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One small voice in the proud tradition of FreeBlogging*
Saturday, April 05, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:38 AM:
Here's WFB's latest. Love the ending.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:40 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Advance into and Fighting in Capital. That is to say that the Coalition is in Baghdad (as noted in the post below).
Le Figaro: American Tanks Penetrate Baghdad. Le Figaro is suddenly sounding much less snide than a few days ago.
Libé: Tanks enter south suburbs of Baghdad.
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posted by gbarto at 1:31 AM:
How the war is going:COALITION INSIDE CAPITAL; TROOPS CAPTURE REPUBLICAN GUARD DIVISION HQ
Not bad for fifteen or sixteen days work.
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Friday, April 04, 2003
posted by gbarto at 10:20 AM:
China Sorry About SARS Cover-UpGovernment officials admit world should have been warned sooner
Meanwhile, another country is dealing with its own problems with SARS and lack of information. There was a letter to the editor in the San Jose Mercury News a few days ago from an official from Taiwan's consulate in San Francisco, lamenting that his country doesn't have access to WHO support. Why doesn't the World Health Organization help Taiwan? Duh. Taiwan is an outlaw nation. It doesn't belong to the United Nations. Which means, I guess, it has no place in world health.
So, why doesn't Taiwan belong to the United Nations? Its entry has been successfully blocked by... that very same China that covered up this disease, an action that threatens, among others, Taiwan.
Remember that when you hear about the sanctity of the UN in the debate over who should organize Iraq's rebuilding. The United Nations is not a world organization, speaking for the world community; it's an agglomeration of nations who together practice the sort of politics that denies the world's best epidemic management to Taiwan because China doesn't like it.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:11 AM:
In shock. Even as I was returning from the post below, I saw this headline:U.S. Journalist Killed in Iraq
Atlantic, National Journal editor Michael Kelly dies in vehicle accident
I haven't felt so bad since Scott Shuger's diving accident. It seems to me strange that I cannot look forward, now, to another of his delightfully skewering commentaries. I'm just afraid it's my fault: Though I always read him in the Post and often would pull up anything linked from the Atlantic, or wherever else he happened to write, it was not until two days ago that I purchased, for the first time, an issue of the Atlantic under his editorship. Ironically, the opening piece was his commentary on the "bravery," the faux courage of all the poets and prosists (?) who were making such a big deal of standing against the war from the safety of America. His mocking tone clearly showed what he thought of people who thought it was any great shakes to do what our founding fathers had made it safe for us to do over 200 years ago.
Michael Kelly, on the other hand, went to Iraq to see. And now, while the courageous Hollywood elite sip cocktails and congratulate one another, he is gone. RIP.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:00 AM:
If only Heather O'Rourke were still with us to do the voiceover... He's baaaaaaaaaaaack.Yup, a new appearance by Saddam:
Saddam Urges Iraqis to Fight
TV appearance refers to March 24 downing of Apache helicopter
* * *
posted by gbarto at 4:44 AM:
Three Troops Killed in Car BombingPregnant woman, driver also killed in apparent homicide attack
That's right. A pregnant woman. And no doubt the Iraqi leadership will soon be declaring it a triumph. Remember that the next time an anti-war, anti-American starts talking about loss of innocent life due to American clumsiness or imperfection on the battlefield.
"A pregnant female stepped out of the vehicle and began screaming in fear," the statement said. "At this point the civilian vehicle exploded, killing three coalition force members who were approaching the vehicle and wounding two others."That's right. Saddam's latest hero deliberately and knowingly blew up a pregnant woman in his attack on US troops.
It said the woman and the driver also were killed.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:15 AM:
Just wandering through the server logs and thought I'd mention a site I don't recall running into before:Jaysolo refers to the interconnectedness of things in talking about SARS and disease. Appreciated since I've been listening to Dirk Gently the last few days.
I'm also surprised by the proliferation of googles out there now. I must have hits from 15 or 20 of them (didn't bother to count). I don't buy that I'm getting hits from the Washington Post or Real Clear Politics though.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:27 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: In the storm, Raffarin "maintains course", steering France through wartime, recession, et cetera. He's promising tax cuts, though, which surely makes him a lightweight with no understanding of economics. Right?
Le Figaro: The Americans Hold Baghdad Airport.
Libé: The American Infantry Besieges Baghdad Airport.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:12 AM:
Baghdad Airport has fallen, but hey, it's not over for Saddam yet: He still has a mosque!Saddam Loyalists Hide in Mosque
More than 150 Iraqi fighters remain inside gold-domed Mosque of Ali
Religion of peace, my ass. Not the Islam that's Saddam's religion.
I won't even mention the barbarism of the Iraqis in contrast with civilized Westerners trying to preserve the landmark; taking potshots would be too easy.
Oops. Maybe I did.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:10 AM:
Congress to Probe War Crimes in IraqLawmakers hope to punish those who have mistreated U.S. POWs
They were going to make the accused serve as advisers to a congressional task force on war crimes, but we've received word that such cruelty would constitute crimes against humanity.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:01 AM:
Late Night Finds Lighter Side of WarLetterman, Leno and Stewart poke fun at anti-war celebrities, Rumsfeld
If you can't joke about life and death matters, what can you joke about... Actually, though, humor is a mechanism for releasing tension by collapsing life into digestible pieces such that the overall seriousness of it is a little diminished and the more ridiculous side of our nature is exposed. God, those sentences sound dry. But we'll leave 'em for the hell of it, and close with one of the jokes:
"There are now reports that Saddam Hussein was injured in the initial bombing and he's now receiving medical care in an underground bunker," Leno said recently. "He asked his doctors if he was going to live, and they told him, 'Oh yeah, absolutely, you'll live. Until the Americans get here – then you're screwed.'" - Jay Leno
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posted by gbarto at 1:55 AM:
Jessica Lynch Has Back SurgeryFather of rescued POW denies reports she was shot, stabbed
Until such time as Pfc Lynch tells us, no one will know the full story. But it's good that she's out and safe. I imagine the WaPo reporter who gave what was though to be the full account - shooting down Iraqis, suffering multiple wounds, etc. - is feeling a little nervous right now, though.
* * *
Thursday, April 03, 2003
posted by gbarto at 12:48 PM:
U.S. Troops Take Baghdad AirportALLIES RAID AIRPORT; BAGHDAD GOES DARK
There are your top headlines. Now you know about as much as I do. Or anyone else who isn't over there. Off to lunch. Have a good day. Hopefully the regime will be gone when next I report. We'll see.
Then on to our next battle: reconstruction.
Our army and marines can handle Iraq. The dark and lurking question: Can our diplomatic corps handle the French and Russians?
Stay tuned.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:37 AM:
U.S., Allies Clash Over Plan to Use Iraqi Oil Profits for RebuildingWashington wants to sell the oil to finance rebuilding Iraq and then turn the oil over to the people. Meanwhile, a lot of UN folk are saying that the UN is in charge until UN ordered sanctions connected to the oil for food program are lifted.
Question: Are these people saying that with Saddam's regime gone, a US occupation transitioning to a self-governing Iraqi people, etc., the UN is going to continue to treat Iraq as an outlaw regime? Are they saying they wouldn't vote to lift the sanctions once the man whose recalcitrance provoked them is gone?
The answers to the above are, of course, yes. The irony is that the two countries least respectful of the sanctions, France and Russia, are suddenly determined that all aspects of the sanctions policy remain in place. Why? you ask. Easy. France and Russia negotiated sweetheart deals with a cash-strapped Saddam eager to collect anything he could get to finance the war machine, and they want contracts written in the blood of the Iraqi people to stand. TotalFinaElf - part owned by the French government - was counting on Saddam's contracts being good. So was Russia:
Russia, which signed large oil development contracts with Saddam Hussein's government, is seeking a guarantee that it will continue to have a say in the United Nations on how Iraqi oil revenue is spent. France also is determined to protect its interests in development of Iraq's oil reserves.The Post story is pretty good, but it ends with this bizarre quote:
Robert E. Ebel, energy program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said: "The French have a position to protect in Iraq and so do the Russians. They want to be sure they're not shunted aside. If we do too much of that people will say it really was about oil."Funny, if the US spends its own money - and lives - to free the Iraqi people, and then gives the oil to the Iraqis but insists that the Iraqis help pay for reconstruction with some of the oil revenue - they get to keep the rest - then the US was in it for oil. If France and Russia demand that the UN be in charge so that their oil companies retain contracts made with a tyrant, it's about... Nobody has anything to say to that.
I think the Bushies should (again) say to hell with international law as negotiated at the UN, and once they seize Baghdad they should announce over loudspeakers to the Iraqi people that the oppressor is gone, and - as has happened with every leftist revolt around the world - the illegally acquired property and revenue of the dictator will be properly restored to the people. Including the oil revenue. We should humbly offer to do reconstruction for reasonable fees and pack up and leave if they give the job to someone else. But I have a feeling that in choosing between a US that has just told them the oil money is theirs and French, Russians and Germans who are trying to take it away from them through the international courts, the choice will be obvious.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:17 AM:
Here's Washington Post on our troops' foray into a presidential palace:U.S. Troops Push Toward Showdown on Outskirts of Iraq
Troops Venture into One of Hussein's Palaces
Paving the way, special forces infiltrated some Iraqi command posts in the Baghdad area. Another group of commandos raided the Tharthar presidential palace, in a resort area about 55 miles from Baghdad.
Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, in a briefing at Central Command, said the raiders landed by helicopter in the palace compound after repressing anti-aircraft fire. The commandos found no leaders in residence, but came away with documents that will be reviewed by intelligence officers, Brooks said.
Thorp said a second presidential palace, near Saddam International Airport on the outskirts of Baghdad, also was briefly entered by U.S. soldiers Thursday.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:11 AM:
One of the problems with the breaking news thing - Fox is running this headline:FORCES ENTER, LEAVE SADDAM PALACE
There's no mention of this in the linked story. However, troops are now within six miles of the city, special forces are active in Baghdad, and the road from Baghdad is littered with black combat boots - left by Iraqi soldiers trying to remove evidence of who they were. Whether they're planning on regrouping to fight dressed as civilians - a war crime - or just getting the hell out of there with their advance notice of what's coming is not certain.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:53 AM:
City Looks Little PreparedWith U.S. forces 30 miles from its outskirts, the ancient capital hardly projects the air of a fortress.
Blair Driven by Global Vision
British leader sees Iraq war as boosting the community of nations.
Fox is saying six miles here, but the point is that it's a little premature for what next. First we must see what happens in the war. Then we'll figure out what comes next. I think, however, that the Blair angle is about the British PM covering his backside after backing us and that we probably aren't that opposed to internationalization, so long as the French are made to give up some of their oil revenues and look very bad and self-interested for anything they manage to claim - i.e. we must make sure that the anti-Americans pay a pound of credibility for every ounce of profit they extract from liberated Iraq. With that, we can be satisfied that someone other than us gets the more tedious day to day tasks.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:46 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: The war isn't the only thing on French minds. Le Monde's top story for the moment is the Mobilization against retirement reforms, reform meaning lessening of benefits. Some things the US and France still have in common.
Le Figaro: Here's a headline interesting for the premise and point of view from which it starts: Iraqi Guard does not succeed in barring way to Baghdad. Does that mean the Coalition broke through Iraqi lines? Coalition, what coalition? comes the reply. We're just worried that Saddam's defenses didn't hold.
Libé: Libé does a little better in the headline department, with Fighting more ferocious on the approach to Baghdad.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:35 AM:
Bad news from the air:Navy F/A-18 Hornet Shot Down in Iraq
No immediate word on pilot's fate
Army Black Hawk Shot Down; 7 Dead
But, alas, a part of war.
On the other hand, this is interesting:
German FM Supports Regime Change
In turnaround, official says he hopes Saddam's gov't collapses quickly
But this is where Fischer, head of the Greens is. What about Schroeder? It's kind of odd because with the political dynamic in play it's almost plausible that this is not so much a turnaround for the German government as the Chancellor's losing clout to his biggest rival on the left. We'll see.
* * *
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:41 AM:
We're almost there...
Marines Poised to Strike Baghdad
Officials say one division of Republican Guard is "destroyed."
Which means, unfortunately, it's probably going to get very ugly indeed. On the other hand, we have covered an incredible amount of ground and done a tremendous amount to take charge in Iraq. It is interesting that some have recoiled because this wasn't a cakewalk for us. Maybe it wasn't, and maybe the administration should have done more to tell the most fervent believers in video game wars that we still had to use real soldiers. That said, there has been an amazing demonstration of force both in the air and on the ground. That this has always been about whether we could pull it off without bloodshed, not whether we could pull it off, speaks volumes about both our power and our aims. And now, alas, the roughest challenge. We'll meet it, but let us hope and pray that the cost is as little as possible.
Good luck and godspeed to our troops and may the Iraqi people soon be free.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:34 AM:
South Korea Sending Troops to IraqParliament OKs dispatch of non-combat personnel to aid coalition
On the one hand, it's looking sort of like résistance, après guerre, since we're on the outskirts of Baghdad. On the other hand, it's good for PR and South Korea doesn't bring quite the same potential for post-war mischief that would come if it were, say, France, Germany or Belgium signing on. To paraphrase the Québecois, "Nous nous y souviendrons."
Turkey is also coming round after chatting with Secretary Powell, from what I understand. Funny the way these people are throwing in their lot with us in a middle of a "quagmire". Are these nations confused, or those who two weeks in already see a quagmire?
* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:28 AM:
Philippines Bomb Blast Kills 16No claim of responsibility for Davao explosion — Islamists suspected
I suppose it's progress that instead of calling the local newspapers to announce their triumph, these thugs have to settle for breaking a few hearts and the peace of mind for a larger number of people. It means that all they have is destabilization, because there is no longer any hope that throwing your name around will either cause the populace to rally round your name or force it into submission.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:24 AM:
Huh?
Saddam: 'Victory Is at Hand'
Statement read by proxy on Iraqi TV
Incidentally, Saddam hasn't shown up for his last few statements. Which means one of the worries we might be facing is who is going to surrender to us that is sufficiently recognizable for the surrender to stick with members of Saddam's family and the upper echelons of the Baath party.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:13 AM:
The good news and the bad news is that earlier today, US troops rescued one POW - Pvt. Jessica Lynch - but found 11 others dead. Now the newest, newest news: We're getting damn close.U.S. Forces Within 19 Miles of Baghdad
So says the great big Fox banner. Which means by the time you read this, it may be 15 or 10. Or it may be that we're in Baghdad just about two weeks after our first actual moves in this conflict.
God watch over our troops, over the Iraqi people they're trying to liberate, indeed, over us all.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:41 AM:
Some French are making their nation look bad again, and it's a doozy. Steve Den Beste has the full scoop, but here's a picture of what they did to a military cemetery for Brits who died rescuing France from the Nazis.
In the left corner, that says, "DETERREZ VOS DECHETS - ILS SOUILLENT NOTRE SOL" - "Dig up your trash - they're fouling our soil".
This is what happens when so-called world leaders view an international mess principally as an opportunity to raise their nation's profile. We wish Jacques Chirac well with the belligerent France he has helped shape. If this is what they say in cemeteries, one can only imagine what they're saying at home.
This represents a new low for France. It also represents an opportunity for every frog-basher out there to start the drive to keep the France - and as a consequence, the UN - out of the re-ordering of Iraq. We offer thanks for that at least.
One wonders though. If this is the way that France is seen to repay the sacrifices of those of other nations, who will want to leap to her defense in the future? I've spent years studying these people and have found much to like - though also much to contend with. But the image radicals have been giving France, coupled with mainstream France's failure to furiously repudiate them, makes me worry more than ever that this is a culture that has crossed the line between decadent cynicism and becoming culturally brain dead.
Note: I copied the picture off Steve's blog so my site would be covering the bandwith; it's an Agence France Presse picture but I don't have an original link.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:18 AM:
Virginia Postrel rightly notes that we rescued Private Jessica Lynch, a full-fledged soldier, much as we rescued Private Scott Brady in the Balkans - soldiers are soldiers first, causes/celebrities second.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:12 AM:
Marcus has some pretty strong feelings about Islamic Jihad and Palestinian suicide bombers. Rightly so.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:07 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Kerbala, key city before Baghdad is taken care of. But Le Monde has to turn to Brititish sources for the assertion that Baghdad is indeed next.
Le Figaro is singing the same song: The Coalition Surrounds Kerbala and Approaches Baghdad.
Libé: Same game - The American Army Circles Kerbala.
Note, however, the one interesting point in the headlines. Le Monde says Kerbala's surrounded. But not by whom. Le Figaro calls the surrounders "the Coalition." Libé makes this about America. Draw your own conclusions.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:00 AM:
Here are all your Iraq headlines (from FNC):BIG MOVE ON BAGHDAD, RAID NETS U.S. POW
Both, positive developments. It was interesting to see in today's San Francisco Chronicle Letters that even their readership wonders if 10 days in isn't a little early to declare a quagmire and start questioning Rumsfeld's thought that this would take "weeks, not months." It probably will take a few months to fully satisfy our main military goals - and longer for non-military goals. That said, we seem to be just about within striking distance of Baghdad after two weeks. Truly impressive.
Saddam No-Show at Speech -- Again
Maybe that first night's attack did get him. Or at least do more damage than has been acknowledged.
U.S.: Iraqis Killing Own Civilians
'Human shields' likely among dead
Horrible article about the horrors Saddam's regime has perpetrated. But the human shields in question are Iraqi civilians, not the fools who flew to Baghdad to play martyr. No word on them but they aren't mentioned in the article.
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Tuesday, April 01, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:12 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Baghdad Bombed, South Still Enmeshed in Combat. The main note is GW Bush's resolve to pay "le prix fort" to knock out Saddam if necessary.
Also, Former Minister Close to Chirac Pursued in Investigation into Parisian Municipal Gov't Salaries. The only novelty is that a Paris politician other than Chirac is at the center of the inquiry.
Le Figaro: Seven Civilians Killed By Americans. Would they have raced an Iraqi checkpoint and expected anything different? In similar situations, Americans soldiers have been killed or injured by vehicles acting in exactly the same way. For all we know, the people in this vehicle had the same intent. It's just another part of how Saddam's people have forced us to be harsher and colder than we would otherwise. Which is why this must end with his elimination: The Iraqi people need to have this yoke lifted off of them.
Libé: American Errors in the South. Regarding the story above, of course. But give Libé credit. They're the only ones who also find a bullet point for the fact that Iraqis even fired on our troops from an ambulance, perhaps hoping that if we responded the headline would simply say, "Americans Destroy Ambulance."
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posted by gbarto at 1:52 AM:
Energy Exec Bites California GovernorPG&E Rep Apologetic after Attacking Governor Gray Davis at Energy Forum
Apparently the rep was upset with the guv's demagoguing but this was a bit over the line. But amusing.
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posted by gbarto at 1:37 AM:
Women, Children Shot at CheckpointU.S. troops kill seven Iraqis when van they were riding in refused to stop
Alas, of necessity. The government of Iraq and its co-conspirators have made a calculated decision that getting their fellow citizens killed is their best war strategy. Hopefully we'll soon be in Baghdad and this will be the last major suffering the Iraqi people endure for having Saddam as the head of their country.
This article wonders if Saddam is still alive. I'm not so sure. But the mystique is there and the damnable first allied effort has assured that no one wants to take a chance that he isn't. So our efforts are going to be made a little harder by people who might be with us but are afraid to act other than as though he were still as powerful as ever, lest they meet the same fate suffered by the last group of people who counted on our help eliminating this tyrant.
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posted by gbarto at 1:29 AM:
Blogger's acting really funny tonight but hopefully we'll be able to get a few items up. First of all, a Village Voice column is making the e-mail rounds. It goes like this:Bracing For Bush's War At HomeThis is, of course, the Village Voice, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong. The TurkeyBlog is very concerned that the war not be seen as a chance for a power grab by anyone. I do not fear George W. Bush particularly, but John Ashcroft is another matter. The closer one gets to people who truly believe in their own self-righteousness, the scarier it gets, and while Bush has a sense of humor about himself, Ashcroft strikes me as the sort who has to have his self-deprecating jokes typed up by a staff member - a very frightened staff member. The TurkeyBlog opposes a fair measure of Patriot II as it is being currently discussed for the same reason he opposes the draft - if that's what it takes to keep this constitutional republic going, it's neither as much of a constitutional republic as we thought nor as valuable a thing to save as the outrageously crazy nation I like to think I come from, a nation where an in-touch, on top of things populace does things like finding Elizabeth Smart's kidnappers because they saw them on that crime show they like to watch, a nation where Flight 93 was pushed out of the sky as a suicide mission to destroy the Capitol gave way to one to save it, a nation where ridiculous people do ridiculous things and heroic people do heroic things and it all balances out because freedom lets our center of gravity slide until we find the particular equilibrium for the moment.
By Chisun Lee
The Village Voice
3-30-3
An ugly theory popped up in the nation's capital several weeks ago. The Bush administration would wait until war began, and worry gripped the homeland, to ram a staggering package of domestic security measures through a Congress silenced by fears of seeming unpatriotic. Such measures would radically expand the executive branch powers already inflated by the 2001 USA Patriot Act. On Friday - as the U.S. began suffering combat fatalities, and the terror alert on whitehouse.gov glared orange for "high" - Justice Department spokesperson Mark Corallo confirmed to the Voice that such measures were coming soon. Exact details are confined to "internal deliberations," he said, but the proposals "will be filling in the holes" of the Patriot Act, "refining things that will enable us to do our job."
But a new, comprehensive review of Bush's growing presidential power hardly reveals any "holes." Rather - using court positions, internal policy changes, and secret decisions as bricks - the administration has built the executive branch into a fortress, nearly invulnerable to the checks of the judiciary and Congress. Most alarming, according to the watchdog authors of the 96-page report, "Imbalance of Powers," the complexity of this historic expansion continues to mask its true proportions.
"You have to connect the dots," said Elisa Massimino, Washington, D.C., director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
(LCHR), a 25-year nonprofit defender of civil liberties and humane policy. LCHR analyzed hundreds of pages of legislation, policy directives, and congressional records, plus a spate of major court cases such as the suit challenging the indefinite detention, without representation, of accused American "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla. The big picture shows an "executive branch amassing so much more power," said Massimino, even in the past six months alone. But since many developments have occurred "under the radar," she said, few members of Congress, let alone of the public, could easily map out such a blueprint on their own.
Briefly, the dots connect like this:
The administration's refusal to release Patriot Act-related records to Congress, the refusal to release the names of detainees and open their court hearings to the public, and the Freedom of Information Act exemptions under the Homeland Security Act add up to a secretive government, acting outside the scrutiny of the public and its representatives. The development of the Total Information Awareness program, the mining of individuals' shopping and library records, and the melding of spy and arrest functions add up to government invasion of privacy and restriction of expression.
The indefinite detention of U.S. citizens deemed by Bush to be "enemy combatants," the secret detention and deportation of immigrants not charged with a crime, and the tracking and questioning of nationals from particular countries add up to unilateral executive power to deprive people of their physical liberty.
Even with the existing behemoth, Massimino said, a "quantum leap" in executive branch authority is possible. She referred to the recently leaked Justice Department draft bill, the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, commonly known as Patriot Act II. "It would make over 100 changes to existing law," she said. But as recently as March 4, Attorney General John Ashcroft
was being coy about it, refusing to discuss any of the 86-page draft at a Senate hearing.
Among the more extreme powers Patriot Act II would grant the executive branch: The ability to strip citizenship from an American who supports a group the feds label as terrorist. Secret arrests - the government could avoid revealing the location of, charges against, and evidence on someone it was holding. Far looser checks on search-and-seizure activities of law enforcement. And a DNA database for people deemed to be terrorist suspects.
Yale Law School professor Jack Balkin was among the first constitutional experts to condemn Patriot Act II as "a new assault on our civil liberties." Last week he told the Voice, "What we're really worried about here is something being proposed while all eyes are on Iraq. People are whipped up into a frenzy. The executive will propose what, at a certain time, it thinks it can get away with." That, he said, could be the draft bill "in its most virulent form."
Before the war began, there were signs that Congress might fight future presidential power-hogging and bring more heft to the legislative branch. Some Democrats excoriated Ashcroft for his furtiveness on Patriot Act II. Some Republicans were talking about subpoenaing records that the Justice Department refused to release on its use of Patriot Act I powers.
Yet wartime has traditionally meant deferring to the executive. The entire post-September 11 period may have seemed like one big state of war, with the Justice Department successfully skirting Congress and pushing every constitutional challenge to higher, more administration-friendly courts. But given the actual war in Iraq, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said last week, Americans can expect that "protections [of their individual rights] will be ratcheted right down to the constitutional minimum."
Ashcroft deflected angry Senate queries on Patriot Act II, saying "it would be the height of absurdity" to imagine the administration's hustling through a law without congressional review. Yet on October 25, 2001, 98 out of 99 voting senators hurriedly passed the 342-page Patriot Act I - without any public debate and before most of them had read it. The White House made clear their votes would be spun as a test of their patriotism. Votes on Patriot Act II could also be a test - of who has the patriotism to right democracy's severely lopsided structure of checks and balances.
I do not particularly fear George W. Bush the way others do. I know we've been through Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, Roosevelt's internment of Japanese Americans, and the horrors the American South - and too much of the American North - visited upon the Blacks. Injustices continue, some of them horrible. But we've been lower and climbed out and this great enterprise, the American Nation, will make it through this too.
[End discombobulated ramble.]
* * *
Monday, March 31, 2003
posted by gbarto at 12:04 PM:
Instapundit has some bad news about France.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:58 AM:
U.S.: Captured Iraqis POWs, for NowParamilitaries could end up in Gitmo
As the paramilitaries should. But we should make very public our efforts to determine who is paramilitary and make very clear that those who are not will get POW treatment as prescribed by the Geneva Conventions - and better - because we want as many of the soldiers of the world as possible to know that surrendering to us is their best shot at freedom.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:56 AM:
Mystery Illness Cases SkyrocketEntire Hong Kong housing complex quarantined; worldwide deaths near 60
And it's going to get worse, because China dropped the ball again. They've avoided bringing in WHO officials, they've avoided alerting people of the situation, they've done a perfect replay of what they did with AIDS: fears that people may perceive a government failure lead not to successful cover-ups but to tragic government failures, and a tired old regime lumbers on, an embarrassment to itself and a danger to the world.
If the United States is to face any censure at all over our failure to ratify Kyoto, surely the Chinese merit some condemnation for their placing public perception over public health.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:35 AM:
A few days old, but Instapundit has called Lee Bollinger "a pro-free-speech guy, generally." Maybe he's anti-quota too. Either way, he doesn't seem to have done a hell of a lot for the free speech cause during his stay at Michigan. I doubt he'll do much better at Columbia. Here's Jeff Jacoby on Lee Bollinger, warrior for free speech - après guerre, of course.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:51 AM:
Looking at Fox, WaPo, no major new news coming down the line; mostly just what one might expect to see with a war unfolding. I recommend both sites, even as I avoid the NYT. If you want the latest headlines, drop by.We are now in a time where, alas, we're fighting a war. It is not exciting, not awe-inspiring, just necessary. Hopefully we will soon have a headline that says, "Baghdad under coalition control," but we've got a little while yet. So keep up the prayers, and the hopes for our troops. But turn off the tv now and again; there's no need to watch non-stop.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:07 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Basra is the seat of violent combat but there's also heavy fighting in Nadjaf and Nassiryah.
Le Figaro: Bombs on Baghdad, polemics in Washington
Libération: A Pause and Questions Raised
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Sunday, March 30, 2003
posted by gbarto at 6:42 PM:
I see by the AOL headlines that "The Iraqi People Are Suffering." Huh? There's a war going on in their country. Was someone expecting them their concerns to be limited to whether the tea would be served on time? Unfortunately, that's what happens when you're ruled by an awful dictator - things are crappy however you slice it. The positive is that the current suffering is part of a process of making it better in the future, rather than the more-of-same that has dominated the Iraqi landscape for 20+ years.* * *
posted by gbarto at 6:35 PM:
Homicide Bomber Kills 4 U.S. TroopsIraqi VP says more attacks to come
Martyrdom Seekers Flock to Iraq
If they want "martyrdom," I reckon they'll get a close facsimile. Except that martyrs are traditionally thought to go to heaven.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 6:35 PM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: At gates to Baghdad, the [US/UK] offensive marks time. Paris and London on Path to Reconciliation. (12:40 AM)
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posted by gbarto at 11:04 AM:
Marcus tells me the dreaded Blogger Archive Bug is messing with some posts again. Click on the archive for 4/06 to see the new fix.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:42 AM:
Attacker Drives Truck Into SoldiersIncident at Camp Udairi in Kuwait leaves six to 15 GIs injured
Which means that Iraqis shouldn't be allowed to drive near soldiers - pre-emptive action will have to be taken.
But here we have the difference between the Palestinians and the Iraqis. The one has stones, the other trucks. But the both lack the more fundamental weapon in this sort of war: a constructive civilization able to set and meet realizable (if sometimes extremely difficult) goals.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:44 AM:
Homicide Bomber Kills 4 U.S. TroopsIraqi VP says more attacks to come
Suicide Bomber Strikes in Israel
At least 30 injured, 4 critically, after man blows himself up near cafe in Netanya
The religion of peace strikes again and again! What is striking is the affinity the Islamicists have with suicide. Do we need to dig out our copies of Freud to guess at the implications?
* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:48 AM:
Natalie Solent has A.R.C. helping her fill up her blog.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:46 AM:
Cicero has a less than heartening story about the coexistence of man and beast. And how eco-idiocy tries to ignore the reality of storybook moments.* * *
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