"What I am condemning is that
one power, with a president
who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting
to plunge the world into a holocaust."
--Nelson Mandela, 1/30/03 in South
Africa
"The reason we start a war is
to fight a war, win a war,
thereby causing no more war!" --George
W. Bush, The first Presidential debate
"To announce that there must be no
criticism
of the President, or that we are to stand by the
President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic
and servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American public." --Theodore Roosevelt 26th
US President, (1858-1919)
Questions about Al Qaeda and State Sponsored
Terrorism
July, 2003
1) What connections did our government have with the terrorists
prior to 9/11?
· State department
negotiations with Taliban re: pipeline through
Afghanistan
· interaction with
the Taliban and/or Bin Laden
· CIA training and
arming of terrorists
2) What is the state of the Afghan pipeline now?
· When was the deal
to construct it finalized?
· Who was involved?
· How is the pipeline
being protected?
· Who profits from
the connections as the pipeline passes through
each country?
· Who has rights to
the pipeline?
3) Why isn't Saudi Arabia on the list of countries sponsoring
terrorism?
4) Why are the FBI and CIA seeking to exclude evidence about
Saudi involvement with terrorists (See Exclusive: CIA and FBI
press Congress to exclude intelligence on the Saudi role with
9/11 terrorists by Linda Robinson and Edward T. Pound: www.usnews.com/usnews/usinfo/press/saudi.htm
)
5) In what ways might our government's policies toward Saudi
Arabia have
contributed to September 11th?
6) Why was Saudi Arabia given preferential treatment above all
other
nations in immigration? (Visa Express)
· What was the reason for
creating the Visa Express?
· Prior to Sept. 11, Visa
Express permitted approximately 97 percent
of Saudi applicants
to obtain visas without face-to-face interviews http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,73485,00.html
7) Why were the Saudi relatives whisked out of America so quickly
when
other planes were grounded after the attacks?
· Who gave permission for
them to leave?
8) On September 9th the president had a war plan on his desk
to go into
Afghanistan.
· What was the origin of
this plan?
· Why was this plan drawn
up even before the September 11th attacks?
9) Intelligence was told in March of 2001 to back off investigating
terrorists.
· Who gave the order?
· Why?
10) Why did Donald Rumsfeld, immediately after the September
11 th attack, say that Saddam Hussein was involved?
11) Does the FBI have proof that it was in fact Al Qaeda that
perpetrated 9/11?
· Do they know if the names
the hijackers used were their real names?
12) Did Atif Ahmad have a connection to Atta as well as to Moussaoui?
· Is Atif Ahmed a British
double agent?
13) What is the truth about the arrest of El Atriss who sold
fake IDs to two 9/11 terrorists? There are discrepancies between
the NY Times and Washington Post accounts of his arrest and release.
· Atriss is an Egyptian
national who committed a crime. Why hasn't he
been deported?
14) Who were the terrorist informants working with the FBI?
a.) What did the FBI learn from
them?
b.) What were the 9/11 warnings
provided by these informants?
c.) What was done with these warnings
to protect the American public?
15) How did and do US energy policies play into Islamic terrorism?
· the Caspian Sea pipeline?
· Dick Cheney's energy task
force?
16) How do corporate and big business interests play into foreign
policy
decisions?
· Enron pre 9/11; Halliburton,
Bechtel pre and post 9/11?
· what are the names of
the companies which are getting contracts in
foreign countries and
how do they influence our foreign policy?
17) What role did American think tanks, which make policy recommendations
to the
administration, play in American foreign policy decisions and
the proliferation of Al Qaeda?
18) Regarding sharing of intelligence pre and post 9/11:
· Did U.S. intelligence
agencies share information about Al Qaeda
with foreign governments?
· Did foreign governments
share information with our government
about Al Qaeda?
· If so, what information
was shared about threats within the U.S. and
from which countries
did it come?
· Who received this information
and what did they do with it?
· What changes have been
made in sharing intelligence?
19) Why did President Bush specifically request a briefing on
Al Qaeda in August 2001?
20) What is the connection between the Bush family and Bin Laden?
21) Regarding the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is
a collaboration between the FBI and NYPD, also at times NYS Police,
NY/NJ Port Authority PD and the US Secret Service:
· Was the JTTF aware of
20 warnings of an impending terrorist which
were mentioned in Joint
Intelligence Inquiry testimony?
· What did the JTTF know
prior to 9/11 regarding potential terrorist
attacks in NYC and
specifically, the WTC?
· Was the JTTF informed
of any warnings regarding the impending
attacks from agencies
of foreign governments?
· What was the nature of
the warnings?
· What if any security precautions
were taken as a result of the warnings?
· What information did the
JTTF pass up the chain of command?
22) On the issue of state sponsored terrorism:
· Why did Mahmood Ahmed,
Director of Pakistan's secret service, the
(ISI) order Saeed Sheikh
to wire $100,000 to hijacker Mohamed Atta?
· What was Mahmood Ahmed's
relationship with Al Qaeda?
· Where did the money come
from?
· Did officials in Pakistan
know in advance about the terrorist attack?
