“We stopped to check up on the KFC to see how things were going,” said 1st Lt. Michael C. Bryant, platoon commander with Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, RCT 1. ”You can tell that the area is returning to normal, especially when you see fast food places in the area doing so well."

Hat tip lgf

For more information about Zoriah Miller, please visit his website at zoriah.net.

Dr Robert Bowman

ThePatriots.us

17 Aug 2007

by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Lt. Col., USAF, ret.; National Commander, The Patriots

I am going to ask you to pretend that I am speaking to you as President of the United States and giving my State of the Union Address shortly after inauguration. Your role is as Members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Cabinet, and various dignitaries. Your task, as is always the case in these events, is to cheer and clap like crazy when you hear something you agree with . and to sit on your hands when you don't. The purpose of this is, of course, to let the people watching on television know what they're supposed to think. Seated behind me are the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate (the Vice President of the United States ).

Madam Speaker, Madam President, distinguished Members of the Congress, honored guests, and my fellow Americans: The United States is unquestionably number one in the industrialized world: number one in our use of the world's resources, number one in the production of pollution, number one in the gap between the rich and the poor, number one in deaths by gunfire, number one in teen pregnancy, number one in poverty among the elderly, number one in citizens without health coverage, number one in child poverty, number one in homeless veterans, and number one in citizens behind bars. We are the world's #1 debtor nation, #1 in the creation of new billionaires, #1 in school dropouts, #1 in poverty, homelessness, hunger, divorce, suicide, and (oh yes) #1 in military force, nuclear weapons, and military spending -- as much as all the other nations in the world combined. We also lead the world in the number of hours worked per family, since it now takes two wage-earners and three jobs to provide the income earned with one 40 hour per week job in the 1950s. Despite soaring productivity, real wages are now a third of what they were in the 1950s. If it wasn't for corporate control of our government and the resulting trickle-down economics, ordinary workers could support their families with one job . working two days a week! Would you like to have a five-day weekend every week? If worker pay had kept pace with executive pay, the average worker would now be making a million dollars a year!! and the minimum wage would be $171 an hour!

What do you call a country in which the gap between the rich and the poor is growing beyond bounds, whose principal exports are wood pulp and scrap metal, whose principal imports are manufactured goods, and whose fastest-growing industry is the construction and operation of private prisons? A third world country. That is the state of the union we have inherited.

In our government's drive to protect the far-flung financial interests of multinational corporations, we have abandoned our principles and fought wars of aggression against small countries. We have overthrown popularly-elected leaders and installed puppet dictators who sell out their own people to our corporations. In our drive toward a corporate New World Order, we have sold out our workers, our families, our environment, our children's futures, and the American dream. This too is the state of the union we have inherited.

We have had the opportunity to create a land without want. What went wrong? Why are our workers paid such a tiny percentage of their true worth? Why are we the only major nation without a national health program? Why are our high school graduates two years behind their counterparts in other countries? Why are we hated by so many around the world? Why do we have hundreds of thousands of troops patrolling foreign lands and supporting foreign dictators? What is going on?

The answer, I'm afraid, is that we have lost our republic. Legislators no longer represent the people who elect them, but the corporations who finance them. They answer not to their constituents, but to the lobbyists who line their pockets and fill their campaign coffers.

For years now, through both major political parties, the world's billionaires have directed U.S. policy for their own personal profit. This has included agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA, and the World Trade Organization falsely portrayed as supporting free trade, but in reality promoting free investment , overturning U.S. laws, and putting American workers in competition with those in the Third World . NAFTA, for example, has destroyed the standard of living and quality of life on BOTH sides of the Rio Grande , and by driving Mexican farmers off the land, has been largely responsible for the flood of illegal immigrants into our country.

Corporate control of our government has also resulted in a series of wars, from Iraq to Bosnia to Kosovo to Afghanistan to Iraq again -- wars which are never in the interest of those fighting them, or of the families left behind . wars which only serve the insatiable greed of the global investor class.

Those of us who dedicate our lives to peace, economic justice, and environmental preservation can make little progress in our struggles so long as ultimate power is in the hands of those who profit from war, poverty, and pollution.

Well, I didn't get here tonight by taking corporate millions. I didn't get here by selling myself to the oil companies, the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies . . To be quite honest, I'm not sure how I got here! But here I am, and as long as I am President of the United States , this government will serve the needs of the people, not the greeds of the wealthy elite.

Turning things around won't be easy. What our Constitution empowers me to change, I shall. But for much of what needs doing, I will need the cooperation of you in Congress, and I ask for it tonight. The Constitution does not make me "the decider," only the proposer and the implementer. You, the people's representatives, are the deciders. I am therefore vacating all the over 800 signing statements imposed by my predecessor. I'm revoking Presidential Directives 20 and 51, which give me dictatorial powers. I ask for repeal of the misnamed Patriot Act and all the martial law and special and dictatorial powers acts passed in the last seven years. This is not a monarchy!

