Progress Report: Republicans Attack and Distract

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Center for American Progress - Progress Report

 

 

 

by David Sirota, Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and

Jonathan Baskin

 

 

July 21, 2004

MEDIATell Congress to Sign This Letter9/11Attack and

DistractHALLIBURTONAttacking U.S. on Foreign

SoilTROOPSFeeling The Strain

UNDER THE RADAR

 

MEDIA

Tell Congress to Sign This Letter

 

Tonight, the Center for American Progress is

co-hosting a special Capitol Hill screening of the

movie " Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism "

for Members of Congress and the Washington press

corps. At the screening, Members of Congress will be

asked to#160;join their colleagues in signing

a#160;letter requesting a meeting with Fox News owner

Rupert Murdoch about how to fix Fox News's unbalanced

coverage. Contact your member of Congress today and

tell them to sign the letter and attend the screening

tonight at 6:30 pm in HC-5 in U.S. Capitol.

 

9/11

Attack and Distract

 

One day before the bipartisan 9/11 Commission is

scheduled to release its final report, Bush

administration allies on Capitol Hill have put their

partisan spin machine into high-gear. Despite

overwhelming evidence that President Bush underfunded

counter-terrorism, ignored repeated memos warning of

an imminent attack by Osama bin Laden, and took one of

the longest vacations in presidential history while

the pre-9/11 security threat boiled, Republicans are

seeking to blame 9/11 on the Clinton administration

even before the Commission's report has been

published. Their current target: former National

Security Adviser Sandy Berger, who in October 2003

acknowledged inadvertently losing two documents from

the National Archives. House Speaker Dennis Hastert,

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Senate Majority

Leader Bill Frist claimed Berger was trying to deceive

the 9/11 Commission. They failed to mention the

Commission refuted that charge, and that even the Bush

Justice Department admits the incident is so

innocuous, that CBS News reports " law enforcement

sources say they don't expect any criminal charges

will be filed. "

 

REPUBLICANS ADMIT THE TIMING SMELLS: CBS News reported

last night that even Republicans " say the timing of

the investigation's disclosure smells like politics,

leaked to the press just two days before the 9/11

Commission report comes out. " Republican strategist

Eddie Mahe said, " somebody is manipulating the

process. " Why? Because, as the WP reports, the final

report by the commission concludes Iraq " never

established operational ties " with al Qaeda. In other

words, the Commission is about to formally conclude

that one of the two major justifications the

administration gave for war in Iraq was a fraud. With

the WMD justification also proving false, the

administration is desperate to distract from polls

that show a majority of Americans say the war was a

mistake. Even more troubling for the White House,

almost half the public now says the White House

" deliberately misled " America about Iraq. It was this

fear that the Commission would embarrass the Bush

administration that led the White House to oppose its

creation. And it is no surprise that yesterday

Commission Chairman Tom Kean admitted that some wanted

the 9/11 Commission to fail.

 

MOTIVE ACCUSATIONS JUST PLAIN SILLY: Reuters reports

" Republicans accused Berger of taking the documents so

they could be used by the Kerry campaign at a news

conference on port security. " Said Sen. Rick Santorum

(R-PA): " Right after the documents were taken, John

Kerry held a photo op and attacked the president on

port security. The documents that were taken may have

been utilized for that press conference. " Although the

timing in this fable may be accurate, one thing is

clear: neither Kerry nor any citizen in America needs

secret documents from the National Archives to know

the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress

have dangerously underfunded seaport and airport

security. As American Progress fellow PJ Crowley

notes, while the Coast Guard has said it needs $7.5

billion for key port security upgrades, the White

House has requested just $45 million this year.

Similarly, as the Century Foundation reports, while

" the Transportation Security Administration estimates

there is a 35% to 65% chance that terrorists are

planning to place a bomb in the cargo of a U.S.

passenger plane " the administration has only provided

funding to make sure that 5% of air cargo is screened.

