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Soldier Facing Court-Martial Blew Whistle on Torture
On Wednesday, the court-martial of Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia begins at Ft. Stewart in Georgia. After returning for a period from Iraq, Mejia was AWOL for several months, and then filed for conscientious objector status. He has publicly spoken out on the war, saying: “I could not continue to do the things I was doing…
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Halliburton Under Renewed Fire
PRATAP CHATTERJEE Chatterjee is program director for CorpWatch and recently returned from his second investigative trip to Iraq. He is one of the authors of the report “Houston, We Have a Problem,” an “alternative annual report” on Halliburton which will be released on May 18, the day before Halliburton’s shareholder meeting. Chatterjee said today: “Our…
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* Iraq Occupation Bill to the Taxpayer * Sanctions on Syria * World Economic Forum in Jordan * Aristide and South Africa * Indian Election
DOUG HENWOOD Author of the book After the New Economy, Henwood said today: “I feel a little callous about talking about the economic impact of the war in Iraq, which seems like an afterthought next to the human toll. But at a time when civilian budgets are being cut at every level, when clinics are…
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Rumsfeld in Iraq * Prisons in the USA
SUAAD AL-MAHDAWY Suaad Al-Mahdawy works with the Iraqi Human Rights Society. Reached in Iraq, she said today: “This is not liberation, we cannot do what we please in our own country. But Rumsfeld can come whenever he wants and pretend to care while occupying us.” RANIA MASRI Masri is a fellow at the Institute for…
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* Torture * Context * Rumsfeld
CLIFF KINDY Kindy is quoted in “Chain of Command,” the latest article by Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker. Kindy has spent two five-month stints over the last year and a half in Iraq with the Christian Peacemaker Team, which released a document entitled “Report and Recommendations on Iraqi Detainees” in January, available at the…
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The Anti-War Origins of Mother’s Day
Each year the president issues a Mother’s Day Proclamation. The original Mother’s Day Proclamation was made in 1870. Written by Julia Ward Howe, perhaps best known today for having written the words to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1862 when she was an antislavery activist, the original Proclamation was an impassioned call for…
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* Torture * Geneva Convention * Former Diplomats’ Letter * Praying for Peace
LISA HAJJAR Hajjar wrote the article “Torture and the Future.” She said today: “Bush has finally issued statements apologizing for the treatment of Iraqis, for the ‘humiliation’ and ‘abuse’ that have shocked many. But he is not accurately describing what has been happening. It was torture; we are now finding that it has been systemic…
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Torture and War Crimes: Crucial Context
CLIFF KINDY Kindy has spent two five-month stints over the last year and a half in Iraq with the Christian Peacemaker Team, which released a document entitled “Report and Recommendations on Iraqi Detainees” in January. Kindy has had substantial contact with Iraqi detainees and their families and with U.S. soldiers and higher-ups. More Information DAHR…
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WMDs: * U.S. Public Opinion * Solutions
STEVEN KULL Kull is director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes which has recently released two studies: “U.S. Public Beliefs on Iraq and the Presidential Election” and “Americans on WMD Proliferation.” He said today: “Sixty percent of Americans believe that just before the war Iraq either had weapons of mass destruction or a major…
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“Global Democratic Revolution”
GEORGE MONBIOT Monbiot, author of the new book Manifesto for a New World Order and winner of the 1995 United Nations Global 500 Award, is in New York City until Wednesday. He said today: “Many of the most important issues facing us — climate change, international debt, nuclear proliferation, war, the balance of trade between…