Enemy Combatant
Sunday, July 31, 2005
They Would Like Us To ForgetFor twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.
For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace . . . business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me -- and I welcome their hatred. . . .
But they are guilty of more than deceit. When they imply that the reserves thus created against both these policies will be stolen by some future Congress, diverted to some wholly foreign purpose, they attack the integrity and honor of American Government itself. Those who suggest that, are already aliens to the spirit of American democracy. Let them emigrate and try their lot under some foreign flag in which they have more confidence.
-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- one of those "shrill, angry Democrats" -- at Madison Square Garden, in 1936
A Taste Of Honey
Bush and Blair, the Pooh and Piglet of today's fairy tale, have been selling us on the Honeypot Theory -- i.e., "we're fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them here." Now, we come to find out that new hives are spontaneously springing up all over the Hundred Acre Wood:One of the men accused of taking part in the failed terror attacks in London on 21 July has claimed the bomb plot was directly inspired by Britain's involvement in the Iraq war.
In a remarkable insight into the motives behind the alleged would-be bombers, Hussain Osman, arrested in Rome on Friday, has revealed how the suspects watched hours of TV footage showing grief-stricken Iraqi widows and children alongside images of civilians killed in the conflict. He is alleged to have told prosecutors that after watching the footage: 'There was a feeling of hatred and a conviction that it was necessary to give a signal - to do something.'
Smart work, fellas. Maybe you should have pitched this simpleminded plotline to Disney, instead of to the American and British voters.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Yet who would have thought Joe Wilson to have had so much blood in him?
Any tragedy of presidential proportions needs its Lady Macbeth:The evidence of Rice’s complicity is increasingly damning as it gathers over a six-year twisting chronology of the Nigerien uranium-Wilson-Plame affair, particularly when set beside what we also know very well about the inside operations of the NSC and Rice’s unique closeness to Bush, her tight grip on her staff, and the power and reach that went with it all. What follows isn’t simple. These machinations in government never are, especially in foreign policy. But follow the bouncing ball of Rice’s deceptions, folly, fraud and culpability. Slowly, relentlessly, despite the evidence, the hoax of the Iraq-Niger uranium emerges as a central thread in the fabricated justification for war, and thus in the President’s, Rice’s, and the regime’s inseparable credibility. The discrediting of Wilson, in which the outing his CIA wife is irresistible, becomes as imperative for Rice as for Rove and Libby, Bush and Cheney. And when that moment comes, she has the unique authority, and is in a position, to do the deed. Motive, means, opportunity—in the classic terms of prosecution, Rice had them all.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Here Endeth The Lesson
And all this time we thought Eliot Ness was after Frank Nitty -- he's been after Capone:The special prosecutor in the CIA leak probe has interviewed a wider range of administration officials than was previously known, part of an effort to determine whether anyone broke laws during a White House effort two years ago to discredit allegations that President Bush used faulty intelligence to justify the Iraq war, according to several officials familiar with the case.I'm hoping against hope that -- when the time comes -- Senators like McCain and Hagel can have that same "come-to-Jesus" meeting with Bush, that Goldwater and Baker had 30 years ago with Nixon.
Prosecutors have questioned former CIA director George J. Tenet and deputy director John E. McLaughlin, former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, State Department officials, and even a stranger who approached columnist Robert D. Novak on the street.
In doing so, special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has asked not only about how CIA operative Valerie Plame's name was leaked but also how the administration went about shifting responsibility from the White House to the CIA for having included 16 words in the 2003 State of the Union address about Iraqi efforts to acquire uranium from Africa, an assertion that was later disputed.
Most of the questioning of CIA and State Department officials took place in 2004, the sources said.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Uh, What Digby Said
Word for word:I will never excuse the United States using torture or abuse or holding prisoners indefinitely without due process. Never. No matter what the "barbaric insurgency" does in Iraq. And I am more than willing to throw down the gauntlet on this and say that anyone who soft peddles those things is the worst kind of anti-American there is. We're not going to find common ground on this subject. If that kicks me out of the big tent so be it. I'm not signing on to that shit, ever.
I recognise that saying all this means that I couldn't get elected. And for that reason there are almost no elected Democrats who do say what I'm saying. They all wave flags and shriek like old ladies every time something happens --- and they back ridiculous wars, because if they don't the chattering classes will go nuts and label them unpatriotic. But saying it doesn't make it true. That's inside the beltway Republican kabuki which nobody who calls himself a Democrat should ever allow himself to perform.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
New Republic Throws In The Towel
Wow. The editors' mea culpa:Revisiting Wilson
Suddenly, everybody in Washington is an expert on the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, the 1982 law making it a crime to knowingly disclose the identity of a clandestine intelligence agent. And everybody in town has a pet theory on exactly who in the Bush administration leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame and where and how they did it. . . .
[T]he most serious charge that Wilson's critics level against him is the allegation that he was wrong in his assessment of Iraq's dealing with Niger. Supporters of Rove have revived this accusation in an effort to claim that, when Rove spoke to reporters about Plame, he wasn't trying to disparage Wilson so much as warn them off a "bad story." But what, exactly, was "bad" about Wilson's story?
Both the national security adviser and the CIA director at the time (Condoleezza Rice and George Tenet, respectively) issued public apologies for the Niger claim, admitting it was unsubstantiated. And the most authoritative report on the matter comes from the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), which spent a year combing the Iraqi countryside for alleged weapons of mass destruction. Its conclusion: "ISG has not found evidence to show that Iraq sought uranium from abroad after 1991 or renewed indigenous production of such material."
How can the administration and its allies be so cavalier about the truth? Because that's the way they've operated all along. . . .
Of course, the skeptics turned out to be right; as even most supporters of the war (this magazine included) now acknowledge, the publicly stated rationale for war was false. A prosecutor can't indict the administration for those sorts of transgressions. Only the public can.
If Bush thinks he changed the subject with the Roberts nomination, he misunderestimates the American public's newfound ability to multitask.
London Underground, Deadwood Station
You know that "Asian" youth the London cops ran to ground in the Tube and then executed yesterday? Turns out he was Brazilian, and unconnected to the 7/7 bombings. Oops.
Maybe they need to rethink their "plainclothes-officer-shoot-to-kill-upon-failure-to-heed-verbal-warning" protocols. You know, for the sake of the deaf, the non-English-speaking, the mentally ill, the confused and inebriated, the listening-to-their-iPods, the momentarily distracted, the wanted-by-the-police-for-petty-crimes, the late-for-work, etc., etc.
NOC-around Guys
The GOP Rove apologists who have taken to the airwaves and blogs of late seem to have purchased an irrationally exuberant amount of stock in "the accepted narrative" -- namely, that Valerie Plame has been working a desk job in DC for over 5 years.
Uh, hello? SHE WAS A NOC, FOLKS. That means "non-official cover," which means that her work was SO clandestine, the CIA will never officially acknowledge it.
Let me try to put it into even smaller words, for the benefit of our fact-allergic, spin-addicted wingnut brethren: "The official story" of Plame's past five-year job history is A LIE.
Family Matters
Let's consider a hypothetical: During the upcoming Senate hearings into Judge John Roberts' nomination to the Supreme Court, what if Senators began asking questions along the following lines: "Why did you and your wife adopt two children? Was it because your wife is unable to give birth? Or is because you have a low sperm count, or maybe erectile disfunction?"
"Also -- you waited till you were 41 to marry, and then adopted two children. Is this a 'Tom Cruise' marriage, or a real one?"
Outrageous, you say? Disgusting? Out of bounds? Intrusive questioning into personal family matters that no decent government should ask, and no self-respecting nominee should answer?
I'd say I agree with you. And I'm glad you agree with me, that there really is something called a "right to privacy" at risk here, if we were to allow such questioning.
Does it make any difference to this hypothetical whether or not the Congress had specifically passed legislation beforehand protecting Roberts' right to keep such family matters private? No? Then I'm glad you agree with me, again, that such a "right to privacy" must inhere in our Constitution, and doesn't require that Congress (or your state government) enact any laws in order to exist.
