The ACLU says FBI Questioning of Iraqi Nationals in U.S. will hurt, not help, the terror war.

The government's latest plan to question thousands of Iraqi nationals is yet another example of ethnic and religious profiling that may hamper rather than help efforts to apprehend terrorists, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

In response, ACLU offices across the country have been mobilizing to identify --and in some cases provide special training for --local attorneys to accompany Iraqis to the interviews, which are scheduled to begin this week. The ACLU expressed concern that some FBI officials have told Muslim groups that the presence of an attorney would lead them to immediately suspect that the person might "have something to hide."

In the same breath that they are asking for assistance from Iraqi nationals in thwarting terrorism, the FBI is alienating people by treating them like suspects and discouraging them from consulting with an attorney, which is their right," said Dalia Hashad, the ACLU’s Arab, Muslim and South Asian Advocate.

"There are many good reasons to have an attorney present during questioning, none of which have anything to do with guilt," Hashad said. "Further, it is unlikely that people with information will come forward when they feel that having an attorney present will render them suspicious to the government and not having an attorney present will expose them to unwarranted detention or worse."

Hashad said that the ACLU has been fielding phone calls from frightened Iraqis, many of whom fled Saddam Hussein’s regime and are concerned that the government is targeting them for questioning merely on the basis of their country of origin.

Here's more.

Prosecutors have issued a self-serving "public relations" document as a report it claims supports the death penalty in Calfornia and shows there is no need for a moratorium.

Here's more.

Death penalty critics denounced virtually every aspect of the report, branding it a political document based on faulty information or misinterpreted data.

"Attorney General John D. Ashcroft has issued orders that allow FBI agents and U.S. marshals to detain foreign nationals for alleged immigration violations in cases where there is not enough evidence to hold them on criminal charges, according to Justice Department officials and a copy of the rules."

"The regulations, issued in December but not announced publicly, significantly breach the wall that has long separated federal law enforcement agents from immigration officers, who previously were the only personnel authorized in most circumstances to detain people in the country illegally."

"Several immigration advocates condemned the change as the latest in a series of federal counterterrorism tactics that have unfairly targeted immigrants. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Justice Department has conducted a dragnet that ensnared hundreds of immigrants, launched an effort to arrest more than 300,000 who have ignored deportation orders, and is photographing and fingerprinting visitors from 25 countries, almost all of them predominantly Muslim."

"It's part of a pattern that we're seeing in which what may be minor violations of immigration law are used as a pretext for preventive detention," said Bill Frelick, an immigration policy expert at Amnesty International. Judy Golub of the American Immigration Lawyers Association also questioned whether Ashcroft was overstepping his authority, saying Congress and the public should have been notified of the change."

"The Dec. 18 order authorizes "special agents of the FBI to exercise the functions of immigration officers for the purpose of . . . investigating, determining the location of and apprehending any alien who is in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act" or other immigration laws, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post."

Putting his thumb on scales of justice:

News Item: "The government has room to scale back individual rights during wartime without violating the Constitution, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Tuesday."

The national Bill of Rights threat level goes from Yellow to Orange.

Think you've seen everything? We Have Seen the Present, and It Does Not Work: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia banned the broadcast media from a Wednesday appearance where he was to receive an award for supporting free speech.

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The Advocate - Gary Hart says U.S. can't handle terror attacks:

Many municipalities are woefully unprepared for the terror threats they'll face as the country goes to war with Iraq, former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart told more than 200 people last night packed into the auditorium of the Darien Community Association.

"We're not ready, and we're about to kick open a hornet's nest in the most dangerous part of the world," said Hart, speaking on the topic of homeland security as President Bush's deadline for war passed.

The federal government has not allocated enough resources to state and local governments to fight terror, said Hart, 66, who has recently expressed interest in a 2004 presidential run.

As war loomed, Hart said the president has failed to show clear and convincing evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

"How did we get from 9/11 to the Taliban to Saddam Hussein?" he asked.

But with troops already committed to fighting a war in Iraq, Hart said Americans should stand behind the country and its troops.

"The debate is over. It will continue when the war is over," he said. "When American lives are at stake it's not the time to debate war."

Attorney General John Ascroft has backed off his demand for the death penalty for a mentally retarded man from Brooklyn, who was facing murder charges in Binghamton, NY.

Defense lawyers say that federal prosecutors in Binghamton have told them that the government now concurs with the defense's contention that Mr. McMillian is mentally retarded. Mr. McMillian's case was the focus of a story that appeared on Tuesday in The New York Times.

Terence L. Kindlon, one of Mr. McMillian's lawyers, said prosecutors told the defense team last night that they would file formal notice of the Justice Department's decision today in United States District Court in Binghamton.

"I can't imagine receiving better news," Mr. Kindlon said. "I'm walking on air."

Skippy has full details and a first hand account of the Los Angeles anti-war protests and civil disobedience arrests. We're glad Skippy didn't get arrested. We would have had a hard time getting to LA today to bail him out, which we definitely would have wanted to do.

What Liberal Media
by Eric Alterman

Buy the Book Today!

There is a great review of Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media in today's New York Times. It is written by Orville Schell, the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

Now Eric Alterman, media columnist for The Nation, has jumped into the ring and taken off his gloves. In an impressively researched and documented book, "What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News," he provocatively challenges this conservative wisdom as a mirage. He asserts that what Americans should really fear is the far better organized, more powerful and effective propaganda machine of the right that postulates the presumption of liberal bias through research groups, religious organizations, ideological news organizations and conservative personalities that "skews the entire discourse toward the right."

Apple Computer has announced that Al Gore has joined its Board of Directors.

Eric Alterman in Altercation today:

For me, the antiwar movement such as it was, is over. We lost. It's time to wish the best for our soldiers and the victims of this war and focus on building a better future."

We tend to agree as far as the military effort goes, but not the war on civil rights and against the detainees and non-citizens in this country.

To clarify: The anti war movement failed to prevent this war. We were as as committed to opposing this war as you all were. But it's on. So let's get it over with.

We now have to work to get Bush out of the White House--protect ourselves from Ashcroft, prevent the further erosion of our civil rights and protect the rights of non-citizens and the citizen accused.

We covered the war tonight because we're stuck in a hotel room in Washington waiting to fly back to Denver--but starting tomorrow, the media will be capable of reporting the bombs and casualities and it's going to be 24/7 coverage everywhere. We hope some of you will join us in returning to issues like politics, elections, legislation, crime and civil liberties.

Of course, we'll still be critical of the war effort when we have something to say--but marching to oppose war in Iraq is yesterday. The war is here, it's on and we have to deal with it and move on.

Bush: It's official. The war has begun, on his orders. It could be a longer war than some predict. It may require our sustained presence in Iraq when it's done. We are going to apply decisive force. "We are going to carry on our work of peace." Really, he said that.

The "target of opportunity" strike was a decapitation strike aimed at Saddam, targeting a location where we believed Saddam and other leaders were located. No one knows if it was successful.

CNN still says the strikes don't mean that war has begun. This is a prelude.

Update: Everyone's "retired for the night"--Bush, Cheney, Condi Rice. So no more action before tomorrow.

CNN reports a cruise missile has launched against "a target of opportunity" in Iraq. Broadly, that means something just became available that wasn't available yesterday, according to Jamie McIntyre. The President will address the nation at 10:15 E.S.T. It's 6 a.m. in Bagdad.

Update: The target was a "leadership target"--not one that just became available but one they just decided to hit. CNN

Update: The President decided to launch an isolated strike because otherwise it would be an "opportunity lost."

Update: There was more than one target, one South of Baghdad, one elsewhere (CNN)