March 21, 2003
Shock And Awe Officially Begins
Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld announcing that the US has officially begun their so-called Shock and Awe arial bombardment of Iraq. Explosions have reverberated in downtown Baghdad, there have been great columns of smoke shooting into the night sky as cruise missiles and warplanes dropped bombs over the capital city. Deepa Fernandes reports as Rumsfeld addressed the nation.
Displaced Peoples Due To Bombing
As the Bush administrations military campaign dubbed Shock and Awe got underway, Iraqi refugees have already begun to flee. Along Turkish borders Turkish troops have turned away Kurdish refugees, while camps along the Jordanian border have already accepted some 400 Iraqis today. Oula Farawati has more from the Jordanian-Iraqi border.
Turkey on Nevroz
As US War-planes continue to bomb Iraq from Kuwait and air craft carriers stationed in the Persian Gulf the head of the Turkish Army gave the final okay for US war-planes to cross his country and initiate Northern bombing runs. This on the biggest holiday of the year for Turkey’s Kurdish minority population. From Diarbakkir Aaron Glantz reports.
People Rally Around The World
Since the attack against Iraq began yesterday, people around the word have taken to the streets to condemn the military campaign. In the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, In spite of the bad weather and the fear of Israeli military intervention, hundreds of Palestinians gathered in down town of Ramallah, joining the international protests against the war in Iraq. Awad Duaibes has more from Ramallah.
Tax Cuts From Capitol Hill
As the “Shock and Awe” bombing campaign begins over Iraq, the US Congress continues work on a budget resolution for 2004. Congress has no idea what cost of the war in Iraq will be, but the President is asking for tax cuts in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Josh Chaffin reports from Capitol Hill.
Seeking Out Iraqi Nationals
Yesterday the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that teams of agents began seeking out Iraqi nationals that they said were unlawfully in the US. Reports last night from community organizations around the country confirmed that some 40 Iraqis have already been picked up. And as community outrage mounts over this home front assault on Iraqis, Today was the deadline for male foreign nationals from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to register with the INS, as part of the National Security Entry Exit System, or NSEERS. Several civil rights and civil liberties organizations, such as the Arab American Anti-Discrimination League and the National Lawyers Guild, have raised concerns about the implementation of NSEERS since it was launched by John Ashcroft last year.The Muslim Public Affairs Council has deployed hundreds of volunteers to act as human rights monitors during the registration process to bring attention to the program, and to provide support for immigrants and their families. Ingrid Drake has this report from Washington, DC.
Water Access In Japan
Water activists demonstrate at a CEO panel of the world’s largest privatization companies today to demand that water be accessible for everyone. Simba Russeau files this report from Kyoto.
