January 2003

LONDON – The continental Europeans, Germany and France in particular, made a grave tactical mistake last week in making it clear to Washington that they felt the UN inspections were working and that the inspectors should be given a lot more time. They appear to have undermined one of two people who have some chance of bending President George Bush’s ear on the subject of going to war- Secretary of State Colin Powell. (The other is British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.) They should do some homework- and not depend on filtered reports from advisors- and read for themselves Powell’s autobiography. Colin Powell’s deepest roots are not in Harlem where he was born but in Jamaica from whence came his parents. He remains the quintessential outsider. His music is calypso and reggae, not Motown and soul; his favourite drink is Appleton’s rum, not beer or whiskey and comfort food for him is...

LONDON – On November 25th 1969 in the midst of the war in Vietnam, President Richard Nixon, besieged by protests that he was a war monger, threw out a sop to public opinion. The U.S., he announced, had decided to renounce the possession and use of lethal and incapacitating biological weapons. He declared that the government would destroy its stockpile of biological weapons. “These important decisions”, said Nixon, “have been taken as an initiative towards peace. Mankind already carries in its own hands too many of the seeds of its own destruction.” Privately Nixon was convinced that they had little military utility for the U.S. whilst at the same time he feared that, if the big powers continued to depend on biological weapons, one day a “rogue” state might one day get its hands on the knowledge of how to make them and use them against American cities. Sending the...

LONDON – On November 25th 1969 in the midst of the war in Vietnam, President Richard Nixon, besieged by protests that he was a war monger, threw out a sop to public opinion. The U.S., he announced, had decided to renounce the possession and use of lethal and incapacitating biological weapons. He declared that the government would destroy its stockpile of biological weapons. “These important decisions”, said Nixon, “have been taken as an initiative towards peace. Mankind already carries in its own hands too many of the seeds of its own destruction.” Privately Nixon was convinced that they had little military utility for the U.S. whilst at the same time he feared that, if the big powers continued to depend on biological weapons, one day a “rogue” state might one day get its hands on the knowledge of how to make them and use them against American cities. Sending the...

LONDON – Washington and its closest allies- at least those who try to put themselves in Washington’s shoes- now realize they are beleaguered by the Pandora’s Box of nuclear and missile proliferation and that they have no adequate policy to deal with them. Their moral authority is all but used up, just when they need it most, to deal with Iraq first and now North Korea. George Bush must be wishing he were Lula in Brazil- cancel the order for new military jets, tell the nation the money is going to relieve poverty and meanwhile use the credibility earned to keep the Brazilian economy on a responsible course, even though that will incur quite a bit of belt-tightening for everybody. Lula, a week into office, must be already set to win re-election. But what equivalent moral authority does George Bush have in order to win over the hearts and minds...

Published bySoka Gakkai SGI President Ikeda’s Essay Series LIFE IS WONDERFUL “We live in crazy times, we are crazy,” said a young Muslim mother in Sarajevo.(1) Ten million land mines were planted in the former Yugoslavia. Some of them were designed to resemble chocolate eggs or ice creams. Why? To tempt children to pick them up. One little girl was instantly killed by a bomb planted in a teddy bear. Who deployed such weapons? Who built them? Who profited by selling them? Why can’t we stop them? What can we do? Interview after Interview According to Scandinavian peace researcher Dr. Jan Øberg, cofounder and director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (TFF), the important thing is not to leave the area of conflict, but to stick close to the ground and listen to the voices of ordinary citizens, and to then make those voices heard around the...

LETTER FROM BAGHDAD Dear Friends, From 3rd- 8th January 2003 a group of NGO representatives and former UN officials was able to meet with cabinet ministers in Baghdad including Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, Foreign Minister Nagi Sabri and Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid, as well as to talk with doctors, teachers and scientists. We had the opportunity to meet ordinary Iraqis and visit sites recently inspected for weapons of mass destruction. The aim was to contribute to efforts to prevent war and to gather information not available in the western press, particularly with regard to the human situation. Attached is a brief summary of a very intense series of visits, as well as suggestions responding to the frequent question asked by citizens of western countries “What can we do to help prevent war?” Please circulate these documents as widely as possible, asking NGOs and individuals to act quickly on...