But I warn you members of Congress. If you continue to violate your Constitutional responsibility to serve your constituents, and instead serve only yourselves and the big money interests you are indebted to, if you ignore the Constitution and attempt to protect the crooked corporate-dominated status quo, I will go over your heads to the American people and ask them to retire all of you, regardless of party.

We must sever the connection between big money and political power. This means electoral reform and media reform. The latter can be done now. I have ordered the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate the equal time rules and to reimplement the ban on multiple ownership. A free press is incompatible with corporate monopoly domination of the media.

Electoral reform is a little more complicated. The immediate need is for paper ballots. We also need Instant Runoff Voting, Proportional Representation, the elimination of burdensome petition requirements for qualifying third party and independent candidates, making Election Day a federal holiday so working people can actually vote, and true campaign finance reform.

Once we succeed in separating big money and political power, everything becomes possible. In this richest of nations, we can and we will guarantee every American access to a good education, a decent job at a living wage, and health care. As a conservative, I believe that the only fiscally responsible way to provide universal health care is to kick the insurance companies out of health care completely with a doctor-run single-payer national health program.

We will also guarantee every American the undiluted protections of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Fear of terrorism is not going to make this nation a police state.

As a step toward the living wage, I propose that the Minimum Wage be indexed for inflation and, over a ten year period, be raised to what it would have been had it been so indexed at its creation (currently over $14 an hour).

As you know, the previous administration resigned under threat of impeachment over their exploitation of the 9/11 tragedy to deceive this nation into unnecessary and illegal wars of aggression. They still face court-martial proceedings over abuse of power as Commander in Chief. The evidence of their guilt was overwhelming. This evidence is in the PNAC document calling for the permanent occupation of Iraq justified by a "new Pearl Harbor ." It is in Richard Clarke's book in which he notes an immediate attempt by the Bush administration to tie Iraq to 9/11 - regardless of the facts. It is in videotaped statements of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld themselves using 9/11 to justify the Iraq War. It is in CIA documents showing that Wolfowitz, Perle, Libby, Feith, and others "cherry picked" intelligence for use by Cheney and their other bosses. It is in the Downing Street memo which says that the intelligence was being tailored to fit the policy. And it is in speeches by me and others prior to the invasion of Iraq , in which we laid out the truth, predicted the inevitable results, and noted that such an invasion would be an impeachable offense and an act of treason.

There is also evidence of a massive cover-up with respect to 9/11 itself. The official 9/11 Report, tightly controlled by the White House, amounts to little but a whitewash. When combined with the confiscation of videotapes, audio tapes, black boxes, and other evidence by the FBI, it is clear that regardless of who was responsible for 9/11, the subsequent cover-up was itself a conspiracy involving elements of the White House and the intelligence establishment.

This is important because, remember, Richard Nixon wasn't undone by the two-bit break-in at the Watergate, but for the cover-up. Bill Clinton wasn't impeached for his sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, but for stretching the truth when asked about it. Scooter Libby wasn't convicted for leaking Valerie Plame's identity, but for lying about when he learned about it. Martha Stewart didn't serve time for insider trading, but for not telling the truth. Is there ANYONE who believes the Bush administration always told the TRUTH about 9/11?

This raises the question, "If the Bush Administration had nothing to hide, why did they hide everything?" Were they covering up guilt or incompetence? If it was incompetence, why was no one demoted or fired or court-martialed or even reprimanded? If they were protecting guilty parties, are they Saudis? Pakistanis? Israelis? Americans? All the above? And why on earth aren't the people's representatives in Congress asking these questions . and demanding answers?

The American people have still not been told who was really responsible for 9/11. Dedicated researchers [like Dr. David Ray Griffin, Dr. Kevin Barrett , and Dr. Steven Jones] have proven that it could not have happened the way the Bush administration said it did. Hijacked airliners do not fly around for an hour and 40 minutes without being intercepted . unless our air defense system was deliberately sabotaged. Indestructible "black boxes" are not vaporized by the same fire from which undamaged passports float to the street below. Steel skyscrapers do not implode and collapse at free-fall speed because of a kerosene fire. Steel buildings do not collapse at all because of a kerosene fire (never have and never will). And building seven wasn't even struck by an airplane. {3 minute video of WTC 7} Millions of 9/11 Truthers consider this the "smoking gun" that "proves" 9/11 was an inside job. But even if they're wrong, even if the Bush administration's official conspiracy theory was essentially correct, [you know, the one about 19 Arabs with box-cutters and an old man on a dialysis machine in a cave. Even if that official conspiracy theory was essentially correct,] the American people would still need to know (for example) why our multi-trillion dollar defense establishment failed to protect even their own headquarters from an unarmed aircraft. The truth about 9/11 is that after six years we still don't know the truth about 9/11 . and we should. I am therefore appointing a commission to conduct a new and truly-independent investigation of 9/11. It will have oversight by a few of you in Congress, by Senator Max Cleland, by Dr. David Ray Griffin, theologian, of the 9/11 Truth movement, by Karen Breitweiser and Mindy Kleinberg, Jersey girls, representing the families of victims, and by Sibel Edmonds and other whistle-blowers in the FBI. They will have full subpoena power, able to require sworn public testimony from anyone up to including me and the former president and vice president. I think we've had enough so-called testimony behind closed doors with no oaths and no transcripts. This time, we want the truth! The new commission will examine all the evidence, even that which seems to contradict the official story (and there's a mountain of it), and it will have no predetermined conclusions about who the conspirators were. (They won't even assume Cheney is guilty.) There have been all too many Pearl Harbors , Gulfs of Tonkin, 9/11s, and Reichstag Fires. We must make it clear that the truth will out. Never again must we allow this nation to be stampeded into war under false pretenses.

