arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Le BRussells Tribunal, "People vs. Total War Incoporated" [ "le peuple contre Guerre Totale SA." ] fait suite à un appel-pétition, lancé le 21 mars, au tout début de l'agression contre l'Irak, et qui avait réuni 500 signatures du monde universitaire, culturel et intellectuel. Cet appel visait en particulier le PNAC [ Project for a New American Century, voir plus loin ] et proposait de le juger. Mettre en place un tribunal était donc une suite logique et pratique à cet appel. Par ailleurs, ce tribunal s'inscris dans un vaste mouvement mondial: une série d'initiatives semblables auront lieu entre le 14 avril 2004, à Bruxelles et le 20 mars 2005, à Istanbul, en passant par New York, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Copenhague, Londres et Mumbay. Chacuns de ces tribunaux ou commission se penchera sur un aspect particulier, comme la PNAC, ou l'uranium appauvri, par exemple.

Lieven De Cauter,
philosophe, à dressé un portrait général de ce qu'est le PNAC ["Projet pour un Nouveau Siècle Américain"], qu'il étudie depuis le moment où il a trouvé ce document inquiétant sur internet [*]. Mais qu'est-ce donc que le PNAC, quel est son rapport avec la guerre en Irak? Le PNAC est un groupe d'étude et de pression conservateur fondé en 1997. Parmi ses membres, la crème de la droite états-uniennes: Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Jef Bush, Paul Wolfowitz, Francis Fukuyama, etc … Bref, que du beau monde, qui trempe par tout les bouts dans l'industrie du canon, dans celle du pétrole et dans les cercles du gouvernement. Leur "noble cause" ? La domination sans partage du monde par les USA. Par quels moyens ? Les attaques préventives, la violation des lois et institutions internationales, l'état d'exception à l'échelle mondiale. Vous pensiez que Bush n'avait pas de cerveau? Et bien si, il en a un, et des plus mal intentionné: le PNAC.

* Le texte: "Rebuilding America's Defenses" est disponible au format PDF sur les sites suivants: newamericancentury.org et freedom2008.com

François Houtart,
professeur du Centre Tricontinental à dressé un bref historique des tribunaux des peuples, rappelant l'expérience du Tribunal Russels [ qui à d'ailleurs tenu audience à Bruxelles ], et celle du Tribunal Permanent des Peuples, de Lelio Basso. Il a également insisté sur le fait que ces tribunaux n'étant pas légaux, l'importance de la communication est primordiale, de même qu'une grande rigueur et la formalité sont nécessaires à sa crédibilité. Ces tribunaux ne sont pas juste juridique, mais multi-disciplinaires [ philosophiques, sociologique, etc … ], et pourrait être une contribution à l'évolution du droit international, à l'image de la Déclaration des Droits de Peuples, d'Alger, qui est une dimension collective qui devrait être rajoutée dans la Déclaration Universelles des Droits de L'homme.

Jean Pierre Rondas,
de la radio Klara à lui évoqué l'engagement des intellectuels, et décrit la démarche du Tribunal comme quelque chose ayant des aspects 'négatifs', mais qu'il étaient nécessaire, comme il est nécessaire de détruire pour reconstruire. De toute manière ceux qui ont pour slogans «Feel Good!» sont ceux qui veulent protéger l'ordre établi, ce n'est qu'un opium pour le peuple. Les néerlandophones auront aussi apprécié son superbe jeu de mot, tranformant la 'reconstruction': "heropbouw" en "roofbouw", "roof" signifiant 'vol'. ;))`

Patrick de Boosere,
de la VUB, a fait le point sur les aspects pratiques de l'organisation d'un tel tribunal.
- Les Halles [ de Schaerbeek ] et le Beurschouwburg mettrons à disposition leurs locaux et leurs équipes. Les audiences auront lieux au Beurs, les événements culturels aux Halles.
- Les organisations qui participent à l'organisations sont invitées à 'parrainer' un/e invité/e et prendre en charge son billet d'avion, son logement et éventuellement organisé d'autres événements [ conférences, rencontres, … ] avec lui/elle.
- Un budget à été proposé, sur des bases minimales, il s'élève à 61,700euros. Les revenus pourraient venir d'une participations des organisations mais aussi via deux projet de récolte de fond:
(a) les WAP: rien à voir avec les téléphones portables, WAP signifie 'Wealthy Angry People': les Personnes Aisées en Colère [ contre la guerre ] qui pourraient devenir des mécènes pour le Tribunal.
(b) la vente de cartes postales par les individus et organisations, une première existe déjà avec pour visuel le photomontage représentant un enfant urinant sur un GI, une seconde pourrait accueillir un dessin de Gal.
- Enfin, la mise sur pied d'un tel événement nécessite l'engagement de personnes dans l'équipe d'organisation.
[ tout les coup de main, propositions, offres, talents, etc …, sont donc les bienvenus: contact BRussels Tribunal ]

Anne Morelli,
historienne [ULB] à quand à elle rappelé que l'histoire officielle est toujours celle des vainqueurs. Les 'Alliés' de la seconde guerre mondiale ont beau jeu de justifier aux nom des Droits de l'Homme, de la Paix, etc …, les bombardements de Hiroshima ou de Dresde. Les atrocités commises ne sont plus que des bavures malheureuses, les enjeux économiques et géostratégique deviennent le soutien de la démocratie, de la veuve et de l'orphelin, etc … L'un des enjeu du Tribunal sera certainement de donner aussi la parole à l'autre côté de l'histoire: l'histoire de vaincus.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker,
chorégraphe [ ROSAS ]
Le caractère multi-disciplinaire du Tribunal est aussi assuré par la participation d'artistes et de travailleurs de la culture. La contribution de Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, une pointure internationale, a été la lecture d'un extrait de 'Cassandre'.

Frank Vercruyssen
[ troupe de théâtre TG Stan ] à quant à lui fait éclater la salle de rire pendant de longue minute en citant … Donald Rumsfeld,! Le Secrétaire de la Défense des USA, un des pire faucon de Washington, n'a pourtant pas une réputation de comique. Mais les extraits de ces conférences de presse, compilées par Hart Seely dans son livre «Pieces of Intelligence : The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld » sont complètements surréalistes et absurdes!

[ ©: copyleft red kitten | article et photos peuvent être réutilisés gratuitement dans un but non-commercial uniquement, avec mention de la source et de l'auteur ]
[ pour obtenir des photos en haute résolution : redkitten@indymedia.be ]
[ www.redkitten.be ]

COMPILED BY MOVEON.ORG :
++++++++++++++++++++++++

 ------------------------------

 MoveOn Bulletin
 Friday, May 9, 2003
 Noah T. Winer, Editor

 Subscribe online at:
 http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/

 ------------------------------

  CONTENTS
  1. Introduction: American Leadership, American Empire
  2. One Link
  3. Forming the Bush Doctrine
  4. Pax Americana
  5. September 11, 2001
  6. Who's Steering This Ship?
  7. Who Pays the Bills?
  8. Pax Israelica?
  9. Post-War Iraq
  10. Neo-conservatism
  11. What Next -- Syria? Iran?
  12. Challenging the Project
  13. Conclusion
  14. About the Bulletin

 ------------------------------

 INTRODUCTION: AMERICAN LEADERSHIP, AMERICAN EMPIRE
 Many of us first heard about the Bush administration's plan to invade
 Iraq last August. However, a small group of political elites planned
 the takeover of Iraq years ago. With that goal achieved, now is the
 time to look at who these people are, how they created a war on
 Iraq, and most importantly their plans for the future.

 The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) is a Washington-based
 neo-conservative think-tank founded in 1997 to "rally support for
 American global leadership." PNAC's agenda runs far deeper than regime
 change in Iraq. Its statement of principles begins with the assertion
 that "American foreign and defense policy is adrift" and calls for "a
 Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity."

