I. Background Information

     A. Some Key Resources

          1. A Few Key Websites

Baghdad Burning (Iraqi blog by Riverbend)

Cost of the War in Iraq

Electronic Iraq

Global Policy Forum

Iraq Body Count (Iraqi civilian deaths)

Monitoring International Humanitarian Law in Iraq

Occupation Watch

Glen Rangwala's writings (U.K. researcher extraordinaire)

---U.S. mirror

Traprock Peace Center

"Where is Raed?" (Iraqi blog by Salam Pax)

For an excellent discussion of the WMD issue, see:

"The WMD lies" (Stephen J. Sniegoski, August 4, 2003)

For background, see also the following publications:

"Understanding the U.S.-Iraq Crisis: A Primer" (Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies)

"Why Another War? A Backgrounder on the Iraq Crisis" (Sarah Graham-Brown and Chris Toensing, Middle East Research and Information Project [MERIP]. 2nd ed., Dec. 2002)


          2. Maps of Iraq

Humanitarian Information Center

Iraqi Map Collection at the University of Texas (excellent)

CIA, with country resources

Cities in Iraq (GreatestCities.com)

United Nations


          3. Lists of Lies

Glen Rangwala's writings

---U.S. mirror


"The Bush Administration's Top 40 Lies About War and Terrorism" (Steve Perry, City Pages, July 30, 2003) (excellent)

"Core of Weapons Case Crumbling" (By Paul Reynolds, BBC, July 13, 2003)

"20 Lies About the War" (Glen Rangwala and Raymond Whitaker, The Independent, July 13, 2003) (extracted from "Thirty-Six Lies," below)

"The Thirty-Six Lies That Launched a war" (Glen Rangwala and Raymond Whitaker, July 11, 2003)

"From the September Dossier to Yesterday's Backtrack: A Truth-Spotter's Guide to How Official Language Has Changed" (The Independent, July 11, 2003)

"All Spin All The Time" (Russ Baker, TomPaine.com, July 9, 2003)

The Phoney War" (Andrew Grice and Ben Russell, The Independent, July 8, 2003)

"Experts Grow More Sceptical about Extent of Threat Posed by Saddam before War" (Ewen MacAskill and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, July 7, 2003)

"Absence of Truth--Government Propaganda and the War on Iraq" (Alan Simpson and Glen Rangwala, Labor Against the War, July 3, 2003)

"Calendar of Errors" (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August 2003, Volume 59, No. 4, pp. 12-14)

"10 Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq" (Christopher Scheer, AlterNet, June 27, 2003)

"Iraq: The Torrent of Deceit" (Robin Miller, March 16, 2003)

"Top Ten Bogus Justifications for the Iraqi War" (Christopher Deliso, March 5, 2003)

"Lying Us Into War: Exposing Bush and His "Techniques of Deceit" (Dennis Hans, Scoop, February 10, 2003)


          4. History of the U.S. Declaration of War on Iraq

March 20/21, 2003: House Resolution Supporting Commencement of War

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. (a) AUTHORIZATION- The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to--      (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and      (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq. (b) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION- In connection with the exercise of the authority granted in subsection (a) to use force the President shall, prior to such exercise or as soon thereafter as may be feasible, but no later than 48 hours after exercising such authority, make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that--      (1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic or other peaceful means alone either (A) will not adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq or (B) is not likely to lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq; and      (2) acting pursuant to this resolution is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorists attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Passed the House 296-133 with four not voting on October 10; passed the Senate 77-23 on October 11; signed into law by Present Bush on October 16.

References in the Congressional Record.

Senate Joint Resolution 23 "to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States."

Passed the Senate 98-0 with two not voting on September 14; an identical bill (H.J.Res. 64) passed the house 420-1 with 10 not voting on September 14; signed into law as Public Law 107-40 by President Bush on September 18.

References in the Congressional Record.

House Resolution 4655: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime. ... Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or otherwise speak to the use of United States Armed Forces."

Passed 360-38 with 36 not voting by the House on October 5; passed the Senate by unanimous consent on October 7; signed into law as Public Law 105-338 by President Clinton on October 31.

Senate Joint Resolution 54: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Government of Iraq is in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations, and therefore the President is urged to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations."

Passed with unanimous consent by the Senate on July 31; passed 407-6 with 21 not voting by the House on August 3; signed into law as Public Law 105-235 by President Clinton on August 14.


          5. U.S./U.K. Governmental Statements on the "Threat" Posed by Iraq

               a. U.S. Governmental Statements

List of administration statements at lunaville.org (good)

"Iraq: Key Speeches And Documents" (BBC)

Coalition Provisional Authority

U.S. Central Command (CentCom)

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. State Department

The White House


George Bush's Address on the Start of War (March 20, 2003) ("We will meet that threat now with our army, air force, navy, coastguard and marines so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of firefighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.")

George Bush's War Ultimatum Speech from the Cross Hall in the White House (March 18, 2003) ("The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country, or any other. ... Before the day of horror can come, before it is too late to act, this danger will be removed. ... Terrorists and terror states do not reveal these threats with fair notice, in formal declarations--and responding to such enemies only after they have struck first is not self-defense, it is suicide. The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now.")

