The Third Iraq War, Terrorism, and Common Sense

Let's set aside the U.S. Constitution for the time being.  Instead, let us view the current war situation from the standpoint of common sense...simple logic.  Query:  why would anyone believe any of the following to be true???

1.  The U.S. Gov't has been training and advising the Iraqi Army and security forces for about TEN years; therefore, we now need to train and advise the Iraqi Army and security forces.  [Ditto Afghanistan.]

2.  One way to defeat terrorism is to invade Muslim countries and bomb the hell out of them, thus further inflaming Muslim fanatics.  That is to our advantage.

3.  Another way to defeat terrorism is to launch weaponized drones into countries not at war with us and kill SUSPECTS.  Any collateral damage sustained will not further inflame either terrorists or non-terrorists.  They simply will accept it as, "oh well, that's war".  There will be no repercussions or Blowback.

4.  When we attack a faction [ISIS, for example] in a civil war [for which our destabilization of Iraq was partly responsible] BEFORE they attack or even threaten the U.S., we should not expect any retaliation on their part.  After all, they are "terrorists"...we are not.

5.  When we utilize inhumane practices such as "extraordinary rendition" and "enhanced interrogation", we should not expect that Muslim fanatics will retaliate in any way...or that any innocent people caught up in those abominations will become extremists.

6.  Because criminal extremists ignore borders, we can as well.  That's perfectly reasonable.

7.  "There will be no American combat ground troops in Iraq."  [He's giving us his word on that... and given the man's history with keeping his word, we should believe him.  Even if Obama is sincere & telling what he believes to be the truth, there is no way on Earth that he can know what may be required for that war in the future.]

8.  Another way to defeat terrorism is to intervene in civil wars.

9.  Another way to defeat terrorism is to kill the Head Honcho (Osama) of the extremists and then dump his body at sea.  There should be no Blowback from that.

10.  Another way to defeat terrorism is to maintain Army, Navy, and/or Air Force bases in Muslim countries... the very thing that Osama said was his reason for launching a terrorist campaign.

11.  Moving the U.S. Headquarters for the Third Iraq War from the Pentagon to the State Department shows that we are interested in more than just a military solution.

12.  ISIS was not responsible for 9-11; nevertheless, they are so similar to Al Qaida that we are justified in attacking them... and we can use the same "authorization" that we used about TEN+ years ago.  [There are no separate wars anymore...it's all one big, continuous war.]

13.  After we "defeat" ISIS, they won't simply fade back into the woodwork... to reappear later.  The military option really is the best primary method to crush Muslim terrorists.

14.  We can do it with no American combat troops on the ground.  Airstrikes and supporting the "moderate" rebels in Syria will suffice.  [These are the same "moderates" who recently beheaded six of their captives, and previous to that, sold a now-murdered journalist to ISIS for about $50,000.  No worries that they will be our allies.]

15.  All of this has absolutely nothing to do with access to oil or the estimated one trillion dollars worth of mineral resources (some of which are becoming very scarce in the world) beneath the ground in Afghanistan.  Nothing at all to do with any of that.  Your Gov't doesn't lie about such things.

Again, why would anyone believe any of that to be true?

Be Well

Muslims, Governments, War, and the Oligarchy

Below is my response to a dear friend of mine who sent me an anonymous "broadcast" type email.  That email was about how Muslims seem to be happy only in non-Muslim countries, and totally unhappy in Muslim countries.  The author laced the piece with numerous bits of sarcastic humor as to why that was [supposedly] true in each case.  Even though it was ridiculous, my bizarre sense of humor did find it funny.  My response---

That is funny!  On the serious side, here's why they're "happy" in non-Muslim countries---

The U.S. Gov't (& often the U.K. Gov't as well) is not bombing them in non-Muslim countries.  Their beloved grandmothers are not being blown to bits by a drone strike in non-Muslim countries, like they are in a country that's not even at war with the USA (Pakistan).  I've seen numerous interviews on Democracy Now with Pakistani victims and/or bystanders whose relatives have been killed by drone strikes.  Your tax dollars have killed over 1400 innocent civilians in Pakistan alone.  

The so-called "War on Terror" (a term not even used anymore) could easily be over--- all the Fed Gov't would have to do is pull out of Muslim countries, stop bombing them, stop attacking SUSPECTS with drone strikes, stop supporting Muslim dictatorships (like Egypt & Saudi Arabia), and let the proper agencies handle any further terrorist incidents---law enforcement agencies.  Soldiers are not trained to be cops, & shouldn't be expected to do that job.

