Lawyers Decided Bans on Torture Didn't Bind Bush

Lawyers Decided Bans on Torture Didn't Bind Bush

This is a powerful piece. It shows that administration lawyers made a conscious decision to allow Bush and his administration to get away with open-ended definitions of torture and escape international legal scrutiny. A March memo view is in direct conflict with the position the administration has taken in U.S. Supreme Court regarding Constitutional protections for prisoners.

When too much power is afforded to people who can easily abuse it, we shouldn't be surprised if and when we find ourselves well outside the realm of the rule of law.

A team of administration lawyers concluded in a March 2003 legal memorandum that President Bush was not bound by either an international treaty prohibiting torture or by a federal antitorture law because he had the authority as commander in chief to approve any technique needed to protect the nation's security.

The memo, prepared for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, also said that any executive branch officials, including those in the military, could be immune from domestic and international prohibitions against torture for a variety of reasons...

The March memorandum...is the latest internal legal study to be disclosed that shows that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the administration's lawyers were set to work to find legal arguments to avoid restrictions imposed by international and American law.

...lawyers who drafted the torture memo in March could face professional sanctions.

[LINK-NYT}

Today, Attorney General John Ashcroft, without offering sound reason, said he would not discuss the contents of the Justice and Pentagon memos, and would not turn over the Justice memo to the committee.

I believe it is essential to the operation of the executive branch that the president have the opportunity to get information from the attorney general that is confidential," he said.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) warned Ashcroft that his refusal might place him in contempt of Congress.

[LINK-NYT]

UPDATE-June 9:

Washington Post Editorial- LEGALIZING TORTURE

Perhaps the president's lawyers have no interest in the global impact of their policies -- but they should be concerned about the treatment of American servicemen and civilians in foreign countries.

Washington Post-Memo on Torture Draws Focus to Bush ; Aide Says President Set Guidelines for Interrogations, Not Specific Techniques

Josh Marshall Commentary (Josh is an intuitive pundit; consistently ahead of the curve.)

Now, we know that presidents sometimes break laws and they frequently bend them, if only in cases where the laws don't seem to anticipate a situation the president finds himself confronting. There is even an argument that the president can refuse to enforce laws he deems unconstitutional.

But there is no power inherent in the president simply to set aside the law.

General Batiste Visits Baquba

General Batiste Visits Baquba

Baquba and Col. Dana Pittard, for me, have become the symbol of the best model of possible success in Iraq. May the men and women of the Third Brigade see continued positivity from the hopeful people of that city. God knows- it isn't going to be a cakewalk. A suicide bomb near Baquba killed at least one U.S. soldier today. I credit no small part of any acheived success in Baquba (which is about 30 miles north of Baghdad)to Col. Pittard, a true gentleman in a war of twisted motives where gentleman hardly count.

Mostly, I hope these troops will soon be able to leave Iraq..a place they never should have and never needed to have been sent to begin with.

The general said that of all the cities under his watch, Baquba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, was the most willing to work with the Americans. Col. Dana J. H. Pittard, the brigade commander, said he expanded the provincial council last week to 40 members from 29 to make it more inclusive.

But Baquba still has a strong Sunni guerrilla movement, and insurgents have killed some local leaders, including a communist member of the provincial council and a district police chief. Insurgents have tried twice to kill the governor, Colonel Pittard said.

[LINK-NYT]

AlJazeera Spreads Propaganda About U.S.

AlJazeera Spreads Propaganda About U.S.

Oh, man..just look at this propaganda....

{LINK-A Letter From Baghdad - US Soldier "Media dont tell the whole story"]

Iraq -U.N. and CPA Updates

Iraq -U.N. and CPA Updates

It's good to see the United Nations getting involved again. John Negroponte says Iraq's sovereignty will be "undiluted" (whatever the hell that means when it comes to the big picture).

There has been no commitment (or discussions) for troops from other U.N. countries right now, but I think they'd have to be insane to want to commit troops at this juncture. Security has been so badly bungled by Rumsfeld and Co...if anyone expects instantaneous stability, they need their heads examined. The coalition needs at least 500,000 troops to bring peace to Iraq, according to military analysts including Christopher Langton of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London-based defense consultant.

There's still a problem of legitimacy with the Iraqi people themselves. While Bush can claim a victory with the U.N. resolution, the resolution will have little effect on the ground, as Simon Kitchen, Middle East analyst for the Eurasia Group has said. This new interim government can sign contracts and discuss debt, but still have a lot of problems because most Iraqis don't see it as legitimate. [LINK-Bloomberg News]

It doesn't help that Paul Bremer has signed an order banning Muqtada al-Sadr and his lieutenants from running for elective office for 3 years because of their membership in an illegal militia. al-Sadr and his supporters have rejected this decree, saying that the CPA and the interim government have no right to make such decisions. [LINK-Guardian]

Juan Cole says:

Bremer's action in excluding the Sadrists from parliament is one final piece of stupidity to cap all the other moronic things he has done in Iraq. The whole beauty of parliamentary governance is that it can hope to draw off the energies of groups like the Sadrists. Look at how parliamentary bargaining moderated the Shiite AMAL party in Lebanon, which had a phase as a terrorist group in the 1980s but gradually outgrew it...

The only hope for dealing with the Sadrists nonviolently was to entice them into civil politics.. Now that they have been excluded from the political process and made outlaws in the near to medium term, we may expect them to act like outlaws and to be spoilers in the new Iraq.

[LINK-Informed Comment]

Dems, GOP give each other the 'Dutch' rub

Dems, GOP Give Each Other the 'Dutch' rub

Republican aides dredged up comments by [John] Kerry which were unflattering to Mr Reagan in the '80s...

Democrats retaliated with statements by [George] Bush Sr. in 1980, when he ran against Mr Reagan for the Republican nomination.

[LINK-Guardian]

In House bill: Churches to be freed to preach Word of Bush?

In House bill: Churches to be freed to preach Word of Bush?

Not only is the House trying to free the churches to put politics in their pulpits, they're doing it in a downright sneaky manner.

Representative Bill Thomas(the same cordial gent who called the fuzz on his fellow House reps last summer) has snuck the measure into a larger bill introduced to Committee last Friday.

Rev. Barry Lynn (of Americans United for Separation of Church and State) says 'no way'.

Paul Weyrich (of the Free Congress Foundation) imagines it's the best way..perhaps the only way.. to ensure a Bush re-election.

The House, in true partisan form, is going with Weyrich's idea.

Push the Federal Marriage Amendment--fire up the Christian fundamentalists. Get the fire and damnation mouths a-rumblin' and a-roarin'. Get all those millions of missing evangelicals to show up at the polls…along with untold millions of "traditional" Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, Missouri and Wisconsin synod Lutherans... and, oh.. those Episcopalians!

Vote for Bush or go to Hell and all other venues of vaguely related tarnation.

adventures/confessions saint augustine bear

See the Venus Transit tomorrow!

See the Venus Transit tomorrow!



"There will be no other till the twenty-first century of our era has dawned upon the Earth and the June flowers are blooming in 2004. What will be the state of science - God only knows."

1882 -- William Harkness, U.S. Naval Observatory

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A rare celestial event, one not seen by any person now alive. On June 8, the planet Venus will appear to cross in front of the Sun as seen from Earth. The last "Venus transit" occurred more than a century ago, in 1882, and was used to compute the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

DON'T MISS IT! [LINK1]
[LINK2]

Predictions/times to witness the transit in your city

Time To Leave Iraq - from The Nation

Time to Leave
from TheNation.com

Listen to what the Iraqis are telling us---give them back their country... and leave.
[LINK}

Reagan, Terror, and Bush

Reagan, terror, and Bush


With Ronald Reagan as President, America felt optimistically safe to see the world in black and white. These days, as a New York Times editorial stated, "gray is beginning to look a lot more attractive".

Reminiscing with my own mother, she recalled one of the darker moments of the Reagan presidency...his decision to send our Marines to Lebanon. I recall my mother weeping that morning in October, 1983 when she learned over 240 Marines were killed by Middle-eastern terrorists.


the Reagan era brought its share of terror victims.

