Speech on April 20, We gather here today and we speak with one voice . . .And let us remember, that one person can make a ripple. One ripple can make a movement. One movement can make a voice. And one voice can make mighty change
Bearing Witness in Jenin, Kathy Kelly and Jeff Guntzel are presently in East Jerusalem, after spending four days in Jenin with the besieged refugees in the camp, bearing witness to the destruction caused by the IDF.
110,000 Protesters March Peacefully in D.C. The Washington March to Stop the War At Home & Abroad proved far larger than any of us anticipated (police estimate at 75,000, organizers estimate 110,000), and it certainly sends the message that “We are here!!”, that democracy, conscience, commitments to justice and to peace, and dissent are not only alive in the U.S. but are growing forces that will play major roles in helping to shape the future, to determine who lives, who dies, and how. It was, as the press reports reflect, a very important beginning. Washington Post Front Page
Helicopter Pilot ‘Refused Order to Blast Palestinian House’, by Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem, Guardian of London, An Israeli helicopter gunship pilot reportedly refused to fire a missile at a Palestinian house, the latest sign of growing unease among some Israeli troops over the conduct of the fighting in Palestinian cities of the West Bank.
Campaign of Conscience Update – AFSC Campaign to Stop the Economic Sanctions Against Iraq – Download the Peace Pledge for organizing.