Monday. Why does the weekend go so fast? Darrell Anderson is back in the United States and set to turn himself in tomorrow at Fort Knox. I kept looking for coverage. Looks like there have only been three stories done on Anderson in the American press (C.I. notes them all in the snapshot). And where's independent media? It's pretty disgusting. You have a movement going on of military resistance to the war and where's the coverage?
I'll note this thing next but if that's all media wants to talk about, I'm going to get tired of this story pretty quick. This is from Media Matters' "Stephanopoulos failed to challenge Bartlett with reports of Foley cover-up:"
On the October 1 broadcast of ABC's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked White House counselor Dan Bartlett whether he agreed with a Washington Post editorial from the same day that called for an independent investigation into the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), who abruptly resigned from Congress on September 29 amid allegations he sent sexually explicit emails and instant messages to underage former congressional pages. Bartlett responded: "The members of the House of Representatives, the leadership, appear to be very aggressive in pursuing this investigation, and I think that's the best place, is for the leadership to determine the way forward."
Stephanopoulos, however, failed to challenge Bartlett's response by noting that the House Republican leadership reportedly knew about Foley's alleged misconduct for months and did little about it. Indeed, Stephanopoulos was clearly aware of these reports, as the Post editorial cited by Stephanopoulos called for "an outside investigator to do the fact-finding" for that precise reason, and he later asked Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) to respond to reports that "five members of the Republican leadership ... were informed of these allegations, in some level, earlier this year."
Wally's "THIS JUST IN! TAKE HIM OFF YOUR AOL BUDDIES LIST!" and Cedric's "Mark Foley Texts! (humor)" went up late. They read it to C.I. and were told "Wait." How come? Cedric didn't go home for lunch like he does some days so he was at work and C.I. wanted to be sure there wasn't a problem arising from that. It's funny. Be sure to check it out.
If you've read C.I.'s "On the Dangers of an Unchecked Bully Boy" then you have background on the Church Committee and what got exposed post-Watergate about government agencies spying on American people. If you didn't, before this next highlight, you should know that citizens were targeted then (like now) just for opposing the war (and other things too) and one of the many targets was John Lennon. That's your set up to Jon Wiener's "CIA-FBI Cooperation: The Case of John Lennon:"
Today everyone agrees that cooperation between the CIA and FBI is a key to preventing future terrorist attacks. But what if CIA-FBI intelligence sharing isn't about terrorist threats? What if the CIA is telling the FBI about people who criticize the president and speak out against an unpopular war?
That's precisely what we found in the John Lennon FBI files, released in 1997 under the Freedom of Information Act. That took 15 years of litigation that went all the way to the Supreme Court (I was the plaintiff, represented by the ACLU of Southern California). Those files were assembled in 1972 when Lennon was living in New York City, campaigning against the Vietnam War, and Nixon was in the White House, trying to deport him -- that story is told in the documentary "The US vs. John Lennon," which opened nationwide Sept. 29 (view the trailer here).
Several documents in the Lennon FBI files provide vivid examples of the wrong kind of "interagency cooperation" in the sharing of intelligence information. In one, from "Director, Central Intelligence Agency" (at the time, Richard Helms) to "Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation" (J. Edgar Hoover), dated Feb. 8, 1972, Helms told Hoover that Lennon had planned to lead "a caravan of entertainers, which will follow US election primaries" (see the document here).
The CIA was right about that: in 1972 Nixon was running for reelection, and Lennon had been talking about organizing a national concert tour where he and others would sing, antiwar leaders would speak, and young people would register to vote -- and vote against Nixon that fall.
The CIA memo to the FBI concluded, "Project organizers are seeking to avoid publicity at present in order not to jeopardize the stay of John Lennon, who is in the United States on a one-month visa." A month later the INS refused to renew Lennon's visa and began deportation proceedings. Lennon then cancelled plans for the anti-war caravan.
Another document provides the source of the Agency's information: CIA Operation CHAOS. It was secret, illegal program of surveillance of domestic political dissent -- a violation of the CIA charter. The Agency sent intelligence reports on antiwar activists first to President Johnson and later to Nixon, as well as to Henry Kissinger and John Dean. Under Nixon, the CHAOS program was expanded to 60 agents. Its existence was documented in 1976 by the Senate's "Church Committee," which investigated CIA and FBI misconduct and was headed by Idaho Senator Frank Church.
They did it to John Lennon, they can do it to anyone. People need to get over their "fear factor" and grow the hell up before we completely trash democracy. A lot's going on in Iraq but you can't tell much, can you? Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, October 2, 2006. Chaos and violence continue, a war resister who self-checked out prepares to turn himself in; World Can't Wait prepares for October 5th's day of mass resistance; Iraq's parliament once again extends its state of emergency; Rummy loves Bully Boy, Bully Boy loves Rummy; Australians reject the war in Iraq; and a 68-year-old grandmother fasts -- longterm fast -- to protest the administration and because she's not seen signs that a real resistance to them is taking place in the United States.
On Saturday, war resister Darrell Anderson returned to the United States after moving to Canada in January of 2005 when facing a second deployment to Iraq. Earlier, Darrell Anderson had been injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq and been awarded the Purple Heart. Lynne Olver (Reuters) quoted Anderson stating: "I believed it was my human right to choose not to kill innocent people." Jim Warren (Lexington Herald-Leader) noted that Jim Fennerty (Anderson's lawyer) was told by "an officer at Fort Knox" that Anderson would not be court-martialed, that there were "plans to release him within three to five days," and that "the officer told him that a discharge would be mailed to Anderson within a few days after that." As the AP notes, Anderson is now headed for Fort Knox where he plans to turn himself in Tuesday.
Darrell Anderson is part of a movement of resistance within the military that also includes Ricky Clousing (facing charges of desertion), Ehren Watada (the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq) and others. War resister Mark Wilkerson notes four protest songs "that have gotten me through Iraq and through my AWOL experience." Ehren Watada's father Bob Watada this morning began his second speaking tour to raise awareness on his son's case. Here are some of Bob Watada's speaking engagements this week:
Tues 10/3 7:00pm ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
1800 Argyle Ave. #400, Los Angeles
Contact: Carlos Alvarez, 323-464-1636, email: answerla@answerla.org
Wed. 10/4 12:00-2:30 pm Angela Oh's Korean American Experience Class
Life Sciences Bldg., RM 4127, UCLA Westwood Campus
Contact: aeola@earthlink.net
Wed. 10/4 Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
6120 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles
Contact: So Cal Library 323-759-6063
Thurs 10/5 5:00 pm World Can't Wait March & Rally
(March starts at noon at pershing S1/Bob speaks in front of Federal Bldg 300 N. Los Angeles St. at 5:00 pm.
Contact: Nicole Lee 323-462-4771 email: la@worldcantwait.org
Fri. 10/6 7:00 am Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP)
Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Bl., Los Angeles
Contact: Thalia 626-683-9004 email: incuip@pacbell.net
Fri 10/6 12:30 San Fernando Valley Japanese Community Center
SFV Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima 91331
Contact: Phil Shigkuni 818-893-1851, cell: 818-357-7488, email pshig2000@yahoo.com.
Full schedule (PDF format) can be found here and more information on war resisters can be found at Courage to Resist.
Bryan Bender (The Boston Globe) noted (last week) the Congressional Research Service Report which found that "the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week -- nearly twice as mush as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year". What's that "buying"? Not "democracy," not "liberation."
Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports that Iraq has again extended the state of emergency powers as it has done each month since the powers were put in place in November of 2004. CBS and AP note: "The measure allows for a nighttime curfew and gives the government extra powers to make arrests without warrants and carry out police and military operations."
Yesterday, AP reported that US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would not resign and that he has the support of the Bully Boy as Bob Woodward's latest book (State of Denial) proves the stenographer giveth and the stenographer taketh away. Dan Bartlett stated publicly yesterday that Bully Boy "serves at the pleasure of the" Bully Boy and that Bully Boy enjoys Rummy's "bedside manner". Bartlett should have more to do, as Bully Boy's attorney, than offer the public updates on Love In a Time of War especially at a time when the American people have firmly turned against the war in Iraq. [Those needing more of Woody can click here for text and video of Mike Wallace's interview with him on last night's 60 Minutes.]
A sentiment shared by Australians. A new poll by the Lowy Institute for International Policy has measured Australians' attitudes on the war. Leigh Sales reported to Mark Colvin (PM, Australia's ABC) that the poll "uncovered an exceptionally negative view of the war in Iraq. 84 per cent of Australians believe the war has not reduced the threat of terrorism, and 67 per cent say it won't spread democracy throughout the Middle East." Australia's Herald Sun reports that Kevin Rudd ("Labor foreign affairs spokesman") states the polling results are indicative of the "commonsense" of the people and that: "What they've seen in the Iraq war is probably the single greatest national security and foreign policy failure on the part of Australia since the Vietnam war."
Failure? Well only if you think continued bombing deaths, shooting deaths, kidnappings and discovered corpses are a failure. Five months away from the four-year mark of the illegal war sold on lies with a trailer that proclaimed it a "cakewalk" and the chaos and violence continue.
Kidnappings?
On Sunday, a mass kidnapping resulted in 26 workers being kidnapped in Baghdad. Aileen Alfandary noted today (KPFA's The Morning Show) that 7 of those kidnapped have been discovered . . . as corpses. Today saw another mass kidnapping. CNN reports that "at least 14 people" were kidnapped while working in "computer stores in central Baghdad". AFP raises the number of those discovered as corpses (from Sunday's mass kidnapping) to ten and notes this statement from the Iraqi Islamic Party: "The Iraqi Islamic Party asks how could 26 people, among them women, have been transported from Amil neighborhood to Abu Chir (where their bodies were found) through all those Iraqi and US army checkpoints and patrols?"
Bombings?
CBS and AP report four dead and at least thirteen injured in downtown Baghdad from a roadside bomb, an Iraqi soldier dead and two more wounded from a roadside bomb in western Baghdad, three people injured in "northeastern Baghdad" from a roadside bomb, and two people dead and seven injured in in another Baghdad "bomb blast".
Reuters notes one death, in Baghdad, from mortar rounds; and two dead from a roadside bomb in Hawija. AFP notes the death of two driving "trucks carrying petrol for the US army" as a result of roadside bombs in Tikrit.
Shootings?
AFP reports: "Colonel Faris Khali of Iraqi intelligence was driving along in civilian clothes and an unmarked car on a Baghdad highway Monday, when gunmen roared up next to him and shot him dead, said the interior ministry." CNN reports the shooting deaths of two Iraqi police officers (three more wounded) in Kut al-Hay. CBS and AP note a drive-by shooting in Hillah that killed one person and a drive-by in Mosul that killed a police officer. Reuters notes three people shot dead in Ishaqi.
Corpses?
Reuters notes thirteen corpses discovered in Baghdad, four "near Suwayra," and
"[s]even headless bodies . . . hands tied" in Suwayra.
