The Missing Memo's - Resource

I've just come across this link, and thought it might be usefull for ATS'ers as the list is added to, and the various memo's paint a clearer picture of the Bush administration.

A lot of these memo's have to do with legal advice given to Bush by the OLC and there is little doubt they helped shape policy.

The list can be found here and the site founders are hoping that as time passes, Obama will release more.

There is another list here which gives brief biogs of "The Men Behind the Memo's"

Enjoy

I just started reading and I already needed to stop as I was appalled.

I just read the memo stating that warrentless search and seisure does not apply tp the US military on US soil.....gag

10/23/01 John C. Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC; Robert Delahunty, Special Counsel, OLC Fourth Amendment doesn't apply to military operations abroad or in U.S.
This memo, titled Re: Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities Within the United States, concludes that the Fourth Amendment's protections against warrantless search and seizure don't apply to military operations, even when the operations take place on U.S. soil.
How we know: Cited in the Interrogation Memo (p. 8)
Recipient: Alberto R. Gonzales , Counsel to the President
Link to this entry Executive Power Secret

Maybe Obama is the real deal....

I am going to reply again to this thread in leu of the eyeopening memos being made available.

It is a facinating and scary read.

reply to post by budski



I think when things are released over time, many people will be shocked at the "reality" of the Bush administration, and what was happening behind the scenes regarding our "rights" in the U.S. during his 8 years in office.

Why release these memo's?

Are nation is already suffering enough, we are getting bailout's rammed down our collective throats, bills being passed that have no meaning except to the lobbyist's that bride them through and we know we are headed into a major depression.

Again, we can't do anything about what's be done, so why rub salt into open wounds?

And why now? Can't this wait?

I would say solutions and constructive thinking would be an excellent idea.

How many things have happened that we all have no control over and will probably never have control over.

Maybe "Divide and Conquer"


[edit on 30-1-2009 by Realtruth]

The memo's go all the way back to 2001, with the first one being:
President's authority to use military force abroad and in U.S.

I think all of this bears investigation, and the documents that are currently with held by the orders of Bush need examination.

Americans need to know just how much was done in their name, the process by which it was done and the possible consequences of the actions of the previous administration.

If only so that it lessens the chance of it happenning again.

reply to post by Realtruth


Even though you are correct about what we should be focused on, it is important to know the truth about matters that have gotten us to this point.

Remember those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. We as a society need, and deserve to know what our government does. It is especially important now that we boldly go into this economic nightmare to understand exactly why we are here now. This demands of us to examine everything that has been going on in government, this way we as an informed public can let our legislative body know full well that we are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore.

It's only through the realistic and thorough examination of history how we will define our future. To ignore history is to put us further on a path to peril with folly and incompetence once again rein.

Other People's Memos

Originally posted by whiteraven
Maybe Obama is the real deal....

Perhaps, but I prefer to wait until the secret memos from his administration are made public before drawing that conclusion.

reply to post by Realtruth


Now seems like the perfect time...

Obama has already inherited a mountain of chaos, so why not use EVERYTHING available to set a new precedent..?


The truth is - This guy is gonna need every resource available to create a new paradigm not only within N. America, but globally to get this country back on track...


I welcome ALL memo's..!

Keep 'em coming Obaminator!

First of all for the record I am not a pro Bush kind of guy. However, I do believe in balance. Additionally, I served in the United States Navy for over 9 years with a Top Secret/Specat Clearance and I can tell you that this is something that was not new to ANY Administration...neither Clinton's or Bush's so do not think that this is a partisan post on my part. The US has been doing this for years and Project Echelon was only one piece of it. I do remember that I heard the term warrantless wiretapping used during the Clinton years by Jamie Gorelick who was the Deputy Attorney General at the time: Here is one of her direct quotes:

The memo cites congressional testimony of Jamie Gorelick, a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, in 1994 stating that the Justice Department "believes, and the case law supports, that the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes."

Please do not reply with BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) .......and be objective......

Very true - but let's not forget that before the net was so widespread it was very difficult to disseminate information of this kind.

Of course it doesn't mean that other presidents haven't done the same, it's just that bush has had the misfortune (or maybe we had the good luck) to be president in the biggest information revolution of all time.

Or perhaps he just didn't get it, that this could happen.

I also agree with majic - I'm witholding judgement on obama until I see something a lot more "open" about his own form of government.

Interesting links, thanks very much. My wife is going to love reading all of those memo's and i'll look forward to seeing what she thinks about it. She's the true political junkie!

For a very long time i've said that we should just let the past be the past and start looking to the future. New year, new President, let's focus on the road ahead so we can be sure to get it right, rather than dwell on the past.

Lately, however, i've changed my way of thinking. "The Bush Administration" has been a model of corruption. I think parts of it have absolutely been blown out of proportion, but that spotlight on corruption has helped people to see the corruption expand to the Senate, the House, etc. It is one of the foremost reasons many of us voted for Obama, because we perceived him as the antithesis of corruption.

I think it's important to investigate the Bush Administration and the corruption that took place there, and I think everyone involved should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I don't think Americans should put it behind them by letting it go. We should put it behind us by finishing it.

We can't turn over a new leaf if we ignore problems rather than resolve them.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
I do remember that I heard the term warrantless wiretapping used during the Clinton years by Jamie Gorelick who was the Deputy Attorney General at the time: Here is one of her direct quotes:

The memo cites congressional testimony of Jamie Gorelick, a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, in 1994 stating that the Justice Department "believes, and the case law supports, that the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes."

Jamie Gorelick responded to the recent WSJ article on that a couple weeks ago:
online.wsj.com...

Just another damned lawyer looking for loopholes. Every administration has them, it is just to what extreme they go and how much influence they wield. Which is another reason these memos are important since it seems that several lawyers like John Yoo were giving some very questionable recommendations.

A lack of ethics seems to always involve skirting around legal barriers, finding ways to circumvent the rule of law while ignoring the law's intent, and then tying up everyone and everything in litigation and paperwork with the hope that eventually it loses its importance.

These memos will give a historical perspective to an administration that continually looked for loopholes, created more for political gain, and then intentionally misled or lied about doing so. I would say that it is very important in a nation founded and rooted so deeply in law as the U.S.

Originally posted by Realtruth
Why release these memo's?

Are nation is already suffering enough, we are getting bailout's rammed down our collective throats, bills being passed that have no meaning except to the lobbyist's that bride them through and we know we are headed into a major depression.

Again, we can't do anything about what's be done, so why rub salt into open wounds?

And why now? Can't this wait?

You think the public finding out what the president does is a bad thing? You are the electorate, you have the right, no the obligation, to find out what is going on. You are the people who vote in presidents who affect the entire world. Learning from mistakes, and learning when a situation is turning bad is not a dividing measure. Unless of course you're talking about arguments between people who are intent on destroying the constitution, and those who aren't.

reply to post by Realtruth


Ignorance and apathy; deadly mix.

Originally posted by Realtruth
Why release these memo's?

Are nation is already suffering enough, we are getting bailout's rammed down our collective throats, bills being passed that have no meaning except to the lobbyist's that bride them through and we know we are headed into a major depression.

Again, we can't do anything about what's be done, so why rub salt into open wounds?

And why now? Can't this wait?

I would say solutions and constructive thinking would be an excellent idea.

How many things have happened that we all have no control over and will probably never have control over.

Maybe "Divide and Conquer"


[edit on 30-1-2009 by Realtruth]

Please do not attempt to speak on behalf of your Fellow Citizen's.

I for one am not so overwhelmed by current events that I cannot handle these revelation's.

if it was released that Bush and Co. were boiling babies and eating them without utensils while they were still alive I would not be shocked, panicked, overwhelmed, or too confused to sit straight.

I like the free release of knowledge and information and encourage it at all times.

It is as fine that they release it now as if they had released it then.

I'm glad they didn't wait until tommorow, the day after, or never to do it.

Why complain they never tell us anything and then complain when they do?

I would think that releasing this now is a solution to the problem of transparency and too many secrets and abuses of power.

I would say it was constructive thinking on Obama's part to tell us what Bush did so we can see for ourselves whether or not people instruct him to overturn it or let it stand. I say overturn it.

If you know and say nothing, and Obama takes your silence as an okay then the only salt being rubbed on any wound is knowing that you knew and said or did nothing about it.

So, if people remain silent about what they learn because they are being to big of babies about what is going on around them, despite knowing it is going on and saying and doing nothing about it either, well, then don't complain when the military does warrantless Infra Red searches into your home round the clock almost quasi- quartering themselves there, because people's silence and/ or inaction said they could.

I am neither Divided nor can I ever be Conquered?

If people really feel as quoted above, please consider leaving the Country so the grown ups can talk and do as they must to make sure our leaders weren't taking their cues erroneously from the children in the room.

[edit on 30-1-2009 by PhyberDragon]