Opposition to US War 2003

America's Foreign Policy and the Sword of Empire	by Amir Butler	December 8, 2003
.......Yet seeking to prevent terrorism and promote democracy by vetoing the people's democratic aspirations is, like the strengthening of the West's totalitarian "allies" in the region, a self-fulfilling prophecy. On the day that Pearl Harbour was bombed, ex-President Herbert Hoover warned that as long as America continues "putting pins in rattlesnakes" it is only natural that one day those rattlesnakes would bite. 19 of those rattlesnakes attacked America on September 11; these same rattlesnakes kill and attack American soldiers every day in Iraq.

Comment	by Larry Ross	February 17, 2004
Tommy Franks, a doomsday scenario	by Robyn E. Blumner	December 7, 2003
The doomsday scenario was laid out by Gen. Tommy Franks, the recently retired head of CentCom, in of all places the December edition of Cigar Aficionado magazine. "What is the worst thing that can happen in our country?" Franks asked rhetorically. "Two steps. The first step would be a nexus between weapons of mass destruction . . . and terrorism." The second step would be "the western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we've seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy." St. Petersburg Times

Arresting The Future	by Tom Hayden, AlterNet	November 21, 2003
MIAMI, Friday 8:21pm EST – The police force continued operating with the brains and appetite of a carnivorous shark today as city officials kept demonstrating "the Miami model" of suppression even as protestors and trade ministers were leaving the city in droves. More


More articles sent to us from Tom Baxter	by Tom Baxter	November 16, 2003
Thanks Tom - Much appreciated

GEORGE BUSH, YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE	by Dave Krieger	November 11, 2003
Mr. Bush, you can continue to deceive, twist and equivocate, but you can't hide the deaths and untold sorrow of yet another war -- unilateral, illegal, immoral and unnecessary.

FREEDOM AND SECURITY	Speech by Al Gore	November 9, 2003
True Republican, so I'm not in agreement with all of the latest "official truth". True Conservative, which means the Constitution is sacred. True lover of freedom and security!

Watch Out What You Ask For	by Norman Solomon	November 8, 2003
This administration doesn't know how to run an occupation! The occupation of Iraq must be challenged not merely because the Bush administration miscalculated or because it's inept, but -- much more importantly -- because militarism and empire are reprehensible. Instead of ceding the media ground to those who demand a better occupation, we should widen the debate by giving voice to a very different vision. Jihad Unspin

Comment	by Larry Ross	October 26, 2003
Backward Christian soldier: An open letter to the Christian General	by Jim Wallis	Sojourners
The kingdom of God doesn't endorse the principalities and powers of nation-states, armies, and the ideologies of empire; but rather calls them all into question. more>>

A Brief History of Computerized Election Fraud in America	By Victoria Collier	October 25 , 2003
In the 2000 election, George W. Bush stole the presidency by combining various forms of vote fraud, not all of which could be concealed from the American public. The month-long battle in Dade County ended with open slaughter of the democratic process, and the occupation of the country by a regime of what may be accurately described as corporate fascists. t r u t h o u t \| Perspective

Protesters to Bush: How Dare You?	by Claire O'Rourke	October 23, 2003
Buses carrying hundreds of protesters were expected to leave Sydney for Canberra this morning, to coincide with the visit by the United States President, George Bush. Sydney Morning Herald

UK adopting Bush's new nuclear strategy	by Christine Dann	February, 2003
Comment	by Larry Ross	October 15, 2003
UK Restates Nuclear Threat	BBC News	February 2, 2003
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon says Saddam Hussein "can be absolutely confident" the UK is willing to use nuclear weapons "in the right conditions". Nelson Mandela said Mr Blair was "no longer prime minister of Britain" but instead "the foreign minister of the United States".

Remarks by Senator Robert C. Byrd (USA) on Iraq War and Lies	by Sen.Robert C. Byrd	October 17, 2003
I cannot stand by and continue to watch our grandchildren become increasingly burdened by the billions that fly out of the Treasury for a war and a policy based largely on propaganda and prevarication. We are borrowing $87 billion to finance this adventure in Iraq. The President is asking this Senate to pay for this war with increased debt, a debt that will have to be paid by our children and by those same troops that are currently fighting this war. I cannot support outlandish tax cuts that plunge our country into potentially disastrous debt while our troops are fighting and dying in a war that the White House chose to begin.

Report: Nuclear Labs Vulnerable to Attack	The Associated Press	October 6, 2003
Security at the nation's nuclear weapons labs is so lax that the facilities have repeatedly failed drills in which mock terrorists captured radioactive material and escaped, according to an article in Vanity Fair magazine. NY Times

	Michael Moore	October 6, 2003
	DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY: Comment by Larry Ross, 6 Oct 2003 I have written a new book, and this Tuesday it's being released. It's called, "DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY?" Because its content is likely to upset more than a few people, the publisher has "embargoed" the book until midnight Monday (which means no store or media outlet or anyone has access to a copy of the book until then).

Who's Sordid Now?

Posted

September 30 , 2003

Cronyism is an important factor in our Iraqi debacle. It's not just that reconstruction is much more expensive than it should be. The really important thing is that cronyism is warping policy: by treating contracts as prizes to be handed to their friends, administration officials are delaying Iraq's recovery, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

	Kennedy Lashes Out on Iraq		by Carl Hulse	September 27, 2003
	on the Senate floor, he said, "The tragedy is that our troops are paying with their lives because the administration failed to prepare a plan to win the peace." New York Times

	THE REBIRTH OF IDEALISM		by Dennis Mitrzyk	September 19, 2003
	Comment by Larry Ross 28/9/03 I have looked at some of the US presidential candidates and feel Denis Kucinich is the best to achieve peace, and change to a more compassionate society in the USA. Wherever you live, the world is a small place with all life at risk from a nuclear war.		......More

DOUBLE-STANDARD AS U.S. SENATE SUPPORTS NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS, SUBCRITICAL NUKE TEST PLANNED TODAY.	from Aust groups	September 18, 2003
The US recently boycotted a meeting to facilitate the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which would end all nuclear tests.

	Gen. Zinni Blasts Bush's Iraq War		by Thomas Ricks	September 5, 2003
	A former U.S. commander for the Middle East who still consults for the State Department yesterday blasted the Bush administration's handling of postwar Iraq, saying it lacked a coherent strategy, a serious plan and sufficient resources.

	Letter to PM on Keeping NZ Nuclear-Free	by Larry Ross	September 5, 2003
	Various authorities have said that there is a greater danger today from nuclear weapons use than at any time since 1945. This is mainly because of the new nuclear doctrines introduced by the Bush Administration in their Nuclear Posture Review and in their various strategic analysis documents.

US BOYCOTT NUCLEAR TEST BAN	Pol D'Huyvetter	September 3-5, 2003
TELL THEM YOU BOYCOTT US PRODUCTS Since 1945 there have been 2051 nuclear tests on our planet. This adds up to an average of one nuclear explosion every 10 days for the past 58 years.

	Please Support HR-2647, the "Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act of 2003"	July 4, 2003
	From Proposition One Committee

Pilger on the "War"	by John Pilger	June 19, 2003
Once more, we hear that America is being "sucked into a quagmire". The rapacious adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan are going badly wrong. America's two "great victories" since 11 September 2001 are unravelling.

So Why Did America Attack Iraq?	DNC Women's Vote Center	June 15, 2003
America and the World Need to Know the Truth
.Republicans refused to open an investigation into the intelligence used by President Bush to claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

	Bush's Impeachable Offenses: Lying & Racketeering	June 15, 2003
	Republicans Vs. The United States Armed Forces: The Sequel. American-led teams have not located either WMD weapons or the "re-built factories" that allegedly produced them.

	Democrats Demand Investigation Into Iraqi WMD Questions	June 14, 2003
	Americans deserve to know the truth about why we went to war in Iraq. Click here to take action now and send a message to President Bush and Senator Pat Roberts demanding a full investigation into the intelligence Bush relied upon when he argued that Iraq presented an imminent threat to the United States.

