DAVID PRICE: Well, this debate very much cuts to the core of what the appropriate uses of anthropology are, regarding warfare and regarding large ethical issues about what does it mean to have anthropologists embedded with military forces during a time of war. You know, there are large ethical issues about embedding ethnographers with troops. Basically, fundamental research ethics require that research subjects have voluntary meaningful informed consent, that they're told, you know, what's going to be done with the research, and that no harm come to those who are studied. The executive board of the American Anthropological Association weighed these and others issues and made a very strong statement against the Human Terrain program, because it saw it clearly wandering into these very ethical problematic areas and not really showing due concern for the people who are studied.
JUAN GONZALEZ: What specifically is the Human Terrain program? How did it start, and how does it typically operate now in places like Afghanistan and Iraq?
DAVID PRICE: The Human Terrain program is run through BAE, which is a contracting agency. You know, in some ways it's very similar to Blackwater in the way that it works. What they do is they take ethnographers, they take anthropologists, who may or may not have cultural expertise in the areas where they're working, and they take these ethnographers, embed them with the troops, they travel with them, and then they try and advise commanders about taking culturally appropriate action. Now, the claim by Human Terrain is that they can reduce casualties by giving more nuanced information to people in battle situations. But there's a lot more to it than that, especially in that people in the Pentagon see this as being linked to the CORDS program. CORDS program in Vietnam was used to map human terrain, to identify suspected individuals and groups that the military believed were sympathizers for the Viet Cong, who were, in the Vietnam era, targeted for assassination. Now, supposedly what's going on with Human Terrain is that, you know, it's essentially a manners lesson for people in the battlefield. But the problem is, is that there are armed ethnographers. Not all the ethnographers working for Human Terrain carry weapons, but we do know there are instances where they do. They're given the option to do so. So they travel with troops and independently in the countryside, gathering culture information that they bring back and give to the command.
That's from "Anthropologists Up in Arms Over Pentagon's 'Human Terrain System' to Recruit Graduate Students to Serve in Iraq, Afghanistan" on Democracy Now! Thursday and I told myself yesterday when Sunny and I were listening at lunch that I would note it when I blogged Friday. Hopefully, you already caught the broadcast. If not, please remember that you can listen to it online, watch it online or read the transcripts online. Price is with the Network of Concerned Anthropologists so you can also visit that site for more information.
Robert Parry's addressing the latest efforts of the US military to kill suspects (there's no hearing, only 'sentencing') and focusing on biometrics at the top of his report; however, I wanted to note the conclusion.
"Mobile Labs to Target Iraqis for Death" (Robert Parry, Consortium News):
The case of Army sniper Jorge G. Sandoval Jr., who served under Hensley, also revealed a classified program in which the Pentagon’s Asymmetric Warfare Group encouraged U.S. military snipers in Iraq to drop “bait” – such as electrical cords and ammunition – and then shoot Iraqis who pick up the items, according to evidence in the Sandoval case. [Washington Post, Sept. 24, 2007]
(Like Hensley, Sandoval was acquitted of murder but convicted of a lesser charge, the planting of copper wire on one of the slain Iraqis to make it look as if the dead man were involved in making explosive devices.)
Another case of a targeted killing of a suspected insurgent surfaced at a military court hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in mid-September. Two U.S. Special Forces soldiers took part in the execution of an Afghani who was suspected of heading an insurgent group.
As described at the hearing, Staffel and Anderson were leading a team of Afghan soldiers when an informant told them where a suspected insurgent leader was hiding. The U.S.-led contingent found a man believed to be Nawab Buntangyar walking outside his compound near the village of Hasan Kheyl.
While the Americans kept their distance out of fear the suspect might be wearing a suicide vest, the man was questioned about his name and the Americans checked his description against a list from the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, known as "the kill-or-capture list."
Concluding that the man was insurgent leader Nawab Buntangyar, Staffel gave the order to shoot, and Anderson -- from a distance of about 100 yards away -- fired a bullet through the man’s head, killing him instantly.
The soldiers viewed the killing as "a textbook example of a classified mission completed in accordance with the American rules of engagement," the International Herald Tribune reported. "The men said such rules allowed them to kill Buntangyar, whom the American military had designated a terrorist cell leader, once they positively identified him." [IHT, Sept. 17, 2007]
According to evidence at the Fort Bragg proceedings, an earlier Army investigation had cleared the two soldiers because they had been operating under "rules of engagement" that empowered them to kill individuals who have been designated "enemy combatants," even if the targets were unarmed and presented no visible threat.
In effect, Duong's mobile labs would streamline the process for identifying suspected insurgents like Buntangyar.
Rather than relying on physical descriptions, U.S. forces could scan a suspect's eyes or check his fingerprints -- and instantaneously cross-check it with data stored in West Virginia -- before deciding, in Duong's words, "Do I let him go? Keep him? Or shoot him on the spot?"
On the above excerpt, the only thing I can see that's missed is James Burmeister who told the Canadian press, in June of this year, about the sniper program.
The two featured excerpts should alarm you because these are not the actions of a military preparing to leave the country. These are longterm attacks on a population. They are crimes. The crimes are being made public to acclimate us to their nature which means that as ugly as the illegal war has been it's about to get even uglier.
I think that's one thing that my generation has done a very poor job preparing younger people for. We largely sidestepped the crimes of Vietnam after US forces left and, trying to be a good sport, thought we could all go on about our lives because that illegal war had ended. The tactics used in Vietnam, the crimes, are being repeated and, as Parry notes earlier in the article (prior to what I excerpted), there are huge technological advances being used to destroy a people. But the US is not going to win in Iraq and that realization appears to have set in with the White House so now they're going for desperation measures -- which we saw in Vietnam. This is the period where even lip service to freedom is tossed aside and it's nothing more than punitive actions to punish a people. We really didn't get that point across, my generation, as we handed it down. We didn't get the very real issue of the bombing of the dikes. Those weren't military targets.
The point there was collective punishment (against the Geneva Convention) whereby a people would be starved off and flooded. LBJ was no saint (and I'm no fan of LBJ) but you could see scattered War Crimes and think it was getting very ugly (and very criminal). Nixon, in desperation, began targeting more than villages, he began targeting the entire North. As the so-called 'Awakening Councils' fail (which they will, you can't buy loyalty), the US response will be one of personal anger, of how could 'they' do this to us and we will see larger regions targeted. We've seen Falluja slaughtered already and it's far from the only city. But this is where it moves away from a city here or there and into entire regions.
Iraqis do not want the US in their country and as the last bits of attempting to buy them off finally explode, there is going to be a very ugly approach taken that will make the crimes that have come before look very mild. (You can look at what happens in Israel today for a sign of how an entire people is punished. Look at the attacks on Gaza over the summer of 2006 which were about making an entire people suffer.)
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, December 14, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces deaths, the refugee crisis has new news, Nancy Pelosi tries a stand-up career and more.
Starting with war resistance, the War Resisters Support Campaign works to assist individual resisters in Canada and to fight for the rights of asylum of war resisters. They are calling for a national mobilization in Canada on January 26th. Courage to Resist is calling on people in the US to call the Canadian consulates in the US on January 24th and January 25th as well as to mobilize and with actions and vigils. Actions can take place around the world at Canadian consulates in every country.
In terms of e-mailing, where the pressure needs to be currently is on the these three:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. Brave stands need to be supported.
US war resister Aidan Delgado received CO status and was discharged. He shares his story in The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq which Forbes offered a book excerpt of after Thanksgiving:
In a larger sense, what happened to me in Iraq is completely irrelevant. The sights, the sounds, the tastes are all just curiosities that I present in an effort to paint the picture. I could give you an endless series of vignettes: what Iraq looked like, what we ate, the interesting characters in my unit, but it would all be meaningless. If you want to read about daring military exploits, there are many authors with stories more dashing than mine. It would be vain and empty merely to chronicle what happened to me, as if I were somehow so important that you needed to hear every event of my life in excruciating detail. I am not telling parlor stories.
I wrote this book because I want to share a lesson I learned in the desert, in the hope that it will inform your view of the war in Iraq, of politics, of religion, of all the choices you make as a moral person. I can't bear to hear any more stories about battles and uncompromising heroes, with flags waving gently in the background. I want this book to serve as a hanging question about what it means to be an ethical soldier, to live an honest life. I want to give you a military life in shades of gray, filled with doubt, moral courage and moral cowardice.
Delgado's book (and other books, DVDs, CDs, clothing, etc.) can be purchased via Courage to Resist (as well as at bookstores) and part of the proceeds will go towards helping the organization working to end the illegal war.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through Sunday December 16th at Culture Project -- this is your LAST WEEKEND to catch it -- and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $41.. The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project.
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
Starting with legal news. Delano Holmes was sentenced today. For? Killing Iraqi soldier Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin by repeatedly stabbing him over forty times. Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes then, after Hassin was dead, fired Hassin's gun. As Rick Rogers (San Diego Union-Tribune) notes, Holmes declared on video that, "I picked up (Hassin's) AK and fired it, as to give myself a way out ... for getting into it with this Iraqi soldier." The court-martial was a joke as was the sentencing. Holmes had a high school teacher, a foster parent and others there to speak of his good character. Where were the people speaking for the dead Hassin? Had the court-martial been held in Iraq, since Hassin was an Iraqi soldier, there might have been people who grew up with him and/or trained with him who could vouch for his character. Since the defense (and to a degree the prosecution) dependent solely on the account of Holmes as to what happened (the defense attempted to argue a fight broke out over a lit cigarette and a cellphone), it might have been relevant to know whether or not Hassin was prone to engaging fights let alone (as the defense maintained) starting them. But for that to happen, the court-martial would have had to take place in Iraq. Since the crime took place in Iraq (Falluja), the court-martial should have as well. AP reports that yesterday Holmes was found guilty "of negligent homicide" but not of "unpremeditated homicide." AP also notes the prosecution's statement regarding the alleged fight Holmes stated had ensued: "Not a scratch. Not a blemish. . . . There is not a mark on him. There is no self-defense. There can be lawful killins during a time of war. This is not a lawful killing." Despite being found guilty of two charges, NBC's KNSD reports Holmes will receive no jail time -- receiving 'credit' instead for the 10 months he was held in custody leading up to the court-martial. What 'credit' does the dead Hassin receive? Or is that life less important? Other 'punishments' for Holmes include being busted down from Lance Cpl. to private and receiving "a bad-conduct discharge." So this is 'justice' -- kill an Iraqi and the time you're jailed before the trial will count as time-served and you won't receive any additional time. Hassin is dead. No one stood up at the sentencing for Hassin. No one offered stories of what he was like as a child, no religious figure stepped forward to vouch for his good soul. Considering that the court-martial took place in California and that California has been one of the leaders in the US on allowing the families of victims to speak at sentencings, that's offensive on every level imaginable. Rick Rogers (San Diego Union-Tribune) reports, "'Wow,' Maj. Christopher Shaw, a prosecutor, said under his breath when the sentence was read in a courtroom at Camp Pendleton." Wow indeed. Rob Schneider (Indianapolis Star) notes the maximum prison sentence Holmes could have received was 8 years. Instead, he received no prison time. Hassin, however, remains dead.
In other justice or 'justice' news, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) reports, "The Justice Department has announced the FBI is investigating the top official overseeing corruption and abuse in the US-led reconstruction of Iraq. Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuwart Bowen is under suspicion for a series of improprieties including tampering with employee emails. Bowen's investigations have indicted several American officials on corruption charges, documented wasteful and inept work by large contractors and found the Pentagon did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons given to Iraqi troops. The Bush administration tried to close down his office last year but backed off following Congressional opposition." Robin Wright (Washington Post) notes a number of allegations against Bowen in particular and the office in general and by the time it gets down to "Cruz threatened to put hexes on employees," readers may be skeptical whether this is an investigation or the sort of thing used by Republicans before -- see Robert Parry's Secrecy & Privilege or read articles at Consortium News such as "Rise of the 'Patriotic Journalist':" "Iran-Contra special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh, a Republican, also encountered press hostility when his investigation finally broke through the White House cover-up in 1001. Moon's Washington Times routinely lambasted Walsh and his staff over minor issues, such as the elderly Walsh flying first class on airplanes or odering room-service meals."
Parry reports most recently on the latest wave of biometrics in Iraq which will further the targeting of Iraqis by making mobile labs which, no, do not determine guilt or innocent but may lead to more 'suspects' dying. Parry notes, "In effect, the Bush administration is transforming Iraq into a test tube for modern techniques of repression, which already include use of night-vision optics on drone aircraft, heat resonance imaging, and firepower that is both deadly and precise. The new techniques represent a modernization of tactics used in other counterinsurgencies, such as in Vietnam in the 1960s and in Central America in the 1980s. . . . The U.S. news media mostly has reacted to these developments with gee-whiz enthusiasm, like the [Washington] Post story about [Anh] Duong, which breezily depicts her complicated life as a devoted mom whose personal history as a Vietnamese refugee led her to a career developing sophisticated weapons for the U.S. government. The Post feature article expressed no alarm and no criticism of Duong's comment about shooting Iraqi suspects 'on the spot'."
Turning to the issue of Iraqi refugees, John Ross joins Robert Parry in calling out the lies of Operation Happy Talk. Writing at CounterPunch, Ross notes that the latest waves roll out as primaries approach "the usual unholy alliance of Bushites, Democrats and Big media . . . doing their damndest to skam a skeptical electorate into swallowing the lie that the surge has worked, the drawdown has begun, and the war in Iraq is just about over. . . . All this happy talk gets Bush and the Republicans off the hook for an overwhelmingly unpopular war just in time for the U.S. presidential election season. It also means that the Democrats won't have to defend their half-hearted call for withdrawal and risk being tarred as traitors on the 24 House news cycle."
Will come back to the Congress in a bit, but staying on Iraqi refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Office issues the latest findings of their studies of Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Most are living on savings and assistance from relatives with UNHCR's Jennifer Pagonis explaining, "33 percent say their financial resources will last for three months or less, while 24 percent are relying on remittances from family abroad to survive." Significant numbers are suffering from illnesses and lack of medication due to money issues while 10% of Iraqi children are working. Meanwhile the UN's IRIN reports that "Jordan is now demanding that Iraqis wishing to enter the kingdom first secure entry visas, the official Jordanian news agency Petra said on 11 December." The most recent edition of RCRC The Magazine of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement notes, "In the largest population movement in the Middle East since 1948, a huge influx of Iraqis is putting pressure on services in Jordan and Syria. . . . Security in Iraq has deteriorated to such an unprecedented level, due to the international armed conflict that began in 2003 and internal fighting, that many Iraqis find it nearly impossible to live in their own country. The result is that an estimated 4.2 million Iraqis have left their homes, the largest population movement in the Middle East since more than 800,000 Palestinians fled to neighbouring countries in 1948, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)."
From harsh reality to comedy, on yesterday's PBS' NewsHour US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was yucking it up:
GWEN IFILL: I want to point out to you -- I'm sure you've seen them -- page one of today's Capitol Hill newspapers, "Dems Cave," another ones says, "Democrats set to cave on Iraq, on the budget." What do you say to people who call this a cave-in Democratic Congress?REP. NANCY PELOSI: Well, I guess they're trying to sell papers, but the fact is, is that I will never confine the hopes, aspirations of the American people, as reflected in the legislation of the House of Representatives, to what the president of the United States, George W. Bush, will sign.We set a high watermark. We negotiate. We compete. We debate for our position to be held. And I'm pleased that, when we come out of this process, our priorities will be largely intact. It won't be funded to the levels that we want, but I'll never start at the president's bottom line. We'll always start at a high watermark.Her leadership started on a "high watermark"? How very, very, very sad that is considered a personal high. The Democrats refuse to 'compete' and refuse to force a vote on Iraq every day. This isn't new or novel. The May 22nd snapshot noted the following:
Meanwhile James Ridgeway (Mother Jones via Common Dreams) explores the presidential campaign of Mike Gravel who tells Ridgeway, "What we need to do [on Iraq] is to create a constitutional confrontation between the Congress and the president. Most people have forgotten the Congress is more powerful than the president. . . The Democrats have the votes in the House to pass it. In the Senate, they will filibuster it. Fine. The Majority Leader starts a cloture vote the first day. Fails to get cloture. Fine. The next day -- another vote on cloture. And the next day, and the next day, Saturdays and Sundays, no vacation -- vote every single day. The dynamic is that now you give people enough time to weigh in and put pressure on those voting against cloture. . . . I would guess in 15 to 20 days you would have cloture and the bill would pass and go to the president. He would veto it. Wonderful. It comes back to the House and Senate. Normal thing is to try to override and fail. No guts. No leadership. So in the House and Senate. Normal thing is to try to override and fail. No guts. No leadership. So in the House and Senate every day at noon, you have a vote to override the veto. The Democrats are the leaders -- they control the calendar. It only takes half an hour to have these votes."
That's not novel, that's not unknown. Congress has used that before. Gravel's been repeatedly advocating it all this year so for Pelosi to LIE to the American people is really sad. She declares that, "We know what to do to further meet the needs of the American people with this president and the obstructionism in the United States Senate. We can only do so much." FILIBUSTER. They could force a vote over and over. They don't do what's in their power to do. "We will only do so much" is a more honest answer than "we can only do so much." But Pelosi obviously hopes we've all forgotten the repeated caves or the fact that it took people like Cindy Sheehan, Tina Richards and many others to even force them to pretend to address the illegal war. "Vote for us in 2006, we'll end the war!" They were given control of both houses of Congress and . . . did nothing. But the 2008 elections are gearing up and it's time to trot out the "Vote for us . . ." cry again. We'll return to Congress in a moment but let's note some of the reported violence in the ongoing illegal war today:
Bombings?
Reuters notes an Anbar Province that left six police officers wounded
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a village attack in Mansouriat with at least 3 people shot dead and two wounded. Reuters notes 1 person was shot dead in Kirkuk by people "posing as Iraqi army soldiers," and US forces "killed three 'terrorists'" in Baghdad.
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Center Soldier died of wounds suffered when the Soldier's dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device south of Baghdad Dec. 13." And they announced: "A Soldier from Multi-National Division -- Baghdad was killed Dec. 13 in a small-arms fire attack in southern Baghdad. The deceased Soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense."
Pelosi told Ifill yesterday, "But there's no question, ending the war was a -- is a high priority for us and a big disappointment to many people that we weren't able to do it." The two deaths brought the total number of US service members who have died while serving in Iraq to 3891. Pelosi wasn't quick to offer Ifill the number of how many service members have died since she assumed control. The 110th Congress was sworn in January 4, 2007 -- Democrats having control of both houses. That evening the total number stood at 3006. 885 deaths since Pelosi became the Speaker of the House and Harry Reid became the Senate Majority Leader. When voters gave Dems control of both houses in the November 2006 elections, they weren't saying, "Dilly-dally around and do con jobs on us while nearly 900 US service members die in an illegal war." They were saying "END THE WAR!" As Ron Jacobs (CounterPunch) notes:
Okay. I'm going to state the obvious here. After all, somebody needs to say it. In fact, everybody who sees it needs to say it. Are you ready? Then here goes. The men and women calling themselves Democrats and sitting in Congress are the biggest bunch of liars this country has ever seen. Given today's political situation, what with Bush and Cheney running the White House, that's a pretty big claim to make. Unfortunately for those who believed those men and women might actually stop the war in Iraq and begin getting the US military out of there, this is the only conclusion one can make.I mean, take a look. There are more troops in Iraq now than there were when the Democrats won (yeh, won) both houses of Congress a little over a year ago. If my calculations are correct, more than $100 billion have been spent to keep those troops there, keep them in supplies both lethal and otherwise, and to top it off, more troops have died since those elected "representatives" took their places than in any other year of this loathsome war and occupation. Add to this list of calamities the untold numbers of Iraqis killed, wounded and uprooted from their homes. No matter how you look at it, there is no way this can be called ending the war. In fact, not only could it be called enabling this debacle to continue, the more truthful description would be to call what the Democrats have done is conspire to commit murder.
That is reality and Pelosi can call it 'pretty' and paint it up all she wants but it is an ugly reality and one that should cause the Dems to hang in their heads in shame until they end the illegal war.
The Dems have done Americans and Iraqis no favor but in Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki's happy to play a favor game. Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) details how Iraqis are being prevented from making the yearly pilgrimage by the Iraqi government: " Iraqis who want to go on the pilgrimage say officials have issued approvals only for relatives and party members. The Iraqi government led by U.S.-appointed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is Shia dominated, and many Iraqis say selection for the pilgrimage is sectarian." al-Fadhily quotes Sheik Fadhil Mahmood explaining, "It is a shame that corruption now goes as far as the Hajj. This is the fifth year that many Iraqis are deprived of their right to go to Mecca, while those who are members of parties in power, and militiamen, go every year. Most of our pilgrims are going for political and commercial purposes." While the pilgrimage to Mecca can't be made, Basra Christians can't publicly celebrate Christmas; however, Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) reports that if Santa can't come, the US more than likely will: "American troops may have to be sent to Basra once British force levels are halved next year" according to Major General Graham Binns.Molly Bingham and Steve Connors amazing documentary is Meeting Resistance. As Bill Stamets (Chicago Sun-Times) notes, the film starts today (Friday) at Chicago's Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton with Bingham and Connors appearing "at screenings there tongiht and Saturday, and at an added screening at 3 p.m. Sunday at Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St." Lastly, this is nothing but a stunt but if you're going to do a stunt, do it to help others and not for ratings. Ann Curry will bungee jump live Monday morning on NBC's Today Show as part of a fundraising effort for the charities Save the Children and the United Way. You can find out more information at The Today Show's website. Tonight on ABC's 20/20 there will be a report on the latest US woman to come forward about being assaulted in Iraq. ABC's Brian Ross, Maddy Sauer and Justin Rood report on the sexual assault of Tracy Barker in Iraq:The Department of Justice declined to prosecute a State Department employee who allegedly sexually assaulted a female Halliburton/KBR worker in Iraq, despite a recommendation from the State Department that he be charged, according to an internal document obtained by ABC News.Ali Mokhtare, who is still employed by the State Department, was investigated in2005 after a female Halliburton/KBR employee said he sexually assaulted her at the company-run camp in Basra, Iraq. Mokhtare was a diplomatic official in Basra who first came to Iraq as a Farsi translator interviewing detainees.The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service investigated the allegations against Mokhtare and presented the case to the Justice Department for prosecution, but "the case was declined for prosecution" states the document.
Barker is quoted stating, "I'm an American citizen being assaulted by a State Department employee and nobody cares and nothing's being done about it." Tonight, ABC's 20/20 will explore the topic further. And Barker's not to be confused with Jamie Leigh Jones whose story (gang-raped and held in a 'container') ABC also broke this week.
iraq
aidan delgado
cindy sheehan
anthony arnovehoward zinn
iraq veterans against the war
democracy nowamy goodman
robert parry
ron jacobs
the washington post
ali al-fadhily
justin roodmaddy sauerbrian rossgwen ifillnewshourpbs
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
NOW, Isaiah, Sharon Smith, veterans
This week's show is about the Ron Paul Phenomenon -- how online outreach galvanizes supporters who may have little or no previous political activism, and who have little connection to the actual Ron Paul campaign. A formal episode description with links to the full show will be sent out in a week, but I wanted to share a compelling early sneak preview of the program. It can be found at www.pbs.org/now -- just clickthe link below his photo on the left hand side of the page.
The above is PBS' NOW with David Brancaccio. Below is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "I Don't Heart Huckabee":
Mike Huckabee was the focus for this week's comic. Ruth Conniff "likes" Huckabee, remember? I found it interesting that Katha Pollitt elected to write a column on all the left and 'left' singing Huckabee's praises and found the time to include Gail Collins on the list while ignoring Ruth Conniff who most of would assume is far more left than Queen Bee Gail. Huckabee does have weird eyes, as if he's attempting to hypnotize you. What usually stands out most to me when I see a photo of him in the paper are those eyebrows which seem to go on and on, well down the face. I hadn't caught the five o'clock shadow aspect until I saw Isaiah's comic. Then I started looking and it would appear Huckabee's either attempting to cultivate the Richard Nixon look or else he can't afford a decent shave.
"...but the fire is so delightful" (The Socialist Worker):
Sharon Smith Which Side Are You On?
THE DVD player is fired up, and, now that you've finished watching The Bourne Ultimatum, you're looking for more DVDs of films you missed at the Cineplex over the last year or so-films that preferably stray from standard formulaic Hollywood fare.
Neil Burger's The Illusionist, set in 1900s Vienna, Austria, is a great choice. Edward Norton is outstanding as Eisenheim, a professional magician from humble class origins who defies convention to seek a mutual love relationship with a young duchess named Sophie (Jessica Biel). Unfortunately, Sophie is intended to marry Austria's emperor in waiting, the Crown Prince Leopold.
Eisenheim and Sophie find themselves battling not merely social convention but also the network of royals, police and government bureaucrats who ruthlessly uphold them, embodied brilliantly by Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Uhl. Reality and illusion intersect so thoroughly that it is never completely clear which is which until the final moments of this riveting tale.
I also recommend Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond, a thriller set in 1999, in the midst of Sierra Leone's bloody civil war. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Rhodesian-born former mercenary now engaged in diamond smuggling. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a fisherman whose life is torn apart when rebel troops terrorize his village.
Archer and Vandy are two men with virtually nothing in common-one is devoid of human sentimentality, while the other cares for nothing but reuniting with his loved ones. But when the two find themselves reluctant allies in the war-torn country, they form a bond that forces Archer to develop some real morals.
Martin Scorsese's The Departed, is an engrossing and thoroughly authentic depiction of Boston's Irish mob and its love-hate relation with local law enforcement. This is Scorsese at his best, with a cast headed by Jack Nicholson that is nothing short of awesome.
Mike and I are both highlighting things from the article which is various contributors to The Socialist Worker weighing in with some seasonal suggestions. I went with Sharon Smith for my choice.
"Dad's plea for mental health care: 'Make VA go to the soldier'" (Barbara Starr, CNN):
At the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, there was an eruption of emotion on Capitol Hill for 23-year-old Army Specialist Tim Bowman -- an Illinois National Guardsman who completed a combat tour in Iraq, came home and killed himself.
His father, Mike, spoke of the agony. "As my family was preparing for a 2005 Thanksgiving meal, our son Timothy was lying on the floor, slowly bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His war was now over, his demons were gone."
His parents Mike and Kim are on Capitol Hill to talk about what they believe is a crisis in mental health care for troubled veterans.
"When these veterans come home, they find an understaffed, under-funded, under-equipped VA mental health system that has so many challenges to get through it that many just give up trying," said Mike Bowman.
The Bowmans are far from the only family dealing with that tragedy. The Lucey family had the tragedy of their son Jeffrey Lucey not getting the help he needed and taking his own life. It's not just the Luceys and the Bowmans and it is so depressing to realize not just how common this is but how little has ever been done. FactCheck.org can truly rot in hell in my opinion. In 2004, when John Kerry was talking about how the returning troops would need care and it wasn't adequately funded for, FactCheck.org decided to declare that a lie and carry water for the White House. It was a bold face lie on their part and I knew that not just from my own practice but from what others were seeing as well.
I truly will never forget that FactCheck.org made that call and I will always believe they have blood on their hands. Kerry's point, which was right, was that the funding was not there. It was obvious to most of us by the end of 2003. But FactCheck.org, which holds no medical training, just knew best and they provided cover for the White House which has refused to fund the needed care for the returning troops.
Bully Boy was more than willing to send people off to their deaths. He was more than willing to pose with any gung-ho returnee. But if you came back with problems -- as most will -- you got nothing. There was no treatment and the system was stretched to the limits.
I don't even think "tragedy" is the word to describe what the Bowman family, the Lucey family or anyone else went through. Tragedy is someone dies in a car accident. This wasn't an accident. When you send people into combat, you know there will be wounded. When you fail to fund the needed care for them, that's not an accident. It's criminal and FactCheck.org should see themselves as an accessory.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, December 12, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, mass bombings and mass fatalities return to news coverage, news on war resisters in Canada, the Iraqi education crisis covers three nations, and more.
Starting with war resistance and starting in Canada. Yesterday in Parliament, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration met to discuss the motion passed December 6th. That motion is:
That the Committee recommend that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations and do not have a criminal record, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
Yesterday, they passed a second motion which will now move it into the House of Commons. However, elections will be taking place in February and it is unlikely anything will take place prior to the elections. Where the pressure needs to be currently is on the Liberal party That's the consensus of seven Parliamentarians as well as the staffers at three offices -- and that's NDP and Liberal -- and they recommend non-Canadian citizens e-mail Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. The Bloc Quebecois party has worked very hard on this issue and they deserve credit but I focused on NDP and Liberal members simply because that's who I know (and only one served on the committee). There are other actions being called for an we'll note those in the future. In terms of the right-now, for non-Canadians, the e-mails are what to focus on per Parliament and members of Parliament have been very surprised to find how many people outside of Canada are following this issue.
Meanwhile, Eric Ruder (Socialist Worker) explores the GI coffeehouse role during Vietnam by speaking with pioneer Fred Gardner about what led Gardner to set up the first coffeehouse and the impact they had (the documentary Sir! No Sir! explores the GI coffeehouse movement). Ruder also explores today's coffeehouse, Different Drummer which was started by Tod Ensign who stresses the role the cafe is playing in addressing PTSD: "These meetings on PTSD are important so that we can demonstrate that we're pro-soldier as well as antiwar -- that we are ready and willing to take steps to defend soldiers who are being prosecuted for AWOL charged brought on by their inability to receive even minimal mental health care on base. We're the only group in the area that is in any way public about the problem of PTSD. You don't hear the USO talking about it on base. You don't hear the military's so-called family support groups saying anything about it. We are an active voice on behalf of these soldiers against these endless deployments and against this endless war." To be clear, the US military has 'family support groups' on each base that allegedly address the needs of service members and their families. Ensign is referring to those and not organizations such as Military Families Speak Out. Amy Ohler (News 10 Now -- text and video) reported last week on a PTSD forum held at Different Drummer.
So there is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project -- that's ten more days -- and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $41.. The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project.
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
But who will investigate the educational crisis facing Iraqis? Hannah Allam (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on Iraqi refugees in Damascus where education needs for children are not being met (nor in Jordan, where a spokesperson for Save the Children says 90,000 Iraqi children are not in the school systems) and she also examines the Zuhairy family in Syria which is headed by Umm Sundus and includes her children "Adam, 4; Bahram, 10; Ram, 14; Ranya, 17; Samir, 20; and Suzanne, 22" who all live in "a freezing one-room apartment in Jaramana" which contains "no bathroom door, no hot water, no furniture, no heat and no privacy." Umm Sundus (a widow, her husband a victim of the chaos and violence of the illegal war) could only afford to send one of her children to school (a child enrolled in school allows the family to apply for residency) and they struggle to make ends to meet. Ahmed Ali (IPS) examines the education crisis in Iraq focusing specifically on the Diyala province and finds that "lack of security means many teachers have quite, and children are not going to school. This is a trend across Iraq. According to a report released last year by the non-governmental group Save the Children, 818,000 children of primary school age, representing 22 percent of Iraq's potential student population, were not attending school." Equally reflective of the lack of 'success' or 'safety' in Iraq, the National Museum of Iraq, in Baghdad, remains closed. Cara Buckley (New York Times) visits it to report on the mixed success the museum has had in recovering many of the artifacts looted in 2003 when the US government made the decision that the oil refineries would be protected but the museums could be looted. "Freedom is untidy," crowed then US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It should be noted that Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism speaks of the need for a culture amenesia to be created and for disaster capitlaism and certainly allowing the destruction of cultural history and historical monuments is one to create the 'blank slate' disaster captialism depends upon. Buckley notes that the tour was organized by Ahmed Chalabi -- forever infamous as a liar, a war cheerleader and a party planner -- on the latter, as Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) observed December 31, 2003: "On April 8, [2003,] in one of the most televised moments in history, US forces pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square in Baghdad. The American public was inundated with images of jubilant Iraqis dancing in the streets as they dragged the statue's head around the square. What was not reported was that there was only a handful of Iraqis at the event, who had been brought in by the US forces. In reality, most of the 150 or so people in the square that day were journalists and soldiers. Some of the Iraqis in the square that day were later identified as agents of the Iraqi opposition figure Ahmed Chalabi, who has a long history of working with the CIA." As Goodman and her brother David Goodman note in Exceptions to the Rulers, Chalabi's 'party' had just arrived in Iraq the day before. It also bears noting that Chalabi was all for the destruction, as Naomi Klein notes in "Baghdad Year Zero" (Harper's magazine): "The prime advocate of the Year Zero approach was Ahmad Chalabi, whose hatred of the Iraqi state for expropriating his family's assets during the 1958 revolution ran so deep he longed to see the entire country burned to the ground -- everything, that is, but the Oil Ministry, which would be the nucleus of the new Iraq, the cluster of cells from which an entire nation would grow. He called this process 'de-Baathification.'" That's worked out so very well.
Today, Iraq was rocked by triple car bombings in Amarah. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) estimates that the bombings "were about five minutes apart" and that they "could be felt a half-mile away". The death toll continues to rise and CNN notes: "Al-Forat, an Iraqi TV station affiliated with the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq (SICI) political movement, and the state TV reported three bombs, with al-Forat saying saying the blasts detonated in a garage. The British military initially reported at least one bombing at a marketplace." Aref Mohammed (Reuters) puts the death toll at 40 thus far with over 125 injured while citing an official with the local police explaining, "Operating rooms are stretched to the limit because of the number of wounded. The city is in shock because it's the first big explosion like this." AFP reminds that the Maysan province (where Amarah is located) "has witnessed intense Shiite infighting, often leading to street battles between militias and Iraqi police." Hannah Strange (Times of London) notes the province was under British control (through 2006 with 'official control' being transferred over in April of this year) and notes that the UK is supposed to pass control over the "neighbouring Basra province to Iraqi forces next week." CBS and AP note the count has risen to 41 dead with one-hundred-and-fifty wounded and cite CBS' Jeff Glor explaining that "the blasts follow a recent pattern, whereby militants hid multiple devices near one another, to kill people who respond to the first blast." Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) describes that process "police said that the first car exploded inside a park in Dijla Street and when people gathered for help, the second car exploded followed by the third car."
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a a Baghdad mortar attack that left three people wounded, a Kirkuk bombing that left three people wounded and a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 5 lives and left thirteen wounded. CBS and AP report that the Baghdad car bombing took place "[i]n a Christian neghborhood". Which is a good time that there will be no visible celebration of Christmas in Basra. Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri (McClatchy Newspapers) report that the discovery of the corpses of a Christian sister and brother (Mayoosn Farid and Osama Farid) on Monday (Osama was kidnapped and then kidnappers phoned his sister for a meeting) Archbishop Imad al Banna has decreed that it's not safe for public displays of the holiday which includes a ban on "trees, gift swapping and family gatherings".
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer was wounded in Baghdad in one shooting while three other people were wounded in another Baghdad shooting. CBS and AP note today a Tuesday drive-by that left 1 "anti-al Qaeda Sunni tribal sheik who was promoting national unity . . . [and] his nephew" dead outside Tal Afar. Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri (McClatchy Newspapers) report on the death of Hadil Walid Majed Mitaab who had been nine-years-old until a US raid Monday night outside Karmah: "With helicopters flying overhead, the US and Iraqi troops blasted away the doors of two houses and opened fire on a third, which is where Hadill was, family members said. Police and relatives said a bullet pierced Hadil's neck, and she bled to death in her mother's arms. A McClatchy special correspondent visited the house on Tuesday afternoon and watched as a U.S. soldier took bloodied carpet and a small shirt stained with blood from the room where Hadil died. Her father, Walid Majed Mitaab, sat silently among men paying their condolences in one of the partially destroyed houses. Mitaab said a U.S. soldier apologized to him through a translator."
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 corpses were discovered in Laitifiya "two men from a Sunni Arab tribal council".
Turning to US politics, February 5th, 4 Green Party contenders will be running for the Green Party's presidential nomination in the Illionis primary. They are Jared Ball, Howie Hawkins, Kent Mesplay, and Cynthia McKinney. Kimberly Wilder (On the Wilder Side) has an open letter from Ball at her site -- and his web address. He doesn't mention Iraq in his open letter so we're not providing him with a link -- same policy we have witth Democrats. (Nothing on Mesplay's site indicates he's aware an illegal war is even going on. Howie Hawkins? Here's an older site for him and it does note Iraq,) The Illinois Green Party notes that last week objections to the four candidates were dismissed by the state's Board of Elections and "The decision by the board sets the stage for the state's first ever contested Green Primary." Ralph Nader has stated he will announce whether or not he intends to run by the end of this month. McKinney does talk about Iraq and we'll note her in tomorrow's snapshot.
Finally, Free Bilal. Bilal Hussein is a Pulitzer Prize winning AP journalist. He was imprisoned by the US military for the 'crime' of reporting. Since April 12, 2006, he has been imprisoned. On Sunday, something resembling a 'court hearing' took place. It's under a gag order and his attorney was not allowed to speak with Bilal in private. "He was a man full of joy, and his work was exemplary, outstanding," the Philadelphia Daily News' Jim Mac Millan tells Morgan A. Zalot (Philadelphia Weekly) about Bilal, "I don't want one other insurgent bomber on the loose to kill [my friends and colleagues in Iraq], but Bilal is no insurgent. I'm so proud of the people I met there, and this case leaves me feeling nothing but shame. When people ask me why he's in detention, I suggest they look at his photos. Then I ask them why. It's just heartbreaking." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorialized yesterday on the 'court hearing' stating, "After so long, he and his attorneys were allowed to see evidence against him. But they weren't allowed to make copies, leaving no time for an adequate review by attorneys, who detailed Hussein's treatment by U.S. captors in a 46-page report (including nine days of blindfolded interrogation and a stint at Abu Ghraib). A distasteful secrecy order prevented them from discussing in public the magistrate's hearing. But a defense attorney said no formal charges were laid out. If Hussein is guilty -- and nothing revealed so far indicates that he is -- why did it take the U.S. military quite so long to take the case to court? We can't help but think that were it not for Hussein's employers keeping the case alive, he would never even get so far as getting his day in court." The Committee to Protect Journalists quotes AP's Paul Colford explaining, "There is still no formal charge against Bilal, and The Associated Press continues to believe that Bilal Hussein was a photojournalist working in a war zone and that claims that he is involved with insurgent activities are false. Because the judge ordered that the proceedings today be kept secret, we are restricted from saying anything further." and CPJ reminds: "Hussein's detention is not an isolated incident. Over the last three years, dozens of journalists -- mostly Iraqis -- have been detained by U.S. troops, according to CPJ research. While most have been released after short periods, in at least eight cases documented by CPJ Iraqi journalists have been held by U.S. for weeks or months without charge or conviction." The International Federation of Journalists has also issued a statement noting, "An Iraqi magistrate will decide whether Hussein will stand trial before a three-judge panel. Hussein's attorneys are still being denied copies of the evidence or time alone with the photographer, which the IFJ fears will make mounting his defence a difficult and unfair task" and places the targeting of Bilal in an international context by noting the other reporters under fire around the globe.
iraq
phil mcdowell
cindy sheehan
anthony arnovehoward zinn
iraq veterans against the war
bilal hussein
hannah allammcclatchy newspapers
leila fadelahmed ali
kimberly wilder
democracy nowamy goodmanthe new york timescara buckley
naomi klein
The above is PBS' NOW with David Brancaccio. Below is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "I Don't Heart Huckabee":
Mike Huckabee was the focus for this week's comic. Ruth Conniff "likes" Huckabee, remember? I found it interesting that Katha Pollitt elected to write a column on all the left and 'left' singing Huckabee's praises and found the time to include Gail Collins on the list while ignoring Ruth Conniff who most of would assume is far more left than Queen Bee Gail. Huckabee does have weird eyes, as if he's attempting to hypnotize you. What usually stands out most to me when I see a photo of him in the paper are those eyebrows which seem to go on and on, well down the face. I hadn't caught the five o'clock shadow aspect until I saw Isaiah's comic. Then I started looking and it would appear Huckabee's either attempting to cultivate the Richard Nixon look or else he can't afford a decent shave.
"...but the fire is so delightful" (The Socialist Worker):
Sharon Smith Which Side Are You On?
THE DVD player is fired up, and, now that you've finished watching The Bourne Ultimatum, you're looking for more DVDs of films you missed at the Cineplex over the last year or so-films that preferably stray from standard formulaic Hollywood fare.
Neil Burger's The Illusionist, set in 1900s Vienna, Austria, is a great choice. Edward Norton is outstanding as Eisenheim, a professional magician from humble class origins who defies convention to seek a mutual love relationship with a young duchess named Sophie (Jessica Biel). Unfortunately, Sophie is intended to marry Austria's emperor in waiting, the Crown Prince Leopold.
Eisenheim and Sophie find themselves battling not merely social convention but also the network of royals, police and government bureaucrats who ruthlessly uphold them, embodied brilliantly by Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Uhl. Reality and illusion intersect so thoroughly that it is never completely clear which is which until the final moments of this riveting tale.
I also recommend Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond, a thriller set in 1999, in the midst of Sierra Leone's bloody civil war. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Rhodesian-born former mercenary now engaged in diamond smuggling. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a fisherman whose life is torn apart when rebel troops terrorize his village.
Archer and Vandy are two men with virtually nothing in common-one is devoid of human sentimentality, while the other cares for nothing but reuniting with his loved ones. But when the two find themselves reluctant allies in the war-torn country, they form a bond that forces Archer to develop some real morals.
Martin Scorsese's The Departed, is an engrossing and thoroughly authentic depiction of Boston's Irish mob and its love-hate relation with local law enforcement. This is Scorsese at his best, with a cast headed by Jack Nicholson that is nothing short of awesome.
Mike and I are both highlighting things from the article which is various contributors to The Socialist Worker weighing in with some seasonal suggestions. I went with Sharon Smith for my choice.
"Dad's plea for mental health care: 'Make VA go to the soldier'" (Barbara Starr, CNN):
At the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, there was an eruption of emotion on Capitol Hill for 23-year-old Army Specialist Tim Bowman -- an Illinois National Guardsman who completed a combat tour in Iraq, came home and killed himself.
His father, Mike, spoke of the agony. "As my family was preparing for a 2005 Thanksgiving meal, our son Timothy was lying on the floor, slowly bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His war was now over, his demons were gone."
His parents Mike and Kim are on Capitol Hill to talk about what they believe is a crisis in mental health care for troubled veterans.
"When these veterans come home, they find an understaffed, under-funded, under-equipped VA mental health system that has so many challenges to get through it that many just give up trying," said Mike Bowman.
The Bowmans are far from the only family dealing with that tragedy. The Lucey family had the tragedy of their son Jeffrey Lucey not getting the help he needed and taking his own life. It's not just the Luceys and the Bowmans and it is so depressing to realize not just how common this is but how little has ever been done. FactCheck.org can truly rot in hell in my opinion. In 2004, when John Kerry was talking about how the returning troops would need care and it wasn't adequately funded for, FactCheck.org decided to declare that a lie and carry water for the White House. It was a bold face lie on their part and I knew that not just from my own practice but from what others were seeing as well.
I truly will never forget that FactCheck.org made that call and I will always believe they have blood on their hands. Kerry's point, which was right, was that the funding was not there. It was obvious to most of us by the end of 2003. But FactCheck.org, which holds no medical training, just knew best and they provided cover for the White House which has refused to fund the needed care for the returning troops.
Bully Boy was more than willing to send people off to their deaths. He was more than willing to pose with any gung-ho returnee. But if you came back with problems -- as most will -- you got nothing. There was no treatment and the system was stretched to the limits.
I don't even think "tragedy" is the word to describe what the Bowman family, the Lucey family or anyone else went through. Tragedy is someone dies in a car accident. This wasn't an accident. When you send people into combat, you know there will be wounded. When you fail to fund the needed care for them, that's not an accident. It's criminal and FactCheck.org should see themselves as an accessory.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, December 12, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, mass bombings and mass fatalities return to news coverage, news on war resisters in Canada, the Iraqi education crisis covers three nations, and more.
Starting with war resistance and starting in Canada. Yesterday in Parliament, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration met to discuss the motion passed December 6th. That motion is:
That the Committee recommend that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations and do not have a criminal record, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
Yesterday, they passed a second motion which will now move it into the House of Commons. However, elections will be taking place in February and it is unlikely anything will take place prior to the elections. Where the pressure needs to be currently is on the Liberal party That's the consensus of seven Parliamentarians as well as the staffers at three offices -- and that's NDP and Liberal -- and they recommend non-Canadian citizens e-mail Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. The Bloc Quebecois party has worked very hard on this issue and they deserve credit but I focused on NDP and Liberal members simply because that's who I know (and only one served on the committee). There are other actions being called for an we'll note those in the future. In terms of the right-now, for non-Canadians, the e-mails are what to focus on per Parliament and members of Parliament have been very surprised to find how many people outside of Canada are following this issue.
