Reports of the new world order as defined by the fascist dictator, AWOL deserter, miserable failure, George W. Bush.
Also exposing the liar, Tony Blair,
and the zionist fascist, Ariel Sharon.
All readers can now post comments on any of the stories in this blog by clicking on the link below.
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Victims' relatives who pressed for an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks say the panel risks being undercut by the government's failure to cooperate with it.
The Family Steering Committee, a group of victim advocates, marked the one-year anniversary of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States by urging an extension of its May 27 deadline for submitting findings and recommendations.
"Unfortunately, the production of a timely report no longer seems to be possible, in large part because of the delays caused by the (Bush) administration and the agencies that report to it," the group said Wednesday in a statement.
Full report
Jalal Talabani, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, traveled to Najaf to confer with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the senior Iraqi cleric who had raised objections to the American plan for indirect elections for a new provisional government. Afterward, both sides appeared to be moving toward a possible compromise.
Full report:
The American plan to turn over power in Iraq more quickly was thrown into disarray on Wednesday when the country's most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made public his opposition to a proposal for indirect elections.
Spokesmen for Ayatollah Sistani, who exercises strong influence over Iraq's majority Shiites, said he insisted that the election, planned for June, be a direct ballot and not the caucus-style vote called for in the American plan.
New York Times full report:
New York Times:Attacks on GIs in Mosul Rise as Good Will Fades
Since the Americans came to town seven months ago, the firefighters in this northern Iraqi city have gotten new trucks and new uniforms, American training and salaries 10 times larger than they used to be.
But when word came Sunday afternoon that two American soldiers had been shot in the head and killed a block away, the men of Ras al Jada fire station ran to the site and looked on with glee as a crowd of locals dragged the Americans from their car and tore off their watches and jackets and boots.
"I was happy, everyone was happy," Waadallah Muhammad, one of the firefighters, said as he stood in front of the firehouse. "The Americans, yes, they do good things, but only to enhance their reputation. They are occupiers. We want them to leave."
"The only viable strategy . . . may be to correct the historical defect and move in stages toward a three-state solution: Kurds in the north, Sunnis in the center and Shiites in the south.
"Almost immediately, this would allow America to put most of its money and troops where they would do the most good quickly — with the Kurds and Shiites. The United States could extricate most of its forces from the so-called Sunni Triangle, north and west of Baghdad, largely freeing American forces from fighting a costly war they might not win. American officials could then wait for the troublesome and domineering Sunnis, without oil or oil revenues, to moderate their ambitions or suffer the consequences."
"Confusion swirled Monday as a United States military official retracted his earlier report that the throats of two American soldiers had been slashed during an attack on Sunday in the northern city of Mosul.
"The official, who said he was receiving his information from written military records, said that the two soldiers had died of gunshot wounds to the head, and that their bodies had been pulled from their car by Iraqis and robbed of their personal belongings. Contrary to initial accounts on Sunday from Mosul, he said the bodies of the men had not been mutilated or pummeled with rocks."
Intelligence — or rather bad intelligence — has become an obsession in Washington. Fueled by the growing casualties among American soldiers in Iraq and the administration's failure to find weapons of mass destruction there, the Central Intelligence Agency, Congress, an independent commission and scores of private experts and government analysts have been fiercely debating what went wrong in Iraq and, more broadly, the state of the government's intelligence capabilities.
Enter Sir John Keegan, the eloquent, pre-eminent British historian of war with an iconoclastic notion: despite the finger pointing and passionate debate, he concludes in a new book that intelligence — good or bad — matters far less than brute force in winning wars.
The United States and Europe remain at such loggerheads over how harshly to rebuke Iran for its secret nuclear program that the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday delayed the passage of a resolution until at least the middle of next week.
Army planning for Iraq currently assumes keeping about 100,000 United States troops there through early 2006, a senior Army officer said Friday. The plans reflect the concerns of some Army officials that stabilizing Iraq could be more difficult than originally planned.
Where have you been?
I've been up to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy Cat, pussy cat
What did you there?
I frightened George Bush
And then Tony Bliar.
Composed by Gloria Dallas, November 19, 2003
"The commanding general of the United States Army division that patrols much of Iraq's western borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that his men had encountered only a handful of foreign fighters trying to sneak into the country to attack American and allied forces.
'I want to underscore that most of the attacks on our forces are by former regime loyalists and other Iraqis, not foreign forces,' said the officer, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., commander of the 82nd Airborne Division."
Wednesday 19th November
1100: Alternative State Procession starting Jubilee Gardens.
1100: School students rally. Parliament Square.
1200: Sambistas Street Party at Central London location.
1300: O-I-L Womens peace picnic. Top end of Trafalgar Sq.
1500: ResistBush Tea Party at Buckingham Palace. Assemble 3pm Victoria Station. For more info see www.resistbush.org
Thursday 20th November
1400: STOP BU$H - DEMONSTRATION
Assemble 2pm in Malet St, London WC1.(Euston or Goodge Street tube). March to rally in Trafalgar square. www.stopwar.org.uk
Friday 21st November
1100: Guantanamo Bay protest at US Embassy, Grosvenor Square
"Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was killed in Iraq, is not on the list of family members of fallen British servicemen invited to meet George W. Bush this week, but he wishes he was: he has a message for the U.S. president.
'I'd love to meet him, but I'd refuse his hand,' he said. 'I'd say: 'I can't shake that hand. It's stained with the blood of my son.''"
"The CIA's search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has found no evidence that former president Saddam Hussein tried to transfer chemical or biological technology or weapons to terrorists, according to a military and intelligence expert.
Anthony Cordesman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, provided new details about the weapons search and Iraqi insurgency in a report released Friday. It was based on briefings over the past two weeks in Iraq from David Kay, the CIA representative who is directing the search for unconventional weapons in Iraq; L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civil administrator there; and military officials.
'No evidence of any Iraqi effort to transfer weapons of mass destruction or weapons to terrorists,' Cordesman wrote of Kay's briefing. 'Only possibility was Saddam's Fedayeen [his son's irregular terrorist force] and talk only.'"
"The United States is committed to defending South Korea from an attack by the North and would use nuclear forces if needed, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the government here yesterday. "
"A new, top-secret CIA report from Iraq warns that growing numbers of Iraqis are concluding the U.S.-led coalition can be defeated and are supporting the insurgents."
By Nick Childs
BBC Pentagon correspondent
A US intelligence official has confirmed to the BBC that a new report by the CIA warns that the Iraq resistance appears to be gathering strength because of a lack of clear progress by the US-led coalition.
The classified document - first reported by the Philadelphia Enquirer newspaper - warns that Iraqis are losing faith in the US-led coalition and are supporting the Iraqi resistance in growing numbers.
It also says that the American-led operation in Iraq is approaching a turning point.
The US intelligence official confirmed the existence and general thrust of the report to the BBC.
He said it was something of a warning flag, as he put it, and that it was in line with other US intelligence assessments that had been compiled in the last four-to-six weeks.
The report certainly appears at odds with some of the more optimistic public statements being made by top Bush administration officials.
While other officials have down-played the report and insist the administration has acknowledged the problems, chief US administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer hurried back to Washington this week for urgent talks on the future of the US-led mission.
No More Wars! No More Lies! George Galloway MP speaking tour. Venue: Clwb y Bont, Taff Street, Pontypridd. Organised by Morning Star
Saturday 06 December 2003 (1.30pm)
No More Wars! No More Lies! George Galloway MP speaking tour. Venue: Stanley Arms, 24 Lancaster Road (nr Guildhall) Preston. Organised by Morning Star
Friday 05 & Saturday 06 December 2003
Working for peace against a context of never-ending 'war on terrorism'.
Venue: Friends House, Euston Road, London NW1
Friday 05 December (7-11pm): Public meeting with guest speakers, entertainment and more.
Saturday 06 December (10am-6pm): Assessment of where we are now and the forthcoming challenges, strategise on building broader, more powerful peace movement, engage with anti-war campaigns and activities for the coming year, network new links. Contact: Network for Peace 020 72783267 email: nfp@gn.apc.org
www.networkforpeace.org.uk
Saturday 13 to Monday 15 December 2003
Women-only Demonstration & Blockade, Menwith Hill.
Further Information from: morganshs@hotmail.com
Saturday 13 December 2003
Amnesty International UK conference. Details to follow when available.
Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 January 2004
Reclaim the Bases Weekend. A weekend of non-violent action at military bases - from vigils to NVDA. Start organising an event at a base close to you.
Networking via: www.reclaimthebases.org.uk
Chechen woman in a refugee camp, from "Open Wound."
"Stanley Greene traveled a long road to become a photojournalist, one that passed through personal crises and professional digressions, and eventually led to a search for a good reason to be a photographer. Early in 1995, as the Russian military bombarded the Chechen capital, Grozny, he found that reason."
US Supreme Court decision to accept the Guantanamo Bay prisoners' appeals:
"In its decision to accept the Guantanamo Bay prisoners' appeals despite the Bush administration's objections, the Supreme Court brushed past the 'judges keep out' fence the administration had tried to erect around its open-ended detention policy."
"Among the options being reviewed, officials said, is the selection of an interim Iraqi leader who would serve until elections could be held. Some American officials have said they see a model in Afghanistan, where Hamid Karzai has served as his country's leader ahead of elections scheduled for next year. The administration is also considering a temporary constitution for Iraq, and officials said they spent considerable time on Tuesday debating how to speed the process of drafting a permanent constitution that would provide the basis for elections. "
Here is a summary of events - times, places and ways you can help Bush feel unwelcome.
If you can get time off on Wednesday, NGO workers will be taking part in a sit- down tea party at Buckingham Palace 3pm on Wednesday. Even if you can't get time off work - do come down after work and join the festivities.
TERRORIST ON TOUR: BUSH VISIT TIMELINE OF EVENTS
SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER
SHEFFIELD: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/11/280177.html
Sheffield and Yorkshire Demonstration in Sheffield against the war criminals Bush and Blair,in conjuction with anti-war protests across Europe.
SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER
London: Morning: Bare Witness invite you to spell out NO GM AMBUSH on Sunday morning 16th November in central London.
London: Screening of "Born on The 4th of July" introduced by Ron Kovic at the Prince Charles Cinema,
TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER
LONDON: March the day Bush arrives in the UK: assemble 6pm Lincolns Inn Fields, Holborn tube. Route to include ExxonMobil to US Embassy
WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER
Cambridge: Wednesday the 19th there will be a Protest rally at 6:00pm in the Market square in Cambridge. http://www.camswc.eu.org
Sheffield: Wednesday 19th November Stop Bush! End the Occupations!
Dinnertime protest against the visit of George Bush, further protest planned for after work, student protests happening all day.12pm and 5pm at the Town Hall/Peace Gardens.
http://www.sheffieldagainstwar.org.uk/groups/).
London: 11am Alternative state procession. Assemble at Jubilee gardens, South bank.
London: 11am School students rally. Parliament Sq.
London: 12pm Street party, Central London, location yet to be announced.
campaigns@younggreens.org.uk
London: 1pm O-I-L Womens peace picnic. Top end, Trafalgar Sq.
London: 3pm Tea party at Buckingham palace.
London: 4.30pm Picket of the Esso building, Aldwich.
THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER
London: 1pm: outside the Odeon, Marble Arch. From there a silent 'Dharma-Yatra-style' walk to Buckingham Palace where we will sit and meditate. 07810 822786 FOR MORE INFO.
National Demonstration in London, March is from Malet Street, Central London to Trafalgar Square where a statue of George Bush will be pulled down.
Cambridge Stop the War Coalition is organising coach transport leaving Cambridge at 12:00 noon. Tickets are 5/ 10 unwaged/waged
http://www.camswc.eu.org
Sheffield STWC also organising coaches: PLEASE RING TO BOOK 07761 471 441 and please leave your name and a contact number. Tickets will be priced £20 adult, £15 student, £10 unwaged.
Assemble Paternoster Row at 7:30am. Other coaches from Sheffield University.
Mass walkout from schools in London (and elsewhere): already 4 schools in
Bromley...
FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER
Guantanamo Bay Protest Friday 21st November, 11am Outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square. Nearest tube: Bond Street
Also on Friday will be the LAAW National Day of Action on the 21st November to launch investigation of war crimes by Tony Blair PM.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/11/280113.html
MARCH 20, 2004
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION on the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of the U.S. BOMBING and INVASION of IRAQ
* BRING the TROOPS HOME NOW!
* END the OCCUPATION of IRAQ!
* MONEY for JOBS, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE and HOUSING - NOT WAR!
On March 20, 2004, protests will take place all around the world on the one year anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. People are organizing on a global scale to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq and an immediate withdrawal of U.S. military forces from the country.
Since the invasion began, hundreds of U.S. and British soldiers and unknown thousands of Iraqi people have been killed. The Iraqi people have clearly stated that occupation is not liberation that they want the foreign soldiers occupying their country to leave not tomorrow, but today. Growing numbers of U.S. soldiers and their families are calling to bring the troops home now. Increasing numbers of people in the United States are helping to build a movement against the occupation as they fight cuts to education, healthcare, job programs, housing and other social service programs.
On October 25, 100,000 people took to the streets of Washington DC to call for an immediate end to the occupation and to bring the troops home now. Tens of thousands more demonstrated in San Francisco and other U.S. cities, and in cities around the world. On that day, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition began to circulate in the U.S. the international call for demonstrations on March 20 that has being made by groups around the world. We urge all groups and organizations in the US to support this international call and to work together to show the power of a united movement on a global scale.
Begin planning now to hold a demonstration in your city on March 20, 2004. Hundreds of cities around the world will be issuing, circulating and joining this call.
We will have flyers, stickers and other organizing material available in the coming days.
- In New York City, the demonstration is planned to assemble at 12 noon at Times Square with a march to the United Nations. Call 212-633-6646 for details about upcoming city-wide planning meetings and for more information. - In Washington DC, the demonstration is planned to gather at the White House at 12 noon. Call 202-544-3389 for more information. - For information about the San Francisco demonstration call 415-821-6545. - In Los Angeles, the demonstration is planned to assemble at 12 noon at Hollywood and Vine. Call 213-487-2368 for more information.
A full listing of March 20 activities will be available on the A.N.S.W.E.R. website in the next days.
---------------------
Email circulated by: A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
FOR MORE INFORMATION http://www.InternationalANSWER.org info internationalanswer.org
New York 212-633-6646 Washington 202-544-3389 Los Angeles 213-487-2368 San Francisco 415-821-6545
To make a tax-deductible donation, go to http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
Sign up to receive updates (low volume): http://www.internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html
------------------
Send replies to answer action-mail.org
This is the ANSWER activist announcement list. Anyone can subscribe by sending any message to <answer.general-subscribe@action-mail.org> To unsubscribe <answer.general-off@action-mail.org>
Lookout by Naomi Klein
If every last soldier pulled out of the Gulf tomorrow and a sovereign government came to power, Iraq would still be occupied: by laws written in the interest of another country, by foreign corporations controlling its essential services, by 70 percent unemployment sparked by public sector layoffs. "
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 3:05 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: 11/14 New York City: "We Will Not Go Quietly" - Humanitarian
Travelers to Iraq to Hold Nationwide Press Conferences
Humanitarian Travelers to Iraq to Hold Nationwide Press Conferences
Friday, November 14th, at 1PM: in eight major cities across the US
New York City: "We Will Not Go Quietly"
Activists who traveled to Iraq will stand in solidarity with fellow
travelers who have received threatening letters from the US Treasury
Department for allegedly violating the sanctions (merely by traveling to
Iraq). Participants will speak out against long-standing legal
harassment of Voices in the Wilderness (the Justice Department
"Complaint for Civil Penalties," originally filed on June 20, 2003 in
U.S. court for the District of Columbia, accuses Voices of "exporting
medical supplies from the United States to Iraq" in July 1998, and again
in September 1998).
A general statement re the above will be read, along with uncensored,
first-person accounts of US human rights abuses in Iraq. Colleen Kelly
of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows (relatives of people
killed in the 9-11 terrorist attacks) will also speak. Video footage
from recent delegations will be available for viewing.
. What: U.S. Humanitarian Travelers to Iraq "We Will Not Go Quietly"
Press Conference
. When: November 14, 2003, 1:00PM
. Where: Judson Memorial Church, (across from Washington Square Park)
55 Washington Square South (use the Thompson St. entrance)
. Who: U.S. civilians who have traveled to Iraq (clergy, teachers,
activists, etc.)
Who are these "criminals" being charged by the US government?
Faith Fippinger, 62: a life-long teacher of the blind. Faith was in Iraq
during the US
invasion and helped Iraqi doctors treat the wounded. She will be at the
event and will
speak out about her experiences. Judith Karpova, writer and activist,
working on a book
about the human shields. Judith will be at the event.
Participants: Colleen Kelly (colleen@peacefultomorrows.org ); Faith
Fippinger, (941 954-0497) Judith Karpova, (dahlia@ix.netcom.com),
845-626-7355; G. Simon Harak, (212-228-0450); Rev. Tom Reiber-Martinez),
718-941-2640; Antoinette McCormick, (434) 227-0377; Sister Arlene
Flaherty; Gabe Huck; Dunia Mili; Theresa Kubasak (more to follow).
Sponsoring organizations: September 11th Families for Peaceful
Tomorrows; Judson Memorial Church; the War Resister's League; Peace
Action of New York State; All Souls Bethlehem Church (Brooklyn); New
Yorkers Say No to War; Code Pink; Global Exchange. We expect the number
of cities, sponsors and participants to increase over the coming week.
For more information contact: Simon Harak, War Resister's League,
212-228-0450 or Rev. Tom Reiber-Martinez (PastorTom@AOL.com)
718-941-2640.
Statement from the participants: "We Will Not Be Silenced"
The U.S. Treasury and State Departments insist on pursuing charges
against several individuals and groups that have traveled to Iraq. We
fully acknowledge that we also traveled to Iraq and are standing in
solidarity with these people in affirming the First Amendment rights of
U.S. citizens to speak, to have oversight of governmental policy, and to
bring humanitarian assistance to its victims. The ban on traveling was
to prevent commercial profit to either Iraq or businesses wanting to
trade with Iraq. The purpose of our travel was to communicate the
results of U.S. policy in Iraq to our fellow
citizens, not to engage in any commercial ventures.
- We will not yield to the government's intimidation tactics that are
designed to silence us.
- We intend to fully exercise our First Amendment Rights, and all of our
treasured rights as American citizens.
- We will not cease relaying the stories of our travels to anyone
willing to listen.
- We will continue to pursue paths of peace, understanding, friendship
- and compassion with the citizens of the world rather than paths of
violence, death, war and destruction.
- We will not go quietly
Contact Information for New York City Participants who have traveled to
Iraq on humanitarian missions:
Colleen Kelly, New York NY colleen@peacefultomorrows.org cell: (646)
408-5676
(September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows)
Tom Reiber-Martinez, Booklyn, NY PastorTomReiber@aol.com (718) 941-2640
(All Souls Bethlehem Church, Christian Peacemaker Teams)
Faith Fippinger, Sarasota Springs, FL 941 954-0497
Antoinette McCormick, zendo@rocketmail.com, (434) 227-0377
Judith Karpova, Hoboken, NJ, dahlia@ix.netcom.com (845)-626-7355
G. Simon Harak, New York City, AMC@WarResisters.org (212)-228-045
War Resisters League, Anti-Militarism Coordinator
339 Lafayette Street, New York NY 10012-2725
Fax: 212-228-6193
Sister Arlene Flaherty, New York City (Arflah@aol.com)
Gabe Huck, New York City (Ghuck24282@aol.com)
Dunia Mili, New York City (dojo1@optonline.net)
Theresa Kubasak
From: Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org [mailto:moveon-help@list.moveon.org]
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 12:43 PM
Subject: Demand a Real Inquiry
|
Dear friend,
Over the last two years, thousands of people from the United Kingdom joined 9-11peace.org and MoveOn.org to protest President Bush's wars on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Now, as the evidence for the Iraq war falls apart, we're writing to ask you to support a new British group called Our World Our Say which is calling for a full inquiry into what went wrong. You can sign the petition in under 2 minutes at:
http://www.owos.info/petition/index.php?src=mo
A letter from Gerard Rosenberg of Our World Our Say follows.
---------------
It now seems that Tony Blair misled the British public. The US-led Iraq Survey Group recently reported that, after six months of searching, no weapons of mass destruction have been found. Yet the UK government refuses to launch a full judicial inquiry on whether they went to war under false pretences.
George Bush is coming to the UK on 19th November and this is a prime opportunity in Britain to increase the pressure for a full judicial inquiry.
Our World Our Say, a UK-based organisation, is hoping to initially collect 10,000 signatures on a petition which calls for a full judicial inquiry into the circumstances that led us to war.
Sign here and pass the message onto concerned friends and colleagues.
http://www.owos.info/petition/index.php?src=mo
On September 24th 2002 Tony Blair stated: "His [Saddam's] WMD [weapons of mass destruction] programme is active, detailed and growing. The policy of containment is not working. The WMD programme is not shut down. It is up and running." He described the intelligence upon which his assertion was based as: "extensive, detailed and authoritative".
The Prime Minister chose to ignore popular disapproval of the path to war. As a result, thousands of people have died, a country is in chaos, the UK is spending £5 million a day just to keep the troops there, and the UK's international reputation is in tatters.
As voters and citizens we have the right to hold government to account. Two Parliamentary committees were prevented from conducting full investigations. The Hutton inquiry has mainly focused on the events surrounding Dr David Kelly's death. We need a full independent judicial inquiry into all the circumstances leading to our involvement in the Iraq war. The voters of the UK deserve...and demand nothing less!
In the words of The Guardian newspaper: "This WMD fiasco has brought into question the judgement, competence and candour of the intelligence services and, indeed, of Mr. Blair and senior ministers. As a matter of fact, not opinion, Britain went to war on a false premise. It hardly needs to be said how very serious and very damaging a conclusion that is." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,1049830,00.html)
We urge you to sign the Our World Our Say petition by clicking the above address. Do get all of your relations, friends and colleagues to sign, too. The British people deserve answers.
This is the only nation-wide campaign for a full judicial inquiry. Please add your name by Friday, 14th November. A high-level delegation will then submit the petition to 10 Downing Street.
Yours,
Gerard Rosenberg
Our World Our Say
This is a message from MoveOn.org. To remove yourself (Karl Dallas) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
http://moveon.org/s?i=2085-899430-8B4bH1cwnfZJcqzmU034Vg
Since Saturday, people in the Highlands of Scotland have been witnessing
large movements of US warplanes overhead. Experienced observers say the
large numbers are reminiscent of those that preceded the bombing of Iraq in
1998 and military strikes on Libya in the1980's as well as the first Gulf
War.
At the weekend warplanes were flying over at a rate of roughly one every 15
minutes. As well as watching them from the ground the plane spotters have
also been able to overhear pilots talking by listening to their radio
frequencies.
At this rate some 288 warplanes would have passed over Scotland in three
days. It is thought that the planes have flown on a route from the US over
the north pole to bases in Europe and the Mediterranean. The size and scale
of the movement suggests that the US may be preparing to strike at a country
in the Middle East in the next week to ten days.
Please pass this information on as widely as possible- the US may be
planning to use the pretext of "foreign" terrorist attacks on US personnel
in Iraq to attack Iran or Syria. Please alert any sympathetic elected
representatives, media representatives and other sympathetic organisations.
Publicising this military movement may prevent the air-strikes.
SCOTTISH CND, 15 Barrland Street, Glasgow, G41 1QH. Tel: 0141 423 1222 scnd
banthebomb.org http://www.banthebomb.org
=======+++=======
US and ISRAEL PREPARING AGAIN TO STRIKE BIG MID-EAST REALITIES - MER -
www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 4 November 2003:
There are growing rumors in Washington now that the US is preparing hard air
strikes somewhere in the Middle East. Secret heavy bomber deployments may be
underway to European bases as has been the case in previous years when major
strikes were being readied. Whether the targets are in Iran or Syria, or
even North Korea for that matter, are of course highly classified. Ariel
Sharon's surprise visit to Moscow this week to again meet personally with
Putin could be another ominous sign. The Israelis will probably try to
blackmail or threaten Putin in one way or another to stay out of whatever is
coming, especially if it involves Iran, now Israel's top target. Meanwhile,
as in previous MER analysis reports, the hijacking of Bush-Washington by the
Israeli-Jewish lobby hardliners working closely with Vice-President Cheney
was too much for a former ranking insider. The former Air Force
Lieutenant-Colonel is now trying to blow the whistle; but few in Washington
have the courage or understanding to both listen and act. Among other things
MER has learned that President Bush personally some time ago promised Ariel
Sharon -- during one of the nine meetings the two have held in the White
House -- that he would have advance copies of all Presidential speeches
dealing with the Middle East in case the Israelis felt any changes might be
necessary.
