An EU turn
By Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz, January 30, 2003
An important goal of the new government to be formed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must be the rehabilitation of relations with Europe, which have deteriorated greatly over the past two years. Israel has important interests in the Old World: The European Union is Israel's main trading partner, and its positions influence Israel's international legitimacy, while it tries to become part of the West. There has been damage in both areas, which increases the longer the conflict with the Palestinians continues to be at a dead end. Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami [Labor], who dropped in for Election Day from his sabbatical in England, warns that Israel's image in Europe must not permanently become that of an outcast nation. A senior Norwegian official, who visited Israel this month, told Israeli colleagues: "Your status in our country has been erased." In Sweden they published a call to boycott Israel, and the list goes on. The attacks on Israel come from the two political poles, the xenophobics of the extreme right and the bleeding hearts among the human rights advocates of the left. From there, they spread to the center.

US opinion and the war
By James Zogby, Arab News, January 29, 2003
Anti-war sentiment, on display during last week’s mass demonstrations, is actually deeper and more wide-spread than those protests. To be sure, the demonstrations were substantial and noteworthy given the range of endorsers and organizers and the diversity of the actual participants. But, significant opposition exists on other levels as well. In almost 50 cities across the United States, resolutions have been passed by city councils declaring opposition to the Bush Administration’s march toward war. Three items stand out. First is the range of the cities involved. In the past, efforts such as this occurred in predictably liberal communities with large universities and a history of peace and social justice activism. So it is not surprising that university cities like: San Francisco and Berkeley California (University of California); Ithaca, New York, (Cornell University); Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin); and New Haven, Connecticut (Yale University)-all have passed such anti-war resolutions. When the list, however, grows to include such major cities as Chicago, Illinois and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then Washington had better pay attention.

‘War on Terror’ — or is it?
By Syed Salamah Ali Mahdi, Arab News, January 30, 2003
The terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington paid the price for their crimes. They are all dead. The operation had a relatively small budget, not requiring the millions in Muslim personal, business or charitable funds now blocked or sequestered by the US government. At the same time, the war waged by the US on terrorism since 9/11 targets all individuals, groups and states who find US policies offensive, irrespective of their involvement in the events of that day. So, what’s up, doc? This is what is up. This war targets foreign governments.
George Bush Sr. is on record: "America must always come first." I have no problem with this patriotic sentiment, but I have severe problems when, in this "must-always-come-first" business, America is not All of America but special-interest-group-America. These special interest groups — or lobbies — control the means by which politicians are elected to public office. I have no problems with this either. Americans are free to elect whomever they want to public offices. They are also free to choose those who govern them — but I have severe problems when these same officials attempt to extend their authority, scope and power to the world at large.

Iraq War and the Nuremberg Principles
By John Whitbeck, Gush Shalom
As the American and British governments (with the Australians tagging along) very publicly plan and prepare a war of aggression which will clearly be a "crime against peace" under the Nuremberg Principles, precisely the crime for which German and Japanese leaders were executed after the Second World War, it may be useful to put the coming attack by white, English-speaking, Judeo-Christians on the Arab and Muslim
world (which is precisely how it is viewed in this part of the world) into legal and historical context. With that in mind, I am typing below the Nuremberg Principles (as affirmed by the UN General Assembly in Resolution 94 (1) of 1946), preceded by a relevant quotation from
US Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Jackson, the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Tribunal. "We must make clear to the Germans that the wrong for which their fallen leaders are on trial is not that they lost the war, but that they started it. And we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into a trial of the causes of the war, for our position is that no grievances or policies will justify resort to an aggressive war. It is utterly renounced and condemned as an instrument of policy". -- Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Jackson (PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW RECOGNIZED IN THE CHARTER OF THE NUREMBERG TRIBUNAL AND IN THE JUDGMENT OF THE TRIBUNAL follows)

Arabs Beware; the Trojan Horse is in Your Midst
By Raff Ellis, Palestine Chronicle, January 30, 2003
"Ironically, Iraq was the first of the Middle Eastern nations under British mandate to gain independence, in 1932. I say 'ironically' because it may also be the first to lose whatever sovereignty it gained .." -- One would think that the Arabs, mindful of the last 100 years of history, would be a bit wary of Western intentions, as they become drawn into the “war on terrorism.” In what appears to be an eerie reincarnation of the old British Empire, the US is establishing a military presence in many foreign lands that heretofore had none. In Arab countries, since 1990, military bases have been established in Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. A remarkable feat when one considers the rampant anti-Americanism that is supposed to be present in the Arab world. Undoubtedly, promises have been made, for in today’s geopolitical world, no one gives anything for free, certainly not bases for military action. The Arabs should be mindful that many of the white man’s treaties and promises were not honored for Middle Easterners just as they weren’t honored for Native Americans. Also, keeping its word has not been one of Washington’s strong suits, (nor that of its ally, Great Britain), and no lengthy recitation is needed here to demonstrate that point.