March 18 Letter from Bush to Congressional Leaders ("reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone" will not "adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq")

Dick Cheney on Meet the Press, March 16, 2003 ("We have to be prepared now to take the kind of bold action that's being contemplated with respect to Iraq in order to ensure that we don't get hit with a devastating attack when the terrorists' organization gets married up with a rogue state that's willing to provide it with the kinds of deadly capabilities that Saddam Hussein has developed and used over the years.")

George Bush's Speech to the American Enterprise Institute (February 26, 2003) ("we are opposing the greatest danger in the war on terror: outlaw regimes arming with weapons of mass destruction.")

Secretary of State Powell at the U.N. (February 5, 2003) ("There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more. And he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction.")

President Bush, State of the Union (January 28, 2003) ("Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans--this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known.")

"Why We Know Iraq is Lying" (Condoleezza Rice, New York Times, January 23, 2003)

Address Given by President Bush in Cincinnati (October 7, 2002)

Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists. Alliances with terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without leaving any fingerprints. Some have argued that confronting the threat from Iraq could detract from the war against terror. To the contrary, confronting the threat posed by Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terror. When I spoke to the Congress more than a year ago, I said that those who harbor terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves. Saddam Hussein is harboring terrorists and the instruments of terror, the instruments of mass death and destruction. And he cannot be trusted. The risk is simply too great that he will use them, or provide them to a terror network. Terror cells, and outlaw regimes building weapons of mass destruction, are different faces of the same evil. Our security requires that we confront both. And the United States military is capable of confronting both. If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy, or steal an amount of highly-enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year. And if we allow that to happen, a terrible line would be crossed. Saddam Hussein would be in a position to blackmail anyone who opposes his aggression. He would be in a position to dominate the Middle East. He would be in a position to threaten America. And Saddam Hussein would be in a position to pass nuclear technology to terrorists. Knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.

"President: Iraqi Regime Danger to America is 'Grave and Growing'" (October 5, 2002)

"President Discusses Growing Danger posed by Saddam Hussein's Regime" (September 14, 2002) ("Congress must make it unmistakably clear that when it comes to confronting the growing danger posed by Iraq's efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction, the status quo is totally unacceptable.")

Speech by President Bush to the U.N. General Assembly (September 12, 2002) ("if an emboldened regime were to supply these weapons to terrorist allies, then the attacks of 11 September would be a prelude to far greater horrors.") (speech is on pages 6-9)

"A Decade of Deception and Defiance" (September 12, 2002) (document released to accompany President Bush's speech to the U.N. General Assembly; see above)

Condoleezza Rice on CNN Late Edition, September 8, 2002 ("The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't what the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.")

Secretary of Defense Dick Rumsfeld on CBS News' "Face the Nation," September 8, 2002 ("I was musing over the fact that there are so many books that have been written -- why England slept; Pearl Harbor, what happened, why didn't we know? Right now on Capitol Hill, the members of the House and the Senate are trying--are looking, having investigations on September 11 of last year and trying to connect the dots, as they say, trying to piece together what might have been known and why didn't we know it and why weren't we able to connect the dots. ... Our task is to connect the dots before the fact and see if we can't behave in a way that there won't be books written about why we slept or what happened. ... The problem with that [looking for a smoking gun] is, the way one gains absolutely certainty as to whether a dictator like Saddam Hussein has a nuclear weapon is if he uses it, and that's a little late. ... If you go back to September 11th, we lost 3,000 innocent men, women and children. Well, if you think that's a problem, imagine, imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000; it's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children.")

Speech by Vice-President Dick Cheney to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Nashville, Tennessee (August 26, 2002) ("Should all his ambitions be realized, the implications would be enormous for the Middle East, for the United States, and for the peace of the world. The whole range of weapons of mass destruction then would rest in the hands of a dictator who has already shown his willingness to use such weapons, and has done so, both in his war with Iran and against his own people. Armed with an arsenal of these weapons of terror, and seated atop ten percent of the world's oil reserves, Saddam Hussein could then be expected to seek domination of the entire Middle East, take control of a great portion of the world's energy supplies, directly threaten America's friends throughout the region, and subject the United States or any other nation to nuclear blackmail.")

President Bush, State of the Union (January 29, 2002) ("Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. ... Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. ... States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.")


               b. U.K. Governmental Statements

"Iraq: Key Speeches And Documents" (BBC)

"Words of Mass Deception" (Alexandra Williams And Justine Smith, The Mirror, July 8, 2003)

Recent Speeches and Statements by the Prime Minister on Iraq


"Iraq--Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation" (February 7, 2003) (the second U.K. dossier)

"Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government" (September 24, 2002) (first U.K. dossier)

--Another copy

"Iraq Weapons Dossier At-a-Glance" (BBC, September 24, 2003) (main points of first dossier)


          6. Real Reasons for the Invasion

               The administration committed to the invasion shortly after 9/11/01:

Comment: There is substantial evidence that the U.S. was committed to overthrowing Saddam, and essentially none that that was not its objective. The only legitimate conclusion from the evidence, then, is that Bush was simply lying when he continually said that war was his "last option." In fact, it was his intention all along.

"Iraq: Schemers Have Their Way" (Jim Lobe, Asia Times, July 17, 2003) ("it appears increasingly clear that key officials and their allies outside the administration decided to use the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as a pretext for going to war against Iraq within hours of the attacks themselves.")

