News Release Archive - 2005

FRANCES FOX PIVEN
Author of the book The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush’s Militarism, Piven said today: “Americans are beginning to recognize the recklessness and incompetence of this administration in launching an invasion of Iraq. We saw recklessness and incompetence again in the failure to prepare for Katrina, or to mobilize to rescue the victims afterwards. The casualties of war and of disaster pay dearly for these mistakes. And so do the rest of us, as deficits caused by war and unpreparedness mount. The Congress seems poised to solve this problem by asking us to pay again, by slashing the programs that help shore up our eroding infrastructure, and also cutting the programs that provide some economic security for the worst off among us.” Piven is distinguished professor of political science and sociology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Her past books include The Breaking of the American Social Compact.
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JOHN MILLER
Professor of economics at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and contributing editor to Dollars & Sense Magazine, Miller said today: “So how will the Bush administration deal with the victims of Katrina and Rita? Cut taxes for the wealthy. Little more than a moment of silence later, tax cuts are back on the Congressional agenda. Instead of borrowing the money necessary to pay for the one-time expenditures to rebuild the Gulf Coast — which would make perfect sense — the Bush administration will slash social spending, while it goes about making permanent its tax cuts that have gone overwhelmingly to the richest 1 percent of taxpayers, with average incomes of nearly $1 million. Costing far more than hurricane relief, the Bush team will press to make permanent: the 15 percent tax rate on long-term capital gains and dividends, repeal of the estate tax in the near term and in the long term reform of the Alternative Minimum Tax and broader tax reform.”
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MAX SAWICKY
An economist with the Economic Policy Institute, Sawicky wrote the recent piece “Red Ink Rising.” He said today: “Not withstanding the rhetoric of ‘limited government,’ from the Republican-controlled White House and Congress, they have increased all kinds of spending rapidly. This of course includes the military budget going from $295 billion in 2000 to $495 billion for 2005, but also includes other programs as well, though debates should be had about whether that money could be spent better. … Both the Democrats and Republicans posture about the effect of their various proposals, some of which are substantial, some symbolic. Some cuts would cause harm, but spending already committed to and projected revenues will require an historic change. Both sides fiddle with the little things and ignore the big picture on the future of the budget.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

President George W. Bush used the words “peace” or “peaceful” 11 times in brief remarks Monday at the White House. Meanwhile, the AP reported on the same day: “U.S. warplanes and helicopters bombed two villages near the restive city of Ramadi, killing an estimated 70 militants, the military said Monday, though witnesses said at least 39 of the dead were civilians.”

On Friday, Reuters reported that Jean Ziegler, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food “accused U.S. and British forces in Iraq of breaching international law by depriving civilians of food and water in besieged cities as they try to flush out militants.” He “said the Geneva Conventions banned military forces from using ‘starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.'”
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FRANK BRODHEAD
Brodhead is co-author (with Edward S. Herman) of the book Demonstration Elections: U.S.-Staged Elections in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and El Salvador and wrote the article “Reframing the Iraq Election.”
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NORMAN SOLOMON
Solomon is executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death. The book includes these examples of statements during the Vietnam War:
· 1964 – President Johnson: “Our one desire — our one determination — is that the people of Southeast Asia be left in peace to work out their own destinies in their own way.”
· 1965 – Vice President Humphrey: “Our commitment to strengthening the peace has not weakened.”
· 1966 – President Johnson: “I do not genuinely believe that there’s any single person anywhere in the world that wants peace as much as I want it.”
· 1967 – Vice President Humphrey: “There is no quick and easy way to peace — it must and will be built out of the cumulative acts of men and women who dedicate their lives to the service of their fellow men — and therefore to the service of God.”
· 1968 – President Johnson: “But our goal is peace — and peace at the earliest possible moment.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

