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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wednesday, July
15, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, realities about the 'movement'
to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, did Mullen strong arm the Kurds,
details emerge about the Iranian diplomats held hostage, and more. The
report by the Government Accountability Office found wide variation in
the medical centers' facilities and programs for female
veterans.
Investigators visited 18 veterans'
facilities and found that basic services, like pelvic examinations,
were being provided and that patients had access to female providers
for gender-specific care. But the facilities were lacking in some
simpler accommodations, such as the configuration of exam rooms and
privacy in check-in areas.
The department says it is
taking comprehensive steps to improve, including programs for primary
care and mental health care for female veterans, along with having a
female veterans' program manager in each of its medical
facilities. WASHINGTON,
D.C. -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans'
Affairs Committee, held an oversight hearing to outline gaps in VA care
for women veterans and highlight strategies to bridge those gaps.
Akaka gathered a panel of women veterans and representatives from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Government Accountability
Office to share their personal experiences and views on the VA system.
The witness testimony yesterday illustrated the gap between the
Department's wide array of services for women veterans and the actual
experiences of many women veterans. "VA
plans many valuable programs and services for women veterans. However,
our witnesses demonstrated that VA must do more than just set mandates
-- the Department must ensure that women veterans know about the
services available to them and are given assistance to receive them," said Akaka.
Witnesses included: Genevieve
Chase, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, and founder and
executive director of American Women Veterans. During her service in
OEF, Ms. Chase was attacked by a suicide vehicle-borne, improvised
explosive device (IED) and returned home with symptoms of PTSD and
TBI. Jennifer
Olds, who served during the first Gulf War. She discussed her
experiences dealing with Military Sexual Trauma (MST), the difficulties
of rehabilitating, and the strengths and weaknesses of the care she
received at VA. Kayla
Williams, who was part of the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 and is
currently on the Board of Directors of Grace After Fire. As a soldier
with the 101st Airborne Division (Airborne Assault), she came under
small arms fire and was mortared -- an experience she shares with other
women veterans despite the myth that female servicemembers don't
experience combat situations. She testified about VA care from her own
experiences. Tia
Christopher, a veteran and Women Veterans Coordinator for Swords to
Plowshares. VA determined she has service connected PTSD associated
with MST. She described for the committee the changes she has seen
since her discharge eight years ago and the need for additional
changes, such as child care for male and female
veterans. Joy
Ilem, a veteran and Deputy National Legislative Director for the
Disabled American Veterans. She testified that when she left the
service in the 1980s, there was little to no information for women
veterans and that she neither recognized herself as a veteran or knew
she was entitled to VA benefits for disabilities she incurred in
service. Two decades later, Ms. Ilem feels that VA is finally taking
steps in the right direction to address the needs of women veterans. The
Veterans Health Care Reauthorization Act (S. 252), Chairman Akaka's
omnibus veterans' health care bill that was unanimously approved by the
Committee earlier this summer includes provisions to help VA understand
why outreach to women veterans is falling short by identifying the
barriers women veterans face when seeking care from VA. S.252 would
also authorize VA to: Implement a program to educate, train, and certify professionals to provide MST-related mental health care (more background here);
Establish
a pilot program to provide child care for veterans who require
intensive care and are primary caretakers;
Report
to Congress whether there is at least one full-time women veterans'
program manager at each VA Medical Center; and
Provide care for the newborns of eligible women veterans. The
Chairman's opening statement, as well as the witnesses' written
testimony including the Government Accountability Office's audit of VA
health care for women, is available here. Senator
Patty Murray: Ms. Williams, you mentioned that you were both a care
giver and a care seeker. You're husband was in the military. I assume
that that is fairly common for a woman to be married to a fellow
military officer and be in the same position. What can be done to help
us care for women veterans who are not only dealing with their own
readjustment issues but our dealing with spouse or children as well? Kayla
Williams: I think that it's important that care be more comprehensive.
And you're right, the percentages are very high. Among active duty
enlisted married female service members, over 50% are married to other
service members -- compared to only 8% of their male peers. And my
husband and I were both enlisted. I know that the VA is trying very
hard to do outreach. I once got a call, for example, asking if I had
sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury as part of their outreach efforts to
make sure that they're catching everybody. And I said, "No, I didn't
but I'm glad you called because my husband did and our family is in
shambles right now I don't know how to hold myself together and my
family together and keep my job and I'm struggling really hard here.
And he said, "Well I can't really help you with that. I'm calling to
ask if you've suffered a brain injury." And that's the way that I
think that we can try to make sure that we're addressing entire
families. If you have one -- if you have a service member who has
sustained an injury -- both while they're in the DoD and once they've
transitioned to VA care -- making sure that their familiy is being
taken care of is an important step. I know The VA does not cover
care for family members but if they learn that the spouse is also a
veteran, it's important that they take the extra step and reach out and
contact them proactively and ask if they need help as a caregiver.
And, of course, this does apply to both male and female spouses, it's
just the number of female spouses is much higher. US
Senator Patty Murray: I hear a lot from women about the access of child
care being a barrier to the VA. You, several of you, mentioned this in
your testimony and I don't think a lot of people realize that you tell
a woman there's no child care, they just simply don't go, they don't
get their health care. Do you for all the panelists, do you think that
the VA providing child care would increase the number of women veterans
who go to the VA and get the care that they need? Joy? Joy
Ilem: I would say definitely. I think researchers have repeatedly
shown this as a barrier for women veterans and that's the frustration,
you know? How many research surveys do you have to do when women keep
saying this is a barrier to access for care? And I think it was Kayla
who mentioned the experience of someone who was told it was
inappropriate for them to bring their child with them and some of
these very personalized for appointments for mental health or other
things -- it may be very difficult but they have no other choice. I
think it would definitely be a benefit and we would see an increase in
the number of women veterans who would probably come to VA. Senator Patty Murray: Ms. Williams? Kayla
Williams: I definitely think that usage rates of the VA would increase
if women knew that they had child care available. There are a variety
of innovative ways that we could try to address the problem of
women having to balance their needs of child care with their needs to
get services. Among them would be increasing the availability
of tele-help and tele-medicine where women don't have to necessarily go
all the way to a remote facility and spend four hours trying to get to
and from and then be in-care. And there are also opportunities for
innovative programs. For example, the VA has small business loans
available if they could provide loans to women veterans who want to
provide child care facilities near VA facilities, that would be a great
way to try to marry these two needs. There are also a lot of community
organizations that stand ready and waiting to help that would be happy
just given a small office to staff it with volunteers and be able to
provide that care for the time that a woman has to be in appointment.
I think, as many others have said, the specific solutions may vary by
location but there are a lot of innovative way that we could forge
public-private partnerships to try to meet these needs. We'll
be covering the topic again tomorrow. If you use the link in the press
release from the Committee, you'll not only have their written
testimony, you'll also have the option of streaming the hearing.
Genevive Chase was on the second panel and she was part of last Wednesday's Voices of Honor
press conference. US House Rep Patrick Murphy is gathering public
attention to the need to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Monday he was
on the start of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show with USA Today's Susan Page filling in for Diane. Susan
Page: Before we go to our panel, though, we're joined on the phone from
Bucks County Pennsylvania by Patrick Murphy. He's the Democratic
Congressman from Pennsylvania's eight district and an Iraq War
veteran. Congressman, thank you for joining us. US House Rep Patrick Murphy: Thanks so much, Susan, for having me on. I appreciate it. Susan
Page: Now last week you announced that you would lead an effort to get
Congress to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. What - what would your bill
do? US House
Rep Patrick Murphy: Sure. It will repeal the discrimantory practice
which is in effect right now: The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy does not
allow the gay soldiers to serve openly in the military. And, Susan, the
reason why this policy needs to be repealed, uh, right away is because
it is hurting our national security. We have let go over 13,000
troops. That's over three-and-a-half combat brigades at a time when
our troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and we need every
qualified and able-bodied individual to serve in our military. Susan Page: Now what kind of experiences did you have on this issue when you were serving in Iraq? US
House Rep Patrick Murphy: Sure. Well first, you know, when I was in
Baghdad as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, you know,
there were obviously gay soldiers [. . .] there were gay soldiers
serving with us. You know, it's, people knew it but they didn't talk
about it. The fact is that our troops, when they're - when they're in
Baghdad or whether they're in Kabul, Afghanistan, they don't care
whether you're gay or straight, what religion you are, what color you
are, what creed you are, they care whether or not you can fire an M4
assault rifle, whether or not you can kick down a door, can you get the
job done. That's the important thing, not what your orientation is. Susan
Page: Now President Obama campaigned last year during the presidential
election opposing Don't Ask, Don't Tell so why not have him issue an
executive order that would change this policy or lift it? US
House Rep Patrick Murphy: Sure. Well first it was an act of Congress
that put this all into place, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. And it
will take an act of Congress to repeal it. You know, when I was a
Democrat -- and I've only been in Congress, as you know Susan, for two
and a half years -- you know I used to have a hard time and I used to
criticize President Bush when we would pass laws and he would have
these executive signing statements that basically would say, "I know
Congress passed such and such, but we're going to ignore that part of
it." That's not having the proper respect for co-equal government. And
it just got worse, oh so much worse. Patrick apparently believes
you're Dumb Ass Stupid and unaware that Barack's doing the same signing
statements today -- most recently with regards to the IMF issue in his
war supplemental. And there's something really pathetic about the
approach he's pushing. I'm not talking about his shameful covering for
Barry O. I'm talking about this bulls**t of, "Our national interest!"
What does it remind you of because it reminds me of Bette Midler in Big Business
at the big stock holder meeting saying that they're appealing to your
instinct to "Save your own ass!" It's really pitching it to the
lowest, basest argument around and, in doing so, it's telling you a
great deal about how the American people are seen. It's disgusting. How
sad that America can't be asked to do anything for equality
apparently. I do wonder what that says about how we see ourselves.
And, remember, on this issue, we lag behind. We're not leaders. Is
that what happens when we're not leaders, we can no longer appeal to
people to do the right thing? We have to be selfish and say, "It's
hurting this or that?" That's a lousy argument in reality. Now we
need the best military? Now? I would assume anyone serving in the
eighties or seventies would assume that they needed the best military.
I appreciate that Patrick Murphy is speaking of the topic (all that's
taking place is speaking -- if the House wanted to vote on this, they
already would have, we'll come back to that point) but I didn't "serve
with gays and lesbians in the military." I am friends with gays and
lesbians and I have family members who are gays and lesbians. It's not
an issue that's going to come up every few years at some military
reunion for me, it's a regular part of the fabric of human life. And
I'm very aware that there is a growing vocal disgust within the gay
community over the way this is being presented. Fair is fair, right is
right. This is the United States of America and we are all supposed to
be equal. Anytime that argument isn't made -- with or without 'oh the
money it costs us!', it is heard by an increasingly vocal segment of
the LGBT community as, "Your life is too 'icky' for us to defend on the
grounds of fairness." That's offensive. And it's all the more so when
it comes from a would-be gay-leader assoicated with the campign who an
actual gay rights leader refers to as "The self-loathing Bette Midler
freak -- who is all for that approach -- and he apparently enjoys
seeing himself as 'icky' when getting 'freaky' -- but Gay Pride long
ago made self-loathing unfashionable." If you want to get serious, get
serious. Playing the economy card isn't getting serious. Playing the
scare people with fear ("National security!") isn't getting serious.
Now you can include those reasons as part of a tapestry of reasons why
the policy needs to be repealed; however, if you're not also making the
fairness argument, you're being insulting -- and it doesn't matter if
you're straight or gay, you are being insulting to the LGBT community.
The Voices org plans to go on tour. They better their act together
before they do or plan to play to just straight audiences because I
knew about Murphy's appearance Monday and just intended to ignore them
(I also thought -- on the same broadcast -- Julian E. Barnes made an
ass out of himself -- along with demonstrating he doesn't actually know
the law). But I live in the Bay Area and we don't play the Plessy v.
Ferguson game with each other out there. Translation, very vocal
leaders from that area are complaining and raised the issue. I
listened, their complaints and valid and we will cover it. And
here's the big point. Fairness needs to be argued because it is a
value. An actual value. One enshrined in the Constitution of the
United States. Long after Don't Ask, Don't Tell is gone, the LGBT
community and other communities will still need the fairness argument
for equality. So no one -- straight, gay, bi, non-sexual, what have
you -- benefits when the fairness argument is tossed aside. Is it
worth it, though, in the short term, when the US could see the hideous
Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed. Don't Ask, Don't Tell isn't getting
repealed anytime soon. Congress doesn't give a
damn about changing this policy. This is a song-and-dance to take the
heat of Barack. That's the reality. I will assume Patrick is serious
about this issue. Ellen Tauscher was. But the White House doesn't want
this. (And I know that from friends at the White House which is another
reason we're covering this topic so strongly today.) And it's not
happening short of intense pressure (the October rally in DC could
apply tremendous pressure). The myth is that Barry O wants to repeal
it. And that he's tasked Congress with getting a bill on his desk so
he can repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The reality is that House and
Senate leadership (Democratic control of both houses) would be putting
it to a vote immediately if that's what Barack really wanted. He
doesn't want it and the leadership is attempting to bury it. The
bill's written, it's called the Military Readiness Enahncement Act of 2009.
Ellen Tauscher introduced it March 3, 2009. It's July 15th. There has
been no vote despite the fact that there are 161 sponsors. Now that's
the House. In the Senate? Allegedly the issue will be steered by Ted
Kennedy. Other than Senator Roland Burris, no one in the Senate has
spoken publicly in support of changing it in the last few weeks when
it's been a major topic in the press. As for Kennedy leading on it?
He has other issues including his own health and promoting his upcoming
book. So you have a bill that, if the House leadership was serious,
they'd be voting on tomorrow. They're not. The White House doesn't
want it and leadership in the House is blocking a vote. (In the Senate
there is no action at all.) So, sorry, we're not gong to be silent
when the LGBT community is being treated as a concern only out of fear
and not out of fairness. That's a short sighted argument and it really
is insulting. It wouldn't cut for Civil Rights, it wouldn't cut it for
universal suffrage, it wouldn't cut it to end slavery. But someone
thinks it's okay to make it the sole argument for ending Don't Ask,
Don't Tell? There's an LGBT history moment the country should run
from: In 2010, due to national security fears, Don't Ask, Don't Tell
was finally repealed. Said Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, "I don't
have to like them, I don't have to respect them and you better believe
I won't let them marry! But I care about national security so even
these 'pervs' get my support." (Sessions didn't say that but it's not
very far from what he would say if it passed.) In
the US today, the morning began with news of violence in Iraq. An
apparent attack on a police checkpoint in Ramadi, capital of Anbar
Province, has resulted in multiple deaths. BBC News says
it was a mini-bus bombing and that the dead number 6 with an additional
seventeen injured (dead actually would number seven -- it was a
'suicide' attack). AP adds
that the dead include five police officers and notes that a funeral for
two other Baghdad police officers -- Hussein Qassim and Jassim Shuwaili
who were killed yesterday -- took place today. Reuters notes,
"Salah al-Obeidi, a doctor at the Ramadi hospital, said some of the
wounded were in grave condition. He said the death toll might rise." As
usual the response is 'crackdown' -- closed streets, etc. In other
violence today, Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
a Baghdad boming "targeting pilgrims" which resulted in 10 dead and
another Baghdad bombing which claimed 5 lives and left thirty-four
injured. As the violence continues, word emerges that the US may be sewing more sectarian strife. Iran's Press TV reports
that US Adm Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visit to
the oil-rich Kirkuk Monday was "a warning to ethnic Kurds" that they
should "forget their dream of annexing Kirkuk". Last week the US military released 5 Iranian diplomats they'd been imprisoning for over two years. CNN noted
that they returned to Iran Sunday where: "They were greeted at the
airport by dozens of cheering men, who placed wreaths around their
necks and carried them on their shoulders from the plane to the airport
building, Press TV pictures showed. Some in the crowd flashed victory
signs, while others took pictures of the returning men." Today Barbara Slavin (Washington Times) reports
on US State Dept talk that three of the imprisoned "were held for more
than two years even though they had not been involved in anti-US
activities and were functioning as diplomats at the time" and that they
were held to be hostages in an effort to strong-arm "Iran to reduce its
support for anti-U.S. violence in Iraq." That is what is being said
and it demands an independent investigation. The US is not supposed to
take hostages. Diplomats have a level of immunity that was violated
when the five Iranians were held. When Robert McNamara did the world a favor and died earlier this month, Democracy Now! aired a roundtable. Historian Marilyn Young (author of many books and recently co-editor of Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam) explained of McNamara: One
of the legacies is that there is none, in a sense. The first clip that
you ran, you could have run it now. About Iraq, several years ago,
about Afghanistan today. It's as if it doesn't go anywhere. There is
knowledge, and then it's erased in between McNamara should be kind of a
morality tale. During his tenure as Secretary of Defense, he initially
-- he was responsible really -- for the initial escalation. In 1964, he
and Bundy gave -- '65, I'm sorry -- gave Johnson what's called "The
Fork in the Road Memorandum," in which they said, "Now, we have really
thought this over and we have two choices. We could increase military
pressure or we could negotiate." And they strongly urged the increase
of military pressure and Johnson went along with that. Not that he was,
you know, I think he was a little unwilling, but that is another
subject. "One of the legacies," she said, "is that there is none." If you doubt her, you've slept through the news cycle. Gordon Lubold (Christian Science Monitor) writes
that four "Advisory and Assistance Brigades" are being sent to Iraq.
These are military troops. But they're "advisory" and "assistance" and
not "combat" troops. (As Thomas E. Ricks
has noted when fully awake, there is no pacifistic wing of the
military.) Lubold is very good at repeating Defense Dept propaganda,
but search in vain for any clue that Lubold is educated. Apparently,
he's not. Apparently, he's one more glorified general studies major.
Maybe it's past time that journalism programs were dropped if this what
they produce? A history major reporting the same news today would
probably be likely to note that "advisors" in Vietnam just signaled
further US involvement. But Lubold's not just unqualified, he's
apparently an idiot or a liar. Xinhua reports the detail he leaves out, and it's a pretty big one: " However, they will also conduct coordinated counterterrorism missions." Repeating Marilyn Young on Vietnam and McNamara, "One of the legacies is that there is none." And there's certainly no legacy of awareness as evidenced by Thomas Friedman and his ridiculous column this morning " Goodbye Iraq, and Good Luck."
Does The World Is Flat And My Ass Is Huge Thomas Friedman really think
the US withdrew from Iraq? Does he think that already happened? In
the bad column, he retells a joke that a Kurdish leader told Mullens
and company Monday in Iraq and then plays
I-know-what-the-Kurd-said-but-here's-what-I-think-he-meant.
(Apparently, Thomas Friedman was too busy autographing bad books and
landfills to ask the man what he meant by his joke.) In his insulting
interpretation, the Kurd was stating that Iraqis love to talk and talk
about their suffering (which is apparently solely the fault of Saddam
Hussein -- in Thomas Friedman's mind -- and has nothing to do with a
six-years-and-counting illegal war or ongoing occupation). In the
joke, the suffer is making a plea for compensation and has to endure
retelling everything that happened to a stranger. Strange -- or maybe
not so -- that Friedman didn't interpret the joke as what the average
person in Iraq has to do for even a morsel today -- prostate themselves
to strangers (i.e. foreigners?) to get ahead? Unlike Friedman, Diana West (Washington Times via Jamestown Sun) is aware that the Iraq War has not ended and she notes in a column today: The
first I heard about what happened to Lt. Col. Timothy Karcher, the last
U.S. commander of Sadr City who recently signed over jurisdiction to
Iraqis, was from a reader. He e-mailed me about my last column, which
argued that "allies" don't declare victory over each other (as Iraq's
prime minister Nouri al-Maliki declared "victory" over the United
States), and the sooner we realize Iraq isn't our "ally," the better.
It also bemoaned the U.S. military's deference to Iraq, quoting top
brass beginning with Gen. Raymond Odierno and including Lt. Col.
Karcher, in their execution of what I, myself, consider a futile U.S.
policy to Westernize Islamic cultures.
"I
appreciate your fervor and feelings about Mr. al-Maliki's comments, but
I must say that your biting commentary regarding the quote from Lt. Col
Karcher has driven me to reply," he wrote. "You may not be aware," he
continued, "but since signing over jurisdiction to the Iraqis, Lt. Col.
Karcher suffered a roadside bomb attack and lost both legs. One of his
men, Sgt. Timothy David of Beaverton, Mich. -- a veteran of six tours
in Iraq and Afghanistan -- was killed by a second EFP." Timothy
Karcher is at Walter Reed currently. The attack which claimed Timothy
David's life took place June 28th, as West observes, "two days before
Iraq's 'victory' celebration". Turning to
England where an inquiry is going into the death of 26-year-old Iraq
Baha Mousa in September 2003 while in the custody of British forces. Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports: Geoff
Hoon, the former Defence Secretary, could be called to give evidence at
a public inquiry into illegal techniques used by British forces in Iraq
to prepare detainees for interrogation. A
list of witnesses has yet to be finalised and his name is not believed
to be on the latest draft. Asked yesterday whether Mr Hoon would be
called as a witness, however, Gerard Elias, QC, counsel to the inquiry,
told The Times: "Possibly." A second lawyer said: "It may well be that
an application will be made to call politicians. However, it is early
days." BBC News (link has video and text) refers
to Baha Mousa's death as "a stain on the British military" and that the
abuse also includes abuses such as urinating on prisoners. The abuses
are in violation of the Geneva Convention and BBC reports that the
inquiry says they will go as high up the chain of command as
necessary. Deborah Haynes reports
that the UK Ministry of Defence is stating that the abuse was the
result of "a lack of trained interrogators" and a 2002 MoD memo states,
" "The lack of prisoner handling and tactical questioning-trained
personnel within deployed force elements risks the loss of potentially
accurate, timely and life-saving information/intelligence during our
fighting operations ... The less well-trained our troops are, the
greater the chance that they may mishandle prisoners" UNITY in the antiwar movement: SAVE these dates: Monday October 5; Saturday October 17; Friday March 19, 2010
I was among the World Can't Wait supporters attending the National Assembly to End the Occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan this weekend in Pittsburgh. Read the proposal
World Can't Wait brought. I'm glad to be able to say that out of the
Assembly came a vote and intention to support a two-week period of
mass, united actions against the occupations from October 3 - October
17, 2009. Based on support of most of the participants, a demand was
added to "end war crimes, including torture."
This
action period includes Monday, October 5 as a mass protest and
non-violent civil resistance action in Washington, at the US House
offices and the White House to mark the US occupation of Afghanistan,
which begun that week in 2001. The period culminates with Saturday
October 17th regional and local actions against the wars. October 17 is
the 40th anniversary of the famous Vietnam Moratorium in 1969 that
Daniel Ellsberg referred to as so huge that it forced Richard Nixon to
shelve plans to nuke Vietnam.
[. . .]
The
arguments against March 19, 2010 were that other groups need to be
consulted before what is likely the largest antiwar conference of the
year decides on a date; and that working people won't take off a week
day to protest. As far as I'm concerned, the antiwar movement has
collapsed and urgently requires decisive, principled leadership now
in order not to become completely irrelevant. So I'm saying, now that
we should have the necessary discussion and planning quickly, and get
on it!
Posted at 04:01 pm by thecommonills
Permalink
Ramadi bombing, Iranians held as hostages, Kirkuk and more
An apparent attack on a police checkpoint in Ramadi, capital of Anbar Province, has resulted in multiple deaths today. BBC News says
it was a mini-bus bombing and that the dead number 6 with an additional
seventeen injured (dead actually would number seven -- it was a
'suicide' attack). AP adds
that the dead include five police officers and notes that a funeral for
two other Baghdad police officers -- Hussein Qassim and Jassim Shuwaili
who were killed yesterday -- took place today. Reuters notes,
"Salah al-Obeidi, a doctor at the Ramadi hospital, said some of the
wounded were in grave condition. He said the death toll might rise." As
usual the response is 'crackdown' -- closed streets, etc. Closed streets? Mike Tharp (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
Iraqi authorities are banning "U.S. forces on the street, except for
supply convoys. The failure to trigger the 'Onstar option' suggests
that the government of Iraq and its military think that they can deal
with the car bombings, homemade bombs and attacks with
silencer-equipped handguns that have plagued parts of the country in
recent days." Meanwhile Barbara Slavin reports the latest on the
Iranian hostages freed last week in " EXCLUSIVE: U.S. held Iranians as 'hostages,' officials say" ( Washington Times): Three
members of Iran's elite Quds Force who were seized in Iraq by the
United States were held for more than two years even though they had
not been involved in anti-U.S. activities and were functioning as
diplomats at the time, a former and a currently serving senior U.S.
official said Tuesday.The
former official, who served in Iraq and was in a position to know about
the issue but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the
topic, said that the three - who were turned over to the Iraqis last
week and then to Iran - were in effect "hostages" taken to try to
persuade Iran to reduce its support for anti-U.S. violence in Iraq.The
second official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because
his account contradicted previous U.S. government statements, said the
three were held as "potential leverage" against Iran, which provided
financial and weapons support to anti-U.S. Iraqis after the 2003 U.S.
invasion. For any wondering, we're not becoming a
Moonie proxie. A) I have no issues with Slavin who has a long history
of reporting. B) I know one of Slavin's sources for the article so I'm
not sitting here thinking, "Is this Moonie 'truth' or reality?" Which
isn't me saying, "It's true!" I am saying, what Slavin's reporting has
been whispered at the State Dept since the release took place. In the previous entry,
we noted Tommy The Quack Friedman's put-down of Iraqis and his feeling
that they were preoccupied with history (as opposed to living in his
Just-Do-It! world). A little history would do the US good right now.
When Robert McNamara did the world a favor and died earlier this month,
Democracy Now! aired a roundtable. Historian Marilyn Young (author of many books and recently co-editor of Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam) explained of McNamara: One
of the legacies is that there is none, in a sense. The first clip that
you ran, you could have run it now. About Iraq, several years ago,
about Afghanistan today. It's as if it doesn't go anywhere. There is
knowledge, and then it's erased in between McNamara should be kind of a
morality tale. During his tenure as Secretary of Defense, he initially
-- he was responsible really -- for the initial escalation. In 1964, he
and Bundy gave -- '65, I'm sorry -- gave Johnson what's called "The
Fork in the Road Memorandum," in which they said, "Now, we have really
thought this over and we have two choices. We could increase military
pressure or we could negotiate." And they strongly urged the increase
of military pressure and Johnson went along with that. Not that he was,
you know, I think he was a little unwilling, but that is another
subject. "One of the legacies," she said, "is that there is none." If you doubt her, you haven't read the morning papers. Gordon Lubold (Christian Science Monitor) writes
that four "Advisory and Assistance Brigades" are being sent to Iraq.
These are military troops. But they're "advisory" and "assistance" and
not "combat" troops. (As Thomas E. Ricks
has noted when fully awake, there is no pacifistic wing of the
military.) Lubold is very good at repeating Defense Dept propaganda,
but search in vain for any clue that Lubold is educated. Apparently,
he's not. Apparently, he's one more glorified general studies major.
Maybe it's past time that journalism programs were dropped if this what
they produce? A history major reporting the same news today would
probably be likely to note that "advisors" in Vietnam just signaled
further US involvement. But Lubold's not just unqualified, he's
apparently an idiot or a liar. Xinhua reports the detail he leaves out, and it's a pretty big one: " However, they will also conduct coordinated counterterrorism missions." Repeating Marilyn Young on Vietnam and McNamara, "One of the legacies is that there is none." Iran's Press TV is reporting on rumors of a development regarding the disputed region of Kirkuk: Analysts
interpret the unexpected trip by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of
Staff to Iraq's northern city of a Kirkuk as a warning to ethnic Kurds.Adm.
Mike Mullen traveled on Monday to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk which
Kurds have claimed as the capital of their autonomous region in the
north.They have drawn up a
draft constitution claiming extra areas as part of the region's
territory, including the ethnically divided Kirkuk province and parts
of Nineveh and Diyala provinces in official Kurdish territory.Yesterday's snapshot noted: And the river dries up as Jenan Hussein (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
on the poverty, "Beggars have become as visible as blast walls and
checkpoints in Iraqi cities. Government ministries don't have reliable
statistics, partly because those who beg fear official crackdowns on
their only livelihood. It's a problem the government has yet to
tackle." This happens as the Oil Ministry brags
it has "acheived (59.1000) million barrels with (3.378) billion dollars
incomes with daily average of (4.400) barrels per day for May and the
raise was (686) million dollars. In comparison with April which
achieved (54.700) million barrels with (2.692) billion dollars incomes."On oil monies, Waleed Ibrahim, Tim Cocks, Missy Ryan and David Gregorio (Reuters) report: Iraq's
oil exports have reached an average 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd)
in July so far, the finance minister said on Tuesday, putting them on
track for the biggest month since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.Higher
revenue from oil plus about $2 billion in fees from mobile phone
companies will give the country a supplementary budget of up to $3
billion, Finance Minister Bayan Jabor told journalists in Baghdad.And
still the people suffer without electricity and running water. And the
cholera outbreak -- the annual cholera outbreak -- is just around the
corner. The monies may not seem high by US standards, but this is a
country with no more than 30 million people. The money is huge and
where it goes is not something anyone's supposed to address in polite
company. Raheem Salman and Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) report that Iraq celebrated Abdul Kareem Qasim and the 1958 "establishment of the modern Iraqi republic": Qasim
was killed by the Baath party in a coup in 1963, bookending his own
power grab five years earlier, which ended with his supporters killing
King Faisal II. By 1963, Qasim had been undone by his poor relationship
with the West, rivalry with Egypt, a Kurdish rebellion in the north and
his own crackdowns against opponents.But
today, state television broadcast a documentary, entitled "Supporter of
the Poor," remembering him in a favorable light. The movie showed
grainy footage of the tall, lanky army general in uniform, invoking
nostalgia for the era before Iraq was plagued by successive wars and
upheaval. The timing was interesting given the ongoing debate in Iraqi
politics about whether the country needs a strong head of state or
whether power should be decentralized and have a series of checks and
balances to avoid the emergence of another autocratic ruler like
Hussein. Two highlights and then we're done. First up Jeremy Scahill's " Is Obama Continuing the Bush/Cheney Assassination Program?" ( Rebel Reports): In
June, CIA Director Leon Panetta allegedly informed members of the House
Intelligence Committee of the existence of a secret Bush era program
implemented in the days after 9-11 that, until last month, had been
hidden from lawmakers. The concealment of the plan, Panetta alleged,
happened at the orders of then-Vice President Dick Cheney.Now, The New York Times is reporting
that this secret program that had "been hidden from lawmakers" by
Cheney was a plan "to dispatch small teams overseas to kill senior
Qaeda terrorists." The Wall Street Journal, which originally reported
on the plan, reported that the paramilitary teams were to implement a
"2001 presidential legal pronouncement, known as a finding, which
authorized the CIA to pursue such efforts."The
plan, the Times says, never was carried out because "Officials at the
spy agency over the years ran into myriad logistical, legal and
diplomatic obstacles." Instead, the Bush administration "sought an
alternative to killing terror suspects with missiles fired from drone
aircraft or seizing them overseas and imprisoning them in secret C.I.A.
jails."The House
Intelligence Committee is now reportedly preparing an investigation
into this program and the Senate may follow suit. "We were kept in the
dark. That's something that should never, ever happen again," said
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein. Withholding
this information from Congress "is a big problem, because the law is
very clear."And this is from Debra Sweet's " The Urgent Need for Decisive and Principled Leadership in the Anti-War Movement" (World Can't Wait): UNITY in the antiwar movement: SAVE these dates: Monday October 5; Saturday October 17; Friday March 19, 2010I was among the World Can't Wait supporters attending the National Assembly to End the Occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan this weekend in Pittsburgh. Read the proposal
World Can't Wait brought. I'm glad to be able to say that out of the
Assembly came a vote and intention to support a two-week period of
mass, united actions against the occupations from October 3 - October
17, 2009. Based on support of most of the participants, a demand was
added to "end war crimes, including torture."This
action period includes Monday, October 5 as a mass protest and
non-violent civil resistance action in Washington, at the US House
offices and the White House to mark the US occupation of Afghanistan,
which begun that week in 2001. The period culminates with Saturday
October 17th regional and local actions against the wars. October 17 is
the 40th anniversary of the famous Vietnam Moratorium in 1969 that
Daniel Ellsberg referred to as so huge that it forced Richard Nixon to
shelve plans to nuke Vietnam.The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqmike tharpmcclatchy newspaperspress tvthe washington timesthe christian science monitorgordon luboldmarilyn youngdemocracy nowmissy ryantim cockswaleed ibrahimthe los angeles timesraheem salmanned parkerjeremy scahilldebra sweet
Posted at 07:03 am by thecommonills
Permalink
Two columnists tackle Iraq today. One for a right wing outlet (the Washington Times) the other for a 'liberal' paper ( New York Times).
Who really embarrasses themselves? It would be great if we could say
Diana West who writes for the Washington Times. But that's not the
case. From the opening of her " In Iraq, soldiers still suffering and dying" (The Jamestown Sun): The
first I heard about what happened to Lt. Col. Timothy Karcher, the last
U.S. commander of Sadr City who recently signed over jurisdiction to
Iraqis, was from a reader. He e-mailed me about my last column, which
argued that "allies" don't declare victory over each other (as Iraq's
prime minister Nouri al-Maliki declared "victory" over the United
States), and the sooner we realize Iraq isnt our "ally," the better.
It also bemoaned the U.S. militarys deference to Iraq, quoting top
brass beginning with Gen. Raymond Odierno and including Lt. Col.
Karcher, in their execution of what I, myself, consider a futile U.S.
policy to Westernize Islamic cultures."I
appreciate your fervor and feelings about Mr. al-Maliki's comments, but
I must say that your biting commentary regarding the quote from Lt. Col
Karcher has driven me to reply," he wrote. "You may not be aware," he
continued, "but since signing over jurisdiction to the Iraqis, Lt. Col.
Karcher suffered a roadside bomb attack and lost both legs. One of his
men, Sgt. Timothy David of Beaverton, Mich. -- a veteran of six tours
in Iraq and Afghanistan -- was killed by a second EFP."West
notes she was not aware and then explains that Timothy David died in
the June 28th attack ("two days before Iraq's 'victory' celebration")
and that Timothy Karcher is still at Walter Reed. West explains she
wasn't aware of it until her reader pointed it out. She goes on to
explore a few topics and does so with more spine than many a centrist
columnist playing left. Contrast that with the latest garbage
from Thomas Friedman. And before we go further, does anyone really
believe for a moment that when a reader writes him to point something
out or correct him that he does anything other than immediately delete?
Does anyone really believe Mr. Know It All would ever open a column (or
even close one) that way West has? The Idiot Friedman's column is entitled " Goodbye Iraq, and Good Luck"
and just from the title you're aware that The World Is Flat And My Ass
Is Huge Thomas Friedman can't address reality with any depth but can
continue to offer breezy, facile snap readings with little-to-no
bearing on reality. Tommy packed his bag at night pre-flight,
caught a military flight to Kirkuk and he was always high as a kite.
He's a dumb ass, burning up his fuse out there alone. In Kirkuk, the US
military meets with "provincial leaders" ("Sunnis, Kurds, Turkmen and
Christians") and Tommy declares, "It's my lucky day." (It's never the
readers' lucky day when Friedman has a new column.) Why? Because while
various leaders offered what they needed, one (Rebwar Talabani)
declared, "I want to tell a joke." I think Thomas Friedman may
have misheard. The leader may have said, "I want to talk to a joke."
Regardless, the joke recounts a man who suffered under Saddam Hussein
(no one suffers under the US occupation in Friedman's world -- that's
the subtext of the column and the reason he includes the joke). The man
is illiterate and he goes to a worker who, for money, writes letters.
(No, it's not a very realistic joke.) The man tells the worker his
decades of suffering and the worker writes it up. The man reads over it
and declares, "That is so beautifully done. I had no idea all this
happened to me." Rebwar Talabani told the joke but you know Thomas Friedman's got to 'improve' on it, patronizing ass that he is: Talabani's
joke seemed to have been directed as much to his fellow Iraqis as to
Admiral Mullen. My translation: "Everyone here has a history, and it's
mostly painful. We Iraqis love to tell our histories. And the more we
do, the better they get. But with you Americans leaving, we need to
decide: Do we keep telling our stories, or do we figure out how to
settle our differences?""The better they get"? The suffering is better to Thomas Friedman? "We love to tell our histories?" The
joke could easily about technocrats (the worker) and what the average
citizen has to go through and/or is at the mercy of. The joke doesn't
imply any of the "Do we keep telling our stories, or do we figure out
how to settle our differences?" I belive the term for what gas bag
Friedman has done is: Projection. It's an insulting column
throughout (and it's interesting how he fails to explain he was
supposed to go beyond Kirkuk -- in fact, straight to Baghdad -- but was
prevented from that due to a sandstorm). "I am amazed in talking
to U.S. Army officers heere as to how much they've learned from and
about Iraiqs." What? The US doesn't interact with anyone but the thugs
put in place and the collaborators. They have no idea -- outside a
house raid -- what the average Iraqi is like. Thomas Friedman is a dumb
ass. Then he sells the illegal war and illegal occupation as a
good thing because, despite "some shameful legacies here of torture and
Abu Ghraib, . . . we also left a million acts of kindness" and allowed
the Iraqis the 'joy' of seeing "the melting pot of U.S. soldiers around
them". Oh joy. Lucky, lucky Iraqis. Thomas Friedman been
selling this illegal war over and over and it's disgusting. The left
wants to get riled up every few months over right-winger William
Kristol. They whined and carped over his employment at the New York
Times and now at the Washington Post but Kristol goes on TV and
everyone knows he's a right winger. Thomas Friedman's the clear and
present danger. He's a quack who has justified illegal war and global
policies that hurt multiple peoples around the world. And he's still
brought on as a 'respectable' and, yes, 'left' voice. Cleaning house is
never fun. But it is required. And it's amazing that Kristol, a
right-winger, takes up so much of ire when he's doing what the right
does while Thomas Friedman pretends to be left day after day and does
great damage as a result. Most people don't follow every detail. They
turn on the TV and there's Thomas Friedman. Name's familiar. He's left?
Oh. Okay, what's he's saying. Well, I don't agree but I don't know all
the issues, maybe he's right . . . . That's how people like
Friedman do real danger and he should have been loudly called out over
the previous years but it's as if Judith Miller took all the heat off
him and, even after she left, no one could be bothered. Turning
to England where an inquiry is going into the death of 26-year-old Iraq
Baha Mousa in September 2003 while in the custody of British forces. Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports: Geoff
Hoon, the former Defence Secretary, could be called to give evidence at
a public inquiry into illegal techniques used by British forces in Iraq
to prepare detainees for interrogation.A
list of witnesses has yet to be finalised and his name is not believed
to be on the latest draft. Asked yesterday whether Mr Hoon would be
called as a witness, however, Gerard Elias, QC, counsel to the inquiry,
told The Times: "Possibly." A second lawyer said: "It may well be that
an application will be made to call politicians. However, it is early
days." Meanwhile Iraqi Christians have been targeted
throughout the illegal war but Saturday saw a new wave of attacks in
Baghdad and Mosul. Amnesty International has issued " Iraq: Amnesty International condemns attacks on Christian minority:" Amnesty
International is greatly concerned by the recent spate of attacks on
Christian churches in Baghdad,which killed four civilians and injured
more than 30others. Amnesty International condemns such attacks and
demands that those responsible cease attacking civilians.On
Sunday, 12 July2009, five Christian churches in Baghdadwere targeted in
bomb attacks. The most serious attackoccurred close to the Virgin Mary
Church on Palestine Street in central Baghdad early on Sundayevening,
when acar bomb was detonated killing four civilians, Christians and a
Muslim, and injuring at least 21other people, mostly women and
children. Three other people were injured by abomb explosion outside a
church in the Dora district, south of Baghdad, which also damagedthe
churchbuilding.Attacks
targeting Iraqi civilians, including members of ethnic and religious
minorities, have intensified in recent weeks. On 9 July two suicide
bombings were carried out in Tal Afar, a predominantly Turkoman town
near Mosul, which killed 34 people and injured more than 60 others. No
armed group has yet claimed responsibility for these attacks.Hundreds
of people have now been killed by armed groups and many more injured in
the run-up to and following the 30 June deadline for the pullout of US
troops from Iraq's cities and towns as stipulated for by the Status of
Forces Agreement (SOFA), a security agreement signed between Iraq and
the US at the end of 2008 and which entered into force in January this
year.As direct attacks
on civilians and on religious buildings these church bombings
constitute war crimes. To the extent that these bombings are part of a
widespread or systematic attack on the civilian population of Iraq in
furtherance of an organization's policy, they would constitute crimes
against humanity. War crimes and crimes against humanity are among the
most serious crimes under international law.These attacks must be
stopped immediately and those responsible must be brought to justice.Public DocumentFor
more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.orgInternational Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.orgMichelle A. Vu's " Iraq Heightens Church Security after Bombings" ( Christian Post) offers the timeline for those who missed the latest wave of attacks: Meanwhile,
Iraq's vice president Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Muslim, "strongly
condemned" the attacks on churches in a statement posted on his Web
site. He called on the country's security forces to locate the culprits
and allow justice to take place.Over the course of just 48 hours, seven Iraqi churches were bombed starting midnight Saturday with a church in Baghdad.Following
the first bombing, another five Baghdad-area churches were bombed on
Sunday the last of which was attacked at 7 p.m. as worshippers left
mass. The explosion killed four people - three Christians and one
Muslim and injured at least another 32.Then
on Monday, a church in the northern city of Mosul which is home to
Iraq's largest Christian population outside of Baghdad was bombed.
Three children were injured in the attack, caused by a detonated car
bomb.Carol Rizk's " Catholic Center condemns Baghdad church attacks" ( The Daily Star) adds: Lebanon's
Catholic Media Center sounded the alarm on Tuesday saying Iraq's
Christians were facing increasing injustice and were being pushed to
flea their home country.The
center issued a statement "strongly" condemning acts of violence
against Iraqi Christians, especially the latest attack over the weekend
on six churches in Baghdad.The
statement described the ongoing brutal acts as "crimes against
humanity" saying that the battered country's Christians "are Iraqi
citizens who fulfill all their national duties but their rights are
still being violated."Iraqi Christians have no protection and no guarantee of living a decent and peaceful life," it added. Alsumaria quotes
Baghdad Bishop Shlemon Warduin stating, "You see, you hear, all the
people are together, we are brothers, you have seen maybe Muslims and
Christians are together. We came to pray that our Lord live the eternal
life for the Christian people. That the Lord give happiness for their
families and consolations, and especially we pray that our Lord give
peace and security for Iraq." IRIN notes: A
German NGO dealing with vulnerable and threatened communities in Iraq
said the attacks were a bid to drive the remaining Christian community
out of the country."Extremist
Islamists are systematically aiming at driving out the remaining
100,000 Assyro-Chaldaic Christians from the Iraqi capital," Kamal Sido,
a near-east consultant for the Society for Threatened People (GfbV), aid in a statement on 13 July.According
to GfbV, more than three-quarters of the approximately 400,000
Christians living in Baghdad have fled the city since the 2003 US-led
invasion, due to either direct or indirect threats to their community.GfbV
appealed for urgent support for aid projects for Christians who have
been displaced inside Iraq and for those who are refugees in
neighbouring Jordan and Syria to help them either return to their homes
or resettle in a third country.According
to the World Refugee Survey 2008 by the US Committee for Refugees and
Immigrants, at year's end, Syria hosted some 1.3 million Iraqi
refugees, of whom about 20 percent were Christian. The US State
Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2008 states that 16
percent of registered Iraqi refugees in Jordan were Christians.The following community sites updated last night: -
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Katyln Tracy 10 hours ago -
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As noted yesterday, those who don't need second-by-second, minute-by-minute coverage of the Sotomayor Circus can click here
for BBC Radio. If any actual news is made in the hearing, you'll hear
it there. Otherwise, you'll be informed of life beyond the circus,
around the world. You won't find that on Pacifica which all about "Baby
cried the day the circus came to town" passed off as news. Heath and
Amanda both e-mailed wondering what Ruth
listened to yesterday that provided her with the updates on the Charles
Taylor trial? I believe Ruth listened to BBC Radio World Service. But
"latest news" and "news bulletin" will also include coverage. And if
you're following the circus or trying to, Betty continues to offer level headed coverage. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqdiana westthe new york timesthomas friedmanmichelle a. vucarol rizkamnesty internationalalsumarialike maria said pazkats kornersex and politics and screeds and attitudethomas friedman is a great mantrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixmikey likes itruths reportsickofitradlzoh boy it never ends
Posted at 07:01 am by thecommonills
Permalink
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday,
July 14, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces
a death, begging is the new 'employment opportunity' in Baghdad, Jay
Garner writes the New York Times, the Senate explores problems facing
women veterans, and more. "Aloha and good
morning to all of you," greeted US Senator Daniel Akaka after calling
to order the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing this morning.
"Welcome to this important hearing on VA's health care services for
women veterans. We will be looking at programs already in the works to
improve access to and the quality of care and other unique issues
facing women veterans. Women veterans are the fastest growing segment
of veterans. In 1988, when VA first began providing care to women,
they were only 4% of the veteran population. Today the percentage of
women veterans is nearing 8% and expected to rise substantially over
the next two decades. So it is appropriate that we ask now, 'Is VA
meeting the needs of women veterans?'" Appropriate and, as Senator
Roland Burris put it, "long overdue." Last week, the Boston Globe's Bryan Bender wrote
of the topic . . . by speaking to one man after another (one female
veteran was also spoken to). It's always interesting when the media
finally gives attention to an issue effecting women to see whether or
not women are allowed to speak? Women spoke to the committee
today. The hearing was broken up into two panels. The first panel was
composed of the GAO's Randall B. Williamson and the Veterans Affairs
Dept's Patricia Hayes. The second panel was composed of women
veternas: Grace After Fire's Kayla Williams, Iraq Veteran Project Swords to Plowshares' Tia Christopher, the VFW's Jennifer Olds, American Women Veterans' Genevieve Chase and Disabled American Veterans' Joy J. Ilem. Akaka
is the Chair of the Committee, Senator Richar Burr is the Ranking
Member. Burr noted, "North Carolina is no stranger to this growth. My
home state ranks 6th in the total number of women veterans with just
over 67,000 residing there." And we'll stay with that theme a moment
to note a few basics before getting into the witness testimony.
Senator Burris declared at the hearing, "Tremendous progress has been
made already but I am concerned that only one-third of the veterans
health facilities provide for the one-stop approach, an approach which
shows the highest level of customer satisfication." By contrast, the
outdated approach of the VA demands women go here, go there, go to a
contracted physician while male veterans generally are able to go to
one facility and have their basic primary health care needs addressed.
The June 3rd snapshot covered
the House Committee on Veterans Affairs committee for the hearing
entitled "A National Commitment to End Veterans' Homelessness" and Vietnam Veterans of America's
Marsha Four addressed the ways homelessness effects women veterans
differently than male veterans and she noted "that there are very few
programs in the country that are set up and designed specifically for
homeless women veterans that are seperate [from male programs]. One of
the problems that we've run into in a mixed gender setting is sort of
two-fold. One, the women veterans do not have the opportunity to
actually be in a separate group therapy environment because there are
many issues that they simply will not divulge in mixed gender
populations so those issues are never attended to. The other is that
we believe, in a program, you need to focus on yourself and this is the
time and place to do your issue, your deal. Many of the veterans too
come from the streets so there's a lot of street behavior going on. S
ome of the women -- and men -- but some of the women have participated
in prostitution and so there's a difficult setting for any of them to
actually focus on themselves without having all these other stressors
come into play." At the May 21, 2008 Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs,
Senator Patty Murray observed that in today's conflict, "Some units,
including military police, are using an increased number of females to
fill jobs that were traditionally held by male personnel. And because
of the conflicts of today, we have no clear frontlines and women, like
all of our service members, are always on the frontline -- riding on
dangerous patrols, guarding pivotal check opints and witnessing the
horrows of war first hand." Murray also noted that despite there being
1.7 million women veterans, for some reason "only 255,00 of those women
actually use the VA health care services." Why was that? In her town
halls in Washington (state), Murray found out, "Some told me they had
been intimidate by the VA and viewed the VA as a male only facility.
Others simply told me that they couldn't find someone to watch their
kids so they could attend a counseling session or find time for other
care." At that hearing, the VA's Dr. Gerald Cross objected to the bill
(Murray and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's bill, S. 2799, Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008)
stating that including the child care option for female veterans
seeking "mental health care or other intensive health care services at
the VA" would "divert funds." Senator Murray pointed out that in his
own opening remarks, Cross was observing that lack of child care
prevents some women from access "for mental health or other intensive
services -- so you identified the lack of child care as a barrier [. .
.] but you're unwilling to do anything about it?" Which was the case.
And, for the record, the bill, though introduced two years in a row,
has never been voted on in the full Senate. This year it has passed
the Committee. July 6th of this year, Murray's office noted
"that she has included $2 million to begin planning and design of a
Women and Children's Center at Madigan Army Medical Center. The Women
and Children's Center is necessary to provide health care and services
to Fort Lewis' large and growing population of women and newborns. The
facility would be the Army's first Women and Children's Center." Staying with statistics, the VA's Patricia Hayes and the GAO's Williamson both broke down the numbers in their opening remarks. * Over 1.8 million women veterans (as of October 2008) * Over 102,000 are veterans of the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War * 281,000 women veterans received some form of VA healt care in Fiscal Year 2008 * Estimated median age for male veterans 61; for women 47. Hayes
further broke down what the median age of 47 means, that female
veterans "are younger and have health care needs distinct from their
male counterparts. [. . .] Nearly all newly enrolled women veterans
accessing VA care are under 40 and of child bearing age. This trend
creates a need to shift how we provide health care. [. . .] Some women
report that lack of newborn care and child care forces them to seek
care elsewhere." In her written testimony, but not stated in her
opening remarks, Hayes noted, "VA has identified that 37 percent of
women Veterans who use VA health care have a mental health diagnosis;
these rates are higher than those of male Veterans. Women Veternas
also present with complex mental health needs, including depression,
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military sexual trauma (MST),
and parenting and family issues." Williamson did make a passing
reference to MST in his opening remarks but to round that out, this is
a fact sheet on MST from NOW on PBS: 27% of men have experienced military sexual trauma
60% of women have experienced military sexual trauma
3.5% of men have experienced military sexual assault
23% of women have experienced military sexual assault
11% of women have experienced rape
1.2% of men have experienced rape
Service branch with the highest percentage of women reporting sexual trauma: Marine Corps
20% of women seeking care at VA facilities have experienced sexual trauma
1% of men seeking care at VA facilities have experienced sexual trauma
8.3 percentage of women report lifetime PTSD related to MST
More than half of the incidents took place at a military work site and during duty hours
The majority of the offenders in these cases were military personnel
Factors
that increase risk of sexual assault for active duty females include
presence of officers who condone or allow sexual harassment and
unwanted sexual attention Chair
Daniel Akaka: Dr. Hayes, thank you for your testimony. VA is poised to
make some important changes to how care is delivered to women but in
fairness, we seem to have a a bit of a disconnect between mandates and
what is actually happening. I'm going to ask you a series of questions
about this. First, VA has mandated that all VA medical centers appoint
a full time Women Veterans Program Manager. Does every VA medical
center have one in place? Patricia
Hayes: VA has reported, as you know, that there are 144 out of the 144
sites that have a full time Women Veteran Program Manager. I'm in
actively now in the process of verifying that. What we do know that my
office has trained -- over the last three months we held three
different trainings -- we trained 142 Women Veteran Program
Manager over the last three months. We think it's very important to
train folks, not take these brand new folks and make sure that they
know what they're doing in this plan to develop health care for women. Chair
Daniel Akaka: Dr. Hayes, hopefully you've read the testimony of the
second panel. Jennifer Olds details her battle with PTSD and
specifically makes a case for cognitive therapy. Congress passed a law
last year requiring that these state of the art therapies be available
to all veterans. I suppose this is something you need to take for the
record, but are all veterans with PTSD able to receive this kind of
treatment? Patricia
Hayes: You're right, Mr. Akaka, that I will have to take that
specifically for the record in terms of the issues about access to
PTSD treatment. I think that, you know, one of the things that was
pointed out in the GAO report about where there's access, it's very
important that we first ask veterans what they need and that's why it's
important to hear from veterans about what their struggles are and to,
I think, make sure that we're addressing what that veteran needs in
terms of her care. So, for example, there's been a lot of questions
about residential treatment and I think when we look at women veterans
we have to be aware that, for example, women with children aren't
necessarily interested in going off, leaving their children and going
to a residential site. So that every time we look at what we have
available, we have to make sure we have available for each veteran what
she might need -- whether it's intensive outpatient or residential or
these tele-health, tele-medicines. Some of our veterans have rated
that as very highly successful for them to be in that type of
treatment. So we will take the question for the record in terms of the
exact issue of where PTSD treatment is available. But I think that it
needs to be couched in asking the veteran what they need and that
particular issue for this veteran who is very important. Chair
Daniel Akaka: Mr. Williams, your testimony lays out that none of the
facilities reviewed had fully implemented VA's policies for women's
health care. Could you determine the reasoning behind this
non-compliance? Was it funding, lack of training or anything else? Randall
Williamson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's very difficult sometimes to
understand the reason uh -- the area referred, for example, on privacy
-- assuring privacy of women veterans. Part of its due to facilities
in terms of the layout that currently exists -- in trying to convert
and modify that. But also, I think part of it comes down to
committment at the local level. There's no doubt, I think, that the
Secretary and Dr. Hayes and oterhs at the top are very committed to
implementing VA policies and improving overall health care for women.
But simple things -- as we visited the facility -- simple things that
are easy to do like placing exam tables so the foot is away from the
door, putting sanitary products in bathrooms for women, those things
are easy and if they're not being done, part of that reason may come
back to is there a committment at the - at the local level to ensure
these policies are done? Chair
Daniel Akaka: Several witnesses on the second panel are quite critical
of VA care for women. Let's take these one by one. Do you agree, as
most concerned, that some service connected women veterans are without
access to VA health care. Miss Williams detailed a lack of
understanding on the part of VA providers. Miss Christopher found that
community care is easier to access than VA care. And Miss Chase finds
that generally VA plays catch up to meet the needs of VA veterans. Dr.
Hayes, what is at the root of all these issues and how can we rectify
them? Patricia
Hayes: I think that what is at the root of these issues really is a
system that has not been responsive to the needs of women veterans. I
came a year ago and launched an initiative specifically to make VA more
inclusive of women veterans, to establish primary care that meets their
needs so that they don't have to come for multiple visits, to make sure
we reach out to those who do not have health care -- what research has
shown us over and over again is that women don't know that they have VA
services but it's not good enough if we reach them but we don't have
the right care when they get in our front door. So we have a very
intensive effort going on which started, as you saw, last year but is
rolling up August 1st with every facility giving us an implementation
plan for how to fix primary care for women veterans, how to make the
facilities respond to environment of care issues and to develop
services going forward that will meet women veterans' needs. And I
think that until we do that, until we make sure that it's right, then
we begin to reach out to our women veterans and welcome them back we
will have a specific initiative which we identified: the need for
service connected women to get their health care. And that's the first
on our list when we can be sure that there's primary care for them when
they walk in the door. Ranking Member
Burr caught a discrenphancy in Patricia Hayes' written testimony and
oral testimony. He noted that her written testimony asserted that
every facility had a Women Veteran Program Manager but she stated in
her testimony that she was in the midst of verifying that, "Which is
accurate, do we have them or are you in the process of verifying
them?" She stated she's verifying to ensure that it's accurate
prompting Burr to ask, "How long does that take?" It shouldn't take
very long at all for someone in her position. It's not as if she's
going to be told, "Call back." She or her staff dials each of the 144
facilities stating Hayes needs to speak to the Women Veteran Program
Manager. The reply then is either to forward her call on or explain
why not and if why not is "We don't have one," the count is done right
then. This shouldn't take days. It shouldn't even take a full eight
hour work day. "I think," she told Burr, "that we want to make sure
that the person is full time and that" they are qualified "to do that
job." Well, you ask them on the phone, "Are you full time?" You also
ask for a resume. And you also check to see if you did, in fact, train
them since Hayes claims she's been doing three months of training.
She's making this far more difficult than it is and that's either
because she's not grasping the task or she's attempting to mislead the
Comittee. Burr pointed out that this is a VA mandate and that "I would
take for granted that listed in that dictate is 'permanent, full time,'
it spells out exactly what program managers are going to do." Burr
also pointed out that her written testimony said that they plan to have
gynecologists on site at every facility by 2012. "Why is it," he
asked, "2012 and not 2009?" She strung some words together but she
didn't answer the question. And again, this isn't difficult. You
start hiring. The money is in the VA's budget for these positions.
You start hiring. Hayes had a lot of words and they said very little. Senator
Patty Murray: Dr. Hayes, as you know, the military currently bars women
from serving in combat. We all know, however, that in today's wars
there is no front line on the battlefield, we know that women are
serving right along side of male colleagues and they are engaging in
combat with the enemy. But unfortunately the new reality of this
modern warfare isn't well understood here at home including by some in
the VA. This knowlege gap obviously impacts the ability of women
veterans to receive health care and disability benefits from the VA.
What are you doing, Dr. Hayes, to ensure that all VA staff -- both in
the VHA and in the VBA -- are aware that women are serving in combat
and that they're getting the health care and benefits that they've
earned? A long string of words
including that providers are trained but all the staff needs to be "we
have a staff sensitivity module" -- excuse me? A sensitivity module?
Murray's speaking of basic facts and how they're being imparted. Hayes
is talking about sensitivity training. I'm not ridiculing sensitivity
training. It exists for many reasons and is needed in the work
environment. But we're not talking about that. Murray raised that the
DD2 14s are not being documented and that "we have people who say, 'You
weren't in combat, you're a woman.'" Hayes says it saddened her that
reports of that had emerged. That reports had emerged or that it took
place? Murray wanted to know if the VA was working with the Defense
Dept to ensure that women veterans DD2 14s were being properly
documented and Hayes referred it to a colleague who babbled on. Murray
stopped her to get her back on track at which point the woman stated
that maybe Congress could help them because they weren't able to note
combat experience for women due to guidelines. In other words, the
woman always had the answer but only offered it when pressed by Murray. The
bulk of the hearing was the first panel. Moving on to the second
panel. "Women need not only more gender specific care," Tia
Christopher declared in her opening remarks, "but also care that is
appropriate for their needs. It is essential that women who do need
inpatient treatment for PTSD, whether combat or sexual assault related,
receive care in a safe treatment space. A coed environment can truly
be the worst thing for a woman suffering from Military Sexual Trauma
(MST) and PTSD. Just having the resources is not enough, again, the
quality, quantity and accessibility of that care is vital. For those
who are uncomfortable receiving treatment at a VA facility, for
whatever reason, funding needs to allotted for culturally competent
care within the community." Geneviever Chase testified today. She was
also part of last Wednesday's Voices of Honor press conference. She's also straight because Voices of Honor
is gays, lesbians and straight service members coming together to stamp
out the discrimination. In her opening remarks today, she explained
something many men and women in the Reserves have experienced, "The
reserve soldiers I served with were discharged from active service with
a five-minute out-briefing and a single sheet of paper listing websites
to access for VA services. What I recall from that time was being
focused on overwhelming issues like finding a job and figuring out how
I was going to make it in a civilian world that had become somewhat
foreign to me -- not on the service related health isseus I would face
in the months to come or how I would seek care for those issues."
Jennifer Olds stated she experienced a similar lack of advise and
information regarding what you were qualified for and she emphasized
the need to get people into the VA system immediately. Kayla Williams
noted several issues in her opening remarks but we'll zoom in on this
because only she touched on it in opening remarks, "Other barries may
disproportionately affect women. For example, since women are more
likely to be the primary caregivers of small children, they may require
help getting childcare in order to attend appointments at the VA.
Currently many VA facilities are not prepared to accomodate the
presence of children; several friends have described having to change
babies' diapers on the floors of VA hospitals because the restroom
lacked changing facilities. Another friend, whose babysitter cancelled
at the last minute, brought her infant and toddler to a VA appointment
-- the provider told her that was 'not appropriate' and that she should
not come in if she could not find childcare. Facilities in which to
nurse and change babies -- as well as childcare assistance or at least
patience with the presence of small children -- would ease burdens on
all veterans with small children." Senator
Akaka wondered how to get the message out regarding the fact that women
veterans are seeing combat. Chase noted that public testimony/sharing,
standing up in front of others was one way to get the word out.
Williams noted PBS' Lioness
documentary being shown at VAs and Joy Ilem agreed with that. Chase
stated that there are many other women "serving outside the wire in
combat today" and not just the one specific team documented in
Lioness. Christopher noted, "To be quite frank, trainings can be very
boring. Whether you're wathcing a power point or a video or listening
to someone talk. I mean -- I think for it to be truly effective there
needs to be dialogue and it needs to be proactive. And I think a
Q&A portion when we train for Swords to Ploughshares, we open
ourselves up for questions, we actually refer to it as the
uncomfortable questions panel."
Senator Murray wanted to know if the panel "found that this combat experience is reflected in DD2 14s?"
Kayla
Williams: My own certainly was reflected in my DD2 14. But I was awared
the service medal for my time in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And also, if
it ever were to become a question, I also received army medals and the
paperwork that supports that details the experiences they were earned
for and the way that people can show their experience. But I know that
that isn't usually the case, I was just lucky enough that that was true
for me. Genevieve
Chase: We, during our -- our -- when we get our DD2 14s it's on there
whether or not you served and in what theater. It also states what was
your job. And I was also awarded the Combat Operation Badge. That is
not an automatic award. It's not an automatic entitlement. And that's
submitted by your chain of command and if it's not submitted or the
paperwork is lost or doesn't go through then you don't get that as
well. And it also isn't a qualifer -- a lot of people don't perceive
it to mean that you were actually in combat or directly engaging the
enemy. So that policy needs to be changed [. . .] to reflect that women
are in fact serving in combat and they are in fact on missions outside
the wire. And regardless of whether or not they're going outside the
wire [. . .] when you have mortars every day and you have no idea where
they're coming from, that's combat. In Iraq today, DPA reports
a protest in Falluja today of over 200 people rallying "to demand the
interior ministry release the city's former police chief, Colonel
Faisal Ismail, and his deputy, Eissa al-Sari, witnesses told the German
Press Agency dpa." Tim Cocks (Reuters) reports
that the KRG is gearing up for their July 25th parliamentary and
presidential election. The Kurdish region did not take part in the
January 31st elections -- the ones the media was all over for weeks and
weeks and insisting they proved something. Usually, they insisted,
that democracy was taking root in Iraq. So what does the silence from
the US media on the upcoming Kurdish elections -- taking place in
eleven days -- say? Dropping back to Sam Dagher's article Friday ( click here for critique). A letter on A20 (national edition) of today's New York Times addresses the article: To the Editor:Re "Defiant Kurds Claim Oil, Gas and Territory" (front page, July 10): The
Iraqi Constitution, specifically Article 140, requires a vote by
referendum to resolve Iraq's disputed territories. To cast this as a
"threat" is unfair. The Iraqi Kurds are simply trying to carry out the
constitutionally mandated referendum.Furthermore,
the Iraqi Kurds are not defying Baghdad in formulating a regional
constitution; they are embracing their right to create such a document,
which is allowed in the Iraqi Constitution. The
Kurds, who represent the most stable and progressive element of Iraq,
have made it clear that they desire to be a part of a united Iraqi
nation. To
allow for a responsible and phased withdrawal of American forces from
Iraq, which is the stated policy of the Obama administration, several
issues must first be resolved, the most important of which is that of
the disputed territories. Only then will a stable and united Iraq be
able to thrive. Jay Garner Erbil, Iraq, July 10, 2009 The
writer, a retired lieutenant general in the Army, was director of the
Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq in 2003.The
Euphrates is drying up. Strangled by the water policies of Iraq's
neighbors, Turkey and Syria; a two-year drought; and years of misuse by
Iraq and its farmers, the river is significantly smaller than it was
just a few years ago. Some officials worry that it could soon be half
of what it is now.Why is it drying up? Global warming no
doubt impacts as it does everywhere. Robertson doesn't raise that. In
addition, neighbors Syria and Turkey grab from the same water supply
and have several dams set up. In addition, the infrastructure in Iraq
was allowed to decay and was further damaged during the illegal war. In
the first year of the illegal war, the paper was writing about the
Tigris and the problems with it. Today's problems aren't surprising.
And the US bears a larger responsibility for it than the Robertson's
article is willing to acknowledge. He's also unwilling to acknowledge
how little the US has done. And on what others are planning, we'll just
assume he's unaware. Last month, UNICEF, now back in Baghdad,
declared the start of a new water and sanitation project that would
service an estimated 100,000 Iraqis and is funded with by the European
Community (at an estimated cost of $10 million in US dollars). As
the river dries, Iraqis lose another water supply -- already a huge,
huge problem in a country where potable water has become a thing of the
past. The lack of potable water and the start of summer means that the
cholera outbreaks are just around the corner. Last year, a UN doctor
shamefully blamed Iraqi women for the cholera outbreak. Disgracefully
blamed Iraqi women -- who already suffer enough and require no
additional burdens 'gifted' to them. Cholera outbreaks take place
because there is no potable water. Boiling the water is a safety
measure; however, it depends upon having the gas or electricity with
which to boil water and it depends upon having access to a stove or
other device you can boil water on. Fixing Iraq's sewer and water
systems would address the issue. Providing potable water would address
the issue. Iraq brought in a ton of money in 2008. Where did it go?
It's one of the richest countries in the world when you grasp that it
has a population of approximately 30 million (a generous estimate
considering the number killed during this war and the number of
external refugees). Last year's revenues more than doubled the
population. So where is that money? That's a question that will
be asked after the US finally withdraws, whenever that is. The item
below is from [PDF format warning] the US State Dept's Iraq report for July 1, 2009 (and you can also find news on the UNICEF item in that). Villages
determined to be at high risk for cholera received four solar powered
water purification units. The units were provided by the PRT at the
request of provincial health authorities as part of an anti-cholera
campaign. Villagers will be instructed in unit operations and repairs. And the river dries up as Jenan Hussein (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
on the poverty, "Beggars have become as visible as blast walls and
checkpoints in Iraqi cities. Government ministries don't have reliable
statistics, partly because those who beg fear official crackdowns on
their only livelihood. It's a problem the government has yet to
tackle." This happens as the Oil Ministry brags
it has "acheived (59.1000) million barrels with (3.378) billion dollars
incomes with daily average of (4.400) barrels per day for May and the
raise was (686) million dollars. In comparison with April which
achieved (54.700) million barrels with (2.692) billion dollars incomes." Sunday US Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill was dangerously close to a roadside bombing. Mike Tharp and Warren P. Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers) report
on attempts to determine the target of a roadside bombing Sunday, "U.S.
officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the incident
is under investigation, stressed Monday that they didn't know whether
the bomb was intended to target American Ambassador Christopher Hill.
Investigators' arrival on the scene has been delayed by severe
sandstorms, one official said." They also quote a PRT head in Dhi Qar
Province who asks, "How can you tell foreign investors to come here,
when for the first time the ambassador comes and sits down to listen to
people and their ideas and you (attempt to) blow him up? These elements
are few, but it is now up to Iraqi forces to go get them." The fact
that a government investigation is taking place into the bombing makes
it all the more shocking that yesterday's State Dept briefing did not
even acknowledge the bombing (not Ian Kelly, not the reporters in
attendance). Turning to some of today's reported violence . . . Bombings? Shootings? Last night, the US military announced:
"BAGHDAD A Multi-National DivisionBaghdad Soldier died the afternoon
of July 13 due to a medical condition. The Soldier's name is being
withheld pending notification of next of kin. The names of deceased
service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense
Official Website at http://www.defenselink.mil/
. The announcements are made on the Website no earlier than 24 hours
after notification of the service member's primary next of kin. MND-B
will not release any additional details prior to notification of next
of kin and official release by the DoD." The announcement brings the
total number of US service members killed in the illegal war since it
started to 4323. Entering from the North, we landed in Kirkuk but because of the sand, we could not even feed our video. I'm officially inside Iraq for the first time since I was hit and nearly killed
by an IED near here 3 and a half years ago. For a long time I had been
hoping to return to Iraq. Once the sand settles we will be able to see
if and how Iraq has changed. Woodruff
was supposed to do his first report from Iraq (since being injured
there) last night on ABC's World News Tonight; however, the sandstorms
delayed it and now it's not happening. In January 2006, Bob Woodruff
and Elizabeth Vargas were co-anchors of ABC's World News Tonight and he
was wounded in roadside bombing in Iraq which required extensive
recovery work. This is his first time back in Iraq since that bombing.
Many journalists have been wounded in the Iraq War and the Iraq War is
the deadliest for journalists with at least 225 killed
since the start of the illegal war (we count "media workers" as
journalists -- they are anywhere, but especially in a war zone and note
that the June 1st death isn't included in Reporters Without Borders
count so we're saying "at least"). The journalists most at risk have
been Iraqi journalist (and one of the "brain drains" not written of at
length re: Iraq is the large number of Iraqi journalists who have fled
the country in the last six years). Foreign journalists have also
risked a great deal. Along with CBS News' Kimberly Dozier, Woodruff is
the most high profile US journalist wounded in the Iraq War. And NBC
News' David Bloom was killed in Iraq April 6, 2003. Richard Huff (New York Daily News) explains,
"Woodruff endured a year of rehab and wasn't seen on TV until ABC aired
a special on his recovery a year later. [Cameraman Doug] vogt, who
injuries were not as serious as Woodruff's, still works as a cameran
for ABC News." Chris Cuomo: Was it important to you just to be back on the ground in Iraq, and say that I've made it back? Bob
Woodruff: Part of me is really sad by it. Certainly, it's a very
emotional time. But, you know, I think that the hope is, the dream is,
that I will go back there -- maybe soon, maybe a month later, maybe a
year from now. But I do want to go back. I really wish this had not
happened, that the sandstorm had not stopped us. I wanted to come back
and -- we're not able to see much of anything. But we know that the
danger zone, that the violence is way down. There's a lot more hope
that this country will return.
Posted at 03:38 pm by thecommonills
Permalink
US military announces another death, Jay Garner writes the Times
Last night, the US military announced: BAGHDAD
-- A Multi-National DivisionBaghdad Soldier died the afternoon of July
13 due to a medical condition. The Soldiers name is being withheld
pending notification of next of kin.
The names of deceased service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense Official Website at http://www.defenselink.mil/
. The announcements are made on the Website no earlier than 24 hours
after notification of the service members primary next of kin.
MND-B will not release any additional details prior to notification of next of kin and official release by the DoD.The announcement brings the total number of service members killed in the illegal war since it started to 4323. Meanwhile on the front page of today's New York Times, Campbell Robertson's " Iraq Suffers as the Euphrates River Dwindles" begins and notes: The
Euphrates is drying up. Strangled by the water policies of Iraqs
neighbors, Turkey and Syria; a two-year drought; and years of misuse by
Iraq and its farmers, the river is significantly smaller than it was
just a few years ago. Some officials worry that it could soon be half
of what it is now.Why is it drying up? Global warming no
doubt impacts as it does everywhere. Robertson doesn't raise that. In
addition, neighbors Syria and Turkey grab from the same water supply
and have several dams set up. In addition, the infrastructure in Iraq
was allowed to decay and was further damaged during the illegal war. In
the first year of the illegal war, the paper was writing about the
Tigris and the problems with it. Today's problems aren't surprising.
And the US bears a larger responsibility for it than the Robertson's
article is willing to acknowledge. He's also unwilling to acknowledge
how little the US has done. And on what others are planning, we'll just
assume he's unaware. Last month, UNICEF, now back in Baghdad,
declared the start of a new water and sanitation project that would
service an estimated 100,000 Iraqis and is funded with by the European
Community (at an estimated cost of $10 million in US dollars). As
the river dries, Iraqis lose another water supply -- already a huge,
huge problem in a country where potable water has become a thing of the
past. The lack of potable water and the start of summer means that the
cholera outbreaks are just around the corner. Last year, a UN doctor
shamefully blamed Iraqi women for the cholera outbreak. Disgracefully
blamed Iraqi women -- who already suffer enough and require no
additional burdens 'gifted' to them. Cholera outbreaks take place
because there is no potable water. Boiling the water is a safety
measure; however, it depends upon having the gas or electricity with
which to boil water and it depends upon having access to a stove or
other device you can boil water on. Fixing Iraq's sewer and water
systems would address the issue. Providing potable water would address
the issue. Iraq brought in a ton of money in 2008. Where did it go?
It's one of the richest countries in the world when you grasp that it
has a population of approximately 30 million (a generous estimate
considering the number killed during this war and the number of
external refugees). Last year's revenues more than doubled the
population. So where is that money? That's a question that will
be asked after the US finally withdraws, whenever that is. The item
below is from [PDF format warning] the US State Dept's Iraq report for July 1, 2009 (and you can also find news on the UNICEF item in that). Villages
determined to be at high risk for cholera received four solar powered
water purification units. The units were provided by the PRT at the
request of provincial health authorities as part of an anti-cholera
campaign. Villagers will be instructed in unit operations and repairs.A
friend at the State Dept asked that the cholera units be noted last
week. I didn't have time and we're noting it today. PRTs are
"Provincial Reconstruction Teams." From a March 2008 fact sheet issued by the State Dept: #
Established
by Secretary Rice on November 11, 2005, the Iraq Provincial
Reconstruction Team initiative is a civilian-military inter-agency
effort that provides the primary connection between U.S. and coalition
partners and provincial and local governments in all of Iraqs 18
provinces.
#
The core PRT mission is helping provincial
governments with: developing a transparent and sustained capability to
govern, promoting increased security and rule of law, promoting
political and economic development and providing provincial
administration necessary to meet the basic needs of the population.
#
The
PRT focus is on five thematic areas including governance, economics,
infrastructure, rule of law and public diplomacy. The teams work to
assist provincial and local governments with a range of engagement,
training, jobs and small grant programs.
#
Most of Iraq is served
by a total of 31 PRTs including thirteen embedded PRTs (EPRTs),
formulated as part of President Bushs New Way Forward strategy.
Embedded teams work hand-in-glove with military units at the brigade
level.
#
Four southern provinces are served by smaller civilian
teams based in Babil and Dhi Qar. These provincial support teams bring
vital engagement and capacity building activity to the provinces of
Karbala, Najaf, Muthanna and Maysan.
#
The combined staff of all
teams now numbers approximately 800. They are from the U.S. Department
of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. and coalition
military, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Agriculture
and contract personnel.
#
PRT funding comes from a variety of
sources, including coalition partners, with the majority coming from
the U.S. The principal programs associated with PRTs include PRDC
(Provincial Reconstruction and Development Committee) and QRF (Quick
Response Fund) programs as well as the following USAID-funded programs:
CSP (Community Stabilization Program); the LGP (Local Governance
Program); CAP (Community Action Program); Izdihar Economic Growth
Program; and INMA Agri-business Program.
#
The teams are an
important tool in achieving our counterinsurgency strategy by
bolstering moderates, promoting reconciliation, fostering economic
development and building provincial capacity.Seth Robson (Stars and Stripes) reports on PRTs today. Mike Tharp and Warren P. Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers) report
on attempts to determine the target of a roadside bombing Sunday, "U.S.
officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the incident
is under investigation, stressed Monday that they didn't know whether
the bomb was intended to target American Ambassador Christopher Hill.
Investigators' arrival on the scene has been delayed by severe
sandstorms, one official said." They also quote a PRT head in Dhi Qar
Province who asks, "How can you tell foreign investors to come here,
when for the first time the ambassador comes and sits down to listen to
people and their ideas and you (attempt to) blow him up? These elements
are few, but it is now up to Iraqi forces to go get them." The fact
that a government investigation is taking place into the bombing makes
it all the more shocking that yesterday's State Dept briefing did not
even acknowledge the bombing (not Ian Kelly, not the reporters in
attendance). Also today, Jeremy Schwartz (Cox Newspaper) reports on the difficulties many returning Iraq War and Afghanistan War veterans are having in finding a job: About
100 soldiers sit rigidly in their chairs, contemplating life after the
military. They are fresh off tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they
survived roadside bombs and dodged sniper fire.Their reward? In a matter of weeks or months, they will enter the most brutal job market in a generation.They're
students now, sitting in a three-day employment preparation class, one
of the ways Fort Hood tries to help soldiers transition to the civilian
world. Outside the huge fort, new veterans face several barriers to
landing a job.Many,
especially those who joined the military out of high school, are
writing rιsumιs and going to job interviews for the first time. Others
struggle to translate their military duties into civilian
qualifications. All could face discrimination from employers who worry
they might be riddled with mental disorders and too risky to hire,
veterans advocates say.Reuters notes
the latest in the continued attacks on Iraqi police includes 2 shot
dead in Baghdad and they drop back to yesterday to note that 3
civilians were shot dead in Mosul yesterday. Meanwhile DPA reports
a protest in Falluja today of over 200 people rallying "to demand the
interior ministry release the city's former police chief, Colonel
Faisal Ismail, and his deputy, Eissa al-Sari, witnesses told the German
Press Agency dpa." Dropping back to Sam Dagher's article Friday ( click here for critique). A letter on A20 (national edition) of today's New York Times addresses the article: To the Editor:Re "Defiant Kurds Claim Oil, Gas and Territory" (front page, July 10):The
Iraqi Constitution, specifically Article 140, requires a vote by
referendum to resolve Iraq's disputed territories. To cast this as a
"threat" is unfair. The Iraqi Kurds are simply trying to carry out the
constitutionally mandated referendum.Furthermore,
the Iraqi Kurds are not defying Baghdad in formulating a regional
constitution; they are embracing their right to create such a document,
which is allowed in the Iraqi Constitution.The
Kurds, who represent the most stable and progressive element of Iraq,
have made it clear that they desire to be a part of a united Iraqi
nation.To allow for a
responsible and phased withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, which
is the stated policy of the Obama administration, several issues must
first be resolved, the most important of which is that of the disputed
territories. Only then will a stable and united Iraq be able to thrive.Jay GarnerErbil, Iraq, July 10, 2009The
writer, a retired lieutenant general in the Army, was director of the
Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq in 2003.Considering Dagher's article last week and Timothy Williams' infamous 'To Nouri With Love' last month, it's really amazing that Xinhua covered the following Saturday night but it's not made it into the New York Times: Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday renewed his call to change
his country's constitution to give more power to the central government
and then to go ahead with building a modern state."We
need to review and change the constitution so that we can build a
modern state," Maliki said during a meeting with tribal leaders in
Baghdad."The constitution
is not perfect. It played a role during a difficult period of Iraqi
history, but it absolutely needs changes, which must be carried out
constitutionally instead of by scaring or intimidating others," Maliki
said. Lastly British community members are noting the
news on the late Dr. David Kelly who died six years ago following a
witch hunt. The BBC reported that the Iraq War dossier had been "sexed
up" -- which it was -- and Tony Blair & company launched a witch
hunt. During the witch hunt, it emerged that Kelly was one of the BBC
sources. Shortly after, Kelly was discovered dead. His death is now
back in the news. The Press & Journal notes: The
witch-hunt and vilification of Dr Kelly is well documented. Conspiracy
theories that he did not commit suicide but was murdered persist, but
his death was examined only by the Hutton inquiry and not an inquest.The doctors' evidence appears strong enough to merit a fresh and more detailed examination, which only an inquest can provide.From Daniel Martin's " Dr Kelly did not commit suicide, insists 13 doctors" ( Daily Mail): A
group of doctors has demanded an inquest into the death of government
scientist David Kelly -- saying the verdict of suicide should be
overturned.
It comes as a documentary to be screened later this week
claims Dr Kelly may have been killed because he knew about secret germ
warfare plans.
His body was found six years ago this week in woods
near his Oxfordshire home, only days after it emerged he was the source
of a BBC story which claimed evidence against Iraq had been 'sexed up'
to justify invasion.Immediately after his death, in the New York Times,
a little noted write up by Judith Miller ran in which she revealed
herself to be in daily or near daily contact with Kelly and she also
appeared to be surprised/doubtful over the suicide. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqthe new york timescampbell robertsonjay garnerstars and stripesseth robsonjeremy schwartzcox newspapersmcclatchy newspaperswarren p. strobelmike tharp
Posted at 06:51 am by thecommonills
Permalink
Bob Woodruff back in Iraq
Entering from the North, we landed in Kirkuk but because of the sand, we could not even feed our video. I'm officially inside Iraq for the first time since I was hit and nearly killed by an IED near here 3 and a half years ago. For a long time I had been hoping to return to Iraq. Once the sand settles we will be able to see if and how Iraq has changed.The above is from Bob Woodruff's " Grounded by Huge Sandstorm in Iraq" (ABC News' The World Newser). Woodruff was supposed to do his first report from Iraq (since being injured there) last night on ABC's World News Tonight; however, the sandstorms delayed it and his first report is now scheduled for tonight's broadcast of the evening news. In January 2006, Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas were co-anchors of ABC's World News Tonight and he was wounded in roadside bombing in Iraq which required extensive recovery work. This is his first time back in Iraq since that bombing. Many journalists have been wounded in the Iraq War and the Iraq War is the deadliest for journalists with at least 225 killed since the start of the illegal war (we count "media workers" as journalists -- they are anywhere, but especially in a war zone and note that the June 1st death isn't included in Reporters Without Borders count so we're saying "at least"). The journalists most at risk have been Iraqi journalist (and one of the "brain drains" not written of at length re: Iraq is the large number of Iraqi journalists who have fled the country in the last six years). Foreign journalists have also risked a great deal. Along with CBS News' Kimberly Dozier, Woodruff is the most high profile US journalist wounded in the Iraq War. And NBC News' David Bloom was killed in Iraq April 6, 2003. Richard Huff's " ABC News' Bob Woodruff returns to Iraq, three years later" ( New York Daily News) notes: Three-and-a-half years ago, Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were traveling with the 4th Infantry Division when an improvised explosive device went off, nearly killing them.Woodruff endured a year of rehab and wasn't seen on TV until ABC aired a special on his recovery a year later. Vogt, whose injuries were not as serious as Woodruff's, still works as a cameraman for ABC News."I was in Iraq for the seventh time when I was injured," he wrote Monday. "None of us ever could have imagined then that I would ever be able to go back, or even report again."Woodruff said he wanted to "get back on the horse again" but admitted it would be different this time. He said he wouldn't run outside the "wire" and wouldn't be going into the streets or to a battle zone.The Sotomayor Circus continues today and, make no mistake, the chief clown responsible for this nonsense is Sonia Sotomayor. It's past time the American people knew where she stood on abortion. This is not a minor issue. She did nothing yesterday but gas bagged. You realize how bad her performance was by Amy Goodman's trash this morning on Democracy Now! where we're exploring Sotomayor's "historic" blah-blah. That's a feature story, you f**king idiot. That's a feature story, that's not news. Her confirmation hearing started yesterday. Yesterday. That means you have a news report today. You either have that or you explain why you don't. And the reason you don't is because the circus accomplished nothing. The American people have a right to know where she stands on abortion -- ESPECIALLY when abortion rights were used to scare up female support for Barack in the general election. As Green Change explains: Here's what we know so far.In 2002, Judge Sotomayor upheld President Bush's "global gag rule" which forced groups receiving U.S. assistance to pledge not to support or carry out abortions. In 2004, Judge Sotomayor ruled mostly in favor of anti-abortion protesters in a case regarding police use of force against them. In 2007, Judge Sotomayor joined an opinion that upheld a school district's policy of requiring teachers to notify parents if they thought that a girl was pregnant.In a sign of just how ridiculous yesterday was, Danny Schechter writes this:
As Rachel Maddow noted lasted night on MSNBC, the Republican members avoided her record and even her so-called Judicial philosophy in any detail, and,instead went after racial issues and their own paranoia with constant references to one comment made off the bench about her seeing herself as a wise Latina woman. The context of that remark or her intent in making it was never questioned. What we saw was a lot of posturing and an UNWISE agenda driven White Men doing what they do bestappealing to fear and stereotypes,That's the end of his sentence (and the paragraph) even though there's a comma. Now Danny wants to whine about White men? Danny who saw no sexism in the non-stop attacks on Hillary Clinton? Now he wants to posture. (I believe Sonia Sotomayor is White. Ethnicity is not race. I grasp that idiots have trouble with that but unless Sotomayor's background includes something we do not yet know, she's considered White. Maybe it's time some took a sociology class in race and ethnicity? Just as Danny can be White and Jewish, Sotomayor can be White and Latina.) And of course he does so by promoting the ridiculous and self-serving Rachel Maddow. The idiot who turns everything into smut is someone we cite? Bob Somerby's Daily Howler has documented what a sewer Rachel Maddow inhabits and only a little suck-up desperate for air time or a fool who doesn't pay attention would praise Rachel Maddow. You decide which Danny is. Last week he was attacking Gloria Steinem but he got his marching orders this morning and he's all concerned about calling out the "White man" (which would include himself, especially if you tossed out "old"). Let's see how long that laughable pose lasts. And let's all chuckle as Danny whines about those mean-old Republicans who apparently are supposed to roll over and just waive her through. Republicans have every right to question her. And their disagreements with her? Unless you can crawl into their heads, quit putting words in their mouths. It's amazing that Danny didn't say one damn word during the non-stop public stoning of Hillary (which he participated in) but today any critique of a woman, questioning her for a lifetime appointment must be sexism and racism? Bulls**t. Leigh Ann Caldwell ( Free Speech Radio News) notes, "Lawmakers avoided personal attacks but some conservatives including Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich have called her a racist. Republicans on the committee refused to make that assertion. Instead they critiqued her judicial philosophy." ( Click here for the segment itself.) I haven't endorsed Sotomayor, I haven't called for her not to be appointed. I can't do either because I don't where she stands on anything. If I knew she was pro-choice, I'd probably endorse the corporatist candidate. But despite the promise from Barack that he would only nominate pro-choice, we're now into her confirmation hearings and we still don't know where she stands on abortion. That's ridiculous. And it's ridiculous that Betty's " Sotomayor" offers more reality than a self-appointed "News Dissector." It's ridiculous that, reading Betty, you learn Sotomayor (if confirmed) will be the sixth Catholic currently sitting on the Court. Six out of nine Justices will be Catholic? That's diversity? And did anyone need Amy's garbage this morning when Pacifica Radio has already ground to a standstill to air the hearings live? How much non-news can be filled up hour after hour? And let's not pretend that Danny Schechter, so concerned about the Iraq War when he had a documentary to promote and when it was later on DVD, or any of the rest do a damn thing on Iraq and that was is not over (despite ridiculous claims by Brookings).
[C.I. note July 19th, this entry originally included a letter here; however, the writer of the letter is loose with the facts and the letter's been removed from this entry.] On veterans, Jia-Rui Chong's " Veterans with stress disorder appear more likely to develop dementia" (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Older veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are nearly twice as likely to develop dementia as those who do not have the disorder, according to a new study presented today at an Alzheimer's disease conference. 'These findings are important because PTSD has become a common consequence of combat and exposure to trauma,' said Dr. Kristine Yaffe, the paper's lead author, in a statement." Good thing no journalist is telling PTSD victims they can be 'cured' all by themselves, right? Good thing no name journalist has been promoting Quack Science comparing PTSD to a broken bone -- which can apparently heal all on its own, right? Oh wait, one has. Turning to Iraq, the US military released the following statement yesterday: BAGHDAD Soldiers serving with 266th Military Police Company, 8th Military Police Brigade in Basra, Iraq have been charged with misconduct during the unit's pre-deployment training at Fort Dix in the fall of 2008.
Charges were preferred against Sgt. Gilbert Parker and Spc. Matthew Delia, July 3 and July 7, respectively. Both Soldiers are National Guardsmen activated with the 266th Military Police Company out of Manassas, Va.
While at mobilization training at Fort Dix, N.J., Parker is alleged to have committed an indecent act by filming and photographing female members of his unit while they were taking showers. Parker is also charged with conspiracy, violating a lawful general order, obstructing justice, and distributing pornography in violation of Articles 81, 92, and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The maximum authorized sentence based on the charges preferred against Parker includes confinement for 18 years, reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge.
Delia is charged with conspiring with and assisting Parker, as well as distributing the videos and images in violation of Articles 81, 120 and 134, UCMJ. The maximum authorized sentence for Delia includes confinement for 12 years, reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge.
The preferral of charges is the initial step in the possible prosecutions of Parker and Delia. The CID investigation of this incident is still ongoing. All Soldiers are presumed innocent until proven guilty.Last night the following community sites updated: Those who don't need second-by-second, minute-by-minute coverage of the Sotomayor Circus can click here for BBC Radio. If any actual news is made in the hearing, you'll hear it there. Otherwise, you'll be informed of life beyond the circus, around the world -- including Charles Taylor's trial which isn't even a blip in this country. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqbob woodruffabc newsthe new york daily newsrichard huffiraqthe los angeles timesjia-rui chonglike maria said pazkats kornersex and politics and screeds and attitudethomas friedman is a great mantrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixmikey likes itruths reportsickofitradlzoh boy it never ends
Posted at 06:47 am by thecommonills
Permalink
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday,
July 13, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, churches are the new
targets in Iraq, BBC airs a documentary exploring the assualts on
Iraq's LGBT community, Mike Mullens visits Iraq, ABC's Bob Woodruff
covers it, and more. Starting with war
resistance. Last week in the US, a group of activists rallied for US
war resister Kimberly Rivera, the first female resister to publicly
seek asylum in Canada, at the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco.
They gathered petitions and rallied outside at noon before presenting
the petitions. Bill Carpenter (Indybay Media) offers a report with video. David Solnit, co-author with Aimee Allison of Army Of None,
explains in the reception area that they have signatures for Kimberly
"who is a US soldier who's facing deportation" from Canada. From the
video, I believe that's Joanne Cherep that approaches them. (I could be
wrong.) David Solnit: Hi. My name's
David Solnit, I work with a peace group called Courage to Resist and we
have a bunch of folks with peace and human rights groups and we've
gathered 6,000 signatures in support of Kimberly Rivera and so we would
like to present them. Except for
Adrian Wilson, all present were US citizens. Wilson noted, "I'm a
Canadian citizen and I'm here representing unconventional action in the
Bay and I just wanted to request that PM [Stephen} Harper grant asylum
to any and all Americans who are seeking refuge." Below is the letter
6,000 people signed on to. Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney
Please
act immediately to stop the deportation of Kimberly Rivera, her husband
and their three children by implementing the Canadian Parliament's
resolutions to allow U.S. war resisters to stay in Canada.
I
am writing from the United States to ask that you abide by the House of
Commons resolution -- reaffirmed February 12, 2009 -- to create a
program to allow war objectors, including U.S. resisters, to apply for
permanent resident status in Canada and to cease all deportation and
removal proceedings against them.
The recent flurry of
deportation orders to war resisters, including Kimberly Rivera, and the
forcing out of Robin Long, Cliff Cornell and Chris Teske, flaunted
Canada's longstanding tradition of providing sanctuary to war
objectors. Upon their forced return from Canada to the U.S. military,
Robin and Cliff were sentenced to 15 and 12 months imprisonment
respectively. Future resisters face even stiffer sentences.
When
more than 50,000 Americans refused to fight in Vietnam and emigrated to
Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau declared, "[They] have my
complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give
them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism."
On
June 3, 2008, the House of Commons first voted to uphold this rich
tradition by passing a historic resolution to allow war resisters to
apply for permanent residence status in Canada and to halt the
deportation of conscientious objectors. In addition to this
parliamentary motion, according to a recent poll, nearly two of three
Canadians also favor allowing U.S. war resisters to stay. Furthermore,
many wonderful Canadians have opened their homes and hearts to U.S. war
resisters.
I ask that the Canadian government respect the
democratic decision of Parliament, the demonstrated opinion of the
Canadian citizenry, the view of the United Nations, and millions of
Americans by immediately implementing the motion and cease deportation
proceedings against Kimberly Rivera, Jeremy Hinzman, Patrick Hart, Dean
Walcott and other current and future war resisters. Aasmah Mir:
Since the invasion six years ago a steep rise in sectarian violence has
claimed thousands of victims throughout the country but this could just
be the tip of the iceberg because murders and attacks against the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community are also on the
increase but often go unreported. So what is happening to gay people
inside Iraq? We've spoken to a range of people -- to those still inside
the country and to those who fled to different parts of the world. The
names of victims appearing in this program have been changed to protect
their identities. Researchers from the US-based Human Rights Watch recently spent several months investigating the treatment of gay people in Iraq. Scott Long: Today we're going to look at a new issue for us -- Aasmah
Mir: The director of the organization LGBT program, Scott Long,
outlined some of their findings at a briefing in New York. Scott
Long: I'm going to start by reading a testimony, or part of a
testimony, from a man we spoke to who was 35-years-old. He actually
developed a severe speech impediment from strain and grief. This is
what he told us: "It was late one night in early April and they came
to take my partner at his parent's house. Four armed men barged into
the house. they were masked and wearing black. They asked for him by
name. They insulted him and they took him in front of his parents. He
was found in the neighborhood the day after. They had thrown his
corpse in the garbage, his genitals were cut off and a piece of his
throat was ripped out. Since then, I've been unable to speak properly.
I feel as if my life is pointless now. I don't have friends other than
those you see. For years, it's just been my boyfriend and myself in
that little bubble by ourselves. I have no family now. I can't go
back to them." Aasmah Mir: Back in Britain, I went to see asylum seeker Ali Hilli who runs a group called Iraqi LGBT. Aasmah Mir: Hello Ali. Ali Hilli: Hello Ashram, how are you? Aasmah Mir: I'm fine thank you. How are you?
Ali Hilli: Good thank you.
Aasmah Mir: Thanks very much for talking to us. Aasmah
Mir: While I was with him, Ali showed me some of the shocking video
evidence of torture his group has been collecting. The images he showed
me concerned attacks on transsexuals Aasmah
Mir: People were -- had their heads shaved. In this video we see one
of the victims, his name is Ali also, he was a member of our group in
Najaf, a trans person lived all his life as a transwoman. They took
him away. They had his head shaved. And they distributed this video
everywhere in Iraq and we still don't have an idea Aasmah
Mir: And that's what we can actually see right now, he's sitting on a
stool, dressed in female clothes, long hair and someone is shaving his
head. Ali Hilli: Yes and uh it's so degrading. Aasmah
Mir: Yeah. How do you feel when you watch this kind of video because
obviously you probably see a lot of it. This is the first time I've
seen anything like this and, you know, obviously I'm quite shocked by
it. But you, you must see this stuff all the time. Do you still feel
shocked by it or are you almost becoming -- getting used to it in a
kind of way? Ali
Hilli: No, I will never get used to atrocities against humanity. If I
see the video for the first time, I'm quite shaken because the only
thing that I-I afraid to catch is the moment of death. This is what I-I
don't want to see in my life. I-I can - I can bear anything, I can
accept anything but to kill a human? I just can't. Aasmah
Mir: We were granted exclusive access to one of the so-called safe
houses set up and funded and managed by the London-based Iraqi LGBT
group. On the outskirts of Baghdad, in an anonymous street behind
heavily curtained windows we found Kassim a man in his late thirties.
Kassim describes himself as a woman in a man's body. He's had a
lifetime of trouble coming to terms with his gender identity. Kassim's
been the victim of violence on several occasions most recently earlier
this year Kassim:
One day, um, someone stopped his car by me and he said "Taxi" and I
said, "Why? Why taxi?" Where are you going? And I said I was going to
this certain place. He took me to an empty house and put a white
blindfold on my eyes and then put a gun to my head and I said, "Just
give me a time to pray to God before you kill me." And he said, "I
won't give you time to pray." And he threatened me and I wasn't moving
because I was afraid that he would kill me with the gun and then
finally he said, "Okay, I'll let you go for this time but your day will
come where you will die Aasmah Mir: Amil's a young Iraqi man whose seeking asylum in London. A gay friend of his was killed by extremists in Iraq. Amil:
I used to have a friend, he was student with me and they find out he
was gay and they kill him and they chop him like a -- like a lamb or I
couldn't or I can't - I can't hardly say because it was really awful.
They kill him and they chop it him and they put him in front of the
institute, the one I was studying, to show and to scare the people to
not be gay or homosexual. Hossein
Alizadeh: The most horrendous form of torture that I have heard and
seen is what happened during March and April in Iraq. Members of the
Iraqi Shi'ite militia al-Mahdi group, they went around posted lists,
names of the people who were supposed to be gay and when they arrest
them they basically use glue to shut down their digestive system -- the
anus. Others who managed to escape go to the hospitals and the
hospitals refuse treatment to those people because, again, they look
gay or they're perceived to be gay. So we had numerous cases -- I can
tell you about fifty or sixty cases I've heard -- that have been
tortured in that way. Aasmah Mir: Rasha Moumneh is the Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch Rasha
Moumneh: You know some of the gay men have actually talked about
internet entrapment, a lot of men would be kidnapped, blackmailed for
money. We've talked to people whose partners have been killed in the
most brutal of ways. Aasmah Mir: And it appears that it is not just people who are gay, bi or transsexual who find themselves the target of violence Ali
Hilli: Anyone who's gay, who looks like gay, or have an effeminate
behavior, certain Western dress, we've heard of so many examples of
people who were, they were even married with children Aasmah
Mir: There seems to have been an increase in violence in recent months
but according to the London-based Iraqi LGBT the killings and torture
go back a long way. They claim more than 600 people have been executed
since 2003. Ali
Hilli: There are so many other areas like villages, little towns, also
big cities, we can't have people reach to or investigate about
incidents. Also sometimes security situation is quite very
complicated, people can't travel often to check or find out what's
happening in certain areas. So I believe the number is far more higher
than 600. Aasmah
Mir: Gay people are seeking sanctuary from the violence in Iraq in all
parts of the world. At a secret location by the banks of the Seine in
Paris we met Omar a twenty year old gay man who just weeks earlier had
been facing death in Iraq. A small, slightly built young man, who looks
younger than his age, told us his story. At times clearly traumatized. Omar:
I was arrested and I was in retention and there I found five other gay
persons. We suffered torture. There was the electrical way -- to use
electricity to torture us. And there's a position where my head is
down through my legs -- and my head is down, it's something horrible.
While you have another mean of torture using the belts -- you cannot
imagine -- a normal person cannot imagine such torture. Aasmah
Mir: I'm Aasmah Mir and you're listening to Gay Life After Saddam on
BBC Radio 5 live. So what was life like for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered people before the fall of Saddam Hussein Scott
Long: There was no possibility of leading a particularly public gay
life. There are reports from Amnesty International that 2002 as Saddam
was attempting to sort of shore up his Islamist credentials, before the
invasion, he passed decrees mandating the death penalty for
prostitution and for homosexual conduct. We haven't actually seen
those decrees and we can't confirm what they contain. Aasmah Mir: This Iraqi student who wishes to remain anonymous now lives in New York Anonymous:
I had a pretty, you know, reasonable gay lifestyle under the table --
in terms of, you know, circle of friends, gatherings, get-togethers,
we'd get together at homes. Before the war, there were a couple of
bars, a couple of clubs that on weekends are pretty much publicly gay
and everybody knew about it and we used to go and hang out there and
that's fine as long as we don't take that out in the streets. Aasmah
Mir: Ali Hilli was a young gay men in Iraq during the 1990s. He has
fond memories of the underground gay scene that flourished without much
interference in Saddam's Baghdad. Ali
Hilli: Well we had - we had lots of theater actually plays that we were
-- people always have to refer to the gay character which is always
taken as a sense of humor in shows. We used to go to -- to see lots of
theaters and plays. I don't know, for some reason there is always a
gay character in these plays and I quite like it because I know some of
the actors who are really gay themselves and we enjoy it because they
really make the most of it. They camp it up. And there were lots
of gay famous singers. Aasmah Mir: Kassim remembers a better life under Saddam . Kassim:
Life was good, everything was okay. There were clubs, cafeterias and
we could choose where we sat. We could choose any place to sit and
meet other gays and frankly compared to the current situation the
times under Saddam were much better. Aasmah
Mir: Haider is an Iraqi seeking asylum in England. He's been living in
Huntersfield. He left Iraq shortly after the US invasion six years
ago. Haider:
If you respect yourself and live and you don't cause any problems
nobody is going to kill you we didn't hear of anybody being killed
because of his sexuality in Saddam's regime. Now after that, everything
got worse, everything got fluctuated. I fled from Iraq in 2003 because
of one of the worst experiences I've had in my life. I was kidnapped
for 9 days, they took me in a small car and they send me about to a
place about half an hour. I was. I was eye-folded, they call it. [.
. .] on the border of Baghdad. One of the officers there, he raped me.
And then he said "if you're going to tell anyone from the rest of the
gang, I will kill you directly." I was scared. Just a one meal a day
which is not enough. They were always telling us that they were going
to kill you. If you missed it you have six days to listen online
and note that first five minutes of the podcast are headlines and the
program starts around 5:42 into the podcast. The next section is where
ignorance is really flaunted as 'average' Iraqi men 'explain'
'reality.' Such as it's wrong to have sex with a guy who is a man --
as opposed to a guy who is a woman? You'll hear non-stop ignorance and
hatred in that section. After that the issue of responsibility for the
violence is raised and then is there a role for the US, UK, etc. It's
a powerful program and those who are able to stream it should. Violence swept through Iraq over the weekend and a new feature, reported by Iran's Press TV, was the targeting US Ambassador Chris Hill with a roadside bomb in Dhi Qar. Jomana Karadsheh (CNN) explains,
"The Shiite Arab-dominated province was among the first handed over to
Iraqi security forces, and was the scene of periodic clashes between
Iraqi security forces and a militia loyal to anti-American Shiite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in 2007." Aamer Madhani (USA Today) adds,
"A USA TODAY reporter was traveling in a separate U.S. convoy a few
minutes behind Hill's in Nasiriyah, a relatively peaceful city where
Hill had just finished meeting with local political leaders." No one
was reported wounded or killed in the bombing and no one should bother
to even think about if if the US State Dept's reaction is any clue. In
a shameful press briefing today Ian Kelly, State Dept spokesmodel,
never raised the issue and an increasingly disinterested press corps
never asked. Iraq's not one of their 'issues' apparently and Kelly
seems to forget that Chris Hill is under the State Dept umbrella. The
bombing targeting Hill wasn't the only one but the State Dept press
corps doesn't give a damn about Iraq and Ian Kelly couldn't find it
with two hands and a flashing lights illuminating its borders. So the
new 'hot' target in Iraq was yet another issue the State Dept didn't
tackle. It needs to be noted that this administration repeatedly
pushes the previous one's talking point about lack of progress on
Iraq's political scene. So why isn't that asked of at each State Dept
briefing? Because the reporters just don't give a damn. Naamua Delaney: Michael you also talked about the mass exodus of Christians from Iraq. How many are left at this point?
Michael
Ware: Well that's very difficult to say. There's no precise figures on
what was originally the Christian population in this country; however,
most people seem to agree it was around a million Christians in Iraq.
Most people now seem to agree that anything from 600,000 to 800,000 of
that million have fled. Indeed we know that just say last October there
were reports that in the northern city of Mosul which is one of the
last urban strongholds of al Qaeda in Iraq as many as a thousand
Christian families left the city and left the country at that time
after they faced a threat from Islamic militants to convert or to die. From
summer to fall of 2008, Iraqi Christians in and around Mosul were
targeted. Yesterday's attack on Iraqi Christians in Baghdad was the
most visible attack on Iraqi Christians in months; however, it is a
slow and steady trickle of weekly and daily attacks that have gone on
since the start of the illegal war. Steven Lee Myers (New York Times) observed
that Sunday's "worst attack" was when "a car bomb exploded just before
dusk outside the Church of Mariam Al-Adra, or the Church of the Virgin
Mary, part of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, in central
Baghdad. The blast, which reverberated across the city, damaged the
church and scorched cards near a park on Palestine Street. The blast
killed and wounded Christians and Muslims." Doreen Abi Raad (Catholic News Service) reports,
"Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad, Iraq, had just
finished celebrating Mass at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chruch and
was talking to parishioners in the courtyard. Moments later, while he
was in his office, a bomb exploded on the road that runs alongside the
church." Doreen Abi Raad quotes Bishop Warduin stating, "We had been
praying for peace during the Mass. [. . .] all the little children (had
been) praying in the church. Then they ran outside to see the death,
the destruction, to see the war. It was hell. We cry: Why? Why?
What is our fault? That we are Christians?" Pope Benedict XVI has
called out the assaults on Sunday. L'Osservatore Romano (Italian article, and note the photo the charred car outside the church) reports
that the Pope states he "prays for a conversion of the heart of those
responsible for the violence and encourages the authorities to do all
that is possible to promote peace for all of the Iraqi population."
The report notes that since the fall of Saddam's regime, Iraq's
Christian community has been the target of a series of attacks with
August 2004 being the most serious when there were four attacks in
Baghdad and two in Mosul which led to at least ten dead and fifty
wounded. October 16, 2004 saw five attacks on houses of worship in
Baghdad and surrounding areas. Under Saddam, the report states, the
Christians in Iraq enjoyed safety and a reletaive freedom and some held
important positions in the government like Tareq Aziz who was the
Deputy Prime Minister prior to the start of the illegal war. (Since
Marach of this year, he has been serving a fifteen year prison
sentece. He had been held by the US military since 2003. In 2007, Cardinal Emmanuel Delly made a Christmas plea for his release.)
The most high profile assault on a single Christian individual was
probably the kidnapping and murder of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. From the March 13, 2008 snapshot: Archbishop
Paulos Faraj Rahho is dead. He was leaving the Catholic Church in
Mosul when he, his driver and two others were stopped on February 29th
and the Archbishop was kidnapped while the three others were shot
dead. Throughout the kidnapping, Pope Benedict XVI has issued mutliple
appeals for the Archbishop to be released. The kidnappers had
requested a ransom and then increased the amount they were asking for.
After that contact appeared to break off. Reuters reports
that the Archbishop's corpse was discovered in Mosul today "half-buried
in an empty lot" and "Police said it was not clear whether Rahho, 65,
had been killed or died of other causes. He appeared to have been dead
a week and had no bullet wounds, police at the morgue in Mosul said.
He was dressed in black trousers and a blue shirt." AP reports,
"After two weeks of prayers and searching, officials at the
archbishop's church received a phone call from the kidnappers on
Wednesday, informing them that he had died and where he was buried,
Monsignor Shlemon Warduni, the auxillary bishop of Baghdad, told The
Associated Press." Spero News notes,
"In a letter to the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, His
Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly, Cardinal [Francis] George called today's
killing 'callous' and one which 'demonstrates the particularly harsh
realities faced by Christians in Iraq and the lack of security faced by
all Iraqis'." Chaldean.org notes,
"The Chaldean community around the world stand numb and in disbelief as
news of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul is dead. Outcry from
world leaders swayed no influences as fanatical terrorists proved once
more that no women, children, medical providers, and now spiritual
leaders are safe from their killing spree." They also note that the
ransom requests led to requests by the Church to speak to the the
Archbishop and that's what led to their being informed he was dead and
"had been dead for at least five days before his body was found this
morning by some members of the Church, following information provided
by the kidnappers themselves." Frances Harrison (BBC) notes,
"Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho is thought to be the highest-ranking
Chaldean Catholic clergyman to be killed in the violence in Iraq."
March 11th, US House Rep Jeff Fortenberry raised the kidnapping of the
Archbishop in an open hearing (by two subcommittees, click here). Today
Iraq attempted to 'respond' to the bombings. There's only one response
ever, the same response Nouri's done over since being installed by the
US in 2006: crackdown. Aseel Kami, Tim Cocks and Richard Balmforth (Reuters) explain Mosul is now under curfew while, at present, nothing different is taking place in Baghdad. CNN notes
that another church has been bombed today, this one in Mosul (the
curfew doesn't appear to have helped, now did it?) with three children
(possibly more) left injured. Nada Bakri (Washington Post) reports that while Mosul is under crackdown, security has been "tightened" in Baghdad while Tilkaif and Hamdaniyah have a car ban. The United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Ad Melkert, stated today
that, "This campaign is aimed at terrorizing vulnerable groups and
preventing the peaceful coexistence of different religious groups in
what is one of the world's cradles of religious and ethnic diversity."
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) notes
that the bombing today in Mosul was between a church and a mosque and
that three boys were wounded and a Baghdad roadside bombing left three
police officers and four civilians injured. Meanwhile ABC News notes that Bob Woodruff has returned to Iraq and the "first report will air tonight on World News with Charlie Gibson". In January 2006, Bob Woodward was co-anchor, with Elizabeth Vargas, of ABC's World News Tonight. A roadside bombing severely injured him and he had a very difficult recovery. David Zurawik (Baltimore Sun) explains Woodruff's report won't air tonight due to a sandstorm and that his first report is now expected to air on Tuesday night. Brian Stelter (New York Times) notes
Woodruff is with the press corps covering Adm Mike Mullen's trip. Bob
Woodruff's recovery was rightly news and his return trip to Iraq is as
well. However in the bulk of the reports (I know of at least twenty
that we're not linking to) the focus is on Bob Woodruff who, honestly,
won't have much time to absorb the trip until he returns due to his
schedule (and temperament). If reporters were attempting to cover the
stress right now, I would assume the person to call would be Lee Woodruff, author most recently of Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress, who
is no doubt proud of her husband but would understandly be more than a
little ill at ease as she waits for his return. Again, Bob Woodruff's
first report is scheduled to air Tuesday evening on ABC World News Tonight. Again, he is part of the press corps traveling with the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen whom, Andrew Gray (Reuters) reports
is grounded in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk due to the sandstorms and
that he has met with leaders in Kirkuk. Mullen summed up the
'interaction' thusly: "My message to them today was: we're leaving and
you'd better figure it out." On the issue of Kirkuk, Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reported
yesterday that the status of Kirkuk "is now seen as the leading long
term threat to Iraq's stability as sectarian violence dies down"
and that Kirkuk does not appear likely to be getting a vote anytime
soon and cites the Speaker of Parliament, Ayad al-Samarai, declaring
that instead of open election, Arab and Turkmen MPs are advocating for
a number of seats set aside for each ethnic group in the city. Moving over to England, Matthew Weaver (Guardian) notes
that Iraqi Baha Mousa's death at the age of 26 while in British custody
in September 2003 is the subject of a public inquiry in England
which began today and that, "A central issue of the inquiry is why five
'conditioning techniques' -- hooding prisoners, putting them in stress
positions, depriving them of sleep, depriving them of food and water,
and playing white noise -- were used on Iraq detainees. The
techniques, inflicted on IRA suspects, were banned in 1972 by then
prime minister, Edward Heath." The Telegraph of London offers that
Baha "was beaten to death" while in British custody, "sustaining 93
separate injuires, including fractured ribs and a broken nose." The Telegraph also notes
that the inquiry was shown video of Corporal Donald Payne yelling and
screaming, "shouting and swearing at the Iraqis as they are force to
main painful 'stress position'." Julian Rush (Channel 4) offers a video report of the hearing thus far and what the inquiry is supposed to explore over the next year. BBC explains the Sir William Gage led inquiry will explore four segments:
The history of "conditioning" techniques, like hooding, used by UK
troops while questioning prisoners from Northern Ireland in the early
1970s to the invasion of Iraq in March
2003 What happened to Mr Mousa and other Iraqi detainees Training and the chain of command Events since 2003 and any recommendations for the future Moving to the US, last week, the US army released their latest suicide data (for the month of June). Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reports
this morning, "Army commanders are failing at the day-to-day task of
monitoring troubled young soldiers in their barracks back home, which
is helping push suicides to record numbers, the head of the Army's
suicide task force [Brig Gen Colleen McGuire] says." James Dao (New York Times) tracks
Iraq War veteran Damian J. Todd's attempts to get his claims filled by
the VA in order to put a human face on the non-stop, never-ending
delays by the VA. Dao notes that the VA's unprocessed claims are "now
over 400,000, up from 253,000 six years ago, the agency said."
Actually, they're a lot higher. The June 25th snapshot
notes that day's House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity hearing on the Post-9-11 GI Bill which requires new
payments starting August 1st. [If you qualify or think you may for the
new education benefits, you can refer to the VA's GI Bill website
as a resource. For those with limited internet access or who would
prefer the human interaction, the toll free number is 1-888-GI-BILL-1
or 1-888-442-4551. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has a webpage that
gives you a historical overview and also allows you to locate a VFW
service officer who can assist veterans with the application process.]
The VA's Director from the Office of Education Service Keith Wilson
testified that, due to the number of applications which had come in up
to that point, there might be a last minute crunch of applications as
people rushed to put their paperwork through in order to qualify for
the fall semester. Dao notes, "Veterans advocates say the actual
backlog is nearing one million, if minor claims, educational programs
and appeals of denied claims are factored in." As Winona says to Ethan in Reality Bites, "Where were you?" To draw attention to Iraq on the sixth anniversary, Rebecca
instituted a number of community roundtables in the weeks leading up to
the anniversary. They took place each Friday night and were posted at
the sites of all participating. One week, Rebecca led us in an
additional roundtable. " Selling out the women of Afghanistan," " Afghanistan," " Afghanistan women get forgotten" " Afghanistan roundtable," " US designates Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a Terrorist," " afghanistan roundtable," " Afghanistan," " Afghanistan in the Kitchen," " Talking Afghanistan," " The Afghanistan Roundtable," " Roundtabling Afghanistan," " Friday night movie post on Tuesday," " Afghanistan roundtable," " Iraq and Afghanistan," " Afghanistan," " Ron DLC Kirk," " Iraq, Hillary, Isaiah, etc" and " Anti-feminist Barack Obama." From the opening of that roundtable: Rebecca:
[. . .] Why a roundtable? Why now? Middle of the week when we all have
things to do. We're doing this on Ava and C.I.'s dinner time, for
example. Kat's as well but she's not planning on going back out and
speaking about Iraq tonight. Kat, Ava and C.I. are on the road -- with
Wally of The Daily Jot
-- speaking out against the illegal war in and on Iraq. Ruth's been
taking care of her grandson all day, Trina's been taken care of her
granddaughter, I've been taking care of my daughter, Betty worked all
day and has three children, Dona was in classes all day, Elaine was
seeing patients all day, Marcia was working hard -- and almost had a
heart attack, as Ava and C.I. always say, "we'll get to it." The point
being -- and I hope I didn't leave anyone out -- we're all busy. We all
have other things to do. Ava and C.I. are taking notes, therefore
unable to really eat dinner. Elaine said she'd type this up and she's
tired. We're all tired. But we're doing a roundtable because it's
become necessary. On Sunday, Little Barry Obam-bam could be found in the New York Times floating diplomatic ties between the US and the Taliban. That's what it was, get serious. Third Estate Sunday Review addressed it with "Editorial: Ms. magazine gets punked"
and that was written by Jim, Jess, Wally and Ty, who aren't with us,
and Dona, Ava, C.I., Kat and Betty, who are with us. It's only getting
worse as the week continues, Little Barry's Big Plan to make out with
the Taliban. I understand he's going to give it up for them, lose his
cherry. But I'm going to toss to Marcia to explain how it just got out
of control today. Marcia?