 

SAXBY CHAMBLISS #8211; A RIGHT-WING SMEAR ARTIST: As

the Dallas Morning News reports, the Berger affair

" took on a slightly comic note " as Sen. Saxby

Chambliss (R-GA) claimed without any proof that Berger

" put some papers in his trousers " (Berger

categorically denies this charge). Chambliss, of

course, has made his career dishonestly smearing

decorated war heroes who lost limbs in Vietnam, even

while he refused to explain how he avoided all

military service during the war. In his 2002 race

against triple amputee veteran Max Cleland, Chambliss

" ran a TV ad picturing Cleland with Saddam Hussein and

Osama bin Laden. " At the same time the ads were

running, Chambliss refused to explain how he received

three draft deferments #8211; including two for a " bum

knee " even though he still found a way to play

baseball in college.

 

WHERE IS THE LEAK OUTRAGE?: CBS News reports the

controversy " was triggered by a carefully orchestrated

leak " about the FBI's investigation of the matter.

Yet, top administration officials and Republicans who

have previously expressed outrage about leaks were

nowhere to be found. There was no statement of outrage

or call for an investigation from Attorney General

John Ashcroft who in 2001 said leaks " do substantial

damage to the security interests of the nation. "

Similarly, there was nothing from the Chambliss, who

one year ago said " leaks have always been a problem

and continue to be a problem. " And it was all quiet at

the Pentagon, despite Defense Secretary Donald

Rumsfeld stating last year that leaks are

" disgraceful, they're unprofessional, they're

dangerous. "

 

NO SIMILAR OUTRAGE ABOUT BUSH RECORDS BEING DESTROYED:

Even as Rush Limbaugh and the GOP's congressional

leadership insinuate without proof that Berger was

deliberately trying to destroy records, they have made

little mention about last week's disclosure that

President Bush's key military draft records were

destroyed by Pentagon officials. The documents in

question would have proven whether the President was

lying about whether he fulfilled his military service

that allowed him to avoid going to Vietnam. The

destruction of the documents has forced the Associated

Press to sue for copies of them, which are legally

required to exist in the Texas archives. Despite

promises to release all documents, the president has

refused to release the Texas copies.

 

HALLIBURTON

Attacking U.S. on Foreign Soil

 

As President Bush vows to widen an investigation of

Iran's role in terrorism against the United States,

based on the upcoming recommendations of the 9/11

commission, a parallel controversy has erupted around

Vice President Dick Cheney, whose former company may

have " violated anti-terror sanctions " by

#160;illegally operating in the country while he was

CEO. The Treasury Department has been investigating

the matter since 2001, but the case has now been

forwarded to the U.S. attorney in Houston for further

investigation. Treasury refers such complaints " only

after finding evidence of 'serious and willful

violations' of the sanctions law, a government

official said. " At issue is " Halliburton's possible

violation of an executive order signed by President

Clinton in 1995, " specifically prohibiting " U.S. firms

from activities that would benefit the Iranian

petroleum industry. " Clinton said at the time Iran's

petroleum resources could be used to fund terrorism

related activities.

 

THE SHADY SUBSIDIARY: The investigation, which " could

be embarrassing " for Cheney, is thought to focus on a

Halliburton subsidiary based in the Cayman Islands,

which pursued contracts with Iran despite U.S.

sanctions. " Halliburton is at pains to say that its

Caymans subsidiary#8230;was operating in compliance

with the relevant laws and rules, " which would mean

workers at the Tehran office " didn't have contact with

U.S. managers. " But when CBS 60 Minutes went looking

for the supposedly independently operated Cayman

subsidiary, it found it existed, " in name only. There

is no actual office here or anywhere else in the

Caymans. And there are no employees on site. " CBS was

also " told that if mail for the Halliburton subsidiary

comes to this address, they re-route it to Halliburton

headquarters in Houston. "

 

