[Seattle-editorial] Fwd: FW: Weapons Inspectors Going to Work in America (fwd)

[Sheri Herndon]

>Delivered-To: sheri at speakeasy.org
>Delivered-To: sheri at indymedia.org
>Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:43:00 -0800 (PST)
>From: SCN User <seeds at scn.org>
>X-Sender: seeds at scn
>To: sheri at indymedia.org
>Subject: Fwd: FW: Weapons Inspectors Going to Work in America (fwd)
>
>Sheri-
>I hope someone will be covering this event...
>-Craig
>
>MISSION USA
>UPDATE: February 23, 2003
>
>Today the Inspections Team traveled to the Edgewood Chemical and Biological
>Center. The team was refused access to inspect the facilities, as
>speculated, and heavily-armed security and a public relations officer from
>the base were on hand to inform the group that they would not be permitted
>beyond the main gates.
>
>Despite the refusal, the event did draw considerable media attention from
>multiple Canadian, American and international networks. Alan Simpson, a UK
>Member of Parliament and leader of Labour Against the War, was able to make
>several statements on behalf of the group to spectators and media. Edward
>Hammond, Director of the Sunshine Project and biological weapons expert,
>echoed Simpson's statements and provided further detail about the dangerous
>chemical and biological agents being developed and stored at the facility.
>
>For more information, please check out today's press release, which will be
>posted in the media relations section shortly.
>
>We sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on February
>17, serving notice that we would be sending an international team of weapons
>inspectors to Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland on Sunday,
>February 23, 2003 to investigate U.S. involvement in the development and
>storage of chemical and biological weapons. Read the letter here.
>
>The delegation that attempted to inspect the site at Edgewood includes:
>Libby Davies, Member of Parliament (Canada - NDP); Alan Simpson, Member of
>Parliament (United Kingdom - Labour) and head of Labour Against the War;
>Christy Ferguson, Organizer and Spokesperson, Rooting Out Evil; Deborah
>Bourque, National President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers; Steven
>Staples, Defense Analyst, Polaris Institute; Mel Watkins, Professor Emeritus
>- Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto; Samaa Elibyari,
>Representative, Canadian Islamic Congress; Ed Hammond, Director, Sunshine
>Project; Peter Shorett, Director of Programmes, Council for Responsible
>Genetics; Francesco Martone, Senator (Italy - Green Party; Graziella Mascia,
>Member of Parliament (Italy - Rifondazione Communista); and Pernille
>Rosenkrantz, Member of Parliament (Denmark - Red-Green Alliance).
>
>Supporters and the general public were invited to join the team at a public
>forum in Washington D.C. at 7:30pm, Saturday, February 22nd at the First
>Congregational Church, 945 G Street NW (corner at 10th and G, next to the
>library). The turnout was quite good, and several team members had an
>opportunity to speak publicly about the importance of this project.
>
>We would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to all of our honorary
>inspectors for the financial and moral support that has made this project
>possible.
>
>
>---
>
>We have selected the US as our first priority based on criteria provided by
>the Bush administration. According to those criteria, the most dangerous
>states are those run by leaders who:
>
>1) have massive stockpiles of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons;
>2) ignore due process at the United Nations;
>3) refuse to sign and honour international treaties; and
>4) have come to power through illegitimate means.
>
>The current US administration fulfills all these criteria. And so, again
>following Bushís guidelines, Rooting Out Evil is demanding that his
>administration allow immediate and unfettered access to international
>weapons inspectors to search out their caches of chemical, biological, and
>nuclear weapons.
>
>On the weekend of February 22/23, the team will attempt to cross into the
>United States on a mission of peace, and will be greeted on the US side by
>Americans who favour true global cooperation, an end to weapons of mass
>destruction, and a regime change in the US at the next election. The team
>will then attempt to inspect a US site suspected of housing weapons of mass
>destruction.
>
>>
>>
>>Institute for Public Accuracy
>>915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
>>(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org *
>>ipa at accuracy.org
>>________________________________________
>>    Friday, February 21, 2003
>>
>>   Weapons Inspectors Going to Work in America
>>
>>A group of Canadian, British, American, Italian and
>>Danish parliamentarians, scientists, academics, and
>>religious and union leaders have informed the Pentagon
>>that they intend to inspect the Edgewood Chemical
>>Biological Center in Maryland this Sunday. Among the
>>parliamentary members in the delegation are: Alan
>>Simpson from the U.K., Libby Davies from Canada,
>>Senator Francesco Martone and parliament member
>>Graziella Mascia from Italy, and Pernille Rosenkrantz
>>from Denmark.
>>
>>In a letter delivered to Donald Rumsfeld earlier this
>>week, Christy Ferguson of the Canadian group Rooting
>>Out Evil, which is organizing the inspector
>>delegation, wrote: "As a State Party to the Chemical
>>Weapons Convention, which entered into force on April
>>29, 1997, the United States has agreed not to develop
>>or use chemical weapons and to destroy its chemical
>>weapons stockpiles. As a party to the Biological and
>>Toxin Weapons Convention, entered into force on March
>>26, 1975, the United States has agreed to prohibit the
>>use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases,
>>and bacteriological methods of warfare.... [We are]
>>focusing our inspection on the Edgewood site because
>>our research reveals that the facility may be
>>developing and stockpiling weapons that contravene the
>>above stated conventions."
>>
>>The delegation can be reached through: Elizabeth Dove,
>>
>>communications director of Rooting Out Evil, cell
>>(416) 910-9779, (416) 927-0777,
>>treleaven at socialjustice.org,
>>http://www.rootingoutevil.org
>>
>>ED HAMMOND, cell (512) 785-8546, 494-0545,
>>tsp at sunshine-project.org,
>>http://www.sunshine-project.org
>>Hammond, director of the Sunshine Project in Austin,
>>Texas, is a biochemical weapons expert and will be
>>participating in the delegation. He said today: "All
>>countries that research weapons of mass destruction
>>need to submit to an inspection regime. This symbolic
>>action is particularly poignant because last year in
>>Geneva the Bush administration destroyed a six-year
>>effort involving 140 countries to create a global
>>inspection regime for biological weapons agents. It
>>didn't just pull out, it actually stayed in the
>>process with the explicit purpose of insuring there
>>was no agreement."
>>  >
>>JACQUELINE CABASSO, (510) 839-5877, cell (510)
>>306-0119, wslf at earthlink.net, http://www.wslfweb.org
>>Executive director of Western States Legal Foundation,
>>a nuclear disarmament advocacy organization, Cabasso
>>recently led a "Citizen Weapons Inspection Team" to
>>the gates of the U.S. nuclear weapons laboratory in
>>Livermore, California. She is co-author of the recent
>>article "The End of Disarmament and the Arms Races to
>>Come." Cabasso said today: "While U.S.
>>officials try to cast the worst light on the UN
>>weapons inspectors' generally favorable reports, they
>>have prepared contingency plans to use nuclear weapons
>>in Iraq. This manifests the Bush administration's
>>increasingly aggressive and unilateral 'national
>>security' policy which tears down the wall between
>>nuclear and conventional weapons, and contemplates
>>nuclear weapons use 'against ... emerging threats
>>before they are fully formed.' While focusing on a
>>speculative and questionable Iraqi 'threat,' the U.S.
>>is actively pursuing 'more useable' nuclear weapons
>>for use against seven named countries, in blatant
>>violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
>>Which country poses a greater threat to global
>>security? Why aren't international weapons inspectors
>>in the U.S.? Who will disarm America?"
>>
>>There will be a public forum with the inspectors on
>>Saturday, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, 945
>  >G St. NW, Washington, D.C. For more information, call:
>>(510) 306-0119.
>>
>>For more information, contact at the Institute for
>>Public Accuracy:Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020, (202)
>>421-6858; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
>>
>>                                ***
>>
>>=====
>>"Intelligent and conscientious people have doubts -- express yours
>>through conscientious objections to militarism and war.  For info.
>>on this topic (not direct-services!), please do visit, www.objector.org>."
>>


-- 

Be realistic and do the impossible, because if we don't do the 
impossible, we face the unthinkable.

-- Murray Bookchin