Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee

Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee

26 September 2006
United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Arlen Specter, Chairman
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Ranking Democratic Member

Dear Senators:

We write as experienced intelligence and military officers who have served in the frontlines in waging war against communism and Islamic extremism. We fully support the need for proactive operations to identify and disrupt those individuals and organizations who wish to harm our country or its people. We also recognize that intelligence operations, unlike law enforcement initiatives, enjoy more flexibility and less scrutiny, but at the same time must continue to be guided by applicable US law.

We are very concerned that the proposals now before the Congress, concerning how to handle detainees suspected of terrorist activities, run the risk of squandering the greatest resource our country enjoys in fighting the dictators and extremists who want to destroy us—our commitment as a nation to the rule of law and the protection of divinely granted human rights.

Apart from the moral considerations, we believe it is important that the Congress send a clear message that torture is not an effective or useful tactic. As noted recently by the head of Army Intelligence, Lt. Gen. John Kimmons:

No good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices. I think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the last five years, hard years, tells us that.

Our nation was created in response to the abuses visited on our ancestors by the King of England, who claimed the right to enter their homes, to levy taxes at whim, and to jail those perceived as a threat without allowing them to be confronted by their accusers. Now, 230 years later, we find our own President claiming the right to put people in detention centers without legal recourse and to employ interrogation
methods that, by any reasonable legal standard, are categorized as torture.

We ask that the Senate lead the way in upholding the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and affirmed in the Geneva Conventions regarding the rights of individuals and the obligations of governing authorities towards those in their power. We believe it is important to combat the hatred and vitriol espoused by Islamic extremists, but not at the expense of being viewed as a nation who justifies or excuses torture and incarceration without recourse to a judicial procedure.

The US has been in the forefront of the human rights campaign throughout the 20th century, led by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The end of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust inspired the United States to take the lead in making the case that human rights were universal, not parochial.

Until recently the policy of our country was that all people, not just citizens of the United States, were entitled to these protections. It is important that the world understand that we remain committed to these principles. In fighting our enemies we must wage this battle in harmony with the traditional values of our society that were enshrined in the opening clause of the Declaration of Independence, “we hold these truths to be self-evident”. . . .

Respectfully yours,

CIA Officers:
Milton Bearden, Directorate of Operations
Ray Close, Directorate of Operations
Vincent Cannistraro, Directorate of Operations
Philip Giraldi, Directorate of Operations
James Marcinkowski, Directorate of Operations
Melissa Mahle, Directorate of Operations
Paul Pillar, Directorate of Intelligence
David MacMichael, Directorate of Intelligence
Melvin Goodman, Directorate of Intelligence
Ray McGovern, Directorate of Intelligence
Mary O. McCarthy, DCI professional staff

U.S. military and Department of Defense:
W. Patrick Lang, (Colonel, U.S. Army retired, Director Defense Humint Services, retired)
A. D. Ackels, (Colonel, U.S. Army, retired)
Karen Kwiatkowski, (Lt. Colonel, USAF, retired)

U.S. Department of State:
Thomas R. Maertens, Deputy Coordinator, Office of Counter Terrorism, U.S. Department of State
Larry C Johnson, Office of Counter Terrorism, U.S. Department of State

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Christopher Whitcomb, Hostage Rescue Team



[This open letter was taken from Vox Verax--link on the side]

Hurray! The country will be safe now that we can hold people without evidence and torture them. Sure mistakes will be made, but there is a war. As for those innocents of Arab descent who get sent to Syria and beaten with a cable for months until we are sure they are innocent, well that's the price of freedom these days. Everything changed with 911, right?

What seems to have changed is that America stopped being America. The desire for safety has overrun the desire for freedom. Our safety has never been more in jeopardy than it will be from the generations of hatred that has been stirred by the war on terror. Be afraid! That's true enough. Be afraid of the government. The new government has the power to steal elections. It is in the process of dissolving the Constitution. It is beating back any two party system. Soon there will only be Republicans and terrorist sympathizers. Everyone should ask themselves, when I get deported, what country will they send me to?

My best choir is struggling with the difficult program I've chosen for them. Too much, too early. I always think I can do anything, but it doesn't always work out.

One of my long ago students has landed a big job on the new ABC TV series, Six degrees. I've seen him on other things over the years but this looks like pretty good work for him. I used to give him voice lessons, but it is the acting not the singing that is carrying him now. He used to be a good kid. I suspect he still is. Dorian.

I wrote an email to a friend from high school. She's written nothing back. Disappointing.

from Glenn Greenwald:

The fruits of the President's interrogation policies:

That is what the President and his followers insist we have to do in order to stay "safe" -- abduct people, hold them in secret prisons and torture them. That way, they will confess to crimes they didn't commit, admit that they trained in terrorist camps located in countries they've never been to, tell us about non-existent terrorist plots they invented to satisfy their interrogators, and confirm that detainees whom they don't know and never met are very bad Al Qaeda terrorists -- all so that they won't be tortured any more. And then we'll all be safer.

Reality-based educator has called attention to the fact that the congress is refusing aid to individuals who have had their lives ruined by the toxic gasses they inhaled while doing reovery work at ground zero. Can't give them any welfare don't you know. On the other hand, millions are going to multinational corporations from what was supposed to be help for SMALL business. Here is the story from the New York Daily News.

With federal and state lawmakers now investigating, the Daily News has continued to unearth evidence that tens of millions of dollars in 9/11 recovery grants went to huge multinational corporations instead of the small businesses that Congress intended.

A News review of 1,000 small-business grants, conducted as part of the newspaper's ongoing investigation into New York's handling of the $21.4 billion federal 9/11 relief package, raises serious questions about whether more than 40% of those recipients would meet any definition of a small business - other than the one used by the state's economic development agency.

The latest findings include small business money going to concerns owned by 28 Fortune 500 companies - including Tyco, Archer Daniels Midland, Con Edison, Borders bookseller and Xerox. These firms received a total of $9.4 million that the state has claimed it gave to small businesses.

The grants examined by The News were among 24,000 made under the 9/11 small-business programs by the Empire State Development Corp. and its subsidiary, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.

The 400 grants being questioned by The News totaled $40 million, according to records.

Other findings:

# Some $11.1 million went to the affiliates of 26 companies that reported at least $1 billion in revenue the year of the attacks, including retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch, real estate powerhouse CB Richard Ellis, and companies owned by supermarket and gasoline magnate John Catsimatidis.

# Another $5.8 million went to 19 companies with revenue between $100 million and $1 billion, which exceeds most definitions of a small business.

That list includes Central Parking, which owns parking garages nationwide, and Ark Restaurants, owner of restaurants in Washington, Las Vegas and Manhattan, including Bryant Park Grill, Canyon Road, and, at the time, Lutece.

# Another $4.3 million went to businesses controlled by 14 investment firms or banks that have assets in excess of $1 billion, including branches of some of the largest banks in Asia.

# Millions more went to large, privately held businesses, many with offices across the country, for which revenue figures are not readily available.

# Ignoring or missing who actually owned a grant applicant made giants look small. Massive real estate owners and international powerhouses were approved as if each local office or building under control was a separate mom-and-pop shop. Collecting through several subsidiaries, some even exceeded the $500,000 cap that Congress set for the programs to recoup economic losses.

Much more.

We're Christians. We're supposed to be righteous.

Actually the line is,

We're Jews. We're supposed to be righteous.

After six years of unfettered Republican government, what have they accomplished?

Isn't this the fundamental question? You rule the congress, the white house, and the supreme court. There have been very few times in our history when that has been the case. You would expect things to really move. We should be able to see without question what Republicans wish to accomplish. Republican ideas and goals for the future of America are on display for the world to see. What are their gains? How has the country benefited from their leadership? How has government helped those who need help the most? How are the elderly, the poor, the children doing? Better than ever before in our history? How are the middle class?

How is our economy doing under their leadership? Is it a boom time? Expanding markets? Has the engine of war created a rising tide to float all boats? Who is doing better? Is anyone doing worse?

