Opposition to the Iraq War: Difference between revisions

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There was significant opposition to the Iraq War across the world, both before and during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, the United Kingdom and smaller contingents from other nations, and throughout the subsequent occupation. People and groups opposed to the war included the governments of many nations which were not part of the invasion, and significant sections of the populace in those which did.

Rationales for opposition included the belief that the war is illegal according to the United Nations Charter, or would contribute to instability both within Iraq and the wider Middle East. Critics also questioned the validity of the war's stated objectives, such as a supposed link between the country's Ba'athist government and the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and its possession of weapons of mass destruction "certified" by the Niger uranium forgeries. The latter was claimed by the United States during the run-up to the war, but no such weapons have since been found. The other rationales, ridding Iraq of terrorist groups and their influence, liberating its people from Saddam Hussein's neototalitarian regime, as well instituting democracy in the heartland of militant Arab Islamism^{[citation needed]}, were much less opposed likely due to their appeal to modernity and freedom.

Within the United States, popular opinion on the war has varied significantly with time. Although there was significant opposition to the idea in the months preceding the attack, polls taken during the invasion showed that a majority of Americans supported their country's action. However, public opinion had shifted by 2004 to a majority believing that the invasion was a mistake, and has remained so since then.

There has also been significant criticism of the war from American politicians and national security and military personnel, including Generals who served in the war and have since spoken out against its handling. Although widespread sentiment for ending the war ensured public support for stabilizing Iraq during the 2006-2007 Surge operation, the strategy was opposed by officials worried about the strains the massive redeployments would put on army force availability.

Worldwide, the war and occupation have been officially condemned by 54 countries and the heads of many major religions. In contrast, international organizations like the U.N. have announced that the liberation of Iraqi people from Saddam's totalitarian regime which "...preyed on the Iraqi people and committed shocking, systematic and criminal violations of human rights...".^[1] is a commendable outcome apart from the Coalition's other aims for the invasion. Popular anti-war feeling partly driven by opposition to U.S. standing and behavior in world affairs is strong in many countries, including America's allies in the conflict, and many have experienced huge protests totaling some millions of participants.

Early opposition

The opposition to the war manifested itself most visibly in a series of global protests against the Iraq War during February 2003, just before the Iraq invasion commenced on March 20, 2003.

"Poll results available from Gallup International, as well as local sources for most of Europe, West and East, showed that support for a war carried out "unilaterally by America and its allies" did not rise above 11 percent in any country. Support for a war if mandated by the UN ranged from 13 percent (Spain) to 51 percent (Netherlands)."^[2]

Body of opposition, and the historical outcome

Organized opposition in support of regime continuation

Reasons for opposition

Benjamin B. Ferencz, who served as the U.S.'s Chief Prosecutor of Nazi war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials following World War II and devoted his later life to instituting non-sovereign international courts of law, has denounced the Iraq War as an aggressive war (named at Nuremberg as "the supreme international crime") and stated his belief that George W. Bush, as the war's "initiator", should be tried for war crimes.^[3]

Some expressed puzzlement that the United States would consider military action against Iraq and not against North Korea, which claimed it already had nuclear weapons and had announced that it was willing to contemplate war with the United States. This criticism intensified when North Korea reportedly conducted a nuclear weapons test on October 9, 2006.

Both inside and outside of the U.S., some argued that the Bush Administration's rationale for war was to gain control over Iraqi natural resources (primarily petroleum). These critics felt that the war would not help to reduce the threat of WMD proliferation, and that the real reason for the war was to secure control over the Iraqi oil fields at a time when US links with Saudi Arabia were seen to be at risk. "No blood for oil" was a popular protest cry prior to the invasion in March 2003. The other criticism is that the War would initially decrease oil availability due to massive uncertainty introduced into the markets, leading to a short-term increase in oil futures. The second occurred historically as Iraq did not lose ownership or control of its oil reserves to any agency or firm from any of the Coalition countries and in fact garnered windfall profits until markets deflated in 2008, although newer oil concessions do favor U.S. and U.K. firms.^[4]

Some opponents of the war also believed that there would be no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and thus there was little reason for an invasion. Prominent among these was Scott Ritter, a former U.S. military intelligence officer and then a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq, and who in 1998 had been hawkish enough toward Iraq as to be admonished by U.S. Senator Joe Biden, "The decision of whether or not the country should go to war is slightly above your pay grade." Investigations after the invasion failed to produce evidence of WMDs in Iraq (apart from a very small number of degraded chemical weapons shells located after the Iran–Iraq War ended in 1988).

Opposition in the United States

Popular opposition

The Iraq War has met with considerable popular opposition in the United States, beginning during the planning stages and continuing through the invasion subsequent occupation of Iraq. The months leading up to the war saw protests across the United States, the largest of which, held on February 15, 2003 involved between 300,000 - 400,000 protesters in New York City, with smaller numbers protesting in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and other cities.

Consistent with the anti-war sentiment of the protests, in the months leading up to the Iraq War, American public opinion heavily favored a diplomatic solution over immediate military intervention. A January 2003 CBS News/New York Times poll found that 63% of Americans wanted President Bush to find a diplomatic solution to the Iraq situation, compared with 31% who favored immediate military intervention. That poll also found, however, that if diplomacy failed, support for military action to remove Saddam Hussein was above 60 percent.^[5]

Days before the March 20 invasion, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll found support for the war was related to UN approval. Nearly six in 10 said they were ready for such an invasion "in the next week or two." But that support dropped off if the U.N. backing was not first obtained. If the U.N. Security Council were to reject a resolution paving the way for military action, only 54% of Americans favored a U.S. invasion. And if the Bush administration did not seek a final Security Council vote, support for a war dropped to 47%.^[6]

Immediately after the 2003 invasion most polls within the United States showed a substantial majority of Americans supporting war, but that trend began to shift less than a year after the war began. Beginning in December 2004, polls have consistently shown that a majority thinks the invasion was a mistake. As of 2006, opinion on what the U.S. should do in Iraq is split, with a slight majority generally favoring setting a timetable for withdrawal, but against withdrawing immediately. However, in this area responses vary widely with the exact wording of the question.^[7]

Since the invasion of Iraq, one of the most visible leaders of popular opposition in the U.S. has been Cindy Sheehan, the mother of Casey Sheehan, a soldier killed in Iraq. Sheehan's role as an anti-war leader began with her camping out near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, and continued with a nationwide tour and trips to Europe and South America.

Opposition from national security and military personnel

Iraq Veterans Against the War demonstrate in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2007. The U.S. flag is displayed upside-down, which under the flag code is a distress signal.