KEVIN GRAY
A contributing editor for Black News in Columbia, S.C., Gray is author of the forthcoming book The Death of Black Politics. He said today: “Recent events — the response to Hurricane Katrina, Bill Bennett’s comments, the tenth anniversary of the Million Man March, the video of New Orleans police bloodying a retired teacher — have created a rare opportunity to discuss race relations in this country. However, this isn’t just about race. It’s also about class and poverty. And it’s not just about Republicans and George W. Bush. It’s about the Democrats not offering an alternative vision and the dark side of Bill Clinton’s legacy. It’s not about any single problem — such as the gap between the rich and the poor, the number of black men in jail, the number of black students not graduating from high school, the number of black and brown kids being recruited into the military. It’s about all of these but fundamentally something more. There’s a structural change that has been going on in this country, partly stemming from the structural changes in the global economy, that is changing many things, all at once. We must have a national discussion of all that and more, if we are to counter the current malaise, the current negative slide and the feeling by many in our country that we are moving in the wrong direction.”

ROBERT JENSEN
Jensen is author of the new book The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism, and White Privilege. He is a professor of journalism at the University of Texas. He said today: “Bill Bennett’s comment illustrated how common it is for white people automatically to associate black and criminal. What is unfortunate is that, instead of recognizing this and adding to the public conversation about the deep ways in which most white people have internalized racism, Bennett chose to avoid and deny. Until we can talk honestly about the effects of white supremacy on white people, it’s hard to imagine much progress.”
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NISA ISLAM MOHAMMAD
Mohammad is a senior staff writer with The Final Call newspaper. She said today: “The ‘Millions More Movement’ this weekend, held at the tenth anniversary of the Million Man March, is an opportunity for us to strengthen our communities and our families.”

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

DAHR JAMAIL
Jamail is an independent journalist who reported for eight months from inside Iraq, including the city of Fallujah. He said today: “Two ongoing U.S. military operations in the primarily Sunni province of al-Anbar will make voting in the critical constitutional referendum more difficult for Iraqis in that region. With thousands of families now living as refugees and more refugees generated daily, voting will now take a backseat to things like acquiring food, blankets, medicine and shelter. Some Sunni political and religious leaders have accused the U.S. and Iraqi governments of a deliberate attempt to hamper the Sunni voting ability, as Sunni political/religious leaders have called on their followers to vote ‘no’ in order to block the constitution with a 2/3 majority vote in three provinces.” Jamail has posted rare pictures from the U.S. offensive in western Iraq, taken by an unembedded photographer, on his website.
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RAHUL MAHAJAN
Mahajan is author of the book Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond and writes the blog EmpireNotes.org. He said today: “Residents of western al-Anbar province are caught between an increasingly ruthless insurgency and the destructive tactics of U.S. military operations. Last month’s [U.S.] offensive against the town of Tal Afar involved the same kind of heavy bombing of residential areas that we have seen before in Fallujah, Najaf, and elsewhere; by one estimate, 90 percent of the population had fled before the final offensive. These tactics continue near the Syrian border with the provocatively named Operation Iron Fist and along the Euphrates in Operation River Gate. The U.S. military makes little or no provision for the hundreds of thousands of refugees generated by these operations, violating its obligations as an occupying power.” Mahajan, like Jamail, was in Fallujah in April 2004 while it was under attack.
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SABA KHATTAK
Available for a limited number of interviews, Khattak is executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad. She said: “We are working together with organizations that have come together under the banner of the Joint Action Committee, Pakistan, for relief efforts. Individuals as well as organizations are members. Different committees have been formed so help may reach the affected areas in a systematic manner and efforts may not be duplicated.”
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JAMES E. JENNINGS
President of Conscience International, Jennings is leaving for Kashmir on Friday. He has led earthquake relief projects in Iran, Turkey, India, and Indonesia. Jennings said today: “The size of the disaster in Pakistan in some of the world’s most difficult terrain requires major logistical support. Helicopters are generally only available from military forces, and military discipline is certainly effective in stabilizing relief efforts and transporting major shipments of relief supplies. However, to make the military the main force in providing humanitarian aid … is fraught with problems.”
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ANITA WEISS
Co-editor of the book Power and Civil Society in Pakistan and professor of international studies at the University of Oregon, Weiss said today: “The outpouring of help from all over Pakistan has been unprecedented. Civil society, realizing that the government is not doing certain things, is stepping in.”

