In this issue:

New York Times Calls for Boykin's Removal

Choral Society: GOP Convention Nothing To Sing About

Maryland Touch-Screen Voting 'Vulnerable to Fraud'

NAACP Accuses GOP of Suppressing Black Vote

Hoekstra Named Head of House Intelligence Panel

Questions Remain About Bush's National Guard Service

Auditors Strongly Urged Halliburton Payments Be Withheld

Goss Supported Deep Cuts in Intelligence Budget

Nader's Ballot Woes Spell Trouble for Cheney

9/11 Commission Releases Two New Reports

Roberts Issues New Plan To Reorganize Intelligence

From Volume 3, Issue Number 35 of EIR Online, Published Aug. 31, 2004

United States News Digest

New York Times Calls for Boykin's Removal

The New York Times, in an Aug. 26 editorial, called for Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin to be removed from his post as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, for displaying religious bigotry. The Times makes no mention of Boykin's relationship to his boss, neo-con Straussian Steve Cambone, or his role in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. It instead expresses dismay at the possibility that Boykin may only be reprimanded for not having sought clearance for the 23 speeches he gave before church groups, equating the war on terror with a Christian religious crusade, and saying that God had placed George Bush in the Presidency. Boykin is a "national embarrassment," and removal of the "preacher-general should be a no-brainer," the Times concludes.

Choral Society: GOP Convention Nothing To Sing About

The New York Choral Society has cancelled its agreement to sing at the Republican National Convention. The plan was to sing patriotic songs at the Convention, but with the understanding that anyone who didn't want to participate was free to skip it. Apparently that didn't leave much of a chorus, and angered members who didn't want to be counted as part of the new Empire. In its Aug. 26 edition, the New York Post was furious that the Choral Society had cancelled. Now, they'll just have to whistle Dixie.

Maryland Touch-Screen Voting 'Vulnerable to Fraud'

The new Maryland electronic voting system is "terribly vulnerable" to fraud, said a computer expert who tested the machines last year and recommended a number of changes to be made. Michael Wertheimer of RABA Technologies testified that his review of the latest report by the Maryland State Board of Elections has convinced him that the system "still would receive a failing grade."

Wertheimer was one of a number of witnesses at an Aug. 25 hearing in Annapolis on a lawsuit brought by a group of activists known as TrueVoteMD, who are asking that the state give all voters the option of using paper ballots in November, instead of electronic voting machines.

Earlier, laboratory tests of Maryland's Diebold touch-screen machines showed that hackers could easily tamper with the machines and rig the vote count.

NAACP Accuses GOP of Suppressing Black Vote

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) has issued a report accusing the Republican Party of intentionally moving to curtail black voting rights, the Washington Post reported Aug. 26. The report, issued by NAACP chief Julian Bond, and the group People for the American Way, says that the old Jim Crow policies of the Southern Democrats have "increasingly become the province of the Republican Party." The groups point to the Florida effort to eliminate felons from the voting lists in a way that disenfranchised thousands of legitimate black voters, and other cases around the country. As many as 4-6 million voters were disenfranchised in the 2000 election.

Hoekstra Named Head of House Intelligence Panel

Rep. Peter Hoesktra (R-Mich) has been named to head up the House Intelligence Committee, succeeding Rep. Porter Goss of Florida. In announcing Hoekstra's appointment Aug. 25, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) commented that the Michigan Congressman had a special interest in Iraq, and had led several Congressional delegations to that country. Press sources describe Hoekstra as a "loyalist" who has staunchly defended the Bush Administration's launching the war in Iraq, and was chosen for the post above others who had greater seniority on the House committee.

The Grand Rapids Press of Aug. 12 had reported that Hoekstra was lobbying actively for the post at that time, and had "stuck close" to both Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to improve his chances of being selected. In naming him, Hastert emphasized the importance of the House committee's implementing the 9/11 Commission's recommendations for reforming the intelligence community, although the New York Times mentioned, on Aug. 26, that Hoekstra had publicly questioned some of those recommendations.

Questions Remain About Bush's National Guard Service

While the controversy—fabricated by the GOP dirty-tricks machine—continues to burn around Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry's conduct in Vietnam, many questions remain unanswered about President George Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972 and 1973. This, despite the fact that the White House has released hundreds of pages of Bush's military records. Among the questions noted by USA Today on Aug. 24 that remain still to be answered are the following:

* Why did Bush stop flying fighter jets in the spring of 1972, and fail to take an annual physical exam required of all pilots?

* What explains the gap in his Guard service in 1972-73, when commanders in Texas and Alabama say they never saw him report for duty and there are no records showing that he received pay when he was supposed to be on duty in Alabama?

* Did Bush receive preferential treatment in getting into the Guard and getting a coveted pilot slot, even though he had poor qualifying scores, and arrests, though no convictions, for rowdiness in college?

The records released so far don't answer any of these questions. The only evidence existing of Bush being in the National Guard between May 1972 and April 1973 is a record of a dental examination in Alabama on Jan. 6, 1973.

News organizations, including USA Today, are seeking more of Bush's military records through the Freedom of Information Act, but so far, no more have become available. Since the February release, the White House has banned all Guard and military commanders from commenting on Bush's service. Requests must go through FOIA.

