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July 15, 2006
A Leveled Playing Field
While Hamas and Hezbollah rain rockets and missiles into Israeli territory indiscriminately, everybody and his uncle are crying crocodile tears about the fact that Israel has bombed targets like gas stations, power plants, airports, homes and offices of known terrorists and other strongholds of the Muslim fanatics.
Poor babies...
If Hamas and Hezbollah want peace, the road is very clear. They must give Israel back the soldiers they captured and stop attacking Israel with rockets, missiles and suicide bombers.
Israel has done virtually everything it could to assure peace in the region by leaving Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, yet its reward has been more unprovoked violence.
Now that the battle is joined, I sincerely hope Israel will do everything necessary to insure its future safety up to, and including, the leveling of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. Unfortunately, that is what it is going to take, because the Sunni and Shiite Muslims are too damn stupid to understand anything else. Enough is enough!
Posted by Rick | July 15, 2006 08:23 PM | Just A Thought
July 14, 2006
Joe Wilson & Valerie Plame Wilson Seek Revenge
Joseph C. Wilson IV and his 'lovely' wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, have filed a lawsuit against I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby Jr., Vice-President Richard Cheney, and Carl Rove in an attempt to make the named defendants' lives miserable, not because they can win the lawsuit. This is merely a political ploy and it has been made more apparent by the meetings the Wilson's have had with the Democratic hierarchy on Capitol Hill.
Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA employee who was supposedly a classified employee until 1997, is going to claim that her rights were violated by the three named defendants because she was 'outed' as a CIA employee.
Never mind that Ms. Wilson was not a classified CIA employee covered by any law that would make it a crime to out her.
Never mind that an extensive investigation by a federal prosecutor found no wrong-doing when articles were written that mentioned that she was employed at the CIA and that she was the one who recommended her husband take a fact-finding trip to Niger.
Never mind that she was in no way harmed by the revelations and, if anything, will profit from the notoriety gained from the controversy through book sales and speaking engagements.
Never mind that there is no proof that any of the three "outed' her.
Never mind that no crime was committed when Ms. Wilson was identified as an employee of the CIA.
Below is the code that applies to the protection of CIA operatives identities. I have highlighted the very pertinent portions.
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04Section 421. Protection of identities of certain United States undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants, and sources
(a) Disclosure of information by persons having or having had
access to classified information that identifies covert agent
Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified
information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses
any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not
authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the
information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the
United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert
agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be
fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or
both.
(b) Disclosure of information by persons who learn identity of
covert agents as result of having access to classified
information
Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified
information, learns the identify of a covert agent and
intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert
agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified
information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies
such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative
measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship
to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned
not more than five years, or both.
(c) Disclosure of information by persons in course of pattern of
activities intended to identify and expose covert agents
Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities intended to
identify and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that
such activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence
activities of the United States, discloses any information that
identifies an individual as a covert agent to any individual not
authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the
information disclosed so identifies such individual and that the
United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such
individual's classified intelligence relationship to the United
States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than
three years, or both.
(d) Imposition of consecutive sentences
A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be
consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.Section 422. Defenses and exceptions
(a) Disclosure by United States of identity of covert agent
It is a defense to a prosecution under section 421 of this title
that before the commission of the offense with which the defendant
is charged, the United States had publicly acknowledged or revealed
the intelligence relationship to the United States of the
individual the disclosure of whose intelligence relationship to the
United States is the basis for the prosecution.
(b) Conspiracy, misprision of felony, aiding and abetting, etc.
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), no person other than a person
committing an offense under section 421 of this title shall be
subject to prosecution under such section by virtue of section 2 or
4 of title 18 or shall be subject to prosecution for conspiracy to
commit an offense under such section.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply (A) in the case of a person who
acted in the course of a pattern of activities intended to identify
and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that such
activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence
activities of the United States, or (B) in the case of a person who
has authorized access to classified information.
(c) Disclosure to select Congressional committees on intelligence
It shall not be an offense under section 421 of this title to
transmit information described in such section directly to either
congressional intelligence committee.
(d) Disclosure by agent of own identity
It shall not be an offense under section 421 of this title for an
individual to disclose information that solely identifies himself
as a covert agent.Section 423. Report
(a) Annual report by President to Congress on measures to protect
identities of covert agents
The President, after receiving information from the Director of
Central Intelligence, shall submit to the congressional
intelligence committees an annual report on measures to protect the
identities of covert agents, and on any other matter relevant to
the protection of the identities of covert agents. The date for the
submittal of the report shall be the date provided in section 415b
of this title.
(b) Exemption from disclosure
The report described in subsection (a) of this section shall be
exempt from any requirement for publication or disclosure.Section 424. Extraterritorial jurisdiction
There is jurisdiction over an offense under section 421 of this
title committed outside the United States if the individual
committing the offense is a citizen of the United States or an
alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent
residence (as defined in section 1101(a)(20) of title 8).Section 425. Providing information to Congress
Nothing in this subchapter may be construed as authority to
withhold information from the Congress or from a committee of
either House of Congress.Section 426. Definitions
For the purposes of this subchapter:
(1) The term "classified information" means information or
material designated and clearly marked or clearly represented,
pursuant to the provisions of a statute or Executive order (or a
regulation or order issued pursuant to a statute or Executive
order), as requiring a specific degree of protection against
unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security.
(2) The term "authorized", when used with respect to access to
classified information, means having authority, right, or
permission pursuant to the provisions of a statute, Executive
order, directive of the head of any department or agency engaged
in foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities, order
of any United States court, or provisions of any Rule of the
House of Representatives or resolution of the Senate which
assigns responsibility within the respective House of Congress
for the oversight of intelligence activities.
(3) The term "disclose" means to communicate, provide, impart,
transmit, transfer, convey, publish, or otherwise make available.
(4) The term "covert agent" means -
(A) a present or retired officer or employee of an
intelligence agency or a present or retired member of the Armed
Forces assigned to duty with an intelligence agency -
(i) whose identity as such an officer, employee, or member
is classified information, and
(ii) who is serving outside the United States or has within
the last five years served outside the United States; or(B) a United States citizen whose intelligence relationship
to the United States is classified information, and -
(i) who resides and acts outside the United States as an
agent of, or informant or source of operational assistance
to, an intelligence agency, or
(ii) who is at the time of the disclosure acting as an
agent of, or informant to, the foreign counterintelligence or
foreign counterterrorism components of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; or(C) an individual, other than a United States citizen, whose
past or present intelligence relationship to the United States
is classified information and who is a present or former agent
of, or a present or former informant or source of operational
assistance to, an intelligence agency.(5) The term "intelligence agency" means the Central
Intelligence Agency, a foreign intelligence component of the
Department of Defense, or the foreign counterintelligence or
foreign counterterrorism components of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
(6) The term "informant" means any individual who furnishes
information to an intelligence agency in the course of a
confidential relationship protecting the identity of such
individual from public disclosure.
(7) The terms "officer" and "employee" have the meanings given
such terms by section 2104 and 2105, respectively, of title 5.
(8) The term "Armed Forces" means the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.
(9) The term "United States", when used in a geographic sense,
means all areas under the territorial sovereignty of the United
States and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
(10) The term "pattern of activities" requires a series of acts
with a common purpose or objective.
Posted by Rick | July 14, 2006 10:59 PM | Political Science
International Red Cross On The Job?
I'm sure that the International Red Cross is demanding that it be allowed to make sure the Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas and Hezbollah are being treated according to the Geneva Conventions.
You can email the International Red Cross at webmaster.gva@icrc.org and request that they protect the Israeli soldiers just as they do the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay who are not entitled to the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
Go here if you are interested in learning more about Hamas.
Go here if you are interested in learning more about Hezbollah.
Posted by Rick | July 14, 2006 10:20 PM | Social Studies
July 3, 2006
Leaks Apparently No Big Deal
Apparently putting the leaked story about the administration's investigations into terrorists' money transfers on the front page of the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times was no big deal. At the state dinner last week honoring Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, big-shots from both the New York Times, White House correspondent, Mr. David Sanger and Mrs. Sherill Sanger, and Los Angeles Times, Washington bureau chief, Mr. Doyle McManus and Mrs. Paula McManus, were on the guest list.
Instead of revoking their White House press credentials, the administration honors the two newspapers by inviting them to the dinner? I'm surprised they weren't invited to stay over and perhaps even sleep in the Lincoln bedroom, or maybe they were.
Nope....no big deal at all......
Posted by Rick | July 3, 2006 12:48 AM | Political Science