Finally, does John Roberts believe that our Constitution protects a "right to privacy" in family and personal matters? Of all the hypothetical questions I've posed here, that's the only one he really needs to answer.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
House Re-Ups On Traitriot Act
Despite a valiant effort by Rep. Bernie Sanders (Sane-VT), our very own House of Kommons scotched his amendment which would have repealed the "sneak-and-peek" library provisions of the Traitriot Act, which deputizes the local librarientzia into the federal secret police, without your knowledge or consent. (Instead, they added a codicil that requires police agencies get the OK of the FBI Director before they can look at your library records -- ooh, I feel so much more protected!)
Indeed, the GOP House Politburo rammed through the reenacting legislation by closing off any discussion or amendment, making permanent 14 of 16 provisions of the Patriot Act (which first passed with a 4-year sunset), a Stalinist maneuver that even some Western Republicans protested.
Now, only the Senate stands between us and the Permanent Emergency State.
No doubt, Senators Hillary and Joementum will wish to add amendments of their own, regulating violent videogames as a central part of the War On Terror; these efforts should be resisted. Democrats don't have the power to stop this freight train, but with discipline (and a few GOP allies), we might be able to put sunset provisions back into our Terrorism Secret Police Act.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
After The Bernie Ebbers Sentencing, Halliburton Tries To "Preemptively Rehabilitate" Its Image
I don't think they're quite "there," though . . .
Friday, July 15, 2005
The Truth Sneaks Out On Lou Dobbs
That's what happens when you have live news broadcasts -- occasionally, people are going to chime in with a smidgen of truth -- from crooksandliars.com:Lou Dobbs Tonight, (7/15/05) as Lou was introducing a piece on the Rove story.
Lou Dobbs says, " . . . Rove testifying that he first learned about Plame from columnist Robert Novak, a CNN contributor. Danna Bash reports." Immediately after that you can clearly hear a female voice on mic whispering "that's bullshit". Then Dana Bash continues with her report.
Now if we could only sneak people into Bush's photo-op flufferfests, to sit in the back and hoot with loud, derisive laughter . . .
Where's Their "Backing Out Of Iraq In Five Easy Steps" Dossier?
from Joe Conason, at salon.com:On July 10, a report in the Times of London (which also broke the story of the Downing Street memo) revealed the existence of a special dossier titled "Young Muslims and Extremism" that was prepared last year for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Compiled jointly by Britain's Home Office and Foreign Office, the dossier warned that U.S. and British foreign policy was causing severe alienation among Muslim citizens of the United Kingdom -- and referred to the Iraq war as a "recruiting sergeant" for al-Qaida.
Why, in our two supposed "democracies," do these frickin' prescient "special government dossiers" only come to the attention of the public after the fact?
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Diogenes Searches Among The Mafiosi
Two articles about the Plame investigation -- and more specifically about what Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is all about, and may be up to -- have got me feeling optimistic lately. The first is from Billmon, at Whisky Bar:
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine, a veteran investigative reporter, who in turn said he recently talked to one of his old editors, who covered Patrick Fitzgerald when he was an assistant U.S. attorney going after mob guys in New York. So my friend asked him what he thought of the guy.
This is from my friend's memory, but given that he's got 20+ years in the business, and I've known him longer than that, I trust his quotes:"Fitzgerald is a prosecution machine," the old editor said. "When he wants somebody, he goes after them with whatever he's got. If he can't make the case he started with, he'll figure out what you did do and hit you with that. He's relentless, and he doesn't give a flying fuck about the press or the First Amendment. He'd throw us all in jail if it would help him make his case."
I'm reminded of the scene in The Terminator, where Reese -- the hero who's come back from the future to protect Sarah Connors -- tells her:"Listen. Understand. That Terminator is out there. It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear. And it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead."
Be afraid, Karl. Be very afraid.
The second is a passage from Sidney Blumenthal's latest salon.com article -- I think this bears repeating:
Both Cooper and Miller argued that they were entitled to journalistic privilege to protect their sources. But the court ruled against them. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan's opinion suggested that the prosecutor's case had deepened and widened.
