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From Common Courage Press
Recent
Stories
June
12, 2003
Gary
Leupp
The Intel-gate Row in Britain: a Chronology
Ahmad Faruqui
The Tragic Legacy of the Six Day
War
Wayne
Madsen
Unfit for Office: Time for Rumsfeld to Resign
Laura Carlsen
Hunger and Security
Tarif
Abboushi
Warm and Fuzzy in Aqaba
Ray
McGovern
Deceived into War: Reflections of
a Former CIA Analyst
Steve
Perry
Bush's Wars
Web Log 6/12
June
11, 2003
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Attack of the Hog Killers: Why the
Generals Hate the A-10
Elaine
Cassel
Meet Michael Chertoff: Ashcroft's
Top Gremlin
David Lindorff
The Republican Drive to Eliminate Overtime Pay
Tom
Gorman
Greens, the Antiwar Movement and 2004
Alfredo
Castro
Colombia: The Most Dangerous Place
on Earth for Trade Unionists
Nnimo
Bassey and Lawrence Bohlen
Bush Must Stop Telling Us What to
Eat!
Julie Hilden
Spike Lee v. Spike TV
CounterPunch
Wire
Blair Bros. Change Jobs!
Eric
Hobsbawm
The Empire Expands, Wider and Still
Wider
Steve
Perry
DHS: As Big
a Planning Snafu as Iraq?
June
10, 2003
Benjamin
Shepard
A Season in the Anti-War Movement
Chris
Floyd
Bush Family Lies About Iraq and Nazi
Germany
Wayne
Madsen
Weaponsgate
Jason Leopold
Powell's Denials Ring Hollow
Richard
Lichtman
Whining, Whimpering Leftists Confront the Logic of American World
Domination
Ray
Close
A CIA Analyst on Why the Lies About
WMD Matter
Hammond
Guthrie
Banking on Saddam?
Steve
Perry
Bush's Wars
Web Log 6/10
June
9, 2003
Alex
Coolman
Male Rape in US Prisons
Elaine
Cassel
Ashcroft is Coming!
Lee
Sustar
Is Iran Next?
Agustin
Velloso
Equatorial Guinea: Few Rich, Many
Poor
Gila
Svirsky
Some Lives Are Worth Less Than Others
Dr. Gerry
Lower
Human Worth in Bush's America
Michael
S. Ladah
A True Liberation
Ishmael Reed
Iraqi Slaughter, Mayhem and Plunder
Steve
Perry
How to Beat Bush, part 1
June
7 / 8, 2003
Alexander
Cockburn
The Terrible Truth
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Going Critical: Bush's War on Endangered Species
Joanne
Mariner
Ashcrofts Sides with Torturers
Steven
Sherman
A Different Theory of Everything
Ron Jacobs
Sports, Politics and the 60s
M.
Shahid Alam
Pauperizing the Periphery
Amelia
Peltz
If This is the Road, I'd Rather be Lost
Shelton
Hull
Another Powell, Another Capitulation
Binoy Kampmark
Nuclear Deterrence and North Korea
Ben
Tripp
A Fish Story
Sen. Robert
Byrd
Where is the Outrage?
Robin
Philpot
Congo Distortions
Julie Hilden
Murder and the Matrix
Laura
Flanders
An Interview with Isabel Allende
David Lindorff
The Last Byline
Adam
Engel
Talk Dirty Scary Monsters
Poets'
Basement
Kearney, Reiss, Guthrie, Albert and Hamod
June
6, 2003
Elaine
Cassel
Ashcroft the Insatiable
David
Krieger
The Big Lie
Ramzy
Baroud
Sharon and the Myth of the Peacemakers
Anthony
Gancarski
Sharansky: "Crucifixion is a Privilege"
Sam
Hamod
His Own Little Country
Sean Carter
Why Indict Martha Stewart and Not Ken Lay?
David
Lindorff
Cracks in the Consensus
Stew Albert
Ari's Great Set
Steve
Perry
Greens and
Moore in 04? No
June
5, 2003
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Pools of Fire: The Looming Nuclear
Nightmare in the Woods of North Carolina
Imraan
Siddiqi
Ann Coulter's Foul Mouth
Michael
Leon
Clinton, Reno & Waco: Remember What They've Done
Robert
Jensen
Texas Pledge Law Undermines Democracy
Ann Harrison
Rosenthal is Free, But the Fight isn't Over
Paul
Dean
How You Can Be Deliriously Happy in the Age of Bush
Gary Leupp
When Spooks Speak Out
Website
of the Day
Evidence in Black and White?
June
4, 2003
Alexander
Cockburn
Federal Judge Blinks; Rosenthal
Walks
Lisa
Walsh Thomas
The Isaiah Crowd: The Threat of Neo-Christianity
Jason
Leopold
Manufacturing the Iraq War
John Chuckman
Blackmail as Policy
Mazin
Qumsiyeh
Summit: Peace or Pretense?
Issam Nashashibi
Sharon's Sword of Damocles
Steve
Perry
Wolfowitz of Arabia: the VF interview transcript
June
3, 2003
Chris
Floyd
Copycat Killers: Bush, Jakarta and
the Slaughter in Aceh
Jason
Leopold
Wolfowitz Tells All
Elaine
Cassel
We Interrupt Your Normal Show to Bring You an Important Message
from Michael Powell: "Go to Hell, Americans!"
Tom
Crumpacker
The Politics of US Cuba Policy
William
S. Lind
Fourth Generation Warfare in Iraq
Sam
Hamod
The Final Brick in the Wall
Uri
Avnery
The Altalena Affair
Hammond
Guthrie
Stepping into Some Deep DARPA
Steve
Perry
The WashTimes'
al-Qaeda nuke "exclusive"
June
2, 2003
Arundhati
Roy
Day of the Jackals
Norman
Madarasz
Behind the Neo-Con Curtain: Plato,
Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom
Alain
Frachon and Daniel Vernet
The Strategist and the Philosopher: Strauss and Wohlstetter
Anthony
Gancarski
Anti-Imperialism, Then & Now
Standard
Schaefer
Wasted at the Pentagon
Jason
Leopold
Rocky's Advice to the Dems
Guthrie
& Albert
HUAC 58 Years Letter
Steve
Perry
The Politics of Terror Alerts
May
31, 2003
Alexander
Cockburn
A Whiner Called Horowitz
Gary Leupp
The Frauds of War
Dave
Lindorff
Clinton, Bush, Lies and Impeachment
Tom Stephens
Does It Matter that the Bush Administration Lied?
Sasan
Fayazmanesh
Who Is Next?
Joanne
Mariner
Trivializing Terrorism
Wayne
Madsen
Ayatollah Ashcroft's Busy Week
Larry Magnuson
Is a Television a Radio or a Billboard?
Elaine
Cassel
Wake Up, America!
Gila Svirsky
Waiting for the Lament to End
Susan
Davis
Kitchen Dreams
Chris Clarke
Barbra Streisand: Environmental Hypocrite
Chris
Floyd
Bush Locates Source of World Evil: God
Adam Engel
Gravity's End Zone
Poets'
Basement
Reiss, Guthrie, Orloski, Albert
May
30, 2003
Ben
Tripp
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Agenda
Neve
Gordon
The Bad Fence
Todd
Steiner
Endangered Ocean
Robert
Freeman
Bush's Tax Cuts: a Form of National Insanity
Sean
Carter
Utah Gets Fired Up for Executions
Daniel
Bacher
How Bush's War Violated International Laws
Tariq
Ali
Re-Colonizing Iraq
Steve
Perry
Bush Wars
Web Log
May
29, 2003
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Jason
Leopold
Despite Thin Intelligence Reports,
US Plans Overthrow of Iran Regime
Ron
Jacobs
Popular Uprising, Inc.
Michelle
Ciaccorra
Bush's Nuclear Policy: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
Yves Engler
The Economics of Health Care in
America: Pay More to Die Sooner
Kimberly
Blaker
Vouchers for Jesus
Harry
Browne
Stakeknife: Britain's Army Spy at
the Top of the IRA
Stew
Albert
Cops of the World
Steve Perry
Greens 04: In or Out?
Hot Stories
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Elaine
Cassel
Civil Liberties
Watch
Michel
Guerrin
Embedded Photographer Says: "I
Saw Marines Kill Civilians"
Uzma
Aslam Khan
The Unbearably Grim Aftermath of War:
What America Says Does Not Go
Paul de Rooij
Arrogant
Propaganda
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click Here
for More Stories.
|
June
13, 2003
Ashcroft's Cruel Version
of America
Expanding
the Patriot Act to Round Up Arabs
By NEGAR AZIMI
United States Attorney-General John Ashcroft has
recommended a widening of the USA Patriot Act, calling it a crucial
tool in the global fight against terrorism. In an address before
the House Judiciary Committee last week, Ashcroft espoused the
expansion of the landmark Patriot Act legislation to include
the death penalty and pre-trial detention provisions for suspected
terrorists, as well as guarantees that those who aid terrorist
cells as "material supporters" ultimately face charges.
In his 90-minute rhetorically-packed
address, Ashcroft noted that the Patriot Act has thus far brought
"3,000 foot soldiers of terror" to justice via its
beefed-up integration of law enforcement and intelligence capabilities.
Ashcroft repeatedly warned of the dangers that continue to face
the US at the hands of terrorism, going so far as to read from
a fatwa issued by Al- Qa'eda's founders, Osama Bin Laden and
Ayman El-Zawahri, effectively declaring war on American civilians.
The attorney-general went on to read
out some names of those who died in the attacks of 11 September,
as well as those who lost their lives in terrorist attacks in
Tel Aviv, Israel, Bali, Indonesia, Casablanca, Morocco and Riyadh.
He called the acts in those cities "bitter
reminders that the cold-blooded network of terror will continue
to use the horror of their heinous acts to achieve their fanatical
ends". Earlier this year, draft legislation that would expand
the Patriot Act was leaked to the press, meeting significant
criticism from both civil liberties groups and multiple shades
of the political spectrum.
The Patriot Act was passed by Congress
in October 2001 in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, providing
for an unprecedented expansion of powers for law enforcement
officials -- ranging from authorising roving wire taps to allowing
for the detention of non-citizens for up to seven days without
charges, among other measures.
Civil rights activists, in the meantime,
have unanimously denounced the act as an attack on the most basic
of civil liberties. Only days after Ashcroft's announcement,
officials revealed that over 13,000 men of Arab and Muslim descent
may face deportation proceedings in the coming months -- an extension
of the austere measures imposed by America's immigration system
in the aftermath of 9/11.
On the first anniversary of the attacks,
the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) launched
the National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS),
a programme under which men over the age of 16 hailing from 20
Arab and predominantly Muslim countries are required to register
with immigration officials.
Registration involves being interviewed,
photographed and fingerprinted by federal authorities, while
also requiring men to submit information about their job, visa
and student status in routine fashion. 82,000 men have registered
under the system since its inception.
Among advocates of Arab-American rights
in the US, the response to the proposed mass deportations has
been significant. In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly Ali Abunimah,
vice-president of the Arab-American Action Network and co-founder
of the Internet magazine Electronic Intifada, cautioned against
the consequences of such draconian measures. "The fact that
the government is moving to deport so many people will potentially
harm efforts to fight terrorism, because it will erode trust
in the government."
"There are so many reports of abuses
and arbitrary treatment with this programme that it is hard to
see how people will come forward voluntarily in the future,"
said Abunimah. The news comes on the heels of a scathing report
released by the Justice Department's inspector-general detailing
abuses of the federal immigration system in the aftermath of
9/11.
Released on 1 June, the critical report
details countless instances of abuse surrounding the treatment
of 762 illegal immigrants detained in the immediate aftermath
of the terrorist attacks in the Metropolitan Detention Centre
(MDC) in Brooklyn and the Passaic County Jail in Patterson, New
Jersey, including massive irregularities in proceedings as well
as prolonged detention times, among other problems.
The INS allegedly failed to serve notices
of immigration charges within mandated time frames. The report
notes that the delays "affected the detainees in several
ways, from their ability to understand why they were being held,
to their ability to obtain legal counsel, to their ability to
request a bond hearing".
The report also details the FBI's repeated
failure to distinguish between detainees who were suspected of
having terrorist connections and those who were held on other
grounds. As a result, the report notes, countless persons were
held for prolonged periods on effectively misguided grounds.
Meanwhile, an arduous clearance process
took an average of 80 days due to a dearth of human resources
and because the process was "not given sufficient priority".
Verbal and physical abuse, particularly in the MDC facilities,
also figured prominently in the report. Immigrants arrested in
New York faced "unduly harsh" detention policies, while
84 detainees were subjected to a 23-hour "lock down"
during which they were placed in handcuffs, leg irons and heavy
chains any time they moved outside of their respective cells.
If anything, the report reveals that
times have changed, going so far as to acknowledge that pre-9/11,
illegal immigrants would likely not have been detained in such
fashion. Indeed, it seems that the fundamental basis of the American
legal system has been suspended as, in the aftermath of the attacks,
persons detained on immigration charges have been treated as
guilty until proven otherwise.
While most of the 762 illegal immigrants
have been deported, not one has been charged as a terrorist.
Justice Department officials report that they have already adopted
some of the 21 recommendations embedded within the report, though
they have been anything but repentant in the face of the report's
criticisms.
Negar Azimi writes
for the Cairo weekly Al-Ahram,
where this article orginally appeared.
Today's
Features
Gary
Leupp
The Intel-gate Row in Britain: a Chronology
Ahmad Faruqui
The Tragic Legacy of the Six Day
War
Wayne
Madsen
Unfit for Office: Time for Rumsfeld to Resign
Laura Carlsen
Hunger and Security
Tarif
Abboushi
Warm and Fuzzy in Aqaba
Ray
McGovern
Deceived into War: Reflections of
a Former CIA Analyst
Steve
Perry
Bush's Wars
Web Log 6/12
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