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Re: Rundown 5-2-03
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8:00-8:01 Billboard
Did the Commander in Chief go AWOL for a year when he was
in the reserves?: As President Bush co-pilots a Navy plane
onto an aircraft carrier, we speak with biographer Bill Minutaglio
about GW’s checkered military past.
“The Iron Triangle: The Secret History of the Carlyle
Group”: Author Dan Briody connects the dots between
the Bush family, the Saudi royal family, Osama bin Laden's
family and Donald Rumsfeld's inner circle
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:20 AS PRESIDENT BUSH CO-PILOTS A NAVY PLANE ONTO AN
AIRCRAFT CARRIER, WE SPEAK WITH BIOGRAPHER BILL MINUTAGLIO
ABOUT GW’S CHECKERED MILITARY PAST.
President George Bush co-piloted a navy jet on to an aircraft
carrier yesterday to underline his role as America's commander-in-chief.
A former pilot in the Texas air national guard, Bush let
it be known he had spent time at the warplane's controls.
Wearing olive-green pilot's overalls, he sat in the co-pilot's
seat of a navy Viking S-3B jet as it was brought to a screeching
halt by a cable across the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The triumphal and dramatic gesture seems ironic for a president
who has never fought in any war. And that’s not all.
Expedited entry and promotions to the air national guard,
a one-year gap in duty and redacted military reports cast
serious doubt over Bush’s experiences in the military
three decades ago.
- Bill Minutaglio, author of First Son, the unauthorized
biography of President George W. Bush.
Link: www.bushbook.com
8:20-8:21 One Minute Music Break
8:21-8:50 “THE IRON TRIANGLE: THE SECRET HISTORY OF
THE CARLYLE GROUP”: AUTHOR DAN BRIODY CONNECTS THE DOTS
BETWEEN THE BUSH FAMILY, THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY, OSAMA BIN
LADEN'S FAMILY AND DONALD RUMSFELD'S INNER CIRCLE
President Bush Senior. President Bush Junior. Former British
Prime Minister John Major. Former Secretary of State James
Baker. Secretary of State Colin Powell. The half brother of
Osama Bin Laden.
These are just some of the high profile figures who have
played a direct role in the rise of one of the most powerful
and influential and secretive firms in Washington.
The company is called The Carlyle Group. And in the wake
of the events of September 11th and the invasion of Iraq,
its power and influence have become significantly stronger.
The company operates within the so-called iron-triangle of
industry, government and the military. Its list of former
and current advisers and associates includes a vast array
of some of the most powerful men in America and indeed around
the world.
For the first time a book-length expose on the history of
the Carlyle Group has been published. It is called The Iron
Triangle: The Secret History of the Carlyle Group.
- Dan Briody, author of the new book The Iron Triangle:
Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group.
8:50-8:51 One Minute Music Break
8:51-8:58 Carlyle cont’d
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
The Secrets of September 11, what is the White House hiding?
A conversation with Newsweek investigative reporter Michael
Isikoff
Did Donald Rumsfeld aid North Korea’s nuclear program?:
A new report reveals Rumsfeld was on board of Zurich firm
ABB which sold North Korea two nuclear reactors
Occidental Petroleum sued for role in civilian massacre in
Colombia
Celebrations continue in Vieques following the departure
of the U.S. military
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:20 THE SECRETS OF SEPTEMBER 11, WHAT IS THE WHITE
HOUSE HIDING? A CONVERSATION WITH NEWSWEEK INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
MICHAEL ISIKOFF
As the White House plots a 2004 campaign plan, administration
officials are waging a behind-the-scenes battle to restrict
public disclosure of key events relating to the September
11 attacks – this according to Newsweek.
An 800-page secret report prepared by a joint congressional
inquiry is at the center of the debate.
The report details intelligence and law-enforcement failures
that preceded the September 11 attacks, including provocative
warnings given to President Bush and his top advisors during
the summer of 2001.
The report was completed in December with few details released
to the public. Five months later, a “working group”
of Bush administration intelligence officials assigned to
review the document are refusing to declassify many of its
most significant conclusions.
