LETTER FROM JOAN VEON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL MEDIA GROUP, INC.
P. O. BOX 77
MIDDLETOWN, MD 21769
The following comprises over three months of hard research in compiling information and then boiling down into abstracts which provide will provide an overview as to events since September 11. These articles only deal with the structure which is being put in place above the nation state. It is this structure which will make the countries of the world one. September 11 was the "point of no return" to our constitutional way of life. It appears that we are being transitioned from the Constitution to the UN Charter. The following does not comprise my report on September 11 but is part of the documentation from which I will draw my conclusions. I invite you to READ IT, PRINT IT OUT, PASS IT AROUND and draw your own conclusions from THEIR WORDS.
ABSTRACTS - SEPTEMBER 11
WE ARE IN A TIME OF TRANSITION FROM THE CONSTITUTION
AND THE FREEING OF THE NATION-STATE
ABSTRACTS
FT, 8/21/01, 9 - Sea change for international shipping body - Michael Peel
The headquarters of the International Maritime Organization's London headquarters is a treasure chest of nautical memorabilia. Visitors are greeted by a statue of Poseidon donated by the Greek government. The IMO, which sets international rules on maritime safety and pollution, admits it has had to reform working practices that had fallen out of date. It has faced further criticism over the length of service of its secretary- general. THE IMO is the legacy of 100 years of efforts to set international rules on safety at sea. It first met in 1959 and is one of the smallest UN agencies with a staff of 300 and an annual budged of $26M. Its projects have ranged from clean-up work after the Gulf war to a review of technical rules following the 1999 oil spill off the French coast by the tanker Erika. Britain's National Audit Office which was its auditor has been replaced by V.K. Shunglu, the comptroller and auditor-general of India. The IMO receives part of its funding from countries outside the developed world. The main contributors include Panama, Liberia and the Bahamas.
WP, 9/6/01, A5, "Democrats to Pare Missile Funds - Vernon Loeb, Dan Morgan
Democrats on the Senate Armed Services committee plan to cut $1.3B from the Bush admin's $8.3B request for ballistic missile defense this week as an opening shot in this fall's battle over defense spending. Levin said the administration's request for a 57% increase in missile defense funds is "unjustified" militarily and strategically, particularly since Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has yet to tell the panel whether any of the money would fund research activities that violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
Any successful effort by Senate Democrats to substantially reduce missile defense funding and restrict Bush's ability to modify or withdraw from the ABM Treaty would greatly complicate discussions the administrations plans to hold with both the Russians and Chinese.
Administration officials have been trying to fashion a new "strategic framework" with Moscow to replace the ABM Treaty, which prohibits numerous elements of the administration's missile defense plan. Sen. Levin favors transferring the money cut from missile defense funding to other military programs and authorizing the administration's full $328.9 billion defense request for the fiscal year that begins Oct 1.
Internet - 9/12/01 - www.emperors-clothes.com See WP 10/23/01 - "Congress Balks at Emergency
Reports indicate that Bush will appear before the US Congress to invoke the War Powers Act, passed by the House in the 1970s to limit a president's ability to wage war unilaterally and arbitrarily, but destroyed as an effective mechanism for doing so in April, 1999 when the Clinton Administration, for the first time in US history was denied authorization to continue a war against Yugoslaviain a 213-213 vote in the congress. Within an hour of that vote, a Clinton NSC spokesman was on national t.v. shrieking that not only would the bombing not stop, but that it would be intensified.
By the US Congress accepting that crude diktat and appropriating funding for the continuation of the illegal war, it definitively signaled the end of the US Constitutional role of America's formal representatives to oversee and rein in the chief executive half president/half monarchin future acts of illegal military actions and aggression abroad. It appears that each successive American administrations push the boundaries of armed adventurism and catastrophe further.
Bush has declared that this is war. Bin Laden worked hand in glove with the US Central Intelligence Agency since the early 1980s in establishing his Maktab al-Khidamar network, which raised money and recruited jehadis the Afghan Arabs, estimated to be 10,000 strong to overthrow the secular Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He was a joint assets of the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-service Intelligence, which the Afghan Northern Opposition, Russia and India insist still supports and controls him and his current Al-Qaida operation. The latter is supported by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE....all loyal US and British client regimes and recipients of Anglo-American military protection and largesse. Target not to bomb are: Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran. They are not linked to bin Laden in any conceivable manner but instead are vocal opponents of him and his activities; are in fact potential victims of the same. Read "Washington Created Osma bin laden" by Jared Israel at http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/sudan.html#w.
WP, 9/13/01, A3 - "Bush Denounces Attacks as "acts of War" - Dana Milbank
Bush declared the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and WTC "Acts of war" as Congress agreed to provide $20B for the effort to aid victims and punish perpetrators. In a session with leaders of the House and Senate, Bush stopped short of requesting a full declaration of war from Congress. Bush agreed with Congress to a $20B emergency funding authorization for aid and security. Bush and congressional leaders from both partiesseveral of them appearing in the White House driveway after a session with Bushtook pains to demonstrate their "shoulder to shoulder" determination to defeat America's adversaries.
FT, 9/13/01, 1, "US stock market closed for 3rd day - Richard Waters
The 3 day shut-down is the longest break in US stock market operations since President Roosevelt closed banks and markets to try to re-establish stability in the depths of the Great Depression. The finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven leading economies have said they were "committed to ensuring that this tragedy will not be compounded by disruption to the global economy."
FT, 9/13/01, 1 "Defiant Giuliani vows NY will rise from the rubble" - John Authers
Mayor Giuliani yesterday rallied Nyers and called for the support of the city's business community, defiantly insisting that NY would be able to recover its pre-eminent position in the world. "This city is the greatest city in the world, We're not only going to rebuild, we're going to come out stronger than before."
FT, 9/13/01, 15, "Welcome to the new, new world order" - Dominique Moisi
"We are all Americans" the front page headline in Le Monde, one of France's leading newspapers, set the tone without ambiguity. Today the saying is, "When America catches cold, the rest of the world sneezes," has a new variant: "When America is attacked, the rest of the world shudders." All over Europe, not only in London but from Paris to Madrid, from Berlin to Rome, the terrorists who struck at America have recreated the strong sense of western solidarity loosened by the end of the cold war. If the terrorists had wanted to unify the west, to transform the terms, if not the nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict andmaybe temporarilyto take Israel out of its sometimes self-imposed isolation, could not have done a better job. In 1961, John Kennedy proclaimed, "I am a Berliner." (40 years laterwe have this) What is certain is that we have entered a new world. In the west people will find their lives transformed, maybe radically, from the way they travel in the way they work. A Damoclean sword of hyper-terrorism will hang over our daily existence. What remains unclear is the meaning and possible definition of this new world. Has the east-west competition of the cold war era been replaced not by a north-south conflict but by the ideological struggle between the west represented above all by the US and the most radical elements of Islam?
Yesterday totalitarianism was made possible by the encounter between radical ideologies and modernity. Today hyper terrorism, born of the same ingredients, reveals itself as one of the darkest aspects of a global, interdependent world. The unpalatable conclusions Americans must face is this: if they want to protect themselves from the world, they will have to engage more directly in the affairs of the world. Engagement is the best form of protection.
FT, 9/13/01, 15, "A broad consensus against terrorism" - Javier Solana
Terrorism is the scourge of our times. None of us is immune. The terrorists resort to violent acts because they reject the values of the civilized world: the rule of law, democracy, an open society and freedom. More than once in recent history the US has come to the assistance of others in defense of the values of the civilized world. It is now right that it has that same support from its European friends We stand together in denouncing terrorism in any form and we are ready to uphold and defend those values that the terrorists reject.
First, only hours after this tragedy struck, the member states of the EU offered any urgent support that may be needed in helping with search and rescue, clearance and any other assistance that may be helpful in either NY or Washington. (2) as European ministers agreed at their meeting, we stand ready to offer our support in identifying and brining to justice all those who were behind these terrorist acts. Terrorism knows no borders. If we are to be successful in tackling terrorism, we also have to co-operate through sharing intelligence and in breaking down their networks. (3) We have to reflect together on how to manage a world that will be changed by this week's attacks. On a practical level, measures will clearly have to be taken to tighten up security worldwide.
We shall also have to build a new consensus with all those who are willing to work with us in combating terrorism. We cannot allow those nations or groups of people to be tarred with the terrorist brush.
FT, 9/13/01, 14, "The World wobbles" Gerard Banker/Ed Crooks
No one can yet be certain how this week's terrible events will change the global economic outlook. The wheels of the global financial system are still turning. A US recession is an even more immediate risk. The Fed gave additional reassurance that it stood ready to provide the necessary liquidity to prevent the nation's financial transactions seizing up. Central banks have been here beforemost recently after the 1987 stock market collapse and in the midst of the Asian and Russian financial crises in late 1998.
WP, 9/14/01, A37 - "A Long, Tough Job" - Wesley Clark
The attacks have raised the dangers posed by international terrorism to a new level. For the US, the weapons of this war should be INFORMATION, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND ON RARE OCCASIONS, ACTIVE MILITARY FORCES. THE COALITION THAT WILL FORM AROUND THE US AND ITS NATO ALLIES SHOULD AGREE ON ITS INTENT. Our methods should rely first on domestic and international law, and the support and active participation of our friends and allies around the globe. Evidence must be collected, networks uncovered and faceless threat given shape and identity. In some cases, astute police work will win the day, here and abroad, in other cases, international intelligence collaboration may be necessary. Special military forces may be called on to operate in states that are uncooperative or simply unable to control their own territory. A second key challenge is to recognize that we are in an action-reaction struggle with a capable and competent adversary.
We must strengthen our protective measures at airports, at utilities and other public service facilities such as communications networks and prepare necessary public health and disease control capabilities for the possibility of nuclear and biological events. For a decade the US has periodically declared that its top priority, is to protect our people against international terrorism. This is a problem that now requires more active measures and a commitment to eliminate terrorism as a threat. Doing so requires an old concept, "decisive force" but defined and used in a new kind of war.
9/14/01, A9, "US rethinks Strategy for Coping with Terrorists" - John Lancaster
"We have judicialized more aspects of human behavior than any civilization in history, and we may have come tot he limit of that" said Steward Baker who served as general counsel to the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1994. "Frankly if Osma bin Laden did this, I am not really interested in bringing him back to trial." Daniel Benjamin a counter-terrorism specialist in the Clinton White House said such arguments posit a "false choice" between a military and legal response to terrorism. Benjamin acknowledged that "after an event like Tuesday, there has to be a fundamental shift" in how the nation defends itself against terrorism.
Lawmakers were not prepared yesterday to grant Bush's initial request for unrestricted authorities to wage war, fearing that such a resolution could return to haunt them if things turned sour. Lawyers on both sides are sitting down to try to figure out what needs to be done to give the president all the authority he feels he needs," while retaining an oversight role for Congress.
FT, 9/14/01, 8, NATO quick to set historic precedent" - Judy Dempsey
NATO is not known for its quick decision making, but when lord Robertson, the defense alliance's secretary general started the fist of three NAC meetings on Wednesday, there was already a sense among the 19 ambassadors that mere words of solidarity for the US were not enough.
When Lord Robertson has asked Colin Powell how they could help, Powell replied A united front against terrorism. Thirty hours later the NAC made one of its fastest and most historic decisions in NATO's 52 year history. If it was shown that the attacks against the US were directed from abroad, the NAC said, it would be "regarded as an action covered by Article 5 of the 1949 Washington treaty". In a nutshell, that article states that an armed attack against any of the allies in Europe or North America amounted to an attack against them all. Individually or together, they would assist the attacked party, taking "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force". But on Wednesday, the NAC weaved into the article a new interpretation of what constituted an armed attack: terrorism. 50 years later, during a NATO summit in Washington that definition was broadened to include acts of terrorism, sabotage and organized crime.