The Decision to "Get Saddam" (Center for Cooperative Research)

"Media Silent on Clark's 9/11 Comment; Gen. Says White House Pushed Saddam Link Without Evidence" (FAIR, June 20, 2003)

"The Selling of the Iraq War; The First Casualty" (John B. Judis & Spencer Ackerman, The New Republic, posted June 19, 2003, issue date June 30)

"Why Saddam Was Doomed, WMDs or Not" (Jason Leopold, Asia Times, June 4, 2003)

"First Stop, Iraq" (Michael Elliott and James Carney, Time, March 24, 2003) ("'F___ Saddam. we're taking him out.' Those were the words of President George W. Bush, who had poked his head into the office of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It was March 2002 ...")

"For Bush, War Defines Presidency" (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, March 9, 2003) ("Bush's aides believe the president made up his mind about Iraq in the early days after Sept. 11. He resolved to do everything possible to prevent it from happening again")

"War Plan for Iraq Largely in Place" (Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post, March 2, 2003) ("After more than a year of intense work, the Bush administration's plan for an assault on Iraq is essentially in place")

"You're Invited to the War Party" (Georgie Anne Geyer, American Conservative, January 13, 2003) (From Bob Woodward's book Bush at War: "The 'question of Iraq,' for instance, was raised at a White House meeting of principals the very next day after the terrorist attacks. It was raised by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld but was actually reflecting the long-time obsession of Paul Wolfowitz, his aggressive deputy. In fact, Wolfowitz did not hesitate even to step in ahead of his demanding boss that day in regaling the president on Iraq. 'Wolfowitz seized the opportunity,' Woodward writes. 'Attacking Afghanistan would be uncertain. He worried about 100,000 American troops bogged down in mountain fighting in Afghanistan six months from then. In contrast, Iraq was a brittle, oppressive regime that might break easily. It was doable. He estimated that there was a 10 to 50 percent chance Saddam was involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks.'")

"U.S. Decision On Iraq Has Puzzling Past; Opponents of War Wonder When, How Policy Was Set" (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, January 12, 2003) ("On Sept. 17, 2001, six days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush signed a 2½-page document marked 'TOP SECRET' that outlined the plan for going to war in Afghanistan as part of a global campaign against terrorism. Almost as a footnote, the document also directed the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq, senior administration officials said.")

"Plans For Iraq Attack Began On 9/11" (CBS News, September 4, 2002) ("CBS News has learned that barely five hours after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq--even though there was no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks." According to notes taken by the aides, Rumsfeld said he wanted "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] at same time. Not only UBL" [Osama bin Laden]. "Go massive," the notes quote him as saying. "Sweep it all up. Things related and not.")

               Enforcement of the "no-fly zones" was used to prepare for the war:

"U.S. Moved Early for Air Supremacy; Airstrikes on Iraqi Defenses Began Long Before Invasion, General Says" (Bradley Graham, Washington Post, July 20, 2003) ("as early as the autumn of 2001, U.S. military authorities took steps to increase surveillance of southern Iraq and then to systematically bomb Iraq's command posts, air defense weapons and communication links in anticipation of possible war, according to the American general who commanded the air campaign.")

"U.S. Air Raids in '02 Prepared for War in Iraq" (Michael R. Gordon, New York Times, July 20, 2003) (similar to above)

"US Unveils Aggressive Strategy against Iraq" (BBC, March 3, 2003)

"U.S. Is Striking Iraqi Missiles Near Kuwait" (Michael R. Gordon, New York Times, March 2, 2003)

               President Bush's personal take on Christianity moved him toward war:

"Did Bush Say God Told Him To Go To War?" (Ira Chernus, Common Dreams, June 30, 2003)

"'Road Map Is a Life Saver for Us,' PM Abbas Tells Hamas" (Arnon Regular, Ha'aretz, June 26, 2003) (According to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, "immediately thereafter Bush said: 'God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.'")

"How a War Became a Crusade" (Jackson Lears, New York Times, March 11, 2003)

"Bush's 'Serenity'" (Tom Engelhardt, Mother Jones, March 10, 2003)

"Bush, the Bible, and Iraq" (Stan Crock. Business Week, March 7, 2003)

"Two Men Driving Bush into War" (Ed Vulliamy, The Observer, February 23, 2003) (Karl Rove and Paul Wolfowitz)

"In God He Trusts - How George Bush Infused the White House with a Religious Spirit" (Rupert Cornwell, The Independent, February 21, 2003)

"Bush the Infallible" (Jeffrey A. Tucker, LewRockwell.com, February 14, 2003)

"Bush's Messiah Complex" (The Progressive, February 2003)

"Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory; Bush's Armageddon Obsession, Revisited" (Michael Ortiz Hill, CounterPunch, January 4, 2003)

               The neocons (neoconservatives) in the administration--who were the primary force pushing for war--had wanted to take out Saddam for a long time:

"The 12-Year Itch" (Evan Thomas, Newsweek, March 31, 2003, issue)

"Blueprint for War Was Drafted by Team of Experts in 1998" (J. Scott Orr, Star-Ledger, March 30, 2003)

"All in the Neocon Family" (Jim Lobe, AlterNet, March 27, 2003)

"This War Is Brought to You by ..." (Pepe Escobar, Asia Times, March 20, 2003)

"Origins of Regime Change in Iraq" (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Proliferation Brief, Volume 6, Number 5; March 19, 2003)

"Deep Roots of Bush's Hatred for Saddam" (The Observer, March 16, 2003)

"Rumsfeld Urged Clinton to Attack Iraq" (Neil Mackay, Sunday Herald [Scotland], March 16, 2003)

