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| Volunteer ’Human Shields’ to Head for Iraq |
| 2003-01-22 |
| Volunteer 'Human Shields' to Head for Iraq Tue Jan 21,12:20 PM ET By Andrew Cawthorne LONDON (Reuters) - A first wave of mainly Western volunteers will leave London this weekend on a convoy bound for Iraq to act as "human shields" at key sites and populous areas in case of a U.S.-led war on Baghdad. "The potential for white Western body parts flying around with the Iraqi ones should make them think again about this imperialist oil war," organizer Ken Nichols, a former U.S. marine in the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites), told Reuters. His "We the People" organization will be sending off a first group of 50 human shields from the London mayor's City Hall building Saturday, part of a series of departures organizers say will involve hundreds, possibly thousands, of volunteers. Nichols' planned human shield convoys are one of several such efforts around the world to mobilize activists in Iraq as a deterrent against military strikes on Baghdad. In Bucharest, more than 100 Romanian diehard communists said Tuesday they would travel by bus to Iraq to act as human shields in case of a U.S. attack. Members of the tiny Romanian Workers Party, which took the mantle of ousted dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's defunct Communist party in 1995, said they would set off next month to support "the cause of the people." The new human shield plans revive memories of the 1991 Gulf War when President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) forcibly held thousands of Western hostages after his invasion of Kuwait. Many were put near sensitive sites in a bid to stop attacks that proved futile, although there are not thought to have been any casualties among the Western hostages. Baghdad also used Iraqis, alongside some foreign volunteers, as shields in 1998 against U.S.-British bombing. Nichols' groups intend to drive through Europe and the Middle East en route to Iraq. The first will travel in a pair of double-decker buses, led by a car with a white peace flag on it. "We are on the verge of something big," said volunteer Christiaan Briggs, 26, from New Zealand. He argued that the stream of human shield volunteers was symptomatic of radicalizing anti-war opinion around the world. "People know this is wrong. It is just so blatantly transparent how the U.S. is trying to impose its hegemony." PROPAGANDA ACCUSATIONS "We the People" organizers said the self-financing human shield volunteers had come forward from a range of Western nations including the United States, Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Denmark. There were also some volunteers from Muslim nation Turkey. The major rallying point for Muslims, however, is in Iraq's neighbor Jordan. There, a campaign led by leftist parties and civic bodies is seeking 100,000 shield volunteers. Baghdad has welcomed the plans, but volunteers smart at suggestions that they are handing a propaganda gift to Saddam. Washington and London are sending troops to the Gulf and threatening military action against Saddam unless he admits to possessing weapons of mass destruction and disarms. "It's laughable to say that we are working for Saddam when it was the UK and the U.S. who gave him his biological and other weapons in the first place," Nichols said. "The hypocrisy is mind-blowing. The biggest threat to world security at this moment is (U.S. President) George W. Bush." Nichols said his involvement in the human shield program was in part "penance" for his participation in the Gulf War when a U.S.-led force drove Saddam's troops out of Kuwait. But those forcibly used as human shields by Saddam in the past are stunned others are volunteering to do it. "Putting yourself in danger is not going to help at all," said John Nicol, a British air force flyer shot down in 1991 and later paraded on Iraqi television. He was moved around by the Iraqis to various potential targets and experienced allied bombing nearby. "I doubt it would be a deterrent to any attack," Nicol, a journalist and military analyst since leaving the air force, told Reuters. "I am shocked that anyone would want to put themselves in such a situation." |
| Posted by: Stalk of Wheat ----------<<<<- |
