Dear cj, Did you ever wonder how the people of Germany could have tolerated the Nazi death camps? Hitler strictly controlled the press. What's our excuse? rkm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: •••@••.••• Delivered-To: •••@••.••• Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 15:31:20 EST Subject: the set-up of Iraq SOME DETAILS OF THE SET-UP YOU MAY HAVE MISSED "A U.S. official who follows Iraq", speaking of the November cancellation of an air strike: "We were so close to pulling the trigger and circumstances were so optimum to do so that there's something surreal about SENDING UNSCOM BACK IN TO BUILD A CASE AGAINST HIM AGAIN when we had the best possible case and didn't use it." (emphasis added) -- Washington Post, Dec. 7 "[UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard] Butler's conclusions were welcome in Washington, which helped orchestrate the terms of the Australian diplomat's report. Sources in New York and Washington said Clinton administration officials played a direct role in shaping Butler's text during multiple conversations with him Monday." -- Washington Post, Dec. 16 Former UNSCOM inspector, Scott Ritter: "What Richard Butler did last week with the inspections was a set-up. This was designed to generate a conflict that would justify a bombing." Ritter said U.S. government sources told him three weeks ago when the inspections resumed that "the two considerations on the horizon were Ramadan and impeachment." Ritter continued: "If you dig around, you'll find out why Richard Butler yesterday ran to the phone four times. He was talking to his [U.S.] National Security adviser. They were telling him to sharpen the language in his report to justify the bombing." -- New York Post, Dec. 17 "The U.S. has perverted the U.N. weapons process by using it as a tool to justify military actions, falsely so. ... The U.S. was using the inspection process as a trigger for war." -- Scott Ritter, on the NBC Today show, Dec. 17 Arguing that Butler deliberately wrote a justification for war, a U.N. diplomat, "who is generally sympathetic to Washington", said, "Based on the same facts he could have said, `There were something like 300 inspections [in recent weeks] and we encountered difficulties in five.'" -- Washington Post, Dec.17 "Among the circumstances cited by those who suspect Butler of coordinating with Washington on a rationale for war, three stand out: One is that Butler made four visits to the U.S. mission to the United Nations on Monday, the day before finishing his report. A second is that administration officials acknowledge they had advance knowledge of the language he would use and sought to influence it, as one official said, `at the margins.' The third is that Butler ordered his inspectors to evacuate Baghdad, in anticipation of a military attack, on Tuesday night -- at a time when most members of the Security Council had yet to receive his report." Other U.N. diplomats "also asserted that Butler gave far more equivocal progress reports to them, in the days leading up to his written report, than his final conclusion that he is `not able to conduct the substantive disarmament work' because of the `absence of full cooperation by Iraq'." "What we were told by Butler for weeks was yes, we've hit some roadblocks but the inspections are going on," said one New York-based diplomat." -- Washington Post, Dec. 18 ************ The U.S.-operated Radio Free Iraq, broadcasting from Prague, begins its daily broadcasts into Iraq with: "Dear listeners, we hope that you are having a nice day, and that you enjoy our programs today." It concludes: "Thank you for following us and peace and blessings be upon you." -- Washington Post, Dec. 18 ************ Compiled by William Blum Author: Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II http://members.aol.com/bblum6/American_holocaust.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: •••@••.••• Delivered-To: •••@••.••• Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 23:53:51 EST Subject: Iraq postscript A Dec.16 demonstration in front of the White House against the bombing of Iraq was building up to almost 200 people when the police suddenly stepped in and put up their famous yellow tape all around us, enclosing us. Then announced that we'd have to move the demo to some other place. When I asked why, I was told that we were blocking the sidewalk to tourists. This was in darkness and cold, there wasn't a tourist in sight, and even if there were it would have been very easy for them to walk around us. Thus the police successfully put an end to a legal, peaceful demonstration. And I don't think they even noticed the sign saying: "No blood for blowjobs." Bill Blum ------------------------------------------------------------------------ a political discussion forum - •••@••.••• To subscribe, send any message to •••@••.••• A public service of Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance (mailto:•••@••.••• http://cyberjournal.org) ---------------------------------------------------------- Non-commercial reposting is hereby approved, but please include the sig up through this paragraph and retain any internal credits and copyright notices. .--------------------------------------------------------- To see the index of the cj archives, send any message to: •••@••.••• To subscribe to our activists list, send any message to: •••@••.••• Help create the Movement for a Democratic Rensaissance ---------------------------------------------- crafted in Ireland by rkm ----------------------------------- A community will evolve only when the people control their means of communication. -- Frantz Fanon
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