If Washington plans retaliation it has several options: going it alone, relying on NATO or establishing a coalition of those willing to assist. "If the US wants us to invoke Article 5, which would mean access to our assets, it would have to prove to our satisfaction that the attacks came from abroad." Said a NATO military official. Several NATO members want guarantees that the US will not be given a "blank cheque" to use the alliance's assets such as airspace and its bases located in Europe, the Mediterranean and in Turkey from which to launch retaliatory attacks. The old cold war structures are dead and buried, said a NATO analyst. "All of usthe US, Europe, China, Russia and the Arab stateshave to find ways of co-operating over security as well as having a long-term united response. "If you think this week's tragedy was bad, think about terrorists getting their hands on biological, chemical and weapons of mass destruction."
FT, 9/15-16/01, 1, "Moment of silence falls around the world" - David White
Europe joined the US yesterday in an emotional day of homage to the dead from history's most horrendous act of terrorism. Five present and former US presidents led the mourning at Washington's National Cathedral. Hours before, much of Europe stopped in silence to pay respect to a devastated America and the victims of Tuesday's attack. From schools to stock markets, from Paris metro to Icelandic fishermen, the three minute pause to mark the horror of the events was unprecedented in its scale and unison. The queen, said to be deeply moved by the occasion, attended with the Duke of Edinburgh, the POW, Tony Blair, government and opposition politicians, British and US business leaders and representatives of different faiths, including the Muslim community. For the first time at St. Pauls, the Star-Spangled Banner was played in its entirety. At the close, many could no longer restrain tears as the Battle Hymn of the Republic resounded down the long nave.
FT, 9/15-16/01, 13, "The CIA's failure of imagination" - Edward Alden
This year Rumsfeld gave each member of the House Armed Services Committee a copy of the 1962 study on US intelligence's failure to foresee the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with the message that the US must always prepare for "the inevitability of surprise." In spite of an annual budget estimated at $30B, none of the agencies had gleaned the slightest warning that an attack was to come. This is particularly remarkable as evidence emerges that the 19 hijackers and their supporters had been planning the attacks for many months from bases within the US.
Good old fashioned spying has always been the weakest link in America's intelligence apparatus and was one of the few arenas in which the Soviet Union continually out-performed the US during the cold war. Said Richard Betts of the CFR. "What you really need to break these organizations is to penetrate themand that's very hard. If you can't penetrate them, you're dependent on the second-hand sources."
The National Commission on terrorism, a blue-ribbon group fo experts that reported to Congress last year, recommended that the CIA end its 1995 prohibition on recruiting terrorists and other "unsavory sources" as informants. The guidelines adopted to avoid tarring the CIA through association with criminals or human rights violators, have been an obstacle to success recruiting said Paul Bremer, who chairs the panel and was ambassador for counter-terrorism in the Reagan administration.
A second practice to come under scrutiny is the sharp distinction in US law between spying at home and abroad. The CIA is not allowed to conduct any operations on US soil and must pass any intelligence leads over to the FBI, forcing agencies with different cultures and methods to work together. Tuesday's bombings involved a co-ordinated plot carried out both abroad and within the US. Said Bremer, "It's quite obvious we're going to have to have a deep look at the whole issue of the surveillance of terrorists in the US."
Third, there is no single agency with authority over all the US intelligence gathering. Some critics argue that this leads to fragmented responsibilities. The US intelligence's biggest failure in connection with this week's events may have been in expecting the wrong sort of attack. The US has devoted growing resources to preventing chemical, biological or nuclear attacks. It has also fortified government buildings around the world against car bombs.
This article then concludes: "The intelligence lapse that allowed for Tuesday's attack was indeed much like that of Pear Harbor."
FT, 9/15-16/01, 3 EU looks to the skies to strike a blow against terror" - Peter Norman
EU transport ministers acted to tighten airline security within the EU in the first of several initiatives to strengthen the EU's anti-terrorism measures that include a special justice and interior ministers. The EU vowed to push for tougher standards when the International Civil Aviation Organization meets in Montreal on September 25. The transport ministers looked at way to tighten security at airports, on domestic flights, improve security for the cockpits and put in place a "one-stop security system that would harmonize such aviation standards throughout the EU.
FT, 9/15-16/01, 11, "Blair urges world to rethink how it fights terrorism" - Brian Groom
Blair has urged the world to "rethink dramatically" how it fights terrorism in light of US attacks. The PM signaled a review of British extradition laws, the mechanisms of international justice, the way terrorist groups are financed and their money laundered, and the links between terror and crime. David Blunkett, home (interior affairs) secretary, suggested that identity cards could be introduced to Britain to improve surveillance of potential attackers. The PM told a hushed and sombre House of Commons that Britain would stand together with the US to bring to justice those responsible for the 'hideous and foul' attacks. Blair said states that continued to harbor international terrorists would be regarded "as an enemy themselves". He continued about the deaths of 100 British citizens, "We are talking here about a tragedy of epoch-making proportions."
Broadening the issues beyond the specifics of the attack, Blair warned that fanatical groups capable of killing without discrimination would sue chemical, biological or nuclear weapons if they could. Blunkett said democratic governments needed to examine how they could increase co-operation in areas such as extradition. Some British laws were "absurd" and should be changed.
WP, 9/16/01, B1 - "No More Illusions- Gone Forever are the Barriers that Once Let us Stand Apart" - Robert G. Kaiser
The symbolism of these acts of terrorism is overwhelming. Perhaps, over time, the most important will be the collapse of the last barriers that have separated the U.S. from its global neighbors. For generations those barriers looked indestructiblemuch like the sturdy twin towers of the WTC. Now the towards are gone; in truth, so are the barriers. The terrorists responsible for these crimes certainly felt no barriers protecting the U.S. By acting as they did, they demonstrated to all Americans that whatever our personal preferences, we are citizens of a wider world that harbors many threats to our well-being.
We're all conscious of the profound transformations of the last half-century: the growth of Earth's human population from 2.5B to more than 6B; the creation and dissemination of nuclear weapons; the collapse of colonial empires and the transformation of geopolitics; the rise of the first serious threats to the long-term health of Earth itself; the evolution of a global economy that brings great blessings to somebut dislocation to many more. We recognize the existence of the global village, and our role in creating it. Our stubbornness on this score goes back to the earliest days of the republic. George Washington himself enunciated the dream that these new United States could live apart, insulated by oceans from foreign entanglements.
Americans have been fat and happy for two decadesnever before have we combined so much prosperity
with so much peace. Since 1980 the number of cars and trucks registered in this country has grown from 155 million to about 220 million. American households are now about $7.4 trillion in debt vs. $1.4 trillion in 1980. American households are now about $7.4 trillion in debt vs. $1.4 trillion in 1980. Twenty percent of Americans are now obese, more than twice the percentage 20 years ago.
PART OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER HAS BEEN THE COLLAPSE OF DISTANCE, LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY. THEE ARE ALMOST NO REMOTE PLACES LEFT ON EARTH. IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE, THE POOR KNOW HOW POOR THEY ARE, AND HOW MUCH BETTER THE RICH ARE LIVING.
FT, 9/17/01, 4 - Central banks act to soften the economic blow - Gerard Baker
The world's central banks and financial regulators have been in constant contact over the weekend to discuss emergency measures to prevent last week's human catastrophe turning into a financial and economic disaster. Despite rumors of liquidity problems in various institutions, regulators said that the international financial system was functioning well with no serious difficulties in functions such as payment and clearing being reported. The US Federal Reserve and the ECB last week between them supplied about $300B in liquidity to the financial system by buying financial assets from banks and other institutions in the money markets. The Fed and ECB also arranged a $50B swap facility, to enable the ECB to provides dollars to any eurozone banks that might be experiencing liquidity problems.
WP, 9/17/01, 1 - "New Powers Sought for Surveillance" Walter Pincus and Dan Eggen
Bush officials are considering lifting a 25 year old ban on US involvement in foreign assassinations and loosening restrictions on FBI surveillance, part of an escalating war on terrorism in the wake of Tuesday's attacks on Washington and New York. The Justice Department plans to send a wide-ranging set of proposals to Capitol Hill this week that would include more power to conduct wiretaps, detain foreigners and track money-laundering cases, administration officials said. Said Dick Cheney, "If you're only going to work with officially approved, certified good guys, you are not going to find out what the bad guys are doing. It is a mean, nasty, dangerous, dirty business out there, and we have to operate in that arena."
Sen. Bob Graham said he would introduce a counter-terrorism package that would create a counter- terrorism czar inside the White House to establish authority for the CIA to recruit unsavory agents and expand the intelligence community's ability to translate intercepted messages in Arabic, Farsi and other languages used within suspected terrorist circles. His bill would imitate what was established fort the war on drugs, providing budget, authority and oversight to an individual who would be named by the president and approved by the Senate.
Colin Powell said the admin was reviewing an executive order issued by Ford in 1976 that bans U.S. personnel from engage in, or conspiring to engage in, assassinations. Some intelligence and terrorism experts have advocated assassinating bin Laden. Powell said on CNN that "we are examining everything: how the CIA does it work, how the FIB and Justice Department does its work. Ashcroft said one of the Justice Department's proposals would allow the department to seek authority to eavesdrop on any phone used by a suspect in a foreign intelligence case.
WP, 9/17/01, A6 - "For the FBI, a Chance at Redemption" - Peter Slevin
The inability of the FBI and US Intelligence agencies to detect the plot in advance seems certain to attract considerable inquiry. Many members of Congress have called the attack an intelligence failure and yesterday, AG Ashcroft urged lawmakers to grant stronger investigatory powers to federal law officers. Senator Charles E. Grassley said to FBI Mueller, "Wherever there are cells of terrorists in the U.S., ferret them out and get convictions."
WP, 9/17/01, A9 - Crisis Forces Shift in Policy As Bush Assembles Coalition" - William Drozdiak
The devastating attacks against the U.S. last week have forced a major foreign policy shift by the Bush administration, from a go-it-alone approach based on narrow U.S. interests to the pursuit of a global coalition against terrorism. The shift has been welcomed in foreign capitals. Almost from the day he entered the White House, bush drew criticism from some U.S. allies for his rejection fo the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and his vow to abrogate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treatymoves regarded abroad as signifying an American retreat into a fortress mentality. It was only a matter of time" said a senior adviser to French Pres. Jacques Chirac, "America's power in the world may be unrivaled in military, political and economic areas, but in the era of globalization even a superpower cannot disregard the need for allies. Just like Clinton, Bush would have come to that conclusion, but the terror attack and the recent economic problems in the U.S. accelerated the process."
Many foreign analysts say Bush's declaration of war against global terrorism starts with some key advantages: [1] strong support in almost every corner of the globe, [2] The powerful endorsement when NATO's 19 members took the unprecedented decision under Article 5 of its charter to declare the terror strikes an attack against all members, opening the way for a collective military response [3] The U.S. gains support with a resolution passed unanimously by the U.S. Security Council, including Russia and China, which in the past have been hostile to the use of American military might. Said Philippe Sands, a British scholar and expert in international law, "The U.N. resolution provides a clear legal framework and gives a green light for the U.S. to employ military force at a time and place of its choosing."
"Russia while reluctant to offer military support was one of the first countries to endorse the U.S. anti- terrorism drive. India and Pakistan have set aside their bitter regional rivalry and appear ready to allow the use of their airspace and other facilities for retaliatory operations. Even Iran, which has long castigated the U.S. as 'the Great Satan' made what senior U.S. officials call 'a very positive statement'". Bin Laden operates in 34 countries and regions, making it more difficult to eradicate than a conventional force. If the U.S. were to pursue a broader military campaign in countries other than Afghanistan, it could arose opposition from Arab and other governments already trouble by U.S. support for Israel. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two fo the closest U.S. allies in the Arab world, have expressed condolences but stopped short of unreserved support for a military campaign against terrorism. Bin Laden's war with America was launched after U.S. forces used Saudi territory as a staging ground for their counter-thrust into Kuwait; some U.S. forces remain on Saudi territory, which bin Laden claims defiles the holy sites of Islam. The Saudi rules have also expressed growing dismay with U.S. Reluctance to exert political pressure on Israel to withdraw its forces from Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank. Some Saudi officials suggest it will be difficult for them to adopt a more accommodating posture to bring down the price of oiland ease the West economic downturnas long as the current tensions between Israel and the Palestinians persist.
Said Frank Umbach, a security specialist for Germany's Council on Foreign Relations, "The feeling in Germany and other European countries is that international terrorism can only be fought by dealing with the underlying political and economic causes."
FT, 9/17/01, 4 - Nations speed moves to deepen ties - Joe Leahy
The US Federal Reserve and the ECB last week between them supplied about $300B in liquidity to the financial system by buying financial assets from banks and other institutions in the money markets. The Fed and ECB also arranged a $50B swap facility, to enable the ECB to provides dollars to any eurozone banks that might be experiencing liquidity problems. Speaking after a meeting in Hanoi, ministers said they had adopted an agreement on the partnership proposed in 2000 which would be formalized next year in Brunei. ASEAN, Aust and NZ have several agreements on economic co-operation covering areas ranging from customs facilitation to human resources. In recent years, ASEAN has been moving closer to the more powerful economies of north Asia, particularly China, Japan and South Korea. Last year, the organization discussed setting up an East Asia trade zone with the three. ASEAN includes: Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. They also met wither counterparts from Europe and Asia.
FT, 9/17/01, 16 - Guarding the Home Front - Martin Wolf
Two things about this war are evident. It will be extraordinarily difficult to define, fight and win; and the way we organize "the home front" will play a decisive role in the conflict. The biggest long-term challenge to any open society vulnerable to assaults on so vast a scale is striking the balance between safety and freedom. (1) The movement of foreigners into and within societies will be questioned, (2) Immigration may be tightened, (3) Identity card could become the global norm, (4) In the effort to trace and freeze money used by the terrorist organizations, rules on bank secrecy may be changed. The way we work may also be reconsidered. There are two fare bigger long-term challenges. One is to maintain social harmony in countries with a multitude of different ethnic and religious groups. The other is to sustain internationally open economies and societies.
Four points need to be made: (1) There is likely to be a flight from risky assets which will put pressure on weak borrowers, including emerging market economies such as Argentina and Turkey, (2) there may be a partial reconsideration of the proposition that US assets are the world's safest which would drive the US dollar and US equity markets down. (3) Consumer confidence in the US may be adversely affected, (4) a downturn in US consumer spending could, given the parlous state of the rest of the world, worsen the global slowdown already under way.
Over the last five years, the US economy accounted for about 2/5's of global economic growth. Now only consumers are keeping the US out of recession. Unfortunately, they are under stress: savings rates are exceptionally low; the market value of wealth has tumbled; and unemployment is rising. A retrenchment was already likely before September 11.
FT, 9/17/01, 17, "this is not a war for armies" - Quentin Peel
Terrorism must be fought through security and intelligence and by tackling the misery in countries such as Afghanistan. September 11 was supposed to be the International Day of Peace. Kofi Annan had just issued an appeal for all to "try to imagine a world quite different from the one we know. Let us dare to imagine a world free of conflict and violence." Barely a mile from the UN headquarters, the reduction of the magnificent skyscrapers of the WTC to dust mock Mr. Annan's words. The single most sensational act of international terrorism has united people across the globe. This was not only an attack on America, but also on everyone living in the modern world. IT COULD AND SHOULD PROVIDE THE CATALYST FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED INTERNATIONAL COALITION TO RESIST TERRORISM AND FANATICISM AND THE HATRED, BIGOTRY AND IGNORANCE TO WHICH MR. ANNAN REFERRED. The reality is that terrorist groups capable of the sort of operation that attacked the Pentagon and destroyed the WTC are a threat to every established government in the world, whether American, European, Arab or Israeli, capitalist or communist. Fighting terrorism in the short term is above all a task for security and intelligence. The ONLY WAY TO FIGHT TERRORISM IN THE LONG TERM IS TO FIGHT THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM. THAT MEANS TACKLING THE MISERY AND DESPAIR IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS AFGHANISTAN. IT MEANS STRIVING WITH EVERY MEANS AVAILABLE TO BRING PEACE TO THE MIDDLE EAST.
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine warned against igniting a "clash of civilizations" between the Western and Islamic worlds, which he claimed, "May be among the demented calculations of those who instigated the attacks" in NY and Washington.
WP, 9/17/01, A12 - "It's Going to Require constant Vigilance" - Excerpts from Tim Russert's interview with VP Cheney on NBC's 'Meet the Press' yesterday:
Cheney: "I think the important thing here is for people to understand...the world shifted in some respects. Clearly, what we're faced with here is a situation where terrorism struck home in the United States.
"Osma bin laden - He headed it up and organized it but it's a very broad, kind of loose coalition of groupings that includes not only his forces but it also includes, Islamic Jihad from Egypt. It includes a movement from Uzbekistan. The groups that are terrorist organizations, people that oftentimes move around them, some times share common ideologies that operate on a worldwide basis. We have to take down those networks of terrorist organizations.
Russert: When Osma bin Laden took responsibility for blowing up the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the U.S. launched 60 Tomahawk missiles into his training sites in Afghanistan."
Cheney: "We also have to work, through, sort of the dark side...We've got to spend time in the shadows in the intelligence world. A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done quietly, without any discussion.
FT, 9/18/01, 18 - America's outspoken ally rallies the troops in Europe- Brian Groom
Of world leaders offering to support Bush, few have been as active as Tony Blair. Tomorrow he will visit Gerhard Schroeder, on Thursday he will talk to Jacques Chirac, then he will travel to Washington before returning for an emergency European Union summit on Friday. Blair has also targeted nations outside Europe. He spoke with Pakistan's General Pervez Musharrf and had lunch with Silvio Berlusconi. He previously has spoken to Putin of Russia and Arab and other European Leaders.
WP, 9/18/01, A27 - A Communist Comeback in Russia - Susan B. Glasser
A growing number of regions across Russia that decisively rebuffed Communist candidates in the early years after the fall of the Soviet Union have come to embrace them again, part of what political analysts call an increasing protest against the failure of Russian capitalism to bring better living conditions to the regions outside Moscow. With the Nizhny Novgorod election, "red governors" now control executive power in 35 of Russia's 89 regions.
FT, 9/18/01, 3 - Co-ordinated action offers swift show of solidarity - Ed Crooks
The co-ordinated rate cut by the world's leading central banks yesterday was an unprecedented demonstration of their determination to prevent last week's attacks tipping the global economy into a deep and prolonged recession. It was also a testament to the enormous international authority of the U.S. federal reserve. The Fed's 0.5% point cut was followed within hours by identical moves from the ECB and the central banks of Canada, Switzerland and Sweden. Even in September 1998 when the international financial system tottered following the collapse of LTCM, there was not simultaneous transatlantic rate cut.
WP, 9/18/01, A17 - Anti-Terror Push Stirs Fears for Liberties - Jonathan Krim
Said James Dempsey, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, "What is disturbing to people is just how swiftly Congress began grasping for anything to appear responsive to the outrage of the attacks.
WP, 9.18/01, A9 - US Adds Economic Weapons to Arsenal - Steven Mufson
the US has vowed to use its economic as well as military might to win allies and intimidate foes in its new war against terrorism. The US also wants toe enlist the help of foreign nations in tracking down money linked to terrorist grous. "Not just waging a usual war against these people but waging a financial war and enlisting the leaders of civilized world countries and their financial institutions in helping us identify who these people are, where their money is and taking it away from them," said Treasury Sec. Paul O'Neil.
FT, 9/19/01, 14 - Editorial "Intelligence Test"
The terrorist attacks on NY/WA marked a serious failure of intelligence, not least in the US. After the cold war, the intelligence agencies' main task was supped to be combating terrorism and organized crime. Many are asking how the world's best-funded intelligence services could have failed to uncover a meticulously planned operation carried out on US soil. One explanation is that the US has given up on old-fashioned spying. The annual budget for counter-terrorism is $12B, the CIA has run down its human intelligence capabilities. It has chosen instead to use technology; spy satellites, surveillance planes and electronic eavesdropping. The enormous capacity of US intelligence agencies to gather raw information far outstrips their ability to analyze and interpret it.
In order to combat small, loosely organized terrorist groups operating in America and Abroad they must be infiltrated. The US needs to spend more of its estimated $30B intelligence budget on recruiting and training field operatives and cultivating networks of agents and informers. The US needs to consider that there needs to be much more sharing of information between governments and closer judicial cooperation if the extra intelligence is to be of use. The US must do all it can to get access to Russian and Pakistani intelligence on Afghanistan, for example. Also, the US will inevitably have to do more spying at home.
WP, 9/19/01, - 1 "An Attack on the World" - T. R. Reid
Hundreds of people from more than 50 countries are reported missing among the rubble or confirmed dead. The twin towers of the WTC served as NY headquarters for companies from all over the planet. From Australia to Zimbabwe, from giant China to tiny Luxembourg and governments. China has reported 250 people missing, Columbia nearly 200, Turkey about 130, the Philippines about 115, Israel about 113, Canada between 45 and 70 and Germany with 170 people.
WP, 9/19/01, A6 - Attacks Shift Balance of Power, Alliances Among Interest Groups, - T. Edsall
The post-Sept. 11 agenda has prompted a detente between business and labor. It has strengthened the hand of the energy industry and weakened, momentarily, the environmental movement. It has forced civil libertarians on both the left and right into a united defensive posture in the face of calls for the expansion of government surveillance, search and arrest powers. the new alliance between business and labor is unlike any since the prosper days of the 1960s, when corporate America and the large industrial unions sought to share the growing economic bounty with a minimum of strife. This week John Sweeney and Tom Donahue, bitter political adversaries in recent years, together announced their support for major public and private investment in rebuilding the nation's economy and fighting foreign enemies. The Chamber has long opposed much domestic spending as a waste of taxpayer money to benefit SPECIAL INTERESTS. Said Donahue, "We will support the thoughtful expenditure of new dollars from Congress and the private sector to make available a stimulus that this economy needs to create jobs and expand the work force."
FT, 9/19/01, 2 - article talked about the central banks having a "SHARED RESPONSE".
FT, 9/19/01 - 1, Central banks follow Fed's lead in cutting interest rates - Ed Crooks
Central banks around the world yesterday followed the lead set by the US Fed and the ECB in cutting interest rates, as financial markets braced for a long period of international tension. The BOJ and BOE both made reductions, as did Hong Kong, Taiwan, Denmark, Kuwait and New Zealand. In an illustration of how far the Fed will go to provide liquidity and prevent a financial crisis, the benchmark Federal Funds ratethe interest rate at which banks can borrow money overnight-fell to 0.25% yesterday after the central bank injected a further $30B into the market. The Fed cut its target rate to 3% on Monday but in the wake of last week's terror attacks, it is prepared to push the actual rate low, making it easier for banks and companies to borrow emergency funds.
WP - 9/19/01, 1 "Justice Drafts New Rules for Deportation - Dan Eggen
the Justice Department has drafted legislation allowing the US attorney general to lock up immigrants deemed to be terrorist suspects and order them deported without presenting any evidence. The AG has created an anti-terrorism task force with representatives from every U.S. attorney's office in the country.
FT, 9/19/01, 4 "Pressure mounts on US to go to UN" - Carola Hoyos
In the week since terrorists attacked the WTC and Pentagon, the 15 member Security Council has adopted a single resolution . It contrasts sharply with the council's adoption of 12 resolutions on Iraq between the time Saddam Hussein's armies invaded Kuwait. Sensing that support for the US could wane, Kofi Annan, the UN S-G has been discreetly urging S/C members to avoid the divisions that have plagued the UN since the Gulf War. China has demanded that the UN S/C guide Washington's response to the attacks. Many at the UN believe Russia, which is expected to announce its position this week, will seek a more thorough discussion.
