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Tom Hayden: Documents Reveal Secret Talks Between U.S. and
Armed Iraqi Resistance
Anatomy of a Civil War: Writer Nir Rosen on Iraq's Descent
Into Chaos
Hundreds Face Eviction in New Orleans
Police Detain 160 Uprising Leaders in Oaxaca, Tens of Thousands
Protest Governor Ruiz
Tom Hayden: Documents Reveal Secret Talks Between
U.S. and Armed Iraqi Resistance
Former California state senator Tom Hayden is reporting
that U.S. officials have secretly been involved in direct
contacts with the Sunni armed resistance to explore a ceasefire
in Iraq and even the possible replacement of the Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki's government with an interim one.[includes
rush
transcript]
Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders in Iraq's government called
on Sunday for an end to the escalating sectarian conflict
in Iraq. The joint appeal comes three days after over 200
people were killed in a siege on the Shiite neighborhood of
Sadr City in what has been described as the deadliest attack
on Iraqis since the war began. Hundreds of more Iraqis died
over the weekend in reprisal killings.
The statement came after leading Sunni cleric Harith al-Dhari
called for Arab countries to withdraw their recognition of
the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is coming
under intense pressure from Sunni and Shia groups as he prepares
for a summit in Jordan with President Bush this week. Shiite
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has threatened to pull his followers
from government and parliament if the proposed meeting goes
ahead.
Meanwhile Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is due to fly to
Iran to hold talks with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
to discuss the situation in Iraq.
This comes as the New York Times is reporting that a draft
report written by the Iraq Study Group is urging the US government
to seek an aggressive regional diplomatic initiative that
includes direct talks with Iran and Syria but sets no timetables
for a military withdrawal.
There has been increasing debate within the United States
over a possible US withdrawal. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post
reported that US officials have secretly been involved in
direct contacts with the Sunni armed resistance to explore
a ceasefire. The article was written by Tom Hayden. A former
California State Senator, Hayden was a leader of the anti-war
movement during the Vietnam era. His latest article is Documents
Reveal Secret Talks Between U.S. and Armed Iraqi Resistance.
- Tom Hayden, a former California State Senator. He joins
us on the line from California.
Anatomy of a Civil War: Writer Nir Rosen on Iraq's
Descent Into Chaos
Freelance journalist and author Nir Rosen joins us to discuss
the latest developments in Iraq and the Middle East. Rosen
says, "[The U.S.] destroyed Iraq. There was no civil
war in Iraq until we got there and took certain steps to pit
Sunni against Shia. We need to know that we are responsible.”[includes
rush
transcript]
In his latest article, "Anatomy
of a Civil War: Iraq's descent into chaos", Rosen
writes, "Shia religious parties such as the Iran-supported
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (its name
a sufficient statement of its intentions), or SCIRI, controlled
the country, and Shia militias had become the Iraqi police
and the Iraqi army, running their own secret prisons, arresting,
torturing, and executing Sunnis in what was clearly a civil
war. And the Americans were merely one more militia among
the many, watching, occasionally intervening, and in the end
only making things worse. Iraqis' hopes for a better future
after Saddam had been betrayed."
- Nir Rosen, a freelance writer and a fellow at the New
America Foundation. He is the author of "In the
Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq."
His latest article is called "Anatomy
of a Civil War: Iraq's descent into chaos." It
was published in the November/December issue of Boston Review.
He returned from the Middle East on Sunday.
Hundreds Face Eviction in New Orleans
Over 100 families living in an apartment complex in the
Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans are facing eviction. Tenants
in the complex recently received notices telling them they
had to vacate the premises because the new owners of the building
were planning massive renovations. We go to New Orleans to
speak with Malik Rahim on the Common Ground collective. [rush
transcript
included]
We turn to New Orleans and the ongoing problem residents
face in securing housing after Hurricane Katrina. Over 100
families living in the Woodlands apartment complex in the
Algiers neighborhood are facing eviction. A few days before
Thanksgiving, tenants in the complex received notices telling
them they had to vacate the premises because the new owners
of the building were planning massive renovations. The building's
previous owner, Anthony Reginelli, had ceded management of
the complex to the Common Ground Collective last May.
Common Ground then hired residents to do major repairs on
the building - the group estimates it has provided one-million
dollars in labor and improvements. And as rents skyrocketed
throughout the city, Common Ground management froze the rents
at Woodlands to their pre-Katrina levels. Common Ground says
they tried to initiate negotiations with Reginelli to purchase
the building in order to turn it into a housing and business
co-operative. Instead Reginelli sold the building and started
eviction proceedings. Earlier this month, Reginelli and several
New Orleans Police officers entered Common Ground's office,
and seized files and computers containing lease and other
information about the complex. Tenants are going to court
on Tuesday to fight the evictions.
- Malik Rahim, co-founder of the Common
Ground Collective. Malik is a veteran of the Black Panther
Party in New Orleans. For decades he has worked as an organizer
of public housing tenants.
Police Detain 160 Uprising Leaders in Oaxaca, Tens
of Thousands Protest Governor Ruiz
In the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the police have detained
at least 160 members of APPO, the Popular Assembly of the
Peoples' of Oaxaca. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters
marched in Oaxaca to call on the state's governor, Ulises
Ruiz., to resign. We go to Oaxaca to get a report.[includes
rush
transcript]
In the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the police have detained
at least 160 members of APPO, the Popular Assembly of the
Peoples' of Oaxaca. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters
marched in Oaxaca to call on the state's governor Ulises Ruiz
to resign. Dozens of people were injured after clashes broke
out between the police and protesters. There were unconfirmed
reports of several deaths as well.
- John Gibler, independent journalist reporting from Oaxaca.
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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