LL:ART: Bush and Blair's war without end
The following article was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, February 5, 2003. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "The Guardian": <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au> Subscription rates on request. * Bush and Blair's war without end So you think the war on Iraq is all about weapons of mass destruction? WRONG! Maybe about Saddam Hussein's dictatorship - about "regime change"? WRONG! About Iraqi links with al Qaida or other terrorists? WRONG! That Iraq has not complied with the UN Security Council resolutions? WRONG AGAIN. That the US and Britain (and their Australian deputy sheriff) are about bringing "freedom and democracy"? WRONG. About seizing control of Iraq's oil? That is a main part of the plan but even that is not all. by Anna Pha and Peter Symon "Regardless of whether we say so publicly", said defence intelligence expert Anthony H Cordesman of the influential Washington Center For Strategic and International Studies, "we will go to war because Saddam sits at the centre of a region with more than 60% of all the world's oil reserves." In a draft plan prepared by the Pentagon and quoted in the New York Times (9-3-92) it was stated quite bluntly: "In the Middle East and South West Asia our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve US and western access to the regions oil." Ten years on that objective has not changed. Vice President Dick Cheney received an energy policy report five months before September 11, 2001, advocating the use of military force against any enemy such as Iraq to secure US access to and control of Middle Eastern oil fields. "Iraq remains a destabilising influence to . the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East. Saddam Hussein has also demonstrated a willingness to threaten to use the oil weapon and to use his own export program to manipulate oil markets", said the report to the Pentagon. The report titled Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century describes the energy sector as being in a critical condition. It says, "A crisis could erupt at any time [which] could have a potentially enormous impact on the US . and would affect US national security and foreign policy in dramatic ways." The report raises concerns about the US becoming too reliant on foreign powers supplying it with oil and gas and the growing anti-American feeling in the oil rich states. "Gulf allies are finding their domestic and foreign policy interests increasingly at odds with US strategic considerations, especially as Arab-Israeli tensions flare", said the report. "They have become less inclined to lower oil prices . A trend towards anti-Americanism could affect regional leaders' ability to co-operate with the US in the energy area." This fear of oil states in the Middle East being beyond the control of the US and its energy corporations is behind the wider objective of the US which is expressed when George Bush says in his State of the Union speech, "Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen". George Bush makes it very clear when he says, "Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbour or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." Hence the agenda, of which war on Iraq is only the beginning, is not only the establishment of a US base in Iraq and a compliant Government, but it involves a far broader objective -- that of controlling all Middle Eastern oil. Any threat to this objective will be dealt with. Redrawing the map For many decades British and French imperialist interests dominated the Middle East. With the break-up of the Ottoman Empire and following WW I, the spoils were divided up and new states carved out by these two powers. French power predominated in Syria and Lebanon. British power held absolute sway in Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The US objective is not simply to seize control of Iraqi oil but all the oil resources of the Middle East and if this involves the redrawing of the political map in the face of rising anti-American sentiments, this will also be done. Today the four biggest and most powerful petroleum corporations in the world are based in Britain and the US: Exxon-Mobil, Shevron-Texaco, British Petroleum-Amoco and Royal Dutch-Shell. This explains why the Blair Government has so enthusiastically lined up with the US objectives of war and redivision. It also explains the resistance of France and Germany. They are being excluded and as a by-product, the Euro as a currency will
LL:DDN: The power of our 'alliance of the unwilling'
HI All, The Medical Response on War in Iraq. There will be a meeting to be held at 1pm at Westmead Hospital on Thursday February 20th on the medical stand on war against Iraq. The Speaker is Dr Keith Suter (Author and Broadcaster) and the meeting will be chaired by Professor R Kefford, Chair Division of Medicine, University of Sydney, Western Sydney. Peace for all, -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: AUSTRALIAN SENATE MOTION ON IRAQ WELCOMED
IMMEDIATE USE 5/2/2003 SENATE MOTION ON IRAQ WELCOMED The Australian Senate has given the government both barrels on Iraq in a motion now under debate that censures the government for forward-deploying troops without revealing to the people of Australia the commitments on which that deployment has been based. The Walk Against War Coalition, a Sydney-based coalition of more than 60 groups including religious organizations, trade unions, peace groups, and a wide variety of community groups has welcomed the vote, while emphasizing that military action against Iraq would be unacceptable with or without a UN security council resolution. According to Coalition spokesperson Hannah Middleton: "We welcome the fact that the Senate has expressed strong opposition to unilateral military action with Iraq, and to the manner in which the current deployment has taken place. In doing so, the Senate has recognized the fact that a mere 6% of Australians support unilateral action, while 80% oppose it. We reiterate that even with a Security Council resolution - a resolution that would inevitably be bought about by undue pressure from the Bush administration - military action should not be contemplated, and we are convinced that most Australians will oppose it. The troops must be bought back." The Coalition said that: "We are committing Australian troops to harms way, and participating in what will mean the deaths of thousands or tens of thousands of Iraqis, based on a lie. The lie is that Iraq somehow represents a military threat." "The one