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8:00-8:01 Billboard:
Bush & Blair Launch PR Campaign To Silence Iraq Critics
INTRO: Andrew Buncombe of the London Independent reviews
the new “big impact” plan designed to counter
critics of the Iraq invasion in an effort to convince the
public that Saddam Hussein was in fact developing weapons
of mass destruction.
Operation Oily Immunity: Bush Quietly Moves to Protect U.S.
Oil Interests in Iraq
INTRO: The Institute for Policy Studies and Government Accountability
Project are calling on Congress to investigate and repeal
an executive order signed by President George W. Bush that
they say gives sweeping powers to U.S. oil companies operating
in Iraq.
“I Did Not Want to Be a Collaborator” - Former
Member of the Iraqi Reconstruction Council Explains His Decision
to Resign
INTRO: After 25 years in exile, Iraqi scholar and professor
Isam al-Khafagi accepted an invitation by the U.S. government
to return to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein to help
with postwar reconstruction and rehabilitation of ministries.
He resigned a few weeks ago saying, “there seemed to
be no interest on the part of the coalition in involving Iraqis
as advisers on the future of their nation.”
Openly Gay Reverend Wins One of Two Votes Required To Be
Elected Bishop in Episcopal Church
INTRO: Rev. V. Gene Robinson faces a final vote today in
the House of Bishops. We speak with Rev. Susan Russell of
the Claiming the Blessing Collaborative on whether the decision
threatens to divide the church.
West African Troops Land in Liberia, Charles Taylor to Resign,
U.S. Troops Still Not Deployed
INTRO: As West African forces land in Liberia we go to Monrovia
to hear from Reuters correspondent Alphonso Toweh and we speak
with author and freelance journalist David Goodman on Liberia's
history and relationship with the U.S. government.
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:15 Bush & Blair Launch PR Campaign To Silence
Iraq Critics
INTRO: Andrew Buncombe of the London Independent reviews
the new “big impact” plan designed to counter
critics of the Iraq invasion in an effort to convince the
public that Saddam Hussein was in fact developing weapons
of mass destruction.
A new article in the London Independent by Andrew Buncombe
titled “Blair and Bush Join Forces to Spin Away Weapons
Issue“ begins:
“The British and US governments are drawing up a controversial
new strategy to convince the public that Saddam was developing
weapons of mass destruction - an admission that they have
so far failed to make a convincing case.
“The ‘big impact’ plan is designed to overwhelm
and silence critics who have sought to put pressure on Tony
Blair and George Bush. At the same time both men are working
to lower the burden of proof - from finding weapons to finding
evidence that there were programs to develop them, even if
they lay dormant since the 1980s.
Andrew Buncombe, journalist with the London Independent.
He recently wrote “Blair and Bush Join Forces to Spin
Away Weapons Issue“ www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0803-02.htm
8:15-8:25 Operation Oily Immunity: Bush Quietly Moves to
Protect U.S. Oil Interests in Iraq
INTRO: The Institute for Policy Studies and Government Accountability
Project are calling on Congress to investigate and repeal
an executive order signed by President George W. Bush that
they say gives sweeping powers to U.S. oil companies operating
in Iraq.
On May 22 Bush signed Executive Order 13303 that, the group
say, could place U.S. oil and gas corporations above the law
for any activities “related to” Iraqi oil.
“In other words, if ExxonMobil or ChevronTexaco touch
Iraqi oil, it will be immune from legal proceedings in the
US. Anything that could go, and elsewhere has gone, awry with
U.S. corporate oil operations will be immune to judgment:
a massive tanker accident; an explosion at an oil refinery;
the employment of slave labor to build a pipeline; murder
of locals by corporate security; the release of billions of
tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The President,
with a stroke of the pen, signed away the rights of Saddam's
victims, creditors and of the next true Iraqi government to
be compensated through legal action. Bush's order unilaterally
declares Iraqi oil to be the unassailable province of U.S.
corporations,” write IPS researchers Steve Kretzmann
and Jim Vallette in their recent article “Operation
Oily Immunity.”
- Jim Vallette, director of research at Sustainable Energy
& Economy Network or SEEN which is part of the Institute
for Policy Studies. His most recent article "Operation
Oily Immunity" appeared on the website commondreams.org.
www.seen.org
8:25-8:26 One Minute Music Break
8:26-8:435 “I Did Not Want to Be a Collaborator”
- Former Member of the Iraqi Reconstruction Council Explains
His Decision to Resign
INTRO: After 25 years in exile, Iraqi scholar and professor
Isam al-Khafagi accepted an invitation by the U.S. government
to return to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein to help
with postwar reconstruction and rehabilitation of ministries.
He resigned a few weeks ago saying, “there seemed to
be no interest on the part of the coalition in involving Iraqis
as advisers on the future of their nation.”
A piece in the Comment section of the Guardian of London
begins like this:
“On July 9, with deep sorrow, I submitted my resignation
as a member of the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council
to US deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz.
