Description

From the JUNE FIRST PEACE COALITION, Evansville, Indiana:
Quoting from Arundhati Roy's article, entitled "Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy:"

It would be naive to imagine that we can directly confront Empire. Our strategy must be to isolate Empire's working parts and disable them one bone. No target is too small. No victory too insignificant. We could reverse the idea of the economic sanctions imposed on poor countries by Empire and its Allies. We could impose a regime of Peoples' Sanctions on every corporate house that has been awarded with a contract in postwar Iraq, just as activists in this country and around the world targeted institutions of apartheid. Each one of them should be named, exposed, and boycotted. Forced out of business. That could be our response to the Shock and Awe campaign. It would be a great beginning.

Therefore, we of the June First Peace Coalition, Evansville, Indiana, propose that this conference endorse a nation/ world-wide boycott of companies granted contracts by the U. S Government in post-massacre Iraq. We would do well to pick the most vulnerable and most accessible to a peoples' boycott, e.g. oil corporations, first. Let us recall the successful world-wide boycotts of both the Gallo and Nestle corporations.

Submitted By

Name: Clark Gabriel Field
Organization: June First Peace Coalition
City, ST: Evansville, Indiana
Tel: (812) 428-7996

Area

Accountability of the Administration to the American People and the Congress

Description

Build a national campaign to call for public and comprehensive Congressional hearings to investigate the charges that the Bush Administration misled and lied to the Congress and the American people in providing a pretext to justify war against Iraq.

Goals

An increasing number of insiders from within the administration and the intelligence community have now admitted that the issue of "weapons of mass destruction" was falsely used by this administration to justify their long-standing designs in the middle east, including the attack against Iraq. Even senior official in the administration have all but admitted that Iraq may not have had any WMDs, or that they had been destroyed before the war. Regardless of when Iraq's WMD programs were dismantled, there is one fact that now seems incontrovertible: The Bush administration used faulty, selective, and, in some cases, fabricated intelligence reports in presenting its case for war to the Congress and the American people.

It is unlikely that leadership of either party in the Congress, by themselves, initiate full-scale and public hearing (in the scale of Iran-Contra hearings) on this matter. However, given massive grassroots pressure, combined with recent interest on the part of media (particularly print media) and the resentment expressed on the part of some in the Congress (even among Republicans), such campaign is achievable. Regardless of the eventual outcome of these hearings, the campaign and the hearings, themselves, will result in focusing the attention of the American people on the corruption and deceitfulness of an unelected few in the Pentagon and the White House. Such a campaign will also effectively serve as a break on further adventures on the part of this Administration.

The demand should be for public hearings in both houses of the Congress, and the appointment of a special prosecutor. The goal is to hold accountable those in this administration who have resorted to lies and deceit against the American people and their representatives in order to push and ideological agenda of aggression and global domination aimed to benefit the military-oil-industrial complex.

Activities

1) demonstrations, including both local and national events.

2) a nation-wide petition campaign, both offline and online.

3) capitalizing on the nation-wide coalition of anti-war groups formed prior to the Iraq war to create a coordinate campaign for Congressional hearings.

4) traditional direct action tactics such as demonstration.

5) non-traditional tactics such as an online mobilization campaign, similar to the Win Without War Virtual Protest last February, to put pressure on Congressional delegations.

6) forcing various Democratic candidates to address the issue of hearings at campaign rallies.

Constituencies

To be successful, this must be a broad-based campaign. This campaign has the potential of bringing together the peace movement and many outside the peace movement who are otherwise fed up with the policies of this administration. It can also help galvanize the resolve of many anti-Bush forces, including many Democrats, in the run-up to the Presidential elections.

Long Term

As a broad-based coalition of many progressive organizations, and building on the momentum of the peace movement before and during the Iraq war, UFPJ is uniquely positioned to initiate such a campaign.

Submitted By

Organization: Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice
City, ST: Oak Park, Illinois

Area

occupation of Iraq; occupation of Palestine

Description

Help to sponsor cultural exchanges (any type of art group) between Iraq, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan and small to mid-sized US cities. Also, or alternatively send cultural groups to Iraq – "bluegrass in Bagdad".

Goals

Dispel the idea that Middle Eastern people are heathen savages, thereby removing the chief justification of war on them.

Activities

Organize a tour of America for Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian, Palestinian, Afghani cultural groups. And/or send US cultural groups to tour Iraq.

Messages

Middle Eastern people are NOT heathen savages, but have the same appreciation for beauty and the same values that we do.

Challenge

If the Iraqis are people like us, it is very clear that what we have done to them is a true crime. Same for the Palestinians.

Constituencies

Arts groups and local civic cultural groups could be involved with arranging this. Local chamber of commerce's could benefit from attendance at an event they could promote. Local radio stations could promote a festival. They could be involved in county fairs. That might be the best venue to reach a new demographic. Mosques and Muslim associations and interfaith associations could be involved. Local groups could be involved in hosting artists in their homes.

Long Term

If the Iraqis are people like us, it is very clear that what we have done to them is a true crime. Same for the Palestinians. People must be demonizable, to be attackable. This makes the arguments against war stronger.

Submitted By

Name: Mike Ellison
Organization: Vancouver for Peace
City, ST: Vancouver, WA (NOT BC)
Email: mkellison@attbi.com
Tel: 360-696-4840
Delegate(s) attending: Cindi Fisher

Area

Focus on Iraq / Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Description

We think that for the foreseeable future it is vitally important to keep a sharp focus on the issues deriving from the US war and occupation of Iraq. From this perspective, four related issues need attention: 1) the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, 2) the human and monetary costs of the war, 3) the impediments to humanitarian relief, and 4) the occupation itself.

Goals

While we share a concern about the possibility of future American "preemptive" attacks on other nations, we believe that the most effective way of forestalling that possibility is to highlight the failures of the Bush Administration in the country it has just invaded. The chaotic, costly and dangerous situation inside Iraq is the strongest possible argument for why future military interventions should not be undertaken. The real challenge for us is to break-through the false impression generated by the media that the United States has achieved a great success and to provide a more realistic assessment of what has transpired.

Activities

Unlike the pre-war period when "Stop the War" provided a clear organizing focus for everyone, even if we prioritize Iraq there are now several items of concern, rather than one. United for Peace and Justice and its member groups will need to be flexible in determining the allocation of energy, partly depending on events on the ground.

One immediate issue is the Administration's failure to find Weapons of Mass Destruction. Although there is a disposition in the Congress, the media and even among the public to let the matter slide, we must not let this occur.

Demoralized by the onset of war, the peace movement has so far been relatively silent on this issue. We need to be loud and visible now. While there is nothing new about White House lies, the Bush Administration's deception of the American public and the world about its intelligence on Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction" counts as one of the great frauds of modern times.

While the purpose of focusing on this particular issue is to highlight for the public the dishonesty of the White House and its breach of democracy, the proximate targets should be: 1) Congress and 2) all Democratic candidates seeking the Presidency and 3) the media.

An important reason why media coverage of the Iraqi situation has been so poor, is that so few mainstream politicians of either party have been willing to voice dissenting opinions. This could change now. Sadly there is less political risk (especially for Democrats) in making a commotion about whether the White House misled Congress than in doing something effective to prevent the war. Yet even on this safer matter, few politicians will take this initiative unless pushed to do so by the organized peace movement. In order to make the missing WMD a serious national issue, we suggest:

1) creating an informational flyer that is specifically on this issue, containing pre-war quotes from Bush, Rumsfeld, Powell et al. Insisting that such weapons were in Iraq and expressing disdain for "ineffectual" actions of the UN weapons inspectors. This could be contrasted with most recent quotes from the same people, making lame excuses for why these weapons have not been found and why Saddam Hussein did not use them during the war. Local groups should include a section in the flyer containing similar quotes from those Senators and Congresspeople who voted to authorize the use of force.

2) confronting those Senators and Congressmen who voted to support the war on the basis that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. These figures should be held publicly to account for this stance. They should be asked what information they had that convinced them that administration claims were true. And if they begin to say they were misled than they should be asked to support an independent blue-ribbon commission of inquiry, composed of people who were not prominently associated with the Bush drive for war. They should also be asked to speak out publicly about the apparent misuse of government intelligence. This effort will only be fruitful if it is done in a coordinated national way. Perhaps MoveOn could take the lead here.