· On September 11 th , Mahmood
Ahmed had a breakfast meeting
in Washington,
D.C., with House and Senate Intelligence Committee
chairmen, Rep.
Porter Goss and Senator Bob Graham. What were
they discussing?
23) To combat terrorism
· What sanctions can the
U.S. place on individuals of non-terrorist
states who aided and
abetted terrorists through funding or other means?
· If there is no recourse,
will the CIA continue to monitor their activities
in the future?
· Will the State Department
and other allied countries seek to ban their
entry into the U.S.
and their nations?
· How long does an individual
remain a terrorist threat according to our
policies?
· Will those individuals
be banned from doing business with the U.S.?
· Since September 11 th
, has our government developed specific
policies regarding
individual sponsors of terrorism?
24) Were individuals with ties to terrorists or states which
sponsor terrorism involved in shorting airline and other stocks
which were impacted by the terrorist attacks on September 11th?
September 11 Inquiry: Questions to be Answered
January, 2003
SEC
1. What are the names of the individuals and the financial institutions
who placed "put" orders on American Airlines and United
Airlines for the 3 weeks prior to 9/11? Who has possession of
these monies?
INS
1. Who approved the posthumous visa requests of Atta and Al-shehhi?
2. Whose job was it to check on the validity of student visas?
Specifically, Hani Hanjour entered this country on a student visa
and never attended class. Who was responsible for this?
3. What countries did the terrorists enter this country from?
Specifically, when, where, and how did they enter this country?
What country of origin were the terrorists' passports from? Under
what names were their passports?
4. In 1996 Congress gave $800 million to the INS to upgrade its
computer systems. To date, those systems remain antiquated. Where
is this money? Whose responsibility was it to oversee that this
was carried out?
5. Why was the CIPRIS (the Coordinated Interagency Partnership
Regulating International Students – created by Congress in
1996) system not used to track foreign students after it was recommended
by the National Commission on Terrorism in 1998 and was so effective
in trials?
6. Three hijackers obtained visas under an accelerated approval
program, called Visa Express at travel agencies in Saudi Arabia.
Visa Express had only been in place for three months before September
11, 2001. Saudi Arabia is the only country with known terrorist
risks which had this accelerated approval. Who initiated this
process and what was the reason given for instituting the program?
Why were incomplete and erroneously filled out visa applications
of the hijackers approved?
FAA
1. A flight attendant on AA#11 notified her supervisor within
the first few minutes of the plane being overtaken. What was the
name of this supervisor? What exactly did he do with this information?
Why was NORAD not immediately notified? What are the names of
the individuals whose responsibility centers upon notifying NORAD
in situations like this--on the local, regional, and national
levels? Why was the protocol not followed?
2. Why were these four planes able to evade all radar ? Even
when the transponders are disconnected, a plane is still able
to be located by its "skin" on radar screens.
3. Was there a gun on AA#11? FAA executive summary stated that
a gun was fired. This report was thereafter redacted. What is
the truth?
4. Where did the information about box-cutters come from? How
do we know that the terrorists were armed with these? Furthermore,
why was the American public told after 9/11 that box-cutters were
allowed on planes, when we have since come to find out that they
were specifically listed as airline contraband? Who is responsible
for this disinformation?
5. Where are the "black boxes" and the transcripts
from all four crash sites? Why has the FBI not invited the NTSB
into the investigation?
6. Nine of the hijackers were selected for special security screenings,
two for irregularities in identification documents, six for extra-scrutiny
by a computer screening program and one because he was traveling
with a questionable individual. What exactly were the irregularities
in identification? Which two had these irregularities? What is
the name of the individual who made the decision to let these
two men board the planes? What was done during the course of the
detainment of these two individuals? What questions were asked?
Was anything confiscated? With regard to the remaining seven hijackers,
what was the list of questions asked of them? Who interrogated
them? Was anything confiscated? What is the name of the individual
who permitted these men to board the planes? Where are the logs
and records and incident reports from these detainments?
7. Why was Logan Airport not sanctioned for its repeated failure
to meet FAA standards for airline security? If they were sanctioned,
how much were they fined? Did they completely pay the fine? What
is the name of the individual who was responsible for making sure
that Logan Airport met its airport/airline security requirements?
8. Where are all transcripts from Air Traffic Control? Where
are all logs and records from the FAA?
9. Why did three foreign owned airline security screening companies
have their liability levels capped in the Homeland Security Bill?
Who is responsible for this? What was the reasoning?
Port Authority/WTC/City of New York
1. WTC was not up to "code" with regard to their fireproofing.
Whose responsibility was it to ensure that these buildings were
built to "code"? What is the name of the individual
who was responsible to ensure that all buildings were maintained?
2. Why were WTC emergency evacuation protocols not followed?
3. Why were the roof access doors locked?
4. Why were the sprinkler systems locked?
5. Why was there no roof-top evacuation?
6. What is the name of the individual who made the announcement
in 2 WTC who told workers to return to their offices?
7. In light of the 1993 bombings, what additional security precautions
were put into effect?
