Covert Black Ops: How to Create More Enemies

Especially when not overseen nor carried out by Military/Intelligence Personal but outside the Military and it's Chain of Command as well as UCMJ and International/National Laws by Private Government Contractors!

Dec. 3: Rachel Maddow is joined by Jeremy Scahill whose cover story in The Nation magazine is about U.S. contractors working in Afghanistan, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince's roots in the CIA.

The Secret US War in Pakistan

The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware of its existence.

Snip

The military intelligence source says that the drone strike that reportedly killed Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, his wife and his bodyguards in Waziristan in August was a CIA strike, but that many others attributed in media reports to the CIA are actually JSOC strikes. "Some of these strikes are attributed to OGA [Other Government Agency, intelligence parlance for the CIA], but in reality it's JSOC and their parallel program of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] because they also have access to UAVs. So when you see some of these hits, especially the ones with high civilian casualties, those are almost always JSOC strikes." The Pentagon has stated bluntly, "There are no US military strike operations being conducted in Pakistan."

Snip

The military intelligence source also confirmed that Blackwater continues to work for the CIA on its drone bombing program in Pakistan, as previously reported in the New York Times, but added that Blackwater is working on JSOC's drone bombings as well. "It's Blackwater running the program for both CIA and JSOC," said the source. When civilians are killed, "people go, 'Oh, it's the CIA doing crazy shit again unchecked.' Well, at least 50 percent of the time, that's JSOC [hitting] somebody they've identified through HUMINT [human intelligence] or they've culled the intelligence themselves or it's been shared with them and they take that person out and that's how it works."

The military intelligence source says that the CIA operations are subject to Congressional oversight, unlike the parallel JSOC bombings. "Targeted killings are not the most popular thing in town right now and the CIA knows that," he says. "Contractors and especially JSOC personnel working under a classified mandate are not [overseen by Congress], so they just don't care. If there's one person they're going after and there's thirty-four people in the building, thirty-five people are going to die. That's the mentality." He added, "They're not accountable to anybody and they know that. It's an open secret, but what are you going to do, shut down JSOC?"...>>>>>

Why they hate us: How many Muslims has the U.S. killed in the past 30 years?

Tom Friedman had an especially fatuous column in Sunday's New York Times, which is saying something given his well-established capacity for smug self-assurance. According to Friedman, the big challenge we face in the Arab and Islamic world is "the Narrative" -- his patronizing term for Muslim views about America's supposedly negative role in the region. If Muslims weren't so irrational, he thinks, they would recognize that "U.S. foreign policy has been largely dedicated to rescuing Muslims or trying to help free them from tyranny." He concedes that we made a few mistakes here and there (such as at Abu Ghraib), but the real problem is all those anti-American fairy tales that Muslims tell each other to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions.

I heard a different take on this subject at a recent conference on U.S. relations with the Islamic world. In addition to hearing a diverse set of views from different Islamic countries, one of the other participants (a prominent English journalist) put it quite simply. "If the United States wants to improve its image in the Islamic world," he said, "it should stop killing Muslims."

Snip

Contrary to what Friedman thinks, our real problem isn't a fictitious Muslim "narrative" about America's role in the region; it is mostly the actual things we have been doing in recent years. To say that in no way justifies anti-American terrorism or absolves other societies of responsibility for their own mistakes or misdeeds. But the self-righteousness on display in Friedman's op-ed isn't just simplistic; it is actively harmful. Why? Because whitewashing our own misconduct makes it harder for Americans to figure out why their country is so unpopular and makes us less likely to consider different (and more effective) approaches...>>>>

Innocent civilians killed, especially in large numbers, all have relatives, friends and regional ties to their countries and neighbors, who survive them many being younger children or young adults, does anyone think they just say "Oh well it was a mistake and we forgive!!", would you!

As well as these types of policies, silent or known, have grave 'blowback' on not only Military personal, in the occupied theater of operations, but also civilians anywhere from criminal terrorist actions!

What Is So Patriotic About Hysteria?

The loudest voices on the right never tire of telling us that they are the truest patriots. They claim to be the deepest believers in our system, the strongest defenders of our Constitution, the most upbeat, bold and courageous Americans anywhere. But now that the government is finally prepared to put the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on trial, these same patriots are the first to spread doubt, instigate anxiety and abandon constitutional principles.

When did fear-mongering in a time of war become an act of patriotism?...>>>>>

GWU Edu. NSA: The CIA's Vietnam Histories

On the heals of What were they hiding? concerning the torture policies of the cheney/bush administration/CIA/Private Contractors/Military, the George Washington University National Security Archives brings a slew of documents on the CIA and Vietnam conflict years, before our invasion, during and after.

The CIA's close relationship with Ngo Dinh Nhu, chief political adviser to his brother President Ngo Dinh Diem, is demonstrated by the presence of CIA officer Paul Harwood and his spouse at the confirmation ceremony for the Nhu's daughter Le Thuy. From left: Ngo Dinh Nhu, Mrs. Paul Harwood, Le Thuy, Bishop Ngo Dinh Thu, with Nhu's son Qunh, son Trac, {CIA officer} Paul Harwood, Madam Nhu." {Source, The CIA and the House of Ngo, p. 26}

The CIA's Vietnam Histories

Newly-Declassified CIA Histories Show Its Involvement in Every Aspect of the Indochina War

Washington, D.C., August 26, 2009 - The Central Intelligence Agency participated in every aspect of the wars in Indochina, political and military, according to newly declassified CIA histories. The six volumes of formerly secret histories (the Agency's belated response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by National Security Archive senior fellow John Prados) document CIA activities in South and North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in unprecedented detail. The histories contain a great deal of new material and shed light on aspects of the CIA's work that were not well known or were poorly understood. The new revelations include: {Link brings you the rest, to the brief descriptions and documents links.}

On the right side you'll find a description titled: "A TALE OF OBSESSIVE SECRECY" starting with,

Before addressing the substance in the new CIA histories it will be useful to pause and consider what this case also shows about the U.S. Government's broken system for declassifying and releasing records. In actuality, this CIA release was not at all a voluntary contribution to American history, but was compelled by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Filed in 1992, that FOIA request may be the longest running case in the CIA's files, and its treatment shines a blinding light on how the agency handles its statutory duty to release records.........................

That you might want to read the rest of.

It continues with a brief synopsis of John Prados book on Vietnam Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945-1975

The CIA's Vietnam Story

The Central Intelligence Agency's Vietnam war history actually begins in 1950, when agency officers moved to French Indochina as part of the United States legation in Saigon. During the French war in Indochina the CIA's involvement grew to encompass a base in Hanoi but not much more, since the French did not encourage CIA activity. The French tamped down further after an incident in which CIA officers were revealed as reaching past them to open channels to Vietnamese nationalists. When the lands of Indochina—Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia—became independent "associated states" the CIA expanded its activity somewhat, and during the last year of the French war, 1953-1954, agency involvement grew considerably as the French were obliged to accept U.S. assistance with unconventional warfare activities as a condition of expanded military aid from the Eisenhower administration, and with the use of CIA proprietary aircraft of Civil Air Transport (later Air America) in Laos and at Dien Bien Phu.......................

Between the Torture documents and reports, still coming in, and this new addition on the CIA's involvement in Vietnam, for years, there is a whole host of information to absorb. But their archives don't stop with these, they've been researching and archiving a whole host of issues, especially on National Security for a long time, and will be adding much more, so explore.

After our failed policies concerning Vietnam it will be more then interesting to one day read of the lead up to our numerous failed policies in the regions of Afghanistan, support and supplying the Mujahadeen then walking away, and Iraq. Especially concerning Iraq and our connections, through the CIA and more, with Saddam's reign leading up to and including the First Gulf War then to Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF, and continuing, along with 9/11 and Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF! Maybe they won't trickle out many years later, hopefully for the rest of the World we'll get the facts and truth much earlier, but us 'Nam Vets will probably mostly be long gone.

Lets hope that what this Country, if it still exists, didn't learn from 'Nam, it will Finally absorb from these times, OEF and OIF, and stop the few from pushing for these War and Occupations, of others, Of Choice! But unlike 'Nam, these times will bring blowback on our country and citizens!

How much security did $1 trillion buy?

I'm not going to add anything, I've been saying what this video, and the series Robert Greenwald is putting together for eight damn years, and I haven't been alone!!

Rethink Afghanistan (Part 6): Security

FORWARD THIS VIDEO TO 5 FRIENDS!

The war in Afghanistan is increasing the likelihood that American civilians will be killed in a future terrorist attack.

Part 6 of Rethink Afghanistan, Security, brings you three former high-ranking CIA agents to explain why.