3) confronting the Democratic candidates for the Presidency, who supported the war (Lieberman, Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards). The primaries give us an exceptional opportunity to put pressure on the contestants. Often they appear in places, where events are unscripted and where they must be open to dialogue with the public. Peace activists should be present at as many of these events as possible, posing a variety of tough questions--including these: "You assured us you were supporting the war because the Administration convinced you that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, what are you prepared to do now that this appears to have been invented?" And, "why should voters support you for the Presidency, when you have been so uncritically reliant on the word of the Bush Administration?"

4) addressing the media. Local peace groups should do everything possible to keep the Administration's fraudulent claims a "front-burner" issue. This might include a sustained letters-to-the editor campaign, the production of op.ed pieces, visits to editorial boards, and meetings with local television executives. Wherever possible local organizations should identify relevant experts, who are available to write columns for newspapers and to appear on radio and television. The national office of United for Peace and Justice could be helpful in putting member organizations in touch with experts living in the area, who are willing to help.

5) grass-roots organizing to be managed by member organizations. Each peace group has developed its distinctive ways of educating the public and pressuring public officials, whether that be through tabling, ad campaigns, forums or demonstrations. These matters must be dealt with locally. However, national coordination is vital for the production of literature, provision of expertise, and to insure that local activities are part of a broader. process. (For example, it makes no sense for individual organizations to pressure one Senator, if similar efforts are not underway elsewhere.)

Comments

One obvious objection to this proposal is that the administration might eventually produce some Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, whether planted or not. Perhaps. But we already know that the Administration had no reliable information, since if they had the US military would have located he weapons by now. And we also know that the Iraqi regime did not pose any "imminent danger" to the United States since it could not even offer significant resistance to the invasion of its own national territory. We have ample grounds for stating that the Bush administration has perpetrated a great hoax.

Submitted By

Name: Carolyn Eisenberg
Organization: Brooklyn Parents for Peace
City, ST: Brooklyn, New York
Email: hiscze@aol.com
Tel: 718-834-1118
Delegate(s) attending: David Tykulsker

Area

Ending US military occupations and changing US military doctrine(s)

Description

Organize nationally and locally coordinated marches/rallies in cooperation with ANSWER and U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) and segments of the international peace movement. One of the first actions would be the planned September 27 national demonstration in Washington, DC.

Goals

1) End the occupation of Iraq.

2) Fund domestic human, economic and environmental needs.

3) Abolish US pre-emptive and unilateral war strategy.

Activities

National and local mass actions, the first national of which would be a collectively sponsored UFPJ/ANSWER/USLAW demonstration on September 27 in DC. Each would have equal voice and power in the development, implementation and evaluation of the event, including speakers, publicity, development of position papers, etc. Expenses and income would be equally shared. UFPJ should approach ANSWER and USLAW with this proposal.

Messages

1) The occupation of Iraq is increasingly opposed by the Iraqi people, is undemocratic, increases insecurity for US soldiers abroad and US citizens at home, is a quagmire, and is a vehicle only to solidify US military control over that nation and economic control of the oilfields to benefit US-based transnational corporations.

2) The ongoing occupation and military plans for other wars diverts resources at home that could be used for jobs, health care, education, housing and the environment.

3) US pre-emptive and unilateral wars strategies decrease security by legitimizing any nation or group to attack any other nation or group. It also violates international laws.

Challenge

Numbers matter. Demonstrations are needed to provide arenas where those who dropped out following the start of the Iraqi war can reenter. They provide visibility, energy and indication of support/opposition of public policies.

Constituencies

Many, the most important of which as proposed are labor with USLAW in the umbrella and people of color with the involvement of ANSWER. The labor movement is critical for developing the most powerful anti-war movement possible. Labor organizations which have passed anti-war resolutions are far more likely to endorse and participate in a national action if it is a united action. If there is a turf war going on, this could be a major barrier limiting their participation. The same holds true for international anti-war forces. They will much more readily respond to a call for an action sponsored by a united anti-war movement than only by a section of that movement. All this must happen to maximize the ability of the anti-war movement to mobilize the greatest number of diverse people and constituencies to present a united front against US plans for continued occupation, warplanning and diversion of resources to meet basic needs.

Long Term

Large, visible, vocal and united outpouring of opposition to current US policies will shift the current war culture and create a momentum for a social movement-driven change in US foreign and domestic policies.

Dates/Places

September 27, 2003 national demonstration in Washington DC as the first major national/international action.

