Bush's Mysterious 'New Programs'

[spillthebeans]

Not that George W. Bush needs much encouragement, but Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a new target for the administration’s domestic operations -- Fifth Columnists, supposedly disloyal Americans who sympathize and collaborate with the enemy.

“The administration has not only the right, but the duty, in my opinion, to pursue Fifth Column movements,” Graham, R-S.C., told Gonzales during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Feb. 6.

“I stand by this President’s ability, inherent to being Commander in Chief, to find out about Fifth Column movements, and I don’t think you need a warrant to do that,” Graham added, volunteering to work with the administration to draft guidelines for how best to neutralize this alleged threat.

“Senator,” a smiling Gonzales responded, “the President already said we’d be happy to listen to your ideas.”

In less paranoid times, Graham’s comments might be viewed by many Americans as a Republican trying to have it both ways – ingratiating himself to an administration of his own party while seeking some credit from Washington centrists for suggesting Congress should have at least a tiny say in how Bush runs the War on Terror.

But recent developments suggest that the Bush administration may already be contemplating what to do with Americans who are deemed insufficiently loyal or who disseminate information that may be considered helpful to the enemy.

Top U.S. officials have cited the need to challenge news that undercuts Bush’s actions as a key front in defeating the terrorists, who are aided by “news informers” in the words of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Detention Centers

Plus, there was that curious development in January when the Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with “an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs,” KBR said.

Later, the New York Times reported that “KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space.”

Like most news stories on the KBR contract, the Times focused on concerns about Halliburton’s reputation for bilking U.S. taxpayers by overcharging for sub-par services.

“It’s hard to believe that the administration has decided to entrust Halliburton with even more taxpayer dollars,”
remarked Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California.

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it's old news, but was reposted on 23.11.06 at
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/11/24/bush_s_mysterious_new_programs_1

[sui generis]

1. Gonzales can sit and spin

FIRST OF ALL there is a vastly MISTAKEN assumption that the military would blindly go along with rounding up fellow Americans, or that we ourselves would tolerate "desapericidos" in our own families and communities. There are no clear social or cultural divisions that would allow the "enforcers" of the law to feel ideologically separate from the the people they were rounding up.

Secondly, there are 300 million Americans. All told we may have a standing army of between one and two million soldiers and national guard. Gonzales may be really good at black hearted evil, but his math could use some brushing up. It's a lot easier to jail a handful of corrupt politicians than it is to jail half the population. He might start some soulsearching thinking on that topic.

Third of all, in a democratically controlled congress, I'd suggest that republican blowhards are at much greater risk of the "threat" of being rounded up and disappeared than we are. Just to make them squirm a little.

The sky is not falling.

[loves_dulcinea]

4. i'm ashamed to say it, but,

looking at the people here in south carolina, there's no way in hell our little drama queen will go down. he's our next strom (judging by the fuck-tards that surround me on any given day). there really aren't very many open minded people around here at all.

[jannyk]

2. They can't build them

big enough or fast enough to hold everyone. Hell, there's 98,000 of us alone.

As for the illegal immigrant excuse though, don't illegals get deported rather than imprisoned?

I wonder what the real story is?

[spillthebeans]

3. It's only #14 at Project Censored

http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2007/index.htm#14


Sources:
New America Media, January 31, 2006
Title: “Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps”
Author: Peter Dale Scott

New America Media, February 21, 2006
Title: “10-Year US Strategic Plan for Detention Camps Revives Proposals from Oliver North”
Author: Peter Dale Scott

Consortiium, February 21, 2006
Title: “Bush's Mysterious ‘New Programs’”
Author: Nat Parry

Buzzflash
Title: “Detention Camp Jitters”
Author: Maureen Farrell

Community Evaluator: Dr. Gary Evans
Student Researchers: Sean Hurley and Caitlyn Peele

[onethatcares]

5. well hell yeah,

those pesky people that threaten the WTO and have the gumption to hold signs along motorcade routes have to be put in their place. If the government has to build those places with KBR help, well that's life.

There's an interesting article in todays' St Petersburg Times metro section about the haves and the have mores. Seems the people with 700K houses don't want the riff raff with 600K houses going thru their neighborhoods. So, they built what one homeowner claimed to be what they wanted in the first place, 'A TOTALLY GATED COMMUNITY'. These people are crazy, and they have the money to say they don't want to see folks like us (I mean we're really low on the feeding chain to them) So, they wouldn't miss us, or care if we were rounded up and disappeared.