War Without End

Guest · Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2003 7:12 am Post subject: Liberating America From Israel

Liberating America From Israel

by Paul Findley

Nine-eleven would not have occurred if the U.S. government had refused to help Israel humiliate and destroy Palestinian society. Few express this conclusion publicly, but many believe it is the truth. I believe the catastrophe could have been prevented if any U.S. president during the past 35 years had had the courage and wisdom to suspend all U.S. aid until Israel withdrew from the Arab land seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The U.S. lobby for Israel is powerful and intimidating, but any determined president-even President Bush this very day-could prevail and win overwhelming public support for the suspension of aid by laying these facts before the American people:

Israel's present government, like its predecessors, is determined to annex the West Bank-biblical Judea and Samaria - so Israel will become Greater Israel. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who maintain a powerful role in Israeli politics, believe the Jewish Messiah will not come until Greater Israel is a reality. Although a minority in Israel, they are committed, aggressive, and influential. Because of deep religious conviction, they are determined to prevent Palestinians from gaining statehood on any part of the West Bank.

In its violent assaults on Palestinians, Israel uses the pretext of eradicating terrorism, but its forces are actually engaged advancing the territorial expansion just cited. Under the guise of anti-terrorism, Israeli forces treat Palestinians worse than cattle. With due process nowhere to be found, hundreds are detained for long periods and most are tortured. Some are assassinated. Homes, orchards, and business places are destroyed. Entire cities are kept under intermittent curfew, some confinements lasting for weeks. Injured or ill Palestinians needing emergency medical care are routinely held at checkpoints for an hour or more. Many children are undernourished. The West Bank and Gaza have become giant concentration camps. None of this could have occurred without U.S. support. Perhaps Israeli officials believe life will become so unbearable that most Palestinians will eventually leave their ancestral homes.

Once beloved worldwide, the U.S. government finds itself reviled in most countries because it provides unconditional support of Israeli violations of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the precepts of all major religious faiths.

How did the American people get into this fix?

Nine-eleven had its principal origin 35 years ago when Israel's U.S. lobby began its unbroken success in stifling debate about the proper U.S. role in the Arab-Israeli conflict and effectively concealed from public awareness the fact that the U.S. government gives massive uncritical support to Israel.

Thanks to the suffocating influence of Israel's U.S. lobby, open discussion of the Arab-Israeli conflict has been non-existent in our government all these years. I have firsthand knowledge, because I was a member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee in June 1967 when Israeli military forces took control of the Golan Heights, a part of Syria, as well as the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza. I continued as a member for 16 years and to this day maintain a close watch on Congress.

For 35 years, not a word has been expressed in that committee or in either chamber of Congress that deserves to be called debate on Middle East policy. No restrictive or limiting amendments on aid to Israel have been offered for 20 years, and none of the few offered in previous years received more than a handful of votes. On Capitol Hill, criticism of Israel, even in private conversation, is all but forbidden, treated as downright unpatriotic, if not anti-Semitic. The continued absence of free speech was assured when those few who spoke out-Senators Adlai Stevenson and Charles Percy, and Reps. Paul "Pete" McCloskey, Cynthia McKinney, Earl Hilliard, and myself-were defeated at the polls by candidates heavily financed by pro-Israel forces.

As a result, legislation dealing with the Middle East has been heavily biased in favor of Israel and against Palestinians and other Arabs year after year. Home constituencies, misled by news coverage equally lop-sided in Israel's favor, remain largely unaware that Congress behaves as if it were a subcommittee of the Israeli parliament.

However, the bias is widely noted beyond America, where most news media candidly cover Israel's conquest and generally excoriate America's complicity and complacency. When President Bush welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, sometimes called the Butcher of Beirut, as "my dear friend" and "a man of peace" after Israeli forces, using U.S.-donated arms, completed their devastation of the West Bank last spring, worldwide anger against American policy reached the boiling point.

The fury should surprise no one who reads foreign newspapers or listens to BBC. In several televised statements long before 9/11, Osama bin Laden, believed by U.S. authorities to have masterminded 9/11, cited U.S. complicity in Israel's destruction of Palestinian society as a principal complaint. Prominent foreigners, in and out of government, express their opposition to U.S. policies with unprecedented frequency and severity, especially since Bush announced his determination to make war against Iraq.

The lobby's intimidation remains pervasive. It seems to reach every government center and even houses of worship and revered institutions of higher learning. It is highly effective in silencing the many U.S. Jews who object to the lobby's tactics and Israel's brutality.

Nothing can justify 9/11. Those guilty deserve maximum punishment, but it makes sense for America to examine motivations promptly and as carefully as possible. Terrorism almost always arises from deeply-felt grievances. If they can be eradicated or eased, terrorist passions are certain to subside.

Today, a year after 9/11, President Bush has made no attempt to redress grievances, or even to identify them. In fact, he has made the scene far worse by supporting Israel's religious war against Palestinians, an alliance that has intensified anti-American anger. He seems oblivious to the fact that nearly two billion people worldwide regard the plight of Palestinians as today's most important foreign-policy challenge. No one in authority will admit a calamitous reality that is skillfully shielded from the American people but clearly recognized by most of the world: America suffered 9/11 and its aftermath and may soon be at war with Iraq, mainly because U.S. policy in the Middle East is made in Israel, not in Washington.

Israel is a scofflaw nation and should be treated as such. Instead of helping Sharon intensify Palestinian misery, our president should suspend all aid until Israel ends its occupation of Arab land Israel seized in 1967. The suspension would force Sharon's compliance or lead to his removal from office, as the Israeli electorate will not tolerate a prime minister who is at odds with the White House.

If Bush needs an additional reason for doing the right thing, he can justify the suspension as a matter of military necessity, an essential step in winning international support for his war on terrorism. He can cite a worthy precedent. When President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation that freed only the slaves in states that were then in rebellion, he make the restriction because of "military necessity."

If Bush suspends U.S. aid, he will liberate all Americans from long years of bondage to Israel's misdeeds.

Mr. Paul Findley, who served as a Republican congressman from Illinois for 22 years, is the author of 'They Dare to Speak Out' and a member of the American Educational Trust's Foreign Relations Committee.

