Readers' Letters, June 14, 2003

Simply put, Iran will become the blue print for other countries who have nuclear ambitions.

Iran is said to have multiple sites for centerfuge enrichment of uranium. The uranium is mined within the country and Iran manufactors the uranium enrichment centerfuges within the country too. Furthermore, it is said those centerfuge enrichments sites are underground in bomb resistent shelters.

If the above paragraph is true, then Iran has constructed a uranium enrichment program which is bomb-proof, sanction proof, dual use, and massive. This is the worst possible example to other countries that have nuclear ambitions. It appears that the Iranians are asking us to trust them, that the enriched uranium (which could be used to construct nukes) is only going to be used for domestic electricity production.

If chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons are haram, then we can deduce that Iran has no chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons in the country, and won't mind intrusive inspections to prove this to the satisfaction of the world community. In my opinion, the uranium enrichment program that Iran has pursued was covert, and when it did become public, the Iranian leadership fell back to a stategy of dual use, which is implausible given the scope of the enrichment program.

I suspect that the IAEA will be very interested in Iran's centerfuge uranium enrichment program, and will closely examine how it came to the attention of IAEA inspectors, and how the scope of Iran's nuclear program can be justified solely by the domestic need for nuclear generated electricity. My guess is that the IAEA will demand further safeguards and protocols due to the suspicious nature of Iran's uranium enrichment program.

We will see if Iran continues down the road to building nukes, or wheither it will agree to further IAEA safeguards. Iran becoming a blue print for other countries that have nuclear ambitions should be haram to the IAEA and the world.

Brad Arnold
St Louis Prk, MN, USA
dobermantmacleod@aol.com

CAABU Condemns Israel's attack on Gaza and attempted assassination of Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi

CAABU deplores the attempted assassination of Hamas leader, Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in Gaza city on 10 June. Israeli forces fired over seven rockets at Rantissi's jeep and severely injuring him, killing two and injuring at least 25 Palestinian bystanders. A 42-year old women and 8-year old girl were killed in the attack.

Assassinations are illegal, counterproductive to peace and will restart the cycle of bloodshed. There is absolutely no doubt that the Israeli government is fully aware of the consequences of this attack.

This will have two major outcomes:

1. The end of the roadmap as a viable vehicle for a peace process - the continued assassination of Palestinian political figures is a technique consistently used to prevent the peace process going forward in just the same way as the deplorable suicide bombings. This will only harden the position of Hamas and strengthen the hardliners within it.

2. This escalation of the cycle of violence and the continued loss of life on both sides. This will undermine Israeli and Palestinian security.

Israel's actions must be condemned unequivocally by all the sponsors of the Road Map, most notably, the United States. It comes at a time when Abu Mazen was attempting to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas and other militant groups. The Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, was due to meet with Hamas on Wednesday 11th June, discuss implementing a ceasefire. Hamas also yesterday announced it was prepared to "study Abu Mazen's call for dialogue" to possibly renewing ceasefire talks, in a flyer it distributed in Gaza.

Assassinations are a violation of international law. Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions outlaws "wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention". This is described as a grave breach. Arbitrary executions are also specifically illegal under UN international law. The UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions state that: 'Governments shall prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution and shall ensure that any such executions are recognised as offensive...exceptional circumstances including a state of war or threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked as a justification of such executions'.

According to the Israeli Human Rights Group, Bt'selem, 103 Palestinians have been assassinated by Israel since November 2000. In addition another 49 innocent Palestinian bystanders were killed.

Assassinations have been condemned by the international community. The Road Map calls for "an immediate end to violence against Palestinians everywhere" in Phase One and calls on Israel to implement "measures specified in the Tenet Work Plan". Both the Tenet and Mitchell plans for ending the violence in the region calls on the Government of Israel to stop them immediately. The US State Department, Amnesty International and Israeli human rights groups have condemned them. The then Foreign Office Minister, Ben Bradshaw, stated that "Britain cannot accept the targeted assassination by Israel of Palestinian militants. We and our European Union colleagues have repeatedly made clear that such assassinations are wrong and illegal under international law. Justice cannot be meted out by force. These assassinations create an environment in which atrocities are seen as justified and lead to further violence"

Israeli violence against Palestinians has continued unabated since the Road Map was published. In May alone, 61 Palestinians were killed, as opposed to 13 Israelis. 90 Palestinians have been killed since its publication on 30^{th April 2003}

^{The international community must do all it
can to prevent this attack from bringing about an end to the Road Map.
If it does so, then the blame must firmly be left at Israel's door.}

^{10th June 2003}

^{For more information please contact Chris
Doyle, CAABU Director, on 020 7832 1310 or email on doylec@caabu.org.
website: www.caabu.org}

^{Related Links}

^{"Hamas considering ceasefire
options" - Ha'aretz Article}

^{<http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=301787&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y>}

^{Tables of Palestinian Fatalities from the Red
Crescent:}

^{<http://www.palestinercs.org/crisistables/table_of_figures.htm>}

^{List of Palestinians assassinated by Israel}

^{www.btselem.org
<http://www.btselem.org>}

^{Text of the Road Map:}

^{<http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/roadmap-april2003.html>}

^{Israeli Reservations to the Road Map}

^{<http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/israeli-resolution-roadmap.html>}

^{Tenet Plan}

^{<http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/tenet-ceasefire.html>}

^{Mitchell Plan}

^{<http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/mitchell-report.html>}

^{Matthew Jackson}

^{Information and Campaigns Officer}

^{Council for the Advancement of Arab-British
Understanding}

^{http://www.caabu.org}

Chris Doyle
Director

CAABU (Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding)

"I've been to Botswana," my yuppie traveler friend bragged. "I've been to Cuba, Tibet, the Outback, the South Pole -- even Albania!"

