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> Mon., Aug. 11, 2003
Pacifica's PeaceWatch
Today's Stories:
Egyptian Man to Be Deported
Liberian President Charles Taylor Resigns
Liberians Reacts To Taylor’s Exile
Nuclear Opponents in Maine Protest Commissioning Of Nuclear
Destroyer Ship On Anniversary Of Nagasaki Atomic Bombing
Stan Goff, Veteran Special Forces Soldier and Father of Active
Duty Soldier, Launches Campaign to “Bring Them Home
Now”
Egyptian Man to Be Deported
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American troops swooped into a remote Iraqi village aboard
Black Hawk helicopters Monday in search of a member of Saddam
Hussein's inner circle. They couldn't find him, but rounded
up about 70 suspects. North of Baghdad, meanwhile, three American
soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack, a day after a U.S.
military policeman was killed in a bombing.
A U.S. military policeman was killed Sunday night at an
Iraqi police station near Baqouba, 40 miles northeast of the
capital. The death brought to 57 the number of U.S. troops
killed in action since May 1, when President Bush officially
declared major combat over.
Calm returned to Basra on Monday after two days of riots,
during which Iraqis hurled rocks and bricks at British troops
to protest fuel, electricity and water shortages in the southern
city. Residents have complained that in the last week much
of the city has had less than three hours of power a day,
little or no water supplies and a shortage of fuel.
Stepping beyond the bounds of Europe for the first time
in its 54-year history, NATO took command Monday of the 5,000-strong
peacekeeping force in Afghanistan-- the clearest sign yet
that the world's most powerful military alliance is adopting
new strategies in the global war on terror. The handover ceremony
took place at a heavily guarded high school auditorium in
the Afghan capital, Kabul. NATO Deputy Secretary General Alessandro
Minuto Rizzo called the new mission "a reflection of
NATO's ongoing transformation and resolve to meet the security
challenges of the 21st century."
[top]
Liberian President Charles Taylor Resigns
Liberian President Charles Taylor stepped down from power
this afternoon and boarded an airplane bound for Nigeria,
where he has been granted asylum by Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo. Taylor’s action effectively brings an end
to Liberia’s 14 year civil war, with leaders of the
opposition group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
saying the suffering of Liberians is finally over. Before
leaving office, Taylor addressed his nation and the world,
saying that by stepping down he was giving way to a new, more
peaceful chapter in Liberian history.
Tape: Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, announcing
his resignation
[top]
Liberians Reacts To Taylor’s Exile
Tape: Bishop Ronald Diggs, former interim Vice President
of Liberia, speaking from his home in Trenton, New Jersey
Activists Protest US Nuclear Policy at Oak Ridge, TN Weapons
Plant
More than 300 activists protested US nuclear policy at the
Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on Sunday, to commemorate
the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The crowd at this
year’s protest was varied, and at some points, tempers
flared.
Tape: Peacewatch reporter Kim Green, with production assistance
from Hal Humphreys
[top]
Nuclear Opponents in Maine Protest Commissioning
Of Nuclear Destroyer Ship On Anniversary Of Nagasaki Atomic
Bombing
Meanwhile, in Bath, Maine on Saturday, on the anniversary
of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, the
US Navy dedicated the newest ship in its fleet; a nuclear-capable
destroyer costing three quarters of a billion dollars. But
outside the gates of the shipyard, protesters gathered to
demand that the resources necessary to build such a weapon
be spent instead on social needs.
Tape: Peacewatch reporter David Goodman at the Bath Iron
Works shipyard in Bath, Maine
[top]
Stan Goff, Veteran Special Forces Soldier and Father
of Active Duty Soldier, Launches Campaign to “Bring
Them Home Now”
In a northern suburb of Baghdad last Friday night, an electrical
transformer blew up, plunging the neighborhood into darkness.
U.S. soldiers, apparently fearing a bomb attack, went on alert.
Within 45 minutes six Iraqis, trying to get home before the
11 pm curfew were shot and killed by U.S. troops. 36-year
old Anwaar Kawaz lost her husband and three of her four children.
In an article in the Associated Press she’s quoted as
saying, “we kept shouting, we’re a family, don’t
shoot. But no one listened. They kept shooting.” Kawaz
is expecting another child this month. When asked about the
shootings, Lt. Col. Guy Shields, spokesman for the coalition
forces, said “our checkpoints are usually marked, and
our soldiers are trained and disciplined. I will check on
that, that is serious.”
Confronted by daily guerilla attacks, that have killed 56
Americans since May 1st, U.S. troops are on edge.
As we speak, Stan Goff's son is heading for Iraq as part
of the 82nd airborne division to replace the embattled 3rd
Infantry division. Goff is different from most parents waiting
at home for words from their loved ones. Goff is a veteran,
himself, and he recently formed “Bring Them Home Now,”
a campaign of veterans and military families that’s
sprung up in the face of continuing conflict in the occupation
of Iraq. Peacewatch spoke with Goff today about his advocacy
and what shaped his decision to call for the return of US
troops from Iraq.
Tape: Stan Goff, a retired master sergeant, a war veteran
and a parent of a soldier stationed in Iraq, is the founder
of the “Bring Them Home Now” campaign. For more
info, visit his group’s website at www.bringthemhomenow.org
[top]
Egyptian Man to Be Deported
According to the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, more
than 2,000 people have been detained since the terrorist attacks
of September 11th, 2001. They’re mostly Arab, Muslim
and South Asian men who were apprehended as part of the Justice
Department’s investigation into the attacks, or for
simple immigration violations. Justice Department officials
have refused to disclose numbers, identities or locations
of those detained.
Families of the detainees, legal advocates and civil liberties
organizations are still struggling to obtain information about
the detainees, as well as the many who have been deported.
One such person is Waleed Ghnem, who’s been working
legally in the US since 1997 but is scheduled to be deported
on Tuesday.
Tape: Report from Peacewatch correspondent Ryme Katkhouda
at Pacifica station WPFW in Washington, DC
[top]
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