Democracy Now!
Mon., March 24, 2003
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From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown
Date: 3-24-03
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8:00-8:01 Billboard:
Hour 1: Red Cross says humanitarian crisis is looming in
Basra; TV networks are preoccupied with action footage from
reporters embedded with U.S. military
US says Iraq’s treatment of American POWs breaks Geneva
Convention; legal experts call Bush administration hypocritical,
citing US treatment of Taliban prisoners and the invasion
of Iraq
A report from Baghdad during the “Shock And Awe”
bombing: independent journalist Mei Ying Welsh reports from
Baghdad
Millions protest around the world, hundreds of thousands
protest in NYC: we go to the streets of NYC
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:15 RED CROSS SAYS HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IS LOOMING
IN BASRA AS TV NETWORKS ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH ACTION FOOTAGE
FROM REPORTERS EMBEDDED WITH U.S. MILITARY
An article on the front page of the New York Times begins:
“In the swirl of confusing facts, the first scenes of
the invasion of Iraq were astonishingly clear. Television
did more than bring viewers closer to the front lines of battle
than ever before, however. It looked at warfare through an
entirely new prism.
“Television cameras' usual route to battle is the trail
left by its victims. Whether in Kosovo, Israel, Chechnya or
Afghanistan, combat is mostly conveyed by shots of a crowded
refugee tent or a collapsed high-rise, a bloodied sidewalk,
a full hospital ward or an open grave.
“This time, the Pentagon took viewers on a thrilling
ride-along with the warriors. Videophones, portable satellites
and night-sight scopes brought the world a riveting display
of American power, but it was a sanitized look, showing a
little sweat, not blood and tears.”
Well, the International Committee of the Red Cross is warning
a humanitarian crisis is looming in Basra after US bombing.
The bombing has destroyed electrical cables, cutting off electricity
in the city and the water system. Iraqi officials say 77 civilians
died in the attack.
8:15-8:20 US SAYS IRAQ’S TREATMENT OF AMERICAN POWS
BREAKS GENEVA CONVENTION; LEGAL EXPERTS CALL BUSH ADMINISTRATION
HYPOCRITICAL, CITING US TREATMENT OF TALIBAN PRISONERS AND
THE INVASION OF IRAQ
On Sunday, U.S. forces suffered what the Guardian of London
described as the military’s worst day since the"Black
Hawk Down" debacle in Somalia a decade ago.
15 American soldiers were killed, 14 were wounded and five
were taken prisoners or war. Arabic news network Al Jazeera
broadcast video of the POWs around the Middle East.
President Bush responded by saying those responsible for
the mistreatment of POWs would be treated as war criminals.
War Secretary Rumsfeld told CBS program Face the Nation:
"The Geneva Convention indicates that it is not permitted
to photograph and embarrass or humiliate prisoners of war.
And if they do happen to be American or coalition ground forces
that have been captured, the Geneva Convention indicates how
they should be treated.”
The TV networks began broadcasting detailed reports on how
the footage violated the Geneva Conventions.
But the networks didn’t seem so interested in international
law when US forces captured Iraqi fighters or Taliban soldiers.
Nor did the networks give much attention to the fact that
many legal experts believe the US invasion of Iraq is illegal.
The Nuremberg Tribunal was set up in 1946 by the US, Britain,
France and Russia to try former Nazi leaders. The Tribunal
rejected German arguments of the necessity for preemptive
attacks against its neighbors and instead outlawed preventive
war. The Tribunal ruled, "To initiate a war of aggression,
therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme
international crime differing only from other war crimes in
that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the
whole."
- Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional
Rights
Contact: www.ccr-ny.org
8:20-8:21 One Minute Music Break
8:21-8:30 POW’s cont’d
8:30-8:45 A REPORT FROM BAGHDAD DURING THE “SHOCK
AND AWE” BOMBING
On Friday, the U.S. led the heaviest bombing assault that
Baghdad had ever seen. “Shock and Awe” was how
the Pentagon described the overwhelming attack. The London
Mirror newspaper described it as shocking and awful.
