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Robert Fisk Reports From Lebanon on the Israeli Bombing of
Qana That Killed 57, Including 37 Children
Enemy Combatant: Moazzam Begg on his Imprisonment at Guantanamo,
Bagram, and Kandahar
Robert Fisk Reports From Lebanon on the Israeli Bombing
of Qana That Killed 57, Including 37 Children
Lebanon is marking a national day of mourning, a day after
Israeli warplanes bombed the village of Qana killing 57. Israel
has announced it will halt air strikes for 48 hours in Southern
Lebanon, but its ground troops continue to fight. Robert Fisk
was in the nearby city of Tyre, where many of the victims
were taken following the attack. He joins us from his home
in Beirut. [includes rush
transcript]
After the attack, Israel released what appeared to be video
footage of Hezbollah rockets being launched from Qana towards
towns in northern Israel, and the Israeli military said that
Qana had been targeted because Hezbollah had been using the
village as a base from which to launch rockets. This is not
the first time that Qana has been devastated by Israeli fire.
In 1996, more than 106 villagers died after Israel bombed
the UN compound where they were seeking refuge. In the aftermath
of the strike 10 years ago, reporting by Robert Fisk led to
the United Nations condemnation of the attack. Robert Fisk
had just returned from Tyre, where the victims from Sunday's
Israeli air strike in Qana were taken following the attack.
- Robert Fisk. Veteran war correspondent, London Independent,
reporting from Beirut.
Enemy Combatant: Moazzam Begg on his Imprisonment
at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar
In February 2002, the British-born Moazzam Begg was seized
by the CIA in Islamabad. No reasons were given for his arrest.
He was hooded, shackled and cuffed and flown to the U.S. detention
facility at Kandahar, then to Bagram airbase where he was
held for approximately a year before being transferred to
Guantanamo. The U.S. government labeled him an "enemy
combatant." He was never charged with a crime. In all,
Moazzam spent three years in prison, much of it in solitary
confinement. He was subjected to over three hundred interrogations
as well as death threats and torture. At Bagram, he witnessed
the killing of two fellow detainees. In January 2005, he was
released from Guantanamo along with three other British citizens.
He received no apology or compensation for his imprisonment.
[includes rush
transcript]
Moazzam is a British citizen, born and raised in Birmingham.
The story of his ordeal begins in mid-2001 when he moved to
Afghanistan with his wife and three young children to work
as an aid worker in education and water projects. After September
11th and the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan, he relocated to
Pakistan. In February 2002, Moazzam was seized by the CIA
in Islamabad. No reasons were given for his arrest. He was
hooded, shackled and cuffed and flown to the U.S. detention
facility at Kandahar, then to Bagram airbase where he was
held for approximately a year before being transferred to
Guantanamo. The U.S. government labeled him an "enemy
combatant." He was never charged with a crime. In all,
Moazzam spent three years in prison, much of it in solitary
confinement. He was subjected to over three hundred interrogations
as well as death threats and torture. At Bagram, he witnessed
the killing of two fellow detainees. In January 2005, he was
released from Guantanamo along with three other British citizens.
He received no apology or compensation for his imprisonment.
Moazzam Begg has written a book about his experience that
has just been published in the United States titled "Enemy
Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar.
It is the first book known to be published by a former Guantanamo
Bay prisoner. Moazaam Begg joins us on the satellite from
Birmingham.
- Moazzam Begg.Former prisoner at Guantanamo, Bagram, and
Kandahar. Author of the book "Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment
at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
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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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