By Rich Cowan <rcowan@lesley.edu>, who invites everyone to adapt and use it. Rich has also posted formatted word processor files of this flyer at  http://members.tripod.com/~icorn/iraq.html
 

10 Myths spread by the US
to justify military action in Iraq
 

1.  "We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's
weapons of mass destruction." -- President Clinton at his press conference
(Feb. 17)
Bombing cannot do that, because US officials admit they do not know where any
chemical and biological arsenals are located, or if they exist.  Former
weapons inspector Raymond Zalinskas, a professor at the University of
Maryland, said on Nat'l Public Radio (Feb. 13) that inspections have resulted
in the destruction of all major targets related to chemical or biological
warfare, and that "95% of [their] work continues unhindered."  Recent
allegations about possession of anthrax bacteria by white supremacists
highlighted how easy it is to conceal, and move these toxins.  Even if Iraqi
arsenals were found, bombing them could release toxins into the atmosphere -
poisoning Iraqis and people of neighboring countries.

2.  "We have no intention of trying to wreak havoc on the Iraqi people." - US
National Security advisor Sandy Berger
The US has already accomplished exactly that.  According to reports verified
by the UN, more than a million Iraqi civilians - over half of them children -
died as a direct result of the US bombing of water and sewerage plants during
the Gulf War and sanctions ever since.  4500 children per month continue to
die, according to UNICEF.  Furthermore, there is no way a massive bombing
campaign can be accomplished without civilian casualties.

3.  "If we don't strike now, Hussein will someday in the future obtain and use
these weapons.  The man is just like Hitler."
Saddam Hussein is a repressive dictator, but the extent of the threat he poses
to other countries has been overblown in the media.  His power was diminished
when the US stopped supporting him in August 1990.  The US is no longer
allowing the sale of cell cultures and equipment for biological warfare to
Iraq, as it did in the late 1980s, according to 60 Minutes (Feb. 22).  The US
is no longer selling billions of dollars worth of weapons to Iraq as it did
during the Iran/Iraq war.  The US is no longer voting against UN condemnation
of Iraq, as it did after an attack on the Kurds as recently as 1990.  Saddam
Hussein had weapons of "mass destruction" (chemical and biological
war-equipped missiles) during the Gulf War, and he demonstrated restraint in
not using them.  Nonproliferation requires diplomacy, not the use of military
force.

4.  Iraq is a danger to the Middle East.
All countries bordering Iraq oppose a US military strike, except Kuwait.  Even
Kuwait's support is reported as "lukewarm."  Iran, which fought an 8-year war
with Iraq, objects to US intervention.  President Mubarak of Egypt, a staunch
US ally, was quoted as saying that "...The point is what the public in our
countries thinks.  You will not find one [Arab leader] who will say publicly:
we support the strikes."  These rulers fear public opinion more than they do
Hussein's military.  What is the Arab public so upset about?  They see a
double standard in the US position on Iraq compared to Israel, which also
possesses weapons of mass destruction:  nuclear weapons.

5.  Iraq is unique.  It has used weapons of mass destruction against its own
people.
To date, Turkey is engaged in a killing campaign against its Kurdish
populations - and the US government stays silent.  The military in Indonesia,
controlled by General Suharto, killed over half a million people from 1965-66.
However, the US has not taken any action.  In fact, the US has rewarded those
countries with increased military aid. In the case of Indonesia, US embassy
officials even helped provide logistical support for the massacre.  [Kathy
Kadane, States News Service, May 1989]

6.  "Because of 'smart bombs' we will be able to make a concerted effort at
minimizing civilian casualties."
According to the Boston Globe (Feb. 20), the US arsenal is not much "smarter"
now than it was in 1991, nor was it very "smart" to begin with.  According to
a recent study by the General Accounting Office, "smart" bombs miss their
targets 75% of the time.  Furthermore, wrong targets can be chosen.  In 1991,
a US bomb destroyed the Ameriya bomb shelter, killing 400 women and children.
(over)

7.  Bombing Iraq, according to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, will
make the world safer by encouraging all nations to "play by the rules" of
international conduct.
To what rules is Albright referring?  If she is referring to the rules of
the UN, bombing Iraq to enforce a UN resolution without the support of the UN
is a violation of international law.  Perhaps Albright is referring to an
unwritten rule:  obey the United States.  According to State Department
documents, one of the main US objectives is to "try and service our economic
interests by supporting the American business community."  If in bombing Iraq,
the US is enforcing such self-serving "rules", rather than principles of
morality or self-determination, then it is that US that is not playing by the
rules of international conduct.

8.  Iraq has not complied fully with UN weapons inspections, demonstrating
that Saddam Hussein has something to hide.
As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said (Feb. 18), weapons inspectors
found and destroyed "38,000 chemical weapons; more than 100,000 gallons of
deadly chemical agents; 48 operational missiles; and six missile launchers;
along with a biological warfare factory."  This is progress.  Even if weapons
remain to be found there are legitimate reasons why Iraq protests:
a. the former head of the inspection team, David Kay, was rebuked in the fall
of 1991 for handing over 25,000 Iraqi documents directly to the US, without
even consulting the UN.  [The Scourging of Iraq, Geoff Simons, 1996]
b. the current head of the inspection team, Richard Butler, has made racist
statements about Arabs having a different standard for truth than Westerners
do.
c. Iraq sees a double-standard:  seldom have resolutions by the UN been
enforced in the past (in particular, resolutions critical of Israel have been
blocked by the US).
d. inspection activities included, according to Voices in the Wilderness, such
dubious activities as ransacking a Baghad convent and burning high school
chemistry books.
Irregardless of whether Hussein's palaces are hiding weapons, resistance to
some of the demands of weapons inspectors serves as a effective form of "civil
disobedience" to call attention to the widespread human suffering in Iraq as a
result of the sanctions.

9.  Killing Saddam Hussein might be worth the price of any backlash in world
opinion.
Killing Saddam Hussein legitimizes assassination.  It opens the door for other
nations or movements to use assassination to enforce their will.  It teaches
the rest of the world that the US will sabotage genuine attempts at
cooperative conflict resolution. By demonstrating that the "one with the most
arms rules" it promotes the use of political violence - whether by other
countries, terrorists, or religious fundamentalist movements.

10.  Once hostilities begin, we need to support our troops.
Protesting is justified if a wrong is being committed - especially so if our
country is involved, using our tax dollars.  Protesting is a way to show
support for resolving conflict in ways that do not cause hundreds of thousands
of unnecessary deaths, of both troops and civilians.
 

RESOURCES:

E-MAIL DISCUSSION OF ORGANZING AGAINST A WAR:  To join a college
campus-centered discussion, send the e-mail message "SUBSCRIBE SPAN-TALK" to
majordomo@igc.apc.org

ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING INFORMATION:
Iraq Action Coalition Web Site:   http://leb.net/iac
Int'l Action Center:  39 W. 14th St., Suite 206, NY, NY  10011,
1-212-633-6646, iacenter@iacenter.org
Voices in the Wilderness, Campaign to End the Sanctions,  773-241-7019,
kkelly@igc.apc.org

Originally prepared for the Emergency Committee Against War with Iraq
teach-in, 2/21/98.  For more information call Mass Peace Action at (617)
354-2169 or American Friends Service Committee at (617) 661-6130.

Attend a demonstration against war in Iraq: