Headlines Bush Defends Iraq War & Patriot Act During State of the Union Israeli Bombs Sites in Lebanon, Warns Syria Israel Destroys 25 Homes in Rafah; 400 Left Homeless Sharon May Be Forced To Step Aside Over Scandal Shiite Protests Continue in Baghdad Two Soldiers Commit Suicide At Army Hospital More Headlines
DEMOCRACY NOW! SPECIAL: Behind Bush's State of the Union In the third State of the Union address of his term, President Bush defended the war on Iraq, called for the renewal of the Patriot Act, praised the improving economy and called for a ban on gay marriage. We spend the hour listening to responses to Bushs address that paint a different picture of the State of the Union.
Arundhati Roy, Hans Von Sponeck Respond to Bush's State of the Union on Iraq In his State of the Union address, Bush claimed if the US did not invade Iraq, the dictators weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day. He did not acknowledge, however, that U.S. inspectors have uncovered no unconventional weapons. A year ago at the 2003 State of the Union, Bush made the case for war by claiming that Iraq had 25,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, 500 tones of sarin, mustard and VX nerve gas and 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. After 10 months of weapons searches, none of this has been uncovered. We hear from acclaimed Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy and Hans Von Sponeck, the former head of the UN mission to Iraq. [includes transcript]
A Look at Bush's Iraq Lies in the State of the Union and Truth-Telling In the Media We speak with Leslie Cagan of the antiwar coalition United for Peace and Justice about Bushs statements on Iraq. She criticizes Bush for talking about a war but not mentioning that anybody has died in the wareither Iraqis or U.S. soldiers. And we hear from columnist and Institute for Public Accuracy director Norman Solomon who likens the State of the Union address to the sanitized media coverage of the Iraq invasion and says, you can pretend and have the image of war as a glorious enterprise without referring to the slaughter, the suffering, the continued anguish of people and the mourning and also without reference to the deception that was the cornerstone of the war to begin with.
Bush Calls For Renewal of Patriot Act in State of the Union Bush called for a renewal of the controversial Patriot Act saying, key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year. The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. We speak with the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
No Mention of Africa in Bush's State of the Union We speak with TransAfrica president Bill Fletcher about why Bush did not mention Africa once in his State of the Union address as compared to last year when Africa and the issue of AIDS were a major part of his address.
Bush Denounces Gay Marriage in State of the Union Bush denounced gay marriage saying, Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage. He also said a constitutional ban on gay marriage may be needed if activist judges ignored public will. We hear from a gay community activist who traveled to Canada to get legally married.