ISSUE:
#68. Jan. 13, 2003
THIS WEEK:
LEGAL SCHOLAR CALLS FOR
"PRE-EMPTIVE IMPEACHMENT"!
PENTAGON SCIENTISTS SEEK GENE-TWEAKED
SUPER WARRIORS!!
HISTORY LESSON: SADDAM IS THE NEW
WINSTON CHURCHILL!!!
ALSO:
WW3 REPORT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS
CHALLENGE CONSENSUS REALITY
MORE
NUCLEAR PARANOIA!!!
CURRENT HOMELAND SECURITY COLOR ADVISORY CODE: YELLOW
By Bill Weinberg
with David Bloom, Special Correspondent
THE PALESTINE FRONT
1. More Youth Dead in Attacks on Nablus, Balata, Bethlehem
2. Arafat Urges Calm--Despite Gaza IDF Attacks
3. Assassination Bid Kills Two By-Standers in Gaza
4. Two Israelis Killed in Border Infiltrations
5. Mofaz: Israel Preparing "Significant Steps"
6. Sharon Intransigent
7. Sharon Humiliated
8. Arab Candidates Re-Instated
9. Canadian Solidarity Activist Arrested in Jerusalem
10. Tel Aviv's Air Twice as Deadly as Palestinian Attacks
11. WW3 REPORT Exclusive Interview: Palestine Solidarity Activists Challenge Consensus Reality
THE IRAQ FRONT
1. U.N. Estimates Half Million Casualties
2. U.S. Plans 18-Month Occupation
3. New Security Council Configuration May Mean Delay
4. ...But Perle Says U.S. Ready to Go Unilateral
5. Pentagon to Test New Weapons in Iraq
6. Hamas Urges Iraq to Use Suicide Bombers
7. Britain Breaking Ranks?
8. Jack Straw: It's the Oil, Stupid!
9. Russian Warships to Persian Gulf
10. Legal Scholar Calls for "Pre-Emptive Impeachment"
11. History Lesson: Saddam is the New Winston Churchill!
NORTH AFRICA
1. Guerilla Attacks in Algeria
2. Libya Sanctions Extended
WHO'S NEXT?
1. Libya? Syria? Sudan?
THE AFGHANISTAN FRONT
1. Karzai Mounts Anti-Warlord Campaign
2. Study: Evidence of Uranium Poisoning in Afghanistan
THE ANDEAN FRONT
1. Protesters, Military Clash in Venezuela
2. Chavez to Re-Organize Oil Sector, Sideline Bureaucracy
2. Peruvian Terror Laws Revoked
3. Reich Sidelined
THE MEXICO FRONT
1. Zapatistas March on San Cristobal
2. Zapatistas Pledge to Resist Rainforest Expulsions
3. Forced Sterilization in Guerrero
NUCLEAR PARANOIA
1. Federal Court: ABM Treaty Dead
2. North Korea: Bush is Lying
3. NYS: Indian Point Disaster Plans Inadequate
THE WAR AT HOME
1. Feds Seek to Overturn Seattle Anti-Spying Law
2. Police Spying Revealed in Denver, Portland
3. Immigrants Protest "Registration"
4. Guilty Plea in Buffalo Case
5. Courts: Feds Can Hold Citizen-Combatants
WATCHING THE SHADOWS
1. Pentagon Scientists Seek Gene-Tweaked Super Warriors
2. Gulf War Drug Linked to Infertility
3. Activists Challenge Military DU Contamination
NEW YORK CITY
1. 9-11 Survivors Protest War Drive
2. Vampires Exploit 9-11 Relief Fund
3. Architect Criticizes WTC Site Redevelopment Plans
4. NYC Smoking Ban Discriminates Against Hookahs
GLIMMERS OF HOPE
1. Anti-War Industrial Action in Scotland
2. TV Spots Link SUVs to Terrorism
THE PALESTINE FRONT
1. MORE YOUTH DEAD IN ATTACKS ON NABLUS, BALATA, BETHLEHEM
On Jan. 11, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops opened fire on a group of
Palestinian youth who were throwing stones at two tanks in the roadway at
the Askar Refugee Camp, outside Nablus, killing one and injuring many more.
22-year-old Oshan Abdul Aziz Shanir was killed instantly by a bullet to the
heart. The five most seriously wounded were all in their teens. Balata
refugee camp also came under attack, with roads blocked by tanks and all
access blocked--inlduing by medical vehicles. (Electronic Intifada, Jan.
11) The IDF said Shanir threw a firebomb at troops. Israeli troops have
permission to fire at Palestinians throwing firebombs, considered lethal
weapons by the Israeli military. (AP, Jan. 11)
The previous day, 15-year-old Tareq Abu Jaber was killed by Israeli gunfire
in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem as he was throwing stones at
soldiers. Two other youngsters were wounded in the same incident. This
latest death brings the toll for the 27-month-old Palestinian uprising to
2,843 dead--including 2,086 Palestinians and 708 Israelis. (Middle East
On-Line, Jan. 10)
Voice of Israel radio also reported one Palestinian killed and 25 detained
in an IDF raid on a Fatah Tanzim militia cell in Kafr Qallil south of
Nablus Jan. 8. That same day, Voice of Palestine radio reported that Ahmad
Muwaffaq Ajaj, 17, was killed when IDF troops "opened fire indiscriminately
on a gathering of citizens" in Sayda, Tulkarm Governorate. (BBC Monitoring,
Jan. 8)
[top]
2. ARAFAT URGES CALM--DESPITE GAZA IDF ATTACKS
Early Jan. 12, Israeli tanks and troops moved into the Gaza Strip city of
Khan Younis and an adjacent refugee camp, sparking clashes with Palestinian
gunmen. Local hospital officials reported seven residents wounded.
Palestinian security chief Maj. Gen. Abdel Razek Majaidie called it one of
the largest and "most dangerous" Israeli operations in recent months. Amid
the violence, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat called for an
end to attacks against civilians in the two weeks leading up to Israel's
elections. The statement by Arafat's cabinet called on Palestinians "to
show their restraint and not to allow themselves to be dragged along by the
Israeli...provocation." It added: "The attacks on civilians cause great harm
to our cause, in public opinion, for Israeli peace supporters, and at the
international level."
But Israeli official Dore Gold rejected the statement. "What Israel needs
is a cease-fire and a cessation of violence full stop," he said. "A halt to
violence cannot be limited geographically or within a certain period of
time." This apparently refers to the ambiguity on the question of whether
the Israeli settlers on the West Bank and Gaza are "civilians" or
legitimate military targets.
Two Palestinians, aged 12 and 14, were captured after they infiltrated the
Jewish settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip Jan. 11. One was wounded
when a rabbi whose home they had penetrsted opened fire on them. They fled,
but were captured by security forces after a short chase. Authorities said
the youths were armed with knives. (AP, Jan. 11)
Three Palestinians were killed and three others wounded, including a
10-year-old child,
in Dayr al-Balah, Gaza Strip, at dawn Jan. 7 when IDF troops opened fire on
cars and homes, Voice of Palestine radio reported. (BBC Monitoring, Jan. 7)
Palestinian positions based in Gaza responded to the IDF attacks by
launching rocket attacks at Israel's Negev Desert, injuring one. One Kassam
rocket exploded in the city of Sderot, and two others blew up near Kibbutz
Nachal Oz. (Arutz Sheva, Jan. 12)
[top]
3. ASSASSINATION BID KILLS TWO BY-STANDERS IN GAZA
Two fifteen-year-old Palestinian bystanders were killed and a third was
critically injured in an Israeli attempt to assassinate two members of
Hamas with three missiles from an Apache helicopter gunship. Sources in the
Gaza Strip reported the Hamas militants escaped, but a senior Israeli
source told Reuters: "I can confirm we hit three wanted men." It was the
first "targeted killing" attempt in several weeks, Ha'aretz says. Hamas
sources called it "a severe Israeli escalation that will not go
unanswered." (Ha'aretz, Jan. 12; BBC Monitoring: Voice of Palestine, Jan.