HALLIBURTON'S FOREIGN POLICY: Vice President Cheney

has slammed Bill Clinton for being " soft " on

terrorism, but, besides possibly violating a law

Clinton signed to prevent terrorism funding, CEO

Cheney appears to have had an open-door policy with

rogue nations. According to The New Yorker, " The

United States had concluded that Iraq, Libya, and Iran

supported terrorism and had imposed strict sanctions

on them. Yet during Cheney's tenure at Halliburton the

company did business in all three countries. " Cheney

was embarrassed enough to lie about his company's

interactions with Iraq, insisting " he had imposed a

'firm policy' against trading with Iraq, " despite

confidential UN records showing " Halliburton held

stakes in two firms that signed contracts to sell more

than $73 million in oil production equipment and spare

parts to Iraq " while Cheney was in charge. Sen. Frank

Lautenberg (D-NJ) " said he found it 'unconscionable'

that a Halliburton subsidiary appeared to be doing

business with a country tied to terrorist activities

at a time Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive. "

 

CEO CHENEY ATTACKED U.S. TERRORISM POLICY ON FOREIGN

SOIL: The administration and its Capitol Hill allies

have regularly attacked the patriotism of those who

criticize White House terrorism policy. Yet, it was

Cheney who as Halliburton CEO attacked U.S. terrorism

policy on foreign soil when it got in the way of his

business interests. The 4/20/98 Malaysian News Agency

reports that Cheney, after meeting with government

officials in Kuala Lumpur, " hit out at his government "

for imposing sanctions against foreign investment

beyond $20 million a year in the oil and gas sector of

the targeted countries, including Iran (a country the

State Department lists as a state sponsor of

terrorism). " I have made it clear that our (the US

unilateral) sanctions policy is wrong, " Cheney said.

 

TROOPS

Feeling The Strain

 

The war has just gotten longer for many soldiers. The

LA Times reports, " In yet another sign of the strains

on the U.S. military in the wake of the Sept. 11

attacks and the Iraq war, the Pentagon for the first

time is considering extending the mobilization of

National Guard soldiers who will soon hit the federal

limit of 24 months of active service, defense

officials said Tuesday. " Last month, " the Army was

forced to dip into its pool of Individual Ready

Reserve soldiers #8212; troops who are not members of

a specific reserve unit but have unexpired obligations

to complete their military service #8212; looking for

roughly 5,600 to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. " The

White House, head firmly in the sand, refuses to

acknowledge the strain and stress on the military and

is opposing a permanent increase in the number of

troops. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), a former paratrooper

with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, charges,

" There's folks in the Pentagon who refuse to admit

that we're in for a long time in Iraq and

Afghanistan. " (Across the country, editorial writers

disapprove of the Individual Ready Reserve call-up.)

#160;

 

RECRUITMENT DOWN: The unwillingness of the White House

to increase the number of troops is leading to a new

problem: the Army National Guard is having a difficult

time finding new soldiers, as extended deployments are

turning off candidates from what traditionally has

been a part-time commitment. USA Today reports, " The

350,000-member Army National Guard is having

increasing difficulty recruiting soldiers and is

seeing a drop in the quality of enlistees as measured

by aptitude tests, Pentagon and National Guard figures

show. " Said Paul Monroe, a retired commander of the

California National Guard, " We can't continue like

this. "

 

SHORTAGE SUMMONS SENIOR: Need proof the military is

stretched to its straining point? Look no further: AP

reports a 68-year-old doctor from Alabama has been

reactivated for duty and is headed to war.

 

PAY OUR TROOPS. NOW.: The Philadelphia Inquirer

reports, " Ninety-five percent of soldiers at eight

Army Reserve units sent to Iraq and other Middle East

bases experienced significant problems getting paid,

creating stress and concern about the financial

well-being of their families back home. " According to

a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO),

" The soldiers were overpaid or underpaid or paid

late#8230;and the problems in some instances persisted

for more than a year. " What this means: not only does

,not paying affect soldiers' performances, it has

other ramifications. Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA) " said

these issues had been shown to cause troops to decide

not to reenlist. " Said one unpaid soldier, " How can I,

in a combat environment, find out if my 4-month old

and my 5 #189;-year-old kids are taken care of? I

don't want to be rash, but it was like a slap in the

face. "

 

OPTING OUT: Stiffing troops has serious consequences

for the stressed military, as some highly trained

soldiers are opting out of the system altogether. The

New York Times reports, senior Green Berets, Navy

SEALs and other elite forces are leaving for

higher-paying, more beneficial contractor jobs.

