Bad Deeds for 4-10-2008

Top Bush Aides Approved Interrogation Tactics According to Report – President George W. Bush’s most senior advisers approved “enhanced interrogation techniques” of top al-Qaeda suspects by the Central Intelligence Agency, ABC News reported. ABC reported that the so-called “principals” discussed interrogation details in dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House. Then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice chaired the meetings, which took place in the White House Situation Room and were typically attended by a select group of senior officials or their deputies, ABC said.

Veterans Affairs Refuses to Provide Voter Registration for Wounded Vets – A new report reveals that Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake told two Democratic senators his department will not help injured veterans register to vote before the 2008 election. “VA remains opposed to becoming a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, as this designation would divert substantial resources from our primary mission,” Peake said in an April 8th letter. What this means is that many injured veterans still in VA hospitals who can’t find means to register outside of their facilities will effectively lose their right to vote.

Conduct Waiver Use in Army Has Doubled Since 2004 – The percentage of active and Reserve Army recruits granted “conduct” waivers for misdemeanor or felony charges increased to 11 percent last fiscal year from 4.6 percent in fiscal 2004.

Lieberman Campaign Crashed Own Web Site But Blamed Democratic Primary Opponent – A federal investigation has concluded that U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site the day before Connecticut’s heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary. The FBI office in New Haven found no evidence supporting the Lieberman campaign’s allegations that supporters of primary challenger Ned Lamont of Greenwich were to blame for the Web site crash. Lieberman, who was fighting for his political life against the anti-Iraq war candidate Lamont, implied that joe2006.com was hacked by Lamont supporters. But here’s the kicker: the e-mail stating the results of the investigation is dated Oct. 25, 2006, back when the campaign was still on. The truth was known but was kept under wraps while the Lieberman campaign kept publically calling for Lamont to apologize so as to discredit him.

Saudi Arms Probe Halted Due to Threats From Saudi Royal Family – A corruption investigation into arms deals with Saudi Arabia should not have been halted, a London court said on Thursday in a ruling that sharply criticized the British and Saudi governments. Two judges said the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had capitulated to threats from the Saudi royal family over arms deals with Europe’s biggest defense company, BAE Systems Plc. “No one, whether within this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice,” one of the judges, Lord Justice Moses, told the High Court in London, calling the decision a failure of government.

Either the Bush Administration Concealed a Story From the 9/11 Commission or Made Up a Story to Scare You – Vice Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, Rep. Lee Hamilton, responded to Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s claim that there was a pre-9/11 telephone call from an “Afghan safe house” into the U.S. that the Bush administration failed to intercept or investigate:

“I am unfamiliar with the telephone call that Attorney General Mukasey cited in his appearance in San Francisco on March 27. The 9/11 Commission did not receive any information pertaining to its occurrence.”

In light of Hamilton’s comment, one of two things is true about Mukasey’s extraordinary claim about how and why the 9/11 attacks occurred. Either:

(1) The Bush administration concealed this obviously vital episode from the 9/11 Commission and from everyone else, until Mukasey tearfully trotted it out last week; or,

(2) Mukasey, the nation’s highest law enforcement officer, made this story up in order to scare and manipulate Americans into believing that FISA and other surveillance safeguards caused the 9/11 attacks and therefore the Government should be given more unchecked spying powers.

Two Years Ago We Told “We’re Making Good Progress in Iraq,” But Now … – Gen. David Petraeus told a Senate hearing, “We haven’t turned any corners. We haven’t seen any lights at the end of the tunnel.”

Regards,

Jim