Trans-National Institute News / Iraq War / Bello on Lamy's Thai Visit / Susan George on GM Crops

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday April 17, 2003 19:04 by dataflow4

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Institute. If you wish to view a complete version of this bulletin with
direct links, please visit http://www.tni.org

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17 April 2003

In this issue:

- The Invasion of Iraq
- New from Fellows:
Susan George on Genetically Modified Crops
Walden Bello on Pascal Lamy's Thai visit
- New from Projects:
Challenging International Drug Conventions
Reports on Illicit Drugs Markets
Electricity Regulatory Commissions in India
Climate Change & Global Trade and Financial Flows
Crude Vision: Promoting Bechtel in Iraq
- Other News:
Critical Globalisation Conference
Campaign Against the Internal Security Act of Malaysia

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WAR ON IRAQ

Before the invasion of Iraq, the US heralded this as a war to pre-
empt Iraq using Weapons of Mass Destruction, in spite of UN
inspectors reporting that there were none. Then, it was about
liberating the Iraqi people from the dictatorship of Saddam and
bringing democracy to that unhappy land. There is doubtless much
rejoicing at the demise of Saddam but it does not make the
invasion of Iraq any less illegal, the violations of the UN Charter still
stand. The illegality of the war means that any post-war US
occupation is illegal too. The United States should not be allowed
any claim to the right to rule nor to determine the economic,
political or social arrangements for post-war Iraq. In terms of
international law, this is the sole preserve of the United Nations.

Please find below the latest views on the war on Iraq from the TNI
fellowship.

The Day After the Statues Fall
By Phyllis Bennis
The fact that many Iraqis are pleased with the destruction of the
regime does not mean the US war was legal, justified or
appropriate. All of the violations of the UN charter are still
violations, and we will never know how many Iraqi civilians and
unwilling conscripts died.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bennis/points10.htm

Who Rules the Peace When the Rulers Break the Rules?
By Phyllis Bennis
Because the war itself is illegal, any post-war U.S. occupation will
be illegal too. That means the United States should not be allowed
to claim any power to rule or determine economic, political or
social arrangements in post-war Iraq.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bennis/points9.htm

An Agenda for Justice
By Phyllis Bennis and John Cavanagh
The global movement for peace and justice we are building should
emphasize the primacy of internationalism and the centrality of the
United Nations
http://www.tni.org/archives/bennis/agenda.htm

US: Losing the Political War
By Praful Bidwai
The amazing Iraqi resistance to the Anglo-American invasion has
upset war plans, and raised the political costs for Washington to
nightmarish levels. http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/loosing.htm

Grave Perils of 'pre-emption'
By Praful Bidwai Public-spirited citizens everywhere must demand
that their governments don't recognise either an 'interim' US-led
administration or a puppet government in Iraq.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/perils.htm

Iraq: Bloody Anarchy, Rather than democratic order, Looms
By Praful Bidwai
The US plans to install puppet regime in Iraq, to what Iraqi people
are likely to be allergic. The result could be chaos.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/bloody.htm

Now, a Puppet in Iraq
By Praful Bidwai
Although Washington promised it would not impose a government
on Iraq from the outside, it plans to secure the entire country over
six months through an interim administration headed by Lt Gen Jay
Garner.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/puppet.htm

The Blame Game Begins
By Praful Bidwai
If the war doesn't go as Washington planned there will be a search
for the culprit in the Washington administration.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/blame.htm

The Emperor's new Clothes
By Praful Bidwai
The two stated objectives of the war coalition were to severely
discipline 'deviant' Iraq and to promote 'pluralist democracy' in the
Middle East. Neither is likely to happen without bloodshed. The
second may never happen.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/clothes.htm

Shop, Go to Church, Support Bush and wait for Armageddon
By Saul Landau
Since 9/11/01 God has emerged as the dominant force in U.S.
politics. Bush has been using good vs. evil rethoric to justify the
war on Iraq and conceal the real motives for it.
http://www.tni.org/archives/landau/shop.htm

Saddam Won Gulf War 2; Long Live Gulf War 3
By Saul Landau
Sure, many Iraqis want to get rid of Saddam, but it is doubtful they
wanted US to do the job.
http://www.tni.org/archives/landau/saddam.htm

