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Posted Aug. 3, 2010

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Aug. 13, 2010



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THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

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



Wikileaks Documents Paint
Grim Picture of Afghan War


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Tom Engelhardt,
creator of The Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com,
conducted by Scott Harris


wikileaks

In one of the largest unauthorized releases of classified military files since the Vietnam War era Pentagon Papers in 1971, the website Wikileaks published some of the 91,000 documents of Pentagon field reports it obtained related to the war in Afghanistan. The documents, totaling over 200,000 pages, covers the period from January 2004 to December 2009 -- spanning the last five years of the Bush presidency and the first year of the Obama administration.  

The archive of military logs reveals a grim picture of a failing war that polls find is increasingly unpopular among a majority of Americans. The documents describe unreported incidents of U.S. and NATO forces killing of Afghan civilians; expansion of a CIA assassination program targeting suspected Taliban and al Qaeda leaders; the Taliban's acquisition of ground to air heat seeking missiles; and the use of increased Predator and Reaper remote-controlled drones piloted from a U.S. base in Nevada.

Among the most publicized information from the classified documents in the U.S. were reports that Pakistan's military intelligence agency, the ISI, continues to actively support and strategize the war with the Taliban leadership. The White House and Pentagon have condemned the release of the documents, as some commentators and politicians call for the prosecution of those who leaked the files and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Tom Engelhardt, creator of The Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com website and cofounder of the American Empire Project. He assesses the importance of the Wikileaks documents and their possible effect on U.S. Afghan war policy.

Tom Engelhardt is author of "The American Way of War: How Bush's Wars Became Obama's."

Related links:
  •  MP3: Full-length Counterpoint interview with Tom Engelhardt, conducted by Scott Harris, Aug. 2, 2010 (22:10)
  • Daniel Ellsberg's release of the "Pentagon Papers" in 1971 bolstered opposition to the Vietnam War.  Read his articles about Wikileaks and on other issues related to America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan online at www.ellsberg.net

New Transitional Federal Law Provides Health Insurance
to Patients with Pre-existing Conditions


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Jennifer Jaff, executive director,
Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


healthcare

As part of health care reform law passed last March, federal regulations were issued on July 30 for a new temporary insurance plan in all states for adults with pre-existing medical conditions and no health insurance. Thirty states are inaugurating their own plans, while in the other 20 states' plans will be administered directly by the federal government. Advocates say the new program is a major improvement over the status quo, where such insurance coverage was astronomically expensive and thus out of reach for most of those in need.

But the new insurance plans are still expensive. They will remain in place until 2014, when all insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions will be handled under the federal healthcare reform legislation. Children with pre-existing conditions are already covered.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Jennifer Jaff, executive director of the Connecticut-based group, Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, which provides free information and advocacy to people seeking advice on how to secure and retain health insurance coverage. She talks about how the new federal system will work for people with pre-existing conditions and what challenges remain.

For more information, visit Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness's website at www.advocacyforpatients.org


Economic Sanctions Target Most Vulnerable,
Rarely Achieve Political Objectives


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Joy Gordon,
professor of philosophy
at Fairfield University,
conducted by Scott Harris


iraqisanctions

After the 1991 U.S.-coalition war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, following his invasion of neighboring Kuwait, Washington succeeded in imposing a severe economic embargo against Iraq, administered by the U.N., that remained in effect until President Bush's 2003 invasion and overthrow of Hussein's regime. By many accounts, the post-Persian Gulf War sanctions against Iraq resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe, where basic services such as health care, water treatment, agriculture and education were crippled.  

As Fairfield University professor of philosophy Joy Gordon recounts in her new book: "Invisible War: The U.S. and Iraq Sanctions," between 670,000 and 880,000 Iraqi children under the age of five died as a result of the sanctions. Gordon maintains that the suffering borne by the Iraqi people under the U.N. sanctions -- mostly driven by American policy -- served to strengthen, not weaken Saddam's hold on power.

Now with growing concern within the U.N. Security Council that Iran is engaged in a covert nuclear weapons program, the U.S. is pushing for ever harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic. President Obama has proclaimed that the "smart sanctions," he's advocating against Iran will avoid indiscriminately harming the innocent. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with professor Gordon, who explains why she believes economic sanctions targeting nations for their behavior, whatever the label, are ineffective at motivating change and result in harm to innocent civilians.

Joy Gordon is author of the new book, "Invisible War: The U.S. and Iraq Sanctions." Read her recent article, "Lessons We Should Have Learned From the Iraqi Sanctions," at www.foreignpolicy.com

Related links:
  •  MP3: Full-length Counterpoint interview with Joy Gordon, conducted by Scott Harris, May 26, 2010 (24:24)


This week's summary
of under-reported news


 RealAudio  MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon



Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Liz Becker
Senior web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producers: Jeffrey P. Yates and Gil Gilmore
Web consultant: Gary Trujillo
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Photo editor: Scott Harris
Outreach coordinator: Anna Manzo
Distribution: Anna Manzo and Jeffrey P. Yates
'Reading Between The Lines' bloggers: Reggie Johnson and Anna Manzo
Between The Lines Q&A editorial assistant: Melanie Muller
Theme music: Written by Richard Hill and Jody Gray, and performed by Mikata


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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 8/6/10

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

"Rand Paul tells magazine: Coal industry can police itself," McClatchy Newspapers, Aug. 3, 2010

"Corporate campaign fundraising picks up speed," Chicago Tribune, Aug. 2, 2010

"Economy outranks Iraq, Afghan wars for voters this year," McClatchy Newspapers, Aug. 2, 2010

"Fire on the Left," by Robert Reich, The American Prospect, Aug. 2, 2010

More newswire ...

