In this issue:

Rumsfeld, Others, Charged with War Crimes

Ohio Republican Shoots Down Bush's Bunker-Buster Bombs

Rice, Other Confirmations Held Till January

Istook Makes Amtrak Cuts Issue of GOP Party Loyalty

Civil Rights Groups Challenge Gonzales Nomination

Buchanan Warns Against Neo-Con War Plans for Iran

U.S. Military Recruiters Under Pressure

entagon's Office of Strategic Influence Still in Business

Bush Administration Defies Supreme Court

From Volume 3, Issue Number 49 of EIR Online, Published Dec. 7, 2004

United States News Digest

Rumsfeld, Others, Charged with War Crimes

The U.S. Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and four former Iraqi prisoners from Abu Ghraib brought charges in German court on Nov. 30 against Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, and other "mid-level" U.S. officials. The criminal complaint was brought under the German Code of Crimes against International Law (CCIL), and seeks an investigation into war crimes allegedly carried out by high-ranking U.S. civilian and military officials, including the incidents which occurred in Iraq. The charges include violations of the German Code, War Crimes against Persons, which outlaws killing, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, sexual coercion, and forcible transfers. Reflecting the Nuremberg Trial statutes under which the Nazis were tried at the end of World War II, these make criminally responsible not only those who carry out the above acts, but also those who induce, condone, or order them. They make liable commanders, whether civilian or military, who fail to prevent their subordinates from committing such acts.

"We view Germany as a court of last resort," said CCR vice president Peter Weiss. "We file these cases here because there is simply no other place to go. It is clear that the U.S. government is not willing to open an investigation into these allegations against these officials."

The CCR press release also pointed out that Congress has failed to seriously investigate the abuses, and that neither the various commissions appointed by the military nor the Bush Administration have been willing to look "unflinchingly" up the chain of command for responsibility. CCR president Michael Ratner, who flew to Berlin to file the complaint, said, "the existence of torture memos drafted by Administration officials, and the authorization of techniques that violated humanitarian law by Secretary Rumsfeld, Lt. Gen. Sanchez, and others, make clear that responsibility for Abu Ghraib and other violations of law reaches all the way to the top." Weiss added, "we are doing what is necessary and expected when other systems of justice have failed: We are asking the German prosecutors, who have available one of the most advanced universal jurisdiction laws in the world, to begin an investigation that is required under its law."

The U.S. officials charged include Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former CIA Director George Tenet, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Dr. Stephen Cambone, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski, Lt. Col. Jerry L. Phillabaum, Col. Thomas Pappas, and Lt. Col. Stephen L. Jordan.

So far, the only coverage noted was on Al-Jazeera TV.

Ohio Republican Shoots Down Bush's Bunker-Buster Bombs

One of the few decent provisions in the omnibus budget bill passed by the House and Senate on Nov. 27, was the removal of $27 million in funding for a study of nuclear bunker-buster bombs. Representative David Hobson (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee, removed the funding for that program from the subcommittee's bill last June, and successfully held it off in the conference committee, even though the Senate had fully funded the program. "We cannot advocate for nuclear proliferation around the globe and pursue more nuclear weapons options here at home," he had said in a speech to the National Academy of Sciences, last August.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer Nov. 29 called Hobson's action "a gutsy, principled stand of the sort that too few of his fellow Republicans in Congress take anymore, and the world may be a safer place for it." The Plain Dealer also reports that Hobson argued that the great danger is that the development of such "small" nuclear weapons almost guarantees that they will be used, if not by us, then by someone else.

Rice, Other Confirmations Held Till January

Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, indicated to Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace Nov. 28, that confirmation hearings for Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State would not likely take place until January. Asked if U.S. foreign policy were likely to change under Rice, Lugar concluded, "Well, I don't see that for the moment, but, you know, this is an evolving situation. This Administration is going to have to think through Iran ... a lot of thinking about Iraq, and certainly Ukraine and Russia."

Istook Makes Amtrak Cuts Issue of GOP Party Loyalty

Earlier this year, when the Amtrak budget was being debated, 21 Republicans broke ranks and signed a letter to House Transportation Committee chairman Ernest Istook (R-Okla), asking for a $1.8-billion funding level. Now, buried in the pages of the omnibus spending bill just passed, these lawmakers are finding out one way the Bush Administration intends to enforce party loyalty. It has been discovered that Istook "drastically reduced, or entirely excised, the transportation earmarks that those lawmakers were expecting to receive," according to The Hill Nov. 24.

Several of these members were said to be "vulnerable," including "centrists" Rob Simmons (Conn) and Jim Gerlach (Pa), both of whom had just won tight races. A GOP "leadership aide" expressed shock, not at the method, but that Istook had included "the vulnerables." Reportedly, Reps. John McHugh and Sherwood Boehlert, both of New York, visited Istook's office and, "according to some accounts," McHugh came close to physical blows with Istook. Istook's office was unapologetic, saying, "last year, they had 32 members sign the letter, and this year it was only 21, so some people got the message," adding that they expect "even fewer public supporters for Amtrak funding in next year's process."

