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Juan Cole on Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Iraqi Elections and
the Future of Islamic Law in Iraq
Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) on the Iraq War & the
Bush Presidency
Jailed War Resister Camilo Mejia Speaks Out After Spending
Nine Months in Military Prison
Juan Cole on Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Iraqi Elections
and the Future of Islamic Law in Iraq
Iraq's leading Shiite political slate has nominated physician
and former exile Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be the nation's next
prime minister. The United Iraqi Alliance selected Jafari
after the other main contender - Ahmad Chalabi - withdrew
from the race. [includes rush
transcript]
The Shiite coalition carried last month's elections, winning
140 of the 274 seats in the national assembly and Jafari is
widely expected to be confirmed as the country's next prime
minister, replacing U.S.-backed Iyad Allawi.
Jafari worked as a doctor in Iraq where he was a member of
the Dawa - Iraq's oldest Islamic party. In 1980, he fled to
Iran after a crackdown on the party by Saddam Hussein. He
stayed there for 10 years before moving to London, where he
lived until the March 2003 US invasion of Iraq. He has served
as interim vice president in Iraq since June.
Late yesterday, we reached Juan Cole -- He is Professor of
History at the University of Michigan. He runs an analytical
website called "Informed Comment" where he provides
a daily round-up of news and events in Iraq and elsewhere
in the Arab world. His site is www.juancole.com.
I began by asking him about Ibrahim al Jaafari.
- Juan Cole, University of Michigan professor
Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) on the Iraq War &
the Bush Presidency
On Sunday the founder of 'gonzo' journalism, died at the
age of 67 of an apparent suicide. Today we are air a Jan.
2003 interview Thompson gave on KDNK in the Roaring Fork Valley
in Colorado. An excerpt: "Bush is really the evil one
here and it is more than just him. We are the Nazis in this
game and I don't like it. I am embarrassed and I am pissed
off. I mean to say something. I think a lot of people in this
country agree with me - a lot than that are saying anything...we'll
see what happens to me if I get my head cut off next week
-- it is always unknown or bushy-haired strangers who commit
suicide right afterwards with no witnesses."
Today we pay tribute to one of America's best-known journalists
and authors - Hunter S. Thompson. He shot himself Sunday night
at his home in Woody Creek Colorado. He was 67 years old.
He first became well known during the late 1960s and early
1970s while working for Rolling Stone where his drug-induced
books Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing
on the Campaign Trail were first serialized. Thompson once
said, "I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence
or insanity to anyone ... but they've always worked for me."
Thompson identified the death of the American Dream as his
reporter's beat. He called his style of writing "gonzo"
journalism. He said, "Objective journalism is one of
the main reasons that American politics has been allowed to
be so corrupt for so long."
Hunter S. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1937.
He served two years in the Air Force where he was a newspaper
sports editor. He later wrote unpublished fiction and made
his name after publishing an article in Harper's magazine
about the Hell's Angels who he had rode with for a year.
In 1970, he ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Pitkin County,
Colorado, on the "Freak Power" ticket. His platform
included changing the name of Aspen to "Fat City"
and decriminalizing drugs. During his campaign, Thompson shaved
his head and denounced his Republican rival who sported a
crew cut as "my long-haired opponent." He lost by
a handful of votes.
He is the author of a dozen books, his latest was titled
"Hey Rube: Blood Sport, The Bush Doctrine and the Downward
Spiral of Dumbness." He once said "By any accepted
standard, I have had more than nine lives. I counted them
up once and there were 13 times I almost and maybe should
have died."
Thompson killed himself this past Sunday. He reportedly stuck
a .45 caliber handgun in his mouth and shot himself while
his wife listened on the phone and his son and daughter-in-law
were in another room of his house. His lawyer for the past
15 years told the Boston Globe that he wanted to be cremated
and his ashes to be blown out of a cannon across his ranch.
Today, we hear Hunter S Thompson in his own words talking
about President Bush, Iraq and much more. He was interviewed
on community radio station KDNK in the Roaring Fork Valley
in Colorado. Former KDNK station manager, Mary Suma, began
by asking Thompson about him saying that "the idea of
war is not just wrong but borders on insanity." This
is Hunter S. Thompson.
Jailed War Resister Camilo Mejia Speaks Out After
Spending Nine Months in Military Prison
Today we speak with one the country's first conscientious
objector's to the war in Iraq. He offered to testify before
Congress about the abuse of detainees he saw in Iraq, instead
he was the first soldier court-martialed for desertion. He
was sentenced to a year in military prison. Today Camilo Mejia
joins us in his first broadcast interview since getting out
of prison.
He was released last week after serving a nine-month sentence.
Mejia spent six months in combat in Iraq where he witnessed
the killing of civilians and the abuse of detainees. He returned
to the United States in October 2003 for a two-week leave
when he decided never to return to fight in Iraq. He went
into hiding to avoid redeployment and was classified as AWOL
- or Absent Without Leave - by the military. After five months
on the run, he surrendered to the military at Ft. Stewart,
Georgia and submitted a formal application for discharge as
a conscientious objector. His application was denied. In May
2004, a military jury convicted him of desertion and he was
sentenced to one year in prison. He was released last week
after serving nine months of his sentence.
In the first interview since his release, Camilo Mejia joins
us today to talk about his experience as the country's first
soldier to be jailed for refusing to return to fight in Iraq.
- Sgt Camilo Mejia, Camilo spent six months in combat in
Iraq, then returned for a 2-week furlough to the US. He
concluded that the war was illegal and immoral, and decided
that he would not return. In May of 2004, he was sentenced
to one year in prison for refusing to return to fight in
Iraq. Camilo was just released on February 15th after serving
9 months.
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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