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Operation Truth - Home
Operation Truth - Home: "Aug 17, 2005
On Monday night, a vandal in a pickup truck ran over hundreds of small white crosses that had been installed in Crawford, Texas as a simple memorial to the Troops killed in Iraq. The vandal, who police say is Waco resident Larry Northern, was soon arrested, and OpTruth's Perry Jefferies managed to find his e-mail address. Here's what he had to say:
Mr. Northern:
I am a Veteran of the Iraq war, having served with the 4th Infantry Division on the initial invasion with Force Package One.
While I was in Iraq,a very good friend of mine, Christopher Cutchall,was killed in an unarmoredHMMWV outside of Baghdad. He was a cavalry scout serving with the 3d ID.Once he had declined the award of a medal because Soldiers assigned to him did not receive similar awards that he had recommended. He left two sons and awonderful wife. On Monday night, August 16, you ran down the memorial cross erected for him by Arlington West.
One of my Soldiers in Iraq was Roger Turner. We gave him a hard time because he always wore all of his protective equipment, including three pairs of glasses or goggles. He did this because he wanted to make sure that he returned home to his family. He rode a bicycle to work every day to make sure that he was able to save enough money on his Army salary to send his son to college. At Camp Anaconda, where the squadron briefly stayed, a rocket landed inside a tent, sending a piece of debris or fragment into him and killed him. On Monday night, August 16, you ran down the memorial cross erected for him by Arlington West.
One of my Soldiers was Henry Bacon. He was one of the finest men I ever met. He was in perfect shape for a man over forty, working hard at night. He told me that he did that because he didn't have much money to buy nice things for his wife, who he loved so much, so he had to be in good shape for her. He was like a father to many young men in his section of maintenance mechanics. They fixed our vehicles with almost no support and fabricated parts and made repairs that kept our squadron rolling on the longest, fastest armor advance ever made under fire. He was so very proud of his son-in-law that married the beautiful daughter so well raised by Henry. His son-in-law was a helicopter pilot with the 1st Cavalry Division, who died last year. Henry stopped to rescue a vehicle belonging to another unit on what was to be his last day in Iraq. He could have kept rolling - he was headed to Kuwait after a year's tour. But he stopped. He could have sent others to do the work, but he was on the ground, leading by example, when he was killed. On Monday night, August 16, you took it upon yourself to go out in the country, where a peaceful group was exercising their constitutional rights, and harming no one, and you ran down the memorial cross erected for Henry and for his son-in-law by Arlington West.
Mr. Northern - I know little about Cindy Sheehan except that she is a grieving mother, a gentle soul, and wants to bring harm to no one. I know little about you except that you found your way to Crawford on Monday night in August with chains and a pipe attached to your truck for the sole purpose of dishonoring a memorial erected for my friends and lost Soldiers and hundreds of others that served this nation when they were called. I find it disheartening that good men like these have died so that people like you can threaten a mother who lost a child with your actions. I hope that you are ashamed of yourself.
Perry Jefferies, First Sergeant, USA (retired)"
Oil Embargo?
August 19, 2005 Headlines | UK to test RFID-tagged license plates:
"TEHRAN — 'Oil is the lifeline of the West, and most of the West's military industries are dependent on it,” the Tehran Times suggested in an editorial last week. Irritated by a recent resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that called for a halt to Iran’s uranium conversion program, the newspaper suggested that oil-rich states form a united front and use oil as a tool to confront 'western neocolonialist countries.'
In Venezuela, Pres. Hugo Chavez has taken the idea a step further, threatening to halt oil exports if alleged attacks on his country continue, according to Agence France Press. Appearing last week as a witness at a symbolic “anti-imperialist court” in Caracas, Chavez said, “Washington’s molestation may cause more serious problems; our two oil tankers going to the U.S. everyday may go to another country.” He added that the “Northern America market is not compulsory for us.” Venezuela exports 1.5 million barrels of oil to the United States daily."
CNN.com - Former aide:�Powell�WMD speech�'lowest point in my life' - Aug 19, 2005
CNN.com - Former aide:�Powell�WMD speech�'lowest point in my life' - Aug 19, 2005:
"A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state's presentation to the United Nations on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was 'the lowest point' in his life.
'I wish I had not been involved in it,' says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a longtime Powell adviser who served as his chief of staff from 2002 through 2005. 'I look back on it, and I still say it was the lowest point in my life.'
Wilkerson is one of several insiders interviewed for the CNN Presents documentary 'Dead Wrong -- Inside an Intelligence Meltdown.'"
Shot Brazilian 'did not jump barrier and run'
Telegraph | News | Shot Brazilian 'did not jump barrier and run':
"The Brazilian electrician shot dead by police on the London Underground last month was being restrained when he was killed by officers from Scotland Yard's firearms unit, according to documents leaked last night.
.....................
Documents and photographs leaked to ITV News also confirmed that Mr de Menezes did not run from the police, as had been reported, had used his Tube pass to enter the station, rather than vault the barrier, and had taken a seat on the train before being grabbed by an officer.
He was wearing a light denim jacket and not as previously reported a padded coat which could have concealed explosives.
... the latest disclosures will cast fresh light on Sir Ian's insistence that the death was the tragic consequence of a legitimate operation."
Documents Show 'Serious' Gaps In Post-War Plans
TheNewMexicoChannel.com - News - Documents Show 'Serious' Gaps In Post-War Plans: "August 17, 2005
WASHINGTON -- According to newly declassified documents, the State Department warned U.S. Central Command before the invasion of Iraq of 'serious planning gaps' for postwar security.
In a memo dated one month before the beginning of the Iraq war, State Department officials also wrote that 'a failure to address short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns could result in serious human rights abuses.'
The memo suggested such failures could 'undermine' a successful military campaign and hurt the nation's reputation."
US IGNORED INFO ON 9/11 TERROR BOSS Mirror.co.uk - News -
Mirror.co.uk - News - US IGNORED INFO ON 9/11 TERROR BOSS:
"INTELLIGENCE about the ringleader of the 9/11 terror attacks was ignored, a US Army officer has claimed."
Colonel briefed 9/11 panel on Atta - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
Colonel briefed 9/11 panel on Atta - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper:
"An Army intelligence officer yesterday said he told staff members from the September 11 commission that a secret military unit had identified two of the three cells involved in the 2001 terrorist strikes more than a year before the attacks."
Colonel: 9/11 warning ignored / Military team IDd hijack leader, but info refused, he says
Colonel: 9/11 warning ignored / Military team IDd hijack leader, but info refused, he says:
"A military intelligence team repeatedly contacted the FBI in 2000 to warn about the existence of a U.S.-based terrorist cell that included the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a veteran Army intelligence officer who said he has decided to risk his career by discussing the information publicly."
Questions dog 9/11 probe
Questions dog 9/11 probe:
"An army intelligence officer said on Wednesday he does not believe the 9/11 commission pressed hard enough for documentation of claims that military intelligence found a United States-based terrorist cell that included Mohamed Atta, who turned out to be the leader of the September 11 attacks, prior to the terrorist strikes."
Xinhua - English
Xinhua - English: "Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) --
A US military intelligence officer asserted Wednesday that the Sept. 11 Commission failed to thoroughly probe a major intelligence error related to the deadly terror attacks in 2001."
US officer says Pentagon prevented al-Qaida reports reaching the FBI
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US officer says Pentagon prevented al-Qaida reports reaching the FBI:
"A US army intelligence officer went public yesterday with claims that a secret military unit had identified Mohammed Atta and three other al-Qaida members as a potential threat a year before they carried out the September 11 attacks in 2001."
KXXV-TV - News
KXXV-TV - News:
"One of President Bush's neighbors has offered the free use of his land to dozens of war protesters who have camped in roadside ditches the past eleven days.
Fred Mattlage, an Army veteran, said he sympathizes with the demonstrators whose makeshift camp off the winding road leading to Bush's ranch has angered most residents."
ChannelOklahoma.com - News - FBI Investigating Local Homeland Security Agents
ChannelOklahoma.com - News - FBI Investigating Local Homeland Security Agents: "August 16, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Allegations that as many as six federal Homeland Security deportation agents assaulted and tortured a Nigerian man who was shackled at Oklahoma City's Immigration and Customs Enforcement office are being investigated by the FBI, according to a published report.
Complaints were filed by the Nigerian, Daso Abibo, 51, and by Deanna Burdine, 65, a former Homeland Security employee who says she walked in on the assault."
Leahy Lambastes Roberts' 'Radical' Stands
Leahy Lambastes Roberts' 'Radical' Stands:
"Sen. Patrick Leahy, who will lead the Democratic questioning at John Roberts' confirmation hearings, criticized the Supreme Court nominee Tuesday as an 'eager, aggressive advocate' for policies of the Republican far right wing.
One day after the release of 5,000 pages of Reagan-era records, the Vermont Democrat said in a statement that Roberts' views were 'among the most radical being offered by a cadre intent on reversing decades of policies on civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, privacy and access to justice.'"
Officer Says Military Blocked Sharing of Files on Terrorists - New York Times
Officer Says Military Blocked Sharing of Files on Terrorists - New York Times:
"Aug. 16 - A military intelligence team repeatedly contacted the F.B.I. in 2000 to warn about the existence of an American-based terrorist cell that included the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a veteran Army intelligence officer who said he had now decided to risk his career by discussing the information publicly.
The officer, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, said military lawyers later blocked the team from sharing any of its information with the bureau.
Colonel Shaffer said in an interview on Monday night that the small, highly classified intelligence program, known as Able Danger, had identified the terrorist ringleader, Mohamed Atta, and three other future hijackers by name by mid-2000, and tried to arrange a meeting that summer with agents of the Washington field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to share its information.
But he said military lawyers forced members of the intelligence program to cancel three scheduled meetings with the F.B.I. at the last minute, which left the bureau without information that Colonel Shaffer said might have led to Mr. Atta and the other terrorists while the Sept. 11 attacks were still being planned.
'I was at the point of near insubordination over the fact that this was something important, that this was something that should have been pursued,' Colonel Shaffer said of his efforts to get the evidence from the intelligence program to the F.B.I. in 2000 and early 2001."
Update in ACLU Torture FOIA Lawsuit - American Civil Liberties Union :
American Civil Liberties Union : Update in ACLU Torture FOIA Lawsuit:
"Following a two-hour closed hearing in New York on August 15, a federal judge ordered the government to reveal blacked-out portions of its legal papers arguing against the release of images depicting abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib. The government has until August 18 to make the currently redacted statements public, or to appeal the decision.
The court will next hear arguments on August 30 to determine whether the Defense Department must release 87 photographs and four videos depicting abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib. After unsuccessfully invoking the Geneva Conventions to block the release of the images, the government is now citing a legal provision that permits the withholding of records 'compiled for law enforcement purposes,' that 'could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.'
In a friend-of-the-court brief submitted in the case, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and several media outlets and associations, including CBS Broadcasting, NBC Universal, The Hearst Corporation, The New York Times Co. and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, object to 'the government's misdirected effort to undermine the [Freedom of Information Act] by asserting, in essence, that its own misconduct has created an indictment too damning for the public to see.' Read the brief at"
Complaint targets Hastert committee
Complaint targets Hastert committee:
"A watchdog group filed a complaint today urging federal election officials to investigate whether House Speaker Dennis Hastert's campaign fund illegally accepted campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
Vanity Fair says a former fired FBI translator reported having heard Turkish wiretap targets boast that they had a covert relationship with Hastert. It says the targets reportedly discussed giving Hastert tens of thousands of dollars in secret payments in exchange for political favors and information."
What Did the President Know?
What Did the President Know?:
Now that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is said to have expanded his investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity to encompass a possible White House coverup, what the president and the vice president knew would appear to be much more relevant.
Fitzgerald interviewed both President Bush and Vice President Cheney more than a year ago, at what seemed at the time like the tail end of his investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.
Bush and Cheney were not placed under oath -- the reasoning apparently being that they had no direct involvement in the potential criminal activity under investigation: the leak itself. We don't know much about either interview, beyond the fact that Bush had his personal attorney at his side.
But now Fitzgerald's investigation appears to have turned its focus to discrepancies in the testimony of White House senior adviser Karl Rove and vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Fitzgerald may be trying to determine whether evidence exists to bring perjury or obstruction of justice charges.
And that raises the issue of what -- if anything -- Rove and Libby told Bush and Cheney about their roles.
So does that mean Fitzgerald might call Bush and Cheney to testify before the grand jury -- under oath? Might he even have done so already? We have no idea, of course, because the White House isn't saying anything at all about the investigation anymore.
Either way, the CIA leak story is taking on more and more of the trappings of the classic Washington political scandal -- the saving grace for Bush being that his party controls Congress, and that thus far, Republicans have closed ranks behind him.
But get ready for more and more talk about the parallels between this story and the Clinton intern scandal -- and of course, Watergate.
We're already hearing some of the prototypical questions being raised. Here's former presidential adviser David Gergen, on ABC's "This Week" yesterday: "What did the president know and when did he know it?"
..............................
"On CBS's 'Face the Nation' yesterday, Bob Schieffer asked Gonzales about the sequence of events. Here's the transcript.
'SCHIEFFER: Well, let me just ask you the obvious question, Mr. Attorney General. Did you tell anybody at the White House, 'Get ready for this, here it comes'?
'Mr. GONZALES: I told one person in the White House that -- of the notification and...
'SCHIEFFER: Who?
'Mr. GONZALES: ...then immediately -- I told the chief of staff. And then immediately the next morning, I told the president. And shortly thereafter, there was a notification sent out to all the members of the White House staff.'
As Dafna Linzer writes in The Washington Post: 'Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), appearing on the same program, questioned why Gonzales would not have notified the staff immediately by e-mail and suggested that Fitzgerald pursue whether Card may have given anyone in the White House advance notice of the criminal investigation.
' 'The real question now is, who did the chief of staff speak to? Did the chief of staff pick up the phone and call Karl Rove? Did the chief of staff pick up the phone and call anybody else?' Biden asked.'"
U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq
U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq: "August 14, 2005; Page A01
The Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in Iraq, recognizing that the United States will have to settle for far less progress than originally envisioned during the transition due to end in four months, according to U.S. officials in Washington and Baghdad.
The United States no longer expects to see a model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society in which the majority of people are free from serious security or economic challenges, U.S. officials say.
'What we expected to achieve was never realistic..."
PHOTO-
The remains of a bombed barber shop in Baghdad, where three people were killed, draw the interest of Iraqis in June. Islamic extremists, some of whom believe beards reflect religious piety, have been targeting the shops for attack and killing barbers.
The Energy Bill's Gift to Terrorists - New York Times
The Energy Bill's Gift to Terrorists - New York Times:
"AN obscure provision of the energy bill signed into law this week by President George W. Bush demonstrates how, even in this era of heightened concern about terrorism, narrow commercial considerations can trump national security at the behest of one senator.
Despite widespread opposition - from the Bush administration, a majority of the Senate, leaders of the House Energy Committee, and nuclear regulators from the five preceding presidential administrations - Senator Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico and chairman of the Energy Committee, included an amendment that guts restrictions on the export of highly enriched uranium, the same material used in the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
If terrorists obtained enough such uranium they could fashion a full-fledged nuclear weapon, not merely a 'dirty bomb' that would scatter radioactive waste. As the late Manhattan Project physicist Luis Alvarez noted in his memoirs: 'With modern weapons-grade uranium, the background neutron rate is so low that terrorists, if they had such material, would have a good chance of setting off a high-yield explosion simply by dropping one half of the material onto the other half. . . . Even a high school kid could make a bomb in short order.'"
U.S. Judge Sends Blackwater Suit to N.C.
U.S. Judge Sends Blackwater Suit to N.C.: "August 15, 2005; 9:45 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A federal judge has ruled that a North Carolina court should hear a lawsuit accusing a security firm based in the state of wrongful death in the brutal slayings of four guards in Iraq.
Plaintiffs' attorneys considered the ruling a victory for survivors of the guards, who had been contracted by Blackwater Security Consulting. North Carolina allows financial compensation in wrongful death lawsuits.
The killings in March 2004 made worldwide headlines. Frenzied crowds dragged the men's charred bodies through the streets of Fallujah and strung two of them up from a bridge.
The guards' families sued the company in state court in January, alleging Blackwater cut corners that led to the men's deaths. The suit said the workers were sent into Fallujah without proper equipment and personnel to defend the supply convoy they were guarding."