12) (David Bloom)
[top]
4. TWO ISRAELIS KILLED IN BORDER INFILTRATIONS
Two Israelis were killed in separate border infiltrations on Jan. 12. One
Israeli man was killed and four were injured at Moshav Gadis, near the West
Bank, when assailants opened fire at cars. Two of the infiltrators were
killed by Israeli forces. The second incident occured near the
Israeli-Egyptian border, near Nitzana. One Israeli and two of the
infiltrators were killed. It was not clear if the assailants were
Palestinian or Egyptian. (Ha'aretz, Jan. 12) (David Bloom)
[top]
5. MOFAZ: ISRAEL PREPARING "SIGNIFICANT STEPS"
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the Israeli cabinet on Jan. 12
that Israeli is preparing to launch a series of "very significant military
steps" against the "terrorist infrastructure" in the Occupied Territories.
(BBC Monitoring: Voice of Israel, Jan. 3) (David Bloom)
[top]
6. SHARON INTRANSIGENT
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was also quick to dismiss Arafat's
remarks calling for calm in the two weeks leading up to Israeli elections.
"We have been informed of remarks by the president of the Palestinian
Authority calling on terrorist organisations to refrain from carrying out
attacks until the elections," Sharon was quoted as telling his weekly
cabinet meeting. "For the president of the Palestinian Authority, the
murder of Israelis is a permanent goal coupled with political
considerations. In his opinion, assassinations of Israelis before an
electoral period are legitimate, but should be stopped in the run-up and be
resumed after the vote." (ABC News, Jan. 13)
[top]
7. SHARON HUMILIATED
An Israeli judge pulled the plug on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon mid-way
through an angry TV address Jan. 9, in which he was responding to
corruption charges which have caused him to plummet in the polls. After
some 20 minutes, in which he accused his opponents of "despicable
slander...with one purpose, to bring down the government of Israel," he was
abruptly taken off the air for violating laws against televised
electioneering. Supporters of Sharon's arch-rival for Likud Party
leadership, far-right Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, are calling for
his resignation. Sharon is being investigated for a $1.5 million loan to
one of his sons from Cyril Kern, a wealthy former textile manufacturer in
Cape Town, South Africa, which is suspected of being used to repay illegal
campaign funds. Sharon could face charges of deception, fraud and lying to
the police over the source of the funds. Sharon told the press he was
"horrified" to learn of the original illegal campaign funds even though the
front company used to launder the funds was set up by his then-lawyer, Dov
Weisglass, who now heads the prime minister's office. (UK Guardian, Jan. 10)
[top]
8. ARAB CANDIDATES RE-INSTATED
Following an outcry from leaders of Israel's 1.2-million Arab minority, the
country's supreme court restored the candidacy of two Arab legislators,
Azmi Bishara and Ahmad Tibi, who had been struck from the ballot by for
allegedly making statements in opposition to the character and existence of
the Jewish state. (NYT, Jan. 10)
See also WW REPORT #66
[top]
9. CANADIAN SOLIDARITY ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN JERUSALEM
Montreal-based activist Jaggi Singh was apprehended Jan. 8 in Jerusalem by
undercover Israeli police. He was on his way to visit a friend, and was
arrested as he arrived at the apartment. Jaggi had traveled to Israel and
the Occupied Territories on invitation of the International Solidarity
Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization which brings together
Palestinians and international supporters to fight the Israeli occupation
through non-violent action. Jaggi was also providing written and audio
reports to various independent news organizations. His arrest comes after
his visit to the Occupied Territories had ended and he was preparing to
leave Israel.
When Jaggi first arrived in Israel in mid-December, he was denied entry to
the country. He refused to return to Canada, and was detained. He spent two
days fighting deportation. After winning a court battle with the assistance
of Israeli lawyer Shamai Leibowitz, Jaggi was granted entry with the
condition that he leave the country by Dec. 23, and that he not enter the
Occupied Territories--a condition which Leibowitz argues is illegal under
international law, given that Israel has no legitimate authority over the
Palestinian territories. Israel has refused entry to 10,000 internationals
over the past two years.
Jaggi is currently being held at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, an
Israeli jail notorious for torture of Palestinian detaines. No details are
being released as to the nature of Jaggi's charges, or how long he will be
held. His supporters are asking for polite but firm calls and e-mails to
the Canadian embassy in Israel expressing concern for Jaggi and demanding
his immediate release.
Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv:
Phone: +011-972-3-636-3300
Fax: (011 9723) 636-3380
E-mail Address: taviv@dfait-maeci.gc.ca
(SF Indymedia, Jan. 8
[top]
10. TEL AVIV'S AIR TWICE AS DEADLY AS PALESTINIAN ATTACKS
According to a joint report by Israel's Environment Ministry and the Israel
Union of Environmentalists (IUE), 1,100 adults in the greater Tel Aviv area
die every year as a result of air pollution--representing 14% of all
mortalities in the over-30 age group. IUE Executive Director Phillip
Warburg blamed traffic, industry and power plants as
the primary sources of air pollution. "Pollution generated by the transport
sector is very likely the number one environmental health hazard in Israel
today," he said. "The number of deaths due to particulate pollution is most
alarming." Warburg also cited power plants, accuising the Israel Electric
Company of skirting pollution control measures. The government has just
approved a 1200-megawatt coal-burning power plant in Ashdod, overriding
objections from the Environment Ministry and environmentalists. "This
decision is inexcusable," said Warburg. "It was made despite the
availability of natural gas off Israel's shoreline and without giving real
consideration to cleaner, safer alternatives." Said Tel Aviv municipal
councilman and Green Party leader Pe'er Visner: "It's now clear to all that
pollution kills. Air pollution is more dangerous than Saddam Hussein. We're
defending out borders but neglecting the land we live on and the air we
breathe." (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 9)
The figures indicate that two years of Intifada have only killed half as
many Israelis as
die in one year from air pollution in Tel Aviv alone.
[top]
11. WW3 REPORT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS CHALLENGE CONSENSUS REALITY
In an in-depth interview this week, the editors of WW 3 REPORT talk to two
Palestine solidarity activists, Steve Quester from Jews Against the
Occupation (JATO), and Zaid Khalil, of Stop US Tax-Funded Aid to Israel Now
(SUSTAIN), groups that call for the full right of return for Palestinian
refugees, and an end to all US aid to Israel. Quester and Khalil speak
about their entry into solidarity work, their experiences in Palestine with
the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and the challenges currently
facing Palestine activism. They also analyze the geo-political roots of US
imperialism's strategic commitment to Israel, the role of oil interests in
this relationship, and Israel's posture in the US War on Terrorism. See the
full text.
[top]
THE IRAQ FRONT
1. U.N. ESTIMATES HALF MILLION CASUALTIES
Up to 500,000 people in Iraq could suffer injuries and require medical
treatment if the US and allies launch a military attack, according to a
confidential UN contingency planning report. The document, entitled "Likely
Humanitarian Scenarios," was posted on the Internet by a British group,
Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. The group did not say how it had
obtained the document. The report also estimates that some three million
people across the Iraq will face "dire" malnutrition as a result of the
attacks. It further warns that "the outbreak of diseases in epidemic if not
pandemic proportions is very likely," citing the risk of cholera and
dysentery. Up to 900,000 refugees could require food and shelter from the
UN and other relief groups, the report warns. (NYT, Jan. 8)
[top]
2. U.S. PLANS 18-MONTH OCCUPATION
Plans now being finalized by President George Bush's national security team
for administering Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein call for a heavy
US military presence in the country for at least 18 months and a quick
takeover of the country's oil fields to pay for reconstruction. The plans
amount to the most ambitious US effort to administer a country since the
occupations of Japan and Germany at the end of World War II. Plans, while
still secret, apparently call for a civilian administrator--perhaps
designated by the UN--to run the country's economy, rebuild schools and
political institutions, and administer aid programs. Placing those powers
in civilian hands, administration officials hope, will quell Arab concerns
that a military commander would wield the kind of unchallenged authority
that Gen. Douglas MacArthur exercised as supreme commander in Japan.
