Why EVERYONE'S hair should stand on end at Gen. Hayden's nomination

[Atman]

With this nominee, if approved, our nation's death spiral into a police state will be nearly complete.

-------------

So the big kahuna they are talking about to replace Porter Goss is General Michael Hayden. Yes. That General Michael Hayden: "Gen. Michael Hayden refused to answer questions about spying on political enemies at National Press Club. At a public appearance, Bush's pointman in the Office of National Intelligence was asked if the NSA was wiretapping Bush's political enemies. When Hayden dodged the question, the questioner repeated, "No, I asked, are you targeting us and people who politically oppose the Bush government, the Bush administration? Not a fishing net, but are you targeting specifically political opponents of the Bush administration?" Hayden looked at the questioner, and after a silence called on a different questioner." (Hayden National Press Club remarks, 1/23/06)

And this General Hayden: "I'm disappointed I guess that perhaps the default response for some is to assume the worst. I'm trying to communicate to you that the people who are doing this, okay, go shopping in Glen Burnie and their kids play soccer in Laurel, and they know the law. They know American privacy better than the average American, and they're dedicated to it. So I guess the message I'd ask you to take back to your communities is the same one I take back to mine. This is focused. It's targeted. It's very carefully done. You shouldn't worry."

All those pesky laws are for bad people, you see. Good people don't have to follow them. People like John "death squads" Negroponte, Hayden's good friend and boss. You shouldn't worry.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_digbysblog_archive.html#11468903681573 1707



Knight-Ridder's Jonathan Landay questioned Gen. Michael Hayden at the National Press Club in January:

Landay: "...the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to violate an American's right against unreasonable searches and seizures..."

Gen. Hayden: "No, actually - the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "But the --"

Gen. Hayden: "That's what it says."

Landay: "The legal measure is probable cause, it says."

Gen. Hayden: "The Amendment says: unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "But does it not say 'probable cause'?"

Gen. Hayden : "No! The Amendment says unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "The legal standard is probable cause, General -- "

Gen. Hayden : "Just to be very clear ... mmkay... and believe me, if there's any Amendment to the Constitution that employees of the National Security Agency are familiar with, it's the Fourth. Alright? And it is a reasonableness standard in the Fourth Amendment. The constitutional standard is 'reasonable'"

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/05/06.html#a8184


"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

.

[mikelewis]

1. K & R for the 4th Amendment!!!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. K & R. Very revealing of Hayden's thinking.

[w8liftinglady]

3. K&R-great post

[HereSince1628]

4. Why would we expect Gen. Warrantless to remember something

that Roberto isn't using.

Incompetence, mendacity, no problem. As long as the guy can toe the party line and publically confront all challenges, that's good enough.

[Atman]

5. Not to mention the fact that he just LOOKS evil!

Seriously! He looks like a character straight out of a James Bond movie! Or an Austin Powers movie.

[tomp]

6. "...and no warrants issued...."

but they're not obtaining warrants so that part doesn't apply.

[Double T]

7. This nation is looking more like the former Soviet Union.........

with each passing day. When bushco's term is done, there will be dancing in the streets from the liberation of our nation!!

[lonestarnot]

8. when his term is done? Nope! Impeach the freak!

[Atman]

10. WHEN Bush's term is done? How about IF?

I don't think it will ever be "done." At least, not any time soon. I think McCain or some other extremist Bush asskisser will be "appointed" by Diebold and the Supremes, and the Bush war machine will march on unabated. What is the point of appointing a military chief who was in charge of spying on Bush's political "enemies" if not to discredit everyone opposed to him, and hold on to power? Too much is at stake. Bush, or at least "BushCo," has no intention of leaving. They'll appoint a friendly in 2008, even if that friendly is a dem.

[earth mom]

13. I've been thinking something along the same lines....only

* AKA "the Decider" will be pretzledent (or is that dictator or king?) for ever and eva and eva. Yikes! :scared:

[corkhead]

25. They are not consolidating all their power to hand it over to some librul

in '08. I think November is our last best hope.

[kiteinthewind]

9. Great post!! Thanks, Atman!

:thumbsup:

[Atman]

11. Disclaimer...

This post is actually a verbatim c&p (except for my intro) of a post by sometime-DUer Timbuk3 (who also has an interesting web site), from, of all things, a Yahoo board. Go figure. I try to get him to post here more. He's got some good KOS diaries, too. He's not a high-volume poster, but he makes 'em count!

