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U.S. Consulate Attacked in Saudi Arabia
Bernard Kerik: "Political Criticism is Our Enemy's Best
Friend"
Should Local Governments Be Allowed to Provide Broadband
Access? A Debate on Community vs. Private Internet Service
Soldiers Prevented From Returning Home Sue Over "Stop-Loss"
Policy As Others Forced Out of Military Sue Over "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell" Policy
U.S. Consulate Attacked in Saudi Arabia
In the first large-scale attack in Saudi Arabia in six months,
gunmen stormed the US consulate in Jeddah leaving at least
nine people dead. We speak with political science professor
and author As'ad Abukhalil. [includes rush
transcript]
At least nine people were killed yesterday when gunmen stormed
the US consulate in the Saudi Arabian city in Jeddah and fought
a three-hour battle with security forces.
Four of the attackers and five non-U.S. staff were killed.
In a phone call, the attackers called themselves the "Fallujah
Brigades." The Iraqi city of Fallujah is the scene of
a large-scale assault by US forces in which as many as 1,800
people have been killed. A group calling itself "al-Qaida
in the Arabian Peninsula" later claimed responsibility.
President Bush said "They want us to leave Saudi Arabia,
they want us to leave Iraq, they want us to grow timid and
weary in the face of their willingness to kill randomly, kill
innocent people,"
It was the first attack against a Western diplomatic mission
in Saudi Arabia and first big strike in six months. Officials
say the assailants followed an official consulate car into
the complex, firing guns and hurling grenades to force entry.
After coordinating with U.S. Marines providing security to
the consulate, Saudi forces stormed the compound.
Saudi Arabia has been battling a wave of violence since May
2003. Around 170 people, including foreigners, security forces
and militants have been killed.
- As'ad AbuKhalil, professor of political science at California
State University, Stanislaus and visiting professor at UC,
Berkeley. He is the author of several books, his latest
is "The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism,
and Global Power." He runs a new blog called "The
Angry Arab News Service."
Bernard Kerik: "Political Criticism is Our Enemy's
Best Friend"
We take a look at Bernard Kerik, the man President Bush
nominated to replace Tom Ridge as Homeland Security chief:
From overseeing security for the Saudi royal family to Giuliani
Partners consultant to New York police commissioner to Homeland
Security Chief.
President Bush nominated former New York police commissioner
Bernard Kerik last week to become the nation's new Homeland
Security director replacing Tom Ridge. Kerik was serving as
commissioner at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. More recently
he has spent time in Iraq helping to rebuild Iraq's police
force and he has worked as a consultant for former New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's firm Giuliani Partners. Prior to
becoming a New York police officer, he spent four years in
Saudi Arabia overseeing security for the royal family. In
one of his first moves after learning of his new job, Kerik
had to sell off $5 million worth of stock in Taser, the stun
gun manufacturer.
After President Bush's announcement last week, Kerik accepted
the nomination.
- Bernard Kerik, accepting his nomination as Homeland Security
chief, December 3, 2004.
Kerik will oversee the massive department that includes 22
former agencies and offices. We are going to take a look at
Kerik's record from overseeing security for the Saudi royal
family to New York police commissioner to Homeland Security
Chief.
- Fred Kaplan, writes the "War Stories" column
for online magazine Slate.com.
His latest piece is called "Questions
for Kerik." He is the author of "The Wizards
of Armageddon" and a former staff reporter for the
Boston Globe, having been its military correspondent, Moscow
bureau chief, and New York bureau chief.
- Ellis Henican, a columnist for Newsday
in New York. His recent piece on Bernard Kerik is called
Kerik Nomination is "A
Ticking Time Bomb."
Should Local Governments Be Allowed to Provide Broadband
Access? A Debate on Community vs. Private Internet Service
Local municipalities across the country are looking to community-owned
broadband wireless access as a cost-effective way to bring
affordable broadband into their areas, sparking a battle with
cable and telephone providers. We host a debate on community
vs. private Internet access. [includes rush
transcript]
For millions of people in the United States, high-speed Internet
access is an unaffordable luxury. To counter this, local municipalities
across the country are looking to community-owned broadband
wireless access as a cost-effective way to bring affordable
broadband into their areas.
This has sparked a battle with cable and telephone providers
over how public or private access to the Internet should be.
At the heart of the issue is a new Pennsylvania law that
heavily restricts cities in the state from providing Internet
access. The law - which was heavily backed by Verizon and
other carriers - bans local governments from creating their
own networks without first giving the primary local telecommunications
provider the chance to provide service.
The measure is being closely watched around the country,
where phone and cable companies are pressuring state legislatures
to limit what municipalities can do.
Advocates of community Internet access say broadband is a
critical community service which should be provided by local
governments while opponents argue it is unfair to local competitors
and will not offer the same low-cost services. Today we host
a debate on community vs. private Internet service.
- Steven Titch, senior fellow for information technology
and telecom policy at the Heartland
Institute, a Chicago-based think tank.
Soldiers Prevented From Returning Home Sue Over "Stop-Loss"
Policy As Others Forced Out of Military Sue Over "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell" Policy
Eight soldiers stationed in Iraq and Kuwait are filing a
lawsuit against the Army's stop-loss policy while 12 former
soldiers forced out of the military are filing a lawsuit against
the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. [includes
rush
transcript]
Last week, the US military announced it is sending 12,000
more troops to Iraq. The additional troops will bring the
total number deployed in the country to 150,000 - the highest
level since the US occupation began more than 18 months ago.
Thousands of those soldiers have been prevented from returning
home by the Army's stop-loss policy even though they fulfilled
their agreed-upon commitment. Now, eight soldiers stationed
in Iraq and Kuwait are filing a lawsuit against the stop-loss
policy.
And while the military is preventing thousands of soldiers
from leaving, at the same time, soldiers who want to remain
active are being forced out. In another lawsuit, 12 former
soldiers are suing against the Pentagon's "don't ask,
don't tell" policy. The plaintiffs were all forced out
of the military because of their homosexuality.
Today we are going to discuss both of these lawsuits.
- Jules Lobel, vice president of the Center
for Constitutional Rights. He teaches at the University
of Pittsburgh Law School. He is the author of the new book
"Success Without Victory."
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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