The Politics of the Man Behind '24' | The New Yorker
Topic: War on Terrorism
1:29 am EST, Feb 14, 2007
This article is more important than it sounds.
“24,” by suggesting that the U.S. government perpetrates myriad forms of torture, hurts the country’s image internationally. Finnegan, who is a lawyer, has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point seniors —— cadets who would soon be commanders in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He always tries, he said, to get his students to sort out not just what is legal but what is right. However, it had become increasingly hard to convince some cadets that America had to respect the rule of law and human rights, even when terrorists did not. One reason for the growing resistance, he suggested, was misperceptions spread by “24,” which was exceptionally popular with his students. As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ” He continued, “The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do.”
Gary Solis, a retired law professor who designed and taught the Law of War for Commanders curriculum at West Point, told me that he had similar arguments with his students. He said that, under both U.S. and international law, “Jack Bauer is a criminal. In real life, he would be prosecuted.” Yet the motto of many of his students was identical to Jack Bauer’s: “Whatever it takes.” His students were particularly impressed by a scene in which Bauer barges into a room where a stubborn suspect is being held, shoots him in one leg, and threatens to shoot the other if he doesn’t talk. In less than ten seconds, the suspect reveals that his associates plan to assassinate the Secretary of Defense. Solis told me, “I tried to impress on them that this technique would open the wrong doors, but it was like trying to stomp out an anthill.”
The Vice President appears on Meet the Press with Tim Russert 09/16/01
Topic: War on Terrorism
1:29 am EST, Feb 14, 2007
VICE PRES. CHENEY: We also have to work, though, sort of the dark side, if you will.
Anyone know anyone who does original hard core drum and base? Because you seriously couldn't ask for better sample fodder... Hell, industrial'd work too.
Cartoon Network Chief Quits Over Marketing Stunt - New York Times
Topic: War on Terrorism
1:35 pm EST, Feb 10, 2007
The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a terrorism scare in Boston and led police to shut down bridges and send in the bomb squad.
He said he regretted what had happened and felt ''compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch.''
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
A characteristic and terrifying example of the invisible menace posed by insurgents is a YouTube video in which a camera lying on a barracks floor during an intense mortar attack captures troops praying and screaming as rounds land ever closer to their position.
"It's clear the intent was to get attention by causing fear and unrest that there was a bomb in that location," Assistant Attorney General John Grossman said at their arraignment.
I wonder if it's illegal to make intentionally false statements like that in an arraignment.
"The appearance of this device and its location are crucial," Grossman said. "This device looks like a bomb."
Some in the gallery snickered.
Fortunately, the defendants don't seem to be taking their situation too hard. If I was facing years in prison I don't know if I'd be this silly about it.
"What we really want to talk about today -- it's kind of important to some people -- it's haircuts of the 1970s," Berdovsky said.
Welcome to being misunderstood, demonized and wanted by the law.
This is a video put together by the marketing team that hung the ATHF signs around Boston. The style of this video is VERY similar to that of the Graffiti Research Lab, but it is not... Here are more pictures.
Zebbler IS Boston's Overlord!
In other news, Boston's top government officials have dispatched agents to arrest the guy who put these up because someone must pay!
'There is no war on terror' | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics
Topic: War on Terrorism
2:03 pm EST, Jan 24, 2007
The director of public prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald, put himself at odds with the home secretary and Downing Street last night by denying that Britain is caught up in a "war on terror" and calling for a "culture of legislative restraint" in passing laws to deal with terrorism.
"It is critical that we understand that this new form of terrorism carries another more subtle, perhaps equally pernicious, risk. Because it might encourage a fear-driven and inappropriate response. By that I mean it can tempt us to abandon our values. I think it important to understand that this is one of its primary purposes."
"London is not a battlefield. Those innocents who were murdered on July 7 2005 were not victims of war. And the men who killed them were not, as in their vanity they claimed on their ludicrous videos, 'soldiers'. They were deluded, narcissistic inadequates. They were criminals. They were fantasists. We need to be very clear about this. On the streets of London, there is no such thing as a 'war on terror', just as there can be no such thing as a 'war on drugs'.
Manual lays out rules for Guantanamo trials - CNN.com
Topic: War on Terrorism
3:32 am EST, Jan 19, 2007
Brig. Gen. Thomas Hemingway, a legal adviser to the Office of Military Commissions, told reporters that the manual provides for a "clear prohibition of evidence obtained by torture" if it was obtained after December 30, 2005. But if it was obtained before that time, and if the judge determines that it is reliable, it may be admitted, he said.
I gotta tell ya, I'm scratching my head on this one.
Stratfor: Geopolitical Intelligence Report - January 4, 2007
The 'Surge Strategy': Political Arguments and Military Realities
By George Friedman
U.S. President George W. Bush is preparing a new strategy for Iraq. According to reports being leaked to the media, the primary option being considered is a "surge strategy," in which U.S. troop levels in Iraq would be increased, particularly in the Baghdad region. The numbers of additional troops that would deploy -- or that would not be rotated home -- are unclear, but appear to be in the low tens of thousands. This "surge" strategy is interesting in that it runs counter to general expectations after the midterm elections in November, when it appeared that the president was tied to a phased withdrawal plan. Instead, Bush seems to have decided to attempt to break out of the military gridlock in which the United States finds itself. Therefore, the questions now are why the president is considering this strategy and whether it will work.
As we have discussed previously, the United States appears to have four strategic options in Iraq:
1. Massively increase the number of troops in Iraq, attempting to break the back of both the Sunni insurgents and the Shiite militias and create room for a political settlement.
2. Begin a withdrawal process that allows the Iraqis to shape the politics of the country as they will -- and that leaves a huge opportunity for Iran to fill the vacuum.
3. Abandon attempts to provide security for Iraq but retain forces there, in a redeployed posture, with the goal of blocking any potential Iranian moves toward the Arabian Peninsula.
4. Attempt to reach a political accommodation with Tehran that concedes Iraq to the Iranian sphere of influence, in order to provide guarantees against Iranian expansion southward. This diplomatic option is compatible with all others.
Each of these options has strengths and weakness. The first option, the surge, rests on the assumption that the United States has enough troops available to make a difference on the ground in Iraq; it also would decrease the strategic reserve for dealing with other crises around the world. The phased withdrawal option eliminates the need for Iraqi Shia and Iran to engage in political discussion -- since, given time, U.S. forces would depart from Iraq and the Shia would be the dominant force. The blocking strategy puts the United States in the position of protecting Saudi Arabia (a Sunni kingdom that doesn't want to appear to be seeking such protection) against Iran -- a Shiite state that could, in that situation, choose the time and place for initiating conflict. In other words, this option would put U.S. forces on a strategic defensive in hostile areas. The fourth option, diplomacy, assumes so... [ Read More (1.6k in body) ]