Officials, referring to the ruling Baath Party, say "de-Baathification" of
the country will be at least as complex as de-Nazification was in Germany.
The plans seem to call for maintaining the borders and basic structures of
Saddam's Iraq. An administration document summarizing plans for war trials
says that only "key" senior officials of the Saddam government "would need
to be removed and called to account." Those in the Iraqi hierarchy who help
bring down the government may be offered leniency. It also states that
"government elements closely identified with Saddam's regime, like the
revolutionary courts or the special security organization, will be
eliminated, but much of the rest of the government will be reformed and
kept."
While publicly stating that Iraq's oil would remain what one official
called "the patrimony of the Iraqi people," the administration is
reportedly debating how to protect oil fields during the conflict and how
an occupied Iraq would be represented in the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries--if at all. The administration already anticipates that
neighboring Arab nations will accuse occupied Iraq of pumping oil beyond
OPEC quotas. One official said Washington "fully expects" that the US will
be suspected of undermining OPEC, and it is working on strategies to allay
those fears. He would not describe those strategies.
(Houston Chronicle, Jan. 6)
[top]
3. NEW SECURITY COUNCIL CONFIGURATION MAY MEAN DELAY...
It took nine weeks for the US and the 14 other UN Security Council members
to agree on a Nov. 8 resolution establishing a framework for weapons
inspections and possible military action in Iraq. But just as the optimal
cool-weather season for military action approaches in February, the US may
have to again court the votes of five countries that have just joined the
Council. In a routine annual rotation, Angola, Chile, Germany, Pakistan and
Spain joined the for two-year terms, replacing Colombia, Ireland,
Mauritius, Norway and Singapore. All the departing countries except
Mauritius were solidly behind the Bush administration's efforts. The new
configuration gives the European Union much more potential clout, with
Germany and Spain joining Britain and France, two permanent members with
veto power. Bulgaria, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico, Pakistan and Syria remain
on the Council as non-permanent members for one more year. The other
permanent members are China and Russia. (NYT, Jan. 5)
[top]
4. ...BUT PERLE SAYS U.S. READY TO GO UNILATERAL
Richard Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's Defence Policy Board, said the US
will not delay an attack on Iraq until after the spring, and is prepared to
act without UN approval. "I'm assuming that we will not get a consensus on
the Security Council but it may be possible to get it," Perle said. "It
would be a great mistake to become dependent on it and take the view that
we can't act separately. That would be an abrogation of the president's
responsibility... A consensus would be a useful thing and I think we'd be
willing to wait a little longer to get it but not a long time." He also
implied that the US could act even if the weapons inspectors find no actual
weapons. "If that's the test, we're never going to find a smoking gun,"
Perle said, citing Iraqi concealment. He criticised chief UN weapons
inspector Hans Blix for focusing his efforts on previously known sites.
"They are the last place you would expect Saddam to put something," Perle
said. "You would have to be a complete idiot to do that. The inspectors
returning to known sites makes Blix look foolish." He added that Blix "has
a history from when he was head of the International Atomic Energy Agency
and Saddam built a nuclear capability right under his nose."
(UK Telegraph, Jan. 10)
See also WW3 REPORT #65
[top]
5. PENTAGON TO TEST NEW WEAPONS IN IRAQ
If a new attack on Iraq is launched, the populace will likely serve as
human guinea pigs for a wide array of new Pentagon remote-controlled
weaponry. Some of these weapons have already seen use in combat, such as
the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), which retrofits "dumb" bombs to
make them "smart" and have been used extensively in Afghanistan (see WW3 REPORT #41). Also expected to be widely used
are Predator un-manned flying "robo-assassins" used in both Afghanistan and
Yemen (see WW3 REPORT #59).
Among the new weapons not employed before in combat are microwave "directed
energy" devices, which can be used both to scramble communications systems
and against human troops. Explains military affairs analyst William M.
Arkin: "Microwave weapons work by producing an intense surge of energy,
like a lightning bolt, that short-circuits electrical connections,
interferes with computer motherboards, destroys memory chips and damages
other electrical components. They send a narrow beam of energy that
penetrates about th of an inch into [human] skin, to where nerves that
cause pain are located." (Sidney Morning Herald, Jan. 4)
See also WW3 REPORT #s 58, 46
and 44
[top]
6. HAMAS URGES IRAQ TO USE SUICIDE BOMBERS
The militant Palestinian group Hamas, which has carried out scores of
suicide attacks, urged Iraq--and Saddam's supporters in the Arab world--to
emulate its tactics and send thousands of attackers with explosives
strapped to their bodies into battle against the US. "We call on the Arabs
and Muslims to burn the land under the feet of the American invaders,
especially our brothers in Saudi Arabia because this war is not against
Iraq, it's against the Islamic nation," Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi
told a rally at Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has
dispatched most of the 92 suicide bombers that have killed hundreds in over
two years of Israel-Palestinian conflict. (AP, Jan. 10)
[top]
7. BRITAIN BREAKING RANKS?
Up to 100 British MPs are preparing to rebel against Prime Minister Tony
Blair, and junior ministers could resign if an attack on Iraq is launched
without UN approval. The Labour Party's chief whip, Hilary Armstrong,
passed on to Blair growing demands for evidence of any weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) in Iraq, and a new UN mandate to justify any attack. MPs
are warning that the last time the UK went to war divided--over Suez in
1956--it ended with disaster and Prime Minister Anthony Eden's fall from
power. (UK Guardian, Jan. 9)
The British press reports a possible split within Blair's cabinet, with
some ministers pressing for war against Iraq to be delayed for several
months, possibly until the autumn, to give weapons inspectors more time to
provide clear evidence of new violations. On Jan. 7 Defence Secretary Geoff
Hoon publicly rebuked Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for playing down the
chances of war. The following day in the House Commons, Blair denied that
the Cabinet was split or that he was engaging in "dangerous brinkmanship"
with Saddam. (UK Telegraph, Jan. 9)
[top]
8. JACK STRAW: IT'S THE OIL, STUPID!
On Jan. 6, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted for the first time that
the security of energy sources is a key priority of British foreign policy.
Straw listed energy as one of seven foreign policy priorities in an address
to a meeting of 150 British ambassadors in London. The US and British
governments officially deny that oil is a factor in the looming war with
Iraq, but ministers and officials in Whitehall say privately that oil is
more important in the calculation than weapons of mass destruction. Straw
told ambassadors that, following a review he ordered last year, the Foreign
Office drew up a list of seven strategic priorities, including "to bolster
the security of British and global energy supplies." The others included
minimizing threats to the UK such as uncontrolled migration, transnational
crime and Islamic extremism; maintaining a stable international system
based on the UN, the rule of law and multilateral cooperation; promoting UK
economic interests; and building a strong European Union.
(UK Guardian, Jan. 7)
[top]
9. RUSSIAN WARSHIPS TO PERSIAN GULF
Russia has put three warships on standby to go to the Persian Gulf within
the next month to protect its "national interests" in the event of a US
military attack on Iraq. Russia's Pacific fleet is ordered to prepare two
cruisers and a fuel tanker for immediate deployment to the Gulf. Observers
expect the move to heighten tension between Moscow and Washington. The
cruisers Marshal Shaposhnikov and the Admiral Panteleyev, armed with
missiles and reconnaissance equipment, have been ordered to be ready for
deployment by early February. Lukoil, Russia's biggest oil firm, had a
contract with Baghdad to develop the West Qurna oil-field until last month
when it was abruptly cancelled--reportedly after the regime discovered
Russia had been negotiating with Iraq's opposition. (UK Guardian, Jan. 10)
See also WW3 REPORT #s 59, 58
and 56
[top]
10. LEGAL SCHOLAR CALLS FOR "PRE-EMPTIVE IMPEACHMENT"
International Law Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, notes, "We sentenced Nazi leaders to death for waging a
war of aggression." But he merely wants to impeach George W. Bush, Dick
Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft for their plans to invade Iraq
and create a police state in at home. Boyle is offering his services as
counsel, free of charge, to any Congress member willing to sponsor articles
of impeachment. Boyle says that waging a war of aggression is a crime under
the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and Principles. "It's very clear," he adds,
"if you read all the press reports, they are going to devastate Baghdad, a
metropolitan area of 5 million people. The Nuremberg Charter clearly says
the wanton devastation of a city is a Nuremberg war crime." The US is a
party to the Nuremberg Charter, and constitutionally bound to abide by it,
says Boyle. "The Constitution, in Article 6, says that international
treaties are the supreme law of the land here in the United States of
America."
Boyle argues that the Bush administration has already violated the
Nuremberg Charter via the so-called Bush Doctrine of preventive war and
pre-emptive attack. "This doctrine of pre-emptive warfare or pre-emptive
attack was rejected soundly in the Nuremberg Judgment, " Boyle says. "The
Nuremberg Judgment...rejected this Nazi doctrine of international law of
alleged self-defense." Boyle says the Bush Doctrine, embodied in the
National Security Strategy document, "reads like a Nazi planning document
prior to the Second World War."
In 1991, Boyle worked with Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX) in an effort to
halt Operation Desert Storm. Articles drawn up by Gonzalez and Boyle
charged then-President George HW Bush with:
1) Violating the Equal Protection Clause by having minorities and poor
whites, who were the majority of the soldiers in the Middle East, "fight a
war for oil to preserve the lifestyles of the wealthy."
2) Violating "the Constitution, Federal law, and the UN Charter by bribing,
intimidating, and threatening others, including the members of the UN
Security Council, to support belligerent acts against Iraq."
3) Violating the Nuremberg principles by conspiring to engage in a war that
would cause tens of thousands of civilian deaths.
4) Committing "the United States to acts of war without congressional
consent and contrary to the UN Charter and international law."
5) Committing crimes against the peace by leading the US into aggressive
war against Iraq, in violation of Article 24 of the UN Charter, the
Nuremberg Charter and other international protocols.
Boyle believes that the articles he drafted for Gonzalez's effort to
impeach George H. W. Bush could still serve as a basis for impeaching his
son George W. Bush.
(Killia Ramares for Online Journal)
See also WW3 REPORT #s 52 & 11
[top]
11. HISTORY LESSON: SADDAM IS THE NEW WINSTON CHURCHILL!
"The Iraqi regime...has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its
own citizens." So said President George Bush in his Jan. 29, 2002 State of
the Union Address, thus establishing a key propaganda pillar of the current
war drive. Of course, as WW3 REPORT has repeatedly pointed out, at the time
of Saddam's 1988 gas attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja, he was actually
a client of the US, and a bill to impose sanctions against Iraq in response
to the atrocity never made it out of Congress. (See WW3 REPORT #39)
The US actively aided Saddam's
chemical weapons capacity during the war with Iran in the 1980s, as
recently revealed in the Washington Post. (See WW3 REPORT #66)
Then, when Saddam invaded Kuwait in
1990, he was instantly demonized and the first President George Bush
launched a war drive against Iraq--drawing comparisons to Winston Churchill
standing up to Hitler. Today, Bush the Younger is exploiting similar
propaganda, with BBC recently asking "Is Bush the Churchill of the 21st
Century?" (Aug. 29, 2002)
Few seem to be aware of the historical irony that the first person to use
chemical weapons against the people of Iraq was none other than--Winston
Churchill! Saddam, it seems, was merely emulating the tactics of British
colonial administrators who used poison gas and aerial bombardment to put
down Arab and Kurdish revolts during the post-WWI Mandate period. Writes
Geoff Simons in his book "Iraq: From Sumer to Saddam" (St. Martins Press,
1994), p. 179-81:
"Winston Churchill, as colonial secretary, was sensitive to the cost of
policing the Empire; and was in consequence keen to exploit the potential
of modern technology. This strategy had particular relevance to operations
in Iraq. On 19 February, 1920, before the start of the Arab uprising,
Churchill (then Secretary for War and Air) wrote to Sir Hugh Trenchard, the
pioneer of air warfare. Would it be possible for Trenchard to take control
of Iraq? This would entail 'the provision of some kind of asphyxiating
bombs calculated to cause disablement...but not death...for use in
preliminary operations against turbulent tribes.'
"Churchill was in no doubt that gas could be profitably employed against
the Kurds and Iraqis (as well as against other peoples in the Empire): 'I
do not understand this sqeamishness about the use of gas. I am strongly in
favour of using poison gas against uncivilised tribes.' [Imperial Chief of
Staff] Henry Wilson shared Churchill's enthusiasm for gas as an instrument
of colonial control but the British cabinet was reluctant to sanction the
use of a weapon that had caused such misery and revulsion in the First
World War. Churchill himself was keen to argue that gas, fired from
ground-based guns or dropped from aircraft, would cause 'only discomfort or
illness, but not death' to dissident tribespeople; but his optimistic views
of the effects of gas were mistaken. It was likely that the suggested gas
would permanently damage eyesight and 'kill children and sickly persons,
more especially as the people against whom we intend to use it have no
medical knowledge with which to supply antidotes.'
"Churchill remained unimpressed by such considerations, arguing that the
use of gas, a 'scientific expedient,' should not be prevented 'by the
prejudices of those who do not think clearly.' In the event, gas was used
against the Iraqi rebels with 'excellent moral effect', though gas shells
were not dropped from aircraft because of practical difficulties...
"Today in 1993 there are still Iraqis and Kurds who remember being bombed
and machine-gunned by the RAF in the 1920s. A Kurd from the Korak mountains
commented, seventy years after the event: 'They were bombing here in the
Kaniya Khoran...Sometimes they raided three times a day.' Wing Commander
Lewis, then of 30 Squadron (RAF), Iraq, recalls how quite often 'one would
get a signal that a certain Kurdish village would have to be bombed...'
Similarly, Wing-Commander Gale, also of 30 Squadron: 'If the Kurds hadn't
learned by our example to behave themselves in a civilised way then we had
to spank their bottoms. This was done by bombs and guns.' Wing-Commander
Sir Arthur Harris (later Bomber Harris, head of wartime Bomber Command)
was happy to emphasise that 'The Arab and Kurd now know what real bombing
means in casualties and damage. Within forty-five minutes a full-size
village can be practically wiped out and a third of its inhabitants killed
or injured.'
"It was an easy matter to bomb and machine-gun the tribespeople, because
they had no means of defence or retalitation. Iraq and Kurdistan were also
useful laboratories for new weapons; devices specifically developed by the
Air Ministry for use against tribal villages. The ministry drew up a list
of possible weapons, some of them the forerunners of napalm and
air-to-ground missiles: Phosphorus bombs, war rockets, metal crowsfeet [to
maim livestock] man-killing shrapnel, liquid fire, delay-action bombs.
Many of these weapons were first used in Kurdistan."
