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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Callous disregard for life, law — Rumsfeld re-released

There is an entrenched pathology, a raw callousness acted out repeatedly in U.S. governance that an indifferent, a tribal sect/sexuality/race/partisan-centered populace tolerates and in its tolerance endorses. 
Excerpts, editing, re-reporting, comment by Carolyn Bennett

CONSEQUENCES OF ENTRENCHMENT

U.S. President Gerald Ford (right) with
Donald Rumsfeld Oval Office of  White House,
February 6, 1975
As U.S. Defense Secretary, he said he had a “high tolerance” for other people’s pain and death — and demonstrated this in repeated acts and orders of lawlessness — and for forty years, not unlike leaders of Arab countries, this man was given high positions in U.S. business, government, and academic institutions.

Document 20 – Working Paper, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Working Paper, ‘Discussions w/CENTCOM re: Sy Hersh Article,’ October 22, 2001, 1:19 p.m., Secret, 2 pp.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (center)
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Robert Finn
U.S. Embassy compound
Kabul, Afghanistan  April 27, 2002

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was talking about drone missiles. He was recorded saying, “‘I have a high tolerance level for possible error. That is to say, if he [U.S. Central Command Thomas (Tommy) Franks] thinks he has a valid target and he can’t get me or he can’t get Wolfowitz in time, he should hit it.… I expect him to be leaning far forward on this.’”

“The paper … contradicts previous instructions that aerial attacks should be precise and limited in Afghanistan.”

America’s own 
RUMSFELD

Politician and business owner Donald Henry Rumsfeld (b. 1932) was U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 in the Gerald R. Ford administration and Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 in the George W. Bush administration.

Chronology of influence
In the Richard Nixon administration, Rumsfeld was Director of the United States Office of Economic Opportunity, assistant and counselor to the President, Director of the Economic Stabilization Program (member of the Cabinet) 1969-1970

In 1973, Rumsfeld was U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium, and the United States’ Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council and the Defense Planning Committee, and the Nuclear Planning Group (representing the United States in wide-ranging military and diplomatic matters).

In 1974-1975, Rumsfeld was Gerald R. Ford’s White House Chief of Staff and later U.S. Secretary of Defense (George H. W. Bush became Director of Central Intelligence).

Business — Government/Business revolving door

From 1977 to 1985, Rumsfeld was Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G. D. Searle and Company, a worldwide pharmaceutical company based in Skokie, Illinois.

From 1990 to 1993, he was a ‘foreign policy consultant’ to the U.S. State Department

From January 1997 until being sworn in as Secretary of Defense in January 2001, Rumsfeld was Chairman of Gilead Sciences, Inc. [Gilead Sciences is the developer of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), used in the treatment of bird flu].

Reagan Administration (1982–1983) Special Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty; (1982–1986) member of President’s General Advisory Committee on Arms Control; (1983–1984) Special Envoy to the Middle East

On his visit to Baghdad on December 19–December 20, 1983, Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein had a 90-minute discussion during which “they largely agreed on opposing Syria’s occupation of Lebanon; preventing Syrian and Iranian expansion; preventing arms sales to Iran.

“Rumsfeld suggested that if U.S.-Iraq relations could improve the U.S. might support a new oil pipeline across Jordan, which Iraq had opposed but was now willing to reconsider. In that visit, Rumsfeld brought many gifts, including pistols, medieval spiked hammers and a pair of golden cowboy spurs, from the Reagan administration to Saddam Hussein …

During his brief bid for the 1988 Republican nomination, Rumsfeld said that restoring full relations with Iraq was one of his best achievements.

Ten years later, (January 29, 1998), he signed a Project for the New American Century (he was a founder and active member PNAC) letter calling for President Clinton “to implement ‘regime change’ in Iraq.”

(1989–2005) Chairman Emeritus, Defense Contractor, Carlyle Group;

(1990–2001) Board of Directors (member) ABB Ltd

Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, operating mainly in the power and automation technology areas, ABB is one of the largest engineering companies and one of the largest conglomerates in the world with operations in around 100 countries with approximately 130,000 employees, reported global revenue (2010) $31.6 billion, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABB_Ltd.

In 2000, ABB sold two light-water nuclear reactors to KEDO for installation in North Korea, as part of the 1994 agreed framework reached under the Clinton administration.

Rumsfeld’s office said the Rumsfeld then Secretary of Defense “did not ‘recall [the sale] being brought before the board at any time’ but ABB representative Björn Edlund told Fortune that ‘board members were informed about this project.’”

(2000) Chairman of the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
President George W. Bush  
In 2001, Rumsfeld was named Defense Secretary in the George W. Bush administration

In the earliest stages of the September 11 attacks, despite the lack of evidence, Rumsfeld was looking to tie Saddam Hussein and Iraq to these attacks.

In April 2006, a Rumsfeld memo listed instructions to Pentagon staff including:

Keep elevating the threat ... Talk about Somalia, the Philippines etc.

Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld “was deliberate in crafting the public message from the Department of Defense.

“People will ‘rally’ to the word ‘sacrifice,’ Rumsfeld noted after a meeting.

“‘They are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory.’

“In May 2004, Rumsfeld considered whether to redefine the war on terrorism as a fight against ‘worldwide insurgency.’

“He advised aides ‘to test what the results could be’ if the war on terrorism were renamed.

“Rumsfeld ordered [and reviewed] specific public Pentagon attacks on and responses to U.S. newspaper columns that reported the negative aspects of the war

“Rumsfeld defended the George W. Bush administration’s decision to detain ‘enemy combatants’ without protection under the Third Geneva Convention.”

November 2006, former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison until early 2004, told Spain’s El Pais newspaper she had seen a letter apparently signed by Rumsfeld that allowed civilian contractors to use techniques such as sleep deprivation during interrogation.

The methods consisted of making prisoners stand for long periods, sleep deprivation ... playing music at full volume, [and more]...

Rumsfeld authorized these specific techniques.

She said that this was contrary to the Geneva Convention and quoted from the document: ‘Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.’

According to Karpinski, the handwritten signature was above his printed name and, in the same handwriting in the margin, was written, ‘Make sure this is accomplished.’

Pentagon headquarters U.S. Department of Defense
Arlington county, Virginia
December 18, 2006, Donald Vance filed suit against the U.S. government and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on grounds that he was tortured and his rights of habeas corpus were violated.

To criticisms of the U.S. military’s failure, after its 2003 invasion, to protect Iraq’s historical artifacts and treasures located at the museum and other cultural institutions, Rumsfeld is quoted saying, ‘Stuff happens ... and it’s untidy and freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.…’

In early 2006, eight retired U.S. generals took the unprecedented step of calling for Rumsfeld’s resignation on the grounds of ‘abysmal’ military planning and lack of strategic competence. The Bush government in early November announced Rumsfeld’s resignation as U.S. Defense Secretary.

A year later, Rumsfeld received a one-year appointment as a “Distinguished Visiting Fellow” at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

Recently released documents showing the lawlessness of the man

“Document 18 – Memorandum and Attached Paper: Office of the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld to Douglas Feith, ‘Strategy,’ Attachment, ‘U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan,’ National Security Council, October 16, 2001, 7:42 a.m., Secret/Close Hold/ Draft for Discussion, 7 pp. [Excised], http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB358a/index.htm#16

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld five weeks after the events of September 11, 2001: “Operationally the U.S. will ‘use any and all Afghan tribes and factions to eliminate Al-Qaida and Taliban personnel [while inserting] CIA teams and special forces in country operational detachments (A teams) by any means, both in the North and the South. … Third country special forces UK [excised] Australia, New Zealand, etc., should be inserted as soon as possible.’

“Diplomacy is important ‘bilaterally, particularly with Pakistan, but also with Iran and Russia [however] engaging UN diplomacy… beyond intent and general outline could interfere with U.S. military operations and inhibit coalition freedom of action.’”

U.S. General Tommy Franks (left)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
2002
Breathing contempt, violence to rule the world

Document 13 – Memorandum for the President , The Office of the Secretary of Defense, Memorandum for the President, "Strategic Thoughts," September 30, 2001, Top Secret/Close Hold, 2 pp. [Excised], http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB358a/index.htm#16

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld advises President George W. Bush: “Instead of focusing exclusively on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the U.S. should think more broadly —  
 
‘It would instead be surprising and impressive if we built our forces up patiently, took some early action outside of Afghanistan, perhaps in multiple locations, and began not exclusively or primarily with military strikes but with equip-and-train activities with local opposition forces coupled with humanitarian aid and intense information operations.’

 “The memo argues that the U.S. should ‘capitalize on our strong suit, which is not finding a few hundred terrorists in the caves of Afghanistan [but using] the vastness of our military and humanitarian resources, which can strengthen enormously the opposition forces in terrorist-supporting states.’ The approach to the war should not focus ‘too heavily on direct, aerial attacks on things and people.’
U.S. Geopolitics
Asia-Middle East-Horn of Africa
Britannica image

“‘If the war does not significantly change the world’s political map, the U.S. will not achieve its aim.

“‘There is value in being clear on the order of magnitude of the necessary change. The USG [U.S. Government] should envision a goal along these lines: New regimes in Afghanistan and another key State (or two) that supports terrorism (To strengthen political and military efforts to change policies elsewhere).’”

Press TV reports today on newly released U.S. documents concerning the roots of the United States’ global war: “The U.S. in Afghanistan was the beginning of a broader plan devised by the Bush neo-conservatives administration for the Middle East region.

“The Bush administration used the 9/11 attacks as the pretext to launch new wars of aggression. On September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush declared the so-called ‘war on terror’” and on October 7, 2001, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan “with the stated mission of removing the Taliban and capturing al-Qaeda elements.

“In March 2003, the U.S. expanded the reach of its ‘war on terror’ by invading Iraq. The U.S. claimed that Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda and was in possession of massive stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.” Various independent investigations later discredited both allegations.  

“Ten years on, the U.S. is [said to be] seeking to lure the Taliban to the negotiating table.”

Today the United States, its entrenched politicians and policies of destruction are being protested in demonstrations across the Middle East, Southwest/Central Asia and within the United States of America.



Sources and notes

The Project for the New American Century is “a neo-conservative think-tank dedicated to maintaining U.S. Primacy.”

Rumsfeld profile from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumsfeld

“Secret U.S. Message to Mullah Omar: ‘Every Pillar of the Taliban Regime Will Be Destroyed’

New Documents Detail America's Strategic Response to 9/11, Bush White House, http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB358a/index.htm
Document notes from George University the National Security Archive, http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/index.html

GWU Photo captions http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB358a/index.htm

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (center) and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Robert Finn, given a tour of the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, Afghanistan on April 27, 2002. OSD Package No. A07D-00238 (DOD Photo by Robert D. Ward)

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush  (Source: Department of Defense)

Britannica captions

President Gerald Ford (right) meeting with Donald Rumsfeld in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, D.C., February 6, 1975 [Marion S. Trikosko/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id. ppmsca.08465)]

General Tommy Franks (left), commander in chief of Central Command, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 2002 [Robert D. Ward—U.S. Department of Defense]

The Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, Arlington county, Virginia

America’s own
WOLFOWITZ

A leading neoconservative (Republican and former Democrat), Paul Dundes Wolfowitz was Deputy Secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush administration, a ‘major architect of this president’s Iraq policy “and ... its most hawkish advocate.”

Chronology of Wolfowitz influence

After the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Wolfowitz and his then-assistant Scooter Libby wrote the Wolfowitz Doctrine to ‘set the nation’s direction for the next century.’ At that time, the official administration line was ‘containment.’ The contents of Wolfowitz’s plan called for ‘preemption’ and ‘unilateralism.’

In 1992, Defense Secretary Richard Cheney produced a revised plan which included many of the Wolfowitz Doctrine ideas, later part of the Bush Doctrine.

In 1977, Wolfowitz was U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Regional Programs for the U.S. Defense Department, under U.S. Secretary of Defense Harold Brown in the Jimmy Carter administration

In 1982, Wolfowitz was Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs under U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz

From 1986 to 1989, Wolfowitz was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia during the military-backed Suharto government

From 1989 to 1993, Wolfowitz was Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under then-U.S. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney in George H.W. Bush administration

From 2001 to 2005, during the George W. Bush administration, Wolfowitz was U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense reporting to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

In 2005, Wolfowitz was nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush (and confirmed by Congress) to be president of the World Bank

As a Visiting Scholar of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Wolfowitz has blogged with the AEI and appeared in group events. He writes columns that appear in publications such as The Independent, 
The Sunday Times, and Newsweek.

Wolfowitz is a former steering committee member of the Bilderberg group. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz#Undersecretary_of_Defense_for_Policy

Bilderberg group —

The original conference was held at the Hotel de Bilderberg, near Arnhem in the Netherlands, from May 29 to May 31 1954; initiated by several people, including Polish politician Józef Retinger, concerned about the growth of anti-Americanism in Western Europe.

The original Bilderberg group proposed an international conference at which leaders from European countries and the United States would be brought together with the aim of promoting ‘Atlanticism’ – better understanding between the cultures of the United States and Western Europe to foster cooperation on political, economic, and defense issues.

The role of the Bilderberg meetings in the flow of events since its founding in 1954 is a matter of debate among scholars and journalists such as G. William Domhoff and Caroline Moorehead.

“In his 1980 essay The Bilderberg and the West, researcher Peter Thompson argues that the Bilderberg group is a meeting ground for top executives from the world’s leading multinational corporations and top national political figures to consider jointly the immediate and long-term problems facing the West. According to Thompson, Bilderberg itself is not an executive agency.

“However, when Bilderberg participants reach a form of consensus about what is to be done, they have at their disposal powerful transnational and national instruments for bringing about what it is they want to come to pass.

“That their consensus design is not always achieved is a reflection of the strength of competing resisting forces outside the capitalist ruling class and within it.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group

“[DOCUMENT] Bush’s premeditated ‘regime-change’ policy revealed,” October 5, 2011, http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/202742.html

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