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
September 2006
Week One
- September 1: Congressional Democrats are demanding a vote of no confidence in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who recently compared critics of the Iraq war to "Nazi appeasers." Democrats say Rumsfeld's slanderous statement is indicative of how no one in the administration has been held accountable for the tremendous failures in Iraq. "secretary Rumsfeld's stewardship of this effort is a failure, and he has let down our armed forces," says representative Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who is pushing for the no-confidence move. The Republican National Committee, far from backing down from Rumsfeld's smears, lashed out in response, calling Emanuel and others calling for the vote "Defeatocrats." Republican House leaders have already said they will block any such motion for a vote against Rumsfeld, but Emanuel says he and his fellow Democrats are outraged at Rumsfeld's comments and will push for the vote regardless. Senate Democrats, led by Barbara Boxer, say they will push for a bill demanding Rumsfeld's resignation. Republicans plan on introducing a bill combining a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with language designed to offend Democrats, possibly praising the USA Patriot Act. Democrats -- and some Republicans -- say a debate on Rumsfeld's tenure at the Pentagon will present a quandary to embattled GOP incumbents in districts that have turned solidly against the war. "We are approaching 2,700 dead Americans, 20,000 wounded, many of them missing eyes, missing limbs, facing paralysis," says Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. "They want to debate that; we're happy to debate that." (Washington Post)
- September 2: Continuing his tactic of completely ignoring the realities on the ground in Iraq, Bush tells his radio listeners, "A vital part of our strategy to defeat the terrorists is to help establish a democratic Iraq, which will be a beacon of liberty in the region and an ally in the global war on terror. ...Here at home, some politicians say that our best option is to pull out of Iraq, regardless of the situation on the ground. Many of these people are sincere and patriotic -- but they could not be more wrong." The rhetoric is identical to that from months and years past, even as virtually everyone else recognizes that Iraq is in free fall and the US is exacerbating the situation with its presence. (White House/Democratic Underground)
- September 5: Bush tacitly acknowledges that Iraq's Shi'a, once considered an ally in Bush's war against Saddam Hussein and hopefully against Islamic terrorism, are now part of the problem. In a speech, Bush says, "As we continue to fight al-Qaeda and these Sunni extremists inspired by their radical ideology, we also face the threat posed by Shi'a extremists, who are learning from al-Qaeda, increasing their assertiveness and stepping up their threats. This Shi'a strain of Islamic radicalism is just as dangerous, and just as hostile to America, and just as determined to establish its brand of hegemony across the broader Middle East. And the Shia extremists have achieved something that al-Qaeda has so far failed to do: In 1979, they took control of a major power, the nation of Iran, subjugating its proud people to a regime of tyranny, and using that nation's resources to fund the spread of terror and pursue their radical agenda." Bush also condemns the Iraqi Shi'ites' support of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization, and implies that its leader, Sheikh Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah, is a "terrorist" who will be targeted. Nasrallah was rated the most respected leader in the Middle East in an August 2006 poll in Egypt, considered one of the West's most reliable allies. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, another target of the Bush administration, ranked second in that poll. Reporter Robert Parry observes, "So, Bush has set the United States on course to battle not only the stateless terrorists of al-Qaeda and the stubborn insurgents in Iraq but Islamic political leaders who have widespread support among the Muslim masses. How the United States would win such a war or even assemble the vast numbers of soldiers needed is hard to comprehend. This so-called 'long war,' which Bush's followers hail as 'World War III,' would mean fighting large portions of a religious movement that has the allegiance of about one-sixth of the planet's population." (Consortium News)
- September 6: On the same day that Bush justifies the use of torture in a press conference, the Army issues a newly revised field manual for interrogations that specifically rejects any idea that torture is an effective method for extracting information. The presentation by Lieutenant General John Kimmons is overshadowed in media reports by Bush's press conference, and some suspect that the press conference was deliberately timed to have just such an effect. "No good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices," says Kimmons. "I think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the past five years, hard years, tells us that." He adds that "any piece of intelligence which is obtained under duress through the use of abusive techniques would be of questionable credibility." Adherence to the Geneva Conventions is directed. Kimmons also says that, according to the manual, "Interrogators may not force a detainee to be naked, perform sexual acts of pose in a sexual manner. They cannot use hoods or place sacks over a detainee's head or use duct tape over his eyes. They cannot beat or electrically shock or burn him or inflict other forms of physical pain, any form of physical pain. They may not use water boarding. They may not use hypothermia or treatment which will lead to heat injury. They will not perform mock executions. They may not deprive detainees of the necessary food, water and medical care. And they may not use dogs in any aspect of interrogations." The revisions were written with a specific eye towards the abuses of Abu Ghraib and other Iraqi detention facilities. The manual specifically authorizes 19 interrogation methods, and outlaws all others. Kimmons says that three forms of trickery are authorized, based on battlefield experience: "good cop-bad cop," "Mutt and Jeff," and "false flag," where interrogators post as some other kind of officials. The technique of separating prisoners within the context of initial interrogations is also allowed to prevent POWs from coordinating their stories. (Fighting Dems News Service)
- September 7: Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage admits he leaked former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity to Robert Novak and to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post. Armitage says he did not realize Plame's job was covert. Woodward taped his June 13, 2003, interview with Armitage, but Armitage's role as perhaps the first leaker of Plame's name was revealed, not in Woodward's own publications, but in Hubris by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. (MSNBC ["Fact File"])
