Monday, November 16, 2015

Democracy Now! Daily Digest: A Daily Independent Global News Hour with Amy Goodman & Juan González for Monday, November 16, 2015

Democracy Now! Daily Digest: A Daily Independent Global News Hour with Amy Goodman & Juan González for Monday, November 16, 2015
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"We Shouldn't Play into the Hands of ISIS": Vijay Prashad on Danger of Military Escalation in Syria
In retaliation for Friday’s attacks in Paris, France launched its heaviest airstrikes yet against the Syrian city of Raqqa, which has long served as the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State. Friday’s attacks came just a day after the Islamic State claimed credit for a double attack in southern Beirut that killed at least 43 people, and two weeks after the group claimed responsibility for bringing down a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. Over the weekend, French President François Hollande described Friday’s attack as an act of war. Speaking in Turkey at the G20 summit, President Obama described the events in Paris as "an attack on the civilized world." We speak with Vijay Prashad, professor of international studies at Trinity College and columnist for the Indian magazine Frontline, for more on the response to the attacks.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to bring in Vijay Prashad, professor of international studies at Trinity College and columnist for the Indian magazine Frontline, author of a number of books, including Arab Spring, Libyan Winter and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. It’s great to have you with us, Vijay Prashad, on this very sad day. Can you respond to what took place in Paris?
VIJAY PRASHAD: Well, you know, this is obviously not the first attack in Paris. This is the second this year. The scale of this attack was much greater. There’s no question that this is an abomination for any city, you know. But it comes, of course, after a series of attacks by ISIS—in Ankara, before the election in Turkey, where about 128 people were killed in an election rally; in Baghdad, the very weekend of the Paris attack, where there was an attack at a funeral of a fighter who had been fighting against ISIS; and then, of course, as you’ve just been talking, in Beirut, where there was two major suicide bombings in one of the largest attacks in the city of Beirut since the 1970s. This is, of course, a very important issue for the world, how to deal with ISIS. You know, of course, grief has to lead, but I think we have to be very sober in how we react to the provocations of ISIS and not, in fact, play into their hands.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the significance, when you say of not playing into their hands, what you mean?
VIJAY PRASHAD: Well, you know, it’s interesting. ISIS has for a long time had no real challenge to its state and to its kind of military power. The United States has been bombing infrequently since August 2015 and hitting all kinds of targets which I’m not sure have very much strategic value. Civilians have been killed. This is, of course, exactly what exacerbates frustration and anger in parts of the world, perhaps draws more recruits for ISIS. There has been no actual well-worked-out strategy in how to deal with ISIS. Just to give you a little example, you know, when ISIS seized Palmyra, the United States and other powers, other regional powers, refused to provide close air support to the Syrian troops that were amassed around Palmyra, for fear that if they got involved in providing close air support, they would be charged with backing the Assad government. Or indeed, when the Turkish government, who has a very different understanding of terrorism, strikes at Kurdish camps, where these Kurds have been at the front line of the war against ISIS, there is an incoherence in the response to ISIS, at the same time as merely going and bombing Raqqa, as the French have done again, is really not going to put any pressure on them. In fact, the opposite—it might indeed draw more recruits to them; it might enable them to champion their own audacity.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the significance of the French attacking Raqqa. All through the weekend, after the French attacks were launched, commentators in the mainstream media were saying, if they knew this was the headquarters of ISIS, if it’s so obvious that it’s where their operations are conducted, why is this the time that they are striking, only now?
VIJAY PRASHAD: Well, this is a curiosity. You know, earlier this year, ISIS had painted one of its buildings all black. And then the United States bombed the building. Of course, they painted the building almost to say, "Look, here we are," but there was nobody in the building. You know, there’s a game being played between ISIS and the airstrikes, where they are almost asking the United States to bomb them, and then they turn around and say, "Look, they are attacking us, but they can’t get to us."
Unfortunately, Raqqa is still a city with hundreds of thousands of people, and these are all civilians. This current set of airstrikes has struck the electricity grid. It has hit a museum, it has hit clinics. It has not only hit the so-called headquarters of ISIS. So, this game that is being played between ISIS, the various Western air forces and the media is, you know, I think, quite troubling, that you can hit a building, the media will call it the headquarters, but then in a few weeks we will realize that this was not really the headquarters, this was some building that ISIS had used two weeks ago, and, you know, as a consequence of these strikes, civilians have been killed.
There’s been so little strategic thinking about how to tackle ISIS. Some of this has to do with the fact that Western governments are compromised by their very close alliance with both Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and this has prevented them from having a robust strategic policy regarding ISIS.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the meeting that President Obama had with Vladimir Putin in Turkey. It’s the famous image right now of them holed up with just their translators in a corner. Can you talk about what this U.S.-Russian relationship means? What are the two seeking from each other’s countries?
VIJAY PRASHAD: This is a very important 35 minutes. You know, it’s at the G20 summit at Antalya, Turkey, where the Turks previously had said they wanted to put Syria at the top of the agenda. The Paris attacks in fact did bring Syria to the top of the agenda. But most of the meeting was about trade and investment and other issues. But these 35 minutes that Putin and Obama spent together privately are very significant, because what the Russians are saying after the meeting is that there was broad agreement between Obama and Putin about the strategy for Syria, but they differed on tactics.