How about our moral compass? Are we leading the world with a Christian moral leadership? Do we set the bar high and challenge the other countries of the world to come up to our standards?

Sadly, when you think about these questions, you are overwhelmed. Drug companies have a windfall, and oil companies. The poor fall behind, the middle class has fallen behind. The soldiers are dying and no one knows why, or under what circumstances they can stop dying. What would be victory?

I wonder if we could have only had a war in Afganistan and actually captured Osama bin Laden. Did we need to rout the paper tiger of Iraq and begin an occupation there to further Republican ideals of a democratic middle east? Did we need that?

What has been spent? The enormous capital of sentiment that the world gave us following September 11, 2001, has been spent. The surpluses of a frugal democratic leadership have been spent. The assurance of minority rights in this country has been lost. The belief that elections in America were free and fair is no longer.

We are now ruled by the emperor and Darth Cheny.

Hasn't the campaign push that is developing for this election been astounding. The mini series on "It was Clinton's fault." How funny. When the enemy attacks on your watch. It's your fault. Everyone forgave them for that. No one has made an issue of it. It was a surprise.

And all the speechifying by the big four glorifying the war on terror in Iraq? There just is no war on terror. But the wildest thing I've ever seen is the miraculous drop in gas prices. Never seen such coordination between oil companies and the government before. But of course, if they can keep Republicans in power, perhaps they can plunder Alaska and the gulf without fear and charge $5 a gallon until the next election, when a reduction to $4 a gallon will seem a bargain.

I have been thinking about the summer time when I was a child.

I went to no camps to learn things. There were no areas of study for the summer. We didn't go on vacation. We were on vacation. If we went somewhere it was to visit relatives.

I remember the pool that we set up. It certainly got plenty of use from my sister and myself and many of our friends. I can't remember it being terribly hot, but I imagine that it was pretty oppressive. We went barefoot and the soles of our feet toughened during the summer. I walked down to the creek at the end of our street and the boys and I built dams and caught crawdads and tadpoles. I remember a pool in the woods where there were bullfrogs. They were huge and fearsome looking. I ran with my dog along paths in the woods.

There was no calendar looming over me. There was nothing to prepare for. The days started early with bananas in my cereal, had peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches at lunch, and ended late, listening to the Cardinals game on WLS on my crystal radio set, it's antenna stretched to a tree in the back yard. There were pick-up baseball games, do-nut sales, dogs, cats, and bunnies. We played rolla bat and 500 when we didn't have enough players for a game. Do you know those games? Vicki was one of the best ball players and could hit and throw like a boy. She was also pretty. We played monopoly games in Randy and Vicki's basement. Somehow we stretched the games out for days. They had a collie named Sabre. My friend Lynda had a neat basement. It was cool there and we played records and did the limbo. Bobby and Cathy had a big yard where we played ball games. They also had a play house that was alternately a fort for army games or a house for other games. I learned to play marbles. We drew circles in the dirt and usually didn't play for keepsies. I still have my marbles, many with the wounds of being blasted in those games nearly 50 years ago. We joined boyscouts and went camping, laughing away our weekends in the woods. That must have been a good thing for our parents. I learned to measure the height of a tree or a building from the ground. We built tree forts in the woods and swam at camp 175. We went to church on Sunday and sang hymns. We went to Vacation Bible School and memorized scripture, much of which I still remember, and built bird houses. My dad was one of the bird house building teachers. With special permission we could walk along the highway up to O.C. Conner's store to buy baseball cards with a piece of bubble gum inside. A card with a piece of gum was a penny. For ten cents we could buy a balsa wood airplane that would fly like mad in the wind.

We didn't have community children's theater, computer camp, SAT preparation, dance, cheerleading camp, or much of anything else. We were children and we played all day, every day until labor day. Somehow that was enough in those days. Things were not so competitive as they are today. And we grew up to have jobs and marry our sweethearts, live in nicer houses than our parents.

Maybe we should go back.

Even the Republican controlled United States Senate now agrees that there was no Al-Qaida connection to Iraq before the Iraq war. President Bush fabricated this lie to justify an unprovoked attack on a world leader he just didn't like. The associate press has the story of the Senate's report.