Speaking of war, the new Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and I have redefined two basic missions for our armed forces: (1) deterring anyone from attacking the United States with weapons of mass destruction, and (2) defending our shores and borders from foreign invasion. Period. This redefinition of mission will, after a few years of transition, result in a peace dividend of $400 Billion per year . with no one joining the ranks of the jobless. Until new contracts come out for renewable energy, non-polluting transportation, and the rebuilding of our infrastructure, there are to be no layoffs. If we can pay farmers not to grow crops, we can pay engineers and machinists not to build weapons.

Among the new weapons they will NOT build are new nuclear weapons and "Star Wars" weapons in space.

The part of the defense budget which is absolutely inviolable is that part which takes care of our veterans. The VA must be fully funded. The cost of caring for the disabled combat veterans from the Iraq War alone will be in the trillions of dollars over their lifetimes. But it is a cost we must bear. The signature wound of this war is brain trauma. Yet the Bush Administration slashed the budget for the Brain Trauma Center by 50%. To create so many thousands of disabled veterans in their wars of aggression and then refuse to take proper care of them was perhaps the worst sin of the Bush administration. The care of those wounded in action, wracked by PTSD, and poisoned by Depleted Uranium is NOT a discretionary expenditure to be avoided by delay, denial, and bureaucratic red tape. It is a solemn obligation of this government, and it will be met.

In the last half a century, the United States has gone from savior of the civilized world to the number one rogue nation on earth. As a result, despite spending a billion and a half dollars a day on military power, the American people are less secure today than at any time since the end of the Civil War. The expenditure of fourteen trillion dollars since World War II has brought our people only more insecurity, massive debt, and the loss of many of the cherished rights enshrined in our Constitution.

It's time for the cycle to end. It's time to end the belligerence, bring home our troops, and rejoin the family of nations. And that's what we're going to do.

To set the stage for discussing our plans for Iraq , I would like to give you a little historical background. First, I'd like to read a few excerpts from a speech I gave to an anti-war rally on February 15, 2003 , a month before the Iraq War started.

"Saddam Hussein is a bad guy. He's a bad guy now. He was a bad guy in 1990 when April Glaspie of the State Department gave him the green light to invade Kuwait . He was a bad guy in the 1980s when Donald Rumsfeld sat down with him for a chat while Saddam was supposedly gassing the Kurds. He was a bad guy in 1977 when Zbigniew Brzezinski met with him and proposed the invasion of Iran . And he was a bad guy in the 1960s when the CIA hired him to assassinate Iraqi leader Abdel Karim Qassim and then helped Saddam take over Iraq . He's always been a bad guy. But he was always our bad guy. Right up to 1990, official DoD documents praised Saddam for vastly improving the education, medical care, and standard of living of his people, along with women's rights and religious freedom. His regime was called one of the most enlightened, progressive governments in the region . and it was.

"But there was a problem. The Berlin wall had come down and the Soviet Union had collapsed. The first Bush White House had to find another bad guy - fast, to justify the defense budget. And they did -- Saddam Hussein. They suckered him into attacking Kuwait , and the first Gulf War was on.

"Now the second President Bush wants his Gulf War too. But starting a preemptive war against Iraq : (1) would be immoral. (2) would be costly, in terms of American lives and in dollars. (3) would require us to keep troops in Iraq indefinitely. (4) would come between us and our allies. (5) would incense the Arab world. (6) would provide Osama bin Laden with thousands of new recruits, and (7) would therefore greatly increase the terrorist threat.

"As a combat veteran, I will not stand idly by and watch our security destroyed by a president who went AWOL rather than fight in Vietnam .

"When I joined the Air Force, I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States against all enemies -- foreign and domestic. That includes a renegade president. If they go ahead with this war, I will call for the impeachment of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the whole oil mafia. This war would be treason! God bless America ! And God save us from George W. Bush!"

That was Feb 15, 2003 . A month later, troops were massed in Kuwait , but "Shock and awe" hadn't yet started. This is a little of what I said on Mar 15, 2003 , on the eve of the war.

"I've been severely criticized for speaking out in opposition to this coming war. We're told that we're aiding and abetting the enemy. We're told that we should support the president no matter what. Well I say, "Hogwash!"

"I feel an affinity for the troops deployed in Kuwait . They are my comrades in arms. But the truth is, they are not over there protecting our freedoms. Our freedoms are not under attack by Saddam Hussein. Our freedoms are under attack by John Ashcroft. They are threatened by John Poindexter. They are trampled by Donald Rumsfeld. They are disdained by Dick Cheney. And they are not even understood by George W. Bush.

"The troops surrounding Iraq are not protecting us. We are protecting them . and their honor . and their freedoms . by speaking truth to power.

"Here is the truth that we proclaim. This coming war has nothing to do with national security or freedom or democracy or human rights or protecting our allies or weapons of mass destruction or defeating terrorism or disarming Iraq . It has to do with money. It has to do with oil. And it has to do with raw imperial power. And it is wrong.

"A preemptive war would be immoral, illegal, unconstitutional, a war crime against the people of Iraq , and treason against the United States of America ."

That was Mar 15, 2003 , on the eve of the Iraq War. Now the point of this bit of history is that we in the peace movement knew better. We weren't taken in by the doctored and manipulated intelligence and the outright untruths we were told to justify this war.

One more little bit of history. I would like to quote briefly from the memoirs of the first President Bush, written before his son got the job.

"Trying to eliminate Saddam .. would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. . there was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."

My sisters and brothers, it's just too darn bad his son doesn't read!

Now here we are four years and 3,700 American lives later. This misguided war has cost more American lives than 9/11 and has dragged on longer than World War II. Yet we still have no accountability for how this war started. We know that most of you lily-livered members of Congress from both parties abdicated your Constitutional responsibility to declare war . or not, and gave a blank check to the imperial presidency. We also know that you were lied to by George W. Bush and his people. What I can't figure out is how you believed those lies. I sure didn't. Are the members of Congress that much more stupid than we in the peace movement? Or did you really know better, but were just being lap-dogs for the fat-cats as usual?

Well, in 2006 the Democrats took control of Congress. Months went by . and more months went by, and you still failed to hold President Bush accountable for his lies. What on earth was wrong with you?

It's a hackneyed expression, and you've heard it many times, but it's true: " Clinton lied, no one died." If it was OK to impeach Bill Clinton for fibbing about an event which only embarrassed his family and soiled a blue dress, what took you so long to impeach Cheney and Bush for deceiving us into a war costing so many thousands of lives? Where's the accountability?

If it was right for Richard Nixon to have to resign under threat of impeachment for covering up an attempt to peek at the other party's plans, why was it not right for you to immediately get rid of those responsible not only for two deadly wars of aggression, but also for the loss of habeas corpus, spying on American citizens, torturing suspects in the phony war on terror, saddling our grandchildren with more trillions in debt, giving away our sovereignty with the North American Union, and subverting the Constitution itself? Where is the accountability?

Much changed while George W. Bush was in office. Nearly 3,000 died on 9/11. Many more than that died in his wars and occupations. There are more than 27,000 wounded soldiers whose lives will never be the same. There are tens of thousands of young men and women with serious psychological problems because of what they have seen and what they have done. There are hundreds of thousands poisoned by Depleted Uranium who will suffer lives of pain and disability, and who will father thousands of children with severe birth defects. Our military services are depleted and demoralized. The VA system is overwhelmed. The National Guard and Reserves have been subjected to tour after tour, disrupting lives for even the lucky ones who return unscathed. Jobs have been lost, marriages have been destroyed, homes have been foreclosed, children have been estranged, and natural disasters like Katrina have been undealt with. And still, there was no accountability.

That was just in this country. In Iraq , things were even worse. Religious liberty was lost, mosques, churches, and synagogues which thrived under Saddam were destroyed, women lost their rights and freedoms, essential services were disrupted, people were tortured, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed, cities like Fallujah lie in ruins, and in spite of heroic efforts by the vast majority of our young men and women in uniform, most of the remaining people of Iraq are much worse off than they were before we "liberated" them.

More than four years of war have destroyed Iraq , destroyed our standing in the world, destroyed our national security, destroyed our civil liberties, destroyed precious lives, and brought our nation to the brink of financial disaster. And it was all predictable, because we in fact predicted it! The hundreds of billions of dollars already spent on this war have not just vanished. They have gone to Condoleezza Rice's Chevron-Texaco and Dick Cheney's Halliburton and George Bush's Carlisle Group, and through their lobbyists into the pockets of you Congressional incumbents. Perhaps that's why there has been no accountability.

Well no longer. The American people finally got together and demanded a government which (1) follows the Constitution, (2) honors the truth, and (3) serves the people. And that's exactly what we intend to give them.

I am asking the UN to send peacekeepers to Iraq to do a job we can't do as an occupying army. But whether or not they do, we will leave completely within three months. We are going to support what's left of our troops by bringing them home while they are still alive.

Terrorism is a real threat. In the short term we must protect the American people from the terrorists our misguided policies have already created. This means enhancing port security and strengthening the border patrol and Coast Guard. These we will do.

