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WAR WATCHPENTAGON READIES NUCLEAR STRIKES ON IRAQThe Bush administration is actively planning to use nuclear weapons to destroy underground bunkers and thwart the use of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Defense analyst William M. Arkin learned about this unprecedented integration of nuclear weapons into battlefield planning from confidential sources and leaked memos. On Jan. 26 he wrote in the L.A. Times that adding nuclear weapons to the "normal option ladder makes their use more likely--especially under a policy of preemption that says Washington alone will decide when to strike." This dangerous policy is likely to lead other nuclear powers to respond in kind. GUNS NOT BUTTERThe 2004 budget the Bush administration proposed in February contains increased funding for domestic security and the military, but little else. Of $30 billion in new spending, $14 billion is for the military and $5 billion is for domestic security. There is a $1 billion increase in education spending, leaving only $10 billion for the escalating needs brought on by an economic downturn and record-breaking state and city budget deficits. At the same time, Bush is pushing for a $674 billion tax cut over the next 10 years, which will put additional wealth in the pockets of the rich. LABOR ORGANIZES AGAINST WAROver 100 representatives of central labor councils, ad-hoc labor committees against the war, and local unions from across the country attended the "National Meeting of Labor Organizations and Officials Opposed to U.S. War in Iraq" on Jan. 11 in Chicago. The group adopted a founding resolution, chose U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) as its name, and agreed that the most important next step was to get more labor organizations on board. USLAW believes it can win 200 unions and principal officers to back its antiwar resolution and to bring labor's muscle to the antiwar movement at this crucial time. Contact G8751@erols.com. U.N. PREDICTS CRISIS IN IRAQ WARU.N. agencies say that 500,000 Iraqis would be injured in the early stage of a war, even if nuclear weapons were not detonated. They also predict that up to 9.5 million Iraqis would immediately become dependent on aid agencies for food. Less than half the population would have access to clean water. The U.N. document, titled "Likely Humanitarian Scenarios," also predicts "The outbreak of diseases in epidemic if not pandemic proportions is very likely." INTERNATIONALS IN IRAQVoices in the Wilderness has sent more than 60 delegations to Iraq with supplies since 1996. As war looms, VitW delegations are participating in the Iraq Peace Team. Peace Team delegations travel to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and return home "to bring awareness of the reality of Iraqi life, a reality that is not available on most media outlets." www.nonviolence.org/vitw. Others are heading for Iraq with the intent of acting as human shields at potential bombing targets. The "We the People" campaign, organized by a 1991 Gulf War veteran, has gathered volunteers from the U.S., Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Denmark. www.humanshields.org. BOOKS NOT BOMBSThe National Youth and Student Peace Coalition is organizing a one-day student strike March 5 under the banner "Books Not Bombs! Stop The War Against Iraq!" www.nyspc.net. ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTIONThe U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to counsel and a fair trial. Yet two U.S. citizens, Yasser Hamdi and Jose Padilla, are held in military jails as "enemy combatants" without being charged with crimes and without access to lawyers. Hundreds of people detained after Sept. 11 were also denied their right to counsel. Most recently the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Hamdi access to a lawyer and sided with the Bush administration's claim of "absolute authority in a time of war." FREE MARWAN BARGHOUTIOn Jan. 19 an Israeli court ruled that popular Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti must stand trial on April 6. Because he is a member of the Palestinian legislature and Israel is a foreign power, Barghouti argues, "The state of Israel doesn't have the right to try me or accuse me. I am fighting for the rights of my people against the cruel occupation." Barghouti maintains he is innocent of charges that he participated in attacks that left 26 Israelis dead. Former South African President Nelson Mandela says, "What is happening to Barghouti is exactly the same as what happened to me. The government tried to de-legitimize the African National Congress and its armed struggle by putting me on trial." www.freebarghouti.org.
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