thing that is clear from the recent Blix Report and the El Baradei report is that Iraq really has very little that constitutes any significant threat to the world. Iraq has little or nothing that threatens either the region or Australia, and nothing that warrants a rush to military action. Iraq has questions to answer about Vx precursor, missiles, and biological agents. That is why we need to keep the inspectors in Iraq." "The Senate has sent a signal to the government that our involvement is ill-advised and precipitate. " Contact: Bruce Childs 9389-0993 Hannah Middleton 0418-668-098 Nick Everett 0409-762-081 John Hallam 9567-7533 h9810-2598 The following motion is now being debated in the Australian Senate and it is hoped it will pass. I move an amendment to the Government motion in the following terms: "That the Senate take note of the statement and: 1. Censures the Government for forward-deploying Australian troops to a potential theatre of war with Iraq in the absence of any United Nations authorisation and without revealing to the Australian people the commitments on which that deployment was based; 2. Declares its opposition to a unilateral military attack on Iraq by the United States; 3. Insists that the disarmament of Iraq proceed under the authority of the United Nations; 4. Expresses its full support and confidence in our servicemen and women, while expressing its opposition to the Government's decision to forward-deploy them; 5. Expresses its total opposition to any use of nuclear arms and that Australian support should not be provided to any operation where such weaponry may be used; and 6. Declares that it has no confidence in the Prime Minister's handling of this grave matter for the nation. .. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDN: Is North Korea next? ASAP forum reminder
Reminder about the next ASAP forum: Bush's War Drive: Is North Korea Next? Guest speaker: Kang Hyo-Soo, Student activist from Seoul National University, plus ASAP activist, Iggy Kim Thursday, Feb 13, 6.30pm Resistance Activist Centre 23 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (just off Broadway) Entry by gold coin donation. Cheap meal available from 6pm. Enquiries: Iggy 0421 322 175 or John 0413 310 452 -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: International Women's Day 2003 - RALLY for Peace
please distribute widely through your networks and put in your activist calendar Melbourne International Women's Day 2003 Rally for Peace, Justice and Solidarity- NO War on Iraq, NO war on our communites! Saturday March 8, 1.00pm, State Library, City ALL WELCOME for more information on how to get involved or endorsements contact Nazra on 0405 735 902, Vivian on 9639 8622/0403 924 409 or Michelle on 9326 9622 (ext. 314) International Women's Day organising meetings are every Tuesday, 6.00pm, Level 3 meeting room, YWCA, 489 Elisabeth Street, City .. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:AA: Send it back
With apologies if you've seen it already... As you are probably aware, over the next fortnight the Federal Government is sending a mailout to every household in Australia. In this pack is a letter from our illustrious Prime Minister, a booklet on how to help the government "fight terrorism" and a fridge magnet (!) Today, Brisbane's Lord Mayor, Jim Soorley, made the eminently sensible suggestion that Australians who did not support the Howard government's backing of America's war should simply return the package to sender. This could be a fantastic opportunity to show Mr Howard that not all Australians think the way he does. If you agree -- 1. Watch out for the package when it arrives, mark it "Return to Sender" and drop it in the nearest mailbox. You may also want to add a personal anti-war message to it. 2. Please forward this email to as many people as you think might be interested in joining this protest. Mr Howard's mailout is already on its way to practically every Australian - but email can still beat it! -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: The hard sell of hypocrisy and lies.
The following Editorial was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, February 5, 2003. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "The Guardian": <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au> Subscription rates on request. 1. Editorial: The hard sell of hypocrisy and lies Rolling around the world the gathering storm of people's opposition is lashing the war drive of the US, British and Australian Governments. The "hard sell" being undertaken by Bush, Blair and Howard to justify war is being increasingly recognised and dismissed as lies and hypocrisy. Once again they are trotting out the outrageous deception that they are concerned about peace and that no decision for war has been taken. Bush declares that he would launch war to maintain peace! Peace will never been achieved by the building of a huge war machine and threats to use nuclear weapons. "Not in our name" is the reply of those who vehemently oppose the war preparations. "No blood for oil" sums up the incisive understanding of the real objectives of the Anglo-American oil lobby whose cause is being pursued by their respective governments. The mass media is playing a particularly despicable role. It gives top billing to any and every statement by Bush, Blair, Colin Powell, Howard and their like. The worldwide sweep of the peace movement that even now is making these warmongering politicians waver, goes largely unreported. The statement of Hans Blix disputing interpretations being given to his report to the UN Security Council by Colin Powell and President Bush has been virtually ignored. The demonisation of Iraq and North Korea that underpins the whole war drive remains uncontested by the media. This is understandable coming from the likes of Packer and Murdoch. The present is a defining moment for all nations, all governments and each individual. A war on Iraq and on many other countries over the next few years would result in the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. Only those governments and individuals that make a genuine stand for peace will be able to say that their hands are clean. It is to be hoped that journalists find the courage to take a principled stand and do more to tell the truth about the warmongers and, thereby, help save the world from the greatest possible disaster. Beware provocations The Los Angeles Times has revealed the creation of an organisation by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld called the "Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group" Its