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Amnesty Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes
UN: Israel Dropped Cluster Bombs in 170 Places in South Lebanon
15 Years of Lebanon’s Economic Recovery Wiped Out In
Past Month
Int’l Troops Might Take Months To Be In Place
Palestinian Parliament Meets In Solidarity of Detained Lawmakers
Iraqi Gov’t To Investigate Rape & Murder of 14-Year-Old
Girl
Marines Announce Involuntary Recall of Inactive Members
New Poll: 61% Of Americans Oppose War
U.S. Threatens Sanctions Against Iran Over Nuke Issue
FBI Investigates Environmentalist for Speaking Up At Hearing
Unidentified Gunmen Shot Protester Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico
Amnesty Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes
Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing war
crimes by deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in
Lebanon. The human rights group criticized Israel for destroying
homes, bridges, roads, supermarkets, water treatment plants
and fuel tanks.
UN: Israel Dropped Cluster Bombs in 170 Places in
South Lebanon
Meanwhile the United Nations has revealed that Israel dropped
cluster bombs on at least 170 villages and other places in
south Lebanon. Many of the cluster bombs failed to initially
explode and still pose a danger. The devices are known to
have killed eight people and wounded at least 25 since the
ceasefire began. We’ll have more on cluster bombs later
in the show.
15 Years of Lebanon’s Economic Recovery Wiped
Out In Past Month
The UN Development Agency is reporting that Lebanon's 15-year
economic and social recovery from civil war has been wiped
out over the past month. The UN estimates the Israeli attack
caused fifteen billion dollars in damage. About 35,000 homes
and businesses were destroyed. 80 bridges and 94 roads were
destroyed or damaged.
Israel To Maintain Aerial and Naval Blockade
Israel has announced it will maintain an aerial and naval
blockade of Lebanon until international troops arrive in southern
Lebanon.
UN Envoy Says Int’l Troops Might Take Months
To Be In Place
On Tuesday a top United Nations official said it could be
months before the international force is in place.
* UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen: "There is now a security
vacuum which the Lebanese Government is trying to fill and
the International forces are assisting the Lebanese Government
in order to fill that vacuum. I think realistically, up to
a point, you will have such a vacuum in Lebanon for the next
two, three months."
Lebanese PM: Israel Is Breaking Ceasefire
In Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Israel
of breaking the 10-day-old ceasefire.
* Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora: "I really
don't find it strange that the Israeli's continue to make
skirmishes and attacks here and there. So this is similar
to what they did a few days ago in the Bekaa area. So they
are making the same thing in one way or another. I think the
best thing for them is to comply with the resolution 1701,
and to expedite the process of withdrawing as soon as possible."
Greenpeace: Lebanese Oil Spill Spreads Into the Seabed
of Mediterranean
Greenpeace Lebanon has revealed that the oil spill off the
Lebanese coastline has spread into the seabed and could threaten
marine life for years. Oil on the seabed is so thick that
it can be physically picked up by divers. The spill occurred
six weeks ago when Israel bombed an electric power plant.
Up to 15,000 tons of fuel oil leaked out but the Israeli military
blocked any cleanup for a month. Zeina Al-Hajj, Greenpeace
coordinator in Beirut: "What we have seen is miles and
miles of oil suffocating the seabed. This is an indication
that the contamination from the oil spill has spread beyond
the shore and beyond the water coastline and into underwater.
And that is an indication of the urgency needed to deal with
this disaster."
Palestinian Parliament Meets In Solidarity of Detained
Lawmakers
In the Occupied Territories, the Palestinian parliament held
a special session on Tuesday in solidarity with the abducted
and detained members of the Palestinian Legislative council.
Since June, Israel has detained almost one quarter of the
members of the Palestinian Parliament. All of the detained
lawmakers are members of Hamas. On Tuesday an Israeli military
court charged Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Dweik with
being in a terrorist organization.
Iraqi Gov’t To Investigate Rape & Murder
of 14-Year-Old Girl
The Iraqi government has decided it will establish its own
commission to investigate the rape and murder of a 14-year-old
girl by US soldiers. On March 12, soldiers broke into the
home of the teenager, Abeer al-Janabi. According to military
records, a U.S. soldier named Steven Green, herded Abeer's
mother, father, and five-year old sister into a room and shot
them dead with an AK-47 rifle. Green and another soldier then
raped Abeer, shot her, and set her body on fire in an apparent
effort to cover up the crime. The Iraqi government investigation
is going ahead despite U.S.-imposed rules that prevent the
Iraqi government from prosecuting crimes committed by U.S.
service members.
U.S. Increases Troop Level in Iraq to 138,000
The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has increased to 138,000.
But the military is facing a tough time finding enough soldiers
to fight.
Marines Announce Involuntary Recall of Inactive Members
On Tuesday, the U.S. Marines announced it is beginning an
involuntary recall of inactive service members to return to
duty and go to Iraq and Afghanistan. This marks the first
involuntary recall by the Marines since the early days of
the war. As many as 2,500 inactive Marines will be initially
recalled.
New Poll: 61% Of Americans Oppose War
Meanwhile a new CNN poll has found opposition to the war in
Iraq has reached a new high. 61 percent of Americans say they
oppose it. Just 35 percent favor the war.
