THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER
A Timeline of Events Surrounding the Radical Right's Attempt to Subvert American Democracy
Written and Compiled by Black Max
August 2003
Week Three
- August 15: Secretary of State Colin Powell orders the closure of two offices in the United States connected to an Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance to Iran (NCRI), and orders their assets frozen. Powell's decision is based on the fact that the NCRI is dominated by the Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK), a violent, Islamist/Maoist terrorist organization operating out of Iraq that opposes the current Iranian regime. The NCRI retorts by accusing the Bush administration of "kowtowing" to the Iranian government. While many Washington neoconservatives in the Department of Defense, Dick Cheney's office, and various right-wing think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute consider MEK an organization of freedom fighters (shades of Nicaragua's Contras), the State Department has classified MEK a terrorist organization. NCRI has, until now, been allowed to operate in the United States, where it often holds press conferences near the White House to accuse Iran of making weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorists. State Department spokesman Tom Casey says Powell's action is "based on information from a variety of sources that these entities functioned as part of the MEK and have supported MEK's acts of terrorism."
- NCRI's US representative, Alireza Jafarzadeh, says that the closing of the NCRI's Washington offices is a move in the administration's negotiations with Iran over Iran's possible release of five captured high-level al-Qaeda operatives to US custody. The US also wants access to suspected Iranian nuclear sites. In return, the Iranians want the MEK fighters given over to them, and a general ratcheting down of the hostile rhetoric of the Bush administration towards Iran.
- MEK has a checkered history. For years, it was used by Saddam Hussein to launch attacks against Iran, and MEK terrorist strikes have killed Americans and Iranians alike. During the Iraq war, the US military briefly bombed MEK camps until the group capitulated and agreed to disarm. The European Union also considers MEK a terrorist organization; in July, French authorities raided NCRI's European headquarters outside of Paris and arrested 150 people, most of whom were quickly released.
- House Republican Bob Ney praises Powell for the closure, and for calling "the MEK for what they are -- terrorists -- and there is no such thing as a good terrorist." However, many neoconservatives support MEK, and question their labeling as a terrorist organization. (AP/Iran-Interlink)
- August 16: The claim that Iraq could deploy WMDs within 45 minutes was based on hearsay evidence, it is learned. Originally the claim was said to have come from a senior Iraqi military official, when in reality the claim came from an unidentified informant whose unsubstantiated claim was passed along through MI-6. (Guardian)
- August 16: The USS Virginia, the first of the new Virginia class of super-submarines to be deployed by the US Navy, is officially commissioned. After officially launching in October 2004, it was briefly deployed in November 2005 before being brought back into port in January 2006 for what is euphemistically called "post-shakedown availability," which is projected to last throughout the year. The Virginia is the first of a new, highly sophisticated class of submarine designed to replace the aging Los Angeles class of naval sub. Initially designed to hunt Soviet submarines in 1996, that design was obsolete before it began due to the fall of the Soviet empire; the triumvirate of defense contractors responsible for the vessel, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics (who actually builds the subs), retooled it to befit the burgeoning "war on terror." Originally proposed as a cheaper alternative to the Seawolf class of submarine, which was abandoned after only three vessels were constructed, the Virginia class will actually cost more than the Seawolf, with a price tag of over $2.3 billion per vessel; the price soared from around $1.5 billion after Bush cut back on the original order of 36 subs. Currently 18 Virginia submarines are planned, including the USS Texas, already conducting sea trials; the Hawaii and North Carolina, in construction, the New Hampshire and New Mexico, on order and expected to be delivered in 2010 and 2011 respectively, a group of four others as yet unnamed and unconstructed, and a third group of around 7 more to begin construction in 2009. At a cost of $400 million for each vessel, the Virginia has been designed to deploy Navy SEALs or other soldiers from offshore onto the beach through the torpedo tubes, essentially firing the soldiers onto the beach using what is called the "Advanced SEAL Delivery System." The system is currently under review for reliability probems.
