Stinging the Cops

This is a crazy story.

KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.

The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster’s attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster’s secret mobile office nearby.

Its a Dateline for cops. The two central questions are exactly how the cops caught on to the house and how they justified a search warrant. This was set up so that there should have been zero cause for a search, just two trees under some lights.

There are two ways that the cops could react to this. One is conduct an internal investigation that gets to the bottom of these two questions and prosecutes any criminal activity. The second is to get really pissed and turn it into an us versus the world scenario. The second scenario has the cops trying to retaliate and other things that would only dig a deeper hole. Well i guess there is a third option where they simply do nothing and ignore this but that seems unlikely.

Police, because of their important role in society, get a huge benefit of the doubt but this can lead to abuse. It is important to clean up any police wrongdoing and corner cutting because otherwise the citizens they are charged with protecting come to resent them. Corruption is never a good thing.

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Who needs rights anyway?

I often wonder if people who claim not to be bothered by the government spying on them 24/7 would hold those views if the government actually spied on them then threw them in prison without revealing that the evidence to do so was from the spying. I imagine that they would be rather unhappy to have that evidence, that could clear their name withheld. Too far-fetched? Not so.

A Congressional oversight panel plans to ask the National Security Agency to start an investigation into new evidence that the agency illegally wiretapped a Muslim scholar in Northern Virginia and concealed the eavesdropping during a 2005 trial in which the scholar was convicted on terrorism charges.
...
Prosecutors described Mr. Timimi as the spiritual mentor to a group of young men in Northern Virginia who were convicted of giving material support in Kashmir to Lashkar-e-Taiba — the separatist group blamed by the Indian authorities for the recent attacks in Mumbai. Several of the Northern Virginia men had received paramilitary training in Pakistan, apparently at the urging of Mr. Timimi, but there was no evidence that they had taken part in any terrorist attacks.

Mr. Timimi’s lawyers maintain that the N.S.A., without acquiring court-approved warrants, used the eavesdropping operation approved by President Bush weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks to wiretap his communications, and that the interceptions might include evidence that would point to his innocence in what they regard as a free-speech case. They charge that the government has intentionally withheld that material despite repeated requests.

If this man is such a bad guy and the evidence was so strong what prevented the government from tapping the phone and going to the court afterward and getting the warrant? Why cut corners and taint evidence? The eavesdropping operation was actually put into place before Sept 11 but that's beside the point. The point is that this is simply lazy and an unnecessary infringement on our rights. It offends the basic tenants of justice.

The right to have the evidence that is going to be presented against you and the governments evidence that may exonerate you is essential in any fair and just judicial system. The Times article goes on to suggest that there is a strong chance that the government did in fact hold out on evidence of eavesdropping. This is serious misconduct on the governments part. It is this type of misconduct that leads to putting the bad guys back out on the street or preventing their trial. It hurts our country.

Cases like this one reinforce the need to fully explore the perfidy of the Bush admin and examine in depth everything that went on in regards to law enforcement and antiterror operations. The number of abuses will probably be legion. So far the most commonly advanced plan is for a commission that lets everyone know what went on but provides no actual consequences for those involved and lets us move on with no real pain or accountability. Even this though is a point of contention and will probably never happen because of dem spinelessness.

Some Democrats have called on Mr. Obama to establish an independent commission that would examine the wiretapping program, interrogation tactics used on prisoners, and other tactics used by the government in its campaign against terrorism since the 2001 attacks.

Republicans in Congress who support the N.S.A. program say that Democrats have been too eager to investigate issues that have long been resolved.

Nothing to see here. All in the past. The idea that these issues have long been resolved is a farce. I wish the times had actually gotten people on the record instead of simply hanging their hat on the generic "some demorats" and "republicans in congress". Names and actual quotes of these people. Law makers should not be giving anonymous quotes on this stuff, especially if they simply want to sweep it under the rug.

The point of the times article was to talk about the NSA Inspector General launching his own investigation into the matter. forgive me if im not overconfident in that report. I have never been a fan of the intra-agency investigation system. i prefer to have independent investigators to avoid any possible attempts by the agency to cover its misdeeds. independent investigation and actual prosecutions are the only way to prevent this from repeating the next time a president or intelligence agency is so inclined to violate the laws.

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David Gregory at MTP

first take, what an uninspired choice. I mean i cant imagine david gregory brings anything to the program other an conventional wisdom and an ability to read the teleprompter. As has been noted he did occasionally ask tough questions at the white house press briefings but mostly when he perceived attacks against the media. If you want to see the real David Gregory watch the clips from race for the white house and 1600 penn. ave. I cant watch that show anymore because the questions, topics, and premises are all so banal.

