The Defeat of America By Terrorists

“And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” - George Bush Sept 14, 2001 in NYC (video)

Crowd roars, chanting: “USA.  USA.  USA.”

Killing Americans

A decade ago on 9-11, foreigners on American soil killed thousands of civilians in four horrific commercial airplane crashes.   Three days later New Yorkers rallied around the President as he promised to strike back at “the people who knocked these buildings down” and dared spill American blood.

Within weeks, the US government retaliated by invading Afghanistan.  Before the decade had ended, the US government, already expert in killing foreign civilians, had invaded two foreign countries and killed thousands more Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani, and Yemeni civilians.  US troops still occupy Afghanistan and Iraq today, regularly attacking Pakistan and Yemen with drones: all in the name of “fighting terrorism” and “protecting our freedoms.”

Or so the US government would have us think.

The Terrified States of America

“Americans are asking ‘Why do they hate us?’

“They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” - Then-President Bush in an address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001, explaining why terrorists attacked Americans. 

After 9-11, there was little talk of federal regulations that prevented airlines and citizens from defending themselves on airplanes and helped the attacks succeed.  Instead the federal government and the media terrorized citizens with public talk of WMD and mushroom clouds.  Playing on those fears, the US government justified limiting the very freedoms it pretends to defend with:

• the PATRIOT Act
• the TSA
• the Department of Homeland Security
• seemingly endless undeclared and therefore un-constitutional wars
• Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo
• torture
• extraordinary rendition
• assassination lists.

The federal government bureaucracy grew in response to 9-11 and most Americans sat back  as the federal government listened to their phone calls, opened their mail, frisked them in public places without probable cause of criminal activity, and forced them to show their identity papers while traveling.  Most Americans are still sitting back.

“Targeted Kill” Lists Under Bush

"I can assure you that no constitutional questions are raised here. There are authorities that the president can give to officials.  He's well within the balance of accepted practice and the letter of his constitutional authority." - Then-national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice November 2002, after Bush administration killed US citizen Kamal Derwish with a Predator drone.[1]

Less than a week after 9-11, on Sept. 17, 2001, President Bush signed a classified directive authorizing the CIA to kill or capture suspected al-Qaida members and create detention facilities where suspects could be interrogated and tortured.[2]  The directive didn’t distinguish between foreigners and US citizens.  If the US government thinks a US citizen is a “terrorist threat” to the US, the government will imprison or execute that person without due process, despite their precious freedoms Bush would outline three days later in his September 20th address to Congress.  Bush also authorized a “kill list” of terrorist leaders to be executed by the CIA.   

One year after 9-11 in November 2002, the US government killed American terror suspect Kamal Derwish with a Predator drone in Yemen as “collateral damage” when it was targeting another person on the “kill list.”  Most Americans let their government kill an American without due process and without complaint.

“Targeted Kill” Lists Under Obama

"And he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda." – President Obama on the assassination of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki

Our “constitutional scholar,” President Obama is no better than Bush when it comes to killing US citizens without due process.  Obama’s Director of National Intelligence in 2010, Dennis Blair, acknowledged that the US government would execute US citizens without due process in court if they were involved in terrorism.

In June 2010, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under the Obama administration wrote a secret 50-page memorandum to rationalize its planned execution of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki.[3][4]  And on September 30, 2011, the Obama administration announced the US had killed two American citizens in Yemen: Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan.[5][6]  Unlike Derwish, a US citizen killed during the Bush administration, the Obama administration intended to execute Awlaki, also a US citizen. 

Obama’s Press Secretary, Jay Carney, speaking of Awlaki’s execution, assured Americans that it was all legal (video), but repeatedly refused to state whether the Obama administration would supply any evidence even after the fact:

Carney: He was obviously also an active recruiter of al Qaeda terrorists, so, I don’t think anybody in the field would dispute any of those assertions.

Tapper (reporter): You don’t think anybody else in the government would dispute those assertions…?

Carney: I wouldn’t know of any credible terrorist expert who would dispute the fact that he was a leader in al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula and that he was operationally involved in terrorist attacks against American interests and citizens.

Tapper: Do you plan on bringing before the public any proof of these charges?

…

Tapper: Can you show us or the American people?  Has a judge been shown?

Carney: Again, Jake, I’m not going to go any further than what I’ve said about the circumstances of his death.  And the case against him which you’re linking.

…

Tapper: Is there going to be any evidence presented?

Carney: I don’t have anything for you on that.