Saddam Hussein Genocide Trial Continues
In Baghdad, an Iraqi Kurd told Saddam Hussein's genocide trial
today that she was horribly burned and lost three children
after aircraft bombed her mountain village with chemical weapons.
The woman, Adiba Owla Bayez, said that she suffered two miscarriages
after the 1987 attack. On Tuesday, another Kurd, Ali Mustafa
Hafa described the day his Kurdish village was attacked.
U.S. Threatens Sanctions Against Iran Over Nuke Issue
Iran has indicated it is willing to negotiate with Western
nations over its nuclear program but Tehran gave no sign that
it would freeze its uranium enrichment program. Tuesday marked
the deadline for Iran to respond to a series of trade incentives
offered by the United States and other countries.
* John Bolton, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations:
"...we've also made it clear that their unwillingness
to give up their pursuit of nuclear weapons will result in
our efforts in the Security Council to obtain economic sanctions
against them. So the choice for two and a half months now
has been with Iran and if in fact as we expect this is the
definitive response today we'll know which path they've chosen."
Syria Calls for UN to Investigate Israel’s
Nuke Program
Meanwhile Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s Ambassador to the
United Nations, urged the international community to focus
not on Iran’s nuclear program but Israel’s.
* Bashar Jaafari: "What I know is that Israel, on a
piece of land not exceeding 20,000 square kilometers, has
eight nuclear centers capable of fabricating plutonium, uranium,
everything necessary to fabricate nuclear bombs and everybody
knows that Israel has at least 300 nuclear bombs. We should
tackle what is priority first which is how to obligate Israel
to join the NPT and how to put the Israeli nuclear facilities
under international control, and how to stop the Israeli terrorist
nuclear act in the area."
AP Links Richard Armitage to Outing of Valerie Plame
In news from Washington, former undercover CIA officer Valerie
Plame is considering suing former Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage for leaking her identity to the press. The
Associated Press has determined that Armitage met with Washington
Post reporter Bob Woodward in mid-June 2003, the same time
the reporter has testified that an administration official
first talked to him about Valerie Plame.
FBI Investigates Environmentalist for Speaking Up
At Hearing
In Illinois, an environmentalist who spoke up at a recent
public hearing has found himself the target of an FBI investigation.
On July 25, Jim Bensman attended a public meeting on the proposed
construction of a bypass channel for fish at a dam on the
Mississippi River. Bensman has been a longtime critic of the
system of locks and dams. At the public meeting Bensman suggested
the dam could be destroyed. It was an idea that the Army Corps
of Engineers had publicly mentioned as an option. Less than
a week later an FBI agent called Bensman to determine if he
was a terror threat.
Patrick Buchanan: Immigration Must Stop to Keep U.S. Majority
White
Conservative commentator and former Republican presidential
candidate Patrick Buchanan is calling for an immediate moratorium
on all immigration. Buchanan claims such a measure is needed
in order to keep the United States a predominantly white country.
He writes in his new book “If we do not get control
of our borders, by 2050 Americans of European descent will
be a minority in the nation their ancestors created and built.”
40 Activists With Jews Against the Occupation Arrested
in NYC & SF
In New York, 20 activists with the group Jews Against the
Occupation were arrested Tuesday for staging a die-in at Penn
Station. Dressed in black, the activists lied down outside
the train station during morning rush hour. In California,
20 people were arrested outside the San Francisco Jewish Center.
Ora Wise of Jews Against the Occupation: "Today, here
at Penn station here in NYC, we are a group of Jews joining
groups of Jews in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
We are expressing our outrage at Israel's brutal attacks on
Lebanon and Gaza and demanding that the U.S. Government stop
sending political, economic and military aid to Israel to
fuel their attacks on innocent civilians."
Unidentified Gunmen Shot Protester Dead in Oaxaca,
Mexico
In Oaxaca Mexico, fears are rising that the police will raid
a dozen radio stations that were seized on Monday by striking
teachers. On Tuesday several thousand people marched in silence
carrying the coffin of Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes. The architect
was shot dead yesterday outside one of the radio stations
where he was volunteering. Freelance Journalist John Gibler
is in Oaxaca. He describes the tense scene on the streets:
* Freelance journalist, John Gibler: Between 1:00 and 2:00
a.m. on August 22, groups of police riding in pickup trucks,
armed with machine guns and pistols, some dressed as civilians
and others in uniform, made rounds throughout Oaxaca City,
firing at radio stations that had been occupied by the Oaxaca
People's Assembly protesters. Police shot in the back Lorenzo
San Pablo Cervantes, an architect, who died 45 minutes later
in the hospital. The roaming police also fired on two photographers
from the national newspapers, Milenio and Reforma, though
no one was injured. And they threw a Molotov cocktail into
the car of two teachers traveling to one of the different
encampments, both of whom suffered second-degree burns. Last
night, rumors ran through the city that the big raid was coming,
and businesses closed several hours early in the evening,
and the people from the Oaxaca’s Assembly all prepared.
But then, rumors have it that after an 11:00 p.m. national
television show, showing the police making rounds the night
before, that the operation was canceled. The mood throughout
the city throughout the night has been very tense. Bonfires
kept in the street and the streets blocked off. There have
been no reports of shootouts throughout the night.
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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