Iran and Pakistan which will be crucial to any US effort to launch strikes against Afghanistan, are also heavily relying on a UN process. Iran announced it would support a UN-led coalition against terrorism. Jacques Chirac president of France, is scheduled today to discuss the UN's role with Mr. Annan and China has said it is prepared to discuss any proposals to combat international terrorism at the Security Council. But a senior S/C diplomat said, "They (US) may well rely on article 51 of the UN charter. That together with resolution 1368 gives the Americans good international legal cover." Resolution 1368 which the S/C passed the day after the strikes, describes the attack as a "threat to international peace and security", language that some fear the US could interpret as authorization for the use of force.
Article 51 of the UN's charter allows any state to defend itself in the case of an armed attack until the S/C has taken measure necessary to maintain international peace and security. The text calls on all states to help bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the attacks and work towards preventing further such tragedies.
However, overwhelming international support for US action immediately after the attacks is already falteringand the more quickly it weakens, the greater the role the Security Council should play, diplomats say.
Most at the UN hope Colin Power who has a close relationship with Annan and extensive experience of working with the UN during the Gulf War. "The UN is an extremely useful place for the kinds of responseslegal conventions, co-operation between states on police matters, intelligence, etc. that go beyond the purely military response to terrorism" said Shashi Tharoor, head of the UN information center.
WP, 9/20/01, A24 - Ashcroft Presents Anti-Terrorism Plan to Congress - John Lancaster
Leahy cautioned after receiving Ashcroft's anti-terrorism package that "If the Constitution is shredded, the terrorists win." The proposed legislation would provide law enforcement with more tools in the areas which include expanded electronic surveillance and the ability to detain suspects and deport immigrants. It also broadens or changes criminal procedures in terrorism cases, involving among other thingssubpoenas, search warrants and seizure of assets.
WP, 9/20/01, A18 - OAS Nations Activate Mutual Defense Treaty - karen DeYoung
The OAS agreed yesterday to activate a hemispheric mutual defense treaty in response to 9/11 terrorist attacks. Activation of the treaty was agreed by acclamation in a special meeting of OAS ambassadors in Washington. The 1947 accords obligations signatories to consider an attack from outside the region against any member nation to be an attack against all, and to come to one another's defense. A separate resolution called for foreign ministers of the 34 member nations to meet here Friday to consider new anti-terrorism measures. Formally known as the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, the pack is commonly called the Rio Treaty. Its collective security commitment is nearly identical to that in a NATO defense agreement invoked last week. A similar provision has been activated in a defense treaty among the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.
NYT, 9/20/01, C6, "SEC Plans an Extension of its Waiver of Some Rules - Stephen Labaton
Fed officials are preparing to extend an order waiving certain trading regulations to permit companies and executive to help prop up the price of their shares. The SEC said that the order which was to have lapse on Friday would be extended at least a week to allow companies time to take advantage of it.
WP, 9/21/01, A18 - "Blairs Comfort Survivors in NY" - Glenda Cooper
As NY and Britons bowed their heads together in prayer and shared their bond of sorrow, the walls of St. Thomas's Church resounded with a message from QEII: "Nothing can begin to take away the anguish and pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love." The Blairs also came here to emphasize that the US and Britain stand side by side in this time of grief. At the church, the American and British flags were placed so close together that they almost entwined. "God Save the Queen" and The star- Spangled Banner" were sung with equal emotion and volume. The Blairs sat with former president Bill Clinton and UN SG Kofi Annan. (See 10/23)/01 - Britain urges UN to take post-conflict leading role)
WP, 9/21/01, A26, Unfolding Catastrophe for Afghan Refugees
The UNHCR is ringing its own alarm bell about the humanitarian disaster confronting millions of Afghan refugees. Yesterday the UNHCR launched a preliminary global appeal for $6M and urged governments to factor into their budgets funding for the dire problems of the displaced. High Commissioner RUUD LUBBERS issued an impassioned plea in the wake of the attacks in NY and WA to give some consideration to the unfolding catastrophe for about 3.7 million refugees
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov saying both Russia and the United States were democracies under the threat of terrorists, said the two countries had no choice but to fight this war "together". Speaking at a dinner given by the Nixon Center at the Monarch Hotel, Ivanov said, "We need to develop very clear international standards, not just label people for political reasons." There should be no double standards, he warned. "There are no good or bad terrorists." He continued, "Today we are sure there are countries that are allies with the US which finance these organizations. You cannot say, if this country is an ally we should close our eyes, and if not we should prosecute it." He emphasized the need to develop a "global mechanism" that would deal with capital flows and information technology and a legal framework for combating terrorism and managing border controls. "This is not a one-time action, this is a long, continuous work and we are prepared to work together in this area with the United States."
WP, 9/21/01, 1 - "President Outlines War on Terrorism, Demands Bin Laden Be Turned Over" J. Harris
Bush describing a titanic struggle between the civilized world and radical Islam, said he would not stop there. "Our war on terror will not end until every terrorist global of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. We will direct every resource at our commandevery means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of warto the disruption and defeat of the global terror network."
WP, 9/21/01, 1 - Stocks continue to fall; Dow off 13% in 4 days - Greg Schneider
Stock prices fell for the 4th trading day in a row since the terrorist attacks, dragging all major indexes to their lowest levels in more than 2 year amid a climate of investor uncertainty and fatigue. The Dow dropped to 8376 a decline of nearly13% in less than a week.
WP, 9/1/01, A19 - "Blair meets with Bush, Expresses Support for US [and UN]- Alan Sipress
Blair is one in a procession of foreign leaders coming to the US to show solidarity and consult about a likely military response. On a day when Blair also stopped in NY, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer visited a Manhattan fire station. After a meeting with UN Secretary Kofi Annan earlier in the day, Fischer joined France in pressing the U.S. to enlist the support of the United Nations in its fight against terrorism. "Fischer said, "There must be an answer against these murderous terrorists because no answer or a wrong answer or a weak answer would give a completely wrong message.
FT, 9/21/01, 3 - "US rallies Nato allies for global war on terrorism" - Judy Dempsey
US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage told Nato ambassadors the bush admin. wanted a global campaign to fight terrorism that would be based on diplomatic, economic and military means. Armitage was very clear: "This will not stop in Afghanistan." Armitage said, "I came here to exchange information, to talk about the grand coalition that President Bush is trying to put in place and to make clear that this is about a GLOBAL WAR." He also said there was a possibility of pulling Iraq into the war. Another Nato diplomat noted that for some in the US administration, "this is still unfinished business 10 years after Bush's father
drove Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait." The diplomatic aspect of the campaign would focus on isolating terrorists while the on economic front, efforts would center on identifying how terrorist groups are financed and how to halt the funding flows.
FT, 9/21/01, 4 - Stage set for leaders to show solidarity" - Peter Norman
Tonight's special summit in Brussels will be the opportunity for EU leaders to demonstrate their solidarity with the US in the fight against terrorism. The first objective will to give the 15 leaders as a group the chance to rally behind messages of support delivered personally to President George Bush by France's Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair from the UK. (2) is far trickier, will be to keep up the momentum behind the decisions by EU ministerial councils since September 11. The EU is a collection of states that have voluntarily ceded sovereignty in degrees that vary significantly in different policy areas. Integration is furthest advanced in the single market. Apart from rules against money laundering the single market is not at the center of the battle against terrorism. 30 or so measures to strengthen police and intelligence co-operation with Europe and with the US mark a dramatic change of tempo for justice and home affairs ministers. The Commission's important proposals for a common EU definition of terrorist acts and a European arrest warrant for serious crimes were unveiled this week only because they had been under discussion for a year.
9/21/01, 4 - Stronger ties urged between police forces - Peter Norman
The EU stepped up its fight against international terrorism with an ambitious program for greater co- operation with the US and more effective action in its 15 member states. Justice and interior ministers approved about 30 measures to increase co-operation between police and intelligence services, toughen action against money laundering, tighten border controls, and create a bigger role for Europol, the EU's fledgling joint police body. "We are determined to take the necessary immediate steps to make sure European citizens are provided with the highest level of security so that we can thwart attacks and effectively combat terrorism,"said Antoine Duquesne from Belgium.
9/21/01, 4 "Europe steps up efforts to crack down on terrorism" - Jimmy Burns
Terrorist attacks in the U.S. have galvanized efforts in Europe to step up co-operation and camp down on suspected terrorists in individual countries. The German government has agreed to press ahead with extra security measures, including airport security, reinforcing its intelligence and security agencies and amending bank secrecy laws to identify funds for potential terrorists. Germany and Italy have proposed extra budget funds for intelligence activities, although the German government is being accused by opposition parties of using the terrorist crisis to raise taxes for other purposes. The biggest problem in Europe relates to lack of coordination between states, and between security agencies within the individual countries.
Only six member states of the EUthe UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal have specific anti- terrorist legislation in effect and they all differ on the precise definitions of terrorism. The EU justice and interior ministers gave the green light for a common definition of terrorism to be drafted. They also agreed to work on proposals for a common EU arrest warrant. They set December as deadlines. The common arrest warrant would be to cover all forms of crime. Because of their common security problems with Eta and IRA violence, both Spain and Britain have been pushing the idea of an EU arrest warrant, backed by a fast-track extradition process. The terrorist attacks in America have forged an unprecedented sense of common purpose on both sides of the Atlantic. And EU ministers have agreed to US involvement in several of their own anti-terrorist initiatives.
[40 POINTS TO COUNTER-TERRORISM]
Governments still need to agree to common ways of organizing their police and secret agencies and harmonize laws on issues such as data protection. Both Europe and US face the difficult balance that will have to be struck between human rights and effective counter-terrorism. Europol is expected to move from acting as a somewhat ad hoc working group to playing a more effective role of co-ordination between European police forces and secret services and between these and the US. But security experts remain far from agreed on the idea of an FBI-style European police force with national and regional forces and agencies guarding their independence.
FT, 9/21/01, 4 - 30 Year of terror in Europe
1972 - Black September - Palestinians militant kills 11 Israeli athletes at Munich Olympics
1974 - IRA bomb kills 21 in Birmingham pub
1977 - Red Army Faction (Germany) murders 3 public figures
1978 - Popular Front for Palestine kills to El Al aircrew in London
1978 - Red Brigade assassinates Aldo Moro
1979 - IRA bombs kill 212 solders at Warrenpoint - Northern Ireland, Lord Mountbatten assassinated in Ireland
1980 - German right-wing bomb kills 13 in Munich
1980 - Italian neo-fascist bomb kills 85 people and injures 200 at Bologna train station
1984 - IRA kills 5 people and injures another 30 in assassination of British prime Minister
1988 - Libyan extremists blow up Pan Am Boeing 747 on fight from London to NY over the Scottish town of Lockerbie killing all 259 people on board and 11 on ground
1994 - Algerian extremist GIA hijacks Air France airliner
1995 - GIA bomb in Paris Metro kills 8.
1998 - IRA car bomb kills 29 Omagh, Northern Ireland
2000 Greek left-wing assassins kill British defense attache in Eta.
FT, 9/21/01, 5 - "US plans 'homeland defense' - Edward Alden
Under the rubric of 'homeland defense' the US is in the midst of a massive clampdown aimed at foiling further terrorist plots. (1) On the water, the Coast Guard are boarding every commercial vessel bound for the US, delaying shipments in the search for weapons or other terrorist contraband. Recreational boats are banned form New York harbor, and forbidden anywhere else from coming within 100 yards of a navy ship. At the US land boards with Mexico and Canada, the customs service has declared a Level 1 alert.
FT, 9/21/01, 16 - Cleaning Up" - John Willman
The war against money-laundering dates from 1989 when the G7 set up the Financial Action Task force to attack the drug trade. The FATF, under the umbrella of the Paris-based OECD, has established 40 principles covering financial regulation, law enforcement and international cooperation. The IMF estimates that global crime and corruption generate flows of as much as $1,500B a year. Some of this passes through offshore financial centers such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Channel Islands and small Caribbean nations which offer either strict banking secrecy or lax regulation. Banks admit that until the 1990s it was relatively easy to move illicit funds through the international financial system. In the absence of legislation requiring scrutiny of customers, money-launderers could open accounts with minimal information about the ownership of the moneyespecially with private banks whose brand strength was guaranteed discretion.
The US Congress has refused to strengthen the Know your Customer rules , rejecting legislation in 1999 after criticism that it was a threat to civil liberties. Most countries also have requirements to report suspicious transactions to a regulator or intelligence organization with criminal investigators finding movements of funds valuable in detecting organized crime.
FT, 9/21/01, 17 - No half measures in the war against terrorism" - James Baker
The war against terrorism is one that the US should not be asked to fight alone. No one is secure. And no one can safely stand on the sidelines in the conflict to come. Terrorism is a global threat that demands a global response. The US can lead the response by virtue of its military power, economic strength and international pre-eminence. Whether we are speaking about direct military co-operation, law enforcement activities or intensified intelligence sharing, Washington will turn to the international community.
Harsh trade-offs will emerge as we calculate the direct and indirect consequences of our war. Military action in or near the Gulf risks disruption of oil supplies and soaring energy costs. And allies may waver as they count the cost of the casualties, budgetary outlays and lost commercial opportunities. VICTORY WILL REQUIRE A PROPER MIX OF MILITARY MIGHT AND PAINSTAKING DIPLOMACY, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, OF THE MOST COMPLEX SORTA CAREFULLY CALCULATED MIX OF CARROT AND STICK, MORAL PERSUASION AND BLUNT TALK, VEILED THREAT AND INDIRECT PRESSURE. THIS WILL BE A COMPLEX, PROTRACTED WAR, FOUGHT ON MILITARY, DIPLOMATIC AND ECONOMIC FRONTS. IT WILL LAST YEARS, NOT WEEKS OR MONTHS. AND IT WILL DEMAND GREAT SACRIFICES, NOT ONLY BY TROOPS IN COMBAT BY ALSO BY CITIZENS WHO WILL FINANCE THE WAR AND BEAR ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES THAT PROVIDE GREATER SAFETY, AT, SADLY, SOME COST TO OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES.
FT, 9/21/01 - 17, "A time for moral courage" - Jose Maria Aznar
Never in the course of history has there been such an accumulation of power of all naturespolitical, military, economic, cultural, scientific, and above all, ethicalas that concentrated today in the countries that share the principles of a co-existence grounded on democracy, liberty and respect for human rights. There is of course much that the international community can do. We must begin by punishing those responsible for such horrific attacks. BRINING TO ACCOUNT TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR SUPPORTING NETWORKS REQUIRES NEW INSTRUMENTS, AND ABOVE ALL, MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE AND EFFECTIVE POLICE AND JUDICIAL CO-OPERATION. It is also necessary for the international community to target terrorism's source of funding. It is imperative, therefore, that countries work together to freeze any assets and investments held directly or indirectly by terrorist organizations.
WP, 9/22/01, B3, "U.S. Attorneys Begin Anti-Terrorism Task - Michael E. Ruane
Two Justice Department attorneys have been tapped to head up local anti-terrorism task forces set up this week. Their job is to coordinate the counter-terrorism activities and responses on a local level among federal agencies, and the state and local authorities to have, become front-line soldiers in the nation's war on terrorism. In Richmond, James B. Comey, managing assistant U.S. attorney said, "We gathered all the key federal agencies, the state police, all the major police departments in this division, and we explained to them what the attorney general had in mind." "The main purpose is that if we have information, the federal government, to share with them, there's an efficient means of sharing it. If there is a need to coordinate a response to a terrorist incident in this division, this group will get together to do it. It's a new role for U.S. attorneys, but it makes sense... because the U.S. attorney is the one person in the district who deals with all of these agencies on a regular basis.
WP, 9/22/01, C1, "Rueful Prophets of the Unimaginable" - Richard Leiby
"Unanticipated asymmetries:" The words were emphasized in italic for readers of a 1997 report that Antsen helped prepare, "Transforming Defense: national Security in the 21st Century." Fighting war symmetrically means lining up our armies against their armies, tanks against tanks. That era is over. "Americans will become increasingly vulnerable to hostile attack on our homeland" warned another major report on national security, "Americans will likely die on American soil, possibly in large numbers." That conclusion was delivered two years ago. Hart and Rudman a bi-partisan commission worked more than 3 years and spent $10M to produce a 3 part report called, "New World Coming: American Security in the 21st Century."
Though he wasn't at the hearing yesterday, Gingrich was hailed by Rudman as the "father" of the homeland security concept.
WP, 9/22/01, 1, "Wall Street Ends Worst Week in 68 years" - Steven Pearlstein
Wall Street yesterday wound up its worst week since 1933 as the American economy prepared not only for war but for recession. About $1.4T in stock value was wiped out in five trading sessions10 times the estimated property damage caused by the terrorist attacks on the WTC/Pentagon. Since 9/11, US corporations have announced the layoffs of 115,000 workers, mostly in airlines, travel and aerospace. Auto companies trimmed production while leading newspaper companies, steel makers and chemical manufacturers warned of lower profits in the months ahead. Unemployment which stood at 4.9% in August could reach 7% by next spring. With Friday's 140 point drop, the blue-chip Dow ended the week down more than 14% at 8235.81, the biggest percentage decline since July 1933. Since its peak in January 2000, the Dow has fallen 30% to levels last seen in October 1998. Technology stocks ended down 16%. Since its peak in march 2000, the index has fallen 72%. The broader S&P 500 stock index ended the week down nearly 12%. It has fallen 37% since the bear market began.
More than $9B left stock mutual funds during the first 3 days of this week. Hedge funds, pension funds and insurance companies were also reported to be heavy sellers as managers tried to raise cash and shift their capital to less-risky investments such as short-term Treasuries. Propping up the market were dozens of corporations that had announced plans to spend a total of $45B buying up their own shares under a relaxation of rules adopted by the SEC. The agency voted to extend the relaxed rules for another week.
WP/922/01, A3, - "For Bush, New Emergencies Ushered in a New Agenda" - John Harris
The twin demands of a sagging economy and an urgent new war on terrorism have transformed the philosophical heart of President Bush's agenda. The modern conservative movement which provided the base of this president's support in the 2000 election had several pillars. They included a distrust of centralized authority, an unyielding faith in free markets and a conviction that individuals should be left to succeed or fail on their own without the protection of a welfare state. But Bush's words and most powerfully in his speech to Congress on Thursday nightsuggest he has concluded that few of the old faiths that animated the conservative agenda before Sept. 11 have much relevance in the current emergency. Suspicion of a powerful national government gave way to a massive federal commitment to rebuild New York City. Devotion to free markets has yielded to an expensive promise to rescue the failing airline industry with government subsidies. And although conservatives once boasted of their determination to get government "off the back" of American people, Bushed warned that individual convenience must be balanced anew against the collective need for tighter security. Bush is working on a large economic stimulus package to stave off recession. He said a weak economy needs its pump primed by government with a big infusion of moneya basic precept of Keynesian economics that was at the heart of FDR's New Deal.
Some Bush allies said the image of Bush as an inflexible conservative was always a caricature. Said mark McKinnon who was a Democratic consultant before joining with Bush in Texas, "A lot of people had a one-dimensional view of him. But there's a humanity about him that came through in the last week, a judgment that transcends ideology."
WP, 9/22/01, A7 - Direct Authority Called Key in Homeland Agency - Ellen Nakashima
President Bush's new WH anti-terrorism office will succeed only if given enough direct authority to coordinate the myriad of government agencies involved in protecting the public from attacks on US soil. Ridge must have power over other agencies and their budges, have control on the ground when a disaster hits and have a direct line to other members of the Cabinet. Ridge will have his own budged and "significant" staff, officials said. He will coordinate the activities of about 40 federal agencies and departments and their interaction with state and local governments. He will, a senior administration said, be "sitting at the president's right hand."
9/22/02, WP, B9, "War Cry from the Pulpit" - Bill Broadway
President Bush announced to 3000 people that to "answer these attacks," on the Pentagon and WTC and "rid the world of evil." James F. Childress, professor of ethics at the University of Virginia said, "By talking about ridding the world of evil, he's moving into a crusade mentality, a holy war mentality." The service was interfaith: Muslin cleric, Rabbi, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox Church,
FT, 9/22-23/01, 8, "The Great Bear" - Philip Coggan
This is now one of the worst bear markets in history. If one combines time and severity, only 4 other US bear markets since 1914 are more significant: 1919-21 when the Dow fell 47% over 21 months; 1929-32 when the Dow fell 89% at the start of the Great depression; 1939-42 when the Dow fell 40% in the early stages of the second WW; and 1973-74 when the Dow fell 45% in the face of Watergate and oil price surge (not to mention the US going off of gold). Central banks worldwide have already cut interest rate before the attacks and have engaged in a further round of reductions this week. Add US tax cuts and a boost to government spending from defense and reconstruction and stock markets might be expected to "look through" declines in output and earnings to recovery. Not this time. 9/11 changed everything. (1) direct assault on the heart of the US financial system with immense human and physical costs (2) they introduced a new level of uncertainty. The nearest parallel may be the Gulf war when the US consumer confidence index fell from 101.7 to 55.1 within six months. The US has not seen enemy action on such a scale since 1812.
FT, 9/22-23/01, 5, "Full EU backing for US military response" - Judy Dempsey
EU leaders unequivocally threw their full support behind any military action carried out by the US in response to last week's bomb attacks on NY/WA. It was the strongest, collective expression of solidarity for the US, backed by a pledge to make 'the fight against terrorism a priority' of the EU. The commitments by the EU were accompanied with new measures aimed at combating terrorism that include the introduction of a European-wide arrest warrant, and the adoption of a common definition of terrorism. The warrant will replace current system of extradition between member states. It will also allow wanted persons to be handed over directly from one judicial authority to another. Any response by the US, leaders added was legitimate, since it was based on UN security resolution 1368, which allows states to defend themselves if attacked. The EU would also co-operate with the US in bringing to justice and punishing the perpetrators, sponsors and accomplices of "such barbaric acts." EU leaders called for the broadest possible global coalition against terrorism to be under the aegis of the UN. That coalition should include all candidate countries to the EU, Russia and 'our Arab and Muslim partners and any country ready to defend our common values."
FT, 9/22-23/01, 5, "Speech sends signals to rest of world - Stephen Fidler
Bush: "I WILL NOT YIELD, I WILL NOT REST, I WILL NOT RELENT"
FT, 9/22-23/01, 1, "US and UK set for joint action" - Brian Groom/Stephen fidler (Parliamentarianism)
The US and Britain are to take military action by themselves against bin Laden. Bush and Blair agreed that a tight command structure was needed and that the military operation should be undertaken largely, perhaps wholly, by their own forces. The agreement came before Bush addressed Congress (don't forget first time foreign leader present during this kind of speechthis time Tony Blair wonder what connection to the queen and Bush's visit before the G8 in July).
WP, 9/24/01, 1 "Action Slowed by Intelligence, Coalition Needs" - Alan Sipress
Wolfowitz used the meeting at NATO to repeat a long-standing U.S. concernthat the U.S's European allies should elevate counter-terrorism to the top of their agenda. In the closed-door session, he also urged the allies to take seriously the threat that terrorists might use biological or chemical weapons.
USA Today, 9/24/01, A19 - "We are all Americans" - Ottor Graf Lambsdorff
Among the victims in the world Trade were 100 German citizens. Forty years later from JFK in 1961 "I am a Berliner". The majority leadera Social Democratdeclared, "We are All Americans" to a roaring applause. Germans know that today the people of the U.S. need the support of their friends, and Germans are resolved to provide it. NATO's resolution underlines this conviction. WE ARE FIGHTING A NEW KIND OF CONFLICT WITH A NEW KIND OF ADVERSARY THAT REQUIRES NEW THINKING BY ALL ALLIES.