=======+++=======
TARGET IRAN It's a semi-secret joint US-Israel Operation
MID-EAST REALITIES - MER - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 28 October
2003: The US has now secretly cooperated more than ever with the Sharon
regime in Israel to prepare for an attack which if successful will destroy
Iranian facilities that could be used to produce nuclear weapons and the
missiles to deliver them. The justification model is of course Israel's
attack on Osirak near Baghdad 22 years ago. Possibly to take place at the
same time the Americans are preparing to attack North Korean nuclear
facilities. This is the real military pressure that is now being ratcheted
up on both countries to quite literally attempt to force them to change
course. This was the reason senior European Foreign Ministers recently
rushed to Tehran. But after watching what the US has now done to Iraq -- a
country that in fact did succumb and change course only to find itself
'regime changed' and occupied by the Americans -- this historic cat and
mouse game may not work quite so easily as it has before for Washington.
Moreover there are other players much more intimately involved now --
Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia...with China as well as Russia watching every
so closely and a whole world more skeptical of the Americans, as well as the
Israelis, than ever. Moreover as well the Americans are already overextended
-- both militarily and fiancially -- in Iraq which raises the spectre of
American as well as Israeli threats, and possible use this time, of tactical
nuclear weapons should the going get rough and any country attempt to fight
back against the modern-day crusading Empire now armed with the doctrine of
pre-emption and a Judeo-Christian zealotry.
========+++========
US MISSILES TARGETED AGAINST IRAN BY ISRAEL
US Harpoon missiles armed with nuclear warheads are now aimed by Israeli's
fleet of Dolphin-class submarines against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Following September's exclusive report in American Free Press about Israel's
submarine nuclear attack capability, over 100 Harpoon cruise missiles have
been secretly flown to the remote island of Diego Garcia, a joint UK-US base
in the Indian Ocean. The three Israeli submarines which arrived at the base
early this month were each loaded with 24 Harpoon missiles. They then set
sail for the Gulf of Oman ---- bringing Iran's nuclear facilities all within
range of their submarines' multi-payloads. The decision to launch them is
entirely in the hands of Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon. Just as he
gave Washington only a short warning he was going to attack an alleged
terrorist camp deep inside Syria, Sharon has made it clear to Washington
that the same rule of engagement will apply if it comes to launching the
Harpoon missiles. Sharon made his position clear in a telephone call to
President Bush the day after the attack on Syria. According to one Israeli
source, Bush said he "just wanted to be kept informed". Credible
intelligence sources say the reality is that Sharon believes he would have
the support of Bush if he did launch an attack. But an indication of the
deepening concern that some members of the Bush Administration now feel, is
that national security advisor Condoleezza Rice last weekend allowed one of
her senior aides to confirm our September report to the Los Angeles Times
and London's Guardian newspaper. Both drew heavily on the original American
Free Press story. The senior Pentagon and State department sources for our
first story, about Israel's Dolphin class submarines, have told us
exclusively that, in the words of one high-level Pentagon source, "matters
have now advanced considerably and for the first time Rice is sounding alarm
bells in the Oval Office". Rice''s decision to leak is also the first clear
indication of her concerns over Israel ---- as well as her own direct
challenge to the authority of Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld. She is
now engaged in an internal power struggle with Rumsfeld ----and has chosen
to use what she sees as his failure in the Middle East to harness Sharon''s
behaviour as her launch pad to have the Secretary of State ousted. "Rice has
a long-term strategy to become Secretary of State. While Rumsfeld is no
supporter of Powell, he knows that having Rice in charge of State would give
her more power than she even has now. And there is also the ultimate
ambition for Condi, to be Bush's running mate, if not in this election, then
in the one afterwards. Her own inner circle say that she would relish a
face-off with Hillary Clinton in 2008. If Condi became vice-President, then
she is but a step away from becoming the first Black woman in the White
House. That is what is driving her," said a senior Washington analyst.
Meantime, Rice's concerns have deepened following Sharon's stark warning
last Sunday that "states harbouring terrorists are legitimate targets".
Aides in Tel Aviv have confirmed to American Free Press that "Iran and Syria
are top of that list ---- with Iran in the top spot". The revelation comes
at a time of rapidly escalating tensions in the region. Israel's senior
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Gideon Meir, insisted "any country that harbours
a threat to Israel is a legitimate target for us out of self-defence".
Today, American Free Press can reveal, again for the first time, that a team
of US computer specialists flew to Diego Garcia to fit the latest version of
the software known as "over the horizon". This would allow a Harpoon missile
to hit any of Iran''s nuclear establishments with pin-point
accuracy.Originally developed by Inslaw, the Washington based specialist
computer software company, the "over the horizon" capability has been
enhanced to handle the sophisticated electronics of the Harpoon missiles. In
the meantime, Sharon has ordered Mossad to put together a specialist team to
prepare. by Gordon Thomas - 27 October 2003
P.S. MER exclusively reported nearly three years ago now that the Israelis
had received new conventionally-powered submarines, made and financed in
Germany in fact, which they were planning to fit with nuclear-tipped
missiles despite earlier assurances given the Germans they would not do so;
and that Israel also has an extensive super-secret biological and chemical
weapons program.
========+++========
Cheney's Hawks 'Hijacking Policy'
By Ritt Goldstein Sydney Morning Herald - Australia, 30 October 2003:
A former Pentagon officer turned whistleblower says a group of hawks in the
Bush Administration, including the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, is running a
shadow foreign policy, contravening Washington's official line.
