Here is an important article, published two weeks ago by the NY Times, it is worth to be read:

The dismal war that wasn't a war,

it was a criminal attack...

New York Times

Published: January 31, 2007

To calculate the price that Iraqis have paid for the American misadventure in their country, you have to deal in big, round, horrifying numbers. Civilians killed last year: 34,000. Driven from their homes within Iraq: 1.8 million. Fled to other countries: an additional 2 million, and growing. The number of Iraqis who have found refuge in the United States is easier to pin down. This country has admitted a grand total of 466 Iraqi refugees since 2003.

However President Bush tries to manage the endgame of his dismal war, America has an obligation to the Iraqis whose lives it has upended. It owes a particular debt to those who have faced incredible dangers working with American forces as interpreters, guides and contractors. These allies — and their families — have become a haunted and hunted group, branded as traitors and targeted for kidnapping and assassination by insurgents and militias.

By any measure, the Bush administration is failing them. The current price tag for the war is $8 billion a month, yet the State Department plans to spend only $20 million in the coming fiscal year to help shelter Iraqi refugees overseas and to resettle them here. A special visa program to resettle Iraqi and Afghan military translators has been capped at 50 people a year and has a six-year waiting list.

Of all the Vietnam-era mistakes the country has been repeating lately, indifference to refugees is especially unforgivable. The administration can start addressing the problem by devoting a far greater number of refugee slots — currently 70,000 a year — to people from Iraq and Afghanistan. It can streamline entry procedures, which should be a manageable task for those who have already been vetted to work with the United States military.

It should move quickly to organize a conference with Iraq's neighbors to discuss ways to cope better with the human suffering and the potentially destabilizing effects of the rising human tide. And it should answer an urgent appeal for funds by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is seeking $60 million over the next 12 months to shelter and protect displaced Iraqis.

Does it really need to be said yet again that in these perilous times the way to win trustworthy allies is to be one?

Labels: it was a criminal attack..., The dismal war that wasn't a war

I have received this message from Ms. Hana al-Bayaty concerning the three Iraqi women who are facing death sentence while they were defending themselves and their families against criminal attacks by pro-puppet governments and pro-US occupation militias.

And here is the letter of Ms. Hana al-Bayaty,

please do something to save these three brave women.

Dear all,

Underneath is a detailed document summarizing the actions that could be taken even legally, with all relevant contacts, Please forward it to all organizations and individuals who might make a move.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dear all,

These impending executions are illegal, immoral, summary and an outrage. For context, I encourage all to read the last piece by Layla Anwar and another posted on Truth-About-Iraqis.

There are at least four sets of things we can do:

1. Spread information in all of our networks, and in the media, on the imminent summary execution of the three Iraqi women. Contact local and national newspapers. Build pressure that way.
2. Organize protests at US or Iraqi embassies worldwide.
3. Pressure key human rights practitioners to intervene. Find below suggestions.
4. Written protest to the holding authorities (Iraqi Ministry of Justice and the occupation). Find below draft letters.

Points 1 and 2 people can organize themselves.

Please keep us updated on your actions. Send mail to

ian@powerfoundation.org

and

hanaalbayaty@gmail.com

3. Pressuring key human rights practitioners to intervene

We need pressure feeding upwards and downwards from all levels. I and others — including legal specialists — will work to submit urgent action petitions to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Others could usefully put pressure on (click on hyperlinks for emails):

• the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Write directly to High Commissioner Louise Arbour and Cc this email. Mark all mails "Urgent Action". +41-22-917-9022 (fax) It may be useful to review the OHCHR model complaint form.
• the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq. Contact director Said Arikat or information officers Furat Al-Jamil and Adnan Jarrar, or Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq Ashraf Qazi directly. Mark all mails "Urgent Action". (no known fax number — email only)
• the EU Commissioner for Human Rights. Mark all mails "Urgent Action". + 33 (0)3-9021-5053 (fax)

NOTE: The response (if any) from Geneva and Brussels might well be that this is a issue for the Iraqi government, over which they have no power or influence. Kindly remind them that there is an occupation, and that there is no such thing as national jurisdiction under occupation. Remind them that several European countries are contributing, in one way or another, to Multinational Force-Iraq.

Human rights organizations can also be pressed to issue urgent alerts on this case and to take a position. Amnesty International already has and should be supported in this action and pressed to go further. Others (like Human Rights Watch) should be alerted and pressed to act.

Relevant human rights instruments:

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War

UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty

Iraqi Law of Criminal Proceedings with Amendments (1971)

4. Written protest to the holding authorities

Individuals must decide for themselves if they are willing to take the step of addressing the puppet forces of the occupation, or indeed the occupation itself.

a) Iraqi government:

Minister of Justice Hashim Al-Shilbi (Cc this email and also his deputy)

Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki

President Jalal Talabani

Draft letter of enquiry/protest to Iraqi authorities:

To Iraqi authorities in occupied Iraq

Cc: International Committee of the Red Cross

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN representant in Iraq

IRIN news agency

Amnesty International

Al-Jazeera, Reuters, BBC

RE: The Imminent Execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad

I am appalled by reports of the conviction and imminent execution of Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) after unfair trials during which they had no access to legal counsel and faced charges that cannot be brought in national courts in Iraq.

All three are held in Baghdad’s Al-Kadhimiya Prison. Two have small children beside them. The 1-year-old daughter of Liqa was born in prison. All three women deny the charges brought against them. Amnesty International has highlighted their case in an "Urgent Alert": http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140052007

Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad were reportedly all convicted under Article 156 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which reads: "Any person who willfully commits an act with intent to violate the independence of the country or its unity or the security of its territory and that act, by its nature, leads to such violation is punishable by death."

Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad are accused of being part of — or taking part in — the Iraqi resistance. These are not charges that the Iraqi government can bring upon anyone. International law affirms: "the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle” (UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43, adopted 3 December 1982). If these women are to be detained at all, international law demands that they be treated as combatants and prisoners of war. As POWs, all three women enjoy protected rights under the Third Geneva Convention. They cannot be tried and executed summarily. Strict conditions apply to their treatment in all respects.

Once again, all three women deny the charges brought against them.

In light of the above:

I add my name to the many now demanding the immediate release of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

I add my name to the many who demand, as a minimum, that all three women are given immediate independent legal counsel, as is their right under international humanitarian law, whether treated as combatants (Article 99 of the Third Geneva Convention) or civilians (Article 113 of the Fourth Geneva Convention). Iraq and the United States, individually and severally, are also bound to the principles of international human rights law, including Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to fair trial.

I add my name to the many who oppose completely the execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. Their execution would not only be immoral and an outrage, it would be illegal under international law. The fact alone that they had no access to legal counsel makes their imminent execution "arbitrary", "summary" and "extra-judicial" by definitional legal standards.

Civilization reviles the death penalty in all cases. I remind you that Article 3 of the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty (ECOSOC resolution 1984/50, adopted 25 May 1984) stipulates that the death penalty cannot be imposed on new mothers. Further, Article 5 demands that no death penalty be passed unless the legal process is competent and all due process rights are safeguarded, in particular by allowing defendants free and regular access to legal counsel. None of the women was able to consult a lawyer. Article 6 of the UN Safeguards guarantees that anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to appeal before a court of higher jurisdiction. Article 8 of the UN Safeguards demands that capital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal.

I also remind you that holding detainees in an unsafe location is a violation of Article 85 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In light of the above:

I request immediate information on the well-being of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

I request information on the legal standing of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

I request detailed information on the charges Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad have faced and been convicted on.

I await your timely reply to these requests. Kindly confirm the full names and dates of birth of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad in any communication.

Sincerely,

[ Signature here]

Cc addresses:

Cc addresses:

International Committee of the Red Cross: + 41-22-733-2057 (fax) and Email.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: +41-22-917-9008 (fax) and Email.

UN representant in Iraq: +1-212-963-2800 (fax) and Email.

IRIN News Agency: +971 (4) 368-1024 (fax) and Email.

Amnesty International: +44-20-7956-1157 (fax) and Email.

Al-Jazeera: +974-442-6865 (fax) and Email.

Reuters: +44-20-7542-4064 (fax) and Email.

BBC: +44-20-7557-1254 (fax) and Email.

b) Multinational Force-Iraq:

Address to: General David H. Petraeus Commanding General Multi-National Force - Iraq

Lieutenant General G. C. M. Lamb Deputy Commanding General Multi-National Force - Iraq

Care of: MAJ Vincent Mitchell / CPT Tommy Mitchel.

Draft letter of enquiry/protest to the occupation:

To US command in occupied Iraq

Cc: International Committee of the Red Cross

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN representant in Iraq

IRIN news agency

Amnesty International

Al-Jazeera, Reuters, BBC

RE: The Imminent Execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad

I am appalled by reports of the conviction and imminent execution of Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) after unfair trials during which they had no access to legal counsel and faced charges that cannot be brought in national courts in Iraq.

All three are held in Baghdad’s Al-Kadhimiya Prison. Two have small children beside them. The 1-year-old daughter of Liqa was born in prison. All three women deny the charges brought against them. Amnesty International has highlighted their case in an "Urgent Alert": http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140052007

Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad were reportedly all convicted under Article 156 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which reads: "Any person who willfully commits an act with intent to violate the independence of the country or its unity or the security of its territory and that act, by its nature, leads to such violation is punishable by death."

Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad are accused of being part of — or taking part in — the Iraqi resistance. These are not charges that the Iraqi government can bring upon anyone. International law affirms: "the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle” (UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43, adopted 3 December 1982). If these women are to be detained at all, international law demands that they be treated as combatants and prisoners of war. As POWs, all three women enjoy protected rights under the Third Geneva Convention. They cannot be tried and executed summarily. Strict conditions apply to their treatment in all respects.