Now, what they mean by that is not—it was not clarified, but we can take a few guesses. I mean, they both have come to an understanding that ISIS is the principal foe, and it appears that there is a greater harmony between these two powers, that perhaps the removal of the Assad regime as a precondition for anything else is no longer the issue. In other words, the Russians have said that they will create some kind of a process for a political transition. It seems that the Americans are on board with that idea and that these two countries now will have to work with their regional partners for a strategy and a tactical understanding of how to deal with ISIS.
But the problem is, this is easier said than done, because, again, the United States, as I said, is compromised by its relationship with Saudi Arabia and with Turkey, neither of whom are on board with either of these issues—one, that the Assad removal question should be set aside, and secondly, that ISIS is the principal foe, and not, say, for instance, with the Turks, who think the Kurds are an equal foe, or for the Saudis, who think that Assad is perhaps worse than ISIS. So unless the United States can deliver the Saudis and the Turks, this 35-minute meeting at Antalya may not be—may not prove to be as significant as it seems right now.
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Voices from a City in Mourning: Paris Reels After 129 Killed in Deadliest Attacks in Decades
France has entered a third day of mourning after a string of suicide bombings and shootings targeted restaurants, a concert hall and the national soccer stadium on Friday night. The simultaneous attacks killed 129 people and injured hundreds more. It was the deadliest attack on French soil in decades. The worst carnage was unleashed as three gunmen killed at least 89 people at a rock concert at the Bataclan theater before detonating explosive belts. Thousands of Parisians have been gathering to mourn at the Place de la République despite a ban on demonstrations and public gatherings until November 19. Democracy Now! producer Sam Alcoff spoke to people in the square on Saturday.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: France has entered a third day of mourning after a string of suicide bombings and shootings targeted restaurants, a concert hall and the national soccer stadium Friday night. The simultaneous attacks killed 129 people and injured hundreds more. It was the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II. The worst carnage was unleashed as three gunmen killed at least 89 people at a rock concert at the Bataclan theater before detonating explosive belts.
In retaliation, France launched its heaviest airstrikes yet against the Syrian city of Raqqa, which has long served as the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State. Friday’s attacks in Paris came just a day after the Islamic State claimed credit for a double attack in southern Beirut that killed at least 43 people, and two weeks after the group claimed responsibility for bringing down a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 people on board. Over the weekend, French President François Hollande described Friday’s attack as an act of war.
PRESIDENT FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE: [translated] Fellow citizens, what happened yesterday in Paris and Saint-Denis near the Stade de France was an act of war. Faced with war, the country has to take appropriate steps. It’s an act of war committed by a terrorist army, Daesh, an Islamist army, against France, against the values we uphold throughout the world, against who we are, a free country, which speaks to the whole planet.
AMY GOODMAN: Speaking in Turkey at the G20 summit, President Obama described the events in Paris as "an attack on the civilized world."
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: As was true with the terrible attacks that took place in Ankara, the killing of innocent people, based on a twisted ideology, is an attack not just on France, not just on Turkey, but it’s an attack on the civilized world.
AMY GOODMAN: Authorities said they believe the Paris attacks were carried out by eight assailants working in three teams. Seven of the men died in the attacks. A massive manhunt is underway for the eighth—Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national. Two of his brothers were said to have died in the attack. Several of the attackers were French nationals. Authorities also said one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the national stadium was carrying a Syrian passport, and his fingerprints matched someone who passed through Greece in October.
Overnight, French authorities carried out 168 raids, making 23 arrests, as part of the investigation. Police in the Belgian city of Molenbeek also carried out a series of raids this morning.
Friday’s attack came just 10 months after two brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, attacked the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Armed with assault rifles and other weapons, they killed 11 people and injured 11 others in the building.
Thousands of Parisians have been gathering to mourn in the Place de la République, despite a ban on demonstrations and public gatherings until November 19th. Democracy Now! producer Sam Alcoff spoke to people in the square on Saturday.
ALVIN: [translated] My name is alvin. We are in Paris, Place de la République. In fact, we are here to be united against what is happening—simply a massacre. What happened is unspeakable. It’s what happened in Syria, in the Middle East, Near East, Israel. It happened under our own balcony. We didn’t see it coming. We are here in homage. Simply that. We are Parisians.
MATHILDE: My name is Mathilde. I heard it by the radio. [translated] We came together to leave flowers, bouquets, messages, to honor the victims and their families, to support them.
LAURENCE: I was on the restaurant, like people who were killed. I was taking drink with friends on the street, because it was a weather fine. And I can’t believe it. I think it was just someone—a mad people. But after, when I knew that there are many attacks, I think about terrorists.
FAISAL: [translated] I was well into the match with my dad. We were watching the France-Germany football match. They told us on TV. The news announced the first shots in the café. It was just that, in the beginning.
LUC: Many people are shocked. France is already exhausted by January, by the January event, Charlie Hebdo. I think it’s all a bit too much.
LUIS: [translated] I think they are children of the republic. They were badly educated at some moment in their lives, and they went off the right track. And after, in France, they had enough. Ras le bol, as they say in French, Ras le cul. Understand? This is why they took up arms.
