Campaign of Conscience
Peace Pledge Update 5 May 3, 2002

• US Announces Intent to Attack Iraq
• National Peace Groups Planning Campaign
• Iraq Peace Pledge Update *** Need signatures before June 3rd.
• Water Project
• Iraq News Updates
  US War against Terrorism
  Iraq and UN
  World Opposition to US Attack against Iraq

For more information and updates on the campaign, visit our web page.

US War against Terrorism

• American warplanes bombed air defense targets in a "no-fly" zone in northern Iraq after Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft guns at the jets, the U.S. military said. (Reuters, Wed May 1)
• U.S. investigators say they no longer believe that suicide hijacker Mohamed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence agent in Europe last year, eliminating the only known link between Saddam Hussein's government and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2002)
• President Bush's hopes of building a strong insurgent group to replace Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have been set back by feuding among U.S. officials over who should lead the opposition. Signs of the administration feud surfaced this week with word that the State Department has cut off funds for the Iraqi National Congress (INC), a dissident group based in London backed by conservatives in the Defense Department and Vice President Cheney's office. (USA TODAY, May 3, 2002)

• The second round of talks between UN Secretary General and Iraq's Foreign Minister ended in New York without any tangible results. The Iraqi delegation has already posed 19 questions, including how long inspections would continue and how they would be carried out. The questions reflected Iraqi government charges that earlier U.N. inspectors carried out spying activities (Washington Post, Thursday, May 2, 2002) Earlier, Iraq once again insisted that they will not bow to threats and will allow inspectors to return only as part of a comprehensive deal to end more than 11 years of economic sanctions and restore their nation's territorial integrity. "Iraq is saying the issue is not inspections teams," said A. K. Hashimi, an advisor to the government of President Saddam Hussein. (LA Times, May 1 2002)
• Security Council members have been debating a resolution to extend of the Oil-for-Food program. It is expected to be passed on Monday May 6th. The resolution, representing dramatic changes to the existing program, needs to be passed before May 29. It will feature a new 'expanded goods list' of items allowed into Iraq that will not need to be approved by the sanctions committee. There will also be a new mechanism where the General Secretary can approve contracts outside of the sanctions committee. The neighboring states of Turkey, Syria and Jordan softened the impact of 'smart sanctions' by rejecting the clampdown of border trade. However, the resolution does not allow foreign investment in Iraq, this is critical for recovery from the impact of sanction.
• In its latest report on life under sanctions in Iraq, Los Angles Times writes; life is better than it has been in years, but that is still pretty tough. A U.N.-approved "oil for food" program is designed to help meet basic nutritional needs, not to redevelop the country. The sanctions have begun to break down, and in Baghdad a sort of middle class has reemerged that has benefited from smuggling operations. But teachers still earn about $5 a month. Government engineers get paid maybe $15 a month. Yet it costs $2 to buy a chicken in the market. Most Iraqis survive on free food distributed by nongovernmental organizations, with the Middle Eastern nation's 24 million people getting monthly food baskets with $24.50 worth of staples. (LA Times, May 1 2002)
• Iraq accused the United Nations of double standards, saying that while the world body insists Iraq accept weapons inspectors, it failed to press Israel to let a U.N. team to investigate violence in a Palestinian refugee camp. Aziz, Iraq's deputy prime minister said Annan's handling of the Jenin fact-finding issue was proof of "double standards," arguing that while the United Nations remains firm on its resolutions on Iraq, it has done little in the face of Israel's resistance to U.N. Security Council resolutions, even resolutions supported by the United States. (AP)
• In an unusual move, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz earlier this year asked the CIA to investigate the performance of Swedish diplomat Hans Blix, chairman of the new United Nations team that was formed to carry out inspections of Iraq's weapons programs. "We do not see as our mandate to humiliate, harass or provoke," Blix said. He added that if Iraq cooperates, he is confident that he could issue a report that would trigger a suspension of sanctions within a year after arriving in Baghdad. (Washington Post, April 15, 2002)
• The head of a global chemical weapons control body was ousted by a United States-sponsored vote provoked by a rift over his diplomatic overtures to secure Iraq's compliance on arms inspection. Bustani had urged Iraq to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) but Washington accused him of "ill-considered initiatives" and criticized his management. Washington has signaled it wants to get rid of President Saddam Hussein's
  government in Baghdad, but it could find it difficult to win backing for military action if Iraq agreed to join the OPCW and admit arms inspectors, analysts say.
  Bustani, who was unanimously re-elected for a second four-year term last May, had accused Washington of riding roughshod over the independence of a global organization to secure its national interests. (Reuters, 22 April 2002)

• Romano Prodi, the European commission president, warned that America must avoid taking action on Iraq that would damage the global anti-terrorist coalition. Speaking in advance of EU-US summit, the first since the September 11 attacks, he said it was vital for these "mature and serious partners" to work together for a more stable world. (The Guardian, Wednesday May 1, 2002)
• Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah said at the end of a five-day visit to the US that the Saudis did not want the US to send in troops. It was up to Iraq to allow UN weapons inspectors to return, he said. "If Iraq is willing to do that, we must give them the benefit of the doubt," he said. "We hope the boycott can be raised and the people of Iraq can return to the normal life that they deserve."  (BBC, Monday, 29 April, 2002)

This update was written by Hossein Alizadeh, Fellowship of Reconciliation, and Peter Lems, American Friends Service Committee, with advice from Mike Yarrow, Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation, and others. Web posted May 1, 2002, by Jean Buskin, WWFOR, bb369@scn.org.

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