I was hoping that nbc would choose someone who actually asks tough questions with real policy depth, something that gregory fails to provide. As a reporter i expect that he will take the show in a direction that is all about the political optics. i really doubt he has the policy chops to go after a follow up on say, corn subsidies and their effects on gas prices. In addition, despite his insideriness i am not sure he has a great handle on the legislative process itself. Someone who would have asked questions about the committee maneuvering would have been interesting to watch.

Grade: c

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Civil vs Military Inducement

Matt Yglesias has a post up on the Obama foreign policy shift from hard power, ie military, to soft power, ie cultural and economic. As he notes the US is more than overdue for a refocus on the cultural and economic capabilities we posses when addressing crisis and conflict on the world stage. He has a further problem though revolving around the terminology and the perceived framing of the term "soft power". Yglesias writes,

Jim Arkedis suggests “civilian power” as an alternative term to the much-derided “soft power.” I think this suggestion actually shows that we don’t need one term to replace soft power, but rather that the underlying concept can probably be split into a few different ideas. One thing, that seems to be well-described as “civilian power” is the idea that the government needs to mobilize more of the non-military instruments available to us — things like diplomatic resources, technical assistance, development aid, etc. There are a lot of problems on the planet and not all of them can be solved primarily by blowing things up. But right now our budget is heavily tilted toward the “blowing things up” side of the ledger. We would do well to balance better.

But there’s also something else that, as I said before, I don’t think is well-captured by the term “power” at all. Maybe it’s easier to think about it in terms of another country. One thing that’s good about the United States is that we have a brand that, when we’re at our best, is very broadly appealing across ethnic and religious lines. By contrast, Iran can have strong appeal in southern Lebanon or in Iraq, but theocracy based on Shiite Islam is an inherently tough sell. Similarly, Putin-style Russian nationalism is a potent force in Russia, but hardly an ideology that’s ready to travel the globe. But insofar as the United States comes to be identified with torture, bullying, and aggressive warfare rather than with humane liberal values we lose that brand advantage.

As derided as it is, the terminology difference has never been a major deal to me. The context of the discussion has always been, "how do we move country x to position y?" We then divide it into two broad categories, the hard sell and the soft sell. The hard sell is aggressive, belligerent and threatening. The soft sell is more subtle, a carrot as opposed to a stick that leads people where they wanted to go anyway. I never bought the argument that using the term soft power versus hard power carried with it the implication that soft power was any weaker or less effective.

Yglesias though takes the route of attacking the term "power" itself. I think his point fails to connect. "Power" is simply the ability to move something from one position to another. Insofar as the ideology and cultural values of our country resonate with the average person around the globe they do have a "power". Our cultural and political system gives (or gave depending on your view) the US a greater ability to move countries' foreign and domestic policy. Power is simply a synonym for influence and because of this any word that carries similar meaning can serve instead of "Power".

The title of this post uses the word "inducement" and i think this serves equally with the term "power". We have civil means, diplomatic resources, technical assistance, development aid, as well as cultural features, that induce a country to comply with our wishes. Similarly we have military inducements, bombs, tanks, marines. I don't have confidence that one framing is all that much better than the other but if Yglesias is unhappy with the term "power" he certainly has the platform to work towards a change.

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Darfur Genocide Ongoing Test of ICC and US

The two most empty words in the english language have become, "never again". Our maybe that's limited simply to dealing with Germany? It is obviously not a universal maxim as genocide and a myriad number of other human rights crimes are committed daily in Darfur. As awful and tragic as the situation is signs of the beginning of progress towards taking action have appeared. Earlier this year International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo sought a warrant for the arrest of Sitting Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir. The ruling on that request will come down soon and if it comes back in favor of arresting al-Bashir look for all hell to break loose.
The evidence indicating that al-Bashir has been active in soliciting, conspiring, and complicit in, crimes of genocide in Darfur is strong. For one example,

“government bombers, helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery were used against unarmed civilians to clear a 100-kilometer area around the oils fields. Witnesses reported that over 1,000 government soldiers swept through Ruweng county, wreaking human and material destruction, including destroying 17 churches.”

He is not a good guy. However as with anything on the international stage it gets complicated.

Quite apart from the fact that Sudan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, indicting Al Bashir will make it even more difficult to revive the stalled peace process in Darfur. It is feared that a sizable segment of the Sudanese population that supports Al Bashir will become even more antagonistic towards the targeted ethnic groups in Darfur. The chasm that separates them from the rest of the population in Darfur and the Sudan will become wider.

The rest of the article by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) and Professor of Global Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia goes on to discuss the issues involving china and one of the root causes of the conflict, lack of water. In fact supplying water to the whole country would go a long way to resolving the conflict. However, simply ending the conflict is not enough to truly count justice served. Those who commit genocide should not escape unpunished.

The International Criminal Court is trying to become the body that assures justice is done in this case. They face stiff resistance at the idea of indicting al-Bashir based on the possible repercussions to the peace process and a possible increase in the genocide. This has created a possible crisis for the court because it is forbidden for signatories to the Rome Statute to provide safe havens for those under arrest warrants and wanted by ICC. UN members also have a duty to carry out the arrest since it is the UNSC that authorized the ICC to handle the case.

The al-Bahsir case is a major test for the credibility of the ICC because of the fact that al-Bashir is a sitting head of state and that Sudan has not signed the Rome Statute. That Sudan is not a party to the statute has raised a question about the legitimacy of indicting him based on a treaty he is not a party to. This will be a test of whether the court does in fact have universal territorial jurisdiction or whether they have jurisdiction limited to those of the signatory states. The answer turns on the reaction of the international community, where the reaction of the United States will be important. If the international community applies sanctions to sudan based on the indictment of al-Bashir or takes other steps it will lend great weight to the prestige and authority of the court in dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ICC is an independent court that operates without any threat of security council veto. This is a primary reason the United States opted not to become a signatory. The loss of sovereignty was not acceptable. It also reveals why the outcome has such major implications for the United States. If the court truly has universal territorial jurisdiction it could conceivably indict a sitting US president regardless of whether the US is a signatory. So the US reaction to a possible warrant will come under strict scrutiny. President Obama will have a large role in deciding what path the international community takes in dealing with sudan and darfur.

The drama around the ICC and Darfur and the US is made even greater because Obama has been a leading American political figure in dealing with Darfur. He has been very outspoken on the issue and his voting record was graded A+ by the group DarfurScores.org. He was asked about how the US should deal with the crisis in Darfur in the second presidential debate where he advocated providing logistical support and air power in the form of a no fly zone. He has not advocated putting US boots on the ground. In conjunction with these military measures he has also advocated a position that may become a reality if the the warrant for al-Bashir stands, sanctions. First in 2004 and then again in 2007 obama voiced the opinion that,

"First, the UN Security Council should impose tough sanctions on the Khartoum government immediately. These sanctions should freeze the assets of the Sudanese government, its leaders and business affiliates; outlaw arms sales and transfers to Sudan; and prohibit the purchase of Sudanese oil. The United States must make this a high priority in our relations with other governments on the Security Council."

It is hard to tell if Obama would back off his call for sanctions if they were predicated on the issuance of an arrest warrant for al-Bashir. That condition may materially change the situation because of the implications vis-a-vis the ICC. Not to mention the balancing act that would be needed because of China's interest in the situation.

China was another country who did not sign onto the Rome Statute and they have a vested interest in sudan. The interest comes in the form of oil and arms. They arent too keen on the arrest of al-Bashir,

This morning China – Sudan's biggest arms supplier and a leading investor in the country – said it had "grave concerns and misgivings" over the ICC's decision.

"The ICC's actions must be beneficial to the stability of the Darfur region and the appropriate settlement of the issue, not the contrary," a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Beijing, Liu Jianchao, told reporters.

When asked whether China would use its position as a veto-wielding UN security council member to obstruct the court's actions against Bashir, the spokesman declined to rule this out, saying: "China will continue consultation with other members of the UN security council but, as for the outcome, that I don't know."

As i mentioned China alone will not be able to veto the actions of the ICC. What needs to happen is a security council resolution that utilizes article 16 of the Rome Statutes,

No investigation or prosecution may be commenced or proceeded with under this Statute for a period of 12 months after the Security Council, in a resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, has requested the Court to that effect; that request may be renewed by the Council under the same conditions.

This means that any member with veto power could kill an attempt to defer the prosecution. President Bush is actually on record that he will veto an attempt to defer. Obama is not yet on record. In all likely hood he would not have to make the call because France has stated they would veto any such deferral.

Something needs to be done about the situation in Darfur. The ICC is attempting to address the situation and increase its authority and prestige. In doing this they have put the international community, especially the US and President Obama to the test. If the court fails in its bid to try al-Bahsir its reputation and power will take a significant blow. If it succeeds it will be a momentous moment in international law and human rights. The cost of strengthening the ICC might very well be paid by the people it is tasked with protecting, the people of Darfur. We still have little idea how China will respond to the threats on their interests. A very complicated international situation that i'm glad George W. Bush wont be deciding.

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