Archive 1986 – 2017

Some time ago, CBS’s Dan Rather interviewed President Saddam Hussein who at one point suggests that he and President Bush ought to have a televised dialogue to avoid war and to give their frank views so people could judge their arguments and views. This is how it was stated and how Rather reacted (excerpts): What makes this so interesting, so revealing? Dan Rather has worked with the spoken and written word for more than 50 years. At first, it seems that he is surprised and needs to clarify the President’s proposal, not sure that he has understood what he hears. When it is explained again to him, he hints that it could be a joke – or perhaps recognises that what he thought may have been a joke was not a joke. Then, patiently, the Iraqi President explains why it is not a joke and why people should be able...

Mediekriget är högintensivt dessa dagar. Buggade USA FN-delegaters telefoner? Varför använde sig brittisk säkerhetstjänst av en studentuppsats när det gällde att presentera bevis för krig? Sören Sommelius är konfunderad. “Kriget startar på torsdag” , utropade Expressen över löpet och förstasidan i fredags med de största svarta bokstäverna. Många andra svenska medier deltar också skamlöst i att piska upp krigspsykos. Ändå är det som sker i Sverige en viskning jämfört med de krigstrummor som mullrar i USA. CNN erövrade sin position vid förra Golfkriget. Det senaste halvåret har kanalen haft “breaking news” i dramat “Showdown Iraq” mest varje dag. Än värre är Fox News, en amerikansk kanal som via satellit kan ses i Sverige. Fox spelar skamlöst på människors rädsla. Man uppmanar befolkningen att inrätta speciella inplastade skyddsrum i sina hem och på arbetsplatser. “Experter” uttalar sig om hur man ska förhålla sig vid ett biologiskt eller kemiskt anfall på USA (från...

Kofi Annan was certainly correct to repudiate President Bush’s contention that unless the Security Council lends support to American warmaking, it will follow the League of Nations down the path to futility. Indeed, the greater danger to the UN is to go along with the US demands or even to respond to the impending war with calculated indifference. It should be remembered that the League failed primarily because of its impotence in the face of aggressive warmaking by Japan, Italy, and Germany during the 1930s that led to the subjugation of such weaker states as Manchuria, Abyssinia (later Ethiopia), and Czechoslovakia. In the end, the UN will rise or fall to the extent that it opposes uses of international force that are in violation of the UN Charter, whether these uses are by large countries or smaller ones. It is not the moment to commend the UN uncritically for seeming...

Det kanske inte är den mest kända av FNs fredsmissioner, men vi kommer säkerligen att få höra mer om den inom kort eftersom den är placerad pågränsen mellan Kuwait och Irak. Dess namn är UNIKOM (UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission), Läs om den här. UNIKOM etablerades 1991 av Säkerhetsrådets resolution 687. Under TFF’s analys-resa till Irak i januari i år besökte vi denna FN-mission. Enligt de senaste dagarnas rapporter i pressen har USAs Marinkår och amerikanska fordon gått in i denna demilitariserade zon (DMZ) mellan Irak och Kuwait. På Kuwaits sida har stängsel tagits ned och 7 grindar satts upp, förmodligen förberedelser inför en invasion och ockupation av Irak. Vi, artikelförfattarna, är inga experter på internationell lag och skall inte bedöma huruvida detta är en kränkning av Säkerhetsrådets resolution och/eller delar av annan internationell lag, eller om det finns något finstilt skrivet någonstans som legitimerar detta under speciella omständigheter. Dock betvivlar vi...

For many decision-makers it is convenient to focus on the brutality of the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein and leave the deeply inhuman consequences of our sanctions over the last 12 years untold. But, in the eyes of a visitor to Iraq, the moral high ground of the West has crumbled. Before going to Iraq, we too were quite ignorant about the facts and complexities; we were shocked by the reality. During our fact-finding missions we collected statistics from international organisations, interviewed virtually all the heads of missions of the United Nations and humanitarian organisations. We met with Iraqi officials and visited hospitals. Playing down the effects of our sanctions – without evidence Governments that have no embassies and no independent fact-finding in Iraq can hardly know much. They must base their policies on what is politically correct and convenient for their policies in relation to other issues and other...

Lägg ihop fem saker: – och här är exempel på vad du får! Sammankoppla Tokyo och Bagdad, FN och musik, Buddism och Islam! Under TFF:s uppdrag i Irak förra månaden, träffade Christian Hårleman och jag Francis Dubois, platschefen för UNDP, FN:s Utvecklingsfond. Vi visste sedan tidigare besök att UNDP &endash; liksom så många andra FN-organisationer i Irak &endash; gör ett fantastiskt jobb för (och med) irakiska medborgare. Vi visste att detta kontor, precis som så många andra kontor världen runt, är det riktiga FN, och inte New York. Vi insåg snabbt att Francis är en man med genuint intresse för irakisk kultur och konst. Så fort man träffar honom vet man att han är speciell &endash; nyfiken, ödmjuk, beläst och väldigt vänlig (Läs om UNDP i allmänhet och använd rullgardinsmenyn för att se vad UNDP gör i Irak. Där finns en artikel från BBC om Bagdads blomstrande konstscen, där Francis också finns omnämnd). Ett...

