Asesinar a los estadounidenses es “legal”, “sabio” y “ético”

POR LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | FEBRERO 10, 2013

La oficina legal de la Casa Blanca ha establecido que es legal matar a un ciudadano de los EE.UU. en el extranjero “si un miembro del gobierno” asegura que el objetivo de matar a alguien que representa una “amenaza inminente para el país” es más eficaz que su captura. La Casa Blanca ha dejado claro esta decisión a través de su portavoz, Jay Carney. “El presidente tiene mucho cuidado al llevar a cabo la guerra contra el terrorismo de conformidad con la Constitución y las leyes”, dijo Carney.

La licencia para matar que ha dado el permiso de la administración Obama para acabar con las vidas de los estadounidenses en el extranjero fue expuesta después de que un documento de 16 páginas creado por el Departamento de Justicia estadounidense se hizo público. El documento afirma que asesinar a estadounidenses no viola la Constitución de los EE.UU. o los derechos de los ciudadanos.

En el memorando se extiende el concepto de “ataque inminente” y otorga al Gobierno de los EE.UU. la autoridad, en caso de tener “evidencia concreta” de una conspiración para buscar, localizar y matar a los estadounidenses que la Administración considere peligrosos para los intereses estadounidenses. Aunque en el documento se describen como posibles sospechosos miembros de Al Qaeda, o personas que están a cargo de las operaciones terroristas, lo cierto es que otros documentos, como manuales militares retratan a ciudadanos constitucionalistas, libertarios, partidarios de Ron Paul, propietarios de armas y veteranos como amenazas domésticas que también pueden ser blanco de asesinato. De hecho, en 2012, el gobierno de Obama y el Congreso de EE.UU. aprobaron la Ley de Autorización de Defensa Nacional, que también permite al presidente asesinar estadounidenses en territorio de EE.UU..

El documento obtenido por NBC News es parte de un memorando legal de 2011 que se pasó a algunos de los miembros de las comisiones de Justicia y de Inteligencia del Senado. Este informe fue escrito meses antes de ponerse en marcha los ataques con aviones no tripulados en Yemen, en un supuesto intento de evitar inminentes ataques terroristas contra los EE.UU. o sus intereses en la región. Uno de esos ataques fue utilizado para asesinar a un ciudadano nacido en los EE.UU. — Anwar Al Awlaki — que supuestamente era miembro de Al-Qaeda. Un detalle importante pero que se oculta en los reportes de la prensa corporativa, es que Awlaki cenó en el Pentágono con los miembros superiores del Departamento de Defensa días después de los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre. En realidad, Awlaki era un agente estadounidense en la región. Además de al-Awlaki, otros tres estadounidenses murieron en el ataque, entre ellos el hijo del clérigo de 16 años de edad.

Según organizaciones de derechos humanos en los EE.UU., Awlaki sufrió una ejecución extrajudicial, por lo que presentaron quejas contra el gobierno exigiendo saber cual había sido la base legal para esta acción. Awlaki era un ciudadano estadounidense, a quien le gustaba predicar la yihad mientras se refugió en Yemen. Esto significa que él debía haber sido detenido y enjuiciado, dándole la oportunidad de ser juzgado como lo manda la ley.

La Administración de Obama, con el apoyo de varias sentencias judiciales, rechazó repetidamente las solicitudes de los legisladores, grupos de derechos civiles y organizaciones para dar a conocer los estatutos y otra información sobre los eventos extrajudiciales. La administración también se negó a reconocer la existencia de estos eventos.

“Estos ataques con aviones no tripulados son legales, éticos e inteligentes”, dijo el portavoz de la Casa Blanca. Ahora que el memorando se ha hecho público, Washington tendrá sus manos llenas por un escándalo que no se esperaba.

La administración “es muy cuidadosa” al momento de decidir a quién y cuándo atacar, señaló Carney.

Después de contestar las preguntas de la prensa de la Casa Blanca, Carney fue interrogado acerca de si un joven de 16 años de edad, que murió por el ataque teledirigido que mató a Awlaki, también representaba una amenaza para los Estados Unidos. “Para un presidente que se opone a la tortura y que considera que el ahogamiento simulado como tal, no es una violación de los derechos humanos matar a un ciudadano estadounidense sin juicio?