It's a myth that most Muslims are trying to take over the world...propaganda put out by Oligarchs.  The tiny radical element in Islam that might be trying that has been trying for about 1400 yrs.  Apparently they aren't very good at it.  The Oligarchy will never let them succeed.  They don't have a prayer (no pun intended:).

The Oligarchs in the USA and their wholly owned subsidiary, the Fed Gov't, use the Muslim thing simply to keep Perpetual War going.  It's good for BIG Business (less than 1% of Business), and it keeps the "bewildered herd", the "little people", and the "ignorant masses" (what Oligarchs refer to the rest of us as) under control.

You don't really believe that some average joe or jane sat around & composed that piece, do you?  I admit, it's certainly possible that happened, but it's more likely that is propaganda concocted by some subgroup working for some "Public Relations" firm that was hired by some "Nonprofit" outfit of Oligarchs, probably all of them in some particular industry.  Just my guess.  The point of it is to keep the "bewildered herd" continually mad at or fed up with (or both) some designated "boogie-man" group.  So, then, when a few fanatics from that overall group blow something up in the name of "The Almighty Whoever", it's easier to convince the "little people" or "ignorant masses" that the U.S. must spend military blood, and treasure we don't have, on bombing some country and killing hundreds of thousands of their sovereign citizens.  No wonder the Muslims are pissed off AND want to live in Western countries.

Our biggest Arab ally in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia (a dictatorship), sponsors the most radical, fundamentalist, fanatic sect of Islam in the world (Wahhabism, the Wahhabi Sect) as a State Religion.  The Wahhabis spread their extremism all around the globe.  Ask yourself why our Fed Gov't has the Saudis as an ally.  The answer is much more than oil...or business ties to the Bush family.

Once again, none of the above is any kind of "conspiracy".

Partly just my opinion.  Be Well

Obama---King of the Drone Strikes

As reported by Karim Kahn's attorney on Democracy Now, about 1400 innocent people have been killed in Pakistan by U. S. Fed Gov't drone strikes.  A few years ago, Kahn's brother and son were killed in just that way.  He became an activist (wouldn't you?) and launched a couple of lawsuits against both the U.S. and Pakistani Gov'ts.  Just recently, he was abducted, hooded, taken to a basement cell somewhere, beaten, and tortured by masked men.  They "interrogated" him about terrorism.  After nine days of that, he was released.

Other victims (on the broadcast) told of watching their grandmothers, sons, daughters, and other family/friends literally blown to pieces by Hellfire missles from drones... basically right in front of their eyes.  Some of the witnesses were injured as well.  You won't see those stories on the Corporate Media news; they're too busy reporting on the weather...for anywhere from one-third to up to two-thirds of their whopping 15-17 minute broadcasts.  [Yes, the weather can be important; but, it can be covered in two minutes.]  Democracy Now reports significant news...for an hour.

According to the rules laid out in the Constitution of the United States of America, which NO LAW over-rides, we are not currently at war---not in Pakistan, Waziristan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Colombia, or anywhere else.  So presently, in terms of killing people without a trial, the only Constitutional justification for that is Letters of Marque and Reprisal.  Those are permitted by the Constitution.  Legally though, those cannot originate from Obama (or any President); they can be issued only by CONGRESS.  Whether anyone likes it or not, that means we have (at the highest levels) an Outlaw Fed Gov't.  Obama is ordering drone strikes and JSOC incursions (assassinating suspects) at a level higher than any President in our history...and it's all unconstitutional.  That makes it beyond ironic that he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

The Drone Strikers and JSOC Assassins don't even know for certain if they're getting the right people.  The victims are suspects.  That's not taking into account the ones who are later found to be totally innocent victims (not even suspects)---wrong place, wrong time---hundreds of them, perhaps thousands.  Obama recently lied in a speech in which he claimed that the drone strikes were so targeted, so precise that there was very little chance of innocent bystanders being injured or killed...shades of Rumsfeld pontificating on the strikes in Iraq, another falsehood.  There are too many witnesses in Pakistan and Waziristan who contradict him.  The illegal manner in which suspects are killed by drones is somewhat akin to a person shooting an RPG round into a house filled with people...in order to kill an ant.  The whole business is shameful.  Not too long ago, a long-time Drone Operator quit because he believed the Constitution was being violated relative to permitted uses of the military...he was absolutely correct.  He also had great concerns over how suspects were being identified...largely by NSA metadata and cell phone tracking.  I guess the CIA and the military have never heard of cell phones being stolen, or lost, or borrowed, or loaned out, or left "on" when discarded.