- Interestingly, the three corporations responsible for the Virginia submarines "do not compete in the traditional sense," according to a Naval spokesman, but instead cooperate to set prices for the government in what used to be called "price-fixing conspiracies," but are now called "consortiums" of formerly competing firms. For the first time in its history, General Dynamics will record profits of over a billion dollars a year, projecting earnings of $1.7 billion in 2006; Northrop Grumman will have to settle for profits of $1.5 billion. The taxes on those enormous profits might be expected to be equally huge, but under a special provision slipped into tax legislation by the administration, instead of paying the government the usual 21% most manufacturers pay, the three defense contractors only pay 7%. As for Lockheed Martin, aside from the lucrative Virginia contracts, it is expected to beat out both Grumman and GD for profits; it built 83 F-22A Raptor fighters designed to defeat the Soviet MiG-29 UBM, a plane never built, and is contracted to build 96 more, at a price of $130 million per plane, double the original price. The decision to build new and staggeringly expensive aircraft and submarines, instead of outfitting Humvees and soldiers deployed in Iraq with armor, will be made by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Gordon England, who replaces Paul Wolfowitz in January 2006. England is the former Executive Vice President of both General Dynamics and a Lockheed unit. Notably, Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice president, is a former board member of Lockheed and receives a handsome pension from the firm. (Wikipedia, Wikipedia, Greg Palast)
- August 17: The intelligence dossier on Iraq that was "sexed up" had numerous changes made in its contents in the last two weeks before it was presented to the public. Claims that Iraq had WMDs were materially strengthened, and the title was changed from "Iraq's Program for Weapons of Mass Destruction" to the more simple, and more ominous, "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction." The distinction is critical: referring to a weapons "programme" does not imply they exist or are being produced. The most it indicates is that production could begin in the future. UN weapons inspectors in Iraq throughout the second half of the 1990s focused on uncovering the potential for Iraq to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as there was little evidence that actual weapons existed or that production was taking place. According to an e-mail presented during the Hutton inquiry into the incident, communications director Alastair Campbell authorized a "substantial rewrite" of the dossier on September 5, 2002. (Independent, Scotsman)
- August 17: Mazen Dana, a Palestinian cameraman employed by Reuters, is killed by US troops while filming near a Baghdad prison. Thousands of Palestinians turn out to mourn his death and protest against the American presence in Iraq. Officially, Dana was killed at close range by a US soldier who mistook Dana's camera for a grenade launcher. Dana is the second Palestinian journalist to die at American hands in Iraq. 18 journalists have died in Iraq to date. Many of Dana's fellow journalists dispute the official account of his death, particularly his misidentification as an Iraqi with a grenade launcher. "We were all there, for at least half an hour. They knew we were journalists," says Stephan Breitner of France 2 television. (The journalists had identified themselves to the US troops and received permission to film in the area.) "After they shot Mazen, they aimed their guns at us. I don't think it was an accident. They are very tense. They are crazy. They are young soldiers and they don't understand what is happening." Dana's driver, Munzer Abbas, says: "There were many journalists around. They knew we were journalists. This was not an accident." Dana's colleagues claim that it is hard to believe anyone could mistake a camera for a grenade launcher, especially at close range. On September 24, the US military will clear the soldiers who shot Dana of any wrongdoing, claiming that they followed the rules of engagement. The US has never made public those rules, citing security concerns. Two years before, Dana accepted the International Press Freedom Award for his courage in reporting from war-torn areas; he told his audience, "Words and images are a public trust, and for this reason I will continue with my work regardless of the hardships and even if it costs me my life." (Reuters, Independent/CommonDreams, WHO-TV, Amy Goodman and David Goodman)