| #17 I read the 4GW article, and I've also read Bevin Alexander's "How Wars are Won" which covers the same ground. The Al Queda writer misses a very massive point, though he actually raises it: 4GW warfare, to be successful, absolutely depends on the ability for terrorists to "swim among the fishes." All soldiers, including terrorists, depend on support. Successful 4GW depends on the support of the populace. The terrorist must be able to rely on the local population to keep him safe. Trying to set up an "us" vs. "them" scenario, as in Algeria where the French colonialists were the "them" won't work in the U.S. It's real hard to do that when you're a foreigner. And you can make it even harder by doing the most obvious of things: deny immigration from nations that are terrorism's centers. We're going this way ever more strongly, and if there is ever another attack on the U.S., expect even more forceful action in the immigration area. Frankly, if I was in charge (ha,ha) there would be an outright ban right now on nationals from the usual suspect nations. And yeah, I'd be deporting a lot of people as well. Sept. 11 was a sucker punch. If we deal with the immigration situation correctly, they don't get another crack at us like that. Part 2 of dealing with 4GW is taking the war directly to the nations that support terrorism. We did this in Afghanistan, which from a purely anti-terrorism standpoint, was a huge success. We will do this next week in Iraq. Terrorists MUST have safe havens and training grounds to be effective. Once we are in Iraq, the pressures on Syrian, Iran, and Saudi Arabia to clamp down on these combatants will escalate exponentially. Eventually, the terrorists run out of people trained in Afghanistan. They will have to set up training camps somewhere else, sooner of later, if they expect to do anything of consequence. Post-9/11 we aren't going to allow this. The first small action was the Yemen Hellfire case. Alexander argues that the way to deal with terrorists in the offensive phase is to use small units to annhilate training grounds. We've already got the forces to do this. Again, watch Iraq. After that's over, and frankly even now, what nation in their right mind is going to permit terrorist training camps on their soil if they KNOW we're going to punish them severely and destroy the camps to boot. Terrorists also depend on financial support, contrary to what the writer in Fred's link implies. You cut that off (like by scaring the living shit out of the Saudis) and there is no way to buy the weapons that are truly frightening. I keep coming back to Iraq, because it is the key. Terrorists can truly do us serious harm only if they get WMDs. By cutting off what would have been their major source of WMDs they become little more than nuisances. Eventually, we will have to deal with NKorea for the very same reason: to keep the damage potential of these nutbags as low as possible. These terrorist numbnuts really and truly no NOTHING about American history which is a very good thing. They both fear us and underestimate us, just as many other enemies have done. They know nothing about the fact that we have ALWAYS adapted faster than anyone else to the new realities of warfare. They, on the other hand, are totally unoriginal and have very little capacity to think outside the box. It's not in the nature of their culture or their religion or their education. There is nothing original about terrorism, suiciders, or zealots. On the other hand, the willingness to try new ideas is a fundamental feature in the American character. It's in our bones to try out something, and if don't work, try something else. Bush was right: it'll take decades to eliminate terrorism and war alone won't do it. But these guys fight a hopeless battle that is based entirely on a negative: revenge for alleged "humiliations." We will fight for entirely different, positive reasons: freedom and survival. There is no way we lose this war. Zero. |
| Posted by: R. McLeod 2003-01-23 04:42:13 |
| #16 4GW, anyone? |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-01-22 22:58:16 |
| #15 FFF--Better hurry up pal...the Ken Kesey peace bus is leaving! But before you go, make sure to stock up on plenty of Depends undergarments. And do you mind if we shag your hairy-legged dog faced girlfriend while you're gone? Thought not. |
| Posted by: JDB 2003-01-22 22:23:51 |
| #14 Four Freedoms Fan- Ken Nichols, the guy who organized this thing, renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1999. He has written an article today in 'The Guardian', where he says, among other things, that the worst decision he ever made in his life was to join the U.S. Marines. Hardly a "true-blue, down-home Yankee". Get educated before you speak out. |
| Posted by: Charlotte 2003-01-22 22:12:05 |
