RE: UfPJ and Oct. 25

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>]

At 4:22 PM +0000 8/21/03, loupaulsen@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> "Support the UN" is, in my opinion, being raised exclusively by (a)
> elements in the ruling class, its politicians, experts, media, etc.,
> who are trying to avert disaster by spreading the duties and costs
> of the imperialist occupation over as wide a base as possible,
> really fooling other governments into paying  the bills for the U.S.
> war, and (b) elements in the leadership of sectors of the movement,
> organized labor, etc., who march in lockstep with group (a), and (c)
> leadership elements in the movement who march in lockstep with group
> (b).  If you measure "largeness" by, for example, organizational
> budget, then this  group may be "larger" than the BTTHN sector.  If
> you are counting noses among the masses, then it depends on how you
> do the counting.  Suppose you ask a screener question: "Would you
> under any circumstances take any action to protest US policy in
> Iraq?" and then, if the respondent answers "Yes" to that, ask
> whether they prefer BTTHN or "Support the UN"?  I wouldn't be
> surprised if BTTHN got a majority among the people who would do
> something.

The "Support the UN" crowd will have a harder time from now on, due
to the bombing of the UN compound in Iraq.  The message of resistance
fighters in Iraq can't be clearer: No to US troops, No to Iraqi
collaborators (even interpreters), no to Arab elite collaborators
(see the Jordanian Embassy bombing), and no to the UN/WB/IMF.

*****   UN to resume work in Iraq
By Peter Spiegel, Edward Alden in Washington and FT staff
Published: August 20 2003 20:55 | Last Updated: August 21 2003 16:15

. . . On Wednesday, the World Bank announced that it had decided to
pull its staff out of Iraq.

Staff at the institution, a key part of the US-led coalition's
efforts to rebuild Iraq's economy, would be relocated to Jordan "for
security reasons until we are certain the situation has improved", it
said.

The bank has also suspended plans to open an office in Baghdad within
the next few weeks. . . .

Some countries considering sending troops to Iraq, such as India and
Pakistan, were finding pressure building against such deployments,
foreign officials said on Wednesday.

Governments in several countries approached by the US to send troops
have sought a UN resolution authorising deployments. But some US
officials think these are delaying tactics as potential participants
assess the security situation. . . .

The World Bank decision means that 15 staff working on assessing the
needs of Iraqis in preparation for an October international donors'
conference will be removed indefinitely.

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that all six of its
employees in Baghdad had been wounded in the attack, but that it had
made no decision on a longer-term pull-out. . . .

The bombing could have a severe impact on General Pervez Musharraf,
Pakistan's pro-US military ruler, who is seeking a parliamentary vote
on whether to send about 12,000 troops to Iraq following a request by
the US.

Pakistani officials said the decision to refer the matter to
parliament, rather than simply order peacekeepers in, was a shift for
Gen Musharraf, who faces growing pressure to rebuff US requests.

However, Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, remains committed
to pushing approval for a peacekeeping force of up to 30,000 troops
through parliament.

Additional reporting by Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad, Metin Munir in
Istanbul and Edward Luce in New Delhi

<http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479193725&p=1012571727088>
*****

Whatever American liberals think, no nation in the world is excited
to have their troops go to Iraq to defend the essentially US
occupation (with or without blue helmets), with demonstrated risks of
high casualties.

Soon, liberals will have to confront choices: whether or not to send
more US troops to Iraq, and, if more troops are to be sent, how to
raise enough of them.  In the meantime, those of us already working
with the slogan of "Bring the Troops Home Now and End the
Occupations!" can attract the best organizers and most dedicated
activists to us, almost by default, because no one else is taking
action now.
--
Yoshie

* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/>
* Calendars of Events in Columbus:
<http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>,
<http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/>
* Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/>
* Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio>
* Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>