Pacifica's Peace Watch
Tues. Feb. 4, 2003
Today's Stories:
Readying For War: Norm Solomon
Ralph and Mya Commentary
Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with French
Prime Minister Jacques Chirac
Interview from protest
Impact of War on African Americans
South Africa Leaders Against the War Nelson Mandela
Musical protests
The audio of today's show is posted at http://www.radio4all.net/
Story: Readying For War: Norm Solomon
The Bush administration’s plans for war remain on
a fast track despite the fact that key members of the U-N
Security Council, France, Russia and China have refused to
endorse Bush’s agenda. U-S soldiers in Kuwait practice
storming a mock village in the desert combat training for
a possible ground war. According to today’s Washington
Post over 100-thousand U.S. troops are expecting to be deployed
to Kuwait within a few weeks. Foreign diplomats are pulling
out of Iraq and Kuwait as the region braces itself for a possible
attack from the U.S.
Tomorrow Secretary of State Colin Powell will make a crucial
bid for U.N. support and is set to present so called ‘evidence’
that Iraq has hidden large caches of weapons of mass destruction
from international inspectors… and defied calls on it
to disarm. Powell himself admits there will be no ‘smoking
gun’ but promises to lay out a ‘straight forward
compelling and sober demonstration’ that Saddam Hussein
is evading weapons inspectors and hiding large caches of weapons
of mass destruction.
Powell's presentation tomorrow to the Security Council will
be the centerpiece of a strenuous campaign to enlist support
from Russia, France and other skeptical governments - - -
and perhaps most importantly from the American public, three
quarters of whom are not yet convinced the U.S. should wage
war against Iraq without U-N approval. The international response
to his briefing will largely determine whether the administration
decides to seek a second Security Council resolution authorizing
an invasion of Iraq, or whether it decides to ignore the United
Nations and act unilaterally.
Norman Solomon, Executive Director of the Institute for
Public Accuracy has visited Iraq several times in recent weeks.
Solomon is author of the book Target Iraq: What the News Media
Didn’t Tell You. We asked him about his impressions
of the Iraqi people as war looms large on the horizon.
Tape: Norman Solomon, Executive Director of the Institute
for Public Accuracy and author of the book Target Iraq: What
the News Media Didn’t Tell You.
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Story: Ralph and Mya Commentary
The US proposes to use as much weaponry in the first two
days of bombing of Iraq as during the entire Gulf War according
to a New York Times article.
Pacifica Radio Commentators Ralph Schoenman and Maya Shone
review the administration’s plans for war with Iraq
and the devastation that is likely to follow, the effects
for the citizens of Iraq and the environmental impacts on
the region.
Tape: Pacifica Radio Commentators Ralph Schoenman and Maya
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Story: Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair
meets with French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac
British Prime Minister Tony Blair met today with French
Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, but, failed to reverse French
opposition to a British-American invasion of Iraq without
approval from the United Nations. Dr Peter Gowan ,editor of
the New Left Review, spoke from London today addressing the
tete-a-tete between Blair and Chirac as well as the European
view of a possible Anglo-American war in Iraq.
Tape: Dr Peter Gowan, editor of the New Left Review, and
professor of international relations at Metropolitan University
in London, speaking with Amy Goodman and Robert Knight of
Pacifica station WBAI’s morning show, Wake Up Call
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Story: Interview from protest
Thousands of activists in the United States and the United
Kingdom organized an international day of action today, protesting
at over 100 gas stations and calling for us to reduce our
dependence on oil. We checked in earlier today with Jason
Kafoury of Democracy Rising and United for Peace.org, one
of the organizers of today’s demonstrations.
Tape:
Anti-war protests, vigils and demonstrations have been taking
place all across the country over the past several months.
Peacewatch has spent the past few days checking in with people
involved in several of these actions, and here’s what
they had to say.
Tape:
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Story: Impact of War on African Americans
The President’s $ 396 Billion dollar military budget
has come under fire from Democrats and policy analysts who
have done the math and figure that all that money for bombs
…will leave precious little for butter.
Scholars at a recent forum hosted by the Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation in Washington addressed the economic and
social costs of pouring billions into a war to attack Iraq.
Tape: Dr. Ron Walters
The Rev. Dr. Walter Fauntroy, with a 38-year history of
work in the civil rights movement has sought to influence
public policy on behalf of communities of color.
Tape: The Rev. Dr. Walter Fauntroy, former DC Delegate to
the U-S House of Representatives.
Dr. William Ellis is a specialist in Domestic Terrorism
and information technology at the Congressional Research Center
in Washington and has served on the faculties of North Western
University, University of Michigan and Howard University.
Tape: Dr. William Ellis, a specialist in Domestic Terrorism
and information technology at the Congressional Research Center
in Washington
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Story: South Africa Leaders Against the War Nelson
Mandela
The African Union, a body of 53 member states whose mission
is to foster prosperity, peace and democracy on the war-torn
continent, has joined the ranks of the European Union in opposing
the United States unilateral approach to disarming Iraq. The
African Union met yesterday and issued a declaration today
against war in Iraq. In it, African countries urge the United
States to work with the U.N. Security Council to bring about
a peaceful resolution to the weapons standoff with Iraq. These
African leaders believe a war with Iraq would raise oil prices
and devastate the continents fragile economies.
South African President Thabo Mbeki is president of the
African Union, and along with former President Nelson Mandela,
has taken a lead role internationally in the growing movement
of countries opposing a war in Iraq.
Tape: Peacewatch correspondent Hannah Lewis has more in
this report...
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Story: Musical protests
More and more ordinary citizens are organizing and speaking
out against the continual march to war against the people
of Iraq. Pacifica Radio producer Armondo Gudiño of
KPFK shares this musical montage of voices of resistance.
Tape: Thanks to Pacifica Radio producer Armondo Gudiño
of Station KPFK in Los Angelos
Credits
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