IK um«raiuVER THE LAST TWO CENTURIES, p r o m i n e n t .docx
In the Shadows of Promise - The New American Magazine - 8-31-09.pdf
1. No State Sponsors, No Terror • Exposing the Green World Order • Sousa’s March of Greatness
August 31, 2009
www.TheNewAmerican.com ThaT Freedom Shall NoT PeriSh
$2.95
In the
Shadows
of Promise
Evaluating Obama’s Campaign Pledges
2.
3. First Ten Amendments to the Constitution
Article I. Congress shall make no law respect-ing an property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or taken for public use, without just compensation.
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a Article VI. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall
redress of grievances. enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of
the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,
Article II. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and
security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
shall not be infringed. confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtain-ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the assis-
Article III. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered tance of counsel for his defense.
in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Article VII. In suits at common law, where the value in
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury
Article IV. The right of the people to be secure in their shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise
persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the
and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, rules of the common law.
but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirma-tion, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or Article VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
things to be seized. excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or Article IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by
a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the people.
the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put Article X. The powers not delegated to the United States by
in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to
to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or the states respec-tively, or to the people.
We at Dean Sellers Ford
believe freedom of mobility is as fundamental as our
Bill of Rights. See Dean Sellers Ford for your new
freedom machine.
2600 Maple Rd., Troy, Michigan • (248) 643-7500• www.deansellersford.com
4.
5. 10
vol. 25, No. 18 august 31, 2009
Cover Story
Politics
10 in the shadows of Promise
Design by Joseph W. Kelly
by Thomas R. Eddlem — Evaluating Obama’s Campaign Pledges.
FeatureS
17
terrorism
17 No state sponsors, No terror
by William F. Jasper — For 30 years Iran has been the leading
state sponsor of global terror — with Syria, Cuba, and North Korea
as helpmates. But behind them have been the terror masters of the
Soviet KGB, and its renamed successor, the Russian FSB.
NatioNal iD
23 “Your Papers, Please!”
by Becky Akers — Though REAL ID implementation stalled, its
AP Images
twin, PASS ID, seems to be gaining traction because the federal
government is poised to fund the mandate.
Book review
23 29
29 exposing the Green world order
by James Perloff — Steve Milloy, the founder of junkscience.com,
makes a case that Americans are on a “green” slide toward
authoritarian regulations and pauperism.
HistorY — Past aND PersPective
35 sousa’s march of Greatness
by John White — John Philip Sousa’s entire life was devoted to
music; hence, it is no surprise that his legacy in music lives on.
tHe last worD
44 why is “cash for clunkers” called a success? 35
by Gary Benoit
DepartmentS
Library of Congress
5 letters to the editor 33 the Goodness of america
6 inside track 39 exercising the right
9 QuickQuotes 41 correction, Please!
cover Design by Joseph W. Kelly
8. Inside Track
illegal immigrants likely covered Under Democrats’ Healthcare reform
A recent study by the Federation for American Immigration Re- Nonetheless, Camarota
form determined that healthcare reform would not have any real maintains that, at the very least,
barriers against illegal immigrants enrolling in the taxpayer-fund- the healthcare plans now being
ed public option, and that there would be no verification system to proposed on Capitol Hill would
stop illegals from receiving credits to purchase private plans. almost certainly make things
The Center for Immigration Studies has put the number of worse by allowing employers
illegal immigrants who do not have health insurance at 7.25 mil- to force taxpayers to foot the
lion. More than half of these — about four million — are prob- bill for their illegal employees’
ably employed, said Steven Camarota, a research director with healthcare. “Illegal immigra-
the center. Camarota believes that it could cost anywhere from tion kind of looms as the 800-
$8 billion to $12 billion annually to provide these illegal immi- pound gorilla,” Camarota said.
grants with insurance coverage, but there are many variables in “The impact is really big.” This
the equation. is because the reform proposals
For one thing, Camarota’s estimate doesn’t include covering fail to admit there is a problem. “The legislation says illegal im-
children. It also assumes all four million had no benefits from migrants are not supposed to get this plan, but it also guts any of
their employers to begin with, which doesn’t take into account the mechanisms that would leave them out — typical Washington
that some would have already received emergency-room treat- kind of thing.”
ment at the public’s expense. Some of the four million would It is worth pointing out that while illegal immigrants are not
likely be too afraid of being caught to enroll in an insurance plan, supposed to be covered by President Barack Obama’s reform pro-
and some would actually be paying taxes, so they wouldn’t be posals, he always includes them when stating how many millions
freeloading. of “Americans” are uninsured.
Unemployment Up; Unemployment Figures Down
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ official un- The answer can be found in the fact that more and more Ameri-
employment rate actually shrunk from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent, cans are leaving the job market entirely. The BLS explained: “The
even though the U.S. economy lost an additional 247,000 jobs civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage
in July. point in July to 65.5 percent.” American families are increasingly
How can the job market shed nearly a quarter million jobs and deciding to go back to school or trying to make do on a single
the jobless rate still be lower? income, according to statistics.
clinton wields and Praises the international criminal court
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at a town It is likely that Secretary Clinton and the Obama administra-
hall meeting at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, on August 6, tion are fond of the ICC because it can be used to threaten tin-pot
said it was “a great regret but it is a fact” that the United States is dictators who don’t kowtow to Western elites. Even though the
not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). “But we United States has never ratified the treaty, Clinton held the ICC
have supported the court and continue to do so,” Clinton said. threateningly above the heads of Kenya’s leaders when telling
The ICC was set them how to run their criminal justice program: “I have urged that
up in 2002 as the the Kenyan government find the way forward themselves,” she
world’s first per- said. “But if not, then the names turned over to the I.C.C. will be
manent war-crimes opened, and an investigation will begin.”
court, and claims The New York Times reported that Clinton was referring to a
the authority to list of Kenyans that former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
try individuals for handed to the International Criminal Court in a sealed envelope in
war crimes, crimes July. In other words, Kenya’s leaders will bow to mandates from
against humanity, Westerners or Kenya’s leaders may find themselves before the
and genocide. The ICC facing long prison sentences for various crimes.
