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> Mon., Aug. 18, 2003
Pacifica's PeaceWatch
Today's Stories:
Professor Michael Klare on Sabotage of Iraqi Oil Pipeline
Congresswoman Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton proposes Nuclear
Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act
US Veteran Returning From Iraq Fights to Receive Medical Treatment
William Rivers Pitt of Truthout.org to Veterans for Peace
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Professor Michael Klare on Sabotage of Iraqi Oil
Pipeline
US Army Engineers continued battling a blaze today on Iraq’s
main oil pipeline, which leads from the northern city of Kirkuk
to a Turkish port several hundred miles to the West. The fire
was said to be set by two saboteurs late last week, which
either attacked the pipeline with explosives or set leaking
oil ablaze. Peacewatch spoke earlier today with Michael Klare,
author and Professor of Peace and World Studies at Hampshire
College in Northampton, Massachusetts about the significance
of this pipeline and its strategic importance to both Iraq
and the US.
Tape: Michael Klare is an author and Professor of Peace
and World Studies at Hampshire College in Northampton, Massachusetts.
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Congresswoman Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton proposes
Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act
As the US went to war in Iraq, pledging to rid the world
of the threat of Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction,
many onlookers both within the US and around the rest of the
world saw a glaring contradiction in the US’s own weapons
arsenal. Among them was Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes
Norton, of the District of Columbia. Speaking recently with
David Goodman of community radio station WMBR in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, Norton described a bill she’s proposed
calling for disarmament of US weapons of mass destruction.
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US Veteran Returning From Iraq Fights to Receive
Medical Treatment
A new mass movement to bring the troops home is moving across
the US faster than the power failure of last Thursday. Veterans
from as far as Boston, Baltimore and Pittsburgh will meet
in New York City tomorrow at a rally sponsored by “Bring
Them Home Now, as coalition of veterans and their families.
While over 140,000 US troops are in harm’s way in Iraq,
one soldier is fighting a different battle, here at home.
Army Sergeant Vanessa Turner fell victim to a “mysterious
illness” in May 2003 and was pronounced in danger of
imminent death. She was flown to a military hospital in Germany
and was retired by the military. Her family was called to
join her, but was advised that the Army had no responsibility
to fly them to Germany, since Turner was no longer on active
duty.
Through the aid of Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry
of Massachusetts and the USO, funds were deducted from Turner’s
ATM card to pay for her family to fly to Germany.
Turner spent two months recuperating at the Walter Reed
Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, but for her the war
continues. This time, the battle to receive medical care.
Peacewatch spoke to Turner last week about her battle with
the Veterans Administration. Since that conversation, we’ve
learned that the American Legion, a veteran’s association,
has advised Turner that the Army had no cause to retire her
in Germany, and that her daughter would not receive greater
benefits in the event of her death than if she were still
on active duty. Today we continue our conversation with Turner,
regarding conditions in Iraq and her reaction to being retired.
Tape: Army Sergeant Vanessa Turner who contracted a mysterious
illness while on active duty 70 miles from Baghdad, Iraq.
Turner has been battling the military to receive medical treatment
since she returned to the US in May 2003. Presently investigation
is under way by the American Legion as to whether the military
acted illegally in retiring Sgt. Turner while she was in danger
of imminent death. Peacewatch will keep you abreast of developments
in her case as they occur.
[top]
William Rivers Pitt of Truthout.org to Veterans
for Peace
The situations of both Iraqis and American soldiers fighting
on the front lines was also of concern to members of the group
Veterans for Peace that held its national conference in San
Francisco recently. Among the presenters was someone who’s
not a veteran, but has written a lot about the subject. William
Rivers Pitt is the Managing Editor of the website www.truthout.org,
and author of the New York Times bestseller War on Iraq. He
offered these thoughts.
Tape: William Rivers Pitts recently in San Francisco at
the national conference of Veterans for Peace. Thanks to Sarah
Olson for production assistance with that piece.
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