Sub-Topics Iran Sheehan, Cindy Also Try Pro-War Donations Helping Victims of Katrina (Veterans for Peace) Provides information about helping in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. 9-05 Lists Anti-War Organizations (Guardian Unlimited) Provides over 200 British anti-war organizations. 9-04 News -02-05-07 Court-Martial Begins for Soldier Refusing to Go to Iraq (ABC News) "First Lt. Ehren Watada said the war in Iraq is illegal and he won't go. His court-martial began today. Watada will be tried for refusing to deploy to Iraq with his unit and for 'conduct unbecoming an officer' for his many public statements against the war." 02-07 -06-18-06 Lt. Watada Refuses to Deploy (ThankYouLt.org) "On Thursday, June 8, 2006 U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada's commanding officer moved to prosecute Lt. Watada for protected speech. An official investigation into his public speech in opposition to the illegal war in Iraq is underway. Lt. Watada was read his rights and declined to make a statement without a lawyer present." "In response, Lt. Watada confirmed, 'I have a legal and ethical obligation to speak out against, and refuse to fight, this patently illegal war in Iraq. This has not changed.' ” 01-06 Iraq War Spawns New Films (Dallas Morning News) "No End in Sight, a comprehensive look at the war from initial occupation to the present, was joined in the documentary competition by Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, which dissects the torture committed by U.S. interrogators and military police at the infamous Iraq prison. In the dramatic competition was Grace Is Gone, starring John Cusack as the pro-war widower of a woman killed in Iraq. And in the shorts bracket was Fort Worth native Jesus Beltran's The Grass Grows Green, about a Marine recruiter dealing with the combat death of a recruit." 07-07 Operation Truth (OpTruth.com) Provides news related to the war in Iraq. 9-05 Papers -A Third Way: Coercive Inspections (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Mathews) "This paper proposes a third approach, a middle ground between an unacceptable status quo that allows Iraqi WMD [weapons of mass distruction] programs to continue and the enormous costs and risks of an invasion. It proposes a new regime of coercive international inspections. A powerful, multinational military force, created by the UN Security Council, would enable UN and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection teams to carry out 'comply or else' inspections. The 'or else' is overthrow of the regime. The burden of choosing war is placed squarely on Saddam Hussein." "Inspections backed by a force authorized by the UN Security Council would carry unimpeachable legitimacy and command broad international support. The effort would therefore strengthen, rather than undermine, the cooperation the United States needs for long-term success in the war against terrorism. It would avoid a direct blow to the authority of the Security Council and the rule of law. It would avoid setting a dangerous precedent of a unilateral right to attack in 'preventive self-defense.' "The inspection teams would return to Iraq accompanied by a military arm strong enough to force immediate entry into any site at any time with complete security for the inspection team. No terms would be negotiated regarding the dates, duration, or modalities of inspection. If Iraq chose not to accept, or established a record of noncompliance, the U.S. regime-change option or, better, a UN authorization of 'use of all necessary means' would come into play." "War should never be undertaken until the alternatives have been exhausted. In this case that moral imperative is buttressed by the very real possibility that a war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, even if successful in doing so, could subtract more from U.S. security and long-term political interests than it adds." 9-02 -A Third Way: Coercive Inspections (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Mathews) "This paper proposes a third approach, a middle ground between an unacceptable status quo that allows Iraqi WMD [weapons of mass distruction] programs to continue and the enormous costs and risks of an invasion. It proposes a new regime of coercive international inspections. A powerful, multinational military force, created by the UN Security Council, would enable UN and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection teams to carry out 'comply or else' inspections. The 'or else' is overthrow of the regime. The burden of choosing war is placed squarely on Saddam Hussein." "Inspections backed by a force authorized by the UN Security Council would carry unimpeachable legitimacy and command broad international support. The effort would therefore strengthen, rather than undermine, the cooperation the United States needs for long-term success in the war against terrorism. It would avoid a direct blow to the authority of the Security Council and the rule of law. It would avoid setting a dangerous