We have been propagandized and bamboozled.  The "War on Terrorism" is not a legal war; fighting terrorism is a Law Enforcement issue, not a military action issue.  Our Constitution is being ignored every single day...never mind common sense, morality, ethics, and justice.  Relative to "war", this dismissing of the Supreme Law of the Land has been going on for decades.  Because of that, many (perhaps most) Americans think that we legally are at "war" with someone.  It's a lie, and a blatant one.  It's pure, unadulterated propaganda...and it has a long history.

Every Obama-ordered drone strike or JSOC incursion is unconstitutional.  We are not legally at war, and as far as I know, Congress has issued no assassination orders.  The War Powers Act does not trump the Supreme Law of the Land, nor does the PATRIOT Act, or any other law.  As Commander-in-Chief, any President is constrained by Constitutional use of the military.  Read that document---find out specifically what the military can be used for---there are only THREE legal uses permitted.  That can be changed by Constitutional Amendment...but there has been no such Amendment.  Furthermore, at the risk of beating a dead horse--- NO LAW TRUMPS THE CONSTITUTION.  [Only a Treaty can do that, so beware of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade Agreement, both of which are being promoted by Corporatist Obama...and many, many other Democrats and Republicans.  All at the behest of the Oligarchy...and as I've said over & over, it's not any kind of "conspiracy".  It's almost completely out in the open; that includes the promotion of "war".]

With these unconstitutional drone strikes and JSOC incursions, we're making more and more enemies around the world.  Never mind the illegal gathering of bulk data by the NSA.  Never mind the fact that FBI Agents now can write their own warrants...no due process needed.  Never mind the fact that we're holding suspects for years & years with no charges, no trial, and little hope.  Never mind the insanity of having hundreds and hundreds (900 was the last report I saw) of American military bases around the world.  All of the above are making us less safe, less free. and more despised.  It breaks my heart to see my once-respected country go down this Corporatist, Fascist path.

Partly just my opinion...and that of many, many others.
Be Well

More of the NSA Nightmare

I doubt that you'll hear about this on the prostitute Corporate Media broadcasts.  The whistleblower Jacob Appelbaum, speaking at the Chaos Communications Congress in Germany, revealed that the NSA has some sort of radar wave generator gizmo that allows the agency to view any targeted computer keyboard (and monitor).  In other words, they can see what the person is typing.  So...this should be a good thing relative to the so-called "War on Terror".  The problem is:  what does a person have to do to be considered a potential terrorist by the Fed Gov't?  Answer:  not much.

Some of you may be thinking, well, this has nothing to do with me...I would never be considered a potential terrorist.  Perhaps the following will change your mind.

1.  The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 designates our entire country as a battleground in the "War on Terror".
2.  The NDAA also gives the President the power to, all by himself, declare a national emergency which suspends presumption of innocence, due process, access to an attorney, and trial by jury.  In addition, it gives the President the power to have a potential terrorist executed without a trial...all this in the Land of the Free.
3.  Several writers are considered potential terrorists because they exercised the Natural Right of free speech by writing news stories contrary to the Govt's view of whistleblowing.
4.  Not long ago, the State of Missouri issued a sort of terrorist bulletin to law enforcement which stated that anyone with a Ron Paul bumper sticker should be viewed as a "potential terrorist".  [That was not an action by the Feds, but it shows what's possible.]
5.  Also so designated in that bulletin were "constitutionalists" and "militia members", and anyone associated with them.
6.  According to whistleblowers, the NSA considers anyone who visits certain websites to be a potential terrorist.  In other words, if you read material not approved, you're a potential terrorist.  Worse, anyone associated with you, and anyone associated with them, is considered a potential terrorist.

The Fourth Amendment is deemed by the Fed Gov't to be not relevant to potential terrorists.  The same is true of the Fifth (due process) and Sixth (speedy and public trial) Amendments.  Guilt by association appears to be more important to the Feds.

I love this country, but the Fed Gov't is not this country.  The well respected historian and Bill Clinton's mentor at Georgetown U., Professor Carroll Quigley, wrote this in 1966, "The tragedy is that we no longer have a representative government in this country [or in any country]; the hope is that the little people will accept that, because there is nothing they can do about it."  ~ Quigley, Carroll,  Tragedy and Hope, 1966.  Quigley considered himself to be one of the Oligarchs, thus he referred to Americans in general as the "little people".

