[Peace-discuss] News notes 030907

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Notes from last week's "war on terrorism" -- prepared
	for the AWARE meeting, Sunday, September 07, 2003.

THE REAL ECONOMY. "Friday morning's US employment report ... showed a loss
of another 93,000 jobs. We've now had seven consecutive months of job loss
[since the 'end of the recession'], something we've never seen outside a
recession. The workweek was short and almost every industrial sector shed
jobs. The survey of households showed a shrinkage in the labor force - the
entire reason for the decline in unemployment from 6.2% to 6.1%. The share
of the adult population working was flat, and remains at a low for this
cycle. People are buying stuff, but it's not with their paychecks - it's
all tax refunds and mortgage refinancing. If the job market doesn't
recover soon, we're in trouble." [D. HENWOOD 0905]

AND THEY LOVE HAVING US AS MUCH AS WE LOVE TO BE THERE. "Congressional
Budget Office said that if Pentagon sticks to its plan of rotating troops
out of Iraq after a year, it will have only enough manpower to sustain a
force of 38,000 to 64,000 troops." [BG 0902]

WAIT, DON'T SEND THOSE IMMIGRANTS HOME... "The Arabic satellite television
channel Al Jazeera has officially launched its English language website at
the address English.aljazeera.net. During the invasion of Iraq, the
network attempted to launch a scaled down English language site but the
webpage was often inaccessible due to attacks by hackers. Among the first
stories on the website, Al Jazeera is reporting that nearly 40,000 of the
US military's active troops are not US citizens." [DN 0902]

WE SHOULDN'T MENTION THAT. "Since the invasion of Iraq began, the US
military has been forced to evacuate over 1,100 US soldiers from Iraq
after they were seriously wounded in action. Twice as many soldiers have
now been injured during the occupation and invasion as during the Persian
Gulf War. The Washington Post reports that most injuries go unreported
because US Central Command has stopped issuing press releases for
incidents where no troops died." [DN 0902]

SHOW ME THE OIL MONEY. "The Financial Times is reporting that sabotage has
nearly crippled the chance Iraq will be able to pump oil this year from
the country's northern pipeline. The pipeline was bombed this weekend for
the fourth time in the past month. The US had originally hoped to pay for
the reconstruction of Iraq using oil revenue. Now the Bush administration
is expected to go back to Congress to seek more money. Congress's original
allocation of $79 billion has nearly run out." [DN 0902]

DON'T WE HAVE ENDURING FREEDOM THERE? "In some of the most fierce fighting
in months in Afghanistan, two US soldiers were killed Sunday during a
battle with reformed units of the Taliban. The New York Times reports that
the Taliban has been able to reform in southern and eastern Afghanistan in
part due to new volunteers from Pakistan." [DN 0902

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN IRAQ. "The New York Times leads with the Iraqi
Governing Council naming 25 people to head the country's ministries. As
the Los Angeles Times notes in its off-lead, it "remains vague" what
actual power these folks will have. The ministers were appointed along
exact ethnic lines." [SLATE 0902]

AND THE BUSH PROGRAM. In his Labor Day speech, Bush might have been
expected to address the hemorrhage of jobs. The one specific proposal he
mentioned was the creation of an assistant secretary of commerce for
manufacturing. He also obliquely referred for plans for the US to pressure
China to increase the value of its currency -- making Chinese goods in the
US more expensive. [WP 0902]

BUSH PLAN HELPS ALL? "Emergency room patients may soon find it harder to
get emergency care because the Bush administration has relaxed rules that
regulate hospital service. Among other things hospitals will no longer
need to have specialists on call all the time. It may become more
difficult for injured patients to receive legal compensation for poor
care. And it will also become harder for patients to sue hospitals if they
are turned away from emergency rooms." [DN 0903]

AND THE EFFECTS ARE PLAIN TO SEE. "New figures from the Census Bureau show
the number of Americans living below the poverty line increased by more
than 1.3 million last year. Around 12 and a half percent (12.5%) of the
country's population is now living below the poverty line. That amounts to
nearly 35 million people. And nearly one in five children live below the
poverty line." [DN 0903]