Thanks to Americans Against World Empire
[top]
NORTH AFRICA
1. GUERILLA ATTACKS IN ALGERIA
In one of the worst outbreaks of violence in over a decade of conflict in
Algeria, Islamic rebels killed at least 58 over the weekend of Jan. 4-5. In
one attack, guerillas ambushed a military convoy, killing 43. In Zabana,
south of Algiers, rebels killed 13 people from two families, according to
the government news agency. The mayor and another official from Chetaibi
were killed when their vehicle was stopped by guerillas. The newspaper
Liberte said the al-Qaeda network is assisting the Algerian rebels in the
attacks. (Newsday, Jan. 7)
[top]
2. LIBYA SANCTIONS EXTENDED
President Bush extended for another year the economic sanctions against
Libya that were first imposed in 1986. The sanctions prohibit US trade with
Libya, freeze Libyan government assets in the US and restrict US citizens
from travelling freely to the country. (Newsday, Jan. 7)
[top]
WHO'S NEXT?
1. LIBYA? SYRIA? SUDAN?
I in a report to Congress last month, made public Jan. 7, the CIA warned
that Libya, Syria and possibly Sudan are seeking weapons of mass
destruction. "Nuclear, chemical, biological, and ballistic
missile-applicable technology and expertise continues to gradually disperse
worldwide," the agency said, adding that Osama bin Laden "has a more
sophisticated biological weapons research program than previously
discovered."
The report stated: "In 2001, Libya and other countries reportedly used
their secret services to try to obtain technical information on the
development of weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear weapons." According to the report, Tripoli
tried to negotiate with Russia to purchase a nuclear reactor and secure
Moscow's assistance in developing the Tajura Nuclear Research Center. "Such
civil-sector work could present Libya with opportunities to pursue
technologies that also would be suitable for military purposes," the agency
concluded.
As for Syria: "Damascus already holds a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin
but apparently is trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve
agents." The agency believes it is "highly probable" that Syria is also
developing biological weapons. And Sudan "has been developing the
capability to produce chemical weapons for many years," and "may be
interested in a BW program as well."
The report also warned that terrorist groups like bin Laden's al-Qaeda have
"ready access" to information about weapons of mass destruction, and even
to nuclear materials. "We asses terrorist use of radiological dispersal
devices to be a highly credible threat," the report said. (AFP, Jan. 8)
[top]
THE AFGHANISTAN FRONT
1. KARZAI MOUNTS ANTI-WARLORD CAMPAIGN
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is pushing plans to disarm and
demobilize the local warlords and their militias as part of a $1 billion
reconstruction effort backed by the US and the UN. Karzai is enlisting US
troops to extend the central government's fledgling bureaucracy to outlying
areas. He is also finalizing plans to disrupt the smuggling economy that
bypasses government coffers, and has launched an independent commission to
draw up a national constitution by October. "The warlords know that they
cannot survive without the center and they are not strong enough to
challenge the center," he said in a December interview. "There may be acts
of defiance but no challenge. We call the shots, but there is a huge
disconnect between the central government authority and the lack of an
administration."
To prepare the anti-warlord campaign, Karzai purged his own staff of
suspect elements in December, dismissing 29 provincial officials, citing
corruption. He also passed a decree forbiding provincial officials from
having both political and military roles. But he acknowledges that
Afghanistan still lacks a professional administrative class. "I need good,
trained people who are in short supply right now," he said.
Karzai's move may be risky, as he is still dependent on the loyalty of
local warlords. After his election at a grand council, or Loya Jirga,
Karzai co-opted several warlords into the government. Some, notably Uzbek
warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, have been accused of atrocities and
corruption. Karzai now admits he underestimated public revulsion for the
warlords. "Politically speaking, the people are way ahead of us, the
demands they make upon us are enormous and they understand the need for a
central government," said Karzai.
So far, the campaign has met mixed results. Some 10 officials have refused
to resign. In northeastern Kunduz province, UN officials have helped Gen.
Mohammed Daoud to collect some 6,000 arms from local militiamen. In Herat
province, though, warlord Ismail Khan has refused to disarm his 25,000-man
army. While some warlords have accepted Karzai's order to choose a military
or civilian office, others claim not to have heard about the decree. Karzai
chooses not to see this uneven record as a challenge to his authority. "The
bottom line is that nobody has the gall to reject government order but some
work according to Afghan time," he said. US officials support Karzai's
December promise to build a national army, which would weaken warlord rule.
So far, though, only 2,000 soldiers have received training.
(Ahmed Rashid for Eurasianet, Jan. 9)
[top]
2. STUDY: EVIDENCE OF URANIUM POISONING IN AFGHANISTAN
A startling new report based on research in Afghanistan, produced by the
Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC), points to the likelihood of large
sectors of the population being exposed to uranium dust and debris in the
wake of last year's aerial bombardment by US and allied forces. Dr. Asaf
Durakovic, a professor of nuclear medicine and radiology and former adviser
to the US military, set up the independent UMRC to monitor the effects of
depleted uranium (DU), used in many bombs and munitions. He has been
testing US, British, and Canadian troops for uranium poisoning over the
past several years. His findings confirm significant amounts in the
subjects' urine as much as nine years after exposure.
Two teams were sent to Afghanistan for the UMRC study. The first arrived in
June 2002, concentrating on the Jalalabad region. The second arrived four
months later, broadening the study to include the capital Kabul, which has
a population of nearly 3.5 million. The capital contains the highest
recorded number of targets during Operation Enduring Freedom. Urine samples
taken from a number of Jalalabad subjects showed uranium concentrations
400% to 2,000% above that for normal populations--amounts never before
recorded in civilian studies. Reported symptoms consistent with uranium
exposure included joint pains, back/kidney pain, muscle weakness, memory
problems and disorientation. Many of these symptoms are found in Gulf War
and Balkans veterans and civilians. Those exposed to the bombing report
symptoms of flu-type illnesses, bleeding, runny noses and blood-stained
mucous.
The study team itself complained of similar symptoms during their stay.
Most of these
symptoms last for days or months. The team also conducted a preliminary
sample examination of new-born infants, determining that at least 25% may
be suffering from congenital and post-natal health problems that could be
associated with uranium contamination. These include undeveloped muscles,
large head in comparison to body size, skin rashes and infant lethargy.
Durakovic and his team searched for possible alternative causes, such as
geological or industrial sources of uranium, or unrelated factors such as
malnutrition. But the team concluded that DU exposure was the most likely
explanation.
Repeated warnings of possible DU contamination were sent to both the
British and Afghan governments in April by scientific researcher Dai
Williams, author of the report "Mystery Metal in Afghanistan." Warnings
were also sent to the UN Environment Program, the World Health Organization
and Oxfam. All have ignored them and failed to conduct their own
investigations.
In October, Durakovic spoke on al-Jazeera TV, claiming that the amount of
DU used in Afghanistan far exceeded that of past conflicts. He also warned
that if the scale of the attacks in Afghanistan was matched or exceeded in
Iraq, the consequences would be of appalling proportions for both civilians
and military forces.
(Davey Garland for Green Left Weekly, Australia, December 2002)
See also WW3 REPORT #s 63 & 26
[top]
THE ANDEAN FRONT
1. PROTESTERS, MILITARY CLASH IN VENEZUELA
Soldiers hurled tear gas cannisters at tens of thousands of Venezuelans
marching Los Proceres park, outside Fort Tiuna military base, to demand the
armed forces' support in the ongoing strike against President Hugo Chavez.
Nineteen were injured, including Hector Castillo, a photographer for the
local newspaper El Mundo, who was hit by rubber bullets. Protesters shouted
"cowards" at hundreds of soldiers facing them with armored personnel
carriers. Troops also kept back another group of Chavez supporters
protesting nearby. The park is one of eight Chavez-decreed "security zones"
in Caracas, where protests are banned unless authorized by the defense
ministry.
