Whistle Ass / George Bush 2004

Wesley Clark: read and link to watch entire interview from 10/30/03 PBS' NEWSHOUR W/ JIM LEHER

WESLEY CLARK: "What I'm saying is the president is the commander in chief. He's the highest authority in the United States of America. When something goes wrong, he has an obligation to lead and participate actively in the investigation of what went wrong, not to stonewall it. He needs to provide that information in the presidential commission.

One more thing, Margaret: When you look at this, every military commander in the aftermath of a military operation, whether it's a success or failure, we all do what we call after-action reviews. And the commander participates in it. He's not exempt. He doesn't say, well, my intelligence officer didn't do this. He actually lays it out. They say, what happened exactly? And why did it happen? And everybody fesses up.

Now we don't know exactly what happened in this administration but what we do know is that the threat of Osama bin Laden was well known and recognized on the 21st of January in 2001. What we also know is that in September on the 10th of September, there was still no plan for dealing with Osama bin Laden.We don't really know what happened. We don't know whether that was normal, whether it was abnormal but here is what I think the American people need to know.

I think they need to know that the President of the United States believes that the buck stops on his desk, not on the desk of FBI official in Arizona or somebody in Minnesota who didn't communicate a memo and so forth and that everything was okay because no one told him.

When you're the commander in chief, it's your obligation to know, to set the command climate as we would say in the military -- the intensity of your effort. You do your homework. You work the issues. Your highest obligation as the President of the United States next to upholding the Constitution is to assure the security of the United States of America."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec03/clark_10-30.html

THE TRUTH HURTS: Wesley Clark says Bush knew about 9/11 and did "NOTHING" to prevent it

...The question of Bush administration responsibility for 9-11, you may recall, was explored by some in the media in May 2002. Newsweek offered the most notable entry, with a 3,300-word cover package headlined "What Went Wrong?" In it, some of the magazine's lead writers on intelligence and foreign policy (Michael Isikoff, Mark Hosenball, Christopher Dickey) delved into various aspects of the story and came up with several tantalizing angles that had the potential to do real political damage to the White House. Bill Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, briefed successor Condi Rice on al-Qaeda -- and she yawned. John Ashcroft nixed an FBI request for "hundreds more counter-intelligence agents," as the magazine put it, and reduced Justice Department funding for anti-terrorism activity. Donald Rumsfeld chose not to renew the Predator Drone, which tracked terrorist cells, and emphasized Star Wars Redux.

It was tough stuff. Other outlets piled on, and for two weeks the administration was playing defense. The problem was that no one -- the Democrats, say -- was playing offense. The charges dissolved into a fog of unprovables; the story lost its momentum; George W. Bush seized the security issue during the midterm elections. And that was the end of that.

Fast-forward now to the independent 9-11 commission, chaired by former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean. In an amazing interview with Philip Shenon of The New York Times published this past Sunday, Kean tore into the administration for withholding information from his commission. "I will not stand for" stonewalling, Kean said. "That means we will use every tool at our command to get hold of every document."

With a Republican talking like that, the administration -- and remember, it resisted the creation of this commission to begin with -- is going to face tremendous pressure to produce the relevant information. And the relevant information brings us back to Clark.

It is exceedingly difficult for a candidate running a presidential campaign against an incumbent to establish a favorable story line and make it stick. And, of all possible story lines, Clark has landed on one of the most difficult: He will apparently seek in the coming weeks and months to convince Americans that a failure of presidential leadership before 9-11 may have been partly responsible for the disaster's occurrence in the first place...

http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2003/10/tomasky-m-10-30.html

Europeans believe the United States contributes the most to world instability

...Europeans believe the United States contributes the most to world instability along with Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

The specially commissioned poll which asked citizens 15 questions on "the reconstruction of Iraq, the conflict in the Middle East and World peace", has caused controversy in Brussels.

The European Commission is coming under fire for publishing the results of a number of questions - relating to Iraqi reconstruction - while failing to publish the results which revealed the extent of mistrust of Israel and the United States in Europe.

A Commission spokesperson today (30 October) denied that the decision to withhold some of the results until next Monday was politically motivated, adding that some of the results not yet published are still "unstable".

He did, however, add that a decision was made to publish a preview of the questions pertaining to the reconstruction of Iraq, to coincide with the Iraqi donors conference in Madrid, which took place at the end of last week...

http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?aid=13324&sid=9

Secret 9/11 case before high court

...MKB v. Warden is the first indication that the Justice Department is extending its total secrecy policy to proceedings in federal courts dealing with habeas corpus - that is, an individual's right to force the government to justify his or her detention.

