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Baghdad Imposes Daytime Curfew as Violence Escalates Following
Shiite Mosque Bombing
Venezuelan-Owned Citgo Faces Congressional Inquiry For Offering
Discounted Oil to U.S. Poor
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) Criticizes FBI For Cracking Down
on Independence Movement in Puerto Rico
The News Dissector Danny Schechter Calls For March 21 Protests
Targeting Media's Complicity in the Iraq War
CorpWatch's Pratap Chatterjee on the Link Between the Iraq
War and the White House's Support for a Dubai-Owned Firm to
Take Over U.S. Ports
Baghdad Imposes Daytime Curfew as Violence Escalates
Following Shiite Mosque Bombing
At least 140 people have been killed over the past two days
in Iraq following the bombing of one of the country’s
main Shiite shrines. We go to Baghdad for a report and speak
with an Iraqi blogger and architect. [includes rush
transcript]
In Iraq, at least 140 people have been killed nationwide
over the past 48 hours, prompting officials and politicians
to appeal for calm amid growing concerns of a slide into all-out
civil war. The violence was sparked by the bombing of the
Askariya mosque - one of the country’s main Shiite shrines
- in Samarra on Wednesday. In response, the government has
declared an unprecedented daytime curfew for Baghdad and three
nearby provinces in an effort to prevent more bloodshed. Additionally,
civilian flights from Baghdad airport have been cancelled.
Iraq’s largest Sunni religious organization said 184
mosques have been attacked, ten clerics killed, and another
fifteen abducted over the past two days. In the worst single
incident, 47 factory workers were killed and their bodies
dumped in a ditch outside Baghdad. In Baquba, at least sixteen
people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a market and
thirteen bullet-riddled bodies were found Thursday night in
different areas of Baghdad. Seven U.S. soldiers were killed
in two roadside bombings. The U.S. military has reportedly
ordered soldiers in Baghdad to stay in their barracks and
are "watching and waiting to see what the next 48 hours
will bring,” according to the New York Times.
In protest at the unrest, Sunni politicians have pulled out
of emergency talks convened by President Jalaal Talabani.
The Sunni alliance has also announced its withdrawal from
negotiations to form a coalition government.
In a rare public rebuke, the main Sunni religious authority
- the Association of Muslim Scholars - accused Iraq’s
top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, of fomenting
the violence. Sistani has urged Shias not to attack Sunni
mosques, but a spokesman for the cleric said anger might be
hard to contain.
Meanwhile, Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr added his voice to
those calling for restraint. He charged that the Iraqi government
and the US had failed to protect the Askariyah shrine and
commanded his Mahdi Army militiamen to guard Shiite shrines
throughout Iraq.
Several joint Sunni-Shiite demonstrations were held Friday
morning in Basra, Kut and Mosul to condemn violence and call
for national unity. And the staff of satellite TV channel
Al Arabiya is in mourning today following the assassination
of one of its best-known correspondents in Iraq. The 30-year-old
Atwar Bahjat was killed along her cameraman and soundman.
Their bodies were found Thursday near Samarra.
- Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi blogger activist and architect
who runs the popular blog "Raed
in the Middle." He was in Iraq during and after
the 2003 invasion and he took part in a number of humanitarian
and political projects. He recently moved from Iraq to the
Bay Area.
Venezuelan-Owned Citgo Faces Congressional Inquiry
For Offering Discounted Oil to U.S. Poor
Republican Congressmember Joe Barton of Texas has launched
an investigation into one of the world’s major oil companies
- Citgo. The Venezuelan-owned company announced a discounted
gas program for poor Americans last year. We speak with Democratic
New York Congressman Jose Serrano, one of the few members
of Congress promoting this effort. [includes rush
transcript]
We turn now to a story that Juan Gonzalez has been covering
in the New York Daily
News.
In Washington, Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas
has launched an investigation into one of the world’s
major oil companies. But he is not investigating whether any
of the oil giants are engaging in price gouging at a time
when gasoline and heating oil casts are skyrocketing. Instead
Barton has set his sights on the only oil company that actually
dared to lower its prices last year - at least for the poorest
Americans. Last week Barton demanded the Venezuelan-owned
company Citgo produce all records, minutes, logs, e-mails
and even desk calendars related to the company’s novel
program of supplying discounted heating oil to low-income
communities in the United States. The Citgo program, which
began late last year in Massachusetts and the South Bronx,
provides oil at discounts as high as 60% off market price.
We hear an excerpt of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He
first announced the discounted gas program during an interview
with Democracy Now! on September 16, 2005.
- Rep. Jose Serrano, (D-New York)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) Criticizes FBI For Cracking
Down on Independence Movement in Puerto Rico
Several members of Congress are calling for an investigation
into recent raids conducted by the FBI targeting pro-independence
activists in Puerto Rico. Last week, hundreds of members of
the FBI's counterterrorism unit conducted six simultaneous
raids targeting members of the pro-independence group known
as the Macheteros. We speak with Jose Serrano, Democatic Congressmember
of Puerto Rican origin and representing a major Puerto Rican
district of the Bronx. [includes rush
transcript]
The FBI claimed it was attempting to thwart a possible domestic
terrorism attack. At one of the raids, FBI agents beat and
pepper sprayed journalists who attempted to conduct interviews.
