Flashpoints Jan 29: State of Union reaction: Barbara Lee; Robert Fisk; more

Wednesday, Jan 29, 2003 - Start Audio
-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction: reactions to Bush's State of the Union address.. interviews with Congresswoman Barbara Lee; British journalist, Robert Fisk; Vietnam vet and radio producer, Eduardo Cohen.. plus a creative reconstructed version of Bush's speech, maybe more closer to what he really meant.
-00:51 Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: the British view of Iraq crisis.. dozens of Brits on the way to Baghdad to serve as human shields.. plus an interview with former British MP, Tony Benn.. Benn: 'mass opposition nationally.. it's about oil, everybody knows it's about oil'.. comparison with the Suez crisis of 1958.. Benn: Tony Blair could lose his job over this.. he is hopeful that it will an easy ride, a quick war..
-06:14 Dennis: yesterday progressive US House Reps Dennich Kucinich and Barbara Lee delivered an alternative 'State of the Union' address.. now w Barbara Lee, congresswoman from the East SF Bay.. Barbara: first the president said the economy is strong, but for any folks their personal economy is in a shambles.. secondly, the case for going to war is pitiful.. said the same old things over again.. trying to create a case by creating more fear.. but a huge opposition movement building in this country, and the world.. Dennis: in announcing that Powell will be going to the UN on Feb 5th, the president appears to be witholding crucial information for the weapons inspectors.. Lee: if they have evidence they should share it.. we want to see weapons of mass destruction destroyed everywhere in the world.. Lee: we believe economic security should be part of the US security strategy.. about the Progressive Caucus.. we have a lot of clout.. we do not believe that we have justification to go to war.. and because of the huge increase in unemployment we need to invest in infrastructure, roads, schools.. but the president proposing hundreds of billions more in tax cuts for the wealthy.. he is waging class warfare.. we oppose the privitization of social security.. we oppose Bush's destruction of MeciCare.. Dennis: about the AIDS pandemic in Africa?.. Lee: I chaired the global AIDS taskforce of the Congressional Black Caucus.. we've worked hard to get Clinton and Bush onboard.. in December we sent a letter to Bush.. told him to prioritize treatment, support for orphans of AIDS.. we want to look at his proposals closely.. but $15 billion not nearly enough.. given that the military budget is $400 billion.. in the past he has robbed child nutrition and other important programs to fund AIDS.. we can't have that.. Dennis: about civil liberties, about the FBI proposing to map and monitor mosques?.. Lee: the USA Patriot Act a terrible bill.. we must try and repeal this bill.. it's going to be difficult.. John Conyers would be chair of the Judiciary Committee.. it is very scarey.. 56 members of Congress voted against it originally.. Dennis: war on Iraq will cost $100 billion dollars.. Lee: who will get hurt most? poor communities and people of color.. $100 billion could provide many other benefits (gives details).. the president already calling for a 30% cut in HUD funding.. this war will be fought on the backs of the poor.. and young men and women of color will be the majority of those putting their lives on the line.. the USA must take the lead in resolving conflict peacefully.. hard work, but we're a superpower and should take the lead.
