The Rule of Law

There is an outstanding article concerning the "RULE OF LAW" and it's relationship and importance to civilization. The article is posted on the NPR (National Public Radio) web site under "This I Believe"

The article is authored by Michael Mullane, Law Professor at the University of Arkansas. You may read this for yourself by clicking on the following link:

THE RULE OF LAW

This article is very pertinent in light of our current President's wholesale abrogation of conventionally accepted international law and new Pentagon proposals to choose to ignore parts of the Geneva Convention which are inconvenient to it just now. The Geneva Convention has long been held as the standard for treatment of people during wartime - declared or not.

One definition for those who ignore something is "IGNORANT". That certainly seems to fit this administration.

The problem is that once we as a country begin to ignore long established rules and laws that pretty much sets a new standard and gives everyone else the right to do the same. Apparently, the Pentagon assumes that things will never change and the US will be the dominant superpower forever. While that could be the case, another dictum reads, "the real only constant is constant change".

In other words, don't count on it.

The arrogance (not to even mention ignorance) of our current President and administration is bound to come back to haunt us all - particularly our young people we depend upon to maintain the security of our country.

When will this nightmare end?

You Break it, You Own it!

On May 30, 2006 Alaska's Senator Lisa Murkowski attended a meeting in Juneau to discuss what to do about the situation in Iraq. To be sure our War President has gotten us in a real dilly of a pickle there and the extrication process will be difficult, expensive and cost many more lives. Unfortunately, we have no choice. We HAVE to deal with it; as Colin Powell famously said, "You break it, you own it!"

We've damned sure broken 'IT". Here's the letter I sent to our senator:

May 31, 2006
Senator Lisa Murkowski
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Senator Murkowski:

I attended the forum on Iraq in Juneau yesterday and wish to thank you for spending the time to listen to Juneau’s citizens. Sadly, it seems unusual these days for a US Senator to take the time for such an event and I think it is safe to say we all very much appreciate your doing so.

I also want to commend you for your courage and fortitude to endure a seemingly endless litany of angry comments (some very much so) on this issue. The forum seemed heavily attended by opponents to the war with very little representation from the other side - I noted only one speaker out of about forty seemingly in ‘favor’ of the war. I believe you got a good impression of the passion this issue arouses in our country. This is also being borne out by recent polls. I also believe that the ‘powers that be’, i.e., the current administration ‘ain’t seen nothing yet’. Our country is finally waking up to this nightmare brought upon us, and upon Iraq and the world by our current ‘War President’ and his administration.

Besides the consistency of the opposition to the Iraq War and angry denunciations of George W. Bush, his administration and Republicans in general, two things stand out in my mind from this meeting. Both were comments that you made.

The first was the statement - which you made almost in amazement - that the House of Representatives was “actually going to debate the war”. I was stunned. Not because they ARE going to debate this issue, but because the debate is to take place NOW, almost four years AFTER the decision to go to war. If there ever was a definitive mark of a dysfunctional Congress, that was it. I am ashamed, saddened and heartbroken at the failure of our Congress to fulfill their responsibilities and mission to the American people. That my opinion is widely shared is indicated by appalling low approval ratings that Congress now holds - even worse than President Bush’s if that is possible.

The second thing that stands out - and sorely so to me - was your flat statement made during your close that “I’m not going to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney”, period.

This was of course after being urged to do so by several speakers at the forum. Had you added “unless required” your remark would not have stood out so glaringly. However as presented your remark can only mean that your partisan loyalty transcends your responsibilities and duties as an elected representative OF THE PEOPLE. Must you be reminded the PEOPLE keep you in your present position, and the PEOPLE pay your salary?

There may be times when a President or members of his administration SHOULD BE impeached for cause. The provision for and causes are defined in the Constitution, with the interpretations being left to Congress who are in the end supposed to be responsible to the PEOPLE. The way I see that is it your RESPONSIBILITY to determine, and then prosecute an impeachment SHOULD THAT BE REQUIRED. To make the statement “I’m not going to . . .” is a flat abdication of responsibility and your sworn oath. It is also not incidentally prejudgment of the issues. To give the benefit of a doubt perhaps your statement did not relay exactly what you meant to say. I encourage you to clarify those points for the public.