Economy

"99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation," The New York Times, Aug. 2, 2010

"The Appeal of Austerity Is Fading -- Where Is Obama?," by Robert Kuttner, Huffington Post, Aug. 1, 2010

"Homes keep falling into foreclosure as programs fail to help," McClatchy Newspapers, July 29, 2010

More newswire ...

Bush Accountability

"Why We Must Judge," by Roger Berkowitz, Democracy Journal, Fall, 2010

"The Importance of Being Judgmental," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Aug. 3, 2010

More newswire ...

International Affairs

"US Military Chief Admits to Iran Attack Plan," Agence France Presse, Aug. 1, 2010

"Report Suggests 'Correlation' between U.S. Aid and Army Killings," Inter Press Service, July 30, 2010

"Obama seeks to expand arms exports by trimming approval process," McClatchy Newspapers, July 29, 2010

"A Peaceful Boycott Should Not be a Crime," by Yifat Susskind, Common Dreams, July 29, 2010

"The End of (Military) History? The United States, Israel, and the Failure of the Western Way of War," by Tom Engelhardt & Andrew Bacevich, TomDispatch, July 29, 2010

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"Murder Inc. in Afghanistan: WikiLeaks and the Hit Teams," by John Grant, Counterpunch, Aug. 3, 2010

"Obama Drops 2009 Pledge to Withdraw Combat Troops from Iraq," by Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service, Aug. 3, 2010

"Obama Affirms Drawdown in Iraq," by Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation, Aug. 2, 2010

"Andrew Bacevich on Afghanistan War: 'The President Lacks the Guts to Get Out,'" Democracy Now!, Aug. 2, 2010

"Iraq Civilian Death Toll Almost Doubles in July," Reuters, Aug. 1, 2010

"CIA Document Calls For Using Afghan Women As Messengers To Humanize The War," by Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network, July 31, 2010

"Getting Out of Afghanistan: Pakistan and the Taliban are the Key to Peace," by Patrick Cocxkburn, Counterpunch, July 30-Aug. 1, 2010

"July Is Deadliest Month of Afghan War for US," Associated Press, July 30, 2010

"The Suffering of Fallujah," by Robert C. Koehler, Common Dreams, July 29, 2010

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"ACLU, CCR seek to have Obama enjoined from killing Awlaki without due process," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Aug. 3, 2010

"WikiLeaks: The National-Security State Strikes Back," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Aug. 3, 2010

"Assassination Without Trial: Why We Sued to Represent Anwar Aulaqi," by Bill Quigley, Counterpunch, Aug. 3, 2010

"Project Vigilant and the government/corporate destruction of privacy," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Aug. 2, 2010

"Judge Orders Release from Guantánamo of Mentally Ill Yemeni; 2nd Judge Approves Detention of Minor Taliban Recruit," by Andy Worthington, andyworthington.co.uk, Aug. 2, 2010

"Key WikiLeaks Figure Detained, Phones Seized by US Customs," Antiwar.com, Aug. 1, 2010

"Why the Feds Fear Thinkers Like Howard Zinn," by Chris Hedges, TruthDig, Aug. 1, 2010

"Torturing the Rule of Law at Obama's Gitmo: Obama Bravely Takes on a Tortured Child Soldier," by Chase Madar, Counterpunch, July 30-Aug. 1, 2010

"Abdul Aziz Naji, Released from Guantánamo Last Week, Speaks to Algerian Media," by Andy Worthington, andyworthington.co.uk, July 30, 2010

"Google Teams Up with CIA to Fund 'Recorded Future' Startup Monitoring Websites, Blogs & Twitter Accounts," Democracy Now!, July 30, 2010

"Soldier in WikiLeaks video case transferred to US," Agence France Presse, July 30, 2010

"FBI access to e-mail, Web data raises privacy fear," Associated Press, July 30, 2010

"Guantánamo Algerian Returns Home; Will Obama Suspend Further Transfers?," by Andy Worthington, andyworthington.co.uk, July 29, 2010

"White House pushes for warrantless access to Internet records," Raw Story, July 29, 2010

"Obama's Power Grab," by Julian Sanchez, The American Prospect, July 29, 2010

"Administration Wants To Expand Reach Of National Security Letters," by Adam Serwer, The American Prospect, July 29, 2010

More newswire ...

Environment and Sustainability

"Oilgate! BP and All the President's Men (Except One) Seek to Contain Truth of Leak in the Gulf (PHOTOS)(VIDEO)," by Riki Ott, Huffington Post, Aug. 2, 2010

"Oil-soaked waste worries Gulf Coast landfills' neighbors," McClatchy Newspapers, July 30, 2010

"Are our oceans dying? Phytoplankton has declined 40% in 60 years as figures reveal Earth has been getting hotter since the Eighties," Daily Mail/UK, July 30, 2010

"Oil industry safety record blown open," Guardian/UK, July 29, 2010

"EPA Rejects Petitions to Reverse Climate Change Endangerment Finding," Environment News Service, July 29, 2010

"Michigan Oil Spill Estimated by EPA at 1 Million-Plus Gallons," Associated Press, July 29, 2010

"UN Declares Water, Sanitation as Human Rights," by Bradley Bouzane, Postmedia News, July 28, 2010

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"NYT: Pervasive surveillance is a serious threat -- in China," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Aug. 3, 2010

"Journalism's Age of Shame," by Eric Alterman, The Nation, July 29, 2010

More newswire ...

Activism

"Greenpeace activists close down BP stations in London," BBC News/UK, July 27, 2010

"Activist Supports Probe of Aid Raid," Albuquerque Jounal (New Mexico), July 30, 2010

"Dozens Arrested in Protests of AZ Immigration Law," Associated Press, July 29, 2010

"A Movement Rises in Arizona," by Jordan Flaherty, Common Dreams, July 29, 2010

More newswire ...



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