Fox News’ senior judicial analyst made some surprising remarks Saturday that may go against the grain at his conservative network.
In a interview with Ralph Nader on C-SPAN’s Book TV to promote his book Lies the Government Told You, Judge Andrew Napolitano said that President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should have been indicted for “torturing, for spying, for arresting without warrant.”
The judge believes that it is a fallacy to say that the US treats suspects as innocent until proven guilty. “The government acts as if a defendant is guilty merely on the basis of an accusation,” said Napolitano.
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Two Rivers Detention Center was promoted as the largest economic development project in decades in the small town of Hardin when the jail was built two years ago. But it has been vacant ever since.
Did I hear correctly? The spokesman for American Police Force said that they were interested in using the facility as a training center? Makes sense I guess, considering the possibility of ties to Darth Chainey and the shadow government.
City officials have searched from Vermont to Alaska for inmate contracts to fill the jail, only to be turned down at every turn and see the bonds that financed its construction fall into default. They even floated the idea of housing prisoners from Guantanamo Bay at the jail.
So when Hardin officials announced this week that they had signed a deal with a California company to fill the empty jail, it was naturally a cause for celebration. Town officials talked about throwing a party to mark the occasion, their dreams of economic salvation a step closer to being realized.
But questions are emerging over the legitimacy of the company, American Police Force.
Government contract databases show no record of the company. Security industry representatives and federal officials said they had never heard of it. On its Web site, the company lists as its headquarters a building in Washington near the White House that holds “virtual offices.” A spokeswoman for the building said American Police Force never completed its application to use the address.
And it’s unclear where the company will get the inmates for the jail. Montana says it’s not sending inmates to the jail, and neither are federal officials in the state.
An attorney for American Police Force, Maziar Mafi, describes the Santa Ana, Calif., company as a fledgling spin-off of a major security firm founded in 1984. But Mafi declined to name the parent firm or provide details on how the company will finance its jail operations.
“It will gradually be more clear as things go along,” said Mafi, a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer in Santa Ana who was only hired by American Police Force a month ago. “The nature of this entity is private security and for security purposes, as well as for the interest of their clientele, that’s why they prefer not to be upfront.”
On its elaborate Web site and in interviews with company representatives, American Police Force claims to sell assault rifles and other weapons in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. military while providing security, investigative work and other services to clients “in all 50 states and most countries.”
The company also boasts to have “rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide” and that it can field a battalion-sized team of special forces soldiers “within 72 hours.”
Representatives of American Police Force said the company presently employs at least 16 and as many as 28 people in the United States and 1,600 contractors worldwide.
Bureau agents will gather evidence to ensure that criminal prosecutions of alleged terrorists are an option. The move is a reversal of the Bush administration’s emphasis on covert CIA actions.
Reporting from Washington — The FBI and Justice Department plan to significantly expand their role in global counter-terrorism operations, part of a U.S. policy shift that will replace a CIA-dominated system of clandestine detentions and interrogations with one built around transparent investigations and prosecutions.
Under the “global justice” initiative, which has been in the works for several months, FBI agents will have a central role in overseas counter-terrorism cases. They will expand their questioning of suspects and evidence-gathering to try to ensure that criminal prosecutions are an option, officials familiar with the effort said.
Though the initiative is a work in progress, some senior counter-terrorism officials and administration policy-makers envision it as key to the national security strategy President Obama laid out last week — one that presumes most accused terrorists have the right to contest the charges against them in a “legitimate” setting.
The approach effectively reverses a mainstay of the Bush administration’s war on terrorism, in which global counter-terrorism was treated primarily as an intelligence and military problem, not a law enforcement one. That policy led to the establishment of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; harsh interrogations; and detentions without trials.
This is Keith Olbermann’s Top 9/11 Story: The Promotion Of Failure In Bush Administration. It was aired in September 2007 and presents a powerful statement about the Bu$h administration. Some of the 911 truth movement criticized Olbermann for not mentioning that 911 was an inside job, while not even considering the ramifications of his doing so. An open and independent investigation is what is needed, and this is what the people of this country want. I’m sure that Olbermann would agree on that, but 911 is only one of 945 issues or more that need to be addressed.
Darth Cheney expresses his fondness for Rush Limpballs, like he is the only voice in the corpo-media, but hopefully he isn’t taking the same pill as “Rush”. Oxycontin is pretty powerful stuff and it would be nice if Darth lived to be a ripe old age because it might be a while before he is put on the stand, or in stocks in front of the Lincoln Memorial building, or at least made to answer for his crimes.
Attention Dick Cheney
May 27, 2009 at 07:27:04
Diary Entry by Dean Hartwell
This letter calls out Dick Cheney and asks him to explain not just how he made us safer from terrorism during his time in office, but it also questions whether he should be indicted for participating in the attacks of 9/11.
The announcement in mid-March that CIA Director Leon Panetta had picked former Sen. Warren Rudman to act as CIA “liaison” with the Senate Intelligence Committee during its “review” of interrogation and detention practices has drawn virtually no criticism from the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM).
Yet, it is a dead give-away as to how congressional leaders plan to go through the motions for a year or so, and then let everyone off the hook.
Warren B. Rudman was involved in the defense of Papa Bush in concert with Darth Cheney on the Iran Contra affair in the 1980’s, and we now see him resurrected to defend Cheney on the torture issue. Rudman is now 78 years of age, but has the necessary ties with the Corporate Government to make him a faithful allay to Bu$hco.
AKA: the Hart-Rudman Commission or Hart-Rudman Task Force on Homeland Security, was chartered by Secretary of Defense William Cohen in 1998 to provide a comprehensive review of US national security requirements in the 21st century. USCNS/21 was tasked “to analyze the emerging international security environment; to develop a US national security strategy appropriate to that environment; and to assess the various security institutions for their current relevance to the effective and efficient implementation of that strategy, and to recommend adjustments as necessary”.
Released on 31 January 2001, USCNS/21 is the most exhaustive review of US national security strategy since the National Security Act of 1947. USCNS/21 was released in three distinct phases. The first phase, New World Coming: American Security in the 21st Century, anticipates the emerging international security environment within the first quarter of the 21st century and examines how the US fits into that environment. The second phase, Seeking a National Strategy: A Concert for Preserving Security and Promoting Freedom, proposes a new US national security strategy based on the anticipated threats and conditions outlined in the first phase report. The third phase, Roadmap for National Security: Imperative for Change, recommends changes to the US government’s structure, legislation, and policy to reflect a new national security strategy based on the anticipated 21st century international security environment.
there have been innumerable assaults on the constitution- pretty much from its inception. the john adams contingent has not been pleased that ‘the great unwashed’ was given any say whatsoever in their own governance. those descendants we see today splashed all over fox noise, hate radio, state and local governments, tea parties, and now….. million militia marches. guess that’s why they are stock piling all that ammo.
but i just don’t know what to say about the torture issue. i have been a strident voice for years- pushing and pushing for people to realize that free societies take the risk of being ‘less secure’ in order to remain free. pushing for people to realize that we, the people, were losing the document that gave us our freedoms- legally- in america. and people were afraid. they were afraid of muslim extremists who may bomb our cities or unleash biological terror in ‘the homeland.’
but the people were wrong. the terrorists lived amongst us- called themselves americans. and willfully and gleefully stripped civil liberties away at a rate unprecedented in our history. and always my question was- why? why are they doing this? when is enough money and power enough? and i didn’t have a good, tangible answer. i still don’t. the closest i get is simply- because they could.
because they knew going in what they wanted to do- they created 9/11 to shock america into swallowing their lines of bullshit about the country being vulnerable. they created the crisis in order to go into war mode- special presidential war powers indefinitely. they manufactured reasons to go to war with iraq and decimated and tortured people and ruined the lives of millions of people.
torture is arguably the worst thing you can do to a person. it effects them physically- and mentally- and if they survive– it effects them for the rest of their lives. and their families and neighbors and fellow countrymen– and it does not work for information. and americans authorized this- and carried it out. now, i realize that we have been doing this for years- at the very least training operatives on how to carry it out. but these folks planned to torture other folks to send a message loud and clear- that they were in charge and that’s it.