- Michael Isikoff, investigative correspondent for Newsweek
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:40 DID DONALD RUMSFELD AID NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR
PROGRAM?: A NEW REPORT REVEALS RUMSFELD WAS ON BOARD OF ZURICH
FIRM ABB WHICH SOLD NORTH KOREA TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS
There is one image from the 1980s that might best highlight
the ties between the Reagan and Bush White House to Saddam
Hussein’s regime in Iraq. It is a grainy video image
of a U.S. envoy enthusiastically shaking hands with Hussein
himself. The year was 1983 and the envoy was Donald Rumsfeld,
the current Secretary of Defense.
Over the past year Rumsfeld’s pair of visits to Baghdad
in the early 1980s gained considerable attention but he has
generally refused to comment on his trips.
And now it turns out that Rumsfeld is refusing to talk about
his possible connections with another of the nations in the
so-called Axis of Evil: North Korea.
A new report in Fortune magazine has unveiled that Rumsfeld
might have played a direct role in helping North Korea build
its potential nuclear capacity.
Three years ago Rumsfeld was sitting on the board of a Zurich-based
engineering firm that won a $200 million contract to provide
the design and key components for a pair of North Korean nuclear
reactors.
The company is ABB. Rumsfeld served on the board from 1990
to 2001. He was the only American serving on the board. And
he has never acknowledged ABB’s role building the reactors
in North Korea.
But a former ABB director recently told Fortune magazine
that Rumsfeld was asked to lobby in Washington on ABB’s
behalf
We are joined by the Fortune magazine writer Richard Behar.
The forthcoming issue of the magazine contains his article
“Rummy’s North Korea Connection: What Did Donald
Rumsfeld Know About ABB’s Deal to Build Nuclear Reactors
There? And Why Won’t He Talk About It?”
- Richard Behar, journalist with Fortune magazine. He wrote
the article
- Bjoern Edlund, spokesperson for ABB
9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break
9:41-9:58 Occidental Petroleum sued for role in civilian
massacre in Colombia
On December 13, 1998, Luis Alberto Galvis lost his mother,
sister and cousin in a U.S. air raid in Colombia.
He recently confronted shareholders of a U.S. company that
he claims is responsible for the deaths of 19 civilians including
seven children.
The lawsuit filed on April 25 by international rights attorneys
charges that Occidental Petroleum and its private security
contractor, Airscan, participated in the air raid that led
to the killing of innocent civilians.
The suit charges that both OXY and Airscan helped conduct
the attack, providing key strategic information, as well as
ground and air support to the Colombian military in the bombing
raid on the town. Airscan’s “Skymaster”
plane--which provides aerial surveillance for OXY’S
Caño Limon oil pipeline--accompanied the Colombian
air force during the bombing, and used its infrared and video
equipment to pinpoint targets on the ground. While allegedly
targeting suspected rebels, no rebels were in the area.
Occidental has been a chief architect of Plan Colombia and
a lobbyist for U.S. military aid to Colombia, currently at
$131 million this year. Another $110 million is proposed in
2004 for the protection of OXY’s Caño Limon pipeline.
This unprecedented corporate subsidy of $3.58 a barrel is
a handsome payoff for OXY’s aggressive lobbying efforts
and political contributions.
- Dan Kovalik, lawyer for the plaintiff in the Occidental
case.
- Luis Mujica, survivor of a 1998 bombing in Colombia. He
is suing Occidental for role in bombing
9:50-9:58 CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE IN VIEQUES FOLLOWING THE
DEPARTURE OF THE U.S. MILITARY
The residents of Vieques are celebrating the US Navy's withdrawal
from the Puerto Rican Island.
For 60 years, the Navy has bombed the island for training
purposes. The Navy handed over 15,000 acres of land with no
fanfare, just a written statement.
Hundreds of activists who were jailed for trespassing to
stop the bombing are now preparing for their next battle:
reclaiming lands transferred yesterday to the Department of
Interior, which will transform the range into a wildlife refuge.
We talk to Rosa Clemente in Vieques. She shares an audio
produced for Free Speech Radio News.
- Rosa Clemente, journalist covering the Vieques celebrations
for Free Speech Radio News.
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, Sharif Abdul Kouddous, Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press
with help from Noah Reibel and Vilka Tzouras. Mike Di Filippo
is our music maestro and engineer. Thanks also to Uri Galed,
Angela Alston, Emily Kunstler, Orlando Richards, Simba Rousseau,
Rafael delaUz, Gabriel Weiss, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Karen
Ranucci, Fatima Mojadiddy, Denis Moynihan and Jenny Filipazzo.
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