|
|
home / subscribe / donate / tower / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events
|
BUSH'S MELTDOWN AND THE US DEFEAT IN IRAQ He's on the floor, but can the Democrats Save Him? They're sure trying. Scorching reports on the "new jobs" myth and the end of America's housing bubble. Savage dissection of Council on Foreign Relation's Plan to "Contain" AIDS and Throw Money at the Drug Companies. Why the Military-Industrial Complex Wants U.S. Out of Iraq. What the US Press Missed about the War. Get the facts you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... 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 |
|
December 17 / 18, 2005 Gabriel Kolko December 16, 2005 Tom Kerr Mark Engler John Bomar Patrick Cockburn Pierre Tristam William S. Lind Cyril Neville Robert Jensen Saul Landau Website
December 15, 2005 Oren Ben-Dor Stan Cox Joshua Frank Ben Terrall Patrick Cockburn Monica Benderman Walter A. Davis Vijay Prashad Website of
the Day
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
the Day
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
the Day
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
the Day
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
the Weekend
December 2, 2005 Stan Goff Mike Ferner Christopher Brauchli Niranjan Ramakrishnan Manuel Talens Peter Phillips J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. Website of
the Day
December 1, 2005 John Walsh,
MD Ron Jacobs Jenna Orkin Joshua Frank Tiffany Ten
Eyck Missy Comley Beattie Eli Stephens Elaine Cassel Website of
the Day
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
the Day
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
the Day
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
the Day
November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
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
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
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.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
Subscribe Online
|
December 17, 2005 Torture Between the LinesBush's Underwhelming Gesture to McCainBy RAY McGOVERN The focus has now shifted to a fresh outrage, as President George W. Bush attempts to defend the deliberate flouting of U.S. laws regulating eavesdropping on American citizens-as well the focus should, since this involves an impeachable offense. Still, it would not be right to leave standing the impression fostered by the administration and its embedded pundits that the agreement with McCain means the end of torture by U.S. interrogators. It does not mean that at all. In deciding not to follow through
on his threat to veto Sen. John McCain's amendment against torture,
Bush actually surrendered very little. Torture is still in the
eye of beholders in the defense and intelligence communities. The Bush-McCain compromise changes very little. The interrogation practices banned are limited to those not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation, which can be-is being-revised. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the Army has approved a 10-page secret addendum to the Army field manual, a move that one Pentagon official described as "a stick in McCain's eye." McCain's chief of staff minced no words in describing the move as "politically obtuse" and undertaken without "one molecule of political due diligence." The new manual, to be issued this month, spells out authorized interrogation techniques, but these remain classified. Having faced down Cheney, it will be interesting to see if McCain's courage extends to facing down Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's transparent attempt to vitiate the amendment. Or will McCain and his congressional colleagues settle for a Potemkin-village-type victory, and leave the field for the clever lawyers around Cheney and Rumsfeld. The pleasant noises that McCain was making yesterday and the typically premature comments of eager-to-please Jane Harmon, vice-chair of the House Intelligence Committee, suggest that, in the end, most legislators will settle for Potemkin. The Crux ... and the Crooks One Army officer involved bemoaned the fact that confusion persists because of lack of clarity on what constitutes torture. "'Cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment' is at the crux of the problem," he said, "but we've never defined that." The section of the McCain amendment applying to CIA and other civilian interrogators also hinges on what qualifies as cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, but the amendment's attempt to define it by referring to provisions in the U.S. Constitution and the U.N. convention against torture leaves ample room for ambiguity and widely differing interpretation. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday that the dispute between the White House and McCain was over "what constitutes cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment" and, resorting to reductio ad absurdum, pointed out, "In some countries...those words mean you can't even insult someone when you question them." Appearing on CNN, Gonzales added:
Gonzales would not say whether this definition would include waterboarding. Those watching CNN will not have much reason to believe that anything has changed. National Security adviser Stephen Hadley has indicated that his negotiations with McCain centered on providing legal protection for interrogators. McCain had said earlier that granting such protection would undermine his amendment, but under the compromise with the White House, CIA officers and other civilians accused of abuse in interrogation would be able to argue that they believed they were obeying a legal order and would have the right to government counsel. In practice, this will make it very difficult to hold anyone accountable in U.S. courts. A prosecutor probably would have to prove that a higher-up's orders were so unreasonable that they fit the category of Nazi atrocities. No effort has been made to disguise what lies behind the administration's position. Even Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a lawyer who has been considered a moderate on the issue of torture, has conceded that the "problem" is to find a way to protect interrogators who go too far. Perhaps it is my lack of legal training, but I do not think one can square this circle. There remains too much of a disconnect, for example, between the "we-do-not-torture" rhetoric and Gonzales' refusal to rule out waterboarding.
* Dick Cheney, dubbed "Vice President for Torture" by the New York Times has been dealt a resolute rebuff. His open advocacy of torture, coming on the heels of the indictment of his chief of staff I. Lewis Libby, has put a huge chink in his armor. Friday's revelations that he played a key role in the latest scandal, the use of the National Security Agency for warrantless eavesdropping on U.S. citizens, could be strike three. Despite the president's protestations that the two have never been closer, Bush may soon be forced to put considerable distance between him and the éminence grise. * The imperial presidency, too, has been struck a blow-not fatal yet, but damaging nonetheless, and creating further vulnerability. Congress has summoned the courage to face Cheney and the president down, at least overtly, and this chips away at the image of invulnerability carefully cultivated by the administration. Congresspeople and Senators seem newly aware that their oath is to the Constitution, not to the White House, and this can spell big trouble for Bush in the months ahead, as indignity piles upon indignity. * The press is slowly beginning to act like a responsible fourth estate. True, the New York Times sat on the N.S.A. story for a whole year, but it was published before the final vote on the so-called Patriot Act-and, by all accounts, had considerable impact. * After two years of feeling intimidated by the administration's retaliation against Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife Valerie, patriots within the national security agencies are showing a new willingness to assume the risks attendant to revealing crimes and other abuses to the press. The phrase "according to current and former intelligence officials" has become familiar attribution in major whistle-blowing stories. * The George W. Bush White House is no longer the well-honed machine it once was. Clearly, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney are preoccupied with their legal problems. Without their savvy advice, the president has been left to his own devices, as can be seen in his:
Worse still from the administration's point of view, there is little prospect that things are likely to improve anytime soon. Congress is up in arms over the president's disdain for laws regulating government eavesdropping, and the president is left with the same second-string legal help responsible for encouraging him to believe he is above the law in the first place. Karl Rove is in legal limbo, and may soon be feeling the heat of purgatory, so to speak. Last, but hardly least, the upcoming trial of Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, will do nothing to lessen the contempt in which a growing number of Americans hold the vice president and their wonderment at Bush's repeated praise of him. In other words, things are likely to get still more dicey for the president and his closest associates-and soon. Ray McGovern works for Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years and is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). The original version of this article appeared on Truthout.com.
|
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.                |