Auditors Strongly Urged Halliburton Payments Be Withheld

Pentagon auditors "strongly" urged the Army not to grant Halliburton another extension, and to withhold paying 15% of Halliburton's billings in Iraq for over $4 billion for feeding and housing troops in Iraq, according to a Pentagon document released on Aug. 24 by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif). The Aug. 16 memorandum from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) to Army Field Support Command, said the DCAA had "identified significant unsupported costs" submitted by Halliburton's KBR unit, and found "numerous, systemic issues ... with KBR's estimates."

The memo found that continued extensions—beyond the three already granted—for Halliburton to justify its high costs, were unwarranted. Despite months of efforts by DCAA to obtain accurate cost estimates, the auditors stated that "[t]o date, KBR has not provided ... basic supporting data for the significant task order proposals." According to DCAA, KBR "should have adequate supporting data by now." Previous extensions had not succeeded in prompting Halliburton to correct its deficiencies, the memo said. "We do not believe the quality of KBR's proposals has improved. ... [E]ach successive update continues to be significantly deficient." The memo cited "unsupported" costs of $1.8 billion—a staggering 42% of Halliburton's total logistics contract.

DCAA concluded by calling on the Army to withhold 15% of payments from Halliburton. "It is clear to us KBR will not provide an adequate proposal until there is a consequence. Therefore, we strongly encourage you not to extend the implementation of this clause any further and only allow payment of the 85 percent as specified in the clause until KBR submits adequate proposals on all proposals deemed inadequate."

One day after the memo was sent, the Army said it would implement the withholding, but then abruptly reversed the decision and said it would give Halliburton more time to provide additional cost information.

In an Aug. 24 letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, called on the Defense Department to end its "special treatment" for Halliburton. Government audits by DCAA, the GAO, and the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority (no defunct) Inspector General, "have found widespread, systemic problems with almost every aspect of Halliburton's work in Iraq;" plus, the Aug. 16 DCAA memo (see above) and the Aug. 4 DCAA audit are the "latest indictment" of Halliburton's bogus accounting. "The Defense Department has not responded appropriately to these findings," Waxman charged. "To the contrary, despite KBR's record of overbilling and shoddy accounting," said Waxman, "the Defense Department has awarded Halliburton large new contracts and repeatedly waived procurement regulations. This special treatment of Halliburton should end."

Goss Supported Deep Cuts in Intelligence Budget

Although the Republican Party is running ads attacking Sen. John Kerry for proposing cuts in the U.S. intelligence budget in the mid-1990's, President Bush's nominee to be Director of Central Intelligence, Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla), supported much larger cuts in 1995, calling for a 4% per year reduction in personnel in intelligence agencies, over the following five years. Goss was one of six original co-sponsors of legislation titled HR 1923, known as "Restructuring a Limited Government Act." Rep. Jane Harman (Calif), the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said "Goss's bill is obviously much more severe" than cuts supported by Kerry.

Nader's Ballot Woes Spell Trouble for Cheney

The challenges faced by would-be independent Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, in his attempt to get on the ballot in many states, are undercutting one of Vice President Dick Cheney's efforts to steal the election by siphoning Democratic votes through fraud. On Aug. 23, Michigan state election officials deadlocked over whether to accept Nader's petitions, sending the dispute to an appeals court. In Illinois, a Federal court denied Nader's challenge to state election laws. Nader has failed to meet ballot requirements in: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. He also faces other challenges in numerous states. In Maine, citizen activists are trying to disqualify him, while West Virginia's state Attorney General has just filed a lawsuit charging that Nader petitioners violated state election laws.

Meanwhile, Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore—chairman of the state committee to re-elect Bush, said Nader doesn't have to comply with the state requirement to file signatures grouped by Congressional district, but it is still not clear whether he has sufficient valid signatures to qualify.

9/11 Commission Releases Two New Reports

On Aug. 21, the 9/11 Commission released two new reports as it was closing up shop, the New York Times reported Aug. 22. The staff reports, on terrorist financing and terrorist travel, say that the FBI has still made little progress in stopping terrorist financing. Despite beefed up efforts, "it is nevertheless relatively easy to fund terrorist operations," the first report says. It says that the Saudis did not take seriously the problem of charities, which were financing terrorism, until the spring of 2003, but blamed this in part on the U.S. failing to provide the Saudis with intelligence.

The travel report clears the U.S. of any blame in allowing members of bin Laden's family to leave the country after 9/11, reporting that those leaving had all been cleared and were not suspects.

Roberts Issues New Plan To Reorganize Intelligence

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, surprised Democrats when he announced a new plan for the reorganization of intelligence on Aug. 22. Appearing on "Face the Nation," with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the panel, Roberts surprised both the host Bob Schieffer and Levin by presenting his plan, signed by the eight Republican members of the Committee. While it differs from the 9/11 Commission recommendation, the details are not important, since the purpose of the proposal is to muddy the waters further. Levin said it was intended to force the Congress to "fool around with other political gestures, to spend weeks in September, when we should be focusing on reform of the intelligence community." Levin added that the primary problem was the "politicization of intelligence during this administration," which is a problem, "just as important as any of the structural reform."

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