Category Archives: War

Memorial

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On the occassion of the US holiday of Memorial Day, the essay of the day, by guestblogger Darryl, over at Jesus' General.

Iraqi Girl

I watched the documentary, Control Room, again last night. One of the scenes featured an Al Jazeera reporter, Hassan Ibrahim, discussing the run-up to the war with a number of Iraqi intellectuals. He told them that he did not believe that the American people would allow the war to happen. He said that we were a rational people and a people who revered justice above all else. I once thought that too. With all of our faults, I believed that we were a people who truly believed in reason, justice, and the principles of democracy, and maybe we did, but it is no longer true.We became vengeful and bloodthirsty, striking out against the innocent and the weak to ease our groundless fears. We are now Fox News. We are a nation of Malkins, Hewitts, and Charles Johnsons, frightened of everything that is different or alien to us and reacting violently.

My America is dead. Or perhaps more accurately, The America I believed in, and the people Ibrahim thought he knew, never existed. As saddened as I am at this realization, I now understand that I must fight even harder to ensure that we do not lose our way again.
 

Freedom Next Time

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Diego GarciaFrom a new book, Freedom Next Time, by John Pilger, excerpted in The Guardian, comes news of government intrigue and mendacity so extreme that it surprises even me. Until this report, I'd never heard a word of the forcible deportation of the entire population of the island of Diego Garcia and its subsequent illegal sale to the US.

What happened in the Chagos Islands was so searing, it may seem barely credible. Indeed La Lutte, as the Chagossians call their struggle for justice and freedom, arose from a crime that allows us to glimpse how great power works behind its respectable, democratic facade and how governments justify their actions with lies.

During the 1960s and 1970s, British governments, both Labour and Tory, tricked and expelled the entire population of the Chagos, a British colonial dependency, so that their homeland could be given to a foreign power, the United States, as the site for a military base. This "act of mass kidnapping", as one observer describes it, was carried out in high secrecy, along with the conspiracy that preceded it.

For almost a decade, neither parliament nor the US Congress knew anything about it, and no journalist revealed it. BBC newsreaders still refer to US aircraft flying out to bomb Afghanistan and Iraq from the "uninhabited" island of Diego Garcia. Not only was the Chagossians' homeland stolen from them, but they were taken out of history. This scandal is unresolved today – even though the high court in London has twice ruled that the islanders' "wholesale removal" was an "abject legal failure".

Here is a slideshow of the current inhabitants, US military personnel. It sure does look nice there!

actual work occurs in Capitol Building; go to red alert

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Cheetos for ChickenhawksUnfamiliar with the sounds of people doing productive work, the US Senate made desperate 911 calls reporting gunfire, and at least one staffer left the building by gurney, having suffered a panic attack. Sploid reports:

The entire Capitol complex had been in lock down since about 10:30 a.m. when police received reports of shots fired. The Senate had been in session at the time of the incident. the House had already snuck of for the first official "summer Friday" of the year, except for the House Intelligence Committee.

At around 11:00 a.m. an email was sent out by the U.S. Capitol police:

The US Capitol Police are continuing to investigate the report of gunshots in the Rayburn House Office Building. The Rayburn Building and garages are shut down at this time. The Longworth and Cannon Office Buildings and other garages are not affected. The Capitol Building is open for above ground access but the tunnels remain closed. As soon as the police have completed clearing the garage levels, they will begin search the remainder of the Rayburn Building beginning on the top floor and working down.

"It's a little unsettling to get a Blackberry message put in front of you that says there's gunfire in the building," said Rep. Peter Hoekstra.

And naturally, given the relative likelihoods of murderous rampages versus honest labour in the halls of the US government, the lawmakers jumped to the obvious conclusion. That they were wrong is truly a tragedy for our age.

It now appears that the source of the shots that rang throughout the garage at the Rayburn building was actually a pneumatic hammer being used to repair an elevator.

CIA Areas of Interest

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From Cryptome.

Spooks, Squid, and the Shat: we certainly have taken a detour through the Twilight Zone recently, haven't we?

Hayden...doesn't he look like Tweetybird? I think it's a chickenhawk commentEvery time I publish something like this and read something like Sec. 158.13 (i) I wonder how long it'll be before some nicely-suited yet jackbooted team in Mormon haircuts beats down my door…but then I realize I live on the Downtown EastSide and if the security here can keep the home-grown junkies out, it can certainly keep the CIA at bay for a few days at least, long enough for the email to get through. Unless they, like the burglar of two years ago, climb into the parking garage and up the chimney of the incinerator to the roof, from whence they lower themselves on ropes. Yeah, they could get in that way. If they were fireproof. Patrick hooked the incinerator back up, just for protective purposes. We shall see how well it works.

20 May 2006

Source: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html

———————————————————————–
[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR158.13]

[Page 629-631]
 
                       TITLE 32–NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
              CHAPTER I–OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
 
PART 158–GUIDELINES FOR SYSTEMATIC DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW OF CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION IN PERMANENTLY VALUABLE DoD RECORDS–Table of Contents
 
Sec. 158.13  Central Intelligence Agency areas of interest.

