Friction Magazine's Anti-War Resource

War is a word we talk about, philosophize about and one that we here at FrictionMagazine.com had hoped we would not have to say with much seriousness. Sadly, we bring you a compilation of articles from the independent media on the US war with Iraq.

This resource will be updated frequently in an attempt to highlight viewpoints blatantly ignored by the mainstream media. In these articles and columns you will discover the real motives behind the US-led war -- money, oil, power, even water -- as well as the reaction and actions enlisted against those who disagree with the Bush regime.

We at FrictionMagazine.com hope for peace both here and abroad. The war-mongering of our leaders threatens to both decimate a country and violate our hard-fought civil liberties. Please let knowledge be your tool while you raise your voice against injustice.

May.15th.2003
Molly Ivins on Questions of Mass Destruction from TomPaine.com
We're still sitting on a powder keg in Iraq, but in case you missed it, a million Iraqi Shiites made a pilgrimage to Karbala, screaming, "No to America!" Funny how media attention slips just at the diciest moments. I doubt the United States was in this much danger at any point during the actual war. Whether this endeavor in Iraq will turn out to be worth the doing is now at a critical point, and the media have decided it's no longer a story. Boy, are we not being served well by American journalism.

Are We Any Safer? from The Nation
Ever since the main military campaign ended in mid-April, the Bush Administration and its cheerleaders in the media have claimed that "the remarkable success" of the US war in Iraq proves its opponents were "spectacularly wrong" -- even, some charge, unpatriotic. Intimidated by these allegations, many critics of the war have fallen silent. But critics of the war have no reason to regret their views. No sensible opponent doubted that the world's most powerful military could easily crush such a lesser foe. The real issue was and remains very different: Will the Iraq war increase America's national security, as the Bush Administration has always promised and now insists is already the case, or will it undermine and diminish our national security, as thoughtful critics believed?

Predicting September 11th from History News Network
A controversy has raged over whether or not the Bush administration neglected vital warnings prior to the terrorist attacks on September 11. Two intelligence reports, an FBI memo in July pointing to the danger of Arab pilots receiving flight training in the United States, and a CIA briefing in August warning the president of the possibility that Osama Bin-Laden would try to hijack an American airliner, are at the center of the storm.

Empowering Iraqis to Liberate Themselves from Red Pepper
Democracy is supposed to be a system where different points of view are debated. In the course of debate, the pros and cons of each perspective are analysed and critiqued. Then, after assessing the various options, a decision is taken. This didn't happen on the issue of war with Iraq. Democracy was cut short. Only two simplistic, black and white points of view were considered -- pro-war and anti-war. The possibility of more complex, sophisticated options were never given any serious thought.

April.22nd.2003
Earth Day in the Shadow of War from TomPaine.com
The environment has long been a silent casualty of war, suffering before, during, and after actual combat takes place. And, from assaults on ecosystems in the Persian Gulf to regulatory exemptions for US military activities here at home, the current war provides fresh lessons about how militarism goes hand in hand with ecological destruction.

The Life of an Iraqi Translator from YouthRadio.com
20-year-old Tahseen Taha, a translator in Northern Iraq, describes what it's like to be putting his life in danger working with journalists. He talks about his own fears, and the fears of his family, after an Australian journalist was killed in Northern Iraq.

Seeing is Not Always Believing from Wiretap Magazine
Millions of Americans are now confident that Operation Iraqi Freedom is coming to an end after seeing TV images of jubilant Iraqis cheering as Saddam's statue was pulled down by American troops on April 9 -- a day that has now been given the name "Liberation Day" and "V-I Day" by the US news media. But could it be a media hoax?

April.17th.2003
Privatization in Disguise from Alternet.org
On April 6, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz spelled it out: There will be no role for the United Nations in setting up an interim government in Iraq. The US-run regime will last at least six months, "probably . . . longer than that."

Anthrax, Biological Weapons, and Other Smoking Guns We Never Found in Iraq from The Village Voice
25,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, 500 tons of sarin, mustard [gas] ...

Waiting for the Anti-Sadaam Revolt from The LA Weekly
Why aren't more Iraqis rising up against President Saddam Hussein? Most likely, many remember what happened the last time they followed US instructions to rise up against him.

The Rape of Iraq from Counterpunch
When the Anglo-American rape of Iraq began, we so desperately searched the Iraqi faces on our televisions for a smile. And that is why, when after three weeks of horrendous carnage, we finally got more than three Iraqis in one place to smile at our handsome invading army and help them to topple a statue of our mutual accursed enemy, we declared the war to be, virtually, over.

International Law a La Carte from Consortiumnews.com
The Bush administration is voicing outrage over alleged Iraqi violations of the Geneva Conventions in broadcasting videotapes of US POWs. But the complaint comes after George W. Bush ignored warnings from US veterans that his own contempt for international law might lead to just this predicament.

The Business of War from CorpWatch.org
After 14 days of heavy pounding, US military forces so far have dropped over 8,700 bombs, including more than 3,000 missiles, and also fired millions of rounds of ammunition on military and civilian targets inside the country. ... The US military will have to replace all of these weapons -- worth billions of dollars -- giving a tremendous boost to the US military industry, which has been on the skids since the last Gulf War in 1991.