Overseas, Internet Is Rallying Point for Antiwar Activists

Overseas, Internet Is Rallying Point for Antiwar Activists
Cynthia L. Webb, The Washington Post
12 March 2003

The Internet has proven a valuable tool for Americans opposed to a U.S.
war
against Iraq, but it’s overseas that antiwar protesters are making the
most
of cyberspace, with activists from Europe to Australia going online to
create a transnational push for peace.

The most accessible sites for many American readers are based in the
United
Kingdom and other English-speaking nations. One U.K. site —
comfy-enjoy.com/everyonecounts — advocates a massive letter-writing
campaign against war in Iraq. The site uses the same logic as a chain
letter, telling readers : "If 4 people in each link of the email chain
continue the chain and write a letter the chain need have only 10 links
for
over a million letters to be sent." The site has a link for Britons to
fax
their members of Parliament and offers readers a sample letter to send
to
Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In several European countries, antiwar groups are using the Web to
organize
protests outside U.S. military bases. In Germany, Resist the War’s site
(www.resistthewar.de), which includes an English-language section, was
used
to recruit volunteers for a February 22 sit-in outside of a U.S. base
near
Frankfurt.

In the U.K., Reclaim the Bases (www.reclaimthebases.org.uk) is
organizing
protests at military bases throughout the country on April 5 and 6,
inviting readers to join an online mailing list for more information.

An effort to send "human shields" to Iraq last month linked activists
from
several countries. The U.K.-based Human Shields Project
(www.humanshields.org) is cross-linked to French, Italian and Spanish
sites
promoting the same effort. The British site also prominently promotes a
site built by Ken Nichols O’Keefe (www.uksociety.org), an American
activist
who helped organize some human-shield efforts.

In Germany, www.15februar.org was set up to help organize the German
portions of large protests that occurred worldwide on Feb. 15. Although
primarily focused on last month’s events, the site includes a link to
upcoming protests scheduled for March 15 and offers generous helpings
of
downloads for placards, buttons and fliers, as well as news clippings,
audio and video. There is a large list of supporters and underwriters
for
the site and the protest efforts. The site also carries links to
antiwar
sites throughout the world.

Not surprisingly, France boasts a rich line-up of antiwar sites. The
French
site La Mouvement de la Paix (< a href="http://www.mvtpaix.org/"
target="_blank">www.mvtpaix.org) — The Peace Movement — offers a
large
amount of archival material, including research papers, articles and
other
tracts against war in Iraq. It also features a petition against war in
Iraq, downloadable flyers, a solicitation for opinions and contact
numbers
across the country for the group’s local representatives. The English
version is prominently displayed on the homepage, but the link does not
appear to work.

The Spanish site Paz Ahora (www.pazahora.org) — "Peace Now" — links
to a
Spanish-language version of the antiwar pledge sponsored by the U.S.
group
Not In Our Name (www.notinourname.net). The site focuses on conflicts
ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian crisis to Afghanistan, the Balkans
and
Iraq.

Alternative Journalism

The Web is being used to showcase journalism and commentary critical of
a
war in Iraq. The Peace UK site (www.peaceuk.net) is heavy on reports
critical of the U.S. and British governments.

Electronic Iraq (electroniciraq.net) was started last month to supply
news
and views from Iraq and other parts of the world that oppose war. It
calls
on worldwide activists to submit dispatches and photos to help run the
international site.

The Independent Media Center (www.indymedia.org) is a global
clearinghouse
for alternative journalism, linking to worldwide antiwar coverage,
including news from Australia, Belgium and Canada.

Iraq Body Count (www.iraqbodycount.net) is pursuing a unique antiwar
strategy. Operated by a multinational group of researchers, the site
says
it will "establish an independent and comprehensive public database of
civilian deaths in Iraq resulting directly from military actions by the
USA
and its allies in 2003."

Meanwhile, BBC Online is running a reader comment feature in its
continuing
coverage of the Iraq crisis, drawing in comment for and against a war
from
around the world.

International Antiwar Links

There are far more antiwar sites overseas than can be compiled in one
article. Below is a list of sites that stood out in Internet searches
and
links from other sites :

. The Irish Anti-War Movement site (irishantiwar.org) publicizes
protests
and other war-related news. The site includes a discussion forum for
readers.

. An Australian group called Palm Sunday has formed a "Walk Against
War"
coalition online and provides details on worldwide protests. The Palm
Sunday group, according to its Web site, started in Australia to
support
nuclear disarmament.

