The Progress Report OCTOBER 29, 2004

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Fri, 29 Oct 2004 09:10:01 -0700

Progress Report: Making a Federal Case About It

" American Progress Action Fund "

<progress

 

 

The Progress Report

by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin

 

 

OCTOBER 29, 2004

HALLIBURTON Making a Federal Case About It

EXPLOSIVES Caught on Tape

ELECTION Battle Grounded In Facts

UNDER THE RADAR Go Beyond The Headlines

 

 

 

HALLIBURTON

Making a Federal Case About It

 

Yesterday, it was reported that the FBI has launched an investigation

into whether the Pentagon improperly awarded a multi-billion dollar

no-bid contract to Halliburton. Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Corps of

Engineers' chief contracting officer, " was threatened with demotion

after raising objections " to extending the Halliburton contract. The

contract was extended despite her objection, but " the final approval

did not carry Greenhouse's signature, as normally required by

contracting regulations. Instead, it was signed by her assistant, Lt.

Col. Norbert Doyle. "

 

WHAT WAS CHENEY'S ROLE?: It has been previously reported that –

according to an Army Corps of Engineers official – the decision to

award the contract " had been 'coordinated' with the office of Vice

President Cheney, Halliburton's former chief executive. " Lewis

" Scooter " Libby – Cheney's chief of staff – " was briefed in October

2002 about the proposal to issue the November 11 task order [contract]

to Halliburton. " Pentagon officials also acknowledge that

Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith discussed a March 2003

Halliburton contract in advance with Cheney's office. (Here was their

best explanation: Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita " described the use

of the word " coordinate " in the e-mail as a " catch-all phrase " that

signified " it's time for this contract to be executed. " ) Vice

President Cheney refuses to substantively respond to questions about

his involvement in Halliburton contracts.

 

EXPLOSIVES

Caught on Tape

 

Yesterday on the campaign trail, President Bush and Vice President

Cheney – unmoved by the evidence – continued to push the theory that

380 tons of munitions had been moved from the Al Qaqaa facility prior

to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Cheney quoted a former commander who

said " I suspect he [saddam] had already moved it and moved it out into

the desert someplace. " But a tape shot 4/18/03 – well after the fall

of Baghdad – by a Minnesota news crew " appeared to confirm...that

hundreds of tons of high-grade explosives...had vanished from the [Al

Qaqaa] site after the invasion of Iraq. " Weapons experts who reviewed

the tape " say the videotape appears identical to photographs that the

inspectors took of the explosives, which were put under seal before

the war. " An expert familiar with the site said " the videotape and

some of the agency's photographs of the HMX stockpiles 'were such good

matches it looked like they were taken by the same camera on the same

day.' " David Kay, the Bush administration's former weapons inspector,

said the images on the tape " are consistent with what I know of Al

Qaqaa. " Kay said the photos were " game, set and match " on the question

of whether the explosives were there after the invasion. (See the

video for yourself here and here).

 

NOT ENOUGH TROOPS TO GUARD FACILITIES: According to a senior U.S.

military official, Al Qaqaa " was one of numerous times when Iraqis

warned us that ammo dumps and other places were being looted and we

weren't able to respond because we didn't have anyone to send. "

Another senior intelligence official – along with David Kay – believes

that " insurgents are firing looted weapons at U.S. troops. "

 

WASHINGTON POST BUYS INTO WHITE HOUSE SPIN: The Washington Post – a

pillar of the so-called liberal media – skips any mention of the

videotape. Instead, the paper ran a " news analysis " which flatly

states, " Iraqi authorities have not offered any supporting evidence "

that the weapons were removed after 4/9/03, the date of the U.S.

invasion. Most of the piece parrots the White House line that the 380

tons of high powered explosives is not that important in the context

of the " 400,000 tons [of munitions] destroyed or in the process of

being eliminated, " quoting an analyst who said, " The munitions at Al

Qaqaa were at most around 0.06 percent of the total. " This is a

misleading apples to oranges comparison which conflates high powered

explosives missing from Al Qaqaa – less than one pound of which is

capable of blowing up an airplane – with ordinary bullets and small

arms. (For a full analysis of all the administration's excuses, read

this document).

 

CHENEY CITES INACCURATE NEWS REPORT: Cheney said yesterday that " ABC

News reported on a document showing that three months before we

launched our assault into Iraq...much of the explosive material wasn't

there. " In reality, according to IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming, the

confidential IAEA documents obtained by ABC did not indicate that much

of the explosive material was missing in January 2003. Rather, at that

time, " records showed another 138 tons of the RDX were being kept then

at a military warehouse used by Qaqaa's managers at Mahaweel, 25 miles

away. "

 

ADMINISTRATION RELEASES SUSPECT SATELLITE IMAGE: In a last ditch

effort to provide a scrap of evidence that the explosives were missing

before the invasion, the Pentagon released a satellite image from

before the invasion that shows two trucks parked by what it claims is

the Al Qaqaa facility. It is not at all clear what these images prove.

Moreover, according to globalsecurity.org, " a comparison of features

in the DoD-released imagery with available commercial satellite

imagery, combined with the use of an IAEA map showing the location of

bunkers used to store the HMX explosives, reveals that the trucks

pictured on the DoD image are not at any of the nine bunkers

identified by the IAEA as containing the missing explosive stockpiles. "

 

ELECTION

Battle Grounded In Facts

 

With presidential elections a mere five days away, campaigns are

pulling out all the stops this weekend in crucial battleground states.

Citizens have been barraged by a confusing array of ads, polls and

speeches. American Progress has created two maps that give you the

facts on the cost of war and the environment in all 50 states. Here's

a look at what's really been going on in key states on the economy,

war in Iraq, health care and the environment over the past four years:

 

OHIO

 

IRAQ: Cost of the war in Iraq for Ohio taxpayers so far: $5.7 billion.

 

JOBS: The Bush administration projected 151,000 new jobs would be

created in Ohio. As of September 2004, the economy had actually lost

18,200 jobs, a 169,200 job shortfall.

 

ENVIRONMENT: According to EPA consultants, " fine particle pollution

from power plants shortens the lives of 1,743 Ohioans each year.

Ohioans have the fourth highest risk in the country of dying from

power plant pollution. " The administration, however, has acted in the

interests of power plants, ending legal action to force compliance

with clean air standards and rolling back clean air standards for the

oldest, dirtiest power plants.

 

POVERTY: More Ohioans slipped into poverty last year. According to the

Columbus Dispatch, " about one in six children and nearly one in three

households in Ohio headed by women were in poverty in 2003, both

increases from the previous year. " Cleveland was ranked the number one

poorest city in the nation, with 31.3 percent of citizens living under

the poverty line.

 

HEALTH CARE: The Ohio State Medical Association reports the number of

uninsured Ohioans grew to more than 1.3 million in 2003.

 

TAXES: According to Citizens for Tax Justice, " between 2001 and 2006,

Ohio taxpayers will receive $35.6 billion in tax cuts – but will face

$145.7 billion in added federal debt, for a net added burden of $110.1

billion. " And by 2006, 5 million Ohio taxpayers – 89 percent of all

state residents – will receive less than $100 in tax cuts.

 

EDUCATION: A report commissioned by the Ohio Department of Education

found President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act was underfunded for

the Buckeye State. It costs Ohio " $1.4 billion more annually than it

gets from the federal government for public education, " leaving the

cash-strapped state to make up the difference.

 

PENNSYLVANIA

 

IRAQ: The Bush administration has spent $6.3 billion of Pennsylvania

taxpayers' money on the war in Iraq.

 

ECONOMY: In 2003, The Bush administration projected 142,800 new jobs

in Pennsylvania. As of September 2004, the economy had actually

created 37,100 new jobs, a 105,700 job shortfall. The state has been

hit especially hard in the manufacturing sector, where Pennsylvania

has shed 154,600 jobs, a decline of more than 18 percent. Average

wages have also fallen. The state's job creation performance is the

fourth worst since World War II.

 

POVERTY: Poverty in Pennsylvania increased substantially in the last

year, especially for children. The share of children in poverty has

jumped by a third (from 11.6 to 15.5 percent) from 2000 to 2003. The

share of adults in poverty increased from 8.6 to 10.5 percent during

the same period.

 

HEALTH CARE: " The growth among those without health insurance is

increasing faster in Pennsylvania than it is nationally. According to

recent U. S. Census figures, the percentage of people without health

insurance coverage in Pennsylvania has grown from 10.3% in 2001-2002

to 11.4% in 2002-2003. "

 

EDUCATION: Due to changes in the No Child Left Behind funding formula,

Pennsylvania authorities " estimate that 507 of our 576 districts and

charter schools will lose a portion of their Title I [Education]

funding " in 2005. Pennsylvania authorities worry they will " lose an

additional $9 million in other NCLB programs such as Reading First,

Education Technology, Even Start, and Comprehensive School Reform. " In

May, " Superintendents from 171 school districts in 19 Western

Pennsylvania counties…added a loud chorus to the protests against " the

act. The school leaders " signed a position paper that they say

addresses 'critical flaws' in the controversial federal education law,

signed by President Bush in 2002. "

 

FLORIDA

 

IRAQ: The cost of the war in Iraq for Florida taxpayers so far: $7.8

billion.

 

JOBS: Between June 2003 and September 2004, the Bush administration

projected 327,900 new jobs in Florida. As of September 2004, the

economy had created only 181,300 jobs, a 146,600 job shortfall.

 

ECONOMY: According to Citizens for Tax Justice, between 2001 and 2006,

Florida taxpayers will receive $69.1 billion in tax cuts – but will

face $216.6 billion in added federal debt because of the

administration's inattention to the deficit. By 2006, 87 percent of

all Floridians will receive less than $100 in tax cuts as a result of

the latest Bush tax schemes.

 

VETERANS: There are 1.9 million veterans living in Florida. The

National Priorities Project, however, reports the White House budget

proposal underfunds Florida's veterans' health care facilities by at

least $191.4 million.

