This Week on GR
by C. L. Cook
Approaching the seventh anniversary of the America invasion of Iraq few conscious observers still harbour any doubts the usurpation of Saddam Hussein had anything to do with either weapons of mass destruction, or providing aid to the long suffering Iraqi populace. Stripped of its supposed raison d'etre for being in Iraq, what is the American military fighting for? According to freelance journalist and author, Dahr Jamail, a growing number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq are simply not continuing to fight.

Listen. Hear.

Echoing the fading days of America's war agianst the people of Vietnam, the "boots on the ground," increasingly finding their patrol missions both futile and fatal, are failing to carry out orders.

Dahr Jamail is a multi-award winning journalist, recently returned from his third unembedded tour covering the unnatural disaster in Iraq. He's the author of, 'Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Iraq,' and the recently published, 'Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan,' from which he published the article 'Refusing to Comply: The Tactics of Resistance in an All-Volunteer Military' at Tom Dispatch.com. Dahr Jamail in the first segment.

And; what's old is nuevo again in Central America, at least as far as Honduras and the new Obama administration is concerned. Two weeks ago, the democratically elected Patrone-cum populist president, Manuel "Mel" Zelaya was rousted from his bed in the middle of the night and ousted from his country in a Coup d'Etat. Coming in the midst of high-minded U.S. disapprobations against the Iranian mullahs and their disdain for democracy, the Latin American coup, carried out by a host of graduates from the notorious School of the Americas, that training centre in the United States specializing in torture methods, death squad fundamentals, and of course, the proper conduct of coups d'etat, comes as a bit of an embarrassment for "enlightened" new president, Barak Obama. Robert Parry is a freelance journalist and author whose own experience encompasses the Dirty Wars in Latin America during Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush's reign of terror in the 1980's. He's founder of the web news site, Consortium News.com, whose book titles include: 'Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush,' 'Secrecy and Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq,' and 'Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & Project Truth.' Robert Parry and back to the future in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will check in at the bottom of the hour from her current assignment on the road with the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba. But first; Dahr Jamail and Refusniks American style.  

 

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca.  He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.co