In a move tantamount to shouting “Look out!” on a busy street corner, the Department of Homeland Security has “warned” law enforcement and airlines of the possibility that there may be an Al Quida Hijacking attempt sometime in the next few months. Unless of course there is not. This so vague as to be useless warning was released despite the spokesman’s statement that “We continue to investigate this information to determine its level of credibility.” The terror level remains unchanged at Yellow, leading one to believe that the credibility level is quite low. This clumsy move is such an obvious distraction that one must wonder what we are supposed to be distracted from.
Meanwhile on the other side of the globe, things continue to go badly in the newly liberated Iraq. Essential services including water, sewer, and electricity are still spotty and crime is rampant, yet that appears to be the least of the problems. American forces are so desperate to complete the winning hand that they have stooped to the level of kidnapping women and children. From the Washington Post: “Col. David Hogg, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, said tougher methods are being used to gather the intelligence. On Wednesday night, he said, his troops picked up the wife and daughter of an Iraqi lieutenant general. They left a note: “If you want your family released, turn yourself in.” Such tactics are justified, he said, because, “It’s an intelligence operation with detainees, and these people have info.” They would have been released in due course, he added later. The tactic worked. On Friday, Hogg said, the lieutenant general appeared at the front gate of the U.S. base and surrendered.”
This is not good. First, this is behavior that would not be tolerated almost anywhere else in the world. Did anyone ever suggest kidnapping the family of, say, Milosevic? Second, did it not occur to anyone that if we knew where the wife and child were, the man of the house would at some point come home for dinner? Why exactly could American forces not simply put them under surveillance and waited? Finally there is the most disturbing issue of all: the fact that it worked. This demonstrates that the General in question honestly believed his family was not safe in American hands, that they would come to harm if he did not comply. Whatever we have done to cultivate such an image is unconscionable.
In other news from Iraq, British troops are being investigated for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, the ICC. The court is focusing on 22 incidents, documented in 74 press reports and 13 video tapes. You remember the ICC, don’t you? They are that big international court that the Bush Administration was so adamant the United States could not be part of. After all, American troops are involved in a lot of “peace keeping” missions, and could be brought up on charges in such a court! Although I refuse to believe that such a court would concern themselves with the perhaps ill-advised isolated actions of young soldiers, one must surely wonder if the court should be looking into the actions and orders of Col. Hogg. Indeed, it is a shame that Uday and Qusay Hussein are too dead to be brought before such a forum. A public trial would have gone a long way towards earning the trust of the Iraqi people and the world. That is, assuming “swift execution” and “justice” are not synonyms.
Finally, the Japanese have decided to send a team from the Self-Defense Force (SDF) to Iraq to determine what reconstruction assistance they can provide. There is still the possibility that the Japanese may determine that the best assistance they can provide is troops. This is notable and controversial. As the very title of the SDF suggests, their primary purpose is to defend Japan itself. It was set up during the post-WW2 reconstruction to specifically be an alternative to an Army. Indeed, Japanese troops “have not fired weapons in combat since the end of World War II….” Not even against Godzilla. The Japanese lawmaking body, the Diet, didn’t just have to approve troops, they had to change laws to be able to consider the possibility. Because they have a parliamentary system, Diet members risked incurring voter outrage and subsequent elections to make this change. This is a big deal.
As a postscript, a bit of news that has been almost ignored in the American media. The House of Representatives has voted to repeal the section of the PATRIOT Act which allows secret search warrants, which they call “sneak and peek” warrants. The Department of Justice has vowed to fight this, calling the move the “terrorist tip-off amendment.” Since such a change must still be approved by the Senate, I strongly urge you to tell your Senator what you think. Do it today.