Contact Obama Campaign on Behalf of IVAW

Below is a press release from the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). We all need to contact Obama's Veterans' Liaison, Phil Carter, to show our support for the IVAW's three-point strategy outlined in the press release.

CONTACT OBAMA: Select "Policy Issue" from the menu of topics. Write: "To Phil Carter, Veterans' Liaison" in the first line. Then urge Phil Carter to formally recognize the IVAW in an advisory capacity to the Obama Campaign, beginning with a dialogue on the IVAW Three Points of Unity.

IVAW Press Release:

DENVER - August 28 - Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) led a non-violent march of 8,000 allies, including members of Rage Against the Machine, to the front entrance of the Pepsi Center. There they delivered a letter containing their three points of unity to the Obama campaign's veteran staff. IVAW's three points of unity are:

1. Immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq
2. Full benefits and healthcare for returning veterans
3. Reparations to the Iraqi people

IVAW is calling on Senator Obama to allow an IVAW representative to read the letter to the delegates.

Senator Obama's veterans' liaison, Phil Carter, told IVAW that they could expect a response from the Senator's campaign staff regarding their request. IVAW plans to hold Senator Obama's campaign team to their word.

*IVAW members Jared Hood, Jeff Key and Josh Earle are available for comment:

Jared Hood, who lives here in Denver, served as a specialist in the Colorado Army National Guard from 2004-2007. During that time he served in Camp Navistar, Kuwait and Vilseck, Germany.

Josh Earl served as a Military Police Specialist in Iraq from 2003-2004 with the Denver-based 220th Military Police Company of the Colorado Army National Guard.

Jeff Key, a former Marine Corp lance corporal, served in Iraq in 2003. Mr. Key currently performs his one-man show, The Eyes of Babylon, which tells his story as a Marine in Iraq, in theaters across the country. He was also one of the IVAW members to speak with Obama's veterans' liaison on Aug. 27.

CONTACT: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)
Clarissa Singleton, media2@ivaw.org,
215-241-7123

DemocracyNow! Coverage Part 1

DemocracyNow! Coverage Part 2

Maggie Martin Speaks @ Winter Soldier Hearing

Originally Posted on GDAEman Blog

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Katrina Commemoration March: Providence RI-- 8/29

Three years after Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast, Join the Commemoration March in Providence. Featuring words, action, music, and art, we will make our way second-line style along the Hurricane Evacuation route, making stops that will highlight the issues of Criminalization, Gentrification, Foreclosures, Immigrant Rights, and Education that connect the struggles of residents from Providence to New Orleans. Special guest speaker- Katrina Survivor and leader from Safe Streets Strong Communities NOLA! Don't miss it!


Does anyone doubt that the War in Iraq has played a role in the government response (and lack of responses) to Katrina?

One of my neighbors who is a full-time national guardsman, and originally from Louisiana, told me how his troops returned from Iraq and were immediately stationed in New Orleans. It was a devastating experience for them as they were not prepared or able to assist...

There is a facebook page for this event.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44629347048&ref=mf

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Is Maliki Part of an October Surprise?

One has to wonder if Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and his aides, are staging a propaganda campaign in coordination with Bush and the Republican Party. Calls for troop withdrawals sound fishy to me.

Think of it. Al-Maliki and his aides leak the following message, "We want ALL US troops out by 2011." The Bush administration pretends to be somewhat dismayed. But what is the effect?

If the voting public is led to believe that ALL US troops will be out of Iraq by 2011, regardless of who is elected president, then the Iraq War is no longer a presidential campaign issue. Who benefits? McCain.

Of course, come 2011, with McCain as president, or even Obama, "facts on the ground" change and US troops remain in Iraq. Hello. Am I being too cynical?

Don't put it past Cheney and Rove to engineer this al-Maliki whisper campaign as part of an October Surprise.

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"This is Baghdad"

All these photos were taken in Baghdad in July 2008. A number of them are posted on my Faces of Grief blog. I did this to give people an idea what Baghdad is like in the year 2008. Violence is down - but things are not good.

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Iraq wants the U.S. out...

Iraqi Public Opinion on the Presence of US Troops - World Public Opinion

July 30, 2008

Testimony of Dr. Steven Kull
Director, Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA),
University of Maryland
Director, WorldPublicOpinion.org

July 23, 2008 - 2:00 PM

Before House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Bill Delahunt: And next we have Dr. Steven Kull, the director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes testified during the kickoff in the wrap-up hearing for our hearings -- our inquiry, rather, into how the United States is viewed by the rest of the world.

I don't have the time to list his various expert qualifications as a pollster, because he has just one that counts to most the me: There's nobody that we trust more to interpret polling and focus groups results for us, and today he will address and educate us on Iraqi opinion about the issues surrounding the U.S.-Iraq agreement: timetables, withdrawals, sovereignty and the presence of U.S. forces.

Thank you again, Steve, for joining us.... Dr. Kull, would you please proceed?

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Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. Hands

Complaints of inadequate care have drawn scrutiny to the network of jails where the government holds people while deciding whether to deport them.

read more | digg story

This is my first post to this blog, and I hope it isn't too far of a stretch. I am honored to be part of this coalition and in awe of the blogs which participate.

It is a source of shame that this man died in my state of Rhode Island, but it is a source of shame for all of us.

Thank you for paying attention to this article and for all that "you" do to stop this war.

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New, improved Iraq Moratorium -- Act now!

As the Iraq Moratorium prepares for its 12th monthly observance on August 15 -- the Third Friday of the month, as always -- it's made some changes to get ready for its second year.

You'll find a new website, with a new address, www.IraqMoratorium.com, and even a new logo to go with the new look.

One thing that hasn't changed is the determination to end the senseless war and occupation of Iraq, by encouraging locally organized, grassroots actions to move more of the silent majority who say they oppose the war to do something to end it.

It's a simple concept. It asks people to interrupt their daily routines on the Third Friday of every month and take some action, individually or with a group, to end the war and occupation.

The national Moratorium doesn't try to tell people what action to take. It offers a wide variety of options, from wearing a button or armband to taking part in a demonstration, and many things in between. The important thing is that people do something.

The national website acts as a clearinghouse for information, collecting and posting events planned by local organizers and reports, photos and videos afterward. It also offers some tips and tools for organizers to use.

It's almost an exaggeration to call it a shoestring operation. It operates on virtually no money with a volunteer crew. (Disclosure: I'm part of the volunteer core group that tries to keep it growing.)

Given its almost non-existent resources and media blackout of antiwar actions, it's first year record is somewhat remarkable. There have been more than 1,200 actions in 41 states and 240 communities since the Moratorium began in September 2007. No one really knows how many individuals also observe the Moratorium in some way on the Third Friday of the month, but it's a significant number.

As Iraq Moratorium #12 approaches, think about one thing, big or small, that you can do to help. If nothing else, a donation would be gratefully accepted -- and you don't have to wait until August 15.

Whatever it is, please do something.

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Understanding Pelosi: One Word: "Accessory"

Nancy Pelosi was briefed on and signed off on torture. She won't impeach because she is an accessory to war crimes.

She would be impeaching and convicting herself.

Glenn Greenwald
Tuesday July 15, 2008 08:16 EDT
The motivation for blocking investigations into Bush lawbreaking

...one important political impediment to holding Bush officials accountable for their illegal torture program:

An additional complicating factor is that key members of Congress sanctioned this program, so many of those who might ordinarily be counted on to lead the charge are themselves compromised.

As we witness not just Republicans, but also Democrats in Congress, acting repeatedly to immunize executive branch lawbreaking and to obstruct investigations, it's vital to keep that fact in mind. With regard to illegal Bush programs of torture and eavesdropping, key Congressional Democrats were contemporaneously briefed on what the administration was doing (albeit, in fairness, often in unspecific ways). The fact that they did nothing to stop that illegality, and often explicitly approved of it, obviously incentivizes them to block any investigations or judicial proceedings into those illegal programs.

In December of last year, The Washington Post revealed:

Four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

The article noted that other Democratic members who received briefings on the CIA's interrogation program included Jay Rockefeller and Jane Harman.

Also see: Nancy Pelosi, How Do You Plead?, by George Washington, July 21, 2008

Without question, Pelosi has covered up crimes committed by Bush, Cheney and the White House gang.

Moreover, Pelosi is guilty of criminal conspiracy.  She conspired with the Neocons to implement torture, spying and the use of tainted and unreliable evidence regarding 9/11.

She is also guilty of violating the War Crimes Act of 1996, a federal statute set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 2441, which makes it a federal crime for any U.S. national, whether military or civilian, to violate the Geneva Convention by engaging in murder, torture, or inhuman treatment. The statute applies not only to those who carry out the acts, but also to those who order it, know about it, or fail to take steps to stop it. The statute applies to everyone, no matter how high and mighty.  See this.

It is time for Pelosi to make her choice. Accept responsibility and show remorse, and she may be sentenced to community service. Otherwise, she will be tried along with Bush, Cheney and crew as a criminal.

She tried to explain it all the other day...

Nancy Pelosi Answers 10 Questions; First Question: Why Did You Take Impeachment Off the Table?

Q: Why have you taken impeachment off the table as an option for President George W. Bush? Nancy Shipes WOODSTOWN, N.J.

A: I took it off the table a long time ago. You can't talk about impeachment unless you have the facts, and you can't have the facts unless you have cooperation from the Administration.

Translation: We can't impeach Bush because it's not ok with Bush. He won't co-operate and let us impeach him.  

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UPDATED: Real Iraq Reality, and Real News on 'Surging' McCain

I posted part 1 yesterday.

In this update today, an Iraqi journalist continues his series of video reports of the 'real' reality on the ground in Iraq, with part 2...

Baghdad, 5 years on (part 2): killing fields

One Baghdad's killings fields on the edge of Sadr City. The scene of thousands of sectarian murders over the last three years, it is a desolate and evil place: 'Only the killers and the killed ever come here' says Abdul-Ahad. Here in the thousands of unmarked graves lie the victims of militia gangs. Video by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad.


4 min 28 sec

An Iraqi journalist begins a series of video reports of the 'real' reality on the ground in Iraq, with...

Baghdad, 5 years on (part 1): City of walls

US claims that the military surge is bringing stability to Iraq. By travelling through the heart of Baghdad its easy to see by enclosing the Sunni and Shia populations behind 12ft walls, the surge has left the city more divided and desperate than ever.


4 min 37 sec

On the flip... Pepe Escobar of Asia Times deconstructs and shreds the sole foundation of McCain's presidential campaign...

9 min 25 sec - 'Surging' McCain

Part 1 of this report examines McCain's position in relation to the Iraq war, his decision to hedge his bets regarding the success of the surge and his interpretation of the surge's "success." Analyst for The Real News, Pepe Escobar compares McCain's interpretation to the many overlapping political and military facts on the ground in Iraq before and during the surge.

Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil is the roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s, he has specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge both published by Nimble Books in 2007.

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Real News: Obama sells Europeans on Afghan war

August 4, 2008 - 6 min 27 sec - Obama sells Europeans on Afghan war

European public hails Obama as the anti-Bush, but politicians cool to idea of more troops in Afghanistan

The Guardian headline said “Obama gets rock star welcome” One Berliner called it “an Anti-Bush rally”, and the Financial Times Deutshland called it an “ad for the war on terror “. In a speech laden with cold war rhetoric, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama stood before more than 200,000 people in Berlin on thursday and summoned Europeans and Americans to work together on many issues, from Iraq and Afghanistan to the “War on Terror” and climate change. Andreas Zumach of Die Tageszietung: European politicians are somewhat glad about the general statements Obama made on the need for improving the Euro-Atlantic alliance again. They have read about what he said on more cooperation on global issues like climate change, on the US in the future more obeying international law. They are very wary, especially the ones in Germany, France, and the other big European countries, about the clear message he sent on Afghanistan, where he very clearly and undiplomatically said, "We need more of your troops in Afghanistan," which means more war fighting done by the Europeans in a war that's bound to be lost.

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