[Peace-discuss] The war within Washington

[C. G. Estabrook]

[This article from today's Washington Post raises what seems to be a 
quite legitimate concern about last week's Executive Order.  The 
administration may in fact be arranging to deal with an upsurge of 
anti-war demonstrations at home as their war policy in Iraq (and Iran?) 
becomes clearer this fall, given the majority sentiment against the war. 
  Also interesting is the author of the article, Walter Pincus, the 
Washington Post's elderly (Yale '54) "national security" correspondent. 
  Apparently recruited to the CIA at Yale (a common route), Pincus seems 
to have been a protege of Cord Meyer, an interesting man who among other 
things ran the CIA's domestic propaganda operation and was probably 
responsible for bringing down Joe McCarthy.  (Meyer's wife, John 
Kennedy's mistress and drug connection, was murdered while walking along 
the C&O Canal in Georgetown in 1964; James Jesus Angleton of the CIA and 
Ben Bradlee of the WP rushed to obtain and destroy her diary.)  The long 
connection of the Washington Post and the CIA (cf. the NYT and the 
Pentagon) seems to be at work again in opposition to activities in the 
USG of which they don't approve  -- perhaps including what they see as 
the rashness of the Bush war policy. --CGE]

	Destabilizing Iraq, Broadly Defined
	By Walter Pincus
	Monday, July 23, 2007; A15

Be careful what you say and whom you help -- especially when it comes to 
the Iraq war and the Iraqi government.

President Bush issued an executive order last week titled "Blocking 
Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq." 
In the extreme, it could be interpreted as targeting the financial 
assets of any American who directly or indirectly aids someone who has 
committed or "poses a significant risk of committing" violent acts 
"threatening the peace or stability of Iraq" or who undermines "efforts 
to promote economic reconstruction and political reform" in the war-torn 
country.

The executive order, released Tuesday, was designed to target 
"perpetrators of violence in Iraq including Shiite militia groups linked 
to Iran, Sunni insurgent groups with sanctuary in Syria, and other 
indigenous Iraqi insurgent groups," said Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman 
for the Treasury Department, which will determine who is in violation of 
the order. The move follows similar Bush orders to freeze assets of 
members or associates of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups and former 
Iraqi government officials, Millerwise said. "It fills in the cracks," 
she added.

White House press secretary Tony Snow offered further clarification at a 
briefing on Tuesday: "What this is really aimed at is insurgents and 
those who come across the border . . . or anybody who is caught 
providing support or poses a significant risk of providing support to 
those who may come across the border."

However, the text of the order, if interpreted broadly, could cast a far 
bigger net to include not just those who commit violent acts or pose the 
risk of doing so in Iraq, but also third parties -- such as U.S. 
citizens in this country -- who knowingly or unknowingly aid or 
encourage such people.

Under the order, the Treasury secretary -- in consultation with the 
secretaries of defense and state -- creates the list of those whose 
assets are to be frozen. However, the targeting of not just those who 
support perpetrators of violence but also those who support individuals 
who "pose a significant risk" of committing violence goes far beyond 
normal legal language related to intent and could be applied in a highly 
arbitrary manner, said Bruce Fein, a senior Justice Department official 
in the Reagan administration and a frequent Bush administration critic.

Fein also questioned the executive order's inclusion of third parties, 
such as U.S. citizens who assist, sponsor or make "any contribution or 
provision of funds, goods, or services" to assist people on the Treasury 
list. "What about a lawyer hired to get someone off the list?" Fein asked.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control keeps a 
"Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons" roll that includes 
those covered by several such executive orders. It most recently ran to 
276 pages; of the roughly 11,000 entries, more than 700 are 
Iraq-related. Millerwise said the list is primarily for use by banks and 
other financial institutions that regularly check it to freeze assets 
and prevent financial transfers.

What happens then to the Shiite Iraqi American who sends money or speaks 
out in support of humanitarian efforts by Moqtada al-Sadr's political 
party? We'll have to wait and see. Though Millerwise said the Treasury 
Department already has some names in mind for the list, they will be 
disclosed only after their assets under U.S. control are frozen.

Meanwhile, the department must develop rules and regulations to carry 
out the order, a process that Fein said he hopes will protect civil 
liberties that could be at risk.

National security and intelligence reporter Walter Pincus pores over the 
speeches, reports, transcripts and other documents that flood Washington 
and every week uncovers the fine print that rarely makes headlines -- 
but should. If you have any items that fit the bill, please send them 
tofineprint at washpost.com.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company