United States News Digest
Cheney Remains Target of Congressional Questions
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and two other members of Congress sent a personal letter dated July 21 to Vice President Dick Cheney with 10 questions on his role in the fabricated intelligence for the Iraq war.
Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) co-signed the letter, which begins: "While it has been widely reported that the President made a false assertion in his State of the Union address concerning unsubstantiated intelligence that Iraq purchased uranium from Niger, your own role in the dissemination of that disinformation has not been explained by you or the White House. Yet, you reportedly paid direct personal visits to CIA's Iraq analysts; your request for investigation of the Niger uranium claim resulted in an investigation by a former U.S. ambassador, and you made several high-profile public assertions about Iraq's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons. We hope that you will take the opportunity to provide responses to the following 10 questions."
The questions cover the basics: How many visits to the CIA, to what purpose? Did you direct or encourage CIA analysts to disseminate unreliable intelligence, or request or demand rewriting of intelligence assessments concerning the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Who in the office of Vice President was informed of the contents of Ambassador Wilson's report, and what was done to disseminate the findings to the President, National Security Adviser, and Secretary of Defense? Since your address to the VFW occurred nearly seven months after Ambassador Wilson reported his findings to the CIA and State Department, what evidence did you have for the assertion that Iraq was continuing "to pursue the nuclear program" and that Saddam had "resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons"? What was the basis for your assertion on national television that IAEA head ElBaradei was wrong in his assessment that the Niger documents were forgeries?
See EIW Feature this week for the "Case for Impeachment of Dick Cheney."
Durbin, Schumer Demand Investigation of Intimidation of Joseph Wilson
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on the FBI to investigate the exposure of former Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife as a CIA agent, reported the Washington Post on July 25. Schumer, who called the illegal leak "part of an apparent attempt to impugn Wilson's credibility and to intimidate others from speaking out against the Administration," was following Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who made the same demand earlier this week.
On July 21, 2003, Wilson, who was Acting Ambassador to Iraq in 1990-91, who reported to the CIA in early 2002 that the story on Iraq shopping for yellowcake in Niger was bogus, said in an NBC News interview exclusive, that he and his wife have been targetted and pressured by the White House. He charged that the White House deliberately leaked his wife's identity as a covert CIA operative, to compromise her career, and did this after Wilson criticized the Administration on "Meet the Press," and in the New York Times.
Wilson told NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell, "It's a shot across the bow to those who might step forward. Those unnamed analysts who said they were pressured by the White House, for example, would think twice about having their own families' names being dragged through this particular mud."
On July 22, according to Canadian Press, Wilson said that authorities should investigate how national security has been breached by White House officials. Wilson said, "I fully expect the appropriate authorities will look into it, as well they should if, in fact, it's a violation of U.S. law."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan denied Wilson's charges that he and his wife are being pressured. "This is not the way that this President or this White House operates, and I've seen no evidence to suggest there's any truth to it," according to the report by Beth Gorham in the Canadian Press.
On July 22, Sen. Durbin demanded that Wilson's charges be investigated because, "It's not only unacceptable, it may be criminal." Durbin is demanding that the Senate investigate whether the Administration did illegally reveal that Wilson's wife works as a CIA operative. Durbin said, "That's about as serious as it gets in this town."
Durbin further charged that the White House is trying to have him removed from the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Committee is holding closed hearings on whether intelligence was hyped to promote approval of making war on Iraq.
Durbin said on July 22 that the White House has floated a false story that he has leaked classified information on Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction. Durbin said on the Senate floor, "The White House allegations ... were, in fact, false, and inaccurate."
Durbin said, "Sadly, what we have here is a continuing pattern by this White House. If any member of this Senate ... questions this White House policy ... be prepared for the worst." He called on his colleagues to persevere in determining the extent of the exaggerations by the Administration.
Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Senate Minority Leader, said, "I don't know who is trying to intimidate him, but I know that efforts are being made from various sources to undermine his credibility."
Powell Supports Palestinian Ceasefire; Reversal of Previous U.S. Policy
With Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) visiting President George W. Bush at the White House, and visiting with U.S. lawmakers on Capital Hill, Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a concession, changed his view on the potential future of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, reported the Washington Times July 25.
One month ago, Powell had said, "It is no longer possible to separate one part of Hamas from another part of Hamas," and he added that both are an "enemy of peace." However, speaking with reporters July 24, Powell said he now agreed with a plan broached by some members of the Palestinian Authority when he was on tour in the Middle East last month, that it might be possible for Hamas and Islamic Jihad to be allowed to become political parties if they got rid of their military wings. Powell now says that if Hamas and Islamic Jihad were disarmed, they could conduct useful welfare operations.
Powell told the Lebanese Broadcast Corp. and London-based Al-Hayat that "I think it is still possible to keep going and then speed things up as more confidence is gained." Powell added that Hamas and Islamic Jihad did not have to be broken up if they eliminate "all capability to conduct terrorist activity."
Meanwhile, a Palestinian official close to Abbas said to Congressional leaders in a closed-door session that "if Congress continues blindly to support Israel without considering Palestinian concerns, President Bush's vision [of two states living in peace side-by-side] will not be attainable."