United States, Rus- The fact that Americans enjoy protections as a result of our
AP Images
Clinton in sia, China, and Israel Constitution does not alter the fact that U.S. ratification of the
Nairobi
have not ratified it. ICC treaty would threaten those guarantees.
6 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
9. obama’s “snitch line” violates the Federal Privacy act
Earlier this month, the White House un- federal Privacy Act of 1974, which Con-
veiled a new section of its website called gress passed in an attempt to avoid another
“Reality Check,” which retails stale Nixon-style “enemies list.” Former judge
Obama talking points on healthcare and and Fox News Channel commentator An-
also included a snitch line for Obama drew Napolitano explained that the White
supporters to inform the White House House has put itself into a legal conundrum
on opponents of Obamacare. The snitch on this issue. “There’s also a statute that
line, also unveiled on the White House requires the White House to retain all com-
blog, asked: “Since we can’t keep track munications that it receives. It can’t try to
of all of them here at the White House, rewrite history by pretending it didn’t re-
we’re asking for your help. If you get an ceive anything,” Napolitano told Fox News
email or see something on the web about on August 7. “If the White House deletes
health insurance reform that seems fishy, anything, it violates one statute. If the White
send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.” House collects data on the free speech, it vio-
The obvious concern is that the new lates another statute.”
snitch line will enable the Obama administration to build an The White House quietly took down their
“enemies list,” just as Richard Nixon did during his stay in the snitch line at “Reality Check” over the August 8-9 weekend, but
White House. the original snitch line message on the White House blog has not
The problem with Obama’s snitch line is that it violates the been removed as of this writing.
Healthcare reform Biased against seniors
allocates medical care first to those who have not yet lived a
“complete” life — however that is defined — prioritizing those
who have the greatest potential to live a complete life in the fu-
ture. He notes that “broad consensus favours adolescents over
very young infants, and young adults over the very elderly peo-
ple,” because “the complete lives system assumes that, although
life-years are equally valuable to all, justice requires the fair dis-
Obama, at a “town hall” meeting tribution of them.”
with the American Association Dr. Goodman points out how this all fits with current reform
AP Images
of Retired Persons, tries to sell proposals. “Buried somewhere in the 1,000 plus pages” of Capi-
seniors on his healthcare plan.
tol Hill legislation “is a provision to severely limit what Medicare
pays for CT and MRI scans performed in doctors’ offices. This
Dr. John Goodman’s Health Policy Blog for July 22 makes would force elderly patients, for example, to go to the hospi-
clear the harsh reality that the only way for President Barack tal for their radiology — where there are often lengthy waits.”
Obama’s version of healthcare reform “to control health care The elderly, who frequently have difficulty with mobility, will be
costs is to get doctors to provide less care — fewer tests, fewer stuck making another long and arduous trip to the hospital when
procedures, fewer everything.” And who gets the least health- their needs could have been met in one visit to the doctor’s of-
care of all? Senior citizens. fice. Some will put off or outright refuse this hassle that younger
What is the basis for these allegations of biased healthcare ra- people are better able to endure.
tioning? Dr. Goodman cites none other than White House health- USA Today reported on July 17 that many medical profession-
care policy adviser Ezekiel Emanuel. “Allocation by age is not als are issuing stern warnings against a reduction in office-based
invidious discrimination,” Emanuel wrote in the January 31 issue imaging. “It’s something that’s going to affect patients dearly,
of the British medical journal The Lancet. “Even if 25-year-olds I’m afraid,” said Steven Harms, a radiologist at the Breast Center
receive priority over 65-year-olds, everyone who is 65 years now of Northwest Arkansas. “There are a lot of small towns (where
was previously 25 years.” So because everyone would get an equal doctors) are doing CTs and MRIs, and I don’t think they’re going
chance to be favored when they are young, they would be equally to be able to stay in business.”
discriminated against when they are old. “Treating 65-year-olds This is Obama’s vision for healthcare reform. Instead of undo-
differently because of stereotypes or falsehoods would be ageist,” ing the managed-care system the government is responsible for
Emanuel maintains, but “treating them differently because they and allowing the free market to compete at providing affordable,
have already had more life-years is not.” quality care, Obama’s proposals would implement Emanuel’s
Emanuel is advocating here the complete-lives system, which model of rationing. n
www.TheNewAmerican.com 7
10. Extended Inside Track
obamacare
shocker:
send in the
social workers
T he proposed Obama government health-
care bill has a government snitch net-
work built into it, allowing social workers to
gain access to your home under the pretext
of checking on your new baby, or soon-to-be-
born baby. It will result in many, many more
children being taken from families by state
Child Protective Services agencies.
This is the fulfillment of a long-held dream by child protection Once into your home, they will look around and find some-
agencies to gain access to homes, without first getting a report of thing, anything, to call “abuse” or “neglect.” Their jobs depend
abuse or neglect, as currently required by law. Mandated visits to on it, and you can be sure that the managers will set quotas, which
homes by government agents has been a favorite cause of Hillary will never be acknowledged. Then, they will open a case with a
Clinton, and of the radical bureaucrats running the U.S. Admin- child protective services agency, and give you “services,” whether
istration of Children and Families. you like it or not. In cases that they judge to be more serious, they
This “home invasion” program is found on page 838 of the will likely ask their legal department to bring a court case and
lengthy bill, in Section 1904, and it is called the “Home visitation possibly remove the children.
programs for families with young children and families expecting This is a backdoor means of obtaining agreement to go around
children.” The pretext on which the state agents would enter the the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and similar provi-
home would be “to improve the well-being, health, and develop- sions in most state constitutions that prohibit entry into a home
ment of children by enabling the establishment and expansion of without a search warrant. If you agree to having social workers
high quality programs providing voluntary home visitation for enter your house, then you have waived your right to require a
families with young children and families expecting children.” search warrant, which can only be authorized by a magistrate or
It sounds pretty innocuous, but based on my 15 years of fighting judge on probable cause that a crime has or is being committed.
