March 2003

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Short takes

From "King George's State of the Union: High Political Theater," William D. Hartung, The Arms Trade Resource Center Update, Jan 31, 2003.

… A recent piece by Judith Shulevitz in the New York Times book review of January 26th deals with a new initiative to put "great books" in the hands of US military personnel. The privately-funded program, which has been well received by US troops stationed overseas, has allowed the Pentagon to distribute copies of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and Shakespeare's "Henry V," along with a book of military profiles and a collection of soldiers' letters home.

The narrow military focus of the titles has drawn criticism from British columnists who note that the WWII program that the current book distribution was inspired by included a wider range of books with a greater critical depth, from Faulkner, Hemingway, and Virginia Woolf to Kafka, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens. Shulevitz concurs, observing that "seeking out the new and the challenging is not part of the public relations agenda today."

Thankfully, literature can be a double-edged sword when used for propaganda purposes, as Shulevitz notes, describing the relevance of Shakespeare's "Henry V." "The play's plotline offers more commentary on our current situation than the Pentagon probably intended. A newly crowned king's claim to the throne is subject to grave constitutional question, since his father usurped it by murdering its previous holder. The king needs to win his people's trust; he also wants them to forget his youth as a drunk and a bum. He does exactly that by skillfully and courageously prosecuting a war against France, just as his father told him to do: ‘Be it thy course to busy giddy minds/ With foreign quarrels.'"

Shulevitz ends her essay by suggesting that at least some of the US military personnel reading their Pentagon-approved copies of Henry V "are likely to realize that it makes something of a case against foreign wars waged by dynastic leaders for less than purely disinterested reasons." Or, as the headnote to the piece puts it "Henry leads his nation into a dangerous, unnecessary, and unjustified war." Sound familiar?

As combat troops once again leave nearby Fort Carson for the Persian Gulf, freshman cadets at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs are receiving a thought-provoking lecture from their history teacher: "President Bush speaks of the need to ‘defend civilization,'" Lt. Col. Dave Kirkham tells his students. "Then I point out the irony of defending civilization against the cradl"Great Books" for Soldierse of civilization," adds Kirkham. Ancient Mesopotamia, which covered modern-day Iraq, "is deemed to be where it all started."

Says veteran archaeologist McGuire Gibson of the University of Chicago, "The whole country is an archaeological site."

Ur, believed to be the Western world's first city, flourished in Mesopotamia about 5500 years ago. Its famed temple, or ziggurat, to the moon god was damaged during the Gulf War of 1991. Allied forces left four massive bomb craters, including one within the temple complex, and 400 bullet holes in the temple walls.

From >Christopher Miniclier, >Denver Post, 1/26/03(courtesy TheAcorn@earthlink.net).

In Print

Iraq: Axis of Evil? Saddam Hussein & the USA, Kamil Mahdi, 192 pp; maps & index; $55 hb or $17.50 sb + s&h; up-to-date examination of the state of Hussein's regime & Iraq's economy, analysis of the impact of sanctions, & the real motives behind the US policy moving us to war; from an Iraqi exile; Zed Books, 7 Cynthia St, London N1 9JF, England; 44/020 7837 4014 x 8466; www.zedbooks.demon.co.uk

Iraq Under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions & War, Anthony Arnove, ed; 248 pp; $40 hb or $16 sb + $3.50 s&h; leading voices against the sanctions document the human, environmental, & social toll of the US-led war against Iraq; South End Press, 7 Brookline St #1, Boston MA 02139; 617/547-4002; www.southendpress.org

Understanding the US-Iraq Crisis: A Primer (pamphlet), Phyllis Bennis; $2 (bulk rates available); answers 43 basic questions about the current march to war, the history of US-Iraq relations, & alternatives to the current policy; Institute for Policy Studies, Dorian Lipscombe, 733 15th St NW #1020, Washington DC 20005; 202/234-9382; dorian@ips-dc.org; www.ips-dc.org/iraq/primer.htm

On-Line

Emergency Campaign on Iraq, to promote a human rights solution to the crisis through development & distribution of education & advocacy strategies; these include a report available from a team of experts recently back from Iraq on the foreseeable effects of damage or disruption to civilian infrastructure, food distribution network, & public health system; also fact sheets, legal opinions, & other human rights resources; Center for Economic & Social Rights, 162 Montague St #2, Brooklyn NY 11201; 718/237-9145; www.cesr.org

