From Aaron Glantz, Pacifica Radio correspondent in Iraq, pg. 83, "How America Lost Iraq, " excerpt of an Open Letter to his colleagues.
"...Looking back, I believe Pacifica did not show solidarity with the Iraqi people but instead showed solidarity with the Ba'athist dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. It did so by downplaying the gross human-rights violations of the regime in an effort to build support for the anti-war movement.Instead, I believe a radio station committed to social justice must report on the human-rights records of all governments in the world, especially those as brutal as Saddam Hussein. Solutions put forward on Pacifica's airwaves to avoid war should have focussed on nonviolent ways to remove Saddam Hussein and promote democracy and human rights in post war Iraq.
Over the years Pacifica has expressed solidarity with the people of East Timor, South Africa, Nigeria and Burma, who have been suffering under the brutal reign of oppressive regimes. I believe the Iraqi people deserved the same solidarity against dictatorship under Saddam Hussein."
-- Michael Pugliese