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Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Seymour Hersh on Where
the Iraq War is Headed Next
Al Jazeera in the Crosshairs: Did Bush Really Want to Bomb
the Arabic TV Network's Headquarters in 2004?
Coloradans File Federal Lawsuit Charging White House Staffers
with Unlawful Removal During Bush "Town-Hall-Style"
Event
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Seymour Hersh on
Where the Iraq War is Headed Next
We speak with investigative journalist Seymour Hersh of
The New Yorker magazine about his new article, "Up in
the Air: Where is the Iraq War Headed Next?" Hersh discusses
the ongoing debate in Washington over the withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Iraq, how President Bush is "impervious to
political pressure" in his Iraq policy, the capability
of the U.S. Army to sustain two or three more years of combat
in Iraq and how a reduction of U.S. troops would be replaced
by American airpower - which could lead to even more Iraqi
fatalities. [includes rush
transcript]
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq continues to be
a central issue in Washington. Earlier this month, Democratic
Congressman John Murtha sparked an intense debate on Capitol
Hill after he introduced a bill calling for an immediate withdrawal
of US forces. In response, the Republican leadership moved
to silence Murtha's criticism by introducing a bill that was
worded in a manner designed to split the Democratic Party.
The Republican bill proposed "the deployment of United
States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately." It
was rejected 403 to 3.
Last week, Kurdish and Sunni leaders in Iraq issued a joint
communiqué calling for a timetable for the withdrawal
of U.S troops. It marked the first time Iraq's political factions
collectively called for a withdrawal timetable.
In the latest news, chief Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita
said US forces are likely to be reduced to about 140,000 by
the December 15th parliamentary elections and that deeper
cuts are possible. The administration has repeatedly said
it will consider pulling out troops once enough Iraqi forces
have been trained to deal with the insurgency.
DiRita said President Bush is scheduled to give a speech
Wednesday where he is expected highlight the progress US forces
have made in turning over security to Iraqis.
In a new article in the New Yorker, Pulitzer prize-winning
reporter Seymour Hersh writes "a key element of the drawdown
plans not mentioned in the President's public statement is
that the departing American troops will be replaced by American
airpower." He goes on to write: "while the number
of American casualties would decrease as ground troops are
withdrawn, the over-all level of violence and the number of
Iraqi fatalities would increase unless there are stringent
controls over who bombs what."
Al Jazeera in the Crosshairs: Did Bush Really Want
to Bomb the Arabic TV Network's Headquarters in 2004?
The Arabic satellite network Al Jazeera continues to search
for answers over reports President Bush wanted to bomb its
headquarters in Doha. We speak with Democracy Now! correspondent
Jeremy Scahill about the Bush administration's attacks on
Al Jazeera and Dima Tahboub, the widow of Al Jazeera Baghdad
reporter, Tareq Ayoub, who was killed April 8th, 2003 when
the U.S. military bombed the network's office in Iraq. She
is considering suing the US government for her husband's death.
[includes rush
transcript]
The Arabic satellite network Al Jazeera continues to search
for answers over reports President Bush wanted to bomb its
headquarters in Doha. Last week the Daily Mirror cited a secret
British memo revealing Bush told Tony Blair in April 2004
of his desire to bomb the news outlet.
The Bush administration has described the Daily Mirror's
report as "outlandish." After refusing to comment
on the story for close to a week, on Saturday Blair called
the Mirror report a "conspiracy theory." On Monday,
Blair responded to a parliamentary request whether he had
any information on the Bush administration's plans to bomb
Al Jazeera. Blair's written response was one word: "None."
Al Jazeera's managing director, Wadah Khanfar, arrived in
London Friday to petition for a meeting with Blair to discuss
the leaked memo. He said, "Al Jazeera is not just a TV
station. It has become something people are very attached
to. People are angry." He added that the network would
consult lawyers to see what further action could be taken.
Meanwhile, the British government has banned the British
media from disclosing the memo's contents. It has also pressed
charges against two former government officials for leaking
classified government information. The Bush administration
has long been critical of Al Jazeera. This is Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld speaking in 2001.
- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, October 2001 (Excerpted
from the documentary "Control Room")
In August of last year, the U.S.-backed Iraqi government
banned the network from reporting in Iraq. This after the
U.S. bombed Al Jazeera's bureaus in Afghanistan in November
2001 and Baghdad in April 2003. It claimed both bombings were
accidental. But this claim was immediately put into question
following reports Al Jazeera had given the US military its
coordinates so as to avoid any accidental bombing. This is
Ibrahim Hilal, senior editor at Al Jazeera when the Kabul
office was bombed by the U.S. Hilal was interviewed Democracy
Now shortly afterwards.
The April 2003 bombing of the Al Jazeera bureau in Baghdad
killed Al Jazeera correspondent Tariq Ayoub -- again after
Al Jazeera had given the US military its coordinates in Baghdad.
This is Al Jazeera Senior Producer Samir Khader, appearing
on our program in May of last year.
Today, we are joined by two guests:
- Dima Tahboub, widow of killed al Jazeera reporter Tariq
Ayuob. She has announced she is considering suing the US
government for her husband's death. She joins us from Amman,
where she is a professor at the University of Jordan.
- Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! correspondent and independent
journalist. He is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at the
Nation Institute. He has written a new article for The Nation
website titled "Did
Bush Really Want to Bomb Al Jazeera?"
Check out the new blog by Al Jazeera staffers: Dontbomb.blogspot.com.
Coloradans File Federal Lawsuit Charging White House
Staffers with Unlawful Removal During Bush "Town-Hall-Style"
Event
Two Denver residents filed a federal lawsuit last week after
being forcibly removed in March 2005 from an event with President
Bush for their perceived political views. We speak with Alex
Young and Leslie Weise about the details of the case. [includes
rush
transcript]
President Bush is arriving in Denver today where he is scheduled
to make an appearance at a fundraising dinner for Colorado
Congressmember Marilyn Musgrave and boost her campaign fund
for the 2006 mid-term elections. While the guest list for
the event is being finalized, two Denver residents are definitely
not invited - Leslie Weise and Alex Young.
Last March, they attended a Bush town hall discussion on
privatizing Social Security in Denver. Even though they had
tickets for the event, they were promptly ejected from the
building along with their friend Karen Bauer. This allegedly
because of a bumper sticker on their car reading, "No
More Blood for Oil." Eight of the nine members of the
Colorado congressional delegation have publicly condemned
the incident. Both Democrats and Republicans have called for
answers from the White House. The American Civil Liberties
Union filed a federal lawsuit last week on behalf of Weise
and Young, charging White House event staffers with unlawfully
removing the two from the event.
For more information: DenverThree.org
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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