A Piece about Iranian Resistance in Iraq In Kirk Tanter's Blog which is worth reading

26 AUGUST 2009

Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy is dead

Statement from Marc H. Morial,
President and CEO, National Urban League
on the Death of Senator Edward Kennedy

Sen. Edward Kennedy - A True Civil Rights Champion"

The National Urban League joins the nation in mourning the loss of Senator Edward Kennedy.Sen. Kennedy leaves a legacy that will live on for many years to come. He was a true champion and one of the most important advocates of civil rights.As one of the last U.S. Senators who fought for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sen. Kennedy stood for many of the same rights that we fight for daily - equality, education, employment, and healthcare.Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Kennedy family."



below story by CNN

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77.


"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," a family statement said. "We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice."

President Obama learned about Kennedy's death at 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to a senior administration official. Obama later called Kennedy's widow to offer condolences.

In a statement, Obama says: "An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time."

Kennedy, nicknamed "Ted," was the younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, who was gunned down while seeking the White House in 1968.



However, his own presidential aspirations were hobbled by the controversy around a 1969 auto accident that left a young woman dead, and a 1980 primary challenge to then-President Jimmy Carter that ended in defeat.



But while the White House eluded his grasp, the longtime Massachusetts senator was considered one of the most effective legislators of the past few decades. Kennedy, who became known as the "Lion of the Senate," played major roles in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, and was an outspoken liberal standard-bearer during a conservative-dominated era from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Watch retrospective on Kennedy's storied career »

"He was probably best known for the ability to work with Republicans," said Adam Clymer, Kennedy's biographer. "The Republican Party raised hundreds of millions of dollars with direct appeal to protect the country from Ted Kennedy, but there was never a piece of legislation that he ever got passed without a major Republican ally."

Kennedy recently urged Massachusetts officials to change a law to allow for an immediate temporary replacement should a vacancy occur for one of his state's two Senate seats.Watch why Kennedy sought change in state law »

Under a 2004 Massachusetts law, a special election must be held 145 to 160 days after a Senate seat becomes vacant. The winner of the election would serve the remainder of a senator's unexpired term.

Kennedy asked Gov. Deval Patrick and state leaders to "amend the law through the normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial appointment until the special election occurs," according to the letter, dated July 2. Read Kennedy's letter

Kennedy suffered a seizure in May 2008 at his home on Cape Cod. Shortly after, doctors diagnosed a brain tumor -- a malignant glioma in his left parietal lobe.

Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, removed as much of the tumor as possible the following month. Doctors considered the procedure a success, and Kennedy underwent follow-up radiation treatments and chemotherapy.



A few weeks later, he participated in a key vote in the Senate. He also insisted on making a brief but dramatic appearance at the 2008 Democratic convention, a poignant moment that brought the crowd to its feet and tears to many eyes. Kennedy died one year to the day after that appearance.

"I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States," Kennedy told fellow Democrats in a strong voice.

Kennedy's early support for Obama was considered a boon for the candidate, then a first-term senator from Illinois locked in a tough primary battle against former first lady Hillary Clinton. Kennedy predicted Obama's victory and pledged to be in Washington in January when Obama assumed office -- and he was, though he was hospitalized briefly after suffering a seizure during a post-inaugural luncheon.

Kennedy was one of only six senators in U.S. history to serve more than 40 years. He was elected to eight full terms to become the second most-senior senator after West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd.

He launched his political career in 1962, when he was elected to finish the unexpired Senate term of his brother, who became president in 1960. He won his first full term in 1964.
He seemed to have a bright political future, and many Democratic eyes turned to him after the killings of his brothers. But a July 18, 1969, car wreck on Chappaquiddick Island virtually ended his ambitions.

After a party for women who had worked on his brother Robert's presidential campaign, Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick, off Cape Cod and across a narrow channel from Martha's Vineyard. While Kennedy managed to escape, his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned.

In a coroner's inquest, he denied having been drunk, and said he made "seven or eight" attempts to save Kopechne before exhaustion forced him to shore. Although he sought help from friends at the party, Kennedy did not report the accident to police until the following morning.

Kennedy eventually pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. In a televised address to residents of his home state, Kennedy called his conduct in the hours following the accident "inexplicable" and called his failure to report the wreck immediately "indefensible."

Despite the dent in his reputation and career, Kennedy remained in American politics and went on to win seven more terms in the Senate. Kennedy championed social causes and was the author of "In Critical Condition: The Crisis in America's Health Care." He served as chairman of the Judiciary and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committees and was the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary and Armed Services committees during periods when Republicans controlled the chamber.