over the last 8 years or so, folks like me have been called traitors, conspiracy theorists, crazy, etc.- and while it generally came from the right, much came from the left too. folks simply didn’t want to believe that fellow americans could carry out what bushco and the rubber stamp legislative and judicial branches did. this couldn’t happen in america- we are the land of the free. but it did.
and i guess what my purpose in writing this post is- to say simply this- the people on the right are wrong. period. they are the traitors and the unpatriotic people. i don’t consider them americans at all. the people on the left who have been complicit and who have gone along with the right- in the name of power or blackmail or whatever- and didn’t stand up- same thing. there is nothing patriotic about stripping civil liberties away from a democratic republic in the name of security. there is nothing noble or patriotic or brave in advocating torturing another human being. these people are cowards.
for all of the grandstanding and pretending to give a damn about the founding fathers and the constitution- and apparently, the boston tea party- these folks have not actually read the documents. they didn’t listen to saint ronnie about america being an example to the world- ‘a shining city’ and blah, blah, blah- we were set up as the beacon of hope to the world- and we have no right to the title. so, it is time to let the people who claim to be americans know- you aren’t. the rest of us are going to have to grow a set- because if we want any semblance of the country we believed in- we are going to have to fight for it. the right is arming itself- and if you pooh pooh that off- well, you may end up in a detention facility right here in the us of a.
sorry shep- we do torture– did torture- probably still do torture. the next question is- will be hold onto our principles and hold folks accountable? or perhaps the better question is- do we have any principles left?
So, you know about the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout plan. But you probably don’t know that the Federal Reserve has lent out about $2 trillion since September. Few do. And that is what’s irritating bulldog Congressman Alan Grayson. Will he be able to shed a light on the Fed’s secret spending?
Grayson raises voice, hackles in D.C.
Mark K. Matthews | Washington Bureau
February 9, 2009
“WASHINGTON – In just a few short weeks, freshman U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, has delivered more memorable quotes than some members of Congress do in an entire career.”
“In interviews, the 6-foot-5-inch Grayson downplays his combative approach, bridling at a reporter’s use of the “abrasive” label and saying that he would not have been assigned to the House Science Committee — the “most bipartisan committee in Congress,” he said — if he wasn’t collegial.”
“Meanwhile, his Dylan-quoting, freewheeling stance has earned him liberal fans nationwide, including Darcy Burner, a failed Washington state congressional candidate who has already asked supporters to back Grayson’s re-election campaign.”
“He’s going to have a vicious re-election battle in two years, and he’s getting pressure to sell out to the lobbyists and corporations so that he’ll have enough money to fund his re-election. That, my friends, would be a real pity,” Burner wrote in a letter.
“Fundraising, however, is unlikely to be a problem. He is the 10th-wealthiest House member, with assets of more than $29 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.”
Here’s Grayson’s alter ego Steven Seagal as an abstract, reality TV, illustration of what should really happen to the major players in the shadow government that still hangs over the White House.
Retired Gen. Jack Keane also contributed to surge strategy in Iraq
By A. James Memmott
September 22, 2008 at 10:15am
In the military, as in politics and in business, connections count.
And, by most accounts, one connection that impacted the war in Iraq for the better was the friendship between two soldiers, Gen. David H. Petraeus and retired Gen. John M. “Jack” Keane.
Petraeus, who stepped down last week as commanding general of coalition troops in Iraq, is widely praised for his leadership following the so-called “surge” of 21,500 additional U.S. troops in Iraq that began in early 2007.
But Keane also deserves credit, analysts say, for his early advocacy of the surge.
The former Army vice chief of staff, Keane retired in 2003 after a 37-year career. But even though he was retired, he remained actively involved in the debate over the conduct of the Iraq war.
He visited Iraq often. And as he saw conditions there deteriorate, he became a strong advocate for sending in additional troops.
In December 2006, Keane and Francis W. Kagan, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, published a pro-surge report entitled, Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq.
