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Daily Record (with additional material by BBC). 1 March 2003. Scots mum ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to save Iraq. EDINBURGH -- Malcolm Chisholm's secretary last night explained why she has gone to Baghdad to be part of the human shield to protect Iraq. Annette Lamont, 49, who is the sister of Labour MP Frank Doran, works in the Health Minister's Edinburgh constituency office. But the mother of three has taken leave to try to stop the war. "We've done the marches and people have turned out for them in ways that's never happened before. While that's important, it didn't seem to be shifting the government's position and sometimes you just reach the position where you want to go one step further." "As soon as I heard about the human shield I just felt I should go. And I think a lot of people have felt the same. They're here from all over the world and they just keep coming." Speaking to the BBC's Politics Scotland programme, Lamont launched a blistering attack on Tony Blair's pro-war stance. "It's time for Blair to go. He doesn't represent the British people any longer and he certainly doesn't represent the Labour Party. I've campaigned for the Labour Party for nearly 30 years and he certainly doesn't represent me." "We're here to stop a war. It's as simple and basic as that." Lamont, from Edinburgh, is one of a 200-strong international contingent who are in the Iraqi capital. Her brother, Frank Doran, was one of the 121 Labour MPs who voted against the war in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The Aberdeen Central MP said yesterday: "I respect her decision but I am still worried about her. Before she went, I told her my reservations and I was very explicit about them." "But I respect what she is doing. It is a very brave decision." Lamont is the only Scot to be part of the human shield. _________________________ Mercury News. 28 February 2003. S.F. man in Iraq as 'human shield.' SAN FRANCISCO -- For a handful of ardent anti-war protesters from the Bay Area, marching in the streets isn't enough: They are going to Iraq as "human shields," hoping their presence will prevent what they feel is an unjust war. Charlie Liteky, a former Roman Catholic priest, Vietnam veteran and U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, is one of them. The 72-year-old San Francisco resident flew to Amman, Jordan, last week and then drove to Iraq in a van with 10 other activists. He has to renew his visa with Iraqi authorities Saturday, but thinks that they'll let him stay, and has booked his flight home for early June. "We hope that there's not going to be a war, and that hope will continue until the first bomb hits the ground," said Liteky in a phone interview from his Baghdad hotel Thursday. "It's going to be a hellacious situation. Many poor and innocent people are going to die." Other Bay Area residents have traveled to Iraq in recent months, but many have already returned and are speaking to community and church groups about their trips. Liteky is one of the few who says he is determined to stay through any air assault or ground war, joining a group of mostly European activists. Liteky is part of a delegation from Voices in the Wilderness, a Chicago-based group that opposes economic sanctions against Iraq. Since 1996, the organization has sent more than 60 delegations to Iraq and has violated sanctions by transporting medical supplies, for which it has been heavily fined. Liteky joined the Army at 36 and served as an Army chaplain for 4 1/2 years, half of that time in Vietnam. In 1967, he crawled through heavy machine gun fire in Bien Hoa province and dragged 23 wounded American soldiers to the safety of a helicopter landing zone. His bravery earned him the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest decoration for heroism in combat. But he renounced his medal in 1986 to protest U.S. foreign policy in Central America, leaving it in a brown paper bag near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., and dedicated his life to activism. Liteky's current focus has shifted from Central America to the Middle East. Many activists say they intend to position themselves near oil refineries, water treatment plants and communications centers -- strategic posts that are likely to be bombed if the United States and its allies launch an invasion of Iraq. Liteky and the group he is with are still discussing what they should do. "There's also an orphanage about five minutes from my hotel, and I might go there. I want to be on call should these particular children need anything," he said. He recognizes that he might be killed or wounded, but says he is at peace with that possibility. "Anyone who stays here will be at considerable risk if the U.S. does what it says it will," said Liteky, who keeps up with the news by listening to the BBC. "But I will admit that I am a lot more afraid here then I was in Vietnam." Liteky's wife, Judy, a former nun and fellow peace activist, is worried, even though she is used to her husband's risks. "When we can talk by the phone it's much easier for me," said Judy Liteky. "I'm grateful when I can hear his voice." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ProletarianNews http://www.utopia2000.org --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bdn7KI.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. 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