U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has scheduled hearings on war plans for Iraq. They are to be held on Wednesday, July 31 and Thursday, August 1, just before the Senate takes summer recess. These hearings will be the first public congressional debate on the Bush administrations's plans to attack Iraq. These hearings could be used to further these war preparations by only calling pro-invasion witnesses, or by the asking of superficial questions.

Last week, Mr. Hans von Sponeck, the former UN Humanitatarian Coordinator for Iraq who resigned in protest of the sanctions policy, spoke in Madison, Wisconsin about the situation in Iraq. Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness, and Free Speech Radio News reporter Jeremy Scahill, both of whom discussed the devastating effects of economic sanctions on the Iraqi people.

Despite his experiences, von Sponeck has not yet been invited to speak at the Senate hearings. For more information, read an overview of the issues, listen to an interview with von Sponeck about the hearings, listen to an article about Scahill's experiences in the city of Basra.

For more coverage:

. Democracy Now! coverage on Senate Hearings

. Free Speach Radio News Report on Iraq

. Voices in the Wilderness