Hump day and I'm exhausted. We had to attend a dinner party tonight so I'm going to be brief tonight and I'm sure Elaine will be as well.
So since I'm short on time, let's start with what's really important. Tonight Multi-National Forces issued this: "A Multi-National Division–Baghdad Soldier died April 22 from combat related injuries while conducting a patrol in eastern Baghdad. The Soldier’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The names of the service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense Official Website at http://www.defenselink.mil/ . The announcements are made on the Web site no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member’s primary next of kin. MND-B will not release any additional details prior to notification of next of kin and official release by the DoD. The incident is currently under investigation." Another "under investigation" death. That's 4275 US troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. (Yeah, I copied C.I.'s phrasing. It's okay, she forwarded the announcement to me. :D)
Do you realize that the allegedly 'left' websites don't even note the deaths? They just moved right on, didn't they?
Like Barack-bait Norman Solomon who gets served in today's snapshot by C.I. He wants to write about something but can't even mention the Iraq War. Norman wants to write about war but forgets the Iraq War. What a loser.
Goodness, Barack-bait, can you embarrass any more?
What an idiot Norman Solomon has become.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the 'surge' continues Congress is informed, a Marine general fears being 'emasculated', the price of oil flucuates, and more.
Yesterday Matthis Chiroux faced a military body. Today he shares:
I stood before the Army. I looked a board of officers in the eyes, and I told them I thought they were sending people off to participate in war crimes. And what did they say? Get out of here, Sergeant, and keep your damn G.I. Bill!!!
Indeed, folks! The Army awarded me a recommendation for a general discharge under honorable conditions from the Individual Ready Reserve for my refusal to deploy to Iraq last summer. This landmark decision means not only am I a free man, I'm free to continue school this fall with the "new" G.I. Bill that I earned while on active duty.
Though this discharge is identical to the one I refused in exchange for having this hearing, I can now rest easy knowing I never submitted, I never backed down and the Army has heard my story.
And not just my story, but the stories of those brave veterans at Winter Soldier and those who've participated in IVAW's Warrior Writers' program. Full texts of both books were submitted to the Army this morning, and I can only imagine the fun they're having transcribing them into the record.
So that was the board finding and congratulations to Matthis Chiroux. As noted yesterday, there is no change in his duty status yet. What happens next is the board's record is complied and a legal review takes place. Following that it's forwarded up the chain to, finally, the Commanding General of Human Resources Command. The Commanding General will issue a determination and that should take place before the end of next month.
And staying with war resistance, Friday WLUK (Fox 11 -- link has text and video) provided the latest news on Kristoffer Walker:
Monica Landeros: Well, Laura [Smith], a spokesperson with the U.S. Army tells me Kristoffer Walker has been demoted several ranks from Specialist to Private, but that's just part of his punishment. The Army also said Walker will be fined in the form of docked pay. For two months he will get half of his usual paycheck. In addition, he will also be fined for a -- confined to an Army base for 45 days. That means he can't leave the base and might even have additional duties during that time. Though Army officials do not know when that confinement will actually start. That's because right now, Walker is on medical leave from Iraq though officials won't give details on his medical condition. Once he is healthy, Army officials said he will begin the base confinement. Now we were unable to speak to Kristoffer Walker today though his mother tells us her son was aware of the severity of his absence and that he was ready for any consequences handed down.
That was in Monday's snapshot but the "n" was left out of Monica Landeros' name. My apologies.
Today the US Senate was where Marine General James F. Amos blurted out fears of 'emasculation'. Before that high drama came took place, the US Senate's Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support had to be called to order and chair Evan Bayh did that noting, "The purpose of today's hearing is to address the growing strain placed upon our Army and Marine Corps. We will receive testimony on the current readiness of ground forces with respect to deployed, deploying and non-deployed units. We will also discuss the Army and the Marine Corps' abilitiy to provide forces to meet combat commanders' requirements and to respond to unforseen contingincies. We're particularly interested in your assessment of the risks resulting from the continued committment of combat forces to Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally the subcommittee would be interested to know your views on the current and projected readiness reporting systems used by the Department of Defense. Over the last several years, we have observed total force readiness decline as a result of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe."
The witnesses appearing before the Subcommittee were the Army's General Peter W. Chiarelli and the Marines' General Amos. A surprise witness was Ranking Republican subcommittee member Richard Burr's tie which was a ghastly pink thing with silver and blue stripes that appeared to have just surfaced on his closet floor that morning after having gone underground at some point in 1975. The tie formed no words but somehow spoke volumes and may, in fact, have warded off Democrats which would explain why so few were present. On the Republican side, four serve on the committee and three showed up: Senators Burr, James Inhofe and John Thune took part in the hearing. Six Democrats are assigned to the committee. Bayh was present. We'll note a portion of Senator Roland Burris' opening remarks since he also showed up for the hearing.
Roland Burris: . . . I just want to thank our military personnel for all that they do for us, I will have a few questions. But my favorite saying -- and I want the military personnel to hear this statement: We are able to do what we do in America because of what you do across the world for our protection. Just keep that in mind. And we appreciate your committment, your effort and your dedication to making us the strongest country in the world. And every time I see one of you, whether you're a private or a four-star general, I saulte each and every one of you.
Democratic Senator Mark Udall joined the subcomittee near the end of the hearing (last third). Dropping back to the start, Gen Chiarelli paraphrased and summarized his [PDF format warning] prepared statement and key point was that the army will respond on the budget when its released by the White House. Gen Amos read his [PDF format warning] prepared statement which used phrases such as "the Long War".
Evan Bayh (to Gen Chiarelli): You mentioned that we're consuming our readiness as fast as fast as we're rebuilding it, I think that's what you said what must be done to change that? So that we're no longer just kind of treading water, what needs to be done to actually improve our readiness so that we're not in this constant state of tearing it up while building it without really making long term progress?
Peter Chiarelli: Well two things I'd point out, senator, would be first of all we need to complete the grow the army plan and as you know that goes to the 45 brigade mark. We are doing that.
Evan Bayh: That would be the top of your priority list?
Peter Chiarelli: That would -- that is very, very important that we grow those 45 brigades because this is a question of supply and demand. I can't control the demand. And the demand right now shows that I have 26 combat brigades that are currently deployed. I have a total of 18 active component brigades and 8 reserve component brigades. And when I have that many brigades deployed, I have what's called friction. Best explained by kind of a Navy analogy that -- when you have a --
Evan Bayh: This is a first. The army referencing the Navy.
Peter Chiarelli: This is a first. But I have a rough time explaining friction if I don't call on my other services to help me out. When you have an air craft carrier that's sitting in the middle of the Persian Gulf and you want to go ahead and relieve it an air craft carrier casts off from some place in the United States and at that particular point and time you've got two air craft carriers doing the job of one. And the same thing happens with Army brigades. When I have 26 deployed, I've got normally six that are also doing another job so that total number goes up to 32.
Chiarelli explained this effects dwell time/reset time with soldiers spending 12 months deployed "and 1.3 years back at home." He also raised the issue of the 'surge,' "The surge for the United States Amry is not over. We on't get our last combat brigade off of a 15 month deployment until June of this year and I won't get my last combat service support or combat support unit back off a 15 month deployment until September."
He declared the Army had met their recruitment goals, in fact, "we even went a little bit over." Sunday Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) reported that the US Army was now able to be "more selective" as a result of the (bad) economy in recruiting which has allowed them to cease "accepting felons and recent drug abusers into its ranks". Tyson added, "The Army annually granted hundreds of waivers for felons in recent years, reaching a high of 511 in 2007. Now, that category of waiver, for 'adult major misconduct,' is closed" according to Brig Gen Joseph Anderson.
You can't have a Congressional hearing these days without someone saying "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" and today that phrase was said by Bayh. This took place in his exchange with Gen Amos. Bayh noted that when people hear that the non-deployed forces aren't ready, they wonder "just how not ready are the non-deployed forces?"
"Sir, I think it would take probably several months I think it would take Global Sourcing for the Marine Corps [removing Marines from Western Pacific assignments]." The Congress has doled out $12 billion thus far for reset costs and Amos stated that the estimate of the total reset costs was $20 billion.
Senator Burr wanted to know about contractors and Amos referenced Honeywell in Iraq and how 100 of their "workers do the triage, they do the preliminary mainteance" on equpiment and vehicles and determine whether or not something can be salvaged. Senator Burris also wanted to know about contractors, the ones employed in the US to inspect the equipment, "determining that it's functional." Gen Amos replied that they not only ensure that and that "if you pick your nicest car that you have confidence in when you buy it, that's how" reliable the equipment that passes inspection and is sent out to the field is.
Senator Bayh made the point in the last third of the hearing, to General Chiarelli that, "I think the American people have a right to know that if something else comes along, we're going to have a hard time meeting the national security threat to the country, we'll do our best but it puts you folks in a very difficult position." Bayh brought Gen Amos into this topic and Amos agreed.
James Amos: I think it would be very challenging. Difficult, challenging, for me mean they mean the same thing. I don't think there's any question about it. You know this is not -- uh -uh
Evan Bayh: It's not an abstract. This is not an abstract problem we're dealing with here.
James Amos: It's not, sir. I think it's a very worthwhile question and in the case of the Marine Corps if something happened in Iran or Korea -- North Korea -- we would end up freezing the forces in place. You'd freeze the ones you had in Iraq and Afghanistan, hold them in there, and as we said earlier on in the testimony, you would bring together -- you would build a fighting force that you could deploy but you'd have to train it, you'd have to figure out how you're going to get the equipment. We would, in the case of the Marine Corps, would emasculate all of our strategic reserves which are in our Maritime Preposition Squardons whatever's left up in the caves of Norway. We would pull all of that together and uh and deploy that force but we'd have to train it, we'd have to figure out what we'd need to do in that environment that we're not training people for right now because we're predominately a counter-insurgency, a regular warfare focus Marine Corps right now. So all those other skills -- combined armed fire manuever forcefible entry -- those things -- we'd have to figure out, we'd have to figure out, "Okay, what do we need to do for this new -- this new contingency? Is it possible?" The answer is "yes." [General Chiarelli begins nodding his head in agreement.] Your military, both your Army and your Marine Corps and Navy and Air Force would come together and we'd make it happen just like we did prior to the onset of Korea. We did exactly the same thing. But it would be painful.
Even Bayh: As I recall in the beginning stages of Korea, it also meant that our performance suffered because we were just trying to make the best of a bad situation. And we shouldn't consciously put ourselves in that spot is that --
James Amos: Sir, that is absolutely correct. In the case, just instructive for me as I think about this, we went -- after the president and the Secretary of War -- after WWII and the great successes of WWII, emasculated the Marine Corps, even went public and said we don't even we're not even sure we need a Marine Corps anymore and for certain we'll never do an amphibious operation and yet in 1949 we took a Fifth Marine regiment from the West Coast which was down to about 15 to 20% of what it should have been cobbled together Marines from the East Coast, all across, brought 'em all together to Fifth Marine, blew that balloon up, trained 'em and then ships together and made the largest amphibious operation and certainly the most difficult one we've ever done shortly after so, sir, I think your concerns are very valid.
Evan Bayh: When a Marine uses a term like emasculate the situation must be fairly dire.
James Amos: I just -- well I just think it certainly was then.
But he didn't just use it when speaking of Korea back in 1949. He was speaking of today as well. Which doesn't make him correct. He may just suffer from castration fears. He also seems to forget that if the US used the military only when attacked, the costs would be much less. (And many would argue that a standing military isn't even used -- however, without one, what would US presidents have to play with?)
Turning to the topic of oil, Julianne Pepitone and Ben Rooney (CNN) reported this morning that oil has fallen from $48 per barrel to $45.88. This as Alsumaria explains Iraq "hopes to expand [its navy] by a third within two years to number 2,500 and expand its small fleet in the process. near the southern city of Basra" in order to protect their oil ports. Iraq's neighbor Iran wants the price of oil per barrel to double. Press TV reports Iran wants higher priced oil -- $80 per barrel -- and quotes Petroleum Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari stating, "Our aim is to increase crude oil price from the current $40-$50 per barrel to $80 a barrel." Which makes the oil-rich city of Kirkuk even more desirable to many surrounding players. The Kurdistan Regional Government believes Kirkuk belongs to their region and the centeral government in Baghdad claims it does not. For months, the UN, led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for Iraq Staffan de Mistura, has been attempting to broker potential resolutions and will release their report today. Reuters provides background on Kirkuk here and notes that the Iraqi government has been handed the report. Corinne Reilly (McClatchy Newspapers) explains the UN delivered "four options" (none of which have to be follwed) which have been seen by "Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government" and none of which recommend splitting up Kirkuk. Missy Ryan (Reuters) notes that, along with Kirkuk, the United Nations has made recommendations for "14 other contested areas in northern Iraq". Citing an unnamed UN official, Ryan states, "Each option put forward by the United Nations would require a political agreement -- a monumental task -- followed by a confirmatory referendum."
Bombings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Nineveh Province car bombing in which a man killed himself in the bombing and two Peshmerga were injured in the attack as was one civilian who was walking by and was shot by Peshmerga, a Mosul roadside bombing left one Iraq soldier injured, a grenade attack on a Baghdad police chckpoint which claimed the life of 1 police officer, left another wounded and also injured two civilians, and a Salahuddin Province suicide bomber killed "himself among a crowd of prayers at Al-Khulafa mosque" and also took 5 other lives and left sixteen people injured.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report 1 person shot dead in Mosul, Tariq Mustafa ("employee of Kirkuk municipality") was shot dead in Kirkuk
Corpses?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report Kirkuk Judge Fayadh Yaseen was kidnapped "as he was leaving his home" in Kirkuk.
Friday the US military announced: "AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - A Multi National Force -West Marine died as the result of a non-combat related incident here April 16. The Marine's name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification and release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." Yesterday the Department of Defense identifed the fallen: "The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Cpl. Ray A. Spencer II, 20, of Ridgecrest, Calif., died April 16 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The incident is currently under investigation." The Honolulu Star-Bulletin explains that he had previously served in Iraq for seven months beginning in August of 2007 and that Ray Spencer II's "awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, according to the Marines." KITV News adds that Spencer's second tour of duty in Iraq began "this month."Betsy Lambert, Bakersfield's Eyewitness News (link has text and video) explains Ray Spencer II attended Burrough High School ("2006 graduate") and the school "will be holding a memorial for Spencer on Thursday at the school during the lunch hour." Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) notes, "Spencer was the fifth serviceman with Hawaii ties to have died in a 'non-combat-related incident' this year. The Pentagon generally does not release details of these types of incidents." He also notes that Ray Spencer II's body is set to return to the US Sunday night (at Dover Air Force Base). Steven Mayer (Bakersfield Californian) quotes widow Athena Spencer stating "When I went to the door, I knew" and that the military "told us probably as much as they've told you. It was on base, so it wasn't combat." Mayer adds:Through her tears and confusion, she first thought it was some kind of terrible joke. "Anthony," as she called her husband, had dreamed of joining the Marines since he was a little boy. Not long before his death, he sent his wife a bouquet of white lilies for Easter. Dan Nakaso (Honolulu Advertiser) explains that Athena Spencer's husband "was shot in the chest and killed Thursday while on base in Anbar province". Monday saw the burial of William Bradley Blanton. "With full military honors," Robert Lee Long (Desoto Times Tribune) explains. Blanton was set "to leave next week for Camp Shelby and then Iraq" when he "died in a one-car accident near Tunica after his vehicle ran off the roadway." Robert Staley died over the weekend. Winston-Salem News reports (link has text and video) the funeral for the 39-year-old police officer took place today. He was set "to leave this week for his first deployment to Iraq with the National Guard"; however, he was hit by a truck while on his motorcyle.
