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Classroom on the Quad
Welcome and Introductions
Bruce Knauft, Faculty Council

Jim Grimsley, Faculty Council

Purvi Patel, College Council

Donna Wong, Campus Life

Iraq: The Challenge of Responsibility
Rick Doner, Political Science

Weapons of Mass Destruction and U.S. Foreign Policy
Dan Reiter, Political Science

A Call to Words
Asanka Pathiraja, Foreign Policy Exchange

Hearing in Eqanimity: Deciding Your Path
Bobbi Patterson, Religion

The Necessity of War with Iraq
Bob Bartlett, Political Science

The Humanitarian Cost of War
Laurie Patton, Religion

A Man of Honor: The President's Noble Vision
Daniel Hauck, College Republicans

Women: War and Peace
Lili Baxter, Women's Studies

The Morality of War
James Tarter, Students for War Against Terrorism

Speak Up or Get Out
Erin Harte, Young Democrats

War Does Not Resolve Conflict, War Is Conflict
Mark Goodale, Anthropology

A War of Liberation
Frank Lechner, Sociology

A Call to Consciousness, A Litany of Questions
Juana Clem McGhee, Institute for Comparative and International Studies

Student Activism: Ways to Be Involved
Erik Fyfe and Rachael Spiewak, Emory Peace Coalition

Cross-Cultural Communication: U.S. and Iraq
Devin Stewart, Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies

The U.S. Has Never Been Alone in the World
William Chace, University President

Whatever your views on the morality of this war, in the midst of our
engagement, we now need to think about water. One political analyst argued in the 80's that the next world war would not be about nukes, nor would it be about oil—it would be about water.

There is a press photo from AP that is now circulating, called "The American Dilemma." It shows a soldier with a gun to the head of an Iraqi prisoner of war, and another American solder pouring water
from his own flask into the prisoner's mouth to relieve his thirst. The
juxtaposition of force and compassion is nowhere more eloquently stated than in this picture; In this seventh day of war, we must also think about water in another way: in Southern Iraqi villages, villagers are now trading gasoline for water, because their water supply has been cut off. They are using their cell phones and sattelite phones to trade their gasoline for water. Surely we must provide the water for our prisoners of war. Surely we cannot let technology prevail, so that cell phones and gasoline are more prevalent than clean water to drink.

This is the true American dilemma. Whatever your view of the morality of this war, there is something basic, and crucial, that now demands our attention. Unicef, The Red Cross, Care, and Amnesty International, have all gone on record in saying that this war could lead to a human rights and civilian catastrophe for the population of Iraq, and we must act swiftly and forcefully to come to their aid. There is no debate about morality here; all citizens who participate in democracy would agree that the risk to civilians must be minimized. There is no moral debate on humanitarian aid: it is essential; it is noncontroversial; it is a current and absolute emergency. We must provide water. Guns, gas, and cell phones should never replace water.

With the continued bombing of Baghdad and extensive ground fighting in smaller cities, we have reached emergency levels of risk to civilian populations. At the very least, we must now donate funds to human rights organizations, who have mobilized to demand the following: the U.S.-led coalition conducting the war must strictly adhere to international humanitarian law, refrain from the use of indiscriminate weapons, take every possible precaution to avoid killing civilians and allow for the deployment of human rights monitors. The Iraqi government must treat United States prisoners of war in full accordance with the Third Geneva Convention. They should not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment and should be given immediate access to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Iraqi government must not respond to the invasion with retaliatory attacks on other countries or populations—
including its own. And, Iraq and its neighbors must keep their borders open and not impede the ability of refugees to flee the violence.

Americans, whatever your view of the morality of this war, you must agree with the head of Unicef that the humanitarian disaster is here and now. The southern city of Basra is soon going to be without electricity, water, and food. Yet most of the Humanitarian aid is still planned to be delivered by the military. The International Red Cross has appealed to all of the US Military to share its information so that they can cooperate in the bringing of humanitarian aid. The head of the UN World Food program, Toni Aparadella, has also made a similar appeal, in wake of the fact that Umm Quasr has only yesterday been made a safe port for Humanitarian assistance to come through, and the US military humanitarian aid is simply not enough—not for Umm Quasr, not for Basra, and not for Baghdad, where the civilian damages will be the worse.

Donations to the UN Food for Oil Program are down. Donations to the Red Cross, Unicef, and Care are way under the levels they need to be. This appalling situation is what the head of Save the Children calls, "The CNN Moment"—that we are too caught up in the drama of watching television war to remember to give to aid organizations. CHANGE THIS NOW. FIVE DOLLARS MATTERS. THERE ARE A THOUSAND OF YOU HERE. FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS WILL REBUILD WATER SUPPLIES FOR THREE IRAQI VILLAGES. LET ME REPEAT THAT: EMORY COMMUNITY, AND THE EMORY COMMUNITY ALONE, GIVING FIVE DOLLARS EACH, COULD REPLACE THE WATER SUPPLY OF THREE IRAQI VILLAGES.

We have all said we care about Iraqi civilians. There is no American, for or against the war, that would deny humanitarian aid. Please give to these organizations now. If you have, after significant moral
reflection, come to the conclusion that you must support the war, you have presumably done so on the basis of your concern about the safety and freedom of Iraqi civilians, Israeli civilians, and all the citizens of the Middle East. You will be truly American, deeply American, if you give to humanitarian aid. If, after significant moral reflection, you have argued against the war, you will have done so on the basis of the cost to civilian lives. You will be truly American, deeply American, if you give to Humanitarian aid. FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE CONFLICT, THE INTERNAL LOGIC OF MORAL REASONING MANDATES THAT WE GIVE OVERWHELMING AND UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNTS TO HUMANITARIAN AID.

We cannot deny our fellow civilians water, and let them trade on gas, cell phones, and guns because they are thirsty. We are the country to do so.

Thank you.