UN Probe Finds Hariri Murder Political

By Peter Heinlein United Nations 21 March 2007

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A United Nations-appointed investigator is reporting significant progress in his probe into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. As we hear from VOA's correspondent at the U.N. Peter Heinlein, the inquiry is coming to the conclusion that Mr. Hariri was probably killed, because he posed a threat to Syrian influence in Lebanon.

Flowers adorn the gravesite of Rafik Hariri in downtown Beirut

Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz chose his words carefully Wednesday as he briefed the Security Council on the progress of his Hariri assassination probe. Since he took over the investigation, he has developed a reputation as a meticulous and methodical investigator.

His predecessor, the German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, had implicated Syrian intelligence officials and their Lebanese allies in a plot to kill Mr. Hariri in February 2005. Mehlis also accused Syria of obstructing his inquiry. Syria strongly denied the allegations, and condemned the Hariri assassination as a "heinous crime."

After Brammertz took over, he appeared to back away from Mehlis's sensational conclusions. He reopened the probe to consider other possibilities, and reported that Syria's cooperation had been 'satisfactory'. But in his latest comments to the Security Council, he says he has narrowed down the possible motives to one: a series of political setbacks to Syrian interests.

Brammertz told the Council the killers appear to have been spurred to action by a chain of events, including the U.N. Security Council's adoption of Resolution 15-59, demanding Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon. Another factor was the international uproar created by the move by Lebanon's parliament to override the country's constitution to extend the term of its pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud.

In his latest report, Mr. Brammertz says his team of investigators is developing a "unifying factual theory" behind the crime. He suggests that one immediate cause for the assassination may have been concern that the anti-Syrian Mr. Hariri was likely to win in forthcoming elections.

"A number of factors shaped Hariri's environment in the period leading up to 14 February 2005," he said. "These include the inception of Resolution 15-59 and the implications of its implementation; the extension of the term of President Lahoud; the dynamics between Hariri and other political parties in Lebanon, Syria and other countries, and preparations ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for May, 2005. The Commission believes it is likely that a combination of these factors created the environment in which the intent to kill Rafik Hariri arose."

When asked whether he had concluded that Mr. Hariri was killed because he posed a threat to Syrian interests, Brammertz said that question would have to be decided by a tribunal.

"What we are saying is that we indeed believe, having enough information to support the hypothesis that the motive is most likely linked to his political activities," he added. "But still it will be up to a tribunal later on to determine in terms of responsibility who has to be considered responsible for this crime. It's not up to commission to say more."

Brammertz says the next step should be establishment of a tribunal to weigh the evidence and try suspects in the Hariri assassination. Lebanon's government has approved plans to establish the court, but the pro-Syrian speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, has not called the legislature into session to endorse the plan.

Gore Urges US Congressional Action on Global Warming

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 21 March 2007

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Former Vice President Al Gore has testified before Congress on the dangers posed by global warming. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the environmentalist and former presidential candidate urged lawmakers to take steps to move the United States toward greater energy efficiency and de-facto compliance with the Kyoto Treaty.

Al Gore testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, 21 Mar 2007, before a joint hearing of the House Energy and Commerce, and Science and Technology subcommittees on climate change

Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, tracked his efforts around the world to raise international awareness about global warming.

In a statement to a joint hearing of two congressional committees, he returned to the theme of his film, saying there is irrefutable evidence that the Earth is experiencing an unprecedented period of climate change.

Gore says the United States must take the lead, and lawmakers must summon the courage, to take steps that will help reverse the process, so future generations will not ask this question.

"What in God's name were they doing? Didn't they realize that four times in 15 years the entire scientific community in this world issued unanimous reports calling on them to act? What was wrong with them? Were they too blinded and numbed by the business of political life, or daily life, to take a deep breath and look at the reality of what we are facing?," said Gore.

"Did they think it was perfectly all right to keep dumping 70 million tons every single time of global warming pollution into this atmosphere? Did they think all the scientists were wrong?," he continued.

Gore cited recent studies saying that global warming may be worse than previously thought, and that the Arctic ice cap is melting more rapidly than previously predicted, and could disappear in as little as 34 years.

"This problem is burning a hole at the top of the world in the ice cover that is one of the principal ways that our planet cools itself. If it goes, it will not come back in any time scale relevant to the human species," said former vice president.

