|
|
|
|
|
|
by Sharon Grimes, W A M M
|
Ecuador Won’t Renew Air Base Lease
President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said he won’t renew the U.S. lease on the Manta air base, which will expire in 2009, unless the United States allows Ecuador to open a military base in Miami. “If there’s no problem having foreign soldiers on a country’s soil, surely they’ll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United States,” he said. U.S. officials say the base is critical for drug-surveillance operations. Correa, who called President Bush a “dimwit,” says that despite the base closing, relations with the United States are excellent. Manta is the only U.S. base in South America. “So, then the other South American countries don’t have good relations with the United States because they don’t have military bases? That doesn’t make any sense.” (Reuters, 10/22/07, http://uk.reuters.com/ article/email/idUKADD25267520071022)
North Korea Agrees to Reduce Nukes
A group of religious leaders has issued a statement saying that the “denuclearization agreement reached with North Korea is an important step toward halting the production of nuclear bomb materials in that nation.” They also congratulate the Bush administration for its role in the negotiations. The group, Faithful Security, is a “national religious partnership on the nuclear weapons danger.” They also urge similar diplomatic efforts and direct negotiations between the United States and Iran. (Faithful Security, 7/17/07)
Honesty Pays
Joaquim Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, will receive $5 million over 10 years and then $200,000 a year for life “for his good governance, for leaving office voluntarily and without plundering the national office.” The money will come from a foundation established by a Sudanese telecommunications tycoon. (Guardian Weekly, 10/26/07)
War Criminal Facing Challenges
On October 26, four U.S. and European human rights groups filed a lawsuit against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld while he was in France. He is charged with ordering and authorizing torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib, Iraq. The plaintiffs include the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights, the French League for Human Rights, and the German-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. This is the fifth time Rumsfeld has been charged with involvement in torture since 9/11. (multiple sources)
Army Captains Speak Out
Twelve former army captains wrote an article, “The Real Iraq We Knew,” saying, “We’ve served in Baghdad and beyond, we’ve seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it’s like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it’s time to get out.” They talk about the lack of infrastructure, trained administrators, and national identity, as well as too few trained Iraqi security forces. Short of calling for a draft to supply the numbers of soldiers needed, they say “our best option is to leave Iraq immediately. A scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war, and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition.” The captains served in Iraq between 2003 and 2006, and many of them were there twice. (Washington Post, 10/15/07)
63 Percent Say War Not Worth Cost
According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted October 29–November 1, when asked whether they think the war with Iraq was worth fighting, considering the costs to the United States versus the benefits,
• 35 percent of respondents say it was worth it, down from 40 percent in January;
• 63 percent say it was not worth it, compared to 58 percent in January.
54% Disapprove Initial Use of Force
In a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted October 17–23, people were asked if they think the United States made the right decision or the wrong decision in using military force against Iraq.
• 39 percent say it was the right decision, compared to 41 percent in July;
• 54 percent say it was the wrong decision, compared to 53 percent in July.
(http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm,)
Oct. 27 Protest Turns Out Thousands
On October 27, more than 100,000 peace supporters turned out in eleven regional demonstrations, while dozens of other cities across the country and the world organized support actions. The National Mobilization to End the War in Iraq also called for bringing the troops home and no military action against Iran. According to one participant in Chicago, 30,000 people turned out there. (American Friends Service Committee 11/2/07; and http://www.oct27.org/) |
|
|
|
© 2007/2008 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
|
 |
|
Complete December 2007/January 2008 Index - click here
|
|
 |
|
|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
|
|
|
|
|
|