"On the Brink: The Neocon-Xenophobe War" (Harold Meyerson, LA Weekly, March 14-20, 2003)

The War Behind Closed Doors (PBS "Frontline." broadcast February 20, 2003)

"Rumsfeld & Bush's War Plan Was Formulated In 1998" (Jason Leopold, Scoop, February 19, 2003)

"Invading Iraq Not a New Idea for Bush Clique; 4 Years Before 9/11, Plan Was Set" (William Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 27, 2003)

"Neoconservatives Consolidate Control over U.S. Mideast Policy" (Jim Lobe, Foreign Policy in Focus, December 6, 2002)

"The President's Real Goal In Iraq" (Jay Bookman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 29, 2002)

"Pre-Emption, Disarmament Or Regime Change? Part III" (Holger Jensen, October 7, 2002)

"The Struggle over War Aims: Bush versus the Neo-Cons" (Scott McConnell, antiwar.com, September 25, 2002)

"Secret Document: Bush Supporters Planned Iraq Attack Before Election" (NewsMax, September 16, 2002)

"Bush Planned Iraq 'Regime Change' Before Becoming President" (Neil Mackay, Sunday Herald [Scotland], September 15, 2002)

"Bomb Saddam? How the Obsession of a Few Neocon Hawks Became the Central Goal of U.S. Foreign Policy" (Joshua Micah Marshall, Washington Monthly, June 2002)

"Bush's Foreign Policy Blueprint: A Grand Global Plan" (Jim Lobe, TomPaine.com, March 26, 2002)

"The Next World Order" (Nicholas LeMann, issue of April 1, 2002, posted March 25)

"Our Hijacked Foreign Policy: Neoconservatives take Washington; Baghdad is next" (Justin Raimondo, March 25, 2002)

"A New Grand Strategy" (Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne, The Atlantic Monthly, January 2002) (historical perspective)

"Saddam in the Crosshairs" (Jason Vest, Village Voice, November 21-27, 2001)

                    ----Background on the Neocons

Empire Builders: Neoconservatives and Their Blueprint for US Power (Christian Science Monitor)

"The Leo-conservatives" (Gerhard Sporl, Der Spiegel, August? 2003 (on German philosopher Leo Strauss)

"What Is a Neo-Conservative Anyway?" (Jim Lobe, IPS, August 12, 2003)

"Iran-Contra, Amplified" (Jim Lobe, Asia Times, August 12, 2003)

"Suing in England, Vacationing in France: the Misplaced Patriotism of Richard Perle" (Christopher Deliso, Antiwar.com, March 25, 2003)

"Lunch with the Chairman; Why Was Richard Perle Meeting with Adnan Khashoggi?" (Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, issue of March 17, 2003, posted March 10)

Mark Donner interview for PBS show "Frontline" (January 16, 2003)


               The neocons developed their own "intelligence" to support the war:

"The Spies Who Pushed for War" (Julian Borger, The Guardian, July 17, 2003) (on the Office of Special Plans [OSP])

"Cheney And The CIA: Not Business As Usual" (Ray McGovern, Alternet, June 30, 2003)


               A principal instrument for the neocons is the Project for the New American Century:

PNAC.info: Exposing the Project for the New American Century

"How We Got Into This Imperial Pickle: A PNAC Primer" (Bernard Weiner, May 26, 2003)

PNAC Profile at the Center for Cooperative Research

Information on PNAC from Disinfopedia

----a related page

PNAC Information at The Four Reasons to Impeach Bush

                    ----PNAC documents

"Rebuilding America's Defenses" (September 2000)

Letter to House and Senate Leadership (May 29, 1998)

Letter to President Clinton (January 26, 1998)

Statement of Principles (June 3, 1997)


               Current administration strategy can be traced to the draft version of the 1992 Defense Policy Guidance, written by Paul Wolfowitz:

"Excerpts From Pentagon's Plan: 'Prevent the Re-Emergence of a New Rival'" (New York Times, March 8, 1992)

"U.S. Strategy Plan Calls for Insuring No Rivals Develop" (Patrick E. Tyler, New York Times, March 8, 1992)

"Pentagon Would Preclude a Rival Superpower" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, March 11, 1992)

This thinking caused an uproar, so the document was substantially revised. See "Pentagon Drops Goal of Blocking New Superpowers" (Patrick E. Tyler, New York Times, May 23, 1992).

Howver, Wolfowitz's approach has now been adopted as official government policy. See "The National Security Strategy of the United States of America" (September 2002).


               Particularly among the neocons, a view that regime change in Iraq was good for Israel may have been a factor making the war desirable:

"The Spies Who Pushed for War" (Julian Borger, The Guardian, July 17, 2003)

"Just the Beginning" (Robert Dreyfuss, The American Prospect, April 1, 2003)

"Whose War?" (Patrick J. Buchanan, The American Conservative. March 24, 2003)

"Whose National Interest?" (author?, Toledo Blade, March 18, 2003)

"Dual Loyalty? Are Israeli Interests 'The Elephant in the Room' in the Conflict With Iraq?" (Rebecca Phillips, BeliefNet, March 15, 2003)

"Our Media, Our Sheltering Parents" (Gabriel Ash, Yellow Times, March 14, 2003)

"Spotlight on Role Played by US Jews in Crisis" (Jim Lobe, March 13, 2003)