Gore appeared at a time when majority Democrats have made the issue of climate change a key part of their agenda.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created a special committee on climate change and is encouraging legislation that would promote reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and encourage use of renewable fuels.

Republicans took the opportunity to renew criticisms of several aspects of Gore's film, and question conclusions he drew from scientific findings.

Congressman Joe Barton took aim at two of Gore's recommendations.

"Some of your ideas though, Mr. Vice President, I think are just flawed," said Joe Barton. "Your suggestion of a carbon tax is something that would harm our competitiveness, raise costs to American families, export jobs and actually do very little to improve our environment."

"Likewise a Kyoto-style cap and trade system for carbon dioxide will mainly increase the price of electricity while providing few if any environmental benefits," he added.

Gore urged Congress to pass legislation to encourage energy efficiency, including tighter standards for automobiles, and bar the construction of any new coal-fired power plants not capable of capturing carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases) that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

He also advocates steps to bring the United States into effective compliance with the existing Kyoto treaty, and says the effective date of a new treaty to succeed it should be moved up to 2010.

Gore's appearances in House and Senate committees marked his first return to the Capitol since 2001, when he presided over a congressional session that certified the victory of George W. Bush based on electoral college votes after the contested 2000 presidential election.

Although he has said he has no intention of running for president again, he still scores high in public opinion polls and has spoken out strongly against Bush administration policies in Iraq and other issues.

VOASE0321_The Making of a Nation

21 March 2007

History Series: Kennedy Begins His Presidency With Strong Public Support
Today, his inaugural speech is considered to be among the best in American history.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Rich Kleinfeldt.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Phil Murray with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

(MUSIC)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Our program today is about the beginning of the administration of President John Kennedy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

January twentieth, nineteen sixty-one. John Kennedy was to be sworn-in that day as president of the United States.

It had snowed heavily the night before. Few cars were in the streets of Washington. Yet, somehow, people got to the ceremony at the Capitol building.

VOICE TWO:

The outgoing president, Dwight Eisenhower, was seventy years old. John Kennedy was just forty-three. He was the first American president born in the twentieth century.

Both Eisenhower and Kennedy served in the military in World War Two. Eisenhower served at the top. He was commander of allied forces in Europe. Kennedy was one of many young navy officers in the pacific battle area.

Eisenhower was a hero of the war and was an extremely popular man. Kennedy was extremely popular, too, especially among young people. He was a fresh face in American politics. To millions of Americans, he represented a chance for a new beginning.

VOICE ONE:

Not everyone liked John Kennedy, however. Many people thought he was too young to be president. Many opposed him because he belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. A majority of Christians in America were Protestant. There had never been a Roman Catholic president of the United States. John Kennedy would be the first.

VOICE TWO:

Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower served two terms during the nineteen-fifties. That was the limit for American presidents. His vice president, Richard Nixon, ran against Kennedy in the election of nineteen-sixty.

Many Americans supported Nixon. They believed he was a stronger opponent of communism than Kennedy. Some also feared that Kennedy might give more consideration to the needs of black Americans than to white Americans.

The election of nineteen-sixty was one of the closest in American history. Kennedy defeated Nixon by fewer than one hundred-twenty thousand popular votes. Now, he would be sworn-in as the nation's thirty-fifth president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Robert Frost

One of the speakers at the ceremony was Robert Frost. He was perhaps America's most popular poet at the time. Robert Frost planned to read from a long work he wrote especially for the ceremony. But he was unable to read much of it. The bright winter sun shone blindingly on the snow. The cold winter wind blew the paper in his old hands.

VOICE TWO:

John Kennedy stood to help him. Still, the poet could not continue. Those in the crowd felt concerned for the eighty-six-year-old man. Suddenly, he stopped trying to say his special poem. Instead, he began to say the words of another one, one he knew from memory. It was called "The Gift Outright."

Here is part of that poem by Robert Frost, read by Stan Busby:

VOICE THREE:

The land was ours before we were the land's.

She was our land more than a hundred years before we were her people ...

Something we were withholding made us weak

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living ...

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright.

VOICE ONE:

Giving his inaugural speech

Soon it was time for the new president to speak. People watching on television could see his icy breath as he stood. He was not wearing a warm coat. His head was uncovered.

Kennedy's speech would, one day, be judged to be among the best in American history. The time of his inauguration was a time of tension and fear about nuclear weapons. The United States had nuclear weapons. Its main political enemy, the Soviet Union, had them, too. If hostilities broke out, would such terrible weapons be used?

