COMMENT | Muslims in the US |  |
Why is Halliburton building internment camps?
Nobody is talking much about it, but moves have been made to develop a network of detention centers in the US.
By Sheila Musaji, February 26, 2006
On January 24th it was announced that a subsidiary of Halliburton KBR was awarded a $385 million contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention centers in the US. These centers might be used for immigration, or for disaster relief, or vaguely "...to support the rapid development of new programs."
As early as September of 2002, John Ashcroft discussed internment, even of American citizens who were deemed "enemy combatants" and Peter Kirsanow of the US Civil Rights Commission said that he "could foresee a scenario in which the public would demand internment camps for Arab Americans if Arab terrorists strike again in this country." If there's a future terrorist attack in America "and they come from the same ethnic group that attacked the World Trade Center, you can forget about civil rights."
"Almost certainly this is preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for Mid-Easterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters," says Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst who in 1971 released the Pentagon Papers, the US military's account of its activities in Vietnam. "They've already done this on a smaller scale, with the �special registration' detentions of immigrant men from Muslim countries, and with Guantanamo."
Now we are beginning to see this mentioned by a number of sources ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), but it is still not front page news, although it is not only Muslims and Arabs who are concerned about what sort of emergency might require detention centers. And what are these mysterious "new programs"?
I believe that all Americans should be very concerned. It might be "someone else" they come for first, but if this is the direction our nation is going, who knows where it will end.
Sheila Musaji is editor of The American Muslim.
We try to remove any comments that do not conform to our netiquette guidelines. If any comments remain that are in violation, please let us know. The presence of offending comments does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of altmuslim.
I have been trying to get more information about this deal with Halliburton. I want to know why the government believes that we will have a massive influx of immigrants. What are these new programs that may need the use of dentention centers?
This information is being blogged but the mainstream media outlets don't seem to publish this information that I think is of major importance and interest to every citizen in America. The history of this company is tainted. The given reasons for needing the dentention centers need to be open for public discussion. I want the media to thourghly cover and investigate.
This whole deal gives me a sick feeling.
Vice President Dick Cheney: the former head of Halliburton who steered numerous no-bid no-compete contracts for the War on Iraq to his former company holds Halliburton stock options which have risen 3,281% since 2004 (from $241,498 now more than $8 million in value).
Wake up and smell the Kaffir
- Posted by Ansar on March 5, 2006 at 12:29 AM
Wake up and smell the fitnah-sower.
- Posted by OmarG on March 5, 2006 at 02:45 AM
soon...very soon. the lost and disillusioned people of america are gonna get a real definition of 'the land of the free'. they shall realize democracy=totalitarianism. can we say the chickens are coming home to roost?
- Posted by da realist on March 6, 2006 at 05:30 AM
*a Government debt of $8,353,184,451,334 - 40% of this debt is due to tax cuts for the rich and the so-called war-on-terror and homeland security
*International observers were barred from auditing the 2000 and 2004 US elections
*George W Bush stole the election in 2000 and went to war against innocent, non-threatening peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq
*In 2004 he was incredibly re-elected with less than 20% of the country's people voting for him.
*The USA trades more arms than anyone else in the world e.g. Military Arms Exports in 1995: rank / country / value (in millions of US dollars)
1- United States 15,600
2- United Kingdom 5,200
3- Russia 3,300
4- France 2,200
5- Germany 1,200
6- Israel 775
The USA funds Israel to the tune of $5bn per yr: This while Israel breached more UN resolutions than any other single country in history; supporting their invasion of a foreign land and also the killing, persecuting and humiliation of the inhabitant Palestinians.
The Vice President Dick Cheney, the former head of Halliburton, steered numerous no-bid no-compete contracts for the War on Iraq to his former company holds Halliburton stock options which have risen 3,281% since 2004 (from $241,498 now more than $8 million in value)
Whether we like it or not the USA is a country of drunkards (some 60 million at the last count, co-incidentally the same number as voted for Dubya - not linked I'm sure), serial gamblers, sex / drug addicts and war mongerers. Either they are killing innocents abroad or they are sponsoring the act or selling the guns to do it.
Western style democracy? No thanks... I'll pass
PS - thanks for the positive comments OmarG... just saying what I see (not allergic to the truth are you?)
- Posted by Ansar on March 7, 2006 at 05:52 PM
Actually, there's little for me to say to you; you're quite lost.
- Posted by OmarG on March 8, 2006 at 04:36 AM
>>you're quite lost.<<
The only person here who is lost is private Gomer Pile (Omar). According to the Psychiatric Manual you would be suffering from adult onset dilusional disorder. Once hit with the hard facts you can't say much. You are only visiting this web-site to fill in internet space with pure garbage. I am sure when your family ends up in an internment camp you would think otherwise. Oh I forgot, white people are immune to that. The U.S. has sponsored more arms sales and started wars since its foundation. Iran-Contra is one clear modern day example, etc, etc. They must be substituting the army rations supply of cigarettes with something more potent. Groovey Man.
- Posted by Napoleon on May 14, 2006 at 09:42 PM
>> democracy=totalitarianism
Thats actually very harsh. Considering that power hungry abuses against people can be acted out by any society with any political dispensation. Laying all human rights abuses at the feet of secularism and democracry is like laying the blame for 9/11 at the feet of all muslims.
I think that the framework for secular democracy is quite solid, but its things like the economic practices, social stratification, extent of segregation, academic repression etc that result in human rights abuses and social injustices. As a muslim I also believe that a society that practices on Islamic belief will be the least likely to suffer with those abuses.
- Posted by Ghulam (South Africa) on May 20, 2006 at 02:05 PM
sorry for the repeat .. 600seconds tick tock ..
.. I think a secular/democratic society that practices on Islamic beliefs will be the least likely to suffer from the abuses.