 

POVERTY: Florida's poverty level is higher than the national average,

with 12.7 percent of Floridians living in poverty. The situation is

even worse for kids: 19.2 percent of Florida's children live below the

poverty threshold.

 

HEALTH CARE: The State of Working Florida reports, in 2003, 18.2

percemt of Florida residents had no health insurance, " over 2.5%

higher than the national average. " The state was even worse in

providing coverage to children – 14.5 percent have no coverage, tying

Florida for fifth worst in the nation. The state's budget problems

have been exacerbated by White House policies; Bush's 2005 budget

proposed a 3 percent decrease in federal grants to states at the same

time federal tax cuts meant a $16 billion decrease in state tax revenues.

 

 

Under the Radar

 

LEGAL – IRS GOES AFTER NAACP: President Bush may be avoiding the

NAACP, but the Internal Revenue Service isn't. The Washington Post

reports the IRS " has threatened to revoke the NAACP's tax-exempt

status because the civil rights group's chairman, Julian Bond,

'condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush' during a

speech this summer. " In that speech, Bond criticized the president's

" divisive " policies on education, civil rights and the Iraq war, and

chided him for becoming " the first sitting president since Warren G.

Harding not to address the NAACP. " Frances Hill, an authority on

non-profit groups at the University of Miami Law School, called it

" amazing " that the IRS would audit a group based on a public speech.

" Usually you would look for some activity other than disagreeing with

policies, " she said.

 

SCIENCE – STEM CELL: President Bush has said he hopes the stem cell

lines he has approved will help " discover cures, " but two new studies

indicate the available lines may be largely ineffectual. According to

one report, all the embryonic stem cells available to federally funded

scientists under Bush's three-year-old research policy " share a

previously unrecognized trait that fosters rejection by the immune

systems, diminishing their potential as medical treatments. A second

study has concluded that at least a quarter of the Bush-approved cell

colonies are so difficult to keep alive they have little potential

even as research tools. " Stem cell research proponents " said yesterday

that the findings strengthen the case for letting federally funded

researchers work on newer stem cell colonies, " an option the president

has rejected.

 

CAMPAIGN – BUSH CAMPAIGN CROPS AD, INVENTS TROOPS: Vice President

Cheney says John Kerry will " say and do anything to get elected, " but

it is the Bush campaign which has come under fire for doctoring a

photograph used in a television commercial to make it look like there

were more soldiers in a crowd cheering for the president. Aides now

admit that " A group of soldiers in the crowd was electronically copied

to fill in the space where the president and the podium had been. " As

usual, senior campaign officials declined responsibility for the move,

blaming it on an anonymous " video editor. "

 

ECONOMY – UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS JUMP UP: According to Labor Department

data, " The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment

benefits rose last week by 20,000, the largest jump in a month. The

bigger-than-expected increase pushed total new claims to 350,000 last

week and provided fresh evidence that the labor market is still under

pressure even though the economic recovery is about to celebrate its

third anniversary. " There are " 821,000 fewer people on payrolls than

when Bush took office in January 2001. "

 

HOMELAND SECURITY – A TOY STORY: Wondering what the Department of

Homeland Security (DHS) has been up to these days? Well, Pufferbelly

Toys owner Stephanie Cox could catch you up: six weeks ago, she was

visited by two DHS agents at her small store just north of Portland.

" The lead agent asked Cox whether she carried a toy called the Magic

Cube, which he said was an illegal copy of the Rubik's Cube, one of

the most popular toys of all time. He told her to remove the Magic

Cube from her shelves, and he watched to make sure she complied. " As

DHS says, " obviously trademark infringement does have significant

economic implications. " Nevertheless, six weeks later Cox told The

Oregonian " she is still bewildered by the experience. 'Aren't there

any terrorists out there?' she said. "

 

HEALTH CARE – AMERICANS PAY MORE FOR DRUGS: According to a report

issued Thursday, " Americans on average paid 81 percent more for

patented brand-name drugs last year than buyers in Canada and six

western European countries. That gap represents a significant increase

from 2000, when the cost differential between the United States and

the seven other countries was 60 percent. " The cost difference results

mostly from America's policy of allowing pharmaceutical companies to

freely set their prices. " Other countries impose cost controls, such

as negotiated price levels and profit limits. " The president's

Medicare reform law, " which provides a drug benefit starting in 2006,

specifically prohibits negotiating drug prices " and drug importation

from cheaper markets. Some states are nevertheless pushing forward

with importation.

 

FASHION – BATTLE OF THE BULGE: NASA scientists, apparently with some

free time on their hands after funding was cut for the

administration's ambitious Mars exploration program, have taken aim at

the president's bulge. According to Salon, senior NASA scientist Dr.

Robert M. Nelson has spent the past week at his home analyzing images

of the mysterious bulge in the president's back during the debates.

Bush has joked he must have had a poorly tailored suit. Not so, Nelson

says. " I am willing to stake my scientific reputation to the statement

that Bush was wearing something under his jacket during the debate, "

he said. Nelson stressed he's " not certain " what it is, but " that it

could be some type of electronic device – it's consistent with the

appearance of an electronic device worn in that manner. "