STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER

[Annie]

STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER
> No 2006/9: April 22
> Email office@stopwar.org.uk
> Telephone 020 7278 6694
> Web www.stopwar.org.uk
>
> *************************************************
> IN THIS NEWSLETTER
> 1) WORSE THAN UNDER SADDAM HUSSEIN
> 2) SUPPORT MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH
> 3) MILITARY FAMILIES UNPRECEDENTED PROTEST
> 4) BUNKER BUSTERS: THE MOVIE
> 5) US MARCH FOR PEACE, JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY
> 6) STOP THE WAR ANNUAL CONFERENCE
>
> 1) WORSE THAN UNDER SADDAM HUSSEIN
> This week, Daniel Pipes, adviser to George Bush and a leading proponent of
> the Iraq invasion complained about "the ingratitude of the Iraqis for the
> extraordinary favour we gave them: to release them from the bondage of
> Saddam Hussein's tyranny." The reasons for that "ingratitude" are given
> below in the shocking statistics which show that, three years after the
> US/UK invasion, Iraqis are far worse off now than they were under Saddam
> Hussein's brutal regime.
>
> There can be no clearer indictment of those who took us into this illegal
> war - not least our prime minister Tony Blair and the Labour MPs who
> supported him -- nor can there be any clearer vindication of the anti-war
> movement, which predicted the horrors that continue to be inflicted on the
> Iraqi people. We always opposed Saddam Hussein's tyranny, and wished for his
> overthrow as much as anyone, but it was obvious that getting rid of a
> tyranny was the last motive in the minds of George Bush and Tony Blair, as
> is shown from US/British support for tyrants around the world, not least in
> earlier years for Saddam Hussein himself .
>
> LEVEL OF VIOLENT DEATHS
> The level of violent deaths is far higher than in the last years of Saddam
> Hussein's rule. At least 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died, most of them at
> the hands of U.S. forces but increasingly from terrorist groups and Iraqi
> government death squads. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and police have also
> been killed.
>
> CRIME AT RECORD LEVELS: Violent crime, including kidnapping, rape, and armed
> robbery, is at record levels. There is a proliferation of small arms, and
> private militias are growing rapidly. A Lebanon-type multifaceted civil war,
> only on a much wider and deadlier scale, grows more likely with time.
>
> MORE IRAQIS IMPRISONED: Over 50,000 Iraqis have been imprisoned by U.S.
> forces since the invasion, but only 1.5% of them have been convicted of any
> crime. Currently, U.S. forces hold 15,000 to 18,000 Iraqi prisoners, more
> than were imprisoned under Saddam Hussein.
>
> WIDESPREAD USE OF TORTURE AND OTHER ABUSES: Amnesty International and other
> human rights groups have cited U.S. forces with widespread violations of
> international humanitarian law, including torture and other abuses of
> prisoners.Fear of arrest and torture that have worsened since the U.S.
> conquest of Iraq.
>
> INCREASED DEATHS FROM MALNUTRITION AND PREVENTABLE DISEASES: Deaths from
> malnutrition and preventable diseases, particularly among children, are
> again on the increase. The supply of drinking water, reliability of
> electricity, and effectiveness of sewage disposal are all worse than before
> the invasion.
>
> FIFTY PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT AND INCOMES CUT BY HALF: As much as half of the
> labour force is unemployed, and the cost of living has skyrocketed. The
> median income of Iraqis has declined by more than half. The UN's World Food
> Program (WFP) reports that the Iraqi people suffer from "significant
> countrywide shortages of rice, sugar, milk, and infant formula," and the WFP
> documents approximately 400,000 Iraqi children suffering from "dangerous
> deficiencies of protein."
>
> OIL PRODUCTION HALVED, RECONSTRUCTION HALTED: Oil production, the country's
> chief source of revenue, is less than half of what it was before the
> invasion. And despite Bush administration promises to infuse billions of
> dollars worth of foreign aid to rebuild the country's civilian
> infrastructure, only a small fraction of these ventures have been completed,
> and most projects have been cancelled.
>
> ONE MILLION IRAQIS HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY: Close to one million Iraqis, most
> of them from the vital, educated middle class, have left the country to
> avoid the violence and hardship brought on as a result of the U.S. invasion.
>
> The above statistics are taken from IRAQ THREE YEARS AFTER "LIBERATION" by
> Stephen Zunes. A link to the full article can be found on the new STATISTICS
> page on the Stop the War website:
> http://www.stopwar.org.uk/Statistics.htm
>
> *************************************************
> 2) SUPPORT MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH
> Following Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith's sentence to eight months
> imprisonment by a military kangaroo court for refusing to serve in Iraq,
> messages of support have been flooding in. The email address given
> originally for messages of support can no longer cope with the volume. Full
> details of how to support Malcolm and how to donate to the fund to help pay
> his court costs of 20 thousand pounds are available on the Stop the War
> website:
> http://www.stopwar.org.uk/StoptheWar-Kendall-Smith.htm
>
> *************************************************
> 3) MILITARY FAMILIES UNPRECEDENTED PROTEST
> Lieutenant Richard Palmer, 27, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards died in
> Iraq on Saturday 15 April, the 104th fatality since the invasion in 2003.
> Tony Blair has never met one of the families of soldiers sent by him to die
> in an illegal war. On 26 April dozens of the bereaved families will go to
> parliament and to Downing Street to insist that Blair meets face to face
> those who have suffered most from his warmongering. They will be joined by
> the parents of British troops on active service in Iraq in what The
> Independent newspaper calls an "unprecedented protest, signalling growing
> discontent over the conflict in military circles".
> FOR MORE INFORMATION AND HOW TO SUPPORT THE MILITARY FAMILIES GO HERE:
> http://www.stopwar.org.uk/
>
> *************************************************
> 4) BUNKER BUSTERS: THE MOVIE
> Saturday 6 May has been designated an international day of protest against
> George Bush's plans to attack Iran, revealed by Seymour Hersch's article in
> the New Yorker. For details of protests planned in Britain go to:
> http://www.stopwar.org.uk/StoptheWar-Iran.htm
>
> If the rumours of the Pentagon planning to use nuclear bunker busting
> weapons in an attack prove to be true, an animation by the US Union of
> Concerned Scientists shows just what horrific consequences would follow:
> http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_weapons/nuclear-bunker-b uster-
> rnep-animation.html
>
> *************************************************
> 5) US MARCH FOR PEACE, JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY
> In New York on Saturday 29 April the US anti-war movement will unite in a
> national demonstration calling for the end to the Iraq war and for all
> troops to come home immediately. With two thirds of the US people now
> opposed to the war and George Bush's poll rating down to an almost
> unprecedented 33 percent, this demonstration will be representative of the
> vast majority of Americans. For details of the New York protest and news
> about the US antiwar movement, go to: http://www.april29.org/
>
> *************************************************
> 6) STOP THE WAR ANNUAL CONFERENCE
> Booking for delegates and observers to Stop the War's fifth annual national
> conference is now underway. The added feature this year of workshops lead by
> an impressive range of speakers has generated a lot of early interest.
> Online registration will be available very shortly. Anyone wishing to
> attend the conference as an observer should reserve their place now by
> telephone or email to the national office, as observer places will be
> strictly limited and allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Groups
> and organisations wishing to send delegates must have re-affiliated for
> 2006. This can be done online at the Stop the War website.
> FOR FULL DETAILS OF THE CONFERENCE AND TO AFFILIATE ONLINE GO TO:
> http://www.stopwar.org.uk/StoptheWar-Conference.htm
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

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