"Mailbag," as C.I. feared, has resulted in some really pointed e-mails. Ty was showing me those last night and I was going to address it before the latest bit of nonsense (another 'grown up' whining to C.I. about how mean we all are) happened.
One e-mail that came in on "Mailbag" has already called C.I. a "rich bitch." I hope they didn't strain themselves with that rhyme.
Here's the deal. C.I. has a great woman who is the housekeeper. I interviewed her in May (I think it was May) for a post here. I ended up pulling it when C.I. found out. C.I. agreed it could go into one of the newsletters (it ran in the gina & krista round-robin) but didn't think it was fair it went up here. If it had trashed C.I. or had points noting flaws, C.I. wouldn't have cared.
But it was a nice post. C.I. said it wasn't fair to put that up. For a number of reasons all of which I understood and respected.
But I read six of the e-mails Ty printed up to the housekeeper today and she weighed in (for this site) and it's going up here.
Someone, not C.I. who didn't comment, made the point about house sitting. Several e-mails found that 'classicst' noting that only someone who thought they were better than the live in staff would need someone else to watch a home.
No one lives in the home except C.I. and guests. The housekeeper and her sister (who is also on staff) live in the guest house. With her permission, I'll call her Ms. J because C.I. would freak out over me putting a private person's name (even just first) up online, Ms. J had four kids and a husband who left her for a woman with no kids and several years younger. Ms. J approached C.I. for advance because the husband left her after he cleared out their bank account. C.I. said there was no problem with an advance but she could live in the guest house if she wanted. Others had lived on property (in the house) before. Because Ms. J was married with kids before she started, there was never an issue of her living on premise. She lives in the guest house now and has for a long, long time.
She said to put in about the "great purge" because that might make C.I. feel better. She'd been there only a few weeks when everyone got fired. C.I. fired them all. The reason was someone was coming by with a job and C.I. wasn't interested. Some of the staff got it into their heads that it was okay to share their thoughts of how to play up the offer to C.I. and to share personal details. C.I. had been very clear, to all, before each of the three visits, be nice to him but do not get personal with him.
One by one, each of them got called in and left fired. It was almost five o'clock and C.I. came into the kitchen and told Ms. J they needed to talk tomorrow. She was in a panic because she needed the job and hadn't said anything. She said, "If I'm fired, tell me now."
C.I. was surprised and said she wasn't fired, that she hadn't plotted with the man and C.I. knew that. What they would be talking about tomorrow was whether she wanted to continue in her current job or become the house keeper over everyone?
She's been the house keeper ever since. Her sister had applied before and been turned down by the then house keeper. She had raised that with C.I. and C.I. said it might be a concern about the two of them working together but if she was saying there would be no problem, C.I. would make it clear that the next slot open needed to seriously consider Ms. J's sister. When Ms. J became the house keeper, she and C.I. sat up interviews and Ms. J asked if she could interview her sister and hire her? C.I. said she could do whatever she wanted provided she was comfortable with it.
Ms. J did not like working there before the "great purge." She found other people who worked there to be cliquish and really went out of their way to try to treat new employees rudely. So she made sure that wouldn't be a problem. That was her key thing in her first interviews. At the end of the first round there was one woman who was really qualified but had a real attitude. Ms. J went to C.I. saying the woman's history said she was perfect but Ms. J didn't think so. C.I. told her, "It's your judgement. You're the one responsible."
She's never had her judgement questioned in all these years.
She is off work at five p.m. That is stressed for everyone. At five, they are off. That didn't mean, get out. The phone in the kitchen is really for Ms. J and anyone she wants to let use it. If she or someone is on it after five, they are on their time. If they are sitting around somewhere, because they need to think about something, they're tired or they're waiting on someone to get there, they are doing that on their time. That was made clear not just to them, it was made clear to everyone.
The only bad experience she ever had with anyone other than staff was 6 weeks after she first started, this is before she was the housekeeper, and a necklace went missing. She was questioned. She was questioned in the kitchen and C.I. happened to walk in and hit the roof.
"She is doing her job and she's not about to steal, how dare you accuse her!" She remembers that moment very well. C.I. demanded an apology to Ms. J. Weeks later, the necklace showed up, a friend had borrowed without asking. Ms. J got an apology and an admission that the question was an accusation. She was told that C.I. had said all along it wasn't Ms. J and that it probably wasn't any of the employees. Ms. J was the newest so she became a suspect despite C.I. vouching.
She said that over the years, with a spouse or a child, C.I. has made it clear that 5:00 pm was the cut off and that you did not accuse anyone of anything without proof.
She gets an annual raise. She gets paid vacation and sick time. All three of her children had their college paid for by C.I. (and her oldest got her doctorate, C.I. paid for it all). She has a pension set up. She has health and dental. She also has a six month heads up should C.I. ever sell the house. Hearing the e-mails I read to her, she asked that all of that be noted.
As for the house sitting, she notes that she and her sister have been told, if you hear a noise at night when no one's in the house, call the police, do not check it out yourself. That has been the policy since she moved into the guest house. She said that's rent free. When she began dating her second husband, she almost cancelled on their first date because her babysitter didn't show. C.I. said leave her kids at the house, it wouldn't be a problem. That happened repeatedly while they dated and, later, on anniversaries. (Her husband passed away a few years ago.)
On Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava living there now, she notes it is not a problem at all and that she honestly was considering moving in with her oldest daughter (the one with the doctorate) because she felt like she was just taking money because C.I. was gone so much and the days of children living in the home were gone as well.
The only favor she's ever been asked for is that when she's away on the holidays, would it be okay for Elaine to sleep in the guest house. Ms. J had already met Elaine and thought the world of her. Elaine is the only guest who has ever slept there since Ms. J moved into the guest house. Ms. J has offered and offered at other holidays (she spends Christmas and Thanksgiving with her family) but C.I. says Elaine's the only one who won't snoop and won't break anything.
All of the gang is more than polite and she is glad they are there. She and Ty, Jim and myself will play poker very often.
I will add that when anyone compliments how smoothly things run, C.I. always gives full credit to Ms. J. That's not because she's around. She's usually already off for the evening. But C.I. gives full credit to Ms. J.
Her sister once had car problems (before she moved into the guest house) and C.I. found out, said it was nonsense to fix it and they went out and got a new car. Ms. J can offer examples of others who work there but she agreed her sister wouldn't mind that being included so I'll only include that.
She wanted it stressed that no one on staff starts out at minimum wage. They all have insurance, etc. "We are all paid very well and always have been. There is a Christmas bonus as well as a yearly raise. The newest one on staff has been here five years. No one leaves here for another job. They leave to start a family or because they need to go take care of sick family. If they leave to do that, they are always welcomed back."
Ms. J has had to fire people. The first time, she went to C.I. to explain why and C.I. said it was her judgement and only wondered if she needed someone present? Ms. J was determined to prove she could do the job and said she could handle it. She was with the woman for an hour and then went to get C.I. because she couldn't do it. C.I. was not put out by that. They sat down with the woman and C.I. explained Ms. J had instructions that were not followed, that warnings were repeatedly issued and it was not working out so the woman was fired. The woman then started discussing the bills she had. C.I. said she'd receive 6 weeks salary (which is what everyone fired gets). The woman went back to her bills. C.I. said there were six paid weeks where she could expect a check and by then she'd need to figure out what do.
The woman tried to make it personal and C.I. didn't let it go there. Ms. J said she has followed that example whenever she's needed to fire someone. She also says that if she says no good reference to someone and they try to use C.I. instead, C.I. always checks with her first. C.I. has no problem explaining that the person would not be re-employed (not giving details because you are not supposed to do that). C.I. then explains that Ms. J was the employees supervisor and that's who should have been called.
"I have never been undercut or questioned and I've made plenty of mistakes. When I have and realized it, I would go to C.I. and the issue wasn't 'You made a mistake!' It was on how we could fix it."
I really like, no I really love, Ms. J. Reading those e-mails pissed me off not just because of the assumptions being made about C.I. (these were from the right-wingers who e-mail each week, by the way) but also because Ms. J and others were assumed to be things that they are not.
Ms. J said to stress the "great purge." Not for her own job safety, she doubts C.I. will ever bring this up to her. But she said I will catch less flack if I note that one day, C.I. fired the full staff except for her. "And didn't think twice about it."
One right winger compared C.I. to Karen from Will & Grace saying he knew C.I. must do things like say "I can see you!" upon entering a room. Ms. J said that has never happened. C.I. is usually focused on several different things and has always stressed if you have a problem (anyone, not just Ms. J) and you don't feel you are being listened to, you need to say the words, "I have a problem" to be sure C.I. is paying attention.
When there were young children living in the house, C.I. would be clear even with them that, after 5:00 pm, you didn't ask for something. So much so that the children would often ask C.I., "Is it too late?" before approaching Ms. J. (Ms. J is in charge of the house and if you have any question or need, you go through her. That's the second rule. Dona mentioned the 3:00 pm rule on meal requests. They have to be in by 3 because no one needs to be breaking their neck to meet your last minute demands. There is a second rule and it's if you need something, you go through Ms. J.) That's because she's in charge. She knows if something can be done or not. She knows what she's assigned others. If you stop someone under her, they may feel pressure to do what you're asking. Ms. J will tell you if something isn't possible. It also undercuts her authority if the instructions aren't coming from her. That was true even when C.I. was married.
C.I. would say, "Don't you do that, don't you ever go around her."
Ms. J said she took the job originally to pay bills and it was hell. Because she was new, everything got delegated to her. At one point, she mentioned that to C.I. and C.I. listened but didn't make any promises. She realized after, C.I. went to the then house keeper to find out what was going on. Ms. J is very proud that that's never had to happen with her. Anyone could if they had a complaint but she remembers what it was like when she was stuck with the wash, the cleaning, etc. while all the others were snacking in the kitchen or whatever. She's made very sure that the tasks are divided up fairly. She said she's been able to put money away, her kids all have college degrees and she's got a nice pension waiting for her so this is "not a case of exploitation."
To the repeated charge that they had to kiss C.I.'s ass she said the surest way to tick C.I. off is to play kiss ass. You realize really quick that comments (compliments) on appearance are not expected nor are they wanted. (That's true across the board with C.I. If there's something wrong, point it out, but C.I. rolls the eyes if you offer a compliment.) If C.I. asks an opinion, an honest reply is expected. That hasn't happened very often and not since the kids got older and moved out on their own. But anytime it did, an honest answer was sought and if Ms. J thought C.I. was in the wrong, she was never greeted with anger. She was asked to explain, but it was never a problem.
There are at least 36 e-mails from fright wingers that have come in. This will be sent out to them. Ms. J said C.I.'s attitude will be, "Who cares what anyone thinks of me?" She's right. But in terms of some of the insults and assumptions being made about Ms. J and others who work for C.I., it will matter to C.I. That's why the mailbag was a question about going up. That was C.I.'s only concern.
I've crossed about a dozen lines with this post but the reason for it is Ms. J. I don't think I'll hear a word from C.I. about this (it will never be mentioned, trust me, it will be ignored). But I do consider Ms. J a friend and the e-mails coming in are exactly what C.I. feared. Mike and Ms. J (on her own time -- which we both do not believe is a violation of the 5:00 pm rule) have read over this and thank you to them for that. I was going to close with her first comment when we went over the six e-mails Ty printed up, "These people think I'm a fool. I don't play anybody's fool, not for anyone." She wanted me to instead note that no one's claimed C.I. is perfect and that C.I.'s not only the last to claim that, the first to list faults. Ms. J has a job she does very well and is proud of the fact that she does it well. She finds the e-mails she read insulting. She's been doing her job for many years, has many responsibilities and knows what's needed. For Jim, who always worries about the food bill, I'll also add that if you're on the property, you're fed. Whether you work there or not and the only food issue ever, according to Ms. J, is that food not go to waste. The bill's never been an issue.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, July 3, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, Cindy Sheehan weighs in, Iraq Veterans Against the War stand up, Steven D. Green faces the death penalty, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale continues to garner strong reviews. The latest is Hannah Morong's "How one soldier got out of Iraq" (ISR) which concludes: "The book's strength is its simplicity. It tells the story of an ordinary soldier, and by doing so, tells us more than we can ever learn from broad statistics. Because Josha Key's experiences are so typical of soldiers, the book shows how ordinary soldiers view life in Iraq, and the potential for those soldiers to turn against the war." To set the tone for later in the snapshot, we'll note this from Key's book, The Deserter's Tale (pp. 209-210):
A Canadian psychiatrist told me that you never truly emerge from post-traumatic stress disorder, that you simply learn to live with it.There are certain things that I avoid these days, such as alcohol and crowds, because I fear they will trigger more of my own blackouts. I know that thousands of American soldiers have abused drugs or committed suicide after returning home from war. It would be easy to follow in the steps of many in my own family and drown my shame and my sorrows in alcohol. Alcohol, however, could lead to the very problem of suicidal depression that have plagued vets for generations.
Key is not the only war resister who has told their story in book form. Another is Camilo Mejia whose Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia came out in May. Writing for The Progressive Media Project (part of The Progressive), Camilo reflects on this time of year, July 4th, and wonders:
Is it patriotic to support a war that our president launched on false premises and that has turned into a disaster?
Or is it patriotic to oppose that war?
I had to face this question while in uniform.
Back in 2003, when I fought in Iarq, my infantry unit was going out on combat missions without bulletproof vests and without basic radio equipment. For a while, we even had to suspend patrols because we didn't have enough water to hydrate ourselves. After 10 months of deployment and five months of combat without a purpose, I made the agonizing decision not to return to the war. A few months later, I publicly denounced the war and vowed that I would no longer fight in it. That got me a 12-month sentence in a U.S. Army jail, demotion to the lowest rank and a bad-conduct discharge from the service. I have no regrets. Today, our young men and women in the military still find themselves in the role of occupiers, in a war that to this very day remains unjustified, a war that seems to be helping only U.S. companies like Halliburton that have profited from it.
Saying "no" to the illegal war is not something done or being done just by one or two people. There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, 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, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, 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 Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Also resisting are Iraq Veterans Against the War who have used their summer base tour to get the message out. Taylor Harwin (Port Folio Weekly) reports on the bus tour and notes that another message they are getting out is "a military member's right to speak out against a war they don't support." Harwin notes Jonathan Hutto is currently promoting his to-be-released book on this topic entitled Antiwar Soldier: How to Dissent within the Ranks of the Military. Harwin writes, "There was no counter-protest Sunday, and event organizer Liam Madden said he'd be surprised if the IVAW encountered one on any stage of the trip down the east coast."
As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) observed today, there have been two arrests during the two. Since there's confusion, let's review what was already noted yesterday. Sunday's trumped up incident saw Madden, Nate Lewis and Adam Kokesh at Fort Benning. Friday, at Fort Jackson, Kokesh, Nate Lewis, Mike Black, Sholom Keller and Steve Mortillo were the five arrested. Lewis and Kokesh were arrested in both incidents, Madden was only arrested Sunday.
South Carolina's Columia City Paper notes the Fort Jackson arrest and reports: "The bus could be spotted last Friday riding throughout downtown Columbia and turned heads with large 'Impeach Bush' and 'Bring Them Home Now' slogans painted on its sides. There was a warm receptioon for the group at Sesquicentennial Park at the free barbecue the group threw for the public. One member of IVAW said he was particularly inspired by a couple that drove all the way from Spartanburg to show their support. The couple, who gave their names as Chris and Kim, both served in the Air Force during the first gulf war and said they were considering joining a war protest group when they saw the IVAW Columbia event listed on the Veterans for Peace Web site. Instead of just putting a charcoal burger to their mouths, the couple presented a $500 check to the group."
On Sunday's arrest (Madden, Lewis and Kokesh) at Fort Benning, The Brattleboro Reformer notes that Madden "and Lewis were not protesting at the gate and were simply asking what the entrance policy was when they were handcuffed and escorted to jail" -- link also includes audio, FYI. AP reports on the arrests here and, WRONGLY, maintains that the Fort Jackson arrest took place "Saturday morning". Friday is when the arrest took place (which is why we noted it here on Friday -- that was not a crystal vision). The fact that there is so much confusion over what did and did not take place and when is a sure sign that independent media should have given extensive coverage to the tour but, reality, they mainly elected to ignore it. Apparantly getting the word out on things actually happening is far less important than promoting counter-narratives on the daily "hot topics" at the Water Cooler.
Regardless, Iraq Veterans Against the War's summer base tour continues -- and though small media went AWOL on the topic, big media covered it and a documentary is being made for Showtime -- and their next stop is a fundraiser in Philadelphia on July 3rd at 6:00 pm; a fundraiser in NYC on July 5th at 7:00 pm; the Naval Sub Marine Base in Groton, CT on July 6th at 7:00 pm; and concluding at Fort Drum in NY on July 8th at 4:00 pm. They continue speaking their truth and they're not going to be silenced or make themselves useless. In Denver, Colorado tomorrow IVAW will stage Operation First Casualty from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm in the area between Market Street station and the Civic Center.
As Kat noted Friday, about Adam Kokesh's post describing the ups and downs of the bus tour thus far, "Which is probably why the kooks have the reaction to the bus tour that they do. It's not the TV that they can flip off or the newspaper they can toss in the trash. It's right there, the bus, in front of them, with 'Iraq Veterans Against the War' on it. The reality they [the kooks] run from is staring them in the face and in their own home towns. Adam writes about honks and thumbs up too and you better believe that for people seeing it [the bus] that are giving the warm response, it really means something." And it would mean even more if the independent media had worked to get the word out.
Another IVAW members is addressed by Kevin Zeese (Democracy Rising), Rev. Lennnox Yearwood, who is facing the same trumped up nonsense that Adam Kokesh, Liam Madden and Cloy Richards have already had to deal with from the US military brass. Zeese reports that the Chair of the Hip Hop Caucus, Rev. Yearwood, is the target for intimidation by the military. Rev. Yearwood (writing at Democracy Rising) notes that he's in the Air Force Reserve Individual Reserve and, "On March 26th of this year I received notification from the Air Force that they are taking action to honorably discharge me on the basis of 'behavior clearly inconsistent with the interest of national security'. Ironically, this letter arrived six days after I announced the launching of a national 'Make Hip Hop Not War' Tour at a press conference on Capitol Hill." Like Kokesh, he is scheduled to face a kanagroo 'hearing.' Rev. Lennox Yearwood's hearing is scheduled for July 12th, in Georgia, at Robins Air Force Base. He notes that Cindy Sheehan will be showing her support by attending and reminds, "This is our lunch-counter moment."
Cindy Sheehan. The Peace Mom. Sheehan stepped down at the end of May to recharge and regroup. Joe Allen (ISR) has written the best piece on that ("Shakeup in the antiwar movement," July - August 2007, International Socialist Review, pp. 5-6, for print readers) where he concludes:
All the factors are there for a vibrant antiwar movement in this country, as has been true for many years now; the major roadblock holding things back is the subordination of our movement to the Democrats. This must be broken in the course of building a vibrant and independent antiwar movement.
Sheehan's decision to leave the Democratic Party should be supported by all of us committed to building an antiwar movement that is for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq. And, as socialists we support her call for an alternative to the two-party system.
Thankfully, Sheehan is only taking a break in order to regroup. As she told Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, "We're closing down the factory, we're going to retool, and we're going to open up, and it will be a new and improved version of it. But we are definitely going to come at it from a totally different direction." We can only hope that she will return to political activity soon so that we can together get on with the tasks of ending of this criminal war.
Contributing at David Swanson's AfterDowningStreet, Cindy Sheehan writes today, "I have sat quietly back these past five weeks as the slaughter in Iraq sorrowfully surges along with George's bloody escalation -- and as the philosophical opposition to the war has soared to almost four out of every five Americans. . . . It has been recently reported that Nancy Pelosi said that impeachment is not 'worth it.' Her faulty reasoning is that impeachment would take too much time because they don't have the votes. If they could 'whip' their own Democratic caucus into shape to defend and protect our Constitution and the people of Iraq and our soldiers as they whupped, cajoled, threatened and browbeat the caucus into attaching 'non-binding' time lines onto the last war funding bill, then impeachment would not only be possible, but likely." Sheehan notes Rev. Yearwood's hearing and that he will be launching a march after the July 12th hearing which she is taking part in that will end in DC on July 23rd.
And while some stand and continue to stand, the violence continues.
Bombings?
Reuters reports 18 dead (thrity-five injured) from a Baghdad car bombing, a Kirkuk car bombing that claimed 2 lives (nineteen injured), three police officers wounded in Hawija by a grenade, a Kirkuk car bombing claimed 2 lives (nine wounded), and a car bombing outside Falluja resulted in at least 4 people dead (ten wounded).
Shootings?
CBS and AP report "an Iraqi army lieutenant colonel and an Interior Ministry intelligence officer were killed in separate drive-by shootings" today in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 people killed in Samarra during a clash between two other groups (police and "gunmen"), a woman wounded in Kirkuk by Iraqi soldiers,
Corpses?
Reuters reports 18 corpses discovered in the capital.
Also today, the US military announced: "Two Marines assigned to Multi National Force-West died July 1 in a non-hostile related accident while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province." The two deaths bring the ICCC total number of US service members killed in the illegal war to 3586. The announcements also meant that at least 7 US service members died July 1st -- though the military elected to spoon that reality out slowly.
While the US military played 'cute' with the numbers, recent attention from the press eliminated that option with regards to an event that took place today. The US military announced: "An AH-64 Apache helicopter rescued two Task Force Marne pilots after enemy fire brought down their OH-58D Kiowa Attack helicopter south of Baghdad July 2. The OH-58 pilots received minor injuries. An Air Force Thunderbolt II destroyed the downed helicopter with two 500-pound laser-guided bombs after the pilots were evacuated from the area. The incident is under investigation." Throughout 2006 and at the start of 2007, the US military was happy to spin those incidents as 'hard landings' and other nonsense while denying that anyone in Iraq (other than the US) had the capabilities to bring down aircraft.
Turning to the issue of the oil grab, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports that, after much arm twisting and over a year of pressure, the oil law -- that will allow foreign corporations (including the US) to steal up to 70% of the proceeds -- has been pushed through Nouri al-Maliki's cabinet and onto the Iraqi Parliament; however, "it was unclear whether the measure would overcome the political hurdles that have stalled it for months."
Andy Rowell (Oil for Change) observes that the stories being reported only cause confusion and steeers to an article by Ben Lado (UPI) which has Ashti Hawrami (Kurdistan Regional Goverment Natural Resources Minister) declaring, "We are not aware of anything being pass by the Cabinet." Rowell concludes, "Our guess here is that there is confusion between the revenue sharing law and the foreign investment/oil law. This confusion has been deliberately sown by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government, who have consistently sought to portray the foreign investment/oil law as a revenue sharing law -- when in fact revenue sharing is a separate piece of legislation."
We most recently noted Abeer in last Thursday's snapshot. Developments in that case today mean another planned ending will be postponed until Thursday. Abeer Qassim Hamza was gang-raped and murdered by US soldiers on March 12, 2006 in Mahmoudiyah. Her parents, Qassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen, and her five-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza, were murdered while she was gang-raped. One of the US soldiers involved was Steven D. Green who was to be tried in a civilian court due to the fact that he was discharged from the military before the events came to light. Reuters reports that US prosecutors have announced they will seek the death penalty. AP reports, "The notice, filed in U.S. District Court, cites 12 alleged offenses related to the slayings, including that the deaths were premeditated, involved sexual abuse and were committed with a firearm." Those were breaking so another topic got set aside for Thursday. Let's hope both reports fail to include Abeer's name because of the fact that it's breaking. This nonsense of referring to Abeer as "14-year-old girl" to render her (and all Iraqis?) faceless got old back in August.
joshua key
camilo mejia
adam kokeshliam maddeniraq veterans against the war
cindy sheehan
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Lies about Iran now
The U.S. military accused Iran on Monday of a direct role in a sophisticated militant attack that killed five American troops in Iraq, portraying Tehran as waging a proxy war through Shiite extremists.