" Better salaries, retirement benefits and educational

opportunities are among incentives that might help

stem the problem, defense officials said as they met

with lawmakers to discuss ways to keep forces who have

become so crucial to the war on terror. "

 

SHORTAGES FELT AT HOME: The NYT reports, " with tens of

thousands of their citizen soldiers now deployed in

Iraq, many of the nation's governors complained on

Sunday to senior Pentagon officials that they were

facing severe manpower shortages. " Oregon Gov. Ted

Kulongoski said troop deployment left his state with

half the usual number of firefighters, worrisome in

this hot, dry summer. Other worries: " In Arizona,

officials say, more than a hundred prison guards are

serving overseas, leaving their already crowded

prisons badly short-staffed. In Tennessee, officials

are worried about rural sheriff's and police

departments, whose ranks have been depleted by the

guard call- up. In Virginia, the concern is

hurricanes; in Missouri, floods. And in a small town

in Arkansas, Bradford, both the police chief and the

mayor are now serving in Iraq, leaving their

substitutes a bit overwhelmed. "

 

TRICKING THE TROOPS: Another reason some soldiers are

becoming disillusioned: unscrupulous insurance

companies have been using " questionable tactics on

military bases to sell insurance and investments " that

exploit and cheat our men and women in uniform. The

NYT reports some soldiers have been required to attend

compulsory briefings which turn out to be misleading

sales pitches dressed up as personal finance and

savings lectures. How can this happen? Greed, pure and

simple, is to blame. The NYT explains the scam exists

in part due to " the axis between Capitol Hill and K

Street, where the insurance industry has easy access

to Congress, lobbying power and millions of dollars in

campaign contributions to generate legislative

pressure. " For example, " Three members of the House

Armed Services Committee have received donations from

at least one of the insurance organizations since

1999. " Ellen O. Tauscher (D-CA) received $31,000; Jim

Ryun (KS-R) received $4,000; and Jim Cooper (D-TN)

received $1,000. " Since May 2003, the Pentagon has

received five letters from the three lawmakers, signed

jointly, all opposing any changes in its rules

concerning insurance companies and their agents. "

 

 

 

 

 

ENERGY #8211; MORE FOXES IN HENHOUSE: The Hill reports

Democrats are holding up the nominations of a Bush

administration nominee to the Federal Trade Commission

because she previously " represented ChevronTexaco

Corp. " If approved, the nominee Deborah Majoras would

be overseeing, among other things, mergers of oil

refineries #8211; a critical issue with her former Big

Oil clients. Since the Bush administration took

office, it has " allowed an increase in oil refinery

mergers to go unchecked. " The Bush administration has

approved 33 oil refinery takeovers worth $19.5 billion

and hasn't tried to block any. The rampant

consolidation " may have contributed to the highest

gasoline prices in 20 years " because less competition

among refiners means they are free to take higher

profits.

 

HOUSING #8211; A WEB SITE FOR THE HOMELESS?: Instead

of reversing the massive cuts to housing and job

training#160;proposed by President Bush, the Bush

Labor Department yesterday announced it is setting up

a website to help the homeless. The Department did not

announce plans to give out wireless laptops to the

homeless or provide the homeless with homes with

desktop computers connected to the Internet.

 

MEDIA #8211; RUMMY AND BLANQUITA, SITTIN' IN A TREE:

Who says Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has a

contentious relationship with the media? Check out the

love-in at the end of his recent interview with

Blanquita Cullum of the right-wing Radio America:

Cullum: " Thank you, Mr. Secretary. " Rumsfeld: " Well,

thank you, Blanquita. It's fun to talk to you, and I

hope to do it again. " Cullum: " Well, you know I'm one

of your big fans. I love you a lot. " Rumsfeld: " Oh,

terrific. Come and see us when you're in Washington. "

