Assault on human rights worsens

In its annual report on human rights abuses, Amnesty International said that the past year represented "the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years." Issued Wednesday, the report called on the United States and other nations occupying Iraq to call a halt to "arbitrary and incommunicado detention, ill-treatment and the excessive use of force." (BBC News, May 26)

Over the years, Amnesty International has frequently been successfule in generating international support for individuals, in other countries, punished for expressing their opinions. Unfortunately, similar abuses here in the United States fail to receive much attention. Abuses of some federal government whistleblowers has been likened to tactics the Soviet Union once used against dissidents. Yet, Hollywood celebrities rarely or never come to Capitol Hill to rally support for a government whistleblower. Why is that?

Faulty terror alert raises concerns

Today's Newsday reports that an urgent FBI warning of imminent terrorist attack was retracted hours after it was sent to two or three cities. The intelligence is now considered unfounded.

The fiasco comes on the heels of an alert issued two days ago by Attorney General John Ashcroft, who warned that al Qaida planned to attack the U.S. in the coming months. However, terrorism experts noted that the information had been widely circulated for months.

Rep. Christopher Cox criticized the Justice Department's failure to coordinate issuance of the alert with the the Department of Homeland Security. "Having multiple sources of threat advisories emanating from the federal government can lead to dangerous confusion among our nation's state and local first responders," Cox wrote (Newsday, May 28).

National Public Radio's Robert Siegel and Pam Fessler discussed the subject on All Things Considered (audio).

Making a career of truthtelling

Individuals who blow the whistle typically find their lives changed. In some cases, truthelling becomes their career. That was the case for Frederic Whitehurst, a former FBI forensic scientist who, in 1995, exposed deficiencies and corruption at the FBI crime lab. His revelations continue to reverberate throughout the justice system, and this past week, it reverberated into the courtroom where the trial of Terry Nichols, a suspect in the 1995 Oklahama City bombing that killed 168 people.

On Wednesday, May 19, Whitehurst testified that trial testimony by Steven Burmeister, an FBI forensic scientist, was false. Whitehurst said the evidence was inadequate to support Burmeister's conclusions. He told jurors, "He [Burmeister] is my student. I trust him like a brother. But he lied under oath." (Associated Press/Boston Herald).

Interestingly, Burmeister had a year ago informed the Justice Department's Inspector General of shoddy handling of the bombing evidence, but "recanted the allegation a few months before he testified in the McVeigh trial," reports AP.

According to the Government Accountability Project. Frederick Whitehurst was once the FBI's highest-rated explosives residue expert. He was subjected to FBI retaliation, including being sent to a psychiatrist and suspended, after he reported deficiencies at the crime lab. But, Whitehurst's claims were confirmed by a Justice Department investigation and, aided by the National Whistleblower Center, he obtained a financial settlement from the government.

Many people would want to retire to a tropical isle and try to forget such a stressful experience. Instead, Whitehurst established a nonprofit organization to help correct the wrongs resulting from improper lab investigations, and he provides expert testimony in criminal cases.

It little serves the interests of Americans for government officials to fabricate "evidence" against alleged terrorists, whether domestic or foreign, because false convictions leave real terrorists free to strike again. Whistleblowers like Frederic Whitehurst play a critical role in protecting all of us from deep harm.

It is important to note that few federal whistleblowers are able to win the kind of financial relief that Whitehurst received. More often, they suffer years of abuse and unemployment. If we wish truthtellers to continue protecting us, they must be protected. Bills now pending in the U.S. House and Senate would do that. Inexplicably, Congress has failed to pass the legislation, and only pressure from citizens seems likely to eliminate the impass.

Army retaliates against Iraq abuse whistleblower

Sergeant Samuel Provance, who spoke out on abuses at Abu Ghraib, was called on the carpet by his battalion commander, who pulled Provance's security clearance, "flagged" him to be denied promotions, and ordered him not to talk to the media. News24.com. Moreover, fellow soliders in the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade treat him "like a pariah."

Former Vice President Al Gore, speaking in New York City today, rebuked the Bush administration for attempting to cover up the facts, and said, "One of the whistleblowers at Abu Ghraib, Sergeant Samuel Provance, told ABC News a few days ago that he was being intimidated and punished for telling the truth. 'There is definitely a coverup,' Provance said. 'I feel like I am being punished for being honest.'" (PRNewswire).

In an interview with ABC News, Provance said, "What I was surprised at was the silence, the collective silence by so many people that had to be involved, that had to have seen something or heard something."

Revoking whistleblowers' security clearance is an old and reprehensible practice of the military and civilian federal agencies. Draft legislation to strengthen whistleblower protections has been long pending in Congress. But, despite public praise for the courage of whistleblowers like Provance and Joseph Darby, Congress seems unlikely to pass the legislation without pressure from constituents.

