The Woman Left the Commission

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James Fallows repeats a fascinating story Gary Hart and Lee Hamilton told him about the Hart-Rudman Commission.

Early in 2001, the commission presented a report to the incoming G.W. Bush administration warning that terrorismwould be the nation’s greatest national security problem, and sayingthat unless the United States took proper protective measures aterrorist attack was likely within its borders. Neither the presidentnor the vice president nor any other senior official from the newadministration took time to meet with the commission members or hearabout their findings.

The commission had 14 members, split 7-7, Republican and Democrat,as is de rigeur for bodies of this type. Today Hart told me that in thefirst few meetings, commission members would go around the room andvolunteer their ideas about the nation’s greatest vulnerabilities, mosturgent needs, and so on.

At the first meeting, one Republican woman on the commission saidthat the overwhelming threat was from China. Sooner or later the U.S.would end up in a military showdown with the Chinese Communists. Therewas no avoiding it, and we would only make ourselves weaker by waiting.No one else spoke up in support.

The same thing happened at the second meeting — discussion fromother commissioners about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, anarchy offailed states, etc, and then Read more →

The Latest from SSCI

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A Tale of Two Conspiracies

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"We See No Need for Action"

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Since the alleged abductions did not take place on Austrian soil, in anAustrian airplane or on an Austrian ship, we see no need for action.

We see no need for action. That’s what a spokesperson for the Austrian Interior Ministry said in response to learning that long-time Austrian resident and Sudanese citizen Masaad Omer Behari was held for three months without cause in Jordan. The Jordanians even told Behari they didn’t believe him to be a terrorist–they just needed information.

But Austria did nothing because, after all, Behari isn’t an Austrian citizen, he wasn’t kidnapped on Austrian soil, he wasn’t abducted in an Austrian plane. Of course, they had him under surveillance. The Jordanians–and their US puppet-masters–no doubt learned of Behari’s movement through the Austrians. But still. We see no need for action.

That’s the picture of the US extraordinary rendition program described in Craig Whitlock’s WaPo article and accompanying court transcript. It’s all carefully designed such that there is no trace, no legal authority, "no need for action."