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

ANAS SHALLAL
Shallal is an independent Iraqi-American business owner in Washington, D.C. He said today: “As I talk to more and more Iraqis, it’s clear that most do not think this constitution is a good idea. Even many Iraqis who were among the main boosters for the war are speaking out against this constitution, like Kanan Makiya [author of Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq] and the former acting U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Rend Rahim. Iraqis are again left in a no-win situation. Hidden beneath the baroque language about the glories of Iraq is a document that will make Iraq ungovernable at best and will initiate the de facto partition of Iraq. Long-term this would keep Iraq weak and is part of the U.S. government’s divide-and-conquer strategy. The carnage and the suffering of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis is merely collateral damage to this administration’s agenda.”
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ANTONIA JUHASZ
Author of the forthcoming book The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time and a visiting scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, Juhasz said today: “The draft Iraqi constitution serves U.S. corporations and the Bush administration by leaving in place both the military and the economic occupations. It also locks in the new Iraqi oil law slated for 2006 implementation.”
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MAXINE NASH
A member of the Christian Peacemaker Team, Nash has been in Iraq for the last two years. She said today: “Iraqis are telling us that they don’t feel represented by the people putting together the constitution; it’s difficult to even get a copy of the constitution you know is accurate. Many feel large issues have not been worked out and that the U.S. is pressuring them to move too rapidly now.”
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RAED JARRAR
Jarrar is an Iraqi blogger currently in Jordan.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

This morning, President Bush gave a speech at the National Endowment for Democracy. He said that “we stand for democracy and peace” and that Syria and Iran “share the goal of hurting America.” The following analysts are available for interviews about U.S. government policy:

TALA DOWLATSHAHI
Dowlatshahi is a spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders. The group marked the beginning of Ramadan this week with a call for the U.S. government to release five journalists being held by the U.S. military in Iraq. The organization’s statement read: “These journalists, who are all foreign press correspondents and include an American media correspondent, have been denied access to a lawyer and the right to receive a visit from their families or their employers. In all five cases, the American forces have presented no proof that would substantiate their involvement in any illegal activity.”
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JOEL CAMPAGNA
Program coordinator on the Middle East and North Africa for the Committee to Protect Journalists, Campagna said today: “The U.S. military has failed to fully investigate the killing of journalists by its forces in Iraq and to implement its own recommendations to improve media safety. … U.S. troops have killed 15 journalists and media workers since the U.S.-led war began in March 2003. At least 40 other journalists have been killed covering the conflict.

“These open-ended, unsubstantiated detentions are an unacceptable interference in the work of the press. They threaten to undermine the ability of the media to report on events in Iraq, especially as international news organizations rely heavily on Iraqi journalists to work in frontline newsgathering. Moreover, by holding journalists for weeks or months without charges and on the basis of secret ‘evidence,’ the United States, which has publicly committed its support for democracy and human rights in Iraq, sends a troubling message to Iraqis that it is not accountable for its actions. It is noteworthy that even Iraqi officials have taken exception to the detentions.”
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JAMES E. JENNINGS
President of Conscience International and executive director of U.S. Academics Against the War, Jennings recently returned from leading a delegation of U.S. professors to Damascus and Tehran for dialogue sessions with university colleagues. He said today: “The contrast between George W. Bush’s rhetoric and the reality on the ground our delegation observed in the region makes one wonder if he’s living in never-never land. Are things really going well in Iraq? Are Iran and Syria genuine threats to the United States? This is the same tired old neo-conservative agenda that led us into Iraq and could not be further from the truth. Ominously, Bush’s speech today signals a dangerous expansion of the so-called ‘War on Terror’ to those two countries.” The group also met for three hours with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife.
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WILLIAM BLUM
Blum’s book Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower contains a chapter titled “Trojan Horse: The National Endowment for Democracy.” He said today: “The NED claims it works for democracy in various countries; governments which are its targets say it works for destabilization.” Blum is also author of the book Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