Put together five things: 1. Modern technology, in this case aeroplanes, e-mail, phones and Internet 2. The recognition that every human being can be a peace movement 3. The idea of dialogue between civilisations and religions 4. Art in general and music in particular 5. Add a dose of creativity, or vision – and here is an example of what you get! Connecting Tokyo and Baghdad & the UN and music & Buddhism and Islam During TFF’s mission to Iraq last month, Christian Harleman and I met the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, Mr. Francis Dubois. We knew from an earlier visit that UNDP – like so many UN organisations in Iraq – do a fantastic job for (and with) Iraqi citizens. We knew that this mission like so many other UN missions around the world is the real UN, not New York. We quickly recognised that Francis...

For many decision-makers it is convenient to focus on the brutality of the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein and leave the deeply inhuman consequences of our sanctions over the last 12 years untold. But, in the eyes of a visitor to Iraq, the moral high ground of the West has crumbled. Before going to Iraq, we too were quite ignorant about the facts and complexities; we were shocked by the reality. During our fact-finding missions we collected statistics from international organisations, interviewed virtually all the heads of missions of the United Nations and humanitarian organisations. We met with Iraqi officials and visited hospitals. Playing down the effects of our sanctions – without evidence Governments that have no embassies and no independent fact-finding in Iraq can hardly know much. They must base their policies on what is politically correct and convenient for their policies in relation to other issues and other...

LONDON – A rare shake of the dice has given three African countries- Angola, Guinea and Cameroon, 20% of the vote on the UN Security Council. In effect, if cleverly used, this gives them a swing vote, enough to convince the U.S. and the U.K. that they are not going to garner the nine votes necessary to approve an attack on Iraq and perhaps trigger chaos and upheaval across the Islamic world, but contra wise, if they vote the other way, enough to convince France, Russia and China that a veto would be an isolated one, whose only lasting legacy would be a UN from which America and its large financial resources could well withdraw. No wonder the Africans are not enjoying the pressure that history, events and chance have thrust upon them. Yet good may well come of the test. For Africa’s own self-esteem, it is a badly needed boost...

As citizens of a democracy, it is our duty to ensure the lawful behavior of our federal, state, and local governments. And to this end, let us be very clear. Whether wise or unwise, a US-led war against Iraq without the approval of the UN Security Council and without convincing evidence of an immediate threat to the territory and people of the United States would be unlawful. It would be unlawful as breach of our solemn obligations under the UN Charter, a treaty to which the United States is a party and the closest thing we have to a world constitution. We dare not forget former President Ronald Reagan’s indictment of the Soviet Union as “an evil empire” not least because, he said, it could not be trusted to uphold its Charter commitments and other treaty promises. Because it would constitute a breach of our treaty commitments, a US-led war...

Lättinformation om det förestående Irakkriget och kampen mot “Saddams onda imperium” presenteras i två nya guideböcker. Sören Sommelius är skeptisk. boken DESERT WARThe new Conflict between the US and IraqAn Illustrated Guide to: Attack Options, Aircraft, Battle Scenarios, Weapons Technology, Political and Economic Factors and moreAv: John T CampbellNew American Library, 2003 CONFLICT IRAQWeapons and Tactics of the US and Iraqi ForcesAv: David MillerMBI, 2003 Nu har de publicerats , nya illustrerade guider – inte till Greklands tempel eller Thailands stränder – nej guider till det kommande Irakkrigets värld, med information om alla dess extraordinära trestjärniga inslag. Jag har kommit över två sådana skrifter. Båda har publicerats i år, med syftet att orientera läsarna i det väntade Irakkrigets mentala landskap. John T Campbells “Desert War” presenterar krigets “förutsättningar”. Jag sätter citationstecken runt ordet. Hela sanningen är det nog inte frågan om. Det här lätt-information, avsedd för den stora amerikanska publik som via medierna...

There is little doubt that the White House seems resolved to wage war against Iraq, however weak its legal case, and despite the withering away of support even at home. It is probably late in the day to stop this militarist juggernaught, but it is not too late to try. There are several constructive steps that could still be taken at this stage. A UN General Assembly resolution, relying on its residual authority to uphold world peace, could convene an emergency session of the General Assembly to oppose recourse to war against Iraq, as well as a reaffirmation of the Charter rules governing the use of force. It would also be significant if Congress could be persuaded to reconsider its premature authorization of the use of force by the President, hold high profile public hearings on the legal and political case for and against war, debate, ideally, pass a restrictive...