Saudis Gave $7Bn To Iraq's Nuclear Program in '80s

Full-length interview now available at http://www.btlonline.org for the week ending 2/28/03

Report Reveals Saudis Gave $7 Billion to Finance Saddam Hussein's Nuclear Weapons Program in 1980s

Special Between The Lines Interview with Greg Palast, BBC-TV reporter, conducted by Scott Harris

Editor's Note: The following interview excerpt was conducted prior to the release of Greg Palast's BBC-TV/Guardian newspaper report in Britain. To listen to the full half-hour interview visit http://www.btlonline.org for the Week Ending 2/28/03. (Needs RealPlayer).
Or Click here:
http://www.wpkn.org/wpkn/news/palast021703.ram

With France and Germany taking a firm stand against a U.S. war with Iraq, officials of the Bush administration, conservative columnists and right-wing radio talk show hosts have begun a campaign to demonize European nations who are resisting Washington's agenda. But with public opinion in Europe running 70 to 80 percent against war with Baghdad, even in nations whose governments have signed on with the White House, an already serious schism has deepened between America and its European allies.

Mr. Bush is perceived by many European citizens as a shallow extremist, with little credibility given the many questions still surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election eventually decided in a partisan Supreme Court. But America's corporate press largely dismisses European concerns with Mr. Bush's go-it-alone policies on arms control, global warming, free-trade, and now his drive for war with Iraq.

Greg Palast is an American journalist who says he had to travel to Britain to find work because U.S. media outlets just weren't interested in his hard-hitting brand of investigative reporting. His award-winning coverage of the 2000 presidential election scandal in Florida; the inner workings of the World Bank and IMF; and the U.S. role in last April's Venezuelan coup attempt for BBC Television and the London Observer have largely been ignored in the U.S. press. Palast's best-selling book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" has been re-released with new investigative reports on several critical issues related to the Iraq crisis. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Greg Palast, who discusses his recent inquiry into billions of dollars funneled to Iraq by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia to fund Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program during the 1980s.

Greg Palast is a reporter with BBC television and the Observer of London newspaper. Read his columns online at www.gregpalast.com. His book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," has recently been updated and rereleased by Penguin.
See also… http://www.gregpalast.com/

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