December
16
2009

Bombings continue in Iraq despite surge policy

Today, as the first of President Obama’s 30,000 additional “surge” troops begin to arrive in Afghanistan, it might be useful to take a look at the Bush surge in Iraq.

On Tuesday, a string of bombings killed nine people in two of Iraq’s largest cities, Baghdad and Mosul.

Examiner.com posted a slide show from these attacks here.

Last week, suicide bombings in Baghdad killed 127 people and wounded more than 500. Bombings in August and October, also in Baghdad, killed another 250 people.

According to The Associated Press, in Baghdad on Tuesday, “Three parked cars packed with mines and other bombs exploded within minutes of each other around 7:30 a.m. just outside different entrances to the Green Zone, just as Iraqis were coming to the area for work.”

The blasts killed five people and wounded at least 16.

The AP report said, “Four hours later and 225 miles away, in the northwestern Iraqi city of Mosul, two more car bombs and a roadside mine killed four people. The attacks appeared to target a busy neighborhood and a church, wounding up to 40 people.”

Of course, U.S. officials are quick to point out that violence, nationwide, is at its lowest level since 2003, a statistic that Iraqis may not find very comforting. It’s probably hard for many everyday Iraqis to see how the surge has changed their lives, with at least 386 people killed in bombings since August, let alone, the countless people killed in day-to-day violence.

The good news, for the United States, I suppose, is that Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, doesn’t see the bombings and other daily violence preventing the exit of U.S. troops, who are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011. Of course, that’s good news, too, for most Iraqis.

December
10
2009

McDermott says he will vote against more U.S. troops in Afghanistan

Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott said today that he is against expanding the war in Afghanistan. This afternoon he sent out a fundraising email that made his position clear.

In the email, McDermott said, “Last week the President outlined the administration’s policy about the war in Afghanistan.

“I appreciate the time he took to carefully study all of our country’s options and inform our citizens of his plan.

“But at the end of the day, he simply did not convince me that escalating our country’s involvement in the War in Afghanistan is in our national interest…

“There is support in Congress to press for a vote on funding for new troops prior to sending them.

Congressman Jim McDermott

Congressman Jim McDermott

“I support the idea of a congressional vote. When that vote happens, I will vote against expanding a needless war and funding more troops.”

McDermott said he couldn’t support Obama’s troop surge because our country faces no immediate threat from Afghanistan and committing more troops to combat is not in our national interest.

He said: “We should be withdrawing troops from combat, not sending more of them into a conflict that the military cannot solve. At the end of the day, we will wind up with more people, both civilian and military, killed.”

On Dec. 2, right after Obama announced his Afghan surge, McDermott issued the following statement:

“The President’s speech tonight did not convince me that his policy is worth supporting. Last week, I attended a memorial service for seven servicemen from the same striker brigade from Fort Lewis who were killed on the same day in Afghanistan. I will not vote to send another troop to Afghanistan until I’m convinced that this strategy will succeed.

“No matter how many troops we commit, the United States cannot bring about the change necessary to stabilize Afghanistan. This responsibility ultimately falls on the Afghani government and its people, and no outsider can force this change to occur.

“Not only is this war costly in human terms, but it is bleeding our ability to provide for our own people and construct economic recovery and security at home.

“The Bush administration made a fatal mistake when it led us into Iraq and away from finishing the task in Afghanistan, and we have been paying the price ever since. I fear that we are asking our troops to fix a problem of our own making that the military cannot solve alone.”

In the fundraising email today, McDermott said, “Our country’s foreign policy toward the war in Afghanistan is another in a long list of difficult issues that Republicans will use in next year’s mid-term elections. They will also use our support of Health Care Reform and the much-needed jobs and stimulus programs in a desperate attempt to take over the Congress.

“Those of us who are outspoken advocates of progressive issues will be among their prime targets. But we cannot back down on our issues. Instead, all of us need to be ready to fight them next year.”

December
10
2009

Ohio congressman to introduce bills calling for withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan

Despite mounting public protests across the United States against sending more troops to Afghanistan, there has been little reaction from Congress. Now, there seems to be some rumblings of opposition. Yesterday, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), following a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives released this statement:

“Today, I will begin circulating two privileged resolutions which will trigger debate and votes on a timely withdrawal of U.S troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States makes it Congress’ responsibility to determine whether or not we go to war or stay at war. Consistent with Article 1, Section 8, the privileged resolutions will invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973. I ask for your support of these resolutions, which will be introduced in the House in January.

