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Dear list members,
FYI.
Democracy NOW! audio on US SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON
IRAQ
Guests: Hans von Sponeck, Scott Ritter, Kathy Kelly
More info given below.
Best
andreas
A N U
Assyrian News Watch
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Assyrian Chaldean Syriac
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow.html
July 29, 2002
on Democracy NOW!
URL of audio file:
http://stream.realimpact.org/rihurl.ram?file=webactive/demnow/dn20020729.ra
&start=9:51.3
Story: AS THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE PREPARES TO HOLD HEARINGS
ON IRAQ THIS WEEK, TOP U.S. GENERALS AND MEMBERS OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF
STAFF SAY IRAQI PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN POSES NO IMMEDIATE THREAT
Top US generals and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are saying Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein poses no immediate threat and the US should
continue its policy of containment rather than invade. According to the
Washington Post, their conclusion is based in part on intelligence
assessments of the Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs
and his missile delivery capabilities.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been told by the British
government's own lawyers that British participation in an invasion of Iraq
would be illegal without a new United Nations mandate.
But none of this seems to be stopping the hardliners in Washington:
***The New York Times is reporting some senior administration and Pentagon
officials are advocating a new approach: taking Baghdad and one or two key
command centers and weapons depots first, in hopes of cutting off the
country's leadership and causing a quick collapse of the government.
Advocates of this "inside-out" approach say it reflects a strong desire to
find a strategy that will not require a full quarter-million US troops. US
allies in the Gulf are quietly advocating the quickest and smallest
military operation possible, to lessen anti-American protests on their
streets.
But something close to 250,000 troops might have to be deployed to the
region anyway, to make sure that any forces that drop into Baghdad do not
become isolated or surrounded.
***Meanwhile, more than 20,000 US marines are being readied for deployment
in the Gulf by mid-October.
***Russian media cite sources in the Gulf as saying that the US military
has set up "tent cities" in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. US weapons
manufacturers like Boeing continue to work around the clock to meet the
Pentagon's demands.
***Iraq reported U.S. and British warplanes struck southern Iraq again on
Sunday. The assault was the second reported in less than a week in the
southern no-fly zone.
***The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings on Iraq this
week. Every single so-called "expert" that has been called to testify
supports a war against Iraq.
Two people who have insider knowledge of Iraq have not been invited, but
they are with us today on Democracy Now!
Activists and anti-war groups across the US are participating in a national
call in day today to demand that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
call people like Scott Ritter and Hans von Sponeck to testify at hearings
set for Wednesday July 31 and Thursday August 1 on US military plans
regarding Iraq.
Guests:
- Hans von Sponeck, former Humanitarian Aid Coordinator for Iraq for Iraq
from 1998-2000. He served the UN for 32 years and resigned from his post in
protest in February 2000 in protest of the US-led sanctions on Iraq.
- Scott Ritter, former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq.
- Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, a Chicago-based
campaign to end the economic sanctions against the people of Iraq. They
have called a national call-in day today to get Denis Halliday, Scott
Ritter, and Hans von Sponeck included in the Congressional hearings.
Contact Information:
Call the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at this number: 202-224-4651.
Names of witnesses can be faxed to 202-228-1612
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