'They impeach murderers, don't they?'	by Ted Rall	June 13, 2003
Topic: Commander-In-Thief Bush Must Step Down George W. Bush told us that Iraq and Al Qaeda were working together. They weren't. He repeatedly implied that Iraq had had something to do with 9/11. It hadn't. He claimed to have proof that Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons of mass destruction. He didn't. As our allies watched in horror and disgust, Bush conned us into a one-sided war of aggression that killed and maimed thousands of innocent people, destroyed billions of dollars in Iraqi infrastructure, cost tens of billions of dollars, cost the lives of American soldiers, and transformed our international image as the world's shining beacon of freedom into that of a marauding police state. Presidents Nixon and Clinton rightly faced impeachment for comparatively trivial offenses; if we hope to restore our nation's honor, George W. Bush too must face a president's gravest political sanction.

Playwright Pinter blasts 'Nazi America' and 'deluded idiot' Blair	The Guardian	June 11, 2003
The playwright Harold Pinter last night likened George W Bush's administration to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, saying the US was charging towards world domination while the American public and Britain's "mass-murdering" prime minister sat back and watched.

	What Is Happening in America?		by Eliot Weinberger	June 8, 2003
	George Bush is the first unelected President of the United States, installed by a right-wing Supreme Court in a kind of judicial coup d'etat. He is the first to actively subvert one of the pillars of American democracy: the separation of church and state. There are now daily prayer meetings and Bible study groups in every branch of the government, and religious organisations are being given funds to take over educational and welfare programs that have always been the domain of the state.

US 'is an empire in denial'	by Fiachra Gibbons, The Guardian	June 2, 2003
Historian accuses Washington of failing to face the facts The United States is a "danger to the world" because of its denial that it is a military and economic empire, according to Niall Ferguson, historian and new-found darling of the American right. Prof Ferguson is author of Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, the book whose tie-in TV series controversially concentrated on the liberalising latter days of the British empire. He said that America's refusal to admit to "what it was" meant it risked never learning the lessons of British expansionism.

TEN LESSONS OF THE IRAQ WAR	by David Krieger	May 8, 2003
There are always lessons to be learned after a war. Often governments and pundits focus only on lessons having to do with military strategies and tactics, such as troop deployments, engagement in battles, bombing targets and the effectiveness of different weapons systems. There are, of course, far bigger lessons to be learned, and here are some of the principal ones from the Iraq War.

Nuclear weapons In 1945 Planned for Global Domination	by Dr Arjun Makhijani	May , 2003
ARRESTED FOR PEACE!	Atomic Scientists
More than 7,500 arrests were reported in the U.S. alone during anti-war protests between November, 2002 and mid-April, 2003. The latest edition of the Nuclear Resister newsletter chronicles this slice of recent anti-war activism that included more than 300 actions in at least 115 cities and towns in 35 states.

	REPORT FROM GN REPRESENTATIVE AT U.N. MEETING NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
		April/May, 2003
	Highlighting the dangers of Theatre Missile Defense is crucial since so many countries are being ‘tied in’ to the missile defense concept through TMD. In addition promoting the declaration by space-user states of Independent Moratoriums on the Development and Deployment of Weapons in Space will enhance the likelihood of a Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space Treaty (see separate Briefing).

Mayor of Hiroshima Protest Letter to George Bush on Mini-Nukes	from Tadatoshi Akiba	April 21, 2003
	Mayor of Hiroshima
As mayor of the A-bombed city Hiroshima I am outraged by the barbarism that has led you not only to attack Iraq, killing or injuring thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens, but also to develop new nuclear weapons. You are trampling viciously on the hopes of the vast majority of people around the world who seek peace and, on behalf of the residents of Hiroshima, I vehemently protest.

My Oscar "Backlash" (of Bowling for Colombine fame)	by Michael Moore	April 7, 2003
"On behalf of our producers Kathleen Glynn and Michael Donovan (from Canada), I would like to thank the Academy for this award. I have invited the other Documentary nominees on stage with me. They are here in solidarity because we like non-fiction. We like non-fiction because we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where fictitious election results give us a fictitious president. We are now fighting a war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or the fictitious 'Orange Alerts,' we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And, whenever you've got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, you're time is up."

Operation Iraq "Liberation"	by Tom Baxter	April 5, 2003
Saddam Hussein was one of Ronald Reagan's, George 41's and Dick Cheney's favorite dictators. He is one of the most brutal, murderous thugs the U.S. has ever armed and supported.
	.....More from Tom Baxter	November 16, 2003

They do not know what they are doing or why they are doing it	by Robert Fisk	March 31, 2003
Every day public statements on the war are made with great bravado by British and US leaders. A day later most of them turn out to be inaccurate or untrue. Political leaders are understandably evasive about the detailed military strategy, but these evasions and inaccuracies have nothing to do with the movements of the troops.