purpose is to "bring together CIA and military covert action, information warfare, intelligence, and cover and deception". The PPOG's role is to manufacture the terrorism that is to be combatted. Faced with the massive opposition to their war plans Bush and his team may again be planning some terrorist act to provoke massive revulsion and whip a sceptical and reluctant world into supporting war against Iraq and other targets. Chris Floyd of CounterPunch writes, "The US government is planning to use 'cover and deception' and secret military operations to provoke murderous terrorist attacks on innocent people. Such operations are not new for the United States authorities. "Operations Northwoods" was such a scheme. It was a plan put forward by America's top military brass in 1963 to justify the invasion of Cuba. It called for a phony terrorist campaign complete with bombings, hijackings, plane crashes and dead Americans to provide justification for an invasion of Cuba. President Kennedy rejected the plan -- and was assassinated a few months later. Another similar provocation was a reported attack by Vietnamese naval craft on the US navy in the Tonkin Gulf. It was used by President Johnson to escalate the invasion of Vietnam by American forces. It was subsequently revealed that the incident never took place - but that was after hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed in the Vietnam War. Many believe that the events of September 11 were another such provocation using a terrorist organisation infiltrated by the CIA and under its effective control. There is no other logical explanation for the complete failure of the interception of the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. September 11 has been used by Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and others to launch the phony "war on terrorism". The "war on terrorism" requires a steady stream of alleged "terrorist" actions and who better to arrange them than the CIA and Rumsfeld's "Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group" or other "special" forces. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing
LL:ART: All the News That Fits
To the person who mailed me a donation recently - thanks! Could you email me, because I couldn't contact the email in your letter. This week's stories: Grief, Anxiety and Confusion - We Must Be in Church...Democracy Not Very High on the Agenda For US...Threat To World Peace From Rogue State...Iraqi People to Be Liberated From Life Under Saddam - And From Life In General...Free Market Triumphs Again...Quotes of the Week. The support of Sydney's Catholic Archbishop, George Pell, for an American psychologist who claims homosexuality is a curable disorder will only result in "untold grief, anxiety and confusion", according to the Australian Psychological Society. Dr Peter Rudegeair claims that, among other categories, those who fail on the sporting field because of poor co-ordination are at risk of turning to homosexuality later in life. Dr Rudegeair's visit to Australia has been promoted by Archbishop Pell, as well as Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart. (Sydney Morning Herald, January 29, and Melbourne Community Voice, January 31). A US national security adviser has implied that the US intends to set up a dictatorship in Iraq after invading it. Condoleezza Rice told Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that, once Washington had taken control, it hoped to install an administration made up of Iraqis currently living in the United States. "We believe that when Iraq has been liberated from this terrible regime, the Iraqi people will be perfectly capable of running their own affairs," she said, "But there will be a certain moment, particularly while military operations are still under way, during which we will need to restore order and US military forces will play a central role in that". (The Age, February 3). An online poll by Time magazine, asking "which country poses the greatest danger to world peace in 2003?", has so far given the following results: North Korea 7.3 % Iraq 8.4 % The United States 84.3 % A total of 328726 votes were cast. (Time magazine website poll, as of February 3). British doctor's group Medact estimates that an invasion of Iraq would lead to a total of 48,000 and 260,000 deaths. Civil war within Iraq could add another 20,000 deaths. Later deaths from adverse health effects could add a further 200,000 deaths. These estimates do not include the use of nuclear weapons, which the US has refused to rule out using. US President George W. Bush chose to outline his economic plan at a trucking company warehouse while surrounded by cardboard boxes. The boxes were all stamped with "Made in China", so workers preparing for the event taped over every Made in China with a white sticker or packing tape. The President spoke in front of a printed canvas backdrop with pictures of cardboard boxes stamped "Made in America" in large black letters. (Sydney Morning Herald, January 24). Quotes of the week: "Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." - Paulo Freire, educator (1921-1997) "It was a hard choice...we think the price is worth it". - Madeleine Albright, then US ambassador to the United Nations, when asked how she felt about the fact that sanctions had killed more than 500,000 Iraqi children. anarchist news service write to James, PO Box 503, Newtown NSW 2042 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] contact us to get ATNTF emailed directly to you. If you like All the News That Fits, forward it on. www.angry.at/politicians - new anarchist website with fliers for download, contacts etc. www.angry.at/racists - Anarchist/anti-racist music site with free mp3s, Real Audio, Real Video, internet radio, band interviews etc. Also includes the text of 'Escape', an anarchist novel - www.geocities.com/skipnewborn/novel.doc www.dolearmy.org - information for unemployed people. www.activate.8m.com - anarchist magazine aimed at teenagers. All the News That Fits appears in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review (www.vicnet.net.au/~anarchist - PO Box 20 Parkville VIC 3052) and The Ham (www.theham.cat.org.au), as well as Melbourne Indymedia (www.melbourne.indymedia.org). Media outlets mentioned in All the News That Fits are sources - items are not direct quotes from news media. Background information may have been gathered from sources in addition to media outlets cited. Where no source is cited, the information has been gathered from direct sources. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