After their deaths, when the two men could not defend themselves against government accusations, anonymous government sources detailed the accusations against them which President Obama echoed.[9]

“Awlaki was the leader of external operations for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In that role, he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans.” - President Obama [10]

According to Obama, Awlaki was an American “guilty of planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans.”  Doesn’t our system of government require that evidence must be given in a court of law before a final determination of guilt can be made? 

Assassination is not Due Process

“The precedent set by the killing of Awlaki establishes the frightening legal premise that any suspected enemy of the United States - even if they are a citizen - can be taken out on the President's say-so alone.  Part of the very concept of citizenship is the protection of due process and the rule of law.  The President wants to spread American values around the world but continues to do great damage to them here at home, appointing himself judge, jury, and executioner by presidential decree.” – Ron Paul writing in the NY Daily News, Oct 3, 2011

The fifth amendment was added to the US Constitution to protect individuals: no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”  The fifth amendment is one of ten in the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution to protect Americans from a too-powerful government.  The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to explicitly limit the powers of the federal government.  Everything in the Constitution is based on a mistrust of government—an expectation that those in power will tend to abuse their power. 

Today the unrestrained executive branch fulfills the worst expectations of those who wrote the Constitution:

• It has created an assassination list, where individuals are executed without due process.[11]
• Moreover, the evidence against those on the list is classified—a case of the fox guarding the henhouse as the American people are forced to trust the government to determine whether the government is breaking the law.

Sadly, most Americans forgo their fifth amendment rights as they willingly relinquish their liberties and trust the government.  “This is war,” they tell themselves.  But how can this be war if no war has been declared per the Constitution?

If this really is war, why did the Obama administration go to the trouble to write a secret 50-page memorandum by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to attempt to justify its planned execution of Awlaki?

Ron Paul labeled the killings an assassination, warning Americans to beware of accepting government executions without due process.[12]  You didn’t have to search very long on your radio (45 minutes into this podcast) to find mouths that roared about “crazy Ron Paul” and how Awlaki was an “enemy combatant” and didn’t deserve any of his rights.  Would those same “mouths that roared” be calling Ron Paul crazy if he defended their first amendment right to freedom of expression if the government decided to take it away?

It’s a short step from accepting an undeclared, un-constitutional war, concentration camps, and government executions of American citizens without due process, to accepting the execution of Americans for other seemingly good and expedient reasons.[13]

Evidence of America’s Defeat

 

The evidence:

• submissive citizens in porno-scanners, hands up high, legs spread like prisoners, waiting for their jailers’ permission to move
• submissive parents standing by and watching as their children are molested by TSA agents
• the “land of the Free” as a surveillance state—if US troops overseas truly were fighting for our freedoms—and they’re not—they’d be losing the war[14][15][16]
• Americans cheering the murder of other Americans who oppose US government invasions and ignoring the murder of foreigners for the lies of the US government.

Over ten years ago on the night of 9-11, then-President Bush addressed the nation and predicted the victory of justice and peace over terrorism:

“This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time.”[17]

Bush was wrong.  In America, the terrorists won.

_______________________

[1] “Killing Americans: On uncharted ground in attack,” Matt Apuzzo, AP, Sept 30 2011, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9873878 on Oct 1, 2011).

[2] “Timeline: History Of Harsh Interrogation Techniques,”Corey Flintoff, Apr 22, 2009, NPR, (Accessed at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103376537 on Oct 7, 2011).

The existence of this directive was discovered by an ACLU FOIA request.

[3] “Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen,” By CHARLIE SAVAGE, NY Times, Oct 8, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/secret-us-memo-made-legal-case-to-kill-a-citizen.html?pagewanted=all on Oct 9, 2011). 

[4] “Secret White House memo made case for legally killing Anwar al-Awlaki: Report,” BY Tina Moore, DAILY NEWS, Oct 8, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/10/08/2011-10-08_secret_white_house_memo_made_case_for_legally_killing_anwar_alawlaki_report.html on Oct 9, 2011).

[5] “Anwar al-Aulaqi, U.S.-born cleric linked to al-Qaeda, killed in Yemen,” By Sudarsan Raghavan, Sept 30, 2011, Washington Post, (Accessed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/anwar-al-aulaqi-us-born-cleric-linked-to-al-qaeda-killed-yemen-says/2011/09/30/gIQAsoWO9K_story.html on Sept 30, 2011).

[6] “2nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,” By ROBBIE BROWN and KIM SEVERSON, NY Times, Sept 30, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html on Oct 5, 2011).

[7] “Al Qaeda's Anwar al-Awlaki killed in Yemen,” CBS/AP, Sept 30, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/30/501364/main20113732.shtml on Oct 7, 2011).

