- So, all of the top-tier candidates have signed a
#NoKXL pledge, except that fellow Biden. It would sure be a good thing to do!
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, September 5, 2019. Another American has died in Iraq, Joe
Biden's lies about Iraq reveal that his 'gaffes' aren't accidents, and
much more.
Another American has died in Iraq, 31-year-old Brandon Pinson. Patrick Smith (NBC NEWS) and REUTERS report:
Another American has died in Iraq, 31-year-old Brandon Pinson. Patrick Smith (NBC NEWS) and REUTERS report:
An American working to defuse explosive
devices left from battles with the Islamic State near the northern Iraqi
city of Mosul has been killed, according to local Iraqi security
officials and the humanitarian organization Swiss Foundation for Mine
Action (FSD).
FSD, which clears mines and explosive remnants after wars, named the American on Tuesday as 31-year-old Brandon Pinson.
The FSD employee was defusing an explosive device when he was killed, the organization said in a statement.
It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Brandon Pinson, supervisor of one of FSD's clearance teams in Iraq. He was killed this morning following the explosion of an IED he was defusing. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. 
bit.ly/2jXbIPX
bit.ly/2jXbIPXMolly Parker (THE SOURTHERN) reports:
Pinson, 31, was an Army veteran and married father of two.
He
was raised in Benton, though left the area as a young adult. His mom,
Karen Pinson, of Benton, said he was just a month shy of completing his
work in Iraq and returning to his home in Cherry Point, North Carolina.
He was eager to get back to his wife, Samantha, and their 4- and
2-year-old boys, she said. He had recently accepted a job as a police
officer, she said. Karen said she believes her son accepted the contract
work in the meantime to support his family, and because he also
believed in the mission of the humanitarian aid organization for which
he worked. Left behind to detonate without warning, these weapons
terrorize citizens who are trying to return home even after the war has
ended. “He loved helping people,” she said. “He would help anybody. It
didn't matter who it was.”
This young man from my hometown Benton, IL lost his life defusing an IED in Iraq yesterday. Plz keep family, especially wife & 2 boys, in your prayers. Also help financially thru this link & RT
TY
Brandon Pinson Family Support Fund
TY
Brandon Pinson Family Support Fund
Do me a favor today and read this article.
This young man lost his life trying to make the world safer for those living in war torn areas.
Brandon Pinson, 31, Army Vet, Husband, Father
HERO
Click here to support Brandon Pinson Family Support Fund organized by Juanita Michelle Gober gofundme.com/f/Brandon-Pins…
Benton native Brandon Pinson was killed Tuesday morning in Iraq, where he was leading a team of deminers working to clear improvised explosive devices left behind from battles with the Islamic State. thesouthern.com/news/local/ben…
BENTON — Benton native Brandon Pinson was killed Tuesday morning in Iraq, where he was leading a team of deminers working to clear improvised explosive devices left behind from battles with the Islamic State.
Former U.S. military EOD Tech Brandon Pinson, age 31, was killed while rendering safe an IED close to the village of Tel
al-Shear, south of Mosul, Iraq. He is survived by his wife and two young children fsd.ch/wp-content/upl…
Iraq was an issue in the 2004 US presidential election, the 2008 US presidential election, the 2012 US presidential election, the 2016 US presidential election and it's becoming an issue in the upcoming 2020 election.
Last week, THE WASHINGTON POST's Matt Viser and Greg Jaffe reported on Joe's fanciful story that he tells publicly but that is not accurate: "The upshot: In the space of three minutes, Biden got the time period, the location, the heroic act, the type of medal, the military branch and the rank of the recipient wrong, as well as his own role in the ceremony."
As he finished telling that lie, he concluded with, "This is the God's truth. My word as a Biden." It wasn't the God's truth and there should be serious questions about his "word as a Biden." He and his campaign have repeatedly tried to dismiss it. It doesn't matter, they insist.
You can tell me you're telling the truth
That you don't wanna make me a fool
And baby you know I play along
That you don't wanna make me a fool
And baby you know I play along
Now you're telling me you're sorry
Well don't start lying to me now
(Don't start lying to me now)
Well don't start lying to me now
(Don't start lying to me now)
-- "Don't Start Lying To Me Now," written by Chris Stapleton, Melissa Peirce and Joss Stone, first appears on Joss' LP1
This week's 'it doesn't matter'? Joe's lie to NPR about how he immediately opposed the Iraq War ("The moment it started. I came out against the war at that moment.").
That lie has gotten more pushback from the press with NEWSWEEK, SPLINTER, BUSINESS INSIDER, SALON, among others. Nathan McDermott and Andrew Kaczynski (CNN) observe, "In recent speeches and interviews defending his past foreign policy decisions, former Vice President Joe Biden has misrepresented his past position on the Iraq War."
Just saw on CNN that Biden claims to have been against the Iraq War, before it began. Hope they’re mistaken. Cuz if he did, it’s not a mistake or a gaffe. It’s a whopper. (& btw, this isn’t about age. I’m 74 & remember quite clearly who was for & against)
Ben Mathis-Lilly (SLATE) notes:
Underlying all of that is the absurdity, when two of
the premises of your presidential campaign are that you have good
foreign policy judgment and that you are an expert at working with
Republicans in bipartisan good faith, of telling a story about how you
made a disastrous foreign policy decision because a Republican took
advantage of your naïve belief that he was working in bipartisan good
faith.
So … given that it’s extremely at odds with both the public
record and the themes of his campaign, why is Biden claiming that George
W. Bush fooled him into accidentally voting to start a war? Probably
because the most central theme of his campaign, and indeed the theme of his entire career,
is that Joe Biden represents the common-sense majority consensus of the
American public against extremists on both sides. In 2002 and 2003, a
wide majority of Americans felt that Bush was a good president and that
invading Iraq was a good idea, and thus Joe Biden for the most part felt
that way too. In 2019, though, those positions are, at best, contested ones, and thus Joe Biden no longer holds them either.
"9 months ago, I voted with my colleagues to give the president the authority to use force & I'd vote that way again today," Joe Biden, 7-31-03.
"I am opposed to giving the President a blank check to launch a unilateral invasion and occupation of Iraq," Bernie Sanders, 10-09-02
I honestly can't believe that @JoeBiden, who voted for the Iraq War, and then support the occupation for years, is claiming that he opposed the war after the invasion.
There's a word for this.
Lying
Nominate someone who doesn’t lie so much, creating a “both sides do it, so don’t bother voting” narrative. businessinsider.com/biden-opposed-…
Biden's role in leading us into the Iraq War was a disaster then and deeply troubling for his decision making now. He was Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and in better position than anyone to expose the lies. Instead he trusted Bush. FULL: youtube.com/watch?v=yTXA9v…
Today on MORNING EDITION (NPR), Don Goya offers a fact check on Joe's claim while Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley reminds:
Biden has been challenged on the
veracity of other stories or factual assertions that he has used on the
campaign trail. That has been a long-standing problem with Biden.
However, this is about his record in supporting an unnecessary and
unwarranted war that costs thousands of lives and ultimately over a
trillion dollars. Like Kerry and Clinton, Biden cast the popular rather
than the right vote. No level of revision of history will change the
cost of that war for thousands of families or the country.
These denials and revisions are
precisely why the Framers wisely insisted on declarations of war — a
constitutional requirement that has been effectively removed from the
Constitution by our politicians.
In other news, Adnan Abu Zeed (AL-MONITOR) reports:
Ammar al-Hakim, head of the National Wisdom Movement, said Aug. 12 that efforts aimed at forming an opposition front would produce a “shadow government.” This comes after the concept of parliamentary opposition remained absent during
the terms of three parliaments due to consensual multiparty emocracy
and the domination of the same parties for more than 10 years.
Baligh Abu Kalal, a top member of the National
Wisdom Movement, told Al-Monitor, “The aim of the shadow government is
to consolidate democracy with both pro-government and opposition
camps and to offer an alternative to the current government through
figures representing the opposition who diagnose the errors of the
government and provide solutions and remedies.”
Abu Kalal said, “The shadow government will form
committees to meet with some or all government ministries at the
beginning in order to better evaluate and motivate performance.”
What's going on?Adel Abdul Mahdi is a disaster as prime minister. We're one month shy of his first year anniversary. He's been an ineffectual disaster. He's united everyone against him.
The following sites updated:
