Friday, January 27, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, a Baghdad funeral
is targeted with a bombing, the media keeps undercounting the dead in Iraq since
December 18th, new conditions of a national confrence in Iraq, and more.
Today in Baghdad, a funeral procession was attacked by a suicide bomber. Mohammed Tawfeeq and Joe
Sterling (CNN) quote Hamit Dardagan, Iraq Body Count, stating, "The
situation is worsening. Sectarian politics in Iraq in Iraq is setting the stage
for armed conflict."
Throughout the Iraq War, there have been non-stop waves of Operation Happy
Talk. Efforts which have consistently failed leaving the US official who
produced the spin looking like an idiot. Reality will always slap you in the
face, when it comes to Iraq. That is the lesson of every year of the Iraq War
and occupation. As Iraq's former Ambassador to the UN Feisal Istrabadi explained December 13th to Warren Oleny on KCRW's To the
Point:
The critical mistake the Obama
administration made occurred last year when it threw its entire diplomatic
weight behind supporting Nouri al-Maliki notwithstanding these very worrisome
signs which were already in place in 2009 and 2010. The administration lobbied
hard both internally in Iraq and throughout the region to have Nouri al-Maliki
get a second term -- which he has done. Right now, the betting there's some
question among Iraq experts whether we'll ever have a set of elections in Iraq
worthy of the name. I mean, you can almost get odds, a la Las Vegas, on that
among Iraq experts. It's a very worrisome thing. What can they do in the future?
Well I suppose it would be helpful, it would be useful, if we stopped hearing
this sort of Happy Talk coming from the administration -- whether its Jim
Jeffrey in Baghdad, the US Ambassador or whether it's the president himself or
other cabinet officers. We're getting a lot of Happy Talk, we're getting a lot
of Happy Talk from the Pentagon about how professional the Iraqi Army is when,
in fact, the Iraqi Army Chief of Staff himself has said it's going to take
another ten years before the Iraqi Army can secure the borders. So it would
help, at least, if we would stop hearing this sort of Pollyanna-ish -- if that's
a word -- exclamations from the administration about how swimmingly things are
going in Iraq and had a little more truth told in public, that would be a very
big help to begin with.
"We're getting a lot of Happy Talk," Istrabadi noted. And it's not helpful
no matter what US official it comes from -- whether its James "Jeffrey in
Baghdad, the US Ambassador, or whether it's the president himself or other
cabinet officers." And it was the US Ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey, who got
slapped upside the face by reality today due to insisting, in an interviewGulf News published yesterday, that
the political crisis had nothing to do with the current wave of violence, "These
attacks are not a result of the political crisis as they are planned months in
advance; they are very carefully put together by Al Qaida." Operation Happy Talk
is just one of the many things Barack's administration has continued from the
Bush administration. It was laughable during the previous administration, it's
just pathetic now. Nine years of continuous lies from the government and Jeffrey
is supposed to be the face of the United States in Iraq.
(If you're
confused, the attack on today's funeral procession was not "planned months in
advance." Nor is most of the violence.)
Adrian
Blomfield (Telegraph of London)
reports, "A suicide bomber killed at least 32 people on Friday by
driving an explosives-laden vehicle into a Shia Muslim funeral procession in
Baghdad, heightening fears that Iraq is in the grips of sectarian conflict." KUNA
notes, "The car exploded on Markaz street, targeting a funeral of a
man who was killed in Al-Yarmouk district on Thursday, a police source said." Kareem
Raheem, Patrick Markey and Myra MacDonald (Reuters) quote an unnamed Baghdad
security official stating, "The suicide car bomber failed to arrive at the
Zaafaraniya police station so he blew himself up close to shops and the market."
The Daily Mirror
notes, "Half of the victims were policemen guarding the march". Raheem Salman and Patrick J.
McDonnell (Los Angeles Times) add, "Among those killed Friday,
witnesses reported, was a woman who sold fish from a cart at the intersection.
Rescuers put the woman's corpse in her cart and took the remains to the
hospital, a witness said."
Mohammed
Tawfeeq (CNN) reports, "Authorities believe Col. Norman Dakhil may
have been the target of the bomber. Dahkil and his family were in the procession
making their way to the hospital to collect bodies of three relatives, including
his brother, when the bomb exploded, police said." Ali A.
Nabhan and Munaf Ammar (Wall St.
Journal) add, "The suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden
vehicle into the crowd, which included the pallbearers at a funeral for an Iraqi
army commander's brother, who was assassinated along with three others on
Thursday, according to a Ministry of Interior official." Sebastian Usher (BBC News) was on the NPR hourly news break
this morning stating that many details were not clear at this time and that the
funeral was for a real estate agent. Al
Bawaba notes, "The funeral was held for an Iraqi man, his wife
and son who were killed yesterday in the predominantly Sunni Yarmouk district of
the capital." Al Rafidayn identifies the realtor
as Mohammed al-Maliki (they do not give the names of his wife and son who were
also buried after being killed last night "by gunmen." Salam
Faraj (AFP) provides this
view of the attack, "Helicopters flew overhead as a heavy security presence
cordoned off the site of the explosion, while distraught witnesses screamed in
anguish, surrounded by the remains of the dead, their clothes and shoes, and
chunks of twisted metal. Outside the hospital, groups of men called out names,
searching for missing relatives." Bushra
Juhi (AP) notes that the
death toll has risen to 32 (per hospital officials) and quote grocer Salam
Hussein describing "human flesh scattered around and several mutilated bodies in
a pool of blood." Lu Hui
(Xinhua) reports hospital
sources state the toll might rise, "Many of the injured are in serious
condition, which could make the death toll higher, said the official.
"
Tom A. Peter (Christian
Science Monitor) states, "The attack Friday was the deadliest in a
month and came as part of a wave of attacks that has left more than 200 people
dead since US forces withdrew on Dec. 18,
reports Al Jazeera." Doesn't that seem like an undercount?
It is one. All this week that claim's been made. So let's take a look at it
because, on its face, it doesn't seem correct (because it's not). We're
referring to the violence covered by the press and noted in the snapshots. We'll
start with December 19th but only reported violence from the 19th (on December
19th, the press was also reporting violence from the night of December 18th,
we're leaving that out of the count). In addition, we're ignoring the Turkish
bombing on the border of Iraq that left 5 dead -- that's not in the count.
We're focusing on the dead in Iraq from violence (other than Turkish war plane
bombings) and in parenthesis is the number injured, FYI. Also 'credited' for the
"more than 200"? The Los Angeles Times
today credits AFP for that (false) figure.
So what did we get? Check my math (always). 391 is the number killed from
December 19th through yesterday's reporting cycle. Now add in today's death
totals and you get over 400. Yes, 400 is "more than 200," in fact, it's twice
200. And calling over 400 dead "more than 200 dead" is leaving a false
impression with your reader. Please note, those aren't all the deaths, those
are just the deaths that we noted from press reports (meaning I may have missed
some deaths) and, in addition, all violent deaths do not get reported on in
Iraq. And calling over 400 deaths only "more than 200" is cutting the truth in
half.
Violence didn't end with the bomb attack on the funeral. Barbara Surk (AP)
reports, "Minutes after the explosion, gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint in
Zafaraniyah, killing two police officers, according to police officials." In
addition, Reuters notes 1
electrician was shot dead in Mosul and 1 Iraqi soldier and 1 civil servant in
Mosul.
Prensa Latina
explains, "The current escalation of violence is associated with political
frictions between the government, led by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki
and Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. Al-Maliki issue[d] a warrant for the
arrest of al-Hashemi, who is under protection of Iraqi Kurdistan, for alleged
terrorist acts in 2009, and also . . . . [is attempting] to make the Parliament
withdraw its vote of confidence on Sunni Deputy Prime Minster Saleh Al-Mutlaq."
Middle East Online adds,
"The United States and United Nations have urged calm and called for dialogue
but oft-mooted talks involving Iraq's political leaders have yet to take place."
The only hope for resolving the political crisis was said to be the
national conference that President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament
Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for since the end of December. Last week,
things appeared promising for a national conference at least being held. One
planning meet-up had taken place and another was scheduled for Sunday January
22nd; however, last Sunday's meet-up (which was hoped to be the final planning
session) was postponed due to Talabani having to fly to Germany for spinal
surgery. Since then, Nouri and his State of Law have insisted that if anything
take place, it not be called a "national conference" and that participants be
limited to Nouri, Talabani, al-Nujaifi and the leader of blocs in
Parliament.Al Rafidayn reports that Moqtada
al-Sadr has declared he will not participate and that he can't be forced to.
Whether this means no one from his bloc will participate or not isn't clear. Dar Addustour also covers al-Sadr's
statements which he issued online in reply to a question from one of his
followers. Al Mada quotes Nouri's spokesperson
Ali al-Dabbagh talking down the national conference and stating that it will be
a failure if it raises the issue of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. (Nouri
wants him tried for treason; he wants Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq
stripped of his post. al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq are members of Iraqiya which
bested State of Law in the March 2010 elections.) The report also notes that
State of Law's push to replace Saleh al-Mutlaq with former Speaker of Parliament
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani does not have the full support of the National Alliance (a
Shi'ite coalition made up of many actors including the Sadr bloc and the Islamic
Supreme Council of Iraq).
The political crisis has many roots but at the
heart is the failure to follow the agreement that ended the eight month
political stalemate which followed the March 2010 elections. Nouri refused to
allow anyone else to be prime minister. During this time, Iraqiya should have
been allowed to build a coalition but Nouri blocked it. During this time,
Moqtada al-Sadr and others were vocal that they didn't want Nouri to be prime
minister. But he had the backing of the White House so the will of the Iraqi
voters and the Constitution didn't matter. To get the country moving forward,
all political blocs except State of Law made major concessions in the US
brokered Erbil Agreement of November 2010. It allowed Nouri to continue as prime
minister. It was supposed to mean a number of other things but after Nouri was
named prime minister-designate, he trashed the agreement and refused to honor
it.
Some online sycophants of Nouri al-Maliki, worshipers of
authoritarianism, insist that the agreement must be trashed, that it's
"unconstitutional." The aspect that's against the Constitution, the only aspect,
is the section that made Nouri prime minister. Not surprisingly, the self-styled
'analysts' never object to that or suggest that section was unconstitutional.
Yet they expect to be taken seriously as analysts and honest brokers. Only in
your all male circle jerk, boyz, only there.
Al Mada notes that a spokesperson
for KRG Prime Minister Barham Salih that the Erbil Agreement must be part of the
national conference and that it must be followed. The Kurdish blocs have been
calling for that for months.
In other news of announcements, Al Mada notes that the Badr Brigade
(Shi'ite militia) has declared that there are still people who need to be
targeted in Iraq, foreigners and embassies, and has called on the Promised Day
Brigade, the League of Righteous and the Hezbollah Brigades not to lay down
their arms but to stand with the Badr Brigade agasint the foreign countries with
embassies in Iraq. The Turkish Embassy in Baghdad was attacked last week. The
United States has the largest embassy in Baghdad (it's a compound) as well as
consulates throughout Iraq. Kuwait is specifically mentioned in the article. In
addition, many other countries -- including France, England, Australia and
Russia -- have embassies in Iraq and many foreign dignitaries visit.
In
another sign of risks, Alsumaria reports that a US helicopter was forced to
make "an emergency landing this morning" and that "another US helicopter landed
and evacuated it.
On diplomacy, the White House received a visitor this
week according to Al Mada but there's no
release on it from the White House. Al Mada reports that Iraq's new
envoy to the US, Ambassador Jaber Habib Jaber, spoke with Barack and that Barack
was full of praise for Nouri and "convinced" that Iraq would resolve the
political crisis.
QUESTION: Good morning, Madam Secretary. My name is Behar Gidani,
and the last time I stood before you I was an intern, and now I'm a program
analyst, so it's quite an honor to be here before you again today.
(Applause.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good, good.
QUESTION: My question is regarding foreign policy, if I may. As a
Kurdish American, much of my interest focuses on the current state of Iraqi
political affairs. Given what's going on or what's happened since the American
troop withdrawal, with Hashimi fleeing to the Kurdistan region, I was wondering
what the role of U.S. diplomacy is right now with that situation, and what you
hope you will see in the future to ensure Iraqi security and democracy and
stability continue.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, I'm delighted that you've gone from
intern to full-fledged employee in such a short period of time, and we're
delighted, and that's exactly the kind of movement of young people into our
ranks that I'm thrilled to see.
Look, there is no doubt -- all one has to do is follow the media --
that there's a lot of political contention in Iraq right now. The United States,
led by our very able, experienced Ambassador Jim Jeffrey -- I don't know if the
man has slept more than an hour or two, because he is constantly, along with his
able team, reaching out, meeting with, cajoling, pushing the players, starting
with Prime Minister Maliki, not to blow this opportunity. Let me just be very
clear: This is an opportunity for the Iraqi people of all areas of Iraq, of all
religious affiliation, of all backgrounds -- this is an opportunity to have a
unified Iraq, and the only way to do that is by compromising.
And one of the challenges in new democracies is that compromise is
not in the vocabulary, especially in countries where people were oppressed,
brutalized over many years. They believe that democracy gives them the
opportunity to exercise power and, even though it's not the specific individual
-- Saddam Hussein is gone -- he oppressed the Shia, he terribly abused the
Kurds, including chemical attacks -- he's gone, but people's minds are not yet
fully open to the potential for what this new opportunity can mean to them. And
unfortunately, there's a lot of line-drawing going on and boundary-imposing
between different political factions.
So we are certainly conveying in as strong a message as we can that
these political difficulties and disagreements have to be peacefully resolved
for the good of all Iraqis, and that everyone has a chance to grow the pie
bigger, to have more freedom, more economic prosperity by working
together.
And it's not easy. It's unfortunately one of the challenges we face
everywhere in the world right now. With the great movement toward democracy,
which we welcome and applaud, it has upended a lot of the historical experiences
that people have held onto, and there is a need to get moving beyond that. But
it will take time. The United States will be firmly in the role of advising and
mentoring and playing the go-between in every way that we possibly can. But at
the end of the day, Iraq is now a democracy, but they need to act like one, and
that requires compromise.
And so I'm hoping that there will be a recognition of that, and
such a tremendous potential to be realized. Iraq can be such a rich country --
it's already showing that with the oil revenues starting to flow again -- but
problems have to be resolved. They cannot be ignored or mandated by
authoritarianism; they have to be worked through the political process.
(Applause.)
Now let's turn to the issue of women and former Minister of Women's Affairs
Nawal al-Samarraie who publicly stood out and decired the discrimination within
the government during Nouri al-Maliki's first term as prime minister. February
6, 2009, she was in the news when she resigned because her ministry
was not properly funded (a meager monthly budget of $7,500 a month was slashed
to $1,400) and she states, "I reached to the point that I will never be able to
help the women." That was very embarrassing for Nouri. So naturally the New York
Times worked overtime to ignore it. (See Third Estate Sunday Review's "NYT goes
tabloid.") NPR's
Corey Flintoff covered it for Morning
Edition (link has text and audio).
Nouri didn't care for Nawal al-Samarraie or the needed attention she
raised. Which was reflected in his second term when he tried to erase women
completely. From the December
22, 2010 snapshot:
Turning to Iraq, Liz Sly and Aaron Davis (Washington Post) note, "A special gathering of the nation's parliament endorsed Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki for a second term in office, with lawmakers then voting one by
one for 31 of the eventual 42 ministers who will be in his cabinet."AFP notes that
all but one is a man, Bushra Hussein Saleh being the sole woman in the Cabinet.
And they quote Kurdish MP Ala Talabani stating, "We congratulate the government,
whose birth required eight months, but at the same time we are very depressed
when we see the number of women chosen to head the ministries. Today, democracy
was decapitated by sexism. The absence of women is a mark of disdain and is
contrary to several articles of the constitution. I suggest to Mr Maliki to even
choose a man for the ministry of women's rights, as you do not have confidence
in women." Ala Talabani is the niece of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Imran Ali (Womens Views On News)
reminds, "The new constitution stipulates that a
quarter of the members of parliament be women and prohibits gender
discrimination." Apparently concern about representation doesn't apply to the
Cabinet (and, no, Nouri's attempts at offering excuses for the huge gender
imbalance do not fly).
42 posts to fill and Nouri couldn't think of a single woman? And
wouldn't have if Iraqi women hadn't gotten vocal on the issue. (And note that
Nouri increased the Cabinet from 31 in his first term to 42.) December 22nd, AFP
reported on women's status in Iraq and how it has fallen from a
high for the region to a nightmare (my term) today. Excerpt:
Safia al-Souhail, an MP who ran in
March 2010 elections on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law slate but
has since defected and is now an independent, said US forces made some progress,
but did not do enough in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. "They were
always giving excuses that our society would not accept it," she said. "Our
society is still wondering why the Americans did not support women leaders who
were recognised by the Iraqi people." She lamented that Maliki had completed
a recent official visit to Washington without a single woman in his delegation,
describing it as a "shame on Iraq". Indeed, only one woman sits in Maliki's
national unity cabinet, Ibtihal al-Zaidi, the minister of state for women's
affairs.
