[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, October 11, 2006

[Robert Naiman]

Just Foreign Policy News
October 11, 2006

Just Foreign Policy now has a blog on Huffington Post. Our first post,
"Yes, It Is Possible to Stop War with Iran," is still on the front
page at this writing: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/; the direct URL
is
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-weisbrot-and-robert-naiman/yes-it-is-possible-to-st_b_31402.html.
A modified version of this article is on Common Dreams:
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1011-33.htm.

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While Secretary of State Rice says the U.S. has no plans to attack
North Korea, which claims to have exploded a nuclear device, the Bush
Administration refuses to pledge not to attack Iran, although
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Summary:
U.S.
A team of American and Iraqi public health researchers has estimated
that 600,000 civilians have died in violence across Iraq since the
American invasion. The estimates suggest that official stasistics and
Western press accounts severely understate Iraq deaths due to the
invasion and occupation.

Nearly one in five soldiers leaving the military after serving in Iraq
and Afghanistan has been at least partly disabled as a result of
service, according to documents of the Department of Veterans Affairs
obtained by a Washington research group.The number suggests that
taxpayers have only begun to pay the long-term financial cost of the
two conflicts, the New York Times reports.

Following North Korea's claim that it detonated a nuclear device,
Senator McCain sought to place blame on former President Clinton,
calling the framework agreement Clinton negotiated a failure.
Democrats pressed the argument that North Korea's claimed advance was
a byproduct of Bush's decision to wage war against Iraq, which proved
not to have any banned weapons, while doing too little about North
Korea.

North Korea warned it would regard increased pressure from the US as a
"declaration of war."

Secretary of State Rice said Tuesday the US did not intend to invade
or attack North Korea, but she warned the North's leaders that they
now risked sanctions "unlike anything that they have faced before."
Sanctions sought by the US include international inspections of all
cargo moving in and out of North Korea to detect weapons-related
material. But that might prove difficult for China and Russia to
accept, the New York Times reports.

Trying to force North Korea's leaders to abandon their nuclear program
with military threats and a further tightening of the embargoes would
increasing the suffering of its already starving people, Jimmy Carter
writes.  North Korean leaders have proven themselves almost impervious
to outside pressure.  The better option is to put into effect the
September denuclearization agreement. The framework for agreement
exists, with the US giving a firm statement of no hostile intent, and
moving toward normal relations if North Korea forgoes any further
nuclear weapons program and remains at peace.

Expanding missile defenses and ending humanitarian aid to North Korea
are sure to destabilize the region, when what is needed is calm, smart
diplomacy, writes Kevin Martin of Peace Action in a letter to the
Times.

Iran
Major powers are to discuss sanctions on Wednesday that could be
imposed against Iran for its refusal to abandon uranium enrichment,
the State Department said Tuesday. A spokesman predicted discussions
would begin "in earnest'' later this week on a U.N. sanctions
resolution against Iran, but said the Security Council would act more
swiftly against North Korea.

The Bush administration is considering allowing an American company to
export spare parts to repair Iranian planes because of concern the
planes are not safe, the State Department said. A spokesman said the
recommendation was based on a warning by the FAA that calls for the
"immediate overhaul" of some American-made turbines on Airbus jets
operated by Iran Air.

Iraq
Many voters in Massachusetts will get to register their opinion on the
war in Iraq next month when they consider a ballot question on whether
the US should withdraw all troops, the Boston Globe reports. AFSC said
more voters can consider the Nov. 7 ballot question than any other
advisory policy issue in state history.

Israel
A recent move by the Israeli Army to ban new Palestinian students from
the West Bank and Gaza from Israeli universities for security reasons
is causing controversy in Israel. On Tuesday, Gisha, an Israeli group
that is an advocate for Palestinian rights, submitted a petition to
the high court, calling the ban illegal. "Gisha calls upon Israel not
to prevent Palestinian students from studying just because they are
Palestinian," said the group's director, Sari Bashi. "No one should be
denied access to education based on his or her national identity."