Returning to peace news, Nicole Brodeur (Seattle Times) notes that Cindy Sheehan will be at Town Hall Seattle Tuesday on her Peace Mom book tour and that local resident Patricia Brooks has been fasting "since Sept. 11" and, the 68-year-old woman states: "And I have said that as soon as I am convinced that this steamroller is going foward with a self-sustaining momentum, I will stop."
Want to try to persuade Patricia Brooks that the people will demand accountability? World Can't Wait is calling for a day of mass action this Thursday (October 5th). Mathaba News reports, on Sunday, that "In the past 10 days, the number of cities planning protest jumped from 50 to more than 130. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is bolting into place an unprecedented new law which legalizes torture and severely restricts habeas corpus, the basic right to legal redress first established in England with the Magna Carta in 1215." Today Philip Maldari spoke with World Can't Wait's Sergio Andres Garcia on KPFA's The Morning Show noting an event in Oakland (California) this evening which includes participation by Alice Walker, Daniel Ellsberg and Boots Riley (7:00 pm, Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave, Oakland -- donations encouraged -- "between $15 and 50 dollars"). Garcia noted that Thursdays mass resistance events were taking place in 153 cities so the number of areas participating continues to grow. To determine what's going on in your area or for more information visit World Can't Wait.
And those on the fence about participating might want to note Alice Walkers words on the current climate: "An enlightened rage is building in the peoples of the world and it is anti-war. Never before have we seen war so clearly; its horror and stupidity and waste. We watch, those of us in the West, mostly on television, unimaginable blunders of planning and strategy; we walk past our rapidly deteriorating hospitals and schools while reading about the 10 billion a day, or is it a month, or is it a minute, spent on war in what is obviously the wrong country, in a newspaper that reports this news, it seems to us, casually. We feel helpless in that moment, but we do not feel ignorant. That is a great gain." That's from Walker's forthcoming We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness due out in November, an excerpt of which appears in the Fall 2006 issue of Ms. magazine, pages 66-70 (either just out or about to hit the stands).
Be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's thoughts. And check out Ava and C.I.'s
"TV: White Man Talking (and talking and talking . . .)" which I gave you the heads up to last week. They take on the talkiest show on television, Studio 60, a snooze-fest that the Water Cooler Critics can't shut up about. If you've seen the show and thought, "Can these people ever shut up?" you're going to love their review.
john lennon
jon wiener
media matters
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
the third estate sunday review
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
the common ills
iraq
darrell anderson
kpfa
the morning show
aileen alfandary
philip maldari
ms. magazine
Alice Walker
mark wilkerson
ehren watada
cindy sheehan
Monday, October 02, 2006
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Darrell Anderson, Iraq, Jim McGreevey
Saturday and Rebecca, Elaine and I are all blogging today. Despite the plan to knock out quick posts last night. That's because last night's group was just too good. It ended around eleven-thirty but people hung around talking and it was probably after one before it was really over. There's just so much to talk about. I don't believe the nonsense that people don't care about Iraq and what happens because I see too many people who do and there was so much to discuss last night.
See the painting of Darrell Anderson? He comes back today. From Canada. Be sure to talk about that today. We were talking about it last night and how important it is for everyone to know about this, to talk about this and to get the word out on it. His actions matter. Make sure you do your part to get the word out on war resisters.
You can read more about him in The Third Estate Sunday Review's "Editorial: Darrell Anderson Needs You" and at Courage to Resist. Maybe on Monday this will get some attention? I didn't see much on Anderson this week (and what I did see, I'd usually see in C.I.'s snapshots). It's up to us to create excitement and get the word out. Don't let him down.
Briefly, when I defended Jim McGreevey awhile back, I got some e-mails on that. Some were people going, "What are you gay?" No, but I can relate to his story and I think most guys can if they think about it. It's got a sexuality element, absolutely. But it's also got the fact that guys are conditioned to play certain roles by society. And guys should be able to relate to that aspect. It's easier for those of us my age compared to his age but it still exists.
McGreevey was raised in a time when gay was considered a mental illness and worse. So he covered up/denied his sexuality. That explains why it was hard for him and others his age (though not all) to admit they were gay to themselves. But there's another issue too and that's the issue of 'manhood' and what we're told we have to do and what we have to be. I think all guys should be able to relate to that. (I also think it's not hard to relate to the other aspect as well, the sexuality, unless you're someone who doesn't think about sex or someone who gets the heebies jeebies about sex.)
But Leigh Ann had a point in an e-mail she wrote and I passed it on to Nina to get her thoughts just for private. She agrees with Leigh Ann and said I could note it here. Leigh Ann thinks that I relate to McGreevey because he was married (twice) and engaged in relationships on the side. She's drawing a comparison between his actions and the fact that I'm not with Elaine and arguing that I wanted to be with Elaine while I was dating Nina.
That was Nina's concern while we were dating and that is what Nina believes. So Leigh Ann and Nina may be right but I don't think so. I didn't even think about Elaine in that way while I was with Nina because I had no reason to. But if it turns out that they're both right and I'm wrong, cool, that's one more way that McGreevey's story is relatable.
Jim McGreevey isn't an alien. There was a friend of C.I.'s who's a journalist and told me that my thing was kind of reflected in the people that show up for book signings and that the journalist was surprised by that. People shouldn't be surprised by it. This idea that he's "just gay" is an easy cop out. Who he sleeps with matters to him and needs to be noted because no one should have to hide their sexuality. It's part of who he is and part of his story. But there are other parts of his story too and they go beyond gay.
I keep saying that guys should be able to relate (and they should be) but it should be the same for a lot of women, they're not living in a world without societal pressure or in a world that doesn't try to dictate the roles they play.
I don't want to suggest that his being gay doesn't matter because I've said stuff like that before myself. And I really think, looking back, that those kind of statements aren't helpful. "It doesn't matter that he's gay." Yes, it does. It matters the same way anyone's relationships matter. It's who he is and I think about those kind of statements and about my high school teammate who came out after we all graduated and wonder if those kind of statements (I'm sure I made them around him when I didn't know he was gay) made it worse?
"It doesn't matter that he's gay." Yes, it does and saying otherwise could sound like you're saying, "Talk about something else." McGreevey's gay and that's part of his story and hopefully people will relate or be interested in that part because it's different from their own life. But it's one part of the story and another part is the fact that he played a role he was expected to play and that's something that a lot of people should be able to relate to.
I only know about him through the Oprah episode and the news when he came out. I did get his book but haven't had time to read it yet. (I've got stuff to read for classes and other things right now so I'm hoping to read it when we get the Thanksgiving break.) So I can't vouch for his life story in terms of everything he ever did. But he seems to me like a pretty cool guy and I think he's done something brave which is another way people should be able to relate him.
Nina really doesn't want to be talked about here and doesn't want our breakup talked about. But she did agree with Leigh Ann's e-mail (and I figured she would) so thanks to her for letting me talk about it here.
Four things real quick. Betty's "Islam and the Dope (Thomas Friedman)" is her latest chapter, C.I. filled in at Kat's site last night with "Iraq and students (C.I.)," Wally's "THIS JUST IN! INTERN SCANDAL!" & Cedric's "Foley Speaks about the Intern scandal (humor)" joint-post is a must read.
Now here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot :"
Friday, September 29, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the British military officers say out-of-Iraq, Medea Benjamin asks are you willing to "Give Peace a Vote"?,
is the US military writing off Al-Anbar Province, and tomorrow war resister Darrell Anderson is set to return to the United States.
Canada's CBC reports that, after eighteen months in Canada, war resister Darrell Anderson is readying for his journey home with his wife, Gail Greer, stating, "He needs to be home. This is not his home." [Note: CBC continues to list his wife as "Gail Green." US news outlets, other Canadian outlets and her film credits list her as "Gail Greer." If Gail Greer is not the correct name, we'll note that in a future snapshot.] Darrell Anderson was wounded by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. Facing a second deployment to Iraq, Anderson elected to self-check out of the US military and, as Jeremy Hinzman, Brandon Hughey, Patrick Hart, Kyle Snyder and others during this illegal war, head to Canada. Once there, he applied for legal status but, as with other war resisters, the government did not grant asylum. (This in marked contrast to Canada's actions during the Vietnam era.) Anita Anderson, his mother, tells CBC "there is no front line" in Iraq and that soldiers "are not supposed to be fighting this fight of war." If not arrested Saturday when he returns, Darrell Anderson intends to drive to Fort Knox where he will turn himself in. Information on Darrell Anderson and other war resisters can be found at Courage to Resist.
Meanwhile, in England, Richard Norton-Taylor (Guardian of London) reports: "Senior military officers have been pressing the government to withdraw British troops from Iraq and concentrate on what they now regard as a more worthwhile and winnable battleground in Afghanistan. They believe there is a limit to wath British soldiers can achieve in southern Iraq and that it is time the Iraqis took responsiblity for their own security, defence sources say." The report comes as Bonnie Malkin (Guardian of London) notes that "former foreign secretary Jack Straw has described the situation in Iraq as 'dire,' blaming mistakes made by the US for the escalating crisis." Straw has words of praise for former US Secreatry of State Colin Powell which is only a surprise to those who never noticed their mutual admiration society until today. The report that military officials want British troops out of Iraq (and into Afghanistan) has already led to a denial from Defence Secretary Des Browne who, AFP reports, denied the report on BBC radio.
While the truth battles spin, Mark Malloch Brown, deputy secretary general of the United Nations makes a call of his own. Paul Vallely (Independent of London) reports
Malloch Brown has stated that it was Tony Blair's Iraq policy that "fatally undermined his position as Prime Minister and forced him to step down" and Vallely also quotes an unnamed "UN source" who declares of Blair, "But Iraq has finished him. Mr. Blair seems not to appreciate just how disliked and distrusted he is in other nations."
In the United States, Reuters reports: "The U.S. Congress on Friday moved to block the Bush adminstration from building permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq or controlling the country's oil sector, as it approved $70 billion for funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." As Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) noted Wednesday when reporting on recent polling of Iraqis, ". . . the Program on Itnerantional Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, found . . . 77 percent of those polled saying the United States intends to keep permanent military bases in the country." Noting the polling, Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post) notes: "The writing is on the wall -- and on page after page of report after report. All leading to the same inescapable conclusion. Iraq has made us less safe; it's time to bring our troops home." What will it take for that? Not buying into the fear mania, which is a topic Huffington addressed with Andrea Lewis today on KPFA, The Morning Show[and is also the topic of On Becoming Fearless, Huffington's new book]. [Remember that KPFA broadcasts are archived and you can listen to them, free of charge, 24/7.]
The US Congress' decision comes as Robert Burns (AP) reports Army Col. Sean B. Macfarland ("commander of 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division" in Iraq) stated that the resistance in Al-Anbar Province will not be defeated by American forces and will "probably" continue "until after U.S. troops leave the country". Most recent actions in Al-Anbar have revolved around Ramadi which is being carved up into a series of Green Zones (to little effect). [Currently at Alive in Baghdad, there is a video report on a man who was "Falsely Arrested and Abused In Ramadi.]
In the most noted violence in Iraq today, Kadhim Abdel has been shot dead. CNN reports that "the brother-in-law of Judge Mohammad Orabi Majeed Al-Khalefa, was driving in Ghazaliya on Friday with his son aged 10 and another 10-year-old boy when their car was attacked. Both boys were wounded." The Australian combines AP and Reuters to note: "It was not immediately clear whether they were targeted because they were related to judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, who took over the Saddam trial last week, or if it was another of the sectarian attacks that have been plaguing Baghdad." (That statement is actually all AP.)
Bombings?
AP reports that a police officer died ("and two civilians injured") from a bombing in downtown Baghdad; while two Iraqi soldiers lost their lives in Anah from a roadside bomb (with two more wounded).
Shootings?
AFP reports that two police officers were shot dead in Dura. CNN reports that four people were shot dead in Balad.
Corpses?
AP reports that eight corpses were discovered in Iraq, three were discovered in Baquba and that two corpses "were pulled from the Tigris River in Suwayrah". AFP reports that two corpses were discovered in Kut. (The Times of London ups the Baghdad corpse count to ten.)
In peace news, BuzzFlash declares the Dixie Chicks this weeks Wings of Justice winners for using their voices to speak truth to power. In 2003, the Chicks were savaged by some (and Diane Sawyer attempted a public shaming). They didn't back down and, to quote a song off their new, best selling CD, they're "not ready to make nice." [Click here for Kat's review of the CD.] The Dixie Chicks stood strong and a lot of people stood with them. There's a lesson in that.
CODEPINK is celebrating it's fourth anniversary on Sunday and Andrea Lewis spoke with Medea Benjamin about that today on KPFA's The Morning Show today. Addressing the organization's latest action -- Give Peace a Vote! -- Benjamin noted that: "We have November elections coming up and then we have presidential elections coming up and unfortunately If we don't translate the silent majority voice that's against this war into a voter bloc, we're going to be faced with another opportunity to vote for two major parties giving us war candidates. So Give Peace a Vote!is a way to say, 'I will not vote for anybody that does not call for an end to this war and no more wars of aggression.'"
Speaking with Kris Welch today on KPFA's Living Room, Daniel Ellsberg noted the upcoming World Can't Wait protest (October 5th -- day of mass resistance), his being named as the recipient of the Right Livelihood Award and the importance of speaking out.
As noted by James Glanz (New York Times) and Gritte Witte (Washington Post) this morning, American contractor Parsons has a 1/14 success rate for their construction projects in Iraq --- actually less than 1 in 14 because, as Witte notes, ""The one project reviewed by auditors that was being constructed correctly, a prison, was taken away from Parsons before its completion because of escalating costs." With that in mind, pay attention to Janis Karpinski (writing for The Huffington Post): "Our silence will beget more of the same and worse. We must find courage. We must stand up. One of the ways to do this is by screening and sharing a new documentary I appeared in called Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers -- which calls for a stop to the shameful war profiteering this administration has allowed to occur. We must speak up. We must because we are Americans and we know better than this. We can move beyond the shame only when we stop this from getting worse and participate in making it better."
Finally, next week, Bob Watada, father of Ehren Watada, hits the road again to raise awareness on his son -- the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. After an Article 32 hearing in August, Ehren Watada awaits word on what the chain of command will do with the findings (court-martial, discharge him, ignore the findings . . .). Here are Bob Watada's speaking engagements for Monday through Friday of next week:
Mon. 10/2 8:30 am KPFK Sonali Kolhatkur 3729 Cahuenga Bl. West, No. Hollywood Contact: KPFK 818-985-2711 email: uprising@kpfk.org
Tues 10/3 7:00pm ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) 1800 Argyle Ave. #400, Los Angeles Contact: Carlos Alvarez, 323-464-1636, email: answerla@answerla.org
Wed. 10/4 12:00-2:30 pm Angela Oh's Korean American Experience Class Life Sciences Bldg., RM 4127, UCLA Westwood Campus Contact: aeola@earthlink.net
Wed. 10/4 Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research 6120 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles Contact: So Cal Library 323-759-6063
Thurs 10/5 5:00 pm World Can't Wait March & Rally (March starts at noon at pershing S1) Bob speaks in front of Federal Bldg 300 N. Los Angeles St. at 5:00 pm. Contact: Nicole Lee 323-462-4771 email: la@worldcantwait.org
Fri. 10/6 7:00 am Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Bl., Los Angeles Contact: Thalia 626-683-9004 email: incuip@pacbell.net
Fri 10/6 12:30 San Fernando Valley Japanese Community Center SFV Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima 91331 Contact: Phil Shigkuni 818-893-1851, cell: 818-357-7488, email pshig2000@yahoo.com.
On a non-Iraq note, Lynda pointed out that a link was wrong this morning (and yesterday) so I'll note it here (it's corrected on the main site, but not on the mirror site)from Ms.: "Before the new Ms. comes out on October 10, we're doing a last push to get signatures on our "We Had Abortions" petition. With our right to choose in danger, we at Ms. think it's important for us to take a stand now for abortion rights. We'd love to have your help!"
jim mcgreevey
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
the third estate sunday review
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
thomas friedman is a great man
iraq
darrell anderson
kpfa
the morning show
andrea lewis
medea benjamin
codepink
arianna huffington
kris welch
living room
daniel ellsberg
the washington post
amit r. paley
the new york times
james glanz
the washington post
griff witte
janis karpinski
ms. magazine
dixie chicks
buzzflash
wings of justice
kats korner
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tired
Thursday and I'm starting slow tonight. I went with my best bud (Tony) to get something to eat tonight because he wanted to talk. We had Chinese. The sweet & sour shrimp is what I had and it was good but I got back here and all I want to do is sleep. I must have eaten too much or something. I called Rebecca and she said, "Go to sleep." But I'm planning on a quick blog tomorrow and don't want to do two in a row.
I'll start out talking The Third Estate Sunday Review and see how I feel after.
Editorial: Darrell Anderson Needs You -- this wasn't planned to be the top piece, the note was. But they all liked how this worked out by accident and I do too. Darrell Anderson, war resister, returns to the United States Saturday. You need to show him your support. I'll be noting this editorial here tomorrow.
A Note to Our Readers -- Jim offers his take on things (with others shouting stuff out).
TV: Heroic Would Be Pasdar in a Loin Cloth -- Ava and C.I. reviewing NBC's Heroes. I saw that show this week. They didn't realize it hadn't aired. Both apologized for "spoilers." I don't think they spoiled anything but they do feel bad that they reviewed something that hadn't aired. They're tossing ideas around for this Sunday and I think they've got their title. If you're one of their hundreds, thousands of fans, you know they don't play water cooler critics. They're going to take on this season's most sacred cow so look for that Sunday. In the meantime, this is really funny review and, since I saw this show Tuesday, I'll go ahead and recommend it too. This could be a pretty good show. If I have time, I'm going to try to catch it next week.
Talk -- This has cool art. I like it. We were all at a big table doing the artwork and stuff for this edition and this got sat down on the floor, which was where Betty's kids were spread out doing their coloring and stuff. Her youngest son was using a marker. He thought this was a drawing he could color. And he thought that because we did set things down on the floor for them to color if we weren't using them. But this got put down there by mistake. And he grabbed his blue marker and added color. Betty looked like she was going to cry when she saw what was happening but no one was upset. C.I. told Betty's son it did need color (it was just black and white before) and added some oil paints or water colors, I'm not sure which. But it turned out better with color and no one was made at Betty or her son. The point of the story is that you need to talk about the war and be your own media. My favorite part, C.I. came up with it, was a joke that C.I. shot off just being silly but Jim's dad insisted it was too funny not to be left in. With a lot of pressure from Jim's dad, it stayed in. I won't spoil it by telling it here but read the article.
Dick & Bully Boy hiding behind others as usual -- I love the Cheney art work! :D Bully Boy went AWOL and never got punished. Guess it's who you know.
Bully Boy cloud -- This artwork. I liked it in color better. There were all these reds and oranges and stuff. But it's cool in black & white too. The point is Bully Boy projects and the mushroom cloud is him.
The Tears -- The Sammy Powers are on the march, fooling a nation. Did you notice that with all the build up to this "big" protest they couldn't even get 40,000 to show? Still got the front page of the New York Times, though, didn't they? That's what happens when you "rebel" with the Bully Boy. Right-wing movement trying to ensare the left and still not getting traction, after all that teary talk and all that press exposure. Amy Goodman even had them on twice, didn't she. She hasn't had on Jonathan Steele of The Guardian of London to talk about it, has she? Probably because his column pointed out how dangerous our Modern Day Carrie Nations are. (Thanks to Ruth for the shout out when she subbed for Kat yesterday.) I've got a new nickname for them but I'm saving that for the next feature at Third.
MyTV's Fascist House -- Kat came up with the idea of a collage awhile back. That's how this started and Jim's surprised that people enjoy it. I'm not. I think it's funny and visual.
Shades Include Green (Party) -- Green Party are people too. :D Seriously, I'm not a Green but I do think they are a good party and that they have strong ideas. This piece is about how they've been largely ignored this year. There's this flawed logic and I heard it on the radio today. But let's say the Dems need to pick up three seats in November. If they pick up two and a Green one wins, they still get control of Congress. The point is to take those seats away from Republicans. So it's a real shame that the Green Party has been so overlooked this year. Howie Hawkins is in the NY Senate race against Hillary. He's the Green candidate. If you don't want to vote for a War Hawk, you can vote for Hawkins.
GreenStone Media -- this is about a new media project.
About the Times Select . . . -- NYT the big silly, the big bore.
Nye-Nye Takes a Fall -- the Joe Lieberman of the commentary set takes a fall. :D
Let me depress the hell out of you by noting Ron Jacobs' "The Generals, the Democrats and Iraq:"
Recently on CNN, Michael Ware reported from Iraq that US commanders have been privately telling him that they need "at least three times as many troops as they currently have there now, be that Iraqi and American or, even better, just three times as many as American troops." Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, three retired generals told a Democratic Policy Committee that the military itself needs more members. Indeed, General Eaton was quoted in Army Times as saying in a prepared statement that "The war on terror demands we mobilize the country and significantly increase the size of our ground forces."
Of course, the general didn't say how he expected the army to do that, although he mentioned that he thought at least 60, 000 troops would be needed, at least for a start. If I were one of those in the US who are looking to the Democrats to get them out of the bloody mess created since 2001, I would be pretty nervous that these men (and not policy makers opposed to the war) are speaking to the Democrats' policy committee.
History tells us that generals that want to expand the military are not interested in ending any war. Does the name William Westmoreland mean anything to these folks? It was his philosophy that the war in Vietnam could be won if there were just enough troops there. He thought this when there were 50,000. he thought it when there were 200,000. He even thought it when there were 500,000. And he was wrong.
The generals and the politicians that support them operate from a fundamentally incorrect premise. They do not think that their mission is itself impossible and wrong, only that Washington doesn't have enough men on the ground. Although it is remotely possible that a force twice the size of the original invasion force might have achieved the US goal of an Iraq completely controlled by Washington in 2003, the events on the ground since then render any assessment that still believes such a goal to be possible foolish and wrong.
Are you depressed? You should be. The war's not ending. Not just because the Sammy Powers Movement tries to give the Bully Boy cover, but also because most Dems don't have the guts to speak out. (Ted Kennedy has, Russ Feingold has.) Did you notice how disgusting Nancy Pelosi was last week? Attacking Chavez for critiquing Bully Boy? That was a really low moment. When asked her opinion, all she had to say was, "In America, everyone has free speech." Or something similar. Instead, she wanted to play more-patriotic-than-thou and ended up looking like a tool. Someday I may become a Green. If I do, it won't be because I jump parties, it'll be because I was pushed by the cowards and backstabbers that too often seem to make up our "leadership."
Okay, here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" which is more ogranized than anything I could do tonight:
Thursday, September 28, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; the media gloms on a recording as thought it's December 1, 1982 and the recording is Thriller; war resister Darrell Anderson gears up for his return to the United States stating, "It will be the freest time in my life, because I'm standing up for what I believe in"; polling of Iraqis continues to demonstrate opposition to the US presence in Iraq; disputes continue over yesterday's US airstrike and what appears to be an airstrike today raises additional questions.
Starting with peace news, Darrell Anderson has been in Canada since January 2005. Anderson was awarded a Purple Heart on his first deployment to Iraq where he was injured by a roadside bomb. Facing a second deployment to Iraq, Anderson chose to self-check out of the US military and go to Canada. Anderson is due to return to the US on Saturday. Diana Swain interviewed Anderson for Canada's CBC today.
Anderson states: "I just broke down one day and couldn't stop crying, and I couldn't go to work and just realized I was done here and I had to go and make a stance in the US because there's way more support and the movement's way bigger down there than it is here."
A text version (not a transcript) notes that: "While Canada provided him an escape from serving in a war he'd come to resent, he says the time has been arduous. His refugee bids have failed so he can't work here legally and he can't get health care."
Anderson has spoken about PST and other difficulties resulting from the roadside bomb. The text story also notes: "Anderson is scheduled to appear before military officials for a court martial on Tuesday." If that's true, that's the first anyone's reported of it. Anderson's plan is to drive into the US Saturday and, if not arrested at the border, to turn himself in at Fort Knox on Tuesday. Before being court-martialed, Anderson would first have to face an Article 32 hearing -- think back to Ehren Watada's Article 32 hearing in August and also the comments by Watada's attorney Eric Seitz when the military attempted to sneak a charge in post-Article 32 (to William Cole, The Honolu Advertiser): "If they go ahead and add this charge without reconvening an Article 32 and we get to trial, we're going to move to dismiss it because it wasn't presented at the Article 32, and my belief is a military judge is probably going to dismiss it."
On the subject of Watada, David Howard (Online Journal) writes: "1st. Lt. Ehren Watada is facing an eight-year term in military prison for just doing his duty: serving our country and protecting the Constitution. The charges are conduct unbecoming an officer, missing movement, and contempt toward President Bush. But they boil down to the 'crimes' of thinking, speaking and following his conscience. . . . This impending trial will be a test of our president's authority to wage preemptive war. Lt. Watada argues, on our behalf, that President Bush has abused his authority; President Bush argues that Watada is contemptuous for saying so." More information on war resisters can be found at Courage to Resist.
Meanwhile, a US ordered airstrike on Wednesday in Baquba continues to be disputed by eye witnesses and the US military. The US military initially trumpted the airstrike as an attack on 'insurgents' and issued the usual press releases. Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) reported today that: "Relatives said the eight people killed were from the same family and had no ties to terrorism. Associated Press Television News quoted the homeowner's daughter, Manal Jassim, as saying: "They were all innocent people. We were sleeping when they entered our house at dawn. I found my father, mother, aunt and sister-in-law lying dead. We were an 11-membe family. Eight were killed." Doug Smith (LA Times) reports that an investigation is planned and Enaam Jassim Mohammed (who lost "her parents, brother and pregnant sister-in-law" in the attacks) stated, "The Americans were yelling at the rest of the family. Then the Americans opened fire at my father, my mother and the rest. . . . I was trying to wake up my brother's wife, who was pregnant, hitting her on her face to wake up. But I discovered that she was killed after seeing the blood over the floor and her body." Smith also notes: "Another witness, interviewed on Iraqi television, said the troops shot first and continued to fire inside the house."
The strike comes at a time when polls continue to demonstrate that Iraqis favor a US withdrawal. Tom Hayden (The Huffington Post) and Amit R. Paley (The Washington Post) earlier noted the polling and today Barry Schweid (AP) notes a poll by the International Policy Attitudes of the University of Maryland which found "four in five Iraqis say the U.S. military force in Iraq provokes more violence than it prevents"; "three-fourths say they think the United States plans to keep military bases in Iraq permanently"; and "About 61 percent approved of the attacks -- up from 47 percent in January" -- attacks on US forces. Meanwhile, Walter Pincus (Washington Post) reports that the US military "wants to hire a private firm to conduct polling and focus groups in Iraq". Apparently, when unhappy with polling results (including those of the State Department -- use Paley link), the answer is to hire a polling outfit yourself.
Events such as Wednesday's airstrike can be seen as driving the "negatives" and today's reported airstrike won't aid anyone either. Reuters reports the US military is claiming no knowledge of what appears to be an airstrike in Ramadi on a car carrying five people all of whom were killed. Reuters notes that the dead includes "two men, two children and a woman" and reminds: "The death of women and children in military operations is a common cause of resentment among Iraqis against U.S. forces."
The violence continues today in Iraq. AFP notes of the US military claims of success with the "house to house sweeps" of the so-called 'crackdown' that's been ongoing in Baghdad since mid-June: "However, there are indications armed groups are returning to these neighborhoods and perpetrating new violence once US troops have moved on, sometimes acting with the complicity of elements in the Iraqi security forces."
Bombings?
Patrick Quinn (AP) reports a car bomb in Baghdad took five lives and left at least 34 wounded when "it exploded near a restaurant in central Baghdad". Also in Baghdad, Reuters reports four police officers wounded by "[a] car bomb targeting a police patrol"; while a roadside bomb aimed at a police patrol killed one person; two people died and 25 were wounded when a car bomber attacked "an Iraqi army headquarters"; two other bombs (one car, one roadside) left five people wounded; and mortar rounds wounded three. Quinn (AP) notes that mortar wounds also claimed the life of a child in Baghdad. The capital -- three months after the 'crackdown' began. Outside of Baghdad, Reuters notes a car bomber in Kirkuk killed a police officer; while two police officers were wounded by a roadside bomb in Mosul; one police officer was wounded by a roadside bomb "near Kirkuk"; and a person was wounded in Numaniya following the explosion of "[a] bomb planted inside the house of a" police officer.
Shootings?
Patrick Quinn (AP) reports: "Gunmen killed seven people, including five policemen and a woman, in different locations in the province of Diyala just north of Baghdad, police said." Reuters notes a man was shot dead in Balad and one in Mosul.
Corpses?
CNN reports that 60 corpses were found "around" Baghdad today and that the latest discoveries are "pushing the number of bodies discovered so far this week to 122. Most of the bodies had their hands tied and gunshot wounds to the head, Iraqi emergency police said." Reuters notes a corpse was discovered in Mosul and one in Balad.
The BBC is reporting that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (alleged "leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq") has issued a tape recording via websites that calls "for [the] kidnapping of Westerners." CNN notes that the tape is unconfirmed. CBS and AP note that the taped message asserts "more than 4,000 foreigners" have died in Iraq fighting occupation troops and that the "holy month should be turned into what he calls a 'month of holy war.'" The message is in Arabic. CBS and AP credit "translator Khaled Wassef, whose job entails the constant monitoring of a plethora of Web sites where militants frequently post text, audio and video detailing their global operations" and note that Wassef feels the figure cited (4,000) is more for "symbolism than . . . quantity." Patrick Quinn (AP) reports that the recording "also called for explosive experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war".
In finanical news, CBS and AP note "a secret U.S. Audit" report by Stuart W. Bowen (Special Inspector General) that says the Iraq oil industry has "lost $16 billion" in the last two years due to "attacks, criminals and bad equipment".
Returning to peace news, the AP reports that "five adults and two juveniles" were arrested following "a seven-hour sit-in at [US House] Rep. Steve Chabort's hometown office" in Cincinnati, Ohio. The sit-in was to advocate that Chabot sign on to the Declaration of Peace. Republican Chabot chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee and backed the House bill making it illegal for any non-parent adult to take a minor across state lines to secure an abortion. His most famous statements regarding the war in Iraq may be his suggestion that the French needed history lessons for opposing the war. Monday, at US Senator Rick Santorum's Philadelphia office, fourteen people were arrested for civil disobedience. As Haider Rizvi (IPS) has reported these and other actions "continue to take place in dozens of cities across the United States this week as part of a nationwide campaign aiming to force the administration of President George W. Bush and Congress to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq."
Next Thursday, October 5th, World Can't Wait is calling for a day of mass resistance.
Benjamin Rosen explains "people will walk out of school, take off work, gather in town squares and MARCH in cities across the country, declaring their intention [to] bring the Bush program to a halt."
While people get active, DC freezes. As Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post) notes: "With just a few days remaining before Congress adjourns for the midterm election, Washington, DC has turned into the fear capital of America. It's an all-out Fear Face-Off, pitting the GOP's fear of reality against the Democrats' fear of perception, with control of Congress riding on the outcome."
Let me do one more thing. This is from Media Matters' "NBC, AP uncritically reported Snow's claim that the NIE is 'a snapshot':"
In reporting on the Bush administration's reaction to the recently declassified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded that the Iraq war has stoked terrorism worldwide, the Associated Press and NBC's Nightly News uncritically reported White House press secretary Tony Snow's dismissal of the NIE's findings, claiming that "it's a snapshot ... of what's going on in the region." In fact, work on the NIE reportedly began in 2004, and, as CBS national security correspondent David Martin reported on September 27, the NIE "is really a forecast" that "analyzes the nature of the threat terrorist groups will pose during the next five years."
They've made their comments and did so pretty clear so let me talk about something else. "It's a snapshot"? Maybe Tony Snow got it confused with C.I.'s work? :D Seriously, Jess told me if the military (not the troops, higher up) whine in one more e-mail to the public account of The Common Ills, he's going to demand C.I. put it in entry. You'd think, with a war they want going to hell, they'd have a little more to do than whine to C.I. But no. Big whiny babies. Or maybe they're just smart? Never underestimate the power of the "Iraq snapshot." It has a big audience outside the community.
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
thomas friedman is a great man
ruths report
kats korner
iraq
darrell anderson
ehren watadawilliam colethe honolulu advertiser
the washington post
walter pincus
amit r. paley
tom hayden
arianna huffington
declaration of peace
the new york times
richard a. oppel
I'll start out talking The Third Estate Sunday Review and see how I feel after.
Editorial: Darrell Anderson Needs You -- this wasn't planned to be the top piece, the note was. But they all liked how this worked out by accident and I do too. Darrell Anderson, war resister, returns to the United States Saturday. You need to show him your support. I'll be noting this editorial here tomorrow.
A Note to Our Readers -- Jim offers his take on things (with others shouting stuff out).
TV: Heroic Would Be Pasdar in a Loin Cloth -- Ava and C.I. reviewing NBC's Heroes. I saw that show this week. They didn't realize it hadn't aired. Both apologized for "spoilers." I don't think they spoiled anything but they do feel bad that they reviewed something that hadn't aired. They're tossing ideas around for this Sunday and I think they've got their title. If you're one of their hundreds, thousands of fans, you know they don't play water cooler critics. They're going to take on this season's most sacred cow so look for that Sunday. In the meantime, this is really funny review and, since I saw this show Tuesday, I'll go ahead and recommend it too. This could be a pretty good show. If I have time, I'm going to try to catch it next week.
Talk -- This has cool art. I like it. We were all at a big table doing the artwork and stuff for this edition and this got sat down on the floor, which was where Betty's kids were spread out doing their coloring and stuff. Her youngest son was using a marker. He thought this was a drawing he could color. And he thought that because we did set things down on the floor for them to color if we weren't using them. But this got put down there by mistake. And he grabbed his blue marker and added color. Betty looked like she was going to cry when she saw what was happening but no one was upset. C.I. told Betty's son it did need color (it was just black and white before) and added some oil paints or water colors, I'm not sure which. But it turned out better with color and no one was made at Betty or her son. The point of the story is that you need to talk about the war and be your own media. My favorite part, C.I. came up with it, was a joke that C.I. shot off just being silly but Jim's dad insisted it was too funny not to be left in. With a lot of pressure from Jim's dad, it stayed in. I won't spoil it by telling it here but read the article.
Dick & Bully Boy hiding behind others as usual -- I love the Cheney art work! :D Bully Boy went AWOL and never got punished. Guess it's who you know.
Bully Boy cloud -- This artwork. I liked it in color better. There were all these reds and oranges and stuff. But it's cool in black & white too. The point is Bully Boy projects and the mushroom cloud is him.
The Tears -- The Sammy Powers are on the march, fooling a nation. Did you notice that with all the build up to this "big" protest they couldn't even get 40,000 to show? Still got the front page of the New York Times, though, didn't they? That's what happens when you "rebel" with the Bully Boy. Right-wing movement trying to ensare the left and still not getting traction, after all that teary talk and all that press exposure. Amy Goodman even had them on twice, didn't she. She hasn't had on Jonathan Steele of The Guardian of London to talk about it, has she? Probably because his column pointed out how dangerous our Modern Day Carrie Nations are. (Thanks to Ruth for the shout out when she subbed for Kat yesterday.) I've got a new nickname for them but I'm saving that for the next feature at Third.
MyTV's Fascist House -- Kat came up with the idea of a collage awhile back. That's how this started and Jim's surprised that people enjoy it. I'm not. I think it's funny and visual.
Shades Include Green (Party) -- Green Party are people too. :D Seriously, I'm not a Green but I do think they are a good party and that they have strong ideas. This piece is about how they've been largely ignored this year. There's this flawed logic and I heard it on the radio today. But let's say the Dems need to pick up three seats in November. If they pick up two and a Green one wins, they still get control of Congress. The point is to take those seats away from Republicans. So it's a real shame that the Green Party has been so overlooked this year. Howie Hawkins is in the NY Senate race against Hillary. He's the Green candidate. If you don't want to vote for a War Hawk, you can vote for Hawkins.
GreenStone Media -- this is about a new media project.
About the Times Select . . . -- NYT the big silly, the big bore.
Nye-Nye Takes a Fall -- the Joe Lieberman of the commentary set takes a fall. :D
Let me depress the hell out of you by noting Ron Jacobs' "The Generals, the Democrats and Iraq:"
Recently on CNN, Michael Ware reported from Iraq that US commanders have been privately telling him that they need "at least three times as many troops as they currently have there now, be that Iraqi and American or, even better, just three times as many as American troops." Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, three retired generals told a Democratic Policy Committee that the military itself needs more members. Indeed, General Eaton was quoted in Army Times as saying in a prepared statement that "The war on terror demands we mobilize the country and significantly increase the size of our ground forces."
Of course, the general didn't say how he expected the army to do that, although he mentioned that he thought at least 60, 000 troops would be needed, at least for a start. If I were one of those in the US who are looking to the Democrats to get them out of the bloody mess created since 2001, I would be pretty nervous that these men (and not policy makers opposed to the war) are speaking to the Democrats' policy committee.
History tells us that generals that want to expand the military are not interested in ending any war. Does the name William Westmoreland mean anything to these folks? It was his philosophy that the war in Vietnam could be won if there were just enough troops there. He thought this when there were 50,000. he thought it when there were 200,000. He even thought it when there were 500,000. And he was wrong.
The generals and the politicians that support them operate from a fundamentally incorrect premise. They do not think that their mission is itself impossible and wrong, only that Washington doesn't have enough men on the ground. Although it is remotely possible that a force twice the size of the original invasion force might have achieved the US goal of an Iraq completely controlled by Washington in 2003, the events on the ground since then render any assessment that still believes such a goal to be possible foolish and wrong.
Are you depressed? You should be. The war's not ending. Not just because the Sammy Powers Movement tries to give the Bully Boy cover, but also because most Dems don't have the guts to speak out. (Ted Kennedy has, Russ Feingold has.) Did you notice how disgusting Nancy Pelosi was last week? Attacking Chavez for critiquing Bully Boy? That was a really low moment. When asked her opinion, all she had to say was, "In America, everyone has free speech." Or something similar. Instead, she wanted to play more-patriotic-than-thou and ended up looking like a tool. Someday I may become a Green. If I do, it won't be because I jump parties, it'll be because I was pushed by the cowards and backstabbers that too often seem to make up our "leadership."
Okay, here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" which is more ogranized than anything I could do tonight:
Thursday, September 28, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; the media gloms on a recording as thought it's December 1, 1982 and the recording is Thriller; war resister Darrell Anderson gears up for his return to the United States stating, "It will be the freest time in my life, because I'm standing up for what I believe in"; polling of Iraqis continues to demonstrate opposition to the US presence in Iraq; disputes continue over yesterday's US airstrike and what appears to be an airstrike today raises additional questions.
Starting with peace news, Darrell Anderson has been in Canada since January 2005. Anderson was awarded a Purple Heart on his first deployment to Iraq where he was injured by a roadside bomb. Facing a second deployment to Iraq, Anderson chose to self-check out of the US military and go to Canada. Anderson is due to return to the US on Saturday. Diana Swain interviewed Anderson for Canada's CBC today.
Anderson states: "I just broke down one day and couldn't stop crying, and I couldn't go to work and just realized I was done here and I had to go and make a stance in the US because there's way more support and the movement's way bigger down there than it is here."
A text version (not a transcript) notes that: "While Canada provided him an escape from serving in a war he'd come to resent, he says the time has been arduous. His refugee bids have failed so he can't work here legally and he can't get health care."
Anderson has spoken about PST and other difficulties resulting from the roadside bomb. The text story also notes: "Anderson is scheduled to appear before military officials for a court martial on Tuesday." If that's true, that's the first anyone's reported of it. Anderson's plan is to drive into the US Saturday and, if not arrested at the border, to turn himself in at Fort Knox on Tuesday. Before being court-martialed, Anderson would first have to face an Article 32 hearing -- think back to Ehren Watada's Article 32 hearing in August and also the comments by Watada's attorney Eric Seitz when the military attempted to sneak a charge in post-Article 32 (to William Cole, The Honolu Advertiser): "If they go ahead and add this charge without reconvening an Article 32 and we get to trial, we're going to move to dismiss it because it wasn't presented at the Article 32, and my belief is a military judge is probably going to dismiss it."
On the subject of Watada, David Howard (Online Journal) writes: "1st. Lt. Ehren Watada is facing an eight-year term in military prison for just doing his duty: serving our country and protecting the Constitution. The charges are conduct unbecoming an officer, missing movement, and contempt toward President Bush. But they boil down to the 'crimes' of thinking, speaking and following his conscience. . . . This impending trial will be a test of our president's authority to wage preemptive war. Lt. Watada argues, on our behalf, that President Bush has abused his authority; President Bush argues that Watada is contemptuous for saying so." More information on war resisters can be found at Courage to Resist.
Meanwhile, a US ordered airstrike on Wednesday in Baquba continues to be disputed by eye witnesses and the US military. The US military initially trumpted the airstrike as an attack on 'insurgents' and issued the usual press releases. Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) reported today that: "Relatives said the eight people killed were from the same family and had no ties to terrorism. Associated Press Television News quoted the homeowner's daughter, Manal Jassim, as saying: "They were all innocent people. We were sleeping when they entered our house at dawn. I found my father, mother, aunt and sister-in-law lying dead. We were an 11-membe family. Eight were killed." Doug Smith (LA Times) reports that an investigation is planned and Enaam Jassim Mohammed (who lost "her parents, brother and pregnant sister-in-law" in the attacks) stated, "The Americans were yelling at the rest of the family. Then the Americans opened fire at my father, my mother and the rest. . . . I was trying to wake up my brother's wife, who was pregnant, hitting her on her face to wake up. But I discovered that she was killed after seeing the blood over the floor and her body." Smith also notes: "Another witness, interviewed on Iraqi television, said the troops shot first and continued to fire inside the house."
The strike comes at a time when polls continue to demonstrate that Iraqis favor a US withdrawal. Tom Hayden (The Huffington Post) and Amit R. Paley (The Washington Post) earlier noted the polling and today Barry Schweid (AP) notes a poll by the International Policy Attitudes of the University of Maryland which found "four in five Iraqis say the U.S. military force in Iraq provokes more violence than it prevents"; "three-fourths say they think the United States plans to keep military bases in Iraq permanently"; and "About 61 percent approved of the attacks -- up from 47 percent in January" -- attacks on US forces. Meanwhile, Walter Pincus (Washington Post) reports that the US military "wants to hire a private firm to conduct polling and focus groups in Iraq". Apparently, when unhappy with polling results (including those of the State Department -- use Paley link), the answer is to hire a polling outfit yourself.
Events such as Wednesday's airstrike can be seen as driving the "negatives" and today's reported airstrike won't aid anyone either. Reuters reports the US military is claiming no knowledge of what appears to be an airstrike in Ramadi on a car carrying five people all of whom were killed. Reuters notes that the dead includes "two men, two children and a woman" and reminds: "The death of women and children in military operations is a common cause of resentment among Iraqis against U.S. forces."