LAURENCE: Tonight I was near the quarter where attacks had been made. And it could be anyone. I am here because so much people die by barbarian, barbarian attack. And I want to think to these people, and I want to think with other Parisians, not alone on my flat. And I want to say I’m not afraid, at all.
FAISAL: [translated] It’s very difficult. I am of Algerian origin. I lived through the '90s in Algeria. And I will tell you, it's very complicated.
POLICE: [translated] Please go back to your homes, leave the plaza, calmly, please.
BENE: [translated] And they will be scared. They will not want to leave their homes. They will ask themselves questions that one should not ask oneself.
FAISAL: [translated] I do not lose hope in the French people. We proved January 15, 2015, that we could be united. We will again show that we are very strong here in France.
BENE: [translated] When you walk the streets outside in Paris, this is where you really see what people think, in the face of these events. They are not split, they are together, because they know the real truth. I want to say, there is no problem.
LUC: Unity, no. It’s for one day or two days, no longer. I think it’s—unity is a good word, but the French will never be united. Never. It’s a gold mine for Le Pen. It’s a gold mine, because I think, as far as I know, one of the terrorists was a Syrian, so he came—he wasn’t French. So, for Le Pen, it’s a good thing. She can work, you know, on this close the borders and stuff. So, I think, yeah, Le Pen will be more powerful after this.
FAISAL: [translated] I am not sure that this will give more voice to Le Pen than before. For me, Le Pen does not have all the solutions to the real problems of France. Also, they can have influence in little towns, villages, on old people, not the new generation that grew up together.
LAURENCE: Daesh is just a little, little movement. I think U.S.A., Great Britain, France and all these great countries can cut [it off]. Refugees are not responsible for Daesh and other terrorist attacks.
BENE: [translated] Me, personally, it doesn’t bother me. They [refugees] can all come, as many as they want. The door is open. There’s room. There’s lots of room. They should come.
FAISAL: [translated] Yes, Europe will surely retreat concerning refugees. They will be the first victims of these attacks. The refugees will pay first. Second will be Muslims. Third will be, of course, everyone of Muslim, or perhaps Muslim, descent; Maghrébins, Middle Easterners, will be the target of the politicians, of the public regard, unfortunately. But the refugees will be the first victims, that is sure.
AMY GOODMAN: Voices of Parisians gathering to mourn at the Place de la République on Saturday night. Special thanks to Democracy Now!’s Sam Alcoff and Anna Gold, both in Paris. When we come back, we go directly to Paris. Stay with us.
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"We Are Scared, We Are Grieving": Muslim Activist in Paris Condemns Attacks, Rising Islamophobia
Reports of Islamophobia have already emerged following the Paris attacks, and fears of attacks on Muslims in Paris have risen. After al-Qaeda-linked gunmen attacked the magazine Charlie Hebdo in January, there were nearly as many anti-Muslim incidents in the two weeks following the attacks as there were in all of the previous year. More than 220 anti-Muslim acts were recorded in the first quarter of 2015, a sixfold increase over the same period the previous year. The incidents included violent assaults and destruction of Muslim places of worship. For more, we speak with Yasser Louati, spokesperson and head of the International Relations Desk for the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF).
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Reports of Islamophobia have already emerged following the Paris attacks, and fears of attacks on Muslims in Paris have risen. Back in January, after al-Qaeda-linked gunmen attacked the magazine Charlie Hebdo, there were nearly as many anti-Muslim incidents in the two weeks following the attacks as there were in all the previous year. More than 220 anti-Muslim acts were recorded in the first quarter of 2015, a sixfold increase over the same period the previous year. The incidents included violent assaults and destruction of Muslim places of worship. This is Nabil, a Muslim resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois, talking about the Paris attacks.
NABIL: [translated] Religious terminology cannot be used to describe these individuals. I would call them terrorists and only terrorists, not jihadists nor Islamists, because they are terrorists. I was 100 meters from the first explosion. The bomb would not have differentiated between a Muslim and a Buddhist. So they are terrorists. And my thoughts are with the families.
AMY GOODMAN: For more, we’re joined in Paris by Yasser Louati, spokesperson and head of the International Relations Desk for the Collective Against Islamophobia in France.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Thank you for leaving the rally to come speak with us as you stand in front of the theater that was the site of the greatest carnage. Can you talk about your response to what happened? What are the calls at the rally you were just at?
YASSER LOUATI: I mean, the rally was called, like it was a spontaneous initiative by the Muslim minority in France. You know, we have been working on this for the past two days, and now we managed to bring everybody from all across the greater Paris area and, of course, outside of the city. Of course, we came here to share our grief, our pain and our outrage. And as the person right before me said it, these terrorists made no distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims. And as, you know, an organization fighting Islamophobia, we receive accounts of Muslim families just torn into pieces because their relatives were either killed at the concert hall or around it. So, definitely, it’s a message of unity. And the worst we could do is to show a division amongst us as French people.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about whether there has been escalated violence or attacks on Muslims right now in Paris?
YASSER LOUATI: Yes, definitely. Unfortunately, as we were still receiving reports of the first attack, within 30 minutes a right-wing columnist started putting the blame on the Muslim community. Like this is the utmost sign of indecency, blaming Muslims and asking them to take to the street and show solidarity, when Muslims themselves are the first targets of these terrorist organizations abroad and now here in France. And, of course, throughout the night, we received countless reports of death threats being sent to the Muslim community. And by 5:00 in the morning, we had to literally like, you know, call for someone to open the office, because the first mosques were attacked. We also received reports of Muslim shops being vandalized.
And of course—but at the same time, we received lots and lots of messages of support from non-Muslims, telling us, "We are in this together. You don’t have to justify yourself. You don’t have to feel guilty or even say, 'Not in my name.' It was not you. It was them."
But unfortunately, we still had some criminal groups, like, for example, who targeted a young man like 24 hours ago and literally lynched him. There were like six people like, you know, beating him and making him pay for—so they say, for what happened. We had Muslim families hiding in shops because they were being chased.
But at the same time, we still have support, on the other hand. So, we—we are scared, we are grieving. Many of us believe that we don’t have the right to cry our deads, even though we keep saying that it is the wars of our governments that make us bury our deads here. But we still rely on our country to stay united.
AMY GOODMAN: I think this is a key point, Yasser Louati, that you are raising, that Muslims by far outnumber any other group when it comes to being targeted by ISIS. ISIS has killed more Muslims than certainly members of any other religion.
YASSER LOUATI: Definitely, like if they hit Beirut right before hitting Paris. And before that, I mean, like they have been killing Muslims by the thousands in Syria and Iraq. You know, what Islamic—I mean, like, how can they call themselves so-called Islamic, when they are first targeting Muslims? I mean, you know, there is—it’s not even religion. It’s an ideology based on hatred and a political agenda to impose their vision of the world. At the same time here, Muslims are saying, "You are not one of us. We have nothing to do with you. And we can’t say, 'Not in my name,' because you are not us, and we are not you." So, what can I say, Amy?
AMY GOODMAN: The Council—
YASSER LOUATI: These are times of grief, and we still—
AMY GOODMAN: The Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, here in New York, held a news conference in Washington Saturday condemning the attacks. This is CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad.
NIHAD AWAD: We are revolted by this heinous and despicable attack on civilian populations. And our response to ISIS should be swift, should be methodical and should be principled. Our focus should be on the victims of these attacks. In fighting ISIS, we should remind ourselves to stick to our principles and not descend to their level. We hear talks about closing the borders to refugees. And let’s remember that these refugees have been running away and fleeing the attacks of ISIS and the killing machine of Bashar al-Assad.
AMY GOODMAN: That is CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad in a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. We’re speaking with Yasser Louati, a spokesperson for, the head of the International Relations Desk for the Collective Against Islamophobia in France. We’re speaking to him in front of the theater that was the main site of the attack on Friday night by ISIS. Yasser Louati, Nihad Awad mentioned refugees. And it seems that what’s going to—one of the things coming out of this is an extreme crackdown on refugees. Can you talk about this?
YASSER LOUATI: I mean, as Mr. Awad said it right before us, those refugees are fleeing the exact same people who hit us here in Paris, and they can’t be blamed for fleeing the bombs that are being sent by these terrorist groups and at the same times by the various governments who contributed to destabilizing their respective countries. I mean, like I can speak for myself, for a son of Paris. The refugees I kept seeing every day by the highway or by the belt disappeared. God knows where they are, because they are scared to death. And people now are pointing fingers at them, when, first, France didn’t welcome that many of them, unlike Germany or other European countries. And on the other hand, how can we blame them for what happened? What is their guilt? What is their crime? They came here seeking refuge just to live. Let them live. And this is our call to the government. We cannot put the blame on the weakest ones amongst us.
AMY GOODMAN: How are the anti-terror laws, leading up to this weekend, affecting the Muslim community?
YASSER LOUATI: Unfortunately, we have the feeling that Muslims have been used as scapegoats to justify a crackdown on individual freedoms. I’m a fervent believer in individual freedoms and the right for privacy and the right to live without government surveillance. But these measures have been passed in the wake of the January attacks. But the problem is that every single terrorist identified or apprehended was already on a watchlist. And as we speak right now, the government is revealing names that were already on a government watchlist. So it’s not a—we don’t need any more liberticide laws. We need more cooperation within the government, so information services and the police can do their job. So, right now, the French people are paying a high tribute through a scapegoat named the Muslim community. And so far, we haven’t seen any positive result, just as we haven’t seen any positive result from the wars we have been waging for the past 15 years abroad.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think needs to be the response right now? François Hollande said that he will wage a pitiless war. The immediate response was French airstrikes on Raqqa, where hundreds of thousands of civilians, of course, live—also, they say, the headquarters of the Islamic State.
YASSER LOUATI: I will quote to you former Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who said, "You don’t win a war on terror through conventional armies. It doesn’t work. We’ve been failing for 14 years now. It does not pay off. We only contributed for further destabilization of countries and the emergence of these groups." Look at what’s going on in Mali. Look at what’s going on in Yemen, now in Syria, the collapse of Iraq. Everything became—all those places became theaters for the rise of these terrorist groups. It does not work. The solution is only political. That’s a problem.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Vijay Prashad, I’ll give you the last word on that issue of what is the alternative. What if war were not an option?
VIJAY PRASHAD: Well, the first thing I would like the French to do is to reconsider their $10 billion arms deal with the Saudis, which is making it very difficult for them to maneuver an actual sober policy vis-à-vis Saudi funding and ideological support to both ISIS and ISIS-type figures. Until that happens, I’m afraid it’s just basically speciousness.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you all for being with us, Vijay Prashad, professor of international studies at Trinity College. I want to thank our guest in Paris right now, standing in front of the theater that was the site of the carnage, Yasser Louati, spokesperson for, the head of the International Relations Desk for the Collective Against Islamophobia in France.
Also I want to let people know Juan González will be interviewing Lin-Manuel Miranda at NYU. Check our website.
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Sanders Criticizes Clinton Iraq Vote: 2003 Invasion Unraveled Region & Led to Rise of ISIS
At Saturday’s debate, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sparred over the U.S. role in the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. "I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to ISIS," Sanders said. Clinton admitted her vote for the Iraq War was a mistake but rejected the U.S. role in the rise of ISIS. "I think that there are many other reasons why it has, in addition to what happened in the region, but I don’t think that the United States has the bulk of the responsibility," Clinton said. "I really put that on Assad and on the Iraqis and on the region itself."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go to the presidential debate, the Democratic presidential debate Saturday night. Yes, it was held. The presidential candidates in the Democratic Party met for their second debate. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders sparred over the U.S. role in handling the self-proclaimed Islamic State. This is the debate moderator John Dickerson of CBS.
JOHN DICKERSON: Secretary Clinton, the question was about, was ISIS underestimated? And I’ll just add, the president referred to ISIS as the JVU in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in June of 2014, said, "I could not have predicted the extent to which ISIS could be effective in seizing cities in Iraq." So, you’ve got prescriptions for the future, but how do we know if those prescriptions are any good if you missed it in the past?
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, John, look, I think that what happened when we abided by the agreement that George W. Bush made with the Iraqis to leave by 2011 is that an Iraqi army was left, that had been trained and that was prepared to defend Iraq. Unfortunately, Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, set about decimating it. And then, with the revolution against Assad—and I did, early on, say we needed to try to find a way to train and equip moderates very early so that we would have a better idea of how to deal with Assad, because I thought there would be extremist groups filling the vacuum. So, yes, this has developed. I think that there are many other reasons why it has, in addition to what happened in the region, but I don’t think that the United States has the bulk of the responsibility. I really put that on Assad and on the Iraqis and on the region itself.
JOHN DICKERSON: Senator Sanders?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: I think she said something like the bulk of the responsibility is not ours. Well, in fact, I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq—something that I strongly opposed—has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to ISIS.
JOHN DICKERSON: Quickly, just let me ask you a follow-up on that, Senator Sanders. When you say the disastrous vote on Iraq, let’s just be clear about what you’re saying. You’re saying Secretary Clinton, who was then Senator Clinton, voted for the Iraq War. And are you making a direct link between her vote for that or—and what’s happening now for ISIS? Just so everybody can be clear at home.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: I don’t think there’s any—I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive level of instability we are seeing right now. I think that was one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the modern history of the United States.
HILLARY CLINTON: I have said the invasion of Iraq was a mistake, but I think if we’re ever going to really tackle the problems posed by jihadi extreme terrorism, we need to understand it and realize that it has antecedents to what happened in Iraq, and we have to continue to be vigilant about it.
JOHN DICKERSON: Senator Sanders, let me just follow this line of thinking. You’ve criticized then-Senator Clinton’s vote. Do you have anything to criticize in the way she performed as secretary of state?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: I think we have a disagreement, and the disagreement is that not only did I vote against the war in Iraq—if you look at history, John, you will find that regime change, whether it was in the early '50s in Iran, whether it was toppling Salvador Allende in Chile, whether it is overthrowing the government of Guatemala way back when, these invasions, these—these toppling of governments, regime changes, have unintended consequences. I would say that on this issue, I'm a little bit more conservative than the secretary—
JOHN DICKERSON: All right, Senator.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: —and that I am not a great fan of regime change.
AMY GOODMAN: That was the Saturday night Democratic presidential debate that took place in Iowa. It was between Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, also Martin O’Malley, a Democratic presidential candidate. Vijay Prashad, your response to what Clinton and Sanders were saying?
VIJAY PRASHAD: Well, to start with, I mean, I completely agree with Bernie Sanders that regime change as a policy, as a sanctified policy by the American establishment, is a great mistake. And I was happy to hear him draw the line from the overthrow of Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala in 1954 all the way out to Iraq in 2003. I mean, you know, let’s take the case of Iran, which he didn’t mention, where there was a regime change in 1953 against the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh, which had repercussions that continue to today. So, I think Sanders is correct there.
I was puzzled by Hillary Clinton’s use of the word "mistake" with her vote in Iraq and the overthrowing of the state in Iraq in 2003. You know, this was an illegal action as far as the United Nations was concerned. The effect of that illegal action has been so great, to characterize it as a mistake seems, I think, rather precious to me. It’s far more than a mistake. And until U.S. foreign policy planners begin to seriously consider their culpability in producing the kind of social forces that erupt, you know, to attack people in Ankara, in Beirut, in Paris, I don’t think there will be a real shift in policymaking. And so I think that this is a historical opportunity, with the Russians and the Americans starting to discuss what to do with ISIS, to reconsider the question of regime change, to reconsider the question of evangelical foreign policy that seems to have brought far more grief to the world than peace and security for people.