precedent of a unilateral right to attack in 'preventive self-defense.' "The inspection teams would return to Iraq accompanied by a military arm strong enough to force immediate entry into any site at any time with complete security for the inspection team. No terms would be negotiated regarding the dates, duration, or modalities of inspection. If Iraq chose not to accept, or established a record of noncompliance, the U.S. regime-change option or, better, a UN authorization of 'use of all necessary means' would come into play." "War should never be undertaken until the alternatives have been exhausted. In this case that moral imperative is buttressed by the very real possibility that a war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, even if successful in doing so, could subtract more from U.S. security and long-term political interests than it adds." 9-02 -Editorial: Framing September 11th as Perpetual War (Truthout.org - Solomon) "By the end of 2002, Didion concisely and incisively described what occurred: 'We had seen, most importantly, the insistent use of September 11 to justify the reconception of America's correct role in the world as one of initiating and waging virtually perpetual war.' " "In late November 2002, a retired U.S. Army general, William Odom, told C-SPAN viewers: 'Terrorism is not an enemy. It cannot be defeated. It's a tactic. It's about as sensible to say we declare war on night attacks and expect we're going to win that war." 9-05 -Editorial: Ike Was Right About War Machine (CBS News - Rooney) "I'm not really clear how much a billion dollars is but the United States — our United States — is spending $5.6 billion a month fighting this war in Iraq that we never should have gotten into." "Now we have the hurricanes to pay for. One way our government pays for a lot of things is by borrowing from countries like China." "Another way the government is planning to pay for the war and the hurricane damage is by cutting spending for things like Medicare prescriptions, highway construction, farm payments, AMTRAK, National Public Radio and loans to graduate students. Do these sound like the things you'd like to cut back on to pay for Iraq?" "I'll tell you where we ought to start saving: on our bloated military establishment." "We had a great commander in WWII, Dwight Eisenhower. He became President and on leaving the White House in 1961, he said this: 'We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. …' " "Well, Ike was right. That's just what’s happened." 9-05 -New American Strategy (Christian Science Monitor - Chaddock) "National strategy, released Friday, calls for US dominance to expand global peace." "More broadly, the 31-page document asserts American dominance as the lone superpower – a status no rival power will be allowed to challenge." "And it provides a reason the world should accept this state of affairs: the expansion of peace and more freedom. A Pax Americana will be 'in the service of a balance of power that favors freedom.' " " ' We cannot let our enemies strike first.... To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively.' " 4-03 100 Days of "Peace" (Independent) Describes the views of Iraqis and others who find the period of "peace" after the U.S. "victory" less than satisfying. 5-02 An Unnecessary War (Foreign Policy - Mearsheimer and Walt) "In the full-court press for war with Iraq, the Bush administration deems Saddam Hussein reckless, ruthless, and not fully rational. Such a man, when mixed with nuclear weapons, is too unpredictable to be prevented from threatening the United States, the hawks say. But scrutiny of his past dealings with the world shows that Saddam, though cruel and calculating, is eminently deterrable." 2-03 Anti-War Demonstrators Rally Around the World (CNN News) "In Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California, at the two largest peace rallies, the crowds were urged on by international peace activists, religious leaders, members of Congress, actors and musicians." 1-03 Bradbury Against Unilateral Action in Iraq (Bradbury2002.com) Provides Bill Bradbury's arguments against unilateral action by the USA against Iraq. Bradbury ran and lost against Gordon Smith for U.S. Senator from Oregon. Senator Smith voted for President Bush's resolution in the Senate. President Bush's resolution, which was passed by Congress, allows the President to initiate warfare against Iraq without support from the U.N. or other countries. According to Bradbury, "Prudent and decisive action in collaboration with our allies and the United Nations is the best way to achieve long-term national security. A preemptive, unilateral attack merely demonstrates America's power. A measured, well-deliberated international response demonstrates America's strength." President Bush's resolution "authorizes preemptive, unilateral action that threatens to undermine the very support from the international community that is essential to confronting the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and maintaining international support for the war against terrorism." "General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe recently noted, a premature, go-it-alone invasion of Iraq 'would super-charge recruiting for Al Qaida.' Preemptive, unilateral military action could galvanize a new generation of suicide bombers that would threaten the United States and our allies. Further, a preemptive, unilateral invasion of Iraq, without UN support, would set an exceptionally dangerous precedent for the conduct of international affairs in the 21st Century. Any nation could justify attacking its neighbors." 