By Billie and David Chandler

Reasons for War

This war is not about Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein, or terrorism. It is about 100 billion barrels of oil that lie under the sand in Iraq. It's about manipulating domestic politics at home and building an empire abroad.

Richard Perle, GWBs Defense Advisory Board: "Bush must go to war in Iraq to preserve his political reputation."

If you're thinking about war you're not thinking about the economy.

Saddam Hussein is a tyrant, but he is no better and no worse than many other tyrants the US has installed and/or supported around the world. He is in the same league as the Shaw of Iran, Marcos in the Philippines, Somosa in Nicaragua, Pinochet in Chile, Mobutu in Congo, and Noriega in Panama. These dictators are painted in a favorable light as long as they do our bidding, then they are demonized when they become too independent or otherwise cease to be of value to us.

Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's. The US considered him to be an ally at the time and did not complain, even when he used them against Halabjah, a Kurdish town inside Iraq that sided with the Iranians. This became an issue only later when we wanted to justify attacking Iraq in the Gulf War.

UNSCOM dismantled existing weapons systems and was finally were recalled after 7 years when no more were to be found.

Economic sanctions left Iraq without capability to get or make mechanical parts for its weapons systems-this from UNSCOM.

Scott Ritter-UN weapons inspector for 7 yrs in Iraq: Inspectors destroyed to the ground all capability to create weapons of mass destruction.

Even if Iraq had a nuclear weapon, which it doesn't, it doesn't have a system that could get it to the United States.

We don't have a reasonable cause to attack Iraq.

The War and Terrorism

US military manuals define terrorism as: "The calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature. This is done through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear." Under this definition the US is a terrorist nation.

The US is the only country condemned by the World Court for international terrorism-for unlawful use of force for political ends, ordering the US to terminate these crimes and pay substantial reparations (for actions in Nicaragua). The US response was to escalate the attacking of "soft targets", meaning civilians, health facilities, etc. The US fought a major war in Central America throughout the 80s, leaving some 200,000 tortured and mutilated corpses, millions of orphans and refugees and four countries devastated.
(Appendix A, in Noam Chomsky's 9-11 )

The US created al Qaeda. The US trained and supported Osama Bin Laden. If they are terrorists, then we are complicit.

Saddam Hussein has NO CONNECTION TO AL QAEDA. As a secular leader, he worked for years to crush Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq. If he supplied them with weapons, they would use them on HIM first!

This war is not about terrorism, but this war will plant the seeds of terror for generations to come.

This War is illegal

If Bush acts unilaterally, it is a violation of international law. The US has no legal right to attack Iraq. We have no right to impose "regime change" or even disarm another country. The UN allows wars only for self-defense or to stop genocide. Neither of these grounds apply. The rest of the world is against us, and we should listen.

The 'no fly zones' violate the sovereignty of Iraq, are not authorized by the UN, and constitute an act of aggression forbidden under the UN charter.

The Gulf War never ended. We have killed upwards of a million Iraqi civilians since the cease fire with sanctions, which have impacted water systems and health delivery systems needed for civilian society.

We don't have a legal right to attack Iraq.

This War is Immoral

More than 60 church leaders signed a statement initiated by Jim Wallis, executive director of Sojourners, and Church of England Bishop Peter Price declaring that pre-emptive war with Iraq would be "illegal, unwise, and immoral."

This war may never even touch Saddam Hussein, but it will kill 10s or 100s of thousands of innocent Iraqis.

Iraq has 22 million people. This is not a war against Saddam Hussein. It is a war of aggression against 22 million people.

This war is not about defense. It is about power, riches, and political conquest, and as such it constitutes mass murder.

This War is Unwise

If a box cutter can bring down buildings, you can't stop terrorism with war. We must stop the HATRED that fuels terrorism. War does not make us safer. By instilling hatred it puts us more at risk.

The world is against us. There are good reasons. Listen to the world

Chickens Coming Home to Roost

We backed a corrupt government in El Salvador which killed 80,000 civilians, assisinated priests, nuns, and others working for human rights. We trained their army in the use of torture, assassination, and scorched earth tactics. The army we trained and supported massacred whole villages to deprive guerillas of a base of support.

With US approval and US-supplied arms, Indonesia wiped out 1/3 of the population of East Timor. The killing was comparable to the slaughter of Cambodians by Pol Pot, and they happened about the same time, yet there was no outcry in the press here because Indonesia was our ally.

Thousands of Sudanese have died because we bombed their only pharmaceutical factory, eliminating 90% of their source of medicines, 100% of veterinary medicines and blockading any incoming relief. The US was condemned in world court and ordered to pay restitution. We have ignored the verdict.

We have used the Kurds as pawns in contradictory ways. They are portrayed as terrorists in Turkey where they are fighting a guerilla war against the Turkish government, which is a US ally. However we treat them as an oppressed minority in Iraq, because we can use their situation as propaganda against Saddam Hussein.

In 1999, Turkey fell from its position of leading recipient of US arms (apart from Israel and Egypt) and was replaced by Columbia, the worst human rights violator in the hemisphere.

A Car bombing in Beirut in 1985 outside a mosque, timed to kill the maximum number of civilians, with 800 dead and 250 injured. Complements of our CIA.

We supported Israel's invasion of Lebanon, which killed 18,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, subsequent invasions in 1993 and 1996, culminating in the massacre at Qana.

Invading Iraq will decrease US and world security.