I also recall having Syracuse University basketball game tickets in my hand for a game to be played in late December, 1988. Just before the game came the news that terrorists connected with Libya had blown up a jet over Lockerbie, Scotland..killing 35 Syracuse University students who were coming home for the holidays. I attended that basketball game and will never forget the solemn silence which subdued the crowd that night. The terrorist bombing of Flight 103 was unquestionably an attack on the United States.*15 active-duty U.S. military members and at least 10 veterans of the United States Armed Forces and members of their families were among those who lost their lives in this tragedy.*



I implore you, dear readers, to research how President Reagan (and Bush 41 directly after him) responded to these acts of terror. I assure you that you'll find little prescience in the wisdom of whatever retaliatory moves were made by our then-President. Why did it take almost 20 years to do anything? Why was terror allowed to build up rather than to be broken down?

These acts of terror during the Reagan era were just a beginning. When I think back, I truly do not think our nation's response to these acts of terror were sufficient. Perhaps, if we'd acted with full responsibility in the 80's, there would have been no strong Osama Bin Laden to lead in 2001.

While I highly respected and liked President Reagan and trusted he was sincere in his motives, I think we should be careful in making a saint of this wonderful human being. In our big fears about Communism, I believe we fully missed the boat on the murderous treachery that would follow on the heels of its demise.

Perhaps President Reagan made us all a bit too optimistic. We went into a dreamful and exuberant "Me-decade" sleep.

Realism is criticized by some of today's NeoConservatives, but I've got to say, my dear readers, there is no more important time in American history than right here..right now for a realist to take the reins. Visionary speeches do no good when the facts on the ground are constantly working against you.

Gazing upon Utopia and shining cities on hills are lovely when the murderer isn't breathing down your neck.

I think Bush is a super-dumbed-down version of a Reagan-wannabe (without Reagan's natural gift of humor). Bush tries to imitate and emulate Reagan's historical successes. We need a clear-eyed realist who is his own man. (A man---or woman---who doesn't have to read from cue-cards and sound like a second-grader when he does). I'm sick of being faked out by cheap (and often seemingly-learning-disabled) imitations.

I believe that a good portion of the reason so many Americans have a visceral dislike for Bush is primarily due to the fact that they suspect they are far more intelligent than he is. It's frustrating when you don't share a man's ideology and you observe that he can barely squeeze three or four properly-pronounced words into one flowing sentence. Another reason for the Bush-disconnect is that so many Americans do not trust that Bush's motives are genuine. He's been caught lying to Americans too many times.

You didn't see the same distaste for Reagan, even though his ideology was oppositional to many.

We trusted Ronnie. He had a genuine-looking smile. He told us to be proud and we found something in his words to believe. He was witty..charming. He had many friends in this world..outside the borders of America. People in Europe tore down a wall with the help of his optimism. What a wonderful time for America...what a decent man.

He wasn't perfect, though. As many Christians joke, there was only one perfect man...and look what they did to him.

There were boats Reagan missed.

Ask the familes of any of these Americans and they'll tell you.

*Matthew Gross has some interesting commentary on Bush/Reagan and what Reagan's death might mean to the upcoming Presidential election.*

*There's a roundup of Reagan commentaries and farewells at Mahablog.

President Reagan: A poetic expression of love

President Reagan: A poetic expression of love

I don't think I have to repeat the news that he's gone.



What I choose to recall this morning is a part of what was President Reagan's heart..a part with which we can all identify.

He wrote this letter to Nancy on a Sunday..March 20, 1955.

Sunday, March 20, 1955


"My darling, here it is, our day. If we were home, we would have a fire and funnies. And we would hate anybody who called or dropped in.

As it is, I'm sitting here on the top of the sixth floor, beside a phony fireplace, looking out at a gray, wet sky, and listening to a radio play music not intended for one person alone.

"Nevertheless, I wouldn't trade the way I feel for the loneliness of those days when one place was like another, and it didn't matter how long I stayed away... with all the missing you there is still such a wonderful warmth in this loneliness.

Like looking forward to a bright, warm room, no matter how dark and cold it is at the moment, you know the room is there and waiting.

I love you so very much.

I don't want--I don't even mind that life made me wait so long to find you.

The waiting only made the finding sweeter.

I love you,
Ronnie"

[LINK]

Godspeed, Dutch.

Who was Elie Hobeika? Ask Karl Rove.

Who was Elie Hobeika?
Ask Karl Rove.

On September 15, 2001, just four days after the 9-11 attacks, CIA Director George Tenet provided President Bush with a Top Secret "Worldwide Attack Matrix"—a virtual license to kill targets deemed to be a threat to the United States in some 80 countries around the world. The Tenet plan, which was subsequently approved by Bush, essentially reversed the executive orders of four previous U.S. administrations that expressly prohibited political assassinations.