VOICE TWO:

Kennedy spoke about the issue. He warned of the danger of what he called "the deadly atom." He said the United States and communist nations should make serious proposals for the inspection and control of nuclear weapons. He urged both sides to explore the good in science, instead of its terrors.

KENNEDY: "Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce ... Let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved."

VOICE ONE:

Kennedy also spoke about a torch -- a light of leadership being passed from older Americans to younger Americans. He urged the young to take the torch and accept responsibility for the future. He also urged other countries to work with the United States to create a better world.

John and Jacqueline Kennedy arrive at an inaugural ball on January 20, 1961

JOHN KENNEDY: "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

John Kennedy's first one hundred days as president were busy ones.

He was in office less than two weeks when the Soviet Union freed two American airmen. The Soviets had shot down their spy plane over the Bering Sea. About sixty million people watched as Kennedy announced the airmen's release. It was the first presidential news conference broadcast live on television in the United States. Kennedy welcomed the release as a step toward better relations with the Soviet Union.

The next month, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev made another move toward better relations. He sent Kennedy a message. The message said that disarmament would be a great joy for all people on earth.

VOICE ONE:

A few weeks later, President Kennedy announced the creation of the Peace Corps. He had talked about this program during the election campaign. The Peace Corps would send thousands of Americans to developing countries to provide technical help.

Another program, the alliance for progress, was announced soon after the peace corps was created. The purpose of the alliance for progress was to provide economic aid to Latin American nations for ten years.

VOICE TWO:

The space program was another thing Kennedy had talked about during the election campaign. He believed the United States should continue to explore outer space.

The Soviet Union had gotten there first. It launched the world's first satellite in nineteen fifty-seven. Then, in April, nineteen sixty-one, the Soviet Union sent the first manned spacecraft into orbit around the earth.

VOICE ONE:

The worst failure of Kennedy's administration came that same month. On April seventeenth, more than one thousand Cuban exiles landed on a beach in western Cuba. They had received training and equipment from the United States Central Intelligence Agency. They were to lead a revolution to overthrow the communist government of Cuba. The place where they landed was called Bahia de Cochinos -- the Bay of Pigs.

The plan failed. Most of the exiles were killed or captured by the Cuban army.

VOICE TWO:

It had not been President Kennedy's idea to start a revolution against Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Officials in the last administration had planned it. However, most of Kennedy's advisers supported the idea. And he approved it.

In public, the president said he was responsible for the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion. In private, he said, "All my life I have known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid."

VOICE ONE:

John Kennedy's popularity was badly damaged by what happened in Cuba. His next months in office would be a struggle to regain the support of the people. That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Phil Murray.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Rich Kleinfeldt. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

VOASE0321_Education Report

21 March 2007

Get A Military Education At the United States Military Academy at West Point
A Look At The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, which can have up to 60 foreign students at any one time.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week, in our series for students who want to study in the United States, we tell about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Cadet basic training

West Point is a four-year school in New York State that educates future Army officers. The students are called cadets. They do not have to pay for their educations. But they must agree to serve on active duty in the Army for at least five years after they graduate.

A young man or woman must be nominated to the academy, usually by a federal or state lawmaker. Nominees also must satisfy the entrance requirements. These include being in excellent physical condition and getting good grades in high school.

About four thousand American cadets are at West Point this year. In addition, fifty-nine cadets from foreign countries are attending.

These international students are nominated by their home governments. They also must satisfy the physical and educational requirements. And they must do well on the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Home governments may have to pay up to sixty thousand dollars a year for each student they send to West Point. Among the countries with cadets at the academy this year are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.

Each year, the United States Defense Department invites countries to nominate students to West Point and to the Navy and Air Force academies. This year, one hundred fifty-nine countries were asked to nominate students for the next school year. Not all countries take part in the program.

We spoke to Major Robert Romans, chief of the international affairs division at West Point, and Major Michael McBride, head of the international cadet program. They say up to sixty foreign cadets at any one time can attend the academy. And they say that interested students must seek information about the program at their local American Embassy. The embassy's Defense Cooperation Office will know how the student can be nominated.

The West Point Web site provides some information about the international cadet program and its requirements. The address is admissions.u-s-m-a.e-d-u.

Our Foreign Student Series continues next week. Scripts are available on the Internet at voaspecialenglish.com.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.