The federal government is careening out of control, a school bus with no brakes on a steep grade.

The administration's plan? Trust us.

The stops are pulled out and the Republican organ is beginning to blast its election rhetoric. Mysteriously, gasoline prices are plummeting. They aren't approaching the $1.41 a gallon that they were a year or so ago, but after the shock of $3.00 a gallon gas, $2.45 makes you thing all is right with the world doesn't it? Let's vote Republican again. They have things on the right track now! And the new ABC movie will show clearly that 9/11 is all Bill Clinton's fault. Nothing will be said on ABC about the fact that many of the implications have already been shown to be false repeatedly. The movie trumpets as many Republican falsehoods as it can. It's sort of like the stuff of urban legend. Get more info here.

There's more on the subject here.

All four of the administration's big dogs, Condie, Donnie, Dead eye Dick, and lil Georgie are all out getting red in the face, stamping their feet and working the campaign trails. These "just trust me," "stay the course," "and we won't come back, till it's over over there," "the war in Iraq is the war on terror," "of course there were weapons of mass destruction, they were just slipped over the border the week before the invasion," diatribes are pretty sadly packaged stuff. It has always worked before for Georgie to work the smoke and flash the lights at the palace in Oz. Everyone trembles and falls down before him.

I took some heart from the guy on the news yesterday. He was fiftysomething and a die hard Republican. He said he had never voted for a Democratic candidate in his life, but in November he was going into the voting booth and vote for every Democrat on the ticket. Shiney. He's clear on the fact that there is no war in Iraq. We have an occupying army there trying vainly to support American style democracy for a country that includes near stoneage cultures. He's clear on the fact that the preznit has authorized torture and illegal wiretaps on Americans. He's clear that there are and never were any Iraq/terror connections. The message is getting through.

Crooksandliars.com is worth giving a look at. I particularly think you should consider the rather long essay of Keith Olbermann. You can listen to the video here.

He covers the issue of the current bums rush being put on by the same ole tired Republican campaigners. I agree with his assessment. I think he's figured out who these men are that are leading the country.

The housing bubble. The technology bubble. They are being equated.

Realize that there basically can't be a housing bubble. Their can be a land bubble. People can pay too much for the land that their houses sit on. Houses are made of sweat and lots of heavy stuff however, and tend to cost the going rate for lumber, concrete, shingles, and sheetrock, plus the very low going rate for labor, plus 12% for the builder, or even less. And anyone can build one. I think I've proved that. There can't be a rapid escalation of prices as long as land is available in the same location. Location, location, location. Now when there's no more open land and people want to live in a certain area, prices can escalate to ridiculous rates. But as long as people want to be in that location, that escalation of prices can be supported. It's about desire in those areas. Something makes it worth the money to be there. The view, the weather, the neighborhood, the security. Whatever drives the price will keep it high unless the view, weather, neighborhood, or security changes.

Now realestate investors who buy property to "flip" it, day traders in real estate, can get caught short. They buy on neg amoritization loans and must flip for a higher price or they lose money. These guys can get hammered if they guess wrong on the demand in an area. But the average Joe bought his house to live in. He and the wife have a loan they can afford to pay and the vississitudes of the market, while unnerving, do not affect them in the long run. The housing bubble burst is not going to be the technology bubble bursting. The media just loves to grab on to something (Water GATE for example) and liken everything else to it. (Plame GATE.)

While prices that have been inflated by speculators may fall for a time, the lumber, concrete, etc., will make certain that housing does not collapse. What's more, in most areas of the country, the market is still creeping upward. And with inflation, every day you own a house it gets cheaper to pay for. Only if wages fall will the middle class have a housing crisis. The rich are trying to arrange that for us, but we are haning tough.

I don't often read conservative bloggers because most of them don't seem independent, rather, they seem to be mouthpieces for the Republican sound bites of the day. Their solidarity is breaking apart these days. Some are becoming genuinely alarmed and are blaming . . . the preznit . . . imagine that, for the sorry state of things in the world.

Take a look at The Cunning Realist for the past few days and sense his alarm. He's begun to notice that Bush is unstatesmanlike. He thinks there may be consequences coming for poor economic policies practiced by the administration. He's concerned about the Taliban's establishment of their own homeland in Pakistan. He thinks there is a housing bubble and it is bursting, percipitating an American economic crisis. He says that American soldiers are not in good spirits and that we have lost any sense of mission in Iraq. Could it be we have no real mission and we should withdraw? Or like the Republicans in Viet Nam are we just not ending the war until after the election cycle. The people must be afraid or they won't vote RED.

Honestly this guy doesn't have a liberal blog.

From NPR

According to a new biography of Karl Rove, the president’s chief political strategist did some bizarre "house cleaning" when he moved into Hillary Clinton's old West Wing office:

"Soon after Rove moved into his new office in the West Wing, previously occupied by Hillary Clinton, he invited three top Catholic priests to conduct a ceremony to purge the room of evil spirits. 'It was an actual liturgical ceremony,' says participant Deal Hudson. 'We sat at the table, we prayed. A priest said a series of prayers, including a blessing.'"

The media told me tonight that is was a great day for the president. He was on the offensive, taking control and showing how he owns the security issue.

Funny I thought the Senate was asking him to fire Donald Rumsfeld. That hardly got mentioned. And his take charge speech admitted to secret CIA prisons were we torture the prisoners who aren't charged with anything. He stressed that his alternative coersion methods had saved lives in Amrrika. No specifics were available of course. We should just trust him on that. Could any of this actually be legal? Didn't the preznit just hand us grounds for impeachment?

I also saw that the Army is giving a contract for a weapon against rocket propelled grenades to Ratheon, and American company, that plans to develop the weapon in 5 years. An Israel company that already has a weapon like this, battle tested to 98% effectiveness, was not considered. American Generals would not even go and look at the Israeli weapon. The Israeli weapon could be on the ground in Iraq, tomorrow, saving countless lives. Who supports Ratheon? Donald Rumsfeld. Dante would have to develop an entirely new level in hell for these guys.

Intolerance: unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds, etc.

The paper yesterday said there are 48 million students in public school, 6 million in private schools, and 1 million being home schooled. There are religious leaders who are using the pulpit as place to stand against public education. Out of 55 million students, over 10 % have been removed from the evil influences of public education. Both the Southern Baptist Convention and the conservative Presbyterians entertained motions this year that urged their members to withdraw their children from public school. Both motions failed.

David Crary of the Associated Press said yesterday "One new campaign aims to monitor public schools for what conservatives see as pro-gay curriculum and programs." He goes on quoting the California-based Considering Home schooling Ministry--"Home schoolers avoid harmful school environments where God is mocked, where destructive peer influence is the norm, where drugs, alcohol, promiscuity and homosexuality are promoted." James Kennedy, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian said "The infusion of an atheistic, amoral, evolutionary, socialistic, one-world, anti-American system of education in our public schools has indeed become such that if it had been done by an enemy, it would be considered an act of war."

Okay let's just say it. These people are crazy. Come on ove to the school house and stand around for awhile.

I have a little homeschooler that has entered our school this year. She's never been to public school before and she is a senior. When I asked why she was coming now she said that God had laid it on her heart. I wondered if having our schools logo on her diploma had anything to do with it. I saw her at the football game Friday night. She was the only student I saw there with their parents, her mom walking in front of her, her dad behind. Can't be too careful when taking their darling into a sin pit like a high school football game. I had to place her in my worst choir because she knew nothing about using her voice or reading music. The only benefit of her being in my class is that she won't have any homework. I guess her parents want to send her to a religious women's college and get her married off to an equally conservative young man before she ever has to face the world on her own. Hiding one's face from the world like a two year old playing peek-a-boo, will not make the world go away. Better learn some coping skills.

Intolerance: unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds, etc.

Can you believe that the President of the United States of America has sunk to the level of going around the country chanting rhyming slogans for assembled masses of sycophants?

America won't leave
until victory is achieved.

