Monthly Archives: March 2009

Congresswoman Jane Harman believes in Jack Bauer’s ‘ticking time bomb’ scenario

Among those the Washington Post outed as briefed in 2002 on the use of waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques was Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA). She was reportedly the only one uncomfortable so she wrote a letter to herself and publicly released it a couple years later (others asked if they were being tough enough). Squeamish or not about how America treats detainees, Congressman Harman apparently thinks some indefinite detentions and interrogations of foreigners are necessary:

(March 12, 2009) Washington, D.C. — Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Terrorism Risk Assessment, together with co-authors Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces; Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade; and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, today introduced legislation conditioning US military aid to Pakistan on access to A.Q. Khan by US officials and assurances that he is being monitored.

Harman issued the following statement:

One of the most important challenges confronting the intelligence community is learning the nature of and damage done by the worldwide network in nuclear centrifuge technology, bomb components and training run for almost two decades by A. Q. Khan – the revered “father” of his country’s nuclear program. Considered a pariah abroad but a hero at home, that task got a lot tougher when Pakistan’s High Court ordered Khan released from house arrest last month.

At the recent Wehrkunde Security Conference in Munich, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi astonished delegates, telling us that his government had not decided whether to challenge the court decision but that Pakistan would continue to monitor Khan.

For those who stay awake at night worrying about Iran’s increasing mastery of centrifuge technology and the ability of terror groups to access nuclear components, Pakistan’s action is distressing.

When Khan “confessed” in 2004 to his illegal nuclear dealings, he was promptly placed under “house arrest” and pardoned by then President Pervez Musharraf. The U.S. government was denied access to him, and was never able to question him about what he did and what else he knew.

Today, we introduce bi-partisan legislation to condition future military aid to Pakistan on two things: that the Pakistani Government make A.Q. Khan available for questioning and that it monitor Khan’s activities. [emphasis added mine]

This much we do know. As a university student in Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Khan earned degrees in metallurgical engineering from institutions in Holland and Belgium. In 1972, he began working for the Dutch partner of a uranium enrichment consortium and almost immediately raised eyebrows for repeated visits to a facility he was not cleared to see and for inquiries made about technical data unrelated to his own assignments.

Dutch intelligence quietly began to monitor him. In 1974, following India’s first nuclear test, Khan offered his expertise to Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Later that year, Khan’s company assigned him to work on Dutch translations of advanced, German-designed centrifuges — data to which he had unsupervised access for 16 days.

By 1975, the damage appears to have been done. Pakistan began to purchase components for its domestic uranium enrichment program from European suppliers, and Khan was transferred away from enrichment work due to concern about his activities.

In December, he abruptly returned to Pakistan with blueprints for centrifuges and other components and detailed lists of suppliers.

Convicted in absentia by the Dutch government for nuclear espionage, beginning in the mid-1980s, Khan is widely believed to have provided nuclear weapons technology to Iran, North Korea, Libya and possibly Syria and Iraq. His network involved front companies and operatives in Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. Though much of the network was taken down following his confession, there is no conclusive evidence that it was destroyed.

Khan is again a loose nuke scientist with proven ability to sell the worst weapons to the worst people. Hopefully, appropriate Pakistani officials worry as we do that their civilians could become nuclear targets — as could NATO soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan or civilians in any number of Western countries.

Our bill provides a path for the Zardari government to do the right thing –- to allow the US to evaluate the full extent of A. Q. Khan’s proliferation activities in order to halt any ongoing or future harm.

It makes me wonder if Congresswoman Harman was the one who said “pour it on” back in 2002. But I digress.

There seems little chance she’ll get to question Dr. Khan:

(March 13, 2009) The United States had stopped military and economic assistance to Pakistan in 1990, following a dispute over its nuclear programme.

Diplomatic observers in Washington, however, say that it would be difficult to bring such sanctions against Pakistan at this stage when the United States wants the allied nation to increase its role in fighting terrorism.

Pakistan is already resisting Washington’s offer for greater US involvement in training the Pakistani military.

Senior US officials and lawmakers — such as Vice President Joe Biden and Senator John Kerry, who heads the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee — have described the previous sanction against Pakistan as a mistake and opposed any future sanctions.

US officials say that the previous sanction, known as the Presslar [sic] Amendment, reduced their influence in Pakistan, particularly in the military, and has left bitter memories in that country.

Maybe Congress ought to leave foreign policy negotiations to the President.

Press Release: Military Families United and 9/11 Families Respond To 9/11 Terrorists Confession

Military Families United and 9/11 Families Respond To 9/11 Terrorists Confession

Washington, DC, March 10, 2009 – Today, Military Families United joined with 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America to release the following statement in response to the “9/11 Shura Council” letter announcing their responsibility and pride for their horrific actions on September 11, 2001. The document titled “The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations,” was authored by five current detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11th attacks.

“The brazenness of this letter exemplifies the current threat that the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay present to America and our allies,” said Brian Wise, Executive Director of Military Families United. “These five terrorists show no remorse or repentance for taking the lives of more than 3,000 innocent civilians and if the closure of GITMO is not handled properly by the Administration, these same terrorists will be returned to the battlefield where they will undoubtedly continue their campaigns against American soldiers and innocent civilians. The President has promised the terrorists at GITMO ‘swift and certain justice’ but his persistent failure to provide a viable solution to where these dangerous terrorists are going to held does not bode well for the future of our national security.”

“This isn’t just a policy decision or the fulfillment of a campaign promise for us,” said Tim Sumner, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America. “This is the reality we live with every day. We don’t have our loved ones with us because they were taken away by the brutal acts of these men. Twice now, these five terrorists have freely admitted to a Military Commission – duly enacted by Congress – to planning and executing mass murder; we should not further delay the imposition of the appropriate punishment for that crime. We have been denied ‘swift and certain justice’ and he has now begun releasing some of these dangerous terrorists. The families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks know first-hand the pain that these men have inflicted. We sit at the dinner table with the empty chair and deeply miss those that have been taken from us. All we ask is that the President put our country’s national security above political promises.”

We are the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the families of our brave men and women in uniform who have relentlessly fought to capture terrorists who plot to harm our country and our way of life. Many of our family members have paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect this country and their sacrifice cannot be in vain by the Administration failing to act with our country’s national security as the first priority.

We know firsthand the cost of terrorism and know that whatever actions President Obama takes with the detainees at GITMO will have a drastic effect on our courageous military and their families.

Press contact: Meghan Tisinger, Director of Communications, Military Families United, W: (202) 429-5600, C: (202) 510-5304

About Military Families United:

Military Families United serves as the nation’s premier military family advocacy organization, representing Gold and Blue Star families throughout the country and their loved ones who wear, or have worn, our nation’s uniform. Military Families United was founded in the summer of 2008 as a not-for-profit, non-partisan 501c4 policy advocacy organization committed to supporting America’s troops and their families. We fight to ensure that the sacrifices of these families are not in vain by giving them a voice in Washington, D.C and state governments throughout the country. Military Families United engages Members of Congress, the Administration, and the general public in efforts to communicate the truth about our brave men and women in uniform and their mission to protect our freedom that cost many of them their lives.

About us:

9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America is a non-partisan affiliation of 9/11 family members who view national security as the country’s top priority. The group supports the U.S. military and endorses the doctrine of pre-emption, supported by the 9/11 Commission’s statement on terrorist threats: “Once the danger has fully materialized, evident to all, mobilizing action is easier–but it then may be too late.” The organization was formed to convey our support for the military and to provide a forum for news and commentary on matters of national security and of interest to 9/11 family members. Our email address is: admin@911familiesforamerica.org