The 44-year-old Amos' set was culled primarily from her ambitious "American Doll Posse," a harder-than-usual collection of songs that found the artist assuming five archetypal personalities based on feminine gods in Greek and Roman mythology, each of whom have their own personality and (of course) wardrobe.
Purple gauze turned red as she came out smoking -- literally and figuratively -- and sat down at a long black grand piano. The crowd screamed as the bass-heavy "Yo George" filled up the high ceilings of the old theater.
A crack band of guitar bass and drums stood in the darkness as Amos weaved her spells sweet and sour. Tribal drums propelled the anxious "Devils and Gods;" "Almost Rosey" swirled like a top; "Big Wheel" got the crowd clapping at the predestined moments, while the pounding "Sugar" was unearthly and powerful from a scream to a whisper. The sultry "Cornflake Girl" (from "Under The Pink") was another high point. "Mother Revolution" was haunting and spare, "Caught a Lite Sneeze" was mechanical and rigid, while "Ireland" and "Marianne" were both little treasures.
Amos was alone at the piano for the staggering take on Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat." Soon the band rocked out again with the ominous "'Code Red," and the thunderous "Precious Things" and "Tear in Your Hand" as the audience stood in awe.
That's from David Malachowski's "Amos casts wondrous spell at the Palace" (Albany Times Union). Wally's going to catch her in his area next month. I'm hoping to catch her shortly myself. American Doll Posse is a great CD and so is The Beekeeper but what Ava, C.I. and I are cursing this week is that we didn't pack Scarlet's Walk for the road.
From Tori to the sewer (a huge dip). This is from Anne Flaherty's "Democrats Give Up Withdrawing Troops Put Debate on Troop Withdrawals on Hold" (AP via DemocracyRising):
Congressional Democrats have put on the back burner legislation ordering troops home from Iraq and turned their attention to war-related proposals that Republicans are finding hard to reject.
The legislative agenda marks a dramatic shift for party leaders who vowed repeated votes to end combat and predicted Republicans would eventually join them. But with Democrats still lacking enough votes to bring troops home, the party runs the risk of concluding its first year in control of Congress with little to show for its tough anti-war rhetoric.
"We can no longer approach the discussion on Iraq as a partisan issue," said Rep. John Tanner, a conservative Democrat from Tennessee. "Our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Guardsmen aren't fighting as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans."
They are dying over there, not serving there. And Iraqis are dying there. This is part of that Council of Foreign Relations (that's intentional, not a typo) and their pushback on the illegal war. They need to sell it a bit more. This is disgusting and all I can say is the Green Party better be serious about 2008 (none of that 'safe state' b.s.) because this could be their election. People are disgusted. We were speaking to a women's group (a long with several student groups) and there were all these women . . . pissed off is the only way to describe it. "I feel stabbed in the back by Nancy Pelosi!" is the way one woman put it and you should have heard the cheers and applause when she said that.
It was a long and exhausting day but it was very, very rewarding. Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, October 10, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, more officials are targeted in Iraq, the US military announces more deaths, and more.
Starting with war resisters. In June of 2006, Ehren Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. In February of this year, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) ruled a mistrial over defense objection. His second court-martial was to have started this week; however, the double-jeopardy clause of the Constitution means he should not be court-martialed twice and US District Judge Benjamin H. Settle has ordered a stay through at least October 26th while this and other issues are reviewed. Amnesty International issued a statement of support for Watada last week and Susan Lee (the Americas Program Director) stated, "It is unacceptable that Ehren Watada should face punishment for peacefully expressing his objections to the war in Iraq. His internationally recognized right to conscientious objection must be respected." Sam Bernstein (US Socialist Worker) explains, "Watada's attorneys are also asking that he be allowed to leave the Army since his term of service ended in December, but the pending legal proceedings have prevented his discharge. . . . Now there will be three weeks of hearings so that Settle can decide whether a retrial amounts to double jeopardy. If it doesn't, a retrial would begin as early as October 26. Antiwar activists -- led by Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak out and Vietnam Veterans Against the War -- will use the next three weeks to organize solidarity protests."
War resister Pablo Paredes has been working in Puerto Rico on the issue of counter-recruiting. The Canadian Press reported last month that Paredes found the counter-recruiting "campaign has been more welcomed than efforts on the mainland" and quotes him stating, "There's not an ownership over this war. There's definitely a sense of 'That's someone else's situation. In schools that allows for a lot more fairness for groups that oppose the war." Among the many others working on this issue are Aimee Allison and David Solnit who have written Army Of None: Strategies to Counter Military Recruitment, End War, and Build a Better World (published by Seven Stories Press and available at Courage to Resist). The promotional tour for this book has many dates added to it. Click here for the full schedule. We'll note the October events still to come:
Wednesday Oct. 10th -- Swarthmore, PA. For more information, e-mail: pjames1@swarthmore.edu;
Thursday Oct. 11th -- NYC, NY. For more information: armynone@gmail.com;
Friday October 12th, -- NYC, NY Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington, 7 pm to 9:30 pm. For more information: info@bluestockings.com;
Saturday October 13th -- New Haven CT, The Unitarian Society of New Haven, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden, CT 06517, 1 pm to 4 pm. For more information: DAmdur@afsc.org;
Saturday October 13th -- Hartford, CT La Paloma Sabanera Cafe, 405 Capital Ave, Hartford, CT 06106;
Sunday October 14th - Boston or Western Mass, Traprock Peace Center. For more information: armynone@gmail.com;
Monday October 15th -- Boston or Western Mass, Traprock Peace Center;
Tuesday October 16th -- Rochester, NY;
Wednesday October 17th -- The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Avenue, Troy, NY 12181;
Thursday October 18th -- Syracuse, NY, For more information: jessica@peacecouncil.net;
Friday October 19th -- Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Anarchist Bookfair;
Saturday October 20th -- Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Anarchist Bookfair;
Sunday October 21st -- Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Anarchist Bookfair
That's the October events currently posted. October events have already passed and more may be added. If you're interested in the tour you can check here and more dates may be added in the new year but currently there are no dates schedule for the southern portion of the US except for Fort Benning in Georgia (November 16 through November 18). Aimee Allison and David Solnit speak with Matthew Rothschild on this week's The Progressive Radio. They addressed topics of military access to students, student and parent rights, the threat of the draft and much more. "create associations that will be more likely to
David Solnit: They have what we call the military recruitment complex which is a whole series of research analysis, cutting edge, major public relations corporations and then the on ground recruiters. So together they spend billions of dollars using the most sophisticated and modern public relations propaganda techniques to, as they say, penetrate youth culture and create associations which will make people more likely to accept the military as a normal or healthy thing.
Matthew Rothschild: Can you give us some specifics because I was at an anti-war protest here in Madison, Wisconsin and there was a counselor for a high school , in a high school, who said the most pernicious thing for him was these military recruiters coming and setting up gymnasium type things -- that a person could do the quickest climb or the most push-ups or the most sit-ups, it really appealed to the macho kids and he couldn't, he couldn't get them out of there.
[. . .]
Aimee Allison: One of the things that I think the military recruiters on the ground rely on are sustained access, regular access to high school kids in particular so they can develop relationships. For the recruiter, they become father or friend or guide and take students out to Burger King and, you know. But of all of the messages that they learn, that recruiters learn, through their hard sell and sustained selling techniques, they never mention the word "kill." And the reason why is because it's very deeply ingrained in human beings not to kill. And we've all had these kind of, someone makes us mad and there's a reason we don't act on that because our church, and our family and our society condition us against that kind of violence. So it's the center of the recruiters' message to tell them all the things they can do with their life without letting them know about what the military really is and that is an institution designed to train someone to kill on command and that was the most surprising thing for me in my own experiences.
On the issue of a draft being brought back, David Solnit stated that the work of the peace movement results in reactions from the other side and while people must keep their eyes open, that's not the overreaching issue today. Solnit and Allison both feel that so much more work needs to be done to build a real resistance within the general public. On the topic of the draft, pay attention once-Young Lions who now puff out the sagging chests and tell the youth of today your half-baked tales, Louise Bernikow (Women's eNews) provides the history missing in so much of the once-Young Lions reminds that "the anti-war organizing was also being done by women of several generations and many political persuasions. Opposition to wars has always been part of women's history: Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day march for peace filled the streets of Boston after the Civil War. By the 20th century, Women's Strike for Peace had evolved out of the anti-nuclear movement into a visible force against the Vietnam War. Among its founders, and quite visible on Moratorium Day, was New Yorker Bella Abzug, soon to be elected to Congress, where her first official act would be to demand a date for withdrawal from Vietnam. In 1972, Abzug would demand Nixon's impeachment for 'defying the will of the people to end the war.' As night fell in the capital city on Moratorium Day, 15,000 people carried candles around the Washington Monument, led by Coretta Scott King, identified by the press, in the custom of the times, as "Mrs. Martin Luther King." Although young men captured the camera's eye as they burned their draft cards, much of the work of organizing draft resistance was done by women. Singer Joan Baez performed protest songs everywhere with a banner behind her that read: 'Girls say yes to boys who say no.' In Greenwich Village, the Peace Center, directed by writer Grace Paley, organized and counseled scores of conscientious objectors willing to go to jail rather than serve in the war." The poster and the very real involvement of women were dealt with in July.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Geneva Jalal Antranik and Marani Awanis Manouik were killed yesterday in Iraq. Their "crime" was driving. Their killers were Unity Resources Group. Andrew E. Kramer and James Glanz (New York Times) address the slaughter in 28 paragraphs today and wait until the 26th paragraph to provide the women's names. Apparently you cover the slaughter by burying the dead. Tina Susman and Christian Berthelsen (Los Angeles Times) report, "Unity Resources, which is run by former Australian army personnel, was investigated last year in connection with the shooting of a 72-year-old agriculture professor at the University of Baghdad, according to Australian media. The Australian Foreign Ministry at the time said the professor, Kays Juma, was shot because his vehicle failed to stop at a checkpoint in the capital.Some witnesses confirmed that a flare was fired, but at least two said guards fired into the vehicle after it had been partially disabled by warning shots. One witness said the vehicle, which carried at least three women and one child, had rolled to a halt when the women inside were shot." Jay Price and Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) add, "A man at a gun portal in the back of the last armored vehicle began shooting an automatic weapon into the hood and windshield of car. Then another guard leaned out of a door and did the same, police said. Between them, they fired about 30 times, said Hamed Ali, an Iraqi policeman who was manning a checkpoint at the shooting site. The car was about 75 yards from the armored vehicles when the shooting started, he said as he showed journalists the skid marks. 'There was no reason at all to shoot at these women,' he said." CBS and AP note the excuses of Unity Resources and quote Marou "Awanis' daughter and a student at Baghdad's Technology University" asking, "What is the use of the word 'sorry'?" Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) notes, "The victims were driving home from work when their vehicle came under fire by guards with the Australia-based Unity Resources Group."
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attack on an official today in Tikrit -- the target: Jassim Jabbar (Head of National Security Center) -- that left 2 people dead and seventeen wounded, a Baghdad bombing wounded two people "near the Vegetable Oils Plant" and a Sulaiman Bek bombing wounded two people. Reuters notes the death toll in the attack on official increased by 4 for a total of six dead, a Zaab truck bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi military service member and left five people wounded (two non-military) "in an attack on an Iraqi army base," a Mosul minibus bombing (targeting the Kurdistan Democratic Party) claimed 2 lives and left sixteen injured and a Diwaniya mortar attack that left eleven female students, "three teachers and a man" of "a girls' primary school" injured.
Kidnappings?
The attacks on officials continue in Iraq. KUNA reports that Abdurrazaq Qassem was kidnapped yesterday in Basra where he is "the director of Basra International Airport." Abdul-Razzaq Hashim is the spelling Reuters offers. The targeting of officials continues in Iraq. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) notes his name as Abdulrazzaq Qassim as well. On the topic of the air war, CNN notes 13 dead "west of Baghdad" from a US airstrike.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 Railways Commission worker was killed and five injured in a gunfire attack on their bus in Bayaa, 1 person was killed and six were injured in an attack on "a Kia mini bus in Saidiya" while Abdulameer Mahmoud (National Information and Investigation Bureau chief) was wounded in a Kirkuk attack "late yesterday" -- another official targeted.
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 6 corpses were discovered in Baghdad, Hmood Abdullah Hmood's corpse was discovered in Kirkuk late yesterday (three days after he was kidnapped), and a corpse was discovered in Hawija.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died from a noncombat related cause in a southern section of the Iraqi capital Oct. 10." And they announced: "An MND-C Soldier died from a non-combat related event Oct. 10." ICCC's total for the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the illegal war began is currently 3820. CNN uses the count 3,821.
Tensions continue to flare on the Turkish and Iraqi border. CBS and AP report, "Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked suspected positions of Kurdish rebels near Iraq on Wednesday, a possible prelude to a cross-border operation that would likely raise tensions with Washington." Turkish Press reports that the country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has stated a measure will be introduced in the Turkish Parliament tomorrow calling for "an incursion into northern Iraq to pursue PKK terrorists." AFP notes, "Under Turkish law, parliament must authorize any deployment of Turkish troops abroad." Al Jazeera informs that the prime minister "is under pressure to respond to a series of recent attacks on Turkish security forces by fighters from the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) that killed 15 soldiers. The Turkish leader said prepartations to put the measure before parliament 'have started and are countinuing'. The plan was unlikely to reach parliament before the end of a four-day religious holiday on Sunday, an official from Erdogan's Justice and Development party said." In the United States today, Dana Perino (press flack) gave a briefing in the White House referred to Turkey as "a very valuable ally" and was asked if a Congressional resolution on the Armenian genocide that the Bully Boy had come out against resulted from "Turkey blackmailing the United States" to which Perino responded, "Absolutely not." Perino also declared, "We have said that we want to work with the Turkish government and the Iraqis, the Iraqi government, to eradicate the terrorist problem there in northern Iraq. We do not think that it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq from Turkey at this time. We think that we can handle this situation without that being necessary." Suna Erdem (Times of London) notes, " Until now, though, Mr Erdogan has appeared reluctant to pursue an act that could result in a military quagmire and cause serious diplomatic problems. The authorities in Washington and Iraq, already struggling to control insurgent violence, are unwilling to condone anything that could cause unrest in the country's most stable region. Turkey's rulers would also probably prefer to do without the complication of a military operation at a time when they are seeking to kick-start their membership talks with the European Union."
Turning to peace news, September 7th, we noted the police abuse Tina Richards, Adam Kokesh and Ian Thompson were the victims when they attempted to put up posters -- actually, when they attempted to hold a press conference discussing the legal way to poster in DC for the upcoming peace event sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R. and others. Last Thursday, the Washington Post notes, Richards, Kokesh and Thompson "appeared in court" and were instructed the DC Superior Court trial will start (for the 'crime' of postering) on January 3rd. At his site, Kokesh addresses the Flock of Seagulls (aka Gathering of Eagles): "Chris Hill ('National Director of Ops' for the Gathering of Eagles, a pro-war advocacy group) and other members of his group verbally and physically attacked a Gold Star father of a fallen soldier who was participating in a anti-war march on 9/15. The Gold Star father, Carlos Arredondo, was marching with a picture of his fallen son when Hill and members of the pro-war group began verbally harassing him and then physically confronted him to take away the photo of his son. In the process Mr. Arredondo was knocked to the ground and kicked. Hill wrestled the photo of Mr. Arredondo's son, Alex, away from Gold Star father, claiming to have liberated it. The Gathering of Eagles Group had attended the anti-war march for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the protesters." And (Language Warning) also here where he includes photos of their attack on Arredondo. The "Gathering" is set to land in the Bay Area Wednesday October 17th where they will attempt to bully CODEPINK into stopping their activism at the military recruiting center in Berkeley on Shattuck Ave. Apparently Flock of Seagulls loves war so much they want all to have a right to bleed to death in an illegal war.
In other disgusting news, CBS and AP note, "The U.S. released 60 Iraqi prisoners, including 10 youths, Wednesday. As a gesture of good will, the U.S. military has pledged to release more than 50 detainees a day during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends later this week." CNN gets in on the nonsense quoting US Maj Gen Doug Stone delcaring that not one "of the 1,000-plus Iraqi detainnes freed in recent weeks have broken a pledge not to return to the insurgency" -- CNN's so caught up in the hype that they fail to make the obvious point that Stone really wouldn't know if they had or not. But is there one damn adult left in broadcast news? If so, might they sound the alarm of these 'releases' which are the sort of things despots do to curry favor. If those imprisoned shouldn't be (and the majority shouldn't), then they get released for that reason, not in "a gesture of good will." This is really disgusting and that it's not registering says something truly troubling about our news media which seems to be longing for a King John.
October 12th, NOW with David Brancaccio will air a one hour program, "Child Brides: Stolen Lives" documenting "the heartbreaking global phenomenon of forced child marriage, and the hope behind breaking the cycle of poverty and despair it causes." They've created an e-Card you can send to friends and family or to yourself to provide a heads up to the broadcast (and there is no cost to send the e-Card). Maria Hinojosa will report from Niger, Guatemala, India, etc. In most markets, the program airs on Friday, check your local listings.
iraq
ehren watada
army of noneaimeee allisondavid solnit
matthew rothschild
democracy nowamy goodman
adam kokesh
the new york timesandrew e. kramer
mcclatchy newspaperstina susmanthe los angeles times
codepink
a.n.s.w.e.r.
pbsmaria hinojosanow with david branccacio
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Che and War Hawk Dems and Repubes speak (to each other)
If you caught Democracy Now! today, you caught "The Life & Legacy of Latin American Revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara: Forty Years After His Death:"
AMY GOODMAN: An excerpt of a rare interview with Che Guevara, December 11, 1964, from the Pacifica Radio Archive.
Greg Grandin joins us now, professor of Latin American history at New York University, author of Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism, just out in paperback.
Talk about how Che Guevara, an Argentine, ends up leading, with Fidel Castro, the Cuban Revolution.
GREG GRANDIN: Well, it's an interesting story, and before I -- what makes Che so iconic is that his life embodies the revolutionary century of Latin America. And a lot of your listeners may know what -- viewers may be aware of Che's motorcycle diary trip, where he toured around Latin America, and through that he developed a consciousness, a Pan-American consciousness. Well, right after that trip, he wound up in Guatemala, which was undergoing a profound democratic revolution between 1944 and 1954.
Guatemala was one of the most ambitious social democratic revolutions that emerged throughout Latin America after World War II. And what's important about Guatemala is that by 1948, 1950, most democratic revolutions in Latin America had been rolled back, or there was a wave of reaction throughout the continent. But in Guatemala the revolution actually deepened. And Che spent 1953 -- wound up in Guatemala -- he landed in Guatemala in 1953, and he lived through the counterrevolution. This was the United States’s first CIA-orchestrated coup in Latin America.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Against Arbenz.
GREG GRANDIN: Against Jacobo Arbenz -- United Fruit Company -- defending the interests of the United Fruit company.
AMY GOODMAN: So, first, the US CIA had overthrown Iran in 1953.
GREG GRANDIN: Three.
AMY GOODMAN: Then, trying to use the same model, goes --
GREG GRANDIN: Well, it was actually even more ambitious. Iran was a pretty fast operation, a couple of weeks. Guatemala was the most extensive and ambitious CIA operation to date. It utilized every aspect of US power, not just military and economic and political, but a whole broad array of psychological destabilization campaigns. Pretty much --
JUAN GONZALEZ: There was quite a bit of penetration of the Guatemalan press, as well, beforehand to prepare the way for the coup, as well.
GREG GRANDIN: The press, exactly. That's what I mean. It was really -- it became the model for other coups, in which the United States would destabilize the civil society organizations, the press and the --
AMY GOODMAN: John Foster Dulles was the head of the State Department at the time. Formerly he was the corporate lawyer for United Fruit --
GREG GRANDIN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: -- on behalf of whom Guatemala was overthrown.
GREG GRANDIN: Yes. The United Fruit Company had some land expropriated, and the United States was concerned about the legalization of the Communist Party. And what's important, in terms of Che, is that he witnessed this. He was -- in Guatemala, he developed more of a revolutionary consciousness. He worked as a socially committed doctor administering to the country’s poor in a clinic, and he saw the overthrow of what was the most -- the longest-lasting post-war democracy in Latin America firsthand.
He had to flee to the -- he took asylum in the Argentine embassy. It was in the embassy, he spent a few months, and he met a number of future revolutionaries, Guatemalan new left armed revolutionaries. And then he managed to flee and receive exile in Mexico, and that's where he met -- that's where he met Fidel Castro and joined the Cuban Revolution and went on to make history.
But Guatemala had a deep impact on him. He would go on to justify the closing down -- the suppressing of civil liberties in Cuba and the radicalization of the revolution in Cuba, by saying that Cuba will not be another Guatemala. In many ways, Guatemala, much more than Cuba -- diplomatic historians love to focus on Cuba. They think the Cold War began and end in Cuba, but it was really Guatemala that was much more of a turning point, not just in Che's life, but for a whole generation of Latin American reformists and nationalists and democrats. It led to a deep radicalization and a sense that democracy and reform would not come about through an alliance with the national bourgeoisie and national progressive capitalist class. It was witnessing the downfall of the Guatemalan democracy, in which elites did ally with the CIA and the US, that led to a much more radical understanding of how to bring about social change and the Cuban Revolution.
What's also important about the overthrow of Arbenz is that it became a model, as Juan mentioned, for the Bay of Pigs operation. And because of the success or the easy success, the seemingly easy success, of the overthrow of Arbenz, CIA got a bit confident, and a lot of -- many of the assumptions that they -- the lessons that they thought they learned from Guatemala they applied in the Bay of Pigs. Of course, the Bay of Pigs was a complete disaster, that went on to have a much more radicalizing influence throughout the Americas.
So that's your history lesson for tonight.
Now C.I.'s made the point repeatedly that when the left drops Iraq, they create this huge vacuum for others to fill. And The Huffington Post is happy to offer the latest in crap day after day. Andrei Cherny stunk up the joint today (apparently Arianna lets any hack post). He pluges Democracy: A Journal of Ideas but forgets to tell Huffington readers that it's his magazine he's plugging. Love the non-disclosure policy at Huff Po. Not only does this non-genius hail from The New Republic(an), he also wrote speeches for then vice-president Al Gore and for 2004 prez candidate John Kerry -- in other words, when the mission is "Make them more wooden!" the boy to go to is Andrei. The simp puts forward "Iraq: Just Criticizing Is Not An Option." And who does the non-wonder turn to?
Ivo H. Daadler wanted more US troops in Iraq in 2005. He is a Brookings baby and he is not of the left. He is also enough of a part of PNAC to sign their 2005 letter. He is a neocon. By the way, he also advises Obama which gives you an idea of what a load of crap Obama is. James M. Lindsay is Council for Foreign Relations which supported the illegal war before it started. And now he's at Brookings. There's little Jessica Tuchman Mathews who also did work at the Council for Foreign Relations but I know her for her pre-war 'debate' on Iraq where she was supposed to debate Richard Pearl and some debate that was as she agreed that Saddam Hussein had WMD. Way to 'debate'. So she was wrong then and yet she's an expert to be listened to? (She didn't urge war right away in Feb. 2003. She urged a 'third' path between war and 'doing nothing.') Then there's Larry Diamond and where's he at? The Hoover Institute. And again, Council for Foreign Relations. Charles A. Kupchan? Council for Foreign Relations. Shawn Brimley is such a Bully Boy lackey, he likes to write about "the way forward in Iraq" (as he did in 2006 when he predicted that the 'rhetoric' against the illegal war would die out after the November 2006 elections). Michele Flournoy? Council for Foreign Relations. Suzanne Maloney is a double loser -- Council for Foreign Relations and Brookings. Ray Takeyh (her writing partner) is also CFR. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randal is CFR. David Makovsky is CFR. Peter Bergen is both a pig and a CFR. And then there's the derby winner Will Marshall who is DLC, PNAC -- cheerleaded the illegal war and wants the US troops to stay.
This is what happens when the left is silent. And this is the sort of crap Huff Po allows. Andrei's got a new issue of his magazine to pimp for, so he 'writes' a post and doesn't have to disclose in his post that he's pimping his magazine. He goes to the usual idiots and tries to pass it off as a disucssion. Find a liberal (which is not the far left) on the panel. Can't. Because these are Dems who buy into Republican plans, over and over. So the War Hawks get to chat and it gets pimped as a serious conversation.
That's what happens when the left drops Iraq. The center rushes in and poses as 'left' and they have their chat with the right and we're supposed to believe everyone was invited and that it's representative. It's not.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, October 9, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, mercenaries in Iraq are still in hot water, the allged coalition loses more, Ehren Watada is not being court-martialed today (at least one US paper missed that news over the weekend), things heat up between Turkey and Iraq, 57 is the highest count thus far for the number dead from violence in Iraq today, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Despite Michael Winter (USA Today)'s blog post ("Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused to deploy to Iraq, faces his second court-martial at Fort Lewish, Wash.") posted last night, there is no court-martial for Ehren Watada today. The court-martial has a stay in place until at least October 26th. As Dave Lindorff (CounterPunch) observes, "US. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle in Seattle, WA took the unusual step of intervening in a military proceeding, ordering a halt to the second attempt by the Army to court-martial Lt. Ehren Watada, while he considers the merits of Lt. Watada's claim that he is being subjected to double jeopardy by being re-court-martialed a second time. Watada, who in June 2006 refused orders to ship out to Iraq with his Stryker brigade, claiming that it was an illegal war and that it would subject US military particpants to participating in war crimes, made his argument last February at a court-martial proceeding that eneded in a mistrail when the military and the military trial judge realized that the young lieutenant was winning his case. Rather than risk losing on acliam of the Iraq War's legitimacy, the judge in the prosecution sought, and the hearing officer granted a mistrial. However, under established precedent, all the way to the US Supreme Court, it has been accepted that it is not appropritate for prosecutors to declare mistrials and then seek another trial, for the obvious reason that prosecutors would always resort to such a tactic if they found themselves in danger of losing a case. Only when the defense wins a mistrial ruling can the prosecution seek a second trial. Precedent notwithstanding, the Army decided it couldn't let Lt. Watada walk away from the war claiming it is illegal, so it has attempted to court-martial him again." Mari-Ela David (Hawaii's KHNL) quotes Kenneth Kagan -- one of Watada's two civilian attorneys -- stating, "As you can imagine Lt. Watada is feeling incredibly relieved that A, he's not going to have to go to trial on Tuesday and B., that somebody finally is going to take this case seriously and give it a meaningful review.". At the Veterans for Peace confrence last year (August 12, 2006), Watada was one of the speakers (a/v and text both here) and his speech included this:
I stand before you today, not as an expert -- not as one who pretends to have all the answers. I am simply an American and a servant of the American people. My humble opinions today are just that. I realize that you may not agree with everything I have to say. However, I did not choose to be a leader for popularity. I did it to serve and make better the soldiers of this country. And I swore to carry out this charge honorably under the rule of law.Today, I speak with you about a radical idea. It is one born from the very concept of the American soldier (or service member). It became instrumental in ending the Vietnam War - but it has been long since forgotten. The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it.Now it is not an easy task for the soldier. For he or she must be aware that they are being used for ill-gain. They must hold themselves responsible for individual action. They must remember duty to the Constitution and the people supersedes the ideologies of their leadership. The soldier must be willing to face ostracism by their peers, worry over the survival of their families, and of course the loss of personal freedom. They must know that resisting an authoritarian government at home is equally important to fighting a foreign aggressor on the battlefield. Finally, those wearing the uniform must know beyond any shadow of a doubt that by refusing immoral and illegal orders they will be supported by the people not with mere words but by action.
Philip Greenspan (Swans Commentary) reflects on the historical nature of resistance within the military, "An unprecedented massive mutiny during the Vietnam War was the coup de grace for the US. Col Robert D. Heinl, Jr. in an englightening article on that mutiny states 'It is a truism that national armies closely reflect societies from which they have been raised. It would be strange indeed if the Armed Forces did not today mirror the agonizing divisions and social traumas of American society, and of course they do.' What happened then can recur and symptoms are already appearing. Reenlistments are down. The services are having difficulty meeting enlistment quotas although they have downgraded requirements and expanded the age for enlistment. West Point graduates are increasingly opting-out when their commitment is complete. Over twenty retired generals defied tradition to criticize the commander in chief. Desertions and AOWLs are increasing."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
"I mean, is part of the problem that even though they've had this rogue reputation, they've been successful?" Joan Biskupic, USA Today, demonstrating a desire to jump into the gas baggery on PBS' Washington Week over the weekend and also demonstrating she's hopelessly out of touch when it comes to the issue of Blackwater or any other mecenaries operating under US contract in Iraq. Today, Aileen Alfandary, on KPFA's The Morning Show, noted the latest victims of the mercenaries who think the country of Iraq is a turkey shoot -- mercenaries "killed two women". Sources at the Iraqi Interior Ministry inform CNN that the women had been driving through Baghdad and the spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Abdul Karim Khalaf, states that the women's vehicle was hit by at least nineteen bullets. CBS and AP place the slaughter "at an intersection in central Baghdad, notes the US State Dept states their own staff were not part of the convoy but "an American nongovernmental organization may have been involved" while CBS and AP note that the two "deaths threatened to increase calls for limits on the private security firms, which have come under intense scrutiny since the Sept. 15 shooting deaths of as many as 17 Iraqi civilians allegedly by guards with Blackwater" -- Blackwater is not said to be the mercenary company involved in this slaughter, to be clear. Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) notes the mercenary company is thought to be Australian. Mariam Karouny and Haider Salahudding (Reuters) report that the company is Unity Resources Group which is a Dubai-based company that has been "on a U.S. State Department list of security firms doing business in Iraq. The State Department Web site said the company was staffed and managed by experienced security professionals drawn from the special forces and police SWAT communities of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Europe." AFP reports eye witness Sattar Jabar states a third woman was "wounded in the shoulder" and that children in the car included at least one who "had been struck by flying glass." On the September slaughter, Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) noted today, "Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times has revealed that the widow of the Iraqi vice presidential guard killed last year by a Blackwater employee has yet to receive any compensation. The Iraqi guard was fatally shot while on duty in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone by a drunk Blackwater employee named Andrew Moonen. After the fatal shooting Moonen was flown out of Iraq. He was never charged with a crime. Two months later, Moonen reportedly returned to the Middle East to work for another private military company, Combat Support Associates." Tina Susman and Raheem Salman are the LAT reporters who covered that story and wrote of thirty-year-old Umm Sajjad and the two sons she now raises without their father (ages six and ten-years-old) and quote Umm Sajjad stating, "The money of the whole world is not able to compensate for my husband, but what I want is enough to guarantee my children's future . . . and to buy a house. I don't want them to feel that they lost their father. My responsibilities now are to act as both a mother and a father." Umm Sajjad was also misinformed by someone because she was under the impression Andrew Moonen had been tried in Iraq for the death of her husband -- that has never happened.
Staying with violence. AP reports that "at least 24" died in Iraq yesterday from bombings. Mariam Karouny and David Clarke (Reuters) note their agency counts at least 56 reported deaths from violence today. Christian Berthelsen (Los Angeles Times) places the count at 57.
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Baghdad mortar attack left six injured, while a Baghdad bombing "near the old bridge in Jisr Diyala" claimed 1 life and left eleven wounded, and four Baghdad car bombings claimed 10 lives and left fifty-eight injured. David Clarke and Aseel Kami (Reuters) count 22 dead from two car bombings in northern Iraq. Reuters notes at least 30 injured in the bombings while a Tuz Khurmato roadside bombing claimed 2 lives and left three people injured,
Shootings?
KUNA reports that Sheikh Ibrahim Abdel Karim was assassinated today in Baghdad by unknown assailants. Reuters reports, "Gunmen killed Abdul-Aali Thenoon, the deputy police chief of Nineveh Province, and wounded his driver in a drive-by shooting in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. . . . Gunmen wounded Abdul-Amir Mahmoud, the head of police intelligence in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said." Reuters also notes a police officer shot dead in Kirkuk. Christian Bethelsen (Los Angeles Times) reports a Baghdad home invasion that claimed the lives of a the father, a "son, another relative and a neighbor."
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 8 corpses discovered in Baghdad today and 3 in Babil.
Today Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that the border between Iran and Iraq has been repopened by Iran -- this is in northern Iraq, in the Kurdish region -- and Zavis notes, "In a deal announced Sunday, the two sides pledged to crack down on Iranian Kurdish rebels who are using Iraq as a base to launch attacks against Iran, and Iraqi militants who are using Iran as a base to attack Kurdish regional authorities." But wait. Iran shares a border with Turkey and Turkey shares a northern border with Iraq. Hidir Goktas and Gareth Jones (Reuters) report that -- as tensions continue to flare between the Kurdish region in Iraq and the Turkish government -- "Turkey's prime minister gave the green light on Tuesday for possible military action in northern Iraq to confront Kurdish rebels there, drawing a warning from the United States, which fears wider regional instability." Turkish Daily News reports that the 15 Turkish troops killed "late Sunday and early Monday" are thought to have been killed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and that, as a result, "Military action to crack down on the PKK bases in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq was one of the strong measures on the table."
Meanwhile the announcement yesterday regarding the drawdown by the United Kingdom is, according to AP, only "the latest blow to the U.S.-led coalition . . . The alliance is crumbling and fast: Half a dozen other members are withdrawing troops or intend to. By mid-2008, excluding Americans, there will be about 7,000 troops in the multinational force, down from a peak of about 50,000 at the start of the war 4 1/2 years ago, a new review by The Associated Press shows."
Yesterday in England, thousands of demonstators gathered to say no to war. Brian Eno, in a speech (posted at CounterPunch), delcared, "What this says to me is that the current American government -- and ours, for as long as we follow them -- thrives on a state of war. They need it because it allows them to carry on with business as usual whilst at the same time suppressing dissent 'for security reasons'. It allows them to sidestep the democratic process by maintaining a continuous state of emergency. For the sake of our country, and Iraq -- as well as for the sake of all those who in the future are going to be cast as 'our enemies,' we must get off this war-mongering treadmill. Our government talks about our 'special relationship' with America, but we should be asking how special that really is." Prior to an our before the march, arrests were expected with the authorities calling the march illegal. As the BBC notes, "The Stop the War Coalition timed its protest to coincide with Gordon Brown's Commons statement on Iraq. Students, campaigners and trade unions joined the rally in Trafalgar Square, before marching down to Parliament." Chris Bambery (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) reports the at least 5,000 participating included students and "The big turn out of students on the march demonstrated Stop the War's success in establishing itself on campus this year. The hundred and fifty students joined a feeder march from the School of Oriental and African Studies in central London. Alexandria Szyellowski had travelled from Warwick university because she felt it important 'to exercise democracy'. She said there was an active Stop the War group at the university. Birmingham university student Rachel Hudd chipped in to say she'd come to protest at the police ban. She added that she felt that students needed to build a Stop the War group at her college. Matthew Vickery had come from Sheffield Hallam University where a Stop the War group had just been launched. 'This is the first thing we've done as a group. The students have come down. People were furious when they found out the march had been banned'." The Stop the War Coalition makes a point "to thank everyone who managed to attend yesterday, everyone who helped organise and publicise the demonstration and the many hundreds of people from around the country and the world who have e-mailed and phoned their messages of support." Clicking here will take you to photos, videos and blog posts of yesterday's demonstration. Mike Wells (UK Indymedia) contributes a photo essay focusing on the police tactics. Jennifer Hill (Reuters) reports that four people were arrested. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced he would draw troops down to 2,500 (from 5,500) by spring 2008. Kim Murphy (Los Angeles Times) notes, "Brown's government faces increasingly vociferous opposition to the war. A YouGov poll this year showed that 30% of respondents wanted troops out as soon as possible, while an additional 40% wanted a time limit of no more than 18 months. Thousands of protestors marched through central London to Parliament on Monday to voice opposition to a war in which 170 British soldiers have lost their lives. Protesters were dismissive of the reductions Brown announced. 'The smaller the number of British troops is, the more stupid the British policy is. What can you do with two and a half thousand troops? It's simply a political gesture to support George Bush,' said David Wilson, a spokes[person] for the Stop the War Coalition, which organized the march." Jeni Harvey (Rochdale Observer) reports member of Parliament Paul Rowen was among the protesters and quotes him stating, "The Lib Dems have long called for our troops to come home. That is why I joined the Stop the War Coalition in their march from Trafalgar Square to Parliament. If the former Prime Minister Tony Blair had listened to our leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, in January, then all of our troops would be coming home this month. . . . It's time to bring all our troops home and that's why I was proud to join the march. I know that this will be welcomed by the dozens of Rochdale residents who called for me to join the march." On March 13, 2006, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted Ben Griffin, "In Britain, an elite SAS soldier is refusing to return to fight in Iraq in what he describes as a morally wrong war of aggression. The soldier, Ben Griffin, is believed to be the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat and to leave the army on moral grounds. Griffin said he refused to fight alongside U.S. troops because they viewed Iraqis as 'untermenschen' -- the Nazi term for races regarded as sub-human. He also accused U.S. troops of committing 'dozens of illegal acts' in Iraq." Griffin was among the speakers at yesterday's rally and Military Families Against War has posted video of his speech: "Sometime today Gordon Brown will probably announce a drawdown in British troops in Basra. He only did this last week as a feeble piece of electioneering. And if you look at the photos of Gordon Brown and the soldiers behind him, the looks on their faces say it all -- they're fed up. Even when we bring those troops out of Basra -- who are, at present, an insignificant number anyway -- there will still be a continued presence of British troops in Baghdad. By a sizeable force the special forces are currently operating there under the direct control of America. Now when we bring our forces out of Basra, questions have to be asked about what our special forces are doing in Baghdad and whose interests they are serving?" In March of 2006, Alistair Highet wrote about Griffin in "Observer: Vietnam All Over Again" for the Hartford Advocate -- which now appears to be gone but we noted it then and Highet quoted Griffen telling the military board review that "I did not join the British army to conduct American foreign policy."
In the US, Military Families Speak Out's Dante Zappala raises serious questions (Philadelphia Inquirer via Common Dreams): "The question is: What are we funding? Are we really benefiting our military by leaving them under-equipped and stretched thin? What is their mission amidst a civil war fought, in part, with weapons we flooded into the country? Does continuing this morass not somehow benefit al Qaeda? Politicians will gloss over these questions and the brunt of the unending carnage will be absorbed by people like my nephew. Some pundits, meanwhile, cheer from the sidelines and ask these children to accept their tragedy as historically insignificant. How awful will we, as a nation, become to maintain this war?"
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AMY GOODMAN: An excerpt of a rare interview with Che Guevara, December 11, 1964, from the Pacifica Radio Archive.
Greg Grandin joins us now, professor of Latin American history at New York University, author of Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism, just out in paperback.
Talk about how Che Guevara, an Argentine, ends up leading, with Fidel Castro, the Cuban Revolution.
GREG GRANDIN: Well, it's an interesting story, and before I -- what makes Che so iconic is that his life embodies the revolutionary century of Latin America. And a lot of your listeners may know what -- viewers may be aware of Che's motorcycle diary trip, where he toured around Latin America, and through that he developed a consciousness, a Pan-American consciousness. Well, right after that trip, he wound up in Guatemala, which was undergoing a profound democratic revolution between 1944 and 1954.
Guatemala was one of the most ambitious social democratic revolutions that emerged throughout Latin America after World War II. And what's important about Guatemala is that by 1948, 1950, most democratic revolutions in Latin America had been rolled back, or there was a wave of reaction throughout the continent. But in Guatemala the revolution actually deepened. And Che spent 1953 -- wound up in Guatemala -- he landed in Guatemala in 1953, and he lived through the counterrevolution. This was the United States’s first CIA-orchestrated coup in Latin America.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Against Arbenz.
GREG GRANDIN: Against Jacobo Arbenz -- United Fruit Company -- defending the interests of the United Fruit company.
AMY GOODMAN: So, first, the US CIA had overthrown Iran in 1953.
GREG GRANDIN: Three.
AMY GOODMAN: Then, trying to use the same model, goes --
GREG GRANDIN: Well, it was actually even more ambitious. Iran was a pretty fast operation, a couple of weeks. Guatemala was the most extensive and ambitious CIA operation to date. It utilized every aspect of US power, not just military and economic and political, but a whole broad array of psychological destabilization campaigns. Pretty much --
JUAN GONZALEZ: There was quite a bit of penetration of the Guatemalan press, as well, beforehand to prepare the way for the coup, as well.
GREG GRANDIN: The press, exactly. That's what I mean. It was really -- it became the model for other coups, in which the United States would destabilize the civil society organizations, the press and the --
AMY GOODMAN: John Foster Dulles was the head of the State Department at the time. Formerly he was the corporate lawyer for United Fruit --
GREG GRANDIN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: -- on behalf of whom Guatemala was overthrown.
GREG GRANDIN: Yes. The United Fruit Company had some land expropriated, and the United States was concerned about the legalization of the Communist Party. And what's important, in terms of Che, is that he witnessed this. He was -- in Guatemala, he developed more of a revolutionary consciousness. He worked as a socially committed doctor administering to the country’s poor in a clinic, and he saw the overthrow of what was the most -- the longest-lasting post-war democracy in Latin America firsthand.
He had to flee to the -- he took asylum in the Argentine embassy. It was in the embassy, he spent a few months, and he met a number of future revolutionaries, Guatemalan new left armed revolutionaries. And then he managed to flee and receive exile in Mexico, and that's where he met -- that's where he met Fidel Castro and joined the Cuban Revolution and went on to make history.
But Guatemala had a deep impact on him. He would go on to justify the closing down -- the suppressing of civil liberties in Cuba and the radicalization of the revolution in Cuba, by saying that Cuba will not be another Guatemala. In many ways, Guatemala, much more than Cuba -- diplomatic historians love to focus on Cuba. They think the Cold War began and end in Cuba, but it was really Guatemala that was much more of a turning point, not just in Che's life, but for a whole generation of Latin American reformists and nationalists and democrats. It led to a deep radicalization and a sense that democracy and reform would not come about through an alliance with the national bourgeoisie and national progressive capitalist class. It was witnessing the downfall of the Guatemalan democracy, in which elites did ally with the CIA and the US, that led to a much more radical understanding of how to bring about social change and the Cuban Revolution.
What's also important about the overthrow of Arbenz is that it became a model, as Juan mentioned, for the Bay of Pigs operation. And because of the success or the easy success, the seemingly easy success, of the overthrow of Arbenz, CIA got a bit confident, and a lot of -- many of the assumptions that they -- the lessons that they thought they learned from Guatemala they applied in the Bay of Pigs. Of course, the Bay of Pigs was a complete disaster, that went on to have a much more radicalizing influence throughout the Americas.
So that's your history lesson for tonight.
Now C.I.'s made the point repeatedly that when the left drops Iraq, they create this huge vacuum for others to fill. And The Huffington Post is happy to offer the latest in crap day after day. Andrei Cherny stunk up the joint today (apparently Arianna lets any hack post). He pluges Democracy: A Journal of Ideas but forgets to tell Huffington readers that it's his magazine he's plugging. Love the non-disclosure policy at Huff Po. Not only does this non-genius hail from The New Republic(an), he also wrote speeches for then vice-president Al Gore and for 2004 prez candidate John Kerry -- in other words, when the mission is "Make them more wooden!" the boy to go to is Andrei. The simp puts forward "Iraq: Just Criticizing Is Not An Option." And who does the non-wonder turn to?
Ivo H. Daadler wanted more US troops in Iraq in 2005. He is a Brookings baby and he is not of the left. He is also enough of a part of PNAC to sign their 2005 letter. He is a neocon. By the way, he also advises Obama which gives you an idea of what a load of crap Obama is. James M. Lindsay is Council for Foreign Relations which supported the illegal war before it started. And now he's at Brookings. There's little Jessica Tuchman Mathews who also did work at the Council for Foreign Relations but I know her for her pre-war 'debate' on Iraq where she was supposed to debate Richard Pearl and some debate that was as she agreed that Saddam Hussein had WMD. Way to 'debate'. So she was wrong then and yet she's an expert to be listened to? (She didn't urge war right away in Feb. 2003. She urged a 'third' path between war and 'doing nothing.') Then there's Larry Diamond and where's he at? The Hoover Institute. And again, Council for Foreign Relations. Charles A. Kupchan? Council for Foreign Relations. Shawn Brimley is such a Bully Boy lackey, he likes to write about "the way forward in Iraq" (as he did in 2006 when he predicted that the 'rhetoric' against the illegal war would die out after the November 2006 elections). Michele Flournoy? Council for Foreign Relations. Suzanne Maloney is a double loser -- Council for Foreign Relations and Brookings. Ray Takeyh (her writing partner) is also CFR. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randal is CFR. David Makovsky is CFR. Peter Bergen is both a pig and a CFR. And then there's the derby winner Will Marshall who is DLC, PNAC -- cheerleaded the illegal war and wants the US troops to stay.
This is what happens when the left is silent. And this is the sort of crap Huff Po allows. Andrei's got a new issue of his magazine to pimp for, so he 'writes' a post and doesn't have to disclose in his post that he's pimping his magazine. He goes to the usual idiots and tries to pass it off as a disucssion. Find a liberal (which is not the far left) on the panel. Can't. Because these are Dems who buy into Republican plans, over and over. So the War Hawks get to chat and it gets pimped as a serious conversation.
That's what happens when the left drops Iraq. The center rushes in and poses as 'left' and they have their chat with the right and we're supposed to believe everyone was invited and that it's representative. It's not.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, October 9, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, mercenaries in Iraq are still in hot water, the allged coalition loses more, Ehren Watada is not being court-martialed today (at least one US paper missed that news over the weekend), things heat up between Turkey and Iraq, 57 is the highest count thus far for the number dead from violence in Iraq today, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Despite Michael Winter (USA Today)'s blog post ("Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused to deploy to Iraq, faces his second court-martial at Fort Lewish, Wash.") posted last night, there is no court-martial for Ehren Watada today. The court-martial has a stay in place until at least October 26th. As Dave Lindorff (CounterPunch) observes, "US. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle in Seattle, WA took the unusual step of intervening in a military proceeding, ordering a halt to the second attempt by the Army to court-martial Lt. Ehren Watada, while he considers the merits of Lt. Watada's claim that he is being subjected to double jeopardy by being re-court-martialed a second time. Watada, who in June 2006 refused orders to ship out to Iraq with his Stryker brigade, claiming that it was an illegal war and that it would subject US military particpants to participating in war crimes, made his argument last February at a court-martial proceeding that eneded in a mistrail when the military and the military trial judge realized that the young lieutenant was winning his case. Rather than risk losing on acliam of the Iraq War's legitimacy, the judge in the prosecution sought, and the hearing officer granted a mistrial. However, under established precedent, all the way to the US Supreme Court, it has been accepted that it is not appropritate for prosecutors to declare mistrials and then seek another trial, for the obvious reason that prosecutors would always resort to such a tactic if they found themselves in danger of losing a case. Only when the defense wins a mistrial ruling can the prosecution seek a second trial. Precedent notwithstanding, the Army decided it couldn't let Lt. Watada walk away from the war claiming it is illegal, so it has attempted to court-martial him again." Mari-Ela David (Hawaii's KHNL) quotes Kenneth Kagan -- one of Watada's two civilian attorneys -- stating, "As you can imagine Lt. Watada is feeling incredibly relieved that A, he's not going to have to go to trial on Tuesday and B., that somebody finally is going to take this case seriously and give it a meaningful review.". At the Veterans for Peace confrence last year (August 12, 2006), Watada was one of the speakers (a/v and text both here) and his speech included this:
I stand before you today, not as an expert -- not as one who pretends to have all the answers. I am simply an American and a servant of the American people. My humble opinions today are just that. I realize that you may not agree with everything I have to say. However, I did not choose to be a leader for popularity. I did it to serve and make better the soldiers of this country. And I swore to carry out this charge honorably under the rule of law.Today, I speak with you about a radical idea. It is one born from the very concept of the American soldier (or service member). It became instrumental in ending the Vietnam War - but it has been long since forgotten. The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it.Now it is not an easy task for the soldier. For he or she must be aware that they are being used for ill-gain. They must hold themselves responsible for individual action. They must remember duty to the Constitution and the people supersedes the ideologies of their leadership. The soldier must be willing to face ostracism by their peers, worry over the survival of their families, and of course the loss of personal freedom. They must know that resisting an authoritarian government at home is equally important to fighting a foreign aggressor on the battlefield. Finally, those wearing the uniform must know beyond any shadow of a doubt that by refusing immoral and illegal orders they will be supported by the people not with mere words but by action.
Philip Greenspan (Swans Commentary) reflects on the historical nature of resistance within the military, "An unprecedented massive mutiny during the Vietnam War was the coup de grace for the US. Col Robert D. Heinl, Jr. in an englightening article on that mutiny states 'It is a truism that national armies closely reflect societies from which they have been raised. It would be strange indeed if the Armed Forces did not today mirror the agonizing divisions and social traumas of American society, and of course they do.' What happened then can recur and symptoms are already appearing. Reenlistments are down. The services are having difficulty meeting enlistment quotas although they have downgraded requirements and expanded the age for enlistment. West Point graduates are increasingly opting-out when their commitment is complete. Over twenty retired generals defied tradition to criticize the commander in chief. Desertions and AOWLs are increasing."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
"I mean, is part of the problem that even though they've had this rogue reputation, they've been successful?" Joan Biskupic, USA Today, demonstrating a desire to jump into the gas baggery on PBS' Washington Week over the weekend and also demonstrating she's hopelessly out of touch when it comes to the issue of Blackwater or any other mecenaries operating under US contract in Iraq. Today, Aileen Alfandary, on KPFA's The Morning Show, noted the latest victims of the mercenaries who think the country of Iraq is a turkey shoot -- mercenaries "killed two women". Sources at the Iraqi Interior Ministry inform CNN that the women had been driving through Baghdad and the spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Abdul Karim Khalaf, states that the women's vehicle was hit by at least nineteen bullets. CBS and AP place the slaughter "at an intersection in central Baghdad, notes the US State Dept states their own staff were not part of the convoy but "an American nongovernmental organization may have been involved" while CBS and AP note that the two "deaths threatened to increase calls for limits on the private security firms, which have come under intense scrutiny since the Sept. 15 shooting deaths of as many as 17 Iraqi civilians allegedly by guards with Blackwater" -- Blackwater is not said to be the mercenary company involved in this slaughter, to be clear. Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) notes the mercenary company is thought to be Australian. Mariam Karouny and Haider Salahudding (Reuters) report that the company is Unity Resources Group which is a Dubai-based company that has been "on a U.S. State Department list of security firms doing business in Iraq. The State Department Web site said the company was staffed and managed by experienced security professionals drawn from the special forces and police SWAT communities of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Europe." AFP reports eye witness Sattar Jabar states a third woman was "wounded in the shoulder" and that children in the car included at least one who "had been struck by flying glass." On the September slaughter, Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) noted today, "Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times has revealed that the widow of the Iraqi vice presidential guard killed last year by a Blackwater employee has yet to receive any compensation. The Iraqi guard was fatally shot while on duty in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone by a drunk Blackwater employee named Andrew Moonen. After the fatal shooting Moonen was flown out of Iraq. He was never charged with a crime. Two months later, Moonen reportedly returned to the Middle East to work for another private military company, Combat Support Associates." Tina Susman and Raheem Salman are the LAT reporters who covered that story and wrote of thirty-year-old Umm Sajjad and the two sons she now raises without their father (ages six and ten-years-old) and quote Umm Sajjad stating, "The money of the whole world is not able to compensate for my husband, but what I want is enough to guarantee my children's future . . . and to buy a house. I don't want them to feel that they lost their father. My responsibilities now are to act as both a mother and a father." Umm Sajjad was also misinformed by someone because she was under the impression Andrew Moonen had been tried in Iraq for the death of her husband -- that has never happened.
Staying with violence. AP reports that "at least 24" died in Iraq yesterday from bombings. Mariam Karouny and David Clarke (Reuters) note their agency counts at least 56 reported deaths from violence today. Christian Berthelsen (Los Angeles Times) places the count at 57.
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Baghdad mortar attack left six injured, while a Baghdad bombing "near the old bridge in Jisr Diyala" claimed 1 life and left eleven wounded, and four Baghdad car bombings claimed 10 lives and left fifty-eight injured. David Clarke and Aseel Kami (Reuters) count 22 dead from two car bombings in northern Iraq. Reuters notes at least 30 injured in the bombings while a Tuz Khurmato roadside bombing claimed 2 lives and left three people injured,
Shootings?
KUNA reports that Sheikh Ibrahim Abdel Karim was assassinated today in Baghdad by unknown assailants. Reuters reports, "Gunmen killed Abdul-Aali Thenoon, the deputy police chief of Nineveh Province, and wounded his driver in a drive-by shooting in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. . . . Gunmen wounded Abdul-Amir Mahmoud, the head of police intelligence in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said." Reuters also notes a police officer shot dead in Kirkuk. Christian Bethelsen (Los Angeles Times) reports a Baghdad home invasion that claimed the lives of a the father, a "son, another relative and a neighbor."
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 8 corpses discovered in Baghdad today and 3 in Babil.
Today Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that the border between Iran and Iraq has been repopened by Iran -- this is in northern Iraq, in the Kurdish region -- and Zavis notes, "In a deal announced Sunday, the two sides pledged to crack down on Iranian Kurdish rebels who are using Iraq as a base to launch attacks against Iran, and Iraqi militants who are using Iran as a base to attack Kurdish regional authorities." But wait. Iran shares a border with Turkey and Turkey shares a northern border with Iraq. Hidir Goktas and Gareth Jones (Reuters) report that -- as tensions continue to flare between the Kurdish region in Iraq and the Turkish government -- "Turkey's prime minister gave the green light on Tuesday for possible military action in northern Iraq to confront Kurdish rebels there, drawing a warning from the United States, which fears wider regional instability." Turkish Daily News reports that the 15 Turkish troops killed "late Sunday and early Monday" are thought to have been killed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and that, as a result, "Military action to crack down on the PKK bases in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq was one of the strong measures on the table."
Meanwhile the announcement yesterday regarding the drawdown by the United Kingdom is, according to AP, only "the latest blow to the U.S.-led coalition . . . The alliance is crumbling and fast: Half a dozen other members are withdrawing troops or intend to. By mid-2008, excluding Americans, there will be about 7,000 troops in the multinational force, down from a peak of about 50,000 at the start of the war 4 1/2 years ago, a new review by The Associated Press shows."
Yesterday in England, thousands of demonstators gathered to say no to war. Brian Eno, in a speech (posted at CounterPunch), delcared, "What this says to me is that the current American government -- and ours, for as long as we follow them -- thrives on a state of war. They need it because it allows them to carry on with business as usual whilst at the same time suppressing dissent 'for security reasons'. It allows them to sidestep the democratic process by maintaining a continuous state of emergency. For the sake of our country, and Iraq -- as well as for the sake of all those who in the future are going to be cast as 'our enemies,' we must get off this war-mongering treadmill. Our government talks about our 'special relationship' with America, but we should be asking how special that really is." Prior to an our before the march, arrests were expected with the authorities calling the march illegal. As the BBC notes, "The Stop the War Coalition timed its protest to coincide with Gordon Brown's Commons statement on Iraq. Students, campaigners and trade unions joined the rally in Trafalgar Square, before marching down to Parliament." Chris Bambery (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) reports the at least 5,000 participating included students and "The big turn out of students on the march demonstrated Stop the War's success in establishing itself on campus this year. The hundred and fifty students joined a feeder march from the School of Oriental and African Studies in central London. Alexandria Szyellowski had travelled from Warwick university because she felt it important 'to exercise democracy'. She said there was an active Stop the War group at the university. Birmingham university student Rachel Hudd chipped in to say she'd come to protest at the police ban. She added that she felt that students needed to build a Stop the War group at her college. Matthew Vickery had come from Sheffield Hallam University where a Stop the War group had just been launched. 'This is the first thing we've done as a group. The students have come down. People were furious when they found out the march had been banned'." The Stop the War Coalition makes a point "to thank everyone who managed to attend yesterday, everyone who helped organise and publicise the demonstration and the many hundreds of people from around the country and the world who have e-mailed and phoned their messages of support." Clicking here will take you to photos, videos and blog posts of yesterday's demonstration. Mike Wells (UK Indymedia) contributes a photo essay focusing on the police tactics. Jennifer Hill (Reuters) reports that four people were arrested. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced he would draw troops down to 2,500 (from 5,500) by spring 2008. Kim Murphy (Los Angeles Times) notes, "Brown's government faces increasingly vociferous opposition to the war. A YouGov poll this year showed that 30% of respondents wanted troops out as soon as possible, while an additional 40% wanted a time limit of no more than 18 months. Thousands of protestors marched through central London to Parliament on Monday to voice opposition to a war in which 170 British soldiers have lost their lives. Protesters were dismissive of the reductions Brown announced. 'The smaller the number of British troops is, the more stupid the British policy is. What can you do with two and a half thousand troops? It's simply a political gesture to support George Bush,' said David Wilson, a spokes[person] for the Stop the War Coalition, which organized the march." Jeni Harvey (Rochdale Observer) reports member of Parliament Paul Rowen was among the protesters and quotes him stating, "The Lib Dems have long called for our troops to come home. That is why I joined the Stop the War Coalition in their march from Trafalgar Square to Parliament. If the former Prime Minister Tony Blair had listened to our leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, in January, then all of our troops would be coming home this month. . . . It's time to bring all our troops home and that's why I was proud to join the march. I know that this will be welcomed by the dozens of Rochdale residents who called for me to join the march." On March 13, 2006, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted Ben Griffin, "In Britain, an elite SAS soldier is refusing to return to fight in Iraq in what he describes as a morally wrong war of aggression. The soldier, Ben Griffin, is believed to be the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat and to leave the army on moral grounds. Griffin said he refused to fight alongside U.S. troops because they viewed Iraqis as 'untermenschen' -- the Nazi term for races regarded as sub-human. He also accused U.S. troops of committing 'dozens of illegal acts' in Iraq." Griffin was among the speakers at yesterday's rally and Military Families Against War has posted video of his speech: "Sometime today Gordon Brown will probably announce a drawdown in British troops in Basra. He only did this last week as a feeble piece of electioneering. And if you look at the photos of Gordon Brown and the soldiers behind him, the looks on their faces say it all -- they're fed up. Even when we bring those troops out of Basra -- who are, at present, an insignificant number anyway -- there will still be a continued presence of British troops in Baghdad. By a sizeable force the special forces are currently operating there under the direct control of America. Now when we bring our forces out of Basra, questions have to be asked about what our special forces are doing in Baghdad and whose interests they are serving?" In March of 2006, Alistair Highet wrote about Griffin in "Observer: Vietnam All Over Again" for the Hartford Advocate -- which now appears to be gone but we noted it then and Highet quoted Griffen telling the military board review that "I did not join the British army to conduct American foreign policy."
In the US, Military Families Speak Out's Dante Zappala raises serious questions (Philadelphia Inquirer via Common Dreams): "The question is: What are we funding? Are we really benefiting our military by leaving them under-equipped and stretched thin? What is their mission amidst a civil war fought, in part, with weapons we flooded into the country? Does continuing this morass not somehow benefit al Qaeda? Politicians will gloss over these questions and the brunt of the unending carnage will be absorbed by people like my nephew. Some pundits, meanwhile, cheer from the sidelines and ask these children to accept their tragedy as historically insignificant. How awful will we, as a nation, become to maintain this war?"
iraq
ehren watada
ben griffin
amy goodmandemocracy now
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tina susmanthe los angeles timesalexandra zavis
dave lindorffmcclatchy newspapers
the socialist workerchris bambery
dante zappala
pbswashington week
alistair highet
Monday, October 08, 2007
Short
Civilian courts don't normally step in and get involved with military trials. Whether the civilian judge had a right to block Watada's trial Friday is still in question. Nonetheless, Watada's attorney, Ken Kagan, says the ruling is the kind of relief they've been fighting for.
The legal battle over Watada's decision to stand-up against the war, instead of fight for it, has taken a direction in his favor - at least for now.
"As you can imagine Lt. Watada is feeling incredibly relieved that A, he's not going to have to go to trial on Tuesday and B., that somebody finally is going to take this case seriously and give it a meaningful review," says Kagan.
Watada was supposed to go to military court Tuesday, but U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle ordered the army to delay the trial until further notice.
Joan noted that (for C.I.) in the members account and it's from Mari-Ela David's "Federal Judge Delays Watada's Trial" (Hawaii's KHNL). C.I. said it would go into tomorrow's snapshot and Joan wouldn't mind if I noted it as well so I'm grabbing it. I really have nothing tonight. Not a damn thing. C.I. reminded me tomorrow's Democracy Now! will contain a report on Che Guevara. It's the 40th anniversary of his death, after Che was assassinated by the CIA and Bolivian Army. (They worked together, they should share the title of 'assassin' together.) His passing will be remembered around the world. I have no idea what Democracy Now! is going to focus on -- a report or live pieces from all over -- but it should be worth checking out.
I can talk about that stupid Blender -- a 'magazine' for non-readers. They've got an idiotic poll that's really just a slam poll. It's supposed to be the worst lyricists. Sting's near the top. For referencing Nabokov among other 'crimes.' "Don't Stand So Close To Me" hit twice. And if it's a choice between references to Nabokov or something similar or hear one of Justy or Britty's rhymes of sub-standard English, I'll take Sting.
I actually like Sting's lyrics. And I'll also note that I know a number of people who ended up searching out Nabokov or Jung because of Sting's lyrics. The whole point of the 'poll' is to trash anyone who thinks (Blender doesn't like thinking) which is why they're up in arms that Carly Simon rhymes "gavotte" with "yacht" and "apricot." They think they're clever. It wasn't even funny when Darrell (of Darrell and his brother Larry and his other brother Larry) tried to make the joke on Newhart. But that's what they are doing -- recycling jokes from 80s sitcoms and passing them off as critiques. I guess that's to be expected when the 'critics' are allergic to anything resembling actual thought or words with more than 1 syllable.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, October 8, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, Watada's court-martial will not beging tomorrow, Blackwater . . . and the mainstream press that loves them (or, in the case of the New York Times, lusts after them), and more.
Starting with war resistance. Tomorrow Ehren Watada was set to face his second court-martial. As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today, "A judge in Washington state has granted an emergency stay to postpone the second court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada". In June of 2006, Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. In February of this year, a court-martial was held and, over defense objection, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) declared a mistrial. As Marjorie Cohn, president of the National Lawyers Guild, pointed out, double-jeopardy had attached the case. To attempt to court-martial Watada again would be in violation of the Constitution. In what Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) reports as "a rare, last-minute move, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle on Friday put Watada's Tuesday court-martial on hold. In the weeks ahead, Settle will decide whether ths second trial should proceed, or be quashed as a violation of the officer's constitutional rights that protect against double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same crime." Tomas Alex Tizon (Los Angeles Times) notes the belief of some that there is a "pssobility that he might cancel the military trial altogether" and quotes James Lobsenz, one of Watada's two civilian attorneys, stating, "If we win the next part, we win." Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) explains, "Settle was careful to point out that 'the issues raised by the petition for habeas corpus bear no relation to the charges or defenses in the petitioner's (Watada's) court-martial proceedings.' Settle was a military lawyer in the Army in the 1970s and was recently appointed to the federal bench by President Bush.Quoting case law, Settle wrote, 'The irreparable harm suffered by being put to a trial a second time in violation of the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment stems not just from being subjected to double punishment but also from undergoing a second trial proceeding'." Currently, the court-martial is stayed until at least October 26th.
In news of other war resister, Canadian radio reported Saturday that the mayor of Nelson -- where Robin Long was arrested this week and where Kyle Snyder was arrested in February -- is openly bragging that the final report on an investigation into the police department and police chief Dan Maluta's illegal arrest of Synder is not only complete, but he's had it for a week and hasn't bothered to read it. Repeating: The mayor, John Dooley, charged with oversight has had the report on the investigation and does not see the point in 'rushing' to read it. He brags that he has carried it around in his briefcase "all week" -- which does explain how the Nelson police, under Maluta, have been able to conduct themselves as they have.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Turning to the subject of the mercenaries at Blackwater USA. Jeremy Scahill (Guardian of London via Common Dreams) observes, "A pattern is emerging from the Congressional investigation into Blackwater: the state department urging the company to pay what amounts to hush money to victims' families while facilitating the return of contractors involved in deadly incidents for which not a single one has faced prosecution." The relationship between the US State Department and Blackwater is one of repeated cover ups. On Saturday, John M. Broder (New York Times) got all excited on a new 'answer' -- the State Department would by utilizing "its own personnel as monitors on all Blackwater security convoys in and around Baghdad" and by placing "video cameras in Blackwater armored vehicles to produce a record of all operations". Friday NPR's Jackie Northam (All Things Considered) discussed the so-called measures with -- after noting that Rice's recordings "apply only to Blackwater and only in Baghdad" -- Peter W. Singer (Brookings boy) who said that most already had recording devices, questioned "embedding' a State Department monitor with a private contractor doing government work" (a monitor who will "be making somewhere between 3 to 500 dollars less a day than the people that he or she is supposed to be chaperoning") and sees the measures as "very small, and they don't deal with the fundamental issue". CNN reported over the weekend that the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Henry Waxman, sent another letter to US Secretary of State Condi Rice regarding the State Dept's refusal to stop stonewalling Congress over the issue of Blackwater and CNN noted that Andrew Moonen (Blackwater gun for hire who shot the bodyguard of Iraq's vice-president -- allegedly while Moonen was drunk -- in December 2006) was working, in Kuwait, for a US Defense Dept contractor weeks later. For those who have forgotten, last week -- in Tuesday's hearing -- Blackwater CEO, Erik Prince, told Congress that Moonen (unnamed in the hearing) was stripped of his security clearance before being hustled out of Iraq. If Moonen was stripped of his security clearance, how is it that the DoD and their contractor didn't know that? If he was stripped of his security clearance and still made it back over to the region without it, how many other contractor employees are not in compliance with the basic guidelines?
Paul von Zielbauer (New York Times) reports that the Iraqi government has finalized their investigation and "found that employees of the American security company Blackwater USA shot unprovoked at Iraqi civilians at a downtown traffic circle three weeks ago, an episode that killed 17 people and wounded more than 20 others, a government spokesman said Sunday" quoting Ali al-Dabbagh who also declares that Blackwater's vehicles were not "even hit by a stone" before Blackwater initiated the slaughter of Iraqi civilians. James Glanz and Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) add, "Those conclusions contradict Blackwater's original statement on the shooting, which said that a convoy operated by the company's guards 'acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack.' The Iraqi findings are also at odds with initial assertions by the State Department that the convoy had received small-arms fire." Which again goes the issue that the US State Dept has repeatedly provided cover and falsehoods in order to protect Blackwater. AP reports, "Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of 17 people killed when the firm's guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy maching gun fire last month."
Naomi Klein's new book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism and she uses the book and the research for her article "Disaster Capitalism: The new economy of catastrophe" (October's Harper's magazine, pp. 47 -- 58). this is from the article (page 48):
Everywhere in Iraq, the wildly divergent values assigned to different categories of people are on crude display. Westerners and their Iraqi colleagues have checkpoints at the entrances to their streets, blast walls in front of their houses, body armor, and private security guards on call at all hours. They travel the country in menacing armored convoys, with mercenaries pointing guns out the windows as they follow their prime directive to "protect the principal." With every move they broadcast the same unapologetic message: We are the chosen, our lives are infinitely more precious than yours. Middle-class Iraqis, meanwhile, cling to the next rung down the ladder: they can afford to buy protection from local militias, they are able to ransom a family member held by kidnappers, they may ultimately escape to a life of poverty in Jordan. But the vast majority of Iraqis have no protection at all. They walk the streets exposed to any possible ravaging, with nothing between them and the next car bomb but a thin layer of fabric. In Iraq, the lucky get Kevlar; the rest get prayer beads.
That's pretty clear. Except to the mainstream. Over the weekend on PBS' Washington Week (or Washington Weak) Linda Robinson of US News and World Reports decided to chat and chew the topic with star Gwen:
Linda Robinson: Well Blackwater has about 800 people who are primarily providing bodyguard service to the embassy personnel. And there are about, well there are some thousands of other contractors doing this exact kind of job. So they're moving around the city in convoys and they apply very aggressive tactics in general. There are some who are alleging that Blackwater in particular uses much more aggressive tactics. But let's just set the stage a little bit. Very, very violent city. You're driving around, bombs are going off, at any unpredicted time. So what happens is these convoy drivers uses a tactic: they throw things at people, they sound their horns their sirens if you don't get out of the way they will shoot. So Iraqi drivers generally pull over as soon as they see a convoy. The problem is SUVs cannot readily be identified often from a distance --
Gwen Ifill: Yeah, how do you know it's a convoy? How do you know it's not the military? How do you know -- tell the difference?
That's the problem. Washington Weak tells you that's the problem. For the record, Robinson informs Gwen that it's very obvious when it's the military and it's only confusing when it comes to civilian contractors. So the question is, were Linda Robinson or Gwen to be walking to their cars at the start of the day and a car came zooming through with those in it throwing things at them, would they see that as a problem? Should Jon Stewart attempt to find out for The Daily Show? In fact, it shouldn't even be a surprise. Gwen and Robinson should volunteer for it to prove what good sports they are. After ten to fifteen minutes of drive-bys where water bottles are hurled at them (the mildest object usually cited in press reports) from speeding cars, let's see their smiling, bruised (possibly bloodied?) faces and find out whether they now think that "the problem" includes a great deal more than being able to tell if a convoy is approaching? What's really appalling is Robinson admits to being selective in her report explaining that's why she "set up" because, apparently, reporters are not supposed to show any sympathy for the civilian populations they are allegedly covering but instead are supposed to be act as a p.r. hack for multi-billion dollar corporations. And the chat and chew only got worse as it was wondered if this was all just sour grapes due to Blackwater's "success"?
Last week, the Financial Times of London editorialized: "But privatising war is, in reality, financially, politically and militarily very expensive. The lawlessness of some of these outfits has stained America's reputation and stirred up rage against its troops. Blackwater, which has earned nearly $1bn from the Department of State for protecting its officials, is notoriously trigger-happy: opening fire first in 163 out of 195 shooting incidents since 2005, according to a report by Congress. A Blackwater employee killed a bodyguard of Adel Abdel Mahdi, an Iraqi vice-president Washington favours as a possible prime minister, in an argument last Christmas." Yet our Weak Washington gas bags couldn't explore the topic and, besides, Robinson vouched that the illegal war couldn't continue without mercenaries so they are needed. (Naturally, whether the illegal war 'needed' also went unaddressed on programming 'brought to you by viewers like you'.)
And in "Get them a subscription to Young Miss already!" news, James Risen (New York Times) decided to follow in the foot steps of John M. Broder (Times of New York) and Peter Spiegel (Times of Los Angeles) by going public with his crush on Blackwater CEO Erik Prince in today's New York Times. Little Jimmy explains what puts the "rise" in Risen and it's, "Erik D. Prince, the crew-cut, square-jawed founder of Blackwater USA". Apparently Details doesn't provide facial types? Prince is not square-jawed, he has a pointy chin and his facial type is a triangle (an inverted triangle). Over fifty is a bit late in life to begin learning facial types but if it's suddenly important to Risen, someone quickly get him a subscription to Young Miss -- where he may also learn that Prince does not have a "crew-cut." Those little wisps and bangs and the dip do not qualify for a crew-cut. Astronaut Alan Shepard (link goes to Life magazine 1961 cover) had a crew-cut. If Risen can be pulled away from his day-drooling, the differences can be explained to him and possibly it can also be explained to him that he's supposed to be a reporter for a daily paper, not a fanzine? For any wondering, yes, this is how criminal Ollie North was elevated and protected by the press during Iran-Contra, with fan scribbles (Risen's first sentence) and nonsense.
In some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
BBC reports 13 dead from a truck bombing in Samarra and notes "four explosions near" the Polish "embassy" in Baghdad that claimed 2 lives (five injured). Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a mortar attack on "the buildings of the former general security agency in Baladiyat," a Baghdad car bombing "near the Technology University" claimed 4 lives (ten injured) and a Tikrit car bombing that claimed 2 lives (4 police officers wounded). Reuters notes a Hawija roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 police officer (two more injured),
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a barber shot dead in Kirkuk
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 7 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "A Marine assigned to Multi-National Force-West died Oct. 8 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province." And they announced, "An MNC-I Soldier died of wounds suffered during combat operations in the vicinity of Bayji Oct. 5." Last week, the UK Ministry of Defence announced the death of Alexis Roberts who "died as a result of an improvised explosive device just after 0800 hrs local time. The Battalion was returning to their base in Kandahar after taking part in Op PALK WAHEL when the incident occurred." The illegal war has now officially claimed the lives of 3815 US service members and 170 UK forces (ICCC).
Yesterday on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Blitzer spoke with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani who tried to act as if he was making a promise ("In next year . . . In the spring of the next year, I think.") that US troops could be reduced but when pressed by Blitzer, Talabani begged off ("Well I cannot decide the number") and then Talabani revealed that he was for dividing Iraq up into three sections. Not a surprise. He's always been for that. However, the Iraqi people are not for it. (Talabani is a Kurd and the Kurdish region wants to break off.) AP explains: "Hundreds of Iraqi refugees staged a sit-in in Damascus yesterday to protest against a recent nonbinding US Senate resolution that encourages splitting Iraq along ethnic and religious lines. Carrying Iraqi flags, about 400 protesters gathered in the al-Sayda Zeinab district. 'No for occupation and no for division,' read a placard carried by one refugee. 'Dividing Iraq is the start for dividing all countries in the region,' read another." We'll skip the nonsense of yet another peace accord between warring Shi'ite parties. In the real world, Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) reports that, though "the U.S. military strategy in Iraq has sought to reduce violence so that politicians could bring about national reconciliation, but several top Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith in that broad goal" and quotes Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih explaining that he doesn't believe in reconciliation, "To me, it is a very inaccurate term. This is a struggle about power." Which does sum up what is going on Iraq and the US arms various sets of thugs while the civilians repeatedly suffer or flee the country. And, no, there is no 'progress,' there is no improvement. But the US has played one group off another from the beginning. Puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, is bothered that the US trains and arms Sunnis but it wasn't a concern to him when the Sunnis were being terrorized by Shias. In a matter of months, they'll flip again. The civil war was imposed from outside.
Turning to England. Last Tuesday, Chris Bambery (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) reported, "Tony Benn and Labour national executive member Walter Wolfgang are set to defy the law and lead a banned anti-war march down Whitehall to parliament next Monday -- the day Gordon Brown has promised to deliver a statement on Britain's presence in occupied Iraq." Bambery noted Brian Eno stating the ban was created to keep the issue of the wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) out of public sight and quoted Benn declaring, "I will be marching. It is entirely up to the police and government what they do." Today is Monday and they did not back down. The Socialist Worker reports, "With just an hour to go the metropolitan police told organizers of today's Not One More Death Protest that it would not be banned from marching to parliament. There was a sense of jubiliation, pride and determination as over 5,000 protesters set out down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square, on the Stop The War Coalition (StWC) demonstration. Students and pensioners joined trade unionists and peace activists. All were convinced that StWC's refusal to accept the ban and the size of the turnout had forced the authorities' hand. 'It's been a bad couple of days for Gordon Brown,' joke one pensioner as the march went past Downing Street." Fred Attewill (Guardian of London) notes, "One of the organisers, Lindsey German, said the authorities and MPs had underestimated the determination of the anti-war movement. She said her message to the government was that it would 'never draw a line under this war until you bring all our troops home. And we don't want the troops brought home just so they can be sent to Afghanistan or the Iranian border. We want a permanent break with George Bush's murderous, imperialistic policies." Brian Eno (in a column at CounterPunch) notes, "Our leaders would undoubtedly be happy if we 'moved on' from Iraq. They don't want to talk about it any more: it was a dreadful blunder, and reflects little credit on any of them. Presumably this is why the question has hardly been debated in parliament. Although the majority of the public were always against the war, this was not reflected by their elected representatives." Meanwhile, BBC reports that Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister) has announced British forces in Iraq will fall to 2,500 -- from the current 5,550 -- by this spring. Stephen Fidler (Financial Times of London) quotes an unnamed UK official stating this is Brown's "progressive glide path" out of Iraq. Philippe Naughton (Times of London) also quotes unnamed "senior officials" one of whom says a full withdrawal might be possible: "Certainly at this stage there is no guarantee that they are going to be there beyond the end of 2008. The policy will be made in the spring." The Guardian of London provides a blow by blow of the entire speech and exchange such as this: "Mr Brown is asked about Alan Greenspan's comment that the Iraq war was 'all about oil' and whether he will be discussing the issue with the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve."
Finally, lifelong peace activist Susan Blake died last week. Green Party activist Kimberly Wilder offers a moving tribute entitled "Susan June Blake" where she notes: "Many of the causes Susan supported are listed on the fairly recent, bright, multi-colored PeaceSmiths banner that she hung at each coffeehouse. But, a smattering of causes Susan worked for would include: peace, anti-militarism, human rights, labor rights, the environment, anti-death penalty, ballot access (she included local politicians at candidate events, but also write-in candidates and third party candidates), immigration rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, holistic medicine, vegetarianism, independent media, intellectual freedom, and dignity and justice for all. The PeaceSmiths banner proclaims: 'We're Pro Humanity'." Wilder calls Susan Blake "the force behind PeaceSmiths" which is a United for Peace & Justice member group. Yesterday, Wilder remembered her friend with a poem and a photo tribute entitled "A moment for Susan Blake." Carl MacGowan (Newsday) notes, "For more than 30 years, Blake fought the Shoreham nuclear power plant and protested wars from Vietnam to Iraq through the Amityville activist group PeaceSmiths. Blake organized coffeehouse concerts and discussion forums on topics such as environmental issues and affordable housing." Susan Blake was fifty-four-years-old.
iraq
ehren watadamike barberhal berntonkyle snyder
naomi klein
amy goodmandemocracy now
blackwater usa
jeremy scahill
alissa j. rubinjohn m. broderthe new york times
pbswashington week
the washington postjoshua partlow
the socialist workerchris bambery
wolf blitzer
susan blakekimberly wilder
united for peace and justice
The legal battle over Watada's decision to stand-up against the war, instead of fight for it, has taken a direction in his favor - at least for now.
"As you can imagine Lt. Watada is feeling incredibly relieved that A, he's not going to have to go to trial on Tuesday and B., that somebody finally is going to take this case seriously and give it a meaningful review," says Kagan.
Watada was supposed to go to military court Tuesday, but U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle ordered the army to delay the trial until further notice.
Joan noted that (for C.I.) in the members account and it's from Mari-Ela David's "Federal Judge Delays Watada's Trial" (Hawaii's KHNL). C.I. said it would go into tomorrow's snapshot and Joan wouldn't mind if I noted it as well so I'm grabbing it. I really have nothing tonight. Not a damn thing. C.I. reminded me tomorrow's Democracy Now! will contain a report on Che Guevara. It's the 40th anniversary of his death, after Che was assassinated by the CIA and Bolivian Army. (They worked together, they should share the title of 'assassin' together.) His passing will be remembered around the world. I have no idea what Democracy Now! is going to focus on -- a report or live pieces from all over -- but it should be worth checking out.
I can talk about that stupid Blender -- a 'magazine' for non-readers. They've got an idiotic poll that's really just a slam poll. It's supposed to be the worst lyricists. Sting's near the top. For referencing Nabokov among other 'crimes.' "Don't Stand So Close To Me" hit twice. And if it's a choice between references to Nabokov or something similar or hear one of Justy or Britty's rhymes of sub-standard English, I'll take Sting.
I actually like Sting's lyrics. And I'll also note that I know a number of people who ended up searching out Nabokov or Jung because of Sting's lyrics. The whole point of the 'poll' is to trash anyone who thinks (Blender doesn't like thinking) which is why they're up in arms that Carly Simon rhymes "gavotte" with "yacht" and "apricot." They think they're clever. It wasn't even funny when Darrell (of Darrell and his brother Larry and his other brother Larry) tried to make the joke on Newhart. But that's what they are doing -- recycling jokes from 80s sitcoms and passing them off as critiques. I guess that's to be expected when the 'critics' are allergic to anything resembling actual thought or words with more than 1 syllable.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, October 8, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, Watada's court-martial will not beging tomorrow, Blackwater . . . and the mainstream press that loves them (or, in the case of the New York Times, lusts after them), and more.
Starting with war resistance. Tomorrow Ehren Watada was set to face his second court-martial. As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today, "A judge in Washington state has granted an emergency stay to postpone the second court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada". In June of 2006, Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. In February of this year, a court-martial was held and, over defense objection, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) declared a mistrial. As Marjorie Cohn, president of the National Lawyers Guild, pointed out, double-jeopardy had attached the case. To attempt to court-martial Watada again would be in violation of the Constitution. In what Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) reports as "a rare, last-minute move, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle on Friday put Watada's Tuesday court-martial on hold. In the weeks ahead, Settle will decide whether ths second trial should proceed, or be quashed as a violation of the officer's constitutional rights that protect against double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same crime." Tomas Alex Tizon (Los Angeles Times) notes the belief of some that there is a "pssobility that he might cancel the military trial altogether" and quotes James Lobsenz, one of Watada's two civilian attorneys, stating, "If we win the next part, we win." Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) explains, "Settle was careful to point out that 'the issues raised by the petition for habeas corpus bear no relation to the charges or defenses in the petitioner's (Watada's) court-martial proceedings.' Settle was a military lawyer in the Army in the 1970s and was recently appointed to the federal bench by President Bush.Quoting case law, Settle wrote, 'The irreparable harm suffered by being put to a trial a second time in violation of the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment stems not just from being subjected to double punishment but also from undergoing a second trial proceeding'." Currently, the court-martial is stayed until at least October 26th.
In news of other war resister, Canadian radio reported Saturday that the mayor of Nelson -- where Robin Long was arrested this week and where Kyle Snyder was arrested in February -- is openly bragging that the final report on an investigation into the police department and police chief Dan Maluta's illegal arrest of Synder is not only complete, but he's had it for a week and hasn't bothered to read it. Repeating: The mayor, John Dooley, charged with oversight has had the report on the investigation and does not see the point in 'rushing' to read it. He brags that he has carried it around in his briefcase "all week" -- which does explain how the Nelson police, under Maluta, have been able to conduct themselves as they have.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Turning to the subject of the mercenaries at Blackwater USA. Jeremy Scahill (Guardian of London via Common Dreams) observes, "A pattern is emerging from the Congressional investigation into Blackwater: the state department urging the company to pay what amounts to hush money to victims' families while facilitating the return of contractors involved in deadly incidents for which not a single one has faced prosecution." The relationship between the US State Department and Blackwater is one of repeated cover ups. On Saturday, John M. Broder (New York Times) got all excited on a new 'answer' -- the State Department would by utilizing "its own personnel as monitors on all Blackwater security convoys in and around Baghdad" and by placing "video cameras in Blackwater armored vehicles to produce a record of all operations". Friday NPR's Jackie Northam (All Things Considered) discussed the so-called measures with -- after noting that Rice's recordings "apply only to Blackwater and only in Baghdad" -- Peter W. Singer (Brookings boy) who said that most already had recording devices, questioned "embedding' a State Department monitor with a private contractor doing government work" (a monitor who will "be making somewhere between 3 to 500 dollars less a day than the people that he or she is supposed to be chaperoning") and sees the measures as "very small, and they don't deal with the fundamental issue". CNN reported over the weekend that the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Henry Waxman, sent another letter to US Secretary of State Condi Rice regarding the State Dept's refusal to stop stonewalling Congress over the issue of Blackwater and CNN noted that Andrew Moonen (Blackwater gun for hire who shot the bodyguard of Iraq's vice-president -- allegedly while Moonen was drunk -- in December 2006) was working, in Kuwait, for a US Defense Dept contractor weeks later. For those who have forgotten, last week -- in Tuesday's hearing -- Blackwater CEO, Erik Prince, told Congress that Moonen (unnamed in the hearing) was stripped of his security clearance before being hustled out of Iraq. If Moonen was stripped of his security clearance, how is it that the DoD and their contractor didn't know that? If he was stripped of his security clearance and still made it back over to the region without it, how many other contractor employees are not in compliance with the basic guidelines?
