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> Dear friends, > > If you happened to see this PBS show, and would like to submit your own > comment on it, please see EPIC's action alert below for contact information. > The same show apparently did their last program on China. > > >From : "Nancy A. Hey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > CC : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject : Message sent to PBS re. 7/11/02 segment on Iraq: > Date : Wed, 17 Jul 2002 18:08:01 -0400 > > Message sent to PBS re. 7/11/02 segment on Iraq: > > Contrary to what the name of your show suggests, the 7/11/02 segment you > did on Iraq gave a very narrow view of the situation there. > > While the use of poison gasses on Kurds in Iraq is truly tragic, what you > failed to point out in your show was that the United States government was > allied with Iraq in Iraq's war against Iran at the time those killings were > happening. Therefore, our own government shares the guilt for the suffering > of those people, since the US turned a blind eye to what Saddam Hussein was > doing, because he was considered a strategic ally. > > I was also very disappointed that you failed to mention in your show the > fact that the 11-year economic sanctions against Iraq, enforced by the > United States, have caused the deaths of over one million Iraqis, most of > them children, acording to reports from humanitarian agencies like UNICEF. > The US is slowly killing the Iraqi people by preventing them from importing > spare parts to repair their water and sewage system that was severely > damaged by US bombing during the Gulf War. The US prevents Iraq from > importing desperately needed medicines to treat the epidemic of infectious > diseases which have plauged Iraq due to the polluted drinking water. > > These economic sanctions, and the frequent bombing raids by the US and > UK of Iraq over the "no-fly" zones constitute war crimes against > civilians, and should thus be condemned as such. > > Also, your show promoted all the unproven claims about Iraq being > connected to al Quaida, and the attacks of September 11th. You > interviewed Iraqi dissidents for support of this claim, but failed to > mention that most of the dissident groups in Iraq are heavily funded by the > United States, and are thus going to repeat what the US government wants > them to say. At this time, the US government very much wants to use these > unproven claims as a pretext to attack Iraq. It is most irresponsible for > you feed this war propaganda, when so many more innocent Iraqis will > inevitibly suffer and die in such an attack by the United States. > > Serving as a tool for the government's war aims is not the kind of objective > journalism that PBS claims to support. Rather, it is the kind of propaganda > and brainwashing of the public that George Orwell warned us about in his > novel "1984". > > Sincerely, > Nancy Hey > > From: "EPIC Media Watch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "EPIC Media Alerts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: EPIC Action Alert - CALL PBS TODAY! > Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 14:24:29 -0400 > > EPIC ACTION ALERT - July 12, 2002 > > ********************************* > > I. PBS Documentary - War Propaganda > > II. Action Alert - Flood PBS with calls Friday 7/12 and Monday 7/15 > > ********************************* > > Last night, PBS kicked off a new television series called "Wide > Angle" with a documentary on Iraq. Hosted by former State Department > spokesman James Rubin and featuring a documentary titled "Saddam's Ultimate > Solution," the program should be renamed "Narrow Myopic Angle". Such > lop-sided journalism should not have been shown on a public television > station and was a disservice to Americans seeking to understand a very > serious national discussion on whether or not to invade Iraq. Please see the > alert below and call PBS to express your outrage. If we cannot demonstrate > political power in the face of such horrendous propaganda then we will lose > the national debate, thus leading to war. > > The first half of the documentary rightly outlined the atrocities > committed against the Kurdish populations by Saddam's repressive and > irresponsible regime. However it went on to connect Iraq to 9/11 > through a series of back alley interviews with unidentified sources. No > alternative source was provided to question the alleged 9/11 > connections. Following the documentary, Wide Angle ended with an > interview between host James Rubin and the notorious kingpin of the > "Get Iraq" crowd, Richard Perle. By doing so, viewers were given only one > conclusion: invade Iraq NOW. > > To demonstrate how one-sided the program was, read the following > script that ended the documentary and framed the closing interview with > Richard Perle. > > Narrator Gwynne Roberts: "What I found was evidence of terrorist > training camps in Iraq and testimony that Al Qaeda fighters are > being trained to use poison gas. [Images of Kurdish people suffering from > gassing are shown.] Where will these lethal skills be practiced > next? Meanwhile Halabja is coping with a living nightmare: a genetic time > bomb. Here everyday the situation is getting worse. [Clip shown of an > interview with a Kurdish doctor talking about the hopelessness and despair > of gas victims] While the west turns its back on Halabja, > Saddam is capitalizing on the very tragedy he created, forging new links to > terrorist groups throughout the region. [Images of U.S. warplanes.] American > jets patrol the skies over Northern Iraq keeping Saddam at bay. But the > terrible truth is that Pandora 's Box has already been opened and the > unthinkable may be about to happen again." > > Implication: the United States is next. What better way to drum up > fear and pubic support for a war against Iraq than to perpetuate > unfounded claims and combine them with heart wrenching images of the victims > of Iraq's 1988 chemical attack of Halabja. Enter Richard Perle, chairman of > the Defense Policy Board, a Pentagon advisory group, and former assistant > secretary of defense under President Reagan. > > In response to the documentary Richard Perle states, "This evidence > is very powerful. There is collaboration between Saddam Hussein and Al > Qaeda, which means to destroy us. It entails chemical weapons, > biological weapons, training in their application. And he's working > on nuclear weapons. The message is very clear - we have no time to > lose, Saddam must be removed from office. Every day that goes by is a day in > which we are exposed to dangers on a far larger scale that the > tragedy of September 11." > > On what a war would look like, Perle says "it will be easier and > quicker than many people think." > > On the administration's war plans, "I think we are moving not nearly > fast enough, but clearly in the right direction. Bureaucracies are > sluggish." > > On what war will mean to the Iraqi people "And > I have no doubt that when it's over, Iraqis will consider that they have > been freed from a nightmare regime that has practiced the most brutal > murderous repression. So at the end of the day, there may be a brief period > when people are confused, but this will be seen as an act of liberation. And > the Iraqis themselves will welcome the change." > > The point of this documentary should be to focus on the suffering of > Kurdish people. Instead, all of that was destroyed to try and > further public support for a war against Iraq, a war which would only bring > greater suffering to the people of Iraq. A war that many Iraqi Kurds even > fear. > > If you were unable to see the documentary last night, click here to > watch the Perle interview or read the transcript > > <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/saddam/index.html> > > http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/saddam/index.html > > II. Flood PBS with calls > > We must demonstrate political power! > PBS comment line > 703.739.5481 > > Wide Angle online feedback form > > <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/feedback.html> > http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/feedback.html > > Wide Angle poll > > Click here to answer, "Should the U.S. invade Iraq to halt Saddam's > weapons programs?" > > > <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/saddam/poll.html> > http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/saddam/poll.html > > EPIC Alerts > Education for Peace in Iraq Center > 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue SE > Washington, DC 20003 USA > Tel.: 202.543.6176 > Fax: 202.543.0725 > > http://www.epic-usa.org <http://www.epic-usa.org/> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
