http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/opinion/27wed1.html?th&emc=th
Lead Editorial The Fine Art of Declassification NY Times: September 27, 2006 It's hard to think of a president and an administration more devoted to secrecy than President Bush and his team. Except, that is, when it suits Mr. Bush politically to give the public a glimpse of the secrets. And so, yesterday, he ordered the declassification of a fraction of a report by United States intelligence agencies on the global terrorist threat. Mr. Bush said he wanted to release the document so voters would not be confused about terrorism or the war when they voted for Congressional candidates in November. But the three declassified pages from what is certainly a voluminous report told us what any American with a newspaper, television or Internet connection should already know. The invasion of Iraq was a cataclysmic disaster. The current situation will get worse if American forces leave. Unfortunately, neither the report nor the president provide even a glimmer of a suggestion about how to avoid that inevitable disaster. Despite what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, have tried to make everyone believe, one of the key findings of the National Intelligence Estimate, which represents the consensus of the 16 intelligence agencies, was indeed that the war in Iraq has greatly increased the threat from terrorism by "shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives." It said Iraq has become "the cause célèbre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement." It listed the war in Iraq as the second most important factor in the spread of terrorism - after "entrenched grievances such as corruption, injustice and fear of Western domination." And that was before April, when the report was completed. Since then, things have got much worse. (The report was written before the killing in June of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The authors thought such an event would diminish the danger in Iraq. It has not.) Mr. Bush decided to release this small, selected chunk of the report in reaction to an article on the intelligence assessment that appeared in The Times over the weekend. As a defense of his policies, it serves only to highlight the maddening circular logic that passes for a White House rationale. It goes like this: The invasion of Iraq has created an entire new army of terrorists who will be emboldened by an American withdrawal. Therefore, the United States has to stay indefinitely and keep fighting those terrorists. By that logic, the more the United States fights, the longer the war stretches on. It's obvious why Mr. Bush did not want this report out, and why it is taking so long for the intelligence agencies to complete another report, solely on Iraq, that was requested by Congress in late July. It's not credible that more time is needed to do the job. In 2002, the intelligence agencies completed a report on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in less time. Mr. Bush also made selected passages of that report public to buttress his arguments for war with Iraq, most of which proved to be based on fairy tales. Then, Mr. Bush wanted Americans to focus on how dangerous Saddam Hussein was, and not on the obvious consequences of starting a war in the Middle East. Now, he wants voters to focus on how dangerous the world is, and not on his utter lack of ideas for what to do about it. *** http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092606S.shtml Editor's Note: The following letter was sent today to the Judiciary Committee to the attention of Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Patrick Leahy. It represents the views of former US Government and military officials who served in the CIA, in the Army, in the Air Force, at the Department of State and the FBI. It represents a consensus view that torture is an ineffective and immoral practice. -TO Letter From Intelligence and Military Professionals on Use of Torture t r u t h o u t | Letter Tuesday 26 September 2006 United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Arlen Specter, Chairman The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Ranking Democratic Member Dear Senators: We write as experienced intelligence and military officers who have served in the frontlines in waging war against communism and Islamic extremism. We fully support the need for proactive operations to identify and disrupt those individuals and organizations who wish to harm our country or its people. We also recognize that intelligence operations, unlike law enforcement initiatives, enjoy more flexibility and less scrutiny, but at the same time must continue to be guided by applicable US law. We are very concerned that the proposals now before the Congress, concerning how to handle detainees suspected of terrorist activities, run the risk of squandering the greatest resource our country enjoys in fighting the dictators and extremists who want to destroy us-our commitment as a nation to the rule of law and the protection of divinely granted human rights. Apart from the moral considerations, we believe it is important that the Congress send a clear message that torture is not an effective or useful tactic. As noted recently by the head of Army Intelligence, Lt. Gen. John Kimmons: No good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices. I think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the last five years, hard years, tells us that. Our nation was created in response to the abuses visited on our ancestors by the King of England, who claimed the right to enter their homes, to levy taxes at whim, and to jail those perceived as a threat without allowing them to be confronted by their accusers. Now, 230 years later, we find our own President claiming the right to put people in detention centers without legal recourse and to employ interrogation methods that, by any reasonable legal standard, are categorized as torture. We ask that the Senate lead the way in upholding the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and affirmed in the Geneva Conventions regarding the rights of individuals and the obligations of governing authorities towards those in their power. We believe it is important to combat the hatred and vitriol espoused by Islamic