AMY GOODMAN: Vijay Prashad, we’re going to break and then come back to you and go to Paris to speak with a Muslim leader in Paris. As this broadcast is taking place, there is a Muslim rally taking place in Paris. Vijay Prashad is professor of international studies at Trinity College and columnist for the Indian magazine Frontline. This is Democracy Now! We’ll be back in a minute.
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Report from Paris: With Manhunt on for Eighth Attacker, France Remains in State of Emergency
Authorities said they believed the Paris attacks were carried out by eight assailants, several of whom were French nationals, working in three teams. Seven of the men died in the attacks. A massive manhunt is underway for the eighth—Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national. Two of his brothers were said to have died in the attack. Authorities also said one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the national stadium was carrying a Syrian passport and his fingerprints matched someone who passed through Greece in October. French authorities carried out 168 raids overnight, making 23 arrests, as part of the investigation. Police in the Belgian city of Molenbeek also carried out a series of raids this morning. We speak with Mira Kamdar, Paris-based member of The International New York Times editorial board, for more on the investigation and aftermath of the attacks.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: A French pianist performing John Lennon’s "Imagine." He pulled his piano up to the Bataclan theater, outside, just outside the theater where so many of the killings took place. This is democracynow.org, Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, as we turn right now to Paris, France. Mira Kamdar is there, the Paris-based member of The International New York Times editorial board.
Mira, you’ve been writing quite a bit since these attacks took place. Can you share with us your thoughts?
MIRA KAMDAR: Yes, I can, and I’m happy to. I have to say that these thoughts that I’ll share with you are my personal thoughts as a resident here, and I cannot speak officially on the part of the board. We are a plural number of people, and, you know, everything we write is on the part of the board, and not individually.
But, you know, we are all in shock here. I just learned, actually, on my way to be with you this morning that a friend, a colleague of my husband’s, was killed in the Petit Cambodge restaurant, so this hits very close to home. It was eerie over the weekend traveling in the Metro on Saturday night, having no one there. There’s a lot of apprehension about what will come next, since there’s a Europe-wide search warrant on for the eighth terrorist attacker still at large, and no one knows what else may be in the offing.
There’s also concern—at least I have concern about the state of emergency that’s been declared. And apparently, the government intends to ask for it to be extended for an additional three months. That state of emergency gives the government sweeping powers, some of which we saw in action overnight. You mentioned the numbers of arrests and searches that had taken place. But there are other rights that are suspended in a state of emergency. So all of this is contributing to a feeling of apprehension in the wake of mourning.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you describe where you’re standing right now, Mira?
MIRA KAMDAR: I am standing at an angle just a few hundred yards from the Bataclan nightclub in the middle of the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. The police have blocked access from directly in front of the club, of course. I am surrounded by, I would say, dozens, at least, of television cameras from media around the world. I’ve really never seen so many cameras in my life. There are flowers and messages pinned all around the periphery, the police periphery of the club, in all different languages. It brings back to me memories of 9/11, of course, when there were candles and flowers all over downtown Manhattan.
AMY GOODMAN: Mira Kamdar, can you describe the places that were struck? Take us through what happened on Friday night, what you feel was the significance of the targets that were hit.
MIRA KAMDAR: All right. So, the targets were all in the sort of hippest part of Paris. Imagine the East Village of Paris, where there are lots of restaurants and nightclubs and cafés. And it’s a place where young people gather on the weekend. And these were most of the victims, were young people who were out having a drink, out having dinner—and, of course, the 89 and the many injured inside the Bataclan music concert hall. And the gunmen proceeded very methodically. They obviously knew the neighborhood, and it seems clear that they had planned their route, starting at a little family restaurant, Le Petit Cambodge, The Little Cambodia—which I know, where I’ve eaten—mowing people down, moving on from there to a café, Le Carillon. Then, you know, they split up. There was—I don’t know if initially, but at some point were split up into groups, the one heading for the Bataclan, and the other—others hitting an additional two restaurants.
At the same time or even slightly before, there were the explosions—turned out, suicide bombings—at the soccer stadium where the French and German soccer teams were playing. That’s a big game here. You can liken it to a big football game in the U.S. President Hollande was there. I understand that the German foreign minister was there. And it appears the intention of the suicide bombers was to get inside and cause much more mayhem than they were able to do, because they weren’t actually allowed in. So, sports, music, people going out—it was really an attack to make Parisians feel that they would not be safe anywhere, and an attack on the vibrant street life and public pleasures of this city that is famous for that.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, you, yourself, have a cousin who was killed in another attack in India?