Government sources didn’t mention the Pentagon recruiting Awlaki when he dined at the Pentagon after 9-11 (video), nor his attendance at a prayer group for Muslims in Congress.[8][9]

[8] “EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda Leader Dined at the Pentagon Just Months After 9/11,” By Catherine Herridge, FoxNews, Oct 20, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/20/al-qaeda-terror-leader-dined-pentagon-months/ on Oct 7, 2011).

[9] “Some Muslims Attending Capitol Hill Prayer Group Have Terror Ties, Probe Reveals,” By Jana Winter, FoxNews, Nov 11, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/11/congressional-muslim-prayer-group-terror-ties/ on Oct 7, 2011).

[10] “Remarks by the President at the "Change of Office" Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ceremony at Fort Myer, Virginia,” Sept 30, 2011, ” (Accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/30/remarks-president-change-office-chairman-joint-chiefs-staff-ceremony on Oct 1, 2011).

[11] “THREATS AND RESPONSES: HUNT FOR AL QAEDA; BUSH HAS WIDENED AUTHORITY OF C.I.A. TO KILL TERRORISTS,” By JAMES RISEN and DAVID JOHNSTON, NY Times, Dec 15, 2002, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/world/threats-responses-hunt-for-al-qaeda-bush-has-widened-authority-cia-kill.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm on Oct 11, 2011).

[12] “Ron Paul on Anwar al-Awlaki’s Demise: ‘I Think It’s Sad’,” The State Column, Oct 01, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/ron-paul-on-anwar-al-awlakis-demise-i-think-its-sad/ on Oct 7, 2011).

[13] “Ron Paul: US could target journalists for killing,” By Philip Elliott, Associated Press, October 5, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2011/10/05/ron_paul_us_could_target_journalists_for_killing/  on Oct 7, 2011).

[14] “Post-9/11, NSA 'enemies' include us,” By James Bamford, Sept 8, 2011, (Accessed at http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=CA0FDA14-61EA-4015-A80B-1F6D34C59183 on Oct 9, 2011).

[15] “Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers,” By ERIC LICHTBLAU, NY Times, July 10, 2008, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/washington/10fisa.html?pagewanted=all on Oct 9, 2011).

[16] “Coming soon to a trash bin near you: The FBI,” By David Morgan, CBS, June 13, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/13/national/main20070845.shtml on Oct 9, 2011).

[17] “President Bush Speaks to the Nation,” PBS, Sept 11, 2001, (Accessed at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/terrorism/july-dec01/bush_speech.html on Oct 7, 2011).

Remember

“We became the radical Islamist movement's most effective recruiting tool. We descended to its barbarity. We became terrorists too.” –Chris Hedges “A Decade After 9/11: We Are What We Loathe”

It’s the ten-year anniversary of the the horror of 9-11 and our federal government wants to be sure we remember.

World Trade Center September 11, 2001

But our federal government also wants to be sure we forget.

 

Victim of US Bombing

Our rulers want us to remember thousands dying in NYC, but hope we’ll forget our own federal government killing hundreds of thousands of innocents in Iraq with an embargo, thousands more in Iraq and Afghanistan with bombs and invading troops, hundreds of civilians in Libya (video) with bombs, and hundreds more in Yemen and Pakistan with unmanned drones.

Selective Memory

"There's a picture of the World Trade Centre hanging up by my bed and I keep one in my flak jacket. Every time I feel sorry for these people I look at that. I think, 'They hit us at home and, now, it's our turn.' I don't want to say payback but, you know, it's pretty much payback." –Spec. Michael Richardson, on duty with U.S. forces in Iraq

"Oh my God, they killed my kids...God may take revenge on them. They took everyone from me.” –Ata Mohammad, 60

Our rulers want us to remember the horror of 9-11.  They’re hoping you’ll think like Michael Richardson and Ata Mohammed, but ignore the fact that the US government killed Mohammad’s children.  Our leaders want us to support or at least forget:

• the un-Constitutional US invasion of Afghanistan, purportedly because the Taliban refused to extradite a former ally of the US against the USSR (video) [1][2]
• the un-Constitutional pre-emptive invasion of Iraq over a lie about WMD against a former ally of the US against Iran
• drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen
• torturing prisoners in Abu Ghraib
• a concentration camp in Guantanamo
• the gruesome horror of war and what it does to innocent children who happen to be Moslems.

