THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

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  This week we present Between The Lines' summary
  of under-reported news stories and:

  Middle East Enters Dangerous
  New Cycle of Carnage
  Interview by Scott Harris.

  Three suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa on December 2nd took the lives of more than two- dozen Israeli civilians and catapulted the Middle East into a dengerous new cycle of bloodshed. The Palestinian extremist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombings - saying they represented retaliation for the Israeli assassination of one of their top leaders. But Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and many in the Unites States, placed the blame squarely on Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat.

  Israeli army reprisals were swift. F-16 jets, helicopters, and tanks were used in attacks against the Palestinian leader's headquarters in Jenin, Arafat's three helicopters were destroyed near his home - and bulldozers destroyed Gaza International Airport runways. Despie Arafat;s orders arresting more than 100 Palestinians thought to be connected with the terror attacks, Israeli and U.S. officials demanded that he immediately act to dismantle Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups which have launched suicide bombings in the past.

  Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Elaine Hagopian, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Simmons College, who assesses the escalating Middle East violence and where it may lead if allowed to spin out of control.

  Amnesty International Opposes Bush Plan to
  Revive FBI Surveillance of U.S. Political and Religious Groups
  Interview by Scott Harris.

  As the war in Afghanistan enters its third month, human rights groups are scrutinizing the conduct of forces fighting the fundamentalist Taliban government. A rebellion of prisoners held by the Northern Alliance near the city of Mazar-e-Sharif resulted in the deaths of some 450 Taliban soldiers, a number of guards and an American CIA officer. Amnesty International is calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the rebellion and the force used to put it down.

  Closer to home, Amnesty has expressed concern about the erosion of civil liberties resulting from some Bush administration anti-terrorist measures. These include the mass detention of immigrants, eavesdropping on conversations between some defendants and their attorneys and the authorization of secret military tribunals for foreign nationals suspected of terrorism. Spain, which has recently arrested individuals that may be connected to the Sept. 11 attacks, has refused to extradite suspects to face military trials. The latest White House proposal, lifting restrictions on FBI surveillance of domestic political and religious groups, has also stirred similar opposition.

  Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Curt Goering, senior deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA, who explains why his group and many other civil libertarians oppose government spying on civilians engaged in legal political and religious activity as a threat to basic human rights protections.

  For more information, call Amnesty International USA at 1-800-AMNESTY or visit their Web site at http://www.amnesty.org/

  Organizers Say November Protests Against U.S. Army's
  School of the Americas Most Successful Yet.
  Interview by Melinda Tuhus.

  For the past dozen years ever larger protests have taken place around November 16th at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. That date marks the anniversary of the 1989 murders in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests, their houskeeper and her daughter toward the end of the nation's U.S.-backed counter insurgency war. A subsequent Congressional investigation of the murders revealed that some of the perpetrators had ties to the U.S. Army's School of the Ameriacs, or SOA, a program based at Fort Benning that over the past 50 years has trained thousands of Latin American military leaders. A significant number of them have returned to their home countries to carry out terrorist attacks on their own people; including rape, kidnapping, and murder.

  In 1990, Catholic Priest Roy Bourgeois founded an organization called SOA Watchm whose goal is to end U.S. funding for the School of the Americas. As a Maryknoll, priest Bourgeois has lived and worked in Latin America, seeing first hand the results of the kind of terror inflicted by the graduates of the School.

  Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus attended this year's protests in Georgia on November 17th and 18th, and filed this report.

  Contact the School of the Americas Watch by calling area code (202) 234-3440 or visit their web site at http://www.soaw.org/

  This week's summary of under-reported news
  Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Bush administration asks world for unity in fight against terrorism, but turns its back on Kyoto global warming treaty, soon to be ratified by most industrial nations. ( "Bush & Global Warming," The Nation, December 10, 2001)
  • Land resettlement conference in South Africa off to rocky start as Landless People's Movement threatened to walk out because the government-run forum ignored major issues such as violence against farmers and farm laborers. ( "Landless Campaigners Threaten to Quit Talks," Financial Times, November 27, 2001)
  • Nation's 103 nuclear power plants are aging and increasingly prone to accidents, but nuclear industry continues to run plants at full capacity. ( "Reactor Revival," Mother Jones, November/December 2001)

  Credits:
  Senior news editor/writer: Bob Nixon
  Program narration: Archibald Currie
  News reader: Nigel Rees
  Segment Producer: Melinda Tuhus
  Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates
  Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo, Bill Cosentino
  Executive producer: Scott Harris

... MORE ...

Commentary on America's Crisis, from the Producer

"Respond to Terror With a Revolution of the Heart"

"Respond to Terror With a Revolution of the Heart," audio file in MP3.

Between The Lines' Special Reports on Fallout from Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks

Special Report, Week Ending Sept. 21, 2001

Special Report, Week Ending Sept. 28, 2001

Special Report, Week Ending Oct. 5, 2001

Special Report, Week Ending Oct. 12, 2001

Special Report, Week Ending Oct. 19, 2001

Ali Abunimah, vice president of Chicago's Arab American Action Network, interview in RealAudio, Sept. 12, 2001

In-Depth News Analysis

Third World Traveler, Foreign Policy section, collection of resources on www.thirdworldtraveler.com

"They can't see why they are hated: Americans cannot ignore what their government does abroad" by Seumas Milne, Guardian Unlimited, UK's Special Report on Terrorism in the U.S., Sept. 13, 2001

In-depth Reporting and Analysis of Sept. 11 Terror Attacks

AlerNet.org

The Nation magazine

Mediachannel.org

Economic Globalization Resources

ZNet's Global Economic Crisis resource site Excellent source for understanding global economics and trade issues and particularly in preparation for ongoing demonstrations about economic justice

"The Fight for Everything" A series of interviews with activists and leaders of grassroots, progressive groups analyzing the goals, strategy and tactics of the global social justice movement

Multi-Ethnic Public Issues Advocacy

Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson's Commentaries, The Hutchinson Report

Between The Lines' 10th Anniversary CD