Paul von Zielbauer (New York Times) reports that the Iraqi government has finalized their investigation and "found that employees of the American security company Blackwater USA shot unprovoked at Iraqi civilians at a downtown traffic circle three weeks ago, an episode that killed 17 people and wounded more than 20 others, a government spokesman said Sunday" quoting Ali al-Dabbagh who also declares that Blackwater's vehicles were not "even hit by a stone" before Blackwater initiated the slaughter of Iraqi civilians. James Glanz and Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) add, "Those conclusions contradict Blackwater's original statement on the shooting, which said that a convoy operated by the company's guards 'acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack.' The Iraqi findings are also at odds with initial assertions by the State Department that the convoy had received small-arms fire." Which again goes the issue that the US State Dept has repeatedly provided cover and falsehoods in order to protect Blackwater. AP reports, "Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of 17 people killed when the firm's guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy maching gun fire last month."
Naomi Klein's new book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism and she uses the book and the research for her article "Disaster Capitalism: The new economy of catastrophe" (October's Harper's magazine, pp. 47 -- 58). this is from the article (page 48):
Everywhere in Iraq, the wildly divergent values assigned to different categories of people are on crude display. Westerners and their Iraqi colleagues have checkpoints at the entrances to their streets, blast walls in front of their houses, body armor, and private security guards on call at all hours. They travel the country in menacing armored convoys, with mercenaries pointing guns out the windows as they follow their prime directive to "protect the principal." With every move they broadcast the same unapologetic message: We are the chosen, our lives are infinitely more precious than yours. Middle-class Iraqis, meanwhile, cling to the next rung down the ladder: they can afford to buy protection from local militias, they are able to ransom a family member held by kidnappers, they may ultimately escape to a life of poverty in Jordan. But the vast majority of Iraqis have no protection at all. They walk the streets exposed to any possible ravaging, with nothing between them and the next car bomb but a thin layer of fabric. In Iraq, the lucky get Kevlar; the rest get prayer beads.
That's pretty clear. Except to the mainstream. Over the weekend on PBS' Washington Week (or Washington Weak) Linda Robinson of US News and World Reports decided to chat and chew the topic with star Gwen:
Linda Robinson: Well Blackwater has about 800 people who are primarily providing bodyguard service to the embassy personnel. And there are about, well there are some thousands of other contractors doing this exact kind of job. So they're moving around the city in convoys and they apply very aggressive tactics in general. There are some who are alleging that Blackwater in particular uses much more aggressive tactics. But let's just set the stage a little bit. Very, very violent city. You're driving around, bombs are going off, at any unpredicted time. So what happens is these convoy drivers uses a tactic: they throw things at people, they sound their horns their sirens if you don't get out of the way they will shoot. So Iraqi drivers generally pull over as soon as they see a convoy. The problem is SUVs cannot readily be identified often from a distance --
Gwen Ifill: Yeah, how do you know it's a convoy? How do you know it's not the military? How do you know -- tell the difference?
That's the problem. Washington Weak tells you that's the problem. For the record, Robinson informs Gwen that it's very obvious when it's the military and it's only confusing when it comes to civilian contractors. So the question is, were Linda Robinson or Gwen to be walking to their cars at the start of the day and a car came zooming through with those in it throwing things at them, would they see that as a problem? Should Jon Stewart attempt to find out for The Daily Show? In fact, it shouldn't even be a surprise. Gwen and Robinson should volunteer for it to prove what good sports they are. After ten to fifteen minutes of drive-bys where water bottles are hurled at them (the mildest object usually cited in press reports) from speeding cars, let's see their smiling, bruised (possibly bloodied?) faces and find out whether they now think that "the problem" includes a great deal more than being able to tell if a convoy is approaching? What's really appalling is Robinson admits to being selective in her report explaining that's why she "set up" because, apparently, reporters are not supposed to show any sympathy for the civilian populations they are allegedly covering but instead are supposed to be act as a p.r. hack for multi-billion dollar corporations. And the chat and chew only got worse as it was wondered if this was all just sour grapes due to Blackwater's "success"?
Last week, the Financial Times of London editorialized: "But privatising war is, in reality, financially, politically and militarily very expensive. The lawlessness of some of these outfits has stained America's reputation and stirred up rage against its troops. Blackwater, which has earned nearly $1bn from the Department of State for protecting its officials, is notoriously trigger-happy: opening fire first in 163 out of 195 shooting incidents since 2005, according to a report by Congress. A Blackwater employee killed a bodyguard of Adel Abdel Mahdi, an Iraqi vice-president Washington favours as a possible prime minister, in an argument last Christmas." Yet our Weak Washington gas bags couldn't explore the topic and, besides, Robinson vouched that the illegal war couldn't continue without mercenaries so they are needed. (Naturally, whether the illegal war 'needed' also went unaddressed on programming 'brought to you by viewers like you'.)
And in "Get them a subscription to Young Miss already!" news, James Risen (New York Times) decided to follow in the foot steps of John M. Broder (Times of New York) and Peter Spiegel (Times of Los Angeles) by going public with his crush on Blackwater CEO Erik Prince in today's New York Times. Little Jimmy explains what puts the "rise" in Risen and it's, "Erik D. Prince, the crew-cut, square-jawed founder of Blackwater USA". Apparently Details doesn't provide facial types? Prince is not square-jawed, he has a pointy chin and his facial type is a triangle (an inverted triangle). Over fifty is a bit late in life to begin learning facial types but if it's suddenly important to Risen, someone quickly get him a subscription to Young Miss -- where he may also learn that Prince does not have a "crew-cut." Those little wisps and bangs and the dip do not qualify for a crew-cut. Astronaut Alan Shepard (link goes to Life magazine 1961 cover) had a crew-cut. If Risen can be pulled away from his day-drooling, the differences can be explained to him and possibly it can also be explained to him that he's supposed to be a reporter for a daily paper, not a fanzine? For any wondering, yes, this is how criminal Ollie North was elevated and protected by the press during Iran-Contra, with fan scribbles (Risen's first sentence) and nonsense.
In some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
BBC reports 13 dead from a truck bombing in Samarra and notes "four explosions near" the Polish "embassy" in Baghdad that claimed 2 lives (five injured). Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a mortar attack on "the buildings of the former general security agency in Baladiyat," a Baghdad car bombing "near the Technology University" claimed 4 lives (ten injured) and a Tikrit car bombing that claimed 2 lives (4 police officers wounded). Reuters notes a Hawija roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 police officer (two more injured),
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a barber shot dead in Kirkuk
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 7 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "A Marine assigned to Multi-National Force-West died Oct. 8 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province." And they announced, "An MNC-I Soldier died of wounds suffered during combat operations in the vicinity of Bayji Oct. 5." Last week, the UK Ministry of Defence announced the death of Alexis Roberts who "died as a result of an improvised explosive device just after 0800 hrs local time. The Battalion was returning to their base in Kandahar after taking part in Op PALK WAHEL when the incident occurred." The illegal war has now officially claimed the lives of 3815 US service members and 170 UK forces (ICCC).
Yesterday on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Blitzer spoke with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani who tried to act as if he was making a promise ("In next year . . . In the spring of the next year, I think.") that US troops could be reduced but when pressed by Blitzer, Talabani begged off ("Well I cannot decide the number") and then Talabani revealed that he was for dividing Iraq up into three sections. Not a surprise. He's always been for that. However, the Iraqi people are not for it. (Talabani is a Kurd and the Kurdish region wants to break off.) AP explains: "Hundreds of Iraqi refugees staged a sit-in in Damascus yesterday to protest against a recent nonbinding US Senate resolution that encourages splitting Iraq along ethnic and religious lines. Carrying Iraqi flags, about 400 protesters gathered in the al-Sayda Zeinab district. 'No for occupation and no for division,' read a placard carried by one refugee. 'Dividing Iraq is the start for dividing all countries in the region,' read another." We'll skip the nonsense of yet another peace accord between warring Shi'ite parties. In the real world, Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) reports that, though "the U.S. military strategy in Iraq has sought to reduce violence so that politicians could bring about national reconciliation, but several top Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith in that broad goal" and quotes Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih explaining that he doesn't believe in reconciliation, "To me, it is a very inaccurate term. This is a struggle about power." Which does sum up what is going on Iraq and the US arms various sets of thugs while the civilians repeatedly suffer or flee the country. And, no, there is no 'progress,' there is no improvement. But the US has played one group off another from the beginning. Puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, is bothered that the US trains and arms Sunnis but it wasn't a concern to him when the Sunnis were being terrorized by Shias. In a matter of months, they'll flip again. The civil war was imposed from outside.
Turning to England. Last Tuesday, Chris Bambery (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) reported, "Tony Benn and Labour national executive member Walter Wolfgang are set to defy the law and lead a banned anti-war march down Whitehall to parliament next Monday -- the day Gordon Brown has promised to deliver a statement on Britain's presence in occupied Iraq." Bambery noted Brian Eno stating the ban was created to keep the issue of the wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) out of public sight and quoted Benn declaring, "I will be marching. It is entirely up to the police and government what they do." Today is Monday and they did not back down. The Socialist Worker reports, "With just an hour to go the metropolitan police told organizers of today's Not One More Death Protest that it would not be banned from marching to parliament. There was a sense of jubiliation, pride and determination as over 5,000 protesters set out down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square, on the Stop The War Coalition (StWC) demonstration. Students and pensioners joined trade unionists and peace activists. All were convinced that StWC's refusal to accept the ban and the size of the turnout had forced the authorities' hand. 'It's been a bad couple of days for Gordon Brown,' joke one pensioner as the march went past Downing Street." Fred Attewill (Guardian of London) notes, "One of the organisers, Lindsey German, said the authorities and MPs had underestimated the determination of the anti-war movement. She said her message to the government was that it would 'never draw a line under this war until you bring all our troops home. And we don't want the troops brought home just so they can be sent to Afghanistan or the Iranian border. We want a permanent break with George Bush's murderous, imperialistic policies." Brian Eno (in a column at CounterPunch) notes, "Our leaders would undoubtedly be happy if we 'moved on' from Iraq. They don't want to talk about it any more: it was a dreadful blunder, and reflects little credit on any of them. Presumably this is why the question has hardly been debated in parliament. Although the majority of the public were always against the war, this was not reflected by their elected representatives." Meanwhile, BBC reports that Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister) has announced British forces in Iraq will fall to 2,500 -- from the current 5,550 -- by this spring. Stephen Fidler (Financial Times of London) quotes an unnamed UK official stating this is Brown's "progressive glide path" out of Iraq. Philippe Naughton (Times of London) also quotes unnamed "senior officials" one of whom says a full withdrawal might be possible: "Certainly at this stage there is no guarantee that they are going to be there beyond the end of 2008. The policy will be made in the spring." The Guardian of London provides a blow by blow of the entire speech and exchange such as this: "Mr Brown is asked about Alan Greenspan's comment that the Iraq war was 'all about oil' and whether he will be discussing the issue with the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve."
Finally, lifelong peace activist Susan Blake died last week. Green Party activist Kimberly Wilder offers a moving tribute entitled "Susan June Blake" where she notes: "Many of the causes Susan supported are listed on the fairly recent, bright, multi-colored PeaceSmiths banner that she hung at each coffeehouse. But, a smattering of causes Susan worked for would include: peace, anti-militarism, human rights, labor rights, the environment, anti-death penalty, ballot access (she included local politicians at candidate events, but also write-in candidates and third party candidates), immigration rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, holistic medicine, vegetarianism, independent media, intellectual freedom, and dignity and justice for all. The PeaceSmiths banner proclaims: 'We're Pro Humanity'." Wilder calls Susan Blake "the force behind PeaceSmiths" which is a United for Peace & Justice member group. Yesterday, Wilder remembered her friend with a poem and a photo tribute entitled "A moment for Susan Blake." Carl MacGowan (Newsday) notes, "For more than 30 years, Blake fought the Shoreham nuclear power plant and protested wars from Vietnam to Iraq through the Amityville activist group PeaceSmiths. Blake organized coffeehouse concerts and discussion forums on topics such as environmental issues and affordable housing." Susan Blake was fifty-four-years-old.
iraq
ehren watadamike barberhal berntonkyle snyder
naomi klein
amy goodmandemocracy now
blackwater usa
jeremy scahill
alissa j. rubinjohn m. broderthe new york times
pbswashington week
the washington postjoshua partlow
the socialist workerchris bambery
wolf blitzer
susan blakekimberly wilder
united for peace and justice
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