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CounterPunch
December
23, 2002
A Report from
Cairo on the International Campaign Against US Aggression on
Iraq
by PETER PHILIPS
Cairo. Bid-Meellah-E Rahman-E Al Rahim, In the name
of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, was the prayer by President
Ahmad Ben Bella of Algeria introducing the start of the International
Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq. The Conrad Hotel on the
Nile River in Cairo served as the gathering place for over 400
people from some twenties countries on December 18-19, 2002.
We assembled to launch an international effort to prevent United
States military aggression and in the hope of stimulating worldwide
protest against the pending war on the people of Iraq. There
was a shared belief among the participants that a unified "Cairo
Declaration" from the center of the Arab world would contribute
to the growing millions of people worldwide who have protested
and marched against what is now being described as Bush's War.
President Ben Bella, hero of the Algerian
revolution, expressed what were to become common themes at the
conference: that Regime change in Iraq would only be the first
Arab country to be attacked, and that Iran, Syria, and even Egypt
would follow. "Oil is Islam," declared Ben Bella, the
United States is part of a long line of colonial powers. Each
in turn has been destroyed and nothing else is possible for the
United States. Arab peoples will not be subject to colonial rule;
continued struggle will emerge to defeat the invaders. Arab civilization
is the "museum of humanity' and will not be the subject
of a "New World Order" or a final crusade.
In private Ben Bella was less than optimistic
about the chances of avoiding war. At 85 years of age, he is
a striking six feet four inches tall with a firm handshake. When
finding out I was an American he said through a translator, tell
the American people that "they are the only ones who can
stop this war." I told him of our anti-war protests and
marches but he said we must try harder.
For two days speakers from Europe, the
Arab world and the Americas expressed solidarity with the people
of Iraq and outrage at U.S. unilateralism.
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark
spoke of the "great urgency" facing the world. He described
the huge U.S. Military build-up taking place in the Gulf and
how if the U.S. attacks we will become the "enemy of humanity."
John Rees from the Stop the War Coalition,
in Great Britain, said that over two thirds of the British oppose
the war, and that over half a million marched in London already,
and by February 15th millions will march in every city in Europe.
Mr. Saad K. Hammoundy, Iraq's ambassador
the Arab League, sees U.S. aggression as militarily inter-linked
with the globalization of capital investments. American capital
penetration requires a military presence to insure its security.
The quest for the control of oil lead the U.S. to steal Iraq's
weapons declaration from the United Nations in order to change
it and find an excuse for an invasion. The U.S. cooked the Iraq
report he claimed. Hummoundy went on to say that the U.S. can
teach nothing about Democracy to a country that first had a parliament
3000 years ago and continues to have deep democratic traditions.
Denis Halliday, (Ireland) was the United
Nations Assistant Secretary-General heading the Oil-for-Food
program in Iraq up through 1998. He resigned in protest of the
genocide the embargoes were having on Iraq. Halliday described
how the UN Security Council is afraid to stand up to the United
States ambitions for a global empire.
Halliday's successor as the UN director
of the Oil-for-Food program, Dr. Hans Von Sponeck, resigned from
his 30 year UN career rather than carry out a "genocide
of truth" and "information cleansing," associated
with the Oil-for-Food program. Dr. Von Sponeck's calculations
showed that Iraq people are expected to live on only $174.00
per person per year under UN sanctions. He describes the 150%
increase in child morality from 1990 to 1999 as genocide and
a "Dictatorship of the Security Council."
Throughout the conference powerful descriptive
words like hegemony, imperialism, colonialism, and fascism were
used to describe U.S. policy. There was a clear smoldering anger
towards the U.S. labeling of resistance fighters as terrorists.
Dr. William Ottman, representing the International Federation
of Journalists, reminded the conference participants how as a
young Dutch resistance fighter in World War II he was labeled
by the Nazis as a terrorist. His companions were hunted down
and murdered much like the license the CIA now holds to assassinate
"terrorists" anywhere in the world.
Summarizing on the second day of the
conference, George Galloway, Labor member of Parliament in the
UK, exclaimed, that the charge that Iraq holds weapons of mass
destruction is simply "pulp fiction." "Everyplace
visited by the inspectors so far has been completely empty,"
he stated. Galloway warned the Arab countries that Great Britain
and the U.S. behave as imperial powers because they are imperial
powers." In reference to the post-WWI division of the Middle
East into regions controlled by France and Great Britain, he
exclaimed that today, "the powerful are deciding on new
kings, new countries, and new slave centers."
During the course of the two 12 hours
days, dozens of Arab speakers, pounding fists and yelling outrage,
demonstrated a united hatred for U.S. policy. It was pointed
out that even after capturing Afghanistan the U.S. still could
not rule there. The people will not permit it, and it won't be
any different in the Arab world. Empires are never secure because
there is always an underlying resistance that will inevitably
rise up and destroy the occupier.
The Cairo Declaration
We the participants in the Cairo meetings
launch the International Campaign against U.S. Aggression on
Iraq.
The Cairo meeting is not an isolated
event, but an extension of protracted international struggle
against aggression and hegemony form Seattle, Genoa, and Lisbon.
U.S. global strategy, designed to insure
enduring economic and military ascendancy, is now fully operationalized
in a post 9/11 era.
The suffering of the Arab people and
the persistence of the U.S. government to continue aggressive
policies and unwavering support to the government of Israel will
only lead to continued violence.
We declare our total opposition to war
on Iraq.
We prepare ourselves to send human shields
to Iraq.
We will coordinate popular action to
boycott U.S. and Israel commodities.
We affirm the rights of the Iraqi and
Palestinian people to resist external occupation.
Summary:
That the conference happened at all was
in doubt until the last day before leaving. The Egyptian government
officially canceled the conference two days before, and then
reconsidered and allowed it to happen the day before we left.
There were widespread rumors that the U.S. State Department was
actively involved in attempting to repress the gathering. It
should also be noted that the conference was originally schedule
to be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo, but the Sheraton canceled
without reason at the last minute forcing a quick change to the
Conrad Hotel.
As one of eight people from the United
States, I never felt personally threatened or identified with
U.S. government policy in any way. There was a clear distinction
made between the people of the U.S. and Israel and the policies
of our respective governments. I left Cairo with a greater respect
for the national sovereignty of Arab peoples, a clear sense that
they; hold strong democratic values, believe firmly in human
rights, and value above all else peace for their families and
homelands. I can say that I support in principle the Cairo Declaration
and encourage its widespread discussion in the United States.
I want to thank the Egyptian organizing committee, especially
Engineer M. Sami and Dr. Soheir Morsy, for their gracious hospitality.
Sara Flounders and Elias Rashmawi were most helping in coordinating
the U.S. delegation.
Peter Phillips
is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University
and director of Project Censored a media research organization.
Phillips can be reached at:
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