[Peace-discuss] New notes 030831

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Notes from this week's "war on terrorism" -- prepared
	for the AWARE meeting, Sunday, August 24, 2003.

1. IRAQ

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? "The Los Angeles Times is reporting that U.S.
intelligence agents have a new theory on what happened to the alleged
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Some officials believe that Saddam
Hussein didn't have any banned weapons but created the illusion that he
had them. The theory says that Hussein sent bogus Iraqi defectors out of
Iraq to plant disinformation about the weapons program to mislead the U.S.
The Los Angeles Times reports the U.S. is now re-interviewing all former
Iraqi defectors who provided intelligence before the war." [DN 0828]

WHAT WAS THAT 'WAR' ABOUT?  The US has suggested that Iraqi oil be sent to
refineries in Israel. "The request came in a telegram last week from a
senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a
'bonus' the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal
support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for
the official telegram. The new pipeline would take oil from the Kirkuk
area, where some 40 percent of Iraqi oil is produced, and transport it via
Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel ... Iraqi oil is now being
transported via Turkey to a small Mediterranean port near the Syrian
border. The transit fee collected by Turkey is an important source of
revenue for the country. This line has been damaged by sabotage twice in
recent weeks and is presently out of service. In response to rumors about
the possible Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline, Turkey has warned Israel that it
would regard this development as a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli
relations. Sources in Jerusalem suggest that the American hints about the
alternative pipeline are part of an attempt to apply pressure on Turkey."
[HAARETZ 0826]

FAIR AND BALANCED MATHEMATICS. "On Fox News, Brit Hume just introduced a
new conservative argument as to the reason soldiers dying in Iraq is No
Big Deal. Iraq's the same size as California, he said, and while our
soldiers in Iraq are dying at a rate of 1.7 per day, there are 6.6 murders
daily in California ... There are about 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, and
more than 34.5 million people in California.  So if we had as many troops
in Iraq as there are people in California, and a comparable number were
being killed, we would see 385 deaths per day, as opposed to the 6.6
murders in California. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these
deaths are a pretty big deal. I imagine the families of those dying -- and
those at risk -- would agree." [WAGE-SLAVE.ORG 0826]

WE STOLE IT AND IT'S OURS. For the first time, the Bush administration is
indicating that it may allow a multinational force sponsored by the United
Nations to be stationed in Iraq. The U.S. would demand however that any
international force by under the command of an American. [NYT 0827]

WHAT WE USED TO CALL A SATELLITE. "American officials are planning to
ferry as many as 28,000 Iraqis to Eastern Europe for an intensive police
training course. Bernard B. Kerik, a former New York City Police
commissioner in charge of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said in an
interview that American officials had secured permission from the
government of Hungary to set up a large police academy inside an old
Soviet military base there." [NYT 0825]

2. ISRAEL

A DEADLY METAPHOR FOR THE OCCUPATION. "Israel killed a senior Hamas
militant with a helicopter missile strike on a donkey cart he was riding
Thursday ... Three Palestinians were wounded, including a 4-year-old boy
who was in critical condition." [REUTERS 0826]

AND THE REALITY THAT THE US MAKES POSSIBLE. Israel's defense minister on
Sunday suggested an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, where
Palestinian militants already face a deadly air campaign. Israeli military
commentators say a ground offensive in the densely populated Gaza Strip,
home to more than one million people under Palestinian control, would
cause heavy Israeli and Palestinian casualties. "We always have the option
of a ground operation in Gaza," Shaul Mofaz said. "We will exercise it
when we decide it is right to do so, at the appropriate time." Israel has
assassinated 13 Palestinians, including bystanders and children, in as
many days.  [REUTERS 0831] Israel also took two Palestinian whom it called
militants from hospital beds in the West Bank. [LAT 0828]

AND MAY MAKE POSSIBLE. "The Washington Times is reporting that Israel has
prepared plans to bomb Iran's Bushehr nuclear-power plant if the plant
begins developing weapons grade material" -- as they bombed Iraq in 1981.
[DN O829]

3. PAYING FOR TERRORISTS

TORTURE AND MURDER AS AMERICAN POLICIES. A new book by Gerard Posner (Why
America Slept) discusses CIA torture interrogation of a leading Al-Qaida
member and implies that the CIA assassinated members of the Pakistan and
Saudi governments whom they thought he implicated. That is perhaps an
explanation of Bush's sniggering reference to US assassinations in his SOU
address. [TIME 0831]

AND HOW WE PAY FOR IT. "'Black,' or classified, programs requested in
President Bush's 2004 defense budget are at the highest level since 1988,
according to a report prepared by the independent Center for Strategic and
Budgetary Assessments. The center concluded that classified spending next
fiscal year will reach about $23.2 billion ... 'It's puzzling. It sets the
mind to wondering where the money's going and what sort of politically
controversial things the administration is doing because they're not
telling anybody,' said John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a
research group that has been critical of the administration's defense
priorities. Pike said part of the surge in the classified budget probably
can be explained by increases for the Central Intelligence Agency's covert
action programs, which are central to the war on terrorism. Traditionally,
Pike said, much of the funding for the CIA is hidden in Air Force weapons
procurement accounts. But unlike the 1980s, when it was widely known that
the 'black' budget was going to the development of stealth aircraft such
as the B-2 bomber and F-117 fighter, the uses of the classified accounts
today are far murkier ... it is anybody's guess where most of the
classified money is going, Pike said. But he said it is a good bet that
some of it is going to programs that the administration is known to
strongly favor, such as missile defense and the development of hypersonic
planes that can fly beyond Earth's atmosphere. 'This is an administration
that likes to play I've got a secret,' he said. 'The growth of the
classified budget appears to be part of a larger pattern of this
administration being secretive." [WP 0827]

ANOTHER KILLING ADMINISTRATION SECRET. "On Friday the Environmental
Protection Agency's Inspector General released a report that found the
White House forced the EPA to mislead residents of New York about the
safety of the air quality following the collapse of the World Trade Center
towers ... The study found that the White House pressured the EPA to
delete information from press releases that might have delayed the
reopening of downtown New York including Wall Street. Among other things
the White House censored reports that high levels of asbestos had been
found. The report was quietly released on Friday afternoon during a period
in August when many reporters are on vacation ... New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg however defended the White House ... Bloomberg said, 'I know the
president and I think he's a very honest guy. It would never occur to me
not to trust him.'" [DN 0825]

PAUL KRUGMAN COMMENTS. "The federal government spends much more protecting
the average resident of Wyoming from terrorists than it spends protecting
the average resident of New York City. All in all, the people running
Washington, while eager to invoke 9/11 on behalf of whatever they feel
like doing, have treated the city that bore the brunt of the actual attack
very shabbily. In September 2004 the Republicans will hold their
nominating convention in New York. Will New Yorkers take the occasion to
remind them about how the city was lied to and shortchanged?" [NYT 0826]

DO WE WONDER WHOM THEY'RE WORKING FOR? Meanwhile, "a new Bush
administration rule exempts thousands of industrial plants and refineries
from part of clean air act.  The exemption translates into huge savings
for industrial plants, even if they increase the amounts of pollutants
they emit." [DN 0826]

4. AND THE FECKLESS OPPOSITION

DEMOCRATS TERGIVERSATE. Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean
reconsidered his position on the Cuban embargo: formerly opposed to it, he
now says it should be kept in place.  [MIAMI HERALD 0827] John Kerry did
the same flip on Meet the Press Sunday. [NBC 0831] Earlier, Kerry spoke to
fellow veterans (as he insists -- a good line from Ann Coulter: "If John
Kerry had a dollar for every time he mentions he was in Vietnam -- oh,
wait a minute: he does").  He told the Veterans of Foreign Wars that as
president he would "get more allies [sic] involved in Iraq." [AP 0825]
"Both Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and national security adviser
Condoleezza Rice also addressed the 104th VFW national convention. Rice
highlighted what she saw as successes in Iraq as well as in the
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. It was at the 103rd VFW that Vice
President Cheney spoke a year ago kickstarting the administration's push
towards war. At the time, Cheney said, 'Simply stated, there is no doubt
that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt
he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and
against us.'" [DN 0826]

