ISSUE:
#. 61. Nov. 26, 2002
THIS WEEK:
HOMELAND SECURITY: ANATOMY OF THE APPARATUS
CONVICTED FELON LEADS PENTAGON CYBER-SNOOP AGENCY!
McDONALDS RETREATS FROM MIDDLE EAST!
CHEMICAL WARFARE IN WEST BANK OLIVE HARVEST SABOTAGE?
YUSRA AWAWDEH: AMERICAN HERO!!
CURRENT HOMELAND SECURITY COLOR ADVISORY CODE: YELLOW
LISTEN TO WW3 REPORT LIVE ON WFMU!!
By Bill Weinberg
with David Bloom, Special Correspondent
THE PALESTINE FRONT
1. Grim Toll in Jerusalem and West Bank
2. Civilians Under Fire in Gaza Strip
3. IDF Kills UNRWA Official, Delays Ambulance
4. Anti-Arab Violence in Jerusalem
5. Israeli Border Cops Beat Palestinian Journalist
6. Israeli Soldiers Assault Ambulance Driver, Nurse
7. Israeli Prison Guards Beat US Clergyman
8. IDF Operating in Iraq?
9. US to Grant $14 Billion in Aid to Israel
10. Your Donation to the IDF is Tax-Deductible
11. Weaponry Returned to IDF in Amnesty
12. Israel Distributes Rifles to Green Line Towns
13. Belgian Court Will Not Prosecute Sharon for War Crimes
14. Beilin: Palestinians to Give up Right of Return
15. Tell Your Congressman: No to Transfer!!
16. Jordan Blocks Deportation of Palestinians
17. Jordan Blocks Palestinians' Pilgrimage to Mecca
18. Settlers Using Pesticides on Palestinian Olive Groves?
19. Settlers Arrested For Olive Tree Theft
20. Palestinian-American Student Frisked for Wearing Flag
THE LEBANON FRONT
1. US Missionary Shot Dead in Sidon
2. Islamic Gastro-Resistance Deals Mickey-D's Harsh Hand
3. Anti-Syrian Protests Grow
4. Newspaper Editor: Hezbollah Beat Me
5. Lebanese Mercs Find New Jobs at IDF Checkpoints
WATCHING THE SHADOWS
1. Homeland Security Act Passes
2. Homeland Security and "Total Information Awareness"
3. Appeals Court Overturns Limits on FISA Surveillance
4. Post-Terror Insurance Liability Limit Passes
5. FBI Issues "Spectacular" Terror Alert
6. Pakistani Executed In CIA Killings
7. CIA: He's Alive!
GLIMMERS OF HOPE
1. Municipal Revolt Against War Moves, Police State
THE PALESTINE FRONT
1. GRIM TOLL IN JERUSALEM AND WEST BANK
Another suicide bombing, aggression by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and
Palestinian resistance left several dead in Jerusalem and the West Bank
this week--including at least six children. Palestinian homes were also
destroyed and ransacked.
An Israeli woman was seriously wounded when Palestinians opened fire on her
car at the Rimonim junction east of Ramallah on Nov.18. (BBC Monitoring:
Voice of Israel, Nov. 18) Al-Aksa claimed responsibility. Tareq Mohammed
Zaghal, 25, a militant of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was assassinated by
Israeli soldiers dressed as Palestinians in Tul Karm on Nov. 19. (AFP, Nov.
19) Five Palestinians were killed and eleven injured by Israeli special
forces units in eastern Tul Karm Nov. 19. A mysterious explosion killed
Hazim Abd-al-Latif, 33, and wounded his 60-year old uncle, Rafiq al-Rumi in
the Allar district of Tul Karm governate on Nov. 20. Also that day, a
13-year-old boy, Umar Sulayman al-Qudsi was killed when Israeli troops
occupying Tul Karm opened fire on a group of boys on their way to school.
(BBC Monitoring: Voice of Palestine, Nov. 20) A Palestinian was shot in the
face in Nablus the same day. The town of Tammun was also raided. (BBC
Monitoring: Voice of Palestine Radio Nov. 19)
A suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem Nov. 21 killed 11, including four
schoolchildren. Some 50 were wounded. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad took
responsibility for the blast. The bomber, Na'el Abu Hilayel, came from
Bethlehem. (Ha'aretz, Nov. 22) The parents of Na'el Abu Hilayel were proud
of their son. His mother said: "It's all because of the crimes committed by
the occupation. That's why my son, may God be satisfied with him, carried
out the operation. Of course I'm proud of him and all the martyrs."
(Jerusalem Post, Nov. 21)
The Israeli army entered Bethlehem Nov. 22 hours after the suicide attack.
The attacker's house was destroyed, and Israeli troops occupied 25 homes in
the village of Al-Khader by the southern entrance to the city. The
residents were ordered out of their homes at gunpoint. (AFP, Nov. 21)
Israeli troops kept Bethlehem residents away from Sunday services at the
Church of the Nativity. (AP, Nov. 24) Israeli troops pulled back from the
center of Bethlehem on Nov. 25. (AP, Nov. 25)
Eight Palestinians youths were wounded, one critically, in Nablus Nov. 21.
They were reportedly throwing stones at the IDF, which then opened fire on
the youths. (AFP, Nov. 21) In Tubas, under stringent curfew for three days,
Khayri Abu-Biasharah, was shot in the abdomen when Israeli troops occupying
the town fired indiscriminately at local citizens. (BBC Monitoring: Voice
of Palestine, Nov. 24)
Israeli troops surrounded and searched four mosques in Tubas, a village
near Nablus Nov. 24. They were looking for Muezzin Mohammed Alkilani,
suspected in attacks on Israelis. At one mosques, they called over the
building's loudspeakers, demanding his to surrender, but failed to find
him. (AP, Nov. 24)
Voice of Israel reported Nov. 25 that an 11-year-old boy was killed by IDF
fire in downtown Nablus. Palestinian sources told the station that children
had thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails at troops. (BBC Monitoring: Voice of
Israel, Nov. 25)
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported Nov. 25 that Israeli troops
"stormed Qalqilyah today and raided the Awqaf building in the center of the
city after blowing up its gates." Local citizens reported Israeli troops
entering houses and ransacking them. (BBC Monitoring: Palestinian news
agency Wafa web site) A missile from an Israeli helicopter killed two
senior Hamas and Fatah leaders in the Jenin refugee camp Nov. 26, according
to witnesses. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 27)
The week's violence took a grim toll on children and the elderly. Misleh
Bialiol, 11, died of a gunshot to the head in the Jenin refugee camp Nov.
22. Six other children from the camp were wounded the same day.
Eight-year-old Jihad al-Faqeh was shot and killed by Israeli forces while
on his way home from school in Nablus. Al-Faqeh was reportedly among a
group of kids throwing stones at the IDF, who responded with lethal fire. A
70-year old man also died that day while on the way to visit his daughter
in Tel, a village near Nablus. He fell hard while trying to escape Israeli
gunfire sprayed at Palestinians standing at a roadblock . (Palestine
Chronicle, Nov. 26) (David Bloom)
[top]
2. CIVILIANS UNDER FIRE IN GAZA STRIP
Residential areas on the Gaza Strip came under heavy fire in several
incidents this week. Four Palestinians were wounded during an Israeli
operation in Gaza City Nov. 18. Israeli troops backed by 30 tanks,
helicopter gunships and bulldozers clashed with armed Palestinians. The IDF
surrounded a Palestinian security complex and partially destroyed it along
with six neighboring buildings. Explosives laid by Palestinian militants
damaged some armored vehicles. (AFP, Nov. 18) Later that evening, three
Palestinians were wounded when Israeli tanks fired shells in the eastern
part of Gaza City. (AFP, Nov. 19)
On Nov. 19 Israeli troops killed two Palestinian militants in a gunbattle
near the Kfar Darom settlement in the Gaza Strip. (AFP, Nov. 21)
Dozens of Israeli tanks entered three villages in the southern Gaza Strip
early on Nov. 20. The villages are known to be strongholds of the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). A house belonging
to a DFLP activist was destroyed. Residents said tanks fired in all
directions. A firefight between local militants and the IDF erupted. A bomb
exploded next to an Israeli tank, and an Israeli military ambulance was
seen racing to the scene. (AP, Nov. 20)
Two Palestinian children playing soccer were seriously wounded Nov. 21 by
shrapnel from an Israeli tank in the Bureij refugee camp south of Gaza
City. The IDF said the troops "opened fire on suspects in a forbidden zone"
after dark. (AFP, Nov. 21)
Sahni Abu Hussein, 26, a Palestinian policeman, was killed Nov. 22 by
Israeli tank fire near the Netzarim settlement. An IDF spokesman said Abu
Hussein was about to attack Netzarim when he was gunned down--a version
contested by Palestinian sources. (AFP, Nov. 22) Dozens of Israeli tanks
and armored vehicles entered al-Qarada near Khan Younis in the southern
Gaza Strip. Israeli troops blew up the homes of two Hamas militants. (AFP,
Nov. 22) IDF tracker Sgt.-Maj. Shigdaf (Shai) Garmay, 30, of Lod was killed
by Hamas gunfire on Nov. 22 near the Gush Katif settlement bloc. (Jerusalem
Post, Nov. 24)
On Nov. 23, two Palestinians on a boat filled with explosives blew
themselves up when intercepted by an Israeli navy patrol boat off the
northern Gaza coast. Four sailors were wounded in the attack. Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered a total naval
blockade of the Gaza coast. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 24)
Voice of Palestine radio reported Nov. 24 that two Palestinians were
wounded by indiscriminate Israeli gunfire in Rafah. Dozens of IDF tanks
conducted an incursion in to the city of Dayr al-Balah, with residential
neighborhoods hit by shell fire. (BBC Monitoring: Voice of Palestine, Nov.
24)
The IDF raided Deir Al-Balah in the southern Gaza Strip Nov. 26. One
Palestinian was killed, and four were wounded in exchanges of gunfire. The
army destroyed the home of a local militant it said was responsible for
mortar attacks on Jewish settlements in the strip. Several dozen tanks,
armored vehicles and helicopters were involved. (Ha'aretz, Nov. 26)
[top]
3. IDF KILLS UNRWA OFFICIAL, DELAYS AMBULANCE
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) official Iain Hook, 50, a British citizen, was killed with a gunshot
to the back in Jenin refugee camp Nov. 22. After initial denials, the IDF
admitted responsibility, saying a soldier had mistaken his cell phone for a
gun. The UN contradicted the IDF's assertion that an ambulance to evacuate
Hook had been quickly called in, claiming IDF soldiers deliberately held
the ambulance up. "It is not known at this time whether the delay resulted
in the death," the UN's statement said. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 22)
Irish Activist Caiome Butterly, who was herself shot in the foot in the Jenin refugee camp the same morning as Hook, said hook was not dead yet when she saw him arrive at the emergency room. (Electronic Intifada, Nov. 22)
Paul McCann, a UN spokesman, disputed the IDF assertion it was responding
to firing from the compound. "Our preliminary inquiry does not agree with
the statement that firing could have come from the UNRWA compound," he
said. "In fact, it is quite clear from our inquiry so far that this report
of firing from the compound is totally incredible." He said that "the
compound is very small and at no stage did we lose control of it. There
were no Palestinian militants in the compound." He said he was "sad and
angry that we lost a person in a well-marked UNRWA area." (Ha'aretz, Nov.26)
Butterly supported McCann's statement. "Having been present in the
Camp all morning, I can testify that any Palestinian fighters had stopped
shooting a good two hours before either of us was wounded. When I passed
the UN compound in the morning, it was surrounded by Israeli Army snipers
and soldiers who were shooting erratically into the Camp. Two people were
killed and six wounded. All but one were shot by tank fire outside what the
Army deemed a closed military zone. I was not caught up in any kind of
crossfire as the Israeli Occupation Forces are falsely stating, and I don't
believe that Iain was either." Butterly said that when Hook emerged from
the compound waving a blue UN flag, an Israel soldier shouted, "We don't
care if you are the United Nations or who you are. Fuck off and go home!"
(Electronic Intifada, Nov. 22)
Hook made a phone call to IDF liaison officer Capt. Peter Lerner that
morning, which AP reported: "Hi Peter, it's Iain here. I'm just making a
progress report, really. We're pinned down in the compound. The shabab
[youth gang] have knocked a hole in the wall, which I'm not happy about at
all. I'm trying to keep them out, and I will just keep my people pinned
down in the corner until I hear from you. OK? Over." Lerner said "This
does not prove that we are innocent," but suggested it supported the IDF
claim that Palestinian gunmen had entered the compound. (AP, Nov. 26)
Butterly's version differs: "Some worried parents had begun to knock a hole
in the wall at the back of the compound to evacuate children who were there
for a vaccination program. We accompanied some of the children home." (EI,
Nov. 22) (David Bloom)
[top]
4. ANTI-ARAB VIOLENCE IN JERUSALEM
Two Jewish youths tried to stab three female Arab Israeli students in the
Kiryat Menachem neighborhood on Nov. 21. A male student who was with them
intervened, and was slightly wounded. The women were unharmed. The youths
fled the scene. Earlier that evening, dozens of people gathered at the site
of that morning's bus bombing, some of them chanting "death to the Arabs!"
(Jerusalem Post, Nov. 21) Fifteen cars belonging to Palestinian Jerusalem
residents had their tires punctured. Jewish youths pelted several Arab
vehicles with stones Nov. 22. On Nov. 23, several dozen Jewish youths
overturned chairs and broke windows of an Arab-owned bakery in the Kiryat
HaYovel area of Jerusalem. An Arab teen was stabbed in the buttocks in the
same neighborhood. Two young Jewish men were arrested the same evening on
suspicion of assault of two Arab workers at the Malha Mall in Jerusalem.
(Jerusalem Post, Nov. 24) (David Bloom)
See also: "Arab students live in danger, trapped between terrorists and
racists"
[top]
5. ISRAELI BORDER COPS BEAT PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST
Israeli border police kicked and beat a Reuters cameraman in Hebron on Nov.
20. Mamoun Wazwaz, 27, and 13 other Palestinian journalists were leaving a
colleague's home after dinner when three border police set upon them in a
parking lot. They knocked Wazwaz to the ground, and one of the police
bashed him in the leg with an M-16 assault rifle. The journalists said the
attack was unprovoked. "Suddenly we heard shouting and they were beating
Mamoud," Reuters cameraman Nael Shyoukhi said. "We told them we were
journalists and not to deal with us like criminals." Before they left, the
police told Wazwaz he was wanted for questioning by Israeli security
forces, ordering him to report to them later this month. His colleagues
rushed him to a hospital, where an x-ray revealed he had no broken bones.
Reuters filed a protest with the Israeli army and demanded an explanation.
The IDF had no immediate comment. (New Zealand Herald, Nov. 20) (David
Bloom)
[top]
6. ISRAELI SOLDIERS ASSAULT AMBULANCE DRIVER, NURSE
On Nov. 19, Israeli soldiers beat a Palestinian ambulance driver and a
nurse at a checkpoint at the southern entrance to Hebron. The soldiers
smashed the vehicle's windows and damaged its medical equipment. A patient
inside was unhurt, and the ambulance went back the way it came. (AFP, Nov.
20) The same day, a Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC)
ambulance was stopped at the Walaje check-point on its way from Bethlehem
to Hebron, and its driver was beaten. UPMRC reports in the five days prior
to Nov. 19, ten kidney dialysis patients from Yatta were prevented from
receiving treatment in Hebron. They are in "highly critical" condition.
(UPMRC, Nov. 19) (David Bloom)
Send protests about the obstruction of UPMRC services to: Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, HaKirya Romena, Jerusalem 91950 E-Mail: sar@mofa.gov.il, > sar@mofa.gov.il
Tel: 0972-25303531/3631/530, Fax: 0972-25303506, or the Ministry of
Interior, 29 Salah al-Din Str, Jerusalem 91010, Israel. Fax: 097226294750/
Tel: 097226294701
[top]
7. ISRAELI PRISON GUARDS BEAT U.S. CLERGYMAN
On Nov. 15, Rev. Gordon Hutchins, an US pastor serving the United Methodist
Church in Washington State, was arrested with eight other internationals
protesting the building of Israel's security fence in Jayyous, West Bank.
The internationals were staging a sit-in with 200 Palestinians. An olive
grove was slated to be destroyed that day to make way for the fence. At
12:30 PM, Israeli troops began shooting live ammunition into the crowd, and
threw tear gas canisters. Many of the Palestinians and internationals were
beaten, requiring medical treatment. The internationals, including
Hutchins, were then arrested. Hutchins and the others were taken to a
military base, then interrogated in an Israeli settlement. Following
interrogation, they were thrown in Massyahu prison, in Ramle in the West
Bank. Hutchins is suffering food and sleep deprivation, and no one from the
US embassy has visited him.
Jayyous, a town of 3,000, sits on 3,250 acres. 150 acres are to be
confiscated for the security wall; 2,250 acres will fall on the other side
of the wall, into the hands of the Israelis. This land also includes seven
wells and over 200 greenhouses. (Palestine Chronicle, Nov. 25) (David Bloom)
[top]
8. IDF OPERATING IN IRAQ?
Time Magazine reported Nov. 25 that members of Unit 5101, or Shaldag, have
been operating in western Iraq in recent weeks, looking for Scud missile
bunkers. The magazine says Shaldag has been surveying an area of desert 15
times the size of Israel. The area was used as a launch pad for Scud during
the Gulf War. "You sniff around in the western desert and try to get an
idea about those hardened concrete bunkers that Saddam [Hussein] has
created to put his Scuds in," said a US official describing the force's
work. Israel has requested its soldiers be allowed to continue their
reconnaissance in Iraq should war break out, in small groups of three.
Prof. Amatzia Baram believes leaks of Israeli involvement in Iraq are meant
to prevent war. "This is a sort of psychological warfare against the war.
If Israel is involved in operations, then opposition to American efforts
will increase. Somebody is leaking information, correct or not, in order to
make it more difficult to go to war." He added, "I am not so sure the US
needs Israel's help." (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 26)
The respected British defense analyst Jane's Information Group reported
Sept. 26 that Israeli Sayeret Matkal commandos were operating in western
Iraq, hunting for Scuds. (Jane's Foreign Report, Sept. 26) (See WW3 REPORT
#59)
Jane's also reported Feb. 24, 1998, that Israeli special forces units were
operating alongside US and British forces deep inside Iraq, looking for
Scuds, performing reconnaissance on Iraqi troop movements, and other tasks.
Israeli units arrived by helicopter from Turkey with permission from
Turkish generals. Jane's says the Israelis also undertook reconnaissance
helicopter missions near the Iranian border at the time. (Jane's Foreign
Report, Feb. 22, 1998) (David Bloom)
[top]
9. U.S. TO GRANT $14 BILLION IN AID TO ISRAEL
The US has approved $2.16 billion in military aid to Israel for 2004.
(Reuters, Nov. 21) It is likely to approve a total of four billion in
defense aid, and ten billion in the form of loan guarantees within 3-6
months. The money is intended to help stabilize Israel's economy and pull
out of recession. ( Ha'aretz, Nov. 26) Jane's Foreign Report says Bush will
approve the loan guarantees quickly to influence Israel's upcoming Likud
primary: "Bush junior will release the $10bn with the intention of helping
Sharon because the administration does not want to have an uncomfortable
repeat experience of dealing with Netanyahu. Sharon will go for a landslide
victory in January. After the end of the conflict against Saddam Hussein in
Iraq, Bush junior will want to calm the opponents of his action in the
Muslim and Arab world. There is one very simple and straightforward way of
doing this. It is for the US to put pressure on Israel to withdraw its
troops from the West Bank and Gaza." (Jane's Foreign Report, Nov. 14)
(David Bloom)
[top]
10. YOUR DONATION TO THE IDF IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE
US taxpayers can donate money tax-free to the IDF. LIBI, the Fund for the
Strengthening of Israel's Defense, describes its mission as "offering
education assistance to less privileged soldiers." The text on LIBI's
website reads:
"When you 'enlist' with LIBI, you're not only making up for what the
defense budget can't cover. You are also contributing to the ensurance of
Israel's continuity as well as to the prosperity of Israel's society and
culture. By offering education assistance to less privilaged soldiers, we
are making Israel's greatest asset available to all members of Israeli
society, thereby furthering the IDF's main purpose: the strengthening of
Israel's defense."
Donations to LIBI are tax-deductible through the PEF-Israel endowment fund.
PEF's website says the fund, started in part by Justice Louis Brandeis, has
among its missions, "promoting greater tolerance and understanding between
religious and secular communities and between Arabs and Jews." Yet one of
the Israeli organizations PEF serves as a funding conduit for is GAMLA, a
right-wing ex-officer's association. One article on GAMLA's website is "The
Logistics of Transfer," which is a nuts-and-bolts schematic for the
expulsion of the remaining Palestinian Arab population from Palestine.
The online donation link on LIBI's website leads to the following message:
"Enclosed is my contribution of ......... US Dollars with a recommendation
to your Trustees that it be used by the Central Charitable Fund for the
'LIBI' Fund in Israel." (David Bloom)
See also WW3 REPORT #49
[top]
11. WEAPONRY RETURNED TO IDF IN AMNESTY
A six-week campaign to get Israeli citizens to return missing IDF equipment
ended Nov. 14, netting $990,000 worth of stuff. Included in the list of
returned items were two Katyusha rocket launchers, a variety of rifles,
machine guns, pistols, a LAW anti-tank missile, tens of thousands of
bullets, explosives, grenades and fuses, as well as boots, helmets and flak
jackets. Those who returned equipment received amnesty from prosecution.
(Ha'aretz, Nov. 15) (David Bloom)
[top]
12. ISRAEL DISTRIBUTES RIFLES TO GREEN LINE TOWNS
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon issued an order directly following the
Oct. 28 attack on Kibbutz Metzer to transfer 1,600 M16 rifles to towns
along the Green Line, the pre-1967 border with the Palestinians. Sharon
asked the army to expedite the transfer of weapons from the IDF's emergency
warehouses to the towns. (Xinhua, Nov. 12) (David Bloom)
[top]
13. BELGIAN COURT WILL NOT PROSECUTE SHARON FOR WAR CRIMES
The Belgium Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Palestinians to
charge Prime Minister Sharon with war crimes. The court launched legal
action in June 2001 against Sharon for his responsibility in the massacres
at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. A lawyer for
the Palestinians said the court informed him the case had been put off
indefinitely. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 26) (David Bloom)
[top]
14. BEILIN: PALESTINIANS TO GIVE UP RIGHT OF RETURN
Labor dove Yossi Beilin, who has been drawing up an unofficial peace
agreement with Palestinian Minister of Information Yasser Abed Rabbo, says
the Palestinians are willing to moderate their stance on the right of
return. In exchange for Israel's acceptance of its responsibility for the
refugee problem, and taking in a token amount of refugees, the Palestinians
will forgo a full implementation of the right to return. The rest of the
refugees would be allowed to settle in one of five European countries, the
Jerusalem Post says. "These are numbers that will have no impact on the
demographic balance, especially because any accord based on the Clinton
plan will mean that more than 200,000 Palestinians now living in East
Jerusalem will no longer be living in areas under our control, so from the
standpoint of the demographic balance, there will be fewer Palestinians
under our control," Beilin added. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 26)
(David Bloom)
[top]
15. TELL YOUR CONGRESSMAN: NO TO TRANSFER!!
Last summer, "transfer" evangelist MK Benny Elon came to lobby US
government leaders to support the "voluntary" expulsion of Palestinians
from the West Bank:
"Armed with a glossy, eight-page peace initiative, Moledet leader Benny
Elon is meeting with Jewish organizations, Senators, and Congressmen this
week, seeking support for the voluntary transfer of Palestinians to the
East bank of the Jordan River... Elon said he has received quiet support
from several US legislators, though he declined to name them. 'I can say
one thing: Dick Armey is not alone,' said Elon, referring to the House
Majority leader whose public support for transfer during an interview on
MSNBC caused a furor...." (Jerusalem Post, June 27. (see WW3 REPORT# 40)
The US campaign to End the Israeli Occupation recommends :"If you are a
constituent of a member of Congress who met with Elon, call your Rep's
office to ask what concerns they raised regarding Elon's support for
'transfer.'"
Members of Congress who have met with Elon:
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)
2329 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6506
Fax: (202) 225-0546
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)
U.S. House of Representatives
2217 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3531
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
329 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2815
Fax: (202) 225-0011
Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY)
2303 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2464
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
United States Senate
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone:
(202) 224-4451
General Fax:
(202) 228-02
NYC: Phone:
(212) 688-6262
Fax:
(212) 688-7444
*Clinton was Elon's
guest when she visited Israel in February 2002 (Forward, March 1)
Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ)
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone -- (202) 225-4765
FAX -- (202) 225-0778
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)
711 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 202-224-4254
Fax: 202-228-1229
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
United States Capitol Office
2243 Rayburn House Office Building
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2601
Fax: (202) 225-1589
(David Bloom)[top]
16. JORDAN BLOCKS DEPORTATION OF PALESTINIANS
Jordan will not allow Israel to deport between 15 and 35 Palestinian
activists. Israel wants to deport them to Jordan, but Amman says they only
hold temporary Jordanian passports. Amman will not allow Israel to deport
Jordan Palestinians without permanent Jordanian passports and identity
numbers . (DPA, Nov. 23) (David Bloom)
[top]
17. JORDAN BLOCKS PALESTINIANS' PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
About 3,000 Palestinian pilgrims have been in limbo for ten days now,
congregating daily at the Allenby Bridge on the Jordan River--prevented by
Jordanian authorities from entering Jordan on their way to travel to Mecca.
The West Bank and Jerusalem residents were intending to go to Mecca to
perform the umra (minor pilgrimage). On Nov. 24, the pilgrims did a
sit-down strike to protest Jordan's ban. "The Jordanians are treating us as
if we are enemies," said pilgrim Abu Nimer. "The Israeli authorities
informed us that as far as they are concerned we can leave the country
immediately, but the problem is with Jordan, which doesn't want to see
Palestinians. We have no plans to stay in Jordan. All we want is to travel
via Jordan to Mecca." The pilgrims have paid a lot of money in hotel
accommodations in Saudi Arabia, registration fees ($700), and
transportation fees. They are paying for accommodation in Jericho hotels
and traveling to the bridge every day, hoping to be allowed through. Those
with little money spend their nights sleeping outside. "It's outrageous
that an Arab country is throwing hundreds of people into the open air while
Israel is stepping up its military campaign against the Palestinian
people," one Palestinian official said. "Where is all the talk about Arab
solidarity and support for the Palestinians?" Jordan says its restrictions
on the entry of Palestinians is to limit Palestinian emigration from the
West Bank. Jordan fears mass emigration as a result of the deteriorating
economic and security situation in the West Bank. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 25)
(David Bloom)
[top]
18. SETTLERS USING PESTICIDES ON PALESTINIAN OLIVE GROVES?
Kate, a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
assisting in the olive harvest at Yasuf, West Bank, reported a possible use
of pesticides on Palestinian olive groves: "The first trees we picked were
huge, the hugest I've seen yet, and the olives were also plump and
beautifully purple. As we got closer to the fence, we started to notice
that the trees were not as healthy, the leaves were grayish instead of
green; they didn't have very many olives and many of them were shriveled.
They told us that planes had been spraying the trees, they thought with
DDT. However, later, when we asked their son, Sayed, about it, he said that
they have not used planes, and no one has seen anything, and but they
thought the settlers had sprayed something on the trees, because the trees
have been getting sick since they put up the fence. Claire's husband, who's
a winemaker, says it can't be DDT, because that's banned worldwide, but
could be something like Roundup. I took some of the leaves and Claire is
going to try to take them to a lab in Jerusalem Sunday. Kathy and I both
noticed that we were having various allergic reactions in their fields that
we have not had before, although some others have had mysterious rashes."
(ISM, Oct. 26) Kate says the villagers are intending to have the leaves
tested.
In Aqraba, Palestinian olive farmer Abdelmajid Odah reported that settlers
cut down 300 of his olive trees. The ones they didn't not cut down, he
said, the settlers ruined with chemicals that made his elderly father sick.
(AP, Oct. 22)(David Bloom)
[top]
19. SETTLERS ARRESTED FOR OLIVE TREE THEFT
Three Jewish settlers were arrested by Israeli police near the Elkana
settlement, six miles from Qalqilya, after 15 fully-grown olive trees were
found in their truck Nov. 25. "They claimed the trees were taken with
permission from a Palestinian but they seemed to be having some trouble
coming up with the name of the Palestinian," a police spokesman said. Even
when fully grown, olive trees can be uprooted and replanted and still
produce fruit. (AFP, Nov. 25)
[top]
20. PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN STUDENT FRISKED FOR WEARING FLAG
Sixteen-year-old
Palestinian-American Yusra Awawdeh, a student at Franklin D. Roosevelt High
School in Brooklyn, was frisked by a security guard at the school Nov. 19
because she wore a "Free Palestine" T-shirt and a Palestinian flag pin to
class. A female school safety officer patted her down and made her remove
her shoes and socks, in the presence of a female dean. Awawdeh had to empty
her pockets, and her abdomen was inspected for explosives. "I was really
embarrassed," said Yusra, an 11th-grader at the Bensonhurst school. "They
made me feel like I was a terrorist with weapons." Board of Education
regulations allow the school to conduct searches only "if there is
reasonable suspicion to believe that a student has violated...the law or
school rules and regulations." The teen also wore a Keffiyeh, a traditional
Palestinian head scarf. After the search, Awawdeh was told by the dean she
could no longer wear the flag pin, or the keffiyeh, and had to remove
Palestinian stickers from her notebook. "She said the only flag I can
represent at the school is the American flag," said Yusra, who was born and
raised in Sunset Park. "I am American but I also want to represent my
heritage. I felt like they were trying to take something away from me. They
never said I broke any rules." (NY Daily News, Nov. 21)
On CNN, Awawdeh had the following exchange with anchorwoman Paula Zahn:
YUSRA AWAWDEH: They told me that there's this sticker going around in
school saying "Long live the intifada," "Zionism equal racism." And I
so-called had a sticker like it. But on the bottom, it said "Arab Women
Association." And the sticker going around on the bottom says "Arab Women
Association. " So, after that, she was like, "Do you know who's doing it?"
I was like, "No, I do not know."
ZAHN: So you deny having put up any of those stickers around the school.
YUSRA AWAWDEH: Yes. I would not.
ZAHN: Do you deny that you've done any kind of vandalism around the school?
YUSRA AWAWDEH: No, I never did it.
ZAHN: And do you think that is what the school is going to come back and
say? Because that's what we were being told, that you're being accused of
some kind of vandalism around the school and that's why they did this to
you.
YUSRA AWAWDEH: That's why they searched me. They were looking for stickers.
But the way they were searching me, they looked like they weren't looking
for stickers.
ZAHN: They were looking for what?
YUSRA AWAWDEH: I felt like they were looking for weapons or bombs or
something on me.
ZAHN: Do you understand, though, the heightened concern just about
everybody has post-September 11? Do you understand why someone might
overreact and maybe think that? Or do you think that's just totally
inexcusable?
YUSRA AWAWDEH: It's inexcusable. It's a school. Why would I walk in school
like that, you know? I was born here. I'm American.
ZAHN: Do you think that maybe they thought you were trying to provoke other
students in some way?
YUSRA AWAWDEH: No. I've been representing Palestine in that school for
three years. Nobody ever told me anything. Nobody told me to put away my
stickers. Nobody told me to put this, my scarf, away. Nobody told me I
can't put a button on my jacket. (CNN, Nov. 23) (David Bloom)
[top]
THE LEBANON FRONT
1. U.S. MISSIONARY SHOT DEAD IN SIDON
An American Evangelical missionary, Bonnie Witherall, was shot dead in the
port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Nov. 21. Witherall, a nurse who had worked for
eight years in Lebanon, was killed by an unidentified gunman, who fled. A
local police source blamed anti-US sentiment. "This was apparently an act
committed by a person filled with anti-American feelings in the generally
hostile climate toward the US, which people here reproach for its desire to
carry out a war against Iraq and for supporting Israel," said the official.
It marked the first killing of a US citizen in Lebanon in ten years. (BBC,
Nov. 21) Witherall was killed near the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee
camp, the largest in Lebanon and known haven for Islamic militants. The LA
Times asserted Sept. 15 that the Lebanese government has allowed "dozens"
of al-Qaeda operatives to seek refuge in the camp. The camp has been the
scene of sporadic violence; on Nov. 22 a bomb ripped through a coffee shop
in the camp, and on Nov. 25, a grenade exploded in the home of a local
Fatah official. Islamic militants who triggered a gunbattle with Fatah that
left three dead in August still have not been apprehended. (Reuters, Nov.
22, 25) (David Bloom)
[top]
2. ISLAMIC GASTRO-RESISTANCE DEALS MICKEY-D'S HARSH HAND
Lebanese security officials believe a group of five Palestinian militants
is responsible for a recent string of attacks on US-linked fast food
outlets in that country. Two Pizza Huts and a KFC outlet were the latest
targets. Anti-US sentiment has been on the rise in Lebanon over the course
of the two-year old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
Lebanese students and activists have organized boycotts of goods and
businesses associated the United States. This anger has only intensified
with the US threat of war against Iraq. The attacks shed light on
McDonald's recent decision to withdraw from the Middle East because of
falling profits. Boycott organizers say they do not approve of the attacks.
Advertising campaigns aimed at convincing the Lebanese public that the
franchise are Lebanese-owned seemed to have little effect. (Reuters, Nov.
18; Middle East and North Africa Today, Nov. 13)
See also WW3 REPORT #58
Recent attack on Western targets in the Middle East include:
Nov. 21, Sidon, Lebanon: American nurse, Bonnie Witheral, shot dead at a
Christian mission. Nov. 21, Kuwait: Two US soldiers shot and seriously
wounded by Kuwaiti policeman. Nov. 20, Saudi Arabia: An armed Saudi man
burnt down a McDonalds restaurant close to a US airbase. Oct. 28, Amman,
Jordan: Senior US diplomat Larry Foley assassinated outside his home. Oct.
8, Failaka Island, Kuwait: US Marine shot dead after two Kuwaitis opened
fire on a military exercise. Both suspects were killed when Marines
returned fire. Oct. 6, Ash Shihr, Yemen: A French tanker, The Limberg,
attacked using a small explosives-filled boat. April 5, Manama, Bahrain:
Firebombs thrown at the US Embassy during protests in which 100 people were
injured. March 15, Sanaa, Yemen: Two grenades tossed at the US Embassy.
(London Times, Nov. 22) (David Bloom)
[top]
3. ANTI-SYRIAN PROTESTS GROW
Lebanese security forces clashed with hundreds of Christian students from
St. Joseph's University in Beirut Nov. 21. The students are protesting the
continuing Syrian military presence in Lebanon. Witnesses say police beat
protesters who tried to push their way onto the streets, injuring four. "We
took to the streets to say that there is a Syrian occupation of Lebanon and
we want our independence," one protester said. Similar protests took place
at other campuses in the Christian part of Beirut. (Reuters, Nov. 21)(see
WW3 REPORT #58) (David Bloom)
[top]
4. NEWSPAPER EDITOR: HEZBOLLAH BEAT ME
Abbas Saleh, an editor at Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper for the last four
years, says he was kidnapped and beaten by Hezbollah militants following an
argument with a party member. Saleh was trying to park his car near the BHV
department store in Beirut, when a person approached him and told him to
"'go park somewhere else.'" "After a while the conversation turned into a
quarrel and the man made a phone call asking someone to send him 10 armed
men and told me to 'wait and see what will happen to you.'" Saleh called a
friend who was an Internal Security Forces (ISF) officer, and asked for
help. Before the ISF could arrive, two vans and a Range Rover arrived, and
"about 10 armed men came out of the vehicles and started beating me in
public in front of a lot of people who were shouting... They later put me
in one of the vans, asked me ironically if I 'wanted to wait for the ISF so
they could take them with me,' and drove me to a place near the Ghobeiri
public park." Upon arrival, Saleh figured out who he was dealing with. "I
knew they were Hezbollah members when they took me to a room and I
recognized Ahmad Mshik, who was a member of Hezbollah's security committee,
sitting on the only chair in the room." Saleh tried to reach an
understanding with Mshik, who is alleged to have responded: "You insulted
us and now you should pay a high price." Saleh was then subjected to three
hours of physical abuse from Hezbollah. When Mshik decided to let him go,
Saleh said he intended to sue for assault. "Mshik mocked me and said: 'Do
you really think you can sue Hezbollah?'" A state physician's report proves
he was beaten. Saleh does not expect much from the investigation: "ISF
officials are doing their best but told me not to expect a lot out of this
case because some people cannot be touched."
When contacted by the Daily Star, Hezbollah press officer Sheikh Haidar
Diqmaq did not deny that the incident took place, but said that Saleh was
"exaggerating his version of the story." Saleh, for his part, says he has
related only "the smallest part" of what happened to him, and that "it was
dangerous to go public with the whole truth." (Daily Star, Nov. 26) (David
Bloom)
[top]
5. LEBANESE MERCS FIND NEW JOBS AT IDF CHECKPOINTS
Bethlehem resident Sam Bahour was quite surprised when a year ago he
started encountering soldiers of the South Lebanese Army (SLA) dressed in
IDF uniforms, manning checkpoints in the West Bank. The SLA was a Christian
Lebanese proxy army created by Israel in southern Lebanon. Many of the SLA
fled to Israel after the Israeli pullout from that country in 2000. The
Jerusalem Post reported on March 3 2001 that a European diplomat told
Lebanon's Daily Star, "There are at least two checkpoints manned by former
SLA men," one in Jericho and one in Gaza. Bahour told WW3 REPORT the SLA
"were visible daily from February to April...not so much now, but I would
not doubt if they are still there."
Bahour's workplace manager first encountered SLA soldiers at the Sudra
checkpoint near Ramallah. "With about two hundred people stopped while on
their way to work in Ramallah and in perfect Lebanese-accent Arabic, the
solider ordered the Palestinians to make four rows as follows; pretty
women, ugly women, men over 40 years old, and men under 40 years old,"
Bahour reports. "Out of necessity to make it to Ramallah and earn a living,
three lines were formed, all females, men over 40 and men under 40. This
bastard Israeli solider then proceeded to walk past the female line
separating them into his taste of pretty and ugly...."
Bahour also said a soldier ordered his manager to say the word "tomato,"
which the Lebanese pronounce differently. When he said it both the Lebanese
and Palestinian way, asking "which one he wanted to hear," the soldier
grabbed him and a physical clash nearly ensued before a higher-ranked
solider intervened.
Many European countries have refused to accept SLA militiamen out of the
concern some of them may have been involved in human rights abuses in
Lebanon. (Jerusalem Post, March 3, 2001)
Ha'artz's Gideon Levy noted with some disdain the outpouring of sympathy
for the SLA mercenaries and their families who fled the wrath of the
Hezbollah. "Suddenly, Israelis are shocked to witness the plight of Arabs
who were expelled from their homes and left helpless. They are filled with
pity as they see families which have been ripped apart. Is it really
necessary to remind this contrite public that these aren't the only
indigent Arab refugees in the region, and that they aren't the first
refugees for whose dire circumstances Israel is to blame?"
Levy notes the SLA men "couldn't have reasonably expected that Israel would
remain in Lebanon forever; nor could they have expected that the Lebanese
would forgive them for their betrayal. In the end, collaborators always
have to pay for their deeds--and the most that the SLA men can hope for now
is that Israel will provide them sanctuary during their moment of woe.
Levy also writes that among the SLA refugees are those responsible for
"horrifying torture, arbitrary expulsion, prolonged detention without
trial, stringent limitations curbing freedom of movement, and more." The UK
Independent, Levy says, saw the aftermath of the SLA departure from
al-Khaim prison in southern Lebanon: "Electric wires used to torture
inmates during interrogation, a whipping-post, boards on which prisoners
were tied-down, letters which were never distributed, and a crutch used by
a prisoner crippled by torture. The acts of abomination at al-Khiam took
place under Israel's supervision and with its encouragement; but they were
carried out by SLA men. Some of them are now dwelling at hotels in Israel's
North, and Israel guarantees them a future in this country. They don't
deserve it." (Ha'aretz, May 28, 2000) (David Bloom)
[top]
WATCHING THE SHADOWS
1. HOMELAND SECURITY ACT PASSES
In the biggest overhaul of the federal bureaucracy since the Defense
Department and CIA were created in the aftermath of World War II, on Nov.
19 the Senate voted to approve legislation creating the Homeland Security
Department. "This is a day for the history books," said Tom Ridge, current
White House homeland security advisor and the man expected to lead the new
department. Agencies to be consolidated under the Homeland Security
Department include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, currently
an independent agency), the Secret Service and Customs Service (currently
under the Treasury Department), the Coast Guard and Transportation Security
Administration (currently under the Transportation Department), the
National Domestic Preparedness Office and National Infrastructure
Protection Center (currently under the FBI), the enforcement functions
(e.g. Border Patrol) of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS,
currently under the Justice Department), the Office of Domestic
Preparedness (currently under the Justice Department), parts of
California's Livermore National Laboratories and elite nuclear incident
response teams (currently under the Energy Department), New York's Plum
Island Animal Disease Center (currently under the Agriculture Department)
and biological incident response teams (currently under the Health and
Human Services Department), as well as a slew of lesser-known agencies,
such as the Defense Department's National Communications System, the
Commerce Department's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, and the
General Services Administration's Federal Computer Incident Response
Center. (NYT, Nov. 20)
Commentators were quick to point out that the federal reshuffling could
aggravate inter-agency rivalry. Wrote the New York Times Nov. 20:
"Administration officials acknowledged that the Department of Homeland
Security could eventually emerge as a rival to the FBI as a domestic
intelligence-gathering agency... 'I think there are some nervous folks over
at the bureau,' a senior law enforcement official said today."
However, few commentators in the US noted the likely central role of FEMA
in the new department--or the agency's Reagan-era contingency plan to
oversee a declaration of martial law in the event of national emergency.
Under the plan, drawn up with then-National Security Council agent Lt. Col.
Oliver North, FEMA would seize control of the entire federal bureaucracy
and declare sweeping powers to suspend constitutional rights and round up
anti-war protesters and Central American refugees on military bases in the
event of a US invasion of Nicaragua. In 1984, FEMA carried out a series of
"readiness exercises" (dubbed REX 84 ALPHA) in preparation for the mass
detainments. The secret plans were revealed in the 1987 Congressional
hearings on the "Contragate" scandal. On July 27, with the Homeland
Security bill pending, Ritt Goldstein of Australia's Sydney Morning Herald,
one of the few commentators to recall this history, wrote: "Foundations are
in place for martial law in the US."
The Homelands Security Act was signed into law by President Bush on Nov.
25. (NYT, Nov. 26)
[top]
2. HOMELAND SECURITY AND "TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS"
The usually arch-conservative but civil libertarian New York Times
columnist William Safire warned Nov. 14: "If the Homeland Security Act is
not amended before passage, here is what will happen to you: Every purchase
you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and
medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send
or receive, every academic grade your receive, every bank deposit you make,
every trip you book and every event you attend - all these transactions and
communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as 'a
virtual, centralized grand database.' To this computerized dossier on your
private life from commercial sources, add every piece of information that
government has about you--passport application, driver's license and bridge
toll records, judicial and divorce records, complaints from nosy neighbors
to the FBI, your lifetime paper trail plus the latest hidden camera
surveillance - and you have the supersnoop's dream: a 'Total Information
Awareness' about every US citizen."
Safire's fears are real, but he is confused on one point: the Homeland
Security Act does not establish the sinister Total Information Awareness
(TIA) program--which is a project of the Information Awareness Office
(IAO), part of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA). Wrote Reuters Nov. 16: "Contrary to some published reports, the
bill contains no authorization for a comprehensive data-mining effort
proposed by the Pentagon that would break down long-established barriers
against domestic surveillance. But the proposed agency would combine
several surveillance efforts under one roof, from airline-passenger
screening programs to immigration databases and criminal financial
investigations." Reuters reports that privacy advocates are also concerned
by a measure "that would boost penalties for cyber-crimes and make it
easier for Internet providers to report suspicious activity on their
networks. Hackers could face life in prison if their activities were found
to put human lives at risk, while Internet providers could hand over logs
of customer activity without fear of lawsuits."
House Majority Leader Dick Armey argued that the Homeland Security Act
actually protects privacy: "This bill does not in any way authorize the
Department of Defense program known as 'Total Information Awareness.' It
does not authorize, fund or move into the Department anything like it. In
fact, this bill provides unique statutory protections that will ensure the
Department of Homeland Security could never undertake such a program.
Section 892 of our bill prohibits the sharing of any information that would
undermine the statutory and constitutional protections of our citizens. We
also create a privacy officer, the first ever established by statute, whose
sole mission will be to ensure that programs like TIA never get off the
ground in this Department." (Freedom House, Nov. 22)
Safire does remind readers that the IAO is headed by Admiral John
Poindexter, a mastermind of the secret arms-for-hostage deal with Iran and
kickback of the profits to the right-wing contra guerillas in Nicaragua--a
major scandal of the Reagan era. In 1990, Poindexter was convicted on five
felony counts of lying to Congress and shredding documents, but an appeals
court overturned the verdict citing the immunity he had been granted for
his Congressional testimony.
See also WW3 REPORT #59
Privacy groups remain concerned that the Homeland Security
Department--which is to include a "research" division--could centralize the
new surveillance powers allowed by last year's PATRIOT Act, which weakened
the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and several other privacy laws.
(Electronic Frontier Foundation, Oct. 31, 2001)
The Homeland Security Act also includes:
* Limits on government information citizens can request under the Freedom of
Information Act
* Criminal penalties for government employees who leak information.
* More latitude for "national-security related" executive branch task
forces and advisory committees to meet in secret.
* Limits on liability for those who manufacture 'antiterrorism
technologies,' including vaccines, gas masks, and baggage screening
equipment.
* New powers to declare national health emergencies, including quarantines
and forced vaccination.
( Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 21)
Provisions included at the insistence of Rep. Armey (R-TX) include a
rejection of a national identification card, a ban on the proposed citizen
informant network known as the Terrorist Information Prevention System
(TIPS), and creation of a privacy officer for the department to assure
compliance with the 1974 Privacy Act. (American Library Association, Nov.
20)
[top]
3. APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS LIMITS ON FISA SURVEILLANCE
In a ruling that Attorney General John Ashcroft said "revolutionizes our
ability to investigate terrorists," the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia overturned a May opinion by the secret Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court that sought to limit the Justice
Department's newly expanded eavesdropping powers. The secret court, created
by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), grants wiretap
warrants even when there is no evidence of criminal activity if FBI agents
can demonstrate that "the purpose" of the surveillance is to protect
national security. Under last year's USA PATRIOT Act, protecting national
security need only be "a significant purpose" of the warrant. The FISA
court's May ruling that Ashcroft's interpretation of the expanded powers
was unacceptably broad was the first unclassified decision in the court's
24-year history. Following the overturning of the FISA court's ruling,
Ashcroft announced a new computer system that will allow agents to draft
FISA warrant applications and send them to FBI headquarters "in real time."
Jameel Jaffer, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said
the Appeals Court ruling "dramatically expands the risk that law-abiding
American citizens and permanent residents could be subjected to highly
intrusive...surveillance." (USA Today, Nov. 19; CNN.com, Nov. 18)
See also WW3 REPORT #51
[top]
4. POST-TERROR INSURANCE LIABILITY LIMIT PASSES
On Nov. 19 the Senate also approved legislation--already passed by the
House--limiting insurance company liability in the event of a terrorist
attack, and providing for the federal government to pay up to $100 billion
annually for three years to cover potential terrorist losses. Treasury
Secretary Paul H. O'Neill called the bill "perhaps the single most
important thing we can do to boost job creation in the short run, as well
as minimize negative economic consequences of possible future attacks."
(NYT, Nov. 20)
The bill augments a policy already in place where the nuclear industry is
concerned since 1957 under the Price-Anderson Act, which limits utility and
insurer liability to $200 million per reactor in the event of nuclear
disaster. Price-Anderson, whose implications are all the more grave in
light of the new terrorist threat, was renewed by Congress this year.
(Village Voice, Jan. 8)
[top]
5. FBI ISSUES "SPECTACULAR" TERROR ALERT
The FBI's warning last week of a "spectacular" terrorist attack invoked a
threat to targets of "high symbolic value, mass casualties, severe damage
to the US economy and maximum psychological trauma." It specifically
mentioned possible attacks on nuclear, aviation or petroleum sector
targets. But former President Jimmy Carter warned on CNN's Larry King Live
Nov. 14 that repeated terror alerts could result in a "cry wolf" feeling.
(AP, Nov. 16)
Meanwhile, the official Homeland Security Color Advisory Code remained on
an uninspiring yellow (for "elevated" threat level), which has been the
status quo throughout the year except for a brief escalation to orange (for
"high") around the 9-11 anniversary.
[top]
6. PAKISTANI EXECUTED IN CIA KILLINGS
Thousands gathered in Quetta, Pakistan, for the funeral of Mir Aimal Kasi
[sometimes rendered "Kansi"], a Pakistani immigrant who was executed in
Virginia Nov. 14 for killing two CIA employees with an AK-47 rifle, fired
into their cars outside the agency's Langley, VA, complex in 1993. (NYT,
Nov. 20) Kasi, who had allegedly fled to Afghanistan, reportedly confessed
to the killings while being flown back to the US following his arrest in
Pakistan. (AP, Nov. 15)
While the anti-US protests that followed the execution in Pakistan made
headlines, few media commentators recalled that Kasi was an employee of a
courier service owned by the son of Victor Marchetti, a former CIA agent
who wrote the 1974 blockbuster "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence." The
junior Marchetti had CIA clearance to make deliveries at Langley--as did
Kansi. (See Muslimedia.com)
The senior Marchetti currently publishes a newsletter called Zionist Watch,
which has been criticized for anti-semitic conspiracy theories that the US
government is secretly controlled by Israel. (See "Right Woos Left", The
Public Eye, Political Research Associates)
[top]
7. CIA: HE'S ALIVE!
CIA and National Security Agency analysts have concluded that an audiotape
of Osama bin Laden broadcast last week on Qatar's al-Jazeera satellite TV
is authentic. "Intelligence experts do believe that the tape is genuine,"
said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "It is clear that the tape was
made in the last several weeks." On the tape, bin Laden threatens more
attacks against the US and its allies if the US attacks Iraq. (USA Today,
Nov. 19)
[top]
GLIMMERS OF HOPE
1. MUNICIPAL REVOLT AGAINST WAR MOVES, POLICE STATE
The Washington DC city council has passed a resolution opposing military
action against Iraq without proof of an "imminent threat" to US national
security. Takoma Park, MD, Berkeley, CA, and Santa Fe, NM, have passed
similar resolutions, with more pending in Baltimore, MD, and Madison, WI.
(Washington Post, Nov. 8)
Santa Fe has also passed a resolution barring city law enforcement from
violating residents' constitutional rights even if requested to do so by
federal authorities under the PATRIOT Act or other federal anti-terrorist
legislation. ( Democracy.issue)
[top]
SUPPORT WORLD WAR 3 REPORT: THE MOST IMPORTANT ANTI-WAR NEWSLETTER IN THE
WORLD!!!
EXIT POLL Discuss irony of the so-called "Patriot" and "Homeland Security"
acts in the context of the following quotations:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated."--Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others
may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"--Patrick Henry
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."--Benjamin Franklin
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty
than to those attending too small a degree of it."--Thomas Jefferson
"It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We
hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the
noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did
not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and
entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the
principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We
revere this lesson too much...to forget it."--James Madison
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