“Yesterday, with the US Secretary of Defense at his side, the President of Afghanistan declared that his country’s security forces will need financial and training assistance from the United States for the next 15-20 years.

“We cannot afford these wars. We cannot afford the loss of lives. We cannot afford the cost to taxpayers. We cannot afford to fail to exercise our constitutional right to end the wars.

“Please sign onto the privileged resolutions to end the wars and to bring our troops home.
Stand up for the troops. Stand up for the truth. Stand up for the Constitution and Congress’ responsibility.”

Kucinich also sent the following letter to his colleagues under the heading, Require the President to Withdraw from Afghanistan and Pakistan:

“According to ABC News, Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, in a joint press conference with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, remarked that his country’s security forces will need financial and training assistance from the United States for the next 15-20 years. This is especially disturbing since the Administration is already sliding back the timeline the President established only last week. What Mr. Karzai did not say is that would cost U.S. taxpayers an additional $2-3 trillion.

“As President Obama prepares to escalate military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we must reassert our Constitutional prerogative as it relates to war. The United States has been involved in military action both in Afghanistan and Pakistan since the inception of the Obama Administration, despite the fact that the President has never submitted a report to Congress pursuant to Section 4(a) (I) of the War Powers Resolution.

“When Congress returns in 2010, I intend to bring to the floor of the House privileged resolutions reasserting this prerogative. My bills, which would trigger a timeline for a timely withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan, invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and are intended to secure the Constitutional role of Congress, as directly elected representatives of the people, under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, to decide whether or not America enters into war, continues a war, or otherwise introduces armed forces or materiel into combat zones.

“Despite the President’s assertion that previous Congressional action gives him the authority to respond to the attacks of September 11, 2001, a careful reading of the Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) makes clear that the AUMF did not supersede ‘any requirement of the War Powers Resolution’ and therefore did not undermine Congress’ ability to revisit the constitutional question of war powers at a later date.

“I invite you to join in reasserting Congress’ Constitutional right and obligation in these matters…”

Draft copies of the Kucinich bills can be read here and here.

December
4
2009

Seattle anti-war protest planned as opposition to Afghanistan surge continues

Across the United States, there have been more than 100 demonstrations against sending more troops to Afghanistan since president Obama announced his “surge” plans. The demonstrations are in response to a national day of action called by Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, The ANSWER Coalition, National Assembly, National Campaign for Non-Violent Resistance, Pledge of Resistance, Voices for Creative Non-Violence, World Can’t Wait, Code Pink and United for Peace & Justice.

And the protests are continuing. On Saturday, Seattle activists are gathering at 2 p.m. in Westlake Park at the urging of ANSWER (The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism coalition). The planned demonstration and protest is also endorsed by The World Can’t Wait, a group that began organizing in opposition to the Bush administration.

ANSWER described its opposition in a statement issued right after Obama said he was sending more troops to Afghanistan:

“The U.S. cannot ‘win’ the war in Afghanistan. It was losing the war when Barack Obama took office. In March 2009, President Obama ordered another 30,000 troops. Rather than reverse the outcome, the U.S. and NATO effort lost even more ground. Now President Obama has ordered another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan…

Bush and Cheney ordered the invasion thinking it would be easy going. They thought Iraq would be easy, too. They were going to wipe out the governments in Iran, Syria and North Korea. This colonial-type fantasy, nourished by ‘great nation’ arrogance and the acquiescence of a caste of corrupt politicians in Congress, set the stage for the current catastrophe of a war without end.

After eight years of war, more than 140 armed insurgent groups of Afghans now exist as a response to the invasion and they control large parts of the country. The people in Afghanistan perceive the occupation as a colonial-type takeover of their country. September 11 was a pretext, but there were no Afghans or Iraqis who hijacked the planes. The people of Afghanistan, like the people in Vietnam, will never accept foreign military occupation in their country.”

Meanwhile, violence in the region continues.

In Rawalpindi, Pakistan, news reports said, militants attacked a mosque near army headquarters, killing at least 36 worshippers, including six military officers, during Friday prayers. Officials said they sprayed gunfire and threw grenades before blowing themselves up.

The Associated Press said, “Violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan has escalated since the army launched an offensive in mid-October against Taliban militants in the northwestern tribal area of South Waziristan near the Afghan border.”

