Pacifica's Peace Watch
Monday. Dec. 16, 2002
Today's Stories:
Ewin Buchanan U.S. rejects Iraq report
Iraq Lack of Cooperation - John Quigley
Sean Penn
Commentary: Paul Loeb
Healthcare Rally - NYC
Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey Aaron Glantz
Iraq Opposition Leaders Meet In London- Dilip Hiro DN
The audio of today's show is posted at http://www.radio4all.net/
Story: Ewin Buchanan U.S. rejects Iraq report
The United States says it had problems with the documents
Iraq gave to the United Nations on its weapons programs. Secretary
of State Colin Powell is quoted in today’s Washington
Post saying "We said at the very beginning that we approached
it with skepticism and the information I have received so
far is that that skepticism is well-founded. There are problems
with the declaration," .. ," Powell told a news
conference with Japanese ministers and Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz,"We are sharing the problems we see with
UNMOVIC (the U.N. inspectorate) and IAEA (International Atomic
Energy Agency) and we're in discussions with the permanent
members of the Security Council.”
Tape: Ewin Buchanan, public information officer for UNMOVIC.
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Story: Iraq Lack of Cooperation - John Quigley
John Quigley, Professor of International Law at Ohio State
University says the U.S. has a tough case to make in convincing
the world that Saddam Hussein is not cooperating with the
inspectors.
Tape John Quigley, Professor of International Law, Ohio
State University
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Story: Sean Penn
Over a hundred celebrities and former military officials
signed onto a full-page ad in the New York Times last week,
urging the Bush administration to "Win Without War"
in Iraq. Their newly-formed group entitled "Artists
United to Win Without War" includes actors Matt Damon
and Samuel L. Jackson, actress Helen Hunt, musician Dave Matthews
and former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Edward Peck. Also among
the ranks of those voicing concern towards the impending war
is actor Sean Penn. In October, he paid $56,000 for an ad
in the Washington Post, accusing President Bush of stifling
debate on Iraq. More recently, Penn concluded a three-day
visit to Iraq on Sunday, as a guest of the public policy group
the Institute for Public
Accuracy. Speaking at a press conference in Baghdad over
the weekend, he said that he was obliged to take the trip
to find his own voice on matters of conscience..
Tape: Sean Penn, actor
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Story: Commentary: Paul Loeb
The reaction in the mainstream media to some of the anti-war
sentiments coming from Hollywood has often been one of scorn
and ridicule, questioning both the motives and intelligence
of anyone who raises his or her voice to protest.
Tape: Paul Loeb, author of Soul of a Citizen: Living With
Conviction in a Cynical Time.
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Story: Healthcare Rally - NYC
The cost of an attack on Iraq is a growing concern for many.
In Washington DC, seniors, their children and anti-war activists
rallied last week at City Hall. They demanded the restoration
of prescription drug benefits cut this year by the city to
save money.
The organizers of this "Health Care Not War" rally
blame the corruption of election finances for the DC health
care crisis, echoing the anti-war activists' position that
National election finances was to blame for the unaccountability
of Congress to its constituents' opposition to the war.
Tape: Tom Gomez, from WBIX.org-in Washington, Ryme Katkhouda,
Pacifica station WPFW
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Story: Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey Aaron Glantz
Among the countries the United States has approached seeking
help for its proposed war on Iraq is Turkey, which shares
a southern border. Turkish military cooperation was a topic
of discussion at a forum held in Istanbul over the weekend.
Among the speakers was Tariq Ali, a long-time editor of New
Left Review and author of over a dozen books on history and
politics. According to the Pakistani-born novelist and playwright
Tariq Ali said that Turkey's cooperation is a given. As Tariq
Ali spoke in Istanbul, Iraqi opponents of Saddam Hussein were
meeting in London in a forum organized by the Bush administration.
At the table were hard-line Islamic fundamentalists, two rival
Kurdish armies, the heir to the Iraqi throne, and the right-wing
Iraqi National Congress.
Tape: by Peacewatch correspondent Aaron Glantz
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Story: Iraq Opposition Leaders Meet In London- Dilip
Hiro DN
Over the weekend, more than 300 Iraq opposition leaders
met in London to strategize for a post-Saddam Iraq. Reuters
News services referred to the meeting as a show of unity and
little else. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Ahmad
Chalabi, head of the Iraq National Congress, said that after
the fall of Saddam Hussein, US oil companies would be at risk.
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now spoke with Dilip Hiro, author
of Iraq In The Eye of the Storm, and War Without End about
the meeting.
Tape: Dilip Hiro, author of Iraq “In the Eye of the
Storm" and "War Without End: a Historical Perspective
of Iraq"
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For a copy of today's show, please contact Pacifica
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