THE STRENGTH OF PEACE

etroit peace activist Al Fishman, 74, believes a
war with Iraq "is a disaster in the making."
Consequences, he says, include the deaths
of countless innocent Iraqi citizens and U.S. soldiers as
well as the undermining of the United Nations and
destabilization of the Middle East, leaving the door
further open to Islamist fundamentalist regimes.
Fishman, a member of Peace Action for 20 years, has
been on many peace missions over the years,
including the 1999 Hague Appeal for
Peace and a trip last September with 40
other Michiganders to present peace pro-
posals to U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
He feels a war would only "increase
the level of terrorism against
Americans at home and abroad,
while undermining an
already deepening cri-
sis in our nation's
economy."
He does say
Saddam Hussein "is
a tyrant among
many tyrants that
we [the U.S.]
have supported
over the
decades. He,
like other dicta-
tors and tyrants,
is dangerous to
the citizens of his
country and to
world peace."
But Fishman cau-
tions that regime change
is the responsibility of the
citizens of a given country,
unless there is a clear mass
campaign of genocide
within the country.
"Preemptive war is an evil
and counter to what we
claim are our nation's tradi-
tions and to international
law," he said. 'And there is
no credible threat from Iraq
to the United States at this
time."
He believes that contain-
ment and a rigorous
inspection program will,
in part, work successfully.
"The greatest need is to
implement United States
foreign policy in the
Middle East and
throughout the world
that is based on an even-
handed application of
internationally recog-
nized human rights." 0

Al Fishman,
peace activist

— Sharon Luckerman,
staff writer

Howard Rosen, investment counselor

THE ECONOMY AND THE WAR

s the economy enters unknown territory with the advent of war with Iraq, financial advi-
sor Howard Rosen, 51, of West Bloomfield, offers his insights.
Though there are several unusual events that have shaken the market, he balances that
uncertainty with the historic up and down history of the market.
"My days are literally spent in convincing people not to liquidate their holdings in this market
environment," said Rosen, a senior vice president of investments at UBS-PaineWebber.
After Sept. 11, people became more conservative and risk adverse, he says. Their confidence was
then shaken by corporate scandals. When war entered the equation, it brought investors to a standstill.
But Rosen cautions investors against acting too quickly.
"The markets have always had barriers to overcome like the oil embargo in 1973-74, the market
crash of 1987, and the Gulf War in 1991," he said. "There are always reasons not to invest, but
historically stocks have provided an annualized return of 11 percent over the past 75 years."
He reminds investors that stocks performed well in 1991, following the first strike Jan. 16 in
the Gulf War.
Rosen believes the biggest difference in today's market is the lack of confidence in corporate
America by investors. "We were all taken aback by WorldCom and Enron," he said.
His concerns over war come down to credibility of the Iraqi government during inspections
and the economy.
"The credibility of Iraq is non-existent," he said. "Therefore, weapon inspections are irrelevant.
My only concern is that the longer we wait, the more uncertainty there is in the world and that
paralyzes people's lives. It seems inevitable that we're going to war, and I would get it over with.
"But once the war is over," he said, "Piesident Bush will have to concentrate on the economy.
Companies will have to perform and show earnings, and that, in and of itself, will bring the mar-
ket back to reality." 0
— Sharon Zuckerman, sta writer

Ni

3/21
2003

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