LONDON – For the moment the great debate about going to war with Iraq is cast almost exclusively in the dark shades of realpolitik- will it achieve its objective and disarm Iraq once and for all? Will it lead to the introduction of a pro Western democratic regime? Will it open the way for a realignment of dictatorial Arab regimes that tolerate, even encourage, anti-American feeling? But the morality of war is given very short shrift. This week Pope John Paul 11 spoke out, saying war in Iraq “would be a defeat for humanity”. Many people, of many different cultures and persuasions often tack to a common standard when it comes to the making of war- at least in principle. Buddhist teaching asks, “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hateful”. Confucianism asks, “Do not to others what you would have them do to you.” Hindu teaching...

LONDON – For the moment the great debate about going to war with Iraq is cast almost exclusively in the dark shades of realpolitik- will it achieve its objective and disarm Iraq once and for all? Will it lead to the introduction of a pro Western democratic regime? Will it open the way for a realignment of dictatorial Arab regimes that tolerate, even encourage, anti-American feeling? But the morality of war is given very short shrift. This week Pope John Paul 11 spoke out, saying war in Iraq “would be a defeat for humanity”. Many people, of many different cultures and persuasions often tack to a common standard when it comes to the making of war- at least in principle. Buddhist teaching asks, “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hateful”. Confucianism asks, “Do not to others what you would have them do to you.” Hindu teaching...

Utrikesminister Anna Lindhs tal inför FN-dagen handlade bland annat om Irak-frågan. För 12 år sedan beslutade FN:s säkerhetsråd om nedrustning av Iraks massförstörande vapen, inspektioner av denna nedrustning och sanktioner för att undanröja det hot mot internationell fred och säkerhet som Iraks angrepp på och ockupation av Kuwait hade manifesterat. Dagens Irak utgör inget hot mot internationell fred och säkerhet Vad har hänt under dessa 12 år? Under ledning av den svenska ambassadören Rolf Ekéus genomfördes fram till 1998 framgångsrika inspektioner som undanröjde det meste av Iraks biologiska och kemiska vapen. Ingen tillförlitlig expertis hävdar att Irak ens är i närheten av att ha kärnvapen. Sanktionerna har, tillsammans med de bombningar av Iraks infrastruktur, som i strid med folkrätten och utan FN-mandat utförts av USA och Storbritannien, krossat landets ekonomi och skapat en katastrofal livssituation för dess 23 miljoner invånare. Iraks militära kapacitet är, oavsett en viss import av konventionella...

The speech by Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh for United Nations Day was to a great extent about Iraq. Twelve years ago, the Security Council of the UN decided to take measures to fully disarm Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, by applying sanctions and imposing inspections, in order to remove the threat to international peace and security posed by Iraq, a threat manifested by the nation’s aggression and occupation of Kuwait. What has happened during those twelve years? Highly successful inspections were conducted under the leadership of the Swedish ambassador Rolf Ekéus. Those inspections led to the destruction of most of Iraq’s biological and chemical weapons. No reliable expertise claims that Iraq is even close to possessing nuclear weapons. Along with the bombing of Iraq’s infrastructure by the United States and Britain (without UN mandate and in total discord with international human rights agreements), the sanctions have crushed the country’s...

12 november 2002 Udenrigsminister Anna Lindhs tale for FN-dagen handlede bl. a. om Irak. For 12 år siden besluttede FNs sikkerhedsråd sig for afrustning af Iraks masseødelæggelsesvåben, inspektioner af denne afrustning og sanktioner for at fjerne den trussel mod international fred og sikkerhed, som Iraks angreb på og besættelse af Kuwait udgjorde. Dagens Irak er ingen trussel mod international fred og sikkerhed. Hvad er der sket i løbet af de 12 år? Under ledelse af den svenske ambassadør Rolf Ekéus gennemførtes frem til 1998 vellykkede inspektioner, som fjernede de fleste af Iraks biologiske og kemiske våben. Ingen troværdig ekspertise hævder, at Irak så meget som nærmer sig at have kernevåben. Sanktionerne har, sammen med de bombninger af Iraks infrastruktur, som i strid med folkeretten og uden FNmandat er foretaget af USA og England, ødelagt landets økonomi og skabt en katastrofal livssituation for dets 23 millioner indbyggere. Iraks militære kapacitet er,...