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WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY
OR UNCLE SAM?
The answer
at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's
power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow
annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would
sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags
the tail.Fifty
years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs
out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the
heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg
in the East Village.Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii
died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher
Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered
them up.CounterPunch
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Central Intelligence Agency director
Porter Goss resigned last week after a tumultuous and bloody
reign. Like all good CIA bosses, Goss will be remembered for
his original contributions to the Pantheon of CIA High Crimes,
such as extraordinary rendition, black sites in Eastern Europe
and torture techniques perfected in the windowless cells of Guantanamo,
Bagram and Abu Ghraib.
Today, Washington is all abuzz
over President Bush's pick to replace him, Air Force general,
Michael Hayden. To listen to the Beltway noise meter, you'd
think that real principles are at stake. Republican chair of
the House Intelligence Committee Peter Hoekstra warned on Fox
News that it would be inappropriate for a military man to fill
the civilian CIA. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein tossed down
the gauntlet suggesting that Gen. Hayden resign his commission
before he changes his uniform from Air Force blue to CIA black.
And Republican Senator Arlen Spectar and Democratic Senator
Joe Biden warned that they would press Hayden on the question
of civil liberties during the confirmation hearings. Standing
tall against the nay sayers, the Bush Administration yes-men
are hitting the talk show circuit, joined by institutionalized
"maverick" Republican Sen. John McCain.
No doubt, Gen. Hayden is a
dangerous man. He ran the National Security Administration while
it spied on American citizens and he is a true-believing war
on terror zealot. But before the anti-war movement joins in
the anti-Hayden chorus, we should step back and ask a deeper
question: does it matter who runs the CIA?
The liberal wing on the Democratic
Party, which is trying to pose as "anti-war" for the
November elections, believes it does. As house minority leader
Nancy Pelosi put it, "There is a power struggle going on
between the Department of Defense and the entire rest of the
intelligence community. So I don't see how you have a four-star
general heading up the CIA."
Pelosi thinks the anti-war
movement has a horse in this race. I think she's dead wrong.
While we can certainly take pleasure in the increasing disarray
within the Bush Administration, that does not mean that we should
applaud those in Congress who want to "repair the damage"
to the CIA. We do not bemoan the loss of the CIA's most experienced
analysts, we hope more of them quit. We don't mourn the "loss
of morale" at The Company, we seek to organize to expose
their crimes. We don't defend the CIA's control over intelligence
gathering from the DoD, we believe that our country has no business
spying on other nations and preparing war plans against them.
To pick sides between the DoD
and the CIA is to misunderstand how the American military state
functions. Of course, there are different factions who strive
to maximize their own section of the bureaucracy's power over
the others as well as to secure the greatest possible funding
and contracts. Policy disputes can also manifest in antagonism
between different fiefdoms, such as the conflict over who was
to blame for the pre-war lies about WMD's in Iraq: Tenet, Powell
or Rumsfeld. However, these little battles are all tactical
arguments over how to best secure the universally agreed upon
strategic goal, namely, the greatest possible expansion of American
military and economic power over all allies and enemies. This
agreement infuses the entire American military state with an
impressive discipline, which extends to the deepest core of both
the Democratic and Republican parties. The occasional temporary
dissident bureaucrat or politician only goes to prove the rule.
Rather than taking a step towards
the anti-war movement, Feinstein, Pelosi and Biden's saber rattling
against Hayden and Bush really only goes to show how determined
they are to perfect the American military state machine. Sen.
Feinstein clearly summarizes this view on her website:
"I am very worried about
America's Intelligence Community, particularly the CIA. The Agency
has experienced enormous turmoil at top levels during Porter
Goss's tenure. What was hoped to be an appointment of reform
turned out to be one of missed opportunities. The management
of the Agency and the oversight of its activities are critical.
The agency is increasing in size rapidly and that brings
with it many problems that need to be addressed. Whomever the
President selects must be able to gain the respect of intelligence
professionals and manage them in this era of asymmetric threat.
This individual must be able to present unvarnished, carefully
evaluated assessments to both the White House and Congress. Regretfully,
that has not always been the case. So as the President considers
choices to be the new nominee, I hope he will name an experienced
and knowledgeable intelligence professional someone who
is a skilled manager in very difficult circumstances."
All those who remember the
CIA's victims over the years from Iran to Guatemala to Vietnam
to Chile to Nicaragua should also remember Sen. Feinstein's words.
Of course, on another level,
this week's rattle and hum in DC is just politics. The senators
aren't spending sleepless nights worrying about Hayden's confirmation.
Maybe he'll go through, maybe he won't. After exacting a few
pounds from Bush, odds are that Hayden will become the next director
of the CIA. As Sen. Feinstein notes, "I think General Hayden
is a logical choice; he is very well respected, he is a professional,
he's run an agency twice the size of the CIA."
Rather than wasting time on
this side-show, the anti-war movement should be planning protests
against the escalation of the air war in Iraq and the danger
of impending military action against Iran.
Last week, the House voted
397 to 21 for the Iran Freedom Support Act, which is Orwell-speak
for the "Countdown to Invade/Bomb Iran Act." The fact
that supposed "peace" politicians like Barbara Lee,
Maxine Waters, John Murtha, Lynne Woolsey and Bernie Sanders
voted to start the clock on Iran serves as a wake-up call to
the fact that Congress will not stop the war in Iraq, nor prevent
an attack on Iran. Only a movement that remains independent
from the two-parties who believe in war for oil and empire, be
it covert or out in the open, will be able to grow strong enough
to bring out troops home and give Iraq back to the Iraqis.
Does it matter who runs the
CIA? No.
Todd Chretien is running for US Senate as a Green
Party candidate from California. He can be reached at: ToddChretien@mac.com
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