Further .. This development bears all the hallmarks of state repression hidden behind a legitimate rationalization. It should be made into a major event for muslim organizations, minority organisations and the free press.
The press in the United States exercises a sick kind of self censorship and needs to be heavily lobbied. How many muslim citizens are detained without reason currently? It must be known by citizens in the US that non US citizens experience a less biased press that usually says a lot of negative stuff about the current dispensation running your government.
- Posted by Ghulam (South Africa) on May 20, 2006 at 02:20 PM
Page 1 of 1
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
|
|
|
altmuslim this week - august 23, 2010 - This week, is there a connection between the heated rhetoric over Park51 and increased hate crimes against Muslims? Also, parallel struggles against anti-Muslim protests in Bradford, England and the innovation (and integration) on display in the 30 Mosques, 30 States and 30 Nights, 30 Grants projects. 
|
How Miss USA will push the secret Muslim agenda - A leaked memo confirms a nefarious plot to infiltrate America using the one weapon we can't resist: Total hotness. (May 17, 2010)
South Park: The controversy continues - In a special for Salon.com, our Associate Editor Wajahat Ali offers his take on the controversy over South Park. If you think South Park's Muslim brouhaha was messy, you should see what's going on in the neighboring town of East Park. (April 28, 2010)
|
|
| |
|
altmuslim review 033 - We're baaaaack! We speak about the ongoing controversy over Park51 and what means for the future of lower Manhattan. Also, a discussion with Farhad Chowdhury of the M100 Foundation, which seeks to change the way Muslims pay zakat (August 13, 2010)
altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)
|
|
Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
It's the occupation, stupid, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, June 4, 2010
Sex and the City 2's stunning Muslim clichés, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 28, 2010
Draw Muhammad Day: Collectively Punishing Muslim Americans, Shahed Amanullah, Huffington Post, May 25, 2010
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the proposed French ban on niqab (and fines for husbands who compel their wives to wear them) on May 18, 2010.
Even Controversial Views Should Be Protected by Freedom of Speech, Asma Uddin, The Huffington Post, May 7, 2010.
What I understand about Faisal Shahzad, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 6, 2010
No freak out about South Park, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 23, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the South Park controversy along with Zarqa Nawaz (Little Mosque on the Prairie) and other guests on April 22, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on NPR's State of Belief discussing Barack Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, April 17, 2010.
Zahed will be attending a panel discussion entitled " Are Islam and Free Speech Compatible?" in London, England on Friday, March 26, 2010 sponsored by The City Circle. He will be accompanied by Riazat Butt (The Guardian), Hamid Khan (Consultant in Offender and Youth Development), Abu Muntasir (JIMAS), and Dr Usama Hasan.
'Jihad Jane': not the usual suspect, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, March 18, 2010.
Al-Awlaki, a new public enemy, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, December 30, 2009.
Islamophonic: Review of the year, Riazat Butt, Zahed Amanullah and David Shariatmadari, Cif Belief (The Guardian), December 18, 2009.
Fort Hood has enough victims already, Wajahat Ali, Comment is Free (The Guardian), November 6, 2009
The pitfalls of filming Muhammad, Shahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, November 4, 2009.
Children of Dust (published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins), the first book by longtime altmuslim.com contributor Ali Eteraz, is released in the US, Canada, and the UK on October 13, 2009.
Shahed will be attending the m100 Sansoucci Colloquium in Potsdam, Germany, September 14-16, 2009. He will be moderating a panel discussion on the Danish cartoon crisis with Denis MacShane MP, Jasim Al-Azzawi (Al Jazeera English), and Flemming Rose (Jyllands Posten).
Associate Editor Wajahat Ali's play "The Domestic Crusaders" is having its premiere at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, NY, September 11, 2009. The play will continue through Sunday, October 11, 2009.
Shahed will be moderating or participating in three panel discussions at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention, including Muslim Journalists: The View from the Inside, Supporting Social Entrepreneurs and Civic Leaders, and Blogistan: Muslim Americans on the Web in Washington, DC, July 3-6, 2009.
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.
|
|
Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Helping U.S. reach out to young Muslims worldwide - Soon after Farah Pandith was named last year as the State Department's first special representative to Muslim communities, she sat down with the editor of an independent Muslim website for her first official interview. Altmuslim.com, a forum for opinion and analysis about current issues facing Muslims, was a fitting choice. Pandith has said a strong focus of her work is to reach out to younger Muslims around the world, often those most likely to use the Internet for news and networking. (June 5, 2010)
Censorship is in the ascendant - Zahed Amanullah, associate editor of altmuslim.com, has argued in a national newspaper blog that, since the warning came from an unrepresentative group, the media interest was not justified. As for events of the past – the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoons, the murder of van Gogh – they were "three incidents over a 20-year period from amongst 1.6 billion people. These things do happen. But we all need a bit of perspective." (April 30, 2010)
Muslims say new security rules unfair, ineffective - ''Muslims are doing their duty. Muslim parents are being attentive. It's the TSA that's not being attentive. It's the TSA that's not doing its duty," said Shahed Amanullah, an editor at the Web site altmuslim.com. "There's nothing more that Muslims can do than turn in their own families." (January 7, 2010)
US Muslims & media… Lost love - "We have a big problem; it’s that other people are shaping the story about us," Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, told IslamOnline.net. (December 16, 2009)
Moves to Seize Mosques Spark Outrage - "I'm extremely skeptical that the link between these mosques and this organization is so strong as to merit the seizing of a considerable amount of assets that do a lot of good for the Muslim community," says Shahed Amanullah, a prominent Muslim blogger based in Austin. "The government better be prepared to make a very good case, because this is unprecedented." (November 17, 2009)
|
|
Digg this
Tweet this
