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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Iraq: Teh Success Is Killing Us

The WahPoo reports that yesterday provided further evidence of success in Iraq. In fact, that particular day in Iraq was so successful that we may not have an army left at all, if each day to come is exactly like that one.


Shoot, we may not have any Iraqis, either. Then we can just mosey on in there and suck up all the oil for our Hummers. According to the article,

Two bombings killed nearly 60 people Tuesday in parts of Iraq where U.S. and Iraqi forces have claimed significant success in combating Sunni insurgent groups.

Just imagine what the death toll might have been like if we weren't that successful.

Bombings took place in Baquba (Diyala province), Mosul, Ramadi (Anbar province), and Baghdad. Some 82 people were wounded, and the carnage inspired one Iraqi spokesman to add to our treasury of unforgettable quotes this particular remark:

"Half of the dead people are still at the Baqubah morgue because it is so hard to identify their bodies," Jassem said.

Being cursed with an overactive imagination, we're currently searching for our psychoactive meds while speculating on just why identification appears to be so elusive. Possibly, the difficulty of identifying a knee or a wrist is greater if it is no longer attached to the person one might know and love.

What a terrible thing this war is. Day after day, our purported "leaders" lie to us, until even the tinpot soldier in charge of the current efforts (since all the better men were forced out for daring to tell the truth about this misadventure) is forced to admit that no corners have been turned, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and the "last throes" of the insurgents have persisted for three too many long, weary years even as the U.S. Army is in its last throes thanks to the throe-er's friends and cronies accumulating wealth by winning no-bid contracts to give our military insufficient arms and equipment and poisoning them with bad food and dirty water.

Some people are doing something about it. Some very courageous people. Grateful thanks to those of you speaking out against the war.

Crossposted over at ThePoliticalCat

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Winter Soldier 2008 Overview

Winter Soldier 2008
Unauthorized Trailer

In wars too dangerous for Western reporters, honest accounts are provided by US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, active service members and civilians in the March 2008 "Winter Soldier Hearings". Iraq war veteran Kelly Daugherty is interviewed by Nation Radio Laura Flanders providing an overview of the weekend event. Compelling video footage supports the interview.

For full coverage of Winter Soldier 2008 see:
WWW.IVAW.ORG

Originally Posted on GDAEman Blog

Sources:

Audio: The Nation Radio with Laura Flanders.

Video: Various sources compiled by GDAEman Productions.

There's more: "Winter Soldier 2008 Overview" >>

Winter Soldier: Speaking truth to power

"I joined the National Guard.. didn't know it was going to be the International Guard."

Next week, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations will come together in Washington, D.C. to tell the world about their experiences.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony March 13-16 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.

It is not an official, government-sponsored hearing. Rather, like the 1971 hearings sponsored by Vietnam Veterans Against the War, these hearings are being organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War.

IVAW held a fundraiser in Milwaukee recently to help cover expenses of vets making the trip to DC, and this 10-minute video resulted. It's a good preview of Winter Soldier, featuring local vets,the Chicago veteran who thought of holding next week's hearings, and some footage from Iraq.

It ends with a powerful statement by Barry Romo, national director of Vietnam Veterans Against the War:

"What is great is that veterans are standing up again, and they know what's gonna happen to them ... They saw what happened to [John] Kerry ... There is something in terms of your souls; you are setting yourselves free from this culture of death which says you are supposed to keep your mouths shut and allow another generation to be sold down the river ... You have seen what can happen from speaking truth to power and you are not afraid ...

Audio and video of the hearings will be available online. Public viewing is being sponsored by veterans and peace groups in many communities.

There's more: "Winter Soldier: Speaking truth to power" >>

Petitions

Press Release: Act Against Iraq Poverty

The Baghdad section of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign is calling upon the international anti-occupation movements to mobilise in an act of unity and defiance, against the planned elimination of the Iraqi food rationing system. We are making this call, in response to the outcry by the Iraqi media, which has informed the international community, that the regime of Jalal Talabani, The Dawa Party and SCII, plan to eliminate the food rations by June of 2008, a system which was first put in place under the UN Sanctions and have since helped to save millions of Iraqi’s from starvation. Under the rule of Al Ba’ath Party, the United Nations praised the ration system as being “the world’s largest and most effective relief effort” but since the introduction of the US protected death squads in 2003, the Iraqi peoples welfare has been subjected to corruption, hatred, abuse and a deluded form of vengeance. The Iraq Solidarity Campaign has repeatedly warned both Iraqi and Western governments about the growth of poverty in Iraq (see some examples below!), along with the effects which have been brought with it, such as the increase in malnutrition, prostitution, substance abuse and people searching for food from rubbish dumps. We are asking that people consider the seriousness of these cuts and through dignified and peaceful methods mobilise human rights and political organisations, to force the regime and their allies in the fortified Green Zone to change its direction and maintain the ration service.

Sign our new International Petition!

ALSO:

We Support the Troops Who Oppose the War

On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will assemble history's largest gathering of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors. They will provide first hand accounts of their experiences and reveal the truth of occupation. We support Iraq Veterans Against the War and their Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Join us in supporting the effort to reveal truth in the way that only those who lived it can.

Please go to this website to sign the petition to support IVAW.

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