http://www.fight-the-right.org/ Liberal and Democratic political bumper stickers, commentary, news, and more en-us Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:27:17 MST chris@fight-the-right.org chris@fight-the-right.org Copyright (c) 2007 www.fight-the-right.org. All rights reserved. http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-09.html#4513 Four months after he was sworn in, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta learned of an intelligence program that had been hidden from Congress since 2001, a revelation that prompted him to immediately cancel the initiative and schedule a pair of closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. The next day, June 24, Panetta informed the House and Senate intelligence committees of the program and the action he had taken, according to Democratic and Republican members of the panels. The incident has reignited a ... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:26:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-09.html#4513 US homeland-security Secret Program Fuels Cia-Congress Dispute - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-09.html#4485 Top Bush administration officials gave the CIA approval to use waterboarding, a controversial interrogation technique, as early as 2002, a Senate intelligence report shows. On July 17, 2002, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who later became secretary of state, said the CIA could proceed with "alternative interrogation methods," including waterboarding, when questioning suspected al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah. The decision was contingent on the Justice Department's det... Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:28:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-09.html#4485 US homeland-security Senate Report: Rice, Cheney Ok'D Cia Use Of Waterboarding - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-09.html#4484 Judging from Karl Rove's unhinged reactions on Hannity last night (4/21/09), I can only conclude that he is very, very worried about the possibility of an investigation into torture under the Bush administration. Sure, he couched it in terms of national security. But this is the guy whose fingerprints are all over the outing of an undercover CIA agent. You need more than a shaker of salt to swallow Rove's argument that his meltdown last night was due to concern for the country, not his o... Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:52:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-09.html#4484 US homeland-security News Hounds: Karl Rove Loses It Over Torture Investigation http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-09.html#4483 President Barack Obama opened the door on Tuesday to possible prosecutions of U.S. officials who laid the legal groundwork for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects during the Bush administration. Obama also said he would not necessarily oppose an effort to pursue a "further accounting" or investigation into the Bush-era interrogation program that included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, shoving people into walls and other methods. That marked a shift for the O... Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:25:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-09.html#4483 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-09.html#4459 President Obama, putting his executive pen in his left hand to overrule eight years of Bush administration policy, signed "several" executive orders Thursday, including ones affecting national security. The national security orders mandate that interrogation techniques in the Army Field Manual be used by all intelligence and law enforcement services; call for a task force to look at closing the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within the year; and orders a strategy to be deve... Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-09.html#4459 US homeland-security Obama Issues Directives On Detainees, Interrogation, Guantanamo - First 100 Days Of Presidency - Politics Foxnews.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-09.html#4458 Promising to return America to the "moral high ground" in the war on terror, President Barack Obama issued three executive orders Thursday to demonstrate a clean break from the Bush administration -- including one requiring that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed within a year. During a signing ceremony at the White House, Obama reaffirmed his inaugural pledge that the United States does not have "to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals."... Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:25:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-09.html#4458 US homeland-security Obama Signs Executive Order To Close Guantanamo Bay - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-08.html#4221 Former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales told investigators he did not remember whether he took home notes regarding the government's most sensitive national security programs and did not know they contained classified information despite notations on the papers that they were "eyes only -- top secret," according to a report released this morning. The Justice Department's inspector general concluded that Gonzales had improperly handled materials about the government's ... Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-08.html#4221 US homeland-security Report: Gonzales Mishandled Classified Data - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-08.html#4166 A new Justice Department report concludes that politics illegally influenced the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges, and largely lays the blame on top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Monday's report singles out the department's former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, for violating federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren't Republican or conservative loyalists. The 140-page report does n... Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:01:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-08.html#4166 US homeland-security The Associated Press: Doj: Former Aide Broke Law In Hiring Scandal http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-08.html#4158 Lawyers for the Bush administration told the CIA in 2002 that its officers could legally use waterboarding and other harsh measures while interrogating al-Qaeda suspects, as long as they acted "in good faith" and did not deliberately seek to inflict severe pain, according to a Justice Department memo made public yesterday. The memo, apparently intended to assuage CIA concerns that its officers could someday face torture charges, said interrogators needed only to possess an "hones... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-08.html#4158 US homeland-security Justice Advised Cia In '02 About Legal Waterboarding - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-08.html#4132 President George W. Bush, asserting executive privilege, has rejected Congress' request for documents on FBI interviews with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney from a probe to find who leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. The Bush administration said on Wednesday that turning over such records would violate the president's rights to counsel from his staff. In a letter to the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, U.S. Deputy Assistant... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:06:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-08.html#4132 US homeland-security Bush Won'T Give Congress Papers In Cia Leak Probe | Reuters http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4110 The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it would pay former Army scientist Steven Hatfill over $2.8 million (1.4 million pounds) to settle his lawsuit accusing officials of violating his privacy rights by talking to the media and unfairly implicating him in anthrax attacks in 2001. Hatfill, a bioterrorism expert who formerly worked at the Army Medical Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick in Maryland, has denied any involvement in the mailings of the anthrax-laced letters that ki... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4110 US homeland-security U.S. Settles Anthrax Lawsuit With Scientist | Reuters http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4095 A Senate investigation has concluded that top Pentagon officials began assembling lists of harsh interrogation techniques in the summer of 2002 for use on detainees at Guantanamo Bay and that those officials later cited memos from field commanders to suggest that the proposals originated far down the chain of command, according to congressional sources briefed on the findings. The sources said that memos and other evidence obtained during the inquiry show that officials in the office of then-... Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:18:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4095 US homeland-security Report Questions Pentagon Accounts http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4089 It's too bad that a former POW and presidential nominee thinks that constitutionality is a bad thing. Is McCain perpetuating the "army as an extraconstitutional entity" myth of the Bush administration??? John McCain said Friday that the Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo Bay detainees is “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.” The presumptive GOP nominee said the decision, a 5-4 ruling Thursday that determined Guantanamo detainees have the righ... Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:03:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4089 US homeland-security Mccain: Guantanamo Ruling One Of The ‘Worst Decisions’ In History - America’S Election Hq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4087 In the days following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush and his advisers sought to create an unprecedented parallel system to detain suspected terrorists far from the normal scrutiny of the U.S. judiciary. The naval base at Guantanamo Bay offered a way to indefinitely hold those individuals the administration considered among the most dangerous in the world. But the Supreme Court's decision yesterday to grant habeas corpus rights to the detainees struck at the very core of the administ... Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4087 US homeland-security Administration Strategy For Detention Now In Disarray http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4083 Suspected terrorists and foreign fighters held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have the right to challenge their detention in federal court, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision marks another legal blow to the Bush administration's war on terrorism policies. The 5-4 vote reflects the partisan divide over how much legal autonomy the U.S. military should have to prosecute about 270 prisoners, some of whom have been held for more than six years without charges. Fou... Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4083 US homeland-security Justices: Gitmo Detainees Can Challenge Detention In U.S. Courts - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4073 U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stood alone on an empty stage in an Air Force auditorium, two spotlights throwing odd diminutive shadows of the Pentagon chief on the curtain draped behind him. Looking tired and worn out, he faced another cold crowd of officers whose force has fallen from grace and whose leaders Gates swept aside last week in a stinging rebuke of their management of nuclear weapons. He glanced over the gathering of uniformed personnel at Peterson Air Force Base in Color... Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:05:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4073 US homeland-security Gates Gets Chilly Reception On Air Force Tour | Special Coverage | Reuters http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4050 Human rights lawyers claim the United States is operating "floating prisons" to house those arrested in its war on terror. The lawyers also claim there's been an effort to conceal the number and whereabouts of detainees, a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper says. Information about the operation of prison ships had emerged through a number of sources, including statements from the US military, the Council of Europe and related parliamentary bodies, and the testimonies of... Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-08.html#4050 US homeland-security Us 'Using Prison Ships In War On Terror' - Breaking News - World - Breaking News http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4040 Last week in an operating room in Texas, a wounded American soldier underwent a history-making procedure that could help him regrow the finger that was lost to a bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, last year. Army Sgt. Shiloh Harris' doctors applied specially formulated powder to what's left of the finger in an effort to do for wounded soldiers what salamanders can do naturally: replace missing body parts. If it sounds like science fiction, the lead surgeon agreed. "It is. But sci... Tue, 27 May 2008 22:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4040 US homeland-security Salamander-Inspired Therapy May Aid Injured Vets - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4038 Now this I have to agree with... The United States should scrap a significant portion of its nuclear arsenal, Sen. John McCain said Tuesday in a speech laying out his nuclear security policy. McCain also spoke about canceling the development of nuclear "bunker-busting" bombs and working with Russia and China to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. "Today, we deploy thousands of nuclear warheads. It is my hope to move as rapidly as possible to a significantly smaller force,... Tue, 27 May 2008 13:28:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4038 US homeland-security Mccain Calls For Slashing U.S. Nuclear Arsenal - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4014 A military judge's ruling that a Pentagon lawyer improperly pressured prosecutors could hurt efforts to try top al Qaeda suspects held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, a defense lawyer said Monday. The ruling called allegations that Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, the legal adviser to the Office of Military Commissions, exerted improper influence on the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan "troubling" and ordered Hartmann to stay out of the prisoner's prosecution. Defense atto... Mon, 12 May 2008 17:07:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4014 US homeland-security Gitmo Judge Bars Pentagon Official From Trial - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4002 A House of Representatives committee has subpoenaed Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff as part of its investigation into the treatment of suspected terrorists, the White House confirmed Tuesday. This photo provided by the White House shows David Addington in 2005. David Addington was served with the subpoena shortly after the House Judiciary Committee approved it Tuesday morning, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Cheney's office told the committee last week A... Tue, 06 May 2008 16:16:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-08.html#4002 US homeland-security Cheney'S Chief Of Staff Subpoenaed - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3988 Cheated. Baited and switched. That's how veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan say they feel about military recruiters who sold them on how the GI Bill would benefit them. Soldiers, Marines and airmen, speaking at a Capitol Hill rally Tuesday, said they are not given enough funds from the bill to cover college expenses as they were promised. Todd Bowers served two tours in Iraq. "I came home proud, very proud of my service, with a Purple Heart on my chest and a Navy commendation med... Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:55:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3988 US homeland-security Vets Say They Feel Misled About Gi Benefits - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3984 The U.S. military is promising action to address conditions in a barracks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after a soldier's father posted images on YouTube showing a building that he said "should be condemned." "This is embarrassing. It's disgusting. It makes me mad as hell," Ed Frawley said of the building where his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, had to live upon his return this month from a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. Frawley said Monday that Army Vice Chief of S... Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:14:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3984 US homeland-security Dad'S Video Of Run-Down Barracks Sparks Military Response - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3973 The government is scrapping a $20 million prototype of its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings, officials said. The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by The Boeing Co. The fence consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson. Boei... Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:45:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3973 US foreign-relations The Associated Press: Us Scraps $20 Million Prototype Of Virtual Fence http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3968 The Army and Marine Corps are allowing convicted felons to serve in increasing numbers, newly released Department of Defense statistics show. Recruits were allowed to enlist after having been convicted of crimes including assault, burglary, drug possession and making terrorist threats. The statistics were released by Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He has given the Pentagon a month to hand over up-to-date detai... Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:16:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-08.html#3968 US homeland-security Army, Marines Give Waivers To More Felons - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-08.html#3900 The Navy admiral in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan announced Tuesday that he is resigning over press reports portraying him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. Adm. William J. Fallon, one of the most experienced officers in the U.S. military, said the reports were wrong but had become a distraction hampering his efforts in the Middle East. Fallon's area of responsibility includes Iran and stretches from Central Asia across the Middle East to the Horn of Africa. ... Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:43:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-08.html#3900 US homeland-security The Associated Press: Fallon Resigns As Mideast Military Chief http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3878 It's a crash that costs more than a billion dollars! The military is investigating the first crash of a B-2 stealth bomber since it was unveiled 20 years ago. The stealth jet went down at an air base on Guam. It happened late Friday afternoon, Hawaii time. It was already Saturday morning in Guam. Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the wreckage at Andersen Air Force Base. Two pilots were on board and ejected safely. They're both in good condition. A board of ... Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:59:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3878 US homeland-security B-2 Bomber Crashes On Guam http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3850 President Bush wants lawmakers to send him a bill that will authorize intelligence agencies to monitor, without court warrants, telephone calls between Americans and suspected terrorists overseas. He also wants the bill to include a provision granting immunity from prosecution to telephone companies that took part in the administration's wiretap program following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Some 40 lawsuits are pending against telephone companies for all... Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:21:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3850 US homeland-security Voa News - Us Congress Begins Recess Without Sending Bush Wiretap Bill http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3849 After more than a year of wrangling, the Senate handed the White House a major victory on Tuesday by voting to broaden the government’s spy powers and to give legal protection to phone companies that cooperated in President Bush’s program of eavesdropping without warrants. One by one, the Senate rejected amendments that would have imposed greater civil liberties checks on the government’s surveillance powers. Finally, the Senate voted 68 to 29 to approve legislation that th... Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3849 US homeland-security Senate Votes For Expansion Of Spy Powers - New York Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3845 There’s nothing like an espionage story to help heat up this freezing Tuesday morning. And today’s top news story has all the elements: sleeper agents, stolen aerospace secrets and Cold War intimations. Yesterday, the Justice Department unveiled charges against alleged Chinese spies in California and Virginia. The WSJ, NYT, and LAT all have stories. According to the reports, in a news conference yesterday Kenneth Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, ci... Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:22:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3845 US homeland-security Law Blog - Wsj.Com : Doj: Chinese Espionage Marks Return To Cold War Threats http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3843 A U.S. Defense Department civilian employee has been indicted on espionage-related charges involving efforts to provide secret military technology to China, officials close to the case said. Chinese citizens, some of whom hold U.S. green cards, also are to be charged in federal court in Los Angeles, California, the sources said. The Associated Press reported that at least four Chinese citizens were named in the indictments. According to the AP, the five are to be charged with illegally sm... Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3843 US homeland-security Indictments: U.S. Official Spied For China - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3835 The White House today said President Bush authorized his CIA director to confirm the use of waterboarding by U.S. officials on three suspected terrorists to gather intelligence and that the interrogation technique is not torture. “This program and the techniques used in it were determined lawful through a process,” said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. Senate Democrats, however, demanded a government investigation into the matter to determine whether laws forbidding t... Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:29:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3835 US homeland-security Bush Ok'D Confirming Waterboarding - - The Washington Times, America'S Newspaper http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3832 The CIA has for the first time publicly admitted using the controversial method of "waterboarding" on terror suspects. CIA director Michael Hayden told Congress however that it had only been used on three people, and not at all for the past five years. He said the technique had been used on high-profile al-Qaeda detainees including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Mr Hayden was speaking as National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell presented his annual threat assessment. Waterboa... Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-08.html#3832 US homeland-security Bbc News | Americas | Cia Admits Waterboarding Inmates http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-08.html#3822 Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused to legally define waterboarding as "torture" during Senate testimony Wednesday, although he acknowledged that if the interrogation technique were performed on him, he would personally "feel that it was." Michael Mukasey says it's not "appropriate" for him to judge whether waterboard interrogations are legal. During his first testimony since his November confirmation, Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that it ... Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-08.html#3822 US homeland-security Attorney General Dances Around Waterboarding Issue - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-08.html#3814 federal judge said Thursday that CIA interrogation videotapes may have been relevant to his court case and he gave the Bush administration three weeks to explain why they were destroyed in 2005 and say whether other evidence was also destroyed. Several judges are considering wading into the dispute over the videos, but U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts was the first to order the administration to provide a written report on the matter. The tapes showed harsh interrogation tactics used... Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-08.html#3814 US homeland-security Helenair.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3773 The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of people's physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify people in the United States and abroad. Images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement in Clarksburg. Next month, the FBI will award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of... Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:08:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3773 US homeland-security The Denver Post - Fbi Amassing Vast Database Of Physical Info To Id People http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3771 The September 11 commission asked the CIA in 2003 and 2004 for information on the interrogation of al Qaeda suspects, only to be told the agency provided all that was requested, The New York Times reported on Saturday. The CIA said on December 6 it destroyed hundreds of hours of videotape in 2005 showing interrogations of al Qaeda suspects Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, prompting former members of the commission to review classified documents. The taped interrogations were belie... Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:44:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3771 US homeland-security Cia Withheld Al Qaeda Tapes: Paper | U.S. | Reuters http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3763 Over the objections of the Justice Department, a federal judge said Tuesday he would explore whether the U.S. had violated a court order to preserve evidence when the CIA destroyed videotaped interrogations of two terrorism suspects in 2005. U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. set a hearing for Friday in Washington in response to a request from Yemeni prisoners who are challenging their detention by the U.S. at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Much of the evidence agains... Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:06:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3763 US homeland-security Destruction Of Cia Tapes May Have Violated A Court Order - Los Angeles Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3758 A federal jury in Florida has cleared a man accused of plotting terrorist attacks in the United States, but said it was unable to agree on a verdict for six other defendants. A judge in Miami declared a mistrial for the six other men, which leaves open the possibility that prosecutors can seek another trial. The seven defendants were accused of plotting to join forces with al-Qaida and blow up FBI offices and topple the tallest building in the United States, the Sears Tower in Chicago. ... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:03:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3758 US homeland-security Voa News - Terror Trial In Miami Ends In One Acquittal, Six Mistrials http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3750 At a conference in El Paso in mid-August, Representative Silvestre Reyes of Texas, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, heaped praise on a man whose exploits, he joked, had been the inspiration for the television show “24.” From fast cars to fine wines, Mr. Reyes said, the appetites of the man, Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., are the stuff of legend. Then turning serious, Mr. Reyes hailed Mr. Rodriguez’s three decades of undercover work for the Central Intell... Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:17:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3750 US homeland-security C.I.A. Official In Inquiry Called A ‘Hero’ - New York Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3747 U.S. President George W. Bush "has no recollection" of videotapes of CIA interrogations of some al Qaeda suspects or of plans to destroy the tapes, a White House spokeswoman said. CIA Director Michael Hayden says congressional leaders were told about the tapes. Bush and Vice President Cheney learned about videotaped interrogations of some al Qaeda suspects on Thursday, when CIA Director Michael Hayden briefed them about the existence of the tapes and their subsequent destruction,... Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:58:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3747 US foreign-relations Bush: 'No Recollection' Of Tapes - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3746 White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday. The chief of the agency’s clandestine service nevertheless ordered their destruction in November 2005, taking the step without notifying even the C.I.A.’s own top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, who was angry a... Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-07.html#3746 US homeland-security C.I.A. Was Urged To Keep Interrogation Videotapes - New York Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-07.html#3727 Fran Townsend, the leading White House-based terrorism adviser who gave public updates on the extent of the threat to U.S. security, is stepping down after 4 1/2 years. President Bush said in a statement Monday morning that Townsend, 45, "has ably guided the Homeland Security Council. She has played an integral role in the formation of the key strategies and policies my administration has used to combat terror and protect Americans." Her departure continues an exodus of key Bush ai... Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:07:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-07.html#3727 US homeland-security Excite News - Bush Homeland Security Adviser Resigns http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-07.html#3709 Bringing his claims to Capitol Hill for the first time, former AT network technician Mark Klein appeared yesterday at a press conference to reiterate his astonishing claim: AT operated a 24 x 48-foot room in one of its network operations centers in San Francisco, where Klein discovered his employer was cooperating with the National Security Agency in the monitoring of all Internet traffic over a major backbone line. "I have first-hand knowledge of the clandestine collaboration between one... Sat, 10 Nov 2007 10:03:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-07.html#3709 US homeland-security Betanews | Whistleblower: At Maintained A 'Secret Room' For The Nsa http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-07.html#3691 In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war. The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challeng... Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-07.html#3691 US homeland-security From The Desk Of Donald Rumsfeld . . . - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-07.html#3685 In the U.S. government's galaxy of post-9/11 terrorist prosecutions, one of the brightest stars fell to the ground this week. Looking back, the Justice Department's claim that what was once the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. financed Palestinian terrorists looks pretty lame. A Texas jury didn't buy the notion that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, based near Dallas, had funneled more than $12 million to the Palestinian group Hamas after the U.S. declare... Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-07.html#3685 US homeland-security Bloomberg.Com: Opinion http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-07.html#3632 The Justice Department under Alberto Gonzales's leadership issued a secret opinion in 2005 authorizing use of painful physical and psychological tactics against terror suspects, including simulated drownings and freezing temperatures, it was reported. The secret opinion, which explicitly allowed using the painful methods in combination with each other, came a year after an opinion in which Justice publicly declared torture "abhorrent" and the Bush administration seemed to back awa... Thu, 04 Oct 2007 08:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-07.html#3632 US homeland-security Townhall.Com::The News::News Article http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3620 Hoping to ease the strain of two wars, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that he was likely to approve a $3 billion plan by the Army to accelerate by a full year the expansion of its active-duty force that President Bush approved in January. Under the proposal, the Army would expand to 547,000 troops by 2011, one year sooner than under Mr. Bush’s plan. Army Secretary Pete Geren told reporters on Thursday that he favored the faster expansion to relieve the strains of provid... Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:05:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3620 US homeland-security Gates Favors Faster Expansion Of The Army - New York Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3612 This is stupid. It is not longer a free society. How does a young woman wearing art indicate that terrorism is still an aviation threat in the US? Troopers arrested an MIT student at gunpoint Friday after she walked into Logan International Airport wearing a computer circuit board and wiring on her sweatshirt. Authorities call it a fake bomb; she called it art. Star Simpson's attorney said the charges against her were an overreaction, but authorities expressed amazement that someone ... Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:54:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3612 US homeland-security The Associated Press: Mit Coed With Fake Bomb 'Art' Arrested http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3606 Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said he still doesn’t know why police Tasered a University of Florida student during the senator’s speech Monday, saying, "I could have handled the situation without interruption." Kerry, however, was quick not to undermine the police decision to use force. “I don’t know what transpired,” Kerry said. “The police must have had a reason to make their decision.” The senator would not comment as to whether t... Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3606 US homeland-security Kerry Stunned Over Taser Incident, By Daniel W. Reilly - Cbs News http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3577 As many as six nuclear warheads, each with a destructive potential almost 10 times that of the Hiroshima bomb, were mistakenly flown across the US, Pentagon officials conceded yesterday. The incident last week saw nuclear-armed cruise missiles last week mounted on the wings of a B-52 bomber and flown from an airbase 40 miles below the Canadian border to the southern state of Louisiana. The 1,500 mile journey from the Minot airbase in North Dakota to Barksdale in Louisiana lasted three and a h... Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:02:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-07.html#3577 US homeland-security Shakeup After Nuclear Missiles Flown Across Us By Mistake | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3546 A new scanning program has revealed that the FBI and CIA have been editing Wikipedia entries on topics ranging from the Iraq war to Guantanamo. WikiScanner, developed by CalTech graduate student Virgil Griffith, has traced editorial changes made to the online encyclopedia to FBI and CIA computers, including the removal of satellite imagery of the Guantanamo prison camp on the island of Cuba, where the United States has detained suspected terrorists since 2002, and redactions of articles on t... Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:29:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3546 US homeland-security Ria Novosti - World - Computer Program Reveals Fbi, Cia Edited Wikipedia Entries http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3538 The U.S. Congress decision to give broad authority to American intelligence agencies to monitor global communications that transit the U.S. is bad for democracy, violates individual privacy and deals a crushing blow to civil liberties. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic house speaker, is right on target when she says the measure “does violence to the Constitution of the United States.” The great danger of the bill is that it allows the wiretapping of almost any call, email or other comm... Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:28:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3538 US homeland-security William M. Gumede At Postglobal: Postglobal On Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3531 Intelligence agencies can monitor electronic communications without a warrant, provided that a high-ranking public servant signs off on it beforehand, or in the case of imminent danger, within 72 hours. The new powers originate from a bill that President George W. Bush signed Sunday. The powers, which some critics call "warrantless wiretapping," expire in six months. In the meantime, some elected representatives have indicated they will attempt to develop different long-term strategies... Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:11:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3531 US homeland-security President'S Warrantless Wiretapping Powers Extended -- Security -- Informationweek http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3529 The city must release hundreds of pages of documents related to police surveillance of protesters prior to the 2004 Republican National Convention, but they will be allowed to black out some information, a judge ruled Monday. The city had sought to keep secret field intelligence reports prepared by undercover police officers, but U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV called for the city to turn over those and other documents to lawyers representing hundreds of protesters challenging their... Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:58:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3529 US homeland-security Nypd Surveillance Files Ordered Released - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3519 The US Congress was trying to reach a last-minute deal on Friday to allow the Bush administration to continue an eavesdropping programme that was previously determined to be illegal. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill were struggling to craft compromise legislation before the summer recess to modernise the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa). Enacted after Watergate, the law requires the administration to seek approval from a special intelligence court to eavesdrop on Americans. The... Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:12:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3519 US homeland-security Congress Seeks Eavesdropping Pact - Financial Times - Msnbc.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3517 White House officials and Democratic congressional leaders are still trying to work out differences to modernize the law on monitoring communications between suspected terrorists. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell says the rules for monitoring communications need to change. But beyond technical and legal issues, embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is one of the sticking points. The Bush administration wants Congress to act on the proposal before it leaves on its Augu... Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3517 US politics Gonzales An Issue In Surveillance Law Upgrade - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3507 A Democratic proposal that would expand federal surveillance powers for six months avoids the sensitive question of whether telecommunications companies should be absolved of legal liabilities for aiding the government's intelligence activities. The interim legislation, proposed yesterday by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, would give the Bush administration expanded powers to monitor telecommunications traffic as part of its counterterrori... Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-07.html#3507 US homeland-security Interim Wiretap Plan Proposed - Wsj.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3501 A Houston-area company supplied NASA with a computer that had been deliberately damaged, a company official said Friday. The computer is slated to fly to the international space station next month aboard space shuttle Endeavour. The space agency announced Thursday that wires inside the computer had been cut. The manufacturer, Invocon Inc., an electronics research and development firm based in Conroe, Texas, has not yet identified any suspects or motives, said Invocon program director Kev... Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3501 US homeland-security Damaged Nasa Computer From Texas Company - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3500 The director of the FBI told a congressional committee Thursday that he had had reservations about the Bush administration's terrorism surveillance program — a statement that appears to contradict sworn testimony last year by Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales that the warrantless eavesdropping had generated no serious disagreement among high-level officials. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Robert S. Mueller III also undercut statements Gonzales offered this week to law... Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3500 US homeland-security Fbi Chief Seems To Contradict Gonzales - Los Angeles Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3498 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United S... Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:41:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3498 US homeland-security Executive Order: Blocking Property Of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts In Iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3492 Tackling a case that has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate, senators today denounced as excessive the prison sentences for two Border Patrol agents from Texas who shot and wounded a fleeing, unarmed Mexican drug smuggler. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized the 12- and 11-year prison sentences given to ex-agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, respectively. And they strongly q... Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3492 US homeland-security Senators: Prison Terms For U.S. Agents Excessive | Chron.Com - Houston Chronicle http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3485 The White House says there is no credible, specific intelligence about any imminent terrorist threat against the United States. White House spokesman Tony Fratto made the comment Wednesday in response to remarks Tuesday by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that the U.S. is at greater risk for attacks over the next months of summer. Chertoff said he based the remark on a "gut" feeling after taking into consideration the pattern of summertime terrorist activity. He... Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3485 US homeland-security Voa News - White House Says No Credible Threat Against Us, In Response To Chertoff Remark http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3472 The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee signaled today that he would seek to hold White House officials in contempt of Congress if they do not comply with congressional subpoenas. "If they don't cooperate, yes, I'll go that far," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), when asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he would ask Congress to hold President Bush in contempt if he refuses to respond to subpoenas. "They've chosen confrontation rather than compromise... Sun, 01 Jul 2007 14:02:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3472 US homeland-security July 1: Congress Could Pursue Contempt Charges For Bush - The Talk http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3469 On the last day of its current session, the Supreme Court changed its mind about two cases involving detainees in government custody. After denying earlier appeals by the Guantanamo detainees in April, the court said it will hear arguments in its next term about whether inmates whom the government deems to be enemy combatants have the right to challenge their detention in a U.S. court. There is some difference among legal scholars about exactly when the last time such a reversal occurred in t... Sun, 01 Jul 2007 09:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-07.html#3469 US homeland-security Voa News - Us Supreme Court Reverses Decision, Agrees To Hear Guantanamo Detainee Appeal http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3465 The Bush administration asserted executive privilege and rejected subpoenas from two congressional committees probing last year's firings of eight U.S. attorneys. ``The president has decided to assert executive privilege and therefore the White House will not be making any production in response to these subpoenas for documents,'' White House Counsel Fred Fielding wrote to Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont and Representative John Conyers of Michigan, chairmen of the Senate and House J... Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3465 US homeland-security Bloomberg.Com: Worldwide http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3464 A Senate chairman heading an investigation into the Bush administration's warrantless domestic spying program subpoenaed documents on Wednesday from the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney's office, the National Security Council and Justice Department. Setting up a possible courtroom showdown, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy gave the administration until July 18 to turn over specified materials that the White House last week declared off limits and highly classif... Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:11:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3464 US homeland-security Senate Subpoenas Whouse Documents In Spying Probe - Boston.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3454 The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday criticized Vice President Dick Cheney's idea of doing away with a U.S. government agency -- the Information Security Oversight Office -- charged with safeg uarding national security information. The committee also took Cheney to task for refusing to cooperate with the agency by exempting itself -- over the objections of the National Archives -- from a presidential executive order that seeks to protect national security... Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:10:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3454 US homeland-security Xinhua - English http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3447 The wife of an American soldier missing in action in the Iraq War faces another potential crisis at home: deportation. Yaderlin Jimenez's husband, Army Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, a Purple Heart recipient, disappeared when his unit was ambushed by insurgents May 12. Now the immigration status of his Dominican-born wife, who illegally entered the country in 2001 and married Jimenez in June 2004, hangs in limbo. At a dramatic hearing in immigrant court April 29, 2006, where Jimenez appea... Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3447 US homeland-security Abc News: Could Missing Soldier'S Wife Be Deported? http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3427 A federal appeals court of Virginia said the Bush administration cannot legally detain a US resident it believes is an enemy combatant without charging him. In a divided decision, the court ruled that the President cannot strip 41-year old Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri of his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers in court and keep him indefinitely as an enemy combatant on US soil, as this would have disastrous consequences for the Constitution and the country, the CNN reported. ... Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:23:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3427 US homeland-security Us Court Rules Against Bush Enemy Combatant Policy - Prensa Latina http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3423 What's in a word? When the word is "unlawful,'' quite a lot. In another major setback for the George W. Bush administration's beleaguered military commissions, military judges in two trials declared they lacked jurisdiction to try terror suspects detained at Guantánamo Bay. Their holdings hinge on an apparent technicality. When Congress passed the American military commissions act of 2006, it only gave the commissions jurisdiction over "alien unlawful enemy com... Sat, 09 Jun 2007 10:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3423 US homeland-security Therecord.Com | Insider | Law Standing In The Way Of Bush'S War On Terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3416 When Congress wrote the Military Commissions Act in 2006, the authors were careful to specify that only "unlawful" enemy combatants could be placed on trial under the new form of military justice at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. They wanted to make sure that President Bush and his commanders reserved the streamlined tribunals for the most egregious violators. So Congress repeatedly drew distinctions between "lawful" enemy combatants, who could not be tried at Guantánamo, an... Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:03:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-07.html#3416 US homeland-security Why Detainee Trials Got Snagged Over A Word | Csmonitor.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-07.html#3397 A former Justice Department official's riveting congressional testimony about his agency's showdown with the White House over a secret eavesdropping program in 2004 could spell trouble for the government's attempts to fend off dozens of pending lawsuits challenging the surveillance effort. Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, the deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005, James Comey, described how he refused to certify the legality of the program, prompting... Sun, 20 May 2007 10:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-07.html#3397 US homeland-security Comey Testimony May Spell Trouble For White House - May 18, 2007 - The New York Sun http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-07.html#3393 A Pakistani citizen who grew up in suburban Baltimore told a U.S. military hearing last month that he was tortured at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to a transcript released by the Pentagon on Tuesday, Majid Khan, who denied that he had ever been a member of al-Qaida, said he was so upset by his treatment at Guantanamo that he twice tried to commit suicide.... Tue, 15 May 2007 23:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-07.html#3393 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-07.html#3377 Critics of the Iraq war said on Tuesday the Bush administration's failure to replenish vital National Guard equipment sent to Iraq caused Kansas to fall short in responding to last week's tornado disaster, and other states were equally vulnerable. The White House and the Pentagon rebuffed the criticism, saying Kansas and other states had adequate resources that they could share in event of disasters like the Kansas tornado that leveled one small town on Friday and killed 10 in the are... Tue, 08 May 2007 15:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-07.html#3377 US homeland-security Kansas Disaster Renews National Guard Debate | Reuters http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3320 There's a half-billion dollars invested in the gear hanging off the heads, chests and backs of the soldiers of Alpha company. Digital maps displayed on helmet-mounted eyepieces show the position of all the men in the unit as they surround a block of concrete buildings and launch their attacks. Instead of relying on the hand signals and shouted orders that most infantrymen use, Alpha company communicates via advanced, encrypted radio transmissions with a range of up to a kilometer. It's m... Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:33:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3320 US homeland-security The Army'S New Land Warrior Gear: Why Soldiers Don'T Like It - Popular Mechanics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3297 The conventional wisdom is that the federal government deserves failing grades for computer security. After all, the big VA breach of a year ago has been followed by many more stories of agencies losing computers, suffering data breaches and failing to encrypt sensitive data. Today a House committee handed out security report cards for all federal agencies, The Washington Post reports. The good news is that, overall, the feds aren't failing: The average grade is C-minus. The bad news is ... Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:55:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3297 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3278 U.S. President George W. Bush is framing the standoff with Congress over funding the Iraq war as a matter of supporting the troops. 'Democrat leaders in Congress seem more interested in fighting political battles in Washington than in providing our troops what they need to fight the battles in Iraq,' he said Tuesday in a Rose garden press conference. Four years of budget machinations on the war, however, show the White House`s record is not as clean as it suggests. The White H... Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:10:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3278 US homeland-security Bush Delays Slowed War Funding - Us http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3267 The controversy over the death of former football star Pat Tillman deepened Friday when a document emerged showing that a top Army general suggested only a week after Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan that the White House should be informed of the real circumstances of the shooting. In a cable, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, chief of the Army's Special Operations Command, suggested to Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, that President Bush and other senior offici... Sun, 01 Apr 2007 09:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-07.html#3267 US homeland-security Tillman Case Memo Fuels Cover-Up Theory http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3235 Reports of sexual assaults in the U.S. military increased by about 24 percent last year and more than twice as many offenders were punished. There were nearly 3,000 sexual assault reports filed in 2006, compared with almost 2,400 the previous year, a Pentagon report said Wednesday. Action was taken against 780 people, from courts-martial and discharges to other administrative remedies. The cases involved members of the military who were victims or accused of the assaults. The military coun... Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3235 US homeland-security Sex Assault Reports In U.S. Military Increase By 24 Percent - International Herald Tribune http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3212 Secret CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson has accused senior Bush administration officials of "carelessly and recklessly" revealing her identity. The comments were her first public statements on a political scandal which rocked Washington. She says her identity was revealed in 2003 to discredit her husband, a former diplomat, for criticising the Iraq war. No-one has been charged over the leak, but the vice-president's former top aide was convicted of perjury. Lewis "Sco... Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:10:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3212 US homeland-security Bbc News | Americas | Ex-Cia Agent Blasts White House http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3199 A US Army medic who refused to return to Iraq because of his opposition to the war has been found guilty of desertion by a court martial in Germany. The verdict follows reports from soldiers' counselling groups of a more than threefold rise in American military personnel wanting to leave the armed forces. Agustin Aguayo, 35, who was born in Mexico, climbed out of a bathroom window at a US base at Schweinfurt, Germany, in September last year and went absent without leave for 24 days to av... Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:42:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3199 US homeland-security Independent Online Edition > Europe http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3189 The Pentagon's latest move to close status-review hearings of "enemy combatants" is in keeping with its make-it-up-as-you-go approach to handling detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Such callous maneuvers are flawed, and they have been so from the beginning. The hearings that started Friday are supposed to determine if 14 high-profile terror suspects are "enemy combatants." The Pentagon says that secrecy is necessary to protect classified information, and so it is reversing... Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3189 US homeland-security Krt Wire | 03/12/2007 | Losing The Moral High Ground In Terror War http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3188 Secret hearings for two suspected masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and a third terror suspect were held over the weekend at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the military launched proceedings to determine whether 14 high-profile detainees should be prosecuted. According to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, hearings for Abu Faraj al-Libi and Ramzi Binalshibh were Friday, and a hearing for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was Saturday. He said another hearing at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba was ... Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:38:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3188 US homeland-security 9/11 Suspects Get Hearings At Guantamamo - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3181 U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has so politicized the Justice Department that he should step down for the sake of the nation, the Senate's third-ranking Democrat said Sunday. Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York — citing recent disclosures about the FBI's improper use of administrative subpoenas to obtain private records and the controversy over the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys in December — told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Gonzales, who previously ser... Sun, 11 Mar 2007 22:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3181 US homeland-security Senator Calls For Attorney General'S Resignation - Los Angeles Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3169 The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against FBI agents or lawyers who improperly used the USA Patriot Act in pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies. The FBI's transgressions were spelled out in a damning 126-page audit... Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3169 US homeland-security Gonzales, Mueller Admit Fbi Broke Law http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3139 The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) has assembled a panel of experts to discuss the authorized use of covert wiretapping in the war on terror. In 2005, it was reported that the President had authorized the National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of international communications into and out of the United States of persons reasonably believed to be in communication with a member or agent of al Qaeda, or an affiliated terrorist organization. On January 17, 2007,... Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:29:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3139 US homeland-security Civil Rights Commission To Examine Covert Wiretapping In The War On Terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3135 Witnesses told a House panel Monday that wounded U.S. soldiers are forced to struggle against a nightmarish and untrustworthy Army medical system which leaves veterans stranded in unfit conditions. Two Iraq war veterans and the wife of a third gave heartbreaking, at times stunning, tales of neglect at the now notorious Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The panel was convened in the wake of a scandal triggered by The Washington Post's detailing of problems at the hospital. Annette McL... Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:18:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3135 US homeland-security Witness Slams 'Nightmares' Of Army Medical System - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3134 It's sad that it took mistreatment of poor soldiers to culminate in the first real outcry against the Bush administration's hypocracy. I hope that these guys didn't suffer in vain. A soldier who said he once lived in a recovery annex at Walter Reed Army Medical Center described unfit hospital conditions Monday during a House hearing on the scandal. Wounded Army Spc. Jeremy Duncan told the panel he spent some of his recovery in Building 18, an annexed former motel used for Walt... Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:14:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3134 US homeland-security Walter Reed Patient: My Room 'Wasn'T Fit For Anyone' - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3131 Ray Oliva went into the spare bedroom in his home in Kelseyville, Calif., to wrestle with his feelings. He didn't know a single soldier at Walter Reed, but he felt he knew them all. He worried about the wounded who were entering the world of military health care, which he knew all too well. His own VA hospital in Livermore was a mess. The gown he wore was torn. The wheelchairs were old and broken. "It is just not Walter Reed," Oliva slowly tapped out on his keyboard at 4:23 in the... Sun, 04 Mar 2007 22:20:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3131 US homeland-security 'It Is Just Not Walter Reed' - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3127 Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey abruptly stepped down Friday as the Bush administration struggled to cope with the fallout from a scandal over substandard conditions for wounded Iraq soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The surprise move came one day after Harvey fired the two-star general in charge of the medical center in response to disclosures of problems at the hospital compound. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Harvey had resigned. But senior defense officials speaking on... Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3127 US morality Excite News - Army Secretary Resigns In Scandal'S Wake http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3125 President Bush ordered a comprehensive review Friday of conditions at the nation's military and veteran hospitals in the wake of a scandal surrounding care for wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. The White House said the president would name a bipartisan commission to assess whether the problems at Walter Reed existed at other facilities. The action came after The Washington Post documented squalid living conditions for some outpatient soldiers at Walte... Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:46:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3125 US homeland-security Bush Orders Review Of Veterans' Hospitals http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3123 The top general at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was fired Thursday, the military announced, following revelations of poor conditions in the building where troops who were wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq are treated. Maj. Gen. George Weightman's firing was the first major military staff change after reports surfaced last month about substandard conditions in a building that is part of the facility. Army Secretary Francis Harvey, who removed Weightman from his post according to an Arm... Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:49:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-07.html#3123 US homeland-security Army Fires Commander Of Walter Reed Hospital - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3076 The Justice Department routinely has misrepresented the number of terrorism prosecutions, possibly undermining decision-making in the war on terrorism, an independent government audit has found. The report, released Tuesday by the Justice Department's inspector general, concluded that the department in most cases "could not provide support for the numbers reported or could not identify the terrorism link used to classify statistics as terrorism-related." All but two of the 26 s... Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:12:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3076 US homeland-security Contracostatimes.Com | 02/21/2007 | Data On War On Terror Misstated, Audit Finds http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3054 A jury delivered a strong— and expensive— message to Sandia National Laboratories on Tuesday, awarding more than $4 million to a cybersecurity analyst who was fired after going "over the fence" to the FBI with information about national security breaches. The 13-person state district court jury determined that Sandia's handling of Shawn Carpenter's termination was "malicious, willful, reckless, wanton, fraudulent or in bad faith." "If they (S... Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:25:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3054 US homeland-security Abqjournal: Sandia Hacker Gets $4 Million http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3019 Vice President Dick Cheney seemed surprised in 2003 when told where his chief of staff had learned the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. "From me?" Cheney asked, tilting his head, according to the grand jury testimony of the aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is on trial on charges of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI. Libby's account of the conversation came near the end of nearly eight hours of audiotapes of his 2004 grand jury testimony that prosecutors... Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:15:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3019 US homeland-security Cheney Surprised By Libby'S Account - Washingtonpost.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3016 This guy reminds me of a Democrat with his brain scrambled... oh yeah... Sen. Joseph Lieberman said on Tuesday that Congress should consider a tax to fund the U.S.-declared war on terrorism and reduce the need to cut domestic programs to pay for security spending. A former Democrat who supports the Iraq war and backs President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq, Lieberman said the proposed increase in the Pentagon's budget for next fiscal year will squee... Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:15:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3016 US homeland-security Sen. Joe Lieberman Pushes Tax To Fund War On Terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3010 Why did the Bush administration throw the book at these two agents? Rhetoric from all sides is swirling around the conviction and sentencing of two Border Patrol agents, Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, involved in an incident with illegal alien/drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on the Mexican border near Fabens, Texas. In an attempt to escape, abandoning his van with 743 pounds of marijuana inside, Aldrete-Davila was shot in the buttocks by a bullet from the gun of agent Ramos. Both ag... Mon, 05 Feb 2007 15:16:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3010 US homeland-security Border Patrol Case Outrage http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3006 The soldier stands in his living room eyeing all the cool soldier stuff he never got to use in a real war. Such as the helmet with not a single ding and the sleek body armor with not a scuff. The gear piles high on the carpet. First Lt. Ehren Watada is giving it all back and, out of courtesy, packing it up. The Army had treated him with utmost respect until the moment it decided to court-martial him. It was nothing personal. The Army does what it has to do. Just like Watada himself did wha... Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:33:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-07.html#3006 US domestic-policy Mercurynews.Com | 02/05/2007 | Stand Against Iraq Sends Officer To Trial http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2970 Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday he will turn over secret documents detailing the government's domestic spying program, ending a two-week standoff with the Senate Judiciary Committee over surveillance targeting terror suspects. "It's never been the case where we said we would never provide access," Gonzales told reporters. "We obviously would be concerned about the public disclosure that may jeopardize the national security of our country," he said. ... Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:46:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2970 US homeland-security Gonzales Will Turn Over Secret Wiretapping Documents - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2956 From their earliest days, U.S. intelligence agencies have made it an article of faith to protect the identity of their secret agents. And in 1982, following a rash of malicious exposures, the CIA prevailed on Congress to make it a crime to knowingly disclose the identity of such operatives. So in 2003, when the name of a CIA arms proliferation specialist, Valerie Plame, surfaced in a newspaper column, the agency immediately demanded a Justice Department investigation. But last week, as for... Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:12:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2956 US homeland-security Libby Trial Shows Unsealed Lips In Cia - Los Angeles Times http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2945 Canada's prime minister apologized to Maher Arar on Friday and announced the government would compensate him C$10.5 million (US$8.9 million) for its role in his deportation from the U.S. to Syria, where he was tortured while held in prison for nearly a year. Prime Minister Stephen Harper again called on the U.S. government to remove the Ottawa telecoms engineer from any of its no-fly or terrorist watchlists and reiterated that Ottawa would keep pressing Washington to clear Arar's name... Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:55:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2945 US homeland-security Canada Compensates Man U.S. Deported To Syria - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2932 One of the Bush administration's most far-reaching assertions of government power was revealed quietly last week when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified that habeas corpus -- the right to go to federal court and challenge one's imprisonment -- is not protected by the Constitution. "The Constitution doesn't say every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas,'' Gonzales told Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., dur... Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2932 US domestic-policy Gonzales Says The Constitution Doesn'T Guarantee Habeas Corpus / Attorney General'S Remarks On Citizens' Right Astound The Chair Of Senate Judiciary Panel http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2916 Senate Democrats and one Republican pressed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Thursday to explain why it took the Bush administration five years to give a secret national security court control over government eavesdropping on suspected terrorists. Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee that such a change was highly complex - "not the kind of thing you pull off a shelf" - and that it took time to find a way to do it without compromising the nation's security. Until now, t... Sun, 21 Jan 2007 13:10:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2916 US homeland-security Krt Wire | 01/18/2007 | Gonzales Faces Sharp Criticism By Senators http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2909 While Bush has been screwing around in the Middle East, the Chinese have been preparing to whip our butts. Incredible... wish I could say that I didn't see this coming. China last week successfully used a missile to destroy an orbiting satellite, U.S. government officials told CNN on Thursday, in a test that could undermine relations with the West and pose a threat to satellites important to the U.S. military. According to a spokesman for the National Security Council, the ground-base... Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:51:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2909 US homeland-security U.S. Official: Chinese Test Missile Obliterates Satellite - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2906 The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering. The CIA also has been issuing what are known as national security letters to gain access to financial records from American companies, though it has done so only rarely, intelligence officials say. Banks, credit card compa... Sun, 14 Jan 2007 22:31:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2906 US homeland-security The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, Usa http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2902 The Pentagon on Saturday disavowed a senior official's remarks suggesting companies boycott law firms that represent detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Charles "Cully" Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said in a radio interview last week that companies might want to consider taking their business to firms that do not represent suspected terrorists. Stimson's remarks were viewed by legal experts and advocacy ... Sat, 13 Jan 2007 21:14:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2902 US homeland-security Pentagon Won'T Back Official Who Blasted Gitmo Lawyers - Cnn.Com http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2898 Adults in the United States appear concerned about the global effort to fight terrorism, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 36 per cent of respondents say the terrorists are winning, while 33 per cent think the U.S. and its allies are ahead. In addition, 26 per cent of respondents think neither side is winning, and five per cent are undecided. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. The war on terrorism was initiated in Oc... Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:52:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2898 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2876 In the years after Pearl Harbor, patriotic Americans lined up to invest billions of their hard-earned savings in government "war bonds" to help pay for the war against Germany and Japan. In the years since 9/11? Not so much. In fact, if you wanted to invest your savings in a way that supported the war against al Qaeda, you'd be hard pressed to know where to go or what to do. Enter Adam Sheer, at New York-based Roosevelt Investment Management. Last week his small firm, which ... Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:18:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2876 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2865 President George Bush reshuffled his diplomatic and intelligence teams today in the first of a series of new appointments expected as he maps out the next stage of his Iraq strategy. John Negroponte, who was appointed America's first overall intelligence chief in early 2005, was nominated to become Condoleezza Rice's deputy in the State Department. To take his place, Mr Bush nominated Vice Admiral Mike McConnell, a former National Security Adviser. Making the announcement at ... Fri, 05 Jan 2007 10:37:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2865 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2859 Retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell, a veteran of more than 25 years in the intelligence field, will be named by President Bush to succeed John Negroponte as national intelligence director, a senior administration official said Thursday. Negroponte will move to the State Department to become the No. 2 to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The nominations of McConnell and Negroponte are expected to be announced by Bush on Friday. The administration sought to dispel any suggestion that Neg... Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2859 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2851 A soccer-loving college dropout from Texas with a weakness for trance music and ham-and-pineapple pizza has become the 3,000th American soldier killed in Iraq. Dustin Donica, 22, an army specialist from the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was killed by small-arms fire on Thursday during a counter-insurgency operations in Karmah in the Sunni stronghold of al-Anbar province. His father, David, learnt that his son’s death was the 3,000th by logging on to the internet after re... Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:02:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-07.html#2851 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2829 President Bush's call to build up the size of the Army and Marine Corps confronts the U.S. military with a sizable and potentially costly challenge, especially given its recent history of war-related recruiting problems. But one solution remains firmly off the table: reinstituting a draft. Bush last week endorsed proposals to enlarge the Army and Marine Corps. The proposals have wide support, from those who advocate a short-term boost in troops in Iraq as well as those who say a larger ov... Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:11:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2829 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2815 Last week, the watchdog Project on Government Oversight reported that workers at Pantex, a Texan nuclear-weapons plant, had almost accidentally detonated a W56 warhead in the spring of 2005. A W56 has 100 times the Hiroshima bomb's yield. A similar incident occurred there in 2004 when workers discovered a crack in a W56 warhead; they ended up patching it together using "the equivalent of duct tape." BWXT, the Texan plant operator, paid safety-violation fines totaling less than $1... Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:42:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2815 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2799 This guys is truly demented... U.S. President George Bush, calling the war on terror the new "calling" for a generation, said he would increase the size of the military. "2006 was a tough year," Bush told a White House news conference Wednesday. He called the enemy "merciless and violent." "The war on terror is the calling for a new generation. It's the calling for our generation," Bush said, adding that the country owes the military the resources f... Wed, 20 Dec 2006 10:01:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2799 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2786 Don't let the door hit your... He's been a lightning rod for criticism and called the architect of a disastrous war, but on Friday there were only words of praise as the Pentagon gave outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld a full-honors farewell, reports CBS News correspondent Aleen Sirgany. "This man knows how to lead, and he did. The country's better off for it," President Bush said. The president called Rumsfeld "one of America's most skilled, ene... Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2786 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2782 Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker plans to tell the independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves on Thursday that the Army needs to be able to mobilize the 345,000-member Army National Guard and 196,000-member Army Reserves more frequently and for longer periods than current restrictions allow, two senior Army officials said Wednesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. They said Schoomaker hoped to gain th... Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2782 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2768 Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is a man of few regrets, but he has acknowledged that he's had second thoughts about the Bush administration's often-used phrase "war on terror" to describe U.S. military endeavors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Asked by conservative commentator Cal Thomas what he would have done differently during his often-stormy, nearly six-year tenure as President Bush's defense chief, Rumsfeld replied: "I guess I don't think I would have c... Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:59:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2768 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2721 Hmmm... are these 'privacy guidelines' or 'lack of privacy guidelines'? The Bush administration Monday released new guidelines aimed at protecting the privacy of U.S. citizens as the government moves to enhance its sharing of information as part of post-Sept. 11 reforms. The guidelines, approved by President Bush last month, cover a broad range of government agencies from the CIA and the Pentagon to the State Department, Homeland Security, FBI, Justice Department and state ... Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2721 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2720 President Bush's choice for a new defense secretary is telling a Senate panel the Iraq war will be his "highest priority." Robert Gates say he's "under no illusions" about why he's in line for the job, adding he didn't seek it, but answered Bush's call. Gates is telling lawmakers that developments in Iraq over the next year or two will greatly shape events to come in the Mideast and elsewhere. He says things could steadily improve -- or there's the &... Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:15:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2720 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2696 What do remote-control garage door openers have to do with national security? A lot, it seems. A secretive U.S. air force facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., tested a radio frequency this past week that it would use to communicate with first responders in the event of a homeland security threat. But the frequency also controls an estimated 50 million garage door openers, and hundreds of residents in the surrounding area found their garage doors had suddenly stopped working. "It wou... Sat, 02 Dec 2006 17:07:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2696 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2695 Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told a gathering of the American Bar Association on Friday that the Bush administration's secret wiretapping program for suspected terrorists is illegal. Harman, D-Venice (Los Angeles County), who has become increasingly critical of President Bush's policies in recent months after her initial support for the Iraq war and her defense of the Patriot Act, also blasted the administration for refusing to provide leg... Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:59:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2695 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2691 The new Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has chosen a former Mexican border patrol agent to lead the House Intelligence Committee, ending weeks of debate about who will oversee U.S. spy agencies. Rep. Silvestre Reyes takes over the key post next year as his party tries to intensify oversight of the intelligence community. Critics say Republicans in the outgoing majority failed to do that, leading to faulty prewar intelligence on Iraq and other stumbles. "... Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:14:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2691 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2687 Lawyer Brandon Mayfield, wrongly arrested by FBI agents after the 2004 Madrid terrorist bombings, has settled his lawsuit against the U.S. government for $2 million, his attorney said Wednesday. The lawsuit said Mayfield was wrongly detained for two weeks in 2004 on the basis of a misidentified fingerprint. The FBI and the U.S. attorney general's office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment. Mayfield, a convert to Islam, said he was arrested b... Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-06.html#2687 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2673 About 2 billion U.S. dollars' worth of U.S. Army and Marine Corps equipment, from rifles to tanks, is wearing out or being destroyed every month in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. media reported on Wednesday. The figure is equal to about a quarter of the 8 billion dollars per month in military war costs, said the USA Today, citing military leaders and outside experts. The wear and tear may lead to future equipment shortages and cutbacks in more advanced weapons, such as the F-35 J... Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:08:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2673 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2667 A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order was unconstitutional and vague. Some parts of the Sept. 24, 2001, order tagging 27 groups and individuals as "specially designated global terrorists" were too vague and could impinge on First Amendment rights of free association, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins said. The order gave the president "unfettered discretion" to label groups with... Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:52:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2667 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2668 In a decision that could roil Democratic unity in the new House, Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi passed over Rep. Alcee Hastings Tuesday for the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee. Hastings, currently the No. 2 Democrat on the panel, had been aggressively making a case for the top position, supported by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Critics pointed out that he had been impeached when he was a federal judge and said naming him to such a sensitive post would be a mistake just ... Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:54:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2668 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2653 Thousands held protest outside Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of the US Army's Airborne, Ranger and Infantry training, in their effort to close a military school. This is part of the 17-year effort to close the school they blame for human rights abuses in Latin America. Officials with the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department estimated the crowd size at 14,000, but Eric LeCompte, events coordinator for SOA Watch, which organised the protest on Sunday, said they counted 22,000. F... Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:51:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2653 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2651 Whether troop levels increase in coming months, or decrease, or stay the same, one aspect of the US military effort in Iraq is unlikely to change: It will be expensive. The cost of combat in Iraq has now surpassed $300 billion, according to government estimates. Add in activities in Afghanistan, and the total price of the global war on terror is about $500 billion, making it one of the most monetarily costly conflicts in which the nation has ever engaged. Now the Department of Defense is i... Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:45:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2651 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2645 Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees. In court documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured and held in t... Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2645 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2637 Way to go Marines! At least someone in our military is thinking about ethnic and religious sensitivity! A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program. A Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the 1 foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., ... Tue, 14 Nov 2006 13:58:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2637 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2636 A new law moving through Congress threatens to classify non-violent civil disobedience carried out by animal-rights groups as terrorism. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), already passed unanimously by the US Senate, expands on a previous law aimed at activists who protest the treatment of animals. It reclassifies common activist tactics as terrorism based solely on the cause pursued. Proponents of the legislation, including co-sponsors Senator Dianne Feinstein (D–Californi... Tue, 14 Nov 2006 13:47:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-06.html#2636 US domestic-policy http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2574 With the vast amount of waste, from penknives to toothpaste to teddy bears, I'm beginning to believe that this fear-restricted airline carry-on system is a way of increasing consumer purchases, thereby stimulating the economy. How cynical of me... A Surbiton boy has to grin and bear it after increased security checks at Gatwick Airport meant he lost his beloved Winnie the Pooh toy. André Stanbridge-Bevan, eight, from Portsmouth Road in south-west London, was flying to Italy on Fr... Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:46:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2574 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2548 Restrictions on civil liberties related to the "war on terrorism" have undermined media freedom in the United States and Russia over the past year, journalists' rights group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said. RSF's 2006 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, a survey of censorship, intimidation and violence against journalists released Tuesday, found Finland, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands the most media-friendly. North Korea was last again. Russia fell nine places, t... Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2548 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2540 Republicans took a page from President Johnson's Cold War-era presidential campaign with an advertisement set to air this weekend called "The Stakes," which prominently features al Qaeda leaders threatening to kill Americans. "Just like in the Cold War, the reality is that our nation is at war with an ideology and not a country," said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. Democrats, however, have called the commercial, which is reminiscent of Johnso... Sun, 22 Oct 2006 10:26:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2540 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2538 Abdul Rahim insists he's an apolitical student who fled a strict father. But he's fallen into a black hole in the war on terror in which first the Taliban and then the United States imprisoned him as an enemy of the state. Arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan in January 2000, Rahim says Al Qaeda leaders burned him with cigarettes, smashed his right hand, deprived him of sleep, nearly drowned him and hanged him from the ceiling until he "confessed" to spying for the United St... Sat, 21 Oct 2006 11:18:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2538 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2535 An email sent by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) to bloggers about the "global war on terror" (GWOT) has been obtained by RAW STORY. CENTCOM announced earlier this year that a team of employees would be "[engaging] bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information." The email was not addressed to RAW STORY. "The main interest is to drive their readers to our site," Maj. Richard J. McNort... Sat, 21 Oct 2006 11:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2535 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2536 Recent scientific polls that show around 84% don't believe the government's explanation behind 9/11 and others confirming the fact that support for the war in Iraq is at an all time low have led the Bush administration to sharpen their knives against the new breed of perceived "enemy propagandists," bloggers, journalists and online activists who dissent against the "war on terror." As Raw Story reports, CENTCOM announced earlier this year that a team of employees would... Sat, 21 Oct 2006 11:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2536 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2526 Fewer Americans believe the global effort to fight terrorism is proceeding adequately, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 31 per cent of respondents think the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, down 13 points since July. Conversely, 36 per cent of respondents believe the terrorists are winning the war on terror—up 10 points in three months—and 22 per cent believe neither side is ahead. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Se... Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:23:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2526 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2521 President Bush signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions, calling it a "vital tool" in the war against terrorism. Bush's plan for treatment of the terror suspects became law just six weeks after he acknowledged that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military commissions. "Wi... Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2521 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2511 The rappid passage and signing of this law is one of the greatest travesties of the modern era. President George W. Bush is signing into law new standards expediting interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects, a bill the White House says strengthens his hand in a time of war. Bush's plan becomes law just six weeks after he acknowledged that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military... Tue, 17 Oct 2006 08:49:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2511 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2509 While Right-wing bloggers have already labeled Steward a traitor, something just doesn't feel right here... Civil rights lawyer Lynn Stewart could find out today if she will serve up to 30 years in prison for enabling a former client and convicted terrorist to communicate with his followers, according to an AP report. Stewart, 67, was convicted in 2005 of providing material support to terrorists after she passed along a 2000 press release in which her former client, Omar Abdel-Rahman e... Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2509 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2467 Five years of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan have left signs of wear and tear on the U.S. military, raising questions about its ability to sustain its current level of operations and confront potential new crises. The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, ordered following the Sept. 11 attacks, began on Oct. 7, 2001, thrusting the all-volunteer U.S. military into combat that has continued unabated there and, since March 2003, in Iraq. Senior military officers, including Army Chief of Staff Ge... Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:42:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2467 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2465 We don't agree with the fence, but this is just pure hypocrisy... No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexican border last week than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts. GOP leaders have singled out the fence as one of the primary accomplishments of the recently completed session. Many lawmakers plan to highlig... Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2465 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2456 In July 2001, then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice did have a meeting with CIA Director George Tenet about the threat posed by al Qaeda, but the information presented to her was not new, her spokesman said Monday. A new book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward says Tenet and Cofer Black, then the U.S. counterterrorism chief, demanded a snap meeting with Rice to warn her of a growing al Qaeda threat to U.S. interests and possibly the U.S. homeland. The meeting took place July... Tue, 03 Oct 2006 22:59:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2456 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2448 On Sept. 22, former President Bill Clinton appeared on “FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace.” During the show, Clinton was drawn into a debate with Wallace – the host of the show – over Clinton’s record on terrorism and his efforts to apprehend Osama bin Laden. The debate quickly turned heated as Clinton, who seemed upset and angry, attempted to defend his reputation and point out the truth about his campaign to fight al-Qaida and kill its leader. News media and ... Mon, 02 Oct 2006 20:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2448 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2444 There has been a great deal of discussion about the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [.pdf], recently passed by both houses of Congress, and most of it has to do with the provisions allowing torture of alien detainees, that is, of non-citizens apprehended in, say, Afghanistan or Iraq, and their treatment at the hands of their American captors. Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and John Warner, all Republicans, grandstanded for weeks over the torture provisions, then capitulated. Another "... Mon, 02 Oct 2006 10:50:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-06.html#2444 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2438 Democratic Senators in the US have accused the Bush administration of tearing up '200 years of legal standards' after a bill was passed endorsing proposals to interrogate and prosecute foreign terror suspects. A majority in the Senate voted in support of the proposals, which were controversially outlined by President George W Bush. The new bill could be signed into law within a few days.... Fri, 29 Sep 2006 11:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2438 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2425 An angry US President George W Bush Tuesday stridently denied that the Iraq war has worsened the world terrorist threat, in his first remarks since an important secret intelligence report was leaked to the media. He said he was so annoyed by the way in which the report, the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), completed in April, had been taken out of context that he had ordered the document declassified. The report found that the US-led invasion of Iraq had given birth to a new generat... Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2425 US foreign-relations http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2421 A new, classified report says the nation’s spy agencies don't think the Iraq war has reduced the threat of terrorism. In fact, they concluded that the war has contributed to an increased threat. The assessment comes in a National Intelligence Estimate, which represents a consensus view of the 16 spy services inside the government. It's classified, but an intelligence official is confirming reports of the account published Sunday in the New York Times. The report finds ... Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:23:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2421 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2420 Democrats on Sunday seized on an intelligence assessment that said the Iraq war has increased the terrorist threat, saying it was further evidence that Americans should choose new leadership in the November elections. The Democrats hoped the report would undermine the GOP's image as the party more capable of handing terrorism as the campaign enters its final six-week stretch. Their criticisms came in a collection of statements sent to reporters Sunday amid the disclosure of a National ... Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:21:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2420 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2419 In a combative interview on "Fox News Sunday," former President Clinton defended his handling of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden, saying he tried to have bin Laden killed and was attacked for his efforts by the same people who now criticize him for not doing enough. "That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," Clinton said in the interview. "They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did ... Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:20:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2419 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2415 It barely made news last week when Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne called for the testing of nonlethal weaponry on US citizens in crowd-control situations. According to Wynne, "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation." “War on terror” blowback hits Main Street. But it’s naïve to think that once developed, US military weapons will only be used against foreign popula... Thu, 21 Sep 2006 10:12:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2415 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2405 With midterm elections only seven weeks away, the Republican-led Congress today is once again taking up the controversial issue of immigration, but is focusing on border security issues like building fences and stopping smuggling rather than a broader package sought by President Bush. The Senate is debating a bill to build a 700-mile fence along almost a third of the U.S.-Mexican border. The House, which passed its own fence construction bill last week, is considering three measures: a crackdow... Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:54:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2405 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2372 President Bush dispatched the vice president and top aides to the Capitol on Tuesday to try to break an election-season deadlock with Republicans over the surveillance and prosecution of terrorism suspects. But officials met stiff resistance from senators and House leaders who say they refuse to give the White House a blank check over the war on terror. The standoff raised questions about whether the president could unite Republicans on his anti-terror agenda before November's midterm ele... Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:47:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2372 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2371 Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday. The object is basically public relations. Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations, said Secretary Michael Wynne. "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a warti... Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2371 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2360 The percentage of Americans who blame the Bush administration for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington has risen from almost a third to almost half over the past four years, a CNN poll released Monday found. Asked whether they blame the Bush administration for the attacks, 45 percent said either a "great deal" or a "moderate amount," up from 32 percent in a June 2002 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. But the Clinton administration did not get off lightly eith... Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:12:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2360 US politics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2339 President Bush reminded Americans that the United States is a nation at war on the same day his administration proclaimed significant progress in the war on terror but said the enemy has adjusted to U.S. defenses and that "America is safer but we are not yet safe." Earlier today, the administration released an updated counter-terrorism strategy. The White House said: "The United States and our partners continue to pursue a significantly degraded but still dangerous al-Qaida net... Tue, 05 Sep 2006 12:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2339 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2336 Five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States is safer but "we are not yet safe" from a significantly degraded but still dangerous al Qaeda threat, the White House said in a report on Tuesday. A White House "national strategy for combating terrorism" was published as the United States prepares to observe the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Bush administration faces criticism from Democrats over whether it has done enough to safeguard America... Tue, 05 Sep 2006 08:51:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2336 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2335 The history of American war profiteering is rife with egregious examples of incompetence, fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, bribery and misconduct. As war historian Stuart Brandes has suggested, each new war is infected with new forms of war profiteering. Iraq is no exception. From criminal mismanagement of Iraq's oil revenues to armed private security contractors operating with virtual impunity, this war has created opportunities for an appalling amount of corruption. What follows is a list... Tue, 05 Sep 2006 08:49:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2335 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2332 With great fanfare, the federal government last March announced indictments against 19 people for "racketeering to support a terrorist organization." The allegation: They trafficked in contraband cigarettes and other items and sent some of the profits to Hizbullah in Lebanon, which the US calls a terrorist organization. In the announcement, a US attorney said the terror fight is his office's No. 1 priority. But lawyers for some of those charged claim their clients had nothing to ... Mon, 04 Sep 2006 21:49:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2332 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2322 What's the likelihood that someone is going to launch a missle at us any time soon? Worth the cost? An interceptor missile destroyed a mock warhead in space over the Pacific Ocean on Friday in a key test of the nation's missile defense system, U.S. military officials said. The 54-foot interceptor shot out of an underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central California coast at 10:39 a.m., 17 minutes after a target missile was launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska. A... Fri, 01 Sep 2006 15:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2322 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2319 A series of polls taken over the last few weeks of August show that support for the war in Iraq among Americans is at an all-time low. Almost two-thirds of Americans in each of three major polls say that they oppose the war, the highest totals since pollsters starting asking Americans the question three years ago. Many of the polls were conducted in advance of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York. A new Associated Press/Ipsos poll that surveyed th... Fri, 01 Sep 2006 15:44:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-06.html#2319 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2279 The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are stretching the U.S. Marine Corps, forcing the service to take extraordinary measures to bolster both manpower and equipment. On Tuesday, the Marines announced plans to recall as many as 2,500 inactive reservists to involuntary active-duty service to meet manpower needs, the first such call-up since nearly 2,700 Marines were recalled to active-duty before U.S. forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The announcement coincided with a report to be issued Wednesday by... Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:09:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2279 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2275 The dismantling of the London terror plot hasn't helped President Bush with U.S. voters, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll. The survey shows that while the president received a modest boost for his handling of terrorism (55 percent approve) in the wake of the plot, concerns about Iraq, the economy and the Mideast neutralized that advantage. As a result, Mr. Bush's approval rating remained at 36 percent. That number was unchanged from last week and from a poll conduc... Wed, 23 Aug 2006 08:51:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2275 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2273 The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has climbed back to 138,000, driven up in part by the need to control the escalating violence in Baghdad and the decision to delay the departure of an Alaska-based Army brigade. The increase comes as the U.S. Marine Corps is preparing to order thousands of its troops to active duty in the first involuntary recall since the early days of the war. No more than 2,500 Marines will be recalled at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number who may be fo... Wed, 23 Aug 2006 08:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2273 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2257 Once-public documents on U.S. missile defenses in the 1970s have been ordered sealed from view by the Bush administration, The Washington Post reports. The newspaper said an open House Armed Services Committee heard in March 1971 the United States had 30 strategic bomber squadrons, 54 Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles and 1,000 Minuteman missiles, But those numbers are redacted in a copy of the chart obtained by the National Security Archive's researchers in January, archives off... Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:49:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2257 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2253 A federal judge in Detroit ruled today that the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against the National Security Agency. The ACLU had argued that the domestic surveillanc... Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2253 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2245 The five Arabs, who were arrested on charges of terrorism just for buying batches of mobile phones, are innocent, according to the FBI. Local authorities had arrested the Arab-Americans after they had found nearly 1000 mobile phones; most of them prepaid TracFones, along with $11,000 in cash. They also found a map marking Wal-Mart stores from Ohio to South Carolina. Additionally prosecutors said airport security information and airline passenger lists were also recovered from their van. FB... Wed, 16 Aug 2006 21:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2245 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2232 We already know this: The public and the press were in the dark, but Vice President Cheney already knew British agents were arresting Muslim suspects in the trans-Atlantic bombing case when he attacked Ned Lamont and the Democratic Party for encouraging "al-Qaeda types." The US war in Iraq is a failure in the eyes of most Americans. The US-backed Israeli bombing of Lebanon has revived the discredited neo-conservative argument to carry the war to Middle Eastern terrorists. T... Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:43:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2232 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2230 British police have arrested 21 people in connection with a plot to blow up planes flying between Britain and the United States, a senior officer said Thursday. British authorities said they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft in flight to the United States using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, averting what police described as ``mass murder on an unimaginable scale.'' Officials raised security to its highest level _ suggesting a terrorist ... Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:19:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2230 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2208 A researcher warned that electronic passports being introduced in the U.S. and other countries have a major vulnerability that could allow criminals to clone embedded secret code and enter countries illegally. The demonstration, given late Friday night by German computer security expert Lukas Grunwald, showed how personal information stored on the documents could be copied and transferred to another device. It appeared to contradict assurances by officials in government and private industr... Sun, 06 Aug 2006 09:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-06.html#2208 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2172 War protesters will have a new and bigger gathering place when they return in August to President Bush's adopted hometown: a 5-acre lot bought with insurance money Cindy Sheehan received after her son was killed in Iraq. Gerry Fonseca, a fellow war protester who acted as Sheehan's agent, said he recently bought the vacant lot about a mile from downtown Crawford -- and about 7 miles from Bush's ranch -- for $52,500. About half the land is pasture, and the other half is woods, he sa... Fri, 28 Jul 2006 09:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2172 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2171 Two Oakland police officers working undercover at an anti-war protest in May 2003 got themselves elected to leadership positions in an effort to influence the demonstration, documents released Thursday show. The department assigned the officers to join activists protesting the U.S. war in Iraq and the tactics that police had used at a demonstration a month earlier, a police official said last year in a sworn deposition. At the first demonstration, police fired nonlethal bullets and bean ... Fri, 28 Jul 2006 09:31:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2171 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2159 As debate continues over the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, the administration pressed Congress Wednesday to ease Internet age surveillance restrictions. Technological advances and a shift in adversaries from Cold War rivals to terrorists mean the 1978 law covering such monitoring — the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — is now behind the times, CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden told the Senate Judiciary Committee. As part of a deal with Bush... Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:22:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2159 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2157 Investigators using false identities were able to obtain more than $1m of sensitive military equipment from the US department of defence, according to a government report released on Tuesday. The equipment included body armour, launcher mounts for shoulder-fired guided missiles, components for F-14 fighter aircraft, biochemical weapons protection suits, guided missile radar test sets and various sensitive surveillance technologies. Many of those items have applications that could be "usef... Wed, 26 Jul 2006 11:39:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2157 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2145 The Pentagon has not reported the real costs of America`s Global War on Terror, a new GAO report said. As a result, the U.S. Congress can not reliably know the current or future cost of the Global War on Terror, or GWOT, due to concerns over the Department of Defense`s expense reporting, the Government Accountability Office study concluded. The GAO report was part of the testimony at a July 18 hearing in the Government Reform subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives on the accurac... Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:07:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2145 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2136 After months of inaction, Congress is poised this week to move on two tough issues in the war on terror: warrantless surveillance of Americans and the treatment of detainees. How these matters are resolved could rein in the power of a wartime president, reversing half a century of retreat on the part of Congress - or not. Both cut across party lines and between House and Senate. But, for now, the most immediate battle is how open the resolution of these issues will be to the public. Mo... Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:24:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2136 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2130 US President George Bush has used his presidential powers to block a probe into the controversial domestic spying programs, drawing immediate rebuke from critics and lawmakers, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, July 19. "The president decided that protecting the secrecy and security of the program requires that a strict limit be placed on the number of persons granted access to information about the program for non-operational reasons," Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales wr... Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2130 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2120 Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said today that President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless eavesdropping program that monitors Americans' international calls and e-mails when terrorism is suspected. The department's Office of Professional Responsibility announced earlier this year it could not pursue an investigation into the role of Justice lawyers in crafting the program, under which the National Security Agency... Wed, 19 Jul 2006 22:58:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2120 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2105 President George W. Bush has agreed to subject to judicial review his controversial National Security Agency domestic spying programme, in the White House's second recent big policy reversal. Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, on Thursday said he had reached a compromise with the White House to submit the NSA programme – which allows warrantless eavesdropping of the international communications of Americans with suspected links to terrorists &#... Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:38:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2105 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2098 The CIA officer whose identity was leaked to reporters sued Vice President Dick Cheney, his former top aide and presidential adviser Karl Rove on Thursday, accusing them and other White House officials of conspiring to destroy her career. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Valerie Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, accused Cheney, Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby of participating in a "whispering campaign" to reveal Plame's CIA identit... Thu, 13 Jul 2006 21:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2098 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2091 For the last quarter of 2006 United States Army bases stateside face a funding deficit of $530 million while troops active in Iraq and Afghanistan will not see the promised replacement levels of military equipment previously committed. Additionally, payroll for active-duty troops is short $1.4 billion while the Army Reserve and National Guard face a $500 million deficiency. The Installation Management Agency is responsible for overseeing the funding for 117 Army posts in the U.S., Europe and ... Wed, 12 Jul 2006 10:02:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2091 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2074 The Bush administration concealed at least one "major" intelligence operation from Congress in possible violation of the law and briefed lawmakers only after they learned about it from independent sources, a ranking member of Congress said. The charge by Republican Representative Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, calls into question repeated assurances by President George W. Bush and his top aides that they strictly comply with requirements to keep the leg... Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:21:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2074 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2071 A high-ranking Republican lawmaker, in a public letter has exposed what he sees as a dissident faction within the CIA that he says "intentionally undermined" the policies of President George W. Bush. Rumors about the existence of such a group have circulated in the US capital for a long time, but the comments by Representative Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, mark the first time they were confirmed by an official with intimate knowledge of the intelligenc... Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:02:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2071 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2058 Media reports in the United States say the Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that was devoted to tracking international terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants. The New York Times Tuesday published a report quoting officials who confirmed that the unit was disbanded last year, and that its analysts were reassigned within the agency's counterterrorism center. Initial news of the unit's closure was reported on National Public Radio Monday.... Wed, 05 Jul 2006 10:37:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2058 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2052 The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court. The allegation is part of a court filing adding AT, the nation's largest telephone company, as a defendant in a breach of privacy case filed earlier this month on behalf of Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. customers. The suit alleges that the three carriers,... Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:33:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2052 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2043 The disclosure by The New York Times and other major papers that the Bush administration has been monitoring the financial transactions of suspected terrorists perhaps should have come as no surprise. US President George W. Bush himself, speaking on September 24, 2001, had asserted that would happen: "We're putting banks and financial institutions around the world on notice, we will work with their governments and ask them to freeze or block terrorist ability to access funds in forei... Sat, 01 Jul 2006 05:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-06.html#2043 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2028 Bush said disclosure of the program "does great harm to the United States of America" and makes it harder to win the war on terror. Bush said the program "was fully authorized under the law," and Congress had been briefed on it. The program allows U.S. counter-terrorism analysts to obtain financial information from a huge database maintained by a company based in Belgium. It has been going on since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but was only disclosed ... Mon, 26 Jun 2006 12:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2028 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2021 A federal judge criticized the U.S. government on Friday for holding up a visa application from one of Europe's best-known Muslim intellectuals and ruled it must make a decision in the long-running case within three months. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty granted a request by the American Civil Liberties Union to force a decision on the visa request from renowned Swiss theologian Tariq Ramadan, who has been barred from U.S. entry since 2004 and has waited more than nine months for a respo... Fri, 23 Jun 2006 21:46:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2021 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2020 WASHINGTON The White House on Friday vigorously defended a secret program of combing through a vast international database containing banking transactions involving thousands of Americans. Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials said the program, whose existence was revealed Friday in an article in The New York Times, was both legal and necessary to deter terrorism. Treasury Secretary John Snow, in his first public remarks about the program, called it "government at its best."... Fri, 23 Jun 2006 21:44:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2020 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2005 So now the Kumbaya crowd is suspect. Here are some of the counterterrorism activities being watched by the U.S. government: - An animal rights activist who protested in front of a Georgia store selling glazed hams. - A Pittsburgh group operating a thrift store for low-income people as part of their social justice outreach. -And a Washington-based group that has drawn thousands of praying nuns, priests, high school and college students to a U.S. Army base to criticize the military's... Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#2005 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1991 Vice President Cheney says America is winning the war on terror, and that a key sign of success is the fact that no terrorist attacks have been launched on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. Cheney says the success is due to two factors. First, the United States has acted aggressively to confront terrorists abroad - what he termed "taking the battle to the enemy overseas." But he also credited domestic efforts to make the United States less vulnerable to attack. "The terrorist... Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1991 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1134 The US military death toll in Iraq neared 2,500 Thursday, moving like a shadow behind President George W. Bush's efforts to gain momentum from last week's burst of good news from the war-torn country. The Pentagon put the death toll as of Wednesday at 2,499 US service members, of whom 1,971 were killed in action. "Each and every loss is felt hard by our nation, by the units from which those individuals come, and certainly mostly by their families," said Brigadier General Carter H... Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:33:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1134 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1135 The U.S. government has enlisted a large number of private companies to help soldiers, intelligence services, and police fight terrorism at home and around the world. Some experts say such contractors are crucial to the success of U.S. military operations, but critics argue some companies have made mistakes and need closer supervision. The September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Towers killed about 3,000 people and sparked an emergency effort to find and deploy larg... Thu, 15 Jun 2006 04:24:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1135 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1136 In the face of growing criticism over the treatment of detainees, Pentagon officials have decided to make public all of the military's interrogation techniques. The decision, which comes after months of internal debate and pressure from members of Congress, would reveal interrogation tactics in a long-awaited revision of the Army Field Manual, despite arguments that it could allow enemy prisoners to better resist questioning. Defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the... Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:55:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1136 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1137 In Ohio's 1st Congressional District, Republican incumbent Steve Chabot is running up against his toughest reelection challenge in years. But his Democratic opponent is running up against Chabot's computer. In one of the lesser-known perks of power on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are using taxpayer-funded databases to cultivate constituents more attentively than ever. Chabot -- a six-term legislator from Cincinnati who finds himself imperiled this year after years of easy races -- has a list ... Wed, 07 Jun 2006 05:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-06.html#1137 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1138 The US administration has asked a pair of federal judges to dismiss legal challenges to its domestic eavesdropping programme, arguing any court action in the cases would jeopardise secrets in the “war on terrorism”. The group that brought the case against the state said the move eroded the system of checks and balances at the root of any democracy. Filed just before a deadline of midnight on Saturday, and only partly made public, the arguments by the US justice department marked the... Tue, 30 May 2006 15:25:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1138 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1139 About 300 Arizona National Guard troops will be sent to the state's porous southern border in June as the first tangible step in President Bush's controversial plan to beef up border security throughout the Southwest. The Guard units, which will do two- and three-week rotations, could be deployed as early as the first week of June to fill a supporting role while the federal government recruits and trains Border Patrol agents over the next two years. By the end of June, Guard units from ... Sun, 21 May 2006 22:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1139 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1140 CIA nominee Gen. Michael Hayden insisted on Thursday that the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program was legal and that it was designed to ensnare terrorists _ not spy on ordinary people. "Clearly the privacy of American citizens is a concern constantly," the four-star Air Force general told the Senate Intelligence Committee at his confirmation hearing. "We always balance privacy and security." Hayden was peppered by as many questions about the National Securi... Thu, 18 May 2006 17:21:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1140 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1141 The government is listening in on this or that call, combing through telephone records, tracking Emails and other transactions, instantly detecting anomalies and patterns in communications, building enemies lists. I spoke to a friend in the business yesterday, a retired military intelligence officer who works at some beltway corporation that contracts big time with NSA. He cautions that I shouldn't get ahead of themselves worrying about an all-seeing government and a seamless surveillance ... Thu, 18 May 2006 03:30:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1141 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1142 Heeding conservative demands to shore up the southern U.S. border to prevent illegal immigrants from freely crossing into the country, the Senate voted Wednesday to build 370 miles of triple-layered fence Senators voted 83-16 to add fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southern border. Construction of the barrier would send "a signal that open-border days are over. ... Good fences make good neighbors, fences don't make bad neighbors," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. H... Thu, 18 May 2006 03:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1142 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1143 In order to enforce the law, one has to respect the law. Making it up as you go along doesn't count. Yet the Bush administration is clearly making up its own rules for what it is allowed to do in its search for terrorists. That approach defends neither the Constitution the president is sworn to uphold nor the people who look to him for safety, both from terrorists and from unwarranted government intrusion in their lives. In fact, this method threatens to place the unchecked power o... Mon, 15 May 2006 14:58:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1143 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1144 President Bush has made broad use of his executive powers: authorizing warrantless wiretaps, collecting telephone records on millions of Americans, holding suspected terrorists overseas without legal protections. His administration even is considering using the military to patrol the U.S. border. These are extraordinary times, for sure, and the president says he is acting to safeguard the country. But Democrats and some Republicans, along with human rights activists and legal scholars, suggest ... Sun, 14 May 2006 05:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1144 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1145 The Pentagon's top medical officer yesterday contested the conclusions of a Government Accountability Office report that questioned whether service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are getting appropriate mental health care. Although the report said only 22 percent of service members identified as at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on a post-deployment questionnaire were referred for a mental health examination, that did not account for troops who were referred to p... Sat, 13 May 2006 21:10:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1145 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1146 A report on extensive government collection of Americans' phone data roiled Congress on Thursday, with many Republicans rallying to the president's defense while one key GOP chairman and many Democrats called for hearings, new restrictions and the possible subpoenaing of telephone executives. The report in USA Today heaped fuel on a smoldering debate over privacy rights versus anti-terrorism tactics. It also threatened to complicate White House efforts to win Senate confirmation of Air F... Fri, 12 May 2006 17:40:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1146 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1147 A new spying controversy erupted Thursday as lawmakers from both parties expressed alarm over a news report that the National Security Agency has been secretly tracking phone calls of millions of Americans. Senators called news conferences and appeared on television to raise questions about why the NSA is building a huge database of the phone-dialing habits of tens of millions of Americans, using information provided by AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. USA Today,... Fri, 12 May 2006 15:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1147 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1148 President George W. Bush said the government isn't "trolling" the private lives of Americans, as members of Congress demanded answers about a report that a U.S. intelligence agency is collecting millions of telephone records. "The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities," Bush said today of operations to gather information about terrorists. "We're not mining or trolling though the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."... Thu, 11 May 2006 19:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1148 US domestic-policy http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1149 "The phone call records of tens of millions of Americans" have been secretly collected by the National Security Agency since President Bush authorized the so-called warrantless eavesdropping program after the 9/11 attacks, USA TODAY is reporting. Citing "people with direct knowledge of the arrangement," the newspaper reports that the program "is far more expansive than what the White House has (previously) acknowledged." It has also been conducted, USA TODAY writes, with... Thu, 11 May 2006 14:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1149 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1150 Statements in response to President Bush's nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.... Mon, 08 May 2006 17:10:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1150 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#2076 What's all the fuss with the Real ID Act about? President Bush is expected to sign an $82 billion military spending bill soon that will, in part, create electronically readable, federally approved ID cards for Americans. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the package--which includes the Real ID Act--on Thursday. What does that mean for me? Starting three years from now, if you live or work in the United States, you'll need a federally approved ID card to travel... Sat, 06 May 2006 07:55:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#2076 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1151 President George W. Bush announced Friday that Porter J. Goss, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has resigned after serving 20 months in that post. Bush has yet to name a successor, The Associated Press reports. Bush characterized Goss' tenure as one of transition, and said that the director "has led ably," and already has a "five-year plan to increase the analysts and operatives" in place. The president also said that Goss, a former congressman who represen... Fri, 05 May 2006 20:05:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1151 US domestic-policy http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1152 A judge sentenced former professor Sami Al-Arian on Monday to another year and a half in prison before he will be deported in his terrorism conspiracy case. Al-Arian, 48, was sentenced to four years and nine months, but he will get credit for the three years and three months he already has served while being held before and after his trial. His lawyer, Linda Moreno, asked the judge to release her client now, but the judge refused and called Al-Arian "a master manipulator." ... Mon, 01 May 2006 20:13:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security5-06.html#1152 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1153 A newspaper promotion for Tom Cruise's upcoming "Mission: Impossible III" got off to an explosive start when a county arson squad blew up a news rack, thinking it contained a bomb. The confusion: the Los Angeles Times rack was fitted with a digital musical device designed to play the "Mission: Impossible" theme song when the door was opened. But in some cases, the red plastic boxes with protruding wires were jarred loose and dropped onto the stack of newspapers inside, alarmi... Sat, 29 Apr 2006 23:38:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1153 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1154 Congressional Democrats, sensing a rare opening to score points against the Bush administration on security issues, launched an offensive this week over vulnerabilities at the nation's seaports. Ridiculing the president's plans to beef up port security at a Tuesday news conference, a group of Democrats demanded that every container entering the United States be inspected at foreign ports. "Ronald Reagan used to say, 'Trust but verify,'" said Representative Edward Mark... Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:38:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1154 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1155 In 1998, when President Bill Clinton ordered military strikes against a suspected chemical weapons factory in Sudan, Mary McCarthy, a senior intelligence officer assigned to the White House, warned the president that the plan relied on inconclusive intelligence, two former government officials said. McCarthy's reservations did not stop the attack on the factory, which was carried out in retaliation for Al Qaeda's bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. But they illustrated her wi... Mon, 24 Apr 2006 03:21:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1155 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1156 The unprecedented criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his management of the Iraq War by retired generals who have served there goes deeper than the conflict itself. Criticism of the planning and execution of the war points to Rumsfeld's broader -- and controversial -- transformation of the military into a lighter, faster, smaller force theoretically more adept to fight modern wars. Critics say Rumsfeld's vision, which relies on expensive weapons, is out of step with the ki... Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:44:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1156 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1157 The family of the late investigative newspaper columnist Jack Anderson rejected an FBI request for agents to search his files for any classified government documents, according to a letter made available on Wednesday. "The family has concluded that were Mr. Anderson alive today, he would not cooperate with the government on this matter," the family said in a letter sent this week by Washington lawyer Michael Sullivan. Anderson, a crusading journalist who tackled powerful figures like for... Thu, 20 Apr 2006 03:23:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1157 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1158 Sixteen days before President Bush's January 28, 2003, State of the Union address in which he said that the US learned from British intelligence that Iraq had attempted to acquire uranium from Africa - an explosive claim that helped pave the way to war - the State Department told the CIA that the intelligence the uranium claims were based upon were forgeries, according to a newly declassified State Department memo. The revelation of the warning from the closely guarded State Department memo... Wed, 19 Apr 2006 15:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1158 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1159 A survey of major US weapons development programmes found an estimated 23 billion dollars in cost overruns and an average two years delay in reaching production, a government report said on Friday. The Government Accountability Office, a congressional audit agency, said that of 23 major weapon programmes that it reviewed, 10 had already reported cost overruns of greater than 30 percent and production delays of at least a year. Most of the other programmes were still too early in the development ... Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:55:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1159 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1160 Crusty and unapologetic, Donald H. Rumsfeld is the public face of an unpopular war and a target of unrelenting criticism. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced. The White House insists the defense secretary retains President Bush's confidence. Few close to the administration expect him to be shown the door. "The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job duri... Thu, 13 Apr 2006 21:51:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1160 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1161 The attorney general of the United States was playing rope-a-dope. Why, the senators wanted to know, did the White House circumvent a law passed by Congress, the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires intelligence services to obtain search warrants before intercepting international communications inside the United States? Alberto Gonzales was evasive and bland. Speaking in legalisms, he offered few details about the National Security Agency's sweeping post-9/11 eavesdropp... Sun, 09 Apr 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1161 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1162 The White House on Friday left unchallenged a prosecutor's disclosure that President George W. Bush authorized a former top official, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to share intelligence data on Iraq in 2003 with a reporter to counter Iraq war criticism. Spokesman Scott McClellan insisted that Bush had the authority to declassify intelligence and rejected charges from Democrats that he did so selectively for political purposes. "Declassifying information and providing it to the public wh... Fri, 07 Apr 2006 21:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1162 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1163 The allegation that President Bush authorized the dissemination of secret intelligence as part of an effort to buttress his case for war with Iraq introduces a new dimension to the long-running CIA leak investigation, while posing troubling new political problems for the administration. Until now, the investigation had been about aides to Bush and their alleged efforts to attack the credibility of a vocal administration critic, including by possibly leaking classified information. Bush cast hims... Fri, 07 Apr 2006 18:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1163 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1164 Declassified Iraq documents downloadable here!... Thu, 06 Apr 2006 21:23:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1164 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1165 This blog resonates soundly with one of my recent policy posts... According to polls, the public perceives Republicans as stronger on national security than Democrats. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the past century, Democratic presidents have been the dominant force in protecting our country. As for the current Administration, our national security has steadily deteriorated since President Bush came into office. For example, he shares major responsibility for the 9/11 disaster. ... Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:31:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1165 US foreign-relations http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1166 The Pentagon says that an internal review launched after revelations that it had collected data on U.S. peace activists found that some information stored in a database, of possible terrorist threats, should not have been kept there. According to the Reuters report, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says that "less than 2 percent" of the more than 13,000 entries in the database provided through the so-called Talon reporting system "should not have been there or should have been remov... Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1166 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1167 Ahh... they're making me feel safer and safer... A deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security is in a Maryland jail today, awaiting extradition to Florida on child pornography charges. Brian J. Doyle, who will be 56 on Friday, was arrested Tuesday evening at his Silver Springs, Md., home. He was charged with 23 felony counts, including using a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Department. ... Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:24:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1167 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1168 The US Supreme Court has handed the White House a temporary victory in a legal battle over the war on terror by declining to take up the appeal of suspected Al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla. Mr. Padilla's lawyers were waging a potential landmark appeal challenging President Bush's power to indefinitely detain American citizens arrested on US soil as enemy combatants. Rather than argue the case on the merits, the Bush administration had undertaken an array of procedural maneuvers that app... Tue, 04 Apr 2006 14:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1168 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1169 When a privacy-rights group requested records to show how many times a secretive presidential oversight board had asked the Justice Department to investigate possible violations of intelligence-gathering laws since 2001, the answer that came back last month was as simple as it was startling. Zero. One possible reason: For more than half of President Bush's first term, the Intelligence Oversight Board had no members because Bush did not appoint anyone to it. Bush didn't make appointments ... Mon, 03 Apr 2006 15:39:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1169 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1170 The U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal from Jose Padilla, refusing to question the Bush administration's authority to capture American citizens on domestic soil and hold them as ``enemy combatants.'' Padilla, arrested in Chicago in 2002, was held without charges by the military for more than three years before being indicted in November on charges of supporting terrorists. His appeal accused President George W. Bush of overstepping his authority, usurping the proper roles of C... Mon, 03 Apr 2006 15:30:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security4-06.html#1170 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1171 Polls say most Americans consider the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo to be fine by them. It is natural, of course, to care more for your own security than for the legal rights of those who threaten it. But that is a false choice, and it blinds us to the disturbing little details of the Bush administration's war on terror. If we just don't care, we just don't notice the multiple ways the administration thumbs its nose at U.S. law and principles. It is easy to overlook all tho... Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1171 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1172 Nixon White House counselor John Dean, testifying in favor of a Democratic resolution to censure President Bush, asserted Friday that Bush's conduct in connection with domestic spying exceeds the wrongdoing that toppled his former boss from power. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, fired back by telling Democrats: "Quit trying to score political points." The Senate, Dean said, should censure or officially scold Bush as proposed by Sen. Russell Feingold's resolution. But if that action c... Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:30:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1172 US politics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1173 Eric Haney, a retired command sergeant major of the U.S. Army, was a founding member of Delta Force, the military's elite covert counter-terrorist unit. He culled his experiences for "Inside Delta Force" (Delta; $14), a memoir rich with harrowing stories, though in an interview, Haney declines with a shrug to estimate the number of times he was almost killed. (Perhaps the most high-profile incident that almost claimed his life was the 1980 failed rescue of the hostages in Iran.) Toda... Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:21:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1173 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1174 The ACLU has obtained more documents that show that the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force was watching antiwar groups in Denver as part of a domestic terrorism investigation. The files were released to the ACLU's Colorado chapter under a Freedom of Information Act request filed in December 2004. The records show FBI agents spent hours monitoring activist organizations such as Food Not Bombs, and the now-closed bookstore, Breakdown Books in Capitol Hill, among other groups.... Wed, 29 Mar 2006 06:43:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1174 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1175 The Supreme Court gave a skeptical hearing Tuesday to the Bush administration's claim that the president has the power on his own to create and control special military tribunals to punish foreigners he deems to be war criminals. Five of the eight justices hearing the case commented that the laws of war and the Geneva Convention set basic rules of fairness for trying alleged war criminals. And they questioned whether the president was free to ignore those basic rules as well as the rules ... Wed, 29 Mar 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1175 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1176 President George W. Bush logged a victory last night when the U.S. House of Representatives renewed the USA Patriot Act, a law that gave the FBI expanded powers to investigate terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks. With the 280-138 House vote, which followed the Senate's 89- 10 approval on March 2, the legislation needs only Bush's signature to become law. The Patriot Act "has made Americans safer, safeguarded our civil liberties, and upheld our constitutional values,'' Hous... Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:37:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1176 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1177 The political storm over the Bush administration's contract with Dubai Ports International to manage six large American ports is a striking example of poetic justice. Bush has spent years whipping up a national mood of dread and anger against a vaguely defined enemy whose name is "terror." This enemy's lair is in Islamic countries where evil Muslims hide in the midst of good Muslims, and are ready to inflict another 9/11 if we relax our vigilance. We're lucky to have Michael ... Tue, 07 Mar 2006 18:28:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1177 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1178 A stunning investigation of bribery and corruption in Congress has spread to the CIA, ABC News has learned. The CIA Inspector General has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials.... Fri, 03 Mar 2006 23:26:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1178 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1179 With overwhelming bipartisan support, the USA Patriot Act is set for renewal next week. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 95-4 for a bill that will ensure the act will pass by March 10, with minor modifications of some of its most controversial and repressive measures. The new agreement will permanently extend most of the Patriot Act s provisions that would otherwise expire, while making only insignificant changes to a law that has become symbolic worldwide of the attack on democratic rights. Whe... Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:23:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1179 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1180 The Patriot Act is nearing permanent renewal... The Senate on Wednesday cleared the path for renewing the USA Patriot Act, swatting aside objections while adding new protections for people targeted by government investigations. The overwhelming votes virtually assured that Congress will renew President Bush's antiterror law before it expires March 10. The House was expected to pass the legislation Tuesday. The law's opponents, who insisted the new protections were cosmetic, conceded de... Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security3-06.html#1180 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1181 Survey USA, an apparently non-partisan survey company, conducted this amazing poll of Americans in all 50 states to assess support for the president's illegal wiretap authorization. Amazingly poor results for him.... Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1181 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1182 The U.S. government has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by an Egyptian who was among dozens of Muslim men swept up in the New York area after Sept. 11, held for months in a detention center in Brooklyn, and deported after being cleared of links to terrorism. The settlement, filed in federal court late on Monday, is the first the government has made in a number of lawsuits charging that noncitizens were abused and their constitutional rights violated in detentions after the t... Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:38:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1182 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1183 Amid chants of "U-S-A," dockworkers, truck drivers and politicians made clear Monday that they don't want Port Newark run by a company controlled by the Arab emirate of Dubai. "We wouldn't transfer the title to the devil, and we're not going to transfer it to Dubai!" U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg thundered to the crowd of longshoremen and Teamsters gathered at the port. The rally came as the U.S. Senate released a Coast Guard report that said the agency couldn't tell... Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1183 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1184 U.S. lawmakers pressed ahead with legislation on Monday to possibly block a state-owned Arab company from taking over key U.S. port operations, despite the the White House agreeing to a broader security review of the contested deal. Bush, who earlier said no additional review was necessary, backs the acquisition and threatened last week to use his veto power if members of Congress sought to derail it. Lawmakers have expressed concerns that the takeover could make the United States more vulnerab... Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1184 US politics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1185 The Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine is coming under fire for allowing two pro-abortion politicians to sponsor a charity event at one of its churches. The diocese is defending the decision to permit to state representatives to organize the fundraiser. Reps. Timothy Driscoll and Bob Duplessie helped put on a spaghetti dinner fundraiser Saturday night at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Westbrook. The dinner benefited Keep ME Warm, a program that helps provide funds for low-income families to ha... Mon, 27 Feb 2006 17:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1185 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1186 President Bush thanked the nation's governors Monday for their support of National Guard troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, even as state leaders are warning Bush's budget plans will cut Guard strength and leave states less able to respond to homegrown emergencies. The governors, attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, hoped for answers during a private meeting with Bush and a private lunch later with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. "I can't than... Mon, 27 Feb 2006 17:54:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1186 US politics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1187 Citing broad gaps in U.S. intelligence, the Coast Guard raised concerns weeks ago that it could not determine whether a United Arab Emirates-based company seeking a stake in some U.S. port operations might support terrorist operations. The disclosure came during a hearing Monday on Dubai-owned DP World's plans to assume significant operations at six leading U.S. ports. It also clouded whether the Bush administration's agreement to conduct an unusual investigation into the pending takeov... Mon, 27 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1187 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1188 The U.S. Army has decided to reimburse a Halliburton subsidiary for nearly all of its costs on a disputed $2.41 billion no-bid contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in Iraq, even though the Pentagon's own auditors had identified more than $250 million in charges as potentially excessive or unjustified. The army said in response to questions on Friday that the subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root, had used questionable business practices in some instances and fallen short in it... Sun, 26 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1188 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1189 President George W. Bush's disclosure of detailed intelligence about a thwarted al Qaeda plot to attack Los Angeles could prove damaging for U.S. national security, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee said in a letter released on Thursday. In a Feb. 17 letter to U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte, Sen. John Rockefeller of West Virginia echoed a warning from CIA Director Porter Goss that revelations about intelligence successes or failures against al Qaeda can aid Ameri... Fri, 24 Feb 2006 17:49:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1189 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1190 FBI officials who were interrogating terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison in 2002 and 2003 strenuously objected to aggressive techniques the military was using and believed they could be illegal, according to newly released FBI memos. The agents wrote in memos and emails that they were at odds with interrogators working for a Defence Intelligence Agency human intelligence (Humint) group and with guidance from senior Pentagon officials.... Fri, 24 Feb 2006 17:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1190 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1191 This article is another example of the Conservative and Republican misinformation on the issue of illegal wiretapping. No one on either side says that the US can't monitor calls coming into the country from outside the country. What the White House has done is to say that anyone who receives calls from outside the US is elligible to have wiretaps placed on their phones to montor calls WITHIN the US. In these cases the FISA court would be glad to grant warrants in a heartbeat... as it shou... Fri, 24 Feb 2006 17:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1191 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1192 NEARLY 100 prisoners have died in United States' custody in the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan since August 2002, it was reported last night. The BBC2 Newsnight programme said the figures were obtained from the Pentagon by an organisation called Human Rights First. The programme said the figures show there have been 98 deaths in US custody. At least 34 of them are "suspected or confirmed homicides" - "that means caused by intentional or reckless behaviour", the repo... Wed, 22 Feb 2006 20:39:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1192 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1193 With President Bush's credibility damaged and his political clout eroded, maybe it was just a matter of time before "trust me" didn't hack it anymore -- even with his most loyal supporters in Congress. Today, Bush faces a significant political test ever over a sleeper issue -- the long-proposed turning over of operations at several U.S. ports to a company owned by an Arab country. Suddenly, it's Bush who is on the receiving end of scathing critiques that he is weak on terror ... Wed, 22 Feb 2006 20:38:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1193 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1194 Lawmakers determined to capsize the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates said President Bush's surprise veto threat won't deter them. Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House that the $6.8 billion sale could raise risks of terrorism at American ports. In a forceful defense of his administration's earlier approval of the deal, he pledged to veto any bill Congress might ap... Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:57:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1194 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1195 At two key moments in recent days, White House officials contacted congressional leaders just ahead of intelligence committee meetings that could have stirred demands for a deeper review of the administration's warrantless-surveillance program, according to House and Senate sources. In both cases, the administration was spared the outcome it most feared, and it won praise in some circles for showing more openness to congressional oversight. But the actions have angered some lawmakers who thi... Mon, 20 Feb 2006 05:35:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1195 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1196 U.S. terms for approving an Arab company's takeover of operations at six major American ports are insufficient to guard against terrorist infiltration, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday. "I'm aware of the conditions and they relate entirely to how the company carries out its procedures, but it doesn't go to who they hire, or how they hire people," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told The Associated Press. "They're better than nothing, but to m... Sun, 19 Feb 2006 17:22:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1196 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1197 The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, breaking ranks with the president on domestic eavesdropping, says he wants a special court to oversee the program. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said he is concerned that the secret court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act could not issue warrants as quickly as the monitoring program requires. But he is optimistic that the problem could be worked out ... Sat, 18 Feb 2006 17:27:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1197 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1198 The USA Patriot Act is headed toward renewal with broad Senate support for a White House-brokered compromise that adds modest new civil liberties protections to the terror-fighting law. "The outcome here is absolutely predetermined," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said late Wednesday. "It's going to pass with overwhelming support." With even senior Democrats lining up behind the measure, its lone opponent, Sen. Russell Feingold, was preparing amendments he said... Fri, 17 Feb 2006 19:47:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1198 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1199 The Bush administration Thursday won two apparent victories and suffered one setback on key parts of its national security policy: a warrantless-eavesdropping program and extending the Patriot Act. Aides to President Bush appeared to have derailed a bid by Senate Democrats for an investigation of a controversial program in which the National Security Agency (NSA) has monitored perhaps thousands of phone calls and e-mails involving U.S. residents and foreign parties without obtaining warrants fro... Fri, 17 Feb 2006 15:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1199 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1200 A federal judge ordered the Bush administration on Thursday to release documents about its warrantless surveillance program or spell out what it is withholding, a setback to efforts to keep the program under wraps. At the same time, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said he had worked out an agreement with the White House to consider legislation and provide more information to Congress on the eavesdropping program. The panel's top Democrat, who has requested a full... Fri, 17 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1200 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1201 We applaud Senator Russ Feingold for attempting to fillibuster the Patriot Act. Saying "too many Democrats have folded" on the issue, Sen. Russ Feingold launched a filibuster Wednesday against a plan to renew the USA Patriot Act, pushing its final approval off to early March. "What we are seeing is quite simply a capitulation to the intransigent and misleading rhetoric of a White House that sees any effort to protect civil liberties as a sign of weakness," Feingold, D-Wis., said ... Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:44:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1201 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1202 This Bolivian-American columnist claims that 51% of the $2.7 trillion dollar Bush budget is allocated for security and defence. It does beg the question... how is it possible that 51% of our tax dollars are being spent on defense when we're not really even at war??? It's scary if this % is truly greater than the % of the budget spent on defense during WWII or VietNam.... Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:24:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1202 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1203 The United States has spent more than a quarter of a trillion dollars during its three years in Iraq, and more than $50 billion of it has gone to private contractors hired to guard bases, drive trucks, feed and shelter the troops and rebuild the country. It is dangerous work, but much of the $50 billion, which is more than the annual budget of the Department of Homeland Security, has been handed out to companies in Iraq with little or no oversight. Billions of dollars are unaccounted for, and ... Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:22:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1203 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1204 Civil liberties organisations expressed outrage yesterday after it was reported that the database of terrorist suspects kept by the US authorities now holds 325,000 names, a fourfold increase in two and a half years. The list, maintained by the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), includes different spellings of the same person's names as well as aliases, but the Washington Post quoted NCTC officials as saying that at least 200,000 individuals are on it. They said that "only a very, ... Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:17:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1204 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1205 Convinced that the Joint Special Operations Command needs more authority and responsibility to fight the war on terrorism, the Pentagon has decided to give the commander of the secretive and expanded organization a third star -- a tangible step toward increasing the role of special operations as called for in the Quadrennial Defense Review and other Defense Department plans. Two wonderful articles this week -- one in the Tampa Tribune by Richard Lardner and the other in Air Force Times by Sean ... Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:48:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1205 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1206 The leading Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee says new details about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina should outrage President Bush and spur an immediate improvement in disaster response. "Next time, God forbid, it could be a terrorist attack. And there's not going to be a warning from the Weather Service," Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said Sunday on CNN's Late Edition. An investigation by a special House panel, due for release Wednesday, accuses top Bus... Mon, 13 Feb 2006 15:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1206 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1207 Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is announcing wide-ranging changes to the nation s embattled disaster-response agency on the heels of a House report blaming government-wide ineptitude for mishandling Hurricane Katrina relief. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reforms that Chertoff was unveiling Monday range from a full-time response force of 1,500 new employees to establishing a more reliable system to report on disasters as they unfold. They are the first steps to overhauling... Mon, 13 Feb 2006 15:34:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1207 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1208 The White House today stated that the president would be on the road again promoting his domestic spying and stealth governing programs. The tour will likely be a repeat of his previously successful venues. The president will be taking along a bronze bust for public display which he received yesterday as appreciation for his service in the Texas Air National Guard. The National Guard stated that if the president had actually completed his tour they may have seen fit to commission an entire statu... Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1208 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1209 A former CIA official who coordinated U.S. intelligence on the Middle East during the Iraq invasion accused the White House of misusing prewar intelligence to justify its case for war. Paul Pillar, who was national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000 to 2005, also said the Senate intelligence committee and a presidential commission overlooked evidence that the Bush administration politicized the intelligence process to support White House policymakers. "Official i... Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1209 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1210 On Thursday, President Bush revealed some new details of what he described as a terrorist plot against a target in California. But, it is still not clear how far the plotters got, and how serious the plot was. As outlined by President Bush, al-Qaida hatched a plan to follow up the attacks of September 11th, 2001 with a similar attack on Los Angeles. He said that in 2002 officials foiled a plan by terrorists to fly a hijacked plane into what was then called the Library Tower, now known as the U... Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1210 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1211 Hunger striking Guantanamo Bay detainees are being strapped to chairs for hours to force-feed them through tubes, the New York Times has reported. The tough treatment started after it was determined that the prisoners were trying to die, unnamed sources said. Since December there has been a drop in the number of protesters from 84 to 4, spokesman Lt Col Jeremy M Martin said. ... Thu, 09 Feb 2006 19:53:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1211 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1212 Reversing course, the White House has agreed to brief congressional intelligence committees on highly classified details of President Bush's controversial monitoring program as part of a newfound openness with lawmakers. Senior Bush administration officials spent weeks insisting they would not provide the program's details to more than a select group of eight lawmakers. Briefing the full intelligence committees, Vice President Dick Cheney said in a recent PBS interview, is "not a goo... Thu, 09 Feb 2006 19:01:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1212 US politics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1213 The director of the CIA has launched a major internal probe into media leaks about covert operations. In an agencywide e-mail, Porter Goss blamed "a very small number of people" for leaks about secret CIA operations that, in his words, "do damage to the credibility of the agency." According to people familiar with the Goss e-mail, sent in late January and classified secret, the CIA director warned that any CIA officer deemed suspect by the agency's Office of Security and its... Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:41:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1213 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1214 The Pentagon has laid out a new 20-year military strategy for US troops to be deployed, often clandestinely, in dozens of countries at once to fight terrorism and other non-traditional threats. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the initiative includes a 15 per cent boost in the number of Special Operations Forces, a near-doubling of the capacity of unmanned aerial drones to gather intelligence, a $US1.5 billion ($2 billion) investment in counter-biological warfare, and the creation of ... Mon, 06 Feb 2006 17:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1214 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1215 U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was defending President Bush's controversial domestic spying program Monday in testimony at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. "The terrorist surveillance program is necessary, it is lawful and it respects the civil liberties we all cherish," Gonzales said. Gonzales, who likened the program to "a series of radar outposts designed to detect enemy movements" called the program "an early warning system designed for the 21st century.&... Mon, 06 Feb 2006 17:56:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1215 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1216 U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday proposed a record $439.3 billion U.S. defense budget for 2007 aimed at fighting both unconventional terrorism and major conflicts with other nations if necessary. The Pentagon budget represented a 4.8 percent boost over current military spending as Bush seeks cuts in domestic programs. The budget does not include tens of billions of dollars in proposed new financing for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.... Mon, 06 Feb 2006 17:51:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1216 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1217 I was arrested in the U.S. Capitol minutes before the State of the Union address last week for wearing a T-shirt that pointed out how many Americans, like my son, Casey, have been killed in Iraq. The T-shirt simply said: "2,245 Dead. How Many More?" During the address, President Bush uttered the word "freedom" 17 times, saying that was what our troops were fighting in Iraq to defend. At a minimum, you'd think we would all have the freedom to express ourselves through slogans ... Mon, 06 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1217 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1218 President George W. Bush's 2007 budget seeks a nearly 5 percent increase in Defense Department spending, to US$439.3 billion, with significantly more money for fighter jets, ships and Army weapons programs, according to senior Pentagon officials and documents obtained by AP. The budget figures, to be unveiled next week, come as the Pentagon prepares to release a separate long-range strategy to reshape the military into a more agile fighting force better able to fight terrorism, while still p... Sat, 04 Feb 2006 05:58:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1218 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1219 It is a protest with high-level signatures: the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and of its five members have fired off a letter assailing The Washington Post for a cartoon branded "beyond tasteless". The Tom Toles cartoon was published on Sunday, and depicts a heavily bandaged soldier in a hospital bed, having lost his arms and legs. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in the guise of a doctor, says: "I'm listing your condition as 'battle-hardened'." Toles said h... Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:32:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security2-06.html#1219 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1220 A Houston-based construction firm with ties to the White House has been awarded an open-ended contract to build immigration-detention centers that could total $385 million - a move that some critics called questionable. The contract calls for KBR, a subsidiary of the oil engineering and construction giant Halliburton, to build temporary detention facilities in the event of an "immigration emergency," according to U.S. officials. "If, for example, there were some sort of upheaval in a... Mon, 30 Jan 2006 18:36:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1220 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1221 As of Friday, Jan. 27, 2006, at least 2,238 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes six military civilians. At least 1,754 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. ... Sat, 28 Jan 2006 21:04:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1221 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1222 Bush expressed reluctance to change the law to give him explicit authority to eavesdrop on conversations between people in the United States and people overseas with suspected terrorist ties. "My concern has always been that, in an attempt to try to pass a law on something that's already legal, we'll show the enemy what we're doing," Bush said. This seems like one of the lamest excuses for commiting a crime that I've ever heard.... Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:24:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1222 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1223 Dick Cheney keeps using the support our troops line every time he needs a distraction. So he should be asked what he thinks about the new revelations that his favorite company exposed U.S. troops operating in Iraq to water that was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River. How did that happen? According to two former Halliburton employees turned whistleblowers who testified Tuesday, it s because KBR was apparently taking the waste water from the water ... Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:47:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1223 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1224 Over the past few months, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been questioning witnesses in the CIA leak case about the origins of the disputed Niger documents referenced in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address, according to several current and former State Department officials who have testified in the case. The State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because some of the information they discussed is still classified, indicated that the ... Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1224 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1225 The US military is clearing the way for executions of condemned terror suspects to take place at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The army has just changed the rules governing the location of military executions. The new regulations are primarily aimed at service personnel sentenced to death at a military court martial. Previously executions could only take place at a military jail in Kansas but now death sentences can be carried out anywhere, including the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cu... Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1225 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1226 A US federal judge has ordered the Government to release the identities of hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In doing so, Judge Jed Rakoff rejected arguments that this might put their families in danger. The ruling was made in favour of a lawsuit brought by the Associated Press that sought access to uncensored transcripts related to more than 550 military hearings held to determine whether detainees were properly classified as enemy combatants. ... Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1226 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1227 Stretched by frequent troop rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has become a "thin green line" that could snap unless relief comes soon, according to a study for the Pentagon. Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer who wrote the report under a Pentagon contract, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reduci... Tue, 24 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1227 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1228 The last of three Reuters journalists detained by the U.S. military in Iraq was freed after nearly eight months without being charged, the military confirmed Sunday. Samir Mohammed Noor, a 30-year-old freelance television cameraman for Reuters, was held at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq since being arrested at home in the northern city of Tal Afar in June, a company spokeswoman said. ... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1228 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1229 Last Tuesday nationally syndicated radio host Alex Jones was joined on air by FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds for an in depth interview Edmonds was hired shortly after Sept. 11 to translate intelligence gathered over the previous year related to the 9/11 attacks. She says the FBI had information that an attack using airplanes was being planned before Sept. 11 and calls Condoleezza Rice's claim the White House had no specific information on a domestic threat or one involving planes "an ou... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1229 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1230 Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who led the National Security Agency when it began a program of warrantless wiretaps, vigorously defended the program today, saying he believed it might have prevented the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, if it had been in place before then. But General Hayden, an Air Force officer who is now the principal deputy director of the new national intelligence agency, acknowledged that the program relied on a lower standard of evidence than required by the special court that handles... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1230 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1231 President Bush on Monday rejected critics assertions that he broke the law by authorizing domestic eavesdropping without a warrant, saying he was doing what Congress authorized him to do to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. With congressional hearings set to begin on this issue Feb. 6, Bush kicked his administration s new intensive public relations effort to win support for the program run by the National Security Agency. As part of that, he gave it a new label the Terrorist Surveilla... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1231 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1232 Google is fighting a US government subpoena that is essentially a fishing expedition to see how search engines are being used to find pornography. Google is opposed to the governments acquisition of trade secrets for the purpose of aimless investigation.... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1232 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1233 As it begins in earnest to publicly justify and defend its domestic surveillance program, the White House is couching the controversial initiative in military terms. So "electronic surveillance" now is referred to by Justice Department officials as "signals intelligence activities" and the program itself now is labeled as a "core military" function that acts as an "early-warning system" designed to prevent future terror attacks. Suspected terrorists, meanwhile, ar... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1233 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1234 Several legislators said yesterday that they will press President Bush to justify his decision to allow domestic eavesdropping. They rebuffed Republican suggestions that their criticism of broad executive authority puts the nation at risk.... Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1234 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1235 Vice President Dick Cheney offered a robust defense of the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program Thursday, calling it an essential tool in monitoring the activities of al-Qaida and associated terrorist organizations. But he stressed the program was limited in scope and had been conducted in a way that safeguarded civil liberties. In a luncheon speech at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative public policy think tank, Cheney warned that the United States still faced significan... Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1235 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1236 Add Richard Clarke, former counter-terrorism director in the White House, to a growing list of people accusing the Bush administration of breaking the law with its surveillance without court orders of people inside the United States communicating with suspected terrorists on the outside.... Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1236 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1237 The latest revelation is that the President has authorized the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless wiretaps on American citizens. Yet in the months following 9/11, the Justice Department itself documented extensive violations of the rights of immigrant Americans summarily arrested and detained without formal charge or trial.... Tue, 17 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1237 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1238 By a margin of 52% to 43%, Americans want Congress to consider impeaching President Bush if he wiretapped American citizens without a judge's approval, according to a new poll commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, a grassroots coalition that supports a Congressional investigation of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.... Tue, 17 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1238 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1239 The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday said it had filed suit against the National Security Agency, alleging that its warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and that President Bush, in authorizing it, exceeded his constitutional authority.... Tue, 17 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1239 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1240 Russell Tice, a longtime insider at the National Security Agency, is now a whistleblower the agency would like to keep quiet. For 20 years, Tice worked in the shadows as he helped the United States spy on other people's conversations around the world. But now, Tice tells ABC News that some of those secret "black world" operations run by the NSA were operated in ways that he believes violated the law.... Thu, 12 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1240 US domestic-policy http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1241 President Bush's best counterattack in the illegal wiretap debate is his accusation that because he is doing his job to protect the country, anyone who opposes him is treasonous. He doesn't realize that he has done more damage to the presidency and our institutions than anyone who wants to preserve a little privacy.... Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1241 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1242 Former US Attorney General John Ashcroft has set up a lobbying firm to help companies succeed at selling to the Department of Homeland Security. He's already been hired by an Israeli company and Oracle Corp. Senator... Atty. General... Slime Bag... quite a resume.... Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1242 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1243 Indiana has already erected a memorial to the 77 Hoosiers who have died fighting the 'War on Terror.'... Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1243 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1244 The focus on the 'War on Terror' is Bush's strongest resume characteristic with fear-prone American voters, but he may have chosen a war that is nearly impossible to fight.... Mon, 09 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1244 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1245 Most torso wounds that killed Marines in Iraq might have been prevented or minimized by improved body armor, a Pentagon study found.... Mon, 09 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1245 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1246 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) denounced President Bush s most recent statements on the War on Terrorism by saying the White House lacks 'a real plan for success.'... Fri, 06 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1246 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1247 In this speech to a Military audience, vice president Dick Cheney continues to link the events of September 11, 2001 and the US' illegal occupation of Iraq. Also, he states that we are spreading freedom in the Middle East... after this month that apparently is the freedom to die by suicide bombing.... Thu, 05 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1247 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1248 President Bush is back on the warpath, beating the drums to renew the USA Patriot Act. He has pledged a one month campaign, at taxpayer expense, to sell the Act to Congress.... Wed, 04 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1248 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1249 The Supreme Court agreed today to allow for the transfer of Jose Padilla from a military brig to civilian custody to stand trial on terrorism charges, giving the Bush administration a victory in one round of the prolonged political and legal wrangling over Mr. Padilla's status under the law.... Wed, 04 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1249 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1250 George Bush says whatever he wants to get his way. This behavior has never seemed more apparent than now during the NSA wiretap controversy wherein Bush has insisted that it is completely constitutional, but also that he 'always' gets court approval.... Tue, 03 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1250 US domestic-policy http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1251 Support for President Bush and for the war in Iraq has slipped significantly in the last year among members of the military s professional core, according to the 2005 Military Times Poll. ... Tue, 03 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1251 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1252 Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling for expanded investigations into allegations that the president illegally authorized the NSA to conduct non-judicially approved wiretaps on US citizens.... Mon, 02 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1252 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1253 Read paragraph 6... The president is basically saying that he will sign the law but that he will interpret the torture ban as he sees fit. Happy New Year.... Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security1-06.html#1253 US torture ban CIA http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1254 Although Atty. Gen. Gonzalez seems to think that warrantless eavesdropping is perfectly constitutional, his department is going to be probing who leaked classified information pertaining to the program. It's disheartening how our government perpetrates the big offences, but prosecutes the little ones. Can you say 'Rule of Law'?... Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1254 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1255 At least 2,175 US military personnel have died on the ground in Iraq, plus an undisclosed number who died after transport to Germany or non-Iraq US military bases.... Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1255 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1256 The Justice Department is requesting that the Supreme Court step in and allow Jose Padilla to be transferred to civilian court from military custody. The 4th Circut Court stopped the transfer because it perceived that Bush was trying to do an end-run around the justice system.... Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1256 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1257 In an interesting twist and possibly the start of the fall of Bush's house of cards, defense lawyers for Al Quaeda suspects will move to investigate whether the government used illegal wiretaps against their clients.... Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1257 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1258 Despite a willing judiciary and Congress, the White House has stretched its authority until the other two branches of government have had to start putting on the brakes. Let's hope it continues.... Tue, 27 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1258 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1259 The House and administration won't be happy, but the Senate has only agreed to a 6-month extension of the Patriot Act. The Bill goes back to the House for final approval.... Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1259 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1260 New York City police have been documented covertly watching and participating at protest rallies. Officers have been seen wearing biker clothing and street clothes and even participating in the rallies.... Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1260 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1261 A federal judge on the secret court that oversees approval for legal espionage-related wiretaps resigned because he felt the program has been harmed by the president's illegal authorization of wiretaps on US citizens.... Wed, 21 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1261 US politics http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1262 A federal appeals court has rebuked the Bush administration and refused to allow the transfer of Jose Padilla from military to civilian custody. The court accused the Bush administration of attempting the transfer simply to side-step legal challenges to its authority over Padilla.... Wed, 21 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1262 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1263 President Bush is using any and all tactics to bully his way through the problematic issue of spying on Americans. Bush is now accusing investigators of being non-Patriotic and repeating over and over that his actions were legal. Can anyone say "High Crimes and Misdemeanors?"... Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1263 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1264 Senators are contradicting President Bush's report that lawmakers adequately participated in the NSA domestic spying authorization.... Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1264 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1265 Attourney General Roberto Gonzales claims that congress' authorization for war gave the President the power to spy on US citizens. Apparently US citizens were also terrorists who had no right to privacy or security.... Mon, 19 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1265 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1266 Bush defended his authorization of secret spying on US citizens, claiming that it is his constitutional right to be able to do so. Apparently, it's also his constitutional right to grant top secret clearance to his friends and share 'secret spying' reports with them.... Sat, 17 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1266 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1267 The Senate has refused to end a fillibuster of the Patriot Act and will more likely pass a three-month extension rather than the permanent extension the Bush administration wants.... Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1267 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1268 President Bush authorized the NSA in 2002 to eavesdrop on US citizens calling overseas. The Times admitted that it censored some security-related information so it's likely that Bush also authorized the NSA to spy on domestic calls.... Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1268 US domestic-policy http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1269 The White House has accepted John McCain's torture ban, although part of the compromise seems to be another addition to the same defense appropriations bill that opens up ANWR even more.... Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1269 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1270 Throwing a bone to conservatives, the House is planning to build almost 700 miles of fences along the Mexico border. I'm sure this puts a crimp in Bush's business plans.... Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1270 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1271 The US political coalition of the Right seems to be breaking down as even the USA Patriot Act seems to be wallowing in its own problems in the Senate.... Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1271 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1272 The Defense Department has been caught spying and recording data on US citizen groups who have expressed anti-war sentiment. No, I haven't heard any clicking when I pick up my phone lately.... Thu, 15 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1272 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1273 The war on terror seems to be infinitely long. Now into it's 5th year (actually) there is a steady stream of bombings and attacks outside the country. When will terrorists again hit the US and what further liberties will we lose then?... Wed, 14 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1273 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1274 The Patriot Act may stall in the Senate where some lawmakers are unsure about the compromise agreement worked out last week to reauthorize the act.... Wed, 14 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1274 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1275 The House and Senate reached a deal that will make most of the Patriot Act permanent and the remainder will be extended for 4 years.... Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1275 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1276 Charges against University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian may be finished as a jury deadlocked on several and dismissed others. The government has been pursuing Al-Arian for years.... Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1276 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1277 FEMA aparrently knew that it had a 'broken' response after Hurricane Katrina. Memos at the agency show that the fed prepared for riots in the storm's aftermath.... Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security12-05.html#1277 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1278 George W. Bush aparrently wanted to bomb al-Jazeera TV station according to two different memos leaked to the British press. Thank God for those loose-lipped Brits!... Mon, 28 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1278 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1279 It turns out that the US did not charge Jose Padilla with conspiracy to discharge a radioactive bomb on US soil because the evidence against him was extracted using torture from US prisoners. The government decided not to test the validity of their information in court.... Fri, 25 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1279 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1280 The Bush administration avoided a face-off with the Supreme Court by presenting federal grand jury indictments against Jose Padilla, the US citizen "dirty bomb" suspect. Padilla, charged with conspiracy, had brought a suit to the Supreme Court regarding his indefinite status as an enemy combatant.... Tue, 22 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1280 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1281 After disastrous results in Iraq, the US military is ready to embrace stabilization as a core value. The military and Bush administration have faced strong criticizm for not preparing adequate post-invasion plans in Iraq.... Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1281 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1282 Former CIA director Stansfield Turner has come out stating that vice president Dick Cheney's campaign against anti-torture legislation is 'reprehensible' for a man in his opinion.... Fri, 18 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1282 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1283 Bill O'Reilly wants San Francisco to secede from the Union after voting in a handgun ban and voting out military recruitment. O'Reilly seems to forget that those things happened because of the democratic process that he's supposed to respect.... Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1283 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1284 Consistent with George Bush's policies, Bill Frist claims that security leaks are more important than activity in US secret military prisons.... Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1284 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1285 Several military contract officers have now come forward to describe abusive and illegal treatment by Halliburton executives. When will someone take notice?... Tue, 08 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1285 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1286 The Supreme court will consider the legality of military tribunals for enemy combatants. The decision to consider an appeal by one of the detainees could mark a change or a judicial endorsement of the treatment of captives in Guantanamo and at other US military bases around the world.... Mon, 07 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1286 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1287 Democratic Senator Harry Reid forced a closed session of the Senate today to discuss the failures of the government to investigate allegations that the executive branch falsified intelligence to force the Iraq war.... Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security11-05.html#1287 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1288 I. "Scooter" Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, has been indicted by a grand jury on one count of obstruction of justice, two of making false statements, and two of perjury in the Valerie Plame scandal.... Fri, 28 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1288 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1289 The US appears to be roughly force feeding hunger strike participants at the enemy combatant prison in Guantanamo. A judge has ordered that medical records of the strikers be delivered to their lawyers on a weekly basis.... Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1289 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1290 The satirical newspaper, the Onion, has been told by the Bush administration to stop using the presidential seal on it's website. The Onion disputes the request, pointing out that hundreds of comedy shows and cartoons have used the seal over the years to poke fun at presidents.... Wed, 26 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1290 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1291 Despite vigorous public and business outcry against the project, starting in late 2006, the US State Department will start requiring that all US passports contain an RFID chip that will broadcast the bearer's name, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, and photo to RFID readers.... Wed, 26 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1291 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1292 The death toll of US Military personnel serving in Iraq has officially hit 2000. Military spokesman claim that this number is an artificial mark of no significance, but I'm sure that the Iraqi insurgents don't see it the same way. Neither do the many military families who dread seeing the toll rise to 5000, 10000, or beyond.... Tue, 25 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1292 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1293 Universities are opposing an FCC ruling that some claim will cost them up to $7 billion in the next 2 years. The ruling covers a 1994 federal law that says that networks, such as those in universities, airports, and municipalities, must be accessible to law enforcement for surveillance.... Sun, 23 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1293 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1294 Ray McGovern, former CIA Analyst during the Regan and Bush 41 regimes, joined Alex Jones on his daily radio show Monday 17th October as part of a round table discussion of issues surrounding the Iraq war and the "war on terror". McGovern launched straight into the War in Iraq and suggested that over the last few months there has been a "sea change" in public opinion, and now over two thirds of Americans, according to major opinion polls, are against the war and can now see throug... Sat, 22 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1294 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1295 For the first time since 2000, the Army has missed recruitment targets for doctors, nurses, dentists, and other medical specialities.... Thu, 20 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1295 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1296 The Electronic Frontier Foundation has discovered that color laser jet printers allow the US government to track the origin of printouts made on a wide array of printers using nearly invisible patterns of yellow dots. The EFF suggests that this is another example of backroom deals between the government and technology makers to invade your privacy.... Wed, 19 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1296 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1297 Armed Forces Radio will not be airing the Ed Shultz show as of an early morning Pentagon decision. High ranking Democratic politicians had fought to get the show on AFR as a counterbalance to Rush Limbaugh.... Mon, 17 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1297 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1298 200 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the war against the Taliban began.... Mon, 10 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1298 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1299 Here's an example of a variety of citizen feedback that indicates that President Bush's speech of October 6th on the War on Terror seems to have unnerved many Americans. Could it be that our cowboy leader has dropped the reigns?... Mon, 10 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1299 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1300 The Senate has passed its version of the 2006 defense spending bill including a $7 billion cut from the House version and an ammendment requiring that the military treat prisoners in a uniform manner.... Fri, 07 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1300 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1301 A new congressional report indicates that the US War on Terror costs $7,000,000,000 per month, with around 80% of that money being spent in Iraq.... Fri, 07 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-05.html#1301 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1302 The US Army is in its worst recruiting slump since 1979 causing government officials to question how the Army will fulfill it's international commitments.... Fri, 30 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1302 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1303 Halliburton stock and US troop deaths in Iraq have gone up at the same rate in the last year... they've both doubled. Halliburton has seen it's stock price triple since the start of the Iraq war.... Mon, 26 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1303 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1304 Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan was arrested without incident in front of the White House for protesting without a permit.... Mon, 26 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1304 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1305 The Pentagon has agreed with a GAO report showing that neither the DOD nor Congress truly understand how much the war on terror is costing.... Thu, 22 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1305 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1306 New York police cut short a speech by anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan and arrested the rally organizer for unpermited use of a bullhorn in New York at Manhattan's Union Square park.... Wed, 21 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1306 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1307 Even conservatives have been upset over the appointment of apparently clueless 36-year-old Julie Meyers to head the department of Immigration and Customs. Meyers only real qualifications seem to be that she is the daughter of US Gen. Richard Meyers and wife of Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff.... Wed, 21 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1307 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1308 There have been 1904 US military deaths in Iraq. The toll steadily creeps toward 2000 and does not include thousands who have likely died after being airlifted out of Iraq to Germany or other 'coalition' countries. ... Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1308 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1309 Federal Judge Mark R. Gilip is attempting to suppress the public's access to indictments of high level Bush administration officials being prepared by the Chicago grand jury investigating the Valerie Plame leak. 'The impending indictments reportedly name George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Ted Olson, John Ashcroft, Scooter Libby, Condeleezza Rice, among many others, for crimes which include perjury, obstruction of justice and treason for the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, in addition to o... Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1309 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1310 Halliburton executives are getting snappy under repeated questioning about overcharging on government contracts in Iraq. This is despite a Defense Department audit that shows that the firm has attempted to charge the government for at least $422 million in improper charges. ... Mon, 19 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1310 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1311 The Pentagon proposed a revision of the rules of engagement for the use of nuclear weapons to include tactical use for preemptive strikes and to destroy known stockpiles of threatening weapons. Let's hope they don't use the Bush administrations definiton for 'known.'... Sun, 11 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1311 US homeland-security nuclear weapons http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1312 While President Bush played the guitar on his vacation, his advisors were caught in a debate regarding how and if they should seize control from the Governors of the Katrina-battered states.... Fri, 09 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1312 US homeland-security katrina http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1313 This author questions the use of depleted uranium on the battlefield in the middle east.... Fri, 09 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1313 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1314 The war on terror has contributed to declining funding for US public health and disaster preparedness, according to a leading health expert. Between a deviation in funds and the exaggeration of threats such as small pox, US money is not being spent in the most beneficial manner for the American citizen. ... Fri, 09 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1314 US homeland-security war on terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1315 Vice President Dick Cheney will finally visit storm ravaged New Orleans today. Cheney will use his vast experience as a politician and CEO of Halliburton to help guide the cleanup efforts.... Thu, 08 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1315 US homeland-security cheney katrina http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1316 While the President had this to say about Trent Lott's destroyed house: ''Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house,'' Bush said in Mobile. ''And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch.'' Vice PResident Dick Cheney is MIA, hanging out on his own vacation in Wyoming and seemingly ignoring the catastrophe while considering buying a $3 million house in Virginia.... Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1316 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1317 From the insight of years of military experience, this war veteran tells Iraq troops that they are bound by law NOT to follow illegal orders. The article also lists the following anti-war sites: BringThemHomeNow.org IVAW.net VeteransForPeace.org MFSO.org giRights.Objector.org OccupationWatch.org NLG.org/MLTF ... Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1317 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1318 Halliburton, Dick Cheney's former company that still pays him deferred executive compensation, has been awarded at least one $500 million no-bid contract to rebuild Navy bases in the south east after hurricane Katrina. Way to go, Dick.... Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1318 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1319 Even the Right agrees that Director Michael Chertoff of the Department of Homeland Security was clueless about the potential danger to New Orleans of a strong storm like Katrina.... Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1319 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1320 A church in Glenwood Springs, CO, has rescinded an offer to allow Cindy Sheehan to speak after key church members threatened to withdraw from the church organization completely. Money trumps speech yet again.... Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1320 US homeland-security sheehan http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1321 According to this wonderfully tolerant commentator, the war in Iraq and the War on Terror are about combatting the spread of Islam and not becoming slaves to Islamic Sharia law. The author seems to also miss the fact that the Viet Nam war was an ideological battle against the Communists who were enslaving the democratic South.... Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-05.html#1321 US homeland-security iraq war on terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1322 The US federal response to hurricane Katrina so far has been less than spectacular. With only 11,000 guardsmen, 8 swiftboats, and about 150 generators sent to the region, it's hard to understand how the US homeland security response is going to help 3 million displaced persons.... Wed, 31 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1322 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1323 Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, procurement officer for the Army for 20 years, was demoted for 'poor job performance'. She has been an outspoken critic of the Army's sole source award of billions of dollars of contracts to Halliburton.... Mon, 29 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1323 US homeland-security halliburton http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1324 Courts ruled today that the Defense Department broke the law by authorizing closure of the 111th Fighter Wing is based at Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Air Base in Pennsylvania. The Pentagon has attempted to close the base without the governor's permission.... Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1324 US homeland-security base closure http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1325 The FBI has requested records from a Connecticut library under the provisions of the USA Patriot Act. The records are said to be requested as part of a terrorism investigation.... Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1325 US homeland-security fbi library http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1326 A detailed discussion of the treasonous actions of Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.... Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1326 US homeland-security rove libby plame http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1327 The official US military death toll in Iraq is now 1872 soldiers.... Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1327 US homeland-security US death toll iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1328 President Bush 'campaigned' in Idaho yesterday at a rally that included military music and live soldiers standing in front of images of the airplane attacks of 9/11/2001. Bush is attempting to shore up support for the war in Iraq in the face of strong opposition from groups such as the Cindy Sheehan group stationed outside his Texas ranch.... Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1328 US homeland-security iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1329 Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded a US$212 million project to build a security system for New York City's transit system. The security network will include cameras, sensors, and wide coverage of subways, bridges, and tunnels.... Wed, 24 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1329 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1330 The US-led 'War on Terror' in Afghanistan is pouring billions of dollars each year into the pockets of the 10 largest defense contracting firms. The firms are flush with new projects, including massive self-propelled artillery vehicles that could never be used in a desert-warfare setting.... Wed, 24 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1330 US homeland-security iraq war on terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1331 US Senator Max Cleland, a triple amputee from the Viet Nam war, stated this weekend that President Bush has failed to listen to his top generals on the requirements for the war in Iraq. Cleland also stated that we should either commit the greater troop strength required to stabilize Iraq or get out.... Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1331 US homeland-security cleland http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1332 President Bush, who dodged the Viet Nam era draft, is headed to Salt Lake City to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars to rally support for his oil war in Iraq. Bush is taking a break from his five week vacation to address the convention.... Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1332 US homeland-security draft dodger vfw http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1333 US Vice President Dick Cheney defended the Iraq war in a speech to combat veternas, comparing it to the American Revolution and insisting that we need to honor fallen soldiers by winning the war. He seems to forget that the US revolution was all about kicking a foreign power consuming our natural resources out of the country.... Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1333 US homeland-security cheney http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1334 The uncle of a dead marine describe's the marine's lack of confidence in his mission in Iraq and claims that our young people are dying to pad the wallets of our President and his friends.... Wed, 17 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1334 US homeland-security marine dead iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1335 US Army Lt. Col. Shaffer claims that the 9/11 panel did not get all the information it needed regarding the defense intelligence 'Able Danger's information on Mohammed Atta before the terrorist attacks. ... Wed, 17 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1335 US homeland-security september 11 http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1336 The Army and Marines primary armored vehicle construction and service location is threatened by base closure.... Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1336 US homeland-security base closures http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1337 A variety of polls are showing a decline in US popular support and confidence for the Bush-initiated War on Terror. Polls indicate Americans believe that we are not necessarily winning the War and that an increasing percentage of the population believes Bush misled the country into war.... Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1337 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1338 Four years into the War on Terror and a year after the 'end of major combat operations' in Iraq, US troops remain without better body armor to protect them from IED's in Iraq. The issue, which was raised as a campaign issue, seems to float below the radar of many of the 'Support Our Troops' crowd.... Sun, 14 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1338 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1339 Apparently if the army actually ever lets you finish your active duty, you may be allowed to finish out your reserve requirements in the Peace Corps according to a recently passed law. Peace Corps advocates are upset because it could be a backdoor attempt to militarize the Peace Corps.... Thu, 11 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1339 US homeland-security iraq peace corps http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1340 The US Army has recruited around 72,000 new personnel this year, short of it's goal of 80,000 to be recruited by the end of their fiscal year (Sept. 30). The Army provides the bulk of the military forces on the ground in Iraq.... Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1340 US homeland-security army recruitment iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1341 VP Chief of Staff Scooter Libby met with reporters and discussed Valerie Plame almost immediately after Joe Wilson's story about the lack of intelligence on Iraq's nuclear program was published. A federal investigation seems to be narrowing in on the Vice President's office and the political machine as a clear intentional source for the outing of Plame as a CIA agent.... Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1341 US homeland-security plame http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1342 Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Curt Weldon claims that Defence Intelligence knew about the Mohammed Atta terrorist cell in the United States in 2000. Unfortunately it appears that the military intelligence group was warned that they could do nothing because the cell members were green card holders.... Tue, 09 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1342 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1343 US Army Corps of Engineers Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC) Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse is blowing the whistle on the administration's awards of contracts to Halliburton. Greenhouse has been appearing in front of congressional committees and CNN questioning the legality of the Halliburton awards.... Sat, 06 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1343 US homeland-security halliburton cheney http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1344 In recent months dozens of US soldiers and thousands of Iraqis have died from 'insurgent' activity. Meanwhile, Dick Cheney is spinning his way out of it by repeating assertions that the Iraqi insurgency is in it's 'death throes.'... Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1344 US homeland-security cheney iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1345 Cindy Sheehan, mother of a fallen US soldier, recounts the many ways that the greed of the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld team has been on a long path that has led us to war and to the loss of control of our government.... Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1345 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1346 Marine families report being tired of reports of death in their Ohio unit. Families also report that their sons and daughters are losing faith in the mission.... Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1346 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1347 Speaking by phone to a gathering of Dallas business men, Donald Rumsfeld reaffirmed that the US is at war and that we are fighting the war on terror by going on the offensive in Iraq.... Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1347 US homeland-security iraq rumsfeld http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1348 The author in this commentary misses the point. Iraq is not a cause for terrorism, it is an easy excuse. Unfortunately, though the author cites many different Western initiatives designed to help the Islamic world, many of those, including the occupation of Saudi Arabi during the first Gulf War, are not perceived by Muslim fundamentalists to be helpful.... Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security8-05.html#1348 US homeland-security iraq terrorism http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1349 Pop singer Jessica Simpson was upset that the recently produced ABC-TV special of her visit with her husband, Nick Lachey, to war-torn Iraq. Simpson is upset that footage showing enemy attacks and harsh conditions has somehow 'gone missing.'... Fri, 29 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1349 US homeland-security Jessica Simpson iraq http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1350 Fox news reports today that Valerie Plame bought two tickets to a Bruce Springstein concert that benefitted America Coming Together, a Democratic-focused political organization that is described as an Anti-Bush group by Fox. BIG DEAL. When was it illegal for a government employee to support the opposition party in American politics? Heck, I voted against Bush and he didn't even out me as a CIA agent. Oops... ... Wed, 27 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1350 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1351 If only this were satire. The Bush administration is quietly phasing out the use of the 'War on Terror' slogan, in favor of a 'a global struggle against violent extremism.' Hmm... I hope I don't fall into the latter, more vague category.... Wed, 27 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1351 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1352 It seems that equal rights and fair treatment breed terrorism, not preemptive invasions and bombs. Hmm. The author actually seems to be advocating retraining and indoctrination for immigrants. Did he take Brave New World seriously???... Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1352 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1353 The New Jersey Office of Counter-Terrorism and SWAT troopers were called in to arrest two animal rights activists for spray painting graffiti on the fence of a pharmaceutical plant. The arrest was followed by the invasion of the activists' house without a search warrant, complete with assault rifles and riot gear. Watch out for those killer spray cans!... Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1353 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1354 Vice President Cheney has been sent to the Senate floor to fight against amendments being added to a defense policy bill by John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that set rules and guidelines for the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. The President's team is opposing any legislation that would hurt his 'war on terror.'... Mon, 25 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1354 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1355 Is this a scandal brewing? It seems that US soldiers who die after being air evacuated from Iraq or who die in hospitals outside Iraq from their war wounds are not counted as Iraq war dead in official death tolls. Several sources are suggesting that the actual war dead could be over 4,000.... Mon, 25 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1355 US homeland-security us iraq death toll http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1356 At least 52 'enemy combatants' are on hunger strike at the Guantanamo detention camp. 'They are also demanding respect for their religion, free trials, and "proper, human food and clean water"' So far the prisoners have skipped at least 9 consecutive meals.... Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1356 US homeland-security guantanamo hunger strike http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1357 Police in New York have begun the largest civilian privacy invasion outside of airplane baggage checks that has ever been implemented. Police began a random baggage search program in the NY subway system as a preventative against terrorist attacks.... Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1357 US homeland-security subway search http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1358 The House has voted to make 14 of the 16 provisions of the USA Patriot Act permanent. FBI library records access and ad hoc wiretaps have been allowed for another 10 years. The Senate version of the bill limits the Act, but once passed the two bill will have to be negotiated in conference.... Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1358 US homeland-security USA Patriot act http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1359 Anyone reading the memo that is the likely key to the Rove-Novak-Plame scandal should have known that her identity was secret. The paragraph in the memo that contained her information was clearly marked with an 'S', a common CIA designation for Secret.... Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1359 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1360 Despite impending limitations on the USA Patriot Act proposed by leading Republican legislators, President Bush is demanding that there be no limits on the Act. Bush stated that the Act helps us "defeat our enemies" and protect Americans' liberties.... Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1360 US homeland-security USA Patriot Act http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1361 The Spend and Awe President, George W. Bush, is apparently going to spend our way out of the terrorism woods. He has promised unprecedented spending on national safety, including doubling the number of national rail inspectors from 1 to 2.... Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1361 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1362 More US military bases have been added to the closure list by the Pentagon in an attempt to save money and to make the military more 'agile.' The recent additions must make the total number of potential job losses over 30,000.... Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1362 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1363 Even CNN, that hallowed hall of so-called liberal journalism that totally tanked Howard Dean's campaign by running his 'Scream Speech' several hundred times, is running articles acknowledging that the Bush team is lying. Not about WMD. Not about their bending of election rules. They are lying about Karl Rove's involvement in the revelation of a US covert agent's identity to the news media. Apparently, bad manners and treasonous behavior may not constitute crimes.... Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1363 US homeland-security plame rove http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1364 Yesterday at a press conference, President Bush raised the threshold of his tolerance for individuals involved in the Valerie Plame leak scandal. Whereas a year ago, Bush said he would fire anyone involved, he now says he will fire anyone involve who committed a crime.... Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1364 US homeland-security Rove http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1365 In response to a Freedom of Information Request, the FBI has turned over to the ACLU 1200 pages of documentation on the ACLU and 2300 pages of documentation on Greenpeace that has been collected in the last several years. Many groups suspect that the FBI is using its expanded powers under the USA Patriot Act to monitor protected First Amendment speech.... Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1365 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1366 The military tribunals reviewing prisoners at Guantanamo will officially resume after a recent court decisions.... Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1366 US homeland-security Guantanamo http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1367 Muslim scholar and British citizen Zaki Badawi was denied entry to the US this week to speak near Buffalo, NY. The honorary Knight who has spoken out against the recent London terrorist attacks was not given any clear indication of why he was turned away.... Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1367 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1368 Accounts show that Karl Rove may in fact have committed a federal crime. It appears that Rove lied to federal investigators about the timing of his statements to reporters, claiming that he spoke to reporters after published reports about Valerie Plame. Emails show that Rove actually spoke to reporters well in advance of their publications.... Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1368 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1369 Sad comments by childhood friends of the London bombers point to both the Iraq war and a fundamental understanding of the wrongness of terrorism as reasons for the suicide bombings last week. Clearly we have created terrorist mills in Afghanistan and Iraq, but that should not suggest that these men are in 'Heaven.'... Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1369 US homeland-security London bombing http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1370 A federal appeals court has ruled that prisoners at Guantanamo can be tried by military tribunal. Hmm... seems like separate and unequal treatment to me.... Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1370 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1371 Even though it has been definitively shown that Karl Rove did leak some information about a CIA agent, if not her name, to news reporters, President Bush is refusing to comment or take action regarding his close associates wrongful behavior.... Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1371 US homeland-security Rove http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1372 For the very reasons misguided cites in her letter to the editor, it's clear that the 'war on terrorism' is not working. I quote "The British have been for years on alert to such threats. Police and cameras are everywhere. Despite their surveillance, this catastrophe was able to happen. It is too early to determine what exactly went wrong." So what then will increasing the war on terror do? We need to send Connie a complimentary "Absolute Security Equals Zero Freedom"... Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1372 US homeland-security war on terror http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1373 The general in charge of Guantanamo was not reprimanded by his cheif, even though senat investigators recommended a reprimand given the fact that prisoners were psychologically tortured at Guantanamo. The head of US Southern Command determined that dressing a male prisoner in women's underwear and putting him on a dog leash, amongst other items, did not violate US Army policy. ... Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1373 US homeland-security Guantanamo torture http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1374 An editorial suggests that the war on terror is making us less secure... as if that's a surprise to anyone but George Bush and Tony Blair. Please note... in no way do we condone the death of innocent civilians, British, Iraqi, or American.... Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1374 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1375 Rumors abound that the MTA has shut down cell phone service on the subway as a way to hinder the coordination of terrorist activities. Now we really have begun to throw the baby out with the bath water.... Tue, 12 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1375 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1376 President Bush has indicated that "The best way to defend America is to stay on the offence" at an FBI academy speech. The president is insistent that terrorism can be defeated by violence and that his policies will bring peace and prosperity to the Middle East.... Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1376 US homeland-security foreign-relations http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1377 Willits County, CA, (huh?) received a storage container with $15,000 worth of emergency medical supplies from the Department of Homeland Security. Let's hope the supplies are good for forest fires and earthquakes as well as for anti-terrorism.... Fri, 08 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security7-05.html#1377 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1378 Once again a small plane pilot, this time a professional, find he's wet himself after being escorted to the ground by fighter jets in the DC area. This time the pilot was probably simply flying a little too low.... Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1378 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1379 President Bush has approved yet another reorganization of our intelligence and investigative agencies. This time, new divisions of the Justice Dept and the FBI will be formed to combat spy activities. In addition, large sections of the FBI will be placed under the direct supervision of the new Director of Intelligence, who also oversees the CIA, NSA, and other top secret spy agencies.... Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1379 US homeland-security CIA FBI http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1380 There seems to be a curious debate over whether troops were quiet during Bush's speech last night because they were told to be so or because they didn't like his policies. An uncharacteristically quiet military audience was apparently spurred on to clap by a Whitehouse staffer.... Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1380 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1381 Bush addressed the country last night, describing the Iraq conflict as a continuation of the 'war on terror' that began with 9/11. Bush is emphatic that the US will win the war in Iraq.... Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1381 US homeland-security Iraq Osama http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1382 The CIA blundered when it attempted to decode the headlines of Al-Jazeera newspaper in 2003, causing the cancellation of 30 international flights, the detention of innocent civilians, and the cost of increased alert levels in Europe and the US.... Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1382 US homeland-security CIA http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1383 The Veterans Administration has suddenly reported that it expects to be $1 billion short in funding for the next fiscal year. As one Senator said, this results from either gross incompetence or deliberate mismanagement by the administration.... Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1383 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1384 Human Rights Watch and the ACLU are charging that the Bush administration is illegally using a law that permits authorities to detain "material wittnesses." The groups charge that the law is being used to allow the administration to illegally detain terror suspects for weeks or months without legal representation.... Sun, 26 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1384 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1385 US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld claims that a new independent investigation of the conditions of detainees at Guantanamo, Cuba, "doesn't make sense." Clearly Rumsfeld learned from the Monica Lewinsky scandal that independent investigations never bear fruit.... Sun, 26 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1385 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1386 Haliburton has been granted another $1.25 Billion support contract in Iraq despite being criticized for cost overruns, over charging, and possible bribery scandals.... Wed, 22 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1386 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1387 The new top official on arms control for the US, Robert G. Joseph, is a key figure in the Neo-conservative drive to have the US implement tactical 'defensive' nuclear weapons and to break some of the nonproliferation treaties. He has written that such treaties inhibit US self defense and advocates preemptive attacks.... Sat, 18 Jun 2005 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security6-05.html#1387 US homeland-security nuclear http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-01.html#1388 Bush said yesterday that he wanted Osama bin Laden, the Saudi exile, "dead or alive" in some of the most bellicose language used by a White House occupant in recent years. "I want justice," he said after a meeting at the Pentagon, where 188 people were killed last Tuesday when an airliner crashed into the building. "And there's an old poster out West that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' " He then seemed to temper his remarks by adding: "All I want and A... Tue, 18 Sep 2001 00:00:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-01.html#1388 US homeland-security http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-98.html#4353 "The government can no longer rely solely on the 'war on terrorism' and 'national security' as arguments to maintain a crisis situation where local people willingly sacrifice protection of their 'homeland'," study author Dr. Kenneth S. Zagacki says. The new study by Zagacki, professor and chair of NC State's Department of Communication, examines how citizens of rural Washington and Beaufort counties in North Carolina were able to compel the U.S. Navy not to... Thu, 22 Oct 1998 08:50:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-98.html#4353 US homeland-security Study Shows Limits Of Using 'War On Terror' To Promote Government Policies http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-98.html#4346 U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar has asked the Army to review possible links between service by Fort Carson soldiers in Iraq and violent acts they are accused of committing, including the murder this month of a 19-year-old developmentally disabled woman. Salazar announced Friday that he had sent a letter to Army Secretary Pete Geren requesting that he personally visit the base and initiate a comprehensive review of all violent acts by Fort Carson soldiers since they served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Col... Mon, 19 Oct 1998 11:08:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security10-98.html#4346 US homeland-security Salazar: Review Gi Violence - The Denver Post http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-98.html#4281 When Russian tanks rolled into Georgia last month, debate broke out about what the United States should do. But what could the United States do? Can the U.S. military, so consumed with small wars against terrorists and insurgencies abroad, wage a big war against a sizable adversary? Those questions are drawing keen attention seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, time that has seen the United States preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army and Marine Corps are retooling on the f... Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:31:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-98.html#4281 US iraq-war U.S. Stretched Thin With Terror Combat, Threat Of Cold War Ii | Freep.Com | Detroit Free Press http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-98.html#4282 When Russian tanks rolled into Georgia last month, debate broke out about what the United States should do. But what could the United States do? Can the U.S. military, so consumed with small wars against terrorists and insurgencies abroad, wage a big war against a sizable adversary? Those questions are drawing keen attention seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, time that has seen the United States preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army and Marine Corps are retooling on the f... Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:31:00 MST http://www.fight-the-right.org/homeland-security9-98.html#4282 US iraq-war U.S. Stretched Thin With Terror Combat, Threat Of Cold War Ii | Freep.Com | Detroit Free Press