AND NO ONE CARES? "Two-thirds of voters -- including two-thirds of
Democrats -- were unable to name any of the Democratic candidates for
president, said the CBS News poll out Sunday. Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt
and Howard Dean topped the field in the poll, with relatively low numbers.
Lieberman, Gephardt and Dean were the only three in double digits in
support from registered Democrats. Lieberman, a Connecticut senator, had
the backing of 14 percent; Gephardt, a Missouri congressman, was backed by
11 percent; and Dean, former governor of Vermont was at 10 percent. Other
candidates were in single digits. John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, was
at 5 percent after being in double digits in national polls most of the
year. Al Sharpton had 5 percent; Bob Graham, a senator from Florida was at
4 percent; John Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, had 2 percent;
Carol Moseley Braun was at 2 percent; and Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio
congressman, had 0 percent. Four in 10 Democratic voters said they were
satisfied with the current field of nine candidates, while 5 in 10 said
they would like more choices. When all voters were asked whether President
Bush will definitely be re-elected, 38 percent said yes, but 50 percent
said they think a Democrat can win. When voters were asked the same
question about Bush's father in October 1991, 66 percent said yes, but
that number dropped 20 points in the next month. The first President Bush
lost his re-election bid." [AP 0831]

5. ELSEWHERE IN ASIA

NO DOVES ALLOWED. "One of the top State Department experts on North Korea
has resigned just days before the U.S. is set to enter into nuclear talks
with North Korea and four other nations. The diplomat Jack Pritchard was
seen as one of the administration’s few moderates on North Korea and has
long backed giving North Korea incentives for complying with international
demands." [DN 0826]

NO PEACE TREATY ALLOWED. As a response to what they perceive as hostility
from the Bush administration, North Korea Tuesday threatened to begin
testing nuclear weapons. The threat came during six-nation talks in
Beijing. North Korea wants a non-aggression pact with the US, and the
administration refuses.

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE? "The Sydney Morning Herald reports on a study of Jemaah
Islamiah, the Indonesian terror group apparently responsible for the Bali
bombing.  The study says it was formed around a core of Indonesians,
recruited and paid by the CIA, who fought alongside bin Laden in
Afghanistan in the 1980s." [CURSOR 0827]

AND A GENERATION LATER? Reuters is reporting a week-long battle in
Afghanistan between Taliban fighters and U.S. forces backed by artillery,
jet fighters and attack helicopters ... The U.S. military has confirmed 33
Taliban deaths during the first three days of fighting, which has involved
the largest concentration of fighters from the hard-line regime since the
movement was driven from power late in 2001. In a separate clash, two U.S.
soldiers were killed near their base at Shkin, in the eastern province of
Paktika a few miles from the Pakistani border. [REUTERS 0831]

ARCHDUKE FERDINAND? "A sea of mourners filled northern Baghdad Sunday for
the funeral of a top Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim,
killed with nearly 100 others in a bomb attack his brother blamed partly
on U.S. forces for failing to bring security to Iraq. The bombing has
intensified an international debate about whether U.S.-led occupation
forces are capable of pacifying the country. Russia said at the weekend it
would back a United Nations force for Iraq -- even if it was under U.S.
Command." [REUTERS 0831]

AND ELSEWHERE. "Agence France Press is reporting the death toll from
Monday's car bombings in Bombay has reached at least 52 people. No group
has taken responsibility. Indian officials blamed Muslim militants. One of
the bombs went off near a Hindu temple in the old city." [DN 0826]