There is no "victory" to be won in Afghanistan. It is the most important video about U.S. Security today.

Become a Rethink Afghanistan Producer

8.19.09

6 More Soldiers KILLED!!

6 US troops die in Afghanistan ahead of election

The U.S. military said Wednesday six American troops were killed in Afghanistan, as militants killed six election workers amid growing fears on the eve of the presidential election that insurgents would mar the vote.

Two troops were killed in gunfire in the south on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, while a third was killed in an unspecified hostile attack. The U.S. also said a roadside bomb Tuesday in the south killed two troops, while another died of noncombat-related injuries. No other details were released.

The deaths bring to at least 32 the number of American troops killed in the country this month, a record pace................

Our Dirty Little Secrets

Brazil Conspired with U.S. to Overthrow Allende

Declassified U.S. Documents Show Richard Nixon and Brazilian President Emilio Médici Discussed Coordinated Intervention in Chile, Cuba, and other Latin American nations "to prevent new Allendes and Castros"

Secret Back Channel established between Presidents

Brazilian General Accused U.S. of Asking Brazil to "do its dirty work"

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 282

Posted - August 16, 2009

In December 1971, President Richard Nixon and Brazilian President Emilio Garrastazú Médici discussed Brazil’s role in efforts to overthrow the elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile, formerly Top Secret records posted by the National Security Archive today reveal. According to a declassified memorandum of conversation, Nixon asked Médici whether the Chilean military was capable of overthrowing Allende. “He felt that they were…,” Médici replied, “and made clear that Brazil was working toward this end.”

The Top Secret “memcon” of the December 9, 1971, Oval Office meeting indicates that Nixon offered his approval and support for Brazil’s intervention in Chile. “The President said that it was very important that Brazil and the United States work closely in this field. We could not take direction but if the Brazilians felt that there was something we could do to be helpful in this area, he would like President Médici to let him know. If money were required or other discreet aid, we might be able to make it available. This should be held in the greatest confidence.”

The U.S. and Brazil, Nixon told Médici, “must try and prevent new Allendes and Castros and try where possible to reverse these trends.”..................Rest Here

ceney/bush Quit al Qaeda Hunt

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And now Liz Cheney has been coming out trying to explain this potential illegal issue and misuse of executive power. Now that she opened her mouth, prior to today, about this issue, It Would Behoove Us To Add Her Name To Any Investigation!

What did daddy's little girl know, she was trying to explain it yesterday, especially not being an employee of nor attached to the CIA, and when did she know it, and if she knows enough to be the spokesperson for this then why does she know Anything while our Representatives don't and it took a few months later before the new Director of the CIA found out, is she Now playing the dangerous coverup game and thus another possible witness to a possible crime against our Laws!!!!

July 14, 1958 in Iraq-CIA-U.S.

A group of Iraqi army officers staged a coup in Iraq and overthrew the monarchy of King Faisal II (who had ascended to the throne at age four). The new government, led by Abdul Karim el Qasim, was ousted in 1963 by a coup helped by the CIA and led by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party—later dominated by Saddam Hussein.

Saddam Hussein: whom we knew as a brutal street thug, connected to the right family, U.S. ideology of the time, and more importantly, for him, connected to the right people in the U.S. and CIA!

1958: Coup in Iraq sparks jitters in Middle East
A group of Iraqi army officers have staged a coup in Iraq and overthrown the monarchy.

Baghdad Radio announced the Army has liberated the Iraqi people from domination by a corrupt group put in power by "imperialism".

From now on Iraq would be a republic that would "maintain ties with other Arab countries". It said some 12,000 Iraqi troops based in neighboring Jordan have been ordered to return................

And how does a certain, important even then, Iraqi resource play into this coup:

While Iraqis are celebrating on the streets of Baghdad, the news is a cause for concern for western powers worried about their oil interests and instability in the region.

And in those days in the history of the World it was cold, as in cold war mentality.

Officials in Washington fear the Iraqi coup will mean the end of the Baghdad Pact whose members include Turkey, Persia and Pakistan. It was intended to stem the influence of the Soviet Union in the region.

There are fears the Iraq coup will have a domino effect and that the pro-Western oil regimes of Kuwait, Bahrain and the Trucial States may fall to Arab nationalists.

