The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison
Nonviolent Struggle: 50 Crucial Points
George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes
Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea
A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict
Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush
The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder
Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law
United States v. George W. Bush et al.
The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism
Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush
The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens
The Case for Impeachment
Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney
George W. Bush versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Cover-ups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying
Verdict and Findings of Fact
Impeach Bush: A Funny Li'l Graphical Novel About the Worstest Pres'dent in the History of Forevar
Pretensions to Empire: Notes on the Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration
The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America
Secret Bush "Finding" Widens War on Iran
Democrats Okay Funds for Covert Ops
By ANDREW COCKBURN, CounterPunch
Six weeks ago, President Bush signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that, according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope."
Bush's secret directive covers actions across a huge geographic area – from Lebanon to Afghanistan – but is also far more sweeping in the type of actions permitted under its guidelines – up to and including the assassination of targeted officials. This widened scope clears the way, for example, for full support for the military arm of Mujahedin-e Khalq, the cultish Iranian opposition group, despite its enduring position on the State Department's list of terrorist groups.
Similarly, covert funds can now flow without restriction to Jundullah, or "army of god," the militant Sunni group in Iranian Baluchistan – just across the Afghan border -- whose leader was featured not long ago on Dan Rather Reports cutting his brother in law's throat.
Other elements that will benefit from U.S. largesse and advice include Iranian Kurdish nationalists, as well the Ahwazi arabs of south west Iran. Further afield, operations against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon will be stepped up, along with efforts to destabilize the Syrian regime.
All this costs money, which in turn must be authorized by Congress, or at least a by few witting members of the intelligence committees. That has not proved a problem. An initial outlay of $300 million to finance implementation of the finding has been swiftly approved with bipartisan support, apparently regardless of the unpopularity of the current war and the perilous condition of the U.S. economy.
Until recently, the administration faced a serious obstacle to action against Iran in the form of Centcom commander Admiral William Fallon, who made no secret of his contempt for official determination to take us to war. In a widely publicized incident last January, Iranian patrol boats approached a U.S. ship in what the Pentagon described as a "taunting" manner. According to Centcom staff officers, the American commander on the spot was about to open fire. At that point, the U.S. was close to war. He desisted only when Fallon personally and explicitly ordered him not to shoot. The White House, according to the staff officers, was "absolutely furious" with Fallon for defusing the incident.
Fallon has since departed. His abrupt resignation in early March followed the publication of his unvarnished views on our policy of confrontation with Iran, something that is unlikely to happen to his replacement, George Bush's favorite general, David Petraeus.
Though Petraeus is not due to take formal command at Centcom until late summer, there are abundant signs that something may happen before then. A Marine amphibious force, originally due to leave San Diego for the Persian Gulf in mid June, has had its sailing date abruptly moved up to May 4. A scheduled meeting in Europe between French diplomats acting as intermediaries for the U.S. and Iranian representatives has been abruptly cancelled in the last two weeks. Petraeus is said to be at work on a master briefing for congress to demonstrate conclusively that the Iranians are the source of our current troubles in Iraq, thanks to their support for the Shia militia currently under attack by U.S. forces in Baghdad.
Interestingly, despite the bellicose complaints, Petraeus has made little effort to seal the Iran-Iraq border, and in any case two thirds of U.S. casualties still come from Sunni insurgents. "The Shia account for less than one third," a recently returned member of the command staff in Baghdad familiar with the relevant intelligence told me, "but if you want a war you have to sell it."
Even without the covert initiatives described above, the huge and growing armada currently on station in the Gulf is an impressive symbol of American power.
Armed Might of US Marred By Begging Bowl to Arabs
Sometime in the next two weeks, fleet radar operator may notice a blip on their screens that represents something rather more profound: America's growing financial weakness. The blip will be former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's plane commencing its descent into Abu Dhabi. Rubin's responsibility these days is to help keep Citigroup afloat despite a balance sheet still waterlogged, despite frantic bail out efforts by the Federal Reserve and others, by staggering losses in mortgage bonds. The Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund injected $7.5 billion last November (albeit at a sub-prime interest rate of eleven percent,) but the bank's urgent need for fresh capital persists, and Abu Dhabi is where the money is.
Even if those radar operators pay no attention to Mr. Rubin's flight, and the ironic contrast it illustrates between American military power and financial weakness, others will, and not just in Tehran. There's not much a finding can do about that.
Andrew Cockburn is a regular CounterPunch contributor. He lives in Washington DC. His most recent book is Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall and Catastrophic Legacy.
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www.VelvetRevolution.us
Bush, Congress are indeed Terriorists to contemplate these acts
Desperate these warmongers are to plan these
evil acts against Iran. They have not one grain
of reverence for life. Who are they being led
by -- demons I fear. These very covert acts to
ferment a war are indeed crimes against humanity.
Assasinations are "normal" for this administration;
Not one thought is given to dialog for peace --
just secret aims to start another war for oil.
And possibly for ancient artifacts so sought
after by the elite, and other secret reasons...
Empire seekers indeed.
Hitting Iran
McCain and Clinton were two ardent supporters of the Kyle-Lieberman bill that gave Bush the green light to hit Iran, a country that poses no eminent danger to us. Iraq isn't bad enough, I guess. The loss of lives and limb are downplayed by the media, and the standard of living for Americans continues to drop due to the bankrupting wars started by this government. This is unacceptable, but the government ignores us. We live in a totalitarian dictatorship.
Due to the bankrupting wars, and job outsourcing started under the Clinton regime, this country is being plundered of all it's resources. Everything is going out, nothing is coming in. Wages dropped $1000. last year, while buying power declined $9000. Our dollar is sinking like a stone, we are building nothing and borrowing billions to pay for the wars, Blackwater, and all the other profiteers. Blackwater troops average $100,000 a year vs. the starvation wages paid to our true military troops.
I plan to live elsewhere before 2012, the USA has been turned into a 21st century version of Nazi Germany, complete with secret camps that use torture to advance political objectives.
If McCain or Clinton capture the White House, it will only get worse. Obama might be able to bring this madness to a close if the will of the people prevails. Unfortunately, we have a government that could care less what the people want, we will see soon enough.
Marilyn Gjerdrum
Elsewhere
Are there any good prospects for living elsewhere? We are looking for a new home as well, but are having trouble find a country not in the sphere of US, World Bank hegemony.
Thanks
Iran Nuclear Holocaust
Perhaps a Cardiologist could IV Cheney with Pennzoil WD-40?
Everything they do is "secret" because everything they do is nefarious. The Election Soap Opera on television is merely a red herring to distract from their criminal activities, complete with adolescent nonsense like "tie-clips". Since Bush and his cronies have broken America's "Justice System", Cheney and Bush need to be extradited to the Hague and investigated for the 9/11/01 murders, 935 + documents lies, war crimes, war profiteering, torture, crimes against humanity, environmental terrorism, economic terrorism, treason and election frauds. After their ill begotten financial assets have been seized, give them a fair trial for the civilized world to see with no interference from corrupted media cronies. The misbegotten man-child has never been held accountable for anything in his wretched drunken life.
Bush's bogus war ended 5 years ago when he made a fool out of himself by swaggering aboard the SS Abraham Lincoln like a spoiled little brat dressed in a Flight Suit in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner and arrogantly proclaimed that "combat operations had ended, the United States and her Allies have prevailed". It has been a grotesquely illegal occupation ever since that has destroyed over 5 million men, women and children who never had ANYTHING to do with Bush's "9/11". This constitutes a Holocaust.
I cannot understand how anyone could be stupid enough to celebrate the obscene oil profits of such vile thugs when everyone is being ripped off by it. Tax cuts for "Big Oil"? Virtually all of the Neocruds are Oil Robber Barons, ( Exxon named an Oil Tanker after Condoleezza Rice) the price of oil has increased by nearly 600% since the 2000 coup d'etat and the sheeple still believe it's a coincidence? Before he became Governor of Texas, the BIN LADEN family bailed Bush out of his incompetently managed Harken Oil Company but Osama Bin Forgotten is unlikely to bail him out of his incompetently run United States. Legitimate evidence suggests that he has been dead for over 6 years.