these bureaucrats in court on behalf of innocent families, it can This part of the Obama healthcare bill is terrifying, and the
be predicted that the way it will work in real life will be much numbers of children taken from families, as well as those who
more sinister. will have to endure weekly or monthly visits from a social
Visits from the bureaucrats are voluntary in theory. (However, so worker, would increase manyfold if this part of the bill were
are income taxes.) Here is how it would work: after your first ap- to become law. This conclusion is not speculative, as it is the
pointment with your OB/GYN to confirm a pregnancy, the doctor whole reason for mandating these visits to homes in the first
would be required to report it to the leviathan healthcare bureaucra- place. If the child-services industry did not expect to kidnap
cy. If you somehow fall through the cracks during the pregnancy, more children and to open many more administrative cases, the
the birth hospital will do the honors of reporting you to the State. provision would not be there. n
Then, chirpy social workers will show up at your house one day, — GreGory A. hessioN
and pressure you to allow them to come “voluntarily” into your
house. These people are so-called “mandated reporters,” who must The above article is the first installment in an online series by
report any abuse or neglect, or potentially face fines and jail. Massachusetts attorney Gregory A. Hession, who specializes in
Certain populations will be targeted for this “help,” and this family and constitutional law, examining various fine-print pro-
should raise even more concern. Here is what the bill says: “The visions of the proposed 1,017-page Obama healthcare bill that
State shall identify and prioritize serving communities that are in would deprive Americans of rights, or are of particular concern
high need of such services, especially communities with a high owing to their likely intrusion on personal privacy or family au-
proportion of low-income families or a high incidence of child tonomy. Please go to thenewamerican.com frequently to view
maltreatment.” Translated, this means that poor and racial minority these articles, as well as other articles on the general subject of
communities will be targeted, since they are more vulnerable and Obama’s healthcare plan. (These articles are grouped together
they cannot as readily access legal muscle to repel the invaders. under “U.S. News” in the “Health Care” category.)
8 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
11. QuickQuotes
President Doesn’t like opposition to His Healthcare Proposal
“They are filling the airwaves and the Internet with outrageous false-
hoods to scare people into opposing change. So we’ve got to get out
there, fight lies with truth, and set the record straight.”
In his August 5 message sent to supporters via the Internet, Barack
Obama aimed some very strong accusations at activists who don’t
want his government-mandated healthcare.
White House
Barack top British Diplomat sees His country in long afghan struggle
Obama “We’re going to have a very long commitment. This is not just one
year; this is going to be for decades. We’re going to help them get to
a state in which they can ward off the return of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.”
Speaking in Boston, Britain’s Ambassador to the United States Nigel Steinwald claimed that his coun-
trymen were evenly divided about keeping forces in Afghanistan even as casualties mounted.
He wants to Break Up the Fed
“The Obama administration’s plan to increase the powers of the Federal Reserve, says one critic, is like
giving a teenager a bigger, faster car right after he crashed the family station wagon.... What we need
now is a debate about how to break up the Fed — and some of the sprawling financial institutions it
supervises.”
A visiting scholar at Harvard, Columbia University professor Amar Bhide is writing a book about the
financial crisis.
chinese official sends a warning about U.s. indebtedness
“We sincerely hope the U.S. fiscal deficit will be reduced year after year. First and foremost our respon-
sibility is the Chinese people, so of course we are concerned about the security of Chinese assets.”
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Chinese Assistant Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao registered
growing concern about the $801 billion in U.S. debt owned by China.
a Black columnist scorches obama for His remark
“Those who were shocked at President Obama’s cheap shot at the
Cambridge police for being ‘stupid’ in arresting Henry Louis Gates
must have been among those who let their wishes prevail over the
obvious implications of Obama’s 20 years of association with the
Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Anyone who can believe that Obama
did not understand what the racist rants of Jeremiah Wright meant
can believe anything.” Thomas
Sowell
Syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell wasn’t surprised that the
president let his racism show in the aftermath of the confrontation.
congressional report Blasts acorN
“ACORN hides behind a paper wall of nonprofit corporate protec-
tions to conceal a criminal conspiracy on the part of its directors,
Newscom
to launder federal money in order to pursue a political agenda and
to manipulate the American electorate.”
In a report commissioned by Representative Darrell Issa (R-Ca-
lif.), the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform expressed outrage that ACORN
could receive $8.5 billion in federal stimulus funds.
House accedes to obama’s wish for abortion in D.c.
“President Obama’s decision to force American taxpayers to foot the bill for abortions in the District of
Columbia will cause the deaths of at least 1,000 more unborn children each year.”
After the House acted favorably on the president’s budget request to repeal the Dornan Amendment,
which has barred federal funding of abortion in the district for decades, Marjorie Dannenfelser of the
pro-life Susan B. Anthony List lamented Congress’ callousness toward life and its misuse of taxpayer
money. n
— compiled by JohN F. mcmANus
Call 1-800-727-TRUE to subscribe today! 9
12. Politics
In the
Shadows
of Promise
Evaluating Obama’s Campaign Pledges
by Thomas R. Eddlem aid money. But how has he done with House. Here is a review of these domestic
the popular campaign promises he made policy promises in the categories of eth-
P
resident Barack Obama took office to middle America, the promises that got ics, transparency in government, and fiscal
with an extraordinary set of prom- him elected? Candidate Obama pledged responsibility, along with an assessment of
ises as a candidate. He has fulfilled to cut taxes for the middle class, lower how earnestly they were carried out.
many of the promises to the left-wing base overall taxes, cut government spending,
of his party, such as his executive order reduce the deficit, cut the cost of health- Thomas R. Eddlem, a freelance writer, served as the
three days after he was inaugurated restor- care waste, eliminate most government John Birch Society’s director of research from 1991-
ing the funding of abortions with foreign- secrecy, and reform ethics at the White 2000.
10 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
13. Ethics
No lobbyists Funding His campaign the law that governs political activity, both Secretary Donovan also wrote letters to
Promise: “I have done more than any because of political incentives not to use Brewer. “It was a thinly veiled threat,”
other candidate in this race to take on lob- it and because of inadequate enforcement Kyl told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.
byists — and won. They have not funded mechanisms. As president, Barack Obama “And they combined that with some ads
my campaign.” (Barack Obama, Speech in will issue an Executive Order banning the that the Democrat campaign committee
Des Moines, Iowa, November 10, 2007) use of public office to further partisan ad- ran on their website, and so on.”
Track Record: The independent vantage in political elections.” (“Taking Verdict: Outright Lie
watchdog group SourceWatch.org found Back Our Government” pamphlet on Ba-
that lobbyists had funded Obama’s Sen- rackObama.com) Political appointees
ate campaign, as well as his presidential Track Record: Obama issued an with close ties to industry
campaign from the beginning. By the time “ethics” executive order, but it omitted Promise: “No political appointees in an
Obama had made the statement above, it mention of banning use of the executive Obama Administration will be permitted
was already false. Public Citizen had al- branch for partisan purposes. Partisan to work on regulations or contracts direct-
ready listed nine different lobbyists who use of public office begins at the top in ly and substantially related to their prior
had contributed to the Obama campaign, the Obama White House. Obama orches- employer for two years. A two-year ban
in addition to “bundling” individual con- trated a partisan political pressure ma- will remove the incentive to employers to
tributions averaging more than $100,000 neuver using his cabinet secretaries on provide some sort of financial incentive,
each to Obama’s presidential campaign July 13, getting four cabinet secretaries such as [a] generous severance package,
during 2007. During the 2008 campaign, to write on government stationery to Ari- to an employee leaving for a government
Obama accepted bundled contributions zona Governor Janice Brewer to pressure job with an agency that regulates them.”
of nearly one million dollars ($997,095) Republican Arizona Senator Jon Kyl to (“Taking Back Our Government” pam-
from Goldman Sachs executives, the same stop criticizing Obama’s “stimulus” law. phlet on BarackObama.com)
firm that received tens of billions in bail- Kyl had suggested on nationwide televi- Track Record: Obama broke this
out funds through the TARP legislation sion days earlier that the “stimulus” bill promise within three days of taking office.
Obama backed in September 2008. didn’t work and that all uncommitted He nominated former Raytheon lobbyist
Obama later backtracked, claiming that projects from the “stimulus” bill ought to William Lynn as deputy secretary of de-
lobbyists who funded him didn’t impact be stopped in order to prevent increasing fense on January 23. Raytheon is a major
his decisions. Of course, this is the same the deficit further. Transportation Sec- military contractor for the Pentagon. Four
claim all politicians who take money from retary Ray LaHood sarcastically wrote days later, Obama broke his promise
lobbyists make. to Brewer, “If you prefer to forfeit the again. Obama nominated Goldman Sachs
Verdict: Outright Lie money we are making available to your lobbyist Mark Patterson as chief of staff
state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
No more executive Branch me know.” Interior Secretary Ken Sala- on January 27. Goldman Sachs is a major
electioneering zar wrote an almost identical line, except Wall Street bank holding company. After
Promise: “Remove the use of public of- he omitted Kyl’s name: “If you prefer to that, everyone pretty much stopped keep-
fice for partisan advantage: Public office forfeit the money we are making avail- ing count on how many times Obama
should not be used to advance political in- able to Arizona, please let me know.” broke this promise.
terests. Too often federal workers dismiss Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and HUD Verdict: Outright Lie
Political arm twisting: Barack
Obama promised he wouldn’t
allow the use of political office for
partisan political gamesmanship.
But when Arizona Senate
Republican Jon Kyl (left) publicly
criticized Obama’s stimulus
package, Obama had four cabinet-
level Democrats, including
Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood (right), write letters to
Arizona’s governor, threatening to
cut off stimulus funds to that state
AP Images
AP Images
if the governor didn’t pressure Kyl
to shut his mouth.
www.TheNewAmerican.com 11
14. Politics
Transparency in Government
legislative Five-day online limiting “state secrets” claims tion has invoked the state secrets privilege
“sunlight” Pledge Promise: “It is no coincidence that the in three cases: Al Haramain Islamic Foun-
Promise: “SUNLIGHT BEFORE SIGN- disastrous policies of the Bush-Cheney dation v. Obama, Mohammed v. Jeppesen
ING: Too often bills are rushed through years have been accompanied by unprece- Dataplan, and Jewel v. NSA.” Senator
Congress and to the president before the dented secrecy for the American people.... Russ Feingold, a fellow Democrat, gave
public has the opportunity to review them. The administration has ignored public dis- Obama a “D” grade on “rule of law” is-
As president, Barack Obama will not sign closure rules and has invoked a legal tool sues at that time, specifically mentioning
any non-emergency bill without giving the known as the ‘state secrets’ privilege more the state-secrets claims.
American public an opportunity to review than any other previous administration to Obama’s pledge to abandon “state se-
and comment on the White House website get cases thrown out of civil court.... As crets” claims was not categorical, however,
for five days. In addition to ensuring that president, Obama will restore the Ameri- as he noted on the same campaign website:
the public has the ability to review legisla- can people’s trust in their government by “The Obama White House would invoke
tion, the sunlight will help ensure that ear- making government more open and trans- its executive privilege to protect the confi-
marks tucked into appropriations bills are parent.” (“Taking Back Our Government” dentiality of communications concerning
exposed. (“Taking Back Our Government” pamphlet on BarackObama.com) national security and similar traditionally
pamphlet on BarackObama.com) Track Record: Even though the presi- sensitive matters, not to withhold informa-
Track Record: Obama hasn’t even tried dent used an executive order to instruct “all tion about private interests’ communica-
to keep this promise. The New York Times members of his administration to operate tion on regulatory policy. There are com-
observed on June 22, “Five months into under principles of openness, transparency munications that should be kept private
his administration, Mr. Obama has signed and of engaging citizens with their govern- because disclosure could endanger the
two dozen bills, but he has almost never ment,” President Obama has used “state public.” In each of the above cases, howev-
waited five days. On the recent credit card secrets” claims with as much abandon as er, the suppression of evidence was related
legislation, which included a controversial the Bush administration, and typically in to the torture of detainees, or the illegal
measure to allow guns in national parks, the same kind of cases. and unconstitutional warrantless searches
he waited just two.” ABC News reported on April 28 that “in that violated the Fourth Amendment of
Verdict: Outright Lie the first 100 days, the Obama administra- the U.S. Constitution. In other words, the
cases didn’t involve national se-
curity, they involved the coverup
of crimes against the U.S. Consti-
tution. The “state secrets” claims
also perfectly matched the same
Bush administration policy Obama
the people’s had nominally criticized during the
president? Obama campaign. Glenn Greenwald of the
promised that he liberal Salon.com guessed at the
would not sign true meaning of Obama’s pledge
into law any non-
on “state secrets” as early as Febru-
emergency bill until
constituents had ary 10: “Apparently, the operative
five days to give word in that highlighted paragraph
him their input. — unbeknownst to most people at
(He is shown here the time — was ‘the Bush admin-
reading one of istration,’ since the Obama admin-
the 10 healthcare istration is now doing exactly that
letters he is said to which, during the campaign, it de-
read each day.) But fined as ‘The Problem,’ the only dif-
President Obama ference being that it is now Obama,
has rarely waited
and not Bush, doing it.” Because
five days.
Obama’s promises weren’t categor-
ical, they can’t be labeled outright
lies. But they were clearly deliber-
ately deceptive.
Verdict: Deceit
12 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
15. photos documented rape and torture. Why
did both Gibbs and Whitman use the pecu-
liar phrase “the photos in question” to deny
the allegation that American handlers had
raped detainees? Because they needed a
lawyerly way of claiming they hadn’t lied
if it were exposed that such photos existed.
The very next day (May 29) the Internet
magazine Salon reported that U.S. Army
Major General Antonio Taguba confirmed
that the British newspaper’s account of his
quote was accurate: “These pictures show
torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.”
Since Taguba had been the two-star gen-
eral in command of the 2004 Abu Ghraib
investigation, he was in a position to see
AP Images
all the suppressed photos.
Once the existence of the photos was
exposed and confirmed by the same U.S.
Familiar fickle fate: Under President George W. Bush, the government had secret prisons,
general who had conducted the Abu
secretly committed torture, secretly monitored Americans, and more. Obama promised
to change all this — to bring transparency to government. Evidence shows that Bush’s
Ghraib investigation, all the White House
approach of hiding what government does is largely still in effect. had to say was they were suppressing an
entirely different set of photos from the
public. Indeed, Taguba had told Salon he
limiting claims of One of the more public examples was wasn’t sure if the photos he had described
“executive Privilege” the suppression of torture photographs were among the set that the Obama admin-
Promise: “The American people deserve to showing instances of abuse and rape of istration had been seeking to prevent from
know what their government does and why. detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. One of public disclosure.
Ours is an open government, and our abil- America’s own generals, recently retired However sneaky the deception was,
ity to understand our government at work Major General Antonio Taguba, even ad- none of it involved an outright lie, because
— the freedom of information we enjoy — mitted to the May 27 London Daily Tele- the Obama administration had claimed
has been copied by other countries around graph that “these pictures show torture, during the campaign that “the Obama
the world. The Freedom of Information Act abuse, rape and every indecency.” When White House would invoke its executive
is a pillar of our open government. Unfor- America’s own generals confirm that the privilege to protect the confidentiality of
tunately, in recent years our government photos document torture and rape, denying communications concerning national se-
has failed to keep the American people in- it is a pretty tough task. curity and similar traditionally sensitive
formed about what it was doing and why, But the Obama White House did deny matters.... There are communications that
and it has refused to provide Americans it, even as they denied the public access should be kept private because disclosure
with information they are entitled to by law. to the photographs. White House Press could endanger the public.” After the pho-
Turning our tradition of free information Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters at tos were suppressed, Obama argued that
upside down, the Bush administration has a press briefing the next day that “the ar- publishing photos documenting what our
instructed agencies to presume citizens are ticle is wrong and mischaracterizes the top general had already confirmed would
not entitled to information unless they are photos that are in question.... None of have inflamed terrorists against Americans.
willing to sue for it. Barack Obama would the photographs in question depict the It was a “national security” issue, Obama
restore the tradition of free information by images described in the article. Again, I claimed, even though Islamic extremists
issuing an Executive Order that information think if you do an even moderate Google already believed the worst about detention
should be released unless an agency reason- search, you’re not going to find many of by Americans. Therefore, Obama’s prom-
ably foresees harm to a protected interest.” these newspapers and truth within, say, 25 ises about “executive privilege” were not
(“Taking Back Our Government” pamphlet words of each other.” The Pentagon came outright lies, but they were clearly delib-
on BarackObama.com) out with another, almost identical, non- erately deceptive.
Track Record: President Obama has categorical denial the same day. “None of Verdict: Deceit
denied Americans access to information the photos in question depict the images
even when they have sued to get it. And that are described in that article,” Pentagon No “signing statements”
his spokesmen conspired to mislead the spokesman Bryan Whitman told the press that Undermine the law
public about the nature of secrets with- on May 28. Promise: “Obama will sign legislation in
held from the public under the “executive Gibbs and Whitman could instead have the light of day without attaching signing
privilege” doctrine. simply issued a categorical denial that no statements that undermine the legislative
Call 1-800-727-TRUE to subscribe today! 13
16. Politics
intent.” (“Taking Back Our Government” lations by directing the Executive to take laws resulted in a near-unanimous rebuke
pamphlet on BarackObama.com) certain positions in negotiations or discus- (429-2 vote) by the U.S. House of Repre-
Track Record: President Obama issued sions with international organizations and sentatives on July 9. And on July 21, four
a signing statement doing just that on June foreign governments.” Therefore, Obama committee chairmen from Obama’s own
26, arguing that a bill that established lim- wrote, “I will not treat these provisions as Democratic Party wrote to the president
its on how a $106 billion loan guarantee limiting my ability to engage in foreign saying they were “chagrined” by his sign-
to the International Monetary Fund could diplomacy or negotiations.” Obama’s ar- ing statement and urging him to withdraw
be issued “would interfere with my con- rogant attack on the legislature’s sole the assertion.
stitutional authority to conduct foreign re- authority to appropriate funds and make Verdict: Outright Lie
Fiscal Responsibility
No middle-class tax increase of two weeks to break this promise, with ing a tax increase to pay for his healthcare
Promise: “I can make a firm pledge: his signing of the “Children’s Health Insur- “reform” package. (BarackObama.com
Under my plan, no family making less ance Program,” which doubled the taxes on “Fiscal” page)
than $250,000 a year will see any form tobacco (which is mostly consumed by the Verdict: Outright Lie
of tax increase, not your income tax, not poorer half of American society). Obama
your payroll tax, not your capital gains has also pushed an $840 billion energy controlling the National Debt
taxes, not any of your taxes.” (Candidate tax increase on all Americans from May Promise: “Under President Bush, the fed-
Obama, at a campaign speech in Dover, through July under the American Clean eral debt has increased from $5.7 trillion
New Hampshire, on September 11, 2008) Energy and Security Act of 2009. Obama to $8.8 trillion, an increase of more than 50
Track Record: A big part of the reason himself has said that the legislation, infor- percent.... Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s
Obama won the election was his prom- mally known as “cap and trade,” would Record [is] … against Raising the Federal
ise not to raise the taxes of middle-class necessarily “skyrocket” Americans’ util- Debt Limit: In 2006, Obama voted against
Americans. But President Obama took all ity bills. He is also reputed to be consider- misguided Republican efforts to raise the
statutory debt limit at the
same time the Republicans
were pushing through mas-
sive debt-financed tax cuts
for the wealthy.” (BarackO-
bama.com “Fiscal” page)
Track Record: The stat-
utory debt limit under the
Bush administration was
raised to $11.3 trillion with
passage of the TARP (Trou-
bled Asset Relief Program)
bailout as the Bush adminis-
tration waned. Had Obama
updated his campaign web-
site after the September pas-
sage of the TARP legisla-
tion, he could have pointed
out that the Bush record of
fiscal responsibility had ac-
tually gotten worse.
Perhaps Obama didn’t
point that out because he
had changed sides on the
debt issue and voted in favor
of (and lobbied for) the
TARP legislation increasing
14 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
17. Drowning in debt:
Obama and Biden
campaigned on a
platform critical of
raising the federal
debt limit. This pledge
was actually broken
by Obama before he
became president:
he lobbied for Bush’s
TARP legislation that
raised the federal debt
limit to $11.3 trillion.
Now Obama plans
AP Images
large increases in the
debt limit.
the national debt limit. Once he became rious effort to control pork barrel spend- $800,000 to help keep animals off the run-
president, Obama took all of four weeks ing. “While the number of specific proj- way. That’s even though they’ve reported
to continue the Bush policy to increase ects declined by 12.5 percent, from 11,610 just one incident: a plane ran over a skunk
the statutory debt level with his “stimu- in fiscal year 2008 to 10,160 in fiscal year in 1996. In Alaska, $15 million went to
lus” bill, the so-called American Recovery 2009,” Citizens Against Government build a bigger, better airport for the town
and Reinvestment Act of 2009. That bill, Waste reported in April, “the total tax dol- of Ouizinkie — population just 165. That’s
which he signed February 13, increased lars spent to fund them increased by 14 roughly $90,000 dollars per resident.”
the statutory debt limit to $12.1 trillion. percent, from $17.2 billion to $19.6 bil- • The Washington Times reported on
Moreover, President Obama’s fiscal 2010 lion.” In Obama’s case, he’s transformed July 9 that “$16.1 million from the stimu-
budget proposal calls for increasing the the whole nature of pork by making it an lus program is going to save the San Fran-
national debt to $17.4 trillion by the time executive branch distribution. Obama’s cisco Bay area habitat of, among other
he finishes his first term in 2013. Obama’s marquis legislation, the $787 billion things, the endangered salt marsh harvest
budget calls for $500 billion or larger defi- American Recovery and Reinvestment mouse.” The area just happens to abut the
cits every year into the indefinite future. Act (a.k.a. the “stimulus” law), is a prime congressional district of House Speaker
In sum, Obama plans to add more to the example. Obama claimed in his June 23 Nancy Pelosi.
national debt in four years than was added press conference that the “stimulus” had • Citizens Against Government Waste
under Bush’s eight years. Obama clearly worked because “we know for a fact that reported a “stimulus” award in Democratic
has no real plan for or interest in stemming states, for example, would have laid off a Senator Robert Byrd’s West Virginia: “Paul
the wave of deficit spending the country lot more teachers, a lot more police offi- Turman, West Virginia’s assistant transpor-
began under Bush, but his campaign litera- cers, a lot more firefighters, every single tation secretary, said the $21 million in
ture wasn’t an explicit lie. He never made one of those individuals whose jobs were stimulus money will connect two unfin-
any concrete promises about the debt. saved.” Of course, teacher and govern- ished stretches of the superhighway at the
Obama’s language expressing apparent ment employee unions were among the midpoint of the route. The State Division
concern about the public debt was mere key contributors to his presidential cam- of Highways said the money will create
throw-away lines for a gullible public. paign. What “worked” was the political 60 jobs lasting between 18 and 24 months,
Verdict: Deceit payback, and Obama brought pork dollars which works out to $175,000 in taxpayer
back to his voters just as local
No “Pork” Pledge and stimulus Bill congressmen try to bring pork
Promise: “Cut Pork Barrel Spending: dollars back to their voters. A big part of the reason Obama won the
Obama introduced and passed bipartisan The “stimulus” is loaded election was his promise not to raise the
legislation that would require more disclo- with lots of more-obvious
sure and transparency for special-interest pork barrel projects, of which taxes of middle-class Americans. But
earmarks. Obama and Biden believe that these are a few of the flagrant President Obama took all of two weeks
spending that cannot withstand public examples:
scrutiny cannot be justified. Obama and • CBSNews.com reported to break this promise, with his signing of
Biden will slash earmarks to no greater $1.1 billion in “stimulus” the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
than year 1994 levels and ensure all spend- funding for rural airports on
ing decisions are open to the public. (Ba- July 13, including ridiculous He also pushed an $840 billion energy
rackObama.com “Fiscal” page) appropriations such as: “Pur- tax increase on all Americans.
