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Bush Declares and Renews Pre-Emptive Unilateralism
Mid-East Realities - MER - www.MiddleEast.Org - 12 July 2004: It wasn't that long ago that the idea the Supreme Court would select the American President in a highly divisive and totally unprecedented 5-4 decision, with squadrons of Democrats and Republicans out-front-of-the-court screaming at each other across police lines; that would have been 'unthinkable' not that long ago. The notion that both of the World Trade Towers would collapse within an hour of each other after being struck by hijacked aircraft and that the President of the United States would then be afraid to fly back to Washington; that would have been 'unthinkable' just a few years ago. The idea that the U.S. would have an extensive network of secret prisons, secret quasi-puppet courts, and a veritable gulag of prisoners held without charges, without lawyers, and without recourse; all this would have been unthinkable before the 'Patriot Act' put the U.S. into police-state mood. The idea that Ronald Reagan would be addressing the Democratic National Convention in prime time (Jr. that is) would have been 'unthinkable' just a few weeks ago. And now...the truly 'unthinkable' for Americans. From his hideing place whereever that may be Osama Bin Laden has U.S. officials, and now the American people, actually contemplating and chatting about 'postponing' The American election...if... We're now on an 'unthinkable' roll; and much more 'unthinkable' can now be expected in the months and years ahead. |
Election Day Worries Exclusive: - Newsweek - July 19 issue: American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call "alarming" intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack, NEWSWEEK has learned. The prospect that Al Qaeda might seek to disrupt the U.S. election was a major factor behind last week's terror warning by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Ridge and other counterterrorism officials concede they have no intel about any specific plots. But the success of March's Madrid railway bombings in influencing the Spanish elections—as well as intercepted "chatter" among Qaeda operatives—has led analysts to conclude "they want to interfere with the elections," says one official. As
a result, sources tell NEWSWEEK, Ridge's department last week asked the
Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to analyze what legal
steps would be needed to permit the postponement of the election were
an attack to take place. Justice was specifically asked to review a
recent letter to Ridge from DeForest B. Soaries Jr., chairman of the
newly created U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Soaries noted that,
while a primary election in New York on September 11, 2001, was quickly
suspended by that state's Board of Elections after the attacks that
morning, "the federal government has no agency that has the statutory
authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election." Soaries, a Bush
appointee who two years ago was an unsuccessful GOP candidate for
Congress, wants Ridge to seek emergency legislation from Congress
empowering his agency to make such a call. Homeland officials say that
as drastic as such proposals sound, they are taking them
seriously—along with other possible contingency plans in the event of
an election-eve or Election Day attack. "We are reviewing the issue to
determine what steps need to be taken to secure the election," says
Brian Roehrkasse, a Homeland spokesman. -Michael Isikoff
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Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2004/7/1015.htm |