"U.S. Media Airs Alleged Jewish Role in Iraq War" (Jonathan Wright, Reuters, March 13, 2003)

"Moran Said Jews Are Pushing War; Apology Denies Anti-Semitism" (Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, March 11, 2003)

"The Flimflam" (Charley Reese, March 5, 2003)

"Israel Sees War in Iraq as Path to Mideast Peace" (James Bennet, New York Times, February 24, 2003)

"The Zev and Ari Show: Time for Full Disclosure" (William Hughes, Media Monitors Network, February 23, 2003)

'The Axis of Evil' (Hasan Abu Nimah, Jordan Times, February 19, 2003)

"A Bush-Sharon Doctrine?" (Arnaud de Borchgrave, February 17, 2003)

"The Likudnik Factor" (Mickey Kaus, Slate, February 14, 2003)

"The War on Iraq: Conceived in Israel" (Stephen J. Sniegoski, February 10, 2003)

"Bush and Sharon Nearly Identical On Mideast Policy" (Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post, February 9, 2003)

"A Rose By Another Other Name: The Bush Administration's Dual Loyalties" (Kathleen and Bill Christison, CounterPunch, December 13, 2002)

"What Bush Isn't Saying About Iraq" (Michael Kinsley, Slate, October 24, 2002)

The Men From JINSA and CSP (Jason Vest, The Nation, August 15, 2002)

                    ----Documents

"This Goes Beyond Bin Laden" (JINSA, September 13, 2001) ("JINSA calls on the United States to ... halt all US purchases of Iraqi oil under the UN Oil for Food Program and to provide all necessary support to the Iraq National Congress, including direct American military support, to effect a regime change in Iraq.")

"A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm" (July 8, 1996)


               The U.S. has plotted against Iraq for over a decade:

"Decade of Plans to Topple Hussein Yield Mixed Results" (James Risen and Thom Shanker, New York Times, March 26, 2003)

"The Thirty Year Itch" (Robert Dreyfuss, Mother Jones, March/April 2003 Issue)

               The invasion was intended as an example to the world:

"Viewing the War as a Lesson to the World" (David E. Sanger, New York Times, April 6, 2003) ("Shortly after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld issued a stark warning to Iran and Syria last week, declaring that any 'hostile acts' they committed on behalf of Iraq might prompt severe consequences, one of President Bush's closest aides stepped into the Oval Office to warn him that his unpredictable defense secretary had just raised the specter of a broader confrontation. Mr. Bush smiled a moment at the latest example of Mr. Rumsfeld's brazenness, recalled the aide. Then he said one word--'Good'--and went back to work.")

               and is just the first of potentially many:

"Just the Beginning" (Robert Dreyfuss, The American Prospect, April 1, 2003)

"Iraq as a Trial Run" (Noam Chomsky, Frontline, vol. 20 #7, March 29-April 11, 2003)

"After Iraq: The Plan to Remake the Middle East" (Nicholas LeMann, The New Yorker, issue of February 17 and 24, 2003, posted February 10)

               The invasion, simply put, is part of a clearly-articulated intent to secure global domination:

"Imperialism, Then and Now" (Pat Buchanan, WoldNet Daily, August 13, 2003)

"Preventive War 'The Supreme Crime'" (Noam Chomsky, August 11, 2003)

"A Wilful Blindness; Why Can't Liberal Interventionists See That Iraq Is Part of a Bid to Cement US Global Power?" (George Monbiot, The Guardian, March 11, 2003)

"Bush's War Is Not about Democracy" (Eric Margolis, March 2, 2003)

"The President's Real Goal In Iraq" (Jay Bookman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 29, 2002)

               The two stated reasons for the invasion aren't true; Iraq was not involved in 9/11:

"Wolfowitz: Iraq Not Involved in 9-11, No Ties to al-Qaeda" (Jason Leopold, August 7, 2003)

See also III. Iraq's Alleged Links to al-Qaeda.

One American soldier in Iraq has been quoted as relying on 9/11 for his motivation: See 'I Just Pulled the Trigger' (Bob Graham, Evening Standard, June 19, 2003) ("There's a picture of the World Trade Center hanging up by my bed and I keep one in my Kevlar [flak jacket]. Every time I feel sorry for these people I look at that. I think, 'They hit us at home and, now, it's our turn.' I don't want to say payback but, you know, it's pretty much payback.")

               and the invasion had nothing to do with Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction:

Compare Joseph Goebbels at Nuremberg in 1934: "Propaganda is a means to an end. Its purpose is to lead the people to an understanding that will allow them to willingly and without internal resistance devote themselves to the tasks and goals of a superior leadership."

"Democracy Might Be Impossible, US Was Told" (Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, August 14, 2003)

"Domino Theory for Mideast Is High-Risk" (Michael Slackman, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2003)

"Democracy Domino Theory 'Not Credible'" (Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2003)

               and the alleged humanitarian basis for the war is hypocritical in the extreme given our country's long record of support for Saddam:

"Exclusive: Saddam Key in Early CIA Plot" (Richard Sale, UPI, April 10, 2003)

"A Tyrant 40 Years in the Making" (Roger Morris, New York Times, March 14, 2003)

"How Deal Got the Green Light Despite Nerve Gas Warning" (David Leigh, The Guardian, March 6, 2003) (U.K. relationship with Iraq)

"When Hussein Was Our Ally" (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, February 27, 2003) ("Newly released documents reveal U.S. talk of regime change in the early 1980s - except then it was language condemning Iran for attempting to overthrow the government in Baghdad.")