Global Policy Forum monitors global policy at the United Nations; policy paper on Iraq sanctions, history on weapons inspections program, and analysis of how the mass media represents the Iraq crisis; 777 UN Plaza, #7G, New York New York, 10017; 212/557-3161; www.globalpolicy.org

Iraq Resource Guide, an online compilation of information: Iraq 101, Activist Resources, On Threats of War, On Sanctions, AFSC Statements and Reports, Especially for Teachers, Other Reports, Videos, Feature Stories, & Links; very thorough; American Friends Service Committee, Iraq Peacebuilding Program; www.afsc.org/iraq/guide

United for Peace and Justice offers reporting on past & upcoming events, informational & inspirational flyers to be downloaded & shared, resources for organizing, examples of anti-war statements, local organizing contacts, & much more; www.unitedforpeace.org

Alternative Media

MoveOn provides biweekly action updates via email; to subscribe go to www.moveon.org

Iraq Journal provides regular reports from Iraq coordinated by Democracy Now at their website www.iraqjournal.org

The Education for Peace In Iraq Center (EPIC) provides weekly alerts from Washington DC via email; to subscribe go to www.saveageneration.org

Speakers

Iraq Speakers Bureau is made up of policy experts, diplomats, former UN officials, human rights activists, and public health researchers; Chris Fitz, Iraq Speakers Bureau, Education for Peace in Iraq Center, 1101 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003; 202/543-6176; isb@igc.org; www.saveageneration.org

Foreign Policy in Focus is a "think tank without walls" that functions as an international network of more than 650 policy analysts & advocates; contact Juliette, 202/234-9382 x 254; juliette@ips-dc.org

Global Exchange Speakers Bureau, dynamic grassroots & community leaders who offer analysis, provide real solutions, & opportunities to build powerful citizen coalitions; 2017 Mission St, San Francisco CA 94110; 415/255-7296 x 244; speakers@globalexchange.org; www.globalexchange.org

Petitions and Pledges

Women's International League for Peace & Freedom has started a petition, "Women to Women," which is a letter from women in the US to the women of Iraq stating that we are against the war; to download & circulate the petition go to their website; WILPF, 1213 Race St, Philadelphia PA 19107; 215/563-7110; www.wilpf.org

Pledge of Resistance calls for nonviolent civil disobedience in the event that the US wages war against Iraq; actions will be coordinated locally & people who sign will be contacted; www.peacepledge.org

Iraq Peace Pledge is a declaration to support peace in Iraq; signers' names & addresses are passed on to their Congresspeople; is available to be printed & circulated for signatures or you can sign online; www.peacepledge.org

Videos

It Pays to Advertise, 10/02, 15 min; a "must-see" after Colin Powell's presentation to the UN; 60 Minutes segment exposes some of the biggest lies used to sell the 1991 Gulf War & the need for war in 2003

Scott Ritter: The Case Against the US War on Iraq, 10/02, 55 min; UN arms inspector in Iraq from 1991-1998, Ritter reports there is no case for war with Iraq

These videos & many more dealing with the current crisis are available to be rented from the AFSC Video & Film Library, 2161 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge MA 02140; 617/497-5273; www.afsc.org/nero/nevlib.htm

Materials

"No Iraq War" yard sign; get one for your yard; contact Pat Gallagher, No War Signs Project; 206/271-4153; www.nowarsign.org

"Inspections Work. War Won't." poster; can be downloaded from www.moveon.org

Regime Change Begins at Home stickers & much more, from Progressive Resources Catalog; find a large selection of peace & justice oriented t-shirts, posters, buttons, & more; custom & bulk ordering available; Donnelly/Colt Progressive Resources Catalog, Box 188, Hampton CT 06247; www.donnellycolt.com

Many of the organizations listed offer multiple resources, including links to many other organizations that are working for peace in Iraq.

From the Iraq Peace Team, Baghdad, 3/1/03, Ramzi Kysia <rrkysia@yahoo.com>

We, the undersigned 20 members of the Iraq Peace Team in Baghdad, write you from the brink of tragedy--a flesh and blood tragedy for the people of Iraq, a moral tragedy for the people of the the US. We write you as the US has assembled one of the mightiest war machines ever to plague this fragile and bloodied planet. This war machine is poised to attack Iraq--a comparatively defenseless nation already crippled by years of UN sanctions. A nation whose misfortune, it has been said, is that "our" oil is beneath its sands.

The attack--its Pentagon architects proudly call it ‘shock and awe'--may happen any day now. It's aimed at the cradle of much of the world's civilization. Land of the Tigris and Euphrates, land of Sumer and Babylon, land of Abraham and the Garden of Eden, Iraq is also the land of 24 million human beings--most of whom would be too young to vote or enlist if they were in the US.

We were immensely heartened by the marches in the US--and all over the world--on February 15. We are aware that many will hit the streets the very day ‘shock and awe' commences. Given its unimaginable scale, its unthinkable carnage, however, 'shock and awe' must be stopped BEFORE it happens.

Our Call, then, is for PRE-EMPTIVE nonviolent civil disobedience action in every village and city and capitol in the US. Please join us. We must all mobilize all of our networks. We must all use our collective resourcefulness. We must find ways to throw sand in the gears of the war machine. The precise date of the attack is unknown, but here is reason to believe it may be very soon. The time to act is now.

....In fact, those who really feel that the disaster at Halabja--[deaths of soldiers from poison gas]–has bearing on today might want to consider a different question: Why was Iran so keen on taking the town? A closer look may shed light on America's impetus to invade Iraq.

We are constantly reminded that Iraq has perhaps the world's largest reserves of oil. But in a regional and perhaps even geopolitical sense, it may be more important that Iraq has the most extensive river system in the Middle East. In addition to the Tigris and Euphrates, there are the Greater Zab and Lesser Zab rivers in the north of the country. Iraq was covered with irrigation works by the sixth century A.D., and was a granary for the region.

Before the Persian Gulf war, Iraq had built an impressive system of dams and river control projects, the largest being the Darbandikhan dam in the Kurdish area. And it was this dam the Iranians were aiming to take control of when they seized Halabja. In the 1990s there was much discussion over the construction of a so-called Peace Pipeline that would bring the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates south to the parched Gulf states and, by extension, Israel. No progress has been made on this, largely because of Iraqi intransigence. With Iraq in American hands, of course, all that could change.

From "A War Crime or an Act of War?" by Stephen C. Pelletierre, NYT, 1/31/03

Mordechai Vanunu, who in 1986 blew the whistle on Israel's secret nuclear weapons arsenal, was denied early release by the District Court of Beersheba, January 16. The meaning of this ruling is, that Vanunu, who spent 11 1/2 years of his 18 year sentence in solitary confinement, will have to complete his entire term. Vanunu is scheduled to be released in April, 2004.

There is little doubt among Vanunu's supporters in Israel that the Court's ruling, while partially an act of vindictiveness on the part of the security establishment, is mostly motivated by the fear of the Israeli government that Vanunu's release at this time would inevitably lead to increased international attention to Israel's weapons of mass destruction. Like other states that are termed "rogue nations," Israel maintains facilities for manufacturing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, as well as a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons, yet it has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and refuses to allow any independent inspections.

Despite the Court's disappointing ruling, Vanunu's message was present at a recent 3000-strong antiwar demonstration in Tel-Aviv; several demonstrators held placards reading: "Blix, come to Israel," "UN Inspect Dimona," "Disarm Israel," and "We also have Weapons of Mass Destruction."

--Rayna Moss, 2/16/03

•Israeli Committee against House Demolitions www.icahd.org
•Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights www.jcser.org
•Rebuilding Homes Campaign www.rebuildinghomes.org
•Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center www.planet.edu
•Israeli/Palestinian Center for Research and Information www.ipcri.org
•Rabbis for Human Rights www.rhr.israel.net
•The Palestinian Center for Rapprochement www.rapprochement.org
•Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy www.mend-pal.org
•Coalition of Women for a Just Peace www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org
•Bat Shalom www.batshalom.org
•Ometz Le'Sarev www.seruv.org
•Friends of Sabeel www.sabeel.org
•Oasis of Peace www.nswas.com
•International Solidarity Movement www.palsolidarity.org

This legislative action message comes from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL).

