Bush Watch, week of April 9, 2001

Bush Watch:
Week of April 9

by Michael C. Ruppert
From the BRC-NEWS

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HR 19, Introduced by Republican Georgia Congressman Bob Barr on January 3, 2001, the first day of the new 107th Congress, would legislatively repeal sections of three Executive Orders specifically prohibiting assassinations by the United States Government.

Entitled the "Terrorist Elimination Act of 2001", the bill, submitted to the House International Relations Committee, would specifically nullify sections of three previous Executive Orders including one initiated by Ronald Reagan in 1981. It is interesting to note that acts of Congress are not required to nullify previous Executive Orders (EOs) which are, by definition, orders issued by the President and Commander in Chief to all federal employees (including military) under his authority. All that is necessary to reverse one EO is another EO. This is exactly what President George W. Bush did with respect to EOs issued by President Clinton on the environment in the last days of his administration.

Section 3 of HR 19 specifically states:

"The following provisions of Executive orders shall have no further force or effect:

(1) Section 5(g) of Executive Order 11905.
(2) Section 2-305 of Executive Order 12306.
(3) Section 2.11 of Executive Order 12333." [By Ronald Reagan]

Section 5 (g) of Executive Order 11905, signed by Gerald Ford on 2/18/76 specifically prohibited "political" assassination. Section 2-305 of Executive Order 12036, signed 1/24/78 by Jimmy Carter renewed the ban. Section 2.11 of Executive Order 12333, signed by Ronald Reagan on 12/4/81 renewed the ban on assassinations, or conspiracy to commit assassinations, as part of a broader package which gave virtually complete control of the American National Security apparatus to then Vice President George H.W. Bush.

The full text of HR 19 may be viewed at http://thomas.loc.gov. Enter a search in the 107th Congress for 19 and it will take you straight to the bill.

The bold move, unreported and ignored by any major media, offers a chance for an early referendum on the new administration's full-speed run at a more violent and brutish foreign policy.

The current bill, introduced by staunch Bush supporter and Clinton impeachment leader Barr, indicates that the Bush administration is seeking to add legitimacy to the move by implying that Congress and the American people support the action. This can only mean that there is quite likely a list of people the Bush Administration wants to start killing fairly quickly. The appointment of career covert operative and Annapolis graduate Richard Armitage as Deputy Secretary of State under Colin Powell only underscores the clear message that the Bush Administration is sending to the world.

Armitage, who was denied a 1989 appointment as Assistant Secretary of State because of links to Iran-Contra and other scandals, served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Reagan years. U.S. Government stipulations in the Oliver North trial specifically named Armitage as one of the DoD officials responsible for illegal transfers of weapons to Iran and the Contras. But Armitage's dirty past goes much deeper.

A Vietnam veteran and graduate of Annapolis, Armitage's roots have been thoroughly intertwined with the likes of CIA veteran Ted Shackley, Richard Secord, Heine Aderholt, Elliot Abrams, Dewey Clarridge, Edwin Wilson and Tom Clines. All of these men have been directly linked to CIA covert operations, the drug trade, the abandonment of U.S. prisoners of War after Vietnam and/or Iran-Contra. Armitage has also been routinely discussed in FTW as a Bush-era covert functionary who has been linked to covert operations, drug smuggling and the expansion of organized crime operations in Russia, Central Asia and the Far East.

In 1986 a private dispute between POW activist Ross Perot and Armitage went public as photos of Armitage with a topless Vietnamese nightclub owner Nguyet O'Rourke brought allegations of gambling and prostitution very close to Armitage's doorstep. The stories went public when TIME and "The Boston Globe" wrote lengthy stories on the feud in 1986 and 1987. That scandal arose as a result of 1984 investigations by President Reagan's Commission on Organized Crime in which the photo and documentation of gambling charges and prostitution led directly to Armitage's close association with O'Rourke. Then LAPD Assistant Chief Jesse Brewer, a former Commanding Officer of this writer, served on the Reagan Commission.

The 1992 best-seller "Kiss The Boys Goodbye" by former "60 MINUTES" producer Monika Jensen-Stevenson details Armitage's role as Reagan point man on Vietnam POW-MIA issues and describes why Armitage has earned the enmity of many POW activists. However, in a 1995 interview with "The Washington Post", Colin Powell referred to Armitage as his "white son." This, notwithstanding the fact that the 6 foot, balding, power-lifter, now 56, can still bench press 300 or more pounds and reportedly "enjoys killing."

William Tyree, Special Forces Veteran who has provided much reliable information and documentation to FTW in the past said, "Armitage used to 'sit ambush' on the trails in Laos and Cambodia. He liked it. Now when Powell, 'the dove,' sits down at a table with Armitage 'the killer' beside him the message will be that Armitage can reach across the table and deal with the other party on the spot." That message will not go unheard.

[For more on Armitage we recommend using the search engine at http://www.copvcia.com and also at The Progressive Review, http://www.prorev.com.]

There is reason to believe that a repeal of the assassination ban would lead to an immediate series of deaths. Remember, the Iran-Contra team is coming back to power with a vengeance.

The completion of a February 11, 1982 memorandum between Reagan Attorney General William French Smith and CIA Director Bill Casey removed any requirement for CIA to report drug trafficking by its agents, contractors and proprietary employees. Immediately thereafter cocaine consumption into the United States multiplied as imports rose from approximately 80 tons in 1982 to 600 tons by 1989.

[A copy of that memorandum, published by the CIA in 1998, is available in FTW's Extracts and Commentary on Volume II of the CIA Inspector General's Report" originally published on 10/8/98.]

There are no choices and this is no longer a convenient exercise of protected liberty. This is now a true struggle against tyranny. Call your Congressman. Call your local media. Call your neighbor. A loud enough uproar can stop this criminal move in its tracks. Silence can only invite bloodshed.

Special thanks to Mike Whybark and Jim Galasyn of Independent Media Centers for bringing this travesty to my attention. Please visit their site at http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=19541.

-- April 9, 2001

Michael C. Ruppert
P.O. Box 6061-350
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413
(818)788-8791
(818)981-2847 fax
mruppert@copvcia.com

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Bush Watch: Week of April 9

Bush Watch:
Week of April 9