Virtual Saddam Takes Aim
By Boris Kagaritsky
The Anglo-American coalition can run Iraq as an occupying regime,
risking increasing guerrilla activity in the cities and resistance from
Hussein's clan, or they can make a deal with Hussein's people.
http://www.tni.org/archives/kagarlitsky/virtual.htm

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FORUM ON LEGALITY OF THE WAR AGAINST IRAQ

TNI Forum The Legality of the War against Iraq: Implications for the
UN System.
Amsterdam, May 5

The forum will discuss the new US doctrine of "pre-emptive strike"
and implications of the Iraq war, conducted unilaterally, without the
UN Security Council sanction necessary for such an invasion to be
legal in terms of international law on the international legal system.

The speakers, both long-standing members of TNI's Board of
Advisors, are:
Peter Weiss - an international legal expert from the US and Vice-
President of the International Association of Lawyers against
Nuclear Arms (IALANA).
Jan Pronk - former Dutch Minister of Development Co-operation.
Currently professor at the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague.
http://www.tni.org/antiwarpage/acts/legality.htm

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NEW FROM FELLOWS

New book: La ideología neoimperial.
La crisis de EEUU con Irak
By Mariano Aguirre and Phyllis Bennis TNI/CIP with Icaria,
Barcelona, April 2003 (133pp) ISBN: 84-7426-637-8 € 6,61

This book deals with the crisis over Iraq and the ideological basis
for the neo-imperial policy of the USA towards the Middle East.
The authors characterise the Iraq crisis as a culmination of a series
of regressive domestic and foreign policies instituted by George
Bush Jr., as a means of consolidating US hegemony, particularly
in the face of the burgeoning movements critical of globalisation.
They predict that this war will generate profound changes to the
international system.

More information from the publisher:
http://www.icariaeditorial.com/llib/l637-8.htm

Growing GM Crops is an Irreversible Act of Ecological Folly:
Europe's Harvest of Contamination
By Susan George
The European Commission is failing to protect Europe against
determined pressure from the United States to accept genetically
modified organisms, preferably without any rules on their
traceability or labelling.
http://www.tni.org/george/articles/gmcrops.htm

Pascal Lamy Holds Court at the Oriental
Walden Bello reports on the meeting between European Union
Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and representatives of several
Bangkok - based NGOs. http://www.tni.org/archives/bello/lamy.htm

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NEW FROM THE DRUGS & DEMOCRACY PROJECT

Measuring Progress: Global Supply of Illicit Drugs,
Progress Report by the Transnational Institute This is a TNI
contribution to the Mid-term (2003) Review of UNGASS. The report
examines whether the international community is on track to
reduce illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse.
http://www.tni.org/drugs/reports/progress.pdf

Part of the report is available also in Spanish:
Oferta global de coca/cocaína: las cifras del 'progreso' Informe
como contribución a la Revisión de mitad de período (2003) de
UNGASS
http://www.tni.org/drugs/reports/brief5s.pdf

Coca, Cocaine and the International Conventions
TNI Drug Policy Briefing - No. 5, April 2003
There is an urgent need for a more pragmatic and less moralistic
attitude towards the consumption of the coca leaf and its
derivatives, mainly cocaine. Despite the concerted control efforts of
the international community, consumption not only persists but
increases. http://www.tni.org/drugs/reports/brief5.pdf
Spanish version:
http://www.tni.org/drugs/reports/brief5s.pdf

Drugs in the UN system: the unwritten history of the 1998 United
Nations General Assembly Special Session on drugs. By Martin
Jelsma in the Special Issue on the UNGASS Mid-term Review of
the International Journal of Drug Policy, April 2003 (Volume 14,
Issue 2). http://www.tni.org/drugs/reports/IJDPJelsma.htm Spanish
http://www.tni.org/drugs/reports/IJDPJelsma-s.pdf

Synthetic Drugs Trafficking in Three European Cities: Major Trends
and the Involvement of Organised Crime,
TNI/Gruppo Abele/IECAH, Turin, 2003.
This publication gathers the outcomes of the project with the same
title, which investigated three urban synthetic drug markets at a
different stage of development: Amsterdam, Barcelona and Turin.
The members of TNI Drugs and Democracy programme, Tom
Blickman and Virginia Montañés coordinated the Dutch and
Spanish researches respectively.
http://www.tni.org/books/synthetic.htm

TNI's UN Drugs Control Page
http://www.tni.org/drugs/ungass/index.htm

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NEW FROM THE ENERGY PROJECT

A Good Beginning But Challenges Galore
A Survey Based Study of Resources, Transparency, and Public
Participation in Electricity Regulatory Commissions in India.
A TNI Energy Project Partner Publication Prayas Occasional
Report - 1/2003, January 2003
http://www.tni.org/energy/pe/beginning.pdf

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NEW FROM SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & ECONOMY NETWORK

Sustainable Development South and North: Climate Change Policy
Coherence in Global Trade and Financial Flows
By Daphne Wysham

The report argues that World Bank donor countries, the majority of
whom are from the wealthy North, should be debited for the carbon
in World Bank-financed carbon-intensive oil, gas and coal projects
under the Kyoto Proto col. The paper makes the argument based
on the rationale that the Kyoto Protocol allows for Northern
countries that are signatories to the Protocol to earn "carbon
credits" under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for
projects that are financed in developing countries.

However, while the CDM provides a "carrot" for investors to invest in
clean energy projects, there is no "stick" to discourage investors
from profiting from dirty, poverty-inducing development projects. As
a result, public financial flows targeting clean energy projects in the
global South are being overwhelmed by public financial flows
toward carbon-intensive projects, including oil and gas pipelines,
coal-fired power plants, and energy- intensive industries for export
back to the North.

Press release
http://www.tni.org/reports/seen/climatepolicy.htm
Full report
http://www.tni.org/reports/seen/climatepolicy.pdf

Crude Vision: How Oil Interests Obscured US Government Focus
On Chemical Weapons Use by Saddam Hussein
By Jim Vallette, Steve Kretzmann and Daphne Wysham, SEEN /
Institute for Policy Studies, 24 March 2003

The report has uncovered new evidence that oil has long been the
driving concern behind US-Iraqi relations. Key figures associated
with the Bush Administration, in particular Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld, pressed Sad dam Hussein during the mid '80's
to approve the Aqaba pipeline project from Iraq to Jordan. And it
notes that the break in US-Iraq relations occurred not after Iraq
used chemical weapons on the Iranians, nor after Iraq ga ssed its
own Kurdish people, nor even after Iraq invaded Kuwait, but rather,
followed Saddam's rejection of the Aqaba pipeline deal.

Summary
http://www.tni.org/reports/seen/crude.htm
Full report
http://www.tni.org/reports/seen/crude.pdf

SEEN is a joint project of TNI and Institute for Policy Studies

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CRITICAL GLOBALIZATION CONFERENCE:

"Towards a Critical Globalization Studies: Continued Debates, New
Directions, and Neglected Topics" Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.

The objective of the conference is to re-examine and recast the
emerging fields of global studies in the social sciences,
environmental sciences, and humanities, looking at the research
as well as pedagogical and policy implications and potential impact
on the larger society.

The Programme includes a Panel on the Global Crisis, organised
by the TNI Global Crisis Working Group.
TNI Fellows Walden Bello, Susan George and Boris Kagarlitsky
are speaking on a number of other panels.
http://www.global.ucsb.edu/projects/globalization/conference.htm

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CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT OF
MALAYSIA

2 Years is 2 Much! ISA

10 April 2003 marks the 2nd Anniversary of the detention-without-
trial of six prisoners detained under Malaysia's Internal Security
Act (ISA). Under the framework of "Detention without Trial - 2 years
is 2 much - Release the ISA 6 Now!". TNI, together with the
Malaysia Support Group in the Netherlands are involved in a
campaign for the Release of the ISA Prisoners and the Abolishing
of the ISA.

For more information on the Malaysian ISA and the campaign visit:
http://www.tni.org/antiwarpage/acts/isa/isa.htm

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