MARJORIE COHN
Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild. She has written a piece titled “Harriet Miers: Bush’s Pit Bull,” which will be posted on TruthOut.org today. She said: “Bush has nominated his Texas crony as a stealth appointment. Although the Senate will be hard-pressed to discover Miers’ positions on the critical issues, she does have a long record of loyalty to Bush. … Bush undoubtedly knows where she stands — and it doesn’t appear to be on the side of civil liberties.”

NORMAN SOLOMON
Solomon, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, appeared on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” this morning to discuss the Harriet Miers nomination and the Bush administration’s record of spin. He said today: “Miers was present at the creation of the Bush presidency. Behind the scenes, she ascended to increasingly important roles at a White House that methodically promoted deceptive claims about Iraq in order to justify the invasion and occupation. This year, in her gatekeeping role as the White House counsel, she has routinely determined what information does or does not reach the president — including, presumably, information about Hurricane Katrina. It’s breathtaking that after the recent horrendous results of cronyism at FEMA, the president would nominate to the Supreme Court a lawyer whose key qualifications seem to involve a history of unswerving loyalty to George W. Bush.” Solomon is the author of War Made Easy. He will be in Washington on Wednesday and New York City on Thursday. Video of his C-SPAN appearance will be posted online.
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JAMIN RASKIN
Raskin is law professor at American University and author of the book Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court vs. the American People. He said today: “The thing that’s really stunning is that of all of the judges and lawyers and law professors in the country, Bush turns to his own White House counsel, someone who has been on his inner legal and policy staff for many years, as the person he nominates to the Supreme Court.”
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PETER IRONS
Irons is author of the books Brennan Vs. Rehnquist: The Battle for the Constitution and A People’s History of the Supreme Court and is editor of May It Please the Court: Live Recordings and Transcripts of the Supreme Court in Session. His most recent book is War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the Constitution.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

WILLIAM ARKIN
An intelligence analyst, Arkin writes a blog called Early Warning on the WashingtonPost.com website. He has written extensively on the role of the military during emergencies and recent calls for the curtailment of the Posse Comitatus Act as well as responsibility for the lack of proper governmental action in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He said today: “We spend $100 billion a year for a new Department of Homeland Security, and we’re letting it get off the hook.”
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SANGITA NAYAK
Nayak is communications director of the Praxis Project, which is helping coordinate the Katrina Information Network. She said today: “Through our web portal, the Katrina Information Network is featuring experts from the Gulf Coast, especially people from grassroots groups and local communities which need to be heard — particularly about how the rebuilding should be done. We also try to scrutinize disinformation, like the false reports of mass violence at the Superdome.”
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CORRINE CAREY
A researcher for Human Rights Watch, Carey said today: “Of all the nightmares during Hurricane Katrina, this must be one of the worst. Prisoners were abandoned in their cells without food or water for days as floodwaters rose toward the ceiling. … The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, which oversaw the evacuation, and the Orleans Sheriff’s Department should account for the 517 inmates who are missing from the list of people evacuated from the jail.”
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DAN BRIGHT
Bright was detained in Orleans Parish Prison the night before Hurricane Katrina struck. He said today: “They just left us. When we realized what was going on, it was too late. … The water was up to our chest. You had guys laying in the water trying to climb to the top of their bunks. You had older guys who didn’t have any medicine who we were trying to help. And the way we got out was we had to kick the cell door for maybe like an hour or two.”
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MAUDE HURD
STEVE BRADBERRY
ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) National President Maude Hurd said today: “Many homeowners with sub-prime loans, who are largely African Americans and low-income people, are getting relief periods of only a month, while homeowners with prime loans are being offered 90 days, six months, even a year when they don’t have to worry about paying.” Bradberry is ACORN’s lead organizer in New Orleans. Conyers is communications coordinator for ACORN.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

CRAIG McDONALD
Director of Texans for Public Justice, McDonald said today: “On March 31, 2003, we filed a formal complaint with the Travis County District Attorney requesting an investigation into what appeared to be unlawful uses of corporate funds by Congressman Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) to influence Texas’ 2002 legislative elections. Yesterday a Travis County Grand Jury charged DeLay with criminally conspiring with TRMPAC.

“No jury can undo the outcome of Texas’ 2002 elections, but the justice system must punish those who criminally conspire to undermine democracy — no matter how powerful they may be. If we are to be a ‘democracy,’ then powerful politicians cannot flout such laws with impunity.”
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CRAIG HOLMAN
Holman is legislative representative for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch and author of a backgrounder on the DeLay indictment, available [PDF] at Citizen.org.
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ELLEN MILLER
Miller is deputy director of the Campaign for America’s Future.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

A military jury has sentenced Army Pfc. Lynndie England to three years for her role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

ORLANDO TIZON
Tizon is the assistant director of Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International and a survivor of torture under the Marcos regime in the Philippines. He said today: “Lynndie England was convicted and sentenced but that is not satisfactory for us. It’s obvious that the rank and file people are the small fry. What we would like to know is the whole story: what really happened, from the memos down. Available information clearly indicates that this isn’t a case of just a few bad apples. What we want is a credible independent investigation, and just ‘bipartisan’ is not good enough because my experience has been that bipartisan can also be biased. I think the U.S. should create an independent investigation commission and invite international participation. That would help with the credibility of the investigation, and it would be a very concrete way for the United States to reach out to the international community, to show that we are serious about investigating what really happened and continues to happen, and we would like to redeem ourselves and regain a sense of morality.”
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JOHN SIFTON
Sifton is a researcher with Human Rights Watch, which has just released a report titled “Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.” The report provides soldiers’ accounts of abuses against detainees committed by troops of the 82nd Airborne stationed at Forward Operating Base Mercury, near Fallujah. In a statement about the report, HRW said: “Three U.S. army personnel — two sergeants and a captain — describe routine, severe beatings of prisoners and other cruel and inhumane treatment. … According to the soldiers’ accounts, U.S. personnel abused detainees as part of the military interrogation process or merely to ‘relieve stress.’ In numerous cases, they said that abuse was specifically ordered by Military Intelligence personnel before interrogations, and that superior officers within and outside of Military Intelligence knew about the widespread abuse. … One sergeant told Human Rights Watch: ‘Everyone in camp knew if you wanted to work out your frustration you show up at the PUC [Persons Under Control, i.e. detainees] tent.’ … The officer who spoke to Human Rights Watch made persistent efforts over 17 months to raise concerns about detainee abuse with his chain of command and to obtain clearer rules on the proper treatment of detainees, but was consistently told to ignore abuses and to ‘consider your career.'”
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JENNIFER HARBURY
Harbury is the director of the Stop Torture Permanently (STOP) Campaign and author of the recent book Truth, Torture, and the American Way. Harbury’s husband Efraín Bámaca Velásquez was secretly detained and tortured to death in Guatemala in the early 1990s. Her long efforts to save his life led to the official disclosure that his killers were Guatemalan intelligence officers serving as paid CIA informants or ‘assets.’ In an op-ed published in Newsday (Sept. 24), she stated: “Given the extraordinary flow of disclosures, confirming the use of identical U.S. torture practices throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo, the ‘bad apple’ defense is coy at best. It is impossible for so many soldiers to dream up identical techniques by coincidence. We are dealing with official policy, not individual excess.”

Harbury added: “These practices have been developed through the decades. The iconic photograph of the Abu Ghraib detainee, hooded and wired and standing on a small box, depicts a position known to intelligence officials as ‘The Vietnam.'”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167