There was much anger expressed at this forum at the assault on civil rights and personal freedoms, both at home and abroad by this administration. You must take serious note of this and relay these feelings to your colleagues: Denial of basic rights and freedoms eventually will result in drastic adjustments - in extreme cases even violent resistance and revolution. We’ve witnessed this elsewhere in the world and have no reason to believe our country is immune. Wise & prudent leadership must consider this component carefully. Unfortunately, few observers accuse our current administration of being either wise or prudent. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

I, like many Americans am very angry at attempts at being shouted down by a vociferous and powerful minority. We’re used to being called ‘unpatriotic’, ‘treasonous’ and being told “if you aren’t for us, you’re against us” by those who have appointed themselves as ‘real Americans’ but whose values don’t bear much resemblance to constitutional ones. In fact it is akin and parallel to the Su’uni vs. Shi’ia factions in Iraq. I am appending some comparisons in the enclosed page.

I urge you to have the courage and independence to uphold the sworn duties and responsibilities of your office and to your constituents.

Sincerely,
/S/ (your Alaska constituent)


Enclosure:

PARALLELS between the GW Bush Administration and the Saddam Regime

In an eerie parallelism, the US military under GW Bush has mounted attacks against the very same Shi’ia who opposed Saddam Hussein (Al Sadar) - utilizing many of Saddam’s very own former Su’uni forces to assist in the suppression of that faction.

Here are some other parallels which almost make it seem Bush could have taken lessons from Saddam:

Saddam - from official White House report
"Saddam Hussein frequently infringes on citizens' constitutional right to privacy. Saddam routinely ignores constitutional provisions designed to protect the confidentiality of mail, telegraphic correspondence, and telephone conversations. Iraq periodically jams news broadcasts from outside the country, including those of opposition groups. The security services and the Ba'th Party maintain pervasive networks of informers to deter dissident activity and instill fear in the public."

Comparison:
(I leave it to you to make this comparison - it should not be at all difficult!)

Saddam - from official White House report
"In August 2001, Amnesty International reported that Saddam Hussein has the world's worst record for numbers of persons who have disappeared and remain unaccounted for."

Comparisons:
1. (Amnesty International Report to UN, 5/3/06: “there is clear evidence that much of the ill-treatment has stemmed directly from officially sanctioned procedures and policies, including interrogation techniques approved by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld for use in Guantánamo and later exported to Iraq.”)

2. (United Nations Committee Against Torture, 5/19/06: “The Committee’s findings point to a systematic failure of the USA to live up to its international obligations, including under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and to protect detainees from abuse. The USA should take these findings to heart.”

3. (Amnesty International press release 5/23/2006: "The United States has become a world leader in avoiding human rights accountability; a case in point is the reliance of the United States government on private military contractors, which has helped create virtually rules-free zones sanctioned with the American flag and firepower,")

Saddam - from official White House report
"The UN and Kuwait say Iraq has not returned extensive Kuwaiti state archives and museum pieces . . ."

Comparison:
While not precisely & exactly parallel, the looting of Iraq museums and antiquities while the US military inexcusably stood by or participated is a comparison: Reuters report, 4/17/2003: “Two cultural advisers to the Bush administration have resigned in protest over the failure of U.S. forces to prevent the wholesale looting of priceless treasures from Baghdad's antiquities museum.”)

Right Wing Idiocy Versus Reality in Alaska

This situation is very illustrative of overreaction by regressive & fundamentalist type mentalities now prevailing in parts of our country. I understand the person involved is a sort in your face type. He also has great parental support. So long as we have people like this coming along there is still hope for our country:

Joseph Frederick, a former Juneau, Alaska high school senior with a light course load got crosswise with local school authorities one day because he was hanging around reading a book waiting for his girlfriend after his own classes finished for the day. Instead of addressing things calmly, reasonably and maturely, the vice principle’s Hitlerian instinct must have kicked in and he overreacted.

Having a low tolerance for authoritarian nonsense the student objected and the vice principal called the police. This was the beginning of an ”escalation of abuse of power versus student rights” in the student’s words. Next day, the student refused to honor the Pledge of Allegiance in class and school authorities overreacted again by suspending the student from school.

