more bad news from Iraq

More bad news from prisons in Iraq. Click here as well.

As well, the new Iraqi leader is a man with CIA connections, has no popular support in Iraq, and was responsible for feeding Tony Blair false information about Saddam's supposed weapons of mass destruction.

new al Qaida recruits

The International Institute for Strategic Studies released a report recently saying that Iraq finally does pose a threat -- because of the US war on terrorism. Because of this war, potential al-Qaeda recruits have enter in Iraq by the thousands, and sprung up around the world.

Also, read the entire text of Al Gore's speech where he lambasted the Bush administration's war on terrorism, and called for the resignations of just about the entire administration.

Amnesty International Annual Report

Be sure to check out Amnesty International's Annual Report. It reports that the age of the US-led war on terror has resulted in an unprecedented level of human rights violations around the world. Irene Khan, the Secretary-General of AI, says

"There is no path to sustainable security except through respect for human rights. The global security agenda promulgated by the US Administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle. Sacrificing human rights in the name of security at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad, and using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses have neither increased security nor ensured liberty.

Look at the growing insurgency in Iraq, the increasing anarchy in Afghanistan, the unending spiral of violence in the Middle East, the spate of suicide bombings in crowded cities around the world. Think of the continued repression of the Uighurs in China and the Islamists in Egypt. Imagine the scale and scope of the impunity that has marked gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the "forgotten" conflicts in Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nepal – forgotten, that is, by all except those who daily suffer their worst effects.

Double speak brings disrepute to human rights but, sadly, it is a common phenomenon. The USA and its allies purported to fight the war in Iraq to protect human rights – but openly eroded human rights to win the "war on terror". The war in Iraq was launched ostensibly to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction, yet the world is awash with small arms and conventional weapons that kill more than half a million people a year. To make matters worse, in the name of combating the so-called "war on terror", many countries have relaxed controls on exports to governments that are known to have appalling human rights records, among them Colombia, Indonesia, Israel and Pakistan. The uncontrolled trade in arms puts us all at greater risk in peace and war."

Thugs for hire, ask the US government

See here about how the US Justice Department sent some prison officials with a history of cruely, abuse, and Amnesty International complaints to oversee the US prisons in Iraq.

Oppose immunity for the US

The US has unveiled a new UN security council resolution on post-occupation Iraq, if it can be called that, in which any US soldiers serving in a UN force who commit war crimes will be immune from prosecution. This, at a time when evidence US soldiers abuse of prisoners in Iraq is surfacing. What can this immunity be based on? It can't, while keeping a straight face, be based on any pretense of virtuosity. Rather, it is based on the abuse of power by the powerful. We have seen that in the prisons as well as in the security council. It is resurfacing there. It looks like the security council resolution will be put to a vote next week.

This is vitally important. Do not let this cynical manipulation succeed. Contact your ambassador to the UN, and tell them to strongly oppose this resolution. If you are a US citizen, contact your president, member of congress, etc, and remind them about the US concept of "justice for all".

The Rome Statute

I mentioned previously the Rome Statute. It is an international law treaty which defines international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and establishes the International Criminal Court to address these crimes.

Citizens, including politicians and military officials, belonging to nations that sign and ratify the treaty, are held accountable for the commission of these kinds of international crimes. Ninety-four countries have thus far ratified the Rome Statute. Unfortunately, many countries have not yet ratified it. The more notable of these countries are the US, China, and Russia. Bill Clinton signed the statute near the end of his presidency, but his successor, George W Bush, has made it clear that he has no intention to ratify. I single the US out not because it is an "evil" country (I don't think it is), though its current government's deeds have been far from virtuous in many respects. It is because they are the most powerful country in the world, and a fair criminal justice system must be able to address the potential (and currently, the actual) irresponsible use of power by the powerful. I would also place China in that category.

What is happening currently is the US is seeing fit to play world police. The Iraq war and occupation is a blatant example of this. We also know that the current White House, if allowed to continue, will not stop at Iraq, because of its financial and ideological interests. We also know that in Iraq, there have been numerous examples of crimes against humanity and war crimes which have been committed by people in the name of the US government. It is because of these vested interests, and these crimes, that we need a fair international criminal justice system, where nobody, including the US, is above the law. It is inherently wrong for one country, be it the US or any other, to apply its own moral standards as living concepts of international law to impose on others.

For more information on the Rome Statute and the ICC, click here. Also, check out Amnesty's International Justice campaign.

Buddhism and Bush

For those interested, read this Buddhist response to Bush.

George Soros article

Here is an George Soros commencement address, published in Alternet, which confronts the claim that the US "liberated" the Iraqis in any way, and talks about how the victims of 9/11 have become the perpetrators.

The neoconservative dialectic.

I read an article by William Pfaff of the Observer yesterday, and among other things, he made an interesting comparison. He said that American hegemonic neoconservatism is in a sense a right-wing version of Marxism. It arrogantly posits a progressive dialectic that will result in the triumph of its system.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Not only does neoconservatism have that imperialistic arrogance, but the founders of this school of thought, Irving Kristol, Leo Strauss and others, were former Trotskyists. I guess the neocons decided to switch ends of the political spectrum while maintaining the arrogant imperial quest.

Gaza horror

There has been a massacre of Palestinians in Gaza. 33 people have died in the last two days. First, levelling of Palestinian homes, and now this. The UN has condemned this in a resolution apparently by a vote of 14-0, with the US abstaining, but the international community must condemn this in the strongest possible terms. Again, an example of why we need an international criminal justice system. See this Guardian article.

link to Seymour Hersh

Here is the link for the Seymour Hersh article.

Systemic prisoner abuse

Reports have been coming in of human rights abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan. The International Committee of the Red Cross released a report on US abuse of prisoners in Iraq. Amnesty published a report on British atrocities in general in Iraq. Human Rights Watch released a report on US abuses in Afghanistan. And the journalist Seymour Hersh has publish a devastating expose on how the US system of prisoner abuse in Iraq goes up all the was to Rumsfeld. Happy reading, not.

So yes, Bush and Rumsfeld must go, but more than that, we need an effective system of criminal justice, in which nobody is above the law, including the US. Right now, the US gets to play world police (which is turning out to be a pretty frightening reality), and the UN and the international community can't do anything. We need all countries who haven't yet signed, including the US, to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, so that we can have a fair system of international justice where any victim can have their day in court, and to which any perpetrator will be answerable. For more info on the Rome Statute, find out about Amnesty's International Justice campaign.