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A Workable Plan to Avert the War
just got this in an email, thought it might be interesting to talk about. The author(an american) contends that a good way to stop the war would be for Kofi Annan and the Pope to go to iraq and act as human shields.
Personally, i think that that the solution is a bit wild, but could work. I would also suggest that leaders of countries against the war such as france, germany, and china follow suit.
so, here is the article, it's worth the read even if you disagree with the idea.
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A Workable Plan to Avert the War
2003/03/07
To avert a war in the Middle East at this very late date, something very dramatic and morally mobilizing to hundreds of millions of people must happen immediately: the Pope and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and possibly other famous people, must put themselves personally on the line and go to Baghdad and act as human shields to the Iraqi people.
Even George Bush would not dare to bomb Baghdad if the Pope and the UN Secretary-General, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, along with other famous people, were there.
At the same time, the Pope and Kofi Annan must have a plan of action. This is what I think it should be:
1. They should call for the establishment of a peaceful, UN Trusteeship over Iraq, jointly administered with the help of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (an intergovernmental organization of 57 Islamic nations), under which Iraq would be supervised by the UN and the OIC into compliance with international law and the resolutions of the Security Council. (Getting the UN Security Council to act in conjunction with the OIC is vital so that Arabs and Muslims would be helping to solve a world problem, and so that the Trusteeship would not be a "West versus East, Christian versus Muslim" type of intervention but a collective action of the UN and the Middle East region as a whole.)
2. Saddam and the inner circle of his regime would go into internal exile under house arrest, but not be charged with war crimes, and the bureaucracy of the Iraqi government would stay in power and perform ordinary civil and policing functions under UN supervision. (This would help motivate Saddam to accept this deal and also preserve internal stability in Iraq.)
3. In exchange for SaddamÕÕs and Iraq's agreement to accept this joint UN-OIC Trust status, the US and the UK would be asked to back off and to agree, along with other countries, not to act unilaterally but to put their forces under strictly collective UN Security Council supervision, as called for in the UN Charter under Article 43. Adequate international forces acting solely under Security Council authority would remain stationed in the Middle East region to overcome any Iraqi non-compliance if necessary. Ongoing military strikes against Iraqi targets would cease.
4. Under the Trust, the genocidal economic sanctions regime would also be ended, and humanitarian aid inspectors would make sure that dual use items got to the proper people and not to the military. Public health would be restored.
5. Similarly, the weapons inspections would continue and increase in number up to whatever level would assure international peace and security. Any weapons found would be destroyed.
6. Similarly human rights monitors would inspect and help ensure the enforcement of international human rights. The rule of law and the judicial and justice systems in Iraq would be restored .
7. The Pope and Kofi Annan should also call for the people of the Middle East region themselves to be involved in establishing and approving this joint UN-OIC trust, i.e., the peoples of the Middle East should approve the idea by a plebiscite at some point, both inside Iraq and regionally. (If one of the aims of the International Community is to increase democracy in this part of the world, what better way to do so than by starting immediately and using direct democracy to help avert a war and to support a plan for a peaceful solution. I think that a plebiscite on establishing the UN Trusteeship, averting war, and helping get Iraq back to normal in a peaceful way jointly through the UN and the OIC would enjoy overwhelming public support, in contrast to public reaction to a US invasion.)
8. The plan would look beyond just Iraq and call for the implementation of a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction -- an idea the UN General Assembly has been proposing for decades and which the Security Council must implement as a matter of international peace and security under Chapter 7 of the Charter. Iraq is just part of this zone, and we must not lose sight of the larger aim, which is security and cooperation and prosperity for all in the entire Middle East, including Israel and Palestine.
9. Life in Iraq would be restored to normal as quickly as possible; and under UN-OIC supervision, genuine democratic elections would eventually be held, restoring the country to the people of Iraq.
I think if people of the stature of the Pope and the UN Secretary-General, and other possible famous people, took this upon themselves, and called for this plan of action, and if they called for global public understanding and appreciation of Islamic and Arabic contributions to world civilization, and for a global mobilization of religion in the cause of peace, they could bring about a miracle of peace and avert the immense disaster in international and intercultural relations which is now about to happen.
(Incidentally, I'm not a Catholic, so IÕÕm not covertly promoting my own brand of theology.)
Uniting for Peace. An idea that could help this plan of action would be for the UN General Assembly to call for the Pope and Kofi Annan to undertake this mission and authorize it under the Uniting for Peace procedure, where the United States has no veto power. Doing so would give this action, and the United Nations, even more moral authority and integrity.
If the nations of the world and the major religions of the world would unite for peace at this critical moment in history, I believe war and its incalculable subsequent misery for both the present and for future generations, could be averted.
This scenario would indeed be "high stakes drama" on the international stage, but what other option is left?
We cannot let this catastrophe occur. We must make this effort.
* * *
If this plan makes sense to you, put yourself on the line a little bit, and pass this idea along to the UN Secretary General and to the Pope and to other famous people both directly and through whatever other subchannels of communication might also reach them.
Time is running out! The darkness of war is almost about to overwhelm us.
Let us act for our own integrity as global United Nations citizen peacekeepers. Let us act for a sustainable community and future on Earth, and let us act to save the people of Iraq!
The Vatican UN Observer Mission is at: Holy See, Permanent Observer of Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, 25 East 39th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016-0903 . Telephone: (212) (212) 370-7885, Telefax: (212) 370-9622
An address for the Vatican itself is (snail mail): His Holiness John Paul II, Apostolic Palace, 00120 Vatican City State, Europe (Don't say Italy). The email address given by Dr. Helen Caldicott, who is urging the Pope to undertake this mission, is [email protected][/email]. Try also: [email protected].
I have no personal address for the Secretary-General, but try addressing this appeal to him at [email protected][/email]. Try looking at the UN web site, www.un.org, for possible email for the Secretary General or other people in his office. You might also try sending copies to UNESCO at [email][email protected] and to the High Commissioner for Human Rights at [email protected]
If anyone finds better addresses, please let me know.
To take an even further step, go the UN System web site, , and click on the button called "UN Missions". This lists the various Member State missions to the UN. Some of them have emails to which you can send this appeal. Send it especially to members of the Security Council, to countries in the region of Iraq, to Islamic countries, and to other major Third World countries.
Sincerely,
John Dale
Prescott, Arizona USA
928-443-0868
[email][email protected]
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"Be the change you wish to see in the world." -- Gandhi
(i love that quote, it's getting added to my website)
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 Visit my site Antiwar Homepage
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(well, excepting the Pope maybe)
