Democracy Now!
Tues., March 25, 2003
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown
Date: 3-25-03
PRSS Channel: A67.7
8:00-8:01 Billboard:
Hour 1: US and British warplanes begin intense bombardment
of Republican Guard positions outside the Iraqi capital: We
go to Baghdad for report from May Ying Welsh
Kurdish officials say 150 killed by U.S. bombing, scores
of Iraqi civilian casualties elsewhere: British writer Milan
Rai analyzes the opening days of the U.S. invasion
From broadcasting images of POWs to distributing propaganda
leaflets to embedding reports in the military: a review of
the Pentagon’s psychological operations
U.S. military has been quietly refueling its B-52s over Spain:
Protesters fear a reoccurrence of the 1966 disaster when a
B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashed with an aerial
tanker over Spain
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:20 US AND BRITISH WARPLANES BEGIN INTENSE BOMBARDMENT
OF REPUBLICAN GUARD POSITIONS OUTSIDE BAGHDAD: WE GO TO THE
IRAQI CAPITAL
US and British warplanes have begun an intense bombardment
of Republican Guard bunkers outside Baghdad to prepare for
a ground assault on the Iraqi capital.
Army helicopter gunships in the frontline of the attack were
forced to turn back after encountering a hail of small-arms
fire. One of the Army's Apache helicopters went down. Shortly
afterward, Iraqi state television showed the two crewmen,
26-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young Jr, and 30-year-old
Chief Warrant Officer David Williams.
The airmen were the second set of POWs displayed by the Iraqis.
Troops from the US army 5th Corps have formed a frontline
about 50 miles south of Baghdad. Vast convoys of tanks and
ground forces are racing up from Kuwait to join them. The
US army's 3rd Infantry Division is attempting to push towards
Baghdad but is stalled by a sandstorm.
- May Ying Welsh, independent journalist in Baghdad
8:20-8:21 One Minute Music Break
8:21-8:40 KURDISH OFFICIALS SAY 150 KILLED BY U.S. BOMBING,
SCORES OF IRAQI CIVILIANS CASUALTIES ELSEWHERE
The Pentagon is reporting about 500 Iraqi fighters have been
killed in the last two days by the 3rd Infantry Division.
Meanwhile it is extremely difficult to get any information
on Iraqi civilian casualties.
The London Guardian is reporting In Nassiriya a US warplane
dropped up to four cluster bombs on a civilian area killing
10 and wounding 200. In northeast Iraq, U.S. missiles hit
a village killing 34. And Kurdish officials say at least 150
people were killed by US bombing over the weekend in northern
Iraq.
The BBC has just reported Bodies of at least 30 Iraqis have
been seen along the road from southern town of Nasiriya.
Thirty-nine U.S. and British military personnel have been
confirmed killed since the Iraqi conflict began.
We talk to Milan Rai, author of War Plan Iraq and one of
the founders of Voices in the Wilderness, UK, about the opening
days of the US invasion
- Milan Rai, author of War Plan Iraq and one of the founders
of Voices in the Wilderness, UK.
8:40- 8:41 One Minute Music Break
8:41-8:50 BROADCASTING IMAGES OF POWS, DISTRIBUTING PROPAGANDA
LEAFLETS, ‘EMBEDDING’ REPORTERS: THE PENTAGON’S
PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
“As the ground and air war plays out in Iraq, another
battle, just as crucial, is taking place -- the propaganda
struggle between the British-US coalition and Baghdad.”
This is the opening line of a recent piece by Agence France
Press headlined “Propaganda One of the Biggest Weapons
for Both Sides in Iraq War.”
The article goes on to say:
“The most high-profile pawns in this psychological
campaign have been the prisoners of war -- the hundreds of
Iraqis said to have surrendered in the south and, more dramatically,
five US soldiers captured on the weekend and shown alongside
Arab broadcasts of dead comrades.
“The apparent downing of at least one US Apache helicopter
Monday added to the shock being felt in the United States
and Britain.
