4/10: Iraq - Liberation of Occupation?

**US-UK has Occupied Iraq, We need to pause and think about what's next for the peace movement**

We must also ask three important strategic questions: Who; What; How, Andrea from United for Peace and Social Justice raised some good questions we all need to think:

1. WHO do we want to work with and be in coalition with? What communities?

What individuals? What groups and organizations? What churches? What

leaders?

2. WHAT do we want to work on? What issues engage the coalition's current members? What issues will motivate others? What will resonate with the general public? What issues are winnable in the near-term? What issues are winnable in the long-term?

3. HOW do we work on these issues? Rallies? Educational forums? Identifying candidates? Endorsing candidates? Registering voters? Doing sit-ins? Lobbying?



**Latest Iraq Body Count on estimated civilian casualties:

1140-1376

**Latest News from Iraq:

http://www.peacenowar.net/Iraq/News/April%2010%2003--News.htm

**4/10: Key Developments in Iraq

Latest developments in the Iraq crisis from Al-Jazeera

At Baghdad:

US troops come under fire in west Baghdad - US forces may be camped in the centre of the capital but Iraqi fighters continue to pose deadly threat

Anarchy amid the euphoria - Looting and lawlessness has filled the vacuum caused by the collapse of the Saddam Hussein government

Continuing fighting threatens to aggravate law and order crisis - New US administration will take some weeks but there appear to be no plans to fill the security vacuum that has thousands of Iraqis living in fear

ICRC suspends work in Baghdad - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) temporarily suspended its operations in Baghdad on Wednesday after recovering the body of Canadian staff member Vatche Arslanian, who was killed after being caught in crossfire.




**Talking Points for the Iraq Regime's collapse**

http://www.peacenowar.net/Iraq/News/April%209%2003--Talking%20Points.htm

From: Omar Jabara [ojabara@mgacommunications.com]

Date: April 9 2003

No one ever doubted we could take over Iraq, but was it the right thing to do for America? If Bush wants to once-and-for-all prove that his intention behind invading Iraq was to free the Iraqi people, he will turn over administration of that country to the United Nations, which is the only body in the world with the legal authority to do so. Anything short of this will prove that the conquest of Iraq was nothing less than a power and oil grab. Below are some talking points you may want to consider.

Talking points:

· No one ever doubted we would win the battle of Baghdad, but we've lost the war that matters most to our security and that is the war for the hearts and minds of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims.

· The Bush Administration's unnecessary and unprovoked conquest of Iraq has become the Arab and Muslim worlds' September 11th.

· In spite of the Bush Administration's claims, it was repeatedly shown that the Iraqi regime had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda or September 11th. Yet, the big winner as a result of the Bush Administration's conquest of Iraq is Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic extremists.

· By taking over an Arab country that was clearly shown to pose no threat to the United States, the Bush Administration's conquest of Iraq has made us less safe, not more.

· How is it that a country that was supposed to be such a threat to the United States was conquered with such relative ease? What happened to the destruction of dams, bridges, oil fields, and unleashed chemical weapons the Bush Administration said we would see the Iraqi regime resort to?

· Was Iraq really a threat or was that just a ploy to deceive the public into supporting the Bush Administration's conquest of that country?

· Naturally, Iraqis are going to celebrate the toppling of the oppressive Iraqi regime. This doesn't mean they are going to like our occupation of their country.

· When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, the Lebanese threw rice and flowers on the Israelis, welcoming them as liberators from the domination of the PLO. We now know what later happened in Lebanon. Remember, there was no Hizbollah before Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982.

· The Administration is misguided to think post-war Iraq will be like post-war Japan or Germany. Gaza or Lebanon are the more appropriate and likely scenarios for this Middle Eastern country.

· The Bush Administration wants us to now believe we took over Iraq to free the Iraqi people. It is the only justification they have left since all the others (links to Al-Qaeda; nuclear weapons; missiles) have all been shown to be fabrications. [see http://www.prioritypeace.org/WarTruth-3.pdf].

· If the Bush Administration wants to prove that its intention behind invading Iraq was to liberate the Iraqi people, then we must immediately give the administration of Iraq to the United Nations, which is the only body that has the legal authority to do so.

· The best way to support our troops now is to bring them home to their families and turn the administration of Iraq over the United Nations.



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