Most people would have desisted at this point, but this student having recently taken an American Justice course and believing in the things he had been taught, planned and began a symbolic campaign of civic disobedience in the classic Henry David Thoreau tradition. The student had a banner made reading ‘Bong Hits For Jesus’ which he displayed off campus during the running of the Olympic Torch in 2002. The high school was turned out for students to watch. Now the CaCa really hit the fan and school authorities’ overreactions were both draconian and illegal, extending even to making false, underhanded and unfounded official accusations that the student was a drug dealer.

The student was arrested and taken to jail; his car was impounded and torn apart and searched. No drugs were found and the student was released with fifteen cents in his pocket. Some drug dealer! He had to walk 3 miles home in 10 degree temperatures wearing only a tee shirt because he couldn’t even make a phone call. He was also suspended from school for an additional ten days.

Read for yourself about this almost unbelievable situation in the student’s own words here in this link. “JOE’S STORY”.

The ACLU then became involved - they don’t become involved lightly, believe me - and the issue went to court. The student lost in lower court but prevailed in the Ninth District Court on appeal. Unbelievably, the Juneau School Board, being dominated by right wing idiocy now plans to appeal the issue all the way to the US Supreme Court with Kenneth Starr as their pro bono attorney. Yes, THAT Kenneth Starr, already infamous for partisan right wing idiocy.

Joe Frederick - who is not into drugs at all - has now become a folk hero and an icon to the drug culture. The juneau School Board busily buffs the luster of his fame every day. His story has been reported around the world. Instead of being a ‘school discipline issue’ as the school board so self-righteously claims, this is really political & religious activism authored by a right wing nut case majority on the Juneau School Board. They are evidently blinded by their dogma and now busily adding fuel to the flames and digging their own hole deeper.

Such appears to be a classic style right wing overreaction and idiocy. Meanwhile the student's suit for violation of his civil rights is expected with the potential for being very expensive for Juneau taxpayers. The lawyers are lining up in the hopes of being involved.

Our local paper, the Juneau Empire last week came out with an editorial titled "A Silly Banner and a Stupid Court Appeal" which sarcastically asks "What is the Juneau School Board smoking?" During a special school board meeting this week several people including at least three local attorneys got up to address the school board to tell them how wrong they are in very strong terms, yet the board grimly and pigheadedly continues to persist in the face of all sanity, reasonableness and reality! It simply boggles the mind.

Tragically, we see this same regressive, intransigent mentality on a grand and massive scale on the national level where it now has claimed over 2400 young American lives in Iraq.

A humorous side note: Alaska’s far right Republican governor Frank Murkowski - not incidentally the second most unpopular governor in the country after Ohio's Bob Taft - was also honored by having his own “Bong Hits For Murkowski” bumper sticker plastered on the fence around the governor’s mansion in Juneau. Murkowski has recently been very proactive on marijuana, heavily crusading against Alaskans' legal right to possess a small amount of weed for personal use.
Yeah, the Juneau, Alaska School Board sure is effectively dealing with discipline and drug use alright! Joe Frederick must be laughing his ass off!

Moral & ethical duty of America's Leaders

It is far past time for America’s political leaders to live up to the public trust and earn their pay. It is far past time for our collective leadership to face reality and begin correcting the horrible mess the Bush Administration has gotten us all into.

The unilateral U.S. decision to go to war in Iraq violated the United Nations Charter, international law, and set a dangerous precedent for justifying “preemptive” attacks by other nations, perhaps even against ourselves. For the first time in my life (over six decades) I am mortally ashamed of the acts of my own government!


It is impossible for a rational person to imagine a more inept or dysfunctional administration than the one currently being inflicted upon the American people by this administration:

Prior to the war, this so-called "conservative" administration’s top budget [Mitch Daniels] official estimated . . . .that the cost of a war with Iraq could be in the range of $50 billion to $60 billion… well, so much for being 'fiscally responsible' not to mention 'conservative' as will be evident below:

Prior to the Iraq invasion, Donald Rumsfeld predicted that maybe up to $50 billion would be required for the war in Iraq. . . .

Amazingly, prior to the war, Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, even seriously predicted that the war might actually ‘pay for itself’ thru the sale of oil . . .