Obama named Kennedy as one of 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. A White House statement explained that the 2009 honorees "were chosen for their work as agents of change."

"Senator Kennedy has dedicated his career to fighting for equal opportunity, fairness and justice for all Americans. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that every American has access to quality and affordable health care, and has succeeded in doing so for countless children, seniors, and Americans with disabilities. He has called health care reform the "cause of his life."

Born in Boston on February 22, 1932, Edward Moore Kennedy was the last of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, a prominent businessman and Democrat, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Joseph Kennedy served as ambassador to Britain before World War II and pushed his sons to strive for the presidency, a burden "Teddy" bore for much of his life as the only surviving Kennedy son.

His oldest brother, Joe Jr., died in a plane crash during World War II when Kennedy was 12. John was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963, and Robert was killed the night of the California primary in 1968.

Ted Kennedy delivered Robert's eulogy, urging mourners to remember him as "a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it; who saw suffering and tried to heal it; who saw war and tried to stop it."

The family was plagued with other tragedies as well. One sister, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash in 1948. Another sister, Rosemary, was born mildly retarded, but was institutionalized after a botched lobotomy in 1941. She died in 2005 after more than 60 years in mental hospitals.
Joseph Kennedy was incapacitated by a stroke in 1961 and died in November 1969, leaving the youngest son as head of the family. He was 37.

"I can't let go," Kennedy once told an aide. "If I let go, Ethel (Robert's widow) will let go, and my mother will let go, and all my sisters."

His sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died August 11. The ailing senator was unable to attend her funeral. His mother, Rose Kennedy, died in Hyannis Port at age 104 in 1995.

Kennedy himself survived a 1964 plane crash that killed an aide, suffering a broken back in the accident. But he recovered to lead the seemingly ill-starred clan through a series of other tragedies: Robert Kennedy's son David died of a drug overdose in a Florida hotel in 1984; another of Robert's sons, Michael, was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado in 1997; and John's son John Jr., his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died in a 1999 plane crash off Martha's Vineyard.

In addition, his son Edward Jr. lost a leg to cancer in the 1970s, and daughter Kara survived a bout with the disease in the early 2000s.

Kennedy was forced to testify about a bar-hopping weekend that led to sexual battery charges against his nephew, William Kennedy Smith. Smith was acquitted in 1991 of charges that he raped a woman he met while at a Florida nightclub with the senator and his son Patrick, now a Rhode Island congressman.



Like brothers John and Robert, Edward Kennedy attended Harvard. He studied in the Netherlands before earning a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School, and worked in the district attorney's office in Boston before entering politics.

Kennedy is survived by his second wife, Victoria Ann Reggie Kennedy, whom he married in 1992; his first wife, Joan Bennett; and five children -- Patrick, Kara and Edward Jr. from his first marriage, and Curran and Caroline Raclin from his second.

25 AUGUST 2009

The Iranian Divide

Press Release Contact: Prof. Raymond Tanter
For Immediate Release 202-320-8434
21 August 2009 rtanter@iranpolicy.org


Tehran Orders Baghdad to Attack Iranian Dissidents: Washington Ponders


Washington, DC—The United States Government is considering options regarding the main Iranian opposition group based in Iraq, in light of its members’ status as “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention and in the wake of ongoing attacks on the group by Iraqi Security Forces that killed 11 and wounded hundreds more. The raid on the Iranian dissidents has already generated criticism of the U.S. Government for its conduct in light of the attack. Various players are proposing different options. Some, including Tehran, propose dispersal of the Iranian dissidents within Iraq or their repatriation to Iran, while others suggest a temporary resumption of U.S. military protection for them.

Meanwhile, intelligence reports from the Iranian opposition indicate that because of the very weak response of the United States regarding the 28 and 29 July attacks by Iraq Security Forces against Camp Ashraf, both Baghdad and Tehran may conclude that they have a free hand to act against the Iranian dissidents. Reports indicate that the number of Iraqi Forces and their equipment have not decreased both inside and outside of Ashraf since the 28 July attack, as more equipment is being added. Some estimates of Iraqi Security Forces present at Camp Ashraf range from 1,500 to 2,000. Absent guidance to intervene from Washington, U.S. commanders based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Grizzly at Ashraf may again stand idle if Iraqi Security Forces make another deadly attack against the unarmed women and men residing at Camp Ashraf.

According to IPC President and former member of the National Security Council Staff at the White House, Professor Raymond Tanter, “The United States, as an Occupying Power, was responsible for the security of ‘protected persons’ in Iraq, including the Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf. The United States can only transfer responsibility for such protection to another state party to the Geneva Convention that guarantees their ‘protected persons’ status. Although Iraq gave the United States such assurances, Baghdad obviously has no intention of abiding by its promises. According to Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, if the state that assumes authority does not honor its obligations, the transferring Power—in this case the United States—is obliged to ‘take effective measures to correct the situation, or shall request the return of the protected persons…Such request must be complied with.’”

General Thomas McInerney (Lt Gen, US Air Force Ret, chair of the IPC Advisory Council), stated that “It would be outrageous for the U.S. military to shirk its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention by allowing the Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf to be dispersed throughout Iraq or repatriated to Iran. Adherence to international law by American forces is essential to ensuring that our own troops are treated consistently with their international legal rights. Dispersal would leave Iranian dissidents vulnerable to attacks by the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has operatives in Iraq ready to kidnap Iranian dissidents and bring them to Iran for torture and execution. Repatriation would be a ‘legal’ way to accomplish the same objective of Tehran—eliminating the main Iranian opposition.”

Regarding the Iraqi Security Forces attack on Camp Ashraf, MG Paul Vallely (US Army Ret, IPC Advisory Council) said, “Bringing the United States in line with its international legal obligations requires ensuring that Iranian dissidents, who have ‘protected persons’ status, are not attacked again. Repatriation, dispersal, and continued attacks can only be avoided if the United States temporarily resumes its protective role at Camp Ashraf until there is a negotiated solution acceptable to the major players. If Washington continues to ponder while Tehran-inspired assaults against Ashraf continue, there will be a humanitarian disaster for which the U.S. Government may be held responsible.”

R. Bruce McColm, President of the Institute for Democratic Strategies, IPC Board of Directors said, “The events following Iran’s June 2009 Presidential election make clear that forcible elimination of political opponents takes priority over human rights reputation. If that were not enough, the violent attack by Iraqi Security Forces on the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) at Camp Ashraf, at the behest of Tehran, should dispel any expectation of humane treatment of repatriated MEK members. At the very least, it should make clear that MEK members have a legitimate fear of persecution if sent to Iran.”

According to Professor Raymond Tanter, “During October 2008, an Iran Policy Committee delegation traveled to Iraq to conduct research, which I authored in a book, President Obama and Iraq, 2009. This field research provided interview evidence that confirmed inferences made on the basis of primary source documents, reported in an earlier IPC book I coauthored with IPC colleagues, Baghdad Ablaze. Virtually every Iraqi interviewed by the IPC pointed to the same antidote to Iranian regime infiltration of Iraq: Iranian dissident members of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) based at Camp Ashraf, Iraq.”

Prof. Tanter stated, “Iraqis and U.S. military personnel also credited the MEK with a key role in helping the formation of Sunni Awakening Councils. The MEK worked to reconcile Sunnis with U.S. forces and convinced many Sunnis to participate in Iraq’s political process. The political impact of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq in Iraq extended beyond relations between Sunnis and the U.S. military to reconciliation among Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Shiite Arabs. Without such MEK intervention, there is likely to be not only an explosion of Sunni assaults against U.S. Forces but also Shiite attacks against our forces using Iranian weapons, as is taking place in southern Iraq by Shiites.”

24 AUGUST 2009

Department of Justice officially announce Special Task Force on Interrogations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, August 24, 2009

AG(202) 514-2007TDD (202) 514-1888

Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies Issues Its Recommendations to the President

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies, which was created pursuant to Executive Order 13491 on Jan. 22, 2009, has proposed that the Obama Administration establish a specialized interrogation group to bring together officials from law enforcement, the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense to conduct interrogations in a manner that will strengthen national security consistent with the rule of law.

The Task Force also made policy recommendations with respect to scenarios in which the United States moves or facilitates the movement of a person from one country to another or from U.S. custody to the custody of another country to ensure that U.S. practices in such transfers comply with U.S. law, policy and international obligations and do not result in the transfer of individuals to face torture.

"The new policies proposed by the Task Force will allow us to draw the best personnel from across the government to conduct interrogations that will yield valuable intelligence and strengthen our national security," said Attorney General Holder. "There is no tension between strengthening our national security and meeting our commitment to the rule of law, and these new policies will accomplish both."