During the campaign the U.S. and Britain flew a combined
2,000 sorties and launched 1,000 cruise missiles that pummeled
Baghdad, as well as the northern Iraqi cities of Mosul and
Kirkuk and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
The number of casualties are unknown.
We reached Mei Ying Welsh, one of the few independent journalists
left in Baghdad, just after the first round of the “Shock
and Awe” bombing on Friday.
- Mei Ying Welsh, independent journalist in Baghdad
8:45-8:46 One Minute Music Break
8:46-8:58 MILLIONS PROTEST AROUND THE WORLD, HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS PROTEST IN NYC
Millions of people around the world participated in demonstrations
against the war this weekend. Some of the largest protests
were staged in the United States.
In New York, hundreds of thousands of people took to the
streets. Marchers filled a 30-block long stretch of Broadway,
sidewalk to sidewalk, for four hours. Demonstrators said police
used pepper spray and 90 arrests were made. Police report
that 13 officers were treated after being sprayed with an
unknown substance.
Nearly 20,000 people picketed outside CNN’s studios
in Los Angeles and Atlanta, protesting the networks coverage
of the war for its bias towards the United States-led invasion.
And on Sunday night, anti-war protestors gathered outside
the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles where the Oscar ceremonies
were held.
Tens of thousands of people protested over the weekend in
San Francisco. The city, which is already struggling with
a $350 million budget shortfall claims the protests are costing
the city more than $900,000 a day. Spokespeople for the anti-war
coalition International Action said the city should send the
bill to the White House. More than 2,000 people have been
arrested in anti-war demonstration there since the invasion
began.
Veterans Against the Iraq War kicked off “Operation
Dire Distress” with a conference in Washington on Saturday
and a march on the Mall on Sunday. The group condemned the
war in a statement that read (in part)“The present administration
is led by men and women who chose not to go into the military
and today have little understanding of war and no comprehension
of its consequences.”
Protests also took place in Seattle, Chicago and other US
cities.
In San Juan Puerto Rico, thousands- including the city’s
Archbishop and several Korean War Veterans- demonstrated against
the war.
In Baghdad, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens protested
the war and the policies of the invading countries claiming
to liberate them.
Demonstrations were held throughout Britain over the weekend.
Half a million people turned out in London’s Hyde Park
on Saturday according to the Stop The War Coalition. Police
put the estimate lower at around 200,000. Marches were held
at U.S. Military bases in Gloucester and Yorkshire. Several
thousand people also marched in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen
and Manchester among other cities.
Nearly a million people across Spain marched against the
war. Fifty people were injured during protests in Madrid where
riot police fought back protestors with rubber bullets.
In Germany, there was a march on the U.S. Armies European
command in Stuttgart.
Thousands of Italians marched on a NATO air base- while
in Rome, activists draped a large black banner across the
Coliseum: a gesture of mourning for the victims of the war.
At least 25,000 people protested the war in Amsterdam and
6,000-plus protested outside embassies in Brussels.
Police and small numbers of “black bloc” protestors
fought during a mostly peaceful demonstration of some 40,000
people in Berne, Switzerland.
40,000 Australians participated in the fourth day on protests
in Sydney. The protest began with a prayer service by the
city’s Anglican Dean, Phillip Jensen, who called war
„hellish in its horror and destruction“and hellish
in its suffering.”
More than 100,000 people demonstrated in the eastern Pakistani
city of Lahore. The Guardian reports many protestors there
carried pictures of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Osama
Bin Laden and chanted “Kill America! Kill America!”
The government in Pakistan, which has supported the Washington’s
“War on Terror”, said it “deplored”
the use of force in Iraq.
Protestors burnt an Effigy of President Bush outside the
U.S. mission in Jakarta. 8,000 people marched in Malaysia.
