----- Original Message -----
From: "Mid-East Realities" <MERL@MiddleEast.Org>
To: "MER >" <"Mid-East Realities" <MER@MiddleEast.Org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 11:46 AM
Subject: Marching toward an American Police State - "Washington Scene"


    _______   ____   ______
  /  |/  /  /___/  / /_ //    M I D - E A S T   R E A L I T I E S
/ /|_/ /  /_/_   / /\\         Making Sense of the Middle East
/_/  /_/  /___/  /_/  \\          http://www.MiddleEast.Org

  News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, Interest Groups,
         and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To Know!
                ===========================
          Now Choose Options Easily From MER Homepage:
     MER WORLD - Important News and Feature Articles
     MER CHAT - Meet Others From Around the World
                 ===========================




MER "WASHINGTON SCENE":



            "Never before have we seen an American
             President trash the Constitution, at home,
             and do all possible to mirror Adolf Hitler,
             and Napoleon in foreign policy."


      PENTAGON POLICE GRAB TAPE FROM FOX NEWSMAN

A FOX NEWS cameraman was accosted by Pentagon Police outside the building on
Tuesday -- as he was shooting pictures of an arrest being carried out by
Virginia State Police on a highway that runs alongside the Pentagon but
outside Pentagon property!

The FOX staffer was ordered to turn over the videotape.

When he balked, he was handcuffed.

His camera was immediately seized and the tape was confiscated.

"Is this America!?" demanded a news producer at the network's DC bureau.

"He was subsequently released with his camera but the Pentagon is refusing
to return the tape," FOX's Brit Hume explained to viewers.

The nation's top-rated all-news channel is preparing to lodge a formal
complaint with officials, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Hume calls the episode a "disturbing development" which may reflect on the
new "restrictive information policies of the Defense Department."

A FOX Source notes: "We still don't have the tape and they haven't given us
any indication of when we might expect it -- It makes you wonder who is on
it?"         Drudge Report - 3/20/2002




                CAUSE AND EFFECT
                       By Alan Simpson

[AFI Research (London) - National Press Club Office- Washington, DC -
3/20/2002]   Talking to a group of young journalists recently I was asked
what phrase encapsulated the lessons learned about global politics, from
working in over 85 countries. It was "What goes around comes around".
President "Bunker" Bush has no single phrase. He could invent one, as he
does weekly. He should take a minute, and consider the one I gave.

During the Inauguration many of his supporters used the term "Reluctant
Dauphin" as if the Bush Dynasty ruled France. Today the significance becomes
apparent.  President Clinton dreamed about being President, all the others
saw it as a culmination of a life in politics. George W. sees it as carrying
out his Dad's wishes.

Because of his pedigree he has not had enough time in the global mincing
machine of world politics, to learn the bitter lessons of "Cause and
Effect".  Never before have we seen an American President trash the
Constitution, at home, and do all possible to mirror Adolf Hitler, and
Napoleon in foreign policy.  He has forgotten that he is renting the "Most
powerful man in the world" status for four years, with an option to retain
the title for a further four years, subject to credit rating.

Yes, he can tell the world that nuclear missiles are now pointing at China,
Russia, Luxembourg, and South Beach, Miami, or anywhere else for that
matter. But two of the four I just mentioned will start changing their
policies towards the USA, and the results will be seen further down the
road, when George W is back on his ranch, scraping cow dung from his boots.

Consider the Pentagon "Talking Heads" on CNN, who blatantly announce that
the generations old doctrine of not using Nuclear weapons in a first strike
role no longer applies. That's it George, rip up a few more treaties, and
agreements. Hey it is now policy to blast any unarmed country to bits with
nuclear weapons if we don't like them. And while we are at it people of the
world, "Buy American" we need you to buy our goods and services, because we
need the exports to get us out of recession!"

Israel, unlike the United States, has few natural resources, and  without
trade, and supplies of everything from Oil to Kosher Hot Dogs, will soon
starve. It is an overpopulated barren strip of land, drawing sustenance, and
life from those around it.  It should look  at the Kurds, as a case study,
and ask itself "What happens when the mighty "Big Stick" changes leadership,
policy, and starts focusing on say Taiwan. Consider a pissed-off China, with
US nuclear missiles pointing at it ready for a first strike attack, deciding
"What the hell" and invading Taiwan. What happens if the Arab nations join
together and another Oil crisis occurs, just before US election time, will
George be so cocky then? Yes, what happens instead of the Arabs fighting
Israel, they decide to starve it, will George W. launch the threatened
Nuclear first strike.

George "W" strutted around like Mussolini, declaring a 30% tariff on
imported Steel. Working on the philosophy that the rest of the world is
"Either with us or against us" he is now appalled that the EU wants to slap
$2bn extra tariffs on US textiles and other goods. "Don't they know we are
in a recession, what about the fight against terrorism."

George W is starting to learn "Cause and Effect".  So are the leaders of the
new Afghanistan, seeing the end of the forces from America. "We will drop as
many bombs on you as you want, but don't expect us to guard your towns, and
infrastructure". This should be a lesson to Turkey, if it allows the US to
launch a unilateral attack on Iraq.  Whoever takes over the "New World
Order" in Iraq, will still be on your borders, long after the B-52s have
left.

It is very easy to get engrossed into the daily fog of war, and forget that
every action has a reaction, American politicians are transients, and "What
goes around comes around"!






                                --------------------------
        MiD-EasT RealitieS  - http://www.MiddleEast.Org
                              Phone:   (202) 362-5266
                              Fax:   (815) 366-0800
                              Email:   MER@MiddleEast.Org

To subscribe to MER with our compliments  email to MERList@MiddleEast.Org
with subject SUBSCRIBE

To unsubscribe email to MERList@MiddleEast.Org with subject UNSUBSCRIBE