September 04, 2002
To Iraq- With Arms (3:03)
Back from their visit to the White House, congressional leaders say they’re happy President Bush will seek congressional approval before attacking Iraq. But while Democratic Senate leader Tom Daschle says he’d still like to know more about the white house’s plans, Republican Minority leader Trent Lott says he could have a bill on the senate floor by the October congressional recess. Meanwhile the Defense Department is downplaying reports of a heavy arms shipment to the Persian Gulf scheduled for later this month. Josh Chaffin reports from Washington.
Palestinian Schools Open Despite Violence (3:40)
Ariel Sharon said today that the US will give prior notice to Israel should they attack Iraq, Sharon added that “Israel is the most prepared country if attack should take place”. Meanwhile the two Palestinians relocated by Israel from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip today asked to be transferred to the International Red Cross building in Gaza City, in order to be under international protection rather than Palestinian jurisdiction. This as 8 IDF reservists refusing to serve in territories ask Supreme Court to rule Israeli occupation of those areas is illegal. And as Awad Duaibes from Ramallah, as school began this week in Occupied Territories, children face many obstacles, like the Israeli imposed curfew, just to get to class.
Journalists Testify at UN War Crimes Tribunal (3:20)
The Appeals Court at the UN war crimes Tribunal at The Hague is considering opposing arguments by prosecutors and some of the world’s largest news outlets – over whether journalists should be compelled to testify. The Court has ordered a retired Washington Post reporter to appear as a witness in the case of a Bosnian Serb accused of genocide. The news groups supporting the Washington Post want the Court to outline procedures exempting journalists from testifying – they claim this would set a precedent for the new International Criminal Court – which is set to start handling cases next year. Geraldine Coughlan reports from The Hague.
Haitians Run-In with INS – AKA Homeland Security (5:05)
This week the United States Senate is debating how to implement “Homeland Security.” It is expected that all or part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service will fall under this new branch of the U.S. military. This comes as the INS & FBI continue to detain unknown numbers of immigrants. Last December 3rd the U.S. Coast Guard found 181 Haitian refugees in a 31 foot boat just off the Miami shore. Nine months later, about 120 remain in federal immigration detention centers. The INS says the lengthy detention is because the refugees are a high flight risk. But as Shannon Novak reports from Miami, the INS has actually classified these detained refugees as low flight risk, making the INS in violation of it’s own federal law.
French Use Giuliani’s Zero Tolerance Policies (4:24)
When the extreme rightist Jean Marie Le Pen made it to the finals of the French presidential elections, he said the French had shown they would rather have the original than the photocopy. The campaign debate centered around crime and delinquency, Le Pen’s battle-cry. The center right finally won the presidential and parliamentary elections on a platform of restoring law and order. The French interior minister, who intends to be tough on immigration, recently made a trip to New York City to find out about former Mayor Giuliani’s zero tolerance policies. And last weekend the foreign minister visited Romania to prepare a scheme of voluntary repatriation for illegal under-aged Romanian delinquents.
