The Iraq War - Chapter 4

[Menehune Man]

After World War 2, all of humankind should have realized that "we" had gone to far. But instead of embracing eachother and our differences we went the opposite direction. Causing a greater separation between the countries of the world and ultimately becoming much more dangerous than it was even then. Nuclear proliferation is only a part of the total military buildup around the world. Generally speaking it's less safe now as far as the possibility of being attacked by another country, to most countries, than any other time in history. World War 3 coming soon to a town near you.

[waioli kai]

?World War 3 coming soon?

?World War 3 coming soon?

Originally Posted by Buddy2
"After World War 2 ... World War 3 coming soon to a town near you."

When the 20th CenturyCE "Cold War" is not deemed to be worthy a world war numerical status, even though untold millions of humans were "Cold War" casualties and trillion$ were exhausted in militarist dreams, it would be inconsistent to give world war numerical status to the war that began in 1948 with US's UN recognition of Israel in Palestine. The founders of Israel 1948CE in Palestine pretty well began the book on "Terrorism Can Be Righteous", so one would think that whatever war manifests from such a beginning, that war would be most notable for one of its major ingredients: terrorism.

Allowing that world war numerical status be given to the "Cold War" and to the "War on Terrorism", it would follow that the "Cold War" be WW 4, since the "War on Terrorism" be WW 3, unless one concedes that "Cold War" (instead of being bracketed by WW3) was a significant phase of WW3, in which case it is perfectly logical to proclaim when addressing the U.S. populace: "World War 3 coming soon to a town near you." Such a statement has lost its prophetic touch for many in the U.S. and the West, since it feels like a done deal for at least a first round.

[Miulang]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 3

Control of Iraq and the Middle East still is all about controlling the oil resources and worries over Iran changing the currency used to buy oil from that country from the US dollar to the Euro.

Miulang

[Miulang]

"Shoot first, ask questions later..."

Apparently that is the byword of the US troops in Iraq. A Reuters sound man was killed by US snipers and his cameraman shot in the back and then detained for 12 hours without medical treatment as they were trying to investigate a report from police sources of an incident involving police officers and gunmen in the Hay al-Adil district in western Baghdad.

I guess both the dead sound man and the wounded cameraman were sniped at because they are Arabic. The military says they will investigate the incident (the killing and wounding were reported by the Iraqi government) but how much do you want to bet that the US government will claim that somehow those two media people were doing something to make it appear that they were terrorists? How much do you want to bet that if the Iraqi government itself hadn't reported the incident, that there would be no investigation?

There have now been more media people killed in Iraq in 3 years than there were in 20 years of covering the occupation of Vietnam. Granted, thanks to the Internet, there are more reasons why reporters get sent into the field, but why are our troops still so trigger happy that they can't stop and ask questions before they shoot?

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 3

When all is said and done and the Iraqi occupation is just another citation in history books, who will the true heroes of that time be? Yes, every single military person who served in Iraq for sure, but the true patriots will be people like Gen. Eric Shinseki, who told the White House that a minimum of 300,000 troops would be needed to do the job in Iraq and who was then "retired" because Rummy found another general who said the job could be done with 125,000 troops; Brigadier Gen. Janis Karpinski, the Army Reserve officer in charge of Abu Ghraib prision during its darkest and most ugly period and who became the highest ranking officer to be punished for the atrocities that occurred, and Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse, the Army's top ranking procurement officer who revealed some of the no-bid contracts Halliburton had been awarded and who now has been removed for "unsatisfactory" performance reviews after being employed since 1997 by the Corps with no complaints about her performance until she went public about Halliburton.

In the 3 cases above, each individual could have continued in his or her job and thrived if their consciences and duty to telling the truth hadn't gotten in the way of the White House's determination to keep the American public in the dark about what was really going on. Someday soon, all 3 will be vindicated and honored for their courage, just as our troops are being honored today.

"I had been hesitant to speak out before because this Administration is so vindictive. But now I will ... Anybody who confronts this Administration or Rumsfeld or the Pentagon with a true assessment, they find themselves either out of a job, out of their positions, fired, relieved or chastised. Their career comes to an end.
-- Janis Karpinski, interview with Marjorie Cohn, August 3, 2005"


Miulang

[waioli kai]

Re: "Shoot first, ask questions later..."

"...why are our troops still so trigger happy that they can't stop and ask questions before they shoot?"