Study finds al Qaeda strengthened by U.S. interventions

A new study by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), a think tank, warns that al-Qaeda is growing, with 18,000 members currently operating in 60 nations. (Associated Press, Barry Renfrew, May 25). Contrary to US expections, the military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq appear to have helped Qaeda, dispersing members to more countries where they are less visible, and increasing recruits from other Islamic nations. Restoring stability in Iraq could take up to 500,000 troops. The report, "Strategic Survey 2003/4," was released by IISS director Dr. John Chipman at a press conference.

IISS researchers found that al Qaeda appears to be planning major attacks on the United States and Europe, and may employ weapons of mass destruction. Quoting from AP:

The United States is al-Qaida's prime target in a war it sees as a death struggle between civilizations, the report said. An al Qaeda leader has said 4 million Americans will have to be killed "as a prerequisite to any Islamic victory," the survey said. "Al-Qaida's complaints have been transformed into religious absolutes and cannot be satisfied through political compromise," the study said.

Grand jury subpoenas journalists in leak investigation

The Associated Press reports that two journalists have received subpoenas from a special grand jury that is looking into the leak of a CIA employee's identity. The journalists are Tim Russert, of NBC's Meet the Press, and Matthew Cooper, a reporter for Time Magazine, whose organizations plan to oppose the subpoenas.

Both journalists covered the story of Joseph Wilson, former diplomat, and his wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA employee whose name was revealed to journalist Robert Novak by a Bush administration official, apparently in retaliation for Novak's public statements disputing White House claims that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Africa.

AP quotes NBC News president Neal Shapiro, who said the subpoena would have a “potential chilling effect” on the network’s ability to report the news.” Vice President of Time Inc. Robin Bierstedt stated, “It is Time Inc.’s policy to protect its confidential sources,” she said. “While we would like all of our reporting to be on the record, a promise of confidentiality is sometimes necessary to get information that would otherwise be unavailable.”

The outcome of this case could have major implications for government whistleblowers and government accountability. Notably, public interest organizations, including the Government Accountability Project, have been recommending that federal employees blow the whistle anonymously, because the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) fails to provide meaningful protection. If journalists were unable to protect the confidentiality of their sources, citizens would be unable to learn about government abuses that threatened their health and safety or economic well being. Draft legislation to put teeth into the WPA has languished for many months in Congress, and seems unlikely to be passed without pressure from voters.

Speaking out: Lugar and McCain

This past week, two prominent Republican Senators took courageous stands regarding the conduct of the war on terrorism. The Senators. John McCain, of Arizona, and Richard Lugar, of Indiana, both cited the economy as a national security issue.

It is by now customary in Congress to doubt the patriotism of any who oppose conservative-backed legislation. But, the practice took a particularly bizarre turn this past week when House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a man who avoided military service, lectured Senator John McCain, Viet Nam war veteran and POW, on the concept of sacrifice for one's country.

The Washington Post reports (It's McCain vs. Hastert on meaning of sacrifice, May 20) that McCain gave a speech on Tuesday "excoriating both political parties for refusing to sacrifice their tax cutting and spending agendas in a time of war." The next day, Hastert told McCain he should "visit our young men and women at WalterReed and Bethesda(hospitals)" if he wanted to see sacrifice. McCain answered, "The speaker is correct in that nothing we are called upon to do comes close to matching the heroism of our troops. All we are called upon to do is to not spend our nation into bankruptcy while our soldiers risk their lives."

Despite attempts to ridicule him, McCain remains popular and respected. Gloria Borger provides the following description of McCain's public persona in her article, A Republican for all reasons (Nation & World, May 31).

McCain is a "political Rorschach test," as former Bill Clinton domestic adviser William Galston puts it. Not only does he represent moral authority, but he's also a truth teller--no matter where the truth leads. In a nation increasingly disgusted by the ideological and partisan bickering that has made it almost impossible to discuss any issue on its merits, McCain is an attractive antidote. And yes, the media love McCain--because when he is asked a question, he actually answers it. Imagine that.

Later in the week, Senator Richard Lugar criticized President Bush's management of the Iraq war. Lugar is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (GOP Senator Rips Bush on Iraq, Terrorism, May 22, AP/Guardian) Speaking at Tuft's University, the Senator warned of dire consequences if the nation continued to rely on military might to win the war on terrorism, writes AP writer, Mark Pratt.

Lugar told the audience, "To win the war against terrorism, the United States must assign U.S. economic and diplomatic capabilities the same strategic priority that we assign to military capabilities." If the nation failed to make such changes, he said, it could "experience acts of catastrophic terrorism that would undermine our economy, damage our society and kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people."