6. THE ANDEAN REGION

HOW PACIFICATION WORKS IN OUR BACKYARD. "In Peru, the country's Truth and
Reconciliation Commission reported Tuesday that more than 69,000 Peruvians
died or disappeared from 1980 to 2000 as a result of political violence.
The commission held the government and the Maoist rebel group Shining Path
almost equally responsible. The president of the commission said Peru's
security forces employed a 'systematic or generalized practice of human
rights violations.'" [DN 0827]

WHO'S THIS HALLIBURTON WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT? "In other news from Peru,
the U.S. Export-Import Bank has rejected a request to lend over $200
million to build a controversial natural gas pipeline through the Peruvian
Amazon. Two companies with close ties to the Bush administration,
Halliburton and Hunt Oil, were pushing for the project which had come
under intense criticism from environmentalists." [DN 0827]

7. TERROR BUSINESS

WONDER WHO'LL GET THE MONEY? "In a WP interview Iraq boss Paul Bremer said
it's 'almost impossible to exaggerate' the amount of cash it will take to
reconstruct Iraq, putting it at 'several tens of billions' of dollars. The
Republican chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees foreign aid as
saying that while the reconstruction effort is 'essentially out of funds,'
he's not keen on authorizing more money unless the White House details how
it's been spending the money."  [CURSOR 0827]

WONDER WHO'LL GET THE MONEY? (II) "The Washington Post is reporting that
Halliburton has now received contracts worth more than $1.7 billion in
Iraq and stands to make hundreds of millions more in no-bid contracts.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California said, 'The amount of money is quite
staggering, far more than we were originally led to believe.' The Post
estimates that of the $4 billion the U.S. is spending per month in Iraq,
about one third is going to independent contractors. Meanwhile the Wall
Street Journal reports that the U.S. government has increased the size of
Bechtel's reconstruction cost [sic] in Iraq by 50 percent. Bechtel will
receive an additional $350 million in addition to the previously announced
contract of $680 million." THERE'S NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES: BECHTEL HAD
COMPLAINED THAT HALLIBURTON WAS GETTING ALL THE MONEY, SO THEY HAD TO BE
MOLLIFIED. [DN 0828]

WONDER WHO'LL GET THE MONEY? (III) "Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown
& Root has been awarded a no-bid contract to expand the U.S. military base
at Guantanamo Bay. The extra space will allow the U.S. to hold 10 percent
more detainees at the base." [DN 0827]

ANSWER: WAR PROFITEERS. "The New York Times reports U.S. officials are
preparing to open portions of the Iraq economy to foreign investment for
the first time in decades. Despite the massive reconstruction project
ahead for Iraq, the proposal would not require foreign investors to invest
any of their profits back into Iraq." [DN 0828]

8. THE PRESS

THE STRANGEST THINGS CREPT INTO THE PRINT MEDIA THIS WEEK.  A Seattle
Post-Intelligencer editorial called on Bush to fire War Secretary
Rumsfeld; the New York Times editorialized against the Bush
administration's "reckless and insupportable decision to eviscerate a
central provision of the Clean Air Act and allow power plants, refineries
and other industrial sites to spew millions of tons of unhealthy
pollutants into the air"; and a right-wing website, ChronWatch, charged
the San Francisco Chronicle with *sedition* for asking in an editorial,
"Did President Bush or other senior administration officials knowingly
exaggerate evidence about weapons of mass destruction or deceive the
American public?" [CURSOR 0827] But the most amazing column of the week
came from Robert Kuttner, editor of the impeccably liberal journal, The
American Prospect, who said that he was "star-struckâ" with Gen. Wesley
Clark (hero of Clinton's war against Serbia) as a Democratic presidential
candidate -- largely because *the military was such a progressive
institution in our society*. [BG 0827]

***

"President Bush has been silent on Schwarzenegger. Of course, he can't
pronounce Schwarzenegger." --David Letterman

"The United States is putting together a Constitution now for Iraq. Why
don't we just give them ours? It's served us well for 200 years, and we
don't appear to be using it anymore, so what the hell?" --Jay Leno

***