Saturday, June 18, 2011

Monday Talabani's scheduled to host a big meet-up

Al Sabaah reports members of Parliament are stating that Jalal Talabani and Moqtada al-Sadr have arranged a meet-up at Talabani's home on Monday. Also scheduled to be present are Nouri al-Maliki, thug of the occupation and prime minister, and the National Alliance's Ibrahim Jaafari. In addition, Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi met with Talabani on Thursday. Dar Addustour adds that Ayad Allawi is also scheduled to be present as are Massoud Barzani (KRG President) and Ammar al-Hakim. Al Mada notes that Barzani has tentative plans to be in Baghdad on Sunday for pre-liminary meetings and that Monday's agenda includes discussion of the Erbil Agreement and security ministries.

The security ministries are the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Defense. All are without a permanent head. The Erbil Agreement was the deal various political players (and the US government) made to end the nine month plus political stalemate in Iraq which followed the March 10, 2010 elections. The Erbil Agreement promised many things. A security council was supposed to be created -- an independent body -- and it would be headed by Ayad Allawi whose political slate Iraqiya received the most votes in the March elections. Nouri's slate came in second. But, per the Erbil Agreement, he would be named prime minister-designate and given the 30 days to nominate a cabinet and have it approved by Parliament.

As always, Nouri got what he wanted and then began screwing everyone else over. There is no security council, for example. He also called of the referendum on Kirkuk. He never managed to come up with a full Cabinet -- which means he shouldn't have been moved from prime minister-designate to prime minister (per the Constitution). Nouri named himself 'temporary' head of the three security ministries. (Some saw it as a power grab on Nouri's part.)

Aswat al-Iraq runs a statement by the office of Osama al-Nujaifi. The statement includes, "Nujeify has expressed, in a meeting with Talabani on Thursday, support for the steps that had been taken to put an end for the current political crisis and tension, and to ease out the circumstances, to serve the interests of the country." Mohammad Akef Jamal (Gulf News) shares his opinions on the Iraqi political scene:



Others who had spent a long time outside the country returned with revenge on their mind. They continued feeding the bad feelings against the former regime, when they should have brought down the curtain and started a new chapter in Iraq's history. The elements who agreed with the US before Iraq's invasion, had set the foundations of the new regime according to the Lebanese model, despite its flaws.
And that is how the first governing council was established, along sectarian rather than national lines, where the sectarian divide instead of democracy was enhanced.
This is the situation in Iraq today: Iraqis live in poor condition despite the country's wealth, the country is controlled by people who had either lived under excruciating and long economic sanctions or others who came from abroad but failed to bring with them the positive aspects of democracy. The Iraqi government's crisis continues 15 months after the March 2010 elections, and the three security ministries are still without ministers.
Hence, with the existing situation, it is only natural for the people's protests to increase, and to be put down by the government apparatus.




Violence continued in Iraq. Reuters notes 1 Iraqi military officer was shot dead in Baghdad, 1 "municipality employee" was shot dead in Baghdad, one police officer was injured in a Baghdad shooting, 1 Sahwa was shot dead in Kirkuk and a Baquba roadside bombing injured three police officers.

We'll close with the Center for Constitutional Rights' "CCR Refutes Administration Claim of Authority to Continue Attacks on Libya Wihtout Congressional Authority:"

Obama Administration in Violation of War Powers Resolution

Contact: press@ccrjustice.org

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is deeply dismayed at the Obama Administration’s claim that it can continue military attacks on Libya without Congressional approval as constitutionally required and in violation of the War Powers Resolution. CCR has litigated numerous war powers cases, including the first suit under the War Powers Resolution, Crockett v. Reagan, challenging U.S. military involvement in El Salvador, Conyers v. Reagan, challenging the U.S. invasion of Grenada, and Sanchez v. Reagan, challenging U.S. actions regarding Nicaragua. Jules Lobel, the Center’s Vice-President, issued the following points in response to the Administration’s position:
1. The United States is clearly engaged in warfare against the Libyan government. Both the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution require Congressional authorization for the Libyan conflict, which the Obama Administration has not obtained. Since 60 days have passed since the U.S. first initiated these military operations, the War Powers Resolution requires that the President terminate the operations unless he obtains explicit Congressional authorization.
2. The Obama Administration's June 15 letter to Speaker of the House Boehner nonetheless argues that Congressional authorization is not necessary under the Constitution or the War Powers Resolution because of the limited nature, scope and duration of the U.S. military operations in Libya. It claims that the U.S. military operations against Libya "are distinct from the kind of 'hostilities' contemplated by the Resolution's 60 day termination provision". "U.S. operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve the presence of U.S. ground troops, U.S. casualties or a serious threat thereof, or any significant chance of escalation into a conflict characterized by those factors".
This argument simply ignores the language of the War Powers Resolution and would permit the U.S. to engage in wars against other nation through the use of predator drones or long range bombing without Congressional authorization, so long as there are no troops on the ground.
3. The War Powers Resolution covers the introduction of U.S. troops into hostilities or into situations where the imminent involvement in hostilities is likely. Thus, the contemplation was that the Resolution would cover U.S. "involvement" in hostilities, and not simply situations where U.S. soldiers are engaged in "sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces", or are suffering casualties. The Obama Administration's letter would permit the U.S. to engage in high altitude bombing of a foreign nation, or predator drone attacks (and the Administration admits that such drone attacks are occurring against Libya) so long as there was no active exchange of fire or substantial risk of U.S. casualties.
4. The War Powers Resolution's language definitively rejects the Administration's contorted definition of hostilities. Section 8 of the Resolution, entitled Interpretation of Joint Resolution, states that,
"For purposes of this joint resolution, the term ‘introduction of United States Armed Forces’ includes
the assignment of members of such armed forces to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or
accompany the regular or irregular military forces of any foreign country of government when such military forces are engaged. . . in hostilities."
Certainly, United States military actions in support of the NATO forces directly engaged in hostilities fall within this provision. Indeed, here the United States was not and is not simply a passive participant or accompanier of foreign forces, but was one of the key instigators of this military action and played a key role in the early military strikes against Libya.
5. It is particularly unfortunate that President Obama's high level legal advisors have chosen to take such an inappropriate and narrow view of hostilities, which would allow the President to bypass the Constitution's and War Powers Resolution’s restrictions on unilateral Executive war making by either coordinating efforts with NATO or the United Nations, or engaging in high tech warfare to overthrow another government. Where, as here, the United States has directly engaged in warfare against another government (for whatever purposes, either purportedly noble and high-minded or not), is currently engaged in what the Administration terms are "surgical strikes" against the military forces of another nation (perhaps killing civilians as a "collateral" consequence), is actively involved in the command, coordination and participation of NATO forces attacking Libya, and has expended one billion dollars in this ongoing military operation, it is pure legal sophistry to claim that we are not involved in hostilities.
CCR calls on the Administration to comply with the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution and make its case before Congress regarding the continued need for military action in Libya. Failing that, Congress should refuse to relinquish its authority for oversight and authorization.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.




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

































Another US soldier dead from the Iraq War

Today the Defense Dept issued the following:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn.
Spc. Marcos A. Cintron, 32, of Orlando, Fla., died June 16 at a medical facility in Boston, Mass., of wounds suffered June 6 at Baghdad, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
For more information, the media may contact 1st Infantry Division public affairs office at 785-240-6359 or 785-307-0641.


Let's drop back to USF's announcement of the June 6th attack:


RELEASE No. 20110606-01
June 06, 2011
Baghdad, Iraq - Five U.S. service members were killed Monday in central Iraq.
The names of the deceased and details of the incident are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.
The names of deceased service members will be announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/. The announcements are made on the website no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin.

The Orlando Sentinel has a photo of Spc Marcos A. Cintron here. KTKA has another photo here. As does KTAK.

As we've noted before, there were reports that as little as 5 and as many as 15 soldiers were injured in that attack. But USF has a new policy to bury news of wounded. Bush hid the coffins, Barack hides the wounded.

That's 9 reported deaths for the month so far. John Milburn (AP) observes, "The deaths from June 6 surpass those in a 2004 attack to become the highest single-day casualties for Fort Riley soldiers since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began." Spc Robert Hartwick died in that attack and his service was today. Mary Beth Lane (Columbus Dispatch) reports: "Mourners filled the pews of the Logan Church of the Nazarene this morning as Hartwick, of Rockbridge in Hocking County, was eulogized as an American hero." Chelby Kosto (ABC 6 -- link has text and video) adds, "Thousands lined the streets near the church with flags. They had their hands over their hearts and they saluted the local hero." Emilo Campo Jr.'s service was yesterday. Dan Linehan (Mankato Free Press) reports:

Friends, family, a two-star general and a priest remembered Campo Friday during his funeral Mass in Madelia as a free spirit, a soldier and a Catholic. He died earlier this month in a rocket attack in Baghdad at the age of 20.

“He was very proud about what he was doing,” his mother said. She was proud, too, even when Emilio’s 2008 enlistment in the National Guard meant two of her three sons were in the military.


And, pay attention to this if you live in Illinois where the politicians love your votes but betray you, if you click here and go through the photos by Pat Christman of the funderal for Emilio Campo, you'll see a photo of some of the attendees including a photo feature the Minnesota Governor, Mark Dayton, US Senator Al Franken and US House Rep Tim Walz. If you die in a war and your from Illinois, Dick Durbin, by contrast, seems to feel something he said a year or two ago covered it. Apparently Governor Pat Quinn feels the same. In Minnesota, the politicians care a lot more about the citizens of the state. [If you're late to the party on that, refer to "Respecting and (for some officials) disrespecting the fallen."]

The following community sites -- plus War News Radio, the Center for Constitutional Rights, New Statesman and Jane Fonda -- updated last night and this morning:





We'll close with this from David Swanson's "Tim Kaine Avoids Topic of Wars" (War Is A Crime):

Did you hear the one about the Ex Democratic Party Chairman and the peace activist walking into the coffee shop?

That was Tim Kaine and me on Saturday.

He's the former governor of Virginia, former DNC Chair, and current candidate for the US Senate.

He arrived nearly an hour late for his event here in Charlottesville at a local coffee shop. I met him outside and walked in with him to ask him a question on the way, knowing I'd have to leave before he got around to taking questions as part of the event itself.

I pointed out to him that the US Conference of Mayors was expected to vote on Monday to ask Congress to end its unpopular wars in order to direct the spending to something useful. Would you, if elected, I asked him, vote to continue funding these wars?

One possible answer, a democratic if not Democratic one, would have been this: "No."

Another would have been: "That depends . . . . "

Instead, Kaine said he wanted me to ask him that question during the event. Whether he would have taken my question, I don't know, but I couldn't stick around. A friend who did told me that Kaine did not say one word about our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, etc., or about the military budget.

Other than his cheering for the killing of Osama bin Laden, I can't find any mention of wars or the military on Kaine's campaign website either.

Kaine began his speech (I was there for part of it) by claiming to be Christian and religious and to care about values and to want to look out for everybody including the least of these and to follow the example of the Good Samaritan.

One has to wonder who Jesus would bomb.



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















thomas friedman is a great man






oh boy it never ends


























Friday, June 17, 2011

Iraq snapshot

Friday, June 17, 2011.  Chaos and violence continue, Iraqis take to the streets to protest, tensions continue to fester between Nouri and Allawi, in the US, Bob Filner wonders where the VA money is going, US mayors call for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more. 
 
Today was Determination Friday in Iraq as activists take to the streets to demand a responsive government. Protests have been going on in Iraq this year since January. The college students and Iraqi youth began organizing around Friday's a designated day for protest each week. In Baghdad, citizens have turned out in strong numbers and I wish there was much coverage but there's not.  For the coverage, we're pulling from  Revolution of Iraq and The Great Iraqi Revolution -- so when you see a quoted statement that is linked, the link takes you to one of those two sources,  We'll also be working in the rare coverage elsewhere that did take place.


Starting in Baghdad, where "activists flocked to Liberation Square despite government forces harassing them and the checkpoints set around the square" and where "A new game the biggest liar Nouri Al Haliki is playing now. Information indicating that his supporters (supporters of all that is false and lies; supporters of riobbery and corruption) have orders to come out to Tahrir and mix the cards. This is a double edged ploy, of course, that they are either going to give the impression that was Firas Al Jibourie's family who attacked the Rebels or that his supporters will infact again attack the Rebels in Tahrir. We say to Haliki and his supporters that we are ready for them - The heroes of all the Tahrirs in Iraq from the very northern tip to the very southern tip of Iraq will bring you down!"
KUNA reports that the protesters chanted "Friday after Friday, Al-Maliki out" and that, "A group of the protestors read a statement at the crowd, accusing the government of protecting 'the criminals and corrupt.' They also called for recognizing citizens' rights for protesting and abstention from resorting to violence against the demonstrators.
Moreover, they called for a new electoral law to secure equal legislative representation for all political parties."  Last Friday, the activists were attacked by pro-government thugs who invaded the square to try to take it over and to stop the legitimate protest going on.

Today "Maliki sends his hooligans to demonstrate in Tahrir while security forces facilitate their route and entry into Tahrir! in the meantime making it difficult for the Rebelling Youth of Iraq to enter Tahrir." Despite those obstacles, "Growing numbers of the Rebel Youth demonstrating in Tahrir calling for the downfall of the government." The pro-government thugs sense they are losing so they attempt to enrage the actual activists. "Maliki's shakawat provoke the Rebels by shouting 'All the people are with you Nourie Al Maliki'!" The pro-government thugs "begin pretending they are demonstrating about the Dujail attack and Firas Al Jibourie - all in order to begin shouting slogans in support of Nouri al-Maliki." When that fails to derail the protests, "Maliki's shaqawat attempt to attack the Rebel Youth and the Rebels stop them, thus making them fail in their attmpt to cause injury and trouble," but the activists are Iraq and "Sunni and Shi'ite brothers" stand side by side.
 

 
Of US journalists, it would be hard to think of one that's spent more time covering Iraq than Jane Arraf whose coverage of the country goes back to CNN and long, long before the latest Iraq War.  Today Arraf works for the Christian Science Monitor and Al Jazeera and frequently teams up with McClatchy Newspaper's journalists such as Laith Hammoudi and Sahar Issa.  At her Twitter feed, Jane Arraf offered observations on the protests.
 
 
jane arraf
janearraf jane arraf
»
jane arraf
janearraf jane arraf
 
 
 
Let's turn to some of today's reported violence. First up, The Great Iraqi Revolution reports, "2 members of the Movement to Liberate the South, have been kidnapped by Special Interior Ministry Forces in Basra."  Reuters notes a Baghdad car bombing claimed 3 lives and left seven people injured, a Garma car bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer and left three more injured, a Baghdad roadside bombing claimed 1 life and left three people injured and, dropping back to Thursday night for the rest, 1 man was shot dead in Mosul as he left a mosque, 1 man was shot dead outside his Mosul home, 1 Ministry of Electricity employee was shot dead in Baghdad and a Baghdad roadside bombing left one police officer injured.
As the security situation continues to fall apart, the tensions increase between Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister, and other elements in the Iraqi government such as Ayad Allawi.  Salah Nasrawi (Al-Ahram Weekly) reports
 
The latest crisis was sparked by a spat between the leaders of the two main blocs in the country's "partnership" government, Shia Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the leader of the Sunni-backed Iraqia Coalition bloc, Iyad Allawi.
On Friday, Allawi charged Al-Maliki with "lying, hypocrisy and deception", saying that Al-Maliki had "depended on foreigners and Iran's support to become prime minister."
Allawi's remarks came hours after pro Al-Maliki demonstrators carried his picture when standing next to Firas Al-Jubouri, a man whom the government accuses of masterminding a massacre of some 70 Shias in 2006 while on their way to a wedding.
The gruesome crime, which included the raping of the women, including the bride, and the slaughtering of the men and children and the throwing of their bodies into the Tigris, was disclosed last month, infuriating many Shias who have demanded the public execution of the perpetrators.
But the incident also raises questions about why the government has waited so long to bring the assault to light and if it is now trying to implicate Allawi in it, especially following rumors that Al-Jubouri is a member of his National Accord Movement.
The disclosure came amid mounting criticism of Al-Maliki, who holds the portfolios of defense, interior and national security ministers in the Iraqi government, as well as that of intelligence chairman, and who has been accused of failing to stop the violence.
Some have suggested that Al-Maliki has filled these ministries and top security posts with his cronies and supporters who are inefficient or corrupt.
 
The editorial board of Gulf News also underscores the serious problems Nouri is facing:
 
Standards were set and consequences for failure were announced and yet when the time came for some stock-taking, Al Maliki's inaction has left him facing intense queries for which he would be hard- pressed to provide answers.
Admitting that the 100-day deadline hasn't worked would have been an easy way out. He could have always taken a fresh guard after that. With the Arab Spring touching new heights and with civil society sensing that they have made rapid breakthroughs across countries in the Middle East, Al Maliki can ill-afford to cloak his explanations in ambiguity.
This has been done by setting a fresh four-year plan for each ministry amid claims that 'massive progress' has been achieved in the stipulated 100 days. The opposition obviously does not agree. This is not the time for extreme long-term vision, especially when the route for the short term is littered with roadblocks.
 
Meanwhile Lara Jakes (AP) looks into the contract workers in Iraq and finds few make a solid living, let alone leave rich.  She notes, "With 900,000 Iraqis unemployed, the government has little sympathy for foreigners who have flocked here to take menial jobs as housekeepers or restaurant workers. And, to get here, authorities say immigrants are routinely fleeced by employment agencies who charge thousands of dollars for flights and temporary visas for workers who wind up earning only a few hundred dollars each month."  Today on The World (PRI), the issue was addressed.  Excerpt:
 
 
MARCO WERMAN: I'm Marco Werman. This is the World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Boston. Some 35,000 private security contractors are thought to be working in Iraq these days. That number is expected to increase dramatically as U.S. troops withdraw at the end of this year. Many Iraqis are concerned about that. Contractors have been involved in some controversial, even deadly incidents in Iraq, but they also have legal immunity against prosecution for any crimes they may have committed before 2009. Reporter Jane Arraf joins us from Baghdad. So, Jane, a group from the U.N. was just in Baghdad to discuss the role of security contractors there. What were they looking at in particular?
 
JANE ARRAF: Well, they were really looking at what sort of rules should be implemented and how it's been going so far. It's actually called the U.N. Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries. Now, these people are not mercenaries they point out, they are private security contractors, but their ranks are really going to grow. As the U.S. military leaves, they're going to have to hire more security contractors to protect the Embassy. And, really what this group wanted to do was a bit of a fact-finding mission. It wanted to talk to security contractors, wanted to talk to the Iraqi government, didn't quite get all it wanted on that front. And, basically come up with some recommendations.
 
WERMAN: Well, interesting that you mentioned this euphemism as security contractor, they're really mercenaries according to the U.N. Does the U.N. see them as mercenaries?
 
ARRAF:  Here in Iraq it's not so much mercenaries, because they are actually contracted employees. But, there are, as you point out, 35,000 of them, including 12,000 foreigners. The U.N. itself is in a bind, because it's going to have to rely on them after U.S. forces pull out. And, as the head of this working group, Jose Luis Gomez del Prado told us earlier today, there is really a gray area there in terms of immunity from prosecution.
 
 
In the US, a new call goes out to end the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.  CNN reports that in Baltimore today at the Annual Conference of US Mayors, a resolution was passed which "urged Congress [. . .] to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and redirect money spent to support those conflicts to domestic interests."  Alex Dominguez (AP) quotes Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stating, "How did we get to a deficit and a debt larger than at any time not only in U.S. history but in human history?  We got involved in two wars that, no matter what you think about those wars, we haven't paid for.  That we would build bridges in Baghdad and Kandahar and not Baltimore and Kansas City, absolutely boggles the mind."
 
Daniel Hanson: So I joined the Marine Corps in 2003. Shortly after I was deployed to Ramadi Iraq in 2004.  And it was a deployment that started with one of our Marines shooting himself in the head -- just kind of brushed that under the table.  And then 34 marines we lost -- throughout the deployment.  We had about 400, 450 Marines injured.  Came back and, uh, went on leave and that was -- that was that.  Started drinking pretty heavy, dealing with nightmares, dealing with things I wasn't really prepared to deal with, I would say. And I think one of the biggest reasons that I dealt with it myself was just because -- I mean, I was in a battalion with a thousand Marines, I don't think people wanted to hear, you know, my whining and complaining.  So -- Then shortly after we went on antoher deployment, non-combat which, uhm, uh, just kept on drinking, kept masking my issues with whatever -- whatever would take away any of the pain. Came back and then about six months later my unit was deployed again to Iraq. This time I was in the remain-behind-element so I was kind of able to see the other side of things -- when we would get the casualty reports, we would get the KIAs in and have to notifiy and take beyond that end of things as well.  I decided that I was going to get out of the Marine Corps and uh -- But I was persuaded by a good friend, Sgt Major JJ Ellis, to stay in but, on that deployment, he ended up getting killed.  I went to his funeral over in Arlington National Cemetery.  Then after that, a friend, also in  2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, Jonathan Schulze, hanged himself in the basement of his home and that kind of got me twirling out of control just before I was going to get out of the Marine Corps.  And then finally on March -- I got discharged in February, 2007.  And then on March 23, 2007, my brother -- who is also in the Marine Corps -- he hung himself in the basement of his home. And at that point, I think I decided I was going to do everything I could to avoid pain, that I was going to do everything to deal with it myself as I had been doing for the last three or four years.  And I got into drugs, I got into alcohol.  I got into whatever it was that would mask the pain that day. Eventually, I tried to kill myself.  I ended up in the St. Cloud VA Medical Center for about 48 hours in lock-up.  And then I was  released and off to do whatever it is that I wanted to do -- which was go back to work because that seemed like the normal thing to do after -- after something like that.  And eventually I found myself in and out of jail.  I'm not -- And I was getting treated on an outpatient basis for awhile at the VA Medical Center.  But when you were as messed up as I was, it takes a lot more than, you know, one or two sessions a week to get through my issues.  And so I eventually found my way into the dual diagnosis program to get help.  It was mostly to avoid a longer stint in jail for my DUIs.  Eventually, I got out after about 30 days.  I think I started drinking the next day.  About a year later I found myself in jail for, I don't know, the sixth or seventh time and I decided for myself that I was done hurting myself, I was done hurting my family, I was done hurting my children. And I checked into a 13 to 15 month faith-based program that was what changed my life.  About a week after jail, I stopped going to work, stopped going to school and I decided that I wasn't going to be very productive unless I got help.  And that's what I did at Minneapolis Teen Challenge. It was more of a holistic approach.  It was -- I went to the VA once a week to get help in the combat and the military specific issues and then I would stay there, you know, seven days a week.  I wasn't able to get any funding through the VA  because it was not -- it was not a VA funded program. Therefore, I got backed up on bills, I wasn't able to pay things and eventually filed bankruptcy. So in my dealing with the VA Medical Center, I always felt like I was in control, I was running my own rehabilitation althought I couldn't even, you know, put my shoes and socks on correctly most days.  I felt like it was "Whatever I wanted to do Mr. Hanson, whatever I wanted to do that I thought was best for me.  Well I thought what was best for me to go and get drunk and get high and forget about all my troubles and forget about all my nightmares.
 
Iraq War veteran Daniel Hanson was testifying Tuesday to the House Veterans Affairs Committee in their hearing on mental health.  A few notes about the above.  This is the hearing that I was hoping to get room for all week.  (Not the hearing that has a transcript, I wasn't interested in that hearing.)  A veteran who also attended the hearing asked me if I wasn't covering it because of Daniel Hanson's attitude towards treatment?  The only reason I hadn't covered it was we didn't have room.
 
But his treatment probably is as important as anything else in the hearing in many ways, so let's discuss that.  What works for me is not going to work for you unless we're very similar.  People are very different.  There is no cookie cutter treatment to help someone towards recovery.  For Dan Hanson, a faith-based program worked.  That's most likely because he's living a faith-based life. If someone is liviing that sort of life and he or she has a very strong faith, that faith needs to be part of the therapy.  It needs to be brought into it.  What the VA couldn't provide him with for whatever reasons, he kept searching until it came to him.  And good for him for that.
 
The thing that bothers me the most about his testimony -- and I thought he was very brave to have shared all he did -- is that he's talking about feeling like all the choices were up to him.  In the civilian world there might be a likelihood of treatments -- at the start -- being like that.  But not all are. And I'm especially surprised that one would be geared towards veterans like that.  To use Dan Hanson's life as an example, he was in a lot of pain and he was spiraling out of control.  He correctly identifies himself as not having the skills at that point to go beyond what was probably labeled "stinking thinking" in his treatment (the "stinking thinking" that led him into the situation).  Especially for veterans, that seems misguided.  Just listening to his story, Dan Hanson was managing -- maybe not coping -- and had to grab additional resources (alcohol, drugs) to continue to manage each day.  This was in the military.  His use of alcohol most likely increased out of the military because there are certain structures within the daily life of the military that would make it much more difficult for him to show up for duty drunk off his as.
 
And the military structure is something that's instilled in training.  The point being, if you're a veteran and you're seeking treatment for some behaviours that are harmful and out of control, you need structure.  You need to see that you are part of your treatment and you need to see that you can work your treatment or program.  But before you can go anywhere, a sesne of structure has to be imposed upon you by the program.
 
That's what Dan Hanson did not get from the VA and what he's talking about when he refers to feeling like the VA attitude was: Do what you want, you know best.  If you talk to Elaine generically about this sort of topic (she keeps patient confidentiality and never discusses specifics), she would tell you that your life needs some structure and she'd work with you to construct that (with the earliest stages of your treatment being the most highly stuctured).  So I'm confused as to how anyone at the VA thought that sort of 'treatment' would help.  His life was chaos and felt chaos on the inside which is why he was using alcohol and other drugs to mask what was going on inside.  It disturbs me that something so obvious as missed and if was missed with one person, then it's been missed with many.  Dan Hanson was very brave to share his story.  And his story isn't just a story of 'this didn't work for me but that did.'  It's also a story of VA not grasping emotional distress. 
 
He used Minneapolis Teen Challenge.  Many of today's veterans are very young but they may not realize that 'teen' addiction treatment centers can often treat them as well because they are actually teen and young adult.  Most go up to at least the age of 24 when accepting clients. Of live-in treatment programs, those tend to provide more structure than those geared solely for adults.  So that is something that is a resource to any veteran who's 24 or under and relates to Dan Hanson's journey.
 
 
The House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair is Jeff Miller and the Ranking Member is Bob Filner.  Bob Filner noted that the Committee he had repeatedly lodged complaints about the backlog and he did do that.  And it's also true that he and others offered the VA their ear, asked the VA repeatedly, "What do you need?"  Time and again, the Committee was told they needed nothing from Congress. I can remember many Subcommittee hearings where Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin would be the Chair and she would specifically ask about the backlog.  And she would be told that they didn't need additional employees and that, in fact, additional employees would slow them down because they'd have to pull people away from working claims to train the new employees.  So the backlog isn't a minor issue, it's not one that Congress has ignored, it's one that the VA has repeatedly stated was fixed or about to be fixed, etc.  And it's not been fixed. 
 
This came up during the hearing on Tuesday when the VA's Dr. Karen Seal spoke of the hiring freeze at her VA when Ranking Member Bob Filner brought up the issue of veterans unemployment and wondered why the VA wasn't hiring veterans for duties such as outreach and interaction.
 
Ranking Member Bob Filner: I don't mean to interrupt you.  Mr. Chairman, I've heard this in several places.  There's a hiring freeze.  I mean, we have the biggest problem we've ever had.  We've given the VA more money than they've ever had. And we keep hearing about hiring freeze.  What is going on here?  I mean, we're under-resourced you [Dr. Seal] say. I mean, we have increased the VA budget every year for as long as we've been here and it's 60, 70% higher than it was just five years ago.  What is going on?
 
Phil Roe is a House Veterans Affairs Committee Member and he's also a medical doctor.  He wanted to explore the faith-based aspect   And this probably was the unique part of the hearing because that topic hasn't been discussed at prior hearings I've attended.  So let's emphasize Roe and Hanson's exchange.
 
 
US House Rep Phil Roe: I want to hear a little bit more about your faith-based, how the program you felt was successful for you.  I think that's really important because obviously everybody's different but this clearly worked with you and I think you'd made  your mind up too that you were going to change your life. I think it had a lot to do with you also.
 
 
Daniel Hanson:  Yes, sir. I mean I was at the point where it was either -- I mean, I was on my knees in my jail cell praying.  I said, "God, either use me or kill me."  And I eventually went to Teen Challenge and the reason I feel that was so effective was it was more of a holistic -- I mean, I was such an immoral -- I used to say "social parasite" -- where, you know, I was a liar, I was an alcoholic, I was a dead beat dad essentially.  And when I went into Minnesota Teen Challenge, I was able to deal with ,the moral and not just the things that happened in combat but going all the way back to childhood and some of those issues and get to the heart.  And for 13 to 15 months, you know, you're going to get through a lot of the issues.  I still have issues, but they are considerably less.  I mean, it was physical healing, emotional healing, spiritual healing.  It was, you know, mental healing.  And it was, like I said, more of a holistic approach  of getting help for not just what happened when I was in the Marine Corps but before and after, and the damage I had done, the survivor's guilt. And knowing that what happened happened but I have a future and I have the chance to make the best out of it.  And that's what I intend on doing now.
 
US House Rep Phil Roe:  And you've obviously done a great job with that and a real asset not only as a soldier and a Marine but as just a citizen of the country and as a father .  And again to the Chairman and Mr. Filner's question, how do you think the VA could use some of the experiences you've had to make it better for other Marines or soldiers or Airmen who have experienced the same thing?
 
Daniel Hanson: Well I definitely feel that at times, if I would have got the kick in the butt I needed to get into rehab -- where if the VA would have said, "Lookit, either you go to rehab, you get better or, you know, you're not welcome here. Basically, if you don't want to use what we have set up for us then maybe you should use somewhere else.  Because if there's people that really want to get help, this place needs to be open for those individuals."  And for years, I had great opportunities to get help but I didn't because I didn't want to.  And I think that if the VA, you know, instead of a friendship role, took that parent role when I know there's plenty of times my dad made choices where I hated him for it at the beginning but I saw the absolute necessity of it years down the road. I appreciated him much more for it obviously instead of him not parenting me.  And it's a wierd analogy to use -- the VA as a parent -- but I just think if the VA would be possibly more assertive in their treatment and saying, "Lookit, you're obviously messed up, you've been through this, you've been through this, you have this police record. It's time to either get help or, you know, find somewhere else to try to get help." 
 
 
US House Rep Michael Michaud and Daniel Hanson spoke about the need to have knowledge of a variety of programs before you discharge from the military and become a veteran. He spoke about how when he was active duty, it would have been helpful to know about different ways to get help and "to know it wasn't 'weird' or 'weak'" to get help.  Michaud noted that on trips to Iraq, he asks what's needed to help with issues like TBI and PTSD and traumas and the brass tells him they have all they need.  But a lower ranking official pulled him aside and suggested he speak to the clergy about the issue.  He noted he now does that on every visit to Iraq, "And they [the clergy] were telling me that more and more of the soldiers were going to them because they were afraid to seek help from a doctor because they were afraid of what other soldiers would say."
 
 
Burials will take place this weekend of US soldiers who died in Iraq.  One took place yesterday and Susan Demar Lafferty (Chicago Sun-Times) has the best text report on that funeral:

Flags waved, tears flowed and hundreds of supporters lined roads from Homer Glen to Elwood on Thursday to pay tribute to U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Olivieri, who was laid to rest at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
The Homer Glen resident, remembered as a "great guy" and respected for his military service by those who came out to pay tribute, was killed in Iraq on June 6 along with four others when militants attacked their base.
At a brief and somber graveside military service, Olivieri's wife, Sharon; parents Michael and Jody; and three siblings were surrounded by hundreds of mourners as they sat tearfully in white folding chairs in front of a flag-draped casket.

The worst text report? Homer Glen is a suburb of Chicago. Chicago has two major dailies. While the Sun-Times did their job, the Tribune wasn't up to the task. At three brief sentences, it's practically a Tweet. And if you had written it, you'd be glad there was no byline as well. Video of Lockport High School students watching the procession is here. WGN notes, "Olivier was laid to rest at Abraham Lincoln national cemetery in Elwood. "

Wednesday was the wake, yesterday was the funeral and burial. Bob Rakow (Southtown Star) reports on the wake and quotes Rosemary Koning, a family friend who attended, stating, "I think for the family, it helps to know that people support them. His life was not in vain."

Michael Olivieri died Monday, June 6th in a Baghdad attack along with four other US soldiers. He is one of at least eight US soldiers to die serving in Iraq in the last two weeks.

Susan Demar Lafferty reports, "Sharon Olivieri put her head down on the casket while clutching her husband's flag. The couple were one week shy of their first wedding anniversary when the 26-year-old Olivieri was killed."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Iraqis take to the streets

17Baghdad a

It is Determination Friday in Iraq as activists take to the streets to demand a responsive government. Protests have been going on in Iraq this year since January. The college students and Iraqi youth began organizing around Friday's a designated day for protest each week. In Baghdad, citizens have turned out in strong numbers. All screen snaps are of the protest in Baghdad today and from videos posted at Revolution of Iraq.

17 baghdad b

I'm not seeing any western media reports on the protests in Iraq but it's still very early in the morning (in the US). Hopefully reports will emerge later in the day on the protests taking place throughout Iraq. But what we're going to do now is pull from Revolution of Iraq and The Great Iraqi Revolution to cover the protests.


Starting in Baghdad, where "activists flocked to Liberation Square despite government forces harassing them and the checkpoints set around the square" and where "A new game the biggest liar Nouri Al Haliki is playing now. Information indicating that his supporters (supporters of all that is false and lies; supporters of riobbery and corruption) have orders to come out to Tahrir and mix the cards. This is a double edged ploy, of course, that they are either going to give the impression that was Firas Al Jibourie's family who attacked the Rebels or that his supporters will infact again attack the Rebels in Tahrir. We say to Haliki and his supporters that we are ready for them - The heroes of all the Tahrirs in Iraq from the very northern tip to the very southern tip of Iraq will bring you down!" Last Friday (see snap below), the activists were attacked by pro-government thugs who invaded the square to try to take it over and to stop the legitimate protest going on.

attack 2 Today "Maliki sends his hooligans to demonstrate in Tahrir while security forces facilitate their route and entry into Tahrir! in the meantime making it difficult for the Rebelling Youth of Iraq to enter Tahrir." Despite those obstacles, "Growing numbers of the Rebel Youth demonstrating in Tahrir calling for the downfall of the government." The pro-government thugs sense they are losing so they attempt to enrage the actual activists. "Maliki's shakawat provoke the Rebels by shouting 'All the people are with you Nourie Al Maliki'!" The pro-government thugs "begin pretending they are demonstrating about the Dujail attack and Firas Al Jibourie - all in order to begin shouting slogans in support of Nouri al-Maliki." When that fails to derail the protests, "Maliki's shaqawat attempt to attack the Rebel Youth and the Rebels stop them, thus making them fail in their attmpt to cause injury and trouble," but the activists are Iraq and "Sunni and Shi'ite brothers" stand side by side.

17baghdad

17 baghdad c

But it's not just Baghdad. "DIWANIYA: A very large demonstration of our Rebel Youth has set forth a very short while ago." "NASSIRIYA a Short While Ago: A peaceful demonstration has been broken up by security forces and a few activists have been arrested - it is estimated that the number of arrested is 3."

Hopefully in the snapshot later today, we'll be able to add to that via other outlets.

And we'll close with this from Ted Rall's "The Revolution Will Not Be Deactualized: Oct. 6th: Will Tahrir Square Come to Washington?" (ICH):


June 16 2011 "Information Clearing House" -- I used to work for Democratic candidates. I was a campus activist. I marched in protests.
But, in the 1980s, I quit politics. I was fed up. The Left was impotent and inept. They didn’t want to change things. They were content with theater. Bad theater at that: dorks on stilts, boring speakers, stupid slogans, the same old chants. “The people, united, will never be defeated!”
Except—we were defeated. We didn’t even fight.
Our protests were poorly attended. The media ignored us. And we always lost. Even the Democrats didn’t care about us or our opinions. By the time Bill Clinton won in 1992, the progressive wing of the party was good for one thing: voting Democratic.
Along with millions of others, I drifted away.
Now, finally, for the first time in decades, I am excited.
We can change everything. Here. In America. Now.
People are rising up in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Patriotic Afghans, Iraqis and Yemenis are fighting puppet dictators propped by U.S. military occupation. They demand an end to violent, corrupt governments that serve themselves but not their citizens. People in the Middle East and European countries such as Greece refuse to accept systemic poverty and unemployment so that a tiny slice of corrupt, well-connected elites can continue to amass wealth.
Why just in other countries? Why not here?
Why can’t we have a Tahrir Square?





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





































Respecting and (for some officials) disrespecting the fallen

When people talk about how trashy Illinois is, they generally are referring to the politicians -- and for good reason as we saw this week. Little Dickie Durbin managed to shame himself far worse than his 2005 blubbering before the cameras. A solider from Illinois died serving in Iraq. Now if this were another state, someone in the Senate would have noted it. The governor's office would have issued a proclamation.

But this is Illinois where the trash doesn't pile up on the streets, it runs for office.

So the next time Dick Durbin or Pat Quinn want to grand stand on veterans issues, want to pretend that they give a damn, just remember they let a citizen of their state who died while serving in a war be buried without ever having made even the smallest public statement. That's trashy.

Dickie's one of two US senators from the state. Mark Kirk is the other. Kirk's been a senator for less than two years. Durbin's been in there for approximately 14 years.

Not everyone was inactive. Homer Glen's municipal representatives had ordered flags at half-staff on June 6th, for example. But their statewide and national politicians (thought they) had something better to do than honor the fallen. And Dickie may want to grand stand on his "I didn't vote for the war in 2002" but equally true he hasn't done a damn thing to stop the Iraq War.


Susan Demar Lafferty (Chicago Sun-Times) has the best text report on yesterday's funeral:

Flags waved, tears flowed and hundreds of supporters lined roads from Homer Glen to Elwood on Thursday to pay tribute to U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Olivieri, who was laid to rest at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
The Homer Glen resident, remembered as a “great guy” and respected for his military service by those who came out to pay tribute, was killed in Iraq on June 6 along with four others when militants attacked their base.
At a brief and somber graveside military service, Olivieri’s wife, Sharon; parents Michael and Jody; and three siblings were surrounded by hundreds of mourners as they sat tearfully in white folding chairs in front of a flag-draped casket.

The worst text report? Homer Glen is a suburb of Chicago. Chicago has two major dailies. While the Sun-Times did their job, the Tribune wasn't up to the task. At three brief sentences, it's practically a Tweet. And if you had written it, you'd be glad there was no byline as well. Video of Lockport High School students watching the procession is here. WGN notes, "Olivier was laid to rest at Abraham Lincoln national cemetery in Elwood."

Wednesday was the wake, yesterday was the funeral and burial. Bob Rakow (Southtown Star) reports on the wake and quotes Rosemary Koning, a family friend who attended, stating, "I think for the family, it helps to know that people support them. His life was not in vain."

Michael Olivieri died Monday, June 6th in a Baghdad attack along with four other US soldiers. He is one of at least eight US soldiers to die serving in Iraq in the last two weeks.

Susan Demar Lafferty reports, "Sharon Olivieri put her head down on the casket while clutching her husband’s flag. The couple were one week shy of their first wedding anniversary when the 26-year-old Olivieri was killed."

The following community sites -- plus Antiwar.com -- updated last night and this morning:



And we'll close with this from "Sheriffs and FBI Raid Home of Chicano Activist in Los Angeles" (Revolution via World Can't Wait):

There have been significant new developments in the targeting of antiwar and international solidarity activists by Obama's Justice Department. On May 17 the LA County Sheriff's SWAT team and members of the FBI raided the home of Chicano activist Carlos Montes. In Minneapolis, the next day, FBI documents were brought to light that further expose the escalation of political repression of political organizations that began last September.


From a statement by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, at 5 a.m. on May 17:

"The SWAT Team smashed the front door and rushed in with automatic weapons as Carlos slept. The team of Sheriffs and FBI proceeded to ransack his house, taking his computer, cell phones and hundreds of documents, photos, diskettes and mementos of his current political activities in the pro-immigrant rights and Chicano civil rights movement. Also taken were hundreds of historical documents related to Carlos Montes' involvement in the Chicano movement for the past 44 years."

The statement continues:

"Carlos was arrested on one charge dealing with a firearm code and released on bail the following morning. His first court appearance is set for June 16, 2011.

"This attack on Carlos Montes is part of the campaign of FBI harassment taking place against the 23 peace and justice activists which has until now been centered in the Midwest. Carlos Montes' name was listed on the subpoena left in the office of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee last September 24. When Carlos Montes was placed in the LA County Sheriff's car, an FBI agent approached and asked him questions about the Freedom Road Socialist Organization."




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