Comments

Local coalitions like ours include individuals and groups connected to both UFPJ and ANSWER, as well as individuals and groups unaffiliated with either coalition or with USLAW. Our effectiveness has been enhanced by our coalition policy of inclusiveness and participating individual/group policy of leaving many issue differences aside. Our goal has been to find areas of agreement and organize mass actions based on commonalities. UFPJ needs to reach out to ANSWER and USLAW with the same goal and spirit.

Submitted By

Organization: Northeast Ohio Anti-War Coalition
City, ST: Cleveland, Ohio
Email: NOACinfo@aol.com
Tel: 216-736-4716
Delegate(s) attending: Diane Schurr

Area

Occupation of Iraq

Description

We will set up an Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad to monitor the US military and corporations; inform the international community through a website, email lists and press work; and provide support to independent, progressive Iraqi groups. We will also host international delegations coming to Iraq.

Goals

The goals are to educate the US public and the international community about the ugly aftermath of this war to increase opposition to continued US occupation and corporate domination, and to build greater resistance to the next proposed war. By focusing on both militarism and corporate domination, we will provide a service to the globalization and peace constituencies and the ongoing efforts to merge these two.

Activities

This Center will be a truly international effort. We already have a commitment from Focus on the Global South (based in Thailand), the Commission for Arab Resistance to Globalization and several European groups. It will be staffed by a combination of Iraqis and internationals.

The Center will be a physical space where people from the international community can get briefings on the latest situation and plug in to Iraq efforts to build independent institutions. We will have a website and e-mail lists that will constantly feed both the information and the needs on the ground to the international community.

In terms of research and support to Iraqis, the Center will:

1) Monitor the role of foreign companies in Iraq and advocate for the Iraqis' right to control their own resources, especially oil;

2) Be a watchdog regarding the military occupation and U.S.-appointed government, including possible violations of human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly;

3) Support the creation of independent Iraqi organizations, such as independent media and environmental groups;

4) Monitor any changes in the rights and freedoms of Iraqi women, and support local efforts by Iraqis to promote women's rights;

5) Track the international community's financial commitments to rebuilding Iraq and hold them accountable for those commitments;

6) Monitor the physical impact of the U.S. invasion, including civilian casualties and the effect of depleted uranium and cluster bombs on the population and the environment;

7) Be a regular source of reliable information to the outside world on the state of affairs in Iraq.

Challenge

The global community created an extraordinary movement to try to stop the war in Iraq. Now that the invasion has turned into an occupation, we cannot turn our backs on the Iraqi people. We must continue to monitor the course of events and get that news out to our communities, especially once the international press has turned its back and walked away. And it is important to support those Iraqis who are determined to control their own country's resources and build a more democratic society.

It shows the perils of empire and will hopefully increase the level of opposition to it. It is also a concrete example of the global community working together to build the global justice movement.

Constituencies

As a joint effort with some of the key groups in the international community that organized against the war, this project will strengthen and deepen our international ties. We will also seek Arab-Americans interested in working at the center, disseminating the information to their communities in the US, and organizing delegations of Arab-Americans to Iraq. We will therefore strengthen our ties with the Arab community in the US.

Long Term

Our agenda includes stopping future wars and getting the troops out of Iraq. By educating the world community about the effects of the occupation, we will be laying the groundwork for huge opposition to future war plans and will strengthen the call for bringing the troops home.

Dates/Places

An initial team will go to Baghdad from June 28-July 9 to lay the groundwork for the Center. We would like to Center to be up and running by September 2003, and to be functioning until December 2004.

Comments

We would like UFPJ to be one of the key organizations sponsoring this Center. This would mean sending a representative on the initial delegation, making a financial contribution toward the running of the Center, and helping to disseminate the information through media work and UFPJ's website.

Submitted By

Name: Medea Benjamin
Organization: Global Exchange/Code Pink
City, ST: San Francisco, CA
Email: medea@globalexchange.org
Tel: 415-558-5700
Delegate(s) attending: Medea Benjamin, Andrea Buffa

Area

Voices in the Wilderness, a national campaign based in Chicago, will include projects in New York City and many of the Western and Southern states of the U.S. We will maintain a small presence of Voices in the Wilderness in Baghdad to witness firsthand the aftermath of this latest war and the present reality of occupation.

Description

Through our campaign, Spotlight Iraq, we hope to reaffirm the actions of millions of people who protested, lobbied, refused war taxes and committed acts of civil resistance to protest the inhumanity of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Spotlight Iraq is a season of truth-telling, community-building, and nonviolent resistance.

Goals

The major goals of Spotlight Iraq will be to build an influential movement focused on the U.S. government and the international community towards achieving the following goals:

1) Compliance by the U.S. with the Geneva Conventions requiring that they, as the occupying force, meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Iraqis. We assert that the U.S. should then step aside to allow humanitarian relief to be done by the UN and qualified NGOs working with Iraqis.

2) Replacement of US/UK occupation forces by an independent, international peacekeeping presence, working in cooperation with the Iraqi people and independent NGOs to stabilize the country and quickly establish a legitimate Iraqi government, subject to the needs and interests of Iraqis, not to the political and economic interests of the U.S.

3) Cancellation of debt and compensation demands from the 1991 Gulf War. The Iraqi civilian population should not be forced to pay for the debts accrued by the Ba'ath regime.

4) Recognition that Iraq's natural, cultural, and economic resources belong to Iraqis, not to any U.S. administration or corporation. The lifting of economic sanctions does not in and of itself guarantee self-determination for Iraqis; U.S. corporations see a gold mine in Iraq, and the recent resolution pushed through the UN Security Council not only lifts sanctions but guarantees US/UK occupation for at least a year, giving these administrations and their corporate entities free access to Iraq's potential wealth. We demand that the appropriation of Iraqi assets be concentrated within Iraq and supervised by a transparent, non-governmentally-aligned body until the people of Iraq can select a new government of their own.

5) Renewal of UN efforts to certify that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction; we emphasize that such standards must be applied to all nations. Never again should weapons inspections be linked to economic penalties imposed on a civilian population, as was done in Iraq.

6) Payment of reparations from the U.S. and UK to families of Iraqi civilians killed over the last 13 years of military actions and economic sanctions.

7) Clean-up of all cluster bombs, mines and depleted uranium used in Iraq and an end to the development, production, distribution or use of these weapons by any country. We hold US/UK weapons companies accountable to Iraqis and demand compensation for damages done.

Activities

1) Wheels of Justice Tour. In collaboration with our friends from Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), we will co-coordinate a national bus tour to further education, organizing and action around war and occupation in Iraq and Palestine. On this tour we will offer academic and eyewitness perspective to the conflicts in Iraq and Palestine as we cultivate and promote nonviolent resistance in the U.S. to war and occupation.

2) Creative Resistance Summer Camp. We are hosting a creative resistance summer camp in New York City to communicate the issues that are outlined in the goals of this campaign using traditional and emerging forms of activism. During the month of August, artists, media activists, and grassroots organizers will take part in creative forms of direct action using NYC as their canvas. We will use methods of nonviolence and alternative forms of communication as a means to counter the massive U.S. government propaganda campaigns.

3) An ongoing presence in Iraq. We continue to witness firsthand the aftermath of this latest war and the present reality of occupation. We will continue to gather the stories and experiences of Iraqis living under this military and economic occupation, and as we listen to these experiences we will use them to continue to pressure the U.S. for justice in Iraq.

4) Nonviolent Direct Action and Civil Resistance. Recognizing that the United States provides 46% of the world's weapons and 90% of the weapons used in conflict, we pledge our nonviolent resistance to Boeing Corporation's weapon production and war profiteering in Chicago.

5) Nonviolent education and counter recruiting. We cannot practice nonviolence and effect social change without speaking to domestic social conditions; we recognize that militarism exploits the particular circumstances of communities marginalized by racism and poverty in the U.S. The No Child Left Behind Act threatens to cut federal money from schools that do not offer their rosters to military recruiters. In the hope of providing a desperately needed service to youth yearning to be better informed, we aim to counter-recruit through providing nonviolent education and alternatives to military service.

6) Internship and training. We will host volunteers in Chicago to research, share, and produce training and outreach materials to further grassroots organizing and community building. Our seven years experience in organizing and action may serve useful to those working within their own communities.

Messages

Spotlight Iraq's main message is to reaffirm that those who opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the U.S. were right in doing so, and to keep the spotlight on Iraq in order to challenge the tendency by the mass media to ignore the situation of the Iraqi people under the current occupation. Warfare continues in Iraq, and the humanitarian crisis has only gotten worse under the ineptitude of U.S. leadership.