Meanwhile, Eric Ruder (Socialist Worker) explores the GI coffeehouse role during Vietnam by speaking with pioneer Fred Gardner about what led Gardner to set up the first coffeehouse and the impact they had (the documentary Sir! No Sir! explores the GI coffeehouse movement). Ruder also explores today's coffeehouse, Different Drummer which was started by Tod Ensign who stresses the role the cafe is playing in addressing PTSD: "These meetings on PTSD are important so that we can demonstrate that we're pro-soldier as well as antiwar -- that we are ready and willing to take steps to defend soldiers who are being prosecuted for AWOL charged brought on by their inability to receive even minimal mental health care on base. We're the only group in the area that is in any way public about the problem of PTSD. You don't hear the USO talking about it on base. You don't hear the military's so-called family support groups saying anything about it. We are an active voice on behalf of these soldiers against these endless deployments and against this endless war." To be clear, the US military has 'family support groups' on each base that allegedly address the needs of service members and their families. Ensign is referring to those and not organizations such as Military Families Speak Out. Amy Ohler (News 10 Now -- text and video) reported last week on a PTSD forum held at Different Drummer.
So there is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project -- that's ten more days -- and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $41.. The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project.
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
But who will investigate the educational crisis facing Iraqis? Hannah Allam (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on Iraqi refugees in Damascus where education needs for children are not being met (nor in Jordan, where a spokesperson for Save the Children says 90,000 Iraqi children are not in the school systems) and she also examines the Zuhairy family in Syria which is headed by Umm Sundus and includes her children "Adam, 4; Bahram, 10; Ram, 14; Ranya, 17; Samir, 20; and Suzanne, 22" who all live in "a freezing one-room apartment in Jaramana" which contains "no bathroom door, no hot water, no furniture, no heat and no privacy." Umm Sundus (a widow, her husband a victim of the chaos and violence of the illegal war) could only afford to send one of her children to school (a child enrolled in school allows the family to apply for residency) and they struggle to make ends to meet. Ahmed Ali (IPS) examines the education crisis in Iraq focusing specifically on the Diyala province and finds that "lack of security means many teachers have quite, and children are not going to school. This is a trend across Iraq. According to a report released last year by the non-governmental group Save the Children, 818,000 children of primary school age, representing 22 percent of Iraq's potential student population, were not attending school." Equally reflective of the lack of 'success' or 'safety' in Iraq, the National Museum of Iraq, in Baghdad, remains closed. Cara Buckley (New York Times) visits it to report on the mixed success the museum has had in recovering many of the artifacts looted in 2003 when the US government made the decision that the oil refineries would be protected but the museums could be looted. "Freedom is untidy," crowed then US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It should be noted that Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism speaks of the need for a culture amenesia to be created and for disaster capitlaism and certainly allowing the destruction of cultural history and historical monuments is one to create the 'blank slate' disaster captialism depends upon. Buckley notes that the tour was organized by Ahmed Chalabi -- forever infamous as a liar, a war cheerleader and a party planner -- on the latter, as Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) observed December 31, 2003: "On April 8, [2003,] in one of the most televised moments in history, US forces pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square in Baghdad. The American public was inundated with images of jubilant Iraqis dancing in the streets as they dragged the statue's head around the square. What was not reported was that there was only a handful of Iraqis at the event, who had been brought in by the US forces. In reality, most of the 150 or so people in the square that day were journalists and soldiers. Some of the Iraqis in the square that day were later identified as agents of the Iraqi opposition figure Ahmed Chalabi, who has a long history of working with the CIA." As Goodman and her brother David Goodman note in Exceptions to the Rulers, Chalabi's 'party' had just arrived in Iraq the day before. It also bears noting that Chalabi was all for the destruction, as Naomi Klein notes in "Baghdad Year Zero" (Harper's magazine): "The prime advocate of the Year Zero approach was Ahmad Chalabi, whose hatred of the Iraqi state for expropriating his family's assets during the 1958 revolution ran so deep he longed to see the entire country burned to the ground -- everything, that is, but the Oil Ministry, which would be the nucleus of the new Iraq, the cluster of cells from which an entire nation would grow. He called this process 'de-Baathification.'" That's worked out so very well.
Today, Iraq was rocked by triple car bombings in Amarah. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) estimates that the bombings "were about five minutes apart" and that they "could be felt a half-mile away". The death toll continues to rise and CNN notes: "Al-Forat, an Iraqi TV station affiliated with the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq (SICI) political movement, and the state TV reported three bombs, with al-Forat saying saying the blasts detonated in a garage. The British military initially reported at least one bombing at a marketplace." Aref Mohammed (Reuters) puts the death toll at 40 thus far with over 125 injured while citing an official with the local police explaining, "Operating rooms are stretched to the limit because of the number of wounded. The city is in shock because it's the first big explosion like this." AFP reminds that the Maysan province (where Amarah is located) "has witnessed intense Shiite infighting, often leading to street battles between militias and Iraqi police." Hannah Strange (Times of London) notes the province was under British control (through 2006 with 'official control' being transferred over in April of this year) and notes that the UK is supposed to pass control over the "neighbouring Basra province to Iraqi forces next week." CBS and AP note the count has risen to 41 dead with one-hundred-and-fifty wounded and cite CBS' Jeff Glor explaining that "the blasts follow a recent pattern, whereby militants hid multiple devices near one another, to kill people who respond to the first blast." Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) describes that process "police said that the first car exploded inside a park in Dijla Street and when people gathered for help, the second car exploded followed by the third car."
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a a Baghdad mortar attack that left three people wounded, a Kirkuk bombing that left three people wounded and a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 5 lives and left thirteen wounded. CBS and AP report that the Baghdad car bombing took place "[i]n a Christian neghborhood". Which is a good time that there will be no visible celebration of Christmas in Basra. Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri (McClatchy Newspapers) report that the discovery of the corpses of a Christian sister and brother (Mayoosn Farid and Osama Farid) on Monday (Osama was kidnapped and then kidnappers phoned his sister for a meeting) Archbishop Imad al Banna has decreed that it's not safe for public displays of the holiday which includes a ban on "trees, gift swapping and family gatherings".
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer was wounded in Baghdad in one shooting while three other people were wounded in another Baghdad shooting. CBS and AP note today a Tuesday drive-by that left 1 "anti-al Qaeda Sunni tribal sheik who was promoting national unity . . . [and] his nephew" dead outside Tal Afar. Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri (McClatchy Newspapers) report on the death of Hadil Walid Majed Mitaab who had been nine-years-old until a US raid Monday night outside Karmah: "With helicopters flying overhead, the US and Iraqi troops blasted away the doors of two houses and opened fire on a third, which is where Hadill was, family members said. Police and relatives said a bullet pierced Hadil's neck, and she bled to death in her mother's arms. A McClatchy special correspondent visited the house on Tuesday afternoon and watched as a U.S. soldier took bloodied carpet and a small shirt stained with blood from the room where Hadil died. Her father, Walid Majed Mitaab, sat silently among men paying their condolences in one of the partially destroyed houses. Mitaab said a U.S. soldier apologized to him through a translator."
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 corpses were discovered in Laitifiya "two men from a Sunni Arab tribal council".
Turning to US politics, February 5th, 4 Green Party contenders will be running for the Green Party's presidential nomination in the Illionis primary. They are Jared Ball, Howie Hawkins, Kent Mesplay, and Cynthia McKinney. Kimberly Wilder (On the Wilder Side) has an open letter from Ball at her site -- and his web address. He doesn't mention Iraq in his open letter so we're not providing him with a link -- same policy we have witth Democrats. (Nothing on Mesplay's site indicates he's aware an illegal war is even going on. Howie Hawkins? Here's an older site for him and it does note Iraq,) The Illinois Green Party notes that last week objections to the four candidates were dismissed by the state's Board of Elections and "The decision by the board sets the stage for the state's first ever contested Green Primary." Ralph Nader has stated he will announce whether or not he intends to run by the end of this month. McKinney does talk about Iraq and we'll note her in tomorrow's snapshot.
Finally, Free Bilal. Bilal Hussein is a Pulitzer Prize winning AP journalist. He was imprisoned by the US military for the 'crime' of reporting. Since April 12, 2006, he has been imprisoned. On Sunday, something resembling a 'court hearing' took place. It's under a gag order and his attorney was not allowed to speak with Bilal in private. "He was a man full of joy, and his work was exemplary, outstanding," the Philadelphia Daily News' Jim Mac Millan tells Morgan A. Zalot (Philadelphia Weekly) about Bilal, "I don't want one other insurgent bomber on the loose to kill [my friends and colleagues in Iraq], but Bilal is no insurgent. I'm so proud of the people I met there, and this case leaves me feeling nothing but shame. When people ask me why he's in detention, I suggest they look at his photos. Then I ask them why. It's just heartbreaking." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorialized yesterday on the 'court hearing' stating, "After so long, he and his attorneys were allowed to see evidence against him. But they weren't allowed to make copies, leaving no time for an adequate review by attorneys, who detailed Hussein's treatment by U.S. captors in a 46-page report (including nine days of blindfolded interrogation and a stint at Abu Ghraib). A distasteful secrecy order prevented them from discussing in public the magistrate's hearing. But a defense attorney said no formal charges were laid out. If Hussein is guilty -- and nothing revealed so far indicates that he is -- why did it take the U.S. military quite so long to take the case to court? We can't help but think that were it not for Hussein's employers keeping the case alive, he would never even get so far as getting his day in court." The Committee to Protect Journalists quotes AP's Paul Colford explaining, "There is still no formal charge against Bilal, and The Associated Press continues to believe that Bilal Hussein was a photojournalist working in a war zone and that claims that he is involved with insurgent activities are false. Because the judge ordered that the proceedings today be kept secret, we are restricted from saying anything further." and CPJ reminds: "Hussein's detention is not an isolated incident. Over the last three years, dozens of journalists -- mostly Iraqis -- have been detained by U.S. troops, according to CPJ research. While most have been released after short periods, in at least eight cases documented by CPJ Iraqi journalists have been held by U.S. for weeks or months without charge or conviction." The International Federation of Journalists has also issued a statement noting, "An Iraqi magistrate will decide whether Hussein will stand trial before a three-judge panel. Hussein's attorneys are still being denied copies of the evidence or time alone with the photographer, which the IFJ fears will make mounting his defence a difficult and unfair task" and places the targeting of Bilal in an international context by noting the other reporters under fire around the globe.
iraq
phil mcdowell
cindy sheehan
anthony arnovehoward zinn
iraq veterans against the war
bilal hussein
hannah allammcclatchy newspapers
leila fadelahmed ali
kimberly wilder
democracy nowamy goodmanthe new york timescara buckley
naomi klein
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
IVAW, Cindy Sheehan
IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War) is launching a new “Winter Soldier” campaign that will conduct a public investigation into the atrocities occuring in Iraq and Afghanistan. Organizing is still underway for the public hearings, with more information available on the website, www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier.
Veterans, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors, will testify to their first-hand experiences and reveal the truth of occupation. This investigation will help end the war because it will:
Embolden GI resistance by making the truth of their experiences an acceptable part of the national dialogue. Further, the DVD created at this conference will be a powerful educational tool on the history of GI movements and will encourage independent thought and collective action. Mobilize the anti-war movement by demonstrating the power of organized opposition and providing the facts needed to confront the myths propagated by the administration, congress and the media. IVAW will also present its strategy of organizing GIs to encourage the anti-war movement as a whole to support GI resistance
Build solidarity between the common peoples of the US, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The people who suffer the most from this occupation will be given a voice and a view into our struggle to end the unlawful occupation of their countries. Through this event, IVAW hopes to build lasting ties with the common people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Shape the way this history is told to future generations. Without a concerted effort to dispel the myths and sugar coated images of the U.S. occupations, future generations will never know the realities of war.
his project provides you with the opportunity to feel the deep satisfaction of contributing to laying the building blocks of an extremely meaningful movement. The best way for us to prevent the wars looming on the horizon is for people to collectively stay on the offensive against the current wars.
That is from "The Winter Soldier Campaign" (ZMag). I thought I'd open with that and mainly because Mike and both were wondering what there was Iraq related to note? Back in November, C.I. noted the polling and how it was a direct result of so many outlets either spewing out myths or ignoring Iraq completely. I thought about that today when I saw another poll with somewhat similar results.
Tomorrow I may note some specific problems with coverage or lack of -- I found a ton while searching for highlights -- but it is a huge, huge problem.
I also found somethings I enjoyed and one that I would have otherwise missed is an interview with Cindy Sheehan.
"E-Mail Heart to Heart: An Interview With Cindy Sheehan" (Rebecca Snow Landa, Eat The State):
ETS!: What victories have you seen in your own activism, and in the larger peace movement in recent years that we can celebrate and emulate? What keeps you going when the critics attack and the war machine seems unstoppable?
CS: I think the Democrats regaining majorities in both Houses of Congress was in direct response to the actions and organization of grass roots movements, especially the peace movement that is so opposed to the occupation of Iraq. As most people now know--and as I predicted--the Democrats have betrayed us and the war keeps raging, even worse, and BushCo have not been impeached. That was a victory that has turned out to be a curse.
I think no effort is wasted though. The fact that there are millions of people in harm's way for the crimes and greed of my country are what keeps me going. It is love.
As most know, Cindy Sheehan is now running for Congress. The interview is a strong one with many good points and I just chose the one that stood out most strongly to me.
Her campaign may be one of the few things I'm hopeful about these days. In one degree or another, I've always celebrated Christmas. I've never felt less Christmasy than this year. Maybe I'm coming down with a cold? Usually by now, I've got some amusement about the holiday. As I get older, that comes more and more from the young children. Whether it's a friend's child or a stranger's child you see who is just intensely focused on Christmas. Today I saw two children, the oldest was probably seven, and they may have been brothers. They may have just been friends. But I was stopping for a salad on my way home and they were really excited, attempting to list all of Santa's reindeer.
I always listen in to those conversations and try to remember if I was ever that excited? (I'm sure I was.) I don't interrupt and say, "No, it's ___" because part of the enjoyment, or mine, is hearing the names they give reindeer. (The names that many of us think we know as adults were much harder to decipher when we were young.) While I listened, I found myself hoping they had a good Christmas but not really feeling the usual excitement.
Now maybe I have a cold (I've been blowing my nose all day) but usually the Christmas mood (holiday giving -- of gifts and of the holiday cheer) has started to get into my bones by now. By December 13th every year, I'm fully into it. (When my parents were alive, the tree always went up on the 13th. It was held until then due to a birthday in the family on the 12th. So come December 13th, whether it was middle of the week or a weekend, the tree went up. After they died, my brother and I carried that on and, in my own life, I've always put up the tree on the 13th.)
I just don't feel very good tidings. I fault the government and I am being serious. The Democrats were voted in to end the illegal war and not only did they not do that, they also attempted to con us. Now they appear to be on the verge of caving on the tiny stand they did take (Bully Boy's latest spending supplemental). It's just kind of wearing on my soul.
Maybe it's because when the holidays are over, we're firmly in 2008 which is an election year. That will bring many more lies about the illegal war as candidates swear they'll do something but won't.
I don't think any children read my site. If you read it with your child, stop here. I had to put that warning in.
The only thing I can compare my mood to is the year, right before Christmas, when I found out there was no Santa. That was so devastating. I went from writing my letter and thinking what sort of snacks Santa would want on Christmas eve to feeling like I'd been lied to. I did the warning in case anyone reading didn't know there was a Santa. It's highly unlikely but who knows? I do know I'd hate to be the person to ever say "There's no Santa" to a child.
But that's what it feels like.
Please don't think that I was a believer in the idea that DC does, let alone changes, anything. However, I did believe that the people would hold the Dems accountable after the 2006 elections. So it's been really depressing to grasp that nearly the entire year has gone by and the Democratic Party hasn't really been held accountable.
That is partly due to the fact that when the Dems started attempting to swindle Americans back in March you had all these party hacks rush forward to attack the very few that were speaking out and saying, "They're about to betray us."
If the David Sirota Brigade hadn't been around, maybe the public would have grasped what was happening? As it was, March replayed in May and June and July. It seems as if most people only caught on over the summer.
Now the year's almost up and Democrats will end it, having control of both houses, having done nothing to bring the illegal war to an end.
Maybe I'm coming down with a cold, but I'm not feeling Christmasy.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, December 11, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the targeting of officials continues, women in Iraq are under attack from the puppet government and the US, what's up with al-Sadr and more..
Starting with war resisters. So we are driving in to Canada as this is dictated hoping to catch the Parliament's hearing that will provide war resisters who went to Canada the opportunity to testify in public. And no one seems to know anything about today's hearing. It is taking place right? A call to the Parliament (613-992-3150) results in a nice man on the phone who is looking to find the hearing scheduled for the Citizenship and Immigration committee. "Don't seem to have anything to do" today he says of the committee while we're all wondering (Ava, Kat, myself and a friend), "Did the meeting get cancelled?" No. He finds it. It's been going on for "over an hour." So, fingers crossed for luck, it hasn't been cancelled and the reason members e-mailing can't find information on it is that the hearing's ongoing. (Although for all we know, we'll get there and it's been cancelled.)
What has taken place already, on December 6th was a meeting of thecommittee and we'll note the minutes of it in full.
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration met at 3:34 p.m. this day, in Room 269, West Block, the Chair, Norman Doyle, presiding.
Members of the Committee present: Dave Batters, Colleen Beaumier, Robert Carrier, Olivia Chow, Norman Doyle, Meili Faille, Nina Grewal, Hon. Jim Karygiannis, Ed Komarnicki and Hon. Andrew Telegdi.
Acting Members present: Lloyd St. Amand for Hon. Maurizio Bevilacqua and Bradley R. Trost for Wajid Khan.
Other Members present: Alex Atamanenko.
In attendance: Library of Parliament: Penny Becklumb, Analyst; Sandra Elgersma, Analyst.
Witnesses: Department of Citizenship and Immigration: Les Linklater, Director General, Immigration Branch; Micheline Aucoin, Director General, Refugees Branch. Mennonite Central Committee: William Janzen, Director. War Resisters' Support Campaign: Phillip McDowell. As an individual: Jeffry A. House. Canadian Friends Service Committee: Gay Anne Broughton, Program Coordinator.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the Committee on Thursday, November 22, 2007, the Committee commenced its study of Iraq war resisters.
Les Linklater made a statement and, with Micheline Aucoin, answered questions.
William Janzen, Philip McDowell, Jeffry A. House and Gay Anne Broughton made statements and answered questions.
Jim Karygiannis moved, -- The Committee recommends that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to the war in Iraq and do not have a criminal record and/or there has been no criminal or military warrants issued against them, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
Olivia Chow moved, -- That the motion be amended by replacing the words "the war in Iraq" with the words "a war not sanctioned by the United Nations"; and by deleting the words "and/or there has been no criminal or military warrants issued against them".
After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Olivia Chow and it was agreed to on the following recorded division: YEAS: Colleen Beaumier, Robert Carrier, Olivia Chow, Meili Faille, Jim Karygiannis, Lloyd St. Amand, Andrew Telegdi -- 7; NAYS: Dave Batters, Nina Grewal, Ed Komarnicki, Bradley R. Trost -- 4.
After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division: YEAS: Colleen Beaumier, Robert Carrier, Olivia Chow, Meili Faille, Jim Karygiannis, Lloyd St. Amand, Andrew Telegdi -- 7; NAYS: Dave Batters, Nina Grewal, Ed Komarnicki, Bradley R. Trost -- 4.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That the Committee recommend that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations and do not have a criminal record, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
At 5:14 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
That was December 6th and, again, a hearing is supposed to be taking place right now.
Cindy Sheehan (OpEdNews) urges people to utilize Courage to Resist's easy to mail or e-mail resources to allow the Canadian government to know you are watching and to support organizations supporting war resisters as well as supporting war resisters:
Support actual war resisters in Canada by sending them expense money. From my friend Ryan (I gave him and his wife money to get to Canada over two years ago):
In light of the recent Supreme Court denial in Canada, I (Ryan Johnson), My wife (Jen Johnson) and Brandon Hughey need help raising funds to travel to Ottawa to attend hearings before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, where War Resisters will be giving Testimony to the committee. At these hearings the committee will be deciding on whether or not to make a provision to allow war resisters to stay in Canada. This is one of our last chances to be able to continue living in Canada. We will be leaving December 7th because the hearings are December 11th, 2007 so we need to act fast. They may try to send guys back soon and we need to have a strong War Resister Presence. We appreciate all of the support and Want to thank all of you who can help.
Checks/money orders can be sent for Ryan, Jen and Brandon to: 312 Tower Rd Nelson, BC V1L3K6
Checks and money orders can continue to be sent. They obviously will not get their in time since the hearing is tomorrow but they will help with expenses. In addition, the links offered should continue to be used. No one expects the Parliament to listen to testimony and say, "Okay, then! Here's our decision."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project -- that's ten more days -- and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $41.. The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project.
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
"Has the US turned the tide in Baghdad?" wonders the Independent of London's Patrick Cockburn at CounterPunch before outlining the actual realities (and noting "American commentators are generally making the same mistake that they have made since the invasion of Iraq was first contemplated five years ago"). Cockburn -- a non-embedded reporter -- explains how the escalation ('surge') has little to do with what's going on in Iraq ("the battle for supremacy between the Sunni and Shia communities"): "The US military -- the State Department has been very marginalized in decision making in Baghdad -- does not want to emphasize that many of the Sunni fighters now on the US payroll and misleadingly called 'Concerned Citizens' until recently belonged to al Qa'ida and have the blood of a great many Iraqi civilians and US soldiers on their hands." Cockburn traces the exodus of Sunnis from the capital at the start of the "The Battle for Baghdad" (Feb. 22, 2006) which was a surprise in the Shi'ite response and the lack of support from "Sunni states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt" and led to the forming of the militias/thugs/'Awakening councils' which are now being hailed by the US as a 'success' but are the same cause of tension as the Shi'ite thugs the US armed: ". . . the creation of this force is a new stage in the war in Iraq rather than an end to the conflict." US trained and backed to fight foreign fighters in Iraq seen as alligned with al Qaeda, that wait to turn that training on Shi'ites and on the US itself. Cockburn notes Moqtada al-Sadr's cease fire could end at any point "if the Shia community came under attack or the Americans pressured it too hard" and that al-Sadr is attempting "to purge" his Mehdi Army "of elements he does not control". Cockburn's analysis comes as Sam Dagher (Christian Science Monitor) reports that Moqtada al-Sadr insiders say he "is anything but idle. Instead, he is orchestrating a revial among his army of loyalists entrenched in Baghdad and Shiite enclaves in the south -- from the religious centers of Karbala and Najaf to the economic hub of Basra" with retraining, safe houses and samaritan efforts (such as donating blood) to win over Iraqis the violence may have alienated while developing a stronger, more controlled force that can take on the US. Dagher quotes al-Sadr's statment last week, "I tell the evil Bush, leave our land, we do not need you or your armies. . . . I tell the occupiers . . . you have your democracy and we have our Islam; get out of our land."
Cockburn notes that an August poll found that more than a majority of Iraqis continue to support attacks on US forces. In another sign of sentiment against the illegal occupation, Peter Graff (Reuters) reports that Mowaffag al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser, has declared that there will be no permanent US bases in Iraq, dubbed that an uncrossable "red line" and declared that "permanent forces or bases in Iraq for any foreign forces is a read line that cannot be accepted by any nationalist Iraqi."
Meanwhile, officials continue to be targeted in Iraq and Reuters notes that today: "A suicide car bomb exploded near the homes of senior Iraqi politicians in a heavily guarded neighbourhood of western Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 12, police said." CNN says that the attack took place just outside the Green Zone and that the "politicians" were Saleh Mutlaq and CIA asset and former Iraqi puppet prime minister Ayad Allawi. Jordan's Al Bawaba notes that Mutlaq is in Jordan presently and that the Baghdad bombing also left at least 12 wounded. Lori Hinnant (AP) reports that Allawi was also out of the country during the bombing and quotes Mutlaq declaring, "Everyone is vulnerable. We have been targeted by three groups -- the Americans, Iraqi forces and a suicide bomber. Everyone should wake up and do something to change the situation." Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) explains that the car exploded at "a check point at Zaitoon street of Harthiyah neighborhood." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) provides the context that, "The bombing came two days after the assassination of a prominent provincial police chief south of Baghdad whom U.S. officials credited with standing up to sectarianism and insurgents.
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded one Iraqi soldier, three Iraqi police officers were wounded in a roadside bombing in Diyala province and, yesterday, a Kirkuk roadside bombing killed 4 Iraqi police officers and wounded four more. Reuters notes, "A bomb attached to a booby-trapped body killed one Iraqi solder and wounded seven others including two policemen in the Saidiya district of southern Baghdad, police said."
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the latest assassination in the continued targeting of officials in Iraq: Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Ajeel Al-Shiqia was shot dead by two assassins on mortor cycles in Baghdad, in addition three Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a Baghdad shooting at a check point, Hassan Al-Jumaili was shot dead in Baquba and a woman was shot dead in Diyala province in the midst of a gun battle between the Iraqi army and unidentified others. Reuters notes A policeman was killed by a sniper in western Samarra, 100 km (68 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad and, yesterday, the corpses of two Iraqi Christians were discovered in Basra.
Turning to the topic of women in Iraq. Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman noted: "A woman in Houston Texas has sued the company Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR after she says she was gang raped by employees of the company in Baghdad. Jamie Leigh Jones, who was working for KBR at the time, says she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone. Jones accuses the company and the U.S. government of covering up the incident. Jones told ABC News that after she was raped, the company put her in a shipping container without food or water for at least 24 hours. She was also warned that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job. No one has been prosecuted for the rape. ABC News reported the alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to a loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law."
Meanwhile the United Nation's IRIN reports on Nadira Habib, the deputy head of the Iraqi parliamentary committee for women and children's affairs, announcing the call for all female 'detainees' in US and Iraqi prisons throughout the country to be released stating: "The Iraqi government should expedite reviewing the files of these detainees by forming committees of lawyers, judges and prosecutors, as the majority of them [female detainees] are innocent." IRIN notes 199 women held in al-Adala prison and that the US refuses to release the number of women that they are hodling in prisons and IRIN also notes that a woman who was innocent but taken to prison by the Iraqi army when they couldn't find her brother (who was also innocent and would later receive an apology). If you're not grasping that these thugs were trained by the US (which has regularly -- against the Geneeva Convention -- targeted the wives and daughters of 'people of interest) then pay attention to what happened to her while she was held by Iraqis and wonder where the thugs learned these techniques: "they beat me during my nearly one month in prison and I was subjected to loud music, and the lights were never turned off in my cell." It's the torture the US has especially perfected during this illegal war and at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan. Meanwhile Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports the central (puppet) government has decided that Iraqi female police officers will now be unarmed "thwarting a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation's police force. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, issued the order late last month, according to ministry documents, U.S. officials and several of the women.. . .
Critics say the move is the latest sign of the religious and cultural conservatism that has taken hold in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's ouster ushered in a government dominated by Shiite Muslims. Now, that tendency is hampering efforts to bring stability to Iraq by driving women from the force, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips, who has led the effort to recruit female officers." For those who've forgotten, there have been repeated calls to disband the Iraqi police and the Interior Ministry is seen as lawless.
Finally, IVAW's Kelly Dougherty notes the November 28th passing of IVAW member Sammantha Owen-Ewing, "It is impossible to sum up the life of a person, their personality and how much they meant to the people who loved them, in a few short lines. In her obituary, Sammantha was described as 'sweet, thoughtful, and loving. She brought joy to the lives of those around her.' I'm sorry I will never meet Sammantha and my deepest condolences go out to her family. I know that many IVAW members have suffered through depression, PTSD, and other forms of internal anguish, and many of us still deal with these things on a daily basis. IVAW has set up a memorial fund on behalf of Sammantha Owen-Ewing to help her family offset her funeral costs. We will be accepting donations through the end of December, if you'd like to make a donation, go to www.ivaw.org/memorialfund."
iraq
phil mcdowell
cindy sheehan
anthony arnovehoward zinn
iraq veterans against the war
patrick cockburn
democracy nowamy goodman
los angeles timestina susman
mcclatchy newspapers
Veterans, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors, will testify to their first-hand experiences and reveal the truth of occupation. This investigation will help end the war because it will:
Embolden GI resistance by making the truth of their experiences an acceptable part of the national dialogue. Further, the DVD created at this conference will be a powerful educational tool on the history of GI movements and will encourage independent thought and collective action. Mobilize the anti-war movement by demonstrating the power of organized opposition and providing the facts needed to confront the myths propagated by the administration, congress and the media. IVAW will also present its strategy of organizing GIs to encourage the anti-war movement as a whole to support GI resistance
Build solidarity between the common peoples of the US, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The people who suffer the most from this occupation will be given a voice and a view into our struggle to end the unlawful occupation of their countries. Through this event, IVAW hopes to build lasting ties with the common people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Shape the way this history is told to future generations. Without a concerted effort to dispel the myths and sugar coated images of the U.S. occupations, future generations will never know the realities of war.
his project provides you with the opportunity to feel the deep satisfaction of contributing to laying the building blocks of an extremely meaningful movement. The best way for us to prevent the wars looming on the horizon is for people to collectively stay on the offensive against the current wars.
That is from "The Winter Soldier Campaign" (ZMag). I thought I'd open with that and mainly because Mike and both were wondering what there was Iraq related to note? Back in November, C.I. noted the polling and how it was a direct result of so many outlets either spewing out myths or ignoring Iraq completely. I thought about that today when I saw another poll with somewhat similar results.
Tomorrow I may note some specific problems with coverage or lack of -- I found a ton while searching for highlights -- but it is a huge, huge problem.
I also found somethings I enjoyed and one that I would have otherwise missed is an interview with Cindy Sheehan.
"E-Mail Heart to Heart: An Interview With Cindy Sheehan" (Rebecca Snow Landa, Eat The State):
ETS!: What victories have you seen in your own activism, and in the larger peace movement in recent years that we can celebrate and emulate? What keeps you going when the critics attack and the war machine seems unstoppable?
CS: I think the Democrats regaining majorities in both Houses of Congress was in direct response to the actions and organization of grass roots movements, especially the peace movement that is so opposed to the occupation of Iraq. As most people now know--and as I predicted--the Democrats have betrayed us and the war keeps raging, even worse, and BushCo have not been impeached. That was a victory that has turned out to be a curse.
I think no effort is wasted though. The fact that there are millions of people in harm's way for the crimes and greed of my country are what keeps me going. It is love.
As most know, Cindy Sheehan is now running for Congress. The interview is a strong one with many good points and I just chose the one that stood out most strongly to me.
Her campaign may be one of the few things I'm hopeful about these days. In one degree or another, I've always celebrated Christmas. I've never felt less Christmasy than this year. Maybe I'm coming down with a cold? Usually by now, I've got some amusement about the holiday. As I get older, that comes more and more from the young children. Whether it's a friend's child or a stranger's child you see who is just intensely focused on Christmas. Today I saw two children, the oldest was probably seven, and they may have been brothers. They may have just been friends. But I was stopping for a salad on my way home and they were really excited, attempting to list all of Santa's reindeer.
I always listen in to those conversations and try to remember if I was ever that excited? (I'm sure I was.) I don't interrupt and say, "No, it's ___" because part of the enjoyment, or mine, is hearing the names they give reindeer. (The names that many of us think we know as adults were much harder to decipher when we were young.) While I listened, I found myself hoping they had a good Christmas but not really feeling the usual excitement.
Now maybe I have a cold (I've been blowing my nose all day) but usually the Christmas mood (holiday giving -- of gifts and of the holiday cheer) has started to get into my bones by now. By December 13th every year, I'm fully into it. (When my parents were alive, the tree always went up on the 13th. It was held until then due to a birthday in the family on the 12th. So come December 13th, whether it was middle of the week or a weekend, the tree went up. After they died, my brother and I carried that on and, in my own life, I've always put up the tree on the 13th.)
I just don't feel very good tidings. I fault the government and I am being serious. The Democrats were voted in to end the illegal war and not only did they not do that, they also attempted to con us. Now they appear to be on the verge of caving on the tiny stand they did take (Bully Boy's latest spending supplemental). It's just kind of wearing on my soul.
Maybe it's because when the holidays are over, we're firmly in 2008 which is an election year. That will bring many more lies about the illegal war as candidates swear they'll do something but won't.
I don't think any children read my site. If you read it with your child, stop here. I had to put that warning in.
The only thing I can compare my mood to is the year, right before Christmas, when I found out there was no Santa. That was so devastating. I went from writing my letter and thinking what sort of snacks Santa would want on Christmas eve to feeling like I'd been lied to. I did the warning in case anyone reading didn't know there was a Santa. It's highly unlikely but who knows? I do know I'd hate to be the person to ever say "There's no Santa" to a child.
But that's what it feels like.
Please don't think that I was a believer in the idea that DC does, let alone changes, anything. However, I did believe that the people would hold the Dems accountable after the 2006 elections. So it's been really depressing to grasp that nearly the entire year has gone by and the Democratic Party hasn't really been held accountable.
That is partly due to the fact that when the Dems started attempting to swindle Americans back in March you had all these party hacks rush forward to attack the very few that were speaking out and saying, "They're about to betray us."
If the David Sirota Brigade hadn't been around, maybe the public would have grasped what was happening? As it was, March replayed in May and June and July. It seems as if most people only caught on over the summer.
Now the year's almost up and Democrats will end it, having control of both houses, having done nothing to bring the illegal war to an end.
Maybe I'm coming down with a cold, but I'm not feeling Christmasy.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, December 11, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the targeting of officials continues, women in Iraq are under attack from the puppet government and the US, what's up with al-Sadr and more..
Starting with war resisters. So we are driving in to Canada as this is dictated hoping to catch the Parliament's hearing that will provide war resisters who went to Canada the opportunity to testify in public. And no one seems to know anything about today's hearing. It is taking place right? A call to the Parliament (613-992-3150) results in a nice man on the phone who is looking to find the hearing scheduled for the Citizenship and Immigration committee. "Don't seem to have anything to do" today he says of the committee while we're all wondering (Ava, Kat, myself and a friend), "Did the meeting get cancelled?" No. He finds it. It's been going on for "over an hour." So, fingers crossed for luck, it hasn't been cancelled and the reason members e-mailing can't find information on it is that the hearing's ongoing. (Although for all we know, we'll get there and it's been cancelled.)
What has taken place already, on December 6th was a meeting of thecommittee and we'll note the minutes of it in full.
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration met at 3:34 p.m. this day, in Room 269, West Block, the Chair, Norman Doyle, presiding.
Members of the Committee present: Dave Batters, Colleen Beaumier, Robert Carrier, Olivia Chow, Norman Doyle, Meili Faille, Nina Grewal, Hon. Jim Karygiannis, Ed Komarnicki and Hon. Andrew Telegdi.
Acting Members present: Lloyd St. Amand for Hon. Maurizio Bevilacqua and Bradley R. Trost for Wajid Khan.
Other Members present: Alex Atamanenko.
In attendance: Library of Parliament: Penny Becklumb, Analyst; Sandra Elgersma, Analyst.
Witnesses: Department of Citizenship and Immigration: Les Linklater, Director General, Immigration Branch; Micheline Aucoin, Director General, Refugees Branch. Mennonite Central Committee: William Janzen, Director. War Resisters' Support Campaign: Phillip McDowell. As an individual: Jeffry A. House. Canadian Friends Service Committee: Gay Anne Broughton, Program Coordinator.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the Committee on Thursday, November 22, 2007, the Committee commenced its study of Iraq war resisters.
Les Linklater made a statement and, with Micheline Aucoin, answered questions.
William Janzen, Philip McDowell, Jeffry A. House and Gay Anne Broughton made statements and answered questions.
Jim Karygiannis moved, -- The Committee recommends that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to the war in Iraq and do not have a criminal record and/or there has been no criminal or military warrants issued against them, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
Olivia Chow moved, -- That the motion be amended by replacing the words "the war in Iraq" with the words "a war not sanctioned by the United Nations"; and by deleting the words "and/or there has been no criminal or military warrants issued against them".
After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Olivia Chow and it was agreed to on the following recorded division: YEAS: Colleen Beaumier, Robert Carrier, Olivia Chow, Meili Faille, Jim Karygiannis, Lloyd St. Amand, Andrew Telegdi -- 7; NAYS: Dave Batters, Nina Grewal, Ed Komarnicki, Bradley R. Trost -- 4.
After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division: YEAS: Colleen Beaumier, Robert Carrier, Olivia Chow, Meili Faille, Jim Karygiannis, Lloyd St. Amand, Andrew Telegdi -- 7; NAYS: Dave Batters, Nina Grewal, Ed Komarnicki, Bradley R. Trost -- 4.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That the Committee recommend that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations and do not have a criminal record, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
At 5:14 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
That was December 6th and, again, a hearing is supposed to be taking place right now.
Cindy Sheehan (OpEdNews) urges people to utilize Courage to Resist's easy to mail or e-mail resources to allow the Canadian government to know you are watching and to support organizations supporting war resisters as well as supporting war resisters:
Support actual war resisters in Canada by sending them expense money. From my friend Ryan (I gave him and his wife money to get to Canada over two years ago):
In light of the recent Supreme Court denial in Canada, I (Ryan Johnson), My wife (Jen Johnson) and Brandon Hughey need help raising funds to travel to Ottawa to attend hearings before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, where War Resisters will be giving Testimony to the committee. At these hearings the committee will be deciding on whether or not to make a provision to allow war resisters to stay in Canada. This is one of our last chances to be able to continue living in Canada. We will be leaving December 7th because the hearings are December 11th, 2007 so we need to act fast. They may try to send guys back soon and we need to have a strong War Resister Presence. We appreciate all of the support and Want to thank all of you who can help.
Checks/money orders can be sent for Ryan, Jen and Brandon to: 312 Tower Rd Nelson, BC V1L3K6
Checks and money orders can continue to be sent. They obviously will not get their in time since the hearing is tomorrow but they will help with expenses. In addition, the links offered should continue to be used. No one expects the Parliament to listen to testimony and say, "Okay, then! Here's our decision."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project -- that's ten more days -- and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $41.. The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project.
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
"Has the US turned the tide in Baghdad?" wonders the Independent of London's Patrick Cockburn at CounterPunch before outlining the actual realities (and noting "American commentators are generally making the same mistake that they have made since the invasion of Iraq was first contemplated five years ago"). Cockburn -- a non-embedded reporter -- explains how the escalation ('surge') has little to do with what's going on in Iraq ("the battle for supremacy between the Sunni and Shia communities"): "The US military -- the State Department has been very marginalized in decision making in Baghdad -- does not want to emphasize that many of the Sunni fighters now on the US payroll and misleadingly called 'Concerned Citizens' until recently belonged to al Qa'ida and have the blood of a great many Iraqi civilians and US soldiers on their hands." Cockburn traces the exodus of Sunnis from the capital at the start of the "The Battle for Baghdad" (Feb. 22, 2006) which was a surprise in the Shi'ite response and the lack of support from "Sunni states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt" and led to the forming of the militias/thugs/'Awakening councils' which are now being hailed by the US as a 'success' but are the same cause of tension as the Shi'ite thugs the US armed: ". . . the creation of this force is a new stage in the war in Iraq rather than an end to the conflict." US trained and backed to fight foreign fighters in Iraq seen as alligned with al Qaeda, that wait to turn that training on Shi'ites and on the US itself. Cockburn notes Moqtada al-Sadr's cease fire could end at any point "if the Shia community came under attack or the Americans pressured it too hard" and that al-Sadr is attempting "to purge" his Mehdi Army "of elements he does not control". Cockburn's analysis comes as Sam Dagher (Christian Science Monitor) reports that Moqtada al-Sadr insiders say he "is anything but idle. Instead, he is orchestrating a revial among his army of loyalists entrenched in Baghdad and Shiite enclaves in the south -- from the religious centers of Karbala and Najaf to the economic hub of Basra" with retraining, safe houses and samaritan efforts (such as donating blood) to win over Iraqis the violence may have alienated while developing a stronger, more controlled force that can take on the US. Dagher quotes al-Sadr's statment last week, "I tell the evil Bush, leave our land, we do not need you or your armies. . . . I tell the occupiers . . . you have your democracy and we have our Islam; get out of our land."
Cockburn notes that an August poll found that more than a majority of Iraqis continue to support attacks on US forces. In another sign of sentiment against the illegal occupation, Peter Graff (Reuters) reports that Mowaffag al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser, has declared that there will be no permanent US bases in Iraq, dubbed that an uncrossable "red line" and declared that "permanent forces or bases in Iraq for any foreign forces is a read line that cannot be accepted by any nationalist Iraqi."
Meanwhile, officials continue to be targeted in Iraq and Reuters notes that today: "A suicide car bomb exploded near the homes of senior Iraqi politicians in a heavily guarded neighbourhood of western Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 12, police said." CNN says that the attack took place just outside the Green Zone and that the "politicians" were Saleh Mutlaq and CIA asset and former Iraqi puppet prime minister Ayad Allawi. Jordan's Al Bawaba notes that Mutlaq is in Jordan presently and that the Baghdad bombing also left at least 12 wounded. Lori Hinnant (AP) reports that Allawi was also out of the country during the bombing and quotes Mutlaq declaring, "Everyone is vulnerable. We have been targeted by three groups -- the Americans, Iraqi forces and a suicide bomber. Everyone should wake up and do something to change the situation." Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) explains that the car exploded at "a check point at Zaitoon street of Harthiyah neighborhood." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) provides the context that, "The bombing came two days after the assassination of a prominent provincial police chief south of Baghdad whom U.S. officials credited with standing up to sectarianism and insurgents.
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded one Iraqi soldier, three Iraqi police officers were wounded in a roadside bombing in Diyala province and, yesterday, a Kirkuk roadside bombing killed 4 Iraqi police officers and wounded four more. Reuters notes, "A bomb attached to a booby-trapped body killed one Iraqi solder and wounded seven others including two policemen in the Saidiya district of southern Baghdad, police said."
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the latest assassination in the continued targeting of officials in Iraq: Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Ajeel Al-Shiqia was shot dead by two assassins on mortor cycles in Baghdad, in addition three Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a Baghdad shooting at a check point, Hassan Al-Jumaili was shot dead in Baquba and a woman was shot dead in Diyala province in the midst of a gun battle between the Iraqi army and unidentified others. Reuters notes A policeman was killed by a sniper in western Samarra, 100 km (68 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad and, yesterday, the corpses of two Iraqi Christians were discovered in Basra.
Turning to the topic of women in Iraq. Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman noted: "A woman in Houston Texas has sued the company Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR after she says she was gang raped by employees of the company in Baghdad. Jamie Leigh Jones, who was working for KBR at the time, says she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone. Jones accuses the company and the U.S. government of covering up the incident. Jones told ABC News that after she was raped, the company put her in a shipping container without food or water for at least 24 hours. She was also warned that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job. No one has been prosecuted for the rape. ABC News reported the alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to a loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law."
Meanwhile the United Nation's IRIN reports on Nadira Habib, the deputy head of the Iraqi parliamentary committee for women and children's affairs, announcing the call for all female 'detainees' in US and Iraqi prisons throughout the country to be released stating: "The Iraqi government should expedite reviewing the files of these detainees by forming committees of lawyers, judges and prosecutors, as the majority of them [female detainees] are innocent." IRIN notes 199 women held in al-Adala prison and that the US refuses to release the number of women that they are hodling in prisons and IRIN also notes that a woman who was innocent but taken to prison by the Iraqi army when they couldn't find her brother (who was also innocent and would later receive an apology). If you're not grasping that these thugs were trained by the US (which has regularly -- against the Geneeva Convention -- targeted the wives and daughters of 'people of interest) then pay attention to what happened to her while she was held by Iraqis and wonder where the thugs learned these techniques: "they beat me during my nearly one month in prison and I was subjected to loud music, and the lights were never turned off in my cell." It's the torture the US has especially perfected during this illegal war and at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan. Meanwhile Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports the central (puppet) government has decided that Iraqi female police officers will now be unarmed "thwarting a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation's police force. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, issued the order late last month, according to ministry documents, U.S. officials and several of the women.. . .
Critics say the move is the latest sign of the religious and cultural conservatism that has taken hold in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's ouster ushered in a government dominated by Shiite Muslims. Now, that tendency is hampering efforts to bring stability to Iraq by driving women from the force, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips, who has led the effort to recruit female officers." For those who've forgotten, there have been repeated calls to disband the Iraqi police and the Interior Ministry is seen as lawless.
Finally, IVAW's Kelly Dougherty notes the November 28th passing of IVAW member Sammantha Owen-Ewing, "It is impossible to sum up the life of a person, their personality and how much they meant to the people who loved them, in a few short lines. In her obituary, Sammantha was described as 'sweet, thoughtful, and loving. She brought joy to the lives of those around her.' I'm sorry I will never meet Sammantha and my deepest condolences go out to her family. I know that many IVAW members have suffered through depression, PTSD, and other forms of internal anguish, and many of us still deal with these things on a daily basis. IVAW has set up a memorial fund on behalf of Sammantha Owen-Ewing to help her family offset her funeral costs. We will be accepting donations through the end of December, if you'd like to make a donation, go to www.ivaw.org/memorialfund."
iraq
phil mcdowell
cindy sheehan
anthony arnovehoward zinn
iraq veterans against the war
patrick cockburn
democracy nowamy goodman
los angeles timestina susman
mcclatchy newspapers
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