That's from AP and aren't we all sick of this crap? Doe sthe White House ever have to prove anything or do they just get to do whatever they want while we just take their word for it?
My first boyfriend said take his word for it and I learned real quick that someone who always wants you to take them at their word usually has something to hide, something big that is going to end up hurting you.
I remember, with this administration, the war lords of the Taliban saying they would turn over Osama bin Laden if the US would present their proof. Colin Powell said there was proof. Colin said the proof would come. We went to war. Last year, it was learned that the FBI's most wanted poster for Osama didn't list 9-11 and, when asked why, because they didn't have anything to connect him. They didn't have anything to connect him but Afghanistan's been bombed like crazy. And the war lords are still in charge. In case you missed that news, here's an article on it from The Lonestar Iconoclast:
Questions have also been levied by Ed Haas in the online "Muckraker Report" as to why on the Bin Laden Most Wanted poster any direct connections with the events of Sept. 11, 2001 are not mentioned. In a report published on June 18, Haas says he contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to learn why and was told by Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI, "The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Usama Bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11."
And do we need to go over Iraq? WMD? Mushroom cloud? Connected to 9-11? All lies. Nothing but lies.
Now it's time to go after Iran and they don't feel the need to offer any proof.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, July 2, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, Australia reportedly has a secret plan re: Iraq, DC eyes London in fear as Gordon Brown selects his cabinet, Iraq Veterans Against the War keep speaking out even with trumped up charges and arrests, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Remember, hardly anyone within the US military resists. It's not a movement. What other clampdown lie am I forgetting? Regardless, it is a movement, it is a growing movement. Last weekend, Canada's CBC reported on James Burmeister, a 22-year-old member of the army from Oregon who self-checked out after serving in Iraq. Brumeister, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter headed to Canada where he is now attempting to be granted refugee status. He told the CBS that, in Iraq, one of his jobs was to "set up traps for Iraqis using an object such as a fake camera as a lure. 'If the Iraqis would go and touch it the [the soldiers] could shoot 'em because if anyone messes with the U.S. government property, they're allowed to fire at 'em'." Burmeister was only war resister going public last weekend. Yesterday, Diane Carman (Denver Post) reported on a scheduled street theater event to be held in Denver July 4th, Iraq Veterans Against the War's Operation First Casualty, and spoke with "Army National Guard Spec. 4 Jared Hood" who explained to her that he his own transformation which included filing for c.o. status and refusing to report June 9th for his annual training resulting in the declaration of AWOL.
Jared Hood and James Burmeister are only the most recent to go public in a growing movement of resistance within the US military which also includes Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, 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, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty 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, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Now focusing on Iraq Veterans Against the War, Diane Carmen (Denver Post) covered IVAW's upcoming street theater in Denver ("Operation First Casualty is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday between Civic Center and Market Street station") and they are currently finishing up a bus tour. But they're also getting arrested on trumped up charges -- a sure sign that someone's getting nervous. Friday, 5 IVAW members were arrested -- Nate Lewis, Mike Black, Sholom Keller, Steve Mortillo and Adam Kokesh -- for the crime of . . . wearing a t-shirt. As noted at The Third Estate Sunday Review: "This was actually the second time the US military played Fashion Police and went gunning for Kokesh." The t-shirts the five men were wearing? No profanity, no calls for violence. "IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR." The five were at Fort Jackson to meet up with a friend stationed there but got arrested instead. The US military is obsessed with what Kokesh wears. Apparently the Marines are 'jazzing up' the Army's motto: "Be the Best Dressed You Can Be." Like Liam Madden and Cloy Richards, Kokesh is an obsession because he refuses to silence his own voice. They've threatened him, they've tried to bully him, they staged a laughable 'hearing' but he's not backing down. At this rate, the next trumped up arrest may be over the pressing Boxers/Briefs debate. American tax dollars at work.
Liam Madden got arrested Sunday. We'll get to it. But to drop back to Friday's snapshot which noted the military was telling the press (and had issued a press release on this topic) that they would not be staging another kangaroo court hearing but were, instead, dropping charges against Madden. Later Friday, Madden issued a press release noting his position on the now dropped charges which included 'disloyal statements' being made by Madden:
I planned to argue that my comments were accurate and therefore not disloyal. In fact, it is the duty of veterans and active duty members of the military to stand up and tell their leaders when war crimes are being committed. Now that the military has chickened out and dropped these charges I hope others will join me in speaking out against this illegal war.
[. . .]
The dropping of charges in my case should be a signal to all vets that they can speak out. The Marine Corps fear of holding a disciplinary hearing is an admission that my comments were accurate. If the Marines had moved forward to discipline me I would have brought forward leading legal scholars, military law experts and historians to demonstrate conclusively that the United States is now engaged in an illegal war of aggression under international law and therefore all acts being taken are war crimes.
That was Friday. Madden, Kokesh and other IVAW members are taking part in a summer base tour. Sunday three members were arrested by Fort Benning. Lily Gordon (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer) reports that Madden and Nate Lewis were two of the ones arrested (the third, not identified in the article, was Kokesh) and that the 'crime' here was "stepping onto federal property". IVAW's Michael Blake explains to Gordon that Madden and Lewis ("both veterans with valid Veterans Affairs cards and should be allowed onto the post") approcahed "were going to step up to the guard and ask him if they could come onto base" but when they crossed non-marked line, 2 military police officers came up and handcuffed them.
Kokesh, aware of how much the US military cares about his wardrobe these days, replaced his IVAW shirt with a plain one, stepped toward the gates and got busted again. Last month, The Manny Named Brian (Public Eye, CBS) offered that Kokesh was "photogenic" and "sure seems like the kind of thing that could gather momentum as the summer heats up." Possibly the US military agrees and the issue was never actually that he wore fatigues in DC while taking part in Operation First Casualty (with all of his own markings removed) or that he wore an Iraq Veterans Against the War t-shirt at Fort Jackson Friday, or that he wore a plain shirt at Forty Benning Sunday? Maybe the US military brass just wants to see Kokesh flash a little skin?
Regardless, Iraq Veterans Against the War's summer base tour continues -- and though small media went AWOL on the topic, big media covered it and a documentary is being made for Showtime -- and their next stop is a fundraiser in Philadelphia on July 3rd at 6:00 pm; a fundraiser in NYC on July 5th at 7:00 pm; the Naval Sub Marine Base in Groton, CT on July 6th at 7:00 pm; and concluding at Fort Drum in NY on July 8th at 4:00 pm. They continue speaking their truth and they're not going to be silenced or make themselves useless.
Useless? Turning to US Congressional Democrats. Yesterday, Edward Epstien (San Francisco Chronicle) reported that US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is making statements that this month, when Congress resumes session after their holiday break, there will be a vote "on legislation to withdraw almost all American troops from Iraq by April" and that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had declared that Iraq will be the topic of "votes" (plural) this month. What could make our 'symoblic' leaders decide to once again declare action's-a-coming? Friday, CBS News reported on their latest poll which found a eleven percent increase from April in the amount of Americans (surveyed) who stated the illegal war was "going badly" -- an increase from 66% to 77% -- and an increase in the number of respondents saying all US troops should be pulled out of Iraq -- from 33% to 40%. On the delusional side, 22% say the illegal war is going just fine and 11% favor the number of troops in Iraq being increased. Consider it the writing on the wall along with the huge drop in approval ratings for Congress that showed up in polling last month. Americans, it turns out, didn't vote Democrats into power of both Congressional houses hoping they'd do nothing but pass non-binding, toothless, 'symoblic' measures.
In a different form of number counting, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports today on the June tallies being handed out by the Iraq goverment which include 730 people killed in Baghdad last month -- but Rubin cautions "death counts in Iraq are highly inaccurate. Some bombing victims bodies are never recovered, families often collect their dead before they can be counted by officials, and dead bodies found around Baghdad, while generally taken to the city morgue, are sometimes taken to hospitals where they may not be counted." Molly Hennessy-Fiske (Los Angeles Times) notes that the figures are coming from the health, defense and interior ministries and place the toll at "1,227 Iraqi civilians killed in June" with an increase in Iraqi security forces being killed last month as well (from 174 to 221). ICCC places the total number of Iraqi deaths reported in June at 1343. Mike Drummond (McClatchy Newspapers) observed that while Iraqi deaths may be down (may), there has been a rise in the death toll for US service members. And on that, let's turn to some of today's reported violence.
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad mortar attacks that claimed 1 life and left three wounded, a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 4 lives (25 wounded), a Mandill bombing that left 2 border patrol workers dead (one more wounded) and a Baquba mortar attack that claimed 1 life (twelve more were wounded). Reuters notes a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed 1 life and left four more wounded (two wounded and the dead were police officers).
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer was shot dead in Baghdad,
1 student dead (8 more wounded) after Iraqi forces fired "randomly near Al Rafedain secondary school" and "A civilian was killed by US troops in Al Rasheed wholesale market south Baghdad around 2:00 pm, police said" -- while yesterday Sheikh Najdat Solaiman Mohammed was shot dead in Kirkuk. Reuters notes a man was shot dead in a home invasion in Najaf.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 17 corpses discovered in the capital.
Multiple deaths of US service members were announced today. Today, the US military announced: " A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed in a small arms fire attack that followed an improvised explosive device strike targeting a joint combat patrol in a western section of the Iraqi capital July 1. Two Iraqi National Police officers were also wounded in the attack." And they announced: "One Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed when a combat patrol was targeted with small arms fire in a southern section of the Iraqi capital July 1." And they announced: "Two Soldiers and one Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West were killed July 1 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province." And they announced: "One Task Force Lightning Soldier died as a result of injuries sustained from an explosion near his vehicle while conducting operations in Salah ad Din Province, Monday." Six deaths in all -- five soldiers, one marine -- announced today. ICCC's current total is 3583 US service members killed in the illegal war since it began and 6 killed in July thus far (reminder, this is only the second day of the month).
In other news of violence, Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) reports, "A dump truck laden with explosives detonated on a bridge over the Eurphrates River on Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Iraq's bridge network. . . . Since April, when bombers destroyed a large portion of Baghdad's historic Sarafiya bridge over the Tigris River, attackers have systematically taken out bridges in and around the capital, clogging traffic and isolating neighborhoods. In early June, insurgents damaged the Sarha bridge, about 100 miles from Baghdad on a main route to northern Iraq."
Meanwhile, Stephen Farrell (New York Times) noted Sunday a 'raid' by US forces in the Sadr City section of the capital on Saturday which locals say killed innocent civilians and that two US soldiers were being charged in the deaths of three Iraqis. Starting with the latter first. Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) noted that Michael A. Hensley and Jorge G. Sandoval Jr. are charged with "crimes [which] allegedly took place between April and June around Iskandariya": "Hensley faces three counts of premeditated murder, obstructing justice and planting weapons, the military said in a statement. Sandoval faces one count of premeditated murder and one count of planting a weapon." The Army Times reports today that a third soldier, Evan Vela, has now been "charged with one count of premediated murder, one count of wrongfully placing a weapon with the remains of a deceased Iraqi, one count of making a false official staement, and one count of obstruction of justice." On the former, the deaths in the Sadr City of Baghdad, Raheem Salman and Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) reported that puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, is outraged by the raid which took place without permission of the puppet government and without notification to it which leaves the puppet in a difficult place with Moqtada al-Sadr and residents of Sadr City expecting al-Maliki to stand up (to those who pull his strings) while (my thoughts, not the reporters) the American government (the string pullers) who already feeling less 'invested' in him. CBS and AP note that Sard City eye witnesses "said eight civilians were killed in their homes, angirly accusing American troops of firing wildly during the pre-dawn assault."
