from p. 6
Bush Failure
“This is noteworthy not only in retrospect, considering how important this technology has become for American foreign policy in the region, but also because it is a rare admission by the CIA of their leadership in running the program,” Sanborn explained. Finally, in light of the extensive redactions in the documents released, as well as the existence of many more documents not yet released, Random Lengths asked about future efforts to uncover hidden truths surrounding 9/11. “The National Security Archive will continue to use all available legal means to get all important U.S. government materials pertaining to Sept. 11, 2001 declassified and available to the public,” Sanborn said. “Significant portions of these CIA documents have been withheld, and there are still at least 300 relevant CIA documents referenced in the 9/11 Commission Report that have been withheld entirely. We hope to get more materials relating to CIA failures (which are conspicuously absent in this collection), reports related to CIA interrogations, White House decision documents from both the Clinton and Bush presidencies, details regarding U.S. attempts to apprehend bin Laden using the Northern Alliance or Afghan tribal leaders, as well as the role of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan in events leading to Sept. 11.” More than a decade after 9/11, there’s still far too much about the attacks that remains unknown…or buried under mountains of misleading spin.
June 29 - July 12, 2012
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
from p. 6
22
sources such as political action committees and tax exempt 527 groups, affecting the 2010 congressional election as well as the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the state law, ruling the 2010 decision did not control the outcome because Montana’s law was different and justified by the state’s interest in preventing corporate corruption and influence in politics. The state court cited Montana’s history when the voter-approved law was adopted in 1912, with mining and other corporate spending resulting in political corruption.
UN Says Occupy Protesters’ Rights Must Be Protected, US Stays Mum
American officials have yet to respond to two United Nations human rights envoys who formally requested that the U.S. government protect Occupy protesters against excessive force by law enforcement officials. The request was sent in December 2011, but was only publicly released earlier this month in connection with the 20th annual U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, according to a report by Dan Froomkin in Huffington Post. The letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was sent by Frank La Rue, U.N. special rapporteur for the protection of free expression, and Maina Kiai, the special rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly. It called on U.S. officials to “explain the behavior of police departments that violently disbanded some Occupy protests last fall” and expressed concern that excessive use of force “could have been related to [the protesters’] dissenting views, criticisms of economic policies, and their legitimate work in the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The envoys also reminded the U.S. government of its international obligations to “take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of all peaceful protesters be respected.”