3,000 people gathered in Seoul- the Capital of South Korea-
to their government’s decision to send up-to-700 non-combatant
troops to assist the war.
The U.S. shut its embassies in Kenya, Nigeria and South
Africa.
Protests were held throughout the African continent in cities
like Mombassa and Mogadishu in Somalia.
1,000 people demonstrated outside the World Cup Cricket
finals in Johannesburg.
Hundreds of riot police watched 5,000 students from Al-Azhar
University in Cairo protest the war.
We go now to the streets of New York City. At the beginning
of the march, I had a chance to interview actor Ossie Davis,
who is also a veteran of WWII.
- Ossie Davis, actor and veteran of WWII, interviewed in
Herald Square on March 22, 2003.
We go now to sound from the end of the march, recorded by
Democracy Now! senior producer Kris Abrams. After marching
for 30 blocks, protesters were greeted by a white police van
parked at the Northwest corner of the park. It blared over
and over a recorded message telling people to leave. Then,
as protesters milled around, police in riot gear marched toward
them in formation and tried to clear the streets. People responded
by pulling together defiantly and sitting down in the street.
- sounds from street, NYC, March 22, 2003
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
Hour 2: Up to 209 civilians killed in early days of U.S.
invasion: Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness reports
from Baghdad
11 members of Congress vote to oppose war: We talk to Rep.
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
U.S. reportedly fires DU shells in Basra: Despite evidence
of health and environmental effects, Pentagon denies DU is
dangerous
“We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr.
Bush!": Michael Moore wins an Oscar and joins others
calling for peace
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:20 UP TO 209 CIVILIANS KILLED IN EARLY DAYS OF U.S.
INVASION: WE TALK TO KATHY KELLY OF VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS
IN BAGHDAD
Between 135 and 209 civilians have been killed since the
start of the U.S. invasion. This according to the website,
www.iraqbodycount.net
In Basra, Iraqi officials say U.S. forces killed 77. The
number of civilians killed during the shock and awe attack
of Baghdad is unknown.
Near the Syrian border, a U.S. missile hit a passenger bus
carrying Syrian civilians fleeing the war in Iraq. Five were
killed and 10 were injured.
Meanwhile U.S. forces suffered yesterday what the Guardian
of London described as the military’s worst day since
the "Black Hawk Down" debacle in Somalia a decade
ago.
On Sunday 15 American soldiers were killed, 14 were wounded
and five were take prisoner or war. Video of the POWs appeared
on the Arabic news station Al Jazeera.
Guest: Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness speaking
from from Baghdad.
Link: Voices in the Wilderness, www.nonviolence.org/vitw/
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:26 11 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS VOTE TO OPPOSE WAR: WE
TALK TO REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D-WA)
Last week Congress overwhelmingly backed a resolution to
endorse the war in Iraq. The vote in the Senate was 99 to
0. In the House of Representatives the vote was 392-11.
The 11 were John Conyers of Michigan; Ohioan Stephanie Tubbs
Jones; Californians Barbara Lee, Diane Watson, Maxine Waters,
Mike Honda and Pete Stark; New Yorkers Charles Rangel and
Edolphus Towns; Virginian Bobby Scott; Jim McDermott from
Washington and Republican Ron Paul of Texas.
Another 22 members of Congress simply voted present.
Congressman John Lewis, D-GA was one of them. He said from
the floor "In all good conscience, I cannot and will
not vote for a resolution that supports and endorses a failed
policy that led us to war.”
Today we are joined by one of the 11, Congressman Jim McDermott
from Washington.
- Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
9:26-9:50 U.S. REPORTEDLY FIRES DU SHELLS IN BASRA: DESPITE
EVIDENCE OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS, PENTAGON DENIES
DU IS DANGEROUS
The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned
a humanitarian crisis is looming in Iraq’s second largest
city Basra following US-led airstrikes on the strategic city.
Iraqi officials say 77 civilians died in the attack.