WP, 9/24/01 1, 'FBI Agents Ill-Equipped to Predict Terror Acts" - Joby Warick
The FBI has tripled its spending to stop terrorism, quintupled the number of intelligence gathers and revamped its bureaucracy to share information about terrorists across the government. In the past 2 years, the CIA cabled to the FBI names of about 100 suspected associates of bin Laden to be found in the U.S. The FBI lacks Arab agents who can penetrate terrorists cells and has too few veterans who see connections among foreign suspects and far-flung sites. Communications among U.S. intelligence agencies, particularly the FBI and CIA have always been a problem and cited by a report by the congressional appointed National Commission on Terrorism. The FBI is also hampered by a scarcity of Arab-American agents. FBI translators need more than just language skills. Law enforcement sensibilities and an ability to decipher street jargon are critical.
FT, 9/24/01 13 - The evolution of NATO - George Robertson-SG of NATO
On 9/12, NATO's 19 member countries took an unprecedented decision. For the first time in the history of the alliance, they invoked Article 5 of NATO's founding charter and agreed that if it was determined the savage attacks perpetrated on the US originated from aborad, they would be considered an attack on them all.
Throughout the past century the US supported Europe in its time of need. In both world wars, the US made an immense sacrifice on behalf of freedom and justice in Europe. Then throughout the cold war, it took the lead in preserving our collective liberty. No European or Canadian has forgotten that. That is why today, American's allies are with her in her time of need. Not because they have to. Not because it is politically expedient, but because it is the right thing to do.
With last weeks decision, NATO's members demonstrated, that the alliance is not just a talking shop, but a community of nations, united by values and interests and utterly determined to ack together to defend them if needed. What does that mean?
(1) The US must be supported in dealing with the immediate effects of this crisis. The US can count on 18 NATO allies in whatever way would be most helpful.
If we are going to avoid a repetition of these acts, the international community must come together in finding and punishing those involved. The terror networks must be smashed. That work has already begun, OUR INTELLIGENCE SERVICES ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP PROVIDE THE US WITH THE INFORMATION IT NEEDS TO FIND THE CULPRITS. The solidarity between the North Atlantic Council which is an important forum for political consultation and information sharing is a powerful vehicle for demonstrating solidarity in time of crisis.
That solidarity will now demonstrate once again the most powerful way that the Atlantic Community is as solid as ever. We stand together in the face of the scourge of terrorism, to confront and defeat it. We stand united with the USalong with Russia and a growing coalition of countries around the world. This is a challenge that must be surmounted if we are to assure the safety and security of our societies.
What happened last week in the US was a watershed event. Nothing will ever be the same again. It is still too early to tell what further challenges NATO will face. NATO IS NOT THE LEAD ORGANIZATION IN COMBATING TERRORISM. BUT INTELLIGENCE SHARING HAS ALREADY INTENSIFIED. THE EURO- ATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL, WHICH INCLUDES ALL OUR PARTNERS IS LIKELY TO HAVE MORE EXTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS ON THE SUBJECT. We will look to strengthen NATO's capabilities for early warning, defense and deterrence on "asymmetric" threats in general. This could all have an impact on most aspects of NATO's way of doing business.
FT, 9/24/01, 2 - Solidarity with US diluted by unease" - Judy Dempsey NEW WORLD ORDER
Bush: Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the US as a hostile regime." BUT SUPPORT IS NOT CLEAR-CUT. SOME ARE CONCERNED THE US WILL USE THIS CAMPAIGN TO BYPASS THE UN AND IMPOST A NEW WORLD ORDER." At the forefront in solidarity with the US is the European Union. EU leaders said any US response to the bombings was legitimate. Outside Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have made similar offers. China as well. It is the Arab states which remain the most ambiguous towards Mr. Bush's war on terrorism.
Investors Business Daily - 9/24/01, A20 - "Despite Afghanistan's terror Role, U.S. continues to give foreign Aid" - Betsy McCaughey
The U.S. is the single largest sources of humanitarian foreign aid to Afghanistan. American resources have been pouring into a country sheltering Osma bin Laden . On May 17 Colin Powell announced that the U.S. was boosting humanitarian foreign aid to Afghanistan, sending over $124 million worth of products through international channels to a nation that provides sanctuary for bin Laden. The Clinton administration had also bestowed gifts on bin laden's hosts. Weeks before the bombing that massacred 17 American sailors on the Cole, Clinton's team raised humanitarian foreign to Afghan. Above the $100 million mark. Powell declared that states harboring terrorists "cannot be given a free ride anymore." If bin Laden is the culprit, then aid to Afghanistan must be halted immediately. A nation at war does not send aid to its enemies. Bush remarked in a phone call to Mayor Rudy Giuliani "It's a new kind of war." That's true, in the sense that our enemy wears no uniform, represents no government, caries no sophisticated weapons and hides among us. Bush is right to make plans for sustained bombing and ground operations against Afghanistan. What is needed now is the single-minded tenacity with which Churchill led Britain against Nazi Germany. Churchill said, "What is our aim? It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory no matter how long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."
FT/ 9/23-4/01, 2 - "Putin pledges full co-operation - Andrew jack
Putin pledge cooperation "in the widest sens of the world" in the US-led efforts to clamp down on international terrorism over the weekend while holding back from specifying what such a contribution would mean.
UsAToday, 9/25/01, 12A - "Defeating Terrorism requires beating bureaucracy first" - Editorial
Forty government agencies have a role in fighting terrorism. The White House must decide which of these agencies Ridge should control. There are 301 ports of entry and each day more than 1.3 million people 340,000 vehicles and more than 58,000 shipments worth $8.8B cross our borders. Thousands of reservoirs, football stadiums, malls, train stations and airports are vulnerable. Hart and Rudman concluded that the first lines of home defense lie far from U.S. shores. They are diplomacy, intelligence and a Defense Department able to carry out quick strikes around the world to pre-empt attacks on our soil. That means, making sure the CIA moves away from its over-reliance on electronic intercepts and develops more human sources: snitches. It means making sure the Defense Department sets aside its appetite for Cold War weapons long enough to buy sturdy, low-tech weapons good for hunting terrorists in the mountains.
Critical homeland defenders:
Border Patrol Defense Intelligence Agency
Centers for Disease Control Department of Defense
CIA Department of Energy
Coast Guard Department of HHS
Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office Department of Justice
Department of Transportation Environmental Protection Agency
FBI FEMA
Immigration and Naturalization National Domestic Preparedness Office
NIH National Guard
National Security Council State Department
USA Today 9/25/01 - 3A - Experts call for reinforcement in money war - Dennis Cauchon
Bush 's executive order target "global terrorism" It does not cover terrorists who operate within one country. Paul O'Neil said, "Cooperate in this fight or we will freeze your U.S. assets."
FT, 9/25/01, 2 "Congress opposes bush terror package" - Peter Spiegel
Congressional Democrats and a handful of Republicansraised serious objections to parts of the bush admin's sweeping anti-terrorism legislation arguing that they gave the Justice Department unconstitutional powers. The bill, already scaled back from original versions, would give the FBI broader surveillance powersbroadening wiretapping laws and allowing agents to conduct searches without notifying suspects in some casesand allows federal prosecutors to seize all assets of those suspected of being terrorists. Some republicans said the measures gave the FBI unconstitutional powers to eaves drop and to search and seize property without proper judicial review. Republican Bob Barr, chastised Ashcroft for proposing the new surveillance measures for any investigation, not just those involving terrorism. Aschroft's package also amends immigration laws to give authorities greater powers to detain indefinitely foreigners believed to be involved in terrorism, a provision that provoked particular opposition from Democrats.
WP, 9/25/01, A3 - "Many Decisions, Many Risks - Dan Balz
One of Bush's challenges will be to persuade the country that the costs of the war on terrorism, both in terms of military casualties and future terrorist attacks at home are worth sustaining. Holding the international coalition together poses other tests for the administration with the danger of the US overloading the circuits of moderate Arab states. Bush has said the coalition he is building here will not resemble that of the Persian Gulf War.
FT, 9/25/01, 5 "Wake-up call" warns banks to co-operate - Richard Wolffler
Bush's order freezing terrorist assets is directed as much against international banks and governments as Osma bin Laden's network. The EO is intended to intensify pressure on foreign institutions either to close down bin' Laden's finances or hand over information on his financial network. It represents a sweeping extension of power for the US treasury to impose sanctions on international banks and other groups.
O'Neill will have broad discretion to assess whether the banks and governments are co-operating adequately with the US campaign against the Al-Qaeda network led by bin Laden. "This order is a wake-up call to financial institutions around the world" said O'Neill. O'Neill said, "Cooperate in this fight or we will freeze your US assets. We will punish you for providing the resources for providing resources that make these evil acts possible," he said. If he judges that the foreign banks and governments are un-cooperative, he can take a series of escalating measures leading towards the full blocking of assets. To close down terrorist finances, O'Neill will being an intensive diplomatic drive. He will be consulting foreign authorities and financial institutions to obtain information on terrorist property under their control and how to block it. Mr. O'Neil will work closely with multilateral groups including the Group of Eight, the UN and the Rio Group of Latin American Lenders.
FT, 9/25/01, 5, "Move back onshore may gain momentum" - John Willman [JV: this is getting ready for a cashless society]
President Bush presented the world's banks with a stark ultimatum: co-operate in freezing accounts linked to terrorism or see your assets frozen in the US. After the unfavorable publicity drawn by the banking industry in recent years over handling the proceeds of crime and money looted by former rulers, no bank concerned about its reputation wants to be found holding terrorist assets.
Bush acknowledged that some European countries would need legislative changes to meet US expectations. More than 10 years after the G7 setup the financial Action Task Force on money laundering, most countries are still short of implementing the 40 point plan agreed by the FTAF. The FTAF has currently blacklisted 19 jurisdictions, including onshore centers such as Nauru and Grenada. In June it published an analysis indicating that only 10of its 29 member countries complied fully with its recommendations.
FT, 9/26/01, 12, "Bigger Government - Gerard Baker
When commentators and politicians said the world changed on Sept. 11 they were thinking mostly about the emergence of the new threat to the US homeland. But as the Bush administration and Congress develop their response to the biggest crisis the US has faced since the second world war, it is clear that something else changed too. AMERICAS' LEGAL AND POLITICAL FRAMEWORK, WHICH ELEVATES FREE MARKETS AND DEPRECATES GOVERNMENT IS BEING REMODELED. Earlier concerns about the wisdom of aggressive regulation of financial institutions have been shelved in the battle against terrorism. The need to prop up the faltering economy in the wake of the attacks have become the primary domestic goal. If that means government acquisition of parts of the private sector and manipulation of securities markets, so be it. Mr. Bush granted Paul O'Neill what he described as "draconian" powers to punish and even shut down the operations of any foreign bank he suspects of not co-operating fully with the administration's global war on terrorism.
Last week the SEC temporarily suspended the application of Section 10 of the SEC which forbids "manipulative and deceptive devices" to lift restrictions on companies buying back their own shares in order to bolster their stock prices. Last Week, O'Neill said it was time to "socialize" the nation's aviation security system. Both houses of Congress passed legislation to channel $15B of public funds into the nation's ailing airlines. One clause of the bill enables the federal government to take a share in each of the big companies so the public purse might profit from any subsequent recovery in the companies stock prices. That came as Congress authorized an additional 40B in public spending on defense and security this year and next. Bi-partisan effort is well under way between lawmakers and the White House to enact a fiscal stimulus that could include as much as another $50B in public spending, the same amount in tax cuts and a return to deficit financing to pump-prime the economy.
It was no accident that the second world war completed the Great Depression reforms begun under Roosevelt's New Deal. It was during the Vietnam period that the second great expansion of the federal government this century took place with Johnson's great Society reforms that vastly expanded publicly funded health and welfare. The second factor is that for the first time this century, the US homeland can plausibly be said to be at real risk. The threat to America's territorial integrity and its citizens has not been seen since the early days of the republic.
