ROGER NORMAND Executive director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights, which has recently put out several fact sheets on Afghanistan, Normand said today: “Afghanistan was one of the world’s poorest and most devastated countries even before this crisis. The UN has abandoned its relief operations, and all neighboring countries have sealed their borders. More than 1 million Afghans have so far fled their homes in panic. The $320 million aid package that Bush promised Thursday will help the refugees. But there is also the danger that food will be used to attract millions of desperate people to the…

ZIEBA SHORISH-SHAMLEY Founder and director of the Women’s Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Shorish-Shamley said today: “It is unfortunate that it took a tragedy of this magnitude for the world to take notice of the ongoing tragedy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Several years ago, I quit my position as a university professor to try to bring attention to the predicament of women in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, until now, we have been largely ignored. The world community must address the question of women’s rights seriously and not let various parties with their own agendas use it when it suits…

THOMAS GUMBLETON A Catholic Bishop from Detroit, Gumbleton said today: “The Pope has called for ‘peaceful negotiations and dialogue’ in the current crisis…. Some have rushed to portray us who are opposed to the Bush administration’s plans as naïve and lacking realism. But if you look at the facts, it is clear that it is we who are the realists and those who would rush to war and escalate the cycle of violence are completely out of touch with reality and with lessons of history. Our administration is warning us that the next attack might be in the form of…

HARVEY WASSERMAN A specialist in nuclear issues, Wasserman warns of the possibility of a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility. More Information CHRIS TOENSING Toensing is editor of Middle East Report. More Information PERVEZ HOODBHOY Hoodbhoy is a professor at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan. More Information REV. GRAYLAN S. HAGLER Pastor at the Plymouth Congregational Church UCC, Hagler will be speaking at demonstrations this weekend in Washington, D.C. LAMIS ANDONI President Bush met today with King Abdullah of Jordan. An independent journalist and analyst, Andoni has been banned in Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and was blacklisted in Jordan…

Some family members of the victims killed in the September 11 attacks are speaking out in opposition to the administration’s apparent military plans. Judy Keane, who lost her husband Richard, said: “Bombing Afghanistan is just going to create more widows, more homeless, fatherless children.” [CNN, 9/25] Jill Gartenberg, whose husband Jim was killed, said that “we don’t win by killing other people.” [Fox, 9/24] Amber Amundson lost her husband, Craig, in the Pentagon. She wrote in the Chicago Tribune [9/25] “If you choose to respond to this incomprehensible brutality by perpetuating violence against other innocent human beings, you may not…

On Monday, President Bush said: “We’re acting based on clear evidence, much of which is classified, so it will not be disclosed.” Today, Attorney General Ashcroft testified in favor of granting the government new powers. The following legal analysts are available for interviews: JOHN QUIGLEY Professor of international law at Ohio State University, Quigley said today: “It is general international practice that you provide some proof before you demand the surrender of someone wanted on criminal charges. So it’s not unreasonable of the Taliban to want to see the evidence. Even if the Taliban are aware of camps, that does…

ROBERT POLLIN Professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Pollin wrote “Economic Slide Makes Spending Respectable” in today’s Los Angeles Times. He said today: “U.S. economic policymakers have failed for almost a year to respond adequately to the looming global recession. As the stock market plunge makes clear, the calamitous events of September 11 certainly strengthen the recessionary forces, and therefore the likelihood that unemployment, poverty and social despair will spread. But the solution to the recession post September 11 is now also obvious: large-scale injections of government spending, even if the federal surplus evaporates. The perennial…

PHYLLIS BENNIS Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-editor of Beyond the Storm: A Gulf Crisis Reader, Bennis said today: “In Bush’s speech we got no doctrine, no strategy, no evidence. What we did get was a lot of Wild West rhetoric — dead or alive material. In Afghanistan, 25 percent of the people were already dependent solely on foreign-aid food, and all international workers have left because of the U.S. threats. Today, the process of starvation begins. Bush said he would use everything at the U.S.’s disposal, but apparently that doesn’t include Washington’s formidable arsenal of diplomacy…

AS’AD ABUKHALIL Associate professor of political science at California State University at Stanislaus and fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, AbuKhalil is author of the article “Islam and the Study of Central Asia.” He said today: “Learning about Islam is not terribly instructive here, just as Christian theology is not a good framework to explain David Koresh. Non-religious political factors are involved…. There are up to 3 million refugees in Afghanistan and they are basically forced to stay there while they may be bombed. The Afghani people, despite their ethnic divisions,…

ALI ABUNIMAH Vice president of the Arab-American Action Network, Abunimah drove from Chicago to New York City just after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. His writings since then have elicited substantial response. He said today: “While we grieve and come to terms with this outrage, people in the Mideast and in the U.S. need to start genuine dialogue on how they experience and perceive each other.” More Information STEPHEN SHALOM MICHAEL ALBERT Shalom is professor of political science at William Paterson University in New Jersey and author of Imperial Alibis. Albert is editor of Z Magazine. They…