-Caveat Lector-
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0203/20/world/world10.html
WORLD
Lying to the public is all right, says Washington's chief lawyer
By Mark Helm, in Washington
The United States Government's top lawyer has said that officials have the right to lie
to American citizens, telling the US Supreme Court that misleading statements are
sometimes needed to protect foreign policy interests.
"It's easy to imagine an infinite number of situations where the government might
legitimately give out false information," the Solicitor-General, Theodore Olson, told
the court on Monday.
"It's an unfortunate reality that the issuance of incomplete information and even
misinformation by government may sometimes be perceived as necessary to protect
vital interests."
But Jennifer Harbury, an American widow who was misled for years by American
officials concerning the whereabouts and condition of her husband, a Guatemalan
rebel leader, disagreed. She told the court that US officials should be held liable if
they lie.
Her husband, Efrain Bamaca-Velasquez, was captured by the Guatemalan Army in
1992 and died in army custody in 1993.
Ms Harbury, a lawyer, has alleged that the US officials lied to her to conceal the
involvement of a Central Intelligence Agency informant in the torture and murder of
her husband. She argued that she should have the right to sue the officials
responsible for the alleged cover-up.
"If they hadn't lied to me, I might have been able to save my husband," said Ms
Harbury, who took the unusual step of representing herself before the court.
The US officials involved say they never intentionally lied to Ms Harbury. Instead,
they withheld certain information or simply refused to search for information in order
to protect American operations in Guatemala.
Although the case centres on events that unfolded 10 years ago, the court's ruling
could have a substantial impact on the war on terrorism. The justices must decide
how much information US officials - who are entrusted with foreign policy secrets -
must divulge to American citizens.
Since the September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration has made several moves
to clamp down on the flow of information. For example, last November the Attorney-
General, John Ashcroft, ordered closer reviews of which documents federal agencies
release under the Freedom of Information Act.
In a separate effort aimed at confounding terrorists through the use of
misinformation, the Administration created - then disbanded - an office within the
Pentagon that was to have planted inaccurate stories in foreign media.
An expert on foreign policy and the law at Catholic University in Washington, Antonio
Perez, said current events would weigh heavily on the justices as they considered
this case.
"The court may well be loath in this time of crisis to do or say anything that appears
to hamstring executive energy in the war against terrorism."
Hearst Newspapers~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
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"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it."
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta
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A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled
one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller,
German Writer (1759-1805)
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It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that
prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell
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"Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will
teach you to keep your mouth shut."
--- Ernest Hemingway
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