BUSH STAGES `SHOOTOUT' AT IRAQ CORRAL	by FlyByNews	March 18 , 2003
Court Challenge Still Alive Challenging Bush War Declaration Marbury v. Madison Celebrates 200 Years as the Law of the Land Editor, Jonathan Mark

U.S. WAR & PLANETARY EMPIRE - Blood Money	By William Rivers Pitt	March 10, 2003
The first step towards the establishment of this Pax Americana is, and has always been, the removal of Saddam Hussein and the establishment of an American protectorate in Iraq. t r u t h o u t \| Perspective

The Diversion of Rhetoric Over Reason	by Selwyn Manning	March 7, 2003
Yes the religious card is being played from both sides of this crisis. Yet each week even more disturbing reports emerge. Like from the National Religious Broadcasters Convention where US President George W. Bush was described as “God's chosen man”. Bush sat, listened, then stood up empowered and proclaimed that the imminent American attack on Iraq will be one of Christian morality, that this attack would be, "in the highest moral traditions of our country [the USA]". Column: STATE OF IT Scoop

US Diplomat Resigns Due to War on Iraq	New York Times	February 27, 2003
John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation. ... My faith in my country and its values was the most powerful weapon in my diplomatic arsenal......I believe it no longer.

Men Behind New American Empire	by William Rivers Pitt	February 22, 2003
"To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness, they call it peace." - Tacitus

IRAQ AND THE FAILURES OF DEMOCRACY	by Richard Falk and David Krieger	February 19, 2003
There is no decision in foreign policy more serious than recourse to war. As the Bush administration prods the country toward an unpopular and illegal war with Iraq, it is a matter of national urgency to question whether our constitutional system of government is providing adequate protection to the American people against the scourge of war. Given the turbulence of the current world scene and considering America's military primacy on the global stage, what the United States does affects the well-being, and possibly the survival, of others throughout the world. So we must question whether our system of representative democracy is currently working in relation to this momentous question of war or peace.


Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences	by US Senator Robert Byrd	February 12, 2003
Senate Floor Speech To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war.


AMERICA'S NEW NUCLEAR STRATEGY	*Daily Times Pakistan*	February, 2003
So Journalists should not tell the truth now?? Brushing aside the embarrassing failure of US troops to find the weapons he made the centrepiece of his case for military action, Bush said the invasion thwarted future plots against the United States by “madman” Saddam Hussein. “Saddam Hussein was a gathering threat. He possessed and he used weapons of mass destruction,” he declared here. “I was not about to leave the security of the United States to the desires and hopes of this madman.”

USA HAS GONE MAD - satire or reality....!	by John Le Carre	January 31, 2003
America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War.

Mandela Blasts Bush on Iraq, Warns of 'Holocaust'	by Toby Reynolds, Reuters	January 30, 2003
"It is a tragedy what is happening, what Bush is doing in Iraq," Mandela told an audience in Johannesburg. "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," he added, to loud applause.

	An Eleven Nation Poll		February-March, 2002
	It is good to know that even amongst the US public sentiments after September 11th, the 76 percent of the US citizens support a treaty to ban nuclear weapons.

	Submissions due: NZ Nuclear Free Zone Extension Bill				January 26, 2001
	The two ships carrying nuclear waste from France to Japan, and the ship which has just left Sydney on its way to France carrying radioactive rods from the Lucas Heights reactor - all of which will pass through the Tasman Sea - have highlighted again the problems with the NZ nuclear free zone. As many of you are aware, there is a bill currently at Select Committee stage to extend the NZ nuclear free zone from 12 miles to 200 miles from the coast and to prohibit the transit of high level nuclear waste, nuclear weapons and nuclear-power ships through that extended zone. As you may also be aware, the government has clearly stated they will not allow that bill to pass into law.

Why I Reject Nuclear Deterrence	By Robert Green	December, 2000
Former Navy Commander Robert Green found out at first hand that the theory doesn’t actually work – and decided to make a stand.