President Anderson and Attorney General Stuller have said repeatedly, what people must understand is that we are at war. And during wartime, priorities must sometimes shift away from the idealistic and toward reality. Right now, the reality is that we must and will do everything possible to protect our country and our country’s citizens from further attacks. That is the President’s priority, and it is, he believes, the country’s priority. To that end, his hands must not be tied and he must be able to deal with these unprecedented attacks.”
According to the Gallup Poll, President Anderson and his likely successor have correctly assessed the desires of the American people and the Congress. The Triumph of Freedom Act is expected to unanimously pass through both the House and the Senate within a matter of days. During the same period of time, the Supreme Court is due to make a ruling on the treatment of prisoners being held as suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. The President has drawn a line in the sand, openly declaring that any and all prisoners seized during combat with Afghanistan and Iraq, or as suspects connected with any act of terrorism, shall be considered “enemy combatants” and thus not subject to the rules of the Geneva Conventions. If the court rules in the administration’s favor as it is expected to do, and if the Triumph of Freedom Act passes, terrorist suspects will be able to be detained and questioned for an indeterminate length and with no right to legal counsel.
At a press conference, Shirley Greene, the lawyer for five men living in upstate New York recently accused of being members of a terrorist cell and currently being detained at the U.S. military base at Gitmo, as it is often called, said, “No one is denying the horror of the acts [such as yesterday’s McDonald’s suicide bombing] being committed. And no one wants an end to such acts more than I do. But the ramifications of what the President and Attorney General Stuller are trying to do are at least as terrifying as the terrorist acts themselves. Mr. Stuller wants us to understand that we are at war. Well, even during wartime, people have rights. The reason we’re fighting this war is to preserve the very rights that Attorney General Stuller is trying to take away from us.”
Mr. Stuller did not respond directly to Ms. Greene’s criticism, but at a separate press conference, he did say, “This is not the time for anyone to be questioning our government’s commitment to freedom or to give any encouragement to an enemy bent on destroying everything this country has stood for and fought for since its inception. I will not dignify such criticism with a response other than to say that those critics will also be protected from terrorist activities by our actions and our policies.”
President Anderson issued a statement saying that he fully supported Mr. Stuller and his handling of the terrorist attacks. “We have done a remarkable job gathering information,” the statement said, “under the supervision and leadership of Attorney General Stuller. I expect that the whole country will soon realize, when new facts come to light and this terrorist cell that’s attacking our country is destroyed once and for all, what an extraordinary job he’s doing. It will not be long before the siege we have experienced is over and the evildoers responsible for it are brought to swift and final justice.”
The only voice of caution within the government has been from Assistant Attorney General Ted Ackland, who is often mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for Mr. Dandridge. Mr. Ackland said that he supported the steps taken by the administration to curtail terrorist activity but he acknowledged the dangers that come with such steps.
“I understand the concerns that citizens have about the potential for the abuse of the rights of individuals,” he said. “I share them. Most thinking, caring people do. But those concerns must, at least momentarily, be weighed against the concerns for the greater good. If we should ever lose the war on terrorism, such rights would be nonexistent. My belief is that we should put a time limit on this proposed legislation, see how the government handles its newfound power, and then reexamine the situation. Wartime is no time to panic or to make irrevocable decisions. It’s a time to lead decisively but thoughtfully. It’s also a time to constantly examine one’s decisions so errors can be corrected and we can move into the future with a clear sight and sound mind.”
Attorney General Stuller had no comment on Mr. Ackland’s comments but he did stress that he agreed with the President’s position that the Triumph of Freedom Act should be passed as a permanent fixture of this and future governments.
Oil Prices Percolate Close
To Record Levels
November 21
London-World oil prices bubbled to record highs today as OPEC’s top official said producers were powerless to manage a spike driven by factors outside its control.
U.S. crude futures by 1600 GMT were up 8 cents at $55.25 a barrel, surpassing Friday’s $53.92, to reach an all-time high in the 21-year history of the New York Mercantile Exchange contract.
Crude rebounded strongly on Wednesday from a reversal early in the week that raised hopes among consumer nations that the worst might be over for an oil price scare threatening to blunt global economic growth.
Struggling to cope with growth in fuel demand fired by world economic expansion, OPEC says it can do little to douse prices now up more than 25 percent this year.
Cartel President Parnum Yasianto of Indonesia blamed hedge fund speculators, who have bet heavily on oil markets this year, and refinery bottlenecks in the United States.
“While the oil market still holds above $50 a barrel. . that is due to factors beyond OPEC’s scope,” Parnum told a press conference in London.
Analysts agree that low stocks of gasoline in the United States are leading prices now.
But they say OPEC has helped create the conditions for an overheated market by restraining supplies so tightly that crude stocks are failing to rebuild as normal during the third and fourth quarters.Gasoline Record
In the United States gasoline inventories rose slightly in the week to November 14 but remain four percent lower than a year ago, a substantial deficit when demand is running three percent higher year-on-year.
“There is a short-run situation that is very much associated with the problems of the U.S. gasoline market; problems that OPEC can do very little about,” said Dan Gross of Barnum Capital. “The U.S. gasoline inventory situation remains highly precarious.”
U.S. gasoline futures traded on Thursday at a new record of $2.368 a gallon.
A firm decision on output is not expected until a full OPEC meeting in Beirut on January 3, by which time $50 a barrel oil and above could be more firmly established.
Spare cartel capacity is estimated at about 2.5 million bpd, limited mostly to Saudi Arabia. Real extra volumes might need to be added to change market psychology and prevent prices rising further later in the year, analysts say.
24
The coffee was cold, had been for a good twenty minutes, but Justin took another sip, peered down into the dregs of the paper cup, tilted his head back and drained the dark, bitter liquid. There was still a bit of black ooze clinging to the side, so he swirled it onto his finger and licked it off. It didn’t make him feel any more awake.
It was now ten-fifteen in the morning. Things should be happening pretty soon. At least he hoped so. Justin had been sitting in the car since 7:30 A.M. He’d flown into D.C. the night before, the ten o’clock shuttle, checked into some crummy hotel near Dulles Airport, paid cash, just in case anyone tried to trace him, and set the alarm for five-thirty. In the two hours he’d been awake he’d driven back and forth over the route he expected to be using later, familiarizing himself as much as possible with the streets, looking for the right spot to do what he’d decided he was going to do. He was exhausted. Getting up that morning was about as difficult as anything he could remember doing in a long time. Maybe the second most difficult. First was leaving Reggie Bokkenheuser the night before.
She’d said, “Do you need any more help?” and then they’d gone back to his place. He saw the way she was