The military--purged of dissidents after the abortive April coup--is
supporting Chavez in the strike. Troops have seized oil tankers,
commandeered gasoline trucks and locked striking workers out of oil
installations. Top commanders have declared their loyalty to Chavez.
Speaking in his weekly radio and television address Jan. 12, Chavez
denounced the strike leaders as "fascists," manipulated by the media.
Venezuela's main TV stations are broadcasting no commercials except
opposition advertisements promoting the strike. Media owners claim they
have been pushed into this stance because Chavez incites followers to
attack reporters. Chavez threatenes to revoke the licenses of TV and radio
stations if they "continue with their irrational insistence on
destabilizing the country by supporting this fascist subversion."
On Jan. 3, Chavez supporters and opponents clashed while police fired tear
gas during an opposition march on Los Proceres. Two Chavez supporters were
killed and some 80 others injured, when unknown gunmen fired on marchers.
Police also intervened Jan. 11 when Chavez supporters blocked the route of
a planned opposition march through the streets of Maracay, the military's
nerve center, and on Margarita island off Venezuela's coast. (AP, Jan. 12)
[top]
2. CHAVEZ TO RE-ORGANIZE OIL SECTOR, SIDELINE BUREAUCRACY
In response to the strike, which has largely immobilized Venezuela's
critical oil industry, Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez announced
plans to "decentralize" the state oil company, PDVSA, splitting it into two
new entities--PDVSA East and PDVSA West. The move is aimed at undercutting
the Caracas-based administrative elite that most vigorously support the
strike. PDVSA is currently the world's fifth largest oil company, and has
the world's largest oil fields outside the Middle East. (NYT, Jan. 7) PDVSA
president Ali Rodriguez, a former guerilla fighter, supports Chavez and is
divided from his own managers. Admitting that the strike has brought the
company to the brink of collapse, he has suspended several top executives
for supporting it. (NYT, Dec. 25) Chavez, meanwhile, has launched a
diplomatic initiative for creation of an international "Friends of
Venezuela" to support his besieged government. He unveiled the initiative
in Brasilia, where he arrived for the inauguration of Brazil's new populist
president Lula da Silva, a likely ally in the effort. (NYT, Jan. 3)
See also WW3 REPORT #65
[top]
3. PERUVIAN TERROR LAWS REVOKED
Peru's Constitutional Tribunal struck down anti-terrorism laws Jan. 3 that
were used to repress rebel movements in the 1990s. The ruling came
following an examination of four decrees made by former President Alberto
Fujimori. The measures, including harsh prison terms and hooded military
tribunals, drew international criticism for their secrecy and lack of due
process. The court declared the use of military tribunals to try civilians
unconstitutional. The move could open the way for civilian trials for some
900 people convicted in military courts--including Abimael Guzman, leader
of the Shining Path guerrillas. But court president Javier Alva said the
ruling would not set guerillas free or disqualify evidence. The court also
said life sentences for terrorism convicts are unconstitutionally
excessive. The ruling was criticized by Fujimori, exiled in Japan following
a corruption scandal that brought down his decade-long regime in 2000. "It
seems the current government has forgotten that hell, has forgotten the
30,000 people killed by barbaric terrorism," he said. (AP, Jan. 4)
[top]
4. REICH SIDELINED
The White House announced a new job--actually, a demotion--for Otto Reich,
the hardline Cuban-American who has been responsible for Latin America
policy for the past year. The decision acknowledges that the Senate, even
with its new Republican majority, would not confirm Reich as assistant
secretary of state for the western hemisphere. Reich has been accused of
supporting terrorists in Central America in the 1980s and conniving with
last April's abortive military coup in Venezuela. The new chairman of the
Senate foreign relations committee, Richard Lugar (R-IN), made it clear he
would not vote to confirm Reich.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer announced that Reich will be joining
the national security team, saying "Ambassador Reich has a distinguished
record of service to the United States both outside and in government." But
the praise did not mask the defeat for Reich and the White House. "This is
a consolation prize, a face-saver," said Larry Birns, the director of the
Council on Hemispheric Affairs, which monitors Latin American politics.
Reich recently angered the Venezuelan government by saying: "An election is
not sufficient to call a country a democracy." Venezuela's vice-president,
Jose Vicente Rangels, responded by calling Reich "a clown."
Birns predicted that Reich would return to the business world, where he
used to be a lobbyist for Lockheed Martin and Bacardi rum. The assistant
secretary of state appointment will probably be taken by the
Panamanian-American Roger Francisco Noriega, who has been the
representative to the Organization of American States. (UK Guardian. Jan.
10)
See also WW3 REPORT #63
[top]
THE MEXICO FRONT
1. ZAPATISTAS MARCH ON SAN CRISTOBAL
On Jan. 2, 15,000 Zapatistas and their supporters converged on the Chiapas
Highlands city of San Cristobal to commemorate the ninth anniversary of
their uprising, in which the Maya Indian rebels breifly seized the city.
Zapatista commandantes Tacho, David, Esther, Sebedeo, Elisa and Bruce Lee
presided. Comandante Tacho accused all three of Mexico's top political
parties, the PRI, PAN and PRD, of closing the doors to dialogue with the
Zapatistas and seeking to "trick all the indigenous peoples and all the
people who support the recognition of our rights." They also re-affirmed
their commitment to struggle against NAFTA, under which agricultural
tariffs fell according to schedule with the new year, following weeks of
protest by Mexican farmers and peasants. (Reforma, Jan. 4)
See also WW3 REPORT #64
The Zapatistas' peace plan, which called for constitutional changes
recognizing the autonomy of Mexico's Indian peoples, was gutted of most
binding provisions by Mexico's Congress before being passed, causing the
rebels to break off dialogue with the government. See WW3 REPORT #60
[top]
2. ZAPATISTAS PLEDGE TO RESIST RAINFOREST EXPULSIONS
In a Dec. 29 communique, the Zapatistas' Subcomandante Marcos pledged that
the rebels will resist the government's planned removal of pro-Zapatista
peasant communities from the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, in the heart
of Chiapas' Lacandon rainforest. "There will not be a peaceful expulsion,"
wrote Marcos. (Proceso, Dec. 31)
Local rights groups report that army troops have been stationed in the area
of the Biosphere Reserve, apparently awaiting government orders to eject
nine Indian communities. "Soldiers are occupying key locations, going on
patrols and making surveillance flights over the communities in question,"
said Patricia Gomez of the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center.
(The News, Mexico City, Dec. 20)
On Dec. 19, a detatchment of Federal Preventative Police backed up by a
helicopter evicted the Chol Indian community of Lucio Cabanas from the
Biosphere Reserve. The evicted community is negotiating with federal
authorities to be compensated with new lands elsewhere in Chiapas.
(Proceso, Dec. 21)
See also WW3 REPORT #60
[top]
3. FORCED STERILIZATION IN GUERRERO
Mexico's National Human Rights Commission issued a formal recommendation to
Gov. Rene Juarez of southern Guerrero state following claims by 16
indigenous women that they had been sterilized without their consent in
state health clinics. (Proceso, Dec. 25) Guerrero's rugged mountains are
home to several sporadically active guerilla groups, and the state has been
the scene of severe human rights abuses by police and military authorities.
See WW3 REPORT #64
[top]
[top]
NUCLEAR PARANOIA
1. FEDERAL COURT: ABM TREATY DEAD
An attempt by a group of Congressmen to resuscitate the defunct US-Russian
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty collapsed when US District Judge John
Bates threw out their complaint, arguing that Congress members should not
seek help from courts when they lose on a "political question." The suit
was brought last June by 32 members of the House of Representatives led by
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who asserted that President Bush's decision to
withdraw from the ABM Treaty and pursue a missile defence program is
unconstitutional. The lawmakers argued that since international treaties
are ratified by the Senate and considered law of the land, the president
had no power to repeal the accord without congressional approval. The
treaty, signed by the US and the USSR in 1972, prohibited nationwide
missile defence systems. The Bush administration gave Moscow the required
six-month's notice in December 2001, and the withdrawal formally took
effect in June. Free of ABM constraints, Bush subsequently announced his
decision to start deploying a continental missile shield by 2004. (The Australian, Dec. 31)
See also WW3 REPORT #65
See also Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.
