|
Dear IRC supporters and friends:
I write this the day after the midterm elections. The tragic
loss of Paul Wellstone was hard enough. Now we are faced with
a Republican Senate and new challenges for our work. Yet amid
the gloom, we see important signs of citizens mobilizing
to offer a different approach to foreign policy and a different
vision of the role that the U.S. should play in the world.
The past few months have seen renewed offensives by the Bush
administration against a whole set of international norms and
institutions, impacting such issues as reproductive health for
women, climate change, the International Criminal Court, and
control of nuclear and biological weapons. The Bush administration
released its new national security strategy on the anniversary
of the September 11th attacks, entrenching a dangerous new tactic
of pre-emptive attacks as the cornerstone of a militarized framework
for U.S. national security. A recent wave of terrorist attacks
indicates that terrorism—in all its forms—remains
the most imminent threat to security worldwide. Yet the U.S.
continues to strengthen unaccountable militaries around the
world, and the drumbeats of war against Iraq grow louder, despite
opposition from across the political spectrum both at home and
abroad.
This widespread citizen mobilization against Washington’s
efforts to invade Iraq provides a sign of hope amidst the backdrop
of frightening developments. Citizens are mobilizing throughout
the Americas to combat the destructive policies of corporate-led
globalization advocated by the Bush administration and regional
elites. And in Brazil, the Workers’ Party candidate Lula
da Silva has won the presidency, bringing new hope to Latin
America’s largest economy for a government committed to
democracy and social justice.
All of this speaks to the need both to engage in the current
policy debate and to provide resources for burgeoning citizen
movements. The IRC is responding to that challenge. We can—and
must—do more. Your support will make it possible.
The current global crisis demands our involvement and activism
to insure justice. These are troubled, confusing, and dangerous
times—times that threaten our national and personal
security and call for a coordinated citizen response and a new
foreign policy agenda. The IRC is answering both calls.
A donation to the IRC will help us continue our rapid response
work at this critical time.
John Gershman
Codirector, Global Affairs Program
|
Reaching Out
The IRC staff is busy working with community-based organizations
both at home and abroad. Tom Barry spoke at the biennial Seminario
de Análisis Centroamericano held in Progreso, Honduras
on September 9-10, sponsored by the Jesuit community in Central
America. Barry delivered an address in Spanish on U.S. foreign
policy after September 11 and led a discussion about the implications
for Central America. Last month, Barry was also invited to speak
about the implications for citizen diplomacy in the Americas
at the Foro de Diplomacia Ciudadana in Mexico City.
In October, Americas program director George Kourous participated
in a roundtable discussion involving grassroots organizations
representing communities of color in America involved in regional
and national efforts related to globalization. The event was
convened by the Center for Tolerance, Justice, and Community
at UC-Santa Cruz and the Inter-American Forum. George was also
invited by the U.S. EPA to lead an online dialogue with Robert
Varady of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy regarding
the next binational U.S.-Mexico border environment management
plan.
As part of our citizen action focus, we are distributing talking
points, reports, and policy papers about Washington’s U.S.
Iraq policy.
Analysis, Education,
Action
Our commitment to advancing citizen agendas for foreign policy
continues to shape our research, speaking, and website activities
as we work to provide cutting-edge, provocative analysis that
local groups can use in their educational, organizing, and advocacy
work. FPIF’s Talking Points on Iraq are being widely used
by organizers to oppose war in Iraq. We have also developed
new web portals specifically for activist campaigns related
to Washington’s plans to invade Iraq (http://www.fpif.org/fpifindex/iraq/)
and the present danger (www.presentdanger.org).
Both of these activities are components of a wider, more visionary
initiative that lies behind our efforts both to combat the Bush
administration’s broader assault on international cooperation
and to help build an organized constituency in defense of international
law and multilateral institutions. The present danger is the
concerted U.S. assault on the framework of multilateralism,
international rule of law, and international cooperation. With
its aggressive and militarized unilateralism, the Bush administration’s
foreign policy threatens to turn back history by chipping away
at the entire framework of multilateralism. Against this present
danger, we stand together with other Americans who are indignant
at the arrogance and self-righteousness of the Bush foreign
policy. The challenge of a great power is not to free itself
from the constraints of multilateralism but rather to use its
influence to ensure that the structures of international cooperation
are more responsive and effective at meeting the challenges
the world faces.
IRC in the Media
The IRC continues to make its presence felt in both print and
broadcast media. You might have seen the October 8th op-ad run
by TomPaine.com in the New York Times, which featured
analysis from Foreign Policy In Focus. Reprints of analysis
from the Americas program have appeared in the Albuquerque
Tribune, the InterAmerican Resources Management newsletter,
and the French journal, Diffusion de l’information sur
l’Amérique Latine (http://www.globenet.org/dial/).
And nearly 20 different borderlines articles from the
1997-2001 period are being reprinted in a series of educational
packets about the U.S.-Mexico border being developed by the
Tucson-based solidarity organization BorderLinks.
During the week of congressional debate over the Iraq resolution,
Tom Barry was a guest on eight local and national radio talk
shows. John appeared on the BBC, CNN International, and half
a dozen radio shows to discuss Secretary of State Colin Powell’s
trip to Southeast Asia in July, and he spoke on several radio
shows and was quoted in the Agence-France Press wire reports
after the horrific bombing in Bali.
|
