Bruce K. Gagnon

I won't have much to offer tonight. I'm on the phone with Betty and we're both laughing about something we saw on the news. (I'll be kind and not embarrass anyone.) But I've got the phone on my shoulder and just saw the time. So I'm chatting away with Betty and having a blast so don't expect anything!

But I did find something worth noting. This is from Bruce K. Gagnon's "The Democrats Don't Own the Antiwar Movement" (CounterPunch):

This is largely the Democratic Party position as well. The war is not necessarily bad, the U.S. has the right and responsibility to take out anyone that we decide should be eliminated, but it must be handled well so that world opinion and the American people do not turn against the policy. (You might call it Winning Without an unpopular War.) In this case Bush and his crew "mismanaged" the operation. It reminds me of the 2004 debates between Bush and John Kerry when Kerry said he'd do a better job of "killing terrorists" than Bush would and that he'd spend "$100 billion more on the military" than Bush would. Kerry would do the war/occupation better than the Republicans.
The New York Times ran a story May 6 called With New Clout, Antiwar Groups Push Democrats. In the first sentence of the story the Times reports that, "Every morning, representatives from a cluster of antiwar groups gather for a conference call with Democratic leadership staff members in the House and the Senate."
The "anti-war" groups the article refers to are not your standard, every-day peace group, that have long been working to end the war. They are talking about more recently formed groups, funded with more than $7.1 million since January, to go out and take control of the anti-war message and to capture the bulk of mainstream media coverage about the anti-war movement. Thus groups like Win Without War, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, National Security Network, MoveOn, and others are being heavily funded by foundations close to the Democratic Party and are being largely directed by Democratic Party strategists.
The Times reports, Rodell Mollineau, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid's office, "said the coalition amplifies what Democrats are trying to do in Washington to end the war." "It helps us reverberate a unified message outside the Beltway." "These groups give voice to a message we're trying to get outside."
The unified message that the Democrat leaders are talking about is that the mess in Iraq is all the fault of George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress. This theme is now dominating the work coming out of these Democratic Party front groups and their job is to make sure that no one points any fingers of responsibility at the Democrats in Congress who continue to fund the occupation. We are not supposed to talk about that unsettling fact.
To their credit the Times did mention that there is currently some controversy surrounding this Democratic led effort. They write, "There's a dividing line between those groups who feel the most important thing is to be clear on bringing the troops home as soon as possible, and the groups that feel that unity within the Democratic Party is most important and the most important thing is for the Democrats to win the White House," said Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of Code Pink, an antiwar group that is not part of the alliance. "So the groups who feel the most important thing is to win the White House would naturally be more inclined to listening to Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she says the only way we can get a vote through is if we water it down."
When Tom Andrews, a former Democratic congressman from Maine and the national director of Win Without War, recently came to our state to organize protests in Bangor and Portland he made no attempt to contact one existing peace group in Maine. Now isn't that a bit strange? You go into a state to organize protests against the war and you contact not one group - Peace Action Maine, Maine Veterans for Peace, Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine. None were invited to be involved, to offer a speaker, to help with planning, nothing.

C.I. noted the Sunday article in the New York Times in "NYT: Nothing to read:"


3 Iraq related articles. What's the deal with Michael Luo? He wanted a link from WalkOn? He's ignorant of the peace movement? He's a sexist? At one point he writes "Many of the major players in Americans Against Escalation . . ." CODEPINK hasn't signed on with that group. Medea Benjamin is quoted in the article (right before the sentence noted above):
There's a dividing line between those groups who feel the most important thing is to be clear on bringing the troops home as soon as possible, and the groups that feel the unity within the Democratic Party is most important and the most important thing is for the Democrats to win the White House. So the groups who feel the most important thing is to win the White House would naturally be more inclined to listening to Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she says the only way we can get a vote through is if we water it down.
Medea Benjamin co-founded CODEPINK which, for the paper of record's record, is all caps as opposed to the way it appears in the paper today. Well, at least one woman got quoted. Is Luo only comfortable talking to men? Where's Military Families Speak Out, which unlike WalkOn, didn't wait until Bully Boy started talking escalation to visit Congress (and visit the home districts of Congressional represenatives) about the issue of Iraq?
But Medea's really the token activist. The others are largely lobbyists and, big surprise, that's what the Times is more interested in. Reading the article you may feel that that Luo honestly knows nothing that has gone on this year or last year, that he has on idea about the fast for peace or anything. Then again, he might have just been hoping for mass online links. He'll have to look elsewhere because we don't link to trash and, outside of Medea's quote (that is her appareance in full in the paper and CODEPINK gets one mention (as opposed to repeated shout outs to WalkOn). By the way, he not only fails to put it all caps, he spells it "Code Pink" -- there has never been a space between the two words although today's article indicates there's a large space, if not an empty cavity, between Luo's ears.

Bruce K. Gagnon is not wrong about the article. It was nonsense. Jim, Dona and C.I. were ripping it apart Sunday morning. To the point that even I ended up picking up the paper. (Doesn't happen often on a Sunday -- I'm too tired for their corporate view of the world to be amusing.) In the article, Gagnon notes he's just telling it like it is, not attacking. I agree that's what he's doing but I think it may be time to attack. People are attempting to hijack the peace movement. I don't think we "stand down" when that happens.

I am disgusted with the do-nothing-Dems. I have been before. (I've never voted Republican.) But I don't think I've ever been this disgusted. It was appalling when women were repeatedly attacked under Bill Clinton (something NOW appears to have forgotten) and just one example is the attack of women on public assistance. I've been appalled many times but this is an illegal war and people are dying in huge numbers. Instead of stepping up, the Dems are busy trying to use this for political capitol. That is so craven.

They can't even claim that they have to do that, that the American people would turn on them otherwise, because the American people have turned against the war. The people aren't holding back Congress from ending the war, Congress is holding itself back.

David Swanson, bless him (seriously), is a wonderful optimist. We need people like that. But I grit my teeth everytime I feel like he's being taken in. MoveOn may push for impeachment? WalkOn? WalkOn is going to lead? The very name of their group derives from not fighting and not addressing -- they are a "let's put it all behind us and come together" group. You can't put an illegal war behind you. You stop it. (Swanson was also too nice, my opinion, to David Sirota. Again, I'm not insulting him. Lord knows C.I. has an "in fairness" factor that kicks in and I love C.I. But in case any visitor comes by and thinks, "She is trashing Swanson!" -- no, I'm not. I'm noting he's an optimist and that's great. I'm not.)

I think people need to be called out. I think we're seeing "left" (Dems) in "independent" media try to sell out healthcare and the people. I think they need to be called out.

Gagnon isn't attacking but my question is, "Why not?" I love reading Joshua Frank because he's as angry as I feel lately. I thought living under the Bully Boy was bad, okay?

I was seriously worried in 2002-2003 that another attack meant we would lose every last liberty we had. When he stole the 2004 election, I was really scared what that meant for our country. But now the Dems have some power (and the public on their side) and they refuse to do a damn thing. I'm sick of it.

And I'm sick of phoney groups like WalkOn pretending that they give a damn about ending the war when all they care about is winning elections. You can lie and win in the short term but it hurts you in the long term.

So people need to stop pretending that some groups are going to end the war, that they even care about it in any form other than as an election issue.

So those are my thoughts for tonight. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, including a reported attack by US forces on a primary school that left children dead, Save the Children issues a report decrying the death toll for children in Iraq, the Los Angeles Times calls for troop withdrawal, and more.

Starting with war resister news. Leslie Ferenc (Toronto Star) reports that US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are appealing the decision of Canada's Federal Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada: "The deadline to file for a leave to appeal to the Supreme Court is June 30. Unless they're successful, Hinzman and Hughey will be forced to return to the U.S. where they will be court-martialled and could face up to two years in jail for desertion." Up to two years? Ference is incorrect. (Ask Agustin Aguayo.) As in many countries, Canada's Supreme Court is the court of last appeals and only hears approximately 80 appeals each year (during its three sessions). 9 judges sit on the Court (which was created in 1875) with one designated in charge -- in the current Court that is Madam Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. Of the nine Justices, four are women which is three more than the US Supreme Court has. Hinzman and Hughey have been seeking refugee status from the Canadian government. The Federal Court of Appeal, in their ruling last week, decided that neither did enough to pursue c.o. status. Or that's the excuse the Court of Appeal gave for turning down the requests for refugee status.

In other war resister news, last week Camilo Meija's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia was published and, as Courage to Resist reports, this week, he joins with Agustin Aguayo Pablo Paredes, and Robert Zabala for a speaking tour from May 9th through 17th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The announced dates include:

Wednesday May 9 - Marin 7pm at College of Marin, Student Services Center, 835 College Ave, Kentfield. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Pablo Paredes and David Solnit. Sponsored by Courage to Resist and Students for Social Responsibility.