ANOTHER MESS WE CREATED. "The WP reports that the situation in Liberia is
getting worse, not improving. Peacekeepers still haven't moved beyond the
capital. And Liberians in the countryside, fleeing fighting or perhaps
just fearing the potential for it, having been crowding into Monrovia.
'It's not even human misery. It's worse than that,' said one UN. official.
'The only thing comparable was Goma when 1 million people packed a town
for 50,000 after the genocide.'" [SLATE 0903]

BUT WE'RE STOPPING TERRORISTS (REGARDLESS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT).
"Twenty-year-old Sherman Austin went to jail Wednesday for a one-year
term. He was charged with 'distribution of information relating to
explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction' after
someone posted bomb-making information on his political website,
raisethefist.com. Once he is is released he is banned from associating
with anyone who wants to change US government 'in any way.'" [DN 0903]

OUR CLIENT'S TERRORISM. "Israeli [I.E., AMERICAN-SUPPLIED] helicopters
fired missiles at a car in Gaza City Monday, killing a senior Islamic
militant and wounding some 25 other Palestinians in the latest violence
threatening a US-backed peace plan." [REUTERS 0902] "In a long-awaited
report that could put more strain on relations between Israeli Arabs and
Jews, an Israeli state inquiry reprimanded police for killing 13 Israeli
Arabs in pro-Palestinian protests three years ago ... Israeli Arab groups
denounced the report as a whitewash that failed to punish politicians
overseeing police who shot live ammunition at citizens of the Jewish state
during stone-throwing demonstrations ... Arabs, who make up 18 percent of
the population of Israel, have long complained of institutionalized
discrimination." [REUTERS 0902] "Israel warplanes bombed portions of
southern Lebanon Wednesday in an attack on Hezbollah positions." [DN 0904]
Israeli helicopters [SEE ABOVE] fired two missiles at the home of a Hamas
militant in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding at least 11 people. On
Saturday, they dropped a 550-lb bomb on an apartment building in Gaza,
trying to kill leaders of Hamas.  Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
declared after the botched strike against Hamas' founder Sheik Ahmed
Yassin, who's 68 and paralyzed, that all members of the Islamic militant
group were "marked for death."

POLICY INSULATED FROM POLITICS. "A secret report for the Joint Chiefs of
Staff lays the blame for setbacks in Iraq on a flawed and rushed
war-planning process that 'limited the focus' for preparing for
post-Saddam Hussein operations ... The report is titled 'Operation Iraqi
Freedom Strategic Lessons Learned' and is stamped 'secret.' A copy was
obtained by The Washington Times. The report also shows that President
Bush approved the overall war strategy for Iraq in August last year. That
was eight months before the first bomb was dropped and six months before
he asked the UN. Security Council for a war mandate that he never received
... The timeline also showed that the Bush administration stayed in close
contact with Israel about its plans. In mid-February, 'key Israeli
leaders' received a briefing on the war plan. Shortly thereafter, CentCom
began sharing information in Tel Aviv via US European Command, whose area
of responsibility includes the Jewish state." [WT 0903]

WE'VE FOUND THE WMDS. "In other news on weapons of mass destruction,
Agence France Press is reporting that the United States will miss by three
years an international deadline to destroy a portion of its arsenal of
chemical weapons. Under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, the US is
required to liquidate 45 percent of chemical stockpile by April 2004. But
now the Defense Department has acknowledged the task will not be completed
until December 2007." [DN 0904]

BEHIND THE BUSHES. "A retried chief White House aide has revealed that top
White House officials approved the evacuation of about 140 influential
Saudis including relatives of Osama Bin Laden shortly after the Sept. 11
attacks at a time when all commercial flights were grounded. Richard
Clarke, who ran the White House crisis team after the attacks, writes in
the new issue of Vanity Fair that the FBI claimed none of the Saudis could
be linked to the attacks which were carried out by 19 hijackers, 15 of
whom were Saudis. According to The New York Times this marks the first
public acknowledgment that the White House approved the controversial
evacuation plan." [DN 0904]

WHO'S HE WORKING FOR? "Under pressure from corporations, Ashcroft
threatens to overturn a 200-year-old law used to fight human rights
abusers and war criminals, the Alien Tort Claims Act." [DN 0904]