10-02 Case Against a U.S. War Against Iraq (Progressive.org - Rothschild) Provides the key reasons against the U.S. attacking Iraq. 3-03 Collateral Damage to Iraq from War (MAPW.org - Gration) "All too often recent debate on possible war with Iraq has centred on strategic issues - on weapons of mass destruction, on the rationale or lack thereof for going to war, or on the outcomes of a war- without paying due regard to the monumental human and environmental costs of such a conflict." "This Report addresses these issues squarely and is therefore an important complement to the on-going debate. I commend it firstly to our decision makers, but also to those who simply wish to be better informed on the issue." 1-03 Comparison of Views For and Against War (Awesome Library - Adams) Provides arguments for and against a pre-emptive strike by the U.S. against Iraq, without the support of the United Nations. Although the paper presents both sides of the issue, it provides a stronger case that U.N. support is needed before the U.S. takes action. 2-03 Cost of War With Iraq (CNN - Bash) "The White House is downplaying published reports of an estimated $50 billion to $60 billion price tag for a war with Iraq, saying it is 'impossible' to estimate the cost at this time. " 1-03 Declaration to Criminalize War (Perdana4Peace.org) "We would like this Conference to be the beginning of a world-wide sustained effort to criminalise war and banish it as an option in the settlement of disputes and conflicts between nations; to recognise and define war as legitimised mass murder, as inhuman and uncivilised. We would like this conference to reject war totally and to accept peace as worthy of being thetrue expression of the humaneness and nobility of humankind, that peace be the ultimate measure of the level of civilisation humanity should strive for, should attain." 01-06 Editorial - Security Comes From International Law (DailyStar.com) "If the world hopes to turn around the current trajectory toward greater violence and terror, and move instead toward peace and stability, the lynchpin of any such movement must be a universal, ironclad commitment to the rule of law as the organizing principle of relations among nations." "This critically important issue should be debated long and loud, so that short-term problems such as we have in Iraq do not recur often, and long-term global peace and security might be promoted through a more universal understanding of the spirit and letter of international law. Washington has responded to the illegal war allegations by claiming it considered that a previous UN resolution passed four months before the war gave it sufficient authority to attack, because Iraq had refused to surrender suspected weapons of mass destruction. The last 18 months of searching in post-Baathist Iraq have turned up no such weapons. So not only was the U.S.-led war illegal, it was also premised on wrong information at best, and a deceptive lie at worst." 9-04 Editorial - What Is Needed Next in Iraq - A French Perspective (Washington Post - Moisi) "Paris would probably be happy with a triumvirate to run the reconstruction, with an American general in charge of security under a U.N. mandate, an Iraqi interim government given many more political responsibilities and a U.N.-designated representative having overall responsibility for the process and for organizing elections on a shortened schedule of a few months. Ideally, though not necessarily realistically, power should be returned to the Iraqis before the beginning of next year." 9-03 Editorial - Who Is Winning the War on Terrorism? (BBC News - Gardner) "If we were to look at this purely in terms of military gains the answer would be obvious. The US has swiftly toppled two governments it considered to be rogue regimes - first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq. The Pentagon's supremacy on the battlefield is unrivalled and unstoppable. Its troops are holding down a sort of peace in both countries." "However, terrorist attacks have not stopped and there is good reason for this, according to Gardner. "Victories on the battlefield or in the interrogation rooms are meaningless if terror networks can continue to recruit from a large wellspring of discontented youth." "And that is exactly what is happening. The wave of horror and sympathy for the victims that spread across much of the Arab and Muslim world after 11 September has long ago changed to something else." "America is seen as having capitalised on those attacks by trying to 'conquer' Muslim countries - Afghanistan and Iraq." "But there is also now a growing conviction that the Bush administration has acquired a taste for regime change and will not stop at Baghdad. Threats to Syria and Iran to change their policies only confirm that view." "Against this backdrop it is hardly surprising that the US - and its close ally Britain - are losing the battle for Arab and Muslim hearts and minds." 