"Rumsfeld's Account Book: Who Armed Saddam?" (Stephen Green, CounterPunch, February 24, 2003)

"Iraq Chemical Arms Condemned, but West Once Looked the Other Way" (Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, February 13, 2003)

"The United States and the Iran-Iraq War" (Stephen R. Shalom)

"U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup" (Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, December 30, 2002)

"A Tortured Relationship: The U.S.-Iraq Relationship Was Not Always about Confrontation" (Chris Bury, ABC News, September 18, 2002)

"Rumsfeld Key Player in Iraq Policy Shift" (Robert Windrem, MSNBC, August 18, 2002)

"The Saddam in Rumsfeld's Closet" (Jeremy Scahill, Common Dreams, August 2, 2002)

"Iraqgate" (Russ W. Baker, Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 1993)

"Gulfgate: How the U.S. Secretly Armed Iraq" (Murray Waas, The Village Voice, December 18, 1990)

               Moreover, Bush doesn't even support the idea of military intervention for humanitarian reasons--even in the case of genocide:

"How Dare Bush Invoke Rwanda to Justify His War" (Gerald Caplan, The Globe and Mail, March 12, 2003) ("Mr. Fleischer should review an interview between ABC's Sam Donaldson and Mr. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign. When Mr. Donaldson asked him what he would do if 'God forbid, another Rwanda should take place,' Mr. Bush replied: 'We should not send our troops to stop ethnic cleansing and genocide outside our strategic interests. . . . I would not send the United States troops into Rwanda.'")

George W. Bush on Foreign Policy ("And so I thought they made the right decision not to send U.S. troops into Rwanda.")


               And let's not even talk about Bush's campaign promises for a more "humble" foreign policy:

George W. Bush on Foreign Policy (collected campaign statements)

Q: What is the role of the U.S. in the world? BUSH: I'm not sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say this is the way it's got to be. I want to empower people. I want to help people help themselves, not have government tell people what to do. I just don't think it's the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, we do it this way, so should you. We went into Russia, we said here's some IF money. It ended up in Chernomyrdin's pocket. And yet we played like there was reform. The only people who are going to reform Russia are Russians. I'm not sure where the vice president's coming from, but I think one way for us to end up being viewed as the ugly American is for us to go around the world saying, we do it this way, so should you. I think the United States must be humble and must be proud and confident of our values, but humble in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course. Q: Should the people of the world fear us, or see us as a friend? BUSH: They ought to look at us as a country that understands freedom where it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from that you can succeed. I don't think they ought to look at us with envy. It really depends upon how [our] nation conducts itself in foreign policy. If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation, but strong, they'll welcome us. Our nation stands alone right now in the world in terms of power. And that's why we've got to be humble and yet project strength in a way that promotes freedom. We're a freedom-loving nation. If we're an arrogant nation, they'll view us that way, but if we're humble nation, they'll respect us. Source: Presidential Debate at Wake Forest University, Oct. 11, 2000.

          7. Legality of the War

"A Pattern of Aggression" (Kate Hudson, The Guardian, August 14, 2003) ("Iraq was not the first illegal US-led attack on a sovereign state in recent times. The precedent was set in 1999 in Yugoslavia writes Kate Hudson.")

"Tearing up the Rules: The Illegality of Invading Iraq," Center for Economic and Social Rights, March 2003

Lawyers Against the War

LAAW (Legal Action against War)

Law Professors for the Rule of Law

Links to Opinions on Legality of War Against Iraq


          8. Effect of Sanctions on Iraq

Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq

Canadian Network to End Sanctions on Iraq

Results of the 1999 Iraq Child and Maternal Mortality Surveys (UNICEF)


"Sanctions in Iraq Hurt the Innocent" (Bert Sacks, Seattle Post Intelligencer, August 7, 2003)

"Were Sanctions Right?" (David Rieff, New York Times, July 27, 2003)

"'We Think the Price Is Worth It'; Media Uncurious about Iraq Policy's Effects-There or Here" (Rahul Mahajan, Extra!, November/December 2001)

"The Secret Behind the Sanctions; How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq's Water Supply" (Thomas J. Nagy, The Progressive, September 2001)

"Life and Death in Iraq" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 1999)

Autopsy of a Disaster: The U.S. Sanctions Policy on Iraq (Institute for Public Accuracy)


          9. Cost of the War and Occupation

Cost of the War in Iraq

Jubilee Iraq

"Iraq 'Needs Tens of Billions'" (BBC, August 27, 2003)

"Bremer: Iraq Effort to Cost Tens of Billions" (Peter Slevin and Vernon Loeb, Washington Post, August 26, 2003)

"U.S. Exhausts Seized Iraqi Assets, May Seek More Aid" (Adam Entous, August 26, 2003)


          10. Link Lists

Future of Iraq Portal

Middle East Virtual Library (MENALIB)

Political Resources for Iraq

Relief Web's Iraq Links


     B. News Sources

          1. First-Hand Reports

               a. Reports by Iraqis

Al-Muajaha

Baghdad Bulletin

Baghdad Burning (blog by Riverbend)