[Timbuk3]

12. Thanks

I kicked and recommended this thread, too. ;->

[riderinthestorm]

14. Thanks Timbuk3! Come by DU and post more often. Great work! nt

[Timbuk3]

21. You're welcome...

...and thank you.

I post here when I can, and I've come to DU for help before. Lots of good people, here.

BTW, did you read the Glenn Greenwald piece? If you don't know who Greenwald is, you should.

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/01/administrations-new-fisa-defense-is.html

And, since Negroponte seems to be behind the sudden departure of Goss (who was bad enough) and the promotion of Hayden, you might want to brush up on Negroponte's involvement in Iran/Contra and the Honduran death squads.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1076

In many ways, the Bush Regime is Iran/Contra, part two.

In other ways, they're MUCH worse.

[babylonsister]

15. My hair has been standing on end since I heard Hayden was

going to be suggested for confirmation. He gives me the serious willies. Thanks, Atman, and timbuk3.

[peekaloo]

16. I've adopted my hair standing on ends as the hairstyle for the Bu$h

reign.

[magellan]

17. Hayden is a whack job and a liar

To Bush**, that makes him the perfect appointee.

[Avalux]

18. Hayden's role: change CIA to domestic agency

I'm convinced that will be his primary duty, to create one super-sized intelligence agency, integrating what he's started at the NSA along with Rummie's secret agency that will operate not only outside our borders but also within this country to spy on all of us.

[progressoid]

19. You say potato, I say potahto.

You say probably cause, I say, fuck you, I'll do as I please.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[malaise]

20. He's on CSpan 1 now n/t

[realFedUp]

22. No more hair left....I've pulled it out during this administration. nt

[AndyA]

23. So it's OK to break the law, as long as it's for our own protection?

This is a ridiculous stance to take.

They don't even quote or interpret the Fourth Amendment correctly.

[davekriss]

24. My hair isn't standing on end...

...it already went white and fell out when Mr. Death Squad Negroponte was appointed Director of National Intelligence (and especially because he was confirmed with a 98-2 vote -- what is our Democracy thinking, a dose of fascistic totalitarianism will be good for us?). It's quite clear to me that John and Michael Hayden mean to do for us what John did for Honduras and Nicaragua.

Negroponte didn't write the "script", below, but he does appear to follow it, both in Honduras in the eighties and again in Iraq recently:

CIA operations follow the same recurring script. First, American business interests abroad are threatened by a popular or democratically elected leader. The people support their leader because he intends to conduct land reform, strengthen unions, redistribute wealth, nationalize foreign-owned industry, and regulate business to protect workers, consumers and the environment. So, on behalf of American business, and often with their help, the CIA mobilizes the opposition. First it identifies right-wing groups within the country (usually the military), and offers them a deal: "We'll put you in power if you maintain a favorable business climate for us." The Agency then hires, trains and works with them to overthrow the existing government (usually a democracy). It uses every trick in the book: propaganda, stuffed ballot boxes, purchased elections, extortion, blackmail, sexual intrigue, false stories about opponents in the local media, infiltration and disruption of opposing political parties, kidnapping, beating, torture, intimidation, economic sabotage, death squads and even assassination. These efforts culminate in a military coup, which installs a right-wing dictator. The CIA trains the dictator’s security apparatus to crack down on the traditional enemies of big business, using interrogation, torture and murder. The victims are said to be "communists," but almost always they are just peasants, liberals, moderates, labor union leaders, political opponents and advocates of free speech and democracy. Widespread human rights abuses follow.

This scenario has been repeated so many times that the CIA actually teaches it in a special school, the notorious "School of the Americas." (It opened in Panama but later moved to Fort Benning, Georgia.) Critics have nicknamed it the "School of the Dictators" and "School of the Assassins." Here, the CIA trains Latin American military officers how to conduct coups, including the use of interrogation, torture and murder.

The Association for Responsible Dissent estimates that by 1987, 6 million people had died as a result of CIA covert operations. (2) Former State Department official William Blum correctly calls this an "American Holocaust."

The CIA justifies these actions as part of its war against communism. But most coups do not involve a communist threat. Unlucky nations are targeted for a wide variety of reasons: not only threats to American business interests abroad, but also liberal or even moderate social reforms, political instability, the unwillingness of a leader to carry out Washington’s dictates, and declarations of neutrality in the Cold War. Indeed, nothing has infuriated CIA Directors quite like a nation’s desire to stay out of the Cold War.

The above is from Steve Kangas, available here. Steve, in 1999, committed "suicide" in the bathroom of the offices of Richard Mellon Scaife. Apparently shot himself twice. In the head. But that's another matter.

I share the Kangas depiction of USG "intelligence" operations because Negroponte now sits atop all intelligence operational entities, internal to the U.S. as well as external. Are there plans to do for us what Negroponte did for the peasantry of Honduras and Nicaragua?

At a minimum, Negroponte claims not to know of the atrocities of the US-trained Battalion 3-16 that terrorized the Honduran public during his tenure as Ambassador, not to know of the 31 Salvadoran nuns thrown from helicopters after being violently tortured while he supported the DNI. Will he look the other way again as Michael Hayden does what it takes to preserve the neo-con stranglehold on power and keep the imperial agenda alive?

Negroponte managed the construction of El Aguacate Air Base, used to train and stage the Contras and purportedly used as a torture and detention center. My guess is setting up Abu Ghriab was a snap for John, including (as the press purported) setting up the "Salvadorean Solution" -- i.e., Death Squads, just like Battallion 3-16 again!

All of this was argued "permissible" by the freeper right as it was done to fight "communism" -- if it weren't for the brave silent tacit very-ample support of the USG through functionaries like John Negroponte, the Sandinistas surely would be burning bibles in Kansas right now.

This time will all this and more be "permissible", and in the Homeland, to fight "terrorism"? I certainly would not trust putting Negroponte and Hayden at the helm. They sure seem to be putting "every trick in the book" in play (see Kangas' first paragraph again). And this time, the "enemy" is us, those of us who would stand against big-business neo-imperial hegemony, those of us who want peace and justice and equality and fairness instead of consent for wars that benefit the few who stand atop our socio-economic pyramid.

[symbolman]

48. Great POST

I watched the whole Iran Contra deal from the start (nearing 54 now), and since Nam when I was drafted I watch these people CAREFULLY..

Negroponte DEATH SQUAD MAN is now in charge of this country, no wonder the Dems voted in unison for him, and no doubt they'll rubber stamp this guy too, remember, they have the GOODS ON ALL the Politicians, ALL the skeletons, and after 911 they let the "liberals" know they could KILL them any time they felt like it, just to make sure it stuck, they dusted a Media building, a tabloid office, AND I believe that some liberal media persons received scary envelopes as well if I recall.

Jesus, you thought McCarthy and HOOVER were bad, just wait, we ain't seen nothin' yet. They've been using the old psyops on the dummies and the old "say it five times and it's TRUE" Technique since a famous adman once said, "Give me a Mom, an apple pie, a puppy, and I'll sell them anything.."

I was talking to my wife and have been continually telling her that the Germans didn't know what HIT THEM when Hitler showed up.. that these things happen FAST, the next thing you know there are fucking TANKS in the street, with rings of Freepers in Brownshirts kicking the shit out of Liberals.

I once talked about leaving this country, the farthest I got was Hawaii - I figure that they usually don't mess with the rich, and tourist places so it's a good place to mix in (not rich, cheap house but safer I bet than any city in the USA), whether they fake some attack to rally idiots, or just shut down the whole block, the Hawaiians won't stand for that shit. They'd beat the soldiers to death with war clubs from the museums :)

But it IS looking like leaving the USA itself may be a good idea. Someone said the other day, "If you want to live like an American you need to move to Europe.." however, it's under the nuclear "umbrella", and full of pissed off muslims as well.

How strange, the other day I was telling someone how in the old days we used to watch those NAZI movies and curl our lips and laugh when they said things like, "Your papers please..", yeah, we KICKED their damn asses all over the planet.. NOW it's looking like that will be the NORM, and the kids will never know the difference.

Like someone said here, we're looking more and more like the goddamn Soviet Union back when the Shoe Whacker was in place.. when I look at this admin, I have these flashbacks of seeing the really OLD GUYS who would NEVER leave the power structure, standing on the top of a building, waving at their slaves while Missles rolled down the main plaza on May Day.

Wonder when we'll have parades with Missles and tanks, when you do you will KNOW at that moment that it's OVER FOLKS.

So the writer got SUICIDED in Scaifes BATHROOM? How fucking CONVENIENT. Brilliant writing, damn shame. He walked into the mouth of the dragon. I'll pass this around, it says it all... thanks!

[davekriss]

50. On leaving the country...

I recall with a chill the words of Chalmers Johnson on CSPAN2 when he was doing the book tour thing for The Sorrows of Empire a couple of years ago. Not verbatim, but it went something like this: Plan your outs now while you still can, buy that condo in Vancouver or villa in Costa Rica, apply for dual-citizenship -- because when the gates come crashing down, and they soon will, they will close tight and there will be no getting out.

