GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
November 12, 2004
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty@greens.org
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
FALLUJAH OFFENSIVE RISKS TURNING IRAQ WAR INTO
VIETNAM WAR, SAY GREENS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Greens warn that the Fallujah
offensive, with heavy civilian casualties and destruction of
infrastructure, has completed the transformation of the Iraq invasion
into the Vietnam War.
"The insistence that Iraq is better off without
Saddam Hussein while killing between 10,000 and 100,000 Iraqi civilians
has turned President Bush's rationale for the invasion into a grotesque
joke," said Tony Gronowicz, a member of the International Committee
of the Green Party of the United States and author.
Greens said that heavy civilian casualties in
Fallujah will turn more Iraqis against the U.S., especially in other
Sunni cities, leading to a longer occupation and destroying hopes for
democracy in Iraq.
"Even if Operation Phantom Fury succeeds in
suppressing the insurgency in Fallujah, the result may be more sympathy
for the Iraqi resistance throughout Iraq, which can hardly be called a
victory," said Justine McCabe, Connecticut Green and member of the
International Committee.
Greens noted the silence of Sen. John Kerry and
other Democrats on the Fallujah operation. The Green Party has strongly
opposed the invasion of Iraq, demanded an immediate end to the
occupation, and called for support for U.S. troops by removing them from
harm's way and returning them home.
Greens also noted that:
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Estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths range from
10,000 (the British Foreign Secretary) to 14,000 (http://www.iraqbodycount.com)
to 100,000 (http://image.thelancet.com/extras/04art10342web.pdf)
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The U.S. occupation forces have prohibited Iraqi
men between ages 14 and 60 from fleeing the city, a policy in
violation of international law.
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The U.S. attack has destroyed one emergency
hospital; U.S. military forces now occupy the city's only remaining
hospital, blocking civilians from receiving medical attention. Bombs
have been dropped on civilian neighborhoods and mosques targeted and
destroyed.
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The attitude of invasion apologists suggests a
dangerous mindset similar to "In order to save the village, we
had to destroy it" in Vietnam. "Even if Fallujah has to go
the way of Carthage, reduced to shards, the price will be worth
it" -- former military officer and neo-con ideologue Ralph
Peters, The New York Post, November 4, 2004 <http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/33310.htm>.
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A major Sunni Muslim political party, the Iraqi
Islamic Party, quit the interim Iraqi government and revoked its
sole cabinet minister to protest the attack on Fallujah. Party head
Mohsen Abdel-Hamid explained, "We are protesting the attack on
Fallujah and the injustice that is inflicted on the innocent people
of the city." <http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Sunni-Protest.html>
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In having announced the Fallujah attack well in
advance of the operation itself, the Bush Administration gave
insurgents time to prepare sufficient defense to place U.S. military
personnel at great risk; the publicity for Operation Phantom Fury
began before the attack -- especially before Election Day --
suggests that one of the operation's chief purposes was homeland
political propaganda.
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Defense Secretary Rumsfeld continues to depict
insurgents as extremists loyal to Saddam Hussein, when in fact the
Iraq resistance ranges from Islamic groups that opposed the ousted
dictator to Iraqi civilians who lost their businesses and jobs under
the U.S. occupation after administrator Paul Bremer opened up Iraqi
businesses and resources to foreign corporate ownership.
"There's no doubt that decapitation of hostages
by insurgents is atrocious, but the Iraqi people understandably don't
see the mass killing of civilians by U.S. bombs as any less
barbaric," said Peter LaVenia, chair of the Albany County, New
York, Green Party and president of the Green Alliance.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
2004 Green candidates and election results
http://www.gp.org/patience.html
