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NEWS ... GLOBAL NEWS ... EUROPEAN UNION DIRECTIVES ON DATA RETENTION PENTAGON DEVISING SCENARIOS FOR MARTIAL LAW IN USA lhe European Commission has finally produced its draft directive on data retention. According to the Commission, all fixed and mobile telephony traffic and location data from all private and legal per- sons should be stored for one year. Data about communications "using solely the internet protocol" should be stored for six months. The Commission does not mention a full IP logfile from every ISP to trace every incoming and outgoing communication, but limits the demands to IP address, the computer internal MAC address, user name, email addresses and a logfile of every sent and received email. The operators of mobile telephony surely won't be pleased with the proposal to store SMS traffic data for one year, nor with the obligation to keep detailed location data, including mapping cell IDs to the geo- graphical location of the caller, for one year. (Source: European Digital Rights International [EDRI], no. 3.15, 27 July 2005, http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.15/ commission) ccording to a report published on August 8th by the Washington Post, the Pentagon has developed its first-ever war plans for operations within the continental United States, in which terrorist attacks would be used as the justification for imposing martial law on cities, regions or the entire country. The front-page article cites sources working at the headquarters of the military's Northern Command (Northcom) located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The plans themselves are classified, but "officers who drafted the plans" gave details to Post reporter Bradley Graham, who was recently given a tour of Northcom headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base. The article thus appears to be a deliberate leak conducted for the purpose of desensitising the American population to the prospect of military rule. According to Graham: "[T]he new plans provide for what several senior officers acknowledged is the likelihood that the military will have to take charge in some situa- tions, especially when dealing with mass-casualty attacks that could quickly overwhelm civilian resources". The Post account declares: "The war plans represent a historic shift for the Pentagon, which has been reluctant to become involved in domestic operations and is legally con- strained from engaging in law enforcement." A total of 15 potential crisis scenarios are outlined, ranging from "low-end", which Graham describes as "relatively modest crowd-control missions", to "high-end", after as many as three simultaneous catastrophic mass-casualty events, such as a nuclear, biolog- ical or chemical weapons attack. In each case, the military would deploy a quick-reac- tion force of as many as 3,000 troops per attack—i.e., 9,000 total in the worst-case sce- nario. More troops could be made available as needed. The Post quotes a statement by Admiral Timothy J. Keating, head of Northcom: "In my estimation, [in the event of] a biological, a chemical or a nuclear attack in any of the 50 states, the Department of Defense is best positioned to take the lead." The Pentagon is acutely conscious of the potential political backlash as its role in future security operations becomes known. RENEWED SPECULATIONS Ciaiem maalisse "Military exaeibes Gor pane! Vital Archer, which tinnelive troops in ABOUT RFID IN EURO NOTES ead roles, are shrouded in secrecy. By contrast, other homeland exercises featuring troops in supporting roles are widely publicized. He adds: "When it comes to ground forces possibly taking a lead role in homeland operations, senior Northcom officers remain reluctant to discuss specifics. Keating said such situations, if they arise, probably would be temporary, with lead responsibility passing back to civilian authorities [emphasis added]." The reality is that the military brass is intensely interested in monitoring political dis- sent because its domestic operations will be directed not against a relative handful of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists—who have not carried out a single operation inside the United States since September 11, 2001—but against the democratic rights of the American people. The plans of Northcom have their origins not in the terrible events of 9/11, but in longstanding concerns in corporate America about the political stability of the United States. This is a society increasingly polarised between the fabulously wealthy elite at the top, and the vast majority of working people who face an increasingly difficult strug- gle to survive. The nightmare of the American ruling class is the emergence of a mass movement from below that challenges its political and economic domination. As for the claims that these military plans are driven by genuine concern over the threat of terrorist attacks, these are belied by the actual conduct of the American ruling elite since 9/11. The Bush administration has done everything possible to suppress any investigation into the circumstances of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon—most likely because its own negligence, possibly deliberate, would be exposed. The anti-terrorism scare has a propaganda purpose: to manipulate the American peo- (8.2 billion) would have to be replaced and ple and induce the public to accept drastic inroads against democratic rights. As the every citizen should have access to readers. Pentagon planning suggests, the American working class faces the danger of some form (Source: EDRI, no. 3.17, 24 August 2005, of military—police dictatorship in the United States. http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.17/ | (Source: By Patrick Martin, World Socialist Web Site, via Asian Tribune, August 10, 2005, RFID) http:/www.asiantribune.com/ show_article.php ?id=262) lhe September edition of the German industry magazine Die Bank contains renewed speculation about the introduction of spy-chips in the Euro banknotes. The article discusses three possible new measures against the counterfeiting of the notes: anew biological paint, a colour- switch foil, and the introduction of RFIDs (radio-frequency identification devices) on every note. The Hitachi Mu-chip, with its 0.18 micron size, is mentioned as a likely candidate, though the current price of approx. seven eurocents per chip might be prohibitive. The article also mentions a new inven- tion by Philips to integrate the chip in the paper completely. The chip would work by storing a 38-digit number that cannot be changed later, containing both the unique serial number and data about the origin of the note. The metal strip on every note could function as an antenna. To function properly, all current notes NEXUS +9 OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com