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Wednesday, June 28. 2006
Treason? Troop Withdrawals? Burning the Flag?
General George Casey
commander of troops in Iraq
commander of troops in Iraq
First, the president and his minions are calling the New York Times “treasonous,” despite that fact that in 2003 the White House used the Times, through former Times reporter Judith Miller, to “leak” its faulty “intelligence” to justify this now unjustified war.
What’s the big dust-up? It just so happens the administration – the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. – has been data-mining bank records, both here and abroad, to track terrorist finances.
Seems like a good idea, until you find out all wire transfers are being inspected. And have been since 9/11, despite the initial “temporary” status of the program. Spies who have been working on the program for the past 4.5 years became increasingly concerned that the program had widened beyond its first mission and was now being used inappropriately.
But was it really a secret?
The White House was talking about tracking the financial records shortly after 9/11, so it isn’t “news.” On September 24, 2001, the president, in a briefing to the press on the White House lawn, said, “We have established a foreign terrorist asset tracking center, at the department of the treasury …”
A few days later, the Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neil (who was later fired because he openly questioned the rush to war in Iraq) outlined in detail – to the press – how the U.S. was tracking terrorist finances.
According to all the intelligence and counter-terrorism experts, Al Queda and its affiliate organizations stopped using the world banking system to move its finances, rendering the program all but useless. According to several key reports, including the 9/11 Commission Report, Al Queda started using commodities like gold to transfer funds around the world.
So, why all the fuss now? Politics. With the November elections looming in the near future, going after the New York Times, that bastion of the “liberal” media, is a good way to rally the far right into voting. Consider the president’s poll numbers and all the polls indicating most Americans would rather see Democrats in charge of Congress and claiming a great national security breach occurred is one way to rally the base and, they hope, cast some doubt with other voters who might be leaning towards voting for a Democrat. As all the news outlets are beginning to point out, this “secret” plan wasn’t so secret.
Well, not all news outlets are reporting on the previous discussions by the administration of this “secret” program. Faux News … err … Fox News, hasn’t really mentioned it.
The reason for all this Times bashing is of course the low approval ratings of the president and his party, all due to the war in Iraq.
Last week we had the GOP calling the Democrats the party of “cut and run,” because most Dems have called for different withdrawal plans from Iraq. Two plans, one brought forth by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) called for a timetable to start almost immediately and end in July of next year. Only 13 Democrats voted for the measure. Another plan, proposed by Senator Carl Levin (D_MI) won more approval than Kerry’s plan, but was not passed. Republicans – gleefully – referred to the two bills as “cut and run” and “cut and jog.”
Then, just a day after those votes in the Senate, the top military leader in Iraq, General George Casey, outlined a plan – very similar to Senator Kerry’s plan – to draw down troops in Iraq, with the first down sizing to begin in September of this year, just two months before the mid-term elections. The big difference between the general’s plan and Kerry’s plan is that the general will only diminish the American presence in Iraq, from 14 brigades to “five or six” by the end of 2007. The size of a brigade can range from 1,500 to 3,200 members, depending on the mission and type of brigade.
We will, of course, have a rather permanent presence in Iraq. As reported by various news organizations around the world, the U.S. is building permanent bases in Iraq to serve U.S. troops.
Would this constitute an administration flip-flop? To be fair, the administration has always claimed they would leave that decision to the commanders on the ground and General Casey is currently that person, but it is coincidental the first troop withdrawals will occur in time for the elections.
We could theorize General Casey is in league with Senator Kerry – just to stoke our conspiracy theory tendencies – but just prior to the Senate debates on Iraq, the Pentagon sent a 77-page “report” to the White House supporting the “stay the course” policy advocated by the Republicans who used it as part of their “talking points” when bashing the Democrats.
So far, neither the president or his party have gained any significant support in the polls since those votes and their gleeful denunciations of the “cut and run” Democrats have fallen on deaf ears in the electorate.
And the violence in Iraq continues unabated.
Then there is the amendment to ban desecration of the flag. The party that once claimed it wanted to “stay off the back” of American citizens sure has put a lot of effort into jumping right on our backs by limiting what are nation’s founders called “unalienable Rights,” which they – the founders – enumerated in the Bill of Rights, and which our Supreme Court has affirmed consistently:
— Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I’ve always said, if congress ever approves such an amendment – which then would need 38 states to ratify to make it law – I would be one of the first individuals to march to the nearest federal Building and burn an American flag. And I would do it as often as possible, wearing my Marine Corps-related clothing and whatever medals I received while enlisted in the Corps.
Thankfully, I’ve been spared that particular protest this year. The amendment was defeated in the Senate yesterday, as it has been for decades, ever since the wild and wooly sixties when burning the flag was as common as burning you draft card. But, yesterday’s vote was close.
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Just a correction: I’ve been wondering – on this page – just how long Katie Holmes as been pregnant (presumably the child fathered by Tom Cruise). It appears she had her baby and in true Hollywood celebrity fashion, stuck the child with a truly goofy name. Man, where have I been?
I’m old – past 50 – and all of life’s rich pageant seems to pass me by. Man. Today (Tuesday) I spent the day trying to assemble an office desk. There is so much pain coursing through my limbs and back, I have to end this screed prematurely and shuffle off to the couch for some horizontal time. I’d love to be 30 again.
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