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

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.

IN DUBLIN between 19 May and 28 May, 110 governments negotiated a new international treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, that will ban cluster munitions that “cause unacceptable harm to civilians”. The treaty bans all the cluster munitions that have been extensively used.

The treaty requires that countries party to the treaty destroy stockpiles of banned cluster munitions, clear all areas contaminated by unexploded cluster munitions, and assist victims of cluster munitions under their control, including families and communities of anyone injured by cluster munitions.

While the treaty is a major step forward, it does contain some major loopholes, in particular in relation to "interoperability", and responsibility for clearance.

Australia was part of the negotiations. Disappointingly, the Department of Defence was able to get into the treaty the three loopholes it was seeking:

• Australia will be able to assist US forces in the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, provided Australian troops themselves do not use the munitions and that Australia assesses that the use is in compliance with their understanding of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. This could see Australian air traffic controllers directing US aircraft using cluster munitions;
• Australia will be able to keep the SMArt 155 artillery shells bought last year, which meet the requirements to be exempted by the treaty;
• Australia will be able to keep an unlimited number of cluster munitions for research and training provided it believes that these are “the minimum number absolutely necessary” for the purpose.

The treaty opens for signature in Oslo in December and the next job will be to ensure that countries sign on.

Many of the major manufacturers and users of cluster munitions have stayed outside of the treaty: the USA, Russian Federation, Israel, and Pakistan. However, the new treaty will put pressure on these countries to stop the production, sale and use of cluster munitions banned by the new treaty. 

Thanks to Dr Mark Zirnsak, National Coordinator for the Australian Network to Ban Landmines for the article on which this report is based.

• Read more details in Mark Zirnsak's full article.
• Get lots more information from the Cluster Munitions Coalition website.
• Media representatives are welcome to contact MAPW for further comment.