Interrogations

After extensively consulting with representatives of the Armed Forces, the relevant agencies in the Intelligence Community, and some of the nation’s most experienced and skilled interrogators, the Task Force concluded that the Army Field Manual provides appropriate guidance on interrogation for military interrogators and that no additional or different guidance was necessary for other agencies. These conclusions rested on the Task Force’s unanimous assessment, including that of the Intelligence Community, that the practices and techniques identified by the Army Field Manual or currently used by law enforcement provide adequate and effective means of conducting interrogations.

The Task Force concluded, however, that the United States could improve its ability to interrogate the most dangerous terrorists by forming a specialized interrogation group, or High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), that would bring together the most effective and experienced interrogators and support personnel from across the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense and law enforcement. The creation of the HIG would build upon a proposal developed by the Intelligence Science Board.

To accomplish that goal, the Task Force recommended that the HIG should coordinate the deployment of mobile teams of experienced interrogators, analysts, subject matter experts and linguists to conduct interrogations of high-value terrorists if the United States obtains the ability to interrogate them. The primary goal of this elite interrogation group would be gathering intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks and otherwise to protect national security. Advance planning and interagency coordination prior to interrogations would also allow the United States, where appropriate, to preserve the option of gathering information to be used in potential criminal investigations and prosecutions.

The Task Force recommended that the specialized interrogation group be administratively housed within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with its principal function being intelligence gathering, rather than law enforcement. Moreover, the Task Force recommended that the group be subject to policy guidance and oversight coordinated by the National Security Council.

The Task Force also recommended that this specialized interrogation group develop a set of best practices and disseminate these for training purposes among agencies that conduct interrogations. In addition, the Task Force recommended that a scientific research program for interrogation be established to study the comparative effectiveness of interrogation approaches and techniques, with the goal of identifying the existing techniques that are most effective and developing new lawful techniques to improve intelligence interrogations.

Transfers

The Task Force also made policy recommendations with respect to scenarios in which the United States moves or facilitates the movement of a person from one country to another or from U.S. custody to the custody of another country to ensure that U.S. practices in such transfers comply with U.S. law, policy and international obligations and do not result in the transfer of individuals to face torture. In keeping with the broad language of the Executive Order, the Task Force considered seven types of transfers conducted by the U.S. government: extradition, transfers pursuant to immigration proceedings, transfers pursuant to the Geneva Conventions, transfers from Guantanamo Bay, military transfers within or from Afghanistan, military transfers within or from Iraq, and transfers pursuant to intelligence authorities.

When the United States transfers individuals to other countries, it may rely on assurances from the receiving country. The Task Force made several recommendations aimed at clarifying and strengthening U.S. procedures for obtaining and evaluating those assurances. These included a recommendation that the State Department be involved in evaluating assurances in all cases and a recommendation that the Inspector Generals of the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security prepare annually a coordinated report on transfers conducted by each of their agencies in reliance on assurances.

The Task Force also made several recommendations aimed at improving the United States’ ability to monitor the treatment of individuals transferred to other countries. These include a recommendation that agencies obtaining assurances from foreign countries insist on a monitoring mechanism, or otherwise establish a monitoring mechanism, to ensure consistent, private access to the individual who has been transferred, with minimal advance notice to the detaining government.

The Task Force also made a series of recommendations that are specific to immigration proceedings and military transfer scenarios. In addition, the Task Force made classified recommendations that are designed to ensure that, should the Intelligence Community participate in or otherwise support a transfer, any affected individuals are subjected to proper treatment.

Background Information

The Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies is chaired by the Attorney General, with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense serving as Co-Vice-Chairs. Other members of the Task Force are the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Each of these officials appointed senior-level representatives to serve on a working-level task force to complete the work of the Executive Order.

The Executive Order directed the Task Force to study and evaluate "whether the interrogation practices and techniques in Army Field Manual 2-22.3, when employed by departments and agencies outside the military, provide an appropriate means of acquiring the intelligence necessary to protect the Nation, and, if warranted, to recommend any additional or different guidance for other departments or agencies."

The Task Force was also directed to study and evaluate "the practices of transferring individuals to other nations in order to ensure that such practices comply with the domestic laws, international obligations, and policies of the United States and do not result in the transfer of individuals to other nations to face torture or otherwise for the purpose, or with the effect, of undermining or circumventing the commitments or obligations of the United States to ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody and control."