Several prominent members of the military and national security communities, particularly those who favor a more realist approach to international relations, have been critical of both the decision to invade Iraq and the prosecution of the War.

On July 28, 2002, eight months before the invasion of Iraq, the Washington Post reported that “many senior U.S. military officers” including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed an invasion on the grounds that the policy of containment was working.^[8]

A few days later, Gen. Joseph P. Hoar (Ret.) warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the invasion was risky and perhaps unnecessary.

Morton Halperin, a foreign policy expert with the Council on Foreign Relations and Center for American Progress warned that an invasion would increase the terrorist threat.^[9]

In a 2002 book, Scott Ritter, a Nuclear Weapons Inspector in Iraq from 1991-98, argued against an invasion and expressed doubts about the Bush Administration’s claims that Saddam Hussein had a WMD capability.^[10]

Brent Scowcroft, who served as National Security Adviser to President George H.W. Bush was an early critic. He wrote an August 15, 2002 editorial in The Wall Street Journal entitled "Don't attack Saddam," arguing that the war would distract from the broader fight against terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which should be the U.S.'s highest priority in the Middle East.^[11] The next month, Gen. Hugh Shelton, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed that war in Iraq would distract from the War on Terrorism.^[12]

Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, former head of Central Command for U.S. forces in the Middle East and State Department's envoy to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, echoed many of Scowcroft's concerns in an October 2002 speech at the Middle East Institute. In a follow-up interview with Salon, Zinni said he was "not convinced we need to do this now," arguing that deposing Saddam Hussein was only the sixth or seventh top priority in the Middle East, behind the Middle East peace process, reforming Iran, our commitments in Afghanistan, and several others.^[13]

By January 19, 2003, TIME Magazine reported that “as many as 1 in 3 senior officers questions the wisdom of a preemptive war with Iraq.”^[14]

On February 13, 2003 Ambassador Joseph Wilson, former charge d'affaires in Baghdad, resigned from the Foreign Service and publicly questioned the need for another war in Iraq.^[15] After the War started, he wrote an editorial in the New York Times titled What I Didn't Find in Africa that claimed to discredit the Bush Administration's finding that Iraq had attempted to procure uranium from Niger.^[16]</ref> Although the haphazard work and dishonest claims of Wilson were eventually discredited ^[17], the ensuing inquiries ensnared the Bush Administration in the long-run Plamegate scandal which, although it turned out to have no basis, nevertheless enabled political opponents to assail the integrity of Bush cabinet members and distract them in their conduct of the War.^[18]

John Brady Kiesling, another career diplomat with similar reservations, resigned in a public letter in the New York Times on February 27.^[19] He was followed on March 10 by John H. Brown, a career diplomat with 22 years of service, ^[20] and on March 19 by Mary Ann Wright, a diplomat with 15 years of service in the State Department following a military career of 29 years.^[21] The war started the next day.

Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski (Ret.) was political/military desk officer at the Defense Department’s office for Near East South Asia (NESA) in the months before the war. In December 2003 she began to write an anonymous column that described the disrupting influence of the Office of Special Plans on the analysis that led to the decision to go to war.^[22]

On June 16, 2004 twenty seven former senior U.S. diplomats and military commanders called Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change issued a statement against the war.^[23] The group included:

William J. Crowe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan
Joseph Hoar, former Commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East
H. Allen Holmes, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations
Donald McHenry, former Ambassador to the United Nations
Merrill McPeak, former Air Force Chief of Staff
Jack F. Matlock, Jr., a member of the National Security Council under Reagan and former Ambassador to the Soviet Union
John Reinhardt, former Director of the United States Information Agency
Ronald I. Spiers, Under Secretary General of the United Nations for Political Affairs and a former Ambassador
Stansfield Turner, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

Richard Clarke, former chief counter-terrorism adviser on the National Security Council for both the latter part of the Clinton Administration and early part of the George W. Bush Administration, criticized the Iraq war along similar lines in his 2004 book Against All Enemies and during his testimony before the 9/11 Commission. In addition to diverting funds from the fight against al-Qaeda, Clarke argued that the invasion of Iraq would actually bolster the efforts of Osama bin Laden and other Islamic radicals, who had long predicted that the U.S. planned to invade an oil-rich Middle Eastern country.

Similar arguments were made in a May 2004 interview^[24] and an August 2005 article by Lt. Gen. William Odom, former Director of the National Security Agency.^[25]

In April 2006, six prominent retired generals publicly criticized Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's handling of the war, and called for his resignation.^[26] The group included two generals who commanded troops in Iraq: Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, Jr. (Ret.) and Maj. Gen. John Batiste (Ret.).^[27] One of the generals, Lieut. Gen. Greg Newbold (Ret.), who served as the Pentagon's top operations officer during the months leading up to the invasion, also published an article that month in Time Magazine entitled "Why Iraq Was a Mistake."^[28]

On September 12, 2007, two retired U.S. Army generals, Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Brig. Gen. John Johns, joined former Sen. Gary Hart in publishing a statement calling for withdrawal from Iraq. Robert Gard is the Senior Military Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, John Johns is on the board of directors for the Council for a Livable World, and Gary Hart is the Council's chairman.^[29]

In October 2007, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq, called the 2007 "surge" a "flawed strategy", and suggested that the political leadership in the US would have been court martialed for their actions, had they been military personnel.^[30] Sanchez observed that the nation as a whole had failed to take the war seriously enough, and this reflects on the Republican leadership's decision to shield the American public from the reality of fighting remote wars, through their failure to ask the American people to go on a war footing to better support the troops:

"...When a nation goes to war it must bring to bear all elements of power in order to win. . . . [This] administration has failed to employ and synchronize its political, economic and military power . . . and they have definitely not communicated that reality to the American people..." ^[31]

Opposition from agenda-driven US broadcast and print media

Hardly reported, intentionally or otherwise, was that General Sanchez criticized the US media far more harshly for unethical, biased, and inaccurate reporting in Iraq, to the point of berating reporters:

"It seems that as long as you get a front-page story there is little or no regard for the 'collateral damage' you will cause. Personal reputations have no value and you report with total impunity and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct. . . . You assume that you are correct and on the moral high ground... ...The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry... ...Tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats... ...The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas. What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our service members who are at war..." ^[32]^[33]

Opposition from soldiers

There have been several individual refusals to ship (e.g., Pablo Paredes, and 1st Lt. Ehren Watada) or to carry out missions (e.g. 343rd Quartermasters).^[34] Soon after the war began, 67% of surveyed US soldiers in Iraq told Stars and Stripes that the invasion was worthwhile, though half described their units' morale as "low."^[35] A Zogby poll in March 2006 found that 72% of US soldiers in Iraq say the war should be ended within a year, and a quarter say that all troops should be withdrawn immediately.^[36]

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was formed in 2004 to help antiwar soldiers network and seek solidarity from one another. IVAW held a Winter Soldier event, from March 13 through March 16, 2008, in which U.S. veterans spoke of their experiences during the Iraq War.^[37]^[38] The Pacifica Radio network is broadcasting the proceedings live,^[39] and streaming audio and video of the event is also available.^[40] John Bonifaz file a suit on behalf of 12 Congress membeers and various military families to try to stop the Iraq war.^{[citation needed]}

Congressional opposition

Opinion in the U.S. Congress leading up to the Iraq War generally favored a diplomatic solution, while supporting military intervention should diplomacy fail. The October 11, 2002 resolution that authorized President Bush to use force in Iraq passed the Senate by a vote of 77 to 23, and the House by 296 to 133.^[41]^[42] Leading opponents of the resolution included Senators Russ Feingold and Edward Kennedy.

