Democracy Now! February 19, 2002

9:01-9:06 HEADLINES 9:06-9:07 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:07-9:20 AS US FORCES OPEN A NEW PHASE IN THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN WITH TWO BOMBING RAIDS, WELL HEAR FROM ACTIVIST, THEOLOGIAN AND SCHOLAR CORNEL WEST ABOUT WORKING FOR EQUALITY AND LIBERATION AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH US forces appear to have opened a new phase in the war in Afghanistan with two bombing raids over the weekend that Afghan commanders in the area said were aimed at clashing militia forces rather than the Taliban or Al Qaeda. A statement on Sunday by the US Central Command said American aircraft dropped precision-guided bombs when so called "enemy troops" attacked forces loyal to the eight-week-old Kabul government near the southeastern city of Khost on Saturday afternoon. The command said a second strike was carried out on Sunday, again with precision-guided bombs. After fighting broke out between rival warlords in northern and eastern Afghanistan in recent weeks, interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai said he would request US airstrikes if they were needed to end clashes between armed factions that control much of Afghanistan outside Kabul. Unlike the airstrikes that began October 7 and were aimed at destroying the Taliban or Al Qaeda, these strikes were aimed at controlling clashes among militia forces. The war is clearly not over, though it has fast disappeared from the media. We turn now to a speech given by activist, theologian, and scholar Cornel West, given several months ago in the Bay area during the presentation of the Mario Savio awards. TAPE: CORNEL WEST, professor of African-American studies and philosophy of religion at Harvard University and author of the best-selling book, Race Matters. 9:20-9:21 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:21-9:40 AS US FORCES OPEN A NEW PHASE IN THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN WITH TWO BOMBING RAIDS, WELL HEAR FROM ACTIVIST, THEOLOGIAN AND SCHOLAR CORNEL WEST ABOUT WORKING FOR EQUALITY AND LIBERATION AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH TAPE: CORNEL WEST, professor of African-American studies and philosophy of religion at Harvard University and author of the best-selling book, Race Matters 9:40-9:41 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:41-9:58 AS BLACK HAWK DOWN DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT IS NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR, AN ACTOR IN THE FILM SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ITS PRO-WAR MESSAGE It was announced yesterday that Ridley Scott was nominated for best director in the Oscars. And the film is still in the top ten movies on the charts in the US and Europe. Mark Bowdens book Black Hawk Down, which the film is based on, is number one on the New York Times paperback bestseller list this week. The book has been on the bestseller list for 26 weeks. Originally intended to open in March, Black Hawk Down was rushed forward to January in the US and Europe, as threats of the US invading Somalia loomed on the horizon. The movie, set during the 1993 US invasion of Somalia, presents the mission as humanitarianas did the Clinton administration. But when US forces dropped into a teeming market in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993, 18 US soldiers, and over a thousand Somalis, were killed. President Clinton called the massacre one of the darkest hours of his administration. While the films producers say the release was timed to make the film eligible for the next Academy Awards, many say that the events of September 11 and the US military interest in Somalia had something to do with it. All actors had extensive prior training with the forces they were portraying, many who are now stationed in Afghanistan. For $3 million and script approval, the US Department of Defense gave director Ridley Scott its full support. They saw this as a recruitment film, says Scott. But not everyone agrees with the films message, including one of the actors. We are joined today by Brendan Sexton, an actor from Black Hawk Down who gets killed by a missile early on in the film. He spoke an anti-war forum at Columbia University organized by the People for Peace Coalition last week. GUEST: BRENDAN SEXTON, actor, Black Hawk Down, and a student in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Hunter College. IN STUDIO MUSIC 6 REDEMPTION SONG by Sweet Honey in the Rock 40 FIGHT FOR YOUR MIND by Ben Harper End - FIGHT FOR YOUR MIND by Ben Harper 9:58-9:59 OUTRO AND CREDITS