“If you don’t have control of the population, you can’t secure the population,” according to Brig. Gen. Frederick Hodges, director of operations for the NATO regional command in southern Afghanistan. The front-page Washington Post piece with the above quote deals with Kandahar. But it is also the motto for the U.S. government’s approach to the […]
Tag Archives | Justice Department
“Freedom & the War on Terrorism” – my Pennslyvania speech…
Now online here: the video of my “Freedom and the War on Terrorism” speech last month in Bernville, Pennsylvania. I want to thank Bob Bowers, who organized this libertarian supper club, for inviting Jacob Hornberger and I to talk there. The audience was excellent – lots of hardliners full of fire-and-brimstone. The question-and-answer exchanges after […]
Ron Paul Celebrates Justice Department’s 140th Anniversary
It’s almost always a shock when truth surfaces in the Congressional Record. Madam Speaker, the House of Representatives recently considered H. Res. 1422, honoring the 140th anniversary of the Department of Justice. I voted against this resolution because of the Justice Department’s history of violating individual rights. It is the Justice Department that leads the […]
Counterpunch: Operation Tarmac
From Counterpunch – OPERATION TARMAC by James Bovard ….. Unfortunately, few people recognize the political racketeering involved in the post–9/11 roundups of airport workers. That practically ensures that, if there is another major terrorist attack or some similar debacle, mass arrests will once again be used to burnish the government’s image.
The Slippery Definition of Extremism
The Future of Freedom Foundation is shotgunning out this op-ed today…. The Slippery Definition of Extremism by James Bovard Americans are once again hearing of the perils of extremism. But the definition of this offense is slippier than a politician’s campaign promise. The definition of extremism has continually been amended to permit government policies that […]
Federal Judge: Bush Administration Was Criminal Conspiracy
Federal judge Vaughn Walker ruled today that the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program was illegal. This has been obvious ever since the New York Times blew the lid off of the National Security Administration’s massive surveillance operation in late 2005. It is amazing that the issue is still open to dispute. Unfortunately, there is not […]
My Early Optimism on the War on Terror & Civil Liberties
I had forgotten about the following riff until stumbling across it a few days ago. In late September 2001, Reason magazine asked a handful of folks “to discuss which civil lliberties they thought were most at risk in what has been called America’s first 21st century war.” They published the responses in an article entitled, […]