The violence continues today in Iraq. AFP notes of the US military claims of success with the "house to house sweeps" of the so-called 'crackdown' that's been ongoing in Baghdad since mid-June: "However, there are indications armed groups are returning to these neighborhoods and perpetrating new violence once US troops have moved on, sometimes acting with the complicity of elements in the Iraqi security forces."
Bombings?
Patrick Quinn (AP) reports a car bomb in Baghdad took five lives and left at least 34 wounded when "it exploded near a restaurant in central Baghdad". Also in Baghdad, Reuters reports four police officers wounded by "[a] car bomb targeting a police patrol"; while a roadside bomb aimed at a police patrol killed one person; two people died and 25 were wounded when a car bomber attacked "an Iraqi army headquarters"; two other bombs (one car, one roadside) left five people wounded; and mortar rounds wounded three. Quinn (AP) notes that mortar wounds also claimed the life of a child in Baghdad. The capital -- three months after the 'crackdown' began. Outside of Baghdad, Reuters notes a car bomber in Kirkuk killed a police officer; while two police officers were wounded by a roadside bomb in Mosul; one police officer was wounded by a roadside bomb "near Kirkuk"; and a person was wounded in Numaniya following the explosion of "[a] bomb planted inside the house of a" police officer.
Shootings?
Patrick Quinn (AP) reports: "Gunmen killed seven people, including five policemen and a woman, in different locations in the province of Diyala just north of Baghdad, police said." Reuters notes a man was shot dead in Balad and one in Mosul.
Corpses?
CNN reports that 60 corpses were found "around" Baghdad today and that the latest discoveries are "pushing the number of bodies discovered so far this week to 122. Most of the bodies had their hands tied and gunshot wounds to the head, Iraqi emergency police said." Reuters notes a corpse was discovered in Mosul and one in Balad.
The BBC is reporting that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (alleged "leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq") has issued a tape recording via websites that calls "for [the] kidnapping of Westerners." CNN notes that the tape is unconfirmed. CBS and AP note that the taped message asserts "more than 4,000 foreigners" have died in Iraq fighting occupation troops and that the "holy month should be turned into what he calls a 'month of holy war.'" The message is in Arabic. CBS and AP credit "translator Khaled Wassef, whose job entails the constant monitoring of a plethora of Web sites where militants frequently post text, audio and video detailing their global operations" and note that Wassef feels the figure cited (4,000) is more for "symbolism than . . . quantity." Patrick Quinn (AP) reports that the recording "also called for explosive experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war".
In finanical news, CBS and AP note "a secret U.S. Audit" report by Stuart W. Bowen (Special Inspector General) that says the Iraq oil industry has "lost $16 billion" in the last two years due to "attacks, criminals and bad equipment".
Returning to peace news, the AP reports that "five adults and two juveniles" were arrested following "a seven-hour sit-in at [US House] Rep. Steve Chabort's hometown office" in Cincinnati, Ohio. The sit-in was to advocate that Chabot sign on to the Declaration of Peace. Republican Chabot chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee and backed the House bill making it illegal for any non-parent adult to take a minor across state lines to secure an abortion. His most famous statements regarding the war in Iraq may be his suggestion that the French needed history lessons for opposing the war. Monday, at US Senator Rick Santorum's Philadelphia office, fourteen people were arrested for civil disobedience. As Haider Rizvi (IPS) has reported these and other actions "continue to take place in dozens of cities across the United States this week as part of a nationwide campaign aiming to force the administration of President George W. Bush and Congress to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq."
Next Thursday, October 5th, World Can't Wait is calling for a day of mass resistance.
Benjamin Rosen explains "people will walk out of school, take off work, gather in town squares and MARCH in cities across the country, declaring their intention [to] bring the Bush program to a halt."
While people get active, DC freezes. As Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post) notes: "With just a few days remaining before Congress adjourns for the midterm election, Washington, DC has turned into the fear capital of America. It's an all-out Fear Face-Off, pitting the GOP's fear of reality against the Democrats' fear of perception, with control of Congress riding on the outcome."
Let me do one more thing. This is from Media Matters' "NBC, AP uncritically reported Snow's claim that the NIE is 'a snapshot':"
In reporting on the Bush administration's reaction to the recently declassified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded that the Iraq war has stoked terrorism worldwide, the Associated Press and NBC's Nightly News uncritically reported White House press secretary Tony Snow's dismissal of the NIE's findings, claiming that "it's a snapshot ... of what's going on in the region." In fact, work on the NIE reportedly began in 2004, and, as CBS national security correspondent David Martin reported on September 27, the NIE "is really a forecast" that "analyzes the nature of the threat terrorist groups will pose during the next five years."
They've made their comments and did so pretty clear so let me talk about something else. "It's a snapshot"? Maybe Tony Snow got it confused with C.I.'s work? :D Seriously, Jess told me if the military (not the troops, higher up) whine in one more e-mail to the public account of The Common Ills, he's going to demand C.I. put it in entry. You'd think, with a war they want going to hell, they'd have a little more to do than whine to C.I. But no. Big whiny babies. Or maybe they're just smart? Never underestimate the power of the "Iraq snapshot." It has a big audience outside the community.
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sex and politics and screeds and attitude
thomas friedman is a great man
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the washington post
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amit r. paley
tom hayden
arianna huffington
declaration of peace
the new york times
richard a. oppel
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
America Blames Bully Boy
So it's Wednesday and we're all working on ideas of how we can move the Sunday edition along quickly. I'm tossing out that those who post on Friday due so briefly. Not to turn around and post at length on Saturday, but just make the end of the week post something a little easier so that we're all rested and ready. Be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's thoughts. And Beau e-mailed about yesterday's post to say he loves the Barenaked Ladies and Are We is the best CD they've put out yet so be sure to give that a listen.
This is Media Matter's "Will the media report Gallup poll showing more Americans blame Bush than Clinton for failure to capture bin Laden?" and there's one more paragraph that I'm not excerpting so use the link if you're interested:
A new Gallup poll, conducted September 21-24 and released on September 27, found that a majority of respondents -- 53 percent -- blamed President Bush for "the fact that Osama bin Laden was not captured," while only 36 percent blamed former President Bill Clinton. Since Clinton's contentious September 25 interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, during which Clinton stridently defended his efforts to capture or kill the terrorist leader and criticized the Bush administration for doing "nothing" in the months preceding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the media have extensively covered the interview itself, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's misleading claims made in rebuttal, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) response to Rice.
I try just to do to portions to keep that fair use principle but I don't know how to do the above unless I summarize it and I think they've laid it out pretty clear and if anyone's confused, their links in the paragraph above should clear things up. And from the team that set you straight yesterday about who offered protection to the country and who didn't, comes Wally's "THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY PLAYS GYPSY ROSE LEE!" and Cedric's "Bully Boy's bump and grind (humor)" about Bully Boy and the NIE. I think it's really funny and think it's true too. Bully Boy thinks he can trick us by showing bits and pieces. Show it all, tough guy, show it all.
This has been noted three times by C.I. (including in the snapshot I'll put at the end) but Tom Hayden's Irish-American and I am too so let me note his "One Hundred Iraqi MPs Try to Force a US Withdrawal Plan:"
While the current buzz in Washington is about partitioning Iraq into ethnic enclaves, completely ignored is the fact that most Iraqis, and perhaps a majority of the Iraqi parliament, wants America to set an immediate deadline for military withdrawal. The American people deserve to know the choices, and we don't.
On the one hand, Sen. Joseph Biden and former Ambassador Peter Galbraith are drawing attention to their proposal to carve up Iraq. They claim that sectarian civil war already is a reality, that the US should redeploy forces to pro-US Kurdistan and support de facto autonomy for proposed Shiite regions in the south and Sunnis in the western provinces.
The practical problems with partition are enormous. For one, the Shiite ruling bloc supported, funded and armed by the US are expected to share oil revenues and political power with their enemies, the Sunni Arabs. Second, coerced ethnic cleansing would be necessary [under another name]. There are one million Sunnis in the Shiite city of Basra who would have to move somewhere. Baghdad, once a multi-ethnic city of six million, would have to be uprooted into separate zones. More important, the US military and their Iraqi allies would have to win the war against the present insurgency which violently resists partition.
There is no doubt Iraqis are divided along ethnic lines as a direct outcome of the 2003 American invasion. But that is like using forced confessions in a trial. What do the Iraqis really want?
Reliable surveys show that the percentage of Iraqis favoring a withdrawal timeline has risen from thirty percent in February 2004 to 76 percent in February 2005 to 87 percent earlier this year. [NYT, Mar. 19, 2006] of 70 to 82 percent, Moreover, 47 percent of all Iraqis, including 88 percent of Sunnis and 41 percent of Shiites, approved attacks on American forces in a January 2006 survey. [Knight Ridder, Jan. 30, 06, posted on www.worldpublicopinon.org] Only the pro-Western Kurdish minority want the US troops to stay. Perhaps in response to this overwhelming popular sentiment, large numbers of elected Iraqi parliamentarians have been trying to force the US pullout by legislation.
You should know that because it's not just Americans that want the troops home, it's the Iraqis too. The war needs to end and we need to demand that it ends. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, September 17, 2006. Chaos and violence contine in Iraq with CBS calling it a "blood soaked morning in Iraq", a war resister turns himself in, Basra operations appear aptly dubbed as England lives out a fable, Bully Boy flashes the public but refuses to reveal all, Bill Clinton provides a cringe-worthy flashback in England, and the US military learns that just because they say so doesn't make it true.
Starting with the "blood soaked" day in Iraq where the violence and chaos continue.
Bombings?
Reuters reports that two roadside bombs in Baghdad took the life of one and left three wounded; while three police officers were wounded by a roadside bomb in Mussayab; four were killed by a roadside bomb in Baquba; and mortar rounds in Rashad killed two Iraqi soldiers and left three wounded. CBS and AP report that a police officer was killed in Baghdad by "a bomb hidden in his car". AFP reports that the Giddiest Gabor in the Green Zone, William Caldwell IV, has stated that "this week's suicide attacks were at the highest leavel of any given week" apparently too busy checking the Eva Gabor wig catalogue to register the news reported earlier this month that so-called suicide bombers are not limited to people intentionally exploding bombs. (As reported earlier, those that have been classified as such also include unknowing persons who die when the bombs are exploded by remote control.)
Shootings?
Reuters reports that today's attack in Baghdad ("near a Sunni mosque" resulted in ten civilians being shot dead. CBS and AP report that two people were shot dead in Baghdad and an Iraqi soldier was shot dead in Karma. CBS and AP also report that, on Tuesday, two Iraqi soldiers were shot dead in Baghdad. Also shot dead on Tuesday, Reuters reports, was "Nima al-Yaseen, the sister of Shi'ite MP Ligaa al-Yaseen."
Corpses?
CNN reports that 17 corpses were discovered in Baghdad and that, since Sunday, 77 corpses have been found in the capital. CBS and AP note that nine corpses "were pulled out of the Tigris river" showing the now common signs of torture and, in addition, they report "the bodies of 23 men were found dumped in the streets" of Baghdad today..
In one of the day's most controversial events, the US military continues to maintain one point of view and everyone else another.
As the US military tells it: "Coalition forces killed four suspected terrorists and wounded two others during a raid the morning of Sept. 27 targeting a terrorist tied to extremist leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq in Iraq's Diyalah and Salah ah Din provinces.
As Coalition forces approached the objective, they received sporadic small arms fire from throughout the neighborhood and sustained small arms fire from the objective building. Coalition forces, through their Iraqi interpreters, announced they were in the area, whereupon the shooting ceased from most locations except the target building. Coalition forces killed two terrorists during this engagement. Due to the heavy volume of enemy fire from the target building, they also engaged the building with Coalition aircraft." Apparently the statement was written by an old Sonny & Cher fan who wanted to update an early 70s song to "Mama was a Jihadist Terrorist And Papa Used to Follow All Her Plans."
On a less musical note, Reuters reported: "A U.S. raid and air strike killed eight people, including seven members of one family, and wounded two others in the town of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military and police said. The U.S. said the four men in the family of seven were suspected militants with links to al Qaeda." And Aileen Alfandary, KPFA's The Morning Show, noted that among those killed in the airstrike was a pregnant woman. Though initially weighting their report heavy on the official US military version, the AP now reports that family members "disputed the U.S. account"; that they "cried and consoled on another as the bodies of the women were taken away"; that Manal Jassim ("who lost her parents and other relatives in the attack") states: "This is an ungly criminal act by the U.S. solderis against Iraqi citizens"; and that the Association of Muslim Scholars call the air strike a "terrorist massacre."
In news of more successful propaganda efforts, AP reports that the spin-meisters of the American-based Lincoln Group have been awarded a US government contract worth approximately $6.2 million after their bang up job planting 'Happy Talk' in Iraqi outlets (which, despite the continued focus on print was not limited to print and included radio and TV). In addition to continuing to play the mouth of Mary Sunshine of the illegal war (William Caldwell IV apparently having his hands full playing the Giddiest Gabor of the Green Zone), the $6.2 million also covers their "monitoring" of US domestic news outlets inclduing the New York Times. (Apparently in order to crown the new Dexter Filkins -- Sabrina Tavernise appears to be in the lead as the new go-to-guy for the US military when suggesting/planting stories.)
In military news, AP reports on British troops in Basra and notes that their efforts are part of "the security drive . . . dubbed 'Operation Sinbad'.'' Those with longer memories than the AP my find that amusing for a number of reasons. Literally speaking, Sinbad hails from the epic The Book of One Thousand and One Nights -- a variety of epic tales with one told each night by Scheherazade, to her husband, King Shahryar, to stall her planned execution and allow her to live for another day. Is England attempting to suggest that all the troops are doing is forestalling and, in the end, will have to plead for mercy? A question worth asking because, though the AP sidesteps this, England first began "Operation Sinbad" in Basra on April 6th -- April 6, 2003. A smashing success, to be sure, just like Amara.
Meanwhile, on KPFA's The Morning Show today, Andrea Lewis and Philip Maldari spoke with Carl Conetta about the "General's revolt" and the growing resistance among top military brass to the 'leadership' provided by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The issues of concern for the military were the readyness of equipment and US forces both of which, it was argued, are in need of upgrading. The discussion addressed the further lowering of the bar for recruits in an effort to meet targets. Also in news of generals, today's AP report that two generals suffered from food poisioning after dining in DC last week: Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Gen. John Abizaid -- the latter of which had to be hospitalized for three nights at Walter Reed Medical Center.
In peace news, AP reports that war resister Agustin Aguayo turned himself at Fort Irwin last night. Aguayo self-checked out of the US military, from a Gernany base, on September 2nd after learning he would redeployed to Iraq (even if getting him there required hancuffing him). Adrienne Ziegler (Desert Dispatch) reports his self-checkout came as he was waiting for word on his appeal to be designated conscientious objector status and that his wife, Helga Aguayo, stated, "The greatest lesson he could teach (our daughters) is to stand up for what you believe in, and if you don't, you hurt the people around you. . . . If my husband can inspire one person to become a conscientious objector, then all this hassle was worth it." Like war resister Mark Wilkerson, there is no word on what, if any, charges Aguayo will face. War resister Ricky Clousing, who also self-checked out, has been informed he has been charged with desertion. (A technical charge that may not be levied against Aguayo who was gone for less than thirty days.) More information on Aguayo can be found at his official website.
At his own web site, Mark Wilkerson recommends the film Jarhead and writes, "Speaking from my own experience in Iraq: Every day in Iraq was an inner struggle to keep from going crazy and just blasting away into the crowds that gathered around our trucks. I had to make a conscious effort to stay in focus and not use my MK-19 or SAW machine gun to level a whole city block."
Meanwhile, war resister Darrell Anderson intends to return from Canada to the United States on Saturday. If not arrested at the border, Anderson will then turn himself in at Fort Knox. The Purple Heart awarded Anderson was injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Baghdad and, facing a second deployment to Iraq, elected to self-check out in January 2005 and go to Canada. More information on war resisters can be found at
Courage to Resist and that includes information on Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.
Peace resister Bully Boy has his own problems as his efforts to clamp down on discussions of the effects that the (illegal) war in Iraq had on safety for the United States and the world proved unsuccessful. After releasing pre-selected pages (approximately three pages) of the approximately thirty page April NIE assessment, AP reports that White House Fluffer Tony Snow Job dismissed cries to release the full report under the pretext that doing so would reveal the identities of intel agents and assests whom, apparently, embedded messages within the report such as, "Hi, I'm Jody. For a good time, call me at . . . " AP notes: "In the bleak National Intelligence Estimate, the government's top analysts concluded Iraq has become a 'cause celebre' for jihadists, who are growing in number and geographic reach. If the trend continues, the analysts found, the risks to the U.S. interests at home and abroad will grow." AP also reports the House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has joined US Congress member Jane Harmon's request that the White House release another intel report that is apparently lying in wait to be sprung on the American public after the November elections.
While Bully Boy continues to insist that the US is "safer but not safe" and the "democracy" is taking root in Iraq, both Tom Hayden (The Huffington Post) and Amit R. Paley (The Washington Post) have noted the reality of polls demonstrating that Iraqis overwhelmingly want the US out of Iraq. Look for a third Post, the New York Post, to attempt spin control -- possibly by claiming that the representative pool naturally favored "jihadists."
The results are not surpising (nor new, they reflect ongoing polling since the war started) and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on how neighborhoods of Bahgdad are turned into guarded barricades and quotes one resident, Ibrahim Abdul Sattar, as declaring, "We have been living together for 30 years. We've never had such tensions like this before. We are fearing for our future."
Obviously the so-called 'safer but not safe' effect hasn't reached Baghdad (despite the three-month-old 'crackdown'). The polls of Iraqis follow CNN's most recent polling of Americans (see "Poll: Terrorism, Iraq very important to midterm voters") which found that, as with their polling in August, 59% of Americans oppose the Iraq war and, if you rank all those describing the issue as important to them (includes anti-war and pro-war and the categories about to be lumped together are "extremely important," "very important" and "moderately important") 96% of those polled ranked the Iraq war as important. If only the media shared the same view.
Finally, Bill Clinton went to England to prop up Tony Blair and, no doubt rankled many, with his effusive praise of Tony Blair ("a stunning success") which may have many recalling that it was Clinton, not Reagan or Poppy Bush, that worked to rehabilitate the justly tarnished image of Richard Nixon. Republican presidents couldn't have done that because Tricky Dick was, rightly, radioactive, so they had to steer clear. It takes a village . . . healer? Though far more popular than the Bully Boy (but then who isn't?) in England, Bill Clinton's remarks ("ringing praise" exclaims Australia's Daily Telegraph) attempting to prop up the increasingly unpopular Blair and to promote prime minister wanna-be Gordon Brown ("brilliant ecnomic leadership") may not carry weight with British voters and, especially the citing of Brown, may lead to the already shaky Labour support growing even shakier.
the daily jot
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like maria said paz
mikey likes it
the common ills
agustin aguayo
darrell anderson
the washington post
amit r. paley
sudarsan raghavan
tom hayden
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carl conetta
andrea lewis
philip maldari
kpfa
the morning show
aileen alfandary
adrienne ziegler
ricky clousing
mark wilkerson
ehren watada
This is Media Matter's "Will the media report Gallup poll showing more Americans blame Bush than Clinton for failure to capture bin Laden?" and there's one more paragraph that I'm not excerpting so use the link if you're interested:
A new Gallup poll, conducted September 21-24 and released on September 27, found that a majority of respondents -- 53 percent -- blamed President Bush for "the fact that Osama bin Laden was not captured," while only 36 percent blamed former President Bill Clinton. Since Clinton's contentious September 25 interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, during which Clinton stridently defended his efforts to capture or kill the terrorist leader and criticized the Bush administration for doing "nothing" in the months preceding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the media have extensively covered the interview itself, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's misleading claims made in rebuttal, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) response to Rice.
I try just to do to portions to keep that fair use principle but I don't know how to do the above unless I summarize it and I think they've laid it out pretty clear and if anyone's confused, their links in the paragraph above should clear things up. And from the team that set you straight yesterday about who offered protection to the country and who didn't, comes Wally's "THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY PLAYS GYPSY ROSE LEE!" and Cedric's "Bully Boy's bump and grind (humor)" about Bully Boy and the NIE. I think it's really funny and think it's true too. Bully Boy thinks he can trick us by showing bits and pieces. Show it all, tough guy, show it all.
This has been noted three times by C.I. (including in the snapshot I'll put at the end) but Tom Hayden's Irish-American and I am too so let me note his "One Hundred Iraqi MPs Try to Force a US Withdrawal Plan:"
While the current buzz in Washington is about partitioning Iraq into ethnic enclaves, completely ignored is the fact that most Iraqis, and perhaps a majority of the Iraqi parliament, wants America to set an immediate deadline for military withdrawal. The American people deserve to know the choices, and we don't.
On the one hand, Sen. Joseph Biden and former Ambassador Peter Galbraith are drawing attention to their proposal to carve up Iraq. They claim that sectarian civil war already is a reality, that the US should redeploy forces to pro-US Kurdistan and support de facto autonomy for proposed Shiite regions in the south and Sunnis in the western provinces.
The practical problems with partition are enormous. For one, the Shiite ruling bloc supported, funded and armed by the US are expected to share oil revenues and political power with their enemies, the Sunni Arabs. Second, coerced ethnic cleansing would be necessary [under another name]. There are one million Sunnis in the Shiite city of Basra who would have to move somewhere. Baghdad, once a multi-ethnic city of six million, would have to be uprooted into separate zones. More important, the US military and their Iraqi allies would have to win the war against the present insurgency which violently resists partition.
There is no doubt Iraqis are divided along ethnic lines as a direct outcome of the 2003 American invasion. But that is like using forced confessions in a trial. What do the Iraqis really want?
Reliable surveys show that the percentage of Iraqis favoring a withdrawal timeline has risen from thirty percent in February 2004 to 76 percent in February 2005 to 87 percent earlier this year. [NYT, Mar. 19, 2006] of 70 to 82 percent, Moreover, 47 percent of all Iraqis, including 88 percent of Sunnis and 41 percent of Shiites, approved attacks on American forces in a January 2006 survey. [Knight Ridder, Jan. 30, 06, posted on www.worldpublicopinon.org] Only the pro-Western Kurdish minority want the US troops to stay. Perhaps in response to this overwhelming popular sentiment, large numbers of elected Iraqi parliamentarians have been trying to force the US pullout by legislation.
You should know that because it's not just Americans that want the troops home, it's the Iraqis too. The war needs to end and we need to demand that it ends. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, September 17, 2006. Chaos and violence contine in Iraq with CBS calling it a "blood soaked morning in Iraq", a war resister turns himself in, Basra operations appear aptly dubbed as England lives out a fable, Bully Boy flashes the public but refuses to reveal all, Bill Clinton provides a cringe-worthy flashback in England, and the US military learns that just because they say so doesn't make it true.
Starting with the "blood soaked" day in Iraq where the violence and chaos continue.
Bombings?
Reuters reports that two roadside bombs in Baghdad took the life of one and left three wounded; while three police officers were wounded by a roadside bomb in Mussayab; four were killed by a roadside bomb in Baquba; and mortar rounds in Rashad killed two Iraqi soldiers and left three wounded. CBS and AP report that a police officer was killed in Baghdad by "a bomb hidden in his car". AFP reports that the Giddiest Gabor in the Green Zone, William Caldwell IV, has stated that "this week's suicide attacks were at the highest leavel of any given week" apparently too busy checking the Eva Gabor wig catalogue to register the news reported earlier this month that so-called suicide bombers are not limited to people intentionally exploding bombs. (As reported earlier, those that have been classified as such also include unknowing persons who die when the bombs are exploded by remote control.)
Shootings?
Reuters reports that today's attack in Baghdad ("near a Sunni mosque" resulted in ten civilians being shot dead. CBS and AP report that two people were shot dead in Baghdad and an Iraqi soldier was shot dead in Karma. CBS and AP also report that, on Tuesday, two Iraqi soldiers were shot dead in Baghdad. Also shot dead on Tuesday, Reuters reports, was "Nima al-Yaseen, the sister of Shi'ite MP Ligaa al-Yaseen."
Corpses?
CNN reports that 17 corpses were discovered in Baghdad and that, since Sunday, 77 corpses have been found in the capital. CBS and AP note that nine corpses "were pulled out of the Tigris river" showing the now common signs of torture and, in addition, they report "the bodies of 23 men were found dumped in the streets" of Baghdad today..
In one of the day's most controversial events, the US military continues to maintain one point of view and everyone else another.
As the US military tells it: "Coalition forces killed four suspected terrorists and wounded two others during a raid the morning of Sept. 27 targeting a terrorist tied to extremist leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq in Iraq's Diyalah and Salah ah Din provinces.
As Coalition forces approached the objective, they received sporadic small arms fire from throughout the neighborhood and sustained small arms fire from the objective building. Coalition forces, through their Iraqi interpreters, announced they were in the area, whereupon the shooting ceased from most locations except the target building. Coalition forces killed two terrorists during this engagement. Due to the heavy volume of enemy fire from the target building, they also engaged the building with Coalition aircraft." Apparently the statement was written by an old Sonny & Cher fan who wanted to update an early 70s song to "Mama was a Jihadist Terrorist And Papa Used to Follow All Her Plans."
On a less musical note, Reuters reported: "A U.S. raid and air strike killed eight people, including seven members of one family, and wounded two others in the town of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military and police said. The U.S. said the four men in the family of seven were suspected militants with links to al Qaeda." And Aileen Alfandary, KPFA's The Morning Show, noted that among those killed in the airstrike was a pregnant woman. Though initially weighting their report heavy on the official US military version, the AP now reports that family members "disputed the U.S. account"; that they "cried and consoled on another as the bodies of the women were taken away"; that Manal Jassim ("who lost her parents and other relatives in the attack") states: "This is an ungly criminal act by the U.S. solderis against Iraqi citizens"; and that the Association of Muslim Scholars call the air strike a "terrorist massacre."
In news of more successful propaganda efforts, AP reports that the spin-meisters of the American-based Lincoln Group have been awarded a US government contract worth approximately $6.2 million after their bang up job planting 'Happy Talk' in Iraqi outlets (which, despite the continued focus on print was not limited to print and included radio and TV). In addition to continuing to play the mouth of Mary Sunshine of the illegal war (William Caldwell IV apparently having his hands full playing the Giddiest Gabor of the Green Zone), the $6.2 million also covers their "monitoring" of US domestic news outlets inclduing the New York Times. (Apparently in order to crown the new Dexter Filkins -- Sabrina Tavernise appears to be in the lead as the new go-to-guy for the US military when suggesting/planting stories.)
In military news, AP reports on British troops in Basra and notes that their efforts are part of "the security drive . . . dubbed 'Operation Sinbad'.'' Those with longer memories than the AP my find that amusing for a number of reasons. Literally speaking, Sinbad hails from the epic The Book of One Thousand and One Nights -- a variety of epic tales with one told each night by Scheherazade, to her husband, King Shahryar, to stall her planned execution and allow her to live for another day. Is England attempting to suggest that all the troops are doing is forestalling and, in the end, will have to plead for mercy? A question worth asking because, though the AP sidesteps this, England first began "Operation Sinbad" in Basra on April 6th -- April 6, 2003. A smashing success, to be sure, just like Amara.
Meanwhile, on KPFA's The Morning Show today, Andrea Lewis and Philip Maldari spoke with Carl Conetta about the "General's revolt" and the growing resistance among top military brass to the 'leadership' provided by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The issues of concern for the military were the readyness of equipment and US forces both of which, it was argued, are in need of upgrading. The discussion addressed the further lowering of the bar for recruits in an effort to meet targets. Also in news of generals, today's AP report that two generals suffered from food poisioning after dining in DC last week: Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Gen. John Abizaid -- the latter of which had to be hospitalized for three nights at Walter Reed Medical Center.
In peace news, AP reports that war resister Agustin Aguayo turned himself at Fort Irwin last night. Aguayo self-checked out of the US military, from a Gernany base, on September 2nd after learning he would redeployed to Iraq (even if getting him there required hancuffing him). Adrienne Ziegler (Desert Dispatch) reports his self-checkout came as he was waiting for word on his appeal to be designated conscientious objector status and that his wife, Helga Aguayo, stated, "The greatest lesson he could teach (our daughters) is to stand up for what you believe in, and if you don't, you hurt the people around you. . . . If my husband can inspire one person to become a conscientious objector, then all this hassle was worth it." Like war resister Mark Wilkerson, there is no word on what, if any, charges Aguayo will face. War resister Ricky Clousing, who also self-checked out, has been informed he has been charged with desertion. (A technical charge that may not be levied against Aguayo who was gone for less than thirty days.) More information on Aguayo can be found at his official website.
At his own web site, Mark Wilkerson recommends the film Jarhead and writes, "Speaking from my own experience in Iraq: Every day in Iraq was an inner struggle to keep from going crazy and just blasting away into the crowds that gathered around our trucks. I had to make a conscious effort to stay in focus and not use my MK-19 or SAW machine gun to level a whole city block."
Meanwhile, war resister Darrell Anderson intends to return from Canada to the United States on Saturday. If not arrested at the border, Anderson will then turn himself in at Fort Knox. The Purple Heart awarded Anderson was injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Baghdad and, facing a second deployment to Iraq, elected to self-check out in January 2005 and go to Canada. More information on war resisters can be found at
Courage to Resist and that includes information on Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.
Peace resister Bully Boy has his own problems as his efforts to clamp down on discussions of the effects that the (illegal) war in Iraq had on safety for the United States and the world proved unsuccessful. After releasing pre-selected pages (approximately three pages) of the approximately thirty page April NIE assessment, AP reports that White House Fluffer Tony Snow Job dismissed cries to release the full report under the pretext that doing so would reveal the identities of intel agents and assests whom, apparently, embedded messages within the report such as, "Hi, I'm Jody. For a good time, call me at . . . " AP notes: "In the bleak National Intelligence Estimate, the government's top analysts concluded Iraq has become a 'cause celebre' for jihadists, who are growing in number and geographic reach. If the trend continues, the analysts found, the risks to the U.S. interests at home and abroad will grow." AP also reports the House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has joined US Congress member Jane Harmon's request that the White House release another intel report that is apparently lying in wait to be sprung on the American public after the November elections.
While Bully Boy continues to insist that the US is "safer but not safe" and the "democracy" is taking root in Iraq, both Tom Hayden (The Huffington Post) and Amit R. Paley (The Washington Post) have noted the reality of polls demonstrating that Iraqis overwhelmingly want the US out of Iraq. Look for a third Post, the New York Post, to attempt spin control -- possibly by claiming that the representative pool naturally favored "jihadists."
The results are not surpising (nor new, they reflect ongoing polling since the war started) and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on how neighborhoods of Bahgdad are turned into guarded barricades and quotes one resident, Ibrahim Abdul Sattar, as declaring, "We have been living together for 30 years. We've never had such tensions like this before. We are fearing for our future."
Obviously the so-called 'safer but not safe' effect hasn't reached Baghdad (despite the three-month-old 'crackdown'). The polls of Iraqis follow CNN's most recent polling of Americans (see "Poll: Terrorism, Iraq very important to midterm voters") which found that, as with their polling in August, 59% of Americans oppose the Iraq war and, if you rank all those describing the issue as important to them (includes anti-war and pro-war and the categories about to be lumped together are "extremely important," "very important" and "moderately important") 96% of those polled ranked the Iraq war as important. If only the media shared the same view.
Finally, Bill Clinton went to England to prop up Tony Blair and, no doubt rankled many, with his effusive praise of Tony Blair ("a stunning success") which may have many recalling that it was Clinton, not Reagan or Poppy Bush, that worked to rehabilitate the justly tarnished image of Richard Nixon. Republican presidents couldn't have done that because Tricky Dick was, rightly, radioactive, so they had to steer clear. It takes a village . . . healer? Though far more popular than the Bully Boy (but then who isn't?) in England, Bill Clinton's remarks ("ringing praise" exclaims Australia's Daily Telegraph) attempting to prop up the increasingly unpopular Blair and to promote prime minister wanna-be Gordon Brown ("brilliant ecnomic leadership") may not carry weight with British voters and, especially the citing of Brown, may lead to the already shaky Labour support growing even shakier.
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