On Feb. 7, 2003, the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) released a leaked, confidential copy of a Bush Administration draft legislation called the "Domestic Security Enhancement Bill of 2003." This draft bill has been under refinement by the Justice Department as a follow-up of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. Among its provisions, the draft bill would further expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authority, further reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over spying, authorize secret arrests and detentions, create a DNA database for "suspicious" persons, apply the death penalty in new situations, and allow the Administration to strip citizenship by mere inference of the individual's association with terrorists. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, which included unprecedented limitations on civil liberties, was passed at a time of crisis, fear, and confusion created by the September 11 attacks and the anthrax contamination of Senate offices. Congress must not let such a climate cloud its judgment again. Congress must reclaim and exercise its full oversight responsibility and deliberative processes to protect civil liberties and human rights from further erosion.

ACTION: Please call, email, or fax your Representative and Senators today. Urge them to oppose the repressive measures contained in the draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003" or similar legislation by another name, including enhanced surveillance of law abiding citizens, new death penalty provisions, new limitations on the freedom of association and speech, secret arrests and detention, and even a revised standard for expatriation. These provisions must be comprehensively reviewed by both the House and the Senate through public hearings and full congressional debate.

Reaction from civil liberties advocates has been swift and unequivocal: numerous provisions of this draft bill represent further dramatic erosions of civil liberties and human rights. Commentators refer to this draft bill as "Patriot II," the long-anticipated follow-up legislation to the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. The draft legislation appears to be in an advanced stage of preparation, although in recent months Administration sources have repeatedly deflected inquiries from congressional aides and committee staff.

The draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003" would increase secret surveillance; increase control over immigrants; establish new crimes, criminal procedures, and sanctions; name new crimes for which the death penalty can be imposed; grant the Administration right to autopsy without permission in cases of "deadly crimes;" establish a new terrorist-related DNA database; allow removal of citizenship upon inference of association with or support for "terrorist organizations;" allow extradition without treaty; and give the Administration greatly expanded discretion in deportation matters.

Numerous provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 have resulted in unprecedented erosions of civil liberties and human rights. Let your legislators know that this follow-up legislation to the 2001 Act gives Congress a fresh opportunity to exercise oversight and proper governance, and to mitigate and reverse previous inroads into our civil liberties and human rights.

• To read a copy of the Administration's draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003": www.pbs.org/now/politics/lewis.html
` OF CONGRESS EASIER: It is easy to send email or faxes. Start with the sample letter posted in our Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then email or fax your message directly from our site. You can also print it out and mail it. To view the sample letter, click on the link below, then enter your zip code and click <Go> in the <Take Action Now> box. Here is the link: http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=1427181&type=CO

We've paused here at AFSC to remember a man who taught several generations how to go about the business of waging peace.

Russell Johnson died Feb. 11. Born in Farmington, MN, he graduated from Hamline University in Saint Paul and attended Harvard Divinity School. A conscientious objector, Johnson did his World War II alternative service at a mental hospital near Philadelphia where he met Irene Rockwood, whom he married in 1942.Ê Irene, who died in January 1999, was born in Kurnool, India, worked as a visiting nurse, and was a dedicated peace activist.

At Fenway Park, Russ Johnson, with Paul Shannon, AFSC staff, and Glenda Alderman Farren

Johnson served AFSC from 1950 to 1984 as Peace Education Secretary in the New England office. He was an energetic speaker and a tireless organizer activities directed toward better understanding between peoples of the world.Ê Expert on issues relating to the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and Asia, he traveled extensively in the US and around the world. From 1960 through 1965, Russ directed the Quaker-sponsored Conference and Seminar Program for diplomats and young leaders in South and Southeast Asia, living with his family in New Delhi, India. From the early 1950s the family's home has been in Petersham, MA. Johnson loved the country life and was an enthusiastic sports fan, especially of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics. A memorial service will be held in Petersham in the spring.

