United States News Digest

Military Officers Cited for 'Christian' Video Roles

Aug. 7 (EIRNS)—The Defense Department's inspector general released a report Aug. 2 recommending that certain Army and Air Force officers be disciplined for appearing in a video used to raise funds for the "Christian Embassy." That Washington, D.C.-based group is in practice an adjunct to "The Fellowship," the secretive unit which captured the disgraced former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay (R) soon after he came to Washington. The Christian Embassy, founded in the 1970s by Campus Crusade for Christ leader Bill Bright, runs prayer meetings in the Pentagon and at U.S. military installations.

The I.G. report says Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Catton, Army Brig. Gen. Bob Caslen, Army Maj. Gen. Peter Sutton, Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, and other lower-ranking officers "improperly endorsed and participated with a non-Federal entity while in uniform."

General Caslen is a former deputy director for political-military affairs for the war on terrorism, and now oversees cadets at West Point. The current Army Secretary, Pete Geren, a former aide to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, also took part in the video.

The inspector general's report says the Army generals defended their actions by saying the "Christian Embassy had become a 'quasi-Federal entity,' since the DOD had endorsed the organization to General Officers for over 25 years."

Bush and Sarkozy Meet at Kennebunkport

Aug. 11 (EIRNS)—The Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine was the site of a meeting this weekend, between President George Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy arrived from his vacation spot in nearby New Hampshire and was welcomed by the Bush family, including former President George H.W. and Barbara Bush. In impromptu remarks with reporters while waiting for Sarkozy to arrive, George W. Bush said the two of them would have 45 minutes of "private time," during which they would discuss "some of the key issues of the world," including Iran. When he did arrive, Sarkozy had only warm words for Bush and for France's relationship with the U.S.

It was in Kennebunkport in July that Bush—with his father, but without his controller Dick Cheney—met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took his lead in undercutting the momentum of the confrontationist Cheneyacs, including an agreement to support nuclear energy development by other nations.

Prior to his departure for the United States, Sarkozy discussed a French nuclear power deal in the offing with Libya. "When a country goes towards normalization, and renounces terrorism, I prefer it get help to move towards democratization. It is also a signal to Iran to show how one can become reintegrated into the international community by cooperating."

Two New Signers on House Bill To Impeach Cheney

Aug. 5 (EIRNS)—The two latest signers of H.R. 333, the bill to bring articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney, filed by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), are Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Steven Cohen (D-Tenn.). This brings the official total number of backers to 19, six of whom are members of the 23-person Democratic membership of the House Judiciary Committee, headed by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.).

Impeach Cheney? 'Dumbest Move Dems Could Make,' Says Washington Post/London Guardian

Aug. 5 (EIRNS)—A Sunday Washington Post headline screams that impeachment is "The Dumbest Thing the Democrats Could Do." Timed with the moment Congress returns home to face growing public fury at the Administration, lengthy arguments are presented to back up the concluding statement, "...impeachment is exactly the wrong step to take at exactly the wrong historical moment." It would fail, divide Democrats, rally Republicans, alienate "non-ideologicals," create a martyr President, lose the 2008 elections, on and on. Conspicuously, there are no citations of the leading fronts of the Impeach Cheney leadership, namely Lyndon LaRouche, or Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), and his H.R. 333 for impeachment proceedings, nor any other specifics of the many state and local resolutions, petitions, etc.

This is consistent with the pedigree of the author of the article, and the years-long "black operations" of this media nexus. The writer is Michael Tomasky, American Prospect executive editor, who, on May 7, 2007, took over as editor of the London Guardian's U.S.-based website, opening next month.

The Guardian was the first British paper to print slanders against Lyndon LaRouche concerning the suicide of Jeremiah Duggan, a young British man. Its chairman, financier Paul Myners, is a Bank of England director, close ally of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the British government's leading spokesman for the looting of pension funds by hedge funds and budget cutters.

Tomasky is highly qualified for the Guardian assignment, and for doing the Washington Post's dirty work. Among his deployments against LaRouche, is a slander article he wrote for New York magazine, Feb. 14, 2000, that Roy Innis had (falsely) "testified in a federal court that he'd seen no evidence of anti-Semitism in the Lyndon LaRouche organization, well after LaRouche's Holocaust denial was a matter of public record."

Republican Candidates Distance Themselves from Cheney

Aug. 5 (EIRNS)—In a campaign forum hosted by ABC News on Aug. 4, the Republican Presidential candidates responded to the question from the moderator, George Stephanopoulos, "There's been a growing controversy over the role of the office of the Vice President.... What authority would you delegate to the Office of Vice President?"

Sen. John McCain: "...I really would do what some Presidents have done in the past. A Vice President brings a certain area of expertise and talent. I would probably assign some of those areas, like telecommunications or some other important issues. But—

Moderator: "So not as wide-ranging as Vice President Cheney had?

McCain: "Look, I would be very careful that everybody understood that there's only one President."

Sen. Sam Brownback: "George, I wouldn't delegate things to the Vice President. But I would involve the Vice President in a lot of things.... Dick Cheney came in with a lot of experience ... on defense, foreign policy issues. And I think the President over-relied on that. I think Dick Cheney has done an admirable job. I think the President's over-relied upon that...."

Rep. Ron Paul: "...If you take perceptions from Washington, most people there behind the scenes think the Vice President is more powerful than the President.

"Philosophically, I think this is the case. It's obvious that he represents a neo-conservative viewpoint.

"And my objection is that that has been the rejection of the Republican Party platform and traditional conservatism. And I think this is where we have gone astray. We have drifted from our fundamental premises and the conservative values that this party used to get."

Shuttle Blasts Off 'To Build the Station, and the Future'

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off for an 11-day flight at 6:36 this evening, on a mission to deliver supplies, spare parts, and new hardware to the International Space Station. But the eyes of many schoolchildren will be watching Barbara Morgan, one of the seven crew members. An elementary school teacher from Idaho, Morgan was the back-up teacher-in-space to Christa McCauliffe, who died in the January 1986 Challenger accident.

After the accident, Morgan became a NASA ambassador, criss-crossing the country talking to students about space exploration, and returned to teaching in Idaho. She joined NASA in 1998 to train as an astronaut mission specialist. She is planning to teach at least one lesson during the Shuttle mission, and more if the mission is extended.

At a post-launch press conference this evening, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin was asked if he thought having Morgan on this flight, which has increased interest from the media, is good for the "public's attitude" toward NASA. Griffin, who always bristles at questions about people's "attitudes," said Morgan will "do some teaching in space and will do more when she gets back home." He added, "Everything we do in space excites kids."