War Is A Crime .org

FROM: Marilyn Katz, Chicagoans Against War and Injustice, 312-822-0505, mkatz@mkcpr.com

RESOLUTION TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ INTRODUCED TO CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL
Over 40 of 50 Alderman Already Supportive

Citing the failure of the Bush Administration to substantiate their basis for going to war and the rising cost of the war in Iraq in terms of both lives and dollars, Chicago Aldermen Helen Shiller, Freddrena Lyle and Gene Schulter today introduced a resolution into the ChicagoCity Council calling on the 'United States government to immediately commence an orderly and rapid withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq to prevent further casualties, both American and Iraqi, resulting from a misguided and unjustified war.'

By Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern works for Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. During his 27-year career as a CIA analyst, he chaired National Intelligence Estimates and prepared/briefed the President's Daily Brief. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

Whatever plans Dick Cheney and his neo-conservatives may have had to conjure up a nuclear threat from Iran as "justification" for military action have been sharply undercut by some timely leaks to the Washington Post. In a redux of President George W. Bush's spin on the "grave and growing" danger from Iraq, Cheney protégé and newly appointed U.N. Ambassador John Bolton is on record warning that Iranian "deception" must not be allowed to continue much longer: "It will be too late. Iran will have nuclear weapons."

By Larry C Johnson

Stop the presses. WOT--the War on Terrorism may still be alive. The counter terrorism community is abuzz over the President's comments yesterday at a principals meeting of the Homeland Security Council. Bush reportedly said he was not in favor of the new term, Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism (GSAVE). In fact, he said, "no one checked with me". That comment brought an uncomfortable silence to the assembled group of pooh bahs. The President insisted it was still a war as far as he is concerned.

The battle over language and the confusion within the National Security Council is an unfortunate reminder of the chaos that is afflicting the Bush Administration's effort to deal with terrorism. Unfortunately, every agency and department is doing its own thing without strong, clear direction or control from the White House. Makes longtime bureaucrats long for the days of Richard Clarke, when at least there was someone in charge.

By Cindy Sheehan

One very positive aspect of my public anti-war, pro-peace stance is that it has put me in contact with so many people all over the world. I believe that my willingness to share my heart and tragic story (and in the process, tell the truth) helps people open up to me in ways that they cannot do with another. In the past few days, I have been bombarded with horror stories about what our government is doing to innocent Americans.

I was driving from one event to another the other day, and I got a call from an Iranian woman who is now a citizen of the United States, and who has been in the US for 30 years, is married to an American, has a 5 year old son, and a brother who has been in prison for 9 months for wanting to serve America.

On Tuesday, August 2, Sen. Diane Feinstein's office issued the following press release:

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is urging the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to complete its investigation into the use of intelligence by policymakers prior to the Iraq War, with additional attention paid to the “ Downing Street Memo

By SCOTT SHEPARD
Cox News Service

WASHINGTON — As Congress tip-toes into the controversy over the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity, some lawmakers and analysts worry that the criminal investigation of the matter could be undermined by any congressional grant of immunity from prosecution, as has happened in the past in politically charged investigations.

The cases of key Iran-contra figures Oliver North and John Poindexter underscore their worries: both were prosecuted and convicted by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh, but their convictions were overturned because Congress had granted them immunity in order to compel them to testify in the congressional investigation of the Reagan administration's arms-for-hostages deals.

I'm too old for the typical website with lots of posted back-and-forth commentary. So the Tomdispatch e-mail box is -- and often I regret this -- normally my own private adventure. I'm regularly amazed by the letters that come in, many encouraging, some stunningly thoughtful (often with striking turns of phrase), and every now and then ones that are startlingly abusive. E-notes and e-letters arrive from all over the world -- this is surely the glory of the Internet -- and all over this country; often from small towns or out of the way spots that I would never have a chance to visit on my own; often representing points of view that I might never run across face to face. They always remind me of how much real human beings cross the boundaries and categories we would prefer them to be enclosed in. I'm regularly slightly awed and often moved. It's an experience, and I do my best, however briefly and inadequately, to answer most of them. (To those of you I haven't answered, my apologies because your messages are greatly appreciated and the intent is there.)

