Yesterday the
US military announced: "CONTINGENCY OPERATING STATION KALSU, Iraq – Two U.S. Soldiers died yesterday of non-combat related injuries resulting from a vehicle accident. Two other Soldiers were injured in the same accident that is currently being investigated. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.The names of service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website at
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/. The announcements are made on the Web site no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member’s primary next of kin.The incident is under investigation." The announcement brings ICCC's count of the number of US service members killed in the Iraq War to
4382.
Last night,
Mike observed, "And you realize that if all US troops had been pulled out of Iraq, those two would be alive, right? So those are the first two for this month. And two more reasons why the Iraq War needs to end now. Two more reasons why you need to participate in the March 20th demonstrations calling for an end to the wars."
A wide range of groups will be participating. A number of the faux 'peace' groups will not be participating. You know the ones, Leslie Cagan and Tom Hayden's groups that pretended to give a damn about the war but were really just "ELECT DEMOCRATS!" groups. They won't be participating, most of them stopped attempting to hold the US accountable the day after the 2008 election.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation will be participating and they announce:
March 20 is the seventh anniversary of the invasion and continuing criminal occupation of Iraq. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is escalating its war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. More than a million lives have been lost and countless more destroyed through the U.S. aggression. While we’re told that there’s no money for education, health-care and jobs, next year’s real military budget will exceed $1.4 trillion.
On that day massive demonstrations will take place in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco to demand:
- No colonial-type wars and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Haiti and more.
- Money for jobs, education, health-care, housing; not for wars and bank bailouts.
Join us for analysis and discussion on:
- The wars and the war budget.
- The plan of action on March 20 in San Francisco and around the country.
- A report-back from the March 4 day of action against education cuts and the protests across California and other states.
2489 Mission St. Rm. 28, San Francisco
$3 - $5 donation requested, no one turned away for lack of funds.
(Refreshments served. Cross street 21st. Near 24th St. BART. MUNI #14, 49, 26. Parking garage located one block west on 21st. St. btwn. Mission & Valencia, parking cost $2/hr.)
For more info, or to reserve free childcare (please call at least one day in advance if you would like childcare) contact PSL at 415-821-6171.
Check out our website: http://www.pslweb.org/
Supporters of the Iraq War have not forgotten it continues. Not only have they not forgotten, they're in the midst of one of their most serious attempts of revisionary history, revolving around Karl Rove's bad book. But where are the ones who were opposed to the war? We The People are accounted for. We see the numbers opposed continue to grow, especially when we speak on campuses, so We The People are accounted for. It's only They The Gas Bags, the Katty-van-vans of
The Nation magazine, for example, who set themsleves up as leaders and as voices that should and must be listened to, they're the ones who appear to have lost their voice. Can't call out an ongoing, illegal war when your fellow's in the White House, eh?
And it is in their silence that they allow the revisionary tactics of Rove, et al to take hold. It is in their silence, with the War Hawks still fighting the argument, that history begins to be rewritten. It's not a surprise. We saw the same thing with Vietnam. So in ten or twenty years, when another bad actor stars in another bad movie that rewrites history (Bambo?), don't be surprised. The battle never ends for the right. Whatever else they may be, they have a sense of purpose and dedication. On the left? We've got way too many people who can't focus on a single topic for more than three seconds. Way too many people who think, for example, a hurricane or a rain storm and the damages that arise are the equivalent of an illegal war. They don't understand the concepts of misfortune and injustice or how the two differ.
Allison Kilkenny (True/Slant) calls out the latest attempts at revisionary history, "I know liberals like to think Dubya and his crew were so evil no one will ever, ever forget the lessons learned during the Bush years, but this kind of revisionist bulls**t has a way of slowly seeping into the populace’s subconscious. After enough hours of hearing Liz Cheney talk about how rad her dad is, and reading enough of Friedo's disgusting columns, people will start to believe this crap."
The Iraq War has not ended.
Matt Lakin (Knoxville News Sentinel) reports, "Nearly 200 East Tennessee soldiers leave home later this month on their way to Iraq. Members of the 253rd Military Police Company, based in Lenoir City with a detachment in Bristol, will head out March 28 for training at Fort Dix, N.J., the Tennessee National Guard said Tuesday" and quotes Capt Dallas Clements stating they were given notice 18 months ago, "But even with that much notice, it's not easy. My wife's still having trouble."
WBIR notes that service members from Bristol and Lenoir City have a send-off scheduled for Saturday, March 27th (two p.m.) at the First Baptist Church of Lenoir City.
Meanwhile, 29-year-old Amy Seyboth Tirador died serving in Iraq last November, she was on her second tour of duty in Iraq. The 1998 Colonie Central High School graduate joined the military soon after high school and served for ten years.
Yesterday's news included that the military had ruled Amy had taken her own life . . . because most who do shoot themselves in the back of the head, right?
Jessica M. Pasko (Troy Record) reports:
Murphy has openly refuted the possibility that Amy killed herself on numerous occasions. At a press conference last month, Murphy said she felt the Army was trying to build up potential domestic problems and work issues in Amy's life to make a suicide ruling seem more plausible. Amy’s husband, Michael Tirador, was living at the Caldwell Forward Operating Base where Amy was stationed at the time of her death.
Murphy has also denied any history of depression or substance abuse in her daughter’s past.
Jeffrey Castro, spokesman for the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Department, said Tuesday that the department hasn't finished the investigation and no final ruling has been issued. He said that Murphy and her ex-husband were likely referring to the Army's pathology ruling.
When told by a reporter of Castro's statement, Murphy said it exemplified the type of miscommunication she has come to expect from the Army.
"I was told the case was closed," she said. "It's not just the autopsy report. It's definitely officially closed."
It's really amazing how many women serving in Iraq 'decide' to 'kill themselves.' It's so amazing, in fact, that's it's past time for Congress to launch an investigation. It's so amazing that the words: Beyond belief.
In veterans news,
Lauren Collins (NECN) reports on Iraq War veteran Aaron Lee Marshall who returned to the US with a Purple Heart and difficulties re-adjusting to civilian life. With the support and encouragement of his mother, Aaron Lee Marshall focused on music and recorded Now Maybe leading him to state, "I feel like I'm coming out of a fog." Collins notes, "Aaron's album Now Maybe is available at Bull Moose Record stores in Maine and New Hampshire, and on iTunes. His concert at the Rochester Opera House is June 10th."
Click here for Aaron Lee Marshall on iTunes.
Click here for his MySpace page which does allow you to stream some songs from the album.
The following community sites updated last night:
The
Democratic Policy Committee offers
daily videos and one of the latest is Senator Blanche Lincoln speaking on the need for rules being enforced equally -- especially when it comes to Wall St.
