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Fort Hood shooter used as excuse to scapegoat Muslims, Arabs
Saturday, 7 November 2009 2:39 P GMT-05
As soon as the name of the shooter at Fort Hood who killed 13 people and wounded 38—Nidal Malik Hasan—was known, reporters and bloggers began jumping to conclusions about his heritage and his motive.
Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith said “the name tells us a lot,” and an op-ed column on FoxNews.com suggested the shooting spree was “the largest terror act since 9/11.” Later, Fox and Friends hosts suggested that the military should conduct "special debriefings" for all Muslim officers.
Commentators at the Jihad Watch blog immediately labeled Hasan a “jihadi” and called for a “war on Islam.”
World Net Daily’s headline trumpeted “Fort Hood triggerman: Muslim, shrink, officer,” implying that Hasan’s religion was his most relevant attribute.
CBSNews.com decried an immediate “anti-Muslim backlash” that included at least one threatening call to the Arab-American Institute. However, the news website then poured fuel on the fire itself with its title for a videotaped interview with Ft. Hood Base Commander Lt. Gen Bob Cone: although Cone repeatedly emphasized the bravery and rapid response of the soldiers at the scene and made only a passing reference to “unconfirmed reports” that Hasan said “Allah Akbar” while shooting, CBS titled the video “Fort Hood Suspect: ‘Allahu Akbar’.”
US Workers Starved Into Service
Saturday, 31 October 2009 6:45 P GMT-05
It’s hard not to wonder what would happen if, instead of dutifully reading from the Pentagon’s script on October 13, the media had done their job and informed the public about the real nature of the ‘service’ that potential enlistees were signing up for. Maybe if they had, those recruitment officers would not have been quite so busy recruiting – and stealing the lives of – unsuspecting young people in desperate need of employment.
Maybe those eager masses of young men and women wouldn’t have been so hot to sign up if, for instance, they understood that anyone enlisting in the military right now – whatever branch – is required to sign a document that states: "Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change without notice to me. Such changes may affect my status, pay allowances, benefits and responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces REGARDLESS of the provisions of this enlistment/re-enlistment document.” (DD Form4/1, 1998, Sec.9.5b).
In their book Army of None, published in 2007, Aimee Allison and David Solnit advise those who expect the military to pay for their college to “read the fine print.” The authors point out that only a fraction of recruits who signed up for the Montgomery GI Bill received a dime, and that 65 percent “received no money at all for college.” If you receive a less than honorable discharge (as one in four do), leave the military early (as one in three do), or later decide not to go to college, “the military will keep your deposit and give you nothing.”
FOX News Recruiting For U.S. Military!
Saturday, 31 October 2009 6:21 P GMT-05
No Hoax: G20 Officials Admit Protester Kidnapping
Saturday, 26 September 2009 3:39 P GMT-05
G20 security officials took responsibility Friday afternoon for a video that seemed to depict US troops ‘kidnapping’ a protester. The military was not involved in the incident, but G20 security did acknowledge that “law enforcement officers from a multi-agency tactical response team” had detained a protester they said was believed to be vandalizing a store. Video posted at YouTube shows onlookers calling out “what the fuck” and “what the fuck is wrong with you?” as people in camo uniforms haul a protester along by his collar, shove him into the back seat of a car, and rapidly drive off.
Testimony of Spc. Brandon Neely
Saturday, 12 September 2009 2:53 A GMT-05
On December 4, 2008, Specialist Brandon Neely approached CSHRA with testimony he wished to contribute to the Guantánamo Testimonials Project. He believed that insufficient attention had been paid to "the hell that went on at Camp X-Ray." He would be in a position to know, as he arrived in Guantánamo while the cages of Camp X-Ray were still being welded, and escorted the second detainee to hit the prison grounds. In this interview, Specialist Neely provides testimony of the arrival of the detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, possible isolation regime of the first six children in GTMO, utter lack of preparation for guarding individuals detained during the War on Terror, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed.
What Happened to Mohamed al-Hanashi?
Wednesday, 9 September 2009 2:37 A GMT-05
Because my commercial flight was canceled, I got a ride back to the United States on a military transport. I happened to be seated next to a military physician who had been flown in to do the autopsy on al-Hanashi. When would there be an investigation of the death, I asked him? “That was the investigation,” he replied. The military had investigated the military. This “apparent suicide” seemed immediately suspicious to me. I had just toured those cells: it is literally impossible to kill yourself in them. Their interiors resemble the inside of a smooth plastic jar; there are no hard edges; hooks fold down; there is no bedding that one can use to strangle oneself. Can you bang your head against the wall until you die, theoretically, I asked the doctor? “They check on prisoners every three minutes,” he said. You’d have to be fast. The story smelled even worse after a bit of digging. Al-Hanashi, it turned out, had been elected by the detainees to serve as their representative. (The Geneva Conventions call for this process but the US did not give it any formal recognition). As their designated representative, al-Hanashi knew which prisoners had claimed to have been tortured or abused, and by whom. On January 17, al-Hanashi, according to his fellow prisoner Binyam Mohamed (who has since been released), was summoned to a meeting with the Admiral of Guantánamo and the head of the Guard Force there. He never returned to his cell. He was taken to the psychiatric ward, where, according to another prisoner who had been there, he was kept until he died.
AP Photo of Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard
Sunday, 6 September 2009 3:10 P GMT-05
The picture created by AP photographer Julie Jacobson, showed Lance Cpl. Joshua “Bernie” Bernard, 21, lying on the ground with severe leg injuries after being struck by a grenade in an ambush on Aug. 14, his fellow Marines tending to him. Bernard later died of his wounds. To AP President and CEO Tom Curley, Gates wrote a strongly worded letter on Thursday, saying it was a matter of “judgment and common decency” not to use the photo. A Pentagon spokesman said Gates followed up with a phone call “begging” Curley not to use it.
Bringing the (Bio) War Home
Saturday, 8 August 2009 7:38 P GMT-05
The 2001 anthrax attacks underscore the dangers posed to our health and safety by the Bioweapons-Industrial Complex. The killer(s) employed a military-grade version of the deadly pathogen, a four-mutation blend of anthrax prepared at the government's test site at the remote Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Based on available evidence it's a near certainty that the weapon came from stockpiles at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Ft. Detrick, Maryland.
Cheney pressed Bush to test Constitutional limits by using military force on US soil
Sunday, 26 July 2009 3:42 P GMT-05
This would have violated both Fourth Amendment guarantees against search and seizure without probable cause and the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which makes it illegal to use the military for law enforcement. Despite those prohibitions, Cheney argued that the president did have the power to use the military on US soil, citing an October 23, 2001 Justice Department memorandum co-authored by John Yoo which claimed that presidential power extended to the domestic use of the military as long as it served a national security purpose. The Lackawanna Six were a group of young Yememi-Americans who had attended an al Qaeda training camp in 2001. They were arrested in September 2002, and President Bush bragged of having broken their “cell” in his January 2003 State of the Union address. However, an investigation by Salon failed to turn up any evidence that they were actually a “sleeper cell” or that they had been planning any kind of violent attack. Most of them were convicted merely of providing material aid to terrorists.
Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies
Wednesday, 15 July 2009 2:32 A GMT-05
A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies. Robotic Technology Inc.’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that’s right, “EATR” — “can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable,” reads the company’s Web site.
How the spooks took over the news
Sunday, 14 June 2009 11:48 P GMT-05
The letter argued that al-Qa'ida, which is a Sunni network, should attack the Shia population of Iraq: "It is the only way to prolong the duration of the fight between the infidels and us. If we succeed in dragging them into a sectarian war, this will awaken the sleepy Sunnis." Later that day, at a regular US press briefing in Baghdad, US General Mark Kimmitt dealt with a string of questions about The New York Times report: "We believe the report and the document is credible, and we take the report seriously... It is clearly a plan on the part of outsiders to come in to this country and spark civil war, create sectarian violence, try to expose fissures in this society." The story went on to news agency wires and, within 24 hours, it was running around the world. There is very good reason to believe that that letter was a fake – and a significant one because there is equally good reason to believe that it was one product among many from a new machinery of propaganda which has been created by the United States and its allies since the terrorist attacks of September 2001.
Allowing Guilty Pleas and Death Penalties Without Trial for Alleged 9/11 Plotters Would Be the Ultimate Obstruction of Justice
Sunday, 7 June 2009 7:01 P GMT-05
This is not simply a ploy to cover up the fact that these prisoners were brutally tortured. It is also a way to silence them forever, so that they can never tell what their real role was in the 9/11 attacks, and who they received assistance from, and how they were able to convince the mightiest military the world has ever known to stand down from standard air defense protocols on 9/11.
Again, May God Forgive Us
Monday, 1 June 2009 6:40 P GMT-05
An observation by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib abuses, seems to underscore my point. "I am not sure what purpose [releasing the 2,000 additional photos of prisoner abuse] would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy – " Hold it right there: Taguba said "protectors of our foreign policy," not "defenders of our independence" or "guardians of our liberties." The foreign policy referred to entails open-ended entanglements in the affairs of nearly every nation on earth, as well as plundering huge sums from taxpayers to sustain a grotesquely huge military establishment and bribe political elites abroad. That foreign policy cultivates misery and harvests war and terrorism. Why in God's Name would any decent human being defend that foreign policy in the abstract, much less spill blood to implement it?
Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan
Friday, 22 May 2009 12:52 A GMT-05
President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said.
Arms Given by U.S. to Afghan Forces May Be Going to Taliban
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 4:50 A GMT-05
The presence of this ammunition among the dead in the Korangal Valley, an area of often fierce fighting near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, strongly suggests that munitions procured by the Pentagon have leaked from Afghan forces for use against American troops. The scope of that diversion remains unknown, and the 30 magazines represented a single sampling of fewer than 1,000 cartridges. But military officials, arms analysts and dealers say it points to a worrisome possibility: With only spotty American and Afghan controls on the vast inventory of weapons and ammunition sent into Afghanistan during an eight-year conflict, poor discipline and outright corruption among Afghan forces may have helped insurgents stay supplied.
Lifting the Hood - Iraq
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 12:28 A GMT-05
Confessions of a War Resister
Tuesday, 19 May 2009 11:03 P GMT-05
Yesterday was a great victory for me, the entire peace movement and for troops and civilians all over the world. I faced the military for my refusal to deploy to Iraq, and I walked away a free man with a general discharge from the Army’s Individual Ready Reserve.
The Emerging Gitmo Model?
Saturday, 16 May 2009 2:50 P GMT-05
What gives, I think, is that Gitmo is but a prototype, with a view of every police station and every county jail in the US of A being eventually gitmoized. And while they ain't there yet, not by a long shot, I can't help but say that some progress is apparantly being made in that direction.
Captain freed from captivity after being held by Somali pirates
Sunday, 12 April 2009 11:34 P GMT-05
Several members of Capt. Richard Phillips's family, wearing big smiles on their faces, walked out of their home on River Road early this afternoon and embraced each other. A family representative said Andrea Phillips would make a statement later in the day after she gets more details about the release of her husband who had been held captive by pirates in a lifeboat off Somali for more than five days, which was reported by CNN.
Wounded warriors go fishing for recovery
Saturday, 11 April 2009 5:28 P GMT-05
Amidst the tranquility of a fishing trip at the Rose River Farm in Madison County, a wounded warrior says he almost feels "semi-normal again." The amputee is one of about 1,000 servicemen and veterans who have reaped the benefits of the therapeutic art of fly-fishing, with the help of retired Navy Capt. Ed Nicholson.
Will Public Education Be Militarized?
Saturday, 4 April 2009 10:19 P GMT-05
Even if Duncan's policies do continue to boost test scores in coming years, the question must be asked: At whose expense? In a competition-driven educational system, some schools will, of course, succeed, receiving more funding and so hiring the most talented teachers. At the same time, schools that aren't "performing" will be put on probation, stripped of their autonomy, and possibly closed, only to be reopened as privately-run outfits -- or even handed over to the military. The highest achieving students (that is, the best test-takers) will have access to the most up-to-date facilities, advanced equipment, and academic support programs; struggling students will likely be left behind, separate and unequal, stuck in decrepit classrooms and underfunded schools.
Iraq From an Armored BMW: Where U.S. 'Reconstruction' Funds Are Really Going
Saturday, 14 February 2009 2:31 P GMT-05
To fully understand why tribal leaders like Aifan began working so closely with American forces, you also have to take into account the waves of staggering sectarian violence that were sweeping across Iraq in 2006. As Sunni suicide and car bombings slaughtered Shiites, so, too, Shia militias and death squads were murdering Sunnis by the score on a daily basis. Before the U.S. invasion in 2003, Sunnis had been nearly a majority in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. By 2006, they were a rapidly shrinking minority, largely driven out of the many mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods that dotted the city and some purely Sunni ones as well. Hundreds of thousands of them were displaced from homes in Baghdad alone. At his Informed Comment blog, Juan Cole reports that Sunnis may now make up as little as 10%-15% of the population of the capital. No wonder their tribal leaders, outnumbered and outgunned on all sides, felt the need for some help and, with options limited, found it by reaching out to the most powerful military on the planet. With their finances, livelihoods, and even lives threatened, they resorted to a classic tactic of the beleaguered, summed up in the saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Phantom Flight 11" Calls
Saturday, 24 January 2009 5:33 P GMT-05
I made YouTube videos of three calls on the NEADS tapes (channel 7). They are calls by Boston Center military liaison Colin Scoggins to NEADS about "Phantom Flight 11." The first two are mentioned in the 9/11 Commission report, but the third one isn't, so I guess that's the one that's really interesting. ;)
More Americans Joining Military as Jobs Dwindle
Thursday, 22 January 2009 11:17 A GMT-05
And the trend seems to be accelerating. The Army exceeded its targets each month for October, November and December — the first quarter of the new fiscal year — bringing in 21,443 new soldiers on active duty and in the reserves. December figures were released last week. Recruiters also report that more people are inquiring about joining the military, a trend that could further bolster the ranks. Of the four armed services, the Army has faced the toughest recruiting challenge in recent years because of high casualty rates in Iraq and long deployments overseas. Recruitment is also strong for the Army National Guard, according to Pentagon figures. The Guard tends to draw older people.
Marines trying dairy diplomacy around war-torn Fallujah
Monday, 19 January 2009 2:43 P GMT-05
At the suggestion of an Iraqi women's group, the Marine Corps recently bought 50 cows for 50 Iraqi widows in the farm belt around Fallujah, once the insurgent capital of war-torn Anbar province. The cow purchase is seen as a small step toward reestablishing Iraq's once-thriving dairy industry, as well as a way to help women and children hurt by the frequent failure of the Iraqi government to provide the pensions that Iraqi law promises to widows.
Does The Government Manipulate Social Media?
Monday, 12 January 2009 1:04 A GMT-05
Finally, under the post-9/11 "homeland security" laws, the government almost certainl routinely demands full access to ISPs and websites. In other words, we've all seen polls at Digg, Reddit, YouTube, and mainstream news sites suddenly disappear entirely if a sufficiently pro-government sentiment was not expressed. Do you doubt that the military and homeland security apparatus would step in to take control of what it considered an "enemy" message? And remember, the government considers any message questioning anything the government does as an enemy message.
The US Army Document That Proves the US is the World's Number One Sponsor of World Terrorism
Wednesday, 31 December 2008 5:11 A GMT-05
I have repeatedly stated that the US regime of George W. Bush was not legitimate. How can I make it any clearer? "Illegitimate" means that the regime of George W. Bush was no more legitimate than the crooked regimes of tin horn dictators in banana republics. The Bush regime differed little in terms of competence or statesmanship. Now, in a cynical document that the US Army had never intended be disseminated publicly, we have confirmation that the position of the US vis a vis the rest of the world is based not upon Democracy or legitimacy. It is, rather based entirely upon force, aggression and US terrorism.
U.S. Army Ready If The Downturn Gets Out Of Hand
Thursday, 25 December 2008 4:10 P GMT-05
ARE you afraid that the eco nomic downturn could get out of hand? I mean, really out of hand?
Well, don’t worry. The US Army War College is on the case - ready to handle “unforeseen economic collapse” and the “rapid dissolution of public order in all or significant parts of the US.” And you thought we were just dealing with a recession!
Obama, the military and the threat of dictatorship
Thursday, 25 December 2008 3:50 P GMT-05
Earlier this month Obama spelled out his subservience to the Pentagon by declaring, “To ensure prosperity here at home and peace abroad, we all share the belief we have to maintain the strongest military on the planet.” To that end, he has pledged to increase the size of US ground forces by 100,000 soldiers and Marines and made it clear that there will be no significant cuts to a military budget that is gobbling up some $850 billion annually under conditions of soaring deficits and an intensifying financial crisis. There is no doubt a significant element of political calculation in Obama’s decision to surround himself with military brass and assure that he is seen as “supporting our troops.” There is, after all, the bitter experience of the last Democratic administration. Bill Clinton’s first term was nearly shipwrecked by his confrontation with the uniformed command over his proposal to scrap the ban on gays in the military. For the remainder of his presidency, he was treated with open or barely concealed contempt by much of the officer corps.
Entrapment? Five convicted in Ft. Dix plot
Tuesday, 23 December 2008 12:36 P GMT-05
Five men whom attorneys said paid FBI informants prodded into exploring their deepest fantasies about waging jihad on America were convicted in federal court Monday of conspiring to kill US soldiers but acquitted on attempted murder charges.
Senate report links Bush to detainee homicides; media yawns
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 2:41 P GMT-05
The bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee report issued on Thursday -- which documents that "former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior U.S. officials share much of the blame for detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba" and "that Rumsfeld's actions were 'a direct cause of detainee abuse' at Guantanamo and 'influenced and contributed to the use of abusive techniques ... in Afghanistan and Iraq'" -- raises an obvious and glaring question: how can it possibly be justified that the low-level Army personnel carrying out these policies at Abu Ghraib have been charged, convicted and imprisoned, while the high-level political officials and lawyers who directed and authorized these same policies remain free of any risk of prosecution?
Racial Extremists Are Infiltrating the Military for the Chance to 'Kill a Brown'
Tuesday, 16 December 2008 10:28 A GMT-05
Sobibor's SS included enough biographical details in his various posts to Forum 14 over the years, including that he's a single father from the small town in southern Alabama, that a military investigator with access to enlistment records for recent months should have little trouble determining whether the Army may actually be teaching a skinhead with genocide on his mind about tactical bomb-making. But there's little reason to expect that will happen.
Air Force Directive In Effect On 9/11 For American Air Defense Included Monitoring American Air Space
Friday, 12 December 2008 1:54 P GMT-05
Amongst other instructions to be followed, the Air Force instruction outlines procedures to be followed by units/elements of the Air Combat Command (ACC) Air Defense System (ADS) of the United States, and was current on September 11, 2001. The instruction remains current to date.
Tortured Patsies “Confess” To 9/11
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 2:30 P GMT-05
The new set of “confessions” will hold about as much credibility of those of purported “9/11 mastermind” Khalid Sheik Mohammed when he first spilled the beans in March 2007, After only five years of torture, KSM confessed to nearly everything under the sun, only stopping short at accepting responsibility for killing Kennedy, creating AIDS and being the real Santa Claus. Indeed, KSM was so keen on never seeing a cattle prod again that he even confessed to being responsible for attacking banks that were founded after his arrest, seemingly invoking the power of long range telekinesis to commit his dastardly deeds.
Rumsfeld nemesis Shinseki to be named VA secretary
Sunday, 7 December 2008 3:28 P GMT-05
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, turning to a former Army chief of staff once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy.
Injured veterans engaged in new combat
Wednesday, 26 November 2008 7:52 P GMT-05
Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq -- by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Army Sgt. Lori Meshell shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees while diving for cover during a mortar attack in Iraq. She has undergone a hip replacement and knee reconstruction and needs at least three more surgeries. In each case, the Pentagon ruled that their disabilities were not combat-related.
Steps proposed to ease air travel congestion
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 10:42 P GMT-05
The government is opening some military airspace to ease airline congestion over Thanksgiving and Christmas, though the effort is likely to have only limited results. And if the weather's bad, all bets are off. President George W. Bush announced Tuesday that he's expanding the Thanksgiving express lanes this year to include military air corridors in the Midwest, the Southwest and the West Coast. That's in addition to the East Coast corridors, which were also freed up for holiday traffic last year.
First woman promoted to 4-star Army general
Saturday, 15 November 2008 1:39 P GMT-05
Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended yesterday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the . US military: four-star general.
Raped in the Military? You May Have to Pay for Your Own Forensic Exam Kit
Friday, 14 November 2008 4:37 P GMT-05
TRICARE, the United States Department of Defense Military Health System that covers active duty members, will only pay for rape kits if the victim is seen in a military or a VA facility. But the Pentagon acknowledges that 80 percent of military rapes are never reported. And that 80 percent who go off-base to protect their anonymity (and/or their careers) are on their own. If a soldier is on leave, or is five-hours from the nearest VA, or if a soldier is simply delivered to the nearest hospital by the local ambulance driver, their rape kits are not covered under TRICARE. Neither are other forensic exams that might be used in domestic violence situations. Front-line treatment shouldn't be conditional on where a rape occurs or where the nearest treatment is available. This is not only a parity issue, but a further obstacle to treatment and justice.
For What Did They Die?
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 11:49 P GMT-05
It gets very quiet at The Wall around midnight. The tourists have gone home, and are all tucked into bed. A homeless Vietnam veteran patrols the black granite panels. He tells us that he has cancer and is having a hard time getting any benefits from the Veterans Administration. He lives in a mission that houses those who have nowhere else to go, but the doors don't open until 11 p.m.
Exalting Atrocity: The GOP's Torturer-American Candidate
Thursday, 30 October 2008 6:30 P GMT-05
So what will be left of the Republican Party after next week's US election? The answer lies in the sands of Florida, where the sunshine-state Republicans have nominated an unrepentant torturer as their candidate for Congress. They view his readiness to torture an innocent Iraqi not as a source of shame, but as his prime qualification for office. This is American conservatism in the dying days of Bush – and it points out the direction that Sarah Palin would like to take it in 2012. In August 2003, Colonel Allen West – commanding a US unit in Baghdad – heard a rumour that one of the Iraqi policeman he was working with was a secret insurgent. He ordered his officers to go and seize Yehiya Hamoodi, a thin, bespectacled 31-year-old, from his home. They dragged him into a Humvee, beat him, and then handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded him. In a dank interrogation room, they told him he had better start talking. Perplexed and terrified, Yehiya explained he didn't know what they were talking about: why was he here? So West was called in. He told Yehiya he was going to be killed. While his men beat him again, he explained he had one last chance to save his life – by talking.
Report Finds Iraq Water Treatment Project to Be Late, Faulty and Over Budget
Monday, 27 October 2008 8:23 P GMT-05
Instead, the project, which has tripled in cost from original plans to $100 million and has fallen about three years behind schedule, has become an example of the failed and often oversold program to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure with American dollars and skill. The project was so poorly conceived that there is no reliable electricity to run pumps and purification tanks, and no money left to connect homes to the main sewer lines, which now run uselessly beneath Falluja’s streets, according to a report by federal investigators to be released Monday.
Democrats: Veterans to be 'dumped onto the streets'
Thursday, 23 October 2008 11:12 A GMT-05
While Gov. Sonny Perdue took part in a ceremony Wednesday to honor veterans, Democrats criticized the state’s decision to close a Georgia War Veterans Home facility in Milledgeville to save money. Dale Parham, 67, a former U.S. Marine who lives at the home, told reporters after Wednesday’s ceremony that he doesn’t know where he’ll go when the domiciliary unit is closed Nov. 30. Neither do many of the 81 veterans who live in the facility. “A lot of them (the veterans) have been there 10, 15 years,” Parham said. “They don’t know what to do.”
U.S. Army prepares to invade U.S.
Friday, 10 October 2008 12:04 A GMT-05
The plans to implement martial law in America have been taking shape for decades, hidden behind "Continuity of Government" contingency planning. Now, with public outcry over the banker bailout bill at fever pitch, all of the pieces are in place for the U.S. Army to start policing American citizens. For more information and analysis, please visit http://www.corbettreport.com
$700 billion is nothing
Sunday, 5 October 2008 4:21 P GMT-05
Voters are rightly furious at the proposal to spend $700,000,000,000 that the government doesn't have to bail out Wall Street bankers who created the current economic crisis in the first place. But why then aren't we concerned about the trillions of dollars the Federal Reserve is pumping into the system? Or the trillions missing from the Pentagon? Or the quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble. For more news and economic analysis, visit: http://www.corbettreport.com
The Anthrax Case Reopens
Wednesday, 1 October 2008 3:18 A GMT-05
The Congressional anthrax hearings of September 16-17 revealed that public pressure is keeping the doors open in the anthrax case. FBI Director Robert Mueller promised that the FBI will provide their evidence to a panel of experts for scientific evaluation. The battle will now turn to the independence of this panel, and whether "all evidence" or merely "scientific evidence" will be under review.
Evidence that Bush Will Exploit 'Crisis' to Declare Martial Law
Sunday, 28 September 2008 3:17 P GMT-05
Excuse me! I believe that the 'goddamned piece of paper' --otherwise known as the Constitution of the United States --makes the use of armed forces against American citizens on American soil a matter of 'high treason' i.,e the government waging 'war' upon the people, a matter that is expressly forbidden by the "Goddamn piece of paper", Article III:
The Army's Totally Serious Mind-Control Project
Sunday, 21 September 2008 3:31 P GMT-05
Soldiers barking orders at each other is so 20th Century. That's why the U.S. Army has just awarded a $4 million contract to begin developing "thought helmets" that would harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops. Ultimately, the Army hopes the project will "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone."
At 22, Omar Khadr Has Spent a Third of His Life in Guantanamo
Saturday, 20 September 2008 4:26 P GMT-05
On Friday, Omar Khadr, the sole Canadian citizen in Guantanamo, marked his 22nd birthday in isolation. Seized in Afghanistan when he was just 15 years old, Omar has now spent nearly a third of his life in U.S. custody, in conditions that ought to be shameful to the U.S. administration responsible for holding him and to the Canadian government that has abdicated its responsibilities toward him.
CJR: Army Alters Photographs, Issues Them To AP
Saturday, 20 September 2008 1:28 P GMT-05
The Associated Press retracted two government-issued photographs last night after a photographer in Texas alerted the agency that the photos in question appeared to be doctored. Bob Owen, chief photographer of the San Antonio Express-News, notified the AP that the photos of two deceased soldiers, who died in Iraq on Sept. 14, were nearly identical. Upon examining the photos, Owens noticed that everything except for the soldier’s face, name, and rank was the same. The most glaring similarity, Owen told CJR, was that the camouflage patterns of the two uniforms were “perfectly identical.”
Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1
Thursday, 18 September 2008 9:56 A GMT-05
The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys. Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home. Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.
As Vets Take to the Streets to Protest the War, McCain Snubs IVAW at the RNC
Sunday, 7 September 2008 4:07 P GMT-05
Davey had come to the site of the RNC along with 60 fellow members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, who marched in formation, chanting cadences and leading hundreds of peaceful fellow protesters, including members of Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, and others who came to stand in solidarity with the veterans. Unlike IVAW's action in Denver a few days earlier, in which they scored a conversation with Obama's national veterans liaison, Phil Carter, who said he would try to set up a meeting with the campaign to discuss their goals of immediate withdrawal, benefits for veterans, and reparations for the Iraqi people, IVAW's objectives when it came to McCain were slightly more modest. "We actually chose not to pressure him on the issue of withdrawal," T.J. Buonomo, one of IVAW's Philadelphia-based organizers said. "There's nothing that's very controversial about the things we were asking. There's nothing that's very controversial in asking that people get the discharge they deserve, that people with PTSD not have it held against them." Indeed, the letter from IVAW, addressed to The Honorable John McCain, focused on the medical needs of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, two wars that McCain has never flinched from supporting.
FBI Sweeps Anthrax Under the Rug
Friday, 5 September 2008 5:22 A GMT-05
Ivins passed two polygraph tests and no link was made between his handwriting and that on the anthrax letters. Investigators were so frustrated at Ivins passing the polygraph tests that they searched his house for books or articles on how to fool a polygraph, but found none.
Bush quietly seeks to make war powers permanent, by declaring indefinite state of war
Tuesday, 2 September 2008 6:29 P GMT-05
Part of a proposal for Guantanamo Bay legal detainees, the provision before Congress seeks to “acknowledge again and explicitly that this nation remains engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated organizations, who have already proclaimed themselves at war with us and who are dedicated to the slaughter of Americans.” The New York Times' page 8 placement of the article in its Saturday edition seems to downplay its importance. Such a re-affirmation of war carries broad legal implications that could imperil Americans' civil liberties and the rights of foreign nationals for decades to come. It was under the guise of war that President Bush claimed a legal mandate for his warrantless wiretapping program, giving the National Security Agency power to intercept calls Americans made abroad. More of this program has emerged in recent years, and it includes the surveillance of Americans' information and exchanges online. "War powers" have also given President Bush cover to hold Americans without habeas corpus -- detainment without explanation or charge. Jose Padilla, a Chicago resident arrested in 2002, was held without trial for five years before being convicted of conspiring to kill individuals abroad and provide support for terrorism.
Taliban turns lethal: 101 US deaths in Afghanistan
Sunday, 24 August 2008 7:45 P GMT-05
The U.S. military suffered its 101st death of the year in Afghanistan last week when Sgt. 1st Class David J. Todd Jr., a 36-year-old from Marrero, La., died of gunfire wounds while helping train Afghan police in the northwest. The total number of U.S. dead last year -- 111 -- was a record itself and is likely to be surpassed.
Government Biological Weapons Legislator: Anthrax Inside Job Cover Up Continuing
Sunday, 24 August 2008 3:55 P GMT-05
The Professor explained that the motive behind the attacks was clear: "I believe the first anthrax attack was designed to ram through the PATRIOT ACT because Senators Daschle and Leahy were holding it up and once the anthrax occurred it rammed right through, indeed, on the renewal of the USA PATRIOT ACT, Senator Feingold was holding it up and all of sudden out of nowhere some white powdered substance appeared at one of the Senate office buildings, and all of a sudden the renewal of the PATRIOT ACT went through." The evidence becomes more compelling when you take into consideration the fact that the White House was on anthrax fighting antibiotics weeks prior to the attacks.
Vietnam Veterans Against John 'Songbird' McCain
Saturday, 23 August 2008 9:26 P GMT-05
The slippery’s, the slimey’s and the sleezy’s. That is how McCain referred to the POWs that came home before him.
'Songbird' McCain: The evidence - in his own words, his fellow veterans, and his captors
Tuesday, 5 August 2008 1:37 A GMT-05
On the other hand, according to one source, McCain’s collaboration may have had very real consequences. Retired Army Colonel Earl Hopper, a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, contends that the information that McCain divulged classified information North Vietnam used to hone their air defense system…McCain told his North Vietnamese captors, “highly classified information, the most important of which was the package routes, which were routes used to bomb North Vietnam. He gave in detail the altitude they were flying, the direction, if they made a turn… he gave them what primary targets the United States was interested in.” Hopper contends that the information McCain provided allowed the North Vietnamese to adjust their air-defenses. As result, Hopper claims, the US lost sixty percent more aircraft and in 1968, “called off the bombing of North Vietnam, because of the information McCain had given to them.”
Bruce Ivins' Mental Health and his link to "BioPort"
Sunday, 3 August 2008 1:48 P GMT-05
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson. Things sure are weird right now.
Gitmo Al Qaeda Movie Creator Previously Pushed Terror Propaganda
Saturday, 2 August 2008 2:15 P GMT-05
A Pentagon produced documentary on Al Qaeda which was presented as evidence at the first Guantanamo war crimes trial was created by a terrorism consultant who has previously attempted to pass off Pentagon released propaganda as directly released by Al Qaeda. “The Al-Qaida Plan” was shown to an audience of military jurors hearing evidence against a former driver for Osama bin Laden earlier this week. The movie essentially props up the official government version of events on 9/11 and asserts that there was a coordinated “overarching conspiracy” by operatives of Osama Bin Laden to carry out the attacks.
U.S. Military Covers up Murder: Says Soldier Beat Herself to Death
Friday, 1 August 2008 1:46 A GMT-05
The photographs revealed that Lavena, a small woman, barely 5 feet tall and weighing less than 100 pounds, had been struck in the face with a blunt instrument, perhaps a weapon stock. Her nose was broken and her teeth knocked backwards. One elbow was distended. The back of her clothes had debris on them indicating she had been dragged from one location to another. The photographs of her disrobed body showed bruises, scratch marks and teeth imprints on the upper part of her body. The right side of her back as well as her right hand had been burned apparently from a flammable liquid poured on her and then lighted. The photographs of her genital area revealed massive bruising and lacerations. A corrosive liquid had been poured into her genital area, probably to destroy DNA evidence of sexual assault.
Caught on tape: Army recruiters threaten high school students
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 11:16 P GMT-05
Turns out, instead of going down, allegations of wrongdoing are actually going up. In 2005, 836 complaints were filed against recruiters. That rose to 874 last year, and the Army is on pace to surpass that figure in 2008.
4,000 U.S. Combat Deaths, and Just a Handful of Images
Saturday, 26 July 2008 3:13 P GMT-05
Zoriah Miller, the photographer who took images of marines killed in a June 26 suicide attack and posted them on his Web site, was subsequently forbidden to work in Marine Corps-controlled areas of the country. Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the Marine commander in Iraq, is now seeking to have Mr. Miller barred from all United States military facilities throughout the world. Mr. Miller has since left Iraq. If the conflict in Vietnam was notable for open access given to journalists — too much, many critics said, as the war played out nightly in bloody newscasts — the Iraq war may mark an opposite extreme: after five years and more than 4,000 American combat deaths, searches and interviews turned up fewer than a half-dozen graphic photographs of dead American soldiers.
Justice Or A Joke?
Sunday, 20 July 2008 8:00 P GMT-05
Given that these military tribunals are so "secretive," how on Earth do they expect us to believe that they have proven those being held at Guantanamo are "indeed the guilty parties?" Is this Justice or a joke? If it is the latter, it is not funny.
Officials: 9 US troops killed in Afghanistan
Sunday, 13 July 2008 6:56 P GMT-05
A multi-pronged militant assault on a small, remote U.S. base killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15 Sunday in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years, officials said. The attack on the U.S. outpost came the same day a suicide bomber targeting a police patrol killed 24 people, while U.S. coalition and Afghan soldiers killed 40 militants elsewhere in the south.
Military fires public affairs official for refusing to limit press at funerals
Saturday, 12 July 2008 12:44 P GMT-05
When Gina Gray, a media specialist with a long history of working with the military, became public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery earlier this year, she found that officials there had started hampering media coverage even in cases where the families gave permission. When she tried to uphold the existing regulations, she was harassed by her supervisor, demoted, and then fired.
Atheist soldier sues Pentagon
Thursday, 10 July 2008 9:30 A GMT-05
Army Spc. Jeremy Hall, now serving in Iraq, says he lost his Christian faith while serving two tours of duty in Iraq, causing him to be ostracized, denied promotions and almost getting him killed, CNN reported Wednesday. Hall contends there is a pattern of discrimination against non-Christians in the military, saying, "I think it's utterly and totally wrong. Unconstitutional."
Army medic made famous in Iraq photo dies
Tuesday, 8 July 2008 11:28 P GMT-05
A former Army medic made famous by a photograph that showed him carrying an injured Iraqi boy during the first week of the war in March 2003 has died of an apparent overdose, police said. The photograph of Joseph Patrick Dwyer running to a makeshift military hospital while cradling the boy appeared in newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts worldwide. Dwyer died late last month at a hospital in Pinehurst, according to the Boles Funeral Home. He was 31.
U.S. deserter could qualify as refugee: court
Sunday, 6 July 2008 4:15 P GMT-05
In a decision that may have an impact on dozens of refugee claimants in Canada, Federal Court Justice Robert Barnes said Canada's refugee board erred by rejecting the asylum bid of Joshua Key. He ordered that a new panel reconsider the application. Key was sent to Iraq in 2003 as a combat engineer for eight months where he said he was responsible for nighttime raids on private Iraqi homes, which included searching for weapons. He alleged that during his time in Iraq he witnessed several cases of abuse, humiliation, and looting by the U.S. army. When Key was back in the U.S on a two-week leave, he said he was suffering from debilitating nightmares and that he couldn't return. A military lawyer told him that he could either return to Iraq or face prison. Instead, Key took his family to Canada and applied for refugee status.
Even Fort Detrick Scientists Themselves Think the Killer Anthrax Came from their Facility
Saturday, 5 July 2008 6:07 P GMT-05
"In an e-mail obtained by FOX News, scientists at Fort Detrick openly discussed how the anthrax powder they were asked to analyze after the attacks was nearly identical to that made by one of their colleagues.
"Then he said he had to look at a lot of samples that the FBI had prepared ... to duplicate the letter material," the e-mail reads. "Then the bombshell. He said that the best duplication of the material was the stuff made by [name redacted]. He said that it was almost exactly the same … his knees got shaky and he sputtered, 'But I told the General we didn't make spore powder!'"
Support the troops!
Sunday, 8 June 2008 4:12 P GMT-05
Iraq War veteran Darrel Anderson talks about his experiences in Iraq and his views on 9/11.-BE
For former servicemen, an Ivy League outpost
Saturday, 7 June 2008 8:19 P GMT-05
Crist and Hart just finished their first year as Dartmouth students; Crist still thinking daily of Iraq and Hart on medical leave from school since March. They are the face of Wright's campaign - through visits to military hospitals, a program he established at the American Council on Education that is helping 200 seriously wounded veterans continue their education and his lobbying for GI benefits - to encourage returning veterans to go back to school, whether to community colleges, elite institutions such as Dartmouth, or anything in between.
9/11 Victims' Families Send Letter Decrying Politicization Of Guantanamo Military Commissions
Saturday, 7 June 2008 4:03 P GMT-05
Family members of 9/11 victims have sent a letter today to Susan Crawford, Convening Authority of the Guantánamo military commissions, sharply criticizing the politicization of the system. According to news reports, a Pentagon representative secretly invited an outspoken supporter of the military commissions to Guantánamo Bay for Thursday’s arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other detainees on terrorism-related charges, but did not make this option available to family members who have expressed criticism of the commissions. This type of politicization is symptomatic of the unconstitutional and biased tribunal system, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The letter echoes the widespread call for a system to try the Guantánamo detainees that adheres to the Constitution, stating, “As people who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, we want nothing more than to see that justice is served in the prosecution of suspects. However, we know that no justice will come out of a system that has been compromised by politics and stripped of the rule of law.”
Marines' youngest to get Medal of Honor dies at 80
Friday, 6 June 2008 4:55 A GMT-05
Jacklyn "Jack" Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation's highest military honor. He used his body to shield three fellow squad members from two grenades, and he was nearly killed when one exploded. "A couple of grenades rolled into the trench," Lucas said shortly before he received the medal from President Truman in October 1945. "I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off." He was left with more than 250 pieces of shrapnel in his body and in every major organ, and he endured 26 surgeries in the months after Iwo Jima. He was the youngest serviceman to win the Medal of Honor in any conflict other than the Civil War.
Judge critical of Guantanamo war crimes case is dismissed
Sunday, 1 June 2008 3:30 P GMT-05
A judge hearing a war crimes case at Guantanamo Bay who publicly expressed frustration with military prosecutors' refusal to give evidence to the defense has been dismissed, tribunal officials confirmed Friday. Army Col. Peter Brownback III was presiding over the case of Canadian detainee Omar Khadr. Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, in his role as chief judge at Guantanamo, ordered the dismissal without explanation and announced Brownback's replacement in an e-mail this week to lawyers in Khadr's case.
A portrait honors last-known US veteran of WWI
Monday, 26 May 2008 3:57 P GMT-05
Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last known living American-born veteran of World War I, was honored yesterday at the Liberty Memorial during Memorial Day weekend celebrations.
Out-Foxing Fox: Times Totes Water for War Crime Spin
Sunday, 25 May 2008 5:21 P GMT-05
The New York Times, on the other hand, is widely regarded as the nation's leading newspaper: somber, serious, independent. It is also seen as a bastion of "liberal" journalism, forever skeptical of government – especially a government run by Republicans. Thus a dollop of militarist propaganda in its pages has a much broader and deeper impact than whole truckloads of bile on Fox. "Wow, the New York Times says Saddam has WMD – and they hate Bush, so it can't be White House spin!" "Look at this: the New York Times says Iran is killing Americans in Iraq – and those liberals wouldn't publish anything that agreed with Bush unless it was really true." And because innumerable media venues throughout the country take their lead from the Times, a well-planted piece of "credible" spin appearing there immediately becomes "conventional wisdom" on the subject. Not every reporter at the Times serves this function, of course. There is good journalism to be found in the paper; we draw on it here all the time. But Michael Gordon's work is a special case. His by-line on a story (with or without his former warmongering collaborator, Judith Miller) virtually guarantees that militarist propaganda is being "stovepiped" directly from the White House and Pentagon. These days he alternates between pounding the drum for an attack on Iran and prettying up the ghastly, on-going war crime in Iraq. His latest piece of psy-ops involves operations in Baghdad's Sadr City, where a looming massacre has been averted (or postponed) due to a deal brokered by -- not General David Petraeus, Ambassador Ryan Crocker or President George Bush – but by Iran.
Free At Last - Army Intelligence Analyst Buswell, 'The 9/11 NCO,' Speaks Out
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 1:01 A GMT-05
On Aug. 2, 2006, Sergeant First Class Donald Buswell had his life forever changed by an e-mail. During his 21 years in the Army, SFC Buswell served in both Iraq conflicts, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Korea. In 2004, Buswell sustained numerous shrapnel injuries from a rocket attack, after attempting to save two Iraqis who were left burning from explosions on a dirt road adjacent Saddam’s palace. SFC Buswell, a decorated soldier, is by numerous measures a patriot who willingly and regularly risked his life in service to the United States. Unfortunately, the United States Army did not see it that way. On that August day in 2006, Buswell received an e-mail which claimed to refute the "liberal" idea that a jet aircraft cannot vaporize. The e-mail’s author intended to support the 9/11 Commission’s claim that the plane which hit the Pentagon on 9/11/2001 literally atomized. It was sent to 34 people in the compartmentalized information facility at Ft. Sam Houston. Its allegation was not one Buswell could let pass unanswered. His response, found in The Iconoclast’s first story about SFC Buswell – published Aug. 21, 2006 – refuted the allegation that airplanes can vaporize, and urged his fellow soldiers to support a new investigation into the attacks; to question the official story and "demand answers." The next day, he was denied entry into his place of work. Soon thereafter, the Army informed him that he was under investigation. In the following days, he was fired from his job, demoted, ordered to undergo a mental health examination, and accused by Col. Luke S. Green, chief of staff at US Army North (Fifth Army), of "making statements disloyal to the United States." Though under direct orders to avoid speaking to the media, Buswell’s story got out via his friends, family, and associates. The Iconoclast has since published three installations of his tale, and this reporter was contracted to retell the tale for Fort Worth Weekly, an alternative paper in North Texas, in May 2007. None of these articles quoted Buswell, as he was still in the military and still under orders of silence. In April 2008, SFC Buswell became a civilian. It is now his intent, he said during a lengthy interview, to become an advocate for the 9/11 Truth Movement. That discussion follows.
U.S. soldier uses Quran for target practice; military apologizes
Sunday, 18 May 2008 1:11 P GMT-05
A soldier used the Quran -- Islam's holy book -- for target practice, forcing the chief U.S. commander in Baghdad to issue a formal apology on Saturday. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, flanked by leaders from Radhwaniya in the western outskirts of Baghdad, apologized for the staff sergeant who was a sniper section leader assigned to the headquarters of the 64th Armored Regiment. He also read a letter of apology by the shooter.
US soldier refuses to serve in 'illegal Iraq war'
Saturday, 17 May 2008 8:32 P GMT-05
"My decision is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation... I refuse to participate in the Iraq occupation," he said, as a dozen veterans of the five-year-old Iraq war looked on. Minutes earlier, Chiroux had cried openly as he listened to former comrades-in-arms testify before members of Congress about the failings of the Iraq war. The testimonies were the first before Congress by Iraq veterans who have turned against the five-year-old war.
Programs Which the Government Claims Are Aimed At Foreign Enemies are being Used Against American Citizens within the United States
Friday, 16 May 2008 7:30 A GMT-05
Actions which the government claims were launched against non-U.S. citizens have in the past been used against Americans within the United States. Why should we believe any differently about its new, even more tyrannical programs?
Guantanamo detainees spead word to boycott trials
Saturday, 10 May 2008 3:02 P GMT-05
Six detainees currently at Guantanamo have appeared before a military judge, and five of those have joined the boycott, which is expected to spread as more suspected terrorists are arraigned. The mass action threatens to give America's first war-crimes trials since the World War II era the appearance of perfunctory proceedings and reduce the image of justice being served.
Probe of USS Cole Bombing Unravels
Sunday, 4 May 2008 6:54 P GMT-05
To this day, al-Qaeda trumpets the attack on the Cole as one of its greatest military victories. It remains an improbable story: how two suicide bombers smiled and waved to unsuspecting U.S. sailors in Aden's harbor as they pulled their tiny fishing boat alongside the $1 billion destroyer and blew a gaping hole in its side. Despite the initial promises of accountability, only limited public inquiries took place in Washington, unlike the extensive investigations that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Basic questions remain about which individuals and countries played a role in the assault on the Cole.
Showered with hugs and kisses, soldiers return after tour in Iraq
Sunday, 4 May 2008 1:21 A GMT-05
The 186 men and women assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion of the 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts Army National Guard were returning after a one-year tour. The largest unit of Massachusetts troops deployed during the Iraq War had been surrounded by danger in Baghdad, but no one was killed or wounded.
Life Will Never Return to Normal for an Injured Vet Like Tomas Young
Sunday, 4 May 2008 1:16 A GMT-05
Tomas joined the army right after 9/11. As he tells it, he saw President George W. Bush standing atop World Trade Center rubble on TV and knew he wanted to help hunt down Osama bin Laden. He called his local recruiter on Sept. 13. "I joined to go to war with Afghanistan and with al-Qaeda," he tells me over the phone, from Kansas City, Mo., his hometown. But when it came time to deploy, he was not sent to help smoke out the "evil-doers" from their caves as Bush swore to do. Instead, he found himself in Sadr City, Iraq, questioning the premise for the war. ("When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, we didn't go and attack China," he says.) And, in 2004, he did not see any terrorists, nor did he fire a single shot. ("All I saw were women and children running away from gunfire.") Less than a week after arriving in Sadr City, on April 4, 2004, Tomas was riding in an unarmored Humvee with no covering when he was shot, hit just above his left collarbone. "All of a sudden my body just went completely numb," he recalls. He was paralyzed from the chest down.
Pat Tillman’s mother still not sure she’s being told the truth
Saturday, 3 May 2008 8:01 P GMT-05
According to the Army, Tillman was firing across a valley at enemy fighters on the other side, but Rangers on the road below thought he was shooting at them and fired back. A dozen officers and Rangers were disciplined for the incident, but Mary Tillman is still not satisfied. According to CBS, “She points to inconsistencies, including that his uniform was burned after his death, which is against regulations, and that the coroner refused to sign the autopsy for months because his analysis of Tillman’s gunshot wounds was not consistent with the Army’s original story.” “This isn’t about us,” Mary Tillman told CBS. “This is about what they’ve done to the public. This was a public deception.”
Dad's video of run-down barracks sparks military response
Friday, 2 May 2008 12:30 A GMT-05
"This is embarrassing. It's disgusting. It makes me mad as hell," Ed Frawley said of the building where his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, had to live upon his return this month from a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. Frawley said Monday that Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Dick Cody called him to say he shares Frawley's anger and that "there's no excuse." Cody said he would not want his own sons or any troops to return to such conditions, Frawley said. Frawley's 10-minute video shows still photos from throughout the building, which appears to be falling apart and filled with mold and rust.
Amnesty unveils shock 'waterboarding' film
Sunday, 27 April 2008 12:05 A GMT-05
An American expert in torture techniques has denounced his government for allowing "waterboarding" to be practised against terror suspects, just as a graphic advertisement showing the brutal reality of the technique is unveiled to British cinema-goers. Malcolm Nance, who trained hundreds of US servicemen and women to resist interrogation by putting them through "waterboarding" exercises, demanded an immediate end to the practice by all US personnel. He said: "They seem to think it is worth throwing the honour of 220 years of American decency in war out of the window. Waterboarding is out-and-out torture, and I'm deeply ashamed President Bush has authorised its use and dragged the US's reputation into the mud."
The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy: Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke
Saturday, 26 April 2008 6:13 P GMT-05
The military adventurers in the Bush administration have much in common with the corporate leaders of the defunct energy company Enron. Both groups thought that they were the "smartest guys in the room" -- the title of Alex Gibney's prize-winning film on what went wrong at Enron. The neoconservatives in the White House and the Pentagon outsmarted themselves. They failed even to address the problem of how to finance their schemes of imperialist wars and global domination. As a result, going into 2008, the United States finds itself in the anomalous position of being unable to pay for its own elevated living standards or its wasteful, overly large military establishment. Its government no longer even attempts to reduce the ruinous expenses of maintaining huge standing armies, replacing the equipment that seven years of wars have destroyed or worn out, or preparing for a war in outer space against unknown adversaries. Instead, the Bush administration puts off these costs for future generations to pay or repudiate. This fiscal irresponsibility has been disguised through many manipulative financial schemes (causing poorer countries to lend us unprecedented sums of money), but the time of reckoning is fast approaching.
The Real Matrix: The Pentagon Invades Your Life
Saturday, 26 April 2008 6:09 P GMT-05
During Ike's time, when civilian firms like Ford and AT&T were the big military suppliers, the payroll showed an utter lack of cool companies. Now, the Pentagon is reaching into virgin territory in new ways with new partners. Today, hip firms like Apple, Google, and Starbucks are also on DoD contractors' lists. And while Ike's complex was typified by brass bands and patriotic parades, today's variant is a flashy digitized world of video games, extreme sports, and everything cool that appeals to potential young recruits. Steven finally shuts down Tropico: Paradise Island - a nation-building simulation video game where the player, as "El Presidente," attempts to lure tourists to his/her fun-in-the-sun resort. Neither father nor son is remotely aware that the software maker, Breakaway Games, does taxpayer-funded work for such military clients as DARPA, the Joint Forces Command, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the United States Air Force - as well as having developed 24 Blue, a simulator used to improve aircraft carrier-based operations. They are blissfully unaware of even the existence of Breakaway's Pentagon-funded video game that could conceivably lead to more effective bombing of targets abroad. Steven grabs his iPod MP3 player (from DoD contractor Apple Computer) and heads downstairs to leave with his father. On his way to the door, Rick goes to his bookshelf and scans a selection of progressive texts whose publishers just happen to be DoD contractors, including a reissue of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (Houghton Mifflin), Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America by Lou Dubose and Molly Ivins (Random House), and Jon Stewart's America (The Book) (Warner Books), before choosing the Hugo Chavez-approved Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky (ahem, Metropolitan Books from Macmillan publishers). As the last one out, Donna sets the ADT alarm system. (ADT took in more than $16 million from the Pentagon in 2006, while its parent company, Tyco International, cleaned up to the tune of over $187 million.)
Former prosecutor says new spy case shows that Pollard case was bigger than thought
Thursday, 24 April 2008 1:21 A GMT-05
A former US attorney says the arrest of a US Army veteran on charges he spied for Israel confirms that the 1985 case of Jonathan Pollard was bigger than suspected. Joseph DiGenova oversaw the Pollard case. He says 84-year-old Ben-Ami Kadish is alleged to have had the same Israeli handler as Pollard, a former US Navy analyst serving a life sentence for espionage. DiGenova says the similarities are eerie. He says it clearly indicates the case is bigger than these two.
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand -NYT April 20, 2008
Sunday, 20 April 2008 4:26 P GMT-05
To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world. Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found. The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess
on air.
Cat dies when artillery round hits home
Sunday, 13 April 2008 4:52 A GMT-05
The Army is suspending outdoor weapons testing at a northern New Jersey base after a wayward artillery shell fragment crashed through the roof of a home miles away, fatally injuring a pet cat, the base's commanding officer said Saturday.
Bombs in the Pentagon on 9/11? Witness Accounts Raise Questions
Saturday, 12 April 2008 5:50 P GMT-05
Several accounts reveal that some witnesses who were at the Pentagon when it was attacked on 9/11, and located close to where the building was struck, initially were quite sure a bomb--or bombs--had gone off. These accounts are particularly notable since these individuals were members of the armed forces, and therefore familiar with what explosives sounded and felt like. While they may not tell us anything conclusive, these reports raise questions about what actually happened at the Pentagon that morning:
Military Personnel Account for 20% of U.S. Suicides
Saturday, 12 April 2008 4:18 P GMT-05
Current and former military personnel accounted for about 20 percent of U.S. suicides in 2005, according to a government study.
About 1,821 current or former soldiers committed suicide in 16 states in 2005, the most recent year of available data, according to the report published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost half were diagnosed with depression and a third left suicide notes.
That Other Military Draft
Tuesday, 8 April 2008 11:39 P GMT-05
"It's a draft, plain and simple. I don't care what they call it," Steven told me as our plane landed at LAX. "I didn't sign up for the Navy to be in the Army. But I'm going because I don't feel I have a choice. I have children to feed and a mortgage to pay."
Navy SEAL paid ultimate price to save buddies
Tuesday, 8 April 2008 10:52 P GMT-05
When a grenade bounced off his chest and fell to the floor near his fellow troops, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor acted out of instinct. His actions didn't stem from a lack of training. His instant reaction was to protect his comrades. The Navy says he committed a selfless act: jumping on the grenade and taking the full force of the blast.
Laser plane could destroy tanks from 10 miles
Saturday, 29 March 2008 5:52 P GMT-05
The weapon is capable of destroying targets up to 15km (10m) away, according to Defense Update online magazine. The ten-centimetre-wide beam will heat targets almost instantly to thousands of degrees and will slice through metal even at maximum range. It is intended both for battlefield use and for missile defense.
In Iraq, Was I a Torturer?
Saturday, 29 March 2008 3:35 P GMT-05
When 27-year-old Ben Allbright returned from Iraq, he was treated like a hero. But he is haunted by the "harsh interrogations" he oversaw.
Pentagon Holds Thousands of Americans 'Prisoners of War'
Thursday, 27 March 2008 8:37 A GMT-05
Sgt. Kristofer Shawn Goldsmith was one of the many soldiers and Marines, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, who gave testimony at last weekend's Winter Soldier investigation. They spoke from personal experience about what the American military is doing in those countries. They gave examples of what they had done, what they had been ordered to do, what they had witnessed, how their experiences had wounded them, both physically and psychically, and what kind of care and support they have, or most often have not gotten since coming home. The panel Goldsmith was on was called "The Breakdown of the U.S. Military," so he surprised the audience when he said that he was going to talk about prisoners of war. He was not, however, going to talk about the three soldiers listed as missing in action on the Department of Defense website. He was referring to those who have been the victims of stop-loss, the device by which the president can, "in the event of war," choose to extend an enlistee's contract "until six months after the war ends." The "War on Terror" is this president's excuse for invoking that clause. Because that war will, by definition, continue as long as we insist that there is a difference between the terror inflicted on our innocents and the terror inflicted on theirs, American soldiers are effectively signing away their freedom indefinitely when they join the military. They are prisoners of an ill-defined and undeclared war on a tactic -- terrorism -- that dates back to Biblical times and will be with us indefinitely.
An Army promotion in a cancer ward
Thursday, 20 March 2008 1:34 A GMT-05
Just over two months ago Miller, a 34-year-old military policeman from Newton, N.H., was manning an M240 Bravo machine gun in the turret of a Humvee that patrolled Baghdad’s treacherous streets. But in February, he was diagnosed with a rare and terminal form of colon cancer and told that he had only months to live. His deployment to Iraq was nothing compared to what comes next, Miller said.
THE 'INVISIBLE' WOUNDS OF THE IRAQ WAR
Sunday, 16 March 2008 10:42 P GMT-05
“Rates of mental health problems among new veterans are high and rising,” Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) said in its January 2008 issue paper, “Mental Health Injuries: The Invisible Wounds of War.” With 1.5 million service personnel having served in Iraq or Afghanistan and one in three vets expected to suffer serious psychological problems including depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), IAVA says about 500,000 men and women are coming home with combat-related psychological injuries. In addition, up to 300,000 Iraq vets have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which may not have outward signs and may be hard to distinguish from psychological injury. The toll on troops and their families is severe. The Army recently released figures showing that about five soldiers attempt suicide each day, up from one per day before the Iraq war started. According to IAVA, one fifth of married soldiers in Iraq say they are planning a divorce, and at least 40,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets have been treated for substance abuse.
Live Blogging From Winter Soldier
Sunday, 16 March 2008 9:31 P GMT-05
All he had to look forward to was to get out of the military and go to college. That hope ended when Bush announced the "surge." His division was the fifth planned to go, and everyone was put on lockdown by "stop-loss." He was set to deploy the day his contract was supposed to end. He attempted suicide that day. He woke up handcuffed to a gurney in the mental health ward. He had previously been diagnosed with depression and PTSD, but was still set to deploy. After his suicide attempt, he was discharged, but the military tried to prosecute him from malingering. He was refused help to challenge it by the military attorneys, because the said fighting it would bring down the military. Because of his general discharge, he was denied money for college, which he now can't afford to attend. He now delivers pizzas once a week, because that's the only job where he can call in and say that he's still stuck at the VA and can't get there.
Is the CIA’s “Mighty Wurlitzer” Playing Geraldo Rivera?
Saturday, 15 March 2008 4:14 P GMT-05
On Fox and Friends, Geraldo declared Times Square is a “magnet for these crazy people, for anarchists… that’s what I think this is, this bomber isn’t al-Qaeda, isn’t anything like that, he is more like — it’s a man — he’s more like those 9/11 was an inside job kind of guys, they… they protest things in a violent way, but in a violent way almost like the eco-terrorist where they don’t intend the inflict casualties.” Geraldo has absolutely no evidence the event in question was connected to anybody associated with the 9/11 truth movement and his characterization of the movement and its members as violent, at first glance, is so at odds with the facts as to be ludicrous. No doubt Geraldo, possessing at least a modicum of intelligence — as blithering idiots do not generally become corporate media personalities — understands well the disingenuous nature of his comments. In short, he is reading from a script and that script was prepared well in advance of the event in Times Square.
Winter Soldier: Iraq And Afghanistan
Saturday, 15 March 2008 3:52 P GMT-05
Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.
Iraq war veterans answer one last call of duty
Saturday, 15 March 2008 3:33 P GMT-05
Mortillo said IVAW's popularity has grown as soldiers - many of whom eagerly joined the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - have become disheartened with the seemingly endless, unnecessary conflict in Iraq, which as of Monday has claimed the lives of 3,973 U.S. soldiers. "I drank the Cool-Aid for the Iraq war, and I think most people did, especially in the service. We expected that we would go in there, find weapons of mass destruction, oust Saddam and it would all be good," said a 28-year-old veteran who declined to be named but served two years ago as an imbedded adviser in an Iraqi army platoon.
Gang Members Get Trained in the Army
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 4:52 P GMT-05
"Gang members are using the techniques and skills learned in the Army to commit crimes, and there is no doubt about that. The worrisome thing is that they endanger not only officials but all of society," says Gregory Lee, former supervisor of the national Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and private consultant in Los Angeles. In Southern California the orders are clear: Any indication that a gang member has military training must immediately be reported. Each time authorities enter a gang member’s house, said an anti-gang official who preferred to remain anonymous, "We have precise orders to look for photos, Army uniforms, anything related to the Army or that demonstrates a military training of that gang or gang member." That information is classified in a special gang database, according to the source. "For us, it is vital to know if we are confronting an enemy with military training," says Lieutenant George Zagurski, member of the intelligence unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He declined to state the number of local gang members known to have been trained by the Army.
AP: Water makes US troops in Iraq sick
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 4:34 P GMT-05
Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says. A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.
Gulf War syndrome firmly linked to chemical exposure
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 3:52 P GMT-05
Nearly two decades after veterans of the 1991 Gulf War came home complaining of odd illnesses, enough evidence has been gathered to determine that many of them were sickened by chemical exposure, a study published Monday concluded. And some of the damage was likely caused by pills prescribed to protect against the use of nerve gas and pesticides used to control sand flies, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Marines promises a full investigation into puppy-throwing video
Saturday, 8 March 2008 3:05 P GMT-05
Military officials say they haven't confirmed the identity of a U.S. Marine seen throwing a puppy off a rocky cliff in a disturbing video. The Marine's purported name was uttered in the video and has been widely circulated online. The name matches a 22-year-old lance corporal at Kaneohe Bay. He's a member of the First Battalion, Third Marine Regiment, which returned from Iraq in October.
Military heat ray gun zaps 60 Minutes reporter
Saturday, 1 March 2008 6:05 P GMT-05
"The gun is really an antenna which shoots out this very high-frequency radio beam that penetrates the skin to a depth of 1/64 of an inch, which is just deep enough to hit the nerves," says Martin. "And it creates this instantaneous sensation of heat which makes anyone who is hit with it try to get out of the way as fast as possible.
US soldier convicted of killing Iraqi
Sunday, 10 February 2008 4:49 P GMT-05
On Friday, Vela's commanding officer testified that he ordered Vela to kill al-Janabi, saying that was the only way to ensure the safety of his men in hostile territory. Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, who was a staff sergeant at the time of the killing but was later demoted, testified that he and the other members of the sniper team had all fallen asleep, then awoke to find al-Janabi squatting about three feet from them. Hensley said he ordered the man to lie on the ground and was searching him when he saw "military-aged men" who he thought were carrying weapons about 100 yards away. He said al-Janabi began yelling, and he decided that killing the man was the only way to keep the sniper hide-out from being discovered by what he believed was a group of approaching insurgents.
6 Guantanamo Detainees Are Said to Face Trial Over 9/11
Sunday, 10 February 2008 3:58 A GMT-05
Military prosecutors are in the final phases of preparing the first sweeping case against suspected conspirators in the plot that led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, and drew the United States into war, people who have been briefed on the case said. The charges, to be filed in the military commission system at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, would involve as many as six detainees held at the detention camp, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former senior aide to Osama bin Laden, who has said he was the principal planner of the plot.
Bush administration pushes for control of promotions of military lawyers
Saturday, 9 February 2008 4:41 P GMT-05
The Bush administration is pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers, escalating a conflict over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly raised objections to the White House's policies toward prisoners in the war on terrorism. The administration has proposed a regulation requiring "coordination" with politically appointed Pentagon lawyers before any member of the Judge Advocate General corps - the military's 4,000-member uniformed legal force - can be promoted.
G.I. Tells of Ordering Execution of Unarmed Iraqi
Saturday, 9 February 2008 4:34 P GMT-05
Under a grant of immunity, the sniper, Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, an expert marksman and sniper trainer, testified in the court-martial of Sgt. Evan Vela. Sergeant Vela is accused of murder, impeding a military investigation and planting evidence to cover up an unjust shooting. An earlier charge of premeditated murder was dropped. Sergeant Vela is the third soldier to be charged in the death of the Iraqi, Genei Nesir Khudair al-Janabi, last May. Sergeant Hensley and another soldier, Specialist Jorge G. Sandoval Jr., were acquitted of murder charges last year, but were convicted of planting evidence. As part of his sentence, Sergeant Hensley was demoted from staff sergeant.
Found in Translation
Wednesday, 23 January 2008 10:18 A GMT-05
Curiously, the states-secrets gag order binding Edmonds, while put in place by DOJ in 2002, was not requested by the FBI but by the State Department and Pentagon—which employed individuals she identified as being involved in criminal activities. If her allegations are frivolous, that order would scarcely seem necessary. It would have been much simpler for the government to marginalize her by demonstrating that she was poorly informed or speculating about matters outside her competency. Under the Bush administration, the security gag order has been invoked to cover up incompetence or illegality, not to protect national security. It has recently been used to conceal the illegal wiretaps of the warrantless surveillance program, the allegations of torture and the CIA’s rendition program, and to shield the telecom industry for its collaboration in illegal eavesdropping. Both Senators Grassley and Leahy, a Republican and a Democrat, who interviewed her at length in 2002, attest to Edmonds’s believability. The Department of Justice inspector general investigation into her claims about the translations unit and an internal FBI review confirmed most of her allegations. Former FBI senior counterintelligence officer John Cole has independently confirmed her report of the presence of Pakistani intelligence service penetrations within the FBI translators’ pool. Edmonds wasn’t angling to become a media darling. She would have preferred to testify under oath before a congressional committee that could offer legal protection and subpoena documents and witnesses to support her case. She claims that a number of FBI agents would be willing to testify, though she has not named them.
Snoop Chief: Mohamed Atta Took Us by Surprise
Sunday, 20 January 2008 6:52 P GMT-05
Either Mr. McConnell is an idiot or an accomplished liar. Suffice it to say idiots are not appointed to oversee the CIA, NSA, DIA, FBI, NRO, etc. ad nauseam, a virtual alphabet soup of “intelligence” agencies.
Iraqi Soldier Who Killed U.S. Troops is a Hero in Iraq
Wednesday, 16 January 2008 12:12 A GMT-05
On Dec. 26, an Iraqi soldier opened fire on U.S. soldiers accompanying him during a joint military patrol in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. He killed the U.S. captain and another sergeant, and wounded three others, including an Iraqi interpreter. Conflicting versions of the killing have arisen. Col. Hazim al-Juboory, uncle of the attacker Kaissar Saady al-Juboory, told IPS that his nephew at first watched the U.S. soldiers beat up an Iraqi woman. When he asked them to stop, they refused, so he opened fire.
Family adopts Marine's canine
Saturday, 22 December 2007 7:08 P GMT-05
A military working dog wounded in Iraq during a rocket attack that killed its Marine handler was adopted yesterday by the slain Marine's family. Corporal Dustin Lee's family planned to take home the bomb-searching dog - named Lex - today after the 8-year-old German shepherd was granted early retirement. It was the first time a military working dog was granted retirement to live with the handler's family, officials said.
Bob Bowman: Duty, Honor, Country, 2007, at the Boston Tea Party for 9/11 Truth
Friday, 21 December 2007 1:24 A GMT-05
Bob Bowman delivers his speech: Duty, Honor, Country, 2007, an open letter to the new generation of military officers serving and protecting our nation, from the Boston Common on 12/16/2007.
Burned! Meet William Chrisman, FBI Entrapment Specialist
Sunday, 9 December 2007 12:04 A GMT-05
A federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, heard startling testimony from an FBI entrapment specialist late last month in the case of an alleged terrorist supporter from Phoenix. William Chrisman [photo] testified on November 28 and 29 in a hearing in the case against former US Navy signalman Hassan Abujihaad, taking the stand just hours after Derrick Shareef, whom Chrisman entrapped, pleaded guilty in Chicago.
Pentagon Omits 20,000 Vets' Brain Injuries
Monday, 26 November 2007 3:08 A GMT-05
At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY.
The First Fifteen Minutes of September 11th: Former Air Traffic Controller Robin Hordon
Sunday, 25 November 2007 5:34 P GMT-05
In addition to my career as an Air Traffic Controller, I have a great deal of other experience in aviation. I was a Certified Commercial Pilot and accumulated 1600 hours total time in light aircraft; qualified in Single-Engine Land, Multi-Engine Land, Single-Engine Sea, and Glider. I was also a Certified Flight Instructor and Certified Ground Instructor. And prior to my becoming an Air Traffic Controller, I passed the Flight Engineer Basic exam focused on the Boeing 727 and accumulated over 2000 hours of aircraft maintenance, repair and rebuilding time. I knew within hours of the attacks on 9/11/2001 that it was an inside job. Based on my 11-year experience as an FAA Air Traffic Controller in the busy Northeast corridor, including hundreds of hours of training, briefings, air refuelings, low altitude bombing drills, being part of huge military exercises, daily military training exercises, interacting on a routine basis directly with NORAD radar personnel, and based on my own direct experience dealing with in-flight emergency situations, including two instances of hijacked commercial airliners, I state unequivocally; There is absolutely no way that four large commercial airliners could have flown around off course for 30 to 60 minutes on 9/11 without being intercepted and shot completely out of the sky by our jet fighters unless very highly placed people in our government and our military wanted it to happen.
6,000 soldiers claim persecution by "Christian" evangelicals
Saturday, 24 November 2007 10:06 P GMT-05
Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force JAG and White House attorney for Ronald Reagan, has received over 6,000 complains from military personnel about being harassed by Evangelical "Christians". 95% of these complains come from people who are, actually, already Christians. For his trouble, Weinstein, founder of The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has found "dead animals on his porch, feces smeared on his walls, or slashes in his tires. Men have called to threaten his daughter, women to chant rhymes about shooting him in the head, small children to inform him that he will burn in hell." These are the values of the so-called Christians (more like the American Taliban) who are trying not only to infiltrate our government, but to turn our military into "God's Nuclear-Armed Army". And it looks like they're winning the battle.
Trial Date Set For 'Father Of The Holy War' And His $5 Terrorist Tip
Thursday, 22 November 2007 9:44 P GMT-05
Shareef was recorded by his FBI informant (read: agent provocateur) saying he wanted to detonate the grenades in garbage cans at the Cherry Vale Mall in Rockford Illinois on the weekend before Christmas, 2006. According to investigators, Abujihaad (whose chosen name means "father of the holy war") and Shareef used to live together, and Shareef was with Abujihaad when the latter learned of the arrest of his former terrorist contact, Babar Ahmad. "I think this is about me," Abujihaad allegedly told Shareef, when he read that Babar Ahmad was in trouble. Abujihaad had bought a couple of videos from Azzam Productions, once accidentally overpaying by $5 and then telling Babar Ahmad to keep the extra money as a tip.
Ex-Iraq commander says bring troops home
Thursday, 22 November 2007 5:40 P GMT-05
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top commander in Iraq shortly after the fall of Baghdad, said this week he supports Democratic legislation that calls for most troops to come home within a year.
Military Asks Wounded Soldiers To Return Portions Of Signing Bonuses
Wednesday, 21 November 2007 4:17 A GMT-05
The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases. Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.
SOA Protest 2007
Wednesday, 21 November 2007 4:15 A GMT-05
In what has become the nation’s largest annual gathering for peace and human rights, over twenty thousand people protested outside the gates of Fort Benning, GA on November 18, 2007. Eleven people were arrested on federal criminal charges and face up to six months in prison.Fort Benning is the site of the internationally notorious U.S. Army training school for Latin American military and security personnel. For decades it was called the School of the Americas (SOA) - it is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). The school has graduated hundreds of military officers who have lead or participated in nearly every human rights atrocity in the hemisphere. Organizations across the world, including Amnesty International USA, have called for its closure since discovering copies of torture manuals used at the school. In June 2007, 203 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to close the scandal-ridden school - six votes shy of the margin of victory. Thousands listened quietly as Adriana Portillo-Bartow told how her father, stepmother, sister, sister-in-law and two daughters, ages nine and eleven, were “disappeared” in Guatemala in a war directed and carried out by graduates of the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Thousands moved towards the gates of the Fort and called out “presente!” as the names of hundreds of other victims of graduates of the school were sung out.
15,000 or More US Deaths in Iraq War
Monday, 19 November 2007 11:59 A GMT-05
If we add the 6,256 suicide victims from 2005 to the "official" 3,865 reported combat casualties; we get a sum of 10,121. Even a low-ball estimate of similar 2004 and 2006 suicide figures, would mean that the total number of US casualties from the Iraq war now exceed 15,000. That's right; 15,000 dead US servicemen and women in a war that--as yet--has no legal or moral justification. CBS interviewed Dr. Ira Katz, the head of mental health at the Department of Veteran Affairs. Katz attempted to minimize the surge in veteran suicides saying, "There is no epidemic of suicide in the VA, but suicide is a major problem."
Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier
Sunday, 18 November 2007 7:12 P GMT-05
My name is James Circello. I am sure some of you already know who I am now that wiretaps and spying on American citizens has been approved.
Or maybe you've heard of me when you saw my name on a comprehensive list of Anti-War activists. Or maybe you just know of me because I was a Sergeant in the United States Army and served as an Airborne Infantryman for six years, went to Iraq in March 2003 and served until March 2004, remained in the Army a little longer before refusing to take part in the Occupation of the Middle East and went AWOL.
SPECIAL REPORT: Turning The Police State Apparatus Against Dissenters
Sunday, 18 November 2007 6:26 P GMT-05
We have further exposed how the infrastructure for a martial law police state is already in place, and in many cases is in use. We have a whole archive on the revelations that FEMA has concentration camps set up and ready to go in the event of any emergency that is deemed suitable for their use. As we have also seen recently, these camps need not have barbed wire and observation towers, they can simply be well guarded sports stadiums. Detention centers are common features of any public protest event now, as we saw at the 2004 Republican National Convention and G8 protests. In May 2006, we also exposed the existence of a nationwide FEMA program which is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to "obey the government" in preparation for the implementation of martial law, property and firearm seizures, mass vaccination programs and forced relocation.
Wounded warriors face home-front battle with VA
Sunday, 18 November 2007 6:16 P GMT-05
In Ziegel's case, he spent nearly two years recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. Once he got out of the hospital, he was unable to hold a job. He anticipated receiving a monthly VA disability check sufficient to cover his small-town lifestyle in Washington, Illinois. Instead, he got a check for far less than expected. After pressing for answers, Ziegel finally received a letter from the VA that rated his injuries: 80 percent for facial disfigurement, 60 percent for left arm amputation, a mere 10 percent for head trauma and nothing for his left lobe brain injury, right eye blindness and jaw fracture.
Anti-war vets slam parade ban
Monday, 12 November 2007 2:31 A GMT-05
The Marine, who served three tours of duty in Iraq and is now against the war, was hoping to march as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a national organization that calls for immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq. The group's application, however, was rejected last month because of its political views, parade coordinators said. "I wanted to march like the rest of the Iraq veterans," said Lemieux, a 24-year-old Anaheim resident. "I served my country. I'm a veteran of a foreign war. I think I deserve that respect."
The Cancer From Within
Saturday, 10 November 2007 4:42 P GMT-05
In order to better understand this shift to a religious ideology at this once secular institution, I called the Academy Association of Graduates (AOG). Its response: “We don’t get involved in policy.” What I didn’t know was that the AOG, like the academy, had affiliations with James Dobson’s and Ted Haggard’s powerful mega-churches. When Dobson’s Focus on the Family “campus” was completed, the academy skydiving team, with great ceremony, delivered the “keys from heaven” to Dobson. During some alumni reunions, the AOG arranged bus tours of Focus on the Family facilities in nearby Colorado Springs, Colo. I also learned that the same Monday night Bible studies discussed at orientation were taught by bused-in members of these evangelical mega-churches and that some spouses of senior academy staff members were employed by these same religious institutions. It seemed that my beloved United States Air Force Academy had morphed into the Rocky Mountain Bible College.
Air Force grounds F-15s in Afghanistan after Missouri crash
Tuesday, 6 November 2007 11:53 A GMT-05
Maj. Cristin Marposon, an Air Force spokeswoman, told The Associated Press the country's fleet of 676 F-15s, including mission critical jets, was grounded on November 3 for "airworthiness concerns" after the crash of an older model F-15C on Friday. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but Air Force officials said it was a structural failure and the plane broke apart in flight.
US soldiers shy from battle in Iraq
Saturday, 27 October 2007 3:21 P GMT-05
According to Aliff, their mission was to help the Iraqi army "stand up" in the Abu Ghraib area of western Baghdad, but in fact his platoon was doing all the fighting without support from the Iraqis they were supposedly preparing to take control of the security situation. "I never heard of an Iraqi unit that was able to operate on their own," said Aliff, who is now a member of the group Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). "The only reason we were replaced by an Iraqi army unit was for publicity." Aliff said he participated in roughly 300 patrols. "We were hit by so many roadside bombs we became incredibly demoralized, so we decided the only way we wouldn't be blown up was to avoid driving around all the time." "So we would go find an open field and park, and call our base every hour to tell them we were searching for weapons caches in the fields and doing weapons patrols and everything was going fine," he said, adding, "All our enlisted people became very disenchanted with our chain of command."
Aliff, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), refused to return to Iraq with his unit, which arrived in Kirkuk two weeks ago. "They've already lost a guy, and they are now fostering the sectarian violence by arming the Sunnis while supporting the Shi'ites politically ... classic divide and conquer."
So Who's Afraid of the Israel Lobby?
Monday, 8 October 2007 1:10 A GMT-05
Seldom has the Lobby's power been as clearly demonstrated as in its ability to suppress the awful truth that on June 8, 1967, during the Six Day War: Israel deliberately attacked the intelligence collection ship USS Liberty, in full awareness it was a U.S. Navy ship, and did its best to sink it and leave no survivors; The Israelis would have succeeded had they not broken off the attack upon learning, from an intercepted message, that the commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet had launched carrier fighters to the scene; and By that time 34 of the Liberty's crew had been killed and over 170 wounded.
Blackwater crushed car with three kids, old man to avoid traffic: former US official
Monday, 8 October 2007 12:06 A GMT-05
"When the Iraqi government last month demanded the expulsion of Blackwater USA, the private security firm, I had one reaction: It's about time," she begins in an editorial. Gans says she witnessed firsthand "over-the-top zeal" of the behemoth US mercenary force. "We would careen around corners, jump road dividers, reach speeds in excess of 100 mph and often cross over to the wrong side of the street, oncoming traffic be damned," she writes. "I began to wonder whether my meetings, intended to further U.S. policy goals and improve the lives of Iraqis, were doing more harm than good. With our drivers honking at, cutting off, pelting with water bottles (a favorite tactic) and menacing with weapons anyone in their way, how many enemies were we creating?"
Slain Quincy soldier was not killed in combat, military says
Friday, 5 October 2007 4:22 A GMT-05
The Department of Defense confirmed this afternoon that Specialist Ciara Durkin, the 30-year-old Quincy soldier who died last week in Afghanistan, was not killed in combat. A statement from the Pentagon said that the circumstances surrounding Durkin's death were under investigation. The statement did not offer any specifics about how she died. Durkin was in a finance unit of the Massachusetts Army National Guard that had been deployed to Afghanistan in February for a year-long tour.
B-52 Nukes Headed for Iran, Not For Decommissioning: Airforce Refused
Saturday, 29 September 2007 7:57 P GMT-05
WMR has learned from U.S. and foreign intelligence sources that the B-52 transporting six stealth AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles, each armed with a W-80-1 nuclear warhead, on August 30, were destined for the Middle East via Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. However, elements of the Air Force, supported by U.S. intelligence agency personnel, successfully revealed the ultimate destination of the nuclear weapons and the mission was aborted due to internal opposition within the Air Force and U.S. Intelligence Community.
Gun Bill Rewrites Law To Disarm More Americans
Thursday, 27 September 2007 10:48 A GMT-05
HR 2640, which has been dubbed the "veterans disarmament act" by gun owners, would place any veteran who has ever been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the federal gun ban list. The bill passed in the House in June and was later passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee both times without a recorded vote. Gun owners have been trying to raise awareness and beat down the legislation ever since.
Veterans Disarmament Act To Bar Vts From Owning Guns
Sunday, 23 September 2007 5:11 P GMT-05
Veterans with PTSD should not be put in a position to seek an expungement. They have not been convicted (after a trial with due process) of doing anything wrong. If a veteran is thought to be a threat to self or others, there should be a real trial, not an opinion (called a diagnosis) by a psychiatrist. If members of Congress do not hear from soldiers (active duty and retired) in large numbers, along with the rest of the public, the Veterans Disarmament Act -- misleadingly titled by Rep. McCarthy as the NICS Improvement Amendments Act -- will send this message to veterans: "No good deed goes unpunished."
Please Help the 70% of 9/11 Rescue Workers Fighting to Survive
Saturday, 22 September 2007 3:10 P GMT-05
Sgt David Miller is a 16 year veteran of the 69th Infantry Battalion of the 42nd Division and the 10th Mountain Division and a first responder on 9/11.Please help Sgt David Miller and other first responders travel to Washington D.C. to demand their dignity. Please email Sgt David Miller at dmiller@theaidsinstitute.org
CNN: Mystery 9/11 aircraft was military 'doomsday plane'
Saturday, 15 September 2007 11:39 P GMT-05
9/11 Commission co-chair Lee Hamilton told CNN he was aware of the incident and that it had simply never seemed important enough to make it into the commission's report. He called conspiracy theories involving government complicity in 9/11 "ludicrous." The plane was previously identified as the E-4B a year ago by one researcher on a forum associated with the 9/11 conspiracy film, Loose Change. CNN acknowledges that, despite its identification, the absence of the aircraft from official investigations, together with the Pentagon's denial that it was a military plane and the insistence by the Pentagon, Secret Service, and FAA that they have no explanation for the incident, may continue to raise suspicions. The following video is from CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, broadcast on September 12.
Were War Critic Soldiers Killed To Send Message?
Saturday, 15 September 2007 7:28 P GMT-05
Was this a simple accident or another Pat Tillman style cover-up? Was a message being sent to other soldiers who are considering speaking out against the war that dissent has deadly consequences? Even if we are to dismiss the truck wreck as nothing more than an accident, another factor that has received next to no press attention should send red flags up for everyone. A third author of the letter was also shot in the head in a separate incident during the time when the op-ed was being written. Though Staff Sgt. Jeremy Murphy survived and is expected to make a full recovery, the fact that three of the seven authors of the op-ed were either killed or received life-threatening injuries shortly before and after the publication of the piece is highly suspicious.
"We're Dealing with a Christian Taliban"
Sunday, 9 September 2007 5:07 P GMT-05
And at every one of those 737 US military installations that are scattered in 132 countries around the world -- as we garrison the globe -- we have one or more of those organisations. They're called the "Officers Christian Fellowship" for the officers and "The Christian Military Fellowship" for the enlisted folks and these organisations have a tripartite, or three level goal, which they view as much more important than the oath that they all swear to protect and preserve, support and defend the constitution of the United States.
Padilla sues US officials over confinement
Saturday, 1 September 2007 7:31 P GMT-05
Convicted Al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla is seeking to hold former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and 59 other US officials responsible for what his lawyers say were abusive and unconstitutional tactics used against Mr. Padilla while he was held in military custody as an enemy combatant from 2002 to 2006. Lawyers working on Padilla's behalf filed the civil lawsuit earlier this year in federal court in South Carolina. It was publicly disclosed by the lawyers this week.
NORAD: Live and Uncut
Saturday, 1 September 2007 2:13 P GMT-05
In August, 2006, Michael Bronner, a writer for Vanity Fair Magazine,
received 30 hours of audiotape from the Northeast Air Defense Sector
that chronicled their response on 9/11. Mr. Bronner released 10 minutes of audio from them in MP3 format. In August, 2007, we received 120 hours of audiotape, and are proud to release them in their entirety to the public.
Seven Active U.S. Soldiers Write Iraq Op-Ed for 'NYT'
Wednesday, 22 August 2007 2:31 A GMT-05
An op-ed raising troubling questions about the U.S. effort in Iraq -- and off-kilter press coverage -- is nothing new. But this one, in The New York Times today, was different, and will possibly be more influential than nearly all that came before. For one thing, consider the authors' blurbs at the end of the article: "Buddhika Jayamaha is an Army specialist. Wesley D. Smith is a sergeant. Jeremy Roebuck is a sergeant. Omar Mora is a sergeant. Edward Sandmeier is a sergeant. Yance T. Gray is a staff sergeant. Jeremy A. Murphy is a staff sergeant."
Philly 9/11 Truth Speaks with NORAD Air Warning Center Personnel
Wednesday, 22 August 2007 2:21 A GMT-05
Portland to Host Terrorism Drill "NOBLE RESOLVE 07-2" Aug. 20 to 24
Sunday, 19 August 2007 4:30 P GMT-05
Military exercises such as NOBLE RESOLVE 07-2 have a recent history of coinciding with lethal “live” events. This occurred both at the start of Desert Storm in 1990 and on 9/11/01 when five or more major military or security exercises were in progress on the very day of the actual attacks. The same phenomenon occurred with the London Bombings of 7/7/05 during which a drill concerning multiple bomb attacks was being staged on that day.
New Bush prosecutorial theory in Padilla allows preventive detention on vague evidence
Saturday, 18 August 2007 6:15 P GMT-05
Obviously, that result was the desired outcome all along, and Taco Bell employee Padilla was just a poor sap they used as a tool. (Remember all the “dirty bomb” fear-mongering that went away because they couldn’t gin up the vaguest of evidence? Of course you do.)
Ian Welsh: Jose Padilla, nee Winston Smith, Found Guilty
Saturday, 18 August 2007 5:41 P GMT-05
But hey, if torturing someone till they love the person who threw them in jail; if taking years to bring someone to trial; if making someone so paranoid that they won't cooperate in their own defense counts as "the system working", then the American justice system is sure a model system. I'm sure next time some American is tortured overseas; is denied a timely trial; is so delusional after years in prison that he can't cooperate properly with his defense attorneys, that those who are declaring victory now will nod and smile and talk about how wonderful the justice system is operating overseas - about how American ideas of justice, civil and human rights are spreading. Sorry, I'm stepping off the spin machine. It's making me so nauseous that if I stay on one more second I'm going to puke.
"KILL EVERYBODY" - AMERICAN SOLDIER EXPOSES US POLICY IN IRAQ
Saturday, 18 August 2007 4:41 P GMT-05
"... And I go, “Well, you know what, I think it’s come out that, you know, these people had nothing to do with 9/11, there was no Iraqi on those planes. We can see around here there’s no Al Qaida, there’s no terrorist syndicates in Baghdad, or Iraq. Saddam had stamped ‘em out.” And I asked my buddies, “Well, you know, we’re here to find ‘weapons of mass destruction’.” And they laughed at me. And I said, “Well, you know, we’re here to ‘help the people.’” And they laughed at me. And I said, “What’s our mission? What’s our goal?”…They’re like, “All we’re trying to do is make it home alive…” Anderson describes the escalation of violence against unarmed civilians: “In April, they told us, “In a crowded area, if one person shoots at you, kill everybody.” Anderson explains the rationale from the officers, “They [members of the crowd of people] are letting them [the person or persons firing at the U.S. military] attack you. They’re no longer innocent if they’re there at the time of the crime…”
EXCLUSIVE: An Inside Look at How U.S. Interrogators Destroyed the Mind of Jose Padilla
Friday, 17 August 2007 5:19 A GMT-05
Well, during my time with him, some of his reasoning seemed somewhat impaired, some of his thinking seemed impaired, his memory certainly, his ability to pay attention seemed very impaired. I developed a differential diagnosis from this: severe anxiety. Post-traumatic stress disorder can do that. But also, we know from really basic neuroscience studies that extreme isolation for prolonged periods of time -- and I’m talking, you know, the studies are on maybe days or weeks, and he had extreme isolation for years -- really do, in fact, impair higher brain function. And I recommended that we get some neuropsychological testing. And, unfortunately, he wasn't able to fully cooperate with that. However, the testing we did do was consistent with brain damage, yes.
Oregon Truth Alliance Launches Site: Warns of False Flag Threat of Noble Resolve
Tuesday, 14 August 2007 10:52 A GMT-05
This is an urgent advisory notice from concerned citizens of Oregon and Washington about an upcoming U.S. Joint Forces Command emergency management exercise known as NOBLE RESOLVE 07-2 that will simulate terrorism or disaster scenarios in the Lower Columbia River Basin between Aug. 20th and Aug 24th, 2007.
Was the pin-up boy of Bush's War on Terror assassinated?
Sunday, 5 August 2007 1:30 A GMT-05
Preposterous though it may seem, there is a growing view that Pat Tillman was targeted by American special forces because he was about to become an embarrassment. New evidence shows that he was turning out to be a very troubled "hero", a poster boy for the Army and the War on Terror who may have been about to speak out against the war he had come to symbolise. Letters home and memories of those who knew him in Iraq suggest that after his initial enthusiasm, he had decided that Iraq was not just a quagmire but an "illegal" war. Tillman had been heard arguing bitterly against the Iraq war and urging his fellow soldiers to vote for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.
He had also been using his celebrity to contact the best-selling anti-war intellectual Noam Chomsky, and they were due to meet as soon as Tillman returned from Afghanistan.
MILITARY PLANS TO TREAT U.S. DISSIDENTS AS INSURGENTS
Saturday, 4 August 2007 4:24 P GMT-05
Talk-show host, Hal Turner, has reported receiving a leaked copy of a "Top Secret" U.S. military document stating that massive citizen unrest in now inevitable and that it plans to deal with American dissidents as insurgents. The tactics are to be the same as used against "insurgents" in U.S occupied countries in the Middle East. I cannot vouch for the validity of this document but I can say that it has the sound of truth. It is exactly the kind of startegic planning one would expect from a government with a rising tide of unrest from its citizens. We are providing a link to Hal Turner's report because we believe that the document probably is authentic, and Americans need to know what may be coming down the pike in the near future.
Wesley Clark On MSNBC: “Possible” Tillman Death Was Murder, Cover Up Came From The Very Top
Saturday, 4 August 2007 4:05 P GMT-05
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Absolutely, and it should be. The, the evidence of some problems is very, very clear. Mary Tillman and the Tillman family have been incredibly courageous in pursuing the truth in this, and the truth is not yet out. If there’s even a hint that there was something like a homicide or a murder in this case, it should’ve been fully investigated and proved or disproved, and we don’t really know how far up- Was it the Secretary of Defense’s office? Was it the White House? Where did the idea that you shouldn’t give any indication of what happened to Tillman. ‘Just go ahead and go through with the burial ceremony. Give him the Silver Star.’ Where did that- where was that idea blessed? You can be sure that that idea did not originate or stop at the Two- or Three-Star level. That was- someone approved that all the way to the top, because Pat Tillman was a political symbol used by the administration when it suited their purposes.
Korey Rowe Could Be Sent Back To Iraq
Saturday, 4 August 2007 3:42 P GMT-05
Rowe was grabbed as it was being announced on the Loose Change website that coordinated plans for 9/11 anniversary demonstrations had been finalized, by Rowe himself, and as the final cut of Loose Change is being prepared for release. The fact that he has made several public appearances in the last two years and not been apprehended indicates that there has never been a warrant against his name in the army database. As we highlighted last week, the Army court-martialed just 5% of deserters last year, with that number dropping to just 1 per cent or less for the Navy and the Marines. Rowe had satisfactorily completed his tour of duty and yet was grabbed by police and handed over to military officials on the basis of a tip-off the authorities received.
A Soldier Speaks: Iraq Comes Home: Soldiers Share the Devastating Tales of War
Wednesday, 11 July 2007 12:40 A GMT-05
So let's put this in perspective now. I got two Iraq tours, multiple kills, I picked up plenty of dead bodies, American bodies, enemy bodies. I killed an 8-year-old girl, which still haunts me to this day. I come back home. My wife finds somebody else. I'm sleeping on my brother's couch while she has the apartment, the kids, the car, everything that we worked on together. I work as a bail bondsman making $432 a week, which all goes to my brother. I have to fight just to see my boys because she's at the point where she thinks I don't deserve to see my kids because I haven't had help for my PTSD. She's scared I might do something stupid. And the VA won't help me out because of my other-than-honorable discharge. What else do you want to know?
The Prison is the War Crime
Thursday, 14 June 2007 12:29 A GMT-05
The Military Commissions Act, which denies basic due process protections, including the right to habeas corpus, is a disgrace. But an even bigger disgrace is the concentration camp the United States maintains at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The Act should be repealed and the Guantánamo prison should be shut down immediately.
Guardsmen on border accused of running smuggling ring
Thursday, 14 June 2007 12:14 A GMT-05
Three National Guardsmen assigned to the Texas-Mexico border were accused of running an immigrant smuggling ring after 24 immigrants were found inside a van that one of them was driving, a U.S. attorney said Monday. The three, arrested late Thursday and Friday, were arraigned Monday on a federal charge of conspiring to transport illegal immigrants.
Press Release - Adam Kokesh Rejects Marines' Plea Bargain
Tuesday, 12 June 2007 11:57 P GMT-05
Former Marine Sergeant Adam Kokesh is embroiled in a conflict that could have major implications for the free speech rights of veterans especially recent Vets who are in the Inactive Ready Reserve. Kokesh is facing an administrative hearing for his anti-war activities but recognizing the high stakes the military has offered a plea bargain. In response, Kokesh rejected the offer saying it risks the “free speech rights” of vets and “allow you to silence the voices of those whose experiences are most relevant in the most pressing debate before the nation.” Below this release is his letter to Captain Sibert and Brigadier General Moore, who is the convening authority for the hearing.
A Hypocritical Oath: Psychologists and Torture
Thursday, 7 June 2007 3:44 A GMT-05
First, do no harm. This tenet of medicine applies equally to psychologists, yet they are increasingly implicated in abusive interrogations, dare we say torture, at U.S. military detention facilities like Guantanamo. While the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association both have passed resolutions prohibiting members from participating in interrogations, the American Psychological Association refuses to, despite the outrage of many of its members. Now, with the declassification of a report by the Pentagon’s inspector general detailing psychologists’ role in military interrogations, the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services announced it will investigate.
World War II and the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex
Tuesday, 5 June 2007 1:23 A GMT-05
The powerful role played by the MICC in the second half of the twentieth century testifies to a fact that Americans have seldom faced squarely: World War II did not end in a victory for the forces of freedom; to an equal or greater extent, the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies represented a victory for the forces of totalitarian oppression in the Soviet Union and, later, its surrogates around the world. Hence, in 1945, Americans merely traded one set of aggressive enemies for another. In reality, the war did not end until the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the degeneration of its armed forces in the early 1990s. In America, the long war — from 1940 to 1990 — solidified the MICC as an integral part of the political economy.
The AntiWar Activist That The Right Wing Dare Not Smear
Saturday, 2 June 2007 5:46 P GMT-05
Iraq veteran and honorably discharged Marine Sgt. Adam Kokesh has been the Pentagon's biggest public relations nightmare this year, because he's some kind of magical Cindy Sheehan - people actually like him!
DNC: Romney Lashes Out at Iraq Veteran... On Memorial Day!
Friday, 1 June 2007 11:15 A GMT-05
When asked by the man's wife and friend about his problem getting treatment for a broken foot, Romney "questioned the man's status, wondering why the military wouldn't help him if he is active duty." According to news accounts, when the man's friend began to explain by saying, "He's in the window," Romney "cut him off" and snapped "Don't give me, 'he's in the window' ... He's either active duty or not."
'Father Of The Holy War' To Be Held Without Bail As Bogus Alleged Plots Grow And Intertwine
Monday, 28 May 2007 7:03 P GMT-05
A few months ago, when setting up the arrest and the indictment, the feds made it seem like a slam-dunk. Now they tell us there's no forensic footprint linking the suspect to the documents in question? Not that any of this will matter; as we have seen over and over, the courts are reluctant to buck the anti-terrorists -- ever, anywhere. Some of the weakest, strangest cases have led to convictions and long prison sentences. We're even seeing cases based on no evidence of anything -- except entrapment by undercover FBI agents -- leading to convictions and long sentences.
Cheney criticizes the Geneva Conventions in Military Academy commencement address
Monday, 28 May 2007 6:05 P GMT-05
Cheney delivered the remarks in the context of moral and ethical lessons that the graduating cadets at West Point had learned in the course of their study. "You have lived by a code of honor, and internalized that code as West Point men and women always do," he said. "As Army officers on duty in the war on terror, you will now face enemies who oppose and despise everything you know to be right, every notion of upright conduct and character, and every belief you consider worth fighting for and living for."
Johnny Wave's First Big Interview
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 9:52 A GMT-05
The Marines have landed. During the interview, Cosmos and Johnny are joined by another IRR Marine, Andrew. This is the birth of Marines for 9/11 Truth.
A Marine for Truth
Tuesday, 15 May 2007 5:56 P GMT-05
Something that I wanted you all to know is the reactions I recieved from every astonished service member after they calmed down. The first person to walk up and tell me this movement would leave a black mark on my life, later admitted that he agreed with more of our beliefs than he could admit. (Air Force Officer) The second Marine simply told me "you can't do this yet." ...yet. The third Marine took my number and later called me with two other Marine Corps Officers to inform me that I was facing a dishonorable discharge, but also saying that I was an outstanding individual and more people needed to voice their opinions to stop this war. The fourth Lt. Col. actually gave me ideas to continue this march after three 9/11Truthers jumped down his throat in protection of our 1st Amendment.
al-Qaida says it has missing U.S. troops
Sunday, 13 May 2007 2:21 P GMT-05
Thousands of U.S. soldiers searched Sunday for three Americans who were missing after their patrol came under attack in an explosion that killed four of their comrades and an Iraqi army translator. Two bombings -- one in northern Iraq and another at a market in Baghdad -- killed at least 62 Iraqis. The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, said it had captured several soldiers in the attack, but offered no proof to back up its claim, posted on an Islamic Web site.
Haditha marine 'watched superior kill surrendering civilians'
Thursday, 10 May 2007 2:04 P GMT-05
A US marine told a court yesterday that he had "pissed" on the head of one of 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit and watched a superior officer kill five Iraqis as they tried to surrender. Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz made the admission at a pre-trial hearing ahead of a series of military trials over the killings and alleged cover-up at Haditha, 120 miles west of Baghdad, in November 2005.
6 men charged in plot to attack Fort Dix
Wednesday, 9 May 2007 3:30 P GMT-05
Six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers -- a scheme the FBI says was foiled when the men asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about jihad.
Pentagon Survey Finds US Troops in Iraq Lag in Ethics
Sunday, 6 May 2007 2:37 P GMT-05
More than one-third of U.S. soldiers in Iraq surveyed by the Army said they believe torture should be allowed if it helps gather important information about insurgents, the Pentagon disclosed yesterday. Four in 10 said they approve of such illegal abuse if it would save the life of a fellow soldier. In addition, about two-thirds of Marines and half the Army troops surveyed said they would not report a team member for mistreating a civilian or for destroying civilian property unnecessarily. "Less than half of Soldiers and Marines believed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect," the Army report stated. About 10 percent of the 1,767 troops in the official survey - conducted in Iraq last fall - reported that they had mistreated civilians in Iraq, such as kicking them or needlessly damaging their possessions. Army researchers "looked under every rock, and what they found was not always easy to look at," said S. Ward Casscells, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. The report noted that the troops' statements are at odds with the "soldier's rules" promulgated by the Army, which forbid the torture of enemy prisoners and state that civilians must be treated humanely.
Tell the Truth
Friday, 4 May 2007 7:02 A GMT-05
The members of the House and Senate have great resources available to them. Not only do they have large staffs, but there are also the Congressional Research Service, the Government Accountability Office, the great Library of Congress and the Congressional Budget Office. It seems they should have no excuse for not getting their facts straight. The problem is that most of them, most of the time, concentrate on getting re-elected. In the 18th and 19th century, a contemptuous description of such people was "officeholders." Seems mild, but it was meant to separate the statesmen from the politicians with no agenda but their own political welfare. It's impossible to have a legitimate debate about anything if the participants lie, don't know the basic facts of the issue or deliberately distort their opponents' position. Self-government is the most difficult of all the forms of government, and it requires honesty on everyone's part to function.
The Sham of the Padilla Trial
Thursday, 3 May 2007 12:46 A GMT-05
If Padilla is convicted by the jury, the judge will likely sentence him to serve much of the rest of his life in a federal penitentiary for having conspired to violate federal criminal laws against terrorism. On the other hand, if Padilla is acquitted, the U.S. military is likely to exercise its post-9/11-acquired power to declare Americans (and foreigners) “enemy combatants” in the war on terror and throw Padilla back into a military dungeon. That is where he was before the government, as part of a clever legal maneuver that was obviously designed to avoid Supreme Court review of Padilla’s request for habeas-corpus relief, converted him from an “enemy combatant” in the war on terror to a federal-court criminal defendant charged with violating federal terrorism laws. While the military, of course, could decline to exercise its power to retake Padilla into custody after an acquittal by the jury, that course of action is unlikely given the government’s repeated assertion that Padilla is one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists.
Who Will Stop the U.S. Shadow Army in Iraq?
Tuesday, 1 May 2007 1:43 P GMT-05
The 145,000 active duty U.S. forces are nearly matched by occupation personnel that currently come from companies like Blackwater USA and the former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, which enjoy close personal and political ties with the Bush administration. Until Congress reins in these massive corporate forces and the whopping federal funding that goes into their coffers, partially withdrawing U.S. troops may only set the stage for the increased use of private military companies (and their rent-a-guns) which stand to profit from any kind of privatized future “surge” in Iraq.
They Also Serve Their Conscience:California veterans, including some still on active duty, are speaking out against the U.S. presence in Iraq
Tuesday, 1 May 2007 1:03 A GMT-05
For the most part, the military has tolerated the antiwar activities of its active-duty soldiers and reservists.
“While not on duty or in uniform, our service members maintain similar rights as other Americans,” said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann, director of public affairs for the California National Guard. “There are, however, limitations that exist to ensure the good order and discipline of the service and to maintain an effective chain of command.”
The only significant court case related to antiwar activity, the court-martial of Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada at Ft. Lewis, Wash., ended in a mistrial in February. Watada was charged with “conduct unbecoming an officer” for antiwar statements he made before Veterans for Peace and other organizations and for refusing to deploy with his unit to Iraq. A new court-martial is set for July.
Another Victory For Torture: Germans Reject Investigation Request
Saturday, 28 April 2007 6:25 P GMT-05
So what have we learned? Witnesses don't matter, testimony doesn't matter, the law doesn't matter, and the facts of the case don't matter. Torturers should investigate their own crimes. Welcome to hell.
Uncomfortable truth: U.S. troops ignored sex slave atrocity, used Japanese-run brothels
Friday, 27 April 2007 11:51 P GMT-05
An Associated Press review of historical documents and records -- some never before translated into English -- shows that American authorities permitted the official brothel system to operate despite internal reports that women were being coerced into prostitution. The Americans also had full knowledge by then of Japan's atrocious treatment of women in countries across Asia that it conquered during the war. Tens of thousands of women were employed to provide cheap sex to American troops until the spring of 1946, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur shut it down.
Rambo image was based on lie, says US war hero Jessica Lynch
Wednesday, 25 April 2007 8:21 P GMT-05
Appearing as a witness at the Congressional committee investigating military misinformation from the battlefield, Jessica Lynch said: "Tales of great heroism were being told. My parent's home in Wirt county [West Virginia] was under siege of the media all repeating the story of the little girl Rambo from the hills who went down fighting. It was not true."
Where Were the F-15s on 9/11?
Wednesday, 25 April 2007 3:14 A GMT-05
Even according to the 9/11 Commission's account, it was more than an hour after Flight 11 became an obvious emergency that the fighter jets launched in response to it finally arrived over New York. But if we believe the claims of the majority of witnesses quoted by the Complete 9/11 Timeline, it actually took more than two hours from when the emergency began for F-15s to arrive over the city. Yet the base from where they took off was just 153 miles away, and F-15s have a maximum speed of 915 mph at sea level, or 1,875 mph at high altitude. [7] So what slowed them down?
Soldier: I Was Deployed To Iraq With Traumatic Brain Injury
Sunday, 22 April 2007 5:08 P GMT-05
As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga., is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.
“George Bush Had Better Be Fucking Right”
Friday, 20 April 2007 3:35 P GMT-05
That’s how I began my journal on April 3, 2003. Writing in pencil on an Army-issue notebook with mint green pages, leaning in on deliberate, hard letters, I underlined “better” and penciled over the words again and again until they wore through the tactically-colored paper. On March 19, just two weeks earlier, the US had launched the first air strike of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Troops on the ground had invaded Iraq the next day. And now I was off to war for reasons that I feared were bullshit.
Military Leaders Question 9/11
Thursday, 19 April 2007 4:00 P GMT-05
I ran across some folks in the military who refuse to question 9/11, as they don't know that high-level military leaders have said it was an inside job. I wrote this as a concise summary to show to the good people in the military who don't yet know the truth. If you are currently or formerly in the military, please consider sharing this information on boards and discussion groups such as at Military.com (free signup) or with veterans groups. If you have friends, family, colleagues or neighbors in the military, I invite you to show it to them.
Kangaroo Tribunals Give a Kafkaesque Edge to Guantanamo
Monday, 16 April 2007 6:34 P GMT-05
The prisoners at Guantanamo Bay — or Azkaban, as one of my clients, a Harry Potter fan, calls it — have had no access to a hearing in a court of law. Instead, Guantanamo’s inmates are subjected to two kangaroo procedures: Combatant Status Review Tribunals and Administrative Review Boards. The tribunals determine whether an individual is an enemy combatant. Needless to say, the cards are stacked against the prisoner from the get-go. The tribunals are allowed to rely on hearsay evidence and information acquired though coercion. Any evidence deemed “secret” is withheld from the prisoner. Can you imagine trying to defend yourself against evidence kept secret from you? Amazingly, my client Abdul Al-Ghizzawi (a Libyan who ran a bakery in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, before being handed to Americans for a bounty in late 2001), was found to have no ties to terrorism and not to be an enemy combatant. Unfortunately, the higher-ups intervened and the tribunal’s judgment was overturned six weeks later upon the miraculous discovery of “new evidence.” I saw the classified proceedings of my client’s tribunals, and I can assure you that no new material was considered. Mark and Joshua Denbeaux, authors of the study “No-Hearing Hearings,” have discovered that some prisoners went through as many as three hearings before the tribunals made the “correct” determination that a prisoner had ties to terrorism.
3 Generals Spurn the Position of War 'Czar'
Wednesday, 11 April 2007 5:52 P GMT-05
"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," said retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting the job. Sheehan said he believes that Vice President Cheney and his hawkish allies remain more powerful within the administration than pragmatists looking for a way out of Iraq. "So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, 'No, thanks,' " he said.
Congress Will Investigate Misinformation on Tillman, Lynch
Wednesday, 11 April 2007 1:48 P GMT-05
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will investigate the Pentagon’s handling of the death of Pat Tillman and the rescue of Jessica Lynch to determine “why inaccurate accounts of these two incidents were disseminated, the sources and motivations for the accounts, and whether the appropriate administration officials have been held accountable.”
Pat Tillman: Killed by Friendly Fire or Executed by His Own Government?
Monday, 9 April 2007 3:30 A GMT-05
Logic dictates that we raise the possibility of Tillman’s assassination by his own government. Top civilian leadership had the reason and the opportunity to assassinate Tillman, and now they are acting quite guilty. The Tillman story has a great chance of breaking out: survivor Kevin Tillman was with his brother constantly at war. Pat and Kevin were shipped from Iraq to Afghanistan because Pat made no secret of his opinion that war in Iraq was “illegal and unjust,” and he was, according to his brother, prepared to tell his story publicly at the first opportunity. The Tillman brothers were due for a furlough, and Kevin stated in interviews that Pat had arranged to meet with an anti-war journalist while at home. We wonder if others might have known this.
"My Name Used to Be #200343"
Sunday, 8 April 2007 10:18 P GMT-05
But darker allegations are included in the complaint over false imprisonment. Because he worked with the FBI, Vance contends, U.S. government officials in Iraq decided to retaliate against him and Ertel. He believes these officials conspired to jail the two not because they worked for a security company suspected of selling weapons to insurgents, but because they were sharing information with law enforcement agents outside the control of U.S. officials in Baghdad. "In other words," claims the lawsuit, "United States officials in Iraq were concerned and wanted to find out about what intelligence agents in the United States knew about their territory and their operations. The unconstitutional policies that Rumsfeld and other unidentified agents had implemented for 'enemies' provided ample cover to detain plaintiffs and interrogate them toward that end."
An about-face on honoring fallen troops
Saturday, 7 April 2007 2:09 P GMT-05
In a reversal by the US government four years into the war in Iraq, America's fallen troops are being brought back to their families aboard charter jets instead of ordinary commercial flights, and the caskets are being met by honor guards in white gloves instead of baggage handlers with forklifts.
"Wait, I Didn't Sign-up for the 'International' Guard..."
Friday, 6 April 2007 3:28 P GMT-05
Has Iraq become the 51st state without anyone telling me? No. Well, why are 12,ooo ‘national’ guard being sent there? They’re not the ‘international’ guard…
Former Head of Air Force Accident Investigation Board Comes Out for 9/11 Truth
Friday, 6 April 2007 2:27 P GMT-05
Former combat fighter pilot (F-15E and F-111). Former President, U.S. Air Force Accident Investigation Board. Also served as Pentagon Weapons Requirement Officer and as a member of the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review. Awarded Distinguish Flying Cross for Heroism, four Air Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, and nine Aerial Achievement Medals. 20-year Air Force career. Currently commercial airline pilot.
Bush just lied in his press conference about Iraq; said our military commanders came up with the surge, in fact they opposed the surge, all of them
Wednesday, 4 April 2007 1:17 A GMT-05
Bush just spoke to the nation, trying to convince the public to support his Iraq quagmire, and he claimed again that the surge, the escalation, was the idea of his commanders in the field, and he's just following their advice. In fact, all of the Joint Chiefs, the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, ALL opposed the surge.
Are all lives equal? Not according to the way the US compensates victims
Tuesday, 3 April 2007 5:02 P GMT-05
Altogether it seems hard to design a better policy of covert racism and to ensure that the ranks of those willing to harm Americans in Iraq - and probably elsewhere in the Muslim World - do not dwindle any time soon.
Air Force Fighter Pilot and Instructor Comes Out for 9/11 Truth
Tuesday, 3 April 2007 3:24 P GMT-05
Lt. Col. Guy S. Razer, MS, U.S. Air Force (ret) – Retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot (F-111, F-15E, F-16, B-1, F-18, Mig-29, and Suu-22). Flew combat missions over Iraq. Former instructor at the USAF Fighter Weapons School and NATO’s Tactical Leadership Program. • Statement to this website 3/25/07: "After 4+ years of research since retirement in 2002, I am 100% convinced that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were planned, organized, and committed by treasonous perpetrators that have infiltrated the highest levels of our government. It is now time to take our country back. The "collapse" of WTC Building 7 [570 feet tall, 47 stories, and not hit by an airplane] shows beyond any doubt that the demolitions were pre-planned. There is simply no way to demolish a 47-story building (on fire) over a coffee break. It is also impossible to report the building’s collapse before it happened, as BBC News did, unless it was pre-planned. Further damning evidence is Larry Silverstein's video taped confession in which he states "they made that decision to pull [WTC 7] and we watched the building collapse."
How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits
Monday, 2 April 2007 1:02 A GMT-05
In the Army's separations manual it's called Regulation 635-200, Chapter 5-13: "Separation Because of Personality Disorder." It's an alluring choice for a cash-strapped military because enacting it is quick and cheap. The Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't have to provide medical care to soldiers dismissed with personality disorder. That's because under Chapter 5-13, personality disorder is a pre-existing condition. The VA is only required to treat wounds sustained during service. Soldiers discharged under 5-13 can't collect disability pay either. To receive those benefits, a soldier must be evaluated by a medical board, which must confirm that he is wounded and that his wounds stem from combat. The process takes several months, in contrast with a 5-13 discharge, which can be wrapped up in a few days.
A Deadly U.S.-Iran Firefight
Sunday, 1 April 2007 8:17 P GMT-05
A short Army press release issued on the day of the skirmish offered the following information: U.S. soldiers from the 5th Squadron 73rd Cavalry 82nd Airborne were accompanying Iraqi forces on a routine joint patrol along the border with Iran, about 75 miles east of Baghdad, when they spotted two Iranian soldiers retreating from Iraqi territory back into Iran. A moment later, U.S. and Iraqi forces came upon a third Iranian soldier on the Iraqi side of the border, who stood his ground. As U.S. and Iraqi soldiers approached the Iranian officer and began speaking with him, a platoon of Iranian soldiers appeared and moved to surround the coalition patrol, taking up positions on high ground. At that point, according to the Army's statement, the Iranian captain told the U.S. and Iraqi soldiers that if they tried to leave they would be fired on. Fearing abduction by the Iranians, U.S. troops moved to go anyway, and fighting broke out. Army officials say the Iranian troops fired first with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, and that U.S. troops fell further back into Iraqi territory, while four Iraqi army soldiers, one interpreter and one Iraqi border guard remained in the hands of the Iranians.
U.S. March toll nearly twice Iraq forces
Saturday, 31 March 2007 11:55 P GMT-05
The U.S. military death toll in March, the first full month of the security crackdown, was nearly twice that of the Iraqi army, which American and Iraqi officials say is taking the leading role in the latest attempt to curb violence in the capital, surrounding cities and Anbar province, according to figures compiled on Saturday. The Associated Press count of U.S. military deaths for the month was 81, including a soldier who died from non-combat causes Friday. Figures compiled from officials in the Iraqi ministries of Defense, Health and Interior showed the Iraqi military toll was 44. The Iraqi figures showed that 165 Iraqi police were killed in March. Many of the police serve in paramilitary units.
Bush apologizes for Walter Reed woes
Friday, 30 March 2007 7:49 P GMT-05
Bush toured the main hospital and Abrams Hall, where soldiers were transferred after they were vacated from the facility's Building 18, the site of moldy walls, rodent infestation and other problems that went unchecked until reported by the media. He said his conversations with those who had been in Building 18 left him "disturbed by their accounts." "The problems at Walter Reed were caused by bureaucratic and administrative failures," the president told about 100 medical workers and patients at the hospital. "The system failed you and it failed our troops and we're going to fix it."
Worries grow over mental health of U.S. troops
Friday, 30 March 2007 6:09 P GMT-05
Doctors, families and lawmakers are expressing growing concerns that veterans are not getting the right mental health help. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 12-20% of those who served in Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Death Squad in Delaware: The Case of the Murdered Marine
Friday, 30 March 2007 2:38 A GMT-05
Hale, a retired Marine Sergeant who served two tours in Iraq and was decorated before his combat-related medical discharge in January 2006, was murdered by a heavily armed 8–12-member undercover police team in Wilmington, Delaware last November 6. He had come to Wilmington from his home in Manassas, Virginia to participate in a Toys for Tots event.
Job Fair Caters to Vets Wounded in Iraq
Wednesday, 28 March 2007 8:38 P GMT-05
Job applicants with missing limbs and severe burns arrived on crutches and in wheelchairs Tuesday at a job fair designed to help veterans rebuild their lives after being severely wounded in Iraq. Some veterans wore bandages, fatigues and dark suits to cover their combat injuries as they met with recruiters that included banks, financial planners, military contractors and federal agencies. It was the ninth in a series of job fairs sponsored by the Pentagon.
Retired general paints grim picture of Iraq
Wednesday, 28 March 2007 5:23 P GMT-05
His report also lists several reasons for some new optimism, noting that since the arrival of Petraeus last month "the situation on the ground has clearly and measurably improved. " Nevertheless, his bottom line is that the U.S. military is in "strategic peril" - a sharp contrast to his previous views. In 2005, he concluded in a similar report that "momentum is now clearly with the Iraqi government and coalition security forces. " In a 2006 assessment, he wrote: "It was very encouraging for me to see the progress achieved in the past year. "
U.S. judge rules Rumsfeld, others immune to torture lawsuit
Wednesday, 28 March 2007 5:12 P GMT-05
A district court has detailed the torture of 9 US prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan but ruled former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and 3 high-ranking officers immune from prosecution. The 5 Iraqis and 4 Afghans – none ever charged with a crime – were found to lack US constitutional rights. The abuse authorized by Rumsfeld and sometimes taking place in the presence of the 3 officers included being hung upside-down and slapped unconscious, stabbed, electrically shocked, deprived of sleep, grabbed by dogs and sexually humiliated.
Welcome to the Least Worst Place
Wednesday, 28 March 2007 4:42 P GMT-05
Yet on Monday, in a surprise move, the Pentagon announced that it had transferred a detainee named Abdul Malik to Guantanamo over the weekend. It gave little information about the new arrival, saying only that he was a "dangerous terror suspect," that he had confessed to terrorist acts, and that he had been arrested "as a result of our ongoing conflict against Al Qaida." While the Pentagon disclosed neither the detainee's nationality nor where he had been arrested, knowledgeable observers knew that he was a Kenyan picked up in Kenya a few weeks ago. He was reportedly arrested at a foreign exchange bureau in the city of Mombasa, held for a time in Kenyan police custody, and then handed over to the United States.
Tillman family outraged at Army, demands congressional probe
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 11:02 P GMT-05
No one who knew Pat ever doubted his physical or moral courage. But the award of the Silver Star appears more than anything to be part of a cynical design to conceal the real events from the family and the public, while exploiting the death of our beloved Pat as a recruitment poster.
The American Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 6:17 P GMT-05
This reminded me of my experience in Iraq, where I would hear soldiers discussing their abuse of detainees. It was always cast as a humorous thing, and each recounting won the expected—sometimes forced—laugh. But now I am in Washington, I thought. Has everyone been bitten by the torture bug? I was sickened to watch a senior senator and lawyer flippantly dismiss what happened at Abu Ghraib, and act as though he knew more about the abuses than the people, like me, who were there.
Rape fears lead women soldiers to suicide, death
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 1:56 A GMT-05
U.S. female soldiers in Iraq were assaulted or raped by male soldiers in the women’s latrines, and an alarming number committed suicide, Col. Janis Karpinski reportedly testified before an international human rights commission of inquiry last month. “Because the women were in fear of getting up in the darkness [to go to the latrine], they were not drinking liquids after 3 or 4 in the afternoon,” Karpinski testified, according to a report on Truthout.org. “In the 100 degree heat, they were dying of dehydration in their sleep.”
Two Years Later, Suffolk Soldier At Walter Reed Awaiting Surgery
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 1:18 A GMT-05
Staff Sergeant Shannon's first surgery stabilized his skull after he lost that eye. A second surgery for a skull implant four months later actually came ahead of schedule. But then it took nine months for a third surgery to remove shrapnel from his shoulder. Torrey says that's because the staff at Walter Reed lost her husband's paperwork three times, meaning the Shannons had to start the process over again. "They need more case workers. Desperately. They just added 100 case workers and it's not nearly enough," Torrey said.
Is the American Empire on the Brink of Collapse?
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:24 A GMT-05
I believe that we're close to a tipping point right now. What happened to the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991 could easily be happening to us for essentially the same reasons. Imperial overreach, inability to reform, rigid economic ideology.
Rumsfeld "Deserted His Post" On Morning Of 9/11
Monday, 26 March 2007 10:41 P GMT-05
But according to a new book. 'Rumsfeld' by Andrew Cockburn, the then defence secretary was so unconcerned, and unsurprised, after learning that two jet airliners had crashed into the World Trade Centre towers that he continued with regular CIA briefing. He only got moving when another plane slammed into the Pentagon. When Rumsfeld refused to follow security advice and chose instead to head out in front of the media cameras at the Pentagon, a senior White House official, with him that morning, says Rumsfeld "deserted his post".
Mickey Z and Pat Tillman
Monday, 26 March 2007 3:42 P GMT-05
This kind of shooting from the hip, this kind of moral exhibitionism, is doubly offensive to me, because Mickey Z is seen as someone from the left. I feel tainted by this kind of uninformed and easy moralism. Pat, like 95% of the rest of us lesser beings in the heart of Empire, was not a fully-formed anti-imperialist. He was, however, extremely well-read and a diligent student of history. He did not deserve to be used as a posthumous recruiting poster by Donald Rumsfeld’s ministry; and he does not deserve being reduced to a straight man for Mickey Z’s homilies.
Officers blamed for Tillman case errors
Saturday, 24 March 2007 4:20 A GMT-05
A Pentagon investigation will recommend that nine officers, including up to four generals, be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, senior defense officials said Friday.
Getting Screwed
Friday, 23 March 2007 5:51 P GMT-05
We have seen an Army General or two fired in response to late-coming national publicity of abhorrent treatment of our maimed and recovering soldiers. But the real crime is much higher than three or four stars.
The administration and the Pentagon didn’t plan for an occupation of Iraq, because that planning would belie our public optimism, betray the propaganda of cakewalks and a thousand flowers, and reveal the truth about the administration’s 2003 force-march to war. Likewise, to have planned for 25,000 injured Iraq and Afghan veterans, many permanently crippled, blinded, disfigured and brain damaged, and 100,000 psychological and emotional head cases trying to reintegrate into their former lives would have revealed the administration’s Iraq narrative to be dead wrong. No matter the cost, the Bush-Cheney narrative must be seen as the "reality."
Senators set Iraq deadline in war bill
Wednesday, 21 March 2007 5:16 P GMT-05
Senate Democrats have drafted a $121.5 billion war spending bill that would direct President Bush to begin bringing home troops from Iraq with the goal of ending U.S. combat missions there in just over a year.
Rep. John Murtha: Four Costly Years at War
Tuesday, 20 March 2007 10:32 P GMT-05
Over 3,200 of our sons and daughters have lost their lives in Iraq and close to 25,000 have been wounded, to include thousands of traumatic brain injuries and hundreds of limb amputations. The cost of disability benefits as a result of this protracted and intense war will be staggering. A recent report by the Harvard University School of Government put the total cost of providing medical care and disability benefits to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan at $350 to $700 billion. While the U.S. continues to deplete its resources in Iraq, our ground forces in the United States are short on training, equipment and personnel. At the beginning of the Iraq war, 80% of all Army units and almost 100% of active combat units were rated at the highest levels of readiness. Just the opposite exists today. General Peter Schoomaker, Army Chief of Staff, said last week during a hearing on the Hill, "We have a strategy right now that is outstripping the means to execute it." General Cody, the Vice Chief, said that the Army's readiness level is "stark."
Blackwater: Bush's Shadow Army
Tuesday, 20 March 2007 1:45 A GMT-05
The often overlooked subplot of the wars of the post-9/11 period is their unprecedented scale of outsourcing and privatization. From the moment the US troop buildup began in advance of the invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon made private contractors an integral part of the operations. Even as the government gave the public appearance of attempting diplomacy, Halliburton was prepping for a massive operation. When US tanks rolled into Baghdad in March 2003, they brought with them the largest army of private contractors ever deployed in modern war. By the end of Rumsfeld’s tenure in late 2006, there were an estimated 100,000 private contractors on the ground in Iraq–an almost one-to-one ratio with active-duty American soldiers.
Elite team rescues troops behind enemy lines
Monday, 19 March 2007 8:57 P GMT-05
As a member of the U.S. Air Force's elite Combat Search and Rescue team, "Dan," a pararescueman, or PJ, is used to saving the lives of fellow U.S. and coalition troops in battlefield situations. But last month, he was the one in need of rescue. During a mission in southeastern Afghanistan, he was critically injured in a Chinook helicopter crash that killed eight service members, including U.S. Army Rangers and a fellow pararescueman. Before losing consciousness, Dan managed to give a medical assessment to a rescue team in another location.
Questions They Forgot To Ask Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Monday, 19 March 2007 8:30 P GMT-05
Needless to say, a large number of questions remain unanswered. Chief among them, in my mind, is this one: How did Khalid Sheikh Mohammed manage to schedule all the war games that were happening on September 11?
Confession of 9/11 architect backfires on US
Monday, 19 March 2007 6:44 P GMT-05
The CIA denies that Mohammed was tortured, but evidence to the contrary has been building for years. Two years ago, a CIA official told ABC News that he had been water-boarded, and had won the admiration of his interrogators because it took him two to two-and-half minutes to start confessing - well beyond the average of 14 seconds observed in others.
Sheik Mohammed abuse testimony redacted from tribunal record
Monday, 19 March 2007 6:30 P GMT-05
After observing last week's closed military tribunal of alleged 9/11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for an investigation into allegations that he was physically abused in CIA custody. Mohammed testified he was mistreated in the 3 years before his transfer to Guantánamo Bay, including 4 months when his children were also held and abused. The military panel immediately classified the testimony and redacted from transcripts details of his treatment in the CIA's secret prison program.
Detainee confesses to USS Cole bombing
Monday, 19 March 2007 5:50 P GMT-05
Waleed bin Attash, a suspected key al-Qaida operative, confessed to plotting the bombings of the USS Cole and two U.S. embassies in Africa, according to a Pentagon transcript of a hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than 200 were killed in the simultaneous attacks on the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. And 17 sailors were killed and dozens injured when suicide bombers steered an explosives-laden boat into the guided missile destroyer Cole on Oct. 12, 2000.
Keeping Our Demons at Bay
Sunday, 18 March 2007 3:17 A GMT-05
Last year, I began to research and write on the case of Pat Tillman. One of the central characters in the Tillman story was Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, who was the regimental executive officer for 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan in 2004 when Tillman was killed by friendly fire. He was also a key figure in the Pentagon’s attempts to first cover up and then spin the fratricide. Kauzlarich was the officer assigned to conduct a second investigation of the circumstances of Tillman’s death. The first investigation—conducted by Capt. Richard Scott—had found criminal negligence and professional incompetence, so a higher-ranking officer was required by law to follow up in the event that a general court-martial would become necessary. Not surprisingly, no one was charged with either crime, though some minor administrative actions were taken, including reassignments out of the Rangers and “letters of reprimand” for two officers. But that is not what this commentary is about. This is about Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, a Washington Post writer and the power of cultural myths.
True Confessions? The Amazing Tale of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Saturday, 17 March 2007 11:55 P GMT-05
Students of the Stalinist purges of the 1930s will recall the astounding confessions made in open court by the accused persons. They had been severely tortured over weeks and months. But they showed up in court without external marks of torture. With all apparent voluntariness, they admitted subverting the Five-Year Plans that would have provided the Soviet people with necessary food items. They sabotaged factories, making sure the production lines were inefficient. They managed to import inferior metals so that Soviet tanks and automobiles would fall apart after a few months’ use. They infiltrated the Soviet Army and through dint of their persuasiveness, convinced the foot soldier that it was absurd to risk his life defending a dictatorial government. In short these accused persons, briefly in court on their way to the firing squad, took responsibility for everything that had gone wrong for the past two decades in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. So why is it today that no one draws the connection between the Soviet purge trials and the confession of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed? Mohammed said that he had been tortured by his American captors. No one contradicted his assertion. Then he went on, with a straight and sincere face, to take responsibility for a long list of crimes recently perpetrated.
According to U.S. Military Theory, We Can't Win in Iraq
Saturday, 17 March 2007 4:34 P GMT-05
If this table serves as a pocket-sized score card, the 280-page manual is a full-bodied treatise on the subject. This is the first new counterinsurgency field manual to appear in 20 years, and as such, it serves as a tacit admission that the American strategy in Iraq is simply not working. The manual's perspective takes on additional significance since its chief author, Gen. David Petraeus, has just taken over as the top commander in the war.
KSM "Confessed" To Targeting Bank Founded After His Arrest
Friday, 16 March 2007 6:48 P GMT-05
In his confession, KSM claims, "I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing for the New (or Second) Wave of attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11: ...Plaza Bank, Washington state." KSM was arrested in March 2003. According to the Plaza Bank's website, the organization was founded in early 2006, making it impossible for KSM to have even known of the bank's existence before 2003, never mind plotted against it.
The Liberal War on Democracy
Friday, 16 March 2007 5:32 P GMT-05
In Washington, I asked Ray McGovern, formerly a senior CIA officer, what he made of Norman Mailer's remark that America had entered a pre-fascist state. "I hope he's right," he replied, "because there are others saying we are already in a fascist mode. When you see who is controlling the means of production here, when you see who is controlling the newspapers and periodicals, and the TV stations, from which most Americans take their news, and when you see how the so-called war on terror is being conducted, you begin to understand where we are headed. It's quite something that the nuclear threat today should be seen first and foremost as coming from the United States of America and Great Britain."
Time Magazine: Can KSM's Confession Be Believed?
Friday, 16 March 2007 3:52 P GMT-05
Are Mohammed's claims to be believed? He has long been described — notably in The 9/11 Commission Report — as prone to exaggeration and self-aggrandizement, fond of portraying himself as a "superterrorist." The notes to the Commission's conclusions mention the possibility of Mohammed "inflating his own role." He may also be attempting to defend his part in the 9/11 planning against the testimony of other terror suspects. The Commission's notes indicate that, according to another terror chieftain, Abu Zubaydah, Mohammed originally offered Osama bin Laden a more modest proposal for attacking the U.S., but that bin Laden reportedly berated him, saying "Why do you use an ax when you can use a bulldozer?" What's more, Mohammed has also used disinformation in the past. He admitted under previous interrogation that a list of 30 supposed U.S. targets, which he circulated shortly after 9/11, was a lie to exaggerate the scale of al-Qaeda's planning.
Matt Lauer: Can KSM's "Tortured" Testimony be Trusted?
Friday, 16 March 2007 3:49 P GMT-05
As far as I know, this is the first MSM news source to question the confession. Let's see if any other MSM commentators pick up on this. Of course, KSM may be dead. And he might have been a patsy and an asset. Or he might never have confessed, since we have only the Pentagon's word for it, and KSM's statements supposedly came through a military spokesman. But Lauer's questions about torture will hopefully be the first crack in this Pentagon psyops campaign.
What impeccable timing, KSM!
Friday, 16 March 2007 3:46 P GMT-05
But if the administration hopes to regain lost political capital by shifting the conversation back to terrorism and KSM, the strategy may backfire. If anything, KSM's recent performance highlights the downside of the Bush administration's post-9/11 decision to declare "war" against Al Qaeda. It goes without saying that military action may at times be required to combat well-defended terrorist organizations based in foreign states. But as a policy matter, the "war on terror" framework has been a predictable disaster for the United States. It led to a counterproductive overreliance on military force, an under-appreciation of the role of politics and community identity in sustaining terrorist organizations and a dangerous, "anything goes" approach to intelligence gathering that encompassed secret detentions and torture. Most ironically, the "war on terror" framework has lent legitimacy to terrorist leaders such as KSM, enabling them to present themselves as warriors standing up against a powerful — and hypocritical — U.S. military machine.
Suicide Was the Only Way Out of Iraq for Col. Westhusing
Friday, 16 March 2007 3:21 P GMT-05
He didn't have to go to Iraq. But Westhusing was such a believer that he volunteered for what he thought was a noble cause. At West Point, Westhusing sought out people who opposed the war in an effort to change their minds. "He absolutely believed that this was a just war," said one officer who was close to him. "He was wholly enthusiastic about this mission." His tour of duty in Iraq was to last six months. About a month before he was to return to his family -- on June 5, 2005 -- Westhusing was found dead in his trailer at Camp Dublin in Baghdad. At the time, he was the highest-ranking American soldier to die in Iraq. The Army's Criminal Investigation Command report on Westhusing's death explained it as a "perforating gunshot wound of the head and Manner of Death was suicide."
The Failed Attempt to Leash the Dogs of War
Thursday, 15 March 2007 5:46 P GMT-05
As of 1999, the U.S. military had troops in 132 countries. The budget for the U.S. military is larger than those of the next 20 largest militaries combined. Since 1950, the military has been deployed 71 times to 42 countries and U.S. soldiers have died in 17 operations in 16 countries with more than 98,000 U.S. dead and more than 279,000 wounded. All of this has occurred without a declaration of war. This is hardly the leashed military and small defensive army that the Founders envisioned.
US officer "upset" Iraqi suspects taken alive, court hears
Wednesday, 14 March 2007 7:14 P GMT-05
A soldier who has pleaded guilty to killing those detainees told the court that he shot them because his squad leader told him to do it after having been reprimanded when he radioed back to base to say he had prisoners to transport. Private William Hunsaker showed little remorse for his crimes, saying he had only agreed to an 18-year sentence because "I got tired of lying to everybody and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in prison for -- in my eyes -- killing three terrorists."
What's Good for Halliburton is Good for ... Dubai
Wednesday, 14 March 2007 6:44 P GMT-05
We know now that when Dick Cheney makes a foreign policy or war policy decision regarding Iraq or Iran or Saudi Arabia, he is really thinking about what it will do for Halliburton and Dubai--and for Dick Cheney. Remember the big brouhaha that arose when a Dubai-based company was in line to take over the operation of several major U.S. ports last year? Members of Congress were in high dudgeon over that and in the end the plan was abandoned. So how do we feel knowing that virtually the entire supply line for our over-extended troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is now in the hands of a Dubai corporation, and that it has its hooks into the central policy arm of our government, Blair House and the Office of the Vice President?
Confessions of a Torturer
Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:04 P GMT-05
He tortured detainees for information he admits they rarely had. Since leaving Iraq he’s taken this story public, doing battle on national television against the war’s architects for giving him the orders he regrets he obeyed.
Former Air Traffic Controller Speaks Out
Tuesday, 13 March 2007 4:16 P GMT-05
Hordon believes that it would be relatively easy for the hijackers to reroute a commercial jet’s flight director to hit any location with great accuracy, as long as they had acquired the proper training. This is apparently one of the few accurate scenarios portrayed in the Hollywood movie Flight 93, a film Hordon otherwise dismisses as elaborate propaganda designed to deceive the public and sell the official story. This point is intriguing when you consider the fact that a book recently published by the editors of Popular Mechanics magazine—Debunking 9/11 Myths—specifically claims that the hijackers of UA Flight 93 stormed the cockpit, took over the controls and drove the plane by sight, a method that PM and its army of expert technicians and specialists have nicknamed “point and go.” Besides representing a bizarre departure from Hordon’s expert analysis, PM’s “point and go” theory also contradicts the scenario dramatized in Flight 93. Although it’s difficult for many people to believe that such a lack of consensus exists among the “experts” who support the official story, this is really just one of many examples where this kind of unfathomable contradiction has occurred.
The Army is ordering injured troops to go to Iraq
Tuesday, 13 March 2007 3:20 P GMT-05
The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.
Lift the Curtain
Sunday, 11 March 2007 4:54 P GMT-05
It's not just the indifference and incompetence of the administration that are causing the troops so much unnecessary suffering. The simple truth is that the Bush crowd, busy trying to hide the costs of the president's $2 trillion tragedy in Iraq, can't find the money to pay for all the care that's needed by the legions of wounded and mentally disabled troops who are coming home. The outpatient fiasco at Walter Reed is just one aspect of a vast superstructure of suffering.
War Veterans, Treatment and Care
Sunday, 11 March 2007 3:30 P GMT-05
Marine Pvt. Jonathan Schulze served in Iraq and earned two Purple Hearts, but was turned away for mental health treatment at the VA. Four days later he took his own life.
The Scandal at Walter Reed
Friday, 9 March 2007 6:34 P GMT-05
Interventionism symbolizes an attitude of looking outward, toward empire, while diminishing the importance of maintaining a constitutional republic. We close bases here at home-- some want to close Walter Reed-- while building bases in Arab and Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia. We worry about foreign borders while ignoring our own. We build permanent outposts in Muslim holy lands, occupy territory, and prop up puppet governments. This motivates suicide terrorism against us. Our policies naturally lead to resentment, which in turn leads to prolonged wars and increased casualties. We spend billions in Iraq, while bases like Walter Reed fall into disrepair. This undermines our ability to care for the thousands of wounded soldiers we should have anticipated, despite the rosy predictions that we would be greeted as liberators in Iraq. Now comes the outrage.
Guantanamo authorities punish Al-Jazeera cameraman for going on hunger strike
Thursday, 8 March 2007 6:12 P GMT-05
“Al-Haj has been held by the Americans for five years without being charged, in disgraceful conditions and in violation of all international conventions on the treatment of prisoners,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Legitimately but in vain, he tried to assert his rights to the military authorities. While we could not encourage him to pursue a hunger strike, we strongly condemn the fact that he was fed by force.” Reiterating its call for Al-Haj’s release, Reporters Without Borders added: “We hope that the US supreme court, which is again looking at the issue of the Guantanamo detainees, will once more rule that they should be accorded constitutional guarantees.”
"It Can't Happen Here"
Wednesday, 7 March 2007 7:54 P GMT-05
It might be tempting for people to avoid confronting these critical issues head-on by convincing themselves that there really isn’t any great danger to the American people by this post–9/11 assumption of omnipotent military power over the citizenry. There is no need to overreact to the assumption of such power, people might think. Let’s just wait and see how things develop. If it looks like the power is being abused, we can then do something about it. There are big problems, however, with that wait-and-see attitude. One problem is that if circumstances present themselves in which the military is rounding up American “terrorists” and torturing and executing them, the environment of crisis and fear will inevitably silence the populace. In other words, it will be too late to protest because it will be too dangerous to protest. Another problem is that by the time any protests proved to be effective, lots of Americans will have already been tortured and executed.
Senators question Walter Reed conditions
Tuesday, 6 March 2007 9:56 P GMT-05
Senators vowed Tuesday to consider all options to fix a broken system of caring for wounded troops as
President Bush said former Sen. Bob Dole and former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala will lead the administration's investigation into problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Israelis to supply vehicles for Iraq
Monday, 5 March 2007 6:30 P GMT-05
Amit Tzimer, spokesman for weapons maker Rafael, said Sunday that, in partnership with U.S. manufacturer PVI, Rafael has signed up to deliver 60 of its new Golan vehicles at a total price of $37 million. Delivery will be made to the Marines in the United States in May, he said. Rafael's sales catalog describes the Golan as a multipurpose vehicle, capable of withstanding armor-piercing machine-gun rounds, rocket fire and bomb blasts. It can carry up to 10 troops up to 360 miles on a tank of gas and can be outfitted as a fighting vehicle, mobile command post or ambulance.
The Department of Self-Defense
Monday, 5 March 2007 6:08 P GMT-05
There is nothing institutionally unique about the Walter Reed snafu. When it comes to the military – any military – snafu and fubar are how things mostly are.
What was unique about this scandal is the incomparable foolishness of Weightman to let a camera crew into Building 18. That revealed his utter incompetence. No bureaucrat is allowed a second chance when he violates the bureaucratic code of self-defense on a scale like that. Make no mistake about it. This was why he was relieved of command.
60,000 Marriages Broken by Iraq, Including Mine
Monday, 5 March 2007 5:26 P GMT-05
Emotional isolation is one of the hallmarks of post-combat mental health problems. The National Guard didn't conduct follow-up mental health screening or evaluations of the men in my husband's company until they had been home for almost eight months. Nearly a year later, in August of 2006, my husband was informed of his results: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It was obvious that he was suffering, but when I brought it up, he parroted what the military told him: "Give it time." Time wasn't a panacea for Jeffrey Lucey, Doug Barber, or the dozens of other Guard members and Reservists who have committed suicide after serving in Iraq. Time hasn't helped the hundreds of homeless Iraq War veterans wandering lost in the streets of what military families are assured is a deeply grateful nation. Time is most definitely not on our side.
A Marine's Progress
Saturday, 3 March 2007 5:17 A GMT-05
But medical complications and disputes with the VA have left Landay without any therapy in the last six months. His mother is helping him study words with flash cards, but she said it's been frustrating to see him go without rehab. "He was supposed to be in therapy by December, but it didn't happen," she said. "I'm just trying to keep him going, but we've been very frustrated trying to get him into rehab."
Terror Suspect's Brig Life Detailed
Friday, 2 March 2007 3:46 P GMT-05
The exterior window in Jose Padilla's 80-square-foot cell in a Navy brig was painted over. At times, he had to sleep on a steel bunk with no mattress. He went months without a clock and was sometimes seen weeping in his cell.
But officials at the brig in Charleston, S.C., testified Tuesday that the alleged al-Qaida operative was not physically abused during his 3 years in military custody, nor did he display serious symptoms of mental problems.
The Pentagon’s Power to Arrest, Torture, and Execute Americans
Friday, 2 March 2007 3:35 P GMT-05
Let me emphasize something important here, especially for libertarians, who have long committed their lives to the achievement of a free society: There is no way — none — to reconcile the assumption of this power with a free society. In fact, it is the most powerful government power of all — the ultimate power that can ever be wielded by a tyrannical government. No infringement on economic liberty — hyperinflation, confiscatory taxation, oppressive regulation, or the like — can compare in significance with the omnipotent power of a government official to arbitrarily pick up anyone he wants for any reason he wants and incarcerate him, torture him, and execute him.
Failed attempt to kill Cheney leaves 23 dead
Tuesday, 27 February 2007 8:34 P GMT-05
A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing up to 23 people and wounding 20. Cheney was unhurt in the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban and was the closest that militants have come to a top U.S. official visiting Afghanistan. At least one U.S. soldier, an American contractor and a South Korean soldier were among the dead, NATO said.
2 Army units will forgo desert training
Tuesday, 27 February 2007 7:18 P GMT-05
Rushed by President Bush's decision to reinforce Baghdad with thousands more U.S. troops, two Army combat brigades are skipping their usual session at the Army's premier training range in California and instead are making final preparations at their home bases. Some in Congress and others outside the Army are beginning to question the switch, which is not widely known. They wonder whether it means the Army is cutting corners in preparing soldiers for combat, since they are forgoing training in a desert setting that was designed specially to prepare them for the challenges of Iraq.
US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack
Monday, 26 February 2007 2:52 P GMT-05
“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”
In Iraq, Anyone Can Make a Bomb
Thursday, 22 February 2007 6:00 P GMT-05
President Bush has now definitively stated that bombs known as explosively formed penetrators - EFPs, which have proved especially deadly for U.S. troops in Iraq - are made in Iran and exported to Iraq. But in November, U.S. troops raiding a Baghdad machine shop came across a pile of copper disks, 5 inches in diameter, stamped out as part of what was clearly an ongoing order. This ominous discovery, unreported until now, makes it clear that Iraqi insurgents have no need to rely on Iran as the source of EFPs. The truth is that EFPs are simple to make for anyone who knows how to do it. Far from a sophisticated assembly operation that might require state supervision, all that is required is one of those disks, some high-powered explosive (which is easy to procure in Iraq) and a container, such as a piece of pipe. I asked a Pentagon analyst specializing in such devices how much each one would cost to make. "Twenty bucks," he answered after a brief calculation. "Thirty at most."
Soldier faces life in jail
Thursday, 22 February 2007 5:51 P GMT-05
Cortez, Spc. James Barker, Pfc. Bryan L. Howard, Pfc. Jesse Spielman and former Army Pvt. Steven Green were playing cards and drinking Iraqi whiskey, gin and energy drinks while working a traffic control point, when Green kept encouraging them to rape an Iraqi girl. "Barker and Green had already known what house they wanted to go to," Cortez said, pausing again. "They had already been there before, known there had been only one male in it, and it would be an easy target."
U.S. court rules Guantanamo prisoners cannot challenge their detention
Wednesday, 21 February 2007 3:49 P GMT-05
A U.S. federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the hundreds of foreign prisoners held at the American military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot challenge their detention in U.S. courts. In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said civilian courts in the United States no longer have the authority to consider whether the military is illegally holding the prisoners, as a law passed by Congress last year took away the rights of the prisoners to bring such cases and that hundreds of their lawsuits must be dismissed.
Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility
Tuesday, 20 February 2007 8:36 P GMT-05
"We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it," said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months. "We don't know what to do. The people who are supposed to know don't have the answers. It's a nonstop process of stalling."
737 U.S. Military Bases = Global Empire
Monday, 19 February 2007 4:27 P GMT-05
Interestingly enough, the thirty-eight large and medium-sized American facilities spread around the globe in 2005 -- mostly air and naval bases for our bombers and fleets -- almost exactly equals Britain's thirty-six naval bases and army garrisons at its imperial zenith in 1898. The Roman Empire at its height in 117 AD required thirty-seven major bases to police its realm from Britannia to Egypt, from Hispania to Armenia. Perhaps the optimum number of major citadels and fortresses for an imperialist aspiring to dominate the world is somewhere between thirty-five and forty.
Jailed 2 Years, Iraqi Tells of Abuse by Americans
Sunday, 18 February 2007 6:08 P GMT-05
After his release from the American-run jail, Camp Bucca, Mr. Ani and other former detainees described the sprawling complex of barracks in the southern desert near Kuwait as a bleak place where guards casually used their stun guns and exposed prisoners to long periods of extreme heat and cold; where prisoners fought among themselves and extremist elements tried to radicalize others; and where detainees often responded to the harsh conditions with hunger strikes and, at times, violent protests. Through it all, Mr. Ani was never actually charged with a crime; he said he was questioned only once during his more than two years at the camp.
Who Will Protect and Defend Our Military From the Bush Administration?
Sunday, 18 February 2007 5:55 P GMT-05
Here's the real deal. George Bush sends American troops into the bowels of Iraq from his "beautiful White House." And each time he does, he is sentencing them to death. If not death of the body, then degrees of death of the spirit. If they do manage to survive, in whole or partial bodies, there is no bridge long enough to close the emotional chasm between the Iraqi war zone and home. Upon discharge, troops are required to answer (then and there) such questions as: Do you have PTSD? Do you have thoughts of suicide? Do you have thoughts of murder? etc., etc., etc.
Give me a break. Who can possibly answer questions like that with any degree of accuracy until there is some distance from war? And even if they can, admission that they may be experiencing some stress/distress means they will be held by the military for some indeterminate period of time and won't get to go home. What would you choose after six months, a year, two years in Iraq?
US military planes criss-cross Europe using bogus call sign
Saturday, 17 February 2007 7:11 P GMT-05
THE American military have been operating flights across Europe using a call sign assigned to a civilian airline that they have no legal right to use.
Not only is the call sign bogus — according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) — so, it appears, are some of the aircraft details the Americans have filed with the air traffic control authorities. In at least one case, a plane identified with the CIA practice of “extraordinary rendition” — transporting terrorist suspects — left a US air base just after the arrival of an aircraft using the bogus call sign.
Iraq invasion plan 'delusional'
Thursday, 15 February 2007 7:21 P GMT-05
The US invasion plan for Iraq envisaged that only 5,000 US troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006, declassified Central Command documents show. The material also shows that the US military projected a stable, pro-US and democratic Iraq by that time.
Air Force strips Playboy poser of status
Thursday, 15 February 2007 7:19 P GMT-05
An Air Force drill sergeant who posed nude for Playboy magazine has been removed from active duty, she and the Air Force said Wednesday. Michelle Manhart, who appeared in a six-page spread in Playboy's February issue, said she got word Friday that she was removed from "extended active duty" and was also told that she was demoted from staff sergeant to senior airman.
Marty Kaplan: If We Fight Them Over There
Thursday, 15 February 2007 3:42 P GMT-05
In Dayton, Denver, Dallas and Des Moines, Islamic terrorists are planning to put anthrax in the water, sarin in the air, Semtex in the schools and suitcase nukes in the stadiums. But if Mitch McConnell's Republican filibuster can keep Harry Reid from bringing the debate on the resolution against the escalation to the Senate floor, then in a heartbeat, those sleeper cells are going to put down their terrorist plans and pick up The Measure of a Man by Mr. Sidney Poitier instead.
Is the Military Our Last Hope?
Thursday, 15 February 2007 3:33 P GMT-05
With the "mainstream media," that is, the government’s propaganda ministry, bombarding the American public with "news reports" from unidentified sources that the US government has proof that "the highest reaches of the Iranian government" is supplying weapons to the Iraqi insurgency, Marine General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, demurred. General Pace told the Voice of America on February 12 that he has no information indicating that Iran’s government is supplying weapons to the Iraqi insurgency. General Pace said that "Iranians are involved," but "what I would not say is that the Iranian government, per se, knows about this . . . I would not say by what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit." Unlike the New York Times, Fox "news," CNN, and the TV networks, General Pace refused to lie for the Bush Regime.
Another rebuke
Thursday, 15 February 2007 6:14 A GMT-05
The Omar case teaches a different lesson. It teaches that the rule of law -- even in times of war -- strengthens national security without handicapping the military. It teaches James Madison's understanding in Federalist 48: "An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others."
US military tells Jack Bauer: Cut out the torture scenes ... or else!
Thursday, 15 February 2007 4:29 A GMT-05
The United States Military Academy at West Point yesterday confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan recently travelled to California to meet producers of the show, broadcast on the Fox channel. He told them that promoting illegal behaviour in the series - apparently hugely popular among the US military - was having a damaging effect on young troops. According to the New Yorker magazine, Gen Finnegan, who teaches a course on the laws of war, said of the producers: "I'd like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires... The kids see it and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24'?
An Iraq Interrogator's Nightmare
Friday, 9 February 2007 3:35 P GMT-05
Despite my best efforts, I cannot ignore the mistakes I made at the interrogation facility in Fallujah. I failed to disobey a meritless order, I failed to protect a prisoner in my custody, and I failed to uphold the standards of human decency. Instead, I intimidated, degraded and humiliated a man who could not defend himself. I compromised my values. I will never forgive myself.
Report says Pentagon manipulated intel
Friday, 9 February 2007 3:23 P GMT-05
A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Swampscott pilot lived her dream
Friday, 9 February 2007 3:09 P GMT-05
Harris, 28, was aboard one of those giant choppers Wednesday when it crashed in flames in a field northwest of Baghdad, killing her and six other service members. She was the first Massachusetts servicewoman killed in Iraq, and her death resonated deep and wide in Swampscott and beyond. Harris, who had served three tours in the war, was due to return to Swampscott next week and take a position as a Marine instructor for the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Last week, she sent friends an e-mail from Iraq, gushing about her return home: "Two more weeks!" she wrote.
Former Guantanamo chaplain wants U.S. Army apology
Thursday, 8 February 2007 2:56 P GMT-05
Capt. James Yee spent 76 days in solitary confinement, much of the time shackled and in leg irons, after accusations of sedition, espionage and aiding the enemy while serving as a Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay. The Army's case against him collapsed at trial, and it eventually wiped his record clean and gave the West Point graduate an honorable discharge.
War objector's court-martial ends in mistrial
Thursday, 8 February 2007 2:34 P GMT-05
The military judge ruled that First Lt. Ehren Watada had unknowingly signed a document that amounted to a confession of guilt. Watada, 28, had faced up to four years in prison if convicted of one charge of missing movements and two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for his criticism of the war.
Who Are The Real Terrorists In Iraq?
Wednesday, 7 February 2007 11:59 P GMT-05
A look into the history of the secretive JSG or Force Research Unit (FRU), the cover name it operated under in Northern Ireland, reveals the extent to which the British government supports and engages in acts of terrorism in order to further its agenda in occupied territories. Iraq, as it turns out, is unsurprisingly no exception.
'Friendly fire' footage revealed
Wednesday, 7 February 2007 6:57 P GMT-05
The video was classified "secret" by the US, but minister Harriet Harman wants all evidence made available. The Sun says it shows a 2003 US aircraft attack on a British convoy.
Hiroshima, the pictures they didn't want us to see
Wednesday, 7 February 2007 2:25 P GMT-05
The American occupation forces imposed strict censorship on Japan, prohibiting anything "that might, directly or by inference, disturb public tranquility" and used it to prohibit all pictures of the bombed cities. The pictures remained classified 'top secret' for many years. Some of the images have been published later by different means, but it's not usual to see them all together. This is the horror they didn't want us to see, and that we must NEVER forget.
Documentary filmmaker says Iraq troops training may be arming America's enemies
Wednesday, 7 February 2007 1:34 P GMT-05
Mark Smith, an award-winning television journalist, was interviewed by Salon's Alex Koppelman. His forthcoming documentary is called Gangs of Iraq and will air on PBS as part of its America at a Crossroads series. In the interview, Smith warned that the Mahdi Army, the Shi'a militia led by Moqtada al-Sadr, may be a primary beneficiary of the American effort to build a viable Iraqi security force.
U.S.: 4 copter losses due to ground fire
Sunday, 4 February 2007 7:12 P GMT-05
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters that the investigations into the crashes of three Army and one private helicopters are incomplete but "it does appear they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi ground fire that did bring those helicopters down."
9/11: The Case Isn't Closed
Saturday, 3 February 2007 6:04 P GMT-05
What happened to critical thinking? I thought "the Left" believed that the system's power is based on lies, exploitation and a media controlled by its own culture of overly cautious professionalism. The Left should be leading this 9/11 movement, not taking potshots from outside.
Judge says Katrina victims can sue Army Engineers
Saturday, 3 February 2007 5:01 P GMT-05
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval rejected the Corps' argument that U.S. law protects federal agencies from lawsuits when flood control projects fail. Duval accepted arguments that the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was not a flood control project but rather a navigation channel and therefore not exempt from lawsuits.
War Criminals ‘R’ US
Friday, 2 February 2007 4:49 P GMT-05
Why would a military judge refuse to allow an officer to make the case that in refusing an order the officer was following a higher law, which is itself recognized by the military? This seems to be obviously irrational. A judge should be bound by the law, including important provisions of international law that have been incorporated into domestic law. For a judge to refuse to follow the law is beyond reason.
US military lied about soldiers' deaths
Thursday, 1 February 2007 8:17 A GMT-05
From the original reasons for attacking Iraq, to "Mission accomplished", to the torture, the day-to-day reports, the alleged sovereignty of Iraq -- we've been lied to, countless times. At some point, if you don't believe in Santa Claus, you can't believe a word you're told by Bush, Cheney, and the American military command.
US Army Investigating New Torture Allegations
Wednesday, 31 January 2007 6:13 P GMT-05
At this point, there is no way to confirm if the video is a true representation or not. The video has no publicly-identifiable source at this point, the primary subject appears almost completely in shadow, and the footage has obviously been edited down into a concise 3-minute package.
Rogue U.S. Troops Knowingly Bombed British In Iraq
Wednesday, 31 January 2007 4:24 P GMT-05
During a routine patrol by British troops in an area 30 miles north-west of Basra in southern Iraq, and on a perfectly clear day, two US A10 planes opened fire, killing Lance Corporal of Horse Mattie Hull and injuring three other British soldiers in his convoy. Soldiers desperately tried to radio for help in an effort to stop the attack but were told that the bombers were being flown by "rogue US pilots" who had switched frequencies and could not be contacted.
Officer faces trial in Abu Ghraib case
Monday, 29 January 2007 5:09 P GMT-05
The highest-ranking American soldier - and only officer - charged with a crime in the Abu Ghraib scandal will be court-martialed on eight charges, including cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners, his lawyer confirmed yesterday. Lt. Col. Steven Lee Jordan, a 50-year-old reservist from Virginia who ran the interrogation center at the Iraqi prison, was accused of failing to exert his authority as the place descended into chaos, with prisoners stripped naked, photographed in humiliating poses and intimidated by snarling dogs. He was also charged with lying to investigators.
‘Man Down’: When One Bullet Alters Everything
Monday, 29 January 2007 7:29 A GMT-05
It was after 9 a.m. on Wednesday, on Haifa Street in central Baghdad, and the crack-crack of machine-gun fire had been rattling since dawn. More than a thousand American and Iraqi troops had come to this warren of high rises and hovels to disrupt the growing nest of Sunni and Shiite fighters battling for control of the area.
Military aims to cut back on 'stop loss'
Monday, 29 January 2007 6:51 A GMT-05
In an action branded a backdoor draft by some critics, the military over the past several years has held tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines on the job and in war zones beyond their retirement dates or enlistment length... Gates has ordered that the practice — known as "stop loss" — must "be minimized." At the same time, he is looking for ways to decrease the hardship for troops and their families, recruit more people for a larger military and reassess how the active duty and reserves are used.
Interrogation Research Is Lacking, Report Says
Sunday, 28 January 2007 8:39 P GMT-05
"The scientific community has never established that coercive interrogation methods are an effective means of obtaining reliable intelligence information," wrote Col. Steven M. Kleinman, who has served as the Pentagon's senior intelligence officer for special survival training.
The Living Reality of Military-Economic Fascism
Saturday, 27 January 2007 5:17 P GMT-05
In countries such as the United States, whose economies are commonly, though inaccurately, described as "capitalist" or "free-market," war and preparation for war systematically corrupt both parties to the state-private transactions by which the government obtains the bulk of its military goods and services.
The Forgotten American Dead: Rural America Pays the President's Price in Iraq
Saturday, 27 January 2007 3:45 P GMT-05
What does this mean? Just over 3,000 Americans have died in Iraq. If the U.S. population is 300 million, then that's just 0.001% of it. Add into this the fact that the American dead come disproportionately from the most forgotten, least attended to parts of our country, from places that often have lost their job bases; consider that many of them were under or unemployed as well as undereducated, that they generally come from struggling, low-income, low-skills areas. Given that we have an all-volunteer military (so that not even the threat of a draft touches other young Americans), you could certainly say that the President's war in Iraq -- and its harm -- has been disproportionately felt. If you live in a rural area, you are simply far more likely to know a casualty of the war than in most major metropolitan areas of the country.
Rumsfeld Cleaning out the Sewer and the People Cleaning out Washington
Saturday, 27 January 2007 2:54 P GMT-05
According to a report in the Washington Times yesterday, Donald Rumsfeld has a new job. Yep, he has been given the job of a “non-paid consultant” - with clearance to “review” secret and top secret documents inside the Department of War. It looks like he and his 7 paid staffers have a lot of reading to do. But given Rumsfeld's famed integrity and ethical record, the thought of destroying any of this material would not occur to him, right? I mean after all, he only has that law suit in Italy and his international popularity to think about. Of course any talk about war crimes is ridiculous - nothing more than “political attacks", right? Doesn't this bitter old killer know that he's invincible? So why worry.
4 troops abducted, killed in Iraq attack
Saturday, 27 January 2007 12:20 P GMT-05
In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and then shot them to death.
Troops Died After, Not In, Sneak Attack
Friday, 26 January 2007 11:47 P GMT-05
Contrary to U.S. military statements, four U.S. soldiers did not die repelling a sneak attack at the governor's office in the Shiite holy city of Karbala last week. New information obtained by The Associated Press shows they were abducted and found dead or dying as far as 25 miles away.
In Cheney's world, we all report to the military
Friday, 26 January 2007 4:48 P GMT-05
Under the claim that terrorism is a ubiquitous threat, the military has embroidered an unwarranted and dangerously expansive view of its own authority. The New York Times found that administrative subpoenas known as national security letters, which are issued internally with no court review, have been used since 9/11 to collect financial information in up to 500 investigations. Which means that thousands of such letters have probably been issued for personal banking and credit data. The military says all this is okay because the letters it issues are noncompulsory. You know, all those banks volunteered their customers' private information.
U.S. soldier gets 18 years prison in Iraq slayings
Friday, 26 January 2007 3:22 P GMT-05
Clagett, of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, premeditated murder, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.
Pentagon: Domestic troops low
Friday, 26 January 2007 2:58 P GMT-05
The head of the National Guard said his troops lack the necessary equipment and that will hurt their ability to respond to natural or manmade disasters at home. "I am not as comfortable as some others seem to be in accepting the low readiness levels here at home," Lt. Gen. Steven Blum said Wednesday. "It creates a problem. It will cost us time and time will translate into lives."
Top US Surgeon in Iraq Killed When Helicopter Shot Down
Thursday, 25 January 2007 7:38 P GMT-05
Allgood, 46, had been serving in Iraq for about six months before the crash Saturday, said his uncle, Dr. Richard Allgood of Lawton. A Colorado Springs native who had lived in Oklahoma, Allgood graduated from West Point in 1982 and from the University of Oklahoma Medical Center four years later, his uncle said. He completed his residency at Fort Sam Houston military medical complex in San Antonio and continued with his military career. "He just really was a wonderful young man," Richard Allgood said. "I think that he always wanted to be in the military and I think that's what he thought his life and function was going to be. I think he did it willingly. I don't think he had any reservations about what he was doing."
The "Chilling Plot" To Scare New York Senseless
Thursday, 25 January 2007 6:46 P GMT-05
Elsewhere in the world, real news agencies reported that the so-called plot was "more aspirational than operational" and that the group was "years away from pulling it off".
U.S. extends tour of troops in Afghanistan
Thursday, 25 January 2007 6:05 P GMT-05
The 3,200 troops from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, were due to complete a year-long deployment next month, defense officials said. But their tour has been extended by up to 120 days, the Defense Department said in a statement.
Depleted Uranium Poison Explosions Target US Citizens
Wednesday, 24 January 2007 8:27 P GMT-05
Only a few miles away from them on a federally owned 7,000 acre parcel of land in the Altamont Hills at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in San Joaquin and Alameda Counties, California, radioactive explosives containing Depleted Uranium are being shot out into the open air at a location called Site 300. Yes, Depleted Uranium is being exploded across the street from a motorbike recreational area. Site 300 is only a few miles away from where people live.
No Man Is Above The Law - Except Cheney
Wednesday, 24 January 2007 7:26 P GMT-05
So what kind of "threats" does the military consider worthy of investigating? How about the Quakers or the Rhode Island Community Coalition for Peace? A new report by the American Civil Liberties Union documents nearly 200 incidents where the Pentagon accumulated and maintained in its "threat" database the activities of peace groups in the United States. The Defense Department has said it was a mistake to keep tabs on the plans of nonviolent protesters. Still, the ACLU had to sue to compel the department to disclose the extent of what it had done.
The Empire Turns Its Guns on the Citizenry
Wednesday, 24 January 2007 4:59 P GMT-05
Surveying the deplorable situation, the National Law Journal concluded: "Criminals have been turned into instruments of law enforcement, while law enforcement officers have become criminal co-conspirators."
Deadly US helicopter crash caused by missile
Monday, 22 January 2007 9:40 P GMT-05
The U.S. military helicopter that crashed outside Baghdad, killing all 12 on board, was shot down by a shoulder-fired missile, CNN reported on Monday. The Black Hawk was most likely brought down on Saturday by hostile fire, according to unidentified U.S. officials cited by CNN. The crash was still under investigation but debris recovered on the ground indicate a missile was involved, CNN said.
FBI: Gang Members Joining Military
Monday, 22 January 2007 6:33 P GMT-05
The FBI described the gang presence as a "growing threat," the Chicago Sun-Times reported. "The military enlistment of gang members could ultimately lead to the worldwide expansion of U.S.-based gangs," the report said.
Iraqi leader drops protection of militia
Monday, 22 January 2007 6:32 P GMT-05
Saturday's U.S. death toll climbed significantly to 25 after the military reported Sunday that six more troops had died in the deadliest day in two years for American forces.
Service members join war protest
Saturday, 20 January 2007 5:33 P GMT-05
Several dozen service members joined peace activists today to call for an end to the war in Iraq, part of a nationwide effort that links a growing group of active-duty protesters to the peace movement. An "appeal for redress'' petition, signed by more than 1,000 active duty soldiers and sailors nationwide -- many of whom served in Iraq -- is to be delivered to Congress on Tuesday.
MSNBC: New Pentagon detainee manual could lead to executions based on 'hearsay evidence'
Friday, 19 January 2007 3:20 A GMT-05
As required by law, the manual prohibits statements obtained by torture and "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" as prohibited by the Constitution. However, the law does allow statements obtained through coercive interrogation techniques if obtained before Dec. 30, 2005, and deemed reliable by a judge.
US Army officer barred from disputing legality of Iraq war at court-martial
Thursday, 18 January 2007 9:42 P GMT-05
A US military judge ruled Tuesday that 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a US Army officer who refused deployment to Iraq because he felt the war is 'unlawful,' cannot argue that point in his upcoming court-martial. Lt. Col. John Head further ruled that Watada may not raise a free speech defense, as soldiers do not enjoy the same constitutional rights as civilians.
Bush Seizes Control Over State Militias
Thursday, 18 January 2007 7:53 P GMT-05
Over objections from all 50 governors, Congress in October changed the 200-year-old Insurrection Act to empower the hand of the president in future stateside emergencies. In a letter to Congress, the governors called the change "a dramatic expansion of federal authority during natural disasters that could cause confusion in the command-and-control of the National Guard and interfere with states' ability to respond to natural disasters within their borders."
Did Bush's Lies to Troops Play Role in the Rape, Killing of Iraqi Girl?
Thursday, 18 January 2007 4:32 P GMT-05
The fact is, the Bush White House has deliberately lied to our soldiers in Iraq. By feeding them a constant stream of bullsh*t about Iraq's "ties" to 9/11, the Bush team has created a situation in which our troops are filled with rage and hell-bent on vengeance: a situation that has been directly responsible for the barbaric acts that we've seen committed by U.S. troops in Iraq.
Terror suspect was terrorized in a Navy brig
Wednesday, 17 January 2007 4:07 P GMT-05
``It is my opinion that as the result of his experiences during his detention and interrogation, Mr. Padilla does not appreciate the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him, is unable to render assistance to counsel, and has impairments in reasoning as the result of a mental illness, i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder, complicated by the neuropsychiatric effects of prolonged isolation.'' On Friday, the federal judge postponed Padilla's trial from Jan. 22 to April 16 to allow the prosecution time to arrange its own examination of Padilla's mental state.
Gates: Iran Is Target Of Military Build Up
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 12:18 A GMT-05
Speaking in Brussels after meeting Nato officials, Mr Gates said: "We are simply reaffirming that statement of the importance of the Gulf region to the United States and our determination to be an ongoing strong presence in that area for a long time into the future." Gates said that Patriot anti-missile missiles, aircraft carriers, and cruise-missile-firing ships have been deployed in order to show Iran that the US means business and will not be distracted by the turmoil in Iraq. The build up has now been going on for weeks and shows no sign of being purely a warning.
New Law Could Subject Civilians to Military Trial
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 12:01 A GMT-05
Private contractors and other civilians serving with U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan could be subject for the first time to military courts-martial under a new federal provision that legal scholars say is almost certain to spark constitutional challenges.
The Pentagon as an Energy-Protection Racket
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 12:01 A GMT-05
Powerful, potentially planet-altering trends like this do not occur in a vacuum. The rise of Energo-fascism can be traced to two overarching phenomena: an imminent collision between energy demand and energy supplies, and the historic migration of the center of gravity of planetary energy output from the global north to the global south.
Army and Marine Corps will retain strength and honor after Iraq occupation ends
Monday, 15 January 2007 9:51 P GMT-05
Sen. McCain may truly feel that our Army and Marines could be perceived as “defeated” military forces if we redeployed from the massive active combat and occupation operations in Iraq. This worry, though somewhat reasonable, may not be necessary. An equally strong case can be argued that the continued expenditure of our troops’ blood, military equipment and American moral authority in the world could be worsening the situation and truly degrading our military forces and our nation as a whole.
Russian Admiral Says U.S. Navy Prepares Missile Strike on Iran
Monday, 15 January 2007 9:27 P GMT-05
U.S. Navy nuclear submarines maintaining vigil off the coast of Iran indicate that the Pentagon’s military plans include not only control over navigation in the Persian Gulf but also strikes against Iranian targets, a former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Eduard Baltin has told the Interfax news agency.
General Talking About Iraq in June 2003: I Knew We Were In Deep S**t
Monday, 15 January 2007 9:25 P GMT-05
Keane himself was stepping down just as the insurgency started in late spring 2003. "I went to Iraq in June, looked at it and I knew we were in deep s--t," Keane told NEWSWEEK. "I was going out the door. I felt frustrated. Frustrated with the situation, frustrated with myself and everything else. And somewhat guilty because I knew how ill prepared the Army was to deal with it." But Keane gave no public warnings.
Iraq Vets Call on Congress to End War
Monday, 15 January 2007 9:16 P GMT-05
An anti-war organization launched by a 22-year-old Marine and a 29-year-old sailor has accumulated 1,028 signatures from active-duty and Reserve troops calling for an end to the war in Iraq, which has lasted nearly four years. The signatures will be delivered to lawmakers on January 16th.
Pandora's Black Box - Chapter Two - Flight Of American 77 Released!
Saturday, 13 January 2007 4:38 P GMT-05
Pilotsfor911truth.org presents its first full documentary based on the American 77 Flight Data Recorder as provided by the NTSB following the full flight in real time as it happens in the air traffic system on Sept. 11, 2001. For a more in depth analysis of the issues addressed in this film and/or your own personal higher quality DVD with extras and without the watermark (and the 2 split second glitches due to upload), please visit http://pilotsfor911truth.org. We thank you for your support and taking the time to inform yourself.
Bush vows to 60 Minutes that 'no matter what Congress wants' surge is on
Saturday, 13 January 2007 4:36 P GMT-05
"Do you believe as Commander in Chief you have the authority to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress wants to do," 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley asks Bush in the short clip uploaded to the CBS News web site Friday night. "I think I've got, in this situation, I do, yeah," Bush said.
Pentagon: Troops Fatter, Drinking More
Saturday, 13 January 2007 4:35 P GMT-05
U.S. troops were fatter and drank harder in 2005 than before the Iraq war started, according a Pentagon survey of more than 16,000 service members released on Friday.
100,000 mercenaries, the forgotten "Surge"
Thursday, 11 January 2007 9:46 P GMT-05
The private contractors are Americans, South Africans, Brits, Iraqis and a hodgepodge of other nationalities. Many of them are veterans of the U.S. or other armed forces and intelligence services, who are now deployed in Iraq (and Afghanistan and other countries) to perform duties normally carried out by the U.S. Army, but at salaries two or three times greater than those of American soldiers.
Distracting Congress from the Real War Plan
Thursday, 11 January 2007 9:26 P GMT-05
Is the surge an orchestrated distraction from the real war plan? A good case can be made that it is. The US Congress and media are focused on President Bush’s proposal for an increase of 20,000 US troops in Iraq, while Israel and its American neoconservative allies prepare an assault on Iran.
Raptors, Robots, and Rods from God: The Nightmare Weaponry of Our Future
Thursday, 11 January 2007 8:28 P GMT-05
Ask soldiers in Iraq what they need most and answers may include: well-armored Humvees (many soldiers are jerry-rigging their own homemade Humvee armor); more body armor (an unofficial 2004 Army study found that one in four casualties in Iraq was the result of inadequate protective gear), or even silly string (Marcelle Shriver found out that her son was squirting the goo into a room as he and his squad searched buildings to detect trip wires around bombs). The same Army that can't provide such basics of modern war is now promising the Future Combat Systems network (FCS), a "family of systems" that will enable soldiers to "perceive, comprehend, shape, and dominate the future battlefield at unprecedented levels."
A Peculiar Version of Friendly Fire
Thursday, 11 January 2007 8:03 P GMT-05
Female soldiers, she soon learned, were called “bitches,” “sluts,” and “dykes.” A friend in an all-male unit related a story in which an obligatory equal opportunity class devolved into a rant against servicewomen, who “always” said they’d been raped after regrettable drunken liaisons. A woman in Dougherty’s unit who stayed behind the initial deployment because she was pregnant showed up in Iraq four months later after an abortion—and was congratulated by the platoon commander on getting “the first confirmed kill in the unit.”
Army Reg #210-35: Civilian prison camps on Army installations
Thursday, 11 January 2007 6:34 P GMT-05
I've gotten lots of reports from right-wing sources about detention centers being set up on remote military bases. I can never tell what to believe and what not to believe from such sources, so I don't post much of it. Here we have an official document, from an Army website, describing the establishment and management of such centers, apparently on a wide-scale basis.
Navy: Speed of tanker sucked sub up to surface
Wednesday, 10 January 2007 9:27 P GMT-05
The submarine Newport News was submerged and leaving the Persian Gulf when a mammoth Japanese oil tanker passed overhead at a high speed, creating a sucking effect that made the sub rise and hit the ship, the Navy said Tuesday.
Terrified Soldiers Terrifying People
Tuesday, 9 January 2007 9:49 P GMT-05
It is not just the children, or the people of Fallujah who are frightened. "Those soldiers are terrified here," Dr. Salim al-Dyni, a psychotherapist visiting Fallujah told IPS. Dr Dyni said he had seen professional reports of psychologically disturbed soldiers "while serving in hot areas, and Fallujah is the hottest and most terrifying for them."
Neocons Attack “al-Qaeda” in Somalia
Tuesday, 9 January 2007 5:46 P GMT-05
Thus the attack against “al-Qaeda” may be considered yet another in a series of attacks against “Islamofascists” in Africa, as effete and bilious chicken hawks, hiding out in their comfy academic and think-tank lairs, are keen to chase Muslims hither and thither—or have National Guard kids from Nebraska chase them—as the neocon “clash of civilizations” plan dictates. Oh, coincidentally, the American oil giants Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips hold concession rights in Somalia. According to the Los Angeles Times, “corporate and scientific documents disclosed that the American companies are well positioned to pursue Somalia’s most promising potential oil reserves the moment the nation is pacified,” that is to say after a suitable number of Muslims are killed and a requisite dictatorship takes hold, as the rule of Mohammed Siad Barre didn’t exactly work out as planned back in the 90s.
Defense in 'Fragging' Case Granted Help
Monday, 8 January 2007 8:34 P GMT-05
Martinez, 39, of Troy, N.Y., is the only soldier known to be charged with killing his superior officer, also known as "fragging," during the Iraq war. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Ex-Guantanamo inmate to join protest outside prison camp
Monday, 8 January 2007 7:40 P GMT-05
A former Guantanamo inmate and relatives of other detainees plan to demonstrate next week outside the US "war on terror" prison in Cuba to call on Washington to shut down the facility. Asif Iqbal, who for "years" was held at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay and finally released without being charged, will be the first ex-prisoner to protest at the site, organizers of the demonstration told AFP.
N.E. toll in Iraq nearly doubles
Sunday, 7 January 2007 3:29 P GMT-05
The number of New Englanders killed in combat in Iraq nearly doubled last year to 40, mostly men under age 25 cut down by increasingly lethal hidden roadside bombs, according to a Globe analysis.
Let There Be Peace
Saturday, 6 January 2007 5:19 P GMT-05
When I talk to citizens about my husband's case, and explain his reasons and mine for supporting him, they respond with a lack of understanding, disbelief that conscientious objection is even possible in a volunteer military. Have we lost sight of our conscience? Could this be why we continue to struggle to achieve peace?
Iraq Vets Left in Physical and Mental Agony
Saturday, 6 January 2007 5:05 P GMT-05
According to documents obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, 25 percent of veterans of the "global war on terror" have filed disability compensation and pension benefit claims with the Veterans Benefits Administration. One is a Jul. 20, 2006, document titled "Compensation and Pension Benefit Activity Among Veterans of the Global War on Terrorism," which shows that 152,669 veterans filed disability claims after fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. Of the more than 100,000 claims granted, Veterans Administration records show at least 1,502 veterans have been compensated as 100 percent disabled.
Conduct Charges Might Help Watada's Defense
Friday, 5 January 2007 11:46 P GMT-05
"The wholesale slaughter and mistreatment of Iraqis is not only a terrible and moral injustice, but it's a contradiction to the Army's own law of land warfare," he said during one interview cited by prosecutors as evidence. "My participation would make me party to war crimes." The judge, Lt. Col. John Head, told prosecutors that he was not inclined to grant the evidentiary hearing, but "they opened the door for him allowing it by prosecuting his statements." "It would not be relevant," he said. "Some of those statements have become relevant by the sheer nature of how the government has charged this case."
Sacrifice Translates into More Dead People
Friday, 5 January 2007 7:48 P GMT-05
Admittedly, Bush may not know what he is doing from one moment to the next, as he is a former drunk and drug abuser, and thus a mental graveyard, but his coterie of neocons most certainly know what they are doing—coming up with excuses to send more troops into Iraq, not to win that which cannot be won, as another basket case, McCain, would have us believe, but rather to see through “mission accomplished,” the destruction and balkanization of Iraq. It’s a work in progress, with horrifying results. For instance, last weekend, a series of car bombings killed more than 70 people in Shia neighborhoods in the hours after Saddam Hussein was lynched by a gaggle of puppets installed by the neocons.
U.S. Army war resister's lawyer says Army is attempting to silence his defense
Friday, 5 January 2007 6:14 P GMT-05
"They're claiming that the only real issue is whether or not an order was given to Lieutenant Watada, which he refused to carry out and whether he made certain statements to the media," Eric Seitz said Tuesday, two days before a pretrial hearing at Fort Lewis, Washington. First Lt. Ehren Watada's court martial is set to begin Feb. 5 at Fort Lewis. He refused to deploy to Iraq on June 22 with his Fort Lewis-based unit because he believes the war in Iraq is illegal.
A judge at the pretrial hearing will decide some of the parameters of the trial, including whether Watada's opposition to the war could be included in his defense.
The Real Cost of the Iraq War: 50,000 U.S. Casualties
Friday, 5 January 2007 4:52 P GMT-05
From those sources, we can count U.S. military occupation forces casualties as more than 50,371 as of Dec. 27. The total (as above) includes 2,400 killed and 22,565 wounded (which includes both severely and less severely wounded) by what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes. By that date, another 583 military personnel had died from "non hostile" causes such as accidents, suicides (there were 99 "self inflicted fatalities") and illness and, as of Dec. 2, another 24,823 had been injured or become ill seriously enough to require medical evacuation. According the excellent siteIraq Coalition Casualty Count, another 147 U.S. "contractors" have also been killed since they invaded Iraq.
Why I Object to Testifying Against Lt. Watada
Tuesday, 2 January 2007 4:43 P GMT-05
Lieutenant Watada continues to report for duty at Fort Lewis in the state of Washington while awaiting a February 2007 court-martial on one charge of “missing movement” and four charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” Each of the latter four charges is based entirely on political speech. If convicted on all charges, Lieutenant Watada could spend up to six years in prison.
Meet the New Year - Same as the Old Year?
Monday, 1 January 2007 6:05 P GMT-05
We begin 2007 cautiously optimistic because of the Democratic majority in Congress, but with unending lies guiding our journey into the dark heart of desert darkness, the Rude Pundit wonders if we are merely hoping for bandages when we need transplants for our American organs. Red state, blue state; by the time it's said and done we may all have purple hearts.
U.S. death toll in Iraq hits 3,000
Sunday, 31 December 2006 10:22 P GMT-05
The death of a Texas soldier, announced Sunday by the Pentagon, raised the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000, according to an Associated Press count, since the war began in March 2003.
Would You "Support the Troops" in Bolivia?
Thursday, 28 December 2006 5:46 P GMT-05
What about conscientious-objector status? Wouldn’t that relieve the soldier from participating in the attack on Bolivia? No, because under military rules conscientious-objector status applies only if a soldier objects on moral or religious grounds to all war. A soldier is not permitted to gain conscientious-objector status if he happens to object to a particular war as being illegal, unjust, or immoral.
US soldier who disputed Iraq war legality released early from military prison
Tuesday, 26 December 2006 8:22 P GMT-05
Former US Army Sergeant Ricky Clousing, a paratrooper and interpreter who disputed the legality of the war in Iraq, was released Saturday from a military prison where he was serving a three-month sentence after pleading guilty to going absent without leave for 14 months. Clousing was released 15 days early for good conduct and is headed home to Washington state.
Army Targets Truthout for Subpoenas in Watada Case
Tuesday, 26 December 2006 7:03 P GMT-05
Captain Dan Kuecker, the Fort Lewis, Washington-based Army prosecutor, has stated his intent to compel Ash, Truthout reporter Sari Gelzer, and contributors Dahr Jamail and Sarah Olson to testify at the court-martial of First Lieutenant Ehren Watada. Kuecker is actively seeking the journalists' testimony so he can prove that Watada engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer, directly related to disparaging statements the Army claims Watada made about the legality of the Iraq War during interviews with Truthout and his hometown newspaper, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, in June.
At least 36 Iraqis killed in bombings
Tuesday, 26 December 2006 4:02 P GMT-05
At least 36 Iraqis died Tuesday in bombings, officials said, including a coordinated strike that killed 25 in western Baghdad. Separately, the deaths of six U.S. soldiers pushed the American toll beyond the number of victims in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Military considers recruiting foreigners
Tuesday, 26 December 2006 3:54 P GMT-05
The armed forces, already struggling to meet recruiting goals, are considering expanding the number of noncitizens in the ranks -- including disputed proposals to open recruiting stations overseas and putting more immigrants on a faster track to US citizenship if they volunteer -- according to Pentagon officials.
U.S. holding Iranian officials seized in Iraq: NYT
Monday, 25 December 2006 7:50 P GMT-05
The U.S. military is holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including men the Bush administration calls senior military officials, who were seized in raids last week, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
The Evolution of the Official 9-11 Story
Sunday, 24 December 2006 5:26 P GMT-05
Another problem is that the new story is that it is the third story that the military has told. And normally if you have a suspect in a crime and he keeps changing his story, you start getting suspicious.
Impending Police State in America
Sunday, 24 December 2006 3:57 A GMT-05
Francis A Boyle says 9/11 was allowed to happen, war on terror is facilitating the downfall of The Republic, concentration camps are in place and US citizens are the targets.
A Soldier's Story
Sunday, 24 December 2006 3:52 A GMT-05
For just a minute or two, step into my life. I am an American soldier in the Army Special Forces. I have just returned from a one-year tour of duty in Iraq, where I lived, shared meals, slept and fought beside my Iraqi counterpart as we battled insurgents in the center of a thousand-year-old city. I am a conflicted man, and I want you to read the story of that experience as I lived it. In the interest of security, I have omitted some identifying details, but every word is true.
White House, Joint Chiefs At Odds on Adding Troops
Sunday, 24 December 2006 2:15 A GMT-05
The Bush administration is split over the idea of a surge in troops to Iraq, with White House officials aggressively promoting the concept over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intense debate.
Army National Guard enlistments up in state
Saturday, 23 December 2006 6:53 P GMT-05
The 1,360 Army recruits exceeded the previous year's total of 900 by 51 percent and topped the former post-Sept. 11 high of 1,350 recruits in fiscal 2002.
Selective Service plans "readiness" tests for military draft
Friday, 22 December 2006 4:18 P GMT-05
The agency is planning a comprehensive test -- not run since 1998 -- of its military draft systems, a Selective Service official said. The test itself would not likely occur until 2009. Scott Campbell, the service's director for operations and chief information officer, cautioned that the "readiness exercise" does not mean the agency is gearing up to resume the draft.
Shanksville students see 'fighter plane' seconds after explosion
Friday, 22 December 2006 4:09 P GMT-05
I stumbled on this clip from GNN’s UA 93: The Road To Shanksville (part 2). This is a HUGE smoking gun that these three students saw a 2nd plane in the area at the same time the explosion happened because the FBI’s story is that another plane didn’t come near the scene until “minutes” after the explosion which proves the FBI lied about there not being a 2nd plane at the crater scene.
Iraq Vets Falling Through Health-Care Cracks
Friday, 22 December 2006 12:18 A GMT-05
Pepper and Emme are among some 22,600 U.S. soldiers who have been wounded in the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations, most commonly by blasts. Fifty-nine percent of those injured by blasts have been found to have a TBI, which has been called the signature wound of this war. This and other features of the conflicts may be overwhelming the veterans' health-care system. "There are probably more people like these two guys who have a combination of PTSD and TBI, and that's probably something the VA has not seen in such numbers before," Okie said. "Because of the body armor, there is a higher survivor rate of those with multiple wounds, so a bigger influx of those with severe injuries and maybe head injury as well as amputations or wounds to the limbs. The VA's obviously got a big burden of people recovering from severe injuries, more than in previous conflicts."
9/11's Trainer in Terrorism Was an FBI Informant
Thursday, 21 December 2006 11:45 P GMT-05
I want to admit, in all fairness, that certain notable victories have been achieved in the narrow pursuit of al Qaeda. At the same time, after five years of the new broadened war on terrorism, we can say with confidence that the net result to date is a far more dangerous world than we had before.
Tucson military recruiters ran cocaine
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 9:58 A GMT-05
Two military recruiting stations sit side-by-side there, one run by the Army, the other by the Marines. Between them, a total of seven recruiters were on the take, secretly accepting bribes to transport cocaine, even as most spent their days visiting local high schools. They had help from several more recruiters at an Army National Guard office, where one recruiter was said to be selling cocaine from the trunk of his recruiting vehicle.
Eminent Law Scholar: 9/11 Was, At the Very Least, Allowed to Happen; Anthrax was Inside Job
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 9:47 A GMT-05
PATRIOT Act through Congress, that would have, if already had not, set up a police state. And we know for a fact that the PATRIOT Act had already been drafted and was sitting on Ashcroft's desk as of September 10th. Senators Daschle and Leahy were holding it up because they realised what this would lead to, indeed the first draft of the Patriot Act, they would have suspended the writ of habeas corpus. And all of a sudden out of nowhere come these anthrax attacks. And at the time I myself did not know precisely what was going on, either with respect to September 11th or the anthrax attacks, but then the New York Times revealed that the technology behind the letter to Senator Daschle. A trillion spores per gram, special electro-static treatment. This is super-weapons grade Anthrax that even the United States government, in its openly proclaimed programs, and we had one before Nixon, had never developed before. So it was obvious to me that this was from a US Government lab, there is no where else you could have gotten that."
Former U.S. Detainee in Iraq Recalls Torment
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 1:16 A GMT-05
“Even Saddam Hussein had more legal counsel than I ever had,” said Mr. Vance, who said he planned to sue the former defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, on grounds that his constitutional rights had been violated. “While we were detained, we wrote a letter to the camp commandant stating that the same democratic ideals we are trying to instill in the fledgling democratic country of Iraq, from simple due process to the Magna Carta, we are absolutely, positively refusing to follow ourselves.”
McVeigh Video Destroys OKC Bombing Official Story
Tuesday, 19 December 2006 7:46 P GMT-05
A video that shows Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh at a U.S. military base that specializes in explosives and demolition training over a year after he supposedly left the army puts the official story of the April 19 1995 federal building bombing under serious doubt and mandates a re-opening of an investigation into the terror attack that killed 168 people.
Interview with former Boston Center Air Traffic Controller regarding 9/11
Thursday, 14 December 2006 6:45 P GMT-05
Interview with former Boston Center Air Traffic Controller and pilotsfor911truth.org member Robin Hordon.
Bakiyev wants to revoke troops' immunity
Sunday, 10 December 2006 5:46 P GMT-05
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Thursday called for U.S. troops deployed in the former Soviet nation to be stripped of diplomatic immunity after a U.S. serviceman fatally shot a Kyrgyz civilian.
Alexander Ivanov, a 42-year-old fuel truck driver, was shot by an Air Force security forces serviceman Wednesday during a security check at the entrance to the Manas Air Base near the capital of Bishkek, the Interior Ministry said.
No evidence found of war crimes Ranger alleged, Pentagon says
Sunday, 10 December 2006 5:38 P GMT-05
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Defense earlier this year found no evidence of war crimes alleged by former Army Ranger and suspected bank robber Luke Sommer, the Pentagon said Friday.
The "Process Of Transformation"
Sunday, 10 December 2006 5:27 P GMT-05
Do you think America's Defenses have undergone a "Process Of Transformation" since 9/11 happened? Considering America's military is now taking part in two wars, and are on the verge of a third, I think it's safe to say that they have. Isn't it interesting that a lot of the individuals affiliated with the PNAC, like Dick Cheney for instance, are associated with those corporations that would benefit the most from a "Process of Transformation" in America's Military?
Ranger alleges war crimes
Saturday, 9 December 2006 6:27 P GMT-05
Asked if he was going public with the allegations to curry favor in advance of his criminal trial, Sommer said: "This isn't going save my ass. If I committed a bank robbery, I deserve to go jail. That's acceptable. "Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. This is not a crafty method of gaining public support," he said. "I have seen people issue orders to cover up the deaths of as many as 16 innocent people," Sommer said. He spoke of one incident in which he alleges a commanding general in Afghanistan ordered the cover-up of such an execution.
Active-Duty Military Personnel Will Protest War in Iraq on Wednesday
Saturday, 9 December 2006 6:05 P GMT-05
Wednesday, more than a hundred members of active duty military, reserve, and National Guard will speak out against the War in Iraq. Organizers say this will be the first time active servicemembers will voice a protest since the United States entered Iraq in March 2003.
65 years later, his questions linger
Saturday, 9 December 2006 9:23 A GMT-05
It was only when word came down Dec. 7 about the Pearl Harbor attack that Fenton and his shipmates realized they had seen the fleet that brought America into World War II. While the Boise hid by a remote Pacific island after the attack and awaited orders, talk buzzed about what its crew could have done.
A Young Marine Speaks Out
Saturday, 9 December 2006 7:51 A GMT-05
I stood through a memorial service today for a young Marine that was killed in Iraq back in April. During this memorial a number of people spoke about the guy and about his sacrifice for the country. How do you justify 'sacrificing' your life for a war which is not only illegal, but is being prosecuted to the extent where the only thing keeping us there is one man's power, and his ego. A recent Marine Corps intelligence report that was leaked said that the war in the al-Anbar province is unwinnable. It said that there was nothing we could do to win the hearts and minds, or the military operations in that area. So I wonder, why are we still there? Democracy is not forced upon people at gunpoint.
Abu Ghraib Whistleblower Worries
Friday, 8 December 2006 7:56 P GMT-05
Like most soldiers serving in Iraq, Joe Darby just wanted to go home when his time was up. But blowing the whistle on his unit members for abusing Iraqi prisoners changed all that, and now the former military police specialist lives in an undisclosed city with his wife, still worried for their safety.
Another Friendly Fire Coverup by the Army
Thursday, 7 December 2006 9:10 A GMT-05
Peggy Buryj was told in 2004 that her son Jesse died near Karbala, Iraq, sustaining a back injury while heroically defending an Army checkpoint. She would later learn that he was shot in the back. While the Army, which has destroyed important evidence related to the case, insists a Polish soldier fired the shot, a friend of Jesse’s who served with him told his mother an American soldier was to blame.
Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon
Thursday, 7 December 2006 7:41 A GMT-05
The beam produces what experimenters call the "Goodbye effect," or "prompt and highly motivated escape behavior." In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds.
Serviceman kills civilian in Kyrgyzstan
Thursday, 7 December 2006 7:32 A GMT-05
A U.S. serviceman fatally shot a civilian at the U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday "in response to a threat," the military said. A statement released by the public affairs office at the Manas Air Base, where U.S. planes and military personnel are stationed, said an Air Force security forces serviceman "used deadly force in response to a threat at an entry control checkpoint."
U.S. military prepares Haditha murder case charges
Wednesday, 6 December 2006 9:29 P GMT-05
The U.S. military is expected to charge at least five U.S. Marines in the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, and the charges could include murder, defense officials said on Wednesday.
Prisons' military gear factories take flak
Wednesday, 6 December 2006 3:42 A GMT-05
Thousands of federal prison in mates have been working overtime the past three years, filling Pentagon contracts for everything from radio components to body armor. The inmates work for Federal Prison Industries, a nonprofit Jus tice Department subsidiary that does business as UNICOR and sold more than $750 million worth of goods to the federal government last year.
Bob Gates & Locking You Up Forever
Saturday, 2 December 2006 7:15 P GMT-05
The questions about Gates’s integrity and independence stand out in even sharper relief now because of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The new law empowers the Defense Secretary to create a parallel American legal system, existing outside the protections of the U.S. Constitution. As Defense Secretary, Gates would handpick the military judges and set the rules for administering the system, which was established under a law passed by Congress in September and signed by President Bush on Oct. 17. The law allows the jailing of both “unlawful enemy combatants” and “any person” who allegedly helps them.
AWOL Soldier Spent Week Helping Out in New Orleans
Sunday, 26 November 2006 3:25 P GMT-05
"There are so many engineering units of the U.S. military - they should be here and not Iraq," Pvt. Kyle Snyder, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo., said Friday. He was among two dozen volunteers from Iraq Veterans Against the War spending the week in New Orleans, gutting veterans' and musicians' houses flooded when Hurricane Katrina breached levees on Aug. 29, 2005.
Some Hijackers Trained By U.S. Military, Connected To U.S. Military Base?
Saturday, 25 November 2006 7:11 P GMT-05
Secret Pentagon Documents Classify Central Coast Group as a "Threat"
Saturday, 25 November 2006 6:51 P GMT-05
The actions of this veterans organization have not gone unnoticed at the Pentagon. A previously secret intelligence report calls the group a "threat to military installations." The report lists the group's upcoming events and warns that while it's a "peaceful organization," "there is potential that future protests could become violent." "As to attacking any base or anything else, that is ridiculous," says Veterans for Peace group member Ron Dexter. "We support the troops one hundred percent."
Plea deals pile up in Iraq murder cases
Tuesday, 21 November 2006 8:05 P GMT-05
Experts surprised that military has agreed to lighter sentences
The end of the Colombian blood letting could begin in Washington
Tuesday, 21 November 2006 12:52 P GMT-05
On a November 9, 2006, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples Army, (FARC-EP) sent an “Open Letter to the People of the United States”. It was specifically addressed to several Hollywood producers and actors (Michael Moore, Denzel Washington and Oliver Stone) as well as three leftist academics (James Petras, Noam Chomsky and Angela Davis) and a progressive politician (Jessie Jackson). The purpose of the open letter was to solicit our support in facilitating an agreement between the US and Colombian governments and the FARC-EP on exchanging 600 imprisoned guerrillas (including 2 on trial in the US) for 60 rebel-held prisoners including 3 US counter-insurgency experts.
Marine gets reduced sentence for Iraq civilian killing
Thursday, 16 November 2006 11:07 P GMT-05
The sentence of John Jodka III was reduced yesterday after he pleaded guilty to his part in the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, in Hamandiya, west of Baghdad. The military judge in the case, Lieutenant Colonel David Jones, said five years in prison and a dishonourable discharge were appropriate, but due to a "very fortuitous pre-trial agreement", the sentence was reduced.
Listening to a Veteran
Sunday, 12 November 2006 8:27 P GMT-05
The best way to honor those who have fought to protect the U.S. on this or any Veterans Day is to listen to the veterans. Members of Congress will have an opportunity to do so on Tuesday when McGovern comes to Washington. The decorated World War II veteran will come with a plan to extract the U.S. from the mess in Iraq quickly, safely and honorably. It is outlined in his new book, "Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now," and it comes down to a simple fact: "The best way to reduce this insurgency is to get the American forces out of there. That's what's driving this insurgency." McGovern's book calls for a new approach, one that would center on removing U.S. and foreign troops and establishing a transitional force made up of Muslims from the region to police the country.
Nat'l Guard units face 2nd tours in Iraq
Saturday, 11 November 2006 7:55 A GMT-05
National Guard combat brigades that have already served in Iraq may be called for a second tour, likely breaking the 24-month deployment limit initially set by the Pentagon, the Guard's top general said.
Hundreds of US soldiers call for Iraq withdrawal in petition
Tuesday, 7 November 2006 7:17 P GMT-05
"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq," the petition says. "Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for US troops to come home," it says.
Cameras Show Army Recruiters Misleading Students
Monday, 6 November 2006 6:19 P GMT-05
An ABC News undercover investigation showed Army recruiters telling students that the war in Iraq was over, in an effort to get them to enlist.
Administration Sends Troops Info on Foley Replacement, Doesn’t Mention Other Candidates
Sunday, 5 November 2006 3:20 P GMT-05
Last week, U.S. troops received messages from the State Department and the Pentagon explaining how to vote in the congressional race in ex-Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-FL) former district. The emails provided detailed instructions explaining how to vote for Foley’s replacement, Joe Negron, but failed to even mention the two other candidates in the race
1999 war games foresaw problems in Iraq
Sunday, 5 November 2006 3:11 P GMT-05
The U.S. government conducted a series of secret war games in 1999 that anticipated an invasion of Iraq would require 400,000 troops, and even then chaos might ensue.
4 Leading Military Papers: 'Rumsfeld Must Go'
Sunday, 5 November 2006 2:00 P GMT-05
An editorial set to appear on Monday -- election eve -- in the four leading newspapers for the military calls for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Bush Junta "Tools Up" To Fight Americans With Civil Suppression Bill
Saturday, 4 November 2006 4:23 P GMT-05
The Bush Junta has quietly "tooled up" to utilize the U.S. military in engaging American dissidents after the next big crisis, with a frightening and overlooked piece of legislation that was passed alongside the Military Commissions Act, which greases the skids for armed confrontation and abolishes posse comitatus.
Stuck in Iraq
Friday, 3 November 2006 5:26 A GMT-05
John “Skull and Bones” Kerry, who would have sent an additional 40,000 soldiers into the Iraqi meat grinder, that is if the Diebold voting machines had flipped in his favor back in 2004, “told some California students to do well in school lest they ‘get stuck in Iraq.’” Neocon Republicans, of course, immediately went ballistic, demanding Kerry apologize for telling the truth.
“There has never been an American army as violent and murderous as the one in Iraq”
Thursday, 2 November 2006 11:04 P GMT-05
If Americans knew the full extent of U.S. criminal conduct, they would receive returning Iraqi veterans as they did Vietnam veterans, Hersh said. “In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby killers, in shame and humiliation,” he said. “It isn’t happening now, but I will tell you – there has never been an [American] army as violent and murderous as our army has been in Iraq.”
I should be supporting Allen. Instead, I'm leaving the party.
Thursday, 2 November 2006 8:05 P GMT-05
I just got back from a visit to Parris Island and was struck again – as I was on the proud day of my son's boot camp graduation there as a Marine in 1999 – by the moral credibility of the drill instructors and selflessness of the recruits. Our political leaders should learn from them. In fact, our future leaders should be them. We need to compare today's leaders to those of the past, who earned credibility beyond the reach of cynicism and irony – and cheap smear tactics. People like Mr. McCain – who is "for" the war in Iraq – and Mr. Webb – who is "against" the war – should be respected no matter one's politics or ideas about the war. Why? Because they paid their dues.
Move Over, GI Joe and Han Solo
Wednesday, 1 November 2006 7:59 P GMT-05
On Aug. 11, 2006, the day he turned himself in, Sgt. Clousing made a simple statement: "We have found ourselves in a pivotal era where we have traded humanity for patriotism. Where we have traded our civil liberties for a sense of security. I stand here before you sharing the same idea as Henry David Thoreau: as a soldier, as an American, and as a human being, we mustn't lend ourselves to that same evil which we condemn."
Operation Hollywood
Monday, 30 October 2006 6:17 P GMT-05
Documentary that explores the cozy relationship between Hollywood and the Pentagon.
100 Americans die in Iraq during October
Monday, 30 October 2006 5:44 P GMT-05
At least 80 people were killed or found dead in Iraq on Monday, including 33 victims of a bomb attack on laborers lined up to find a day's work in Baghdad's Sadr city Shiite slum. The U.S. military announced the death of the 100th service member killed in combat this month.
98 U.S. GIs killed in Iraq this month
Saturday, 28 October 2006 3:07 P GMT-05
The U.S. military said Saturday that a Marine had been killed in restive Anbar province, raising to 98 the number of American forces killed in Iraq during October, the fourth deadliest month since the war began in March 2003.
STOP ABUSING OUR MARINES!
Saturday, 28 October 2006 1:55 P GMT-05
Another Marine stationed in Iraq has sent us a screenshot of what happens when you need some hot news on Macaca and Foley: "forbidden, this page (http://www.wonkette.com) is categorized as (Personal Pages) ALL SITES YOU VISIT ARE LOGGED AND FILED." Nice little threat at the end, too. Asswipes. Notice the other browser tabs. Two actual “personal pages” that rah-rah for Bush (What’s her name, the wannabe Coulter, and Hugh Hewitt) show up just fine, as our Marine Operative confirms. But “Talking Points Memo,” which is apparently one of the “left leaning” sites one hears so much about these days, is prohibited.
'Mr. Secretary, What'd You Have Torched At Ft. Meade's 902nd Military Intel Group?'
Friday, 27 October 2006 5:20 P GMT-05
Here’s what little we know: Late Friday, a crazy six-alarm fire gutted the three-story Building 54, where the 902nd Military Intelligence Group did its special work. That work included infiltrating a group of Quaker pacifists, running allegedly-banned Total Information Awareness and TALON surveillance monstrosities that DARPA was forced to hide somewhere else, and conducting “counterintelligence activities in support of Army commanders and to protect Army forces, secrets and technologies by detecting, identifying, neutralizing and exploiting foreign intelligence services and international terrorist threats.”
Five U.S. troops killed in Iraq
Thursday, 26 October 2006 4:09 P GMT-05
Five U.S. troops have died as a result of enemy action in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said Thursday. The deaths on Wednesday bring the U.S. military death toll in October to 96, matching the number of deaths in October of last year.
US Army Announces Readiness for Total Military Takeover of America
Sunday, 22 October 2006 12:03 A GMT-05
According to these reports, the first of the USANORTH plans for the total military takeover of the United States, from its few remaining civilian overseers, rest with a new series of draconian laws recently enacted by their top Military Leaders and which, among other things, suspends the right of habeas corpus for Americans.
Troops in debt can't go overseas
Saturday, 21 October 2006 11:29 P GMT-05
The Pentagon contends financial problems can distract personnel from their duties or make them vulnerable to bribery and treason. As a result, those who fall heavily into debt can be stripped of the security clearances they need to go overseas.
A Soldier's Tale
Saturday, 21 October 2006 8:38 P GMT-05
This is England's 332nd day of a 36-month sentence. She's serving time in a flat, sandy-colored building surrounded by a 13'4" fence topped with concertina wire at the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in San Diego. Since her arrival, she hasn't had a single visitor — not even from her family.
After Pat’s Birthday
Friday, 20 October 2006 8:44 P GMT-05
In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Why are military families hungry?
Thursday, 19 October 2006 6:40 P GMT-05
“The bases are in the more expensive parts of the county and things like gas, food, insurance and rent are just higher here,” Chavez said. “I got a call last night from a lady in need. She ran out of baby formula and diapers. She's 22 with two kids under 3 and her husband is in Iraq. She was distraught and cried for 10 minutes. This happens more often than not.”
October On Pace to Be the Deadliest Month in Iraq War
Tuesday, 17 October 2006 12:56 A GMT-05
Three U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, the U.S. military said in a statement Sunday. Their deaths raised the toll to 49 U.S. troops killed so far for the month, putting October on track to be one of the deadliest months in the war for American soldiers.
"Liberated Iraq" Is The Most Absurd Of All The War Excuses
Friday, 13 October 2006 11:23 P GMT-05
In legalese resurrected verbatim from Saddam Hussein’s penal code, the Iraqi government has criminalized criticism and even ridicule of the government or any of its officials. Ridiculing is defined as exposing corruption or questioning the actions of government officials. Iraq's new government considers itself to be so democratic that dissent is unnecessary - so they've outlawed it!
Al Qaeda Suspect: U.S. Government Gave Me LSD
Thursday, 12 October 2006 5:17 P GMT-05
Padilla's attorneys argued that the alleged torture constitutes "outrageous government conduct" that requires that the criminal case against Padilla be dismissed. Judge Marcia Cooke has already dropped one of the charges against Padilla, but he could still be sentenced to life in prison on the other charges. The trial has been delayed until next January, at the earliest. A top Al Qaeda leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, reportedly admitted during interrogations that he tasked Padilla with locating radioactive materials and scouting out locations for a dirty bomb. However, the pending indictment against Padilla makes no mention of such a plot.
The Cost of Doing Your Duty
Wednesday, 11 October 2006 4:49 P GMT-05
In 2003, Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift was assigned to represent Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni citizen accused of being a high-ranking member of Al Qaeda — for the sole purpose of getting him to plead guilty before one of the military commissions that President Bush created for Guantánamo Bay. Instead of carrying out this morally repugnant task, Commander Swift concluded that the commissions were unconstitutional. He did his duty and defended his client. The case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in June that the tribunals violated American law as well as the Geneva Conventions. The Navy responded by killing his military career. About two weeks after the historic high court victory in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Commander Swift was told he was being denied a promotion. Under the Navy’s up-or-out system, that spelled the end of his 20-year career, and Commander Swift said last week that he will be retiring in March or April.
Before You Enlist!
Sunday, 8 October 2006 7:19 P GMT-05
Straight talk from soldiers, veterans and their family members tells what is missing from the sales pitches presented by recruiters and the military's marketing efforts.
U.S. Is Recruiting Misfits For Army
Sunday, 8 October 2006 6:52 P GMT-05
In February, the Baltimore Sun wrote that there was "a significant increase in the number of recruits with what the Army terms 'serious criminal misconduct' in their background" -- a category that included "aggravated assault, robbery, vehicular manslaughter, receiving stolen property and making terrorist threats." From 2004 to 2005, the number of those recruits rose by more than 54 percent, while alcohol and illegal drug waivers, reversing a four-year decline, increased by more than 13 percent.
Guantanamo defense lawyer forced to retire by Navy
Sunday, 8 October 2006 5:43 P GMT-05
The Navy lawyer who took the Guantanamo case of Osama bin Laden's driver to the U.S. Supreme Court - and won - has been passed over for promotion by the Pentagon and must soon leave the military. Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, 44, said last week he received word that he had been denied a promotion to full-blown Navy commander this summer - "about two weeks after" the Supreme Court sided against the White House and with his client, a Yemeni captive at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba. Under the military's "up or out" promotion system, Swift will retire in March or April, closing out a 20-year career of military service.
Al Qaeda Tapes: Direct Link To Military Psyops And Donald Rumsfeld
Thursday, 5 October 2006 5:14 P GMT-05
The origin of the latest video, starring Mohammed Atta and flight 93 hijacker Ziad Jarrah, has been swept under the carpet by the mainstream media who bizarrely admit that the government has had the tape since late 2001 but still suggest it is a new release by Al Qaeda.
No 'Holiday' in Gitmo
Monday, 2 October 2006 5:22 P GMT-05
Some people think that Amnesty International's description of the camp as the "gulag of our times" is too harsh. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, for instance, recently rejected the "gulag" label, telling conventions of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion that Guantanamo is more akin to a holiday resort, complete with a volleyball court, basketball court, soccer field and library. During my years of incarceration, I never once encountered the things Rumsfeld mentioned and never met anyone who had. What people don't seem to understand about Guantanamo is that the prisoners there who protest their innocence have no way to prove it. The principle "innocent until proven guilty" is turned on its head. Everyone's guilty without charges, convicted without a trial. That is why it's like a gulag — even if it's one that provides "Harry Potter" books for reading material (as Rumsfeld noted).
Poll: Iraqis back attacks on U.S. troops
Thursday, 28 September 2006 4:32 P GMT-05
Almost four in five Iraqis say the U.S. military force in Iraq provokes more violence than it prevents. About 61 percent approved of the attacks — up from 47 percent in January. A solid majority of Shiite and Sunni Arabs approved of the attacks, according to the poll. The increase came mostly among Shiite Iraqis.
Decimating the Constitution with Military Tribunals
Thursday, 28 September 2006 4:22 P GMT-05
The truth is that the “war on terrorism” rhetoric has been a sham from the beginning — a sham to enable federal officials to do what they’ve been trying to do for decades, especially in another sham war — the “war on drugs” — emasculate the Bill of Rights to enable federal officials to run roughshod over people — and not just foreigners. The military-tribunal legislation is just the culmination of decades of federal officials’ mocking and ridiculing the “constitutional technicalities” whose only real purpose, U.S. officials have long claimed, is to let “guilty” people go free.
Lauro Chavez Clarifies Points For His Critics
Wednesday, 27 September 2006 8:30 P GMT-05
How did I know Cheney was in charge of NORAD, prior to it becoming public?
- Easy, in the Army and whole of the DoD there is a thing called chain of command. Every solider is supposed to be aware of who his superiors are. When Cheney was announced to be taking over NORAD, the CoC was updated and passed out to all of us. This, I’m sure, was prior to the public release of this information. There were many military friends of mine, at the time, that questioned this action.
Are We Mice or Men?
Monday, 25 September 2006 5:31 P GMT-05
The October edition of Harper’s contains a powerful piece by Daniel Ellsberg. He calls on real Americans who love this country, those who value constitutional process over neoconservative wet dreams, true and dedicated public servants to bring forth the primary evidence of illegalities into the light. Evidence, plans and papers showing that the invasion of Iran, using Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Pakistan, Turkey, Kurdistan, Iraqis and American soldiers and Marines in a battle is not only planned, but is indeed underway. Illegally underway.
Do Unto Your Enemy...
Monday, 25 September 2006 4:21 P GMT-05
A year later on the streets of Baghdad, I saw countless insurgents surrender when faced with the prospect of a hot meal, a pack of cigarettes and air-conditioning. America’s moral integrity was the single most important weapon my platoon had on the streets of Iraq. It saved innumerable lives, encouraged cooperation with our allies and deterred Iraqis from joining the growing insurgency. But those days are over. America’s moral standing has eroded, thanks to its flawed rationale for war and scandals like Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo and Haditha. The last thing we can afford now is to leave Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions open to reinterpretation, as President Bush proposed to do and can still do under the compromise bill that emerged last week. Blurring the lines on the letter of Article 3 — it governs the treatment of prisoners of war, prohibiting “violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture” and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment” — will only make our troops’ tough fight even tougher. It will undermine the power of all the Geneva Conventions, immediately endanger American troops captured by the enemy and create a powerful recruiting tool for Al Qaeda.
Osama bin Laden “confession video” unplugged
Monday, 25 September 2006 2:22 P GMT-05
Please note that the Department of Defense is now on record as saying that it conducted a search of its files and located no records responsive to the Muckraker Report’s FOIA request to document the circumstances, logistics and dates surrounding the discovery of the videotape, nor has the Department of Defense located records demonstrating the authenticity process and authenticity of the December 13, 2001 Osama bin Laden “confession video” – a video that the U.S. government used to fully solidify already strong American support for the invasion of Afghanistan that began 68 days prior to the video’s release
Rep. Weldon: Pentagon Report a 'Whitewash'
Sunday, 24 September 2006 4:10 P GMT-05
The report, conducted by the Pentagon Inspector General, investigated claims brought to Weldon's office by active duty military officers and other Defense Department officials about information they had developed on al-Qaida cells in the United States more than one year before the Sept. 11 attacks on America. The data-mining operation was designated Able Danger, and the operation was run out of the U.S. Special Operations Command at Fort Belvoir, not far from the Pentagon. It was part of an experimental program to collect intelligence on terrorist networks and on illicit Chinese high-technology procurement efforts from open source material.
Secrets in the Mountains of Afghanistan
Sunday, 24 September 2006 3:50 P GMT-05
What distinguishes these two fatalities from scores of other questionable deaths in U.S. custody is that they were successfully concealed — not just from the American public but from the military's chain of command and legal authorities. The deaths came to light only after an investigation by The Times and a nonprofit educational organization, the Crimes of War Project, led the Army to open criminal inquiries on the incidents. Two years later, the cases remain under investigation and no charges have been filed.
New York City’s Reservists Are Asked to Return Iraq Pay
Sunday, 24 September 2006 3:30 P GMT-05
When they were called up for military service in the wake of 9/11, hundreds of uniformed city workers in the Reserves faced the suspension of their city health and pension benefits. The city offered them an option: it would keep paying their salaries and continue their benefits, but when they returned they would have to repay the city their city salary or their military pay, whichever was less.
More War Veterans Suffering From Stress
Saturday, 23 September 2006 2:45 P GMT-05
Nearly 64,000 of the more than 184,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought VA health care were diagnosed with potential symptoms of post-traumatic stress, drug abuse or other mental disorders as of the end of June, according to the latest report by the Veterans Health Administration. Of those, close to 30,000 had possible post-traumatic stress disorder, said the report.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS ATTEMPT TO LAY GROUNDWORK FOR FIRST STATE RELIGION
Friday, 22 September 2006 3:08 P GMT-05
In direct violation of the Constitution, House Republicans drafted legislative language that would elevate Christian Evangelical Preachers to the status of official government chaplains above all other religions, including non-Evangelical Christians. This obscure little amendment is intended to give Evangelical chaplains the exclusive right to preside over all secular military ceremonies.
WHEN WAR MAKES SOLDIERS SICK
Wednesday, 20 September 2006 6:08 P GMT-05
The men, most of them Hispanic, include former Army sergeants Ray Ramos, Agustín Matos and Jerry Ojeda and specialist Gerard Matthew, who is the lead plaintiff in a pioneering lawsuit that has exposed to the public how American soldiers have been endangered by one of the Pentagon's little-known favorite weapons - depleted uranium artillery.
Interview with Dr. Steven Miles
Tuesday, 19 September 2006 4:43 A GMT-05
Dr. Steven Miles is the author of Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity and the War on Terror, a scathing examination of the failings of members of the medical profession serving in the military with respect to treatment of prisoners held by American forces in the war on terror, demonstrating such abuses as medical personnel participating in coervice interrogations if not outright torture (including using prisoners' own medical records against them), preparing misleading, if not outright falsifying, medical records including death certificates, and failing to advocate for prisoners being placed in dangerous situations (e.g., such as under weapons fire, or in dangerously unsanitary conditions). Dr. Miles expanded on an article on this subject he published in the Lancet in 2004, relying on an examination of declassified, publicly available documents from our government and military.
Soldiers versus Bush
Tuesday, 19 September 2006 4:19 A GMT-05
IN THE FIGHT over rules for the interrogation and trials of terrorism suspects, there is a split -- not so much between Republicans and Democrats or the White House and the Senate, but between leaders like President Bush with no combat experience and those like Colin Powell who know combat and want to maintain the Geneva Conventions as a protection for US troops.
The US military and its cult of cruelty
Sunday, 17 September 2006 5:59 P GMT-05
Like most Europeans--and an awful lot of Americans--I was quite unaware of this ferocious "code" for US armed forces, although it's not hard to see how it fits in with Bush's rantings. I'm tempted to point this out in detail, but my American veteran did so with such eloquence in his letter to me that the response should come in his words: "The Warrior Creed," he wrote, "allows no end to any conflict accept total destruction of the 'enemy'. It allows no defeat ... and does not allow one ever to stop fighting (lending itself to the idea of the 'long war'). It says nothing about following orders, it says nothing about obeying laws or showing restraint. It says nothing about dishonourable actions ...".
The Pentagon's 12-Step Program to Create a Misfit Military
Saturday, 16 September 2006 4:37 P GMT-05
Earlier this year, the Army admitted that, to maintain desperately needed numbers, it was forgoing almost any measure of quality when it came to its officer corps. According to 2005 Pentagon figures, 97% of all eligible captains were promoted to major -- a significant jump from the already historically high average of 70-80%. "The problem here is that you're not knocking off the bottom 20%," one high-ranking Army officer at the Pentagon told the Los Angeles Times. "Basically, if you haven't been court-martialed, you're going to be promoted to major."
THE HIDDEN ANTHRAX LETTERS SUSPECT
Saturday, 16 September 2006 4:27 P GMT-05
The FBI knows of a man who was caught entering the lab where the Anthrax used in the letters was kept, after he had been fired for a racially motivated attack on a co-worker. So, why is the FBI wasting its time with Steven Hatfill?
Iraq war's signature wound: Brain injury
Friday, 15 September 2006 1:10 P GMT-05
So far, about 1,000 patients have been treated for the symptoms, which include slowed thinking, severe memory loss and problems with coordination and impulse control. Some doctors fear there may be thousands more active duty and discharged troops who are suffering undiagnosed.
Scoop: Four Iraq War Vets Detained at Pentagon
Tuesday, 12 September 2006 4:41 P GMT-05
Four veterans of the current war in Iraq and one supporter (a total of five young men) were detained at the Pentagon today after they attended an open house and left behind flyers providing information about the lethal effects of depleted uranium.
Son's return to Iraq more than enough
Friday, 8 September 2006 5:54 P GMT-05
This ex-Boston cop had just learned the Army scoured its inactive reserve list to pull his 22-year-old son away from a job, a wife and a new baby. From a cramped office in the back of Eddie C’s, his legendary Maverick Square bar, he kept screaming into the phone. “Why doesn’t the sonovabitch send his own two kids over there?” he railed. “Let them stop partying for 545 days and visit Baghdad for a year! Then, Bush would know what it feels like to have your heart stop everytime the doorbell rings, or wonder if you should pick up the goddamn phone. “My two kids have already done their time. They’ve served their country . . . both of them!” Eddie said, his voice hoarse and broken. “Mikey with the 101st Airborne and Eddie Jr. with the Marines . . . both of ’em in Iraq. When the hell is enough, enough?"
Death Penalty Sought for US Soldiers Accused of Iraqi Murders
Sunday, 3 September 2006 9:00 P GMT-05
The soldiers, all from the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division's 187th Infantry Regiment, are accused of killing three Iraqi men taken from a house May 9 on a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Kevin Benderman Released From Ft. Lewis Military Corrections Facility
Friday, 1 September 2006 11:49 A GMT-05
On July 27, 2005, in a military court martial held at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, Sgt. Kevin Benderman was convicted of Missing Movement for allegedly refusing to board a plane for a second deployment to Iraq.
Army intelligence analyst who questions official 9-11 story is honorable patriot
Thursday, 31 August 2006 6:18 P GMT-05
Sergeant First Class Donald Buswell has served in the Army for 19 years and was injured in Iraq in 2004. He is stationed at Ft. Sam Houston near San Antonio, Texas. Outcomes of the charge that he wrote “disloyal” e-mails could include court martial, dishonorable discharge or other actions against him.
Army: Doubting Official 9/11 Story Is ‘Disloyal To The United States’
Tuesday, 29 August 2006 4:42 P GMT-05
The Iconoclast will continue reporting on this story as new details become available.
You wouldn’t catch me dead in Iraq
Monday, 28 August 2006 11:40 P GMT-05
Scores of American troops are deserting — even from the front line in Iraq. But where have they gone? And why isn’t the US Army after them?
'We were waiting for them'
Friday, 25 August 2006 6:05 P GMT-05
Vo Nguyen Giap is the Vietnamese general who planned the Ho Chi Minh trail and defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu. In a rare interview with the author of a book about the trail, he recalls his part in defying the might of the US military
U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst Targeted For Suggesting New Independent 9/11 Investigation
Tuesday, 22 August 2006 5:00 P GMT-05
Army: Doubting Official 9/11 Story Is ‘Disloyal To The United States’
Open Letter to the U.S. Military Tribunal to drop charges against Ist Lt. Ehren Watada
Friday, 18 August 2006 2:42 P GMT-05
So, when Ehren refused to participate in that war, what he did is noble and humane, just and proper. By refusing to participate in Bush’s evil war, he demonstrated that humanity is more important than mere uniform or the codes that it provides.
Military Recruiters Turn To Strong-Arm Tactics
Tuesday, 15 August 2006 7:20 P GMT-05
According to data provided to the GAO, substantiated cases of wrongdoing jumped from about 400 cases in 2004 to almost 630 in 2005. Criminal cases -- such as sexual harassment or falsifying medical records -- more than doubled in those years, jumping from 30 incidents to 70.
US torture commandant praised as "innovator" at retirement ceremony
Saturday, 12 August 2006 9:49 P GMT-05
An army general who ran the Guantanamo Bay camp for terror suspects and helped shape detention practices at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was praised as an innovator as he retired from the US military today.
Civilian Killings Went Unpunished
Wednesday, 9 August 2006 12:37 A GMT-05
Just then, the voice of a lieutenant crackled across the radio. He reported that he had rounded up 19 civilians, and wanted to know what to do with them. Henry later recalled the company commander's response: Kill anything that moves.
EnviroHealth: Military Waste In Our Drinking Water
Saturday, 5 August 2006 8:35 P GMT-05
Today the U.S. military generates over one-third of our nation's toxic waste, which it disposes of very poorly. The military is one of the most widespread violators of environmental laws. People made ill by this toxic waste are, in effect, victims of war. But they are rarely acknowledged as such.
NORAD Tapes Expose Lax Military Attitude On 9/11 Air Defense
Friday, 4 August 2006 6:08 P GMT-05
NORAD tapes released this week which shed light on the negligence of the U.S. military in providing adequate air defense on 9/11 contain a conversation with a Navy air traffic control operator that provides another smoking gun for the assertion of a deliberate stand down policy on the morning of the attacks.
General: Guard units not combat ready
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 8:38 P GMT-05
More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready due largely to vast equipment shortfalls that will take as much as $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
Cheney's Halliburton Loses Its Iraq Cash Cow
Monday, 31 July 2006 11:46 A GMT-05
Recently, the Army announced with much fanfare that it was canceling the monopoly logistics contract that Halliburton/KBR has used to bilk U.S. taxpayers since the occupation of Iraq began. The contract will be broken up and divided among at least three different companies, but it’s not clear that this will make much difference to taxpayers, or even that Halliburton will stop making a killing.
Silencing of the Military Retirees?
Monday, 31 July 2006 11:27 A GMT-05
A Department of Defense directive released on April 18 of this year states that Donald Rumsfeld has the authority to call military retirees back on active duty.
Playing the Atheism Card Against Pat Tillman
Saturday, 29 July 2006 9:33 P GMT-05
Pat himself, after seeing the Iraq war firsthand and declaring it to be “so fucking illegal,” quipped to his fellow soldiers that the military seemed to be so inept that it couldn’t even construct a credible lie. How prescient was that?
Iraq Vet to Congress: Don't Just Jibber-Jabber
Saturday, 22 July 2006 10:57 P GMT-05
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, nearly 200,000 American veterans are homeless on any given night, and over 400 of those homeless veterans served in Iraq.
War Veterans Feeling Stressed, Deserted
Friday, 14 July 2006 1:36 A GMT-05
Today, Davis, like Jennings, has seen a once-promising career upended. Demoted to private for drug abuse — something experts say is a common coping mechanism for those suffering from the disorder — both face dishonorable discharges.
US Army to call reporters in officer's case
Wednesday, 12 July 2006 2:16 P GMT-05
To prove that he made "contemptuous" comments about President George W. Bush and therefore engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer, the Army plans to call two journalists to attest to comments Watada made during interviews, the officer's lawyer, Eric Seitz, told reporters.
Man serves year in Iraq because of military clerical error
Wednesday, 12 July 2006 2:27 A GMT-05
"I honestly believe I helped accomplish something over there, and the men I served with, they are like brothers to me," Dillinger said. "But I can't get past the fact that I should never have been sent there in the first place."
What's Really Happening to Military Families
Sunday, 2 July 2006 1:00 A GMT-05
I have a friend. He has four sons, all in the military (one is out). He's symbolic of brave parents everywhere who have children in harm's way and are doing something about it. He has maintained a x vigil since Before this hellish war began. He is a profile in courage and his story deserves recognition. I'm going to change names, dates, locations, etc in an effort to protect his and his family's ID but it's an incredible story. Most of the following will be from a recent email. This is difficult to even type. The emotions this brings up is hard to deal with. Here goes.....In case there's any confusion, this is a real letter, I just edited names, etc