Ruth: By mid-week, I knew there was not much to report. By mid-week, the U.S. "kill teams" operating in Iraq had been avoided by every radio program I caught and I was streaming all over, from Pacifica to Pacifica and even NPR.
"Kill teams" were not a new development to this community. When war resister James Burmeister went to Canada and began speaking of them, they were noted here, months ago. But while Canada's CBC did a wonderful interview with Mr. Burmeister, independent media in the U.S. ignored him.
They ignored him again this week which is why the narrative is being dictated by the mainstream on "kill teams" and why the narrative is, to no one's surprise, one that does not explore but scrapes the frost off the top of the ice.
In an alleged debate this week, the press anointed front runners, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as well as former Senator and former vice-presidential candidate for the Democratic Party John Edwards, made it perfectly clear that the illegal war continuing through 2013 was not anything they would lose any sleep over if elected. They pointedly and publicly refused to pledge that electing them would mean ending the illegal war in their first term.
Pretty big news unless you were in charge of independent media radio division. If so, it was not worth exploring. In fact, the only clip I heard broadcast over Pacifica last week was an embarrassing highlight. It was embarrassing for moderator Tim Russert, it was embarrassing for Pacifica that they chose to highlight it. Mr. Russert read a blind quote and asked for responses to it. After Senator Clinton announced she disagreed with the sentiment expressed in the quote, Mr. Russert announced that the quote was from former President Bill Clinton. As if the cheap laughs over that were not enough, Senator Clinton then promised to address the disagreement at home. This, not the comments on Iraq, is what Pacifica Radio felt was news that informs their listeners.
Over the week, the number of announced deaths of U.S. service members in Iraq reached the 3,800 mark. The number is currently 3,802. Possibly I should not mention it? Independent media did not think it was news. Possibly, they are all right and I am wrong? Or possibly they wasted a week with nonsense, a week on nonsense, and should all work really hard to catch up.
"Tent City" in Arizona -- now housing soldiers who go AWOL! Not news to independent media.
On Friday, I heard a host note that Iraq had largely fallen off the mainstream media radar during the week. True to a degree, but if it fell off the mainstream's radar what is the description for what independent media was offering?
CounterSpin continued to refuse to issue a correction on Phyllis Bennis' mistaken claim. Ms. Bennis worked up a head of steam three broadcasts ago as she shared that the media was now repeating the U.S. government's claims on a body count but no one had ever asked them when they started keeping a body count. Of course someone had. Nancy A. Youssef, in her last report filed for Knight-Ridder before it became McClatchy Newspapers, reported in June 2006 about the body count and that the military was claiming they had kept the count since July 2005.
CounterSpin has broadcast twice since and refused to issue a correction. Apparently information is not their trade. Had a similar remark been made on PBS' NewsHour, we can all assume CounterSpin would have offered a pithy re-enactment and several action alerts. When it happens on CounterSpin, they work really hard to pretend it did not. Since Ms. Bennis was presented as an expert and offered that point with no correction from either host, Janine Jackson or Steve Rendall, they have allowed their listeners to believe Ms. Bennis' false claim was accurate. That hardly strikes me as either "Fairness" or "Accuracy" In Reporting.
Ms. Bennis spent the summer of 2006 addressing Lebanon. She apparently missed a great deal on Iraq in that period, to put it mildly. CounterSpin edits their interviews for broadcast. If they thought Ms. Bennis' point was worthy of inclusion, they apparently missed a great deal as well. Their refusal to issue a correction, or even a clarification, makes all of FAIR's future action alerts suspect.
They also demonstrated that C.I.'s "2006: The Year of Living Dumbly" from December 2006 was not documenting a momentary problem with independent media, but instead an ongoing problem:
Or how about the fact that the US military was keeping a body count on Iraqi deaths? Nancy A. Youssef broke that story, that the US military had been doing that for almost a year, in June. That news lost out to elections . . . in Mexico -- what independent media was all geared up to make the summer story until they dropped everything to head off to the Middle East.
"Ass on their face" may have been putting it mildly. I, for one, cannot wait to read C.I.'s year-in-review for 2007 because there has been very little improvement from independent media this year.
As Elaine and Mike each noted on Friday, CounterPunch published Roberto J. Gonzalez and David H. Price's "When Anthropologists Become Counter-Insurgents." December 20, 2006, C.I. sent up the flare on anthropologists attempting to use their scientific training to manipulate Iraqis with "When Dumb Ass Met Dumb Ass." It has been noted here regularly since then and, it needs to be noted, Elaine has regularly noted it at her site as well. Professors Gonzales and Price have more information at their website, Concerned Anthropologists, which I would urge to visit for more information because judging by the lack of attention to this very serious topic from independent media, you are going to have to inform yourself.
In a really awful week, it only got worse on Thursday. As C.I. noted, Pig was back. The warm embrace independent media continues to give him looks more and more like an open mouthed kiss. Remember that women and young girls. Once again, the media telegraphs that our safety is unimportant, that it is more important to offer the 'expertise' of a Chicken Little than to draw a line in the sand that says, "Those who are sexual predators are not welcome." Possibly The Nation can next offer up a monthly column from Robert Chambers? If they do, no doubt, Katha Pollitt will yet again find a way to cheer a sexual predator on while posing as a feminist.
Pig's advice was not called out, just reposted. His advice was that Iraq is not important, stopping a potential war in Iran was. Previously Pig had used an example of fire fighters so I visited my local fire house and asked them, "If one house is on fire and another might catch on fire today or possibly tomorrow or possibly the week after or possibly never, which fire do you put out?" Three fire fighters laughed at my question, while thanking me for the kugel, and explained that of course their job was to put out the fire that was raging. They asked me why I asked and I explained Pig's column. Then we all had a good laugh.
Possibly that is all the bulk of independent media can offer these days, good laughs.
iraq
james burmeister
mcclatchy newspapers
nancy a. youssef
steve rendall
janine jackson
counterspin
phyllis bennis
roberto j. gonzalez
david h. price
pacifica radio
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
the third estate sunday review
ruths report
the common ills
Saturday, September 29, 2007
NYT targets Naomi Klein
Alberto Gonzales resigned as Attorney General of the United States, this week, a body blow to Latino pride. But the Hispanic press, which is much more vibrant and active than the Black press, took the occasion in stride, and with great dignity. As reported by the excellent website, the Latino press resisted the reflexive urge to circle the wagons around one of their own, and accepted the fact that Alberto Gonzales is George Bush's boy, who worked against their interests, and should not be defended.
Contrast that with the usual reaction from what's left of Black media, when an African American politician of dubious repute and no loyalty to his own people gets attacked by racists. Case in point: former Memphis congressman Harold Ford, Jr. In the last days of his losing campaign for the U.S. Senate, the Republican opposition bought ads on statewide television showing white girls acting like "Girls Gone Wild" over Harold Ford. It was a racist attack, certainly. Predictably, Black folks circled the wagons around the undeserving Harold Ford, Jr. And in doing so, we debased ourselves, defending a man who never defended us.
The above is from Glen Ford's "Hispanic Media Confronts the Demon: Gonzales. Black Media Should Learn a Lesson" (Black Agenda Report) and Carl, noting Keesha's remarks in the gina & krista round-robin, suggested it over the usual highlight due to subject matter.
In a sign of just how important Naomi Klein's new book is, the New York Times has enlisted not one but two reviewers to slam The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism. In the first four years under Bully Boy, a book review got a huge amount of attention online. But many seemed to miss the point buried deep in it. I know the reviewer and called to ask how, buried in the review, was an opinion that contrasted with everything else. ___ maintained (and still does) that the New York Times rewrote it. So possibly reviewers were rewritten or asked to rewrite? That would certainly explain the overheated opening to Joseph E. Stiglitz in tomorrow's paper. However what explains the lack of disclosure on the part of Stiglitz (a mental midget in the best of times)? Or is it supposed to be a known that he not only worked at the World Bank but was an economic advisor to Bill Clinton? Considering Klein's accurate and stinging critiques of Clinton and the World Bank, that's not the sort of thing that can go undisclosed. Unless you are the New York Times whose ass was saved by big business about a century ago when they purchased the paper's independence.
The demented Stiglitz wants to structure his rebuttal around Klein's early chapter on "a rogue C.I.A. scientist". First off, he wasn't a CIA scientist. He was not in the Agency itself. He did contract work. Second of all, he wasn't a lone rogue. There were many others (some of whom get noted) but Stiglitz plays dumb because that's the only pose he's convincing at.
Little Tommy Redburn pops up in today's Times to do the hatchet job. Well why not? When you're an economic reporter for the paper and your initials aren't "G.M." you clearly have an abundance of time as demonstrated by your late to the party work on Enron (shoddy even when it started). In what can only be read as projection on Redburn's part, he writes, "But her argument constantly overreaches, because her goal is not really to tame capitalism so much as to taunt it." Her goal is to inform. No doubt the economics desk at the paper spends hour pondering whether to "tame" or "taunt," but Klein's just attempting to get the information out.
A goal the paper might share were it not for going out of the new business during the turn of the 20th century. The reformer minded paper can't grasp that because their own reformation process always starts with distortions to 'sway' the public.
Little Tommy then contradicts himself at the end by projecting another goal onto Klein (in opposition to his earlier one) and fails to grasp that he hasn't turned in a book review (or even report), he's turned in telling analysis of himself. It also demonstrates his own tiny intellect ('intellect' may be overly generous) when he insists Klein is a conspiracy theorist. Even Sunday's review doesn't go that far in distorting: "Some readers may see Klein's findings as evidence of a giant conspiracy, a conclusion she explicitly disavows. It's not the conspiracies that wreck the world but the series of wrong turns, failed policies, and little and big unfairnesses that add up."
Some community members have noted the strong push Klein's received from Amy Goodman and Arianna Huffington's site while recieving very little from The Nation. File it under KvH's aversion to war resisters (Klein is the child of a war resister) and KvH's aversion to women (this is the magazine that elected to run something like 3.8 piece by men for every single piece by a woman in the first six months of this year). It's an important book and the proof is in the fact that the paper of no reputable record elects to run not one but two hatchet jobs on The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism. The publisher should note that on the softcover edition. As for the Times, to quote Donna Summer, they're just cats without claws. If the Times had it to do over, they'd portray Karl Marx as a conspiracy theorist as well.
Let's turn to James Risen who attempts to mislead today with "State Dept. Starts Third Review of Private Security in Iraq:"
The State Department has begun three separate reviews related to its use of private contractors for diplomatic security in Iraq after the shooting this month involving Blackwater USA guards that has infuriated Iraqis and damaged the American image in the country.
No, they haven't. That's his opening paragraph and it's incorrect. He will go on to write that the head of the investigation will leave for Iraq this weekend. So saying a third review has started is a bit like saying Mick Jagger's just landed at LaGuardia so the Stones' Madison Square Garden concert has begun! Is Risen really that stupid or just paid to appear so?
As noted in yesterday's snapshot, "AFP reports today that US Gen David Petraues and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker have stated that this 'commission' has still not met and is still 'preparing for its first meeting in Baghdad'. " Risen's on damage control for the State Dept, a never ending mission, decade after decade, for the New York Times.
In the real world, Warren P. Strobel's "Congressman: State Dept. official threatened investigators" (McClatchy Newspapers) notes:
Aides to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard threatened two investigators with retaliation this week if they cooperate with a congressional probe into Krongard's office, the chairman of a House of Representatives panel and other U.S. officials said Friday.
The allegations are the latest in a growing uproar surrounding Krongard. Current and former officials in his office charge that he impeded investigations into alleged arms smuggling by employees of the private security firm Blackwater and into faulty construction of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
A breakdown of some of today's violence includes . . .
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack claimed 1 life (four more people were wounded), 2 people killed (eight more wounded) in a Baghdad exposion, Major Fatah Al-Jobori is dead today from a bombing two days ago in the continued attack on officials in Iraq, a Mosul car bombing claimed the lives of 4 police officers (and left sixteen civilians injured) and a Mosul mortar attack claimed the life of journalist Abdel Khaliq Nasir.
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 civilians injured in the crossfire of a Baghdad attack, 1 civilian shot dead in Baghdad in another attack, "6 members of the awakening council of the northa of Babil province" were injured in a gunfire attack and "the Ghanim Qasim, the Imam of Al Huda mosque in Al Karama area east Mosul" was shot dead outside his home today.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 8 corpses were discovered in Samarra.
Today, the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed during a small arms fire attack while conducting combat operations in a southern section of the Iraqi capital Sept. 29." And they announced: "A Task Force Lightning Soldier was killed by enemy gunfire in Diyala province, Saturday."
Reuters notes these deaths bring the total number of US service members killed in the illegal war since it began to 3802.
And the US military notes that they killed "criminals" in Baghdad on Thursday via an airstrike. Of course, the US military operates under the same code of justice every other US citizen operates under and that includes the concept of "innocence until proven guilty" and the military is not judge & jury so the term should be "suspected". Or even "alleged."
The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:
Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
and Trina's Trina's Kitchen
In addition, Ruth says it will probably be short but she will have a report up this weekend (she plans to have it up tonight). Kat plans two CD reviews for this weekend.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
mcclatchy newspapers
warren p. strobel
naomi klein
the new york times
like maria said paz
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
thomas friedman is a great man
the third estate sunday review
ruths report
Contrast that with the usual reaction from what's left of Black media, when an African American politician of dubious repute and no loyalty to his own people gets attacked by racists. Case in point: former Memphis congressman Harold Ford, Jr. In the last days of his losing campaign for the U.S. Senate, the Republican opposition bought ads on statewide television showing white girls acting like "Girls Gone Wild" over Harold Ford. It was a racist attack, certainly. Predictably, Black folks circled the wagons around the undeserving Harold Ford, Jr. And in doing so, we debased ourselves, defending a man who never defended us.
The above is from Glen Ford's "Hispanic Media Confronts the Demon: Gonzales. Black Media Should Learn a Lesson" (Black Agenda Report) and Carl, noting Keesha's remarks in the gina & krista round-robin, suggested it over the usual highlight due to subject matter.
In a sign of just how important Naomi Klein's new book is, the New York Times has enlisted not one but two reviewers to slam The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism. In the first four years under Bully Boy, a book review got a huge amount of attention online. But many seemed to miss the point buried deep in it. I know the reviewer and called to ask how, buried in the review, was an opinion that contrasted with everything else. ___ maintained (and still does) that the New York Times rewrote it. So possibly reviewers were rewritten or asked to rewrite? That would certainly explain the overheated opening to Joseph E. Stiglitz in tomorrow's paper. However what explains the lack of disclosure on the part of Stiglitz (a mental midget in the best of times)? Or is it supposed to be a known that he not only worked at the World Bank but was an economic advisor to Bill Clinton? Considering Klein's accurate and stinging critiques of Clinton and the World Bank, that's not the sort of thing that can go undisclosed. Unless you are the New York Times whose ass was saved by big business about a century ago when they purchased the paper's independence.
The demented Stiglitz wants to structure his rebuttal around Klein's early chapter on "a rogue C.I.A. scientist". First off, he wasn't a CIA scientist. He was not in the Agency itself. He did contract work. Second of all, he wasn't a lone rogue. There were many others (some of whom get noted) but Stiglitz plays dumb because that's the only pose he's convincing at.
Little Tommy Redburn pops up in today's Times to do the hatchet job. Well why not? When you're an economic reporter for the paper and your initials aren't "G.M." you clearly have an abundance of time as demonstrated by your late to the party work on Enron (shoddy even when it started). In what can only be read as projection on Redburn's part, he writes, "But her argument constantly overreaches, because her goal is not really to tame capitalism so much as to taunt it." Her goal is to inform. No doubt the economics desk at the paper spends hour pondering whether to "tame" or "taunt," but Klein's just attempting to get the information out.
A goal the paper might share were it not for going out of the new business during the turn of the 20th century. The reformer minded paper can't grasp that because their own reformation process always starts with distortions to 'sway' the public.
Little Tommy then contradicts himself at the end by projecting another goal onto Klein (in opposition to his earlier one) and fails to grasp that he hasn't turned in a book review (or even report), he's turned in telling analysis of himself. It also demonstrates his own tiny intellect ('intellect' may be overly generous) when he insists Klein is a conspiracy theorist. Even Sunday's review doesn't go that far in distorting: "Some readers may see Klein's findings as evidence of a giant conspiracy, a conclusion she explicitly disavows. It's not the conspiracies that wreck the world but the series of wrong turns, failed policies, and little and big unfairnesses that add up."
Some community members have noted the strong push Klein's received from Amy Goodman and Arianna Huffington's site while recieving very little from The Nation. File it under KvH's aversion to war resisters (Klein is the child of a war resister) and KvH's aversion to women (this is the magazine that elected to run something like 3.8 piece by men for every single piece by a woman in the first six months of this year). It's an important book and the proof is in the fact that the paper of no reputable record elects to run not one but two hatchet jobs on The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism. The publisher should note that on the softcover edition. As for the Times, to quote Donna Summer, they're just cats without claws. If the Times had it to do over, they'd portray Karl Marx as a conspiracy theorist as well.
Let's turn to James Risen who attempts to mislead today with "State Dept. Starts Third Review of Private Security in Iraq:"
The State Department has begun three separate reviews related to its use of private contractors for diplomatic security in Iraq after the shooting this month involving Blackwater USA guards that has infuriated Iraqis and damaged the American image in the country.
No, they haven't. That's his opening paragraph and it's incorrect. He will go on to write that the head of the investigation will leave for Iraq this weekend. So saying a third review has started is a bit like saying Mick Jagger's just landed at LaGuardia so the Stones' Madison Square Garden concert has begun! Is Risen really that stupid or just paid to appear so?
As noted in yesterday's snapshot, "AFP reports today that US Gen David Petraues and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker have stated that this 'commission' has still not met and is still 'preparing for its first meeting in Baghdad'. " Risen's on damage control for the State Dept, a never ending mission, decade after decade, for the New York Times.
In the real world, Warren P. Strobel's "Congressman: State Dept. official threatened investigators" (McClatchy Newspapers) notes:
Aides to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard threatened two investigators with retaliation this week if they cooperate with a congressional probe into Krongard's office, the chairman of a House of Representatives panel and other U.S. officials said Friday.
The allegations are the latest in a growing uproar surrounding Krongard. Current and former officials in his office charge that he impeded investigations into alleged arms smuggling by employees of the private security firm Blackwater and into faulty construction of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
A breakdown of some of today's violence includes . . .
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack claimed 1 life (four more people were wounded), 2 people killed (eight more wounded) in a Baghdad exposion, Major Fatah Al-Jobori is dead today from a bombing two days ago in the continued attack on officials in Iraq, a Mosul car bombing claimed the lives of 4 police officers (and left sixteen civilians injured) and a Mosul mortar attack claimed the life of journalist Abdel Khaliq Nasir.
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 civilians injured in the crossfire of a Baghdad attack, 1 civilian shot dead in Baghdad in another attack, "6 members of the awakening council of the northa of Babil province" were injured in a gunfire attack and "the Ghanim Qasim, the Imam of Al Huda mosque in Al Karama area east Mosul" was shot dead outside his home today.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 8 corpses were discovered in Samarra.
Today, the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed during a small arms fire attack while conducting combat operations in a southern section of the Iraqi capital Sept. 29." And they announced: "A Task Force Lightning Soldier was killed by enemy gunfire in Diyala province, Saturday."
Reuters notes these deaths bring the total number of US service members killed in the illegal war since it began to 3802.
And the US military notes that they killed "criminals" in Baghdad on Thursday via an airstrike. Of course, the US military operates under the same code of justice every other US citizen operates under and that includes the concept of "innocence until proven guilty" and the military is not judge & jury so the term should be "suspected". Or even "alleged."
The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:
Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
and Trina's Trina's Kitchen
In addition, Ruth says it will probably be short but she will have a report up this weekend (she plans to have it up tonight). Kat plans two CD reviews for this weekend.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
mcclatchy newspapers
warren p. strobel
naomi klein
the new york times
like maria said paz
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
thomas friedman is a great man
the third estate sunday review
ruths report
Another war resister The Nation won't cover
The lie is there is no movement of war resistance. The Peace Resister Katrina vanden Heuvel maintains that lie by refusing to allow The Nation to cover war resisters in print, by refusing to allow the words "war resister" to be used to describe either Camilo Mejia or Aidan Delgado in the embarrassing July article and by writing of the Quaker's peace work without noting that war resistance is not only one of their biggest items today but is also the reason that the American Friends Service Committee was created. It takes a lot of work to be The Peace Resister and possibly that explains why a once readable magazine has fallen.
But they do exist, even if giddy school girls like KvH prefer to write about American Idol, than about them. Fortunately, the world's not populated entirely by giddy school girls.
Patrick Maloney's "London again gives refuge to resister from war in Iraq" (Canada's The London Free Press) explains that Linjam Mull, Matt Lowell and Tim Richard are no longer the only war resisters in London, they've been joined by another, twenty-year-old James Stepp of Dayton, Ohio who came to Canada with his wife Vicki and their children Cheyenne and Tilford.
Stepp thought (because he was told and signed up for) that he would be "driving trucks in Iraq" but, once inducted, "was reassigned to the infantry" and the US military didn't want to discharge him so he began his journey on September 10th. Now they are living with Beth Guthrie (War Resisters Support Campaign) and are applying for refugee status. "Anyone interesting in donating to support the family can e-mail londonresisters@yahoo.ca."
But remember, The Peace Resister prefers not to cover these 'types'. Much better to cover the pocketbook issues of the war -- and is anyone surprised by that emphasis on the pocketbook? -- in those oh so rare moments when she remembers an illegal war is ongoing. An earlier article (from yesterday) on James Stepp can be found by clicking here but, sadly, never in the current print edition of The Nation under its current management.
Another war resister in Canada is James Burmeister and he's been avoided by all US independent media. Apparently KvH's cowardice is contagious -- there she is now, entertain us -- which is a real shame because this week's 'big' story about the US utilizing 'kill teams' in Iraq was actually revealed in June of this year by anyone bothering to cover Burmeister. If KvH hadn't issued her royal edict, she could be doing another one of her crowing blog posts where she insists that "We at The Nation" were covering ___ forever ago. The way she did yesterday on Blackwater citing Jeremy Scahill's work but failing to note that the work on Blackwater began while he was at Democracy Now! and that Scahill established his bonafides on the topic long before he moved over to the magazine. Well, if you were in charge of a magazine and running it so badly that "I wish Victor would come back" has been replaced with chatter of "Victor's coming back," you'd want to skirt the truth as well.
Mina Al-Oraibi does what KvH refuses to let anyone at The Nation do, reports on Burmeister today. From "Escaping War: America's Refugee Soldiers" (Asharq Alawsat):
He revealed that going to Iraq last year was his first military combat experience, saying that the suffering he had endured there was unexpected. "It's nothing like what we see in the movies or what we are told. You go looking for trouble and you don’t see it for weeks, then suddenly there is so much chaos," he said in reference to the targeting of US troops in Iraq.
Burmeister arrived in Canada in May 2007 from Germany where he had been in the American military hospital [Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC)] recovering from an injury he had suffered following a bomb explosion that targeted his convoy in the Iraqi capital. Following three months of lengthy treatment and surgery for a head injury, the US Army issued an order to send Burmeister back to Iraq. "They wanted to send me back there on crutches and taking anti-depressants," he said.
Burmeister spoke at length of the psychological effects the war had on him, saying "I realized how my mind was changing while I was in Iraq, I just wanted to kill. I had to step back, it was frightening."
This is when Burmeister knew that returning to Iraq was not an option. He went to Toronto with his German wife whom he had met during the time he was based in Germany before his first trip to Iraq. After he contacted volunteers from the War Resisters Support Campaign, he relocated to Ottawa where he stayed with a volunteering family since all the houses of the volunteers in Toronto were occupied by other soldiers.
Burmeister feels a certain sense of guilt towards his comrades who remain in Iraq, thinking at times about returning to his country. "Because I feel it's the right thing to do -- even if I face prison or a dishonorable discharge from the army," but added, "I can't go back to the killing."
Burmeister says he refuses to participate in the practices of what he described as "small kill teams", which include "four of five soldiers, with a couple of snipers, who would go out on the streets and put something out, like a camera. Then they'd put a sign out [that said] if anyone touched it, they would be killed. But a lot of these people do not read English, so they would touch it to see what it is, and then they would be shot. [This is justified by] saying the American army has the right to shoot anyone trying to steal its property."
The kill teams. As the illegal war drags on, let's all stop pretending that a fiery editorial once a year qualifies as being part of the peace movement. Victor led the magazine in the opposition to the illegal war. His successor likes to talk "peace and security" when pressed but left to her own inclinations would be dashing off another 16 magazine style gush over American Idol (which -- after the sugar high wore off or was it the circulation high? -- would embarrass even her so she would have hit it 'disappeared' -- it still lives on online). Sadly, Victor running is just a rumor at this point (a hugely repeated one, but still just a rumor).
And a fourth book by a war resister will be published Tuesday. As Elaine noted, "Letters from Ft. Lewis Brig is published October 1st. What is it? Letters from Fort Lewis Brig: A Matter of Conscience by Sergeant Kevin Benderman with Monica Benderman. Kevin Benderman could not continue to fight in the Iraq War after what he witnessed and the military wasn't about to let him go so they created a kangaroo court system with some phony charges. You can read about it in the book and the book comes out on October 1st which is this coming Tuesday. You can check bookstores, order it through the publisher (link at the top of the entry) or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever you elect to shop." The book will join Aidan Delgado's The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq, Camilo Mejia's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia and Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale. At some point, The Nation may get around to reviewing one of them. Most likely not.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
james stepp
patrick maloney
james burmeister
katrina vanden heuvel
mina al-oraibi
kevin benderman
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
But they do exist, even if giddy school girls like KvH prefer to write about American Idol, than about them. Fortunately, the world's not populated entirely by giddy school girls.
Patrick Maloney's "London again gives refuge to resister from war in Iraq" (Canada's The London Free Press) explains that Linjam Mull, Matt Lowell and Tim Richard are no longer the only war resisters in London, they've been joined by another, twenty-year-old James Stepp of Dayton, Ohio who came to Canada with his wife Vicki and their children Cheyenne and Tilford.
Stepp thought (because he was told and signed up for) that he would be "driving trucks in Iraq" but, once inducted, "was reassigned to the infantry" and the US military didn't want to discharge him so he began his journey on September 10th. Now they are living with Beth Guthrie (War Resisters Support Campaign) and are applying for refugee status. "Anyone interesting in donating to support the family can e-mail londonresisters@yahoo.ca."
But remember, The Peace Resister prefers not to cover these 'types'. Much better to cover the pocketbook issues of the war -- and is anyone surprised by that emphasis on the pocketbook? -- in those oh so rare moments when she remembers an illegal war is ongoing. An earlier article (from yesterday) on James Stepp can be found by clicking here but, sadly, never in the current print edition of The Nation under its current management.
Another war resister in Canada is James Burmeister and he's been avoided by all US independent media. Apparently KvH's cowardice is contagious -- there she is now, entertain us -- which is a real shame because this week's 'big' story about the US utilizing 'kill teams' in Iraq was actually revealed in June of this year by anyone bothering to cover Burmeister. If KvH hadn't issued her royal edict, she could be doing another one of her crowing blog posts where she insists that "We at The Nation" were covering ___ forever ago. The way she did yesterday on Blackwater citing Jeremy Scahill's work but failing to note that the work on Blackwater began while he was at Democracy Now! and that Scahill established his bonafides on the topic long before he moved over to the magazine. Well, if you were in charge of a magazine and running it so badly that "I wish Victor would come back" has been replaced with chatter of "Victor's coming back," you'd want to skirt the truth as well.
Mina Al-Oraibi does what KvH refuses to let anyone at The Nation do, reports on Burmeister today. From "Escaping War: America's Refugee Soldiers" (Asharq Alawsat):
He revealed that going to Iraq last year was his first military combat experience, saying that the suffering he had endured there was unexpected. "It's nothing like what we see in the movies or what we are told. You go looking for trouble and you don’t see it for weeks, then suddenly there is so much chaos," he said in reference to the targeting of US troops in Iraq.
Burmeister arrived in Canada in May 2007 from Germany where he had been in the American military hospital [Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC)] recovering from an injury he had suffered following a bomb explosion that targeted his convoy in the Iraqi capital. Following three months of lengthy treatment and surgery for a head injury, the US Army issued an order to send Burmeister back to Iraq. "They wanted to send me back there on crutches and taking anti-depressants," he said.
Burmeister spoke at length of the psychological effects the war had on him, saying "I realized how my mind was changing while I was in Iraq, I just wanted to kill. I had to step back, it was frightening."
This is when Burmeister knew that returning to Iraq was not an option. He went to Toronto with his German wife whom he had met during the time he was based in Germany before his first trip to Iraq. After he contacted volunteers from the War Resisters Support Campaign, he relocated to Ottawa where he stayed with a volunteering family since all the houses of the volunteers in Toronto were occupied by other soldiers.
Burmeister feels a certain sense of guilt towards his comrades who remain in Iraq, thinking at times about returning to his country. "Because I feel it's the right thing to do -- even if I face prison or a dishonorable discharge from the army," but added, "I can't go back to the killing."
Burmeister says he refuses to participate in the practices of what he described as "small kill teams", which include "four of five soldiers, with a couple of snipers, who would go out on the streets and put something out, like a camera. Then they'd put a sign out [that said] if anyone touched it, they would be killed. But a lot of these people do not read English, so they would touch it to see what it is, and then they would be shot. [This is justified by] saying the American army has the right to shoot anyone trying to steal its property."
The kill teams. As the illegal war drags on, let's all stop pretending that a fiery editorial once a year qualifies as being part of the peace movement. Victor led the magazine in the opposition to the illegal war. His successor likes to talk "peace and security" when pressed but left to her own inclinations would be dashing off another 16 magazine style gush over American Idol (which -- after the sugar high wore off or was it the circulation high? -- would embarrass even her so she would have hit it 'disappeared' -- it still lives on online). Sadly, Victor running is just a rumor at this point (a hugely repeated one, but still just a rumor).
And a fourth book by a war resister will be published Tuesday. As Elaine noted, "Letters from Ft. Lewis Brig is published October 1st. What is it? Letters from Fort Lewis Brig: A Matter of Conscience by Sergeant Kevin Benderman with Monica Benderman. Kevin Benderman could not continue to fight in the Iraq War after what he witnessed and the military wasn't about to let him go so they created a kangaroo court system with some phony charges. You can read about it in the book and the book comes out on October 1st which is this coming Tuesday. You can check bookstores, order it through the publisher (link at the top of the entry) or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever you elect to shop." The book will join Aidan Delgado's The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq, Camilo Mejia's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia and Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale. At some point, The Nation may get around to reviewing one of them. Most likely not.
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Iraq snapshot
Friday, September 28, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the air-war continues and NPR goes ga-ga over it, the mercenaries at Blackwater continue to raise questions, and Dems fund the illegal war again. And, ADDED, PBS examines the Iraq War (tonight in most markets) via Bill Moyers Journal and NOW with David Branccacio.
Starting with war resistance. As Iraq Veterans Against the War notes, the government's 'do-over' (double-jeopardy) attempt at court-martialing Ehren Watada is scheduled for October 9th and "Lt. Watada is facing four charges that could land him in jail for up to six years." June 22, 2006, Ehren Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to serve in the Iraq War (rightly) noting that the war is illegal. Daniel Ellsberg gave a speech (posted at ICH) last week where he noted Watada, "I've often said that Lt. Ehren Watada -- who still faces trial for refusing to obey orders to deploy to Iraq which he correctly perceives to be an unconstitutional and aggressive war -- is the single officer in the United States armed services who is taking seriously in upholding his oath." Watada's attorneys are appealing on a number of grounds including the fact that Judge Toilet (aka John Head) thinks he can be impartial and preside again as well as the fact that a second court-martial (after Head ruled the February court-martial a mistrial over defense objection) would be in violation of the US Constitution which forbids double-jeopardy.
At the start of the week, Audra D.S. Burch (Miami Herald) provided an overview of war resister Aidan Delgado's book The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq, noting, "This is a story of one young man's transformation from reserve volunteer to soldier to conscientious objector, practicing Buddhist, author and always -- always -- relentless critic of the Iraq War, a peace advocate with a point of view based on real wartime experiences." Delgado is the third war resister to tell their story in book form this year. In May, Camilo Mejia shared his story in Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia while in February Joshua Key told his story in The Deserter's Tale.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Derek Hess, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
ADDED:In media news, the latest episode of Bill Moyers Journal airs on PBS in many markets tonight (check your local listings) and he will remember two US service members who died recently (two of the seven who wrote the New York Times column "The War as We Saw It") and this is also up at YouTube..In addition Bill Moyers Journal examines the Iraqi refugee crisis with NPR's Deborah Amos and War Hawk George Packer while also taking a look at the outrageous amount of monies being spent on the illegal war.
Also: This week (Fridays in most markets) PBS' NOW with David Brancaccio examines the issue of US service members wounded in the illegal war: "For many Iraq and Gulf War veterans, the transition from battlefield to home front is difficult. Bouts of fierce anger, depression and anxiety that previous generations of soldiers described as "shell shock" or "combat/battle fatigue" now earn a clinical diagnosis: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But the relatively new medical label doesn't guarantee soldiers will get the care they need. On Friday, September 28 at 8:30 pm (check local listings), NOW looks at how America's newest crop of returning soldiers is coping with the emotional scars of war, and some new and innovative treatments for them."
On NPR's The Diane Rehm Show today (second hour), Al-Arabiya TV's Hisham Melhem explained the new meaning of Blackwater since the September 16th incident where they slaughtered at least 16 Iraqi civilians, "In the past, Susan [Page, USA Today], if you wanted to discredit the American war in Iraq or if you wanted to discredit the war on terror all you had to do is just invoke the names of places such as Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib or Haditha. Now you can add to that Blackwater USA. I mean this is a huge embarrassment and a problem for the United States in the future. These people are now seen by the Iraqis as the new face of the occupation. And the irony of all ironies now, because these people are in charge of providing protection to the American diplomats there -- I mean, you have a private army. This is the privatization of war. More than 30,000 men. And I'm not saying that many of them . . . are [not] honorable and former good soldiers, the problem is that given what they've done, as Robin [Wright, Washington Post] said, just imagine Ryan Crocker, one of the best American diplomats serving in the Middle East, probably the best one available for Iraq now, trying to visit a neighborhood in Baghdad, after the surge, whatever, he's going to be protected by whom? By elements of the Blackwater. That's the irony of ironies."
On the topic of Blackwater, today Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that among the deaths resulting from the US mercenary compnay are four Iraq journalists including Suhad Shakir who was shot dead February 2nd while driving to work inside the Green Zone while three guards of the Iraqi Media Network were shot dead, "picked off one by one by Blackwater snipers stationed on the roof of the 10-story Justice Ministry". The US Defense Department has maintained that they do not use Blackwater for their employees; however, the US State Dept does. James Risen (New York Times) reports that the State Department released a count that found Blaackwater "had been involved in 56 shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq so far this year." An Iraqi government investigation found Blackwater responsible for the September 16th deaths at a time when Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, was issuing strong words that Blackwater would be gone. Instead, the puppet's strings were pulled and he agreed to go along with a US State Department led investigation. AFP reports today that US Gen David Petraues and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker have stated that this 'commission' has still not met and is still "preparing for its first meeting in Baghdad". Rather surprising when Steve Fainaru and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) are able to report on the US embassy's insta-study of the situation today which finds 'confusion' and 'good intentions' (at least one Blackwater employee all but yelled, "Stop the madness!"). Though James Glanz and Sabrina Tavernise are back to pimp this report, the New York Times' reporters fail to use the term "self-serving" though they were very happy to apply that to the report on Blackwater from the Iraqi government. Since the mercenaries do not protect Iraqis, since they protect US embassy employees, exactly which report would be more likely to be "self-serving"? Play dumb, Glanz and Tavernise, play dumb. As Reuters notes, the official US State Dept response is "We're not commenting on the substance of the investigation" which allows them to float this, to get it out there, and if it explodes in their faces, claim they never said those things happened. Meanwhile, Kristin Roberts and Sue Pleming (Reuters) report that US Brig Gen Joseph Anderson declared today of the mercenaries, "I can certainly say I've seen them do some tactics that I thought were over the top. Are they quicker with the trigger? Are they quicker to wave a weapon, brandish a weapon, other tactics, cutting people off? All of us have experience, have seen different things at different times. I have seen them, in my opinion, over-react but that does not mean it's consistently the case."
Blackwater is far from the only problem facing Iraqis. Today on WBAI's Wakeupcall Radio (first hour), host Mario Murillo spoke with CorpWatch's Pratap Chatterjee who explained his latest piece ("The Boys from Baghdad: Iraqi Commandos Trained by U.S. Contractor") noting that Blackwater shooting at civilians was "just the tip of the iceberg . . . because you do have US soldiers and US security guards that are in the country shooting at civilians, dropping bombs on them, etc. -- creating mayhem. But in fact the role the US has played in creating the civil war in fact is far more long lasting, could be far more insidious and dangerous than the occasional massacre of civilians. That's in no way to condone it at all -- but just say that there are far worse things happening today. There are probably at least, to the best of my knowledge, six training programs to support 'Iraqi security'. The first couple are the training of the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army which interestingly enough were given over to private contractors. DynCorp from Virginia trains the police and Vinnell from Los Angeles originally had the contract to train the Iraqi army. Both of these have been pretty much disasters. And in fact one of the things I explain in this article is that in April 2004 when there were like two major incidents in the country -- and I was in Iraq at the time -- one was the civil uprisings in the south with the siege of various cities and the attack on Blackwater personnel in Falluja -- the US tried to press this police and army into service and in both cases, in fact they shipped police down to Najaf the Iraqi police and soldiers just basically fled the scene and refused to fight and, in some case, turned against the US. So the US quickly realized they needed something way beyond the sort of regular security forces. . . . So they came up with this idea of third force. The third force was going to be special commandos that would be highly trained -- a little like Special Forces that could go into action." Chatterjee explains in his article that these are Emergency Response Unit or ERU and that they training "began under General David Petreaus as an effort to bolster security in Iraq, and soon evolved into a system for providing support to the deeply sectarian Ministry of the Interior." That ministry provides their paychecks as well as controls them today. "Sometimes the people that they train are people who come from backgrounds that are either sectarian or criminal," Chatterjee explained to Murillo. "It's one thing to bring in Blackwater and have them protect US diplomats and shoot at anybody who comes close -- that's horrendous -- but it's another thing to actually go in and train people in the art of warfare and hand this training over to sectarian groups that are now creating multiple civil wars in the country. And that, to me, is one of the most insidious and dangerous parts of the US occupation."
Another insidious part of the illegal war is the little noted air war. (Norman Solomon has long noted the air war and it's under-reporting by the media.) Guy Raz (NPR's Morning Edition) reported today that "about every 90 seconds something takes off or lands at Balad Air Base there's C130 Cargo planes, there are helicopters, there are fighter jets and those are just a fraction of the forty different kinds of aircraft that use this base. It's not just busy, it's really busy. Actually the busiest Pentagon airport in the world and the second busiest airport in the world overall." Though such activity might give many pause, Guy Raz is a rah-rah-rah-er and tickled pink to be one of the 'boys'. This as Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Around 2 a.m. U.S. military used aerial fire targeting a building in Al Doura area south Baghdad, Iraqi police said. The aerial fire targeted building number 139 in Al Siha district. 10 people were killed and 7 others were injured according to the Iraqi police sources." Reuters notes eight dead. Meanwhile, the US military issues a press release regarding events Tuesday: "A U.S. Air Force F-16CJ Fighting Falcom dropped precision munitions near Al Nussayyib, Iraq Sept. 25, killing Abu Nasr al-Tunisi and two other Al Q'aeda in Iraq operatives. They were killed when the aircraft, assigned to U.S. Central Command Air Forces, dropped two laser guided 500 lb Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU-12 bombs, destroying the terrorist safe house when the three were meeting." If this is the announced 'investigation' into the Tuesday bombing in Mussyyib that claimed the lives of 5 women and 4 children (see yesterday's snapshot), consider it a white wash.
In news of other violence . . .
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack that wounded two people while a truck bombing in Mosull "destroyed a bridge". Reuters notes the Mosul truck bombing left twenty people wounded. KUNA reports that the British military base in Basra was attacked with mortars overnight.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports "David Shamoun, a 28 Christian Iraqi . . . worked with a Turkish company and a college students" was shot dead in Mosul
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Meanwhile Dominic Evans (Reuters) reports that if the 59 announced deaths holds, September will be the lowest month of announced US service members deaths for the year. September in 2005 and 2003 was lower than the announced 59. Also worth noting is that M-NF 'elected' to allow DoD to announce deaths this month.
On the subject of the US military's "kill teams," the press continues to avoid the fact that war resister James Burmeister was publicly speaking of them months before the press stumbled onto them this week. Paul von Zeilbauer (New York Times) reported this morning on the court-martial of Jorge G. Sandoval and noted that Anthony G. Murphy had testified in July that there was a sense of sense "of disappointment from field commanders seeking higher enemy body counts" and that "Soldiers also testified that battalion commanders authorized a classified new technique that used fake explosives and detonation wires as 'bait' to lure and kill suspected insurgents around Iskandariya, a hostile Sunni Arab region south of Baghdad." AP reports that Sandoval was acquitted today of some charges; however, "the panel decided he had placed a detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent."
In Wednesday's snapshot, the Joe Biden led push in the Senate (Biden is a senator and also a candidate for the Democratic Party's potential presidential nomination) to divide Iraq into three section in a vote that found 75 US senators voting in favor of it and only 23 voting against it. Ron Jacobs (CounterPunch) observes, "Partitioning Iraq is not a solution that is Washington's to make. The recent vote by the US Senate is misguided. In addition, it will do little to further the desire of the US public to bring the troops home. Instead, it will put US forces in the position of maintaining the newly created divisions along new lines in the sand. Senator Biden's bill is not a solution. It is another false approach that has as much chance at success as anything tried by the Bush administration. In other words, it is destined to fail." Al Jazeera reports that Nouri Al-Maliki is denouncing the US resolution and declaring, "They should stand by Iraq to solidify its unity and its sovereignty. They shouldn't be proposing its division. That could be a disaster not just for Iraq but for the region." Strong words from the puppet. Words that, if pattern holds, will vanish with the mere pulling of a string.
Which is why the Iraqi government, 'officially' led by the puppet, is held in such low opinion by Iraqis. Yesterday on Free Speech Radio News, Hiba Dawood reported, "The slow crumbling of Iraq's government began when the Sadrists withdraw their ministers from cabinet, demanding real authority to provide local services and a timetable for an end to the US occupation. In the fourteen months since then, the Sadrists and the Fadheela Party have split from the United Iraqi Alliance Coalition the largest Shi'ite grouping in the Iraqi parliament. The latest to leave the government were the ministers from the Sunni Accord. They accuse the government of serving sectarian ends. Shi'ite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's government is accused of sectarianism even by other Shias who accuse him of marginalizing them. But the United Iraqi Alliance, now reduced to just the Dawa Party, and the Iraq Islam Supreme Council insists the government is still performing. Jinan [Jasim] al-Ubaydi is a member of parliament and with the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council. She says the withdrawal of so many parties from the governing alliance doesn't effect government policy or performance: 'There dreams are negotiable and though there are many withdrawals, the government is not collapsing. Ryan Crocker said the Iraqi government has enjoyed many vital successes.' Despite the US ambassador's optimism few ordinary Iraqis say the government is succeeding. There is a growing frustration with both the government and the parties that have pulled out."
Despite this, the US Congress continues to fund the illegal war. John Nichols (Common Dreams) reports that the Senate raised the debt limit for the federal government and gave the Bully Boy "at least $9 billion in new funding for its war in Iraq" in a 94 to 1 vote with Russ Feingold being the sole senator to vote no (and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain and Sam Brownback all missing the vote due to campaiging for their parties' presidential nomination) while the House of Represenatives passed the measure by a 404 to 14 vote with Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Earl Blumenauer, Keith Ellison, Ron Paul, Bob Filner, Barney Frank, Maurice Hinchey, Dennis Kunich, Jim McDermott, Donald Payne, Lynn Woolsey and Diane Watson voting no (Kucinich and Paul are running for their parties' presidential nomination). Meanwhile, the national Green Party has noted Democratic party hopefuls for their party's presidential nomination Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama declared this week in a forum broadcast by MSNBC that they couldn't guarantee all US troops would be home, if they were elected to president, by the year 2013. The Green Party notes:
In news of pacts, CBS and AP report: "Turkey and Iraq signed a counterterrorism pact Friday aimed at cracking down on separatist Kurdish rebels who have been attacking Turkey from bases in Iraq. The agreement, however, falls short of meeting Ankara's demand to send troops in pursuit of Kurdish rebels fleeing across the border into northern Iraq, Turkey's Interior Minister Besir Atalay said. 'It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing Kurdish rebels, however, we hope this issue will be solved in the future,' Atalay said. 'We are expecting this cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as much as possible'."
Last night, Houston's The Progressive Forum (KPFT -- here for KPFT archives) devoted the second hour of the program to a speech by Gloria Steinem delivered September 17th in Houston, Texas and entitled "The Progression of Feminism: Where Are We Going?". Steinem declared near the start, "I arrived here this morning and I said, 'Oh, this is Ann Richards Airport.' Don't you think we're going to live to see the day when they'll be glad to change the name?" She then began addressing the efforts to destroy tribes, women, LBGT and other members in an attempt to dominate and colonialize. As she observed, "No, we can't go back and it's not about romanticizing the past but it is about understanding that if a system of male dominance had a beginning, it can have an end." Steinem's Outrageous Acts & Everyday Rebellions was mentioned in yesterday's snapshot as was a documentary, Anthony Thomas' Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done which a typo turned into "They" (I put in links on a good day and then dictate later in the day -- I dictate very fast and would have my own typos if I typed the snapshots -- we're noting this one because the documentary's title was wrong due to the typo "They Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done.")
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Iraq snapshot
Friday, September 28, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the air-war continues and NPR goes ga-ga over it, the mercenaries at Blackwater continue to raise questions, and Dems fund the illegal war again.
Starting with war resistance. As Iraq Veterans Against the War notes, the government's 'do-over' (double-jeopardy) attempt at court-martialing Ehren Watada is scheduled for October 9th and "Lt. Watada is facing four charges that could land him in jail for up to six years." June 22, 2006, Ehren Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to serve in the Iraq War (rightly) noting that the war is illegal. Daniel Ellsberg gave a speech (posted at ICH) last week where he noted Watada, "I've often said that Lt. Ehren Watada -- who still faces trial for refusing to obey orders to deploy to Iraq which he correctly perceives to be an unconstitutional and aggressive war -- is the single officer in the United States armed services who is taking seriously in upholding his oath." Watada's attorneys are appealing on a number of grounds including the fact that Judge Toilet (aka John Head) thinks he can be impartial and preside again as well as the fact that a second court-martial (after Head ruled the February court-martial a mistrial over defense objection) would be in violation of the US Constitution which forbids double-jeopardy.
At the start of the week, Audra D.S. Burch (Miami Herald) provided an overview of war resister Aidan Delgado's book The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq, noting, "This is a story of one young man's transformation from reserve volunteer to soldier to conscientious objector, practicing Buddhist, author and always -- always -- relentless critic of the Iraq War, a peace advocate with a point of view based on real wartime experiences." Delgado is the third war resister to tell their story in book form this year. In May, Camilo Mejia shared his story in Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia while in February Joshua Key told his story in The Deserter's Tale.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Derek Hess, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
On NPR's The Diane Rehm Show today (second hour), Al-Arabiya TV's Hisham Melhem explained the new meaning of Blackwater since the September 16th incident where they slaughtered at least 16 Iraqi civilians, "In the past, Susan [Page, USA Today], if you wanted to discredit the American war in Iraq or if you wanted to discredit the war on terror all you had to do is just invoke the names of places such as Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib or Haditha. Now you can add to that Blackwater USA. I mean this is a huge embarrassment and a problem for the United States in the future. These people are now seen by the Iraqis as the new face of the occupation. And the irony of all ironies now, because these people are in charge of providing protection to the American diplomats there -- I mean, you have a private army. This is the privatization of war. More than 30,000 men. And I'm not saying that many of them . . . are [not] honorable and former good soldiers, the problem is that given what they've done, as Robin [Wright, Washington Post] said, just imagine Ryan Crocker, one of the best American diplomats serving in the Middle East, probably the best one available for Iraq now, trying to visit a neighborhood in Baghdad, after the surge, whatever, he's going to be protected by whom? By elements of the Blackwater. That's the irony of ironies."
On the topic of Blackwater, today Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that among the deaths resulting from the US mercenary compnay are four Iraq journalists including Suhad Shakir who was shot dead February 2nd while driving to work inside the Green Zone while three guards of the Iraqi Media Network were shot dead, "picked off one by one by Blackwater snipers stationed on the roof of the 10-story Justice Ministry". The US Defense Department has maintained that they do not use Blackwater for their employees; however, the US State Dept does. James Risen (New York Times) reports that the State Department released a count that found Blaackwater "had been involved in 56 shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq so far this year." An Iraqi government investigation found Blackwater responsible for the September 16th deaths at a time when Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, was issuing strong words that Blackwater would be gone. Instead, the puppet's strings were pulled and he agreed to go along with a US State Department led investigation. AFP reports today that US Gen David Petraues and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker have stated that this 'commission' has still not met and is still "preparing for its first meeting in Baghdad". Rather surprising when Steve Fainaru and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) are able to report on the US embassy's insta-study of the situation today which finds 'confusion' and 'good intentions' (at least one Blackwater employee all but yelled, "Stop the madness!"). Though James Glanz and Sabrina Tavernise are back to pimp this report, the New York Times' reporters fail to use the term "self-serving" though they were very happy to apply that to the report on Blackwater from the Iraqi government. Since the mercenaries do not protect Iraqis, since they protect US embassy employees, exactly which report would be more likely to be "self-serving"? Play dumb, Glanz and Tavernise, play dumb. As Reuters notes, the official US State Dept response is "We're not commenting on the substance of the investigation" which allows them to float this, to get it out there, and if it explodes in their faces, claim they never said those things happened. Meanwhile, Kristin Roberts and Sue Pleming (Reuters) report that US Brig Gen Joseph Anderson declared today of the mercenaries, "I can certainly say I've seen them do some tactics that I thought were over the top. Are they quicker with the trigger? Are they quicker to wave a weapon, brandish a weapon, other tactics, cutting people off? All of us have experience, have seen different things at different times. I have seen them, in my opinion, over-react but that does not mean it's consistently the case."
Blackwater is far from the only problem facing Iraqis. Today on WBAI's Wakeupcall Radio (first hour), host Mario Murillo spoke with CorpWatch's Pratap Chatterjee who explained his latest piece ("The Boys from Baghdad: Iraqi Commandos Trained by U.S. Contractor") noting that Blackwater shooting at civilians was "just the tip of the iceberg . . . because you do have US soldiers and US security guards that are in the country shooting at civilians, dropping bombs on them, etc. -- creating mayhem. But in fact the role the US has played in creating the civil war in fact is far more long lasting, could be far more insidious and dangerous than the occasional massacre of civilians. That's in no way to condone it at all -- but just say that there are far worse things happening today. There are probably at least, to the best of my knowledge, six training programs to support 'Iraqi security'. The first couple are the training of the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army which interestingly enough were given over to private contractors. DynCorp from Virginia trains the police and Vinnell from Los Angeles originally had the contract to train the Iraqi army. Both of these have been pretty much disasters. And in fact one of the things I explain in this article is that in April 2004 when there were like two major incidents in the country -- and I was in Iraq at the time -- one was the civil uprisings in the south with the siege of various cities and the attack on Blackwater personnel in Falluja -- the US tried to press this police and army into service and in both cases, in fact they shipped police down to Najaf the Iraqi police and soldiers just basically fled the scene and refused to fight and, in some case, turned against the US. So the US quickly realized they needed something way beyond the sort of regular security forces. . . . So they came up with this idea of third force. The third force was going to be special commandos that would be highly trained -- a little like Special Forces that could go into action." Chatterjee explains in his article that these are Emergency Response Unit or ERU and that they training "began under General David Petreaus as an effort to bolster security in Iraq, and soon evolved into a system for providing support to the deeply sectarian Ministry of the Interior." That ministry provides their paychecks as well as controls them today. "Sometimes the people that they train are people who come from backgrounds that are either sectarian or criminal," Chatterjee explained to Murillo. "It's one thing to bring in Blackwater and have them protect US diplomats and shoot at anybody who comes close -- that's horrendous -- but it's another thing to actually go in and train people in the art of warfare and hand this training over to sectarian groups that are now creating multiple civil wars in the country. And that, to me, is one of the most insidious and dangerous parts of the US occupation."
Another insidious part of the illegal war is the little noted air war. (Norman Solomon has long noted the air war and it's under-reporting by the media.) Guy Raz (NPR's Morning Edition) reported today that "about every 90 seconds something takes off or lands at Balad Air Base there's C130 Cargo planes, there are helicopters, there are fighter jets and those are just a fraction of the forty different kinds of aircraft that use this base. It's not just busy, it's really busy. Actually the busiest Pentagon airport in the world and the second busiest airport in the world overall." Though such activity might give many pause, Guy Raz is a rah-rah-rah-er and tickled pink to be one of the 'boys'. This as Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Around 2 a.m. U.S. military used aerial fire targeting a building in Al Doura area south Baghdad, Iraqi police said. The aerial fire targeted building number 139 in Al Siha district. 10 people were killed and 7 others were injured according to the Iraqi police sources." Reuters notes eight dead. Meanwhile, the US military issues a press release regarding events Tuesday: "A U.S. Air Force F-16CJ Fighting Falcom dropped precision munitions near Al Nussayyib, Iraq Sept. 25, killing Abu Nasr al-Tunisi and two other Al Q'aeda in Iraq operatives. They were killed when the aircraft, assigned to U.S. Central Command Air Forces, dropped two laser guided 500 lb Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU-12 bombs, destroying the terrorist safe house when the three were meeting." If this is the announced 'investigation' into the Tuesday bombing in Mussyyib that claimed the lives of 5 women and 4 children (see yesterday's snapshot), consider it a white wash.
In news of other violence . . .
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack that wounded two people while a truck bombing in Mosull "destroyed a bridge". Reuters notes the Mosul truck bombing left twenty people wounded. KUNA reports that the British military base in Basra was attacked with mortars overnight.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports "David Shamoun, a 28 Christian Iraqi . . . worked with a Turkish company and a college students" was shot dead in Mosul
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Meanwhile Dominic Evans (Reuters) reports that if the 59 announced deaths holds, September will be the lowest month of announced US service members deaths for the year. September in 2005 and 2003 was lower than the announced 59. Also worth noting is that M-NF 'elected' to allow DoD to announce deaths this month.
On the subject of the US military's "kill teams," the press continues to avoid the fact that war resister James Burmeister was publicly speaking of them months before the press stumbled onto them this week. Paul von Zeilbauer (New York Times) reported this morning on the court-martial of Jorge G. Sandoval and noted that Anthony G. Murphy had testified in July that there was a sense of sense "of disappointment from field commanders seeking higher enemy body counts" and that "Soldiers also testified that battalion commanders authorized a classified new technique that used fake explosives and detonation wires as 'bait' to lure and kill suspected insurgents around Iskandariya, a hostile Sunni Arab region south of Baghdad." AP reports that Sandoval was acquitted today of some charges; however, "the panel decided he had placed a detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent."
In Wednesday's snapshot, the Joe Biden led push in the Senate (Biden is a senator and also a candidate for the Democratic Party's potential presidential nomination) to divide Iraq into three section in a vote that found 75 US senators voting in favor of it and only 23 voting against it. Ron Jacobs (CounterPunch) observes, "Partitioning Iraq is not a solution that is Washington's to make. The recent vote by the US Senate is misguided. In addition, it will do little to further the desire of the US public to bring the troops home. Instead, it will put US forces in the position of maintaining the newly created divisions along new lines in the sand. Senator Biden's bill is not a solution. It is another false approach that has as much chance at success as anything tried by the Bush administration. In other words, it is destined to fail." Al Jazeera reports that Nouri Al-Maliki is denouncing the US resolution and declaring, "They should stand by Iraq to solidify its unity and its sovereignty. They shouldn't be proposing its division. That could be a disaster not just for Iraq but for the region." Strong words from the puppet. Words that, if pattern holds, will vanish with the mere pulling of a string.
Which is why the Iraqi government, 'officially' led by the puppet, is held in such low opinion by Iraqis. Yesterday on Free Speech Radio News, Hiba Dawood reported, "The slow crumbling of Iraq's government began when the Sadrists withdraw their ministers from cabinet, demanding real authority to provide local services and a timetable for an end to the US occupation. In the fourteen months since then, the Sadrists and the Fadheela Party have split from the United Iraqi Alliance Coalition the largest Shi'ite grouping in the Iraqi parliament. The latest to leave the government were the ministers from the Sunni Accord. They accuse the government of serving sectarian ends. Shi'ite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's government is accused of sectarianism even by other Shias who accuse him of marginalizing them. But the United Iraqi Alliance, now reduced to just the Dawa Party, and the Iraq Islam Supreme Council insists the government is still performing. Jinan [Jasim] al-Ubaydi is a member of parliament and with the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council. She says the withdrawal of so many parties from the governing alliance doesn't effect government policy or performance: 'There dreams are negotiable and though there are many withdrawals, the government is not collapsing. Ryan Crocker said the Iraqi government has enjoyed many vital successes.' Despite the US ambassador's optimism few ordinary Iraqis say the government is succeeding. There is a growing frustration with both the government and the parties that have pulled out."
Despite this, the US Congress continues to fund the illegal war. John Nichols (Common Dreams) reports that the Senate raised the debt limit for the federal government and gave the Bully Boy "at least $9 billion in new funding for its war in Iraq" in a 94 to 1 vote with Russ Feingold being the sole senator to vote no (and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain and Sam Brownback all missing the vote due to campaiging for their parties' presidential nomination) while the House of Represenatives passed the measure by a 404 to 14 vote with Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Earl Blumenauer, Keith Ellison, Ron Paul, Bob Filner, Barney Frank, Maurice Hinchey, Dennis Kunich, Jim McDermott, Donald Payne, Lynn Woolsey and Diane Watson voting no (Kucinich and Paul are running for their parties' presidential nomination). Meanwhile, the national Green Party has noted Democratic party hopefuls for their party's presidential nomination Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama declared this week in a forum broadcast by MSNBC that they couldn't guarantee all US troops would be home, if they were elected to president, by the year 2013. The Green Party notes:
In news of pacts, CBS and AP report: "Turkey and Iraq signed a counterterrorism pact Friday aimed at cracking down on separatist Kurdish rebels who have been attacking Turkey from bases in Iraq. The agreement, however, falls short of meeting Ankara's demand to send troops in pursuit of Kurdish rebels fleeing across the border into northern Iraq, Turkey's Interior Minister Besir Atalay said. 'It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing Kurdish rebels, however, we hope this issue will be solved in the future,' Atalay said. 'We are expecting this cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as much as possible'."
Last night, Houston's The Progressive Forum (KPFT -- here for KPFT archives) devoted the second hour of the program to a speech by Gloria Steinem delivered September 17th in Houston, Texas and entitled "The Progression of Feminism: Where Are We Going?". Steinem declared near the start, "I arrived here this morning and I said, 'Oh, this is Ann Richards Airport.' Don't you think we're going to live to see the day when they'll be glad to change the name?" She then began addressing the efforts to destroy tribes, women, LBGT and other members in an attempt to dominate and colonialize. As she observed, "No, we can't go back and it's not about romanticizing the past but it is about understanding that if a system of male dominance had a beginning, it can have an end." Steinem's Outrageous Acts & Everyday Rebellions was mentioned in yesterday's snapshot as was a documentary, Anthony Thomas' Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done which a typo turned into "They" (I put in links on a good day and then dictate later in the day -- I dictate very fast and would have my own typos if I typed the snapshots -- we're noting this one because the documentary's title was wrong due to the typo "They Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done.")
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Vela is one of three soldiers from the same sniper team who are accused of premeditated murder in three shootings this spring. Their cases have provided a picture of mentally exhausted troops and the role they allegedly played in a "baiting program," in which snipers are believed to have planted fake weapons and bomb-making materials, then killed anyone who picked them up.
The alleged tactic was revealed in a hearing in July that eventually sent Hensley and Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr. to face court-martial on murder charges. The Pentagon refuses to speak publicly about baiting or other such tactics, but insists that military practices are within the law.
"My client is no murderer. He is a victim," said James Culp, Vela's civilian defense attorney, who suspects that baiting contributed to the slaying of the Iraqi man on May 11.
The above is from Ned Parker's "Soldier describes killing unarmed Iraqi" (Los Angeles Times) and, no, the kill teams were not revealed in July. The press didn't write about them until this week . . . unless they were covering James Burmeister in June. PvZ, who also can't be bothered with mentioning James Burmeister, does a far better job of covering it in this morning's New York Times with "Testimony in Court-Martial Describes a Sniper Squad Pressed to Raise Body Count:"
During a separate hearing here in July, Sgt. Anthony G. Murphy said he and other First Battalion snipers felt "an underlying tone" of disappointment from field commanders seeking higher enemy body counts.
"It just kind of felt like, 'What are you guys doing wrong out there?'" he said at the time.
That attitude among superiors changed earlier this year after Sergeant Hensley, an expert marksman, became a team leader, according to soldiers’ testimony. Though sometimes unorthodox, soldiers said, Sergeant Hensley and other snipers around him began racking up many more kills, pleasing the commanders.
Soldiers also testified that battalion commanders authorized a classified new technique that used fake explosives and detonation wires as "bait" to lure and kill suspected insurgents around Iskandariya, a hostile Sunni Arab region south of Baghdad.
As their superiors sought less restrictive rules of engagement -- to legalize the combat killing of anyone who made a soldier "feel threatened," for example, instead of showing hostile intent or actions -- the baiting program, as it was known, succeeded in killing more Iraqis suspected of being terrorists, soldiers testified.
But testimony in proceedings for Sergeant Hensley and, on Thursday, for Specialist Sandoval, both of whom face murder charges in connection with separate killings of Iraqi men last spring, suggest that as the integrity of the battalion’s secret baiting program began to crack, so did Sergeant Hensley.
In the days before media consolidation, possibly the editors of either reporters would be screaming, "Get a hold of Burmeister!" But in these days of soft competition, who has to worry when you're the only game in town?
The illegal contract ("illegal" is the term the Iraqi government used for it) Hunt Oil was hot for is the subject of Alissa J. Rubin and Andrew E. Kramer's "Official Calls Kurd Oil Deal at Odds With Baghdad" (New York Times):
A senior State Department official in Baghdad acknowledged Thursday that the first American oil contract in Iraq, that of the Hunt Oil Company of Dallas with the Kurdistan Regional Government, was at cross purposes with the stated United States foreign policy of strengthening the country’s central government.
"We believe these contracts have needlessly elevated tensions between the K.R.G. and the national government of Iraq," the official said, referring to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The official was not authorized to speak for attribution on the oil contract.
AP reports that puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, is rejecting the call by the US Senate to split Iraq into three sections. Don't get too excited, he'll mouth off only until his strings are pulled as evidenced by his backdown on the issue of Blackwater.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
the new york times
alissa j. rubin
andrew e. kramer
The alleged tactic was revealed in a hearing in July that eventually sent Hensley and Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr. to face court-martial on murder charges. The Pentagon refuses to speak publicly about baiting or other such tactics, but insists that military practices are within the law.
"My client is no murderer. He is a victim," said James Culp, Vela's civilian defense attorney, who suspects that baiting contributed to the slaying of the Iraqi man on May 11.
The above is from Ned Parker's "Soldier describes killing unarmed Iraqi" (Los Angeles Times) and, no, the kill teams were not revealed in July. The press didn't write about them until this week . . . unless they were covering James Burmeister in June. PvZ, who also can't be bothered with mentioning James Burmeister, does a far better job of covering it in this morning's New York Times with "Testimony in Court-Martial Describes a Sniper Squad Pressed to Raise Body Count:"
During a separate hearing here in July, Sgt. Anthony G. Murphy said he and other First Battalion snipers felt "an underlying tone" of disappointment from field commanders seeking higher enemy body counts.
"It just kind of felt like, 'What are you guys doing wrong out there?'" he said at the time.
That attitude among superiors changed earlier this year after Sergeant Hensley, an expert marksman, became a team leader, according to soldiers’ testimony. Though sometimes unorthodox, soldiers said, Sergeant Hensley and other snipers around him began racking up many more kills, pleasing the commanders.
Soldiers also testified that battalion commanders authorized a classified new technique that used fake explosives and detonation wires as "bait" to lure and kill suspected insurgents around Iskandariya, a hostile Sunni Arab region south of Baghdad.
As their superiors sought less restrictive rules of engagement -- to legalize the combat killing of anyone who made a soldier "feel threatened," for example, instead of showing hostile intent or actions -- the baiting program, as it was known, succeeded in killing more Iraqis suspected of being terrorists, soldiers testified.
But testimony in proceedings for Sergeant Hensley and, on Thursday, for Specialist Sandoval, both of whom face murder charges in connection with separate killings of Iraqi men last spring, suggest that as the integrity of the battalion’s secret baiting program began to crack, so did Sergeant Hensley.
In the days before media consolidation, possibly the editors of either reporters would be screaming, "Get a hold of Burmeister!" But in these days of soft competition, who has to worry when you're the only game in town?
The illegal contract ("illegal" is the term the Iraqi government used for it) Hunt Oil was hot for is the subject of Alissa J. Rubin and Andrew E. Kramer's "Official Calls Kurd Oil Deal at Odds With Baghdad" (New York Times):
A senior State Department official in Baghdad acknowledged Thursday that the first American oil contract in Iraq, that of the Hunt Oil Company of Dallas with the Kurdistan Regional Government, was at cross purposes with the stated United States foreign policy of strengthening the country’s central government.
"We believe these contracts have needlessly elevated tensions between the K.R.G. and the national government of Iraq," the official said, referring to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The official was not authorized to speak for attribution on the oil contract.
AP reports that puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, is rejecting the call by the US Senate to split Iraq into three sections. Don't get too excited, he'll mouth off only until his strings are pulled as evidenced by his backdown on the issue of Blackwater.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
the new york times
alissa j. rubin
andrew e. kramer