Sunday, August 08, 2004
The Bush Administration ‘Outs’ Another Agent
This time the Administration blew the cover of a double agent, one Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, the alleged source of info that led to the latest alert concerning financial institutions in N.Y. and D.C.
Reuters:
"The New York Times published a story on Monday saying U.S. officials had disclosed that a man arrested secretly in Pakistan was the source of the bulk of information leading to the security alerts. The newspaper named him as Khan, although it did not say how it had learned his name. U.S. officials subsequently confirmed the name to other news organizations on Monday morning. None of the reports mentioned that Khan was working under cover at the time, helping to catch al Qaeda suspects."
Essentially, Khan had been apprehended by Pakistani military intelligence and had been turned into a double agent, and had been employed to penetrate al-Qaeda cells. Then, a “senior Administration official” told the Reuters reporters his name, ending his employ and apparently forcing the British to make premature (still lacking evidence) arrests of an al-Qaeda cell.
It’s not clear as to the motivation for the outing, but it’s clearly another example of their incompetence. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=2&u=/nm/20040806/ts_nm/security_dc
We ticked off our allies:
It turns out that both the United Kingdom and Pakistan are extremely angry with Bush for going public with the details gleaned from the computers of Khan and Ghailani.
Sunday’s programs picked it up.
Blitzer then revealed that he had discussed the Khan case with US National Security Adviser Condaleeza Rice on background. He reported that she had admitted that the Bush administration had in fact revealed Khan's name to the press. She said she did not know if Khan was a double agent working for the Pakistani government. (!!!) www.juancole.com
National Preparedness Month
Clear your calendar for this one. Its officially for September, timed for the Republican convention. The kick-off event will be a preparedness quiz in the patriotic Parade magazine on August 29.
Overview
Throughout September 2004, the US Department of Homeland Security, American Red Cross, American Prepared Campaign, the National Association of Broadcasters, the US Department of Education and other partners, will host a series of events to highlight the importance of citizen emergency preparedness.
During National Preparedness Month, coalition partners will promote the basic steps all Americans can take to prepare for emergencies through a variety of activities. http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelId=-13260&P=WCA&contentId=16903&contentType=GSA_BASIC
Jobs Report: The facts, if you missed it, were that 32,000 jobs were created in July and that June’s number was revised downward from 112,000 to 78,000. We need to create about 150,000 each month to keep up with population growth. And this doesn’t measure the growing number who are either underemployed or out of the labor market.
If there were no election, we’d be focused on our stagnant economy and fretting as to what our children / grandchildren will find in a wilted American economy. But since it’s an election year, it’s “good news”, i.e. bad news for Bush.
Breaking with Bush: More rumblings from the “moderate” Republicans. John McCain defends Kerry against the latest swift boat nonsense, and Thomas Kean of the 8/11 Commission issued an unexpected statement:
The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission said on Wednesday that voters in November's presidential election should weigh how President Bush and Senator John Kerry respond to the commission's final report in determining how they vote. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/politics/campaign/05panel.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position
What’s Happening, Iraq: Reports of escalated fighting. Again, our military sought to capture Mahdi army leaders and to capture al-Sadr, the Shi’ite cleric-leader.
Related: PM Allawi makes like Saddam. This is The New Iraq …kinda like the old, no?. From The Oregonian
From his post several stories above ground level, he watched as men in plainclothes beat blindfolded and bound prisoners in the enclosed grounds of the Iraqi Interior Ministry.
He immediately radioed for help. Soon after, a team of Oregon Army National Guard soldiers swept into the yard and found dozens of Iraqi detainees who said they had been beaten, starved and deprived of water for three days.
In a nearby building, the soldiers counted dozens more prisoners and what appeared to be torture devices -- metal rods, rubber hoses, electrical wires and bottles of chemicals. Many of the Iraqis, including one identified as a 14-year-old boy, had fresh welts and bruises across their back and legs.
The soldiers disarmed the Iraqi jailers, moved the prisoners into the shade, released their handcuffs and administered first aid. Lt. Col. Daniel Hendrickson of Albany, Ore., the highest ranking American at the scene, radioed for instructions. http://oregonlive.com/special/oregonian/iraq/index.ssf?/base/front_page/109196614530740.xml
And a rather bizarre turn, as the Chilabis are in trouble. Arrest warrants were issued for former Pentagon favorite Ahmed (counterfeiting) and his nephew Salem (murder). Yet, Salem remains head of the war crimes tribunal charged with trying Saddam et al.
Bob Herbert’s Outrage The New York Times op ed. columnist revs up:
No one has a clue how this madness will end. As G.I.'s continue to fight and die in Iraq, the national leaders who put them needlessly in harm's way are now flashing orange alert signals to convey that Al Qaeda - the enemy that should have been in our sights all along - is poised to strike us again.
It's as if the government were following a script from the theater of the absurd. Instead of rallying our allies to a coordinated and relentless campaign against Al Qaeda after Sept. 11, we insulted the allies, gave them the back of our hand and arrogantly sent the bulk of our forces into the sand trap of Iraq.
Now we're in a fix. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/politics/campaign/05panel.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position
Polls: In sum, Kerry’s small bump from the convention has him at least temporarily in the lead; Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan are consistently Kerry’s; he needs Ohio or Florida. But, it’s only August.
National:
The Economist: Kerry 48 – 43%
Democracy Corps: Kerry 49 - 44%
Time Magazine: Kerry: 48 - 43% (4% for Nader)
Investors Business Daily: Kerry 45- 42%
State polls:
California: Kerry 51%, Bush 40% (Field Poll)
Michigan: Kerry 52%, Bush 41% (Survey USA)
New Hampshire: Kerry 49%, Bush 42% (American Research Group)
Florida: Kerry 48%, Bush 48% (Strategic Vision)
Florida: Kerry 50%, Bush 43% (American Research Group)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 51%, Bush 43% (Strategic Vision
New Jersey: Kerry 49%, Bush 36% (Quinnipiac)
Ohio: Bush 49%, Kerry 45% (Strategic Vision)
Minnesota: Kerry 49%, Bush 45% (Strategic Vision)
Iowa: Kerry 49%, Bush 46% (Strategic Vision)
Arkansas: Bush 46% Kerry 46% (Rasmussen)
New Mexico: Kerry 50% Bush 43% Badnarik 5%(Rasmussen)
Michigan: Kerry 50%, Bush 44% (Rasmussen)
Oregon: Kerry 47%, Bush 41% (Rasmussen)
New Jersey: Kerry 51%, Bush 38% (Rasmussen)
Florida: Kerry 47%, Bush 45% (Rasmussen)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 46%, Bush 45% (Rasmussen)
New Jersey: Kerry 52%, Bush 32% (Star-Ledger/Eagleton)
Ohio: Bush 47%, Kerry 44% (Columbus Dispatch)
Prozac, Prozac Everywhere. From the Guardian (GB)
It should make us happy, but environmentalists are deeply alarmed: Prozac, the anti-depression drug, is being taken in such large quantities that it can now be found in Britain's drinking water.
Environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the revelations, describing the build-up of the antidepressant as 'hidden mass medication'. The Environment Agency has revealed that Prozac is building up both in river systems and groundwater used for drinking supplies.
Experts say that Prozac finds its way into rivers and water systems from treated sewage water. Some believe the drugs could affect their reproductive ability.
European studies have also expressed disquiet over the impact of pharmaceuticals building up in the environment, warning that an effect on wildlife and human health 'cannot be excluded'.
'It is extremely unlikely that there is a risk, as such drugs are excreted in very low concentrations,' a DWI spokesman said. 'Advanced treatment processes installed for pesticide removal are effective in removing drug residues,' he added. http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1278793,00.html
-R
This time the Administration blew the cover of a double agent, one Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, the alleged source of info that led to the latest alert concerning financial institutions in N.Y. and D.C.
Reuters:
"The New York Times published a story on Monday saying U.S. officials had disclosed that a man arrested secretly in Pakistan was the source of the bulk of information leading to the security alerts. The newspaper named him as Khan, although it did not say how it had learned his name. U.S. officials subsequently confirmed the name to other news organizations on Monday morning. None of the reports mentioned that Khan was working under cover at the time, helping to catch al Qaeda suspects."
Essentially, Khan had been apprehended by Pakistani military intelligence and had been turned into a double agent, and had been employed to penetrate al-Qaeda cells. Then, a “senior Administration official” told the Reuters reporters his name, ending his employ and apparently forcing the British to make premature (still lacking evidence) arrests of an al-Qaeda cell.
It’s not clear as to the motivation for the outing, but it’s clearly another example of their incompetence. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=2&u=/nm/20040806/ts_nm/security_dc
We ticked off our allies:
It turns out that both the United Kingdom and Pakistan are extremely angry with Bush for going public with the details gleaned from the computers of Khan and Ghailani.
Sunday’s programs picked it up.
Blitzer then revealed that he had discussed the Khan case with US National Security Adviser Condaleeza Rice on background. He reported that she had admitted that the Bush administration had in fact revealed Khan's name to the press. She said she did not know if Khan was a double agent working for the Pakistani government. (!!!) www.juancole.com
National Preparedness Month
Clear your calendar for this one. Its officially for September, timed for the Republican convention. The kick-off event will be a preparedness quiz in the patriotic Parade magazine on August 29.
Overview
Throughout September 2004, the US Department of Homeland Security, American Red Cross, American Prepared Campaign, the National Association of Broadcasters, the US Department of Education and other partners, will host a series of events to highlight the importance of citizen emergency preparedness.
During National Preparedness Month, coalition partners will promote the basic steps all Americans can take to prepare for emergencies through a variety of activities. http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelId=-13260&P=WCA&contentId=16903&contentType=GSA_BASIC
Jobs Report: The facts, if you missed it, were that 32,000 jobs were created in July and that June’s number was revised downward from 112,000 to 78,000. We need to create about 150,000 each month to keep up with population growth. And this doesn’t measure the growing number who are either underemployed or out of the labor market.
If there were no election, we’d be focused on our stagnant economy and fretting as to what our children / grandchildren will find in a wilted American economy. But since it’s an election year, it’s “good news”, i.e. bad news for Bush.
Breaking with Bush: More rumblings from the “moderate” Republicans. John McCain defends Kerry against the latest swift boat nonsense, and Thomas Kean of the 8/11 Commission issued an unexpected statement:
The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission said on Wednesday that voters in November's presidential election should weigh how President Bush and Senator John Kerry respond to the commission's final report in determining how they vote. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/politics/campaign/05panel.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position
What’s Happening, Iraq: Reports of escalated fighting. Again, our military sought to capture Mahdi army leaders and to capture al-Sadr, the Shi’ite cleric-leader.
Related: PM Allawi makes like Saddam. This is The New Iraq …kinda like the old, no?. From The Oregonian
From his post several stories above ground level, he watched as men in plainclothes beat blindfolded and bound prisoners in the enclosed grounds of the Iraqi Interior Ministry.
He immediately radioed for help. Soon after, a team of Oregon Army National Guard soldiers swept into the yard and found dozens of Iraqi detainees who said they had been beaten, starved and deprived of water for three days.
In a nearby building, the soldiers counted dozens more prisoners and what appeared to be torture devices -- metal rods, rubber hoses, electrical wires and bottles of chemicals. Many of the Iraqis, including one identified as a 14-year-old boy, had fresh welts and bruises across their back and legs.
The soldiers disarmed the Iraqi jailers, moved the prisoners into the shade, released their handcuffs and administered first aid. Lt. Col. Daniel Hendrickson of Albany, Ore., the highest ranking American at the scene, radioed for instructions. http://oregonlive.com/special/oregonian/iraq/index.ssf?/base/front_page/109196614530740.xml
And a rather bizarre turn, as the Chilabis are in trouble. Arrest warrants were issued for former Pentagon favorite Ahmed (counterfeiting) and his nephew Salem (murder). Yet, Salem remains head of the war crimes tribunal charged with trying Saddam et al.
Bob Herbert’s Outrage The New York Times op ed. columnist revs up:
No one has a clue how this madness will end. As G.I.'s continue to fight and die in Iraq, the national leaders who put them needlessly in harm's way are now flashing orange alert signals to convey that Al Qaeda - the enemy that should have been in our sights all along - is poised to strike us again.
It's as if the government were following a script from the theater of the absurd. Instead of rallying our allies to a coordinated and relentless campaign against Al Qaeda after Sept. 11, we insulted the allies, gave them the back of our hand and arrogantly sent the bulk of our forces into the sand trap of Iraq.
Now we're in a fix. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/politics/campaign/05panel.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position
Polls: In sum, Kerry’s small bump from the convention has him at least temporarily in the lead; Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan are consistently Kerry’s; he needs Ohio or Florida. But, it’s only August.
National:
The Economist: Kerry 48 – 43%
Democracy Corps: Kerry 49 - 44%
Time Magazine: Kerry: 48 - 43% (4% for Nader)
Investors Business Daily: Kerry 45- 42%
State polls:
California: Kerry 51%, Bush 40% (Field Poll)
Michigan: Kerry 52%, Bush 41% (Survey USA)
New Hampshire: Kerry 49%, Bush 42% (American Research Group)
Florida: Kerry 48%, Bush 48% (Strategic Vision)
Florida: Kerry 50%, Bush 43% (American Research Group)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 51%, Bush 43% (Strategic Vision
New Jersey: Kerry 49%, Bush 36% (Quinnipiac)
Ohio: Bush 49%, Kerry 45% (Strategic Vision)
Minnesota: Kerry 49%, Bush 45% (Strategic Vision)
Iowa: Kerry 49%, Bush 46% (Strategic Vision)
Arkansas: Bush 46% Kerry 46% (Rasmussen)
New Mexico: Kerry 50% Bush 43% Badnarik 5%(Rasmussen)
Michigan: Kerry 50%, Bush 44% (Rasmussen)
Oregon: Kerry 47%, Bush 41% (Rasmussen)
New Jersey: Kerry 51%, Bush 38% (Rasmussen)
Florida: Kerry 47%, Bush 45% (Rasmussen)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 46%, Bush 45% (Rasmussen)
New Jersey: Kerry 52%, Bush 32% (Star-Ledger/Eagleton)
Ohio: Bush 47%, Kerry 44% (Columbus Dispatch)
Prozac, Prozac Everywhere. From the Guardian (GB)
It should make us happy, but environmentalists are deeply alarmed: Prozac, the anti-depression drug, is being taken in such large quantities that it can now be found in Britain's drinking water.
Environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the revelations, describing the build-up of the antidepressant as 'hidden mass medication'. The Environment Agency has revealed that Prozac is building up both in river systems and groundwater used for drinking supplies.
Experts say that Prozac finds its way into rivers and water systems from treated sewage water. Some believe the drugs could affect their reproductive ability.
European studies have also expressed disquiet over the impact of pharmaceuticals building up in the environment, warning that an effect on wildlife and human health 'cannot be excluded'.
'It is extremely unlikely that there is a risk, as such drugs are excreted in very low concentrations,' a DWI spokesman said. 'Advanced treatment processes installed for pesticide removal are effective in removing drug residues,' he added. http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1278793,00.html
-R