FT, 9/26/01, 5 - US presses UN to threaten sanctions - Carola Hoyos
After 2 weeks of keeping its distance, Washington has taken its battle against terrorism to the UN. US diplomats are pressing the UN Security Council to draft a resolution that could pose the threat of international sanctions on any country that does not co-operate in isolating and prosecuting terrorists in its territory. Washington's decision to work with the UN on a long-term decision could help it gain support from countries such as China, Pakistan and Iran, all which insist the US needs further UN approval before it can launch military strikes against the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks of September 11. Since the attacks, US lawmakers have quickly reversed course, finally approving John Negroponte as US ambassador to the UN and releasing $582 million of the US's $2B debt to the UN. Bush has said he would push for the Senate to approve the UN's convention on the suppression of terrorist funding and the convention on terrorist bombings.
FT, 9/26/01, 4 - "shape of EU diplomacy may color events - Judy Dempsey
All 15 EU leaders have agreed to support the US militarily. Bush pledged to stop funds to terrorist organizations, EU officials immediately welcomed it. For some senior diplomats there is a nagging feeling that Europe's identity will be inextricably tied to and dictated by Washington from now on.
WP, 10/26/01, A35, "Why the UN is no Quick Fix" - John Ruggie [CFR, RIIA]
It is reassuring to know that Pre. Bush now feels that the UN has a legitimate role in so called nation- building; picking up the pieces and getting a country back on its feet after the implosion of its government, typically as a result of war. But the ability of the UN to do those things rests on certain conditions being metconditions that the UN itself lacks the capacity to produce. Why can't the UN step to the challenge now that bush is favorably disposed? Because it is severely limited by its member states in the kinds of military operations it can undertake. Governments voluntarily supply Un peacekeepers, or not, once the Security Council adopts a mission. The different national contingents that show up in the field have never trained together. Their officers do not know one another. The equipment they arrive with varies enormously in quantity and quality, and is typically incompatible. The UN lacks the resources to do serious contingency planning before a mission begins and the staff to fully backstop militarily demanding missions once launched.
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1999, I explained to Sen. Jesse Helms why it was important that the UN have a rapidly deploy able mission headquarters. Small teams of national military officers would be stationed at UN headquarters to do serious planning. Sen. Helms allowed that this might make military sense. Nonetheless, he remained adamant in opposition because he viewed it, not as a practical solution to a pressing world problem, but as a harbinger of "world government."
WP, 9/26/01, A3 - "Attacks Refocus White House on How to Fight Terrorism" - Mike Allen
In designing the way his WH and Cabinet would function, Bush followed a corporate model, with a strict hierarchy, clearly defined responsibilities and a central role for longtime loyalists. But the panes that crashed into the WTC and Pentagon refocused that agenda on fighting terrorism and ways to do it. A "war cabinet" composed of top national security officials from the WH, CIA, State Department and Pentagon has become the main decision-making body considering how the U.S. will frame its response to the September 11 attacks. And a "domestic consequences" group chaired by Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, meets every day to deal with fallout from the attacks on the home front.
WP, 9/26/01, A4 - "New Homeland Defense Plans Emerge" - Eric Planin
Proposals for creating a super-agency to oversee intelligence, law enforcement and domestic security activities
Bush vowed to give Ridge a strong hand to coordinate the activities of more than 40 federal agencies and departments, including the CIA and the FBI, and to forge domestic policy to defend the public against terrorists much the way national security advisor Rice shapes U.S. foreign policy. The WH said that Bush intends to create the new Cabinet-Level office of Homeland Security by executive order.
WP, 9/26/01, A4 "Senators Question an Anti-Terrorism Proposal - John Lancaster
A Bush proposal would permit the indefinite jailing of non-citizens suspected of having ties to terrorist groups goes well beyond existing law and may be unconstitutional said some senators. Ashcroft said the provision would apply only to foreigners who already are subject to deportation proceedings for violations of immigration laws. But several senators questioned that interpretation. They said the measure would allow the government to jail any noncitizen deemed threatening to national security, without revealing proof and whether or not the detainee was subject to deportation on other grounds. The anti-terrorism bill would also strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct domestic surveillance and promote the sharing of information among law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In defending this measure, Bush said, "But we're at war...and in order to win the war, we must make sure the law enforcement men and women have got the tools necessary within the Constitution to defeat the enemy." Sen. Orrin Hatch said he had no problem with the administration bill, calling it "a measured, targeted response to what we're facing here," and one that is "long overdue." Sen. Specter joined Sen. Kennedy in raising doubts about the immigration-related proposal, saying it appeared to permit the detention of noncitizens "without any evidentiary basis."
WP, 9/26/01, A7, - Rumsfeld says War will Need Backing of "revolving coalitions" - V. Loeb
Rumsfeld warned that the Bush admin's war on global terrorism would most likely takes years to win and cost more people their lives, calling it an 'unusual' conflict that 'cannot be dealt with by some sort of massive attack or invasions." Rumsfeld's reference to the need for 'revolving coalitions' offered an additional indication that the U.S. is girding for a prolonged campaign using a variety of military, intelligence and diplomatic tools, and involving action in other countries in addition to Afghanistan.
WP, 9/26/01, 1 - Saudis Sever Ties to Taliban; Russia Backs Use of Air Bases, Dana Milbank
The Saudi kingdom's severing of relations with Afghanistan's radical Islamic government and permission from Russia's defense minister for the US to use military facilities in Tajikistan came as the Group of Seven, the world's wealthiest nations, agreed to join the U.S. in freezing terrorists' assets. At the W.H. Bush met with Japanese prime minister Koizumi who offered non-military support.
*** (40 pts) FT, 9/26/01, 2 "G7 countries to seek stiffer controls on financial centers" - Int'l&econ staff
The G7 pledged to pursue a comprehensive strategy to disrupt terrorist funding around the world. The G7 finance ministers considered a new UN resolution to be proposed by the UK that would stiffen sanctions against financial centers that failed to comply with money-laundering guidelines and require authorities to report suspicious financial activities.
US officials are planning to travel to Gulf capitals later this month to press their investigation directly with banking authorities and financial institutions. Many countries whose help he needs will find it difficult to help without legal changes that could take time to implement. For some nations, it asked financial organizations to report assets to the CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE AUTHORITIES which would recommend appropriate action. Giving the authorities powers to freeze accounts more generally needs amendments to a planned law on seizing criminal proceeds. While Spain said they cannot comply since it would require a judge to order the freezing of accounts, the EU is negotiating an agreement between member states to speed up freezing assets of the terrorists. France has complied and Italy is confident it has ample powers to take any action needed against financial activity of terrorists. THE SWISS FEDERAL OFFICE OF POLICE HAS SET UP A TERROR USA TASK FORCE TO CO-ORDINATE THE SECURITY SERVICES, BORDER POLICE AND CANTONAL POLICE AUTHORITIES AND CO-OPERATE WITH FOREIGN AUTHORITIES, IN PARTICULAR THE FBI.
WP, 9/27/01, A26-Editorial "Mr. Putin's Choice"
While denouncing the attack on the U.S. and international terrorism, he blamed the failure to prevent it on the world's dependence on the 'old security structures' fo the Cold Warsuch as NATO. He called for a 'comprehensive, purposeful, and well-coordinated struggle against terrorism," but insisted it could only take place if it were conducted under an international security system restructured to give Russia more influence. Putin told the German Bundestag, Europe would be better off as 'a powerful and truly independent center of international politics if it combines its own possibilities with Russia's."
WT, 9/27/01, A9 - U.S. Muslim community is diverse - Larry Witham
Black Americas who joined the Black Muslim movement in the 1950s gave Islam its first U.S. prominence, though immigrant Muslims have always formed the largest number of adherents here. Since 1965 when immigration act reopened U.S. doors to the Middle East, Africa and Asia, educated Muslims came here. Nearly 8 in 10 U.S. Muslims were born abroad and no imams or prayer leaders at mosques are America- born, according to the American Muslim Council.
WT, 9/27/01, A23 - "Intelligence First" - Randy Scheunemann
The decline of our clandestine capabilities has been in the making for decades. The Carter-Turner purges of the 1970s seriously damaged the CIA's covert capabilities. It was in the signature operations of the 1990s that CIA's flaws became abundantly clear. The efforts to undermine Saddam Hussein's terrorist regime in Iraq were a dismal display of ineptitude, timidity and failure. Coup plots were uncovered. Assets were killed. Sensitive equipment was lost. The most promising venturean umbrella coalition under the Iraqi National Congress was first supported, then undermined and ultimately abondoned by the CIA. Even today, CIA personnel spend more energy criticizing the INC than they do subverting Saddam Hussein.
The CIA's failures cannot be blamed on a lack of resourcesespecially since the 1998 attack against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania by bin laden. The CIA's Directorate of Operations rewards those who play the game at headquarters, not those who show innovation in the field. Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former senior DO operative has written eloquently of the CIA's inability to operate in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. In the Atlantic Monthly two months ago he noted, "Unless one of bin Laden's foot soldiers walks through the door of a U.S. consulate or embassy, the odds that a CIA counter-terrorist officer will ever see one are extremely poor." I pose these questions:
1. When is the last time a CIA officer crossed a border without a passport and an escort?
2. How many CIA field agents have fluency in Farsi or Arabicor Dari, Pashto, Urdu, Kurdish or Baluch?
3. How does the CIA propose to penetrate cells made up of individuals that forged their ties over decades in the dust of Palestinian refugee camps, the chaos of Beirut or the killing fields of Afghanistan?
FT, 9/27/01, 12, - A World reordered - Lionel Barber
In the past week, the world has witnessed a geopolitical realignment potentially comparable to that of 1945 at the end of the second world war or the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The US is mustering a coalition against terrorism that includes rivals such as China and one-time pariahs such as Cuba, Iran and Sudan. Regional powers such as India, Pakistan and Russia are also being forced to make strategic choicesas far-reaching as the Soviet Union's response to the US offer of Marshall Plan aid that accompanied the rescue of western Europe. The U.S. now has Putin's blessings to use airfields in the central Asian republics. The decision paves the way for US troops to be stationed for the first time on territory of the former Soviet Union. The immediate thrust of US policy is isolate of the Taliban. Phase two is resistance against the sponsors of terrorism that could target states such as Iraq and alienate members of the coalition. Russia views Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan which are oil-rich as belonging firmly within its sphere of influence. Putin's move may therefore signal a more dynamic Russian foreign policy. Rather than merely asking Europe and the US to turn a blind eye to the crackdown against predominantly Muslim rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, he may be preparing for a bigger game.
FT, 9/27/01, 12 - ID Cards - Editorial
Britainalong with much of the English-speaking world including the US - has long resisted a national identity card. The spectre of a totalitarian police authority demanding 'your papers please' has seemed incompatible with personal freedom.
Germany has long had a national identity card but that did not lead to the rapid arrest of the Baader-Meinhof gang. Spain has a machine-readable onemodern by current standards. It has not, over 30 years, stopped Eta. Proponents will argue that newer technologies such as fingerprint and iris recognition will make the new generation of cards more effective. But their effectiveness will be directly related to how intrusively they are used, and how far they become a requirement for virtually every transaction. They would have to be carried permanently and produced on the spot. Some changes better to combat terrorism are needed.
WP, 9/27/01, E1 - Marshals for the New Era" - Kirstin Downey Grimsley
The FAA, which views the expansion of the air marshal system as a key component of its sky defense strategy, is launching a nationwide search for personnel to join the reinvigorated program. Its size and scope have fluctuated over the years based on funding and political perceptions of the risk of highjackings. To get a head start on the expanded program, the FAA is training agents from other federal agencies including the Customs Service, Secret Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
WP, 9/27/01, E1 - Backup Systems Passed Trying Test - Justin Gillis
Years of planning and of mock disaster drills got their big test when 2 planes brought down the WTC. Across the country, the terrorist attack is prompting leaders of companies large and small to rethink disaster planning. It has raised the question of whether every company, large and small, need some form of "off site" computer backup to supplement the in-house tapes most of them keep already. That in turn raised the visibility of data storage companies. Iron Mountain Inc. of boston stores both paper records and computer tapes at 650 locations around the world.