“I did this with great sadness but, in doing so, I
was able to leave Iraq with a clear conscience. If I had stayed
any longer, I might not have been able to say that. I feared
my role with the reconstruction council was sliding from what
I had originally envisioned - working with allies in a democratic
fashion - to collaborating with occupying forces.”
The article goes on to say:
“There seemed to be no interest on the part of the
coalition in involving Iraqis as advisers on the future of
their nation. Our role was very limited. Even reporters who
visited us took note, writing that although the reconstruction
council has an office within the presidential palace, there
seems to be little done apart from members reading their email.”
- Isam al-Khafaji, a former member of the Iraqi reconstruction
council. He resigned from the council on July 9th and two
weeks later wrote an article in the Comment section of the
Guardian of London entitled “I did not want to be
a collaborator.” He is a professor of political economy
at the University of Amsterdam and author of the forthcoming
Tormented Births: Passages to Modernity in Europe and the
Middle East. He was a member of the Democratic Principles
Working Group convened by the U.S. state department to discuss
the future of Iraqi governance. He joins us on the phone
from Amsterdam.
Link: www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1007045,00.html
8:35-8:45 Openly Gay Reverend Wins One of Two Votes Required
To Be Elected Bishop in Episcopal Church
INTRO: Rev. V. Gene Robinson faces a final vote today in
the House of Bishops. We speak with Rev. Susan Russell of
the Claiming the Blessing Collaborative on whether the decision
threatens to divide the church.
A New Hampshire clergyman moved a step closer yesterday to
becoming the first openly gay elected bishop in the Episcopal
Church.
The House of Deputies, a legislative body composed of clergy
and lay people, voted to approve the Rev. V. Gene Robinson
as bishop of New Hampshire. The vote was one of two required
to be confirmed. He faces a final vote today in the House
of Bishops.
56 year-old Robinson is a divorced father of two and has
lived with his partner, Mark Andrew, for 13 years. He was
elected by his diocese in June, but the church requires that
a majority of convention delegates ratify his election.
Robinson has rejected repeated calls from opponents to withdraw
his candidacy to prevent a breakup of the church, as a gay
clergyman in England did recently.
Many say the decision threatens to divide the United States
church, which includes 2.3 million people, as well as the
larger Anglican Communion, an association of 70 million people
in churches in 164 countries.
In 1998, during a once-a-decade meeting of top Anglican leaders
from around the world, a majority supported a resolution that
said homosexuality was "incompatible" with scripture,
but the resolution was not binding.
Episcopalians on both sides of the issue say a final vote
in favor of Robinson could build momentum for approving blessing
ceremonies for same-sex couples.
- Rev. Susan Russell, executive director of the Claiming
the Blessing Collaborative, which supports blessing ceremonies
for same-sex couples.
Link: www.claimingtheblessing.org
8:45-8:58 West African Troops Land in Liberia, Charles Taylor
to Resign, U.S. Troops Still Not Deployed
INTRO: As West African forces land in Liberia we go to Monrovia
to hear from Reuters correspondent Alphonso Toweh and we speak
with author and freelance journalist David Goodman on Liberia's
history and relationship with the U.S. government.
The first West African forces arrived in Liberia capital
of Monrovia today.
The troops are part an international mission to end 14 years
of carnage and oversee departure of Liberian President Charles
Taylor.
300 Nigerian soldiers are scheduled to land today. The soldiers’
ranks are expected to swell to 5,000 by the end of the month.
AP reported a dozen Nigerian soldiers in green camouflage
and flak jackets leaping out of a Russian-made helicopter
at Liberia's main airport. They took up defensive positions
around the landing strip.
Residents near Monrovia’s embattled port heard cheers
and watched flares go up as the rebels celebrated the arrival
of the West African forces.
The situation in Monrovia is dire. Two months of rebel sieges
have killed more than 1,000 civilians and more than 1.3 million
have been cut off from food and water.
The Washington Post reports Liberians are still pleading
for President Bush to send in U.S. troops but no move from
Washington has been made.
The deployment of U.S. troops has been delayed in part because
President Bush first wanted assurances that any troops who
go into Liberia will be protected from prosecution by the
International Criminal Court. We'll have more on Liberia later
in the show.
Liberian President Charles Taylor had agreed to relinquish
power on August 11 but it is no longer clear when he will
go into exile in Nigeria. Taylor wants the war crimes indictment
against him to be dropped before he goes into exile.
- Alphonso Toweh, Reuters correspondent in Liberia. He
joins us from Monrovia today.
- David Goodman, freelance journalist and author, Fault
Lines: Journeys into the New South Africa.
Email: davgood@adelphia.net
8:58-8:59 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, Lenina Nadal, Ana Nogueira,
and Elizabeth Press. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro
and engineer.
[Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Rafael delaUz, Gabriel Weiss, Johnny Sender,
Rich Kim, Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Jenny
Filipazzo and Ionnis Mookas.]
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