International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW)

April 4, 2011

A Very Dirty Trade-Off

The US / Saudi Deal on Libya and Bahrain

By PEPE ESCOBAR

You invade Bahrain. We take out Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. This, in short, is the essence of a deal struck between the Barack Obama administration and the House of Saud. Two diplomatic sources at the United Nations independently confirm that Washington, via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave the go-ahead for Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain and crush the pro-democracy movement in their neighbor in exchange for a "yes" vote by the Arab League for a no-fly zone over Libya - the main rationale that led to United Nations Security Council resolution 1973.

Intervention in oil states part of new world order

VINCENT BROWNE, Irish Times 300311

OUR OBSESSION with the misfortunes on our doorstep have distracted us from the agonies being piled on peoples of other countries by our European and North American allies.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, with yet more civilians last weekend being slaughtered in Afghanistan on the authorisation of our scheduled May visitor, about whom we are so excited. That same prospective visitor has led a war on yet another country, Libya, under a pretext so feeble as to be contemptuous. And not a word of complaint or even concern by our Minister for Foreign Affairs (do we have a Minister for Foreign Affairs?).

Resolution 1973 of the UN Security Council, passed on March 17th, authorises member states of the UN “to take all necessary measures . . . to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack” and also authorises member states “to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with [a] ban on flights”.

Depleted uranium: a strange way to protect Libyan civilians

By David Wilson
Stop the War Coalition
24 March 2011

"[Depleted uranium tipped missiles] fit the description of a dirty bomb in every way... I would say that it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people." Marion Falk, chemical physicist (retd), Lawrence Livermore Lab, California, USA

In the first 24 hours of the Libyan attack, US B-2s dropped forty-five 2,000-pound bombs. These massive bombs, along with the Cruise missiles launched from British and French planes and ships, all contained depleted uranium (DU) warheads.

DU is the waste product from the process of enriching uranium ore. It is used in nuclear weapons and reactors. Because it is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, it is highly valued by the military for its ability to punch through armored vehicles and buildings. When a weapon made with a DU tip strikes a solid object like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it, then erupts in a burning cloud of vapor. The vapor settles as dust, which is not only poisonous, but also radioactive.

NATO bombing is no solution
Full support for the Libyan uprising
No more western backing of tyrannical regimes

Libya: International Peace Bureau condemns
military strikes and urges political negotiations
to protect the civilian population

21 March 2011. A new historical era opened three months ago with the popular
uprisings in Tunisia and then Egypt, the first of the ‘Arab spring’ season.
These rebellions brought hope to millions and youthful energy to societies
suffering decades of repression, injustice, inequality, especially gender
inequality, and increasing economic hardship. The Libyan revolt was inspired
by these largely nonviolent victories, but, as the world has witnessed with
dismay, has rapidly become militarized and is now embroiled in a full-scale
civil war.

NO MORE ARMED INTERVENTIONS

The western powers’ fateful decision to push through the UN Security Council
a resolution to authorize military strikes and a no-fly zone has transformed
the situation into one reminiscent of the Iraq crisis of 2003. While
supporting the objective of protecting the civilian population, in Benghazi
and elsewhere, IPB condemns yet more armed attacks by western powers on yet
another Muslim country. Have these same powers learned nothing from their