Cullum: " Well, I live here. In fact, I work for the

president. I'm on the Broadcasting Board of Governors

for you guys. " Rumsfeld: " Well, for Pete's sake, why

doesn't [Pentagon spokesman] Larry DiRita get you over

here someday? Cullum: " I would love it because, you

know, I'm out there on TV a lot, and I'm one of your

biggest allies. I stick up for you all the time. "

Rumsfeld: " Good for you. Thank you. I appreciate

it. " ...As the Washington Post's Al Kamen points out,

" Note to Pentagon transcribers: Probably best to cut

these things off after the first 'thank you.' "

 

HEALTH CARE #8211; WITH LIBERTY AND COVERAGE FOR ALL:

It's time for a change. " Rapidly rising costs, soaring

numbers of uninsured and an epidemic of poor care have

caused a health-care crisis that only sweeping reform

will solve, " charges the National Coalition on Health

Care. The group, " an alliance of business, labor,

religious and civic groups #8212; said that Congress

should require that everyone have basic health

insurance, with subsidies for those who can't afford

it. It also called for holding down premiums for the

basic package, simplifying health-care administration

and reducing medical errors by tying payments to

quality. "

 

HEALTH CARE #8211; DEPRESSING DEVELOPMENT: A

high-profile congressional hearing into the safety of

antidepressant medicines has been canceled amid new

charges of conflict of interest involving

conservatives and the drug industry. The Washington

Post reports the hearing was " canceled on Sunday

afternoon by a House panel whose chairman is weighing

a top job at a trade group representing the biotech

and pharmaceutical industries. " Rep. James C.

Greenwood (R-PA) is reportedly considering an offer to

become president of the Biotechnology Industry

Organization, " whose members include most of the

pharmaceutical companies that were to send

representatives to testify at the hearing. " Patients

rights advocate Vera Hassner Sharav " said that in

calling a hearing into the issue, Greenwood had

exploited the families harmed by the medicines. 'We

now suspect the whole investigation was done to up his

price,' she said. "

 

SCIENCE #8211; HHS WANTS TO HANDPICK W.H.O. DELEGATES:

In the continuing story of the Bush administration's

blatant disregard for objective science, the

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is

attempting to exert an unprecedented level of control

over the choice of scientists it sends to advise the

World Health Organization (WHO). According to the

Washington Post, WHO " has agreed to send invitations

to specific scientists through the U.S. government, "

but HHS officials are interpreting the current

agreement to mean the U.S. government will be allowed

to " identify an appropriate expert " after WHO provides

a general description of the expertise it is seeking.

Several government scientists, speaking on the

condition of anonymity, " said they believe the policy

arose in part from federal employees' work on WHO's

Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and

Health, " whose conclusions #8211; such as that " taxes

and marketing restrictions on junk foods are possible

ways to discourage their consumption, " #8211; were

criticized by sugar and grocery industry lobbyists.

For more, check out Reece Rushing's column on the Bush

administration's political use of science.

 

#160;Don't Miss

DAILY TALKING POINTS: Right-Wing Smears Berger To

Avoid 9/11 Scrutiny

 

MARRIAGE: A Constitutional End-Run

 

COLUMN: Public Opinion Watch

 

FOREIGN POLICY: Nicholas Kristof on our moral

responsibility to stop the killing in the Sudan.

 

ENVIRO: Dissatisfied with the Bush administration's

policies on global warming, eight states are suing

five large energy producers for creating a " public

nuisance. "

 

JUDICIAL: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is

considering a controversial tactic to rewrite the

chamber's filibuster rule, which would prohibit

lawmakers from filibustering judicial nominees.

 

Contact The Progress Report.

 

 

 

 

#160;Daily Grill

 

" I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the

Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my

mind. "

 

- President Bush, 2/8/04

 

VERSUS

 

" I want to be the peace president. "

 

- President Bush, 7/20/04

 

#160;Daily OutrageA study by the Government

Accountability Office shows ninety-five percent of

soldiers in eight Army Reserve units deployed overseas

" experienced significant problems getting paid,

creating stress and concern about the financial

well-being of their families back home. "

#160;Archives

Progress Report