MIRA KAMDAR: Yes, I do. My cousin, Reshma Parekh, and her husband, Sunil, were killed in very similar circumstances, actually, in the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai. They were waiting for a table at Tiffin restaurant in the Oberoi Hotel to have dinner, and they and many other people in the dining room were gunned down by machine gun fire, much as some of the people having dinner and having a drink on Friday night were gunned down here. And, you know, obviously, that stirred up painful memories for me.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go to a quote in The New York Times coverage of what took place, France now entering the third day of mourning after 129 people were killed, 99 critically hurt. I wanted to go back to a quote at the beginning of this quote. This was in The New York Times. In an article in the Times, reporter Anne Barnard quotes the Lebanese doctor Elie Fares. He says, quote, "When my people died, no country bothered to light up its landmarks in the colors of their flag. When my people died, they did not send the world into mourning. Their death was but an irrelevant fleck along the international news cycle, something that happens in those parts of the world." Can you respond to this, Mira?
MIRA KAMDAR: Well, sadly, you know, he’s absolutely right. And I credit The New York Times with having highlighted that. Even now, there are buildings around the world that are lit up with the colors of the French flag. Facebook has offered people to put the colors of the French flag on their profile pictures. I was on an India news show yesterday, and it was pointed out to me personally that the Shivaji Chhatrapati train station in Mumbai, which was the site of—one of the sites of the terrorist attack in 2008, was sporting the French colors.
What can I say? I mean, it’s—we still live in a postcolonial, imperial world. I think that it’s a tragedy that the kinds of attacks that have happened with such unbearable frequency in the Middle East and other parts of the world have become banalized, have become sort of, you know, something that people think is just sort of normal and that somehow the suffering unleashed there is not of the same order as could be unleashed in a city like Paris or on 9/11 in New York. At the same time, Paris is an emblematic kind of city. It’s a city that’s incredibly important for the entire Western world. Americans have a very romantic image of Paris. That kind of an image is shattered by an event like this, as it was in January. And so, it’s perhaps not surprising, even if regrettable, if the Western media responds inappropriately differently.
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Headlines:
France Intensifies Strikes in Syria After Paris Attacks Kill 129
France has entered a third day of mourning after 129 people were killed in Paris in a series of suicide bombings and shootings. It was the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II. Hundreds more were wounded, 99 critically. In a series of coordinated attacks Friday evening, gunmen and bombers targeted restaurants, the national soccer stadium and the Bataclan concert hall, where at least 89 people were killed. Authorities have blamed the attacks on the self-proclaimed Islamic State. In retaliation, France launched its heaviest airstrikes yet against the Syrian city of Raqqa, which has long served as ISIL’s de facto capital. About 200,000 civilians live in Raqqa. The strikes have reportedly knocked out electricity in the city. U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the United States would join France in intensifying airstrikes.
Ben Rhodes: "What we’ve made clear to the French is we will be shoulder to shoulder with them in this response. They’re in our military campaign in Iraq and Syria already. Clearly they want to energize their efforts. There is a French two-star general who is positioned at CENTCOM to help that coordination go forward. And we’re confident that in the coming days and weeks working with the French, we’ll be able to intensify our strikes against ISIL in both Syria and Iraq to make clear that there’s no safe haven for these terrorists."
Earlier today, U.S. officials said U.S. planes had for the first time bombed hundreds of trucks used to smuggle out oil in a bid to cut off a key source of ISIL’s revenue.
Scores of Raids in France, Belgium amid Search for Paris Suspect
French authorities said they believed the Paris attacks were carried out by eight assailants working in three teams. Seven of the men died in the attacks and a massive manhunt is underway for the eighth—Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national. Two of his brothers were said to have died in the attack. Several of the attackers were French nationals. Overnight, French authorities carried out 168 raids, making 23 arrests, as part of the investigation. Police in the Belgian city of Molenbeek also carried out a series of raids this morning.
Poland, U.S. States Oppose Refugee Resettlement After Attacks
Authorities also said one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the national stadium in Paris was carrying a Syrian passport and his fingerprints matched someone who passed through Greece in October. In response to the attacks, Poland’s incoming European affairs minister said Poland now cannot accept refugees under an EU plan, while in the United States the governors of Alabama and Michigan also refused to resettle any Syrian refugees. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Syrian refugees fleeing from ISIL should not be confused with the Paris attackers.
Jean-Claude Juncker: "We should not mix the different categories of people coming to Europe. The one who is responsible for the attacks in Paris cannot be put at equal foot with real refugees, with asylum seekers and with displaced people. He’s a criminal and not a refugee and not an asylum seeker."
After Paris Attacks, Reports of Islamophobia in France, U.S.
Reports of Islamophobia have already emerged following the Paris attacks. In St. Petersburg, Florida, a mosque received a voicemail from a caller who threatened to "firebomb you and shoot whoever is there in the head." We’ll have more on the Paris attacks and the aftermath after headlines.
Turkey: Dozens Arrested Protesting G20 as Paris Dominates Talks
The Paris attacks have dominated discussions by world leaders at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. Protesters have been kept miles away from the meeting venue, and dozens of people were arrested during peaceful protests opposing G20 policies on war and climate change.
Iraq: Scores of Bodies Found in Graves Around Sinjar
In Iraq, two mass graves containing scores of bodies have been found in the area of Sinjar, after Iraqi Kurdish forces said they had reclaimed the area from the self-proclaimed Islamic State. One of the graves reportedly contained the bodies of 78 women believed to be members of the Yazidi religious minority. A second grave contained about 50 or 60 bodies. Authorities say they expect to uncover additional graves.
