by TChris

Blame the proofreader. Blame the database. Blame the CIA. Just don't blame the senior Bush administration officials (like Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage) who falsely claimed that the U.S. is winning the war on terrorism.

As TalkLeft reported on June 9, the State Dept. issued a report claiming that the number of terrorist attacks around the world decreased last year. The administration used the report to grade its performance in the war against terrorism, rewarding itself with an "A." Never mind that the report was wrong.

A revised report issued yesterday by the department shows that the total number of terrorist attacks rose slightly in 2003 and that the number of "significant attacks" had climbed to the highest it has been in 20 years.

The revised report said a total of 3,646 people were wounded worldwide in terrorist attacks last year, a sharp increase from the 2,013 wounded in 2002. The previous report put the number of wounded last year at 1,593.

Strangely, while Bush administration officials like to talk about terrorist attacks in Iraq, those incidents don't count as "terrorism" in the State Dept.'s calculations.

Cofer Black, the State Dept.'s coordinator for counterterrorism, claims that the errors were "relatively minor" and argues that significant progress is being made. He blames poor proofreading as one of the causes of the error-filled report. Yet the magnitude of the errors belies the assertion that well-informed government officials simply overlooked the truth when approving or relying upon the report.

"The thing that was disturbing about this is that it was not a subtle error. These were glaringly obvious errors to anyone that has been following this issue," said Ben Venzke, CEO of IntelCenter, a private intelligence company that tracks the number of terrorist attacks and conducts terrorism analysis for the US government.

Finger-pointing might lead to an explanation for the report's inaccurate statements, but it won't explain why people who should have known better relied on a misleading report to tout the administration's progress in its war against terror.

Senator Patrick Leahy is one of our heroes in the Senate. His dedication to the Innocence Protection Act was above and beyond. Lately, he's been excellent in his opposition to the excesses of the Patriot Act and civil liberties abuses. Here's his latest, on "Subpoena Authority And Pretrial Detention Of Terrorists". He's frustrated with the Adminstration. For good reason. Here's a snippet:

My views are also colored by the lack of accountability and openness of this administration. Many on the Judiciary Committee have been seeking information about the implementation of FBI authorities after enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act. But it is like pulling teeth. One of these powers was the Section 215 subpoena – which gave the FBI the ability to seek a secret order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to require the production of tangible items and documents. A simple question was asked by many in Congress: How often had the FBI sought to exercise this power? A direct answer could not be obtained. After months and much public outcry, the Attorney General selectively “declassified” some data and announced that these Section 215 subpoenas had never been sought to obtain evidence. Ironically, he made this announcement amidst the Administration’s hard-court press for more authorities, despite having never used this particular law enforcement power.

In December, 2002, one month after the elections, TalkLeft, subbing for Eric Alterman's Altercation (December 4), gave some advice to the Democrats. We're reprinting it because we still believe it. We went looking for it last night after a commenter in another thread suggested we thought the Dems should toe a more conservative line. Wrong. If we were calling the shots, we'd still suggest a sharp turn to the left:

Yesterday I opined here that the Democrats are in danger of losing their potential for a 2004 win if they don't move to the left. With centrism so entrenched, there is little to distinguish the two major parties these days. By not having a forceful and vocal left, we risk becoming a one party nation.

Former President Clinton disagrees. Speaking to a group of 200 gathered for the National Democratic Leadership Council at New York University, Clinton advised the Democrats, "We don't have to be more liberal, but we do have to be more relevant in a positive way." He told them that national security and going after terrorists should be their first priority. After that comes building up the economy. Clinton has been a centrist since founding the DLC in the 1980s. It may have helped him win his elections, but I don't think it will help Democrats in 2004 any more than it did in 2002. We need fewer, not more, politicians like Dick Gephardt .... championing the Bush Administration war plans.

Al Gore, Howard Dean and John Kerry have gotten the message that the Democrats have become one unhappy group of campers since November 5. Joe Lieberman may be the only potential viable candidate still bearing Clinton's "New Democrats" label.

Two days of hearings wrapped up Tuesday in the Kobe Bryant case. No trial date has been set, although late August is a possibility. The significant motions over suppression of evidence and admission of other sexual activity of the accuser are still under advisement by the Judge. Here's some news: The clerk will send out 1,000 jury summonses for the trial. In an ordinary trial in Eagle county, a max of 250 might be sent out.

The Prosecution's and Michael Tigar's opening arguments from today in the Lynne Stewart trial are available online here . You might want to bookmark the site, Cryptome.org, as they have been putting all the jury selection and pre-trial hearing transcripts online daily. They post the transcripts the same day.

Michael Tigar's opening line:

Members of the jury, for 40 years in this town Lynne Stewart right here has been building for justice and not for terror. And when the end of the case comes and I stand before you, I submit that the evidence will show that anybody who says different, claims different, argues different, either sees these things very differently, is relying on faulty intelligence or is acting from an outright desire to mislead you.

Tigar is one of the nation's great trial lawyers. In the Terry Nichols' federal trial, in which he succeeded in obtaining a life verdict vs. death for Nichols, his theme was that Terry Nichols was building a life, not a bomb.

Here's some snippets. They have the transcript page numbers in them because we don't have the time to strip them.

A second lawyer for PFC Lynndie England has withdrawn from her defense team. The hearing has been continued to July 12.

Republicans for Kerry has moved to a new website. They believe that there are indeed Republicans who are standing up to the effort by the right wing to hijack the party. They invite moderate Republicans to help "Take Back the Party", and moderates of all political affiliations to join their effort to defeat George W. Bush and elect John Kerry in 2004.

We would like to see Kerry pick John Edwards as his vice presidential candiate. We think Dick Gephardt is our father's oldsmobile and uninspiring. We'd like to see some youth and vigor on the campaign trail. However, we don't want to see John Edwards as Attorney General. It's not the right job for him.

John Edwards supports the death penalty. Kerry only supports the death penalty for terrorists and has said he would consider imposing a federal moratorium on the death penalty while a study is conducted on its fairness.

Also, on medical marijuana, Edwards has publicly stated that he would not change marijuana laws, and he favors the Justice Department's arresting patients and caregivers who defy federal law. Kerry, on the other hand, has pledged an end to the DEA's raids on medical marijuana patients and providers in states that have reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for medical uses of marijuana.

Bill Clinton's book is out. The public is lining up by the droves to see him. Avoid the crowds. Order at 40% off from Amazon:

My Life

The U.S. will transfer "legal custody" of Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government on June 30--but it will keep physical custody of Saddam. Why? The Iraqi government doesn't have a jail strong enough to hold him. We think that's a silly argument. Steel bars are steel bars. Locks are locks. If the U.S. is really saying they don't trust the new Iraqi Government not to be harboring a Saddam loyalist who might unlock the door and let him go, they should come out and say it.

Actually, we think Saddam will be safer in U.S. custody than in Iraqi custody. For every loyalist who might be willing to free him, there likely are 50 who would kill him instantly. Here's one of our favorite "steel bars" songs, co-written by Bob Dylan and Michael Bolton:

I've tried running but there's no escape
Can't bend them, and (I know) I just can't break these...
Steel bars, wrapped all around me
I've been your prisoner since the day you found me
I'm bound forever, till the end of time
Steel bars wrapped around this heart of mine

Update: Saddam writes home.

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Newly available records show that a "flurry" of suicide attempts at Guantanamo began three months after Major Gen. Geoffrey Miller took over the prison camp in November, 2002:

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller took over as commander at Guantanamo in November 2002 after interrogators criticized his predecessor for being too solicitous for the detainees' welfare. Between January and March 2003, 14 prisoners at Guantanamo tried to kill themselves, according to Pentagon figures. That's more than 40 percent of the 34 suicide attempts by 21 inmates since the prison was opened in January 2002.

Miller is now in charge of all military-run U.S. prisons in Iraq, a job he took after news broke of beatings and sexual humiliations last fall at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Another case of "Meet the new boss....?" Here's the link to the full text of the Geneva Conventions and Protocols--in html, not pdf.