[top]
2. NORTH KOREA: BUSH IS LYING
North Korea insisted Jan. 12 it never admitted having a secret nuclear
program. "The claim that we admitted developing nuclear weapons is an
invention fabricated by the US with sinister intentions," South Korea's
Yonhap news agency quoted the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper as saying.
The statement came as a US envoy began talks in South Korea on the
standoff. (AP, Jan. 12)
[top]
3. NYS: INDIAN POINT DISASTER PLANS INADEQUATE
Emergency plans at New York State's Indian Point nuclear power plant are
"not adequate" to "protect the people from an unacceptable dose of
radiation in the event of a release", according to a new study commissioned
by Gov. George Pataki. The report portrays potential for chaos in
evacuation plans, with roads clogged by panicked residents and local
authorities unsure how to respond. It notes that plans drawn up by the
plant's operator, Entergy, assume an accident rather than a deliberate
radiation release by terrorists. "Simply stated, the world has recently
changed," said the report, by private consultant and former Federal
Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Witt. "What was once
considered sufficient may now be in need of further revision." (NYT, Jan.
11)
[top]
THE WAR AT HOME
1. FEDS SEEK TO OVERTURN SEATTLE ANTI-SPYING LAW
Federal authorities are seeking to overturn a 23-year-old Seattle law that
protects citizens from being spied on for their political beliefs. The US
Attorney's Office asked the city to review whether the 1979 law conflicts
with the city's involvement in federal
anti-terrorism operations. Seattle is one of a handful of cities--including
St. Louis and Baltimore--that have been selected by the federal government
to be involved in a trial of a new anti-terrorism database-sharing system
announced by the Justice Department in October. The law bans gathering
information about a person's religious or political affiliations, beliefs
or activities, unless there is "reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity.
(ABC News, Jan. 2)
[top]
2. POLICE SPYING REVEALED IN DENVER, PORTLAND
Meanwhile, police in Denver are facing a lawsuit filed by the American
Civil Liberties Union over surveillance practices. The federal suit charges
that the Denver Police Department improperly maintained intelligence files
on organizations and individuals that peacefully protested against
government policies. According to documents released by the Colorado ACLU,
police recorded the names, addresses and license plate numbers of at least
30 members of the American Friends Service Committee and the Colorado
Coalition to Prevent Nuclear War, who drove from Denver to Colorado Springs
to attend a demonstration against the Star Wars program. Other documents
include a report on a Colorado College conference about the dangers of
nuclear proliferation that included the names of speakers and the views
they expressed, as well as names of people in the audience. Also included
was a list of names, addresses and license plate numbers of people who
attended a conference in Denver called "Space, Nukes and International Law."
In Portland, OR, last year, an unidentified person gave a newspaper
columnist 36 boxes of city police surveillance records, most dating from
the 1970s--but also some dating from four years after passage of a 1981
state law strictly limiting spying on political and civic organizations not
involved in criminal activity. Police terrorism expert Winfield Falk had
taken the boxes from department headquarters, rather than allow them to be
destroyed after the law was passed, according to the Portland Tribune. The
newspaper published a series of articles on the files in September, just as
the city was considering whether to continue the police department's
contribution to the FBI terrorism task force. Among the groups that were in
the police files, according to the Tribune, were a food co-op, the
Northwest Oregon Voter Registration Project, a bicycle repair collective
and a group that was setting up a rape hotline and shelter for abused
women. (ABC News, Jan. 2)
See also WW3 REPORT #59
[top]
3. IMMIGRANTS PROTEST "REGISTRATION"
Hundreds of immigrant men lined up in the cold for hours outside the
Federal Building in downtown Manhattan to register with the Immigration &
Naturalization Service (INS) by a Jan. 10 deadline for all male visitors
over the age of 16 from 13 countries including Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia,
Morocco, Somalia and North Korea. This is the second group of immigrants
required to register under the program. The first group met a Dec. 16
dealine for men from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Sudan. Pakistanis and
Saudi Arabians have until Feb. 21 to register.
"It's a stupid program," said Adbelhafidh Khelil, a Queens resident from
Tunisia. "Terrorists are not going to show up to register. It's more
targeting the Arab-Muslim community than anything else." Added Mehdi
Alaoui, a Stonybrook University student from Morocco: "The Japanese and
Germans did it during World War II. I guess it's out turn. What's sad is
that 50 years later, America is still doing the same thing." (Newsday, Jan.
12)
On the sidewalk nearby, a group of some 200 protesters gathered,
distributing literature on the legal rights of immigrants and urging
citizens to write the INS and Attorney General John Ashcroft protesting the
registration policy. The protest, led by the Coalition Against Special
Registration, an alliance of local immigrants' and civil rights groups,
opened with a Muslim prayer. (Bill Weinberg on the scene)
See also WW3 REPORT #65
[top]
4. GUILTY PLEA IN BUFFALO CASE
Appearing before a federal judge in Buaffalo, NY, defendant Faysal Galab
entered a guilty plea, admitting that he made and attempted to make
contributions of "goods, funds or services" for the benefit of al-Qaeda and
Osama bin Laden. Galab, 26, is among a group of six young Yemeni-Americans
from Lackawanna arrested last summer by federal agents as a supposed
terrorist "sleeper cell." (Newsday, Jan. 12)
See also WW3 REPORT #52
[top]
5. COURTS: FEDS CAN HOLD CITIZEN-COMBATANTS
The US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA, ruled that the
government can indefinitely hold US citizens who are deemed to be "enemy
combatants" without charges. The decision comes in the case of Yaser Esam
Hamdi, 22, a US-born Saudi Arabian, who was taken prisoner while reportedly
fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. (Newsday, Jan. 9)
See also WW3 REPORT #47
[top]
WATCHING THE SHADOWS
1. PENTAGON SCIENTISTS SEEK GENE-TWEAKED SUPER WARRIORS
The Pentagon has launched a series of unprecedented medical experiments to
create an "Extended Performance War Fighter," as an alternative to the
current practice of giving troops amphetamine stimulants, or "go pills."
The project was unveiled as defense lawyers for two US pilots who
accidentally killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan last April said
they would argue that the mandatory use of the drug dexamphetamine or
Dexedrine was to blame. Majors Harry Schmidt and William Umbach are
threatened with courts martial for dropping a laser-guided bomb on the
Canadians near Kandahar as the pilots approached the end of a six-hour
night patrol. David Beck, Umbach's lawyer, said he will argue that the
drugs impaired the pilots' judgment and that the US Air Force should
accept responsibility.
The Pentagon's search for an Extended Performance War Fighter concentrates
on advanced genetics and neurological science. Jan Walker, spokesman for
the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), confirmed that the
Pentagon was "working out ways to resist the effects of sleep deprivation.
If our fighters can do that, we can fundamentally change the order of
battle, and it would make a revolutionary difference." One of its plans for
keeping soldiers awake is to "zap" their brains with an electro-magnetic
TMS energy. Much of the research is being conducted by Yaakov Stern at New
York's Columbia University. "When he needed it, the pilot could just be
zapped during operations," said Dr. Stern. "I am convinced that we can help
the Pentagon. I have identified the parts of the brain that seem to control
the response to sleep deprivation, and we have the technology to stimulate
that part to improve the resistance to lack of sleep. The generals want a
man who is awake and alert for up to a week. We think we can actually do
that."