Challenge

This campaign directly challenges Bush's empire-building agenda by refusing to allow the story of war, sanctions, and invasion to be rewritten by the architects of the New American Century. Through truth-telling, we will help people counter the mass war propaganda, through community building we will help people make connections with others who opposed this war and foster new grassroots movements, and through nonviolent resistance and counter recruitment we will directly challenge the agenda of Bush's militarism both at home and abroad.

Constituencies

By taking on the campaign of Spotlight Iraq, you will reach a broad range of people who been involved with the work of Voices in the Wilderness as we have campaigned over the past six years to end the economic sanctions on the people of Iraq. We have made connections with many people who have worked in Iraq through our delegations and through the Iraq Peace Team. We are volunteers—teachers, veterans, social workers, artists, health care professionals, trades people, students and people of faith—who, practice and advocate nonviolence as a means for social change. Our constituents would be a welcome addition to your efforts.

Long Term

This campaign would help provide a strong grassroots base of support for organizing future events, and would connect your organization with organizers experienced with the situation in Iraq.

Dates/Places

August 6-September 11, 2003: Creative Resistance Summer Camp, New York City.

July-December 2003: Wheels of Justice tour, Western, Pacific, Southwestern, and Southern states.

Ongoing: A small presence in Baghdad with the possibility of larger delegations to Iraq beginning in September 2003.

June-August, 2003: Internship training at the Chicago Voices office.

Beginning September of 2003: Counter recruitment in Chicago and other midwestern schools.

Ongoing: Nonviolent direct action at Boeing in Chicago and other military corporations.

Submitted By

Name: John Farrell, Angela Garcia
Organization: Voices in the Wilderness
City, ST: CHICAGO, IL
Email: angela@vitw.org
Tel: 773-784-8065
Delegate(s) attending: Angela Garcia, Danny Muller

Area

This Campaign is to get behind my Supreme Court Amendment I Grievance Complaint that challenges by "checks and balances from the Supreme Court" the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government for allowing an unconstitutional aggressive war against Iraq.

Description

Provide backing to my Supreme Court Amendment I Grievance Complaint so the United States Government, via the Supreme Court, will admit the 2003 Iraq War was contrary to the U.S. Constitution.

Goals

Is for the United States Government, via the Supreme Court, to admit the 2003 Iraq War was contrary to the United States Constitution. That is an important FIRST STEP!

Activities

Provide follow up legal, public and protesting pressure onto the Supreme Court for action in good time as to address the Supreme Court Amendment I Grievance Complaint.

Challenge

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCvP), Amendment I and Original Jurisdiction constitutionally and legally by FRCvP requires the Supreme Court to address the Amendment I Grievance Complaint. However, this Complaint will be trashed in File 13, if it is believed no relevant organization or concerned groups are watching over the Complaint. Just hearing the Case in the Supreme Court, the Amendment I Grievance Complaint, is standalone for knocking Bush off his thrown as King of the United States and will shake our law makers into reality that the U.S. Government is government of, by and for the PEOPLE not government in the hands of an ambitious KING!

Constituencies

You are unable to imagine how many, Friends Of The Court, will file against King Bush, once this grievance is docketed! America wants a President serving the Constitution and We the People. Not a King serving his own self interests!

Long Term

Concentrate on the first step, as it is the important step to get to other agendas down the road! The world must know that We The People require a President, not a King, and also require a conscientious Congress to subdue any presidential actions that are not consistent with the United States Constitution.

Dates/Places

My Amendment I Grievance Complaint was delivered to the Supreme Court and named Defendants on May 29-30, 2003 by Federal Express.

Comments

My family knows the horrors of WAR as my family has two living decorated combat soldiers who fulfilled their oaths to defend the United States Constitution. Therefore, it is not too much to ask that our government officials to comply with the requirements of the United States Constitution. When they don't, WE THE PEOPLE demand that the constitutional breach is thoroughly dealt with! Don't be afraid to take the battle to the battleground. The battleground is within the U.S. Government that has been lost to a KING! I want my Constitution and my Government back, with WE THE PEOPLE!