And the CIA, with one Saddam Hussein on the payroll, took it from there:

Iraq's coup leader and prime minister, Abdul Karim el Qasim, was ousted and killed in 1963 in a coup led by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

And as they say, "The rest is History!", or some would now say, "The history that was is our present!".

New Evidence on Bush Administration

New Evidence that Bush Administration Impeded 3 Investigations into Alleged Massacre of Up to 2,000 Prisoners in Afghanistan

July 10, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Human rights group that discovered the mass grave and sued for release of government documents is available for comment.

Cambridge, MA-Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has issued a call for a criminal probe in the wake of a major New York Times story with new evidence that the Bush Administration impeded at least three federal investigations into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan in 2002.

PHR is calling for the Department of Justice to investigate why the Bush Administration impeded an FBI criminal probe of the alleged Dasht-e-Leili massacre.......Rest of Press Release Here with more back links.

TORTURE:

BLACK EYE FOR THE RED WHITE AND BLUE

Interrogation used to be an art taught to the "best and brightest." The CIA even has an interrogation manual called KUBARK, long on the internet (google it) showing how to classify "subjects" and get them to spill their guts. Most of the methods are psychological and those with the most to tell, respond to psychological ploys much better than being beaten.

Really tough people will lie to you for years. If nobody has noticed, we are fighting really tough people. Intelligence is only "timely" for 48 hours or as soon as your enemy knows you have someone who can put them in danger. They move, they hide, they cover their tracks. This game is 4000 years old and will never end. >>>>>>Read More

Much more than a "Blackeye", Much Much More!!

Boehner didn't always defend CIA

Boehner: “Either I don’t have confidence in what they told me several months ago or I don’t have confidence in what they’re telling me today.”

EXCLUSIVE: Documents

Describe Prisoner Abuse Photos Obama is Withholding

U.S. Army soldiers in Afghanistan took dozens of pictures of their colleagues pointing assault rifles and pistols at the heads and backs of hooded and bound detainees and another photograph showed two male soldiers and one female solider pointing a broom to one detainee “as if I was sticking the end of a broom stick into [his] rectum,” according to the female soldier’s account as told to an Army criminal investigator.........

Becoming What We Seek to Destroy

We are morally no different from the psychopaths within the Taliban, who Afghans remember we empowered, funded and armed during the 10-year war with the Soviet Union. Acid thrown a girl’s face or beheadings? Death delivered from the air or fields of shiny cluster bombs? This is the language of war. It is what we speak. It is what those we fight speak............

Iraqis shrug off concerns over photos of U.S. abuse

While President Barack Obama argues that releasing photos of U.S. soldiers abusing detainees could incite violence against American troops abroad, a prominent Iraqi leader called for their publication and others cast doubt on the U.S. administration's warnings.

And why, you may ask, because the Blowback on the soldiers already occurred well before We Here Even Heard Or Saw, the loss of stature and in most cases the believability of what we say or do is already gone! That was just One of the Defeats of what one Must Do after Invading, "Winning Hearts and Minds!!"

"Nothing would happen," he said. "This is a very old issue, and we Iraqis have seen much worse than just photos."

This isn't about politics, nor is it only about Iraq and Afghanistan, though we owe much more than Apologies, this is about Who and What we really are as a Country!! Not just catch phrase words and condemnation of others, it's about our Soul and Standing on this Planet of Nations!!

VVA, et al vs CIA, et al - Edgewood Testvets

Morrison & Foerster Files Suit Against CIA, DoD, and U.S. Army on Behalf of Troops Exposed to Testing of Chemical and Biological Weapons at Edgewood Arsenal and Other Top Secret Sites

Press Release: 01/07/2009

What: Complaint Filed—Vietnam Veterans of America, et al. v. CIA, et al.

Where: United States District Court, Northern District of California

SAN FRANCISCO (January 7, 2009) – Attorneys at Morrison & Foerster LLP have filed an unprecedented action against the Defense Department, the CIA, and other government institutions based upon failures to care for those veterans who “volunteered” in thousands of secret experiments to test toxic chemical and biological substances under code names such as MKULTRA. The new case comes on the heels of an earlier case the firm filed on behalf of veterans afflicted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”), which is now pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The firm is handling both cases on a pro bono basis.

The current action was brought in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans of America and six aging veterans with multiple diseases and ailments tied to a diabolical and secret testing program, whereby U.S. military personnel were deliberately exposed, by government and military agencies, to chemical and biological weapons and other toxins without informed consent. This multifaceted research program, which was launched in the early 1950s and continued through at least 1976, was conducted not only at the Edgewood Arsenal and Fort Detrick, Maryland, but also across America by universities and hospitals under contract to Defendants.