"What these people are doing now makes Iran-Contra [a Reagan administration
national security scandal] look like amateur hour. . . it's worse than
Iran-Contra, worse than what happened in Vietnam," said Karen Kwiatkowski, a
former air force lieutenant-colonel.
"[President] George Bush isn't in control . . . the country's been
hijacked," she said, describing how "key [governmental] areas of
neoconservative concern were politically staffed".
Ms Kwiatkowski, who retired this year after 20 years service, was a Middle
East specialist in the office of the Undersecretary of Defence for Policy,
headed by Douglas Feith.
She described "a subversion of constitutional limits on executive power and
a co-optation through deceit of a large segment of the Congress", adding
that "in order to take that first step - Iraq - lies had to be told to
Congress to bring them on board".
Ms Kwiatkowski said the pursuit of national security decisions often
bypassed "civil service and active-duty military professionals", and was
handled instead by political appointees who shared common ideological ties.
There was speculation earlier this year that such an ideologue group had
emerged, and that it was behind the US attack on an Iraqi convoy in Syria in
June.
The New York Times quoted Patrick Lang, a former senior Defence
Intelligence Agency (DIA) official, as saying that many in the Government
believed the incursion was an effort by ideologues to disrupt co-operation
between the US and Syria.
Ms Kwiatkowski said there was an extra-governmental network operating
outside normal structures and practices, "a network of political appointees
in key positions who felt they needed to take some action, to make things
happen in a foreign affairs, national security way". She said Pentagon
personnel and the DIA were pressured to favourably alter assessments and
reports.
In a separate interview, Chalmers Johnson, an authority on US policy, said
that the Administration's neo-conservatives had in effect seized power from
Mr Bush.
Dr Johnson said the neo-conservatives had pursued an agenda outlined in the
controversial 1992 Defence Planning Guidance. That document, drawn up at the
direction of Mr Cheney when he was defence secretary, said the world's only
superpower should not be cautious about asserting its power.
=======+++=======
'They will suffer until they understand... When you look at this through
Palestinian eyes, you can understand why they hate us so much... Just like
any other war, this is not a clean war. This is a dirty war. You cannot
judge it in humanitarian terms... We're in the middle of a hundred-years'
war' -- The Israeli colonel in command of Nablus, Oct 2 2002
========+++========
_______________________________________________
campeace mailing list campeace gn.apc.org
http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/campeace
From: Tom Cahill [mailto:tcahill mcn.org]
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 3:40 AM
To: Recipient List Suppressed:
Subject:
November 8, 2003 Not Copyrighted Please post especially where prohibited.
IRAQ IS ARABIC FOR VIETNAM
An Account of Six Weeks in Baghdad as a 'Human Shield'
By Tom Cahill (tcahill mcn.org)
Some peace activists recently left London in a pair of vintage double-decker buses bound for Iraq, a long-time political soulmate, Anna Marie Stenberg, e-mailed me early last February. The web site she directed me to showed the activists were going there as "human shields" to protect civilian sites in event the Bush Administration followed through on its threat to blitzkrieg Iraq in order to save it. The mission sounded like political bungee-cord jumping in an exotic land. But the idea immediately clicked with me as if I had been preparing and waiting for just such a way to express my decades old outrage at US government policy at home and abroad.
Within a week my health, finances, and time all came together and I was on my way to London to connect with the second contingent of international peace volunteers. But on my way to the airport I had to deliver a foot brace to Anna Marie who confided in me that she herself had been on her way to Iraq before she broke her ankle. Because she was always so protective of old, fragile me, I feared she would break one of my legs to keep me from getting hurt worse. So I said nothing to her about my plans and covered-up a chuckle with a cough.
Neither did I tell anyone else what I was up to. Another fear was that I wouldn't make it past the Homeland Gestapo at the airport who since 9/11 have been questioning and delaying suspected progressive activists usually just long enough to miss their flights. Corporate airlines, happy to collaborate, would not issue new tickets or a refund. My finances were so tight, had this happened to me, it would have marked "paid" to my plans. Then I would have slinked home without having upset any of my loved ones.
By Valentines Day--my 66th birthday--I was in London, just in time next day for the biggest demonstration in London's history as well as that of the world. In London, Feb. 15, 2003, between one and a half and two million people demonstrated against American imperialism while around the world between fifteen and thirty million people protested against the threatened bombing and invasion of Iraq. I maintain it was this incredible number of people who dissuaded the Bush Administration from using the full force of its highly-advertised "Shock and Awe" campaign against Iraq and thus saved many, many lives.
Baghdad before the blitz was like most big cities I've lived in or visited except it was a bit dustier and frayed about the edges. Maintenance was obviously a low priority here but there was some new construction underway including what might one day become the largest mosque in the world. Gasoline was about five cents US a gallon and there was much traffic that consisted mostly of older vehicles but there were a few shiny new ones including London-style, red, double-decker buses mixed in with horse and donkey carts. And there was an attempt to beautify the city with parks, fountains and statues other than those of Saddam Hussein. I immediately liked Baghdad mostly because those men and women who wore their traditional native clothing looked so exotic and timeless. But most people wore clothes indistinguishable from ours.
Often we didn't have to introduce ourselves. Most people seemed to know who we were and treated us like royalty. Some merchants and taxi drivers refused payment and we were often presented small gifts. Once when some western journalists asked if we were being paid by the Hussein Regime, I answered, of course and told them about the dozen camels, three wives, the oil refinery, and the McDonalds' franchise for Baghdad that Saddam promised me if he survived. This did not go over well with my fellow shields who knew how partisan much of the media was and thought they might take me seriously.
Before the bombing we were taken on trips not only around the city but other parts of Iraq. The very first place our Iraqi "minders" wanted to show us was the Al-Almiriya Bomb Shelter that was penetrated by two American "smart" bombs Feb. 13, 1991. On approach to what was then a memorial, was a large statue of a face with mouth open obviously screaming in agony and wreathed by flame and debris. It was a warning the experience here wouldn't be pleasant. Among other things Mdme. Intesar al-Samarie, the curator and guide, showed us a wall and traced for us the outlines of victims, their images burned into the concrete like photographs. One was a young girl sitting, her back to the wall. Another was a mother, standing, holding an infant. The discolorations on the wall reminded me of the statue-like, lava-preserved remains of some inhabitants caught at the exact instant of death and now on display among the ruins of Pompeii destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius centuries ago.
