http://infowars.net/articles/july2007/230707ExecOrder.htm
Total Hypocrisy Of New Bush Executive Order
The only Americans destabilizing the peace in Iraq are the ones who invaded it
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Monday, July 23, 2007
President Bush's newest executive order states that any American citizen who threatens the peace and stability of Iraq and undermines efforts to promote reconstruction and reform there may have all their property and interests seized by the Treasury department without warning. The hypocrisy on display here is astounding given that the only persons in America who are doing these things are the ones who invaded Iraq in the first place and continue to sow chaos and destruction in the face of all time high public opposition.
The Executive Order titled 'Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq' was signed last week on the 17th of July and acts as an amendment to the National Emergencies Act.
While many have decried it as the latest in a string of legislation that constitutes a crack down on protest and free speech, few have pointed out the ultimate irony that under this order high ranking members of the Bush administration are the only ones that should be punishable.
The order focuses on
...acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq
stating that since such acts pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security" of the United States, "all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States" should be "blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in".
The order states that those who are subject to it include:
...any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:
(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;
(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or
(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
Which "persons" in America were the ones who, according to the National Intelligence director, manipulated and altered the intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons capabilities because they "didn't like the answers" they were provided, thus providing a pretext to undermine the stability of the government of Iraq in the first place?
Which "persons" in America are responsible for initiating a war which has seen somewhere in the region of 655, 000 innocent Iraqis lose their lives?
Which "persons" in the U.S. are responsible for the orchestration of Death squads in Iraq?
Which "persons" in America, according to high ranking army officials and investigators are responsible for operating coordinated torture programs throughout Iraq?
Who are the "persons" in the U.S. calling for the balkanization of Iraq and its dissolution into three territories, and which "persons" have formulated plans such as the Salvador Option and P2OG, the objective of which is to provoke violence and separation amongst Iraqi tribal groups?
Which "persons" in the US are responsible for constructing highly unpopular separating walls around Baghdad neighborhoods despite the continued protests of the Iraqi government?
Which "persons" in America are arming, training and funding Sunni insurgents, the very same people they are supposedly in pitched battle with?
Which "persons" in the U.S.are now reportedly planning to topple the democratically elected government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki because they are opposed to his strong criticism of widespread and unwarranted interference by Washington in Iraqi domestic affairs?
Which "persons" are responsible for sending a further fifty thousand troops into the country saying they wish to quell the violence but instead end up increasing it to all time highs?
So given all these facts, whose actions towards Iraq are responsible for endangering the national security of the U.S.and whose properties and interests should be at risk?
One thing is for sure, it's not peaceful anti-war protestors.
Showing posts with label Executive Order. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Executive Order. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The outlaw president outlaws all war protest
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2218.shtml
The outlaw president outlaws all war protest
By Jerry Mazza
Online Journal Associate Editor
Jul 23, 2007
I protest, as of the very first line of Bush’s July 17 “Executive Order” (meaning not necessarily read or approved by Congress). I protest this “Order,” which itself is in flagrant violation of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech, the press, and to protest, despite the fact that that right has been violated by various courts in various eras in contentious situations like the one we have today.
I protest also that the Bush “Order” sanctions its own unconstitutionality by invoking the Constitution for its enforcement in the first line: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America.” Remember the Constitution is the document Bush called “just a goddamned piece of paper,” as he went forth to dismiss the right of habeas corpus and fought for renewal of the illegal USAPATRIOT Act.
The outlaw protects his illegal war
Yet, in this new illegal stroke of a pen Bush outlaws all protest in the United States against his scurrilous Iraq war. And with this law, he turns all of us (US) who do not nod in bobble-doll agreement with him into “the enemy." That is, if any act [of ours], provision of funds, goods, or services by [which can he mean anything], to, or for the benefit of same threatens the ‘stabilization of Iraq,’ which can equally mean anything.
