By: S. Rowan Wolf ,
October 15, 2005 This Work is licensed under a Fair Share Creative Commons License
Despite the fact that the majority of people in the U.S. now think we are "on the wrong track;" despite the horrified awakening to the consequences of focusing solely on the "war on terrorism" in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita; despite the decision that the administration cannot release propaganda to the U.S. public; despite the charges and investigations that flow through Congress and the Whitehouse; NOTHING SEEMS TO BE CHANGING!
Propaganda
From the October 15, 2005 "Stars & Stripes" - Pentagon dismisses claims it coached GIs for talk with Bush. Its all over the news. Bush has a "conversation" with the troops in Iraq prior to the big election. Except, that prior to the broadcast a Pentagon official goes through the scripted response to the questions the President will ask. We have all had a version of this type of conversation. "Tell Sonny you are sorry Rowan." "I'm sorry Sonny." (Complete with grimace and lack of eye contact). But a spokesperson for the Pentagon claims, "No one intended to tell them what to think." A claim that is perfectly true I am sure, but they certainly told them what to SAY.
Mission Dictatorship
The ongoing effort to destroy the democratic government in the United States continues apace. The erosion of protections for citizens and the operations of control move ahead with little impediment. We have had the frightening revelation that the cost of the war on terrorism (and in Iraq) is undermining even basic safety at home. Hurricane Katrina revealed the stripping of resources from FEMA to feed the maw of a bloating "Homeland Security" office. A new directive to overcome the lack of coordination between intelligence agencies via the creation of the DNI (Director of National Intelligence - and accompanying office and staff. Of course the drive to empire is strong so and you just can't hide enough stuff in a centralized environment. So here comes Negroponte and Goss (loyal to a fault) to announce yet another intelligence agency. This one is the National Clandestine Service, or NCS for short. Of course the NCS will need a Director or a D-NCS. I guess there are more cronies than plums to give them. You just have to read the job description:
"The National Clandestine Service at CIA will incorporate the current Directorate of Operations and will be led by the Director of the National Clandestine Service (D/NCS) to whom the D/CIA will delegate his day-to-day National HUMINT Manager responsibilities. The D/NCS will coordinate, de-conflict, and assess HUMINT operations throughout the IC and will report directly to the D/CIA. The D/NCS will also work with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to implement the DNI's statutory authorities."
Of course the new D-NCS will need a little help, so (he) will get two deputies to help out - "one will lead the daily activities of the CIA's Clandestine Service while the other will focus on human intelligence activities across the IC." More plums ... and more "clandestine intelligence." Afterall, it is not always who you know, but what dirty you know on them that gives ultimate power and leverage. Ask the kings of dirt Rove and Delay.
Not to be outdone, the Pentagon wants some more spies of its own, and the authority to deploy them inside the U.S. Of course they won't spy on "innocent Americans." The target, argues the Pentagon is the U.S. Muslim community. No profiling of course, and the FBI and CIA and local police already get to run their covert operatives to "monitor" "suspect" groups. Why should the Pentagon be left out of the rush to overrun the privacy and free speech rights of the public? And, after all, the Pentagon gets a pass on "racial profiling" since that is part of what "creating an enemy" is all about.
We need to look at the request of the Pentagon to set up spying inside the U.S. with the desire of the Bush administration to deploy U.S. troops on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens. Of course, this is purportedly only in case of emergency (see related discussions Military Takeover As Disaster Response?,
Bird Flu and the Threats We are Facing,
Marilou Johanek frames the issue of overturning the posse comitatus act well in her article Greater Role for Military? Call Out the Posse (Comitatus):
"Soldiers who are trained to kill should not cross into civilian activities like law enforcement even in a domestic disaster the size of Katrina. Congress must resist any political pressure to consider inflating the authority of active duty forces even after such catastrophic events. Federalizing a disaster response on American soil is a dangerous proposition fraught with fearful scenarios, not the least of which is abuse of power."
Indeed, why is Bush pushing for such powers - in light of all the rest of secrecy and destruction of the Constitution? Does it have anything to do with Bush's reporting of his meeting with Congressional leadership on CNN Newsday Transcript. "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." Maybe this wasn't simply a tongue-in-cheek remark
See also ...
10/14/05 Regan, Christian Science Monitor, Negroponte creates new spying service
10/14/05 Pincus, Wa. Post, CIA Spies Get a New Home Base
10/13/05 BBC, US setting up new spying agency
Some of S. Rowan Wolf's commentaries can be read here or
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