Wednesday, February 18, 1998
Protesters reject military action in Iraq
POLITICS: Gathering in Westwood opts stronger ties with Middle
East
By Lawrence Ferchaw
Daily Bruin Contributor
On the day President Clinton spoke at the Pentagon to make his
case for military action in Iraq, protesters rejected his case at a
demonstration in Westwood.
On Tuesday, the Save the Iraqi Children Committee organized a
protest at the Federal Building in Westwood, which attracted a
diverse mix of citizens ranging from Arab Americans to the Veterans
for Peace. Despite the diversity of the protesters, the message was
unified.
"Bombing Iraq defeats the whole purpose of protecting humanity,"
said Stacy Hartell, a USC student.
This message was echoed in the chants against the economic
sanctions on Iraq, imposed at the end of the Gulf War seven years
ago.
Over 1.5 million people have died in Iraq because of the
sanctions, said Preston Wood, the co-coordinator of the rally.
"All this talk of weapons of mass destruction does not take into
account that the sanctions are a weapon of mass destruction," said
Yasser Aman, a fifth-year cell and molecular biology student.
Aman said he came to the rally to be a "voice of the
oppressed."
Despite the heavy drizzle at times, protesters formed a line
along Wilshire Boulevard, holding posters and banners as they
chanted for the United States to get "out of the Middle East."
Police watched from a distance while some protesters went out into
the traffic to take their message to drivers.
Protesters questioned the motives for possible military strikes,
which could take place after a week if the Iraqi government does
not allow full inspection by the United Nations.
"This is a cover for the U.S. to install a new leader in Iraq
who will do what the U.S. wishes and turn over the oil," Wood
said.
Another demonstrator characterized the thinking behind a
military strike as "cowboy thinking."
The protesters focused on the well being of civilians, not a
defense of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Dan Dickesen, a member of the Socialist Workers Party, said that
one day the people of Iraq should make Hussein face justice, but
that this is not a job of the United States.
In response to President Clinton’s speech, Yousef Elia Haddad, a
resident of the San Fernando Valley, said, "we don’t buy his
reasoning. There is a double standard when the resolutions against
Iraq are so strictly enforced while resolutions against Israel are
not."
Rather than bombing Iraq, protesters offered alternatives to the
current policy. Along with the idea that the United States should
end all activities in the area, one protester thought stronger
relations could improve the situation.
"The U.S. should intensify contact with Iraq and become
acquainted culturally. We should learn from each other and modify
our and behavior and theirs," said Katherine Anderson, from Duluth,
Minn.
Hartell also talked about using more humanitarian reasoning
before using the military.
"If people thought that those in the third world were equal to
them, then they would have second thoughts. This is racist," she
said.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is currently planning a trip
to Iraq to avert a military strike.
President Clinton insisted on Tuesday that full compliance by
Hussein is necessary to avert a military strike. Clinton said that
such a strike would be "significant" and seriously damage Hussein’s
capability to wage war.