Woman who questioned first lady now is activist against the war
BY KATIE WANG
The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)

The firehall in Hamilton Township was alive with hundreds of giddy Republicans when Laura Bush stepped to the podium last September to deliver a campaign stump speech for her husband.

The first lady was in the middle of her remarks about the war in Iraq when a loud, booming voice cut her off.

"If this war is so justified, why aren't your children serving?" barked Sue Niederer.

All eyes turned to Niederer, a stout, bespectacled woman who stood wearing her dead son's floppy Army camouflage hat and a white T-shirt stamped with his wedding day photo and the message, "President Bush, You Killed My Son."

Here's a Guide to Visiting Your Congress Member

MEET WITH CONGRESSMEMBERS THIS MONTH
The Resolution of Inquiry, H. Res. 375, now has 40 co-sponsors, and we have the month of August in which to raise that total. If passed, the Resolution will require the White House and the State Department to turn over all information related to communication with officials of the UK between January and October of 2002, the period of the Downing Street documents.

Both progressives and moderates are among the 40 already co-sponsoring. Many more congress members will co-sponsor if a group of their constituents schedules a meeting with them at their district office, while they're home for the month of August, and asks them. All the information you need to do so is here.

ATTEND AUGUST 3rd MEETUPS TO PLAN
Democracy for America (DFA) has organized its members to schedule at least 67 meetings with congress members during August in at least 26 states (AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, IA, IL, KS, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, VT, WI). These meetings will focus on requesting hearings on the Downing Street Memos and whether the President misled us into war. One particular request will be that each congress member co-sponsor H. Res. 375.

To get involved with one of these or to organize an additional meeting in your congressional district, attend your local DFA Meetup tomorrow evening, Wednesday, August 3.

Plan a peaceful protest:

Tuesday August 2, 2005
UPDATED* BUSH in Washington, DC - 11:25 AM: President Bush signs the CAFTA legislation. [ABCNews.com, 8/1/05]

BUSH in Crawford, TX: President and Mrs. Bush depart for their ranch. [ABCNews.com, 8/1/05]

NEW* BOLTON in New York, NY - 11:30 PM: John Bolton will go through the official UN process of presenting his credentials to the Secretary General this morning. [ABCNews.com, 8/2/05]

NEW* SNOW in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Secretary Snow will join Minister Palocci at a breakfast meeting with local business leaders in Rio de Janeiro and deliver remarks at a forum sponsored by the Council of

Progressive Maryland and Allies Protest Lt. Gov. Steele's Embrace of Karl Rove -- The Man Who Damaged Homeland Security for Domestic Partisan Advantage

Progressive Maryland and allies led 60 protesters at a July 26th Capitol Hill fundraiser – headlined by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove -- for Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele’s expected bid for the U.S. Senate.

Progressive Maryland demanded that Steele denounce Rove for the latter’s exposure of the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame and that Steele return the money collected at the fundraiser. We based our demands on facts in the Plame Affair that are now beyond dispute:

Miami Herals
BY DENNIS JETT, dennisjett@hotmail.com

The problem with having a hatchet man is that sometimes he carries an ax that cuts both ways. Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori discovered that the hard way. President Bush may be on the same learning curve.

When Fujimori was president during the 1990s, the debate in Peru was often whether he was the first or merely the second most important man in the country. The other person some considered even more powerful than the president was Vladimiro Montesinos.

Montesinos carried the title of intelligence advisor, an unpaid position in Fujimori's government. He did not let the lack of a paycheck or any designated responsibilities limit his ambition, however. He accumulated vast authority over the workings of the government because he was able, articulate and dedicated to constantly ingratiating himself to the president. He also was ruthless. Bribing congressmen and journalists was all in a day's work, and he has been accused of human-rights abuses, drug and arms trafficking and numerous other offenses.

Front door encore

If the press won't find its way to the truth, the only thing to do is bring the truth to the press. The Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, which staged a dramatic reading from the Downing Street Memos in Highland Park this past weekend, took its show to East Brunswick and the office of the Home News Tribune, which couldn't quite stir itself to send a reporter to the Saturday event and clearly needed a bit of help. Staff writer Rick Harrison rose to the occasion with this article in today's edition.

Falls Church News-Press (Virginia)
By Nicholas F. Benton

Ray McGovern, a 27-year analyst for the CIA speaking in Falls Church, Virginia, to a gathering of the Virginia Votes group Sunday, unleashed a scathing indictment of the Bush’s administration’s handling of an array of intelligence, military and human rights matters in the context of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. He said the people that are currently running U.S. foreign and military policy were affectionately known as “The Crazies

MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS MONTHLY - FREE PRESS
By Felicity Arbuthnot, GlobalResearch.ca

A year after the 'handover' to a US handpicked 'independent Iraqi administration'-few of whose leaders have Iraqi passports or allegiance; and the skulking departure of US 'Viceroy' Paul Bremer, who said few farewells, gave no press conference and slunk out at dawn, surreally, reportedly, to 'take cookery lessons'-a little noticed and truly terrible report has been released.

The World Monument Fund has, for the first time, named an entire country-Iraq-on its list of endangered sites. The Fund, which publishes every two years an inventory of the world's most endangered historical and archeological sites and monuments, lists the 'cradle of civilization' as, effectively, in danger of extinction. The illegal invasion, built on monumental lies, from Whitehall to Washington, has not alone 'destroyed the village in order to save it', it has destroyed the country, the land of the biblical Tigris and Euphrates- described by Gertude Bell, writer, colonialist-nevertheless captivated by this 'land between two rivers'-in the 1920's -'... great twin rivers gloriously named, The huge Babylonian plains, now desert, Which were once the garden of the world...'

By Leilla Matsui and Stella La Chance
www.dissidentvoice.org

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a long held assumption or existing belief is thrown into question by new or contradictory information, causing a person to reinterpret this evidence after it has been presented to justify a falsely held notion. The theory refers to the phenomenon of the mind's failure to assume its equilibrium after having to accept an unwelcome intrusion of this kind into its “comfortably held assumption zone.

NEW ANTI-IRAQ WAR PLAY

The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles is opening a new anti-Iraq war piece on September 11, 2005 - based on Eliot Weinberger's article, "What I Heard About Iraq."

We would like it to be part of a worldwide movement, protest.

We're making the script available to theatres, schools, religious, advocacy, and human rights organizations worldwide.

There are already plans to have it read at the Internationales LiteraturFestival Berlin (www.literaturfestival.com) and in New Haven, Connecticut by Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice and the CT Peace Coalition (skobasa@snet.net) on September 11th, as well as the New York Theatre Workshop (www.nytw.org) on September 19th, plus other organizations worldwide are in various planning stages.

Here are some powerful photos of the Eyes Wide open exhibition from July 20, 2005, in Ann Arbor, Mich., courtesy of Allan Bramson and Jill Farber-Bramson: LINK
.

By Eliot Weinberger

In 1992, a year after the first Gulf War, I heard Dick Cheney, then secretary of defense, say that the US had been wise not to invade Baghdad and get ‘bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq’. I heard him say: ‘The question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is: not that damned many.’

In February 2001, I heard Colin Powell say that Saddam Hussein ‘has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours.’

Mickey Friedman of http://www.iraqproject.org

has posted a program featuring John Bonifaz's speech of July 21, 2005 before 300 people in Great Barrington MA.

Here's the mp3.

John Bonifaz and Congressman Barney Frank
Click image for more photos

Welcome to Part II of my Online Town Hall Meeting on the War in Iraq
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Congressman Charlie Rangel (NY-15)
I would like to thank you for your participation in part two of my e-town hall meeting on the War in Iraq. The questions have been informative and stimulating. More than anything, they demonstrated just how much you care about our troops, about our government and America. Following are the responses to some of the questions that time did not allow covering last week.

Why were so many people misled about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

By Jeff Norman, Director, U.S. Tour of Duty

As popular opinion increasingly turns against the war, Iraq veterans and military family members are criticizing the Bush administration more frankly than ever before. Their message is impossible to dismiss, because it is obviously not motivated by political bias, but by a patriotic commitment to holding our leaders accountable for illegal and immoral behavior.