. In South Africa, the African National Congress (www.anc.org.za)
details
the party’s opposition to a war against Iraq on its homepage. The site
reprints a petition signed by South African groups opposed to the war
and
offers downloads of a "Stop the War" flyer, poster and pamphlet.

. The International Campaign Against U.S. Aggression On Iraq
(www.cairocampaign.com) is an Egyption-led antiwar group. The site is
heavily cross-linked to other antiwar groups and includes an
online petition, a user poll and e-cards that can be sent via e-mail.

. The British site SchNEWS (www.schnews.org.uk) promotes itself as
"Direct
Action Against War" and carries a list of rallying places in the U.K.
where
activists can gather at if war in Iraq begins.

. In Germany, Andreas Feiner recently started an antiwar blog and news
site, called "Don’t Beat Around The Bush"
(bushcritics.gmxhome.de/index_2.html) to spur discussion between the
United
States and Germany about the pending war on Iraq. Feiner writes by
e-mail
that site visitors for now mostly hail from the U.S. The site features
both
German and English content.

. The Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (www.casi.org.uk) is one of
many
groups that have been organizing opposition to the U.N. economic
sanctions
imposed on Iraq in the wake of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The group
provides an e-mail discussion thread.

Tomorrow’s edition of this feature will look at religious and student
groups opposed to war against Iraq. On Friday, the online movement in
support of tough action against Iraq will be surveyed.#

— Cynthia L. Webb’s e-mail address is cindy.webb@washintonpost.com.
Staff
Writer Robert MacMillan contributed to this feature.

=========================

Friends Journal
April 2003
The Faces of "Collateral Damage"
by Charlie Clements

I am a public health physician. In January I participated in a ten-day
emergency mission to Iraq, sponsored by the Brooklyn-based Center for
Economic and Social Rights. Our task was to assess the potential
consequences to Iraqi civilians of a war on Iraq. As a graduate of the
U.S.
Air Force Academy and a Vietnam veteran, I have some understanding of
the
potential consequences of the air war we are about to unleash on Iraq
as a
prelude to an invasion by U.S. troops. The Pentagon will refer to the
innocent victims of this assault as "collateral damage," but I’ve seen
their faces, and I think they should have another name. One that occurs
to
me is "children," since half the population of Iraq is under 18 years
old.

Our delegation was composed of six experts in water, sanitation,
emergency
health services, public health, and food security. We were given access
throughout Iraq to clinics, hospitals, food distribution centers, water
and
sanitation facilities, and electrical generating plants, as well as
granted
interviews with Iraqi officials, staff of international agencies,
civilians, and diplomatic personnel. We had our own translators.

In many ways, the population of Iraq has been reduced to the status of
refugees. Nearly 60 percent of Iraqis, almost 14 million people, depend
entirely on a government-provided food ration that, by international
standards, represents the minimum for human sustenance. They have a
very
high infant mortality caused by communicable and waterborne diseases.
They
experience severe problems with their potable water, sanitation, and
electrical infrastructures. The health care system can barely cope with
the
existing disease burden and there are shortages of medicines.
Unemployment
is at least 50 percent, and those such as physicians who are employed
may
only make $8-10 per month. There are limited opportunities for
education.
There is a pervasive sense of despair and uncertainty regarding the
future.

The war has yet to start, but we found the Kerbala Pediatric Hospital
that

we visited already filled beyond capacity, each bed filled with two or
three mothers with their ill children. The pediatrician explained that
there were only 28 beds for the 54 patients, so at night many of the
mothers would shift onto the floor. Most of the children had the
telltale
signs of malnutrition-thin skin stretched over protruding bellies, eyes
that seemed far too large for their small faces, hair with streaks that
Western women often pay for at the hairdresser.

We walked up to a bed where a mother was rocking her tiny, crying
three-year-old daughter. The pediatrician said the mother had traveled
200
km because she heard the hospital had a supply of Pentostam, the
medicine
needed to treat kala azar, or leishmaniasis, as we call it. The
pediatrician had not told her yet that there is none. He turned to me
and
said in English, "It would be kinder to shoot the girl here rather than
let
her return home to the lingering death that awaits her." Our
interpreter,
by instinct, translated the doctor’s comments into Arabic, and the
mother’s
eyes began to overflow with tears.

Leishmaniasis, we learned from the pediatrician, is reemerging because
Iraq
is not allowed to import the pesticides that once controlled the sand
fly,
which transmits the disease. Malaria is also reemerging because
mosquito
control is no longer possible in parts of Iraq. The incidence of
water-borne diseases like typhoid is 1,000 percent of what it was just
prior to the Gulf War-2,200 cases in 1990 and more than 27,000 in 2001,
according to UNICEF.

After saying good-byes at the Pediatric Hospital, we walked across the
highway to the Kerbala water treatment plant. There the woman engineer
told
us much of the diarrheal disease is caused by poorly treated water,
because
Iraqis are not allowed to import the spare parts for water treatment
plants
or the chemicals like chlorine and aluminum sulfate necessary to
produce
clean water. We saw that only about 8 of the 32 electrical motors that
turn
the large paddles in the flocculation chambers used for settling solids
were still functional ; the rest had been cannibalized for parts. There
was
insufficient chlorine, so the two-step disinfection procedure had been
reduced to only a single step.

Later, it was not a surprise when WHO and UNICEF staff explained that
40
percent of water samples in Iraq didn’t meet standards for potable
water,
either for bacteria counts or total dissolved solids. We know what
happens
when bacteria counts are high. The average Iraqi child has 14 episodes
of
diarrhea a year now, compared to around three before the Gulf War. That
is
part of the reason that 70 percent of deaths of Iraqi children result
either from diarrheal-related diseases or respiratory infections. The
diarrheal diseases weaken their immune systems and make them more
susceptible to colds that turn into pneumonias. Malnourished children
are
more vulnerable to both. The facility’s chief engineer said that
because
the sewage treatment plant in South Baghdad is often inoperable due to
lack
of maintenance and spare parts, most of the city’s wastewater was
diverted
directly into waterways connected to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
We
then knew why UNICEF estimates that 500,000 tons of raw sewage are
dumped
into Iraqi waterways daily. These are the same waterways that are the
sources of both potable and industrial water.

[PHOTO : Delegation members (L. to R.) Elisabeth Benjamin, Ron
Waldman, and Charlie Clements examine a two-month food ration
before it is taken home to the family of one of these Iraqi
boys.]

what are the consequences of all this ? They were rather accurately
predicted in a previously classified 1991 Defense Intelligence Agency
document that discussed the sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded
Kuwait. It suggested that if the importation of chemicals were blocked,
the
already poorly functioning water treatment system in Iraq would soon
grind
to a halt, disabling most industries that depended upon clean water,
specifically mentioning electrical generation, pharmaceuticals, food
processing, and petrochemicals. It also predicted that, "Failing to
secure
supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of
the
population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not epidemics,
of
such diseases as cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid." This is precisely
what
has happened. UNICEF estimates that the excess child mortality in Iraq
over
the past decade has been more than 500,000 children. These children,
too,
must be counted as "collateral damage" from the Gulf War.

As people watched so-called "smart bombs" zero in on military targets
on
CNN during the Gulf War, we weren’t shown the images of electrical
generating plants that were hit on average eight to ten times. Without
spare parts these plants have yet to recover fully, and some only
operate
at 50 percent of capacity causing daily electrical outages for up to 14
hours in some Iraqi cities.

How many civilians will die in the next war ? That is difficult to
predict
with any certainty. Most researchers agree that 10,000 civilians
perished
in the Gulf War, primarily during the bombing campaign. That figure
will
surely climb because the U.S. government has threatened that more than
3,000 precision guided munitions will strike Iraq during the first 48
hours
of the war. The tactic of a missile exploding every minute during the
initial days of a war has been given a name : "shock and awe." The U.S.
Department of Defense (DOD) has leaked its war plan to "shock and awe"
the
Iraqis, specifically striking targets such as the Republican Guards,
intelligence and security forces, as well as command and control
centers.
These are largely located in urban areas where 70 percent of Iraq’s 22
million civilians also live.

If the U.S. launches a war against Iraq today, our leaders know that,
unlike after the Gulf War, we will not only have to govern the country
but
will have to rebuild it. For this reason, the DOD would probably
refrain
from targeting the water, sanitation facilities, and electrical
generating
plants this time around. (It won’t have to, because it can paralyze the
electrical grid with wind-dispersed graphite filaments.)

At the same time, the electricity-dependent public health
infrastructure
such as water treatment, sewage pumping, and sewage treatment plants
would
come to a halt. Already in Baghdad we stepped gingerly through
neighborhoods where sewage was backed up into the streets because an
aging
pump station failed. What will happen when all pumps fail at once and
emergency generators can only supply sufficient power for 10 percent of
normal capacity ?