9 Arrested over Beirut Attacks That Killed 44
Lebanese forces have arrested nine people in connection with last week’s double bombings in Beirut which killed more than 40 people. Seven of the suspects are from Syria, while two are Lebanese. Hundreds of people were wounded in the attacks on a civilian neighborhood, marking one of the worst attacks to hit Beirut in years. The attacks took place one day before the massacre in Paris.
Facebook Activates Safety Check for Paris, Not Beirut
While Facebook activated its safety check feature for the Paris attacks, allowing residents to mark themselves "safe" to reassure family and friends, the feature was not activated for the attacks in Beirut.
15 Sudanese Refugees Shot Dead at Egypt-Israel Border
At least 15 Sudanese refugees have been shot and killed while attempting to cross the border from Egypt into Israel. There were reports the refugees were shot dead by Egyptian border police after failing to heed calls to stop, but conflicting accounts said they may have been caught in crossfire between smugglers and police. It appears to be one of the highest death tolls in years for people from Sudan, Eritrea and other East African countries who cross the Sinai Peninsula seeking asylum in Israel.
Israeli Troops Kill 2 Palestinians at Refugee Camp
Israeli troops have killed at least two Palestinians and injured three after entering a refugee camp near Jerusalem. The troops arrived to demolish the home of a Palestinian accused of shooting and killing an Israeli this summer. On Saturday, Israeli forces destroyed the homes of the families of four Palestinians accused of fatally shooting Israelis.
Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Texas Abortion Law
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to a sweeping anti-choice law in Texas, marking what could be the most significant abortion rights case in decades. The case was brought by abortion providers against a law which could shutter all but 10 clinics in Texas if it comes into full effect. Already, about half of the more than 40 clinics in Texas have been forced to close under the law. In a statement Friday, the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the plaintiffs, said, "Today the Supreme Court took an important step toward restoring the constitutional rights of millions of women, which Texas politicians have spent years dismantling." Justice Anthony Kennedy is expected to be the key swing vote in the case, which could shape the future of abortion access nationwide.
Clinton Invokes 9/11 to Defend Wall Street Ties at Democratic Debate
Democratic presidential candidates faced off Saturday during a debate in Iowa, the day after the attacks in Paris. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2002 Senate vote in support of the Iraq War, saying the "disastrous invasion of Iraq," which Sanders opposed, led to the rise of ISIL. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton invoked 9/11 to defend herself against Sanders’ criticism of her Wall Street ties.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "Why do—why, over her political career, has Wall Street been a major—the major campaign contributor to Hillary Clinton? Now, maybe they’re dumb, and they don’t know what they’re going to get, but I don’t think so."
Hillary Clinton: "I represented New York, and I represented New York on 9/11, when we were attacked. Where were we attacked? We were attacked in downtown Manhattan, where Wall Street is. I did spend a whole lot of time and effort helping them rebuild. That was good for New York. It was good for the economy. And it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country."
Clinton’s reference to 9/11 in response to criticism of Wall Street donations led to widespread criticism on social media. In a Twitter post read aloud by moderators during the debate, one user wrote: "Have never seen a candidate invoke 9/11 to justify millions of Wall Street donations. Until now."
5 Guantánamo Prisoners Transferred to United Arab Emirates
The Obama administration has transferred five Yemeni prisoners out of Guantánamo to the United Arab Emirates. Each of the prisoners had been held by the United States for nearly 14 years without ever being charged with a crime. Their transfer leaves 107 prisoners at Guantánamo.
U. of Missouri Football Coach Resigns, Saying He Has Cancer
University of Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel has announced his resignation a week after voicing support for African-American players who went on strike to protest racism at the school. Pinkel supported the football players’ boycott, which helped force the resignation of University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. Pinkel denied the move had anything to do with the protests, saying he was leaving after being diagnosed with lymphoma in May.
Minnesota: Protests Erupt over Police Shooting of Jamar Clark
Protests have erupted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the shooting of an African-American man who is reportedly on life support. Police said Jamar Clark was shot after a scuffle with officers who responded to a report of an assault. Witnesses have said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot. Black Lives Matter activists occupied the entrance to a police precinct, calling for police to release security camera footage and for a federal investigation.
NYC: Doctors, Med Students Target Pfizer over Health Provisions in TPP    
And protests against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal have escalated around the world after the full text of the 12-nation deal was released earlier this month. Multiple actions are expected today in Washington, D.C., after a series of protests in New Zealand over the weekend. Here in New York City, medical students, doctors and activists gathered outside the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Friday to protest provisions they say will protect corporate patents and hinder access to cheaper, generic medications. Alison Case, education and advocacy fellow for the American Medical Student Association, spoke outside Pfizer headquarters.
Alison Case: "So we’re here in front of Pfizer today because we wanted to expose the heavy hand that the pharmaceutical industry did have on the TPP negotiations. We know that they were speaking with the trade representatives, with President Obama. We know that they were present for the negotiations, when the public—so, civil society groups, elected officials—were kept out. So these negotiations were entirely secret except for the presence of corporations, and Big Pharma being one of them. And they did influence heavily the access-to-medicines provisions."
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