Incredibly, knuckle dragging right wingnut are still too dense to comprehend the fact that our House is on fire, they refuse to smell the smoke and they want to bomb/invade/rape/plunder/murder/consume and destroy/contaminate sovereign nations that they cannot even find on a map. Iran has not invaded anyone for over 200 years but the sheeple are quick to subscribe to everything the chronically lying Neocruds say. They are very slow witted to think cognitively but quick to "panic" and scream "LIBERAL"! These sheeple even have the temerity to invoke Christianity with their racist moral turpitude. How pathetically devoid of intellect or conscience!
Holocaust
Thank you for your insightful analysis. I agree with all of it. The silent coup of 2000 radically changed the direction of this country forever. The utter and complete corruption demonstrated in the three branches of government is a result of Americans allowing a government to run itself. The horrors of the Bush/Cheney administration has awakened millions of people to register to vote and speak for the first time. Unfortunately, they may be too late. Rights once lost are never regained without a fight. With the Orwellian totalitarian government in place, people who protest can be stripped of their assets and jailed indefinately as "enemies of the people". Jailed and tortured with no recourse to lawyers, judges or juries. Many of us protested the executive order that allows this, but as usual, Congress turned a deaf ear.
Between the silent cancerous growth of Blackwater troop camps in every state and the oppressive president to whom they answer, a free election is an illusion at best. Historically, foreign or mercenary troops are used to protect the oppressors, not the oppressed. They have helped Bush/cheney to destroy the lives and homes of millions and kill countless others in Iraq without consequence.
Holocast is exactly what they are continuing to perpetuate. Bush/cheney are war criminals, and if there were any truth or justice left in this country, they would be removed from office, impeached and prosecuted. The gutless congress holds endless hearings about their contemptous indifference to their demands for answers and does nothing.
All the candidates who spoke for the people were eliminated. The plan was Clinton vs. McCain both of whom are good corporate stooges. Obama may have surprised the powers that be; I don't think they planned on his movement exploding from the ground up. They under-estimated him and ignored the growing unrest in this country. They are trying to find a way to destroy Obama and shove Clinton down our throats. She and McCain were ardent supporters of the Kyle-Lieberman bill giving bush the power to attack Iran without congressional approval....again. That fact should show anyone neither of them are fit for office, let alone president.
Bush has added a third aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, he has guns pointing at Iran right now, and fully intends to attack. This government doesn't care the citizens don't want and can't afford more wars. These mindless, incompent fools are destroying our world.
All our resources have been plundered. The Bear-Sterns bailout is on the backs of the taxpayers, we are all they have left to sell. The taxpayer is buying sub-prime loans in the billions and exchanging treasury bill for them. I will be living elsewhere before 2012; this is becoming too terrible a place to live.
Between the executive orders and the Patriot Act, the president has the power of a king. Thanks to no impeachment, the office permantly holds these powers. He also has the power to dissolve congress "in an national emergency". Historically, when given this power, a leader usually does. The corrupt courts are already under his thumb, and congress isn't any better.
In July of 2004, an idea the elections might need postphonement in case of a terrorist attack was floated. People reacted, even the Congress pushed back and the idea was dropped. Dropped, but not forgotten.
I also agree about Bin laden, I think he is dead, too.
Thanks for what you wrote, it is spot on!
Marilyn Gjerdrum
You're Welcome
You're welcome Marilyn. How ironic that American Patriots of conscience who are loyal to the Republic must prepare to Expatriate from the United States Empire. Take care OK?
apparition
Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran
DonP So What, Who Cares? Congress voted unaminously last year to authorize military action against Iran. Money is no problem Democrats may talk against war, but they love it just like the Rs do. Talking just gets them re-elected. Americans have no interest in whether we nuke Iran or just kill all the Iranians. If you don't believe me ask them. Tnere are no candidates for the presidency or for Congress who will risk their election by openly opposing any military action any where in the world. So I say again, we are going to attack Iran: So What-Who Cares?