02/22 Morning Report

In a surprise move, Wednesday, the NY Times reported that Tougher Tactics Deter Migrants at U.S. Border. Among other stunning items in the article, they note that Border Patrol commanders can only attribute the drop off in illegal immigrants to stricter enforcement! On the other hand, maybe it’s not such a change of heart. After all, in a Sunday editorial the Times also called the stepped up enforcement “mean and iffectual.” Among other things, it claimed that Congress and the Bush administration were enacting policies as window dressing to appease hard line conservatives. It also claimed the only real accomplishment was the militarization of the border.
(…I wish they would make up their minds…either it’s one thing…or it’s the other…personally, I’m pretty happy to see something positive being done to combat ILLEGAL immigration…)

This must have really chapped some hides. A Federal Appeals Court ruled 2-1 detainees do not have habeus corpus rights in US courts. This paragraph has one major disturbing portions.

In a 2-1 decision, the judges said the Constitution does not extend the right of habeas corpus to noncitizens held outside the sovereign territory of this country. "Cuba -- not the United States -- has sovereignty over Guantanamo Bay," Judge Raymond Randolph wrote.

First, if Cuba has sovereignty, they can demand the US not hold prisoners—which could also be applied, I think, to any military installation. Therefore, could force them to be moved to US soil, and that would give them said rights to a judge and the courts.
(…I would call this one a temporary victory…watch for the left to try to move on this one…)

In other Iraq news, following the Tony Blair’s announcement of British troop withdrawals, Iraqi officials announced they are ready to take over security in Basra. Of course, how much of that is PR damage control by the Iraqis is debatable.

US forces found chemical at a car bomb factory. Unfortunately, in the last couple of days, the specter of chemical weapons in Iraq has raised its ugly head again, although not WMD suspicions that started the War. Chlorine bombs, a device and tactic from WWI, are now being used by insurgents against the population. The belief in the media seems to be that the recent rape charges against Iraqi police forces have fueled this new development.
(…possible…I’m withholding judgment for further evidence…personally, I think they are just taking advantage of the opportunity…)

Meanwhile, Iran is scoffing at a UN threat of force over it’s nuclear stonewalling. I would scoff, too. The only time the UN has really done anything that really involved force was in Korea over 50 years ago. Since then, it has been a pretty ineffective body at enforcing anything it demands. However, Iran claims that diplomacy and dialogue are the way to solve the issue are pretty lame as well. Iran scoffs at dialogue—until it gets its way.
(…maybe he took lessons from Sadaam Hussein…it’s what he did for over 10 years…until Bush got fed up with him…I hope the US does not go after Iran any time soon…we are not ready or capable for that, yet…)