9-03 Editorial: The Hidden Cost of War (U.S. House of Representatives - Paul) "A free society produces more wealth for more people than any other. That wealth for many years can be confiscated to pay for the militarism advocated by those who promote preemptive war. But militarism and its costs undermine the very market system that provided the necessary resources to begin with. As this happens, productivity and wealth is diminished, putting pressure on authorities to ruthlessly extract even more funds from the people. For what they cannot collect through taxes they take through currency inflation-- eventually leading to an inability to finance unnecessary and questionable warfare and bringing the process to an end. It happened to the Soviets and their military machine collapsed. Hitler destroyed Germany’s economy, but he financed his aggression for several years by immediately stealing the gold reserves of every country he occupied. That, too, was self-limited and he met his military defeat. For us it’s less difficult since we can confiscate the wealth of American citizens and the savers of the world merely by printing more dollars to support our militarism. Though different in detail, we too must face the prospect that this system of financing is seriously flawed, and our expensive policy of worldwide interventionism will collapse. Only a profound change in attitudes regarding our foreign policy, our fiscal policy, and our monetary policy will save us from ourselves." "Costs are measured differently depending on whether or not a war is defensive or offensive in nature. Costs in each situation may be similar but are tolerated quite differently. The determination of those defending their homeland frequently is underestimated, making it difficult to calculate costs. Consider how long the Vietnamese fought and suffered before routing all foreign armies. For 85 years the Iraqis steadfastly have resisted all foreign occupation, and even their previous history indicates that meddling by western and Christian outsiders in their country would not be tolerated. Those who fight a defensive war see the cost of the conflict differently. Defenders have the goal of surviving and preserving their homeland, religious culture, and their way of life-- despite the shortcomings their prior leaders. Foreigners are seen as a threat. This willingness to defend to the last is especially strong if the society they fight for affords more stability than a war-torn country." 6-05 Editorial: Was the Bush Doctrine Preventive War or Pre-Emptive War? (U.S. News) Argues that the Bush Doctrine involves "preventive war," not "pre-emptive war." "There's a key difference: Pre-emptive war is a long-accepted, noncontroversial practice—if an enemy is clearly massing and about to attack you, you get to strike them pre-emptively. Imagine on the playground the class bully (who has beaten up your friends already) comes up to you, repeatedly threatens to hit you, and then cocks his fist. It's straight self-defense and is a basic tenet of international law." "But the Bush Doctrine is one of preventive war: Attacking another country in order to prevent them from becoming a threat at some nebulous point down the line. To return to the playground analogy, it's as if you hauled off and socked someone because they looked at you funny—that odd look could be a signal that at some point in the future they're going to hit you. Better safe than sorry. But now you're the bully." 09-08 Editorial: Young Iraqi Doctor's Experience (GlobalResearch.ca) "Dr. Salam Ismael is in Europe to testify about the human rights violations committed against his people in Iraq." 01-06 Essay - Alternative to War in Iraq (OpenDemocracy.net - Jabar) "In all the decades of struggle and international lobbying, one approach has never been tried: a meaningful political process to disengage the various components of the regime from each other." 12-02 Essay - Domination of Middle East Real Reason for War (WorkingforChange.com - Sheer) "The entire world is astonished that our president is lying, not about a personal indiscretion, but about the most sacred duty of the leader of the most powerful nation in human history: the duty not to recklessly endanger the lives of his own or the world's people." "The first lie, claimed outright, was that Iraq aided and abetted the Sept. 11 terrorists. There is no evidence at all for this claim." "The second lie was that Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction represent an imminent threat to U.S. security." "The third and most dangerous lie is that our mission now is to bring lasting peace to the Mideast by a devastating invasion of Iraq, which will end, as the president outlined last week, in U.S. dominance over the structure of government and politics throughout the region." "This construction of a new world order comes from a naive and untraveled president, emboldened in his ignorance by advisors who have been plotting an aggressive Pax Americana ever since the Soviet bloc's collapse." 