The case offers the Supreme Court an opportunity for the first time to spell out whether such secret judicial proceedings violate constitutional protections. It may also offer the first insight into how much deference a majority of justices is willing to grant the government in areas where the war on terrorism may tread upon fundamental American freedoms.

From the perspective of news reporters and government watchdogs, the case marks a potential turning point away from a long-held presumption that judicial proceedings in the US are open to public scrutiny.

The case is one of several currently on petition to the high court dealing with some aspect of the war on terror. Two cases relate to detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and one challenges Yasser Hamdi's open-ended detention as an enemy combatant. A fourth case seeks to force the Justice Department to disclose the names of detainees caught up in antiterror investigations - an issue closely related to the Miami habeas case.

Federal judges have the authority to order sensitive documents or even entire hearings sealed from public view when disclosure might harm national security. Such rulings are usually issued after the judge has explained the need for secrecy in a decision available to the public.

In addition, judges can order that an individual be identified in public court filings only by a pseudonym or by initials, as happened when the MKB case arrived at the US Supreme Court.

What is highly unusual in MKB v. Warden is that lower court judges ordered the entire case sealed from the start - preventing any mention of it to the public.

'Abuse of discretion'?

In her petition to the court, Miami federal public defender Kathleen Williams says the judges' actions authorizing the secrecy without any public notice, public hearings, or public findings amount to "an abuse of discretion" that requires corrective action by the justices.

"This habeas corpus case has been heard, appealed, and decided in complete secrecy," Ms. Williams says in her petition.

A government response to the petition is due Nov. 5. It will mark the first time the Justice Department has publicly acknowledged the existence of the habeas corpus action. The justices are set to consider the case during their Nov. 7 conference...

http://csmonitor.com/2003/1030/p01s02-usju.html

McCollum Condemns Violence, Urges Greater Iraqi Involvement in Security

McCollum Returns to Baghdad After Deadliest Attacks Since Fall of Saddam - McCollum Condemns Violence, Urges Greater Iraqi Involvement in Security

Baghdad, Iraq - Following deadliest attacks yet in the capital city, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) and a bipartisan delegation of International Relations Committee members today returned to the city to meet with members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

"This is a sad day for the Iraqi people and the coalition forces in Iraq," said McCollum. "My condolences go out to the families of the Iraqis and U.S. troops who have died in the devastating attacks on the International Red Cross and Red Crescent and police stations across Baghdad."

"These escalating, well-planned attacks indicate that Iraq is still a war zone. We need to be very realistic about our expectations and about the amount of work that remains in Iraq. There is a long way to go before security is restored. The Iraqi people are committed to making this work, but they need the help of the entire world to be successful. We must work harder to engage the international community to help in Iraq. We must work faster to empower the Iraqi people. We must engage the Iraqi people to find Iraqi solutions for these problems," said McCollum.

McCollum is part of a bipartisan delegation of House International Relations Committee members to assess the status of security, political transition and U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq. In addition, the delegation is addressing the situation with officials in neighboring Jordan and Turkey before returning to Washington, D.C. tomorrow.

McCollum is a member of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights.

>This bulletin received by Whistleass from Minnesota DFL e-mail on 10/29/03

Halliburton Won’t Back Off Doing Biz In Iran, Despite NYC Pension Funds Concerns of Terrorism

by Jason Leopold

 Halliburton Corp., the oil field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, told the New York City Comptroller’s office Monday that it won’t scale back its business dealings in Iran, despite concerns from the City’s Comptroller William Thompson about “corporate ties to states sponsoring terrorist activity,” which could force the New York City’s Police and Fire Departments to pull its $23 million investment in the company.

The Comptroller’s office, on behalf of the New York City Police and Fire Department pension funds, in a resolution last March urged the boards of directors of Halliburton and General Electric and ConocoPhillips to set up committees to review its operations in terror-linked countries, specifically Iran. Halliburton helps build drilling rigs in Iran's southern oil field.

Thompson accused the firms of setting up offshore and United Kingdom subsidiaries to sidestep U.S. laws against doing business with Iran and Syria countries that Washington says sponsor "terrorism." Shareholder value is threatened by possible negative publicity, public protests and a loss of consumer confidence, he said...

