CONTENTS
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1. Introduction: America's Other Most Wanted Man
2. Featured Actions
3. The Gulf War
4. The Continuing Devastation
5. Bombs Without War
6. Sanctions
7. The Next Target in the War on Terrorism?
8. Saying No to War in Iraq
9. Islam Follow-up
10. Get Involved
11. About the Bulletin

 
INTRODUCTION: AMERICA'S OTHER MOST WANTED MAN
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The fact that the US still doesn't have Osama bin Laden, dead OR alive, doesn't seem to be deterring the Bush Administration from looking towards America's other most wanted man: Saddam Hussein. There is little or no evidence that Iraq was involved in any way with the attacks on September 11, and there is a strong possibility that an attack on Iraq may threaten the international coalition carefully assembled by the States after 9-11. Despite this, the push to take the "war on terrorism" to Hussein's doorstep is gaining momentum. The pretext for this war may be the anthrax attacks in the States, or it may be weapons inspections. Either way, the move towards a major military action in Iraq seems to betray an American self-interest that has nothing to do with September 11, and everything to do with a long history of conflict between the two countries, which in turn has a lot to do with oil.

Of course, the US war on Iraq is already happening. It never ended. The Gulf War might be over, but that hasn't stopped the States from periodically bombing the Iraq for the last eleven years, while at the same time enforcing harsh economic sanctions. Although these American policies have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, and haven't done anything to help rid the world of Saddam Hussein, they are still in place.

This week, we try to shed some light on this situation by taking a look at the long and shameful history of the conflict between the US and Iraq, starting with US war crimes during the Gulf War and ending with the war on terrorism. We expose the true nature of the UN sanctions and how they have decimated a people, and outline the ongoing bombing campaign that the Bush Administration probably doesn't want you to think about too much. While none of the information we provide below is secret, much of it may as well be. Let's make it public.

Next week: Consumerism and War

 
FEATURED ACTIONS
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This week, we're strongly urging our 100,000 constituents in the United States to write letters to the newspapers against escalating a war on Iraq. Sample letters are available at:
http://peace.moveon.org/iraqletters.php3

If you are an elementary teacher who would like to educate your class about the Gulf War and help break down stereotypes about Iraq in your classroom, you may be interested in ordering this video.
http://www.afsc.org/iraq/ed/video.htm

Join the Campaign for Conscience to help Iraq.
http://www.afsc.org/conscience/activism.htm

 
THE GULF WAR
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No discussion of America and Iraq can begin without taking a look back at the Gulf War.

First, a clear and informative summary of the events leading to and during the Gulf War. Read it to learn what actually happened, and why.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7891/huck_iraq.html

Here are a few of the most infamous examples of how the US acted in this war.

Click on the links below to read about the striking and horrific propaganda that was used to gain public support for the Gulf War in the first place. Many news services, including CNN, reported that Iraqi soldiers had thrown premature babies out of their hospital incubators. This was widely cited as an example of Iraqi atrocities in pro-war speeches, and helped sway public opinion.
http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/cm18a.html

However, although many Americans probably still don't know it, the baby incubator story simply wasn't true.
http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/cm18h.html

Worse than the made-up violence of the Iraqi soldiers, however, was the real violence of the American soldiers, who slaughtered retreating Iraqis who had surrendered and were trying to head home.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7891/hwy_death.html

In fact, the actions of America during the Gulf War were so horrific that America's leaders, including George Bush Sr., Dick Cheney, and Colin Powell, were cited for war crimes by an International War Crimes Tribunal.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7891/clark_iraq_warcrime.html

What was the final judgment of this tribunal? Guilty. Not that it seems to have made much of a difference. Recommendations of the tribunal are also included in this article.
http://deoxy.org/wc/warcrim3.htm

 
THE CONTINUING DEVASTATION
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Despite the fact that the Gulf War is supposedly long over, US policy has continued to kill hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq. It may come as a surprise to the majority of the American people, but UN sanctions of Iraq have never been lifted, nor has the US stopped bombing the country in all this time. The human cost is staggering, and it has not even accomplished the intended goal; Saddam Hussein has not been ousted from power.

For an excellent and chilling summary of these facts, read this letter, which Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General, sent to the UN security council on Feb. 28, 2001.
http://www.iacenter.org/rc_022801.htm

The answers to 10 frequently asked questions about Iraq.
http://www.scn.org/ccpi/INOC_FAQs.html

Foreign Policy in Focus's article summarizing the Iraq-US conflict and the problems with US foreign policy there.
http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol2/v2n51ira.html

We will now take a look at some of the specifics of the continued bombings and the sanctions against Iraq.

 
BOMBS WITHOUT WAR
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This article summarizes American actions in the Gulf War and since, including the various bombing campaigns, such as those in 1993, 1996, and 1999.
http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol6/v6n01iraq.html

1998 Foreign Policy in Focus article stating reasons why the continuing bombing of Iraq should be stopped
http://www.igc.org/infocus/media/releases/1998/bomb12_17_98.html

Although the 1999 bombing campaign in Iraq barely made the news, it did happen. This article includes a timeline.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7891/fisk_iraqattrition.html

This article describes a Conscience International trip to Iraq, where American citizens met the family of a 13 year old shepherd boy killed in a senseless US bombing of civilians in a field in 2000.
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0222-08.htm

 
SANCTIONS
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Four days after the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, the United Nations imposed a trade embargo on Iraq. The sanctions have still not been lifted, and this year marks the eleventh anniversary of this devastating foreign policy.