I also maintain that the ‘stabilization of Iraq’ can be best achieved by a quick and diplomatic withdrawal of all troops from that beleaguered country, whose physical, spiritual, and human toll is destabilized each additional day we remain there. Our stay encourages resistance, as does our asserting ourselves as ‘an occupying force.” What’s more, we have totally failed at replacing the infrastructure we destroyed, and we have depleted Iraq’s human resources due to death, disease, and flight.
Exactly what and who ‘destabilized’ Iraq?
Moreover, the ‘destabilization’ of Iraq was created by illegal means, by the assertion of Bush and his band of outlaws, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, et al, and their knowingly untruthful assertions that Iraq and Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical and biological, and were prepared to use them; and that, in fact, President Hussein had procured ‘yellow cake uranium from Niger” to use in the production of WMD for imminent use on America.
These assertions were proven to be a pack of lies by no less than Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had gone to Africa, found the “yellow cake” assertion to be fiction not fact, and asserted same in his New York Times op-ed, What I Didn’t Find in Africa. For this Wilson, an international business consultant and Untied States ambassador to Gabon from 1992 to 1995 had his wife, Valerie Plame, outed as a CIA officer, also jeopardizing the operatives working under her command. This ended her career not to mention endangering or ending the lives of those who worked for her.
In fact, outing a CIA officer is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. As is lying the United States into a unilateral, preemptive war a crime -- a war which drew the protests about its illegality from our allies and the United Nations.
Subsequently, the leaking of Valery Plame’s identity was traced to the office of Vice President Cheney, which begat a Department of Justice investigation into this crime, headed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. On October 28, 2005, the VP’s chief assistant, I. Lewis Libby, was amazingly the only one indicted for the crime of passing Plame’s name and identity along to news reporters. Libby was subsequently sentenced on June 14, 2007, to 30 months of prison time and a $250,000 fine. Quelle dommage as the French say -- what a horrible thing. Ah, but then not so horrible because President Bush amazingly commutated the felon’s sentence. And Bush might, given his kingly druthers, completely pardon Scooter.
Additionally, UN fact-finder Hans Blitz and his investigators could find no trace of facilities for the production of WMD throughout Iraq. Blitz’s lack of findings compounded the evidence of the high-crime of misleading America into war. And still no one was fully prosecuted and imprisoned for that crime, which borders on treason.
What about the outlaws’ involvement in 9/11?
Nor were there any firings, denunciations or prosecutions for the administration’s failures to prevent 9/11, which event wrongly contributed to the war on Iraq. Truly, quelle dommage, considering the largest intelligence organization in the world, the CIA, and the largest Department of Defense, with a compound budget of $600 billion plus, were unable to stop 19 rag-tag “terrorists” with box-cutters from cruising airliners-as-missiles into the World Trade Towers on 9/11. Could we possible have more outlaws at large here, above and beyond the seven of the purported hijackers living in the Middle East today?
In fact, at this point not only do I protest but I accuse the government of criminal negligence, if not active participation, in the execution of 9/11’s horrific events. These very events gave the Bush administration to complete their the coup d’etat.
This change gave the administration the power to first preemptively, illegally, declare war on Afghanistan and attack it, supposedly in search of Osama bin Laden, of whom a look-alike confessed to the crimes on a poorly made tape, most likely by the CIA. The day before 9/11, bin Laden had checked into a Pakistan hospital for his kidney condition. As of July 2001, he had entered the American hospital in Dubai for dialysis and met with his CIA handler; so much for homemade patsies and their producers. As to explanation of the events of 9/11, please take a look here at what really happened.
The larger outlaws’ purpose of 9/11
The larger purpose of 9/11 was to be the inciting incident to create “The War on Terror” to secure Afghanistan and build pipelines to tap the oil and gas of the Caspian Basin countries and send those precious resources down to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean for export. Of course, the larger purpose of invading Iraq was to secure its oil as well, and provide a steady flow for the Texas-driven, price-gouging outlaws and the insatiable thirst of their SUV-driving clientele, et al.
The Bush gang goes on and on, like the James brothers roaming across the spiky landscape of the Wild West, as of now the Wild Western World, hell-bent on demonizing and scape-goating Muslims, to keep Americans hungry for war with the world and their so-called attackers. This is for the purpose of creating a global American empire.
Thus 9/11 was a classic false-flag operation, ala Hitler’s Reichstag Fire, which I thoroughly protest, including the 3,000 lost souls on 9/11, the 3,800 American soldiers subsequently lost in Iraq, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans lost in their respective countries, and the squandering of some $650 billion dollars, if not more, to do so.
So add mass murder and colossal financial theft to the tab of the outlaws’ crimes, which have generated more Wanted-for-Impeachment posters on the Internet than ads to meet pretty singles.
Thus, given this egregious list of crimes, this endangerment of the US population, the wanton attacks on two countries, the raising of hostilities with Muslim countries worldwide, as well as with Russia and China, I refer to you for study, guidance and precedence for action, not just a piece of paper but The Declaration of Independence,
America’s first great legal document says . . .
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States . . ."
Do King George of England’s offenses sound like King George of America’s offenses?
“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.”
“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”
“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”
“He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”
“He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
“For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:”
“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:”
“For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:”
“He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation . . ."
“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. . . ."
If you feel King George of America has failed the Declaration of Independence’s litmus test to lead, perhaps you should continue to protest, and protest even more loudly for his impeachment, along with Vice President Cheney’s, so as to put an end to their remorseless tyranny.
Jerry Mazza is a freelance writer living in New York. Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.
The outlaw president outlaws all war protest
By Jerry Mazza
Online Journal Associate Editor
Jul 23, 2007
I protest, as of the very first line of Bush’s July 17 “Executive Order” (meaning not necessarily read or approved by Congress). I protest this “Order,” which itself is in flagrant violation of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech, the press, and to protest, despite the fact that that right has been violated by various courts in various eras in contentious situations like the one we have today.
I protest also that the Bush “Order” sanctions its own unconstitutionality by invoking the Constitution for its enforcement in the first line: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America.” Remember the Constitution is the document Bush called “just a goddamned piece of paper,” as he went forth to dismiss the right of habeas corpus and fought for renewal of the illegal USAPATRIOT Act.
The outlaw protects his illegal war
Yet, in this new illegal stroke of a pen Bush outlaws all protest in the United States against his scurrilous Iraq war. And with this law, he turns all of us (US) who do not nod in bobble-doll agreement with him into “the enemy." That is, if any act [of ours], provision of funds, goods, or services by [which can he mean anything], to, or for the benefit of same threatens the ‘stabilization of Iraq,’ which can equally mean anything.
I also maintain that the ‘stabilization of Iraq’ can be best achieved by a quick and diplomatic withdrawal of all troops from that beleaguered country, whose physical, spiritual, and human toll is destabilized each additional day we remain there. Our stay encourages resistance, as does our asserting ourselves as ‘an occupying force.” What’s more, we have totally failed at replacing the infrastructure we destroyed, and we have depleted Iraq’s human resources due to death, disease, and flight.
Exactly what and who ‘destabilized’ Iraq?
Moreover, the ‘destabilization’ of Iraq was created by illegal means, by the assertion of Bush and his band of outlaws, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, et al, and their knowingly untruthful assertions that Iraq and Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical and biological, and were prepared to use them; and that, in fact, President Hussein had procured ‘yellow cake uranium from Niger” to use in the production of WMD for imminent use on America.
These assertions were proven to be a pack of lies by no less than Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had gone to Africa, found the “yellow cake” assertion to be fiction not fact, and asserted same in his New York Times op-ed, What I Didn’t Find in Africa. For this Wilson, an international business consultant and Untied States ambassador to Gabon from 1992 to 1995 had his wife, Valerie Plame, outed as a CIA officer, also jeopardizing the operatives working under her command. This ended her career not to mention endangering or ending the lives of those who worked for her.
In fact, outing a CIA officer is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. As is lying the United States into a unilateral, preemptive war a crime -- a war which drew the protests about its illegality from our allies and the United Nations.
Subsequently, the leaking of Valery Plame’s identity was traced to the office of Vice President Cheney, which begat a Department of Justice investigation into this crime, headed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. On October 28, 2005, the VP’s chief assistant, I. Lewis Libby, was amazingly the only one indicted for the crime of passing Plame’s name and identity along to news reporters. Libby was subsequently sentenced on June 14, 2007, to 30 months of prison time and a $250,000 fine. Quelle dommage as the French say -- what a horrible thing. Ah, but then not so horrible because President Bush amazingly commutated the felon’s sentence. And Bush might, given his kingly druthers, completely pardon Scooter.
Additionally, UN fact-finder Hans Blitz and his investigators could find no trace of facilities for the production of WMD throughout Iraq. Blitz’s lack of findings compounded the evidence of the high-crime of misleading America into war. And still no one was fully prosecuted and imprisoned for that crime, which borders on treason.
What about the outlaws’ involvement in 9/11?
Nor were there any firings, denunciations or prosecutions for the administration’s failures to prevent 9/11, which event wrongly contributed to the war on Iraq. Truly, quelle dommage, considering the largest intelligence organization in the world, the CIA, and the largest Department of Defense, with a compound budget of $600 billion plus, were unable to stop 19 rag-tag “terrorists” with box-cutters from cruising airliners-as-missiles into the World Trade Towers on 9/11. Could we possible have more outlaws at large here, above and beyond the seven of the purported hijackers living in the Middle East today?
In fact, at this point not only do I protest but I accuse the government of criminal negligence, if not active participation, in the execution of 9/11’s horrific events. These very events gave the Bush administration to complete their the coup d’etat.
This change gave the administration the power to first preemptively, illegally, declare war on Afghanistan and attack it, supposedly in search of Osama bin Laden, of whom a look-alike confessed to the crimes on a poorly made tape, most likely by the CIA. The day before 9/11, bin Laden had checked into a Pakistan hospital for his kidney condition. As of July 2001, he had entered the American hospital in Dubai for dialysis and met with his CIA handler; so much for homemade patsies and their producers. As to explanation of the events of 9/11, please take a look here at what really happened.
The larger outlaws’ purpose of 9/11
The larger purpose of 9/11 was to be the inciting incident to create “The War on Terror” to secure Afghanistan and build pipelines to tap the oil and gas of the Caspian Basin countries and send those precious resources down to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean for export. Of course, the larger purpose of invading Iraq was to secure its oil as well, and provide a steady flow for the Texas-driven, price-gouging outlaws and the insatiable thirst of their SUV-driving clientele, et al.
The Bush gang goes on and on, like the James brothers roaming across the spiky landscape of the Wild West, as of now the Wild Western World, hell-bent on demonizing and scape-goating Muslims, to keep Americans hungry for war with the world and their so-called attackers. This is for the purpose of creating a global American empire.
Thus 9/11 was a classic false-flag operation, ala Hitler’s Reichstag Fire, which I thoroughly protest, including the 3,000 lost souls on 9/11, the 3,800 American soldiers subsequently lost in Iraq, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans lost in their respective countries, and the squandering of some $650 billion dollars, if not more, to do so.
So add mass murder and colossal financial theft to the tab of the outlaws’ crimes, which have generated more Wanted-for-Impeachment posters on the Internet than ads to meet pretty singles.
Thus, given this egregious list of crimes, this endangerment of the US population, the wanton attacks on two countries, the raising of hostilities with Muslim countries worldwide, as well as with Russia and China, I refer to you for study, guidance and precedence for action, not just a piece of paper but The Declaration of Independence,
America’s first great legal document says . . .
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States . . ."
Do King George of England’s offenses sound like King George of America’s offenses?
“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.”
“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”
“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”
“He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”
“He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
“For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:”
“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:”
“For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:”
“He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation . . ."
“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. . . ."
If you feel King George of America has failed the Declaration of Independence’s litmus test to lead, perhaps you should continue to protest, and protest even more loudly for his impeachment, along with Vice President Cheney’s, so as to put an end to their remorseless tyranny.
Jerry Mazza is a freelance writer living in New York. Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.