We bring that up because Nouri did finally find a woman and named her to be
Minister of the State for Women's Affairs. The woman is Dr. Ibtihal al-Zaidi.
And Al Mada reports the lovely doesn't
believe in equality stating equality "harms women" but she's happy to offer
government dictates on what women should be wearing. No, she's not a minister.
She's many things including words we won't use here but she's not friend to
women and that's why Nouri picked her. A real woman fighting for other women?
Nouri can't handle that. A simpering idiot who states that women should only act
after their husband's consent? That gender traitor gets a ministry. She's
currently at work devising a uniform for Iraqi women.
We noted American
gender traitors in a snapshot this week and
Trina's "Diane," Rebecca's
"continuing c.i., i grab goodman,"
Elaine's "Grab
bag" and Ann's "2 women, 4
men" followed up on that. We were noting silences of American
women who should have been speaking out for Iraqis especially now that a new
Human Rights Watch report had found that Iraq was turning into a police state.
Along with that major finding (which we noted earlier this week), the
report, [PDF format warning] World Report: 2012 also noted
realities for Iraqi women today:
Iraq adjudicates family law and personal status matters pursuant to
a 1959 Personal Status Code. The law discriminates against women by ranting men
privileged status in matters of divorce and inheritance. The law futher
discriminates against women by permitting Iraqi men to have as many as four
polygamous marriages.
On October 6 Iraq's parliament passed legislation to lift Iraq's
reservation to article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. Atricle 9 grants women equal rights with men to
acquire, change, or retain their nationality and pass on their nationality to
their children.
Violence against women and girls continued to be a serious problem
across Iraq. Women's rights activists said they remained at risk of attack from
extremists, who also targeted female politicians, civil servants, and
journalists. "Honor" crimes and domestic abuse remained a threat to women and
girls, who were also vulnerable to trafficking for sexual exploitation and
forced prostitution due to insecurity, displacement, financial hardship, social
disintegration, and the dissolution of rule of law and state
authority.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced mainly in Kurdish
areas of northern Iraq and several official and non-governmental studies
estimate that the prevalence of FGM among girls and women in Kurdistan is at
least 40 percent. On June 21 Kurdistan's parliament passed the Family Violence
Bill, which includes several provisions criminalizing the practice, as well as
forced and child marriages, and verbal, physical and psychological abuse of
girls and women.
The rights of women have been destroyed in Iraq. It may take generations
for them to return to the legal rights that they had prior to the US invasion of
Iraq. That story probably won't be told by too many US outlets but you can
always count on the nonsense. Case in point, Michael
S. Schmidt (New York Times)
conducts an interview with Adnan al-Asadi whom Nouri has put in
charge of the Minster of Interior. Not noted in the article -- so probably not
raised in the interview -- al-Asadi has no powers. He was not presented as a
nominee to the Parliament, he was not voted into office by the Parliament.
Legally, he heads no ministry and Nouri can strip him of the post (with no input
from Parliament). He serves at the whim of Nouri, the puppet has a puppet.
Somewhere in an article on violence, Schmidt and the New York Times should have had the guts to
note that the security ministries still have no heads -- Ministry of Interior,
Ministry of Defense and Ministry of National Security. But, as we've already noted this
week, the paper of US-government record has always sucked up to and covered for
Nouri. Al Mada reports that Iraq's
Integrity Commission has released a list of the most corrupt ministries in Iraq.
At number four: Electricity. At number three: Trade. At number one: Defense. And
at number two? Interior. No, Schmidt didn't cover that in his report either. How
does one interview the 'acting minister' of the ministry just ranked the second
most corrupt in Iraq by the independent governmental Integrity Commission and
'forget' to inform readers of the ranking? One manages that feat only when
filing for the New York Times.
Today in Iraq, many look to the US today as a result of yesterday's
sentencing. Stan Wilson and Michael Martinez (CNN)
reports Staff Sgt Frank G. Wuterich, who
entered a guilty plea, will not serve any time for his part in the Haditha
killings which claimed 24 lives November 19, 2005. Raheem Salman and Patrick J. McDonnell (Los Angeles Times)
quote a teacher in Haditha, Rafid Abdul
Majeed, stating, "The Americans killed children who were hiding inside cupboards
or under beds. Was this Marine charged with dereliction of duty because he
didn't kill more? Is Iraqi blood so cheap?" Fadhel al-Badrani (Reuters)
quotes Ali Badr stating, "This sentence gives
us the proof, the solid proof that the Americans don't respect human rights."
AFP reports, "The
Baghdad government vowed on Wednesday to take legal action after an American
marine was spared jail by a US military court over the massacre of 24 unarmed
civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha in 2005." James Joyner offers his opinion of the verdict at The
Atlantic while Gulf News' editorial board
concludes, "Prosecutors have just committed a final
indignity against the victims of Haditha." Salman and McDonnell observe,
"Overall reaction in Iraq to Wuterich's plea appeared somewhat muted Tuesday,
reflecting, Iraqis say, an already deeply rooted skepticism about the U.S.
justice system. Iraqis are also distracted by a political crisis that some fear
could result in renewed sectarian warfare: At least 10 people were killed
Tuesday in bombings in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, a Shiite Muslim
stronghold."
Do you see an opinion in there from me? No, you do not. We didn't follow
that case here. What prevents us here from following an Iraq legal case? Not
me knowing anyone on the legal teams of either side but if I act as a sounding
board (only to listen to an idea later not pursued) for a friend who's on that
case. I did that. I did not comment here for that reason. That has always
been the policy here. I have covered cases here where I knew someone on the
prosecution or the defense -- and they never got any slack from me -- but if
I've only agreed to allow someone to bounce something off me, I don't comment on
the case. I have no comment on the above -- so those who keep e-mailing
bothered by my comment better figure out what comment I made because I made no
comment on that case here. (Haditha was addressed here when the story broke.
That's before the just decided case. In terms of the legal arguments, the plea
bargain, etc., I have made no comment.)
We're not done with that case. Aswat al-Iraq
notes that Iraqi Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi is calling for the
case to be reviewed. There's nothing to review now. When statements in the
pargraph from Wednesay were being made (and more were made than what I included
in the paragraph), I understood the emotions involved. But I really didn't
think someone would try to pursue something that couldn't be pursued.
The plea bargain was signed off on by both sides. The judge has
implemented it and done the sentencing. A ruling has been made. He can't be
retried and, unless there's proof that the plea bargain was violated in some
way, there's nothing to re-open. What's more bothersome to me is that there's
talk in Iraqi media -- that I would have thought would have died down by now --
of the soldier being transferred to Iraq for another hearing. That will not
happen. Anyone pursuing that is wasting their time. The US does not allow
double jeopardy. The soldier has been tried and punishment has been handed
out. (Iraq also doesn't allow double jeopardy, per their Constitution, FYI.)
The US government would never transfer the soldier over to Iraq for a trial.
Just as they refused to transfer soldiers over to face charges in Italy for
actions in Iraq, they will not allow it to happen. Even more so with this
soldier, because he's already been tried and, in the eyes of the legal system,
been punished. The only avenue left -- and this is not a comment on the case
which is now closed -- is civil court. In the US, charges could be filed, civil
charges not criminal, requesting payment for damages -- and it would have to be
in the US because the soldier will not go to Iraq (I wouldn't if I were him
either) and it would be very difficult for an Iraqi court to get the US to agree
to a lien on what would be a trial in absentia. Family members could sue for
damages in a US civilian court. They'd no doubt use his confession as
evidence. That's better than just a guilty verdict, he confessed and he made a
statement of remorse that's now in the court record. There is no criminal
avenue that can be pursued now. The only legal option currently would be for
family members to file charges in a civilian court, file for damages as a result
of the loss of the loved ones. That would be the only option left and it could
go either way before a jury. But this nonsense of wasting everyone's time on
this topic as you insist that criminal charges will come about or his punishment
will be changed, that's not happening and you're wasting everyone's time with
your fantasy.
Michael Ratner: Heidi, we all heard the good news over the last few
weeks that Mumia was taken off death row and is no longer facing the death
penalty. I know there are other issues you want to talk about with Mumia and I
know you just had a visit with Mumia. So why don't you tell us what's going on
with Mumia, where is he, how was your visit?
Heidi Boghosian: Mumia was transferred from the facility SCI Greene
where he'd been on death row for 17 years -- 17 of the past 30 years -- in that
facility and he was transferred to SCI Mahanoy which is in Frackville,
Pennsylvania.
Michael Ratner: SCI means?
Heidi Boghosian: State Correctional Institution. It's about two
and a half hours from New York so it makes it a lot easier to visit him than in
the other location.
Michael Ratner: Is that where you visited him? In his new
location?
Heidi Boghosian: I've been to his new location three
times.
Michael Ratner: Wow.
Heidi Boghosian: Yes. And it's actually a medium security
facility. The problem is that Mumia's held in what's called Restrictive Custody
in the Administrative Housing Unit there. So he was literally taken off death
row and moved into solitary confinement where he is shackled and handcuffed
whenever he leaves his cell, his number of weekly visits has been reduced to one
and that's just for one hour -- that doesn't include legal visits which can last
for several hours.
Michael Ratner: Let me ask, and I want you to go on, when you visit
him, he comes into the room or where ever you visit him in
shackles?
Heidi Boghosian: Yes. And it's noteworthy that years ago at SCI
Greene, he also was in shackles until [Bishop] Desmond Tutu visited him a few
years ago and complained that this was inhumane treatment because essentially
he's behind thick plexi-glass in a small 4 by 6 roughly foot holding unit and
there are little perforated holes on the side so you can hear each other. But,
so now he's back in the shackles. His phone call privileges have been
--
Michael Ratner: Wait a second. You talk to him through a
wall?
Heidi Boghosian: Yes, you're sitting on one side of a thick
plexi-glass partition. So you're in the same room but it's divided in half by
plexi-glass. So, anyway, his phone call privileges have been reduced. He can
only have, I think it's ten stamps and envelopes a week. And, as a writer, you
can well imagine that Mumia writes probably at least ten letters a day so this
is a dramatic change. He doesn't have his radio or TV.
Michael Ratner: Books?
Heidi Boghosian: I think he only has four books. At first, he had
none, then they allowed him four. The National Lawyers Guild along with the
Human Rights Research Fund, which is co-chaired by Kathleen Cleaver and Natsu
Taylor Saito, sent a letter to the Department of Corrections on January 11th
calling for him to be moved into General Population as he was supposed to have
been when he left SCI Greene. And we cited, as listeners probably know, that
for over a century the US Supreme Court has recognized the psychological damage
that results from being held in solitary. There was a case in 1890, In re
Medley, Also the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America, a few years ago,
found that the increasing use of punitive segregation is not only
counter-productive but it often results in violence in the facilities and also
contributes to post-release recidivism and Juan Mendez, the UN Special
Rappoorteur on Torture just a few weeks ago called for a ban on solitary
confinement longer than 16 days, reiterating that it amounts to torture or
cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. As a result, the people's movement has
really been calling the facility. We are disheartened to note that there were
rumors Mumia was going to be moved into general population as of last Thursday
and that has -- of this airing -- not happened.
Michael Ratner: Tell me, Heidi, he's not been moved yet and what
can people do?
Heidi Boghosian: People can call. We'll put a link to the website that
has all this information but they can basically [. . .]
And we'll stop there because yesterday saw an update. From Free Mumia:
As of 1/27/12, Mumia Abu-Jamal has officially been transferred to
General Prison Population after being held in Administrative Custody ("The Hole"
or Solitary Confinement) at SCI Mahanoy, Frackville, PA for seven weeks. This
is the first time Mumia has been in General Population since his arrest in
1981.
PLEASE NOTE that while this is a victory in transferring Mumia out
of the torturous Restricted Housing Unit (RHU), we call upon the closure of ALL
RHU's! Furthermore, we call upon the IMMEDIATE RELEASE of Mumia Abu-Jamal and
are not disillusioned by this transfer. Free Mumia!
Write to Mumia to
send him some love!
MAILING ADDRESS FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Mumia
Abu-Jamal #AM8335 SCI Mahanoy 301
Morea Road Frackville, PA 17932
As violence continues today in Iraq with over 30 dead in an attack on a Baghdad funeral,
the political crisis continues as well. The only hope was said to be
the national conference that President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of
Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for since the end of
December. Last week, things appeared promising for a national
conference at least being held. One planning meet-up had taken place
and another was scheduled for Sunday January 22nd; however, last
Sunday's meet-up (which was hoped to be the final planning session) was
postponed due to Talabani having to fly to Germany for spinal surgery.
Since then, Nouri and his State of Law have insisted that if anything
take place, it not be called a "national conference" and that
participants be limited to Nouri, Talabani, al-Nujaifi and the leader
of blocs in Parliament.Al Rafidayn reports
that Moqtada al-Sadr has declared he will not participate and that he
can't be forced to. Whether this means no one from his bloc will
participate or not isn't clear. Dar Addustour also covers al-Sadr's statements which he issued online in reply to a question from one of his followers. Al Mada quotes
Nouri's spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh talking down the national
conference and stating that it will be a failure if it raises the issue
of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. (Nouri wants him tried for treason;
he wants Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq stripped of his post.
al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq are members of Iraqiya which bested State of
Law in the March 2010 elections.) The report also notes that State of
Law's push to replace Saleh al-Mutlaq with former Speaker of Parliament
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani does not have the full support of the National
Alliance (a Shi'ite coalition made up of many actors including the Sadr
bloc and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq).
The political
crisis has many roots but at the heart is the failure to follow the
agreement that ended the eight month political stalemate which followed
the March 2010 elections. Nouri refused to allow anyone else to be
prime minister. During this time, Iraqiya should have been allowed to
build a coalition but Nouri blocked it. During this time, Moqtada
al-Sadr and others were vocal that they didn't want Nouri to be prime
minister. But he had the backing of the White House so the will of the
Iraqi voters and the Constitution didn't matter. To get the country
moving forward, all political blocs except State of Law made major
concessions in the US brokered Erbil Agreement of November 2010. It
allowed Nouri to continue as prime minister. It was supposed to mean a
number of other things but after Nouri was named prime
minister-designate, he trashed the agreement and refused to honor it.
Some
online sycophants of Nouri al-Maliki, worshipers of authoritarianism,
insist that the agreement must be trashed, that it's
"unconstitutional." The aspect that's against the Constitution, the
only aspect, is the section that made Nouri prime minister. Not
surprisingly, the self-styled 'analysts' never object to that or
suggest that section was unconstitutional. Yet they expect to be taken
seriously as analysts and honest brokers. Only in your all male circle
jerk, boyz, only there.
Al Mada notes
that a spokesperson for KRG Prime Minister Barham Salih that the Erbil
Agreement must be part of the national conference and that it must be
followed. The Kurdish blocs have been calling for that for months.
In other news of announcements, Al Mada notes
that the Badr Brigade (Shi'ite militia) has declared that there are
still people who need to be targeted in Iraq, foreigners and embassies,
and has called on the Promised Day Brigade, the League of Righteous and
the Hezbollah Brigades not to lay down their arms but to stand with the
Badr Brigade agasint the foreign countries with embassies in Iraq. The
Turkish Embassy in Baghdad was attacked last week. The United States
has the largest embassy in Baghdad (it's a compound) as well as
consulates throughout Iraq. Kuwait is specifically mentioned in the
article. In addition, many other countries -- including France,
England, Australia and Russia -- have embassies in Iraq and many
foreign dignitaries visit.
In another sign of risks, Alsumaria reports
that a US helicopter was forced to make "an emergency landing this
morning" and that "another US helicopter landed and evacuated it.
On diplomacy, the White House received a visitor this week according to Al Mada but there's no release on it from the White House. Al Mada reports
that Iraq's new envoy to the US, Ambassador Jaber Habib Jaber, spoke
with Barack and that Barack was full of praise for Nouri and
"convinced" that Iraq would resolve the political crisis.
The one the White House has consistently downplayed?
We'll
try to include Hillary's remarks from yesterday's town hall in the
snapshot today. It's among many things that were pulled out of
yesterday's snapshot. If there's room (and time), we'll also note a
Congressional hearing briefly. If not, oh well.
We'll close with this announcement from the KRG:
Washington,
US (KRG.org) - Over the span of three days, hundreds of Washington DC
area residents experienced the sights, tastes and sounds of the
Kurdistan Region of Iraq at the “Contemporary Kurdish Film showcase”
hosted by the Austrian Culture Forum in conjunction with the Kurdistan
Regional Government Representation to the United States.
