Blog Posts By Duane Shank

Among my must reads are the Sunday New York Times Book Review and other book reviews I come across in various media outlets. There are too many books being published that I would love to read, but just don’t have the time. So, I rely on reading book reviews as one way of keeping in touch with what’s being written. Here are my picks from this week’s books.

Quote of the day. "Silence is not an option when 30 million of our brothers and sisters live in poverty. Silence is not an option when 11 million undocumented individuals continue to live in the shadows. And by the way, they are undocumented and not illegal. Because a human being made in the image of God cannot be illegal."  Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, preaching at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. (CNN Belief Blog)

John Brennan, President Obama’s counterterrorism advisor and nominee for CIA Director, is one of the architects of the administration’s drone policy. The New York Times and the ACLU recently lost a case in court that attempted to make public the secret legal memos that are claimed to justify the policy. The confirmation hearings coming up will offer another chance.Salon reports that Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote a letter to Brennan in light of his nomination asking to see the legal opinions that justify killing American citizens.  He wrote:“Senior intelligence officials have said publicly that they have to authority to knowingly use lethal force against Americans in the course of counterterrorism operations, and have indicated that there are secret legal opinions issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and explain the basis of this authority. I have asked repeatedly to see these opinions, and I have been provided some relevant information on the topic, but I have yet to see the opinions themselves.”From a broader viewpoint, Mary Ellen O'Connell, law professor at the University of Notre Dame and a specialist on the international law of armed conflict, expresses surprise that anyone would need to see the memos.  Comparing it to the legal memos that claimed to justify waterboarding and secret detention by the Bush administration, she writes:“It is surprising to me that anyone feels the need to actually see these secret memos. International law clearly makes waterboarding, secret detention and targeted killing away from battlefields unlawful. The fact these practices have continued after the writing of the memos demonstrates the analysis is window dressing.”But, she adds:“The greater importance of the secret memos does not concern what they contain, but the fact our democratic government believes legal analysis can be secret -- that how the government understands the law that regulates its conduct need not be made public.” 

Quote of the day. "We have a dream that our president will understand the intergenerational injustice of human-made climate change. That he will recognize our duty to be caretakers of creation, of the land, of the life on our planet. And that he will give these matters the priority that our young people deserve." James Hansen, NASA scientist, at a White House rally on climate change. (McClatchy Newspapers) 1. Obama to 'put everything I've got' into gun control. In the aftermath of the Connecticut school massacre, Mr. Obama vowed to rally public opinion to press a reluctant Congress to ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, expand background checks, and toughen gun-trafficking laws. (New York Times) 2. Experts applaud Obama’s sweeping gun-control plan. President Barack Obama’s wide-ranging plan to curb gun violence in America isn’t likely to be enacted in full, but experts say the sheer breadth of his proposal will provide a national blueprint for action that can guide lawmakers, fuel a powerful lobbying effort, and sustain a national dialogue on gun control.  (McClatchy Newspapers) 3. More conservatives plead with GOP to abandon debt-ceiling ultimatum. With the U.S. likely to hit the limit on its borrowing authority as early as mid-February, more and more Republicans are publicly beseeching their party to drop the game of chicken — calling it both bad policy and bad politics — and focus instead on other, less-risky opportunities to push for spending cuts. (Christian Science Monitor) 4. Military suicides rise to a record 349. The U.S. military lost more service members to suicide than combat last year as the number of troops who took their lives rose to a record high. (Washington Post) 5. Deficient levees found across America. Inspectors taking the first-ever inventory of flood control systems overseen by the federal government have found hundreds of structures at risk of failing and endangering people and property in 37 states. (Associated Press) 6. Attackers warn of explosive end in Algeria. A tense and confusing standoff developed Thursday between government forces and armed attackers holding dozens of hostages, including Americans and other foreigners, at an internationally managed gas field in Algeria. News reports said that some captives had escaped and others had been caught up in fighting. (New York Times) 7. Panetta ‘confident’ that U.S. will clear legal hurdles to helping France in Mali. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday that he is “confident” the United States can overcome legal obstacles to provide military help to France for its drive against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali. (Washington Post) 8. Afghanistan national security agency attacked by suicide bombers. A team of suicide bombers attacked a compound belonging to Afghanistan's spy agency Wednesday, killing at least one guard and injuring 33 civilians in a brazen strike at the heavily fortified heart of Kabul, the capital, officials said. (Chicago Tribune/Los Angeles Times) 9. Syria allows U.N. to step up food aid. Syria's government has authorized the U.N. World Food Program to extend its reach in the country where 2.5 million people are suffering from hunger, according to officials. (Al Jazeera) 10. Prospects for nuclear talks with Iran dim. Four weeks after agreeing in principle to nuclear talks, Iran has gone silent about its plans for the negotiations, baffling U.S. and European diplomats while also signaling internal discord over what analysts on both sides see as the best chance in years for a nuclear bargain with the West. (Washington Post)

Quote of the day. "Everybody who comes through our door are people with problems, not problem people. There's a big difference. We treat everybody with respect when they arrive here.” Joe Wojton, co-director of God’s Love homeless shelter in Helena, Montana. (USA Today)

Ross Douthat posits that President Obama’s nominations of former Sen. Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense and John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency represent the synthesis of two strains in former President George Bush’s foreign policy. Hagel as one of those who turned against the war in Iraq, and Brennan as one of those who defended controversial counterterrorism policies.“To the extent that it’s possible to define an “Obama Doctrine,” then, it’s basically the Hagel-Brennan two-step. Fewer boots on the ground, but lots of drones in the air. Assassination, yes; nation-building, no. An imperial presidency with a less-imperial global footprint.“This is a popular combination in a country that’s tired of war but still remembers 9/11 vividly. Indeed, Obama’s foreign policy has been an immense political success: he’s co-opted foreign policy realists, neutralized antiwar Democrats and isolated Republican hawks.”

Quote of the day. “As we have this important debate, let’s remember who we are and where our families would be today if earlier generations of Americans had decided to slam the door shut. The door to the American dream must always remain open.” Tom Donohue, US Chamber of Commerce President, on why immigration reform is a priority this year.  (Christian Science Monitor)

Quote of the day. “The moment I feel like I can move, I will go back to the mountains, rearm myself and fight you again.” Eidi Mohammed, a former Taliban commander who renounced violence and sought amnesty under the Afghan government’s reconciliation program, but is now jobless and losing hope he will ever find work. (New York Times)

Quote of the day. “I have some pretty strong feelings that those who have been to war are the best to keep us out of it. They have felt the wounds of war, physically, mentally and emotionally. They bring to the table all that they need to bring, and that is that wars are disastrous.” Max Cleland, a former Democratic senator from Georgia who lost three of his limbs fighting in Vietnam, speaking of the nominations of John Kerry and Chuck Hagel. (New York Times) 

PASSINGS, 2012I always begin a new year by remembering those who passed in the just concluded year. These aren’t necessarily the most famous, and I didn’t know them personally (or, at best, had met several briefly), but their lives touched mine in three of my passions.

The secrecy of the U.S. drone program often makes it difficult to follow what is happening. News reports cite unnamed intelligence or security officials, sometimes tribal sources, usually with different information.For example, on Sunday a large number of people were killed by drone strikes in Pakistan's South Waziristan region. The story was reported by Al Jazeera, Reuters, DAWN, Associated Press, and CNN; among others.The strike involved “several missiles” (AP), “eight to 10 missiles” (Al Jazeera), or “four unmanned drones fired ten missiles” (DAWN).  It was aimed at “a suspected Taliban compound” (Al Jazeera), “three Taliban compounds” (Reuters), “three militant hideouts” (AP), or “three houses” (DAWN). The casualties were “sixteen killed and several others wounded” (Al Jazeera), “seventeen dead, three wounded” (CNN), “between ten and twelve dead” (Reuters), “seventeen dead” (DAWN), or “nine dead” (AP). They were “believed to be militants” (CNN), “suspected to be Taliban fighters” (Reuters), or “fighters belonging to the Punjabi Taliban” (Al Jazeera),So, how many people were killed? Who were they? You decide.

 The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has a comprehensive year-end report on U.S. drone strikes in 2012, month-by-month and country-by-country.“Drone strikes in Pakistan are now at their lowest level in five years, as Islamabad protests almost every attack. The CIA also appears to have abandoned ‘signature strikes’ on suspected militants fitting certain patterns of behaviour – at least for the present. Almost all attacks in recent months have been against named al Qaeda and other militant leaders.“As drone strikes fell in Pakistan they rose steeply in Yemen, as US forces aided a major military campaign to oust al Qaeda and other Islamists from southern cities. A parallel CIA targeted killing programme killed numerous alleged militants, many of them named individuals. Yet US officials took more than three months to confirm that American planes or drones had killed 12 civilians.”

Drone strikes are being escalated in Yemen with the fifth attack in the past ten days occurring on Thursday. Reuters reports:“At least three suspected al Qaeda militants including a local commander were killed on Thursday in Yemen by a strike from an unmanned aircraft, residents and a local official said.”Today, in response, Yemeni tribesmen organized a protest in front of a government administration building. According to Reuters:“Dozens of armed tribesmen took to the streets in southern Yemen on Friday to protest against drone strikes that they say have killed innocent civilians and increased anger against the United States. …“One tribesman participating in a sit-in in front of the government administration building in Redaa told Reuters by telephone that at least seven innocent civilians were killed in the recent raids.”Unlike Pakistan, the Yemeni government openly supports the U.S. strikes.

Quote of the day. “The Alice-in-Wonderland nature of this pronouncement is not lost on me.” Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in her ruling that the Obama administration acted lawfully in refusing to disclose information about its targeted killings of terrorism suspects. (Washington Post)

Quote of the day. "A new year is like a trip. With the light and the grace of God, may it be the start of a path to peace for every person, every family, every country, and for the entire world." Pope Benedict XVI, in his New Year’s message. (Reuters) 

 Quote of the day. "It is long past time to give these American citizens who have chosen Washington as their home full participation in our democracy.” Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), introducing the New Columbia Admissions Act to make Washington D.C. the 51st state. (Chicago Tribune)

Quote of the day. “I see them coming back day after day, more defeated, more tired out, wondering, ‘When will it be my turn?’ And it’s heartbreaking. This is the age when you want to show the world you have value.”  Kristine Cunningham, executive director of Roots. a shelter for young adults in a church basement. Tens of thousands of underemployed and jobless young people, many with college credits or work histories, are struggling to house themselves in the wake of the recession.  (New York Times)

Joshua Hersh reports on Huffington Post that the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday on the use of drones in targeted killings. There was bipartisan unhappiness over the lack of transparency from the administration, yet the committee voted down a bill that would have required more information.“The House Judiciary Committee hearing was held on Thursday to discuss a resolution put forward by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) that would order the White House to turn over to Congress all documents related to the government's targeted killing program.“The measure was dismissed as overly broad and aggressive, but legislators took the opportunity to vent their frustrations about the limited amount of information the administration has shared with the public and Congress about the use of drones.”

University of Notre Dame Law School Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell writes in Peace Policy of the “high-tech killing” made possible by drones, and the apparent violations of international law this creates.“The arguments for drones continue to mutate as the technology advances to ever more powerful killing machines:  Predators, Reapers, and now the Avenger. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced on November 20, 2012, that the Pentagon plans to expand the use of drone attacks in Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. He said that al Qaeda has “metastasized to other parts of the global body.’’ Now the policy of targeted killing with drones is spreading to other parts of the globe.”

Quote of the day. "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart." Pope Benedict XVI, with his first tweet as @Pontifex. (Catholic News Service) 

Quote of the day. “The punishment is supposed to fit the crime, but when a legislative body says this is going to be the sentence no matter what other factors there are, that’s draconian in every sense of the word. Mandatory sentences breed injustice.” Roger Vinson, federal judge in Tallahassee, Fla., on mandatory life without parole sentences for a third conviction. (New York Times) 

Quote of the day. “I felt like I was being asked to bury John Wayne. How does one bury someone who is epic?” Father Howard Draberk, on conducting the funeral for Hilmar G. Moore, the mayor of Richmond, Texas, for 63 years. (New York Times) 1. Obama takes push for higher taxes on wealthy to workers at Michigan plant. The visit to Michigan was the latest stop in a public-­relations effort by the White House aimed at harnessing Obama’s popularity across the country to generate momentum behind his plan to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”  (Washington Post) 2. In talks, House majority weighs loyalty to voters. As their leaders inch toward agreeing to higher tax rates, dozens of House Republicans find themselves caught between the will of a larger American public that favors higher taxes on the rich and the wishes of constituents who re-elected them overwhelmingly to oppose the Obama agenda at every turn. (New York Times) 3. Charities fight changes on deductions. Most Americans who file income tax returns won't be affected by proposed changes in how charitable contributions are deducted because they don't itemize their deductions, federal income tax records show. That hasn't stopped charity officials and others from lobbying Congress to fight any change in deductions as part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.  (USA Today) 4. Right-to-work debate heats up ahead of Michigan vote. Even with the outcome considered a foregone conclusion, the heated battle over right-to-work legislation in the traditional union bastion of Michigan shows no sign of cooling. (Associated Press) 5. Obama plans push for immigration reform. As soon as the confrontation over fiscal policy winds down, the Obama administration will begin an all-out drive for comprehensive immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants, according to officials briefed on the plans. (Los Angeles Times) 6. Pentagon says Afghan forces still need assistance. As President Obama considers how quickly to withdraw the remaining 68,000 American troops in Afghanistan and turn over the war to Afghan security forces, a bleak new Pentagon report has found that only one of the Afghan National Army’s 23 brigades is able to operate independently without air or other military support from the United States and NATO partners. (New York Times) 7. Exclusive: U.K. military in talks to help Syria rebels. A plan to provide military training to the Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime and support them with air and naval power is being drawn up by an international coalition including Britain. (Independent) 8. Egypt braces for protests over constitution. Pro-government and opposition protesters have started to gather in Cairo for rival rallies for and against a controversial constitutional referendum proposed by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. (Al Jazeera) 9. El Salvador told to investigate 1981 El Mozote massacre. El Salvador should investigate a civil war-era massacre that left some 1,000 people dead and bring those responsible to justice, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules. (BBC) 10. Israel suspected over Iran nuclear program inquiry leaks. Israel is suspected of carrying out a series of leaks implicating Iran in nuclear weapons experiments in an attempt to raise international pressure on Tehran and halt its program. (Guardian) 

Quote of the day. "He's doing very, very well. And it is important to keep him in our prayers and also to be as calm as possible and not cause a state of panic because I think that is not what all of us need." Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South African Defense Minister, after visiting Nelson Mandela in the hospital where he is undergoing a third day of tests.   (Associated Press)

Most drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen are eventually reported. Not so in Afghanistan. Since they are part of an ongoing war, they don’t make the news. But Stuart Ackerman, writing in Wired, finds that the Air Force reported last week that there have been 447 drone strikes in Afghanistan this year.“Never before in Afghanistan have there been so many drone strikes. For the past three years, the strikes have never topped 300 annually, even during the height of the surge. Never mind 2014, when U.S. troops are supposed to take a diminished role in the war and focus largely on counterterrorism. Afghanistan’s past year, heavy on insurgent-hunting robots, shows that the war’s future has already been on display.”