How Will They Protect Our Civil Liberties?

[Guest guest]

How Will They Protect Our Civil Liberties? (5 comments )

Dal LaMagna

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dal-lamagna/how-will-they-protect-our_b_8224.html

http://www.progressivegovernment.org/

10.02.2005

 

READ MORE: George W. Bush, Iraq, Saddam Hussein

 

Last Thursday, the White House sent 297 presidential appointment

nominations over to the Senate. On September 22, it sent over eight.

And on September 19, it sent over 358 nominations. That means in 10

days, President Bush – who by all television and print news accounts

has been pretty busy touring the Gulf Coast – nominated 663 people to

663 various positions within the government.

 

No wonder some presidential appointees appear unqualified. How can

anyone – or even any group – investigate the background, experience,

and skills of so many people? (If Mike Brown is any indication of

whether this can be done, it's clear that it cannot.)

 

Of those 663 people, though, two in particular are worth looking at –

for they will be the leaders of the Privacy and Civil Liberties

Oversight Board within the Executive Office of the President a board

was created as part of the National Intelligence Reform Act in

December 2004, as a result of the findings of the 9/11 Commission, who

on page 365 of their report, wrote: " At this time of increased and

consolidated government authority, there should be a board within the

executive branch to oversee adherence to the guidelines we recommend

and the commitment the government makes to defend our civil liberties. "

 

Aside from the fact that it's hard to understand how a group working

within the executive office can determine whether that same office is

doing all it can to defend our civil liberties, there is the issue of

whether those nominated to lead the group will be effective.

 

The nominated chair has no experience with terrorism, privacy, or

civil liberties. Carol Dinkins is a lawyer though (but who in

Washington isn't?), even a noted lawyer, specializing in environmental

issues – and having oil companies, developers, and etc as clients.

But, she's also a former Deputy Attorney General, with the help of the

backing of Ken Starr who was then part of President Regan's Justice

Transition team.

 

The nominated vice chair, Alan Charles Raul, whose legal focus has

been on trademark, copyright, advertising, and unfair competition law.

He has however, also made a name for himself as a data and information

security legal expert.

 

And, while he was General Counsel at the Department of Agriculture, he

became quite familiar with Iraq – and the $4 billion Iraq, U.S.

support, and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) scandal, where some

members of Congress accused the administration of being privy to and

turning a blind eye on illegal bank dealings that allowed Iraq to

develop weapons used in its invasion of Kuwait.

 

At one point during those dealings, Raul wrote:

 

USDA is currently evaluating its GSM-102/103 Export Credit

Guarantee Programs for IRAQ for FY 1990. This evaluation involves

prudent balancing of political and financial risks against marketing

opportunities and benefits… Iraq represents a very carefully nurtured

$1 billion market for U.S. agricultural exports. Failure to reach an

agreement with Iraq on a GSM program for FY 1990 risks loss of that

market and a number of potential spillover effects: alienation of key

sectors of U.S. agriculture who have been participating in this GSM

market; negative impact on the U.S. trade balance; economic hardship

in several agricultural sectors; and impairment of the carefully

measured political rapprochement which the United States has been

developing with one of the richest and most influential Arab States.

 

Though Raul was not part of any wrongdoing, other than perhaps not

viewing BNL's financial statements, it is clear from his statement

that he understood the need the United States had to stay on good

terms with Saddam – even when it knew he was building his weapons cache.

 

So this very important board – the board created to ensure the

government doesn't overstep its bounds in issues of privacy and civil

rights – is headed by one who has no experience in civil liberty

issues. And the one who will assist her, is so entrenched in politics

as usual that even his expertise in cyberlaw doesn't seem quite enough

to do us much good.

 

--

Written in collaboration with Jennifer Hic