This increased attention follows last week's work by Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers), Molly Hennesy-Fiske (Los Angeles Times), the BBC and John Ward Anderson (Washington Post) going beyond just official press releases.
In other news of assaults, CBS and AP report: "The U.S. military also announced Saturday that a command sergeant major, Edward Ramsdell, was convicted in a court martial, demoted and sentenced to four months in prison for engagin in an inappropriate relationship with a female soldier in his unit, maltreating a soldier and possessing a 'large quantity' of alcohol and pornography." That may be a minimizing of what Ramsdell did. (It may not.) The case of Suzanne Swift (and the military's refusal to address those who abused her) is much more common. For more examples of that click here and visit Suzanne Swift's website.
To distract from all the above it probably helps to toss out a new rumor which is what the US military has done and count on War Pornographer Michael Gordon to write about it in tomorrow's New York Times if he doesn't pull his War-On off from excitement. AFP reports that the US military gave a press presentation in Baghdad today where they blamed the Iranian government for assorted violence including te January 20th attack on the mosque in Karbala. Last week, it was left to Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers), and I believe only her, to note that the US military's push to connect the June mosque bombings to al Qaeda contained no hard proof and Youssef quoted US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the matter saying there was no "Hard evidence."
Turning to Australia where US media should be focusing but they're all too busy gas bagging and recovering from all the work they've put in covering Blond News last month. Lincoln Wright (Australia's The Sunday Telegraph) reported yesterday on "a secret plan" that John Howard, prime minister, would be utilizing in attempt to cut down on Kevin Rudd's perceived lead going into the election: start withdrawing the approximately 1500 troops Australia has sent to Iraq, start withdrawing them in February. Howard is dumb (he doesn't have to play at it) which is why AAP reports he attempted a one-liner, "The plan is so secret I don't know anything about it." Wasn't that Sgt. Schultz' defense on Hogan's Heroes>
And finally, Tom Baldwin (Times of London) reports that DC is very nervous about the ministers new prime minister Gordon Brown is and may select, that this "has triggered unease in Washington after the departure of its close ally, Tony Blair."
iraq
james burmeisterjared hood
iraq veterans against the war
adam kokeshliam madden
lily gordon
mcclatchy newspapers
diane carman
the washington postjoshua partlowthe new york timesalissa j. rubinmolly hennessy-fiske
That's from AP and aren't we all sick of this crap? Doe sthe White House ever have to prove anything or do they just get to do whatever they want while we just take their word for it?
My first boyfriend said take his word for it and I learned real quick that someone who always wants you to take them at their word usually has something to hide, something big that is going to end up hurting you.
I remember, with this administration, the war lords of the Taliban saying they would turn over Osama bin Laden if the US would present their proof. Colin Powell said there was proof. Colin said the proof would come. We went to war. Last year, it was learned that the FBI's most wanted poster for Osama didn't list 9-11 and, when asked why, because they didn't have anything to connect him. They didn't have anything to connect him but Afghanistan's been bombed like crazy. And the war lords are still in charge. In case you missed that news, here's an article on it from The Lonestar Iconoclast:
Questions have also been levied by Ed Haas in the online "Muckraker Report" as to why on the Bin Laden Most Wanted poster any direct connections with the events of Sept. 11, 2001 are not mentioned. In a report published on June 18, Haas says he contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to learn why and was told by Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI, "The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Usama Bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11."
And do we need to go over Iraq? WMD? Mushroom cloud? Connected to 9-11? All lies. Nothing but lies.
Now it's time to go after Iran and they don't feel the need to offer any proof.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, July 2, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, Australia reportedly has a secret plan re: Iraq, DC eyes London in fear as Gordon Brown selects his cabinet, Iraq Veterans Against the War keep speaking out even with trumped up charges and arrests, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Remember, hardly anyone within the US military resists. It's not a movement. What other clampdown lie am I forgetting? Regardless, it is a movement, it is a growing movement. Last weekend, Canada's CBC reported on James Burmeister, a 22-year-old member of the army from Oregon who self-checked out after serving in Iraq. Brumeister, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter headed to Canada where he is now attempting to be granted refugee status. He told the CBS that, in Iraq, one of his jobs was to "set up traps for Iraqis using an object such as a fake camera as a lure. 'If the Iraqis would go and touch it the [the soldiers] could shoot 'em because if anyone messes with the U.S. government property, they're allowed to fire at 'em'." Burmeister was only war resister going public last weekend. Yesterday, Diane Carman (Denver Post) reported on a scheduled street theater event to be held in Denver July 4th, Iraq Veterans Against the War's Operation First Casualty, and spoke with "Army National Guard Spec. 4 Jared Hood" who explained to her that he his own transformation which included filing for c.o. status and refusing to report June 9th for his annual training resulting in the declaration of AWOL.
Jared Hood and James Burmeister are only the most recent to go public in a growing movement of resistance within the US military which also includes Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, 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, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty 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, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Now focusing on Iraq Veterans Against the War, Diane Carmen (Denver Post) covered IVAW's upcoming street theater in Denver ("Operation First Casualty is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday between Civic Center and Market Street station") and they are currently finishing up a bus tour. But they're also getting arrested on trumped up charges -- a sure sign that someone's getting nervous. Friday, 5 IVAW members were arrested -- Nate Lewis, Mike Black, Sholom Keller, Steve Mortillo and Adam Kokesh -- for the crime of . . . wearing a t-shirt. As noted at The Third Estate Sunday Review: "This was actually the second time the US military played Fashion Police and went gunning for Kokesh." The t-shirts the five men were wearing? No profanity, no calls for violence. "IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR." The five were at Fort Jackson to meet up with a friend stationed there but got arrested instead. The US military is obsessed with what Kokesh wears. Apparently the Marines are 'jazzing up' the Army's motto: "Be the Best Dressed You Can Be." Like Liam Madden and Cloy Richards, Kokesh is an obsession because he refuses to silence his own voice. They've threatened him, they've tried to bully him, they staged a laughable 'hearing' but he's not backing down. At this rate, the next trumped up arrest may be over the pressing Boxers/Briefs debate. American tax dollars at work.
Liam Madden got arrested Sunday. We'll get to it. But to drop back to Friday's snapshot which noted the military was telling the press (and had issued a press release on this topic) that they would not be staging another kangaroo court hearing but were, instead, dropping charges against Madden. Later Friday, Madden issued a press release noting his position on the now dropped charges which included 'disloyal statements' being made by Madden:
I planned to argue that my comments were accurate and therefore not disloyal. In fact, it is the duty of veterans and active duty members of the military to stand up and tell their leaders when war crimes are being committed. Now that the military has chickened out and dropped these charges I hope others will join me in speaking out against this illegal war.
[. . .]
The dropping of charges in my case should be a signal to all vets that they can speak out. The Marine Corps fear of holding a disciplinary hearing is an admission that my comments were accurate. If the Marines had moved forward to discipline me I would have brought forward leading legal scholars, military law experts and historians to demonstrate conclusively that the United States is now engaged in an illegal war of aggression under international law and therefore all acts being taken are war crimes.
That was Friday. Madden, Kokesh and other IVAW members are taking part in a summer base tour. Sunday three members were arrested by Fort Benning. Lily Gordon (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer) reports that Madden and Nate Lewis were two of the ones arrested (the third, not identified in the article, was Kokesh) and that the 'crime' here was "stepping onto federal property". IVAW's Michael Blake explains to Gordon that Madden and Lewis ("both veterans with valid Veterans Affairs cards and should be allowed onto the post") approcahed "were going to step up to the guard and ask him if they could come onto base" but when they crossed non-marked line, 2 military police officers came up and handcuffed them.
Kokesh, aware of how much the US military cares about his wardrobe these days, replaced his IVAW shirt with a plain one, stepped toward the gates and got busted again. Last month, The Manny Named Brian (Public Eye, CBS) offered that Kokesh was "photogenic" and "sure seems like the kind of thing that could gather momentum as the summer heats up." Possibly the US military agrees and the issue was never actually that he wore fatigues in DC while taking part in Operation First Casualty (with all of his own markings removed) or that he wore an Iraq Veterans Against the War t-shirt at Fort Jackson Friday, or that he wore a plain shirt at Forty Benning Sunday? Maybe the US military brass just wants to see Kokesh flash a little skin?
Regardless, Iraq Veterans Against the War's summer base tour continues -- and though small media went AWOL on the topic, big media covered it and a documentary is being made for Showtime -- and their next stop is a fundraiser in Philadelphia on July 3rd at 6:00 pm; a fundraiser in NYC on July 5th at 7:00 pm; the Naval Sub Marine Base in Groton, CT on July 6th at 7:00 pm; and concluding at Fort Drum in NY on July 8th at 4:00 pm. They continue speaking their truth and they're not going to be silenced or make themselves useless.
Useless? Turning to US Congressional Democrats. Yesterday, Edward Epstien (San Francisco Chronicle) reported that US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is making statements that this month, when Congress resumes session after their holiday break, there will be a vote "on legislation to withdraw almost all American troops from Iraq by April" and that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had declared that Iraq will be the topic of "votes" (plural) this month. What could make our 'symoblic' leaders decide to once again declare action's-a-coming? Friday, CBS News reported on their latest poll which found a eleven percent increase from April in the amount of Americans (surveyed) who stated the illegal war was "going badly" -- an increase from 66% to 77% -- and an increase in the number of respondents saying all US troops should be pulled out of Iraq -- from 33% to 40%. On the delusional side, 22% say the illegal war is going just fine and 11% favor the number of troops in Iraq being increased. Consider it the writing on the wall along with the huge drop in approval ratings for Congress that showed up in polling last month. Americans, it turns out, didn't vote Democrats into power of both Congressional houses hoping they'd do nothing but pass non-binding, toothless, 'symoblic' measures.
In a different form of number counting, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports today on the June tallies being handed out by the Iraq goverment which include 730 people killed in Baghdad last month -- but Rubin cautions "death counts in Iraq are highly inaccurate. Some bombing victims bodies are never recovered, families often collect their dead before they can be counted by officials, and dead bodies found around Baghdad, while generally taken to the city morgue, are sometimes taken to hospitals where they may not be counted." Molly Hennessy-Fiske (Los Angeles Times) notes that the figures are coming from the health, defense and interior ministries and place the toll at "1,227 Iraqi civilians killed in June" with an increase in Iraqi security forces being killed last month as well (from 174 to 221). ICCC places the total number of Iraqi deaths reported in June at 1343. Mike Drummond (McClatchy Newspapers) observed that while Iraqi deaths may be down (may), there has been a rise in the death toll for US service members. And on that, let's turn to some of today's reported violence.
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad mortar attacks that claimed 1 life and left three wounded, a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 4 lives (25 wounded), a Mandill bombing that left 2 border patrol workers dead (one more wounded) and a Baquba mortar attack that claimed 1 life (twelve more were wounded). Reuters notes a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed 1 life and left four more wounded (two wounded and the dead were police officers).
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer was shot dead in Baghdad,
1 student dead (8 more wounded) after Iraqi forces fired "randomly near Al Rafedain secondary school" and "A civilian was killed by US troops in Al Rasheed wholesale market south Baghdad around 2:00 pm, police said" -- while yesterday Sheikh Najdat Solaiman Mohammed was shot dead in Kirkuk. Reuters notes a man was shot dead in a home invasion in Najaf.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 17 corpses discovered in the capital.
Multiple deaths of US service members were announced today. Today, the US military announced: " A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed in a small arms fire attack that followed an improvised explosive device strike targeting a joint combat patrol in a western section of the Iraqi capital July 1. Two Iraqi National Police officers were also wounded in the attack." And they announced: "One Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed when a combat patrol was targeted with small arms fire in a southern section of the Iraqi capital July 1." And they announced: "Two Soldiers and one Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West were killed July 1 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province." And they announced: "One Task Force Lightning Soldier died as a result of injuries sustained from an explosion near his vehicle while conducting operations in Salah ad Din Province, Monday." Six deaths in all -- five soldiers, one marine -- announced today. ICCC's current total is 3583 US service members killed in the illegal war since it began and 6 killed in July thus far (reminder, this is only the second day of the month).
In other news of violence, Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) reports, "A dump truck laden with explosives detonated on a bridge over the Eurphrates River on Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Iraq's bridge network. . . . Since April, when bombers destroyed a large portion of Baghdad's historic Sarafiya bridge over the Tigris River, attackers have systematically taken out bridges in and around the capital, clogging traffic and isolating neighborhoods. In early June, insurgents damaged the Sarha bridge, about 100 miles from Baghdad on a main route to northern Iraq."
Meanwhile, Stephen Farrell (New York Times) noted Sunday a 'raid' by US forces in the Sadr City section of the capital on Saturday which locals say killed innocent civilians and that two US soldiers were being charged in the deaths of three Iraqis. Starting with the latter first. Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) noted that Michael A. Hensley and Jorge G. Sandoval Jr. are charged with "crimes [which] allegedly took place between April and June around Iskandariya": "Hensley faces three counts of premeditated murder, obstructing justice and planting weapons, the military said in a statement. Sandoval faces one count of premeditated murder and one count of planting a weapon." The Army Times reports today that a third soldier, Evan Vela, has now been "charged with one count of premediated murder, one count of wrongfully placing a weapon with the remains of a deceased Iraqi, one count of making a false official staement, and one count of obstruction of justice." On the former, the deaths in the Sadr City of Baghdad, Raheem Salman and Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) reported that puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, is outraged by the raid which took place without permission of the puppet government and without notification to it which leaves the puppet in a difficult place with Moqtada al-Sadr and residents of Sadr City expecting al-Maliki to stand up (to those who pull his strings) while (my thoughts, not the reporters) the American government (the string pullers) who already feeling less 'invested' in him. CBS and AP note that Sard City eye witnesses "said eight civilians were killed in their homes, angirly accusing American troops of firing wildly during the pre-dawn assault."
This increased attention follows last week's work by Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers), Molly Hennesy-Fiske (Los Angeles Times), the BBC and John Ward Anderson (Washington Post) going beyond just official press releases.
In other news of assaults, CBS and AP report: "The U.S. military also announced Saturday that a command sergeant major, Edward Ramsdell, was convicted in a court martial, demoted and sentenced to four months in prison for engagin in an inappropriate relationship with a female soldier in his unit, maltreating a soldier and possessing a 'large quantity' of alcohol and pornography." That may be a minimizing of what Ramsdell did. (It may not.) The case of Suzanne Swift (and the military's refusal to address those who abused her) is much more common. For more examples of that click here and visit Suzanne Swift's website.
To distract from all the above it probably helps to toss out a new rumor which is what the US military has done and count on War Pornographer Michael Gordon to write about it in tomorrow's New York Times if he doesn't pull his War-On off from excitement. AFP reports that the US military gave a press presentation in Baghdad today where they blamed the Iranian government for assorted violence including te January 20th attack on the mosque in Karbala. Last week, it was left to Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers), and I believe only her, to note that the US military's push to connect the June mosque bombings to al Qaeda contained no hard proof and Youssef quoted US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the matter saying there was no "Hard evidence."
Turning to Australia where US media should be focusing but they're all too busy gas bagging and recovering from all the work they've put in covering Blond News last month. Lincoln Wright (Australia's The Sunday Telegraph) reported yesterday on "a secret plan" that John Howard, prime minister, would be utilizing in attempt to cut down on Kevin Rudd's perceived lead going into the election: start withdrawing the approximately 1500 troops Australia has sent to Iraq, start withdrawing them in February. Howard is dumb (he doesn't have to play at it) which is why AAP reports he attempted a one-liner, "The plan is so secret I don't know anything about it." Wasn't that Sgt. Schultz' defense on Hogan's Heroes>
And finally, Tom Baldwin (Times of London) reports that DC is very nervous about the ministers new prime minister Gordon Brown is and may select, that this "has triggered unease in Washington after the departure of its close ally, Tony Blair."
iraq
james burmeisterjared hood
iraq veterans against the war
adam kokeshliam madden
lily gordon
mcclatchy newspapers
diane carman
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Friday, June 29, 2007
Adam Kokesh (and my rambles)
Anonymous said...
You asked. IMO you should not be able to have it both ways. It's wrong to except benefits when you don't follow the rules. I'm a tax payer. I don't feel you should be given the benefits. Both of my sons are defending our freedoms. We're not free to break rules and disobey laws. Further, I feel your premise is based in selfish lies. Mostly, your words and action show disregard to those still deployed. I take this personal so I'll keep an eye on this to see what happens. It's made very clear that you are not allowed to use the uniform in this way. You decided to anyway. You owe me, my sons, and this country an apology.
President Bush owes your sons an apology. The moneyed interests and liars that are keeping us in Iraq owe this country an apology. Everyone who has remained silent and allowed this country to slide into its current state owes this country an apology. I have the utmost regard for those still deployed who do so with honorable intentions. I think the best way to support the troops is to bring them home now.
Cheryl Suellen Smith said...
I find your comment "It occurred to me how lucky America is to have not had to experience modern warfare on our own soil." shocking and frankly, incredibly naive. What is terrorism if not modern warfare?
Also, your butchering of the English language and your pedestrian writing "style" (I use the term loosely) serve as clear evidence to me that higher education is wasted on the likes of you. I would surmise that with you as their very vocal representative, you do IVAR far more harm than good.
Terrorism is terrorism. Modern warfare would be the thousands of tons of depleted uranium bombs that we have dropped in Iraq. The closest we have come is Pearl Harbor, which might fall into that category, but it was a one-day strike, and the only one the Japanese managed on our soil. Hardly would that one incident constitute a war by itself.
The above is from Adam Kokesh replying to comments at his site. I like his don't f-with me attidue. And I meant to highlight that yesterday when C.I. linked to it. And now I see something but I'll let C.I. grab that. Martha called me earlier and asked me to pass onto C.I. "Check the e-mails, you'll probably want to do an evening post." (C.I. and the gang were flying back home and should be back here -- I'm at C.I.'s -- shortly.)
But I will note that Adam's got a wonderful post about the bus tour that they are on. This is only 1 of many incidents (some great, some -- like below -- crazy) so make a point to read about it if you visit sites/use links:
For dinner we went to a Golden Corral where we had to park the bus in the Wal-Mart parking lot next door. As we were finishing up, Nate went outside to get some flyers off the bus and ran into a young former Marine who was screaming at the bus. It seemed like a PTSD moment, but this guy was seriously angry. Nate did his best to talk to him and his posse, who were lingering in the shadows a ways away. He went back into the restaurant to get everyone, and as we got back to the bus, the small crowd was still there. Jim noticed that the electrical panel on the side of the bus was cracked open, and we noticed that a few wires had been snipped. While Jim got the bus ready to roll and did a complete function check, Liam and I engaged this former Marine and got a bit of his story. He had been in Iraq and seen a number of his friends die. This was actually a bragging point for him. When he asked why we were doing this, Mike said, “So I don’t lose another friend like I did in February.” “You lost a friend? That’s great. Well I lost three!” “We don’t want to see that happen again.” He also had a leg full of shrapnel and a medical discharge. He had tried to reenlist but was denied. The bus was ready and pulled out while a few of us watched from the Bronco as the former Marine continued to cuss at it and his friends flipped it off. That night we pulled fire watch on our campsite, just to be safe.
Betty's going to try to go to the thing in her area tomorrow (Atlanta) but she wondered why they didn't go through the south. (Atlanta's really the only south part of this leg of the tour.) I'm wondering if it was incidents like above? If so, after our week in Texas in March, I'd say there are a lot of people there who would welcome them warmly and Fort Hood is in Texas. By the way, Betty's hoping to post tonight but said to go ahead and blog because she doesn't want anyone waiting for her "if it's like last weekend when it took forever for me to pull it together."
Back to Adam. If you're against the illegal war, like approximately 70% of the country is, you may hear about Adam, Liam, Cloy, Kathy, etc. and think, "Well it's good that they're speaking out and I'm proud of them for it." You may not grasp that speaking out has a way of attracting the ones who refuse to see the illegal war is wrong. Some of them are still holding onto the lie that Iraq was responsible for 9-11. Some of them believe wrongly that Iraq had WMD. Some of them just can't face the fact that the Bully Boy lied to them. C.I. tells a very funny story about how Bully Boy was giving a press conference, the day or 2 after the illegal war began, and this idiot woman was practically having an orgasm as she watched. When people turned to look at her, she started shouting, "I just love him! I just love George Bush!" I never experienced anything like that. (I believe C.I. was on the road. I know when the illegal war started -- and C.I. should tell this story online because it's an important one -- C.I. had to face two groups of college kids the night after and there was so much disappointment because they'd taken part in the big demonstration and they'd been hyped like crazy. "Go to this rally and there will be no war!" C.I. says those two groups were the hardest because the kids had been hyped and knew it, knew they were lied to, and they had little hope or faith at that moment. It was really uncomfortable so, after about a minute of it, C.I. made a joke and that lightened the mood and got everyone focused. If my memory was any better than it is, I'd repeat the joke but I'll screw it up.)
Don't you love my long winded parenthetical asides!
So that woman, that crazy woman, cheering her Bully Boy as he'd started the 'cakewalk' war that's still going all this time later, wasn't an exception. Her orgasm over seeing her Bully Boy hopefully wasn't too common. But Bully Boy was riding high. Natalie Maines, remember, got trashed during this period. Seemed like half the country loved them some Bully Boy and a large portion of the other half was scared or beaten into silence.
These days, the truth has been told. My grandmother used to always say that. (The one that lived with us after my grandfather's health problems.) She'd say, "Kaitlin, the truth will tell out." It could be on something as minor as which one of us kids swiped her candy and on something as major as racism. (As I noted in a CD review, my grandmother took racism very personally. I have no idea if she was as discriminated against when she came to this country from Ireland as she felt she was but she was 100% for civil rights and then some. It took her awhile to speak out against the illegal war but she wouldn't tolerate racism. And if some adult told a 'joke,' she would tear into them. Not take them aside. She would just call them out. I was always proud of her for that. Still am proud of her. A lot of adults would say something if a kid did it but if it was another adult, they'd usually act like they didn't hear it. She made sure everyone knew if someone thought racism was funny. And if they challenged her, she'd go off on how the same people "holding back Black people are the same ones who spat on me." She really took it personally. Good for her.)
But her point was always that we could get fooled, any of us, for a minute or two, but in the big picture, in the long view, the truth came out.
And that's what's happened with Iraq. If Bully Boy had done like his father and pulled out of Iraq after sending troops into Baghdad, there would probably be people saying it was no big deal. (The way they do about his father's war or the illegal bombings between the two wars.)
Some people point to Hurricane Katrina as an awakening but that's not reality. The American people were waking up a few months before that. It's why Camp Casey took off from the start. Iraq's the thing that has stuck to him. It's the lie, the big lie, that he can't escape. Too many people have died and along with those who knew he was lying before the illegal war began, you've got others who believed and now see the lie. Not the 30 or so percent. But you've got a lot of others who have woken up.
Adam encounters some who haven't woken up and they probably won't. At this late date, if you can't grasp that the illegal war is wrong it's because you don't want to grasp it. The truth came out. It's out there. And you have to stick your head in the sand to avoid it.
Which is probably why the kooks have the reaction to the bus tour that they do. It's not the TV that they can flip off or the newspaper they can toss in the trash. It's right there, the bus, in front of them, with "Iraq Veterans Against the War" on it. The reality they run from is staring them in the face and in their own home towns. Adam writes about honks and thumbs up too and you better believe that for people seeing it that are giving the warm response, it really means something.
