Why I had to leave the cabinet

I have resigned from the cabinet because I believe that a fundamental principle of Labour’s foreign policy has been violated.

If we believe in an international community based on binding rules and institutions, we cannot simply set them aside when they produce results that are inconvenient to us.

I cannot defend a war with neither international agreement nor domestic support. I applaud the determined efforts of the prime minister and foreign secretary to secure a second resolution. Now that those attempts have ended in failure, we cannot pretend that getting a second resolution was of no importance.

In recent days, France has been at the receiving end of the most vitriolic criticism. However, it is not France alone that wants more time for inspections. Germany is opposed to us. Russia is opposed to us. Indeed, at no time have we signed up even the minimum majority to carry a second resolution. We delude ourselves about the degree of international hostility to military action if we imagine that it is all the fault of President Chirac.

Christian Peacemakers report from the Middle East

As we played around on the mat with the severely handicapped children, Saturday morning at the orphanage, Amil and Quar-Quar began a game of rolling over and over away from me, calling “Bye, bye, Peggy!” and then “Hi, Peggy!” as they roll back. Repeating this over and over did not seem to make it any less fun.

From the orphanage, Tom Reiber-Martinez, one of the members of the current CPT delegation, and I hurried out to Karrada St. to hail a taxi to take across town in time for the Seventh Day Adventist worship service. A beat up old car stopped for us, and we got in. A simple, “shlonik?” (“How are you?”) started the conversation.

We learned that our driver spoke fairly good English, as we shared that we were from America, that we wanted peace, not war, and that we wanted to be friends with the Iraqi people. With his eyes glistening, he welcomed us warmly.

A plea to Laura Bush to assume the Presidency

For the third time in  US history, the wife of the president must step forward and assume the powers of the office. We therefore plead with Laura Bush to take over the reins of the White House at this most crucial and dangerous moment. Such a radical step is warranted when the president himself is mentally incapable of handling the job. It happened when Edith Wilson took over for her husband Woodrow, who suffered a stroke. It happened again when Nancy Reagan took over from her husband Ronald, who may have been in the preliminary stages of Alzheimer's disease. It has now happened again, as Laura Bush must take over from her husband George, who is clearly delusional and may be in a manic state involving alcohol, Xanax or other drugs.  

What next for the peace movement?

Back in January 1991, the peace movement pretty much folded its tents as soon as the U.S. missiles started dropping on Baghdad. Here we are in March 2003. Will it be the same?

Listen to Leslie Cagan, who's organized some legendary demonstrations across the past four decades, starting with the March on the Pentagon in 1967. Fifteen years later, she put a million people into New York's Central Park, demonstrating for a nuclear freeze. These days she's co-chair of United for Peace and Justice, the umbrella group that put half a million people on the streets of New York on Feb. 15.

In Cagan's view, "We're not going to see that drop off. This time the president did not make his case, did not build support, as his father did in 1990. I think we'll see an increase in activism." When I talked to her at the start of the week, Cagan's group was working around the clock toward a march for peace down Broadway on March 22, which could be the first march after bombing begins. With plenty of egg on their faces after the furor over the ban on marching on Feb. 15, this time, Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD have OK'd the march.

Activists demand Congressional investigation of peace worker's killing and U.S. funding of Israeli occupation

NEW YORK - Responding to the killing on Sunday of Rachel Corrie, a U.S. peace worker from Olympia, Washington, by the Israeli Occupation Force in the Gaza Strip, three U.S. activist groups are demanding Congress to investigate Corrie's death. The three groups, Direct Action for a Free Palestine (DAP), Jews Against the Occupation (JATO), and Stop U.S. Tax Aid to Israel Now (SUSTAIN) are also calling for a wider investigation of U.S. funding of the murderous Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. In the past year and a half this has resulted in the killings of over 1,900 Palestinians and three international peace workers.   