La semana pasada, el Congreso estadounidense realizó audiencias para confirmar confirmar al hombre elegido por el presidente Obama para encabezar la CIA. John Brennan, uno de los promotores de la estrategia de los ataques con aviones no tripulados y actual asesor anti terrorista de Obama se enfrentó a preguntas sobre la política del gobierno antes de su confirmación. Varios de los congresistas que cuestionaron a Brenan pidieron a la administración revelar los supuestos utilizados para aprobar los ataques con aviones no tripulados en lo que respecta a los ciudadanos estadounidenses.

La carta implicaba la más dura advertencia hecha hasta la fecha contra esa estrategia y senadores acordaron oponerse a las candidaturas para el Pentágono y la CIA, a menos que las notas se hicieran públicas. Por lo tanto, la confirmación de Brennan fue fácil.

Un documento emitido por el grupo de defensa de Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) afirmó que al menos 54 países colaboraron “activamente” con el programa secreto de detención ilegal de sospechosos de terrorismo desarrollados por la CIA después de los ataques del 11 de septiembre de 2001. Hoy hemos aprendido que oficialmente esta lista incluye al infame aliado de EE.UU. en el Oriente Medio: Arabia Saudita.

El informe es de más de 200 páginas establece que la administración de George W. Bush abrazó el “lado oscuro” para supuestamente combatir el terrorismo internacional. De acuerdo con el estudio, la administración republicana autorizó numerosas violaciónes de los derechos humanos sin tener en cuenta las leyes estadounidenses o internacionales.

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Assassinating Americans is ‘legal’, ‘wise’ and ‘ethical’

By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | FEBRUARY 6, 2013

The Law Office of the White House has established that it is legal to kill a U.S. citizen overseas “if a senior government member” ensures that the target to kill is someone who poses an “imminent threat to the country” and his capture is not possible. The White House has made that decision clear through spokesman, Jay Carney. “The president is very careful when conducting the war against terrorism in accordance to Constitution and the laws, ” Carney said.

The license to kill which has given the Obama administration permission to end the lives of Americans abroad was exposed after a 16 page document issued by the American Justice Department was made public. The document alleges that murdering Americans does not violate the U.S. Constitution or the rights of citizens.

The memorandum extends the concept of “imminent attack” and grants the U.S. Government the authority, should it have ‘concrete evidence’ of a conspiracy to seek, target and kill Americans which the administration considers dangerous for American interests. Although the document describes potential suspects as members of Al Qaeda, or people who are in charge of terrorist operations, the truth is that other documents such as military manuals portray Constitutionalists, Libertarians, Ron Paul supporters, gun owners and veterans as domestic threats who can also be targeted for assassination. In fact, in 2012, the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress approved the National Defense Authorization Act, which also allows the president to target and murder Americans on U.S. soil.

The paper obtained by NBC news is part of a legal memorandum from 2011 that was passed to some members of the Justice and Intelligence committees of the Senate. This report was written months before drone attacks were launched in Yemen, in a supposed attempt to prevent imminent terror attacks on the U.S. or its interests in the region. One of those attacks was used to murder a U.S. born citizen — Anwar Al Awlaki — who allegedly was a member of Al-Qaeda, but who also dined at the Pentagon with top members of the Department of Defense. In addition to al-Awlaki, three other Americans were killed in the attack, including the 16-year-old son of the cleric.

According to human rights organizations in the U.S., Awlaki suffered an extrajudicial killing and therefore they presented grievances against the government demanding to know what had been the legal basis for this action. Awlaki was an American citizen even if he liked to preach jihad and took refuge in Yemen, which made him subject of detention and a fair legal process that included a trial and chance of appeal.

The Obama Administration, supported by various court rulings – rejected repeatedly any request from lawmakers, civil rights groups and various media organizations to publicize the memorandum and other information on extrajudicial events. The administration also refused to recognize or acknowledged its existence.

“These drone attacks are legal, are ethical and intelligent”, replied the White House spokesman. Now that the memorandum has been made public, Washington will have its hands full over a scandal that it did not expect to deal with until NBC made the memo public.

The administration “is very careful” when deciding who and when to attack, Carney noted.

After answering questions from the White House press, Carney was questioned about whether the 16 year-old boy who was killed by the drone attack that killed Awlaki, also posed a threat to the United States. “For a president who opposes torture and who considers waterboarding as such, is it not a violation of human rights to kill an American citizen without trial?

Tomorrow, the first hearing will be held to confirm the man chosen by President Obama to head the CIA. John Brennan, one of the promoters of the strategy of drone attacks and current counter terrorism adviser to Obama will face questions regarding government policy before his confirmation is completed. In fact, 11 senators have already asked Obama to reveal the assumptions used to approve drone attacks when it comes to U.S. citizens.

The letter implied the toughest warning made to date against that strategy and senators agreed to oppose to any nominations for the Pentagon and the CIA unless the memos were made public. Therefore, Brennan’s confirmation will not be easy.

A document issued by the advocacy group Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) claimed that at least 54 countries collaborated “actively” with the secret program of illegal detention of suspected terrorists developed by the CIA after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Today, we have officially learned that this list includes infamous U.S. ally Saudi Arabia.

The report is over 200 pages and states that the administration of George W. Bush embraced the “dark side” to combat international terrorism. According to the study, the Republican administration authorized numerous violations of human rights without regard for U.S. or international laws.

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U.S. House approves legislation to give government blank check on debt ceiling

Proposal does not require a balanced budget or the reduction in government spending.

By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | JANUARY 24, 2013

The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress approved the bill exalted by the Republicans that will extend the debt ceiling and the debate about it until 19 May.

The motion, passed with 285 votes in favor – 86 democrats – and 144 against – 33 Republicans – will allow the Treasury to borrow money but states that both houses of Congress must pass a budget (the Senate did that during the first year of Barack Obama’s first term) or else their salaries will be withheld.

The Congress should meet before the end of February to agree to increase the limit on how much money the country can borrow so that the government can pay its bills and debts.

The time that Congress has given itself will allow lawmakers now devote their time and energy to battle about the size of the U.S. budget. John Boehner, chairman of the House, ‘convinced’ his fellow conservatives that his new strategy is an opportunity to achieve significant cuts in some state programs, such as Medicare, health care those related to the elderly.

Republicans and Democrats are focused on cutting funds from indispensable social programs, which in most cases are the only safety net for millions of Americans. Despite continues calls for the reduction in military spending, both parties have refused to cut expenses in that area, but do not hesitate to cut important programs such as health and medical care for Americans.

Democrats showed opposition to the Republican proposal, with Nancy Pelosi describing it as a “joke” and Steny Hoyer saying it was just a “political stunt” that would only perpetuate “uncertainty”. A small group of Democrats supported it because it avoids, at least for now, the threat of bankruptcy and divorces the issue from the debt ceiling which Republicans claim needs to be linked to a cut in expenses. The same law will have no trouble in the Senate, where its leader, Democrat Harry Reid, has already advanced that he will give the green light.

The White House also welcomed the measure approved Wednesday. In his daily briefing, the president’s spokesman, Jay Carney, said Tuesday that if it came to the Oval Office, Obama would not veto the law. The current debt ceiling is at $16.4 trillion and the Republican proposal does not specify another amount, which will allow the government to make permitted to make automatic increases to avoid bankruptcy. This means the U.S. will be able to officially spend its way into oblivion without any Congressional supervision.

The bill allows the government to borrow the money it needs to meet its obligations, including interest payments. However, this is not a blank check to the Treasury, sponsors say, which may not borrow extra funds during the period of suspension to meet the deficit of a trillion dollars in 2013. In practice, however, it does look like a blank check for the Treasury and the U.S. government to borrow indiscriminately up until 19 May. In one sense, Republicans, Democrats and the White House continue to kick the can down the road as no real solution is given to the debt and spending problems.

The House of Republicans have reiterated over the last two years that would not increase the debt ceiling unless this increase was accompanied by the same amount of spending costs. However, the law passed yesterday does not state that have the supposed balancing of the budget must occur.

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Obama to shield himself with children as he wages war on Second Amendment

By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | JANUARY 15, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama will present on Wednesday his list of proposals that will supposedly end gun violence in the United States.

During the announcement Barack Obama will be joined by Vice-president Joe Biden, the man he chose to hold talks with different social groups, before he handed Obama his review of the gun control issue. The U.S. President will shamelessly have by his side a group of children when he announces specific gun control measures which he believes will help end violence in schools, among other places.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney informed the media that Obama will continue to use children as instruments of policy, standing on the bodies of those murdered in the last shootings that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, Colorado and Oregon.

“They will be joined by children around the country expressing their concerns about gun violence and school safety, along with their parents,” said Carney.