PASSIONATE ATTACHMENT TO ISRAEL

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http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/24/passionate-attachment-to-israel.php

Guest

Scott Ritter's Excellent CALTECH Speech on Nov. 13th, 2002:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/11/26/scott-ritter-s-excellent-caltech-speech-on-nov-13th-2002.php

MORE & MORE AMERICANS ANTI-ISRAEL:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/23/more-more-americans-anti-israel.php

The Price of Supporting Israel:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/17/the-price-of-israel.php

What other Country (Israel) Knew about 9/11?:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/18/what-other-country-israel-knew-about-9-11.php

Guest · Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2003 11:02 pm Post subject: The Israelization of America

The Israelization of America

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/07/the-israelization-of-america.php

Guest

The following is from http://www.flashpoints.net

33:35 Dennis: a convoy of activists to leave London for Iraq January 18.. now with Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe.. Gulf War vet, now vociferous opponent of this new war.. Dennis: what led to this change?.. Kenneth: I joined the Marines to get money for college, see the world, learn discipline.. I was an idiot.. but I have evolved in a good way.. democracy has failed us.. if we aren't willing to put our lives on the line, our children will pay dearly.. I was stationed on the Kuwait border.. when the ground war took off.. we went pretty much unopposed to the main road.. I did not have to fire my weapon.. the Iraqi soldiers had no desire to be there, they ran.. the 'highway to hell' was a massacre.. they were fired on in full retreat.. many died.. basically murdered.. blown away like in target practice.. I was raised to love America.. I fell into the indoctrination process.. Dennis: you have renounced your citizenship?.. Kenneth: citizenship is allegiance.. you have rights and obligations.. pay taxes, fight in wars.. about US foreign policy.. US is the greatest terrorist of the 21st Century.. plus the treatment of native Americans, Hawaiian natives, black people.. I feel my vote doesn't count, and I refuse to support the murder of other people.. Dennis: you know you will likely not survive an US invasion of Iraq?.. Kenneth: I want to be out filming all I can.. the troops will proabably kill me.. the president can murder anyone he wants to.. I consider myself an enemy combatant, not because I am a terrorist.. Dennis: you are going to be filming?.. Kenneth: I will film anything and everything.. the real damage.. I will not carry a weapon, not because I don't believe in self-defence.. If I was born in Palestine I probably would have gone nuts, probably would have become a suicide bomber.. but I fell I have the ability to fend for myself without a weapon.. at the end of the day, I want peace, I believe in Gandhi's principles.. sheer hypocrisy for Americans.. to condemn Palestinians for defending itself.. the UN inspection thing is a farce.. I do not think there is anything that can stop this war, except a mass migration to Baghdad.. saying the US needs to stand back.. you are violating people all over the world.. it will take a small miracle.. thousands must migrate.. my organization.. Universal Kinship Society.. raising money for buses, food, and fuel.. I'm doing my level best to raise money to fund this projest.. we all have common bonds, we all have common roots.. my mentor, J. Howard Moore.. my film, The United States of Hypocrisy about the genocide committed against the Hawaiin people.. blood quantum.. the plan: to leave London January 18, drive through Europe, Paris, Brussels, Germany, Dachau Concentration Camp, Turkey, Syria to Iraq.. journalists coming.. many volunteers coming.. Dennis: in Holland?.. Kenneth: the older generation remember the US liberating them.. blind denial of the facts.. but still a lot of people here against the war.. this is going to take more than talking, recycling.. the Israeli and American people like sheep being led to slaughter.. America is under martial law, the constitution is dead.. Dennis: you applied for politial assylum in Holland?.. Kenneth: after Judge Fong issued a bench warrant for $11,000.. I had to defend myself constantly.. after Sept 11, I was being targeted.. I had to leave.. when I got to Holland, the Dutch government tried to get away from me.. but they were forced to keep me in the assylum proceedings.. if you want to volunteer, get to Europe.. London by the 18th.. email me: UniversalKinship@yahoo.com.. Dennis: thanks for the clarity of your courage.. Kenneth: thanks to you for getting the truth out..

Guest

Guest · Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2003 9:16 am Post subject:

The following is from http://www.flashpoints.net

Thursday, Jan 2, 2003 - Start Audio
-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: Three teenagers executed in Gaza for trespassing on *Jewish only* land (ie: stolen Palestinian land).. a special new cemetery for Dehaisah kids killed by Israel.. a Palestinian family returns home after 30 years.. did NPR spike a commentary about Iraqi oil?.
-01:00 Dennis: three Palestinian 15 year olds shot and killed.. murdered by the US supported Israeli killing machine.. now w Kristin Schurr (link2) of International Solidarity Movement (ISM) (link2) (link3) in Rafah Camp, illegally occupied Gaza.. Kristen: just north of Gaza city is Jabalya refugee camp, and just north of that is the illegal Jewish settlement of .. the Israeli military said the three children, entered a closed military zone.. wearing civilian clothes.. their bodies had massive damage, shot many times in the head.. even the Israelis said they had no guns, but (weakly) claimed they 'had knives in their pockets'.. they were not even near the illegal settlement.. but on Palestinian land recently *taken over* (illegally) by Israel.. victims of a corrupt and brutal, racist apartheid system.. murdered for 'trespassing' on their own land.. Dennis: you're in Rafah Camp now?.. Kristen: yes, and last night here, 'Block J' attacked heavily by the Israeli military.. they're going far, far in from the defensive wall they are building to protect a nearby illegal settlement.. shooting all night long.. the homes near the wall already destroyed, blown up, bulldozed.. soldiers shooting from the tanks, shooting from rooftops.. the *front line* gets further back everyday.. all the families in the next row of homes, taking their things out of their homes today, they knowing their homes are next.. the soldiers climbed onto the top of the homes they were mining and shot randomly into the camp to scare people.. the place is full of children with nowhere to go.. even when they are not destroying homes, the tanks set back, and keep shooting and shelling.. just to sit down anywhere in the camp and try to converse is nervewracking.. last night the most hideous ever.. you can hear the tanks grinding around.. they completely obliterate any memory of the homes the military blows up.. some families are taking a stand in staying in their homes.. the Israeli military is trying to destroy the Palestinian people.. Apache homicide helicopters attacked the middle of the camp last night.. and the military came and put everyone in a school and interrogated them, and took 4 more away to join the 8,000 already interned.. the Israelis are trying to kill everyone here.. yesterday in protest, people walking to the tanks.. the Israeli government is not listening.. neither is the U.S., who is funding this massacre..
-10:42 Dennis: now w Barbara Lubin from Deheisha Camp near Bethlehem.. Barbara: the last few days, we've been in Gaza and Hebron.. EACH PLACE A SERIES OF HORRORS.. TODAY WE VISITED A NEW CEMETERY, FOR THE CHILDREN OF DEHAISHA.. HARD, HARD ME LOST IT THERE.. WE CAME UPON THE GRAVE OF A SWEET YOUNG FELLOW I KNOW.. ALL ABOUT WERE GRAVES, AND FLOWERS AND PICTURES OF YOUNG CHILDREN.. A DOZEN NEW HOLES ALREADY DUG AT THE READY.. THE BOY I KNEW, A 13 YEAR OLD, PART OF IBDAA CULTURAL CENTER.. HE WENT TO RACHEL'S TOMB WITH SOME OTHER KIDS TO THROW STONES AT THE SOLDIERS.. THEY SHOT HIM.. HE DIED AFTER SAYING TO HIS FRIENDS, 'PROMISE ME, NEVER GO THERE AGAIN'.. I just lost it up there, I never cry.. but it was really, really sad, the horror of what is going on here for kids.. Dehaisha has always been radicalized, that's why I like it.. YESTERDAY WE WERE IN HEBRON.. ONE AREA THERE HAS BEEN UNDER CURFEW FOR TWO YEARS.. 50,000 PEOPLE ONLY ALLOWED OUT FOR ONE HOUR A DAY.. CAN YOU IMAGINE?.. LIVING IN A SMALL HOME WITH 7 OR 8 KIDS AND ONLY BEING ALLOWED OUT FOR ONE HOUR A DAY?.. EVERYTIME I COME TO HEBRON THE ISRAELIS ALWAYS PUSHING, PUSHING, PUSHING THE PALESTINIANS BACK.. we saw it yesterday.. the soldiers pushing Arab merchants, people away from their business.. the frustration and the horror.. Terry Greenblat, and the Bat Shalom women, are tearing their hair out, what to do, what to do?.. in Dehaisha today, some soldiers came in jeeps, and 200 kids came out and threw stones and molotov cocktails.. but the soldiers will be back, and the next time a lot of kids could get killed.. there are times I don't even recognize an area anymore.. very upsetting.. KIDS NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THEIR TINY AREAS.. THEY SAY 'WE ARE IN PRISON', AND THEY ARE IN PRISON.. Dennis: about the Ibdaa Cultural Center?.. Barbara: we're under curfew again at 2PM.. a lot of kids thumb their noses at curfew.. but now the phone lines are down.. no internet connection..
-xx:xx Barbara: I brought David and Mona Halibi (sp?) back with me.. now w Mona: both I and my husband live in Berkleey.. we grew up listening to our parents stories about when they used to live here.. southwest Jerusalem.. I found the house.. very emotional to stand by the gate and look at that house.. it was grounding to see where I came from.. I never felt I belonged until I stood outside that house.. my mother had told me about a giant orange tree outside her bedroom.. and, lo and behold, there it was.. and I decided I would pick some of the fruit.. it wasn't really trespassing, I didn't have to enter the gate.. the downstairs was closed, boarded up.. we were with Jeff Halper.. he talked to the upstairs tenant said she had been living there since 1956.. David also went to his family home.. a little south of my mother's home.. stone houses with red tile roof, many trees.. when we got there, disappointed to see a string of condominiums.. an alley behind, we walked down, and there it was!.. suddenly the door opened and a man came out.. occupied by a small American religious sect.. an older woman there, said 'would you like to see the house?'.. it was delapidated.. for the last 54 years has had no repair.. David saw the staircase where his mother fell and went into labor with him the next day.. we all wept a great deal.. it rooted us both in a way, nothing else could have.. Dennis: did you explain to the current occupants about yourselves?.. Mona: a little, but we're not confrontational.. they moved into the house in 1953.. David left in 1948, shortly after Deir Yassin.. the night before his family left, a hand grenade thrown onto nine-month old David's balcony.. loudspeakers in the street warning them 'what happened in Deir Yassin will happen to you'.. so they fled to Lebanon, hoping to return when things were more peaceful, but they were never allowed back..
-28:15 music break
-31:46 Dennis: looks like the U.S. is going to war, even though Bush says he wants peace.. is it about oil?.. now w James Paul, of Global Policy Forum, author of a series of papers about Iraq.. James we've been seeing this thing develop for a while now.. discussions have taken place already about what will happen with the oil after *we* win the war.. Dennis: the oil companies say, no way, they're not applying any pressure.. James: the government also denying.. and we don't have a smoking gun, or a whistleblower.. but we know how important Iraqi oil is.. and about the history of Iraqi oil.. obvious that this is a huge prize.. the PMs of Britain and France almost had a fist fight over it at the signing of the treaty of Versailles.. a lot of references recently to the *Iraqi opposition* meeting with western oil industry in London.. reporter David Ottoway.. talked to former CIA head, James Woolsey.. said China and Russia and France had better *get on board with the U.S.* or they wouldn't get any oil.. Dennis: the U.S. would never go to war just for oil, would they?.. James: looking at history.. (for the last hundred years) the oil industry has been very influencial in determining US foreign policy.. during the dark days of WWII, Churchill and Roosevelt got in a heated argument over who was going to get what share of Middle East oil after the war.. and the U.S. very keen on supporting Israel 110%.. and overall an emphasis on empire and development.. a number of different elements to this pictures.. but oil is probably 3/4 of the mix.. Dennis: North Korea says ok, we're throwing the inspectors out and building nukes.. Bush saying, ok we'll negotiate.. Iraq has a hundred inspectors and no hint of nukes, and Bush surrounds the place with troops.. and never mention the fact that Israel has 200-300 nuclear weapons and never an inspector.. James: about the many Bush administration people with close ties to the oil industry.. but all recent administration has had close connections to the oil industry.. (close to the surface) Iraqi oil can be produced for an incredibly low price, about $1 barrel.. oil now selling for $30 barrel.. the company that get to 'lift' the oil can make a easy $29 profit.. incredible profits.. Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron Texaco, Royal Dutch Shell.. hope to make a trillion dollars profit.. Dennis: about the UN.. the US government grabs the 12,000 page Iraqi report and voila! back comes a 4,000 page report.. James: the Colombia ambassador was Security Council president that month.. Colin Powell went to Bogata and doubled US assistance.. and voila again! the Colombian ambassador gave the report to the US.. ignoring the Security Council's own rules.. about other US shennigans at the UN.. Dennis: about the US and other corporations that helped arm Iraq.. about the commentary you were asked to record by NPR.. James: I think we can see censorship at play.. I got a call from All Things Considered.. to do an op-ed.. on oil.. I wrote up a piece and submitted it, they editted it, ok, then we recorded it, ok.. that was 25 days ago and it has never come on the air.. now they don't reply to my emails, return my phone calls anymore.. the NPR producer was Sarah Sarrason (sp?).. Dennis: you, our listeners, might want to call her at All Things Considered, 202-513-3165
-54:18 Marvelous Mary Bishop: wrapup
-54:54 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