I realized that in Texas that week in March when people would talk about how great it was that someone would come and talk about Iraq (and let them talk). That's why Dona went almost insane reworking the schedule after we arrived to give more time to East Texas. We probably could have spent an entire week just there. And one of the funniest/happiest things was one woman out by Big Sandy who said she honestly thought she was the only one in her area who was against the illegal war until she saw so many people there. So when that bus passes through, even if it's not stopping, you better believe that people appreciate it.
They've got their web address (Iraq Veterans Against the War) on the side of the bus and hopefully that's helping get the word out as well.
We were in another state speaking not all that long ago. We'd stopped to have lunch and were all talking about how the first thing went and what, from comments made, we needed to add to it? So we were talking at our table about Iraq and this idiot at the next table pipes up, one of the loons who love Bully Boy. Jim was there and Jim loves to argue. (He'll admit to that.) The loon was loud to begin with but he just got louder. C.I.'s got the laptop out and is trying to put in the links and also on the cell phones hunting stuff down. C.I. finally says something like, "Excuse me, we're here to have lunch. If you want to have a discussion, you're welcome to but you are not going to yell at this table." C.I. had that, I hestiate to use the word, imperial gaze that always causes people to back down. Funny story, I know I'm just running off at the mouth here, in Conn. on another trip, this White woman in her late fifties stops Jess at the airport and she's got one bag. "Young man, young man!" she hollers. She wants Jess to help her. He's not going to take a flight, we just arrived and are leaving. Two young women, African-American step up, C.I.'s on the phone talking and, I'm thinking, missing all of this, and the woman waives the two women away, dismisses them and won't even look at them. She's insisting and Jess is trying to be nice and figure out if there's time? C.I. gets off the phone and says, "There's no time for that." The woman takes an attiude and C.I. basically says (in nicer language), "You pompous fool. If you can't carry it, you shouldn't have brought it in on your own. You could have tipped anyone and they would have helped you but you were too damn cheap. Two people did offer to help you but, due to their skin color, you wrinkled your nose and didn't even say 'No, thank you.' This is your life, deal with it."
Okay, I've babbled enough for one night. Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, June 29, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, Liam Madden gets some news, tensions continue between Turkey and northern Iraq, Bully Boy's lips are flapping so you know what that means and more.
Starting with Iraq Veterans Against the War's Liam Madden. Madden and two other members of IVAW, Cloy Richards and Adam Kokesh, have been targeted by the US military brass in an attempt to silence and cow them. They have been threatened with the loss of benefits (Cloy Richards is classified as 80% disabled), loss of their honorable discharges and more. Kokesh participated in street theater in DC and then found himself facing the theatrics of a kangaroo court -- proving there is no bigger drama queensthan those commanders in the marines. Kokesh recevied a general discharge from the IRR -- meaning he's twice discharged: honorably from the marines, general from the IRR -- and Richards reached an agreement where he would not wear any part of his fatigues in public (his mother, Tina Richards, now usually wears his Marine Corp boonie cover at rallies and marches). Madden was being tarred with the usual trumped up charge that fatigues are the equivalent of dress uniforms and the added bonus that his speech was "disloyal" (which may echo the questioning in Kokesh's kangaroo hearing where he was asked if he was "a card carrying member of Iraq Veterans Against the War"). Now comes the news via the AP's own Ethel Mertz (Heather Hollingsworth) that although "[a]n investigating officer had recommended in May that Liam Madden, 22, of Boston receive an other-than-honorable discharge, the worst discharge possible under non-court martial conditions" the Marines issued a press release stating "that they were dropping the case because they had 'received sufficient indictation' from Madden . . ." of something. Of what? Madden has been very clear that he'll come to terms with them provided they put in writing that he made no disloyal statements about the US. He tells Hollingsworth that he's received nothing in writing but, "I think it's a total victory. The country is on our side and it really puts the Marine Corps in a bad light if they try to intimdate".
Madden and other members of Iraq Veterans Against the War are currently conducting a summer base tour that takes them next to the US Social Forum in Atlanta, GA on June 30th at 7:00 pm; Fort Benning in Columbus, GA on July 1st at 7:00 pm; a fundraiser in Philadelphia on June 3rd at 6:00 pm; a fundraiser in NYC on July 5th at 7:00 pm; the Naval Sub Marine Base in Groton, CT on July 6th at 7:00 pm; and concluding at Fort Drum in NY on July 8th at 4:00 pm.
And in news of resistance within the military (IRR is a way station -- Richard, Madden and Kokesh were all discharged and the brass had no reason to screw with them), we'll turn to Eli Israel. Eleonai "Eli" Israel is stationed and Iraq and has announced he can no longer take part in the illegal war. He is also a supporter of 2008 presidential candidate Mike Gravel having noted, "I am taken away by the truth and clarity that is spoken by Sen. Gravel. He has my vote. The National Initiative that he proposes is what this country needs." And: "My paychecks currently comes from the Army. I have worked with and trained with Blackwater in the past, among others. I have seen this war (and it's orchestrators) from the inside out, and I'm telling anyone who has 'ears to hear', that Mike Gravel is the only voice of reason that is speaking." Those were both noted in May. In April, he posted, "My name is Eli Israel, and yes, you probably guessed it, I'm very much Jewish. I'm also a soldier in Iraq, and I'm also a HARD CORE Mike Gravel supporter." In an update at Iraq Veterans Against the War, Eli notes, "I have been in Iraq for over a year. I have served in combat. I have been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, for my actions in Combat. I have been recommended for other medals, that I will now probably never see (nor do I want) . .. It would have been a lot 'easier' for me to simply keep doing combat missions for a couple more week, and be done with things. Moral convictions are not based on timing or convenience". Courage to Resist has more information here.
Eli Israel is part of a movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, 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, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty 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, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
In Iraq, where all business seems to stop anytime Moqtada al-Sadr deliberates . . . Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Stephen Farrell (New York Times) report that Nouri al-Maliki is all but on his hands and knees regarding a planned al-Sadr march for next week (July 5th). Mike Drummond (McClatchy Newspapers) judged that "the march poses a test of his [al-Sadr's] popularity. A peaceful demonstration could arm him with broad political clout, which has eluded other Iraqi leaders so far, including Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. A low turnout could underscore the limites of Sadr's ability to marshal ordinary citizens." AP reported this morning that al-Sadr had called off the march and cited Sheik Asad al-Nassiri's statement: "Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to postpone the march to Samarra for several reasons, including the government's inablity to secure the route and many officials' appeals for a postponement."
When not begging al-Sadr, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports, the puppet was attempting to sideline him via an attempted partnership with alleged moderate bloc in Parliament who would make it their business to take up the "oil revenue-sharing law". However Asad al-Hashimi remains 'at large.' With Iraq's Culture Minister out and about, better hide those copies of Ram in the Thicket. Worse for al-Maliki, as he's attempting to realign himself, BBC reports that the Iraqi Accord Front and its six minister "will boycott government meetings because of legal steps being taken against one of its ministers." That would be al-Hashimi who, this week, suddenly became the main suspect in a 2005 assassination (he is now said to be in Jordan). Waleed Ibrahim and Alister Bull (Reuters) observe "the move is a blow to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at a time when he is under U.S. pressure to push through laws" and that this is the second time the bloc has gone on strike this month -- last week they objected to the removal of Mahmoud al-Mashhadani who held the post of Speaker in the Parliament. In terms al-Hashimi, they further note that "there has been some confusion about the warrant. Police and court officials have not been able to confirm such a warrant has been issued for Hashemi."
Bombings?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 mortar attacks in Baghdad. CBS and AP report that "the British military issued a statement saying all of its bases came under attack from mortars or rockets in the past 24 hours". Reuters notes a Tikrit roadside bombing that left three wounded and a Kut roadside bombing that left a woman wounded. CBS and AP report a bombing on an oil pipeline in Haswa "spilling crude oil and sparking a huge fire".
Shootings?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 women ("one of them pregnant") and 1 man were shot dead in Baghdad, two police officers were wounded in Kirkuk and "A U.S. military convoy killed an Iraqi man in Al Rashad neighborhood, Iraq police said."
Corpses?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 7 corpses were discoved in Baghdad today. Reuters notes 3 corpses discovered in Balad and the corpse "of a university lecturer" found in Kut.
The US military announced today, "Five Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near a combat patrol in a southern section of Baghdad June 28. Small arms and rocket-propelled attacks followed shortly after the blast. Seven other Soldiers were wounded in the attack." The deaths bring to 3577 the total number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and to 100 fatalties for the month of June. June is the third deadliest month for US service members so far this year. June 2007 is also the deadliest June for service members stationed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. The attack was one of the combination attacks that isn't new and has been going on for over a year. BBC notes their "Baghdad correspondent Andrew North says that incidents like Thursday's, in which insurgents first use roadside bombs to attack US troops, then exploit the confusion afterwards to fire on them, have become more common. . . . Our correspondent says this is a sign yet again of how the conflict here keeps changing, with insurgents often one step ahead."
Turning to world leaders do the craziest things . . .
As an election looms in Australia and (Australia's) ABC News reports Labour's Kevin Rudd has declared John Howard (prime minister) will reduce the number of Australians stationed in Iraq "as an election ploy, but his overall strategy is to keep them there indefinitely." Last week, Bill Taylor's remarks, such as "The majority of Australians across the country would very much like to see us come out of that mess as soon as possible," caused a stirbecause it was seen as coming from within Howard's own party (Liberal). Ed Johnson (Bloomberg News) reports today that Alexander Downer, the country's Foreign Minister, has announced, "I made it clear that Australian troops would stay" in Iraq and dismissing Rudd's observations that any of the country's approximately 1,500 troops would be leaving Iraq.
That would be the same Alexander Downer who was in Iraq yesterday meeting with Iraq's Foreign Minister to discuss trade. Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which must be the country's equivalent of Liz Smith, announces, "Mr. Downer thanked Mister Zebari for the briefing he gave concerning the latest developments, and assured his country's obligations in supporting the new Iraq, and to develop relations between Canberra and Baghdad."
Moving from the satellite of Howard to the Bully of them all, Bully Boy gave more of the same yesterday at the Naval War College in Rhode Island. Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny (New York Times) report: "Mr. Bush in effect pleaded for more time on Thursday, saying that the deployments in Iraq he ordered in his so-called troop surge have only recently been completed and were already producing positive results. . . .Even at this pre-screened location, Mr. Bush faced some skepticism from questioners in the audience, including a woman who asked him pointedly if he was indeed listening to the advice of his commanders (yes, he said) and a professor who asked if the Iraq campaign was stretching United States forces too think to cope with other challenges elsewhere (no, he said)." Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) noted that Bully Boy wants the US to support death globally and focus locally as evidenced by Bully Boy's claim that "citizens are forming neighborhood watch groups" in Baghdad is a sign of encouragement. Ricks notes, "It is not clear what the difference is between those groups and armed militias, which U.S. officials have said in the past must be disbanded or incorporated into Iraqi security forces."
Flashback to almost exactly this time last year (July 2006) when al-Maliki was claiming his 'plan' would create just that -- only, they were all created. Bully Boy's seeing 'progress' in a questionable development and one that existed before the June 2006 'crackdown' began on Baghdad. Jonathan S. Landay (McClatchy Newspapers) points out that Bully Boy did his usual stunt: "Facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans, President Bush on Thursday called al Qaida 'the main enemy' in Iraq, an assertion rejected by his administration's senior intelligence analaysts. The reference, in a major speech at the Naval War College that referred to al Qaida at least 27 times, seemed calculated to use lingering outrage over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bolster support for the current buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, despite evidence that sending more troops hasn't reduced the violence or sped Iraqi government action on key issues." And despite the fact that Iraq had no connection to 9-11. Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) observed, "The President went on to say he views Israel as a model for what Iraq should become. Bush says Israel is able to carry out its democratic functions despite the constant threat of attacks." Along with the massive insult such statements are to the region (maybe Bully Boy feels at this late date, there are no hearts and minds left to win?), it's also true that the Israeli government is in the news today for actions/behaviors that hardly deserve copying. Donald Macintyre (Independent of London) reports how Moshe Katsav (Israel's president) "yesterday escaped jail by agreeing a plea bargain under which rape charges against him will be dropped. In return he is admitting charges of lesser sexual offences against former employees."
And turning to England, we find Blair-lite. Kim Sengupta and Colin Brown (Independent of London) observe, "Yesterday should have been a day of political triumph for Gordon Brown. Instead events in Basra provided a brutal and intimate reminder of the scale of the challenge he faces in Iraq." Scott Kennedy, James "Jamie" Kerr and Paul Joszko, three British soldiers, were all announced dead. Andrew Pierce and David Blair (Telegraph of London) note that Jamie Kerr was "from Mr Brown's Cowdenbeath constituency" and that "Mr Brown, as a local MP, will now face the dilemma of whether to be present when the body of his constituent is flown home." Richard Beeston, Michael Evans and Melanie Reid (Times of London) quote John Paul Ward, Jamie Kerr's step-father, on the soldier's last phone call to his mother, "Jamie said being out there was not what he thought it would be. He didn't want to be there. He was more scared than anything else. He said he wanted to come home and I think being out there was a reality check for him."
For those who have forgotten, the 156 British troops who have died and the 3577 US troops who have died, the nearly one million Iraqis who have died, and others, all died because Tony Blair and Bully Boy insisted that Iraq had WMD and that we couldn't wait for a "mushroom cloud." CBS and AP report: "The Security Council voted Friday to immediately shut down the U.N. bodies key to monitoring Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs under Saddam Hussein, a decision an Iraqi diplomat said would close 'an appalling chapter' in his country's history."
Meanwhile, tensions between Turkey and the northern section of Iraq continue with Reuters reporting that Masoud Barzani ("head of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq") has declared there will be a "catastrophe" should Turkey enter into the region.
adam kokeshliam maddeniraq veterans against the war
thomas e. ricksthe washington postthe new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.stephen farrellalissa j. rubinjim rutenbergmcclatchy newspapers
You asked. IMO you should not be able to have it both ways. It's wrong to except benefits when you don't follow the rules. I'm a tax payer. I don't feel you should be given the benefits. Both of my sons are defending our freedoms. We're not free to break rules and disobey laws. Further, I feel your premise is based in selfish lies. Mostly, your words and action show disregard to those still deployed. I take this personal so I'll keep an eye on this to see what happens. It's made very clear that you are not allowed to use the uniform in this way. You decided to anyway. You owe me, my sons, and this country an apology.
President Bush owes your sons an apology. The moneyed interests and liars that are keeping us in Iraq owe this country an apology. Everyone who has remained silent and allowed this country to slide into its current state owes this country an apology. I have the utmost regard for those still deployed who do so with honorable intentions. I think the best way to support the troops is to bring them home now.
Cheryl Suellen Smith said...
I find your comment "It occurred to me how lucky America is to have not had to experience modern warfare on our own soil." shocking and frankly, incredibly naive. What is terrorism if not modern warfare?
Also, your butchering of the English language and your pedestrian writing "style" (I use the term loosely) serve as clear evidence to me that higher education is wasted on the likes of you. I would surmise that with you as their very vocal representative, you do IVAR far more harm than good.
Terrorism is terrorism. Modern warfare would be the thousands of tons of depleted uranium bombs that we have dropped in Iraq. The closest we have come is Pearl Harbor, which might fall into that category, but it was a one-day strike, and the only one the Japanese managed on our soil. Hardly would that one incident constitute a war by itself.
The above is from Adam Kokesh replying to comments at his site. I like his don't f-with me attidue. And I meant to highlight that yesterday when C.I. linked to it. And now I see something but I'll let C.I. grab that. Martha called me earlier and asked me to pass onto C.I. "Check the e-mails, you'll probably want to do an evening post." (C.I. and the gang were flying back home and should be back here -- I'm at C.I.'s -- shortly.)
But I will note that Adam's got a wonderful post about the bus tour that they are on. This is only 1 of many incidents (some great, some -- like below -- crazy) so make a point to read about it if you visit sites/use links:
For dinner we went to a Golden Corral where we had to park the bus in the Wal-Mart parking lot next door. As we were finishing up, Nate went outside to get some flyers off the bus and ran into a young former Marine who was screaming at the bus. It seemed like a PTSD moment, but this guy was seriously angry. Nate did his best to talk to him and his posse, who were lingering in the shadows a ways away. He went back into the restaurant to get everyone, and as we got back to the bus, the small crowd was still there. Jim noticed that the electrical panel on the side of the bus was cracked open, and we noticed that a few wires had been snipped. While Jim got the bus ready to roll and did a complete function check, Liam and I engaged this former Marine and got a bit of his story. He had been in Iraq and seen a number of his friends die. This was actually a bragging point for him. When he asked why we were doing this, Mike said, “So I don’t lose another friend like I did in February.” “You lost a friend? That’s great. Well I lost three!” “We don’t want to see that happen again.” He also had a leg full of shrapnel and a medical discharge. He had tried to reenlist but was denied. The bus was ready and pulled out while a few of us watched from the Bronco as the former Marine continued to cuss at it and his friends flipped it off. That night we pulled fire watch on our campsite, just to be safe.
Betty's going to try to go to the thing in her area tomorrow (Atlanta) but she wondered why they didn't go through the south. (Atlanta's really the only south part of this leg of the tour.) I'm wondering if it was incidents like above? If so, after our week in Texas in March, I'd say there are a lot of people there who would welcome them warmly and Fort Hood is in Texas. By the way, Betty's hoping to post tonight but said to go ahead and blog because she doesn't want anyone waiting for her "if it's like last weekend when it took forever for me to pull it together."
Back to Adam. If you're against the illegal war, like approximately 70% of the country is, you may hear about Adam, Liam, Cloy, Kathy, etc. and think, "Well it's good that they're speaking out and I'm proud of them for it." You may not grasp that speaking out has a way of attracting the ones who refuse to see the illegal war is wrong. Some of them are still holding onto the lie that Iraq was responsible for 9-11. Some of them believe wrongly that Iraq had WMD. Some of them just can't face the fact that the Bully Boy lied to them. C.I. tells a very funny story about how Bully Boy was giving a press conference, the day or 2 after the illegal war began, and this idiot woman was practically having an orgasm as she watched. When people turned to look at her, she started shouting, "I just love him! I just love George Bush!" I never experienced anything like that. (I believe C.I. was on the road. I know when the illegal war started -- and C.I. should tell this story online because it's an important one -- C.I. had to face two groups of college kids the night after and there was so much disappointment because they'd taken part in the big demonstration and they'd been hyped like crazy. "Go to this rally and there will be no war!" C.I. says those two groups were the hardest because the kids had been hyped and knew it, knew they were lied to, and they had little hope or faith at that moment. It was really uncomfortable so, after about a minute of it, C.I. made a joke and that lightened the mood and got everyone focused. If my memory was any better than it is, I'd repeat the joke but I'll screw it up.)
Don't you love my long winded parenthetical asides!
So that woman, that crazy woman, cheering her Bully Boy as he'd started the 'cakewalk' war that's still going all this time later, wasn't an exception. Her orgasm over seeing her Bully Boy hopefully wasn't too common. But Bully Boy was riding high. Natalie Maines, remember, got trashed during this period. Seemed like half the country loved them some Bully Boy and a large portion of the other half was scared or beaten into silence.
These days, the truth has been told. My grandmother used to always say that. (The one that lived with us after my grandfather's health problems.) She'd say, "Kaitlin, the truth will tell out." It could be on something as minor as which one of us kids swiped her candy and on something as major as racism. (As I noted in a CD review, my grandmother took racism very personally. I have no idea if she was as discriminated against when she came to this country from Ireland as she felt she was but she was 100% for civil rights and then some. It took her awhile to speak out against the illegal war but she wouldn't tolerate racism. And if some adult told a 'joke,' she would tear into them. Not take them aside. She would just call them out. I was always proud of her for that. Still am proud of her. A lot of adults would say something if a kid did it but if it was another adult, they'd usually act like they didn't hear it. She made sure everyone knew if someone thought racism was funny. And if they challenged her, she'd go off on how the same people "holding back Black people are the same ones who spat on me." She really took it personally. Good for her.)
But her point was always that we could get fooled, any of us, for a minute or two, but in the big picture, in the long view, the truth came out.
And that's what's happened with Iraq. If Bully Boy had done like his father and pulled out of Iraq after sending troops into Baghdad, there would probably be people saying it was no big deal. (The way they do about his father's war or the illegal bombings between the two wars.)
Some people point to Hurricane Katrina as an awakening but that's not reality. The American people were waking up a few months before that. It's why Camp Casey took off from the start. Iraq's the thing that has stuck to him. It's the lie, the big lie, that he can't escape. Too many people have died and along with those who knew he was lying before the illegal war began, you've got others who believed and now see the lie. Not the 30 or so percent. But you've got a lot of others who have woken up.
Adam encounters some who haven't woken up and they probably won't. At this late date, if you can't grasp that the illegal war is wrong it's because you don't want to grasp it. The truth came out. It's out there. And you have to stick your head in the sand to avoid it.
Which is probably why the kooks have the reaction to the bus tour that they do. It's not the TV that they can flip off or the newspaper they can toss in the trash. It's right there, the bus, in front of them, with "Iraq Veterans Against the War" on it. The reality they run from is staring them in the face and in their own home towns. Adam writes about honks and thumbs up too and you better believe that for people seeing it that are giving the warm response, it really means something.
I realized that in Texas that week in March when people would talk about how great it was that someone would come and talk about Iraq (and let them talk). That's why Dona went almost insane reworking the schedule after we arrived to give more time to East Texas. We probably could have spent an entire week just there. And one of the funniest/happiest things was one woman out by Big Sandy who said she honestly thought she was the only one in her area who was against the illegal war until she saw so many people there. So when that bus passes through, even if it's not stopping, you better believe that people appreciate it.
They've got their web address (Iraq Veterans Against the War) on the side of the bus and hopefully that's helping get the word out as well.
We were in another state speaking not all that long ago. We'd stopped to have lunch and were all talking about how the first thing went and what, from comments made, we needed to add to it? So we were talking at our table about Iraq and this idiot at the next table pipes up, one of the loons who love Bully Boy. Jim was there and Jim loves to argue. (He'll admit to that.) The loon was loud to begin with but he just got louder. C.I.'s got the laptop out and is trying to put in the links and also on the cell phones hunting stuff down. C.I. finally says something like, "Excuse me, we're here to have lunch. If you want to have a discussion, you're welcome to but you are not going to yell at this table." C.I. had that, I hestiate to use the word, imperial gaze that always causes people to back down. Funny story, I know I'm just running off at the mouth here, in Conn. on another trip, this White woman in her late fifties stops Jess at the airport and she's got one bag. "Young man, young man!" she hollers. She wants Jess to help her. He's not going to take a flight, we just arrived and are leaving. Two young women, African-American step up, C.I.'s on the phone talking and, I'm thinking, missing all of this, and the woman waives the two women away, dismisses them and won't even look at them. She's insisting and Jess is trying to be nice and figure out if there's time? C.I. gets off the phone and says, "There's no time for that." The woman takes an attiude and C.I. basically says (in nicer language), "You pompous fool. If you can't carry it, you shouldn't have brought it in on your own. You could have tipped anyone and they would have helped you but you were too damn cheap. Two people did offer to help you but, due to their skin color, you wrinkled your nose and didn't even say 'No, thank you.' This is your life, deal with it."
Okay, I've babbled enough for one night. Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, June 29, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, Liam Madden gets some news, tensions continue between Turkey and northern Iraq, Bully Boy's lips are flapping so you know what that means and more.
Starting with Iraq Veterans Against the War's Liam Madden. Madden and two other members of IVAW, Cloy Richards and Adam Kokesh, have been targeted by the US military brass in an attempt to silence and cow them. They have been threatened with the loss of benefits (Cloy Richards is classified as 80% disabled), loss of their honorable discharges and more. Kokesh participated in street theater in DC and then found himself facing the theatrics of a kangaroo court -- proving there is no bigger drama queensthan those commanders in the marines. Kokesh recevied a general discharge from the IRR -- meaning he's twice discharged: honorably from the marines, general from the IRR -- and Richards reached an agreement where he would not wear any part of his fatigues in public (his mother, Tina Richards, now usually wears his Marine Corp boonie cover at rallies and marches). Madden was being tarred with the usual trumped up charge that fatigues are the equivalent of dress uniforms and the added bonus that his speech was "disloyal" (which may echo the questioning in Kokesh's kangaroo hearing where he was asked if he was "a card carrying member of Iraq Veterans Against the War"). Now comes the news via the AP's own Ethel Mertz (Heather Hollingsworth) that although "[a]n investigating officer had recommended in May that Liam Madden, 22, of Boston receive an other-than-honorable discharge, the worst discharge possible under non-court martial conditions" the Marines issued a press release stating "that they were dropping the case because they had 'received sufficient indictation' from Madden . . ." of something. Of what? Madden has been very clear that he'll come to terms with them provided they put in writing that he made no disloyal statements about the US. He tells Hollingsworth that he's received nothing in writing but, "I think it's a total victory. The country is on our side and it really puts the Marine Corps in a bad light if they try to intimdate".
Madden and other members of Iraq Veterans Against the War are currently conducting a summer base tour that takes them next to the US Social Forum in Atlanta, GA on June 30th at 7:00 pm; Fort Benning in Columbus, GA on July 1st at 7:00 pm; a fundraiser in Philadelphia on June 3rd at 6:00 pm; a fundraiser in NYC on July 5th at 7:00 pm; the Naval Sub Marine Base in Groton, CT on July 6th at 7:00 pm; and concluding at Fort Drum in NY on July 8th at 4:00 pm.
And in news of resistance within the military (IRR is a way station -- Richard, Madden and Kokesh were all discharged and the brass had no reason to screw with them), we'll turn to Eli Israel. Eleonai "Eli" Israel is stationed and Iraq and has announced he can no longer take part in the illegal war. He is also a supporter of 2008 presidential candidate Mike Gravel having noted, "I am taken away by the truth and clarity that is spoken by Sen. Gravel. He has my vote. The National Initiative that he proposes is what this country needs." And: "My paychecks currently comes from the Army. I have worked with and trained with Blackwater in the past, among others. I have seen this war (and it's orchestrators) from the inside out, and I'm telling anyone who has 'ears to hear', that Mike Gravel is the only voice of reason that is speaking." Those were both noted in May. In April, he posted, "My name is Eli Israel, and yes, you probably guessed it, I'm very much Jewish. I'm also a soldier in Iraq, and I'm also a HARD CORE Mike Gravel supporter." In an update at Iraq Veterans Against the War, Eli notes, "I have been in Iraq for over a year. I have served in combat. I have been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, for my actions in Combat. I have been recommended for other medals, that I will now probably never see (nor do I want) . .. It would have been a lot 'easier' for me to simply keep doing combat missions for a couple more week, and be done with things. Moral convictions are not based on timing or convenience". Courage to Resist has more information here.
Eli Israel is part of a movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, 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, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty 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, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
In Iraq, where all business seems to stop anytime Moqtada al-Sadr deliberates . . . Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Stephen Farrell (New York Times) report that Nouri al-Maliki is all but on his hands and knees regarding a planned al-Sadr march for next week (July 5th). Mike Drummond (McClatchy Newspapers) judged that "the march poses a test of his [al-Sadr's] popularity. A peaceful demonstration could arm him with broad political clout, which has eluded other Iraqi leaders so far, including Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. A low turnout could underscore the limites of Sadr's ability to marshal ordinary citizens." AP reported this morning that al-Sadr had called off the march and cited Sheik Asad al-Nassiri's statement: "Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to postpone the march to Samarra for several reasons, including the government's inablity to secure the route and many officials' appeals for a postponement."
When not begging al-Sadr, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports, the puppet was attempting to sideline him via an attempted partnership with alleged moderate bloc in Parliament who would make it their business to take up the "oil revenue-sharing law". However Asad al-Hashimi remains 'at large.' With Iraq's Culture Minister out and about, better hide those copies of Ram in the Thicket. Worse for al-Maliki, as he's attempting to realign himself, BBC reports that the Iraqi Accord Front and its six minister "will boycott government meetings because of legal steps being taken against one of its ministers." That would be al-Hashimi who, this week, suddenly became the main suspect in a 2005 assassination (he is now said to be in Jordan). Waleed Ibrahim and Alister Bull (Reuters) observe "the move is a blow to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at a time when he is under U.S. pressure to push through laws" and that this is the second time the bloc has gone on strike this month -- last week they objected to the removal of Mahmoud al-Mashhadani who held the post of Speaker in the Parliament. In terms al-Hashimi, they further note that "there has been some confusion about the warrant. Police and court officials have not been able to confirm such a warrant has been issued for Hashemi."
Bombings?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 mortar attacks in Baghdad. CBS and AP report that "the British military issued a statement saying all of its bases came under attack from mortars or rockets in the past 24 hours". Reuters notes a Tikrit roadside bombing that left three wounded and a Kut roadside bombing that left a woman wounded. CBS and AP report a bombing on an oil pipeline in Haswa "spilling crude oil and sparking a huge fire".
Shootings?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 women ("one of them pregnant") and 1 man were shot dead in Baghdad, two police officers were wounded in Kirkuk and "A U.S. military convoy killed an Iraqi man in Al Rashad neighborhood, Iraq police said."
Corpses?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 7 corpses were discoved in Baghdad today. Reuters notes 3 corpses discovered in Balad and the corpse "of a university lecturer" found in Kut.
The US military announced today, "Five Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near a combat patrol in a southern section of Baghdad June 28. Small arms and rocket-propelled attacks followed shortly after the blast. Seven other Soldiers were wounded in the attack." The deaths bring to 3577 the total number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and to 100 fatalties for the month of June. June is the third deadliest month for US service members so far this year. June 2007 is also the deadliest June for service members stationed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. The attack was one of the combination attacks that isn't new and has been going on for over a year. BBC notes their "Baghdad correspondent Andrew North says that incidents like Thursday's, in which insurgents first use roadside bombs to attack US troops, then exploit the confusion afterwards to fire on them, have become more common. . . . Our correspondent says this is a sign yet again of how the conflict here keeps changing, with insurgents often one step ahead."
Turning to world leaders do the craziest things . . .
As an election looms in Australia and (Australia's) ABC News reports Labour's Kevin Rudd has declared John Howard (prime minister) will reduce the number of Australians stationed in Iraq "as an election ploy, but his overall strategy is to keep them there indefinitely." Last week, Bill Taylor's remarks, such as "The majority of Australians across the country would very much like to see us come out of that mess as soon as possible," caused a stirbecause it was seen as coming from within Howard's own party (Liberal). Ed Johnson (Bloomberg News) reports today that Alexander Downer, the country's Foreign Minister, has announced, "I made it clear that Australian troops would stay" in Iraq and dismissing Rudd's observations that any of the country's approximately 1,500 troops would be leaving Iraq.
That would be the same Alexander Downer who was in Iraq yesterday meeting with Iraq's Foreign Minister to discuss trade. Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which must be the country's equivalent of Liz Smith, announces, "Mr. Downer thanked Mister Zebari for the briefing he gave concerning the latest developments, and assured his country's obligations in supporting the new Iraq, and to develop relations between Canberra and Baghdad."
Moving from the satellite of Howard to the Bully of them all, Bully Boy gave more of the same yesterday at the Naval War College in Rhode Island. Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny (New York Times) report: "Mr. Bush in effect pleaded for more time on Thursday, saying that the deployments in Iraq he ordered in his so-called troop surge have only recently been completed and were already producing positive results. . . .Even at this pre-screened location, Mr. Bush faced some skepticism from questioners in the audience, including a woman who asked him pointedly if he was indeed listening to the advice of his commanders (yes, he said) and a professor who asked if the Iraq campaign was stretching United States forces too think to cope with other challenges elsewhere (no, he said)." Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) noted that Bully Boy wants the US to support death globally and focus locally as evidenced by Bully Boy's claim that "citizens are forming neighborhood watch groups" in Baghdad is a sign of encouragement. Ricks notes, "It is not clear what the difference is between those groups and armed militias, which U.S. officials have said in the past must be disbanded or incorporated into Iraqi security forces."
Flashback to almost exactly this time last year (July 2006) when al-Maliki was claiming his 'plan' would create just that -- only, they were all created. Bully Boy's seeing 'progress' in a questionable development and one that existed before the June 2006 'crackdown' began on Baghdad. Jonathan S. Landay (McClatchy Newspapers) points out that Bully Boy did his usual stunt: "Facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans, President Bush on Thursday called al Qaida 'the main enemy' in Iraq, an assertion rejected by his administration's senior intelligence analaysts. The reference, in a major speech at the Naval War College that referred to al Qaida at least 27 times, seemed calculated to use lingering outrage over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bolster support for the current buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, despite evidence that sending more troops hasn't reduced the violence or sped Iraqi government action on key issues." And despite the fact that Iraq had no connection to 9-11. Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) observed, "The President went on to say he views Israel as a model for what Iraq should become. Bush says Israel is able to carry out its democratic functions despite the constant threat of attacks." Along with the massive insult such statements are to the region (maybe Bully Boy feels at this late date, there are no hearts and minds left to win?), it's also true that the Israeli government is in the news today for actions/behaviors that hardly deserve copying. Donald Macintyre (Independent of London) reports how Moshe Katsav (Israel's president) "yesterday escaped jail by agreeing a plea bargain under which rape charges against him will be dropped. In return he is admitting charges of lesser sexual offences against former employees."
And turning to England, we find Blair-lite. Kim Sengupta and Colin Brown (Independent of London) observe, "Yesterday should have been a day of political triumph for Gordon Brown. Instead events in Basra provided a brutal and intimate reminder of the scale of the challenge he faces in Iraq." Scott Kennedy, James "Jamie" Kerr and Paul Joszko, three British soldiers, were all announced dead. Andrew Pierce and David Blair (Telegraph of London) note that Jamie Kerr was "from Mr Brown's Cowdenbeath constituency" and that "Mr Brown, as a local MP, will now face the dilemma of whether to be present when the body of his constituent is flown home." Richard Beeston, Michael Evans and Melanie Reid (Times of London) quote John Paul Ward, Jamie Kerr's step-father, on the soldier's last phone call to his mother, "Jamie said being out there was not what he thought it would be. He didn't want to be there. He was more scared than anything else. He said he wanted to come home and I think being out there was a reality check for him."
For those who have forgotten, the 156 British troops who have died and the 3577 US troops who have died, the nearly one million Iraqis who have died, and others, all died because Tony Blair and Bully Boy insisted that Iraq had WMD and that we couldn't wait for a "mushroom cloud." CBS and AP report: "The Security Council voted Friday to immediately shut down the U.N. bodies key to monitoring Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs under Saddam Hussein, a decision an Iraqi diplomat said would close 'an appalling chapter' in his country's history."
Meanwhile, tensions between Turkey and the northern section of Iraq continue with Reuters reporting that Masoud Barzani ("head of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq") has declared there will be a "catastrophe" should Turkey enter into the region.
adam kokeshliam maddeniraq veterans against the war
thomas e. ricksthe washington postthe new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.stephen farrellalissa j. rubinjim rutenbergmcclatchy newspapers
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