    (a) Cryptologic, cryptographic, or SIGINT. (Information in this
category shall continue to be forwarded to the NSA/CSS in accordance
with Sec. 158.11(d). The NSA/CSS shall arrange for necessary
coordination.)
    (b) Counterintelligence.
    (c) Special access programs
    (d) Information that identifies clandestine organizations, agents, sources, or methods.
    (e) Information on personnel under official or nonofficial cover or revelation of a cover arrangement.
    (f) Covertly obtained intelligence reports and the derivative information that would divulge intelligence sources or methods.
    (g) Methods or procedures used to acquire, produce, or support intelligence activities.
    (h) CIA structure, size, installations, security, objectives, and budget.
    (i) Information that would divulge intelligence interests, value, or extent of knowledge on a subject. (you mean like this?)
    (j) Training provided to or by the CIA that would indicate its capability or identify personnel.
    (k) Personnel recruiting, hiring, training, assignment, and evaluation policies.(then you need to take your help wanted ads offline)
    (l) Information that could lead to foreign political, economic, or military action against the United States or its allies.
    (m) Events leading to international tension that would affect U.S. foreign policy.(this could be all of the news, every damn day)
    (n) Diplomatic or economic activities affecting national security or international security negotiations.
    (o) Information affecting U.S. plans to meet diplomatic contingencies affecting national security.
    (p) Nonattributable activities conducted abroad in support of U.S. foreign policy.
    (q) U.S. surreptitious collection in a foreign nation that would affect relations with the country.
    (r) Covert relationships with international organizations or foreign governments.
    (s) Information related to political or economic instabilities in a foreign country threatening American lives and installations therein.
    (t) Information divulging U.S. intelligence collection and assessment capabilities.
    (u) U.S. and allies' defense plans and capabilities that enable a foreign entity to develop countermeasures.
    (v) Information disclosing U.S. systems and weapons capabilities or deployment.
    (w) Information on research, development, and engineering that enables the United States to maintain an advantage of value to national security.
    (x) Information on technical systems for collection and production of intelligence, and their use.
    (y) U.S. nuclear programs and facilities.
    (z) Foreign nuclear programs, facilities, and intentions.
    (aa) Contractual relationships that reveal the specific interest and expertise of the CIA.
    (bb) Information that could result in action placing an individual in jeopardy.
    (cc) Information on secret writing when it relates to specific chemicals, reagents, developers, and microdots.
    (dd) Reports of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (– Branch, –Division) between July 31, 1946, and December 31, 1950, marked CONFIDENTIAL or above.
    (ee) Reports of the Foreign Documents Division between 1946 and 1950 marked RESTRICTED or above.
    (ff) Q information reports.
    (gg) FDD translations.
    (hh) U reports.

Keep on Bloggin'!

A Booksigning for the Ages

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Cherie Antoinette Hutton report Sun 

Is this something from Cherie Blair's backlist? This story, which first broke here on Guido Fawkes, comes from Stewart Jackson, MP of whom I have never heard, but am told to expect much in the future.

Cherie Blair attended a Labour fundraiser where one of the items auctioned was the report on the suicide Dr. David Kelly, of one of Blair's political enemies; the report was signed, in a flourish of almost perfect unselfawareness and mendacity, by Cherie Blair.

The fin is coming early this siecle.

CONDUCT OF LABOUR HON. MEMBERS AT MAY 2006 FUNDRAISER
22.05.2006

Jackson, Stewart

That this House notes that senior members of the Labour Party including hon. Members and Government Ministers attended a party fundraising event last week at the Arts Club in Mayfair; further notes that a copy of the official report by Lord Hutton into the death of Government scientist Dr David Kelly, signed by Ms Cherie Booth QC, was auctioned for party funds raising £400; believes this conduct to be in appalling bad taste, arrogant and crassly insensitive in seeking to make money, albeit indirectly, through hawking, as a novelty item, an official Government report into the death of a public servant; regrets the distress caused to the family and friends of the late Dr Kelly; calls on the Labour Party to apologise for such tasteless and offensive conduct and to donate the money raised to an appropriate charity; and deprecates such conduct by hon. Members.

Perhaps the general reception of this information can be gleaned by a couple of samples from the comments section:

Personally, I could warm to the idea of getting a hospital report (surely not beyond the powers of a British tabloid) on the suicide attempt of the young daughter of a certain well-known family. It could have the details of her physical condition when she was taken to the hospital, the various tests carried out of her, her treatment and her psychological report, etc and be signed by her chief doctor. If auctioned off, it would fetch a fair penny as a novelty item. Of course, you might be found to have slit your wrists in a country lane close to your home later on …

and the ever-classicDavid Kelly

"You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go."

I, of course, as the good literary snob, make the point that since the only person entitled to sign a book is the author and Ms. Booth/Blair does not claim to have authored the words, perhaps she signed under her authority as author of the actions.

More news outlets are picking it up, including the Guardian and the BBC. The story has legs. And still the comments continue to be illuminating. If I were saying some of these things, I'd be nony too!

Fellow anon, let us not forget the distinguished physicians who pointed out that Dr Kelly was "suicided"
Plus Campbell (in front of witnesses) saying to Blair
"well Tony you got what you wanted"
as the news of Dr Kelly's death was announced, not a direct order but probably a "who will rid me of this turbulent priest" moment

And here's what the BBC has to say today.For those who can't quite place David Kelly:

Dr Kelly was found dead in July 2003 after being named as the possible source of a story on BBC Radio 4's Today programme claiming the government had "sexed up" its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Naturally, the death was ruled a suicide. It could well have been, but it's also quite possible to have been encouraged to take that path. No doubt he and Vince Foster are discussing it at this very moment.

And hey, look! Dictator Trading Cards…how long till Tony and Cherie Antoinette have their own?

Dictator Playing Cards