The leaders of America, from the Gulf War to the present, have described these sanctions as a non-violent alternative to war that will eventually lead to the downfall of the dangerous Saddam Hussein. However, the reality is that this "non-violent alternative" has actually taken hundreds of thousands more lives than the Gulf War itself. The victims of these sanctions are the innocent people of Iraq, and especially Iraqi children. According to UNICEF and other organizations, as many as 5,000 children die each month as a result of the malnutrition and lack of medicine that are largely a result of the sanctions.

The inhumanity of these sanctions led to the resignation of Denis Halliday, the head of the UN humanitarian programme in Iraq in 1998. He stated publicly that he could no longer administer "an immoral and illegal" policy. His successor and the head of the World Food Programme also resigned over this issue.

When questioned about the human cost of these sanctions, and specifically the death of a half million children, Madeleine Albright said in a now infamous television interview: "It’s a hard choice, but I think, we, think, it’s worth it."

This great, well-referenced article by Voices in the Wilderness, exposes the top lies about sanctions.
http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw/mythsand%20realities3.html

UN subcommittee report on why UN sanctions of Iraq are illegal.
http://www.scn.org/ccpi/UNreport.html

UNICEF report on the mortality of children in Iraq since the sanctions were imposed.
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/99pr29.htm

This article calls the sanctions against Iraq the "Silent Hiroshima".
http://www.commondreams.org/views/080600-105.htm

Despite the sanctions, Iraq is (not surprisingly) still allowed to sell oil to the Western world, including the States, through the Oil-for-Food Program - and this program has just been extended.
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters12-02-182052.asp?reg=MIDEAST

This article exposes the inadequacy of the Oil-for-Food Program mentioned above.
http://saveageneration.org/thecrisis/

Recently, there has been some discussion of changing the sanctions on Iraq to make them "smart". This article explains why "smart sanctions" will not work.
http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw/pages/173.htm

Despite the sanctions, a small number of brave people have traveled to Iraq, bringing medicine and food, as part of the Iraq Sanctions Challenge.
http://www.iacenter.org/iraqchallenge/isc4_why.htm

 
THE NEXT TARGET IN THE WAR ON TERRORISM?
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In one of our previous bulletins, we noted that one of the major stories that the media was not reporting was the movement within the Bush administration, led by such important policy makers as US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, to make Iraq the next target in the war on terrorism. Unfortunately, as the Northern Alliance gains more control over Afghanistan, the Bush administration seems to be discussing this option more frequently and more openly.

MSNBC article stating reasons the "hawks" want to attack Iraq - and why they aren't very good.
http://slate.msn.com/?id=2059126

President Bush's recent implications that Iraq may be attacked.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4308058,00.html

A former CIA chief suggests Iraq may be involved in terror attacks - specifically anthrax.
http://multimedia.belointeractive.com/attack/investigation/1023iraq.html

This despite the fact that the FBI now believes that the anthrax tainted letters were the work of an American individual or group.
http://peace.moveon.org/r.php3?redir=47

 
SAYING NO TO WAR IN IRAQ
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Despite the ever-more-frequent hints that Iraq may be next, well-known peace activists aren't the only ones saying "no" to a possible war in Iraq.

Colin Powell is not the only government or ex-government official who disagrees with expanding the war to Iraq.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11995

Nelson Mandela says that the US should not attack Iraq.
http://europe.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/12/03/attack.mandela.reut/index.html

CNN.com article describes how other countries feel about attacking Iraq. Support for the action is not exactly wide-spread.
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9801/30/iraq/

Even the Iraqi opposition group INC doesn't necessarily agree with a military action against Iraq.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/30_11_01/art20.htm

 
ISLAM FOLLOW-UP
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Due to the large numbers of requests for this information after last week's bulletin on Islam, here is an excellent link on women and Islam. You can find articles on Islam and genital mutilation (which is actually a cultural issue, not an aspect of the Islamic religion) and issues of concern for Muslim women.
http://www.mwlusa.org/welcome.html

We would like to note that we are not Muslims ourselves, and if you have any questions about the religion we suggest you contact your local mosque.

 
GET INVOLVED
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If you would like us to include an action, giving idea, news article, or source in the bulletin, please write to [email protected] and describe your item in the subject line.

The 9-11Peace.org bulletin is looking for volunteers to help us deal with the immense amount of email we receive and do research. If you think you've got the time, know-how, and energy to do this well, please write to Susan at [email protected]. Put "Volunteer" in the subject line, and add a brief paragraph summarizing your experience and interest.

We apologize if you have sent us an email and we have not gotten back to you yet. Our response time will be slow until we can get some more volunteers working on this aspect of 9-11Peace.org.

 
ABOUT THE BULLETIN
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The 9-11Peace.org bulletin is a weekly newsletter providing resources, news, and action ideas to over 21,500 people around the world. The full text of the bulletin is online at http://peace.moveon.org/bulletin.php3; users can subscribe to and unsubscribe from the bulletin at that address also. The bulletin is a project of 9-11Peace.org. Contact [email protected] for more information.