As the war progressed and the insurgency began to develop into what many believe is a civil war in Iraq, Congressional support for the Iraq campaign began to wane. A flashpoint came on November 17, 2005, when Representative John Murtha, a Vietnam combat veteran who voted to authorize the war and is widely regarded as an ardent supporter of the military, introduced a resolution calling for U.S. forces in Iraq to be "redeployed at the earliest practicable date" to stand as a quick-reaction force in U.S. bases in neighboring countries such as Kuwait.^[43]

Since the introduction of the Murtha resolution, many members of Congress, particularly in the Democratic Party, have rallied around the strategy of a phased troop withdrawal. In the 2007 Congressional session, critics of the war have sought to tie additional war appropriations to a specific timetable for withdrawal. On March 23, 2007, the House of Representatives passed an Iraq spending bill that requires that troops begin withdrawing in March 2008 and that most US forces be out of Iraq by August 31, 2008.^[44] This bill is still under debate in the U.S. Senate.

Congressional critics of the war have also opposed President Bush's plan to send an additional 20,000 U.S. soldiers to Iraq. On January 10, 2007, Senator Dick Durbin gave the Democratic response to this plan by saying: "We have given the Iraqis so much... Now, in the fourth year of this war, it is time for the Iraqis to stand and defend their own nation."^[45]

Opposition from presidential candidates

The Iraq War was the defining issue of the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign. All of the Republican candidates and most of the Democratic candidates supported the war, although most of the Democrats also criticized the war's prosecution.

Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, was notable for his opposition to the war, in particular because his early lead in the polls was largely attributed to his anti-war position. ^[46]Dennis Kucinich, another candidate for the Democratic nomination, favored replacement of the U.S. occupation force with one sponsored by the UN, as did Ralph Nader's independent presidential candidacy.

John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for President in 2004, voted to authorize the invasion, and said during his campaign that he stood by his vote. He also argued during the campaign that "the way he (President Bush) went to war was a mistake."^[47]

In the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, candidates Representative Ron Paul, then-Senator Barack Obama (Now President of the United States), Senator Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel were some of the most outspoken critics of the Iraq War. Ron Paul has said that "The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives, thousands of seriously wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars."^[48] Barack Obama (who went on to win the election) was not a senator at the time of the voting of the Iraq War Resolution, but has repeatedly voiced his disapproval of it both before and during his senatorship, saying at an anti war rally in Chicago on October 2, 2002: "I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars." He also spoke of the "undetermined length... undetermined cost, [and] undetermined consequences" which even a successful war would bring.^[49]^[50] Dodd voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, but Dodd has since become an opponent of the war.^[51] Dodd has said the Iraq War has been waged “for all the wrong reasons” and that it is eroding both the nation's security and its moral leadership.^[52]

Opposition from Lawyers Specializing in International Law

Benjamin B. Ferencz has suggested in an interview given on August 25, 2006, that not only Saddam Hussein should be tried, but also George W. Bush because the Iraq War had been begun by the U.S. without permission by the UN Security Council.^[53] Benjamin B. Ferencz wrote the foreword for Michael Haas's book, George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes.^[54]

Benjamin B. Ferencz, an American lawyer, was an investigator of Nazi war crimes after World War II and the Chief Prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, one of the twelve military trials held by the U.S. authorities at Nuremberg, Germany. Later, he became a vocal advocate of the establishment of an international rule of law and of an International Criminal Court. From 1985 to 1996, he was Adjunct Professor of International Law at Pace University.

Opposition in European countries

File:AntiBush.jpg

Anti-war graffiti in Venice, Italy.

Around the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation of Iraq, polling data indicated that opposition to military action against Iraq was widespread in Europe.^[55]

'Anti-Bush' and anti-war sentiments were reflected in many western European countries, generally with the populace less sympathetic to the U.S. stance even when the government in a given country (e.g. the United Kingdom, or Italy) aligned themselves with the U.S. position. Opinion polls showed the population was against the war, with opposition as high as 90% in Spain and Italy, and also widespread in Eastern Europe.^[56] Some suggested that the reason for the EU's negative view of the war are Europe's economic interests in the region^[57]. However, the electorates of France and Germany were strongly opposed to the war and it would have been difficult for their governments to fail to reflect these views.

After the first UN resolution, the US and the UK pushed for a second resolution authorizing an invasion. The French and German governments, amongst others, took the position that the UN inspection process should be allowed to be completed. France's then-Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin received loud applause for his speech against the Iraq War at the United Nations on February 14, 2003. Neither of these countries have sent troops to Iraq. However, despite popular opinion in their countries, the governments of Italy and Spain supported the war politically and militarily, although Spain ceased to do so after the election of a Socialist government was brought about by the damage inflicted by the 2004 al-Qaeda bombings of Madrid, which were meant to intimidate the Spanish electorate into withdrawing support for the War.^[58]^[59]

In the United Kingdom, both the governing Labour Party and the official opposition Conservative Party were in favour of the invasion. The Liberal Democrats insisted on a U.N. resolution; they opposed the war as a result. Outside parliament, anti-war sentiment was more widespread: the 15 February 2003 protest in London attracted between 750,000 and 2,000,000 supporters from various walks of life. Prominent politicians and other individuals expressing anti-war views included: Charles Kennedy, Menzies Campbell, Robin Cook, Tony Benn, George Galloway, Chris Martin, Ms. Dynamite, Bianca Jagger, and Baroness Thatcher. Cook, a former Foreign Secretary and then Leader of the House of Commons, resigned from the government two days before the start of the invasion, saying

Our interests are best protected not by unilateral action but by multilateral agreement and a world order governed by rules. Yet tonight the international partnerships most important to us are weakened: the European Union is divided; the Security Council is in stalemate. Those are heavy casualties of a war in which a shot has yet to be fired.^[60]

Former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, a staunch supporter of both the Coalition/U.N. mission in Iraq from the start, has acknowledged that he had over-estimated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein:

"The whole world thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and they didn't, I know that now. When I didn't know, no-one knew."

