‘Operation: Hidden Agenda’ an ethics teacher’s answer to U.S. military deck of Iraq’s most wanted

This high school teacher doesn’t think the U.S. government is playing with a full deck.

Available locally, the ‘‘Operation: Hidden Agenda" playing cards are Kathy Eder’s answer to the U.S. military’s distribution of its most wanted list card collection — the Bush administration’s unique and portable list of 55 wanted former Iraqi government officials.

There are pictures of U.S. government officials, like the four of spades featuring Central Command Commander in Chief Tommy Franks, and quotes such as the one under his picture: "We don’t do body counts."

A grinning President George W. Bush graces the Ace of Spades card, accompanied by the caption "Dictator of the World."

Then there’s Eder’s favorite: the Ace of Clubs, or "Donald goes to Baghdad."

It’s a picture of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and a synopsis of his 1983 trip to Baghdad as a special envoy to meet with Saddam Hussein and promote the contraction of a U.S.-sponsored pipeline:

"(The meeting) occurred the same day that the United States team confirmed that Saddam gassed Iranian troops," reads the card.

The back of every card shows Rumsfeld shaking Saddam’s hand during that visit.

Eder, who teaches the class ‘‘Morality and Social Justice’’ at Bellarmine, an all-boys Catholic high school in San Jose, says the idea for the cards came to her when her students insisted the war in Iraq was justified, but they couldn’t offer facts or reasons to back up their statements.

"This war was totally wrong and totally about greed," she said. "We were told lies the whole time."

"It became clear to me that I needed to do what I have always encouraged my students to do," Eder said, "use my life to try and make a difference in the lives of others."

She gathered information for her cards from The New York Times, the BBC, Mother Jones magazine, iraqbodycount.net, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post and several other international news organizations and publications. Her sources are all cited on the cards.

She said her cards reflect the teachings of Catholicism, that "no war is justified."

Former Santa Cruz County Supervisor and outspoken conservative Marilyn Liddicoat is not amused.

"This is very unpatriotic," Liddicoat said. "I think it is very hostile to America to do this."

Liddicoat, also a former chair on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education, said she thinks Eder should be fired for brainwashing students.

"When I served on the board 20 years ago I could see how kids were being brainwashed by very liberal teachers," Liddicoat said.

Eder’s cards and opinions, she said, have the potential to inspire acts of terrorism.

But Eder — who borrowed $8,000 from her credit card for 3,000 decks of cards — said she was simply called upon by God to tell "the truth," as she sees it.

Eder, who said she doesn’t fear losing her job, said her students don’t know about the cards because school has let out for the summer.

She is marketing the cards on her Web site, www.operationhiddenagenda.com, and they are on sale at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Half of the proceeds from the cards, which sell for $9.95 per deck, will support veterans suffering from Desert Storm Syndrome, a medical condition suffered by Gulf War veterans characterized by headache, fatigue, fever, bleeding gums and skin rashes.

"I keep hearing that we should be supporting the troops," Eder said. "For me, this support also includes the troops who fought in Desert Storm."

Half of the money collected goes to these organizations (only 2 of them are veterans organizations).

There is no pie chart to show how much money goes to each organization:

50 % of the profits from the 'OPERATION: HIDDEN AGENDA' playing cards will support the following:
• US VETERANS DEALING WITH GULF WAR SYNDROME
• IRAQI MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN WHO HAVE ENDURED YEARS OF SUFFERING
• THOSE PARTICIPATING IN PEACEMAKING AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING MISSIONS TO IRAQ
Donations Will Be Submitted To These Organizations:

GLOBAL EXCHANGE

Global Exchange is an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting political, social and environmental justice globally. Since our founding in 1988, we have been working to increase global awareness among the U.S. public while building partnerships around the world.
Global Economy
World Bank / IMF
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FTAA
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Coffee and Chocolate Campaigns
These sections provide ways for people to educate each other and mobilize around the general theme of Democratizing the Global Economy. By providing critical facts and analysis of how the global economy works and how we can act to change it, Global Exchange hopes to build the growing grassroots movement for ending corporate rule and furthering economic democratization.
Our various campaigns to pressure the ruling institutions for change and to build alternative economic institutions are designed to link global analysis with local action. Please help us spread the message that the current system does not have to be tolerated--we can and must change it!
Human Rights Programs By Country
Brazil
Focusing on human rights work in Brazil, our goal is to build stronger connections between social movements in Brazil and the US. Check out our speaking tours, human rights delegations, and educational materials about Brazil.
Colombia
Since 2000 the United States government has given over $2 billion of mostly military aid to Colombia. This "aid" has inflamed Colombia's 50-year-old civil conflict, contributing to more deaths, more kidnappings, and an increase in human suffering. The Bush Administration and hawks in Congress have repealed Clinton-era rules that prohibit US arms from being used to battle guerrilla groups and now US military aid to Colombia can be used in Colombia’s counterinsurgency war. These deadly policies must be reversed. US involvement in Colombia is expensive, ineffective, inhumane, and will not lead to peace in the troubled nation.
Cuba
In our Cuba Campaign section, you can access the latest information on the U.S. embargo against Cuba, particularly its restrictions on sales of food and medicine and on travel there by U.S. citizens; find out how to get involved in efforts to normalize relations between the two countries; and read about the Cubans' dramatic advances in sustainable development as they survive, and even thrive, despite the odds.
Iraq
The Bush administration is planning to launch a war against Iraq, yet there has been no serious public or congressional debate about why an invasion is justified. The international community is almost unanimous in its opposition to an attack on Iraq, leaving the United States increasingly isolated. The Bush Administration is determined to initiate an illegal and ill-considered invasion. We the people must be just as determined to stop a war that threatens to tear the world apart.
(HERE ARE THE IRAQ LINKS) Mexico
Mexico Program seeks to support Mexico's democratic movement through public education in the U.S. about the realities of Mexico and the need for changes in U.S. trade and military policy toward Mexico. In Mexico, the Program supports local efforts for justice, peace and human rights.
Palestine
The Palestinian-Israeli dispute is one of the longest unresolved conflicts in modern history. For 54 years Israel has dispossessed the Palestinian people of their homeland via territorial conquest, occupation and war. During the 1967 war, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Since that time, the Palestinian people have been divided into three groups: three million living under Israel's occupation, one million living inside Israel, and four million as refugees dispersed throughout the Arab countries and worldwide.
Afghanistan
While the US government has failed to follow through with the political and financial support necessary for Afghanistan's reconstruction, Global Exchange continues to sponsor delegations to Afghanistan to learn about ways that the US public can support rebuilding efforts. Through our Afghanistan Sister School Project, US schools are raising money to help rebuild Afghan schools. In addition, pen pal and art exchange are giving US students and teachers an opportunity to learn about Afghan society as well as the history of US intervention in the region.
United States
When most Americans hear of human rights abuses, they likely think of atrocities in some far off country in a forgotten corner of the globe. And when Americans consider the idea of democracy, it's probably accurate to say that they think of our government as a model to be emulated. The reality, of course, is more complicated. Abuses against individuals' basic rights also occur regularly here in the United States, and our money-saturated political system hardly deserves the title 'democracy.'

Pax Christi

Statement of Purpose
Pax Christi USA strives to create a world that reflects the Peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. This work begins in personal life and extends to communities of reflection and action to transform structures of society. Pax Christi USA rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of violence and domination. It advocates primacy of conscience, economic and social justice, and respect for creation.
Pax Christi USA commits itself to peace education and, with the help of its bishop members, promotes the gospel imperative of peacemaking as a priority in the Catholic Church in the United States. Through the efforts of all its members and in cooperation with other groups, Pax Christi USA works toward a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
Pax Christi is a section of Pax Christi International, the Catholic peace movement.
How we began
In 1945, a small group of people in France met regularly to pray for peace. Their concern was not a vague one. What bothered them, what kept them coming together was their experience of an agonizing and dreadful fact: French Catholics and German Catholics, who professed the same faith and celebrated the same Eucharist, had killed one another by the millions in the 20th century. That situation could hardly be the will of God, as they understood it. So they prayed for forgiveness, for reconciliation, for the peace of Christ.
A French woman, Marie-Marthe Dortel Claudot, is known as the leader and founder of the movement. She invited a French bishop, Pierre Marie Theas, to be the first Bishop President. While in a German war prison camp in Compiegne, Bishop Theas had already begun to pray and work for reconciliation.
Soon after the war, Pax Christi centers were established in France and Germany; by the early 1950's the movement had spread to Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.
Pax Christi began in the United States in 1972, thanks to the initiative of a tiny handful of U.S. Catholics, mostly lay. There was no national office or full time staff person until 1979, and then the entire office was set up in two spare rooms of a Chicago convent, where the office remained while the movement grew to some 8,000. The national office moved to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1985 and remains there today. Pax Christi USA currently has 14,000 members. Today, Pax Christi is active in over 30 countries, with a growing presence in Latin America and Africa. Our national office is located in Erie, Pa., and an international office and staff are located in Brussels, Belgium. Pax Christi has consultative status as a non-governmental organization at the United Nations.
Wherever they live throughout the world, members of Pax Christi are united by their purpose, which is expressed in the international statutes: "to work for peace for all humankind, always witnessing to the peace of Christ." They do this through prayer, study and action. In 1982, speaking at Coventry Cathedral in England, Pope John Paul II said, "Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith." Membership in Pax Christi enables many Catholics and other Christians of all walks of life to help build the cathedral of peace.
(here are the groups they linked
Here is the Iraq subpage

Fellowship of Reconciliation Delegations to Iraq

Weblink was a dead link.

The National Gulf War Resource Center

The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC) is the leading international organization providing advocacy for Gulf War veterans. Founded in 1995 and based at the office of the Vietnam Veterans of America in Washington, DC, the NGWRC is non-profit, and donations to the NGWRC are tax deductible.
Since 1991, the Gulf War’s toxic legacy continues to devastate the environment of the Persian Gulf. The pollution’s effect impacts those who served there as well as those who serve and live there today.
Troops were exposed to oil well fire pollution. Soldiers inhaled and ingested radiotoxic depleted uranium. Clouds of low-level chemical and biological warfare agents poisoned veterans. Others were sprayed with pesticides. Some were used as human guinea pigs to test vaccines and anti-nerve agent pills.
Tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans claim they are now ill as a result of their military duty. Some family members are also reporting illnesses. As the casualty count continues to sharply rise, and because the government is failing to investigate the causes or provide adeqate medical care, dozens of grassroots groups are forming to assist fellow veterans.
These grassroots groups are on the front lines providing assistance to veterans in the form of counseling and referrals. The NGWRC was created by these groups to serve their growing needs.
In an atmosphere of mutual support and teamwork, the organizations of the NGWRC have joined together to provide advocacy for health care and self help to those affected by the Gulf War.

Our current activities include:
Assistance organizing new groups.
Active media relations and guidance.
Distributing Self Help Guides.
Conducting research into the causes of the illnesses.
Providing testimony to Congress.
Our recent accomplishments include:
Leading the fight to pass landmark benefits legislation for Gulf War veterans in 1998.
Distributing more than 25,000 Gulf War Syndrome Self Help Guides. Our Guide offers information about health care, support groups, the types of toxic exposures, and the VA claim process. Our Guide helps veterans and families with information
Conducting research showing veterans were exposed to chemical warfare agents. This resulted in an admission by the Pentagon in June 1996 that some soldiers were exposed. By July 1997, the Pentagon admitted widespread exposures affecting up to 100,000 soldiers.
Conducting research regarding the radiotoxic effects of depleted uranium (DU), a nuclear waste by-product used as tank armor and tank rounds during the Gulf War. Tens of thousands of soldiers were exposed to DU in the Gulf War.
Our future plans include:
Expanding our assistance to new groups by providing them with media, legislative, and fundraising contacts.
Publishing and distributing more Self Help Guides.
Expanding our research into the causes of Gulf War illnesses, especially DU and chemical and biological warfare agents.
Expanding our education efforts directed at legislators regarding Gulf War illnesses.
Reaching out to minority and women veterans and family members.
Increasing our ability to travel so we may provide assistance to new groups as well as provide additional witnesses to testify before Congress.
Expanding our web site to more efficiently disseminate information. Our web site and mailing lists quickly spread important information to those who need it the most.
Increase our efforts to publicize Gulf War illnesses, especially through the media and through the Internet.
Holding Gulf War illness conferences each year to update those concerned.
The National Gulf War Resource Center serves as an umbrella organization representing the interests of and providing advocacy for sixty grassroots organizations in America and England.

Gulf War Veteran Resource Pages

The Gulf War Veteran Resource Pages FAQ
©1994-2001, by Grant Szabo All Rights Reserved.
Last Update: 10/06/99
This FAQ was created by Grant Szabo, Editor in Chief of the Gulf War Veteran Resource Pages, originally for distribution to subscribers of the Gulf War mailing list. The FAQ is updated periodically by Grant Szabo.
This FAQ may be distributed freely by interested parties as long as it is not edited and kept in this original form.
Q. Where can I write to get medals?
A. Visit U.S. National Archives & Records Administration
Q. What is the Gulf War Veteran Resource Pages (GWVRP)?
A. Located at http://www.gulfweb.org and founded in June, 1994, the GWVRP was the first site on the Internet to offer comprehensive information in support of Persian Gulf War Veterans.
Q. What kind of information is on the site?
A. The site features a comprehensive searchable document library covering all aspects of the war. The site is made up of information submitted by numerous Member Organizations who have united to support Gulf War Vets.
Additional Features include:
Photo Gallery
A comprehensive picture gallery displaying personal photographs submitted by Gulf War Veterans.
Tracings in the Sand: Read personal stories submitted by Gulf War Veterans that discuss their experience in the Gulf and their lives afterwards. We welcome additional submissions!
Discussion Forums:
Threaded discussion forums for discussing Gulf War related issues publicly.
Locator Database:
Search our locator database to find your friends from the war. Add your name so they can find you.
Q. Who administers the site?
A. The site is now in it's 8th full revision.
Grant Szabo founded the site in 1994. Jeff Beer joined Grant in helping with the site in 1995. In 1996 Grant and Jeff spent several months revising the site. During this revision, the site was completely redesigned. Allaire Cold Fusion was used to make the site dynamic, putting all content into a backed Microsoft Access database. As of October 1999, the site continues to use Microsoft Access 2000 and Cold Fusion.
Charles Sheehan-Miles, one time Executive Director of the National Gulf War Resource Center has acted for several years as our Content Editor. He is responsible for posting new articles to the site periodically.
Lee Stral worked as Managing Editor during part of 1995 and helped rewrite many of our documents. Lee also redesigned some of the site layout which comprised the 5th major revision of the site. Lee generously devoted his time and resources freely to the effort.
Q. How do I make suggestions or comments about the pages?
Use our Contact Form at http://www.gulfweb.org/contact.cfm
Q. How can I help maintain the pages?
A. You can let us know when you find new information and resources that would be good additions to the pages.
Q. I am suffering from Gulf War Syndrome and I need help, what do I do?
A. A partnership has been established between the GWVRP and the National Gulf War Resource Center called the Referral Network. After filling out this form, your comments are immediately emailed to the NGWRC. From here, your comments are printed out and faxed to a member GWVet organization near you -- hopefully in the same state as you reside. You can expect to hear from someone within 1 to 2 weeks after filling out the form. This person will call you at the phone number you list on the form.

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