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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0179.013 2002-2004 v i ~ 4~ ~l lr G ~ ~,J p w ~ ~ ~ 2 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~k ~ ~~-~f-P-~ C, C.~; ~ ~ ~ DATE: April 5, 2003 f L...~ V1. ~ L1 L-~( ~ y ' ~ S 4- i ~ C VL C ~ ti L. LI TO: miter ~~J L ^ CV ~'v~ x'11 l ~T ~~°e-F' ~ U1.~V{?i "Luz i~S. f ~ ~ SUBJECT: Stop the Iraq War G, ~:'f QT w V ~~f U' ~ ~ ~~~w ~ ~ `~.,~.~:(~ti~u~ N 5~, G3 ~~U s 1 am against this inhumane war. , y .~z .c: C ~ ~1 the !~!l C I V ~j .l~..c `tZ L~'"1 <r ~ 4 ~~'i 4 ~ The use of cluster bombs may constitute war crimes. The InternationatRed Cross states that the yellow casing used to house the cluster "bomblets" is very similar to the yellow packaging used for air-dropped food over the same area. Many civilians and children die picking up the unexploded ordinance, thinking that it is food or a toy. There is a growing movement to ban cluster bombs because of high civilian casualties. The high failure rate (10%20%) of bomblets causes broad areas to become de facto mine fields that continue to kill lung after the war has ended. The U.S. is one of the few countries to have refused to ban cluster bombs -just as it stands nearly alone in its refusal to ban landmines that kill teas of thousands of non-combatants each yeas In the current Gulf war the U.S. has already suffered casualties from its own men stepping on land mines or unexploded cluster bombs. Our use of depleted uranium, or D.U., poses an even greater concern. D.U., a byproduct of nuclear energy production, is 50`% more dense than lead, and is therefore capable of piercing tank armor. Many of the U.S.'s munitions and missiles are made mostly of D.U. Cruise missiles, for example, which weigh 2000 pounds each, are 75%n D.U. by weight. Upon impact, D.U. munitions and bombs turn into a white fireball, whose radioactive dust is highly neuro- and genotoxic, harming innocent civilians for generations to come. The United Nations recently declared D.U. a weapon of mass destruction. U.S. and British troops will be exposed to this D.U. throughout Iraq. Of the nearly I million troops deployed in the first Gulf war twelve years ago, some 200,000 suffer from neurological and immunological dysfunction, with over ]20,000 receiving disability benefits. The children of Gulf war veterans are four times more likely to suffer from autism than children from the general population. Scientists are not sure why, but initial evidence points to the inhalation of D.U. dust as the cause of this pervasive genetic and neurological damage. But pity even more the people of southern Lray -the location of the heavily bombed U.S. imposed no-t7y-zone whose cancer rates and birth defects, according the U.N., have tripled in the past twelve years. The U.S. Department of Defense has stonewalled inquiries into the health effects of depleted uranium much as they did Agent Orange fallowing Vietnam. (Agent Orange, by the way, has been resurrected Cor use in the current Iraq campaign.) During this earlier war, the D.O.D. claimed the chemical was merely e defoliant and posed no threat to humans. That statement has proven to be a lie, and one wooden when similar mistakes - or deceptions -will be admitted to in the case of D.U. Comm. o. 17q• ~ ~ Ref. To: Ref. Date APR 1^, 5~ This is the first time in 200 years that the U.S. has instituted tax cuts at a time of war. How can the U.S. pay for its $500 billion-per-year war machine while at the same time giving a trillion dollars in tax cuts to the rich? Many of the costs of government are being passed onto the states with disastrous results. We are seeing huge cuts to health care and education. We are seeing unfunded mandates, such as Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation, which are further eroding the public school system. We are seeing cuts to military pay and veterans benefits. Some have called President Bush unpatriotic in reducing military benefits at a time of war. The current Iraq war is rite with conflicts of interest. President Bush's father sits on the board of the Carlyle Group, a $20 billion defense and petroleum investment fund, which is reported to be holding high-level meetings to discuss contracts and personnel assignments to run an occupied Iraq. Richard Perle recently had to step down from his post of chair on a defense advisory panel because of his ongoing clandestine meetings and personal profits from various military contractors. Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, is still on the payroll of Haliburton - to the tune of $1 million per year. Haliburton was recently awarded a $900 million contract to rebuild Iraqi oil infrastructure. Several countries complained to the UN. because no non-U.S. companies were allowed to bid on this and several other -lucrative deals. The only way to make this world safer is for the U.S. to follow the lead of Kofi Annan and the United Nations. U.S. actions will have no international legitimacy otherwise. The Iraq war is already being called a "crime against the peace" and a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, has no demonstrable links to terrorism, and poses no threat to the U.S. Inquiries into the substance of many of President Bush's and Secretary of State Colin Powell's accusations against the Iraqi regime have proven false. For example, Iraq's purchase of aluminum rods was found to have nothing to do with nuclear weapons production. Also, evidence demonstrates that the purported Iraqi attempt to obtain uranium from Niger never happened. The U.S. people have been duped to think that this tin pot Iraqi dictator poses far more of a threat than he actually does. The presenC Iraq conflict, as former CIA director George Tenet and the president of Egypt have said, will only increase die rage, hopelessness, and sense of violation that give rise to terrorism. As Iraqi militia scatter in the face of U.S. forces, reports of lawlessness and looting mount. It is doubtful that the U.S., as occupiers of Iraq, will be able to promote a lasting peace in the region. We will likely suffer many more casualties as the months drag on, and international opinion will turn even more against U.S. aggression and unilateralism. Let us finish our business in Iraq as soon as possible. Lees bring our troops home. L,et us shift our focus to rebuilding our own domestic infrastructure reportedly in need of over $2 trillion for the repair of aging schools, roads, sewers, and airports. Let's develop a national energy strategy that steers us away from fossil fuel dependency. Let us not give the world any more reason to believe that we invaded Iraq primarily for its oil reserves and lucrative post-war contracts. ~ 7~~ ~~7 ~ Derek Bishop, Public School Teacher P.O. Box 63 Naalchu, HI 96772-0063 (808) 939-8121 derekbishop@earthlink.net Derek Bishop teaches at Naalehu Elementary School on the Big Island. He writes extensively on a variety of political, social, and spiritual issues at httpJ/www.sin~n~mountain.org/ and can he reached at derekbishopCearthlink.net.