Some other trips included those to hospitals in Baghdad and Basra where we visited the wards of children suffering different types of cancer mostly from depleted uranium (DU) munitions or what I call "DUM" bombs. Since 1991, US and British air forces never stopped bombing Iraq and most of the bombs and missiles they used contained DU. For more than a decade, depleted uranium has been used by the US to harden not only casings of bombs, missiles and artillery shells but also the armour in tanks and other vehicles. Now all over Iraq as well as the US is evidence that the uranium used is not depleted enough to be harmless to anyone including the men and women handling the munitions or those sheltering behind armor containing DU.
Thus as I interpret it, Coalition Forces waged nuclear war against Iraq for a dozen years. Some might argue it's been a "low intensity" nuclear war, but I insist the deaths of between 500,000 and one and a half million mostly children from radiation does not warrant the use of any euphemism of this crime against humanity.
Doctors told us most of the children would be dead within a week and some wouldn't last another night. One child I photographed seemed to be dying right then and there. I was so upset, I couldn't look at the child except through the lens of my camera. I felt like I was committing a sacrilege but wanted to take home photographic evidence of my country's much greater sin.
Before the recent attack on Iraq, most of the radiation was confined to the south. But even then the frequent storms would blow radioactive dust all over that part of the Mideast. During the attack earlier this year, DUM bombs were used mostly in the north and especially in the Baghdad area. So today all of Iraq is radiated for centuries to come and the American civilians working there as well as the occupation forces along with the Iraqi population are slowly cooking in more ways than one.
In a special edition on Iraq of the French publication Le Monde last April, it was reported that 60,000 American vets suffer Gulf War Syndrome the result of the DU. Just one side effect is birth defects. Le Monde published photos of the armless offspring of one American veteran of 1991 along with the cover of Life, the well known American magazine, for Nov. 1, 1995, with the headline, "The Tiny Victims of Desert Storm. Has Our Country ABANDONED THEM?"
Thursday Feb. 27, a week after arriving in Baghdad, we were deployed to sites vital to the health and welfare of the civilian population that we were to try to protect from bombing. The embassies of all our countries as well as the White House and the Pentagon were notified more than once of our locations. About fifteen of us from a dozen countries were sent to the Seventh of April Water Treatment Plant on the Tigris about a half hour drive northwest of downtown Baghdad. Other shields encamped at another water treatment plant, several electric generating stations, a food storage warehouse, an oil refinery that fueled the generating stations, and a telephone exchange.
At one time before the bombing there may have been as many as two hundred of us from twenty-five or so countries. At our site, the youngest was Hirohito Tamura, 27, of Japan. I was oldest and the average age was 48. Our group included two professors, a professional dancer, the CEO of a large truck building firm, an attorney, a travel guide, a secretary and some California hippies.
We were housed in an office building with the largest room made into our dormitory. There was one bathroom in pretty rank condition but a brand new one with Western style amenities was built for us within a week. The Iraqis supplied us food that was heavy on meat and bread which some of us didn't eat. One thing we all did like was falafel. We had a brand new car with chauffeur assigned to us but it was small and most of us would bus back and forth downtown to our office, Internet centers, and restaurants where the food was incredibly cheap.
Before the bombing, we would often take walks around our neighborhood and got to know some of the locals including the plant guards and a local farmer. Once we were invited to visit a teachers college nearby where the students wanted our autographs as well as their photos taken with us. Another time we were invited into a home where one young woman spoke decent English. They served us juice and cakes and wanted us to stay for lunch.
Sometime in early March, Karl Dallas, a Brit of many parts, decided an international concert in Baghdad just might help give the peace process more time. And time was on our side. Some of us thought it was a great idea and before long Karl had an agreement from the local government to use a big, new stadium. Till then I had my doubts he could pull this event off, but now I got fired up. I e-mailed my sister and a good friend asking them to try to contact Joan Baez to inform her of our plans. I was sure if Joan alone would show up for our concert, it would through a monkey wrench into the Bush Administration's timetable for the attack. But days passed and we couldn't seem to get through to any of the many entertainers we tried to contact. Some depression set in with some of us. Some shields went home believing there just weren't enough of us in Baghdad. We had originally hoped for 10,000 to cover the whole country.
One night I helped tape windows in our dorm in event of bombing like in the movies of the London blitz. Some we covered with cabinets and blankets to shield us from flying glass. I lost the view from my bed of the beautiful palm trees in our oasis. We were no longer "peace tourists" as we had been calling ourselves.
March 18, we bought food and cooking gear in the village and gathered up bagged water for emergency. That night we took inventory of our medical kit that included surgical instruments. I woke about three the next morning and for about two hours lay in the dark imagining our dorm being blown apart and body parts--including my own--flying around. As hard as I tried, I couldn't stop the images I was seeing in my mind's eye like a movie and neither could I get out of bed and go for a walk. It was my very worst time in Iraq. Finally I fell asleep and awoke to the noise of shields making their way to and from the bathroom.
That night BBC got even closer attention from us. War was days maybe hours away, every one agreed...except me. At our site, only I still thought Bush wouldn't dare attack without the U.N.
In the early morning hours of March 20, I awoke to what sounded like the low rumble of thunder. But as my head cleared, I noticed the rumbling never paused like thunder usually does. In retrospect, I'm sure others were awakened too but no one stirred until I quietly announced dramatically to the darkened room, "The war has begun." And in a flash, we were all quickly putting on clothes and rushing outside to witness Bush's crime in progress, the crime of the new century. The wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world was escalating its war on a small Third World country already weakened by twelve years of bombing and trade sanctions. Unbelievable, I thought to myself.
We never saw or even heard the bombers and the rumble was at a distance to the south east. What we did see was the fiery tracers of the anti-aircraft guns arcing across the sky and exploding like fireworks on the Fourth of July. I had seen some of the AA guns around Baghdad and Basra and they appeared to me manually-operated like early WW II cannon and unlike the ones that by 1945 were electrically-operated and aimed by radar. The AA fire also appeared to reach not more than ten thousand feet when the B-52s were flying at 30,000 or higher even.