Becoming ever more the rule of US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia those who are killed by US troops and supporting armies and paramilitary are deemed to be "insurgents", "terrorists", "Taliban" or "Marxist rebels" depending on where they happened to be killed in the supposed promotion of US security. All the anti-US fighters who fight against US apparently do so in the absence of their families and girlfriends, or else all the unarmed people fired upon by US miraculously escape. Most likely it is that all who are shot by US are, because they were shot by US forces, deemed by US to have been deserving of having been shot.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 4

The Rev. Fred Phelps and his brethren are now saying that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq because God hates fags.

Led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, the Kansas church preaches that God hates America because the country has been taken over by gays, a sin that God punishes by killing troops. Yesterday's funerals were not the first where the protesters have appeared.

"They're fighting for a fag country," said Libby Phelps, 22, a granddaughter of Fred Phelps who protested in Smyrna. "There's nothing heroic or prideful about that. ... God put us here to preach the word."

(The Tennessean)

Not everyone at the soldiers' funerals agreed.

Funny, I thought American soldiers were being killed because Iraqis hate armies who invade their country and won't go home.

[Miulang]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 4

One returning Iraqi veteran's observations on being in Iraq and what it means to be back in America.

"...There is nothing that I feel can alleviate the guilt for being directly involved with our illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq. I ask myself from time to time, “Why was I so afraid to resist the order to go to war? Why didn’t I object to the whole damned thing?” I have been told many times not to be ashamed for my service to this country, but I can’t help a genuine intuition that this war is not designed to promote freedom and our beautiful American way of life, but instead only carried out to proliferate Western imperialism and corporate profits every time a bullet is fired. My guilt is synonymous with the sentiment that I was indeed on the wrong side of the wire....

"...As incredibly bad as the army can be at times, it did teach me some very valuable lessons. One is that just because someone with authority is “in charge”, that doesn’t necessarily mean that person is Right, or even a Good person. Not every order handed down is based off of good moral pretexts, and many times the outcome of immoral orders makes the situation as a whole much worse. Eventually common sense, self respect, and real honor for first-rate decency must prevail. Whether you are subjected to the draconian structure of the military or that of our pernicious government, honest dissidence should always remain constant. In the words of the wise Timothy Leary, “ Think for yourself; question authority.”

Miulang

[waioli kai]

genocidal rites, Captain George

"... I thought American soldiers were being killed because Iraqis hate armies who invade their country and won't go home. (Glen)"

Of course Iraqi and other indigenous peoples of the Middle East are not the only peoples of the world who "hate armies who invade their country and won't go home."

One can be sure that well before the time that Captain George Washington was burning Iroquois 'settlements' to secure British Colony lands and waters in the Crown's west Atlantic "properties", "territories", and other stolen lands....well before young George on horseback was to Native Americans in "New England" the most hated white man on Earth...well before, young George was so hated for commanding the desecration of Native Americans' settlements when not Native Americans themselves....'well before', because, preceding George was over two centuries of genocide, and genocidal rites, by the economic/political ruling classes of Europe perpetrated throughout the entire Caribbean and the major indigenous societies of the Americas east of the Mississippi and south of northern Mexico. Obviously (though not so obvious to US), New England Revolution of the 18th CE Century, and its aftermath of more than two centuries now of nationalUSt$ ideology, nationalUSt$ economics, nationalUSt$ politics, nationalUSt$ hierarchy was preceded by such catastrophe to Humanity and Life as a whole as is celebrated (even in Hawaii of all places) by US's "Columbus Day" about three weeks before Halloween, about three weeks after earth's northern hemisphere's autumnal equinox (aka "Fall").

The Rev. Fred Phelps and his brethren are now saying that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq because God hates fags.
Not everyone at the soldiers' funerals agreed.

Though of course i might wonder, i wouldn't presume to know what God thinks, likes or hates.

About "fags"; one syllable for 'faggots'? It's sometimes interesting to search for some definition (encyclopedia.com) in terminology:

***bundle or faggot of herbs that is added to a soup, stew, sauce, or poaching liquid to give flavour. It is removed before the dish is served. The classic bouquet garni consists of sprigs of parsley ....

***In the region from Greenland to the Mackenzie River, Sedna is the highest spirit and controls the sea mammals; the Moon is a male deity who lives incestuously with his sister, the Sun. When she discovers he is her brother, she seizes a burning faggot and rushes away into the sky, the Moon pursuing her.

***Rope and Faggot: A Biography of Judge Lynch (1929) by Walter Francis White (1893-1955)

***fag·got
Pronunciation: fa-gt
Function: noun
Etymology: earlier and dialect, contemptuous word for a woman or child, probably from fagot
Date: 1914
usually disparaging : a male homosexual

*** (wikipedia.com :Categories: Obsolete units of measure) A faggot is an archaic imperial unit applied to collections of sticks:

1 short faggot of sticks = 2 ft. girth × 32 in. long bundle of short wood sticks/billets
1 long faggot of sticks = 2 ft. girth × 4 ft. long bundle of long wood sticks/billets
1 faggot of iron = 2 ft. girth × 1 ft. long bundle of iron/steel rods/bars

*** (encyclopedia.com re: fascism) Europe's first fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, took the name of his party from the Latin word fasces, which referred to a bundle of, a faggot of, elm or birch rods usually containing an ax used as a symbol of penal authority in ancient Rome.

Getting back to thinking about what God loves and hates, thinking of (besides fags, faggots, fascism) hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, genocides, injustice/justUS, personal wealth and luxury in a world of so much intolerable hell for so many, democrUSy and the free dumb of the United States, the result of such pondering is unfalteringly one of concluding that God, whatever God's loves 'and hates' may be, has withheld acting upon those feelings; choosing instead to let The Christian Era war itself into utter shame and disgrace.

[Miulang]

Bush admits Iraq war is about oil

I never thought I'd live to see the day when the President, in his never ending quest for a reason to invade Iraq, would FINALLY tell the American public the real motivation: OIL.

Only he deftly tried to tie the whole thing about controlling Iraqi oil resources into keeping Iraqi oil out of the hands of the TERRORISTS. Gee, how much of a bonus did he give the speechwriter who came up with that???

"...President Bush answered growing antiwar protests yesterday with a fresh reason for US troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields, which he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.

The president, standing against a backdrop of the USS Ronald Reagan, the newest aircraft carrier in the Navy's fleet, said terrorists would be denied their goal of making Iraq a base from which to recruit followers, train them, and finance attacks.

"We will defeat the terrorists," Bush said. "We will build a free Iraq that will fight terrorists instead of giving them aid and sanctuary." ...

I'm sorry, Mr. President. We have a natural disaster of monumental proportions in this country that deserves more attention than your fanciful fabrications and justifications of the illegal war do.


Miulang

[Miulang]

Bring the Guard Home

About a year ago, I made a comment that our Army Reserve and National Guard troops should not be deployed to Iraq but rather should be kept in this country to help during times of natural disaster and to help in domestic anti-terror activities (like working with the TSA). It would have been far far better for those troops' moral and their families if they could have stayed home.

Now I finally see at least one other soul who agrees with me. Too bad it took a hurricane to do that.

"... But after New Orleans levees collapsed and the scope of the catastrophe became more clear, such reassuring claims lost credibility. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday: "With thousands of their citizen-soldiers away fighting in Iraq, states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina scrambled to muster forces for rescue and security missions yesterday - calling up Army bands and water-purification teams, among other units, and requesting help from distant states and the active-duty military."

The back-page Post story added: "National Guard officials in the states acknowledged that the scale of the destruction is stretching the limits of available manpower while placing another extraordinary demand on their troops - most of whom have already served tours in Iraq or Afghanistan or in homeland defense missions since 2001."

Speaking for the Mississippi National Guard, Lt. Andy Thaggard said: "Missing the personnel is the big thing in this particular event. We need our people." According to the Washington Post, the Mississippi National Guard "has a brigade of more than 4,000 troops in central Iraq" while "Louisiana also has about 3,000 Guard troops in Baghdad."



Miulang

[waioli kai]

nationalUSt security is about oil

.

nationalUSt security is about oil

......

Miulang: "I never thought I'd live to see the day when the President, in his never ending quest for a reason to invade Iraq, would FINALLY tell the American public the real motivation: OIL.

Only he deftly tried to tie the whole thing about controlling Iraqi oil resources into keeping Iraqi oil out of the hands of the TERRORISTS.

'...President Bush answered growing antiwar protests yesterday with a fresh reason for US troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the Iraq's vast oil fields, which he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.

The president said terrorists would be denied their goal of making Iraq a base from which to recruit followers, train them, and finance attacks. ' "

Some US nationalUSt security elements would as soon see Iraq wiped off the surface of the planet before US would allow potential Iraqi oil wealth to be realized by anyone other than US.

[Miulang]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 4

Yippee skipee! The government of Britain is scheduled to announce officially that it intends to withdraw its troops from Iraq beginning next May.

That means unless the Iraqi security forces can get more hardened, and if the Bush White House wants to stay the course in Iraq rather than start to withdraw our troops, Congress may have to look into reinstating the draft in order to have the number of bodies it will need to replace the retreating British forces.