Criminalizing the antiwar movement
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6377
Bush executive order: Criminalizing the antiwar movement
By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
Jul 20, 2007
The Executive Order entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes the US led war.
A presidential Executive Order issued on July 17th, repeals with the stroke of a pen the right to dissent and to oppose the Pentagon's military agenda in Iraq.
The Executive Order entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of "certain persons" who oppose the US led war in Iraq:
"I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people."
In substance, under this executive order, opposing the war becomes an illegal act.
The Executive Order criminalizes the antiwar movement. It is intended to "blocking property" of US citizens and organizations actively involved in the peace movement. It allows the Department of Defense to interfere in financial affairs and instruct the Treasury to "block the property" and/or confiscate/ freeze the assets of "Certain Persons" involved in antiwar activities. It targets those "Certain Persons" in America, including civil society organizations, who oppose the Bush Administration's "peace and stability" program in Iraq, characterized, in plain English, by an illegal occupation and the continued killing of innocent civilians.
The Executive Order also targets those "Certain Persons" who are "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction", or who, again in plain English, are opposed to the confiscation and privatization of Iraq's oil resources, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants.
The order is also intended for anybody who opposes Bush's program of "political reform in Iraq", in other words, who questions the legitimacy of an Iraqi "government" installed by the occupation forces.
Moreover, those persons or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), who provide bona fide humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians, and who are not approved by the US Military or its lackeys in the US sponsored Iraqi puppet government are also liable to have their financial assets confiscated.
The executive order violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution. It repeals one of the fundamental tenets of US democracy, which is the right to free expression and dissent. The order has not been the object of discussion in the US Congress. So far, it has not been addressed by the US antiwar movement, in terms of a formal statement.
Apart from a bland Associated Press wire report, which presents the executive order as "an authority to use financial sanctions", there has been no media coverage or commentary of a presidential decision which strikes at the heart of the US Constitution..
Broader implications
The criminalization of the State is when the sitting President and Vice President use and abuse their authority through executive orders, presidential directives or otherwise to define "who are the criminals" when in fact they are the criminals.
This latest executive order criminalizes the peace movement. It must be viewed in relation to various pieces of "anti-terrorist" legislation, the gamut of presidential and national security directives, etc., which are ultimately geared towards repealing constitutional government and installing martial law in the event of a "national emergency".
The war criminals in high office are intent upon repressing all forms of dissent which question the legitimacy of the war in Iraq.
The executive order combined with the existing anti-terrorist legislation is eventually intended to be used against the anti-war and civil rights movements. It can be used to seize the assets of antiwar groups in America as well as block the property and activities of non-governmental humanitarian organizations providing relief in Iraq, seizing the assets of alternative media involved in a reporting the truth regarding the US-led war, etc.
In May 2007, Bush issued a major presidential National Security Directive (National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive NSPD 51/HSPD 20), which would suspend constitutional government and instate broad dictatorial powers under martial law in the case of a "Catastrophic Emergency" (e.g. Second 9/11 terrorist attack).
On July 11, 2007, the CIA published its "National Intelligence Estimate" which pointed to an imminent Al Qaeda attack on America, a second 9/11 which, according to the terms of NSPD 51, would immediately be followed by the suspension of constitutional government and the instatement of martial law under the authority of the president and the vice-president. (For further details, see Michel Chossudovsky, Bush Directive for a "Catastrophic Emergency" in America: Building a Justification for Waging War on Iran? June 2007)
NSPD 51 grants unprecedented powers to the Presidency and the Department of Homeland Security, overriding the foundations of Constitutional government. It allows the sitting president to declare a “national emergency” without Congressional approval. The implementation of NSPD 51 would lead to the de facto closing down of the Legislature and the militarization of justice and law enforcement.
"The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government. . . ."
Were NSPD 51 to be invoked, Vice President Dick Cheney, who constitutes the real power behind the Executive, would essentially assume de facto dictatorial powers, circumventing both the US Congress and the Judiciary, while continuing to use President George W. Bush as a proxy figurehead.
NSPD 51, while bypassing the Constitution, nonetheless, envisages very precise procedures which guarantee the powers of Vice President Dick Cheney in relation to "Continuity of Goverment" functions under Martial Law:
"This directive shall be implemented in a manner that is consistent with, and facilitates effective implementation of, provisions of the Constitution concerning succession to the Presidency or the exercise of its powers, and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. 19), with consultation of the Vice President and, as appropriate, others involved. Heads of executive departments and agencies shall ensure that appropriate support is available to the Vice President and others involved as necessary to be prepared at all times to implement those provisions." (NSPD 51, op cit.)
The executive order to confiscate the assets of antiwar/peace activists is broadly consistent with NSPD 51. It could be triggered even in the absence of a "Catastrophic emergency" as envisaged under NSPD 51. It repeals democracy. It goes one step further in "criminalizing" all forms of opposition and dissent. to the US led war and "Homeland Security" agenda.
# # # # #
ANNEX
TEXT OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER
July 17, 2007
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. I hereby order:
Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:
(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;
(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or
(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
Sec. 3. For purposes of this order:
(a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;
(b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and
(c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.
Sec. 4. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.
Sec. 5. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that, because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.
Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken.
Sec. 7. Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action issued, taken, or continued in effect heretofore or hereafter under 31 C.F.R. chapter V, except as expressly terminated, modified, or suspended by or pursuant to this order.
Sec. 8. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 17, 2007.
# # # # #
Below is the text of the Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
[There has been no response by the US congress or commentary by individual Senators or Representatives.]
Office of the Press Secretary July 17, 2007
Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
White House News
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.
I issued this order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004.
In these previous Executive Orders, I ordered various measures to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in that country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.
My new order takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315 by blocking the property and interests in property of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.
The order further authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to designate for blocking those persons determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person designated pursuant to this order, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order. I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
GEORGE W. BUSH
The White House,
July 17, 2007.
Michel Chossudovsky is the author of the international best seller America’s "War on Terrorism" Second Edition, Global Research, 2005. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Center for Research on Globalization.
Bush executive order: Criminalizing the antiwar movement
By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
Jul 20, 2007
The Executive Order entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes the US led war.
A presidential Executive Order issued on July 17th, repeals with the stroke of a pen the right to dissent and to oppose the Pentagon's military agenda in Iraq.
The Executive Order entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of "certain persons" who oppose the US led war in Iraq:
"I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people."
In substance, under this executive order, opposing the war becomes an illegal act.
The Executive Order criminalizes the antiwar movement. It is intended to "blocking property" of US citizens and organizations actively involved in the peace movement. It allows the Department of Defense to interfere in financial affairs and instruct the Treasury to "block the property" and/or confiscate/ freeze the assets of "Certain Persons" involved in antiwar activities. It targets those "Certain Persons" in America, including civil society organizations, who oppose the Bush Administration's "peace and stability" program in Iraq, characterized, in plain English, by an illegal occupation and the continued killing of innocent civilians.
The Executive Order also targets those "Certain Persons" who are "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction", or who, again in plain English, are opposed to the confiscation and privatization of Iraq's oil resources, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants.
The order is also intended for anybody who opposes Bush's program of "political reform in Iraq", in other words, who questions the legitimacy of an Iraqi "government" installed by the occupation forces.
Moreover, those persons or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), who provide bona fide humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians, and who are not approved by the US Military or its lackeys in the US sponsored Iraqi puppet government are also liable to have their financial assets confiscated.
The executive order violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution. It repeals one of the fundamental tenets of US democracy, which is the right to free expression and dissent. The order has not been the object of discussion in the US Congress. So far, it has not been addressed by the US antiwar movement, in terms of a formal statement.
Apart from a bland Associated Press wire report, which presents the executive order as "an authority to use financial sanctions", there has been no media coverage or commentary of a presidential decision which strikes at the heart of the US Constitution..
Broader implications
The criminalization of the State is when the sitting President and Vice President use and abuse their authority through executive orders, presidential directives or otherwise to define "who are the criminals" when in fact they are the criminals.
