"Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept away before the tide of time." - Gandhi

Latest News on Human Shield Mission Iraq
By Ken Nichols O'Keefe email - uksociety@hotmail.com phone Holland 31(0)6 2220 4574

Plan of Action as of Dec. 24
If you are ready to join our action we need to have your information that is required for Iraqi visas. Approval for our Human Shield Mission into Iraq has been obtained by Iraqi officials. Having said that I say categorically that our action is not in support or supported by the Iraqi Government. This action was initiated by people who reject war and feel strongly enough about this that they are willing to risk their own safety in defense of innocent Iraqi lives. If you are ready to commit we need to have your full name, date of birth and nationality for the visa and we need this immediately.

We request that each one of you also write a short (or longer) statement as to why you are joining this action. This is requested in the interest of negating the inevitable accusations that in doing this we are supporting Saddam Hussein, of course that is patently ridiculous but we cannot completely stop corporate media from saying it. Please take the time to do this, then we can expose corporate media for what they are if they try to falsely associate our action with Saddam Hussein. After doing this (only if you approve) we will post these statements on the Universal Kinship Society website (uksociety.org). We will also have a written form that is mandatory for each person to sign that declares whether they are involved in investigations or associated with in any way such agencies as the CIA or other "intelligence" agencies. If you are, YOUR ARE NOT WELCOME! We cannot stop such cowards from seeking to infiltrate a good cause such as ours but we can prove them to be the criminal liars and killers that they all too often are.

Thus far British, Spanish, Canadian, American and Dutch media are posting our action and we just began the organizing little more than one week ago. I am getting contact from major corporate media such as the London Times and Guardian as well as independent media and they want to talk with you (if you are committed to joining this action). If you are willing to talk with them then call me or email me immediately.

If you are not willing to commit you can still very much help us on our mission, PLEASE DO! Contact everyone you know on your email list and post your view of our mission on IndyMedia. Contact NGO's and ask if they will post notices on their email lists and if they can help fund this action. We desperately need a bus and quite possibly busses. We need organizers, we need fundraisers, we need medical supplies and clothing (for the Iraqi people), we need all the help we can get!

As things stand right now our departure date is tentatively set for January 18, 2003 from London, but this is subject to change due to the evolving situation. We plan to travel through Europe via London, Brussels Amsterdam, Paris, Dachau Concentration Camp, Zurich, Milan, Sarajevo, Istanbul, and Halab and ultimately to Baghdad. We may very well need/choose to add or delete cities along the way again depending on the situation at the time, our main concern is to get there before any war begins but at the same time we want maximum participation and awareness. All things going as planned we will conduct brief rallies and pick up more Human Shield volunteers along the way. If you know people in these cities we desperately need organizers to set up a meeting point and rally for each city. We also need liaisons back in the West to monitor our efforts and post updates on websites and with IndyMedia. This support base is critical to the effectiveness of our mission.

Once in Baghdad we will strategically place ourselves with the most vulnerable people such as families and children, hospitals, etc. Iraqi people and government are overwhelmingly supportive of this for obvious reasons. Everyone will of course ultimately determine where he or she will be once in Iraq so those who are willing to take greater risks can do so while others will do as they feel, everyone will be respected in being there period.

As an ex-U.S. Marine who "fought" in the 1st Gulf War I feel a special need to do more than probably most, while in Iraq I intend to visit victims of depleted uranium and the economic sanctions. I will be documenting this on video to make a short documentary. Anyone with documentary experience or other related skills is invited to join in this effort. Assuming the war does happen I once again feel a special need to document the treatment of Iraqis by the invading forces. This will be extremely dangerous and I expect nobody to participate in this unless they are extremely comfortable with their mortality. If you do want to participate in this you can let me know at any time.

When each person leaves Iraq is impossible to determine. For those who want to be able to leave at any time you must have the money to do this independently. We will however have transportation at some point where our presence is no longer useful or it becomes impossible to stay. Of course it is our desire/mission is to stop this war and protect innocent life. So as long as we serve to prevent war and death we should be committed to staying. For those who have definite time limits of course that is fine.

The organization and effectiveness of this mission will depend on all of us who participate. Those of you who are serious need to call/email me now, the organizational realities are overwhelming without support and that is a job we call all contribute to right now.

I am honored to be in the company of people who will take the steps that you are. I would rather be with you and the Iraqi people at this pivotal time in history than with anyone else. I am inspired by your commitment and I am sure that I will be making many dear friends. I am extremely thankful to you all.

Thank you all once again.
Peace Love Aloha,
Ken Nichols O'Keefe

Sign the "World Peace Now - Not With Bush" Petition authored by Ken Nichols O'Keefe by clicking on the above link

Problem - Innocent and victimized men, women and children in Iraq are set to endure yet another war and unknown loss of life& their crime? They are citizens of an oil rich nation with a violent dictator who no longer fulfills the needs of Western powers. Of course these are the same Western powers that all too happily supported this dictator during all of his worst crimes. But times have changed and it is clear that the agenda of the U.S. and British Governments is to carry out a war that will topple Saddam Hussein and replace him with a Western puppet. All talk of "war being the last resort" from the British and U.S. Governments is laughable. The inevitable pretext of an Iraqi "material breach" of United Nations Resolution 1441is all but guaranteed. Yet as this tragic comedy sideshow plays out there is a group of people (growing in numbers) who have another scenario, one which the war mongers have not previously factored into the equation.

"Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds." - Gandhi

Solution - What would happen if several thousand Western citizens migrated to Iraq to stand side by side with the Iraqi people? The fact is that the world's most powerful nation would be stopped in its imperialist tracks if thousands of Westerners might be killed by its oil lust war. Never has there been a greater need for people to stand up and demand a sane and peaceful world. Voting and recycling is not enough, it is direct action that is desperately required. And never has there been more people more aware about the truth and ready to act. People are organizing and mobilizing like never before, the time has come and 'We the People' are responding. Now many of us are coming together to exercise our "freedom" by acting as voluntary human shields in the hopes of saving thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Iraqi lives. This is not about supporting Saddam Hussein as our governments did, it is about saving the lives of those in our human family. So if you care enough and are fed up with the never ending excuses from the politicians and "experts" who historically perpetuate the status quo, you are invited to join us.

"Faith gains in strength only when people are willing to lay down their lives for it." - Gandhi

The Plan - To enlist the service of as many Human Shield volunteers for direct action in Iraq. To organize the required food and transportation for travel by coach, vans and cars from Europe to Iraq for all who Human Shield volunteers. Our departure date is tentatively set for January 10, 2002 from London but this is subject to the evolving situation. We plan to travel through Europe via London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Dachau Concentration Camp, Zurich, Milan, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Halab and Baghdad.on our way to Iraq. We may very well need/choose to add or delete cities along the way again depending on the situation at the time. All things going as planned we will conduct brief rallies and pick up more Human Shield volunteers along the way. Once in Baghdad we will strategically place ourselves with the most vulnerable people. People who are overwhelmingly supportive for obvious reasons.

"The golden rule is to act fearlessly upon what one believes to be right." - Gandhi

What You Can Do - Immediately join as a Human Shield volunteer. If you cannot do this than support us financially for our food and fuel needs. U.S. citizens can make tax-exempt donations to the Universal Kinship Society (sponsor of this action). Donate your car, van or bus or school and medical supplies which we will transport to the people of Iraq. Send out emails and press releases announcing our action and post our action on your website.

"True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it."

Who To Contact - Ken Nichols O'Keefe of the Universal Kinship Society - uksociety@hotmail.com. Phone in Holland - 00316 2220 4574

"Only a life lived for others is a life worth while ." - Albert Einstein

Our Pledge as Participants in this Mission
'We the People' remember our 20th Century as the bloodiest century in history, and are fully aware that the 21st Century is threatening to be even bloodier.
'We the People' acknowledge that Saddam Hussein has the capacity to kill perhaps thousands while George W. Bush has the means to destroy our entire world thousands of times over. As thinking people we see the obvious, George W. Bush is far more of a threat to world peace than Saddam Hussein.
'We the People' do not forget the vital U.S. support that helped bring Saddam Hussein to power and further remember the direct U.S. support before, during and after his use of chemical weapons (WMD probably supplied by the U.S.) against the Kurdish people.
'We the People' reject George W. Bush and his "Pre-emptive" doctrine as sheer madness that insures the bloody cycle of violence so necessary for the existence of the greedy and sadistic interests he represents. We acknowledge this man as the most dangerous man of the 21st Century.
'We the People' acknowledge the United States declaring its willingness to use nuclear weapons as proof positive that the U.S. is undeniably the most powerful and dangerous nation in the history of our world.
'We the People,' those who genuinely seek justice and peace acknowledge that all nations must ultimately disarm, and that the United States is logically and necessarily the first nation that must disarm.
'We the People' acknowledge the silence and/or complicity with U.S. war policies by our governments around the world as wholly unrepresentative and completely unacceptable. "Not In Our Name" expresses our position with regard to the upcoming international crime of 'Aggression' likely to be committed against an already horribly violated Iraqi people.
'We the People' see any and all nation/state governments that support the Bush junta for what they are, cowards and criminals who are complicit in a highly profitable oil induced launch into World War III.
'We the People' refuse to sit idly by while the so-called "United Nations" provides "legal" sanction for wars that it is mandated by law to prevent.
'We the People,' mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters stand in solidarity with all those in the human family who renounce war and embrace peace.
'We the People' declare that we would rather die as participants in defense of justice and peace than live as disempowered human sheep blindly marching to our very own slaughter.
'We the People' acknowledge oppression in all its forms as the primary root of all violencem, especially so-called "terrorism."
'We the People,' those who genuinely seek justice and peace, understand the people of the world need "Food Not Bombs," Justice Not Tyranny, Peace Not War.
'We the People' declare our allegiance to our human family and to the planet that provides the basis of our very existence. We are 'World Citizens' and declare ourselves as such before the law as mandated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.