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> Wed., Mar. 19, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
UN Security Council Convenes
Senate Debates Budget
Turks to Vote Again
Palestinians Prepare for War
Corporate Pro-War Rallies
UN Security Council Convenes (5:18)
U.S. warplanes today stepped up bombing of military targets
in the southern so-called "No Fly Zone" of Iraq
and also dropped nearly 2 million leaflets into the area.
There are now more than 280,000 U.S. and British troops along
with dozens of missile-carrying warships and up to 1,000 aircrafts
positioned in the Gulf region facing Iraq. This as the United
Nations Security Council today held an open debate at the
ministerial level, ostensibly to hear reports from the chief
UN weapons inspectors on key remaining disarmament tasks in
Iraq. But on Monday Secretary-General Kofi Annan, citing information
received from Washington and London, withdrew all UN personnel
from the country, including weapons inspectors working there
since last November. And as Nadja Middleton reports, today's
meeting provided a forum for antiwar governments to condemn
the Bush administrations looming pre-emptive strike on Iraq.
This report was produced by Susan Wood and Nadja Middleton.
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Senate Debates Budget (3:38)
As the world waits for a US war to start, the Bush administration
is carving up the spoils of government contracts to American
companies, to the tune of over $1.5 billion for the rebuilding
of postwar Iraq. This as today weapons manufacturer Lockheed
Martin announced it received a $106.6 million contract from
the U.S. Air Force to make laser guided bomb kits. Lockheed
said the contract is part of a $281 million deal covering
the base year of an "indefinite delivery, indefinite
quantity" contract that has six one-year options. Meanwhile,
the Senate is debating a 2004 budget that would cut taxes
by hundreds of billions of dollars. The cuts would mostly
benefit the wealthiest Americans, while the as-yet unknown
cost of war will be born by all. Josh Chaffin reports from
Capitol Hill.
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Turks to Vote Again (3:21)
Turkeys Prime Minister said today that his government would
ask parliament to approve over flight rights for US planes
in case of war in Iraq, but would keep Turkish bases strictly
off-limits. The motion authorizes the transit passage of American
planes and also authorizes sending the Turkish Army into Northern
Iraq. The vote is expected tomorrow. Aaron Glantz reports
from Diabbakkar in South Eastern Turkey.
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Palestinians Prepare for War (2:54)
One day after the Palestinian Parliament approved the new
post, Palestinian appointee Mahmoud Abbas officially accepted
the newly created position of the first Palestinian Authority
Prime Minister today. Abbas who co-founded the Palestinian
faction, Fatah with Arafat four decades ago, now has two weeks
to form a new cabinet. If Abbas fails to create a new cabinet
by the deadline, Arafat is required to choose another Prime
Ministerial candidate. As the European Unions foreign policy
chief welcomed the news of the Abbas appointment today during
an EU meeting, Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank and
Gaza have other thoughts on their mind. Now, hours before
the ultimatum given by President Bush to Iraq expires, fear
from the coming war against Iraq is spreading in the Palestinian
territories. Awad Duaibes reports from Ramallah
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Corporate Pro-War Rallies (4:06)
Last weekend, several more Pro America Rallies were held
in U.S. cities like Philadelphia and Atlanta. Although the
rally attendance still doesn’t compare with anti-war
protests, the biggest of these rallies to date was seen Saturday
in Atlanta, where organizers claim 25,000 people attended
the patriotic pep rally for America. Yet more than a dozen
of these rallies, including the largest, were not organized
by community or citizen groups, but by a giant broadcast company,
the largest radio station owner in America, Clear Channel.
Independent journalist William Ross has more from Houston.
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