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EXCLUSIVE! HOW THE FBI SPIED ON EDWARD SAID First look at secret files: How G-Men kept Said under surveillance from 1971. David Price traces years of snooping on US's best known Palestinian Bush says 30,000 dead in Iraq but real number caused by 2003 US attack is AT LEAST 180,000, maybe twice that as Andrew Cockburn digs out the real numbers Is the US Constitution worth saving? Hmmm, maybe ... New York Times takes a year to make up its mind. Cockburn and St Clair on NYT and NSA ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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December 24/25, 2005 Aleander Cockburn Ralph Nader Lila Rajiva Fred Gardner
December 23, 2005 John Ross Chris Floyd Lawrence Mishel
/ Ross Eisenbrey Joanne Mariner Eric Johnson-Debaufre Ray McGovern J. L. Chestnut,
Jr. Website of
the Day
December 22, 2005 Ingmar Lee Elisa Salasin Christopher
Brauchli Robin Blackburn Evelyn Pringle Amira Hass Francis A.
Boyle Stew Albert Website of
the Day
December 21, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Lila Rajiva Joshua Frank Dave Zirin Ramzy Baroud Sonia Nettnin Ben Saul Jonathan Cronin Patrick Cockburn Website of
the Day
December 20, 2005 Jackie Corr Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Michael Donnelly Gian Paulo
Accardo Pierre Tristam Norman Solomon Sen. Robert Byrd Dave Lindorff Website of the Day
December 19, 2005 Mike Marqusee Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs John Blair Gideon Levy Kevin Zeese Missy Comley Beattie Don Santina Website of the Day
December 17 / 18, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Gabriel Kolko Susan Alcorn Werther Ralph Nader Patrick Cockburn Fred Gardner Dave Lindorff Ned Sublette Lee Sustar Jason Leopold Laura Carlsen Jeff White Ray McGovern Chris Floyd William Loren Katz Rose Miriam
Elizalde Greg Moses Heather Gray Alison Weir St Clair /
Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of
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December 16, 2005 Tom Kerr Mark Engler John Bomar Patrick Cockburn Pierre Tristam William S. Lind Cyril Neville Robert Jensen Saul Landau Website
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Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig
Roberts Lawrence R. Velvel Wayne Garcia John Sugg Gary Leupp Ray McGovern Alan Maass April Hurley, MD Kevin Alexander
Gray
December 13, 2005 Stephen T.
Banko, III Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen Karl Grossman Niranjan Ramakrishnan Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Michael G.
Smith Stew Albert Bob Dylan Phil Gasper Website of
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December 12, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Lawrence R.
Velvel Jessica Stewart George Bisharat Nate Mezmer Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Alison Weir Seth Sandronsky Patrick Cockburn Website of
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Alexander Cockburn Landau / Hassen Ralph Nader Linn Washington, Jr Bill Christison Mike Ferner Elizabeth Schulte Neve Gordon / Yigal Bronner Linda S. Heard Ingmar Lee Ray McGovern John Chuckman John Ryan Dick J. Reavis Christopher
Brauchli Behzad Yaghmaian Aseem Shrivastava John Ross Ben Tripp St. Clair / Pollack / Vest
/ Despair Poets' Basement Website of the Week
December 9, 2005 Linn Washington,
Jr. Dave Zirin
/ Mike Stark Patrick Cockburn Alexander Cockburn Lila Rajiva Gary Leupp Jason Leopold Bruce K. Gagnon Andrew Cockburn Website of the Day
December 8, 2005 Kathy Kelly James Petras William S.
Lind Laura Carlsen Justin Akers Thomas Graham, Jr Norman Solomon Tariq Ali /
Robin Blackburn Website of
the Day
December 7, 2005 John Ryan Gary Leupp Fran Quigley Jeremy Brecher
/ Brendan Smith Joshua Frank William W.
Morgan Dave Lindorff Patrick Cockburn Harold Pinter Website of
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December 6, 2005 Ron Jacobs Patrick Cockburn Yifat Susskind Mike Whitney Pat Williams Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
December 5, 2005 John Walsh Brian Cloughley Mokhiber /
Weissman Robert Jensen Norman Solomon Peter Rost, MD Lila Rajiva Website of the Day
Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Rev. William Alberts Saul Landau Ralph Nader Paul Craig
Roberts Mike Whitney Allan Lichtman Dave Lindorff Brian Concannon,
Jr. Fred Gardner Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Carol Wolman St. Clair /
Vest / Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of
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December 2, 2005 Stan Goff Mike Ferner Christopher Brauchli Niranjan Ramakrishnan Manuel Talens Peter Phillips J.L. Chestnut,
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December 1, 2005 John Walsh,
MD Ron Jacobs Jenna Orkin Joshua Frank Tiffany Ten
Eyck Missy Comley Beattie Eli Stephens Elaine Cassel Website of
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November 30, 2005 Allen / D'Amato Mike Whitney Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Stephen Soldz
November 29, 2005 Phil Gasper Behzad Yaghmaian Joshua Frank Walter A. Davis Gary Leupp Len Colodny Jeffrey St.
Clair Bill Quigley Website of
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November 28, 2005 Chris Reed David Isenberg Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Justin E.H. Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney David Swanson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
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November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley John Ross Gary Leupp Fred Gardner Christopher Brauchli Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Timothy J.
Freeman Lila Rajiva Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Joaquin Bustelo Lewis Alper Will Youmans Phyllis Pollack St. Clair /
Vest Barbara LaMorticella Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
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Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. John R. Bomar John Ross Phillip Cryan Dave Lindorff Dick J. Reavis Jeremy Scahill Dan Wright John Stanton St. Clair / Vest / Walker Phyllis Pollack Dr. Susan Block Poets Basement
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/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
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November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
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Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
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Weekend
Edition When Impeachment Was Taken Seriously"Here's to the Land You've Torn the Heart Out Of"By RON JACOBS The summer 2005 revelations by former FBI assistant director W. Mark Felt that he was the source known as Deep Throat that helped bring down Richard Nixon has revived talk among certain US residents regarding the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney. While I have great reservations about the likelihood of such an event happening, I naturally support almost any move that would slow down the march toward tyranny this nation is heading towards. My reservations regarding the likely success of any impeachment drive stem from the apparent stranglehold the current regime seems to have on all branches of the government, not to mention its sycophantic support from the media. Impeachment doesn't rid us of the corrupt and authoritarian system we live under; it only rids us of one of the humans administering that system. In 1973, while living in New York City , I attended the first "Impeach Nixon" rally in October. In late October, the ACLU released a pamphlet calling for the impeachment of Tricky Dick. I don't recall if this occurred before or after the rally I attended calling for Nixon's impeachment and conviction, but I do remember Phil Ochs singing his updated version of "Here's to the State of Mississippi" that he had re-titled "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon" that fall day. The important lyric is from the last verse:
Anyhow, some of the ACLU's points are quite telling and, if one replaces Nixon's name with Bush's, s/he could easily argue for a similar fate for Dubya.
