Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Tues., Nov. 8, 2005
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 11-8-05
PRSS Channel: A67.7
U.S. Broadcast Exclusive - "Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre"
on the U.S. Use of Napalm-Like White Phosphorus Bombs
A Debate: Did the U.S. Military Attack Iraqi Civilians With
White Phosphorous Bombs in Violation of the Geneva Conventions?
Covering Up Torture? At Pentagon's Request the Washington
Post Refuses To Report on Location Of Secret CIA Jails in
Europe
U.S. Broadcast Exclusive - "Fallujah: The Hidden
Massacre" on the U.S. Use of Napalm-Like White Phosphorus
Bombs
Democracy Now! airs an exclusive excerpt of "Fallujah:
The Hidden Massacre," featuring interviews with U.S.
soldiers, Iraqi doctors and international journalists on the
U.S. attack on Fallujah. Produced by Italian state broadcaster
RAI TV, the documentary charges U.S. warplanes illegally dropped
white phosphorus incendiary bombs on civilian populations,
burning the skin off Iraqi victims. One U.S. soldier charges
this amounts to the U.S. using chemical weapons against the
Iraqi people. [includes rush
transcript]
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. assault
on the Sunni city of Fallujah when U.S. and Iraqi military
forced out the town's residents, bombed hospitals and buildings,
attacked whole neighborhoods, and denied entry to relief workers.
In a North American broadcast exclusive, we bring you an excerpt
from a new film that accuses the U.S. of using white phosphorus
as a weapon in the Fallujah attack.
10,000 buildings were destroyed, with thousands more seriously
damaged. At least 100,000 residents were permanently displaced,
over 70 U.S. soldiers were killed, and the Iraqi death toll
is unknown. Independent journalist Dahr Jamail was a one of
the few un-embedded, independent reporters in Iraq at the
time. On our program, he first reported U.S. troops were using
chemical weapons in Iraq.
- Dahr Jamail,
speaking on Democracy Now!, November 2004:
"I have interviewed many refugees over the last week
coming out of Fallujah at different times from different
locations within the city. The consistent stories that I
have been getting have been refugees describing phosphorus
weapons, horribly burned bodies, fires that burn on people
when they touch these weapons, and they are unable to extinguish
the fires even after dumping large amounts of water on the
people. Many people are reporting cluster bombs, as well.
And these are coming from the camps that I have been to,
different people who have emerged from Fallujah anywhere
from one week ago up to on through up toward near the very
beginning of the siege."
Almost one year after these allegations came to light, a
new documentary claims to provide fresh evidence of the use
of chemical weapons in Fallujah. In the film, eyewitnesses
and ex-US soldiers say white phosphorus bombs were used in
Fallujah. Rai says this amounts to the illegal use of chemical
weapons and says they were used indiscriminately against civilian
populations.
In a North American broadcast exclusive, we bring you an
excerpt from the film.
A Debate: Did the U.S. Military Attack Iraqi Civilians
With White Phosphorous Bombs in Violation of the Geneva Conventions?
We speak with a former U.S. soldier who witnessed orders
being given to drop white phosphorous bombs over Fallujah;
a Pentagon spokesperson in Baghdad who admits such bombs were
used but denied they were used as a chemical weapon; and the
news director of RAI TV, the Italian TV network that produced
“Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre.” [includes rush
transcript]
- Maurizio Torrealta, News Editor for the Italian television
RAI and co-producer of the film "Fallujah: The Hidden
Massacre."
- Jeff Englehart, former army Specialist in Iraq. He maintains
a weblog called Fight
to Survive
- Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, spokesperson for the
U.S. military in Iraq.
Covering Up Torture? At Pentagon's Request the Washington
Post Refuses To Report on Location Of Secret CIA Jails in
Europe
We speak with Peter Kornbluh of the National Security Archives
on the paper's decision to abide by a Pentagon request not
to name which European nations house these secret facilities.
Kornbluh compares this decision to the New York Times' refusal
to report on details of the U.S. invasion of the Bay of Pigs
in Cuba in 1961. [includes rush
transcript]
Recently, the Washington Post revealed the existence of a
secret Soviet-era prison used by the CIA to detain prisoners
in Eastern Europe. The prison is part of a small global network
of secret CIA and military compounds used to detain and interrogate
prisoners, including the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
At the request of U.S. officials, the Washington Post did
not disclose the location of the Eastern European prison.
Human Rights Watch says it's likely Poland or Romania. This
is based on records the group obtained of military flights
from Afghanistan. Officials from both Poland and Romania have
denied the allegations. The Post declined to come on our program
to discuss their decision. Instead, a spokesperson referred
us to a statement made by Executive Editor Len Downie on CNN
last Thursday. Downie said, "In this case, we agreed
to keep the names of those particular countries out, because
we were told, and it seems reasonable to us, that there could
be terrorist retaliation against those countries, or more
importantly, disruption of other very important intelligence
activities, antiterrorist activities." The Post has drawn
criticism for acquiescing to the government's demand. Commenting
on the Post's rationale, the media watch-dog group FAIR (Fairness
and Accuracy in Reporting) said, "The possibility that
illegal, unpopular government actions might be disrupted is
not a consequence to be feared, however-it's the whole point
of the First Amendment."
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.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
whole
show