 While their tone is high-minded, their proposal is unilateral military
 intervention to protect against threats to America's status as the
 lone global superpower. The statement is signed by such influential
 figures as Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Dan Quayle,
 Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz.

 PNAC is not alone, nor did it arise from new wells of power. Most of
 the founding members of PNAC held posts in the Reagan or elder Bush
 administration and other neo-conservative think-tanks, publications,
 and advocacy groups.

 The effect of PNAC's ideology is great on Bush -- the
 presidential candidate who promised a "humble," isolationist foreign
 policy. The events of September 11, 2001 provided a window of
 opportunity for furthering PNAC's agenda of American empire.
 Understanding that agenda can help us anticipate the Bush
 administration's next steps and organize accordingly.

 ------------------------------

 ONE LINK
 If you only read one article in this bulletin, it should be this one.
 This article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel superbly covers the
 influence of PNAC in Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq. As the
 author writes, the goal is to transform the Middle East through a show
 of U.S. military might and "the obvious place to start is with Iraq,
 which was already in trouble with the United Nations, had little
 international standing and was reviled even by some Arab nations."
 http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/apr03/131523.asp

 ------------------------------

 FORMING THE BUSH DOCTRINE
 The motivating event for the neo-conservatives who founded PNAC was
 the end of the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq. With Saddam's power weakened,
 the neo-conservatives believed he should be eliminated permanently.
 Instead, the elder President Bush encouraged the Iraqi opposition to
 rise up against the Ba'ath government. As their rebellion was put down
 by Iraqi troops, Bush ordered the U.S. military not to intervene,
 choosing instead a strategy of containment for Saddam.

 In 1992, Paul Wolfowitz, then-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,
 authored an internal policy brief on America's military posture in the
 post-Cold War era: to prevent the emergence of a new rival power
 through preemption rather than containment and acting unilaterally if
 necessary to protect U.S. interests. When a draft was leaked to the
 press, controversy erupted and the report had to be softened.

 The web accompaniment to the PBS Frontline special "The War Behind
 Closed Doors" features an excellent chronology showing how Wolfowitz's
 draft would become the basis of the Bush Doctrine.
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/etc/cron.html

 ------------------------------

 PAX AMERICANA
 An important step in PNAC's chronology is its major publication,
 "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources For a
 New Century" (RAD), released in September, 2000. The report takes
 Wolfowitz's draft as a starting point, hailing it as "a blueprint for
 maintaining U.S. preeminence, precluding the rise of a great power
 rival, and shaping the international security order in line with
 American principles and interests."

 RAD rejects cuts in defense spending, insisting that "Preserving the
 desirable strategic situation in which the United States now finds
 itself requires a globally preeminent military capability both today
 and in the future." Core missions for the U.S. military include the
 ability to "fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major
 theater wars" and to reposition permanent forces in Southeast Europe
 and Southeast Asia.

 Other samples from RAD:

 "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent
 role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with
 Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial
 American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime
 of Saddam Hussein."

 "At present the United States faces no global rival. America's grand
 strategy should aim to preserve and extend this advantageous position
 as far into the future as possible."

 "[N]ew methods of attack -- electronic, 'non-lethal,' biological --
 will be more widely available ... 'combat' likely will take place in
 new dimensions: in space, 'cyber-space,' and perhaps the world of
 microbes ... advanced forms of biological warfare that can 'target'
 specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of
 terror to a politically useful tool."

 In this Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece, Jay Bookman
 compares "Rebuilding America's Defenses" with the current Bush defense
 policy.
 http://www.rainbowbody.org/politics/PNACgoal.htm

 You can read the entire document on PNAC's website.
 http://www.newamericancentury.org/publicationsreports.htm

 ------------------------------

 SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
 In discussing changes to America's military strategy, the RAD report
 regretfully admits, "the process of transformation, even if it brings
 revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some
 catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new Pearl Harbor."