(What ever happened to Mission Accomplished?)

If the glove doesn't fit
You must acquit!

If you were old like me, you could remember the cold war and seeing the masses of Russians assembled for May Day parades. Thousands of cheering throngs gathered to worship the Soviet Union's power. Look how that turned out.

The preznit can't speak to a real assembled crowd of Americans because 1. they'd boo him off the stage and 2. his life would be in danger.

I'd like to suggest you look at "What we have learned since 9/11"

It's an article in Time magazine that is quoted on CNN today. It talks about how the world viewed America after that most horrible day. "Shoulder to shoulder until justice is done.""We are all Americans." These were the sentiments of the people of the world. How do they view us now?

Sonny Purdue is governor of Georgia. He is a fraud. His campaign coffers are full and he is running warm fuzzy TV adds everyday telling us how he's the education guy. The ads tout his giving every Georgia teacher $100 for classroom supplies and say he has added a billion dollars to public education in Georgia. He also claims to have given Georgia teachers big raises. Purdue spun Georgia's recent SAT scores to say there was a leap forward in Georgia's scores. I notice there was no mention of Georgia high school graduation rates. He also claims to have taken us from a financial crisis, to a 500 million dollar surplus for Georgia government?

The truth? Purdue's education CUTS of a billion dollars in the past four years have caused major increases in class sizes throughout the state. In our county, one of the most prosperous in the state, the BOE actually said to us, "Don't worry. Even with year after year of cuts from the state, we aren't going to cut the jobs of fine arts teachers . . . this year." That makes me feel secure.

The truth? There are no details in his claims to have added a billion to the education budget. (Is he talking about increased gambling revenue going to HOPE scholarships? You can be certain that this is some kind of serious spin, but it is not obvious what he is talking about.

The truth? $100 was given to teachers this year. The money came on a gift card and teachers had four days to use it. Many teachers were not aware of the program since they had not yet returned to school from summer holiday. Certain stores were the beneficiaries of the money and others were excluded. Need a shelf for your room? Home Depot was not only not on the list, but if you tried to use the card there (there was not publication that told what stores were on or off the list) your card was frozen and would no longer work anywhere. When we told our just graduated from college neice about the money she blurted out "Isn't that just buying votes?" From the mouths of babes.

The truth? Teachers got a big raise this year. 4 %. I believe we've gotten 7% during the past 4 years and lost considerable ground to inflation. This year being an election year, however, it was time for a make-up leap forward. Only problem is we just aren't keeping up. Georgia teacher's salaries have slipped back below the national average under Sonny Purdue. And we had just made it up to average. Oh well.

The truth? The leap forward in SAT scores was actually this. Our math score remained the worst in the nation. Our verbal scores dropped back 3 points. You may wonder how that can be a leap forward. Here's the spin part. Several other states regressed more than we did this year so we placed overall, farther from the bottom of the pile, up to 46th from 50th. Sound like a cause for celebration to you.

The truth? The budget has improved because the economy has improved since our 911 crash and also because Georgia reaps a windfall increase in gasoline taxes as prices rise by putting a regressive sales tax on gas as well as a per gallon tax. The increase in gas prices is largely responsible for the bulging government coffers. Purdue has also cut education money from the budget, forcing an increase in property taxes at the local level to maintain minimum standards for education. Sonny Purdue balances budgets on the backs of the middle class and the poor.

The truth? At the same time the governor is releasing his glowing campaign spots, the Department of Community Affairs conference in Augusta released some other figures. Only 54 % of Georgia high school students graduate on time. Only 60 % graduate . . . ever, ranking us 49th in the nation. Georgia has the 5th largest prison population in the country. Georgia ranks 41st in public health. 20 % of Georgia's children live in poverty. (Thanks Dan White, program director of the Rural Library Project www.rurallibraryproject.org, for some of these stats.)

The truth? Things aren't going that well in Georgia. But the rich are getting richer. The private schools are closer to government vouchers to support their segretated and parochial education. We've passed that anti-gay marriage consitiutional ammendment. So Sonny Purdue's friends are well pleased with him.