The US now admits to spending almost $300 billion so far - but does not count costs which will accrue after the war. Predictions now range from a total war cost ranging from $500 billion to several trillion dollars. Given the track record so far, we’ll be lucky to get out for the higher estimates. This means:

So far the war has cost every man, woman & child in the US around $1,000.

The total cost could be as much or even much more than $3,335 for every many, woman & Child in the country. The problem is that it is open ended and we simply do not know!

So, who are the folks running this war? Here are some of the thing some of these people have famously said:

“Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer.”
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq)

"I don't do numbers."
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq and spending billions of taxpayer dollars in the process - $6 billion per month in fact)

I think it (the war) will go relatively quickly, . . . (in) weeks rather than months“
(Prediction made by the Vice President of the US, Richard Cheney)

''I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
(Richard Cheney , Vice President of the US in May, 2005)

“I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that.”
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq)

“It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.”
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq)

"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction - which he may still be hoping to find, perhaps in outer space somewhere)

"I don't do quagmires."
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq, and astoundingly flippant with American lives)

"It's an enormous country - you know, it's bigger than Texas! Or as big, I guess - I haven't looked lately."
- (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq, on Iraq, the country)

“It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”
- - (Donald Rumsfeld, the man actually in charge of running the war in Iraq , early on after the invasion, predicting the duration of the War)

Our political leaders have the moral, & ethical responsibility - all of them, from the top down - do everything in their power to put the war in Iraq behind us as quickly and in as fair a manner as possible, and begin rebuilding the world’s trust in our country before it is too late to recover.

Ignoring reality is not an option. It is in fact, an egregious dereliction of duty and a great danger to our nation and the world.

A Neo-Con's Prayer

“O My God, Ye, verily I saith unto thee,

That I hath followeth false leaders,

That leadeth me unto wickedness, and the uttering of untruths,

Even tho’ I claimeth to be righteous and even virtuous,

And, even tho’ I claimeth a religion that preacheth against such wickedness,

And, even tho’ by that religion I now hath sold mine own miserable soul,

Knowingly, and even willingly, and yea, even joyfully,

Unto false doctrines, preacheth by many fools,

And, cynics, and unbelievers, tho’ verily they would have everyone believeth,

That they walketh the paths of righteousness and truth and the ‘true’ religions,

Tho’ manifestly they doeth not, yet maketh they war, and bringeth down death unto innocents,

With their hypocrisy and false witness, and yet they all,

Seek to justify their wickedness in the cloak of righteousness, and yea, even patriotism,

Tho’ it resembleth it not in the least,

And I verily even now cast down mine own nation and mine own people in my partisan righteousness,

And mine own brethren who hath sacrificed so much in the name and cause of freedom,

Tho’ I myself hath not, and yea sought to have others do so in my stead for I feared for my cowardly body.

And yet verily I eagerly followeth those same wicked ones who seeketh to twist and destroyeth the truth, and to cast lies upon those who have made the actual sacrifices upon the twin altars of blood and deed,

And, yet I do act and bear witness unto their fundamentalist doctrines for I myself have done the same,

And, followeth unto dogma that is selfish unto me, and mine own doctrinal fools in kind,

And have self-righteously borne false witness and thro’ mine own baseness and falseness,

And, hidden mine own truly evil soul which is pitiful to behold indeed.

And, I now feareth for mine own weak and sorry soul for eternity for mine own shameful wickedness and mercenary purveyance of filth, distortions and evil aspirations.

God, I am a coward of the first order indeed and feareth for my poor wretched and wicked soul in eternal Hell,

For I have abandoned any true religion and mine own country and shall surely fry in purgatory,

For mine own secular and doctrinal falseness.

O Lord, I beseech Thee now to take pity on my soul and heareth my plea.”

A General Indictment

Some military quotes of note about Rummy the Absolute Dummy's running of the Iraq War:

"They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that's a mistake, and that's why I think he should resign."
- Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs.

“The Pentagon needs a fresh start, We need a leader who understands teamwork, a leader who knows how to build teams, a leader that does it without intimidation. We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them."
- Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste who led the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq until he retired last year.

"We went to war with a flawed plan that didn't account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime. We also served under a secretary of defense who didn't understand leadership, who was abusive, who was arrogant, who didn't build a strong team." - - - Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste.

