Guest guest Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 The Progress Report by David Sirota, Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin ..SEPTEMBER 17, 2004 IRAQ Reality Check Badly Needed CIVIL LIBERTIES Military Injustice UNDER THE RADAR Go Beyond The Headlines Sign up | Send tip | Permalinks | Mobile | Print IRAQ Reality Check Badly Needed The White House has a problem recognizing reality. With the U.S. mired in a bloody war that gets grimmer with each passing day, President Bush clings to the rosiest projections, no matter how unlikely. Suicide bombings, kidnappings, rising casualties, cities under siege and ambushes all paint a picture of a nation descending into intractable violence. In just 17 days this month, 52 U.S. soldiers have died, threatening to make September the second deadliest month in the 18 months since the war began. And these clashes came a day after a team of kidnappers grabbed two Americans and a Briton in an early morning raid on their home. Even the fortified Green Zone is no longer completely secure. Yet the White House refuses to acknowledge the situation is spiraling dangerously out of control, preferring disingenuous rhetoric to hard action. HEAD IN THE SAND: A classified National Intelligence Estimate, given to President Bush in July, " spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq... The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms. " However, the president is continuing to misrepresent the situation to the American public. On 8/5/04, he stated, " [iraq is] on the path to lasting democracy and liberty. " His press secretary, Scott McClellan, said on 9/15/04, " The President talks often about the progress we've made in places like...Iraq. " CONSERVATIVES SPEAK OUT: The president may be out of touch with reality, but his fellow conservatives are increasingly concerned about the deteriorating situation. Conservative Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), noting the White House's recent plan to divert $3.4 billion from reconstruction efforts to emergency security efforts, said: " Now, that does not add up, in my opinion, to a pretty picture, to a picture that shows that we're winning. But it does add up to this: an acknowledgment that we are in deep trouble. " Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) also " expressed exasperation at the administration's rosy prewar assessments that as soon as Hussein was deposed, a euphoric Iraqi population would embrace democracy. " He charged, " The nonsense of that is [now] apparent. " CRESCENDO OF CRITICISM: Some of the nation's editorial boards criticized the president's lack of candor on Iraq today. USA Today points out, " While all of the options have downsides, the longer the administration denies the deepening crisis in Iraq, the longer the crisis will fester. That places U.S. troops in greater peril, risks turning Iraq into a terrorist haven and dims hopes of creating a viable government, much less a model of democracy in the Middle East. " Despite the NIE report projecting " dicey to disastrous " scenarios for Iraq, the Boston Globe notes, " President Bush and Vice President Cheney nevertheless go on campaigning on the false pretense that their Iraq policy has been a great success. " Instead, " continuing mayhem…casts light on the unmistakable failures of the Bush administration's efforts at peacemaking and nation-building in postwar Iraq. " NO EVIDENCE OF WEAPONS: Before the invasion, President Bush and his administration hyped the threat of an armed and dangerous Iraq to frighten Americans into supporting the war. President Bush ominously warned on 10/7/02, " Iraq could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year. " Vice President Cheney did him one better, claiming, " We believe Saddam has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. " And Donald Rumsfeld sounded the alarm bells, saying, " We know where the [WMDs] are. " A new report by the top American weapons inspector in Iraq, Charles A. Duelfer, finds " no evidence that Iraq had begun any large-scale program for weapons production by the time of the American invasion last year. " According to the report, which will be made public in the upcoming weeks, the sanctions put in place by the United Nations were holding these desires firmly in check. The report provides another devastating blow to the administration's case for rushing to war. CIVIL LIBERTIES Military Injustice The administration's last ditch efforts to restore legitimacy to the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have hit a major snag. After two years of delay, the Bush administration has slowly allowed detainees to have their status reviewed by a military tribunal consisting of six military colonels. On Sept. 7, however, the Pentagon's chief prosecutor, Army Col. Robert Swann, " quietly called for three of the six colonels to be knocked off the panel. " Swann " agreed with defense lawyers that the three officers are unsuitable " because it was doubtful they could rule impartially. Two of the colonels were involved in rounding up and transporting detainees to Guantanamo. A third has admitted to describing all those held at Guantanamo as " terrorists. " Swann also asked the chairman of the panel, Army Col. Peter Brownback, the only lawyer on the panel, to " closely evaluate his own suitability to serve. " PANELS DON'T MEET BASIC STANDARDS FOR FAIR TRIALS: Human Rights Watch has written a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld arguing that " the failure of the Guantanamo Bay hearing to meet basic standards for fair trials shows that the U.S. military commissions are fatally flawed and must be scrapped. " The group has concluded the hearings, where recognized rules of legal procedure were not used, " fall far short of international fair trial standards. " Early cases have been marred by poor translation and inadequate resources for defense counsel. Panel members – most of whom have no legal training – have been visibly confused about basic legal issues. Instead of reinventing a legal system from scratch, the military could use " existing criminal courts or courts-martial. " 'STUNNING REVERSAL' ON HAMDI: For more than two years, the Bush administration argued that Yaser Hamdi was " so dangerous that he had to be detained indefinitely in solitary confinement with no access to counsel and no right to trial. " In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that " a state of war is not a blank check for the president " and Hamdi must be allowed to have a lawyer and challenge his detention. Now in a " stunning reversal " by the administration, Hamdi " will soon be released from military prison in South Carolina under an agreement that will allow him to fly home to Saudi Arabia as a free man. " He will be set free " without ever having been charged with any terror-related activity. " Michael Ratner, president of the New York Center for Constitutional Rights, said, " The fact that they are letting Hamdi go without charges proves the importance of courts and attorneys. People ought to be screaming about this not just for what was done to Hamdi, but for what it says about what America has become. THE YEE FLIP-FLOP: The Bush administration branded Muslim chaplain Cpt. James Yee as a spy, placed him in solitary confinement for 76 days and threatened to execute him. When it became clear the case against Yee wasn't there, he was maligned with charges of adultery and downloading Internet pornography. Eventually, those charges were thrown out as well. The Army has now agreed to grant Yee an honorable discharge. He will continue to serve at Fort Lewis until he is discharged in January. The administration also announced it has dropped all charges against Jackie Farr, " a colonel who served as an intelligence officer at the Guantanamo prison and had been accused of trying to take classified material from the base. " Under the Radar U.S. COMPANIES USING OVERSEAS SUBSIDIARIES TO AVOID TAXES: A new study published in the journal Tax Notes reveals that " American multinational companies booked a record $149 billion of profits in tax-haven countries in 2002. " American companies have become increasingly adept at setting up subsidiaries in places with low or no corporate taxes – places like Ireland, Bermuda, Luxembourg and Singapore – to dodge U.S. taxes and increase their bottom line. According to the study, " the more that American companies can use foreign subsidiaries to lower taxes, the greater their incentive to invest and employ staff abroad. " The trend is also costing the treasury " many billions of dollars. " Check out Job Tracker to find out which companies are sending jobs overseas. RE-ENLIST…OR TAKE YOUR CHANCES IN IRAQ: The ongoing war in Iraq has left the U.S. military stretched paper thin. According to the Rocky Mountain News, the military is strong-arming soldiers into staying in the Army after their service requirements have been fulfilled. Troops from a Fort Carson combat unit say they were issued an ultimatum: re-up for three more years or take their chances in Iraq. Soldiers were told if they didn't sign the recruitment form extending their enlistment through December 2007, they would be reassigned to units likely to ship out to Iraq. FEWER PEOPLE WITH HEALTH INSURANCE FROM THEIR EMPLOYER: A new study by the Economic Policy Institute reveals that over the last four years, " the persistently weak labor market in tandem with sharply increasing health costs have led to a related problem for working families: the loss of employer-provided health coverage. " Among those who hold jobs, employer-provided coverage has dropped from 58.9 percent to 56.4 percent since 2000. Children were hit especially hard, " with a net 2.4 million fewer children covered by employer-provided health insurance in 2003 than in 2000. " BUDGET – THE NOT-SO-FRIENDLY SKIES: AP reports that the Bush administration wants to slash the Federal Aviation Administration's " budget for buying new air traffic control equipment at a time when more planes are in the air. " According to air traffic controllers, backup equipment is desperately needed to avoid problems such as the shutdown of a radio system at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday which " left controllers unable to talk to pilots and caused a ripple effect of delays across the country. " (In that case, " the loss of voice contact with pilots caused at least five incidents where planes flew dangerously close to each other and delayed or canceled hundreds of flights. " ) Instead of fixing the problem, President Bush wants to slice next year's FAA budget for equipment by 12.6 percent, from $2.862 billion to $2.5 billion. DON'T MISS DAILY TALKING POINTS: The Pinocchio President. HEALTH CARE: The Economic Policy Institute has a new study on the problem of declining employer-provided health insurance. CORRUPTION: Evidence shows Halliburton backed the operative now at the center of a bribery inquiry while Cheney was CEO. CIVIL LIBERTIES: Check out the Century Foundation's new Patriot Act user manual. REGULATIONS: OMBWatch outlines the Bush White House's failure to protect public health, safety and environment. DAILY GRILL " A classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq... The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms. " - New York Times, 9/16/04 VERSUS " [iraq is] on the path to lasting democracy and liberty " - George W. Bush, 8/5/04 DAILY OUTRAGE The Heritage Foundation wants women to show a little leg. The conservative institution is adamant that " gals " skip wearing pants when job hunting, insisting the appropriate attire is a skirt or dress. ARCHIVES Progress Report STUDENTS Get a free DVD of Outfoxed. Sign up here to host a screening on your campus. Combat the right-wing noise machine on your campus. Become a member of our network of campus publications and student journalists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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