Saturday, October 13, 2007

Ruth's Report

Ruth: I believe it was in June that I last noted KPFA's interim program director Sasha Lilley and interim general manager Lemelm Rijio's Report to the Listener, "That was the only coherent report that Sasha Lilley, interim program director, has taken part in. Here is the reality, Ms. Lilley and interim general manager Lemlem Rijio, two grown women, cannot deliver a report on their own. With Andrea Lewis acting as moderator, the report was listenable, moved along nicely and sounded like you were hearing adults talking. On their own again, Ms. Lilley and Ms. Rijio are not just a mess, they sound like a really cruel Saturday Night Live skit."

Wednesday the latest Management Report to the Listener aired. To start with the good news, Ms. Lilley and Ms. Rijio were professional, prepared and there was no guffaws to be provided by the way they conducted themselves. That is no small thing and they deserve tremendous credit for the vast improvement.

Turning to the so-so or bad news, I doubt seriously Aaron Glantz would be featured on WBAI or KPFK, as he has been, promoting Pacifica's new online project The War Comes Home if other Pacifica stations were aware it was, as Ms. Lilley stated, a project to promote KPFA and provide it with an online presence. Ms. Lilley also explained two upcoming stories he will be covering which include homeless veterans and the abuses women in the military suffer. Mr. Glantz' The War Comes Home is a web site that produces audio and text reports and Mr. Glantz also blogs there. The audio portions a brief reports that can be picked up by other Pacifica outlets and, presumably, other public and college radio stations as well. As C.I. noted September 5th, the audio is "spots" or "carts" up to that point had ignored women: "Maybe it will explore command rape or some other topics the mainstream isn't already covering? And, let's be honest, women are the one being shut out of the discussion. Yes, Laura Flanders rightly noted that in terms of being invited to comment, but I'm talking about what I'm hearing from female veterans. They feel there was a 'flurry' of interest following the disgraceful treatment of Suzanne Swift and that interest then moved on. Certainly, the fact that The War Comes Home can post ten profile stories and not a one of them be about a woman backs their feelings up." So the issue of women, Ms. Lilley provided the news that they will now be covered by The War Comes Home. As to her assertion that homeless veterans are soon to be covered, The War Comes Home has already covered that topic so presumably they will be expanding on it.

As for The War Comes Home being a project to expand KPFA's online presence, KPFA's on hypocritical territory. They drove off a number of online listeners when they announced at the station's website that one of the measures they were considering was reducing online streaming.

On July 15th, royalty payments for webcast music will increase by as much as 1200%. This outrageous and unfair ruling will result in many webcasters owing music royalty fees that are more than their yearly budget! Because of this, many popular internet radio services will shut down.Non-commercial stations, like KPFA, must pay the commercial royalty rate once a certain amount of online listeners tune in. KPFA may have to limit the amount of online listeners we have.

KPFA posted that threat in July and I noted it in this report. The webcast royalty issue is still up in the air at this point but KPFA has removed the threat of "KPFA may have to limit the amount of online listeners we have." If they are now concerned with increasing their online presence, instead of disappearing the threat, they might want to try addressing it because that was probably the biggest topic this summer. I heard from community members complaining about it, I also heard from visitors. That was in July and the complaints continue. Kat does not even listen to KPFA currently as a result of the fallout this has provided. For Kat, it is just a matter of turning on the radio, but she was and is offended that KPFA would step away from Lewis Hill's mission of reaching as many people as possible and instead threated to reduce the audience.

Disappearing the threat did not make it go away or vanish from the minds of listeners. For the listeners' report to speak of the need to increase the online presence of KPFA mere months after KPFA was threatening to limit the stream is more than a bit hypocritical.

There never was and never will be a need to limit listeneres over the issue of royalties. KPFA can use the same button they do to remove objectionable langauge when bumper music came on. Listeners would hear silence during those bumper breaks. Programs that are devoted solely to music might require blocking but that was not what the threat stated, the threat stated online listeners might have to be limited. It was panic and overreaching on the part of KPFA and whether Mr. Glantz' project can increase their online presence or not, the fact remains that themselves have done more to damage their online reputation by making a threat.

To repeat, the threat is not forgotten. I heard from a visitor in Australia this week who wrote he no longer listens to KPFA and misses it but better to find something else available than to wait for the hammer to fall. They damanged themselves worldwide with that threat and, until they address it, side projects will most likely be of little help to increasing their online presence.

New programming on KPFA was put on hold at this site due to the threat. Members were outraged by it and C.I. declared a three month hold on it. That did not apply to my reports. I am allowed to note whatever I want. But due to members feelings and to address the outrage, C.I. noted in the gina & krista round-robin, that there would be no mention of new programming on KPFA for three months and, after the three month period, the mood would be measured again. On Monday, I decided I would steam the listeners' report Wednesday and cover it here. When I told C.I., C.I. said a few mentions would be included of KPFA to test the waters. So Aileen Alfandary was mentioned in a snapshot and Susan Faludi's Wednesday appearance was mentioned. The reaction? Still hostile. I heard this week from three members who had listened to KPFA online, who had donated regularly to KPFA, and who had complained via the KPFA complaint form about the threat. They each explained that KPFA had never bothered to reply.

That is why there is hostility to KPFA still. It has never replied. It has never replied to listeners who donate or do not donate, it has never issued any statement acknowledging the threat was a mistake. It was a mistake and until KPFA addresses that, they will continue to have trouble with their online presence.

As for this community, where do we stand? This report is the subject of Gina and Krista's latest poll. Members will determine whether the three month period is over or if it is extended and, if it is extended, by how long. There are many who feel like Kat, such as Zach and Mia, members who could listen over the radio to KPFA but make a point to now stream and they are not streaming KPFA. They are taking a stand of soldarity. When you are dealing with a listener report from a program director and a general manager and the topic of increasing online listening is brought up without either noting the problem KPFA created, you have to question the value of the listener report.

The year long sabbatical of Andrea Lewis from The Morning Show makes the "turning off" easier for most members. The shame there is that Aimee Allison, co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None, is filling in for Ms. Lewis and, no doubt, doing a wonderful job. The shame is that Philip Maldari did a wonderful interview with Susan Faludi about her new book The Terror Dream last Wednesday. Instead of merely reciting main points, Ms. Faludi and Mr. Maldari went beyond the book to offer additional examples of Ms. Faludi's thesis. But there are other streams to listen to online, including other Pacifica stations, and I doubt that Ms. Allison, a war resister from the first Gulf War, being added or Mitch Jesserich becoming producer of The Morning Show, will change the mood.

KPFA made a serious mistake by issuing that threat and to speak now, as Ms. Lilley and Ms. Rijio did Wednesday, about increasing the station's online presence without addressing the thing that has soured listeners was a mistake. I will check back in for next month's report. Hopefully, somewhere between the usual "I hate Dennis Bernstein" nonsense calls, the two women can take time to address the threat and issue an apology.














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A war criminal tries a p.r. makeover

First off, thank you to Trina who posted last Saturday's entry and will be hitting the publish button on this one after everyone's posted. That was noted in an entry Saturday that she posted for me but she deleted that note. (Out of modesty.) So I'm noting that (again) at the top. I hold the Saturday entries so that we can include "Since Friday morning, the following community sites have updated" note.



Now The Nation has done another "online exclusive" on Ehren Watada. Print subscribers and purchasers of the magazine in stores are only aware of Watada in a comment where he's called a "coward" and a sidebar which accompanies that lengthy article (by the Pooper). As usual, the Watada reporting is done by Jeremy Brcher and Brendan Smith (and they've done their usual strong job -- there's no problem with the article itself). We'll note the article when Common Dreams or Truthout republishes it. Those are online only sites and there's no decision being made of, "Is this worth printing?" The Nation is a magazine and a website and the magazine has repeatedly made the decision not to cover Watada, the same way it has refused to cover war resisters. (Or even use the term 'war resisters' these days.)



Ricardo Sanchez yet again became a media darling yesterday and the love-fest will no doubt continue short of his ass being locked away for his War Crimes in regards to Abu Ghraib. Janis Karpinski has been very clear on Sanchez' involvement. It's worth noting that some on the left (or 'left') would applaud Henry Kissinger in real time as well when a morsel of truth got mixed in with his lies. The New York Times loves War Criminals. They front page Sanchez today in an article by David S. Cloud. Sanchez isn't calling for withdrawal. What's he doing? The Hank Kissinger Walk. Trying to salvage his own reputation. We're not interested in helping the p.r. rehab of War Criminals. Were he calling for a withdrawal we wouldn't be interested. Abu Ghraib is not forgotten in this community and we're not interested in applauding Sanchez.



What should have been on the front page is Paul von Zielbauer's "U.S. Investigates Civilian Toll in Airstrike, but Holds Insurgents Responsible." But maybe the uncredited borrowing from Deborah Haynes (Times of London) disqualified it? (It was cute last week when the Times of London felt the need to point out they led on the calls for asylum to collaborators. Maybe the Times of New York and Times of London will begin regularly engaging in slap fights?)



The topic is front page. But PvZ's approach isn't. It should be clear what's needed to sort out the US claims (they admit to killing 15 civilians): international law -- signed on to by the US. PvZ avoids that. If he hadn't, he might have an article. As it is, the best we can expect is Haynes to tackle the borrowing next week.



On the front page, James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Michael Kamber contribute "New Evidence That Guards Took No Fire" opens with:



Fresh accounts of the Blackwater shooting last month, given by three rooftop witnesses and by American soldiers who arrived shortly after the gunfire ended, cast new doubt Friday on statements by Blackwater guards that they were responding to armed insurgents when Iraqi investigators say 17 Iraqis were killed at a Baghdad intersection last week.

The three witnesses, Kurds on a rooftop overlooking the scene, said they observed no gunfire that could have provoked the shooting by Blackwater guards, and American soldiers who arrived minutes later found shell casings from guns normally used by American contractors, as well as the American military.



For anyone wondering, after justifying the behavior the mercenary group last week, the gas bags at PBS' Washington Week elected to avoid the topic this week. Reality apparently left them too bruised when it slapped them all upside their uninformed heads.



Carl notes Margaret Kimberley's "Desmond Tutu Silenced" (Freedom Rider, Black Agenda Report):



Aside from the Bushite assaults on civil liberties, there is another dangerous threat to free speech in this country. That threat falls on anyone who dares to criticize the Israeli government or America's foreign policy towards Israel. Simply put, there is no right to free speech where discussion of Israel is concerned. Critics of Israel are censored and silenced, regardless of prior reputation or professional standing.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace prize in 1986 for his efforts to peacefully end apartheid in his South African homeland. He served for many years as Archbishop of Cape Town and is one of the most highly respected Christian clergyman in the world. Tutu recently returned from a fact finding mission to Darfur that also included Jimmy Carter.

None of the accolades, honors, or awards bestowed on Tutu over the years were enough to protect him from the power of the pro-Israeli lobby. Tutu was invited to speak at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. The event, scheduled to take place in the spring of 2008, was sponsored by a youth group dedicated to practicing non-violence.
What followed has now become all too familiar. The university president, Father Dennis Dease, withdrew the invitation after a local organization, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, protested. The JCRC said that Jews were "hurt" about Tutu's comments on Israel. Father Dennis Dease, the university president, uses this claimed hurt as his reason for canceling the speech.



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





The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.























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Friday, October 12, 2007

Iraq snapshot

Friday, October 12, 2007.  Chaos and violence continue, a new possible outbreak in Iraq, Democrats in Congress no longer just cave -- now they whine too, torture continues and women remain under attack.
 
 
As Denise Winebrenner Edwards (People's Weekly World) notes, this was to be the week of the second court-martial of Ehren Watada until US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle granted a stay through at least October 26th.  Ben Hamamoto (Nichi Bei Times) reports on an October 8th San Francisco press conference held by Pacific Islanders Resist and the Watada Support Committee where Luke Hiken (of the National Lawyers Guild Military Task Force) explained, "Under our constitution, the military is under the judiciary of the United States.  In other words, all federal court systems, up to the United States Supreme Court, have authority over the conduct of military personnel when appropriate.  Accordingly, federal district courts, all the way up to the courts of appeal and U.S. Supreme Court, intervene when there are violations of U.S. military regulations or laws that contravene the U.S. Constitution.  The trial council indicated that there was no jeopardy attached to the case, because the defense had not completed its entire presentation, which is nonsense.  In (such a case) jeopardy is attached the second the first witness is called by the prosecution."  Hiken is referring to the double-jeopardy issue.  In February, Watada was court-martialed.  Judge Toilet (John Head) presided.  Opening arguments were presented.  The prosecution called their witnesses.  And their witnesses did a pretty good job of making the defense's case.  That was day two.  Day three was when Watada was supposed to testify.  Instead, Judge Toilet was suddenly shocked by a stipulation he had read, he had agreed to, and he had explained to the jury.  Despite his own involvement at all steps of the stipulation, suddenly Judge Toilet wanted to say Watada didn't understand it.  This was the excuse Judge Toilet created to call a mistrial.  He did so over defense objection.  Because the trial had started, double-jeopardy had attached -- as National Lawyers Guild president Marjorie Cohn has pointed out since the start. 
 
Through Thursday, November 1st, we'll be including, in the snapshots, this National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force announcement: The Military Law Task Force and the Center on Conscience & War are sponsoring a Continuing Legal Education seminar -- Representing Conscientious Objectors in Habeas Corpus Proceedings -- as part of the National Lawyers Guild National Convention in Washington, D.C.  The half-day seminar will be held on Thursday, November 1st, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the convention site, the Holiday Inn on the Hill in D.C.  This is a must-attend seminar, with excelent speakers and a wealth of information.  The seminar will be moderated by the Military Law Task Force's co-chair Kathleen Gilberd and scheduled speakers are NYC Bar Association's Committee on Military Affairs and Justice's Deborah Karpatkin, the Center on Conscience & War's J.E. McNeil, the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee's Peter Goldberger, Louis Font who has represented Camilo Mejia, Dr. Mary Hanna and others, and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objector's James Feldman.  The fee is $60 for attorneys; $25 for non-profit attorneys, students and legal workers; and you can also enquire about scholarships or reduced fees.  The convention itself will run from October 31st through November 4th and it's full circle on the 70th anniversary of NLG since they "began in Washington, D.C." where "the founding convention took place in the District at the height of the New Deal in 1937,  Activist, progressive lawyers, tired of butting heads with the reactionary white male lawyers then comprising the American Bar Association, formed the nucleus of the Guild." 
 
Watada is only one Iraq War resister.  Courage to Resist reports on James Circello Jr. who self-checked out in April of 2007 and writes about his experience in the poem "I saw kids turn into animals:"
 
I saw kids turn into animals.
Members of my own unit, who I will never speak negatively about,
doing things that one day I know
will haunt them.
 
I saw soldiers mistreating detained Iraqis.
Detained on nothing more than pure suspicion in some cases.
But why not, it was the Old West, anything goes and anything did go.
Honestly.
 
Questionable shootings.
Questionable decisions by superior commanders.
Nothing ever questioned by your superiors.
You as the Soldier were always in the right.
 
Courage to Resist also has an interview (transcript and audio) with war resister Mark Wilkerson conducted by The War Comes Home's Aaron Glantz.  At one point, Wilkerson explains, "I discussed many of these issues with a lot of other soldiers there [in Iraq]; a lot of them just didn't want to think about it at all.  And then when I got back, to see the way the media portrayed the war and the way many people thought the war was going on, and then finally, after a few months, seeing some resisters coming on television -- I remember seeing Camilo Mejia in an interview and thinking, 'Wow, there are people out there like me, who are confused and angry and upset.'  This 'conscientious objector' that I applied for, it was a very rough patch for me.  It was a period of -- I ended up applying for conscientious objector in June.  I took the rules fo conscientious objector home, and in the course of one night, I answered all the questions.  I filled out my form.  It was mostly seething.  I was very angry, so I put all the emotion into what should be a very proper, very well thought-out document and application.  I turned it in.  I was told that I had a week to fill it out.  And then over the next several months, I sometimes got in many arguments and heated debates with my chain of command -- my first sergeant, my platoon sergeant, some military chaplains, military investigators, military psychologists . . ."  November 2005, he was denied CO status -- as most who apply are -- and decided to self-check out.  He announced he was turning himself in August 2006 at Camp Casey and was eventually sentenced to imprisonment in Fort Still, OK.
 
Sunday in Corvallis, Oregon (a college town not far from Portland) Gerry Condon will speak at the Odd Fellows Hall, 223 S.W. Second St. at 7:00 pm.  Gerry Condon is a war resister from the Vietnam era and he's very active in war resistance today.  He can speak about war resisters in Canada -- not just Kyle Snyder, but he knows Snyder's case front to back -- and about the legal process in Canada which has thus far refused to grant any war resisters of this era refugee status.  Along with a can't-miss-speech, those attending will also be able to see Michelle Mason's Breaking Ranks -- a documentary about war resisters in Canada today.  Paul Fattig (Mail Tribune) reports that Condon will also "give a talk about his work at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Medford Congregational United Church of Christ."
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, 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, Blake LeMoine, 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, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, 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.
 
