[ Paul Bremer’s decision to close the al-Sadr-affiliated newspaper, Al Hawza, was arguably an important cause of the increased violence in Iraq. Hence, it is important that journalists properly represent to the American people the rationale for the censorship. –BL ] NewsHour Should Correct Lehrer’s Falsehood April 16, 2004 | Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) On the April 7 edition of the PBS NewsHour, anchor Jim Lehrer offered a rationale for the U.S. closure of the Al Hawza newspaper, affiliated with Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr. But so far the program has been unable to supply evidence to back up Lehrer’s […]
Daily Archives: April 16, 2004
7 posts
by LOURDES NAVARRO April 15, 2004 — FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) On a rooftop overlooking Fallujah’s industrial wasteland, Lance Cpl. Tom Browne pokes his machine gun muzzle out of a hole in a barrier wall, singing to himself to pass the time. In the street below, the corpse of an insurgent suspect lies baking in the sun. Browne, from Boston, says he has killed several rebels, probably Iraqis, so far. “I don’t even think about those people as people,” he says. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The band of Marines in this insurgent stronghold received two big orders this […]
[ Most citizens of Najaf do not support radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. But the U.S.’s sledge hammer approach to winning hearts and minds is helping al-Sadr win converts. Even more sobering, if the U.S. makes good on its threats to attack Najaf, that could well define the future of Iraq…. Any attempt by the US military even to approach this most sacred of sites, burial place of the Prophet Mohammad’s son-in-law Ali, would inflame Islamic opinion across the globe and bring on to the streets of Najaf even those who have little time for Mr Sadr’s extremism. –BL ] Gunmen […]
[ From the article below: Some Iraqi nuclear facilities appear to be unguarded, and radioactive materials are being taken out of the country…. The International Atomic Energy Agency sent a letter to United States officials three weeks ago telling them of the findings…. Officials said the agency was awaiting a reply from the United States … Arms control officials fear that the war and the continuing unrest may have increased chances that terrorists may get their hands on materials used for unconventional weapons or that civilians may be exposed to radioactive materials. The agency has been unable to investigate, monitor […]
4/14/2004, Boston Globe by Bryan Bender WASHINGTON — Five months before Sept. 11, 2001, the officers responsible for defending American airspace wanted to test their ability to prevent a hijacked airliner from being crashed into the Pentagon, but the scenario was rejected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as impractical, a Joint Chiefs spokesman confirmed yesterday. The disclosure was made after a government watchdog group released a leaked e-mail from a former official at the North American Air Defense Command. In the message, the official told colleagues a week after the attacks that in April 2001 NORAD requested that war […]
U.S. Funding for Foes Enrages Venezuela’s Chavez Apr 15, 2004, Reuters by Pascal Fletcher CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) – Documents showing U.S. funding for Venezuelan opposition groups have prompted an increase in personal attacks by President Hugo Chávez against President Bush, according to a U.S. lawyer who helped unearth the evidence. Eva Golinger, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based attorney who supports Chavez, said documents obtained through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act showed that around $4 million in U.S. Congress-allocated funds had been channeled to the groups before and after a 2002 coup that briefly toppled Chavez.
[ In response to Venezuelan President Chavez’ blaming Bush for the violence in Iraq, State Department weasel Roger Noriega called for an assessment of “Venezuela’s respect for the law and human rights”! Noriega apparently fails to see the irony in his response to Chavez’ criticism of Bush’s immoral war, which continues to violate international law, and which has generated more terrorism and hatred of the U.S. than was imaginable just a few years ago. Further, the Bush Administration has been funding opposition groups in Venezuela and assisted the failed 2002 coup against the democratically elected Chavez. None of this opposition […]