Australia is at war. Why?

The United States and its allies are spending more than $US720 million a day or $US 500,000 per hour waging war amongst the poorest communities on earth.

A full-page advertisement in today’s West Australian newspaper, asks this question. It suggests readers write to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and urge him to bring Australian troops home.

The advertisement, prepared by former WA Premier Peter Dowding with support from MAPW WA, also urges support for MAPW’s work for peace – see suggested actions below.

The advertisement reads:
(download the full colour version)

Each year on November 11 at eleven o’clock in the morning - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – Australians acknowledge Armistice Day, the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918.

Australians are urged to take a moment of silence at 11:00 am today, as a sign of respect for the millions who have died in wars.

At 11.01am, please take another moment to consider why Australia is involved in a war in Afghanistan. During this moment consider Australia’s freedom, our democracy, our independence, our courage, our strength and the unique Australian spirit that binds us together as a country, and a nation of good people. Consider what we are doing, making war in Afghanistan.
Australia has been at war in Afghanistan since 2001. The war has claimed, and continues to claim, the lives of thousands of innocent Afghans.

 Did you know that two months ago 60 Afghan children were killed by “friendly fire”? The Allies have “apologised”! Did you know that Britain’s top military commander in Afghanistan says “We are not going to win this war”?

The Australian Government has given no indication that it is willing to withdraw Australian troops from this war?

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO END THIS SENSELESS WAR, PLEASE.

Australians, take action today by emailing Mr. Rudd’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith at Stephen.Smith.MP [at] aph [dot] gov [dot] au In the subject line please type; “Bring our troops home. Invest in Peace”.

And for the innocent men, women and children of Afghanistan, we urge you to please sign on and support MAPW at www.mapw.org.au  

Invest in Peace - bring our troops home
Medical Association for Prevention of War
Paid for and authorised by Peter Dowding, in memory of Rev. Keith Dowding. PO Box 1262 Fremantle WA 6959.

Action:

• Write now, to Stephen Smith: Stephen.Smith.MP [at] aph [dot] gov [dot] au – please copy your letter to MAPW at 11November [at] mapw [dot] org [dot] au.  
• Donate or join MAPW – click "donate" or Join now" at top of page
• Let us know your views at 11November [at] mapw [dot] org [dot] au 
• Download the full colour advertisement and use it as a poster in your workplace, school or community centre 
   

Read more: 

UNi websites:

UNICEFi on the humanitarian crisis:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/afghanistan_31224.html

WHO for health statistics including  life expectancy at birth of 42 for men, 43 for women:
http://www.who.int/countries/afg/en/

UNDP human development reports:
http://www.undp.org.af/

Recent news

See RAWA: http://rawa.org/temp/runews/  

Australia’s role

Documentated at Australian Forces Abroad website:
http://gc.nautilus.org/Nautilus/australia/afghanistan/site-map

Opinion:

Robert Fisk in the Independent, Sept 08

Tariq Ali in the Guardian and a longer item: Afghanistan: Mirage of the good war, New Left Review, No.50, March/April 2008:
http://www.newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=2713

• See MAPW's Afghanistan page for more links

28 OCTOBER 2008:   The UNi Human Rights Committee meets this week to determine a list of issues to raise with Australia in March 2009, concerning compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

ICANi has made a submission to the Committee, arguing that Australia is in breach of Article 6 Covenant in respect to nuclear weapons. 

In the 1980s, the Committee issued a strong general comment to the effect that nuclear weapons are incompatible with the right to life under the treaty. It does not appear to have challenged any States party on nuclear issues (although, significantly, praising the Ukraine for relinquishing its nuclear weapons).

ICAN argues that Australia is in breach of its obligations in four ways:

• by supporting preparations for nuclear war carried out at Pine Gap;
• by allowing US nuclear-armed vessels to enter our waters;
• by relying on the "protection" of US nuclear deterrence; and
• by exporting uranium to nuclear-armed countries. 

Australia's Defence White Paper is currently open for comment. Individual or organisational submissions can be made. Public meetings are currently being held around the country (no bookings required). You can make a written submission and send it in or hand it up at a meeting.  Details and schedule are available at: http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper

JULE 2008: TWO NEW REPORTS based on recently released documents, show Australia's willilngness to test and use weapons of mass destruction during the cold war period.

US PLANNED TO TEST NERVE GAS ON AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS
Newly declassified Australian Defence Department and Prime Minister’s office files show that the United States was strongly pushing the Government for tests of VX and GB — better known as Sarin — nerve gas. Only a few of the guineapig soldiers would have been informed. Full details of what eventuated are not yet available.

See reports including:

• http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23979410-601,00.html
• http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=287260  

1968: PM GORTON WANTED AUSTRALIAN BOMB
Newly released secret documents shed fresh light on Australia's push for its own nuclear arsenal and reluctance to sign the NPTi.

• See report by Sunday Age Foreign Editor Tom Hyland, at www.theage.com.au/national/when-australia-had-a-bombshell-for-us-20080705-32ai.html?skin=text-only

SATURDAY 14 JUNE: Visiting Chamoru activists Lisa Natividad and Julian Aguon inspired over fifty participants at an Melbourne workshop on the expansion of US bases in Guam, and the creation of new bases in Okinawa. See the Events column for details of further Australian meetings.

Participants heard of the health and social effects of the US bases in both countries, and of Australia's close links with military operations in Guam and Okinawa.

The workshop was part of a national tour to publicise the Guam's campaign against an extra 50,000 US military personnel due to arrive on their tiny island. Lisa and Julian are visiting Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane and Canberra.

• MAPW is helping organise the tour in several states: the speakers come highly recommended by those who have already heard them.

SYDNEY, 16 APRIL 2008: MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham used the example of Iraq to illustrate the need for action to to make warfare a discredited and unusable option in resolving conflicts.

"We know that war brings with it the risk, if not the certainty, of humanitarian disaster, enormous loss of life, destruction of essential services, terrible human rights abuses, floods of refugees, crippling economic cost, and a devastated environment", Dr Wareham told a Sydney Peace Foundation conference.

"Iraq is suffering all of these, as predicted over five years ago by many individuals and organisations."

"During the last 100 years the impact of warfare on civilians has changed dramatically, to the point where warfare can accurately be regarded as an attack on civil society."

• Read more about the humanitarian costs of the Iraq war, and of war more generally, in Dr Wareham's address to the conference Iraq Never Again: Building Peace, Ending War.