Earlier this week,  National Lawyers Guild president Marjorie Cohn (at Truthout) addressed the issue of torture noting that the administration continues to deny it tortures when the reality is the White House has okayed torture for some time, "Torture is a war crime. Those who commit or order torture can be convicted under the U.S. War Crimes Statute. Techniques that don't rise to the level of torture but constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment also violate U.S. law. Congress should provide for the appointment of a special independent counsel to fully investigate and prosecute all who are complicit in the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody."  AP quoted former president Jimmy Carter declaring this week on CNN, "Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights. We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime."  Yesterday the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq released  (PDF format warning) "Human Rights Report 1 April  -- 30 June 2007" which found many human rights abuses but let's zoom in on the issues having to do with imprisonment.  Those being held went from 17,565 in March to 21,112 by the end of June leading to overcrowding in holding facilities across Iraq, prolonged periods of waiting for something resembling justice to arrive, denial of "access to legal counsel and to family visits," and "reports of the widespread and routine torture or ill-treatment of detainees, particularly those being held in pre-trial detention facitilities under Ministry of Interior facilities, including police stations.  Several such cases were document during the reporting period, where UNAMI was able to interview and examine victims of physical abuse shortly following their release or following their conviction and transfer to a Ministry of Justice prison."  So torture and abuse is alive and well in Iraq.  For all the Bully Boy's grand words of creating a torture free Iraq, Abu Ghraib (and other earlier, less well known events) demonstrated that the US will torture so it's no surprise that the Iraqis placed in charge (by the US and its puppets) will as well.   Dropping back to the snapshot on September 6th:
 
Turning to retired generals,  Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) reported today, "A panel of retired US generals is urging the United States to disband and reorganize the Iraqi police force because of infiltration by sectarian militias.  The generals also report Iraq's security forces will be unable to fulfill their essential security responsibilities independently for at least another twelve to 18 months."  Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) explains that the national police force as well as the Iraq Interior Ministry are "riddled with sectarianism and corruption" by the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq headed by James Jones (Marine general) in there 150-plus page report which also finds the Iraqi army at least  a year to 18 months away from being able to handle "internal security". 
 
The US is as aware of what's going on as is the United Nations -- in fact the US is aware of their own tactics and, if the United Nations knows about the US tactics, it's doubtful they would report them.  Joshua Partlow and Column Lynch (Washington Post) report today that the UN report was ready months ago (August) "but release of the final version was delayed for more than a month following a request by the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker, according to a confidential account by a senior U.N. official."  Of course, the delay was really to make sure nothing flashed a little reality while Crocker and David Petraeus were in the midst of Operation Happy Talk on Congress.  But the reality is that, forget what the US itself does, torture being conducted by Iraqis placed in charge -- known torture -- reflects back to the US and turning a blind eye does not make it any less culpable of War Crimes charges for the torture.
 
Sticking with war crimes, yesterday Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit against the mercenary company Blackwater USA.  More information can be found here at CCR and in Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez'  "EXCLUSIVE - Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting" (Democracy Now!) from yesterday.  The lawsuit is over the September 16th Baghdad slaughter where Blackwater employees killed as many as 17 Iraqi civilians.  Anne Penketh (Independent of London) quotes Ivana Vuco ("the most senior UN human rights officer in Iraq") declaring, "For us, it's a human rights issue.  We will monitor the allegations of killings by security contractors and look into whether or not crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed" and -- pay attention because this applies to torture as well -- there is a "responbility to investigate, supervise and prosecute those accused of wrongdoing."  "I don't recall" and "To the best of my memory" may have allowed the Reagan administration to avoid convictions but possibly Bully Boy should just stick with the classic "I am not a crook"?
 
Stayin with the UN report and human rights issues, one of the key areas to emerge in the report is Kurdistan which -- despite the p.r. hype -- has never been 'safe.'  Human rights organizations have long been documenting the problems in the northern region. The new UN report (PDF warning) notes the 'peaceful region':

The human rights situation in the Kurdistan region remains of concern in a number of areas, including continuing incidents involving violence against women, the abuse of detainees and the prolonged detention without charge or trial of hundreds of detainees held on suspicion of terror-related offences. UNAMI is encouraged, however, by sveral measures adopted by the KRG authorities in recent months in an effort to address some of these concerns, including the review of long-standing detention practices followed by the regional authorities' security forces. UNAMI hopes that such measures, if seriously followed up, would pave the way for greater accountability for government officials suspected or known to have abused their authority.

Along with the targeting of journalists (and the Kurdish response that 646 licenses have been given to news outlets -- and how that has nothing to do with the targeting -- arrests and detentions -- of journalists) and the persecution of Assyrians and Turkoman, the region has an 18% increase in violence against women ("15 deaths caused by blunt objects, 87 deaths by burning and 15 deaths by shooting for the first quarter of 2007; for the second quarter, there were 8 deaths caused by blunt objects, 108 deaths by burning and 21 deaths by shooting"), a serious lack of punishments for these deaths (both in arrests and -- when the rare arrest is made -- in sentencing).  The situation for women throughout Iraq is awful.  Earlier this week, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reported on Article 41 in the still unfinalized constitution which "women's rights activists and legal scholars" argue "opens the door to rule by draconian interpretations of Islamic law that could sanction the stoning of adulterous women, allow underage girls to be forced into marriage and permit men to abandon their wives by declaring, 'I divorce you,' three times" while Basra is demonstrating "signs of religious extremism being used to rein in women.  Police say gangs enforcing their idea of Islamic law have killed 15 women in the last month" -- over "what the women wear or because they are using makeup."  It smells like 'freedom' to Bully Boy and Laura Bush.  To the rest of the world, it smells like something else. 
 
Turning to some of today's violence . . .
 
Bombings?
 
AFP reports, "Iraqi civilians bore the brunt Friday of a bloody start to Eid al-Fitr, as a US air raid killed 15 women and children, and a sinister suicide attack on a playground shocked a northern town."  This is the attack noted in yesterday's snapshot. Deborah Haynes (Times of London) notes this is "one of the highest civilian death tolls acknowledged by the military since the March 2003 invasion" and also notes the playground attack which claimed the lives of 2 children with seveteen wounded. Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 4 lives (Iraqi police officers) and left fifteen more injured and a Salahuddin bombing ("inside a bag of flour on a handcart") in which "[a] woman was killed and 16 people most of them children".
 
Shootings?
 
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer shot dead in an attack in Qadisiyah.  Reuters notes a police officer shot dead and his wife injured in a home invasion in Kut.
 
Corpses?
 
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.  Reuters notes a corpse was discovered in Mahaweel.
 
Torture, bombings, lack of potable water, cholera, what else?  Reuters reports the latest issue, "The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday it had asked Iraqi authorities to probe media reports of several cases of Rift Valley Fever in animals.  The viral disease primarily affects animals but can infect humans through handling of blood or ogans of infected animals, leading to high rates of disease and death, according to the United Nations health agency."
 
Turning to US politics.  As Cedric and Wally noted yesterday  US Senator Barack Obama who would like to be the 2008 Democratic nominee for president has a new "trust me" campaign.  Having repeatedly run on the fact that he was against the illegal war in 2002 but unable to vote because he wasn't in the Congress, he's now taking Senator Hillary Clinton -- who would also like to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee -- to task for voting for what some see as an authorization for war on Iraqn.  Obama is highly offended by Clinton's recent vote in the Senate.  So offended that some might wonder how he voted?  Answer: He didn't vote.  He's taking her to task for what is a bad vote but he didn't care enough about the issue to be present to vote.  That's leadership?
 
Leadership?  Let's turn to other non-leaders.  US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  On Wednesday, David Swanson (AfterDowningSt) noted Pelosi's latest bits of insanity including her despair that people would protest outside her mansion ("If they were poor and they were sleeping on my sidewalk, they would be arrested for loitering!" hissed our modern day Marie) and how people like her weren't "advocates.  We are leaders."  Rebecca noted in her post to Pelosi, "poor nancy. oh the horror! in her botox mansion with americans outside! she might have been so troubled by the sight that her frozen face almost registered emotion. the horror!  'they are advocates,' sputters the cowardly trash, 'we are leaders!' well where the hell are you leading the country, princess crap?"  Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan notes (at CounterPunch) that Pelosi's attitude "is truly the problem with what was once a Representative Republic and now is a country run by 'elected' officials who believe that they, indvidually and collectively, are above any accountability and are not answerable to their constituents.  Our public servants erroneously believe that they are leaders!  . . .  No, Ms. Pelosi, you are not a leader.  You have proven time and again in what you laughably believe is a 'mistake' free run as Speaker of a Democratic House that you will do anything to protect an Imperial Presidency to the detriment of this Nation and the world, particularly the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.  This Democratic Congress supported BushCo's disastrous and deadly surge; handed him over billions of their constituent's tax dollars to wage this murder; have by their silence and votes countenanced an invasion of another country; approved more restrictions on the rights of the citizenry to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure; Ms. Pelosi does not even know if 'torture' (which violates international law and the 8th Amendment in our Bill of Rights) is an impeachable offense; and worst of all the impeachment clauses were taken 'off the table' in an ongoing partnership with BushCo to make the office of the presidency a Congressionally protected crime conglomerate that is rapidly sending this Nation down a crap-hold of fascism."
 
Meanwhile the Dems in leadership are crying.  David M. Herszenhorn (New York Times) notes that there is "tension between Democratic lawmakers and their base" and provides the opportunity for Dems to once again blame the voters as opposed to taking a look at their own actions.  The Republican base gets frustrated with their leadership all the time. And Republicans generally respond to that. They don't blame the base, they don't whine about the base, they don't publicly insult the base.  But, taking the lead from Pelosi, Democrats in Congress have no problem hectoring and trashing the voters who put them in power.  When you have to make non-stop excuses for your actions, then the problem is probably you and not the base. When you're so ineffectual that you continue to cite the minimum wage nonsense as your point of pride (blood money because Dems snuck it into an Iraq bill), you've got nothing to be proud of. Instead of whining at and blaming the base, Democrats in Congress need to grow up real damn quick and grasp that the 2008 elections that they feel are the end-all-be-all are not going to benefit from the repeated trashing of Democratic voters. Leadership needs to take some accountability and Pelosi especially needs to stop trashing Democratic voters publicly.
 
