BAUAW NEWSLETTER-MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2004

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END THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF IRAQ!
BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
MARCH AND RALLY TO STOP THE WAR NOW!
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3RD, 5PM
ASSEMBLE AT POWELL AND MARKET-
MARCH TO 24TH & MISSION ST., S.F.
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VOTE YES ON N! MEETING THURSDAY, OCT. 28, 7PM,
GLOBAL EXCHANGE, 2017 MISSION STREET, SUITE 303
(NEAR 16TH & MISSION STREETS)
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NEXT BAUAW MEETING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 7 P.M.
1380 VALENCIA STREET
(BETWEEN 24TH & 25TH STREETS)
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1) THE ALLAWI TOUR - (SPONSORED BY THE CIA!)
[Col. Writ. 9/24/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal

2) SAUDI ARABIA: WITH ALLIES LIKE THESE...
[Col. Writ. 9/26/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal

3) AL-AWDA WEST COAST REGIONAL CONFERENCE
EMPOWERING THE PALESTINE RIGHT TO RETURN MOVEMENT
ON THE WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA
bayareapalestine

4) TERRORISTS IN FALLUJA
By Nermeen Al-Mufti
** Who are the terrorists in Falluja and how are they
terrorizing the civilian population?
Nermeen Al-Mufti finds out **

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1) THE ALLAWI TOUR - (SPONSORED BY THE CIA!)
[Col. Writ. 9/24/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal

In recent days, the visage of a smiling Iyad Allawi has
beamed from the screens of corporate media, to try to
put a nice face on the disaster in Iraq.

Alternately fawned over, and lauded, as Iraq's "interim"
prime minister, Allawi is supposed to be the spokesman of
an emergent 'democracy' in Iraq, and by projection, in the
entire Middle East.

One has to wonder, 'Why this guy?' 'Where does he
come from?'

The long career of Iyad Allawi is a long and winding road,
one which brings him to the attention and the service of the
Americans.

When he was a student in Britain, he was an informer
for the Ba'athist Saddam Hussein regime. Later, he
conveniently switched his allegiance to work for MI6, the
British intelligence agency. He would subsequently turn
his coat to serve the CIA. This opened the door to a lucrative
career as a consultant for various UN (United Nations)
agencies, from which he would launch the Iraqi National
Accord (INA), a group composed primarily of disaffected
Ba'athists, who, on the payroll of the Saudi royal house,
the CIA, and MI6, would stage a series of terrorist attacks
in Iraq during the 1990s.

The INA bombed, among other targets, an Iraqi movie
theater, killing dozens of people. In 1996, when the CIA
backed a failed military coup against the Saddam regime,
the presence of the INA was severely reduced in the
country.

It is not an accident of history that the world's loudest
claimants to the so-called 'war against terrorism' would
enlist a former terrorist in their crusade to 'remake the
Middle East.' Messrs. Bush and [Tony] Blair couldn't
give a tinker's damn about terrorism -- this is about
*control* of the Middle East, and domination of the
oil-rich region, for generations.

That's why Iraqis are fighting against the so-called
'interim government!' They know that most of the
people on the benches are puppets of foreign, imperial
will, who also care nothing about 'democracy', nor
'terrorism.'

Every empire that has ever ruled over a foreign
people has installed supple puppets to follow their
orders, and do their bidding. That is the way of
things.

For the better part of two generations, we saw
this same thing, as the West handsomely supported
vile dictators like Mobutu in Zaire, Marcos in the
Philippines, the Shah in Iran, and a hundred other
various princes, generals, emirs and pashas.

Allawi thus joins a rich historical entourage.

With the exception of the Kurds, and several
Islamic parties, (like al Dawa and the Supreme
Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI]),
few of the representatives in the so-called
government have a real social base in the country,
and have opposed Saddam's regime while he was
in power.

Most are, like the CIA's former poster boy --
Ahmed Chalabi -- rich men who lived in wealth
and comfort abroad for generations. And when
Chalabi tried to build a real constituency of
support among the majority Shia population,
the CIA threw him to the wolves.

Allawi, the henchman of the Americans
and the British, is being positioned to emerge
as the new Iraqi strongman; using American
and British imperial might, to bolster his claim
to 'democracy.'

A war was waged on a lie, to bring forth
this lie of an 'Iraqi democracy', where the wealth
and future of the nation is mortgaged off to the
highest, whitest bidder.

This 'democracy' is but the newest form of
colonialism.

Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal

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2) SAUDI ARABIA: WITH ALLIES LIKE THESE...
[Col. Writ. 9/26/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal

For generations, Americans have been assured that
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an indispensable American
ally, necessary for America's national security.

That hasn't changed in over half a century.

Even in the grim aftermath of 9/11, Saudi Arabia, at
least to American leaders, is on quite good terms. George
W. Bush, an oilman from the door, thinks of Saudi Arabia
like a little bit of heaven.

But, surely, to the people of Saudi Arabia, life ain't
no 'crystal stair.'

The government is the royal House of Saud, from
which all government ministers are drawn. They are
among the most conservative and repressive governments
on earth.

And while George and Exxon and Halliburton may
adore the House of Saud, most Americans do not share
that lofty opinion. According to public opinion polls
taken in 1994, some 63% of Americans view Saudi
Arabia in a 'very negative' light.

By 2002, that number soared to 81%.

Saudi practices torture. American political leaders
knew this. They conveniently look the other way, or
publish obscure reports that get read by equally obscure
academics, who file it away in dusty tomes, or State
Dept. reports.

One political scientist who is pointing a critical finger
at Saudi Arabia is As'ad AbuKhalil, who, in his new book,
paints a nasty picture of the history and present of the
kingdom. In *The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty,
Fundamentalism, and Global Power* (New York: Seven
Stories Press, 2004), the California State University
professor gives us some picture of Saudi torture:

Torture is commonplace in Saudi Arabia...
Torture can range from flogging (even of
children) to lashes and bodily mutilation. Of
course, with torture comes coerced
confessions; when suspects refuse to confess
to crimes, they are "intimidated, harassed,
and repeatedly tortured, and may be held
without trial indefinitely until they confess."
In sum, *Saudi Arabia remains one of the
worst violators of human rights worldwide*...
[pp. 178-79]

AbuKhalil tells of a society where 'torture is
widespread', and women are treated as a race of
juveniles, who can't leave the house without their
husband's permission, and where it is illegal for
them to drive a car.

In 2002, after the events of 9-11, US President
George W. Bush placed a phone call to the crown
prince of Saudi Arabia. Did he call to criticize
the country for unleashing Usama bin Laden? Did
he call to complain about human rights abuses?

No. He called to "reassure him of the countries'
'eternal friendship'." [p. 28]

AbuKhalil is especially critical of the country's
religious establishment, which promotes the doctrine
of Wahhabiyyah, or the doctrines taught by the
Saudi teacher Muhammad Ibn 'Abdul-Wahab
(1702-92). Wahab provided the doctrinal support
for the House of Saud when it took power over the
region then known as Jazirat Al-Arab, or the
Peninsula of the Arab. With the clerics behind them
the House of Saud waged war against other clans
for domination of the region. They were supported
by the arms and the money of the British (who
wanted oil and influence).

AbuKhalil reads like a headline from the Iraqi
Occupation and subsequent resistance when he
concludes that the war has changed the region,
to be sure, but for the worst. Indeed, he argues
that the Invasion has seriously weakened the
hands of the Saudis by the one thing the ancient
House has feared above all: instability.

Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal

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3) AL-AWDA WEST COAST REGIONAL CONFERENCE
EMPOWERING THE PALESTINE RIGHT TO RETURN MOVEMENT
ON THE WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA
bayareapalestine

[please read, respond and forward to your contacts]
For Immediate Release
24 October 2004
AL-AWDA WEST COAST REGIONAL CONFERENCE
EMPOWERING THE PALESTINE RIGHT TO RETURN MOVEMENT
ON THE WEST COAST OF NORTH
AMERICA

Please Note - Because of space limitations, early registration is highly
recommended: http://www.al-awdacal.org/west_conf/register.html
San Diego, California 10/24/04 - Al-Awda San Diego in conjunction with
Students for Justice at The University of California at San Diego will be
hosting a one-day West Coast regional conference for the Right to Return
Movement for Palestinian refugees.

The conference will take place on Saturday 20
November 2004 at UCSD in LaJolla, California.

The objectives of the conference are to:

1. Begin preparation and mobilization for Al-Awda's third International
Convention, which will be held in Los Angeles California in the Spring of
2005.

2. Further develop and coordinate intra- and inter-state grassroots activism
to further empower the Palestine Right to Return Movement on the
West Coast.

BACKGROUND

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition's Second Annual
International Convention in New York City named California as the site of
the organization's third convention. The convention is scheduled to take
place in mid-April 2005.

During the past year, new Al-Awda chapters have emerged on the West Coast of
North America from San Diego, California to Vancouver, British Columbia in
Canada.

In order to solidify and strengthen the network of Palestine Right to Return
chapters and action committees on the West Coast, it is vital that activists
meet, plan and strategize to insure a successful Al-Awda convention in 2005
while developing mechanisms to coordinate intra- and inter-state grassroots
advocacy for the Palestinian refugees' right to return.

The one-day regional conference, "Empowering the Palestine Right to Return
Movement on the West Coast of North America", will take place on 20 November
2004 at the University of California in La Jolla, San Diego. The conference
is important. It represents the first regional meeting for the Right to
Return Movement on the West Coast.

INVITATION

We are inviting Palestinian, Arab and other community members, grassroots
activists, students, and solidarity organizational representatives to attend
and share their thoughts, needs, and how they'd like to see our collective
efforts for the rights of Palestinian refugees develop on the West Coast of
North America and at Al-Awda's upcoming International Convention in Los
Angeles California.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. Program http://www.al-awdacal.org/west_conf/prog.html
2. Registration http://www.al-awdacal.org/west_conf/register.html
3. Accommodation http://www.al-awdacal.org/west_conf/hotel.html
4. Map, driving directions and transportation

http://www.al-awdacal.org/west_conf/maps.html
Al-Awda California
The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Fax: 1-360-933-3568
E-mail: info@al-awdacal.org
WWW: http://al-awdacal.org
Los Angeles Website: http://www.Al-AwdaLA.org/
California Website- http://www.al-awdacal.org/
Al-Awda National Website: http://www.al-awda.org/

Unless indicated otherwise, all statements posted represent the
views of their authors and not necessarily those of Al-Awda,
The Palestine Right to Return Coalition.

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4) TERRORISTS IN FALLUJA
By Nermeen Al-Mufti
** Who are the terrorists in Falluja and how are they
terrorizing the civilian population?
Nermeen Al-Mufti finds out **

Al-Ahram (Cairo, Egypt)
No. 713
October 21-27, 2004

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/713/re8.htm

Relatives of Ateka Abdel Hamid, 24,
did not know that this seven-month
pregnant woman was a terrorist until
the day she died. As the family
collected the mutilated bodies of
Ateka and her family, a United States
spokesman boasted that the "multinational
forces" killed a number of
terrorists and Al-Zarqawi supporters
during an offensive in Falluja. The
terrorists, it turned out, were Ateka,
her three-year-old son Omar, her
husband Tamer and six other members
of her family.

Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Hamid, Ateka's
brother, said that the only survivor of his
sister's family was her nine month-old
daughter, whose picture has already
been flashed across television screens
worldwide. Ateka and her children had
fled their home in the military district in
Falluja to her parents' house. On
the day she died, her mother-in- law
had taken her home to the
"relatively-safe" Al- Jumhuriya district.
At midnight, US planes bombed the
area and Ateka, her family and her
husband's family were killed. Ateka's
parents did not know of the tragedy until
the morning of the next day.
Relatives buried the nine bodies.
Like many others in Falluja, their former
home was now but a smouldering
shell. This is a charred testimony to dashed
hope -- Ateka and her family did not reach safety.

Today, Abdul-Rahman is taking his
family to Al- Taji, a neighbourhood of
Baghdad where they have a relative.
It is not an entirely safe area but it
beats Falluja. Falluja inhabitants have
been running away since mid-April
2003, when the first US attacks were
mounted against the city. The Iraqi
government has even asked the
inhabitants of Falluja to evacuate the city, and
yet US forces have laid siege to it,
cutting it off from the highway -- the
only route linking Falluja to other Iraqi cities.

Despite the government instruction
to leave, the people of Falluja are finding
it hard to do so. There are also those
who cannot leave the city, those who
are not fortunate enough to have relatives
to house them elsewhere. They have
stayed, alongside those who simply
won't leave their homes.

Falluja was once called the city of
minarets. It once echoed the Euphrates in
its beauty and calm. It had plentiful
water and lush greenery. It was a
summer resort for Iraqis. People went
there for leisure, for a swim at the
nearby Habbaniya lake, for a kebab meal.
The Abu Hussein restaurant was one
of Falluja's best Kebab houses.
But US forces, acting on an Iraqi
intelligence tip, decided that Abu
Hussein was a terrorist den. They
destroyed the establishment, killing
its two guards. The bodies of the guards
were never found, only the traces of blood.

On both sides of the highway scenes
of destruction abound. Mansions and tiny
houses have become equal -- all were
destroyed. Sometimes curiosity would
bring a visitor, an adult or a child who
used to know the owners, to stare at
the rubble. The air is thick with tragedy.
I wonder, with a lump in my
throat, where are the Arab brothers?
Where are the Muslim kinfolk? Where is
the civilized world? What do they make
of the orgy of blood in Iraq? Today,
I know how the Palestinians feel, when
they are slaughtered while the Arabs
and the world look the other way.

Are there Arab fighters in Falluja?
"Some Arab brothers were among us, but
when the shelling intensified, we
asked them to leave and they did," says
Ahmed Al-Deleimi. He added, "Why
has America given itself the right to call
on UK and Australian and other armies
for help and we don't have the same
right? We can't call on others for help."

Kamel Mohamed, who was getting
ready to leave Falluja, said that he had heard
that there were Arab fighters in the
city, but he never saw any of them. Then
he had heard that they had left.
"Regardless of the motives of those
fighters, they have provided a pretext
for the city to be slaughtered, exactly
as the mass destruction weapons
gimmick provided a pretext for Iraq to be
slaughtered. It is our right to resist
and it is the opponent's right to be
honest, but is there such a thing as
an honest occupier?"

The suffering spreads along with the
destruction. This is the second Ramadan
under occupation, and bloodshed is
everywhere. Iyad Allawi has visited Sadr
City, which has laid down its arms,
and said that he is determined to uproot
terror. No Iraqi or US official has yet
told the Iraqis, who live in constant
danger, exactly what terror is. Does the
US warning people to stay away
because a force with a licence to kill
operates, not qualify as terror? Does
murder by "friendly" fire not qualify as
terror? Does occupation by a foreign
force not qualify as terror?

These are all acts of terror and the
Iraqis are paying a price that rises
every day. Until Al-Zarqawi is
apprehended, operations against the Iraqis are
going to continue. These operations
have bizarre code names, such as "Angry
Ghost." The Angry Ghost is now
screaming through Falluja. Will it ever be
laid to rest?