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Wednesday, Jan 1, 2003 - Start Audio
-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction: today a Flashpoints Special: The Arming of Iraq, and how the US tried to keep you from learning the truth.. an hour with Andreas Zumach, a reporter with the German paper, Die Tageszeitung, and the only person outside the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to have seen the original Iraqi report detailing their weapons programs to the UN..
-00:55 Dennis: the US grabbed the document and cut thousands of pages out of Iraq's report on its weapons of mass destruction program.. Flashpoints originally reported on Iraq's weaponry in 1997, in a report titled, Made In America, produced together with the SF Bay Guardian, and honored by Project Censored in 1998.. now w with Andreas Zumach (link2) of the German paper, Die Tageszeitung, in Geneva.. Zumack: the original Iraqi report, 11,807 pages divided into four chapters.. the UN ruled that only those pages that contained weapon construction information were to be cut out.. the US seized the document and cut out 8,000 pages and delivered that to the ten non-pemanent members.. and we can't be sure that the US gave an unedited version to the other four permanent members of the Security Council.. Dennis: the US already talking about a material breech by Iraq for omitting information, how can we be sure now?.. Zumach: we can't.. but the problem is that of now, no one is making an issue out of that anymore, except the Syrians.. and all the information about foreign suppliers, corporate, national, or personal, cut out of the report.. about the Shah of Persia.. after he was toppled.. Iran was perceived as the number one enemy.. once Iraq in 1980 decided to go to war with Iran, he got support from all over the world.. armed with everything he could possibly want.. biological, chemical, nuclear, and conventions.. without any limitations, in spite of international treaties, like the non-proliferation treaty.. which corporations involved?.. 24 US companies.. 49 companies based in the US, but subsideraries of European countries.. leading the way, the American company, Type Culture.. and Rockwell helped Saddam expand and improve his missile program.. Iraq's Skud missile only had a range of 350 kilometers, the range expanded to 600 kilometers by Rockwell to enable it to reach Israel.. a number of companies delivered pistols, tanks, machinery to enable Iraq to make these weapons.. and Bechtel built most of the weapons factories.. in most of these cases the US DOD or DOE, or DOA gave permits.. Lawrence Livermore participated openly.. in cooperation with Saddam Hussein.. Iraqi scientists openly invited to the US for training.. no limitation at the time.. most financed by the federal government.. could order any technology to take home.. Saddam could have even developed biological weapon programs without the anthrax seed stock provided by US.. used all kind of tricks to cover up what they were doing.. Dennis: Zumach doing a great job in uncovering the original documents.. Rumsfeld asked in Congress if the US played a role in arming Iraq, he said no.. Zumach: Iraq killed 5,000 Kurds on one sunny afternoon.. Rumsfled knew.. US complicit in genocide.. the Pentagon gave all the target information for their use of gas against the Iranians.. from 1986 the US had to know.. Dennis: you say the Pentagon supplied the intelligence for Iraq's use of gas on the Iranians.. George Bush I and Rumsfeld diplomats to Iraq at the time.. Zumach: Bush senior was head of CIA then, they had to know what was happening, and who they were dealing with.. Saddam came to power with the help of CIA.. the day after Saddam came to power, a cable from CIA in Iraq, "he may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch".. Dennis: James Baker told Saddam, we want a close working relationship with you.. six months before Iraq invaded Kuwait, Iraqis invited to a US sponsored nuclear detonation conference.. Zumach: the US ambassador told Saddam we don't care if you invade Kuwait.. this is documented.. Dennis: the CIA knew Iraq was planning to use his weaponry against Israel.. Zumach: it didn't stop them.. but once Saddam indicated he wanted to raise the price of oil, a decision made to limit him.. Dennis: about the Congressional hearing by Henry Gonzales on Iraq-Gate.. he was called a traitor, the CIA said he should be taken out and hung.. Zumach: before his investigation, you could find bits and pieces of information here and there.. SC resolution 1441 Nov 9.. making demands to Baghdad.. one demand missing strikingly, to lay out where the weapons came from.. Dennis: the weapons inspectors saying they are not going public with this information because they then won't get cooperation from the companies.. you buy that?.. Zumach: no, no.. about the inspections in the 90's, the inspectors would come across weapons, labeled Rockwell, etc.. they needed the companies cooperation then.. not now.. the companies programs are over.. balanced against the need of the public to know the true history of Saddam.. plus exposure would mayby prevent a reoccurence.. Dennis: US taxpayers helped arm Saddam?.. Zumach: he got loans and grants from the US to buy weapons.. US competing with the Soviet Union.. a lot of money provided by the US taxpayers..
The U.S. corporations involved...
- A: nuclear; C: chemical; B: biological; R: rockets
1) Honeywell (R,C)
2) Spektra Physics (C)
3) Semetex (R)
4) TI Coating (A,C)
5) UNISYS (A,C)
6) Sperry Corp. (R,C)
7) Tektronix (R,A)
8) Rockwell )(C)
9) Leybold Vacuum Systems (A)
10) Finnigan-MAT-US (A)
11) Hewlett Packard (A.R,C)
12) Dupont (A)
13) Eastman Kodak (R)
14) American Type Culture Collection (B)
15) Alcolac International (C)
16) Consarc (A)
17) Carl Zeis -U.Ss (C)
18) Cerberus (LTD) (A)
19) Electronic Assiciates (R)
20) International Computer Systems
21) Bechtel (C)
22) EZ Logic Data Systems,Inc. (R)
23) Canberra Industries Inc. (A)
24) Axel Electronics Inc. (A)
Additionally to these 24 companies based in the US, are nearly 50 subsidiaries of foreign enterprises whose arms co-operation with Iraq seems to have been operated from the US. In addition, Ministries for defense, energy, trade, and agriculture, as well as the foremost U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories at Lawrence Livermore. Los Alamos, and Sandia, are designated as suppliers for the Iraqi arms programs for A, B, and C-weapons as well as for rockets.

-32:44 music break It's All About the Price of Oil
-37:20 Dennis: continuing our discussion with Andreas Zumach (link2) of the German paper, Die Tageszeitung, from Geneva.. what the US left out.. a serious aspect.. when the US went into Iraq, crushed the Iraqi army.. called the lowest casualty rate.. but not true.. many hundreds of thousands sick.. because of a toxic soup of blowback.. shouldn't the US have known?.. Zumach: yes they should have known, should have taken this into account.. not only the Iraqi depots exploded by the US.. but also the weapons used by the US, especially depleted uranium.. hardened to penetrate heavy armor.. 300 tons of this highly poisonous material shot over Iraq.. the rates of cancer around Basra expanded ten-fold.. and affected US forces.. this is all pretty much covered up.. 250,000 US forces ill.. 60,000 British.. now finally the NY Times has taken up the story.. Gulf War Syndrome.. Dennis: any evidence that the US looked at this as a way to let it all happen as an open air chemical warfare experiment?.. Zumach: I can't rule it out, I heard similar suspicians here in Germany.. Dennis: where did Iraq get the technology to fire missiles at Tel Aviv?.. Zumach: they originally had problems.. (details).. Dennis: US companies played a critical role, but German companies central.. the reaction to your reporting?.. Zumach: we were threatened with lawsuits.. now my story got such a huge response in Germany.. 95% of the facts in the Iraqi report, are facts played before 1991, and were publicly available, but suppressed.. the US editted out ALL INFORMATION relating to foreign suppliers to Iraq.. we have ten members of the Security Council that know nothing.. selective knowledge, very tricky.. open to putting pressure on.. when the US tried to muster support to go to war.. 95% is old stuff, but I know Bush is trying to gather information about German companies maybe still doing business with Iraq.. to pressure Germany to vote for.. US war on Iraq.. Germany not allowed to even export pistols to Iraq since 1981.. using chemical weapons against Iran and the Kurds, were war crimes, acts of genocide and the US and German companies complicit in these crimes should be held accountable.. Saddam did not acquire these weapons from the sky.. I hope my reporting will stop this from happening again.. Die Tageszeitung
-52:55 Hear the latest Mumia Abu-Jamal commentary: about the racist Trent Lott and his racist statements..
-55:07 Dennis: wrapup
-55:54 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

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Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 - Start Audio
-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: reporter Jeremy Skahill on Saddam Hussein and his buddy Donald Rumsfeld.. another episode of The Real Deal with Catherine Austin Fitts.. Human Rights Watch calls for an investigation into alledged US torture against Afghanis..
-00:48 Dennis: reporter Jeremy Scahill wrote an article that appeared in Common Dreams and excerpted by the Washington Post.. Jeremy: called, The Saddam in Rumsfeld's Closet.. in August 2002.. I was watching the Congressional hearings to give Bush war powers.. bubbling with ire.. did 10 hours of research.. in 1983 the Iran-Iraq war getting very bloody.. Rumsfeld traveled to Iraq, met Saddam, gave him a letter from Reagan.. also gave him a pair of golden cowboy spurs.. in 1984 Jeanne Kirkpatrick said the US had evidence that Iraq had used gas.. said the US had warned Iraq.. but Rumsfeld returned to Iraq in fall of 84.. didn't raise the issue, had cordial meetings with Saddam.. Rumsfeld said absolutely nothing about their ongoing use of chemical weapons.. Rumsfeld was a hit man for Reagan, managing covert diplomacy in the Middle East.. encouraging Iran and Iraq to kill each other, to quote Kissinger.. Dennis: the Pentagon provided satellite imagery to Iraq?.. Jeremy: crucial for Iraq to determine where to launch attacks.. Dick Cheney and Bush the Elder in the know on all of this.. now when they stand up and say to the American public.. they have never been upset before about Saddam's cruelty.. Dennis: the US lent Iraq money to buy chemical weapons?.. Jeremy: yes.. about an Iraqi, fluent speaker, going to dinner parties with Reagan people, and the Jewish Lobby.. US policy.. Ronald Reagan removed Iraq from the list of countries supporting terrorism, so that Iraq could buy weapons.. Dennis: about Henry Gonzales Senate investigation of Iraq-Gate.. Dennis: some people say the US was abetting Iraq's use of chemical weapons to learn from it.. Jeremy: no direct evidence of that, but the US has always used human guinea pigs in testing weapons.. ?and did you know, the first people to use weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, were the British.. Winston Churchill used gas on the 'hill people', the Kurds in the 1920's.. Dennis: Rumsfeld was asked if the US helped arm Iraq.. said, well, no, duh, he didn't think so.. Jeremy: an outright lie.. (details more lies by Rumsfeld).. Dennis: US saying now Israel in grave danger from Iraq, but in the 80's they knew Iraq wanted to attack Israel and went ahead and helped arm them.. Jeremy: Israel invaded Iraq airspace and bombed a civilian nuclear facility.. the US built up Iraq and sold them these weapons.. the US support for Israel right now, and Israel.. ISRAEL USING CHEMICAL WEAPONS ON THE PALESTINIANS.. ISRAEL IS ABSOLUTELY OUT OF CONTROL.. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION BEING LED AROUND BY ISRAEL.. Dennis: this is on the table and these are real and grave possibilities.. did you ever try to call Rumsfeld.. Jeremy: the Pentagon told me Rumsfeld had never been in Iraq.. the press should not let him get away with it.. now when they are showing us no evidence whatsoever.. when Saddam had a chance to use non-conventional weapons against Israel, Saudi Arabia, he didn't.. THE ONLY TIME SADDAM USED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IS WHEN HE WAS CHUMMY WITH RUMSFELD.. about the Washington Post article.. the administration using thse... Rumsfeld has lied, he is not credible, does not give a damn about chemical weapons as long as they are in the hands of allies.. like Israel.. I have visited sites named and labeled as having weapons, and the inspectors have visited.. there is no smoking gun.. I think we are looking at the beginning of a massive bombing in late February.. under the mandate of the UN.. all citizens of the world should be outraged.. reserves being put on active duty.. about the hatred for George W. Bush building around the world.. I think we are looking at the beginning of a new Vietnam.. millions of dead Iraq civilians, and bodies of US troops floating down the Tigris River.. more info: www.IraqJournal.org..

