Peace

PASADENA, Calif. — Environmentalists and peace activists united under the umbrella group “Environmentalists Against the War” to hold a vigil at one of the busiest intersections here, Lake Avenue and the 210 Freeway, from 5-7 p.m. on Sept. 21, as part of the national Iraq Moratorium day.

Two news items related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last week revealed, each in its own way, the harshness of the Israeli occupation.

El muy esperado informe al Congreso del general David Petraeus, comandante de las fuerzas militares estadounidenses en Irak, no hizo nada para cambiar la opinión del pueblo norteamericano, cuya gran mayoría se opone a la guerra según nuevas encuestas que salieron al público esta semana.

OBERLIN, Ohio — Voicing alarm that basic democratic rights are in danger, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) charged that the Bush administration has “hijacked Congress” through use of fear and “personal destruction campaigns” in order to pursue the war in Iraq.

The impact of the privatization of U.S. military forces bubbled to the surface, again, when the Iraqi government announced it was revoking Blackwater USA’s operating license following an incident where eight Iraqi citizens were killed. Of course, Iraq is under heavy pressure from the U.S. occupiers to back off.

CHICAGO — Last fall 800,000 Chicagoans voted to bring our troops home from Iraq, but only 20,000 turn out for demonstrations or other actions, said longtime peace activist and organizer Carl Davidson. The referendum, like numerous polls across the nation, showed a national antiwar majority, “but it has no voice, it has to be organized,” he said.

Según varios reportes en la prensa reciente, funcionarios del gobierno admiten que empresas estadounidenses han estado pagando millones de dólares en sobornos a los oficiales de las Fuerzas Armadas, para conseguir miles de millones de contratos para proyectos en Irak.

Unless the American people and our elected representatives take a clear stand, the hoped-for withdrawal or redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq could create conditions under which U.S. aircraft, supported by the latest in high-technology electronic gizmos, will continue to bomb, rocket and strafe Iraq indefinitely.

Ever since the Cold War ended, successive U.S. administrations have warned repeatedly about the dangers of unsecured nuclear weapons. But just before Labor Day an incident occurred which calls into question the kind of security the U.S. itself is maintaining over its own nuclear weapons.

Gen. David Petraeus’ testimony to Congress was long-awaited. Many moderate Republicans who claim to be uncomfortable with President Bush’s ongoing Iraq war policy insisted on waiting for Petraeus’ September report rather than making “rash” decisions about troop withdrawal. If they were hoping for some fig leaf to continue to support Bush’s war, they got it — but only if they ignored the truth.