In Afghanistan, U.S. Marines launched a major operation today,

According to The Associated Press, “Hundreds of troops from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and the Marine reconnaissance unit Task Force Raider were dropped by helicopter and MV-22 Osprey aircraft behind Taliban lines in the northern end of the Now Zad Valley of Helmand province, scene of heavy fighting last summer.”

December
2
2009

Protests greet Obama’s troop buildup plan for Afghanistan

The protests against President Obama’s “surge” in Afghanistan were building even before he announced he would send 30,000 more troops to the war. Now, according to an Institute for Public Accuracy news release, they are in high gear.

World March organized a number of events for today in the United States and elsewhere. Ed Asner and Martin Sheen are among those joining the protests in Los Angeles. Chris Wells, the North America spokesperson for World March, said today: “We keep going down the same road. It’s important to denounce war, but we must build peace – we must change our entire mindset. During the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King Jr. said that the U.S. was the greatest purveyor of violence in the world and that if we didn’t end that military mindset we’d be protesting war in country after country. We’ll be participating in a tribute to King at the Lincoln
memorial this afternoon.”

The March has been endorsed by the presidents of eleven countries, and also by Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Ellsberg, Cate Blanchett, Yoko Ono, Art Garfunkel, Philip Glass and hundreds more.

For more information, including a complete list of events in the United States, go to http://www.worldmarchusa.net .For events in other parts of the world, got to http://www.theworldmarch.org .

The IPA news release this morning also said Michael McPhearson, national executive director of Veterans For Peace, recently sent a letter to Obama saying: “With millions of U.S. people feeling the fear and desperation of no longer having a home; with millions feeling the terror and loss of dignity that comes with unemployment; with millions of our children slipping further into poverty and hunger, your decision to deploy thousands more troops and throw hundreds of billions more dollars into prolonging the profoundly tragic war in Afghanistan strikes us as utter folly. We believe this decision represents a war against ordinary people, both here in the United States and in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan, if continued, will result in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of U.S. troops, and untold thousands of Afghans.”

Also, IPA listed a unique and more solitary protest by Thomas Mahany, a Vietnam veteran and a stonemason and artist from Michigan. Mahany has been protesting with a water-only fast in front of the White House since Veterans Day. Today, he sent a letter to Congress calling for an end to the military’s stop-loss policy, which is the involuntary extension of a service member’s active duty service in order to keep them in the military beyond the time they signed up for:

“The horrible mass murder at Fort Hood on November 5th was an alarm going off. On that day I decided I could no longer remain indifferent to such an obviously unjust Pentagon policy of troop procurement leading to rampant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among our combat soldiers and placing unbearable hardship on the families of a very limited sector of our population.

“A new Army mental health survey of soldiers in Afghanistan shows that morale is down and mental stress increases with an increased number of deployments. Action is well past due to deal with the cruel and self-serving stop-loss strategy implemented by our military on a severely undermanned fighting force.”

While these protests are praiseworthy, it is also worth noting that Obama is only living up to his campaign promises. He said he would shift the war to Afghanistan, and he is doing that. On the domestic front, we got some “hope.” On the international front, we got a lot of goodwill toward the United States just for electing Obama. But as far as U.S. actions abroad, it’s still pretty much business as usual. We will still send our soldiers to fight for our business interests wherever those interests take us.

December
1
2009

U.S. endorses conservative victor in Honduran presidential election

Christmas came early for the conservative victor in Sunday’s presidential election in Honduras. And, unfortunately, it’s the United States who is playing Santa.

The Associated Press reported that Porfiro Lobo, a wealthy and very conservative cattle rancher known affectionately as Pepe, called the race “the cleanest in the history of the country.” Pepe asked nations to recognize his government despite the controversy sparked by the military coup five months ago that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

“We ask them … to see that they are punishing the people who went to vote, do so every four years and have nothing to do with what happened on June 28,” Lobo said, according to AP and other press reports on Monday.

The coup government has been ostracized internationally and most nations have said they would not recognize anyone elected under that coup government. On Tuesday, leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain and Portugal released a statement calling the coup “unacceptable,” saying that reinstating President Zelaya was “a fundamental step” the Central American country needed to take to return to constitutional normality. The leaders of Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica, however, had individually endorsed the election. The statement was released at the end of a three-day Iberoamerican summit in Estoril, Portugal.