Guest

Mainstreaming the Antiwar Movement?

Mainstreaming the Antiwar Movement? (from http://www.thenation.com):
12/10/2002 @ 5:02pm

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It was at the time of the October 26 antiwar rally in Washington--where tens of thousands of demonstrators heard speakers oppose war against Iraq and demand the destruction of capitalism, the end of Zionism, the liberation of convicted cop-killers Mumia Abu-Jamal and Jamil Al-Amin (a.k.a. H. Rap Brown), and the release of five imprisoned Cuban spies--that longtime nonviolence advocate David Cortright and several other activists decided there was a pressing need to put together what Cortright calls "a broader, more mainstream coalition" to oppose unilateral US military action in Iraq. The October 26 protest--one of the more prominent antiwar actions so far--had been organized by International ANSWER, a group dominated by the Workers World Party, a small revolutionary-socialist outfit with a fancy for North Korea's Kim Jong-Il and the goal of abolishing private property. So it was no surprise that the antiwar message--which, according to polls, resonates with at least one-third of Americans--was accessorized with the demands of the fringe far-left. Nor was it a shocker that many speakers did not adopt a give-inspections-a-chance position. The WWP, which hails world leaders that stand against US hegemony (such as Slobodan Milosevic), opposes weapons inspections in Iraq and has assumed the task of trying to steer the antiwar movement away from endorsing them. ANSWER eschews criticism of Saddam Hussein. Cortright, who was executive director of SANE from 1977 to 1987 (when it was the largest peace organization in the United States) and his colleagues in Washington were looking to assemble an opposition that would possess wider appeal, that would press a message that extends beyond a no-to-war demand and endorses an alternative to military action. In the meantime, television actor Mike Farrell (M*A*S*H and Providence) and longtime movie producer/director Robert Greenwald (Steal This Movie) had weeks earlier begun an effort to round up Hollywood folks for a statement opposing unilateral war against Iraq and supporting the United Nations' weapons-inspection process. "It was just the two of us with two computers," says Greenwald. "We sent out an email to friends, who sent it to their friends. We were surprised the response was so positive so soon. We thought people would be more hesitant." (Greenwald has just finished a movie for CBS on the Enron scandal, in which Farrell plays disgraced Enron chief Kenneth Lay; it is set to air on January 5.) In November, the Washington and Hollywood endeavors converged. And this week, several large organizations of a progressive bent--the NAACP, the National Council of Churches, the National Organization of Women--and 100 or so entertainers are launching the Win Without War coalition, described by its organizers as the "new mainstream coalition to oppose Bush war policy." The leaders of this project don't put down ANSWER, but this clearly is an attempt to recast and reshape the antiwar opposition. In the rollout, Hollywood went first. At a press conference on December 10 attended by actors Tony Shalhoub, David Clennon, Martin Sheen and Farrell, the entertainment crowd unveiled a letter to George W. Bush declaring its support for Win Without War. The short missive has been signed by Gillian Anderson, Kim Basinger, Matt Damon, David Duchovny, Laurence Fishburne, Jeananne Garofalo, Ethan Hawke, Helen Hunt, Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Lange, the members of REM, Noah Wyle, and dozens more, including two former US ambassadors. Their letter begins: "War talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary. We are patriotic Americans who share the belief that Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. We support rigorous UN weapons inspections to assure Iraq's effective disarmament." But the group argues "a preemptive military invasion of Iraq will harm America's national interests. Such a war will increase human suffering, arouse animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world." The Win Without War artists accept "the valid US and UN objective of disarming Saddam Hussein." They want to achieve that not by "first-strike attacks," but by "legal diplomatic means." At the press conference, retired Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll Jr. reported that he had spoken with retired General Anthony Zinni, former head of US Central Command, and Zinni agreed with the coalition's position. The organizations Cortright recruited for Win Without War--which also includes MoveOn.org and Working Assets--are expected to issue a formal announcement of the coalition's formation on December 11. Earlier in the week, Win Without War organizers noted ithe Sierra Club was considering signing up. No unions are yet participating, but there have been preliminary conversations between Win Without War reps and labor officials. The Win Without War message does differ from the antiwar declarations that only decry oil-greedy US imperialism. "We're trying to spread as wide a net as possible," says Greenwald. "Millions of Americans have doubts about the war. We want to get the word out: you're not alone. And it doesn't do any good to speak to a small group. We've designed this to try to create a broader impact." The coalition acknowledges that Saddam poses a problem--not a direct and immediate threat to the United States, as the White House suggests, but a threat that still needs to be confronted. "This is a different message beyond the traditional antiwar message," Cortright remarks. "We're for a sound, credible security policy that addresses threats. Saddam Hussein and Iraq are a potential threat, due to Iraq's weapons capacity, and there has to be a way to deal with it. Peaceful and diplomatic means have to be pursued. The positioning of this message is extremely important. We have the potential to build broad support." The coalition's central demand is, let the UN and its weapons inspectors do their jobs. But what if Saddam thwarts the inspectors or they find he has ready-to-go weapons of mass destruction? Would Win Without War back a UN-sanctioned military response? Elements of the coalition are pacifists, according to Cortright; most are not: "There might be circumstances where some of our groups would support [military action against Iraq], such as if there were explicit authorization from the UN Security Council." Greenwald notes that the artists' statement "leaves open the possibility of a multilateral attack. We felt it was premature to get into that. The biggest point of agreement among the signers is that the United States should follow the law, follow the Security Council." Cortright concedes that Win Without War got a late start. (Some Washington prognosticators are claiming--more as a hunch than an educated guess--that a US military assault could come as early as January.) "We didn't begin this until the October rally," he notes, "and it takes time to get a national coalition together." He expects the coalition to sponsor advertisements and draw on the membership of its component organizations to mount local actions. "Some of our groups might participate in big marches," he says, "but that's not our focus." The Hollywood contingent wants to deploy its celebs to gain media notice for the antiwar position. "We know we'll be dismissed by some, we will be infantalized," says Greenwald. "We'll have to see how far they go in this." One slogan being used by Win Without War is "Keep America Safe"--a sign its creators are hoping to encourage opposition to a unilateral invasion without bemoaning US interventionism, appearing soft on Saddam or terrorism, or coming across as harsh critics of America at home and abroad. (The latter may not always be easy. In an interview with UPI, actor Ed Asner, a signer of the Win Without War statement, said of the American public, "They're sheep. They like [Bush] enough to credit him with saving the nation after 9/11. Three thousand people get killed, and everybody thinks they're next on the list. The president comes along, and he's got his six-guns strapped on, and people think he's going to save them.") Also, the coalition is not preparing to compete with the WWP-controlled ANSWER and its highly motivated cadre of volunteers in the street-protest category. And its internal cohesion may be tested in the future, if events occur in Iraq that persuade the UN Security Council--or several of its members--that force must be used to deal with Saddam. But until such a development occurs, the main question is, can a self-professed "mainstream" antiwar coalition bearing a nuanced message succeed and attract many more people to the stop-the-war cause? There may not be enough time to derail precipitous US action, but before the antiwar movement even has a shot at preventing or curtailing a US first-strike, it must grow much larger. Bringing tens of thousands of protesters to Washington on a Saturday--or even the 100,000-plus ANSWER claimed for its October 26 event--is not going to impress or worry the decisionmakers of the nation's capital. That's a tiny slice of America. (See Asner's comments above.) The antiwar movement, as Bush might say, has to raise the pie higher--a lot higher. If Win Without War takes off, Americans critical or skeptical of the president's apparent policy will have an outlet for dissent unencumbered by the wackiness of the WWP. And the antiwar movement will benefit from the institutional strengths of the coalition's founding partners. Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Dick Cheney do not yet have to fear that citizen action is going to interfere with their plans. ("Look out, here comes Ed Begley Jr.") But an effective Win Without War coalition could move the antiwar campaign in a direction that causes the White House--or, maybe at best, other politicians and perhaps even the reportedly reluctant military--to take notice.