Europe old and new
Editorial, The Guardian, January 31, 2003
Divisions hamper response to Iraq crisis  -- As the Iraq crisis accelerates towards a fearsome dénouement, the leaders of Europe are playing their own dangerous games. On one level, Tony Blair's success in creating a European "coalition of the willing" may be seen as a poke in the eye for France's anti-war president, Jacques Chirac. His signature, along with that of Germany's anti-war chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, was notably absent from the round robin expressing solidarity with the US that was published yesterday by Mr Blair and seven other European leaders. This exercise was a sharp reminder to France that it should not presume to speak for Europe on Iraq or indeed on other issues. It sent a useful, though not totally credible signal ahead of today's Camp David war council, that Mr Blair, as an enterprising ally, can "deliver" European support to the Bush administration. On a more petty level, it might also be seen as Mr Blair's revenge for Mr Chirac's meddling over Zimbabwe and some other recent, irritating démarches.

"Where is mercy?"
By Amira El-Noshokaty, Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 30 Jan. - 5 Feb. 2003
On the psychological impact of violence on children -- Children living under the occupation forces in Palestine share a similar fate with children living in war-torn conditions in Sudan. According to Rima Shewaki, a psychologist at the Palestinian Guidance Centre, children have been drawing images of blood-soaked battlefields and bombed houses during their psychological therapy sessions at the centre. Most of the children being treated there suffer from anxiety, involuntary urination, lack of concentration, hair loss and an overly strong attachment to their mothers. -- "Why is this happening to me? Where is mercy?" were the words of 13-year-old Arkan Anglo, whose life was shattered seven years ago with the death of his parents when their village in southern Sudan was burnt to the ground. Anglo also lost the use of his hands, and his injured legs prevented him from going to school. Living in an orphanage in southern Sudan, Anglo believes there is little use in thinking about the future. He still fails to comprehend the reasons behind the civil war that devastated his life -- a war which began in 1955. Anglo is just one of many case studies presented by Sudanese psychiatrist Abdel-Basit Merghani, who has studied the impact of armed conflict on Sudanese children. Armed conflicts have transformed this planet into anything but a world fit for children. Studies such as those carried out by Merghani indicate that living in a constant state of war has given rise to a whole series of psychological traumas that not only torment children in the present but devastate their future.

Iraq war: Strategic choice for Jordan
By Amir Taheri, Arab News, January 31, 2003
Grim but determined. This was the impression that Jordan’s King Abdallah II gave the other day during an informal breakfast with some journalists at Davos, Switzerland. “It would take a miracle to prevent war, now,” the king said. As a military man he knows that one cannot bring a quarter of a million troops from the other side of the world and then take them back without having changed the status quo. “Whatever we might do to prevent war may now prove to be too little, too late,” he said. Apart from Iraq itself, no country is likely to be as affected by the looming war than Jordan. Jordan gets all of its oil needs, some 90,000 barrels a day, from Iraq at cut-rate prices. It also earns almost $1 billion a year from exports and transit rights to Iraq. Jordan is also home to an estimated 400,000 Iraqis whose lives are bound to change whatever the outcome of the war. It is obvious that the young king has pondered his options with care.

Memo to Washington’s most powerful people
By Norman Solomon, Arab News, January 31, 2003
OK, let’s review the main points. A basic PR problem remains. While you’re in a hurry to launch an all-out war on Iraq, the main obstacle is that a large majority of Americans don’t feel the rush. Uncle Sam’s usual carrots and sticks have a long way to go at the UN Security Council. The big disappointment of January is that some key allies haven’t caved yet. No need to belabor the recent polling numbers. Newsweek did a national sampling of opinion midway through the month, and you went into a funk when you read the Associated Press summary: "Most Americans want the United States to take more time seeking a peaceful solution in Iraq rather than moving quickly into a military confrontation."

The Case of Mordechai Vannunu: Preeminent Hero of the Nuclear Age
By Mark Gaffney, CounterPunch, January 31, 2003
Each day we move closer to a Mideast war that could involve the use of horrible weapons, even nukes. In this darkest hour since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the shining example of one man's courage has never been more relevant to the cause of peace. That man is Mordechai Vanunu, former Israeli nuclear technician, and may well be the longest serving prisoner of conscience anywhere in the world. Daniel Ellsberg recently referred to him as "the preeminent hero of the nuclear age." In September 1986, Mordechai Vanunu was illegally abducted by agents of the Mossad for revealing to the world press information that confirmed the existence of Israel's often-denied plutonium separation plant. The plant is buried eighty feet below ground in the Negev desert, and had long escaped detection. Since the 1960s it has been used to recover plutonium from spent fuel rods from the Dimona nuclear reactor, located nearby. The plant continues to be an integral part of Israel's ongoing nuclear weapons program. Israel is believed to possess at least 200 nukes. Then Prime Minister Shimon Peres ordered Vanunu' s abduction to silence the whistleblower, and to bring him to trial for allegedly jeopardizing the securi ty of the state of Israel. But Vanunu's real "crime" was speaking the truth. And for that he was made to suffer a fate worse than death: eleven years and five months in solitary confinement. Isolation in a tiny cell is a well known form of torture, and one that can cause deep emotional scars and mental impairment. During this period Vanunu was subjected to constant harassments and humiliations: an obvious attempt by the Mossad to "break" his will, or drive him over the edge. Amnesty International described the conditions of his ordeal as "cruel, inhuman, and degrading."