Bush Pulls Plug on Cheney's "Cloak & Dagger" Operations - Steve Clemons

[applegrove]

Bush Pulls Plug on Cheney's "Cloak & Dagger" Operations
by Steve Clemons
Huffington Post
Sept 8, 2006

"George Bush has just taken a first step, a big step in my view, in bringing America a notch back towards democracy by bringing all of America's "off the books" prisoners into the daylight and towards a more transparent legal process.

Much of the political left has missed the importance of what happened when President Bush interrupted soap operas on the networks on Wednesday and announced that America's secret prisons around the world would be emptied and fourteen highly significant prisoners tried for their crimes.

What much of the left has not realized is that the Cheney wing in national security circles -- including personalities like David Addington, John Bolton, Scooter Libby, and others -- is seething at some of the better souls in the administration. Real right wingers who would love to see a return of arbitrary justice, vigilanteism, and secret executions for those accused of terrorism are quite angry with the President and with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the enlightened steps they are now taking.

John Bellinger III, the legal adviser to the Secretary of State, and a person Cheney chief-of-staff David Addington has on a regular attack hit list, has scored a huge and important victory over those in the administration who were the primary torture advocates and believers in non-transparent and arbitrary justice. Bellinger as well as State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow and Policy Planning Staff Principal Deputy Director and detainee legal issues expert Matthew Waxman and others have been working on a nine month campaign to bring America out of the secret gulag business -- and get the United States back on the path of legal process and legal norms.

.... SNIP"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/bush-pulls-plug-on-cheney_b_28963.html

[Syncronaut Seven]

1. And news of a good thing coming from the lips of a

Pathological liar means what?

This administration has Zero credibility. They don't do a thing without PR first and foremost.

Everything they say is a lie, Why should I view this as anything more than a publicity stunt?

[applegrove]

7. I agree. Like they are putting on a new "mask". Oh and Rove is outta

favour..he has nothing to do with the House or Senate races. That meme was rolled out in early September..when you do roll out a new campaign.

Take it all with a grain of salt.

[seemslikeadream]

2. Addington

ADDINGTON'S ROLE IN CHENEY'S OFFICE DRAWS FRESH ATTENTION

That's David (Geneva Convention is "Quaint") Addington


http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2005/1030nj1.htm

By Murray Waas and Paul Singer

10-30-05

David Addington, counsel to Vice President Cheney, has been named to succeed Scooter Libby as Cheney's chief of staff. Addington's own role in the Plame matter is emerging just as the vice president selects him for the top job.

...

Further, Addington played a leading role in 2004 on behalf of the Bush administration when it refused to give the Senate Intelligence Committee documents from Libby's office on the alleged misuse of intelligence information regarding Iraq. Because Addington may be in line to succeed Libby, the Intelligence Committee-White House battle over the documents has sparked new interest on Capitol Hill.

....

Rockefeller's call for an inquiry by the Intelligence Committee captured the attention of many senators Friday, but did not attract wider press attention. It also surprised senators because Rockefeller, who is a political moderate, was often praised by the Republican chairman of the committee, Pat Roberts of Kansas, and other Republicans for serving as vice chairman in a bipartisan matter. Indeed, some other Democratic senators on the committee have privately complained that Rockefeller had not pressed Republicans hard enough on some oversight issues.

....

During confirmation hearings of Alberto Gonzales to be attorney general, it was revealed that Addington helped draft the White House memo that concluded that the Geneva Convention against torture did not apply to prisoners captured in the war on terror. The memo declared that terrorism "renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions."

....

helped out that torture guy Gonzales too (who maybe under indictment also)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1262353&mesg_id=1262353



http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article323785.ece

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 01 November 2005
The Independent


Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the senior White House official charged over the CIA leak affair, is to appear in court this week, as investigators continue their inquiries into the activities of President George Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove.

An official said yesterday that Mr Libby would appear in a federal court in Washington on Thursday morning, where he would be formally charged, or arraigned. He faces five charges ­ two of lying to investigators, two of lying to a grand jury and one of obstructing justice ­ in relation to the leaking of the identity of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame.

Mr Libby, 55, has made it clear he will plead not guilty. He was replaced yesterday by David Addington, a longtime aide to Vice-President Dick Cheney and his top legal adviser. Mr Addington was among the authors of a White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects.

Over the weekend Mr Libby's lawyers said they would argue that, as a busy White House official, he could not be expected to recollect the full details of every conversation he had with reporters. They will deny that he deliberately intended to lie to either investigators or members of the grand jury about what he had told reporters about Ms Plame.


http://thinkprogress.org/2005/10/31/cheney-promotes

Cheney Promotes Individuals Named In Indictment

"Both Addington and Hannah are named in the indictment. Hannah was intimately involved in the strategy of leaking Plame’s identity. From the indictment:

13. Shortly after publication of the article in The New Republic, LIBBY spoke by telephone with his then Principal Deputy and discussed the article. That official asked LIBBY whether information about Wilson’s trip could be shared with the press to rebut the allegations that the Vice President had sent Wilson. LIBBY responded that there would be complications at the CIA in disclosing that information publicly, and that he could not discuss the matter on a non-secure telephone line.

Addington provided legal counsel to Libby in helping to divulge Plame’s identity.

18. Also on or about July 8, 2003, LIBBY met with the Counsel to the Vice President in an anteroom outside the Vice President’s Office. During their brief conversation, LIBBY asked the Counsel to the Vice President, in sum and substance, what paperwork there would be at the CIA if an employee’s spouse undertook an overseas trip.

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/3128addington_memo.html
Addington, a "swell " guy...
Cheney's Lawyer Addington
Penned Key Torture Memo
by Jeffrey Steinberg

David Addington, the General Counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney, was the actual author of one of the now-infamous White House "torture memos" that claimed for President Bush the authority to violate the Geneva Conventions on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, in the so-called "war on terrorism." The immediate result of this Hitlerian document was the scenes of inhuman torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, and the as-yet untold tales of similar torture at other secret prison locations in Afghanistan, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in other countries around the world.



http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?id=1521846767-3158

David S. Addington actively participated in the following events:
January 21, 2002 Torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere

White House lawyers visit Guantanamo Bay. On the flight back, Alberto Gonzales agrees with David Addington that all Guantanamo detainees should be designated eligible for trial by military commission under the president's November 13 Military Order (see January 20, 2002).
People and organizations involved: Alberto R. Gonzales, David S. Addington

'Passive' participant in the following events:
Torture, rendition, and other abuses against captives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere - November 13, 2001 - President Bush issues a 3- ...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=5223042
Page 4 - ("Under Secretary of State")International Security Affairs John Bolton or Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman?

Page 4 - ("A senior officer of the CIA") ?

Page 5 ("An aide to the VP") John Hannah - Senior Nation Security Aide or David Wurmser - Middle East Advisor?

Page 5 (CIA briefer") ?

Page 6 ("Libby's then Pincipal Deputy") John Hannah

Page 7 ("WH Press Secretary") Ari Fleicher?

Page 7 ("Counsel to the VP') David Addington?

Page 7 ("Ass't to the VP for Public Affairs") Catherine Martin (she was his press secretary)?

Page 7 ("MSNBC Reporter") Chris Matthews

Page 8 ("Official A") Karl Rove?

Page 8 (Other Officials) Plane trip from Norfolk

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/10/28/addington-involved-in-leak-scandal/

Scooter Libby’s replacement as chief of staff to the Vice President is reportedly a man named David Addington. He was formerly Cheney’s counsel, a position he held since 2001. According to the indictment, it appears that Addington was involved in the leak:

18. Also on or about July 8, 2003, LIBBY met with the Counsel to the Vice President in an anteroom outside the Vice President’s Office. During their brief conversation, LIBBY asked the Counsel to the Vice President, in sum and substance, what paperwork there would be at the CIA if an employee’s spouse undertook an overseas trip.

Was Addington aware that he was facilitating alleged criminal conduct?

Unitary Executive theory

http://alternet.org/blogs/themix/#27514

Scooter Libby's insta-replacement, David Addington, believes in the Unitary Executive theory. If you guessed that this meant the power of one CEO who decides liberty and justice for all, you wouldn't be far off. It's not too far from King of Everything, really.

Here's a description of how it works by a legal theorist from Michigan Law School:

Several scholars have recently rearticulated the "unitary executive theory" of Article II , arguing that Article II vests the power to execute federal law solely in the President of the United States. Unitarians do not maintain that the President must personally execute all laws; Congress may establish an administrative bureaucracy and identify particular officials to assist the President in carrying out legislatively prescribed tasks. But, unitarians argue, such officials must always remain subject to the President's direction.

According to Raw Story, Bush has made at least 95 decisions since 2001 using this unitary logic, including many of his ill-fated choices relating to torture and the Geneva Conventions. And who was the author of the infamous "torture memo?"

David Addington.

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_S._Addington

Primary Role in Bush Admin's POW Policies

....

Former attorney general William P. Barr suggested to Gonzales's staff early on that those captured on the battlefield go before military tribunals instead of civil courts. But Ashcroft and Michael Chertoff, his deputy for the criminal division, both adamantly opposed the plan, along with military lawyers at the Pentagon. The result was that the process moved slowly."

"Addington was the first to suggest that the issue be taken away from the Prosper group and that a presidential order be drafted authorizing the tribunals that he, Gonzales and Timothy E. Flanigan, then a principal deputy to Gonzales, supported. It was intended for circulation among a much smaller group of like-minded officials. Berenson, Flanigan and Addington helped write the draft, and on Nov. 6, 2001, Gonzales's office secured an opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel that the contemplated military tribunals would be legal."


"The task of summarizing the competing points of view in a draft letter to the president was seized initially by Addington. A memo he wrote and signed with Gonzales's name -- and knowledge -- was circulated to various departments, several sources said. A version of this draft, dated Jan. 25, 2002, was subsequently leaked. It included the eye-catching assertion that a 'new paradigm' of a war on terrorism 'renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners." More...

http://whateveralready.blogspot.com/2005/10/i-have-brand-new-national-journal.html

by Murray Wass
Thursday, October 27, 2005

....

Cheney has tried to increase executive power with a series of bold actions -- some so audacious that even conservatives on the Supreme Court sympathetic to Cheney's view have rejected them as overreaching. The vice president's point man in this is longtime aide David Addington, who serves as Cheney's top lawyer.

Where there has been controversy over the past four years, there has often been Addington. He was a principal author of the White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects. He was a prime advocate of arguments supporting the holding of terrorism suspects without access to courts.

Addington also led the fight with Congress and environmentalists over access to information about corporations that advised the White House on energy policy. He was instrumental in the series of fights with the Sept. 11 commission and its requests for information...

....

Even in a White House known for its dedication to conservative philosophy, Addington is known as an ideologue, an adherent of an obscure philosophy called the unitary executive theory that favors an extraordinarily powerful president.

....

http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/10/libby_resigns_b.php

Libby Resigns, But Was His Replacement Involved in the Leak?

Posted by Joe Rospars on October 28, 2005 at 04:34 PM


The crack team over at Think Progress has the scoop on Libby's replacement in the White House:

Scooter Libby’s replacement as chief of staff to the Vice President is reportedly a man named David Addington. He was formerly Cheney’s counsel, a position he held since 2001. According to the indictment, it appears that Addington was involved in the leak:

18. Also on or about July 8, 2003, LIBBY met with the Counsel to the Vice President in an anteroom outside the Vice President’s Office. During their brief conversation, LIBBY asked the Counsel to the Vice President, in sum and substance, what paperwork there would be at the CIA if an employee’s spouse undertook an overseas trip.

Was Addington aware that he was facilitating alleged criminal conduct?

You'll remember that Republican leader Tom DeLay handed his leadership post to another ethically-challenged Republican, Roy Blunt.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22665-2004Oct10.html

In Cheney's Shadow, Counsel Pushes the Conservative Cause
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, October 11, 2004; Page A21

The vice president's point man in this is longtime aide David Addington, who serves as Cheney's top lawyer....

Where there has been controversy over the past four years, there has often been Addington. He was a principal author of the White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects. He was a prime advocate of arguments supporting the holding of terrorism suspects without access to courts.

Addington also led the fight with Congress and environmentalists over access to information about corporations that advised the White House on energy policy. He was instrumental in the series of fights with the Sept. 11 commission and its requests for information. And he was a main backer of the nomination of Pentagon lawyer William J. Haynes II for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Haynes's confirmation has been a source of huge friction on Capitol Hill.

Colleagues say Addington stands out for his devotion to secrecy in an administration noted for its confidentiality. He declined to be interviewed or photographed for this article, and he did not respond to a list of specific points made in the article.

[tularetom]

3. * better be careful lest he find himself in Gitmo

or is it all just some big Rove-made ploy to make us think he's standing up to cheney & co.?

[Felinity]

4. Timing is everything

Now that damage has been done on every single front, in almost (or all?) government agencies; and after 6 years of emptying our Treasury, Bush sees the light. It just so happens that the mid-term elections are two months away.

GMAB.

[Peace Patriot]

9. You got it, Felinity! This is the Bush rehab project. They've pushed

things far beyond the 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" that Diebold, ES&S and brethren can employ without raising eyebrows, and they have to get some of the lamer brains among us back on board and voting, to pull within Diebold/ES&S's safety range--safety range for protecting this election theft system for future use. Bush is really straining the capabilities of the election theft industry. So they have to get some of their more gullible voters thinking that they are heading back toward lawful torture, as opposed to unlawful torture, etc.

They are playing the same game, overall. Take the country's policy to an extreme--then the snapback will be "nice" Corporate Rule (maybe by some "nice" Corporate Democrat in '08). I have for a long time thought that this ugly fascist interregnum was punishment for our revolt against Clinton and Global Corporate Piracy (NAFTA, WTO, etc.) in Seattle in 1999. 50,000 people participated in those protests--a broad representation of labor unions, human rights and environmental groups, religious groups, and workers, students, teachers, parents and other ordinary folks--and successfully and peacefully shut down the WTO meeting (--a protest that was universally slandered by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies; it was a police riot; I know, I was there--and the police chief was forced to resign amidst revelations of what the police had done, in follow-up Seattle City Council hearings, which the corrupt national corporate news media completely ignored.) I think that, as a result of that awesome show of power by ordinary American citizens, our Corporate Rulers determined to show us just how bad they can make things, if we don't bend over for Corporate Rule. Now they've got direct control of our election results--with TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code in all the shiny new electronic "voting" systems--and they can dictate how much pain they want to inflict on poor and middle class Americans, and how much massive theft and mass murder they can get away with, and just how much our Constitution is worth in the face of Global Corporate Power.

One clue to this possible deliberate schema is the bewildering silence of our Democratic Party leadership in the face of the Bushite corporate junta over our elections--an election theft system that was put in place during the 2002-2004 period. Whether they were collusive in the Dieboldization of our elections, or not, they are now beholden to Diebold & brethren for their power, and not to us. Only when we can muster grass roots opposition on a scale that could possibly defeat this 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" for Bushites, warmongers and corporatists, do our Democratic representatives show any responsiveness. I tend to think that most of them were collusive in destroying transparent vote counting--and some are just afraid*, or just very corrupt. You can know an election system by its results. Look around! See anybody representing the interests of the majority? A few, yeah. Damn few. Our elections are now NON-TRANSPARENT. Nobody--not even our secretaries of state--are permitted to review the TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code by which our votes are now "tabulated." Non-transparent elections are NOT elections. They are tyranny. That's what we have. And it is not so much tyranny by Bush--the ugliest face of it--as tyranny by the Global Corporate Predators who wish to continue using our country as the launching pad for worldwide Corporate Rule--the theft of all resources**, and the enslavement of all workers.

When a bunch of us rebelled--in Seattle 1999--we may well have set in motion the plan to contain us--to contain the American people and our persistent progressive views (to this day--despite all their propaganda). (--review the issue and approval polls over the last several years; you will be amazed--WE are the MAJORITY!).

------

Remedy: Throw Diebold, ES&S and all election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW! Bust the Machines--Vote by Absentee Ballot this November!

------

Notes:

*(Calif's Democratic Secretary of State Kevin Shelley was "swiftboated" out of office on entirely bogus corruption charges, after he sued Diebold, de-certified the worst of their election theft machines, and demanded to see their source code--so Democrats who are inclined to fight this fraudulent election system, in any serious way, know what is in store for them if they do.)

**(An excellent example of this is Bechtel Corp. which privatized the water in one Bolivian city and then jacked up the prices to the poorest of the poor, even charging poor peasants for collecting rainwater! The Bolivians rose up and threw Bechtel out of their country--and elected their first indigenous president, Evo Morales, this year. This leftist (majorityist) revolution that is sweeping Latin America is based, first and foremost, on TRANSPARENT elections, achieved by a lot of hard work on the part of the OAS, the Carter Center, EU election monitoring groups, and local civic groups. U.S. voters, take note!) (--the election monitoring groups haven't done so well in Mexico, but they've worked democratic miracles in Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay--virtually the entire South American continent--and may do so also in Peru, Nicaragua and other places. Dinosaurs like Columbia and Guatemala, which are still allied with the worst elements in U.S. government, are increasingly isolated, and are being left behind economically and politically, and in every respect. Regional self-determination and independence, and rejection of U.S. corporate exploitation, is the future in Latin America. This new thinking and activism will win in Mexico, too. It is an unstoppable movement. And the U.S.--the Ultimate Dinosaur--will either be saved by its citizens, in revolt against non-transparent elections and other tyranny--or it will go the way of the dinosaurs and be destroyed by corporate fascists gone mad with greed and power.)

[joemurphy]

5. It takes 9 months to persuade Bush we shouldn't have

secret prisons and torture people? He's certainly a quick learner when it comes to basic principles, isn't he?

[RufusEarl]

6. Bu$h only did what he had to do!

I firmly believe that if the supreme court had not handed down the decision it did back in June, these and allot of others in this shadow government would still be torturing people.

[katty]

8. o, and more t hing, bush&GOP are weeks away from an election

[GetTheRightVote]

10. Just trying to win over votes, will go back to it after elections, hmmm

Do not be fooled again....

:kick: