The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]
Friends -
I am forwarding and have pasted below, the new Update from
the American Friends Service Committee's Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi
People. Note particularly the point that "Blanket dismissal of all Ba’ath party
members [by the occupation administration] contradicts the Geneva Convention
because it is collective punishment."
Fred Dettmer
Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People
Campaign Update
====================================================================
In This Issue:
- The de-Ba'athification of Iraq
- Collecting Infant Kits for Iraq
- Support Open Hearings on WMD
- Report Challenges U.S./UK on Accountability in Iraq
- The Cost of Occupation
The de-Ba'athification of Iraq
To read recent reports about the impact of U.S. invasion and
occupation, visit AFSC’s web feature, Iraq Aftermath: The Human Face
of War. Our staff in Baghdad write about conditions of hospitals,
lack of essential services, unemployment, and security in the
streets.
Blanket dismissal of all Ba’ath party members contradicts the Geneva
Convention because it is collective punishment. It unfairly affects
many professionals who joined the party to forward their careers as
civil servants. Their contributions are badly needed for rebuilding
Iraqi society.
Professor Husan joined the Ba'ath Party in 1958 at the age of
fifteen. “The party,” he said, “was the only organization capable of
confronting expansion of the Communist Party, which nearly
controlled Iraq after the coup in 1958.” [Editor’s note: Iraq’s 1958
coup was staged against leaders installed by the colonial British
powers.]
In those days, long before Saddam Hussein, the party slogan called
for “unity, freedom, and socialism.” According to Husan, after 1979,
the Ba'ath Party surrendered to the “iron fist of Saddam and his
clique, and it became impossible to leave the party as long as you
were employed by the government, unless you chose to flee the
country. There was an indirect obligation to join and most people
did.”
(Photo at right is of an Iraqi school in Bodeja, June 2002.)
Read the full story
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfAta4Qsmhb/
Collecting Infant Kits for Iraq
Parents around the world hope the best for their children: enough
food to eat, clean water, education, the possibilities for a good
and useful life. Mothers and fathers in Iraq are no different.
In the aftermath of war, much remains unsettled and uncertain for
families in Iraq. The American Friends Service Committee is
continuing to provide material assistance to Iraqis with INFANT CARE
KITS. The kits will be distributed to clinics, maternity wards, and
other places so new mothers will have a few basics to begin life
with their babies.
The kits are badly needed, especially by families in poorer areas.
More than twelve years of economic sanctions since the first Gulf
war adversely affected medical services for most Iraqis. Studies by
UN agencies have shown a steady increase in the infant mortality
rate.
At the Al-Batool Maternity Hospital in Mosul, which AFSC staff
recently visited, 1,200 babies are born each month. A senior
pediatrician expressed support for this project, seeing it as a way
to help educate new mothers in the care of their infants. He said
distributing kits in hospitals serving poorer areas would be
especially helpful.
How to help
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfAwa4Qsmhb/
Support Open Hearings on WMD
The invasion of Iraq was never about weapons of mass destruction.
The truth is more complex and was stated openly in the National
Security Strategy released in September 2002. That called for a
militarized foreign policy and embraced unilateral action.
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, stated in an interview
in last month’s Vanity Fair, "... for reasons that have a lot to do
with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue
that everyone could agree on: weapons of mass destruction."
Concern about the quality of U.S. intelligence claims about WMD is
growing in Congress. Members are calling for a more open process of
investigation, rather than closed-door hearings. Legislation is
being introduced to urge creation of special committees of
investigation or independent commissions.
We need the truth. The U.S. public deserves answers to the tough
questions. We want open, thorough, timely televised public hearings
and an investigation with a broad mandate.
Read more about hearings.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZgvXa4Qsmhb/
Report Challenges U.S./UK on Accountability in Iraq
Amnesty International released a report in June documenting the
humanitarian obligations of an occupying power. The report, "Human
Rights and the Economic Reconstruction Process in Iraq." offers a
framework to apply international standards.
Positive and negative aspects are examined of the United Nations
resolution granting the U.S./UK authority over Iraq. A primary
concern is lack of accountability for human rights violations or
provision of human rights monitors.
In addition, the report notes that the agencies appointed by the
occupying powers to monitor use of Iraq's oil are not accountable to
the international community. The agencies report directly to the
occupying powers.
The report affirms the importance of having the United Nations and
other international bodies centrally involved with the
reconstruction process.
Read the report.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfABa4Qsmhb/
The Cost of Occupation
Yesterday, at his first news conference since becoming commander and
head of the 24th Infantry (Mechanized) in May, Brigadier General
Dennis E. Hardy stated, “It is still a tough situation in Iraq.
We're assuming that we will be deployed for quite a while. 'Quite a
while' to me means at least a year."
During hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July
9, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that the cost of
U.S. forces in Iraq is topping $3.9 billion a month –- double what
was previously reported. That does NOT include funds for
reconstruction or relief. The hearings also affirm that the 140,000
U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
What is the impact of these costs on social services in your city or
state? A new web site displays a counter that posts an
up-to-the-second count of the cost.
