Pacifica's Peace Watch
Tues. Feb. 18, 2003
Today's Stories:
Bush reacts to Peace Protestors
British Prime Minister’s Popularity Plummets
US Congress Calls for Repeal of Authority to Wage War
Former British Parliamentarian Tony Benn Speaks Against War
With Iraq
Paris Stands Up for Peace
Voices for Peace in Costa Rica
Media Coverage of Worldwide Rallies for Peace
Iraq War’s Effects on Democracy and Fundamentalism in
Jordan
Bush Uber Alles
The audio of today's show is posted at http://www.radio4all.net/
President Bush declared today that he would not be deterred
by global protests against a U-S led invasion into Iraq saying,
“I respectfully disagree with those who doubt that Saddam
Hussein is a threat to peace.” Bush said that war against
Iraq remains a final resort but that “the risk of doing
nothing is even a worse option as far as I’m concerned.”
Over the weekend it’s estimated between 8 and 11.5
million protestors turned out for anti-war rallies across
Europe, Asia and in the U.S. Over 750-thousand marched in
Britain, one of the US’s staunchest allies, in what
France described as that country’s biggest protest ever
to give their government’s stance the thumbs down.
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Story: British Prime Minister’s Popularity
Plummets
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s support for the U.S. war
agenda has caused his personal popularity to plummet to an
all time low. According to the Guardian newspaper, a clear
majority of British voters oppose a military attack and weekend
polls show his rating has dropped through the floor to a minus
20 points, the lowest level since the petrol crisis two and
a half years ago. During his monthly press conference today
at number 10 Downing Street reporters pulled no punches.
Tape: British Prime Minister Tony Blair
[top]
Story: US Congress Calls for Repeal of Authority
to Wage War
In this country anti war sentiment has translated into congressional
and legal action. There are resolutions in both chambers of
Congress seeking to repeal the use of force granted the president
and one House resolution enjoys bi-partisan support.
In addition, several U.S. lawmakers have joined with U.S.
military personnel in a lawsuit against President-select Bush
and Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld. The suit - brought by
Democrats -states that Congress had no right to grant Bush
authority to declare war on Iraq without a declaration of
war by congress. The suit prevents Bush from declaring war
until the case is settled.
Tape: U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan, speaking
with PeaceWatch editor, Lona Alias.
[top]
Story: Former British Parliamentarian Tony Benn Speaks
Against War With Iraq
Across the Atlantic public and political opposition to US
war is soaring. From Saturday’s rally, more than1 to
2 million people listened to Tony Benn.
Tape: Former British Parliamentarian Tony Benn
[top]
Story: Paris Stands Up for Peace
In Paris this weekend over a quarter of a million people
came out in support of peace. The French Prime Minister Jacque
Chirac has promised to veto any call for another UN Security
Council resolution calling for the use of force and again
insisted that we give peace a chance. .
Tape: PeaceWatch correspondent Alain Lewkowicz from Paris
[top]
Story: Voices for Peace in Costa Rica
Costa Ricans joined millions in the global day against the
war in Iraq last Saturday, and made the world re-think Costa
Rico’s reputation as a politically inactive people.
Over a thousand gathered against war in that nation’s
capital, a seemingly small number in comparison to Mexico
City’s 50,000 peace activist, but Costa Rican demonstrators
doubled those of San Salvador.
Tape: Report filed by Pauline Bartolone
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Story: Media Coverage of Worldwide Rallies for Peace
Millions of antiwar protestors worldwide rallied this weekend
against the Bush administration’s agenda to attack the
people of Iraq; but how much of that protest was reported
on by the network news and was the coverage fair and unbiased.
We spoke with two individuals who monitored the press coverage
around this event…Damu Smith of Black Voices For Peace
and Peter Hart of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. We asked
them for an overall rating of the coverage of the dramatic
rallies over the weekend.
Tape: Peter Hart of Fairness
and Accuracy In Reporting and Damu Smith of Black
Voices For Peace
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Story: Iraq War’s Effects on Democracy and
Fundamentalism in Jordan
Toujane Faycal is an outspoken liberal politician in Jordan,
the first woman ever to win a seat in Jordan's parliament.
She was elected in 1993 after being harshly criticized by
Muslims for defending women's rights in Jordan. While the
United States through the Middle East Partnership Initiative
is addressing democratization of the Arab world as a last
priority behind winning the war on terrorism, disarming Iraq
and bringing the Arab-Israeli conflict to an end, Toujane
Faycal spoke of the influence the Iraqi and Israeli-Palestinian
crises have on democracy, women's rights and rise of fundamentalism
in the region.
Tape: Toujane Faycal, speaking with Peacewatch correspondent
Raphael Krafft
[top]
Story: Bush Uber Alles
Tape: Production from the radio satire group the Christmas
Coup Comedy Players at Pacifica stations KPFT in Houston
and WBAI in New York.
Credits
[top]
For a copy of today's show, please contact Pacifica
Radio Archives at 800 735 0230.
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