Once again, all three women deny the charges brought against them.

I add my name to the many now demanding the immediate release of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

I add my name to the many who demand, as a minimum, that all three women are given immediate independent legal counsel, as is their right under international humanitarian law, whether treated as combatants (Article 99 of the Third Geneva Convention) or civilians (Article 113 of the Fourth Geneva Convention). Iraq and the United States, individually and severally, are also bound to the principles of international human rights law, including Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to fair trial.

I add my name to the many who oppose completely the execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. Their execution would not only be immoral and an outrage, it would be illegal under international law. The fact alone that they had no access to legal counsel makes their imminent execution "arbitrary", "summary" and "extra-judicial" by definitional legal standards.

Civilization reviles the death penalty in all cases. I remind you that Article 3 of the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty (ECOSOC resolution 1984/50, adopted 25 May 1984) stipulates that the death penalty cannot be imposed on new mothers. Further, Article 5 demands that no death penalty be passed unless the legal process is competent and all due process rights are safeguarded, in particular by allowing defendants free and regular access to legal counsel. None of the women was able to consult a lawyer. Article 6 of the UN Safeguards guarantees that anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to appeal before a court of higher jurisdiction. Article 8 of the UN Safeguards demands that capital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal.

I also remind you that holding detainees in an unsafe location is a violation of Article 85 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In light of the above:

I request immediate information on the well-being of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

I request information on the legal standing of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

I request detailed information on the charges Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad have faced and been convicted on.

I await your timely reply to these requests. Kindly confirm the full names and dates of birth of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad in any communication.

Sincerely,
[ Signature here]

International Committee of the Red Cross: + 41-22-733-2057 (fax) and Email.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: +41-22-917-9008 (fax) and Email.
UN representant in Iraq: +1-212-963-2800 (fax) and Email.
IRIN News Agency: +971 (4) 368-1024 (fax) and Email.
Amnesty International: +44-20-7956-1157 (fax) and Email.
Al-Jazeera: +974-442-6865 (fax) and Email.
Reuters: +44-20-7542-4064 (fax) and Email.
BBC: +44-20-7557-1254 (fax) and Email.

Labels: puppet government : Enough crimes against Iraqi people, To: pro-US

"Victory Is Not An Option"

By: William E. Odom

The new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq starkly delineates the gulf that separates President Bush's illusions from the realities of the war. Victory, as the president sees it, requires a stable liberal democracy in Iraq that is pro-American. The NIE describes a war that has no chance of producing that result. In this critical respect, the NIE, the consensus judgment of all the U.S. intelligence agencies, is a declaration of defeat.

Its gloomy implications -- hedged, as intelligence agencies prefer, in rubbery language that cannot soften its impact -- put the intelligence community and the American public on the same page. The public awakened to the reality of failure in Iraq last year and turned the Republicans out of control of Congress to wake it up. But a majority of its members are still asleep, or only half-awake to their new writ to end the war soon.

Perhaps this is not surprising. Americans do not warm to defeat or failure, and our politicians are famously reluctant to admit their own responsibility for anything resembling those un-American outcomes. So they beat around the bush, wringing hands and debating "nonbinding resolutions" that oppose the president's plan to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.

For the moment, the collision of the public's clarity of mind, the president's relentless pursuit of defeat and Congress's anxiety has paralyzed us. We may be doomed to two more years of chasing the mirage of democracy in Iraq and possibly widening the war to Iran. But this is not inevitable. A Congress, or a president, prepared to quit the game of "who gets the blame" could begin to alter American strategy in ways that will vastly improve the prospects of a more stable Middle East.

No task is more important to the well-being of the United States. We face great peril in that troubled region, and improving our prospects will be difficult. First of all, it will require, from Congress at least, public acknowledgment that the president's policy is based on illusions, not realities. There never has been any right way to invade and transform Iraq. Most Americans need no further convincing, but two truths ought to put the matter beyond question:

First, the assumption that the United States could create a liberal, constitutional democracy in Iraq defies just about everything known by professional students of the topic. Of the more than 40 democracies created since World War II, fewer than 10 can be considered truly "constitutional" -- meaning that their domestic order is protected by a broadly accepted rule of law, and has survived for at least a generation. None is a country with Arabic and Muslim political cultures. None has deep sectarian and ethnic fissures like those in Iraq.

Strangely, American political scientists whose business it is to know these things have been irresponsibly quiet. In the lead-up to the March 2003 invasion, neoconservative agitators shouted insults at anyone who dared to mention the many findings of academic research on how democracies evolve. They also ignored our own struggles over two centuries to create the democracy Americans enjoy today. Somehow Iraqis are now expected to create a constitutional order in a country with no conditions favoring it.

To read the Arabic translation (Press here)

Labels: Mr. Bush: Victory Is Not An Option

Labels: Hanging the womb of Iraq