Track Record: Obama has made no se- due University Airport got
www.TheNewAmerican.com 15
18. Politics
would be increased costs, not cost
savings. That’s several times the
meaningless overall cost figure
Obama put into his campaign lit-
erature. As it stands in Congress
right now, Obamacare would in-
crease the deficit by at least $219
billion, assuming that the House
version with its massive $581
billion tax increase on taxpay-
ers is included in the measure.
Obama’s “plan” on his campaign
website listed no comprehensive
numbers, other than the absurd
$50-65 billion costs listed above.
Currently, there is no healthcare
plan from the Obama administra-
AP Images
tion or congressional Democrats
under public discussion that
would cut costs to the American
a tax by any other name... Despite repeated promises to never raise taxes on any American who
makes less than $250,000 a year, Obama doubled taxes on tobacco only two weeks after taking consumer. Every plan would in-
office. Tobacco is mainly used by low- and middle-income Americans. crease the cost to the American
consumers between $800 billion
and $1 trillion through either debt
dollars a year for each job created.” Senator budget proposal would increase spending or taxes. That’s an increase in cost to the av-
Byrd is known inside the Washington, D.C., by a third and increase taxes by half before erage consumer of about $2,500, the same
beltway as the “Prince of Pork” for his bil- the next presidential election. Even assum- figure he promised to cut.
lions of dollars in pork earmarks. ing his unrealistically optimistic economic You simply can’t honestly claim to
Obama’s pledge to cut pork didn’t come growth projections (already proven too add 47 million people to the government
true. But just about every politician pledg- optimistic by the history of the past six healthcare rolls and then state you’ll cut
es to cut it and doesn’t. The difference is months), Obama would keep government overall taxpayer costs through cutting
that the president really can’t stop a deter- spending in the 22-23 percent range of “waste.” While it’s possible Obama could
mined Congress in passing pork. Congress Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Obama have honestly mistaken some figures,
will always have the power to slip some never even proposed, let alone fought for, there’s no way he could have honestly
of its favorite pork into a must-pass bill. bringing taxes back to Reagan-era levels. promised the cost cuts he did and ended
But Obama still wins a mark for “deceit” Verdict: Outright Lie up with the increased-cost plans currently
for claiming he could fix it, as well as for under consideration by Congress.
expanding it within the executive branch Healthcare-cost Promises Verdict: Outright Lie
decision-making process. Promise: “Under the [healthcare] plan, ***
Verdict: Deceit if you like your current health insurance, The initial tally of Obama’s honesty in
nothing changes, except your costs will fulfilling his campaign promises to middle
cut Government spending go down by as much as $2,500 per year.... America is eight outright lies and four in-
Promise: “Obama’s plan will cut taxes Barack Obama will pay for his $50-$65 stances of deliberate deceit. That’s hardly
overall, reducing revenues to below the billion health care reform effort by roll- an encouraging start for President Obama.
levels that prevailed under Ronald Rea- ing back the Bush tax cuts for Americans Americans should remember his pledges
gan (less than 18.2 percent of GDP). The earning more than $250,000 per year and and his poor honesty record. As the old
Obama tax plan is a net tax cut — his tax retaining the estate tax at its 2009 level.” saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on
relief for middle class families is larger (BarackObama.com “Health Care” page) you. Fool me twice, shame on me!” n
than the revenue raised by his tax changes Track Record:
for families over $250,000. Coupled with Obama’s healthcare
his commitment to cut unnecessary spend- package would cost
ing, Obama will pay for this tax relief at least $1 trillion in eXtra coPies availaBle
while bringing down the budget deficit.” new spending over ➧ Additional copies of this issue of The
(BarackObama.com “Taxes” page) 10 years, according New AmericAN are available at quantity-
Track Record: While candidate Obama to the Congressional discount prices. To place your order, visit
promised overall spending cuts and lower Budget Office. Most www.shopjbs.org or see the card between
tax revenues, President Obama’s fiscal 2010 or all of that figure pages 34-35.
16 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
19. terrorism
No State Sponsors,
No Terror
For 30 years Iran has been the leading state sponsor of global terror — with Syria, Cuba,
and North Korea as helpmates. But behind them have been the terror masters of the
Soviet KGB, and its renamed successor, the Russian FSB.
by William F. Jasper photos, or issue audio or video recordings terrorist acts ranging from the car bomb-
to Al Jazeerah media outlets. He rarely ings of the Israeli embassy and the Jewish
“All warfare is based on deception.” broke cover, was always on the move, and cultural center in Argentina in the early
— The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, reportedly never slept in the same bed two 1990s, to the World Trade Center bomb-
Chinese General, military strategist nights in a row. Only a few photographs ing of 1993; the Khobar Towers suicide
(sixth century B.C.) of him are known to exist despite his hav- bombing in Saudi Arabia in 1996; the U.S.
ing cut an unparalleled swath of terror embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanza-
I
t was late in the evening of February over the previous 25 years. Yet he was at nia in 1998; the 2000 suicide attack on the
12, 2008 when the bearded, pudgy, the apex of the global terrorist pyramid, USS Cole in Aden, Yemen; and the 9/11
middle-aged man left a meeting at sitting with bin Laden on the super-secret attacks in 2001. The 9/11 Commission
an Iranian school in the quiet Kfar Suseh Committee of Three. Report’s references (pages 240-241) to “a
neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, and Imad Mugniyeh burst onto the interna- senior Hezbollah operative” shepherding
walked to his car, which was parked on the tional terrorist scene in 1983 with a series the future 9/11 hijackers in and out of Iran
street. No sooner had he climbed into his of spectacular, deadly bombings aimed at refer to Mugniyeh, say inside sources.
