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TransAfrica’s
Bill Fletcher: Bush's UN Speech Proves He Has "No Moral
Credibility On International Affairs"
Veteran War Correspondent Held Hostage in Iraq Describes
His "Five Days in Hell"
Is U.S. Rhetoric Fuelling Iran's Nuclear Program?
TransAfrica’s Bill Fletcher: Bush's UN Speech
Proves He Has "No Moral Credibility On International
Affairs"
We get a response to President Bush's comments before the
UN General Assembly on Iraq, Palestine, Sudan and AIDS from
Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies and TransAfrica
president Bill Fletcher.
President Bush addressed the United Nations General Assembly
yesterday marking his fourth appearance before the world body
during his term in office. And for the third year in a row,
the main subject of Bush's speech was Iraq.
The president defended invading Iraq without UN Security
Council backing, instead speaking about the need for democracy
and appealed for help in reconstruction.
Bush also spoke about Palestine and the crisis in Sudan and
listed an array of proposed initiatives including Third World
debt relief, combating AIDS and global trafficking in women
and children.
Bush's remarks drew applause only once -- at the end of his
speech. He spoke shortly after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan opened the 191-nation gathering with what many saw as
a pointed rebuke to the United States.
- Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General addressing the General
Assembly, September 21, 2004.
Kofi Annan's comments come a week after he called the invasion
of Iraq "illegal." Unlike Bush's speech minutes
later, Annan directly addressed the situation on the ground
in Iraq.
- Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General addressing the General
Assembly, September 21, 2004.
Today we are going to take a look at some of Bush's comments
before the UN General Assembly on Iraq, the Palestine-Israel
conflict, Sudan and AIDS.
- President Bush, comments on Iraq at the United Nations.
- President Bush, comments on Palestine-Israel at the United
Nations.
- President Bush, comments on Sudan at the United Nations.
- President Bush, comments on AIDS at the United Nations.
- Phyllis Bennis, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies
in Washington DC, specializing in Middle East and United
Nations issues. She is the author of the book "Before
and After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the September 11th Crisis."
- Bill Fletcher, President of TransAfrica.
Veteran War Correspondent Held Hostage in Iraq Describes
His "Five Days in Hell"
We speak with veteran Canadian war correspondent Scott Taylor
who was kidnapped in Iraq and held hostage by Ansar-al-Islam
for five days in Tal Afar during the bloody U.S. offensive
on the city.
Twenty-four hours after the beheading of US contractor Eugene
Armstrong in Iraq, the group that killed him says they have
beheaded the other American they were holding. The Tawhid
and Jihad group said in an Internet statement it had killed
Jack Hensley because its demands for the release of female
prisoners from prisons in Iraq had not been met. Today, Iraq's
government said one of two women in U.S. custody would be
freed, but insisted the move was unrelated to the demands
of the kidnappers who still hold a British citizen and are
threatening to kill him as well. The two women in US custody
are both alleged to have worked on Saddam Hussein's weapons
programs.
But as the world reacts in horror to the beheadings and kidnappings
that have escalated in recent weeks in Iraq, a Canadian journalist
is back home after being taken hostage and threatened with
beheading.
Two weeks ago, as Iraq was rocked by one of the bloodiest
periods since the beginning of the US invasion, American forces
launched an offensive against the northern Iraqi city of Tal
Afar. Scores of people were killed and the attacks sparked
a major exodus from the city, which lies not far from the
Iraqi border with Syria. Between 150-200,000 people fled their
homes as US bombs rained down. At the time, there were no
eyewitness reports coming out of Tal Afar. But a Canadian
journalist was inside Tal Afar. But he was not delivering
reports on the siege; he was being held hostage by militants
from Ansar-al-Islam, the resistance group that controls the
city. After a five day ordeal, which he described as 5 days
in hell, veteran Canadian war correspondent Scott Taylor was
released.
- Scott Taylor, veteran war correspondent and is editor
of the Canadian magazine Esprit de Corps, which monitors
the Canadian military. He has reported from Iraq, Yugoslavia,
Cambodia and other conflict zones. He also is a former soldier.
Is U.S. Rhetoric Fuelling Iran's Nuclear Program?
As Iran announces it is resuming its nuclear program, we
speak with Iranian-born author and former diplomat Mansour
Farhang about the increasing tensions in the United States
towards Tehran. [includes rush
transcript]
As violence and bloodshed continue on a daily basis in US-occupied
Iraq, recent events may be propelling the United States into
another confrontation - this time with Iran.
The issues are chillingly similar to those that led to the
US invasion of Baghdad 18 months ago. The US is accusing Iran
of secretly building nuclear weapons - Iran claims its nuclear
program is for peaceful purposes. US intelligence is reportedly
considering a preemptive strike against Iran. And again, Washington
is in considerable disagreement with key allies, this time
Britain included, over how to handle the situation.
Last weekend under European pressure, the United States agreed
to defer its demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency
refer Iran's stance on nuclear issues to the UN Security Council,
where sanctions might be considered.
The IAEA instead adopted a resolution demanding that Iran
suspend uranium enrichment and report sensitive nuclear activities.
And Chief UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran's
program did not present a "imminent threat."
But yesterday, President Mohammad Khatami announced that
Iran had resumed producing a uranium gas for enrichment as
a nuclear fuel. Khatami said "We've made our choice:
yes to peaceful nuclear technology, no to atomic weapons."
- Mansour Farhang, Iranian-born author and former diplomat.
He served as revolutionary Iran's first ambassador to the
United Nations and worked as a mediator in the early months
of the Iran-Iraq war. He left Iran as a dissident in 1981
and now teaches international relations and Middle Eastern
politics at Bennington College, Vermont. He is the co-author
of "U.S. Press and Iran: Foreign Policy and the Journalism
of Deference" (Univ. of California, 1987) and the author
of "U.S. Imperialism: From the Spanish-American War
to the Iranian Revolution" (South End Press, 1981).
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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