At home, our leaders want to keep us fearful so they can justify:

• unlawful imprisonment, torture, and abuse of American citizens by the federal government [3]
• extraordinary rendition of American citizens [4]
• the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): a bureaucracy of 22 agencies and nearly 200,000 employees, including the TSA, headed by Big Sis, that treats all Americans like criminals
• the USA PATRIOT Act, its continuing extension by Congress, and secret interpretations of the law by our government that citizens are not allowed to know about [5]
• the REAL ID Act requiring a national ID
• treating Americans like criminals to the point where travelers get their genitals groped at the airport
• requiring you to carry your papers when you travel
• roving bands of Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who can rifle your bags at any time while you’re in an airport
• warrantless tracking of cell phones [6][7]
• banks, employers, and stores collecting even more information from, and about you, and reporting to the federal government
• the TSA checking you before you get on the bus or train.[8]

When America Was Freer

Our rulers want us to forget life before 9-11, a time when the federal government wouldn’t even consider doing what it now does with impunity.  Remember before 9-11:

• “Your papers please” was always said with a German accent in WWII movies as a reminder of the horrors of the militarism of Nazi Germany
• Torture was what the bad guys did.
• Spying on neighbors was something Hitler Youth did in Nazi Germany
• Your Fourth Amendment right to be secure in your person was still protected
• The federal government couldn’t listen in on your phone conversations without a warrant.
• The touching of a a child’s private parts by anyone but a licensed and practicing physician would have resulted in a punch to that person’s face by anyone within striking distance. 

Freedom Isn’t Free

“There would soon, however, be another reaction. Those of us who were close to the epicenters of the 9/11 attacks would primarily grieve and mourn. Those who had some distance would indulge in the growing nationalist cant and calls for blood that would soon triumph over reason and sanity. Nationalism was a disease I knew intimately as a war correspondent. It is anti-thought. It is primarily about self-exaltation. The flip side of nationalism is always racism, the dehumanization of the enemy and all who appear to question the cause.”  –Chris Hedges “A Decade After 9/11: We Are What We Loathe”

Gung ho supporters of the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan love the “freedom isn’t free” slogan and its implication that someone else has paid for our liberty with their lives.  The slogan is not only ironic, but misguided.  US government soldiers do not fight for our freedom in foreign countries.  All the liberties we’ve lost this last decade at the hands of the federal government should make people realize that the enemy of our liberty is not overseas.

The real price we pay for our freedom is by bearing the responsibility to exercise it when our leaders seek to take our freedom away from us.  Ask yourself:

• If the war in Afghanistan did not stop Osama bin Laden, who is now dead, why are US troops still there?[9]
• If there were no WMD in Iraq, why did the US government really invade that nation?

Pay the price for freedom.  Remember.

_______________________________________

[1] “This war on terrorism is bogus,” by Michael Meacher, 6 Sept 2003, The Guardian, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/sep/06/september11.iraq on Sept 11, 2011).

[2] “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TALIBAN?” By Michael Rubin, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol 6, No. 1, March 2002, (Accessed at http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue1/mrubin.pdf on Sept 11, 2011).

“The decision to arm the Afghan resistance came within two weeks of the Soviet invasion, and quickly gained momentum. In 1980, the Carter administration allocated only $30 million for the Afghan resistance, though under the Reagan administration this amount grew steadily. In 1985, Congress earmarked $250 million for Afghanistan, while Saudi Arabia contributed an equal amount. Two years later, with Saudi Arabia still reportedly matching contributions, annual American aid to the mujahidin reportedly reached $630 million.”

[3] “Analysis: Americans say mistreated by U.S., some courts listen,” By Basil Katz, Reuters, Sept 9, 2011, (Accessed at http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110909/us_nm/us_sept11_bivens on Sept 11, 2011).

[4] “Challenge to CIA renditions dismissed,” AP, Sept 8, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39067928/ns/us_news-security/#.Tm11o-xNLVo on Sept 11, 2011).

[5] “There’s a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says,” By Spencer Ackerman, May 25, 2011, Wired, (Accessed at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/secret-patriot-act/ on Sept 11, 2011).

[6] “FOIA Victory Will Shed More Light on Warrantless Tracking of Cell Phones,” by Mark Rumold, Sept 10, 2011, Electronic Frontier Foundation (Accessed at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/09/eff-victory-forces-government-disclosure-court on Sept 11, 2011).

[7] “New Patriot Act Controversy: Is Washington Collecting Your Cell-Phone Data?” By Mark Benjamin, Time, June 24, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2079666,00.html on Sept 11, 2011).

[8] “Surprise! TSA Is Searching Your Car, Subway, Ferry, Bus, AND Plane,” By Jen Quraishi, Jun. 20, 2011, (Accessed at http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/tsa-swarms-8000-bus-stations-public-transit-systems-yearly on Sept 11, 2011.