And for those who don't get how weak Congressional Dems have been, note this from Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez' interview with the Boston Globe's Charlie Savage (Democracy Now!):
 
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about wiretapping, the controversy now, the frustration that people have with the Democrats, supposedly the opposition party, going along with the Republicans.
 
CHARLIE SAVAGE: Well, the background is that after 9/11, as we all know now, Bush gave the military the authority to wiretap phone calls without warrants, in defiance of a 1978 law that required warrants for that situation. And he used a very aggressive legal theory about the President's powers as commander-in-chief to bypass laws at his own discretion. Because that program was only legal if that theory were true, that meant that the fact that they did this set a precedent that says that theory is true, and future presidents will be able to cite that precedent when they want to evade any other law that restricts their own authority.
So now, going forward, one of the ways this agenda has been able to be so successfully implemented was that there was no resistance from Congress. At the very moment there was this stronger push coming out of the Vice President's office to expand the presidential power as an end to itself in any way possible, because of one-party rule for six years and because of the atmosphere of crisis after 9/11, there was no push back. And that's how the ball was moved so far down the field.
And one of the things that's been very interesting about the last year is now we have split control of government again, and so the question was, how is that going to change things? And what we've seen from the Protect America Act in August and the dynamic going forward is that even with split control of government, the dynamic is still there. Congress is just as it was for the first twenty or thirty years of the Cold War, when the original imperial presidency was growing under presidents of both parties, by the way. Congress is again unwilling to push back against the White House's assertion that it needs ever more authority, and checks and balances will result in bloodshed. And so, I think, going forward, that you can see that this dynamic is going to be with us. And, of course, two years from now, we may have one-party control of government again, the other party, but that will just sort of hurl us further down this path, I think.
 
JUAN GONZALEZ: And this issue of the President seeking to protect those in the corporate world who go along with his policies -- well, first of all, obviously, there was the retroactive immunity to the airline companies after 9/11 for their failure to act to provide a kind of security on their planes, giving them immunity from any possible lawsuits, and now this effort by the administration to try to provide retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that went along with his surveillance program.
 
CHARLIE SAVAGE: Well, and what this is, is because Congress has demonstrated that it's really not going to do anything about the basic fact that the President asserted he could bypass a law and then he acted on that assertion, and, you know, that established he can do that, or whoever else is president at any given moment from now on can do that, that the one sort of last place where critics of this sort of extraordinary development could still have some traction was the lawsuit against the companies, which had also evidently broken privacy laws by going along with this. So, by seeking retroactive immunity, it's sort of the last place closing off the possibility of accountability.
 
Meanwhile the Illinois Green Party holds a fall membership meeting Crystal Lake, IL October 13th and 14th at the McHenry County College.
 
Candidates in attendance will hold a press conference Saturday from 1 to 2 pm at McHenry County College and they include:

Kent Mesplay (Presidential)
Jerome Pohlen (U.S. Congress, 3rd District)
Moe Shanfield (U.S. Congress, 9th District)
Dave Kalbfleisch (U.S. Congress, 10th District)
Rodger Jennings ( U.S. Congress, 12th District)
Steve Alesch (U.S. Congress, 13th District)
Tony Cox (State Representative, 9th District)
Kevin O'Connor (State Representative, 41st District)
Sandy Lezon (State Representative, 50th District)
Charlie Howe (State Representative, 115th District)
James Geocaris (McHenry County Board, 3rd District)
 
 
On PBS this weekend, Friday October 12th in most markets, NOW with David Brancaccio will air a one hour program, "Child Brides: Stolen Lives" documenting "the heartbreaking global phenomenon of forced child marriage, and the hope behind breaking the cycle of poverty and despair it causes." They've created an e-Card you can send to friends and family or to yourself to provide a heads up to the broadcast (and there is no cost to send the e-Card). Maria Hinojosa will report from Niger, Guatemala, India, etc.
 

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When I move in some neighborhoods in Baghdad, I see the blast walls increasing day after day and when I write the violence reports, some simple questions came to my mind and I think most of my people ask the same questions. If we have this daily violence in the different neighborhoods of Baghdad, why do the Americans and the Iraqi government insist on building more blast walls? Why do we lose more cement, more sand and more water for useless thing?
The government could build thousands of houses and give them to the unemployed young men whom some of them involve in the daily violence because they have nothing in this country.


The above is from "blast walls" (Inside Iraq, McClatchy Newspapers). Where is the concern for the security of Iraqis? It's the vacuum that the militias filled because no one else bothered to. In this morning's New York Times, Sabrina Tavernise -- still reeling from pimping with James Glanz a Blackwater-written report as a UN embassy report -- gets 'creative' with "Relations Sour Between Shiites and Iraq Militia:"


In a number of Shiite neighborhoods across Baghdad, residents are beginning to turn away from the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia they once saw as their only protector against Sunni militants. Now they resent it as a band of street thugs without ideology.


Now there are tensions and they've been there for some time. But the article reads like "If we write it, it will become true." And the embarrassment isn't helped much by the fact that the articles based on 'interviews' with 10 Iraqis. Wow! Ten Iraqis. Well, they have really gone all out to do the work, haven't they. Talk about spending that three million dollars a year wisely to produce some of the finest journalism ever witnessed. Fortunately for Tavernise military whispers (some sourced, some unsourced) back up her point of view so she won't get in hot water -- though this embarrassing artice should raise eye brows. She also shares a byline with Sebnem Arsu on A11 entitled "Inside Turkey's Psyche: Traumatic Issues Trouble a Nation's Sense of Identity" which includes "psyche" in the text (headline writers are responsible for the Times' news headlines): "The answer is hidden deep inside the Turkish psyche" begins one sentence. Unless you also happen to hold a degree allowing you to treat mental illness, hard news reporters should stay away from such 'breezy' talk especially in what's billed as a "NEWS ANALYSIS." Hard news reporters address the concrecte, they don't conjecture about the 'human spirit' or a nation's 'psyche.'

Meanwhile, if the cholera outbreak weren't bad enough, Reuters reports:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday it had asked Iraqi authorities to probe media reports of several cases of Rift Valley Fever in animals. The viral disease primarily affects animals but can infect humans through handling of blood or organs of infected animals, leading to high rates of disease and death, according to the United Nations health agency.

Julia notes an AP article and we're noting it but via Washington Post which will have it online after some sites have locked everything away in their non-archives. This is from Charles J. Gans'"Joni Mitchell's Muse Returns on 'Shine':"

The lyrics and melodies began flowing. The song "Bad Dreams" developed out of a profound remark by her 3-year-old grandson, "Bad dreams are good in the great plan." "Night of the Iguana" and "Hana" reflect her passion for old movies. Other songs like "Strong and Wrong" grew out of the anger she felt over the current state of affairs: the war in Iraq, global warming, torture and illegal wiretapping.
"I was mad at the government. Mad at Americans for not doing something about it," Mitchell said. "They were so quick to impeach Clinton for kinky sex and so slow to do something about ... the country turning into Nazi stormtroopers, and it's still smoggy. ... It was all that losing freedom and everybody just kind of oblivious, like what happened in Germany."
But Mitchell's melodies on "Shine" are anything but angry. She updated her 1970 hit "Big Yellow Taxi" -- her prescient environmental protest song -- giving it a lighthearted French-circus music arrangement with some humorous accordion sounds. On "If I Had A Heart," she laments "Holy Earth/How can we heal you?/We cover you like a blight/Strange birds of appetite," but the tune itself is a gorgeous ballad.
Mitchell created the music in the studio by herself with just her engineer, laying down synthesizer, piano and guitar tracks. She later brought in some guests including bassist and ex-husband Larry Klein; Bob Sheppard, who adds warm vibrato jazz saxophone solos; and James Taylor, whose guitar can be heard on the psalm-like title track.
Mitchell's hiatus from music had allowed her to partially recover from the vocal nodules, compressed larynx and muscular degeneration of post-polio syndrome that she felt had limited her vocal range on her last albums.
"I think she's singing better than ever myself," said Klein, her longtime musical partner, in a telephone interview. "Of course her voice has changed dramatically from her early records ... where she thinks she sounds like she was on helium."
"This record was a very personal process for her," he said. "Something that she just had to do to pry open wherever the muse comes from inside her."

Kat reviewed the amazing Shine CD last week and concluded:

The music is gorgeous throughout, Joni's vocals are strong and sure, and thematically, it's one to put in her canon which says a great deal because her canon already includes such notables as Blue, Court & Spark, Night Ride Home, For The Roses and Dog Eat Dog. Her lows would make for most people's highs. This is an amazing album and, yes, you can pick it up at Starbucks. Wherever you pick it up, you need to. Shine is not just one of the year's finest, it's one of Joni's most gorgeous albums. The tempos and arrangements of The Hissing of Summer Lawns did nothing for me but they inspired Prince. I'm sure this album will be an inspiration to artists for years to come. If it doesn't make your own playlist, you're cheating yourself.

jonimitchell
If you're wondering where the artists commenting on today are, they are out there and Joni Mitchell is among them. Shine is magnificent. On PBS this weekend, Friday October 12th in most markets, NOW with David Brancaccio will air a one hour program, "Child Brides: Stolen Lives" documenting "the heartbreaking global phenomenon of forced child marriage, and the hope behind breaking the cycle of poverty and despair it causes." They've created an e-Card you can send to friends and family or to yourself to provide a heads up to the broadcast (and there is no cost to send the e-Card). Maria Hinojosa will report from Niger, Guatemala, India, etc.:

On Friday, October 12 at 8:30 pm (check local listings), NOW's Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels around the world for a revealing exploration of early child marriage in developing countries, and how people can act locally and globally to solve the problem. The hour-long special, "Child Brides: Stolen Lives," marks the first time the subject has been documented in a primetime television newsmagazine. Countries visited include Niger, India and Guatemala.The stakes are high: child brides typically experience high rates of childbirth complications, HIV infection, partner violence, and a cycle of poverty. An estimated 100 million girls will be married over the next 10 years.In her report, Hinojosa takes viewers on a journey of sorrow, healing and hope, including scenes of an illegal midnight wedding in India where children as young as three are married. In each country, Hinojosa shares the work of brave community members who are campaigning to end the centuries-old practice of child marriage - sometimes putting their own lives at risk.

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15 dead in yesterday's air strike and Dems want to complain about their base

The U.S. military acknowledged that it killed 15 civilians and wounded four others in an operation Thursday targeting alleged senior leaders of the group Al Qaeda in Iraq in a region northwest of Baghdad. The statement said 19 suspected insurgents also were killed.
The military said it acted on an intelligence report that insurgent leaders were meeting near Tharthar Lake, between Anbar and Salahuddin provinces, and sent in air and ground forces, killing four suspected militants. A second assault was launched against a site south of the lake, to which the militants were believed to have fled. The second attack killed six women and nine children, as well as 15 suspected militants, a U.S. military statement said.


The above is from Christian Berthelsen's "U.S. says 15 Iraqi civilians killed in raid" (Los Angeles Times). From yesterday's snapshot, quoting the UN report:


During the period of the report, UNAMI found that "88 civilians were reportedly killed during air strikes conducted by MNF forces. They included the following: nine civilians killed in five villages in the al-Anbakiya area near Ba'quba on 11 March; two civilians killed in Dulu'iya in Salahuddin Governorate on 15 March; 16 civilians killed in Sadr City in Baghdad on 30 March; 27 civilians killed in Khaldiya, Ramadi, on 3 April; four civilians killed in Sadr City and four others west of Taji on 26 April; three civilians killed in Basra on 30 April; seven civilians killed east of Baghdad on 5 May; one civilian killed in Sadr City on 6 May; and eight civilians killed in Basra on 26 May. On 8 May, seven children were reportedly killed when helicopters attacked an elementary school in a village in Diyala Governorate near the Iranian border. Following this incident, a spokesperson for US forces in Iraq, Lieutenant-Colonel Christoper Garver, announced that the MNF authorities were conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the children. However, the findings of such investigations are not systematically publicized. On 28 June, UNAMI wrote to the MNF Chief of Staff, seeking further information on all these recorded incidents in which civilians were said to have been killed during air strikes.


The UN report is an indictment against the illegal war and makes clear there has been no improvement, let alone no 'win'. So pay attention to this section of Joshua Partlow and Colum Lynch's "U.N. Report on Iraq Details An 'Ever-Deepening' Crisis" (Washington Post) that Martha's nothing this morning:


The first draft of the U.N. report was completed in August, but release of the final version was delayed for more than a month following a request by the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker, according to a confidential account by a senior U.N. official. Crocker insisted that Iraq be given time to respond to the allegations, according to the account. The United States then prepared critical assessments of the U.N. investigation that were included in the final report.
U.N. officials in Baghdad said the report was not intended to challenge the U.S. military's assertion that this year's troop escalation helped reduce violence in much of Iraq. The reporting period ended before the time in which the U.S. military has described the sharpest drops in violence. The U.N. agency said it was again unable to persuade the Iraqi government to release civilian casualty figures."


The report was ready in August. The report was held. The US demanded time to 'respond' and of course that 'response' wasn't a delaying tactic to keep the UN report under wraps until after the dog and pony show based on lies was delivered (over and over) to Congress last month. That's just mere coincidence. And the findings of the report just slipped Ryan Crocker's mind which is why he didn't mention it in his many meetings with Congress last month.


And don't count on the Democrats. David M. Herszenhorn plays enabler to the Democratic leadership with "Liberal Base Proves Trying to Democrats" (New York Times) this morning:


The tension between Democratic lawmakers and their base has been most visible on the Iraq war, where the insistence by some of the most outspoken antiwar groups on setting hard deadlines for the withdrawal of American troops has often handcuffed Senate Democrats trying to reach a bipartisan deal on legislation to change the war strategy.
To the delight of Republicans, it has also played a role in a host of other issues, including a fight over increased fuel economy standards in the energy bill, and demands for more spending on environmental programs in the farm bill.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi disappointed Democrats seeking major changes to the federal farm subsidy program -- changes that Ms. Pelosi had supported in the past. Instead she adopted a more moderate approach that made some changes but left most of the subsidies intact and that she called "a good first step."
On the energy bill, the Democrats struggled to navigate the demands of two powerful factions in their base: organized labor groups tied to the auto industry and environmental groups. Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, thwarted Ms. Pelosi's efforts to increase fuel efficiency standards.


Poor little Nancy, thwarted again. Of course, the reality is that when you're Speaker of the House and you can't control the votes of those in your own party (those under you) on any issue, you have no leadership, you have no strength and you have no guts. Pelosi is the weakest Speaker the House has seen in some time. And read the article for laughs about the pathetic Democratic 'leadership.' Read forced out of the closet Barney Frank whining. Read it all and ask yourself when was the last time you saw Republicans blaming their base for being frustrated with them?


The Republican base gets frustrated with their leadership all the time. And Republicans generally respond to that. They don't blame the base, they don't whine about the base, they don't publicly insult the base.


But, taking the lead from Pelosi, Democrats in Congress have no problem hectoring and trashing the voters who put them in power.


When you have to make non-stop excuses for your actions, then the problem is probably you and not the base. When you're so ineffectual that you continue to cite the minimum wage nonsense as your point of pride (blood money because Dems snuck it into an Iraq bill), you've got nothing to be proud of. Instead of whining at and blaming the base, Democrats in Congress need to grow up real damn quick and grasp that the 2008 elections that they feel are the end-all-be-all are not going to benefit from the repeated trashing of Democratic voters.


Most have already grasped how useless Dems have been since being given power by the voters. It's reflected in the polling consistently. Those who don't grasp it yet will as Dems in Congress continue whining.


The polling is a failing grade given to the Democratic leadership and the leadership's sorry excuses come off a lot like a child trying to justify to a parent why they couldn't get their act together and pass a class. Leadership needs to take some accountability and Pelosi especially needs to stop trashing Democratic voters publicly.


The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.








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Thursday, October 11, 2007

And the war drags on . . .

Turkey is threatening to send its troops into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas in a move likely to destabilise the one part of Iraq which is at peace.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will ask parliament next week to authorise a military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan after attacks by Turkish Kurds killed more than 10 Turkish troops last Sunday. Threatening a push into Iraq would also underline Turkish anger at the US Congressional vote describing the Ottoman Turk killing of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.
A statement from Mr Erdogan's office said: "The order has been given for every kind of measure to be taken [against the PKK] including, if needed, by a cross-border operation."
An attack into Iraqi Kurdistan by Turkey would be deeply embarrassing for the US because the five million Iraqi Kurds are the only Iraqi community which fully supports the US occupation of Iraq. US reliance on Kurdish military units was emphasised yesterday by a report that Peshmerga 34th Division is to move outside the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) area to guard roads between Kurdistan and Baghdad.

The above is from Patrick Cockburn's "Ankara incursion threatens only part of Iraq still at peace" (Independent of London), noted by Polly. On the same topic, Kendrick notes Scott Peterson's "Turkish ire may affect Iraq war" (Christian Science Monitor):


Two obsessions in Turkey may appear unrelated -- a recent surge in Kurdish militant attacks and the mass killing of Armenians nearly a century ago -- but they are swiftly combining as a strategic tipping point in US-Turkey relations that could affect American forces in Iraq.
Amid widespread calls for revenge after the killing of some 30 Turkish soldiers and civilians in two weeks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) -- and the failure of US and Iraqi forces to curb the attacks from bases in Iraq -- the Turkish parliament is expected next week to authorize cross-border operations into northern Iraq.
Turkish warplanes and artillery are reportedly already targeting PKK camps, but an incursion could destabilize the one area of Iraq that has been relatively peaceful since the US invasion in 2003.


Of course, the reality is the Kuristan region has never been that 'safe.' It's been a wonderful public relations hype. It's been hailed as 'the new Iraq.' It's business opportunites are trumpeted. And it has a history with the United States which is why the government looks the other way. Human rights organizations have long been documenting the problems in the northern region. But those didn't get play in the press. Which is why that nonsense of "She was stoned because she fell in love! It's just like Romeo & Juliet!" took off in the first place. Romeo dies in the play. So there's one way where it wasn't like the play. Another way is that odds were the two weren't star-crossed lovers. That sect was targeted repeatedly in the 'peaceful region' and women from it were being kidnapped and forced into marriages to wipe away the sect. The woman was apparently stoned and that's awful. But everything else layered on for 'drama' wasn't reality. The 'groom' (age never mentioned) whisked away and unable to talk to the press. Never noting where the 'lovers' met to begin with. It read like she returned to her family and she was stoned the same way rape victims are. The stoning is a crime. But turning her into a young bride in love doesn't do much for reality. (And some outlets questioned the 'detail' of marriage.) The new UN report (PDF warning) notes the 'peaceful region':

The human rights situation in the Kurdistan region remains of concern in a number of areas, including continuing incidents involving violence against women, the abuse of detainees and the prolonged detention without charge or trial of hundreds of detainees held on suspicion of terror-related offences. UNAMI is encouraged, however, by sveral measures adopted by the KRG authorities in recent months in an effort to address some of these concerns, including the review of long-standing detention practices followed by the regional authorities' security forces. UNAMI hopes that such measures, if seriously followed up, would pave the way for greater accountability for government officials suspected or known to have abused their authority.

The report notes the targeting of journalists (and the Kurdish response that 646 licenses have been given to news outlets -- and how that has nothing to do with the targeting -- arrests and detentions -- of journalists), that Assyrians and Turkoman are being persecuted, an 18% increase in violence against women ("15 deaths caused by blunt objects, 87 deaths by burning and 15 deaths by shooting for the first quarter of 2007; for the second quarter, there were 8 deaths caused by blunt objects, 108 deaths by burning and 21 deaths by shooting"), the lack of punishments for these deaths (both in arrests and -- when the rare arrest is made -- in sentnecing), arrests for other crimes which may find prisoners "held in pre-trial detention for prolonged periods, some for over three years" and a lack of access to attorneys for the pre-trial,
overcrowding in the jail cells (in one instance "25 detainees in one cell measuring 5X8 meters and about 50 detinees in a larger cell" and in another "75 detainees were squeezed into one cell measuring 5x8 meters"). That's all in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq's "Human Rights Report 1 April -- 30 June 2007" released today. (Sidebar, Philip Maldari regularly raises the issue of the Turkoman on KPFA's The Morning Show in discussions of Iraq.)

Some might want to argue that it's 'peaceful' because it doesn't have the same level of bombings and shootings that Baghdad does. Or at least the same amount reported. If that belief is being pushed, shouldn't the abuses be even more disturbing since it's a (by comparison) 'peaceful' region? Of course the truck bombings in northern Iraq one day in August that claimed hundreds (CNN reported at least 500) blew that 'it's so peaceful!' illusion out of the water (the bombings targeted the Yazidi sect). The big vote that's coming up in the region is something many are still unaware of. It's been 'peaceful region' over and over in the press.

Now the 'peaceful region' may become a battlefield between Turkey and Iraq and how do you think that's going to effect life on the ground for the foreign fighters (including US) already present?


They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 3809. Tonight? 3821. Just Foreign Policy's total for the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war stood at 1,080,903. Tonight? 1,084,379.

Turning to the mercenaries, Gareth notes Anne Penketh's "Blackwater faces war crimes inquiry after killings in Iraq" (Independent of London):

The American firm Blackwater USA has been served notice that it faces investigations for war crimes after 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians were killed in a hail of bullets by its security guards in Baghdad.
The killings last month put the spotlight on the private security firms whose employees are immune from prosecution, unlike professional soldiers who are subject to courts martial. In the second such incident in less than a month, involving the Australian contractor Unity Resources Group this week, two Armenian Christian women were shot dead after their car approached a protected convoy. Their car was riddled with 40 bullets.
Ivana Vuco, the most senior UN human rights officer in Iraq, spoke yesterday about the shootings by private security guards, which have provoked outrage among Iraqis. "For us, it's a human rights issue," she said. "We will monitor the allegations of killings by security contractors and look into whether or not crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed."

War crimes? B-b-b-ut James Risen of the New York Times found Erik Prince so damn sexy! (Nod to Kat with the "B-b-b-ut" that she uses regularly in her reviews. Prince is the CEO of Blackwater.) Risen (and others) were all ready to make Prince the new Ollie North. So the question is can a presidential pardon absolve a War Crimes conviction? (If it could, would Henry Kissinger have to plan his travel so carefully in order to avoid countries where he could be tried for War Crimes?)

Of course, Blackwater faces other legal problems. Today the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit against the mercenary company. We'll close with CCR's "Blackwater USA Sued for Firing on Iraqi Civilians, According to Legal Team for Injured Survivor and Families of Three Killed:"

Washington, D.C., Oct. 11 -- Blackwater USA, the private military contractor whose heavily armed personnel allegedly opened fire on innocent Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square in Baghdad on Sept. 16, was sued today by an injured survivor and three families of men killed in the incident, according to the legal team representing the civilians. The case was brought be the Center for Constitutional Rights and the firms of Burke O'Neil LLC and Akeel & Valentine, P.C.
Filed in Washington, D.C. federal court by Talib Mutlaq Deewan and the estates of the deceased men -- Himoud Saed Atban, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem -- the lawsuit claims that Blackwater and its affiliated companies violated U.S. law and "created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life."
The complaint alleges that Blackwater violated the federal Alien Tort Statute in committing extrajudicial killing and war crimes, and that Blackwater should be liable for claims of assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision.
Susan L. Burke, of Burke O'Neil LLC, stated, "This senseless slaughter was only the latest incident in a lengthy pattern of egregious misconduct by Blackwater in Iraq. At the moment of this incident, the Blackwater personnel responsible for the shooting were not protecting State Department officials. We allege that Blackwater personnel were not provoked, and that they had no legitimate reason to fire on civilians. We look forward to forcing Blackwater and Mr. Prince to tell the world under oath why this attack happened, particularly since a Blackwater guard tried to stop his colleagues from indiscriminately firing."
Michael Ratner, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, stated, "Blackwater's repeated and consistent failure to act in accord with the law of war, U.S. law, and international law harms our nation and it harms Iraq. For the good of both nations, as well as for countless innocent civilians, the company cannot be allowed to continue operating extra-legally, providing mercenaries who flout all kinds of law. This lawsuit, like the ongoing U.S. and Iraqi government investigations, cannot bring back those killed at Nisoor Square but it can make Blackwater accountable for its actions."
Shereef Hadi Akeel, of Akeel & Valentine, P.C., stated, "Mr. Deewan and the families of the men killed deserve to know the truth about what happened at Nisoor Square, and they deserve justice. Incidents like this one and the many others that have made their way into government reports and news accounts must end. To let the extreme and outrageous conduct alleged in this lawsuit continue only diminishes the work of the Iraqi people and the many honorable men and women in uniform who have paid such a high price in their efforts to stabilize Iraq."
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for death, physical, mental, and economic injuries, and punitive damages.
The defendants include Blackwater USA, Blackwater Security Consulting LLC, The Prince Group LLC, a holding company, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince.
Mr. Deewan and the estates of the dead men are represented by Susan L. Burke, William T. O'Neil, Elizabeth M. Burke, and Katherine R. Hawkins of Burke O’Neil LLC, of Philadelphia; Michael A. Ratner and Vincent Warren, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, of New York; and Shereef Hadi Akeel, of Akeel & Valentine, P.C., of Birmingham, Mich.
The case is Estate of Himoud Saed Atban, et al. v. Blackwater USA, et al. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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About CCR
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights demonstrators in the South, CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change."

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez broke the story today on Democracy Now! and you watch, listen or read "EXCLUSIVE - Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting" for more on it. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.














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Iraq snapshot

Thursday, October 11, 2007.  Chaos and violence continue, Big Monty plays with her own feces on NPR, pretend not to notice the lowering standards for US enlistment, the US military announces another death, the Center for Constitutional Rights files a law suit against Blackwater USA, and more.
 
Starting with war resistance.  Sunday in Corvallis, Oregon (a college town not far from Portland) Gerry Condon will speak at the Odd Fellows Hall, 223 S.W. Second St. at 7:00 pm.  Gerry Condon is a war resister from the Vietnam era and he's very active in war resistance today.  He can speak about war resisters in Canada -- not just Kyle Snyder, but he knows Snyder's case front to back -- and about the legal process in Canada which has thus far refused to grant any war resisters of this era refugee status.  Along with a can't-miss-speech, those attending will also be able to see Michelle Mason's Breaking Ranks -- a documentary about war resisters in Canada today.
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, 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, Blake LeMoine, 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, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, 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.
 
Today Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) broke the news that the Center for Constitutional Rights was filing a lawsuit against the mercenary company Blackwater USA.  CCR's Susan Burke explained that, "We were approached by the families of three gentlemen who were shot and killed, as well as a gentleman who was very seriously injured. They came to us because they know of our work representing the torture victims at Abu Ghraib, and they asked us whether it would be possible to try to get some form of justice, some form of accountability, against this rogue corporation. So we put together a lawsuit that is being filed this morning in federal court in the District of Columbia on behalf of the families of three gentlemen who were killed: Mr. Atban, Mr. Abbass and Mr. Ibraheem The three gentlemen, amongst them, had fourteen children, including one, Mr. Atban, had a newborn baby daughter. So, needless to say, we are very interested in holding this company accountable and in pursuing the lawsuit vigorously."  This is relation to the September 16th incident where the mercenaries slaughter at least 17 people in Baghdad.  CCR explains that they filed the case and joining them in the filing were the firms of Burke O'Neill LLC and Akeel & Valentine, P.C.: "Filed in Washington, D.C. federal court by Talib Mutlaq Deewan and the estates of the deceased men Himoud Saed Atban, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem the lawsuit claims that Blackwater and its affiliated companies violated U.S. law and created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life.  The complaint alleges that Blackwater violated the federal Alien Tort Statute in committing extrajudicial killing and war crimes, and that Blackwater should be liable for claims of assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision." Among Paul Bremer's orders was CPA Order 17 and the latest report from the United Nations (more on that later in the snapshot) notes, "While CPA Order 17 also enables the US Government to waive a contractor's immunity, to UNAMI's knowledge it has not done so to date."  Susan Burke explained on Democracy Now! that "one of the interesting things to point out is that the Bremer order, which is widely viewed as immunizing these contractors, actually just says that the Iraqi courts will not have jurisdiction over them. So I think as a practical matter that the general choice of law principles still apply that Iraqi law would apply. But in addition, the conduct that we're talking about offends and violates the law of every nation. So when we bring the lawsuit here, whether you apply, you know, the law of the District of Columbia or the law of Iraq, you come to the same conclusion: you're not allowed to gun down innocents."  CCR's president Michael Ratner declares, "Blackwater's repeated and consistent failure to act in accord with the law of war, U.S. law, and international law harms our nation and it harms Iraq.  For the good of both nations, as well as for countless innocent civilians, the company cannot be allowed to continue operating extra-legally, providing mercenaires who flout all kinds of law.  This lawsuit, like the ongoing U.S. and Iraqi government investigations, cannot bring back those killed at Nissor Square but it can make Blackwater accountable for its actions."  (Ratner is also a co-host -- along with Heidi Boghosian, Dalia Hashad and Michael Smith -- of WBAI's Law and Disorder -- which also airs online and on other radio stations across the US.)  Meanwhile the Blackwater 'investigations' become more of joke.   Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Michael Gordon (New York Times) report Iraqi investigators and the US military are both complaining about the US State Dept which is not sharing information from their own alleged investigations and Iraqi investigators see the same stalling from the FBI.  And in other non-communicating, non-sharing news, Farah Stockman (Boston Globe) reports that,"US military officials say they have launched a successful effort to reduce the number of such shootings by training soldiers to give more visible warnings, but the Pentagon so far has declined to release data to back up the assertion. That refusal has sparked a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking copies of military reports on such escalation-of-force shootings. Key members of Congress have also called for the release of the documents."
 
On Tuesday, Geneva Jalal Antranik and Marani Awanis Manouik were killed for the 'crime' of driving with approximately 30 bullets fired into their vehicle.  As Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) noted today, "Meanwhile in Iraq, mourners buried two Iraqi women killed Tuesday by guards with another private military firm. The victims were driving home from work when their vehicle came under fire by guards with the Australia-based Unity Resources Group."  Andrew E. Kramer (New York Times) reports,  "Mournful members of Iraq's Armenian Christian population bowed their heads and recited the Lord's Prayer over an altar of burning incense at a funeral here on Wednesday for two Armenian women killed by private security contractors, the second such fatal shooting in less than a month. Relatives also called for justice on Wednesday, though security contractors are immune from prosecution under Iraqi law." Scott Horton explains to Alissa J. Rubin and Paul von Zielbaer (New York Times) that
despite all the violence contractors have inflicted on Iraqis, "there has yet to be a prosecution for a single incident of violence."  Kramer reports that Marany Awanees was a cab driver and "the youngest of nine children in the Momook family, including three brotehrs who are part of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and the United States" and quotes Paul Mammok stating, "She was a lovely sister, my younger sister, a lovely, lovely sister."  Democracy Now! quotes an unidentified relative (presumaly of Geneva Jalal Antranik) declaring, "They called me to Basra and told me that the security firms have shot them dead.  She is a housewife."  As Jeremy Scahill noted (on Democracy Now!) today re: Blackwater USA's September 16th slaughter, "We have to remember that upwards of a million Iraqis have died since the beginning of the US invasion and the names of the victims of both the US military and these private military companies are almost never reported."  [Jeremy Scahill is the author of  Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.]  Christian Berthelsen and Said Rifai (Los Angeles Times) report that Marani Oranis had been a scientist with the country's Agriculture Ministry until she and her husband Azad decided to start a family (Nora, Karon and Alice are the three daughters) but in 2005 her husband died and she began using her 1990 Oldsmobile as a cab to support herself and her three daughters and Marani's niece tells the Times, "She was forced to traverse the roads of Baghdad on a daily basis in order to provide for her daughters.  This turn of fate is something that every single one of us Iraqis expects on a daily basis.  We are all targets for elimination, leaving for work and school in the mornings and not knowing whether we will make it back home safely."
 
Today the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq released a (PDF format warning) report "documenting widespread human rights abuses and recommending specific measures in response, including due process for detainees, punishment for perpetrators of 'honor killings,' and investigations into deaths caused by private military firms operating in the country."  The UN report ("Human Rights Report 1 April -- 30 June 2007") finds, "Daily life for the average Iraqi civilian remains extremely precarious.  The violence remains in large part indiscriminate, targeting public places where large numbers of people gather to inflict maximum casualties and foment fears of further descent into chaos and loss of any semblance of state control.  The violence has affected all of Iraq's ethnic groups and communities, including minority groups.  Targeted assassinations, abductions for ransom or other motives, and extrajudicial executions, continued to be reported on a regular basis.  As in the past, professional groups remained a prime target of such attacks, among them media professionals and members of the leagl profession, as highlighted in this report."  During the period of the report, UNAMI found that "88 civilians were reportedly killed during air strikes conducted by MNF forces.  They included the following: nine civilians killed in five villages in the al-Anbakiya area near Ba'quba on 11 March; two civilians killed in Dulu'iya in Salahuddin Governorate on 15 March; 16 civilians killed in Sadr City in Baghdad on 30 March; 27 civilians killed in Khaldiya, Ramadi, on 3 April; four civilians killed in Sadr City and four others west of Taji on 26 April; three civilians killed in Basra on 30 April; seven civilians killed east of Baghdad on 5 May; one civilian killed in Sadr City on 6 May; and eight civilians killed in Basra on 26 May.  On 8 May, seven children were reportedly killed when helicopters attacked an elementary school in a village in Diyala Governorate near the Iranian border.  Following this incident, a spokesperson for US forces in Iraq, Lieutenant-Colonel Christoper Garver, announced that the MNF authorities were conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the children.  However, the findings of such investigations are not systematically publicized.  On 28 June, UNAMI wrote to the MNF Chief of Staff, seeking further information on all these recorded incidents in which civilians were said to have been killed during air strikes."  BBC reports today that the US military is admitting that even if they killed 19 'insurgents' in Lake Tharthar, they also killed "15 civilians, including nine children" in an air strike (that happened when? -- no date given).
 
In other violence reported today . . .
 
Bombings?
 
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports three Baghdad roadside bombings resulted in nine people being injured (two were police officers), while a Baghad car bombing claimed 8 lives with twenty-five more left wounded, a Mosul truck bombing targeting the PUK party headquarters left eight wounded and a Kirkuk car bombing aimed at Col Salar Ahmed ("head of Kirkuk traffic police") claimed 7 lives ("two of his guards and five civilians") and left thirty-five people wounded.  Reuters notes 8 dead and twenty-five wounded from a car bombing targeting a Baghdad internet cafe.  And  Reuters reports: "Wednesday night's rocket or mortar attack on Camp Victory, the sprawling U.S. base near Baghdad airport that houses the U.S. military headquarters, killed two coalition soldiers and wounded 38 others, the U.S. military said. Two foreign civilian contractors were also wounded." To which the Los Angeles Times adds: "The victims' nationality was not specified. The military also said two 'third-country nationals' were injured in the "indirect fire" attack at Camp Victory, near the Baghdad airport."  With CBS and AP adding it's still not known whether it was a rocket or mortar attack and "No further details on the attack were immediately released."
 
Shootings?
 
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Kirkuk police shot dead 3 suspects.  Reuters notes "the son of an Islamic Party official" was shot dead in Mosul and an attack on a police station outside of Tuz Khurmato that left 1 police officer dead.
 
Corpses?
 
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.  Reuters notes that the corpse of Haythem Nadeem ("former Iraqi athlete") was discovered in Mosul "five days after he was kidnapped' and two corpses were discovered in Latifiya.  Jenny Booth (Times of London) notes that the last attack on Camp Victory to have resulted in a death was on a rocket attack.  And the US military announced today: "One MNC-I Soldier died of wounds suffered during combat operations in eastern Baghdad Oct. 10."
 
Staying on the topic of the US military.  Having already lowered standards and reduced target goals, the US military managed to squeak back with a little good news this year though there are already concerns about recruitment in 2008.  Which may explain some new 'efforts.'  Aamer Madhani (Chicago Tribune) reports that they have "enlisted thousands of new soldiers with criminal records and fewer who have earned high school diplomas" via what's known as a "character waiver" (FYI, that's how Steven D. Green -- accused of being the mastermind behind the gang-rape and murder of 14-year-old Abeer and the murder of her parents and her five-year-old sister -- got it into the military) with "[m]ore than 11 percent of the Army recruits . . . [needing] waivers for problems with the law -- up from 7.9 percent the previous year and more than double the percentage in 2003, the year the U.S. invaded Iraq."  So if everyone's comfortable with the US military is allowed to sign up felons (1,620 for the Army alone in 2007), they can meet the reduced target goals.  But can they keep them (provided they aren't court-martialed for war crimes)?  Richard Lardner (AP) reports one plan for keeping members of the Green Berets and Navy Seals -- give 'em big bucks "more than $100 million in bonsuses" and the Pentagon expects "to spend another $43.5 million on commando bonuses in fiscal year 2008, which began Oct. 1".  This as the commander of the US marines, Gen James Conway, is calling for marines stationed in Iraq to be sent to Iraq and leave Iraq in the (foreign) hands of the US army, CNN reports.  Of course, also the US air force but that must have slipped Conway's mind.  Fortunately, AFP remembers what the brass forgot and reports that "the shift would mean changes as well for the air force.  The army relies on the air force in both countries for combat air support, while the marines have their own air operations."   On recruitment, AP reports that 6 "main Iraqi insurgent groups" are forming a "political council" with a "political program to liberate Iraq" and the spokesperson (unidentified) explains, "First, the occupation is an oppression and aggression, rejected by Islamic Sharia law and tradition.  Resistance of occupation is a right guaranteed by all religions and laws.  Second, the armed resistance . . . is the legitimate representative of Iraq.  it is the one that bears responsibility for the leadership of the people to achieve its legitimate hope."  The six groups are the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al-Sunna, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance, the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq and Ansar al-Sunna.
 
Meanwhile, the violation of anthropology continues.  Yesterday on The Diane Rehm Show, chubby little Montgomery McFate -- still a fat child on the inside but "senior advisor to the US Army" is how Susan Page billed her -- worked out her grudge against her parents yet again.  (Page was filling in for Diane Rehm.)  McFate had one laughable claim after another -- but didn't she reach the height of lying when she claimed her 'schoolmate' was someone five years younger than her?.  So poster child for Lifestyles of the Plain & Stupid finally got the spotlight she's so long craved and isn't that really what it's all about?  That and landing a blow against the sixties and her parents?  How did she word it to War Hark George Packer?  " I'm engaged in a massive act of rebellion against my hippie parents."  How transparent do your motives have to be before the mainstream press says, "Hey, this nut doesn't belong on the air?"  Petty, 'creative' Monty made it onto radio. And insisted to anthropologist David Price (St. Martin's University) that the reason he doesn't know more about the program is because it has "been in existence less than a year."  The program -- even just the aspect she was discussing yesterday -- has been going on for more than a year and Monty knows that. 
 
Even with the program stacked in her favor, Monty yet again found herself with feces in her hands.  During the first section of the show, listeners heard no dissenting viewpoint as the US military presented their version via Monty  Col John Agoglia and Lt Col Edward Villacres.  At fourteen minutes and seventeen seconds, David Price was allowed to present some of the serious issues such as the need for "meaningful, voluntary, informed consent.  This is a fundamental Principal of all human research in the social sciences. And if populations are being studied in theater there are big questions about how you get voluntary informed consent for research.  Now the military doesn't really have to worry about these sorts of things but social sciences do."
 
Monty spun, "they are not conducting covert or clandestine activities.  They identify themselves by name and the unit that they're with to anyone they talk to so it's not a secret program by any means."  She then declared that "no one is forced" to talk to the anthropologists and everyone who does is making a choice which completely ignores the issue Price was raising (maybe not intentionally -- Monty's never been all that bright) which is how do you get consent in a war zone?  How does someone tell you "no" when you roll up to their home with the US military?   Monty says that people can tell the difference between "a lethal unit of the US military and a non-lethal unit of the US military" and that's HIGHLY DEBATABLE but more to the point, do countries that are occupied by a military contain an occupied people and it is the height of stupidity for anyone to claim that an occupied people can refuse to be test subjects without fearing that doing so will result in retribution towards them from the occupiers. 
 
On the issue of anthropologists identifying themselves, Price pointed to David Rohde's "Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones" (New York Times) and declared it "talks about an anthropologist I think named Tracy and that's the only name that's given.  So anthropologists need to be transparent about who they are and who they're working for. . . . But I worry how transparent the program is if the people who are doing it aren't being self-identified?  Now the story says it's being done for security reasons and so on. But if you go to the New York Times story and look at the nifty, little video they have -- you know  backing the story, it's very strange because they don't show the anthropologist -- they intentionally withhold the person's identity.  Yet they show all these people who are talking to the anthropologist which of course they're doing so at some personal risk, one would assume, in Afghanistan.  And I worry about any sort of program where there's a one-way mirror that's going on."   
 
Susan Page: . . . there was a  New York Times article last week which actually prompted us to do this show today. And it did talk about this anthropologist named Tracy, but it wasn't clear to me, Montgomery McFate maybe you know, whether her [full] name was just not disclosed to the New York Times article, or if her full name is not being disclosed to the people she's interatcing with in Afghanistan.  Do you know -- do you know the answer to that.
 
Monty [quick intake and slow first word -- always a clue Monty's inventing -- seriously, that was evident when she was a child]: Her name was held from the New York Times story and in other media that's come out of  Afghanistan at her own request.
 
Susan Page: But does she give her [full] name to the Afghanis that she's talking with.
 
Monty: Yes, she does.
 
Remember that.  Monty is wrong as usual.    David Rohde joins the panel late, after the above exchange took place, and it turns out Monty's inventing again.
 
About Tracy in the Times' story, Susan Price asked, "But the Afghans -- the Afghanis that she's dealing with, do they know her name, her full name, does it seem transparent for them or does she also go just by her first name?
 
David Rohde:  Um, she was transparent with them.  I don't think she gave her full name, I think she does identify herself as an anthropologist.  I saw her briefly, but I don't know what she does at all times. She personally, um, actually chose to carry a weapon for security that's not a requirement for members of the team, I've been told.  And she wore a military uniform which would make her appear to be a soldier, um, to Afghans that she wasn't actually speaking with.
 
Susan Price: And so you think Aghans knew that she wasn't a soldier even though she was wearing a military uniform and carrying a weapon?  Or do you think that they just assumed that she probably was?
 
David Rohde: I would think that they assumed that she was.
 
 
Earlier, Monty declared that an anthropologist (cited in an article by the New York Times) in Afghanistan was 'transparent' and gave her full name.  Turns out, Monty was wrong.  Gives her first name, wears a military uniform and carries a weapon.  And yet wants to pretend she's a social scientist and Monty wants to pretend that people who encounter these 'weaponized' anthros feel they can reasonably refuse to participate in a scientific study.  There's also the issue (and Packer had the same problem) that the majority involved in this don't want to be identified.  Why?  Because they fear the backlash from their own peers.  And that backlash started long before it was known that antro "Tracy" is suiting up in military drag and carrying a weapon.  That's not science.  That's not 'embedded.'  A reporter who put on a uniform would not be considered an 'embed.' 
 
Rohde would also explain  "From the reaction of American military officers, they seem very interested in a new approach.  One UN official said basically that the [US] military's realized that they can't end these insurgencies by military means and they're desperate for finding other ways to counter the insurgency."  Monty loves her 'influence' and being 'an angel' but she should worry about her responsibilities in terms of War Crimes.
 
Price and Roberto J. Gonzalez (at CounterPunch) tackled this issue last month, "The Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and military contractors are aggressively recruiting anthropologists for work related to counter-insurgency operations. These institutions seek to incorporate cultural knowledge and ethnographic intelligence in direct support of US-led interventions in the Middle East and Central Asia.  The Pentagon is increasingly relying on the deployment of 'Human Terrain System' (HTS) teams in Afghanistan and Iraq to gather and disseminate information on cultures living in the theatre of war. Some of these teams are assigned to US brigade or regimental combat units, which include 'cultural analysts' and 'regional studies analysts'."   Concerned Anthropologists is attempting to raise awareness on this issue and to insist upon ethical anthropology.
 
 
 

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