Thursday May 10 - Sacramento Details TBA
Friday May 11 - Stockton 6pm at the Mexican Community Center, 609 S Lincoln St, Stockton. Featuring Agustin Aguayo.
Saturday May 12 - Monterey 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 490 Aguajito Rd, Carmel. Featuring Agustin Aguayo and Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chp. 69, Hartnell Students for Peace, Salinas Action League, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Courage to Resist. More info: Kurt Brux 831-424-6447
Sunday May 13 - San Francisco 7pm at the Veterans War Memorial Bldg. (Room 223) , 401 Van Ness St, San Francisco. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia and Pablo Paredes. Sponsored by Courage to Resist, Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69 and SF Codepink.
Monday May 14 - Watsonville 7pm at the United Presbyterian Church, 112 E. Beach, Watsonville. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and Robert Zabala. Sponsored by the GI Rights Hotline & Draft Alternatives program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Watsonville Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), Watsonville Brown Berets, Courage to Resist and Santa Cruz Veterans for Peace Chp. 11. More info: Bob Fitch 831-722-3311
Tuesday May 15 - Palo Alto 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall), 1140 Cowper, Palo Alto. Featuring Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Pennisula Peace and Justice Center. More info: Paul George 650-326-8837
Wednesday May 16 - Eureka 7pm at the Eureka Labor Temple, 840 E St. (@9th), Eureka. Featuring Camilo Mejia. More info: Becky Luening 707-826-9197Thursday May 17 - Oakland 4pm youth event and 7pm program at the Humanist Hall, 411 28th St, Oakland. Featuring Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and the Alternatives to War through Education (A.W.E.) Youth Action Team. Sponsored by Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69, Courage to Resist, Central Committee for Conscientious Objector's (CCCO) and AWE Youth Action Team.

Aguayo wants to take part in that but may not be released in time. If the military is thinking they'll clamp down on war resistance by holding Aguayo, they obviously aren't factoring the passion this tour will create and the questions of, "Where's Augie?" All are part of a growing movement of war resistance within the military: Camilo Mejia, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Joshua Key, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.


In media news, on Sunday, the Los Angeles Times called for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq joining -- a small number of daily newspapers around the United States have already done so but the Los Angeles Times has the largest circulation of any paper to make the call thus far. Entitled "Bring them home" the editorial concludes: "Having invested so much in Iraq, Americans are likely to find disengagement almost as painful as war. But the longer we delay planning for the inveitable, the worse the outcome is likely to be. The time has come to leave." Editor & Publisher calls it "the strongest stand yet" of "major papers" and notes other papers that have also called for withdrawal: the Roanoke Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Baltimore Sun, and the Portland Press Herald. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called for withdrawal on September 15th of last year in ""Editorial: The Iraq mess / Harsh reality underscores the need to leave" which concluded: "A serious president would, instead, step up to the plate and take steps to get America out of Iraq." (Truthout has reposted the LA Times' editorial here.)

The LA Times call comes as the number of US troops in Iraq increase and as some pin their hopes that Congress is running out of patience. On the first, China's Xinhua reports that the Bryan Whitman, US Pentagon spokesperson, has announced that "10 more combat brigades with 35,000 troops" will be deployed to Iraq this year. On the former, Jonathan Weisman and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) report that, for the US Congress, September will now be the day of reckoning -- or so say Congress members such as US Senator Gordon Smith who declares, "Many of my Republican colleagues have been promised they will get a straight story on the surge by September. I won't be the only Republican, or one of two Republicans, demanding a change in our disposition of troops in Iraq at that point. That is very clear to me." Is it? Let's hope so; however, we've heard this song and dance before. For example, Paul Reynolds (BBC) reported last October on US Senator John Warner's bluster: "In two or three months if this thing hasn't come to fruition and if this level of violence is not under control and this government able to function, I think it's a responsibility of our government internally to determine is there a change of course we should take. I wouldn't take off the table any option at this time." Again, those statements were made in October.

Cullen Couch (UVA Lawyer) interviews Warner for the Spring 2007 issue and Warner said that the illegal war "permeates everything on Capitol Hill today. It's all-consuming. I've seen World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and have served 29 years in the Armed Services Committee. Iraq is clearly the most complicated I have ever seen. And unfortunately, there's a very strong division n the Senate about what to do." Of Congress and the executive branch Warner states, "We're co-equal. I think checks and balances moves a little bit with the different presidencies and the different issues. But Congress
still has that power of the purse. And that's an awesome power." But will Congress use
it? And having boasted in October that no option is off the table, what has been
Warner's excuse for not already calling for Congress to stop funding the illegal war?

In other media news, Juston Jones (New York Times) observed yesterday that the big O has made a national endorsement. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has endorsed US Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary. Jones either wrongly or kindly refers to this as "Winfrey's entry to the political waters" which, sadly for the big O, isn't true. The big O's first foray into "political waters" on the national level (on state level, she threw her weight behind the Governator) was in selling the illegal war. She should own it because it belongs to her. From the debut of Bill Moyers Journal which devoted two hours to the selling of the illegal war:

BILL MOYERS: Even Oprah got in on the act, featuring in October 2002 NEW YORK
TIMES reporter Judith Miller.
JUDITH MILLER: (OPRAH 10/9/02) The US intelligence community believes that
Saddam Hussein has deadly stocks of anthrax, of botulinium toxin, which is one of the
most virulent poisons known to man.
BILL MOYERS: Liberal hawk Kenneth Pollak.
KENNETH POLLAK: And what we know for a fact from a number of defectors who've
come out of Iraq over the years is that Saddam Hussein is absolutely determined to
acquire nuclear weapons and is building them as fast as he can.
BILL MOYERS: And the right hand man to Ahmed Chalabi.
OPRAH: And so do the Iraqi people want the American people to liberate them?
QUANBAR: Absolutely. In 1991 the Iraqi people were ...
WOMAN: I hope it doesn't offend you ...
BILL MOYERS: When one guest dared to express doubt Oprah would have none of it
WOMAN: I just don't know what to believe with the media and..
OPRAH: Oh, we're not trying to propaganda --show you propaganda. .... We're just
showing you what is.
WOMAN: I understand that, I understand that.
OPRAH: OK, but Ok. You have a right to your opinion.

And with that the Big O was done with the woman (very Big Babs Bush). What Oprah
aired was propaganda. Oprah sold the illegal war. Maybe she couldn't understand the
really bad lyrics to her 90s show theme (many couldn't) and thought what was being sung was "War on, war on, I believe I'll war on, See what the end will be, I believe I'll war on
. . ." Moyers could have also shown when the Big O invited Bill O'Reilly on. As Fedwa Wazwaz (St. Paul Pioneer Press via Common Dreams) observed in 2002, "TV personality Oprah Winfrey used her program to market the war. Winfrey ran video clips in a sound-bite manner by 'experts' as a 'moral' obligation to rid the world of Saddam Hussein.

To recap, Oprah has endorsed Obama. Her only previous national political endorsement was when she endorsed the illegal war by allowing her show to become a platform for propaganda. "We're just showing you what it is," said the Big O. Only it wasn't what it is or what it was -- it was propaganda, it was lies, it was embarrassing and it was shameful. Ironically, while chit-chatting with Bully Boy on her program in 2000, the issue of Iraq and bombing was raised by an audience member and brushed aside. (See "George W. Heckled on Oprah," Democracy Now!, September 20, 2000.) In 2003, Leah C. Wells (Waging Peace) described what happened: "Halfway through the show, impatient for the canned question period from the audience, Mr. [Danny] Mueller stood up and asked Bush, 'Mr. Bush, would you continue the Democrats' policy of boming and sanctions that kill 5,000 children a month in Iraq?" The show immediately cut to commercial. Mr. [Andrew] Mandell then stood and asked what the children of Iraq could expect. Bush started directly at him. Both Muller and Mandell were escorted out of the audience for their acts of conscience. More than two years later, the children of Iraq know what to expect."

The children of Iraq? Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today, "Iraq's infant mortality rate has soared by 150 percent since 1990 according to a new report by the charity Save the Children. One in eight Iraqi children now die of disease or violence before the age of five. In 2005 alone, 122,000 Iraqi children died before reaching their fifth birthday. Save the Children said Iraq's child-survival ranking is now the lowest in the world." Andrew Buncombe (Independent of London) quotes Denis Halliday, former UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, stating "We are in the process of destroying an entire society. It is as simple and terrifying as that. It is illegal and immoral."; and Voice of the Wilderness' Kathy Kelly stating, "The punishment of children through the economic and military war against Iraq has been the greatest scandal." Along with disease and violence, Iraqis face the issue of malnutrition. In March Cartias Internationalis reported that "[o]ver 11 percent of newborn babies are born underweight in Iraq today," that one third of Iraqi children now suffer from malnutrition, and quoted President of Caritas Middle East North Africa Claudette Habesch stating, "Iraq has the second largest oil supplies in the world, but it has levels of poverty, hunger and underdevelopment comparble to sub-Saharan Africa. The last four years, but in particular 2006, we have seen life get worser rather than better for the ordinary Iraqi."

Save the Children's (PDF format) "State of the World's Mothers" notes: "Safe water is essential to good health. Families need an adequate supply for drinking as well as cooking and washing." That as IRIN reports on the state of Iraq's Tigris river "since the US-led invasion in 2003, this amazing watercourse has turned into a graveyard of bodies. In addition, the water level is decreasing as pollution increases, say environmentalists. Pollution in the river is caused by oil derivatives and industrial waste as well as Iraqi and US military waste, they say. The river was one of the main sources of water, food, transport and recreation for the local population but after four years of war and pollution, it has been transformed into a stagnant sewer, according to environmentalists." In 2004, Dahr Jamail reported for The New Standard on the pollution of the Tigris, "With reconstruction of a highly inadequate water treatment and distribution system at a near standstill throughout much of Central Iraq, some residents of Baghdad are left with little choice but to drink highly polluted water from the Tigris River. Aside from a newly formed Iraqi non-governmental organization that is focusing on the cleanup of one section of the river, not much is being done to improve Baghdad resisdents' acces to potable water, and US contractors appear unable or unwilling to help." Bechtel had the contracts for both the water and the electricity, as Public Citizen noted before reminding: "The question of water in Iraq, a desert country with temperatures sometimes reaching to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius), is buffeted by highly-charged hyrdo-geopolitics, the integral part that water plays in the oil industry, and the generally low quality of existing resources. . . . The issue of water is also very important to American and corporate-Halliburton efforts to develop the oil industry. It takes one barrel of water to produce one barrel of Iraqi oil."

On the issue of oil, Michael Schwartz (TomDispatch.com via Common Dreams) notes the historical power grab for Iraqi oil and takes a look at the scheme to privatize Iraq's oil to line the pockets of Big Oil at the expense of the Iraqis: "The draft petrochemical law, if enacted and implemented, could ensure that Iraq would remain in a state of neoliberal poverty in perpetuity, even if order did return to the country. The petrochemical law is hardly assured of successful passage, and -- even if passed -- is in no way assured successful implementation. Resistance to it, spread as it is throughout Iraqi society, has already shown itself to be a formidable oppontent to the dwindling power of the American occupation." The resistance is widespread, including labor and members of Parliament, and, as Schwartz notes, the Iraqis very clearly see the illegal occupation as having to do with their oil. Which is why attacks takes place on the pipelines such as the one reported by the Turkish Daily News where four were arrested on Tuesday after they had planted "a load of explisves . . . under an oil pipeline in northern Iraq that carries crude oil to Turkey".

Can the will of the Iraqi people be overridden? With a puppet government, anything is possible. Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London via Common Dreams) reminds of the new wall in Baghdad, "One casualty of the new plan is the authority of the Iraqi government. The Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, announced in Egypt that the construction of a wall around the Sunni district of al-Adhamiyah would stop, but without effect. An Iraqi army spokesman simply said that the Prime Minister had been misled. The Iraqi Defence Ministry is largely under American control -- one senior Iraqi army official who obeyed a direct order from Mr al-Maliki late last year found himself jailed by US forces." al-Maliki, as nominal prime minister, is supposed to be the commander of the Iraqi military. The wall has revealed to the world that he is a mere puppet and even those who are supposed to take orders from him do not. Zaid al-Ali (OpenDemocracy) examines the puppet government and notes: "Iraqis were outraged when they heard that a wall was being built in their capital to separate one people from another. Demonstrations broke out everywhere -- with both Sunnis and Shi'a joining in -- to protest the plan. Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, whose influence over the US military is just about nil, laughably 'ordered' that construction be halted. It is uncertain if al-Maliki was being genuine or not, but in any event, the Americans have continued to proceed apace, and have even claimed that the Iraqi government continues to support its plans. Iraqi politicans who reject sectarianism know where this is leading and fear the worst. 'Al-Adhimiya today, Sadr city tomorrow. We are being cantonised,' they say." Today, while surveying the wall, Reuters reports, Col. Billy Don Farris "was shot by a sniper . . . evacuated from the area and is in stable condition."


In other violence in Iraq . . .

Bombings?

Garrett Therolf and Saad Fakhrildeen (Los Angeles Times) report: "A suicide car bomber attacked a croweded market in this holy Shiite city [Kufa] today, killing at least 16 people, injuring more than 70 and further stoking rising tensions between rival Shiite militias."
Reuters notes an Iskandariya mortar attack that killed 2 and left 10 others wounded.
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack that killed 1 person at a leather factory and left 3 more wounded, a Jalwla bombing attack on a police station that left 2 police officers dead and 20 more wounded.

Shootings?


Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "Around 10:30 am, an American helicopter opened fire on a primary school at Al-Nida (9 km north west of Mendli) killing 7 pupils and injuring 3 other pupils with huge damage to the school building. Eyewitnesses confirmed this report while the American side said that they opened fire on the building after being fired from it." To repeat, seven primary school children dead, three more wounded, when a US helicopter fired on an elementary school in the Diyala Province. Kadhim also notes Major Ibrahim A. Al-Nabi was shot dead on his way to work in Baghdad, and two police officers injured by gun fire in Salahuddin.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 25 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes that 7 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.

In activism news, returning to the roundtable where Ron Jacobs (Z-Net) speaks with student activists who occupied US Senator Herbert Kohl's office in Madison last month, we'll note the views of two more featured in the roundtable. Zach Heise explains, "I originally joined the antiwar effort due to what I view as a horrendous economic waste. Besides being illegal and founded on what have been proven to be Western expanision reasons as opposed to 'democracy' this war is costing over $3000 dollars every second -- every second, that much money is spent on this war. There's a great site, http://www.costofwar.com/ that allows you to see how much your exact area has estimated spending on the war. Well, Wisconsin's spending on the war could have purchased 12,000 full-ride scholarships to UW-Madison. Simply ridiculous. Maybe if this was a just and well-reasoned war, that could be justified. But as it is now, I find it simply appalling." Josh Brielmaier observes, "I think if we're serious about bringing an end to this war then its obvious traditional protest alone is going to be insufficient. It serves a purpose, but puts no real pressure on our elected representatives to do their job. As a newcomer to the antiwar movement I felt inspired by the energy and momentum of my comrades and the general sense that we were doing something differnt. We're no longer politely asking those in power to put an end to the war in Iraq; we're demanding it." Two of the voices of students. Students aren't apathetic. They are out there working to end the war, working on immigrant rights, et al. They just don't get covered by most in big or small media.

Finally, we'll close with this exchange from today's Democracy Now!:

MICHAEL PARENTI: The war has destroyed Iraq, and the war has already created a bloodbath. Bush said we can't leave because there will be a bloodbath. The bloodbath is now. It's going on now. I heard the same thing for ten years about Vietnam. "We can't leave. There's going to be a bloodbath." Well, in fact, when we left Vietnam, the bombings stopped, the Agent Orange spraying stopped, the napalming and killing people stopped, the Phoenix CIA assassination program stopped, the bloodletting stopped. And I think the same thing would happen in Iraq. That's my assessment.
AMY GOODMAN: What ended the Vietnam War?
MICHAEL PARENTI: US withdrawal and -- you mean, why they withdrew? It just became so untenable and unpopular in the US. It seemed endless. There seemed no out. And I think that's the same thing that's happening here. You've seen within the last six or seven months in Congress, it's amazing, and in the country, where before they were hesitant to say, "Oh, I'm not sure we want to get out." They're all now saying it, and they realize most of the American public wants to get out. Bush no longer uses the term "stay the course." They discovered that "stay the course," the American public was rejecting it, because it had kind of an endless quality. There was no exit to it, you know, this "stay the course." So they've dropped it. They never use it anymore. They know they, themselves, are in a dead end here.

iraq
brandon hugheyjeremy hinzman
the washington post
jonathan weismanthomas e. ricks
democracy nowamy goodman
ron jacobs
michael schwartz
michael parenti

Sir! No Sir! on Sundance tonight

Sir! No Sir!, tonight, The Sundance Channel, followed by The Ground Truth. If you're on the West Coast like me, it's 9:00 pm start time. Same is true of the East Coast. I don't know on the other time zones. Incredible movie.

I hope you caught Sunday Salon: Larry Bensky Retrospective yesterday but if you didn't and would like to listen, use the link and you can hear the broadcast. It was a two hour look back at the career of Larry Bensky. Larry was one of my favorites. He'll still participate on KPFA from time to time but he was 70-years-old and ready to call an end to the regular broadcast career. He's in France now and gave a report on the elections for The Morning Show today. He's not sitting around the house waiting for life to end. He doesn't want the word "retire" used. He'll still be teaching college classes and he'll be living his life. I wish him all the best but I will really, really miss him as a regular on KPFA. In "Ruth's Report," Ruth talks about how the Sunday before last, Larry's last broadcast, she couldn't get through it. She'd have to get up every now and then and leave the room. I know what she means. If I hadn't been so tired (we work overnights Saturday on The Third Estate Sunday Review), I probably would have had to get up and leave as well. I enjoyed the retro more than the goodbye. The goodbye was a lot to get through. I don't mean it was bad programming. I'm just saying if you were sad that Larry was leaving, it was hard to get through.

Having gotten through it may have made the retrospective easier but I just think it was easier because, by being a retro, there was a distance built in. In one piece of audio, Larry was covering war resisters in the 60s. Larry refered to them as "self-retired." That prompted a conversation while we listened. C.I. used the term self-check out. Actually, C.I. started the term. It's used online and, especially, off. So Ty was wondering if that was an update of "self-retire" and C.I. said that was probably somewhere in the back of the mind but how it happened was C.I. was checking into a hotel (on the road speaking) and on the phone (which C.I. hates to do -- be on the phone while checking in or paying for something) but on the other end was an update on a war resister. The hotel clerk was explaining various features and then said something about check out time and how you could self-check out. C.I. said, "What?" And that's how a popular reference to war resisters today was born.

The special covered the Iran-Contra hearings and I think they did as best they could. That sounds like an insult but that's not how I mean it. There were hours and hours of coverage and commentary that Larry provided. There was no way to provided that in the special even if they'd used the entire two hours. I enjoyed the report they highlighted, that he filed for NPR, on punk music.

He's had a pretty amazing career and I think the special did a good job of highlighting it. So check it out if you missed it.

"Kat's Korner: Patti from the Mount" went up Saturday. I was really tired but I knew C.I. was tired too and I know I can do more. I didn't have it in me to review Tori Amos (I haven't had time to listen that often due to Rebecca's giving birth last week) but I could do Patti. I do love the album.

I'm slacking tonight, I know. But here's C.I.'s hard hitting "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, May 7, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, 12 US service members announced dead in Iraq on Sunday, the US military says to expect worse in the coming days, a peace plan emerges -- outside of the US and a Canadian court makes a decision by disregarding the evidence.

Starting with the issue of war resisters. A decision was made public over the weekend regarding two US war resisters in Canada. To set that news up, we'll start by noting this passage from Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale (pp. 226-227):

Although some Canadians have disagreed with me, and one man in British Columbia even threatened to put me in a boat and drag me to the American border, most of the people I've met in this country have treated me well. Yet it remains to be seen whether I will be allowed to stay in Canada. Just as this book was going to press, the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board rejected my application for refugee status. However, I am appealing that decision in court and will not give up my fight until I have explored every avenue to make Canada a permanent home for my wife, our children and myself. I also believe that the other men and women who have deserted the American armed forces because they do not wish to serve in Iraq should be allowed to stay in Canada. I believe that it would be wrong for Canada to force me to return to a country that ordered me repeatedly to abuse Iraqi civilians and that was later found to be torturing and humiliating inmates at Abu Ghraib prison. I don't think it's right that I should be sent back to do more of the same in Iraq, or that I should serve jail time in the United States for refusing to fight in an immoral war.

During Vietnam, Canada embraced war resisters. Today, the government refuses to do so. One person makes a decision and they hide behind "Immigration and Refugee Board" -- implying that a case is presented before a board, heard by several. That's not reality. It's one person. And no war resister has been granted asylum. But we're supposed to repeat the lie that the "board" is an independent body with the ability to make independent decisions. Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey were the first war resisters to go to Canada and be public about their move and their decision. They were the first to file for refugee status. Jack Lakey (Toronto Star) reports that the Federal Court of Appeal ruled (Saturday) that the two young men "are not entitled to refugee status" and that "The latest ruling noted neither made full use of steps open to them in the U.S. to win conscientious objector status, before fleeing here."

That may well be what the Federal Court of Appeal said, it is not, however, true. Hughey and Hinzman's strories underscore the realities that the court elected to ignore. Hinzman, from Rapid City, South Dakota, signed up in 2001 and taking part in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)as did his wife Nga Nguyen. It was in those meetings that Hinzman's beliefs were expanded/formed. He told Peter Laufer (p. 57 of Laufer's Mission Rejected: U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq) "No matter how much I wanted to, I could not convince myself that killing someone was right." Hinzman applied for C.O. status. He served in a non-combat role in Afghanistan. His application was denied. Let's repeat that in all caps: HIS C.O. APPLICATION was denied. Back in the US and soon to be deployed to Iraq, Hinzman self-checked out and he, his wife and their child Liam moved to Canada in January 2004.

Let's move to Brandon Hughey and come back for the court's recent decision. Brandon Hughey, from San Angelo, TX, signed up at 17-years-old. Peter Laufer includes a speech that David Hughey, Brandon's father, gave at the Veterans for Peace conference (that would be the 2005 attended by many including Dahr Jamail and Cindy Sheehan who left the conference, went down to Crawford and started Camp Casey): "I'm the father of Private Brandon Hughey who is at this time in Canada. I'm basically a card-carrying Republican. Used to be. My story basically began when my young son called me from Canada and told me that he didn't want to risk his life for Bush and Cheney's son. That caused me a great deal of concern. As a matter of fact, it caused great conflict. Our first several conversations over the telephone were basically fights. But I started reading. I did a lot of research, an incredible amount of research. And I actually found myself not being able to believe what I was seeing happen to this country. So I sent my son basically a manifesto that said I support him. It took a lot out of me. As I guess you can tell, I'm not much of a speaker. So it's brought me to this point, basically, to make a long story short. You know, I've read the Constitution of the United States of America. I've read a lot of books written by a man named James Madison, a lot of things by Thomas Jefferson. When I did that, it helped me figure out that all of this is totally wrong. I had some really good quotes, but I can't recall 'em off the top of my head. I just thought I'd come up and introduce myself. I do support my son." Every war resister has a story, everyone around them has a story -- it's just independent (print) media that doesn't give a damn and isn't interested in telling those stories. Informing readers, in the case of The Nation, is far less of a concern than reproducing Democratic campaign literature and calling it "independent".

18-year-old Brandon Hughey completed his training and was sent to Ford Hood. Hughey: "I had asked my superiors at Ft. Hood on more than one occasion to grant me a discharge from the mimlitary, but they refused saying it was not my choice. I was never informed on any route I coud take to leave the military such as applying for conscientious objector status. I had promised myself that under no circumstances would I allo myself to become complicit in the illegal occupation of Iraq. No contract or enlistment oath can be used an excuse to participate in acts of aggression or crimes against humanity."

So, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeals has dismissed both Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey's appeal and had the NERVE to state that "neither made full use of steps open to them in the U.S. to win conscientious objector status, before fleeing here." Hughey, like many enlisted, had no idea c.o. status even existed. Hinzman applied for it and was denied. But the Court wants to embarrass itself (and the memory of Pierre Trudea) by claiming that "neither made full use of steps open to them in the U.S. to win conscientious objector status". The Court doesn't know what it's talking about.

For the record, the US military is NOT following the guidelines outlined for granting C.O. status. This has included their refusing to grant the status to those who have found religion while serving, to those who have increased their religious beliefs, etc. Repeatedly, individuals have been turned down. Including those who spoke of a moral awakening but cited no religious beliefs. In the case of the last group, they've been told that they have to be religious. (No, they don't. The guidelines specifically state that is not true.) The US military turns down C.O. applications regularly (very few are granted) and the one constant is that each group makes up their own minds about what rules to follow and which ones to ignore. There is no consistency and there is certainly no recognition of the guidelines that have been set down in writing.

That's very obvious in the case of Agustín Aguayo who was refused C.O. status (by people who never even spoke to him). It's one of the reasons the Center on Conscience & War has declared May 14th (next Monday) the day to lobby Congress for COs because "it is important to support servicemembers who become conscientious objectors, to lobby for a place for conscience in an inherently violent organization suffering from a dire lack of it." They also note:


Come and lobby in Washington, DC or lobby your member of Congress at their local office near your home.Click here to sign up for lobby day.
Click here for information on the Military CO Act
Information on subway access, directions and parking.
Map of the Area Driving Directions Metro Access Parking -->

On May 15th, International CO Day, CCW is participating in 2 events:
Congressional Briefing: 9:00 am - 12:00 pmAn Aspect of Religious Freedom: Conscience in the Military,sponsored by FCNL, Peace Tax Fund, and John Lewis
Advisory Council, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm @ Church of the Brethren (tentatively)
Church of the Brethren337 North Carolina Ave. SE Washington, DC 20003

Now in a blanket decision, the Canadian court has ruled that Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey didn't do enough to pursue C.O. status. How Hughey's supposed to pursue something he's never been informed of is a question the court sidesteps. They flat out ignore the fact that Hinzman did go through the process and was denied. So Brandon Hughey, the court wants to say, didn't do enough and they want to say them about Hinzman. There was no effort made to examine the issues -- the court appears to not even grasp the issues. They do appear (still) eager to avoid to avoid the entire issue. How proud they must be.

How this will effect other US war resisters in Canada who have applied for asylum isn't clear. (Despite what The Toronto Star says.) Others have different issues. Some, like Joshua Key and Patrick Hart have additional issues (such as serving in Iraq) and Kyle Snyder also has the fact that he's married to a Canadian citizen.

While the Canadian court system shows the maturity of a three-year-old, in the adult world, people are speaking out. Last week Camilo Meija's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia was published and, as Courage to Resist reports, he will be joining Agustin Aguayo Pablo Paredes, and Robert Zabala for a speaking tour from May 9th through 17th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The announced dates include:

Wednesday May 9 - Marin 7pm at College of Marin, Student Services Center, 835 College Ave, Kentfield. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Pablo Paredes and David Solnit. Sponsored by Courage to Resist and Students for Social Responsibility.

Thursday May 10 - Sacramento Details TBA
Friday May 11 - Stockton 6pm at the Mexican Community Center, 609 S Lincoln St, Stockton. Featuring Agustin Aguayo.
Saturday May 12 - Monterey 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 490 Aguajito Rd, Carmel. Featuring Agustin Aguayo and Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chp. 69, Hartnell Students for Peace, Salinas Action League, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Courage to Resist. More info: Kurt Brux 831-424-6447
Sunday May 13 - San Francisco 7pm at the Veterans War Memorial Bldg. (Room 223) , 401 Van Ness St, San Francisco. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia and Pablo Paredes. Sponsored by Courage to Resist, Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69 and SF Codepink.
Monday May 14 - Watsonville 7pm at the United Presbyterian Church, 112 E. Beach, Watsonville. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and Robert Zabala. Sponsored by the GI Rights Hotline & Draft Alternatives program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Watsonville Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), Watsonville Brown Berets, Courage to Resist and Santa Cruz Veterans for Peace Chp. 11. More info: Bob Fitch 831-722-3311
Tuesday May 15 - Palo Alto 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall), 1140 Cowper, Palo Alto. Featuring Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Pennisula Peace and Justice Center. More info: Paul George 650-326-8837
Wednesday May 16 - Eureka 7pm at the Eureka Labor Temple, 840 E St. (@9th), Eureka. Featuring Camilo Mejia. More info: Becky Luening 707-826-9197Thursday May 17 - Oakland 4pm youth event and 7pm program at the Humanist Hall, 411 28th St, Oakland. Featuring Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and the Alternatives to War through Education (A.W.E.) Youth Action Team. Sponsored by Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69, Courage to Resist, Central Committee for Conscientious Objector's (CCCO) and AWE Youth Action Team.

Aguayo wants to take part in that but may not be released in time. If the military is thinking they'll clamp down on war resistance by holding Aguayo, they obviously aren't factoring the passion this tour will create and the questions of, "Where's Augie?" All are part of a growing movement of war resistance within the military: Camilo Mejia, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Joshua Key, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, the documentary Sir! No Sir! traces the war resistance within the military during Vietnam and it will air at 9:00 pm (EST) on The Sundance Channel followed at 10:30 p.m. by The Ground Truth which examines the Iraq war and features Jimmy Massey and Iraq Veterans Against the War's Kelly Dougherty among others. (Filling in for Rebecca, Betty wrote about Sir! No Sir! last night.) To repeat, Sir! No Sir! airs tonight at 9:00 pm (EST) on The Sundance Channel followed at 10:30 p.m. by The Ground Truth (check local listings for other times, PST will be 9:00 pm as well).

In Iraq, Sunday saw even worse news from a region that rarely has genuine good news (though the Operation Happy Talkers do try, they really try). Reuters reports 11 announced deaths of US service members (8 of the deaths happened on Sunday, 2 on Saturday and one on Friday -- all were announced Sunday). Sudarsan Raghavan and Karin Brulliard (Washington Post) note it was actually 12 deaths, the death of 12 US service members, that were announced by the US military on Sunday. Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today, "In Iraq, at least 150 people have died over the past three days." Counting corpses discovered, Reuters reported at least 77 Iraqis dead on Sunday alone. CBS and AP peg the number at 95: "at least 95 Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide Sunday, police reported." In addition, the UK Defence Ministry announced on Sunday: "It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce the death of a soldier, who died today, 6 May 2007, as a result of injuries that were sustained in Iraq last week." And CNN reports that, on Sunday, US Col. Billy Don Farris was "shot in the leg" in Iraq and "was evacuated to receive treatment" but given "a Purple Heart before he was evacuated". Meanwhile, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports that, still on Sunday, Major General Rick Lynch ("commander of the 3rd Infantry Division) basically sings "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet." Susman reports Lynch says "American casualties would rise in the coming months" -- this after April which, Susman notes, was "only the fourth time since the beginning of 2005 that U.S. deaths have exceeded 100 in a single month." Raghavan and Brulliard (Washington Post) quote Lynch stating, "All of us believe that in the next 90 days, you'll probably see an increase in American casualties because we are taking the fight to the enemy." Lynch would do well to work on identifying "the enemy" since no one serving above him or anyone in the White House can.

Today . . .

Bombings?

AFP reports twin car bombings today in Ramadi that left 20 dead and quotes Iraqi Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi saying, "Ten were killed in each explosion and both were from suicide car bombs." AFP also notes that Al-Anbar Province was hailed by David Petraeus as "breathtaking" in its progress last month. Reuters reports that the death toll has climbed to 25 and also notes a mortar attack in Iskandariya that killed 2 (10 more injured), that "eight to 10" people (suspected insurgents) were shot dead by "U.S. army Apache helicopters". Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 Baghdad mortar attacks killed 10 today (7 wounded), 8 police officers dead from a Baghdad car bombing (12 more injured), a Bani Saad roadside bombing that wounded three ("father and two of his sons), a Kirkuk roadside bombing that wounded one person, woman wounded in a Basra explosion and a Basra rocket attack that killed one person.
.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad assualt that left 1 person dead (2 wounded), a Mandhili attack on a bus with 4 people shot dead (2 wounded), a police officer shot dead in New Baquba, an attack on a Khalis woodcarver that killed the man and "three of his sons who were helping in his job" and "Before noon, terrorism group pushed into a school at Khuailis (north of Baquba) executing two teachers (husband and wife) in front of pupils and teachers."

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 30 corpses discovered in Baghdad today, the corpse of "a police commissioner which was lain on the road of Hawija," and, in Al-Wajihiya, the corpse "of a man which was identified later as the chairman of Al-Wajihiya town municipality who was kidnapped yesterday". Reuters notes two corpses discovered near Hilla.

Today, Reuters reports the US military announced a soldier died from "small arms fire while on patrol in western Baghdad". ICCC's current count is 3377 for the total number of US service members who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war.


In US political news, Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reports US Senator John Boehner declared on television Sunday (Fox "News") that "Over the course of the next three months or four months, we'll have some idea how well the plan is working." Boehner's referring to David Petraeus ("top commander in Iraq") scheduled report on the 'progress' in September -- 'progress' of the escalation which began in February. Boehner isn't the first Republican to float August or September as a date of (semi)reckoning. And, as MediaMatters has pointed out, John McCain makes such statements every few months (and apparently forgets he's made them -- Senator Crazy -- or maybe just assumes no one's paying attention).

Meanwhile US presidential candidate John Edwards appeared on ABC's This Week and stated, "My opinion is the American people spoke very clearly in the last election, said they wanted a different course in Iraq. . . . The way for Congress to stand firm is to resubmit another bill funding the troops but with a timetable for withdrawals." Sadly, by "another bill," Edwards means the same measure -- the same toothless, nonbinding measure. He was asked his why he was disdainful of US Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's joint-measure with US Senator Robert Byrd that's being billed as "Deauthorize the War."
Edwards responded that "the president has already exceeded the authority . . . America is now policing a civil war. The president was never given permission to police a civil war and the power that the Congress has to stop this war is the use of its funding authority. And that's what they should do. That's the place that the Congress is the most powerful, their Constitutional authority to use that to stop the war."

George Steph demonstrated that he left his common sense along with his heart when he stormed out of the Clinton White House by asking about a "genocide" that "a lot of people say" would happen if US troops left Iraq, Shi'ites would kill Sunnis! Keeping up with news from Iraq isn't required for the Sunday chat & chews but it should be. What George Steph is so concerned about? It's been ongoing since the start of the illegal war, since the US government decided to fund and fuel one side. (I'm told video is available online and that George Steph has on so much makeup he looks like George Hamilton -- who 'served' in the LBJ administration.) Edwards' response" ". .. Honestly it's a serious risk and something that the president of the United States needs to be thinking about and planning for and my position is that what I what I would do as president is as we withdrew our combat troops out of Iraq, I would not leave the region. I think we would need a troop presence in Kuwait, in the Persian Gulf . . ." Basically everywhere. Karen Button (Common Dreams) reports on a realistic plan for withdrawal which, no surprise, doesn't come from the US Congress but from "Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, Assyrian Christians, Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and other minorities, the majjority of which are still in Iraq." Planning Iraq's Future is the 250-page plan for peace and Dr. Abdul Karim Hani tells Button, "This plan proposes a direction for the future of Iraq. We've been asked many times what is the political program of the resistance. Well, this is it." Button identifies the central points:

All foreign troop withdrawal, including military bases and security forces;
That fulfilled, Iraqi National Resistance declares ceasefire; -- Annulment of the current political process;
Installation of 2-year interim Prime Minister, nominated by consensus, under UN auspices;
Installation of temporary peace-keeping forces from Arab nations that did not cooperate with invasion, with UN consultation;
Elections held within two years;
Army and security forces not allowed in political process;
Interim government members not allowed in elections;
Reformation of Iraqi Army
US presidential candidate and US House Rep Dennis Kucinich commented on the Clinton-Byrd plan stating, "Now that Senator Clinton supports deauthorization, will she support defunding the war? When someone votes to fund the war 100 percent of the time and then says she support deauthorization, it looks like a gimmick. Last week she voted to fund the war again. Every time she votes to fund the war she reauthorizes it. The true test of her commitment to ending the war is whether she'll vote to stop funding it. Congress will soon be faced with yet another decision on whether or not to fund the war. Let's see how Senator Clinton votes, to see if she is to be believed." Alexander Cockburn (CounterPunch) concludes: "So the Democrats are edgy too, though not quite so much as McCain, whose only option is to turn on a dime and come out against the war at the end of the summer. What the Democrats fear is that a very significant number of voters are in a testy mood, ready to punish anyone -- Democrat as well as Republican -- who doesn't have a clear, simple plan to bring the troops back home. So now they are openly conceding they misunderstood the public mood. . . . they are caught between the public mood and the imperial imperative and the latter will prevail in their calculations and thus -- absent a prodigious orgy of doublespeak -- alienate their political base." (Cockburn is not referring to Kucinich or US presidential candidate Mike Gravel in the excerpt.)

In other, Bob Abernethy interviewed British War Cheerleader Andrew White ("Canon . . . of the Anglican Church in Baghdad" -- when he's present which isn't all that often -- his home is in England and he is a British citizen) for Religion & Ethics and the spirit faded for the cheerleader during the following exchange (as noted Sunday by The Third Estate Sunday Review) about Iraq's current puppet government:

ABERNETHY: And do you expect it to last?Canon WHITE: No.ABERNETHY: It will fall when? And what will replace it?Canon WHITE: The reality is that there's a very high chance that the present government will cease its existence in the coming months.

As Tom Hayden has noted, it's past time for the issue of what is the US government paying for, what are they supporting was addressed (supporting with debt that US tax payers will have to pay off). War Cheerleader White (whose church moved inside the heavily fortified Green Zone) admits/speaks what everyone already knows, puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki has a very tenuous hold on the title of prime minister.

Finally, in news of activism, Ron Jacobs (Z-Net) speaks with Josh Brielmaier, Todd Dennis, Zach Heise, Bernadette Watts and Chris Dols (two students who took part in last month's occupation of US Senator Herbert Kohl's office in Madison), students . . . who aren't apathetic. Shocking only to those desk jockeys who never get out in the real world. Bernadette Watts tells Jacobs, "In Kohl's patronizing response email, he let us know that he was happy we came to show our discontent and he agrees with us but that he couldn't really do anything about the war in Iraq, as it lies in George W's hands. We occupied his office to make a statement. A statement telling Kohl that we refuse to be continually misrepresented in Washington, as he says he's against the war, yet continues to support funding for the war." Chris Dols declares, "Our goal is to build a movement that can stop the war. We haven't done that yet, obviously. But we have expanded the core of organizers sufficiently. (Four months ago our CAN meetings were attended by 4 of us. Today it's over 20 regularly.) Further, activists are learning from experience. The struggle itself is our greatest class room. The classes are getting bigger and the discussion are ahead, politically, of where they were several years ago. For example, racism against Arabs and Muslims is discussed as regularly as 'What would happen if the US left Iraq today?' and the America's broader goals in the Middle East, etc. These discussions are not only welcomed in the movement, but necessary for our growth. Our goal -- and we've begun to achieve this -- is to make antiwar activism more educational and fulfilling than school. Given the misery of schoolwork and the terrible job market for graduates, we're operating on fertile ground." At the end, Jacobs is thanked for taking the time to speak to students (thanked by the students) because, let's be honest, the press talks about students, they don't talk to them. (That's why from The Nation to the New York Times, they can all repeat the lie -- with a straight face -- that students are apathetic.) We've noted two of the students today and we'll include a sample of all of their voices (hopefully, the others will be quoted in tomorrow's snapshot). This doesn't count for Todd Dennis, I just want to note two events he's mentioning -- he notes that he will be taking part in Iraq Veterans Against the War's "Operation First Casualty action in NYC, going to France and then attending the Veterans for Peace national conference. We noted the conference earlier. 2005 spawned Camp Casey, 2006 presented Ehren Watada. 2007? What's known so far is it will last from August 15 through 19 and be held in St. Louis, Missouri (811 North 9th Street, at the Holiday Inn).

iraq
sir no sir
joshua keybrandon hugheyjeremy hinzman
the washington postsudarsan raghavankarin brulliard
democracy nowamy goodman
ron jacobs
alexander cockburn
peter laufer
the third estate sunday review

Highlights

Happy Cinco de Mayo. Which, sadly, I didn't realize it was until C.I., Jess and I ran to get some produce this morning.

Will there be a review today? If there is, it will be Patti Smith. I've heard that more than anything else this week. That's not a complaint. If I'd been home, I would've had a review of Tori Amos ready to go. But I wasn't home because Rebecca gave birth and we all headed East for that.

I have followed the news mainly through C.I.'s snapshot and conversations with others. I missed KPFA.

I've been up for about two or three hours but I wake up slowly and I do get jet lag. Yes, I know, flying in a plane should not make anyone tired. It's not as though I flew home flapping my wings. But since I'm so out of it, I'm going to do some highlights (which I should do even when I'm not tired).

"White House in fear" & "THIS JUST IN! MYSTERIOUS LETTER SHOCKS D.C."
-- Cedric & Wally's joint post on Bully Boy's latest bluster.

"The grind (Mike filling in for Rebecca)" -- I really enjoyed this piece by Mike. I was sipping my coffee and read it slowly to savor.

"Grab bag (Betty blogging for Rebecca)" -- If I didn't love Betty's site so much, I'd say, "Chuck it out the window!" She's a natural blogger. At her site, she's got to stay in character, work with an outline, etc. When she gets to fill in for one of us and just blog, she's always delivering something amazing.

"Greg Palast, Gregory Levey" -- Thursday, Elaine and I stayed at Rebecca's. We had a lot of fun and Rebecca's baby is a beauty. But Elaine said that she just knew, come Friday, she'd have nothing to blog about because the week's been a busy one and she was so tired. I understood completely. However, unlike me, she actually did end up having something to blog about Friday night. When we got back here (Ava, Jess, Ty, Dona, Jim, C.I. and myself), I did head to my place and log on the computer. I probably stared at the screen for 30 minutes before I told myself, "Just go to sleep." Smartest decision I could have made. (Though I am still sleepy.)

"Corn & Onion Casserole in the Kitchen" -- I got to visit with Trina this week as well and that is always great. Here she's offering a recipe (as she does on Saturdays) and is addressing why, although meaningless, Hillary Clinton should issue a statement saying she made a mistake in voting for (and funding) the illegal war. (Voting for authorization of the illegal war. Technically, the war isn't authorized.)

"The Friedman 'Big Dumb'" -- Betty called this morning. She said, "Oh, I woke you up!" She had even called C.I. first to run the latest by hoping that would let sleepy head me be wideawake for the scheduled phone call. It didn't. But I was laughing when she read it to me over the phone. You will laugh too.

"Charles R. Larson wins the Dumb Ass award" -- you have to wonder, do the gas bags even try to find out any facts? Mike's taking on one in this post. The only thing I would add to it (and I know Mike was in a hurry when he wrote it) is that Larson shouldn't say Americans mute their TVs or don't read stories unless he knows that's what they do when Iraq comes on. He doesn't know it and there's no study to back up that (false) assertion.

Okay, that's going to be it for me. I'm at C.I.'s and I think I'm going to grab a guest room and go back to sleep. Sorry but I am jet lagged.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Friday, May 4, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces the deaths of more service members, the mainstream press gloms on an apparent lie, a US senator floats his inablity to stand (no spine), and more.


Starting with news of war resisters. Today Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) interviewed US Senator Daniel Akaka, the junior senator from Hawaii. Ehren Watada was brought up. Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. A February court-martial ended in an mistrial. This month (the 20-th through the 21st), pre-trial motions are scheduled. If the judge elects to ignore the Constituion's ban on double-jeopardy, Watada would then be court-martialed beginning July 16th. Before the Febuary court-martial, he spoke to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! Tuesday, January 23, 2006 and Goodman and Gonzalez played a clip for that for Akaka today:

In my preparation for deployment to Iraq, in order to better train myself and my soldiers, I began to research the background of Iraq, including the culture, the history, the events going on on the ground and what had led us up into the war in the first place, and what I found was very shocking to me and dismaying, and it really made me question what I was being asked to do, and it caused me to research more and more. And as I found out the answers to the questions I had, I became convinced that the war itself was illegal and immoral, as was the current conduct of American forces and the American government on the ground over in Iraq. And as such, as somebody who has sworn an oath to protect our Constitution, our values and our principles, and to protect the welfare and the safety of the American people, I said to myself that's something that I cannot be a part of, the war. I cannot enable or condone those who have established this illegal and immoral policy. And so, I simply requested that I have my commission resigned and I separate completely from the military, because of those reasons, and I was denied several times, and I was basically given the ultimatum: either you deploy to Iraq or you will face a court-martial.

Noting that Akaka is opposed to the war, that Carolyn Ho had visited him in DC to ask for his support for her son, Goodman asked Akaka, "Do you think he should be court-martialed?"

Akaka: I know him and I know his dad and his mom very, very well in Hawaii. I admire his position and, for me, it's a position that has grown with him being reared and brought up in Hawaii in a diverse population and with diverse culture and a care for people. And what he has done is so difficult for any young man to take a position like that, to the point where he is willing to resign his position as an officer and to leave the service of the United States. But he bases it on the mistakes that this country has made. And so, he needs to be admired for that. But he has had a difficult time to convince the military courts, as well, to just let him resign. But for me, we'll let the courts decide that. But I admire his position. It's very difficult, and we know that we all love our country, and I know he does too. But his reasons are, as I said, moral and that's really basic for anybody as he makes a difficult decision as he has.

For those lost in Akaka's useless wordage, the answer is "no." He will not do one damn thing. Would the answer have been different if Goodman or Gonzalez had raised the issue of double-jeopardy?

No. Akaka is as useless as his words. "I know him . . I know his dad and his mom . . ." Yes, he does know them. He was happy to have Bob Watada work his butt off for his campaign and many others. And while Akaka's happy to pose as BRAVE SENATOR AGAINST THE WAR he can't won't lift a damn finger to help anyone that's suffering for Akaka and other senators' useless manuevers. What is Akaka so scared of? He was just re-elected in November of 2006. He is 82 years old. Is he afraid he won't be able to be a senator at 88 if he shows some damn courage? When Time magazine picks you as one of the Five Worst Senators maybe it's time you stepped aside ("As a legislator, though, Akaka is living proof that experience does not necessarily yield expertise. After 16 years on the job, the junior Senator from Hawaii is a master of the minor resolution and the bill that dies in committee.") Voting against the war doesn't mean a damn thing if that's where you courage ends. Staying on dumb and useless, let's turn to Hawaii's other Senator (though let's note that when it's time to stand up for drilling in the AMWR, Akaka is present and accounted for), Daniel Inouye. Like Akaka, Inouye has strongly benefitted from the work of Bob Watada. Inouye is 82 as well (he is actually four days older than Akaka).

Inouye voted against authorization for the illegal war. At 82, why is he so scared to speak up in defense of Watada? Greg Small (AP) reported on Inouye's attitude towards Watada last August: not "too happy," rushed to note "he wasn't praising Watada" . . . So two senators, damn well old enough to know better, can't do one damn thing. They can't end the war, they can't speak out for someone forced to take a stand (one they themselves are too feeble or cowardly to take). They both knew Bob Watada. They're thanks for all the hard work he put in is to turn their backs on his son? May voters show them the same sense of 'loyalty' if the OLD FOOLS are idiot enough to run for re-election (2011 for Inouye, 2012 for Akaka). Inouye and Akaka the strongest reasons today for a mandatory retirement age for the Senate.

In other war resister news, this week Camilo Meija's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia was published and, as Courage to Resist reports, he will be joining Agustin Aguayo Pablo Paredes, and Robert Zabala for a speaking tour from May 9th through 17th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The announced dates include:

Wednesday May 9 - Marin 7pm at College of Marin, Student Services Center, 835 College Ave, Kentfield. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Pablo Paredes and David Solnit. Sponsored by Courage to Resist and Students for Social Responsibility.

Thursday May 10 - Sacramento Details TBA
Friday May 11 - Stockton 6pm at the Mexican Community Center, 609 S Lincoln St, Stockton. Featuring Agustin Aguayo.
Saturday May 12 - Monterey 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 490 Aguajito Rd, Carmel. Featuring Agustin Aguayo and Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chp. 69, Hartnell Students for Peace, Salinas Action League, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Courage to Resist. More info: Kurt Brux 831-424-6447
Sunday May 13 - San Francisco 7pm at the Veterans War Memorial Bldg. (Room 223) , 401 Van Ness St, San Francisco. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia and Pablo Paredes. Sponsored by Courage to Resist, Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69 and SF Codepink.
Monday May 14 - Watsonville 7pm at the United Presbyterian Church, 112 E. Beach, Watsonville. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and Robert Zabala. Sponsored by the GI Rights Hotline & Draft Alternatives program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Watsonville Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), Watsonville Brown Berets, Courage to Resist and Santa Cruz Veterans for Peace Chp. 11. More info: Bob Fitch 831-722-3311
Tuesday May 15 - Palo Alto 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall), 1140 Cowper, Palo Alto. Featuring Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Pennisula Peace and Justice Center. More info: Paul George 650-326-8837
Wednesday May 16 - Eureka 7pm at the Eureka Labor Temple, 840 E St. (@9th), Eureka. Featuring Camilo Mejia. More info: Becky Luening 707-826-9197Thursday May 17 - Oakland 4pm youth event and 7pm program at the Humanist Hall, 411 28th St, Oakland. Featuring Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and the Alternatives to War through Education (A.W.E.) Youth Action Team. Sponsored by Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69, Courage to Resist, Central Committee for Conscientious Objector's (CCCO) and AWE Youth Action Team.

Aguayo wants to take part in that but may not be released in time. If the military is thinking they'll clamp down on war resistance by holding Aguayo, they obviously aren't factoring the passion this tour will create and the questions of, "Where's Augie?" All are part of a growing movement of war resistance within the military: Camilo Mejia, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Dean Walcott, Camilo Mejia, Linjamin Mull, Joshua Key, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, the documentary Sir! No Sir! traces the war resistance within the military during Vietnam and it will air at 9:00 pm (EST) on The Sundance Channel followed at 10:30 p.m. by The Ground Truth which examines the Iraq war and features Jimmy Massey and Iraq Veterans Against the War's Kelly Dougherty among others. (Filling in for Rebecca, Betty wrote about Sir! No Sir! last night.)


Now let's turn to the apparent lie. CBS and AP report that Manouchehr Mottaki (Iran's Foreign Minister) "walked out of a dinner of diplomats where he was seated directly across from Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, on the pretext that the female violinist entertaining the gathering was dressed too revealing." Cute. Kind of like the lie that Hugo Chavez said Noam Chomsy was dead, no? Other versions take greater strides to note that Rice wasn't walked out on, she wasn't present. But they love this apparently false claim of the scantily clad violinist -- in Egypt? the US State Department can't lie any better than that? -- and most include this non-diplomatic quote by Sean McCormack who is a spokesperson for the State Department: "I don't know which woman he was afraid of, the woman in the red dress or the secretary of state." What's the truth?

