Excerpt:
January 5, 2009, 2:30 pm
Panetta to Be Named C.I.A. Director
By Carl Hulse AND Mark Mazzetti
President-elect Barack Obama has selected Leon E. Panetta, the former congressman and White House chief of staff, to take over the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization that Mr. Obama criticized during the campaign for using interrogation methods he decried as torture, Democratic officials said Monday.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Leon_E._Panetta
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Involvement with tobacco issues
A 1995 narrative written by "Todd" (who is presumably Todd Haymore, a staffer for then-Congressman L.F. Payne, D-VA) chronicles a series of secret meetings held between the White House and representatives from tobacco-growing states to broker a deal to stop the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's efforts to regulate nicotine a drug. The memo, a chronology of events apparently written to refresh Payne's memory, indicates that then-White House chief of Staff Leon Panetta engaged in secret negotiations with representatives of tobacco-growing states to "remove [FDA Commissioner] Kessler from the radar." Panetta dangled a proposal in front of tobacco companies, telling the representatives that "voluntary action" by tobacco companies on the youth access issue "may be the best way to stop Kessler from attempting to regulate tobacco products."[4]:http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_18325500
Excerpt:
WASHINGTON—The Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved the nomination of Leon Panetta to be the next Pentagon chief, handing him a crowded agenda of overseeing the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, tamping down congressional unrest over the Libyan conflict and cutting the budget.
Panetta will replace Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is retiring June 30 after 4 1/2 years on the job through the administrations of Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama.
Panetta, the CIA director during the successful operation to kill terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, received strong bipartisan praise as well as a 100-0 vote.
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Leadership
- LTG Martin E. Dempsey (US), Commanding General
- Brigadier Jeremy Robbins (UK), Deputy Commanding General
- Brigadier Cris Anstey (Aus), JHQ Commanding General
- BG Daniel P. Bolger (US), CMATT Commanding General
- MB Joseph F. Peterson (US), CPATT Commanding General
- BG Per Pugholm Olsen, CMATT Deputy Commanding General
- SgtMaj Ralph G. White (US), USMC Sergeant Major
- Also see MNSTC-I Groups.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/30/obama-picks-combat-veteran-as-joint-chiefs-chairman_n_868731.html
Excerpt:
General Martin Dempsey Picked As Joint Chiefs Chairman
First Posted: 05/30/11 12:51 PM ET Updated: 05/30/11 02:04 PM ET
WASHINGTON -- The man chosen to lead the U.S. military as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the difficult years ahead is a muddy-boots combat soldier seemingly more comfortable in battle fatigues than in the dress blues of Washington's corridors of power.But make no mistake: Martin Dempsey, a self-described Irish Catholic kid from Bayonne, N.J. is a battle-hardened commander seen by his colleagues as an inspired choice to guide the military through a painful period of deep budget cuts and manpower reductions. If he is confirmed as expected by the Senate, Dempsey's job will be to help forge a new strategy to direct the Pentagon's organization, investments, training and deployments for contingencies as disparate as managing a no-fly zone over Libya, a naval confrontation in the South China Sea, a failing government in nuclear-armed Pakistan and hostilities from North Korea and Iran.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff
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Related SourceWatch articles
* U.S. Navy Admiral Michael G. Mullen was confirmed as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2007,[1] replacing Gen. Peter Pace, who stepped down in September 2007. Prior, Mullen served as Chief of Naval Operations.[2]* Marine General Peter Pace became the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on September 30, 2005, replacing General Richard B. Myers, who retired.