 Shortly after September 11, PNAC sent a letter to President Bush
 welcoming his call for "a broad and sustained campaign" and
 encouraging the removal of Saddam even if Iraq could not be directly
 linked to the attacks.
 http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter.htm

 ------------------------------

 WHO'S STEERING THIS SHIP?
 "Most neo-conservative defense intellectuals have their roots on the
 left, not the right." Michael Lind argues in the New Statesman and
 Salon magazines that many were anti-Stalinist Trotskyists who became
 anti-communist liberals, then shifted to a "militaristic and imperial
 right with no precedents in American culture or political history."
 http://dupagepeace.home.att.net/bush7.html

 PAUL WOLFOWITZ is Deputy Defense Secretary, second-in-command at the
 Pentagon. Wolfowitz was promoting regime change in Iraq and a strategy
 of preemptive attack in 1992, but the elder Bush rejected his views as
 too radical. This is an excellent brief from the Carnegie Endowment
 for International Peace.
 http://www.moveon.org/r?436

 RICHARD PERLE was Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan
 administration and a foreign policy adviser in George W. Bush's
 presidential campaign. He accepted Rumsfeld's offer to chair the
 Defense Policy Board, transforming it from obscurity to influence. In
 March, Perle resigned as chairman after a controversial lobbying
 scandal, but remains on the Board as a member.
 http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact

 WILLIAM KRISTOL is editor of The Weekly Standard, a conservative
 political magazine with a small but elite readership, funded by Rupert
 Murdoch. The son of neo-conservative founding father Irving Kristol,
 he is the president of PNAC.
 http://www.mediatransparency.org/people/bill_kristol.htm

 Other important participants are Vice-President Dick Cheney; Defense
 Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Iran-contra scandal convict Elliott Abrams,
 now Director of Middle East Affairs for the National Security Council;
 Washington Post columnist Robert Kagan; and special presidential envoy
 to Afghanistan and Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.

 A fairly complete list of PNAC participants can be found here:
 http://www.opednews.com/new%20american%20century.htm

 ------------------------------

 WHO PAYS THE BILLS?
 The Bradley Foundation, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the primary funder
 of PNAC through PNAC's parent New Citizenship Project, Inc. With the
 largest assets of any right-wing foundation, Bradley has focused its
 efforts on ending affirmative action, reforming welfare, and
 privatizing schools. This article describes Bradley's funding of
 neo-conservative think-tanks, magazines, and books like "The Bell
 Curve."
 http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/bradley_foundation.htm

 ------------------------------

 PAX ISRAELICA?
 Nearly all PNAC participants, whether Jewish or Christian, are
 right-wing Zionists who support Ariel Sharon's Likud Party. In 1996,
 Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and others drafted a paper for incoming
 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to make "a clean break"
 from the Oslo peace process preferring "peace through strength,"
 including the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
 http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm

 This essay describes many of the familiar neo-conservatives as having
 "dual loyalties," making policy decisions in the interests of the
 State of Israel as much as the United States.
 http://www.counterpunch.org/christison1213.html

 ------------------------------

 POST-WAR IRAQ
 PNAC participants are backing Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National
 Congress in his bid to run the interim government in Iraq. From The
 American Prospect, who is Chalabi and why is he so popular with the
 neo-conservatives?
 http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/21/dreyfuss-r.html

 ------------------------------

 NEO-CONSERVATISM
 PNAC is in the same Washington, D.C. office building as the American
 Enterprise Institute (AEI), another major neo-conservative think-tank.
 They share far more than an address: PNAC participants like Richard
 Perle, Thomas Donnelly, Jeane Kirkpatrick, William Schneider, Lynne
 Cheney (Dick Cheney's wife), and Irving Kristol (William Kristol's
 father) are all AEI scholars and fellows.

 Similar overlap is found among all the neo-conservative think-tanks --
 Hudson Institute, Center for Security Policy, Washington Institute for
 Near East Policy, Middle East Forum, and Jewish Institute for National
 Security Affairs -- giving the agenda of a few political elites the
 appearance of widespread agreement.

 ------------------------------

 WHAT NEXT -- SYRIA?
 This piece from Foreign Policy in Focus discusses a 2000 Middle East
 Forum study calling for military force against Syria. The report,
 "Ending Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: The U.S. Role," was signed by
 numerous PNAC participants.
 http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0304uscfl.html

 IRAN?
 From the Washington Monthly, a smart article that compares the
 neo-conservative plan for the Middle East to "giving a few good whacks
 to a hornets' nest because you want to get them out in the open and
 have it out with them once and for all."
 http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0304.marshall.html

 ------------------------------

 CHALLENGING THE PROJECT FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
 The Peace Education Fund and California Peace Action have launched a
 national advertising campaign that features the infamous photo of
 Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein. The ads ask the
 question: "Who Are We Arming Now?" The ad is part of Peace Action's
 Campaign for a New American Foreign Policy which is building political
 pressure for an alternative to the bleak vision of the Project for the
 New American Century.
 http://www.californiapeaceaction.org/campaigns/rumsfeld/campaign.htm

 ------------------------------

 CONCLUSION
 Beyond all the specifics presented in this bulletin and the linked
 resources, it's essential to remember how interlocked the
 neo-conservative organizations are. They represent the views and
 interests of only a tiny elite, not the popular sentiment in the
 United States. Most Americans would be horrified to learn how PNAC and
 others are shaping the Bush Doctrine -- both because of the ideology
 they describe and because they use money and media to gain
 disproportionate political influence.

 Money makes it easy to organize networks and gain political influence;
 control of the media limits our ability to consider the various
 options America has for handling crises in the international community.
 The work we are doing as MoveOn members is organizing without massive
 wealth and educating without owning the media. Our work is to vocalize
 the love of democratic decision-making shared by all people, clearly
 and with the most complete information. Please let us know what
 information you need to do this work, and we will do our best to make
 it available through the bulletin.

 ------------------------------

 CREDITS
 Research team:
 Leah Appet, Joanne Comito, Lita Epstein, Anna Gavula, Terry Hackett,
 Zaid Khalil, Kate Kressmann-Kehoe, Cameron McLaughlin , Janelle Miau,
 Sarah Parady, Kim Plofker, and Ora Szekely.

 Editing team:
 David Taub Bancroft, Melinda Coyle, Nancy Evans, Eileen Gillan, and
 Rita Weinstein.

 ------------------------------


=====================================================================


ELSEWHERE ON INDYMEDIA :
========================
Some more articles and comments picked up from Indymedia's archives.


 [EN] The PNAC and it`s connection to Iraq War
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2003/03/52524.php

 [EN] Protesters picket Perle meeting, blast PNAC
      http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/59759

 [EN] The people versus 'Total War Incorporated'. A global call for action
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2003/03/53129.php

 [FR] La pression sur le "Prince of Darkness"
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2003/04/55811.php

 [EN] How We Got Into This Imperial Pickle: A PNAC Primer
      http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=61513

 [NL] Project Censored 2003-2004: Amerikaanse media zwijgen PNAC dood
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2003/10/75262.php

 [EN] The Criminalization of the State
      http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/95438.php

 [EN] US Air Force Lt. Colonel Speaks Out against Bush/Cheney Neocon Cabal
      http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/94830.php


 Comments :
 ++++++++++

 [EN] Cover story: how US warmongers exploited 9/11
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2002/09/31287.php

 [EN] An action for peace initiative
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2003/11/77115.php


 Humour / parody :
 +++++++++++++++++

 [EN] Project for the First People's New Century
      http://archive.indymedia.be/news/2003/05/63546.php

 [EN] code PNAC
      http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/60208


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"Preventive war is, very simply, the 'supreme crime' condemned
at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals." -- Noam Chomsky



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