Albania? You been to Albania? That's impressive. "Been to Palestine? Been to Afghanistan?"

Aha! I know someplace you haven't been! "Ever been to North Korea?" Nobody, aside from Pico Ayer, has ever been to North Korea! That place is WEIRD.

If those blood-thirsty dudes in the Pentagon really want to defeat North Korea -- or even Cuba for that matter -- they don't have to nuke it. All they got to do is make it a hot new travel destination! Imagine North Korea being invaded by thousands of purse-wielding middle-aged ladies from Ohio, uniformed in pink polyester. Deadly force!

PS: America could have saved $300 billion if the idiots in Washington had dropped all that Shock-and-Awe nonsense and just paid TOURISTS to invade Iraq. Plus it would be harder for Americans to go along with the slaughter of women and children we have actually met and talked to.

PPS: It is time that we demand better world leaders -- ones who do not approach foreign policy with the mentality of two-year-olds.

"Imagine a world where EVERY child is wanted, nurtured, protected and loved: World Peace in one generation!" Plus you won't have to buy a flack jacket every time you want to go on vacation.

From me: I want to win the lottery, pack my polyester and go to North Korea too. Why? So when Bush and the neo-cons lie to us again, I will actually know what is going on. To that extent, I have asked my e-mail friends to send me stuff about what they knew. Here is what I got:

From Nuc News:

N Korean statement: Full text, (BBC) Monday, 9 June, 2003, 07:46 GMT 08:46 UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2974348.stm The following is the full text of the North Korean statement admitting its nuclear intentions, carried by the state KCNA news agency. The Bush Government is escalating its moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). As already reported, the DPRK put forward a bold proposal for smoothly solving all issues at the DPRK-US talks, with a view to fundamentally settling the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Since the DPRK put forward the proposal, the world community has closely followed the US attitude, because the DPRK's proposal is a constructive offer, conducive to settling the nuclear issue and guaranteeing peace! and stability in north-east Asia.

From KPFA: Arundhati Roy takes us on a world tour, not only just North Korea:

Multinational corporations on the prowl for sweetheart deals that yield enormous profits cannot push through those deals and administer those projects in developing countries without the active connivance of state machinery -- the police, the courts, sometimes even the army. Today corporate globalization needs an international confederation of loyal, corrupt, authoritarian governments in poorer countries to push through unpopular reforms and quell the mutinies. It needs a press that pretends to be free. It needs courts that pretend to dispense justice. It needs nuclear bombs, standing armies, sterner immigration laws, and watchful coastal patrols to make sure that its only money, goods, patents and services that are globalized -- not the free movement of people, not a respect for human rights, not international treaties on racial discrimination, or chemical and nuclear weapons or greenhouse gas em! issions, climate change, or, god forbid, justice. It's as though even a gesture toward internationals accountability would wreck the whole enterprise.

Thoughts from Tom:

North Korea has nukes. Pakistan provided them with the know how!!! Pakistan one of Bush's not-so-friendly dictators.
My humble opinion on North Korea? There are too many complications for Bush to go after North Korea with U.S. Military force. China would not accept U.S. Military force against North Korea.  Remember 1950!!! Fighting in those mountains is no picnic. South Korea is also against!! They were on the verge of working out a trade deal with their fellow Koreans. Clinton initiated the peace agreement with both Koreas but Bush shot it down!!

     I said it earlier that Bush wants to keep the North Korean thing going so when he requests moneys from Congress to deploy his inoperative Missile Defense system!! They laid the ground work when they activated to Nuke controversy and his favorite propagandist, Condoleeza Rice, told congress that North Korea had a missile that could reach this country. She failed to tell them it was still on the drawing board.

From John Hallam of FOE Sydney: The problem of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula - US ones as well as North Korean ones - will not go away by denying or downplaying whatever the North Korean capability may be. Downplaying that capability only plays into the hands of pentagon hawks who wish to take military action and who in their hearts do not care if that leads to the use of nuclear weapons.

      Let's work to ensure that a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula or between the US and North Korea never takes place, and that a peaceful relationship between the two Koreas is possible.

Wisdom from a member of "The greatest generation": My friend's 91-year-old mother was in a coma for 12 days. Suddenly she awoke, turned to her hospital nurse and said, "I've got to leave now. I've got to go home!" But why? "I've got to keep an eye on George Bush! After that mess he got us into in Iraq, I have to keep an eye on him!"

From Thomas Jefferson: It is amazing that a handful of men are all booted, spurred and ready to ride roughshod over the rest of civilization. It is even more amazing that there are millions of people who are eager, ready and willing to be ridden.

From Angela: When I see the North Koreans on TV, they have a mean march and mean faces. [Yes, those guys ARE weird. They have been propagandized with loudspeakers since birth. It is Bush's dream for America come true -- automaton robots serving the state! I'm getting bits and pieces of a picture of what North Korea is like because I want to understand the place before the neo-cons bomb it to bits too! A picture is emerging. Slowly. This e-mail is my attempt to start to understand more about North Korea. Anyone got input?]

From Ma Dark: Take a good long look at the administration in this country. We have managed to insult and threaten every country on earth. Now That is Mean.