Given Chalmers' warnings about our over-militarized society, with it's greed for empire, I think it is a frightening thing indeed that Bushboy nominates a USAF Lieutenant General to head the CIA, one who gives no indication of giving up his military commission, and one willfully "ignorant" of the 4th amendment's standard of "probable cause".

On the latter, Hayden is in microcosm taking the same position as Bushboy in macrocosm when in the NSS (of 2002) the unsupported assertion is made that it is no longer necessary to face "imminent threat" before letting slip the dogs of war, threat must merely be judged "sufficient" by a "unitary" authority (the unitary executive thing followed later). Hayden insists that the State has the right to search and seizure when, in it's unchecked judgement, the search or seizure is not ... "unreasonable". Check out Hayden's words and tell me there is nothing to fear here:

JONATHAN LANDAY: My understanding is that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to be able to do a search that does not violate an American's right against unlawful searches and seizures.

MICHAEL HAYDEN: No, actually, the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure. That’s what it says.

JONATHAN LANDAY: But the measure is "probable cause," I believe.

MICHAEL HAYDEN: The amendment says "unreasonable search and seizure."

JONATHAN LANDAY: But does it not say "probable – "

MICHAEL HAYDEN: No.

JONATHAN LANDAY: The court standard, the legal standard --

MICHAEL HAYDEN: The amendment says, "unreasonable search and seizure."

JONATHAN LANDAY: The legal standard is "probable cause," General. You used the terms just a few minutes ago, "we reasonably believe," and a FISA court, my understanding is, would not give you a warrant if you went before them and say, "We reasonably believe." You have to go to the FISA Court or the Attorney General has to go to the FISA Court and say, "We have probable cause," and so what many people believe, and I would like you to respond to this, is that what you've actually done is crafted a detour around the FISA Court by creating a new standard of "reasonably believe" in place of "probable cause," because the FISA Court will not give you a warrant based on "reasonable belief." You have to show "probable cause." Could you respond to that, please?

MICHAEL HAYDEN: Sure. I didn't craft the authorization. I am responding to a lawful order, alright? The Attorney General has averred to the lawfulness of the order. Just to be very clear, okay, and believe me, if there is any amendment to the Constitution that employees of the National Security Agency are familiar with, it's the Fourth, and it is a "reasonableness" standard in the Fourth Amendment. And so, what you’ve raised to me, and I'm not a lawyer and don't want to become one, but what you've raised to me, in terms of quoting the Fourth Amendment, is an issue of the Constitution. The constitutional standard is "reasonable," and we believe – I am convinced that we're lawful, because what it is we're doing is reasonable.

Available at Democracy Now!, May 8 newscast. Check out the video if you mistrust the transcript.

I'd also like to point out that when an authority starts saying "Just to be very clear, okay, and believe me...", a healthy and free people should do anything but!!!

[lebkuchen]

26. Is this a Bush/Rove/Rummy FU to those generals who want Rummy out?

Rove thrives on two-fers.

I thrive on a one-two punch.

[Marr]

27. Is this guy going to be active duty while at the CIA, or is he going to

retire from the military first?

[Atman]

34. Active Duty, so far

Though my guess is, the spineless Democrats will "demand" he "retire" before they rubber stamp him.

[bloom]

28. thanks for posting this nt

[Generic Other]

29. When you stonewall and lie for Bush you are always forced to look

dogmatically dense. They must just snicker behind closed doors. Because even the stu[pidest morans on the planet can't be that stupid. It's scripted.

[TahitiNut]

30. People who commit atrocities always have "good intentions."

Purity of essence. Protect our vital juices. "They" threaten "our" way of life. It's the "will of God" that we punish the "evil-doers." The rationalizations and apologetics are endless. Fucking sociopaths! :grr:

[BrklynLiberal]

31. I am sending this info out to my entire email list.

:wow:

[patriothackd]

32. Did they get Haydn from central casting?

casting director: We need someone who looks like a Nazi. Let me see the head shots. Yeah, that guy, he'll do. What's his name? Haydn? Better yet, maybe his daddy WAS a Nazi.

[Robbie Michaels]

33. what a tool

:grr: :nuke:

[Roland99]

35. A prime example of the result of group-think.

[SpiralHawk]

36. Hayden is a Homelander

Hayden spells BIG clampdown trouble for patriotic and freedom-loving Americans -- and for the entire United States of America as represented in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Hayden is a Homelander.

Let no American make a mistake about it.

[Atman]

37. I'm just kickin this for ol' buddy Timbuk3

Wow...I knew this was a powerful post, but I didn't envision it being an almost 50-reccer! It is awesome, amazing stuff...this Hayden guy is the worst of the worst, and I once again thank Timbuk for pointing it out!

:kick:

[Stand and Fight]

38. Good grief... You're right. I do have the chills. n/t

[EVDebs]

39. CIA is mainly run at top via Knights of Malta since inception

Their Will Be Done
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1983/07/willbedone.html

Authoritarian, conservative, secretive, and essentially 'above the law'. Hayden is a catholic, according to NSA's Karen Kwiatkowski.

Couple this with Ben H. Bell, IIIrd's Global Information Group in the offshored and outsourcd Bahamas, and you have the Total Information Awareness program in renamed projects. Throw in RFIDs (see book Spychips www.spychips.com and background checks--CSMonitor has done great articles on this--and you have the basis of a homegrown terror program of surveillance by vacuuming up of data. All data.

[Gregorian]

40. "We're going to make America free again, by making Americans feel safe aga

in."


Damn! What a load of repeat bullshit. These are the first words I heard when I turned on cspan and saw this lunatic spewing his message on the reporters. You'd have thought there might be a laugh or a snicker or even a retch from the reporters. But nope, the camera panned over to them and they were all busy stenographying. Haha.

"We're going to make America free again, by making Americans feel safe again." I think the keyword is "make".

This guy looks like he jumped out of a U2, and it's 1963 all over again.

[bonito]

41. Kick n/t

[Atman]

42. late night...

:kick:

[Digit]

43. K&R

[Tigress DEM]

44. T'ain't reasonable without probable cause, General...

Cause what a "reasonable" search or seizure means is that you would have a REASON to do such a thing and that reason would constitute probable cause.

SO what is the reason behind these spy sessions on the American people?

Reasonable people would like to know how to keep themselves in the good graces of the law of the land, but if that law is changed by the whims of the government and no reasons or even clues to how to not accidentally disobey the law are made clear then these laws are outside the scope of the governed and are therefore UNCONSTITUTIONAL - ya dam dimwit.

:grr:

[dave123williams]

45. He's right though, about the current standing of the 4th ammendment.

It's now 'resonable suspicion' not probable cause. That's the standard. It's the result of years of precedent chipping away at the 4th ammendment.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but your 4th ammendment rights don't really exist any more. Ask a lawyer.

[truedelphi]

46. A chicago Blogger Had this Statement - It's the Constitution that is wrong

I don't get the hooplah. Have we not yet just recognized that Bush picks ONLY people
who will agree with him and find reasons why he's right, defending him against his
enemies? Listen to any of the conservatives who blog here. He's the President. What
he says goes. Anybody who disagrees is a traitorous loser who doesn't deserve an
opinion. If you want not to be a traitorous loser, just agree with everything Bush
says. It's real simple -- just get a clue.

Obviously it's the Constitution that's wrong here because it disagrees with what the
President wants to do. Therefore we need to amend the Constitution so it gets rid of
all those troublesome roadblocks to conserving our freedom and making our country the
strong and powerful leader we have always been and need to remain.

I suggest, while we're at it, that we just get rid of all the other parts of the
Constitution as well, and just replace it with, "We the People of the United States of
America have given up. We cede all our rights to the President of the United States
and his delegated authorities, whoever and wherever they may be, and agree to just
let them take care of things." Isn't that simpler?

Posted by: John | May 8, 2006 1:11:57 PM

[Disturbed]

47. This guy would have been perfect for the

Gestapo.

[sellitman]

49. A correction.....

"We the People of the United States of
America have given up. We cede all our rights to God's hand picked Dicator- George W Bush
and his delegated authorities, whoever and wherever they may be, and agree to just
let them take care of things."

[radio4progressives]

51. Too Late to Recommend - Another Excellent Post Every Democrat Should Read

Actually, Every Citizen should read. But right now I'm more concerned with the fact that the Dems in the Beltway don't give a flying fuck about the issues raised in this op, and any single elected Congress Person, whether in the House or the Senate, whether Republican, Democrat or Independent should be tried for treason for any failure in sounding the alarms and putting their entire CAREER ON THE LINE to make sure every single American Citizen understand fully what the fuck this means.

Again, every single Democrat should be FRONT AND CENTER on this point - all else pales in comparison in terms of the what the American Constitution was actually intended to protect.

FUCK GENERAL ELECTRIC- FUCK CNN -FUCK FOX - FUCK ABC, NBC, CBS - Take over the media and get this out there NOW!