This is truly a document of another time-or is it? One could argue that it assumes an innocence that has not existed in this country since Nixon's reign. Indeed, Nixon did a lot to destroy that innocence, along with an accompanying faith in the political system. The result is a predominance of cynicism and the rise of the New Right, which manipulated that cynicism into a dynamic that denies government's role in maintaining a civil society while expanding its role in ensuring global capital's expanding domination of everything. This dynamic opposes the legislation of morality in the marketplace and on the battlefields at home and abroad, while simultaneously imposing its beliefs and will on the population on everything from the use of mood-modifiers to women's right to control their own bodies, all the while forcing its personal inhibitions and mores on those who live differently, due to their poverty or their preference. Furthermore, it requires the ever-increasing militarization of our society and the world, through the technological and numerical enhancement of the police and military. Yet there is hope. These usurpers, these wannabe tyrants, can be dethroned. This is the lesson from Nixon's downfall. Or his regime could declare martial law. We feared the latter in 1973, only to watch the ruling class turn in on itself like two pit bulls in a pit. After the fight was over, though, the one thing that became apparent was that the system had survived. In addition, the most serious charge (and one that much of the Congress conspired in) involved the illegal bombing of Cambodia and was dropped in committee because the committee majority did not think so-called matters of national security would be considered impeachable offenses. The most serious charges against Bush revolve around his lies that sent the US military to war in Iraq and were consented to by most of the Congress. Therefore, it is unlikely that those charges would be the easiest to push through, despite the fact that the constitution makes it quite clear that they are impeachable offenses. Other charges include the illegal abuse of the Bill of Rights, especially as regards the recent revelations concerning domestic spying by the military and National Security Agency. Indeed, although there were similar allegations against Nixon (and a similar defense by the White House), even Nixon listened to advisors who recommended that he not officially consolidate all spy and police agencies into one. This was why the so-called Huston Plan (named after Tom Huston) was dropped almost as soon as it was adopted. Nixon, being ever-so-slightly less arrogant than George Bush, recognized its unconstitutionality and decided to continue the plans illegal activities using his own extralegal means. Although Watergate was (to quote the Weather Underground document Prairie Fire-The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism) a "domestic reflection of the empire in crisis," the results proved that the system of capital and power known as the United States Empire was stronger than any one man. Nixon was sacrificed at the altar at which he had served and we learned another lesson about the system's gratitude. Even if Bush is dethroned, there are others who would willingly fill his role. . Right now, there is no real movement to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney, despite the fact that their crimes rival those (or even surpass) of Tricky Dick's. This has less to do with the nature of the crime than with the nature of the prosecution. In short, there is close to none. Sure, it was the US Congress that took up the investigations that dealt with Watergate and its associated criminality, but this only occurred because of the extraparliamentary movement in the streets. It was the breadth and determination of this movement, which had ended racial apartheid in the US and was essential to ending Washington's imperial exercise in Southeast Asia that convinced the progressive elements in Congress to challenge the president's insistence that he "was not a crook." Once the scope of his crimes became clear, even stalwart Nixonites who supported every one of his policies jumped ship. So Nixon left after ensuring his immunity from prosecution and the empire's continuation. (You don't think Nelson Rockefeller was made Vice President because Nixon liked him, do you?) Today's Congress is even more sycophantic than the one Nixon dealt with. In fact, many of the men and women in that body are even more corrupt and fascistic than the White House. Consequently, it is very unlikely that any investigation it launches into the criminal escapades of the Bush administration will dig very deep. After a few peeks behind the peeling paint that is the facade behind which Bush and Co. lurk, the broad brushstrokes of a whitewash will cover up any misdeeds that might be exposed. Unless, of course, the people refuse to grab on to one of the brushes the administration will be sure to proffer a la Tom Sawyer at his Aunt Polly's fence. If the antiwar/occupation movement can make it clear to the American people that neither they or their elected representatives have anything to gain (and much to lose) if they lend Bush a hand at the whitewash he is now perpetrating, we can rid this nation of this man and his band of criminals. Then, hopefully having learned from this debacle, we can watch the next bunch a lot more closely. Bush's departure, like Nixon's, is a beginning, not an end. It is important to remember that Nixon was not impeached. He resigned before the charges were heard by the Congress. One of his reasons for doing so must certainly have been the retirement monies he would lose. Indeed, the first president to be impeached since the 19th century was not impeached for leading the nation in a war under false pretenses or purposely circumventing the constitution, but for carrying on a seedy sexual affair in the White House. Yes, I am referring to Bill Clinton, who was the target of a concerted effort to destroy him and his politics from the moment he arrived in the White House. Some observers have gone so far as to state that the entire process against Clinton was revenge by the right wing for the proceedings against Nixon some twenty years earlier. It is interesting to note that Hillary Clinton, Bill's wife, was part of the staff that drew up the Articles of Impeachment against Nixon. In fact,she is credited with arguing for the article regarding the illegal bombing of Cambodia. One wonders where she is now? Ron Jacobs is author of The
Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground,
which is just republished by Verso. Jacobs' essay on Big Bill
Broonzy is featured in CounterPunch's new collection on music,
art and sex, Serpents
in the Garden. He can be reached at: rjacobs3625@charter.net
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.                 |