[9] “US 'planned attack on Taleban,” Sept 18, 2001, by George Arney, BBC, (Accessed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1550366.stm on Sept 11, 2011).

More questions are raised here and here.

April Fools

“American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger…” George W. Bush March 19, 2003 [1]

“Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world...” Barack Obama March 19, 2011 [2]

April Fools’ is a special day for practical jokes on the gullible.  In America, where American politicians prey on the gullible every day, April Fools’ Day is just like every other day. 

Are there still Americans who believe their vote for Obama-Biden in 2008  made a difference in US foreign policy?

Unconstitutional Wars and “Humanitarian Raids”

When Barack Obama ran for President, he pledged to restore morality to American foreign policy.  He promised to end the war in Iraq, end torture, and close down Guantanamo.  Both Obama and Biden were harsh critics of the unconstitutional invasion of Iraq during the Bush administration. 

On Dec 20, 2007, in response to a Boston Globe survey question about when the president would have constitutional authority to bomb another country without congressional approval, then-candidate for President and constitutional scholar Obama stated:

“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”[3]

On “Hardball with Chris Matthews” in 2007, then-candidate for Vice President Joe Biden had this to say about the Bush administration invasion of Iraq (video):

“The President has no Constitutional authority to take this nation to war… unless we’re attacked or unless there is proof we’re about to be attacked.”

On March 18th, 2011, now-President Obama must have changed his mind.  He unilaterally authorized US airstrikes in Libya.  Was there any “actual or imminent threat to the nation”?  Obviously not, as Obama euphemistically described US attacks  as part of a noble-sounding mission to provide “humanitarian assistance” for the people of Libya:

“Now, here is why this matters to us.  Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Qaddafi would commit atrocities against his people.  Many thousands could die.  A humanitarian crisis would ensue.  The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners. ” (4:48 in video)

Past examples of US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan caused the very things President Obama says he wants to prevent from occurring in Libya:

• Many thousands have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• A humanitarian crisis ensued after the US invasion.
• The entire region is destabilized so that the US has moved the fight to Yemen and Pakistan—and now to Libya.

Starting another unconstitutional war by attacking Libya guarantees the same results for Libya.

President Obama says US military support was necessary to prevent protesting Libyans from being murdered by their government, but:

• On February 18th, government shooters slaughtered peaceful protestors in Bahrain.  By March 14th, over 1000 Saudi troops and 500 UAE police entered Bahrain to stifle protests.[4][5]  The US did nothing—the Saudis are US allies. 
• The day before Obama announced US plans to attack Libya to prevent "unspeakable atrocities," security police of Yemen's President Saleh, slaughtered dozens of protesters in Yemen.[6]  The US did not intervene—the Yemen dictatorship helps the US in its “war on terror.”
• Three days after Obama’s announcement, on March 22nd, the Syrian government killed six protesters, dozens more by the end of the week, and at least a dozen more on April 1st by sniper fire.[7] [8]  Syria is not a US ally—John McCain and Joe Lieberman issued a joint statement calling on the Obama administration to threaten Syria.

Restoring US “Moral Stature”

“I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am President, it is the first thing I will do.  I will get out troops home.  We will bring an end to this war.  You can take that to the bank.”  Then-Senator Barack Obama speaking about Iraq war in October 27, 2007 (video)

“I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture.  Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.”   President-elect Obama November 2008 on 60 minutes (11:10 in video)

After his election, President Obama said he wanted to “regain America’s moral stature in the world.”  Since Obama has been in office, the US government has:

• Maintained US troops in Iraq.
• Kept Guantanamo open.
• Not ended the extraordinary rendition of prisoners.
• Increased troop levels in Afghanistan.  Twelve US soldiers are undergoing court martial for murdering Afghan civilians in 2010 for fun.  Concerned about the effect on “America’s moral stature in the world,” the US spent 100 days in talks with Afghan government officials and Vice President Biden apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.[9]
• Targeted US citizens for assassination.
• Continues drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen killing thousands—mostly civilians.
• Attacked Libya with cruise missiles to support a rebellion against dictator Qaddafi—another war without congressional approval.  But don’t worry, the UN said it was ok.  Western attacks on Tripoli killed at least 40 civilians.[10]  Among the rebels supported by US attacks are members of al-Qaeda.[11]
• Let NATO lead the strikes in Libya after criticism of airstrikes killing children by the Vatican.[12][13]
• Kept CIA operatives in Libya for weeks despite Obama’s March 18th statement: “The United States is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya.”[14] 

Thus far, the Obama administration has continued the Bush record of killing and murdering civilians, violating the rights of Americans and foreigners, and destabilizing a half dozen countries.  That probably won’t improve the “moral stature” of the US around the world.