Opposition throughout the world

Opinion polls showed that the population of nearly all countries opposed a war without UN mandate, and that the view of the United States as a danger to world peace had significantly increased.^[61]^[62]^[63] UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the war as illegal, saying in a September 2004 interview that it was "not in conformity with the Security Council."^[64] Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the invasion "disrespects the United Nations" and failed to take world opinion into account.^[65]

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, called the US's attitude five months before the invasion a "threat to world peace". He said they were sending a message that "if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries"; a message which "must be condemned in the strongest terms."^[66]^[67]

Religious opposition

On September 13, 2002, US Catholic bishops signed a letter to President Bush stating that any "preemptive, unilateral use of military force to overthrow the government of Iraq" could not be justified at the time. They came to this position by evaluating whether an attack against Iraq would satisfy the criteria for a just war as defined by Catholic theology.

US civil-rights leader the Reverend Jesse Jackson condemned the planned invasion, saying in February 2003 that it was not too late to stop the war and that people "must march until there is a declaration of peace and reconciliation."^[68]

The Vatican also spoke out against war in Iraq. Archbishop Renato Raffaele Martino, a former U.N. envoy and current prefect of the Council for Justice and Peace, told reporters that war against Iraq was a preventive war and constituted a "war of aggression", and thus did not constitute a just war. The foreign minister, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, expressed concerns that a war in Iraq would inflame anti-Christian feelings in the Islamic world. On February 8, 2003, Pope John Paul II said "we should never resign ourselves, almost as if war is inevitable."^[69] He spoke out again on March 22, 2003, shortly after the invasion began, saying that violence and arms "can never resolve the problems of man."^[70]^[71]^[72]

Both the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, and his successor, Rowan Williams, spoke out against war with Iraq.

The executive committee of the World Council of Churches, an organization representing churches with a combined membership of between 350 million and 450 million Christians from over 100 countries,^[73] issued a statement in opposition to war with Iraq, stating that "War against Iraq would be immoral, unwise, and in breach of the principles of the United Nations Charter."^[74]

Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazine has argued that, among both evangelical Christians and Catholics, "most major church bodies around the world" opposed the war.^[75]

Protests against war on Iraq

Across the world popular opposition to the Iraq war has led to thousands of protests against the War in Iraq. They were held in many cities worldwide, often co-ordinated to occur simultaneously worldwide. After the simultaneous demonstrations, on February 15, 2003, the largest in total turnout, New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion. As the war drew nearer, other groups held candlelight vigils and students walked out of school.

The February 15, 2003, worldwide protests drew millions of people across the world. It is generally estimated that over 3 million people marched in Rome, between one and two million in London, more than 600,000 in Madrid, 300,000 in Berlin, as well as in Damascus, Paris, New York, Oslo, Stockholm, Brussels, Johannesburg, Montreal - more than 600 cities in all, worldwide. This demonstration was listed by the 2004 Guinness Book of Records as the largest mass protest movement in history.

Support for Iraqi resistance and insurgency

There has been a debate among those opposed to the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in developed countries about how to relate to forces within Iraq.

Prior to the invasion, while it was common to accuse opponents of providing objective, if not intentional, support to Saddam,^[76]^[77] none of the major antiwar organizations declared any support for him, however limited.^[78] After the invasion and the toppling of Saddam's regime, some who had opposed it now supported continuing U.S. occupation, arguing that the U.S.'s intervention had given it an obligation to stabilize the country. However, those who remained opposed to the U.S. presence had to determine their approach to the developing armed insurgency and peaceful opposition to the occupation carried out by groups like the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq (WCPI).

During the early period of the insurgency, at a 2004 conference in Japan, Eric Ruder, of the U.S.-based International Socialist Organization, presented a case for supporting the guerrillas. Citing the primarily decentralized and domestic nature of the insurgency,^[79] the fact that a clear majority of the attacks then were directed against U.S. and British forces (in the later years most insurgent attacks are directed at Iraqi forces and in particular Iraqi civilians),^[80] and widespread Iraqi support for violent resistance in the early years,^[81] Ruder argues that the insurgents' cause and methods are, on the whole, just and deserve support. He claims that the Iraqi right to self-determination precludes Western opponents of the occupation placing conditions on their support of the Iraqi resistance, and argues that "If the Iraqi resistance drives the U.S. out of Iraq, it would be a major setback for Bush's agenda and the agenda of the U.S. imperialism. This would be a tremendous victory for our side– making it much more difficult for the U.S. to choose a new target in the Middle East or elsewhere in trying to impose its will."^[82]

Sato Kazuyoshi, President of the Japanese Movement for Democratic Socialism, argued otherwise. Reporting on the discussion at the 2004 conference, he wrote that, "We cannot support, nor extend our solidarity to, them on the grounds that their strategy excludes many Iraqi citizens– above all, women– and do great harm on the civilians, and will bring the Iraqi future society under an Islamic dictatorship."^[83] He cited in turn Mahmood Ketabchi of the WCPI, who criticized Iraqi guerrilla groups for Baathist and Islamist connections, and attacked Ruder's view as a "Left Nationalism" which ignored divisions within Iraq. Countering the response that the best way to ensure that progressive forces, not reactionary ones, would dominate post-occupation Iraq would be for progressives to have taken the lead in "fighting" the occupation, Ketabchi argued that this was not possible due to situation then prevailing in Iraq. Nevertheless, he claimed, "We do not have to choose between the US and Iraqi reactionary forces. Opposition to the US is not a progressive stand per se. What matters is the kind of future that this opposition represents and objectives it pursues." A third alternative was represented by what Kazuyoshi calls the "Civil Resistance."^[82]

In Britain, positions ranged from groups including the Socialist Workers Party (Britain) and Workers Power that took a similar line to the ISO as mentioned above, to groups such as the Alliance for Workers Liberty (who identified with the third camp tradition within Trotskyism) which opposed the insurgency, while supporting the democratic, working-class anti-occupation movement in Iraq.

There is still disagreement within the anti-war movement as to whether the cause of armed insurgents within Iraq was a worthy one for which they can express solidarity.