A similar system operated by the Federal Reserve Board moves a lot of money domestically, while CHIPS, operated by the New York Clearing House, is strong in international transfers. If a factory owner in Tokyo pays a supplier in Calcutta for parts, odds are the transaction will go from Japanese yen to US dollars to Indian rupeesand will move through CHIPS in New York in the process. The people who run CHIPS keep its Manhattan location secret, precisely to guard against attack. Albert Wood sat at his desk the other day to demonstrate just how much money CHIPS moves. He punched in to show the system had transferred $653,595,691,068.36 to and from the far corners of the planet. He punched it again 1 minute 18 second later to show a total of $654,690,555,868.27. In other words, the system had moved nearly $1.1B from some place in the world to some place else in little more than a minute. Y2K HELPED ACCELERATE Disaster plans.
FT, 9/28/01, 10 - Shutting Fortress America's back door - Andrew Bounds
Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants try to enter the US through Mexico and Central America every year and their need for false papers and passports has fueled a booming illicit industry that could have helped some of the September 11 attackers. Colin Powell said, "Now individually and collectively, we must take concrete steps to tighten border controls, enhance air and seaport security, improve financial controls and increase the effectiveness of our counter-terrorism forces." The FBI has asked governments to investigate cases of Arabs who gained Nicaraguan nationality and lift secrecy on 21 bank accounts. The six countries of Central America have become a jumping -off point to the US for illegal migrants from around the world. In June, US immigration and Naturalization Service conducted the world's biggest operation against people-smuggling with 13 other countries. Over 16 days, 7898 people were held from 40 countries including Sudan, Iran and Egypt. Central America has promised its support. Its police chiefs have agreed to swap information on the movements of suspected terrorists but their forces are under-resourced, badly paid, susceptible to corruption and already grappling with an unprecedented crime wave.
WP, 9/30/01, A30 - "Canada Fears Military Isn't Up to the Fight" - DeNeen L. Brown
Canada has offered its support to the U.S. to fight terrorism. Drastic budget cuts have so weakened Canada's military that the country could not defend itself in war or contribute significantly to international security say officials. In the meantime, ships are sitting idle because Canada's navy does not have enough sailors to send all its destroyers to sea. The country's air force is "one deep" and faces 'significant shortfalls." The army does not have enough troops to deploy complete units, and its military equipment is growing dangerously close to "rust out." "Canada can now contribute only token forces to NATO, United Nations, and coalition operations" said the report by the Canadian Conference of Defense Associations, an umbrella group of retired military leaders.
"The world is changing and Canada must adapt its armed forces to the evolving military and security environment" said Defense Minister Art Eggleton. As the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, Canada closed bases throughout the country, cut military manpower from generals to privates, delayed replacing aging helicopters, submarines and tanks, and shifted to the 'niche' diplomacy of international peacekeeping. Retired Lt. General Charles Belzile, chairman of the Conference of Defense Associations said, "People are asking if we could defend our own country...There is no way we could defend it by ourselves. In the context of geography, we would work with the United States."
Canada spends only the equivalent of $167 per capita on defense while NATO members spend an average of $371. An additional $630 million per year would be needed to bring Canada's military back to its height. Although PM Chretien met with Bush last Monday, Bush did not make a formal request for military help from Canada.
9/30/01, A10 - In command of a nonconventional, anti-terrorism War - Dana Priest
On Oct. 12, 2000 the USS Cole in Aden Yemen was bombed in which 17 American sailors were killed. Army General Tommy R. Franks is the regional commander-in-chief of US military operations from Egypt to Turkmenistana 25 nation swath that includes Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf States.
WP, 9/30/01, A6 - Hill Puts Brakes on Expanding Police Powers - John lancaster
The administration's anti-terrorism bill which many lawmakers fear grants too much clout to police agencies, in particularly in the realm of electronic surveillance. They are wary of lowering barriers to the sharing of information among law enforcement and intelligence services. They object to a provision that would permit the indefinite jailingwithout trialof non-citizens suspected of ties to terrorist groups. Congress has welcomed: proposals to block financial transactions among terrorist groups, beef up border patrols and stiffen penalties for terrorists. Lawmakers are also sympathetic to a provision that would permit the use of "roving wiretaps" which cover all forms of electronic communication as distinct from single phone linesin terrorism investigations such as wiretaps are not limited to criminal probes. Rep. John Conyers said, with regard to provision that would allow prosecutors to introduce evidence in federal courts that had been obtained overseas by illegal wiretaps, that "we are deeply troubled. Permitting information for illegal wiretaps performed abroad against U.S. citizens to be used in the federal courts as the administration proposes iswell constitutional on its face."
No date - Washington Post - "Bush names Army General to NSC Post on terrorism" - Mike Allen
Bush has asked retired Army General Downing, a career specialist in counter-terrorism, to join the staff of the NSC as assistant to the president and national director for combating terrorism.
WP, 9/30/01, H1 - "A Tighter Hand in Doling Out Global Aid?" - Paul Blustein
The war against terrorism being mobilized by the Bush admin. will surely involve using the IMF/World Bank as financial tools of the U.S. led coalition, according to experts inside/outside the organization. That means the U.S. and its allies in the G7, the dominant shareholders of both organizations, will use their influence to funnel billions of dollars in loans on easy terms to strategically important governments such as Pakistan. Those kinds of loans, though financially beneficial in the short run to the governments receiving them, have a dismal record of boosting growth and living standards in the long run.
FT, 10/1/01 - 8 "Blair Plans tough measure to fight terrorism" - Brian Groom
Tony Blair gave notice yesterday that he was planning some of the most Draconian measures seen in Britain in an effort to ensure the country was not a "safe haven" for international terrorists. Emergency legislation will speed up extradition cases, tighten asylum laws and allow indefinite detention of terrorist suspects to flee to Britain. The government plans to hit terrorists finances by giving police power to freeze
bank accounts a the start of investigations rather than after suspect money has been moved overseas.
WP, 10/2/01, A14 - Guiliani Urges UN to Join US Fight - Colum Lynch
Rudolph Giuliani addressed the UN General Assembly yesterday drawing enthusiastic and repeated applause as he asked its members to join the United States in seeking the "total eradication of terrorism." In the past Giuliani has criticized the UN on matters ranging from city parking laws to what welcome should be accorded Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Giuliani is the first NY mayor since 1952 to address the General Assembly. Kofi Annan said, "Our home is your home and your home, this unique and historic city of New York, is our heroic and hospitable host city."
FT, 10/2/01, 1 "Bush steps up pressure on anti-terrorist measures - Peter Spiegel
both House and Senate membersfrom both partieshave expressed reservations about more than half of the 53 provisions in the bill, arguing that many of the measure violate civil liberties of foreign nationals in the US and give the FBI too much power to search and eavesdrop on Americans. Requests include:
1. Electronic surveillance - gives the FBI the ability to get a national wiretap on a suspect from just one regional district court. Allows investigators to tap any phone used by a suspect: currently a judge must okay taps on each phone line requested. US authorities permitted to use information gathered by a foreign government in court.
2. Foreign intelligenceallows any foreign intelligence information gathered by investigators to be shared will all domestic law enforcement agencies, including immigration and the FBI
3. Immigration - toughens definition of what constitutes terrorismrelated crime. Allows attorney general to certify a foreigner as a potential terrorist and hold the suspect indefinitely
4. Criminal justice - removes statute of limitation on prosecuting terrorism offences. Raises prison terms for those convicted of terrorism-related crimes. MAKES IT ILLEGAL TO KNOWINGLY ASSIST A TERRORIST.
5. Financial support-allows prosecutors to seize all assets of a terrorist organization; currently, the assets can only be frozen. Toughens laws against laundering money used in terrorist plots.
FT, 10/2/01, 2, "Terror weapons 'pose grave threat'" - Carola Hoyos at the UN - Quest of TERRORISM
Kofi Annan, called on the 189 member countries to tighten their restrictions on biological and nuclear weapons. Annan said, "The greatest danger arises from a non-state groupor even an individualacquiring and using a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon." Annan called on countries to tighten laws governing the exports of goods and technologies used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles. Some suggestions: banning the sale of small arms to non-state groups. SINCE THE TERRORIST ATTACKS, THE WORLD HEALTH ORGAN. HAS UPGRADED ITS PROCEDURE FOR HELPING COUNTRIES RESPOND TO SUSPECTED BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL ATTACKS, NOTING THAT PROPER SURVEILLANCE AND A QUICKLY CO-ORDINATED RESPONSE WOULD BE VITAL IN STOPPING LARGE NUMBERS FROM BEING AFFECTED. THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS, SAID ANNAN, WAS TO SIGN AND RATIFY THE 12 EXISTING UN CONVENTIONS ON TERRORISM, IN PARTICULAR, THE CONVENTION ON TERRORIST BOMBINGS WHICH CAME INTO FORCE EARLIER THIS YEAR AND THE 1999 CONVENTION AGAINST THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM WHICH HAS GARNERED ONLY FOUR OF THE 22 RATIFICATIONS IT NEEDS TO COME INTO FORCE.
the General Assembly is working on the draft of a more general 13 th convention, which would address some of the unresolved issues in the existing resolutions. In his speech, Mr. Annan referred to the most contentious problem that has stymied agreement on an umbrella terrorist text for decades: "some of the most difficult issues related to the definition of terrorism" he said. There was a need for moral clarity as well as legal precision. "There can be no acceptance of those who would seek to justify the deliberate taking of innocent civilian life." Even the Security Council has not defined terrorism. The group established a committee to decide on a case-by-case basis what, or who, constitute a terrorist threat.
Rudolph Giuliani became the first mayor since 1952 to address the General Assembly.
AOL, 10/4, 01 - "UN Allied with US in Terrorism Fight" - George Gedda
A half century ago, many Americas used bumper stickers to advertise their feelings about the UN" "the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US"." In the aftermath of September 11 terrorist attacks, there has ben an unusual outpouring of support and sympathy for the US at the world body. Last Friday, at the US urging, the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding that all nations freeze terrorists' assets, halt their funding and exchange information on their activities. To guard against foot dragging, the council created a committee to monitor compliance. The UN General Assembly is devoting this week to work on adoption of a new convention on terrorism that would incorporate key elements from a dozen existing legal instrument. The biggest stumbling bloc is to come up with a universally accepted definition of terrorism.
WP, 10/5/01, 1 - $300 Million More for Afghan Aid - Mike Allen
bush committed $300 million in humanitarian assistance. "This is our way of saying that while we firmly and strongly oppose the Taliban regime, we are friends of the Afghan people. "We are a compassionate people".
WP, 10/5/01, A26 - NATO Allies Offer Helps for US Military Action - William Drozdiak
NATO allies agreed to allow the U.S. unlimited use of their airspace and full access to their pots, airfields and refueling facilities as part of their contribution to any U.S. military response to the terrorist attacks of September 11. In Tokyo, the government said it would provide up to $160 million in humanitarian aid for an expected flow of Afghan refugees into Pakistan and send military cargo planes to deliver supplies. The 18 NATO allies consented to an 8 point wish list submitted by the US after NATO made the UNPRECEDENTED DECISION TO INVOKE Article 5 of its founding treaty which declares that an attack on one member shall be considered an attack against them all. The rapid acceptance of the entire set of its requests was applauded by the U.S. IN ADDITION TO OPENING UP THEIR AIR SPACE AND ALL OF THEIR MILITARY FACILITIES, THE ALLIES AGREED TO SHARE INTELLIGENCE RELATED TO TERRORIST THREATS, TO INCREASE SECURITY FOR U.S. EMBASSIES AND TROOPS BASED ON THEIR TERRITORY AND TO FILL ANY GAPS IN NATO DEFENSES THAT MIGHT OCCUR IF THE U.S. DIVERTS PLANES, SHIPS AND TROOPS TO THE AFGHANISTAN REGION. [This all sets precedencea global villageno difference in which toys you use]
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FT, 10/