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> Tues., Sept. 2, 2003
Pacifica's PeaceWatch
Today's Stories:
Journalist Lamis Andoni on Friday’s Assassination of
Iraqi Shiite Leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Iraq
and Beyond
Labor Against War In Iraq
Military Families Against The War in Iraq
Professor Christopher Pyle on Putting the Brakes on Domestic
Spying
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The brother of an cleric assassinated in a car bombing told
400,000 mourners today he blamed the U.S. occupation forces
for the lax security that led to the attack at Iraq's most
sacred Shiite mosque.
Also today, another car bomb struck police headquarters
in central Baghdad, killing an Iraqi policeman and wounding
at least 13 others in the latest attack apparently targeting
Iraqis working with the American-led occupation.
L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq,
told a Baghdad news conference he shared the country's "anguish"
over recent bombings, adding that "it's a fight we're
now going to have to win here - this fight against terrorism."
The U.S. military also reported the deaths of three more
American soldiers - two of them in the bombing of a convoy
in southern Iraq.
Democrat John Kerry, seeking to regain his political footing,
formally launched his presidential candidacy today by offering
his Vietnam War-hero credentials and Senate tenure as an alternative
to President Bush's record. Kerry told the crowd , "Every
day of this campaign, I will challenge George Bush for fundamentally
taking our country in the wrong direction," He said ,
“ George Bush's vision does not live up to the America
I enlisted in the Navy to defend."
The stars-and-stripes announcement with the aircraft carrier
USS Yorktown as a backdrop and Kerry's wartime comrades at
his side comes at a critical juncture for the four-term U.S.
senator from Massachusetts. Once viewed as the Democratic
front-runner in the crowded field of nine, Kerry saw that
perception evaporate in the heat of party rival Howard Dean's
summer surge.
The political free-fall has prompted a fresh round of finger-pointing
in Kerry's deeply divided campaign and has the candidate considering
a staff shake-up, according to several campaign officials
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Journalist Lamis Andoni on Friday’s Assassination
of Iraqi Shi a Leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim
400 thousand Iraqi Shi’ a Muslims filled the streets
of Najaf, Iraq today, following the funeral procession of
their assassinated leader, the Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim.
Al-Hakim was killed along with more than 80 other worshippers
when a car bomb exploded on Friday at the Shrine of Imam Ali--
one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines. The incident was widely
regarded as a major crossroads in the US occupation of Iraq,
and the bloodiest setback since it took power. As al-Hakim
was laid to rest at his birthplace after a 3-day funeral procession
across the country, his brother Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, who’s
also a member of the U.S.-picked governing council for Iraq
delivered an angry eulogy, denouncing the occupation, demanding
that U.S. troops leave his country and blaming US forces for
the lax security that led to the attack.
Peacewatch spoke earlier today with journalist and Middle
East correspondent Lamis Andoni about the attack on Friday.
We began by asking her who she thought was responsible and
what the motive might have been.
Tape: Lamis Andoni, journalist for the British Middle East
International newspaper. She lived in Iraq for a decade, but
she spoke to us from Jordan.
[top]
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda
in Iraq and Beyond
From an analysis of the problems facing the US occupation
in Iraq, we’re going to take a step back now to examine
how the US government-- along with the American corporate
media-- built the case for the war on Iraq. With all the talk
about weapons of mass destruction, Sonali Kolhatkar of Pacifica
station KPFK in Los Angeles spoke recently with Sheldon Rampton--
co-editor of PR Watch-- about his new book entitled Weapons
of Mass Deception.
Tape: Sheldon Rampton, co-editor of PR Watch and the co-author
of Weapons of Mass Deception, speaking with Sonali Kolhatkar
of Pacifica station KPFK in Los Angeles
[top]
Labor Against War In Iraq
US labor unions have not historically been part of the anti-war
movement. During the Vietnam War era, when pictures of construction
workers in hard-hats attacking anti-war demonstrators appeared
in newspapers around the country, the AFL-CIO responded by
vigorously supporting the US invasion of Southeast Asia. But
as John Hamilton reports, labor’s opposition to an Iraq
war among overseas workers has been joined by a newfound anti-war
sentiment among many unions here in the United States.
In recognition of Labor Day, Peacewatch re-airs this report
by Hamilton that aired a few months ago
Tape: John Hamilton
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Military Families Against The War in Iraq
The number of those wounded in action, since the war began
in March totals 1,124. The number has grown so large, and
attacks have become so commonplace, that U.S. Central Command
usually issues news releases listing injuries only when the
attacks kill one or more troops. The result is that many injuries
go unreported.
Susan Schumann, is the mother of Justin who is currently
stationed in Iraq and has been deployed since late March.
Peacewatch spoke with Schuman recently about her views of
the war in Iraq and specifically how she deals with the continuing
mounting death tolls figures.
Tape: Susan Schumann, is the mother of a US soldier Justin,
stationed in Iraq since March, 2003. Tomorrow, we will speak
with Mike Lux who founded The Fair and Balanced PAC. At the
center of PAC's efforts is the website www.recallbush.org,
where petition is collecting the names of those wanting a
new chief executive in 2004.
[top]
Professor Christopher Pyle on Putting the Brakes
on Domestic Spying
On the civil liberties front, the American Civil Liberties
Union made public, today, a confidential report showing that
facial recognition technology at use in Boston’s Logan
Airport and 2 other cities confirms that the technology does
not work well enough to be an effective security tool. Police
in Tampa, Florida, meanwhile, announced late last month that
they were discontinuing the use of face recognition technology,
while authorities in Virginia Beach, Virginia, continue to
monitor the city’s residents and visitors, maintaining
that the system works.
Facial recognition technology is just one of a myriad of
new, high-tech developments to raise concerns among civil
libertarians. Speaking recently at a press conference called
by the Traprock Peace Center in Western Massachusetts, Mount
Holyoke College Professor Christopher Pyle compared the government's
new powers under the Patriot Act to government surveillance
during the Vietnam War, and he said we need to put the brakes
on domestic spying.
Tape: Christopher Pyle, Professor at Mount Holyoke College
in Massachusetts.
Credits
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