“But other developments either reported in the news
or asserted by officials on both sides sought to exploit the
situation and turn it to their advantage.
“Thus US authorities claimed to have located a suspected
chemical weapons plant as their forces drove on towards Baghdad,
and raised doubts over the health and command of Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein.
“In return, Iraqi officials have accused the Anglo-American
coalition of war crimes and of suffering losses against fierce
resistance mounted by their troops, militias and even ordinary
peasants.
“Washington and London have insisted that their advance
is going well and they are on track to start the siege of
Baghdad.”
To talk about psy-ops of psychological operations we are
joined by Chris Simpson. He is professor of communications
at American University and author of Science of Coercion,
among other books.
- Chris Simpson, Professor of communications at American
University and author of several books including Science
of Coercion
8:50-8:58 SPANISH NEWSPAPER REVEALS U.S. MILITARY IS REFUELING
ITS B-52S OVER SPANISH CITIES
Massive protests are continuing in Spain against the U.S.
invasion of Iraq. The Guardian of London reported that up
to 500,000 marched against war in Barcelona on Saturday. Police
violence against protesters has increased dramatically since
the war started.
And more protests are expected after recent revelations that
U.S. B-52 bombers refueled over Spanish cities last week on
their way to bomb Iraq.
In 1966, a B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons collided
with an aerial tanker while refueling near Palomares, Spain.
The bombs fell away, with two scattering plutonium dust over
several hundred acres of Spanish farmland. The Palomares area
is still being monitored for radiation today.
- Maria Carrion, filmmaker and former Democracy Now! producer
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
Hour 2: Will Iraq become a “quagmire for the Americans”?
Non-embedded, Independent reporter Robert Fisk reports from
Baghdad
Veteran war correspondent Robert Fisk says debating whether
it’s really Saddam detracts from the issue – what
the Iraqi President actually says. Part 2 of the interview
“When the British were fired upon… from Delhi
and in Northern Ireland, they did not use artillery. But here,
apparently, it is ok to use artillery on a crowded city. What
on Earth is the British army doing in Iraq firing artillery
into a city?”: Part 3 of the interview with journalist
Robert Fisk
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:20 HOUR 2: WILL IRAQ BECOME A “QUAGMIRE FOR
THE AMERICANS”? NON-EMBEDDED JOURNALIST ROBERT FISK
REPORTS FROM BAGHDAD
Veteran war correspondent Robert Fisk wrote an article in
yesterday’s London Independent headlined, 'Iraq will
become a quagmire for the Americans.'
Well, after several days of attempting to reach Robert Fisk
in Baghdad, we finally got through late last night.
He elaborated on the article in the interview. He told us
“[the Bush administration] dreams up moral ideas and
then believes that they’re all true, and characterizes
this policy by assuming that everyone else will then play
their roles. In their attempt to dream up an excuse to invade
Iraq, they’ve started out, remember, by saying first
of all that there are weapons of mass destruction. We were
then told that al Qaeda had links to Iraq, which, there certainly
isn’t an al Qaeda link. Then we were told that there
were links to September 11th, which was rubbish. And in the
end, the best the Bush administration could do was to say,
‘Well, we’re going to liberate the people of Iraq.’”
Fisk went on, “the American administration allowed
that little cabal of advisors around Bush—I’m
talking about Perle, Wolfowitz, and these other people—people
who have never been to war, never served their country, never
put on a uniform—nor, indeed, has Mr. Bush ever served
his country—they persuaded themselves of this Hollywood
scenario of GIs driving through the streets of Iraqi cities
being showered with roses by a relieved populace who desperately
want this offer of democracy…
“And the truth of the matter is that Iraq has a very,
very strong political tradition of strong anti-colonial struggle.
It doesn’t matter whether that’s carried out under
the guise of kings or under the guise of the Arab Socialist
Ba’ath party, or under the guise of a total dictator.
There are many people in this country who would love to get
rid of Saddam Hussein, I’m sure, but they don’t
want to live under American occupation.”