Guest

The Return Of Elliott Abrams
Israel's Likud Scores Big With White House Appointment

Jim Lobe writes for Inter Press Service, an international newswire, and for Foreign Policy in Focus, a joint project of the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies and the New Mexico-based Interhemispheric Resource Center.

Neo-conservative hawks in the administration of President George W. Bush have won a major battle against the State Department in the fight for control of United States Mideast policy with the surprise appointment of Iran-Contra figure Elliott Abrams to the region's top policy spot in the National Security Council (NSC).

The appointment, leaked to reporters by the White House, would for the first time place someone in a top Mideast policy spot who has publicly assailed the "land-for-peace" formula that has guided U.S. policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict since the 1967 war.

Abrams, who first came to national prominence as a controversial political appointee in the Reagan administration who later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress regarding the Iran-Contra scandal, has also opposed the Oslo peace process and called for Washington to "stand by Israel," rather than act as a neutral mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Yet another American Likudnik is moving to a position where they control Washington's agenda in the Mideast," said Rashid Khalidi, a Mideast historian at the University of Chicago. "This is a tragedy for the Israeli and American people." Likud is the rightwing Israeli party headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Currently the NSC staff chief for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations, Abrams will become Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the NSC for Southwest Asia, Near East and North African Affairs.

As such, he will be in charge of presenting policy papers and options for National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, whose own opinions have proven decisive in cases where the president receives conflicting views from hawks, represented by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, and the more-dovish Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who is often backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the uniformed military. Rice, a Russia specialist, had no experience with Mideast issues until her current job. Abrams will replace Zalmay Khalilzad, a prominent foreign-policy strategist whose views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are considered much more neutral than Abrams'. Khalilzad succeeded Clinton holdover Bruce Reidel early last year but was quickly consumed with his native-borne Afghanistan after being named special envoy to the interim president, Hamid Karzai. Khalilzad will now become "ambassador-at-large for free Iraqis" and is expected to play a key role in sorting out internal conflicts among the Iraqi opposition.

Beloved by right-wingers who hail him as both a hero for his championship of the Nicaraguan contras during the 1980s, Abrams first gained prominence as a leading neo-conservative when he served as Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights in the early 1980s and then as Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs.

In both positions, he clashed frequently and angrily with mainstream church groups and human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, who often accused him of covering up horrendous abuses committed by U.S.-backed governments, such as El Salvador and Guatemala, and rebel forces, such as the Contras and Angola's Unita, while, at the same time, exaggerating abuses by U.S. foes.

He was indicted by the Iran-Contra special prosecutor for giving false testimony about his role in illicitly raising money for the Contras but pleaded guilty to two lesser offenses of withholding information to Congress in order to avoid a trial and a possible jail term. He was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush along with a number of other Iran-Contra defendants in 1992.

His credibility for truth-telling was so low that at one point he was required to take an oath before testifying before Congressional committees. Most analysts here believe that he was given an NSC post by the new Bush administration because any other position would have required Senate confirmation.

After Reagan left office in 1989, Abrams, like a number of other prominent neo-conservatives, was not invited to serve in the Bush Sr. administration. Instead, he worked for a number of think tanks and eventually became head of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) where he wrote widely on foreign-policy issues, including the Middle East, and the threats posed by U.S. secular society to Jewish identity. He also remained an integral part of the tight-knit neo-conservative foreign-policy community in Washington that revolved around one of his early mentors, Richard Perle and former UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Then-House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich furthered his public rehabilitation by appointing him to the new U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in 1999 for which he also served as chairman in 2000-01. Muslim groups here have complained about his refusal to criticise Israeli practices in the occupied territories and Jerusalem, such as sealing off Muslim holy sites, as violations of religious freedom.

He is not known as an Arab-Israeli specialist but has long favoured Likud positions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and even assailed former Likud Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for caving into U.S. pressure to respect the Oslo peace process. Shortly after the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifida at the end of September 2000, he criticised mainstream Jewish groups for calling for a resumption of peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, as well as a halt to the violence.

Like Perle, as well as Rumsfeld's civilian advisers like Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith and Cheney's top deputy, I. Lewis Libby, he has favoured a Mideast strategy based on the overwhelming military power of both the United States and Israel and on a military alliance between Israel and Turkey against hostile Arab states, particularly Syria and Iraq, in order to create a "broader strategic context" that would ensure whatever state might emerge on Palestinian territory would be friendly to United States and Israeli interests and that could force Syria to withdraw from Lebanon. He has long favoured forceful action to oust Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

He has accused Palestinian Authority leader Yassir Arafat of being an untrustworthy partner under the Oslo process and is believed to have used his previous NSC Democracy position to push for his ouster from power as part of a thorough reform process. That view, which was strongly backed by Rumsfeld and Cheney's offices, was eventually accepted by Bush last June, over strenuous objections by the State Department and senior aides for Bush's father, notably his former national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft.