At a U.S. Tour of Duty event in Venice, California last night, Iraq veteran Jeff Key explained the obligation of U.S. service members to fight "domestic enemies," and why the American masters of war should be categorized as such. Gold Star mom Nadia McCaffrey, whose son Patrick was killed in Iraq, flatly stated that President Bush does not represent her, and would turn her back to him if he were in her presence.

Radio Free Maine presents Jim Hightower and Cindy Sheehan

Jim Hightower speaking on Mixed Blessings We are in days of Mixed Blessings, that's when your 16 year old daughter returns from the prom with a Gideon Bible under her arm, said Jim Hightower as he addressed an SRO crowd at the Blue Hill Fairgrounds grandstand for about 45 minutes. Hightower dismissed those who say that organizing the left, Greens, Democrats, et al is like trying to herd cats. "I got to tell you, anybody who says that you cannot herd cats, never heard of a can opener. You can do it and our can openers are the values of fairness, justice and opportunity for all people."

C-Span will finally air tape today of Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Town Hall Forum on the Downing Street Memos on July 23rd in Los Angeles. If you are one of the lucky few who can watch C-Span 3, you can watch it at 5:21 p.m. ET today. Or watch it through the C-Span website at that time. Or you can find it archived on http://www.c-span.org starting tomorrow morning, or watch the event at any time archived on TruthOut.org HERE.

David Swanson, Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet discussing Downing Street and other topics on "Self Determination" on KPFT in Houston, Texas:
LISTEN HERE TO MP3

By Congressman John Conyers
Huffington Post

When the Downing Street Minutes began to gain some notoriety in May and June, the President and Prime Minister Blair answered a question about them briefly. Interestingly, both seemed to want to spend the most time talking about the minutes' contention that the President had always intended to go to war (despite the President's public pronouncements to the contrary). That was a smart thing to do, in a political sense, because the President's state of mind is a much more difficult allegation to prove, requiring subjective interpretations of the President's actions.

Cobblestones: Mad Dog at Recess
By Steve Cobble
HuffingtonPost

George W. made his continuing contempt for the Senate official this morning, giving John "Mad Dog" Bolton a recess appointment, only days after Bolton confessed he lied to the Senate.

Well, why not? Why should he be the only liar left out? After all, it's not like the "Liar's Club" is some exclusive group in the Bush Administration, like Skull & Bones. Heck, the Bush & Co. Liar's Club isn't even whites-only or male-only. They can all join.

Of course, in the polite circles in which top Democrats and media big-foots circulate, the word "lie" is so definitive, so harsh. I should be nice, and find synonyms.

RAW STORY
Michael Smith

The following was written by London Sunday Times reporter Michael Smith for Raw Story.

LONG-RUNNING disputes between UK and American intelligence and security services over intelligence in the war on terror rose to the surface last week with US sources accusing the British of blocking the capture of a key member of the al-Qaeda team that carried out the London bombings.

The claims followed leaks of British police photographs, including a nail bomb found in the trunk of a bomber's car, passed to the US-based ABC News, apparently by a member of the US team sent to London to assist the investigation.

Plan a Peaceful Protest:

Tuesday August 2, 2005
BUSH in Crawford, TX: President and Mrs. Bush depart for their ranch.

Wednesday August 3, 2005
NEW* HUCKABEE in Little Rock, AK - 9:00 AM: Governor hosts "Ask The Governor," a monthly call-in program on the Arkansas Radio Network, ARN studios, 700 Wellington Hills Road. [www.arkansas.gov]

NEW* HUCKABEE in Conway, AK - 7:00 PM: Governor participates in "Arkansans Ask," a monthly call-in program on the Arkansas Educational Television Network, AETN studios, 350 S. Donaghey St. [www.arkansas.gov]

Thursday August 4, 2005
BUSH in Crawford, TX: President and Mrs. Bush will welcome President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia and Mrs. Uribe to their ranch in Crawford, Texas on August 4, 2005. [White House, 7/13/05]