Marcia:
As I explained to Rebecca, I was at work when my boss starts screaming
for me. At the top of her lungs. I didn't think it was financial --
example, "We're closing!" And my own work hadn't been any problem. Plus
my boss isn't a screamer. So I hurry into her office convinced she's
just learned that one of her parents have died or that she's got only a
few months to live or something. She was on the phone with a friend who
had called to tell her about this "disgusting radio show" and how they
were pushing the Taliban as a good thing. My boss couldn't believe it
but then her friend was trying to remember the name and couldn't..
Finally, she remembered the name of the host, Amy Goodman.
I
include all that because (a) if anyone wants to go to town on the
highlight we're about to note, do so with my blessing and (b) we need
to realize that the time to speak out was in March, not July. And if
you're only now speaking out, you should be speaking out even
stronger. And if you can't mention Barack -- you know I'm damn tired,
DAMN TIRED, of these closeted Communists. I don't know why they love
Barry and I don't know who they think they fool by being "out" in
political circles but closeted on air and in print. I guess we're
supposed to believe Pacifica's just an oasis of "independent" voters?
So cowardly craven Sonali Kolhatkar finally wants to speak up for
Afghanistan women. FINALLY. And don't give me that s**t about how
she's spoken out before. Her ass has been silent since Barack chose to
get in bed with the Taliban. She hasn't said a damn word until this
month. With Mariam Rawl, she offers (at ZNet): As
humanitarians and as feminists, it is the welfare of the civilian
population in Afghanistan that concerns us most deeply. That is why it
was so discouraging to learn that the Feminist Majority Foundation has lent its good name -- and the good name of feminism in general -- to advocate for further troop escalation and war. On
its foundation Web site, the first stated objective of the Feminist
Majority Foundation's "Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls" is to
"expand peacekeeping forces." First
of all, coalition troops are combat forces and are there to fight a
war, not to preserve peace. Not even the Pentagon uses that language to
describe U.S. forces there. More importantly, the tired claim that one
of the chief objectives of the military occupation of Afghanistan is to
liberate Afghan women is not only absurd, it is offensive. Waging
war does not lead to the liberation of women anywhere. Women always
disproportionately suffer the effects of war, and to think that women's
rights can be won with bullets and bloodshed is a position dangerous in
its naοvetι. The Feminist Majority should know this
instinctively. Here
are the facts: After the invasion, Americans received reports that
newly liberated women had cast off their burquas and gone back to work.
Those reports were mythmaking and propaganda. Aside from a small number
of women in Kabul , life for Afghan women since the fall of the Taliban
has remained the same or become much worse. Under
the Taliban, women were confined to their homes. They were not allowed
to work or attend school. They were poor and without rights. They had
no access to clean water or medical care, and they were forced into
marriages, often as children. Today,
women in the vast majority of Afghanistan live in precisely the same
conditions, with one notable difference: they are surrounded by war.
The conflict outside their doorsteps endangers their lives and those of
their families. It does not bring them rights in the household or in
public, and it confines them even further to the prison of their own
homes. Military escalation is just going to bring more tragedy to the
women of Afghanistan .
You
can agree with their essay if you want to be STUPID. If you want to be
a FOOL. Feminist Majority Foundation is making a fool of itself, no
question. And we've called them out (and I know Eleanor Smeal but that
never stops me from calling her out). But what a ridiculous piece of
trash column from Sonali. Feminist Majority Foundation is the ultimate
target? Really? You want to play that? Are
you telling me that Eleanor Smeal is directing the Afghanistan War?
Strange, I thought it was Barack Obama. You know, the man your
closeted Communist won't call out for reasons that you need to explain
to your listening audience. Sonali, you're a damn joke and you made
yourself one. This column where you finally, FINALLY, speak out for
Afghanistan women is so damn weak and pathetic it's as if a small
toddler wrote it with a crayon. Grow the hell up, you political closet
case, you're a damn embarrassment for yourself and others and I don't
have the time and the women of Afghanistan damn sure don't have the
time. You either grow the hell up and learn to call out the president
directing this illegal war of aggression or shut your damn ass because
you're not helping anyone. You're just embarrassing yourself. What an
idiot. What a coward. What a fool. Closets are for wardrobes, dear.
Here's another tip, when you're calling out people getting cozy with
the wrong side in Afghanistan and doing it four months late, you need
to write a lot more strongly. Get off your knees and stand the hell
up, you embarrass us all. Should
the US antiwar movement be attending rallies sponsored by the National
Endowment for Democracy (NED) claiming to support the opposition
movement in Iran? According to the group Stop War on Iran, this is
exactly what United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and other antiwar
groups are doing. If so, are they really supporting the leftist and
progressive elements of that opposition or are they naively providing
cover for those in the United States power elites who would love to see
a regime friendly to Washington ruling in Tehran? Recently, UFPJ urged
its members to attend rallies called by a group that goes by the name
of United for Iran on July 25, 2009. While I believe the intentions of
the antiwar organizations calling on folks to join these protests come
from a genuine desire to see an end to the Tehran government's
repression, the fact that some of the Iranian dissident groups in Iran
and in exile take their money and guidance from the NED and other
US-propaganda operations compromises the antiwar groups' position.
An even closer connection to the NED
funds is that of the apparent US organizer of the United for Iran
rallies, Hadi Ghaemi. Mr. Ghaemi is is the director of the
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. This group is a
project of the Dutch Foundation for Human Security in the Middle East.
More important as regards his NED connection is Ghaemi's role as a
former board member of the National Iranian American Council, which has
received over a quarter million dollars in NED grants. While this is
not an indictment of the desire for greater freedoms in Iran expressed
by Ghaemi and his organization, one would think these connections would
give pause to a US antiwar group whose leadership knows only too well
the role groups funded by the NED and other US special funds played in
the period leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Posted at 03:35 pm by thecommonills
Permalink
Sunday's attack on Iraqi churches continue today
Meanwhile,
six bombs exploded outside churches around Baghdad, killing four and
sowing fears among the country's dwindling Christian minority that they
may be subject to a fresh round of persecution now that U.S. forces
have withdrawn from Iraq's cities.
The deaths occurred when a car
bomb detonated outside Virgin Mary Church on Palestine Street in east
Baghdad as worshipers were leaving evening Mass. Sixteen others were
wounded in the attack.
"This is going to make the Christians
scared," said Bishop Shlemon Warduni, who was in his office at the back
of the church when the bomb went off. "They will be scared to come to
services, and maybe more will leave the country."The above is from Liz Sly's " Churches in Iraq targeted in bombings; 4 killed" ( Los Angeles Times)
on yesterday's bombing which saw Iraq's increasingly small Christian
population targeted. From summer to fall of 2008, Iraqi Christians in
and around Mosul were targeted. Yesterday's attack on Iraqi Christians
in Baghdad was the most visible attack on Iraqi Christians in months;
however, it is a slow and steady trickle of weekly and daily attacks
that have gone on since the start of the illegal war. Steven Lee Myers'
" Churches and Envoy Attacked in Iraq" ( New York Times) adds: In
the worst attack, a car bomb exploded just before dusk outside the
Church of Mariam Al-Adra, or the Church of the Virgin Mary, part of the
Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, in central Baghdad. The blast, which
reverberated across the city, damaged the church and scorched cars near
a park on Palestine Street. The blast killed and wounded Christians and
Muslims."The terrorists
don't distinguish if they were Muslims or Christians," said Khodor
Mohammed, 71, who was wounded in the back, crying as he spoke. "They
are killing Iraqis. The blood of Christians and Muslims was mixed
today."And the 'response'? There's only one response
ever, the same response Nouri's done over since being installed by the
US in 2006: crackdown. Aseel Kami, Tim Cocks and Richard Balmforth (Reuters) explain Mosul is now under curfew while, at present, nothing different is taking place in Baghdad. The Arab Times presents the continued talking point offered by both the US government and its puppet government in Iraq: The
Iraqi military on Sunday predicted that insurgent attacks, though
declining, could continue for a few years, raising the prospect of
militant violence after the scheduled withdrawal of all US troops by
the end of 2011. The comments by Gen Babaker B. Shawkat Zebari, the
army chief of staff, came several hours after gunmen fatally shot a
government financial officer in northern Iraq and one day after bombs
in Baghdad and a village near Mosul killed 10 people. Violence is
sharply down in the war that began with the US-led invasion in 2003,
but militants still carry out lethal attacks on a regular basis. The US
military completed a withdrawal of combat forces from Iraqi cities to
outlying bases last month as part of a plan to let Iraq take the lead
on ensuring its own security. Zebari said insurgents once held sway in
cities and provinces, but had been whittled down to a few highly
dangerous cells that he expected would continue attacks for "a year or
two or three." He said the Iraqi military would get help from American
forces if needed, but would also rely on assistance from its own
citizens.
Michael Ware (CNN -- video) reports
on yesterday's violence including the attempted attack on US Ambassador
to Iraq Chris Hill (who wasn't hurt). Ware explained, "Here in Iraq a
string of church bombings targeting once more the Christian population
of this country, hundreds of thousands of them have been forced to flee
this nation. [. . .] It can't be stressed strongly enough that this was
going on under the US command on the US watch and it's continuing now.
There's been spikes and spasms of violence throughout the history of
the US led phase of the war. And it is with some regret that I report
that they will continue now under Iraq command of this war." From the exchange that follows his report: Naamua Delaney: Michael you also talked about the mass exodus of Christians from Iraq. How many are left at this point?Michael
Ware: Well that's very difficult to say. There's no precise figures on
what was originally the Christian population in this country; however,
most people seem to agree it was around a million Christians in Iraq.
Most people now seem to agree that anything from 600,000 to 800,000 of
that million have fled. Indeed we know that just say last October there
were reports that in the northern city of Mosul which is one of the
last urban strongholds of al Qaeda in Iraq as many as a thousand
Christian families left the city and left the country at that time
after they faced a threat from Islamic militants to convert or to die. CNN notes
that another church has been bombed today, this one in Mosul (the
curfew doesn't appear to have helped, now did it?) with three children
(possibly more) left injured. Last week, the US army released their latest suicide data (for the month of June). Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reports
this morning, "Army commanders are failing at the day-to-day task of
monitoring troubled young soldiers in their barracks back home, which
is helping push suicides to record numbers, the head of the Army's
suicide task force [Brig Gen Colleen McGuire] says." In this morning's New York Times, James Dao's " Veterans Affairs Faces Surge of Disability Claims"
which tracks Iraq War veteran Damian J. Todd's attempts to get his
claims filled by the VA in order to put a human face on the non-stop,
never-ending delays by the VA. Dao notes that the VA's unprocessed
claims are "now over 400,000, up from 253,000 six years ago, the agency
said." Actually, they're a lot higher. The June 25th snapshot
notes that day's House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity hearing on the Post-9-11 GI Bill which requires new
payments starting August 1st. [If you qualify or think you may for the new education benefits, you can refer to the VA's GI Bill website
as a resource. For those with limited internet access or who would
prefer the human interaction, the toll free number is 1-888-GI-BILL-1
or 1-888-442-4551. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has a webpage
that gives you a historical overview and also allows you to locate a
VFW service officer who can assist veterans with the application
process.] The VA's Director from the Office of Education Service Keith
Wilson testified that, due to the number of applications which had come
in up to that point, there might be a last minute crunch of
applications as people rushed to put their paperwork through in order
to qualify for the fall semester. In addition, Dao notes,
"Veterans advocates say the actual backlog is nearing one million, if
minor claims, educational programs and appeals of denied claims are
factored in." DAO also notes the high number of those suffering from
PTSD: Post-traumatic stress
disorder, or PTSD, has emerged as one of the most prevalent disability
claims, after ailments like back pain and knee injuries. Not only are
many new veterans receiving a diagnosis of the disorder, but an
increasing number of Vietnam veterans are also reporting symptoms for
the first time, officials and advocates said.Delays
in getting PTSD claims approved have prompted members of Congress to
propose legislation that would reduce the documentation required to
prove that a veterans disorder was caused by specific combat events.
Finding such documentation can be difficult for Vietnam veterans, whose
memories of events 40 years ago may have grown hazy. Records from that
era are also often difficult to find, advocates said.PTSD
is a serious issue and it is a mental condition and diagnosis, no
matter how badly some journalists and their friends might prefer it not
be and might prefer to pretend the brain (an organ) is a "bone" that
can be mended. (Best comment on that in the four columns in last week's
gina & krista round-robin was ". . . and even bones have to be set to heal correctly.") Bonnie reminds that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Republican Dream" went up last night. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqliz slythe los angeles timesthe new york timessteven lee myersjames daocnnmichael warenaamu delaneygregg zoroyausa todaythe world today just nuts
Posted at 07:43 am by thecommonills
Permalink
Matthew Weaver (Guardian) notes
that Baha Mousa's death at the age of 26 while in British custody in
September 2003 is the subject of a public inquiry in England which
starts today. A central issue
of the inquiry is why five "conditioning techniques" hooding
prisoners, putting them in stress positions, depriving them of sleep,
depriving them of food and water, and playing white noise were used
on Iraqi detainees. The techniques, inflicted on IRA suspects, were
banned in 1972 by the then prime minister, Edward Heath..Detailing
the abuses against six other Iraqis arrested with Mousa, Elias said:
"One man says he was made to dance in the style of Michael Jackson."Other detainees claimed they were urinated on and forced to lie face down over a hole in the ground filled with excrement.The Telegraph of London offers this background: While
in the custody of the Preston-based Queen's Lancashire Regiment, the
receptionist was beaten to death, sustaining 93 separate injuries,
including fractured ribs and a broken nose.Mr
Mousa's 22-year-old wife had died of cancer shortly before his
detention, meaning his two young sons, Hussein and Hassan, were
orphaned.Seven soldiers
faced a court martial at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire on war crimes
charges relating to the receptionist's death. All but one were cleared
on all counts in March 2007.The
Ministry of Defence agreed in July last year to pay £2.83 million in
compensation to the families of Mr Mousa and nine other Iraqi men
mistreated by British troops.Mr Mousa's father, Iraqi police colonel Daoud Mousa, said: "I think of my son every day. The Telegraph also notes
that the inquiry was shown video of Corporal Donald Payne yelling and
screaming, "shouting and swearing at the Iraqis as they are force to
main painful 'stress position'." Julian Rush (Channel 4) offers a video report of the hearing thus far and what the inquiry is supposed to explore over the next year. BBC explains the Sir William Gage led inquiry will explore four segments:
The history of "conditioning" techniques, like hooding, used by UK
troops while questioning prisoners from Northern Ireland in the early
1970s to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 What happened to Mr Mousa and other Iraqi detainees Training and the chain of command Events since 2003 and any recommendations for the future Turning
to the United States where Topeka, Kansas was in the news yesterday
afternoon as a veteran had a standoff with police at the Colmery-O'Neil
VA Medical Center. India's Thaindian reports, "An unknown gunman stormed a Topeka, Kansas hospital on Sunday afternoon, officials told BNO News." Taylor Atkins and Ann Marie Bush (The Topeka Capital-Journal) explain: Jim
Gleisberg, public affairs officer for the medical center, said no one
was injured when a veteran, whose name and hometown wont be released,
walked into the emergency room with a handgun at 12:10 p.m. and asked
to talk to a VA police officer."The
veteran showed the officer he had a gun and threatened his own life,"
Gleisberg said. "The police officer acted very professionally. He got
the veteran to leave the emergency room area, and other staff members
on duty called the Topeka police."KTKA quotes
the VA's Jim Gleisberg stating the man is an Iraq War and Afghanistan
War veteran and, "Veterans are being stressed. The soldiers over there
now that are in the conflict that are coming back with issues just
because they've been deployed either once or twice at 12 or 15 months
at a time it's a very stressful situation and so they are going to have
issues." Bonnie reminds that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Republican Dream" went up last night. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqmatthew weaverthe guardianthe telegraph of londonjulian rushtaylor atkinsann marie bushktkathe world today just nuts
Posted at 06:37 am by thecommonills
Permalink
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Republican Dream"
Posted at 11:01 pm by thecommonills
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