As the criminal behavior of many insurgents became more pronounced over the years ^[84], the world publics have joined with the Iraqi majority in their condemnation and rejection of the unpalatable aims and brutal methods of many insurgents, in particular the predatory practices of al-Qaeda militants in Iraq ^[85], a historical pattern repeated in many Muslim nations from the 1980s onwards.^[86]^[87] The international consensus that much of the insurgency behaves criminally in attitudes and tactics in their indiscriminate, yet deliberate targeting of even Iraqi civilians in terror bomb attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings, has come to dispell much of the support they once enjoyed among the world public, even in Muslim nations.

Official condemnation

See also Governments' positions pre-2003 invasion of Iraq for pre-war positions.

The following countries have protested formally and officially the prosecution of this war. They oppose the Iraq War in principle, citing in some cases that they believe it is illegal, and in others that it required a United Nations mandate.

Quotations

"The attacks of September 11, 2001, show what the enemies of America did with four airplanes. We will not wait to see what terrorists or terrorist states could do with weapons of mass destruction" – Former United States President, George W. Bush (March, 2003) ^[108]

"Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it– eastern Iraq– the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north you've got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey. It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq."– Former United States Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney (April 15, 1994)^[109]

"The option of war can appear initially to be the most rapid. But let us not forget that after winning the war, peace must be built."– Dominique de Villepin, French Foreign Minister, at the United Nations Security Council on February 14, 2003^[110]

"To a certain extent Saddam Hussein's departure was a positive thing. But it also provoked reactions, such as the mobilization in a number of countries, of men and women of Islam, which has made the world more dangerous."– French President Jacques Chirac, November 17, 2004^[111]

"Make no mistake about it, the ultimate aim that the Bush and Blair regimes have embarked upon is nothing less than "universal or world domination". Iraq is merely a stepping stone along the way."– David Comissiong (Barbadian Politician)^[112]

"The problem we face is that before the war, not only did the U.S. administration and U.S. intelligence, but the French, British, Germans and the U.N. all thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Not discovering them tells us we've got a more fundamental problem... ...In fact, I think at the end of the inspection process, we'll paint a picture of an Iraq that was far more dangerous than even we thought it was before the war. It was of a system collapsing. It was a country that had the capability in weapons-of-mass-destruction areas and in which terrorists, like ants to honey, were going after it."– David Kay, Iraq Survey Group Chief Weapons Inspector, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 29, 2004 ^[113]