All the Oligarchs, including those at the highest levels of our unrepresentative Fed Gov't, consider all of us to be the little people.  We're viewed by the Big Boys & Girls in much the way ranchers view livestock.

Just my opinion.

Part 4: Paying Homage to Gonzo

For decades I've watched politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, flush my beloved country down the drain.  It continues.  Years ago, I believed in the Mainstream Political System, but I was looking only at the surface...& I was drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid, gulping it down.  For the last several years, I've looked beneath the surface and discovered the utter fraud, sham, and tragedy/joke that is American Politics.  The widespread deceit, corruption, and criminality is truly incredible.  Some of it gets reported by the prostitute Corporate Media (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, etc.), but much of it doesn't.  One has to go to other sources.  I'll illustrate, using only one other source.

The following items have been reported just recently on Democracy Now, the War and Peace Report, with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.  Perhaps you saw one or more of these topics on Corporate Media broadcasts, but I'd be willing to bet not.

1.  This year in Iraq there have been over 8,000 deaths as a result of the ongoing civil war there.  That's their highest number of casualties in the last five years.  The Sunnis and Shiites have not stopped killing each other.  Electrical service still is not provided to large parts of that country on a consistent basis.  Corruption in their government appears to be rampant.  [It makes one wonder why it was that our Fed Gov't expended so much of our blood & treasure over there.  Other than lots of big bucks for mega corporations, what did we accomplish?]

2.  Only a short time ago, Obama had millions of dollars of arms sent to the Shiite gov't of Iraq...to help fight the "terrorists".  I'll bet the Arms manufacturers here were very pleased.  Our Fed Gov't fully supports the Shiite government of Iraq...so does Iran's gov't.  I find that somewhat odd.  Basically, our Gov't is taking sides in a foreign civil war, and stoking the fires of that war by helping to arm one side.  A couple of Arab political analysts (in Western dress) found that to be rather bizarre.  I agree.

3.  Just the other day, our Fed Gov't killed four more terrorist SUSPECTS in Pakistan with yet another Drone attack.  This despite the fact that the Pakistani Gov't has told us to stop infringing on the sovereignty of the Pakistani people...by launching Drone attacks.  [You see, when our Gov't commits a crime, it's not a crime.  That only applies to other countries.  As Nixon said in a David Frost interview years ago, "When the President does it, it's not a crime."...I guess that principle still holds in DC today.]  Sorry Pakistan, you don't have any sovereignty; so says the Big Bully U.S. Gov't.

4.  A few days ago, fifteen SUSPECTS were killed in Yemen by a Drone attack.  It turns out that they were merely a wedding party going to a reception.  I imagine that the warmongers in DC will chalk it up to "collateral damage", maybe pay the victims' families a few thousand dollars, and then forget about it.  [This is shameful.  It's both immoral and unethical to go around killing suspects.  Terrorists are not soldiers, they're criminals.  The so-called "War on Terrorism" is not a war at all.  That's propaganda.  If you believe it is a war, please tell me, with which country are we at war?  When soldiers go to war, it's against soldiers from another country.  That's war.  This terrorism situation is a law enforcement issue.]

5.  Former President Bush (Dubya, not Daddy) recently cancelled an overseas trip.  He did so because sixty Human Rights Organizations around the world have been compiling evidence to be used to indict and arrest him for using/approving/ordering the torture of terrorist suspects during his administration.  [It's about time.]  Any such arrest would occur outside of this country, and the country he was going to agreed to give it a go.  [This story is not a spoof; it's true.]  Bush admitted to approving "waterboarding" in his fairly recent book.  Whether or not you agree that suffocating a person to a point just shy of death is torture or not is not relevant.  This is relevant:  every other country in the world believes that waterboarding is torture...even the few countries that do it.  I agree.  The fact that our Gov't did it is shameful and obscene...and UNAMERICAN.  Just because certain criminals are Neanderthal brutes doesn't mean that we should be.

Some of you may disagree with my views above, but that's not the point.  My point here is that I doubt you were aware of those stories if you listen to/watch only the Corporate Media.  Those networks are in league with the Fed Gov't to one degree or another, or in league with the Oligarchs of the mega corporations, or both.  We get only the news they want us to hear.  [Not long ago, CBS reported that for some unknown reason a man set himself on fire in DC, and died.  There was no follow-up story.  I suspect that the act was some sort of protest against either the Fed Gov't or mega corporations, or both.]