3-03 Essay - Moral Case Against Immediate War With Iraq (Guardian Unlimited - Tisdall) "The two main US-British arguments in favour of launching a war on Iraq next month - that Saddam currently possesses deployable weapons of mass destruction and poses an immediate or near-term threat to the region and to us - already had few takers before Friday's UN meeting. In his peculiarly dispassionate, persuasive way, Blix further undermined and, for many, destroyed the credibility of the Anglo-American case for an early, pre-emptive attack."  "A third core argument... - that Saddam is in cahoots with al-Qaida and is somehow linked or even to blame for 9/11 - is not seen as convincing even by those who have espoused it." "The onus is surely on Blair, not his opponents, to explain the morality of rejecting Blix's provisional conclusion that his inspections are beginning to work. It is not 'moral' to turn to the 'last resort' of violence when Iraq has conceded many of the UN's demands and when South Africa, for example, is offering its good offices and experience in assuring nuclear disarmament."  "Nobody advocates doing 'nothing' about Iraq.... An intensified, permanent UN-led disarmament process, containment and sustained diplomatic pressure to remove Saddam is hardly nothing. Rather, it is the consensual, common sense and proper way forward. For sure, Bush may scorn such arguments. But others have a moral duty not to aid and abet his irresponsibility. Like his other arguments, Blair's 'moral' case for war does not convince. It is but another excuse for the inexcusable." (Guardian Unlimited is a British newspaper.) 2-03 Essay - Unintended Consquences of Attacking Iraq (AntiWar.com - Paul) "It seems the obsession about Iraq's improbable possession of nuclear weapons far exceeds the more realistic possibility that our pre-emptive strike against Iraq may precipitate a nuclear exchange between these two countries [India and Pakistan], or even a first strike with nuclear weapons by Israel against Iraq." 11-30-02 Essays - After Winning the War in Iraq (The Atlantic - Fallows) Describes the obligations that the USA will have after a war with Iraq. Also challenges some basic assumptions about why the USA should go to war with Iraq. "I ended up thinking that the Nazi analogy paralyzes the debate about Iraq rather than clarifying it. Like any other episode in history, today's situation is both familiar and new. In the ruthlessness of the adversary it resembles dealing with Adolf Hitler. But Iraq, unlike Germany, has no industrial base and few military allies nearby." "As a rule, the strongest advocates of pre-emptive attack [against Iraq], within the government and in the press, had neither served in the military nor lived in Arab societies. Military veterans and Arabists were generally doves." 11-30-02 European and Middle East Leaders Alarmed by Bush Administration's Position on Iraq (CNN - Oakley) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said '' 'If you strike Iraq and kill the people of Iraq while Palestinians are being killed by Israel... then not one Arab leader will be able to control the angry outburst of the masses.' " In addition, European nations "have noted with alarm what they see as growing unilateralist attitudes in the U.S.," according to Oakley. "Even the United States' staunchest ally in Europe [the UK] still prefers the diplomatic course to the military one at this stage." 9-02 Fragile Treasures of the World at Risk in Iraq (International Herald Tribune - Melikian) "Within weeks, some of the most important monuments, works of art and written archives of the history of East and West could be at risk." "If war breaks out in Iraq, the dangers threatening a cultural heritage - which matters not only to the land where the monuments stand and the artistic treasures were excavated, but also to our world - will be manifold." "The harm caused by the Gulf War in 1991 was severe." 3-03 Fueling War - Oil and Iraq (Christian Science Monitor - Francis) "With the cold war over, more global conflicts are being spurred by a scramble for natural resources rather than by geopolitics, and poor countries rich in mineral deposits are the new focal point." "Altogether, about a quarter of the roughly 50 wars and armed conflicts active in 2001 had 'a strong resource dimension,' says Michael Renner, a senior researcher with Worldwatch Institute in Washington." 