Pulling this from the April 13th snapshot because of a funeral tomorrow:
Sunday the 5 US soldiers killed on Friday arrived at Dover Air Force Base. Jeff Montgomery (Delaware's News Journal) observes, "It was the heaviest loss of American lives in Iraq in 13 months, and the largest number of casualties returned to America in full sight of the public since the Defense Department opened the process to news coverage last week, after a 18-year blackout."
The Defense Dept identified the five as: "Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods Jr., 24, of Lebanon Junction, Ky., Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Hall, 32, of Elk Grove, Calif., Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis, Mo., Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa, and PV2 Bryce E. Gautier, 22, of Cypress, Calif." Sheryl Edelen (Courier-Journal) reports on Gary L. Woods Jr., "Woods' father, Gary Woods St., said that his son, who went by his middle name, Lee, was a talented musician who sang and played the trombone, drums, piano and guitar while a student at Bullitt Central High School. He was also a member of the school's football team. But after finding satisifation in ROTC classes, his son entered the military after high school, he said." Bob White (Lebanon Junction News Enterprise) adds, "Woods is surived by his parents, siblings and a wife, Christie, his father said." Tony Bizjak (Sacramento Bee) reports on Bryan Edward Hall, "Hall, 32, had served in the military for 14 years and had been deployed in Iraq since September. . . . Hall had received three Army commendation medals, according to military records, as well as several Army achievement, good conduct and war on terrorism medals." Dave Marquis (Sacramento's News10.net) quotes Debbie Lords, who is a neighbor of the Bryan Edward Hall's parents, stating, "I don't know what I'm thinking. I just really feel for John and Betty right now. It was their oldest son, their oldest child." Paul Hampel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) reports on Edward Forrest Jr., "Forrest was based at Fort Carson in Colorado and lived near the base with his wife and two sons, ages 2 and one month. Forrest was a 2003 graduate of Rockwood Summit High School. He was on his third tour of duty in Iraq." His sister Melissa Forrest-Pliner tells Hampel, "I asked him not to re-enlist. I told him I didn't want him to be a hero. I just wanted him to be my brother." South County Times adds, "In high school, Sgt. Forrest, known as 'Eddie,' was a long distance runner on the track team, and was also on the wrestling team" and quotes his coach Rolland Garrison stating, "He was a very enthusiastic member of the track and field program here at Rockwood Summit. He was a very good kid with a great smile." Molly Hottle (Des Monies Register) reports on Jason Graham Pautsch, "David Pautsch was informed of his son's death Friday night, just 12 hours after the two had spoken on the phone. 'He believed n what he was doing,' David Pautsch said. 'This is what he wanted to do'." Nicole Murphy (WAQD, link has text and video) spoke with David Pautsch who explained the call he received, "'On behalf of the Secretary of the Army I just want to let you know, give our condolences and notify you that your son was killed in Mosul." Pautsch continues, "You're stunned and you're shocked and you find it hard to believe that it could actually be happening but then it seeps and that's when the emotions hit." Pautsch goes on to explain that he believes his son was protecting the US from the "terrorists" in Iraq and he also shares, "I'm thrilled for Jason that he's in heaven." Eugene W. Fields (Orange County Register) reports on Bryce E. Gautier, "Gauier, a medic, joined the Army in January of 2008 and had been in Iraq since January of this year, according to Army documents. He received the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Gautier graduated in 2005 from Rancho Alamitos High in Garden Grove, according to school district spokesman Alan Trudell." Tom Roeder and Maria St. Louis-Sanchez (Colorado Springs Gazette) note Gauier's MySpace page and add, "His sense of humor is evident from a posting on the site, which Gautier last updated three days before his death. 'Winners make the rules, losers just follow them,' Gautier wrote. 'In the Army now.' Gautier's brother, Even, left a simple eulogy on his Web page: 'My brother Bryce was one of the American soldiers killed in the suicide bombing in Iraq this morning. I love you bro. I will miss you'."
That was April 13th's snapshot. CBS 13 reports that Brian Edward Hall's funeral will be Thursday: "The route of the procession will begin at the Sacramento Executive Airport, and will go to Highway 99, head southbound to Elk Grove Boulevard, and will end at the Elk Grove Funeral Chapel at 9101 Elk Grove Boulevard." KCRA notes, "His family is asking members of the community to show their support for the fallen soldier by lining the route." Jason Kobely (News10.net -- link has text and video) reports that Brian Edward Hall's body arrived at Sacramento's Executive Airport yesterday and was greeted by "hundreds of mourners." Kobely quotes Kristi Hall, Brian's sister, stating, "My brother loved his job. He was proud of his job everyday. He never boasted about his accomplishments, or was arrogant. He did his job, and when he was done with his job, he came home and was a father, and a husband . . . and a son and a brother." The Bellingham Herald notes that Melloney Ward attended the funeral of her son Bryce Gautier today and quotes her stating, "He was just a kind and loving young man. He had a good heart." Jason Pauch's funeral was yesterday and Erin Jordan (Des Monines Register) notes that Iowa Governor Chet Culver attended the funeral and told the family, "Although no one will ever truly know your pain, you're not alone" while his older brother Jared spoke of their time stationed at Fort Benning together. Chris Minor (WQAD -- link has text plus video of Jason's sister Jenna remembering him) adds that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn also attended the hearing and spoke calling Jason Paucsh "a genuine hero". Barb Ickes (Quad City Times) explains she rode in the procession with Police Captain Dave Struckman:
We were on 53rd Street when we passed four men in matching green T-shirts, pouring a concrete sidewalk. They were sweating, and their cement needed their attention. But they all stopped what they were doing. They turned to the approaching hearse and placed their dirty hands over their hearts.
The somber expressions on the working men's faces made me cry, and I turned to Struckman to say I was sorry for going on the way I was. And I realized he was crying, too.
"How do you keep doing this, Captain?" I asked.
"Thank God for sunglasses," he answered.
WQAD also notes that Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba declared today Jason Pautsh Day.
Moving over to "If you're going to make an assertion about a book, you need to have read it." Either Vijay Prashad didn't read the book or he lies to readers at CounterPunch:
A new book by The Washington Post reporter Thomas Ricks, The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008, claims that the great victory in Iraq is not far and that the credit for it should go to the Surge that began in 2007. This sort of account provides comfort that Obama's gradual withdrawal will now end what should never have begun in the first place.
That is a complete distortion of Ricks' book and the bad column has Vijay Prashad's name on it so he's either STUPID or a LIAR. Ricks argues no such thing. Ricks does believe -- in the book -- that the Iraq War is going to continue for many, many years (past 2012). He writes (and speaks) of the various phases the Iraq War has gone through thus far. Vijay may believe the war is winding down but don't pin that on Thomas E. Ricks who wrote no such thing. The 'surge' distortion Vijay's pimping (like Tom Hayden before him) most likely is based on Joan Walsh's uninformed review. Joan's "like a staw in the wind" and needed to get 'on board' with the Iraq War now that Barack was in the White House. Lazy Asses like Hayden and Vijay don't bother to read. It's too much trouble for them. So they scan a few reviews and then pontificate in loud voices pretending that they're informed. Vijay Prashad discredits his entire column by revealing either how igorant or how deceptive he is. His column has an interesting theme and it's too bad that, throughout it, his skills and information gathering are so damn weak that they make his the most laughable column of the week thus far.
Example: Prashad writes: "On February 27, Obama made a cautious statement about drawndown from Iraq, promising to remove 142,000 troops and to end all combat operations by August 31, 2010." No, he did not. Is Prashad trying to lie? Is he careless? Is he really that stupid? Barack didn't promise to remove 142,000 troops by August 31, 2010. The 'promise' is meaningless but, regardless, he didn't give the deadline for the removal of 142,000 US troops as August 31, 2010. And that 'promise' is meaningless. Barack laid the groundwork to weasel out on any draw down (when someone spells it "drawdown" they're doing the White House's bidding) in 2007, as Kat noted last night. He has repeatedly stated, for two years now, that he will send US troops back into Iraq in the midst of a 'withdrawal' if 'conditions on the ground' necessitate it. While offering pretty words on 'withdrawal' (and avoiding tell his adulation rallies about the fine prints), Barack still refused to promise all US troops would be out by the end of 2012 if he was elected president in 2008. Idiots like Vijay need to find a tutor who will assist them in the heavy lifting of thinking. When presenting himself as the end-the-war candidate, he refused to promise all US troops would be out in 2012. At the same time, while courting War Hawks like Michael Gordon in the press, Barack repeatedly insisted he would send troops back in if conditions on the ground changed. Put it together. Vijay can't. He tired himself out too much last year with mind reading (which apparently, for Vijay, beats book reading).
If Vijay didn't write the worst column thus far this week, it's only because Pledged Delegate for Barack Obama surfaced. Normy Solomon, slither on down, spineless. Barack consort and, yes, Pledged Delegate shows up around the web (here for Dissident Voice) with more useless garbage. The words Normy's looking for are, "I apologize for WHORING myself for Barack. I hope that everyone, including the Iraqi people, can forgive me. I feel great shame for promoting a War Hawk." Until he can say those words, Norman Solomon looks (and acts) more and more like Norman Bates. And it takes a lot of crazy for the Normy (who spent the eighties and nineties calling out the likes of Michael Kinsley repeatedly for the claim that if both sides are calling you out you must be doing something right) to declare that there's a 'middle path' for dealing with a War Hawk. Read the garbage and grasp that Norman never pushed to let George W. Bush off the hook, never blamed the continuations of wars on the American people while Bush was in the White House. Norman's an embarrassment. He's like an Old Queen who thinks he's just a belly shirt and a blonde wig away from being Britney Spears. (Or maybe, like the other Norman, he wants to dress up as Mother?) Doesn't matter. He bores us with 675 words allegedly about the war . . . But never about Iraq. That was hasn't ended just because sex-starved cowards like Norman don't want to call their object de lust out. Grow the hell up, Norman, you're about to the cross the point of no return. (Not unlike you know who -- who lost his newspaper job because of the scene he made with his much younger trick who wanted him to bark in the hotel hallway, in his underwear, like a dog.)
Lastly, Women's Voices, Women's Votes president Page S. Gardner notes:
Women didn't cause this economic crisis, but we sure are paying the price for the banks' mistakes. Many of us have lost our jobs - in fact, unmarried women faced a national unemployment rate of 9.6% in March 2009, compared to the rate of 8.5% for Americans as a whole (1). We are losing our healthcare coverage. And our pay still lags behind that of men. However, many CEOs of the biggest banks, which helped create this crisis, have not been held accountable for the mess that they helped create. One example is Ken Lewis of Bank of America. Bank of America, one of the biggest banks in America, took $45 billion in taxpayer bailouts, which means that we taxpayers have a big stake in that bank (2). So Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a big national union, and other progressive groups are forming a huge coalition to demand that Bank of America take action and fire Ken Lewis. Sign a proxy card demanding that Ken Lewis be fired, and that Bank of America support a fair finance system for us all. Ken Lewis gave billions in bonuses for top bank executives, while announcing huge layoffs for employees, and taking a $35 million salary for himself over the past two years - even though he and his fellow executives had run Bank of America into the ground (3). If we convince Bank of America to fire Lewis and change its policies, we will be sending a message to Wall Street that women expect banks to use taxpayer money to help repair the economy, not to enrich the top management. Sign the petition to fire Bank of America's CEO and set a new direction for Wall Street.
iraqiraq veterans against the war
matthis chiroux
missy ryan
mcclatchy newspapershussein kadhimsahar issa
thomas e. ricks
jason kobely
gregg k. kakesakobetsy lambertsteven mayerjulianne pepitoneben rooneycnn
the washington postann scott tyson
womens voices women votes
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Clive Jones
It's Tuesday and we're all scrambling tonight because our planned theme post got killed at the last minute. Instead, we're weighing in on Iraq and using a section of a poem by Clive James from his Opal Sunset.
He probably never knew
That the Hiryu went down at Midway
Where the last of his friends died fighting --
Still missing the cheery voice
Of their mascot, named always to say hello,
Who never said goodbye.
So Matthis Chiroux was before the military board today. AP reports he's told them the board recommended a "general discharge." C.I. covers what happens after that recommendation in the snapshot. (C.I. slid the AP story to me and she also didn't know what the board had recommended when she dictated the snapshot.) So now it goes through the chain of command and one guy studies and decides what happens.
So there should be a good chance that the last commander in the chain of command agrees with the board (and the legal review agrees with the board as well) in which case Matthis Chiroux should be (again) discharged and this time for good.
That would be a huge victory for someone who's fought hard and stayed strong.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Chris Hill is confirmed by the US Senate to be US Ambassador to Iraq (and the GOP's eyes twinkle with delight), a federal judge rains on Steven D. Green's defense parade, Matthis Chiroux appears before a military board, Widget spreads lies in the US, and more.
For some it is a very confusing world we live in. For example, the US State Dept which offers yesterday's press briefing by Robert Wood (link has text and video) with a breakdown of the countries discussed and what's discussed one each:
IRAQ
President Ahmadinejad Speech at the UN Anti-Racism Conference / Comments Were Unacceptable and Feed Racial Hatred / Rhetoric is Unhelpful and Counterproductive / Durban Declaration / Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Statement
Want to Engage Iran Directly Through Diplomacy / Need to Engage Iran on Number of Issues / Iraq / Hezbollah
Roxana Saberi / No Response from Aide-Memoire / Working Hard on the Case Through our Swiss Protecting Power / Accusation of Espionage is Without Foundation
As you read the above, you may think, "Hmm, that doesn't sound like Iraq." Because it's not. It's Iran. And when the US State Dept doesn't know the difference between the two, be very scared.
But it's Barack Obama's time to tremble now. Proving to be the wet-behind-the-ears checker player and not the 'master chess man,' Barack nominated and stuck with the unqualified Chris Hill to be US Ambassador to Iraq. Today the US Senate confirmed him on a vote of 73 in favor, 23 against. Congratulations to the Obama administration for walking straight into the GOP trap. Iraq is volatile and the 'center will not hold' is the conventional wisdom in DC. The Republicans went on record in their opposition to Hill. If (some say "when") Iraq returns to the pre-surge civil war level of violence (violence has not disappeared in Iraq), guess who the Republicans are going to blame?
You think it's Ray Odierno? No, they're not going to blame the general. They're going to toss the Democratic Congress members words back in their face about "political solutions." For the last few years, Dems in Congress have repeatedly and rightly noted that there has been no progress and that the 'surge' was supposed to create breathing room for the progress to move through. That did not happen. (Nor was the 'surge' solely responsible for the violence. As important was the paying off "Awakening" Council members -- as General David Petreaus and then-US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker made clear to Congress repeatedly in April of last year. Also important was the walling off neighborhoods, the refugee crisis -- which removed a number of targets and more.) They're going to say "diplomatic solutions." Ray Odierno is the top US commander in Iraq. He's not part of the State Dept. That leaves Chris Hill.
Republicans painted Hill as untrustworthy during the hearing. Hill painted himself as completely clueless on key Iraqi issues (such as Kirkuk and the "Awakenings"). Most importantly, Chris Hill has no experience in the region. Many people did but Barack went with the unkempt Chris Hill. The inexperienced Chris Hill.
And it's amazing how willing to skip into the trap the administration was. (For those still not grasping, see this April 5th entry for how the GOP will use Hill as the fall guy and use Hill to question Barack's judgment.) Maybe Hill will surprise everyone and prove to be truly competent? Could happen. But there's still the fact that Iraq never goes to a turned corner. Just because the wave of Operation Happy Talk comes from Barack and not Bully Boy Bush doesn't make it any more realistic. It just means Barack joins a long list of
Happy Talkers like Donald Rumsfeld in hailing a turned corner when there was none.
Problems on the horizon, NPR's Peter Kenyon (Morning Edition) reported today on the continued conflicts between Iraq and Turkey and how the Kurds appear to be aligning with Turkey in anticipation of the US draw down. This as the tensions continue to simmer.
Peter Kenyon: Iraqi Kurds are also engaged in a potentially explosive power struggle with the central government in Baghdad. Kurdish peshmerga forces have been deployed in disputed territories south of the so-called Green Line that denotes the Kurdish north. The area has a mixed population of Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans, Christians and others and the stakes are especially high in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
In Iraq, Deborah Haynes (Inside Iraq, Times of London) reports on cell phones. Not in the usual useless manner in which so many male reporters have bored us with 'gadget' 'reports' that were like so many foul breathed, car stereo salesmen, but in a way that's honestly abou Iraqis and not a product. Haynes explains that while the civil war was raging in 2007, "when it was too dangerous to step out on a date with someone you fancy, people used the mobile phone as their only form of contact." She notes that dialing random numbers grew popular with males and females: "There are even cases of marriages blossoming from these blind-date style phone encounters." And there was also stalking including of Deborah Haynes who has been cell phone stalked for approximately two years now by one 21-year-old Iraqi male who does not take hints -- nice ones or harsh ones.
And that may be reflective of the culture the US created by installing the fundamentalist fanatics they selected to staff the puppet government. Amnesty International noted yesterday, "Women are faced with systematic discrimination and violence and are targeted specifically because of their gender. They are being attacked in the street by men with different political agendas, but who all want to impose veiling, gender segregation and discrimination. Islamist armed groups have said they were responsible for carrying out violent attacks on women, and have sought to justify them, for failing to abide by their interpretation of how women should behave. In addition, as in many other countries, women also suffer violence at the hands of their fathers, brothers and other relatives, particularly if they try to choose how to lead their lives." The human rights organization notes that abuse is enshrined in the currentl law due to the fact that any man killing his wife can claim it was an 'honor' killing and be sentended to only six months in prison. In addition: "It also effectively allows husbands to use violence against their wives. The 'exercise of a legal right' to exemption from criminal liability is permitted for: 'Disciplining a wife by her husband, the disciplining by parents and teachers of children under their authority within certain limits prescribed by Islamic law (Shari'a), by law or by custom'." And grasp that this legislation was written and passed with US guidance. Grasp how damn little the US government cared about Iraqi women.
Case in point, Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi. Abeer is the 14-year-old girl who was gang-raped by US soldiers March 12, 2006 while her parents and five-year-old sister were murdered (by US soldiers) in the next room. As the gang-rape wound down, Abeer was shot dead -- allegedly by Steven D. Green, All the other US soldiers have either been convicted or entered guilty pleas. They all fingered Steven D. Green as their ringleader, as part of the gang-rape, as the man who did all the killing and as the man who thought up and planned the conspiracy -- which included attempting to make it appear 'insurgents' had attacked Abeer and her family.
When the truth finally emerged that it wasn't 'insurgents' and that it appeared US soliders might be involved, the US military swung into action . . . to insist that Abeer was 24-years-old. As if gang-rape and murder would be less appalling if the rape victim was 24-years-old? In July of 2006, Time magazine noted:
Family members describe Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi as tall for her age, skinny, but not eye-catchingly beautiful. As one of her uncles put it, "She was an ordinary girl." So perhaps it was sheer proximity that made the 15-year-old so tantalizing. Her house was less than 1,000 ft. from a U.S. military checkpoint just outside the Iraqi town of Mahmudiyah, and soldiers manning the gate started stopping by just to look at her. Her mother, who grew concerned enough to make plans for Abeer to move in with a cousin, told relatives that whenever she caught the Americans ogling her daughter, they would give her the thumbs-up sign, point to the girl and say, "Very good, very good."
Abeer's brother Mohammed, 13, told TIME he once watched his sister, frozen in fear, as a U.S. soldier ran his index finger down her cheek. Mohammed has since learned that soldier's name: Steven Green. Last week Green, 21, a former Army private first class who was honorably discharged because of a "personality disorder" a month before the criminal allegations came to light, pleaded not guilty to charges of raping Abeer and killing her along with her parents and 7-year-old sister. Five other soldiers have been charged, four of them for conspiring with Green and one for dereliction of duty for not reporting the crimes. The grisly March 12 slayings--in which Abeer's skull was smashed and her legs and torso set on fire--sparked the military's fifth investigation into U.S. personnel accused of murdering Iraqi civilians. But unlike the massacre in Haditha, where Marines are suspected of shooting up to 24 innocent people in November following the death of a beloved comrade, the butchering of Abeer's family does not appear to be the result of vengeance or confusion. Instead, all signs point to premeditated depravity.
Steven D. Green is the last to be tried and he will be tried in a federal court in Kentucky. He had already been discharged before the realities began emerging about the attack on Abeer and her family. That still doesn't explain the long delay. From the Monday, July 3, 2006 snapshot: "Green, is 21 and was with the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. Friday [June30th] , in Asheville, North Carolina, he was arrested and charged with both the four deaths as well as the rape. According to the US government press release, if convicted on the charge of murder, 'the maximum statutory penalty . . . is death' while, if convicted on the charge of rape, 'the maxmium statutory penalty for the rape is life in prison'." They did attempt to begin last year; however, it was stopped due to a quilting fair. Currently the trial is set to start at nine a.m. April 27th. As Ruth noted Friday, Brette Barrouquere (AP) reported jury selection was completed last week and the witnesses for the prosectuion may include "nearly half-dozen members of the al-Janabi family". Barrouquere also noted that the court had prepared this year for "the 25th annual American Quilter's Society show in Paducah, an event that draws thousands and fills hotel rooms that were needed for trial lawyers and witnesses." Today Green's defense received a set back. His attorneys had repeatedly made embarrassing statements to the press that it was impossible for people in Kentucky to know what it was like in war and that the jury wouldn't know warfare and blah, blah, blah embarrassing bulls**t that demonstrates just what feather-weights Green's attorneys are. It was embarrassing and shameful. And they couldn't stop shooting their mouths off to the press about this 'defense.' Which led the prosecution to file a motion which the judge responded to today with an Order:
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on the United States' Motion in Limine.
The Court having considered the Motion, and the Court being otherwise sufficiently advised, IT IS ORDERED that:
The defendant is prohibited from eleciting, offering, or commenting on the following evidence during the guilt phase of trial:
1. Evidence or argument that the United States could have, or should have, prosecuted the defendant under the Uniform Code of Military Justice;
2. Evidence or argument concerning the resonableness, wisdom, fairness, or consequences of prosecuting the defendant under Federal criminal law instead of under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
3. Evidence concerning the defendant's desire and willingness to be tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and his efforts to reenlist in the Army for that purpose;
4. Evidence concering differences or similarities between Federal criminal law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including with respect to available charges, criminal penalities, sentencing, and eligibility of parole; and
5. Evidence or argument that only individuals who are in the military or who have military experience, and not civilians, can or should evaluate the defendant's conduct.
The fifth one applies to the defense testing the argument that no one could 'judge' Green who hadn't been in war. Possibly the prosecution should have let the defense present that embarrassing argument and then mused whether or not, by that logic, the jury should be composed of 12 rapists? Is a rapist the only one qualified to judge a rapist?
The prosecution just cleaned away the defense strategy and either the defense was launching the biggest fake out and are master geniuses or they are now scrambling for a new game plan.
Let's stay with legal but move to the US, Matthis Chiroux faced a military body today. Matthis was honorably discharged and placed in IRR and then, many months later, informed he was being pulled back into the military and sent to Iraq. He announced May 15, 2008 that he would not deploy to Iraq. Sunday, June 15, 2008 (Father's Day), he explained his reasons in a speech which included the following:
I stand here today as a Winter Soldier. To serve our nation, its military and its people in this dark time of confusion and corruption.I stand here to make it known that my duty as a soldier is first to the higher ideals and guiding principles of this country which our leaders have failed to uphold.I stand here today in defense of the US Constitution which has known no greater enemy, foreign or domestic, than those highest in this land who are sworn to be governed by its word.I stand here today in defense of those who have been stripped of their voices in this occupation for the warriors of this nation have been silenced to the people who need to start listening.We are here to honor the memory of our fathers who more than two centuries ago brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, as Abraham Lincoln once noted.We are here to honor the struggle of our fathers and their fathers and their fathers before them to build this nation and bring it together -- through slavery and poverty, to sexism and racism, through materialism and imperialism. They built this nation and struggled to keep it alive as we've blundered and learned and blundered again. We owe it to our fathers to stand for this nation now when a dark cloud has descended upon it in the form of an administration who is stealing the lives of us all to wage an illegal war -- conceived in lies and birthed [born] of manipulation.As a soldier I was told it was not my place to question the orders of those appointed above me. I had that lie trained into me from my first day of basic training to my last day of active duty. But I have learned the truth, the truth that the occupation of Iraq is inherently illegal and that it is my duty as a soldier to refuse illegal orders to reactivate and deploy in support of it. I have learned that in these times of crisis one must look deep into their own values to know the path that they must walk. I have learned that feeling and thinking and speaking and acting and keeping with courage and honesty in preservation of a righteous cause is blessed and may give a person strength to utter truths that may calm the vicious and the vengeful alike.I believe that this nation and this military may come to know the same truth: That the rule of law has been forsaken and we must return to it or be doomed to continue disaster. I believe in the goodness of the American people and I believe that justice is not dead because we as a people believe that it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government in our names. We know this truth to be self-evident that our nation can unite to oppose an illegal occupation which is killing and scarring and shattering the lives of our youth and the Iraqi people.On this Fathers Day, know, America, that your children need you. We need you to care for us and to care for our country which we will inherit when you are finished with her. We need you to end this occupation of Iraq which has destroyed a country and scattered its people to the wind like ashes in the tempest -- a tempest that has engulfed the nation of Iraq and scrubbed any sign of peace and prosperity from the surface of a civilization older than even history itself.Fathers, we need you to care for your children and the children of Iraq for they know not why you fight and carry no fault in the conflict.Fathers, your sons and daughters need you now to embrace peace for though we were attacked, we have dealt in retaliation that same suffering one-thousand times over to a people who never wronged us. The nation will know little healing until first we stem off the flow of blood and human life for justice and healing will never be done by a blade or a bullet or a bomb or a torture cell.By continuing to participate in the unjust occupation of Iraq, we, as service members, are contributing to that flow of human life and we cannot now -- nor could we ever -- call the Iraqi people an enemy in the fight against the use of terror. But terror is all we now know. We are terrified of the prospect that we have been lied to. We are terrified by the idea that we have killed for nothing. We are terrified to break the silence. We are terrified to do what we know is right.But never again will I allow terror to silence me. Nor will I allow it to govern my actions. I refuse terror as a tactic for uniting a people around an unjust cause. I refuse to allow terror to motivate me to do violence on my fellow man especially those who never wronged me in the first place. I refuse to be terrified to stand in defense of my Constitution. And I refuse to be terrified of doing so in great adversity.As a resister to the Iraq Occupation, I refuse to be terrified by what may come for I know those who stand against me are in terror of the truth. But I will speak my truth, and I will stand by it firmly and forever will my soul know peace. Thank you.
Phillip O'Connor (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) explained this morning, "An administrative separation board at the Army Human Resources Command could grant Chiroux a general discharge or an other-than-honorable discharge, either of which could harm his ability to receive benefits available to honorable discharged veterans." The hearing took place today and there is no change in Matthis duty status at present. What happens next is the board's record is complied and a legal review takes place. Following that it's forwarded up the chain to, finally, the Commanding General of Human Resources Command. The Commanding General will issue a determination and that should take place before the end of next month.
Back to Iraq and some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Baghdad roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and left three more injured and a Baghdad roadside bombing which left three Iraqi soldiers injured. This is the the third day in a row that Iraqi soldiers have been wounded or killed in bombings.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report 2 shootings last night in Mosul, 1 taxi driver shot dead and 1 civilian shot dead.
In other Iraq news, Ed O'Keefe (Washington Post) notes, "Several executives from well-known high tech firms are in Iraq this week as guests of the State Department, part of an effort to boost the use of online and social media in the war-torn country." CNN adds that they represent Autmattic, Twitter, "Google, AT&T, YouTube and others." This visit follows the news that Iraq's stock exchange has gone electric.
While the greedy try to make money in Iraq, Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan attempts to use her name to get the word out on the system that supports the illegal wars. Her latest is Myth America: 10 Greatest Myths of the Robber Class and the Case for Revolution. In a must read column, Cindy explains the reality of what can be expected from the Democratically controlled White and Congress -- the same nothings the Democratically controlled Congress gave two-years-running:
I left the Democratic Party in May of 2007 because of the continued war funding and the continued lack of accountability and I was roundly, thoroughly and viciously attacked by the same "progressives" who are beginning to doubt the "hope" that they bought into, or allowed themselves to be co-opted by. Some are even calling for an "independent third party" movement here in the US to challenge the corrupt two parties!Really? Where were these "progressives" when I was running against the Queen of the Robber Class here in SF as an independent? Their heads were buried in the sand, or they were wearing the Rose Colored Glasses of denial and now we are mired in a situation that cannot be remedied: once the Genie is out of the bottle, she can't be easily put back in. Do you think the Democrats will hold Obama to account, when they failed to hold Bush to account? I doubt it and we will continue to see the Obama-Summers-Geithner-Bernanke collapse of the economy and the continued war crimes of the Obama-Clinton-Gates occupations for profit. It's way past time to stop giving the "Two" Party Robber Class system "a chance." It's time to stop the "inside" part of an "inside-outside" strategy. We have virtually nobody on the inside who will speak for us besides a token bone thrown out of those marble cesspools and we have to stand up for our class. Warren Buffet, a famous Robber Class business man who loves to dabble in the Democratic part of the One-Robber Class party said: "It is a class war, and my class is winning." They are only winning because we allow them to.
Cindy Sheehan is on the road and these are the next dates listed for her Seat of Our Pants tour:April 21: Albuquerque Smith Brasher Hall (CNM Campus, corner of University and Coal) 7-9 pm and then book signing. April 23: Eureka Springs Arkansas Sweet Spring Antiques Mart 2 Pine Street (across from P.O.) 7-9 pm Eureka Springs Contact: Gerry Fonseca, geraldt7@earthlink.net April 26: Kansas City, Mo (Sponsored by KKFI and joint fundraiser with Cindy) 3:30 - Anti-War vigil on the Plaza with Cindy Sheehan 5:00 - Meet & Greet with Cindy 6:30 - Music by Seed Love 7:00 - Music by The Herrmannators 7:30 - Cindy Sheehan speaks Venue: Uptown Theater - Valentine Room 3700 Broadway Contact for KCMO: Anne Pritchett, pritchett.anne@gmail.com
Also touring the US, orbiting DC, is the laughable Wijdan Mikha'il Salim, a puppet for the puppet Nouri al-Maliki. She holds the title "Minister of Human Rights." She holds the title and holds the place and does nothing. But she's on a charm offensive because it's been noted that the Foreign Ministry is heavily cast male and she's the 'spot of color' to convince Americans that Iraqi women do get to do more than be beat up, raped or killed.
Her charm mission found her declaring Friday, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, the laughable claim that Iraqi society needs to be educated in order for the suppression of women to cease. Really, Wijit? Do they just wind you up and point you towards the mike?
The stupid liar wants Americans to believe that Iraq was Afghanistan when, in fact, it was no such thing. Prior to the 2003 invasion and the installation -- by the US -- of religious fanatics, Iraq was a sectarian society with women's rights in their contitution (gone now, thank the US for that) and a society in which women participated and held many jobs and duties. The fanatics the US government used in an effort to scare the Iraqi people into sumbission are the ones who destroyed women's rights. This is the woman who is the Human Rights Minister. A puppet position granted, but one in which she could have called out the assault on Iraq's LGBT community. (She has REFUSED to respond to the letter on this topic noted in yesterday's snapshot.)
Don't come to the US with your bulls**t propaganda and your 'my hands are tied but we will educate and in decades . . .' Spare us all your garbage. And spare us your repeated use of "man" for "human" when you claim to want to help Iraqi women. You continue the sexism and don't pretend otherwise. There's something truly appalling about anyone stating that rights will come when "we" "educate the people about the real Islam." What does that mean? It means no wall between church and state. Making the statement even more offensive is the fact that Widget isn't Muslim. She's Christian. That statement's not just a lie (she's blaming Islam for the lack of women's rights), it's also patronizing and scapegoating.
iraqiraq veterans against the war
matthis chirouxphillip oconnor
the washington posted okeefecnndeborah haynes
brett barrouquere
mcclatchy newspapershussein kadhimsahar issa
cindy sheehan
nprmorning edition
He probably never knew
That the Hiryu went down at Midway
Where the last of his friends died fighting --
Still missing the cheery voice
Of their mascot, named always to say hello,
Who never said goodbye.
So Matthis Chiroux was before the military board today. AP reports he's told them the board recommended a "general discharge." C.I. covers what happens after that recommendation in the snapshot. (C.I. slid the AP story to me and she also didn't know what the board had recommended when she dictated the snapshot.) So now it goes through the chain of command and one guy studies and decides what happens.
So there should be a good chance that the last commander in the chain of command agrees with the board (and the legal review agrees with the board as well) in which case Matthis Chiroux should be (again) discharged and this time for good.
That would be a huge victory for someone who's fought hard and stayed strong.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Chris Hill is confirmed by the US Senate to be US Ambassador to Iraq (and the GOP's eyes twinkle with delight), a federal judge rains on Steven D. Green's defense parade, Matthis Chiroux appears before a military board, Widget spreads lies in the US, and more.
For some it is a very confusing world we live in. For example, the US State Dept which offers yesterday's press briefing by Robert Wood (link has text and video) with a breakdown of the countries discussed and what's discussed one each:
IRAQ
President Ahmadinejad Speech at the UN Anti-Racism Conference / Comments Were Unacceptable and Feed Racial Hatred / Rhetoric is Unhelpful and Counterproductive / Durban Declaration / Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Statement
Want to Engage Iran Directly Through Diplomacy / Need to Engage Iran on Number of Issues / Iraq / Hezbollah
Roxana Saberi / No Response from Aide-Memoire / Working Hard on the Case Through our Swiss Protecting Power / Accusation of Espionage is Without Foundation
As you read the above, you may think, "Hmm, that doesn't sound like Iraq." Because it's not. It's Iran. And when the US State Dept doesn't know the difference between the two, be very scared.
But it's Barack Obama's time to tremble now. Proving to be the wet-behind-the-ears checker player and not the 'master chess man,' Barack nominated and stuck with the unqualified Chris Hill to be US Ambassador to Iraq. Today the US Senate confirmed him on a vote of 73 in favor, 23 against. Congratulations to the Obama administration for walking straight into the GOP trap. Iraq is volatile and the 'center will not hold' is the conventional wisdom in DC. The Republicans went on record in their opposition to Hill. If (some say "when") Iraq returns to the pre-surge civil war level of violence (violence has not disappeared in Iraq), guess who the Republicans are going to blame?
You think it's Ray Odierno? No, they're not going to blame the general. They're going to toss the Democratic Congress members words back in their face about "political solutions." For the last few years, Dems in Congress have repeatedly and rightly noted that there has been no progress and that the 'surge' was supposed to create breathing room for the progress to move through. That did not happen. (Nor was the 'surge' solely responsible for the violence. As important was the paying off "Awakening" Council members -- as General David Petreaus and then-US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker made clear to Congress repeatedly in April of last year. Also important was the walling off neighborhoods, the refugee crisis -- which removed a number of targets and more.) They're going to say "diplomatic solutions." Ray Odierno is the top US commander in Iraq. He's not part of the State Dept. That leaves Chris Hill.
Republicans painted Hill as untrustworthy during the hearing. Hill painted himself as completely clueless on key Iraqi issues (such as Kirkuk and the "Awakenings"). Most importantly, Chris Hill has no experience in the region. Many people did but Barack went with the unkempt Chris Hill. The inexperienced Chris Hill.
And it's amazing how willing to skip into the trap the administration was. (For those still not grasping, see this April 5th entry for how the GOP will use Hill as the fall guy and use Hill to question Barack's judgment.) Maybe Hill will surprise everyone and prove to be truly competent? Could happen. But there's still the fact that Iraq never goes to a turned corner. Just because the wave of Operation Happy Talk comes from Barack and not Bully Boy Bush doesn't make it any more realistic. It just means Barack joins a long list of
Happy Talkers like Donald Rumsfeld in hailing a turned corner when there was none.
Problems on the horizon, NPR's Peter Kenyon (Morning Edition) reported today on the continued conflicts between Iraq and Turkey and how the Kurds appear to be aligning with Turkey in anticipation of the US draw down. This as the tensions continue to simmer.
Peter Kenyon: Iraqi Kurds are also engaged in a potentially explosive power struggle with the central government in Baghdad. Kurdish peshmerga forces have been deployed in disputed territories south of the so-called Green Line that denotes the Kurdish north. The area has a mixed population of Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans, Christians and others and the stakes are especially high in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
In Iraq, Deborah Haynes (Inside Iraq, Times of London) reports on cell phones. Not in the usual useless manner in which so many male reporters have bored us with 'gadget' 'reports' that were like so many foul breathed, car stereo salesmen, but in a way that's honestly abou Iraqis and not a product. Haynes explains that while the civil war was raging in 2007, "when it was too dangerous to step out on a date with someone you fancy, people used the mobile phone as their only form of contact." She notes that dialing random numbers grew popular with males and females: "There are even cases of marriages blossoming from these blind-date style phone encounters." And there was also stalking including of Deborah Haynes who has been cell phone stalked for approximately two years now by one 21-year-old Iraqi male who does not take hints -- nice ones or harsh ones.
And that may be reflective of the culture the US created by installing the fundamentalist fanatics they selected to staff the puppet government. Amnesty International noted yesterday, "Women are faced with systematic discrimination and violence and are targeted specifically because of their gender. They are being attacked in the street by men with different political agendas, but who all want to impose veiling, gender segregation and discrimination. Islamist armed groups have said they were responsible for carrying out violent attacks on women, and have sought to justify them, for failing to abide by their interpretation of how women should behave. In addition, as in many other countries, women also suffer violence at the hands of their fathers, brothers and other relatives, particularly if they try to choose how to lead their lives." The human rights organization notes that abuse is enshrined in the currentl law due to the fact that any man killing his wife can claim it was an 'honor' killing and be sentended to only six months in prison. In addition: "It also effectively allows husbands to use violence against their wives. The 'exercise of a legal right' to exemption from criminal liability is permitted for: 'Disciplining a wife by her husband, the disciplining by parents and teachers of children under their authority within certain limits prescribed by Islamic law (Shari'a), by law or by custom'." And grasp that this legislation was written and passed with US guidance. Grasp how damn little the US government cared about Iraqi women.
Case in point, Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi. Abeer is the 14-year-old girl who was gang-raped by US soldiers March 12, 2006 while her parents and five-year-old sister were murdered (by US soldiers) in the next room. As the gang-rape wound down, Abeer was shot dead -- allegedly by Steven D. Green, All the other US soldiers have either been convicted or entered guilty pleas. They all fingered Steven D. Green as their ringleader, as part of the gang-rape, as the man who did all the killing and as the man who thought up and planned the conspiracy -- which included attempting to make it appear 'insurgents' had attacked Abeer and her family.
When the truth finally emerged that it wasn't 'insurgents' and that it appeared US soliders might be involved, the US military swung into action . . . to insist that Abeer was 24-years-old. As if gang-rape and murder would be less appalling if the rape victim was 24-years-old? In July of 2006, Time magazine noted:
Family members describe Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi as tall for her age, skinny, but not eye-catchingly beautiful. As one of her uncles put it, "She was an ordinary girl." So perhaps it was sheer proximity that made the 15-year-old so tantalizing. Her house was less than 1,000 ft. from a U.S. military checkpoint just outside the Iraqi town of Mahmudiyah, and soldiers manning the gate started stopping by just to look at her. Her mother, who grew concerned enough to make plans for Abeer to move in with a cousin, told relatives that whenever she caught the Americans ogling her daughter, they would give her the thumbs-up sign, point to the girl and say, "Very good, very good."
Abeer's brother Mohammed, 13, told TIME he once watched his sister, frozen in fear, as a U.S. soldier ran his index finger down her cheek. Mohammed has since learned that soldier's name: Steven Green. Last week Green, 21, a former Army private first class who was honorably discharged because of a "personality disorder" a month before the criminal allegations came to light, pleaded not guilty to charges of raping Abeer and killing her along with her parents and 7-year-old sister. Five other soldiers have been charged, four of them for conspiring with Green and one for dereliction of duty for not reporting the crimes. The grisly March 12 slayings--in which Abeer's skull was smashed and her legs and torso set on fire--sparked the military's fifth investigation into U.S. personnel accused of murdering Iraqi civilians. But unlike the massacre in Haditha, where Marines are suspected of shooting up to 24 innocent people in November following the death of a beloved comrade, the butchering of Abeer's family does not appear to be the result of vengeance or confusion. Instead, all signs point to premeditated depravity.
Steven D. Green is the last to be tried and he will be tried in a federal court in Kentucky. He had already been discharged before the realities began emerging about the attack on Abeer and her family. That still doesn't explain the long delay. From the Monday, July 3, 2006 snapshot: "Green, is 21 and was with the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. Friday [June30th] , in Asheville, North Carolina, he was arrested and charged with both the four deaths as well as the rape. According to the US government press release, if convicted on the charge of murder, 'the maximum statutory penalty . . . is death' while, if convicted on the charge of rape, 'the maxmium statutory penalty for the rape is life in prison'." They did attempt to begin last year; however, it was stopped due to a quilting fair. Currently the trial is set to start at nine a.m. April 27th. As Ruth noted Friday, Brette Barrouquere (AP) reported jury selection was completed last week and the witnesses for the prosectuion may include "nearly half-dozen members of the al-Janabi family". Barrouquere also noted that the court had prepared this year for "the 25th annual American Quilter's Society show in Paducah, an event that draws thousands and fills hotel rooms that were needed for trial lawyers and witnesses." Today Green's defense received a set back. His attorneys had repeatedly made embarrassing statements to the press that it was impossible for people in Kentucky to know what it was like in war and that the jury wouldn't know warfare and blah, blah, blah embarrassing bulls**t that demonstrates just what feather-weights Green's attorneys are. It was embarrassing and shameful. And they couldn't stop shooting their mouths off to the press about this 'defense.' Which led the prosecution to file a motion which the judge responded to today with an Order:
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on the United States' Motion in Limine.
The Court having considered the Motion, and the Court being otherwise sufficiently advised, IT IS ORDERED that:
The defendant is prohibited from eleciting, offering, or commenting on the following evidence during the guilt phase of trial:
1. Evidence or argument that the United States could have, or should have, prosecuted the defendant under the Uniform Code of Military Justice;
2. Evidence or argument concerning the resonableness, wisdom, fairness, or consequences of prosecuting the defendant under Federal criminal law instead of under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
3. Evidence concerning the defendant's desire and willingness to be tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and his efforts to reenlist in the Army for that purpose;
4. Evidence concering differences or similarities between Federal criminal law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including with respect to available charges, criminal penalities, sentencing, and eligibility of parole; and
5. Evidence or argument that only individuals who are in the military or who have military experience, and not civilians, can or should evaluate the defendant's conduct.
The fifth one applies to the defense testing the argument that no one could 'judge' Green who hadn't been in war. Possibly the prosecution should have let the defense present that embarrassing argument and then mused whether or not, by that logic, the jury should be composed of 12 rapists? Is a rapist the only one qualified to judge a rapist?
The prosecution just cleaned away the defense strategy and either the defense was launching the biggest fake out and are master geniuses or they are now scrambling for a new game plan.
Let's stay with legal but move to the US, Matthis Chiroux faced a military body today. Matthis was honorably discharged and placed in IRR and then, many months later, informed he was being pulled back into the military and sent to Iraq. He announced May 15, 2008 that he would not deploy to Iraq. Sunday, June 15, 2008 (Father's Day), he explained his reasons in a speech which included the following:
I stand here today as a Winter Soldier. To serve our nation, its military and its people in this dark time of confusion and corruption.I stand here to make it known that my duty as a soldier is first to the higher ideals and guiding principles of this country which our leaders have failed to uphold.I stand here today in defense of the US Constitution which has known no greater enemy, foreign or domestic, than those highest in this land who are sworn to be governed by its word.I stand here today in defense of those who have been stripped of their voices in this occupation for the warriors of this nation have been silenced to the people who need to start listening.We are here to honor the memory of our fathers who more than two centuries ago brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, as Abraham Lincoln once noted.We are here to honor the struggle of our fathers and their fathers and their fathers before them to build this nation and bring it together -- through slavery and poverty, to sexism and racism, through materialism and imperialism. They built this nation and struggled to keep it alive as we've blundered and learned and blundered again. We owe it to our fathers to stand for this nation now when a dark cloud has descended upon it in the form of an administration who is stealing the lives of us all to wage an illegal war -- conceived in lies and birthed [born] of manipulation.As a soldier I was told it was not my place to question the orders of those appointed above me. I had that lie trained into me from my first day of basic training to my last day of active duty. But I have learned the truth, the truth that the occupation of Iraq is inherently illegal and that it is my duty as a soldier to refuse illegal orders to reactivate and deploy in support of it. I have learned that in these times of crisis one must look deep into their own values to know the path that they must walk. I have learned that feeling and thinking and speaking and acting and keeping with courage and honesty in preservation of a righteous cause is blessed and may give a person strength to utter truths that may calm the vicious and the vengeful alike.I believe that this nation and this military may come to know the same truth: That the rule of law has been forsaken and we must return to it or be doomed to continue disaster. I believe in the goodness of the American people and I believe that justice is not dead because we as a people believe that it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government in our names. We know this truth to be self-evident that our nation can unite to oppose an illegal occupation which is killing and scarring and shattering the lives of our youth and the Iraqi people.On this Fathers Day, know, America, that your children need you. We need you to care for us and to care for our country which we will inherit when you are finished with her. We need you to end this occupation of Iraq which has destroyed a country and scattered its people to the wind like ashes in the tempest -- a tempest that has engulfed the nation of Iraq and scrubbed any sign of peace and prosperity from the surface of a civilization older than even history itself.Fathers, we need you to care for your children and the children of Iraq for they know not why you fight and carry no fault in the conflict.Fathers, your sons and daughters need you now to embrace peace for though we were attacked, we have dealt in retaliation that same suffering one-thousand times over to a people who never wronged us. The nation will know little healing until first we stem off the flow of blood and human life for justice and healing will never be done by a blade or a bullet or a bomb or a torture cell.By continuing to participate in the unjust occupation of Iraq, we, as service members, are contributing to that flow of human life and we cannot now -- nor could we ever -- call the Iraqi people an enemy in the fight against the use of terror. But terror is all we now know. We are terrified of the prospect that we have been lied to. We are terrified by the idea that we have killed for nothing. We are terrified to break the silence. We are terrified to do what we know is right.But never again will I allow terror to silence me. Nor will I allow it to govern my actions. I refuse terror as a tactic for uniting a people around an unjust cause. I refuse to allow terror to motivate me to do violence on my fellow man especially those who never wronged me in the first place. I refuse to be terrified to stand in defense of my Constitution. And I refuse to be terrified of doing so in great adversity.As a resister to the Iraq Occupation, I refuse to be terrified by what may come for I know those who stand against me are in terror of the truth. But I will speak my truth, and I will stand by it firmly and forever will my soul know peace. Thank you.
Phillip O'Connor (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) explained this morning, "An administrative separation board at the Army Human Resources Command could grant Chiroux a general discharge or an other-than-honorable discharge, either of which could harm his ability to receive benefits available to honorable discharged veterans." The hearing took place today and there is no change in Matthis duty status at present. What happens next is the board's record is complied and a legal review takes place. Following that it's forwarded up the chain to, finally, the Commanding General of Human Resources Command. The Commanding General will issue a determination and that should take place before the end of next month.
Back to Iraq and some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Baghdad roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and left three more injured and a Baghdad roadside bombing which left three Iraqi soldiers injured. This is the the third day in a row that Iraqi soldiers have been wounded or killed in bombings.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report 2 shootings last night in Mosul, 1 taxi driver shot dead and 1 civilian shot dead.
In other Iraq news, Ed O'Keefe (Washington Post) notes, "Several executives from well-known high tech firms are in Iraq this week as guests of the State Department, part of an effort to boost the use of online and social media in the war-torn country." CNN adds that they represent Autmattic, Twitter, "Google, AT&T, YouTube and others." This visit follows the news that Iraq's stock exchange has gone electric.
While the greedy try to make money in Iraq, Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan attempts to use her name to get the word out on the system that supports the illegal wars. Her latest is Myth America: 10 Greatest Myths of the Robber Class and the Case for Revolution. In a must read column, Cindy explains the reality of what can be expected from the Democratically controlled White and Congress -- the same nothings the Democratically controlled Congress gave two-years-running:
I left the Democratic Party in May of 2007 because of the continued war funding and the continued lack of accountability and I was roundly, thoroughly and viciously attacked by the same "progressives" who are beginning to doubt the "hope" that they bought into, or allowed themselves to be co-opted by. Some are even calling for an "independent third party" movement here in the US to challenge the corrupt two parties!Really? Where were these "progressives" when I was running against the Queen of the Robber Class here in SF as an independent? Their heads were buried in the sand, or they were wearing the Rose Colored Glasses of denial and now we are mired in a situation that cannot be remedied: once the Genie is out of the bottle, she can't be easily put back in. Do you think the Democrats will hold Obama to account, when they failed to hold Bush to account? I doubt it and we will continue to see the Obama-Summers-Geithner-Bernanke collapse of the economy and the continued war crimes of the Obama-Clinton-Gates occupations for profit. It's way past time to stop giving the "Two" Party Robber Class system "a chance." It's time to stop the "inside" part of an "inside-outside" strategy. We have virtually nobody on the inside who will speak for us besides a token bone thrown out of those marble cesspools and we have to stand up for our class. Warren Buffet, a famous Robber Class business man who loves to dabble in the Democratic part of the One-Robber Class party said: "It is a class war, and my class is winning." They are only winning because we allow them to.
Cindy Sheehan is on the road and these are the next dates listed for her Seat of Our Pants tour:April 21: Albuquerque Smith Brasher Hall (CNM Campus, corner of University and Coal) 7-9 pm and then book signing. April 23: Eureka Springs Arkansas Sweet Spring Antiques Mart 2 Pine Street (across from P.O.) 7-9 pm Eureka Springs Contact: Gerry Fonseca, geraldt7@earthlink.net April 26: Kansas City, Mo (Sponsored by KKFI and joint fundraiser with Cindy) 3:30 - Anti-War vigil on the Plaza with Cindy Sheehan 5:00 - Meet & Greet with Cindy 6:30 - Music by Seed Love 7:00 - Music by The Herrmannators 7:30 - Cindy Sheehan speaks Venue: Uptown Theater - Valentine Room 3700 Broadway Contact for KCMO: Anne Pritchett, pritchett.anne@gmail.com
Also touring the US, orbiting DC, is the laughable Wijdan Mikha'il Salim, a puppet for the puppet Nouri al-Maliki. She holds the title "Minister of Human Rights." She holds the title and holds the place and does nothing. But she's on a charm offensive because it's been noted that the Foreign Ministry is heavily cast male and she's the 'spot of color' to convince Americans that Iraqi women do get to do more than be beat up, raped or killed.
Her charm mission found her declaring Friday, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, the laughable claim that Iraqi society needs to be educated in order for the suppression of women to cease. Really, Wijit? Do they just wind you up and point you towards the mike?
The stupid liar wants Americans to believe that Iraq was Afghanistan when, in fact, it was no such thing. Prior to the 2003 invasion and the installation -- by the US -- of religious fanatics, Iraq was a sectarian society with women's rights in their contitution (gone now, thank the US for that) and a society in which women participated and held many jobs and duties. The fanatics the US government used in an effort to scare the Iraqi people into sumbission are the ones who destroyed women's rights. This is the woman who is the Human Rights Minister. A puppet position granted, but one in which she could have called out the assault on Iraq's LGBT community. (She has REFUSED to respond to the letter on this topic noted in yesterday's snapshot.)
Don't come to the US with your bulls**t propaganda and your 'my hands are tied but we will educate and in decades . . .' Spare us all your garbage. And spare us your repeated use of "man" for "human" when you claim to want to help Iraqi women. You continue the sexism and don't pretend otherwise. There's something truly appalling about anyone stating that rights will come when "we" "educate the people about the real Islam." What does that mean? It means no wall between church and state. Making the statement even more offensive is the fact that Widget isn't Muslim. She's Christian. That statement's not just a lie (she's blaming Islam for the lack of women's rights), it's also patronizing and scapegoating.
iraqiraq veterans against the war
matthis chirouxphillip oconnor
the washington posted okeefecnndeborah haynes
brett barrouquere
mcclatchy newspapershussein kadhimsahar issa
cindy sheehan
nprmorning edition
Monday, April 20, 2009
Torture, Isaiah, Third
Monday, Monday. You know the drill. :D So Barack made a fool of himself overseas. And he's getting called out for some of it. Maybe it will force him to sit down and do some work finally. Maybe not. He's used to taking credit for things that aren't his. For example, he's claiming credit for the torture memos being released. But he didn't make that decision: THE COURTS DID. He was court ordered to release the memos. This is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Court-ordered"
At World Can't Wait they have a lot on the torture memos but I want to highlight this from "The Legal Language of Torture:"
Four memos released by the Justice Department last week describe the torture techniques Bush Regime lawyers determined to be allowable. The first of these memos, dated August 2002, described 10 techniques already used by the Central Intelligence Agency in the torture of Abu Zubaydah, and concluded that these methods did not constitute torture under U.S. law. Subsequent memos both reaffirmed the use of these 10 torture techniques, introduced 4 others, and described the “combinations” which were allowable.
As the New York Times wrote, a seperate legal opinion in May 2005 “claimed United Nations articles did not apply and, even if they did, the interrogation program did not “shock the conscience", which is, it said, "the relevant standard.”
Okay so let's turn to Third and we'll talk about torture in a bit more. This is everyone who worked on it plus Dallas:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ
and Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends.
Now to what we have.
Truest statement of the week -- Adam Kokesh rocking it with the truth always.
Truest statement of the week II -- This is James Branum and he's an attorney who does GI Rights work and pops up often in the snapshots but I think this is his first "truest."
A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition and does an amazing job. I did not a lot of what Jim's explaining.
Editorial: Media Whores and Medea Whore -- Medea Benjamin must try really hard to be such an idiot. She's claiming that the Iraq War is over. Tell it to the approximately 140,000 US troops still in Iraq. Tell it to the Iraqis. What an idiot.
TV: Broken or fixed? -- We had a ton of things to do and Dona wisely started trying to see what topics Ava and C.I. were okay with grabbing for their commentary. They were okay with several but asked that the rest of us be checked with to make sure whatever topic they grabbed wasn't one we'd been wanting to write on. Torture was a huge subject and we had so many thoughts and all. Plus, Elaine's not really comfortable writing about it. It disgusts her. You'll notice that at her site. Whenever she writes about it, she tends to just do a comment or two. It's not because she's run out of time or is tired. When that happens, she always notes it and says she's sorry she's so tired. With the torture, it just disgusts her. I've suggested she not write about it or note the topic but she says it's too important not to note. So that's just something I'll share about Elaine. Back to Ava and C.I. this is amazing what they've written. They're doing a great job. They really expose the way PBS is attempting to shape the discussion of the torture memos and how they're booking guests to discuss them who should not be booked.
Tea Parties -- I'm proud of this. In 10 years, I'll still be proud. We could have 'run with the pack' and been like a lot of liars and hypocrites. Instead, we chose to write about reality. Once upon a time, the left prided itself on being the 'reality based community.' Those days are long gone.
Papers and David Carr Stuck In The Box -- This was a fun and easy one to write. David Carr's a tool. And you'll notice a criticism (from Ava, C.I. and Jim by the way) about Carr was true of his article today as well: He doesn't talk to real people. He watches TV. If forced, he'll call an 'expert' but he 'reports' on things happening to people without ever speaking to those people.
Civil Rights history including 'Now!' -- This was totally unplanned and of all the unplanned, this is probably the best thing we've ever been able to put togehter.
The Shirley goes to . . . -- Jared Polis earned this award. He did a very, very great thing. He has stood up for Iraqi's LGBT community at a time when so many have been silent. He is a member of the US Congress, by the way.
Greta Garbo -- Elaine and Rebecca found photos of Greta Garbo and this is really a photo essay. The photos are all public domain, by the way.
Lt. Muthana Shaad's Gay Boy Chronicles -- This is our continuing serial. I really am proud that we're doing this. What's going on in Iraq needs to be called out and shame on them for allowing homophobes like Muthana to espouse their homophobia. They don't even have the shame to hide their homophobia, that tells you how Iraq is.
Yesterday's Morning Glory Naomi Klein -- Ha ha. :D Poor Naomi.
Matthis Stands Tall April 21st -- He's got his hearing tomorrow.
Highlights -- Kat, Betty, Marcia, Ruth, Stan, Wally, Cedric, Rebecca, Elaine and I wrote this and picked out the highlights unless we note otherwise.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, April 20, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq's LGBT community remains under assault, finally the Parliament has a Speaker, Talabani has an announcement, Nouri has a Miracle Gro for police squads, and more.
US war resister Andre Shepherd is seeking asylum in Germany. We last noted him in the February 6th snapshot (when Andy Eckardt (NBC News) offered a strong report on Andre ). Friday night, BBC World Service offered a report on him (link has text and audio):
Andre Shepherd: First of all the war on terror, I believe, was based on a fraud. We aren't going after Osama bin Laden. The evidence is leaning towards that we are only there to strategically position ourselves around the national resources that are there. The [German] asylum laws are set up that they should not deport a person that refuses to take part in an illegal conflict. The UN Charter, Article 51, specifically states that armed conflict is necessary only as a means of last resort and if there is a real threat. It's been proven that Saddam Hussein's regime was no threat to the United States -- that would mean that America is in violation of the UN Charter.
Damien McGuinness: You signed up as a soldier and signed to say that you would obey the orders given by your superior in military command. Surely there's a responsibility there to carry out the duties which military command asks you to do.
Andre Shepherd: That is true but there's also a section in the same oath that says I have to defend the Constitution of the United States and when the United States willingly violates their own Constitution to pursue these wars, I am acting in accordance with the oath by refusing to take part in these wars because I refuse to watch the Constitution get destroyed just for the needs of a few people. There was a conversation I had with an Iraqi that was completely irate as to what was going on in Iraq. A lot of things that I wasn't even aware of, rendition program, the detentions of different places, Abu Ghraib, things like this. And I was completely dumbfounded as to what was going on out there because this was totally against everything that I believed in in the military. So that's when I started doing research and that's how I got to this position today.
Damien McGuinness: Andre Shepherd has come here, to Freiburg, to take part in a podium discussion of Iraq veterans who have deserted the army because they oppose the war. Now Germany has no troops stationed in Iraq and the majority of Germans are against the US-led invasion so he's found a lot of support here for his cause. Some worry that granting him asylum could create tensions between Germany and the US and encourage some of the other sixty-thousand [US] soldiers stationed here to desert and apply for refugee status. According to Rudi Friedrich who runs a support group for deserters [Connection e.V] only a minority of soldiers generally opt to stay abroad.
Rudi Friedrich: In practice, most deserters decide to go back to the US and that's where their families are and they feel at home and they know the language. But that means they either have to be punished or become conscientious objectors against war in general. The decision to stay in another country and never return home is something which many refugees have to do it's not necessarily the case that all deserters would take this step.
Damien McGuinness: German immigration officials heard the case at the end of February and are currently examining Shepherd's eligibility for asylum. He says the consequences of being sent back to the US would be severe.
Andre Shepherd: If I went back to America, I would definitely be court-martialed on the charges of desertion during a time of war. That is one of the most serious charges you can get in the military. Upon conviction, I would get a few months to several years in prison and I would get a dishonorable discharge. On top of that, there's a debate whether or not I would get a felony conviction which is the highest criminal category in the United States. Having a tag like that would bar you from having a decent life -- you wouldn't be able to vote, you wouldn't be able to hold a high office, it's difficult to get credit, you can't do a lot of things, you would pretty much be harassed and you would have to live with the stigma of being an enemy of the state. Especially in the age of Homeland Security, that's not something you'd really want.
Damien McGuinness: A decision could come through any day now. In the meantime, Shepherd is allowed to stay here in Germany but he admits the move wasn't an easy one.
Andre Shepherd: Well desertion is not an easy thing because your home country will always think that you're a traitor. It doesn't matter what the reason is, whether it's justified or not. Not saying everyone, because there's a lot of support in the United States for what I've done. In terms of family life? My family is supporting me but they wish I'd took a different step because the potential of me not returning there cause a lot of emotional stress and I have to apologize to my parents for that. As far as my colleagues? That one is difficult because a lot of the people in the military understand the situation; however, they also deal with unit loyalty where you have to be there if not for yourself but for the other guys in your unit. So a lot of the guys feel let down and hurt by what I've done; however, if they understand why I did it, then I can accept that. It's the same thing with me accepting them knowing what's going on but still going back to Iraq anyway. Because you don't know what they're facing -- if they have a family to take care of, if they desert, they just lost their meal ticket for their family. That doesn't help them. So there are a lot of complicated things that I deal with on a daily basis.
Staying with resistance, Matthis Chiroux faces a military body tomorrow.
This is "Resistance to an Abhorrent Occupation: Press Release of Matthis Chiroux" (World Can't Wait):(ST. LOUIS, MO) The U.S. Army will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist who last summer publicly refused activation and deployment orders to Iraq, on April 21 at 1 Reserve Way in Overland, St. Louis, MO, at 9 a.m. Chiroux, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, refused to participate in what he described as "an illegal and immoral occupation" May 15th, 2008, in Washington D.C., after nine other veterans testified to Members of the U.S. Congress about atrocities they experienced during deployments to Iraq. Chiroux also vowed to remain public in the U.S. to defend himself from any charges brought against him by the military. (see matthisresists.us for a record of that speech and others by Chiroux) "My resistance as a noncommissioned officer to this abhorrent occupation is just as legitimate now as it was last year," said Chiroux, adding, "Soldiers have a duty to adhere to the international laws of war described as supreme in Art. 6 Para. 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which we swear to abide by before the orders of any superior, including our former or current president." Following Chiroux's refusal to deploy, the military did not contact him until after he and 10 other IVAW members marched on the final presidential debate Oct. 15, 2008, in Hempstead, N.Y. demanding to question then Senators Obama and McCain regarding their war policies and plans to care for returning veterans. After the veterans were brutalized and arrested by police, (one suffered a fractured skull and is currently suing the police for damages) the Army charged Chiroux with "misconduct" for refusing to deploy, announcing their intentions to discharge him from the reserves as a result. "I go now to St. Louis to honor my promises and convictions," said Chiroux. "Obama or No-Bama, the military must cease prosecuting Soldiers of conscience, and we will demonstrate to them why." Following the hearing, Chiroux and other IVAW members will testify about their military experiences which led them all to resist in different capacities the U.S.'s Overseas Contingency Operation (formerly the Global War on Terror). For more information, see matthisresists.us and ivaw.org.
On this topic, Iraq Veterans Against the War notes:
On Tuesday April 21st an Army administrative discharge board will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist (IRR) who last summer publicly refused activation orders in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The board will convene at 9am at the Army Human Resources Command, 1 Reserve Way in Overland, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. IVAW members and supporters will rally outside the hearing starting at 8:30am.
Although Chiroux is voluntary attending this hearing, all other IRR members who have refused activation have not had any disciplinary actions taken against them by the military other then receiving a General or Other Than Honorable discharge from the IRR. This discharge has no effect on benefits like the GI Bill that IRR members earned through their service while on active duty. Service members who have questions about the IRR can click here or contact the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487.
We noted that Friday and Matthis faces the board tomorrow in St. Louis. A third resister was in the news over the weekend, Kristoffer Walker. The 28-year-old Wisconsin native made the news in February when, while home on leave, he announced he would not return to Iraq to fight what he termed and illegal and immoral war (see the Feb. 23rd snapshot for more on that and the March 16th snapshot). With no support and facing threats from the military face-to-face, in the mail, over the phone, in e-mails and in the media, Kristoffer agreed to return to Iraq. He has refused to recant his judgment of the illegal war. Friday WLUK (Fox 11 -- link has text and video) provided the latest news on Kristoffer Walker:
Moica Landeros: Well, Laura [Smith], a spokesperson with the U.S. Army tells me Kristoffer Walker has been demoted several ranks from Specialist to Private, but that's just part of his punishment. The Army also said Walker will be fined in the form of docked pay. For two months he will get half of his usual paycheck. In addition, he will also be fined for a -- confined to an Army base for 45 days. That means he can't leave the base and might even have additional duties during that time. Though Army officials do not know when that confinement will actually start. That's because right now, Walker is on medical leave from Iraq though officials won't give details on his medical condition. Once he is healthy, Army officials said he will begin the base confinement. Now we were unable to speak to Kristoffer Walker today though his mother tells us her son was aware of the severity of his absence and that he was ready for any consequences handed down.
Tony Walter (Green Bay Press Gazette) addeds that Sierra Walker states the doctors are pushing for Kristoffer to be released on a medical discharge and, of the medical condition, it was "bad enough that he was sent out of Iraq in the first place. He was dealing with doctors who said he needed to be out."
Iraq's Parliament has been without a Speaker for months and, what do you know, they finally got around to electing one Sunday. December 23rd, the Speaker was ousted. By Parliament. Mahmoud Mashadani had been the speaker. The Iraqi Parliament remains without a speaker all this time later. Alsumaria reported Saturday on the possibility that Sunday's Parliamentary session will resolve the issue. There were six candidates Mostapha Al Laithi, Taha Al Luhaibi and Mohammed Tamim (all with the National Dialogue Front) and Iyad Al Samirrai, Hajem Al Husni and Adnan Al Bajaji (Accordance Front). The Accordance Front favors Iyad Al Samirrai (back in March, they sued to ensure that he could be a candidate). Alsumaria explained the process for voting rounds: "During the first stage, candidates compete among each others. The candidate to win should rally 138 votes out of 275 lawmakers plus one. The statement added if these votes were not reached, a second round will be carried out with the participation of candidates who got most votes in the first round. Yet, if during the second stage, candidates fail to rally 138 votes, a third round is carried out during which the candidate who obtains the majority of votes wins." 138 votes were needed. BBC reported the winner had 153 of the 232 votes cast -- 17 more than required. The winner? Who do you think? Liz Sly (Los Angeles Times) reported Sunday that the winner was Iyad Al Samirrai. Sly glossed over the ouster. Mashadani was ousted. Even the US State Dept admits that. See their report released last week [PDF format warning] "Iraq Status Report." It doesn't get much clearer than, "The COR has yet to reach a consensus on appointing a new Speaker since Mahmoud Mashadani was ousted on December 23, 2008." His political party had to sue to prove he was eligible to run. Why? Liz Sly mentions the rumors that the Parliament has been planning a no-confidence vote in al-Maliki for months. (Ahmed Chalabi has spoken publicly of that and noted that such a vote, if taken, would be procedural and Constitutional and not, as al-Maliki has insisted, a "coup.") Timothy Williams (New York Times) also glosses over reality of the ouster -- surprising for the Times until you grasp they've long loathed Mashadani and started a smear campaign (portraying him as weak, fallen, unable to leave his father's home back in the summer of 2006 when, in fact, the man was using the Parliamentary break to do business in Jordan). Williams does note some of what puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki was doing:
Even as Parliament was voting, Mr. Maliki appeared before hundreds of uniformed commanders at the Interior Ministry and warned that factions within Iraq threatened national unity. As he has in recent days, he suggested that opponents -- whom he did not identify -- were seeking to undermine his government. "Today we face a new war of subversion, sedition and suspicion," he said. "We have to warn ourselves, myself and all you, of the sedition that was defeated in the battle and is being provoked in a certain problem here and another problem there."
Some. al-Maliki had another 'accomplishment' yesterday and it was so swift that some in the press are now attempting to create new dates for it. Let's start with what happened. Sunday McClatchy Newspapers' Hussein Kadhim and Sahar Issa reported three people were wounded in a shooting assault on Baghdad jewelry shops. Reuters updated that to 7 people shot dead in Baghdad in an attack "using silencers at a gold shop". Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reported that the murders of the 7 "gangland style" has already led al-Maliki to create his own "gangland style" police unit. No word was provided on whether the creation came so easy (less than 24 hours!) because so many "gangland style" -- possibly even the robbers-murders -- already work for al-Maliki. In some reports today -- they know who they are -- there is a move to back the robberies to Saturday. Why? Well it's amazing that on the same day the "gangland style" robberies take place, al-Maliki's able to respond with a "gangland style" police unit -- amazing and unbelievable. From fairy tales back to reality, one would think al-Maliki would be doing cartwheels over al-Samirrai's election. After all, they're both cowards who fled Iraq because they loathed their government. They didn't want to fight to change it but were happy to Little Bunny Fu Fu it back to Iraq just as soon as the US toppled Saddam. Liz Sly notes al-Samarrai "spent nearly a decade in exile in Britian" and Timothy Williams explains he "fled Iraq in the 1980s during Saddam Hussein's rule". For all the talk of Iraq 'learning' 'democracy,' they sure seem unable to find 'democratic' leaders among their own. Or maybe it's the US that's so fond of installing the exiles?
Apparently so stunned by the fact that Iraq finally elected a Speaker, the press was unable to report the other shocker this weekend. Alsumaria broke the news that Jalal Talabani, the current president of Iraq, has decided he will run for the office again when his term expires in December. Saturday March 14th, Talabani was telling the world he wouldn't run and apparently sealing that decision by declaring the following Monday, to Sabah, that, "The ideal of a united Kurdistan is just a dream written in poetry. I do not deny that they are poems devoted to the notion of a united Kurdistan. But we can not continue to dream." His change of heart is a surprise and how much Kurdish support he can depend upon after that statement is in doubt.
Then again, maybe it got ignored because people are so shocked by how 'quickly' Nouri moved on Sunday creating those 'gangland style' police squads? He certainly hasn't done a thing to call out the assaults on Iraq's LGBT community. The International Gay and lesiban Human Rights Campaign has called out the assaults:
April 17, 2009Her Excellency Wijdan Mikhail Salim Minister of Human Rights Unios (Naqabat) St. Mansour Baghdad, Iraq Fax: +964-1-5372017 minister@humanrights.gov.iq info@humanrights.gov.iq Your Excellency: On behalf of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), I am writing to express deep concern about an alarming increase in violence based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in Iraq over the past few weeks. Iraqi officials have recently confirmed the murder of six men whose bodies were found in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad. The Iraqi authorities unearthed the bodies of 4 men killed by gunshots on March 25, 2009. On April 2, Iraqi police found the bodies of two additional men who were reportedly killed by members of their tribe to restore their family honor. Media reports suggest that vigilantes killed these men because of their perceived sexual orientation. This wave of violence coincides with an arson attack against a Sadr City coffee house that was popular among gay men. IGLHRC has also received reports of official persecution--abduction, torture, trial without due process, and execution--of Iraqis who the government believes to have been part of a gay organization. In addition, IGLHRC learned today that an Iraqi group known as "Fazilat" (Virtue) has circulated flyers around Sadr City threatening gay men with death and listing the names of their potential targets. As a signatory to international treaties that assure the right to privacy, liberty and security of the person and the right to non-discrimination, it is Iraq's obligation to protect its citizens and ensure that human rights violations are fully investigated and that perpetrators are brought to justice. The new Iraqi Constitution protects the equality of all citizens before the law (Article 14), guarantees everyone's right to enjoy "life, freedom, and security" (Article 15) and reiterates the right of all Iraqis to live "in freedom and with dignity" (Article 35). The mob murder of men perceived to be gay also violates the Iraqi Constitution, since the law protects the private lives of all citizens (Article 17), makes any kind of violence against family members a crime (Article 29) and prohibits extra-judicial punishment (Article 19, Section 2). Despite the legal obligations of the Iraqi government to protect all citizens, crimes committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Iraqis and those believed to be homosexual are not properly investigated or prosecuted. In accordance with Article 2 of the Charter of the Ministry of Human Rights (CMHR), which was passed by the Iraqi parliament as law number 60 in 2006, it is the responsibility of your ministry to "promote …and secure the implementation of…. the culture of human rights and personal freedom in accordance with international treaties that Iraq has entered... and prevent its violation." To fulfill this mandate, we request that your ministry take the following steps: * Actively and thoroughly document cases of human rights abuses against LGBT people and include this information in your annual report on the status of human rights in Iraq for submission to parliament and the cabinet. (Article 3, Section 2, CMHR) * Prepare a comprehensive report on state, community and family violence based on sexual orientation with concrete recommendations on how to stop such human rights violations. (Article 3, Section 3, CMHR) * Launch an investigation into the Iraqi legal system -- including police, judiciary, and penal systems--to assure the full enjoyment of human rights principles by all people, regardless of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. * Promote a culture of tolerance and respect for the rights of LGBT people at the tribal level and within the larger Iraqi society. (Article 3, Section 11, CMHR) IGLHRC is ready to support the efforts of the Iraqi government to secure the rights of its same-sex practicing citizens through training, consultation and information exchange. We trust that you will give this matter due attention. Yours sincerely, Cary Alan Johnson Executive Director International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
UK Gay News explains that the letter was "written to coincide with Ms. Salim's visit to Washington D.C.". Rod Nordland and the New York Times embarrassed themselves Sunday (among other things, by declaring same-sex attraction a sin, this from the paper that was the first in the US to print same-sex civil union and wedding announcements). That was in a report, by the way, not a column, a report. Apparently one of Rod's anonymous sources was the Lord Jesus Christ. Possibly He also assisted Judith Miller with Plamegate? While the world awaits more of these Joan of Arc type messages from the Times, Jim Muir and BBC News (link has text and video) dealt with reality:
Jim Muir: A terrified young Iraqi boy, threatened and forced to strip. He's been caught wearing women's underwear. "Why are you dressed like a girl!" they shout. He tries to explain, his family forced him to do it because they have no other way of making money. At a police checkpoint, a hermaphrodite has his breasts taken out and molested. These scenes are filmed on mobile phones and widely circulated. Fear of harassment like this or worse haunts Iraqi gays every time they venture into the streets. For gays like Suour that's not his real name life has become a nightmare
Suour: The campaign starts since 2004 until now Now it's worse very much. They kill the gays, they beat them up. I have a lot of friends that have been killed, 15 or 16, something like that. Too much.
Jim Muir: Gay activists say that more than 60 have been killed in different parts of Iraq since December. They blame more than one source for their plight.
Suour: The Ministry of the Interior, the police because they have power and they have everything. And also the militia
Jim Muir: Iraqi police officials deny they've got anything to do with the anti-gay campaign.
Brig Diah Hussein Sahi: "We have no policy of arresting gays just for being gay. There's no law to justify that unless they commit indecent acts in public." Some Shi'ite clerics have issued statements which have been seen as an incitement to kill gays but others say that's wrong.
[Sheik Sadiq Al Zaeer is shown speaking.]
Jim Muir: "It's a phenomenon which has to be combated," he [Sheik Sadiq Al Zaeer] says, "but by treatment. If these people are sick they should be given therapy but violence is rejected by all religions especially Islam." As much as with the police or militias or clerics, Iraqi gays have a problem with their own society. It's in transition. The forces of conservatism still running very deep indeed. Some of those who have died have been killed by their own kinsman for the sake of 'family honor'. Behind closed doors, some Iraqi gays still manage to have a good time but their way of life is fraught with danger. The Iraqi government hasn't even commented on the killings. And wider Iraqi society is still a long way from accepting scenes like this [Iraqi males dancing]. Jim Muir, BBC News, Baghdad.
For the record, we don't use the f-word here, we have never used it. It's hate speech. We wouldn't use the n-word either for the same reason regardless of how 'cool' some idiots might think the term is. I grasp that other website have loose ethics and that old men -- especially ones who are already lying about the conferences they attend ('radical' is a many splendored term, Socialist is more to the point) -- desperately need to appear 'cool.' Stan will take on this topic at his site tonight. We are all aware of it and I'm already pushing back Iraqi refugees (again!) today due to space limits (while, admittedly, I am plugging friends at the end of the snapshot on non-Iraq topics -- oh well). Thanks to Stan for grabbing the topic.
As James Cogan (World Socialist Web Site) observes today, Iraq has overtaken Afghanistan as "the forgotten war." That allows people to delude themselves that Barack's conditional promises mean an end to the illegal war. Friday on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Katie Couric spoke to the top US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno. She asked him about whether or not US forces would be out of all Iraqi cities by the end of June as the Status Of Forces Agreement 'mandates'. Odierno replied, "I believe we'll make that timeline in every city probably except for, probably, Mosul. There'll be a decision that will be made. We'll provide a joint assessment between Iraqis and the U.S. We'll provide that assessment to the Prime Minister Maliki who will make a final decision." That is consistent with his other comments on this topic. It is not, however, consistent with the pipe dreamers who honestly believe that the SOFA is somehow 'binding.'
Like the war, the violence never ends. Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) reports a bomber killed himself in Baqubah this morning and also took the lives of 3 Iraqi police officers while leaving eight US service members wounded. Londono states that bomber was "wearing an Iraqi military uniform". Last Thursday, a bomber took their own life at Tamouz Air Base and he was also wearing an Iraqi military uniform. The death toll on that was never 'official' with al-Maliki's government insisting no one had died -- no one, apparently not even the bomber.
In other reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Sunday Baghdad mortar attack which wounded two people and destroyed "a private power generator".
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports "the driver of a director general in the Ministry of Planning" was assassinated, 2 Iraqi soldiers were injured in a Baquba shooting and, dropping back to Sunday night, 1 Iraqi soldier and 2 Iraqi police officers were shot dead in separate incidents.
Kidnappings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attempted kidnapping of nine-year-old Elias Yaqub in Erbil.
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse was discovered in Mussayab.
Winding down, Bob Somerby has a very important Howler today. We'll cover Cindy Sheehan tomorrow (no space today) but she is on and we really need to note these dates listed for her Seat of Our Pants tour:April 20th: Taos Bareiss Gallery Contact in Taos: Catherine Hart, catherinehart.editor@gmail.com April 21: Albuquerque Smith Brasher Hall (CNM Campus, corner of University and Coal) 7-9 pm and then book signing. April 23: Eureka Springs Arkansas Sweet Spring Antiques Mart2 Pine Street (across from P.O.) 7-9 pm Eureka Springs Contact: Gerry Fonseca, geraldt7@earthlink.net
Lastly, I know Quinn Bradlee and his parents (Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee) and Quinn was on CBS' Washington Week (link has text and video) with Slate's John Dickerson last Friday to discuss his new book A Different Life about growing up with Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome.
Quinn Bradlee: When people think of LD they think of dyslexia, they think of one thing. But what they don't understand is LD is a tree of learning disabilities. It's not just one thing. There's dysgraphia, dyscalculia, you know, it just goes on and on and on. And VCFS, what's different about VCFS and dyslexia is that it is -- it causes a medical problems as well as learning disabilities.
John Dickerson: And so, when you were younger, and kids can be cruel and brutal, and how tough did it get going through all of this?
Quinn Bradlee: It can get pretty tough because you start to wonder -- you think everything you do is normal because you don't know any better and then you go to a special school for kids who have learning disabilities and yet you see other kids teasing other kids with learning disabilities -- and you're at a special school. And you just go, "Wait a minute, you know, what's going on here?" And I think the reason why kids tease other kids is because they will see if they tease kids then people will say "He's teasing me, so he doesn't have it." So they do it to hide their learning disabilities.
You can read an excerpt of Quinn Bradlee's A Different Life at ABC News.com. Washington Unplugged is CBS News weekly (airs each Friday) web program. And on Friday's broadcast, you can also see a debate on Cuba featuring US House Rep Bobby Rush (whom I also know -- and a friend at CBS News asked for the plug, wading through Disclosureville).
iraq
military families speak out
andre shepherdandy eckardt
iraq veterans against the war
matthis chirouxkristoffer walkermonica landeroslaura smithtony walter
the los angeles timesliz sly
alsumaria
the new york timestimothy williams
rod nordlandjim muirmcclatchy newspapershussein kadhimsahar issa
the washington posternesto londono
cindy sheehan
james cogan
the cbs evening news with katie courickatie couriccbs news
At World Can't Wait they have a lot on the torture memos but I want to highlight this from "The Legal Language of Torture:"
Four memos released by the Justice Department last week describe the torture techniques Bush Regime lawyers determined to be allowable. The first of these memos, dated August 2002, described 10 techniques already used by the Central Intelligence Agency in the torture of Abu Zubaydah, and concluded that these methods did not constitute torture under U.S. law. Subsequent memos both reaffirmed the use of these 10 torture techniques, introduced 4 others, and described the “combinations” which were allowable.
As the New York Times wrote, a seperate legal opinion in May 2005 “claimed United Nations articles did not apply and, even if they did, the interrogation program did not “shock the conscience", which is, it said, "the relevant standard.”
Okay so let's turn to Third and we'll talk about torture in a bit more. This is everyone who worked on it plus Dallas:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ
and Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends.
Now to what we have.
Truest statement of the week -- Adam Kokesh rocking it with the truth always.
Truest statement of the week II -- This is James Branum and he's an attorney who does GI Rights work and pops up often in the snapshots but I think this is his first "truest."
A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition and does an amazing job. I did not a lot of what Jim's explaining.
Editorial: Media Whores and Medea Whore -- Medea Benjamin must try really hard to be such an idiot. She's claiming that the Iraq War is over. Tell it to the approximately 140,000 US troops still in Iraq. Tell it to the Iraqis. What an idiot.
TV: Broken or fixed? -- We had a ton of things to do and Dona wisely started trying to see what topics Ava and C.I. were okay with grabbing for their commentary. They were okay with several but asked that the rest of us be checked with to make sure whatever topic they grabbed wasn't one we'd been wanting to write on. Torture was a huge subject and we had so many thoughts and all. Plus, Elaine's not really comfortable writing about it. It disgusts her. You'll notice that at her site. Whenever she writes about it, she tends to just do a comment or two. It's not because she's run out of time or is tired. When that happens, she always notes it and says she's sorry she's so tired. With the torture, it just disgusts her. I've suggested she not write about it or note the topic but she says it's too important not to note. So that's just something I'll share about Elaine. Back to Ava and C.I. this is amazing what they've written. They're doing a great job. They really expose the way PBS is attempting to shape the discussion of the torture memos and how they're booking guests to discuss them who should not be booked.
Tea Parties -- I'm proud of this. In 10 years, I'll still be proud. We could have 'run with the pack' and been like a lot of liars and hypocrites. Instead, we chose to write about reality. Once upon a time, the left prided itself on being the 'reality based community.' Those days are long gone.
Papers and David Carr Stuck In The Box -- This was a fun and easy one to write. David Carr's a tool. And you'll notice a criticism (from Ava, C.I. and Jim by the way) about Carr was true of his article today as well: He doesn't talk to real people. He watches TV. If forced, he'll call an 'expert' but he 'reports' on things happening to people without ever speaking to those people.
Civil Rights history including 'Now!' -- This was totally unplanned and of all the unplanned, this is probably the best thing we've ever been able to put togehter.
The Shirley goes to . . . -- Jared Polis earned this award. He did a very, very great thing. He has stood up for Iraqi's LGBT community at a time when so many have been silent. He is a member of the US Congress, by the way.
Greta Garbo -- Elaine and Rebecca found photos of Greta Garbo and this is really a photo essay. The photos are all public domain, by the way.
Lt. Muthana Shaad's Gay Boy Chronicles -- This is our continuing serial. I really am proud that we're doing this. What's going on in Iraq needs to be called out and shame on them for allowing homophobes like Muthana to espouse their homophobia. They don't even have the shame to hide their homophobia, that tells you how Iraq is.
Yesterday's Morning Glory Naomi Klein -- Ha ha. :D Poor Naomi.
Matthis Stands Tall April 21st -- He's got his hearing tomorrow.
Highlights -- Kat, Betty, Marcia, Ruth, Stan, Wally, Cedric, Rebecca, Elaine and I wrote this and picked out the highlights unless we note otherwise.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, April 20, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq's LGBT community remains under assault, finally the Parliament has a Speaker, Talabani has an announcement, Nouri has a Miracle Gro for police squads, and more.
US war resister Andre Shepherd is seeking asylum in Germany. We last noted him in the February 6th snapshot (when Andy Eckardt (NBC News) offered a strong report on Andre ). Friday night, BBC World Service offered a report on him (link has text and audio):
Andre Shepherd: First of all the war on terror, I believe, was based on a fraud. We aren't going after Osama bin Laden. The evidence is leaning towards that we are only there to strategically position ourselves around the national resources that are there. The [German] asylum laws are set up that they should not deport a person that refuses to take part in an illegal conflict. The UN Charter, Article 51, specifically states that armed conflict is necessary only as a means of last resort and if there is a real threat. It's been proven that Saddam Hussein's regime was no threat to the United States -- that would mean that America is in violation of the UN Charter.
Damien McGuinness: You signed up as a soldier and signed to say that you would obey the orders given by your superior in military command. Surely there's a responsibility there to carry out the duties which military command asks you to do.
Andre Shepherd: That is true but there's also a section in the same oath that says I have to defend the Constitution of the United States and when the United States willingly violates their own Constitution to pursue these wars, I am acting in accordance with the oath by refusing to take part in these wars because I refuse to watch the Constitution get destroyed just for the needs of a few people. There was a conversation I had with an Iraqi that was completely irate as to what was going on in Iraq. A lot of things that I wasn't even aware of, rendition program, the detentions of different places, Abu Ghraib, things like this. And I was completely dumbfounded as to what was going on out there because this was totally against everything that I believed in in the military. So that's when I started doing research and that's how I got to this position today.
Damien McGuinness: Andre Shepherd has come here, to Freiburg, to take part in a podium discussion of Iraq veterans who have deserted the army because they oppose the war. Now Germany has no troops stationed in Iraq and the majority of Germans are against the US-led invasion so he's found a lot of support here for his cause. Some worry that granting him asylum could create tensions between Germany and the US and encourage some of the other sixty-thousand [US] soldiers stationed here to desert and apply for refugee status. According to Rudi Friedrich who runs a support group for deserters [Connection e.V] only a minority of soldiers generally opt to stay abroad.
Rudi Friedrich: In practice, most deserters decide to go back to the US and that's where their families are and they feel at home and they know the language. But that means they either have to be punished or become conscientious objectors against war in general. The decision to stay in another country and never return home is something which many refugees have to do it's not necessarily the case that all deserters would take this step.
Damien McGuinness: German immigration officials heard the case at the end of February and are currently examining Shepherd's eligibility for asylum. He says the consequences of being sent back to the US would be severe.
Andre Shepherd: If I went back to America, I would definitely be court-martialed on the charges of desertion during a time of war. That is one of the most serious charges you can get in the military. Upon conviction, I would get a few months to several years in prison and I would get a dishonorable discharge. On top of that, there's a debate whether or not I would get a felony conviction which is the highest criminal category in the United States. Having a tag like that would bar you from having a decent life -- you wouldn't be able to vote, you wouldn't be able to hold a high office, it's difficult to get credit, you can't do a lot of things, you would pretty much be harassed and you would have to live with the stigma of being an enemy of the state. Especially in the age of Homeland Security, that's not something you'd really want.
Damien McGuinness: A decision could come through any day now. In the meantime, Shepherd is allowed to stay here in Germany but he admits the move wasn't an easy one.
Andre Shepherd: Well desertion is not an easy thing because your home country will always think that you're a traitor. It doesn't matter what the reason is, whether it's justified or not. Not saying everyone, because there's a lot of support in the United States for what I've done. In terms of family life? My family is supporting me but they wish I'd took a different step because the potential of me not returning there cause a lot of emotional stress and I have to apologize to my parents for that. As far as my colleagues? That one is difficult because a lot of the people in the military understand the situation; however, they also deal with unit loyalty where you have to be there if not for yourself but for the other guys in your unit. So a lot of the guys feel let down and hurt by what I've done; however, if they understand why I did it, then I can accept that. It's the same thing with me accepting them knowing what's going on but still going back to Iraq anyway. Because you don't know what they're facing -- if they have a family to take care of, if they desert, they just lost their meal ticket for their family. That doesn't help them. So there are a lot of complicated things that I deal with on a daily basis.
Staying with resistance, Matthis Chiroux faces a military body tomorrow.
This is "Resistance to an Abhorrent Occupation: Press Release of Matthis Chiroux" (World Can't Wait):(ST. LOUIS, MO) The U.S. Army will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist who last summer publicly refused activation and deployment orders to Iraq, on April 21 at 1 Reserve Way in Overland, St. Louis, MO, at 9 a.m. Chiroux, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, refused to participate in what he described as "an illegal and immoral occupation" May 15th, 2008, in Washington D.C., after nine other veterans testified to Members of the U.S. Congress about atrocities they experienced during deployments to Iraq. Chiroux also vowed to remain public in the U.S. to defend himself from any charges brought against him by the military. (see matthisresists.us for a record of that speech and others by Chiroux) "My resistance as a noncommissioned officer to this abhorrent occupation is just as legitimate now as it was last year," said Chiroux, adding, "Soldiers have a duty to adhere to the international laws of war described as supreme in Art. 6 Para. 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which we swear to abide by before the orders of any superior, including our former or current president." Following Chiroux's refusal to deploy, the military did not contact him until after he and 10 other IVAW members marched on the final presidential debate Oct. 15, 2008, in Hempstead, N.Y. demanding to question then Senators Obama and McCain regarding their war policies and plans to care for returning veterans. After the veterans were brutalized and arrested by police, (one suffered a fractured skull and is currently suing the police for damages) the Army charged Chiroux with "misconduct" for refusing to deploy, announcing their intentions to discharge him from the reserves as a result. "I go now to St. Louis to honor my promises and convictions," said Chiroux. "Obama or No-Bama, the military must cease prosecuting Soldiers of conscience, and we will demonstrate to them why." Following the hearing, Chiroux and other IVAW members will testify about their military experiences which led them all to resist in different capacities the U.S.'s Overseas Contingency Operation (formerly the Global War on Terror). For more information, see matthisresists.us and ivaw.org.
On this topic, Iraq Veterans Against the War notes:
On Tuesday April 21st an Army administrative discharge board will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist (IRR) who last summer publicly refused activation orders in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The board will convene at 9am at the Army Human Resources Command, 1 Reserve Way in Overland, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. IVAW members and supporters will rally outside the hearing starting at 8:30am.
Although Chiroux is voluntary attending this hearing, all other IRR members who have refused activation have not had any disciplinary actions taken against them by the military other then receiving a General or Other Than Honorable discharge from the IRR. This discharge has no effect on benefits like the GI Bill that IRR members earned through their service while on active duty. Service members who have questions about the IRR can click here or contact the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487.
We noted that Friday and Matthis faces the board tomorrow in St. Louis. A third resister was in the news over the weekend, Kristoffer Walker. The 28-year-old Wisconsin native made the news in February when, while home on leave, he announced he would not return to Iraq to fight what he termed and illegal and immoral war (see the Feb. 23rd snapshot for more on that and the March 16th snapshot). With no support and facing threats from the military face-to-face, in the mail, over the phone, in e-mails and in the media, Kristoffer agreed to return to Iraq. He has refused to recant his judgment of the illegal war. Friday WLUK (Fox 11 -- link has text and video) provided the latest news on Kristoffer Walker:
Moica Landeros: Well, Laura [Smith], a spokesperson with the U.S. Army tells me Kristoffer Walker has been demoted several ranks from Specialist to Private, but that's just part of his punishment. The Army also said Walker will be fined in the form of docked pay. For two months he will get half of his usual paycheck. In addition, he will also be fined for a -- confined to an Army base for 45 days. That means he can't leave the base and might even have additional duties during that time. Though Army officials do not know when that confinement will actually start. That's because right now, Walker is on medical leave from Iraq though officials won't give details on his medical condition. Once he is healthy, Army officials said he will begin the base confinement. Now we were unable to speak to Kristoffer Walker today though his mother tells us her son was aware of the severity of his absence and that he was ready for any consequences handed down.
Tony Walter (Green Bay Press Gazette) addeds that Sierra Walker states the doctors are pushing for Kristoffer to be released on a medical discharge and, of the medical condition, it was "bad enough that he was sent out of Iraq in the first place. He was dealing with doctors who said he needed to be out."
Iraq's Parliament has been without a Speaker for months and, what do you know, they finally got around to electing one Sunday. December 23rd, the Speaker was ousted. By Parliament. Mahmoud Mashadani had been the speaker. The Iraqi Parliament remains without a speaker all this time later. Alsumaria reported Saturday on the possibility that Sunday's Parliamentary session will resolve the issue. There were six candidates Mostapha Al Laithi, Taha Al Luhaibi and Mohammed Tamim (all with the National Dialogue Front) and Iyad Al Samirrai, Hajem Al Husni and Adnan Al Bajaji (Accordance Front). The Accordance Front favors Iyad Al Samirrai (back in March, they sued to ensure that he could be a candidate). Alsumaria explained the process for voting rounds: "During the first stage, candidates compete among each others. The candidate to win should rally 138 votes out of 275 lawmakers plus one. The statement added if these votes were not reached, a second round will be carried out with the participation of candidates who got most votes in the first round. Yet, if during the second stage, candidates fail to rally 138 votes, a third round is carried out during which the candidate who obtains the majority of votes wins." 138 votes were needed. BBC reported the winner had 153 of the 232 votes cast -- 17 more than required. The winner? Who do you think? Liz Sly (Los Angeles Times) reported Sunday that the winner was Iyad Al Samirrai. Sly glossed over the ouster. Mashadani was ousted. Even the US State Dept admits that. See their report released last week [PDF format warning] "Iraq Status Report." It doesn't get much clearer than, "The COR has yet to reach a consensus on appointing a new Speaker since Mahmoud Mashadani was ousted on December 23, 2008." His political party had to sue to prove he was eligible to run. Why? Liz Sly mentions the rumors that the Parliament has been planning a no-confidence vote in al-Maliki for months. (Ahmed Chalabi has spoken publicly of that and noted that such a vote, if taken, would be procedural and Constitutional and not, as al-Maliki has insisted, a "coup.") Timothy Williams (New York Times) also glosses over reality of the ouster -- surprising for the Times until you grasp they've long loathed Mashadani and started a smear campaign (portraying him as weak, fallen, unable to leave his father's home back in the summer of 2006 when, in fact, the man was using the Parliamentary break to do business in Jordan). Williams does note some of what puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki was doing:
Even as Parliament was voting, Mr. Maliki appeared before hundreds of uniformed commanders at the Interior Ministry and warned that factions within Iraq threatened national unity. As he has in recent days, he suggested that opponents -- whom he did not identify -- were seeking to undermine his government. "Today we face a new war of subversion, sedition and suspicion," he said. "We have to warn ourselves, myself and all you, of the sedition that was defeated in the battle and is being provoked in a certain problem here and another problem there."
Some. al-Maliki had another 'accomplishment' yesterday and it was so swift that some in the press are now attempting to create new dates for it. Let's start with what happened. Sunday McClatchy Newspapers' Hussein Kadhim and Sahar Issa reported three people were wounded in a shooting assault on Baghdad jewelry shops. Reuters updated that to 7 people shot dead in Baghdad in an attack "using silencers at a gold shop". Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reported that the murders of the 7 "gangland style" has already led al-Maliki to create his own "gangland style" police unit. No word was provided on whether the creation came so easy (less than 24 hours!) because so many "gangland style" -- possibly even the robbers-murders -- already work for al-Maliki. In some reports today -- they know who they are -- there is a move to back the robberies to Saturday. Why? Well it's amazing that on the same day the "gangland style" robberies take place, al-Maliki's able to respond with a "gangland style" police unit -- amazing and unbelievable. From fairy tales back to reality, one would think al-Maliki would be doing cartwheels over al-Samirrai's election. After all, they're both cowards who fled Iraq because they loathed their government. They didn't want to fight to change it but were happy to Little Bunny Fu Fu it back to Iraq just as soon as the US toppled Saddam. Liz Sly notes al-Samarrai "spent nearly a decade in exile in Britian" and Timothy Williams explains he "fled Iraq in the 1980s during Saddam Hussein's rule". For all the talk of Iraq 'learning' 'democracy,' they sure seem unable to find 'democratic' leaders among their own. Or maybe it's the US that's so fond of installing the exiles?
Apparently so stunned by the fact that Iraq finally elected a Speaker, the press was unable to report the other shocker this weekend. Alsumaria broke the news that Jalal Talabani, the current president of Iraq, has decided he will run for the office again when his term expires in December. Saturday March 14th, Talabani was telling the world he wouldn't run and apparently sealing that decision by declaring the following Monday, to Sabah, that, "The ideal of a united Kurdistan is just a dream written in poetry. I do not deny that they are poems devoted to the notion of a united Kurdistan. But we can not continue to dream." His change of heart is a surprise and how much Kurdish support he can depend upon after that statement is in doubt.
Then again, maybe it got ignored because people are so shocked by how 'quickly' Nouri moved on Sunday creating those 'gangland style' police squads? He certainly hasn't done a thing to call out the assaults on Iraq's LGBT community. The International Gay and lesiban Human Rights Campaign has called out the assaults:
April 17, 2009Her Excellency Wijdan Mikhail Salim Minister of Human Rights Unios (Naqabat) St. Mansour Baghdad, Iraq Fax: +964-1-5372017 minister@humanrights.gov.iq info@humanrights.gov.iq Your Excellency: On behalf of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), I am writing to express deep concern about an alarming increase in violence based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in Iraq over the past few weeks. Iraqi officials have recently confirmed the murder of six men whose bodies were found in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad. The Iraqi authorities unearthed the bodies of 4 men killed by gunshots on March 25, 2009. On April 2, Iraqi police found the bodies of two additional men who were reportedly killed by members of their tribe to restore their family honor. Media reports suggest that vigilantes killed these men because of their perceived sexual orientation. This wave of violence coincides with an arson attack against a Sadr City coffee house that was popular among gay men. IGLHRC has also received reports of official persecution--abduction, torture, trial without due process, and execution--of Iraqis who the government believes to have been part of a gay organization. In addition, IGLHRC learned today that an Iraqi group known as "Fazilat" (Virtue) has circulated flyers around Sadr City threatening gay men with death and listing the names of their potential targets. As a signatory to international treaties that assure the right to privacy, liberty and security of the person and the right to non-discrimination, it is Iraq's obligation to protect its citizens and ensure that human rights violations are fully investigated and that perpetrators are brought to justice. The new Iraqi Constitution protects the equality of all citizens before the law (Article 14), guarantees everyone's right to enjoy "life, freedom, and security" (Article 15) and reiterates the right of all Iraqis to live "in freedom and with dignity" (Article 35). The mob murder of men perceived to be gay also violates the Iraqi Constitution, since the law protects the private lives of all citizens (Article 17), makes any kind of violence against family members a crime (Article 29) and prohibits extra-judicial punishment (Article 19, Section 2). Despite the legal obligations of the Iraqi government to protect all citizens, crimes committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Iraqis and those believed to be homosexual are not properly investigated or prosecuted. In accordance with Article 2 of the Charter of the Ministry of Human Rights (CMHR), which was passed by the Iraqi parliament as law number 60 in 2006, it is the responsibility of your ministry to "promote …and secure the implementation of…. the culture of human rights and personal freedom in accordance with international treaties that Iraq has entered... and prevent its violation." To fulfill this mandate, we request that your ministry take the following steps: * Actively and thoroughly document cases of human rights abuses against LGBT people and include this information in your annual report on the status of human rights in Iraq for submission to parliament and the cabinet. (Article 3, Section 2, CMHR) * Prepare a comprehensive report on state, community and family violence based on sexual orientation with concrete recommendations on how to stop such human rights violations. (Article 3, Section 3, CMHR) * Launch an investigation into the Iraqi legal system -- including police, judiciary, and penal systems--to assure the full enjoyment of human rights principles by all people, regardless of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. * Promote a culture of tolerance and respect for the rights of LGBT people at the tribal level and within the larger Iraqi society. (Article 3, Section 11, CMHR) IGLHRC is ready to support the efforts of the Iraqi government to secure the rights of its same-sex practicing citizens through training, consultation and information exchange. We trust that you will give this matter due attention. Yours sincerely, Cary Alan Johnson Executive Director International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
UK Gay News explains that the letter was "written to coincide with Ms. Salim's visit to Washington D.C.". Rod Nordland and the New York Times embarrassed themselves Sunday (among other things, by declaring same-sex attraction a sin, this from the paper that was the first in the US to print same-sex civil union and wedding announcements). That was in a report, by the way, not a column, a report. Apparently one of Rod's anonymous sources was the Lord Jesus Christ. Possibly He also assisted Judith Miller with Plamegate? While the world awaits more of these Joan of Arc type messages from the Times, Jim Muir and BBC News (link has text and video) dealt with reality:
Jim Muir: A terrified young Iraqi boy, threatened and forced to strip. He's been caught wearing women's underwear. "Why are you dressed like a girl!" they shout. He tries to explain, his family forced him to do it because they have no other way of making money. At a police checkpoint, a hermaphrodite has his breasts taken out and molested. These scenes are filmed on mobile phones and widely circulated. Fear of harassment like this or worse haunts Iraqi gays every time they venture into the streets. For gays like Suour that's not his real name life has become a nightmare
Suour: The campaign starts since 2004 until now Now it's worse very much. They kill the gays, they beat them up. I have a lot of friends that have been killed, 15 or 16, something like that. Too much.
Jim Muir: Gay activists say that more than 60 have been killed in different parts of Iraq since December. They blame more than one source for their plight.
Suour: The Ministry of the Interior, the police because they have power and they have everything. And also the militia
Jim Muir: Iraqi police officials deny they've got anything to do with the anti-gay campaign.
Brig Diah Hussein Sahi: "We have no policy of arresting gays just for being gay. There's no law to justify that unless they commit indecent acts in public." Some Shi'ite clerics have issued statements which have been seen as an incitement to kill gays but others say that's wrong.
[Sheik Sadiq Al Zaeer is shown speaking.]
Jim Muir: "It's a phenomenon which has to be combated," he [Sheik Sadiq Al Zaeer] says, "but by treatment. If these people are sick they should be given therapy but violence is rejected by all religions especially Islam." As much as with the police or militias or clerics, Iraqi gays have a problem with their own society. It's in transition. The forces of conservatism still running very deep indeed. Some of those who have died have been killed by their own kinsman for the sake of 'family honor'. Behind closed doors, some Iraqi gays still manage to have a good time but their way of life is fraught with danger. The Iraqi government hasn't even commented on the killings. And wider Iraqi society is still a long way from accepting scenes like this [Iraqi males dancing]. Jim Muir, BBC News, Baghdad.
For the record, we don't use the f-word here, we have never used it. It's hate speech. We wouldn't use the n-word either for the same reason regardless of how 'cool' some idiots might think the term is. I grasp that other website have loose ethics and that old men -- especially ones who are already lying about the conferences they attend ('radical' is a many splendored term, Socialist is more to the point) -- desperately need to appear 'cool.' Stan will take on this topic at his site tonight. We are all aware of it and I'm already pushing back Iraqi refugees (again!) today due to space limits (while, admittedly, I am plugging friends at the end of the snapshot on non-Iraq topics -- oh well). Thanks to Stan for grabbing the topic.
As James Cogan (World Socialist Web Site) observes today, Iraq has overtaken Afghanistan as "the forgotten war." That allows people to delude themselves that Barack's conditional promises mean an end to the illegal war. Friday on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Katie Couric spoke to the top US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno. She asked him about whether or not US forces would be out of all Iraqi cities by the end of June as the Status Of Forces Agreement 'mandates'. Odierno replied, "I believe we'll make that timeline in every city probably except for, probably, Mosul. There'll be a decision that will be made. We'll provide a joint assessment between Iraqis and the U.S. We'll provide that assessment to the Prime Minister Maliki who will make a final decision." That is consistent with his other comments on this topic. It is not, however, consistent with the pipe dreamers who honestly believe that the SOFA is somehow 'binding.'
Like the war, the violence never ends. Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) reports a bomber killed himself in Baqubah this morning and also took the lives of 3 Iraqi police officers while leaving eight US service members wounded. Londono states that bomber was "wearing an Iraqi military uniform". Last Thursday, a bomber took their own life at Tamouz Air Base and he was also wearing an Iraqi military uniform. The death toll on that was never 'official' with al-Maliki's government insisting no one had died -- no one, apparently not even the bomber.
In other reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Sunday Baghdad mortar attack which wounded two people and destroyed "a private power generator".
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports "the driver of a director general in the Ministry of Planning" was assassinated, 2 Iraqi soldiers were injured in a Baquba shooting and, dropping back to Sunday night, 1 Iraqi soldier and 2 Iraqi police officers were shot dead in separate incidents.
Kidnappings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attempted kidnapping of nine-year-old Elias Yaqub in Erbil.
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse was discovered in Mussayab.
Winding down, Bob Somerby has a very important Howler today. We'll cover Cindy Sheehan tomorrow (no space today) but she is on and we really need to note these dates listed for her Seat of Our Pants tour:April 20th: Taos Bareiss Gallery Contact in Taos: Catherine Hart, catherinehart.editor@gmail.com April 21: Albuquerque Smith Brasher Hall (CNM Campus, corner of University and Coal) 7-9 pm and then book signing. April 23: Eureka Springs Arkansas Sweet Spring Antiques Mart2 Pine Street (across from P.O.) 7-9 pm Eureka Springs Contact: Gerry Fonseca, geraldt7@earthlink.net
Lastly, I know Quinn Bradlee and his parents (Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee) and Quinn was on CBS' Washington Week (link has text and video) with Slate's John Dickerson last Friday to discuss his new book A Different Life about growing up with Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome.
Quinn Bradlee: When people think of LD they think of dyslexia, they think of one thing. But what they don't understand is LD is a tree of learning disabilities. It's not just one thing. There's dysgraphia, dyscalculia, you know, it just goes on and on and on. And VCFS, what's different about VCFS and dyslexia is that it is -- it causes a medical problems as well as learning disabilities.
John Dickerson: And so, when you were younger, and kids can be cruel and brutal, and how tough did it get going through all of this?
Quinn Bradlee: It can get pretty tough because you start to wonder -- you think everything you do is normal because you don't know any better and then you go to a special school for kids who have learning disabilities and yet you see other kids teasing other kids with learning disabilities -- and you're at a special school. And you just go, "Wait a minute, you know, what's going on here?" And I think the reason why kids tease other kids is because they will see if they tease kids then people will say "He's teasing me, so he doesn't have it." So they do it to hide their learning disabilities.
You can read an excerpt of Quinn Bradlee's A Different Life at ABC News.com. Washington Unplugged is CBS News weekly (airs each Friday) web program. And on Friday's broadcast, you can also see a debate on Cuba featuring US House Rep Bobby Rush (whom I also know -- and a friend at CBS News asked for the plug, wading through Disclosureville).
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