8. The Port Authority of NY/NJ owns and operates Newark International
Airport. They also owned and operated the WTC. Please explain
the failure of the Port Authority to coordinate and act on the
information about the second plane heading for the South Tower
when they had this information available to them by their own
Air Traffic Control Center. They had eleven minutes of notice
that the plane was bearing down on Tower Two and yet, they told
people that the building was safe and secure.
9. Why won't the Port Authority in concert with the City of NY
release the 9/11 tapes?
10. What was the City of NY and the Port Authority told about
these numerous warnings, which occurred over a period of years,
and the dozens of warnings in the months preceding 9/11?
11. If they were told nothing about the warnings, why were they
told nothing? If they were told, why did the City of NY and the
Port Authority do nothing?
12. Why was the World Trade Center steel removed so quickly,
without being examined, from the scene of a mass murder? Who ordered
the removal of the steel?
Secret Service
1. Why was President Bush not immediately evacuated from the
Sarasota school, but rather was permitted to remain in the building
after the second building was hit and this nation was under attack?
Why was protocol not followed? Was President Bush deemed to be
in the "zone of danger"? If so, at exactly, what time
was he put in the "zone of danger"?
2. Where is the log and record of the Secret Service agents?
Where is the incident report?
NORAD
1. At precisely what time was NORAD notified of each plane being
hijacked? What was their response? What is the name of the individual
who determined from which bases the F-16s should be scrambled
from? What are the names of the pilots of these f-16s?
2. Whose decision was it to not utilize the F-16s' weapons?
3. Whose decision was it to not fly the F-16s at maximum speed?
4. Why didn't the F-16s intercept the hijacked airliners?
5. Please draw up a chart of NORAD's response to the Payne Stewart
Lear jet incident vs. the 9/11 incident. Why was protocol not
followed on 9/11? What is the name of the individual who did not
follow protocol? Where are the transcripts from the F-16s? Where
is the log and record from NORAD?
6. What satellites were orbiting North American airspace on 9/11?
What exactly does the satellite imaging reveal? What companies
own these satellites? Where are the records and logs for these
orbits?
FBI/CIA/NSA
1. At a point in time when there was a "high level of chatter"
why were the NSA warnings not translated on time? What information
was contained in the warnings, specifically?
2. What agency obtained the photo of Atta at the ATM machine
in rural Maine less than 48 hours after September 11th? Was Atta
under surveillance? Where are the logs and records from the Boston
FBI field office for the months June through September?
3. What degree of probable cause was Moussouai being held under
when he was arrested in mid-August? What is the name of the individual
who turned down the request for the search warrant? What is the
name of the supervisor who was overseeing the Moussouai case?
Where the transcripts from the original detainment hearing for
Moussouai?
4. What is the name of the CIA operative who delivered Bin Laden
to an American hospital in Dubai in July of 2001?
5. What is the name of the individual who decided to fly the
Bin Laden family back to Saudi Arabia on the night of September
11th?
6. Please give a list of positive defensive postures that this
country took on the morning of 9/11.
7. At exactly what time was the shadow government put in place?
8. Was the White House a target on 9/11?
9. At exactly what time was the White House evacuated? Who was
in charge of this country on the morning of 9/11?
10. Please explain the United States' position with regard to
the UNOCAL pipeline in Afghanistan and the position of our troops
in Afghanistan prior to 9/11.
11. The Hart Rudman Report was issued in 2001, many taxpayer
dollars were spent. What steps were taken, if any, to implement
some of the changes put forward by that report?
12. "A briefing prepared for senior government officials
at the beginning of July, 2001, contained the following language:
Based on a review of all source reporting over the last five months,
we believe that UBL (Usama bin Laden) will launch a significant
attack against U.S. and/or Israeli interests in the coming weeks.
The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties
against U.S. facilities or interests. Attack preparations have
been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning."
How did Bush and his team respond to this dramatic and accurate
warning? What intelligence was this heads-up based upon?
13. What did the FBI tell the NYPD in their Joint Terrorism Task
Force regarding the numerous warnings about NYC being a terrorist
target and the possibility of NYC and the WTC being hit by planes?
What is the name of the FBI agent?
14. What interaction did our government have with the Taliban
prior to September 11, 2001?
15. Prior to September 11, 2001, were warnings regarding the
impending attacks received from agencies of foreign governments?
When and from where were they sent? What was the nature of the
warnings? What, if any, security precautions were taken as a result
of the warnings?
LAW ENFORCEMENT: I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine in 1976
for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid
a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My
Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.
MILITARY: I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL.
I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my
drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able
to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.
COLLEGE: I graduated from Yale University with C average. I was
a cheerleader. Although my GPA was insufficient to enter Harvard,
I persevered and got an MBA, graduating near the bottom of my
class.
PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas in 1975.
I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas. The
company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. But I
made money on the sale.
I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal
with my father's friends that took land using taxpayer money.
While my business partners ran the business, I did PR and made
connections. This made me a multi-millionaire.
With the help of my father and our right-wing friends in the
oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected Governor
of Texas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR:
I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies,
making Texas the most polluted state in the Union.
During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden
city in America.
I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of
billions in borrowed money.
I set the record for the most executions by any Governor in American
history.
With the help of my brother, the Governor of Florida, and my
father's appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President
after losing by over 500,000 votes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of
over one billion dollars per week.
I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S.
Treasury.
I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S.
history.
I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed
in any 12-month period.
I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history
of the U.S. stock market.
I am the first president in U.S. history to enter office with
a criminal record.
I set the the all-time record for most days on vacation in any
one year period.
After taking-off the entire month of August, I presided over
the worst security failure in U.S.history.
I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker
Buster," a WMD.
In my State Of The Union Address, I lied about our reasons for
attacking Iraq, then blamed the lies on our British friends.
I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S.
president.
In my first year in office over 2-million Americans lost their
jobs and that trend continues every month.
I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month
period.
I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any
president in U.S. history.
I set the record for least amount of press conferences than any
president since the advent of television.
I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and
refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry
was revealed.
I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support
a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families
-- in war time.
I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously
protest me in public venues (15 million people) shattering the
record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.
I've broken more international treaties than any president in
U.S. history.
I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire,"
Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
I am the first president in U.S. history to order an unprovoked,
pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign
nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority
of U.S. citizens, and the world community.
I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy
in the history of the United States government .
I am the first president in U.S. history to have the United Nations
remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. prisoners of war"
detainees) and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
I am the first president in history to refuse United Nations
election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).
I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving
the most corporate campaign donations.
My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best
friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy
fraud in U.S. history. My political party used the Enron private
jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S.
Supreme Court during my election decision. I have protected my
friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution.
More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky
affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate
ripoffs in history.
I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade
Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most
hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in
world history.
I am first president in history to have a majority of Europeans
(71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace
and security.
I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be
awarded government contracts.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
All records of my tenure as Governor of Texas are now in my father's
library, sealed, and unavailable for
public view.
All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and
my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for
public view.
All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President,
attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy
and unavailable for public review.
Also see Da Prez, Past Work Experience, below
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Da Prez - Past Work Experience
George W. Bush
The White House, USA
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
I produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.
I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas;
the company
went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.
I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal
that took land
using taxpayer money.
With my father's help and name, I was elected Governor of Texas.
Accomplishments as Governor
I changed pollution laws in favor of the power and oil companies
and made
Texas the most polluted state in the Union.
I replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog-ridden city
in America.
I cut taxes and bankrupted Texas government to the tune of billions
in
borrowed money.
I set the record for the most executions by any Governor in American
history.
I became U.S. President after losing the popular vote by over
500,000 votes
with the help of major Enron money and my father's appointments
to the
Supreme Court.
Accomplishments as President
I attacked and overtook two countries.
I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S.
Treasury.
I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S.
history.
I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed
in any 12-month
period.
I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history
of the U.S.
stock market.
My record for environmental issues is the least of my concerns.
I am the first president in U.S. history to enter office with
a criminal
record.
I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one
year period.
After taking-off the entire month of August, I then presided
over the worst
security failure in U.S. history.
I am supporting development of a "Tactical Bunker Buster"
nuke, a WMD.
I am getting our troops killed, under the lie of Sadam's procurement
of
Yellow Cake Nuke WMD components, then blaming the lie on our British
friends.
I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S.
president.
In my first year in office over 2-million Americans lost their
jobs and that
trend continues every month.
I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month
period.
I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any
president in
U.S. history.
I set the record for least amount of press conferences than any
president
since the advent of television.
I signed more laws and executive orders effectively amending
or ignoring the
Constitution than any president in history.
I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and
refused to
intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history and
refused to
use national reserves as past presidents have done.
I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support
a cut in duty
benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in war time.
I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously
protest me in public venues (15 million people) shattering the
record for
protest against any person in the history of mankind.
I've dissolved more international treaties than any president
in U.S. history.
I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable
of any in U.S.
history.
I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history.
My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron
oil tanker named
after her.
I am the first president in U.S. history to have almost all 50
states of the
Union simultaneously suffer massive financial crisis.
I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any
market in
any country in history.
I am the first president in U.S. history to order a pre-emptive
attack and
the military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against
the will
of the United Nations and the world community.
I created the largest government department bureaucracy in the
history of
the United States.
I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending
increases, more
than any president in history.
I am the first president in U.S. history to have the United Nations
remove
the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
I am the first president in U.S. history to have the United Nations
remove
the U.S. from the Elections Monitoring Board.
I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount
of
congressional oversight than any presidential administration in
U.S. history.
I rendered the entire United Nations viewpoints irrelevant.
I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoners
of war" (detainees)
and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
I am the first president in history to refuse United Nations
election
inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).
I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving
the most
corporate campaign donations.
My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best
friends,
(Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation) presided over the
largest
corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history. My political party
used the
Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success
with the
U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
I have spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president
in U.S. history.
I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade
Center
attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most resented
country
in the world, possibly the largest failure of diplomacy in World
history.
I am actively working on a policy of "disengagement"
creating the most
hostile of Israel-Palestine relations in at least 30 years.
I am the first president in history to have a majority of Europeans
(71%)
view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
I am the first U.S. president in history to have the people of
South Korea
more threatened by the U.S. than by their immediate neighbor,
North Korea.
I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be
awarded
government contracts.
I set an all-time record for the number of administration appointees
who
violated U.S. law by not selling their huge personal investments
in
corporations bidding for U.S. contracts.
I failed to fulfill my pledge to capture Osama Bin Laden, dead
or alive.
I failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the
leaders of
our country at the U.S. Capitol Building. Even after 18 months
I have no
leads and no credible suspects.
In the past 18 months following the World Trade Center attack
I have
successfully prevented any public investigation into the biggest
security
failure in the history of the United States.
I removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than
any president
in U.S. history.
In a little over two years, I created the most divided country
in decades,
possibly the most divided since the Civil War.
I entered my office with the strongest economy in U.S. history
and have
turned every single economic category downward -- all in less
than two years.
Records and References:
I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine. My
Texas driving
record has been erased and is not available.
I was AWOL from the National Guard.
I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about
drug use.
All records of my tenure as Governor of Texas are now in my father's
library, sealed, and unavailable or public view.
All records of SEC investigations into insider trading or bankrupt
companies
are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President,
attended
regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable
for
public review.
~ Please consider my experience when voting
in 2004. ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Send this to every voter you know.
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Bush Was All Too Willing to Use Émigrés'
Lies
American experts urged the White House to be
skeptical, but they hit a stone wall.
September 2, 2003
Oops. There are no weapons of mass destruction after all. That's
the emerging consensus of the second team of weapons sleuths commanded
by the U.S. in Iraq, as reported last week in the Los Angeles
Times. The 1,400-member Iraq Survey Group found what the first
wave of U.S. military experts and the United Nations inspectors
before them discovered – nada.
Nothing, not a vial of the 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin or
the 25,000 liters of anthrax or an ounce of the materials for
the 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent claimed by George
W. Bush in his State of the Union speech as justification for
war. Nor any sign of the advanced nuclear weapons program, a claim
based on a now-admitted forgery. Nor has anyone produced any evidence
of ties between the deposed Hussein regime and the Al Qaeda terrorists
responsible for 9/11.
The entire adventure was an immense fraud.
"We were prisoners of our own beliefs," a senior U.S.
weapons expert who worked with the Iraq Survey Group told The
Times. "We said Saddam Hussein was a master of denial and
deception. Then when we couldn't find anything, we said that proved
it, instead of questioning our own assumptions."
How distressing that it turns out to be Bush, leader of the world's
greatest democracy, who is the true master of denial and deception,
rather than Hussein, who proved to be a paper tiger. Bush is such
a master at deceiving the American public that even now he is
not threatened with the prospect of impeachment or any serious
congressional investigation into the possibility that he led this
nation into war with lies.
But lie he did, at the very least in the crucial matter of pushing
secret evidence that even a president of his limited experience
had to know was so flimsy as to not be evidence at all. U.S. intelligence
officials now say the administration was lied to by Iraqi émigrés.
That excuse for the U.S. intelligence failure in Iraq would be
laughable were the circumstances not so appalling. It means Bush
ignored all the cautions of career diplomats and intelligence
experts in every branch of the U.S. government over the unsubstantiated
word of Iraqi renegades.
Clearly, the administration, from the president on down, did
not want expert advice and intelligence that would have undermined
its excuse for invading Iraq. This was a shell game from beginning
to end in which Americans' legitimate fear of terrorism after
Sept. 11 was almost immediately and cynically exploited by the
neoconservative gang that runs U.S. foreign policy.
American soldiers standing guard over the White House's imperial
ambitions – a new Middle East as linchpin to a new world
order – are now being shot like fish in a barrel.
Had Congress dared question Bush's claim of an immediate Iraqi
military threat, there would have been no excuse for invasion.
But Congress is kept on a tight leash by Republican leaders, subverting
its basic role as a check and balance on executive power. Shame
on congressional Democrats, especially those running for president,
who went along with this disgusting charade.
In the disarray and dissolution of the U.S. role as leader of
the free world, we sadly witness America's pathetic and isolated
effort to rule Iraq with some of the same émigrés
who deceived us with the false information that led us into a
war that suited their ambitions.
One of those Iraqi exile leaders who clearly misled the U.S.,
Ahmad Chalabi, is now a senior figure in the fig-leaf Iraqi shadow
government in U.S.-colonized Baghdad. Chalabi is a fugitive from
Jordan, where he was convicted of major financial fraud, and he
has no real base of support in Iraq. But Bush still backs him,
trafficking all too easily with a liar who tells him what he wants
to hear.
The British public, raised on a higher standard of official honesty,
is properly shocked. Prime Minister Tony Blair is in deep trouble
as Parliament and a high judge are embarked on a truth-finding
investigation into their government's rationale regarding the
reasons for war. On Friday, Blair's media spokesman, Alistair
Campbell, accused by the BBC of "sexing up" the intelligence
data used to justify going to war with Iraq, suddenly resigned.