Who Is the Fool?

Would voting for McCain for President in 2008 have made any difference?  Not likely: “conservative” Arizona Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain have no problem with unconstitutional wars.  They both criticized the Obama administration for waiting so long to intervene in Libya (McCain video).  According to Kyl:

"I agree with Senator McCain that we lost the opportunity two weeks ago to in effect freeze the situation on the ground after the rebels in Libya had taken over all of the country except just the internal part of Tripoli."[15]

When the US lessened its operations in Libya, McCain, who has never seen an unconstitutional war he didn’t like, criticized Defense Secretary Gates, saying:

"Your timing is exquisite, withdrawing our unique offensive capabilities at this time sends the exact wrong signal both to our coalition partners as well as to the Kadhafi regime, especially to those Libyan officials whom we are trying to compel to break with Kadhafi."

If you’re still gullible enough to believe a vote for an Obama or a McCain makes a difference, the joke is on you all year round, not just on April Fools’ Day.

_____________________________________

[1] “PRESIDENT BUSH'S STATEMENT,” Mar 19, 2003, PBS, (Accessed at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/bush_3-19.html on April 1, 2011).

[2] “Remarks by the President on Libya," Mar 20, 2011, The White House Blog, (Accessed at http://m.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/20/remarks-president-libya-today-we-are-part-broad-coalition-we-are-answering-calls-thron April 1, 2011).

[3] “Barack Obama's Q&A,” By Charlie Savage, Globe, December 20, 2007, (Accessed at http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/ObamaQA/ on Mar 23, 2011).

[4] “Feb. 18: Updates on Middle East Protests,” By ROBERT MACKEY, Feb 18, 2011, NY Times Blog, (Accessed at http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/latest-updates-on-middle-east-protests-5/?partner=rss&emc=rss on April 1, 2011).

[5] “Ahmadi-Nejad condemns foreign troops in Bahrain,” By Robin Wigglesworth in Manama and Simeon Kerr in Dubai, Financial Times, Mar 14, 2011 (Accessed at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5754805a-4e44-11e0-a9fa-00144feab49a.html#axzz1IPEUE5Gg on April 1, 2011).

[6] “Dozens of Protesters Are Killed in Yemen,” By LAURA KASINOF and ROBERT F. WORTH, NY Times, Mar 18, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/middleeast/19yemen.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=yemen%20and%20protesters%20and%20killed&st=cse on April 1, 2011).

[7] “Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters,” Al Jazeera, 26 Mar 2011, (Accessed at http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011325145817688433.html on April 1, 2011).

[8] “At least 12 killed in anti-government rallies in Syria,” April 1, 2011, Deutsche-Presse Agentur, (Accessed at http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1630193.php/At-least-12-killed-in-anti-government-rallies-in-Syria on April 1, 2011).

[9] “ US Army Apologizes for Horrific Photos from Afghanistan,” By Matthias Gebauer and Hasnain Kazim, Speigel, Mar 21, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,752310,00.html on April 1, 2011).

[10] “At least 40 civilians dead in Tripoli strikes: Vatican official,” Mar 31, 2011, Reuters, (Accessed at http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/9113812/at-least-40-civilians-dead-in-tripoli-strikes-vatican-official/ on April 1, 2011).

[11] “Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links,”  By Praveen Swami, Nick Squires and Duncan Gardham, 25 Mar 2011, Telegraph,  (Accessed at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html on April 1, 2011).

[12] “US to pull out warplanes, missiles from Libya mission,” By Dan De Luce, AFP, April 1, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJs2nfL5q5ZB2nqbzWqcCX9k0-rw?docId=CNG.3bf4105ffa63410f8b0d2165e00d15f5.721 on April 1, 2011).

[13] “Vatican: Airstrikes killed 40 civilians in Tripoli,” REUTERS, 03/31/2011, (Accessed at http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=214560 on April 1, 2011).

[14] “C.I.A. Agents in Libya Aid Airstrikes and Meet Rebels,” By MARK MAZZETTI and ERIC SCHMITT, NY Times, Mar 30, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/world/africa/31intel.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2 on April 1, 2011).

[15] “Arizona Senators complain about Libya action,” Fox11AZ,  (Accessed at http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/Arizona-Senators-complain-about-Libya-action-118442769.html on April 1, 2011).

