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Tuesday, March 7, 2012. Chaos and violence continue,
double bombings hit Tal Afar, over 50 Emo kids have been killed in the last
weeks, Saddam Hussein's daughter rejects rumors flying around about her, US
Senators call for US troops in Afghanistan to come home, the VFW outlines budget
concerns to the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees, and more.
We'll always open with a serious call to bring US troops
home. There is a bi-partisan effort in the Senate calling for US troops to come
home from Afghanistan. Senator Patty Murray's office issued the
following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Murray Press Office
(202) 224-2834
Wednesday, March 7,
2012
MURRAY
JOINS BIPARTISAN CALL TO BRING TROOPS HOME FROM AFGHANISTAN
Twenty-Four Senators Tell President it's
Time to Focus Nation-Building on American Jobs
(Washington, DC) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA),
Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and member of the Defense
Appropriations Subcommittee, joined a bipartisan group of 24 Senators today in
calling on the President to bring American combat forces home from Afghanistan.
As the Senate considers the 2012 Highway Bill on the floor this week, the
Senators pointed out that the total dollar amount spent in both Iraq and
Afghanistan to date would provide enough funding to rebuild the American
interstate highway system five times over.
"We simply cannot afford more years of elevated troop levels
in Afghanistan. We are spending roughly $10 billion in Afghanistan each month at
a time when we're making tough sacrifices at home. Your recent budget calls for
$88 billion more for the war in Afghanistan in 2013. If this money is
appropriated, we will have spent a total of $650 billion in Afghanistan. A
majority of Americans worry that the costs of the war in Afghanistan will make
it more difficult for the government to address the problems facing the United
States at home. They're right," the Senators wrote.
In June 2011, Sen. Murray spoke on
the Senate floor to discuss her views on
the need for a sizable and sustained troop drawdown in Afghanistan, and to
outline her concerns over the unseen human costs of war.
Led by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen.
Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), the letter also included: Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Jeff
Bingaman (D-NM); Tom Harkin (D-IA); Barbara Mikulski (D-MD); Herb Kohl (D-WI);
Ron Wyden (D-OR); Dick Durbin (D-IL); Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Maria Cantwell
(D-WA); Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ); Bob Menendez (D-NJ); Ben Cardin (D-MD); Bernie
Sanders (I-VT); Sherrod Brown (D-OH); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Tom Udall
(D-NM); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Al Franken (D-MN); Joe Manchin (D-WV); Rand
Paul (R-KY); and Mike Lee (R-UT).
Complete text of today's letter follows below:
March 7, 2012
The Honorable Barack Obama
The White
House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
We write to express our support of a
transition of U.S. forces in Afghanistan from a combat role to a training,
advising and assistance role next year, as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stated
was his intention on February 1st, 2012. Although we would prefer a more rapid
reduction of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the statement made by the Secretary is
a positive step towards ending the decade long war.
It is time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. The
United States intervened in Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda's safe haven, remove
the Taliban government that sheltered al Qaeda, and pursue those who planned the
September 11th attacks on the United States. Thanks to the exceptional service
and sacrifice made by the American Armed Forces and our allies, those objectives
have largely been met. We should continue to confront America's enemies wherever
they are through targeted counterterrorism operations and end the large scale
counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan.
We simply cannot afford more years of elevated troop levels in
Afghanistan. We are spending roughly $10 billion in Afghanistan each month at a
time when we're making tough sacrifices at home. Your recent budget calls for
$88 billion more for the war in Afghanistan in 2013. If this money is
appropriated, we will have spent a total of $650 billion in Afghanistan. A
majority of Americans worry that the costs of the war in Afghanistan will make
it more difficult for the government to address the problems facing the United
States at home. They're right.
Our
troops and their families have made unimaginable sacrifices during the past ten
years of war in Afghanistan. Over 1,900 American troops have been killed and
over 14,300 have been wounded. Thousands more return home with invisible wounds
that will make it difficult to ever again enjoy life the way they did before the
war.
There is strong bipartisan
support in Congress to change course in Afghanistan. The majority of Americans
want a safe and orderly drawdown of forces in Afghanistan. In May, the U.S.
House of Representatives nearly passed an amendment to the FY 2012 National
Defense Authorization Act requiring a plan to accelerate the drawdown of troops
from Afghanistan. A similar amendment introduced by Senators Merkley, Lee, T.