CHRISTIAN RIGHT? "The World Council of Churches is calling on US forces to
withdraw from Iraq and transfer matters to the United Nations. The
coalition of 342 Protestant and Orthodox denominations also called on the
US and Britain to pay for reparations to the Iraqi people for damage
caused during the invasion." [DN 0904]

IT'S ALL IN THE GAME. Democrat presidential candidates debated Thursday in
Albuquerque. Reporters are quoted as saying that they'd rather be watching
the debut of the NFL season with the rest of the country. "Redskins by
three, Dean by six" is the remark about the early line for the two
contests. (Skins did win by three.) [SLATE 0904] Unfortunately, an
interesting football game was preceded by someone called Britney Spears
and a celebration of 'American bad taste' on the DC mall, with the Capitol
and Fascist-style Pepsi signs as a backdrop. [WP 0905]

REGIME CHANGE CANDIDATE. "Venezuela declared war on Friday against what it
called an unfair world trade system and urged developing nations not to
subscribe to any new agreements at upcoming global trade talks next week.
The world's No. 5 oil exporter made clear it would take an aggressive
stance at September 10-14 World Trade Organization negotiations in Cancun,
Mexico, which aim to lower barriers to world trade. Venezuela's chief
trade negotiator Victor Alvarez said the world's poorest countries had
only a tiny share of world exports, which were hogged by rich nations ...
Venezuela's apparent spoiling strategy flew in the face of urgent calls
from the United States and Europe for concrete agreements during the
Cancun meeting. It also reflected repeated verbal attacks by populist
former paratrooper Chavez against world bodies like the WTO, the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The Venezuelan leader, who
is accused by his foes [GUESS WHO?] of trying to introduce Cuba-style
communism at home, has pilloried these organizations as 'institutions
created by empires to continue dominating the world.'" [REUTERS 0905]

CRAZY REGIME. "The WP notes inside that top Chinese officials are
criticizing the US for its seeming unwillingness to negotiate with North
Korea. Earlier this week, a Chinese official called the US the 'main
obstacle' to a negotiated settlement." [DN 0904]

THEY'RE OUR THUGS AGAIN. "US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld toured Iraq
Thursday where he said Washington will speed up training for Iraqi
security forces, including former members of Saddam Hussein's military and
intelligence services. He said the US military is 'looking at ways of
accelerating' the process of bringing former members of Saddam's military
- and possibly his security services - into the Iraqi security forces."
[DN 0905]

AND OUR FRIENDS. "According to a report in the Arab-language Al-Hayat
newspaper, a delegation from the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad,
visited Baghdad last month in order to coordinate its anti-terrorism
efforts with US forces in Iraq ... While there have been reports that
Israeli companies have been invited by the US to do business in Iraq, this
is the first report of Israeli security officials visiting the country."
[DN 0905]

WHO PROFITS? "A civilian affiliated with oilfield services giant
Halliburton was shot and killed in Iraq, the second person connected to
the firm to die in an attack in a month. The employee, who was not
identified, worked for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root and was
assigned to a team supporting Army mail delivery." [DN 0905]

MORE FRIENDS. "Iraq's new foreign minister said on Thursday Turkish troops
should not be let into Iraq as peacekeepers as their presence could
undermine the security of the country rather than improve it. Turkey's
Prime Minister brushed off the foreign minister's objections to a Turkish
presence in Iraq, saying that his country -- which is in talks with US
military officials on a possible deployment -- would decide for itself."
[DN 0905]

APPROACH TO THE GREENS. "The Pentagon is paying Minnesota-based Alliant,
the world's largest ammunition maker, $5 million to develop lead-free
combat bullets." [DN 0905]

REPUBLICAN ELECTION STRATEGY: MORE WAR. "United States officials will
demand that the United Nations takes urgent action to prevent Iran
acquiring atomic weapons at a special meeting of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna." [TELEGRAPH UK 0907]

PROPAGANDA WORKS. A Washington Post poll reports that 69 percent of
Americans believe that it is at least likely that Saddam Hussein had a
role in the 9/11 attacks. [WP 0906]

IRAQ WAS NOT CONNECTED WITH AL-QAIDA BUT WE MANAGED IT. "Al-Qaida began
planning to move into Iraq in February. Since then, anywhere from 1,000 to
several thousand foreign fighters have entered the country through Iraq's
borders with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria." [WP 0907]

AND THERE ARE OTHERS. "Al Jazeera television aired on Monday an audio tape
purportedly from ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in which he denied any
role in last week's bomb attack in Najaf that killed a top Shi'ite Muslim
cleric." [REUTERS 0902] "The WP continues to point out that the men who've
been arrested in connection with the Najaf bombing probably had nothing to
do with it, and despite allegations to the contrary probably aren't
connected to al-Qaida." [SLATE 0902]

CELEBRATING 9/11. The Department of Homeland Security is "hobbled by money
woes, disorganization, turf battles and unsteady support from the White
House." [WP 0907]

STILL IN SAIGON. "In the face of daily attacks, US soldiers in Iraq are
making swifter strikes instead of using conventional war tactics, says the
LAT on Page One. One platoon leader tells the paper: 'We're using
Vietnam-type tactics.'" [In a speech to Marine and Navy officers this
week, retired Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni said: "My contemporaries, our
feelings and sensitivities were forged on the battlefields of Vietnam,
where we heard the garbage and the lies, and we saw the sacrifice. I ask
you, is it happening again?" WP] [LAT 0907]

WAIT TILL YOU HEAR MY PLAN. President Bush gives a television speech
Sunday night, to try to convince the US populace that Iraq is not like
Vietnam and that we are getting out, just as soon as we can convince the
Europeans to do the police work and pay for it, under US direction.  (The
same thing in short we want from Yasser Arafat.) Germany, France and
Russia have already rejected the US draft of a UN resolution on the
subject.

CAN'T THOSE EUROPEANS LEARN TO TAKE ORDERS? "In a joint meeting Thursday,
the French president and the German chancellor said the proposed
resolution failed to meet two primary concerns: that political authority
in Iraq should be turned over to Iraqis as soon as possible; and that the
UN., not the US, should take the lead in rebuilding the country." [SLATE
0905] Russia's president agreed with them.

CAN'T THOSE EUROPEANS LEARN TO TAKE ORDERS? [II] "Belgium insisted Tuesday
it is going ahead with plans to open a new autonomous European military
command headquarters near Brussels next year, despite opposition from key
EU states including Britain. Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg --
the EU states most fiercely opposed to the Iraq war -- proposed the idea
shortly after the conflict, following a mini-summit in Brussels at the end
of April." [AFP 0902]

CAN'T THOSE EUROPEANS [?] LEARN TO TAKE ORDERS? [III] "A submarine of
Russia's Pacific fleet on Tuesday successfully test-fired an
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), a navy spokesman said in
Moscow." [IRIB 0902]

CAN'T THOSE AMERICANS LEARN TO TAKE ORDERS?  "The WP suggests that the
White House only decided to go to the UN. after the military's top brass
went against their civilian Pentagon bosses and endorsed Secretary of
State Powell's efforts to internationalize the effort. The WP says Powell,
having talked with the generals, walked into the White House and presented
the president with 'something close to a fait accompli.'" [SLATE 0904]

TRUTH STRANGER THAN STRANGE FICTION. At the same time as the president's
address, Showtime will show a movie -- "DC/911: Time of Crisis" --
picturing Bush as a decisive leader during the 911 attacks and Cheney as
his admiring foil.  (Sample dialogue: Bush, played by Timothy Bottoms: "If
some tinhorn terrorist wants me, tell 'em to come and get me! I'll be
home, waiting for the bastard! ... We always knew it might come to this."
Cheney: "You always said that if it did, this is how we'd earn our pay."
Bush: "And we will. It's a war.")

***

THE FOLLOWING ARE REAL QUOTES, COLLECTED BY MOLLY IVINS:

"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass
destruction, is determined to make more." -- Colin Powell, Feb. 5, 2003

"We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized
Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the
dictator tells us he does not have." -- Bush, Feb. 8, 2003

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that
the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal
weapons ever devised." -- Bush, March 17, 2003

"Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that
Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical
particularly." -- Fleischer, March 21, 2003.

"I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass
destruction." -- Kenneth Adelman, Defense Policy Board, March 23, 2003

...Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, "And I said on my program, if, if the
Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he had
nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush
administration again." -- March 18, 2003

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