-21:05 Dennis: now w Robert Fisk, award winning British journalist stationed in Beruit.. he was up late in Beruit watching the State of the Union address.. Robert: I watched it at 4AM on sitting on a cold cold floor.. very theatrical I thought.. Hitler mentioned.. 'Evil' and 'God' thrown in too.. a frightening speech.. he told us Powell will be talking to the UN on Feb 5, when he will give new intelligence information about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.. Robert: why the hell is he not giving this information to the inspectors.. why is he withholding information?.. flagrant and disgraceful.. he is almost abusing the weapons inspectors.. disgusting.. what in God's name is the information Colin Powell has, and why doesn't he want to give it to the inspectors now?.. Dennis: US media report says by 2-1 Bush made a case for war.. Robert: an informal poll in Preoria, Illinois says 80% don't trust Bush.. and it's more than 80% in England.. the great majority of people on this planet think this war is insane.. one of the central issues not coming up now.. I'm going to give lectures in Austin Texas and.. why am I getting 2,000+ attendance? because the American people know they are being lied to.. in Britain the same.. people are being insulted by the reasons put forward for this war.. when I watched Bush last night, I thought 'he is insulting his own people'.. Dennis: yes, but the US media is supporting his theatrics.. Robert: the BBC too.. Dennis: the word that didn't come up in the speech is 'oil'.. Robert: well he did refer to America's *resources* in the region, code for oil.. mentioned 'providence'.. and we did get a number of other sinister references.. Irish radio is very good.. they interviewed a NY taxi driver.. he said: I listened to the speech, and I didn't believe it, neither did my two sons in the military.. struck that assassination now a state policy.. Robert: abaout Bush's hooded sinister speech, frightening for Europeans to listen to.. extraordinary to me that the US leaders can play the roles of Godfather types ala Hollywood so well.. Robert: the reason I became a foreign correspondent was the Alfred Hitchcock film, Foreign Correspondent.. Dennis: is this a war for oil and control of the region?.. Robert: we are told that number one: it is about human rights.. but in 1983 when Saddam was using gas against Iran.. Reagan send special envoy Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq, shook hands with Saddam.. so this is not about human rights, or Rumsfeld would not be Secretary of Defence today.. so is it about weapons of mass destruction?.. compare North Korea and Iraq.. North Korea doesn't have oil.. but once an American regime installed in Baghdad.. US and Britain will have access to Iraq's 120 billion barrels of oil, 1/4 of the world's proven reserves.. by 2020 US oil imports will account for 70% of US consumption.. Bush's energy policy based on increasing consumption of oil.. data on the ratio of reserves to oil production.. from Jeremy Rifken.. (gives details).. rumored that the US forces may stop once they capture the oil fields around Basra.. Baghdad doesn't have any oil.. Condoleeza Rice even has an oil tanker named after her.. Dennis: US and Israel conducting joint exercises.. Robert: it's trendy to want to show a connection between Israel and the planned war on Iraq.. an interview I gave recently on Irish radio, on the Pat Kinney show.. Pat said there was a connection between Saddam and the people who carry out suicide bombers in Israel.. he was right to make that connection.. I've been in Gaza.. the Iraqis give money to people dying under Israeli occupation, includes families of suicide bombers.. the suicide bombers are executing innocent people in Israel.. but easy to see how easily Pat slipped into thinking that the Israel and US the same, that the people who carried out 9/11 and suicide bombings are the same.. Americans are being told over and over again that there is a link between Iraq and 9/11.. (but there is not).. about the Israeli election, about the Likud victory, who would expect anything else under the circumstances?.. the Palestinians would vote for the corrupt Arafat, too.. in time of war people elect donkeys.
-45:09 Dennis: now w famed journalist and activist Vietnam Vet, Eduardo Cohen, producer of Other America's Radio, talks about the State of the Union address, and Iraq and Israel.. Eduardo: in the Gulf War, Iraq sent lightly armed Skud missiles against Israel.. Saddam very crafty.. doesn't not want to provoke a nuclear response.. Dennis: bin Laden has said he despises Saddam.. Eduardo: the US public being asked to process huge amounts of good and not so good information coming in.. with the collapse of the Soviet Union.. 9/11 the most fortune thing could happen to those people who wanted to expand federal power.. anybody can be a terrorist just by virtue of the US government labeling them that.. that is very frightening.. the ultimate terrorism is nuclear weapons.. US talking about using nuclear weapons in response to chemical weapons.. chemical weapons are terrible but to compare them to nuclear weapons is absurd.. a propaganda device.. like using napalm to wipe out an entire village because on person is shooting at you with a 22 rifle.. using nukes this way a threshold that hasnt' been crossed in 50 years.. the minute I heard Bush's demand that the Taliban hand bin Laden over without any proof, I knew it was a ruse.. US military bases popping up in central Asia like mushrooms after a rainstorm.. it's about the control of oil.. catch Eduardo tonight at 7PM at 315 Navato Street, Sacramento.. info: 530-878-1332
-53:10 Dennis: some creative internetters did their own reconstructed version of Bush's speech closer maybe to what he actually meant (hear audio).. excerpts: 'we can be summed up in one word: EVIL' (*applause*).. 'we have the opportunity to lead the world toward suicide and murder.. let's roll.. (*wild applause).. source
-55:53 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart