Rational Iran and the Great Power Games

Steve Pieczenik

 Since the 1950’s when the CIA under the leadership of covert operatives F. Roosevelt Jr and Schwarzkopf Sr. initiated a coup against the Iranian Nationalist leader Mossadegh to install the Shah of Iran who was more "sympathetic" to our oil interest, the US has been playing games in Iran. Along with the US geopolitical partners - Britain, Russia, France, Russia, and Israel---Iran became a pawn as well as major power player in the Middle East for the next sixty five years. Not once in that period of time under Iran’s respective leaders—Shah Pahlavi, Ayatollah Khomeini and his son Ayatollah Khameini and President Ahmadenijad has there been any evidence of "irrational" or "crazy" thinking. In fact, Iran's leaders, except for the Shah, who was exceedingly weak and not very bright, have shown an uncanny ability to manipulate the US, Britain, and Israel into varying positions of confrontation and eventual cooperation.

During the brutal reign of the Shah and SAVAK (Iranian intel), the Iranian clergy convinced the CIA to place the Ayatollah Khomeini under safe keeping with our once ‘helpful’ ally Saddam Hussein for protection against SAVAK. In 1979, the Iranian clergy convinced our CIA again to return Khomeini to Iran where he was eventually installed as the leader of Iran after having overthrown the Shah without the help of the CIA who was completely caught off guard. In 1979, I had, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under the Carter Administration, four hundred members of our US Embassy of whom only eight spoke Farsi. Despite the entreaties by Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher that Ayatollah Khomeini was ‘crazy’, I tried to explain to him that he was extremely ‘sane’ and would ‘carry out’ his long espoused agenda of making Iran into an Islamic State for the next six hundred years. Weeks later, the Iran Hostage began for the second time. Before the infamous Iranian Hostage Siege that began in April 30, 1980 and lasted for years, there was actually a hostage siege before that where our brave Ambassador Sullivan was taken hostage in his own house, again as a result of faulty US intelligence, specifically manipulated by a very effective Iranian Revolutionary Guard counter –intelligence effort.

The American hostages were released by Reagan on his inaugural day- no one had been aware that there had been illegal negotiations undertaken for months prior to the official release of the hostages which Reagan and other Republicans had initiated against the protests of Democratic officials in the Carter administration . The nefarious individuals involved in this illegal activity would become prominent in subsequent Republican administrations including Elliot Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle and many others. The Iran Contra Affair was an outcome of this intrigue involving American officials, Israel and the cunning ability of the Iranians to compromise everyone involved.

This cunning behavior of Iran would eventually lead to a war with Iraq for geopolitical concerns in which both the US and Israeli governments played integral parts. The First Iran-Iraq War [1980-1988] was directly precipitated by Secretary of State George Shultz, [my boss at the time], Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad [ an Afghani neocon and CIA asset] and SecDef Donald Rumsfeld, all of whom with Reagan’s administration support allowed Saddam Hussein to employ gas warfare. Our military supplied Saddam with Fighter Jets and in certain cases we even flew for the Iraqis against Iranian pilots. But what made this war particularly revealing of the underlying hypocrisy was the fact that with our encouragement [read Republican Neocons] Israel supplied the necessary ammunition, airplanes and even flew the F-4 Phantoms and F-5 Tiger planes for Ayatollah Khomeini. The idea of encouraging this war between Iraq and Iran for almost ten years, where countless millions of children, men and women died needlessly, was the strategy espoused by both Israel and the US, that it would benefit both countries if Iran and Iraq were weakened and Israel remained the predominant ‘democratic’ power in the Middle East.

For eight years Israel and their ‘inhumane’ Zionist leaders were in fact aiding and abetting the ‘crazy’ Iranian Ayatollahs and mullahs to vanquish a secular “Baathist Regime’. So again, there is no evidence up to this time that Israel nor Iran have considered each other barbaric or insane. In fact, what we see at this point in history and even later , is that Iran needs Israel and Israel needs Iran. One without the other cannot create the necessary ‘strategic tension’ in the Middle East to counter the power of Saudi Arabia or Turkey [both Sunni countries]. Then we enter the Second Persian War under Bush Sr which again was initiated under false pretenses. But that’s another story for the moment. And once again, Israeli fighter pilots [ in secret of course] fly US fighter jets and other unmarked planes attacking Iraqi bases in the Bush Sr’s ‘unified coalition’ for democracy and peace. That was lasted less than thirty –six hours. The next encounter that we have involving Israel, Iran and the US is the continuing conflict in Syria where it’s such a bouillabaisse of confusion and misperceptions that Israel realizes that if Bashir Assad is overthrown then Israel's fate will be completely determined by Iranian hegemony. Something Israel cannot manipulate.

So what is the next pretext for a neocon /Israeli inspired war? A fictional narrative created around the Iranian nuclear bomb. In reality, if Israel were really worried about an “Arab Bomb’ then they should attack the failing –state of Pakistan which has in fact hundreds of atomic bombs. Furthermore , unlike Iran, Pakistan is really controlled by fanatical Sunni/Salafist Radicals funded by the Saudi family. So why doesn't Israel even mention Pakistan as a potential problem? There lies the question of the distortions and fabrication of Iran’s presumed threat . Pakistan and Israel have worked very closely along with US and CIA encouragement to develop Pakistan’s infamous arsenal, presumably aimed only at India. Of course, this is nonsense. But nonsense, lies and contradictions and geopolitical interests has never never stopped the Israelis or the Iranians or the Americans or the Saudis. The only difference with Israel is that it is becoming a ‘failed state’ soon to be abandoned by the USG geopolitical interest, soon to be left alone in a paranoid world in which they helped to foment the unrests and dangers that paranoids always fear. For in the world of psychiatry and intelligence, we have a saying, “Paranoids really do have enemies". But this time Israel cannot use the “Holocaust Raison D’etre" since they helped create that one too.

Wealth of former Egyptian interior minister estimated at $3bn

Ahram

Official documents obtained by Al-Ahram daily indicate that imprisoned Habib El-Adly's fortunes are around $3 billion, including a 'fleet' of fancy cars and dozens of villas  

Egypt's former minister of interior Habib El-Adly reportedly owns 42 palaces and villas, 75 feddens and a 'fleet' of luxury cars, state-owned Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported on Saturday.

Al-Ahram has obtained official documents which will be handed to the country's illicit gains authority that include details about El-Adly's wealth, which is estimated at LE18 billion ($3 billion).

El-Adly and ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak are currently serving life sentences for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during last year's uprising.

Most of the former interior minister's properties are located in Sharm El-Sheikh, the North Coast, Mohandiseen and Zamalek, all in wealthy neighbourhoods.

El-Adly owns a villa in satellite 6 October City surrounded by a bulletproof glass façade, according to Al-Ahram.

It is reported that there are other undisclosed properties that have been registered under the names of his relatives.

In July 2011, El-Adly was sentenced to five years in prison for squandering public funds in the infamous number plates case. Earlier that same year the former interior minister was handed a 12-year sentence for corruption charges related to using his senior position to illegally gain profits.

Operation Fast and Furious and U.S. Support for Illegal Drugs from Mexico

Mysterious fatal crash offers rare look at U.S. commando presence in Mali

Washington Post
Craig Whitlock

In pre-dawn darkness, a ­Toyota Land Cruiser skidded off a bridge in North Africa in the spring, plunging into the Niger River. When rescuers arrived, they found the bodies of three U.S. Army commandos — alongside three dead women.

What the men were doing in the impoverished country of Mali, and why they were still there a month after the United States suspended military relations with its government, is at the crux of a mystery that officials have not fully explained even 10 weeks later.

At the very least, the April 20 accident exposed a team of Special Operations forces that had been working for months in Mali, a Saharan country racked by civil war and a rising Islamist insurgency. More broadly, the crash has provided a rare glimpse of elite U.S. commando units in North Africa, where they have been secretly engaged in counterterrorism actions against al-Qaeda affiliates.

The Obama administration has not publicly acknowledged the existence of the missions, although it has spoken in general about plans to rely on Special Operations forces as a cornerstone of its global counterterrorism strategy. In recent years, the Pentagon has swelled the ranks and resources of the Special Operations Command, which includes such units as the Navy SEALs and the Army’s Delta Force, even as the overall number of U.S. troops is shrinking.

At the same time, the crash in Mali has revealed some details of the commandos’ clandestine activities that apparently had little to do with counterterrorism. The women killed in the wreck were identified as Moroccan prostitutes who had been riding with the soldiers, according to a senior Army official and a U.S. counterterrorism consultant briefed on the incident, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, which is conducting a probe of the fatal plunge off the Martyrs Bridge in Bamako, the capital of Mali, said it does not suspect foul play but has “not completely ruled it out.” Other Army officials cited poor road conditions and excessive speed as the likely cause of the 5 a.m. crash.

U.S. officials have revealed few details about the soldiers’ mission or their backgrounds, beyond a brief news release announcing their deaths hours after the accident.

In many countries, including most in Africa, Special Operations forces work openly to distribute humanitarian aid and train local militaries. At times, the civil-affairs assignments can provide credible cover for clandestine counterterrorism units.

But in Mali, U.S. military personnel had ceased all training and civil-affairs work by the end of March, about a week after the country’s democratically elected president was overthrown in a military coup.
The military’s Africa Command, which oversees operations on the continent, said the three service members killed were among “a small number of personnel” who had been aiding the Malian military before the coup and had remained in the country to “provide assistance to the U.S. Embassy” and “maintain situational awareness on the unfolding events.”

US, Israel seek to derail Egypt’s revolution: Iranian cmdr.

PressTV

Deputy Chairman of Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri

A senior Iranian military commander has hit out at the United States and Israel for their attempts to derail Egypt’s revolution and hinder the democratic movement in the North African state.

The US and the Zionist regime (Israel) took countless measures to sway Egypt’s revolution as it is the biggest and the most important Arab country, said Deputy Chairman of Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri on Monday.

The US and the Israeli regime cannot tolerate any progress in the Egyptian movement toward freedom and independence, he added.

The Iranian commander also said that “from the onset of the Islamic awakening in Egypt, it could be anticipated that the US would develop different scenarios against the movement.”

On Sunday, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) in Egypt announced Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi as the winner of the country’s presidential runoff.

Meanwhile, Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a statement, congratulated the Egyptian nation on the election of Morsi as the country’s new president.

Following the revolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran 33 years ago, once again, the world is witnessing the overthrow of another US-backed regime in Egypt, the statement read, expressing certainty that a new wave of movements that seek Islamic governments has initiated.

Morsi won the presidency by beating ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak’s last premier Ahmed Shafiq during the country’s run-off presidential election on June 16 and 17. He garnered nearly 52 percent of the vote.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo and across the country to celebrate the victory of Morsi, chanting slogans such as “God is greatest” and “down with the military rule.” 

Afghan parliament committees reject partnership pact with US

PressTV

A member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan says the recent strategic partnership agreement signed between the US and Afghanistan has so far been rejected by two parliamentary committees.

Qorban-Ali Erfani said Tuesday that the agreement is being considered by various committees of the assembly and has already been rejected by two of them including the judicial committee for being against the national interests of Afghanistan.

US President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement in Kabul on May 1, which extends the US presence in Afghanistan to another decade beyond 2014.

The agreement is yet to be approved by the 249-member Afghan Parliament.

Meanwhile, an informed source says that the Afghan government and US Embassy in Kabul are lobbying Afghan lawmakers to encourage them to support the agreement, including by promising financial assistance and US Green Cards to Afghan parliamentarians.

Referring to the recent NATO summit meeting in Chicago on May 20-21, Erfani said the meeting was completely useless.

He stated that although participants talked about the withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan, ceding responsibility for security affairs to Afghan forces and training them, “such remarks will only be useful when they are followed in practice, which does not seem to be the case.”

The lawmaker said the United States has paid no attention to rebuilding the Afghan army in the past 11 years and has so far avoided providing it with advanced weaponry, including modern planes and helicopters.

All these propaganda, he said, is aimed at influencing the public opinion, but the United States does not aim to make the Afghan army completely self-sufficient. 

Obama administration using loophole to quietly sell arms package to Bahrain

Foreign Policy

President Barack Obama's administration has been delaying its planned $53 million arms sale to Bahrain due to human rights concerns and congressional opposition, but this week administration officials told several congressional offices that they will move forward with a new and different package of arms sales -- without any formal notification to the public.

The congressional offices that led the charge to oppose the original Bahrain arms sales package are upset that the State Department has decided to move forward with the new package. The opposition to Bahrain arms sales is led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), and also includes Senate Foreign Relations Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee chairman Robert Casey (D-PA), Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Wyden and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) have each introduced a resolution in their respective chambers to prevent the U.S. government from going through with the original sale, which would have included 44 armored, high-mobility Humvees and over 300 advanced missiles.

The State Department has not released details of the new sale, and Congress has not been notified through the regular process, which requires posting the information on the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) website. The State Department simply briefed a few congressional offices and is going ahead with the new sale, arguing it didn't meet the threshold that would require more formal notifications and a public explanation.

At today's State Department press briefing, The Cable asked spokeswoman Victoria Nuland about the new sale. She acknowledged the new package but didn't have any details handy.

Our congressional sources said that State is using a legal loophole to avoid formally notifying Congress and the public about the new arms sale. The administration can sell anything to anyone without formal notification if the sale is under $1 million. If the total package is over $1 million, State can treat each item as an individual sale, creating multiple sales of less than $1 million and avoiding the burden of notification, which would allow Congress to object and possibly block the deal.

We're further told that State is keeping the exact items in the sale secret, but is claiming they are for Bahrain's "external defense" and therefore couldn't be used against protesters. Of course, that's the same argument that State made about the first arms package, which was undercut by videos showing the Bahraini military using Humvees to suppress civilian protesters.

Regardless, congressional opponents to Bahrain arms sales are planning to fight back. Wyden is circulating a letter now to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stating that Bahrain's government continues to commit human rights violations and should not be rewarded with U.S. arms sales.

"The Bahraini government has shown little progress in improving their human rights record over the last few months and in some ways, their record has gotten worse," Wyden told The Cable on Friday. "Protesters are still being hurt and killed, midnight arrests are still happening and the government continues to deny access to human rights monitors. The kingdom of Bahrain has not shown a true good faith effort to improve human rights in their country and the U.S. should not be rewarding them as if they have."

"Supplying arms to a regime that continues to persecute its citizens is not in the best interest of the United States," Wyden said. "When the government of Bahrain shows that it respects the human rights of its citizens it will become more stable and a better ally in the region; only then should arms sales from the U.S. resume."

That point was echoed by McGovern, who pledged to oppose any arms sales to Bahrain.

"The government of Bahrain continues to perpetrate serious human rights abuses and to deny independent monitors access to the country," McGovern told The Cable. "Until Bahrain takes more substantial and lasting steps to protect the rights of its own citizens, the United States should not reward its government with any military sales."

A State Department official declined to give specifics of the new arms package to The Cable but said that Bahrain was moving in the right direction.

"We have seen some important initial steps from the Bahraini government in implementing the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry's recommendations, but more needs to be done," the official said. "We urge the government of Bahrain to take action on the full range of recommendations that we believe will help lay the foundation for longer-term reform and reconciliation."

Cherif Bassiouni, the chair of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry that investigated the government crackdown on protests in 2011, recently said in an interview that the administration is not doing enough to pressure the Bahrain regime. "There is merit in naming and shaming and embarrassing, in pushing, in enlisting public opinion, domestic and international. This is not the style of Secretary Clinton or President Obama, and I'm not sure they are necessarily doing the right choice," he said.

Charles Taylor 'worked' for CIA in Liberia

BBC

US authorities say former Liberian leader Charles Taylor worked for its intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the Boston Globe reports.

The revelation comes in response to a Freedom of Information request by the newspaper.
A Globe reporter told the BBC this is the first official confirmation of long-held reports of a relationship between US intelligence and Mr Taylor.

Mr Taylor is awaiting a verdict on his trial for alleged war crimes.

Rumours of CIA ties were fuelled in July 2009 when Mr Taylor himself told his trial, at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Hague, that US agents had helped him escape from a maximum security prison in Boston in 1985.

The CIA at the time denied such claims as "completely absurd".

But now the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's spy arm, has disclosed that its agents - and those of the CIA - did later use Mr Taylor as an informant, the Globe reports.
Globe reporter Bryan Bender told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Pentagon officials refused to give details on exactly what role Mr Taylor played, citing national security.

But they did confirm that Mr Taylor first started working with US intelligence in the 1980s, the period when he rose to become one of the world's most notorious warlords, Mr Bender says.

Mr Taylor was later elected Liberia's president.

He has been accused of arming and controlling the RUF rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone during a 10-year campaign of terror conducted largely against civilians.
If convicted, Mr Taylor would serve a prison sentence in the UK.

He denies charges of murder, rape and using child soldiers.

Bahrain: Is Washington Preparing For ‘Regime Change’ in PR Disaster Kingdom?

Global Research
Finian Cunningham

The persistence of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in the face of brutal repression may be giving Washington second thoughts about its unwavering support for the royal rulers of the strategically important Persian Gulf kingdom. Are we about to witness a cosmetic ‘regime change’ – not so much for the genuine sake of democratic rights in Bahrain, but more to save Washington’s vital interests across the region?

The tiny island situated between Saudi Arabia and Qatar serves as the base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. The Fifth Fleet, comprising 16,000 personnel and 30 vessels, is a staging ground for US military projection across the Middle East and Central Asia. It also monitors the sealanes of the Persian Gulf through which some 30 per cent of the world’s total supply of traded oil passes every day.

Since the mainly Shia population of Bahrain took to the streets on 14 February in protest against the unelected Sunni monarchy of the Al Khalifa dynasty, Washington has given unrelenting support to the regime – invariably describing Bahrain as “an important ally”.

Apart from the US Fifth Fleet, the US has a free trade agreement with Bahrain, it sells some $20 million in weapons every year to the kingdom, and Bahrain is a financial hub for American and global capital.

Bahrain returned all these favours by lending Washington and its NATO allies diplomatic cover for the military intervention in Libya to oust Muammar Gaddafi. Bahrain, along with the other Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, lined up dutifully behind the US/NATO intervention to give it a veneer of Arab approval, and thus head off charges that the aerial bombardment of Libya is a Western imperialist war of aggression. The Gulf Arab monarchies have also performed the same political function of providing diplomatic cover for the US/NATO sanctions and threats of intervention against Syria.

Bahrain and the other Gulf dictatorships (despite the irony of that) have thus played an important propaganda function. They have helped underpin the premise that the US and NATO involvement in Libya and Syria is guided by defence of human rights and democratic freedoms.

But now here’s the rub. Bahrain stands out as a glaring contradiction to stated US government claims regarding its interventions in Libya and Syria.

The fact that some 40 people have been killed in Bahrain for peacefully demanding democratic freedoms and basic human rights is an unmitigated damning indictment of the US-backed regime. Thousands have been injured – many horribly mutilated – from regime forces firing at unarmed peaceful demonstrators.

The apparent glaring contradiction between US foreign policy towards Bahrain and its espoused concerns for the people of Libya and Syria makes Bahrain under the Al Khalifa regime a serious liability to Washington’s “humanitarian” credibility.

Given the ongoing persecution against Shia workers (over 3,500 sacked); the preposterous use of military show trials to prosecute dozens of doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers and athletes; the widespread condemnation by human rights groups of illegal mass detention and torture; the targeting of independent journalists and bloggers; the expulsion of hundreds of students and academics – the liability of the Al Khalifa regime to Washington’s foreign policy credibility grows ever more unwieldy by the day.

Added to these barbarities against peaceful civilians is the recent massive teargas deployment in Shia villages that are deemed to be supportive of the pro-democracy movement. Every night, villages are smothered in teargas by regime forces firing thousands of canisters into streets and homes. Local people have described the deployment a deliberate policy of “toxic terrorism” and “collective punishment”.

At least eight people have died from asphyxiation after regime forces fired teargas into homes. The latest victim was Jawad Ahmed (36). He died on 14 September, succumbing to teargas fired into his home in the village of Sitra. Relatives did not want to take the victim to the hospital out of fear that he would be arrested by regime forces – as is common in Bahrain where the hospitals have been under military command ever since the Saudi-led invasion to crackdown on the protesters in March. Only days before Jawad Ahmed’s death, a boy, Ali Jawad (14) was killed when he was shot in the head at close range with a teargas canister. [1]

The insoluble dilemma for the regime is that such fierce repression has signally failed to quash the pro-democracy protests. After nearly six months of state terrorism, the Bahraini protests against the regime have become more determined with 200,000-300,000 out of a population of less than 600,000 participating in demonstrations every week.

Court throws out Afghan MPs over alleged fraud

Sacramento Bee
JON GAMBRELL

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A special Afghan tribunal began throwing out election results Thursday from last year's parliamentary poll, alleging massive fraud and putting in question who will control the legislative body that acts as one of the few checks on President Hamid Karzai.

The Karzai-appointed tribunal, led by Special Court Judge Sidiqullah Haqiq, said it had adjusted results from 33 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. In early tallies, the tribunal announced 13 new members of the 249-seat parliament Thursday morning.

The packed courtroom in Kabul gasped at times as the five-judge panel detailed some of the fraud it said it had uncovered from the September 2010 election - including one race in Kunduz province in which the tribunal said it counted 20,000 votes for someone marked as receiving zero.

Election officials discarded 1.3 million ballots from the poll - nearly a quarter of the total - for fraud and disqualified 19 winning candidates for cheating.

International advisers consider the re-counts illegal, but the tribunal insists that it has the power to overturn results and even order entire provinces to revote.

Formal calls for probe into reporter's name on no-fly list

CNN

A House representative said Thursday she is requesting an investigation after learning a CNN reporter was put on the federal no-fly list shortly after his investigation of the Transportation Security Administration.

Michael Chertoff:  Has a stake in the TSA machines

Sheila Jackson Lee

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff about "a curious and interesting and troubling phenomenon" that CNN Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin was added to the list.

"My question is, why would Drew Griffin's name come on the watch list, post-his investigation of TSA?" Jackson Lee said.

"What is the basis of this sudden recognition that Drew Griffin is a terrorist? Are we targeting people because of their critique or criticism?"

In response, Chertoff said it was "not my understanding the reporter was put on," but that Griffin may share a name with someone put on the list.

"We do have circumstances where we have name mismatches," he said.
Griffin learned in May he was on the list, about two months after he reported on the federal air marshals program.

In a March story, Griffin reported that of the 28,000 commercial flights taking off in the United States every day, fewer than 1 percent have on-board, armed federal air marshals on board.
In response to Griffin's story, TSA said on its Web site that it would not disclose the number of air marshals flying on a daily basis so as not to "tip our hand to terrorists."

"The actual number of flights that air marshals cover is thousands per day," read a statement on the Web site.

Jackson Lee said she was using Griffin as an example. Committee members noted during the meeting that Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia, is also on the no-fly list and has been trying for years to get removed.

"He's still having trouble," said committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, showing a letter from Lewis.

"And according to this letter, it's still not happening," Thompson said, "even to the point that the department gave him a letter attesting that he was John Lewis and he should be allowed to get on planes."

He asked Chertoff to "find out how many other John Lewises are out there, who are having difficulty explaining to the department who they are so they can get off this no-fly list. We see more and more of it happening and I know Sen. Kennedy had a problem with it, and for whatever reason it was worked out."

Chertoff said he would be "happy" to help Lewis in his efforts to get removed from the list.

Demanding an end to violence and repression in Honduras

Rabble
Amy Goodman

President Manuel Zelaya returns.

While most in the United States were recognizing Memorial Day with a three-day weekend, the people of Honduras were engaged in a historic event: the return of President Manuel Zelaya, 23 months after he was forced into exile at gunpoint in the first coup in Central America in a quarter-century. While he is no longer president, his peaceful return marks a resounding success for the opponents of the coup. Despite this, the post-coup government in Honduras, under President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, is becoming increasingly repressive, and is the subject this week of a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, signed by 87 members of the U.S. Congress, calling for suspension of aid to the Honduran military and police.

As the only U.S. journalist on Zelaya's flight home, I asked him how he felt about his imminent return. "Full of hope and optimism," he said. "Political action is possible instead of armaments. No to violence. No to military coups. Coups never more."

When Zelaya landed in Honduras, he kneeled down and kissed the ground. He was greeted by tens of thousands of people cheering and waving the black-and-red flag of the movement born after the coup, the FNRP, or National Front of Popular Resistance, "the resistance" that Zelaya now leads. His first stop: a massive rally at the memorial for 19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo, who was killed one week after the 2009 coup when Zelaya first attempted to fly back into the country. Murillo was with tens of thousands awaiting Zelaya's return at the airport. The military blocked the runway and dispersed the crowd with live fire, killing the teenager.

Since then, violence and impunity have been constant. Farmers, journalists, students, teachers and anyone else in Honduras daring to dissent face intimidation, arrest and murder. At least 12 journalists have been killed there since the coup, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Scores of campesinos -- small farmers -- have been killed. High-school students protesting teacher layoffs and the privatization of education were violently attacked by police this week, with tear gas and live ammunition.

At the rally, Zelaya, memorializing Murillo, said, "Blood was not shed in vain, because we're still standing ... resistance is today the cry of victory."

The current Honduran government agreed to allow Zelaya's return to gain readmission into the Organization of American States in an attempt to shed Honduras' pariah status in Latin America for the coup.

Pariah to Latin America, but not the United States. Even though President Barack Obama early on called Zelaya's ouster "a coup," the U.S. government soon dropped the term. But there is no other word for it. On Sunday, I spoke with Zelaya in his home. He recounted what happened.

It was around 5 a.m. on June 28, 2009, when black-hooded Honduran soldiers stormed his house after shooting through the back door.


"They threatened me, that they were going to shoot," he said. "And I said to them: 'If you have orders to shoot, then shoot me. But know that you are shooting the president of the republic.' ... They forced me to go to their vehicles outside with my pyjamas on. We landed in the U.S. military base of Palmerola. ... And then to Costa Rica."

Ultimately, more important to Honduras is not just the return of Zelaya, but the return of democracy. Zelaya was gaining popular support for policies like a 60 per cent increase in the minimum wage, the plan to take over the U.S. Palmerola air base and use it as the civilian airport in place of the notoriously dangerous Toncontin International Airport, plans to distribute land to peasant farmers, and to join ALBA, the regional cooperative bloc developed to diminish the economic domination of the United States. On the day he was deposed, Zelaya was holding a nonbinding straw poll to assess if the population wanted to hold a national constituent assembly to evaluate possible changes to the constitution. That, he explains, is why he was deposed.

Secretary of State Clinton and close friend Lanny Davis, who is working as a powerful lobbyist for the coup regime, have pushed hard for the legitimization of the current Lobo government, despite Clinton's own State Department cable titled "Open and Shut: The Case of the Honduran Coup," released by Wikileaks, that the coup was clearly illegal.

As I headed to the airport to leave Honduras after this historic weekend, I passed a group of teachers, one month into their hunger strike outside the Honduran Congress. They, like a broad network of civil society groups in Honduras, while celebrating the return of their ousted president, are clear in their demand, now joined by 87 members of the U.S. Congress, for an end to violence and repression in Honduras.

Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
Amy Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 900 stations in North America. She is the author of Breaking the Sound Barrier, recently released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.