War on Terrorism

This is what the US is fighting for???

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Government Libertarianism War on Terrorism on by

The Bush administration is drawing up a long-term plan for al-Qa’eda suspects at Guantanamo Bay, including building a prison where they could be held for the rest of their lives without ever appearing in a court of law.

This makes me more than nauseous so I’ll let Zombyboy speak for me:
The plan by the Bush administration to jail al-Qa’eda suspects for life without ever submitting them to a court is wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.
I have no doubt that these are Bad People who have done Bad Things and harbor nothing but Ill Intent toward the people of the West. I understand that the last thing we want is to have these people back in the world plotting the next attack against the citizens of–well, anywhere from New York to London, Paris, or Rome, for instance. I even realize that the people who are drawing up this plan believe that the actions they take will help protect the rest of the world.
While the plan may be protected legally inasmuch as the terrorists are not protected by the Geneva Convention, the plan isn’t a moral one
Read the rest.

Turkey and the EU

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There are probably lots of good reasons for the EU to bring Turkey into their club. However, taking a page out of the bush playbook is not one of them:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned European Union leaders that violence from Islamic extremists could escalate if the EU rejects Turkey as a member.
But, then, extortion is an oft used tool of government.
Via the Mahalanobis.

Bringing Freedom to Iraq

This entry was posted in bush Constitution Iraq War on Terrorism on by

Just how soon might we expect the bushies to bring home their latest version of freedom?

US commanders and Iraqi leaders have declared their intention to make Fallujah a “model city,” where they can maintain the security that has eluded them elsewhere.
Which apparently requires stuff like this:
Under the plans, troops would funnel Fallujans to so-called citizen processing centers on the outskirts of the city to compile a database of their identities through DNA testing and retina scans. Residents would receive badges displaying their home addresses that they must wear at all times. Buses would ferry them into the city, where cars, the deadliest tool of suicide bombers, would be banned.
……
One idea that has stirred debate among Marine officers would require all men to work, for pay, in military-style battalions. Depending on their skills, they would be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks, or rubble-clearing platoons.
And, it is convenient to try to place the blame somewhere else:
To accomplish those goals, they think they will have to use coercive measures allowed under martial law imposed last month by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
“It’s the Iraqi interim government that’s coming up with all these ideas,” Major General Richard Natonski, who commanded the Fallujah assault and oversees its reconstruction, said of the plans for identity badges and work brigades.
If these are really Allawi’s ideas then why is the US supporting someone so obviously opposed to basic principles of freedom? It seems to me that representatives of the land of the free should just say no to this kind of crap.
Via Scott.

Failed Administration

This entry was posted in cheney Domestic Terrorism Election 2004 US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

cheney tells us:

“The biggest threat we face now as a nation is the possibility of terrorists ending up in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us — biological agents or a nuclear weapon or a chemical weapon of some kind to be able to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans,” Cheney said.
This is as clear a statement of failure by the current administration as I have seen. What they have been doing during the last four years has not worked.
Via Prometheus 6.

Just Say No

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Federal Government Government Libertarianism Patriot Act War on Terrorism on by

This library gets it right:

The FBI wants to know who checked out a book from a small library about Osama Bin Laden. But the library isn’t giving out names, saying the government has no business knowing what their patrons read.
Via a puzzled Mac:
I am delighted that the library in question did fight back. But I�m still puzzled at why a margin doodler poses so much of a threat. Dude, more than half the U.S. borders and ports aren�t covered by Homeland Security and we�re out there trying to harrass people who write in library books?
Note, we would not know anything about this if the FBI had used the Patriot Act to request this information. Well, we might. But, then, whoever made it public would have been arrested and charged with illegal disclosure of information. You see, the deal is that citizens aren’t supposed to know what their government is doing.