In his new position, according to John Prados, a historian who has written about the National Security Council, Abrams should be in an excellent position to influence U.S. policy on the Mideast, particularly in "delaying and/or halting policy on the 'roadmap'" that is being developed by the "Quartet" -- the United States, European Union, Russia, and the United Nations -- on resuming political negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Indeed, it already appears that British hopes for a major meeting of the Quartet on the roadmap before the end of the year are fading quickly.

Abrams is expected to support Israel's recent requests both to put off discussion of the 'roadmap' until after Israel's elections at the end of next month and for some 14 billion dollars in military aid and loan guarantees to help the country cope with economic hard times.

Abrams' influence on policy is already clear. For the first time ever the Bush administration voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution last week that called on Israel to repeal the Jerusalem law that declares that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel."

In the past, Washington has abstained on the issue, insisting that the the status of Jerusalem must be determined by negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Abrams has in the past assailed that vote, as well as Washington's refusal to recogize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, on the grounds that that such a position "tantalizes the Palestinians with the prospect of forcing the Jews to abandon Jerusalem."

As you might expect, Arab-Americans responded to the appointment with a mix of resignation and foreboding.

James Zogby, the director of the Arab-American Institute (AAI) here said Abrams' appointment sends "a very dangerous message to the Arab world" and adds to the "lock that the neo-con set now has on all the major instruments of decision-making except for the State Department."

Khalidi also pointed to Abrams' history as being less than forthcoming with information that may contradict his own views. "He will be yet another filter blocking reality from reaching the president," he said.

Guest

100,000 offer to be human shields:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2003/01/05/100-000-offer-to-be-human-shields.php

Alpha

Subj: Iraq: 'Devastating' War Planned by Warmongering Bush & Blair
Date: 1/8/03 3:35:17 PM Pacific Standard Time

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Jan. 8) - Coalition warplanes struck air defense targets in southern Iraq on Wednesday for the second time this week, and a key Iraqi official said the United States and Britain were bent on war with Baghdad to subjugate the Middle East.

In Moscow, meanwhile, Iraq's ambassador to Russia dismissed rumors Saddam Hussein might go into exile to avoid war and said the Iraqi leader would ''fight to the last drop of blood'' to defend his country.

Concerns war is imminent have mounted, with the United States and Britain announcing the dispatch of thousands more troops and weapons to the Persian Gulf region because of misgivings about Iraq's commitment to abandon weapons of mass destruction.

Iraq insists it has no such weapons and maintains that claims to the contrary by Washington and London are simply a pretext for war.

''The aggressors in Washington and London are preparing for a devastating aggression against ... the people of Iraq, and they would like once again to destroy the City of Peace (Baghdad) as they did in 1991,'' Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz told a visiting South African delegation Wednesday.

Aziz said U.N. arms inspectors, who returned to Iraq in November after a four-year hiatus, had strayed beyond the search for weapons of mass destruction.

''They are searching for other information about Iraq's conventional military capabilities, the Iraqi scientific and industrial capability in the civilian area, and also espionage questions,'' Aziz said.

U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki denied those allegations and said U.N. officials had received no formal complaint from Iraqi authorities about alleged espionage.

The United States has accused Saddam of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and says it will use force if necessary to disarm him. Iraq insists it has destroyed its biological and chemical weapons and halted its nuclear program and the making of banned missiles. There have been no known instances of serious problems encountered by the inspectors since they began work Nov. 27.

Nevertheless, the pace of the U.S.-British buildup has accelerated. The American battle staff that would run a military campaign against Iraq is beginning to assemble at a command post in the small gulf state of Qatar, U.S. officials said.

Tens of thousands more combat forces are scheduled to flow into the region over the next few weeks. Some U.S. soldiers landed Wednesday in neighboring Kuwait, but U.S. officials refused to say how many or identify their units.

Among the other forces expected to deploy from U.S. bases in the next several days are F-15E and F-15C fighters and B-1B bombers. Still, U.S. and British officials insist war is neither imminent nor inevitable.

As the buildup continues, U.S. warplanes struck Wednesday against air defense communication sites between the cities of Al Kut and An Nasiriyah. The U.S. Central Command said the attacks occurred after Iraqi air defense forces fired anti-aircraft artillery at U.S. planes patrolling the southern ''no fly'' zone and Iraqi military aircraft entered the zone.

On Monday, U.S. planes targeted two Iraqi military radars near the city of Al Amarah. Iraqi officials said two people were killed and 13 were injured in Monday's attacks.

Meanwhile, the official Iraqi News Agency said Saddam held a third day of meetings Wednesday with military and militia commanders, encouraging them not to fear a technologically superior foe.

''In aerial combat, there is a disparity in weapons, but on the ground, men fight with their guns and it's enough for the men to have bombs, bullets, a loaf of bread, water and a gun,'' Saddam was quoted as saying. As long as Iraqi forces receive the support of the people, ''the enemy will be defeated,'' Saddam added.

With tensions rising, Philippine Foreign Minister Blas Ople said Arab governments were trying to convince Saddam to step down and go into exile. Ople, speaking to reporters in Manila, said he learned of those efforts by Arab ambassadors whom he refused to identify.

The German newspaper Tageszeitung said Russian officials had been in Baghdad since November evaluating chances of Saddam stepping down. In a report for publication Thursday, the newspaper said Russian President Vladimir Putin would send a special envoy to Baghdad to finalize details if Saddam appeared willing to accept the Russian offer of exile.

Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency quoted an unidentified ''high-ranking Russian official'' as denying that Moscow was working toward Saddam's departure, saying there were ''no grounds for the Iraqi leader to request political asylum anywhere, including in Russia.''

Iraq's ambassador to Russia, Abbas Khalaf, told the Interfax news agency that Saddam will not leave his country and will ''fight to the last drop of blood.''

Khalaf called reports that Saddam might leave the country ''absolute nonsense'' and ''part of Washington and London's psychological war against Iraq,'' Interfax said.

AP-NY-01-08-03 1508EST

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American & Brit Volunteers as 'Human Shield' in Iraq - page 2