Saturday, February 18, 2012

Now the Iraqi Red Crescent gets targeted

Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) observes that it appears political blocs are more interested in hosting the Arab Summit than in resolving the political crisis in Iraq. Tomorrow yet another planning meet-up for a national conference was scheduled to take place. Yet Dar Addustour reports a move to call it off and focus instead on the Arab Summit.

The political crisis was created by Nouri al-Maliki. Political Stalemate I is the period that followed the March 2010 elections. Nouri's State of Law was predicted to win by a wide margin (predicted by Nouri) but his fantasies of being beloved were incorrect. Iraqiya (led by Ayad Allawi) bested Stated of Law. Because Nouri had the backing of the Barack Obama White House, he ignored the Constitution and used the Supreme Court of Iraq (which he controls) to issue questionable verdicts that benefited him. For eight months, Iraq was at a stalemate. The political blocs met in Erbil in November 2010 and agreed to a US-brokered contract, the Erbil Agreement. To remain as Prime Minister, Nouri had to agree to various concessions.

Nouri was named prime minister-designate and that was the end of the Erbil Agreement. He discarded it. This is Political Stalemate II. Over the summer, the Kurds demanded the Erbil Agreement be honored with Iraqiya and Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc joining in that call. While most ignored what was taking place, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace did grasp stalemate II and warn it was significant. For reporters to grasp it was significant -- many of whom spend all their time at the crotch of Nouri al-Maliki -- would require Nouri ordering the arrest of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi (Sunni and a member of Iraqiya) and demanding that Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq (Sunni and a member of Iraqiya) be stripped of his post.

Nouri's a thug. If you ever doubted that, check out the latest actions of Nouri (and his 'independent' Supreme Court). Kitabat reports that Iraqi Red Crescent workers are seeing their children arrested. The Red Crescent. (Part of the International Red Cross.) Who will Nouri target next and how long will his sycophantic followers in the media continue to look the other way?

Thursday the laughable Supreme Court in Iraq held a press conference where they explained Tareq al-Hashemi was guilty of multiple acts of terrorism. Of course, the judiciary doesn't do investigations. The judiciary presides over trials. A detail they 'forgot' but Article 19 of the Iraqi Constitution is very clear that all are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The idiotic and thuggish Supreme Court, so eager to do the bidding of Nouri al-Maliki, violated the Constitution they're supposed to be upholding.

Though the press conference was supposed to be a surprise to the executive branch Nouri heads and though it was supposed to be 'independent,' Al Mada reports Nouri had a list of replacements ready and sent to Iraqiya, replacements for Tareq al-Hashemi. How very interesting. Kitabat explains Tareq al-Hashemi announced today that he will be making a public speech on the charges in the next 48 hours.



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Homes of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's reps attacked

Yesterday Kitabat reported that Supreme Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani accused party officials of widespread corruption -- financial and administrative. Kitabat reports that today six homes in Nasiriyah and Diwaniyah Provinces belonging to representatives of al-Sistani were attacked with hand grenades and bullets. No one was harmed in the attacks which would appear to indicate the attacks were not to harm but to send a message. A warning could be sent for any number of reasons but it is curious that he decries corruption among politicians and the next day homes of his representatives are attacked. Aswat al-Iraq notes 2 of the homes attacked in Diwaniyah Province and that a mosque in the area was also attacked.

Where were the police? Iraqi police focus on very serious crimes, you understand. Alsumaria TV explains that two gangs were just arrested on charges of armed robbery and . . . sorcery. Yes, you read that correctly. "Voodooism" was being practiced.


Al Rafidayn notes that transfer of Camp Ashraf residents to a new and controversial facility began yesterday and that a presumed quick transfer was delayed by lengthy searches. BBC News adds that the residents stated "they had been searched for almost an entire day before they were allowed to leave Camp Ashraf, and had been searched again on arrival at Camp Liberty. The also [. . . stated] that they had not been allowed to bring many of their vehicles, household items and personal possessions with them." AP reports of the allegedly banned items: "soldiers ordered the exiles to leave some of their heirlooms behind, including photographs, microwave ovens, satellite dishes for Internet access and, in one case, a pair of therapeutic socks." There are also armed Iraqi forces in the new camp which is disturbing the 400 transferred so far.

Camp Ashraf houses a group of Iranian dissidents (approximately 3,500 people). Iranian dissidents were welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp attacked twice. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out." Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observes that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."

Today Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) explains the searches lasted some 12 hours and quotes the National Council of Resistance of Iran's Shahin Gobadi, "The preliminary reports indicate that Camp Liberty (Hurriya) is a prison from all aspects." Francois Murphy and Yara Bayoumy (Reuters) quote the NCRI stating, "Transfer of the next groups will only take place after the Special Representative of the (U.N.) Secretary-General and the Iraqi government declare their approval of the minimum assurances, particularly (the) departure of Iraqi police from inside Camp Liberty."

The following community sites -- plus Watching America, On The Wilder Side, the Guardian, On The Edge, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Cindy Sheehan -- have updated last night and today:




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Congratulations to On The Wilder Side for six years

Congratulations to Kimberly and Ian Wilder of On The Wilder Side who are celebrating their site's sixth anniversary. They've now added a tip jar to their site. Otherwise, it remains the same place where you can find left critiques that don't make it into the MSM or in to most of what passes for alternative media in this country.

I've exchanged e-mails with Kimberly over the years and she strikes me as someone with a strong ethic code but with a non-rigid mind. She seems to forever be pursuing insight. I've never exchanged e-mails with Ian but long appreciated his take-no-crap approach when discussing sell-outs and worse by politicians.

I'm sure there's another wife and husband political site online (with so many sites, there would have to be) but On The Wilder Side is a special site for many reasons besides a couple committed to the political struggle. Among the most praise worthy work they do -- among, not the sole praise worthy work -- is providing coverage of in an election year of candidates who are not Democrats or Republicans.

So congratulations to the Wilders on six years, I hope there are at least six more. A site like On The Wilder Side really matters because it's not part of an echo chamber for the Republicans or the Democrats. This is genuine writing by people trying to grapple with issues and not dust off talking points. A lot of sites offer flash, On The Wilder Side offers substance and they have made a difference in their six years.

I'll also note Scott Simon spoke to Roberta Flack for today's Weekend Edition (link is audio -- on Monday it will be audio and a transcript). Roberta talks about her new album Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles, about living next door to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, about the power of songs and about plans already being made for a second collection of Beatles songs she'll be recording. Kat reviewed the album at the start of the month with "Kat's Korner: The Sensual Roberta Flack."

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Friday, February 17, 2012

Iraq snapshot

Friday, February 17, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, hours are spent searching a few Camp Ashraf residents, State of Law takes to the airwaves to attack Tareq al-Hashemi and the country's Constitution, and more. 
 
If you're one of the many who've thought so much of the US coverage of Iraq in the last years has been sub-standard, you found out why today on The Diane Rehm Show.  Anthony Shadid has died.  He was an award winning writer for the Washington Post and then he (and his wife) moved over to the New York Times.  At the Post, there was an effort to impose some journalistic guidelines on the writing and he chafed at that.  The Times gave him free reign and that was not anything good.  I've noted my opinion of his feature writing passed off as hard news reporting. And he, many times, made his clear his opinion of my critique.  I had no plans to mention him or his writing today.  (He died in Syria from an asthma attack that people are assuming was brought on by exposure to animals -- horses -- on the part of the people smuggling him in and out of Syria.)
 
But there was Diane Rehm and her guests David Ignatius (Washington Post), Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) and James Kitridge (National Journal) describing what made Shadid -- in their opinion -- a great reporter.  I'm sorry but that's not reporting.  It's travel writing.  It's feature writing.  It's not reporting.
 
David Ignatius: What I would say about Anthony -- and Nancy and James also knew him -- is that he really represented the thing that makes great journalism special.  Uh, he had a way of grasping not the facts but the essence of the story.
 
Yes, David's correct.  And Shadid would have made a great novelist.  But that's not what makes a great reporter.  A great reporter grasps the facts.
 
"It was magical story teling," said Nancy Youssef.  It was.  It was the novelization of the news which is to reporting what novelizations of films are to movies.  They're similar, they're just not the same.  "You know to me his-his articles were almost love letters about the people he was writing about," gushed Nancy.  Again, you're not describing a reporter.
 
And that goes to why the news is so awful today.  Whether it's Iraq or any other topic.  The industry doesn't even embrace reporting.  They want to be something else.  And in the process, they are dumbing down America.  This is Bob Somerby's criticism, the heart of his criticism.   He  momentarily caught up in the 'framing' 'issue -- an early '00 hula hoop -- briefly.  But it's the novelization of the news -- news for people who can't process news.  It goes beyond the crimes of narrative and hook.  It's why Gail Collins is a columnist.  They won't cover the facts, they won't stick to whether something's legal or not, they want to give you the 'essence.'  They want to give you subjective because it's so much easier to produce and so much quicker to produce. (Anthony Shadid, to be fair, had a real talent for novelization.  He truly would have made a great novelist.  And as feature writing, some of his 'hard news' reports are amazing examples of style and even insight.  But it's  not news and that's only more obvious when he moves to the New York Times.) And the proof of that is in the coverage of Shadid's death which is not news, which treats him as though he's Whitney Houston or some other celebrity and refuses to offer an honest appraisal of his strengths and weaknesses.  Why else cover a reporter?  And the fact that the news industry goes into hype mode ('greatest foreign correspondent of his generation') goes to the tawdry excess that has for too long passed as hard news.  What should have been a private moment is turned into a media event.
 
 
It's the novelization, not actual news, bad writing that seizes on a partial quote to 'illuminate' -- not a full quote because a full quote actually rejects what the writer is trying to novelize. The public -- as well as the news industry -- would be a lot better off if the press realized that you can't distill the essence and instead started covering that which is observable and verifiable in the physical world?
 
 
And for those who will whine this was so unfair, oh heavens, clutch the pearls.  I didn't set out to write about Shadid today.  I focused on other things.  But we didn't get Iraq on The Diane Rehm Show's international hour.  We did get testimonials to Shadid.  And those who aren't functioning adults and don't grasp that blind praise isn't how we evaluate should take comfort in the fact that I avoided writing at length about the obvious point: 'Shadid was a wonderful person.'  A great reporter? When Sy Hersh dies, people will point to stories he wrote, stories he broke.  The same with Carl Bernstein, the same with Robin Wright, Ned Parker, Sabrina Tavernise, Alexandra Zavis, Nancy A. Youssef and many others.  Whether it's The Diane Rehm Show, The Takeaway or the multitude of programs covering Shadid's death today, no one could point to any news. Because feature writing isn't news writing. If I wanted to be mean, I would've opened with that point and expanded on it for several paragraphs.
 
I listened to The Diane Rehm Show because, with David on as a guest, I thought (wrongly) we might actually hear something about Iraq.  You know their Vice President is in the news cycle. That's actual news. And it matters a great deal on the international scene.
 
It certainly matters to the Iranian government which is why the Iranian media has been all over the story.  There's the Press TV article declaring, "The Supreme Judicial Council said on Thursday al-Hashemi and his employees were behind years of deadly terror operations against security officials and civilians in Iraq."  And of course they rushed to put on MP Saad al-Mutallibi (link is text and video) from the rival State of Law political slate who declared:
 
Because this is the independent, one hundred percent independent justice system, speaking on its behalf, and representing itself and putting forward the accusations and the implication of Mr. Al Hashemi to 150 terrorist attacks against the nation of Iraq against individuals, against the police forces, against the army, against national institutions and of tremendous, as I said, consequences, with direct implication from Mr. al-Hashemi. This would put a tremendous pressure, I believe, on the Kurds to take the right decision and probably surrender him to Baghdad to face trial.  Unless of course he escapes the country as the other terrorists have done and spend the rest of his life in exile. There is no way that this matter could be resolved politically.


The Voice of Russia reports Tareq al-Hashemi declared he may leave the country.  And why not?
 
It's not just State of Law using the meida to convict him.  It's also the so-called independent  judiciary of Iraq.  Nine judges with the Iraqi Supreme Court issued a finding that Tareq al-Hashemi is guilty. There was no trial.
 
And yet the Supreme Court issued a finding.  It is the Supreme Court because they used the Supreme Court spokersperson (Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar) for their press conference and because, as the BBC notes, the nine-member review was "set up by the Supreme Judicial Council."

Tareq al-Hashemi is an Iraqi citizen and, as such, the Constitution (Article 19) guarantees he is innocent unless convicted in a court of law. There has been no trial. The judiciary has not just overstepped their bounds, they have also violated the Constitution.

Lower courts hearing the case in Iraq now will know the feeling of the Supreme Court (which can overrule them) and that could influence a verdict. So, no, he cannot receive a fair trial now.  Also at issue is Judge Saad al-Lami.  Al Mada notes he can't stop whining about alleged threats against him from Tareq al-Hashemi's supporters and how al-Hashemi publicly named him. And whine on. He did this at the press conference. Is he a judge or not? That's not the behavior of someone reserving judgment. That's the behavior of someone with a conflict of interest.  Along with being very anti-Sunni (Tareq al-Hashemi is a member of Iraqiya and he is also a Sunni), the judge also has problems with Iraqiya.  Just a little while ago,  AFP was reporting on that judge, how he was demanding that Iraqiya MP Haidar al-Mullah lose his immunity so he (the judge) could sue him:

Abdelsattar Birakdar, spokesman of the Higher Judicial Council, said Mullah was accused of having offended Judge Saad al-Lami in a late November interview.
Lami filed a complaint, after which a court "studied the case and then issued an arrest warrant against him and sent a request to parliament to lift his immunity in order to prosecute him," Birakdar said.
Mullah said Lami was "influenced by Maliki."

(If that link doesn't work, click here for the AFP article.)  That's one of the 9 'objective' members of the court who decided Tareq al-Hashemi's guilt -- despite 'forgetting' to provide him with a trial.
 
 
Turning to the issue of Camp Ashraf, Victoria Nuland, US State Dept spokesperson, issued the following statement yesterday:
 
The United States continues to pursue a peaceful, humane solution to the untenable situation at Camp Ashraf. The critical next step is the voluntary movement of the first group of 400 Ashraf residents to the new transit facility at Camp Hurriya (former Camp Liberty). The United States supports the UN's call for the Iraqi Government and the residents of Camp Ashraf to continue to cooperate and begin this movement peacefully and without delay. Once the first group arrives at Hurriya, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) can immediately begin verification and refugee status determinations, a necessary step for Hurriya residents to safely depart Iraq.
On January 31, following successful work by the Government of Iraq, the UNHCR and UN Human Rights Office in Baghdad determined that the infrastructure and facilities at Camp Hurriya are in accordance with international humanitarian standards for refugees, as required by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the United Nations and Government of Iraq last December 25. Secretary Clinton, joining European Union High Representative Ashton, has publicly supported this MOU, which fully respects the sovereignty of Iraq. The United States welcomes the Iraqi Government's continued cooperation with the UN; urges the Iraqi government to fulfill all its responsibilities, especially the elements of the MOU that provide for the safety and security of Ashraf's residents; and calls on the leaders at Camp Ashraf to cooperate with Iraqi authorities and the UN to make this and all further stages of the relocation successful.
The United States urges this voluntary movement to Hurriya to begin on schedule February 17. The U.S. will not walk away from the people at Camp Hurriya. We will visit Hurriya regularly and frequently, and continue to work with the UN to support their temporary relocation and subsequent peaceful and secure resettlement outside of Iraq, consistent with our respect for Iraq's sovereignty and in accord with Iraq's responsibilities for their humane treatment and security.
 
Camp Ashraf?  Camp Ashraf houses a group of Iranian dissidents (approximately 3,500 people). Iranian dissidents were welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp attacked twice. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out."  Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observes that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."
 
Howard Dean is the former Governor of Vermont and a peace candidate in the 2004 race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.  More recently he was Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2005 - 2009).  Today Ellen Ratner interviewed him for Talk Radio News Service (link is audio -- and Ellen is the sister of Michael Ratner).  Excerpt.
 
Ellen Ratner:  I'm here with Governor Dean and, Governor Dean, you are really interested in the situation in Iraq.
 
Howard Dean: Right. As we have pulled out, there are 3400 unarmed Iranian dissidents who've been living in Iraq for about 25 years. And we promised to defend them when we disarmed them and then we left them high and dry.  And Prime Minister Maliki, at the bidding of the Iranian government. went in and killed 47 of them. Unarmed.  These are people who voluntarily disarmed and who the FBI has screened to make sure none of them are terrorists. And we need to get them out of there.  So what I'm involved with -- with a number of both Democratic and Republican  ex-officials -- is trying to get these people off the American terrorist list -- which they don't belong on and which they've been removed from other lists under threat of law and our courts have also told the State Dept they didn't belong on the terrrorist list -- so they can be moved to another country so they don't get killed basically. Shot. They're unarmed.  We promised to defend them.  We haven't done that.  We're trying to move them out so we can -- so we can save their lives
 
Ellen Ratner:  Well this is really interesting because of course America wants to keep it's promises. How did you personally get involved in this Governor Dean?
 
Howard Dean:  I got invited to go give a speech to this group and of course about a year ago I saw them on the terrorist list so I had a lot of qualms. Then I saw the other people who were speaking including people like Jim Jones who was a former security advisor to President Obama, Mike Mukasey a former federal judge who was the Attorney General under Bush,  Tom Ridge -- Honeland Security under Bush  who I served with as governor when he was governor of Pennsylvania, Patrick Kennedy, Bill Richardson -- former Ambassador to the UN. And I thought: If these people are all involved with this, this can't be crazy. So I went over there, I met them, I heard their stories.  And basically this is a group that was disarmed by the United States.  They were the guests of Saddam Hussein because they were against the mullahs in Iran. and during the Iraq-Iran war of course, Saddam Hussein wanted anybody who was against Iran.  But of course after Saddam was done in, they had no further role. They converted to a democratic opposition  and disarmed and we promised to protect them.  And I just think we ought to keep our promises any part in allowing genocide by an army that we trained and armed which is the army of Iraq.
 
Ellen Ratner: Well governor you and Governor and Secretary Tom Ridge are both involved in this. Have you been able to move this at all? Is our government responding?
 
 
Howard Dean: Well they are responding but it is very slow going.  There's lots of discussions, negotiations, and, of course, they responded late.  But today is the day that these first 400 of these folks are supposed to be moving to an interim camp. Now the problem with this interim camp is it's more like a prison than a camp.  But we are very hopeful that the State Dept -- which I think  is beginning to work hard on this problem -- we'll get these folks out of here and this will be a transient cetner which is what it's supposed to be.
 
Ellen Ratner: And two questions -- just foreign policy questions dealing this group.  How do they relate to the government of Iraq right now? And what is the government of Iran trying to do to them?
 
Howard Dean: The government of Iran is trying to kill them and unfortunately the government of Iraq essentially works for the government of Iran.  They've been in there twice  and killed 47 of them who were unarmed already. So the problem here is that we are not working with a friendly government.  Maliki is not our friend. He's a puppet of the Iranians.  And he's a big problem for us.  And, of course, all of which I predicted eight years ago when I was running for president, that this would be the end of the Iraq War, that we'd make Iran much stronger, which is exactly what we've done.
 
Ellen Ratner: You certainly did predict it, Governor.
 
Howard Dean: And it's a very difficult situation.  And, unfortunately, we delayed so we don't have as much leverage as we did when we had troops on the ground.
 
 
AFP adds, "The European Union called on Iraqi authorities yesterday to guarantee the security of an Iranian opposition group transferring to a new camp near Baghdad."  Ashish Kumar Sen (Washington Times) speaks to one of the 400 being moved, Bahzad Saffari, who states, "[The Iraqi authorities] are creating problems.  The process has been painfully slow.  We are expecting things to be much worse."  AFP adds, "Behzad Saffari, the legal adviser for residents of the camp, told AFP by telephone that the searches began around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT), and that more than 300 people had been searched as of 10:30 pm (1930 GMT). It was not clear when they would depart the camp."
 
Violence continued in Iraq.  Reuters notes a Hawija sticky bombing which injured on person, a Khalis attack which claimed the life of 1 police officer and, dropping back to Thursday night for the last two, 2 police officers were killed in a Baghdad attack and 1 police officer was killed and so was his driver.
 
 
Even with American troops reportedly no longer stationed in Iraq, the Pentagon has submitted a brand new budget request of $2.9 billion for post-operation "activities" in the war-torn nation.
After the U.S. troop drawdown in Iraq was completed in December, a new budget request by the Pentagon, called Post-Operation NEW DAWN (OND)/Iraq Activities (pdf), comes at a time when it has been reported there are no longer any U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. The new budget request likely includes a "black" budget for special operations forces still conducting business there.

 
The second report, in the Post, informs us that the U.S. is significantly ramping up the number of CIA personnel and covert Special Operations forces in order to make up for reducing the American military and diplomatic footprint. These added covert personnel will be distributed in safe houses in urban centers all across the country. This represents a new way to exert U.S. power, but it is betting on the Iraqis not noticing the increased covert personnel. Really? This is a bad decision as it contradicts the reasons for the decision to reduce embassy staff.
The Iraqis have suffered for nine years as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation. The economic, educational and political systems in Iraq have been destroyed. Sectarianism, contrary to the belief of many in the U.S., has become the order of the day since the invasion. A significant percentage of Iraqis do not like us and do not want us to stay in Iraq. No Iraqi politicians want to openly be identified as pro-American.
Animosity toward the U.S. is on the rise because of the heavy U.S. presence in Iraq. Our projects in Iraq function to serve our interests, such as building and training security forces to keep the Iraqis in check (building the infrastructure for the promotion of democracy has taken a back seat). We have made sure that Iraq, for the foreseeable future, will depend on us for security equipment and spare parts, heavy industrial machinery, and banking. We built Iraq's security forces but made sure it has no air force. And the half-hearted democracy we built is a shambles; graft and corruption are still rampant.
 
Maj Troy Gilbert died in combat in the Iraq War. A small amount of tissue was found in his plane after it crashed. His body was carried off by assailants who would use it a year later in a propaganda video. His family was informed that any search for him was off, that the small amount of tissue discovered in the plane meant that he wasn't classified as found.
 
His widow Ginger Gilbert Ravella told Brian New (KENS 5 -- link has text and video) earlier this month, "Someday my five kids are going to ask me, 'Did you do everything, did the government do everything to bring Daddy home?' I want to be able answer I did and they did absolutely everything." New notes, "During a 2006 mission near Baghdad, Maj.Gilbert was credited with saving twenty Americans under fire when he destroyed a gun truck from his F-16 jet. The Air Force pilot then turned around to attack another truck when the tail of his plane hit the ground."  Jim Douglas (WFAA -- link is text and video) spoke with the parents Ronnie and Kaye Gilbert who explained that they were scheduled to meet with the Defense Dept later this month where they will attempt to convince the military to change the qualification from "body accounted for."
 
The Gilbert family (his parents, his sister and his wife -- among others) had waited and been patient. Informed that there would be no search for their loved one, they did something very smart this month, they took the issue public, shocking the nation in the process, a nation that only the month before had heard US President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address, pontificate about how the military leaves no comrade behind. The family went public ahead of their February 24th DoD meeting.

The Pentagon wants to defuse a public relations nightmare before that meeting takes place. Luis Martinez (ABC News) reports:

An Air Force official said Thursday that Air Force Secretary Michael Donley agreed with the family that the search for the rest of Gilbert's remains should resume.
According to the official, Donley sent a letter to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy requesting an "exception to policy" so that the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) could "assume a proactive pursuit of Major Gilbert's remains and to bring the fullest possible accounting of his remains."
Donley's request must still be approved by the Under Secretary.

And approving a request doesn't necessarily mean that serious efforts will be made as many families from previous wars can attest. The reality is the American government did nothing for years. [Major Gilbert died in 2006.] There's a strong chance that when the media runs with "DoD wants to help," DoD goes back to ignoring the issue.
 
Honoring our Nation's fallen overseas has been our purpose since the Commission's creation in 1923.  We perform this mission by commemorating service and sacrifice worldwide -- at sites entrusted to our care by the American people.  It is our responsibility to honor America's war dead and missing in action, where they have served overseas.
 
That's former US Senator Max Cleland, Vietnam veteran, speaking before Congress yesterday.  US House Rep Jon Runyan chaired the House Veterans Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs hearing Cleland was speaking before.
 
Chair Jon Runyan noted the National Cemetery Administration, specifically a problem at the Fot Sam Houston National Cemetery which had a row of head stones misaligned.  Runyan reviewed that the families of the fallen were informed and that an audit of the national cemeteries to find out if there were others with those problems and five were quickly found while the audit was still in its first phase.  Where were the mistakes coming from?
 
The work being done by outside contractors.  Runyan explained "The reason this is relevant to a budget hearing is because in most cases the contractors' work was approved and payment made without adequate oversight or review to ensure the quality and accuracy of the work done. Because of an omission of fiscal oversight the work has to be done right the second time and a nationwide audit at great expense conducted."
 
 
On the subject of oversight,  US forces still have one Missing in Action service member in Iraq.  Matthew M. Burke (Stars and Stripes) reports on the only person classified MIA from the current Iraq War, Staff Sgt Ahmed Altaie:

The Iraqi-born reservist from Michigan was abducted more than five years ago in Baghdad after breaking the rules and sneaking outside the wire to meet his Iraqi wife.
In the days after he went missing, 3,000 coalition soldiers conducted more than 50 raids to find their comrade. At least one soldier was killed; others were wounded.
As the trail turned cold, Altaie's family and friends grew frustrated by what they say is the U.S. government's lack of effort to find him.
"They won't talk about it," Altaie's ex-wife and self-described best friend, Linda Racey, said from Michigan recently. "They feel he's not worth looking for. They're not doing anything."

Senator  Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and her office notes:
 
 

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES                           

Friday, February 17th, 2012

 

CONTACT: Murray Press Office

(202) 224-2834

 

MONDAY: Murray in Olympia to Hear frm Veterans

 

(Washington, D.C.) -- On Monday, February 20th, 2012, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, will hold a listening session to hear from area veterans on local challenges and to discuss her efforts to improve veterans care and benefits nationwide. This will be Senator Murray's first discussion with local Olympia veterans as Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Senator Murray will use the struggles, stories, and suggestions she hears on Monday to fight for local veterans in Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

WHO:          U.S. Senator Patty Murray

                     Local veterans

         

WHAT:        Veterans listening session with Senator Murray

 

WHEN:        Monday, February 20th, 2012

         2:30 PM PT

 

WHERE:    Harbor Wholesale Foods

                                3901 Hogum Bay Rd. NE

                                Lacey, WA 98516

                    Map 

###

 

 

 

Meghan Roh

Deputy Press Secretary

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

@PattyMurray

202-224-2834

Get Updates from Senator Murray

 
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Journalistic malpractice

As I read over the garbage passed off as reporting regarding Tareq al-Hashemi what becomes clear the most quickly is that the further you get from the US, the better the quality of reporting. Among the disappointing is ____ of __. (I'll be kind on this only once.) Since she's summarizing others, nothing prevented her from offering an opinion. But she can't even get facts rights. As we've noted before it is not only factually incorrect to state that Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi "fled" to the KRG, it's pejorative. It shouldn't have required Iraqis in Baghdad stating that they might feel differently but since he "fled" to make outlets realize they needed to be careful in their word choice. Sunday December 18th, there was no arrest warrant for al-Hashemi. That's when he left Baghdad for the KRG. Before he did, he and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq and their bodyguards were pulled off the plane by Nouri's forces at Baghdad International. Tareq al-Hashemi was then allowed to reboard the plane and to leave Baghdad. That's not "fleeing." They were going to the KRG for previously scheduled meetings. The next day, Monday December 19th, Nouri issued an arrest warrant for al-Hashemi who was already in the KRG. al-Hashemi elected to stay in the KRG. Some have used "holed up in the KRG." Pejorative, but factually correct. It is incorrect to state he fled.

But it's incorrect to offer the crap they're offering.

Nine judges with the Iraqi Supreme Court issued a finding that Tareq al-Hashemi is guilty. There has been no trial. He can't receive a fair trial in Baghdad and probably not in Iraq -- outside of the KRG. Once the Supreme Court declared his guilt publicly, they made a ruling.

It is the Supreme Court because they used the Supreme Court spokersperson (Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar) for their press conference and because, as the BBC notes, the nine-member review was "set up by the Supreme Judicial Council."

Tareq al-Hashemi is an Iraqi citizen and, as such, the Constitution (Article 19) guarantees he is innocent unless convicted in a court of law. There has been no trial. The judiciary has not just overstepped their bounds, they have also violated the Constitution.

Lower courts hearing the case in Iraq now will know the feeling of the Supreme Court (which can overrule them) and that could influence a verdict. So, no, he cannot receive a fair trial now.

The press is either ignorant of the Constitution or they just don't give a damn. When you report but you ignore the law, that's journalistic malpractice.

So is white washing a publicity whore.

I'm remembering when Jane Fonda came back into the US from Canada in the early seventies. (I'm not calling Jane a publicity whore.) It was when she was on the White House enemies list and she was stopped due to Tricky Dick's list. So she's being detained in customs and waiting and waiting and waiting. And she's also getting her period and needs to go to the bathroom but they keep telling her that she's going to have to wait for a police matron (who doesn't show). So finally, she heads for the ladies room on her own and an altercation of some sort takes place between her and the police officer. (This is the 'drug' bust where there were no drugs, by the way.) So the government's going to go after Jane. And the thing about corrupt governments is they always give themselves away. Their greed and their hatred always do them in eventually. In the case of the assault on Jane's freedoms, the police officer (off-duty) decided he could get a little fame and make a lot of money by claiming he was injured by Jane. So he filed a civil suit.

That's when the US government ran from their own case. Discovery attached via the civil suit and the US government was not about to admit that there was an enemies list of American citizens to be stopped and detained each time they came through customs so they immediately dropped their case.

(These days, they'd just call it a 'watch list' and get away with it, how democracy has decayed in this country.)

How does this relate to Tareq al-Hashemi?

Saad al-Lami's the publicity whore. The judge can't keep his damn mouth shut, can he?

Al Mada notes he can't stop whining about alleged threats against him from Tareq al-Hashemi's supporters and how al-Hashemi publicly named him. And whine on. He did this at the press conference. Is he a judge or not? That's not the behavior of someone reserving judgment. That's the behavior of someone with a conflict of interest.

And though the press won't tell you, he has many conflicts of interests including being known as very anti-Sunni (al-Hashemi is a Sunni). He was in the news not all that long ago. AFP reported he was demanding that Iraqiya MP Haidar al-Mullah lose his immunity so he (the judge) could sue him:

Abdelsattar Birakdar, spokesman of the Higher Judicial Council, said Mullah was accused of having offended Judge Saad al-Lami in a late November interview.
Lami filed a complaint, after which a court "studied the case and then issued an arrest warrant against him and sent a request to parliament to lift his immunity in order to prosecute him," Birakdar said.
Mullah said Lami was "influenced by Maliki."

(If that link doesn't work, click here for the AFP article.)


'Judge' Saad al-Lami is a disgrace. He's a joke and his presence on the 'independent' body after his well known hatred for Sunnis and his more recent attempt to go after an Iraqiya MP was more than enough to require that he excuse himself from all things having to do with these issues. But he didn't. Because he's too corrupt and they always give themselves away. Always.

I don't see detachment on the part of the press in the bulk of the reports, I see an inability to provide major details that go to the heart of the story.

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




















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Veterans issues

Maj Troy Gilbert died in combat in the Iraq War. A small amount of tissue was found in his plane after it crashed. His body was carried off by assailants who would use it a year later in a propaganda video. His family was informed that any search for him was off, that the small amount of tissue discovered in the plane meant that he wasn't classified as found. [See last week's "The fallen and burn pits" and "If it was your son, your brother, your husband, your Dad" if you're new to this topic.] The Gilbert family (his parents, his sister and his wife -- among others) had waited and been patient. Informed that there would be no search for their loved one, they did something very smart this month, they took the issue public, shocking the nation in the process, a nation that only the month before had heard US President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address, pontificate about how the military leaves no comrade behind. The family went public ahead of their February 24th DoD meeting.

The Pentagon wants to defuse a public relations nightmare before that meeting takes place. Luis Martinez (ABC News) reports:

An Air Force official said Thursday that Air Force Secretary Michael Donley agreed with the family that the search for the rest of Gilbert's remains should resume.
According to the official, Donley sent a letter to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy requesting an "exception to policy" so that the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) could "assume a proactive pursuit of Major Gilbert's remains and to bring the fullest possible accounting of his remains."
Donley's request must still be approved by the Under Secretary.

And approving a request doesn't necessarily mean that serious efforts will be made as many families from previous wars can attest. The reality is the American government did nothing for years. [Major Gilbert died in 2006.] There's a strong chance that when the media runs with "DoD wants to help," DoD goes back to ignoring the issue. What is known is that, in the summer of 2009, the White House made a deal with a group that had kidnapped and killed American soldiers, agreed to release the ringleader, his brother and various high ranking members from US-controlled prisons in Iraq. Of course, the White House did that to get four British corpses turned over. (And only got three until this month.) So the White House can act . . . when British interests are at stake at least.

There actually needs to be a Congressional hearing into what was done to the Gilbert family to ensure that it doesn't happen to another American family. His body has been known to be missing and known to have been taken by fighters in Iraq. That's been known since 2006. There should have been many efforts to find the body but instead he was classified as "found" based upon the small amount of tissue recovered from the plane.

Meanwhile Matthew M. Burke (Stars and Stripes) reports on the only MIA from the current Iraq War, Staff Sgt Ahmed Altaie:

The Iraqi-born reservist from Michigan was abducted more than five years ago in Baghdad after breaking the rules and sneaking outside the wire to meet his Iraqi wife.
In the days after he went missing, 3,000 coalition soldiers conducted more than 50 raids to find their comrade. At least one soldier was killed; others were wounded.
As the trail turned cold, Altaie's family and friends grew frustrated by what they say is the U.S. government’s lack of effort to find him.
"They won't talk about it," Altaie's ex-wife and self-described best friend, Linda Racey, said from Michigan recently. "They feel he's not worth looking for. They're not doing anything."

Burke and Stars and Stripes need to review his opening sentence which undercounts the number of US service members killed in the Iraq War by nearly seventy. In other news Sanjay Talwani (Montana's Independent Record) reports on Iraq War veteran Sgt Ryan Ranalli's efforts to get "a veterans center in Helana" and shared his own experience:


He's received treatment for PTSD, all involving veterans centers, except in Helena. The veterans centers do not replace the VA, but fill needs the VA cannot, Ranalli said. It's a place, he said, where veterans don’t have to worry about saying something wrong.
Just about all the counselors are veterans, and many of them have seen combat.


Iraq War veteran Troy Yocum has walked over 7000 miles across the United States to raise money and awareness for veterans and their families. Now another Iraq War veterans is embarking on a hike for awareness in Canada. Jorge Barrera (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) reports Iraq War veteran Leo Baskatawang will be "walking from Vancouver to Ottawa to call out the federal government over its refusal to deal with First Nations issue."

Monday there will be no Iraq snapshot unless news out of Iraq dictates a need for it. And it would have to be huge news because people want the day off. (Community sites will post if there's a snapshot, otherwise all but Mike are planning not to post that day.) Kat plans a review for this weekend here. You did not miss "I Hate The War." I didn't do it.

It was a mood issue and a time/blah issue. Rebecca's daughter is my goddaughter and I try to grab her anytime I'm near Rebecca. (DC qualifies as near.) So I had her most of yesterday and last night. At dinner, she didn't eat her vegetables so I told her she could have a story when she was ready for bedtime but we weren't playing if she wasn't eating her vegetables. (That was Rebecca's rule due to a heavy sugar Valentine's Day.) So after the roundtable I did my columns for the gina & krista round-robin and Polly's Brew and planned to 'consider' doing an "I Hate The War." But Rebecca's daughter got Wally to microwave some frozen vegetables and she ate those. So we could play. She wanted to play Barbies but hadn't packed any so we ran to the drug store on Dupont Circle and got Barbies there. Then we played until half-hour passed midnight. At which point, I put her to bed and then worked on my schedule for today.

And avoided the computer. Mood issue? In part I'm sure it's not having a day off -- I don't stick with things this long. But it's also what would have been written about. I didn't mind writing about Syria -- though I think that can be better dealt with at Third -- which was popping up in e-mails to the public account. This site's stance is the US military does not belong in Syria. If Syria has issues to take care of, that's for the people of Syria. War is not the answer. It didn't bring peace to Iraq, it didn't bring peace to Libya. The US needs to learn to mind its own business. And I can go on about that at length. It doesn't bother me and I'm not at a loss for words. But I also had e-mails about veterans parades including one from someone who assumed by the wording that's been up here that I had done something regarding local parades due to a statement or two here. I had. And reading the e-mail, realized I might need to do a disclosure. And this is why I didn't want to do "I Hate The War" and had a headache. I've given seed money to three friends (Iraq War veterans) to work on parades (two in California, one in Georgia). I did that because they are friends and because I'm more than fine with communities organizing parades if they feel their area needs one. (A national parade brings up issues of Congress de-funding the parade some time ago, of the Great Recession we're in and all the cuts that federal programs are facing, the Pentagon's desire to hold off on any parade until 2014, and much more.) But I gave that money to friends and did so with the hope of being anonymous. I haven't rallied support for those three efforts here. If they come to fruition and are covered by the press they stand a chance of being noted here the way the St. Louis one was (they also stand a chance of not being noted if there's violence in Iraq that day or something else that we focus on). But I'm not going to make a point to disclose that stuff, that sort of defeats the point of giving anomously. And I'm really irritated that I have to write about it now and that's what made me not want to write last night. (Barbies were so much more fun. Although actually I played with Raquel and Ryan while Rebecca's daughter played three Barbies and Ken.)

The following community sites -- plus Antiwar.com and Susan's On The Edge -- updated last night and this morning:



Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and as we noted yesterday, when Senator Murray speaks about veterans issues -- including employment and she speaking to potential employers -- that's important and news worthy. Olga Khazan (Washington Post) reports on the speech here. We'll again note this from Senator Murray's office.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Murray Press Office
Thursday, February 16, 2012
(202) 224-2834

Murray Delivers Keynote Address on Private-Public Partnerships to Help Hire Veterans

Murray tells business leaders and veterans "we stand at a cross roads" moment in hiring and transition efforts

(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray delivered the following speech on efforts to improve veterans employment through public-private partnerships. Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, delivered the remarks in front of a gathering of national business leaders and veterans seeking employment. The event, which was sponsored by GE and included members of the National Chamber of Commerce, included a workshop for veterans seeking employment.

Senator Murray is the author and sponsor of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act which was signed into law last November and provides a comprehensive approach to improving veterans hiring.

Senator Murray's full remarks follow:

"Thank you Jean for that kind introduction. I also want to thank GE for putting this wonderful, and critically important, event together. And for the tremendous commitment that they have reaffirmed today to hire our nation's returning veterans.

"You know, this gathering today of business leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, veterans in need of work, and Congressional leaders could not come at a more pivotal moment for our nation's veterans. As Secretary Shinseki no doubt discussed, we are facing a tremendous influx of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan with new and unique needs, and I want to commend him for putting out a budget on Monday that reflects that reality.

"But while the needs are often new with more women veterans, more complex medical devices and technology, and more understanding of the invisible wounds of war. The moment is not.

"Today, we stand at a cross roads our nation has stood at before.

"We are at the end of a conflict that was bruising, but one that also reaffirmed the courage and strength of our service members. We are at a point where we as a nation have to come together to really examine what every single one of us can, and has, been doing to aid those who were asked to make the sacrifices.

"It's a moment that in the past we as a nation have responded to well -- such as in the era that built the greatest generation. And one where we as a nation have stumbled -- as in the aftermath of Vietnam when far too many veterans slipped through the cracks.

"But it's those moments that must our guide our work today.

"I can certainly say that they guide my own work as Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. And that's because those pivotal moments played such an important role in my own life.

"As many of you may know, my father was a World War II veteran who was one of the first to storm the beaches of Okinawa. I can remember as a little kid the reverence those in my little town of Bothell, Washington had for his service.

"The way he was treated -- not just by neighbors and community members -- but also by the federal government -- that provided him with a GI bill. And that was there with worker training programs for my mom many years later when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and could no longer work. And that helped him and his fellow veterans prosper.

"But my experience with those returning from war was much different decades later when as a college senior I volunteered at the psychiatric ward of the Seattle VA at a time when veterans were coming home with the invisible wounds of war which they didn't yet call PTSD.

"I can remember the faces of the veterans, many of whom were even younger than me, who were being told they were shell shocked. I can also remember -- like many of you -- the lack of answers during that period. The feeling that we were not a nation firmly at the back of those who had served. The feeling that as a nation we were quickly turning the page on that war -- and those who fought it.

"Those moments have taught us.

"And one of the most important things they have taught us is how critically important it is for us to partner with the common purpose of supporting our veterans between the private and public sector. And nowhere is that more true than in the effort to find our veterans good, stable employment.

"Now I know that finding work today is a problem our veterans face along with nearly 13 million other Americans....but for our veterans many of the barriers to employment are unique. That's because for those who have worn our nation's uniform -- and particularly for those young veterans who have spent the last decade being shuttled back and forth to war zones half a world away:

"The road home isn't always smooth, the red tape is often long, and the transition from the battlefield to the work place is never easy.

"Too often our veterans are being left behind by their peers who didn't make the same sacrifices -- who spent their early careers in internships or apprenticeships. Too often our veterans don't
realize that their time in the military provided them with similar skills both tangible and
intangible that give them tremendous value in the workplace. And too often they are discouraged by a job market that is unfamiliar to them after their service.

"But as all those here today who know the character and experiences of our veterans understand, this shouldn't be the case. Our veterans have the leadership ability, discipline, and technical skills to not only find work, but to excel in the workforce of the 21st century.

"But despite that being the case -- the statistics have continued to paint a grim picture. According to the Department of Labor, young veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 have an unemployment rate that is over 20%. That is one in five of our nation's heroes who can't find a job to support their family, don't have an income that provides stability, and don't have work that provides them with the self-esteem and pride that is so critical to their transition home.

"And so the question becomes: How could this be?

"How could these young men and women who have performed so admirably, who know how to lead and know how to get a job done be struggling so mightily?

"Well over the last few years, that's the question that I set out to answer in preparing my bill to overhaul veterans employment efforts on the federal level. And it's a question that I knew I had to get answered first-hand from those veterans struggling to find work like the veterans with us today.

"So I spent a longtime crisscrossing my home state, which as many of you know has a tremendous number of young veterans -- and I visited worker retraining programs, VA facilities, and more than a few veterans' halls. And in discussion after discussion -- I heard from veterans about the roadblocks they face.

"What I heard was heartbreaking and frustrating.

"I heard from veterans who said they no longer write that they're a veteran on their resume because of the stigma they believe employers attach to the invisible wounds of war. I heard from medics who returned home from treating battlefield wounds and couldn't get certifications to be an EMT or to drive an ambulance. I spoke with veterans who said that many employers had trouble understanding the vernacular they used to describe their experiences in an interview or on a resume. I talked to veterans who told me that the military spent incalculable hours getting them the skills to do their job in the field, but little time teaching them how to translate those skills into the workplace.

"The problems were sometimes complicated and sometimes simple. Most importantly though, they were preventable.

"But strangely, when I relayed the concerns of my home state's unemployed veterans to some back here in the other Washington for solutions, none came.

"What did become clear is that for too long we have invested billions of dollars in training our young men and women with skills to protect our nation -- only to ignore them once they leave the military. For too long, at the end of their career we patted our veterans on the back for their service and then pushed them out into the job market alone.

"So in May of last year, I introduced a bipartisan veterans employment bill that takes the challenges I heard and translates them into solutions to ease the transition from the battlefield to the working world.

"For the very first time, my bill required broad job skills training for every service member as they leave the military as part of the military's Transition Assistance Program. It allowed service members to begin the federal employment process prior to separation in order to facilitate a truly seamless transition from the military to jobs in government. And it required the Department of Labor to take a hard look at what military skills and training should be translatable into the civilian sector in order to make it simpler for our veterans to get the licenses and certifications they need.

"All of these are real, substantial steps to put our veterans to work.


"And late this year they were combined with a tax credit for employers that hire veterans and help to train older veterans for in-demand jobs in the VOW to Hire Heroes Act. And I'm so pleased to note that late last year I joined with Secretary Shinseki -- right next to President Obama when he signed my bill into law.

"But while that bill is a critical first step -- it should only be that: a first step. The next step is why I'm here today -- to help continue or work of building partnerships with you -- the business leaders who know our military community better than anyone.

"Now, I do have to mention, you are already ahead of the curve. The Chamber of Commerce, working with companies like GE on the Hiring our Heroes initiative, has lead the way on veterans hiring. But we all know that more can be done by businesses large and small across the country.

"We can better utilize our workforce training system to get veterans the skills they need to fill the jobs that are open in their areas. We can build upon the relationships we have across the country with community colleges and universities.

"But in the here and now, we also need to spread the word on what all businesses can do to help. So, as I do whenever I'm given the opportunity to stand in front of so many big wigs that make the hiring decisions, I need to make my pitch.

"And I don't want to just encourage you to hire veterans -- because I know many of you are already doing that -- I also want to pass along the things that are working to sustain veterans hiring so that you can pass it along.

"First, please help to get the word out to companies to educate their human resources teams about the importance of hiring veterans and how skills learned in the military translate to the work a company does. I can't tell you how often I hear from veterans who tell me that the terms they use in interviews and in resumes fail to get through to interviewers.

"Second, please help companies provide job training and resources for transitioning service members. This is something I've seen done at large organizations like Amazon and Microsoft but also at smaller companies in conjunction with local colleges. In fact, the most successful of these programs capitalize on skills developed during military service and on the job training.

"Third, let business leaders know how important it is to publicize job openings with Veterans Service Organizations and at local military bases to help connect veterans with jobs;

"Fourth, develop an internal veterans group within your company to mentor recently discharged veterans,

"And finally, if you can, please reach out to local community colleges and universities to help develop a pipeline of the many, many veterans that are using GI bill benefits to gain employment in your particular area.

"If we can spread the message on just a few of these steps, I'm confident that we will be able to continue to build on the success you all have had in hiring veterans.

"But there's one other -- even more important thing you can help get the word out on. And that's the often difficult issue of the invisible wounds of war some potential employees face.

"As I mentioned earlier, I have heard repeatedly from veterans that they do not put their military service on resumes because they fear it stigmatizes them. They fear that those who have not served see them all as damaged, or unstable.

"We must understand what mental health challenges are, and what they are not.

"As we seek to employ more veterans, we need future bosses and coworkers to understand that issues like PTSD or depression are natural responses to some of the most stressful events a person can experience. We need them to understand that these illnesses do not afflict every veteran.

"And most importantly, we need them to understand that for those who are affected by these illnesses they can get help, they can get better, and they can get back into their lives.

"I know GE is doing good work in this area. But we need to let businesses know that if they have a veteran who is facing some challenges, please, do the right thing and encourage him or her get help and get back to their lives.

"They need to know it is okay to reach out. Help them take advantage of the excellent mental health care that I know Secretary Shinseki and VA are capable of providing.

"The veteran will be better, and they will be an even stronger member of your team.

"You know, our veterans don't ask for a lot. Often times they come home and don't even acknowledge their own sacrifices.

"My own father never talked about his time fighting.

"In fact, I never saw his Purple Heart, or knew that he had a wallet with shrapnel in it, or a diary that detailed his time in combat until after he had died and my family gathered to sort through his belongings.

"But our veterans shouldn't have to ask. We should know to provide for them.

"When my father's generation came home from the war -- they came home to opportunity. My father came home to a community that supported him. He came home to college, then to a job. A job that gave him pride. A job that helped him start a family. And one that ultimately led to me starting my own.

"That's the legacy of opportunity we have to live up to for today's veterans. And it's one that we can only deliver on if we work together.

"You know, it's no secret that here in Washington D.C. we are sharply divided on any number of economic and political issues facing average Americans right now.

"But this is one issue we are rarely divided on. It unites even the most unlikely partners, even Speaker [of the House John] Boehner and I, because we realize that:

"We have all made a promise to those who have signed up to serve. And we all need to keep it because so much is on the line. Because we are once again at that defining moment in how we treat our veterans. And the truth is that we stand perilously close to repeating some of the same mistakes of the past.

"But we don't have to. There is a sea of good will in this country. Non-profits, community leaders, and companies like GE who don't just talk about helping -- who actually roll up their sleeves and do it.

"Let's continue to take advantage of that support. Let's work together to ensure that we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Let's make sure that at this crossroads for our nation's veterans we come together as a nation to help them down the path of opportunity.

"Thank you for inviting me to join you today. I look forward to continuing this work together will all of you."

###

Matt McAlvanah

Communications Director

U.S. Senator Patty Murray

202-224-2834 - press office

202--224-0228 - direct

matt_mcalvanah@murray.senate.gov

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