According to high level European intelligence officials, Bush's counselor, Karl Rove, used the new presidential authority to silence a popular Lebanese Christian politician [Elie Hobeika], who was planning to offer irrefutable evidence that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authorized the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women, and children in the Beirut refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla in 1982. In addition, Sharon provided the Lebanese forces who carried out the grisly task.

After announcing he was willing to testify against Sharon, Hobeika became fearful for his safety and began moves to leave Lebanon. Hobeika was not aware that his threats to testify against Sharon had triggered a series of fateful events that reached well into the White House and Sharon's office.

On January 24, 2002, Hobeika's car was blown up by a remote controlled bomb placed in a parked Mercedes along a street in the Hazmieh section of Beirut.....

It is noteworthy that the State Department's list of global terrorist incidents for 2002 worldwide failed to list the car bombing attack on Hobeika and his party. The White House wanted to ensure the attack was censored from the report. The reason was simple: the attack ultimately had Washington's fingerprints on it.

High level European intelligence sources now report that Karl Rove personally coordinated Hobeika's assassination. The hit on Hobeika employed Syrian intelligence agents. Syrian President Bashar Assad was trying to curry favor with the Bush administration in the aftermath of 9-11 and was more than willing to help the White House. In addition, Assad's father, Hafez Assad, had been an ally of Bush's father during Desert Storm, a period that saw Washington give a "wink and a nod" to Syria's occupation of Lebanon. Rove wanted to help Sharon avoid any political embarrassment from an in absentia trial in Brussels where Hobeika would be a star witness. Rove and Sharon agreed on the plan to use Syrian Military Intelligence agents to assassinate Hobeika. Rove saw Sharon as an indispensable ally of Bush in ensuring the loyalty of the Christian evangelical and Jewish voting blocs in the United States....



[LINK-Online Journal]

Prior thought about Hobieika:

--The Assassination of Elie Hobeika

--Elie Hobeika's Assassination: Covering Up the Secrets of Sabra and Shatilla

--BBC Profile

--Robert Fisk- The Man Who Would Testify Against Sharon Is Blown Up

--Dawn.com

--Michael Young commentary

--Stark Portrait of Sabra & Shatila & Sharon depicted in World Premier Film "2000 TERRORISTS"..

--Jafi.org Info on Kahan Commission

Iraq hostage Matt Maupin family statement

Iraq hostage Matt Maupin family statement


Where is Pfc. Keith Matthew Maupin?

I would hope none of us have forgotten that Pfc. Keith Matthew (Matt) Maupin, a 20-year-old Army reservist, has been held hostage by insurgents since April 9 somewhere in Iraq.

I don't see very much about Matt in the mainstream news.

The silence is absolutely deafening.



For those who haven't forgotten, a recent statement from Keith & Carolyn Maupin (parents of Matt):

The Maupin family would like to thank everyone for supporting all soldiers as well as our son, Spc. Matt Maupin. The Yellow Ribbon campaign for our soldiers has been truly amazing and our spirits are lifted each time we see a new yellow ribbon displayed. Please continue to keep the yellow ribbons flying and candles lit to light their way home. A special thanks to the many people who have brought meals, provided religious support, established websites and for the many campaigns and vigils throughout the community and country. The outpouring of support and sentiment towards our family has been incredible, from both the military and civilian community. The emails, letters, cards, and prayers continue to arrive daily with well wishes for the safety of our son. Each one has touched our heart deeply during this difficult time. Although Matt has been captured for some time, we continue to pray daily for his safe return and the safe return of all soldiers to their loved ones. Our faith will never diminish and we ask that you keep all soldiers in your prayers and wish them a safe and speedy return.

Keith and Carolyn Maupin

[LINK-ChannelCincinatti.com]

Iraq Weekend Updates

Iraq Weekend Updates

Thursday:

Tom Clancy: "Is Wolfowitz working for our side?"
[LINK-Informed Comment]

*Note- see my own recent comments [LINK] about the seemingly anti-American activities by some of the NeoCons.*


Friday:

The situation in Iraq acutely threatens Israeli security
[LINK-Informed Comment];

Iran Leader Slams Caretaker Government in Iraq [LINK];
Iraq as Failed State [LINK]


Saturday:

5 US Troops Killed in Iraq, 5 wounded,New Accord in Najaf
[LINK-Informed Comment]

Sunday:

Sistani Meets Muqtada; Ceasefire Taking Hold
[LINK-Informed Comment]

Who Is Francis Brooke?

