Monday's seem to be so long. The weekends, by contrast, seem to be so short. Go figure. Okay, I'm going to be very slow tonight because I'm trying to catch two radio programs and I'll note those as they go along. (As part of being slow tonight, I'll be munching on a spinach salad as I blog. Too personal, AlterPunk?)
"Obama: On Israel and AIPAC" (Barack Obama, CounterPunch)
That is why I advocate a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq to begin no later than May first with the goal of removing all combat forces from Iraq by March 2008. In a civil war where no military solution exists, this redeployment remains our best leverage to pressure the Iraqi government to achieve the political settlement between its warring factions that can slow the bloodshed and promote stability.
My plan also allows for a limited number of U.S. troops to remain and prevent Iraq from becoming a haven for international terrorism and reduce the risk of all-out chaos. In addition, we will redeploy our troops to other locations in the region, reassuring our allies that we will stay engaged in the Middle East. And my plan includes a robust regional diplomatic strategy that includes talking to Syria and Iran something this Administration has finally embraced.
The U.S. military has performed valiantly and brilliantly in Iraq. Our troops have done all that we have asked them to do and more. But a consequence of the Administration's failed strategy in Iraq has been to strengthen Iran's strategic position; reduce U.S. credibility and influence in the region; and place Israel and other nations friendly to the United States in greater peril. These are not the signs of a well-paved road. It is time for profound change.
There are so many finger nails on chalk board moments about that speech. But let's note that he's not calling out the war. He is calling out a "failed strategy." This is the man who keeps saying he would have voted against the illegal war if he'd been in Congress in 2002?
If you read the speech in full, you'll find a lot of pandering. For instance, while supposedly being 'even handed' about the occupied territories, he concludes: "Peace with security. That is the Israeli people's overriding wish." Well, Obama, what of the Palestinians' wish? Or is that not worth noting. An Iranianwar supporting and AIPCA buddy does not make for a liberal.
Wally's "THIS JUST IN! HILLARY EMBRACES, OBAMA BLAMES" and Cedric's "Joshua Generation"? "" picks up another thread regarding Obama, by the way.
I told Rebecca I would try to catch KPFA's Flashpoints for her when possible this week and note it. So I'll be making some notes as I listen. Tonight, Dennis Bernstein is presenting a speakout on Iraq with veterans of Iraq and active duty soldiers including Jason veterans of the Iraq war. A man who served three tours in Iraq talked about the "fraudulent reasons" for the illegal war. A man named Jason stated he never believed the lies of war. He spoke of being in the chow hall with Fox "News" on ("of course," he stated) and Bully Boy was making war noises, this was 2002, and even then he didn't believe the lies. I'm sorry I don't have last names. I've tried to get ahold of C.I. (who's very good about telling you who is who) but I can't get an answer.
Okay, Jeff Paterson is on. He refused to serve in the Gulf War. I know his name. Tina Richards was on discussing her son Coy. "When he got back from Falluja he was completely broken, he suffered severe PTSD. He often called me . . . to tell me he had a gun in his mouth, that he could no longer live . . . As a mother . . . you don't know what to do. . . . I was torn apart, I felt so helpless." Oh good, it's Coy Richards. I didn't know his last name and they hadn't mentioned it. But they're playing a speech and it's the first time his name has been mentioned (first or last).
"They told me were taking out advancing Iraqi military forces" but when they checked the bodies after, they found women and children. Coy also spoke about his younger brother and the stress he's under after serving in Iraq (and now about to be shipped to Afghanistan).
That part was good. The last few minuts? I have nothing to say and anyone who listens in the community will understand why. I'll respect C.I.'s feelings on this and avoid taking someone to task even though she has earned it but I certainly won't be silent on that and also note her appearences. If you don't know whom I'm speaking of, it's The Woman Who Makes Herself The Story. But I will note that she doesn't have her facts straight on Aguayo. He HAS SERVED IN IRAQ. He did not want to RETURN to Iraq.
I'm listening to the WBAI impeachment special and I wish I knew the name of the woman speaking. She's making the same point that C.I. has been making -- "Where are the students? Where the hell are you?" Students are active. The woman speaking (to Janet Coleman) is talking about how she's visited campuses and the students are active. (I've seen that in the DC stuff we did as well as the California stuff we did -- speaking to students. But C.I.'s criss-crossed the country about a million times now since Feb. 2003 and C.I. knows better than the silly crew at The Nation what students are doing on campuses.)
On the subject of impeachment (topic of the special -- ending the war and impeachment) . . .
"It's the People of Washington vs. Pelosi, et al" (Dave Lindorff, CounterPunch):
In the State of Washington, it is the people versus Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party leadership.
At issue is a bill, S8016, submitted in the state's senate by freshman state Senator Eric Oemig, which would call on the U.S. Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against President George Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors against the Constitution and the people of the United States and of the State of Washington.
The measure, which would take the form of a joint resolution by the two houses of the Washington state legislature, accords with the instructions laid out by Founder Thomas Jefferson, who, in his Manual of the Rules of the House of Representatives laid out state joint resolutions as an alternative route for initiating presidential impeachment proceedings in the House in addition to the more usual route of a member submitting a bill of impeachment.
Jefferson's prescient thinking was that if Congress, by reason of political cowardice or inattention, ever proved unwilling or unable to initiate impeachment when it was called for, state legislators, far from Washington and closer to the people, could do it for them.
But two unprincipled and devious Democratic members of Washington's congressional delegation, Sen. Pat Murray and Rep. Jay Inslee, are undermining Jefferson's carefully designed fail-safe system by pressuring Democratic state legislators to kill Sen. Oemig's bill. The Seattle Times in a March 2 article, reports that Murray and Inslee are telling Democrats in the state senate to kill the impeachment bill on the grounds that it would lead to "divisiveness" in Washington, and that it would impede the "Democratic agenda" in Congress.
Forget grave spinning! This wholly inappropriate interference in state affairs by the state's two leading national political figures must have Jefferson shitting in his mouldered pants!
Clearly, Murray and Inslee have decided to abandon their constituents in the state of Washington, a majority of whom want this criminal president impeached, and are instead doing the bidding of US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who have completely lost touch with the nation's voters and with their own sense of principle.
But this battle is not over. The grassroots movement in Washington that has led to Sen. Oemig's bill getting as far as a hearing in the Senate's Government Operations and Elections Committee, is growing rapidly. The Citizens Committee for Impeachment in Olympia, with almost no money and no press coverage, brought 900 people to a rally a week before the committee hearing, and hundreds more to the capitol building on the day of the hearing. A massive phone and letter-writing campaign to committee members and state senators is now underway to insure that the bill goes to a vote in the full Senate.
I shouldn't have one ear on the radio while I blog. Hope you could follow what I was trying to talk about tonight.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Monday, March 5, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq (in the midst of the 'crackdown'), US war resister Agustin Aguayo is one day away from his court-martial, the care crisis of Walter Reed Medical Center gets noticed in Congress, and Iraqi children continue to face health risks as the illegal war continues.
Starting with war resistance. Tomorrow Agustin Aguayo's court-martial begins in Germany. He is charged with missing movement and desertion which, if convicted of both charges, could mean being senteced to seven years in military prison. President of the National Lawyers Guild Marjorie Cohn (writing at CounterPunch) reviews the basics of Aguayo's case noting that what was happening to Aguayo during training was a phase he couldn't name until he and his wife Helga learned of US war resister Stephen Funk and realized the term for those opposed to war is conscientious objector. Cohn also notes, "Agustin Aguayo is represented by National Lawyers Guild lawyers James Klimaski, Peter Goldberger, and James Feldman." Amnesty International announced last week that they would have "a delegate to observe the court-martial proceeedings . . . and asses whether Agustin Aguayo would be a prisoner of conscience if convicted and imprisoned." In addition, as El Universal reported previously, Aguayo, who holds dual citizenship (Mexico and United States), will receive some form of consular assistance as a result of Susana Aguayo's request. (Susana is Agustin's mother.) Bertrand Benoit (Financial Times of London) notes that the court-martial "will cast some light on what non-governmental ogranisations claim is a serious drop in troop spirits in Germany" and notes Michael Sharp (Military Counseling Network) stating: "We normally get an average of eight calls a month. In January alone, we got 30 calls."
Courage to Resist has posted video (by Jeff Paterson) of Agustin Aguayo and others speaking in Los Angeles at his press conference on September 26th La Placita Olivera including Father Steve Niskanen, Father Richard Estrada and Fernando Suarez del Solar (whose son Jesus A. Suarez Del Solar died in Iraq on March 27, 2003).
Agustin Aguayo notes, in the video, that he is both an Iraq war veteran and a
Conscientious Objector and "I believe it is one of the greatest tragedies of our lifetime that we use war in an attempt to solve problems." His wife Helga noted that their twin daughters prepared a letter for their father: "They wrote him a letter and at the bottom of the letter they wrote: 'We are strong, we will get through this. Never forget that.' and they're only eleven" years-old. Helga also noted her pride in her husband "because he has been fighting" for c.o. status non-stop, for two years, within the military and within the US civilian courts.
The Center on Conscience & War notes that the civilian courts have not provided the oversight or recourse that they are supposed to and quotes attorney Peter Golberg stating, "The decision, in the wake of [Ehren] Watada outcome, makes the court martial of Aguayo all the more urgent as a focus of support." CCW further notes: "Had Aguayo gone AWOL 3 years ago, he may have been out of the Army two and a half years ago -- as happened to someone else in his unit. As a person of conscience, he played by the rules, trusting that the law would work as it should. It is unconsioable that Aguayo is still in the Army and facing court-martial 3 years after he first applied for conscientious objector discharge."
Turning to US war resister Ehren Watada who, in June 2006, became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq, Jim Borg (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) profiled Eric Seitz, Watada's civilian attorney who noted several things. On the issue of the legality of Watada's stand: "Treaties, when they are properly adopted by this country, become part and parcel of American law. The president cannot select which treaties he is going to implement and ingore others. And his selective enforcement of the provisions of the law . . . frankly, in my view, should subject him to a war crimes trial -- and, in fact, to the ultimate punishment which the statute requires, which is death. And if you want to quote me, you can say that. I am more than happy to see President Bush and Vice President Cheney and Secretary Rumsfeld tried for war crimes. And I would be the first one to stand up and clap if they were punished as a consequence." A court-martial for Watada has been scheduled for July. This would be the second court-martial. The first of last month saw three days of a court-martial that ended in a mistrial when Judge Toilet (aka John Head) repeatedly prompted the prosecution to ask for a mistrial which they finally did. Judge Toilet granted a mistrial over the defense's objection. Seitz tells Borg: "If it's going badly for the prosecutor, the prosecution can't abort the case and then start over. Nor can a judge abort the case for the prosecutor because the judge thinks it's going badly. When you have a mistrial in a criminal case, you always have a double jeopardy issue because jeopardy has attached as soon as the jury has been sworn in or the first witness testifies. And then you try and figure out whether by conduct or by some statement the defendant has caused the mistrial. . . . I'm thinking to myself, 'My God, this is a defense's lawyer's dream!' We didn't create this mistrial, we didn't agree to it, we didn't approve it. Jeopardy is attached. And I don't think either the judge or the military lawyers had any inkling that that was going to be the bottom line."
Aguayo and Watada are part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Kyle Snyder, Mark Wilkerson, Camilo Mejia, Patrick Hart, Joshua Key, Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Corey Glass, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Turning to Iraq and the so-called crackdown which, in one form or another, has been going on since June of 2006 when resistance fighters came close to breaching the Green Zone. The official talking point from the latest wave of Operation Happy Talk is that over 1,000 Iraqi and American forces entered the Sadr City section of Baghdad on Sunday and this was proof that the 'crackdown' was working. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reports that the effort "lacked any element of surprise. It followed protracted negotiations -- between representatives of Mr. [Moqtada al-] Sadr, neighborhood leaders, Iraqi government officials and American and British military commanders . . . The cleric has privately ordered his militia fighters not to resist the military sweeps regardless of the level of provocation. Many militia leaders, in turn, have left Sadr City and sought sanctuary in Shiite-dominated southern Iraq and Iran, possibly figuring that they can wait out the offensive and return to the capital later." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) noted that the Sunday effort was "termed a 'soft-knock' operation, clearly aware that one wrong move could stoke anger among supporters of Sadr."
Sunday's broadcast of The KPFA Evening News explored the military effort in Sadr City.
Rahul Mahajan offered,"It's a tremendous non-event. We have known for weeks now that the Sadrist . . . Army has decided to lay low and not to confront the American troops during this so-called security crackdown. This is completely consistent with their behavior before now and not a surprise at all. The Mahdi army has basically clashed with American forces on only two occassions -- in April and August of 2004." Edward Peck, who served in Baghdad from 1877-1980 as the US mission chief, in the US State Department, etc., observed, "The Sadr City thing is just one more little piece of something that's gone past or is going past or will go past. You know it doesn't do anything for anybody who is really concerned about what it is that's supposed to happen there because the basic problems will continue when the troops whatever troops they are, when they leave, you go right back to where you were. And they have to leave at some point. They're not going to stay there forever. Two days, three days, a week, less, more? My outlook is I'm afraid grimly realistic . . . We have taught the rest of the world and we have relearned ourselves the meaning of that terrible word 'quagmire'."
As the 'crackdown' continues (three months shy of a year) Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) report that the US White House has no "Plan B" -- accepting the 'crackdown' as a plan, the US administration hasn't bothered to make preparations for what to do when it fails: "Eager to appear resolute and reluctant to provide fodder for skeptics, they have responded with a mix of optimism and evasion."
Reality does have a way of intruding. In the midst of the latest Crackdown Verson 6.0, a bombing took place in Baghdad, on Mutanabi Street, today claiming multiple lives. As AFP observes: "The blast came despite a massive Iraqi-US security operation involving more than 90,000 troops, launched just over two weeks ago and aimed at quelling sectarian violence that has ravaged Baghdad for more than a year." CBS and AP call it "the largest bombing in the capital in three days". Al Jazeera notes it was at least one car bomb and the explosion "set alight" shops and cars. AFP notes that the historic area targeted was "crammed with bookshops and frequented by writers, poets and artists, [seen] as one of the most important centres in the literay world. It was opened in 1932 by King Faisal II, and is named after Arab poet Abu Taib-alMutanabi." CBS and AP note the dark fumes of smoke drifting overhead and quote eye witness Naeem al-Daraji: "Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets dropped from a plance. Pieces of flesh and the remains of book were scattered everywhere." The BBC puts the toll (which has risen throughout the day) at 30 with "at least 65" wounded. Video of the aftermath (when the flames were largely put out) showed Iraqis standing, many with hands on hip, staring in disbelief.
In other violence today . . .
Bombings?
Reuters notes a car bombing in Baghdad took the life of one police officer and wounded another, while a roadside bomb in Baghdad took two lives and left 10 wounded. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports notes a bombing in the Dakhiliya neighborhood of Baghdad the wounded two "servicement."
Shootings?
Reuters notes the shooting death of one person in Diwaniya, of a police officer in Kirkuk, of five police officers in Ishaqi, and of five pilgrims in Baghdad (17 were also wounded). Lauren Frayer (AP) reports seven piligrims died from and notes: "The Shiites were apparently heading to shrines and holy sites in southern Iraq for the annual commemoration of a 40-day mourning period for the death of a revered 7th-century warrior, Hussein." Christian Berthelsen (Los Angeles Times) notes of the attack, "gunmen in a car and on a motorcycle shot at groups of pilgrims as they walked along roads in Baghdad". Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the pilgrims shot dead were "headed for Karbala for the 'Fortieth day of mourning' ceremony for the Imam Al-Hussein, Grandson of the Prophet Mohammed" and that the gunfire came "from the orchards of Qadisiya"; in addition, Issa notes the shooting deaths of one man and the kidnapping of two in Diyala, the shooting deaths of 2 Iraqi soldiers in Diyala, and the shooting deaths of four police officers in "Al Nai town (north of Al Khalis city)."
Corpses?
Reuters notes four coprses were discovered in Sulaiman Bek while six corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the number of corpses discovered in Baghdad climbed to 15 and that a "chopped head in a box" was discovered in Baqouba.
Also today, the US military announced: "One 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldier was killed and one was wounded in an improvised explosive device attack on their M-1117 Armored Security Vehicle while traveling in a convoy south of Tikrit at approximately 9 p.m. Mar 4."
Meanwhile, as Aaron Glantz noted today on KPFA's The Morning Show, children are at risk in Iraq of being underweight and under height. IRIN reports that UNICEF puts the figure of undernourished at 4.5 million, that "[p]overty and insecurity" are the chief causes (from the chaos and violence), that breast feeing would be healthier for the children than formula (formula can contibute to the rates of pneumonia and diarrhoea), and that one and ten Iraqi children are underweight.
Turning to the United States, Anne Hull and Dana Priest (Washington Post) continue to explore the care injustice (injustice -- not misfortune, using Judith N. Shklar's definition) for US service members seeking care and speak with others including Ray Oliva of Kelseyville, CA who tells them, "It is just not Watler Reed. The VA hospitals are not good either except for the staff who work so hard. It brings tears to my eeyes when I see my brothers and sisters having to deal with these conditions. I am 70 years old, some say older than dirt, but when I am with my brothers and sisters we become one and are made whole again." Hull and Priest note: "Olivia is but one quaking voice in a vast outpouring of accounts filled with emotion and anger about the mistreatment of wounded outpatients at Wlater Reed Army Medical Center. Stories of neglect and substandard care have flooded in from soldiers, their family members, veterans, doctors and nurses working inside the system. They describe depressing living conditions for outpatients at other military bases around the country, from Fort Lewis in Washington state to Fort Dix in New Jersey." The Washington Post has gathered their reporting on this crisis into one folder, click here. Attention has brought to the crisis thanks to the reporting of Priest and Hull and ABC News's Bob Woodruff (click here for Woodruff). So much so that the US Congress that appears to be unable to address Iraq, addressed this crisis today.
William Branigin (Washington Post) reports that "Senior Army commanders today apologized for failures that forces some wounded outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to live in substandard conditions and wage lengthy bureaucratic battles over their treatment" -- apologized to the the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee. CNN reports that also testifying were two Iraq vets and "the wife of a third," Annette McLeod ("wife of Cpl. Wendell McLeod") who stated: "I'm glad that you care about what happened to my husband after he was injured in the line of duty. Because for a long time, it seemed like I was the only one who cared. Certainly, the Army didn't care. I didn't even find out that he was injured until he called me himself from a hospital in New Jersey" -- her husband was wounded in Iraq -- "This is how we treat our soldiers -- we give them nothing. They're good enough to go and sacrifice their life, and we give them nothing. You need to fix the system."
CBS and AP note: "Staff Sgt. Daniel Shannon, who took a bullet to the head in Iraq and lost an eye, told the panel [that] patients are sometimes just left in their barracks, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss. He said he 'sat in my room for a couple of weeks wondering when someone would contact' him about continuing treatment. 'The truly sad thing is that surviving veterans from every war we've ever fought can tell the same basic story -- a story about neglect, lack of advocacy and frustration with the military bureaucracy." Branigin notes that the chair of the subcomitte, US Rep John F. Tierney, stated: "More and more evidence is appearing to indicate that senior officials were aware for several years of the types of problems . . . These are not new or sudden problems. Rats and cockroaches don't burrow and infest overnight. Mold and holes in ceilings don't occur in a week. And complaints of bureaucratic indifference have been reported for years." Susan Cornwell (Reuters) reports that Tierney also wondered: "Is this just another horrific consequence of the terrible planning that went into our invasion of Iraq?"
Monday evening on WBAI (which you can listen to over the airwaves in the NYC area and beyond and which can be streamed online as well):Monday, March 5, 9-11pm [EST]IMPEACHMENT SPECIALWorld Can't Wait/Drive Out the Bush Regime Director Debra Sweet hosts this panel with Daniel Ellsberg; activist professor Father Luis Barrios; Hip Hop Caucus leader Rev. Lennox Yearwood; recent college grad Anastasia Gomes and others. With listener call-ins.So that's a two hour live special (9 to 11 pm EST) on WBAI Monday.
ehren watada
aaron glantz
kpfa
the morning showthe kpfa evening news
agustin aguayothe new york timeskirk semple
the washington postkaren deyoungthomas e. ricks
Monday, March 05, 2007
Friday, March 02, 2007
Kyle Snyder
Pressed for time so I'm going to do a "just talking" thing. (As C.I. and Jim have dubbed them when they appear at The Common Ills.)
I am really bothered by what's happened with Kyle Snyder. C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" Thursday and today as well. Kyle Snyder, to give you the back story, was recruited heavily while he was in high school. At the time, he was in foster care and it must have really seemed like someone cared with a recruiter even showing up for his graduation. So here is this young man being hard sold on the military by someone who's allowed to lie for a living (one of the few jobs that you don't get punished for doing that -- even a president can be impeached) and he believes it. He thinks he's going to Iraq to do reconstruction and that the benefits will allow him to go to college and the woman he's engaged to will have health care (after they learn she's pregnant). That doesn't happen. He's not doing rebuilding because there's really no rebuilding going on in Iraq. He's also seeing first hand the realities of the US war on Iraq.
While he's serving, his grandfather dies and he's not even given time for that funeral. When he finally gets time off, he decides to self-check out while he's on a pass. He goes to Canada and decides to start his life there (April 2005). He's happy there and starts making a life for himself. He gets a job helping disabled children that's both rewarding and well paying. Then, he and others start thinking of returning to the United States to make a statement and to end the whole thing so that charges aren't hanging over them. Darrell Anderson was the first and the military reached an agreement with him and stuck by it. With Kyle?
They made an agreement. Everything was fine while his lawyer was present (October 31st) but the second his lawyer was gone, suddenly the agreement was falling apart. They weren't even going to process him, they needed him to return to his unit and return to Iraq. They lied to him, they screwed him over. In fact, they screwed him over from day one, when the recruiter started in with lies.
So Kyle Snyder self-checked out again (October 31st) when they dropped him off at the bus depot. He then went around the country speaking out, he went down to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding. As he began making appearances on the West Coast, suddenly the police were looking for him. (I told C.I. I was writing about this and C.I. said to note that Kentucky is the state that the 'tip/snitch' is said to have come from.) Kyle was too smart for them and still managed to speak (sometimes by calling in) and then made it back to Canada in time for the new year.
In Canada, US service members can apply for asylum which Canada granted US war resisters during Vietnam. The government of today (they've had two different prime ministers "today") has been unwelcoming. No one has been granted asylum and all have their cases on appeal. However, US police cannot enter (nor can the US military) Canada and grab the war resisters.
So the US military got another idea. They'd call the police and ask them to grab Kyle for them. So the British Columbia cops come to Kyle's door and haul him off one morning (he's not even allowed to get dressed) and they screw with him just to prove that Bully knows no single nationality. Kyle was set to be married last weekend, instead he was arrested.
That's Kyle's story thus far. I could go futher but I am limited for time and, also, I called C.I. to check a few details and C.I. was filling me in when I said, "Stop! This sounds like an editorial for The Third Estate Sunday Review!" I think we're all longing for a short weekend and I know we've all tried to come up with ideas before the weekend began so we can (hopefully) have a very smooth, very quick writing edition. But what I would like you to do is to think about Kyle and how he's been screwed over. Think about that and realize there are probably others as well but the Democratic majority in Congress acts as though they have no power.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, March 2, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; the non-issue of rape (to follow the US coverage) turns out to be not such a non-issue (surprising only to big media); Walter Reed continues to be a problem for the Bully Bully (similar to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the incompetence of management); Amnesty International issues a statement about a US war resister; and the targeting of minorities in Iraq continues to be a minor story in the mainstream media (domestic).
Starting with war resisters, Agustin Aguayo faces a court martial in Germany Tuesday, March 6th. Amenesty International has released a statement:
Amnesty International is closely monitoring the case of Agustin Aguayo, a US army medic who is scheduled to face a US court-martial on 6 and 7 March in Wurzburg, Germany, for his refusal to deploy to Iraq.
In February 2004, Agustin Aguayo applied for conscientious objector status. He says that he began developing doubts about war shortly after enlisting in the army and that he now feels that he cannot participate in any war based on his moral objections to hurting, killing or injuring another person. Whilst his application was being considered, Agustin Aguayo was order to deploy to Iraq where he received formal notification in July 2004 that his application had been turned down. The army's Conscientious Objector Review Board had found that he did not present clear and convincing evidence of his beliefs.
Agustin Aguayo served a year in Iraq where he says he refused to carry a loaded gun. He says that "I witnessed how soldiers dehumanize the Iraqi people with words and actions. I saw countless lives which were shortened due to the war. I still struggle with the senselessness of it all . . ."
When Agustin Aguayo's unit was ordered to redeploy to Iraq in September 2006, he did not report to duty and went absent without leave (AWOL). He has been charged with desertion and missing movement and is currently held in pre-trial detention at a US military base in Mannheim, Germany. If convicted on both these charges he could be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison.
Lawyers for Agustin Aguayo filed a write of habeas corpus in US federal court in August 2005, asking for his honourable discharge from the army as a conscientious objector. This request was denied and a subsequent appeal turned down. The judge wrote that "Though Aguayo stated that his Army training caused him anguish and guilt, we find little indication that his beliefs were accompanied by study or contemplation, whether before or after he joined the Army."
Amnesty International is sending a delegate to observe the court-martial proceedings in Germany next week to learn further details about the case and assess whether Agustin Aguayo would be a prisoner of conscience if convicted and imprisoned.
Speaking with Gillian Russom (Socialist Worker), Helga Aguayo, Agustin's wife, stated the following on war resisters: "They're important because they're taking a stand that all the Americans who are against the war can't really take. They're making it difficult for the Army to continue their mission. My husband's a paramedic, and medics are needed desperately in Iraq. I think that these soldiers who stand up and say, "I won't do it," are frustrating the plans of these particular units. It's important for the antiwar movement to adopt these soldiers and say that this guy has taken a remarkable step. We need to support him because he's doing what we would do if we were in his position."
Meanwhile, US war resister Kyle Snyder was arrested last Friday at the request of the US military who have no jurisidiction in Canada. Snyder served in Iraq, then self-checked out of the US military and went to Canada. In October of 2006, he returned to the United States to and on October 31st, he turned himself in at Fort Knox only to self-check out again the same day (no, AP, he did not turn himself in during the month of November -- AP seems to have confused Snyder with Ivan Brobeck who turned himself in November 7, 2006 -- election day). Snyder was arrested the day before his planned wedding ceremony (the wedding has been rescheduled for this month). The British Columbia police, at the US military's request, at the residence he shares with Maleah Friesen (the woman he'll be marrying this month) and US war resister Ryan Johnson and Johnson's wife Jenna. As Sara Newman (Canada's Globe & Mail) reported, the police showed up at the door, asked for Kyle and when he came to the door in his boxer shorts and robe, they grabbed him and refused to let him either change into some clothes or bring any along with him. Snyder told Vancouver News: "I couldn't believe it could happen that way. The only thought that was going through my head was I thought Canada was a completely separate country, thought it was a sovereign nation. I didn't know they took orders from the United States." ForLawyers Against the War's statement click here. Snyder tells Newman: "Basically the next step is to keep doing what I'm doing, go on with my life. I'm planning on getting married to a very wonderful woman, and I am planning on trying to find the best way to move on with my life." Before he decided to return to the US, Kyle enjoyed working with disabled children.