It would take many moons to follow the trails of chicken $h*t to the defense industries, news analysts, and military contractors, where ex military brass are sitting on the boards to insure the “more of the same” agenda in the Middle East.
The troop carriers, armored cars, and even the tanks are obsolete in a real war where the so called enemy has real weapons and money to replenish them. Yet we are cranking them out like there is no tomorrow where we can continue to bully and maim unarmed countries. If Iraq or Gaza had stinger missiles with depleted uranium warheads, you can bet that there would be no boots on the ground.
Just my opinion, but I think that there is a lot of difference between collective punishment of a civilian population and an all out war, with a formidable enemy, where there really is a winner.
Tom Friedman, one of the nation’s leading propagandists for the Iraq War and a vigorous supporter of all of Israel’s wars, has a column today in The New York Times explaining and praising the Israeli attack on Gaza. For the sake of robust and diverse debate (for which our Liberal Media is so well known), Friedman’s column today appears alongside an Op-Ed from The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, one of the nation’s leading (and most deceitful) propagandists for the Iraq War and a vigorous supporter of all of Israel’s wars, who explains that Hamas is incorrigibly hateful and radical and cannot be negotiated with. One can hardly imagine a more compelling exhibit demonstrating the complete lack of accountability in the “journalism” profession — at least for those who are loyal establishment spokespeople who reflexively cheer on wars — than a leading Op-Ed page presenting these two war advocates, of all people, as experts, of all things, on the joys and glories of the latest Middle East war.
Conyers publishes massive report on ‘Imperial Presidency’
Raw Story- Stephen C. Webster Published: Tuesday January 13, 2009
Report demands investigation of Bush administration’s abuses of power
Everyone wants to know: will Obama order investigations into the Bush administration’s abuses of power? But, perhaps a better question would be: if he doesn’t, who will?
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), it appears, will at least try.
Conyers published a 487-page report (PDF link) Tuesday titled, “Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the presidency of George W. Bush.”
Conyers’ report makes 47 recommendations “designed to restore the traditional checks and balances of our constitutional system,” reads the foreward. Recommendations include the establishment of a ‘blue ribbon’ commission to fully investigate the Bush administration, and the launch of criminal probes.
“Even after scores of hearings, investigations, and reports, we still do not have answers to some of the most fundamental questions left in the wake of Bush’s Imperial Presidency,” Conyers said in a release. “Investigations are not a matter of payback or political revenge – it is our responsibility to examine what has occurred and to set an appropriate baseline of conduct for future administrations.”
On Jan. 6, Conyers introduced a bill that, if passed, would create the “Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties,” which would seek to root out President Bush’s abuses.
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Tom Friedman Offers a Perfect Definition of ‘Terrorism’
Posted in ACLU, AIPAC, America, bush, Cheney, Commentary, Conservatives, Discrimination, George W. Bush, GOP, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, International Court at the Hague, iraq war, Israel, Racism, Republicans, Right Wing, Torture, Troops, United Nations, US President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Video, White House on January 15, 2009| 1 Comment »
by Geezer Power
CommonDreams.org January 15.2009
by Glenn Greenwald
Tom Friedman, one of the nation’s leading propagandists for the Iraq War and a vigorous supporter of all of Israel’s wars, has a column today in The New York Times explaining and praising the Israeli attack on Gaza. For the sake of robust and diverse debate (for which our Liberal Media is so well known), Friedman’s column today appears alongside an Op-Ed from The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, one of the nation’s leading (and most deceitful) propagandists for the Iraq War and a vigorous supporter of all of Israel’s wars, who explains that Hamas is incorrigibly hateful and radical and cannot be negotiated with. One can hardly imagine a more compelling exhibit demonstrating the complete lack of accountability in the “journalism” profession — at least for those who are loyal establishment spokespeople who reflexively cheer on wars — than a leading Op-Ed page presenting these two war advocates, of all people, as experts, of all things, on the joys and glories of the latest Middle East war.
MORE
Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports from Gaza on the 20th day of the war.
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