Iraq is not like Afghanistan, where people have long ago learned to
fend
for themselves. Iraq is highly urbanized, and the bulk of its
population
depends entirely upon a "food basket" provided by the government under
the
UN-monitored Food for Oil program. The 2,200 calories currently
provided
per adult are what refugee experts define as the minimum needed for
human
sustenance. The program, which uses surface transportation for
distribution, will be suspended when U.S. forces interdict roads,
rails,
and bridges to prevent the Iraqi army from movement and re-supply.

Just as there are no spare parts in the country, there is little spare
food
in cupboards and no spare fat on the bodies of so many children who are
already malnourished. Half the population is unemployed, and many
families
have sold their possessions over the last decade to get by. If war
comes,
the prospects for avoiding a humanitarian catastrophe are grim. In a
country where half the population is under the age of 18, can the U.S.
make
war on Saddam Hussein and not the children of Iraq ?

Iraq once had a modern healthcare system that is now barely
functioning.
What will happen when the backup generators in hospitals slowly go
silent
because diesel fuel deliveries stop ? What will happen in the operating
rooms, dialysis units, and blood banks ? Iraqi health professionals
answered
these questions for us. After a woman physician replied to our many
ominous
queries in a steady and professional manner, a member of our delegation
thanked her and said, "You are very strong." She responded, "We have
endured a decade of war with Iran and a decade of sanctions and
bombing."
And then, losing her composure, she began to cry, adding, "We are
neither
strong nor brave. We do what we have to do to survive." There is
palpable
fear in Iraq, and it can be felt everywhere you have a quiet
conversation.

The previously mentioned declassified Defense Intelligence Agency
document,
conversations with UN officials in Iraq, and the experience of several
international organizations operating in Iraq reveal there has been a
dark
side to the enforcement of sanctions. Until last year, every item that
was
imported into Iraq had to be individually approved by the Sanctions
Committee. Made up representatives of some 20 countries, votes were by
secret ballot and one negative vote was sufficient to block a request.
Recently, a widely used antibiotic that could also be used to treat
anthrax
was blocked by the Sanctions Committee. Chlorine and aluminum sulfate
used
in the treatment of water were blocked as "dual use" (capable of both
civilian and military use). Stainless steel essential for the screens
in
wastewater plants has been blocked for years. After enormous pressure
was
brought to bear by the international community, UN Resolution 1409 was
authorized by the Security Council in 2001, providing a list of items
that
can be imported without going through the months and sometimes years of
scrutiny of the Sanctions Committee.

An Austrian physician who read an essay of mine circulating on the
Internet, wrote : "Our humanitarian project was blocked by the U.S.
objection inside the Sanctions Committee for one year. They considered
our
medical machines as dual use, although the UN weapons inspectors were
involved and they confirmed that not one of our instruments is to be
considered as dual use. With our project we are supporting children who
suffer from leukemia or cancer."

If the constant litany that visiting delegations in Iraq hear are to be
believed, then the sanctions are the root of all evil there today. The
truth isn’t so black and white-little is, in Iraq. Visitors can see
beautiful mosques and gorgeous presidential palaces being built in many
places. Ba’athist Party bureaucrats and the military don’t suffer the
deprivations of ordinary people. Saddam Hussein rules with an iron fist
and
tolerates no dissent. Statues of him are everywhere and people display
posters of him as evidence of their patriotism. The office of one
mid-level
director in a regional electric department took the prize with seven.

It is almost impossible to know what Iraqis really think because there
is a
government "minder" present for all visits. In a taxi or on the streets
at
night, people will ask where we are from and will invariably welcome us
when they discover we are from the United States. As much as some
Iraqis
would like Saddam removed, in private one doesn’t sense that they would
welcome a U.S.-led war as the means. The Iraqis are a proud people,
aware
of their place in the history of civilization. Walking through an
ornate
arch that connects two parts of a market, I was told it was built in
1200
C.E. Several blocks later, I comment upon another building and am told
it
dates from 3000 B.C.E. Babylon itself is not far outside Baghdad where
one
of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the "hanging gardens," is
now
being restored.

The region no longer seems to fear Saddam Hussein. Most believe he has
largely been disarmed and his army is no longer a threat. While the New
York Times talks about the coalition the U.S. is trying to build, Arab
newspapers report on the meeting of the foreign ministers of Iraq’s
neighbors-Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Syria-to discuss how war
can
be avoided. These countries all fear the economic consequences of a
war.
Turkey lost an estimated $25 billion in the Gulf War and has so far
refused
the $26 billion aid package that the U.S. is dangling in exchange for
use
of the country as a staging area. They all say that contrary to
international law they will not permit the millions of refugees to
cross
their borders as they did in the Gulf War.