In discussing the sealed affidavit filed by Fitzgerald, and not privy to the defendants, Hogan stated that the "Special Counsel outlines in great detail the developments in this case and the investigation as a whole. The ex parte affidavit establishes that the government's focus has shifted as it has acquired additional information during the course of the investigation. Special Counsel now needs to pursue different avenues in order to complete its investigation." Judge Hogan concluded that "the subpoenas were not issued in an attempt to harass the [reporters], but rather stem from legitimate needs due to an unanticipated shift in the grand jury's investigation."
Mark those words, ladies and germs. This is going to get a whole lot more interesting before it's through.
And remember: It ain't over until the Fat Traitor sings.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Anticipating Operation Yellow Elephant -- By 25 Years
As a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Carter ordered all 18-year-olds to register for the draft, beginning on July 21, 1980. I never voted for Carter (a decision -- actually, two -- that I regret today), but at the time (I was 22 years old), I considered myself fairly conservative -- at least on foreign policy issues -- so I supported the idea of draft re-registration.
I don't remember anyone ever saying to me, "Sure, Mike, it's easy for you to support registering 18-year-olds -- because you're not 18 anymore." Nevertheless, since I supported the draft decision at the time, I dutifully went down to the post office, and registered.
I even remember getting a call from Selective Service a few weeks later, asking me to clear up the discrepancy. When I explained why I registered for the draft, for political reasons, even though I was well past 18, the guy on the other end of the phone sounded like he thought I was crazy.
Now, I look back at that, and I'm proud of the fact that I anticipated the arguments of Operation Yellow Elephant by a quarter century, and that I tooks steps at the time to avoid hypocrisy, as I saw it.
But I'm not nearly that young -- or as idealistic/naive about our country's military motives -- anymore. Now I'm 47, and a father.
You know, I used to feel just a little guilty, that I had never actually served in the military; I don't feel that way any longer.
Now, I've got three boys in their teens -- big, strapping six-footers; bright, brash and funny, each one -- whom I love more than I love life itself.
That may well sound like an overused cliche, but in my case it's absolutely true: I will not sacrifice even one of my children to Mad King George's War. Ain't gonna happen.
The FBI can take note: If this war drags on, and if a military draft is reinstituted, I will drive each son to whichever border I need to, myself, to keep that from happening. And if they want to stop me, they're going to have to shoot me.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Too Much Glenlivet At Gleneagles?
Monday, July 04, 2005
The Learning Curve At The Charnel House
Saturday, July 02, 2005
And Now, For The Rest Of Paul Harvey's Story:
It's Endloesung for Iraqistan, apparently:So, following the New York disaster, we mustered our humanity.I'm so old, I can remember when Paul Harvey finally took to the airwaves to voice his opposition to the Vietnam War. (That happened just when his son became eligible for the draft.)
We gave old pals a pass, even though men and money from Saudi Arabia were largely responsible for the devastation of New York and Pennsylvania and our Pentagon.
We called Saudi Arabians our partners against terrorism and we sent men with rifles into Afghanistan and Iraq, and we kept our best weapons in our silos.
Even now we’re standing there dying, daring to do nothing decisive, because we’ve declared ourselves to be better than our terrorist enemies -- more moral, more civilized.
Our image is at stake, we insist.
But we didn’t come this far because we’re made of sugar candy.
Once upon a time, we elbowed our way onto and into this continent by giving small pox infected blankets to native Americans.
Yes, that was biological warfare!
And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this land from whomever. And we grew prosperous.
And, yes, we greased the skids with the sweat of slaves.
And so it goes with most nation states, which, feeling guilty about their savage pasts, eventually civilize themselves out of business and wind up invaded, and ultimately dominated by the lean, hungry and up and coming who are not made of sugar candy.
Somebody over at Disney/ABC (which syndicates his show over Armed Forces Radio) ought to think long and hard about "nudging" old Mr. Harvey off the air. This war could do without its geezer version of Father Couglin.
