Friday, February 04, 2011

State Dept wants to raid your community's resources

Because the US tax payer hasn't given enough to the illegal war, the US State Dept now wants to raid local and state police forces. Yesterday, they posted the following:

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs met last week with local and state law enforcement offices, as well as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to discuss opportunities available within the Iraq Police Development Program beginning this fall. The bureau is seeking to recruit both active and retired U.S. law enforcement officers as the U.S. Department of State builds a team of senior level and expert advisors to serve one-year missions in Iraq.

Beginning October 1, 2011, U.S. Department of State, through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, will assume full responsibility for the development of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s police and border forces while continuing strong support of professional development in the corrections and justice sectors. Under Department of State leadership, the Police Development Program will partner with the Government of Iraq in developing management, leadership and technical skills to support the rule of law and maintain Iraq’s internal security.

Experienced U.S. police officers have the opportunity to contribute to this large, post-conflict police development mission, partnering with Iraqi ministers, commanders, and police chiefs who will have impact on the future of the Iraqi police service. Through the Police Development Program, the Department of State is contributing to the broader goal of promoting security, stability, and respect for the rule of law in Iraq.


While appearing before Congress currently (via Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey) to ask for the biggest budget in State Dept history, they now also want to poach trained police officers which will add to the costs for states and municipalities who will have to hire and train new officers instead of retaining current ones. Poaching. Everyone will have to sacrifice . . . except for those departments (State) who cut to the front of the line. While they plan to rob from your local police and your local budget, they have nothing to offer veterans. Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reports that many veterans who mistakenly put their trust in "special government-backed mortgages," such as DoD's Homeowner's Assistance Program, have seen their homes taken away from them in foreclosures.

Moving over to trial news, Amal Khalaf took the witness stand yesterday in Phoenix. Who? Dropping back to the November 3, 2009 snapshot:


In the US, Noor Faleh Almaleki has died. The 20-year-old Iraqi woman was intentionally run over October 20th (see the October 21st snapshot) while she and Amal Edan Khalaf were running errands (the latter is the mother of Noor's boyfriend and she was left injured in the assault). Police suspected Noor's father, Faleh Hassan Almaleki, of the assault and stated the probable motive was that he felt Noor had become "too westernized." As noted in the October 30th snapshot, Faleh Hassan Almaleki was finally arrested after going on the lamb -- first to Mexico, then flying to London where British authorities refused him entry and he was sent back to the US and arrested in Atlanta. Karan Olson and CNN note that the judge has set the man's bail at $5 million. Philippe Naughton (Times of London) adds, "Noor died yesterday, having failed to recover consciousness after the attack. The other woman, Amal Khalaf, was also seriously injured but is expected to survive. "

Edecio Martinez (CBS News) reports Wednesday the trial heard from police detective Christopher Boughey who stated that Faleh Almaleki deliberately ran over his daughter. Lisa Halverstadt (Arizona Republic) reports Amal Khalaf testified yesterday that she screamed and threw her hands up in the air pleading for Faleh Hassan al-Maleki to stop the car when he hit her with his car before turning it to run down his daughter. Paul Rubin (Phoenix New Times) reports:

She described how an irate Faleh Almaleki and his wife came by her home one night to try to convince Noor to return to the fold, with Mrs. Almaleki entering the residence through a window. The police were called, but no arrests followed.
A few months later, on the morning of October 20, 2009, Khalaf and Noor went to a state Department of Economic Security office. Faleh Almaleki unexpectedly showed up in the lobby, though neither woman said anything to him or vice-versa.
Khalaf said she later went outside, told Noor to wait by the front door, walked to her car and drove around the lot looking for Almaleki, whom had left some time earlier. She said she didn't see him, and parked back in the same spot.
She got out of the car and went to get Noor, but then realized that she nervously had locked her keys in the vehicle.
"[Noor] told me to calm down, `He's not going to harm us,'" Khalaf testified.

The following community sites updated last night and this morning:



Micah notes Simon Jenkins' "The West's Itch to Meddle is No Help. Leave Egypt Alone" (Information Clearing House):

As the case continues, it will be interesting to see how much about the father becomes public. For example, the way he was granted asylum and the path the family took to the US is very telling about what he did in Iraq. Right now, all the reporters are pretending not to notice.
What is happening in Egypt is plainly exhilarating to any lover of civil liberty. So too was Georgia's rose revolution, Ukraine's orange revolution, Burma's saffron revolution, Iran's green revolution and Tunisia's jasmine revolution. Few people scanning the pastel shades of designer Trotskyism will remember which were successful and which not, but they made great television.
In each of these cases people burst out in visceral opposition to dictatorship. Driven beyond endurance, they took the last option available to autonomous individuals and marched down the street. The outcome depended on the security and self-confidence of the regime and its command of the army. It rarely depended on the approval or assistance of outsiders. Indeed the most effective weapon deployed against an uprising in a moment of national crisis is to call it a tool of foreign interests. This was certainly the case in Iran.
To western eyes, watching revolutions is re-enacting our own democratic origins. They remind us, sometimes smugly, that much of the world has yet to find the path to free elections, free speech and freedom of assembly. But they are also the political equivalents of earthquake or flood. Surely these people need our advice, our aid, at least our running commentary. The itch to intervene becomes irresistible.

Micah asks what's the Joni Mitchell song about 'let them have their peace' ("Dog Eat Dog" -- "I picked the morning paper, off the floor, It was full of other people's little wars, Wouldn't they like their peace, don't we get bored"). Micah notes Betty's post from last night and wonders, "Why the hell this is wall to wall when we have a record unemployment, a foreclosure crisis, multiple wars and a new Congress intent on gutting our people programs to fund defense. I can't even bother with sites like Corrente which have suddenly become non-stop Egypt. While Eygpt is one story, it is not the only story nor should it be the primary story in the United States where we have a host of problems and seem intent on avoiding them by focusing on what we just know Egypt should do. The obsession over Egypt by Americans is disgusting and reveals the War Hawk impulse in so very many. And just imagine if these bull**it website focused even half this much on Afghanistan or Iraq -- US troops might be out of both. Instead it's the Mob of the Water Cooler -- pretending they're doing a damn thing."


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