1-03 Fueling War - Oil and Iraq (CommonDreams.org - Klare) "As the United States gears up for an invasion of Iraq, the great unanswered question continues to be: Why is the Bush Administration so determined to topple a government that has been effectively contained by American power for eleven years?" "Growing worries about the stability of Saudi Arabia, principal US supplier there, heightened by revelations of Saudi extremists' involvement in the September 11 terror attacks, have prompted US strategists to seek a backup should future instability lead to a drop in Saudi oil production, which could trigger a global recession." "With proven reserves of 112 billion barrels of oil (compared with 49 billion for Russia and 15 billion for the Caspian states), Iraq alone can serve as a backup for Saudi Arabia. At the same time, control over Iraqi oil would allow US leaders to more easily ignore Saudi demands for US action on behalf of the Palestinians and would weaken OPEC's control over oil prices." "Whoever gains possession of these fields will exercise enormous influence over the global energy markets of the twenty-first century." "This could prove to be the biggest oil grab in modern history, providing hundreds of billions of dollars to US oil firms--many linked to senior officials in the Bush Administration--and helping to avert a future energy crunch in the United States. But is oil worth spilling the blood of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians who get caught in the way? This is the question Congress must ask if we are to have an honest debate on the merits of invading Iraq." 1-03 Fueling War - Oil, War, and Global Warming (CommonDreams.org - San Francisco Chronicle, Martinez and Karliner) "The United States and the rest of the world would be much better off if we cracked down on corporate criminals, while taking the billions of dollars we're set to spend on war and investing them in kicking the oil habit and transforming our energy systems into environmentally sound alternatives." 11-02 Fueling War - Opposition to War for Oil (TargetOil.com) Provides articles to peacefully oppose going to war with Iraq for the purpose of gaining stable oil supplies. "No conflict can ever be understood by looking at just one factor – factors other than oil (e.g. supposed links to terrorism and possible weapons of mass destruction) clearly contribute to the rationale for war – but the dominant economic interest in the region and Iraq has been, is, and will continue to be oil. The peace movement’s rallying cry of 'No blood for oil' has resonance and power because it holds more than a grain of truth when talking about any proposed military action in Iraq." 1-03 Global Outcry Against US Attack on Iraq (Guardian - Watt, Norton-Taylor, and Ward) "Alarmed by growing rhetoric from leading hawks in Washington, key countries from China to Saudi Arabia warned of the devastating consequences of a US-led assault against Iraq." 8-02 Half the World's Children Suffering (Guardian Unlimited) "More than half the world's children are suffering extreme effects of poverty, war and HIV/Aids, denying them a healthy and safe childhood, according to a report published today."  "The report said the world had the capacity to reduce poverty, conflict and HIV/Aids and improve the plight of the world's children. It said Millennium Development Goals, which aim to improve the world through human development by 2015 and were agreed to by the UN's 191 member states in 2000, could be achieved at an annual cost of $40bn (£20.8bn) - $70bn (£36.4bn). World spending on military last year was $956bn (£497.4bn)." 12-04 Leaders Warn About Invasion of Iraq (MSNBC) "Former Secretary of State James Baker became latest member of former President George H. W. Bush’s administration to express reservations about a U.S. attack on Iraq Sunday and encouraged the the White House to build an international coalition." "A number of other influential Republicans — including former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and outgoing House of Representatives Majority Leader Dick Armey — have questioned both the need for and the consequences of a pre-emptive U.S. attack." "Scowcroft, who remains close to the former President Bush, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that attacking Iraq would distract the United States from the war on terrorism. Washington’s European and Arab allies and friends are almost universally opposed to military action." 