Lebanon
"Little more than a week after Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon,"
a new fence around the northern portion of the village of Ghajar "to
separate the northern side of the village from the rest of Lebanon,"
according to Lebanese,  "amounts to a new occupation of their
territory," the New York Times reports. The article reports that
Israeli troops have not yet withdrawn from the northern part of the
village, which is in Lebanon; thus contradicting the claim of the lead
sentence of the article, that Israeli troops had withdrawn from
Lebanon.

North Korea
It is military insecurity, experts say, and not a desire to grab
attention or gain leverage, that drove North Korea's decision to
declare it had tested a nuclear weapon, the New York Times reports.
Experts say North Korea wants an effective deterrent against the U.S.
in case of war.

China
China Tuesday expressed a rare willingness to support U.N. sanctions
against its ally North Korea, but it said any punitive action would
have to be narrowly targeted at the country's ballistic missile and
nuclear weapons programs, the Washington Post reports. The US pressed
the U.N. Security Council to support far stronger economic and trade
measures that would permit international inspections of all North
Korean cargo to search for weapons and to North Korea's ability to
finance its nuclear program.

Haiti
The US has partly lifted its arms embargo against Haiti, allowing
Haiti to buy weapons for police battling gangs, AP reports. President
Préval's government had complained the embargo was hampering its
ability to restore order and confront the gangs.

OPEC
OPEC ministers are still debating how to put a brake on falling oil
prices, which have dropped nearly 25 percent since their high in
mid-July, the New York Times reports. Iran and Venezuela want
production cuts. Kuwait and Algeria agree but disagree on how to
apportion the cuts. Saudi Arabia supports a production cut, OPEC
watchers say, but wants to be discreet weeks before elections in the
US.

Contents:
U.S.
1) Iraqi Dead May Total 600,000, Study Says
Sabrina Tavernise & Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/middleeast/11casualties.html
A team of American and Iraqi public health researchers has estimated
that 600,000 civilians have died in violence across Iraq since the
2003 American invasion, the highest estimate ever for the toll of the
war here. The figure breaks down to about 15,000 violent deaths a
month, quadruple that for July given by Iraqi government hospitals and
the morgue in Baghdad and published last month in a UN report. That
month was the highest for Iraqi civilian deaths since the American
invasion. But it is an estimate and not a precise count, and
researchers acknowledged a margin of error that ranged from 426,369 to
793,663 deaths.

[Note that using the numbers in the above paragraph, even if the
"lower bound" figure of 426,369 were correct, that would still amount
to more than 10,000 violent deaths a month, triple the morgue/UN
number for July. Thus the study represents significant evidence that
official statistics represent a dramatic undercount. Juan Cole in his
blog today recounts reasons for believing that official statistics
significantly undercount Iraqi deaths:
http://www.juancole.com/2006/10/655000-dead-in-iraq-since-bush.html.
He also writes: "The New York Times report has already made a serious
error, saying that deaths in the Saddam period were covered up. The
families interviewed knew whether their loved ones were disappearing
in 2001 and 2002 and had no reason to cover it up if they were. The
survey established the baseline with a contemporary questionnaire. It
wasn't depending on Iraqi government statistics." - JFP]


2) Data Suggests Vast Costs Loom in Disability Claims
Scott Shane, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/washington/11veterans.html
Nearly one in five soldiers leaving the military after serving in Iraq
and Afghanistan has been at least partly disabled as a result of
service, according to documents of the Department of Veterans Affairs
obtained by a Washington research group.The number of veterans granted
disability compensation, more than 100,000 to date, suggests that
taxpayers have only begun to pay the long-term financial cost of the
two conflicts. About 567,000 of the 1.5 million American troops who
have served so far have been discharged.

Former V.A. analyst Paul Sullivan of Veterans for America said if the
current proportions held up over time, 400,000 returning service
members could eventually apply for disability benefits. About 2.6
million veterans were receiving disability compensation as of 2005,
according to the V.A. The largest group is from the Vietnam era. Of
1.1 million who served in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf war
in 1991, 291,740 have been granted disability compensation.

A separate V.A. health care report shows that the most common
treatments sought by recently discharged troops are for
musculoskeletal disorders like back pain, followed by mental
disorders, notably post traumatic stress disorder. About 30,000 Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans have sought treatment for post traumatic
stress, which afflicts soldiers who have been under fire or in
prolonged danger of attack.

3) Parties Trade Blame in Wake of Korea Claim
Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/us/politics/11politics.html
North Korea's claim that it detonated a nuclear device rippled through
American politics Tuesday. Senator McCain sought to place the blame on
former President Clinton. "I would remind Senator Clinton and other
Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the
framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a
failure," McCain said. McCain's attack was part of a bitter partisan
row over who was responsible for allowing North Korea to achieve
nuclear ability.

Republicans sought to focus attention on what they said was a
misguided and naïve policy of negotiating with North Korea during the
1990's. Democrats pressed the argument that North Korea's claimed
advance was a byproduct of Bush's decision to wage war against Iraq,
which proved not to have any banned weapons, while doing too little to
confront a real threat developing in North Korea.

At first blush, a nuclear test by North Korea is just the kind of
development that would ordinarily work well for Republicans late in a
campaign: a potential national security threat that highlights the
dangers facing the US and spotlights the president's role as commander
in chief. But with polls showing deep dissatisfaction with the war in
Iraq, candidates and strategists in both parties said the news from
North Korea could cut both ways.

Democrats have spent months saying Bush paid too much attention to
Iraq, while ignoring threats like North Korea. Now, Democrats are
saying "I told you so" to voters. But Republicans are offering an "I
told you so" of their own, by spotlighting Democratic opposition to a
missile defense system strongly backed by Bush.

4) North Korea Warns Against Tougher Sanctions
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/asia/12koreacnd.html
October 11, 2006
North Korea Warns U.S.; Japan Cuts Ties
By CHOE SANG-HUN and THOM SHANKER

North Korea warned today that it will regard increased pressure from
the US as a "declaration of war" that will be met with "physical
measures," as Japan announced tough new sanctions against the country.
The new measures by Japan will bar North Korean ships from Japanese
ports, cut off all imports of goods from North Korea and restrict the
flow of travelers between the two countries, Japan's cabinet secretary
told reporters.

North Korea's threats come a day after the US picked up crucial
support from China, North Korea's closest ally, which said that it
would support punitive sanctions in response to Sunday's blast,
although not necessarily the measures the Bush administration is
seeking. The country's number two leader said a continued "hostile
attitude" on the part of Washington could prompt more nuclear tests.

5) Rice Asserts U.S. Plans No Attack on North Korea
Thom Shanker & Warren Hoge, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/washington/11diplo.html
Secretary of State Rice said Tuesday the US did not intend to invade
or attack North Korea, but she warned the North's leaders that they
now risked sanctions "unlike anything that they have faced before."

The US, Britain and France all want a resolution drafted under Chapter
VII of the UN Charter, which makes sanctions mandatory and poses the
possibility of military enforcement. While both China and Russia have
spoken of the importance of taking serious action against North
Korea's reported nuclear test, they are traditionally against invoking
Chapter VII and have not indicated whether they would end their
opposition.

The US wants agreement on sanctions this week. But even as the
administration sought to push tough language into a Security Council
resolution, the White House expressed doubts about the capacity of
North Korea's nuclear program, based on evidence that the reported
test had a smaller yield than expected.

Sanctions sought by the United States include international
inspections of all cargo moving in and out of North Korea to detect
weapons-related material. But that might prove difficult for China and
Russia to accept, in part because their coastlines and borders would
be affected.

6) Solving the Korean Stalemate, One Step at a Time
Jimmy Carter, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/opinion/11carter.html
One option, the most likely one, is to try to force Pyongyang's
leaders to abandon their nuclear program with military threats and a
further tightening of the embargoes, increasing the suffering of its
already starving people. Two important facts must be faced: Kim
Jong-il and his military leaders have proven themselves almost
impervious to outside pressure, and both China and South Korea have
shown that they are reluctant to destabilize the regime. This approach
is also more likely to stimulate further nuclear weapons activity.

The other option is to make an effort to put into effect the September
denuclearization agreement, which the North Koreans still maintain is
feasible. The simple framework for a step-by-step agreement exists,
with the US giving a firm and direct statement of no hostile intent,
and moving toward normal relations if North Korea forgoes any further
nuclear weapons program and remains at peace with its neighbors. Each
element would have to be confirmed by mutual actions combined with
unimpeded international inspections.

It is unlikely that the North Koreans will back down unless the United
States meets this basic demand. Washington's pledge of no direct talks
could be finessed through secret discussions with a trusted emissary
like former Secretary of State Jim Baker, who earlier this week said,
"It's not appeasement to talk to your enemies."

7) Calm, Smart Diplomacy is Needed
Kevin Martin, Peace Action, Letter to the New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/opinion/l11korea.html
Expanding missile defenses, ending humanitarian aid to North Korea,
expanding NATO and encouraging Japan to develop nuclear weapons are
sure to isolate and anger North Korea and China and to destabilize the
region, when what is needed is calm, smart diplomacy, which the Bush
administration has shown zero aptitude for. North Korea's nuclear
test, while deplorable, is just the latest disaster in the
administration's failed, incoherent nonproliferation policy.

Iraq gets invaded over phantom nuclear weapons. Pakistan opens a
veritable nuclear Wal-Mart and barely gets a slap on the wrist. India
develops a nuclear bomb and gets rewarded with a deal for nuclear
material and technology. Israel's robust nuclear arsenal is winked at,
while Iran is threatened with sanctions, bombing and regime change
over its nuclear program, which is years away from weaponization, if
its government actually wants that.

Iran
8) Major Powers to Discuss Iran Sanctions Wednesday
Reuters, October 10, 2006, Filed at 3:42 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-nuclear-iran-meeting.html
Major powers are to discuss a menu of sanctions on Wednesday that
could be imposed against Iran for its refusal to abandon uranium
enrichment, the State Department said Tuesday. Political directors
from the US, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany would talk
via video conference, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

McCormack predicted discussions would begin "in earnest'' later this
week on a U.N. sanctions resolution against Iran, but said the
Security Council would likely act more swiftly against North Korea,
which announced a nuclear test this week.

9) Iran Air to Get U.S.-Made Parts for Repairs
Reuters, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/washington/11plane.html
Despite pressing for UN sanctions against Iran, the Bush
administration is considering allowing an American company to export
spare parts to repair Iranian planes because of concern the planes are
not safe, the State Department said Tuesday. None of the exports would
go directly to Iran and all the repairs would be performed in third
countries.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Departments of
State and Commerce told Congress on Friday of their intent to
recommend a permit for the exports.
McCormack said the recommendation was based on a warning by the
Federal Aviation Administration that calls for the "immediate
overhaul" of some American-made turbines on Airbus jets operated by
Iran Air.

Iraq
10) Iraq Pullout Resolution on Ballot
Question to appear in 139 communities
Jonathan Saltzman & David Abel, Boston Globe, Wednesday, October 11, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1011-05.htm
Voters in more than one-third of Massachusetts' cities and towns will
get a rare chance to register their opinion on the war in Iraq next
month when they consider a ballot question on whether the US should
immediately withdraw all troops. The nonbinding question asks voters
in all or parts of 139 municipalities whether their state
representative should be instructed to vote in favor of a resolution
calling on Bush and Congress to end the war and bring the soldiers
home. AFSC, one of several groups that organized volunteers to collect
signatures to get the question on ballots, said yesterday that more
voters can consider the Nov. 7 ballot question than any other advisory
policy issue in state history.

Israel
11) Israel Bars New Palestinian Students From Its Universities, Citing
Concern Over Security
Dina Kraft, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/middleeast/11palestinians.html
Sawsan Salameh, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was thrilled to get
a full scholarship from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to begin a
doctorate in theoretical chemistry. But a recent move by the Israeli
Army to ban new Palestinian students from Israeli universities for
security reasons is keeping her from studying at the campus, just two
miles from her home. Salameh said that after she appealed six times to
the Israeli government agency that handles Palestinian affairs, she
decided to turn to the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, Gisha, an Israeli group that is an advocate for
Palestinian rights, submitted a petition on her behalf to the court,
calling the ban illegal. "Gisha calls upon Israel not to prevent
Palestinian students from studying just because they are Palestinian,"
said the group's director, Sari Bashi. "No one should be denied access
to education based on his or her national identity."

Hebrew University was the scene of a suicide bombing in July 2002,
when a Palestinian blew himself up in a student cafeteria, killing
seven people.

Like Salameh, most of the students came to Israel seeking doctorates
because there are no doctoral programs at Palestinian universities.
Palestinians who have money or receive fellowships tend to study
abroad for doctorates. But for those without financial support it is
an impossible dream, and women who come from traditional Muslim homes
are often forbidden by their families to live abroad alone.

Dr. Suheil Ayesh is among the Palestinians who received a Ph.D. at
Hebrew University. He is now a visiting professor of molecular biology
and gene therapy there and divides his time between Jerusalem and
Gaza. He is authorized to enter Israel only by permit, which he must
renew every month. He is the only Palestinian professor teaching at an
Israeli university, he said. Like many other Israeli and Palestinian
academics, he is disheartened by the ban, which will make it difficult
for future generations of Palestinians to do what he has been able to
accomplish: get a quality education, forge ties with Israelis and
contribute to a future Palestinian state. "It's difficult and
confusing," Ayesh said. "The physical distance between us is a very
small one, and cooperation can be so helpful."

Dr. Raphael Levine, the Hebrew University chemistry professor who
accepted Salameh as his student, said he understood the security
concerns but was baffled by the ban. "I think it is in Israel's
interest to strengthen the Palestinian middle class, and strengthening
academic institutions in Palestinian areas is one sure way of
achieving that," he said. "There is a Jewish tradition in which value
is put on learning; Ben-Gurion said he wanted Israel to be a shining
light to all nations," he said. "You have to deliver on these things."

Lebanon
12) A New Fence Is Added to a Border Town Already Split
Hassan M. Fattah, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/middleeast/11lebanon.html
Little more than a week after Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon,
the shiny new fence around the northern portion of the village of
Ghajar is a reminder of the flash points that remain as Lebanon and
Israel continue working to quell tensions across their border.

To Lebanese, the fence, erected over the past several weeks to
separate the northern side of the village from the rest of Lebanon,
amounts to a new occupation of their territory, potentially worsening
tensions over the disputed Shabaa Farms area nearby. To Israel, which
says the fence is only temporary, it is a means of ensuring that
Hezbollah fighters do not enter the village, which straddles the
border, and attack Israelis.

On Tuesday, the UN continued trying to broker an agreement ensuring
that Israel would withdraw its troops from the northern section of the
village and place it under UN control. But even if that happens, the
fence itself might remain for some time, said a UN official. [What is
odd about this otherwise informative article is that while it leads
with the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon as an accomplished
fact, it informs us that the UN is trying to broker an agreement that
Israel "withdraw its troops from the northern section of the village,"
i.e., from Lebanon. - JFP]

North Korea
13) Deep Insecurity Led Kim to Build Nuclear Program, Experts Say
Donald Greenlees, International Herald Tribune, October 10, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/world/asia/11kimcnd.html
According to South Korean and Western experts, if a conventional war
breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, the best the North Korean military
could manage would be to fight to a bloody stalemate. It is deep
insecurity, the experts say, and not any desire to grab attention or
gain leverage, that drove President Kim Jong-il's decision to defy
international warnings and declare his country had tested a nuclear
weapon.

"I think North Korea wants an effective deterrent against the U.S. in
case of war on the Korean peninsula," said Park Yong Ok, a former
lieutenant general in the South Korean army who served as vice
minister for defense in the late 1990's. "Kim Jong Il wants a nuclear
weapon at hand. It's not a bargaining chip."

