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The Cornell Forum for Justice and Peace, a group of faculty and
graduate students, offers the following statement, dated November
25, 2001, in response to the events of September 11 and since.
For further information on the CFJP, please see our website.
We oppose war as a response to the events of September 11.
1. We oppose the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan. It violates
basic human rights, and has brought about and will continue to
bring about grievous consequences in Afghanistan, the United States,
and throughout the world.
1.1 We assert our support for the prosecution of individuals
responsible for the September 11 attacks, but we insist on due
process and transparency of procedure, under international law
and through an international body such as the International Criminal
Court, or a special tribunal set up by the UN. (There is precedent
for this in the ongoing trial of Slobodan Milosevic.) If international
law as it stands is unable to deal with international terrorism,
then effective measures against such violence must begin with
appropriate legislation and the building of the necessary international
institutions. The principles of justice and due legal procedure
do not stand abrogated because of the international nature of
this case.
1.2 If we agree that those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks
belong to an international terrorist network, then we cannot ignore
the fact that the sine qua non of such networks is their
decentralization. Such networks are global in character and membership
and do not act under the authority of any one state. Moreover,
prior to September 11, only three states recognized the Taliban
as the lawful government of Afghanistan; since that date, two
of the three have withdrawn their recognition.
We therefore conclude that the United States bombing of Afghanistan
is based on a false premise: that the Afghani state and people
are reducible to the Taliban. The death of innocent Afghanis,
many of them women and children, who have nothing to do with Osama
bin Laden or al-Qaeda and who may in fact be themselves critical
of the Taliban regime, is thus ethically unacceptable.
Given these facts, the unremitting bombing of Afghanistan by
the U.S., the deaths of civilians through its admitted use of
cluster bombs, and the simultaneous use of inadequate and dangerous
food drops as a propaganda weapon will only serve to increase
anger against the United States, not only among Muslims, but throughout
the world. No degree of media censorship and number of public
relations exercises can mask these facts.
1.3 Citizens of Afghanistan have, without a doubt, suffered tremendously
under the Taliban regime. They have in fact been suffering ever
since the proxy war between the U.S. and Soviet Union was launched
on their soil, and through the many years of civil war since.
Women in particular have suffered under the Taliban, and yet it
is ostensibly in their interest, largely, that this war has been
justified. The suffering of women, children, and men in Afghanistan
at the hands of the Taliban under no circumstances justifies the
sort of vigilante military campaign that the U.S. is currently
pursuing. Civilian deaths are increasing as a direct result of
bombing, but owing to the U.S. demand that Pakistan close its
borders with Afghanistan, the keeping back of aid convoys, and
the approach of winter, the number of people at risk of death
by starvation has increased from 3 million to 7.5 million. Prior
to the "war on terrorism," international relief agencies
were capable of keeping the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
at a level of stasis. Particularly since the U.S. military action,
under orders from the U.S. government, these agencies and their
aid convoys have been kept back from the border from Pakistan
into Afghanistan.
As the inevitable civilian casualties mount, the United States
squanders the good will and sympathy that the world extended in
the wake of 9/11, which is so vital to the international diplomatic
cooperation needed to fight terrorism.
2. We find the curtailment of civil rights and the checks on
government guaranteed by the Bill of Rights in the name of national
security unacceptable. We note that the U.S. has launched a military
campaign in the name of freedom and democracy while undermining
these at home. Patriotism, redefined as the unquestioning acceptance
and support of the government's every action, is assuming the
status of a loyalty test.
2.1 We denounce the "USA PATRIOT Act of 2001": H.R.
3162 and all similar attempts to limit our democratic freedoms.
A democracy rests on checks and balances, such as the Bill of
Rights, which are built into the system. These ensure that the
state will not overstep its bounds and become authoritarian or
totalitarian. The right to information regarding the government's
actions is crucial in a democratic state. The right to express
dissent from the official or majority position is the sine qua
non of a democratic polity and not a mark of treason or sedition.
We are extremely concerned by the far-reaching nature of the
most recent anti-terrorist bill (H.R. 3162), and George W. Bush's
decree of November 13 instituting secret military tribunals. Provisions
that widen the power of intelligence agencies, institute detention
without charge or trial, and increase surveillance of ordinary
citizens smack of totalitarianism and we oppose them in the name
of democracy.
3. We view with deep concern the current state of domestic affairs.
Two matters need immediate and sustained attention:
3.1 We deplore the use of racial profiling, a highly discriminatory
and racist practice. It contravenes all standards of ethical practice,
and is clearly a violation of the Bill of Rights.
3.2 There has to date been no coordinated, large-scale attempt
to provide financial aid to the families of the workers who died
in the World Trade Center. Instead, while corporations such as
Boeing and the major airlines have laid off thousands of employees,
the airline industry and insurance companies have been given comprehensive
financial aid by the federal government, and the corporate sector
in general has been given major tax breaks. It is reprehensible
that American workers should be the ones to suffer in the name
of an economic crisis when corporations are being awarded vast
sums of money as bailouts and tax breaks.
We propose the following firm and decisive actions to stop the
spread of terror:
4. The perpetrators of the September 11th attacks must be brought
to justice through appropriate international diplomatic and legal
channels.