Another US war resister in Canada is Joshua Key (as his wife Brandi and their children) and he's put his story down on paper in The Deserter's Tale. Reviewing the book, Martin Rubin (Los Angeles Times) quotes Key: "I never thought I would lose my country, and I never dreamed that it would lose me. I was raised as a patriotic American, taught to respect my government and to believe in my president. Just a decade ago, I was playing high school football, living in a trailer with my mom and step dad, working at Kentucky Fried Chicken, and hoping to raise a family one day in the only town I knew. . . . Back then, I would have laughed out loud if somebody had predicted that I would become a wanted criminal, live as a fugitive in my own country, and turn my wife and children into refugees as I fled with them across the border." Rubin observes, "One of the book's great pleasures is in seeing the author's personal development, the journey he has taken, turning away from violence and destruction to become more humane. 'One's first obligation, Key says, 'is to the moral truth buried deep inside our own souls.' He understands a soldier's obligations under the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg doctrine not to participate in atrocities. He has pad a stiff price for his desertion: exiled in Canada (where he may not be able to remain) and shunned by much of his family. Near the end of his tale, Key insists that he is 'neither a coward or a traitor.' He is believable, as he has been from the outset, and through his words and the actions he describes, he conveys hard-earned honesty and integrity. In this testament of his experience in military service in Iraq he is making a substantial contribution to history."
Aguayo, Snyder and Key are part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Ehren Watada, Mark Wilkerson, Camilo Mejia, Patrick Hart, Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Corey Glass, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Turning to Iraq, Brian Murphy (AP) notes that Iraq's health ministry says 1,646 Iraqi civilians died in Iraq in the month of February while the AP count is 1,698 and the UN "and other groups often place the civilian death count far higher." (For good reason including the mainstream rarely notes deaths of Iraqis who do not fall into one of three groups: Shia, Sunni or Kurd.) On this week's CounterSpin, Peter Hart addressed last week's hula-hoop -- bad Americans don't care about the deaths of Iraqis as witnessed by a poll that found most estimated 9,000 Iraqis had died in the illegal war. Hart noted that people get information from their media so the finger pointing might need to point at the media. Equally true is the fact that attempts to count the number of Iraqis who have died are met with the right-wing screaming "Foul!", muddying the waters and the mainstream media playing dumb as though there's no way to sort out the truth. (Most recently, this was seen when The Lancet's study found that over 655,000 Iraqis had died. Instead of noting that the sampling method used was a standard method used by the US to estimate deaths, the media played dumb.) Without any sort of standard number used in the press (and note, AP runs their monthly toll but rarely notes a running total), it bears noting that the US military keeps a running tally.
Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) broke that story last summer. The US military refuses to release that number to the American people. Presumably, they utilize the numbers when evaluating how their 'mission' is performing. Since a democracy is built upon the foundation of the will of the people and since Congress is currently debating whether to do anything, the American people would benefit from knowing that number (an undercount to be sure and the US military only admits to keep a count since June of 2005).
The American people would also benefit from reality in the reporting. While rape has been a topic in foreign press and on the ground in Iraq, the US press (mainstream) has dropped the issue -- or thought they had. It pops back up today. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that a claim by a group in Iraq that they had "kidnapped 18 interior Ministry employees in Dyiyala province in response to claims that Shiite-led security forces had raped a Sunni Arab woman" was followed by police discovering the corpses of 14 police officers in Baqubah. AFP quotes Uday al-Khadran ("mayor of Khalis, the slain officers' hometown in Diyala province") stating: "They were found in the streets of Baquba. Their throats had been cut and their hands were bound." Al Jazeera quotes their reporter Hoda Abdel Hamid: "Sabrin al-Janabi did come and say that she was raped by three Iraqi security forces. The government at first reacted by saying that it will conduct an investigation. . . . Hours later, the government came back and said the three men were cleared of that accusation, that Sabrin al-Janabi had come out with false accusations, and that the three men would each be given a medal of honour. That has caused a big uproar among the Sunni groups." AFP observes: "The alleged rape of Janabi -- who appeared in a video broadcast on Arab news networks to complain of being raped by interior ministry officers -- has triggered a bitter row at the highest levels of the Iraqi state."
If that sounds at all familiar, you probably heard Dahr Jamail and Nora Barrows-Friedman discussing that on KPFA's Flashpoints Tuesday. Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) report today on Wassan Talib, Zaineb Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad -- "[t]hree young women accused of joining the Iraqi insurgency movement . . . [who] have been sentence to death, provoking protest from rights organisations fearing that this could be the start of more executions of women in post-Saddam Hussein's Iraq." The fairness of the trials are in question as is the women's guilt.
Fairness is nowhere to be found in the puppet government. Minority Rights Group International's (PDF format) report "Assimilation, Exodus, Eradication: Iraq's minority communities since 2003" drives that home. While the mainstream continues to speak in terms of Shia and Sunni with the occasional Kurd tossed in, minority groups in Iraq are regularly targeted for violence, death, and theft. As the report notes: "The Armenian Church of Iraq said it was working with government officials to obtain the return of property that the former regime had forced it to sale. Although the church was paid fair market values for six properties in Mosul, Basra, Kirkuk, Baghdad and Dohuk, it was coerced. Church officials said discussions with the transitional government yielded no results in 2005." Let's hope they don't take a check for payment or they may find themselves in the same situation as the Mandaens in Baghdad whose property was taken by the post-invasion installed government and was given a check for 160 million dinar ($100,000 in US dollars) but, when they attempted to deposit the check, they "were told that the signature was not legitmate, and payment was refused." Let's also hope the Armenian Church also has some form of documents -- also not easy in the post-invasion. From the report: "According to Zaynab Murad of the Cultural Association of Faili Kurds, during the Anfal campaign Faili merchants and traders were summoned to an emergency meeting and told to bring all their documents. When they complied, they were arrested. Their documents were confiscated and they were sent to the Iraq/Iran border without their families. To reclaim property today, those documents must be presented. 'The question is -- who owns [sic] the documents that prove that they are true owners of the property?' he said."
Brian Murphy (AP) notes that "4 million Iraqis are displaced within the country or are refugees abroad, mostly Sunnis who fled to neighboring Syria or Jordan, international agencies estimate." Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that, in Baghdad, "Maliki has taken a tough line, labeling as terrorists everyone living in homes that were taken by force and informing parliament they would be arrested." That, of course, doesn't apply to the minority groups whom al-Maliki has been more than fine with seeing stripped of property.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Philippe Douste-Blazy (France's Foreign Minister) is sounding the alarm that Iraq could be partitioned at any point as the chaose continues and that he stated: "We think that the only solution, we have already said so, is to have a withdrawal by 2008 of the international forces which are in Iraq today and at the same time the restoration of the rule of law."
As Iraq crumbles further, the US Congress dithers and dallies. AP reports: "House Democratic leaders have coalesced around legislation that would require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if that country's leaders failed to meet promises to help reduce violence there, party officials siad Thursday. The plan would retain a Democratic proposal prohibiting the deployment to Iraq of troops with insufficient rest or training or who already have served there for more than a year. Under the plan, such troops could only be sent to Iraq if President Bush waives those standards and reports to Congress each time. . . . The Senate, meanwhile could begin floor debate on Iraq as early as next week." Ned Parker (Times of London) notes that prior to "the US November midterm elections four out of five voters siad that if the Democrats won Congress US troop levels in Iraq would fall." Those four out of five aren't idiots, that's how it was sold by a number of outlets. It's just not what's happening currently.
Yesterday Military Families Speak Out's Nancy Lessing spoke with Dennis Bernstein on KPFA's Flashpoints and noted: "There is no military solution, there is no good outcome from the US military occupation continuing, it's only going to make more deaths. So we're at that moment where we're at that moment again where, I think, the majority of people at all levels of this country understand that there is no military solution and yet we have Congress not doing what it needs to do -- which is to cut the funds for continuing the war and bring the troops home. So we as military families and together with Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War will continue to be building the movement. And I've said it before on this program and I'll say it again, we do understand that it's never been a politician that's ended a war it's always been a social movement and so our goal is to build our movement as strong as it needs to be to get Congress to do what it needs to do."
They have released an open letter to Congress (PDF format) here:
We are asking that, as leaders in Congress, you exercise leadership. Your voice is needed now more than ever. Tell the American people the truth about President Bush's funding request. President Bush is not asking for more funds for the troops. He is asking for more funds to continue a war that should never have happened, a war that is killing so many U.S. service members and leaving even more physically and psychologically damaged on a daily basis. This is a war that has killed untold numbers of Iraqis, is draining our national treasure and cultivating a growing hatred against our nation. Hope, a rare commodity for us these days, is even harder to find within the current morass of non-binding resolutions and rhetorical statements in Congress about preventing "surges" and changing strategies. Hope is hard to find when we see so many in Congress adopting the morally indefensible stand of opposing escalation of this war, while poised to support its continuation.It is not too late for you to do the right thing. We ask you to exercise your leadership, stand up and call for the de-funding of the Iraq War. Stand strong when you explain that de-funding the war is not de-funding or abandoning our troops. Let the American people know what we as military families and Veterans know -- that de-funding the war will not leave our trooops without equipment or supplies. Stand strong when you explain that there are sufficient funds available to bring our troop shome quickly and safely, and that if more funds are ever needed, Congress has the ability to re-program monies from the Department of Defense budget to use for this purpose. Stand strong and fight to bring our troops home.Stop telling us that you don't have the votes and work to secure them. That is what leaders do.Right now, it seems that you cannot see the political upside of doing what we and the majority of people in this country are calling on you to do. It is important that you understand the political downside of allowing this war to continue. If you provide further funding for the war in Iraq, it will no longer be President Bush's war. You will be co-owners. You will share responsibility for the continued chaos and loss of life in Iraq. You will have lost the opportunity to provide leadership when it is sorely needed. You will have given license to more years of a failed policy and countless deaths.
John Walsh (CounterPunch) places blame both on elected Democrats and on "the 'mainstream' peace movement" which he argues should be demanding actions such as filibusters but instead plays 'nice': "Whenever a UFPJ group goes to 'lobby' the Congressmen or Senators, the unwritten rule (violated by the present writer on many occasions) is to 'make nice'. Do not risk weakening the 'relationships' with legislators and staff is the mantra. It is all carrot and no stick. And what are the results? No filibuster. Continued war. And from first hand experience, when one threatens the legislator with supporting another candidate in the coming election, a pained look comes over the UFPJ 'facilitator,' and one can rely on being tut-tutted into silence."
In Iraq today . . .
Bombings?
CNN notes 10 dead and 17 wounded from a car bombing "at a popular used-car lot in Baghdad's Sadr City" and a car bomb "near an Iraqi National Police patrol in the Saydiya neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad" that killed one police officer and left two more wounded. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that it was three police officers wounded in that bombing (with one dead). Robert H. Reid (AP) reports a roadside bomb "southeast of Baghdad" killed one Iraqi soldier. Reuters notes a mortar attack in Iskandariya that either killed 4 and left 20 wounded (US military) or killed eight people (Iraqi police) that is provided "the reports were referring to the same incident."
Shootings?
BBC reports: "Two players from the Ramadi football club are shot dead by gunmen as they take part in a training session". Reuters notes that the two men were Mohammed Hamid (27-years-old) and Mahommed Mishaan (23-years-old).
Corpses?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad
Reuters reports 6 corpses were discovered in Balad.
On CounterSpin today, Peter Hart interviewed Mark Benjamin about the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal. Why now is it getting attention? (As opposed to 2004 when Diane Sawyer reported on the medical scandals in April 2004 -- not mentioned on the program.) Benjamin felt there was more interest/acceptance in something other than happy talk on both the part of the public and the press. Another reason it's getting more attention now is because Dana Priest and Anne Hull didn't file a one day story that they picked up on weeks later. It was a series of articles and Bob Woodruff's return to ABC News (Tuesday) with a hard hitting look at what he (he was injured while reporting in Iraq) went through and what service members go through helped focus attention. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, Major General George Wieghtman was fired as the head of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday. Today, Steve Holland (Reuters) reports Bully Boy is "[s]crambling to answer an outcry over shoddy health care for U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq" and has made the announcement that "a bipartisan commission" will be created "to review health care for military veterans." And Holland and Kristin Roberts (Reuters) report that "U.S. Army Secretary Francis Harvey has resigned after reports that troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were being poorly treated at the Army's top hospital". CBS and AP note that Harvey has been in charge "since November 2004."
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I am really bothered by what's happened with Kyle Snyder. C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" Thursday and today as well. Kyle Snyder, to give you the back story, was recruited heavily while he was in high school. At the time, he was in foster care and it must have really seemed like someone cared with a recruiter even showing up for his graduation. So here is this young man being hard sold on the military by someone who's allowed to lie for a living (one of the few jobs that you don't get punished for doing that -- even a president can be impeached) and he believes it. He thinks he's going to Iraq to do reconstruction and that the benefits will allow him to go to college and the woman he's engaged to will have health care (after they learn she's pregnant). That doesn't happen. He's not doing rebuilding because there's really no rebuilding going on in Iraq. He's also seeing first hand the realities of the US war on Iraq.
While he's serving, his grandfather dies and he's not even given time for that funeral. When he finally gets time off, he decides to self-check out while he's on a pass. He goes to Canada and decides to start his life there (April 2005). He's happy there and starts making a life for himself. He gets a job helping disabled children that's both rewarding and well paying. Then, he and others start thinking of returning to the United States to make a statement and to end the whole thing so that charges aren't hanging over them. Darrell Anderson was the first and the military reached an agreement with him and stuck by it. With Kyle?
They made an agreement. Everything was fine while his lawyer was present (October 31st) but the second his lawyer was gone, suddenly the agreement was falling apart. They weren't even going to process him, they needed him to return to his unit and return to Iraq. They lied to him, they screwed him over. In fact, they screwed him over from day one, when the recruiter started in with lies.
So Kyle Snyder self-checked out again (October 31st) when they dropped him off at the bus depot. He then went around the country speaking out, he went down to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding. As he began making appearances on the West Coast, suddenly the police were looking for him. (I told C.I. I was writing about this and C.I. said to note that Kentucky is the state that the 'tip/snitch' is said to have come from.) Kyle was too smart for them and still managed to speak (sometimes by calling in) and then made it back to Canada in time for the new year.
In Canada, US service members can apply for asylum which Canada granted US war resisters during Vietnam. The government of today (they've had two different prime ministers "today") has been unwelcoming. No one has been granted asylum and all have their cases on appeal. However, US police cannot enter (nor can the US military) Canada and grab the war resisters.
So the US military got another idea. They'd call the police and ask them to grab Kyle for them. So the British Columbia cops come to Kyle's door and haul him off one morning (he's not even allowed to get dressed) and they screw with him just to prove that Bully knows no single nationality. Kyle was set to be married last weekend, instead he was arrested.
That's Kyle's story thus far. I could go futher but I am limited for time and, also, I called C.I. to check a few details and C.I. was filling me in when I said, "Stop! This sounds like an editorial for The Third Estate Sunday Review!" I think we're all longing for a short weekend and I know we've all tried to come up with ideas before the weekend began so we can (hopefully) have a very smooth, very quick writing edition. But what I would like you to do is to think about Kyle and how he's been screwed over. Think about that and realize there are probably others as well but the Democratic majority in Congress acts as though they have no power.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, March 2, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; the non-issue of rape (to follow the US coverage) turns out to be not such a non-issue (surprising only to big media); Walter Reed continues to be a problem for the Bully Bully (similar to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the incompetence of management); Amnesty International issues a statement about a US war resister; and the targeting of minorities in Iraq continues to be a minor story in the mainstream media (domestic).
Starting with war resisters, Agustin Aguayo faces a court martial in Germany Tuesday, March 6th. Amenesty International has released a statement:
Amnesty International is closely monitoring the case of Agustin Aguayo, a US army medic who is scheduled to face a US court-martial on 6 and 7 March in Wurzburg, Germany, for his refusal to deploy to Iraq.
In February 2004, Agustin Aguayo applied for conscientious objector status. He says that he began developing doubts about war shortly after enlisting in the army and that he now feels that he cannot participate in any war based on his moral objections to hurting, killing or injuring another person. Whilst his application was being considered, Agustin Aguayo was order to deploy to Iraq where he received formal notification in July 2004 that his application had been turned down. The army's Conscientious Objector Review Board had found that he did not present clear and convincing evidence of his beliefs.
Agustin Aguayo served a year in Iraq where he says he refused to carry a loaded gun. He says that "I witnessed how soldiers dehumanize the Iraqi people with words and actions. I saw countless lives which were shortened due to the war. I still struggle with the senselessness of it all . . ."
When Agustin Aguayo's unit was ordered to redeploy to Iraq in September 2006, he did not report to duty and went absent without leave (AWOL). He has been charged with desertion and missing movement and is currently held in pre-trial detention at a US military base in Mannheim, Germany. If convicted on both these charges he could be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison.
Lawyers for Agustin Aguayo filed a write of habeas corpus in US federal court in August 2005, asking for his honourable discharge from the army as a conscientious objector. This request was denied and a subsequent appeal turned down. The judge wrote that "Though Aguayo stated that his Army training caused him anguish and guilt, we find little indication that his beliefs were accompanied by study or contemplation, whether before or after he joined the Army."
Amnesty International is sending a delegate to observe the court-martial proceedings in Germany next week to learn further details about the case and assess whether Agustin Aguayo would be a prisoner of conscience if convicted and imprisoned.
Speaking with Gillian Russom (Socialist Worker), Helga Aguayo, Agustin's wife, stated the following on war resisters: "They're important because they're taking a stand that all the Americans who are against the war can't really take. They're making it difficult for the Army to continue their mission. My husband's a paramedic, and medics are needed desperately in Iraq. I think that these soldiers who stand up and say, "I won't do it," are frustrating the plans of these particular units. It's important for the antiwar movement to adopt these soldiers and say that this guy has taken a remarkable step. We need to support him because he's doing what we would do if we were in his position."
Meanwhile, US war resister Kyle Snyder was arrested last Friday at the request of the US military who have no jurisidiction in Canada. Snyder served in Iraq, then self-checked out of the US military and went to Canada. In October of 2006, he returned to the United States to and on October 31st, he turned himself in at Fort Knox only to self-check out again the same day (no, AP, he did not turn himself in during the month of November -- AP seems to have confused Snyder with Ivan Brobeck who turned himself in November 7, 2006 -- election day). Snyder was arrested the day before his planned wedding ceremony (the wedding has been rescheduled for this month). The British Columbia police, at the US military's request, at the residence he shares with Maleah Friesen (the woman he'll be marrying this month) and US war resister Ryan Johnson and Johnson's wife Jenna. As Sara Newman (Canada's Globe & Mail) reported, the police showed up at the door, asked for Kyle and when he came to the door in his boxer shorts and robe, they grabbed him and refused to let him either change into some clothes or bring any along with him. Snyder told Vancouver News: "I couldn't believe it could happen that way. The only thought that was going through my head was I thought Canada was a completely separate country, thought it was a sovereign nation. I didn't know they took orders from the United States." ForLawyers Against the War's statement click here. Snyder tells Newman: "Basically the next step is to keep doing what I'm doing, go on with my life. I'm planning on getting married to a very wonderful woman, and I am planning on trying to find the best way to move on with my life." Before he decided to return to the US, Kyle enjoyed working with disabled children.
Another US war resister in Canada is Joshua Key (as his wife Brandi and their children) and he's put his story down on paper in The Deserter's Tale. Reviewing the book, Martin Rubin (Los Angeles Times) quotes Key: "I never thought I would lose my country, and I never dreamed that it would lose me. I was raised as a patriotic American, taught to respect my government and to believe in my president. Just a decade ago, I was playing high school football, living in a trailer with my mom and step dad, working at Kentucky Fried Chicken, and hoping to raise a family one day in the only town I knew. . . . Back then, I would have laughed out loud if somebody had predicted that I would become a wanted criminal, live as a fugitive in my own country, and turn my wife and children into refugees as I fled with them across the border." Rubin observes, "One of the book's great pleasures is in seeing the author's personal development, the journey he has taken, turning away from violence and destruction to become more humane. 'One's first obligation, Key says, 'is to the moral truth buried deep inside our own souls.' He understands a soldier's obligations under the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg doctrine not to participate in atrocities. He has pad a stiff price for his desertion: exiled in Canada (where he may not be able to remain) and shunned by much of his family. Near the end of his tale, Key insists that he is 'neither a coward or a traitor.' He is believable, as he has been from the outset, and through his words and the actions he describes, he conveys hard-earned honesty and integrity. In this testament of his experience in military service in Iraq he is making a substantial contribution to history."
Aguayo, Snyder and Key are part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Ehren Watada, Mark Wilkerson, Camilo Mejia, Patrick Hart, Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Corey Glass, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Turning to Iraq, Brian Murphy (AP) notes that Iraq's health ministry says 1,646 Iraqi civilians died in Iraq in the month of February while the AP count is 1,698 and the UN "and other groups often place the civilian death count far higher." (For good reason including the mainstream rarely notes deaths of Iraqis who do not fall into one of three groups: Shia, Sunni or Kurd.) On this week's CounterSpin, Peter Hart addressed last week's hula-hoop -- bad Americans don't care about the deaths of Iraqis as witnessed by a poll that found most estimated 9,000 Iraqis had died in the illegal war. Hart noted that people get information from their media so the finger pointing might need to point at the media. Equally true is the fact that attempts to count the number of Iraqis who have died are met with the right-wing screaming "Foul!", muddying the waters and the mainstream media playing dumb as though there's no way to sort out the truth. (Most recently, this was seen when The Lancet's study found that over 655,000 Iraqis had died. Instead of noting that the sampling method used was a standard method used by the US to estimate deaths, the media played dumb.) Without any sort of standard number used in the press (and note, AP runs their monthly toll but rarely notes a running total), it bears noting that the US military keeps a running tally.
Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) broke that story last summer. The US military refuses to release that number to the American people. Presumably, they utilize the numbers when evaluating how their 'mission' is performing. Since a democracy is built upon the foundation of the will of the people and since Congress is currently debating whether to do anything, the American people would benefit from knowing that number (an undercount to be sure and the US military only admits to keep a count since June of 2005).
The American people would also benefit from reality in the reporting. While rape has been a topic in foreign press and on the ground in Iraq, the US press (mainstream) has dropped the issue -- or thought they had. It pops back up today. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that a claim by a group in Iraq that they had "kidnapped 18 interior Ministry employees in Dyiyala province in response to claims that Shiite-led security forces had raped a Sunni Arab woman" was followed by police discovering the corpses of 14 police officers in Baqubah. AFP quotes Uday al-Khadran ("mayor of Khalis, the slain officers' hometown in Diyala province") stating: "They were found in the streets of Baquba. Their throats had been cut and their hands were bound." Al Jazeera quotes their reporter Hoda Abdel Hamid: "Sabrin al-Janabi did come and say that she was raped by three Iraqi security forces. The government at first reacted by saying that it will conduct an investigation. . . . Hours later, the government came back and said the three men were cleared of that accusation, that Sabrin al-Janabi had come out with false accusations, and that the three men would each be given a medal of honour. That has caused a big uproar among the Sunni groups." AFP observes: "The alleged rape of Janabi -- who appeared in a video broadcast on Arab news networks to complain of being raped by interior ministry officers -- has triggered a bitter row at the highest levels of the Iraqi state."
If that sounds at all familiar, you probably heard Dahr Jamail and Nora Barrows-Friedman discussing that on KPFA's Flashpoints Tuesday. Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) report today on Wassan Talib, Zaineb Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad -- "[t]hree young women accused of joining the Iraqi insurgency movement . . . [who] have been sentence to death, provoking protest from rights organisations fearing that this could be the start of more executions of women in post-Saddam Hussein's Iraq." The fairness of the trials are in question as is the women's guilt.
Fairness is nowhere to be found in the puppet government. Minority Rights Group International's (PDF format) report "Assimilation, Exodus, Eradication: Iraq's minority communities since 2003" drives that home. While the mainstream continues to speak in terms of Shia and Sunni with the occasional Kurd tossed in, minority groups in Iraq are regularly targeted for violence, death, and theft. As the report notes: "The Armenian Church of Iraq said it was working with government officials to obtain the return of property that the former regime had forced it to sale. Although the church was paid fair market values for six properties in Mosul, Basra, Kirkuk, Baghdad and Dohuk, it was coerced. Church officials said discussions with the transitional government yielded no results in 2005." Let's hope they don't take a check for payment or they may find themselves in the same situation as the Mandaens in Baghdad whose property was taken by the post-invasion installed government and was given a check for 160 million dinar ($100,000 in US dollars) but, when they attempted to deposit the check, they "were told that the signature was not legitmate, and payment was refused." Let's also hope the Armenian Church also has some form of documents -- also not easy in the post-invasion. From the report: "According to Zaynab Murad of the Cultural Association of Faili Kurds, during the Anfal campaign Faili merchants and traders were summoned to an emergency meeting and told to bring all their documents. When they complied, they were arrested. Their documents were confiscated and they were sent to the Iraq/Iran border without their families. To reclaim property today, those documents must be presented. 'The question is -- who owns [sic] the documents that prove that they are true owners of the property?' he said."
Brian Murphy (AP) notes that "4 million Iraqis are displaced within the country or are refugees abroad, mostly Sunnis who fled to neighboring Syria or Jordan, international agencies estimate." Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that, in Baghdad, "Maliki has taken a tough line, labeling as terrorists everyone living in homes that were taken by force and informing parliament they would be arrested." That, of course, doesn't apply to the minority groups whom al-Maliki has been more than fine with seeing stripped of property.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Philippe Douste-Blazy (France's Foreign Minister) is sounding the alarm that Iraq could be partitioned at any point as the chaose continues and that he stated: "We think that the only solution, we have already said so, is to have a withdrawal by 2008 of the international forces which are in Iraq today and at the same time the restoration of the rule of law."
As Iraq crumbles further, the US Congress dithers and dallies. AP reports: "House Democratic leaders have coalesced around legislation that would require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if that country's leaders failed to meet promises to help reduce violence there, party officials siad Thursday. The plan would retain a Democratic proposal prohibiting the deployment to Iraq of troops with insufficient rest or training or who already have served there for more than a year. Under the plan, such troops could only be sent to Iraq if President Bush waives those standards and reports to Congress each time. . . . The Senate, meanwhile could begin floor debate on Iraq as early as next week." Ned Parker (Times of London) notes that prior to "the US November midterm elections four out of five voters siad that if the Democrats won Congress US troop levels in Iraq would fall." Those four out of five aren't idiots, that's how it was sold by a number of outlets. It's just not what's happening currently.
Yesterday Military Families Speak Out's Nancy Lessing spoke with Dennis Bernstein on KPFA's Flashpoints and noted: "There is no military solution, there is no good outcome from the US military occupation continuing, it's only going to make more deaths. So we're at that moment where we're at that moment again where, I think, the majority of people at all levels of this country understand that there is no military solution and yet we have Congress not doing what it needs to do -- which is to cut the funds for continuing the war and bring the troops home. So we as military families and together with Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War will continue to be building the movement. And I've said it before on this program and I'll say it again, we do understand that it's never been a politician that's ended a war it's always been a social movement and so our goal is to build our movement as strong as it needs to be to get Congress to do what it needs to do."
They have released an open letter to Congress (PDF format) here:
We are asking that, as leaders in Congress, you exercise leadership. Your voice is needed now more than ever. Tell the American people the truth about President Bush's funding request. President Bush is not asking for more funds for the troops. He is asking for more funds to continue a war that should never have happened, a war that is killing so many U.S. service members and leaving even more physically and psychologically damaged on a daily basis. This is a war that has killed untold numbers of Iraqis, is draining our national treasure and cultivating a growing hatred against our nation. Hope, a rare commodity for us these days, is even harder to find within the current morass of non-binding resolutions and rhetorical statements in Congress about preventing "surges" and changing strategies. Hope is hard to find when we see so many in Congress adopting the morally indefensible stand of opposing escalation of this war, while poised to support its continuation.It is not too late for you to do the right thing. We ask you to exercise your leadership, stand up and call for the de-funding of the Iraq War. Stand strong when you explain that de-funding the war is not de-funding or abandoning our troops. Let the American people know what we as military families and Veterans know -- that de-funding the war will not leave our trooops without equipment or supplies. Stand strong when you explain that there are sufficient funds available to bring our troop shome quickly and safely, and that if more funds are ever needed, Congress has the ability to re-program monies from the Department of Defense budget to use for this purpose. Stand strong and fight to bring our troops home.Stop telling us that you don't have the votes and work to secure them. That is what leaders do.Right now, it seems that you cannot see the political upside of doing what we and the majority of people in this country are calling on you to do. It is important that you understand the political downside of allowing this war to continue. If you provide further funding for the war in Iraq, it will no longer be President Bush's war. You will be co-owners. You will share responsibility for the continued chaos and loss of life in Iraq. You will have lost the opportunity to provide leadership when it is sorely needed. You will have given license to more years of a failed policy and countless deaths.
John Walsh (CounterPunch) places blame both on elected Democrats and on "the 'mainstream' peace movement" which he argues should be demanding actions such as filibusters but instead plays 'nice': "Whenever a UFPJ group goes to 'lobby' the Congressmen or Senators, the unwritten rule (violated by the present writer on many occasions) is to 'make nice'. Do not risk weakening the 'relationships' with legislators and staff is the mantra. It is all carrot and no stick. And what are the results? No filibuster. Continued war. And from first hand experience, when one threatens the legislator with supporting another candidate in the coming election, a pained look comes over the UFPJ 'facilitator,' and one can rely on being tut-tutted into silence."
In Iraq today . . .
Bombings?
CNN notes 10 dead and 17 wounded from a car bombing "at a popular used-car lot in Baghdad's Sadr City" and a car bomb "near an Iraqi National Police patrol in the Saydiya neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad" that killed one police officer and left two more wounded. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that it was three police officers wounded in that bombing (with one dead). Robert H. Reid (AP) reports a roadside bomb "southeast of Baghdad" killed one Iraqi soldier. Reuters notes a mortar attack in Iskandariya that either killed 4 and left 20 wounded (US military) or killed eight people (Iraqi police) that is provided "the reports were referring to the same incident."
Shootings?
BBC reports: "Two players from the Ramadi football club are shot dead by gunmen as they take part in a training session". Reuters notes that the two men were Mohammed Hamid (27-years-old) and Mahommed Mishaan (23-years-old).
Corpses?
Mohammed al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad
Reuters reports 6 corpses were discovered in Balad.
On CounterSpin today, Peter Hart interviewed Mark Benjamin about the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal. Why now is it getting attention? (As opposed to 2004 when Diane Sawyer reported on the medical scandals in April 2004 -- not mentioned on the program.) Benjamin felt there was more interest/acceptance in something other than happy talk on both the part of the public and the press. Another reason it's getting more attention now is because Dana Priest and Anne Hull didn't file a one day story that they picked up on weeks later. It was a series of articles and Bob Woodruff's return to ABC News (Tuesday) with a hard hitting look at what he (he was injured while reporting in Iraq) went through and what service members go through helped focus attention. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, Major General George Wieghtman was fired as the head of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday. Today, Steve Holland (Reuters) reports Bully Boy is "[s]crambling to answer an outcry over shoddy health care for U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq" and has made the announcement that "a bipartisan commission" will be created "to review health care for military veterans." And Holland and Kristin Roberts (Reuters) report that "U.S. Army Secretary Francis Harvey has resigned after reports that troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were being poorly treated at the Army's top hospital". CBS and AP note that Harvey has been in charge "since November 2004."
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Susan Van Haitsma, BuzzFlash
"Ruth's Report" is something I had intended to discuss yesterday and completely forgot. It went up Saturday and it's Ruth's usual blend of humor, common sense, and keen eye. She's using an article by Steve Rendall in the latest issue of Extra! to address a number of topics including Air America Radio.
Sunny read it and pointed out that this community could write a book on AAR which I agreed with her on but the introduction would be "Ruth's Report." It really is that good.
I thought I'd share some basic thoughts about Air America -- nothing as in depth as what Ruth offers.
*Randi Rhodes knows how to do good radio. That was obvious from the start. I sometimes I agree with her and sometimes don't but I've never felt bored or put out when listening to her.
*Unfiltered worked best when Chuck D, Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow were all on. It worked worst when it was Rachel Maddow solo or Maddow with a guest host. (Such as Bill Press.) At it's worst, it was still miles ahead of The O'Franken Factor.
*The Majority Report started off a good show and got progressively worse as Sam Seder's ego outgrew his limited talents and required that he repeatedly attempt to steal the show from Janeane Garofalo who was the only reason to listen. If Steve Rendall was truly interested in addressing how The Majority Report used talking points, he should have checked out Seder's interview with Simon Rosenberg which was embarrassing when it aired and only more so as the years have passed. Ruth rightly notes that women weren't welcome when Seder soloed and that really is the way it was. It's sad because that was Tracey's favorite show (Ruth's granddaughter) and a favorite of mine as well until Janeane was shoved aside. It's a bit like loving The Dick Van Dyke Show and tuning in to find out that it's now The Mel Cooley Show.
*Mike Malloy was an asset to the network that was never appreciated. His ability to bring in an audience, his ability to engage one and the fact that he was a radio name amounted to nothing. Had Lizz Winstead not already been "disappeared" before Malloy, it would have been shocking to see how they treated him.
*Rachel Maddow gets to attempt one failed show after another because she proved herself a "company gal" by toeing the party line and avoiding the topic of Lizz Winstead. Since Winstead is the one who selected her to co-host Unfiltered, that's pretty crappy. That she felt the need to 'build' her own name by being a lapdog on the Tucker Carlson show is shameful. That she spent month after month telling listeners that the US could not withdrawal from Iraq is embarrassing. That she couldn't take her nose out of the crotch of her "Ask a Vet"s was disgusting. She has no center to her, no base, she just goes with whatever the polling indicates is popular.
*The way Randi Rhodes, Laura Flanders and other women were shoved aside to push Baby Cries a Lot repeatedly was embarrassing. The fact that the network that didn't promote women once at least had them on air in nearly equal numbers is now so much macho demonstrates that the network isn't left. There are hosts who are left. But the network itself is useless.
*Marty Kaplin had a daily, Monday through Friday, one hour show that was a nice transition between Randi and Janeane. Then he was shoved off on the weekends. Then he vanished. Marty was actually funny and entertaining and it may have been the way they treated his show that demonstrated best that the network was more interested in talking points than quality. If you ever heard So What Else Is News?, you probably know just what I'm talking about.
*The supposed genius Maddow had a real problem with dates. Reading from a news story in front of her, she would regularly botch what newspaper it appeared in and what day it was published. She's an NPR host wasting everyone's time.
*Making Air America Place take down their archives was idiotic in terms of building an audience and in terms of understanding the new models for broadcast. It made the supposed "friend" Air America Radio look like just one more corporation.
*Too much time was spent by the left trying to prop up a really bad network that was rarely worth listening to as time went on.
*The network's early decision to push the talking point of "stay the course" and the false Pottery Barn analogy clamped down on the peace movement. Not all shows pushed that, but the majority (including Baby Cries a Lot) did. On other issues, the desire to please/appease the Democratic Party could be found as well. This was most noticeable, day by day, after the 2004 election when, from one day to the next, the same hosts would claim the election was fair, then that it was rigged and we needed to protest, then that it was fair. Baby Cries a Lot did that, Rachel Maddow did that (aided and abetted by the Pap Smear). There was no core to too many of the hosts, they went from one position to the next seemingly based upon what that day's talking point was.
*The failure to present activists or war resisters was an issue that the network was aware of long before Steve Rendall wrote his article. Speaking only of myself, I regularly raised that issue on the Unfiltered blog. The response, not reported by Rendall who appears unaware of it, was the on air meltdown of Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow when there was no defense for their weekly "Ask a Vet" segment that always featured pro-continue the illegal war veterans. They were bothered by the fact that others on the blog were supporting me on that point. Let's also note that they regularly stole talking points from The Common Ills without ever crediting the site -- a problem Sam Seder had as well. As the community's Rachel noted when Seder stole from her post and credited her, "But he didn't credit The Common Ills."
So those are just some of my thoughts. I would also add that near the end of Unfiltered, they had two "Ask a Vet" weekly segments -- the first being a pro-war veteran and the second being a pet doctor. Yes, they could offer up weekly visits with a pet doctor but no weekly voice calling for an end to the war.
Again, "Ruth's Report" is something you should read if you haven't already.
"Mark Wilkerson's Call to America" (Susan Van Haitsma, CounterPunch):
My favorite photograph of Mark Wilkerson shows him smiling, looking relaxed. He is standing in a grove of trees whose trunks radiate outward from his image as though they are drawing life from him. One side of his face glows with reflected sunshine. He wears a black "Iraq Veterans Against the War" T-shirt with a small star over his heart.
I first met Mark on the grounds of the Texas Capitol during a peace demonstration on Gandhi's birthday, October 2, 2004. Mark was stationed at Ft. Hood, and he and his wife had driven down to attend their first anti-war demonstration in Austin. I didn't know then the extent of Mark's experience in Iraq, but he looked stressed, his eyes circled with dark shadows. He exuded nervous energy. He looked at the materials on our Nonmilitary Options for Youth table and described how he had been recruited through the JROTC program in high school with assurances that he would receive training to become a peacekeeper. At the demonstration, Mark met local members of Veterans for Peace, who understood more profoundly than I the internal and external battles he was facing.
Mark had served one tour of duty in Iraq, during which he had begun to question both the morality and the practicality of the invasion and occupation. Assigned to the military police, he participated in house raids and arrests of Iraqi citizens. He witnessed the effects of the occupation on Iraqi civilians and the change in attitude toward US soldiers. He began suffering serious post-traumatic stress and underwent a crisis of conscience about his participation in the army. He filed for a discharge as a conscientious objector in March 2004. When his claim was denied 8 months later, he appealed the decision, but soon learned that his unit was about to be deployed to Iraq for a second tour. Stuck between honoring his conscience and obeying orders to deploy, he went AWOL in January 2005.
Mark was AWOL for about 18 months. During that time, he said the nightmares didn't stop. He also felt at sea, as though he could not move forward with his life. He worked long hours, trying to save for a future that might include prison. Just before he turned himself in at Ft. Hood in August 2006, he held a press conference at Camp Casey in Crawford, TX. Flanked by other GI resisters and supportive members of Military Families Speak Out and Gold Star Families for Peace, Mark confidently and eloquently expressed his reasons for having left the military and his reasons for returning to the base to accept the consequences.
C.I. notes the above in the snapshot and I want to be sure everyone gets a strong introduction to it. I also want to offer a suggestion to anyone thinking about become a war resister -- get your family or your friends to speak out. If they don't, you'll get very little attention. Ehren Watada has gotten attention but he has two parents and a step-mother speaking out. Darrell Anderson had his mother, Anita, and his wife. I've noted Monica Benderman before but she really does deserve credit. She kept Kevin Benderman a topic. It could have been, "Oh, he's in prison now, let's focus on something else." In fact, that's how the news treated it. But she regularly offered something that would keep him alive in the public eye. That's not easy to do because there had to be days where she was organizing or fighting and just thought, "I want to think about something else, anything else." But she kept fighting. One of the reasons we all came out strong on Kyle Snyder was because C.I. pointed that out. He was raised in a foster-family and the military was going to try to screw him over thinking he didn't have a support system. That turned out to be very true, of course, they went back on their agreement with him. But you need people who will speak out for you. What you really need is a fighter like Monica Benderman but even if you don't have someone willing to push themselves that hard (or able to), you do need a support system. Once you turn yourself in, especially, you're going to feel like you've dropped off the face of the earth as everyone rushes to the next story.
One positive development has been Iraq Veterans Against the War which is determined not to let anyone be forgotten. They do strong work and they make a strong show of support.
"Women and Older Troops Dying at Record Rates in Iraq; Twice as Many Children per Casualty Lose a Parent than in Vietnam" (BuzzFlash):
Last week, Marine Captain Jennifer Harris was buried in her hometown of Swampscott, MA. She was killed when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq.
Though the loss of all human life throughout this war - American, Coalition, and Iraqi civilian - is equally tragic, Harris' death is a reminder that our losses have come from across the demographic spectrum.
Harris was the 75th female coalition servicemember to die in Iraq even though women are still technically barred from combat roles; incidentally, another woman died the same day from hostile fire in an unrelated battle. Of the 3419 total coalition casualties, women make up more than 2 percent. Only 8 of the 58,193 American fatalities in Vietnam were female.
While many tend to think of our soldiers as all male, we also often think they are mostly young. Indeed, 28 18-year-olds and 199 19-year-olds died during their deployments. But 23 men and one woman were at least 50 when they were killed, a percentage of total casualties nearly four times higher than in Vietnam.
Another statistic that is often overlooked is the number of children whose lives are changed forever when their parents are killed in Iraq. These kids never volunteered mom or dad to fight; many were not even born when their parents enlisted and, in some cases, deployed.
This is a point we raised at The Third Estate Sunday Review a few weeks back and it's an important point. The service members are not all male nor, as BuzzFlash notes, are they all young. (We didn't cover that point and I congratulate them for making it.) C.I. passed this on and thought I'd be interested in it. I am. Another thing I'm interested in is how the left is playing out the Walter Reed story. Read the snapshot (below) and you'll note C.I.'s point is more than "THEY CAN'T TALK TO REPORTERS!" It's also that these wounded service members are being expected to submit to daily inspections and other tasks. That is retaliation.
One more thing on BuzzFlash and Air America Radio that I just remembered. BuzzFlash is the left's equivalent of The Drudge Report in terms of popularity. Mark (I don't know his last name, C.I. would but I don't want to be a bother and call) should have been a regular guest on AAR. I heard him twice, on two different shows, and that was it during AAR's first two years. That's one more example of how AAR refused to put voices that were needed upfront. (BuzzFlash has long called for withdrawal. They called out the war before it began and they were never afraid to call for the illegal war to come to an end.)
Last thing before the snapshot, Kat. Please read her review "Kat's Korner: Air kisses from Diana Ross" and she had recommended the Who's new CD to me and told me I would love "Man In A Purple Dress." She was right. The man is a judge and it's really one of the best songs the Who has done. It could easily make a best of and stand along side "Pinball Wizard," "I Can See For Miles," etc. I hope to write more about this Friday but, for now, thank you, Kat.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, February 28, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; wounded US service members get targeted by the US administartion; Dems in Congress play "hot potato" with the war (and don't seem to grasp that they'll end up holding it); and US war resister Joshua Key declares, "Iraq is a country and it's going to have to make its own path in history and its own way in life. No other country can do that and you definitely can't do that by means of a gun or a tank. But they have to make their own course and do whatever's necessary for themselves. I think that no outsiders are going to help it or solve the problem."
Starting with news of petty retaliation which, after all, is the Bully Boy's M.O. as demonstrated for the last seven years (if not sooner.) As noted by Aaron Glants today on KPFA's The Morning Show, Kelly Kennedy (Army Times) is reporting that Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Medical Hold Unit patients are being "told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media" in what is widely seen as a punishment for the recent Washington Post expose on the deplorable conditions at what is supposed to be the United States top facility for military medical care. In addition, Kennedy reports, the soldiers receiving medical care were informed that will move from Building 18 into Building 14 and, just happenstance -- surely, unlike Building 18, Building 14 requires that "reporters must be escorted by public affairs personnel."
In a series of articles that concluded last week, Dana Priest and Anne Hull (Washington Post) examined the realities behind the image of the 'premier medical center' -- focusing largely on Building 18, and revealed problems such as cockroach infestation, lack of heat, lack of water, mice and black mold, clerks that were overworked or didn't care. The answer for the US administration when confronted with reality is apparently the same answer they always reach for "DESTROY." Joe Wilson goes public about Niger, out Valerie Plame (his deep cover CIA wife). Soldiers talk to the press about the deplorable conditions that the administration is fine with them living in? Punish the soldiers.
The Bully Boy who loves strut around in uniforms (with or without codpieces) is far less willing to do anything to actually help the soldiers wounded in his illegal war and the administration's answer to the Walter Reed scandal is to punish the troops with daily inspections and other idiotic chores WHILE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RECEIVING MEDICAL CARE FOR THEIR WOUNDS.
Turning to news of war resisters, Tina Chau (Hawaii's KMGB9) reports that Ehren Watada's court-martil has been set for July 16-20 and that the "pre-trial motions are to be heard on May 20 and 21." In June, Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. In August of last year, the military held an Article 32 hearing at Fort Lewis to determine whether or not to go forward with a court-martial. At the start of this month, the court-martial of Watada began and ran for three days -- on the third day, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) ruled a mistrial over the objections of the defense (and initially without even the prosecution in support of a mistrial). Eric Seitz, Watada's civilian attorney, has maintained that the double-jeopardy clause of the Constitution now applies and that he will appeal any attempts to court-martial on that basis.
Lehia Apana (The Maui News) reports that Ehren Watada's father Bob and his step-mother Rosa Sakanishi were at the Maui Community College Library on Monday where Bob spoke to "an energetic crowd" of at least 75 people about his son and how "he believes the judge realized his son had a chance of being acquitted of the charges and therefore forced the prosecution to request a mistrial."
Last Friday the military re-filed charges against Watada, the day prior, as Conor Reed and Steve Leigh (Socialist Worker) observe was Mark Wilkerson's court-martial and that he issued a statement, "My Conscience is Clear," at his website:
I am now a twenty three year old man. When I made the decision to join the Army, I was a boy. When I made the decision to go AWOL I was still in many ways a boy.I realize in retrospect that going AWOL may not have been the right decision for me to make, but given the circumstances I found myself in at that time, I felt it was the only logical decision for me. I felt as though I wasn't being taken seriously by my chain-of-command. I was crushed when my conscientious objector application was denied. I had failed somehow in conveying in words just what I felt in my head and heart, and that was that I could not, in good conscience, serve as a soldier in the United States Army. I could not deploy to a foreign land with a weapon in my hand, representing my government. I am not willing to kill, or be killed for my government. When I enlisted in the Army, I thought I would be able to, but after Iraq, my beliefs became such that I could no longer participate.This was what I told my chain-of-command. I felt they didn't care what I said or believed. So I fled. I quit my job. No other occupation in the United States punishes you as badly as what the military does for quitting your job. But that's ok. I'm willing to face whatever punishment the government deems appropriate.In my Battalion's Retention Office, there is a quote by Retired Army General Bernard Rogers, and it states "This is a volunteer force. Soldiers volunteer to meet our standards. If they don't meet them, we should thank them for trying and send them home." Well, I enlisted into the Army with the best intentions. I had other options. But I wanted to serve my country. And when I felt my country was doing the very thing we pretend to condone, I took a stand. And to me that is the core of democracy. If the Army feels as though I didn't meet the standards, they should thank me for trying and send me home. There's no lesson prison can teach me. Prison is established for criminals who committed crimes that the majority of our society can say in morally wrong. And with this crime, I don't know if that can be said. Even though I committed a crime, I'm no criminal. And even if I do go to prison, I'm no longer a prisoner. My conscience is clear. I'm no menace to society. I have stayed true to myself and my moral code throughout my life, and that will never change. Just let me live my life, and I know I will live it well.
Susan Van Haitsma (CounterPunch) shares some of her encounters with Wilkerson and observations before concluding: "Mark wanted to help his country, but his country betrayed him. His country capitalized on his honorable intentions, gave him false promises, fed him misinformation, used him to carry out inhumane missions, caused him psychological injury and then punished him by making him an object lesson for his fellow GI's. In fact, Mark is an example of the best kind, for all of us. In the same courtroom where soldiers were sentenced for harming Abu Ghraib prisoners, Mark was sentenced for refusing to harm."
Wilkerson is scheduled to be released in September; however, the judge could release him earlier. Going before a judge Tuesday, March 6th in Germany is war resister Agustin Aguayo. Workers World notes that he is "charged with desertion and missing movement because of his refusal to go to Iraq." Though not etched in stone, the military has generally attempted to use desertion charges for those who were absent without leave for a month or more. In Aguayo's case, they've elected to toss that (Aguayo was gone from September 2nd through September 26th). Gillian Russom (Socialist Worker) spoke with Helga Aguayo, Agustin's wife, about his case, his feelings about the war, her own and much more. Agustin was a medica and he joined the military to support his family and to help people (he and his wife have two young daughters). Helga explained to Russom that, for her, it was seeing the experiences of military families that made her start questioning the war -- the creation of "geographical single mothers" -- and that for her husband, a book on Iraq's history took him from conscientious objector to the belief "that the war in Iraq has essentially been created of the personal gain of a few people." Helga also notes that her husband saw Sir! No Sir! and "it just revved him up for what he knew he might have to face." He's facing? Agustin Aguayo could be sentenced to as many as seven years in prison if convicted during his court-martial because the military is going for desertion. Why go for desertion?
Aguayo and Kyle Snyder both were screwed over by the military in different ways and they were among the last ones going public. (Snyder is back in Canada.) Tossing aside the rule of thumb re: desertion to charge Aguayo with that is considered as part of an effort by the military to clamp down on the growing movement.
Aguayo, Watada, Wilkerson and Snyder are part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Camilo Mejia, Patrick Hart, Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Joshua Key, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Corey Glass, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Joshua Key, war resister and author of the new book The Deserter's Tale, speaks with Christina Leadlay (Canada's Embassy Book Review) and notes that the passport requirement for travel back and forth between the US and Canada "would deter a lot of people [who] don't have passports, and if you're on the run and a deserter from the military, you're not going to be able to gain that passport." Joshua, his wife Brandi and their children went to Canada after Key returned from Iraq. There, he has sought refugee status and is currently appealing the denial of asylum. Key describes his decision to join the military as part of "the military's poverty draft" telling Leadlay: "You're stuck. You have no money. There is no other choice. If you want health care, if you want steady pay, and if you're even considering going to college, the [military] billboards pretty well offer it to you. When I joined there was not a wealthy person in the entire operation. I'd never seen a rich person in the military. I'd never seen a politican's son; I'd never seen anybody with any stature. We were all the same . . . coming from places that most people wouldn't even hear of, small towns, farms boys, and you're just looking for a way out."
Key's statements jibe with the study Kimberly Hefling (AP) reported on last week -- the communities in America that are most directly effected by the US military death toll in Iraq -- almost half of the dead are "from towns . . . where fewer than 25,000 people live" and that "nearly three quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average."
Sir! No Sir!, noted above, is a study of resistance within the military during the Vietnam era. The amazing documentary, directed by David Zeiger, was recently re-released in a special director's cut version with additional bonus features. In addition, (audio link) DJ Dave Rabbitt interviews Jane Fonda here. DJ Dave Rabbitt, along with Pete Sadler and Nguyen, operated an underground radio station (Radio First Termer) while serving in Vietnam. (He also acts as the dee jay for the soundtrack to Sir! No Sir!)
Returning to Minority Rights Group International (PDF format) report Assimilation, Exodus, Eradication: Iraq's minority communities since 2003," we'll note that it examines the abuses minorities in Iraq are suffering. Yesterday, we focused on women. Today, we'll note that the religious and ethnic minoirites (who "make up about 10 percent of the Iraqi population") include Armenians, Baha'is, Chald-Assyrians, Fali Kurds, Jews, Mandaens, Palestinians, Shabaks, Turkomans and Yazidis.
A table on page 12 of the report charts the diminishing Mandaean population in Iraq by looking at the figures for April 2003 and the figures for April 2006. In 2003, 1600 families lived in Baghdad and three years later the figure had dropped to 150. Though that was the largest drop, the Mandaen population diminished in all areas -- Baquba (from 200 families to 40), Diwaniya (from 400 to 62), Kirkuk (from 250 to 75), Kut (from 400 to 65), Missan (from 900 to 300), Nasriya (from 950 to 320) and Ramadi (from 275 to 75). The report notes that "Mandaen or Sabian religion is one of the oldest surviving Gnostic religions in the world and dates back to the Mesopotamian civilisation. John the Baptist is its central prophet and water and access to naturally flowing water remain essential for the practice of the faith. Scholars believes the religion pre-dates the time of John the Baptist, however, and is has a similar creation myth to the Judeao-Christian Adam and Eve story." The report also notes that the Mandaen language has been "listed in the 2006 UNESCO Atlast of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing" and that their faith does not allow them to carry weapons and "forbids the use of violence". The report traces a similar disappearance of Jewish people noting that in 2003 there were "a few hundred" Jews in Baghdad, by 2005, the number had dropped to only 20 and that by 2006 there were only 15 Jews living in Baghdad (most assumed to be "older than 70" years-old).
And in Iraq today . . .
Bombings?
Reuters notes a mortar attack in southwestern Baghdad that left nine wounded, a car bobm in southern Baghdad ("near a vegetable market") that killed 10 people and left 21 wounded, a bomb attack on a Baghdad police station that killed 2 police officers and left two more wounded, a roadside bombing in Riyadh that wounded four Iraqi troops, a mortar attack in Iskandariya that killed a woman and a man, and a mortar attack in Mahmudiya that killed one person and left four members "from the same family" wounded.
Shootings?
CNN reports: "Two brothers of a prominent Sunni politician were shot and killed Wednesday, the Iraqi Islamic Party said in a statement. Salim al-Joubori's brothers were killed in Muqdadiya, north of Baghdad. Al-Joubori is a member of parliament and spokesman for the Iraqi Accord Front, Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political bloc." Reuters notes a man shot dead ("inside his car") in Tikrit, and the shooting death of Abdul-Haid Mahmoud in Mosul. CBS and AP report that, in Taji, "Eight people died when American helicopters and fighter planes fired on a palm grove".
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse discovered in Himreen, and the corpse "of a police colonel who had been kidnapped two months ago" discovered in Baghdad.
Today, the British Ministry of Defence announced "the death of a British soldiers in Iraq as a result of an incindent on the morning of 27 February 2007."
Yesterday, Dahr Jamail spoke with Nora Barrows-Friedman on KPFA's Flashpoints on a number of topics (click here for Rebecca's summary) and on the violence and the oil law, he stated, "I absolutely find no evidence on the ground to support that statement that this oil law is going to unite Iraq or anything like that. I think it's just blatant propaganda that would go along with the signing of this legislation that is really, the approval of the draff of the oil law essentially which has basically paved the way for western oil companies to finally get their hands on Iraq's oil which is what this has been about or one of the primary reasons the invasion was launched to begin with and so the corporate media, outlets like National Public Radio -- you know the joke on the ground with me and many of my colleagues from the United States who were operating in Baghdad was we would call it 'National Petroleum Radio' or 'National Pentagon Radio' because their reporters always love to embed I saw them ebedded in places like Falluja or in Baghdad, on more than one occassion -- and so that they're now issuing this propaganda that I'm sure would make the Pentagon very happy and of course the US State Department and the Bush administration and the corporations that support them saying that this is a very good thing, a positive thing. It's another way to put a spin on the occupation just like the transfer of soveriegnty on June 28, 2004 was a 'positive' thing, just like the Jan. 30, 2005 'elections' were a positive thing. And we all know, those of us with pulses, where those events have taken us today."
As all the above goes down, Anne Flaherty (AP) reports that, in the US House of Representatives, "Democratic leaders are developing an anti-war proposal that wouldn't cut off money for U.S. troops in Iraq but would require President Bush to acknowledge problems with an overburdended military. The plan could draw bipartisan support but is expected to be a tough sell to members who say they don't think it goes far enough to assuage voters angered by the four-year conflict." Dana Bash (CNN) reports that efforts continue "to bridge differences within the [Democratic] party after backwing away from legislation that would set condictions on war funding." That would be US House Rep John Murtha's proposal. Bash quotes Yawn Emmanuel making his usual self-serving statements and notes that the Senate's 'bravely' (my mock, not Bash's) decided to postpone debating anything "for at least two weeks." (Insert joke about Bully Boy being "The Decider" here.) Yesterday, US Senator Russ Feingold issued the following statement:
I am working to fix the new proposal drafted by several Senate Democrats, which at this point basically reads like a new authorization. I will not vote for anything that the President could read as an authorization for continuing with a large military campaign in Iraq. Deauthorizing the President's failed Iraq policy may be an appropriate next step if done right, but the ultimate goal needs to be using our Constitutionally-granted power of the purse to bring this catastrophe to an end.
With few exceptions, including Feingold, the Democrats holding Congressional office appear more than willing to take Bully Boy's war and make it their own which is what they do as they rush to grab cover and refuse to call out an illegal war. Meanwhile, Larry Kaplow (Cox News Service) reports that a "public affairs guidance" note was "sent to units in Iraq from the Baghdad command" which includes generic talking points created by the Pentagon which may also be controlling the Democratic Party judging by their own generic talking points. Meanwhile Edward Epstein (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that there is no backing away from the Murtha plan but don't pin your hopes on it, Yawn Emanuel shows up to offer more talking points. Jill Zuckman and Aamer Madhani (Chicago Tribune) may call it best: "Democrats in the House and Senate are struggling to find the best way to express congressional disapproval of the war and President Bush's troop buildup. They are wary both of going too far and not going far enough" -- "wary being the key word.
Finally, in policy news, Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports that when US House Rep Marty Meehan "introduces legislation to overturn the ban on openly gay and lesbian troops serving in the military," he will be joined by Eric Alva (a Staff Sgt. "first U.S. Marine seriously wounded in Iraq" -- March 21, 2003) who is now openly gay.
Alva tells Jose Antonio Vargas (Washington Post): "The truth is, something's wrong with this ban. I have to say something. I mean you're asking men and women to lie about their orientation, to keep their personal lives private [. . .] That's one fact. The other factor is, we're losing probably thousands of men and women that are skilled at certain types of jobs, from air traffic controllers to linguists, because of this broken policy."
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Sunny read it and pointed out that this community could write a book on AAR which I agreed with her on but the introduction would be "Ruth's Report." It really is that good.
I thought I'd share some basic thoughts about Air America -- nothing as in depth as what Ruth offers.
*Randi Rhodes knows how to do good radio. That was obvious from the start. I sometimes I agree with her and sometimes don't but I've never felt bored or put out when listening to her.
*Unfiltered worked best when Chuck D, Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow were all on. It worked worst when it was Rachel Maddow solo or Maddow with a guest host. (Such as Bill Press.) At it's worst, it was still miles ahead of The O'Franken Factor.
*The Majority Report started off a good show and got progressively worse as Sam Seder's ego outgrew his limited talents and required that he repeatedly attempt to steal the show from Janeane Garofalo who was the only reason to listen. If Steve Rendall was truly interested in addressing how The Majority Report used talking points, he should have checked out Seder's interview with Simon Rosenberg which was embarrassing when it aired and only more so as the years have passed. Ruth rightly notes that women weren't welcome when Seder soloed and that really is the way it was. It's sad because that was Tracey's favorite show (Ruth's granddaughter) and a favorite of mine as well until Janeane was shoved aside. It's a bit like loving The Dick Van Dyke Show and tuning in to find out that it's now The Mel Cooley Show.
*Mike Malloy was an asset to the network that was never appreciated. His ability to bring in an audience, his ability to engage one and the fact that he was a radio name amounted to nothing. Had Lizz Winstead not already been "disappeared" before Malloy, it would have been shocking to see how they treated him.
*Rachel Maddow gets to attempt one failed show after another because she proved herself a "company gal" by toeing the party line and avoiding the topic of Lizz Winstead. Since Winstead is the one who selected her to co-host Unfiltered, that's pretty crappy. That she felt the need to 'build' her own name by being a lapdog on the Tucker Carlson show is shameful. That she spent month after month telling listeners that the US could not withdrawal from Iraq is embarrassing. That she couldn't take her nose out of the crotch of her "Ask a Vet"s was disgusting. She has no center to her, no base, she just goes with whatever the polling indicates is popular.
*The way Randi Rhodes, Laura Flanders and other women were shoved aside to push Baby Cries a Lot repeatedly was embarrassing. The fact that the network that didn't promote women once at least had them on air in nearly equal numbers is now so much macho demonstrates that the network isn't left. There are hosts who are left. But the network itself is useless.
*Marty Kaplin had a daily, Monday through Friday, one hour show that was a nice transition between Randi and Janeane. Then he was shoved off on the weekends. Then he vanished. Marty was actually funny and entertaining and it may have been the way they treated his show that demonstrated best that the network was more interested in talking points than quality. If you ever heard So What Else Is News?, you probably know just what I'm talking about.
*The supposed genius Maddow had a real problem with dates. Reading from a news story in front of her, she would regularly botch what newspaper it appeared in and what day it was published. She's an NPR host wasting everyone's time.
*Making Air America Place take down their archives was idiotic in terms of building an audience and in terms of understanding the new models for broadcast. It made the supposed "friend" Air America Radio look like just one more corporation.
*Too much time was spent by the left trying to prop up a really bad network that was rarely worth listening to as time went on.
*The network's early decision to push the talking point of "stay the course" and the false Pottery Barn analogy clamped down on the peace movement. Not all shows pushed that, but the majority (including Baby Cries a Lot) did. On other issues, the desire to please/appease the Democratic Party could be found as well. This was most noticeable, day by day, after the 2004 election when, from one day to the next, the same hosts would claim the election was fair, then that it was rigged and we needed to protest, then that it was fair. Baby Cries a Lot did that, Rachel Maddow did that (aided and abetted by the Pap Smear). There was no core to too many of the hosts, they went from one position to the next seemingly based upon what that day's talking point was.
*The failure to present activists or war resisters was an issue that the network was aware of long before Steve Rendall wrote his article. Speaking only of myself, I regularly raised that issue on the Unfiltered blog. The response, not reported by Rendall who appears unaware of it, was the on air meltdown of Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow when there was no defense for their weekly "Ask a Vet" segment that always featured pro-continue the illegal war veterans. They were bothered by the fact that others on the blog were supporting me on that point. Let's also note that they regularly stole talking points from The Common Ills without ever crediting the site -- a problem Sam Seder had as well. As the community's Rachel noted when Seder stole from her post and credited her, "But he didn't credit The Common Ills."
So those are just some of my thoughts. I would also add that near the end of Unfiltered, they had two "Ask a Vet" weekly segments -- the first being a pro-war veteran and the second being a pet doctor. Yes, they could offer up weekly visits with a pet doctor but no weekly voice calling for an end to the war.
Again, "Ruth's Report" is something you should read if you haven't already.
"Mark Wilkerson's Call to America" (Susan Van Haitsma, CounterPunch):
My favorite photograph of Mark Wilkerson shows him smiling, looking relaxed. He is standing in a grove of trees whose trunks radiate outward from his image as though they are drawing life from him. One side of his face glows with reflected sunshine. He wears a black "Iraq Veterans Against the War" T-shirt with a small star over his heart.
I first met Mark on the grounds of the Texas Capitol during a peace demonstration on Gandhi's birthday, October 2, 2004. Mark was stationed at Ft. Hood, and he and his wife had driven down to attend their first anti-war demonstration in Austin. I didn't know then the extent of Mark's experience in Iraq, but he looked stressed, his eyes circled with dark shadows. He exuded nervous energy. He looked at the materials on our Nonmilitary Options for Youth table and described how he had been recruited through the JROTC program in high school with assurances that he would receive training to become a peacekeeper. At the demonstration, Mark met local members of Veterans for Peace, who understood more profoundly than I the internal and external battles he was facing.
Mark had served one tour of duty in Iraq, during which he had begun to question both the morality and the practicality of the invasion and occupation. Assigned to the military police, he participated in house raids and arrests of Iraqi citizens. He witnessed the effects of the occupation on Iraqi civilians and the change in attitude toward US soldiers. He began suffering serious post-traumatic stress and underwent a crisis of conscience about his participation in the army. He filed for a discharge as a conscientious objector in March 2004. When his claim was denied 8 months later, he appealed the decision, but soon learned that his unit was about to be deployed to Iraq for a second tour. Stuck between honoring his conscience and obeying orders to deploy, he went AWOL in January 2005.
Mark was AWOL for about 18 months. During that time, he said the nightmares didn't stop. He also felt at sea, as though he could not move forward with his life. He worked long hours, trying to save for a future that might include prison. Just before he turned himself in at Ft. Hood in August 2006, he held a press conference at Camp Casey in Crawford, TX. Flanked by other GI resisters and supportive members of Military Families Speak Out and Gold Star Families for Peace, Mark confidently and eloquently expressed his reasons for having left the military and his reasons for returning to the base to accept the consequences.
C.I. notes the above in the snapshot and I want to be sure everyone gets a strong introduction to it. I also want to offer a suggestion to anyone thinking about become a war resister -- get your family or your friends to speak out. If they don't, you'll get very little attention. Ehren Watada has gotten attention but he has two parents and a step-mother speaking out. Darrell Anderson had his mother, Anita, and his wife. I've noted Monica Benderman before but she really does deserve credit. She kept Kevin Benderman a topic. It could have been, "Oh, he's in prison now, let's focus on something else." In fact, that's how the news treated it. But she regularly offered something that would keep him alive in the public eye. That's not easy to do because there had to be days where she was organizing or fighting and just thought, "I want to think about something else, anything else." But she kept fighting. One of the reasons we all came out strong on Kyle Snyder was because C.I. pointed that out. He was raised in a foster-family and the military was going to try to screw him over thinking he didn't have a support system. That turned out to be very true, of course, they went back on their agreement with him. But you need people who will speak out for you. What you really need is a fighter like Monica Benderman but even if you don't have someone willing to push themselves that hard (or able to), you do need a support system. Once you turn yourself in, especially, you're going to feel like you've dropped off the face of the earth as everyone rushes to the next story.
One positive development has been Iraq Veterans Against the War which is determined not to let anyone be forgotten. They do strong work and they make a strong show of support.
"Women and Older Troops Dying at Record Rates in Iraq; Twice as Many Children per Casualty Lose a Parent than in Vietnam" (BuzzFlash):
Last week, Marine Captain Jennifer Harris was buried in her hometown of Swampscott, MA. She was killed when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq.
Though the loss of all human life throughout this war - American, Coalition, and Iraqi civilian - is equally tragic, Harris' death is a reminder that our losses have come from across the demographic spectrum.
Harris was the 75th female coalition servicemember to die in Iraq even though women are still technically barred from combat roles; incidentally, another woman died the same day from hostile fire in an unrelated battle. Of the 3419 total coalition casualties, women make up more than 2 percent. Only 8 of the 58,193 American fatalities in Vietnam were female.
While many tend to think of our soldiers as all male, we also often think they are mostly young. Indeed, 28 18-year-olds and 199 19-year-olds died during their deployments. But 23 men and one woman were at least 50 when they were killed, a percentage of total casualties nearly four times higher than in Vietnam.
Another statistic that is often overlooked is the number of children whose lives are changed forever when their parents are killed in Iraq. These kids never volunteered mom or dad to fight; many were not even born when their parents enlisted and, in some cases, deployed.
This is a point we raised at The Third Estate Sunday Review a few weeks back and it's an important point. The service members are not all male nor, as BuzzFlash notes, are they all young. (We didn't cover that point and I congratulate them for making it.) C.I. passed this on and thought I'd be interested in it. I am. Another thing I'm interested in is how the left is playing out the Walter Reed story. Read the snapshot (below) and you'll note C.I.'s point is more than "THEY CAN'T TALK TO REPORTERS!" It's also that these wounded service members are being expected to submit to daily inspections and other tasks. That is retaliation.
One more thing on BuzzFlash and Air America Radio that I just remembered. BuzzFlash is the left's equivalent of The Drudge Report in terms of popularity. Mark (I don't know his last name, C.I. would but I don't want to be a bother and call) should have been a regular guest on AAR. I heard him twice, on two different shows, and that was it during AAR's first two years. That's one more example of how AAR refused to put voices that were needed upfront. (BuzzFlash has long called for withdrawal. They called out the war before it began and they were never afraid to call for the illegal war to come to an end.)
Last thing before the snapshot, Kat. Please read her review "Kat's Korner: Air kisses from Diana Ross" and she had recommended the Who's new CD to me and told me I would love "Man In A Purple Dress." She was right. The man is a judge and it's really one of the best songs the Who has done. It could easily make a best of and stand along side "Pinball Wizard," "I Can See For Miles," etc. I hope to write more about this Friday but, for now, thank you, Kat.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, February 28, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; wounded US service members get targeted by the US administartion; Dems in Congress play "hot potato" with the war (and don't seem to grasp that they'll end up holding it); and US war resister Joshua Key declares, "Iraq is a country and it's going to have to make its own path in history and its own way in life. No other country can do that and you definitely can't do that by means of a gun or a tank. But they have to make their own course and do whatever's necessary for themselves. I think that no outsiders are going to help it or solve the problem."
Starting with news of petty retaliation which, after all, is the Bully Boy's M.O. as demonstrated for the last seven years (if not sooner.) As noted by Aaron Glants today on KPFA's The Morning Show, Kelly Kennedy (Army Times) is reporting that Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Medical Hold Unit patients are being "told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media" in what is widely seen as a punishment for the recent Washington Post expose on the deplorable conditions at what is supposed to be the United States top facility for military medical care. In addition, Kennedy reports, the soldiers receiving medical care were informed that will move from Building 18 into Building 14 and, just happenstance -- surely, unlike Building 18, Building 14 requires that "reporters must be escorted by public affairs personnel."
In a series of articles that concluded last week, Dana Priest and Anne Hull (Washington Post) examined the realities behind the image of the 'premier medical center' -- focusing largely on Building 18, and revealed problems such as cockroach infestation, lack of heat, lack of water, mice and black mold, clerks that were overworked or didn't care. The answer for the US administration when confronted with reality is apparently the same answer they always reach for "DESTROY." Joe Wilson goes public about Niger, out Valerie Plame (his deep cover CIA wife). Soldiers talk to the press about the deplorable conditions that the administration is fine with them living in? Punish the soldiers.
The Bully Boy who loves strut around in uniforms (with or without codpieces) is far less willing to do anything to actually help the soldiers wounded in his illegal war and the administration's answer to the Walter Reed scandal is to punish the troops with daily inspections and other idiotic chores WHILE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RECEIVING MEDICAL CARE FOR THEIR WOUNDS.
Turning to news of war resisters, Tina Chau (Hawaii's KMGB9) reports that Ehren Watada's court-martil has been set for July 16-20 and that the "pre-trial motions are to be heard on May 20 and 21." In June, Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. In August of last year, the military held an Article 32 hearing at Fort Lewis to determine whether or not to go forward with a court-martial. At the start of this month, the court-martial of Watada began and ran for three days -- on the third day, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) ruled a mistrial over the objections of the defense (and initially without even the prosecution in support of a mistrial). Eric Seitz, Watada's civilian attorney, has maintained that the double-jeopardy clause of the Constitution now applies and that he will appeal any attempts to court-martial on that basis.
Lehia Apana (The Maui News) reports that Ehren Watada's father Bob and his step-mother Rosa Sakanishi were at the Maui Community College Library on Monday where Bob spoke to "an energetic crowd" of at least 75 people about his son and how "he believes the judge realized his son had a chance of being acquitted of the charges and therefore forced the prosecution to request a mistrial."
Last Friday the military re-filed charges against Watada, the day prior, as Conor Reed and Steve Leigh (Socialist Worker) observe was Mark Wilkerson's court-martial and that he issued a statement, "My Conscience is Clear," at his website:
I am now a twenty three year old man. When I made the decision to join the Army, I was a boy. When I made the decision to go AWOL I was still in many ways a boy.I realize in retrospect that going AWOL may not have been the right decision for me to make, but given the circumstances I found myself in at that time, I felt it was the only logical decision for me. I felt as though I wasn't being taken seriously by my chain-of-command. I was crushed when my conscientious objector application was denied. I had failed somehow in conveying in words just what I felt in my head and heart, and that was that I could not, in good conscience, serve as a soldier in the United States Army. I could not deploy to a foreign land with a weapon in my hand, representing my government. I am not willing to kill, or be killed for my government. When I enlisted in the Army, I thought I would be able to, but after Iraq, my beliefs became such that I could no longer participate.This was what I told my chain-of-command. I felt they didn't care what I said or believed. So I fled. I quit my job. No other occupation in the United States punishes you as badly as what the military does for quitting your job. But that's ok. I'm willing to face whatever punishment the government deems appropriate.In my Battalion's Retention Office, there is a quote by Retired Army General Bernard Rogers, and it states "This is a volunteer force. Soldiers volunteer to meet our standards. If they don't meet them, we should thank them for trying and send them home." Well, I enlisted into the Army with the best intentions. I had other options. But I wanted to serve my country. And when I felt my country was doing the very thing we pretend to condone, I took a stand. And to me that is the core of democracy. If the Army feels as though I didn't meet the standards, they should thank me for trying and send me home. There's no lesson prison can teach me. Prison is established for criminals who committed crimes that the majority of our society can say in morally wrong. And with this crime, I don't know if that can be said. Even though I committed a crime, I'm no criminal. And even if I do go to prison, I'm no longer a prisoner. My conscience is clear. I'm no menace to society. I have stayed true to myself and my moral code throughout my life, and that will never change. Just let me live my life, and I know I will live it well.
Susan Van Haitsma (CounterPunch) shares some of her encounters with Wilkerson and observations before concluding: "Mark wanted to help his country, but his country betrayed him. His country capitalized on his honorable intentions, gave him false promises, fed him misinformation, used him to carry out inhumane missions, caused him psychological injury and then punished him by making him an object lesson for his fellow GI's. In fact, Mark is an example of the best kind, for all of us. In the same courtroom where soldiers were sentenced for harming Abu Ghraib prisoners, Mark was sentenced for refusing to harm."
Wilkerson is scheduled to be released in September; however, the judge could release him earlier. Going before a judge Tuesday, March 6th in Germany is war resister Agustin Aguayo. Workers World notes that he is "charged with desertion and missing movement because of his refusal to go to Iraq." Though not etched in stone, the military has generally attempted to use desertion charges for those who were absent without leave for a month or more. In Aguayo's case, they've elected to toss that (Aguayo was gone from September 2nd through September 26th). Gillian Russom (Socialist Worker) spoke with Helga Aguayo, Agustin's wife, about his case, his feelings about the war, her own and much more. Agustin was a medica and he joined the military to support his family and to help people (he and his wife have two young daughters). Helga explained to Russom that, for her, it was seeing the experiences of military families that made her start questioning the war -- the creation of "geographical single mothers" -- and that for her husband, a book on Iraq's history took him from conscientious objector to the belief "that the war in Iraq has essentially been created of the personal gain of a few people." Helga also notes that her husband saw Sir! No Sir! and "it just revved him up for what he knew he might have to face." He's facing? Agustin Aguayo could be sentenced to as many as seven years in prison if convicted during his court-martial because the military is going for desertion. Why go for desertion?
Aguayo and Kyle Snyder both were screwed over by the military in different ways and they were among the last ones going public. (Snyder is back in Canada.) Tossing aside the rule of thumb re: desertion to charge Aguayo with that is considered as part of an effort by the military to clamp down on the growing movement.
Aguayo, Watada, Wilkerson and Snyder are part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Camilo Mejia, Patrick Hart, Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Joshua Key, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Corey Glass, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Joshua Key, war resister and author of the new book The Deserter's Tale, speaks with Christina Leadlay (Canada's Embassy Book Review) and notes that the passport requirement for travel back and forth between the US and Canada "would deter a lot of people [who] don't have passports, and if you're on the run and a deserter from the military, you're not going to be able to gain that passport." Joshua, his wife Brandi and their children went to Canada after Key returned from Iraq. There, he has sought refugee status and is currently appealing the denial of asylum. Key describes his decision to join the military as part of "the military's poverty draft" telling Leadlay: "You're stuck. You have no money. There is no other choice. If you want health care, if you want steady pay, and if you're even considering going to college, the [military] billboards pretty well offer it to you. When I joined there was not a wealthy person in the entire operation. I'd never seen a rich person in the military. I'd never seen a politican's son; I'd never seen anybody with any stature. We were all the same . . . coming from places that most people wouldn't even hear of, small towns, farms boys, and you're just looking for a way out."
Key's statements jibe with the study Kimberly Hefling (AP) reported on last week -- the communities in America that are most directly effected by the US military death toll in Iraq -- almost half of the dead are "from towns . . . where fewer than 25,000 people live" and that "nearly three quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average."
Sir! No Sir!, noted above, is a study of resistance within the military during the Vietnam era. The amazing documentary, directed by David Zeiger, was recently re-released in a special director's cut version with additional bonus features. In addition, (audio link) DJ Dave Rabbitt interviews Jane Fonda here. DJ Dave Rabbitt, along with Pete Sadler and Nguyen, operated an underground radio station (Radio First Termer) while serving in Vietnam. (He also acts as the dee jay for the soundtrack to Sir! No Sir!)
Returning to Minority Rights Group International (PDF format) report Assimilation, Exodus, Eradication: Iraq's minority communities since 2003," we'll note that it examines the abuses minorities in Iraq are suffering. Yesterday, we focused on women. Today, we'll note that the religious and ethnic minoirites (who "make up about 10 percent of the Iraqi population") include Armenians, Baha'is, Chald-Assyrians, Fali Kurds, Jews, Mandaens, Palestinians, Shabaks, Turkomans and Yazidis.
A table on page 12 of the report charts the diminishing Mandaean population in Iraq by looking at the figures for April 2003 and the figures for April 2006. In 2003, 1600 families lived in Baghdad and three years later the figure had dropped to 150. Though that was the largest drop, the Mandaen population diminished in all areas -- Baquba (from 200 families to 40), Diwaniya (from 400 to 62), Kirkuk (from 250 to 75), Kut (from 400 to 65), Missan (from 900 to 300), Nasriya (from 950 to 320) and Ramadi (from 275 to 75). The report notes that "Mandaen or Sabian religion is one of the oldest surviving Gnostic religions in the world and dates back to the Mesopotamian civilisation. John the Baptist is its central prophet and water and access to naturally flowing water remain essential for the practice of the faith. Scholars believes the religion pre-dates the time of John the Baptist, however, and is has a similar creation myth to the Judeao-Christian Adam and Eve story." The report also notes that the Mandaen language has been "listed in the 2006 UNESCO Atlast of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing" and that their faith does not allow them to carry weapons and "forbids the use of violence". The report traces a similar disappearance of Jewish people noting that in 2003 there were "a few hundred" Jews in Baghdad, by 2005, the number had dropped to only 20 and that by 2006 there were only 15 Jews living in Baghdad (most assumed to be "older than 70" years-old).
And in Iraq today . . .
Bombings?
Reuters notes a mortar attack in southwestern Baghdad that left nine wounded, a car bobm in southern Baghdad ("near a vegetable market") that killed 10 people and left 21 wounded, a bomb attack on a Baghdad police station that killed 2 police officers and left two more wounded, a roadside bombing in Riyadh that wounded four Iraqi troops, a mortar attack in Iskandariya that killed a woman and a man, and a mortar attack in Mahmudiya that killed one person and left four members "from the same family" wounded.
Shootings?
CNN reports: "Two brothers of a prominent Sunni politician were shot and killed Wednesday, the Iraqi Islamic Party said in a statement. Salim al-Joubori's brothers were killed in Muqdadiya, north of Baghdad. Al-Joubori is a member of parliament and spokesman for the Iraqi Accord Front, Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political bloc." Reuters notes a man shot dead ("inside his car") in Tikrit, and the shooting death of Abdul-Haid Mahmoud in Mosul. CBS and AP report that, in Taji, "Eight people died when American helicopters and fighter planes fired on a palm grove".
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse discovered in Himreen, and the corpse "of a police colonel who had been kidnapped two months ago" discovered in Baghdad.
Today, the British Ministry of Defence announced "the death of a British soldiers in Iraq as a result of an incindent on the morning of 27 February 2007."
Yesterday, Dahr Jamail spoke with Nora Barrows-Friedman on KPFA's Flashpoints on a number of topics (click here for Rebecca's summary) and on the violence and the oil law, he stated, "I absolutely find no evidence on the ground to support that statement that this oil law is going to unite Iraq or anything like that. I think it's just blatant propaganda that would go along with the signing of this legislation that is really, the approval of the draff of the oil law essentially which has basically paved the way for western oil companies to finally get their hands on Iraq's oil which is what this has been about or one of the primary reasons the invasion was launched to begin with and so the corporate media, outlets like National Public Radio -- you know the joke on the ground with me and many of my colleagues from the United States who were operating in Baghdad was we would call it 'National Petroleum Radio' or 'National Pentagon Radio' because their reporters always love to embed I saw them ebedded in places like Falluja or in Baghdad, on more than one occassion -- and so that they're now issuing this propaganda that I'm sure would make the Pentagon very happy and of course the US State Department and the Bush administration and the corporations that support them saying that this is a very good thing, a positive thing. It's another way to put a spin on the occupation just like the transfer of soveriegnty on June 28, 2004 was a 'positive' thing, just like the Jan. 30, 2005 'elections' were a positive thing. And we all know, those of us with pulses, where those events have taken us today."
As all the above goes down, Anne Flaherty (AP) reports that, in the US House of Representatives, "Democratic leaders are developing an anti-war proposal that wouldn't cut off money for U.S. troops in Iraq but would require President Bush to acknowledge problems with an overburdended military. The plan could draw bipartisan support but is expected to be a tough sell to members who say they don't think it goes far enough to assuage voters angered by the four-year conflict." Dana Bash (CNN) reports that efforts continue "to bridge differences within the [Democratic] party after backwing away from legislation that would set condictions on war funding." That would be US House Rep John Murtha's proposal. Bash quotes Yawn Emmanuel making his usual self-serving statements and notes that the Senate's 'bravely' (my mock, not Bash's) decided to postpone debating anything "for at least two weeks." (Insert joke about Bully Boy being "The Decider" here.) Yesterday, US Senator Russ Feingold issued the following statement:
I am working to fix the new proposal drafted by several Senate Democrats, which at this point basically reads like a new authorization. I will not vote for anything that the President could read as an authorization for continuing with a large military campaign in Iraq. Deauthorizing the President's failed Iraq policy may be an appropriate next step if done right, but the ultimate goal needs to be using our Constitutionally-granted power of the purse to bring this catastrophe to an end.
With few exceptions, including Feingold, the Democrats holding Congressional office appear more than willing to take Bully Boy's war and make it their own which is what they do as they rush to grab cover and refuse to call out an illegal war. Meanwhile, Larry Kaplow (Cox News Service) reports that a "public affairs guidance" note was "sent to units in Iraq from the Baghdad command" which includes generic talking points created by the Pentagon which may also be controlling the Democratic Party judging by their own generic talking points. Meanwhile Edward Epstein (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that there is no backing away from the Murtha plan but don't pin your hopes on it, Yawn Emanuel shows up to offer more talking points. Jill Zuckman and Aamer Madhani (Chicago Tribune) may call it best: "Democrats in the House and Senate are struggling to find the best way to express congressional disapproval of the war and President Bush's troop buildup. They are wary both of going too far and not going far enough" -- "wary being the key word.
Finally, in policy news, Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports that when US House Rep Marty Meehan "introduces legislation to overturn the ban on openly gay and lesbian troops serving in the military," he will be joined by Eric Alva (a Staff Sgt. "first U.S. Marine seriously wounded in Iraq" -- March 21, 2003) who is now openly gay.
Alva tells Jose Antonio Vargas (Washington Post): "The truth is, something's wrong with this ban. I have to say something. I mean you're asking men and women to lie about their orientation, to keep their personal lives private [. . .] That's one fact. The other factor is, we're losing probably thousands of men and women that are skilled at certain types of jobs, from air traffic controllers to linguists, because of this broken policy."
iraq
ehren watadaagustin aguayomark wilkersonkpfa
aaron glantz
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
nora barrows friedmanflashpointsdahr jamailsteve leighconor reed
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