"...Senior military sources have told The Observer that the document will lay out a point-by-point 'road map' for military disengagement by multinational forces, the first steps of which could be put in place soon after December's nationwide elections.

Each stage of the withdrawal would be locally judged on regional improvements in stability, with units being withdrawn as Iraqi units are deemed capable of taking over. Officials familiar with the negotiations said that conditions for withdrawal would not demand a complete cessation of insurgent violence, or the end of al-Qaeda atrocities.

According to the agreement under negotiation, each phase would be triggered when key security, stability and political targets have been reached. The phased withdrawal strategy - the British side of which is expected to take at least 12 months to complete - would see UK troops hand over command responsibility for security to senior Iraqi officers, while remaining in support as a reserve force.

In the second phase British Warriors and other armoured vehicles would be removed from daily patrols, before a complete withdrawal of British forces to barracks.

The final phase - departure of units - would follow a period of months where Iraqi units had demonstrated their ability to deal with violence in their areas of operation...."

I think it's time for the US government to also start crafting this type of plan now, even if the intention is to not leave until we can be assured that Iraq will be able to handle security on its own.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 4

I think the admissions by more troops who were involved in the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib is just the prelude to the releasing of more photos showing prisoners being humiliated and tortured by American troops. Some of these troops claim the actions were condoned because they offered "stress relief" for the troops. Hmmmm...I can think of less inhuman ways to accomplish get rid of the stress.

"... The soldiers referred to their Iraqi captives as PUCs - persons under control - and used the expressions "f***ing a PUC" and "smoking a PUC" to refer respectively to torture and forced physical exertion.

One sergeant provided graphic descriptions to Human Rights Watch investigators about acts of abuse carried out both by himself and others. He now says he regrets his actions. His regiment arrived at FOB Mercury in August 2003. He said: " The first interrogation that I observed was the first time I saw a PUC pushed to the brink of a stroke or a heart attack. At first I was surprised, like, 'This is what we are allowed to do?'"

The troops would put sand-bags on prisoners' heads and cuff them with plastic zip-ties. The sergeant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said if he was told that prisoners had been found with homemade bombs, "we would f*** them up, put them in stress positions and put them in a tent and withhold water. It was like a game. You know, how far could you make this guy go before he passes out or just collapses on you?"

He explained: "To 'f*** a PUC' means to beat him up. We would give them blows to the head, chest, legs and stomach, pull them down, kick dirt on them. This happened every day. To 'smoke' someone is to put them in stress positions until they get muscle fatigue and pass out. That happened every day.

"Some days we would just get bored so we would have everyone sit in a corner and then make them get in a pyramid. We did that for amusement."

Iraqis were "smoked" for up to 12 hours. That would entail being made to hold five-gallon water cans in both hands with out-stretched arms, made to do press-ups and star jumps. At no time, during these sessions, would they get water or food apart from dry biscuits. Sleep deprivation was also "a really big thing", the sergeant added...."

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: The Iraq War - Chapter 4

Comparable studies weren't done on returning vets in previous conflicts in which our troops were involved, so I'm not sure if these stats are really much different than what would be found in the population of returning vets in prior conflicts, but it is troublesome to note that 1 in 4 veterans returning from the Iraq war have medical or psychological problems that required treatment.

I hope the government doesn't cut back on spending to get these brave soldiers the best care we can give them. Many didn't want to be in the war, but went anyway, out of a sense of duty to this country. They and the 1900+ soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Iraq should be treated as heroes...but the troops who are still in Iraq need to be brought home soon, so we don't have to keep counting the numbers of injured and dead Americans.

"...Almost 1,700 servicemembers returning from the war this year said they harbored thoughts of hurting themselves or that they would be better off dead. More than 250 said they had such thoughts "a lot." Nearly 20,000 reported nightmares or unwanted war recollections; more than 3,700 said they had concerns that they might "hurt or lose control" with someone else.

These survey results, which have not been publicly released, were provided to USA TODAY by the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. They offer a window on the war and how the ongoing insurgency has added to the strain on troops.

Overall, since the war began, about 28% of Iraq veterans — about 50,000 servicemembers this year alone — returned with problems ranging from lingering battle wounds to toothaches, from suicidal thoughts to strained marriages. The figure dwarfs the Pentagon's official Iraq casualty count: 1,971 U.S. troops dead and 15,220 wounded as of Tuesday.

A greater percentage of soldiers and Marines surveyed in 2004-05 said they felt in "great danger" of being killed than said so in 2003, after a more conventional phase of fighting. Twice as many surveyed in 2004-05 had fired a weapon in combat...."



Miulang