Background on the War(s) on Iraq

History of Iraq

• History of Iraq from an Iraqi source
• Outline history of Iraq compiled by Larry Kerschner of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, largely based on Ramsay Clark's book, The Fire This Time
  
• Short summary of Iraq's modern history from British occupation to the present by Eric Margolis

Iraq and the War on Terrorism

• A broad-based critique of the War on Terrorism by the Center for Cooperative Research
  (This is a HUGE and very well organized site. Note in particular the extensive timelines in the left sidebar.)
• On Meet the Press on 3/24/2002 Vice President Dick Cheney said, "We haven't been able to pin down any connection with al Qaida." Yet, in an August 2002 Gallup survey, 86% said they think "Saddam Hussein is involved in supporting terrorist groups that have plans to attack the United States." Public opinion surveys aren't the place to find the truth on factual matters, but there is clearly a predisposition among the public to believe Iraq is a terrorist state despite lack of a factual basis. The terms "Arab" and "terrorist" are firmly wedded in the American mindset.
• None of the suspected terrorists in the US have been from Iraq.

Iraq and "Weapons of Mass Destruction"

• American Federation of Scientists' assessment of the global threat posed by weapons of mass destruction (Note in particular the link to the list of countries with these capabilities.)
• It is commonplace to hear that Saddam Hussein "gassed his own people." However, the facts of the case are controversial. Jude Wanniski, former Associate Editor of The Wall Street Journal, raises the possibility that Halabjah, the Kurdish town in question, was gassed by Iranian troops. Others raise objections to this theory, but in either case a) the incident took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq war, b) most of the population of Halabjah were actively supporting Iran against Iraq, c) Iraq was using gas against Iranian troops with the knowledge and support of the US, d) US "outrage" over the incident did not occur until years later when we needed propaganda weapons to use against Saddam Hussein to help justify attacking Iraq, e) the first country to use gas against the Kurds was not Iraq but the British in 1920, f) the number of Kurds killed by gas pales in comparison with the number of Iraqi civilians killed by US-imposed sanctions.

Iraq and Oil

• "With proven reserves of 112-bil bbl and probable reserves of 214-bil bbl, Iraq has the second largest crude reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia."

Bush and Iraq

• Saddam Hussein and his military capacity was built up by the CIA, which backed and armed him to fight Iran in the prolonged Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's.
• Saddam Hussein is without question a brutal dictator (along with many other brutal dictators the US has supported), but his portrayal as another "Hitler" who is an imminent threat to the United States (see an example of this kind of rhetoric) is clearly hysterical.

Issues of International Law, Morality, and Wisdom

• "Just War" theory from a traditional Christian and a more general philosophical perspective
• "Just and Unjust War" by Howard Zinn, uses World War II to discuss whether any war can be considered a "just war."
• War Crimes, A Report on United States War Crimes Against Iraq to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal, by Ramsey Clark and Others
• Impending Constitutional Crisis: The Rush to War By Richard Falk
  
• The Case Against War on Iraq by Howard Zinn
• Israel, Iraq, And The US by Edward Said
• The Case Against the War: Bush is the real menace to world order by Richard Falk

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