Pakistan's Recent Military Coup Attempt, Justice Rules on FBI Wiretaps, Recent Supreme Court Decision

Kathleen Parker
bob Shacochis

"Looking at the images pouring out of Haiti these days, what comes immediately into focus is the near-sighted, irrational nature of what is out of focus in American foreign policy since the Marshall Plan worked its miracles on a shattered planet." - Bob Shacochis

Pakistan had several years of being ruled by its military, until the recent retirement of General Pervez Musharraf and the election of a civilian government headed by Asif Ali Zardari. I'm sure that the military thought they were getting a puppet figurehead that would do whatever they wished him to do, but that has turned out not to be the case. Mr Zardari has proved to be resilient, passionate in his caring for the citizens of Pakistan, and now his popularity is on the rise after the military attempted to get him to resign, according to a report issued by Human Rights Watch.: "Pakistan's powerful military has actively worked to undermine efforts by the elected government to improve human rights in the country... It also tried to destabilize the elected government, and force out President Asif Ali Zardari.


In a critique of the military establishment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the armed forces had opposed efforts to end its intervention in the political and judicial process. It had also resisted attempts to locate some of the scores of people who "disappeared" in the restive province of Baluchistan during the years of General Pervez Musharraf's rule."

Once you have next to unlimited powers, it's very difficult to voluntarily give them up. as the Obama administration is finding out. Pakistan's Parliament and judiciary have become quite vocal in their criticism of perceived military influence in their areas of expertise. Under Musharraf, if a judge didn't go along with a military decision, he was put in prison on trumped up charges, and this even happened to the head of their supreme court... Add to the mix that the US military prefers to work with Pakistan's military instead of the civilian government because its easier bribing them with promises of drones and other military toys and technology. Yesterday, US Secretary of Defense visited Islamabad to pave the way for better relations between the two: "Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has sought to build bridges with the next generation of Pakistan's military leaders and end a "trust deficit" that he said has hampered co-operation between the countries." Believe it or not:

"So let me say, definitively, that the United States does not covet a single inch of Pakistani soil, we seek no military bases here, and we have no desire to control Pakistan's nuclear weapons."

The military responded by saying that it has no plans for any more new campaigns for at least six months, and they approved the current mess of drone strikes by the CIA, who seem hellbent on getting some kind of revenge or other useless, empty gestures of destruction for the bombing of personnel in one of their outposts. One positive thing is that the military has announced that they are reaching out to the North Waziristan Talibans and encouraging them to take advantage of the Karzai government's offer to peacefully integrate them into Afghan society and participating in the government and making policy.

Hopefully, the different factions will find a way to balance and share power, allowing Pakistan to flourish and grow as a true democracy. And since it has weathered this recent clash of wills and is still standing stronger than ever, it looks like they are well on their way, doing it without those pesky US diplomats looking over their shoulders...

And if the Talibans in Afghanistan and Pakistan decide to kick al Qaeda out of their territories, about the only places left for it to go will be to Yemen or Africa. Turkey has just declared them persona non grata and rounded up 16 known members in its country, so making a safe passage across the Middle East may prove difficult. Of course, bin Laden can always choose to visit his wife and children who are still living in a compound outside of Tehran...

warrantless wiretaps...

The Obama administration is having a hard time giving up the extra powers that Dick Cheney and his Machiavellian cohorts amassed for them. Eric Holder's Justice Department seems schizophrenic, going after ponzi schemers and consumer fraud cases, yet ruling that the FBI can continue to wiretap for no stated reason... "Although the FBI has acknowledged it improperly obtained thousands of Americans' phone records for years, the Obama administration continues to assert that the bureau can obtain them without any formal legal process or court oversight.


The FBI revealed this stance in a newly released report, troubling critics who had hoped the bureau had been chastened enough by its own abuses to drop such a position. In further support of the legal authority, however, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel backed the FBI in a written opinion this month." So far, this opinion has not been released to the public, or even Congress, and any focus on this decision seems to have been swept aside by the disaster in Haiti. Though the FBI keeps saying that they haven't done this in years, who really believes them?

"The FBI says that this kind of activity is in the past, but if they're saying that they have a continuing legal authority, that means it's not in the past."  - Michael German former FBI

It's decisions like this that give evidence to the claim that Obama may really just be Bush 11, keeping and extending abuses of power in the name of national security or the war on terrorism. This continuation of the erosion of personal liberties will sour more people to any other plans that Obama may have, no matter how constructive they may be, and drives them angrily towards the nearest tea party, douse mine with some single malt scotch, please.


Let's see, who else can I bash? After President Obama announced his new plan to reign in the too big to fail banks, the scuttlebutt is that Ben Bernanke may not have his term extended, because Obama's plan is more in line of the way Paul Volcker thinks than the more restrained Bernanke. Personally, my choice to replace him is Elizabeth Warren, but that will never happen, she is too compassionate. I have also read that Paul Krugman would be a good choice, then we could have two Nobel Prize winners...

But this is just pleasant daydreaming. Mr Bernanke will get enough votes from Congress to re-confirm him, though the token opposition may give him some food for thought. The Ron Paul bill to have Congressional oversight of the Fed, in the name of transparency, is still a live issue and may also go before Congress...

The Supreme Court ruling that no longer limits the amount of money a corporation may give was being billed as a matter of free speech, that a corporation has as much right as an individual to contribute their point of view. Ever since 1907 legislators had been trying to even the playing field, that large companies giving huge amounts of money may skew opinion because the average individual cannot compete to get their voice heard. The laws were pretty flawed, and ways were found to go around the laws and even create fictional groups in the name of self interest, isn't that right Swiftboaters?

The Court's decision does give more transparency, big money no longer has to hide behind fake names and titles, though they will continue to do so. It takes million and millions of dollars to run any political campaign, which automatically cancels out anyone who's not rich or cannot attract large donations, giving us a limited form of democracy. If we could get corporations to sponsor politicians like they do rock stars, that could be one financing solution. I'm a Pepper, you're a Republican... John Edwards brought to you by Trojan, wrap that rascal...

Anyway, your favorite legislators are going back to the drawing board and will try to come up with something more draconian before the mid-term elections, but it won't pass. Only if the next few elections are too blatantly sucking the tit of the major corporations enough to disgust you and I, will there be a more just campaign law. But the whole system needs to be overhauled so that even a grumpy old man could one day participate in the political process, and run for office despite the small amount of money he receives in retirement...