Thursday, June 5, 2008

• Senate Report Reveals Further Ways the Bush Administration Misused Intelligence From Iraq
• Obama speaks aggressively in support of Israel
• Critics Disappointed With FAO Plan to End Food Shortages
• Venezuelan Opposition Movement Showing Signs of Fragmentation
• Colorado wins Rocky Mt. Arsenal Environmental Lawsuit

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Senate Report Reveals Further Ways the Bush Administration Misused Intelligence From Iraq

A new Senate report finds the Bush Administration's case for the going
to war in Iraq contradicted information and intelligence. Two different
reports totally 230 pages lay out numerous examples where the Bush
Administration publicized to Congress and to the American people false
or inaccurate findings. Senator Jay Rockefeller is the Chair of the
Senate Intelligence Committee, which authored the report.
"It's often been said that truth is the first casualty of war. This
is the case in the Bush Administration's march to war in Iraq. The
tragic fact is that on issues of war an peace… in short, we announce
today…the Administration was careless with its word and contradicted by
the available intelligence."
The report found that intelligence did not back up many statements by
the Administration in the lead up to the war. For example, it found
intelligence did not show a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. The
report also found that the alleged leader of the September 11th
attacks, Muhammad Atta, did not meet with Iraqi officials in Prague,
that there was no confirmation that Iraq's chemical weapons program
continued and that intelligence warned the US would not be welcomed as
liberators. Chair Rockefeller called the Bush Administration's handling
of the war "heinous' but he said he will not endorse criminal
prosecution.
"It would mean nothing else would get done. If you pressed for that,
it's like pressing for impeachment, it's a grand act. But it's a futile
act and a wrong act. Should it be done in the wide sweep of history?
Yes. Should it be done now? No."
These findings are the final parts of a 4-year investigation by the
Senate panel - a panel that overwhelmingly endorsed the
Administration's case for war in 2002. Some Republicans on the Senate
Committee called the findings political and said they were without
merit.

Obama speaks aggressively in support of Israel

On his first day as the presumptive democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama spoke to the Jewish American Lobby attempting to court a constituency he's had trouble appealing to. And during that meeting, Obama seemed to take a more aggressive tone in defense of Israel. FSRN Karen Miller has more

Critics Disappointed With FAO Plan to End Food Shortages

The World Food and Agriculture Organization's major summit began this week in Rome, Italy. FAO officials were tasked with finding solutions to the rising prices of food worldwide – a situation that is beginning to spark humanitarian crises and unrest in many countires. The use of food crops for biofuels is receiving much of the blame for the shortages.
Today is the final day of the summit and the final declaration from the FAO is out – and has been greeted by much disappointment, as FSRN's Diletta Varlese reports from Italy.

Venezuelan Opposition Movement Showing Signs of Fragmentation

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the Hugo Chavez government decision not to renew the broadcasting license of Venezuela's most popular television channel - RCTV. The student movement and mass protest that followed was a blow to the popularity of Chavez. It contributed to the December election defeat of a referendum that would have significantly increased the president's power. This year, one prominent veterans of that movement is running for Mayor of the largest and poorest section of Caracas. Despite the enthusiasm that has greeted his candidacy, a closer inspection reveals an increasingly fragile and divided opposition movement. Martin Markovits reports from Caracas

Colorado wins Rocky Mt. Arsenal Environmental Lawsuit

After 25 years of litigation, the US Army and Shell Oil have agreed to pay the state of Colorado more than 35 million dollars for irreversible chemical waste destruction at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The US Army and Shell Oil used the land as a chemical manufacturing compound and liquid chemical dumpsite, which ultimately ravaged the environment and local wildlife. Many say the Arsenal is one of the most contaminated sites in the country. The settlement is seen as a major victory for the state of Colorado, and the money will go towards restoration projects and compensation for local residents affected by the contamination. Blake Wesley is in Denver and files this report.