Kick in the Door...
by Eyecalone
..... waivin' the 44, all you heard was FBI don't hit me no mo'. My bad ya'll, I've been slipping lately. I intended to put out a new piece for playahata.com, on the Department of Homeland Security and some of the new methods of suppressing dissent it authorizes, but between organizing and trying to get more information out on the impending war with Iraq, I just didn't have a chance. By the time I had time, I felt like my offering would have been old news or overkill so I didn't follow through. I should have known that the bizarr-O government currently occupying the White House would do something to reinvigorate me. The good thing is that this "something" hasn't actually happened yet. The "something" that I am talking about is a draft document being floated around in government that many are referring to as, the Patriot Act II or it's proper name, which is The Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 [Much thanks to the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), who broke the story, for their public interest watchdog activities]. Drafted by the staff of Attorney General John Ashcroft, the bill has not been officially released by the Department of Justice, although rumors of its development have circulated around the Capitol for the last few months.
Upon hearing of the bills leak by the CPI, Barbara Comstock, director of public affairs for the Justice Dept., released a statement saying, "Department staff have not presented any final proposals to either the Attorney General or the White House. It would be premature to speculate on any future decisions, particularly ideas or proposals that are still being discussed at staff levels." Actually I don't think there could be a better time to discuss the legislation, we certainly don't want to wait until it is signed into law. The bill is being pursued in such a secretive manner that it prompted member of Congress, John Conyers, to write a letter to the Department of Justice questioning their methods. The letter which was also signed by members of Congress, Robert Scott and Sheila Jackson Lee, accused Barbara Comstock of lying in her February 7th claim, that the new draft bill was still in "internal deliberations" within the Department and still being discussed at "staff levels" and had not been "presented... to the White House." - citing the fact that the Department of Justice "Control Sheet" (attached to the document) plainly indicates that the bill was forwarded to the Speaker of the House and Vice President on January 10th.
Actually reading the text of the bill, allows one to understand what they are trying to hide. (CPI has a draft of this previously undisclosed legislation dated January 9, 2003, and has made it available in full text on their website - it is a rather large PDF file so be patient) Some of the key provision of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (will be referred to as DSEA2003 from now on) include:
Section 201: "Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation Detainee Information": The current administration has made a bad habit out of attempting to hide their actions and block public access to their activities using the cloak of "fighting terrorism". DSEA2003 continues this tradition by enhancing the department's ability to deny releasing material on suspected terrorists in government custody through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Since the Bush administration is already in the practice of jailing people (including U.S. citizens as illustrated by the case of Joseph Padilla) indefinitely and incommunicado under the designation of "enemy combatants", without ever charging them with a crime - this provision would effectively institutionalize the power of the government to make its political opponents "disappear".
Section 202, "Distribution of 'Worst Case Scenario' Information": DSEA2003 introduces new FOIA restrictions with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency. As provided for in the Clean Air Act, the EPA requires private companies that use potentially dangerous chemicals to produce a "worst case scenario" report detailing the effect that the release of these controlled substances would have on the surrounding community. Section 202 of DSEA2003 would restrict FOIA requests to these reports, by reducing public access to only those persons "who live and work in the geographical area likely to be affected by a worst-case scenario," significantly clouding the established level of transparency between private industry and the public. The justice department claims that this information offers "a roadmap to terrorist" but the changing of this rule would likely be another handout for polluting corporations attempting to shield themselves from lawsuits.
Section 301-306, "Terrorist Identification Database": These sections would authorize creation of a DNA database on "suspected terrorists," expansively defined to include association with suspected terrorist groups, and non-citizens suspected of certain crimes or of having supported any group designated as terrorist. Notice this database would be for "suspected terrorist" meaning no real proof of such involvements would really be needed. It's probably also safe to assume that as the social situation in America continues to deteriorate, due to a variety of social pathologies America's rulers have no solutions for, that this list will be expanded to include, not just religious fundamentalist, but a whole host of groups from some anti-war protestors to those who call for serious changes and/or the abolishment of the current capitalist social and economic order.
Section 312, "Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities": This section would terminate all state law enforcement consent decrees before Sept. 11, 2001, not related to racial profiling or other civil rights violations, that limit such agencies from gathering information about individuals and organizations. The authors of this statute claim that these consent orders, which were passed as a result of police spying abuses, could impede current terrorism investigations. It would also place substantial restrictions on future court injunctions.
Section 405, "Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism": Many of us already know how slippery the designation of "terrorist" can be. This section creates a framework that will deny bail to virtually anyone who is "suspected of terrorist" activity by forcing suspects to prove why they should be released on bail, rather than have the prosecution prove why they should be held.
Section 501, "Expatriation of Terrorists": Just in case American citizens were foolish enough to believe they would be exempt from these new measures or would still have any rights worth respecting, section 501 was added. This provision, would establish that an American citizen could be stripped of his citizenship and deported "if, with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of, or provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has designated as a 'terrorist organization'." Where you "deport" an American citizen, who was born and raised in this country to, is not clear. Whereas a citizen formerly had to state his intent to relinquish his citizenship, this new law would affirm that his intent can be "inferred from conduct." Thus, engaging in the LEGAL activities of a group designated as a "terrorist organization", by the Attorney General could be presumptive grounds for expatriation. I suppose since it recently came to light that the United States would be following Israel's lead, in Israel's use of so-called" targeted killings" (assassination/execution of suspected "terrorist" without trial or review of the evidence) in the US and other countries, that "expatriation" doesn't sound so bad.
Dr. David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor and author of Terrorism and the Constitution, reviewed the draft legislation at the request of the CPI, and said that the legislation "raises a lot of serious concerns. It's troubling that they have gotten this far along and they've been telling people there is nothing in the works." What that suggests is that they're waiting for a propitious time to introduce it, which might well be when a war is begun. At that time there would be less opportunity for discussion and they'll have a much stronger hand in saying that they need these right away." This proposed law, he added, "would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive 'suspicion,' create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups."
Now let's rewind to earlier November 2002. In a hardly followed (by the mainstream press) story, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld virtually guaranteed that there would be more terrorist attacks against the American people. How did he know this? He knew because these attacks will be instigated at the order of the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense. That astonishing admission was buried deep in a story, in a late October 2002, Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times. In that article by military analyst William Arkin, came the revelation of Rumsfeld's plan to create "a Super-Intelligence Support Activity" that will "bring together CIA and military covert action, information warfare, intelligence, and cover and deception." According to a classified document prepared for Rumsfeld by his Defense Science Board, the new organization--the "Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG)"--will carry out secret missions designed to "stimulate reactions" among terrorist groups, provoking them into committing violent acts which would then expose them to "counterattack" by U.S. forces. As preposterous and malevolent as the plan is, P2OG is not designed solely to flush out terrorists and bring them to justice. Once they have sparked terrorists into action -- they can then take measures against the "states/sub-state actors accountable" for "harboring" the Rumsfeld-roused gangs. What kind of measures exactly? Well, the classified Pentagon program puts it this way: "Their sovereignty will be at risk."
Needless to say, one of these "instigated" or "stimulated" attacks, while serving as a pretext for yet another imperialist conquest in some resource rich or strategically desirable area of the world, would be a prime opportunity to introduce this "new" DSEA2003 legislation, which officially "doesn't exist". All this of course is in addition to the USA Patriot Act of October 2001 which, gave law enforcement officials broader authority to conduct electronic surveillance and wiretaps, enter homes without search warrants and possibly plant evidence, created a new and very vague definition for "terrorism", and gave the president the authority to confiscate any property within U.S. jurisdiction of anyone believed to be engaging in "terrorism". And it also follows the November 2002 passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA - H.R. 5005 also see H.R. 5710), which created the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security will be made up of 170,000 employees from as many as 22 Federal agencies, creating the largest bureaucracy the country has ever known. Measures stipulated in the creation of the department included:
Militarization of domestic police forces: Title V: Emergency Preparedness and Response, of the Homeland Security Act (HSA), does not specifically mandate federal control over local police, instead it provides for "coordination and guidance". HSA mandates federal supervision, funding, and coordination of "local first responders" - specifically police and emergency personnel", thus expanding federal control of local law enforcement. According to the United States Northern Command (USNC), "First responders are the men and women who are 'first on the scene' as a natural or man-made disaster unfolds. First responders are policemen, firemen, emergency medical technicians…". The USNC states that operations are underway to develop interconnected and complementary relationships and plans to support first responders. USNC notes that the Posse Comitatus Act "generally prohibits U.S. military personnel from interdicting vehicles, vessels and aircraft; conducting surveillance, searches, pursuit and seizures; or making arrests on behalf of civilian law enforcement authorities." Adding that: "Prohibiting direct military involvement in law enforcement is in keeping with long-standing U.S. law and policy limiting the military's role in domestic affairs." However, the USNC notes four statutory exceptions to this prohibition: (1) counter-drug assistance, (2) Insurrection Act, (3) crimes using nuclear materials, and (4) chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction. In light of Federal Government measures already taken, including military tribunals without Constitutional protections, indefinite detention without legal charges or representation, mixing of foreign and domestic intelligence investigations, etc there is plenty of reason to expect that this central federal coordination would lead to a loss of local control, and federal militarization of the police (a taste of martial law).
Increased domestic spying and monitoring of Americans: The 'Total Information Awareness" database is the brainchild of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development core of the Department of Defense. The database is supposed to gather data regarding credit card purchases, telephone calls made, websites visited, academic grades received, surveys taken, sweepstakes entered, property purchased, financial records, magazine subscriptions, medical procedures and so forth. The data will reveal not only shopping habits, but give an overall picture of personal lifestyle, including everything from pets owned to religious preferences. Every American will be subject to its scrutiny. They even came up with an eerie logo for the program.
Retired Navy admiral, John Poindexter, who was criminally convicted in 1990 for lying to Congress, destroying official documents, and obstruction of justice in the Iran/Contra* scandal has been tapped to run the program (Poindexter was convicted on five counts of deceiving Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal but his conviction was set aside on the grounds that his immunized congressional testimony had been used against him.) [*NOTE: In the 1980s Iran/Contra scandal members of President Reagan's administration, several of whom have returned to office or prominence in the current Bush administration, were found to be illegally selling arms to Iran, who at the time was officially a hostile nation to the U.S., in order to secretly fund a terrorist army in Nicaragua called the 'Contras', who were organized to overthrowing the democratically elected, Sandinista government. It is estimated that as a result of the 'Contra' induced terror campaign 30,000 people lost their lives.]
Although the Total Information Awareness program (TIA), was reported not to have been adopted into the final HSA legislation, this seems to be semantic distinction only since the Pentagon still plans to develop the database. The main difference being that TIA mandates the development of "new technology" but since the technology is not necessarily new this is not a real distinction. Title II of the HSA legislation, creates a "Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection", charged with creating and maintaining a massive database of public and private information on virtually any individual in the United States which can be compiled and used to assemble a profile that could be used to designate "terrorist suspects. As is stated in Section 201 of HSA, this Directorate is given authority to "develop a comprehensive national plan for securing the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United States, including power production, generation, and distribution systems, information technology and telecommunications systems (including satellites), electronic financial and property record storage and transmission systems, emergency preparedness communications systems, and the physical and technological assets that support such systems."
Minimal public accountability: Section 214 of HSA exempts "critical infrastructure information" that is voluntarily submitted to "a covered Federal agency" from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Once such information is submitted to the government, it cannot be used in any civil action against the person or entity that submitted it and government officer who knowingly discloses such information would be subject to criminal penalties (including imprisonment) and fines, as well as the loss of his or her position. This could effectively end "whistleblower protection" and in many cases leaves employees in a situation where they have little of no recourse if they have knowledge of wrongdoing. It also places the government in partnership with private business to hide vulnerabilities and reduces the motivation to address them. The People for the American Way note that the exemption also keeps the Department of Homeland Security "from having to defend non-disclosure of information in a court of law." HSA also pre-empts state law to insure that information is not disclosed by state openness laws. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security is exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires agencies to meet standards of openness, accountability, and balance of viewpoints when establishing or operating any advisory committee. Departmental advisory committees will have meetings that are not open to the public, do not keep formal minutes of committee activity (written records), and the public will not have access to view or purchase documents prepared for or by those advisory committees.
This institutionalization of government by secrecy no doubt has brought smiles to many a face in the Bush administration, especially Dick Cheney. It's important to note that the investigative arm of the US Congress, The General Accounting Office (GAO), decided earlier this month to abandon its legal efforts to force US Vice President Dick Cheney to turn over information relating to the development of the Bush administration's energy policy. On December 9, 2002, US District Court Judge John Bates - a Bush appointee and former Whitewater prosecutor - dismissed the GAO lawsuit in a hypocritical and obviously politically motivated decision. Between 1995 and 1997, Bates served as deputy independent counsel under Kenneth Starr, and helped Starr mount a political witch-hunt against the Clinton administration. In 1997 Bates successfully argued that White House lawyers had to turn over notes of Whitewater conversations with first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and that the executive branch should be stripped of virtually all claims to legal privilege - oh, the difference a change of president and party affiliations makes!
By law, the GAO is authorized to oversee "all matters related to the receipt, disbursement, and use of public money." The GAO filed suit after Cheney and the White House refused to release information about meetings of Cheney's Energy Task Force with representatives and lobbyists of major energy corporations in early 2001. The "policy recommendations" were created largely from the wish list of bankrupt, corporate fraud, Enron and other energy giants with which the administration has very close ties, and eventually led to rolling blackouts across California, wild increases in energy prices, and fake energy shortages. The GAO didn't even request any information about the substance of the meetings, nor did it demand access to notes, agendas or minutes of the secret consultations. The GAO timidly limited its request to the names of those who participated in closed-door meetings of the Energy Task Force, but even this mild request was rebuffed. Furthermore, it is not expected that the GAO will appeal the Bates ruling, although they had previously argued that accepting Cheney's position would be "literally devastating to the GAO's ability to obtain any information from the executive branch under any circumstances."
Medical emergency powers: Title III of HSA concerns "Science and Technology in Support of Homeland Security". Section 304, grants the Health and Human Services secretary extraordinary powers to declare a health emergency simply based on a "potential threat". This means that a hypothetical threat analysis from intelligence agencies that failed to warn of Sept 11th and regularly bring you those erroneous Fruity Pebble colored terror alerts, could be used as a reason to suspend civil liberties and start mandatory smallpox vaccinations without voluntary or informed consent. The law provides for no exemptions to vaccination or medication and overrides state public health and vaccine laws. This federal law also does not preclude the use of the U.S. military to enforce the administration of vaccines or other "substances" ordered by the Secretary of the Depart of Health and Human Services, to be administered to individuals.
The academic community is also being enlisted to strengthen the fist of government control. Under Section 308, "extramural research development, demonstration, testing, and evaluation programs ... to ensure that colleges, universities, private research institutes, and companies (and consortia thereof) from as many areas of the United States as practicable participate" is authorized. It makes one a little nervous if you still recall the university assisted, Central Intelligence Agency projects from the 1940's through the 1970's, such as Bluebird, MkUltra, and Monarch, that carried out "research" on unwitting American citizens to see if drugs, hypnosis, "psychic driving," or other forms of mind control programming, could be used to brainwash individuals.
The few prominent measures that were cut from the final version of the HSA were the implementation of project TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System), which would have turned thousands of regular citizens and government workers into snitches and spies, and the creation of a national identification card system - my aren't we lucky.
The speed and vigor with which the current administration is attacking and destroying the rights of its citizens is astounding. Although documents like the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution have been far from perfect, or universally enforced, large sections of both are essentially being put through the paper shredder. The response of the Republican Party, and the vast majority of Democratic Party, has been to assist and justify the attacks on civil liberties or to be silent. But what else should be expected from political parties whose leadership is made up of the wealthy financial elite of America who rarely understand, empathize, or have any interest in addressing the aspirations and needs of common people. Their response to increasing federal deficits, States with finances on the verge of bankruptcy, increasing poverty, increasing gaps between rich and poor, social breakdowns, and disillusionment with the system has not been a 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt, "New Deal" style program to save capitalism from itself - BUT INSTEAD, an attack, on social programs, living standards, and civil liberties, the looting of the Federal treasury, tax breaks for the wealthy, increased military and police spending, and War. The recklessness of the super-thug set of gangsters currently running the country is setting the stage for something big, it's just not clear what it is yet. But as Marcus Garvey once said, "when all things fail to unite the people … conditions will" - yeah I'm feelin' that.
Released: March 1st, 2003
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