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"The
War Hero" - New Documentary Examines Bush's Military
Duty
Reconstructing Bush’s Military Record: Examination
of Official Docs Released by White House Question Bush's Duty
An Invitation to Terrorists? U.S. To Ship Over 300 Pounds
of Weapons Grade Plutonium Across Atlantic
Globalization Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build
a Better World
"The War Hero" - New Documentary Examines
Bush's Military Duty
As controversy swirls around the authenticity of documents
used by 60 Minutes last week, we play an excerpt of a new
documentary "Bush Family Fortunes" by investigative
reporter Greg Palast that examines Bush's military duty and
includes a rare interview with former Texas Air National Guardsman
Lt. Col. Bill Burkett.
Ever since 60 Minutes broadcast its report on President
Bush's military service in the Texas Air National Guard last
week, the controversy over the authenticity of the unearthed
documents has turned into a media frenzy.
The files - allegedly from Bush's squadron commander, the
late Col. Jerry Killian - show that Killian grounded Bush
from flying when he missed a medical examination and that
he failed to meet performance standards. They also suggest
Killian was being pressured from his superiors to "sugarcoat"
Bush's evaluation.
For the first time CBS News and Dan Rather this week admitted
the possibility that their report was based on forged documents.
But Rather continued to stand by his reporting. On Wednesday,
Rather interviewed Killian's secretary Marian Carr Knox. She
told CBS that she believes the documents are fake but that
they reflected the sentiments of Kilian.
The authenticity of the documents in question has been headline
news ever since they were used by CBS last week. What is not
being spotlighted is a report that came out a day before the
controversial 60 Minutes segment. After a reexamination of
President Bush's military records, The Boston Globe found
that the president fell well short of meeting his military
obligations in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam
War.
The findings are based on military records which are not
disputed by anyone. Back in February, the White House released
more than 400 pages of military documents to the press. The
Boston Globe and others have closely examined these files
to reconstruct President Bush's military past. Today we are
going to take a look at Bush's National Guard duty with Salon.com's
senior writer, Eric Boehlert. But first we turn to a new documentary
called "Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money
Can Buy" by BBC investigative reporter Greg Palast. This
is an excerpt that takes a look at Bush's military history.
It begins with Palast speaking with two of Bush's former college
roommates.
- "Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money
Can Buy", excerpt of new
documentary by BBC investigative reporter Greg Palast.
That was Lt. Col Bill Burkett being interviewed by BBC investigative
reporter Greg Palast in the new documentary "Bush Family
Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy". Amidst the
controversy over the authenticity of the documents released
by CBS News last week, the New York Times reported an unnamed
employee at CBS saying Burkett was the source of the controversial
documents.
Reconstructing Bush’s Military Record: Examination
of Official Docs Released by White House Question Bush's Duty
We take a close look at President Bush's record in the National
Guard with Eric Boehlert. He is the senior writer at Salon.com
and has written extensively about Bush's military service
- closely examining the more than 400 pages of military documents
released by the White House last February.
- Eric Boehlert, senior writer at Salon.com. He has written
extensively about Bush's military service in the National
Guard.
An Invitation to Terrorists? U.S. To Ship Over 300
Pounds of Weapons Grade Plutonium Across Atlantic
Greenpeace has launched a campaign to stop a controversial
shipment that contains enough plutonium to make up to 50 nuclear
weapons. While the government hasn't done a threat or environmental
assessment of the trip, the Department of Homeland Security
has admitted it has conducted assessments of protest groups
opposed to the shipment.
We go to South Carolina for a story that has received almost
no attention by the national media. It involves the Department
of Homeland Security. Our nation's ports. Nuclear weapons.
And the environment.
In an unprecedented trip, two British ships are preparing
to carry some 300 pounds of pure weapons grade plutonium from
Charleston South Carolina across the Atlantic to France.
The U.S. government claims the trip is necessary in the name
of national security. The plutonium is being sent to France
where it will be made into mixide oxide or MOX fuel and then
returned to the United States. The process will turn uranium
into a fuel usable in nuclear power plants. A spokesperson
for the Department of Energy said the whole purpose of the
MOX program is to get rid of nuclear weapons.
But Greenpeace and local environmental groups are warning
the trip far is too risky.
Texas Congressman Jim Turner recently warned that the theft
of the plutonium would be catastrophic. Enough plutonium is
being shipped to make at least up to 50 nuclear weapons.
And the Department of Homeland Security has admitted it has
conducted neither an Environmental Impact Statement nor a
formal threat assessment on the shipment.
But the Department has revealed that it has been keeping
close watch on environmental groups opposed to the trip.
In a letter to Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a
Department of Homeland Security official admitted the agency
had conducted a "field intelligence report concerning
environmental activist groups and their potential to impact
this shipment."
Although this story has been ignored by the national media,
protests have been occurring in Charleston South Carolina
and in France. Yesterday French police arrested 11 Greenpeace
activists after they entered the military arsenal in Normandy.
In South Carolina, activists have been camped out along the
Charleston shore awaiting the arrivial of the two British
ships, the Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Teal.
We go to Charleston South Carolina to speak with Tom Clements,
senior adviser to Greenpeace International's Nuclear Campaign.
We contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the
National Nuclear Security Administration to invite them on
the program but they did not return our calls.
Globalization Liberation: How to Uproot the System
and Build a Better World
In the aftermath of the historic protests and arrests during
the Republican National Convention in New York, we take a
look at direct action movements and global justice struggles
around the world with veteran protester David Solnit, he is
the editor of a new book, "Globalization Liberation:
How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World."
Protesters arrested during the Republican National Convention
will rally in New York tomorrow to protest their treatment
by the city. The group Arrestees Fight Back plans to stage
the noon rally at Pier 57 where the nearly 2,000 people arrested
during the convention were held.
The group is demanding an investigation into the NYPD's tactics
over the week as well as the conditions at Pier 57. Many of
those released had skin rashes over their body.
The four-day Republican convention in New York was marked
by historic protests and acts of dissent on the streets. Nearly
half a million protesters marched in the largest demonstration
ever at a political convention. Over the course of the week,
thousands of people took to the streets, staging hundreds
of rallies, direct actions and civil disobedience against
the Bush administration. Though the protests were generally
calm, arrests exceeded 1,800 for the week, a record for a
political convention. 1,200 of those arrests were made in
a single day.
Despite the historic protests, much of the country was unaware
of what was happening in New York. The corporate media all
but ignored the events in the city, reporting solely from
inside Madison Square Garden.
We're going to take a look at direct action movements and
global justice struggles around the world with a veteran of
direct actions.
- David Solnit, editor of the new book, "Globalization
Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better
World"
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 Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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