It is expected that the Sharon Cabinet will react to the Abbas trip to Washington and Powell's statements in two ways: with escalated provocations against Palestinian citizens which would aim to have the Palestinians break the fragile ceasefire; and with an escalation of political threats against President Bush in Washington that exploit the deep Likud connections in the Administration through the Cheney "cabal," and in the Congress through Christian Zionist collaborator Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
Bush Criticizes Sharon's 'Apartheid Wall'
On July 26, after meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), President Bush called Ariel Sharon's wall around the West Bank "a problem" that makes it "very difficult to develop confidence between the Palestinians and Israel." But at the same time, Bush said that other issues of importance to the Palestinians, such as the settlements, cannot be addressed until there is a "firm and continued commitment to fight terror" on the part of the Palestinians. Bush said he discussed the fence issue with Sharon, and will raise it again when Sharon comes to Washington July 29.
DeLay Threatens Bush's Right-Wing Support Over Palestine
According to the account in the New York Times of July 25, GOP Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) will go to Israel, Jordan, and Iraq, with a mission to stop the Road Map for a Palestinian state. He will meet with Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Jordan's King Abdullah, on a junket intended to deliver a "dissenting message" to "remind the Bush Administration to pay heed to its right flank...." DeLay is quoted, "I'm sure there are some in the Administration who are smarter than me, but I can't imagine in the very near future that a Palestinian state could ever happen." Interviewed on July 24, as he prepared for his weeklong tour, DeLay said, "I can't imagine this President supporting a state of terrorists, a sovereign state of terrorists. You'd have to change almost an entire generation's culture."
The Times noted that DeLay has in the past called the Administration's peace plan "a road map to destruction," and that DeLay is "the most prominent member in Washington of the Christian Zionist movement...."
Troops in Iraq Could Remain '50 Years From Now'
In an op-ed in the Washington Times of July 21, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said that without an exit strategy, "American troops may well be in Iraq 50 years from now." Skelton believes the Bush Administration has not competently addressed important questions about the U.S. occupation of Iraq, including the military and economic role the U.S. should play even if Iraq asked the U.S. to continue occupying the country, or how long-range reconstruction could really be accomplished. He said an extended occupation must not "accidentally" happen.
Pentagon vs. U.S. Soldier-Critics
High-ranking Pentagon officials are apparently unhappy with members of the 2nd Brigade of the Third Infantry Division, who told reporters from ABC's "Good Morning America" show exactly how they feel about being in Iraq, and whose officers now fear retaliation, according to the July 18 San Francisco Chronicle. One soldier had said he felt like he'd been "kicked in the guts, slapped in the face," by the on-again, off-again orders to send the units home, which are now apparently off once again. Another said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should quit. One officer said, "It was the end of the world. It went all the way up to President Bush and back down again.... At least six of us here will lose our careers."
The ABC show followed, by two days, an equally bitter e-mail, allegedly from soldiers of the Third Infantry Division, saying, "Our morale is not high or even low. Our morale is nonexistent. We have been told twice that we were going home, and twice we have received a 'stop' movement to stay in Iraq."
The complaints are anything but "routine,"and soldiers from other units are making the same complaints. One told the Chronicle, "We liberated Iraq. Now the people don't want us here, and guess what? We don't want to be here, either. So, why are we still here? Why don't they bring us home?"
Justice Department IG: 'Dozens' of Rights Abuses
The new internal report from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General, made public July 20, identifies 34 cases since passage of the Patriot Act, in which Justice Department employees have been accused of serious civil rights violations involving enforcement of the anti-terrorism "Patriot Act," including accusations that Muslim and Arab immigrants in Federal detention centers had been beaten. Accused are employees of the several agencies under DOJ, including the Bureau of Prisons, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)which was recently incorporated into the new Department of Homeland Security. The Inspector General said he received 1,073 complaints "suggesting a Patriot Act-related" abuse of civil rights; 272 fell within his jurisdiction, and 34 were substantiated "on their face."
Abuses ranged from physical beatings and verbal assaults to unauthorized searches. The report was submitted to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on July 17, and was made available to the New York Times by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
Congress Rolling Back FCC's Legalization of Media 'Big Brother' Control
A U.S. House of Representatives vote on June 23 rolled back the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) ruling, issued June 2, allowing media companies to own TV stations serving up to 45% of the country's viewers. The vote on the appropriations bill with an amendment blocking the key changes in the ruling, was 400-21. While FCC chairman Michael Powell remained defiant, Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.), the sponsor of the original amendment in the Appropriations Committee, declared victorybut admitted there will still be a fight to keep the language in the bill over a threatened Presidential veto.
Back on June 2, when the FCC issued a new ruling that legalized media monopolies even further, Lyndon LaRouche warned that this deregulation scheme must be stopped as a threat to U.S. national security. Computer-controlled radio stations inaccessible to local police and fire officials, and increased ownership of U.S. media outlets by foreign ideologues pushing an Imperial agenda, such as the British Commonwealth's Rupert Murdoch, or the British-Canadian Hollinger Corp.'s Conrad Black, represent dangers to U.S. national security. Many members of Congress from both parties expressed outrage at the FCC decision at the time, but action to overturn the ruling did not occur until later.
On July 15, Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) announced that they would be introducing a privileged resolution to overturn the June 2 FCC ruling loosening up media ownership rules. The resolution invokes a special procedure in the Senate for overturning Federal regulations, once the sponsor has collected at least 30 signatures on a letter asking for the resolution to be discharged from committee consideration. Dorgan gathered signatures of 35 Senators, from both parties, on the letter, and that he had been told by Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) that "he will hold a mark-up and proceed to move this resolution to the floor of the Senate."
The July 23 House vote is all the more significant since Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) had said he would oppose an effort in the House to override the FCC. Tauzin had said, "The Appropriations Committee is the last place you should be making this decision." But Rep. David Obey retorted that "If we don't move here, absolutely nothing will happen."
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