Notes and references

^ ""UN hails end to Saddam-era abuses"". bbc.co.uk. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2004.
^ Chomsky, Noam (1 November 2003). ""The Iraq War And Contempt For Democracy"". Countercurrents.org. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/138319/1/
^ Taylor, Jerry (2003). "Is the war with Iraq about oil when all is said and done?". bbc.co.uk.
^ Poll: Talk First, Fight Later, Americans Want Weapons Evidence Before Starting War With Iraq - CBS News
^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-16-poll-iraq_x.htm
^ http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm
^ Ricks, Thomas Some Top Military Brass Favor Status Quo in Iraq The Washington Post, July 28, 2002 p A01.
^ New York Times August 1, 2002.
^ Pitt, William R. War On Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know 2002, Context Books, New York. ISBN 1-893956-38-5
^ Scowcroft, Brent. "Don't attack Saddam". The Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2002. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
^ Graham, Bradley Officers: Iraq Could Drain Terror War The Washington Post, September 1, 2002.
^ Boehlert, Eric. "I'm not sure which planet they live on". Salon, October 17, 20002. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
^ Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon Warlord TIME Magazine, January 19, 2003
^ Wilson, Joseph Republic or Empire The Nation, February 13, 2003.
^ Wilson, Joseph What I Didn't Find in Africa New York Times, July 6, 2003.
^ ""Plamegate's real liar"". latimes.com. 2 November 2005. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/02/opinion/oe-boot2" ignored (help)
^ "'End of an Affair'". washingtonpost.com. 1 September 2006.
^ Kiesling, John Brady U.S. Diplomat's Letter of Resignation New York Times, February 27, 2003.
^ Letter of Resignation by John H. Brown, Foreign Service Officer CommonDreams.org, March 12, 2003.
^ Third U.S. Diplomat Resigns Over Iraq Policy Reuters, March 21, 2003.
^ Cooper, Marc Soldier for the Truth L.A. Weekly, February 20, 2004.
^ Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Official Statement (June 16, 2004)
^ "Ex-National Security Agency Head Calls For U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Iraq". Democracy Now!. 2004-05-12. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
^ William Odom (2005-08-03). "What's wrong with cutting and running?". Retrieved 2008-04-05.
^ Cloud, David S., Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker. "More Retired Generals Call For Rumsfeld's Resignation". The New York Times, April 14, 2006. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
^ Whalen, Richard J. Revolt of the Generals The Nation, October 16, 2006.
^ Newbold, Greg. "Why Iraq Was a Mistake". Time Magazine, April 9, 2006. Retrieved on April 16, 2007.
^ Senator Hart, General Gard, and General Johns Call For Iraq Withdrawal Council for a Livable World (September 12, 2007)
^ US general damns Iraq "nightmare" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7042805.stm
^ "Gen. Sanchez's Scream". opinionjournal.com. 2007-10-18.
^ "Review: Lack of coverage of Lieutenant General (Ret) Ricardo Sanchez's criticism of the media". cbc.ca. 2008-03-19.
^ "Biased Reporting on the Speech Given by General Sanchez-How the Media Lied". the virtuousrepublic.com. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002064795_reluctant16.html
^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32521-2003Oct15?language=printer
^ http://zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075
^ Several allegations of misconduct were presented including war crimes"US War Vets to Speak Publicly About War Crimes"
^ Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan Iraq Veterans Against the War
^ "Pacifica Radio to Broadcast the Historic Winter Soldier Gathering"
^ How to watch and listen to Winter Soldier
^ U.S. Senate roll call vote on the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114).
^ House roll call vote To Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq.
^ Schmitt, Eric, David Sanger and Sheryl Gay Stolberg. "Fast Withdrawal of G.I.'s is urged by Key Democrat". The New York Times, November 18, 2005. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
^ Collinson, Stephen. "US House ties Iraq war funding to withdrawal timeline". Yahoo News, March 23, 2007. Retrieved on April 17, 2007.
^ "Durbin: 'Time for President Bush to face the reality of Iraq'". CNN. January 10, 2007.
^ Buchana, Patrick J. :Is it Bush vs. Dean"?
^ Saletan, William. "Would Kerry Vote Today for the Iraq War?" Slate, Aug. 12, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
^ "On the Issues: Ron Paul." KPTV.com, Jul. 31, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
^ "Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq". BarackObama.com. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
^ Obama, Barack (26 October 2002). "Wars of Reason, Wars of Principle - Setting the record straight". The Network Jounral. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
^ U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes for H.J.Res. 114
^ "Sen. Dodd Calls For End To Iraq War". Associated Press. 2007-05-26.
^ Glantz, A.: Bush and Saddam Should Both Stand Trial, Says Nuremberg Prosecutor, OneWorld U.S., August 25, 2006. URL last accessed 2006-12-12.
^ Haas, Michael (2008). George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-36499-0 / 978-0-313-36499-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-02-14-eu-survey.htm
^ http://www.cer.org.uk/pdf/back_brief_springford_dec03.pdf
^ German chancellor speaks against US war vs. Iraq
^ "The legacy of the Madrid bombings". bbc.co.uk. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
^ "'Darkest hour' haunts Spain elections". bbc.co.uk. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2004.
^ "Cook's resignation speech". BBC News. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ http://www.glocom.org/special_topics/social_trends/20030224_trends_s28
^ http://english.people.com.cn/200306/18/eng20030618_118439.shtml
^ http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/185.pdf
^ "Iraq war illegal, says Annan". BBC News. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ Brazil: Iraq, U.S. Guilty of 'Disrespect'
^ "US threatens world peace, says Mandela". BBC News. September 11, 2002.
^ "Nelson Mandela: The U.S.A. Is a Threat to World Peace". (full interview extracted from the August 28, 2002 issue of Newsweek).
^ "Jackson: Not too late to stop war". CNN. 16 February 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2193088
^ "Pope John Paul II calls War a Defeat for Humanity: Neoconservative Iraq Just War Theories Rejected". Houston Catholic Worker. July–August 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Missing pipe in: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
^ "Vatican Strongly Opposes Iraq War". Fox News. 12 March 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ "Pope warns against Iraq war". BBC News. 25 December 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/index-e.html
^ http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/exco03-iraq.html
^ Transcript of interview broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on December 4, 2006
^ http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0226/p11s02-coop.html
^ http://instapundit.com/archives/006056.php
^ http://www.icl-fi.org/english/leaflets/oldsite/2003/SLB-800.HTM
^ http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2241
^ http://www.slate.com/id/2135859/sidebar/2135843/
^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/23/wirq23.xml
^ ^a ^b http://www.mdsweb.jp/international/magazine/r56/i_r56t1.html
^ ""Evolving tactics of Islamic militants"". bbc.co.uk. 21 July 2004.
^ ""Iraqi insurgents 'war criminals'"". bbc.co.uk. 25 july 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ""Press horror at Iraqi massacres"". bbc.co.uk. 3 March 2004.
^ ""Fewer Muslims 'support bombings'"". bbc.co.uk. 25 july 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ""A matter of pride: anthropological discernment in our current conflict"". national review. 8 October 2007.
^ "Africans back France on Iraq". CNN February 21, 2003.
^ "Arab states line up behind Iraq". BBC News. March 25, 2003
^ "Argentina, Brazil Condemn the US Bombing Over Iraq". Pravda.ru (News from Russia). March 22, 2003.
^ "Nation also bans military overflights: Austria bars U.S. troops from crossing country". International Herald Tribune. February 15, 2003.
^ "Statement of the deputy permanent representative of Belarus to the UN". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ "US threatens Nato boycott over Belgian war crimes law". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
^ "Brazil: U.S. Guilty of 'Disrespect'". NewsMax.com. March 20, 2003.
^ "Chrétien restates opposition to Iraq war". CBC. March 18, 2003
^ ^a ^b "México y Chile más inmunes ante presión EE.UU. por Iraq". Terra (from Reuters). March 10, 2003.
^ "China condemns U.S. for Iraq war". TheStar.com (from Associated Press). March 7, 2007.
^ "Cuba rejects Iraq war". People's Weekly World. August 28, 2002.
^ ^a ^b ^c "France and allies rally against war". BBC News. March 5, 2003.
^ "Statement by Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson on the commencement of military action in Iraq". Indian Embassy. March 20, 2003.
^ "Ahmadinejad Slams Iraq War". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
^ Shamsul, Amri Baharuddin (March 2004). "Moderate Muslims and the Iraq War". Qantar.de. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
^ "Malaysia regrets Iraq strike, urges restraint on anger". Kyodo News International. 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
^ "New Zealand PM says sorry". The Sun-Herald. April 6, 2003
^ "War draws condemnation" BBC News. 20 March 2003. Retrieved on 20 April 2009.
^ "Pope condemns any war on Iraq". CNN. January 13, 2003.
^ "Venezuela's Chavez Says Iraq War Creates Uncertainty". Xinhua News Agency. November 28, 2003.
^ Iraq key players, then and now , bbc.co.uk, 14 March 2008
^ http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/13/dick-cheney-explains-why-the-us-shouldnt-invade-iraq-in-1994-quagmire/
^ http://www.ambafrance-il.org/diplomatie/archive.php?rub=1&periode=2003-02#
^ "Chirac: Iraq war has made world more dangerous". The Guardian. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
^ Rome, Hitler And Bush - Facing Reality, Barbados Daily Nation, 24 March 2003
^ "Iraq May Have Been 'Far More Dangerous' Than Believed, Kay Tells". globalsecurity.org. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2004.

External links

Websites opposing the Iraq war

Canadian Peace Alliance
ACT for the Earth (Canada)
Anti war dot com
Anti-War Committee (U.S.)
Arms Against War
Opposing Labour Party support for the war and Anti-Terror Acts (UK)
One Million Blogs for Peace*Human Shields
Common Dreams
Global research
friends & members of the Stop the War Initiative, Poland
Iraq Media Action Project Documentary films on the Iraq War
Iraq Veterans Against the War (U.S.)
MarchofWar.com - Up-to-date Iraq war clock, war quotes and slogans, plus 'war end' voting form
ShockedandAwful.com (U.S.)
Stop the war coalition
Iraq Antiwar Homepage on Nonviolence.org
Not One More! - Take the Pledge for Peace
Women Against Military Madness (U.S.)
Council for a Livable World

Articles and resources about opposition to the Iraq war

Pentecostal-Charismatic Statement to President Bush Opposing Iraqi War
JustWarTheory.com a non-profit resource for academic studies and commentary
Should the U.S. have attacked Iraq? (Resources on the question of war, from a conservative viewpoint)
Bush Could Not Be More Wrong (Op-ed by John Hinkman, Baltimore Chronicle)
Polls find Europeans oppose Iraq war (BBC News)
Articles in Foreign Affairs magazine analysing the war and its aftermath by James Rubin and Madeleine Albright: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/
Anti-war train drivers refuse to move arms freight January 9, 2003, The Guardian (UK)
About.com: Iraq War vote in 2002 - Complete Listing of 156 Congress Members Who Voted NAY
The Iraq War: Legal or Illegal? - an online video by The Pinky Show exploring the legal basis for opposing the war in Iraq.

[1] ""UN hails end to Saddam-era abuses"". bbc.co.uk. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2004.

[2] Chomsky, Noam (1 November 2003). ""The Iraq War And Contempt For Democracy"". Countercurrents.org. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[3] ttp://us.oneworld.net/article/view/138319/1/

[4] Taylor, Jerry (2003). "Is the war with Iraq about oil when all is said and done?". bbc.co.uk.

[5] Poll: Talk First, Fight Later, Americans Want Weapons Evidence Before Starting War With Iraq - CBS News

[6] ttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-16-poll-iraq_x.htm

[7] ttp://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm

[8] Ricks, Thomas Some Top Military Brass Favor Status Quo in Iraq The Washington Post, July 28, 2002 p A01.

[9] New York Times August 1, 2002.

[10] Pitt, William R. War On Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know 2002, Context Books, New York. ISBN 1-893956-38-5

[11] Scowcroft, Brent. "Don't attack Saddam". The Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2002. Retrieved April 17, 2007.

[12] Graham, Bradley Officers: Iraq Could Drain Terror War The Washington Post, September 1, 2002.

[13] Boehlert, Eric. "I'm not sure which planet they live on". Salon, October 17, 20002. Retrieved April 17, 2007.

[14] Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon Warlord TIME Magazine, January 19, 2003

[15] Wilson, Joseph Republic or Empire The Nation, February 13, 2003.

[16] Wilson, Joseph What I Didn't Find in Africa New York Times, July 6, 2003.

[17] ""Plamegate's real liar"". latimes.com. 2 November 2005. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/02/opinion/oe-boot2" ignored (help)

[18] "'End of an Affair'". washingtonpost.com. 1 September 2006.

[19] Kiesling, John Brady U.S. Diplomat's Letter of Resignation New York Times, February 27, 2003.

[20] Letter of Resignation by John H. Brown, Foreign Service Officer CommonDreams.org, March 12, 2003.

[21] Third U.S. Diplomat Resigns Over Iraq Policy Reuters, March 21, 2003.

[22] Cooper, Marc Soldier for the Truth L.A. Weekly, February 20, 2004.

[23] Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Official Statement (June 16, 2004)

[24] "Ex-National Security Agency Head Calls For U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Iraq". Democracy Now!. 2004-05-12. Retrieved 2008-04-05.

[25] William Odom (2005-08-03). "What's wrong with cutting and running?". Retrieved 2008-04-05.

[26] Cloud, David S., Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker. "More Retired Generals Call For Rumsfeld's Resignation". The New York Times, April 14, 2006. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.

[27] Whalen, Richard J. Revolt of the Generals The Nation, October 16, 2006.

[28] Newbold, Greg. "Why Iraq Was a Mistake". Time Magazine, April 9, 2006. Retrieved on April 16, 2007.

[29] Senator Hart, General Gard, and General Johns Call For Iraq Withdrawal Council for a Livable World (September 12, 2007)

[30] US general damns Iraq "nightmare" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7042805.stm

[31] "Gen. Sanchez's Scream". opinionjournal.com. 2007-10-18.

[32] "Review: Lack of coverage of Lieutenant General (Ret) Ricardo Sanchez's criticism of the media". cbc.ca. 2008-03-19.

[33] "Biased Reporting on the Speech Given by General Sanchez-How the Media Lied". the virtuousrepublic.com. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-13.

[34] ttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002064795_reluctant16.html

[35] ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32521-2003Oct15?language=printer

[36] ttp://zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075

[37] Several allegations of misconduct were presented including war crimes"US War Vets to Speak Publicly About War Crimes"

[38] Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan Iraq Veterans Against the War

[39] "Pacifica Radio to Broadcast the Historic Winter Soldier Gathering"

[40] How to watch and listen to Winter Soldier

[41] U.S. Senate roll call vote on the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114).

[42] House roll call vote To Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq.

[43] Schmitt, Eric, David Sanger and Sheryl Gay Stolberg. "Fast Withdrawal of G.I.'s is urged by Key Democrat". The New York Times, November 18, 2005. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.

[44] Collinson, Stephen. "US House ties Iraq war funding to withdrawal timeline". Yahoo News, March 23, 2007. Retrieved on April 17, 2007.

[45] "Durbin: 'Time for President Bush to face the reality of Iraq'". CNN. January 10, 2007.

[46] Buchana, Patrick J. :Is it Bush vs. Dean"?

[47] Saletan, William. "Would Kerry Vote Today for the Iraq War?" Slate, Aug. 12, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2007.

[48] "On the Issues: Ron Paul." KPTV.com, Jul. 31, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2007.

[49] "Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq". BarackObama.com. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2008.

[50] Obama, Barack (26 October 2002). "Wars of Reason, Wars of Principle - Setting the record straight". The Network Jounral. Retrieved 31 December 2008.

[51] U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes for H.J.Res. 114

[0526-AP-52] "Sen. Dodd Calls For End To Iraq War". Associated Press. 2007-05-26.

[glantz-53] Glantz, A.: Bush and Saddam Should Both Stand Trial, Says Nuremberg Prosecutor, OneWorld U.S., August 25, 2006. URL last accessed 2006-12-12.

[54] Haas, Michael (2008). George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-36499-0 / 978-0-313-36499-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[55] ttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-02-14-eu-survey.htm

[56] ttp://www.cer.org.uk/pdf/back_brief_springford_dec03.pdf

[57] German chancellor speaks against US war vs. Iraq

[58] "The legacy of the Madrid bombings". bbc.co.uk. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.

[59] "'Darkest hour' haunts Spain elections". bbc.co.uk. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2004.

[60] "Cook's resignation speech". BBC News. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[61] ttp://www.glocom.org/special_topics/social_trends/20030224_trends_s28

[62] ttp://english.people.com.cn/200306/18/eng20030618_118439.shtml

[63] ttp://people-press.org/reports/pdf/185.pdf

[64] "Iraq war illegal, says Annan". BBC News. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[65] Brazil: Iraq, U.S. Guilty of 'Disrespect'

[66] "US threatens world peace, says Mandela". BBC News. September 11, 2002.

[67] "Nelson Mandela: The U.S.A. Is a Threat to World Peace". (full interview extracted from the August 28, 2002 issue of Newsweek).

[68] "Jackson: Not too late to stop war". CNN. 16 February 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[69] ttp://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2193088

[70] "Pope John Paul II calls War a Defeat for Humanity: Neoconservative Iraq Just War Theories Rejected". Houston Catholic Worker. July–August 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Missing pipe in: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)

[71] "Vatican Strongly Opposes Iraq War". Fox News. 12 March 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[72] "Pope warns against Iraq war". BBC News. 25 December 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[73] ttp://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/index-e.html

[74] ttp://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/exco03-iraq.html

[75] Transcript of interview broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on December 4, 2006

[76] ttp://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0226/p11s02-coop.html

[77] ttp://instapundit.com/archives/006056.php

[78] ttp://www.icl-fi.org/english/leaflets/oldsite/2003/SLB-800.HTM

[79] ttp://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2241

[80] ttp://www.slate.com/id/2135859/sidebar/2135843/

[81] ttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/23/wirq23.xml

[mdsweb.jp-82] ttp://www.mdsweb.jp/international/magazine/r56/i_r56t1.html

[83] ""Evolving tactics of Islamic militants"". bbc.co.uk. 21 July 2004.

[84] ""Iraqi insurgents 'war criminals'"". bbc.co.uk. 25 july 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[85] ""Press horror at Iraqi massacres"". bbc.co.uk. 3 March 2004.

[86] ""Fewer Muslims 'support bombings'"". bbc.co.uk. 25 july 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[87] ""A matter of pride: anthropological discernment in our current conflict"". national review. 8 October 2007.

[88] "Africans back France on Iraq". CNN February 21, 2003.

[89] "Arab states line up behind Iraq". BBC News. March 25, 2003

[90] "Argentina, Brazil Condemn the US Bombing Over Iraq". Pravda.ru (News from Russia). March 22, 2003.

[91] "Nation also bans military overflights: Austria bars U.S. troops from crossing country". International Herald Tribune. February 15, 2003.

[92] "Statement of the deputy permanent representative of Belarus to the UN". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[93] "US threatens Nato boycott over Belgian war crimes law". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2008.

[94] "Brazil: U.S. Guilty of 'Disrespect'". NewsMax.com. March 20, 2003.

[95] "Chrétien restates opposition to Iraq war". CBC. March 18, 2003

[autogenerated1-96] "México y Chile más inmunes ante presión EE.UU. por Iraq". Terra (from Reuters). March 10, 2003.

[97] "China condemns U.S. for Iraq war". TheStar.com (from Associated Press). March 7, 2007.

[98] "Cuba rejects Iraq war". People's Weekly World. August 28, 2002.

[autogenerated2-99] "France and allies rally against war". BBC News. March 5, 2003.

[100] "Statement by Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson on the commencement of military action in Iraq". Indian Embassy. March 20, 2003.

[101] "Ahmadinejad Slams Iraq War". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 November 2008.

[102] Shamsul, Amri Baharuddin (March 2004). "Moderate Muslims and the Iraq War". Qantar.de. Retrieved 16 November 2008.

[103] "Malaysia regrets Iraq strike, urges restraint on anger". Kyodo News International. 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2008.

[104] "New Zealand PM says sorry". The Sun-Herald. April 6, 2003

[105] "War draws condemnation" BBC News. 20 March 2003. Retrieved on 20 April 2009.

[106] "Pope condemns any war on Iraq". CNN. January 13, 2003.

[107] "Venezuela's Chavez Says Iraq War Creates Uncertainty". Xinhua News Agency. November 28, 2003.

[108] Iraq key players, then and now , bbc.co.uk, 14 March 2008

[109] ttp://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/13/dick-cheney-explains-why-the-us-shouldnt-invade-iraq-in-1994-quagmire/

[110] ttp://www.ambafrance-il.org/diplomatie/archive.php?rub=1&periode=2003-02#

[111] "Chirac: Iraq war has made world more dangerous". The Guardian. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2008.

[comusa-112] Rome, Hitler And Bush - Facing Reality, Barbados Daily Nation, 24 March 2003

[113] "Iraq May Have Been 'Far More Dangerous' Than Believed, Kay Tells". globalsecurity.org. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2004.

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v t e Anti-war and peace movement
Peace advocates	Anti-nuclear organizations Anti-war movement Anti-war organizations Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Coalition of Women for Peace Code Pink Conscientious objectors Counterculture Culture of Peace ECOPEACE Party Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp Iraq War resisters in Canada List of pacifist organisations List of peace activists New Socialist Party of Japan Pacifist Socialist Party Peace and conflict studies Peace camp Peace churches Peace commission Peace conference Peace congress Peace education Peace movement Peace psychology Peace treaty Peaceworker React, Include, Recycle Social Democratic Party (Japan) Unity The Women's Peace Crusade War resisters Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Ideologies	Ahimsa Anarchism Anarcho-pacifism Anarcho-punks Christian anarchism Anti-imperialism Anti-nuclear movement Antimilitarism Appeasement Christian pacifism Deterrence theory Direct action Finvenkismo Green politics Hippie Isolationism Modern-war pacifism Non-interventionism Nonkilling Nonviolence Pacificism Pacifism Peace Satyagraha Soviet influence on the peace movement Testimony of peace World peace
Media and cultural	Art Books Concert Yutel for Peace Dances of Universal Peace Festival for Peace Films Imagine Piano Peace Project International Day of Non-Violence International Day of Peace Dialogue Among Civilizations List of peace prizes List of places named Peace Monuments and memorials Mother's Day Proclamation Nobel Peace Prize Concert Museums Peace & Love (festival) Peace journalism Peace News Promoting Enduring Peace Peace One Day Plays Promoting Enduring Peace Show of Peace Concert Songs Symbols The Non-Violence Project University for Peace World Peace Bell Association Japanese Peace Bell Women in Black World March for Peace and Nonviolence
Slogans and tactics	1991–1992 anti-war protests in Belgrade Bed-In Boycotts of Israel Central Park be-ins Civil disobedience Conflict resolution Counter-recruitment De-escalation Demilitarisation Department of Peace Desertion Disinvestment from Israel Draft evasion Die-in Economic sanctions Flower power Global Day of Action on Military Spending Human Be-In Lesson of Munich "Make love, not war" Non-aggression principle Nonviolent resistance Non Violent Resistance (psychological intervention) Peace walk Peacebuilding Refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces "Soldiers are murderers" Swords to ploughshares Teach-in "The whole world is watching" Third Party Non-violent Intervention "Turn the other cheek" "Violence begets violence" War tax resisters
Opposition to specific wars or their aspects	War of 1812 (UK; US) American Civil War Second Boer War World War I World War II Vietnam War list of protests War on Terror Iraq War Criticism Protests Afghanistan War Military action in Iran Sri Lankan Civil War 2011 intervention in Libya Anti-war protests in Russia (2014) 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in Russia in Russian Far East Landmines Military taxation Nuclear disarmament
Countries	Canada Costa Rica Germany Israel Japan Netherlands Spain Sudan Switzerland United Kingdom United States Peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir
Category