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News Releases

  • Moment of Truth, or Lies?

    DENIS HALLIDAY Former head of the UN oil-for-food program, Halliday warns of “the catastrophic humanitarian impact of war and the imminent collapse of the oil-for-food program.” Halliday, who was also former U.N. Assistant Secretary General, said today: “The Secretary General should be prohibited from recalling the inspectors without the permission of the five permanent members of the Security Council.” IMAD KHADDURI Yesterday Vice President Dick Cheney claimed that Iraq has “reconstituted nuclear weapons.” Khadduri worked with the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission from 1968 until 1998. Now in Canada, he was recently interviewed by UNMOVIC. Khadduri asserts that Iraq has not…

  • Beyond the Rhetoric: Accuracy.org/sc

    The Bush administration has repeatedly cited violations of UN Security Council resolutions as key reasons for its policy on Iraq. But several nations have Security Council resolutions pending against them, including Indonesia, Armenia and Croatia. And the violators with the most Security Council resolutions — more than Iraq — are Israel (over 30), Turkey (over 20) and Morocco (over 15). A partial listing of UN Security Council resolutions being violated by U.S. allies is available at: www.Accuracy.org/sc The following analysts are available for interviews: STEPHEN ZUNES Zunes, who wrote the piece “United Nations Security Council Resolutions Currently Being Violated by…

  • Showdown at the U.N. — Interviews Available

    “All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations…. The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional…

  • Why Has It Taken Iraq 12 Years to Disarm?

    In his presentation before the Security Council on Friday, Hans Blix claimed: “If Iraq had provided the necessary cooperation in 1991, the phase of disarmament — under resolution 687 — could have been short and a decade of sanctions could have been avoided.” However, an examination of U.S. policy indicates that for the last 12 years the U.S. government has maintained the economic sanctions regardless of Iraqi actions towards the weapons inspectors, creating a disincentive for compliance — and helping to explain why Iraq has taken so long to comply: April 3, 1991: U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 687, the…

  • Ellsberg on Whistleblower Arrest in U.S. Spying on U.N. Scandal

    A 28-year-old woman working at the British Government Communications Headquarters has been arrested on suspicion of contravening the Official Secrets Act. The arrest came shortly after the Observer newspaper in London revealed a top-secret memo from the U.S. National Security Agency outlining plans for spying on U.N. delegates, part of U.S. efforts to gain approval for a new Security Council resolution on Iraq. The Observer reported yesterday that “a top-secret memo from the National Security Agency, which monitors communications around the world, was passed to this newspaper by British security sources who objected to being asked to aid the American…

  • * Iraq UN Debate * White House News Conference

    MICHAEL RATNER Ratner is president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and coauthor of Against War with Iraq. A resolution with a March 17 deadline is reportedly being put forward to the Security Council. Ratner said today: “The U.S. government is clearly desperate to get some sort of cover for its war. No one has shown that Iraq is a threat. There’s no self-defense here; Bush is just trying to find some sort of cover for naked aggression.” More Information JAMES PAUL Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum, monitors policy-making at the United Nations. More Information SUSAN WRIGHT…

  • Interviews Available: Women and War

    Saturday is International Women’s Day and March is Women’s History Month. The following analysts and activists are available for interviews on issues of war and peace: JODY WILLIAMS Recently back from Burma, Williams is the 1997 Noble Peace Laureate for her work on the Mine Ban Treaty. She said today: “The ‘relevance’ of the United Nations does stand in the balance. I believe the institution will be severely damaged if members of the Security Council concede to intense pressure by one member state and vote for war while UN weapons inspections are bearing results.” More Information KATHY KELLY Co-founder of…

  • Tough Questions for Bush on Iraq Tonight

    Has the National Security Agency, as the Observer in Britain recently reported, been spying on delegates from various countries at the UN? Is the U.S. bribing and threatening other UN members? You have said that this invasion of Iraq would be “moral,” yet the national board of your own denomination, the United Methodists, has said: “It is inconceivable that Jesus Christ … would support this proposed attack.” How do you respond to them? Considering that the U.S. government has based its case for war against Iraq on a non-existent IAEA report, a plagiarized dossier, non-existent Iraq-Al’Qaida link, and twisting of…

