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The Myth of AQI Fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq is the last big argument for keeping U.S. troops in the country. But the military´s estimation of the threat is alarmingly wrong. --By Andrew Tilghman
How many cases of frostbite will it take to end the war and occupation of Iraq?
Iraq Moratorium activists in Wisconsin ponder that, with the weather forecast for Friday, Jan. 16, this month's Iraq Moratorium day, for subzero temperatures and even worse wind-chill readings. There are warnings about frostbite and hypothermia.
Iraq Moratorium-Wisconsin noted, in an email to organizers:
While standing at a vigil in sub-zero temperatures may be an expression of our commitment, frostbite and hypothermia will not end the war and occupation of Iraq.
This is not to suggest canceling planned events for Friday; our experience in Milwaukee is that it is almost impossible to get the word out to everyone even when a decision is made to cancel. Some people will come anyway.
However, if it is really as cold as the forecast indicates, it might make sense to think about shortening up the vigil and moving indoors after 15-30 minutes to a nearby coffee shop, restaurant or other location. Use the time to discuss the war, plan a February Moratorium event, write a letter, circulate a petition to bring the National Guard home, or take some other action to help get US troops out of Iraq.
It may fall on peace-loving people in warmer climes to pick up the slack this week. You'll find a list of events in your area, ideas for individual action, and more on the national website.
We're hardy in Wisconsin, but even we have our limits.
New York Times war correspondent Thomas Ricks has several pungent observations related to Iraq for President-elect Obama, focused on the fact that the Status of Forces Agreement probably doesn't mean that much, and that a lot of the easy withdrawing of "combat" troops has been done.
As to the word in scare quotes, and my "Clintonesque" comment in the header, well, I'll let Ricks speak for himself:
News flash for the president-elect: All our troops are combat troops. It isn't like some American soldiers stroll around Iraq unarmed. Nor do the insurgents inquire about the troops' MOS (military occupational specialties) before detonating an IED. Indeed, I feel safer in Iraq accompanying an infantry unit on foot patrol than I do while riding in a convoy of transport soldiers, who are much more likely to get popped by a roadside bomb. So his promise to get "combat troops" out of Iraq in the next 16 months is a phrase that means much less than it appears to.
Total agreement here on all of Ricks' main points. But, I knew that long ago; hat's another reason I had Green, not Democratic, on my presidential vote. Anyway, read the full post for why Ricks thinks a two-term Obama still might not be all the way out of Iraq.
On December 30, 2008 I wrote here about Ari Melber helping to push the petition and public awareness of Bob Fertik's great efforts at forcing the demand for a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute Bush administration war crimes to the top of the list of questions for Barack Obama at change.gov, under Additional Issues. At the time Ari had written a great article for The Nation, which was also published at Huffington post, about Obama's Open For Questions invitation for citizen input.
Ari Melber is The Nation's Net Movement correspondent and a writer for the online magazine's blog State Of Change. Ari's own website is www.arimelber.com.
Well, that wasn't a one shot effort on Ari's part, and he emailed me on Thursday to let me know that he's been at it again, continuing his push as Net Movement correspondent with another article on Thursday at The Nation, Torture Prosecutor Tops 70,000 Questions for Obama on Change.Gov. His article was also graciously showcased again by Arianna Huffington at Huffington Post, yesterday.
Since all of that happened several more progressive bloggers including Digby and David Swanson have picked up on the story and it's been spreading, finally prompting even the New York Times to relent and write about it, as Ari explains in his article below.
We're getting somewhere folks, inch by groaning inch, but we are making an impact!
A whopping 70,000 questions poured into Change.gov over the past week, in response to the Obama transition team's call for citizen queries to the President-Elect. After votes from about 100,000 people, the top ranked question asks Obama whether he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture and illegal surveillance by the U.S. government.
I've been working with activist Bob Fertik to organize support for the question, and severalprogressivebloggersurged readers and Obama supporters to vote for it last week. Digby, who has written extensively about the Bush administration's abuse of the rule of law, recently reported on the progress:
I wrote a post about [an] initiative spearheaded by Ari Melber of The Nation and Democrats.com to ask President-elect Obama if he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate war crimes in the Bush administration over at Change.gov. (In a previous round, it was the sixth most asked question...) This time, through their efforts, it's number one. This is particularly important, since the press has only asked Obama about this one time, last April. And a lot has happened since then, most obviously the fact that Vice President is all over television admitting to war crimes as if he's proud of it.
[T]he number one submission on the popular "Open for Questions" portion of the site might seem more than a little impolitic to [President Bush]: "Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor -- ideally Patrick Fitzgerald -- to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping," wrote Bob Fertik of New York, who runs the Web site, Democrats.com.
Though the Obama team has promised to answer some of the top questions as early as this week, they have not said whether they will respond to Mr. Fertik's, which has received more than 22,000 votes since the second round of the question-and-answer feature began on Dec. 30. The site logged more than 1.5 million votes for 20,000-plus questions... The second highest-ranked submission, which is about oversight of the nation's banking industry, is several thousand of votes behind the query about a special prosecutor. Mr. Fertik's question has been pushed to the top, in part, by a coalition of liberal bloggers...
The national press corps has not raised this issue with Obama since his victory. (When it surfaced in April, Obama said he would order his attorney general to "immediately review" the potential crimes.) And while the leading question in the last Change.gov forum was dispatched breezily -- Will you legalize marijuana? No. -- this one is far more challenging, both substantively and politically.
The Times notes that Obama's team has "not said" whether it will even answer Fertik's question, though ignoring the question that came in first out of 74,000 would turn this exercise into a farce. A terse, evasive answer would be similarly unacceptable. After all, there would be little point in this online dialogue if it reiterates things we already know, (Obama is not in N.O.R.M.L.), and refuses to provide new information.
That's why this may be the first big test for Change.gov as a genuinely interactive dialogue.
Thousands of Americans are asking whether President Obama will order an independent investigation to ensure our laws are enforced -- in an era when powerful people in government have engaged in criminal conduct and relentlessly tried to make their behavior off limits for media and political discussion. We expect a "yes," "no" or detailed explanation of how and when Obama and his aides will make this decision. Time is running out, of course, because the question must be answered, for Congress and the public, before Eric Holder's confirmation hearing. He must explain how he will restore independence, professionalism and the rule of law to a Justice Department that politicized U.S. attorneys and covered up torture and warrantless surveillance.
Law professor Jonathan Turley, a nonpartisan legal analyst who testified before Congress in favor of President Clinton's impeachment, recently explained that Holder simply should not be confirmed if he is not prepared to enforce the laws banning torture. "Eric Holder should be asked the same question that Mukasey refused to answer in his confirmation hearing: is waterboarding a crime?" Professor Turley stated. "If he refuses to answer or denies that it is a crime, he should not be confirmed. If he admits that it is a crime, he should order a criminal investigation." According to Change.gov, the crowds agree with the experts on this one.
CHANGE IS JUST A NEW PAINT JOB ON THE OLD RUSTBUCKET
Now Are You Starting To Get It?
Well, we supported this guy because we believed he could and would bring about change. What we meant by "change" was a top-to-bottom systemic housecleaning, a scrubbing out of all the corporatist elements polluting our government under Republicans & DINO's since 1968. What we meant was a return to basic American progressive values, and a total rejection of the crypto-fascist neocon way of doing things: Torture, corruption, violence, lies & half-truths. You know, the whole Nixon-Bush banana republic thing?
[continued] . .
What we're getting is the same old stuff with a new face; or maybe it's two faces. A defense contractor's lobbyist will be number two at the Pentagon. A defense contractor board-member and co-conspirator in genocide, oppression and human rights abuses in Indonesia will oversee all of our "intelligence" operations, finally militarizing them all. Outside of Social Security, these are the two biggest budget items. They are now under corporate control. The SecDef himself will be the current ex-CIA chief & Bush appointee. The entire cabinet will be Republicans and Democrats In Name Only. This is not change. This is betrayal.
' President-elect Barack Obama appointed a defense contractor's lobbyist Thursday to become the No. 2 official at the Defense Department, a choice that appeared to break with his self-imposed rules to keep lobbyists at arm's length. William J. Lynn III, Obama's choice for deputy defense secretary, is a former Pentagon official who now is senior vice president for government operations at Raytheon Co. Lynn hasn't been a registered lobbyist since July, meaning he can't personally lobby Congress or the White House. In the first three months of 2008, his lobbying team reported spending $1.15 million to influence issues including missiles, sensors and radar, advanced technology programs and intelligence funding. Obama has vowed that no political appointees in his administration would be permitted to work on areas that "directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years." Although Lynn heads Raytheon's division for government operations and strategy and was personally registered as a Raytheon lobbyist until July — both within that two-year period — Obama plans to give him the job. "We are aware that Mr. Lynn lobbied for Raytheon, and are working with Mr. Lynn to craft a role for him that is consistent with the President-elect's high standards while balancing the need to fill this critical national security position," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said. Vietor declined to comment further on whether Lynn would have to remove himself from involvement on any issues. Some government watchdogs questioned the revolving-door aspect of Lynn's appointment even while acknowledging his qualifications. "He left public service and went into lobbying for one of the largest defense contractors in the nation. And that's the part that's troubling," said Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity. "Even if he's completely above board and ethical, it raises questions about his loyalty." During his presidential campaign, Obama took pains to tell voters he wouldn't tolerate influence-peddling. "I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over," Obama said in November 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. "I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president." '
' The presumptive appointment by President-elect Barack Obama of retired Admiral Dennis C. Blair as his new Director of National Intelligence is being greeted with cheers by the national media, which hail his experience, bureaucratic infighting skills and comparatively moderate views on national security issues. The New York Times, in a recent profile, seemed much impressed by the fact that the 34-year Navy veteran once water skied behind an aircraft carrier, in addition to his stints with the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Institute for Defense Analysis (from which he resigned in 2006 over conflict of interest charges involving the F-22 raptor). But human rights supporters are right to be worried that Dennis Blair will hardly lead the charge for reform in the nation’s intelligence community after the Bush Administration’s embrace of torture, rendition and other crimes. For in the period leading up to and following East Timor’s August 1999 referendum on independence from Indonesia Blair, from his perch as US Commander in Chief of the Pacific (CINCPAC) from February 1999 to May 2000, ran interference for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) as they and their militia proxies committed crimes against humanity on an awesome scale. Following the ouster of long-time dictator Suharto in 1998, Indonesian president B.J. Habibie signaled that Indonesia would be willing to allow East Timor an up or down referendum on independence following 24 The Bloody Career of Admiral Dennis C. Blair years of brutal Indonesian occupation. The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), hoping to sway the vote in Jakarta’s favor, launched a campaign of terror and intimidation led by the Army, Police and local militia proxies in which they killed hundreds of people displaced tens of thousands, most infamously on April 6, 1999, when militia forces massacred 57 Timorese in a church at Liquica on the outskirts of the capitol Dili. Two days after the massacre, the Pentagon dispatched Blair two days later to meet with Wironto and demand that he disband the militias and allow a fair vote in East Timor. Instead, Blair offered assurances of continued US support for the TNI and invited Wironto to Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii as his personal guest. According to top secret CIA intelligence summary issued after the massacre, however (and recently declassified by the author through a Freedom of Information Act request), “Indonesian military had colluded with pro-Jakarta militia forces in events preceding the attack and were present in some numbers at the time of the killings.” A Top Secret Senior Executive Intelligence Brief from April 20, 1999 stated plainly that “to restore stability, the Indonesian security forces must stop supporting the militias and adopt a neutral posture.” A Top Secret CIA Intelligence Report dated May 10, 1999 reported that “local commanders would have required at least tacit approval from headquarters in Jakarta to allow the militias the blatant free hand they have enjoyed.” Blair’s performance, which prompted a rebuke by the State Department, was part of a fierce bureaucratic struggle between the Pentagon and State Department and Embassy officers seeking to reign in the TNI’s terror. '
' He's also on the boards of the scandal-scarred Tyco International as well as Iridium Satellite, which has extensive Defense Department business. [22] Blair may also face a squall over his conduct as president of the influential Institute for Defense Analysis from 2003 to 2007.[22] Blair maintained government ties as president of the Institute for Defense Analyses, which is funded by Washington, from 2003-06.[17] '
Sometimes we think we should just call it the War Moratorium.
We all want to end the war and occupation of Iraq -- but not to free up more troops for Afghanistan.
Violence continues to rage on a daily basis in both of those war-torn countries.
And now Gaza has been added to the mix, with innocents dying on both sides.
A new president takes office in less than two weeks -- someone whose candidacy was launched and sustained in its early stages by his opposition to the Iraq war.
He, and other policy makers, need to hear from us, loudly and clearly, that we elected them to follow a path to peace -- in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Gaza, and around the globe.
What better time than Friday, Jan. 16, Iraq Moratorium #17, four days before the inauguration?
The Moratorium offers a chance for people across the country to speak out for peace with a united voice, in their own communities, all across the country. Since it began in September 2007, it has sparked more than 1,500 local events in 43 states and 260 communities.
Please join us this month. It's easy. You simply have to disrupt your regular routine and do something on January 16 to call for peace in Iraq. The Moratorium is a big umbrella. You decide what to do -- as an individual or with a group. Aside from unity on Iraq, there is plenty of room for other messages -- to convert military spending to health care or other urgent needs, for example, or to stop the bloodshed in Afghanistan and Gaza.
The main thing is that we all do something -- and that we share that information with others, so that it can inspire them and let them know that they are not alone, but truly part of a national grassroots movement that is mobilizing in local communities.
Please check our website to see if there's an event listed in your community. Here's the list.
If not, please send us the information on any group or individual action you're planning for January 16. Just use this form.
Afterward, we hope you'll share your experience by sending us a short report, with photos or video if possible.
This is not a time to relax our efforts. It is a time to renew and redouble them, knowing that we're no longer trying to speak to a President and Congress with deaf ears on this issue. There is a lot of talk about hope these days, and we should be hopeful, too -- but take nothing for granted.
Thanks for all of your efforts to date, and for whatever you can do this month in the cause of peace.
NOW BARACK IS SELLING SEATS WHICH BELONG TO THE PEOPLE
Live From His $9 Million Mansion On A Public-Excluded Beach In Hawaii, Obama Betrays Us Again
We voted for "change." We're getting the Same Old Sh*t from Obama and his Republican & Democrat-In-Name-Only Cabinet. First, he excludes anyone left of Center-Right from his staff and Cabinet. Next, a protracted war in Afghanistan suddenly seems "inevitable," and talk of a total pull-out from Iraq has all but ceased. Then he picks a professional racist-sexist-nativist-homophobic televangelist to bless his inauguration, in defiance of the Separation of Church & State upon which this country is based. Now Obama is acting just like a Republican, or a "Blue-Dawg" Southron DINO.
His election campaign manager, David Plouffe, is emailing Obama supporters in Obama's name to offer them a chance in a paid raffle of seats at the inauguration, seats which belong to us in the first place and are supposed to be free. Don't they have enough of our money, what little we have left after the Wall Street and Detroit and who-knows-where-all-else taxpayer-bailout ripoffs?
[continued] . . Why is Obama still soliciting campaign contributions, and using public property to do it? What is he still campaigning for? More DINO's in Congress? More hypocritical holier-than-thou hate-filled Jesus-freaks in the Democratic Party? A purge of all progressives, and an end to Progressive ideals? The next Republican Administration? Enough, already.
Obamabots & Hillbots will descend upon you if you question their morals, their ethics, their politics, their philosophies, their ideologies or their values. But actions speak louder than "memes" and "paradigms." And so far, Obama is nothing new, nothing but a darker DINO, nothing but a major disappointment, and a traitor to the Progressive cause. Give him more time? Why? So he can finish shutting us out of our own victory? Oh, HELL no! Time is up.
If you haven't gotten the message yet, get it now, folks. The Permanent Government, the Powers That Be, the Establishment, the entrenched Special Interests, the Culture of Washington, whatever you want to call it, are trying to deny that the sixty per cent of the population who never vote for DINOs & RINOs stood up and chose Obama because he sold himself as a progressive, which is what we all are and always have been. We fired the Clintonistas in the Primaries, and the Republicans in the General Election. We took back our government from corrupt, incompetent and inhumane corporatista's. We cannot let them sleaze right back in through the back door.
Fight this. Let Obama know how you feel. Stop the slimy slide right-wards, before it's too late. And don't give him another dime, ever.
Don't expect me to or even ask me to tell you why you should sign the petition.
You already know why you should sign the petition. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you why you should sign the petition.
Click the Badge to read and sign the Formal Petition to Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials who have participated in War Crimes.
Click "Get Badge" to get the html code and post the badge on your blog or website so other people can find and sign the petition too.
There is no more debate on these matters. The only people who want to continue debating these matters are war criminals who want to be let off the hook and supporters of letting war criminals off the hook.
Signing the petition drafted by budhydharma and Docudharma is not in defiance of our President-Elect Obama, but rather a sign of support for the difficult times that he and Holder will face when performing their clear constitutional duties.
As President, Obama will have the constitutional duty to faithfully execute our laws.
The constitutional oath of office will require President Obama to faithfully execute the office of President and preserve, protect and defend our Constitution. Our constitution also requires that our presidents "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed." The principle of the rule of law is partially based on this Faithfully Execute clause which requires our President to comply with laws, our Constitution and treaties because our Constitution established a government of laws, not of men and women.
The Geneva Convention is one of the laws which must be faithfully executed.
Our constitution mandates that treaties are one of the laws that the President must faithfully execute. Moreover, treaties are recognized as one of our supreme laws of the land alongside our Constitution and federal laws. For over 200 years, the federal courts have reaffirmed that our President is bound by the laws of war, which include conventions. In fact, both Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004) and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)addressed issues of whether the US government was violating the terms of the 1949 Geneva Convention. Yet, some will whine that it is partisan to not exempt Bush from 200 years of precedent that governed presidents from both parties.
The Geneva Convention imposes a duty to prosecute former presidents who committed war crimes.
You already have your own reasons why you should sign the petition.
All the reasons that built up, piled one on top of the other for that past eight years as these criminals hijacked the country, dismantled the constitution and the rule of law, made their criminal friends fabulously wealthy, were directly responsible for the deaths of more than a million Iraqis in an illegal and immoral invasion and occupation, destroyed the global economy, wrecked America's reputation around the world, and called you a traitor when you cried foul and set up schemes to spy on you and intimidate you into silence.
And tortured people in your name. Tortured people. In your name. Tortured people with the blackest, most heinous and most evil torture methods known to humanity. Tortured people with methods that America has pressed war criminal charges against other countries citizens for using. Tortured people with the most sadistic and evil methods the Spanish Inquisition and more recently the Khmer Rouge made a regular habit of using as an oppression tool. Tortured people with methods that have been universally condemned and outlawed by virtually every country and society on earth.
You already know. You already know all of your own reasons why you should sign the petition.
I am sick to death of all the pussyfooting around the subject that has occupied the media for the duration of this premeditated, illegal war of terror that we the people of the United States have allowed to be waged against the people of Iraq, in our name, for the last several years.
No matter how much lipstick and rouge we smear on the face of this war no matter how we attempt to dress up the evil and bestial acts that have been performed in its unholy name, it still has the hideous countenance of an evil swine from hell.
It is an illegal war, begun and conducted under false pretenses, by a group of criminal liars and thieves in the United States Government, abetted by a cowardly congress who abrogated their constitutional duties in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds and furthered by a complaisant press that ignored their obligation to remain independent from government, from their sponsors and report the facts.
The members of the completely rogue executive department acted in their own self interest in a quest for personal power and wealth, in concert with the usual domestic and international corporate pirates who, in the depths of their insatiable greed, continually amplify human conflict to their own ends and bring poverty, war, suffering and death down upon the world.
There is no such animal as extraordinary rendition, nor do I know of the existence of any beasts called enhanced interrogation methods.
The first is kidnapping, it is illegal, a felony and the second word is torture, its meaning is clear:
NOUN: 1. Infliction of severe physical pain as a means of punishment or coercion. 2. An instrument or a method for inflicting such pain. 2. Excruciating physical or mental pain; agony: the torture of waiting in suspense. 3. Something causing severe pain or anguish.
Torture is illegal in this country, a felonious act, it is illegal in the world at large, according to several conventions that we are legally bound by. Anyone committing torture, causing it to be committed, directing its commission, or training others in its techniques is guilty, guilty of war crimes, of crimes against humanity and crimes against "Nature's God.
Tens of thousands of people have signed the Petition for a Special Prosecutor for Bush War Crimes so far since we launched it on December 18, 2008, and Bob Fertiks "question" to Obama and the transition team at change.govunder "Additional Issues" is now is the lead question it its category.
"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor [...] to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
Why aren't there 13 million signatures on the petition instead of just 13 thousand? Mainstream media is avoiding this issue like it's leprosy. I would hope left blogs wouldn't.
We need to force this issue into the media. We need to beat this issue into the heads of leaders, both current and incoming, in Washington.
International and U.S. law prohibits torture and other ill-treatment of any person in custody in all circumstances. The prohibition applies to the United States during times of peace, armed conflict, or a state of emergency. Any person, whether a U.S. national or a non-citizen, is protected. It is irrelevant whether the detainee is determined to be a prisoner-of-war, a protected person, or a so-called "security detainee" or "unlawful combatant." And the prohibition is in effect within the territory of the United States or any place anywhere U.S. authorities have control over a person. In short, the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment is absolute. ... A federal anti-torture statute (18 U.S.C. § 2340A), enacted in 1994, provides for the prosecution of a U.S. national or anyone present in the United States who, while outside the U.S., commits or attempts to commit torture.
Torture is defined as an "act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control." A person found guilty under the act can be incarcerated for up to 20 years or receive the death penalty if the torture results in the victim's death.
After January 20, 2009 there will be a new Attorney General of the United States, and Eric Holder Jr. will most likely be confirmed as that new Attorney general.
"Our needlessly abusive and unlawful practices in the 'War on Terror' have diminished our standing in the world community and made us less, rather than more, safe," Holder told a packed room at the ACS 2008 Convention on Friday evening. "For the sake of our safety and security, and because it is the right thing to do, the next president must move immediately to reclaim America's standing in the world as a nation that cherishes and protects individual freedom and basic human rights."
If Mr. Holder, when he becomes Attorney General, is to live up to his own statements and retain the personal and professional integrity he has displayed in his law career thus far, and not by acts of omission become an accessory along with Mr. Mukasey and Ms. Pelosi to the crimes of Bush, Cheney and others in the Bush administration, he will have no choice but to accept the demands of the thousands of US citizens who have signed the Docudharma/Democrats.com Citizens Petition for a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute Bush administration war crimes.
If he will not, Mr. Holder runs the risk of throwing away a lifetime of work in a so far illustrious career and all of his personal and professional integrity and becoming a fugitive with Mr. Mukasey and an accessory to these crimes along with and no better than the perpetrators and other conspirators.
Given his professional record, I have every confidence that Mr. Holder, as soon to be Attorney General of the United States, realizes that he can make no other choice than to do the right thing.
Mr. Holder knows. As Attorney General he will wear the badge as the highest ranking officer of justice in the United States.
He will have his own integrity on the line.
Mr. Holder knows that like any other accused criminals, Bush and Cheney deserve fair trials.
And Mr. Holder knows that failing to give them those fair trials would be convicting himself.
There must be war crimes investigations, prosecutions and trials. And sentencing.
There was a fever over the land, a fever of disgrace, of indignity, of hunger. We had a democracy, yes, but it was torn by elements within. Above all there was fear, fear of today, fear of tomorrow, fear of our neighbors, and fear of ourselves. Only when you understand that can you understand what Hitler meant to us, because he said to us:
"Lift your heads. Be proud to be German. There are devils among us, communists, liberals, Jews, gypsies. Once these devils will be destroyed your misery will be destroyed."
It was the old, old story of the sacrificial lamb.
What about those of us who knew better, we who knew the words were lies and worse than lies? Why did we sit silent? Why did we take part? Because we loved our country. What difference does it make if a few political extremists lose their rights? What difference does it make if a few racial minorities lose their rights? It is only a passing phase. It is only a stage we are going through. It will be discarded sooner or later. Hitler himself will be discarded -- sooner or later. The country is in danger. We will march out of the shadows! We will go forward. FORWARD is the great password.
And history tells how well we succeeded, Your Honor. We succeeded beyond out wildest dreams. The very elements of hate and power about Hitler that mesmerized Germany, mesmerized the world. We found ourselves with sudden powerful allies. Things that had been denied to us as a democracy were open to us now. The world said, "Go ahead. Take it. Take it! Take Sudetenland! Take the Rhineland! Re-militarize it! Take all of Austria! Take it!"
And then, one day we looked around and found that we were in an even more terrible danger. The ritual begun in this courtroom swept over the land like a raging, roaring disease. What was going to be a "passing phase" had become the way of life.
The trial conducted before this Tribunal began over eight months ago. The record of evidence is more than ten thousand pages long, and final arguments of counsel have been concluded.
Simple murders and atrocities do not constitute the gravamen of the charges in this indictment. Rather, the charge is that of conscious participation in a nationwide, government organized system of cruelty and injustice in violation of every moral and legal principle known to all civilized nations. The Tribunal has carefully studied the record and found therein abundant evidence to support beyond a reasonable doubt the charges against these defendants.
The Power of One by Nightprowlkitty, Docudharma, December 26, 2008
Give Bush and Cheney a fair trial -- something they have not bothered with since they stole office.
It's funny how the powers that be in the media and government are running around with their big fat excuses as to why we can't hold these criminals accountable for their crimes. It all boils down to "It's too hard!!!"
It's too hard. It would affect too many people. It would interfere with the crucial work of restoring our economy. Blah blah blah. Not one of these folks say, however, that no crime has been committed, no law has been broken. No one says that.
I find that stunning. We all know, at least those of us who have been paying attention, that Bush and his crew of crooks have broken the law over and over again.
And Cheney says "What you gonna do about it?" And Cheney says "oh, the Dems knew about this and approved it, hell they wanted us to be even tougher than we were!"
And we should believe Cheney ... why?
I don't want speculation any more. I want the truth, the facts, what really happened. Only a special prosecutor can get that information, someone who is inured to the politics of Washington D.C. by being given the independent power to investigate.
What I like about this petition is that it shows the power of the individual citizen. This is not a grassroots effort decided by committee. A couple of folks got together and came up with the text and others jumped in to work further on it and spread it around.
The power of the individual citizen.
I am extremely annoyed at the argument that we citizens are somehow childlike creatures who don't know all the real problems of our country and so we shouldn't cry and whine about our "pet issues" when the government knows so much more about what is important and should be made a priority.
Bleh.
We ARE the government. The only people who will take back power as citizens, are citizens! That's us.
To me, Obama's election is a signal that we can now start taking back that individual power, our individual rights. It's not for Obama or any elected representative to tell me what I should make a priority. I get to decide that for myself. They'll do their jobs, and I'll do mine.
The measure of our success with this petititon will be the resistance from the powers that be, the Dems, the Repubs, Obama, the media. The more we read about how this is not a good idea, getting a special prosecutor, the more we'll know we have them on the run.
Many of us have sent this petition to friends and family, whether they be politically agreeable to us or not. One by one people will sign. This isn't "organized" grassroots and it's netroots only insofar as the structure.
To me, this is about the power of each indviidual citizen, not resting happy with the decisions of our elected representatives but standing up for what we feel is right and making our voices heard.
We need to know the truth about the crimes committed in our names. We need to have every American citizen aware of what has been done so there can be no denials or excuses.
At this time, the only line between tyranny and freedom is an informed citizenry. By signing this petition and working to make it known we will not accept anything less than full accountability for torture being done in our name, we are exercising our power, not the power one step removed of the three branches of government.
We have power collectively and we also have power individually. I think the citizenry of this country are going to be tested enormously as we have to let our representatives know we are not asking for favors on our "pet causes" but taking our government back, of, by and for the people.
(This is cross posted from MsSparky.com) One year ago today, 24 year old Staff Sergeant Ryan Maseth was electrocuted and died in his shower at Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad.
The Army initially reported that Ryan, a decorated Green Beret foolishly took an electrical appliance into the shower and that was the reason for his death.
The Criminal Investigations Command (CID) closed Ryan's investigation on June 11, 2008 proclaiming Ryan's manner of death was "accidental". His mother, Cheryl Harris refused to accept this as the cause of death for her son.
Cheryl launched into her own investigation and took on the two Goliaths, DoD and KBR. She enlisted the assistance of Senator Casey, Senator Dorgan, Congressman Waxman, Jim Risen of the New York Times, Greg Mitchell and CNN. Anyone who would listen to her tell her story about the unsafe living conditions of our soldiers in the Middle East.
Soldiers came forward. Electricians came forward. Total strangers came forward. Offering pertinent information and support.
On July 11, 2008 Cheryl bravely testified before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. Cheryl described, in heartbreaking detail, the cause of Ryan's death and the shoddy and unsafe electrical conditions of his building.
On July 30, 2008 The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform thoroughly chastised the DoD Inspector General, The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), The Army Contract Command, and KBR for shoddy work and total lack of oversight. The Committee presented evidence that was uncovered due to Cheryl's persistence and doggedness.
On August 29, 2008, the Criminal Investigations Command (CID) reopened its investigation into the cause of SSG Ryan Maseth's death. Currently the investigation is "open and ongoing".
Since Cheryl Harris waged war on the DoD and KBR several very positive changes have occurred with regard to the safety of our US Troops and civilians.
Task Force Safe was implemented to inspect nearly 90,000 DoD buildings for electrical deficiencies and fire hazards.
A Level III Corrective Action Request (CAR) was written against KBR for electrical deficiencies.
KBR changed their hiring requirements for electricians and now requires them to be licensed. In order to attract qualified electricians, KBR has dramatically increased their wages.
The DCMA oversight of the LOGCAP contract as clearly improved.
Other families are coming forward and some have filed suit against KBR for the electrocution death and chemical exposures of their loved ones.
And just maybe the DoD will think twice before trying to deceive a family member again.
It is my opinion there is only one logical conclusion to the cause of Ryan Maseth's death. So let's complete the investigation and move on to the next step.
Cheryl, on this day I have no words to comfort you. Nothing to dull the pain you must be feeling. But, I would like to say you are truly a hero. Because of your bravery and determination to find the truth US Soldiers and Civilians are safer. KBR is being called to task. And the DCMA is doing their job more effectively.
Cheryl, I can't help but think that on this day, as Ryan wraps his arms around you to comfort you, he whispers "Mom, not all warriors wear uniforms. Your strength and bravery humble even the most decorated soldier. I am so very proud of you."
When I first came up with this idea to do a recap of KBR activity for 2008, I didn't think it would take me three days to do the research and compile all the info. I haven't been following everything that KBR has been up to. That would take a full-time "staff". I found out things I didn't even know were going on. And after all that research...all I can really say is...if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck....it must be a freakin' duck!
I tried to get my dates as accurate as possible. If I'm incorrect, send me an email and I will correct it. If I missed something, send me an email and I will add it.
January 2008
01/02/2008 - SSG Ryan Maseth is electrocuted in his shower and dies at Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, Iraq due to shoddy electrical work. Army Criminal Investigations Command (CID) opens investigation into manner of death. 01/??/2008 - KBR employee, Dawn Leamon was drugged and brutally raped in her room at Camp Harper in Southern Iraq.
08/??/2008 - KBR changes it's qualification requirements for it's electricians requiring them to be licensed. It also increases journeyman wages to $3750 base and masters to $5000 base. Finally!!! 08/12/2008 - Curtis Coffey files suit. Iraq Injury Spurs Class Action Against KBR 08/27/2008 -KBR, Partner in Iraq Contract Sued in Human Trafficking Case - Suit Alleges Slavery 08/29/2008 - The Army Criminal Investigations Command (CID) re-opens the investigation into the cause of SSG Ryan Maseth's death.
I want to know if KBR is invoicing the DoD (and therefore the American Taxpayer) for the costs associated with defending itself in the cases of "wrongful death" of soldiers, the Qarmat Ali chemical exposures, the Human Trafficking suits, the employee rape suits and any other cases that have to do with LOGCAP.
I would like to see the Army Criminal Investigations Command (CID) finalize their investigation in the Soldier electrocution cases, file criminal charges, and send out a press release on the above!!
I would like to see the Army Criminal Investigations Command (CID) open an investigation into the chemical exposure of our soldiers and civilians at Qarmat Ali. Is there one already? Send me an email.
I would like to start a "grass roots" campaign to get pension funds, retirement accounts and others to sell their shares of KBR and Halliburton stocks. Yes...they are making money now. But drug cartels make money too and we don't invest in them...at least knowingly. I could use some help here! Email me.
I would like to see more Human Trafficking Organizations get involved in KBR's Human Trafficking in the middle east.
I would like to see Congress demand an all out independent audit of KBR invoices and payments.
I would like to see Congress find out exactly what KBR charged the DoD for man hours worked. Did they charge more than straight time for overtime? Did they charge uplift for every hour worked and then only pay for 40 hours?
And most of all, what I would like to see for 2009 is KBR senior executives sentenced to prison for their part in the negligent deaths of US soldiers and US Civilians, human trafficking of third world laborers and the fleecing of the American taxpayer.
Eminent jurists, professional legal organizations, and human rights monitors in this country and around the world have declared that President George W. Bush may be prosecuted as a war criminal when he leaves office for his overt and systematic violations of such international law as the Geneva and Hague Conventions and such US law as the War Crimes Act, the Anti-Torture Act, and federal assault laws. George W. Bush, War Criminal? identifies and documents 269 specific war crimes under US and international law for which President Bush, senior officials and staff in his administration, and military officers under his command are liable to be prosecuted. Haas divides the 269 war crimes of the Bush administration into four classes: 6 war crimes committed in launching a war of aggression; 36 war crimes committed in the conduct of war; 175 war crimes committed in the treatment of prisoners; and 52 war crimes committed in postwar occupations. For each of the 269 war crimes of the Bush administration, Professor Haas gives chapter and verse in precise but non-technical language, including the specific acts deemed to be war crimes, the names of the officials deemed to be war criminals, and the exact language of the international or domestic laws violated by those officials. The author proceeds to consider the various US, international, and foreign tribunals in which the war crimes of Bush administration defendants may be tried under applicable bodies of law. He evaluates the real-world practicability of bringing cases against Bush and Bush officials in each of the possible venues. Finally, he weighs the legal, political, and humanitarian pros and cons of actually bringing Bush and Bush officials to trial for war crimes.
There is no more debate on these matters. The only people who want to continue debating these matters are war criminals who want to be let off the hook and supporters of letting war criminals off the hook.
No matter how much lipstick and rouge we smear on the face of this war no matter how we attempt to dress up the evil and bestial acts that have been performed in its unholy name, it still has the hideous countenance of an evil swine from hell.
269 War Crimes!