Incidentally, my investigator reports that the rumor regarding Ibocaine use in DC appears to be true.  He estimates that somewhere between 90% to 99% of the Fed politicians use the drug.  You may recall from Part 3 of this series that Ibocaine ingestion causes one to lose integrity and become a scumbag.  Don't confuse this drug with Ibogaine, a psychoactive substance that has been very successful in getting many people off heroin, the most addictive drug in the world.  [Ibogaine is probably banned in this country, which makes about as much sense as the ban on industrial hemp...we're the only developed country in the world that prohibits farmers from raising industrial hemp, a crop that is small-farmer-friendly and the products of which could replace many energy-gorging petro-chemical products.]

Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo

The Endless War of All Wars, and Kill Lists

I just finished watching a 2013 documentary, "Dirty Wars", which is about U.S. covert operations in the so-called "War on Terrorism".  The film is by Jeremy Scahill, the guy who broke the story of abuses in Iraq by the private security company formerly known as Blackwater.  This is an excellent film.

In previous blogs, I've lamented the fact that our Outlaw Fed Gov't (those at the highest levels) orders the murder of terrorist SUSPECTS.  One of those was an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki (or perhaps more accurately, -Aulaqi).  Scahill points out that two weeks after Awlaki's murder, our Gov't killed another American citizen in another targeted assassination---Awlaki's 16-year-old son.  Gov't spokesmen claimed that the son's death was not intentional, but rather "collateral damage".  Perhaps...perhaps not.  Perhaps it was a weird type of "pre-emptive strike" because the Powers-That-Be were worried about what the kid might do in the future.  [The entire concept of pre-emptive strikes is atrocious; it's naked aggression while claiming to know the Future.]

The U.S. Constitution DOES permit targeted assassinations through the mechanism of "Letters of Marque and Reprisal".  Here's the catch, however---and this is crucial--- Letters of Marque and Reprisal can be issued only by the U.S. Congress, not by the Executive Branch.  So once again, our Fed Gov't (in this case, the President) is violating the Supreme Law of the Land.  My guess is that the justification for the President marking those suspects to be killed is some "law" or another.  So again, I'll point out that no law supercedes the Constitution...not the War Powers Act, or any other law.

Our Gov't now is engaged in a whole series of undeclared "wars" and is doing so in blatant violation of the Constitution.  We've attained the Machiavellian concept of Perpetual War, a tool used by rulers throughout History to maintain power and control the citizenry.  Very little of this is about "safety"; most of it is about Empire and money.  Neocolonialism, Oligarchy, nonparticipatory democracy, power, mega transnational business, Edward Bernays-style propaganda, and money for the super-rich are all the order of the day.  All adult Americans should be thoroughly ashamed.

Just my opinion.  Be Well

A Few Examples of "Government-Speak"

To "annex" or "annexation" (as in the annexation of Hawaii)---  means to steal  land from indigenous people by armed force, intimidation, or both.

"Enhanced interrogation techniques"---  means torture.

"Extraordinary rendition"---  means the clandestine kidnapping of suspects, with no regard for due process, and then rendering them overseas for enhanced interrogation techniques.

"Federal Reserve Bank"---  means a cabal of privately owned banks that, by means of Legislative Absolutism via their political cronies, has co-opted the Constitutional duty of Congress to regulate the value of our money.  It exists because of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, a "law" which amended the Constitution without doing so formally.  In other words, it took precedence over the Supreme Law of the Land.  Quite a trick.  All of this has enriched the owners of these banks beyond belief, never mind devaluing the dollar down to almost nothing.

Globalization---  means the concentration of economic power into the hands of the CEOs of mega transnational corporations.  This is being accomplished by a variety of means, not the least of which are so-called "Free Trade Agreements" (which have nothing at all to do with Free Trade).  These elites of mega corporations believe they are above all nations---way above.

"Manifest Destiny" (our government's excuse for annexation)---  means that we're so honorable and special that we can pretty much do as we please.  [The concept mostly applies to our past, especially when our ancestors annexed the territories of American Indians and Mexicans---from sea to shining sea.]

"War on Drugs"---  means a variety of methods resulting in the control of citizens, the militarizing of police, and the expansion of the prison "industry".  America's drug of choice, alcohol (which by far causes more human damage, abuse, & grief than all the "illegal" drugs combined), remains largely outside of this sphere.

"War on Terror"---  means perpetual war, a Machiavellian method of controlling citizens.  Lately the politicians have stopped using the term, but they continue both the "war" and the propaganda promoting the "War on Terror" (perpetual war).

Postscript:
A few of the above terms did not exist when Reagan and Bush I were President.  [For example, extraordinary rendition began under Clinton.]  Other than those exceptions, all recent American Presidents---including Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama---supported/support and promoted/promote every Government-Speak term listed.  It's difficult to know how many of us as individual American citizens support any or all of them.  All I know for certain is that I don't support or believe in any of them.

Leave Afghanistan

It is past time to get out of Afghanistan. Here's why---

1. The Intelligence Service (ISI) of Pakistan (supposedly our ally) aids the Pashtun Taliban. This is the same ISI that reportedly sent $100,000 to M. Atta, one of the 9-11 hijackers. This reason alone is enough to bring our battle-weary, frustrated troops home. These are the same troops who are given highly restrictive Rules Of Engagement, rules that are more suited to police officers than to combat troops.

2. The central government of Hamid Karzai and his brother is corrupt to the core. The Afghanis know this, and they know that we support the same corrupt, central government.

3. We are trying to establish a central government in a country that has almost no history of such a thing.

4. The Pashtun Taliban are at war with Karzai's government. Once again, we are in the middle of a civil war.

5. The new U.S. target date for withdrawal is 2014. The chances are good that by 2014 things won't be much "better" than they are right now. For certain, they'll be worse for us---more dead and disabled troops, more billions of dollars spent fruitlessly.

6. The Soviets committed 500,000 troops to their war with Afghanistan years ago...and they lost. Afghanistan is known as the "Graveyard of Empires" for very good reasons.

7. Polls indicate that over half the population in Afghanistan do not want us in their country any longer.

8. There are many, many more Al Qaida insurgents in Pakistan and Yemen than in Afghanistan. Intelligence estimates put the number of Al Qaida in Afghanistan at about 25-50, out of a total of approximately 25,000 insurgents.

9. Logic suggests that there's a high probability that Osama bin Laden is no longer alive. For one thing, why would he stop releasing video tapes that spurred on his fanatics?

I'll say it again: although there are obvious differences, the war in Afghanistan reminds me greatly of our involvement in Vietnam---corrupt governments in both cases, civil wars, restrictive Rules of Engagement, "winning hearts and minds", horrible losses of life (including "collateral damage"), billions of dollars, and Secretaries of Defense from the corporate world.

Here's who is benefitting from us being in Afghanistan: SAIC (Robert Gates was once on their Board of Directors); Halliburton/KBR; private security companies; and numerous other corporations in the defense industry. We probably also should include the Powers-That-Be in our own Fed Government, as the war allows more expansion of government and more intrusions into our personal lives (because it's part of the so-called "War on Terror").

It is long past time to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq. There is much more terrorism in the world now, as compared to before we invaded those countries. Not only that, but our loss of life, limb, and treasure is obscene. And for what... to combat terrorism? I don't think so.

Our Unaccountable President

Once again King George has been knocked down (rightfully so) by a court---the 4th Circuit in this case. The Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to hold a resident alien (here legally) in solitary confinement in a Navy brig for years...even though the Govt tagged him with the term "enemy combatant". Our King and his jackbooted minions were certain that it could be done through military procedures. The suspect will not go free, but now must be charged in criminal court, thus afforded habeas corpus. That is as it should be.

This is not the first time that a court has told the King, "No, you can't do that.", but he continues on anyway. [Remember the Jose Padilla mess?] Our King believes that in his expanded Unitary Presidency he is accountable to virtually no one.

It should be clear to the American public by now that the "War on Terror" is nothing but an attempt to grab unconstitutional power. Terrorists are not in an army; they are criminals, pure and simple. When suspects are caught, they should be charged and tried as criminals. Claiming that such trials would give away national secrets is nothing more than an attempt to avoid due process. Remember Julius and Ethel Rosenberg? National secrets were involved, but they were tried in a criminal court...and we all survived.

The hubris of the Bush Administration is offensive. King George, in particular, acts as though he is some sort of absolute ruler. Even his facial expressions betray him---half the time he looks out at his audience with disdain, superiority, and/or smugness. I think he tops Nixon in that regard. Luckily for us, he is more or less a Lame Duck...very lame.