The Red Cross said the bombings destroyed electricity cables
powering the local water station. The city’s water and
electricity have been cut off for more than two days.
And the situation may get worse.
The Iranian News Agency is reporting today that U.S. and
British coalition forces have fired depleted uranium shells
on Iraqi tanks in the city of Basra. It is the first report
that depleted uranium was used in the invasion of Iraq.
Depleted uranium is the most effective anti-tank weapon
ever devised. It is made from nuclear waste left over from
making nuclear weapons and fuel. As an unwanted waste product
of the atomic energy industry, it is extremely cheap. It is
also the densest material available on the market, and can
smash through all known armor. US gunners say DU rounds save
lives on the front line.
During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the United States used
320 tons of munitions made with depleted uranium. The Air
Force fired roughly 750,000 rounds from A-10 aircraft. The
Army fired over 50 of DU ammunition from Abrams tanks.
Health officials have long debated the effects of depleted
uranium. Many say DU is a major cause of the severe health
problems such as cancer and birth defects. The director of
the cancer ward at Basra's Saddam Teaching Hospital says cancer
rates have increased eleven times since the first Gulf War.
Last week the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations warned
that the U.S. would cause grave environmental consequences
if it were to be use DU again in Iraq.
The Pentagon denies depleted uranium poses health or environmental
risks.
- Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), who is introducing House resolution
calling for Congressional investigation of depleted uranium
- Pentagon press briefing on depleted uranium, March 14,
2003
- Doug Rokke, former major in the US army and a nuclear
health physicist. Rokke was in charge of some of the DU
clean-up after the gulf war. He believes the Pentagon is
ignoring and even covering up evidence of the danger to
soldiers and civilians because DU weapons have proven so
effective.
- Dai Williams, Independent weapons researcher who has
analysed suspected uranium weapons by looking at defense
patents. Dai says the Pentagon's briefing on DU last Friday,
March 14th contained many misleading statements about DU.
- Damacio Lopez, Executive Director of International Depleted
Uranium Study Team IDUST. He was in Iraq just recently with
a Japanese team whose members have researched the effects
of Hiroshima on the environment and on humans. Lopez and
the team conducted independent tests on radiation contamination
and radiation sickness in different towns in Iraq.
Links: www.eoslifework.co.uk/u23.htm
www.idust.org
9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break
9:41-9:50 DU cont’d
9:51-9:58 “WE ARE AGAINST THIS WAR, MR BUSH. SHAME
ON YOU, MR BUSH!": MICHAEL MOORE WINS AN OSCAR AND JOINS
OTHERS CALLING FOR PEACE
As fighting raged in Iraq, the 75th annual Academy Awards
ceremony was held last night.
Some Oscar winners chose to speak out against the war in
the 45 seconds allotted to them on national television. An
estimated one billion people were watching around the globe.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore’s “Bowling
for Columbine” won the best feature-length documentary.
He gave a scathing speech against the war and against President
Bush.
Actor Adrien Brody pulled off a major upset and won the
best-actor Oscar for “The Pianist.”
Many celebrities wore peace pins. And Susan Sarandon, Tim
Robbins and others showed up in fuel-efficient gasoline-electric
hybrid cars instead of limousines as a statement against U.S.
dependence on foreign oil.
Actor Matthew McConaughey wore large red, white and blue
flowers.
- Michael Moore, receiving the Oscar for documentary“Bowling
for Columbine”, March 23, 2003
- Pedro Almodovar, Spanish director-writer who received
the Oscar for best original screenplay for“Talk To
Her.”
- Gael Garcia Bernal, Mexican actor who starred in “Y
Tu Mama Tambien". He introduced leading Brazilian singer,
Caetano Veloso
- Adzien Brody, actor who won Oscar for his role in“The
Pianist”
9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie
Karran, Ana Nogueira and Elizabeth Press. Mike Di Filippo
is our music maestro and engineer.
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