| #13 No doubt it will come as a bit of a shock all around to discover that there are a certain number of true-blue, down-home Yankees who are actually willing to die unarmed on the Iraqi side, in order to make the point that many Americans really don't want a world full of crusades, jihad, religious warfare, or clash of civilizations. 4GW, anyone? It's an interlocked, interlaced world these days, not a single Russian Front or Maginot Line! There are all sorts of ways to defend the American Homeland, and as far as I'm concerned, this is one of them. |
| Posted by: A Four Freedoms Fan 2003-01-22 20:19:30 |
| #12 >> Den Beste points out that it will take a while to drive the 6,000 km or so. It will also require the Turks to allow them to drive to the border, and pass through the border, highly unlikely. Just a publicity stunt. They'll be drinking wine in Sofia and bemoaning the fact that they couldn't actually make it to Iraq.<< And good luck to them if they try to make it with any of those beauties spotted disporting themselves with U.S. Marines as recorded photographically on your blog, Chuck. Somehow, from all the reports I've heard and read, I think the probability of anti-Americans receiving a warm welcome in Bulgaria is somewhere between the chances of the Rev. Al winning the Dem nomination and Scott Ritter getting everyone to forget about his underage sex arrests. I am skeptical if those numbnuts will even be able to get Sofia bartenders to serve them decent wine if they should reveal their political leanings. |
| Posted by: Joe 2003-01-22 17:44:29 |
| #11 Dan, after the bombs start falling there won't be an Iraqi gov't... OT, but Don's comment yesterday on the possible denial of benefits for the victims (and their families) in yesterday's Kuwait attack was picked up in Joe Katzmans's www.windsofchange.net today, and I sincerely hope these people are taken care of to the best of our ability... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-01-22 13:37:57 |
| #10 "The first will travel in a pair of double-decker buses, led by a car with a white peace flag on it." Wonder what I'm looking for if I'm cruising around in my F-18. They got a "No Bus" zone in Iraq? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-01-22 13:29:45 |
| #9 I wonder if the Iraq government will allow any shield members to leave the country after the bombs start falling. |
| Posted by: Dan 2003-01-22 12:32:35 |
| #8 Den Beste points out that it will take a while to drive the 6,000 km or so. It will also require the Turks to allow them to drive to the border, and pass through the border, highly unlikely. Just a publicity stunt. They'll be drinking wine in Sofia and bemoaning the fact that they couldn't actually make it to Iraq. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-01-22 11:16:22 |
| #7 Hehe. Love the tin foil hat comment. Abs of steel videos will be studied to stop conventional weapons... |
| Posted by: flash91 2003-01-22 10:39:46 |
| #6 It's simple, Paul. They don't want to be there when the bombs are falling. That's why they are driving and not flying in. Bet the bus will be covered with peace signs and flowers and anti-american slogans and stop at every newspaper and tv station enroute. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-01-22 10:27:04 |
| #5 "I am shocked that anyone would want to put themselves in such a situation." I will be shocked to actually see you chained to a target in Baghdad somewhere. Get some footage because I will definately not believe that you were there. Any bets? |
| Posted by: Rw 2003-01-22 10:27:02 |
| #4 We need to know some history about Ken Nichols and his game (you know, Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story"). Then we need to figure out how this travelling road show is going to make it to Baghdad in time across some dangerous country in one piece. There seems to be some missing neuron paths here... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-01-22 10:06:27 |
| #3 Damn those lefties, they have our number! They know that if they sit on the roof of an Iraqi WMD lab wearing one of their tinfoil hats, our orbital death rays will be neutralized completely. Quickly comrades, we must retune the death ray so that it vaporizes white people too, not just the brown ones!!! |
| Posted by: Bent Pyramid 2003-01-22 08:58:55 |
| #2 We are on the verge of something big," said volunteer Christiaan Briggs, 26, from New Zealand uh, yeah, like 500lbs of high explosives packed in a JDAM? Darwin's law in action... a win-win! Take these fools out first |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-01-22 08:53:14 |
| #1 Go ahead. Blow the idiots away and raise the average IQ of the West at the same time... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-01-22 08:50:38 |