Local
residents watched four award-winning Kurdish short and feature films,
which were screened in the atrium of the Austrian Embassy throughout
the month of January. Guests were also invited to enjoy sweet and
savoury delicacies and popular music from the Kurdistan Region.
“We
are delighted to have partnered with the Austrian Embassy to showcase
Kurdish films in the United States, we look forward to continued
cultural and educational partnerships with our colleagues in the
diplomatic community” said Najat Abdullah, the director for Culture and
Community affairs at the KRG Representation in the US.
The
series launched on January 11 with the debut of the critically
acclaimed film “Kick-Off,” in which a soccer game is used to unite
Kurdish, Arab and Turkish refugees during the era of Saddam Hussein.
Fleeing the regime, refugees seek shelter in the stadium, but soon
realise that only soccer can ease ethnic tensions.
The
movies “Bekas” and “Bawke” described compelling journeys through the
Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “Bekas” depicts two homeless children who
dream of living with Superman in the United States, while “Bawke”
displays the emotions of a father and son who struggle to leave a
refugee camp for a better life. Both films earned numerous awards,
including the 2011 Silver Medal for Foreign Student Film by the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for “Bekas.”
“Winterland”
- winner of multiple film awards in Europe and the United States – was
screened at the Austrian Embassy to an eager crowd. The film exposes
Kurdish traditions through a comic twist in which a Kurdish man in
Norway meets his arranged-marriage bride for the first time. Neither
spouse lives up to the other’s expectations.
Today in Baghdad, a funeral procession has been attacked by a suicide
bomber. The thing is, when you lie, reality slaps you in the face. When
you lie, when you try to spin on Iraq, you don't get away with it. US
officials should have learned that by 2004. Yet there was James
Jeffrey, US Ambassador to Iraq, in an interviewGulf News published
spinning like there was no tomorrow as he insisted to Mayada Al Askari
that the political crisis had nothing to do with the current wave of
violence, "These attacks are not a result of the political crisis as
they are planned months in advance; they are very carefully put
together by Al Qaida." When you spin like there's no tomorrow, you
might try remembering that, thus far, there has always been a tomorrow.
Operation Happy Talk is just one of the many things Barack's
administration has continued from the Bush administration. It was
laughable during the previous administration, it's just pathetic now.
Nine years of continuous lies from the government and Jeffrey is
supposed to be the face of the United States in Iraq.
(If you're confused, the attack on today's funeral procession was not "planned months in advance." Nor is most of the violence.)
Adrian Blomfield (Telegraph of London) reports,
"A suicide bomber killed at least 29 people on Friday by driving an
explosives-laden vehicle into a Shia Muslim funeral procession in
Baghdad, heightening fears that Iraq is in the grips of sectarian
conflict." KUNA notes,
"The car exploded on Markaz street, targeting a funeral of a man who
was killed in Al-Yarmouk district on Thursday, a police source said." Kareem Raheem, Patrick Markey and Myra MacDonald (Reuters) quote
an unnamed Baghdad security official stating, "The suicide car bomber
failed to arrive at the Zaafaraniya police station so he blew himself
up close to shops and the market."
Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports,
"Authorities believe Col. Norman Dakhil may have been the target of the
bomber. Dahkil and his family were in the procession making their way
to the hospital to collect bodies of three relatives, including his
brother, when the bomb exploded, police said." Ali A. Nabhan and Munaf Ammar (Wall St. Journal) add,
"The suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the crowd,
which included the pallbearers at a funeral for an Iraqi army
commander's brother, who was assassinated along with three others on
Thursday, according to a Ministry of Interior official." Sebastian
Usher (BBC News) was on the NPR
hourly news break this morning stating that many details were not clear
at this time and that the funeral was for a real estate agent. Al Bawaba notes,
"The funeral was held for an Iraqi man, his wife and son who were
killed yesterday in the predominantly Sunni Yarmouk district of the
capital." Al Rafidayn identifies
the realtor as Mohammed al-Maliki (they do not give the names of his
wife and son who were also buried after being killed last night "by
gunmen." Salam Faraj (AFP) provides
this view of the attack, "Helicopters flew overhead as a heavy security
presence cordoned off the site of the explosion, while distraught
witnesses screamed in anguish, surrounded by the remains of the dead,
their clothes and shoes, and chunks of twisted metal." Bushra Juhi (AP) notes
that the death toll has risen to 32 (per hospital officials) and quote
grocer Salam Hussein describing "human flesh scattered around and
several mutilated bodies in a pool of blood." Lu Hui (Xinhua) reports hospital sources state the toll might rise, "Many of the injured are in serious condition, which could make the death toll higher, said the official. "
Michael S. Schmidt (New York Times) wastes
everyone's time padding out a story supposedly on the bombing with an
interview he did the day prior with Adnan al-Asadi whom Nouri has put
in charge of the Minster of Interior. Not noted in the article -- so
probably not raised in the interview -- al-Asadi has no powers. He was
not presented as a nominee to the Parliament, he was not voted into
office by the Parliament. Legally, he heads no ministry and Nouri can
strip him of the post (with no input from Parliament). He serves at the
whim of Nouri, the puppet has a puppet. Somewhere in an article on
violence, Schmidt and the New York Times
should have had the guts to note that the security ministries still
have no heads -- Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense and Ministry
of National Security. But, as we've already noted this week, the paper
of US-government record has always sucked up to and covered for Nouri.
I'd call Schmidt the new Judy Miller but Miller was stupid enough to
believe the nonsense that bore her byline. Al Mada reports
that Iraq's Integrity Commission has released a list of the most
corrupt ministries in Iraq. At number four: Electricity. At number
three: Trade. At number one: Defense. And at number two? Interior. No,
Schmidt didn't cover that in his report either. How does one interview
the 'acting minister' of the ministry just ranked the second most
corrupt in Iraq by the independent governmental Integrity Commission
and 'forget' to inform readers of the ranking? One manages that feat
only when filing for the New York Times.
The following community sites -- plus Susan's On The Edge and Antiwar.com -- updated last night:
Parents Are Plaintiffs in Case Against Honduras Military Coup Leader
press@ccrjustice.org
January
23, 2012, New York – Today the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
wrote to the U.S. State Department expressing concerns that David
Murillo and Silvia Mencías, plaintiffs in a case
against coup leader Roberto Micheletti Baín, face serious risks of harm
upon their return to Honduras. They have been staying in Argentina
following death threats and frequent surveillance by police and unknown
entities since the killing of their 19-year-old son by the military.
The letter urges U.S. officials to take all available steps to ensure
the Honduran government guarantees the safety of the Murillo family and
other human rights defenders.
The United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime recently reported that Honduras currently has the
highest homicide rate in the world, with journalists, political
activists, union leaders, land-rights advocates and others killed daily
without consequence.
In the letter, Vincent Warren,
Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, describes
the intensifying human rights crisis in Honduras and cites letters from
members of Congress over the well-documented fact that "members of the
security forces are implicated in many incidents of threats,
harassment, attacks and extrajudicial executions." The letter also
references reports from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
on the "disproportionate use of force to quell public demonstrations
against the policies of the current government; the lack of
independence of the judiciary; and the situation of human rights
defenders."
The letter reads:
“Indeed,
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established by the
coup government, in part at the urging of the United States, also noted
the involvement of state security forces or ‘people acting in [the
state's] interest’ in the killing of those in opposition to the coup
and coup-government. Additionally, in an expert report submitted in the
Murillos' case, Human Rights Watch investigator Tamara Taraciuk details
and documents the complete culture of impunity that prevails in
Honduras for the coup and the human right violations that have
multiplied exponentially since the coup.
“It is
imperative that the Embassy publicly denounce the threats and
harassment already suffered by the Murillos and publicly declare to
Honduran government officials the obligation to respect and protect the
human right to life and personal security of David Murillo and Sylvia
Mencías, specifically, and of all human rights defenders in Honduras.”
Currently,
the U.S. is providing funding to Honduran police and military forces.
Given Congressional concerns, a percentage of this funding was recently
conditioned on the human rights situation and requires additional State
Department reporting on human rights.
The
Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and
protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys
who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a
non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative
use of law as a positive force for social change.
Iraq War veteran Captain Leroy Torres was exposed to burn pits while
serving in Iraq and, like many other Americans exposed in Afghanistan
and Iraq, he suffers from the exposure. His wife Rosie Torres has
shared what it's like to be a family dealing with the effects of
exposure to burn pits.
The
barriers faced by those affected by toxic exposure stem from the
various components that define the word Toxic Exposures and Burn Pits.
It's those same barriers that for thousands of reservists and their
families have left them financially, emotionally, and mentally broken.
Our story is far too familiar for those that have been affected, so
here is our story. I am the wife of Captain Leroy Torres, prior to his
deployment I was working full time for the Department Of Veteran
Affairs and he served a dual role in his community as both a full time
State Trooper for the State of Texas and a U.S. Army Reservist. Our
salaries combined placed us comfortably in the bracket of about $90,000
a year, but all that changed the day he stepped foot onto the airbase
in Balad, Iraq. Camp Anaconda, the FOB with the largest Burn Pit in
existence, the place where all of our dreams and hopes turned into
toxic chemicals. The same chemicals that followed us home and have
haunted us for the past 3 years.
For
thousands of reservists the story goes like this, the soldier returns
from war and immediately the effects of toxic exposure surface like the
invisible wounds that they are. The soldier begins seeking treatment at
various healthcare facilities only to discover that neither DOD nor VA
is acknowledging toxic exposure from particulate matter or burn pits.
The only option left if you happen to be blessed with the luxury of
private insurance is to seek specialized healthcare in the private
sector. Desperately seeking answers to the question of why this once
active and healthy soldier can no longer function at the capacity that
he/she once did. Why the once healthy father/mother, husband, wife,
daughter, son can no longer breathe, why the diagnosis of cancer, why
the white matter and the lesions in the brain, the fertility issues,
the fatigue, the parasitic infections, the list goes on and on. The
family spends their life savings traveling to access specialized
healthcare from the physicians they call their heroes. The only
healthcare providers brave enough to stand behind the truth of how
toxic chemicals affect the body.
The
family exhausts all of their finances to gain answers, the soldier can
no longer work due to multiple diagnosis and symptoms immediately
forcing the once successful career person to give up their life-long
dreams. The reservists files an LOD which can take up to two years, the
veteran files a claim with the VA which will never grant a rating
compensation because there is no category for toxic exposures. All of
this forces the family into an abyss of darkness, mental stress,
financial stress, and denial of acceptance to their new way of life.
The once productive, healthy, and functioning military family is
suddenly falling apart at the seams. The gap between VA and DOD for the
reservist component of the military service members wounded must be
bridged by identifying the needs of those affected immediately. Too
many people are losing their homes, their life savings, and their hope,
hope in a system that once promised to care for them once they returned.
As
I watch my husband deteriorate before my eyes, I wonder what happened
to that Captain that stood tall and strong, the father that ran 2 miles
twice a week with his boys, the state police officer that served on the
tactical squad, and the husband that could run circles around me but
instead he is now a patient of doctors from every specialty, pulmonary,
neurology, Gastroenterology, Infectious disease.
As
I walked into the waiting room of the State Department of Human
Services to ask for public assistance I thought to myself how can this
be possible. What happened to the Captain's wife, to the once full time
VA employee, why have we lost our medical tricare insurance for our
children, why are we asking for help? My husband holds a masters degree
and we are both educated professionals, what happened to our lives? The
toxic exposures from the burn pits from war happened to our lives and
to thousands of others coming home. It's only a matter of time.
We
noted that two other times today. I wanted to be sure that everyone saw
it. (We'll note it at Third as well on Sunday.) Raising kids is a job
enough for most parents. Trying to deal with a condition that the
government doesn't really want to acknowledge at the same time? An
illness you now have as a result of deploying as you were instructed to
do and the government wants to pretend it doesn't exist because, if it
exists, that means money -- money to care for the illness, money to
make up for the damages. The same US government that regularly wants
other countries to pay (be it Iraq for the war with Kuwait or what have
you), wants to worm off the hook of responsibility, wants to grandstand
in front of the nation Tuesday night, yammering on about how great US
troops are but doesn't want pony up the money required to ease their
suffering.
Rosie Torres is the executive director of BurnPits 360:
BurnPits360
is serving as a pathway of advocacy to assist veterans, their families,
and civilian contractors who have been negatively affected by toxic
burn pits. Contractors were assigned the task of properly disposing of
any and all trash on military installations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
other locations in the Middle East. Unfortunately, instead of using
incinerators, the contractors disposed of the waste through toxic burn
pits and now thousands of veterans have been put at serious risk.
BurnPits360
is inviting anyone that has been affected from exposure to toxic burn
pits and environmental hazards to sign up on the registry. We are
conducting a voluntary cohort anonymous study with Dr. Szema at Stony
Brook University. The study simply requires self-reporting your
information on the online registry, providing a proof of military
service (DD-214), a signed legal consent form, and additional
questionnaires. This study will help to provide vital information to
doctors and researchers that will help properly diagnose and treat the
vast array of medical complications arising from these exposures. It
will provide the Department Of Defense and the Department Of Veteran
Affairs with data that will allow them to develop a healthcare model
for specialized healthcare specific to toxic exposures and
environmental hazards.
The importance of
this registry is to serve as a model for all military personnel,
civilian contractors, and their families to self-report injuries and
deaths from toxic exposure from burn pits and other environmental
hazards. It will also assist in proving causation and the correlation
between the exposure and the illness, as well as determine all areas of
possible exposure. It will provide the VA with the data needed to
develop legislative language for the development of a compensation and
pension category specific to toxic exposures.
Most
importantly, this study is completely anonymous. None of your personal
information will be shared at any time. (In such cases where
information would ever need to be made public, it would not be done so
without the members written consent, whereas the veteran, contractor,
and/or their family have the option to decline to participate at that
time.)
Should you be interested in participating in the study, please contact Burn Pits 360 via email [burnpitadvocates@burnpits360.org] or by telephone [361-816-4015].
Former
Senator Evan Bayh championed a national burn pit registry. He went so
far as to present his bill to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in
a hearing (Bayh did not serve on the Committee, he did serve on the
Democratic Policy Committee where he, former Senator Byron Dorgan and
others explored the realities of burn pits at great length). The bill
never left Committee. Senator Jim Webb opposed it. He felt it was too
costly. The same reason he would later grouse that Secretary of the VA
Eric Shinseki expansion of Agent Orange victims from the Vietnam era
cost too much money.
Senator Webb, himself a veteran, supports
other veterans . . . As long as it doesn't cost money. Sadly, that
seems to be the way the government shows its support as well.
It's over, I'm done writing songs about love There's a war going on So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove And I'm writing a song about war And it goes Na na na na na na na I hate the war Na na na na na na na I hate the war Na na na na na na na I hate the war Oh oh oh oh -- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)
Last week, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4487. Tonight it's [PDF format warning] 4488. Here's the screen snap:
If
that's not a mistake, the death is from pre-September 1, 2010 (or an
injury pre-September 1, 2010?) because, notice, that's where the
increase is.
Thursday January 26, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, police are among
the targeted in Iraq, in the US victims of the burn pits continue to suffer,
fact checks fail on PBS, and more.
The Pentagon's US death toll for the Iraq War stands at 4487. That number doesn't include Staff Sgt Danielle
Nienajadlo. Her service in Iraq included Balad Air Base. As Beth Hawkins (Mother Jones) reported two
years ago, Danielle Nienajadlo quickly began suffering "headaches that kept her
awake; unexplained bruises all over her body; an open sore on her back that
wouldn't heal; vomiting and weight loss. In July 2008, after three miserable
months, Nienajadlo checked into the base emergency room with a 104-degree
fever." In a letter to Traveling Soldier in 2010, Danille's
mother Lindsay Wiedman shared, "The Army still did not consider Danielle a
Iraq casualty! And she was! Her very bosses that she went to while being very
sick didn't believe her that she was sick. She suffered. SFC Addy was whom she
went to and he said she was just trying to get out of Iraq! That was not who my
daughter was. She valued her Army career, her family, me, her sister and would
never not complete a hard days work. She could work Addy! Danielle died on the
20th. She would have completed her chemo the 21st. They were trying to get her
to the stage of stem cell transplant. I miss her and am grieving! I blame Addy
and Balad, Iraq. And I believe she should should have been considered a
casualty! She deserved a big medal and the honors worth so more! I pray with
time that Addy and her other bosses realize they helped kill my daughter."
Along with her mother, BURNPITS 360 31-year-old Danielle's survivors include "3
sons Isaiah and Ian Jones and Titan Sanchez and her husband Jamie Nienajadlo."
They note that on their Our Fallen Heroes page which also notes Ssg Steven Ochs
-- dead at 32, Major Kevin E. Wilkins -- dead at 2, survived by wife Jill
Wilkins and three children, Sgt Billy McKenna -- survived by wife Dine McKenna
and their two daughters, and Jessica Sweet. Jeff Glor (CBS Evening News -- link is text
and video) reported in June 2010, "Christopher Sweet blames his wife's
leukemia on the burn pits she was exposed to in Afghanistan. Diagnosed in
September 2008, Jessica Sweet died five months later." Sadly, it's very
unlikely that those five will be the last.
Former-Senator Byron Dorgan explained November 6, 2009 when he chaired a Democratic
Policy Committee hearing on burn pits, "Today we're going to have a discussion
and have a hearing on how, as early as 2002, US military installations in Iraq
and Afghanistan began relying on open-air burn pits -- disposing of waste
materials in a very dangerous manner. And those burn pits included materials
such as hazardous waste, medical waste, virtually all of the waste without
segregation of the waste, put in burn pits. We'll hear how there were dire
health warnings by Air Force officials about the dangers of burn pit smoke, the
toxicity of that smoke, the danger for human health. We'll hear how the
Department of Defense regulations in place said that burn pits should be used
only in short-term emergency situations -- regulations that have now been
codified. And we will hear how, despite all the warnings and all the
regulations, the Army and the contractor in charge of this waste disposal,
Kellogg Brown & Root, made frequent and unnecessary use of these burn pits
and exposed thousands of US troops to toxic smoke." In addition, Disabled American Veterans notes:
In a 2006 memorandum to the Pentagon, Air Force Lt. Col. Darrin
Curtis, who was in charge of assessing environmental health hazards at Balad Air
Base in Iraq, raised serious concerns about toxic exposures from burn pits.
The letter, which was signed by Lt. Col. James R. Elliott, the Air Force's
chief medical officer at Balad, confirmed the environmental dangers that open
air burn pits posed to the soldiers and airmen who lived on one of the largest
U.S. installations in Iraq.
Iraq War veteran Captain Leroy Torres is one of many Americans who knows
the destruction and damage burn pits cause. He and his wife Rosie Torres have
worked very hard to get the word out. In an attempt to explain the realities of
life post-burn pit and to spur government action, Rosie Torres shares the
following:
The barriers faced by those
affected by toxic exposure stem from the various components that define the word
Toxic Exposures and Burn Pits. It's those same barriers that for thousands of
reservists and their families have left them financially, emotionally, and
mentally broken. Our story is far too familiar for those that have been
affected, so here is our story. I am the wife of Captain Leroy Torres, prior to
his deployment I was working full time for the Department Of Veteran Affairs and
he served a dual role in his community as both a full time State Trooper for the
State of Texas and a U.S. Army Reservist. Our salaries combined placed us
comfortably in the bracket of about $90,000 a year, but all that changed the day
he stepped foot onto the airbase in Balad, Iraq. Camp Anaconda, the FOB with the
largest Burn Pit in existence, the place where all of our dreams and hopes
turned into toxic chemicals. The same chemicals that followed us home and have
haunted us for the past 3 years.
For thousands of reservists the story goes like this,
the soldier returns from war and immediately the effects of toxic exposure
surface like the invisible wounds that they are. The soldier begins seeking
treatment at various healthcare facilities only to discover that neither DOD nor
VA is acknowledging toxic exposure from particulate matter or burn pits. The
only option left if you happen to be blessed with the luxury of private
insurance is to seek specialized healthcare in the private sector. Desperately
seeking answers to the question of why this once active and healthy soldier can
no longer function at the capacity that he/she once did. Why the once healthy
father/mother, husband, wife, daughter, son can no longer breathe, why the
diagnosis of cancer, why the white matter and the lesions in the brain, the
fertility issues, the fatigue, the parasitic infections, the list goes on and
on. The family spends their life savings traveling to access specialized
healthcare from the physicians they call their heroes. The only healthcare
providers brave enough to stand behind the truth of how toxic chemicals affect
the body.
The family exhausts all
of their finances to gain answers, the soldier can no longer work due to
multiple diagnosis and symptoms immediately forcing the once successful career
person to give up their life-long dreams. The reservists files an LOD which can
take up to two years, the veteran files a claim with the VA which will never
grant a rating compensation because there is no category for toxic exposures.
All of this forces the family into an abyss of darkness, mental stress,
financial stress, and denial of acceptance to their new way of life. The once
productive, healthy, and functioning military family is suddenly falling apart
at the seams. The gap between VA and DOD for the reservist component of the
military service members wounded must be bridged by identifying the needs of
those affected immediately. Too many people are losing their homes, their life
savings, and their hope, hope in a system that once promised to care for them
once they returned.
As I watch my
husband deteriorate before my eyes, I wonder what happened to that Captain that
stood tall and strong, the father that ran 2 miles twice a week with his boys,
the state police officer that served on the tactical squad, and the husband that
could run circles around me but instead he is now a patient of doctors from
every specialty, pulmonary, neurology, Gastroenterology, Infectious
disease.
As I walked into the
waiting room of the State Department of Human Services to ask for public
assistance I thought to myself how can this be possible. What happened to the
Captain's wife, to the once full time VA employee, why have we lost our medical
tricare insurance for our children, why are we asking for help? My husband holds
a masters degree and we are both educated professionals, what happened to our
lives? The toxic exposures from the burn pits from war happened to our lives and
to thousands of others coming home. It's only a matter of
time.
The Torres family advocates for a national registry for the
victims of burn pits and are active with BurnPits 360 (Rosie Torres is the
executive director):
BurnPits360 is serving as a pathway of
advocacy to assist veterans, their families, and civilian contractors who have
been negatively affected by toxic burn pits. Contractors were assigned the task
of properly disposing of any and all trash on military installations in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and other locations in the Middle East. Unfortunately, instead of
using incinerators, the contractors disposed of the waste through toxic burn
pits and now thousands of veterans have been put at serious risk.
BurnPits360 is inviting anyone that
has been affected from exposure to toxic burn pits and environmental hazards to
sign up on the registry. We are conducting a voluntary cohort anonymous study
with Dr. Szema at Stony Brook University. The study simply requires
self-reporting your information on the online registry, providing a proof of
military service (DD-214), a signed legal consent form, and additional
questionnaires. This study will help to provide vital information to doctors and
researchers that will help properly diagnose and treat the vast array of medical
complications arising from these exposures. It will provide the Department Of
Defense and the Department Of Veteran Affairs with data that will allow them to
develop a healthcare model for specialized healthcare specific to toxic
exposures and environmental hazards.
The importance of this registry is to serve as a model for all
military personnel, civilian contractors, and their families to self-report
injuries and deaths from toxic exposure from burn pits and other environmental
hazards. It will also assist in proving causation and the correlation between
the exposure and the illness, as well as determine all areas of possible
exposure. It will provide the VA with the data needed to develop legislative
language for the development of a compensation and pension category specific to
toxic exposures.
Most importantly, this study is completely anonymous. None of your
personal information will be shared at any time. (In such cases where
information would ever need to be made public, it would not be done so without
the members written consent, whereas the veteran, contractor, and/or their
family have the option to decline to participate at that time.)
Should you be interested in participating in the study, please
contact Burn Pits
360 via email [burnpitadvocates@burnpits360.org] or
by telephone [361-816-4015].
Daniel Meyer is a disabled veteran and activist alerting the country to the
dangers of burn pits. Julie M. McKinnon (Toledo Blade) noted
that Meyer attended the Statue of the Union speech Tuesay at the invitation of
US House Rep Shelley Berkley who told the newspaper, "As a veteran of both Iraq
and Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Meyer proudly served our nation in time of war,
and we salute his valor and recognize the bravery and sacrifice of all the men
and women in America's armed forces, our veterans, and their families." Along
with his work with BurnPit 360, he also makes a huge impact by sharing his story
and raising issues and awareness at his website Daniel Meyer
Blog.com. Despite the bravery he shows and the bravery of others,
those suffering from burn pits repeatedly have to reinvent the wheel and
re-educate the public and the Congress about the burn pits effects that they now
live with, explain the need for a federal registry, explain the need for the VA
to recognize and educate. The first Burn Pits Symposium takes place this month
and we'll note that at the end of the snapshot.
On the issue of the State of the Union, different people will have
different opinions. There is no universal take. At Third, Ava and I offer a
feminist take on the media -- "a" feminist take, not "the" feminist take. It's
a difference Time magazine and Nate Rawlings need to grasp. Interviewing
Democrat Paul Reickhoff -- who has worked so often and so hard to turn out votes
for Democrats -- does not provide "How the Vets Scored It" -- it provides how one
did. It is less than honest and highly insulting to allow Reickhoff to speak
for all veterans. Reickhoff is someone we have called out here repeatedly for
well over six years and done so most recently when he decided he was the person,
him, to speak about what it was like to be a female veteran -- him, he was the
voice for female veterans. Adam Kokesh is an Iraq War veteran. I doubt very seriously
his take on the speech was the same as Paul Reickhoff. Adam Kokesh is with Veterans for Ron Paul.
Adam Kokesh: Today we filed a permit application with DC MPD --
Metro Police Dept -- and on Sunday the Veterans for Ron Paul organizing
committee met, walked the route and everything is on track for the Ron Paul Is
The Choice Of The Troops (Veterans and Active Duty March On The White House) on
Presidents Day, February 20th. For all of you who shared my video announcement
from New Hampshire, thank you so much for helping to get that video to over
50,000 views in two weeks and to help us get to over 750 RSVPs on the Facebook events page already.
Thanks to everybody who's stepped up on the organizing team and to the two
people who already donated to the case. So the details are still pending final
approval but here's what you need to know. On Presidents Day, February 20th, we
will rally at the Washington Monument at noon and, at 1400 hours, 2:00 pm, we
will form up on 15th street, facing north towards Constitution Avenue and step
off as soon as we have verified the proof of service of everyone in the
formation. There will also be a truck, thanks to Jim Kiisner, to follow the
formation for any veterans who might be disabled or not capable of marching with
us. We will march to the White House do an about face to turn to a folded flag
to hold the salute for as many seconds as troops have died since Obama became
president and march back to the monument. So who's going to speak at the
rally?
They're having a contest in which the top 18 video makers will be allowed
to speak at the rally. We'll try to note that next week. There's just not
room. I planned to spend several days on the Human Rights Watch report but only
had time and space for it Monday and (hopefully) tomorrow. I will note that
Feburary 1st, Adam's birthday, he's asking that you "make a
contibution to the cause" here to cover the costs of the march and they
hope there's enough money to also cover the transportation costs of veterans who
might not otherwise be able to be present. We're still on the State of the
Union. As Betty noted, last night on
The NewsHour, there was a fact check on the Iraq portion of Barack's speech.
Betty wrote, "I am a member of The Common Ills community. We have a number of
military members and a number of members whose loved ones are in the military.
This does include US troops who remain in Iraq. So to hear Glenn Kessler LIE
in a fact check that all US troops had left Iraq was shocking." Here for video, transcript and audio of The NewsHour
(PBS) segment. This is the section Betty (rightly) calls out (and Betty
gives Gwen credit for bringing up the contractor aspect at least).
Glenn Kessler: Well, I mean, he's correct that, obviously, U.S.
troops have left Iraq. The question is, you know, what have they left? And you
can look at the way the American troops departed. There was an effort originally
the administration made in order to extend the security agreement. And then they
were either unwilling or unable to extend that agreement. And that's why the
troops left. He is able to say he fulfilled a campaign promise. But, at the
moment, Iraq is in a very unstable situation.
Gwen Ifill: Well, and if American contractors are still on the
ground, aren't there Americans still on the ground?
Glenn Kessler: Yes, there are Americans there, too. There's a huge
State Department presence as well, and being protected by those contractors. So
it's troops, but, you know, combat troops -- but there are certainly a lot of
Americans there.
On behalf of community members who are in Iraq still or have family
members in the military still serving in Iraq, I say, "F**k you, Glenn Kessler."
And I don't make a point to curse at my site. But it needs to be said and said
loudly until the press stops disrespecting those military members who remain in
Iraq.
I support Betty and her statements 100%, without reservation. In addition,
I will add that if you are fact checking, know your damn facts. Barack did not
promise, if elected, troops would leave at the end of 2011. All troops didn't
leave but even if you're too stupid or too much of a liar to grasp this fact,
you should get that his promise was a brigade a month, first thing he'd do upon
being sworn in. He did not keep his promise. Samantha Power lied to American
voters but did let British audiences know in March 2008 that Barack had no
intention of keeping that campaign 'promise' and she was right and Glenn Kessler
is wrong, he is damn wrong and it is offensive, as Betty noted, to members of
this community who either are still serving in Iraq or have a loved one still
serving in Iraq. Meanwhile Mike selectedRabbi Michael
Lerner as "genius of the week" for being the only voice of truth about the State of the Union speech at
POLITICO's Arena yesterday. Rabbi Lerner:
What populism, what message? As usual there were a series of
proposals with no common theme. We were told that the model for America was the
military - why can't we be like they are, perfect in every way? We were told by
the man who was elected from discontent over the war in Iraq that the war was
completely worthwhile. Give me a break. This man has neither moral compass nor
the political sense to state clearly and unequivocally that government is needed
to stop the excesses of the rich and the corporations.
"The President has subverted the progressive ideals of the New
Deal. He's imposing his vision of a 'grand bargain' that represents the
effective philosophical merger of the Democratic and Republican parties.
"
"The President presented a rosy picture of the current state of
the economy by tossing out a few anecdotes and cherry-picked statistics. He
seemed almost oblivious to recent news that 48% of Americans are living in
poverty or near poverty, the greatest number in 50 years of record keeping. If
he thinks things are going so well, maybe that's why he sees no reason to
change course."
Matt Reichel (Dissident Voice) has a very
strong piece rebuking Barack's claims in that speech but we only have room
for one sentence from it, "It's all the same Hope and Change Pony Show." On the
reality, Barack wouldn't touch, this week's. Black Agenda
Radio, hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey, (airs each
Monday at 4:00 pm EST on the Progressive Radio
Network), featured an interview with journalist Chris Hedges
about the dangerous National Defense Authorization Act.
Chris Hedges: Yeah, the way the law is written is, when you read it
really closely, really terrifying because it's the whim of the security and
surveillance state whoever they want to go after they can pretty much do so
under this piece of legislation and then, of course, the way they do it is to
use the military to carry out extraordinary rendition on American city streets.
And I think to listen to the Obama White House, you know Obama assured in his
signing statement that he would not use this legislation to target American
citizens? Well [US Senator] Dianne Feinstein proposed inserting into this
legislation a clear statement that American citizens would be exempted from it
and this was rejected by both the Democractic Party and the Obama White House.
They had an opportunity to do it and they didn't. And we know from leaks out of
[US Senator] Carl Levin's office that the difficulty that the Obama White House
had with the bill was not over the denial of due process but the fact that the
executive branch wanted to abrogate for itself the right to decide who, what
American citizens would be subject to arrest and detention without access to a
lawyer or courts by the military and who would be given exemptions. It was a
debate about the prerogatives of the executive branch, it was never a debate
about due process or the rule of law.
Glen Ford: Now if we don't have due process, do we have the rule of
law?
Chris Hedges: Well if you don't have due process, you don't have
the rule of law.
Glen Ford: Are you optimistic?
Chris Hedges: I don't have a lot of faith in the Supreme Court. We
saw the case of Jose Padilla. They used to call him the
sort-of missing hijacker. He was a US citizen held for three and a half years
in a military brig without access to a lawyer or due process. It was challenged,
went up to the Supreme Court and, before the Supreme Court took up the case, he
was transferred to a civilian court and the Supreme Court said they wouldn't
rule on it because it was moot. I mean, they sort of passed it. But given the
composition of this particular Supreme Court, I wouldn't say I'm optomistic but
I still say we have to try.
Glen Ford: Apologists for Obama say, 'Well this law is nothing
new. President Bush claimed the right to detain anyone based on his own
criteria and without charges. And that this is nothing new. But it is
something new when you codify it into law with the benediction of the
Congress.
Chris Hedges: They're right only in this sense: Under the 2001
Authorization to Use Military Force Act, they already were doing a lot of this
stuff -- including, of course, targeting American citizens for assassinations.
Barack Obama serving as judge, jury and executioner for Anwar al-Awlaki, the
cleric who was murdered in Yemen. But I think that most legal scholars saw that
as a fairly radical interpretation of that piece of legislation. This
[NDAA] essentially legalizes, overturns 200 years -- over 200 years -- of law to
permit the armed forces or the military to carry out domestic policing. And I
think the other important point about this legislation is that the 2001 act was
tied to groups who were directly related to al Qaeda. This now permits this
kind of war against a multiplicity of groups, many of which didn't even exist
when 9-11 happened -- groups in Yemen, groups in Somolia. It's a way of sort of
cementing into place the permanent war psychosis. And remember that these people
can be picked up by the military, held without charges, without trial, without
access to an attorney, in the language of the bill, until the end of
hostilities. Well, you know, when is that? This is an endless war. The 2001
act was bad enough but, you know, at this point to pass a piece of legislation
like this which goes into effect in March is catastrophic assault against what's
left of civil liberties and our anaemic democracy.
Glen Ford: If this bill had moved through Congress when Bush was
president, would you have expected a hailstorm of protest?
Chris Hedges: The Democratic Party is very good at expressing moral
outrage against George Bush or Republicans but doing absolutely nothing to
counter those activities. So yeah, you would have had the Democratic Party and
the liberal establishment speaking out against it and expressing deep disgust
and distaste for these measures yet at the same time I think what these people
do and what they say is very different.
And if you doubt it, note this about 2005 -- when Democrats were the
minority in the House of Representatives, were the minority in the Senate and
didn't control the White House but were desperate to change that by getting one
house of Congress in the 2006 mid-terms.
Cindy Sheehan: [. . .] that's what happened to the anti-war
movement I was a part of without me even knowing it. And the Democrats told me
to my face, "Cindy, if you help us take back the House, we'll help you end the
war." You know, Nancy Pelosi told me that, Barack Obama told me that, Hillary
Clinton told me that, John Kerry, all of the leading Democrats said it right to
my face, "If you help us take back the House" -- and this was in 2005 when I had
-- I had the Democratic base which is actually anti-war at their heart but you
know they'll go against their hearts every single time when it comes to voting.
They said, "You help us take back the House, we'll help you end the war." Well
look what happened. You know they used the energy of the anti-war movement and
the Camp Casey movement to get back in power and they totally betrayed the
movement.
Iraq was again plagued with bombings today. Peter Cave (Australia's ABC)
reports a Mussayib home bombing targeting police officers and
"brothers Ahmed and Jihad Zuwaiyin" and "killing everyone inside including six
children aged under 10" as well as both police officers and their wives. Al Rafidayn notes that four of the
children were under ten and two boys who were approximately ten-years-old. DPA adds, "The police officer said
the blast was caused by several roadside-type bombs placed near the house's
outer walls, which destroyed it. Four people were wounded and six nearby houses
were also damaged." Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observes,
"The violence has raised concerns among citizens about the ability of Iraqi
security forces to ensure order, particularly after the United States withdrew
troops at the end of 2011." In addition to the bombing of the two families, Sinan Salaheddin and Yahya
Barzanji (AP) note, "Also
Thursday, a motorcycle bomb missed a passing police patrol in the northern city
of Kirkuk, but killed two civilians and wounded five others, the city's police
commander Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir said." In addition, Reuters notes a the "son of a Sunni
tribal leader" was shot dead in Mosul, a Kirkuk sticky bombing last night
claimed 1 life and left another person injured and a Kirkuk drive-by shooting
last night left 2 police officers dead.
Dan Morse and Asaad Majeed (Washington Post) explain, "The
attacks come amid a political crisis that
has virtually paralyzed the government in the last six weeks." Nouri kicked off
the political crisis by refusing to honor the November 2010 Erbil Agreement he
signed off on (the agreement which allowed him to become prime minister despite
his State of Law coming in second in the March 2010 elections). He intensified
the conflict in October 2011 when he began ordering the arrest of hundreds of
Sunnis -- insisting that they were attempting to launch a coup and were
terrorists. As reported by the Iraqi media earlier this month, most have been
released and the rest are expected to be -- there was no coup attempt. Then came
December and Nouri's return from DC, emboldened by his face-to-face with
supporter Barack Obama. Nouri immediately demanded that Deputy Prime Minister
Saleh al-Mutlaq be stripped of his post and that Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi
be arrested for terrorism. Both al-Mutlaq and al-Hashemi are Sunnis and members
of Iraqiya. Last week saw several prominent Sunnis and Iraqiya members arrested
in various provinces.
Since last month, President Jalal Talabani (Kurd)
and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi (Iraqiya) have been calling for a
national conference. This month there was a meet-up of various political players
to firm up the details for the national conference and a final meet-up was
supposed to have taken place last Sunday; however, over the weekend, Talabani
had to travel to Germany for spinal surgery and the meet-up is now on hold. This
week, Nouri and State of Law began demanding that if any national conference
takes place, it can't be called a national conference. As Sheikh (Dar Addustour) notes that demand as
well as the demand that it not be open to all political leaders but just the the
three presidencies (Talabani, Nouri and al-Nujaifi) and the leaders of blocs in
parliament and Sheikh notes that the demands, if implemented, will be like a
bullet to the body and kill the hopes of any success of resolving the crisis.
Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq leader Ammar al-Hakim is in Turkey currently
(meeting with officials) and AP quotes him stating, "I want to
invite Iraqiya to return to parliament and take its place in parliament. We say
that we will examine their just demands and do whatever is necessary."
Today Gulf News interviews US Ambassador to
Iraq James Jeffrey about the political crisis. Excerpt.
GN: Former general David Petraeus and General Ray Odierno met up
with Al Iraqiya leaders as the political crisis started in the country after the
US army's withdrawal. What can you tell us about the meetings?
JJ: General Petraeus is the head of the Central Intelligence Agency
and General Ray Odierno is the US army's Chief of Staff and as part of their
normal contacts in the region they visit here and they visit any other country
in the region. I wouldn't read anything special into that.
GN: The Obama administration is proceeding with the sale to Iraq of
almost $11 billion in weapons and training. Do you think that any assistance to
Iraq's security forces ought to be conditional on the government's commitment to
resolve its disagreements?
JJ: First of all, when we provide weapons we provide them with
guarantees that they will be used for their proper purposes. The weapons given
to the Iraqis are not for internal security, they are to be used to defend their
borders and to eventually defend their air space and this is something any
sovereign country needs and Iraq currently does not have. So this is something
which is important for Iraq as a state and it has nothing to do with political
conflicts.
GN: Thousands of Iraqi and American lives were
sacrificed in ridding Iraq of Saddam Hussain. A slide back to dictatorship, when
much of the region is striving for democracy, would render their sacrifices
meaningless. What are your thoughts in this regard?
JJ: We believe that Iraq remains the most democratic country in the
Middle East. Obviously it faces very severe problems now and it is in the middle
of a very difficult political controversy and we hope that it will be able to
get out of it. We continue to support a united federalist, and democratic
Iraq.
As noted earlier, the first ever Burn Pit Symposium takes place next
month.
1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deplyoment to Iraq &
Afghanistan
Studies Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions
Research
and Engineering Laboratory, Manchester, NH)
3:15 - 3:45 Toxicologically Relevant Characteristics of Desert
Dust and Other
Atmospheric Particulate Matter, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Ph.D.
(Research
Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)
3:44 - 4:15 In-situ Mineralogy of the Lung and Lymph Nodes,
Gregory Meeker, M.S.
(Research Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver,
CO)
Continuing Medical Education Credits
The school of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brook, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical
Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brooke designates this live activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the
extent of their participation in the activity.
Iraq is again plagued with bombings. Peter Cave (Australia's ABC) reports
a Mussayib home bombing targeting police officers and "brothers Ahmed
and Jihad Zuwaiyin" and "killing everyone inside including six children
aged under 10" as well as both police officers and their wives. Al Rafidayn notes that four of the children were under ten and two boys who were approximately ten-years-old. DPA adds,
"The police officer said the blast was caused by several roadside-type
bombs placed near the house's outer walls, which destroyed it. Four
people were wounded and six nearby houses were also damaged." Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observes,
"The violence has raised concerns among citizens about the ability of
Iraqi security forces to ensure order, particularly after the United
States withdrew troops at the end of 2011." In addition to the bombing
of the two families, Sinan Salaheddin and Yahya Barzanji (AP) note,
"Also Thursday, a motorcycle bomb missed a passing police patrol in the
northern city of Kirkuk, but killed two civilians and wounded five
others, the city's police commander Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir said." In
addition, Reuters notes
a the "son of a Sunni tribal leader" was shot dead in Mosul, a Kirkuk
sticky bombing last night claimed 1 life and left another person
injured and a Kirkuk drive-by shooting last night left 2 police
officers dead.
Dan Morse and Asaad Majeed (Washington Post) explain, "The attacks come amid a political crisis
that has virtually paralyzed the government in the last six weeks."
Nouri kicked off the political crisis by refusing to honor the November
2010 Erbil Agreement he signed off on (the agreement which allowed him
to become prime minister despite his State of Law coming in second in
the March 2010 elections). He intensified the conflict in October 2011
when he began ordering the arrest of hundreds of Sunnis -- insisting
that they were attempting to launch a coup and were terrorists. As
reported by the Iraqi media earlier this month, most have been released
and the rest are expected to be -- there was no coup attempt. Then came
December and Nouri's return from DC, emboldened by his face-to-face
with supporter Barack Obama. Nouri immediately demanded that Deputy
Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq be stripped of his post and that Vice
President Tareq al-Hashemi be arrested for terrorism. Both al-Mutlaq
and al-Hashemi are Sunnis and members of Iraqiya. Last week saw several
prominent Sunnis and Iraqiya members arrested in various provinces.
Since
last month, President Jalal Talabani (Kurd) and Speaker of Parliament
Osama al-Nujaifi (Iraqiya) have been calling for a national conference.
This month there was a meet-up of various political players to firm up
the details for the national conference and a final meet-up was
supposed to have taken place last Sunday; however, over the weekend,
Talabani had to travel to Germany for spinal surgery and the meet-up is
now on hold. This week, Nouri and State of Law began demanding that if
any national conference takes place, it can't be called a national
conference. As Sheikh (Dar Addustour) notes
that demand as well as the demand that it not be open to all political
leaders but just the the three presidencies (Talabani, Nouri and
al-Nujaifi) and the leaders of blocs in parliament and Sheikh notes
that the demands, if implemented, will be like a bullet to the body and
kill the hopes of any success of resolving the crisis.
Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq leader Ammar al-Hakim is in Turkey currently (meeting with officials) and AP quotes
him stating, "I want to invite Iraqiya to return to parliament and take
its place in parliament. We say that we will examine their just demands
and do whatever is necessary."
In other news . . .
Remember Nawal al-Samarraie? She was the Minister of Women's Affairs during Nouri's first term as Prime Minister. February 6, 2009,
she was in the news when she resigned because her ministry was not
properly funded (a meager monthly budget of $7,500 a month was slashed
to $1,400) and she states, "I reached to the point that I will never be
able to help the women." That was very embarrassing for Nouri. So
naturally the New York Times worked overtime to ignore it. (See Third Estate Sunday Review's "NYT goes tabloid.") NPR's Corey Flintoff covered it for Morning Edition (link has text and audio).
Nouri
didn't care for Nawal al-Samarraie or the needed attention she raised.
Which was reflected in his second term when he tried to erase women
completely. From the December 22, 2010 snapshot:
Turning to Iraq, Liz Sly and Aaron Davis (Washington Post) note,
"A special gathering of the nation's parliament endorsed Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki for a second term in office, with lawmakers then voting
one by one for 31 of the eventual 42 ministers who will be in his
cabinet."AFP notes
that all but one is a man, Bushra Hussein Saleh being the sole woman in
the Cabinet. And they quote Kurdish MP Ala Talabani stating, "We
congratulate the government, whose birth required eight months, but at
the same time we are very depressed when we see the number of women
chosen to head the ministries. Today, democracy was decapitated by
sexism. The absence of women is a mark of disdain and is contrary to
several articles of the constitution. I suggest to Mr Maliki to even
choose a man for the ministry of women's rights, as you do not have
confidence in women." Ala Talabani is the niece of Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani. Imran Ali (Womens Views On News) reminds,
"The new constitution stipulates that a quarter of the members of
parliament be women and prohibits gender discrimination." Apparently
concern about representation doesn't apply to the Cabinet (and, no,
Nouri's attempts at offering excuses for the huge gender imbalance do
not fly).
42 posts to fill and Nouri couldn't
think of a single woman? And wouldn't have if Iraqi women hadn't gotten
vocal on the issue. (And note that Nouri increased the Cabinet from 31
in his first term to 42.)
We bring that up because Nouri did
finally find a woman and named her to be Minister of the State for
Women's Affairs. The woman is Dr. Ibtihal Kassid. And Al Mada reports
the lovely doesn't believe in equality stating equality "harms women"
but she's happy to offer government dictates on what women should be
wearing. No, she's not a minister. She's many things including words we
won't use here but she's not friend to women and that's why Nouri
picked her. A real woman fighting for other women? Nouri can't handle
that. A simpering idiot who states that women should only act after
their husband's consent? That gender traitor gets a ministry. She's
currently at work devising a uniform for Iraqi women.
The following community sites -- plus Antiwar.com and Cindy Sheehan -- updated last night:
Earlier this month, Wyatt Olson (Stars and Stripes) reported,
"The Marine Corps is now testing a compact disposal system that turns a
barrel full of trash into a handful of ash through gasification, all
without harmful air emissions associated with incinerators. Initial
testing is at Camp Smith on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, with field
testing expected this summer during training exercises." Good if it
works without side effects. Bad otherwise. Burn pits have side effects.
They have left many service members and veterans and contractors with
breathing ailments, they've also led to worse than just that, including
death.
2011
saw an attempt by the federal government to utilize scientists already
on the government payroll (directly or research grants) to argue that
burn pits weren't so bad. Of course, despite ethical guidelines in
place, the scientists participating 'forgot' to disclose their
government payments.
Many American families know just how
damaging burn pits are. They don't enjoy the luxury of cushy research
grants, they're too busy fighting for their loved ones health and lives.
Iraq
War veteran Captain Leroy Torres is one of many Americans who knows the
destruction and damage burn pits cause. He and his wife Rosie Torres
have worked very hard to get the word out. In an attempt to explain the
realities of life post-burn pit and to spur government action, Rosie
Torres shares the following:
The
barriers faced by those affected by toxic exposure stem from the
various components that define the word Toxic Exposures and Burn Pits.
It's those same barriers that for thousands of reservists and their
families have left them financially, emotionally, and mentally broken.
Our story is far too familiar for those that have been affected, so
here is our story. I am the wife of Captain Leroy Torres, prior to his
deployment I was working full time for the Department Of Veteran
Affairs and he served a dual role in his community as both a full time
State Trooper for the State of Texas and a U.S. Army Reservist. Our
salaries combined placed us comfortably in the bracket of about $90,000
a year, but all that changed the day he stepped foot onto the airbase
in Balad, Iraq. Camp Anaconda, the FOB with the largest Burn Pit in
existence, the place where all of our dreams and hopes turned into
toxic chemicals. The same chemicals that followed us home and have
haunted us for the past 3 years.
For
thousands of reservists the story goes like this, the soldier returns
from war and immediately the effects of toxic exposure surface like the
invisible wounds that they are. The soldier begins seeking treatment at
various healthcare facilities only to discover that neither DOD nor VA
is acknowledging toxic exposure from particulate matter or burn pits.
The only option left if you happen to be blessed with the luxury of
private insurance is to seek specialized healthcare in the private
sector. Desperately seeking answers to the question of why this once
active and healthy soldier can no longer function at the capacity that
he/she once did. Why the once healthy father/mother, husband, wife,
daughter, son can no longer breathe, why the diagnosis of cancer, why
the white matter and the lesions in the brain, the fertility issues,
the fatigue, the parasitic infections, the list goes on and on. The
family spends their life savings traveling to access specialized
healthcare from the physicians they call their heroes. The only
healthcare providers brave enough to stand behind the truth of how
toxic chemicals affect the body.
The
family exhausts all of their finances to gain answers, the soldier can
no longer work due to multiple diagnosis and symptoms immediately
forcing the once successful career person to give up their life-long
dreams. The reservists files an LOD which can take up to two years, the
veteran files a claim with the VA which will never grant a rating
compensation because there is no category for toxic exposures. All of
this forces the family into an abyss of darkness, mental stress,
financial stress, and denial of acceptance to their new way of life.
The once productive, healthy, and functioning military family is
suddenly falling apart at the seams. The gap between VA and DOD for the
reservist component of the military service members wounded must be
bridged by identifying the needs of those affected immediately. Too
many people are losing their homes, their life savings, and their hope,
hope in a system that once promised to care for them once they returned.
As
I watch my husband deteriorate before my eyes, I wonder what happened
to that Captain that stood tall and strong, the father that ran 2 miles
twice a week with his boys, the state police officer that served on the
tactical squad, and the husband that could run circles around me but
instead he is now a patient of doctors from every specialty, pulmonary,
neurology, Gastroenterology, Infectious disease.
As
I walked into the waiting room of the State Department of Human
Services to ask for public assistance I thought to myself how can this
be possible. What happened to the Captain's wife, to the once full time
VA employee, why have we lost our medical tricare insurance for our
children, why are we asking for help? My husband holds a masters degree
and we are both educated professionals, what happened to our lives? The
toxic exposures from the burn pits from war happened to our lives and
to thousands of others coming home. It's only a matter of time.
The Torres family advocates for a national registry for the victims of burn pits and are active with BurnPits 360:
BurnPits360
is serving as a pathway of advocacy to assist veterans, their families,
and civilian contractors who have been negatively affected by toxic
burn pits. Contractors were assigned the task of properly disposing of
any and all trash on military installations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
other locations in the Middle East. Unfortunately, instead of using
incinerators, the contractors disposed of the waste through toxic burn
pits and now thousands of veterans have been put at serious risk.
BurnPits360
is inviting anyone that has been affected from exposure to toxic burn
pits and environmental hazards to sign up on the registry. We are
conducting a voluntary cohort anonymous study with Dr. Szema at Stony
Brook University. The study simply requires self-reporting your
information on the online registry, providing a proof of military
service (DD-214), a signed legal consent form, and additional
questionnaires. This study will help to provide vital information to
doctors and researchers that will help properly diagnose and treat the
vast array of medical complications arising from these exposures. It
will provide the Department Of Defense and the Department Of Veteran
Affairs with data that will allow them to develop a healthcare model
for specialized healthcare specific to toxic exposures and
environmental hazards.
The importance of
this registry is to serve as a model for all military personnel,
civilian contractors, and their families to self-report injuries and
deaths from toxic exposure from burn pits and other environmental
hazards. It will also assist in proving causation and the correlation
between the exposure and the illness, as well as determine all areas of
possible exposure. It will provide the VA with the data needed to
develop legislative language for the development of a compensation and
pension category specific to toxic exposures.
Most
importantly, this study is completely anonymous. None of your personal
information will be shared at any time. (In such cases where
information would ever need to be made public, it would not be done so
without the members written consent, whereas the veteran, contractor,
and/or their family have the option to decline to participate at that
time.)
Should you be interested in participating in the study, please contact Burn Pits 360 via email [burnpitadvocates@burnpits360.org] or by telephone [361-816-4015].
In addition, the first ever Burn Pit Symposium takes place next month.
1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deplyoment to Iraq & Afghanistan
Studies Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research
and Engineering Laboratory, Manchester, NH)
3:15 - 3:45 Toxicologically Relevant Characteristics of Desert Dust and Other
Atmospheric Particulate Matter, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Ph.D. (Research
Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)
3:44 - 4:15 In-situ Mineralogy of the Lung and Lymph Nodes, Gregory Meeker, M.S.
(Research Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)
Continuing Medical Education Credits
The
school of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, is
accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical
Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The
School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brooke
designates this live activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with
the extent of their participation in the activity.
We'll
return to this topic in the snapshot and I'll offer comments about
Senator Jim Webb (hisses) on this topic but this morning, let's focus
on the story Rosie Torres was brave enough to open her heart and share
in the hopes that it helps others. (Her story above will appear in full
in the snapshot today.) Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate
Veterans Affairs Committee which has just released their updated
hearing schedule:
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
United States Senate
112th Congress, Second Session
Hearing Schedule
Update: January 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 2:30 pm 345 Cannon HOB
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Disabled American Veterans
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 10 am SR-418
Hearing: The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget for Veterans' Programs
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 10 am SDG-50
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Veternas of Foreign Wars
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 10 am SR-418
Hearing: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: VA's Progress on its 5 Year Plan
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 10 am SDG-50
Joint
Hearing :Legislative Presentation of the MIlitary Order of the Purple
Heart, IAVA, Non Commissioned Officers Association, American
Ex-Prisoners of War, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior
Project, National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs,
and The Retired Enlisted Association
Thursday, March 22, 2012 10 am 345 Cannon HOB
Joint
Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Paralyzed Veterans of America,
Air Force Sergeants Association, Blinded Veterans Association, AMVETS,
Gold Star Wives, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Officers
Association of America and the Jewish War Veterans
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 10 am SR-418
Nomination
Hearing: Nomination of Margaret Bartley to be Judge of United States
Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans Claims and Coral Wong Pietsch to
be Judge of United States Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans Claims
Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, the political
crisis continues, Nouri launches another verbal attack on Turkey's prime
minister, Talabani tries to keep the peace from a sickbed, US President Barack
Obama gives a speech dubbed State of the Union, and more.
Sir Talks A Lot gave his State of the Union speech last night. A more
accurate summary of the state of the union was delivered last Thursday in Harlem
by Ralph Poynter.
Ralph Poynter: I want you to know that we all should have known
better when Mr. Obama said that he was for change and peace. I want you to know
that we should have known better when he started to run and he went to the Black
Caucus to ask for their support. When they asked him why hadn't he supported
the issues of the Black Caucus, his words were he did not want to be tainted by
the Civil Rights Movement. We all know that Fannie Lou Hamer only wanted to
vote. This is what Mr. Obama did not want to be tainted by; therefore, when we
choose not to support Mr. Obama we want him to remember all of his words where
he did not want to be tainted by the Civil Rights Movement, he said stop
whimpering, stop whining, stop yammering. So we want to say to Mr. Obama when
we don't show up to vote, stop whining! Stop whining, Mr. Obama! We no longer
believe that you will stand for anything. You never stood for the First
Amendment right of free speech. You never stood for the Fifth Amendment right
to have an attorney. You never stood for anything that didn't support the
corporations. We are standing for all of the people not the corporations. Mr.
Obama, we are going to send you back home to Chicago where you helped destroy
the projects. We need someone who stands for housing. We need someone who
stands for jobs. We need someone who will be true to the words they say.
Goodbye Mr. Obama.
Ralph, husband of political prisoner and legendary attorney Lynne Stewart,
delivered the speech as a call and response with the over 400 gathered outside
the Apollo Theater which was shut down for Barack's private fundraiser. On this
week's. Black Agenda
Radio, hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey, (airs each Monday
at 4:00 pm EST on the Progressive Radio
Network), they play the speech and report on the protest. We'll
excerpt a section of co-host Nellie Bailey being interviewed by Don
DeBar.
Nellie Bailey: This rally was called by Occupy Harlem along with a number of
other sponsors and endorsers. And we're here to send a clear message to
President Obama that he will not come to Harlem and not receive a scathing
message of his service to the 1%.
Nellie Bailey: And now we have three wars going on. Not only that,
we have a military budget greater than all of the military budgets of the
nation-states in the world combined. That is where we are. And we have seen
the expansion of war under Obama than under President Bush. We have the
National Defense Authorization Act
under Obama, not under Republican Bush. We have NDAA that can be used by any
sitting president including right-wing Republicans.
Don DeBar: And what is the NDAA, for
people who aren't familiar with it?
Nellie Bailey: It is the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012
that authorizes the indefinite detention, arrest without judicial review,
charges of any American citizen on American soil at the behest of the
president. Only the president of the United States can authorize this and we
say that this is dangerous despite the fact that President Obama says that he
would not authorize the use of NDAA but he has proven in so many instances that
he does not tell the truth and we know that he can and will authorize the use of
this bill. And we believe that this bill and the passage, particularly at the
beginning of an election year, is to outflank the Republicans in terms of his
right-of-center agenda and, secondly, to have a law that will crush any militant
dissent and protest here in this country as the US plutocracy and oligarchy
expand their illegal wars, occupation and military aggression against
nation-states.
Nellie Bailey was one of the organizers of the successful protest. As Glen Ford notes here (link is text and audio) and
as Nellie Bailey notes here (link is text), there
has been a strong effort on the part of 'allies' to distort the protest in terms
of number and who turned out. It was at least 400 strong and it was a success.
On the National Defense Authorization Act, later in the program Glen Ford spoke
to Chris Hedges about it. Excerpt.
Glen Ford: Veteran journalist Chris Hedges fears that anyone can
be thrown into prison without trial under the preventive detention bill signed
into law by President Obama so Hedges has sued the president. We asked Hedges
how he decided to take on the White House.
Chris Hedges: It actually wasn't my idea. Carl Mayer who has been
involved in lawsuits to defend the assaults against civil liberties including
the ACLU lawsuit against the FISA reform act -- of which I am one of the
plantiffs -- came to me and said, "Look, under this legislation, someone like
you could be, potentially because of the nebulous language, charged. You've had
direct, personal contact with groups that the state has defined as terrorist
organizations. There are no provisions in this legislation to exempt
journalists. Would you be willing to be a plantiff?" And I said
yes.
Glen Ford: Particularly ominous in this legislation is the use of
the term "substantial support," not material support.
Chris Hedges: Right.
Glen Ford: And most people think they understand what material
support is --
Chris Hedges: Right.
Glen Ford: -- giving money, passing a gun, something, but
substantial support?
Chris Hedges: Right and it could be substantial support for
something called associated forces so it leaves open such a broad interpretation
that there is no protection for someone like me under this law or I think for
ultimately any kind of dissident because there has been a clear effort on the
part of the security state to try and tar the Occupy Movement as a movement
that's an enemy of American democracy. When you look at the list or the
criteria by which the Attorney General's office can investigate people for
terrorism, tossing in a couple of obstructionist tactics by the Occupy Movement
isn't much of a stretch. I mean, people who are missing fingers on one hand,
people who store over seven days of food and provisions, people who have weather
proof ammunition. I mean, they're going to have to round up my entire family in
rural parts of Maine.
Glen Ford: That's their profile of the potential
terrorist.
Chris Hedges: Yeah, as 'worthy of investigation.' We know that
there are at this point probably tens of millions of Americans who, because of
the FISA reform act, whose e-mails, home messages, all of which are being
monitored by the government
Glen Ford: In terms of substantial support, that could be
interpreted as speech, giving aid and comfort to someone that they declare is
the enemy.
Chris Hedges: Yeah, the way the law is written is, when you read it
really closely, really terrifying because it's the whim of the security and
surveillance state whoever they want to go after they can pretty much do so
under this piece of legislation and then, of course, the way they do it is to
use the military to carry out extraordinary rendition on American
streets.
In the news around the world and even in the United States on
Tuesday was the anger among Iraqis at the failure of the United States to hold
anyone seriously accountable for the 2005 massacre in Haditha. The story was a useful
reminder of how the operations of the U.S. military over the past decade have
fueled hostility toward our nation. President Obama began his State of the
Union speech Tuesday night by absurdly claiming the exact opposite, asserting
that the war on Iraq has made us safer and -- I kid you not -- "more respected
around the world." He later equated the war on Iraq to World War II, a surefire
way to put anything beyond criticism in the United States, provided you can get
people to fall for it. Remember, this is the guy who won the Democratic
Primary in 2008 by the simple fact of having not yet been in the Senate in 2003
and thus having avoided voting for the war that he funded to the hilt as a
senator beginning in 2005. He had called it a dumb war. Now he says it made us
safer. If it was dumb, was he dumber? What is he trying to say? In the next
breath, Obama says "some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home." Never
mind that there are three times as many U.S. troops in Afghanistan now as when
Obama moved into the White House. The myth is that he's ending wars. Never mind
that he was compelled to end the Iraq War, in so far as it has ended, by the
treaty that Bush and Maliki created, and which Obama sought every possible way
to violate. Never mind that Iraqi hostility toward U.S. criminals being granted
immunity from prosecution was the primary reason that the Iraqi government
insisted on the Bush-Maliki withdrawal date. A myth is a myth, and who will
question it and still keep their job on U.S. television?
As noted yesterday, reality spoiled Barack's
plans for self-stroking over Iraq in the State of the Union. As a result, last
night Barack Iraq was only five sentences in the over one hour speech:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some
of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute
to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought --
and several thousand gave their lives. We gather tonight
knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more
respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no
Americans fighting in Iraq. [. . .] Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to
strike decisive blows against our enemies.
As noted this morning, what stood out in the speech was how inauthentic
Barack was and how shocking that was since this was his fourth State of the
Union speech:
It's partly because there's no speech writer in charge able to say,
"Nice phrase, but it doesn't fit with the rest of the speech. It's clunky in its
'beauty' and causes people to notice it as opposed to noticing the point being
made." So you get a variety of 'voices' in one speech. And Barack's not able to
maintain consistency for more than seven minutes tops so that hour-plus
performance last night was brutal, like watching Elizabeth Berkley struggle to
breathe life into Nomi in Showgirls.
"Proud salute to the colors under which . . ." That's exactly the sort of
phrase that stands out because one of the writers thought it was "beautiful" and
they -- the writers -- horsetraded for their favorite moments. It's part of the
reason Barack sounded like an idiot. One moment, 'Oh, I'm so serious and the
economy and Congress must do this and without drama blah blah blah' and now I'm
going to tell my milk joke ha ha. Now let me switch tone again and maybe
they'll love me the way they loved Sally Field when she played Sybill!" It was
awful and, for Brenda who wanted it included again, that includes his unnatural
speech pattern which, as Ava and I observed several years
ago, is ripe for parody:
We watched
Monday in full as Barack uh-uh-uhed and spoke in that robotic manner that allows
him to find more unnatural pauses than Estelle Parsons and Kim Stanley combined.
"He's our Method president!" we quickly gasped while wishing we could have one
president this decade capable of normal speech. If he gets any worse, he'll be
Sandy Dennis.
Let's review the five sentences on Iraq.
1) Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home
some of our last troops to serve in Iraq.
He knew to say "some" because military families have gotten very vocal
about the fact that not everyone came home from the Gulf -- meaning not just the
fallen but also the fact that US troops remain in Iraq -- Marines to guard the
diplomatic sites, soldiers to be 'trainers' for weapons [which Al Arabiya points out Nouri al-Maliki noted today,
"American soldiers in Iraq work as military trainers"] and Special-Ops -- and
that thousands of troops have been repostured outside of Iraq in the surrounding
region. Rowan Scarborough (Washington Times) reported Tuesday
on all the troops being kept in the Gulf region:
About 50,000 U.S. military personnel are serving in
and around the Gulf. Most are aboard ship or in Kuwait. News reports from the
region say 15,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Kuwait as a check against a
destabilizing situation in Iraq and the threat of aggression by
Iran. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham
Lincoln strike group sailed into the Gulf on Monday. Carrier contingents
typically include a guided missile cruiser, two destroyers and an attack
submarine. In all, more than 30 U.S.
ships and about 22,000 sailors are in the Gulf area.
"Some" may have been the most intelligent moment of the speech.
2) Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under
which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought -- and several thousand
gave their lives.
This was the State of the Union. Why is it members of Congress are able to
note the number but Barack can't. We pointed that out last month when he gave
his Andrews Air Force Base speech. As commander in chief, he shouldn't be
saying "thousands," he should know the number (his speech writers should) and he
should state it. The Defense Dept's official count is at 4487 American military personnel died in the illegal
war.
3) We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has
made the United States safer and more respected around the world.
He really lies.
You lie too much
You lie too badly
You want everything for nothing
-- "The Windfall (Everything For Nothing)," written by Joni Mitchell,
first appears on her Night Ride Home
The illegal war did not make America 'respected around the world.' There's
a reason, and even Barack knows this, that in 2004, Americans in
college, traveling abroad, were encouraged to keep a low profile, maybe even
pretend to be Canadian. Yes, it sounds like a Simons' episode but it did
happen, Steve Giegerich (Associated Press) reported on
it. That was 2003. Four years later, Anne Applebaum (Slate) would offer this:
It isn't just that the Iraq war invigorated the anti-Americanism
that has always been latent pretty much everywhere. Far worse is the fact that
-- however it all comes out in the end, however successful Iraqi democracy
becomes a decade from now -- our conduct of the war in Iraq has disillusioned
our natural friends and supporters and thrown a lasting shadow over our military
and political competence. However it all comes out, the price we've paid is too
high.
As is
usual in Washington these days, there was no mention -- probably no
consideration -- of Japan. But a strong case can be made that the Iraq war hurt
America's reputation in Japan as much, if not more, than in any other allied
country.
The
consequences are evident today in the increasingly bitter dispute over a
replacement for the US Marine Air Station Futenma, on Okinawa, which is
scheduled to be closed. They are reflected in the broader calls in Japan these
days for a "more equal" alliance relationship with the United
States.
The
Okinawa dispute predates the Iraq War, and the calls for more equality in the
alliance were inevitable. But deep concerns and disappointment about American
'unilateralism' and haughty, heavy-handed
diplomacy, prompted by the Iraq War, have made those sentiments more salient and
intense.
No, it did not help the image of America.
4) For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans
fighting in Iraq.
Well we really don't know what Special Ops is doing in Iraq or the CIA or
the FBI. We do know all three are involved in 'terrorist' 'hunting' and that
Special Ops continues to have the ability to operate throughout Iraq. We don't
talk about it too much but we know it and it's even made it on air on network
television. And, of course, many Iraqis have questions about the numerous
Americans that have been arrested in the last two months in Iraq.
5) Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows
against our enemies.
And that may be the most disturbing statement in the speech.
Decisive blows against our enemies? Whatever happened to the peace that was
supposed to follow a war? Barack claims the war has ended and then starts
making vengeful statements that harken to a deliberate search for 'foreign
adventures.' The laugh is, yet again, on the Nobel Peace Prize Committee who
gave a peace award to Barack because they liked how he posed for magazines
covers.