- August 17: Retired General Wesley Clark, who is contemplating a run for the Presidency, condemns the Bush administration for leading America into war under "false pretenses." He says, "We've made America more engaged, more vulnerable, more committed [and] less able to respond. We've lost a tremendous amount of goodwill around the world by our actions and our continuing refusal to bring in international institutions." He said that if Iraq "is the centerpiece of the war on terror, it shouldn't be." He extended his criticism to House Republican leader Tom DeLay, who had earlier criticized what he called the corps of "blow-dried Napoleons" who appeared on television to analyze the progress of the coalition invasion. Clark was a CNN military analyst during the conflict but no longer works for the network. Clark said, "When our airmen were flying over Kosovo, Tom DeLay led House Republicans to vote not to support their activities -- when American troops were in combat. To me, that's a real indicator of a man who's motivated not by patriotism or support for the troops but by partisan political purposes." (CNN)
- August 17: A report issued by the World Markets Research Center says that America, along with Colombia, Israel, and Pakistan, is the most likely country to be targeted for a a major terrorist attack within the next 12 months. "Another Sept. 11-style terrorist attack in the United States is highly likely," the report states. "Networks of militant Islamist groups are less extensive in the U.S. than they are in Western Europe, but U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan and Iraq has exacerbated anti-U.S. sentiment." (New York Times/The Agonist )
"Mystery pneumonia" ravaging US troops
- August 17: More US and British soldiers are falling ill, and sometimes dying, of a mysterious illness that is being labeled with dark humor as "not pneumonia." The US Department of Defense is refusing to cooperate with victims' families and organizations such as the American Gulf War Veterans Association, who are trying to ascertain just how many Iraqi-stationed soldiers may have contracted the mystery illness. The DoD has decreed that all such illnesses are simply pneumonia and refuses to investigate further, but the facts give that decree the lie. "When we had to wear rubber gloves and suit up just to touch Josh or be in the same room with him, we knew something wasn't right. That is not pneumonia," says Mark Neusche, the father of US soldier Josh Neusche, who died in Germany of the ailment. "If it took our boy in a matter of days, how many other young soldiers are going to die, or already have and we don't know about it?" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- August 17: Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin dies after a long illness. Amin, a despot who oversaw the murder of hundreds of thousands of his subjects, fled Uganda in 1979 after being deposed, and lived the rest of his life in luxurious exile in Saudi Arabia. Saudi King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah send cables of condolences to Amin's family. The cables pray to God to "have mercy on him, give him forgiveness and send him to Heaven." (Agence France-Press/Sify)
- August 18: Republican senator Orrin Hatch proposes an amendment to the Constitution allowing foreign-born citizens to serve as President after living in this country for 20 years. The amendment is apparently designed with action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, currently a GOP candidate for governor in the California recall election, in mind. (Kansas City Star)
- August 18: The numbers of missing Iraqi civilians detained by American forces is rising; over 5,000 at last count, only 500 of whom are POWs. One, Rafet Kamal, a 27-year old clerk, went out for cigarettes one night in early August and never returned home. His father spent 10 fruitless days searching for him until he finally visited the Baghdad morgue. He found his son's body riddled with bullets on top of a stack of dead Iraqis. He will never know what happened, as there is no codified system of justice or law enforcement in place. Those who have been detained by US forces are usually held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or the right to contact their families. With Iraqi prisons looted and destroyed, captives are jailed in barbed-wire compounds, converted warehouses and vast tent camps. Conditions are primitive; at their worst they amount to what Amnesty International describes as "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." A former Iraqi military officer, Amal Abdullah Mosul, who had been jailed by the Hussein regime, was arrested and detained by American troops for driving through the same neighborhood too frequently (Mosul has three sisters living in separate houses in that neighborhood). His wife has searched fruitlessly for him for two weeks. "We were so happy the Americans saved us from Saddam," she says, "but now I'm quite bitter." She has been making the rounds of hospitals, prisons and morgues. "Now my 7-year-old son keeps saying, 'Show me the soldier who arrested my father; I want to kill him.'" An Iraqi told a woman who was searching for her son, "You're lucky that Americans took your son. In the days of Saddam Hussein, he would have been gone forever." The mother replied, "Yes, but we expect the Americans to be better than that." (Newsweek)
- August 18: Former Bush diplomat John Brady Kiesling publishes an open letter in Greece's To Vima newspaper. Kiesling is a veteran foreign service official who recently resigned in protest of the Bush administration's deceptions surrounding the Iraqi war. In the letter, Kiesling portrays George W. Bush as a "very weak" man led by the hand into the Iraqi war by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: he says that Bush is "a politician who badly wants to appear as strong, but in reality is very weak." He charges that Rumsfeld has exploited the war in order to increase his own power within the Bush administration. Kiesling says Rumsfeld led Bush by the hand into war, marginalized the secret services who had doubts about the war, and emerged as the top politician in Washington. "Easy to convince, [Bush] blindly believed in Rumsfeld's assurances that the occupation of Iraq would pay for itself." Kiesling goes on to say, "The longer we remain in Iraq, the more the resistance to the American presence is going to be a source of legitimacy for the extremists," and calls for an expanded role for the United Nations and the European Union in the reconstruction of Iraq. Kiesling also says he regrets that that US intelligence services have not spoken out about untruths concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which he adds have humiliated the United States and damaged its closest ally, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain. (Agence France-Press/NineMSN, Eric Alterman and Mark Green)
- August 18: The latest ploy to flush out Saddam Hussein and his followers involves posters of Saddam dolled up as a variety of American entertainers to be displayed around his hometown of Tikrit. Presumably, the embarrassment of seeing Hussein's face superimposed on the body of Zsa Zsa Gabor or Billy Idol will drive him and/or his followers out of hiding. "Most of the locals will love 'em and they'll be laughing," says Lt. Colonel Steve Russell, who is heading the effort. "But the bad guys are going to be upset, which will just make it easier for us to know who they are." A young Iraqi working for the Americans retorts, "Maybe it is funny for the soldiers, but I think most locals will find it very insulting." "I think this type of activity by US forces will only further anger the Muslim population of Iraq," says Inayat Bunglawala, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain. "This clear flaunting of Islamic law by displaying pictures of scantily clad women will only add fuel to sentiments that the US is trying to undermine Muslim culture in Iraq. It risks alienating the actual population." (CNN, Reuters)
- August 18: A Defense Department whistleblower claims that the reason the Bush administration was so confident of finding WMDs inside Iraq is because the CIA attempted to plant them there before the invasion began. According to Nelda Rogers, a former senior debriefer for the DoD with 28 years of experience in the Defense Department's intelligence community, the CIA sent a covert operations team with Department of Agriculture credentials into Iraq shortly before the March 2003 invasion with WMD material, intending to plant it for later "discovery." The team, which was also enjoined to locate and take possession of Hussein family assets including cash, jewels, and the like, did not complete its mission and was eventually killed by various "friendly fire" incidents in Baghdad. Rogers' assertions have yet to be confirmed. (Pakistan Daily Times)
UN headquarters in Baghdad bombed
- August 19: A huge bomb blast devastates the UN headquarters in Baghdad in the Canal Hotel. 23 UN workers are killed, including senior UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, and over 100 are wounded. Al-Qaeda later wrote in justification of Vieira's death, "This criminal...was the Crusader who carved up part of the land of Islam," referring to East Timor. Within hours of the blast, US authorities attempt to describe the bomb as being made from old munitions from the Hussein regime; a quick conclusion considering that the rubble had yet to be examined and the truck that carried the bomb was still buried in the debris. The US will later back off of this assertion and pin the blame for the bombing on terrorists from Ansar al-Islam, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. Authorities also suspect that the bombing might have been an "inside job," planned and executed at least in part by local security guards or other Iraqi employees. President Bush receives news of the blast while enjoying a round of golf at his Crawford, Texas ranch; after several updates on the severity of the explosion, Bush eventually cuts short his golf match to return to the main building for a full briefing. He later telephones UN Secretary General Kofi Annan with his condolences and offers of assistance in rebuilding the devastated compound.
- Condoleezza Rice is perhaps the first in the White House to realize the symbolic implications of the attack -- if the UN is being targeted, then no one in Iraq is safe. Bush makes the usual noises about "redoubl[ing] our efforts against terror," and in an NSC meeting, asks how the military can adapt to the insurgents' new and lethal tactics. "This is a thinking enemy that changes," he says, "and as he changes, we need to change. And attacking the UN mission is a change. Now, what has he just told us, this enemy?" It is a rare occasion where Bush actually asks challenging questions, but the moment quickly passes, and he begins the rah-rah talk again: "Groups that respond by pulling out of Iraq [as the UN is planning to do] are simply giving in to the killers and rewarding them." Bush then asks about the use of communications and broadcast networks inside Iraq to counter the message sent by the suicide bombing. Referring to the possibility that the attack was carried out by foreign fighters inside Iraq for terrorist purposes, Bush says, "Our theme should be that the Iraqis should not allow foreign fighters to come into Iraq. We need to play on a sense of nationalism that will motivate Iraqis to cooperate with us to exclude the foreigners." The irony of Bush, the commander-in-chief of a foreign occupying force, making this suggestion is apparently lost on him and everyone else at the table.
- Two days later, Bush weaves the attack on the UN into his rhetoric about Iraq being a central front in the global war on terror. "They want to fight us there because they can't stand the thought of a free society in the Middle East," he tells reporters. "They hate freedom. They hate the thought of a democracy emerging. And therefore, they want to violently prevent that from happening." Once again, events become subsumed in the simplistic rhetoric of "terrorists who hate freedom" needing to be defeated no matter what the cost. On August 23, the rosy picture of an Iraq steadily moving towards democracy is back. "There is steady movement toward reconstruction and a stable, self-governing society," Bush asserts. "This progress makes the remaining terrorists even more desperate and willing to lash out against symbols of order and hope, like coalition forces and UN personnel. The world will not be intimidated. A violent few will not determine the future of Iraq, and there will be no return to the days of Saddam Hussein's torture chambers and mass graves."
- The CIA station chief in Baghdad writes an internal analysis, nicknamed an AARDWOLF, saying that the UN bombings are part of a strategy to discredit and isolate the US-led coalition, and warning that the insurgents have the capability to mount many more devastating attacks against "soft targets." It correctly identifies two strands of insurgent violence -- one from foreign jihadists and the other from native Iraqis -- and stated that there was "no shortage" of combatants. It also predicted that the capture of Saddam Hussein would not end the insurgency, because he isn't leading it. Instead of acting on the report, CPA administrator Paul Bremer writes a tart rejoinder, downplaying the grim analysis, calling the fighting in Iraq a "low-intensity conflict," and saying that, despite the naysaying from the station chief, excellent progress is being made in Iraq. The August AARDWOLF, and a second, equally realistic report in November, results in the CIA station chief resigning from the CIA rather than made a scapegoat for the looming debacle in Iraq. (CNN, Mail and Guardian, AP/iWon News, Buzzflash, Bay News 9, AP/ABC News, New York Times, Michael Scheuer, Bob Woodward, James Risen)
- August 19: For the second time in a year, the Republican-led Congress has reneged on its pledge to help veterans, this time by refusing to pass a $3.2 billion increase for the Veterans Affairs Department that would have drastically reduced the amount of time veterans must wait for medical care. Currently the average veteran must wait six months before he/she can be seen by VA doctors. The veterans' group AMVETS terms it "a shameless betrayal," the American Legion calls it "a moral outrage," and the Non Commissioned Officers Association terms it "abominable" "Veterans have been pushed to the limits," says Joe Violante, national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. "They're being lied to, and they're not tolerating it." (Springfield News-Leader)
- August 20: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan insists that the United Nations will not leave Iraq even after a bomb blast destroyed much of its Baghdad headquarters. He also blamed the US for lax security which allowed the bombing to occur. "The occupying power is responsible for law and order and the security of the country," he says. "We had hoped that by now the coalition forces would have secured the environment for us to be able to carry on the essential work of political and economic reconstruction, institution-building and for Iraqis to carry on with their work. That has not happened." The US disagrees, claiming that the UN is responsible for its own security. The US has apparently decided against asking for a resolution from the UN to support its position in Iraq, and while it has said that it would consider a UN military presence, any UN-sponsored forces would have to be under the command and control of the US. (Mail and Guardian)