Defendants include the CIA, the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense (“DoD”), and various government officials responsible for these agencies. The CIA secretly provided financing, personnel, and direction for the experiments, which were mainly conducted or contracted by the Army.

Read Rest Here as Well as Contact Information

The complaint can be viewed at Vietnam Veterans of America, et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency, et al..

35 Years After Original 9/11

I'm going to steal a part of Peter Kornbluh's title, above, from his Huffington Post Report about this, also a cut from him:

When Henry Kissinger began secretly taping all of his phone conversations in 1969, little did he know that he was giving history the gift that keeps on giving. Now, on the 35th anniversary of the September 11, 1973, CIA-backed military coup in Chile, phone transcripts that Kissinger made of his talks with President Nixon and the CIA chief among other top government officials reveal in the most candid of language the imperial mindset of the Nixon administration as it began plotting to overthrow President Salvador Allende, the world's first democratically elected Socialist. "We will not let Chile go down the drain," Kissinger told CIA director Richard Helms in a phone call following Allende's narrow election on September 4, 1970, according to a recently declassified transcript. "I am with you," Helms responded.

Go over and read his post it will give insight into this:

NEW KISSINGER ‘TELCONS’ REVEAL CHILE PLOTTING
AT HIGHEST LEVELS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT

Nixon Vetoed Proposed Coexistence with an Allende Government
Kissinger to the CIA: “We will not let Chile go down the drain.”

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 255

Posted - September 10, 2008

A snippet of our past of which is only part of the circle that keeps going round and round, repeating but with different players added to the old players:

Washington D.C., September 10, 2008 - On the eve of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the military coup in Chile, the National Security Archive today published for the first time formerly secret transcripts of Henry Kissinger’s telephone conversations that set in motion a massive U.S. effort to overthrow the newly-elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. “We will not let Chile go down the drain,” Kissinger told CIA director Richard Helms in one phone call. “I am with you,” the September 12, 1970 transcript records Helms responding.

The telephone call transcripts—known as ‘telcons’—include previously-unreported conversations between Kissinger and President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State William Rogers. Just eight days after Allende's election, Kissinger informed the president that the State Department had recommended an approach to “see what we can work out [with Allende].” Nixon responded by instructing Kissinger: “Don’t let them do it.”

Click on the link above to read more, and while over there check out their other reports, they've had a couple of others this week, like this:

National Security Archive and Historians Secure Long Secret Rosenberg Grand Jury Testimony

With historic government release of new papers, atomic bomb spy story will require some rewriting
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

More than 50 years after the historic but controversial execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were convicted of atomic espionage, the U.S. government this Thursday, September 11, is expected to make public long shrouded grand jury testimony from its prosecution of the Rosenbergs, which will be the subject of a press briefing on September 11, 2008.

As well as this and apparently how some get gather their idea's on power and control:

ARCHIVE EXPERT TESTIFIES IN FUJIMORI TRIAL

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 256
September 9, 2008

Lima, Perú (September 8, 2008) – National Security Archive Senior Analyst Kate Doyle testified yesterday before Peru’s Special Tribunal of the Supreme Court of Justice in the case against former-president Alberto Fujimori. Doyle provided expert testimony, explaining how 21 declassified U.S. documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provide illuminating information on human rights abuses carried out under the Fujimori government (1990-2000)

The 21 documents, produced by the U.S. Embassy in Lima, describe how the Fujimori government tried to hide the involvement of government security forces in human rights crimes. Doyle emphasized that, “over time, and after years of study, the declassified documents produced by the U.S. Embassy reveal that the extra-legal operations were a part of official state policy and not a result rogue elements out of control of the military, police or intelligence services.”

Studies of history can and do open the doors to a clearer view of the presents as we are flawed beings who never really learn from our mistakes but some will feel they can do them better for the same gains sought originally.

It Was Top Down, Stupid (And I Shall Add 'Criminal Terrorism'!)

The Bush administration's "bad apples" theory goes sour.