Oh, you don't think it's coming out of the braying mouth of Sean McCormack, do you? KUNA reports: "On Thursday evening, Mottaki left dinner in Sharm el-Sheikh before Rice arrived to sit at the same table" and "Asked why he did not meet Rice, Mottaki told a news conference: 'There was no time, no appointment and no plans. A meeting between foreign ministers has certain requirements (such as) political will and it also has to be clear on what basis such a meeting would be held." AFP, to its credit, noted the comments being put out by "US officials" were "a swipe" on the part of "US officials" but somehow Mottaki's press conference just slipped everyone's attention.

McCormack's statements aren't diplomatic but they are the sort of calculated cheap shots. So nice of so many in the press to run with them just because US officials said they were true. Our Hedda Hoppers of the press.

Staying on the topic of the press, in the current issue of Extra! (March/April 2007, put out by FAIR), Pat Arnow explores (pp. 9-10) the censorship the press doesn't fight. Using a photo (by Robert Nickelsberg) that ran with Damien Cave's "Man Down," Arnow explains how the New York Times groveled and apologized to appease the US military, "apparently removed the photos from their website" in order to gladly go along with the latest dictates of the US military: "Now publications of pictures of casualties violates new media ground rules for Iraq from the Department of Defense. The regulation states, 'Names, video, identifiable photographs of wounded service members will not be released without service member's prior written consent' -- which seems absurdly unlikely." The US military has declared that photos of casualties taken in a public area are not, in fact, public. It's the sort of thing one expects from Team Crusie, but not from the US military, and the sort of thing one doesn't expect for news reporters (as opposed to feature writers) to ever go along with; however, go along with it the Times and other outlets have (Arnow also names the Washington Post). Arnow concludes, "Photos of American suffering or suffering caused by Americans might indeed sicken and offend viewers. But by acquiescing to the military's censorship and avoiding most of these images of American involvement, the media does not offer a true portrayal of the consequences of war. . . . By accepting military censorship without discussion, though, the media demonstrates cowardice." (It should probably be noted that no one has yet to touch the much talked of incident where the Times pulled a reporter from Iraq to appease the US military.)

Barry Lando (The Middle East Online via Common Dreams) notes the "pretense that they [journalists] actually know what is going on in Iraq. It is more showbiz than fact. Because of the fearful security situation, they are restricted to the artificial enclave of the Green Zone, literally cut off from the rest of the country. When they venture out, it is usually only with helmet and flak jacket, safely embedded with American military units. Most of Iraq and most of its people are unknown territory. . . . Most reporters also avoid reporting that the claim of the squabbling do-nothing politicians in the Green Zone to be the government of Iraq is another fiction promulgated by the Bush administration. Everyone -- the media, visiting congressmen and officials all seem to play along -- but as retired General Barry McCaffrey recently pointed out: There is essentially not a single province in the country where 'the centeral government holds sway.'"

Today, the New York Times grabbed some ribbon and tied a 'terrorism' bow around any story they could. Damien Cave tries to fix the mess of official statements in opposition and ends up coming off like Faye Dunaway in the My-daughter-My-sister scene in Chinatown. So after wasting a ton of space and ink this week on whether or not this 'terrorist' was killed or that one was, Damien Cave tells us that the US military asserts they "killed a senior propagandist . . . who was involved in kidnapping Westerners, including the American journalist Jill Carroll." Though repeating every word purred by the Giddiest Gabor Green Zone (Willie Caldwell), Cave misses basic reality. As Dan Murphy (Christian Science Monitor) reports "Carroll says she doesn't recognize the photo released by the military of [Abdul-Latif al-] Jubouri." That much was known yesterday. Murphy also reports that Caroll identifies Abu Nour as a major player in her kidnapping and there is "no doubt in her mind that he was the most powerful of the captors". Murphy also reminds that "Over the past the year the US military has detained a number of figures believed to have been involved" in Carroll's kidnapping and that of Tom Fox and three members of CPT. Somehow, Cave misses all of that. But then, he is working for the paper that early on could have interviewed members of the resistance but a vexed look from a US military official was enough to send Dexy Filkins off to his corner, whimpering and sucking his thumb.

These days, very few outlets could get an interview with anyone in the resistance. Alive in Baghdad did get an interview this week, with a member of the Islamic Army in Iraq which has been dubbed "a resistance group" by Iraq's vice president Tareq al-Hashemi. Below is a transcript of the masked man's statements:

In the Name of Allah the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. The new security plan is a huge failure. We have nothing against the American people. On the contrary, we know there are educated Americans and Americans who like the Iraqi people. Our problem is with the American occupiers who invaded our country. I ask any American, if an invader broke into his country, what would he do? Welcome them? He is going to use this weapon by the will of Allah. God is supporting us. Concering the execution of the hero martyr Saddam Hussein, I call on all the TV networks to visit Iraq and find someone who supported the execution of the Iraqi president. May God have mercy on his soul. When he executed the 148 men as the media claims, they were traitors when we were at war with Iran. If the American president faces an assassination attempt, what is he going to do? Is he going to release them from prison? He'll find the terrorists. This is very normal and the Iraqi president was in a war situation where he was about to be assassinated. So what could the man do? Iran sent these men and supported them and even Iranian weapons were found. My late uncle was a senior official in the state. He saw these weapons. All of them were made in Iran. Where did they get them from? From Iran. They say that the Iraqi president was Sunni and execute Shiites but that is a lie. Those executed by the president were traitors. They didn't deserve to live on the land of Iraq. So he was not sectarian. The late Iraqi president was a patriot who loved his country & people. He made us live in safety,
although the country was going through economic difficulties because of the embargo imposed by the Americans and the Kuwaitis. It was what God willed. This security plan has failed and the Iraqi government is loyal to Iran, to the Safavid [Iranians]. This government is unable to run a group of people. So how can it run an entire country with 28 million Iraqis? I call on the Americans to leave Iraq and re-build the former Iraqi army. By the will of Allah, I call upon the American people to withdraw their sons, brothers, and fathers before they are buried her in Iraq because we noble Sunnis do not accept that and the biggest proof for that was how the late president sacrificed himself and his sons for the sake of Iraq and the land of Iraq. And as it is said, we are people who will never surrender.

Alive in Baghdad does a contextual wrap around (at the end they're noting the Mongols) including: "We are aware that some may find this content objectionable or irresponsible, but we feel it is completely in line with our mission to detail facets of daily life in Baghdad." Those who find it objectionable may do so because they've become so used to what passes for reporting in the mainstream press. Alive in Baghdad, as BBC reported last December, "won a crop of 'Vloggie' industry awards for showing the human face behind Iraq's daily toll of deaths and kidnappings."


Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that killed 5 police officers and left 2 more wounded, a Baghdad taxi bombing that wounded one police officer, and a Babil car bombing that claimed 1 life and left 21 wounded. Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports, "A car bomb and two roadside bombs went off overnight in Kirkuk, killing six Iraqis and injuring at least 33" while a Baghdad mortar attack claimed 2 lives.

Wednesday's rocket attack on the Green Zone killed four contractors. Lelia Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "Two of the dead were from India, one was from the Philippines and one was from Nepal." Thursday's snapshot, citing Reuters, noted the four were all from the Philippines.

Shootings?

Hussien Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 guards were wounded by gunfire in Baghdad (Habibiya neighborhood) and two guards of the Imama Ali mosque (in Baghdad's Adhamiya neighborhood) were wounded in an attack that also led to the mosque being burned down, a Shurqat attack that left a police officer dead, and "For the last five days, the tribes of Shimar who live at the villages of Kinaan have been on fighting with the terrorists there with no help from the government having one man killed and five injured."

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 15 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 8 corpses in Suwayra, 6 in Baiji (all police officers) and 9 in Falluja. AP notes 7 corpses "found floating in the Diyala River in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, and snipers were preventing police and medical teams from recovering from the remains along with other bodies spotted in recent weeks from the waterway, police said."

Today the US military announced: "An improvised explosive device targeting an MND-B patrol killed one Soldier and wounded three others in a western section of Baghdad May 3."
And they announced: "An MND-B Soldier was killed and six others were wounded when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in an eastern section of the Iraqi capital May 3." And they announced: "A Task Force Marne Soldier was killed and two were wounded when their patrol was struck by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad today." Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) reports that there were 65 attacks using projectile bombs.
The deaths announced today brought the total number of US service members to die in the illegal war to 3363.

Finally Rick Rogers (San Diego Union-Tribune) reported yesterday on an ethics study the US military conducted on marines stationed in Iraq. The study found that 40% was the number who stated they "would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian" and Rogers reported: "The report indeed showed that longer deployments and multiple tours of duty were increasing troops' rates of marital and mental-health problems, including post traumatic stress disorder." Pauline Jelinek (AP) reports on the study today and notes that "55 percent of Army soldiers would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian."

iraq
ehren watadabob watada
democracy nowamy goodmanjuan gonzalez
ann scott tysonthe washington post
barry lando
alive in baghdad
the new york timesdamien cave
the los angeles timestina susman