4.1 If the U.S. has compelling evidence to support the charges
against Osama bin Laden, it should present such to an international
body such as the United Nations or the World Court, or ask for
a special tribunal to be set up for this purpose and present its
case there. A request for extradition and trial should follow
the precedents established by Spain's filing regarding Augusto
Pinochet, the prosecution of Slobodan Milosevic, and indeed the
Nuremberg trials. The United States is not a global vigilante,
but rather a member of the world community; as such it has an
obligation to be principled in its actions.
4.2 We support the creation of a standing International Criminal
Court in which criminals such as those allegedly responsible for
the 9/11 attacks would be tried.
Toward this end, the U.S. must immediately ratify the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court. The existence of such a standing
court is the only legal and principled solution to the imperative
of bringing to justice international criminals such as those responsible
for the 9/11 attacks.
The adoption by this body of a universally agreed-upon definition
of terrorism must be a first step, so as to preclude its ad hoc
and opportunistic deployment by particular states against opposition
party members, movements for national self-determination, and
other legitimate dissenters.
4.3 Meanwhile, the U.S. must make every attempt to adhere to
the rules and covenants of international law and the treaties
to which it is party. We urge that the U.S. follow the recommendations
of such non-partisan groups as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International.
4.4 Effective counters to terrorism require patience, long-term
planning, and institution-building. Any such program has to be,
by definition, international, and will require the support and
cooperation of a majority of states in the world community. Broad-based
legitimacy, achieved through consensual, open, and transparent
processes of diplomacy, is crucial to halting terrorism.
5. In light of current events, the U.S. government and citizenry
must re-examine the nation's foreign policy, particularly its
history in the last half-century of intervention in the affairs
of sovereign states everywhere in the world.
5.1 The Palestinians have suffered great injustice over many
years. The United States and the international community must
recognize their right to form a state, entirely sovereign, not
interrupted by hundreds of armed fortress settlements, and with
all the external help necessary to realize the potential for a
thriving economy.
5.2 In return, Palestinians must accept and diplomatically recognize
the state of Israel, and both states must accept United Nations
peacekeeping troops both on the border, and in an internationalized
Jerusalem, indefinitely. Justice demands an end to imperialism,
colonialism, and oppression, and a just peace would do much to
rehabilitate the reputation of the United States in the Middle
East.
6. Regarding Afghanistan, the best course of action is that proposed
by groups such as the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan (RAWA): the demilitarization of Afghan society by
the actual disarming of all warring factions, and the deployment
of a UN peacekeeping force for some years until a semblance of
normalcy returns to the life of ordinary people.
6.1 The U.S. must not under any circumstances repeat its mistake,
in Afghanistan or elsewhere, of playing the role of king-maker.
Orchestrating a coup by throwing its weight behind any particular
faction, be it the Northern Alliance or any other which does not
have the support of the Afghan people, is a prescription for continued
violence and injustice.
6.2 All Afghan refugees relegated for years to camps across Pakistan
and Iran can be rehabilitated in Afghanistan. Humanitarian organizations
and relief agencies can continue their commendable work, and other
non-governmental organizations can be encouraged to provide free
education to all children, as well as vocational training and
further schooling for all young adults.
6.3 It is imperative that the Afghani people be allowed to rebuild
their shattered economy and society; only then can they begin
the crucial work of nation-building that includes choosing their
own representative government, perhaps under the protection of
a UN peacekeeping force. There is no alternative to this in Afghanistan
or elsewhere; as a democratic country we cannot deprive other
peoples of the right to govern themselves as they choose.
7. Regarding the United States domestic situation and policies,
we urge a rapid, equitable, and effective response to racism and
to the suspension of civil liberties.
7.1 The U.S. must immediately stop the use of racial profiling
by its various agencies, and by private actors (e.g. airlines,
either of their own accord or at the behest of other passengers,
off-loading or denying boarding privileges to passengers because
they look "Arab" or "Muslim"). There have
already been far too many incidents of hate crimes and harassment
directed against U.S. citizens of Arab or South Asian descent,
as well as against persons mistaken for such. A democratic state
has an obligation to protect all its citizens equally, as well
as prevent and punish unlawful behavior. Prosecution and deterrence
are already overdue in relation to 9/11-related hate crimes.
7.2 The U.S. must immediately repeal the draconian piece of legislation
called the USA PATRIOT Act (H.R. 3162). Periods of crisis and
how they are dealt with are precisely what distinguish democratic
from totalitarian states. "National Security" cannot
be used as an excuse to deprive citizens of their fundamental
rights.
8. The money diverted from a military campaign could be far more
effectively channeled into concrete action to protect U.S. citizens
against such threats.
8.1 The government should establish protocols for monitoring
the release of harmful agents in densely populated regions and
in public buildings.
8.2 The government must provide equal access to adequate and
effective prophylactic, diagnostic, and healing procedures for
citizens affected or threatened by chemical or biological attacks,
without respect to power, privilege, or public visibility. The
cavalier treatment of postal workers, many of them people of color,
has been a disgrace.
Medication must be distributed and administered through reliable
health-care professionals to ensure equality of coverage as well
as reduce the chances of over-medication. Government commitment
to ensuring access to medication should exceed its devotion to
maintaining drug corporation profits.
9. In conclusion:
We would agree that our proposals for dealing with the current
situation are wide-ranging, and in some cases not at all continuous
with current and former United States foreign and domestic policy.
The point, precisely, is that behind the corpses and the grief
following on the attacks of September 11, there lies the possibility
of the United States making new and better relations with the
world community. We understand our moral and political responsibility
as the bringing about of those changes.
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