Miriam Hill
Business leaders rally against Iraq war threat
Wed Dec 11 18:59:57 2002
208.152.73.250

Business leaders rally against Iraq war threat
By Miriam Hill, Inquirer Staff Writer
Dec 10, 2002

A group of business and community leaders rallied on Independence Mall
today to question why the Bush administration seems intent on waging war
with Iraq while neglecting pressing problems on the homefront.

With the Liberty Bell as their backdrop, about 50 protesters carried
signs that read "No blood for Oil" and "Stop American Imperialism."

"We want the government to carefully review the options and not just rush
into war," said John Haas, former chief executive of Rohm & Haas, the
Philadelphia chemical company.

As a retired executive and occasional member of the Forbes 400 list of
the world's richest people, Haas may seem an unlikely candidate to speak
out about politics. But the group in which he is involved, Business
Leaders for Sensible Priorities, aims to expand the peace movement beyond
the usual suspects: church leaders, community activists and college
students.

"We're trying to get business people all over this country to realize
that the budget priorities of this country are skewed towards military
spending and away from social programs," said Edward Brinton, a retired
DuPont executive who also spoke at the late-morning rally.

Just maintaining the country's nuclear arsenal costs $30 billion yearly,
he said, citing estimates from the Center for International Policy, a
liberal think tank.

Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities has taken out ads in major
newspapers - including one in The Inquirer today - decrying the
possibility of war with Iraq. The group believes war would damage the
economy, encourage terrorism by turning the Arab world against the United
States, and kill thousands of civilians.

"War in the 20th Century was by far the greatest epidemic," said Dr. John
Downes, who represented Physicians for Social Responsibility at the
rally. "War killed 87 million people, 62 percent of them civilians."

The protest was one of several across the country against the war today.

Nationally, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities boasts such leaders
as Ted Turner, billionaire media mogul; Dee Hock, founder of Visa
International; Robert Johnson, chief executive of Black Entertainment
Television; Alan G. Hassenfeld, chief executive of Hasbro Inc.; and Paul
Newman, actor and salad-dressing king. Locally, the group includes Judy
Wick, owner of the White Dog Cafe; Peter Benoliel, former chairman of
Quaker Chemical Co., and others.

Liz Dow, president of Leadership Inc., an organization that teaches
leadership skills, said she was proud of the group's statement, although
she is not involved in it.

"I'm just glad people have gotten their views out there and taken a
stand," she said. "It takes guts."

Haas said many business executives fear speaking out because they might
offend a member of their board of directors or other influential people.

He emphasized that his organization "is not just a peace group." Instead,
the organization promotes spending more on education, health care and
other social needs instead of the military. He said he wants the United
States to work more closely with other countries to determine the best
course in Iraq.

Others group members, however, were clearly opposed to any war in Iraq.

"We feel this war will make us less secure," said Wicks, the West
Philadelphia restaurant owner. "As business people and professionals, we
believe that our tax dollars can be invested in helping people, not
killing people."

Contact Miriam Hill at 215-854-2212 or hillmb@phillynews.com .