“Rumsfeld made a series of disastrous mistakes. We grow up in a culture where accountability, learning to accept responsibility, admitting mistakes and learning from them was critical to us. When we don't see that happening it worries us. Poor military judgment has been used throughout this mission."
- Retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, former commander of US forces in the Middle East

“Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld is guilty of ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input.... I have seen a climate of groupthink become dominant and a growing reluctance by experienced military men and civilians to challenge the notions of the senior leadership."
- Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton who was in charge of training Iraqi forces from 2003 to 2004.

"He has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. ... Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."
- Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton

“US military policy in Iraq has been marked by successive policy failures." Among these: "distortion of intelligence ... micromanagement that kept our forces from having enough resources ... failure to retain and reconstitute the Iraqi military."
- Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Greg Newbold, former operations director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"We need to continue to fight the global war on terror and keep it off our shores, but I do not believe Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to fight that war based on his absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq."
- Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, Jr.

"I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense because Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him. ... I think we need senior military leaders who understand the principles of war and apply them ruthlessly, and when the time comes, they need to call it like it is."
- Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, Jr.

"My sincere view is that the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions - or bury the results."
- Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold.

"Serious mistakes [were made] in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad. We didn't have enough troops on the ground. We didn't impose our will. As a result an insurgency got started, and it got out of control."
-Colin Powell, former secretary of state and Joint Chiefs chairman,

In this, Powell echoed former Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who told Congress just weeks before the 2003 invasion that several hundred thousand US troops would be necessary to secure Iraq after the invasion. For this he was publicly contradicted by then Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Rumsfeld named General Shinseki's replacement a year before he was to retire and broke custom by not attending his retirement ceremony.

"What's remarkable to me is how long it took military resentment of Rumsfeld to surface in public. Rumsfeld apparently has convinced the president that military criticism of his performance is traceable mainly to resistance to change. That interpretation of the criticism isn't totally wrong. But much of the officer corps thinks he simply doesn't understand technology or operations in sufficient depth to grasp the consequences of his policies, and yet he routinely uses his position to quash dissent."
-Military analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.

Gen. Merrill McPeak, retired Air Force chief of staff, says if anything the number of US troops there needs to be doubled - to around the figure Shinseki predicted would be needed three years ago - if Iraq is to become truly secure and democratic

General McPeak lost friends when he started speaking out against the war several years ago. Now, he says, "everybody is sending me e-mails and cards and letters saying 'I wish I had seen it the way you saw it from the beginning,' and I've gotten some of those friends back."

Amen, brothers.

Ignorance

Our President, placing party politics above the interests of our country has proven himself and his administration to be totally unworthy. Time after time he has stretched the truth, lied, dissimulated, and fabricated ‘evidence’ to support his position. It’s just plain disgusting.

Of course it is not just Bush, and he is mostly just a helpless & gullible pawn being used in a larger Neo-Con agenda. But the fact remains that this is the most mistrusted and dishonest administration ever in American history. And for good reason.

We find for example that Bush, Cheney et al have themselves ‘leaked’ classified information to the press to discredit critics. This leaking has occurred even after all their crying and hand-wringing about leakers, and Bush’s determination to punish same. Disgusting hyocrisy.

Throughout this present administration we have witnessed the Neo-Con’s all out attacks on any critic or perceived enemy of the administration. No lie or tactic seems beneath them.

The White House now claims any information released was done "in the public interest", and that the president has the power to declassify information. Hah! The American people are not so stupid as to buy that and line we all know - even the Neo-Cons - that is just so much bull pucky. The difference being the Neo-Cons think that sort of thing is perfectly OK - just so long as it’s their liar doing it.

We have learned that Bush et al simply ignored any evidence that was at odds with their claims leading up to the Iraq war, or with their fervent insistence on Iraq’s possession of WMD’s. In my book anyone who ignores facts is, well, JUST PLAIN “IGNORANT”! That definition might well describe the Neo-Con position.

When are we going to get enough of the lying , distortions and hypocrisy? Our country is being dragged thru the mire by these partisan fools, blinded to the realities by their dogma. I suppose you can expect no less from folks following a game plan set by Karl Rove.

Americans must take back our country from these miscreants!