Shoalwater Bay letter
Dear
During May to July 26,000 US and Australian troops will open up with their guns, rockets and bombs in a full frontal assault on Shoalwater Bay, Queensland. Talisman Saber 2007 (TS07) increases the ability of US/Australian forces to work seamlessly with each other so that Australia can be a partner in future wars and invasions serving America's quest for global domination. Byron Peace Convergence is part of a national resistance to these war games and meets regularly to plan concerts, activities and peaceful protest in Shoalwater Bay, June 18-24.
"The terrestrial native fauna (of Shoalwater Bay) is diverse and represents around one third of Australian mainland bird and bat species and about one quarter of the macropods. It also contains some rare species associated with the broadleaf and eucalypt forests. The population numbers are low for many species, but most populations are safe unless entire habitats are eliminated by fire", states the CSIRO. World heritage areas adjoin Shoalwater Bay such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and natural heritage listed sites which include indigenous sites and Ramsar wetlands. Threatened spedes such as dugongs and humpback whales will be deafened by naval sonar and explosions. At a time when climate change dominates our thoughts, TS07 is about to spew vast amounts of greenhouse gases from all the ships, tanks, planes and explosions which it will unleash. According to ANU's Ross Babbage, new weapon systems will be trialled. Will these include earth-penetrating bombs with depleted uranium warheads, designed to take out Iranian underground nuclear facilities? Will microwave area denial systems be used which can invisibly bum people 1 km away? An environmental blitzkrieg is about to take place with impunity. Litterers are fined but this vandalism goes unpunished!
John Howard has ditched Australia's national interest through his besottedness with George W Bush which has resulted in our unquestioning participation in the biggest foreign affairs blunder of the last 50 years: the illegal invasion of Iraq. Australia's standing in the world has been- blighted as we are complicit in the nearly 700,000 Iraqi civilians, 132 UK and about 3,132 US troops killed. No-one knows the full extent of injury, psychological and physical, that will haunt all those tragically caught up in this maelstrom in which there have been at least 32,000 US non-mortal combat injuries. Iraq, which once had one of the highest standards of health, education and welfare, is now and will long remain, "bombed back into the Stone Age". Its infrastructure is smashed and its civic society is in tatters. Its environment is so contaminated by depleted uranium that members of Australia's Iraq Survey Group who stayed in one of Saddam's palaces, were warned-not to swim in its pool or eat fish from the Tigris. And Australia, to its shame, is deeply complicit in all this! Where will our blind allegiance to America mire us next, Iran? Syria? SAS soldiers were amongst the first into Iraq are they already in Iran?
The economic cost for America-of this Iraq occupation has reached SUS366.2 billion which could have bought instead, an extra 6,346,210 teachers or 3,297,248 additional housing units- President Bush is planning to cut medical assistance to the elderly and poor to help pay for the war. Australia has spent more than SA20 billion since September 2001 which could have compensated for the economic loss of coal exports for example. How many schools, hospitals, elderly care facilities and renewable energy projects have we had to sacrifice for this war?
In conclusion, Australia must not compromise its foreign policy by hog-tying itself to US interests. TS07 ft designed to make Australian and US forces almost interchangeable, able to use the same equipment, use the same intelligence and follow the same battle orders. The pollution, wastage of scarce resources, C02 emissions and threats to the ecology of one of Australia's most outstanding natural areas must be halted. Anything less is environmental terrorism.
Regards
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