  • U.S. Spying on UN Delegates: Fallout

    The Observer newspaper in London has reported on a leaked U.S. National Security Agency memo outlining plans for the surveillance of both office and home communications of UN delegates from Security Council member countries, as part of U.S. efforts to gain approval for its new Security Council resolution on Iraq. The story is now causing reverberations in a number of countries where governments have not yet taken a clear position on the resolution in the Security Council. The following people are available for interviews: ED VULLIAMY One of the authors of the Observer article, Vulliamy said today: “Allegations that this…

  • Top Secret Document Reveals U.S. Spying on U.N. Delegates

    This afternoon, White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer refused to comment on questions about a story broken by the Observer newspaper in London. On Sunday the paper published an article headlined “Revealed: U.S. Dirty Tricks to Win Vote on Iraq War.” The Observer reported that it has obtained a top secret U.S. National Security Agency memo outlining the surveillance of both office and home communications of UN delegates from Security Council member countries. The high-priority memo was from Frank Koza, chief of staff in the “Regional Targets” section of the NSA, on January 31 — shortly before Colin Powell’s presentation to…

  • With Clinton in Guatemala, Analysts Available for Interviews

    KATE DOYLE Director of the Guatemala Project at the National Security Archive, which worked with the Commission for Historical Clarification, Doyle said: “Though not all the relevant material was turned over to the `truth commission,’ the U.S. took the Commission’s requests seriously and produced some critical documents. I hope this is a harbinger for support…

  • As Welfare Ends, Overlooked Issues Emerge

    While states across the country reach deadlines to end welfare for large numbers of people, some policy analysts contend that both the White House and the Republican congressional leadership are dodging substantial evidence that many Americans who have been dropped from the welfare rolls are worse off as a result. Among the researchers available for…

  • Legislative Priorities: Other Views

    President Clinton went to Capitol Hill today to talk about his administration’s legislative agenda. Interviews are available with these analysts: NANCY SNOW Snow, assistant professor of political science at New England College, is executive director of Common Cause in New Hampshire. “The other Y2K problem is the money chase in the presidential campaigns of 2000,”…

  • Holes in New Report of Economic Growth: Analysts Point to Big Gaps in Prosperity

    Despite new figures showing rapid growth in the U.S. economy, some economists said Friday afternoon that many Americans are not getting much benefit from the nation’s overall prosperity. While the Commerce Department has just reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 6.1 percent during the final quarter of 1998, independent economists cautioned…

  • Kosovo Crisis

    DAVID HARTSOUGH Director of the Peaceworkers organization from 1993 through 1998, Hartsough made several extended visits to Kosovo in recent years in support of nonviolent resistance and conflict-resolution efforts. Last March, he was detained by Serbian authorities, who jailed him and later expelled him from the country. “For more than eight years, the Kosovo Albanian…

  • Perspectives on Social Security

    DIANA ZUCKERMAN Director of the Social Security Project of the National Association of Commissions for Women, Zuckerman said: “Privatization would be a double whammy for women: Privatized personal accounts primarily benefit the highest earners, who tend to be men, and many of the proposed benefit cuts would harm our lowest earners, most of whom are…

  • Analysts on Kurdish Situation

    With Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan now a prisoner in Turkey, the global spotlight is on the Kurds. In the United States, interviews are available with these analysts who can shed light on Kurdish perspectives: VERA BEAUDIN SAEEDPOUR Founder of the Kurdish Library and the Kurdish Museum, and editor of Kurdish Life and International Journal of…

  • Impeachment and “Real Issues”

    KIT GAGE National coordinator of the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, Gage said: “The President’s lawyers said it was fundamentally unfair that they were asked to defend him having seen only a small portion of the thousands of pages of testimony. This was secret evidence. They are right, but it is also secret evidence…

  • After Gore Announces New Anti-Drug Plan, Critics Question Some Basic Assumptions

    WASHINGTON — Hours after Vice President Al Gore announced a new White House anti-drug plan Monday, critics renewed their calls for fundamental changes in federal efforts to curb drug use. Those critics included a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, a prisoner who publishes a newspaper, and a sociologist. They are available for interviews:…

  • Environmentalists Critique Clinton Budget Waste

    WASHINGTON — Although the Clinton administration is hailing its new budget for record levels of spending on environmental protection and new clean air initiatives, critics said Thursday that many budget priorities actually encourage pollution and undermine a clean environment — while fleecing taxpayers. Environmentalists are sometimes accused of being “big government” boosters, but these experts…

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