Doublethink (Part 3)

“It was always at night — the arrests invariably happened at night. The sudden jerk out of sleep, the rough hand shaking your shoulder, the lights glaring in your eyes, the ring of hard faces round the bed. In the vast majority of cases there was no trial, no report of the arrest. People simply disappeared, always during the night.”   

Nineteen Eighty-Four  Part 1 Chapter 1, p. 19-20 by George Orwell.[1]

Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’ And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. ‘Reality control’, they called it: in Newspeak, ‘doublethink’.        

Nineteen Eighty-Four  Part 1 Chapter 3, p. 32 by George Orwell.

An Obama Presidency and the Promise of the Return to the Rule of Law

Two days after Obama (D) assumed the Presidency, he announced his plan to close the prison camps in Guantanamo within a year, but never closed them.  This  foreshadowed his August 31, 2010 speech when he would announce the ending of combat operations in Iraq without intending to end them.[2] 

On January 22, 2009, the former professor of Constitutional Law and freshly inaugurated President decreed that from now on detentions and interrogations would be conducted lawfully, and the prison at Guantanamo would be closed.  The President also commissioned a study(pdf) to decide what to do with the prisoners in Guantanamo.[3]

President Obama was fulfilling promises that candidate Obama had made.  He had promised change: he would close down Guantanamo upon taking office.[4][5]  When candidate Obama responded to a 2007 Boston Globe questionnaire about executive power:

“5. Does the Constitution permit a president to detain US citizens without charges as unlawful enemy combatants?

“No. I reject the Bush Administration's claim that the President has plenary authority under the Constitution to detain U.S. citizens without charges as unlawful enemy combatants.”[6]

Obama’s Promise to Close Down Guantanamo: Flushed Down the Memory Hole

Many of the voting proletariat actually believed candidate Obama: they believed an Obama administration would restore the rule of law by closing the prison at Guantanamo and ending the torture of suspected terrorists.

How have Obama’s promised changes worked out thus far?

Nearly two years after Obama’s decree, the prison at Guantanamo is still open.  In fact, 50 of the prisoners are slated to be held indefinitely without trial.

Obama has also continued the Bush (R) administration policy of kidnapping and transporting  captives to other countries where rules against torturing prisoners are lax.  This practice is euphemistically termed “rendering.”  But don’t worry, they won’t do it very much—they promised, and “US officials are confident” that the prisoners won’t be tortured:

“The Obama administration subsequently said it would continue to send foreign detainees to other countries for questioning, but rarely — and only if U.S. officials are confident the prisoners will not be tortured.”[7]

But if they are tortured (which of course they won’t be), well Big Brother can’t reveal his secrets:

“A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that former prisoners of the C.I.A. could not sue over their alleged torture in overseas prisons because such a lawsuit might expose secret government information.”[8]

Despite the noise it makes, the Obama administration, like the Bush administration, is also not the great protector of habeas corpus that it pretends to be.  Two Yemenis and a Tunisian captured outside Afghanistan and held in Bagram for more than six years without trials want a civilian judge to review the evidence against them and order their release, under the constitutional right of habeas corpus:

“The Obama administration, like the Bush administration, has rejected this argument. Officials say the importance of Bagram as a holding site for terrorism suspects captured outside Afghanistan and Iraq has risen under the Obama administration, which barred the Central Intelligence Agency from using its secret prisons for long-term detention and ordered the military prison at Guantánamo closed within a year.”[9]

Corpses instead of Habeas Corpus

The former professor of Constitutional Law has also made himself judge and jury, approving the assassination of US citizens without due process (video).  In April 2010, Obama authorized the CIA to assassinate a US citizen without due process.  But again, don’t worry—according to CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano:

"This agency conducts its counterterrorism operations in strict accord with the law."[10]

And if they “lawfully” assassinate people, the administration won’t have to worry about any messy discussions about whether to put them on a plane flight to Syria for torture or to imprison them.[11]  If they “lawfully” assassinate people, the administration certainly won’t have to worry about anyone demanding their right to habeas corpus.  Assassination is just another way to flush them down the memory hole.

Did you vote for Obama because you opposed the Bush administration policies in Guantanamo and in the Middle East?

If you still support the President, how do you rationalize your double-thinking?

________________________________

[1] Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, New American Library, N.Y., 1949, p. 19-20.

[2] “Obama Issues Directive to Shut Down Guantánamo,” By MARK MAZZETTI and WILLIAM GLABERSON, NY Times, January 21, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all on September 21, 2010).

