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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

U.S.Iraq War Talking Points

Joseph Gerson

Thursday, December 17

1. This round of war designed to "degrade" the Iraqi military capacity and to weaken the Iraqi government is FUTILE as well as deadly.

It will not only end the ability of U.N. inspectors to monitor weapons developments in Iraq to the extent that they have been able to do so, but it appears to commit the U.S. to an endless policy of military containment of Iraq - i.e. repeated wars and military attacks over an indefinite period which will be of dubious value.

There can be no assurances that US and British military strikes will be able to find and destroy what chemical and biological weapons the Iraqi government may have. And, should they be successful in so doing, they can be reconstructed (if others will export necessary materials to Iraq) within a matter of weeks. Thus, whatever "degradation" occurs is likely to be ephemeral.

The opposition to Saddam Hussein within Iraq is weak (in no small measure due to the brutal nature of his dictatorship) and divided. No respected authorities believe believe popular opposition will oust him in the near or even intermediate future. While there is always the possibility of a military coup, we should not expect that such successors would be any more committed to democratic values that Hussein's government, although it might be more willing to negotiate a modus vivendi with the U.S.

2. The Clinton war is reminiscent of George Bush's description of "the New World Order" in which "What we say goes." We've seen the failure of the Bush's vision for the past seven years (and in some ways longer). There is no global coalition against Iraq, with Saudi Arabia and other states refusing to allow the U.S. to use bases in their countries for the attacks, the condemnation from the Arab League, sharp opposition from other members of the U.N. Security Council (despite their economic and technological dependence on the U.S.) Russian has condemned the U.S. for taking on the position of "world policeman", cop of the world, and this is not without cause. The U.S. is relatively isolated in world opinion, and U.S. fears of, and preparations for, terrorist attacks in response to the U.S. initiated war reflect that retaliation in one form or another is quite possible.

3. Kofi Anan described the attack as a sad day for the U.N. and a sad day for the world. This is certainly true. It applies, as well, to the apparent (see the Washington Post) collusion between the Clinton Administration and UNSCOM Director Richard Butler in preparing Butler's report (If there was not evil here, it is at the very least the appearance of evil.) Trust in the U.N. is thus undermined for the future, will likely be weakened, something which will impact on its ability to work for peace - including its role in the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction.

Diplomacy, not war, was and is the answer. The U.S. calls for, and policy of, overthrowing Saddam Hussein were/are in violation of the U.N. Charter. They also reinforced "hardline" approaches by the Iraqi government in that they offered no positive carrots to encourage cooperation with the UNSCOM process. An endless embargo, taking a U.N. estimated toll of 200 children's lives per week, is not incentive for cooperation in a society where "face" and "honor" are of fundamental importance.

4. The inconsistencies of U.S. policies related to weapons of mass destruction, U.N. Security Council resolutions and international law are staggering. The U.S. has long refused to honor its Article 6, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty commitments to work with other nuclear weapons powers to completely abolish nuclear weapons (according to John Deutch, former U.S. CIA Director, that's just something we had to say we support to get what we wanted out of a conference.)

Iraqis are deeply aware that Israel has weapons of mass destruction: nuclear and chemical, and that it continues to violate countless U.N. resolutions calling for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian-Arab conflict and even its commitments under the Oslo and Wye agreements (that are likely to leave Palestinians little more than bantustans ruled in the short-term by the corrupt Arafat regime and its likely successors.

(Thankfully) the U.S. has given no indication that it intends to bomb India, Pakistan, or Israel for their violations of the nuclear non-proliferation order.

Playing "cop of the world" will not work or endure for long. As Joseph Rotblat has observed, because no nation or people will long endure the existence and oppression of a discriminatory hierarchy of power, we face the stark and simple choice of either committing ourselves to and working for the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction or their global proliferation. Today, tomorrow, and perhaps next month, and after that quite possibly Iran, South Korea, Algeria, Germany, Japan and. in the future.

5. Just as the 1991 war was a demonstration war, designed to intimidate all potential challengers to U.S. hegemony by means of its awesome and deadly high-tech weaponry, this is a component of the current war. The manufacturers of such weaponry will also be using the war as a means of advertising their products.

6. Accidents and the unexpected always happen.

7. We are not speaking in terms of the timing of the attack in relation to the impeachment process. Instead we are urging people to focus on the killing and destruction of the U.S. initiated war. We know that powerful sectors in the U.S. military were deeply upset that the war against Iraq was called off at the very last moment in November. One cannot help but notice, however, that when in trouble Clinton has always given the Military a green light, including support for increased military spending.

8. Please email, phone and write to your Congressional representatives and the White House (president@whitehouse.gov) protesting the U.S.-British war against Iraq.

9. AFSC and related groups can provide speakers, films and other resources to assist you in your organizing.




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