G. in Baghdad

Iraq.net

Iraq Press Online

Iraqi Sports Online

Iraq Today

Letters From An Iraqi American: Yasmin Alani

Salam Pax


               b. Reports from Internationals--Still Reporting

Christian Peacemaker Team

CyberJournalist

Electronic Iraq--Diaries

Robert Fisk---At the Independent

---At ZNet

---At Robert-Fisk.com

Iraq Peace Team--Diaries


               c. --No Longer Reporting

Children Peace Race Belgium (e-mail collected from various sources)

The Guardian--Collected Iraq Diaries

Wade Hudson

Human Shield Mission

Iraq Journal (various journalists)

Paul McGeough (reporter for Australian newspaper The Age)

Reports from Baghdad (telephone reports collected by Italian journalist)

Jo Wilding


          2. Relief Organizations

Humanitarian Information Center

ReliefWeb (collected documents)

--Another ReliefWeb page


CARE International

ECHO (European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office)

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (also the Iraqi Red Crescent Society)

International Rescue Committee

MAIC (Medical Aid for Iraqi Children)

Mercy Corps

Norwegian Church Aid

United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

----Integrated Regional Information Network

United Nations Office of the Iraq Programme

United Nations News Centre

UNICEF News on Iraq

War Child UK

World Food Programme (WFP)

World Health Organization (WHO)

World Vision International


          3. Newspapers

               Africa

News 24 (South Africa)

               Asia

Asia Times (Hong Kong) (excellent)

Daily Times (Pakistan)

Frontline (biweekly Indian magazine)

The Hindu (India)

PakTribune.com

The Times of India

The Straits Times

Xinhuanet (China)

               Australia

Australian Broadcasting Company

The Age

Sydney Morning Herald

               Middle East

Al-Ahram Weekly (Egypt)

Al Bawaba

Al-Jazeera (Qatar, Arabic-language)

----English-language version

An-Nahar (Lebanon; Arabic-language)

Arab News (Saudi Arabia)

Daily Star (Lebanon)

Jordan Times

Middle East Online

Middle East Times

Syria Times

Yemen Times

               United Kingdom

BBC

Dar Al-Hayat (English-language version)

The Evening Standard

The Guardian (best)

The Independent (best)

The Mirror

The Observer (Sunday edition of the Guardian)

The Scotsman

The Telegraph

The Times

               United States

ABC News

Baltimore Sun

Boston Globe

CBS News

Chicago Tribune

---Christine Spolar

Christian Science Monitor

CNN

Los Angeles Times

Miami Herald

MSNBC News

New York Times

San Francisco Chronicle

Washington Post (best U.S. coverage)


          4. Newswires

Agence France-Presse (AFP)

---- (another AFP link)

Associated Press (AP)

Knight-Ridder

Inter Press Service (IPS)

Reuters

----Reuters UK


          5. News Collections and Blogs

Abu Aardvark

Al-Jazeerah.info

AlterNet

AntiWar.com

Back in Iraq 2.0 (Christopher Allbritton)

Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace

Electronic Iraq

Information Clearinghouse

Informed Comment (Juan Cole)

Iraq Democracy Watch (Vivion Vinson)

The Iraq War Reader (Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf)

Iraqwar.ru (excellent news links)

IslamOnline

The Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia

The Rational Inquirer

Salon.com

Talking Points Memo

Warblogs:cc

World News Network

----another site

WorldWideNews

Yahoo! Full Coverage of Iraq


          6. Publications

MERIP: Middle East Research and Information Project


          7. Coalition Sources

Coalition Provisional Authority

U.S. Central Command (CentCom)


     C. Photography Collections

          1. Primarily War Victims

War Victims Photos Collected by Yasmin Alani

alarabnews.com

Christian Peace Team

Einswire.com

RobertFisk.com (unofficial site)

Wade Hudson (IPT member)

Information Clearinghouse

--Another Gallery

Iraq peace team

Iraqvictims.com

The Memory Hole

News 24 (South Africa)

Regular Everyday People

The "Shock and Awe" Gallery (The March for Justice)

thenausea.com

The Wall of Shame (What Really Happened)


     Photo essays at Scoop:

Photo-Essay 1: The Many Faces of War (March 28)

Photo-Essay 2: The Many Faces of War (March 28)

Photo-Essay 3: Death and Casualty From Iraq (March 27)

Photo-Essay 1: Consider Whom You Bomb (March 30)

Photo-Essay 2: Consider Whom You Bomb (March 30)

Photo-Essay 1: Dead US Soldiers In Nasiriya (April 1)

Photo-Essay 2: Tell Us Is This Liberation? (April 1)

Photo-Essay 3: USA Bombs A Baghdad Market (April 1)


          2. Primarily Other Images

The Age (Australian newspaper)

BBC Photo Gallery: "Baghdad Buries its Dead"

Boston Globe

G. in Baghdad

The Guardian: First 10 Days of War

--April 4

--Index to Iraq Photo Galleries

Iraq Peace Team

Iraqphotos.com

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace

Los Angeles Times Photo Gallery

Los Angeles Times Video and Audio Reports

News 24 (South Africa)

Picture Iraq

Sydney Morning Herald (see "Photo Galleries" in right column)

Washington Post

--Another Gallery

Yahoo! News


     D. Organizations and Dedicated Websites

          1. Organizations

ARROW (Active Resistance to the Roots of War) (U.K.)

Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (U.K.)

Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People

Canadian Network to End Sanctions on Iraq

Churches for Middle East Peace

Cities for Peace

Citizens Concerned for the People of Iraq

Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace

Direct Action to Stop the War

EPIC: Education for Peace in Iraq Center

Human Shield Mission

International Action Center

International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism!)