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1028-10.htm

Families of soldiers condemn Bush’s war

By a reporting team
27 October 2003

...The stormiest applause at the rally was reserved for Fernando Suarez del Solar, whose 20-year-old son, Jesus Alberto, was among the first US Marines killed in the invasion, the victim of an unexploded US cluster bomb.

“I am here not only in the name of my son, Jesus, but in the names of almost 350 kids who have died in this illegal war,” he told the crowd. “We don’t need any more deaths.”

“President Bush, who is wrongly called president, lied to the American people and to the entire world about this war,” he added. “He lied about the weapons of mass destruction. The only weapons of mass destruction that exist are the lack of decent schools for American children. We need to make Mr. Bush understand that he is not the owner of the lives of our children. He’s not the owner of America...”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/oct2003/fami-o27.shtml

How often do you read news via China?: brought to you by Financial Times

Kim Jong-il's close aide dies after car crash
By Andrew Ward in Seoul
Published: October 27 2003 11:41 | Last Updated: October 27 2003 11:41

One of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's closest aides has died in a car accident, state media announced on Monday, following weeks of rumours and conspiracy theories about the secretive country's leadership.

Kim Yong-sun, a top adviser on foreign policy and relations with South Korea, failed to recover from brain injuries caused by the accident in June, according to the state news agency.

Rumours of the crash had swirled for weeks in Seoul's diplomatic community, while the health of both Kim Jong-il and his wife has also been the subject of speculation.

Kim Jong-il - known as the Dear Leader - quelled some of the gossip last week when he made his first public appearance for 40 days, according to state media.

Interest in the North Korean leadership has intensified since the country became embroiled last year in a dispute with the US about its nuclear weapons programme. But the recent spate of rumours has highlighted how little firm information is known about the people who wield power in the "Hermit Kingdom".

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1066565392037&p=1012571727102

Halliburton: Highway Robbery in Iraq

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in America right now is $1.57. So imagine how indignant you would be if, say, your local government was caught buying tons of the exact same gasoline for prices per gallon ranging from $2.59 (a 65% markup) to $2.95 (an 88% markup) -- from the company the mayor used to run.

Imagine this company still has the mayor on its payroll, and the mayor still owns stock in it; imagine the company won its outrageous overcharging-for-gasoline "business" in a secretive backroom deal. Why, you'd run such a mayor out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered. Or better yet, you'd bring in the police and prosecutors to take care of the lot of them.

So consider Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton.

According to research by Congressmen Henry Waxman and John Dingell, Halliburton in Iraq is overcharging, by from 65 percent to 88 percent, for gasoline...

...This is an on-going and growing scandal. The Bush Administration's controversial request for an additional $87 billion for Iraq included $2.1 billion for oil reconstruction funds. Waxman and Dingell say that includes $900 million to import petroleum. "If Halliburton's overcharging for gasoline is not halted, between $286 million and $339 million of this $900 million could be needlessly wasted," they warn.

And in the insult-to-injury department, the Congressmen write: "Although it initially appeared that Halliburton was gouging only American taxpayers, it now seems that the company is overcharging the humanitarian Oil for Food Program and the Iraqi people as well. This significantly compounds the implications of Halliburton's actions..."

http://www.thenation.com/outrage/index.mhtml?bid=6

Why Are We Back in Vietnam?

Published: October 26, 2003

...When an administration is hiding in a no-news bunker, how do you find the news? The first place to look, we're starting to learn, is any TV news show on which Ms. Rice, Mr. Card, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld are not appearing. If they're before a camera, you can assume that the White House has deemed the venue a safe one — a spin zone, if you will. They will proceed to obfuscate or dissemble at will, whether they're talking to Oprah, local anchors or a Sunday morning network chat-show host.
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A TV news venue that the administration spurns entirely, by contrast, stands a chance of providing actual, fresh, accurate information. There have been at least two riveting examples this month. Ms. Rice, Mr. Powell and Mr. Rumsfeld all refused to be interviewed for an Oct. 9 PBS "Frontline" documentary about the walkup to the Iraq war. Yet without their assistance, "Frontline" nonetheless fingered Ahmad Chalabi as an administration source for its pre-war disinformation about weapons of mass destruction and the Qaeda-Saddam link. It also reported that the administration had largely ignored its own state department's prescient "Future of Iraq" project — a decision that helped lead to our catastrophic ill-preparedness for Iraq's post-Saddam chaos. "Frontline" didn't have to resort to leaks for these revelations, either: the sources were on-camera interviews with Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, our first interim leader in Iraq, and Mr. Chalabi himself...

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/26/arts/26RICH.html