Many think that Osama bin Laden would welcome a U.S. attack on Iraq
because
nothing could help the cause of al-Qaida more. They fear that
television
images of Iraqis fighting GIs street-to-street in Baghdad could inflame
both the smoldering fundamentalist sentiment as well as the
anti-Americanism of ordinary people across the region. We, too, should
fear
the hatred and resentment that could be unleashed. It could haunt us
for
decades to come in every corner of the world.

A subject that is infrequently mentioned in the commentaries on this
looming war is the impact on economies-local, regional, and global. Our
allies largely paid for the Gulf War. Without such friends this time
around, the U.S. administration’s legal team has determined we can
charge
the Iraqis using their oil revenues to finance the war against them. If
Saddam torches his oil fields as he has promised to do (and did in
Kuwait),
then it could take even longer than the estimated five years to
rehabilitate them. A Saudi oil official has said that if that happens,
oil
prices could rise to $100 per barrel. The last time that happened, it
caused a global recession, from which Africa needed a decade to
recover.
The U.S. economy is not in a strong position to withstand a war, yet
there
is surprisingly little debate in the U.S. about the possible economic
consequences.

Even now, Iraqi oil fields have had no spare parts for a decade and are
operating at less than 50 percent of pre-Gulf War capacity. Already,
the
Food for Oil program is billions of dollars behind in critically needed
items that have been authorized but not yet supplied such as food,
medicine, spare parts for water treatment plants, and electrical
generators. Almost half the proceeds are used for war reparations to
Kuwait
and to administer the program ; the other half keeps Iraq alive. The
U.S.
has budgeted nothing for this war, and if it expects to pay for it out
of
Iraqi oil revenues, it will have to further starve Iraqis to do so.

This scenario is conservative. I have not taken into account any use of
weapons of mass destruction, or the possibility that the war will set
loose
massive civil disorder and bloodshed, as various groups within the
country
battle for power or revenge. I have also ignored what would happen if
U.S.
Forces became bogged down in house-to-house fighting in Baghdad, which
could easily become another Mogadishu or Jenin.

There was a lot that made me angry on this trip. I have worked in war
zones
before, and I have been with civilians as they were bombed by
U.S.-supplied
aircraft. I don’t think I’ve experienced anything on the magnitude of
the
catastrophe that awaits our attack on Iraq.

On Saturday, February 15, in cities around the world, millions of
people
joined their voices and prayers in hopes of stopping this war. The
demonstrators urged agreement with the majority of the UN Security
Council
that believes that the weapons inspectors are making progress and must
be
allowed to continue their mandate to search for and disable Iraq’s
weapons
of mass destruction. There is widespread acknowledgment that Saddam
Hussein
has dragged his feet on disarming, but there is also a strong desire
for
the international community to fulfill its obligations under Chapter 7,
Articles 41 and 42 of the United Nations Charter-to exhaust all
peaceful
avenues before resorting to force.

If the U.S. pursues this war without the backing of the UN Security
Council, it will undermine a half century of efforts to establish a
community of civilized nations where there is the rule of law. We must
search for alternatives other than war to resolve these troubling
issues.
We must be creative in developing sanctions that don’t harm the most
vulnerable sectors of society-pregnant women, children, and the
elderly.

I am troubled by what I have seen in Iraq. I am inspired by the
millions
who recently made their voices and prayers heard around the globe. I am
comforted by words sent by a friend, based on the Talmud : "Do not be
daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love
mercy,
now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but
neither are you free to abandon it."#

— Charlie Clements attends Santa Fe (N. Mex.) Meeting. In 1984
American
Friends Service Committee made a film about his work in El Salvador
called
Witness to War, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
He
is currently CEO and president of WaterWorks, a not-for-profit
organization
that assists communities in the southwestern United States that are
without
potable water and wastewater systems. He also teaches at the Bartos
Institute for the Constructive Engagement of Conflict at the United
World
College in Montezuma, New Mexico. He is a former president of
Physicians
for Human Rights and served on their board for 15 years. He is a
Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a
Distinguished
Alumnus of University of Washington School of Public Health. For the
executive summary and final report of the mission described in this
article, see <www.cesr.org> ; .