“Respect for a democratic way of life has, especially in the Latin American region, a tragic history and because of that we have to defend democracy unconditionally,” Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, told a press conference.

The president of Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said all leaders opposed the coup but that “differences centered on how we evaluated the elections and their consequences.” The majority are refusing to recognize the results.

The Obama administration had previously indicated it would not recognize the results of any election unless Zelaya was first restored to power. But last week, the U.S. State Department said it backed the election process as an “essential part” of the solution to the crisis.

U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens went much farther on Monday, calling the election “a great celebration of democracy.”

“Pepe Lobo is a man of great political experience,” Llorens said. “I wish him luck, and the United States will work with him for the good of both our countries. … Our relations will be very strong.”

To its credit, the U.S. State Department did say that negotiations to create a unity government should continue. That unity government would hold power until Lobo takes office Jan. 27. Under a U.S.-brokered pact, Honduran lawmakers will vote Wednesday on whether Zelaya should be restored until Lobo takes office.

Zelaya, however, told BBC on Tuesday that the official turnout figures of some 60% were fraudulent. He also said he would refuse reinstatement even if Congress votes to restore him to serve out his term.

A Honduran political analyst, Eduardo Bahr, said the newly elected president would be a puppet of the United States.

“The winner in these elections has to follow the guidelines of Washington and act as an ideological cap on the progressive ideas in the south of the continent,” Bahr, director of the Honduran National Library and a political observer during the elections, in an interview to news agency TELESUR Monday.

Is this train wreck bound for a banana republic?

November
30
2009

Zambia AIDS orphan to speak at SPU

Tuesday is World AIDS Day, and to mark the occasion Seattle Pacific University is sponsoring a speech by Princess Zulu, a woman who grew up an AIDS orphan in Zambia. According to the press release, “for someone with the first name of ‘Princess,’ this HIV-positive Zambian woman certainly has not lived a charmed life.”

Princess Zulu (photo from her Web site)

Princess Zulu (photo from her Web site)

She now lives in the United States with her daughters, Joy and Faith, and speaks across the nation to spread awareness about the AIDS epidemic. Zulu has spoken with President George W. Bush, the ONE campaign, World Vision, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and many others. Her visit to the SPU campus comes with the help of World Vision.

Zulu will share her story on Tuesday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Beegle Hall 201 on the SPU campus. Her quest is to raise world awareness about AIDS, hunger, malaria, and poverty.

Following Zulu’s speech, the ACT:S club will hold a candlelight vigil in SPU’s Tiffany Loop. This will include a display of 1,000 crosses, which represent the number of people who die of HIV/AIDS every three hours.

The event is sponsored by ACT:S, an SPU student club concerned with poverty and injustice. The vigil is in collaboration with the international humanitarian non-profit organization World Concern.

For more information about the event, contact SPU News and Media Relations Manager Tracy Norlen at 206-281-2977 or ACT:S club representative Alyssa Musgrave at musgra1@spu.edu.

November
27
2009

Huge outcry over political massacre of 57 people in The Philippines

Yesterday in the Philippines, Ismael Mangudadatu registered to run for governor of Maguindanao province on the southern island of Mindanao. It doesn’t sound like an unusual event unless you know that on Monday 57 men and women on their way to register Mangudadatu were massacred, execution style.

The group included Mangudadatu’s wife, Genalyn, and other relatives, and 22 Filipino journalists.

Mangudadatu and his supporters had thought it would be safe to send his female relatives to register his candidacy even though he knew that people in the province, primarily the powerful Ampatuan family, were out to prevent him from running. Maguindanao, after all, is predominantly a Muslim province, and women are traditionally safe even from the bitterest enemies. Besides, there were many journalists in the group to help keep them safe.

The attack, according to the TimesOnline of London, “has raised questions about the relationship between the gangster clans such as the Ampatuan family and the highest levels of the Philippines metropolitan elite.

“Yesterday Andal Ampatuan Jr, the son of one of the most powerful men in Mindanao, was charged with seven counts of murder. “He was the one who gave the instructions,” Agnes Devanadera, the Justice Minister, said. “He was among those … who killed the victims.’

“Until they were expelled this week, Mr. Ampatuan and his father were important members of the ruling party of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the President. Her Government has also moved against members of its security forces suspected of being complicit in the violence.”

The National Union of Journalists of The Philippines issued this statement:

Today we say, “Enough.”

The massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao goes beyond a rido, or clan war. The sheer scope of barbarity, the brazenness of the murders betrays the perpetrators’ belief in being beyond the reach of the law.

Women, lawyers and journalists – no one escaped the butchers’ wrath. Fifty-seven people killed in broad daylight. The murderers had planned the deed, down to the mass burial of victims. That is the mark of the untouchable.

The Ampatuan massacre not only highlights the capacity for abuse by a political clan that has acted as ruler, judge, jury and executioner in its feudal turf; it is the graphic proof that State forces actually abet crime and protect criminals who provide favors for government officials.

Amid the outrage, even as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed Maguindanao in a state of emergency, the government tried to downplay the role of the Ampatuan clan in the massacre.

Filipinos have been jailed, tortured and killed for petty crimes and for exercising their right to peaceful dissent. Yet PNP officials displayed an abject reluctance to even name the Ampatuans as suspects. President Arroyo even issued a public reaffirmation of her friendship with the Ampatuans. And for good reason.

The Ampatuans, feudal rulers of Maguindanao, gifted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with unbelievable margins of victory in the 2004 polls. They delivered the same service for her allies in 2007 election. They provide food and money for the military and para-military forces. They command a proxy army in the fight against secessionist rebels.

The Ampatuans and other warlords across the country have been doing these for a succession of administrations. Philippine leaders like to boast of our democracy. What confront us are images of a failed State, where institutions are unable to exercise mandated functions, and the central government cedes substantial power to warlords who maintain private armies, which include “civilian volunteers.”

The cozy ties between central government and local warlords blanket the Philippine countryside with a climate of fear born of a culture of impunity. While this is a long-standing problem, it has reached monstrous proportions under the Arroyo administration, which has spent the nine years devouring the very bases of public power in its relentless effort to privatize that power as the public monies.

We have had enough.

We demand the arrest and prosecution of all persons involved in the Ampatuan massacre, especially the masterminds. We demand the immediate suspension from office of all persons linked to the crime.

We demand the immediate arrest of all police and military officials who, by commission or omission, allowed the massacre to happen. We demand full punishment for all officers that tried to coddle the perpetrators of this massacre.

We demand the creation of an independent commission, to include media representatives, to probe the massacre and the events that led to it.

We demand that a special court with a presiding judge of impeccable credentials undertake the trial of the suspects in the Ampatuan massacre.

We demand that media access be guaranteed in all stages and processes of the investigation and prosecution.

We demand full and immediate coverage of victims’ families and witnesses in the witness protection program.

We demand the immediate dismantling and disarmament of para-military forces nationwide as they have long been used as private armies of local warlords.

We demand the creation of an independent body composed of impartial persons of the highest integrity to oversee the disarming of para-military forces and the disposition of their arms.

We also demand an overhaul of a justice system that rewards criminals and tramples on the innocent.

We … concerned Filipino individuals and organizations vow to hold a national protest to demand meaningful action from this administration. If government is unwilling to govern, IT MUST STEP DOWN. Only when the culture of impunity has been defeated can this nation proceed with the task of building peace and democracy in the Philippines.

On a Facebook page, journalist Inday Espina-Varona, said the statement “is not limited to journalists. It is NOT limited to just demanding justice for the Ampatuan massacre victims. It contains demands that, hopefully, can start the ball rolling for badly needed reforms.

“These reforms will not change our society overnight. But if we don’t even start, we’ll be forever trapped in this cycle of violence and corruption.

“The statement is non-partisan. The call is for a non-partisan national protest. It is our hope that you, all of us, prod our organizations, our churches, political parties to sit down and work together and, please, dear god, put aside self interests for a while.”

An Associated Press report quotes local police saying that six senior officers, including the provincial police chief and his deputy, 20 members of Ampatuan township’s police station and nearly 400 militiamen were in custody.

For the Philippines, unfortunately, that’s just a start. And the real test will come when it’s time to charge and prosecute those believed to be involved in the massacre.

November
22
2009

Conference will focus on negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program

A coalition of Seattle academic, religious, and peace groups, and individual activists are co-sponsoring a community conference on resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis through negotiations rather than force.

The event, “Iran-Israel-U.S.: Resolving the Nuclear Impasse,” is planned for December 16th at Seattle’s Town Hall. The organizers say that many in the progressive community are deeply concerned that the United States and/or Israel may take military action against Iran. These fears have been exacerbated by the recent House bill that provides for severe sanctions against Iran and by the continued statements from neocons in the United States and Israel declaring military force as the only way to curb Iran’s nuclear efforts.

