Pacifica's Peace Watch
Tues. December 24th 2002
Today's Stories:
Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter on Inspections Then
and Now
Iraqi Refugees in Turkey
Gulf War Vets Still Suffer from Effects of Depleted Uranium
Growing Opposition to Smallpox Vaccine
No Connection Between Iraq and Al Qaeda
Poetic Response to War and Racism
The Psychology of War
Peace at Christmas
The audio of today's show is posted at http://www.radio4all.net/
Story: Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter on
Inspections Then and Now
Teams of United Nations and International Atomic Energy
Agency inspectors visited nine sites in Iraq today looking
for weapons of mass destruction. Among the sites was the Hateen
Company, a complex of factories 45 miles south of Baghdad
that produces artillery ammunition, among other things.
Last week, Weapons Inspections Chief Hans Blix and I.A.E.A.
head Mohammed ElBaradei said the declaration that Iraq presented
earlier this month was largely a rehash of old information,
and that they would be seeking more data from Iraq. Peacewatch
spoke recently with Scott Ritter a former UN Weapons Inspector
who quit his position after inspectors left the country in
1998.
Tape: KPFK’s Armando Gudiño speaks with Scott
Ritter
[top]
Story: Iraqi Refugees in Turkey
Since the 1991 Gulf War, more than 80 thousand Iraqis have
fled their country illegally by climbing across the mountainous
Kurdish region and into Turkey, with the help of smugglers.
These refugees dream of reaching America someday, where they
hope they can get a better life. But as Aaron Glantz reports
from the Turkish capital of Ankara, the refugees are finding
a closed door from both the Turkish and the American governments.
Tape: Report from Aaron Glantz in Ankara, Turkey
[top]
Story: Gulf War Vets Still Suffer from Effects of
Depleted Uranium
As the U.S. government prepares to send hundreds of thousands
of troops into war in Iraq, the fight continues for justice
and fair compensation for the veterans suffering from their
service in the last Gulf War.
Tape: Report from Peacewatch coorespondent Melinda Tuhus
[top]
Story: Growing Opposition to Smallpox Vaccine
A growing number of healthcare workers and physicians have
taken a stance against administering and taking the recommended
vaccination for the smallpox virus, as has been suggested
by the Bush administration. Many have signed a pledge of resistance,
two major hospitals have refused to administer the vaccine,
and Jeffrey Koplan, former Director of the Center for Disease
Control has spoken against it. The hope is that if enough
refuse to administer the vaccine, it will derail what they
see as a scare tactic on the part of the administration to
launch war against the people of Iraq.
Tape: Dr. Hillel Cohen, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
and Social Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
[top]
Story: No Connection Between Iraq and Al Qaeda
Tape: Syndicated columnist Ariana Huffington, addressing
an anti-war rally recently in Los Angeles (recorded by Pacifica
station KPFK)
[top]
Story: Poetic Response to War and Racism
Rajeev Kassat is a local artist living in the Nation’s
capital, who traveled through South Africa hoping to gain
a deeper understanding of life. Kassat dropped by Pacifica
station WPFW in Washington to share his perspectives about
war and racism since 9/11. He read the interlude of his book
"Trails," accompanied by Jali D. on an African hand
drum.
Tape: Rajeev Kassat, former youth representative to the
world conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, recorded
by Peacewatch producer Ryme Katkhouda.
[top]
Story: The Psychology of War
“The illusion that this war can successfully take out
Saddam Hussein without unleashing widespread chaos, death
,environmental destruction and a guaranteed jihad (or holy
war) against the U.S. is shortsighted, simplistic, egocentric,
dangerous, psychologically ignorant and politically immature.”
That’s a quote from clinical psychologist Diane Perlman.
She says the war and peace debate has been reduced to two
simplistic tracks of discourse.
Tape: Diane Perlman, clinincal psychologist, political psychologist
and co-chair of the Committee on Global Violence and Security
for Psychologists for Social Responsibility
[top]
Story: Peace at Christmas
The Israeli army pulled troops back to the outskirts of
Bethlehem today, maintaining a low profile in the biblical
city to allow pilgrims to celebrate the Christmas holiday.
The sentiment of honoring the holidays with a lull in the
violence mirrors the famous 1914 Christmas truce in the midst
of World War I. After hearing about the event, Folksinger
John McCutcheon was inspired to write the song “Christmas
in the Trenches.”
Tape: John McCutcheon describes the truce of 1914 and his
song, “Christmas in the Trenches”
[top]
For a copy of today's show, please contact Pacifica
Radio Archives at 800 735 0230.
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