New articles on Iraq posted July 27, 2002 and after
Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, "Testimony Prepared for Hearings on Iraq Policy Senate Foreign Relations Committee" 31 July 2002
Steven Mufson, "Scowcroft Urges Caution Towards Iraq" Washington Post August 5. 2002
William M. Arkin, "Meet Country X " Washington Post August 6, 2002
An Innovative Pentagon War Game Fine Tunes a U.S. Attack on Iraq "Insufficient Evidence on Iraq" Chicago Tribune August 5, 2002 Jason Vest, "Help from the Hill: Military insiders want some to derail Bush's plans for Iraq" The American Prospect August 5, 2002 Richard Falk, "The Rush to War" The Nation August 19, 2002 Washington Post, "The Iraq Debate," Washington Post August 4, 2002
...a campaign against Saddam Hussein will never succeed unless the Bush administration can enlist support from the American public, Congress and key allies abroad. Allies will be needed to share the practical burden of the fight, the reconstruction and the cost; but the United States also needs to win international acceptance before taking the extraordinary step of starting what would amount to a preventive war. Americans too must be given a full and honest accounting of the risk Saddam Hussein poses and the likely costs of removing him; only after a sober consideration of that balance will Congress and the nation be ready to support the plan that likely is headed for President Bush's desk.
John Nichols, "Senate Hearings Expose Lack of Consensus on Iraq War" The Nation On-line August 2, 2002
Warren P. Strobel, "U.S. Faces Extended Stay in Iraq" Knight Ridder Newpapers, July 30, 2002
Getting rid of Saddam - as President Bush has pledged to do - may not be easy. But it could be a walk in the park compared with what follows, according to experts on Iraq, U.S. officials and Iraqi dissidents.
In the worst-case scenario, Iraq's fractious ethnic groups could try to break off their own mini- states, trapping American combat forces in the middle of a civil war. Those repressed under Saddam's vicious police state might engage in a bloody round of score settling.
Even in the best case, U.S. troops and diplomats could be stuck in Iraq for years, trying to teach the finer points of democracy to a nation that has never known it.
Richard Norton-Taylor and Julian Borger, "Iraq attack plans alarm top military" Guardian, July 30, 2002
Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, "This war would not be a just war" The Observer August 4, 2002
The US must persist with the option for UN weapons inspectors to return to Iraq. The use of force to remove Saddam Hussein is not a moral option
Peter Beaumont, Gaby Hinsliff and Paul Beaver, "Bush ready to declare war" The Observer August 4, 2002 Peter Beaumont, "Amid the clouds of deception, US speeds along road to war" The Observer August 4, 2002 Anthony York, 'Crazy like a desert fox" Salon August 3, 2002 Anthony York, "The Iraq non-hearings" Salon August 2, 2002 Anthony York, "Bush allies question Iraq strategy" Salon August 1, 2002
Everyone agrees that Saddam Hussein is a dangerous tyrant, but even Senate Republicans are worried that war may do more harm than good. Michael T. Klare, "Washington's Oilpolitik" Salon July 17, 2002 It's not just Saddam's doomsday arsenal that haunts the Bush White House -- it's the thought of his oil falling into the hands of Russia, China and Europe. Patrick E. Tyler and Richard W. Stevenson, "Profound Effect on U.S. Economy Seen in a War on Iraq" New York Times July 29, 2002
An American attack on Iraq could profoundly affect the American economy, because the United States would have to pay most of the cost and bear the brunt of any oil price shock or other market disruptions, government officials, diplomats and economists say.
Eleven years ago, the Persian Gulf war, fought to roll back Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, cost the United States and its allies $60 billion and helped set off an economic recession caused in part by a spike in oil prices.
For that war, the allies picked up almost 80 percent of the bill. Today, however, as the Bush administration works on plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein, the United States is confronting the likelihood that this time around it would have to pick up the tab largely by itself, diplomats said.
Joseph Biden Jr. and Richard G. Lugar, "Debating Iraq" New York Times July 31, 2002 Hugo Young "Blair is jumping the gun in backing Bush's war on logic" The Guardian August 1, 2002 The body of opposition to a campaign against Iraq is too great to ignore William Shawcross, "Take Out Saddam Now" The Guardian August 1, 2002 Jack Shafer "Why do our Iraq battle plans keep showing up in the New York Times?" Slate Stratfor, "Mobilizations Hint at Date and Strategy for Iraq War" 2 August 2002
As the debate over a potential U.S. attack on Iraq continues in Washington and abroad, a subtle increase in the mobilization of Army combat troops is underway. This development offers a hint to the Pentagon's evolving Iraq strategy, with the specific units involved indicating that a conventional attack on Iraq could be slated for January or February, with a major thrust possibly coming from Turkey
Thomas Ricks, "Some Top Military Brass Favor Status Quo in Iraq " Washington Post July 28, 2002
Despite President Bush's repeated bellicose statements about Iraq, many senior U.S. military officers contend that President Saddam Hussein poses no immediate threat and that the United States should continue its policy of containment rather than invade Iraq to force a change of leadership in Baghdad.
William Arkin "Hiding Jordan " Washington Post July 15, 2002
As Washington Prepares for War on Iraq, a Key U.S. Ally Lays Low
Michael O'Hanlon and Philip H. Gordon "Is Fighting Iraq Worth the Risks?" New York Times July 25, 2002
William Rivers Pitt "The Coming October War in Iraq" Truth Out July 24, 2002
Patrick E. Tyler U.S. plan to invade Iraq raises alarms The New York Times July 23, 2002
Paul Rogers "The US in the Middle East: Playing into the Enemies Hands?" Open Democracy July 17, 2002
Joshua Micah Marshal "Bomb Saddam?" Washington Monthly June 2002
How the obsession of a few neocon hawks became the central goal of U.S. foreign policy
David Cortright, "Stopping the War Before It Starts" The Progressive August 2002 Mark Bowden "Tales of the Tyrant" The Atlantic May 2002
What does Saddam Hussein see in himself that no one else in the world seems to see? The answer is perhaps best revealed by the intimate details of the Iraqi leader's daily life
Jason Burke and Ed Vulliamy "War clouds gather as hawks lay their plans" The Observer July 14, 2002 Joseph Cirincione with Jon B. Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar "Iraq" Chapter 16 from Deadly Ilusions: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 2002 [PDF format-24 pages] Rear Adm. (Ret.) Stephen H. Baker, USN, CDI Senior Fellow, "First, Let's Fight for UN Arms Inspectors in Iraq" Center for Defense Information First appeared in The Los Angeles Times July 15, 2002 Center for Defense Information "Eye on Iraq"
A collection of articles from CDI staff including
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Stephen H. Baker "Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq"
John Sweeney, "How Saddam 'staged' fake baby funerals" The Observer June 23, 2002
The Iraqi dictator says his country's children are dying in their thousands because of the West's embargoes. John Sweeney, in a BBC TV documentary says the figures are bogus.
Peter Beaumont and Paul Beaver, "Bush rallies US for strike on Iraq" Observer July 21, 2002 "War on Iraq Is Wrong" The Nation, July 7, 2002 Charles Knight, "Bush Raises the Stakes in Iraq" Foreign Policy in Focus July 3, 2002
President Bush's new and public plans for Iraq unwisely makes "regime change" far tougher to achieve, and increases the risk of U.S. troops being exposed to chemical weapons counterattacks.
Stephen Zunes "Fallacies of U.S. Plans to Invade Iraq" Foreign Policy in Focus Policy Report June 2002
Friends Committee on National Legislation "No Unilateral Military Strike Against Iraq"
"Not In Our Name" Statement of many activists, artists, and others opposed to the direction of the country since 9/11.
Older Links
American Media and Its Reporting on Iraq
Morbidity and Mortality Among Iraqi Children
Institute for Public Accuracy, Autopsy of a Disaster: The US Sanctions Policy on Iraq
Seth Ackerman, New York Times on Iraq Sanctions: A Case of Journalistic Malpractice FAIR, EXTRA May- June 2000
"The Effects of Iraqi Sanctions: Statistical Pitfalls and Responsibilities"
Iraq Research and Documentation Project
The Iraq Research and Documentation Project (IRDP) website is a collection of resources documenting the government, politics, and society of modern Iraq. This online collection is made available to the public to provide a window into the inner workings of the repressive state system evolved under the aegis of the Iraqi Ba'th Socialist Party in Iraq since 1968.
Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan
David Cortright,"A Hard Look at Iraqi Sanctions" Nation Nov. 19
Philip Gordon and Michael O'Hanlon "A Tougher Target " Washington Post Dec. 26
The Afghanistan model of warfare may not apply very well to Iraq.
Patrick Clawson "Why Saddam Hussein Is Ripe for a Fall" Washington Post Jan 1, 2002
Victor D. Comras, "Shoving Saddam Back in His Box" Washington Post Dec. 31
William J. Broad and David Johnston,"US Inquiry Tried, but Failed, to Link Iraq to Anthrax Attack,"New York Times Dec. 22
Alan Sipress and Peter Slevin, "Powell Wary of Iraq Move" Washington Post Dec 21
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said yesterday that the swift American military success in Afghanistan is no reason to believe that a similar campaign in Iraq to oust President Saddam Hussein would succeed.
In an interview, Powell sought to quiet speculation that the Iraqi government would be an early target in the U.S. anti-terrorism campaign. He said that Hussein's military is far stronger than the ill- equipped Taliban forces and that the Iraqi opposition is not comparable to Afghanistan's Northern Alliance.
William Arkin "Should Iraq Be Next?" Washington Post Dec. 10
Chris Matthews, "Iraq and Ruin" San Francisco Chronicle Dec 2
The often obnoxious CM comes on strong against extending the war to Afghanistan
Eric Boehlert "The mother of all terrorism battles" Salon Premium Nov. 29, 2001
A growing chorus is calling for Saddam Hussein's head. But experts disagree on whether a U.S. assault on Baghdad is worth the high risks.
Niall Ferguson, " 2011" New York Times Sunday Magazine December 2, 2001
[advocates that US take an openly imperialist role]
Niall Ferguson, "Welcome the new imperialism" Guardian October 31
Nick Beams, "Behind the 'anti-terrorism' mask: imperialist powers prepare new forms of colonialism
Peter Beaumont, Ed Vulliamy and Paul Beaver, "Secret US Plan for Iraqi War," Observer Dec. 2
Steve Chapman, "Iraq Not: Why the sudden urgency about taking Saddam down?" Slate Nov 29
Stephen Zunes, "Why the US Didn't Overthrow Saddam Hussein" Foreign Policy in Focus Nov. 20, 2001
David Corn, "Next Stop Baghdad? Anti-War Warriors Say 'Whoa'"AlterNetNovember 30, 2001
David Aaranovitch, " Now We Must Try and Free the Iraqis from Saddam" The Independent
Still, all the options not only look bad, but they are bad. Saddam cannot be toppled by proxy. We lost our chance to do that when we failed to help the anti-Saddam
insurgents who rose against him in 1991. The opposition forces are weak and divided. Nor can we engineer a coup d'etat from the outside. Nor do we know, in the event of such a coup, who would take over....
And I am now convinced that we must, as soon as we can, end almost all sanctions, allow Iraq to use its oil revenues, and kill the excuses that tie Saddam to his suffering countrymen and women. We can demand, as a quid pro quo, the return of arms inspectors in the form of the new United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, Unmovic (the replacement for the former UN Special Commission, Unscom, which was given the mandate to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction.)
Then – least worst – vigilant, we wait for him to die (he's 64), or we wait for him to act. One will give the Iraqi people an opportunity, and the other, regrettably, will force the completion by us of a task that has taken too long.
Said Aribush, "A Tale of 70 Factions and 400 Suits," New Statesman Nov 26
Recently, I examined my notes of the lengthy interviews I conducted with 82 Iraqi opposition leaders. I began identifying those on my list whose thinking resembles Saddam's. To my horror, I decided that 75 of the people I interviewed were men who would kill to achieve their goal.
Hans von Sponeck and Denis Halliday, "The Hostage Nation" Guardian Nov. 29
Former UN Aid Chiefs Speak Against an Attack on Iraq
Abraham McLaughlin, "Why US and Rest of World Differ Threat Posed by Iraq " Christian Science Monitor Nov. 30
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