Ex-Iraq Official Tells How He Escaped from Iraq Jail
“Speaking from a location he would not identify, a Chicago-area engineer facing corruption charges in Iraq said Tuesday that he escaped custody in Baghdad with the help of a ‘multinational’ group and vowed to return to his home in the western suburb of Oak Brook after the new year….
“[Aiham] Alsammarae, a secular Sunni who ran the Electricity Ministry in the first postinvasion Iraqi government, said throughout his detention that he was vulnerable to kidnapping at the police station and that he would be killed if Iraqi authorities moved him to a jail run by the Shiite-dominated security forces….
“Iraqi officials said Monday that Alsammarae broke out of the station with the help of private security experts….
“Responding to e-mail and other messages from the Tribune on Tuesday afternoon, Alsammarae said that the ‘multinational’ group that helped him escape included Iraqis and men of other nationalities….
“In another phone interview, with The New York Times, Alsammarae was asked how he got away and he recalled a line about Al Capone in ‘The Untouchables,’ saying that he had escaped ‘the Chicago way.’…
“…Alsammarae told the Tribune that since his escape Sunday, he has received several congratulatory telephone calls from Iraqi dignitaries, including former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. He added that he was enjoying his freedom and sleeping in a comfortable bed.” (Chicago Tribune, and see yesterday’s LA Times)
Cheney Called By Libby Defense
“Vice President Dick Cheney will be called to testify on behalf of his former chief of staff in the CIA leak case, defense attorneys said Tuesday, ending months of speculation over what would be historic testimony.
“‘We’re calling the vice president,’ attorney Ted Wells said in court. Wells represents defendant I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, who is charged with perjury and obstruction.
“Sitting presidents, including Clinton and Ford, have testified in criminal cases, but presidential historians said they knew of no vice president who has done so.
“William Jeffress, another of Libby’s attorneys, would not say whether Cheney is under a subpoena to testify. Issuing a court order to a sitting vice president could raise separation-of-powers concerns, but Jeffress said it was not an issue.
“‘We don’t expect him to resist,’ Jeffress said.” (AP)
Bush Considers More Troops In Iraq
“President Bush is weighing a short-term U.S. troop increase in Iraq, the White House said on Tuesday, as Bush reportedly acknowledged for the first time that America is not winning the war.
“In a Washington Post interview, Bush said the United States is not winning in Iraq and that he plans to expand the U.S. military to deal with the long-term fight against terrorism.
“‘We’re not winning, we’re not losing,’ Bush told the Post, adopting the formula used by new Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
“Bush, who declared days before the November elections that the United States was winning in Iraq, is expected to announce a new Iraq strategy in January.” (Reuters)
OMB Head: War Will Cost More Than White House Estimate
“The Iraq war will cost more this year than the $110 billion the Bush administration had forecast, the head of the White House budget office said Tuesday.
“Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman said there was no firm estimate of the costs for fiscal 2007, which began Oct. 1. When he was asked if the $110 billion estimate was now too low, Portman said, ‘Yes.’
“He said the final figure ‘depends on a lot of things that are not yet decided. One is the policy moving forward.’
“Portman’s statement adds fuel to speculation that the war costs will top last year’s record $120 billion. Lawmakers have already approved $70 billion in supplemental spending for the Iraq war this year. The White House will issue a request for supplemental funding for the war in February.
“A number of lawmakers, including Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., have said they expect the supplemental request to exceed $100 billion, putting the total cost for the year at more than $170 billion.” (USA Today)
Judge Orders Psychiatric Evalution For Padilla
“After defense assertions that terrorism suspect Jose Padilla is suffering from severe mental health problems, a federal judge in Miami agreed Monday to order a psychiatric evaluation of the accused Al Qaeda agent.
“The examination will be conducted in coming weeks by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and marks the first step for District Judge Marcia Cooke in deciding whether Padilla, 36, is legally competent to stand trial, said two people involved in the case.
“Under federal law, criminal suspects must understand the nature and consequences of the case against them and be able to assist in their defense to proceed to trial.” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Chicago Man Files Suit For Torture By U.S. Troops In Iraq
“A Chicago man who worked for an Iraqi contractor alleged Monday he was imprisoned in a U.S. military compound in Baghdad, held incommunicado for more than 3 months and subjected to interrogation techniques ‘tantamount to torture.’
“In a federal lawsuit filed in Chicago, Donald Vance, 29, a Navy veteran, charged that his constitutional rights were trampled by American military interrogators even though they knew he was a U.S. citizen.
“‘I couldn’t believe they did this to any human being,’ Vance said in a telephone interview.
“Vance was taken into custody without charges in April. While imprisoned at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport, Vance said, he was held in solitary confinement in a continuously lit, windowless and extremely cold cell as loud heavy metal and country music blared non-stop.” (Chicago Tribune)
Terror-Case Convict In Court On Release Violation
“An American convicted of helping the Taliban was back in federal court Tuesday for violating the terms of his probation, authorities said.
“James Ujaama, a Muslim convert from Seattle, was arrested over the weekend in Belize â where, under the terms of his supervised release, he was not supposed to be, Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said.
“Ujaama was brought back Tuesday to the United States, and waived his rights to a removal hearing in U.S. District Court in Miami. Sierra said Ujaama soon will be transferred to Seattle, where he was sentenced in 2003.
“The full terms of Ujaama’s three-year probation period were not immediately available.
“Ujaama, who was born James Earnest Thompson, was charged in 2002 with trying to set up a terrorist training camp for Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri.” (AP)
Late Filings of Privately-Funded Travel A Big Problem
“In 2005, 53 members of the House and Senate did not publicly report trips paid for by outside groups within 30 days of the travel, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a research firm that tracks money in politics. Instead, the trips were reported months later when lawmakers filed yearly reports that outline their personal finances and list gifts, including travel.
“Altogether, the group found 157 domestic and overseas trips paid for by outside groups on the annual reports in 2006, that had not been disclosed in 2005. The group found trips by 28 Republicans, including former representative Tom DeLay of Texas who resigned in June, and by 25 Democrats.
“It’s not clear how much these trips cost. Lawmakers don’t have to provide that information in their annual reports.
“Late travel filings are a ‘chronic problem,’ said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the liberal-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. That means the public lacks real-time information on whether the privately funded trips influence pending legislation, she said.” (USA Today)
Company Gets FDA Contract Through Family Tie
The LA Times details how an FDA contracting official steered a contract to a company for which her husband was a paid advisor. (Los Angeles Times)
Louisiana Slow On Distributing Katrina Relief
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid Louisiana roughly $5.1 billion to reimburse communities for construction projects. But only 38 percent of that money has reached communities nearly 16 months after the storm, agency spokesman Aaron Walker said Tuesday.
“By contrast, Mississippi has distributed nearly half of the $2.2 billion it received from FEMA.” (AP)
Legal Services For Poor To Cut Expenses
“The Legal Services Corp. has decided to change the generous expense policies for its top officials, yielding to pressure from members of Congress and the federal program’s independent watchdog.
“The Associated Press highlighted in a series of stories in August and September how the program’s executives spent freely while many poor Americans â in need of legal help â were being turned away at clinics across the country because the program lacks sufficient money.” (AP)
Cobb County, Ga., Drops Evolution Sticker
“A suburban school board that put stickers in high school science books saying evolution is ‘a theory, not a fact’ abandoned its legal battle to keep them Tuesday after four years.
“The Cobb County board agreed in federal court never to use a similar sticker or to undermine the teaching of evolution in science classes.” (AP)
Swift, Hiring on a Knife’s Edge
“Last Friday, just days after federal agents raided six Swift & Co. meat-processing plants and carted away nearly 1,300 workers as illegal immigrants, company officials scrambled to find replacements for vacancies on the killing floor.” (WSJ, AP)