Who Is Francis Brooke?

--Ahmed Chalabi's right-hand man in Baghdad
--An American consultant
--An Iraqi National Congress lobbyist
--Worked with the shady Rendon group on the Iraq project, a London-based C.I.A.-funded program to influence global opinion on Saddam Hussein.
--An evangelical Christian
--Ex-CIA consultant
--A recent consultant for BKSH and Associates, a company run by Charlie Black, a Republican Party veteran.
--A man who has boasted of engineering the war on Iraq by providing the United States the "evidence" it was seeking on (apparently non-existent)weapons of mass destruction along with Saddam's supposed ties to terrorists.


Where is Francis Brooke now?

--It's thought he scrambled back to Washington D.C.

Who wants to know?

An Iraqi judge...Judge Zuhair Al-Maliky of the central criminal court in Baghdad, to be precise.

Why?

Francis Brooke allegedly obstructed the Iraqi police from conducting a legitimate raid on Ahmed Chalabi's place. They say Brooke stopped the Chalabi raid by telling the police they didn't have the legal power to do it because "he was an American and they were Iraqis."

Reports from Iran suggest Francis Brooke acted as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, passing letters between the two governments, which do not have diplomatic relations.

Brooke is trying to pass the buck and blame it all on a fellow by the name of Arras Habib, who is Chalabi's security chief.

[LINK]

More on Francis Brooke:

--Telegraph: Iraqi judge orders arrest of American aide to Chalabi
--Disinfopedia
--New Yorker- The Manipulator
--MSNBC- Chalabi-A questionable use of U.S. Funding
--Washington Post- Chalabi Aides Suspected of Spying for Iran; Raid at Leader's Home Targeted His Associates

Who Is John Israel?

Who Is John Israel?

[LINK]

Abu Ghraib Intelligence Soldier Describes Iraq Abuse in Detail

Abu Ghraib Intelligence Soldier Describes Iraq Abuse in Detail

[LINK]

Elvis chicken at Google Blog

Elvis chicken at Google Blog

I borrowed this recipe for fried chicken from Charlie Ayers at the Google Blog. It was a recipe he summoned up the nerve to extract from a southern cook named Robert Brown who had allegedly fried the stuff up for Elvis Presley at one point in time.
[LINK]

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Elvis Loved
*Google-sized portions; read all the way through to get the total amounts needed*

1/2 c thyme
1/4 c oregano
1/4 c basil
1/2 c onion powder
1/2 c garlic powder
1/2 c dry mustard
1/2 c paprika
1/4 c chili powder
1/2 c celery seed
2 Tbsp salt
1/2 c coriander
1/2 c cumin
1/3 c kosher salt
1/4 c cayenne pepper
1/2 c ground black pepper
1/4 c ground white pepper

3 gals. buttermilk
3 cases organic free range chicken (roughly 30 chickens, divided into 1.5- to 2-lb. sections)

Mix these amounts of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then whisk in the buttermilk until it's thoroughly mixed.

Pour the batter over the chickens and marinate for up to five days - keep refrigerated, of course.

For frying
Now mix another 4x the above dry ingredients, and add:
2 lbs. cornstarch
8 qts. all-purpose organic whole wheat flour

Dredge the marinated chicken pieces in the dry herbs/flour/cornstarch mixture mix.
Fry the dredged chicken in a large skillet with hot peanut oil @ 375 degrees. Once chicken has reached a golden brown color, finish cooking it in the oven.



Thanks for sharing, Charlie!

Tie-runn-eee

Tie-run-eee

Bush said today, in tribute to former President Reagan, that he had saved the world from an "era of fear and tyranny".

Ronald Reagan never would have pronounced the word 'TYRANNY' as TIE-RUNN-EEE.

Good heavens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My father crapped bigger ones than George Bush."

--Ronald P. Reagan

President Match

President Match


Go here to take the test.

My results were:

1. Kucinich Score: 90%


2. Kerry Score: 74%


3. Bush Score: 5%