Biologists at the US Navy's Marine Mammals Program are also studying how
dolphins keep part of their brains awake so that they still surface to
breathe even while sleeping. The idea is to identify the genetic material
which allows this, and modify human genetic codes to create tireless
soldiers. (UK Telegraph, Jan. 6)
See also WW3 REPORT #s 45 & 37
[top]
2. GULF WAR DRUGS LINKED TO INFERTILITY
Drugs given to soldiers in Operation Desert Storm may have caused
infertility and other sexual problems, a US government-funded study
suggests. Researchers say tests on rats have shown that some of the
chemicals can damage male reproductive organs. The drugs were given to US
troops to protect them against potential bio-chemical warfare attack during
the 1991 war. Veterans' groups say many of their members have suffered
fertility and other sexual problems since the war. Dr. Mohamed Abou-Donia
and colleagues at Duke University Medical Center tested the anti-nerve gas
agent pyridostigmine bromide on rats and found extensive cell damage. The
rats were given equivalent doses to those given to soldiers, in combination
with insect repellants and pesticides also used in Desert Storm. (BBC, Jan. 10)
[top]
3. ACTIVISTS CHALLENGE MILITARY DU CONTAMINATION
A coalition of environmental and anti-war groups is seeking seeking an
injunction to halt Navy exercises that will fire shells with depleted
uranium off the coast of Washington state. Depleted uranium has a half-life
of 4.5 billion years. The Pentagon revealed two years ago that some DU
munitions were also contaminated with more highly radioactive substances,
such as plutonium. "The Navy is willing to put us all at risk, including
its own sailors, to improve its war-fighting capabilities," said Glen
Milner, of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, an organization
involved in a federal lawsuit against the Navy for violations of the
Endangered Species Act over the Trident D-5 nuclear missile upgrade at
Washington's Bangor submarine base. Milner learned of the tests after
obtaining an internal Navy memo dated June 25, 2001, giving the
Everett-based destroyer USS Fife permission to conduct gunnery operations.
Navy Cmdr. Karen Sellers in Seattle contended there are no hazards to the
servicemen on board the ships, adding that "all crew members are medically
monitored" to ensure their safety. No major studies have been done on the
effects of such weapons at sea, but in 1993 the military required all
soldiers participating in DU exercises to be tested, according to Dr. Doug
Rokke, a former Army health physicist and opponent of DU use. Officials say
there is no evidence showing the material is dangerous. Iraqi doctors have
blamed DU for a sharp increase in cancer and birth defects following
Operation Desert Storm. (The Olympian, Jan. 10)
[top]
NEW YORK CITY
1. 9-11 SURVIVORS PROTEST WAR DRIVE
When it was revealed that scrap metal from the World Trade Center would be
used to build a Navy battle ship, Rita Lasar--whose brother Abraham
Zelmanowitz was killed in the attack on Sept. 11--responded: "It's just
more endless killing." Lasar is a member of Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful
Tomorrows, who represent some 35 of the 3,000 9-11 victims. "I don't want
terror rained down on other people to avenge my brother's death," said
Lasar. "And I don't spend any time thinking about Osama bin Laden and
al-Qaeda, and what I want to do to those people. It's irrelevant at this
point. What's relevant is not having other innocent people die because my
brother died." (Clyde Haberman in the New York Times, Jan. 7)
Kristina Olsen, whose sister was killed in the American Airlines flight
that hit the WTC, is among a group of 9-11 survivors now in Baghdad,
expressing opposition to US military action against Iraq and meeting with
locals who lost loved ones to aerial bombardment in 1991's Operation Desert
Storm. (AP, Jan. 9)
[top]
2. VAMPIRES EXPLOIT 9-11 RELIEF FUND
Beatrice Kaufman pleaded not guilty to charges of bilking $1 million in
9-11 relief money, claiming she was just following her CPA's directions.
"My accountant filled out all the paperwork," she said. "I just signed the
forms." Investigators say Kaufman tried to cash in on insurers and relief
organizations to pay for renovations to her 6,000-sq.-foot Broadway
apartment which were started before the disaster, and were not related to
it. (NY Post, Dec. 24) This is one of dozens of cases currently being
investigated, including some in which people invented the identity of
non-existant kin they claimed were killed in the disaster. (NYT, Dec. 31)
[top]
3. ARCHITECT CRITICIZES WTC SITE REDEVELOPMENT PLANS
Architect Charles Gwathmey of the firm Meier, Eisenman and Holl, is part of
the effort to design redevelopment proposals for the WTC site, but dissents
from most of the ideas recently unveiled. "Everything that is a tower is
now dated," Gwathmey said. "You could drop it in Hong Kong or London."
Gwathmey and his firm rejected the notion--included in six of the nine
plans--for building the tallest structures in the world on the site.
(Newsday, Dec. 24)
See also WW3 REPORT #54
[top]
4. NYC SMOKING BAN DISCRIMINATES AGAINST HOOKAHS
New York's Arab community is protesting the city's new smoking ban, which
affects all bars and restaurants. While exisitng cigar bars--with an
upscale yuppie clientele-- are grandfathered in under the new law, the
city's numerous hookah cafes must close. The hookah cafes, clustered in
working-class districts like Astoria and Bay Ridge, are frequented by
immigrants from Syria, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world. "There should
be an exception for hookah cafes as there is for cigar bars," said Hussein
Ibish of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "The hookah is a
very important part of the culture of the Middle East." (Newsday, Jan. 12)
[top]
GLIMMERS OF HOPE
1. ANTI-WAR INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN SCOTLAND
Railway workers in Scotland Jan. 8 refused to move a freight train carrying
ammunition believed to be destined for British forces being deployed in the
Persian Gulf. The crewmen, described as "conscientious objectors" by a
supporter, said they opposed Tony Blair's threat to attack Iraq. The two
Scottish train drivers declined to operate the train between the Glasgow
area and the Glen Douglas base on Scotland's west coast, Europe's largest
NATO weapons store. English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS), which
transports munitions for the Ministry of Defence, attempted to persuade the
drivers to move the disputed load--to no avail. At a meeting, EWS managers
pressed leaders of the ASLEF rail union to ask the drivers to relent. But
the union is opposed to any attack on Iraq, and is unlikely to comply.
It was the first political industrial action in Britain since dock workers
refused to load arms on to ships destined for Chile after the Pinochet coup
in 1973. Lindsey German of Britain's Stop the War Coalition, said: "We
fully support the action that has been taken to impede an unjust and
aggressive war. We hope that other people around the country will be able
to do likewise." (UK Guardian, Jan. 9)
[top]
2. TV SPOTS LINK SUVs TO TERRORISM
The Detroit Project, a nonprofit launched by syndicated columnist Arianna
Huffington, debuted two TV spots that link gas-guzzling sport utility
vehicles to terrorist funding, mimicking government-sponsored ads that
connect drug money to "terrible things." One spot features a child's
voice-over connecting footage of a filling station with that of terrorist
training camps. The closing statement: "Oil money supports some terrible
things. What kind of mileage does your SUV get?" The other spot features
talking heads commenting about their SUVs. One person says, "My kids think
it's cool." Another says, "I helped blow up a nightclub." The spots begin
airing Jan. 12 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington
and Detroit. They were written and directed by Scott Burns, who was part of
the team responsible for "Got Milk." A few TV stations refused to run the
spots. "This campaign is not designed to demonize SUV owners," Huffington
said. "We want to encourage customers to connect the dots and make socially
responsible consumer choices." The Detroit Project was created by Americans
for Fuel Efficient Cars, a group co-founded by Huffington, film producer
Lawrence Bender, environmental activist Laurie David, and movie and TV
agent Ari Emanuel. (ABC News, Jan. 8)
[top]
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