Image: US Constitution
Hard Rain Journal 1-17-07: They are Purging US DoJ, Privatizing US Intel, and Preparing for War with Iran -- Dreaming about 2008 is Irresponsible
By Richard Power
Fellow citizens,
Obama cannot save you.
Even if he delivered on the greatest issues of our time (a big if), and survived the race (another big if) -- 2008 would be too late.
The struggle is here and now. The showdown is imminent.
Look around you.
The Bush-Cheney regime is purging US DoJ, privatizing (and militarizing) US intelligence, and preparing for war with Iran.
Meanwhile, misled and abused by a delusional "Commander-in-Chief," 1,000 men and women of the US military, including 50 officers, have submitted an "Appeal for Redress" to Congress.
Dreaming about 2008 is irresponsible. The challenge is to re-assert the checks and balances in the US system of federal government, and bring the Bush-Cheney national insecurity team to accountability for its wrong-doings.
The USA can't wait two years for a change (especially one that is predicated on false premises). The world can't wait.
The US body politic is heading for a Constitutional crisis of unprecedented scope. And that is the best case scenario -- if we find ourselves in such a predicament in the next few months, it will be because men and women of conscience and common sense, on both sides of the aisle, refused to shirk their responsibilities.
I hear that Obama is going to position himself as a Lincoln. We don't need a Lincoln, we need a Congress that will exercise the powers that the Founders imbued it with.
If the Bush-Cheney regime is not stopped in its tracks in the next few weeks, and compelled to submit to the US Constitution, you will not recognize your country by 2008.
Here is some background on the current situation.
US Justice Department prosecutors across the country are being purged, we are told that they "serve at the pleasure of the President," and being replaced with political operatives:
The head of the FBI's San Diego office and several former federal prosecutors are publicly questioning the politics behind the Bush administration's effort to force Carole Lam to resign as U.S. Attorney for San Diego.
Lam focused her office's efforts on public corruption, including the sprawling Duke Cunningham scandal. That investigation has touched several Republican lawmakers, leading some to speculate that Lam brought political heat down on herself with that probe, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The top FBI official for San Diego said that Lam's dismissal would jeopardize several ongoing investigations. "I guarantee politics is involved," special agent in charge Dan Dzwilewski told the paper. (TPM Muckraker, 1-13-07)
The administration is replacing U.S. Attorneys throughout the country. How'd they get that power?
It was an obscure provision in the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, and it didn't take them very long to use it. The president signed it into law in March of last year -- by June, they were already moving to replace unwanted prosecutors.
Former Arkansas USA Bud Cummins told the Wall Street Journal that "a top Justice official asked for his resignation in June, saying the White House wanted to give another person the opportunity to serve." Cummins was finally forced out in December, replaced with Timothy Griffin, formerly the research director of the Republican National Committee. (TPM Muckraker, 1-16-07)
US intelligence services are being privatized and militarized, and a Booz Allen Hamilton executive is now in charge:
Mike McConnell, the man President Bush tapped to replace John Negroponte as National Intelligence Director, has been a leading figure in outsourcing U.S. intelligence operations to private industry. McConnell is a former director of the National Security Agency and the current director of defense programs at Booz Allen. We take a look at McConnell and the privatization of intelligence with journalist Tim Shorrock....
JUAN GONZALEZ: And what are the expectations, in terms of what McConnell will do in the position differently?
TIM SHORROCK: ...most of my sources are people inside the industry, inside the corporations -- and they basically tell me he's a Yes man. He’s somebody who’s -- they got him in because basically they want him to push their own programs.
But I think it's very important for your listeners to know and to understand that when talking about the intelligence office, 85% of the intelligence budget is controlled by the Pentagon. So we’re talking about a military program here. Everything -- the NSA is under the Pentagon. The National Geospacial-Intelligence Agency, which does mapping and imagery, they’re under the Pentagon. The National Reconnaissance Office, which launches satellites, they’re under the Pentagon. And when the budget -- when the Intelligence Reform Act passed, you might remember, there was a big fight. You know, the 9/11 Commission wanted to have these national agencies put under the DNI and taken out of the Pentagon, but there was a fight led by people in Congress, who basically represented the contractors, who didn't want to be taken out of the Pentagon. (Democracy Now, 1-12-07)
Misled and abused by a delusional "Commander-in-Chief," 1,000 men and women of the US military, including 50 officers, have submitted an "Appeal for Redress" to Congress:
A letter from about 1,000 active-duty, Guard and reserve members calling for Congress to end the war in Iraq was delivered to Capitol Hill...
The letter contains just three sentences: "As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home." (Army Times, 1-16-07)
A European bank has warned its investors of a possible attack on Iran, and the Kuwaiti press concurs:
Warning that investors might be "in for a shock," a major investment bank has told the financial community that a preemptive strike by Israel with American backing could hit Iran's nuclear program....The banking division of ING Group released a memo on Jan. 9 entitled "Attacking Iran: The market impact of a surprise Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities."(Raw Story, 1-15-07)
The Kuwaiti press says it will happen sometime before April: U.S. might launch a military strike on Iran before April 2007, Kuwait-based daily Arab Times released on Sunday said in a report. The report, written by Arab Times' Editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Jarallah citing a reliable source, said that the attack would be launched from the sea, while Patriot missiles would guard all Arab countries in the Gulf. (Xinhua, 1-14-07)
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Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net
Iraq, Iran, TPM Muckraker, Tim Shorrock, Mike McConnel, Appeal for Redress, Carole Lam, Bush, Cheney, ING,Arab Times, Bud Cummins, Timothy Griffin, Barack Obama, US Constitution, Richard Power, Words of Power