It's an honorable resume, but not unusual among faithful workers at AFSC and countless sister peace-building NGOs worldwide. What we remember specially about Russ, and what sets him apart, is that he was one who lived out Gandhi's experiment with truth. He was fearless, staunch in opposition to McCarthy before it was fashionable, early in his warnings on Vietnam. Russ displayed a powerful energy that drew out the energy in others. An exemplary organizer, he knew when to give over responsibility. He was a bold and inspiring speaker at high schools and Kiwanis clubs--challenging venues both.

Co-workers remember his courage, his generosity, and his good cheer. They remember an essay Russ Johnson wrote during his years in Cambridge: "The Final Importance of our First Assumptions." The world is going to need the generations Russ nurtured.

Excerpt from a speech given by Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich during his re-election Swearing-In Ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio, 1/5/03

"....You cannot separate war from the economy. You cannot separate war from America's future, from its role in the world and its ability to meet the needs of our own people here at home.

"We need to ask the questions: Why does1 America have hundreds of billions to ruin the health and take the lives of innocent people in Iraq, but no money to provide health care for all Americans?

"Why would America spend hundreds of billions to retire Saddam Hussein, but no money to protect the retirement security of its own people?

"Why does America have money to blow up bridges over the Euphrates River in Iraq, but no money to build up bridges over the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland?

"The path America must take is one of peace which leads to prosperity. It is one which understands that creating a structure of peace ensures that economic structures can be sound, affirmative of human needs, and restorative of human values."

When Colin Powell goes to the United Nations today to make his case for war with Saddam, the UN plans to throw a blue cover over Picasso's antiwar masterpiece, "Guernica."

Guernica

Too much of a mixed message, diplomats say. As final preparations for the secretary's presentation were being made last night, a UN spokesman explained, "Tomorrow it will be covered and we will put the Security Council flags in front of it." Mr. Powell can't very well seduce the world into bombing Iraq surrounded on camera by shrieking and mutilated women, men, children, bulls, and horses.

Reporters and cameras will stake out the Secretary of State at the entrance of the UN Security Council, where the tapestry reproduction of "Guernica," contributed by Nelson Rockefeller, hangs. The UN began covering the tapestry last week after getting nervous that Hans Blix's head would end up on TV next to a screaming horse head.

(Maybe the UN was inspired by John Ashcroft's throwing a blue cover over the "Spirit of Justice" statue last year, after her naked marble breast hovered over his head during a televised terrorism briefing.)

Nelson Rockefeller himself started the tradition of covering up art donated by Nelson Rockefeller when he sandblasted Diego Rivera's mural in the RCA Building in 1933 because it included a portrait of Lenin. (Rivera later took his revenge, reproducing the mural for display in Mexico City, but adding to it a portrait of John D. Rockefeller Jr. drinking a martini with a group of "painted ladies.")

There has been too much sandblasting in Washington lately.

--Maureen Dowd, NYT, 2/5/03.

Martha Yager, AFSC-NH Program

It was a lovely Saturday morning. I sat sipping my tea, my puppy nestled beside me. Snow-dusted pines glistened against the deep blue sky. I drank in the beauty and felt deeply content. Then I recalled the Bill Moyer's NOW program from the night before in which he broke the story of proposed legislation to "enhance" the already invasive and frightening USA Patriot Act.

The words "Now I understand how Nazi Germany happened" flashed through my consciousness, accompanied by a wave of nausea at recognizing, on a deep level, who we as a people are becoming. People disappear, caught in INS sweeps or held without rights on unspecified charges. But they are "different," maybe even "illegal." Our neighbors disappear; National Guard or reservists called up to active duty and shipped away. Our sons and daughters in the military are "deployed," unable to tell us where they are going--though we all know. We are supposed to be proud. The President's oratory is passionate and powerful. It is so easy to be sucked into the fear--and then long for safety. Generals and other leaders constantly remind us of the need to be proactive, to get rid of evil.

But I couldn't shake the sense of de ja vu--the images of neighbors quietly disappearing, of flag waving patriotism and national pride, of powerful rhetoric, of young men being sent off to "service."

And the sun shone brilliantly on the fresh snow on the trees as ordinary Germans sat drinking their morning coffee, quietly absorbing the beauty, planning a day of errands and a Valentines party with friends. I understood how good people got sucked into great darkness, not quite aware until it was too late. I feel ill with the fear that once again it is too late and am deeply grateful that later in the day I will be able to join with others in voicing resistance.

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