- August 20: The Hutton inquiry into the death of Dr. David Kelly reveals that the original draft of the "sexed-up" dossier produced by Downing Street and British intelligence contained no material that demonstrated Iraq was any sort of threat to Europe, America, or even its neighboring countries. An e-mail from chief of staff Jonathan Powell to intelligence chief John Scarlett reads in part, "The document does nothing to demonstrate a threat, let alone an imminent threat from Saddam...." Other documents show that the Blair administration tried to stop Dr. David Kelly from speaking with the BBC about his doubts concerning Iraq's supposed WMD programs. (New Zealand Herald, Reuters)
- August 21: The Pentagon announces the capture of Ali Hassan al-Majid, known to US intelligence as "Chemical Ali," the architect of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program. Al-Majid's death was announced in late March by the Pentagon, who believed he had died in the initial bombing of Baghdad, and again in early April when the Pentagon mistakenly believed that he had died in a US bombing attack on a Basra residence. Al-Majid was captured along with several of his bodyguards by US forces. In 1992, Democratic congressman Henry Waxman detailed the deep connections between al-Majid and various American right-wing corporations, organizations, and politicians. (MSNBC, WorldNetDaily, Buzzflash)
GOP writes Victory Act, a follow-up to Patriot Act that virtually guts the Bill of Rights
- August 21: Recent drafts of the proposed Victory Act, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch and several fellow Republicans, have come to light. The act allows federal authorities far wider powers to wiretap, seize personal documents and records, and so forth if the search is said to be connected to either drugs or terrorism. Civil liberties groups say that the bill is designed to mask broad changes in drug trafficking laws under the disguise of anti-terrorism legislation. "The Victory Act represents a major expansion of federal surveillance, asset forfeiture and other powers under the guise of linking the war on drugs to the war on terrorism," says a representative of the ACLU: "It does not address the intelligence problems that led to the September 11th attacks, continuing a failed policy of simply granting more power to the government instead of ensuring the government uses its existing powers effectively." Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean said earlier this week that the Victory Act is "a dangerous piece of legislation." (Washington Post)
- August 21: Japan is resisting US pleas to send a contingent of troops to Iraq to assist American forces there. Says foreign minister Yasuo Fukuda, "There may be a way [to help] without sending troops there. Looking at the current security situation in Iraq, we have no choice but to be prudent." (Bloomberg)
- August 21: A senior US official tells the press, "We really need to make Iraq an international operation.... You can make a case that it would be better to do that, but right now the situation in Iraq is not that dire." (New York Times/Los Angeles Times/Eric Alterman and Mark Green)
- August 21: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says Bush's foreign policy has driven away moderate Arab leaders and created the potential for a dangerous rift with European allies. Albright criticizes Bush for using "the shock of force" rather than relying on alliances in a fundamental departure from more than a half-century of U.S. foreign policy. (AP/New York Times)
- August 21: The pneumonia-like ailment that is felling dozens of American and British soldiers is a mystery to doctors and scientists. It is not pneumonia, because it does not respond to normal treatment. It puts healthy young men and women on breathing machines. It isn't normally contagious, nor is there a pattern to its outbreaks -- soldiers from Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Djibouti and Uzbekistan have all fallen ill. Doctors have ruled out diseases like SARS, Legionaire's disease, tuberculosis, hantavirus, and others; they tend to doubt that any biological or chemical weapons are the cause. The disease seems to dovetail with the mystery of Gulf War Syndrome, which after 12 years of research has yet to be diagnosed. (Economist)
- August 21: Former ambassador Joseph Wilson says at a public forum in Seattle that he believes Karl Rove is one of the White House officials who broke his wife's covert CIA cover. "At the end of the day," he says, "it's of keen interest to me whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs." (Frank Rich [PDF file])
