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Delegates from all parts of the U.S. gathered in Washington DC June 15-18 to attend the Education for Peace in Iraq Center’s (EPIC) Iraq Forum and to lobby members of congress to lift economic sanctions and oppose prominent hardliners in Washington who are pushing the president to launch a full scale invasion of Iraq. Speakers at the Iraq Forum included Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies; Christine Gosden, University of Liverpool; Michael Amity, Washington Kurdish Institute; Scot Ritter, former UNSCOM Chief Weapons Inspector; Kathy Kelly, Voices in the Wilderness, and many others.
According to EPIC’s founder, Erik Gustafson, the fourth EPIC summer lobby days was the most successful yet in terms of how receptive offices were to the information provided by EPIC activists. Over 180 offices were visited in the two days. EPIC staff also prepared and delivered lists of all the over 7,000 signers of the Peace Pledge to their respective congressional offices. Signers of the Peace Pledge have committed to work for lifting the sanctions and ending the war in Iraq. The Peace Pledge, sponsored by Fellowship of Reconciliation, is still active and EPIC will be coordinating with FOR to make this information available to members of congress on a regular basis.
While delegates lobbied for peace, the Bush administration announced its order for covert CIA operations to oust Saddam Hussein. CIA director George Tenet has estimated that covert action without attendant military action has only about a 10-20% chance of success. The pentagon and CIA have begun preparations for an assault using 200,000 or more troops. Bush spoke openly about preemptive action against potential enemies at the U.S. Military Academy. Iraq is very likely to be the “test case” of this massive and dangerous shift in U.S. policy.
There is no legal justification for the use of force against Iraq. Iraq has not initiated aggression against the United States or any other country. Iraq is no immediate threat to the security of the United States, and there is no evidence linking Iraq to terrorist activity. Senator Graham, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has stated publicly that there is no intelligence to indicate that Iraq currently has weapons of mass destruction.
Improvement in the economy of Iraq under UN Resolution 1409 is not anticipated. It’s basically the same deal that Iraq has had for the past 12 years. Approximately 40% of the oil revenue is withheld for payment of reparations and to cover U.N. expenses and currently 2,123 contracts valued at $5.2 billion are on hold. Iraq receives no cash through this program for paying civil servants, medical workers, or teachers. Foreign investment is not permitted. Iraqi children are still at great risk of suffering malnutrition and treatable diseases due to unsafe water, insufficient diet and a lack of medicine.
In December, 1999 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1284 (without the support of three permanent members, China, France and Russia) replacing UNSCOM by the United Nations Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). The final preparations for deployment of UNMOVIC will be discussed in Vienna in early July. Successful UNMOVIC inspections would allow for at least a temporary suspension of economic sanctions.
Clearly dictatorships should be resisted, but neither Iraq nor the U.S. have anything to gain from extending the “war on terrorism” to Iraq. The brutal dictator remains entrenched because of, not despite, more than 12 years of war and the most draconian economic sanctions ever imposed on a nation. Replacing one dictator with another is not the answer, according to Eric Gustafson, the U.S. should be helping Iraqis bring about a sustainable democracy.
Ambassador Clovis Maksoud proposed that ending the sanctions and restarting arms inspections should occur simultaneously, and U.N. humanitarian assistance within the Arab League would lessen dependence on the regime. He stated “it is the resiliency of the Iraqi people that can achieve political change.” The United States should stand for peace and democracy through principled negotiation, diplomacy, and multilateral cooperation.
For more information - EPIC: WWW.epic-usa.org, FOR: www.forusa.org or Connie Hammond, 614-268-2637
According to EPIC’s founder, Erik Gustafson, the fourth EPIC summer lobby days was the most successful yet in terms of how receptive offices were to the information provided by EPIC activists. Over 180 offices were visited in the two days. EPIC staff also prepared and delivered lists of all the over 7,000 signers of the Peace Pledge to their respective congressional offices. Signers of the Peace Pledge have committed to work for lifting the sanctions and ending the war in Iraq. The Peace Pledge, sponsored by Fellowship of Reconciliation, is still active and EPIC will be coordinating with FOR to make this information available to members of congress on a regular basis.
While delegates lobbied for peace, the Bush administration announced its order for covert CIA operations to oust Saddam Hussein. CIA director George Tenet has estimated that covert action without attendant military action has only about a 10-20% chance of success. The pentagon and CIA have begun preparations for an assault using 200,000 or more troops. Bush spoke openly about preemptive action against potential enemies at the U.S. Military Academy. Iraq is very likely to be the “test case” of this massive and dangerous shift in U.S. policy.
There is no legal justification for the use of force against Iraq. Iraq has not initiated aggression against the United States or any other country. Iraq is no immediate threat to the security of the United States, and there is no evidence linking Iraq to terrorist activity. Senator Graham, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has stated publicly that there is no intelligence to indicate that Iraq currently has weapons of mass destruction.
Improvement in the economy of Iraq under UN Resolution 1409 is not anticipated. It’s basically the same deal that Iraq has had for the past 12 years. Approximately 40% of the oil revenue is withheld for payment of reparations and to cover U.N. expenses and currently 2,123 contracts valued at $5.2 billion are on hold. Iraq receives no cash through this program for paying civil servants, medical workers, or teachers. Foreign investment is not permitted. Iraqi children are still at great risk of suffering malnutrition and treatable diseases due to unsafe water, insufficient diet and a lack of medicine.
In December, 1999 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1284 (without the support of three permanent members, China, France and Russia) replacing UNSCOM by the United Nations Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). The final preparations for deployment of UNMOVIC will be discussed in Vienna in early July. Successful UNMOVIC inspections would allow for at least a temporary suspension of economic sanctions.
Clearly dictatorships should be resisted, but neither Iraq nor the U.S. have anything to gain from extending the “war on terrorism” to Iraq. The brutal dictator remains entrenched because of, not despite, more than 12 years of war and the most draconian economic sanctions ever imposed on a nation. Replacing one dictator with another is not the answer, according to Eric Gustafson, the U.S. should be helping Iraqis bring about a sustainable democracy.
Ambassador Clovis Maksoud proposed that ending the sanctions and restarting arms inspections should occur simultaneously, and U.N. humanitarian assistance within the Arab League would lessen dependence on the regime. He stated “it is the resiliency of the Iraqi people that can achieve political change.” The United States should stand for peace and democracy through principled negotiation, diplomacy, and multilateral cooperation.
For more information - EPIC: WWW.epic-usa.org, FOR: www.forusa.org or Connie Hammond, 614-268-2637