Mitsubishi Pajero than the vehicle erupted driving U.S. forces out of Lebanon. At the Osama bin Laden spoke admiringly of
in a mighty blast, killing him instantly. A time he was a mere 20 years old, but was Mugniyeh’s lethal handiwork and in 1993
few hours later, consumers of the morning already a veteran of many terrorist actions. met with Mugniyeh in Khartoum, Sudan,
news learned the identity of the car-bomb The 1983 Beirut suicide bombings includ- to form a working alliance. That historic
victim. It was none other than the elu- ed the April 18 U.S. Embassy (63 killed); meeting was brokered by Ali Mohamed,
sive Hezbollah terror master, Imad Fayez the October 23 U.S. Marine barracks (241 bin Laden’s master spy/double agent in-
Mugniyeh, one of the most hunted — and killed); and the October 23 French para- side the FBI, whose story is told in rivet-
most dangerous — men on the planet. trooper barracks (58 killed). A litany of ing detail in Peter Lance’s newly released
Unlike his better-known terrorist col- bombings, hijackings, kidnappings, and Triple Cross (reviewed in The New Amer-
leagues, Osama bin Laden and Ayman assassinations followed, with an ever in- icAN, August 17, 2009).
al-Zawahiri, Mugniyeh shunned public- creasing body count. He has been credited The question that dominated the news
ity. He didn’t give interviews, pose for with masterminding and/or participating in headlines and the blogosphere in the im-
Call 1-800-727-TRUE to subscribe today! 17
20. terrorism
mediate aftermath of Mugni- sheikh Hassan Nasrallah,
yeh’s assassination was: who Hezbollah’s general secretary,
did it? No one claimed credit shown here broadcast on a giant
for the deed. The most likely screen in Beirut, with an image
suspect, and the one most of slain Hezbollah terrorist Imad
often cited, was the Israeli Mugniyeh over his shoulder.
Mossad. Some pointed to the
CIA (and/or the FBI, which
had placed a $5 million boun- and other wanted terrorists.
ty on Mugniyeh). Some sug- And Hezbollah, mimicking its
gested a joint Mossad/CIA masters, has voiced the same
operation. However, some in absurd denials. “For its part,
the Islamic world pointed to Hezbollah has consistently
intelligence agencies of Arab denied the existence of any
nations that had their own relationship with Mugniyeh,
reasons for wanting to “take direct or indirect,” notes Judith
out” Mugniyeh. Considerable Palmer Harik in her 2005 book
suspicion in the Arab-world Hezbollah: The Changing
press focused also on Syria Face of Terrorism. “As a mat-
as the perpetrator, while some ter of record,” she continues,
speculated that Iran might “from the time of the party’s
even be responsible. It was inception, all Hezbollah offi-
reported in some press and in- cials have emphatically denied
telligence blog accounts that ever knowing a person by the
on the night of his execution name of Imad Mugniyeh.” But
AP Images
by car bomb, Mugniyeh had as Harik points out, it is “im-
just concluded a meeting with possible for any member of
Hamas leaders, Syrian intel- Hezbollah’s present leadership
ligence officials, and Iran’s new ambas- though it would seem the preponderance of to deny knowing Mugniyeh, since all of
sador to Damascus, on the occasion of the evidence points toward Tel Aviv. But a far them are known to have been intimately in-
29th anniversary of the Iranian revolution more important question than who killed volved with the day-to-day functions of the
(February 12, 1979). And the meeting at Imad Mugniyeh is: who was he working Baalbek training camps,” where Mugniyeh
the school was but a short distance from for? Terrorism is a form of warfare, the played a major role in preparing terrorist
a Syrian intelligence center in Syria’s ultimate in asymmetric, unconventional cadres for their deadly trade.
tightly controlled police-state. warfare. And to it, Sun Tzu’s maxim that However, at Mugniyeh’s funeral, all
As the most notorious operational leader “all warfare is based on deception” applies those who had been denying connec-
of Hezbollah, with whom Israel has battled in spades. Terrorists do not wear uniforms, tions to him for years — Hezbollah, Iran,
for decades, Mugniyeh was, understand- carry their banners openly, fight on the Syria — let their masks fall (partially) to
ably, a prime target for the Mossad. He open battlefield, or directly confront the claim him as their own and eulogize him
has also been a major thorn in the sides military of their adversaries; their entire as a martyr. Iranian President Mahmoud
of Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Egypt, and modus operandi is one of secrecy, stealth, Ahmadinejad eulogized him as “an out-
Saudi Arabia, all of which had good rea- and deception, especially in this age of standing leader from Hizballah.” Iran’s
sons for wanting him dead. But Syria and satellite surveillance, computer data min- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran? They were his longtime sponsors. ing, and pervasive electronic eavesdrop- praised him as “an example for the young
Precisely. And as some terrorism experts ping. They are particularly conscious of generation to follow.” Lebanese Hezbol-
have argued (Kenneth Timmerman, for protecting their subterranean networks lah’s General Secretary, Sheikh Hassan
one), Tehran and Damascus have been anx- and concealing all trails that might lead Nasrallah, used Mugniyeh’s funeral to
ious that Mugniyeh’s ties to 9/11 and other back to their state sponsors. And their state threaten a retaliatory all-out war against
terror acts may be used by Washington to sponsors, mindful of the global reach of Israel. “With this murder, its timing, loca-
justify military attacks on Iran and Syria. assassin teams and GPS-guided precision tion and method — Zionists, if you want
missiles, are even more highly motivated this kind of open war, let the whole world
whose man was He? to maintain “plausible deniability” by listen: Let this war be open!”
So, did Mugniyeh’s death represent a vic- structuring their ties to terrorists through The deception regarding Mugniyeh is
tory by Israel, the United States, or an Arab several layers of surrogates. duplicated again with regard to Hezbol-
state over a longtime, implacable foe? Or Thus we have witnessed for years an lah’s ties to terror, as well as its crucial
was it a clean-up operation by Syria or ongoing charade in which Iran and Syria ties to Damascus and Tehran. According to
Iran? This writer does not claim to know, have claimed to have no ties to Mugniyeh its leaders, as well as its many advocates
18 THE NEW AMERICAN • AugusT 31, 2009
