Renewed Commitment to Iraq Sought

By Peter Baker and Dana Milbank

FORT BRAGG, N.C., June 28 -- President Bush urged Americans not to lose faith in the Iraq war effort, using a prime-time address Tuesday evening to argue that the Iraq insurgents are the same breed of Islamic terrorist that struck the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Instant Analysis

Robert G. Kaiser

Washington Post Associate Editor Robert G. Kaiser answers questions and provides instant analysis of President Bush's Tuesday evening speech.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

'Lessons of Sept. 11' Again Take Center Stage

By Dan Balz

One year after the transfer of power in Iraq, President Bush found himself in a familiar, if unsettling, position last night, as he sought to reinvigorate public support for his policies in the face of almost daily suicide bombings and continued U.S. casualties that have called into question...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

A Case for Progress Amid Some Omissions

By Glenn Kessler and Robin Wright

In his speech last night, President Bush ignored some uncomfortable facts about the U.S. enterprise in Iraq and overstated the extent of overseas support. But he correctly identified the gains made by the nascent Iraqi government in the past year in the face of a fierce insurgency.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Survey Finds Most Support Staying in Iraq

By Richard Morin and Dan Balz

As President Bush prepares to address the nation about Iraq, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a clear majority is willing to keep U.S. forces there for an extended time to stabilize the country.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Mr. Bush on Iraq

PRESIDENT BUSH sought last night to bolster slipping public support for the war in Iraq by connecting it, once again, to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and to the war against terrorism. That connection is not spurious, even if Saddam Hussein was not a collaborator of al Qaeda: Clearly Iraq is now a...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Mr. Bush on Iraq

PRESIDENT BUSH sought last night to bolster slipping public support for the war in Iraq by connecting it, once again, to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and to the war against terrorism. That connection is not spurious, even if Saddam Hussein was not a collaborator of al Qaeda: Clearly Iraq is now a...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

New Office to Oversee Intelligence Abroad

By Walter Pincus

The White House has decided to establish an office to manage and coordinate all U.S. human intelligence collection overseas, whether carried out by the CIA, the Pentagon or the FBI, one of dozens of recommendations made in March by a presidential commission on intelligence, according to current and...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/politics...059&partner=AOL

Bush Declares Sacrifice in Iraq to Be 'Worth It'

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/politics/29assess.html

Staying the Course in Iraq: Acknowledging Difficulties, Insisting on a Fight to the Finishh

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/politics...059&partner=AOL

Judges Affirm Decision That Found 4 Reporters in Contempt

--------------------
Bush: U.S. Commitment in Iraq Must Continue
--------------------

By Paul Richter and Edwin Chen
Times Staff Writers

June 28 2005, 7:29 PM PDT

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Struggling to restore plunging support for the war in Iraq, President Bush appealed Tuesday for patience and said that the nation is confronting the same "murderous ideology" that killed thousands of Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines

--------------------
Troops Struggle With Flagging U.S. Opinion
--------------------

By Borzou Daragahi
Times Staff Writer

June 28 2005, 5:57 PM PDT

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- On slow afternoons, Pfc. Jose Velasquez pores through books. A while back it was "Slaughterhouse Five," Kurt Vonnegut's novel of war and trauma. On Tuesday, he was well into F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and thinking of a life beyond the confines of his dusty base in southern Baghdad.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines

--------------------
Continued Violence Marks Iraqi Anniversary
--------------------

By Patrick J. McDonnell
Times Staff Writer

June 28 2005, 6:20 PM PDT

BAGHDAD -- A flurry of car bombings, the assassination of a octogenarian lawmaker and a new Marine offensive in volatile western Iraq marked the first anniversary Tuesday of the nation's return to sovereignty.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,1869816.story

US plans new sanctions to halt WMD :

The effort would begin by targeting just eight entities, seven of which are suspected of working on missile programs, and not on chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, according to the report.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/...ent_3145210.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw8y

Naomi Klein: Torture's Dirty Secret: It Works:

But when it comes to social control, nothing works quite like torture.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9309.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw96



Bush refuses to support UN over anti-torture pact;

America last night refused to back a United Nations protocol against torture because of fears that it could allow international monitors to visit terrorist suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
http://snipurl.com/fw9w



In case you missed it:

General Granted Latitude At Prison :

Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the senior U.S. military officer in Iraq, borrowed heavily from a list of high-pressure interrogation tactics used at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and approved letting senior officials at a Baghdad jail use military dogs, temperature extremes, reversed sleep patterns, sensory deprivation, and diets of bread and water on detainees whenever they wished, according to newly obtained documents.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9311.htm



Former Guantanamo prisoners freed by Pakistan allege Koran abuse:

The men came back to Pakistan around nine months ago after being cleared by US authorities. They were finally released from a Pakistani jail after promising not to take part in militant activities.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/050627/1/3t6mf.html

http://snipurl.com/fw97

Is big brother watching you?:

FBI agent says Al-Arian was bugged, tapped for nine years:

The government tapped former university professor Sami Al-Arian's phones, planted microphones in his office and intercepted his faxes and computer conversations because they suspected him of terrorism ties, a retired FBI agent testified Monday.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9320.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw9g



Are We There Yet?:

1984: The Two Georges, Orwell And Bush:

Real Audio
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9319.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw9h



Sledgehammer Politics :

Control of information has become an integral part of the response of Western Governments to the so-called war on terror. They've all introduced laws that not only restrict long-cherished civil liberties, but also impose sanctions against reporting issues deemed to threaten national security.

Video and transcript
http://snipurl.com/fw9j



Bogus analysis led to terror alert in Dec. 2003:

CIA experts saw a secret code on Al-Jazeera that wasn't there
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8380365/

U.S. Has Plans to Again Make Own Plutonium:

The Bush administration is planning the government's first production of plutonium 238 since the cold war, stirring debate over the risks and benefits of the deadly material. The substance, valued as a power source, is so radioactive that a speck can cause cancer.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9312.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw9p



Embassies For Sale:

Want To Become Bush's Next Ambassador?:

It's not as hard as you may think. Just donate a couple of hundred thousand to President George W. Bush's campaign coffers and pick your city.
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/internatio...,362387,00.html

http://snipurl.com/fw9q



Towards a One State Solution?:

U.S. - Canada - Mexico: Trade talks yield framework :

Mr. d'Aquino said the deal is "undoubtedly" the biggest step towards continental integration since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1992.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...Story/Business/

http://snipurl.com/fw9r

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...28-121301-5689r

New Saudi list of terror suspects issued

Hard-to-Get Policy Briefings For Congress Are Now Online

By Brian Faler

It's a bit like Napster -- but for policy wonks. A Washington research group has created a Web site where the public can read, submit and download the difficult-to-find public policy briefs members of Congress use to get up to speed on issues.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Schwarzenegger falling from favor with many voters San Diego Union Tribune
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's once formidable 2006 re-election prospects have deteriorated sharply during the past four months, according to a new Field Poll. The nonpartisan statewide survey shows that a majority of California voters are not inclined to give the Republican governor a second term and that narrow pluralities would prefer either of the two announced Democratic candidates. Voters also have a pessimistic assessment of how things are going in California, saying by a more than 2-to-1 ratio that the state is headed in the wrong direction. In February, voters told the Field Poll that they were inclined to re-elect Schwarzenegger, 56 percent to 42 percent. Since then, there has been a complete turnaround: 57 percent now say they are not inclined to give the governor another term, compared with 39 percent who are. After months of wrangling with public employees unions and Democrats in the Legislature, much of Schwarzenegger's luster as a superstar celebrity politician appears to have faded. "You close your eyes, he looks like any other politician, whereas a year ago, he had a lot of unique characteristics," Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said. "People from across the aisle viewed him positively and he was well-received by nonpartisans and – a little more than normal for a Republican – among Latinos, among younger voters. But that's no longer there." A year ago, 65 percent of the state's registered voters credited Schwarzenegger with doing a good job as governor. Now, 37 percent do, compared with 53 percent who do not. DiCamillo cautioned that despite Schwarzenegger's stunning dive in the polls, he should not be counted out. Schwarzenegger has not said whether he will seek a second term and may not until after the Nov. 8 special election. The last two governors, Democrat Gray Davis and Republican Pete Wilson, bounced back from negative poll numbers at a comparable time to win second terms. Wilson was widely counted out when a May 1993 Field Poll showed him trailing the eventual Democratic nominee, Kathleen Brown, by 23 percentage points and showed that 61 percent of the voters were not inclined to re-elect him. In November 1994, Wilson was re-elected in a 15-percentage-point rout. "As bad as these poll numbers are, I still think that Schwarzenegger has a kind of unique persona that other politicians rarely have and that persona could potentially save him if he starts getting back on track with the public," the pollster said. The Schwarzenegger camp blames the governor's decline on the television advertising campaign against him financed primarily by the state's public employees unions. "This is what happens when your opponents drop tens of millions of dollars in negative advertising on your head," Schwarzenegger political adviser Todd Harris said. "But we're not losing sleep over any of this." So far, the race for the 2006 Democratic nomination for governor has drawn little attention. More than one-third of the Democratic voters polled had no opinion about the announced candidates – state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly. The poll showed that if the June 2006 primary election were held now, 37 percent of the Democratic voters would vote for Angelides to 28 percent for Westly. The remaining 35 percent had no opinion. "Most of what is known about Angelides and Westly is they're state officeholders and they're Democrats," DiCamillo said. In February, hypothetical general election matchups in the Field Poll showed Schwarzenegger defeating Angelides, Westly and Attorney General Bill Lockyer by between 17 percentage points to 19 percentage points. Lockyer has since decided to run for treasurer. Now, comparable matchups show Angelides leading Schwarzenegger 46 percent to 42 percent and Westly ahead 44 percent to 40 percent. Nearly all of the movement represents Democrats and independents, who backed Schwarzenegger in February, shifting to a Democrat. Schwarzenegger was elected in the 2003 recall with strong support from Democrats and independents as well as Republicans. Polls last year showed the governor's backing from Democrats and independents holding firm. But after months of partisan combat, Schwarzenegger's support is highly partisan. Even the number of Republicans saying they are inclined to re-elect the governor is down from 88 percent in February to 71 percent now. Opposition from Democrats has gone up sharply from 68 percent to 83 percent. Voters who are not affiliated with any political party or members of minor parties have turned against Schwarzenegger. A comfortable majority, 56 percent, of those voters were inclined to re-elect the governor in February; now, 35 percent are. Another reliable barometer of a governor's standing with the public is the degree to which people believe the state is "going in the right direction or is seriously off on the wrong track." Californians have grown more pessimistic in the past four months. In February, 40 percent said the state was on the right track to 51 percent who said it was going in the wrong direction. Now, only 28 percent believe the state is heading in the right direction; 59 percent do not. The Field Poll also asked Californians an open-ended question about why they believe conditions in the state are as they are. Of those who said the state is on the wrong track, 28 percent attributed that to Schwarzenegger's policies and 23 percent said that state elected officials "aren't doing a good job." Twenty-one percent cited underperforming schools. Of those who believe the state is headed in the right direction, 29 percent said the economy is improving, 27 percent said Schwarzenegger is doing a good job and 20 percent said state government's finances are improving. That so many people tied their appraisals of the state's overall well-being to its political leadership is unusual, DiCamillo said. "What was interesting is that over half of the respondents who thought the state was seriously off on the wrong track blame the political leadership for this," the pollster said. "I wouldn't necessarily have predicted that. Usually economics are uppermost in people's minds when they're talking about the direction of the state or the country." The Field Poll is based on telephone interviews with 711 registered voters in California, of which 340 were Democrats, conducted June 13-19. The poll has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points. Answers to questions posed only to Democrats have a margin of error of 5.5 percentage points. The question on attitudes about the direction of the state was asked of 463 California adults and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
Poll Examines Schwarzenegger Re-Election Washington Post
Poll shows support for Schwarzenegger fading Reuters
KTRE - San Francisco Chronicle - KESQ - San Jose Mercury News - all 187 related »

General Assembly kills GOP plan to limit eminent domain powers Newsday
Republican leaders in the state Senate have called for another special session to consider legislation limiting Connecticut's eminent domain laws following its defeat in the General Assembly on Tuesday. The proposal, offered in response to last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing New London to take homes for a private development project, was killed on a mostly 22-11 party-line vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The House of Representatives, which also is run by Democrats, defeated a similar proposal 82-50. The plans were offered as amendments to legislation that details the two-year, $31.2 billion budget and other provisions. Republican leaders in the Senate say homeowners need immediate protections in the wake of the court decision, they said. The GOP proposal would have prevented a municipality or government agency from taking owner-occupied residential property with four or fewer units for a private development project. "I just don't believe that we should be in the business of taking a family's home away from them for private interests," said Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield. "I don't believe we should stand up and say private corporate needs, private development needs, trump individual rights." Democrats balked at the timing of the GOP proposal. Some Democratic lawmakers said it makes more sense to confront the issue next year in a regular session when legislators can get more public comment. "We ought to study this more carefully so there are not unintended consequences," said Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn. He and other Democrats said the amendment raises more questions than it answers. Last Thursday's 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court widens eminent domain power, granting local governments broad rights to seize private property to generate tax revenue. The majority noted that states are free to pass additional protections. Republicans said that the Senate, which was meeting in special session on Tuesday, has passed legislation before that hasn't gone through the regular public hearing process. They urged passage by the General Assembly now to protect constituents. "I would much rather err on the side of going too far to protect individual homeowners and property owners ... than protecting some government agency that wants to take their home because they have the authority, the awesome power to do so because of economic gain," said Sen. David Cappiello, R-Danbury. House Minority Leader Robert Ward, R-North Branford, said he plans next year to resurrect a bill that died last session preventing the taking of property in Connecticut for economic development. At least eight states _ Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, South Carolina and Washington _ forbid the use of eminent domain for economic development unless it is to eliminate blight. Other states allow private property to be taken for private economic purposes or have not spoken clearly to the question. Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, said last week they are interested in revisiting Connecticut's eminent domain laws next year.
Taxes: All the Good the Public Needs Human Events
Eminent domain Anchorage Daily News
ZNet - MLive.com - Fort Worth Star Telegram - Pioneer Press - all 67 related »

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/30/news/saudi.php

Saudi Ambassador's absence from US draws questions

US faces prison ship allegations :

The United Nations says it has learned of serious allegations that the US is secretly detaining terrorism suspects, notably on American military ships.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4632087.stm



Ex-Guantanamo Russian sues US:

A Russian national released last year from the US concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay has sued the US government in a civil court over the humiliations he claims to have suffered.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/184...B0CF7BB3E8B.htm

http://snipurl.com/fxcg



Court clears Guantanamo Kuwaiti:

A Kuwait court has cleared one of its citizens recently held at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5F0...4982FC89C48.htm

http://snipurl.com/fxch

Ex-Agent: Al-Arian Monitored For Years:

The government tapped former university professor Sami Al-Arian's phones, planted microphones at his think tank and intercepted his faxes and computer conversations because they suspected him of terrorism ties, a retired FBI agent testified Monday.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../506280396/1004

http://snipurl.com/fxcn



Be careful about which web sites you visit:

Judge admits evidence from computers in Al-Arian case :

Prosecutors say it shows the intent of the defendants, charged with raising money for terrorist activities.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/28/Tampabay..._evidence.shtml

http://snipurl.com/fxco



Mystery planes continue to circle over Lodi :

The white plane, with its baby blue striping, spends hours and days circling over Lodi. But the plane isn't from the city. It's not even from California
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2005/06/2...anes_050629.txt

http://snipurl.com/fxcp



VA Confirms 103,000 Iraq and Afghan Veterans Seek Healthcare:

Senate Plans $1.5 Billion Spending Boost for Veterans
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/inde...Article&ID=3777

http://snipurl.com/fxcr


U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports :

The Labor Department kept secret for more than a year government studies that supported Democratic opponents of the Bush administration's new Central American trade deal, internal documents show.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5106545,00.html

http://snipurl.com/fxct



Robert F. Kennedy Urged Lifting Travel Ban to Cuba in '63:

Among his "principal arguments" for removing the restrictions on travel to Cuba was that freedom to travel "is more consistent with our views as a free society and would contrast with such things as the Berlin Wall and Communist controls on such travel."
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB158/index.htm



US fines loom for offshore account holders:

US expatriates and many foreigners living in the US risk penalties of at least $10,000 if they fail to report details of overseas bank and

financial accounts to the US Treasury by Thursday.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0cec0b6a-e8c8-11d...acl=,s01=2.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?nav=hcmodule

Senate Votes for $1.5 Billion in Extra Veterans Affairs Funds

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?nav=hcmodule

Two reporters in Leak Case Given 48 Hours to Argue Against Jailing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5062902585.html

Echoes of Vietnam

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/politics...059&partner=AOL

Bush to Create New Unit in FBI for Intelligence
Douglas Jehl

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/national...059&partner=AOL

Case of Mad Cow in Texas is First to Originate in US

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/politics...059&partner=AOL

Guantanamo Thorny Issue for Democrats on Committee

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/business/30unocal.html

Chevron Says SEC Approves Its Contested Offer for Unocal

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/29/bush.intel/

Bush creates National Security Service
Recommended by WMD panel, agency will operate within FBI

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4636117.stm

Bush enacts anti-terror measures

http://english.people.com.cn/200506/30/eng...630_193259.html

White House embraces intelligence changes

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/29/news/intel.php

Bush gives intelligence chief more say on FBI

Does dirty air cool the climate?
Emissions clean-ups, while good for the air, may contribute to global
warming. By Peter N. Spotts
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0630/p01s02-usgn.html?s=hns

What L.A.'s mayor faces in his in-box
Crime, traffic, and education woes will greet the city's first Hispanic
mayor since 1872. By Sara B. Miller
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0630/p02s01-uspo.html?s=hns

Press splits on how to protect confidential sources
The Supreme Court's move has some journalists seeking legislative
solutions, while others shun government involvement. By Randy Dotinga
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0630/p02s02-usju.html?s=hns

US tries to stamp 'secure' on passports
Congress considers ways to make the documents less vulnerable to
terrorists. By Alexandra Marks
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0630/p03s01-uspo.html?s=hns

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2005, Issue No. 61
June 30, 2005


** NRO USE OF FOIA EXEMPTION FOR "OPERATIONAL FILES" CHALLENGED
** INSIDER ESPIONAGE THREAT IS GROWING, DOD STUDY SAYS
** CRS REPORTS IN THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
** SELECTED CRS REPORTS


NRO USE OF FOIA EXEMPTION FOR "OPERATIONAL FILES" CHALLENGED

A lawsuit filed by the Federation of American Scientists today
charged that the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has
improperly invoked the "operational files" exemption to the
Freedom of Information Act in order to withhold unclassified
budget records from disclosure.

The NRO is somewhat notorious for its expansive interpretation of
the FOIA exemption for "operational files," meaning records "that
document the means by which foreign intelligence or
counterintelligence is collected through scientific and technical
systems."

Such records are exempt from the search and review requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act since they are typically highly
classified and are unlikely to be disclosed anyway.

But NRO has been using the operational files exemption (at 50
U.S.C. 403-5e) to withhold historical records and routine
administrative records such as budget documents. This was almost
certainly not the intent of Congress when it granted the
exemption to the agency in 2002.

As far as could be determined, there has been no prior litigation
on the use of the "operational files" exemption. Besides NRO,
such an exemption has been granted to CIA, NSA and NGA. The
Defense Intelligence Agency was denied an operational files
exemption in 2000, but it is trying again in next year's pending
defense authorization act.

The FAS FOIA lawsuit seeks disclosure of unclassified portions of
the NRO's Congressional Budget Justification Book (CBJB) for FY
2006. As recently as last year, NRO released substantial
unclassified portions of the CBJB. But now it claims they are
exempt from the FOIA.

A copy of the complaint filed today in DC District court may be
found here:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/foia/nro-cbjb/complaint.pdf


INSIDER ESPIONAGE THREAT IS GROWING, DOD STUDY SAYS

Opportunities and motivations for espionage by cleared "insiders"
are steadily increasing, according to a new study performed for
the Department of Defense.

There are numerous reasons why the perceived insider threat is
growing, the study says.

"Insiders have an unprecedented level of access to classified and
proprietary information due to technological advances in
information storage and retrieval."

"American employees have greater opportunity to establish contact
with foreign entities and to transfer information to them through
traveling internationally more often and by participating in
international research and business ventures more frequently."

"Internet use is expanding globally and computer-users are
becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse. The Internet
can now be used to transmit massive amounts of digitized
information to multiple foreign parties simultaneously."

"Finally, the market for U.S. information is expanding."

Complicating matters further, "Even the most effective personnel
security program will never fully eliminate the insider espionage
threat."

The DoD study, published in May, is somewhat old-fashioned in the
sense that it focuses on information security in isolation and as
an independent variable. It does not consider whether there is
such a thing as an "acceptable" level of espionage risk, nor does
it address the possible adverse consequences of tightening
information security controls.

See "Technological, Social, and Economic Trends That Are
Increasing U.S. Vulnerability to Insider Espionage," by Lisa A.
Kramer, Richards J. Heuer Jr., and Kent S. Crawford, Defense
Personnel Research Center (PERSEREC), May 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/insider.pdf

Speaking of Richards J. Heuer Jr., his remarkable 1999 book
"Psychology of Intelligence Analysis" has just been translated
into Hebrew and published by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
The original may be found here:

http://www.cia.gov/csi/books/19104/


CRS REPORTS IN THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

The Congressional Research Service insists that it works "solely,
directly and specifically" for Congress. That excludes not only
the American public, but also executive branch agencies and the
White House.

So White House officials who want to read CRS reports have to beg,
borrow or buy them just like anyone else. And they do.

As of this month, there were several dozen CRS reports posted on
the internal web site of the Executive Office of the President
(EOP) research library. The White House's limited access to CRS
publications is evident from the fact that in many cases the
posted reports are not the most recently updated editions.

A copy of the list of CRS reports currently on the EOP library web
site was requested by researcher Mike Ravnitzky. The three page
list is posted here:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/eop0605.pdf


SELECTED CRS REPORTS

Recent reports of the Congressional Research Service obtained by
Secrecy News include the following:

"The Availability of Judicial Review Regarding Military Base
Closures and Realignments," June 24, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32963.pdf

"Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2005," updated June 21,
2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30261.pdf

"Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology," updated June 20,
2005 (reported last week in US News and World Report):

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32759.pdf

"Federalism, State Sovereignty and the Constitution: Basis and
Limits of Congressional Power," updated June 17, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30315.pdf

"Countries of the World and International Organizations: Sources
of Information," updated June 7, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/96-816.pdf

"Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile," updated May 31,
2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22007.pdf

"Homelessness: Recent Statistics, Targeted Federal Programs, and
Recent Legislation," updated May 31, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30442.pdf

"Technology Assessment in Congress: History and Legislative
Options," updated May 20, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21586.pdf

"Long-Range Fifty Caliber Rifles: Should They Be More Strictly
Regulated?," May 20, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22151.pdf

"Vaccine Policy Issues," updated May 19, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31793.pdf

"Iran's Nuclear Program: Recent Developments," updated May 18,
2005:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RS21592.pdf




_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.

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Our Worsening Terrorism Problem

By David Ignatius

President Bush tried to defend his Iraq policy Tuesday night as a means of combating terrorism. It was a standard Bush theme, a replay of arguments he has been using for three years. But there's a contradiction staring him in the face -- one so obvious that it often gets overlooked.

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A Subtle Shift in Goals

By Jim Hoagland

President Bush shifted to a more realistic vision of what he can achieve in Iraq in deft and deniable fashion in his address to the nation Tuesday night. As Bush's changing of gears -- but not of direction -- is more widely understood, it is likely to reassure Americans and deeply trouble Iraqi...

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Time Will Comply With Order to Hand Over Documents Bloomberg

Downing Street memo, other documents may show war really started earlier than March 2003.

http://csmonitor.com/2005/0630/dailyUpdate.html

Time to Hand Over Reporter's Notes in Plame Case

By Daniela Deane

Time Inc. announced today it will comply with a court order to hand over the notes of correspondent Matthew Cooper to a prosecutor investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative's identity, and so avoid jail time for the magazine reporter.

In a statement issued by the magazine's editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine, the magazine said the delivery of the confidential source documents "certainly removes any justification for incarceration."

The announcement came three days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by Cooper and Judith Miller of the New York Times and one day after a federal court judge repeated a threat to jail the two journalists for contempt for refusing to disclose their sources. The reporters told the judge yesterday they were prepared to spend four months in jail rather than answer questions about their confidential government sources.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of the New York Times, issued a statement saying the newspaper was "deeply disappointed by Time Inc.'s decision to deliver the subpoenaed records." He noted that one of its reporters served 40 days in jail in 1978 in a similar dispute.

"Our focus is now on our own reporter, Judith Miller, and in supporting her during this difficult time," Sulzberger said.

Although Time said it would comply, the statement by the magazine and comments by the magazine's editor-in-chief following the announcement left no doubt the magazine strongly disagreed with the courts' orders.

Pearlstine told the Washington Post that the magazine felt it had no choice but to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision. "As much as I'm a staunch defender of editorial independence, I don't believe there's anything in the Constitution that says journalists are above the law," he said. "The alternative to complying would be a kind of anarchy."

Pearlstine said, "those of us in the news business are constantly pointing fingers at others who act like they're above the law. We can't now assert that we are."

The Time statement said: "We believe that the Supreme Court has limited press freedom in ways that will have a chilling effect on our work and that may damage the free flow of information that is so necessary in a democratic society. It may also encourage excesses by overzealous prosecutors.

"Although we shall comply with the order to turn over the subpoenaed records, we shall continue to support the protection of confidential sources," the statement continued. "The same constitution that protects the freedom of the press requires obedience to final decisions of the courts and respect for their rulings and judgments. That Time Inc. strongly disagrees with the courts provides no immunity."

At a packed court hearing yesterday, Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan chided Cooper and Miller for seeking more time to convince him they should not be jailed. He said then that he was considering ordering them jailed as soon as next Wednesday.

The two had refused to answer prosecutors' questions in an investigation of whether federal officials illegally disclosed the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Hogan gave the reporters' attorneys 48 hours to file documents explaining why the pair should not face the penalty he levied nine months ago.

"The time has come," he said. "If people got to decide which court orders they wanted to obey, we would have anarchy."

Cooper and Miller were found in contempt of court in October for refusing to answer questions from special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald about their conversations with anonymous government sources in the summer of 2003. Fitzgerald's investigation focuses on whether senior Bush administration officials knowingly leaked Plame's name to syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak after her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, alleged in a Times opinion piece that the Bush administration had twisted intelligence information to make the case for war in Iraq.

Cooper and Miller both did some reporting on the issue, though Miller never wrote a story.

Hogan postponed the penalty as the reporters appealed. On Monday, those appeals ran out when the Supreme Court refused to hear their case.

Yesterday, Hogan questioned the reporters' assertions that they are keeping a promise not to identify a confidential source. In appellate court filings, Fitzgerald has indicated that he knows the identity of Miller's source and that the official has voluntarily come forward.

"The sources have waived their confidentiality," Hogan said. "They're not relying on the promises of the reporters. . . . It's getting curiouser and curiouser."

Attorneys for Miller and Cooper did not respond directly. They had said the investigation appeared to have changed from a probe of whether officials identified a covert agent to whether they perjured themselves in testimony to prosecutors. The latter, they said, does not justify jailing reporters.

Fitzgerald declined to comment, but in court papers unsealed yesterday he said the case remains unchanged and focuses on potentially serious criminal misconduct.

Fitzgerald urged the judge to jail the reporters as soon as possible and to start enforcing a $1,000-per-day penalty he had levied against Time.

"We shouldn't enable people to think court orders are optional," Fitzgerald said. "When President Nixon got the order to turn over the [White House] tapes, he didn't say, 'Let me think about my alternatives.' " "This case is not about a whistle-blower," Fitzgerald added. "It's about potential retaliation against a whistle-blower."

Lawyers for Time asked Hogan yesterday for time to review their options, saying that they were "considering" turning over the notes. Hogan replied that if Time continues to refuse, he will assess a retroactive fine of $270,000, which he said reflects the wealth of the magazine's corporate owner, Time Warner.

Cooper declined to answer questions after the hearing. He later told Reuters that he would rather Time not turn over his notes but acknowledged that the magazine had its own obligations to consider. Miller declined to comment as she left court.

Plame's name first appeared in Novak's column on July 14, 2003. He wrote that two anonymous government sources had told him that Plame had recommended her husband for a CIA mission to assess whether Iraq was attempting to purchase uranium for use in a nuclear weapons program. Novak has refused to comment on whether he cooperated with Fitzgerald. Yesterday, in an interview on CNN's "Inside Politics," Novak said he is still barred from talking about the investigation but said he will write about it when it ends. He said he thinks the facts will surprise people.

"I deplore the thought of reporters -- I've been a reporter all my life -- going to jail for any period of time for not revealing sources." he said. "They are not going to jail because of me . . . and those people who say that don't know anything about the case."

Washington Post Staff Writer Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/e...er=emailarticle

Rehnquist's court, but liberals gain
The just-finished term yielded a string of rulings that set back
conservatives. By Warren Richey
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p01s02-usju.html?s=hns

NASA bombs a comet - for science
Researchers hope the impact will provide vital clues to the solar
system's history. By Peter N. Spotts
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p01s03-usgn.html?s=hns

Mood in Mid-America
Troubled by the war in Iraq and a fitful economy, Americans slip into a
lingering sense of unease. By Mark Sappenfield
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p01s04-ussc.html?s=hns

A church's struggle over gay marriage
The United Church of Christ - famous for setting precedent - considers
backing same-sex marriage at its national synod. By Jane Lampman
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p02s01-ussc.html?s=hns


Costs of care for veterans: high and rising
A $1 billion shortfall in healthcare serves as a warning of the price
to come when troops return home. By Brad Knickerbocker
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p03s01-usmi.html?s=hns

Is it too early to say 'no more Iraqs' ?
Guided by analogies, we have lurched from syndrome to syndrome. By
Daniel Schorr
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p09s02-cods.html?s=hns


Give our warriors a raise!
US troops' hardship is exacerbated by the Pentagon's two-tier payment
system. By Jeffrey Shaffer
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p09s03-cojs.html?s=hns

Bush Is Right to Link 9/11 With Iraq:

President Bush was correct in once again linking 9/11 with his invasion and occupation of Iraq in his speech to the nation last night. Why? Because the motivation behind the 9/11 attacks was the same as the motivation behind the insurgency in Iraq: U.S. foreign policy.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/hornberger/hornberger47.html

http://snipurl.com/fy08



Bob Herbert: Dangerous Incompetence:

The president who displayed his contempt for Iraqi militants two years ago with the taunt "bring 'em on" had to go on television Tuesday night to urge Americans not to abandon support for the war that he foolishly started but can't figure out how to win.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9349.htm

http://snipurl.com/fy0b



The biggest of Big Lies :

On Tuesday night, the president abandoned the narrow patch of high ground that he had staked out and dove into the raging flood of deceit that his administration had unleashed.
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.p...d=45372&ntpid=0

http://snipurl.com/fy0c



Day after Bush's optimism, State Dept says Iraq perilous:

The State Department called Iraq too dangerous for American travellers on Wednesday, hours after President George W Bush pointed to "significant progress" there.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_141...01300180001.htm

http://snipurl.com/fy0d


In case you missed it:

Short: Blair lied to cabinet and made secret war pact with US
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9352.htm

http://snipurl.com/fy0f



War? What war?:

As some GI somewhere put it, war is "about blowing mother"expletive deleted"ers up." It's about heads getting shot off, and faces torn apart, and babies cut in two, and everything else horrible that can happen to a human body when big pieces of metal hit it at incredible speed. That is what war is -- no more, no less.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9347.htm

http://snipurl.com/fy0h