The Brits don't like being fooled. That's not the case in the
United States, where for too many pundits and politicians, accepting
official mendacity has become a mark of political sophistication.
More American soldiers have died since Bush declared the war
over than during the war itself. This misadventure is costing
nearly $4 billion a month just for the troops, and billions more
for reconstruction by U.S. companies like Dick Cheney's old firm
Halliburton. But too many Americans betray the proud tradition
of an independent citizenry by buying into the "aw shucks"
irresponsibility of a president who daily does a grave injustice
to the awesome obligations of the office that he has sworn –
in the name of God, no less – to uphold.
SPECIAL FEATURE: INTERVIEW SENATOR BYRD
This week, we kick off a feature of the new MoveOn Bulletin: the
Grassroots Interview. In each issue, we'll provide an opportunity
for MoveOn members to ask five questions of a prominent political
figure. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) has graciously agreed to be
the first subject. Senator Byrd has been in the news recently
for his comments on the President's "victory" speech.
What are your questions for Senator Byrd? We'll ask MoveOn users'
five favorite questions on Wednesday, and report the Senator's
answers in the next issue. Post your questions and review others'
at: http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=255
CONTENTS:
1. Introduction: American Leadership, American Empire
2. One Link
3. Forming the Bush Doctrine
4. Pax Americana
5. September 11, 2001
6. Who's Steering This Ship?
7. Who Pays the Bills?
8. Pax Israelica?
9. Post-War Iraq
10. Neo-conservatism
11. What Next -- Syria? Iran?
12. Challenging the Project
13. Conclusion
14. About the Bulletin
------------------------------
INTRODUCTION: AMERICAN LEADERSHIP, AMERICAN
EMPIRE
Many of us first heard about the Bush administration's plan to
invade Iraq last August. However, a small group of political elites
planned the takeover of Iraq years ago. With that goal achieved,
now is the time to look at who these people are, how they created
a war on Iraq, and most importantly their plans for the future.
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) is a Washington-based
neo-conservative think-tank founded in 1997 to "rally support
for American global leadership." PNAC's agenda runs far deeper
than regime change in Iraq. Its statement of principles begins
with the assertion that "American foreign and defense policy
is adrift" and calls for "a Reaganite policy of military
strength and moral clarity."
While their tone is high-minded, their proposal is unilateral
military intervention to protect against threats to America's
status as the lone global superpower. The statement is signed
by such influential figures as Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, Lewis "Scooter"
Libby, Dan Quayle, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz.
PNAC is not alone, nor did it arise from new wells of power.
Most of the founding members of PNAC held posts in the Reagan
or elder Bush administration and other neo-conservative think-tanks,
publications, and advocacy groups.
The effect of PNAC's ideology is great on Bush -- the presidential
candidate who promised a "humble," isolationist foreign
policy. The events of September 11, 2001 provided a window of
opportunity for furthering PNAC's agenda of American empire. Understanding
that agenda can help us anticipate the Bush administration's next
steps and organize accordingly.
------------------------------
ONE LINK
If you only read one article in this bulletin, it should be this
one. This article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel superbly
covers the influence of PNAC in Bush's decision to go to war with
Iraq. As the author writes, the goal is to transform the Middle
East through a show of U.S. military might and "the obvious
place to start is with Iraq, which was already in trouble with
the United Nations, had little international standing and was
reviled even by some Arab nations." http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/apr03/131523.asp
------------------------------
FORMING THE BUSH DOCTRINE
The motivating event for the neo-conservatives who founded PNAC
was the end of the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq. With Saddam's power
weakened, the neo-conservatives believed he should be eliminated
permanently. Instead, the elder President Bush encouraged the
Iraqi opposition to rise up against the Ba'ath government. As
their rebellion was put down by Iraqi troops, Bush ordered the
U.S. military not to intervene, choosing instead a strategy of
containment for Saddam.
In 1992, Paul Wolfowitz, then-Under Secretary of Defense for
Policy, authored an internal policy brief on America's military
posture in the post-Cold War era: to prevent the emergence of
a new rival power through preemption rather than containment and
acting unilaterally if necessary to protect U.S. interests. When
a draft was leaked to the press, controversy erupted and the report
had to be softened.
PAX AMERICANA
An important step in PNAC's chronology is its major publication,
"Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources
For a New Century" (RAD), released in September, 2000. The
report takes Wolfowitz's draft as a starting point, hailing it
as "a blueprint for maintaining U.S. preeminence, precluding
the rise of a great power rival, and shaping the international
security order in line with American principles and interests."
RAD rejects cuts in defense spending, insisting that "Preserving
the desirable strategic situation in which the United States now
finds itself requires a globally preeminent military capability
both today and in the future." Core missions for the U.S.
military include the ability to "fight and decisively win
multiple, simultaneous major theater wars" and to reposition
permanent forces in Southeast Europe and Southeast Asia.
Other samples from RAD:
"The United States has for decades sought to play a more
permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved
conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need
for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends
the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."
"At present the United States faces no global rival. America's
grand strategy should aim to preserve and extend this advantageous
position as far into the future as possible."
"[N]ew methods of attack -- electronic, 'non-lethal,' biological
-- will be more widely available ... 'combat' likely will take
place in new dimensions: in space, 'cyber-space,' and perhaps
the world of microbes ... advanced forms of biological warfare
that can 'target' specific genotypes may transform biological
warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool."
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
In discussing changes to America's military strategy, the RAD
report regretfully admits, "the process of transformation,
even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long
one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new
Pearl Harbor."
Shortly after September 11, PNAC sent a letter to President Bush
welcoming his call for "a broad and sustained campaign"
and encouraging the removal of Saddam even if Iraq could not be
directly linked to the attacks. http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter.htm
------------------------------
WHO'S STEERING THIS SHIP?
"Most neo-conservative defense intellectuals have their roots
on the left, not the right." Michael Lind argues in the New
Statesman and Salon magazines that many were anti-Stalinist Trotskyists
who became anti-communist liberals, then shifted to a "militaristic
and imperial right with no precedents in American culture or political
history." http://dupagepeace.home.att.net/bush7.html
PAUL WOLFOWITZ is Deputy Defense Secretary, second-in-command
at the Pentagon. Wolfowitz was promoting regime change in Iraq
and a strategy of preemptive attack in 1992, but the elder Bush
rejected his views as too radical. This is an excellent brief
from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. http://www.moveon.org/r?436
RICHARD PERLE was Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan
administration and a foreign policy adviser in George W. Bush's
presidential campaign. He accepted Rumsfeld's offer to chair the
Defense Policy Board, transforming it from obscurity to influence.
In March, Perle resigned as chairman after a controversial lobbying
scandal, but remains on the Board as a member. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact
WILLIAM KRISTOL is editor of The Weekly Standard, a conservative
political magazine with a small but elite readership, funded by
Rupert Murdoch. The son of neo-conservative founding father Irving
Kristol, he is the president of PNAC. http://www.mediatransparency.org/people/bill_kristol.htm
Other important participants are Vice-President Dick Cheney;
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Iran-contra scandal convict
Elliott Abrams, now Director of Middle East Affairs for the National
Security Council; Washington Post columnist Robert Kagan; and
special presidential envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.
WHO PAYS THE BILLS?
The Bradley Foundation, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the primary
funder of PNAC through PNAC's parent New Citizenship Project,
Inc. With the largest assets of any right-wing foundation, Bradley
has focused its efforts on ending affirmative action, reforming
welfare, and privatizing schools. This article describes Bradley's
funding of neo-conservative think-tanks, magazines, and books
like "The Bell Curve." http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/bradley_foundation.htm
------------------------------
PAX ISRAELICA?
Nearly all PNAC participants, whether Jewish or Christian, are
right-wing Zionists who support Ariel Sharon's Likud Party. In
1996, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and others drafted a paper
for incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to make
"a clean break" from the Oslo peace process preferring
"peace through strength," including the ouster of Saddam
Hussein. http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm
This essay describes many of the familiar neo-conservatives as
having "dual loyalties," making policy decisions in
the interests of the State of Israel as much as the United States. http://www.counterpunch.org/christison1213.html
------------------------------
POST-WAR IRAQ
PNAC participants are backing Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National
Congress in his bid to run the interim government in Iraq. From
The American Prospect, who is Chalabi and why is he so popular
with the neo-conservatives? http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/21/dreyfuss-r.html
------------------------------
NEO-CONSERVATISM
PNAC is in the same Washington, D.C. office building as the American
Enterprise Institute (AEI), another major neo-conservative think-tank.
They share far more than an address: PNAC participants like Richard
Perle, Thomas Donnelly, Jeane Kirkpatrick, William Schneider,
Lynne Cheney (Dick Cheney's wife), and Irving Kristol (William
Kristol's father) are all AEI scholars and fellows.
Similar overlap is found among all the neo-conservative think-tanks
-- Hudson Institute, Center for Security Policy, Washington Institute
for Near East Policy, Middle East Forum, and Jewish Institute
for National Security Affairs -- giving the agenda of a few political
elites the appearance of widespread agreement.
------------------------------
WHAT NEXT -- SYRIA?
This piece from Foreign Policy in Focus discusses a 2000 Middle
East Forum study calling for military force against Syria. The
report, "Ending Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: The U.S. Role,"
was signed by numerous PNAC participants. http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0304uscfl.html
IRAN?
From the Washington Monthly, a smart article that compares the
neo-conservative plan for the Middle East to "giving a few
good whacks to a hornets' nest because you want to get them out
in the open and have it out with them once and for all." http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0304.marshall.html
------------------------------
CHALLENGING THE PROJECT FOR THE NEW AMERICAN
CENTURY
The Peace Education Fund and California Peace Action have launched
a national advertising campaign that features the infamous photo
of Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein. The ads
ask the question: "Who Are We Arming Now?" The ad is
part of Peace Action's Campaign for a New American Foreign Policy
which is building political pressure for an alternative to the
bleak vision of the Project for the New American Century. http://www.moveon.org/r?437
------------------------------
CONCLUSION
Beyond all the specifics presented in this bulletin and the linked
resources, it's essential to remember how interlocked the neo-conservative
organizations are. They represent the views and interests of only
a tiny elite, not the popular sentiment in the United States.
