From: Mark Clement <MClement@bruderhof.com>
The Summer of 2000 is shaping up to be the largest mobilization we've ever seen in the U.S. to end the embargo on Iraq. Please join us August 6th for a mass demonstration and rally in the nation's capitol. Already, over 40 national organizations with a combined membership of over a million people have made major commitments to bringing thousands to Washington D.C. to call on the Clinton administration and the Presidential candidates to end 10 years of sanctions & war against the people of Iraq. Why should you come? Because together we break the wall of ignorance in our streets, our media, and our government, and end this war! (see below for 5 more reasons why YOU should come to A6!)
[ REGISTER NOW AT HTTP://WWW.ENDTHEWAR.ORG ]
TOP FIVE OF TEN REASONS YOU MUST COME TO DC FOR A6
1) Only overwhelming numbers will break the media silence.
In 1997, when people of conscience overwhelmed what the Clinton administration thought would be a "safe" audience US Policy makers were embarrassed by CNN's international coverage of dissent in America for further bombing of Iraq and dissent for the deadly sanctions. This caused Clinton to scuttle his plans to bomb Iraq for "noncompliance" in 1997 and allow Kofi Annan's shuttle diplomacy to work. But in December of 1998 there was no "Town Hall" meeting, no diplomacy, just a sex scandal that needed a diversion.
2) The US and UK may be getting ready to bomb...
The Nation's papers recently ran frontline coverage about a State Dept. report on Iraq's (perfectly legal) missile production and in London the Sunday Times even ran a story about terror against Iraqi opposition leaders. Both stories were not truly news breakers to anyone who knows anything about Iraq, so why the headlines? Many propose that there is an effort by the US/UK governments to lay the psychological groundwork for a renewed bombing campaign. Are we in store for a SEPTEMBER SURPRISE from the Clinton Administration? Will the White House wag the dog again?
3) The August Deadline...
Speaking in London, Scott Ritter told the Independent that "The new (weapons inspection) commission, UNMOVIC, will not be allowed into Iraq in August, three months away from the election. You've got a Vice-President, Al Gore, trailing behind in the polls and what better way to appear tough then to switch attention away to a so-called foreign threat. The UN Security Council did not vote on Desert Fox and we can expect the same thing to happen again. The US would not like to take unilateral action, it needs Britain to give it in appearance of something multilateral. And sadly, when the US says jump, Tony Blair asks 'how high?'" Scott Ritter, writing of this bombing scenario, points out that US/UK pursuit of their own agenda (Saddam must go) --- sacrifices the UN agenda (weapons inspection and disarmament leading to a lifting of sanctions) ---and is both dangerous and a violation of international law.
(6/00) Without a large show of opposition to current US lawlessness, it may be business as usual.
4) August marks 10 years of sanctions on Iraq
UN sanctions began on August 6, 2000. This date is also the 55th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, where an estimated 125,000-140,000 Japanese died. According to UNICEF (8/12/99), over 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians (most children under 5) would be alive today if 1990 conditions in Iraq had continued through 1998. There will be demonstrations in Washington, DC, and other cities to mark these 10 years and half a million Iraqi children's deaths. We must commemorate these lives and ensure American's do not turn a blind eye any longer. Together we can shift public attention to the PEOPLE of Iraq and their suffering, and call the Clinton administration to task for the over 1,000,000 lost lives we will commemorate.
5) For more reasons to go to DC for A6, visit www.endthewar.org as we begin to post the thoughts of those who register from communities around the US and abroad. Join us online as we count the days to August 6! If you can't make it to DC solidarity actions in your own community will help widen media coverage. Let us know your plans and we will post your action on the A6 web site. Email to jeffgu@hotmail.com with subject "Solidarity Action Your State".
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For those who don't register at http://endthewar.org
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National Mobilization to End the Sanctions Against
Iraq August 5-7
Although the Gulf War officially ended nearly a decade ago, the war
against the people of Iraq continues. Accordingly, we of various faith
communities, peace and justice organizations, and concerned citizens demand
that the economic sanctions and bombings end immediately. We believe it
is reprehensible to use the children, the poor, and the sick of Iraq as
bargaining chips for a political standoff in which they, not Saddam Hussein,
suffer. We oppose all sanctions that prevent or otherwise hamper a nation's
ability to provide for the public health of its people. Our message is
clear and direct: "Lift the economic sanctions, stop the bombing!"