When the Abu Ghraib scandal hit in the summer of 2004, two of the administration's most senior lawyers—White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and the Defense Department's General Counsel Jim Haynes—stood before the world's media and laid out the official explanation for newly aggressive interrogation within the U.S. military: It was the result of a bottom-up request from an aggressive combatant commander at Guantanamo; it was implemented within the law and on the basis of careful legal advice; and it produced useful and important results. These new techniques had been essential in getting vital security information from men they labeled "the worst of the worst."

Read the rest Here


Newt the Impaler

"Vlad" Gingrich is molesting the Constitution in the name of national security again. This time he's on a tirade about the recent Supreme Court decision that grants prisoners held at young Mr. Bush's pleasure in Guantanamo the right to a habeas corpus hearing.

Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes at Pen and Sword, Jeff's novel Bathtub Admirals

Read the rest Here


Clear Evidence of War Crimes: Stern Letters to Come?

After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.

Maj. General Antonio Taguba (Ret.), who led the Army’s 2004 investigation into the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib. (From the foreword of Broken Laws, Broken Lives).US Army Report of Abuse of Prisoners In Iraq

Read the rest Here


WaPo: General Accuses WH of War Crimes (Update x2)

The story is blowing up, since AP published its story at midnight Eastern last night, and our own MeteorBlades became the first blogger to cover the breaking news. PHR's report was briefly featured as the top story on CNN's homepage this morning. CNN's "Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" aired additional coverage from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr tonight during the 5:00 p.m. Eastern time slot.

Read the rest Here


CIA Gave Torture Tips to Pentagon

Senior spook: "If the detainee dies, you're doing it wrong."

Read the rest Here


Blackwater is Still in Charge, Deadly, Above the Law and Out of Control

Think Blackwater's days are numbered? Think again. Jeremy Scahill explains why its slaughter of Iraqis has not stopped the notorious mercenary firm.

Jeremy Scahill's bestselling book: Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

Read the rest Here


We are a nation that likes to pride itself on truth, justice, freedom and humanity. {NO MORE!}

Tell the world: My America Doesn't Torture!

Dallas Morning News breaks US MSM silence on Sibel Edmonds

Philip Giraldi: FBI whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds has spilled her secrets. Why is her story being covered up?

The Dallas Morning news published an adapted version of a longer article by former CIA officer Philip Giraldi- commenting on Sibel Edmonds' case and the failure of the US mainstream media to cover the news that FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, "the most gagged person in US history" according to the ACLU, is now risking prison to share her story.

read more | digg story

Thanks For The Memories....

A Quick History Of Saddam....

As Eric, of bushflash, made awhile back, he's even brought it up on his home page top post:

Thanks For The Memories

Vietnam, LSD and Reds:

This could be a Wealth of information, especially if any of the players of the Extremely Failed Policies of today were involved, and I'm sure Many Were!!

US Opens 25-year-old Files on State Secrets

Published on Friday, December 22, 2006 by the Guardian / UK

by Suzanne Goldenberg

Some secrets, it turns out, are too old or too big to keep - even for the Bush administration, which has made a crusade of rooting out leaks and clamping down on information on the inner workings of government.

In the new year, the CIA, FBI, state department and more than 80 other government agencies that handle state secrets will declassify hundreds of millions of pages of documents under a new policy that institutes an automatic release of material after 25 years.

Within those documents lie the most turbulent episodes of the 20th century: the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Vietnam war, the CIA's unauthorised experiments with LSD and its internal thinking on a raft of investigations into coups and assassinations overseas, and the FBI's hunt for communist sympathisers on US soil.

The release, awaited by scholars and journalists, goes against the grain for the president, George Bush, and the vice-president, Dick Cheney, who has argued that the disclosure of information from the White House erodes presidential power.

The decision to release documents after 25 years was made in 1995 under President Bill Clinton, although the Bush administration managed to delay it. "I was pleasantly surprised," said Steven Aftergood, who runs a project on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists. "I could have easily imagined this administration saying: 'Oh, no we can't possibly adopt an automatic declassification policy. That will only assist the terrorists'."

Until now, material could remain secret indefinitely unless researchers lodged a specific request under freedom of information regulations. But declassification does not guarantee documents will be made public. Government agencies can withhold them on privacy grounds, to protect an intelligence source, or to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation.

The FBI has been notoriously stringent about exercising that prerogative, refusing to release documents on the assassination in Washington of the Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier by agents of the Pinochet regime on the grounds that investigators were still pursuing leads.

However, advocates of greater government accountability say an automatic release of documents remains an important step forward.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006

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