extremists, but not at the expense of being viewed as a nation who justifies or excuses torture and incarceration without recourse to a judicial procedure. The US has been in the forefront of the human rights campaign throughout the 20th century, led by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The end of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust inspired the United States to take the lead in making the case that human rights were universal, not parochial. Until recently the policy of our country was that all people, not just citizens of the United States, were entitled to these protections. It is important that the world understand that we remain committed to these principles. In fighting our enemies we must wage this battle in harmony with the traditional values of our society that were enshrined in the opening clause of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident...." Respectfully yours, CIA Officers: Milton Bearden, Directorate of Operations Ray Close, Directorate of Operations Vincent Cannistraro, Directorate of Operations Philip Giraldi, Directorate of Operations James Marcinkowski, Directorate of Operations Melissa Mahle, Directorate of Operations Paul Pillar, Directorate of Intelligence David MacMichael, Directorate of Intelligence Melvin Goodman, Directorate of Intelligence Ray McGovern, Directorate of Intelligence Mary O. McCarthy, DCI professional staff US Military and Department of Defense: W. Patrick Lang, (Colonel, US Army retired, Director Defense Humint Services, retired) A. D. Ackels, (Colonel, US Army, retired) Karen Kwiatkowski, (Lt. Colonel, USAF, retired) US Department of State: Thomas R. Maertens, Deputy Coordinator, Office of Counter Terrorism, US Department of State Larry C Johnson, Office of Counter Terrorism, US Department of State Federal Bureau of Investigation: Christopher Whitcomb, Hostage Rescue Team *** A New Yorker's Letter to Charles Rangel To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (NYTr List) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 sent by Bill Koehnlein - Sep 24, 2006 Following Hugo Chavez's great UN speech--which endeared him to the entire world--and his remarks later that week to a receptive and very appreciative Harlem audience, Charles Rangel, the uptown Congressional rep, had this to say: "You do not come into my country, my congressional district, and you do not condemn my president. If there is any criticism of President Bush, it should be restricted to Americans, whether they voted for him or not. I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chavez or any other president, do not come to the United States and think because we have problems with our president that any foreigner can come to our country and not think that Americans do not feel offended when you offend our Chief of State." Here is a copy of a letter I faxed to Rangel at both his New York and Washington offices. You can send your own to him at the addresses below, or fax to (212) 663-4277 and (202) 225-0816. Beat the Devil! -Bill Koehnlein -- September 24, 2006 Representative Charles B. Rangel United States House of Representatives 2354 Rayburn House Office Building Washington DC 20515 163 West 125 Street Suite #737 New York NY 10027 Hey Charlie! Lighten up, man! You said, "If there is any criticism of [the Devil], it should be restricted to Americans...." Since when is the Devil, or any other high government leader, immune to criticism from a non-American? Look at all the criticisms made by Cheney, Rumsfeld and the Devil himself against Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, not to mention numerous other heads of state and high-level officials of various governments. Etiquette and social nicety has not hindered the Devil from constantly whining and droning on about "evil doers" or "evil ones"-appellations applied liberally by him to various world leaders and political dignitaries. In fact, the actions of the Devil have gone beyond mere criticism. The Devil has threatened both Chavez (and even helped launch a coup d'etat against the legally-elected government of Venezuela), and Castro (and the Devil continually does his utmost to strangle, weaken and create social instability in Cuba). The Devil has invaded sovereign states or taken other actions to undermine or overthrow them; he has been involved in political assassinations; he tortures innocent people at will; he capriciously deprives others of their freedom; he has plunged the world into a ghastly war that threatens not only the Middle East but the entire planet itself. I live on the Lower East Side, downwind from the United Nations. All day Tuesday there was a horrible sulphurous stink in my apartment, and I had to spend the entire next day airing out the place and scrubbing the floors and walls with a strong Lysol solution. I'm indebted to President Chavez for telling me what the source of the stench was. I thought it was the sewers backing up. All Americans as well should demonstrate their gratitude to him for telling it like it is. In fact, most do. It's only the corporate media and hysterical politicians who seem to be chagrined. Sincerely- Bill Koehnlein bill at toplab dot org "My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." --George W. Bush, May 1, 2003 "...I told the American people that the road ahead would be difficult, and that we would prevail. Well, it has been difficult--and we are prevailing." --George W. Bush, June 28, 2005 U.S. military fatalities through May 1, 2003: 140 U.S. military fatalities through June 28, 2005: 1743 U.S. military fatalities as of September 24, 2006: 2700 Iraqi civilian fatalities through May 1, 2003: 1982 Iraqi civilian fatalities through June 28, 2005: 22,563 - 25,560 (estimated)* Iraqi civilian fatalities as of September 24, 2006: 43,387 - 48,174 (estimated)* Sources: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ http://icasualties.org/oif/ http://www.zmag.org/lancet.pdf http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1338749,00.html http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/Iraq_war.html http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=6271 http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20041025/008279.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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