The organizers of this event, in a recent fundraising letter, say, “This conference will present a comprehensive approach that could resolve major difference through diplomacy and open a new era in relations between these three current enemies. It will also discuss the best means of supporting the Iran reform movement in its efforts to encourage a government based on democracy and tolerance.”

One of the key organizers, Richard Silverstein, said, “The purpose of this event is to show the American people that there are legitimate ways to resolve the differences between the U.S. and Iran short of force and violence. Most analysts believe that neither sanctions nor a military attack can impede Iran’s nuclear program in any serious way. The only way to resolve this issue is through diplomacy and negotiation.”

The conference will feature three analysts who will discuss U.S. and Israeli policy options including sanctions and the possible military attack. The speakers will be: Reza Firouzbakht, national board chair, National Iranian American Council; Ian Lustick, political science professor, University of Pennsylvania; and Dr. Keith Weissman, former director of AIPAC’s Iran desk.

The conference coalition includes: the Middle East Center, Jackson School of International Studies, Univ. of Washington; the Stroum Jewish Studies Program, Univ. of Washington; the American Friends Service Committee; the United Nations Association; Peace Action of Washington; the Network Promoting Peace with Iran; Jewish Voice for Peace; and American Muslims of Puget Sound.

“I hope to show that Israel sees its interest as stirring up as much animosity as possible against Iran within this country — if Israel had its way I believe it would attack Iran,” Silverstein said. “But I hope we can do everything possible to show that the way to ease a possible Iranian nuclear threat is not through the path Israel would choose.”

The conference, despite its support, is not a done deal. Organizers are still trying to come up with the full $4,000 that the Town Hall event costs. So far, donors have come through with about $1,500. So there is a considerable amount of money to be raised.

If you are able to help, a tax-deductible contribution may be made to:

American Friends Service Committee
c/o Iran Conference (note this on your check as well)
814 NE 40th Street
Seattle, WA 98105

Or you may mail a check to:
Richard Silverstein
1110 37th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

November
18
2009

Iraq may hang 126 women by year’s end despite international appeals

Iraq is planning to execute up to 126 women by the end of this year. At least 9 may be hanged within the next two weeks. Human rights groups say the only crime committed by many of these women was to serve in the government of Saddam Hussein. Others, according to human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, were convicted of common crimes based on confessions that were the result of torture.

Amnesty reports that at least 1,000 men and women are now on death row in Iraq, a country that has one of the highest rates of execution in the world. Amnesty released the following appeal in late August:

“At least nine women under sentence of death in Iraq are now in imminent danger of execution, as Iraq’s Presidential Council has ratified their death sentences. Three other women have been executed since early June.

The authorities have transferred a number of women to the 5th section of Baghdad’s al-Kadhimiya Prison, which is where condemned prisoners are held immediately before they are executed…

One of the women now in imminent danger, Samar Saed Abdullah, was sentenced to death in August 2005 for the murder of her uncle, his wife

Photo of Samar Saed Abdullah provided to CNN by her family

Photo of Samar Saed Abdullah provided to CNN by her family

and one of their children. She blamed her fiancé, saying he had committed the killings in order to rob her uncle. It is not known whether her fiancé has been arrested… At her trial, she alleged that after her arrest she had been held at a police station in Hay al-Khadhra in Baghdad and tortured by being beaten with a cable, beaten on the soles of her feet and subjected to electric shocks to make her confess…”

In an article written in September by CNN.com’s Arwa Damon, Samar Saed Abdullah describes her confession:

“They kept beating me, and they told me, ‘Say whatever we want you to say, and do not say anything else, and say yes, I was an accomplice to this crime.’ Although I had nothing to do with it. Finally, they made me sign a blank piece of paper, and they filled it out afterwards.”

An Iraqi organization, the Women’s Will Association, is trying to build an international coalition to put pressure on the Iraqi government to stop the executions immediately. This group and others suggest sending appeals immediately to representatives in Congress and to people and organizations like these:

Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
commissioner@coe.int

(United Nations) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
civilsocietyunit@ohchr.org

Amnesty has suggested that urgent appeals be sent via the Iraqi embassy or diplomatic representative in your country, asking them to forward your appeals to Iraqi President Jalal Talabai.

Also, it can’t hurt to let the White House know what you think:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact