Iraq: Two Milestones

Well, we reached two milestones in Iraq this week:

• The fifth anniversary of the illegal and immoral war of occupation;
  
• Over 4,000 troops killed in combat

You'll notice that we qualified the numbers killed with the words "in combat." There's a good reason for this. According to Greg Mitchell over at HuffPo, over 1,000 troops who served in Iraq have committed suicide, either there or after they return.

The hardest thing to bear about this is the news in Raw Story today that 97 per cent of these casualties occurred after a certain pathetic waste of oxygen who shall remain forever nameless declared "Mission Accomplished."

At least 97 percent of the deaths occurred after US President George W. Bush announced the end of "major combat" in Iraq on May 1, 2003, as the military became caught between a raging anti-American insurgency and brutal sectarian strife unleashed since the toppling of Saddam.

140 American servicemembers died before May 1, 2003, out of a total 4,000.

[...]

The icasualties.org statistics reveal that the deadliest year for the military in Iraq was 2007 when it lost 901 troops on the back of a controversial "surge", which saw an extra 30,000 soldiers deployed in a bid to break the stranglehold of violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

This figure compares with 486 deaths in 2003, the first year of the conflict, 849 in 2004, 846 in 2005 and 822 in 2006.

Since the start of 2008, 96 soldiers have died.

Snarly McCrashcart's response, beyond the original "So?" when he heard that two out of every three Americans oppose the military occupation of Iraq, is telling.

"The president carries the biggest burden, obviously," Cheney said. "He's the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans, but we are fortunate to have a group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm's way for the rest of us."

Essentially, it boils down to "They volunteered. Tough shit."

Those of you in the military, you and your families are seen as expendable cannon fodder by the people you have sworn to obey. George Dubya hasn't lost a moment's sleep while you slog out in the desert heat surrounded by potential enemies, fed contaminated water by Dick Cheney's company.

Sent to war for a lie, sent to die, leaving your grieving families and friends behind, or to return irreparably injured or damaged, only to find that you have been fed lie upon lie upon lie. Today's lie? The Pentagon says it can't find any evidence that Saddam Hussein ever tried to have Georgie's Daddy killed. One more pathetic excuse for that worthless war blown away.

And John McPain, who wants 100 years of war, and claims to be a Christian but doesn't even know the story of Queen Esther and Purim, doubtless has never heard this verse, either:

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

Matthew, 2:18, Mr. McInsane.

Stumble It!

War: Veterans' Day

Fixer already said it, and so much better than I could have.

That is all.

Stumble It!

Supporting The Troops: Grassley Outraged At Exploitation

ABC News is investigating claims that many charities taking money from the public, supposedly to help injured veterans, are actually pocketing the money themselves, according to Raw Story.

Although the American Institute For Philanthropy sets the bar very low indeed - you need to allocate less than 35 per cent of incoming donations to a cause to get an F on their ratings card - apparently, there is no dearth of F-graders out there.

Thirteen out of 27 military and veterans charities reviewed by the Institute did not meet that standard, and one was found to spend as little as 2% of its receipts on program services.

Meanwhile, some of the people running the F-rated charities are getting rich. For example, Roger Chapin, founder of Help Hospitalized Veterans, pays himself and his wife more than $500,000 a year, while only 31% of the $70 million he took in last year actually went to help hospitalized veterans. Chapin, described by Daniel Borochoff as "a charity entrepreneur," has founded more than a dozen such charities over the past three decades.

I wouldn't mind making half a million bucks a year. For doing so little. And look, the guy pulled in $70 mil last year. Meanwhile, one out of every four homeless people living on the streets is a veteran, according to another AP report, which points out that veterans comprise only 11 per cent of the U.S. population. While these unfortunates struggle to overcome problems experienced with PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), shattered family relationships and destroyed marriages, scumbuckets like these "charities" are getting rich. And the cumbucket-in-chief is busy playing pow!pow! games while forcing taxpayers to shell out for his fundraising trip to Texas to help his fellow scumbag, John Cornyn.

Republican Senator Charles Grassley has stated that he is looking for some way to crack down on these groups. Good luck, Senator. You and Chuck Hagel seem to be the only Republicans who really give a shit about the men and women coming back maimed, dead, and destroyed. Although you might want to check out the Forbes magazine expose about him first.

Raw Story has the video, in case you're suffering from low blood pressure.

Stumble It!

Politics - Can It Be?

Congressman David Obey

I know, it's too early to start celebrating, but between Pete Stark's kick in the nuts to the Republicans voting against SCHIP, and Pelosi's promise to bring the bill back real soon, and Charles Rangel's publicly announced desire for a war tax, and, and, and, now this! David Obey, chair of the House Appropriations committee has said that he will not back down, either.

Rep. David Obey (D-WI), who has pledged to sideline the latest Pentagon funding request until next year in addition to proposing a tax hike to finance the war, says he's not letting anything -- even Democratic leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- get in his way.

Obey, who told the Washington Post that he hates the "misbegotten, stupid, ill-advised" war, pushed past Speaker Pelosi's objections to his plan to levy a tax to pay for the war, the paper reports.

I hope to deity he's serious and manages to get this through! Not because I'm in favour of any increase in taxes, but because if he spreads the pain around, people will wake up and come to their senses and start screaming.

Otherwise, the only ones who feel the pain are the families of our "volunteer" army, people who need, but don't have, money, so they sign up to get some, and then get their lives blown apart. Personally, I'd rather have the draft, just for the joy of watching the Yellow Elephants try to weasel their way out. I guess they think supporting Republicans means you don't get drafted. News for ya, kidz. Unless your daddy's got mucho money and connections, your lousy ass is still going to be shipped out, and most likely, shot off. 'Course, you could do like your hero Limpballs and aver that a boil on your ass would keep it out of the military.

Stumble It!

Iraq - Bring Back The Draft

Why are all those healthy young Republican men and women sitting around on their asses and slandering the military? Rush Limpbaugh gets to call the troops "phony soldiers," and his base eats it up, yet not one of them volunteers to expose their ass to the hell that we have created in Iraq. Sturdy members of the "Gathering of Eagles" apparently beat up the father of a dead soldier, and the media gives this crime no coverage, but apparently these criminals are insufficiently sturdy to sign up to fight, like the dead man did.

Now twelve Army captains are calling for a return to the draft or an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops, according to Raw Story. I can't wait to hear the rightwing attack on these fine soldiers. Will they be called phonies too?

"There is one way we might be able to succeed in Iraq," wrote the ex-captains, all of whom saw service in Iraq between 2003 and 2006.

"To continue an operation of this intensity and duration, we would have to abandon our volunteer military for compulsory service. Short of that, our best option is to leave Iraq immediately.

"A scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war, and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition," they wrote.

Any person to the left of Attila the Hun who criticizes this ill-planned, poorly executed, disastrous war of occupation is immediately labeled a traitor and accused of not supporting the troops. Anyone who criticizes Bush is accused of denigrating the sacrifices of the soldiers.

Put your money where your mouth is, Yellow Elephants. Sign up for the war, and let the troops who have been serving multiple extended tours of duty come home!

Stumble It!

Iraq - Ehren Watada's Trial Stayed!

AFP reports that U.S. District Court judge Benjamin Settle has stayed the trial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada

... until a federal appeals court rules whether the proceedings would violate constitutional protection against "double jeopardy," trying someone twice on the same charge.

[...]

If a new trial proceeds and Watada is convicted on all charges, he faces up to six years in prison.

The US army says that a soldier must respect the chain of command and cannot choose which war to fight. Watada however said that under the US constitution he has the right to refuse an illegal order.

I don't know enough about military law and the Constitutional protections available to military personnel, but I believe the man is right. Otherwise, anyone could engage in war crimes and plead the Nazi defense of "obeying orders."

Stumble It!

Politics - Hatemongers Vs. Dissent

Recently, MoveOn, the advocacy group that offers ordinary people a voice in politics, ran an ad with the caption "General Petraeus or General Betrayus?"

Predictably, it set off howls of outrage on the part of the brainless including Congress, whose members, having failed to understand Constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and such, voted to condemn the ad.

Bloviating gasbag Rush Limbaugh, not-so-affectionately known to many as Rush Limpballs (great name for a druggie, Rush, sez Gordon), feeling all left-out and whatnot, immediately leapt up to denounce U.S. military personnel who might not care to be killed or wounded in Little George's Private War as "phony soldiers." Click that link to hear the man in his own words. Deity forbid we should be accused of putting words, or anything else for that matter, into his mouth.

Upon my daily trawling of blogtopia (y!Sctp!) in search of choice nuggets, I encountered, at Gordon & Fixer's, a lovely rebuttal, sweet, sincere, snarky, and dripping with sarcasm.

To check it out for yourself, click here.

Funny, I don't hear a single Republican condemning Rush's loudmouthed hypocritical anti-military slander.

Stumble It!

Iraq - CNN Kisses Preznitential Tuchus

Image from All Hat, No Cattle

What else can one term this disgustingly sycophantic report? Why aren't they asking why the Preznitwit has to sneak in and out of Iraq, if the surge is so workingly working? Why no mention of the number of dead, the number of wounded, the vets who come back to homelessness and bankruptcy and failed marriages and ruined family life? About the skyrocketing suicide rates and PTSD undiagnosed and untreated cases?

And what does this mean:

President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq Monday, saying fewer U.S. forces may be able to maintain security there at its current level.

Is this the end of "Teh Surge?" Is this the beginning of the phased withdrawal that Commander AWOL von Bunnypants assured those (cretinous 25%) who still support him would never happen?

And why doesn't CNN bother to mention that the military is, essentially, broken, that Stupie McPoopie can't deploy any more soldiers without instituting a draft, because everyone's been deployed up to the very limit? Context is everything, you dumb motherfuckers.

How about some real journalism, CNN, you miserable assholes? Oh, right, that wouldn't serve your corporate masters and advertisers. Nobody wants to hear or read about the suffering that the average military enlistee goes through, that the average Iraqi goes through. Instead, Commander Bunnypants gets to ponce around with a handpicked audience of mouthbreathers and never has to meet with people who might disagree with him.

We are sowing the wind and we will reap the whirlwind. Thousands of troops returning from the Iraq conflict are suffering from PTSD, often undiagnosed and untreated. When they snap, they'll be taking out civilians all over the country, beginning with their families, friends, and neighbours.

Gads, this whole thing makes me sick to my soul.

Stumble It!

War - The Disappearing 'Mainstay'

It really makes me glad to read this news from NBC, via Raw Story. Glad, and at the same time a little sad. African-American parents are doing their best to stymie military recruiters, says the article, and here comes the sad part:

NBC News on Sunday examined the "disappearing military mainstay" of African-American recruits, who in recent years had provided about 1/4 of military enlistments.

Once seen by young black people as "a sure way to climb the ladder," the military is increasingly being shunned because of the Iraq War. "Nearly 3 in 4 blacks oppose the war," NBC stated, and the percentage of active-duty black soldiers in the Army "has plunged by a third since 2001."

For an ethnic group that totals approximately 10 to 15 percent of the total population to provide 25 percent of the military is sad.

That said, I don't think the reason behind the disproportionate number of black and brown soldiers in the front lines is racism so much as classism. If you're poor or working class, the military does represent a good way out of the grinding futility of your life. You might even be able to go to college and get a real job someday. At the very least, you could get decent medical care, and training and a skillset that could give you greater options in the real world.

Still, I'd like to see peace run rampant in the world, and training programs like the Peace Corps and the Conservation Corps offer young people a way out of the deadly grind.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cannon fodder!

Stumble It!

War - The Death of Pat Tillman

Little by little, details have been trickling out about the suspicious death of Pat Tillman, erstwhile football star and Army Ranger, and scandalously abused poster boy for Bush's wars. They haven't been satisfying details, on too many levels. People have alleged a conspiracy, a murder, a vengeful Rummy. I wanted to hear from someone who has actually been on a battlefield, who knows the armaments used, the effects they produce, and can speculate with a factual basis on what might actually have occurred.

Of course, there's no way to find a trusted voice any more. The entire misadministration lies, every one of their associates, confederates, candidates, employees, appointees, and hangers-on is a liar and a puppet and a shameless whore.

But I did find this article, written by one Stan Goff and published in Counterpunch. I really liked the way he ended his article.

They pissed on our legs and told us it was raining. Liars, every goddamn one of them. Liars, con-men, and criminals. Based on the evidence, this is what I believe. Someone has to say this out loud. Dannie Tillman has been trying to tell us this for three years.

Read it for yourself and tell me what you think.

Meanwhile, has anyone begun an inquiry into the suspicious death of LaVena Johnson?

Stumble It!

Politics - The Romney Boys

Well, draft-dodger Mitt Romney has certainly proved to have a tin ear. When questioned recently by a woman whose brother is serving in Iraq about why his five military-age sons have not volunteered for a war he supports unequivocally, Mitt's response was:

BETTENDORF, Iowa -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decisions not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

More here. Meanwhile, Jon Stewart defends the Mitt.

Stumble It!

Good News for Romney's Sons

Mitt Romney pats himself and his sons on the back. Wouldn't it be nice if all our sons and daughters had a choice like his sons do? The Huffington Post reports on Romney's sons:

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

Romney, who did not serve in Vietnam due to his Mormon missionary work and a high draft lottery number, was asked the question by an anti-war activist after a speech in which he called for "a surge of support" for U.S. forces in Iraq.

...

"The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that's the way we're going to keep it," Romney told some 200 people gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted into a hotel. "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard."

He added: "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."

Romney's five sons range in age from 37 to 26 and have worked as real estate developers, sports marketers and advertising executives. They are now actively campaigning for their father and have a "Five Brothers" blog on Romney's campaign Web site.

Romney noted that his middle son, 36-year-old Josh, was completing a recreational vehicle tour of all 99 Iowa counties on Wednesday and said, "I respect that and respect all those and the way they serve this great country."

The woman who asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill., identified herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good, as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq.

"Of course not," Griffiths said when asked if she was satisfied with Romney's answer. "He told me the way his son shows support for our military and our nation is to buy a Winnebago and ride across Iowa and help him get elected."

If you'd like to read the entire article, click here.

Stumble It!