NOW LISTEN REAL HARD! If you are in the right! Then you are able to take the battle to where the battle needs to be taken! Within the Supreme Court where our constitutional framers did everything possible for allowing objectivity to rule! Don't criticize our Government, as it is not the Government's fault that allowed an unconstitutional war to occur. America and its Constitution did not fail, America and the Constitution was breached in view of the world! The Constitution was boldly desecrated as to flaunt powers that are not met to be within America. Don't just protest outside the Government, go into the Government and rescue it from forces that need to be identified and dealt with. Search for your best Attorneys who love the Constitution and America and give KING George a taste of reality. You just can't breach the Constitution in front of the whole world and get away with it. America was born by taking care of a KING George, now America needs a rebirth by taking care of a KING George again!

Please back my Supreme Court Pleading by watching over it with a real legal force. It is not my pleading; it is America's pleading to save her Government. I gave birth to this pleading due to combinations of my love to study constitutional law, my awareness of the Middle East, experiences as a pro se counsellor and my oath to the United States Constitution. What I have started I know is on the same road with many others and I pray it will mesh with common goals many others are seeking, the same goals many faithful Americans are now seeking. I'm seeking to help with these Goals and bring back America, as a peaceful loving nation the world will respect. When the Constitution is on your side, you will not loose! Don't be intimidated by Bullies, take the battle to the Bullies. Go with I to the Supreme Court! Take America to the Supreme Court!

Submitted By

Name: Byron L. Trackwell
City, ST: Dukhan, Qatar
Email: byrontrackwell@hotmail.com
Tel: 011-974-4711071

Area

WAR PROFITEERING & CORPORATE CONTROL OF IRAQ

Description

This campaign will attack the various ways corporations are profiting from the death and destruction of war in Iraq, from multi-million "reconstruction" contracts to Bush-connected corporations, to the looming privatization of oil and other industries in Iraq that are designed to ensure U.S./European multinational control of the country well after the military occupation ends. Two key strategies will be: 1) media campaign to document/expose war profiteering; 2) calling for Congressional hearings on war profiteering, as has been done before in U.S. history.

Goals

This campaign is an excellent vehicle for challenging two critical issues: 1) U.S./European occupation of Iraq, including the "second invasion" of U.S./European corporations in the country; and 2) Corporate control of U.S. government and foreign policy. One immediate goal is to call for Congressional hearings on war profiteering and corporate control in Iraq. This has strong historical precedent, having been done during the Civil War, the 1930s, and other times in U.S. history, and is something that broad sections of the public, as well as elected officials, could support.

Activities

This requires further development, but immediate strategies include: 1) developing public education materials such as fact sheets, websites, etc.; 2) publishing investigations and encouraging media exposure of war profiteering to bring widespread attention to the issue; 3) identifying and recruiting key allies nationally to endorse the campaign; 4) organizing local/state anti-war coalitions and groups to become actively involved in the campaign; 5) grassroots lobbying targeted at several key Congressional members to call for national hearings on war profiteering as an immediate goal.

Messages

Stop Profiteering from Death and Destruction; End Corporate Control of Iraq and U.S. policy.

Challenge

We believe this is one of the best vehicles we have now to challenge the Bush agenda. It is a vehicle for challenging the two key issues we now face – occupation of Iraq, and corporate control of U.S. policy. It's also something that large sections of the public, as well as many key constituencies such as labor, could get behind.

Constituencies

We believe this campaign has the potential to be a broad-based campaign which can be used to energize current peace constituencies, while allowing us to go deeper into reaching constituencies that are not now part of the mainstream peace movement.

Long Term

Challenging the war profiteers and corporate control in Iraq gets to the heart of our future agenda. By revealing the corporate interests at stake in war, it prepares us to better challenge future wars.

Dates/Places

Calling for Congressional hearings on war profiteering is a good initial strategy because it will 1) bring public attention to the issue, and 2) will provide a mechanism – U.S. government research staff – to do the investigating into war profiteering. These hearings would need to happen either by the end of the current Congressional session, or the beginning of the next session.

Comments

We look forward to working with a broad range of allies on this campaign!

Submitted By

Name: Rania Masri, Chris Kromm
Organization: Institute for Southern Studies/Southern Peace Research and Education Center
City, ST: Durham, North Carolina
Email: rania@southernstudies.org, chris@southernstudies.org
Tel: : (919) 419-8311 x27, x26
Delegate(s) attending: Rania Masri