Barack tried to talk tough. al Qaeda in Mesopotamia -- created by the Iraq
War, didn't exist until then -- knows a bit more about tough up close than a
little prince who went to prep school in Hawaii -- and in what some will dub
"the terrorist response," they issued a statement today. AP reports that they declare, "America
has been defeated in Iraq. They pulled out because its economics and human
losses were unbearable. America's bankruptcy and collapes is imminent. This is
the real reason behind the withdrawal."
Today in Iraq, many look to the US today as a result of yesterday's
sentencing. Stan Wilson and Michael Martinez
(CNN) reports Staff Sgt Frank G. Wuterich, who entered a guilty plea,
will not serve any time for his part in the Haditha killings which claimed 24
lives November 19, 2005. Raheem Salman and Patrick J.
McDonnell (Los Angeles Times)
quote a teacher in Haditha, Rafid Abdul Majeed, stating, "The
Americans killed children who were hiding inside cupboards or under beds. Was
this Marine charged with dereliction of duty because he didn't kill more? Is
Iraqi blood so cheap?" Fadhel al-Badrani (Reuters) quotes Ali Badr stating,
"This sentence gives us the proof, the solid proof that the Americans don't
respect human rights." AFP reports, "The Baghdad government
vowed on Wednesday to take legal action after an American marine was spared jail
by a US military court over the massacre of 24 unarmed civilians in the Iraqi
town of Haditha in 2005." James Joyner offers his opinion of the verdict at
The Atlantic while Gulf News' editorial board concludes,
"Prosecutors have just committed a final indignity against the victims of
Haditha." Salman and McDonnell observe, "Overall reaction
in Iraq to Wuterich's plea appeared somewhat muted Tuesday, reflecting, Iraqis
say, an already deeply rooted skepticism about the U.S. justice system. Iraqis
are also distracted by a political crisis that some fear could result in renewed
sectarian warfare: At least 10 people were killed Tuesday in bombings in
Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, a Shiite Muslim stronghold."
Ivan Eland (Antiwar.com) observes of the political
crisis, "In Iraq, even before U.S. forces had withdrawn, Shi'ite
President Nouri al-Maliki was taking the country back toward dictatorship. Now
that American forces are gone, with attempts to arrest the Sunni vice president
and the detention of other prominent Sunnis, Maliki is accelerating the process.
Meanwhile, the radical Sunni group al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia is stepping up
attacks on Shi'ites, hoping to re-ignite the sectarian civil war of 2006 and
2007. With Iraq's long history of rival ethno-sectarian groups in conflict,
Sunni dictators, and no culture of political compromise needed for democracy,
the prospects for an imposed democracy taking root were never great."
In
an attempt to end the political crisis Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and
Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for a national
conference. Over the weekend, Talabani went to Germany for spinal surgey and,
as a result, missed the planning meet-up for the national conference (it's
supposed to be rescheduled shortly).
Al Mada reports Talabani spoke on
the phone from his sickbed in Germany yesterday with an envoy for Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani with the envoy passing on al-Sistani's hopes that
Talabani has a swift recovery and outlining al-Sistani's concerns regarding the
ongoing political crisis and the importance of resolving the differences. This
morning Al Rafidayn reported that the
rumors are Iraqiya will resume attending sessions of Parliament and Cabinet
meetings and that this will help lead to a resolution over Vice President Tareq
al-Hashemi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq. Rumors of the return have
sprouted repeatedly and I'm not seeing anything in this one that makes it any
different. I am confused as to how the political crisis ends with the resolution
of al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq. I grasp that the bulk of the US press messes up the
timeline but Iraqiya announced their walkout on a Friday, the following Saturday
is when Nouri began attacking al-Hashemi publicly and two days later, Monday,
December 19th, is when the arrest warrant for al-Hashemi was issued. The point
being, the political crisis is about more than those two officials. It is about
the failure to implement the Erbil Agreement and Nouri's power-grabs primarily.
That's why there's been the call -- by Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama
al-Nujaifi for a national conference. Clearly a national conference couldn't
resolve the al-Hashemi issue ("clearly" because various participants have
demanded that it not be part of the national conference). Aswat al-Iraq notes National Alliance MP
Mohammed al-Sayhood is okay with Iraqiya continuing their walkout and believes
it may be a "step forward for the emerging democatic process in Iraq." Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) reports
Iraqiya meets tomorrow to determine whether or not they continue their
boycott
Nouri started the political crisis and he started a row with Turkey. Along
with speaking to al-Sistani's representative, Aswat al-Iraq reports:
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has received a phone
call from Turkish President Abdullah Gull, the first of its kind since the
crisis that occurred due to the so-called "crisis of statements" between both
countries, a presidential statement reported on Tuesday. The statement, as was received by Aswat al-Iraq news
agency, stressed that "during his phone call with Talabani, Gull wished
continued health and prosperity for the Iraqi President," reiterating the
significance of continued efforts, exerted to achieve national consensus and his
continuous efforts to expand relations of friendship and cooperation between
Iraq and Turkey."
Hurriyet Daily News reports the Islamic
Supreme Council of Iraq's leader Ammar al-Hakim went to Turkey to meet with
Preisdent Abullah Gul, Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutogu -- but that the public exchanges between Nouri and Recep Taylor would
not be the focus of the meetings. And while al-Hakim met with officials of one
of Iraq's largest trading partners, Nouri sounded off again. Today's Zaman explains, "Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday again criticized Turkey's 'interference'
in Iraq's affairs, waring Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Edrogan to change his tone
in a weeks-long battle of words between Maliki and his Turkish
counterpart."
"What do they want to
achieve?" says this man watching the latest victims being carried away. "What do
they want from all these killings? Will this end? What did the people do to be
killed? A blind man who sells newspapers, another selling soup. What did those
innocent people do? What do they want from the people?"
Violence
continues today. Deng Shahsa (Xinhua) notes Sahwa leader Mulla
Nadhim al-Jubouri was shot dead Tuesday night in Dhuluiyah: "Jubouri, who is
introduced by the media as an expert with al- Qaida affairs, was a member of
Dhuluiyah's most respected religious families. He first joined al-Qaida to fight
the Americans after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but then he switched sides to
become leader of one of the U.S.-backed Awakening Councils that fought al-Qaida
in his volatile country in north of Baghdad." Sammer N. Yaccoub (AP) adds that three years ago, the
US detained him on suspicion of bringing down a US helicopter in 2006 and that
"Postings on an Islamic extremist website celebrated al-Jubouri's death." Reuters notes a Baquba roadside
bombing which injured one police officer.
Turning to the United States where Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee which has just released their updated hearing
schedule:
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
United States Senate
112th Congress, Second Session
Hearing Schedule
Update: January 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 2:30 pm 345 Cannon
HOB
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Disabled American
Veterans
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 10 am SR-418
Hearing: The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget for Veterans'
Programs
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 10 am SDG-50
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Veternas of Foreign
Wars
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 10 am SR-418
Hearing: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: VA's Progress on its 5
Year Plan
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 10 am SDG-50
Joint Hearing :Legislative Presentation of the MIlitary Order of
the Purple Heart, IAVA, Non Commissioned Officers Association, American
Ex-Prisoners of War, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project,
National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, and The Retired
Enlisted Association
Thursday, March 22, 2012 10 am 345 Cannon
HOB
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Paralyzed Veterans
of America, Air Force Sergeants Association, Blinded Veterans Association,
AMVETS, Gold Star Wives, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Officers
Association of America and the Jewish War Veterans
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 10 am SR-418
Nomination Hearing: Nomination of Margaret Bartley to be Judge of
United States Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans Claims and Coral Wong
Pietsch to be Judge of United States Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans
Claims
Matthew T. Lawrence
Chief Clerk/System Administrator
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
202-224-9126
Lastly, many US service members and veterans, as well as contractors, have
returned to the US sick due to exposure to burn pits. For some, these are
breathing issues that cause hardship, tremendous hardship. For others, the
exposure has cost them their lives. Next month is the first ever scientific
symposium on Burn Pits:
1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deplyoment to Iraq &
Afghanistan
Studies Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions
Research
and Engineering Laboratory, Manchester, NH)
3:15 - 3:45 Toxicologically Relevant Characteristics of Desert
Dust and Other
Atmospheric Particulate Matter, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Ph.D.
(Research
Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)
3:44 - 4:15 In-situ Mineralogy of the Lung and Lymph Nodes,
Gregory Meeker, M.S.
(Research Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver,
CO)
Continuing Medical Education Credits
The school of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brook, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical
Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brooke designates this live activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the
extent of their participation in the
activity.
"What
do they want to achieve?" says this man watching the latest victims
being carried away. "What do they want from all these killings? Will
this end? What did the people do to be killed? A blind man who sells
newspapers, another selling soup. What did those innocent people do?
What do they want from the people?"
Violence continues today. Deng Shahsa (Xinhua) notes
Sahwa leader Mulla Nadhim al-Jubouri was shot dead Tuesday night in
Dhuluiyah: "Jubouri, who is introduced by the media as an expert with
al- Qaida affairs, was a member of Dhuluiyah's most respected religious
families. He first joined al-Qaida to fight the Americans after the
U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but then he switched sides to become leader
of one of the U.S.-backed Awakening Councils that fought al-Qaida in
his volatile country in north of Baghdad." Sammer N. Yaccoub (AP) adds
that three years ago, the US detained him on suspicion of bringing down
a US helicopter in 2006 and that "Postings on an Islamic extremist
website celebrated al-Jubouri's death." Reuters notes a Baquba roadside bombing which injured one police officer.
Even with everything taking place in Iraq, many look to the US today as a result of yesterday's sentencing. Stan Wilson and Michael Martinez (CNN) reports
Staff Sgt Frank G. Wuterich, who entered a guilty plea, will not serve
any time for his part in the Haditha killings which claimed 24 lives
November 19, 2005. Raheem Salman and Patrick J. McDonnell (Los Angeles Times) quote
a teacher in Haditha, Rafid Abdul Majeed, stating, "The Americans
killed children who were hiding inside cupboards or under beds. Was
this Marine charged with dereliction of duty because he didn't kill
more? Is Iraqi blood so cheap?" Fadhel al-Badrani (Reuters) quotes
Ali Badr stating, "This sentence gives us the proof, the solid proof
that the Americans don't respect human rights." Salman and McDonnell
observe, "Overall reaction in Iraq to Wuterich's plea appeared somewhat
muted Tuesday, reflecting, Iraqis say, an already deeply rooted
skepticism about the U.S. justice system. Iraqis are also distracted by
a political crisis that some fear could result in renewed sectarian
warfare: At least 10 people were killed Tuesday in bombings in
Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, a Shiite Muslim stronghold."
Ivan Eland (Antiwar.com) observes of the political crisis,
"In Iraq, even before U.S. forces had withdrawn, Shi'ite President
Nouri al-Maliki was taking the country back toward dictatorship. Now
that American forces are gone, with attempts to arrest the Sunni vice
president and the detention of other prominent Sunnis, Maliki is
accelerating the process. Meanwhile, the radical Sunni group al-Qaeda
in Mesopotamia is stepping up attacks on Shi'ites, hoping to re-ignite
the sectarian civil war of 2006 and 2007. With Iraq's long history of
rival ethno-sectarian groups in conflict, Sunni dictators, and no
culture of political compromise needed for democracy, the prospects for
an imposed democracy taking root were never great."
And the
official to feel sorry for right now is Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
who just had spinal surgery and is attempting to deal with the mess
Nouri's created in Iraq as well as the increased tensions with Turkey
which Nouri also created. Al Mada reports
Talabani spoke on the phone from his sickbed in Germany yesterday with
an envoy for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani with the envoy passing on
al-Sistani's hopes that Talabani has a swift recovery and outlining
al-Sistani's concerns regarding the ongoing political crisis and the
importance of resolving the differences. Meanwhile Al Rafidayn reports
that the rumors are Iraqiya will resume attending sessions of
Parliament and Cabinet meetings and that this will help lead to a
resolution over Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Deputy Prime
Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq. Rumors of the return have sprouted repeatedly
and I'm not seeing anything in this one that makes it any different. I
am confused as to how the political crisis ends with the resolution of
al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq. I grasp that the bulk of the US press messes
up the timeline but Iraqiya announced their walkout on a Friday, the
following Saturday is when Nouri began attacking al-Hashemi publicly
and two days later, Monday, December 19th, is when the arrest warrant
for al-Hashemi was issued. The point being, the political crisis is
about more than those two officials. It is about the failure to
implement the Erbil Agreement and Nouri's power-grabs primarily. That's
why there's been the call -- by Talabani and Speaker of Parliament
Osama al-Nujaifi for a national conference. Clearly a national
conference couldn't resolve the al-Hashemi issue ("clearly" because
various participants have demanded that it not be part of the national
conference).
Iraq's
President Jalal Talabani has received a phone call from Turkish
President Abdullah Gull, the first of its kind since the crisis that
occurred due to the so-called "crisis of statements" between both
countries, a presidential statement reported on Tuesday. The
statement, as was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency, stressed that
"during his phone call with Talabani, Gull wished continued health and
prosperity for the Iraqi President," reiterating the significance of
continued efforts, exerted to achieve national consensus and his
continuous efforts to expand relations of friendship and cooperation
between Iraq and Turkey."
Tuesday, January 24, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, Baghdad is slammed
with bombings, Nouri goes after Turkey (again), the political crisis continues,
executions in Iraq continue, and more.
Today bombs slammed Baghdad. Aswat al-Iraq states, "These explosions
remind the people of the 2006-2007 events." Alsumaria TV quotes an
unidentified police source stating of the aftermath of a Sadr City car bombing,
"Ambulance cars rushed to the incident site and transported wounded to a nearby
hospital for treatment and the corpse to the department of forensic medicine."
Yasir Ghazi and Duraid Adnan
(New York Times) quote
bombing victim Emad Jasim asking, "Where are my legs? Tell me where my legs are.
Why are they not there?" Peter Cave (Australia's ABC News)
notes that in addition to the bombing in the Sadr City section of
Baghdad, the capital saw three other bombings and quotes Ahmed Ali on the Sadr
City bombing, "We were all standing waiting to earn our living and all of a
sudden it was like a black storm and I felt myself thrown on the ground. I
fainted for a while then I woke up and hurried to one of the cars to take me to
the hospital." Press TV notes two Sadr City
bombings, the first targeting workers, like Ahmed Ali, the second "outside a
bakery half an hour later." Of the other two bombings in Baghdad, Al Manar explains that a Shula car
bombing claimed 2 lives and left sixteen people dead and a Al-Hurriya bombing
claimed 1 life and left thirteen people injured. BBC News adds, "Officials said a
roadside bomb also exploded on the Muthanna airport road in central Baghdad,
wounding at least six people."
In all of the Baghdad bombings, the Telegraph of London counts 14 dead.
AP counts 11 dead in Sadr City.
Sadr City is a Shi'ite neighborhood of Baghdad, often referred to by the press
as "a slum," inhabited by followers of Moqtada al-Sadr. Reportedly approximately
one million people live in Sadr City (Iraq has not had a census in decades). Reuters notes 14 dead and seventy-six
injured. Dan Morse and Aziz Alwan (Washington Post) report that there
was also a home invasion in the Abu Ghraib section of Baghdad, police Captain
Hassan Abdulla al-Timinimi was killed and so was "his family."
Outside of Baghdad, Reuters notes a Ramadi roadside bombing
which claimed 2 lives and left three people injured, a Shirqat roadside bombing
claimed 1 life and left another person injured, 1 person was shot dead in a
barber shop and the owner was left injured, 1 corpse was discovered in Mosul, a
Mosul roadside bombing injured one person, a Kirkuk sticky bombing left two
police officers injured and, dropping back to last night for the rest, a Jalawla
sticky bombing left one police officer injured, a Baquba mortar attack injured
one child and a Tuz Khurmto sticky bombing claimed the life of 1 Sahwa.
This and other recent violence is said to have spoiled plans for Iraq to be
a heavy point in tonight's State of the Union address so Sir Talks A Lot will
have to find something else to spin. But not everyone's silent on Iraq. "Far
from being 'too soon'," argues Phyllis Bennis, "the U.S. troop withdrawal
from Iraq came more than eight years too late -- and still, the war isn't over.
This war should never have been launched, so it can't be ended soon enough."
Bennis was part of Monday's Debate Club at US News & World Report.
Michele Dunne argues that the US military left
too soon (the US military remains in Iraq, Marines with the State Dept, soldiers
as 'trainers,' Special Ops, etc.). She insists that the country was not stable
enough for the US to leave, "Knowing that Americans would expect Iraq to become
a success within a few years -- and that this most likely would not happen --
was one reason why I was not in favor of the 2003 invasion. But invade we did,
and the question at hand now is whether US forces staying longer than eight
years would have made a difference in how stable, peaceful, and democratic Iraq
ultimately will be." Also arguing yes is Helle Dale: "For the Iraqi
people, the consequences of the premature American withdrawal will be
instability, resurgence of terrorism and an uncertain future for Iraq's
fledgling democracy. On December 22, a wave of violent, coordinated attacks
killed at least 57 people, and just days after the December 15th withdrawal
ceremony, the dominantly Shiite government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
purged many Sunni Arab leaders. Political instability is sure to follow. The
Iraqi army and air force training will suffer as will air operations, the Iraqi
air force having few helicopters and planes." Danielle Pletka is another on the it was a mistake to
pull troops, "Here's what success in Iraq looks like: democratic elections,
sectarian comity, independence in foreign policy, al Qaeda stymied, cooperating
with the United States, and self-sufficiency. Iraq didn't look completely like
that in early 2011, but it was headed in the right direction. Here's what Iraq
looks like now: en route to Shia autocracy, sectarian fighting, substantial and
rising Iranian influence, al Qaeda resurgent, and an almost certain economic
downturn rooted in instability." Like Bennis, Christopher Preble argues the US should have left
sooner (and argues the US should never have invaded), "No amount of
additional sacrifice by our brave men and women in uniform would change the
final fundamental truth about Iraq: The Iraqis wanted their country back. Now
they have it. I wish them well." US House Rep Dennis Kucinich agrees with Bennis
and Preble and Kucinich notes the financial costs and the costs in lives
(including over a million Iraqis killed) before concluding with this, "The war
was supposed to last only a few months. Nearly nine years later, it still isn't
over, as weapons are now wielded by a different agency and private contractors.
Because there has been no accountability for the lies that killed millions, it
is now easier than ever for America to start wars for spurious reasons. The war
in Iraq should never have happened." That's six arguments -- three for, three
against -- and the Debate features 12 arguments. You can also vote on your
favorite argument. Currently Phyllis Bennis is at number one with 42 votes in
favor of her argument. (All women making arguments were feature in the above
excerpts. This isn't NPR where they disappear women from their live primary
coverage. Had there been six women, as a tonic to NPR, the six excerpted would
have all been women.) Congratulations to US News & World Reports
for hosting a serious discussion on the Iraq War.
Back to Iraq and back to violence, Navi Pillay, the United Nations' High Commissioner
for Human Rights registered her dismay today over learning that Thursday,
January 19th, Iraq executed 32 men and 2 women. She stated, "Even if the
most scrupulous fair trial standards were observed, this would be a terrifying
number of executions to take place in a single day. Given the lack of
transparency in court proceedings, major concerns about due process and fairness
of trials, and the very wide range of offences for which the death penalty can
be imposed in Iraq, it is a truly shocking figure." The UN notes that in the
last seven years, Iraq is thought to have executed 1,200 people. Pillay stated,
"Most disturbingly, we do not have a single report of anyone on death row being
pardoned, despite the fact there are well documented cases of confessions being
extracted under duress. I call on the Government of Iraq to implement an
immediate moratorium on the institution of death penalty." Iraq is among a
number of other countries that carry out executions. (The United States also
carries out executions.) Amnesty International notes, "The worldwide trend
towards abolition of the death penalty recorded further progress in 2010. One
more country, Gabon, abolished the death penalty for all crimes and the
President of Mongolia established an official moratorium on executions. For the
third time, the UN General Assembly adopted with more support than ever before a
resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. In 2010, 23
countries carried out executions and 67 imposed death sentences in 2010.
Methods of execution in 2010 included beheading, electrocution, hanging, lethal
injection and shooting. Countries that retain the death penalty defended their
position by claiming that their use of the death penalty is consistent with
international human rights law. Their actions blatantly contradicted these
claims."
You might think violence like the above would get Nouri focused on
nominating people to head the security ministries or addressing the political
crisis, but you would be wrong. When violence rises in Iraq, Nouri sees the
answer as attacking neighbors. Nouri's again creating problems with Turkey.
In Iraq, the political crisis continues. Nouri
started it and now he wants to expand it, apparently, to go beyond Iraq's
borders. How else to explain his attacks today on the Prime Minister of Turkey?
Today's Zaman
reports, "Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki has harshly criticized Turkey for its what he said 'surprise
interference' in his country's internal affair, claiming that Turkey's role
could bring disaster and civil war to the region -- something Turkey will itself
suffer." Interfere? Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cautioned
that the political crisis could lead to a civil war in Iraq and has called on
parties to start a real dialogue to resolve the issues. That's really not
"interfering." But what has Nouri so ticked off is that Erdogan also stated the
very plain fact that Nouri started the political crisis. It's a fact, Nouri
doesn't like facts, but that doesn't change the status. AFP quotes Nouri stating,
"Recently, we noticed their surprise interventions with statements, as if Iraq
is controlled or run by them. Their latest statements interfered in domestic
Iraqi affairs . . . and we do not allow that absolutely. If it is acceptable to
talk about our judicial authority, then we can talk about theirs, and if they
talk about our disputes, we can talk about theirs. Turkey is playing a role that
might bring disaster and civil war to the region, and Turkey itself will suffer
because it has different sects and ethnicities." It's always funny when Nouri
unleashes his crazy in public. That was what bothered the French government the
most about the White House backing Nouri in 2010, that Nouri was clearly
unstable and that's who Barack wanted to rule Iraq? Crazy Nouri. KUNA reports Nouri and
Erdogan were on the phone Thursday discussing the situation in Iraq. And now,
today, Nouri's parading the crazy. At this rate, the bullet to the head so many
observers feel is in Nouri's immediate future just may come from his own gun.
While Nouri was showing the world how unhinged he
is, the Turkish Press reports that
Erdogan was speaking on the phone with US Vice President Joe Biden about Iraq:
"Reportedly, Erdogan said to Biden that if Iraq distances itself from the
culture of democracy, efforts previously exerted for peace and stability will be
wasted. Sources added that Erdogan and Biden also indicated that authoritarian
and sectarian policies will never benefit Iraq and that Turkey and the US
consider benefit in holding dialogue and consultations regarding the
developments in Iraq."
Not content at lashing
out at politicians in his own country, Nouri appears determined to expand the
political crisis into the entire region. Al
Mada notes that Nouri is
stating the remarks of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will cause a
catastrophe. Hyperbole's always been a part of Nouri's make up. Kitabat also notes Nouri's attack on Erdogan and how he accuses
Erdogan's call for Iraq to resolve the political crisis as Turkey interfering in
Iraq's domestic affairs. You've heard of a pep squad? Well Nouri has a thug
squad. And Al
Mada reports that State of
Law, on Saturday, joined Nouri in attacking Edrogan and the country of
Turkey.
Following days of those public and bullying remarks, Nouri's thugs decided
to grab the rocket launchers. Wednesday the Turkish Embassy in
Baghdad was attacked. Though Nouri could and did bully, he had no
public remarks to make on the embassy being attacked.
World Bulletin explains Turkey's Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared today, "The idea that 'Turkey is
interfering in our domestic affairs' is a very ugly and unfortunate one. Mr.
Maliki should know very well that if you initiate a period of clashes in Iraq
based on sectarian strife, it is impossible for us to remain silent." He also
stated, "We expect the administration in Iraq to display a responsible stance
that will stem sectarian clashes." Thus began today's call in response, what AGI terms the "war of words." Jonathon Birch (Reuters) quotes Nouri's
official statement, "This is not acceptable in the dealings between officials or
different states and especially from heads of state. Mr. Erdogan has to be more
careful in handling the usual protocols in internationl relations." Catherine Cheney (World Politics Review)
offers, "According to Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert at Lehigh University,
the recent escalation in tensions is simply the latest and most pointed in a
series of diplomatic divergences between Turkey and Iraq, which have found
themselves on opposite sides of a growing number of issues since the beginning
of the Arab Spring."
Sammy Ketz (AFP) reminds, "At the
weekend, Iraq said that Turkey, Iran and unnamed Arab countries were trying to
'intervene' in Baghdad's month-long political crisis and not respecting its
sovereignty." Saturday, Saud al-Zahid (Al Arabiya) reported, "Commander of
Iraqn's Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani has said that the Islamic
Republic controls 'one way or another' over Iraq and south Lebanon and that
Tehran is capable of influencing the advent of Islamist governments in order to
fight 'arrogant' powers, ISNA student agency reported on Thursday." Following
that announcement, there were four responses. Alsumaria TV reported,
"Iraqi Sadr Movement headed by Cleric Sayyed Muqtada Al Sadr rebuked, on Friday,
Iranian Quds Forces Commander Qassim Suleimani for declaring that Iraq is
subject to Iran's will and that there is a potential to form an Islamic
government in Iraq. These statements are unacceptable, Sadr Movement argued
assuring that it doesn't allow any pretext to interfere in Iraqi internal
affairs." KUNA noted that Iraqi
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari released a statement which includes, "Iraq has
not and will never be affiliated to anyone and will not be a toy in others' game
or a place to settle scores between different parties." Alsumaria TV also noted Kurdistan
Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman objecting to the statements and terming them "a
blatant interference in the affairs of Iraq." And Aswat al-Iraq reported: the
Iraqiya's spokesperson Maysoon al-Damalouji condemned the statement and called
for the Iraqi government to officially respond to it. But Nouri had no
statement on Saturday or since. However, he has managed to pick a fight with
Turkey repeatedly in the last two weeks.
The United States Institute of Peace released "Iraq, It's Neighbors, and the United States:
Competition, Crisis, and the Reordering of Power." Among other things, it
notes the increased trade between Turkey and Iraq, how Iraqi oil will likely
influence the relations between Iraq and Turkey (and Iraq and Syria and Iraq and
Jordan), and that water issues "complicate Iraq's ties with Iran, Syria, and
Turkey for the forseeable future."
Again Baghdad was slammed with bombings today and Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observes,
"The latest attacks raised concerns among ordinary people about the ability of
Iraqi security forces to ensure security in this country, particularly after the
United States withdrew troops by the end of 2011. However, Iraqi people are more
concerned now about the political crisis." The ongoing political crisis was
started by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who demanded that Deputy Prime
Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq be stripped of his post and that Vice President Tareq
al-Hashemi be arrested for terrorism. al-Mutlaq and al-Hashemi both belong to
Iraqiya which came in first in the March 2010 elections (Nouri's State of Law
came in second). The two men are also Sunnis. Nouri appears to be targeting both
Sunnis and Iraqiya as evidenced by several arrests last week. (Iraqiya is a
political slate made up of Shi'ites -- such as leader Ayad Allawi, Sunnis and
others. It's success in the 2010 elections echoed the main thread of the 2009
provincial elections which was that Iraqi voters wanted to move away from
sectarian politics.) Along with arresting various politicians, Nouri's also
decided that he can toss out members of his Cabinet who are members of Iraqiya.
He's decided he can do that even though the Constitution is clear that a prime
minister can only remove a member of the Cabinet with the approval of
Parliament. Parliament's held no vote but Nouri insists he's removed
members.
The chief task of the prime minister is building a strong
Cabinet. That's why when the president of Iraq names a prime minister-designate
they have 30 days to name their Cabinet (propose nominees and have Parliament
vote on them). If, per the Constitution, they're not able to do that within 30
days, then the president is supposed to select another prime minister-designate.
In November 2010, Nouri was named prime minister-designate. As December 2010
drew to a close, he was illegally moved to prime minister. He had not proposed a
full Cabinet. Most noticeable, the security ministries (Ministry of Interior,
Ministry of National Security and Ministry of Defense) were empty. The US press
rushed to assure it was only a matter of weeks (as if the 30 day deadline in the
Constitution didn't matter?) while his critics declared Nouri would not name
anyone to the posts, that this was a power-grab on Nouri's part and he intended
to control the ministries by refusing to name real ministers. (His so-called
'acting' ministers are not real ministers. They have not been approved by
Parliament for those positions so they have no real power and are merely rubber
stamps for Nouri.)
It's one year and a month later and Nouri still hasn't
managed to name people to those posts. His inability to do so speaks to his
failure as a leader and underscores that the Constitution had a 30 day
requirement for a reason. One who is so indecisive and laid back to security
should not be put in charge of a country that has seen violence inflicted by
foreigners as well as by native persons.
The Constitution does not allow
a prime minister to -- all on their own -- remove a minister and that's because
they're supposed to have used their best judgment when proposing the Cabinet. If
they didn't, it's up to the prime minister to persuade the Parliament to strip a
minister of his/her post.
Nouri's repeated violations of the Constitution
are setting a very dangerous pattern should Iraq ever, under the current system,
get a new prime minister. If the Constitution's not going to be the supreme law
of the land, then there are no checks and balances on the three branches of
government. The only thing more appalling than Nouri's failure to follow the
Constitution is the US press refusing to call out these violations.
Since
mid-December, President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama
al-Nujaifi have been calling for a national conference to address the the
political crisis. Two Sundays ago, there were a meet-up of major blocs to
outline some aspects of the conference. Last Sunday was supposed to see a second
meeting that would firm up the details; however, Talabani had to go to Germany
for spinal surgery so the meeting was postponed. Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) reports the National
Alliance is of differing views on the issues and that Nouri held a meeting
yesterday with a few invited players where he insisted that (a) "political
crisis" not be used (the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq rebuked the notion that
the situation should not be described as a "crisis"), (b) that it not be called
a "national conference" and other details to obscure reality of the mess he
caused.
The political crisis has been building for months. The March 2010
elections were followed by eight months of Nouri refusing to surrender the prime
minister post or allow Iraqiya the first shot at forming a coalition government.
Nouri had the White House's backing or he wouldn't have survived those eight
months. To end the stalemate, the US government helped broker an agreement known
as the Erbil Agreement in which Nouri was allowed to remain prime minister but
he would need to create an independent security commission headed by Allawi and
he would need to honor the Constitution's requirement for a referendum on Kirkuk
(per the Constitution, that was supposed to have taken place by the end of 2007
but Nouri ignored it in his first term).
Nouri used the Erbil Agreement
to become prime minister -- it can be argued the Erbil Agreement was why he was
moved from prime minister-designate to prime minister even though he failed to
meet the Constitutional requirement -- and then trashed it. These days, Nouri
and his sycophants (including those who pass themselves off as 'independent
analysts' but are really just part of the Nir Rosen Locker Room) insist the
Erbil Agreement is unconstitutional. If that's the opinion that will prevail
then Jalal Talabani needs to explain Nouri was illegal and unconstitutionally
moved from prime minister-designate to prime minister.
Al
Sabaah notes that Nouri also spoke with Ibrahim al-Jaafari
yesterday. The two are political rivals so that should have been interesting.
(al-Jaafari was the choice in 2006 to be prime minister, to, in fact, continue
as prime minister -- but the White House overruled the Parliament and insisted
on Nouri.) al-Jaafari's office issued a statement stating that they had
discussed ways to address the country's national priorities. Meanwhile Bahaa
al-Araji of the Sadr bloc met with Iraqiya members and they addressed the issue
of the charges against Tareq al-Hashemi agreeing that politicians should not be
making charges in the media -- Nouri -- and that the matter should be left up to
the judiciary. Alsumaria reports that
Tareq al-Hashemi has referred to Nouri's nonsense statements a few weeks back as
a "joke" and not believable. Isaiah's The
World Today Just Nuts "Here's Nouri"
illustrated that moment -- Nouri whining, "Wah! They made me
go after Tareq al-Hashemi!" When even Nouri realized he'd gone too
far and was ticking off Iraqis -- regardless of their sect or ethnicity -- he
began insisting to the press that he didn't want to arrest Tareq al-Hashemi but
the judiciary insisted he do so or he would be arrested himself! (If that's true
-- no, it's not true -- then shouldn't the judiciary have arrested Nouri by now?
Not only is al-Hashemi a guest of President Jalal Talabani's and not arrested
but Nouri waited until after al-Hashemi left Baghdad to issue the warrant. So
shouldn't Nouri be arrested?)
Trend reports that the "Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu criticized Iraqi internal policy, saying that the events in Iraq
show that the country's stability is threatened and Turkey excludes the
possibility of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi's involvement in terrorist
acts in the country."
In the United States, a film is about to get its NYC debut. David Zeiger
directed the award winning documentary Sir! No Sir! about resistance within the ranks
during Vietnam. His new documentary is This Is Where We Take Our
Stand about the 2008 Winter Soldier hearings. Iraq Veterans Against the Wars
notes a benefit screening ($15 a ticket) in NYC on February 1st, 7:00
pm, at the IFC Center and:
The film will also air on PBS around
the country, thanks to generous support from the National Educational Television
Association. Due to the controversial nature of the film, many local PBS
stations will relegate 'This is Where We Take Our Stand' to their smaller and
less widely available affiliates. We urge you to contact your local PBS station
and encourage them to air the film on their major channel. http://thisiswherewetakeourstand.com/?p=376