Civil Rights Groups Challenge Gonzales Nomination

A total of 30 civil rights groups, including the NAACP, Human Rights Watch, and the ACLU, have co-signed a letter to Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling for "close scrutiny" of the record of Bush's nominee for Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales. Stopping just short of opposing the nomination, the signees expressed "concern" about Gonzales' activities as White House counsel, specifically highlighting the role he played in setting the policy for Guantanamo prisoner detention and interrogation. "Changes made as a result, to long-established U.S. policy and practice, paved the way for the horrific torture at Abu Ghraib," the letter said. "We strongly urge that you engage in a searching and thorough review of Mr. Gonzales' record, his positions, and his future plans for the Justice Department." It also urged the Committee to determine whether Gonzales will continue the "troubling record of outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft."

For his part, Leahy said he has already warned Gonzales that the subject of the 2002 memo will be raised extensively in the confirmation hearings and that he must respond to the questions. "I think it's important for his own credibility" and the credibility of the Department of Justice, he said.

Buchanan Warns Against Neo-Con War Plans for Iran

Conservative columnist and one-time Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, in a piece posted on the antiwar.com website Dec. 1, joined former Bush 41 National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and others in pointing out the insanity of a strike on Iran. "U.S. strikes would likely unite the Iranians behind the regime, and retaliation might come in the form of 'volunteers' for a Shia uprising in Iraq and attacks on U.S. interests across the Middle East," while oil prices would skyrocket, the statement said. Buchanan also notes that Iran is making big concessions to avoid such a war, and that Iran has generally welcomed the ouster of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

To achieve coexistence, Buchanan writes, the U.S. should: "return to Iran the billions she is owed by the U.S., end U.S. sanctions, and invite them to join the WTO." Iran should restrain Hezbollah, and cooperate on Iraq. "As for the neocons' insistence on 'regime change' in Iran," writes Buchanan, "it is a deal breaker, which is why Israel and the neocons have made it their non-negotiable demand. They don't want a deal. They want a war."

U.S. Military Recruiters Under Pressure

U.S. military recruiters are under pressure to identify some 180,000 new volunteers as casualty counts in Iraq and Afghanistan approach 1,300 dead and 10,000 wounded. A Boston Globe inquiry, published Nov. 29, compares recruitment tactics at two schools: working-class McDonough High School in Maryland; and upscale Langley High School in Virginia, near CIA headquarters.

At McDonough, the approach includes recruiters chaperoning dances, student ROTC classes where they lead drills from a retired sergeant major in uniform, and every prospect gets called at least six times by the Army alone, as well as receiving key chains, mugs, and military brochures in the lunchroom. At Langley, however, recruiters are required to adhere to a strict quota of visits, lining up behind dozens of college brochures.

Nearly all efforts are aimed at impending or recent high school graduates, but Kurt Gilroy, who directs recruiting policy for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, admits that the concentration is "on places most likely to maximize return on the recruiting dollar [because] the advertising and marketing research people tell us to go where the low-hanging fruit is, in other words, we fish where the fish are."

Some 15 out of 322 seniors at McDonough had enlisted by graduation, while Langley, which had no recent statistics, indicated that only three to seven out of a class of 400 signed up.

Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) says society places what should be a shared burden of defense only on those poor enough to be induced to risk their lives for a chance at college or a signing bonus. Those who sign up with the infantry for five years get $12,000 in cash or a smaller bonus, as well as up to $70,000 in college aid. Rangel argues that these youth are not "volunteers"; they need the money.

Pentagon's Office of Strategic Influence Still in Business

In 2002, the Pentagon allegedly shuttered its controversial Office of Strategic Influence (OSI), which was opened shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, after reports that the office intended to plant false news stories in the international media. But officials say that much of OSI's mission—using information as a tool of war—has been assumed by other offices throughout the U.S. government, according to the Los Angeles Times of Dec. 1.

A case in point: On the evening of Oct. 14, a young Marine spokesman near Fallujah appeared on CNN, which had been alerted ahead of time, and delivered the dramatic announcement: "Troops crossed the line of departure," signalling the start of a major campaign.

In fact, the Fallujah offensive was kicked off three weeks later, and the pre-emptive announcement was meant to test the reactions of insurgents if they believed U.S. troops were entering the city. Subsequently, Pentagon officials made clear that this was anything but an isolated feint.

Bush Administration Defies Supreme Court

Despite the Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling last June, that prisoners being held at Guantanamo have the right to challenge their detention in the U.S. court system, the Pentagon and the Justice Department continue to claim that they can hold foreigners indefinitely as "enemy combatants," without giving them any access to the courts. Under aggressive questioning by Federal Judge Joyce Hens Green in a hearing Nov. 29, government lawyers claimed that they could hold foreigners indefinitely, even if they aided terrorists unintentionally, and never fought against the United States. And such detainees "have no constitutional rights enforceable in this court," the Justice Department said.

The judge asked: "If a little old lady in Switzerland writes checks to what she thinks is an orphanage in Afghanistan, but it's really supporting ... al-Qaeda, is she an enemy combatant?"

The government answered that she might be. "It would be up to the military to decide," the DOJ lawyer answered.

The DOJ and DOD are asking the court to dismiss the habeas corpus petitions brought by various Guantanamo prisoners, which have all been consolidated in the federal court in Washington, D.C.

"The Bush Administration's utter lack of respect for a ruling of the United States Supreme Court is shocking," said an official of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "How can we light the way to democracy for other countries, when our Executive Branch officials themselves flout the law?"

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