Most Americans would be horrified to learn how PNAC and others
are shaping the Bush Doctrine -- both because of the ideology
they describe and because they use money and media to gain disproportionate
political influence.
Money makes it easy to organize networks and gain political influence;
control of the media limits our ability to consider the various
options America has for handling crises in the international community.
The work we are doing as MoveOn members is organizing without
massive wealth and educating without owning the media. Our work
is to vocalize the love of democratic decision-making shared by
all people, clearly and with the most complete information. Please
let us know what information you need to do this work, and we
will do our best to make it available through the bulletin.
------------------------------
CREDITS
Research team:
Leah Appet, Joanne Comito, Lita Epstein, Anna Gavula, Terry Hackett,
Zaid Khalil, Kate Kressmann-Kehoe, Cameron McLaughlin , Janelle
Miau, Sarah Parady, Kim Plofker, and Ora Szekely.
Editing team:
David Taub Bancroft, Melinda Coyle, Nancy Evans, Eileen Gillan,
and Rita Weinstein.
------------------------------
ABOUT THE MOVEON BULLETIN AND MOVEON.ORG
The MoveOn Bulletin is a free email bulletin providing information,
resources, news, and action ideas on important political issues.
The full text of the MoveOn Bulletin is online at http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/;
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help decide the direction of MoveOn.org by participating in the
discussion forum at: http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=223
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Divvying up the loot
By Zvi Bar'el
Colin Powell has a vision. He wants the State Department rather
than the Pentagon to be responsible for Iraq's rehabilitation.
He and his representatives did what is customarily done in Washington
to achieve goals: heavy lobbying in congressional corridors. The
result is that Congress decided to transfer the sum earmarked
for rehabilitating Iraq, some $2.5 billion out of a $74 billion
war budget, to the State Department.
Powell believes that now that the United States' military power
has been demonstrated, it is time to present the humane side.
If the Pentagon was responsible for the killing, the State Department
must be in charge of the rehabilitation. It is doubtful whether
anyone in Iraq - or the Arab states - will notice the difference.
This is the little controversy and the small booty. The medium
controversy over "the day after" is between Britain
and the U.S. Tony Blair wants to give the United Nations a significant
role. He believes, probably justly, that two states, rich as they
may be, will not be able to accomplish such a large financial
project - the rehabilitation is estimated at $80 billion to $100
billion - and an international effort is required.
Blair's position also has an ideological aspect. Even if the
the war is a two-state project, it is important not to create
the impression that this is a private war. Britain's political
vision is much broader than that of the United States', and says
that if they are speaking of a new Middle East as a result of
one big war, they had better at least show that they mean it.
Blair's practical interpretation is that the political process
between the Palestinians and Israel must be attended to immediately,
while Bush is prepared merely to present the "road map"
and Powell has already made it clear that the U.S. will not be
able to force the sides to sign a peace agreement. In addition,
Blair does not share Bush's position regarding the "axis
of evil." His foreign minister has visited Iran and Britain
has an ambassador there. Bashar Assad visited London, which maintains
correct if not deeper relations with Damascus.
The difference between Britain and the U.S. may be defined as
the difference between the soldier and the statesman. But that
is only the medium-range controversy.
The big controversy hasn't erupted yet but its preview is already
running on the screens. Russia, France and Germany no longer "aspire"
to an American loss in Iraq. Russia was the most explicit, with
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov explaining that an American defeat
would be counter to its interests, and Vladimir Putin uttered
over the weekend tunes about the strategic partnership between
the U.S. and Russia. Gone is the talk to the effect that whoever
started the war must pay for mending its damages. Now there are
"discussions" of the need to "mend the rift between
the U.S. and Europe."
Those who opposed the war sobered rapidly to the realization
that if war is a bad thing, losing the loot is worse. And there
will be plenty of loot in Iraq, which cannot be left to a few
retired American ambassadors who will be running the state, nor
to a bunch of Iraqi opposition members who will start dividing
Saddam Hussein's officers' villas among themselves.
Iraq is not Afghanistan, which can offer only dust, opium and
snow. Whoever rules Iraq, or pulls the strings of its new rulers,
will also run its oil production and marketing, its trade relations
with Turkey, Iran and the Gulf states, and be able to determine
to a large extent what the Arab League will look like, if it looks
like anything at all after this war. He will be able to hand out
benefits to Arab states and East Asian states who will want to
resume sending their workers to Iraq.
The "new" Iraq will have too much money and influence
to enable its rulers to stick to the subline idea of "Iraqi
oil for the Iraqis."
The battle of Baghdad is not over yet, but already one can smell
the fresh ink on the applications for reconstructive work. The
only question left is how much room will remain for the "democratization"
of Iraq or for peace in the Middle East, in the scramble after
the loot.
