"Saddam Hussein's regime 'is busy enhancing its capabilities in the field of chemical and biological agents,' Vice President Dick Cheney told the Veterans of Foreign Wars in August, adding, 'These are not weapons designed for the purpose of defending Iraq. These are offensive weapons for the purpose of inflicting death on a massive scale.' Billed by the White House as laying out the case for military action against Iraq, the speech employed the phrase 'weapons of mass destruction' eight times. George W. Bush also regularly uses 'weapons of mass destruction' as a collective term for chemical, biological, and atomic arms. In his 2002 State of the Union address, for example, the president stated that the United States would not 'permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most dangerous weapons,' citing chemical, biological, and atomic arms as equal concerns." [more]

"Bush is probably not acting out of pure self-defense in threatening Iraq. Rather he may honestly believe in a new kind of liberal internationalism that would build on what Woodrow Wilson proposed after World War I. If so, he'll have to find the right kind of moral allies that he now seems unable to find at the UN." [more]

"Is he tough enough to make Iraq comply with arms inspections?" [more]

"As President George W. Bush prepared to address the nation tonight about Iraq, as many as 15,000 anti-war demononstrators filled Central Park's East Meadow yesterday to stage a four-hour rally." [more]

" 'I have such a horror that this is going to go on and on,' said Mabel Dudeney, 76, a survivor of the 1940–41 Battle of Britain in which much of London was destroyed by nightly German bombing. 'Russia is going to go into Georgia. China is going to attack Taiwan. Israel and the Palestinians are going to continue fighting...War settles nothing.' " [more]

"For Seattle area Congressman Jim McDermott, the reaction he got at yesterday's anti-war protest in his home district was a welcome change from the criticism he's attracted in recent days." [more]

"As the Bush administration whipped up the anti-Saddam Hussein war rhetoric, the opinion polls in the United States are telling the Republican administration that they don't want any preemptive strike against Iraq." [more]

"During the rally, Union Square was filled with chanting, energetic crowds who spilled over into neighboring streets. People crammed the windows overlooking the rally from the neighboring Macy’s, some of them just curious, others dangling an anti-war banner from the roof until they were told by police to remove it." [more]

"Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets throughout the state Sunday, beating drums, hoisting signs and proclaiming their opposition to the war with Iraq." [more]

The rally in New York "was one of more than 25 rallies organised by the Not In Our Name group to coincide with the first anniversary of the start of the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan." [more]

"Both sides parted on good terms. After nearly an hour of debate, education and analysis over state of world since before and after 9/11, one of the disgruntled men parted with 'Thanks man, I'm really glad I stopped by. You know, I've never really thought about it like that...' This seemed to be a sentiment shared by many of his compatriots." [more]

"U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott broadened his attack on George W. Bush's war plans yesterday, saying the president is threatening military action in Iraq as part of a plot to crown himself emperor of America." [more]

"U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, recently back from Baghdad, told about 5,000-plus peace activists at a rally Sunday that President Bush is out for blood in Iraq and it will take their efforts to stop him." [more]

"In front of the base's Dale Mabry Highway entrance, 80 protesters gathered to show displeasure with possible action against Iraq. A large mid-air refueling jet took off from MacDill's runway a few hundred yards away, its four engines creating a deafening, ground-shaking roar." [more]

"Anti-war fever awoke over the weekend, as about 8,000 protesters in San Francisco joined brethren across the country in a rising rumble against President Bush's drive to disarm Iraq. Galvanized by Bush's push for military intervention, anti-war sentiment re-emerged Sunday into blazing sunshine and cacophony at Union Square." [more]

An in-depth independent summary of the Central Park Not In Our Name rally. [more]

"Protest organizers said President Bush, motivated by a thirst for power and control of oil reserves, was lying to the country about the need for an attack on Iraq and the war against terrorism. Iraq's oil reserves are the second biggest in the world after Saudi Arabia's." [more]

"A diverse pack of students marched from People's Park down Telegraph and Shattuck avenues chanting "No war on Iraq! Let's have a peace talk!" and hoisting signs to the beat of drums before moving across the bay." [more]

"Protesters in such cities as New York, San Franciso and Los Angeles chanted slogans and held up placards bearing slogans such as 'Change the US administration, not Iraq's.' " [more]

"LA police officials said the demonstration there was the largest so far against Washington's Iraq policy. In downtown San Francisco, some 5,000 people protested in the city's Union Square area." [more]

"Those old enough to know said that yesterday's Central Park rally to protest a United States invasion of Iraq drew a larger crowd than similar gatherings in the early 1960's by those who did not want the United States to get further involved in Vietnam." Includes a picture of Why War? activist Mary Harrison in the foreground holding a sign reading "I Love Peace." [more]

"For more than four hours, protesters filled the East Meadow to question why the U.S. should use force to oust Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein — and to rail against the American worldwide offensive against terrorism." [more]

"Longtime peace activists hope the U.S. government's steps toward military action in Iraq will help galvanize a resistance movement in Seattle and focus scattered groups that have been working on everything from banning landmines to nuclear issues to curbing police brutality." [more]

"Pakistan is preparing for its second test of a nuclear-capable missile in less than a week, with general elections three days away, local media reported on Monday." [more]

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday told the cabinet ministers to stop talking about the possible upcoming U.S. strike on Iraq because he believes it could interfere with US and Israeli efforts to plan for possible Iraqi retaliations stemming from the pending US invasion. [more]

"The media, some of which appear to be actually lusting for conflict and the ratings it will bring, is more focused on the drums of war instead of the chants of peace. In Washington, cable networks keep up an incessant chatter about the need and the rationale for punishing Iraq." [more]