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:40 VETERAN WAR CORRESPONDENT ROBERT FISK: DEBATING
WHETHER ITS REALLY SADDAM DETRACTS FROM THE ISSUE OF WHAT
THE IRAQI PRESIDENT ACTUALLY SAYS
We continue with the interview we recorded late last night
with veteran war correspondent Robert Fisk in Baghdad.
Fisk says the constant debate about whether Saddam Hussein’s
recent addresses on Iraqi television are by Hussein himself
or by a double, detract from the issue at hand: what Hussein
actually says.
Fisk says an American correspondent told him: “This
is ridiculous, we simply can’t report the story, because
every time we have to deal with something Saddam says, the
Pentagon claims it’s not him or it’s his double
or it was recorded 2 weeks ago.”
Fisk reports that in his speech, Hussein continually referred
to Iraq’s history of fighting against colonialism, and
repeatedly urged the Iraqi people to be patient.
Fisk observes the Iraqi President’s speech is in some
ways similar to speeches by President Bush and Osama bin Laden:
all of them invoke a battle against evil, against the devil.
But first, he talks about rumors that Turkish troops have
entered Iraq, and what its like to be a reporter covering
the war without the Pentagon’s active support.
9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break
9:41-9:58 “WHEN THE BRITISH WERE FIRED UPON…
FROM DELHI AND IN NORTHERN IRELAND, THEY DID NOT USE ARTILLERY.
BUT HERE, APPARENTLY, IT IS OK TO USE ARTILLERY ON A CROWDED
CITY.” INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT FISK, CONT’D
“The fact of the matter is – and it’s become
obvious in the Middle East over the last few years –
the West doesn’t want to take casualties. They don’t
want to die. Nobody wants to die, but some people out here
realize a new form of warfare has set in where, the United
States, if they want to invade a country, they will bombard
it. They will use other people’s soldiers to do it.
Look at the way the Israelis used Lebanese mercenaries of
the South Lebanon army in Lebanon. Look at the way the Americans
used the KLA in Kosovo or the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.
But here in Iraq there isn’t anyone they can use; the
Iraqi opposition appears to be hopeless. The Iraqis have not
risen up against their oppressors as they did in 1991 when
they were betrayed by the Americans and the British after
being urged to fight Saddam— they’re staying at
home. They’re letting the Americans do the liberating.
“If the Americans want to liberate them, fine, let
the Americans do it- but the Americans aren’t doing
very well at the moment. You see, we’ve already got
a situation down in Basra where the British army have admitted
firing artillery into the city of Basra, and then winging
on afterward talking about ‘We’re being fired
at by soldiers hiding among civilians’. Well, I’m
sorry; all soldiers defending cities are among civilians.
But now the British are firing artillery shells into the heavily
populated city of Basra.
“When the British were fired upon with mortars or with
snipers from the cragg on the state or the bogside in Delhi
and in Northern Ireland, they did not use artillery, but here,
apparently, it is ok to use artillery on a crowded city. What
on Earth is the British army doing in Iraq firing artillery
into a city after invading the country? Is this really about
weapons of mass destruction? Is this about al Qaeda? It’s
interesting that in the last few days, not a single reporter
has mentioned September 11th. This is supposed to be about
September 11th. This is supposed to be about the war on terror,
but nobody calls it that anymore because deep down, nobody
believes it is. So, what is it about? It’s interesting
that there are very few stories being written about oil.”
Robert Fisk continues,
“I look down from my balcony here next to the Tigris
River- does that mean we’re going to have an American
tank on every intersection in Baghdad? What are they there
for—to occupy? To repress? To run an occupation force
against the wishes of Iraqis? Or are they liberators? It’s
very interesting how the reporting has swung from one side
to another. Are these liberating forces or occupying forces?
Every time I hear a journalist say ‘liberation’,
I know he means ‘occupation’.”
Tune in now for part three of our interview with journalist
Robert Fisk.
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, Elizabeth Press, with thanks to Noah
Reibel. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro and engineer.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