[3] Upon becoming President, Obama issued three executive orders addressing imprisonment without benefit of habeas corpus:

• Executive Order 13491—Ensuring Lawful
  Interrogations (pdf)
• Executive Order 13492—Review and
  Disposition of Individuals Detained at the
  Guanta´namo Bay Naval Base and Closure
  of Detention Facilities (pdf)
• Executive Order 13493—Review of
  Detention Policy Options (pdf).

 Executive Order 13491
Can you spot the loopholes?

Sec. 2.  Definitions.  As used in this order:

(g)  The terms "detention facilities" and "detention facility" in section 4(a) of this order do not refer to facilities used only to hold people on a short-term, transitory basis.

Sec. 4.  Prohibition of Certain Detention Facilities, and Red Cross Access to Detained Individuals.

(a)  CIA Detention.  The CIA shall close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility in the future.

Executive Order 13492
Sec. 2. Findings.

(c) The individuals currently detained at Guanta´namo have the constitutional privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Most of those individuals have filed petitions for a writ of habeas corpus in Federal court challenging the lawfulness of their detention.

Sec. 3. Closure of Detention Facilities at Guanta´ namo.

The detention facilities at Guanta´namo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order.
If any individuals covered by this order remain in detention at Guanta´namo at the time of closure of those detention facilities, they shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.

NOTE (From Wikipedia): “On May 20, 2009, the United States Senate passed an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 (H.R. 2346) by a 90-6 vote to block funds needed for the transfer or release of prisoners held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp.  As of July 2010, 176 detainees remain at Guantanamo.”

The prisoners are a “hot potato” for Obama.  On December 15, 2009 he issued a Presidential Memorandum ordering preparation of the Thomson Correctional Center, Thomson, Illinois to receive Guantanamo prisoners.

Executive Order 13493
Created a task force to write a report.  The Guantanamo Review Task Force issued its Final Report January 22, 2010, but didn’t release it publicly until May 28, 2010. The report recommended:

• releasing 126 current detainees to their homes or to a third country (Today even Bush administration officials admit that most Guantanamo prisoners are “innocent.”)
• 36 be prosecuted in either federal court or a military commission
• 48 be held indefinitely under the laws of war
• 30 Yemenis were approved for release if security conditions in their home country improve.

[4] “Obama to order Guantanamo Bay prison closed,” January 12, 2009, By Ed Henry CNN Senior White House Correspondent, (Accessed at http://articles.cnn.com/2009-01-12/politics/obama.gitmo_1_president-elect-barack-obama-plans-prison-at-guantanamo-bay-military-prison?_s=PM:POLITICS on September 21, 2010).

[5] “Blueprint for Change Obama and Biden’s Plan for America” (pdf)  p. 71, (Accessed at http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf on September 11, 2010).

On page 71 of their campaign “Blueprint for Change,” Obama and Biden promised to:

“…reject torture without exception or equivocation, including so-called ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ like waterboarding; restore the Rule of Law by closing Guantanamo and restoring habeas corpus; and provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track down terrorists without undermining our Constitution or civil liberties.”

[6] “Barack Obama's Q&A,” By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff, December 20, 2007, (Accessed at http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/ObamaQA/ on Sept. 24, 2010).

[7] “Appeals court lets government halt torture lawsuit,” By PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press, September 8, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/09/08/financial/f111944D71.DTL on Sept 9, 2010).

[8] “Court Dismisses a Case Asserting Torture by C.I.A.,” By CHARLIE SAVAGE, NY Times, September 8, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/us/09secrets.html?_r=1&th=&emc=th&pagewanted=all on Sept. 23, 2010).

“Among other policies, the Obama national security team has also authorized the C.I.A. to try to kill a United States citizen suspected of terrorism ties, blocked efforts by detainees in Afghanistan to bring habeas corpus lawsuits challenging the basis for their imprisonment without trial, and continued the C.I.A.’s so-called extraordinary rendition program of prisoner transfers — though the administration has forbidden torture and says it seeks assurances from other countries that detainees will not be mistreated.”

[9] “U.S. to Expand Detainee Review in Afghan Prison,” By ERIC SCHMITT, NY Times, September 12, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/world/asia/13detain.html?_r=1 on September 21, 2010).

[10] “Muslim cleric Aulaqi is 1st U.S. citizen on list of those CIA is allowed to kill,” By Greg Miller, Washington Post Staff Writer, April 7, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040604121.html?hpid=topnews on Sept. 22, 2010).

[11] “Appeals Court Rules in Maher Arar Case: Innocent Victims of Extraordinary Rendition Cannot Sue in US Courts,” November 03, 2009, Democracy Now, (Accessed at http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/3/appeals_court_rules_in_maher_arar on Oct. 3, 2010).