Udall, and Paul was passed by the U. S. Senate on November 30th.
We look forward to
reviewing the report required by Section 1221 of the FY2012 National Defense
Authorization Act, which will set benchmarks to evaluate progress toward the
assumption by the Afghan government of lead responsibility for security in all
areas of Afghanistan. In light of the comments made by Secretary Panetta on
February 1st, we would also be interested in learning more about how quickly
U.S. troops will be coming home, the number and purpose of troops that might
remain in Afghanistan and for how long a period, and the costs and savings of
accelerating the completion of combat operations. Nonetheless, we welcome his
announcement and encourage you to take every possible step to end the large
scale combat operations in Afghanistan and transition our effort to a targeted
counterterrorism strategy.
Sincerely,
Sen. Max
Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Jeff Merkley
(D-OR)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
###
Meghan Roh
Deputy Press Secretary
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834
Again, that call is news, big news.
Say a little prayer till they
all get home
Say a little prayer till they
all get home
I knew when we woke
up
You would be
leaving
You knew when you left
me
It might be too
long
That kiss on your
shoulder
It's me looking
over
Close to your
heart
So you're never
alone
Say a little prayer till they
all get home
Say a little prayer till they
all get home
Today the Veterans of Foreign Wars appeared before
Congress in a joint-hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair is Patty Murray. Let's note this
from her opening statements.
Chair Patty Murray: Last
month, I set down with veterans from across my home state when we were out at
home over recess and I heard from veterans who time and again couldn't get
access to VA mental health care in a timely way, who weren't getting the type of
treatment they need, talked to women veterans who told me about their ongoing
struggles to get specialized care and time and time again from veterans who
shared their stories about the claims system that just wasn't working, veterans
told me about the obstacles to employment that they continued to face. Some told
me that they're even afraid to write the word "veteran" on their job
application, for fear that those who have not served will see them as damaged
and unstable. We passed last year the Vow to Hire Heroes Act and I want to thank
Chairman Miller and everyone for their work on that. It was a great first step
in tackling the high rate of veteran unemployment but it was only that, a first
step. We have to focus now on building partnerships with private companies --
large and small -- to make sure that they have the information and tools they
need to hire and train our veterans. We need to take advantage of the great sea
of good will across the country from those who want to do the right thing and
hire a veteran and as part of that effort we also need to beat back the myth and
disinformation about the invisible wounds of war. No matter the challenges on
the battlefield, we owe it to our veterans to give them a fair shot as they look
for work when they come home. That's why the litmus test for hiring veterans
can't be fear or stigma of PTSD or mental health issues. Instead, it must
simply be whether a veteran is qualified for the job at hand. So I will continue
to highlight the tremendous skills and leadership and talent our veterans bring
to the table and I will continue to work with employers across the country to
make sure our veterans can find good paying jobs here at home. And while we
focus on jobs we can't lose sight of our veterans who are heading back to
school. Before veterans commit their GI Bill benefits, we need to make sure
they have the right information to make the best choice about their education
and the school they choose. I'm pleased to say that in the next couple of
weeks, I'll be introducing a bill that targets how educational institutions are
recruiting our veterans and make sure veterans are given a clear picture about
an institution's track record with other veterans. But whether is education or
jobs or mental health or claims system that isn't working, each of those
challenges serves as a constant reminder of the important work ahead to fuffill
our obligation to our nation's veterans.
Senator Richard Burr is the Ranking Member of the Senate
Committee. The Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee is US
House Rep Bob Filner. The Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee is US
House Rep Jeff Miller and we'll note this from his opening statement.
Chair Jeff Miller:
Sequestration is in fact probably one of the top issues out there and it could
be dealt with pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I've been trying to work for eight
months now to get some type of a resolution from the administration and I
can't. I've asked the Secretary and I've written a letter to the president.
We've asked for all types of folks to come forward and say whether or not
sequestration does in fact apply. And I'm sure you've already heard about it
while you're up here but there is a conflict in the law. The newest law that
was passed basically says you are in fact exempt from sequestration but
unfortunately right now there's some -- some discrephancy. So I filed a bill on
the House side that basically says that veterans health care and veterans
benefits are exempt from sequestration. It will clarify totally the problem for
the future so we won't have to ever contend with this again. And I ask you, as
you're making your visits on the Hill, to talk to your senators, talk to your
members of Congress and certainly on the House side ask your folks to sponsor
this one-and-a-half page piece of legislation. Around here, one-and-a-half
pages is pretty rare, most of it is thick stuff. This is pretty easy and it
basically says veteran dollars are exempt from sequestration.