The North's poor and outdated equipment and huge difficulties in
maintaining combat readiness mean it is outgunned by the smaller
forces of South Korea and the US troops stationed in the South. Until
now, North Korea's main deterrent against attack has been the 8,000
artillery pieces and 2,000 tanks it has positioned close to the
demilitarized zone that separates North and South. Many of the guns
have ranges long enough to reach Seoul, a city of 10.3 million people.

But military officials and analysts said the North closely watched
conflicts elsewhere, particularly the invasions of Iraq in 1991 and
2003, and saw masses of tanks and artillery could be neutralized with
ease by superior American military technology. So, the regime sought a
new trump card to maintain the security standoff on the peninsula.

China
14) China Says It Will Back Sanctions On N. Korea
Beijing Stresses Limits on U.N. Action Against Ally
Colum Lynch and Maureen Fan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 11, 2006; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101000490.html
China Tuesday expressed a rare willingness to support U.N. sanctions
against its ally North Korea, but it said any punitive action would
have to be narrowly targeted at the country's ballistic missile and
nuclear weapons programs. The US and Japan continued to press the U.N.
Security Council to support far stronger economic and trade measures
that would permit international inspections of all North Korean cargo
to search for weapons and to strangle Pyongyang's ability to finance
its nuclear program.

The Bush administration sought to assuage fresh worries by its foreign
counterparts that the tough strategy may cause hardship for the
country's impoverished population or topple the government. France
voiced concern that a Japanese proposal to ban all North Korean
exports could fuel a humanitarian crisis. UN ambassador Bolton
insisted the U.S. sanctions plan calls for the exemption of food,
medicine and other humanitarian goods for civilians. State Department
spokesman McCormack, meanwhile, specifically ruled out any attempt at
regime change. "We have made it very clear that the US has no
intention to attack North Korea. That element of our policy still
stands," he told reporters. "What we have sought is a change in the
behavior of the North Korean regime."

Haiti
15) Haiti: U.S. Partly Lifts Arms Embargo
Associated Press, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/americas/11briefs-007.html
The US has partly lifted a 15-year arms embargo against Haiti, the US
Embassy said, allowing Haiti to buy weapons for police officers
battling violent and often better armed street gangs. The move comes
after the government of President Préval complained the embargo was
hampering its ability to restore order and confront the gangs. The
modified embargo allows the government to buy firearms, body armor and
other items for the police. The policy change is seen as a vote of
confidence in Préval.

OPEC
16) Hard Math in Oil Cuts Splits OPEC
Jad Mouawad, New York Times, October 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/business/worldbusiness/11oil.html
OPEC is finding that it is much easier to agree when prices rise than
when they fall. OPEC ministers are still debating how to put a brake
on falling oil prices, which have dropped nearly 25 percent since
their high in mid-July. OPEC's current president, the Nigerian oil
minister, proposed that OPEC reduce production by a million barrels a
day, from a nominal ceiling of 28 million barrels.

But instead of presenting a united front, OPEC's 11 members have found
it hard to agree on how quickly to act and how the cuts should be
shared, confusing oil markets. In New York yesterday, the price of
crude oil for November delivery dropped 2.4 percent, to an eight-month
low of $58.52 a barrel, as traders questioned OPEC's resolve.

OPEC is not homogenous but a collection of countries with divergent
political and economic interests. As oil prices more than doubled,
OPEC members found it easy to agree on a policy that resulted in
windfall revenue for their governments. But with prices falling,
consensus is fraying. Iran and Venezuela want to meet next week to
endorse production cuts. Kuwait and Algeria have backed the proposal
but disagree on how to apportion the cuts. The group's most
influential member, Saudi Arabia, has been silent. The Saudis are
understood to support a production cut, but OPEC watchers say the
country, which accounts for a third of OPEC's output, wants to be
discreet just weeks before midterm elections in the US.

--------
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org

Just Foreign Policy is a membership organization devoted to reforming
U.S. foreign policy so that it reflects the values and interests of
the majority of Americans.