This latest executive order criminalizes the peace movement. It must be viewed in relation to various pieces of "anti-terrorist" legislation, the gamut of presidential and national security directives, etc., which are ultimately geared towards repealing constitutional government and installing martial law in the event of a "national emergency".
The war criminals in high office are intent upon repressing all forms of dissent which question the legitimacy of the war in Iraq.
The executive order combined with the existing anti-terrorist legislation is eventually intended to be used against the anti-war and civil rights movements. It can be used to seize the assets of antiwar groups in America as well as block the property and activities of non-governmental humanitarian organizations providing relief in Iraq, seizing the assets of alternative media involved in a reporting the truth regarding the US-led war, etc.
In May 2007, Bush issued a major presidential National Security Directive (National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive NSPD 51/HSPD 20), which would suspend constitutional government and instate broad dictatorial powers under martial law in the case of a "Catastrophic Emergency" (e.g. Second 9/11 terrorist attack).
On July 11, 2007, the CIA published its "National Intelligence Estimate" which pointed to an imminent Al Qaeda attack on America, a second 9/11 which, according to the terms of NSPD 51, would immediately be followed by the suspension of constitutional government and the instatement of martial law under the authority of the president and the vice-president. (For further details, see Michel Chossudovsky, Bush Directive for a "Catastrophic Emergency" in America: Building a Justification for Waging War on Iran? June 2007)
NSPD 51 grants unprecedented powers to the Presidency and the Department of Homeland Security, overriding the foundations of Constitutional government. It allows the sitting president to declare a “national emergency” without Congressional approval. The implementation of NSPD 51 would lead to the de facto closing down of the Legislature and the militarization of justice and law enforcement.
"The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government. . . ."
Were NSPD 51 to be invoked, Vice President Dick Cheney, who constitutes the real power behind the Executive, would essentially assume de facto dictatorial powers, circumventing both the US Congress and the Judiciary, while continuing to use President George W. Bush as a proxy figurehead.
NSPD 51, while bypassing the Constitution, nonetheless, envisages very precise procedures which guarantee the powers of Vice President Dick Cheney in relation to "Continuity of Goverment" functions under Martial Law:
"This directive shall be implemented in a manner that is consistent with, and facilitates effective implementation of, provisions of the Constitution concerning succession to the Presidency or the exercise of its powers, and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. 19), with consultation of the Vice President and, as appropriate, others involved. Heads of executive departments and agencies shall ensure that appropriate support is available to the Vice President and others involved as necessary to be prepared at all times to implement those provisions." (NSPD 51, op cit.)
The executive order to confiscate the assets of antiwar/peace activists is broadly consistent with NSPD 51. It could be triggered even in the absence of a "Catastrophic emergency" as envisaged under NSPD 51. It repeals democracy. It goes one step further in "criminalizing" all forms of opposition and dissent. to the US led war and "Homeland Security" agenda.
# # # # #
ANNEX
TEXT OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER
July 17, 2007
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. I hereby order:
Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:
(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;
(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or
(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
Sec. 3. For purposes of this order:
(a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;
(b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and
(c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.
Sec. 4. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.
Sec. 5. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that, because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.
Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken.
Sec. 7. Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action issued, taken, or continued in effect heretofore or hereafter under 31 C.F.R. chapter V, except as expressly terminated, modified, or suspended by or pursuant to this order.
Sec. 8. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 17, 2007.
# # # # #
Below is the text of the Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
[There has been no response by the US congress or commentary by individual Senators or Representatives.]
Office of the Press Secretary July 17, 2007
Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
White House News
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.
I issued this order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004.
In these previous Executive Orders, I ordered various measures to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in that country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.
My new order takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315 by blocking the property and interests in property of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.
The order further authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to designate for blocking those persons determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person designated pursuant to this order, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order. I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
GEORGE W. BUSH
The White House,
July 17, 2007.
Michel Chossudovsky is the author of the international best seller America’s "War on Terrorism" Second Edition, Global Research, 2005. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Center for Research on Globalization.
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