THIS CALLS FOR IN-HAND DELIVERY

Letter to the Iraqi People, an independent, non-partisan, grassroots initiative undertaken by a group of friends residing mostly in New England.

At a time when distrust, hatred, and violence escalate out of control in many parts of the world, we feel an urgent need to communicate people to people, and to do so as openly, honestly, and directly as we can. In that spirit, we offer this "open letter" to the people of Iraq from people of the United States. We hope you will want to add your name as one of the signers.

Our intention is to send an Arabic translation of this letter - with the names of as many signers as possible - to a range of media outlets in or near Iraq, around the end of August, 2004. We will also issue a press release concerning the letter to media outlets in the U.S. at the time the letter is sent to Iraq.

We recognize that this letter is only one small effort to restore the world and we believe that each of us must act in our own way to live up to the responsibility this letter names.

THANK YOU! - The Project Team: Jo Comerford, Roger Conant, Melissa Elliott, Ann Gibson, Randy Kehler, Peter Lems, Mary McClintock, Rick McDowell, and Mary Trotochaud.

A LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ

We want to express our heartfelt apology and deep sorrow over our government's invasion and continued occupation of your country. We are painfully aware of the enormous suffering it has caused - the killing, wounding, and harassment of so many Iraqi children and adults; the deaths and injuries to combatants on all sides; and the destruction of Iraqi infrastructures leaving millions without adequate water or power, homes or food.

Please know that we who have signed this letter and countless other Americans are deeply opposed to this aggression that has been carried out in our names.

We understand that words of sorrow and apology are not enough, and that as people of the United States we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to peacefully pressure our government to stop this war, end the occupation, make full reparations, and work in cooperation with the Iraqi people to repair the terrible damage that the war and occupation have caused. We pledge to you that we will make every effort to live up to this responsibility.

Finally, we want you to know that it is our sincere desire to live in peace with the people of Iraq. We believe it is possible for relations between our two countries to be based on honest and respectful dialog, a willingness to resolve our conflicts by nonviolent means, and a shared commitment to our common humanity and the sacredness of all life.

Respectfully,

[Your name here]

Wouldn't it be easier just to write "Idiot" on a name-tag?

Posted by David Cohen at August 16, 2004 8:54 PM