To keep from weeping with rage and shame, I played on my harmonica The International. Three other shields joined me, singing the words in three languages. I played other songs including one of my favorites, Farewell Angelina. I blew as hard as I could into the harmonica as if the music would be more effective protecting us than the AA fire. I played until I couldn't hold back my tears anymore and my eyes stung.
At dawn we awoke to thick black smoke from oil fires deliberately set by the Iraqis, possibly in a feeble attempt to foil the aim of the bomb and missile technicians who used radar and laser to "see" through almost anything. It was hard to differentiate the smoke of bombed targets and oil fires.
I wrote the following March 24, four days into the bombing.
Last night in our neighborhood, we got the worst hammering so far by the B-52s. Blast after blast seemingly all around us shook our building like a severe California earthquake I've come to know so well. The noise was deafening as we were preparing for bed about 10:30. Although it was not time for prayers, the Imam nearby turned up his loudspeakers and chanted throughout the attack that lasted about an hour. As a syncretist, I found the priest's entreaties comforting.
The south of the city is getting blasted now as I write this at 4:56 AM. The predawn sky in that direction glows red. Baghdad is a sitting duck for American bombs and missiles. The Iraqis rarely fire anymore their vintage AA guns. In our former office building, sometimes the sound a of a file cabinet drawer in which we keep some of our food and other times the sound of the bathroom door being closed mimic the deep thump of the bombs. But by now the blitz has lost much of its entertainment value except when very close by. Then we duck and take cover the best we can. "Shock and awe," indeed!
What I most recall of that night was that some of the bombs were so close, bright red flashes would leak through the blankets and around the metal cabinets, lighting up the room. Other times we could hear the bombs or missiles whishing overhead and feel the pressure from the explosions. But the closest damage we could see from our site was the flames of a military training camp about a half mile away. At no time did we ever lose electricity and the area was never blacked out at night.
Members of different peace groups had been leaving Iraq before and after the bombing started, giving the lie to reports we were being held hostage by the Hussein Regime. About a week after the bombing started, as Coalition Forces were closing in on Baghdad, four of us at the water treatment plant began discussing leaving for Jordan or Syria. The way out was getting more dangerous and thus expensive. On the last day of March, we hired a van and driver at the bargain rate of $150 each for the twelve hour drive to Amman. Along the way we saw bombed buildings and bullet-riddled and burned out vehicles. About half way we ran into a roadblock manned by Australian Special Forces who told an Australian woman with us they had parachuted into the area a month before the invasion started. Fortunately we had someone with us who spoke their language and they waved us on.
Three days after arriving in Amman, I was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. His last question was, "Would you agree the Iraqi people would be better off without Saddam Hussein and his regime in power?"
"No, I don't agree," I responded, but before I could explain, he thanked me and cut me off.
What I would have told his audience given time was the likelihood of urban guerrilla warfare, the very worst nightmare of the Coalition. And of course this is what's happening now. I would also have predicted that if the Coalition pulls out, there is likely to be civil war because of the demographics.
From Amman I went to Paris for another six weeks where I attended meetings of peace groups and had media interviews in which I thanked the French people for not supporting American imperialism. And at every opportunity I urged them to demand the return of the Statue of Liberty, which of course was a gift from France late in the 19th century. I don't think I was ever taken seriously but I had hoped and still do that some French cartoonist or comedian would take on such a campaign.
While still in Iraq we had been hearing reports that upon return home we might be fined up to a million dollars and/or jailed for twelve years. I believed none of this until I had been home awhile and learned two Americans who were human shields in Iraq had been fined $10,000 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that oversees sanctions against Iraq and Cuba. This infuriated many of us because we felt like the sanctions were put in place to only stop exports to Iraq since the US had been practically expropriating their oil for much of the past twelve years. Not having much to lose, I immediately took a hard line urging American who were shields and other peace ambassadors in Iraq to "surrender" to OFAC and force them to deal with all of us. As a long-time Wobbly, I agree an "injury to one is an injury to all."
Some shields who had much to lose disagreed and began looking for an alternative. Meanwhile on Sept. 4 , I just happened to be next door to the Treasury Department where OFAC has it's office. That rainy morning I witnessed Pres. Bush sign into law the Prison Rape Elimination Act. As a survivor and the activist who has worked on this issue longest (since 1983), I had been invited to the ceremonial signing. A background check on me was definitely made and the investigators could not have missed some of my sordid political past, but I had promised the man who arranged the signing that I would do nothing to embarrass the President. So there I was in the Oval Office.
Immediately afterward, outside the Northwest gate of the White House, I donned my Human Shield t-shirt and Veterans For Peace cap and walked next door to the Treasury Department. A sign and a guard made it clear there would be no admittance without an appointment. So using my sister's cellphone, I called OFAC only to be told by a Mr. Johnson his office does not deal directly with citizens, that I should write them, and that I wasn't on the list anyway. Before I could ask who else might be on the list beside Faith Fippinger and Ryan Clancy, Mr. Johnson hung up on me.
The drama continues...on November 14, press conferences will take place in eight cities across the USA. Individuals who have traveled to Iraq will stand in solidarity with those who have been charged with breaking the sanctions. According to the press release, "We will not yield to the government's intimidation tactics that are designed to silence us."
# # #
Tom Cahill has been an activist more than forty years. While in Germany in U.S. Air Force Intelligence in the 50s, he tried and failed (fortunately for him) to form a union of fellow disgruntled enlisted men. In college in Texas, he tried and failed to help organize on campus a chapter of the NAACP. By 1967, he was publishing an underground newspaper in San Antonio called Inferno in Spanish and English for justice and peace. While jailed for civil disobedience in 1968, he was beaten, gang-raped, and otherwise tortured, possibly set-up to be "neutralized" this way by COINTELPRO, according to two memos in his FBI files. In 1983, Cahill rescued a derelict organization called Stop Prisoner Rape (www.spr.org) with which he is still associated. He has been arrested for civil disobedience more than a dozen times, once with Dr. Daniel Ellsberg. He is a long-time member of the Industrial Workers of the World, Earth First!, Veterans For Peace and other left-radical organizations.
