What Have We Done to Ourselves America?

By Nolan K. Anderson

06/27/05 "ICH" - - Is the noose of fascism tightening around the necks of
Americans or are corruption, cowardice and the malfeasance of our Congress
responsible for more serious, recently inflicted blows to American freedom
and our American way of life? Congress has long since confirmed John
Negroponte as our new "insecurity" czar. This marks the zenith of a
"tyrant-in-waiting" that Bush has added to his "cabal of criminals".
Negroponte's confirmation drew less attention from the American public and
what is laughingly called the "news" media than the 1938 appointment of his
kindred spirit, Lavrenty Beria, by Stalin to serve in the NKVD. I'm sure
Bush had no immediate intention of dying when he made his recommendation for
Negroponte's appointment, however, George should be aware that:

"After the death of Stalin in March, 1953, Beria attempted to replace him as
dictator of the Soviet Union. Beria was arrested and accused of conducting
"anti-state activities. Lavrenty Beria was found guilty and was executed on
23rd December, 1953."

If there really were such a thing as an "axis of evil", it could possibly be
more accurately and meaningfully described as the "American Choke Chain of
Evil" - (American) Homeland Security, (American) Insecurity/Intelligence and
The (American) Orifice of Attorney General. This evil "chain" has been
placed squarely around the Constitution of the United States and invisibly
around the necks of its citizens. This evil is not directed at the
"terrorists" whom our government tells us we will find under every American
bed, but is rather directed at we American citizens. The American people are
much more threatened by these abominations than by Sadaam or al Qaida or the
Taliban or North Korea or Iran.

We have built the most powerful army the world has ever seen, but without
the American taxpayer and his "line of credit" with our foreign investors,
this incredible, destructive force would never have been possible nor can it
be maintained. So, the support of the common American must be maintained
either through his willing cooperation or by force. Presently, this
"structure of evil" is being positioned and reinforced to implement the
"force" part of this proposition as and when it becomes necessary.

Let's examine the "links" individually and then try to imagine the force
(strength) this chain represents once the links are firmly joined under the
watchful eye of our "leader".

John Negroponte:

Intelligence czar John Negroponte earned his bones (no pun intended) back in
the days of the CIA's Phoenix program, which assassinated some 40,000
Vietnamese "subversives." Negroponte was the officer-in-charge for Vietnam
at the National Security Council (NSC) under Henry Kissinger, having worked
as a "political affairs officer" (read: CIA) at the US Embassy in Saigon
starting as early as 19641. In 1981 Reagan appointed Negroponte as
Ambassador to Honduras. That appointment gave Reagan a base from which to
assist the Contras in Nicaragua. Negroponte became good friends with General
Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, infamous for his participation in Battalion 3-16
death squad human rights abuses and who was conducting a reign of terror in
Honduras at that time. "According to Bush, the ultra-rightist Negroponte has
a real grip on today's 'global intelligence needs.' Indeed he does.
Negroponte's long career in the 'foreign service' has equipped him well to
fulfill the requirements of global and domestic (my emphasis added)
counterinsurgency." 1

Alberto Gonzalez:

George W. Bush's pick for Attorney General, advised the President and the
Pentagon that Bush was above the law concerning torture. This sicko actually
said that the President is not just above international law (the Geneva
Convention), but that Bush is even above Federal law. 2 (Emphasis mine).

Gonzalez's memo, which told Bush that the nature of the war on terror
"renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy
prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions. 3 Geneva Conventions on
torture did not apply to "unlawful combatants" captured during the war on
terror." 4

His (Gonzalez's) office also played a role in an August 2002 memo from the
Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel advising that torturing alleged
Al-Qaida terrorists in captivity abroad "may be justified" and that
international laws against torture "may be unconstitutional if applied to
interrogations" conducted in the U.S. war on terrorism. 2 At least five and
up to 28 confirmed deaths of detainees are believed by the Pentagon to have
been caused by aggressive policies Gonzales did not define as torture.
Remember this when you hear Gonzales', and Bush's, ringing denunciations of
torture. 6

Contrast that philosophy to that of the Viet Nam era where every soldier
received a plastic pocket card bearing the signature of our commander in
chief, Lyndon Baines Johnson. It was headed "The Enemy in Your Hands" and
summarized the conventions in simple, clear language.

Item No. 3, "MISTREATMENT OF ANY CAPTIVE IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. EVERY
SOLDIER IS PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENEMY IN HIS HANDS," was followed
by this unambiguous guidance: "It is both dishonorable and foolish to
mistreat a captive.

It is also a punishable offense. Not even a beaten enemy will surrender if
he knows his captors will torture or kill him. He will resist and make his
capture more costly. Fair treatment of captives encourages the enemy to
surrender." 5

There were, of course, American abuses in the handling of prisoners in
Vietnam, as there were in World War II and all other wars. But U.S. soldiers
who violated the policy on torture and prisoner abuse in Vietnam knew
precisely where the lines were drawn, and they knew that they could not hide
behind either an ambiguous Army policy or the defense that they were "just
following orders." The Defense Department has established a military
environment in Iraq that is more reminiscent of its covert wars than of the
overt war in Vietnam.

Chertoff:

Chertoff, as an aggressive proponent of the USA PATRIOT Act, helped set up
the newly authorized surveillance networks that need not rely on a targeted
individual being suspected of any crime.

Chertoff's record is one of having shredded the constitution and its
protection of civil liberties, but his unquestioned fealty to the president,
seems to be his primary qualification for the post of Homeland Security
Czar. Virtually every aspect of the War On Terror now features someone who
has been promoted for his or her misdeeds. No bad deed goes unrewarded.
Chertoff's round up of Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians after 9-11 was not
only a civil liberty atrocity it was wholly ineffective. None of the
detainees, held incommunicado and without bond until proven innocent, was
ever charged -- let alone convicted -- of any terrorism-related crime. Few
if any held any useful intelligence value. 6

Does this information ring a bell, Mr. and Mrs. America? Think back to the
investigations following the emergence of the Abu Ghraib scandal. Even the
Pentagon reckoned that up to 90 percent of the Abu Ghraib inmates were not
guilty of any crime.

Conclusion:

Yes, we Americans have formable foreign enemies (many of them of our own
making). But, now that you have met a few of our new "protectors" on the
same level as your elected representatives met them and confirmed them to
their positions, how safe do you feel, Mr. and Mrs. America? Do you feel
safe now that you can see the condition of our constitution as it has been
shredded and trampled into the mud by those who want to "protect" us from
those "who want to do us harm"? Do you feel safe knowing that the chief law
enforcement officer of the United States has placed your president above the
law and that our elected representatives installed these commissars to
execute his wishes? These people were put in place by OUR elected
representatives. These people have been allowed to assume positions of
"trust" within our governing structure. Not only are these positions of
trust, but these are also positions of control over our lives. If we add to
the present "war cabal" in the White House and the Pentagon this collection
of tyrants, we Americans have a formidable "axis of evil" germinating in
"Pyongyang on the Potomac".

To the citizens who would trust these commissars with their future and the
future of their children, I would like to refer you to the large stock of
used bridges that I have for sale in my back yard.

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References:

1. JOHN NEGROPONTE & THE DEATH-SQUAD CONNECTION by Frank Morales.
2. Infowars.com
November 11, 2004.

3. The London Telegraph, June 13, 2004.

4. The London Telegraph, June 16, 2004.

5. Washington Post Monday June 21, 2004 by John Stuart Blackton

6. Common Dreams News Center Published on Saturday, January 15, 2005 by
Working for Change

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Nolan K. Anderson is a retired engineer and a veteran of Korea who was once
a "conservative" until he found there was nothing left to conserve. (He may
be reached at