It was announced on June 8, 2007, that Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates would not renominate Pace for another term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, "avoiding a contentious debate with the Democratic-led Congress over unpopular Iraq war." Gates "paid tribute to Pace but said after consulting with Republican and Democratic Senators, he had come to believe that Pace would face a bruising reconfirmation hearing." [1]
Gates is "recommending Adm. Mike Mullen, currently chief of naval operations, to take Pace's job." [2]
When appointed as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George W. Bush on October 15, 2001, Pace replaced General Myers, who then became the 15th Chairman of the JCS. Pace became "the first Marine to hold the vice chairmanship, the second-highest uniformed position in the Defense Department." [3]
* State of national emergency
From SourceWatch
Regarding what is known as a State of National Emergency, Paula Demers writes: "According to the United States Constitution, Article 1, only Congress shall make federal law. However, since the War and Emergency Powers Act of 1933, every president has usurped lawmaking powers. Their 'laws' are called Executive Orders (EOs). These EOs, not our Constitution, are what is governing America today. The War and Emergency Powers Act enables ... the president to declare a national emergency, and thereby become a dictator."[1]"Presidents can also carefully choose their words and declare a war on anything, in order to give them dictatorial control. For example, the War on Drugs makes it possible to use federal authorities, such as FBI, FEMA, BATF, and the military against American citizens. A well-known example is Waco. Another example is Hurricane Opal. After Florida was declared a nation emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arrived on the scene and residents were placed under marshal law (restricted to the point of not going outside their door). When the federal government does this, it is going against the Constitution. The War and Emergency Powers Act is an unconstitutional act on the part of our government, created so that presidents can bypass Congress, and do whatever they choose."[2]
"It also makes it possible to do away with posse comitatus in cases of 'emergency'. Posse comitatus is what protects American citizens from the military being used against them."[3]
* DoD & Bioport Corporation
Regulations allowed the Department of Defense (DoD) to "provide extraordinary relief" to BioPort Corporation during late FY 1999, in spite of "significant risks." [2] Between 1998 and 2002, the DoD pumped over $130 million into the company, in hopes of stockpiling enough anthrax vaccines for all 2.4 million U.S. soldiers and reservists. The Pentagon continued paying BioPort even after the company repeated failed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections and was prohibited from shipping any vaccine. [3]
Mandatory experimental vaccinations & related deaths
In 2003, six soldiers filed suit against the government for experimenting on them with the BioPort anthrax vaccine. According to the charges, the vaccine was considered experimental; therefore its mandatory administration was illegal. On Dec. 22, 2003, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the military to stop experimenting on soldiers for dangerous anthrax vaccines. In 2003, army sergeant Rachel Lacey died of complications from the vaccine, according to an autopsy report from the Mayo Clinic. Despite strong evidence that the vaccine was causing pneumonia-like symptoms in military personnel, the Pentagon denied the possibility. Instead, they blamed cigarette smoking as the leading factor. The vaccination is a series of 6 shots over 18 months.* War Powers Act ...
On November 19, 1973, the Special Committee on the Termination of the National Emergency presented Senate Report 93-549 at the first session of the 93rd Congress. The Introduction to the report, an examination of existing War and Emergency Powers Acts, states:
- "Since March 9, 1933, the United States has been in a state of declared national emergency. In fact, there are now in effect four presidentially-proclaimed states of national emergency: In addition to the national emergency declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, there are also the national emergency proclaimed by President Harry S. Truman on December 16, 1950, during the Korean conflict, and the states of national emergency declared by President Richard M. Nixon on March 23, 1970, and August 15, 1971."[1]
- "These proclamations give force to 470 provisions of Federal law. These hundreds of statutes delegate to the President extraordinary powers, ordinarily exercised by the Congress, which affect the lives of American citizens in a host of all-encompassing manners. This vast range of powers, taken together, confer enough authority to rule the country without reference to normal Constitutional processes."[2]
Excerpt:
On October 6, 1917, at the beginning of America's involvement in World War I, Congress passed the "Trading with the Enemy Act", empowering the government to take control over any and all commercial, monetary or business transactions. In Section 17 of the "Act" we find the following orders: "That the district courts of the United States are hereby given jurisdiction to make and enter all such rules as to notice and otherwise; and all such orders and decrees; and to issue such process as may be necessary and proper in the premises to enforce the provisions of this Act."
These powers were continued after the war via "The Trading With the Enemy Act", as mended, and the "Agricultural Adjustment Act, Emergency Powers" of May 12, 1933, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Whereas, he said, "We will never go back to the old order." In other words, we will not return to the Constitution. As I shall prove.
Remember, President and TRAITOR Roosevelt used the authority of "Trading With The Enemy Act", which according to the Supreme Court is strictly a war measure to confiscate the Gold from the person you saw in the mirror, the ENEMY. The "Act" prescribes for orders, regulations, rules, and licensing of the Enemy. On December 20, 1937 the Supreme Court became a party in the "Covert-War" with this declaration:
