All We Are Saying...

How often is it that some of the world's most effective women peace activists agree with the head of the (it must be said, patriarchal) Catholic Church? Maybe George W. Bush is a uniter, after all...

From the Feminist Majority newswire:

Jody Williams, the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and a 1997 Peace Prize winner, and Shirin Ebadi, a human rights advocate and the first female judge in Iran, issued a joint statement calling on the US and Iran to seek "non-violent solutions to our common problems."

"We demand a non-violent world where human security is the basis of our common global security. People have the right to live in a world where the basic needs of all peoples are addressed. No more military attacks. No more war," Williams and Ebadi said in their joint statement.

The Associated Press reports that Williams and Ebadi are joined in their effort by fellow laureates Betty Williams of Ireland, Rigoberta Menchu Tum of Guatemala and Wangari Maathai of Kenya. The AP story quotes Williams as saying, "We want to redefine peace as not just the absence of armed conflict. ... If there is not equal and social justice in the world, it is not peace."

Amen, sisters.

And speaking of amen, here's what Pope Benedict XVI had to say about Iran, via Reuters and AP:

Pope Benedict XVI, in his first Easter message, called Sunday for an "honorable solution" to the nuclear standoff with Iran, a truly independent Palestinian state and global cooperation to combat terrorism. ...

"Concerning the international crises linked to nuclear power, may an honorable solution be found for all parties through serious and honest negotiations," he said, a clear reference to Iran, which said last week it had become a nuclear power by enriching uranium.

These are welcome reactions to the Bush administration's saber rattling against Iran, which journalist Seymour Hersh has reported on. Hersh told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now:

"It's simply a fact that the planning [for a possible major air attack on Iran] has gone beyond the contingency stage, and it's gone into what they call the operational stage. ...

"I've been told that in the last few months a debate has been sort of ongoing inside the highest levels of the military, and the debate is simply between those senior generals and admirals -- who think using and even planning or talking about using a nuclear weapon in Iran is wacko -- and the White House, because the White House wants it kept in the plan. There's a lot of tension there. ...

"In all of the conversations we've had about bombing and not bombing and whether to use weapons, what weapon or how much bombing, as, not surprisingly, I don't think there's been any serious discussion of possible civilian casualties."

Check out the website for the national Code Pink organization, where you can send a letter to the United Nations calling for a peaceful solution to the U.S.-Iran conflict, check out their plans for Mother's Day, and so much more...