 March 2002
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Patrica Watson, Editor Sara Burke, Assistant Editor Pat Farren, Founding Editor 2161 Massachusetts Ave. Telephone number: Fax number:
pwork@igc.org Peacework has been published monthly since 1972, intended to serve as a source of dependable information to those who strive for peace and justice and are committed to furthering the nonviolent social change necessary to achieve them. Rooted in Quaker values and informed by AFSC experience and initiatives, Peacework offers a forum for organizers, fostering coalition-building and teaching the methods and strategies that work in the global and local community. Peacework seeks to serve as an incubator for social transformation, introducing a younger generation to a deeper analysis of problems and issues, reminding and re-inspiring long-term activists, encouraging the generations to listen to each other, and creating space for the voices of the disenfranchised. Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
Is Iraq Next? Peter Lems works with the AFSC Iraq program <plems@afsc.org> "The Iraq war has gone on for 11 years," said Rick McCutcheon, young AFSC field representative to Iraq, to a Quaker Summit on Iraq in January. "It's my generation's war and my generation has not woken up." Iraq has been the centerpiece of a larger ideological debate within the current administration: Should international institutions be used to maintain the extraordinary military and economic power of the United States, or should the US act unilaterally to pursue its foreign goals? The perpetual expansion of the "war on terrorism" and the Administration's policy of threats and ultimatums make clear that despite significant concern from allies, it is only a matter of time before the United States intensifies its war on Iraq.
Earlier this year I participated in briefings on Iraq held with
several representatives from the UN. In a remarkable example of
consensus, they agreed that smart sanctions proposals were dead;
that the oil-for-food plan and stewardship over Iraq's
population of 23 million was too large a job for the UN; and that
US policy was now shifting to force a change of regimes in Iraq.
Smart Sanctions? Since 1991, sanctions have contributed to the early deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. The vast majority are dying from preventable illness caused by dirty water, a result of deliberately targeting the water systems during the Gulf War fighting and preventing their rehabilitation under the sanctions policy. The UN officials agreed that the proposal of smart sanctions against Iraq by the US and UK was a public relations maneuver to shift the blame for the continuing humanitarian crisis from the US to the government of Iraq. Under smart sanctions, the number of items allowed into Iraq through the oil-for-food program would expand, but the so-called 'illegal trade' with Turkey, Syria, and Jordan would end and along with it almost all of Iraq's access to cash. Smart sanctions fail to allow the economic revival Iraq so desperately needs. They permit no foreign loans or investment, no access to foreign exchange, and no Iraqi exports other than oil. Iraq would continue to be without resources for salaries of teachers and civil servants or for rehabilitation and upkeep of the shattered infrastructure, hospitals, and schools. Smart sanctions would reduce, not increase, the Iraqi government's access to cash and might deepen rather than relieve the poverty of the Iraqi people.
Since the sanctions were imposed in August of 1990 and the first
bombs dropped in January 1991, US policy towards Iraq has been
nothing less than total war waged on every front: economic, military,
and political. The price paid by the people of Iraq has been enormous.
More than one million are dead (including an average of 150 children
a day, according to UN estimates), the economy is in ruins along
with the civil infrastructure, the middle class is depleted and
the entire professional class is isolated. If we are to dismantle
this complicated apparatus of war against Iraq we must take a
comprehensive approach. Campaign of Conscience--Alternative to Sanctions The Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People is a nonviolent initiative of AFSC, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and Pax Christi-USA to break the isolation of Iraqis and educate the public about the human toll of sanctions. It calls for an end to the UN/US government's continuing economic sanctions against Iraq. In 2000, the Campaign sent four water chlorinators and a year's supply of chlorine gas for water purification to four different sites in Iraq. This was done without a license from the US government, thereby in violation of the sanctions.
The first set of endorsements of the Campaign--from 60 organizations,
including thirty Friends Meetings, and 1100 individuals--were
delivered to the President, Secretary of State, and the Chair
of the UN Sanctions Committee in October of 2000. The endorsement
stated that by breaking the sanctions, we affirmed international
law and the moral imperative to assist people who are suffering.
By June of 2001, the list of Campaign of Conscience endorsers
had expanded to 150 organizations and nearly 2000 individuals.
In conjunction with a lobby day in Washington DC, a petition with
all these endorsements was delivered to every member of Congress.
Campaign Goals for 2002
This year the Campaign of Conscience will expand from providing
specific pieces of water purification equipment to the broader
reconstruction of an entire water system complete with pumps,
reservoirs, and generators.The system will serve scattered villages
and five schools in the Bagooba region, 100 kilometers west of
Baghdad, a region that has been deeply damaged by the sanctions.
A Quaker Summit on Iraq: Translating Faith Into Deeds
The Quaker summit, where Rick McCutcheon challenged participants
to see the continued use of sanctions as a new form of warfare,
was a step toward fostering a broader and more inclusive network
of advocates to enrich and strengthen this Campaign. Lobbying
to change US policy, sponsoring cultural exchanges and delegations,
educating the media and our elected officials, and raising funds
and awareness for the water projects in Iraq are important components
of this effort. Sign the Peace Pledge As of February 2002, more than 1900 people from 37 countries, including 46 US states have signed a pledge to oppose the ongoing economic and military warfare against Iraq, and to publicly denounce any escalation of the "war against terrorism" to that country. The Campaign of Conscience Peace Pledge offers action steps and a way to make visible the growing opposition to the perpetual expansion of this war.
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