As Attorney General John Ashcroft underwent surgery on March 9, 2004, acting Attorney General James Comey told members of the Bush Administration “that the [Justice] department had determined the NSA [National Security Agency] [warrantless surveillance] program had no legal basis and he would not renew it. ‘As acting attorney general,’ he said, ‘I would not […]
3/9/2004
Chief of the Office of Legal Counsel Jack Goldsmith concluded that the Terrorist Surveillance Program, which allowed for domestic wiretapping, was illegal. On March 9, 2004, “Goldsmith and [Deputy Attorney General James] Comey went to the White House to explain in person…that the program was illegal and so they planned to let it lapse. [Vice […]
3/8/2004
In Iraq, “On March 8, 2004, the Governing Council reached an agreement on the Transitional Administrative Law. This landmark document called for a return of sovereignty in June, followed by elections for a national assembly, the drafting of a constitution, and another round of elections to choose a democratic government.” – George W. Bush, Decision […]
3/8/2004
On March 8, 2004, “The Iraqi Governing Council signs an interim constitution in Baghdad.” – Todd S. Purdum and The New York Times Staff, A Time of Our Choosing, Page 299 […]
3/8/2004
On March 8, 2004, “the Iraqi Governing Council approved a new interim constitution for the nation. Essentially, the United States had written the document for them, modeled, of course, after the U.S. Constitution.” – Ricardo S. Sanchez with Donald T. Phillips, Wiser in Battle, Page 315 […]
3/4/2004
In Iraq, “The violence is making it far more difficult for the CIA to operate. A CIA directive requires case officers to travel only with armed bodyguards, making it nearly impossible to conduct discreet meetings with Iraqis on their own turf, according to intelligence experts briefed on the Iraq mission. The agency operates from more […]
3/4/2004
“The CIA has rushed to Iraq four times as many clandestine officers as it had planned on, but it has had little success penetrating the resistance and identifying foreign terrorists involved in the insurgency, according to senior intelligence officials and intelligence experts recently briefed on Iraq. The CIA mission in Iraq, originally slated to have […]
3/3/2004
In an interview with FBI Special Agent George Piro on March 3, 2004, Saddam Hussein discussed the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Saddam said: “Iraq was asked by the Kuwaiti people to invade their country in order to remove the Kuwaiti leadership. When asked to clarify how the Kuwaiti citizens communicated their desires to the […]
3/2/2004
“On March 2 [2004], suicide bombings killed at least 180 Shiite worshipers in Karbala and Baghdad, the single deadliest day since the overthrow of Saddam’s regime. Senior officials in the American occupation authority pointed a finger at [al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi. But the angry Shiite survivors of the mosque attacks […]
3/2/2004
In Iraq, “On Tuesday, 2 March 2004 at least five bombs exploded in the shrine cities of Karbala and Kadhimain. It was the day of ‘Ashoura, the highpoint of the calendar of Shi’a Muslims, commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. Millions of people had congregated in these two cities, mainly in Karbala… The bombs, carried […]