Iraq Action Coalition

Iraq Peace Team

Lawyers Against the War (international)

LAAW (Legal Action against War) (U.K.)

Louisiana Organizing to Stop the War On Iraq

MAIC (Medical Aid for Iraqi Children) (U.K.)

Middle East Christians against the War in Iraq and the Occupation of Palestine (international)

National Network to End the War Against Iraq

New Jersey Coalition against War on Iraq

Not in Our Names

Poets Against the War

SOS Kinderen Irak (Belgium)

--Dutch site

Stop the War Coalition (U.K.)

Traprock Peace Center (great resources)

United For Peace and Justice

U.S. Labor against the War

Veterans Against the Iraq War

Veterans for Peace

Voices in the Wilderness U.K.

Voices in the Wilderness U.S.

Win Without War

          Lists of Organizations:

The Guardian


          2. Websites

Bring Them Home Now

The Children of Iraq

Cost of the War in Iraq

Electronic Iraq

Iraq Body Count

Iraq Pledge of Resistance

NoWar Blog

Rice for Peace

StopJayGardner.com

StopUSA

Turningtables (U.S. soldier in Iraq)

US Bombing Watch in Iraq

Vote to Impeach

We Deserve the Truth

WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com

Wearnica: An International Day of Artistic Reactions to War


     E. The United Nations

United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Office of the Iraq Programme

United Nations News Centre

U.N. News on Disarmament of Iraq

UNICEF News on Iraq

Yahoo! Full Coverage of the United Nations


     F. Other Resources

1924 (UK Muslim community)

American Friends Service Committee

Amnesty International

Amnesty USA

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Center for Defense Information

CounterPunch

FAIR

Fourth Freedom Foundation

Global Policy Forum

Greenpeace

Human Rights Watch

Independent Institute

International Committee of the Red Cross

The Nation

Oxfam International

The Village Voice

ZNet


     G. Media Analysis

          1. U.S. Media

               a. Pre-War Propaganda

                    Barton Gellman of the Washington Post

"Al Qaeda Near Biological, Chemical Arms Production" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, March 23, 2003) ("Al Qaeda leaders, long known to covet biological and chemical weapons, have reached at least the threshold of production and may already have manufactured some of them, according to a newly obtained cache of documentary evidence and interrogations recently conducted by the U.S. government.")

"Interview: Barton Gellman on a 'Washington Post' Report that an Al Qaeda Affiliate Obtained a Chemical Weapon from Iraq" (NPR, Morning Edition: December 12, 2002)

"U.S. Suspects Al Qaeda Got Nerve Agent From Iraqis" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, December 12, 2002) ("The Bush administration has received a credible report that Islamic extremists affiliated with al Qaeda took possession of a chemical weapon in Iraq last month or late in October, according to two officials with firsthand knowledge of the report and its source. They said government analysts suspect that the transaction involved the nerve agent VX and that a courier managed to smuggle it overland through Turkey.")

"4 Nations Thought To Possess Smallpox; Iraq, N. Korea Named, Two Officials Say" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, November 5, 2002) ("a former Soviet scientist told U.S. officials that his country 'transferred [smallpox] technology in the early 1990s to Iraq.'")

"Cyber-Attacks by Al Qaeda Feared; Terrorists at Threshold of Using Internet as Tool of Bloodshed, Experts Say" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, June 27, 2002) ("U.S. analysts believe that by disabling or taking command of the floodgates in a dam, for example, or of substations handling 300,000 volts of electric power, an intruder could use virtual tools to destroy real-world lives and property. They surmise, with limited evidence, that al Qaeda aims to employ those techniques in synchrony with 'kinetic weapons' such as explosives.")

"Fears Prompt U.S. to Beef Up Nuclear Terror Detection" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, March 3, 2002) ("Alarmed by growing hints of al Qaeda's progress toward obtaining a nuclear or radiological weapon, the Bush administration has deployed hundreds of sophisticated sensors since November to U.S. borders, overseas facilities and choke points around Washington. It has placed the Delta Force, the nation's elite commando unit, on a new standby alert to seize control of nuclear materials that the sensors may detect.")

"Iraqi Work Toward A-Bomb Reported; U.S. Was Told of 'Implosion Devices'" (Barton Gellman, Washington Post, September 30, 1998) ("United Nations arms inspectors reported twice to the United States, in 1996 and 1997, that they had credible intelligence indicating that Iraq built and has maintained three or four 'implosion devices' that lack only cores of enriched uranium to make 20-kiloton nuclear weapons, according to U.S. government and U.N. sources.")

                    Judith Miller of the New York Times

"Defectors Bolster U.S. Case Against Iraq, Officials Say" (Judith Miller, New York Times, January 24, 2003) ("Former Iraqi scientists, military officers and contractors have provided American intelligence agencies with a portrait of Saddam Hussein's secret programs to develop and conceal chemical, biological and nuclear weapons that is starkly at odds with the findings so far of the United Nations weapons inspectors.")

"C.I.A. Hunts Iraq Tie to Soviet Smallpox" (Judith Miller, New York Times, December 3, 2002) ("The C.I.A. is investigating an informant's accusation that Iraq obtained a particularly virulent strain of smallpox from a Russian scientist who worked in a smallpox lab in Moscow during Soviet times, senior American officials and foreign scientists say.")