The VFW was represented on the panel by
Commander-in-Chief Richard DeNoyer, Executive Director Robert Wallace, Director
of National Veterans Service William Bradshaw, Director of National Legislative
Service Raymond Kelley and the Chair of the National Legislative Committee Louis
C. Stifano.
DeNoyer noted in his opening remarks, "Americans will
soon forget what these warriors and veterans have done for our great nation." I
am of a different opinion: Americans will soon forget what the government has
done to these men and women. DeNoyer is absolutely right that there is a time
limit on national interest and it's already fading. The VFW is focusing on
issues that their membership feels are important. Other veterans organizations
should make sure that they are representing the needs their members rank most
important.
For the VFW, DeNoyer explained that two of the big issues
involve transitioning to civilian life which has to do with education and
employment. ( Wally's weighing on education tonight at Rebecca's
site.) On unemployment, he gave these figures: Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans unemployment rate in February 2012 was 13.1% ("compared to 7.7% among
all veterans) and that "nearly a third of young veterans are unemployed, more
than 20% of women veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are unemployed."
The other two concerns were medical. First, are the
veterans getting the treatment they need? The VFW is concerned over the suicide
rate and that more work needs to be done on providing assistance and on removing
any stigma on asking for assistance. They are also concerned with the stigma
that some people may be placing on veterans who suffer from PTSD or other
wounds. That's a brief summary, Ava's going to cover those remarks at Trina's site tonight. That was the
first part of the medical. The second concern of the medical for the VFW is the
facilities themselves which are in need of repairs, in need of expansion and, in
some cases, needing to be replaced.
We'll note this exchange between DeNoyer and Chair Patty
Murray.
Chair Patty Murray: [. . .Y]ou
mentioned about our newest student veterans needing to be able to get accurate
information and have realistic expectations about the academic programs they
choose so they can make their best choices about how to use their GI Bill
benefits. As this Committee looks at this issue in the coming months, I want to
ask you what are some of the key points that we should keep in mind as we look
at this?
Richard DeNoyer: We need to
provide veteran students with a clear understanding of what colleges offer and
what their requirements are and what the requirements of the school are? It
seems that many are using the GI Bill for the 21st Century and are not aware of
their requirements before they get into school. They are not aware of graduation
requirements, curriculum requirements and it would be our recommendation to have
a centralized office that they could go to to get this information and that
would be one of the solutions that we would encourage to do that.
Chair Patty Murray: Okay I
appreciate that because I want to make sure --
Richard DeNoyer: That would
help the state approving agencies also with their juridiction over colleges and
so forth.
Chair Patty Murray: Okay. So
they use their GI Benefit well since they can only use it once we want to be
sure that they get good information.
Richard DeNoyer: That's
right.
Chair Patty Murray: I
appreciate that. I want to ask you -- and thank you for the VFW's really great
work on the Independent Budget and for highlighting some of the major and minor
construction for VA. As we talked about, the President's budget for
construction is less than the Independent Budget recommendation. I know that you
and I share the same concern about the VA's request. We need to take a hard look
at the gap between the funding the VA needs to bring its facilities up to date
and the funding that's now actually been requested by the department. In my
home state of Washington, this is very important. We want a new pain clinic, a
new spinal cord injury ward in Seattle, a new fire structure in Walla Walla.
These are all critical infrastructure projects that are not going to get done
for a great deal of time and I wanted to ask you if you could kind of share with
the members of this Committee what this gap in funding will mean across the
country?
Richard DeNoyer: Well access
is the key to many of the facilities particularly those that provide speciality
care. We're concerned the space, with the quality of the care and we believe
that many of these are old and antiquated or maybe need to be renovated or even
replaced. Safety is also an issue that we are concerned about to with some of
these buildings. The seismic conditions. And, therefore, it nets down to
access for specialty care and also safety.
Chair Patty Murray: Okay.
Safety and access. Alright, I appreciate that. Commander, I really appreciated
your comments about tasking the high rates of unemployment for returning
veterans -- and for your leadership and work on this issue. This is something I
care deeply about and I know we've got a lot of work ahead of us. As I talk to
veterans and to employers, it has been really troubling to me to hear so many
veterans who tell me directly that they don't write the word "veteran" on their
resume when they apply for a job because of the fear that they have of the
stigma attached to PTSD and mental health issues. I know we've got a lot of
work ahead of us to address the misinformation about the invisible wounds of war
but I wanted to ask today through your work on this, what strategies have you
found to be most effective in fighting against the type of misinformation that
many of our men and women are facing in terms of the invisible wounds of war.
Richard DeNoyer: Well first and
foremost, Madam Chairman, we believe that today's military are the best
educated, best qualified, best experienced individuals that America has ever
fielded in an army. And they come home and they're completely qualified. They
have skills that they could easily integrate into civilian society and the
civilian workforce. Unfortunately, there seems to be a gap, a misunderstanding,
between the skills that the military provides and the skills that they're
looking for in civilian society. We believe that that could be easily
resolved. The mental health issue, on the other hand, we propose a screening on
mental health before the individual even goes into combat and a screening when
they come back and periodic screenings afterwards. We also propose immediate
care if needed -- mental health care -- as quickly as possible and only the
pharmaceutical drugs used if absolutely necessary so that drug dependence
doesn't result in that. And we feel that this would be -- hopefully, resolve
these problems.
He was speaking of drug dependency and the need for care
in prescribing drugs, a new study on PTSD finds that veterans are being overly
medicated. The Universty of California, San
Francisco (UCSF)'s Steve Tokar reports on the study conducted by UCSF and
the San Francisco VA Medical Center which found that veterans being prescribed
opiates for PTSD and/or pain are "more likely to receive higher dose
prescriptions, two or more opiate prescriptions and concurrent prescriptions of
sedative-hypnotics such as valium." And while that is serious all by itself, the
study also found that "all veterans who were prescribed opiates were also at
significantly higher risk of serious adverse clinical outcomes, such as drug and
alcohol-related overdoses, suicide and violent injury, with the risk being most
pronounced for veterans with PTSD." Dr. Karen Seal was the lead author of the
study and Tokar notes: Seal explained that previous studies
have shown that patients with PTSD may experience physical pain more intensely
because of either lowered pain thresholds or disruption of the production of
endorphins – opiates secreted naturally in the brain and body. PTSD, an anxiety
disorder, may be a cause, itself, she said. "The more anxious you are, the more
likely you are to be attuned to pain symptoms, which in turn, make you more
anxious, which makes the pain worse, so it becomes a vicious cycle."To break
that cycle, Seal and her co-authors recommend that the VA continue to extend its
current stepped approach to treating patients who have both pain and PTSD.
"Fortunately," she said, "the elements of that approach are in place, or can be
put in place, throughout the VA health care system."Seal said
that those elements include Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs), which align
primary care physicians with nurse care managers, mental health providers,
pharmacists and social workers. "For patients presenting to primary care with
pain, PACTs are important step in the direction of better care," she said.
"Patients requiring more intensive treatment can 'step up' to multi-disciplinary
specialty pain management and PTSD services that are available at most VA
medical centers. And the VA is also a leader in providing evidence-based
combined cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD and pain.Finally, she said, the VA is "making strides" to implement
pain management guidelines developed by the VA and the Department of Defense
that discourage the overuse of opiate medications in favor of anti-inflammatory
medications, physical therapy, exercise, relaxation techniques and complementary
alternative medicine such as acupuncture.
"Even in remote VA clinics and
isolated rural areas, many of these resources can be tapped through the use of
video teleconferencing with pain experts at the medical centers, as well as
online," said Seal. She recommended that veterans visit the VA site
MyHealtheVet at www.myhealth.va.gov.
Nadia Kounang (CNN) adds, "The
authors emphasized that the study didn't find that PTSD or other mental health
diagnosis caused increased pain or opioid use. Rather, the study was an alarm to
the consequences of pain management through opioids." Kounang quotes Dr. Seal
stating, "We now need to start considering alternative solutions to relieving
our patient's pain and suffering."
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today,
the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations (O&I) held an oversight
hearing to examine the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) construction
contracting practices. The Subcommittee examined the proposed construction of
the community based outpatient clinic in Savannah, Georgia as a case study of VA
construction contracting practices nationwide.
"We have evidence of similar
dubious practices taking place at other locations, and our intent is to have VA
fix the problems and conduct necessary oversight at all of its construction
sites," stated Rep. Bill Johnson (OH-6), Subcommittee Chairman of
O&I.
Rep. Johnson noted that the
Subcommittee brought these matters to VA's attention last year, but VA ignored
them and continued their flawed process, "This Subcommittee contacted VA last
year with several specific concerns about this site in Savannah with the hopes
of helping VA conduct better business. The response was disheartening; despite
the specific concerns cited, VA dismissed the Subcommittee's efforts to reach
out and work together, instead giving a cursory response."
Johnson expressed further
dissatisfaction with regard to the way VA worked through the acquisition
process. "VA stumbled through [this] process, using an incomplete and careless
appraisal process that according to many involved in commercial real estate
lacks common sense. To veterans, taxpayers, and Congress, the resulting concern
is that VA is failing to get the best value."
VA witnesses failed to
adequately answer how their initial estimate of needs in Savannah had been so
significantly miscalculated, and admitted to not being forthcoming to Congress
about significant changes to the size and scope of construction projects. Based
on its interpretation of a long-standing practice, VA has provided notice to
Congress of large-scale changes only after new leases had been executed,
prompting members of the Subcommittee to suggest changes were needed to improve
transparency and oversight.
Construction delays, faulty
contracting practices and cost overruns were other major failures discussed by
the Subcommittee during today's hearing. Noting that these delays reach beyond
contracting, Johnson stated that "veterans in need of services are the ones
being harmed by delays, cost overruns, and failure to thoroughly analyze costs
and benefits associated with every alternative."
We're pressed for space, I know. But that hearing was
important and I don't know that even AP filed a
report on it (usually you can count on AP if no one else for veterans hearings
in Congress).
Yesterday also brought the
news that Iraq's LGBT community was against being targeted. Worker's
Liberty carries this joint-statement from the Organization of Women's Freedom in
Iraq and Iraqi LGBT:
"New barbaric attacks started
against the Iraqi LGBT in many cities like Baghdad and Basra while using
inhumane methods such as hitting the head and body parts of gay victims with
building concrete blocks repeatedly till death or by pushing them over high
building roof which took place in Basra city. The actions of killings, torture,
and dismembering against those who were described as "adulterous" by Islamic
Shia militias, besides hanging lists on the walls of several sections in Al-Sadr
city and in Al-Habibea region, had all terrorized the society at large and
especially the Iraqi LGBT community, knowing that those attacks are directed
against anyone suspected with gay practices or appearance.
"The first killings took
place on the sixth of February 2012 and continued or rather escalated till the
current days. One of the hanged lists in Al-Sadr city included the names and
addresses of 33 person, while other lists included other tens of names in other
areas. News confirmed that 42 gay men were tortured and killed so far, mostly by
concrete blocks, while some by dismembering.
"The Islamic militias in Iraq
believe that the religious family should consist of a male husband and a female
wife, and is the cornerstone of building a pious Islamic society. Such an
institution is handed to the males to rule and control. Under such an
institution, they deny the right-to-life, or rather they command a death
sentence against all who do not fit under the religious description of a
family.
"Based on those rules, the
campaigns of honor killings happen against women and LGBT under the same token.
Just as women face honour killing as a result of extra marital affairs, the
lesbians and the gays face the same destiny because of their sexual practices
which do not relate to marriage.
"We call on all
freedom-lovers of the world, the women's and human rights organization and
governments in the advanced world to put pressure on the Iraqi government to
provide protection to the lgbt in Iraq, and establish legislation for defending
their right to life, and criminalizing all aggressions against them. We demand
also a full enquiry into the groups and criminal behind the killing campaign and
that they get full punishment from the legal and correctional
system."
We'll note some of the other coverage. Trudy Ring (SheWired) reports: A recent wave of violence in Iraq
has resulted in the kidnapping, torture, and killing of about 40 people
perceived to be gay or lesbian, with the murder weapon sometimes being a
concrete block to the head.The killings began in early
February after an unidentified group put up posters with death threats against
"adulterous individuals" in largely Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and Basra,
reports the International Gay and Lesbian
Human Rights Commission. The threats listed the targets' names and ages, and
gave them four days to change their behavior or face divine
retribution.Some of the murders have been carried out by smashing the
victims' skulls with concrete blocks or pushing them off roofs of tall
buildings, says a report from two other groups, the
Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and Iraqi LGBT.Evan Mulvihill (Queerty) notes,
"Hillary Clinton made her landmark speech to the UN on
the issue in December, and we have seen some commitment to activity in Ecuador and Honduras. But in the Middle
East, we haven't seen any commitment to intervention --yet." Huffington Post covers the
story here. No, the New York Times couldn't find the story. Did you really
think that they would?
Receiving more attention is today's double bombing. Adn Kronos
International notes a car blew up in Tal Afar and, "when a crowd of
people gathered at the scene" after, a suicide bomber set off a second bombing.
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers)
observes, "The Tal Afar bombing followed a familiar pattern often associated
with al Qaida in Iraq -- an explosion followed by another a few minutes later,
after rescuers had arrived to assist the victims of the first bomb." Prensa Latina adds, "No
organization attributed responsability for the attacks. The government and the
police said the perpetrators were members of Al-Qaeda and said Taafalar is in a
strategic area between the border with Syria and Mosul." Mohamad Ali Harissi (AFP) counts 14 dead in the bombings with fifteen
more injured according to Tal Afar Mayor Abid al-Al Abbas.Earlier today, Nayla Razzouk and Khalid al-Ansary
(Bloomberg News)
report, "Iraqi Construction and Housing Minister Mohammad Saheb al-Darraji
escaped unharmed when a car bomb exploded near his convoy in Baghdad today,
injuring six of his bodyguards, the ministry said." Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports
1 person was killed and four were left injured and that al-Darraji "was not part
of the motorcade" al-Darraji is a member of the Sadrist movement. Jamal al-Badrani (Reuters) notes a Baghdad minibus bombing claimed 2
lives. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers)
notes 1 person died in a Haditha bombing and three other people were injured
while a Garma roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer and left two
more injured. Many reports speculate that the attacks are intended to
negatively impact the planned Arab Summit scheduled to start in Baghdad on
Marcch 29th. The big news on the potential
summit; however, is Hoshyar Zebari has announced United Nations Seretary-General
Ban Ki-moon will attend. Actually, there's other big news but it's only
Arabic outlets reporting so we'll assume no one in the US press reads Arabic?
Is the alternative that US press is yet again lying to the American people? Al Mada reports
on a move by the Baghdad-based government to get US forces to protect Iraqi air
space for the Baghdad summit.
Instead of addressing security concerns, Nouri al-Maliki and
his forces would rather go in search of mystics and monsters. Last month, for
example, there was the 'big bust' in Baghdad of the
"sorcerers" for practicing "voodooism" has not increased the safety in Iraq They
also waste time chasing vampires. They call Emo kids that. Apparently, they
believe Iraqi youth has been overtaken by a vampire outbreak. The oh-so-modern
Baghdad brought to you by Nouri al-Maliki. Al Mada reports
that Parliament is offended by the attacks on Iraq's Emo youth while at the same
time they note that Emo is criminal behavior and goes against human rights. Ahmed Hussein (Al Mada) reports that Emo youth are considered
aliens, other-worldly, are targeted for "liquidation" the same as Iraq's LGBT
community. And they're confused with Satanists, vampires and more. It sort of
reminds you of when the Twilight crowd comes to Southpark Elementary and the Emo kids are outraged to be
considered Twighlight wannabes by the uninformed. Dar Addustour reports that 56 of Iraqi's Emo Youth
have been killed. And please note, the security forces consider the Emo kids to
be a top security priority. Are you starting to understand why the current
government can't provide protection to the citizens of Iraq?
When not wasting their time obsessing over Emo kids, the
security forces obsess of Raghad Saddam Hussein. Who? Saddam Hussein's
daughter. Al
Bawaba reports that she's issued a strong denial of the repeated rumors
that, from Jordan, she's orchestrating an attempt to overthrow Nouri al-Maliki.
Her response to the rumors includes the following:
Some press reports said I was
in contact with senior military officers in Iraq and providing them with funding
to toplle the current government. That is not true. How can I think of staging a
coup against ag overnment supported by the military and protected by the most
advanced intelligence and monitoring technologies? The time for coups is long
gone and nobody does that nowadays. [. . .] Iraqis have enough on their plate.
They are oppressed by a ruthless occupation and a tyrannical government, both
supported by the military.
So they fear a woman in Jordan, they fear Emo kids and
their own LGBT community. A lot of fear in Nouri al-Maliki's Iraq. The tone's
set at the top.
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