Thursday, January 16, 2003

Speaking of WFCR, they’re also running a series called “Perspectives on Iraq” on “how America’s confrontation with Iraq affects Western Massachusetts.” The series includes perspectives from:
1.) Reverend Bob Evans of Plowshares Institute (opposed to war)
2.) Mothers Against War (ditto)
3.) Greg Speeter of the National Priorities Project (him too)
4.) Mayor Michael Albano of Springfield, MA (natch)
5.) Jon Western, Prof. of International Relations at Mt. Holyoke College (“believes we have not done the necessary diplomatic work with Arab countries in preparation for war”.)

And then there’s 6.) “Azad”, an Iraqi Kurd who “saw his village wiped out by chemical bombs. He spent several years in prison before escaping and obtaining political asylum in The Netherlands.”

Normally I would complain that this NPR series is hopelessly biased towards the peace platform, but I would bet that Azad’s account of the stark reality of Hussein’s Iraq would more than counter the hollow, white-bread outrage of a bunch of Happy Valley hippies.

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