8-02 Mandela Harshly Criticizes President Bush on Iraq (CBS News) "Former South African President Nelson Mandela delivered a fiery speech denouncing the United States and aiming harsh personal criticism at President Bush." "Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the world's most respected elder statesmen, let the Bush administration have it right between the eyes, reports CBS News Correspondent Tom Fenton." "Mandela said he would support action against Iraq only if it is ordered by the U.N. He urged the people of the United States to join massive protests against Mr. Bush and called on world leaders, especially those with vetoes in the U.N. Security Council, to oppose him." " 'What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust.' " "Last July, the president awarded Mandela the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation's highest civilian honor — dubbing him 'perhaps the most revered statesman of our time.' " 1-03 Misinterpretation of Report on Nuclear Capacity in Iraq (MSNBC) "Seeking to build a case Saturday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction, President Bush cited a satellite photograph and a report by the U.N. atomic energy agency as evidence of Iraq’s impending rearmament. But in response to a report by NBC News, a senior administration official acknowledged Saturday night that the U.N. report drew no such conclusion, and a spokesman for the U.N. agency said the photograph had been misinterpreted." "And both leaders [President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair] mentioned a 1998 report by the U.N.-affiliated International Atomic Energy Agency that said Saddam could be six months away from developing nuclear weapons." "Contrary to Bush’s claim, however, the 1998 IAEA report did not say that Iraq was six months from developing nuclear capability, NBC News’ Robert Windrem reported Saturday."  "Instead, Windrem reported, the Vienna, Austria-based agency said in 1998 that Iraq had been six to 24 months away from such capability before the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the U.N.-monitored weapons inspections that followed."   "The war and the inspections destroyed much of Iraq’s nuclear infrastructure and required Iraq to turn over its highly enriched uranium and plutonium, Windrem reported."  "In a summary of its 1998 report, the IAEA said that 'based on all credible information available to date ... the IAEA has found no indication of Iraq having achieved its programme goal of producing nuclear weapons or of Iraq having retained a physical capability for the production of weapon-useable nuclear material or having clandestinely obtained such material.' ” 9-02 National Council of Churches Urges Diplomacy (Guardian Unlimited) "A visiting U.S. church official urged the United States on Thursday to negotiate with Iraq to avert a war that he said would make the United States less secure and increase the risk of terrorism in the Middle East." "Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches and a former congressman from Pennsylvania, told a news conference that his 13-member delegation expected - on their return to the United States - to meet with Bush administration officials and members of Congress to press for a peaceful solution." "Edgar and other delegation members said they had found a distressing humanitarian situation during four days of visits to Iraqi hospitals and schools. He said the food ration for Iraqis was inadequate to keep them healthy." "He said he wanted to make clear the group does not support authoritarian governments and had asked ``pointed questions'' about freedom in Iraq in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz." "Edgar said a war would harm innocent Iraqis and increase the threat of terrorism aimed at both America and Israel."  1-03 New Black Peace Movement Needed (Guardian Unlimited) Walter Mosley has written a "newly completed book, What Next?, to be published in America early next year. It is a collection of essays whose central theme is that America needs a new peace movement and that the black community should be at the vanguard of that movement." 9-03 Nuclear Risks Grow (Independent - Popham) "At least as damaging as North Korea's departure [from the non-proliferation ban] have been successive moves by Washington to distance itself from nuclear disarmament." "In the run-up to the Iraq war, the US President, George Bush, signed National Security Presidential Directive 17, which said: 'The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force – including potentially nuclear weapons....' " "This assertion, analysts say, undermined...the so-called 'negative security assurances'...not to use nuclear weapons against the non-nuclear weapon states." "The assurances were considered vital in discouraging states from developing their own nuclear weapons.""More and more states are likely to buy the argument that the only way to be secure in a unipolar world is to go down the nuclear road – 'to pre-empt pre-emption', one analyst said." 4-03 Presidential Advisor Urges Restraint With Iraq (WashingtonPost.com - Mufson) "Leading members of Congress and a key adviser to President Bush took the debate over whether to invade Iraq to television talk shows yesterday, with retired Gen. Brent Scowcroft, chairman of the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, strongly urging restraint." "While acknowledging that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was trying to become a threat to the region, Scowcroft, on CBS's 'Face the Nation,' warned that a U.S. invasion of Iraq 'could turn the whole region into a cauldron and, thus, destroy the war on terrorism.' " 8-02 Promoting an "Especially Bad War" (CBS News - Rooney) "The word makes it sound as though we're just a few countries short of having the whole world on our side, and that isn't true. Most of the world is against us. The Administration says 49 countries are part of the coalition. I see that Eritrea, Uganda and Iceland are on our side." "The fact is, though, we're in this thing with the British, who have 45,000 soldiers there, and the Australians, who have 2,000. That's it. The other 46 wish us well or let us fly bombers over their country. Big deal." "We've practically bribed some of them. We offered Turkey $15 billion to let our troops go through there but they refused. President Bush won't be sending the president of Turkey anything for his birthday this year." 4-03 Senator Byrd Against War Powers Act for President Bush (BBC News) " 'This resolution authorizes the president to determine, and authorizes the president to use, military forces as he will, when he will, how he will and wherever he will as long as the threat is tied to Iraq,' Byrd said. 'Suffice it to say that this is a blank check ... given over to the chief executive, not just this one but chief executives who will succeed him....' 'Congress is ceding lock, stock and barrel its power to declare war,' he said. Byrd, who is widely respected for his deep knowledge of the Senate rules, told his colleagues at a Democratic Party luncheon that he would use those rules to put off a vote, a prospect that angered supporters of the resolution.' " 10-02 Timing for the Push Against Iraq (CNN) The Bush administration claims that it did not advocate for a war with Iraq just before the 2002 elections for the purpose of political gain. The record is not so clear and adversaries claim that the talk of war was for political gain. "What's the political convenience? Strategist Dick Morris spelled it out in a recent column: 'Polls show that only one issue works in Bush's favor: terrorism.' '' 12-02 Turkey Endorses Foreign Troops in Turkey (Guardian Unlimited) "Turkey's top military and civilian leaders endorsed basing foreign troops in the country, a move that could open the way for American soldiers to use Turkey as a base for military action against Iraq." However, a bishop from President Bush's church came out against waging war with Iraq. "A bishop of the United Methodist Church, Bush's denomination, appears in a new anti-war ad in which he declares that making war against Iraq 'violates God's law and the teachings of Jesus Christ.' 'Iraq hasn't wronged us. War will only create more terrorists and a more dangerous world for our children,' Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, chief ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Church, says in the 30-second television ad." 1-03 U.N. Inspectors Demand Bush Give Evidence (Independent - Cornwell and Grice) "George Bush was under intense pressure yesterday to give UN weapons inspectors intelligence data that the US says proves Iraq is lying when it claims to have given up its weapons of mass destruction." " 'If the UK and the US are convinced and they say they have evidence, then one would expect they would be able to tell us where is this stuff,' Mr Blix said." "Mr Blair said Britain would aid the weapons team in its search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. But doubts persist over whether the US and Britain possess the hard evidence they claim to have." 12-02 UN Oil-for-Food Program for Iraq (Transnational Foudation for Peace and Future Research - Harleman) "To sum up, in 10 years, the UN sanctions against Iraq have transformed a nearly fully developed country into a developing one. The 'Oil-for-Food' Programme has not become the solution to the problem - it has become the problem itself." 9-02 View - Iraq Would Not Start a War With the USA (CNN) "It's unlikely Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would use weapons of mass destruction against the United States unless his country were attacked, a leading U.S. senator on defense policy said Saturday." 5-02 War Resistance Online (CBC News) "The peace movement believes it has managed to move millions of people to the streets in protest - from their computers. That's something that wouldn't have happened without the Internet." 3-03 Projects ANSWER Anti-War Organization (InternationalAnser.org) Provides organization for protests to war.10-03 Help for U.S. Soldiers and Iraqi Children (MichaelMoore.com) Describes projects to support U.S. soldiers, Iraqi children, and more. Some projects are anti-war. 10-04 Peace Coalition (National Youth and Student Peace Coalition) Dedicated to working with other groups to promote world peace and protest war. 2-03 Supporting Spokespeople for Bringing Troops Home (TrueMajority.org) "The most effective spokespeople for bringing the troops home are the mothers, fathers, and family members of soldiers killed in Iraq, who are demanding to know why President Bush sent their sons, daughters, husbands and wives off to die." 8-05

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