Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Scott Horton, Assed Baig

Tuesday and David Betrayus keeps lying and lying and lying and . . . How stupid are we supposed to be? It's a dog and pony show and it's sucking all the other news out. Did you read or hear much about the 9 US service members that were announced dead yesterday? Probably not. It was in yesterday's snapshot but you can also check out Megan Greenwell and Joshua Partlow's "8 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Die in Vehicle Wrecks; Another Killed in North" (Washington Post). It's a real shame that all the hot air coming out of DC is presenting the realities from being covered in Iraq. That's how it goes, though, Iraqis die, troops die, but all anyone cares about is jotting down David Betrayus' latest lie.

Let's get into some real news. When Betrayus gets done lying (in the US and goes back to Iraq), Bully Boy's going to ask for $50 billion more for the illegal war. Do you ever think about that money? I don't just mean in terms of how it could have been spent here. And there's the money used to bribe and all which is important as well. But how about the money that just flies into the pockets? How about all that money that never gets tracked? This is from Scott Horton's "'Betraying Our Troops:' Six Questions for Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman:"

3. The book is closely related to your Follow the Money project, which investigates inconsistencies between what the Pentagon spends, and what military forces in Iraq actually receive. In Iraq, were the DOD's usual accountability rules for cash followed? What in your mind accounts for so much money going missing?
Accountability of contractors in Iraq has been a major problem leading to huge cost overruns. The Army has not had proper levels of acquisition personnel to ensure accountability and has pretty much relied on contractors to do the right thing. Information we have obtained over the last several years and the results of many governmental investigations such as those carried out by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) have exposed an almost complete lack of oversight and accountability, putting the DOD at extreme risk. Poor oversight and internal controls have also led to a lack of accountability with regards to considerable amounts of money.

You get it? If you don't have a heart or soul, you too can get rich off an illegal war! You can fleece the tax payers and take money that tax payers are being told goes to "the troops" but just drops into a bank account of trash that doesn't give a damn about anything but money. This is just greed. It's not even about the fools who think they're being 'patriotic' by refusing to grasp that the war is illegal and based on lies. It's greed.

And let's all quit playing like the White House had good intentions even with the money. They didn't get tricked. They set up no-bid contracts with their friends and they didn't want the contracts tracked. They didn't forget oversight, they didn't want oversight. It was a get rich and get richer scheme hiding behind an illegal war.

That's just one of the questions, by the way. There are six in the feature. Now this is Assed Baig's "Stop the War student activists meet before the new term:"

The student Stop the War conference last weekend saw over 100 students from more than 25 universities attend the meeting at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
The opening session heard speeches from Gemma Tumelty, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), Stop the War convenor Lindsey German and Stop the War president Tony Benn.
The students were surprised by Gemma Tumelty's speech, as she began by issuing an apology for the NUS's position over Israel's illegal war against Lebanon last year.
The NUS was one of the few organisations which had not asked for an immediate ceasefire, with the vice president education Wes Streeting saying that at least Israel dropped leaflets before it dropped bombs.
However, things have changed since then. NUS has affiliated to the Stop the War Coalition and is beginning to take positive steps to encourage student activists around the country to attend Stop the War's demonstration outside parliament on 8 October.
The theme of the conference was that the movement was correct before the war began in stating that it was based on lies, a fact that most people have since realised.
The recent decision to withdraw British troops from Basra to a base outside the city was evidence that the war is being lost and that the Iraqi people are not happy with the occupation.
Students agreed to campaign around Stop the War with the knowledge that the NUS is now fully backing them.
The conference also demanded that the military should keep away from freshers fairs. Activists will try and ensure that their unions and universities do not invite the military onto campus.
Students left feeling motivated to continue building on the successes of Stop the War.
We will make sure that no government can go to war again without knowing our movement will expose their lies and block their actions.
Assed Baig is Student Respect's candidate for NUS black students' officer
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So they're getting active over in England, what are we doing here? (I can say "we," I'm in college! :D) Are we even going to have the strength to get real about what the Democrats are doing (or not doing) in Congress? When we can't even talk honest about that, how are we ever supposed to make them represent us?

I talked briefly to Ava today. She, Dona, Kat and C.I. didn't even bother to go through the nonsense of Betrayus today. Instead they hit some surrounding schools today. That ended up being really, really productive. Dona and Ava are writing a piece for the gina & krista round-robin that comes out Friday. You won't want to miss that. By the way, check out Kat's post on Judy Collins. I love it. I'm sick of all the cowards. I don't care who they are. Call them out and call 'em cowards. Start doing that and we'll be able to end the illegal war. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, September 11, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, Petraeus continues to spin, the Democratic debate at the start of the week apparently requires the press to use White-Anglos to 'explain' what happened and why, and more.


Starting with war resisters, John Catalinotto (Workers World) takes a look at war resistance and observes, "Recruiting is way down among African Americans and contested throughout Puerto Rico. The military is drawing from an ever narrower base--small-town USA and immigrants desperate for a quicker road to legal status. Army, Marine and National Guard troops are sent for multiple and longer tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, organizers of the GI anti-war movement gathered in St. Louis from Aug. 15 to 19 for conventions of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). During the IVAW convention, IVAW elected a new board, and this board in turn selected by consensus one of the first war resisters, former Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, as its new chair-elect." Catalinotto then leads a dialogue with Different Drummer's Paul Foley, Appeal for Redress' Jonathan Hutto, and IVAW's Mejia, Margaret Stevens, Liam Madden and Phil Aliff. Stevens, who became the new treasurer for IVAW, points out, "It has political significance that Mejia is popular in the organization and respected as a war resister. It says a lot about what people think is the right way to challenge the problem. Camilo said three years ago: 'I won't participate. It is a bad military and I won't help participate.' It is a very courageous stand. He earned his stripes." Camilo Mejia tells the story of his stand and how he came to the decision in Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia published last May.


There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.

Turning to violence in Iraq, Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) examines the violence being conducted by the rival Shia sects which "have spread across southern Iraq and Baghdad" and observes, "Many Iraqis are outraged at the government's inability to contain the crisis. They also say the government is making misleading statements." Meanwhile Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London via CounterPunch) points out a key factor missing in the 'Petraeus' 'report': "The truest indicator of the level of violence in Iraq is the number of people fleeing their homes because they are terrified that they will be murdered. According to the UN High Commission for Refugees the number of refugees has risen from 50,000 to 60,000 a month and none are returning. Iraqi society is breaking down. It is no longer possible to get medical treatment for many ailments because 75 per cent of doctors, pharmacists have left their jobs in the hospitals, clinics and universities. The majority of these have fled abroad to join the 2.2 million Iraqis outside the country." Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman interviewed Rick Rowley and broadcast his documentary on the realities of the 'model' province, Al Anbar:

AMY GOODMAN: To talk more about General Petraeus's report, we're joined by filmmaker and journalist Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films. He has just returned from Iraq, where he closely tracked the situation in Anbar province. In a few minutes we'll broadcast a report that Rick shot in Anbar province, but first your comments on the testimony of Ambassador Crocker, Rick, and General Petraeus.
RICK ROWLEY: Well, when General Petraeus says that they're merely applauding these tribes from the sidelines, he's lying. I mean, while we were embedded with the Americans, we saw American military commanders hand wads of cash to tribal militias. And when he says that they are facilitating their integration into the country's security forces, what he means is they're pressuring Iraq's government to incorporate these militias wholesale into the police forces. In fact, that's one of the promises that these tribes are given, that after working with the Americans for a few months, they'll become Iraqi police, be armed by the Iraqi state and be put on regular payroll. So it's completely disingenuous, what he's saying.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain who these militias are in Anbar province that the US troops are working with.
RICK ROWLEY: Well, it's been widely reported that these are former insurgents who were fighting Americans in the past. And that, you know, is troubling for American soldiers. But the far more troubling issue for Iraq is that many of these groups are war criminals who are responsible for sectarian cleansing in the region.
We spent a month and a half in the country, and we crisscrossed Iraq. I was traveling with David Enders and met with the production support of Hiba Dawood, and we found entire communities of refugees who had been displaced by exactly the same tribes that the US had been working with in other parts of the country.
So, you know, it's one thing for Americans to call this a reconciliation process and say that, you know, we're fine with working with people who used to be fighting with us, but it's an entirely different thing for them to be funding groups who are already responsible for sectarian cleansing and are arming themselves for a sectarian civil war.

Remember, DN! offers audio, video and transcripts, watch, listen or read the exclusive report. In some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack that left seven people wounded, a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 1 life and left five more wounded.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attack in Diyala that left 2 police officers shot dead, twelve police officers wounded, and 10 assailants dead. Reuters notes six police officers dead from a checkpoint appointment outside Qaiyara, an Iraqi "security officer" was shot dead in Riyadh while "an Iraqi army officer" was shot dead in Kirkuk. And, dropping back to yesterday, Robert H. Reid (AP) reports, "Also Monday, U.S. and Iraqi troops killed three civilians during a raid in Sadr City, police and residents said. Bleichwehl, the military spokesman, said the raid targeted a suspected Shiite extremist who eluded capture. He said there were no reports of civilian or military casualties. But residents showed AP Television News the coffins of the people they said were killed in the raid - a woman and her two daughters. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, confirmed they were killed in the firefight."

Kidnapping?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a student was kidnapped in the "village of Taxa (south Kirkuk)."

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 12 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes a corpse was discovered in Abbasi.

Meanwhile, in DC, the circus goes on as Gen. David Petraeus maintains he wrote his own report -- and apparently dyed his own hair -- while repeating every bit of spin the Bully Boy's handlers could dream up. Cindy Sheehan observes of the US Congress' refusal to end the illegal war (observes at Common Dreams):

How do I know that Congress is playing politics with human hearts? All one has to do is observe the lack of action on the part of the red and blue pigs to come to this sad but inevitable conclusion. Apparently, MAJORITY Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) has spent more time over his summer recess trying to convince red pigs to go against George's war plan than he spent trying to coalesce his blue caucus into something that would not resemble the red pigs so closely that the blur becomes purple. He and Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) have already decided that they do not have enough votes to end the occupation just as they decided that impeachment was "off the table" even before they were elected! So they will happily hand over to George more of your tax money and China's money to continue the killing fields in Iraq. Why are they so miserly with democracy, but generous with our treasury and with our dear human treasure? I got two very overt answers to this question one day in Congress this past spring when I was on the Hill. In one of my meetings with Congressman Conyers, he told me that it was more important to put a Democrat back in the White House in '08 than it was to "end the war." After I recovered from my shock, I knew it was confirmed that partisan politics is exactly what is killing our children and the innocent civilians in Iraq. My next stop was in a Congresswoman's office who has always been 100% correct about the war. She is a lovely woman with a lovely heart and does not in anyway qualify (and there are a few dozen others who do not) as a blue pig. She had tears in her eyes when she told me: "Cindy, when I go to Speaker's meetings and we talk about the war, all the talk is about politics and not one of them mentions the heartbreak that will occur if we don't pull our troops out, now." People are dying for two diverse but equally deadly political agendas. The red pigs want to keep the war going because they feed out of the trough of carnage and the blue pigs want to keep it going for votes! Either way is reprehensible.

Just Foreign Policy's Robert Naiman notes (at Common Dreams) of the Democrats' purchasing of the illegal war before their summer break, "It's true that under current Senate rules, on a free-standing bill, 60 votes would be needed on an Iraq bill to overcome a filibuster threat. (Why we tolerate that only 51 Senate votes are needed to confirm nominees to the Supreme Court who oppose fundamental civil rights protections for all Americans, but 60 Senate votes are needed to pass free-standing legislation to end the Iraq war, is a question that deserves a great deal of further scrutiny.) But as we saw on the fight over the supplemental, only 51 votes are needed to attach withdrawal language to legislation that continues to fund the war. With less than 60 votes, the Senate attached a timetable for withdrawal. The President, as expected, vetoed the legislation. Then the Senate backed down. There was no legal or constitutional reason for the Senate to back down. It was a political decision. As a legal matter, the outcome of a confrontation where the Senate and the President agree to fund something, but don't agree on the legislative language to go along with the funding, is undetermined. It's just a question of who blinks first. The Senate could have agreed to continue funding on a temporary basis while the confrontation continued -- that's what the House did -- but 51 Senators didn't have the stomach for that either." He goes on to explain that with Tim Johnson back in the Senate and Republican Senators indicating (such as Chuck Hagel again today) a break with the White House over Iraq, leadership could round up 51 votes. It's also true, as Ruth reminded us over the weekend, Mike Gravel laid out another way to get legislation through when he was a guest for the August 8, 2007 broadcast of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show:

Real simple. You see, they do a cloture vote. Oh one cloture vote, two, can't do it. Stop. Or an override veto. Can't do it? Stop. That's ridiculous. The rules permit to have a vote on cloture every single day, seven days a week, and all the way through this August recess which they're all taking -- and then when the bill comes back vetoed they can repeat it every single day and, I promise you, Diane, that in twenty, forty days we will have a law on the books to withdraw the troops from Iraq. Now time is fleeting. This could have been done by Labor Day and all, I mean all the troops, would come home by Christmas.


Grasping what Congressional 'leadership' refuses to, Gwen Van Veldhuizen lays out very clearly in her letter to The Modesto Bee: "The time has come for our healthy young Americans to be pulled out of Iraq. They are in harm's way. They are in the middle of a civil war. A recent documentary has shown that if Iraqis run away from American troops, our troops are instructed to shoot. My niece, who is in the Army, confirms this. [. . . ] The troops who have changed their hearts and minds about their mission in Iraq have goen absent without leave. They have seen fathers killed while their children cry. Soldiers don't go AWOL on a whim. A lot of serious consequences follow such a decision. Amid all this turmoil, I hear that President Bush's daughter is getting married . . . how sweet."

Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted that at yesterday's Petraeus scripted performance, along with Cindy Sheehan, CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin was among those arrested. CODEPINK's blog offers more details. This week's actions lead up to September 15th (see ANSWER for more information) and the mass protest taking place in DC and IVAW will lead a "die-in". This will be part of a several days of action lasting from the 15th through the 18th. September 17th IVAW will kick off Truth in Recruiting. CODEPINK will be conducting a Peoples March Inside Congress (along with other groups and individuals) on September 17th. United for Peace & Justice (along with others) will begin Iraq Moratorium on September 21st and follow it every third Friday of the month as people across the country are encouraged to wear and distribute black ribbons and armbands, purchase no gas on those Fridays, conduct vigils, pickets, teach-ins and rallies, etc.

In DC, more of the same today from Petraeus. On Petraeus, Nancy A. Youssef and Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) note many things left out of yesterday's scripted, oral report including, "While Petraeus stressed that civilian casualties were down over the last five weeks, he drew no connection between that statement and a chart he displayed that showed that the number of attacks rose during at least one of those weeks."

Today on KPFK's Uprising Norman Solomon explained how the press presented the avenues for Congress as much more limited than they are and how they reduce Iraq to whether or not the escalation is working while repeatedly avoiding the issue of the legality of the Iraq War. On the press he noted they avoid certain topics (such as the legality of the Iraq War) because "the news media can't tell us what to think but they can tell us what to think about." The distraction process that so many practice to maxium effect. Later today, you could see the perfect example of it as various outlets are running with the supposed news that the escalation number, Bully Boy's indicating!, can drop this summer! A) Short of a draft (or mass enlistment), the escalation cannot go past April 2008 (we've covered that and covered that). B) This isn't a "withdrawal," it's merely dropping down to pre-escalation levels.
Solomon spoke of the air war ongoing in Iraq with little effort being made by outlets to report on it and the continued under-representation of Iraqis in their own stories.

Turning to political races. On Sunday, the Democrats running for their party's 2008 presidential nomination were supposed to hold another one of those 'discussions' that's supposed to pass for a 'debate.' Joe Biden decided to bail on the Miami event which was intend to target/court Latino voters in the United States. The discussion was hailed as a historic first. Madeline Baro Diaz (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) noted it was "the first Spanish-language presidential debate". Jennifer Parker (ABC News) explained the process: "Questions will be asked and answered in English, and then tranlsated into spanish for the network's TV radio andd online platforms." Parker also felt the need to quote Slimey Rosenberg who -- for the record -- is not Latino. In fact, the press coverage of this event -- before and after -- demonstrates yet again the limitations of the news media as they repeatedly went to White men (in this case White Anglo) men to apparently explain the 'exotic' out of some fear that news consumers in the US (which is a varied mix of demographics) would be lost without a White man to 'translate' what was happening.
billed as the first of it's kind broadcast in the Spanish language. Krissah Williams (Washington Post) actually put Latinos front and center by making the angle of her coverage the reactions of one family (Oliva Diaz, parents Alejandra and Gilberto Diaz, and two of Oliva's sisters) to the televised discussion. Williams also observes "New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is the only Latino in the race -- and he loudly protested Sunday that he was not allowed to answer questions in Spanish". As he should. It takes a great deal of nerve to allegedly promote diversity and be the education party (which the Dems are) while at the same time refusing to allow someone to demonstrate the benefits of being bi or multi-lingual. US Senator Chris Dodd should have joined Richardson in protesting since he's also fluent in Spanish. Michael Bender and John Lantigua (Palm Beach Post) report Richardson responding after he was asked a question, "Puedo contestar en espanol?", being informed "no" and Richardson declaring, "I'm disappointed today that 43 million Latinos in this country, for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish". Here's the longer response by Richardson:

You know, language is important, but you know, Latinos are always asked these questions. Latinos care about civil rights and immigration, but we care about all issues. We care about health care, about the war in Iraq. We're mainstream. And I do want to say at this point that I was under the impression that in this debate Spanish was going to be permitted because I've always supported Univision all my career, but I'm disappointed today that 43 million Latinos in this country, for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish is unfortunate. In other words, Univision has promoted English only in this debate.

Meanwhile, Dodd not only refused to protest publicly but then wanted to get credit for offering statements such as this (to should Spanish be the US' second national language), "Certainly promoting greater understanding in language in this country -- it's, I think, a source of some collective embarrassment that we Americans don't speak enough languages, that we always think the rest of the world has to understand English." That's all undercut by his refusal to stand with Richardson.

The nonsense of building a fence on the border between the US and Mexico was raised (Dodd, US Senator Barack Obama and US Senator Hillary Clinton support the fence) and Obama, apparently still lashing out at his own father, replied, "We can't have hundreds of thousands of people coming into this country without knowing who they are." Richardson (rightly) noted, "This is a terrible symbol of America." Williams (Washington Post) noted that when Clinton continued to support a physical wall between Mexico and the US (and apparently, Canada as well "I do favor much more border patrolling and much more technology on both of our borderds"), Olivia Diaz' response was, "A wall won't solve the problem." The discussion was moderated by Univision Network's news anchors Maria Elena Salinas and Jorge Ramos and carried on Univision TV, online at Univision.com, and over the airwaves on RadioCadena Univision. After Obama served up his usual Chicken Sop for the Soul, the next to speak was Clinton and Mike Gravel, going after her, became the first candidate to mention Iraq declaring to loud applause, "But I do want to take my time to give my condolences to the Soriano family. Armando Soriano was recently killed in Iraq, and his father is about to be deported. I think there's something basically wrong with that situation."

Citing the Pew Hispanic Center finding "that two of three Hispanics believe that the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq," US House Rep Dennis Kucinich was asked about withdrawal from Iraq.

Dennis Kucinich: Our troops need to be brought home now, and I have submitted a plan to do just that. Remember, I'm the only one on this stage who actually voted against the war and who voted a hundred percent of the time against funding the war and who presented a plan four years ago to get out of Iraq. We need to -- here's the plan. Number one, we have to end the occupation, bring the troops home, bring the contractors home. We have to have a simultaneous plan where we reach out to the nations, like Syria and Iran, to form a multinational international peacekeeping force that moves in as our troops leave so there's no vacuum. And also, we have to have a program of reconstruction and rehabilitation and reconciliation, and we have to stop trying to steal Iraq's oil. This is the way that we can take steps towards trying to achieve peace -- bring those troops home now, and I'm the only one up here who four years ago shoed the judgment that was necessary, that people expect of a first executive, in not going to war based on lies.

Kucinich's statements received cheers and applause. Sadly for Obama, he had to go after and stuck to his tired (and only partially true) song of being against the illegal war before it started. He leaves out the part where, after he started, he was all for the war and opposed to withdrawal. Oprah's latest product didn't get nearly the response Kucinich did indicating both that the bloom may be coming off the rose and the fact that Obama's real "support" has always been in the press corps. Best moment for Univision? Telling Obama, "Your time is up." In other forums, he gets his hands held while he struggles to walk on his own like a big boy. Former US Senator (and 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate) John Edwards was asked about withdrawal and the Petraues snow job (which is now ongoing in DC).

John Edwards: I'm absolutely in favor of America leaving Iraq. What I'm concerned about, about the Petraues report, is that it will be basically a sales job by the White House, that it'll be a PR document because that's what we've continually gotten from this administration, throughout the course of the war. And it will be focused on this benchmark or that benchmark than whether some minor progress has been made on one particular benchmark. The underlying question that has existed the entire time that we've been in Iraq is, have the Sunni and Shi'a moved toward some sort of serious political compromise? Because without that compromise, there cannot be peace or stability in Iraq. It cannot happen. And I think we know the answer to that right now. The answer to that question is there has been no political progress. In fact, the Iraqi parliament went on vacation for three or four weeks while American men and women were putting their lives on the line in Iraq. Here's what I believe. I believe no political progress means no funding without a timetable for withdrawal. And if the president vetoes a bill that has a timetable for withdrawal, the Congress should send him another bill with a timetable for withdrawal and continue to do it until he's forced to start withdrawing troops.

Obviously, the US Congress went on vacation during the same time and there should be several other "obviously"s members can add. We're going to note the rest of the responses in full. Obama? Why bother? It's not just the dishonesty, it's the fact that he says the same thing over and over "I was against it before it started". Five years ago. You have your gold star. The truth is you were against it before it started but you were on board after it began. Go peddle your nonsense somewhere else and, hopefully, at some point other candidates on the stage will stop hinting about this (it's been hinted at in three debates) and someone will make the point straight out. If that ends up being Clinton, it will probably be the knock out blow to Obama's campaign.

Hillary Clinton: I was against the surge when it was first proposed. And I believe that nothing which General Petraues or Ambassador Crocker or anyone else coming before the Congress will say next week will in any way underline the basic problem: There is no military solution. That has been said for years now. And that is why I believe we should start bringing our troops home. That however does not in any way suggest that our young men and women in uniform have not performed magnificently and heroically, because they have. They were asked to do what they do best, which is to try to provide some amount of stability or security to give the Iraqi government the time and space to do what the Iraqis must do. Unfortunately despite the heroism of our American forces, the Iraqi government has not reached any kind of political reconciliation. Therefore we need to quit refereeing their civil war and bring our troops home as soon as possible.

Bill Richardson declared, "What I would do with the troops is I would bring them all home -- every one of them. And you know, there's a fundamental difference that I raised in the last debate with Senator Obama, Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards. Under their plans, under their website, they leave either 25 or 50 or 75 troops behind. I'd bring them all home within a period of time of six to eight months, because our troops have become targets. You can't bring reconciliation to Iraq, or an all-Muslim peacekeeping force or a partition, without getting all our troops out. Our kids are becoming targets. They are dying -- the last three months, the highest total. Iraqis are dying. And I -- there is a basic difference between all of us here that I mentioned, involving, what do we do about leaving troops behind? Some say they want to leave combat troops behind. They don't want to leave them [moderator interrupts]. I'd like an answer, because this is a fundamental issue about the conduct of Amerian foreign policy in Iraq."

This is a topic Richardson has been pointing out. On Saturday, the Washington Post published a column by Bill Richardson which began, "Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have suggested that there is little difference among us on Iraq. This is not true: I am the only leading Democratic candidate committed to getting all our troops out and doing so quickly. In the most recent debate, I asked the other candidates how many troops they would leave in Iraq and for what purposes. I got no answers. The American people need answers. If we elect a president who thinks that troops should stay in Iraq for years, they will stay for years -- a tragic mistake." Richardson also has a petition noting stating his "position on ending the war is clear. From the beginning of the campaign he has been calling for complete withdrawal of ALL troops. No excuses. No delays. No troops left behind. In the most recent debate, he asked the other major candidates a clear question: how many troops would you leave behind and for how long? We have yet to hear an answer." The petition calls for other candidates to explain what their plans or 'plans' will do. For example, Clinton's plan is a far cry from the words she offered in the debate.
And that was the portion focusing on Iraq. AP reports the discussion outranked "earlier presidential debates held this year on ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC" and brought in 4.6 million viewers -- that's the TV audience only -- the radio audience and the web audience aren't included in that count. Rebecca and Kat will be addressing other portions of the debate tonight at their sites. One other thing to note here is this from the Palm Beach Post's editorial today, "Who were those six people in Miami Sunday night? Oh, right. Democrats, campaigning in the state that their party threatens to write off."

















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Monday, September 10, 2007

Cindy Sheehan, Third

Monday, Monday, bah-dah-bah-dah-dah. :D I really do love the Mamas and the Papas. Both of my parents are huge fans (still) and I heard them and Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, the Stones and a lot more growing up all the time. Talking music, Kat's incredible "Kat's Korner: Judy Collins makes like Eydie Gorme" went up Sunday morning. I don't know how it's playing out elsewhere but everyone I see in my daily life can't stop talking about it. It's that amazing. On campus, my favorite professor stopped me and he goes he really likes Judy Collins and wishes he could say the review was wrong but it is so accurate "and thank God Kat had the guts to say it." I thought Tony loved it but then I go over to his house this evening to pass on a book (I had a class he's taking last year) and his mother will not let me go to his room because she's stopped me to tell me what she thought of the review. It was ten or so minutes before she was done. When she finished, she goes, "I swear I didn't mean to keep you that long." :D It was cool. Kat's one of a kind. And she tells it like it is. I think the response when you're reading (this is based on my folks reaction and my parents) is a kind of shock that an 'institution' is being taken on. And then, as you read along and Kat's pointing out the very obvious problems, you're thinking, "Someone had to say it!" It's an amazing review.

It's not the only amazing thing this week. Check out this from Cindy Sheehan's "Pigs of War:"


How do I know that Congress is playing politics with human hearts? All one has to do is observe the lack of action on the part of the red and blue pigs to come to this sad but inevitable conclusion. Apparently, MAJORITY Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) has spent more time over his summer recess trying to convince red pigs to go against George's war plan than he spent trying to coalesce his blue caucus into something that would not resemble the red pigs so closely that the blur becomes purple. He and Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) have already decided that they do not have enough votes to end the occupation just as they decided that impeachment was "off the table" even before they were elected! So they will happily hand over to George more of your tax money and China's money to continue the killing fields in Iraq. Why are they so miserly with democracy, but generous with our treasury and with our dear human treasure?
I got two very overt answers to this question one day in Congress this past spring when I was on the Hill. In one of my meetings with Congressman Conyers, he told me that it was more important to put a Democrat back in the White House in '08 than it was to "end the war." After I recovered from my shock, I knew it was confirmed that partisan politics is exactly what is killing our children and the innocent civilians in Iraq. My next stop was in a Congresswoman's office who has always been 100% correct about the war. She is a lovely woman with a lovely heart and does not in anyway qualify (and there are a few dozen others who do not) as a blue pig. She had tears in her eyes when she told me: "Cindy, when I go to Speaker's meetings and we talk about the war, all the talk is about politics and not one of them mentions the heartbreak that will occur if we don't pull our troops out, now." People are dying for two diverse but equally deadly political agendas. The red pigs want to keep the war going because they feed out of the trough of carnage and the blue pigs want to keep it going for votes! Either way is reprehensible.
There is a lot of chatter about the "Petraeus" (written and produced by the White House ) report. Will the general recommend drawing down troops--even if he does, three-five thousand doesn’t even bring the number down to pre-surge levels--and the report says, in direct contradiction to the GAO report on the surge, that sectarian violence in Iraq is down 75%, without saying that the red pigs have re-defined the term “sectarian violence.” All I know is that the report will paint a rosier picture than what really exists on the ground in Iraq and like Ron Paul said the other day in the Fox News "Leader of the Red Pigs Wannabe" debate: "How can anyone believe anything they say?"
The blue pigs won't believe the report, but they will expediently go along with the red pig request to further fund the disaster because they believe that it will mean political victory in '08.
It is up to we the people to care more about humanity and democracy than either the reds or the blues and it is mandatory that we mount campaigns to defeat the pigs and their masters: the war machine.

I really love Cindy Sheehan. I don't mean "I like her." I mean she is a real leader and we need her. When she was recharging, it really drove the point home. She -- like Kat! -- isn't going to pretty it up. She's not going to make it all sweet and nice when she sees that it's rotting and rotten to the core. She's amazing. I don't know that I could have pushed on. She has. Her son died in Bully Boy's illegal war and that ripped out her heart but she spoke out. A lot of right-wingers attacked her but she kept standing strong. Democrats started turning on her, and it's not going to stop her. The racist Katha Pollitt (who Ma points out is much too old to pose for a professional photo in a sleeveless shirt) attacks Cindy with a "Don't Run!" campaign and Cindy doesn't back down. We should all be following Cindy Sheehan's example. The more crap that gets tossed at her, the more she keeps on. She is amazing.

If you think I love her, you should hear my grandfather talk about her. He thinks she's a once in a lifetime person (that's what he calls her). He's probably right.

Let me do The Third Estate Sunday Review because I'm starting late and need to get done:

"Truest statement of the week" -- Riverbend and her family made it to Syria. After she announced her family had made the decision to move in April and then there was nothing up month after month, I really did start thinking the violence in Iraq might have -- you get the idea. That didn't happen. They're in Syria. I'm really glad she and her family made it out safely. I'm so sorry that an illegal war my country started forced her out of her own home.

"Dumbest statement of the week" -- Oh look, it's the PIG, the twice busted PIG, whom Truthout, Truthdig and Common Dreams (and probably more) posted. They're not concerned about sexual predators, apparently. The report on one arrest is that he was trying to find an underage girl to meet him somewhere like McDonalds and watch while he jerked off. He's disgusting. Shame on Truthout, Truthdig, Common Dreams and The Nation for continuing to associate with that slime. And bit time shame on all who posted his latest crap. He wanted to explain Katie Couric is a corporate tool because her network, CBS, is owned by GE. Robert Scheer (whom my father is a big fan of) is a professional journalist and runs Truthdig. How is it that a professional journalist's website doesn't catch that flaw? (GE owns NBC.) By the way, Katha Pollitt recently did a column praising people who were 'right' and like most of those columns, it included mainly men and it also included this Perv. I knew Katha was a big fat racist but isn't she at least supposed to pretend to be a feminist? What's she doing praising a perv who preys on young girls?


"A Note to Our Readers" -- Jim praised me in the note and I kept telling Elaine I didn't think I could post tonight. :D I really get how and why Ava and C.I. do not want to hear praise now. It really does come with a "Live up to that!" element. I won't accuse of my very competative friend Jim of attempting to short circuit me! :D Seriously, Jim breaks the edition down incredibly.

"Editorial: You should be very angry" -- Ava and C.I. fell asleep. Not during the writing of this.
They fell asleep at some point during the edition. I think when we were picking the quotes for the week. Like Ty said, "When those two fall asleep, you know we've gone too long." They never do. But they were on the road at the end of last week and they are really pushing themselves hard. There was some talk about not having a TV thing this week and letting them sleep. That would have probably been the right thing to do but they both jerked awake, Jim said. He goes "Those on the phone, stop worrying. They both just woke up." At that point, we knew the edition had to wind down. They were up but staggering (no, they hadn't had any alcohol!). We hadn't done our thing on Adam Kokesh and Tina Richards yet. Jim goes, "You two go work on the TV commentary, the rest of us will work on typing and highlights." Ava goes, "We haven't done the Kokesh thing." There's silence. Then, I think it was C.I. and Dona, we hear two voices say at the same time, "Editorial!" I think it worked out great. I think it works better as an editorial than it would have as a feature. Tina Richards and Adam Kokesh are pretty amazing people too. I don't know of the third guy that was arrested. I'm sure he's great too. But Richards and Kokesh have shown that they're the real deal.

"TV: The question's not 'Is it worse?' -- it's how much worse?" After they, Ava and C.I., finished this, Ava started typing and C.I. hit the shower and then C.I. took over typing and Ava hit the shower. They went for a walk while Jim read it to us. We were all like, "Wow." Because we knew they were wiped out. They get back and one of them, I think Ava, says, "It is what it is. We can't do a rewrite. Live with it." We're like no, it's good. And you can't do more than that because they won't listen to you. But this is so powerful. Ava told me on the phone Sunday night that she and C.I. kept falling asleep while they were writing it. I was like, "Sh*t, if I could write like this when I was falling over . . ." I mean this is powerful. I love what they did. When we were saying we thought it was good (you can't say more than that without freaking them out or getting told you're blowing smoke), they both were saying, "Whatever, we know there isn't enough humor or any. We were too tired." There are jokes in there. You will laugh. I can't believe they did something this strong. I mean, on a good week, where they were rested, I would've been blown away. Knowing how exhausted they were . . . It puts me to shame. They are amazing. They have a typo Ava said they'd fix. "Wedding" when they meant "window." (They had to attend a wedding Saturday which was part of why they were tired. They had about fifty things to do the minute they landed in California Friday evening or night.)

"Bash the Bitch, available where shoddy toys are sold and sexists gather" -- I love the illustration. The point here isn't "Don't you dare say that!" The point is, "Say it, but make sure you hold the men to the same standard." I know on campus there are a lot of women getting sick of this crap, this "Katie Couric is awful!" refrain. Is she awful? I don't watch TV news. But I'm finding it hard to believe Brian Williams or Charlie Gibson is suddenly "good." I've seen both of them before and they're pretty awful. This is really become a big deal on my campus, the way Couric keeps getting attacked. Rebecca really wanted this feature. She was talking about how we needed to do it Friday night (to me and Elaine).

"Mailbag" -- We did this first and it really seemed like it would be an easy edition where everything moved smoothly. We ended up working forever on a piece on the Green Party. It never came together. (But it did make it into the print version of Third.) Ty said, "We should have just posted the press release." We may do that next week but we're going to take another swipe at writing something first. Elaine's talking about this feature tonight so check out her site. (Always check out her site, in fact!) :D

"Brown is invisible?" -- We've got a woman running for president! We've got an African-American running for president! Actually, he's bi-racial. Where's the We've got a Latino running for president! Bill Richardson is a Latino. Is that not news? If they're going to make a big deal out of the other two, what does that say about Richardson or what they think of Latinos that the press ignores this? C.I. putting Richardson into the snapshot tomorrow, by the way. There was too much to cover (and they went to DC) today to include it.

"The Pacifica Archives" -- This is a pretty good feature. If you know nothing about the Pacifica Radio Archives, you'll be interested in checking them out. If you know a little, you'll probably want to check it out too. Ruth was hoping to write about the archives in her "Ruth's Report" Saturday, but she had something else to cover (and, boy, did she! Go, Ruth!). So she mentioned this to Elaine and we carried it over. (She probably mentioned it to other people, but I think she mentioned it to Elaine first.) We all support the archives. As Jim says in his note, all but C.I. support saying, "Don't give to KPFA if you listen over the airwaves." That's because KPFA did that threat of cutting off their online listeners (which the 'sister station' KCFC or whatever it is already did). When they make it clear that online listeners are second class citizens to be ejected, they don't deserve money in my opinion. I don't even listen to them anymore. They owe online listeners an apology. But we all support the archives.

"Highlights" -- Kat, Cedric, Wally, Betty, Rebecca, Elaine and I wrote this.

"Mark your calendars" -- We were just starting to work on the highlights (or about too) and Dona noticed the time. This posted first because a program listed was about to come on. What's interesting to me is how long it takes them to post. I'm talking about when they're done. When everything's written and illustrations and links inserted and all. They get so many error messages while they're posting. I decided to stay on the line to check that out for myself. When everything started going up (except this one which was already up), it took forty minutes because of one error message after another, one "Could not connect to Blogger" message, one page could not display, message after another. I know that's frustrating for C.I. because as soon as they're done, C.I. goes over to The Common Ills and starts writing the morning entry. And is waiting to post it until after links to everything at Third can be copied and pasted in. I know it's frustrating for Jim and Dona (they were posting this time). It would frustrate the hell out of me if I had those kind of problems at this site.


The edition was worked on by:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,
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,
and Wally of The Daily Jot

and also by Dallas. Okay, here's C.I.'s amazing "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, September 10, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, CODEPINK again shows more bravery than Congress, and more.

Starting with war resistance, Laura K (We Move To Canada) offers some basic needed steps to support the war resisters who have gone to Canada:

Here are some practical ways you can help.Buy the video. "Let Them Stay" was produced by the War Resisters Support Campaign. It's an excellent introduction to the issue, and can help educate you and others about what US war resisters are facing in Canada. The Support Campaign is an all-volunteer organization. 100% of your $20 will go towards legal and material aid for war resisters.Contact the federal government. Write your MP. Write Stephen Harper. Write the Immigration Minister. Tell them this is the Canada you want to live in. Tell them: let them stay.Sign the petition. If you haven't done so already, join 14,000 of your countrypeople in asking the government to let them stay.Spread the word. How many Canadians don't even know there are US war resisters seeking refuge in Canada? Among those who know, how many mistakenly believe the former soldiers can just live legally in Canada? Talk to your friends, your co-workers, your running buddies, the folks at your dog park. You can help raise awareness, and help create support for those three words.October 27, 2007 is an International Day of Action Against War. Join your neighbours to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There will be simultaneous protests in Canada and the US. Resisters will be there. Let them stay.

These steps and others are needed because, though unreported (big suprise), the number of US war resisters in Canada continues to grow.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.

As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today "the Bush administration's top two officials in Iraq are set to give Congress their long-awaited progress report on the Iraq war. The expected outcome is more of the same." In August, a CNN poll found 53% of Americans "suspect that the military assessment will try to make it sound better than it actually is" (Wally's "THIS JUST IN! US SAYS: 'PETREAUS WILL BETRAY US!'" and Cedric's "Petreaus wet & wild moment haunts him" noted the reaction as well) with the Polling Director, Keating Holland, for CNN saying that he didn't "think the mistrust is directed at Petreaus as much as it is what he represents." That was in August. Today, Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted a Washington Post - ABC News poll just released that found . . . 53% say "they believe Petraeus will try to sugar-coat the situation on the ground." The poll was reported by the Post on Sunday and also found 64% disapprove of the Bully Boy's "handling his job," 62% declaring that the Iraq War was "not worth fighting," 60% say the US "is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq," 58% say the escalation "hasn't made much difference," 54% do not believe "the security situation" in Iraq will improve "over the next few months," 58% want to see the number of US service members in Iraq decrease," 55% support setting "a deadline for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq by next spring" and 62% say the US should withdraw "right away". Let's repeat that: 62 percent of those polled said the US forces should begin leaving Iraq "right away." When you add in the portion for "By the end of the year" (27%) the percentage leaps to 89%. 89 percent of Americans support US troops beginning to leave Iraq by the end of 2007. Not 2008, not 2009. CBS and the New York Times poll released Sunday (by CBS) found 45% of those survey saw "no impact" from the escalation. That poll (with a 3% plus/minus margin) found a six percent increase in the number supporting the escalation since August. On ABC's This Week Sunday, it was the never ending Dinasour Tour as Cokie Roberts, George Will and Sam Donaldson (on tamborines) joined George Stephanopoulos for the roundtable and Cokie Roberts pimped (from apparently the CBS poll) the tiny increase as big news until Stephanopoulos corrected her by pointing out just how small the increase in this one poll was. Stephanopolous also noted the 62% figure in the CBS - New York Times' poll who stated the US "made a mistake getting involved in Iraq." That figure matches up with the 62% in the Washington Post - ABC poll who stated that "the war with Iraq" was not "worth fighting." (If Stephanopolous was referring to the Post poll, he should have noted the six percent increase in the escalation making things "better" -- also a margin of +3 or -3 -- that "no difference" also had an increase. Guests or moderator stating "a poll by ___" would also clarify which poll was being cited.)

In both polls, 62% of Americans declare the illegal war a mistake. The Washington Post - ABC News poll, again, has 89% of Americans wanting the US forces to beginning withdrawing "right now" or by the end of 2007. We could go to Congress, but let's go to the peace movement instead because it's not pretty. This weekend, Common Dreams posted Tom Hayden's strategy for . . . "Ending the War in 2009." 2009. 2009? It's 2007 and people are yet again being encouraged to wait for two more years. Tom Hayden is hitting the snooze button when America needs to be waking up. Rabbi Micheal Lerner, on Friday, posted a transcript of various members of the peace movement participating in a dialogue with some members of Congress. In a news article (link goes to Common Dreams, we don't link to the original site), Lerner states that "even the people in the anti-war movement don't have - a coherent alternative world view from which to base a strategy." My "world view" sees him beating the hell of his "inner child." If that does something for him, more power to him. However, there is no "world view" needed to end the illegal war (if a "world view" is indeed missing currently). Nor is there a need to wait for 2009 to end the illegal war. And you have to wonder why US House Rep Lynn Woolsey even bothered to participate in the dialogue that Lerner later posted if no one's going to listen to her?

In the dialogue Tim Carpenter, of Progressive Democrats of America, discusses how his group and UFPJ have "been working hard" and "doing email blasts during the recess and Congressional visits. We've generated a little over 9,000 of those emails blast into the [Speaker's?] office . . ." No offense to Carpenter but did he, Lerner or anyone else participating follow what Woolsey replied?

Lynn Woolsey: That's all very useful, Tim, and it's very meaningful. Because people aren't in the streets, because they're electronically communicating, it's easier for the Congress or the media to pretend that it isn't happening, but it isn't visible. Now people start asking: "Why aren't people on the streets?" And I say that they are on the streets, they're on their blog, and they're communicating. We get 3000 emails sometimes in a day, and other members are too, and you cannot pretend the public's not interested in this.

Woolsey is a nice person so it would be a smart thing to strip away the kind words and zoom in on: "Because people aren't in the streets, because they're electronically communicating, it's easier for the Congress or the media to pretend that it isn't happening". I know several people participating in that dialogue and am not trying to beat any of them over the head, but what Woolsey is saying should be loud and clear to everyone.

Leslie Cagan (UPFJ) notes that the strategy that's been pushed (by WalkOn.org) has been target Repubes and notes that she feels (I agree with her) that "a lot of their strategy is geared towards the Presidential elections and the Congressional elections next year." What does Woolsey respond? "Well, maybe you folks should go after the Democrats." Woolsey is a nice person, she's also very smart. Now maybe in a conversation, those statements can drift over heads. When they appear in the transcript, there should be no confusion.

Medea Benjamin (CODEPINK -- whom I have tremendous respect for) is focused, in her first two sentences, on the fact that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't meet with activists. Pelosi won't. Benjamin's correct. Benjamin (far smarter than I) should be able to grasp Pelosi is NOT GOING to. If she's forced, she might. Pelosi talks it up when she comes home but what does she ever do when she's in DC? What has she ever done? (Disclosure: I have donated to Pelosi's campaigns -- all of them -- in the past. I have already stated I am behind Cindy Sheehan in this race.) Pelosi plays a cute little show when she comes home. She's all grins and spins. Her final townhall (apparently -- though it hadn't been billed as the "Farewell Townhall" to those of us attending) had her getting a taste of reality at the same time members of district eight got a taste of reality. Pelosi insisted that she would oppose the construction of any permanent bases in Iraq. When confronted with the fact that permanent bases were already being constructed, Pelosi tried to finesse the term "permanent" and actually said, "Nothing last forever." In that moment, Pelosi, who's been treated with kid gloves for the most part, demonstrated just how great the gulf between her and the citizens who put her into office is. Pelosi grasped the startled reaction and she's not done another townhall. I don't remember if Medea was at that townhall but I know she's heard of it. Peace activists need to grasp Pelosi wrote them off then. It's been a slow estrangement ever since. So the point here is, forget Nancy Pelosi. She doesn't represent the district. She's made that very clear on every issue. Target others. (In DC work. I'm not saying call off any vigils outside Pelosi's office. She needs to be made uncomfortable. But realize that's all that's going to help. She's got her eyes on the 2008 elections and she doesn't give a damn about ending the illegal war.) After noting Pelosi's refusal to meet with the activists (Pelosi should be written off and so should Joe Lieberman -- nothing is achieved by meeting with either), Benjamin asks the money question: "Can't she [Pelosi] decide that we're not going to keep funding this war?" Lerner (rightly) points out, "Pelosi could simply not bring up any funding bill for the military. She could not bring it up, and then say: 'We're only going to bring it up if you agree to end the war'." -- to which Woolsey adds, "That we're only going to be spending our money to bring the troops home. And that's what we're [the Progressive Caucus] going to be pushing for, I promise."

As I'm reading Woolsey's remarks three things are needed (out of many) right now. (1) Physical mobilization (not e-activism). (2) Democrats needing to be targeted. (3) Support for the Progressive Caucus made clear.

Starting with the third point. In March Party Hacks were so busy spit shining the shoes of Pelosi and Steny Hoyer that they flat out lied. They used terms like "conspiracy theorist" to those stating US House Rep Barbara Lee had an amendment on Iraq that Pelosi refused to allow Lee to offer (this is when the Dems bought into the illegal war). That was not a "conspiracy theory" -- that was reality. Woolsey appeared, before the Friday vote, on Democracy Now! and explained that troops home now would not be in the vote, wouldn't even be an amendment but "there will be no amendments". Woolsey, who supports Troops Home Now, was explaining what was going on. To clarify, Juan Gonzalez followed up on the amendment issue and Woolsey agreed that their needed to be amendments but House leadership wasn't allowing them, "I think if our amendment, the Barbara Lee amendment, is made an order, which it wasn't last night and it's not going to, there's a lot of people that would like to vote 'Yes, what I really want is to bring the troops home, but, yes, I will vote with the supplemental, but I want my constituents to know that I really want to bring them home sooner than that'."

Point two. Democrats, by not being targeted, have been allowed to fall into the beltway lazy conventional spin. They've been allowed to relax in official DC and think all is fine and dandy for them (it isn't) and they can just coast. Cagan worded it a lot nicer than I would. If you're 'activism' is "Vote Democrats!" then you aren't part of the peace movement. The peace movement is not an electoral party. Reaching out is one thing. Blurring the line is another. A member of a group participating in the dialogue, trying to apparently speak for the organization, e-mailed this site repeatedly to defend someone attacking war resisters and IVAW, to defend someone who not only attacks those who are part of the peace movement but also someone who thinks targeting Republicans qualifies for peace work. The organizations need to send clear messages to their members. And when Democrats are called out for cowardice by brave voices, such as Howard Zinn, we really don't need to read in Foreign Policy in Focus that 'both' Zinn and Sad Sirota (playing Party Hack and providing non-stop cover) have 'a point'. If Foreign Policy in Focus can't get their own act together enough to grasp that Zinn speaking to truth to power is not on the same level as Sirota providing cover for Democrats, the peace movement will be hopeless and the illegal war will drag on. Too many lines are being blurred. When people think it's okay to attack war resisters, the peace movement is defeating itself by allowing that to go unchallenged. When people want to equate the historian Zinn with Sad Sirota (who was the one shouting "conspiracy theorist" -- after Woolesy had appeared on Democracy Now! so he's either uninformed or a liar) then it's not at all surprising that this illegal war continues to drag on.

Point three. As long as the lines are blurred e-activism will continue to take hold. It's "nice," it doesn't challenge. WalkOn.org is a Democratic Party organ that attempts to present itself as "anti-war" (and the press assists them with that). We do not need more silent gatherings. We need more people like Tina Richards, Cindy Sheehan, the members of IVAW, etc, willing to speak out and use their voices. Those preaching e-activism or silence in public are not part of the peace movement and that needs to be made clear. As long as it's not, some people will elect to choose e-activism as opposed to real activism because e-activism is so much easier. When the peace movement cannot make the difference between the two clear, it really can't expect people to turn out in large numbers for actual actions. There are some people who may not be able to participate due to physical challenges/disabilities, agoraphobia or living a remote region. That is grasped. But for those with mobility and proximity, it needs to be made clear that physical action and e-activism are not equivalent. It's like telling someone that both candy and brocolli will provide you with calcium -- most would then choose candy. The reality is candy doesn't provide you with calcium and e-activism (for those with mobility and proximity) is not activism. But as long as those lines continue to be blurred, when faced with going out into the streets or sitting at home, most will choose to sit at home.

Failure to make that clear, failure to make any of the three clear, means the peace movement will spin the wheels until 2009 at which point another voice will instruct us as to "Ending the war in 2011." The illegal war has gone on long enough. It never should have started. The peace movement has had some real success but failure to make it clear what is and what isn't activism, what is and what isn't the peace movement (electoral campaigns rarely ever make for peace campaigns), and what is and isn't reality -- such as standing up to the spin from Party Hacks -- will mean the peace movement's early success will either fall away or that many represented in the dialogue will find themselves out of the peace movement. When organizations do not serve the movement, they fall away. It happened in the 'sixites' and it's already beginning to happen today with new organizations coming to life.

We're going to turn to violence and if there's time to cover the spin going on right now, we will. If not, well, David Petraues hair color (that's not natural -- I have no idea how it looks on TV, but up close, that color does not look natural and it wouldn't be on a man half Petraeus' age) was as phony as his statements.

Today CNN reports: "The U.S. military data obtained by CNN indicates that 165 Iraqis were murdered in Baghdad last month, a slight increase from the previous two months. However, the number represents a significant decrease since the Baghdad security plan began earlier this year. It is not clear how the U.S. military obtained the number, but CNN statistics -- compiled from numbers released by the Iraqi Interior Ministry -- suggest 428 Iraqis were murdered in Baghdad in August, their bodies dumped in the streets. In July, 612 Iraqis were murdered, according to the Interior Ministry." This follows Renee Schoof (McClatchy Newspapers) reporting on Labor Day, "Statistics that McClatchy Newspapers collected in Baghdad don't show any drop in violence. Civilian deaths in the capital were about the same in July as in December, before the American troop increase began. U.S. officials in Baghdad declined to provide data to back up their claims of lower violence." Last week, Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reported on the skepticism by "many experts within and outside the government" over the US "military's claim that violence has decreased sharply in Iraq in recent months" and explained why including that intelligence analysts note classifying "sectarian" or "criminal" based on whether the bullet went in the front of the head or back is "cherry picking". This story was kind-of, sort-of denied by Petreaus today. He didn't really deny it, just stated he wasn't aware of it. He's grabbing the Ronald Reagan covers. In addition, the GAO also stated that violence hasn't dropped. Renee Schoof and Warren P. Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported last week that the GAO crunching of the figures "found that daily attacks against civilians in Iraq have remained 'about the same' since February, when the United States began sending nearly 30,000 additional troops" into Iraq (the escalation). CNN joins the above in reporting that there has been no descrease in the violence, despite the claims of the US administration and military.

Yesterday, both McClatchy Newspapers and the New York Times examined the realities in Iraq today. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) notes Bully Boy's declaring (January 2007) that the escalation would mean the puppet government in Iraq would have "breathing room" and be able to work on the political issues but "[w]ith less than a week to go before the White House delivers a congressionally mandated report on that plan, none of this has happened." What has happened? Fadel reports on the increasing segregation in Baghdad where "Sunni Muslims in the capital now live in ghettos encircled by concrete blast walls to stop militia attacks and car bombs" while Shia militias engage in their slaughter of all (including slaughtering Shi'ites), that the militias have "heavily infiltrated" Iraq's national forces, no decrease in civilian deaths and that Al Anbar Province is the only exception to the continued decay. We'll get back to Al Anbar Province if there's time. Damien Cave and Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reported (on the front page and for two full pages inside -- A12 and A13) on the "Unmet Goals" noting that there is still not "a unified and trusted national government," and that the escalation coincides with the departure of over 35,000 from their residences in the capital. On Al Anbar Province, Cave and Farrell note that those currently working with the US in the alleged "model province" (where one US marine died September 7th and the US military announced the death yesterday, FYI) "made it abundantly clear that their cooperation did not come fre" -- nor is this a long-term arrangement. Cave and Farrell quote El Paso's Timothy Johnston who notes a a bombing attack targeting US service members in June didn't appear to phase the new 'friends' leading him to declare, "I don't trust them. They will smile in your face and stab you in the back. They were just too close to that E.F.P. not to have known." Back to Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) on Al Anbar Province -- "that success has little to do with the 4,000 U.S. troops who were sent to Anbar as part of the surge of 30,000 additional troops to Iraq. Instead, it began more than four months earlier, with the formation last September of the Anbar Salvation Council to fight the escalating terror of Sunni extremists. Officials agree that the anti-Islamist coalition in Anbar has yet to ally itself with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, and a recent National Intelligence Estimate warned that it might even threaten it."
Today, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) examines Al Anbar Province noting that nothing is clear regarding whether alliances formed or permanent or not and quotes Maj. Jeff Pool admitting that (if there are gain) the much lauded "Anbar model" isn't exportable due to "too many unique variables."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 2 lives (five more were wounded), a Baghdad roadside bombing that claimed 2 lives (thirteen more wounded), a Kirkuk roadside bombing that claimed 1 life (four more wounded) and a Mosul truck bombing that claimed 10 lives and left at least sixty more wounded. On the Mosul truck bombing, Reuters puts the injured at 78 (sticks with 10 for the figure dead) and says it was actually outside Mosul in Tal Marag village and they note an Iskandariya mortar attack that injured 13 Iraqi soldiers,

Shootings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Basra attack where "the manager superviser of finace" was shot dead and then his corpse was set on fire. Reuters notes three police officers "killed in clashes with militants in easter Mosul,"

Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 10 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 3 corpses discovered in Mahmudiya.


The US military announced today: "A Task Force Lightning Soldier died from injuries sustained from rocket fire while on patrol in Kirkuk province, Sunday. One Soldier was also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment." And they announced: "One Soldier died and two Soldiers were injured this morning east of Baghdad when the vehicle they were travling in overturned and caught fire." " And they announced: "Seven Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded in a vehicle accident in a western portion of the Iraqi capital Sept. 10." The last two announcements use that popular phrase, as Ruth pointed out Saturday, "under investigation." The announced deaths for the month of US service members in Iraq now stands at 29 with the total number announced dead in the illegal war since it started currently at 3771.

Today, Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) observes, "Besides commanding U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus has become the administration's top pitchman for the strategy in Iraq." This as the AP reports on their poll (Associated Press-Ipsos) which finds 57% saying the Iraq War was a "mistake," 59% declaring "they believe history will judge the Iraq war as a failure" and finds an even smaller 'boost' in support for the war due to the escalation (smaller than the two polls noted earlier) with only a 4% increase in those who believe the escalation "has helped stabilize Iraq" (up to 36%). 57% saying, in that poll, the illegal war is a mistake, 62% in the other polls cited. The American people want the illegal war to end. They can make nice with Petraeus and Crocker all day in Congress, it doesn't change the fact that the public wants the illegal war over. Nor does it change the data contained in the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Who does the American public trust to handle the issue of Iraq? Democrats by 42%. But don't break out the party hats just yet. Not only did 31% say Republicans, there's a "trend." In May of 2006, Dems scored high on this category with 50% of respondents citing them. It then dipped as low as 43% until it went higher, 51% in October of 2006 (just in time for those elections). Since then? It's fallen to 42%. Republicans have also fallen. But Dems were swept into control of both houses of the US Congress with the promise of ending the illegal war. Who is keeping the illegal war going at this point? Not the American people who say end it. Not Iraqs who declare the escalation a failure (by 70% in the BBC, ABC News and NHK poll just out which also finds "nearly 60% see attacks on US-led forces as justified."). It's Congress and White House that are refusing to end the illegal war.

Petraeus declared today, "Blah, blah, LIE, blah, blah, SPIN, blah, blah, AVOID . . ." That more than notes the nonsense.

Turning to what does matter. As noted Friday, Tina Richards (Grassroots America), Adam Kokesh (Iraq Veterans Against the War) and Ian Thompson were arrested on Thursday for the 'crime' of posting fliers. As noted yesterday, "Editorial: You should be very angry" (The Third Estate Sunday Review), Richards and Kokesh held a press conference yesterday. Nathan Grossman (The GW Hatchet) interviewed Kokesh who declared, "Welcome to the police state" and notes, "We were ready to get arrested, but I really wasn't expecting that level of brutality." Actions continue today with Suevon Lee (New York Times) reporting members of CODEPINK have been ejected from a public hearing after showing up three hours before the hearing began to be sure they would be able to get at least one of the twenty general public seats and hear Petraeus speak. AFP reports nine members of CODEPINK were ejected and "One woman screamed 'No, No, No, No,' as she was dragged out." Reuters states it was "No! No! No! I have a right to be heard!" William H. McMichael (Navy Times) notes that cries of "Tell the truth, general!" were the apparent 'crime' and also states Cindy Sheehan was among four women arrested. National Journal's Hotline reports that two women with CODEPINK were chanting, "The American people don't believe you anymore!"













iraq
adam kokeshiraq veterans against the war





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