See the local impact.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfBra4Qsmhb/
Campaign Updates are edited by Peter Lems and Melissa Elliott
AFSC Iraq Peace Building Program
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
phone: 215-241-7170; fax: 215-241-7177
Join the Campaign of Conscience on the web.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfAua4Qsmhb/
To: fdettmer@aol.com
From: Campaign of Conscience <conscience@afsc.org>
Subject: IRAQ: Challenges to the Occupation
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 09:27:20 -0700
Reply-To: <conscience@afsc.org>
Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People
Campaign Update
====================================================================
In This Issue:
- The de-Ba'athification of Iraq
- Collecting Infant Kits for Iraq
- Support Open Hearings on WMD
- Report Challenges U.S./UK on Accountability in Iraq
- The Cost of Occupation
The de-Ba'athification of Iraq
To read recent reports about the impact of U.S. invasion and
occupation, visit AFSCs web feature, Iraq Aftermath: The Human Face
of War. Our staff in Baghdad write about conditions of hospitals,
lack of essential services, unemployment, and security in the
streets.
Blanket dismissal of all Baath party members contradicts the Geneva
Convention because it is collective punishment. It unfairly affects
many professionals who joined the party to forward their careers as
civil servants. Their contributions are badly needed for rebuilding
Iraqi society.
Professor Husan joined the Ba'ath Party in 1958 at the age of
fifteen. The party, he said, was the only organization capable of
confronting expansion of the Communist Party, which nearly
controlled Iraq after the coup in 1958. [Editors note: Iraqs 1958
coup was staged against leaders installed by the colonial British
powers.]
In those days, long before Saddam Hussein, the party slogan called
for unity, freedom, and socialism. According to Husan, after 1979,
the Ba'ath Party surrendered to the iron fist of Saddam and his
clique, and it became impossible to leave the party as long as you
were employed by the government, unless you chose to flee the
country. There was an indirect obligation to join and most people
did.
(Photo at right is of an Iraqi school in Bodeja, June 2002.)
Read the full story
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfAta4Qsmhb/
Collecting Infant Kits for Iraq
Parents around the world hope the best for their children: enough
food to eat, clean water, education, the possibilities for a good
and useful life. Mothers and fathers in Iraq are no different.
In the aftermath of war, much remains unsettled and uncertain for
families in Iraq. The American Friends Service Committee is
continuing to provide material assistance to Iraqis with INFANT CARE
KITS. The kits will be distributed to clinics, maternity wards, and
other places so new mothers will have a few basics to begin life
with their babies.
The kits are badly needed, especially by families in poorer areas.
More than twelve years of economic sanctions since the first Gulf
war adversely affected medical services for most Iraqis. Studies by
UN agencies have shown a steady increase in the infant mortality
rate.
At the Al-Batool Maternity Hospital in Mosul, which AFSC staff
recently visited, 1,200 babies are born each month. A senior
pediatrician expressed support for this project, seeing it as a way
to help educate new mothers in the care of their infants. He said
distributing kits in hospitals serving poorer areas would be
especially helpful.
How to help
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfAwa4Qsmhb/
Support Open Hearings on WMD
The invasion of Iraq was never about weapons of mass destruction.
The truth is more complex and was stated openly in the National
Security Strategy released in September 2002. That called for a
militarized foreign policy and embraced unilateral action.
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, stated in an interview
in last months Vanity Fair, "... for reasons that have a lot to do
with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue
that everyone could agree on: weapons of mass destruction."
Concern about the quality of U.S. intelligence claims about WMD is
growing in Congress. Members are calling for a more open process of
investigation, rather than closed-door hearings. Legislation is
being introduced to urge creation of special committees of
investigation or independent commissions.
We need the truth. The U.S. public deserves answers to the tough
questions. We want open, thorough, timely televised public hearings
and an investigation with a broad mandate.
Read more about hearings.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZgvXa4Qsmhb/
Report Challenges U.S./UK on Accountability in Iraq
Amnesty International released a report in June documenting the
humanitarian obligations of an occupying power. The report, "Human
Rights and the Economic Reconstruction Process in Iraq." offers a
framework to apply international standards.
Positive and negative aspects are examined of the United Nations
resolution granting the U.S./UK authority over Iraq. A primary
concern is lack of accountability for human rights violations or
provision of human rights monitors.
In addition, the report notes that the agencies appointed by the
occupying powers to monitor use of Iraq's oil are not accountable to
the international community. The agencies report directly to the
occupying powers.
The report affirms the importance of having the United Nations and
other international bodies centrally involved with the
reconstruction process.
Read the report.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfABa4Qsmhb/
The Cost of Occupation
Yesterday, at his first news conference since becoming commander and
head of the 24th Infantry (Mechanized) in May, Brigadier General
Dennis E. Hardy stated, It is still a tough situation in Iraq.
We're assuming that we will be deployed for quite a while. 'Quite a
while' to me means at least a year."
During hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July
9, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that the cost of
U.S. forces in Iraq is topping $3.9 billion a month - double what
was previously reported. That does NOT include funds for
reconstruction or relief. The hearings also affirm that the 140,000
U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
What is the impact of these costs on social services in your city or
state? A new web site displays a counter that posts an
up-to-the-second count of the cost.
See the local impact.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfBra4Qsmhb/
Campaign Updates are edited by Peter Lems and Melissa Elliott
AFSC Iraq Peace Building Program
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
phone: 215-241-7170; fax: 215-241-7177
Join the Campaign of Conscience on the web.
http://conscience.c.tclk.net/maabgseaaZfAua4Qsmhb/
====================================================================
Update your profile here:
http://conscience.u.tclk.net/survey/?a2iYQ8.a4Qsmh.ZmRldHRt
Unsubscribe here:
http://conscience.u.tclk.net/survey/?a2iYQ8.a4Qsmh.ZmRldHRt.u
Delivered by Topica Email Publisher, http://www.email-publisher.com/
_______________________________________________
Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss
To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk
All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk