Bush officials who leaked name of US spy ‘for revenge’ could face jail

By Andrew Buncombe

Washington, DC, Sept. 29— The Justice Department is investigating whether Bush administration officials broke the law by revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative whose husband disparaged claims by the White House that Iraq was seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

George Tenet, the director of the CIA, has sent a memo to the department asking it to find out who revealed Valerie Plame’s identity in July.

Plame, a weapons expert, is the wife of the former US ambassador Joe Wilson. It is alleged that her identity was revealed in retaliation for comments he made about Iraq’s alleged scheme to buy uranium from Niger to develop nuclear weapons. Wilson, who traveled to Niger to investigate the claims, told The Independent on Sunday that he believed they were false.

Plame’s identity was first mentioned by a syndicated newspaper columnist, who said his sources were “two administration officials.”

Yesterday The Washington Post reported that the two officials had telephoned at least six journalists and identified Plame. “Clearly it was meant purely and simply for revenge,” a White House official said.

Wilson’s comments caused the White House to admit that “16 words” in President George Bush’s State of the Union address last January which claimed Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa were incorrect.

Wilson, who went to Africa at the request of the CIA, has never confirmed his wife’s position. He said previously that if she were an operative, “naming her this way would have compromised every operation, every relationship, every network with which she had been associated in her entire career. This is the stuff of Kim Philby and Aldrich Ames.”

Wilson said yesterday: “I have always said that the desire to implicate my wife in this was intended to intimidate others from coming forward. The idea that someone would do this is an anathema to me and should be an anathema to a president who came to office promising to restore honor to the White House.” Naming an undercover operative is a federal offense which carries penalties of $50,000 and up to 10 years jail.

After Plame was named, the CIA launched a widescale investigation to ascertain whether any of her overseas contacts had been put at risk. That investigation continues.

Source: Independent (UK)

GOP eyes anti-gay plank

By Paul Johnson

Washington, DC, Sept. 23— The Republican Party national platform is expected to include a condemnation of same-sex marriage and to support a constitutional amendment barring gay and lesbian couples from being wed.

“There is a lot of energy out there, a lot of concern about gay marriage,” said RNC chair Ed Gillespie. “So it wouldn’t surprise me if it were addressed in some form or fashion in the platform.”

Gillespie, in an interview with the Washington Times accused gays of “intolerance and bigotry by attempting to force the rest of the population to accept alien moral standards.” As a result, he said “tolerance is no longer defined as my accepting people for who they are.”

“I think when people say, ‘Well, no, that’s not enough that you accept me for who I am, you have to agree with — and condone — my choice,’ that to me is religious bigotry, and I believe that’s intolerant. I think they are the ones who are crossing a line here.”

Gillespie went on to tell the paper that on the other hand, “when people are free to pursue the choices that they want in the privacy of their home, that’s tolerance.”

Gillespie said the plank likely would define marriage as “a monogamous, heterosexual union, and would forbid states from legalizing homosexual marriages.” But, he suggested it also might be broadened to include civil unions such as those in Vermont and California. “Frankly I don’t see the difference between the two,” he said.

His comments are expected to play well with the extreme right within the GOP. A Republican bill is in the House of Representatives calling for a constitutional amendment and Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN), has said he would support it.

But, gay Democrats were quick to condemn Gillespie’s remarks, especially his reference to gay Americans as intolerant bigots.

“Gillespie is the one displaying his bigotry, not gay Americans,” said Dave Noble, NSD Executive Director. “Suggesting that someone is a bigot because they want the legal right to visit a dying partner in the hospital is wrong, and frankly, disgusting.”

In July, President Bush said marriage should be between a man and a woman, and “we ought to codify that one way or the other.” Federal law already defines marriage in heterosexual terms.

On Monday a national poll was released showing that while most Americans oppose same-sex marriage, an even greater number reject a constitutional amendment.

Source: 365Gay.com

Moussaoui charges may be dropped in bid for new trial

By Andrew Buncombe

Washington, DC, Sept. 27— Desperate to secure a conviction in the so-called war against terror, the Bush administration is undertaking a high-risk legal maneuver in its prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In a motion placed before a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, prosecutors urged US District Judge Leonie Brinkema to throw out the charges against Moussaoui, the suspected “20th hijacker.” They hope that another court will then allow them to proceed with a fresh prosecution.

Moussaoui’s lawyers agreed that a dismissal was the only appropriate action, since the Bush administration has defied a court ruling to allow the defendant to call as witnesses three alleged senior al-Qaida members.

The al-Qaida suspects, currently in US custody, are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, said to have been the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks; Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged senior operational planner; and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, accused of being an al-Qaida paymaster. Defense lawyers have said the three could clear their client of any involvement in the attacks.

The Bush administration has argued that such a move would be harmful to national security. In a statement, the Justice Department said: “We believe the Constitution does not require, and national security will not permit, the government to allow Moussaoui, an avowed terrorist, to have direct access to his terrorist confederates who have been detained abroad as enemy combatants in the midst of a war.”

While Judge Brinkema has little alternative but to dismiss the charges — which she is likely to do early next week — the Bush administration has no intention of allowing Moussaoui, a French citizen, to escape prosecution.

If the charges are dismissed, the prosecution believes it could place the case before the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which has already heard oral arguments in the government’s appeal against the order granting Moussaoui the right to question the captives. The panel of judges has said it will rule only after Judge Brinkema has dealt with the government for defying her order.

The prosecution is relying on the fact that the 4th Circuit Court is known as the most conservative court in the nation and has previously displayed sympathy with requests from the government concerning issues of national security above claims of due process from defendants.

A refusal by the 4th Circuit Court would be a symbolic and embarrassing slap to the Bush administration. In such circumstances it has made clear that Moussaoui would almost certainly be placed before a military tribunal and tried as an enemy combatant.

Source: Independent (UK)

‘You lied, they died,’ US parents tell Bush

By Duncan Campbell

Los Angeles, California, Sept. 27— The father of a soldier killed in Iraq accused President George Bush yesterday of being responsible for his son’s death.

Fernando Suarez, whose 20-year-old son, Jesus, was one of the first fatalities, said: “My son died because Bush lied.” Suarez, from Escondido, California, speaking at a press conference to publicize tomorrow’s anti-war demonstrations in eight US cities, said that about 1,300 parents of troops stationed in Iraq were involved in a movement against the occupation.

“It is time for these troops to come home,” said Suarez. “Neither my wife nor my family want more children to die in this illegal war. We are no less patriotic for wanting peace. Bush wants $87 billion for this war, but what does he give us for our schools?” he asked.

In another sign of the growing protest movement, the father of two soldiers serving in Iraq used a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on Fri., Sept. 26 to demand the sacking of the US defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. The ad accused President Bush and his administration of misleading the public about weapons of mass destruction.

“Donald Rumsfeld Betrayed My Sons and Our Nation. It’s Time For Him to Go,” said the headline of the ad, which was signed by Larry Syverson from Richmond, Virginia. The ad was paid for by MoveOn.org, an internet-based organization in San Francisco, and the Win Without War coalition. It is not known how much they paid for the ad, but the market rate is $139,000. Syverson wrote that one son, Branden, is a master gunner near Tikrit and another son, Bryce, is a gunner based in Baghdad.

“I’m in awe at the courage of my sons and the honorable service that they give,” he wrote. “But the leaders they serve have not acted honorably. They have failed my sons. They have failed all of us. At the very least, secretary Donald Rumsfeld must go.”

The ad coincides with a fall in President Bush’s approval ratings, which have slipped below 50 percent for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001.

Source: Guardian (UK)