Western Intel

U.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans’ finances

"The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters. The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans’ finances

US citing security to censor more public records

"The U.S. government, led by the Pentagon and CIA, censored or withheld for reasons of national security the files that the public requested last year under the Freedom of Information Act more often than at any time since President Barack Obama took office. Overall, the Obama administration last year answered its highest number of requests so far for copies of government documents, emails, photographs and more, and it slightly reduced its backlog of requests from previous years. But it more often cited legal provisions allowing the government to keep records or parts of its records secret, especially a rule intended to protect national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS citing security to censor more public records

Rand Paul’s Misplaced Celebration

"Neither Bush nor Obama have ever claimed the authority to assassinate innocent Americans. The authority they have always claimed has been to assassinate guilty Americans (and guilty foreigners)—that is, those people who are guilty of being terrorists. Well, guess who decides whether a person is a terrorist. You got it! The president makes that determination. And once he decides that a person is a terrorist in his global 'war on terrorism,' that’s the end of the discussion. Under our post-9/11 system of government, neither the president nor the military nor the CIA is required to explain, justify, or even acknowledge the assassination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul’s Misplaced Celebration

McCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash ‘wacko birds’ after CIA director filibuster

"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is continuing to criticize his fellow Republicans for their filibuster of incoming CIA Director John O. Brennan over drone policy. In an interview with the Huffington Post, McCain referred to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) as 'wackos.' McCain and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) took strong exception to the filibuster, saying they support the possible use of drones to prevent terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. Some Republicans have privately worried that the high-profile stand, while garnering a lot of positive attention, will ultimately be bad for the party." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash ‘wacko birds’ after CIA director filibuster

Democratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

"Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon voted against John Brennan’s nomination to be the next director of the CIA, saying he was too cozy with the policies of the Bush administration. Merkley listed warrantless wiretapping, the lack of rights given to those deemed 'enemy combatants,' and the use of drone strikes as his primary concerns. The Democratic senator doubted that Brennan, who has defended warrantless wiretapping, would alleviate his concerns. Brennan has been closely associated with the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries. In a 2012 speech, he insisted the practice was legal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemocratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

Will Grigg: What Holder Really Said

"Like all statements from people who presume to rule others, this brief message from Holder – – who is Nickolai Krylenko to Obama’s Josef Stalin – should be read in terms of the supposed authority claimed thereby. What Holder is saying, in substantive terms, is that the President does have the supposed authority to use a drone to kill an American who is engaged in 'combat,' whether here or abroad. Under the rules of engagement used by the Obama Regime in Pakistan, Yemen, and Afghanistan, any 'military-age' male found within a targeted 'kill zone' is likewise designated a 'combatant,' albeit usually after the fact." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: What Holder Really Said

Pepe Escobar: El comandante has left the building

"Compare it with US President Barack Obama - in what sounds like a dormant cut and paste by some White House intern - reaffirming US support for 'the Venezuelan people'. Would that be 'the people' who have been electing and re-electing Chavez non-stop since the late 1990s? Or would that be 'the people' who trade Martinis in Miami demonizing him as an evil communist? El Comandante may have left the building - his body defeated by cancer - but the post-mortem demonization will go on forever. One key reason stands out. Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: El comandante has left the building

Top 5 moments of Rand Paul’s filibuster

"It was a long, hard slog for viewers and participants in the filibuster of the vote to confirm new CIA chief John Brennan, most notably for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who, we are sad to say, found time to invoke Hitler and the Nazis, but never in the 13 hours of testimony, resorted to reading aloud from the latest edition of the Ron Paul Family Cookbook. Here are a few highlights of the filibuster, which, although clearly futile in that Brennan’s appointment is all but inevitable, we hope will be entertaining enough to help you weather the disappointment of not having Rep. Ron Paul’s family recipes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop 5 moments of Rand Paul’s filibuster

Pentagon linked to Iraqi torture centers by Central American ‘dirty war’ veteran

"The Pentagon sent a US veteran of the 'dirty wars' in Central America, Colonel James Steele, to oversee sectarian police commando units in Iraq, that set up secret detention and torture centres to get information from insurgents. These units conducted some of the worst acts of torture during the US occupation and accelerated the country’s descent into full-scale civil war. A second special advisor, retired Colonel James H Coffman (now 59) worked alongside Steele in detention centres that were set up with millions of dollars of US funding." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon linked to Iraqi torture centers by Central American ‘dirty war’ veteran

Sen. Rand Paul Filibustering John Brennan CIA Nomination Over Domestic Drones

"Attorney General Holder stated in a letter to Sen. Paul dated March 4, 2013: 'It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States.' 'The U.S. Attorney General's refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes on American citizens and on American soil is more than frightening - it is an affront the Constitutional due process rights of all Americans,' Sen. Paul said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSen. Rand Paul Filibustering John Brennan CIA Nomination Over Domestic Drones