“My understanding is the vice president’s going to provide a range of steps that we can take to reduce gun violence,” Obama said Monday. “Some of them will require legislation, some of them I can accomplish through executive action.

Among Joe Biden’s recommendations are to establishment of universal background checks, psychological test on all current and new gun owners, a prohibition on the same of high-capacity magazines and a ban on semi automatic weapons. Today, it has been revealed that Obama will also propose to do away with large purchases of bullets, although the Federal Government itself has bought over 1.2 billion bullets since 2012.

The U.S. puppet presidency ironically believes that by taking firearms off the hands of those who lawfully own them will help end violence in schools and other public places, while criminals continue to have full access to powerful firearms.

Politicians allied with the Obama administration as well as anti-Second Amendment groups call the proposals a “comprehensive approach”, but have not detailed much else beyond the leaked details about Biden’s recommendations and Obama’s public statements about how he will use his Executive Powers to limit the possession of firearms in the United States.

Neither Obama nor the U.S. Congress can legally impose bans on the Second Amendment or any other existing law. However, Obama has said repeatedly that in situations where Congress does not act, he will do so unilaterally. “The issue is: Are there some sensible steps that we can take to make sure that somebody like the individual in Newtown can’t walk into a school and gun down a bunch of children in a — in a shockingly rapid fashion?” Obama said Monday. “And surely we can do something about that.”

What Obama means with this statement is that a massive ban on the Second Amendment, which would punish lawful gun owners and the rest of the disarmed population, somehow is the solution to restrain criminals, who do not abide by any law.

Several Sheriffs  and Congressmen in the United States have warned Obama that an open attack on the Second Amendment will result in the initiation of impeachment proceedings and the nullification of unconstitutional Executive orders issued by Obama or any other branch of the Federal Government.

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Emails show that Obama Lied about Benghazi Attack

The White House learned almost immediately after the attack began and covered it up.

By MARK HOSENBALL | REUTERS | OCTOBER 24, 2012

Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.

The emails, obtained by Reuters from government sources not connected with U.S. spy agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that the Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.

The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even as it was still under way, to Washington.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Benghazi assault, which President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials ultimately acknowledged was a “terrorist” attack carried out by militants with suspected links to al Qaeda affiliates or sympathizers.

Administration spokesmen, including White House spokesman Jay Carney, citing an unclassified assessment prepared by the CIA, maintained for days that the attacks likely were a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim film.

While officials did mention the possible involvement of “extremists,” they did not lay blame on any specific militant groups or possible links to al Qaeda or its affiliates until intelligence officials publicly alleged that on September 28.

There were indications that extremists with possible al Qaeda connections were involved, but also evidence that the attacks could have erupted spontaneously, they said, adding that government experts wanted to be cautious about pointing fingers prematurely.

U.S. intelligence officials have emphasized since shortly after the attack that early intelligence reporting about the attack was mixed.

Spokesmen for the White House and State Department had no immediate response to requests for comments on the emails.

MISSIVES FROM LIBYA

The records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department’s Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11.

The first email, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time – or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began – carried the subject line “U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack” and the notation “SBU”, meaning “Sensitive But Unclassified.”

The text said the State Department’s regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was “under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well.”

The message continued: “Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four … personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support.”

A second email, headed “Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi” and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that “the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared.” It said a “response team” was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.

A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: “Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack.”

The message reported: “Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli.”

While some information identifying recipients of this message was redacted from copies of the messages obtained by Reuters, a government source said that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White House Situation Room, the president’s secure command post.

Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command center, the source said.

It was not known what other messages were received by agencies in Washington from Libya that day about who might have been behind the attacks.

Intelligence experts caution that initial reports from the scene of any attack or disaster are often inaccurate.

By the morning of September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack, Reuters reported that there were indications that members of both Ansar al-Sharia, a militia based in the Benghazi area, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African affiliate of al Qaeda’s faltering central command, may have been involved in organizing the attacks.

One U.S. intelligence official said that during the first classified briefing about Benghazi given to members of Congress, officials “carefully laid out the full range of sparsely available information, relying on the best analysis available at the time.”

The official added, however, that the initial analysis of the attack that was presented to legislators was mixed.

“Briefers said extremists were involved in attacks that appeared spontaneous, there may have been a variety of motivating factors, and possible links to groups such as (al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar al-Sharia) were being looked at closely,” the official said.