{"id":521,"date":"2008-09-30T07:58:04","date_gmt":"2008-09-30T12:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=521"},"modified":"2008-09-30T07:58:04","modified_gmt":"2008-09-30T12:58:04","slug":"bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/","title":{"rendered":"Bush’s Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Future of Freedom Foundation<\/a> just posted online <\/a>my article from the July issue of Freedom Daily <\/em>on Bush’s sovereignty shenanigans on Iraq.<\/p>\n

It continues to amaze me how easily Bush and team got away with the Empire-State-Building-sized farces regarding Iraq. Unfortunately, “Bush re-subjugated Americans by claiming to have liberated Iraqis.”
\n*****<\/p>\n

The Forgotten Iraqi-Sovereignty Sham<\/strong> Freedom Daily July 2008
\nby James Bovard<\/p>\n

The Bush administration and the Iraqi government are wrangling over the future role of the U.S. government in Iraq. The Bush team wants far more power over Iraqis than the current Iraqi government wants to concede.<\/p>\n

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in April 2008 that the dispute is concentrated on \u201csensitive issues,\u201d including the U.S. military\u2019s right to imprison Iraqi citizens unilaterally and the legal immunity that American contractors enjoy. It is understandable that Iraqis would be sensitive on these points, since permitting foreigners to kill and imprison without legal consequence does make a mockery of Iraqi self-rule.<\/p>\n

But the real surprise here is that there should be any such controversy. Didn\u2019t the United States generously grant Iraq sovereignty over itself in 2004?<\/p>\n

That was a key bragging point of the Bush reelection campaign that year. It was the ultimate proof that Bush is a great liberator and that the United States freed the Iraqi people. In an April 13, 2004, press conference, Bush declared, “On June 30th, when the flag of a free Iraq is raised, Iraqi officials will assume full responsibility for the ministries of government…. One central commitment of that mission is the transfer of the sovereignty back to the Iraqi people. We have set a deadline of June 30th. It is important that we meet that deadline. We will not step back from our pledge.” <\/p>\n

Bush hyped the sovereignty turnover as the key to boosting Iraqis\u2019 trust in America: “Were the coalition to step back from the June 30th pledge, many Iraqis would question our intentions and feel their hopes betrayed. And those in Iraq who trade in hatred and conspiracy theories would find a larger audience and gain a stronger hand.” <\/p>\n

On June 28, 2004, Bush\u2019s man in Baghdad, Coalition Provisional Authority Chief Paul Bremer, handed a leather-bound document to Iyad Allawi, the former CIA operative placed by the United States at the head of the interim Iraqi government. Because of fears of insurgent attacks during the sovereignty ceremony, the Bush administration secretly conveyed the document two days earlier than planned.<\/p>\n

At the time, Bush was at a NATO summit in Turkey. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice handed him a slip of paper declaring, \u201cIraq is sovereign.\u201d Bush jotted, \u201cLet Freedom Reign\u201d on a piece of paper and handed it back to Rice. Some Americans may have thought that this was the same phrase used on the first Independence Day in 1776. But \u201clet freedom ring\u201d is far different from \u201clet freedom reign\u201d \u2014 especially when \u201creign\u201d meant the continued dominance of the U.S. military over a foreign country. Nevertheless, Bush proudly announced to the world, \u201cThe Iraqi people have their country back.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also announced that day, “This day also marks a proud moral achievement for members of our coalition. We pledged to end a dangerous regime, to free the oppressed, and to restore sovereignty. We have kept our word.” <\/p>\n

And he bragged, “Not only is there full sovereignty in the hands of the Government, but all the ministries have been transferred, and they\u2019re up and running.” <\/p>\n

A Soviet-style sovereignty<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, prior to pseudo-abdicating, the Coalition Provisional Authority dictated that U.S. and British troops would have immunity from prosecution from the new Iraqi government, effectively creating a diplomatic corps of 160,000 people with guns and heavy weapons and no liability for wrongful killings. The sovereignty transfer did not impede the U.S. military from continuing to heavily bomb civilian areas and sweep up vast numbers of innocent Iraqi civilians for interrogation and detention.<\/p>\n

Bremer\u2019s electoral edict also dictated that \u201cone of every three candidates on a party\u2019s slate must be a woman.\u201d In Bremer\u2019s final weeks, he issued a flurry of edicts dictating long-term restrictions on Iraq\u2019s new government and decreeing the hiring of more than 20 Iraqis for five-year terms in key positions. The Washington Post noted, “As of June 14, Bremer had issued 97 legal orders, which are defined by the U.S. occupation authority as \u201cbinding instructions or directives to the Iraqi people\u201d that will remain in force even after the transfer of political authority.” <\/p>\n

Bush bragged in a July 13 Wisconsin speech, \u201cBecause we acted, Iraq is a free and sovereign nation.\u201d But the puppet government was no model republic. One of Allawi\u2019s first acts was to issue an edict giving himself dictatorial power \u201cto impose curfews anywhere in the country, ban groups he considers seditious, and order the detentions of people suspected of being security risks.\u201d The New York Times explained that Allawi \u201cwants to show he can rule with an iron fist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bush hit the same theme in an August 5 campaign speech in Saginaw, Michigan: “You see, when we acted to protect our own security, we also promised to help deliver them from tyranny, to restore their sovereignty, to set them on the path of liberty. And when America gives its word, America keeps its word.” <\/p>\n

But Iraqi sovereignty from the beginning was intended to be a sham. The Iraqis would have self-government \u2014 and the proof would be that the American military will constantly remind them that they have self-government. The U.S. government did not intend to permit Iraqis to govern themselves in any way that did not suit the interests and demands of the Bush administration. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked on April 2, 2004, what impact the June 30 sovereignty arrival would have on the U.S. military. Wolfowitz replied, “There\u2019s not going to be any difference in our military posture on July 1st from what it is on June 30th, except that we will be there then at the invitation of a sovereign Iraqi government.” <\/p>\n

That is akin to the sovereignty that the Soviets awarded Eastern European nations after World War II. U.S. government officials made it clear that they intend to maintain 14 permanent military bases in Iraq. \u201cDo what we say and you won\u2019t get hurt\u201d will be the de facto meaning of sovereignty for Iraqis.<\/p>\n

Bush apparently defined self-government for a foreign country as being under benevolent American domination. It is another case of Bush\u2019s assuming that people are dumb enough to fall for a bogus label.<\/p>\n

Many Iraqis have never recognized that the United States had sovereignty over them \u2014 as opposed to having enough force to suppress resistance. Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi derided Bush\u2019s claims: \u201cSovereign power will be in the hands of the only military force in the country, which is the United States. It is ludicrous … to talk about a transfer of sovereignty.\u201d University of Michigan professor Juan Cole commented that the sovereignty handover \u201cwas always nothing more than a publicity stunt for the benefit of Bush\u2019s election campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Boston Globe\u2019s Derrick Jackson noted, “It appears that the simple illusion of giving the Iraqi people \u2018\u2019their country back,\u2019\u2019 while still maintaining 138,000 troops there, was a master stroke. In May, a USA Today\/CNN\/Gallup poll found that the percentage of Americans who thought it was worth going to war was at its lowest point, falling from a high of 76 percent during the war to 44 percent. A month later, just before the handover, the same poll found that the percentage of Americans who thought it was a mistake to go to send troops to Iraq was at its highest, 54 percent.” <\/p>\n

False hopes over sovereignty<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Bush announced the sovereignty handover, the American media sharply curtailed its coverage of the Iraqi conflict. The media acted as if Bush\u2019s de facto victory proclamation made the Iraq War old news and not worth as much coverage. They let the White House define reality \u2014 and thus people were supposed to move along. Americans paid more attention to Bush\u2019s bragging about the \u201csovereignty hand-over\u201d than to the rising number of dead U.S. soldiers. The average daily number of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq rose sharply from June through September, as did the average number of U.S. military dead per month.<\/p>\n

Sovereignty hoopla convinced millions of Americans that the Iraqi problem had been or would soon be solved. A survey done in the 10 days after the sovereignty handover showed that almost twice as many Americans believed that the new Iraq government had at least an equal share of power as believed that the U.S. military was still the supreme power in the country. The poll, by the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Annenberg Center, also found that \u201cfifty percent of the respondents said they thought the number of United States troops in Iraq should be reduced to no more than \u2018a few thousand\u2019 in six months or less.\u201d That was a peculiar belief, since neither Bush nor Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry was hinting at any such withdrawal.<\/p>\n

The \u201csovereignty transfer\u201d also had a big impact because people expected similar results to what had happened after previous conflicts when the U.S. announced it was formally turning over the reins. CNN polling expert William Schneider concluded, “The handover of authority in Iraq at the end of June apparently had exactly the effect that the White House intended: It made Iraq seem like less of an American problem.” <\/p>\n

Bush could not have won reelection without pervasive deceit over Iraq. A Washington Post analysis after the 2004 election noted that the Kerry campaign \u201cgambled on building up the Massachusetts senator\u2019s image in the belief that voters were familiar with Bush\u2019s weaknesses and the turmoil in Iraq.\u201d Professor Ira Chernus noted that one exit poll showed that \u201cninety percent of Bush voters said things are going well in Iraq.\u201d In contrast, \u201cEighty-two percent of Kerry voters said things are going badly in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bush re-subjugated Americans by claiming to have liberated Iraqis<\/strong>. Far more Americans recognize the futility of the U.S. attack on Iraq now than at the time of Bush\u2019s reelection. But a cowardly media and a docile opposition party have permitted Bush to turn his folly into a long-term albatross around the necks of both Iraqis and Americans. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Future of Freedom Foundation just posted online my article from the July issue of Freedom Daily on Bush’s sovereignty shenanigans on Iraq. It continues to amaze me how easily Bush and team got away with the Empire-State-Building-sized farces regarding Iraq. Unfortunately, “Bush re-subjugated Americans by claiming to have liberated Iraqis.” ***** The Forgotten Iraqi-Sovereignty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBush's Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bush's Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Future of Freedom Foundation just posted online my article from the July issue of Freedom Daily on Bush’s sovereignty shenanigans on Iraq. It continues to amaze me how easily Bush and team got away with the Empire-State-Building-sized farces regarding Iraq. Unfortunately, “Bush re-subjugated Americans by claiming to have liberated Iraqis.” ***** The Forgotten Iraqi-Sovereignty […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-09-30T12:58:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"Bush’s Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-09-30T12:58:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1738,\"commentCount\":8,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bush's Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-09-30T12:58:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/09\\\/30\\\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bush’s Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bush's Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham - James Bovard","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bush's Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham - James Bovard","og_description":"The Future of Freedom Foundation just posted online my article from the July issue of Freedom Daily on Bush’s sovereignty shenanigans on Iraq. It continues to amaze me how easily Bush and team got away with the Empire-State-Building-sized farces regarding Iraq. Unfortunately, “Bush re-subjugated Americans by claiming to have liberated Iraqis.” ***** The Forgotten Iraqi-Sovereignty […]","og_url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/","og_site_name":"James Bovard","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","article_published_time":"2008-09-30T12:58:04+00:00","author":"Jim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jimbovard","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"headline":"Bush’s Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham","datePublished":"2008-09-30T12:58:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/"},"wordCount":1738,"commentCount":8,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/","name":"Bush's Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham - James Bovard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-09-30T12:58:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/30\/bushs-forgotten-iraqi-sovereignty-sham\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bush’s Forgotten Iraqi Sovereignty Sham"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/","name":"James Bovard","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Jim"},"description":"Bovard's homepage is at http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":523,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521\/revisions\/523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}