archived: 21 - 27 Dec, 2003         Back                 Next

                            CIVIL LIBERTIES

               Bush’s administration received several stinging set backs this week in its effort to limit civil liberties. 

              “In a critical decision, a San Francisco appeals court disputed the administration's claims to have "unchecked authority" in dealing with prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba outside the US criminal justice system.

              The 2-1 decision came a few hours after a Manhattan appeals court ruled that accused "dirty bomb" plotter Jose Padilla - a US citizen alleged to be an enemy combatant - be released from military custody within 30 days.

              The decisions are a setback for President George W.Bush who has had authority since September 11, 2001, to use "all necessary and appropriate force" to stop terror attacks.

In California, Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that in such times judges must protect civil rights.

              "Even in times of national emergency it is the obligation of the judicial branch to ensure the preservation of our constitutional values and to prevent the executive branch from running roughshod over the rights of citizens and aliens alike," he wrote in the majority decision.

              "The Government's position is inconsistent with fundamental tenets of American jurisprudence and raises most serious questions under international law," the judge said.

              Although the case involves one Libyan held in Cuba, the court rejected the administration's view that it could hold 660 terrorism suspects indefinitely because they were captured overseas and are being held outside the US.” – News (Australia)

                            PROFITS OF WAR

              “The story about Halliburton's strangely expensive gasoline imports into Iraq gets curiouser and curiouser. High-priced gasoline was purchased from a supplier whose name is unfamiliar to industry experts, but that appears to be run by a prominent Kuwaiti family (no doubt still grateful for the 1991 liberation). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers documents seen by The Wall Street Journal refer to "political pressures" from Kuwait's government and the U.S. embassy in Kuwait to deal only with that firm. I wonder where that trail leads.

              Meanwhile, NBC News has obtained Pentagon inspection reports of unsanitary conditions at mess halls run by Halliburton in Iraq: "Blood all over the floors of refrigerators, dirty pans, dirty grills, dirty salad bars, rotting meat and vegetables." An October report complains that Halliburton had promised to fix the problem but didn't.

              And more detail has been emerging about Bechtel's much-touted school repairs. Again, a Pentagon report found "horrible" work: dangerous debris left in playground areas, sloppy paint jobs and broken toilets.

              Are these isolated bad examples, or part of a pattern? It's impossible to be sure without a broad, scrupulously independent investigation. Yet such an inquiry is hard to imagine in the current political environment - which is precisely why one can't help suspecting the worst.

              Let's be clear: Worries about profiteering aren't a left-right issue. Conservatives have long warned that regulatory agencies tend to be "captured" by the industries they regulate; the same must be true of agencies that hand out contracts. Halliburton, Bechtel and other major contractors in Iraq have invested heavily in political influence, not just through campaign contributions, but by enriching people they believe might be helpful. Dick Cheney is part of a long if not exactly proud tradition: Brown Root, which later became the Halliburton subsidiary doing those dubious deals in Iraq, profited handsomely from its early support of a young politician named Lyndon Johnson.

              So is there any reason to think that things are worse now? Yes.

              The biggest curb on profiteering in government contracts is the threat of exposure: Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Yet it's hard to think of a time when U.S. government dealings have been less subject to scrutiny.” – New York Times

Junkie: Least readers forget, Republicans killed attempts in Congress to provide specific criminal sanctions for war profiteers.

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