Corrie, 23, was killed by an American Caterpillar D-9 military bulldozer that ran her over while she and seven other peace workers were trying to rescue a family's house from being destroyed by the IOF. The next day, 10 Palestinians were killed when Israeli troops invaded the Nusseirat refugee camp and the nearby town of Beit Lahiya - like Corrie's death, part of an escalating campaign of Israeli terror in the Occupied Territories.   

Arctic Oil Drilling Rejected by U.S. Senate in Close Vote

In a victory for the environment, the Senate voted today to remove a provision from the 2004 budget bill opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. An amendment to remove this oil drilling provision, sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), passed by a narrow vote of 52 to 48.

Thanks to more than 25,000 Environmental Defense activists who quickly responded to our urgent action alert since Monday with e-mails, faxes and phone calls to Congress, we helped turn the tide against oil company efforts to open this precious wilderness area to oil companies.

HOW DID YOUR SENATOR VOTE? http://actionnetwork.org/ct/qd172p11yqFS/arcticvote (A "yea" vote is opposed to Arctic oil drilling. A "nay" vote supports Arctic oil drilling)

OIL DRILLING THREATS CONTINUE: Stripping oil-drilling provisions out of the Senate's 2004 budget bill is only a temporary victory for the Arctic, unfortunately. Oil companies and drilling supporters in Congress will continue their search for new legislative vehicles for opening the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling.

Arctic shenanigans in budget; House budget amendment fails, Senate voting next week.

As the Senate and House both move to begin considering the Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2004, both chambers have been talking openly about including revenues from potential lease sales in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Lease sales will generate revenues that could be included in the budget, but only if drilling in the Arctic Refuge has been approved.

This week, the Senate budget committee and the House Budget Committee both begin work on the FY 04 budgets.

On the House side, Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle (R-IA) has stated that he doesn't think Arctic drilling should be part of the budget resolution. The House Budget committee began deliberations on the budget resolution on Wednesday, March 12. Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, for the third year in a row, declined to include assumptions of drilling revenue in the resolution, which provides the broad framework for the annual spending and tax bills. The resolution is non-binding, but merely serves as a blueprint.

Nevertheless, the threat to the Refuge looms large in the House of

Bidding on societal change

AUSTIN, Texas -- Q: What is the country most likely to supply weapons of mass destruction to terrorists?

A: Russia.

Help stop a massive new tax cut

As he pushes ahead with war plans, President Bush is also exploiting the national preoccupation with the war by trying to pass a gigantic new tax cut. The Bush tax package includes $700 billion in new cuts, and a total revenue reduction of more than $2 trillion over the next ten years.* These cuts will primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans.

With the imminent start of war, we know this is a hard time to focus on anything else. But because you've been one of our most active members, we hope you can find a moment to make two calls today. The Senate vote on the Bush tax plan could come as soon as today, Tuesday, March 18th.

The AFL-CIO has generously provided a toll-free number. Please call both of your Senators now, at:

1-888-280-6279

If that number is busy, please call your Senators directly, at:

Senator Durbin
DC Phone: 202-224-2152

Senator Fitzgerald
DC Phone: 202-224-2854

Make sure the staffers know you're a constituent. Then urge your Senators to:

"Please OPPOSE the President's tax cut package. We simply

Natl. Call-In Day For Children

This week the House & Senate debate 2004 budget plans. They will be voting to give tax cuts to the rich or to invest in children and families - choices that will affect the nation for years to come.

ACTION ITEMS: 1. Call your Senators and Reps using the AFL-CIO toll-free legislative line at: 1-888-280-6279. 2. E-mail your Members of Congress at: capwiz.com/cdf/issues/alert/?alertid=1673121&type=CO 3. Mobilize others to call, e-mail, and set up phone banks by using the flier at: www.cdfactioncouncil.org/national_call-in_day_flyer.pdf and

What You Can Ask Your Senators & Rep To Do:
1. Vote NO on Republican Budget Committees' budget resolutions.
2. Stop all tax giveaways for millionaires.
3. Stop the Bush plan to dismantle Head Start, block grant, Medicaid, foster care, and low income housing.
4. Stop all proposals that would cut, freeze, or eliminate crucial children's programs.

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