The raids come less than six months after the FBI shot dead
Puerto Rican independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
The News Dissector Danny Schechter Calls For March
21 Protests Targeting Media's Complicity in the Iraq War
We speak with Danny Schechter 'the News Dissector' –
veteran journalist, media critic and co-founder of mediachannel.org,
one of the largest online media issues networks. Schechter
discusses the upcoming anti-war and media protest day, dangers
journalists face in Iraq, coverage of war and more. We play
an excerpt of his documentary "Weapons of Mass Deception."
[includes rush
transcript]
Mediachannel.org has launched a “Tell the Truth About
the War” campaign, calling for better and more consistent
coverage of the Iraq war. It is partnering with other media
groups to organize a Media Day of War Coverage Protest on
March 21, 2006. It will take part during a week of organizing
and activism marking the third anniversary of the war. Danny
Schechter writes, “If the war is to end, the coverage
has to change. We need to press the press and move the media.”
- Danny Schechter, Executive Director and co-founder of
Mediachannel.org.
He is director of the documentary "Weapons of Mass
Deception" and author of many books including "When
News Lies: Media Complicity and the Iraq War."
CorpWatch's Pratap Chatterjee on the Link Between
the Iraq War and the White House's Support for a Dubai-Owned
Firm to Take Over U.S. Ports
The political firestorm continues in Washington over handing
over management of six U.S. ports to a Dubai-owned company.
Dubai Ports World offered to delay the $6.8 million deal after
major clashes between the White House and both Democratic
and Republican Congressmembers over national security concerns.
We speak with Pratap Chatterjee of CorpWatch. [includes rush
transcript]
We turn now to the political firestorm that has both Democrats
and Republicans in a fierce clash with the White House. At
the center is a deal between 2 foreign companies - British
firm P&O and Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement is to turn over some terminal operations of
6 major U.S. seaports to Dubai Ports World, including New
York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans.
But late Thursday night, Dubai Ports World offered to delay
the $6.8 million deal after the White House reportedly signalled
it would welcome such a move.
The announcement follows days of fierce opposition to the
deal. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers say it will
make the U.S. more vulnerable to terrorism. They point out
the UAE was the home of two of the hijackers involved in the
September 11 attacks and that it was one of only three countries
to ever recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate
rulers.
The White House defended the deal by saying the UAE is a
crucial ally in the war on terror and has worked to close
loopholes used by Sept. 11 conspirators. Opponents were also
accused of using a double standard with the company because
it is Arab-owned. A Bush aide warned that if the Dubai company
is treated differently than a British one, "the signal
in the Mideast would be disastrous."
Earlier in the week, Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist called for the Bush administration to delay finalizing
the deal, saying a more extensive review was necessary. Frist
and other members of Congress threatened to enact legislation
to block the deal. In response, Bush said he would veto any
such legislation and defended his position at a press conference
on Tuesday.
On Thursday, White House officials said Bush would accept
a slight delay in implementing the deal even though he stood
firm in his threat to veto blocking legislation. The White
House was granted breathing room last night when the Dubai
company made the offer to postpone its plans. It came after
Congress members and administration officials clashed in a
public hearing called by Republican Senator Jon Warner. In
a statement Thursday night the company called the delay "unreasonable"
and "impractical" and said it would engage in further
consultations with the Bush adminstration. Congress is expected
to introduce legislation next week requiring further examination
into the deal’s national security implications.
In the article Chatterjee writes:
Every morning, from dawn till about noon, cargo and passenger
flights to Iraq and Afghanistan make Dubai airport’s
Terminal Two possibly the busiest commercial terminal in
the world for the "global war of terrorism." Conveniently
located between the two countries, Dubai is the ideal hub
for military contractors and a lucrative link in the commercial
supply chain of goods and people between Afghanistan or
Iraq and the rest of the world...
Dubai's choice as the central hub for war traffic is not
accidental. A sleepy Middle Eastern port for centuries,
famed for its pearl trade and central location on the spice
trade from India to the rest of the world, it became suddenly
wealthy with the oil boom of the 1970s like the neighboring
nations of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. But the emirate wisely
decided to invest its money in developing other businesses,
such as tourism (which accounts for about a sixth of the
national income) and the import-export business (which accounts
for two-thirds)...
This profitable re-export business has recently come under
scrutiny for overcharging. Under the sub-contract to KBR,
Eagle Global Logistics (EGL), a company based in Houston,
Texas, has been in charge of shipping military equipment
ranging from "armor-plated vehicles to trash bins"
from Houston to Dubai en route to Iraq for the last two
years."
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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