Democracy Now! March 18, 2003

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Program Title:
Democracy Now! March 18, 2003
Series Title:
PRA Archive #: 
PZ0517.121b
Description: 

President Bush vows to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein doesn t flee within 48 hours: protests intensify around the world & British government in uproar as senior officials resign; Vandenberg Air Force Base authorizes 'deadly force' against protesters: protesters aren t deterred; 300 New Yorkers protest the Israeli military killing of U.S. citizen Rachel Corrie: they demand a Congressional investigation

9:01-9:06 Headlines 9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break 9:07-9:20: President Bush last night vowed to attack Iraq if President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not flee the country within 48 hours. He said: All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals, including journalists and inspectors, should leave Iraq immediately. The Iraqi government immediately rejected the ultimatum. Bush also told Iraqi soldiers not to fight for a "dying regime" - and not to destroy Iraq s oil wells. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ordered the evacuation of the weapons inspectors and humanitarian staff from the country. The first wave of UN workers has already landed in Cyprus. Bush s speech came just hours after the US and Britain admitted they had failed to win United Nations Security Council backing for war. They pulled the second U.N. resolution without taking a vote. Guest: President Bush, speaking in a televised, primetime address to the nation, March 17, 2003 Guest: Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! correspondent who recently left Baghdad Contact: http://www.iraqjournal.org, www.democracynow.org Guest: Ralph Nader, former Green Party Presidential Candidate Guest: Leslie Cagan, organizer with United for Peace and Justice and chair of the Pacifica Radio Foundation Contact: http://www.unitedforpeace.org, www.pacifica.org The leader of the British House of Commons Robin Cook resigned just after the US and Britain pulled the UN resolution. His resignation speech late last night was met with an unprecedented round of applause and a standing ovation by some Members of Parliament. Guest: Robin Cook, leader of the British House of Commons, delivering his resignation speech to Parliament on March 17, 2003 9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break 9:21-9:30: Meanwhile, protests are intensifying around the globe. Over 50 people were arrested in Washington, D.C. yesterday, and dozens more were arrested at the United Nations in New York City and in San Francisco. In Australia, one man in the public gallery of Parliament screamed "murderer!" as Prime Minister John Howard, announced his decision to commit 2,000 troops to an invasion of Iraq. He was dragged from the chamber by security guards. Activists painted a ten-foot high "no war" sign across the top of part of Sydney s Opera House. In Tokyo, just hours after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi backed the Bush administration, peace activists began a hunger strike outside the US embassy. In Britain, the Stop the War Coalition is calling for people to stage walkouts, and occupy city centers and hold sit-ins at schools, colleges and universities. On the day of the first attack, protesters will occupy Parliament Square with the intention of bringing the government to a halt. Guest: Mike Marqusee, organizer with Stop the War Coalition, speaking to us from London Guest: Mairead McGuire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from Northern Ireland Guest: Beth Rosedatter, arrested on Sunday at an Army depot near Richmond, Kentucky. She and two others were held overnight. 9:30-9:40 Vandenberg Air Force Base authorizes 'deadly force' against protesters US military officials say security forces at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California may use "deadly force" against protesters if they infiltrate the base in wartime. Vandenberg officials said Friday military police may shoot to kill, in order to protect equipment at the base. But activists say the threat will not deter them. They are planning continuous civil disobedience at the base if the US attacks Iraq. On Friday, a man sprayed the entrance sign at the base with his own blood. Guest: Peter Lumsdaine, co-founder of the Vandenberg Action Coalition and coordinator of the Military Globalization Project, a research/education/organizing group focused on the connections between US global economic policy and military policy Contact: (831) 457 9914 or 805 688 7610 (contact for peace camp itself); www.mgpnofate.org; see also: www.vandenberg.af.mil Guest: Dennis Apel, arrested on Friday at the Air Force base 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:41-9:53 Pinwheel of protest: from San Francisco to Tuscon to Austin to Kansas And other actions are taking place around the country as well, from San Francisco, Denver, Tucson and Austin to Cleveland, Kansas, Washington, D.C. and New York. Tape: Pinwheel of Protest , recorded March 17, 2003. 9:53-9:58: Some 300 New Yorkers gathered yesterday to protest the death of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American woman who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer on Sunday in the Gaza Strip. The protest was organized by Jews Against the Occupation. Protesters carried gravestones in a symbolic funeral procession. They marched in front of Senators Hillary Clinton s and Chuck Schumer s office. They demanded the formation of a Congressional Council to go to Israel and Palestine and investigate how and why such unnecessary deaths occur in Gaza. On Sunday, Israeli forces ran over Rachel Corrie with a bulldozer as she protested the demolition of houses in the Gaza town of Rafah. Corrie was set to graduate from Evergreen State College in Olympia this spring. She became the first international protester killed by Israeli forces since the start of the second intifada. We now go to Angela Bukowy, who spoke at yesterday s protest. Angela is a member of Direct Action Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement. She recently spent one month in Rafah. She begins by describing the ongoing intimidation and danger that Palestinians endure. Tape: Angela Bukowy, member of the International Solidarity Movement and Direct Action Palestine, speaking on March 17, 2003 at a rally organized by Jews Against the Occupation Contact: www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org, www.palsolidarity.org 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Ana Nogueira and Elizabeth Press. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro and engineer.

Date Recorded on: 
March 18, 2003
Date Broadcast on: 
March 18, 2003
Item duration: 
59 min.
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Distributor: 
WBAI; Amy Goodman, host., March 18, 2003
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