But in the long term, we must stop making more terrorists. That means stopping policies and actions which make people fear and hate us. It means listening to the legitimate grievances of peoples we have wronged, and then changing our ways. Only one thing has ever ended a campaign of terror (anywhere in the world) -- separating the handful of terrorists from the larger community upon which they depend. This is done by ending the feelings of desperation, hopelessness, and powerlessness afflicting the people. It is done by listening to them and then actually making their lives better. It is not done by revenge and retaliation, which only create more terrorists.

We have at times (including, I think, the last few years) had a government with bad policies. But we are a good people. What we have long needed is a government which reflects the values and goodness of the American people.

Our values and goodness are not reflected by a government which violates international law in its conflicts and denies its own citizens their Constitutional rights. I have therefore ordered the release of all those being detained without charge, the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay (we'll find somewhere else for Bush and Cheney), and the end of the "rendition" program in which suspects are kidnapped and taken to secret foreign prisons to be tortured. All contracts for mercenaries, including those with Blackwater, are being cancelled. This includes contracts with DoD, CIA, and the Department of Homeland Security (which, by the way, is being abolished). There will be no more Blackwater goons terrorizing the poor people of New Orleans .

I have also pardoned a host of political prisoners, including Border Patrol agents jailed for 12 years for doing their job against a Mexican drug smuggler bringing 700 pounds of cocaine across the border. Agents Campean and Ramos are now free. I have also pardoned Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu Jamal, and I've given a blanket pardon to all those convicted of the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana.

(I must admit to you, however, that I have NOT pardoned Scooter Libby. He will at least have to pay his fine.)

Our values and goodness are not reflected by a government which promotes a globalization which depresses living standards at home and allows corporations to destroy the quality of life in banana republics and client states all over the world. The WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank have caused untold suffering. If we can't reform them, we will abolish them.

With respect to our relationship with the government of Mexico, I have ordered (1) the cancellation of the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" or "North American Union", (2) abandonment of plans for a NAFTA Super Highway which would have put nearly all American longshoremen and truckers out of work, and (3) suspension of NAFTA completely until Mexico gives its workers union rights, protections for safety, health, and the environment, and wages at least matching the US federal Minimum Wage.

From now on, globalization will mean raising living standards in developing nations to match ours - not the other way around.

Our values and goodness are not reflected by a system in which all our personal income taxes go to pay interest on a staggering national debt created out of thin air. The Constitution authorizes Congress to print our money, not a private cartel. I ask Congress to pass legislation abolishing the Federal Reserve.

Our values and goodness are not reflected by a government which uses our money to train death squads in the techniques of torture, intimidation, and assassination. The School of the Americas (by whatever name they choose to call it) will be closed. [As Commander-in-Chief, I have ordered that the students presently attending the School be shown the movies "Romero" and "Panama Deception" and then sent home.]

Our values and goodness are not reflected by a government which gives Most Favored Nation status to the butchers of Tienanmen Square and places an illegal secondary embargo on the impoverished people of Cuba . The embargo of Cuba must end! And it just did.

I recognize that we need advance information on the activities of Al Qaeda and those who wish to do us harm. But our values and goodness are not reflected by, and our security is not enhanced by, an organization which promotes instability, insurrection, tyranny, torture, terrorism, murder, and war around the world in our name and with our money. If the CIA won't stick to gathering intelligence, I will abolish it.

Our values and goodness are not reflected by a government which sends its working-class youth around the world to kill the sons and daughters of working people in other countries. Our values and goodness are not reflected by sending our children to the Middle East to kill Arabs so the oil companies can profit from selling the oil under other people's sand, making us the target of terrorists.

No more Iraqs . No more Kosovos. No more El Salvadors. These are not isolated incidents of stupidity. They are part of a long, bloody history of foreign policy being conducted for the financial interests of the wealthy few. It is a new form of colonialism. It violates our Constitution. It endangers our national security. It mortgages our future. It sacrifices our children. It must stop . and it just did.

As president, I will use the men and women in our Armed Forces to protect our borders and our people, not the financial interests of Folgers, Chiquita Banana, Exxon, and Halliburton. Needless to say, there will be NO nuclear attack on Iran . My special envoy to the Middle East , Jimmy Carter, will be meeting with them to solve our differences. Once he has finished there, he will straighten out the Israelis and Palestinians.

With over sixty years having passed since World War II, and with the Cold War long since over, I see no reason why we should still be occupying Germany and Japan . Our global military presence will end within two years. This is not isolationism. It is common sense. It is in the security interest of our people. And it is obeying our Constitution for a change.

Instead of a worldwide military presence, we are going to have a humanitarian presence. Along with the other wealthy nations of the world, we shall initiate a new Marshall Plan, providing funds to rebuild the Middle East as we rebuilt Europe after World War II. We will also have a Domestic Marshall Plan, fulfilling the unkept Bush promises to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding area. In addition, we will take the lead in complete debt forgiveness for the poorest countries, starting with those in Africa . If we are once again to be a great nation, we must first be a good nation.

Finally, I'd like to speak directly to the American people. I understand that I am but an interim president. I could never have been elected under the present system. I know. I tried in 2000. And I am unlikely to even finish out this term -- partly because I have terminal cancer from Agent Orange, and partly because there are powerful interests with hundreds of billions of reasons for wanting me assassinated. (By the way, if you hear that I have suddenly committed suicide . by shooting myself in the back . with a shotgun . three times, you might be just a little suspicious. They'll call you a conspiracy theorist, but be suspicious anyway.) But, you know, it won't matter. They can kill me, but they can't kill what we have started. It's too late for that. My words, heard tonight by a few, will tomorrow reach many. Through the internet, the vision of The Patriots will spread across the land and around the globe. You, the American people, will not let it die.

I am unlikely to get there with you, but like Brother Martin, I have been to the mountain top, and I have seen the Promised Land.

What I have seen is an America in which every person (regardless of their race, creed, color, age, or sexual orientation) is valued and lives in dignity, every person is cared for, and every person is free to reach his or her full potential.

It is an America in which every family can be supported by one wage-earner with one job paying a living wage. It is an America in which single parents can freely choose to stay home to care for their children or to work outside the home knowing that their children are taken care of in a safe and nurturing environment. It is an America in which health care is provided to all as a right. It is an America in which our youth spend two years in the American World Service Corps, perhaps serving in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps or Habitat for Humanity or some other worthy organization, in exchange for their higher education, including whatever advanced education the person can successfully handle. It is an America in which educators and teachers are highly valued and financially compensated accordingly. It is an America in which policemen, nurses, poets, firefighters, teachers, and garbage collectors can afford a good house in a nice neighborhood and live in comfort, not just scientists, brain surgeons, CEOs, rock stars, lawyers, and basketball players. It is an America whose borders are secure, immigrants are legal, and workers are amply rewarded. It is an America in which faith is respected, culture is preserved, the arts are supported, and the Constitution is followed.

It is an America that seeks not to be king of the hill nor subservient to the World Trade Organization, but to be a responsible sovereign member of the family of nations (nothing more, and nothing less) . an America that is free of the threat of terrorism because it is no longer feared and hated . an America that leads the world -- not just with military might, but with its vision, its compassion, its democracy, its productivity, its freedom, its standard of living, its care for the global environment, its treatment of its own people, and its goodness. Above all, it is an America at peace with the world and with its own people. That's the America I have seen, the America our people deserve, and the America you can build . and you don't need me to do it.

Spread the word. Keep the dream alive. Drop your own pebbles in the pond and make some waves. Never vote for any politician who takes money from corporations or lobbyists, and never elect a president who raises a hundred million dollars from special interests or is the darling of the corporate media. If you can't find anyone worth voting for, run for office yourself. Cleave to your sisters and brothers all across the political spectrum in demanding the basic reforms I've outlined tonight, and never settle for anything less than government of the people, by the people, and especially for the people.

I know it wasn't original to him, but my old friend, William Sloane Coffin, used to say, "He who makes peaceful change impossible makes violent revolution inevitable." Let us be thankful for our many blessings, bringing us this far on our journey; and let us pray that this, our inevitable second American revolution, will continue to be a nonviolent one.

It matters not if my presidency is real or fanciful. My part is done. It is finished. The rest is in your hands. The future and the dream itself depend on you. May God sustain you in your struggles and bless America through your actions. Thank you, and good night.

LOGANVILLE, GA - In what has become an annual ritual, several of the neighbors in a local subdivision got together for a 4th of July fireworks spectacular. Gathering in a cul-de-sac, they celebrated the birthday of America with bar-b-q, potato salad and lots of cheap beer. Everything was going well until nightfall.

"We figgered that since it were dark, we orta get the far-werks and set 'em off," said one of the unfortunate victims of the firework fallout. "Turns out, it weren't such a good idea."

The annual Southern celebration of the 4th of July - drive several hours into a neighboring state to purchase fireworks that your state had the good sense to make illegal. Buy $1,500,000 worth of high-explosive, high-burn fireworks that would normally be reserved for licensed professional displays. Sneak the WMDs back into your home state and save for nightfall on the Fourth.

Then, when the fateful day arrives, load yourself with cheap beer (PBR, Old Swill-waukee, Keystone Light) or some really good wine (usually a 1996 Boone's Farm or a recent vintage from Maddog 20-20) and plenty of overcooked bar-b-q, tater salad, and coleslaw. Continue disorienting yourself by adding beer, wine and food until dark, then further disorient yourself by venturing outside and attempting to light highly explosive devices with tiny fuses in the pitch-black.

This is the norm in many fine neighborhoods across the South, and usually it's good for at least one or two stories of missing fingers or toes (don't ask...).

I know that my neighborhood has this ritual, and it usually ends when the fifteenth bottle rocket slams against the side of my house. Last year, it sounded like my wife and I were celebrating the 4th in Fallujah. This year, it seemed reminiscent of a quick trip to the Gaza Strip. I know that the state of Georgia has made some fireworks legal (in an effort to kill off some of it's lesser citizenry) and that anyone can stroll into the local Wal-Mart and purchase a Nuclear starter kit, and I know that it's all intended to be fun.

But lit people attempting to light fireworks is not a good combination. Especially when the final destination of every blazing rocket seems to be my roof.

Just another day in the South...

Freedom of speech is an honoured and protected principle in the US.  Unless it involves an embedded American journalist in Iraq photographing the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Fallujah on June 26 2008:

U.S. journalist Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing.

On Jun. 26, a suicide bomber attacked a city council meeting in Fallujah, 69 kms west of Baghdad, between local tribal sheikhs and military officials.

Three Marines, Cpl. Marcus Preudhomme, Capt. Philip Dykeman, and Lt. Col. Max Galeai, were assigned to 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3rd Marine Division, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

The explosion also killed two interpreters and 20 Iraqis, including the mayor of the nearby town of Karmah, two prominent sheikhs and their sons, and another sheikh and his brother. All were members of the local “awakening council,” one of the U.S.-backed militias that have taken up arms against al Qaeda in Iraq, according to U.S. and Iraqi authorities.

Miller was embedded with Marines on a patrol one block from the attack when it occurred. He had originally turned down the option of going to report on the city council meeting that was bombed.

Miller ran with the Marines he was with to the scene of the attack. “As I ran I saw human pieces…a skull cap with hair, bone shards,” he told IPS during a telephone interview from the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. “When we arrived at the building it was chaotic. There were Iraqis, police and civilians running around screaming. Bodies were being pulled out of the building.”

“I went in and there were over 20 people’s remains all over the place,” Miller continued, “Of the Marines I jogged in with, someone started to vomit. Others were standing around, not knowing what to do. It was completely surreal.”

“At that moment I realised this was far beyond anything I’d experienced, and I realised I wanted to focus and make sure I could capture what it felt like, and the visual horror,” Miller explained.

“I thought, ‘Nobody in the U.S. has any idea what it means when they hear that 20 people died in a suicide bombing.’ I want people to be able to associate those numbers with the scene and the actual loss of human life. And to show why soldiers are suffering from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder],” Miller told IPS.

Miller posted his photographs, none of which contained identifiable images of American soldiers, on his blog.  After refusing to remove the photographs when requested to do so by Marine Public Affairs Officers, his "embed" contract was terminated and, after some delay, he was flown out of Iraq.

The letter he was given stated reasons for his dismissal as “you photographed the remains of U.S. soldiers”, “you posted these images along with detailed commentary”, and “by posting the images and your commentary you violated 14 H and O of the news media agreement you signed”.

In addition, the letter, which Miller read to IPS, stated, “By providing detailed information of the effectiveness of the attack and the response of U.S. forces to it, you have put all U.S. forces in Iraq at greater risk for harm.”

Miller feels the reason for his dismissal is otherwise.

“The bottom line is that the thing they cited as the reason for my dismissal was ‘information the enemy could use against you’. They realised, probably from keeping track of my blog, that I was not showing identifiable features of a soldier…and they couldn’t find a reason to kick me out. Because it was a high ranking person who got killed, they were all fired up.”

Miller concluded, “Up to that point they said it was because I showed pictures of bodies with pieces of uniform and boots. The letter, though, doesn’t mention that at all. I checked the document I had about ground rules for media embeds, and I followed them.”

I'm certainly no military expert, but I would have thought that, if Mr. Miller's photographs really represented a threat to US troops, the brass would have found a way to remove them, rather than removing Mr. Miller.  More of Zoriah Miller's work can be seen here.

Veja a seguir entrevista com Jeremy Scahill, autor do livro Blackwater - A Ascensão do Exército Mercenário Mais Poderoso do Mundo.

Fonte: Folha de S.Paulo, 22/6/2008
Entrevista por Andrea Murta

A empresa americana Blackwater começou a aparecer para o público em 2004, quando quatro de seus "agentes privados de segurança" - nome eufemístico dado a mercenários modernos - foram mortos, mutilados e queimados por uma multidão furiosa na cidade iraquiana de Fallujah. Em 2007, novas manchetes dedicadas à Blackwater deram pistas do motivo do ódio de iraquianos a agentes privados: mercenários da empresa mataram 17 civis em Bagdá, em ação, segundo investigação do FBI, absolutamente injustificada.
E os mercenários não estão no Iraque por acaso: são contratados pelos EUA para, principalmente, fazer a segurança de diplomatas e instalações - com ação facilitada pela quase completa impunidade. Para Jeremy Scahill, autor de "Blackwater - A Ascensão do Exército Mercenário Mais Poderoso do Mundo" (Companhia das Letras, 2008, R$ 52), os negócios andam tão bem para empresas mercenárias que elas já "são capazes de derrubar um pequeno governo". E atuam, inclusive, na América Latina. Leia a seguir a entrevista que ele concedeu à Folha.

FOLHA - Como a Blackwater reflete a história da guerra moderna?
JEREMY SCAHILL - Ela representa a nova face das guerras travadas pelos EUA. Desde a Segunda Guerra, o governo americano vem privatizando radicalmente suas capacidades militares. No Iraque, há mais agentes privados do que soldados americanos. A Blackwater formou um aparato paralelo das forças de segurança: tem Força Aérea, Marinha, aeroportos. E 90% dos contratos da Blackwater são com o governo americano.
Agora estão trabalhando em sua própria agência de inteligência, uma CIA particular. Veja, atualmente os EUA têm 16 agências governamentais de inteligência, com um orçamento conjunto de entre US$ 40 bilhões e US$ 60 bilhões -o número exato é secreto. 70% desse orçamento é usado para pagar serviços de empresas privadas. Quem garante que uma empresa privada que tem milhões em contratos com o governo americano não vai incluir em relatórios para outros governos informações que são de interesse da Casa Branca?

FOLHA - Qual a relação dos mercenários com a guerra ao terror?
SCAHILL - São parte essencial da guerra ao terror. Um presidente como George W. Bush pode ganhar muito com essas empresas. Ele não precisa mais formar uma coalizão com governos estrangeiros nem lidar com uma opinião pública internacional hostil. Pode pagar por uma coalizão de corporações, que vão contratar mercenários, inclusive em países cujos governos se opõem às guerras.
Isso aconteceu no Chile, que votou contra a invasão do Iraque quando era membro rotativo do Conselho de Segurança da ONU. O governo Bush, através da Blackwater, enviou para o Iraque centenas de chilenos.
Outra questão é que, como não há contagem oficial das mortes dos agentes privados, isso encobre o custo humano. Os americanos pensam que há 150 mil soldados no Iraque, mas há outros 180 mil mercenários contratados pelo governo. Então na verdade são mais de 330 mil soldados.
E não há leis sendo aplicadas sobre a punição de agentes privados em caso de abuso. Isso é uma ameaça à segurança das pessoas do mundo todo, porque não param de crescer esses exércitos privados com capacidade suficiente para derrubar um pequeno governo.

FOLHA - Como os mercenários atuam na América Latina?
SCAHILL - Neste exato momento, a Blackwater está participando de uma gigantesca concorrência para trabalhar para o governo americano em sua "luta contra as drogas". Esse programa, na América Latina, visa a agir na Colômbia e na Bolívia. Nesses países já há outra empresa do tipo, a DynCorp, que faz serviços para os EUA no que deveria ser ação antidrogas, mas que não passa de contra-insurgência. Os EUA repassam a Bogotá milhões de dólares ao ano dentro do Plano Colômbia, e estima-se que o governo colombiano gaste quase a metade com empresas mercenárias.
Elas treinam forças locais, pilotam helicópteros e já participaram de confrontos internos. No Brasil, a Embraer recentemente vendeu uma aeronave de combate Super Tucano para a Blackwater, em um acordo autorizado pelo governo Lula, em negociações com os EUA. Acho que isso levanta questões sérias sobre por que o Brasil acredita ser adequado vender aviões a uma empresa com uma reputação de abusos e violência no mundo inteiro. Até porque a América Latina é a próxima fronteira para essas empresas.

FOLHA - O sr. crê que a Blackwater dá proteção adequada a seus empregados?
SCAHILL - Essa é uma das ironias da Blackwater. Na maior parte dos casos, eles têm equipamentos melhores e pessoal mais qualificado do que um soldado comum americano, mas às vezes enviam equipes muito mal preparadas para situações muito perigosas. E é comum que contratados de países pobres sejam destacados para a linha de frente. E recebem menos: colombianos recrutados pela Blackwater foram enviados ao Iraque com um salário de US$ 34 por dia, enquanto um agente americano chega a receber US$ 650 diários. Parece que a vida de um colombiano vale menos, para a Blackwater, do que a de um americano.
FOLHA - A Blackwater também defende interesses econômicos e internos da Casa Branca?
SCAHILL - Sim. Atua na vigilância de investimentos americanos no exterior, por exemplo, nos planos de oleoduto na região do mar Cáspio. E tem forte atuação dentro dos EUA. Foram contratados para patrulhar Nova Orleans depois do furacão Katrina (2005). Acabaram de abrir um enorme centro de treinamento em San Diego (Califórnia), a poucos quilômetros da fronteira com o México, para treinar as patrulhas de fronteira. E discute-se a privatização da polícia de fronteira dos EUA.

FOLHA - Como os mercenários afetam a política mundial?
SCAHILL - As conseqüências são muito sérias. Os governos estão abrindo mão do monopólio da força e da "violência organizada", que é uma das coisas que definem o Estado. Agora há empresas privadas que têm a força e o poder de fogo para potencialmente substituir a necessidade de alianças como a Otan. A parte mais deprimente é que a penetração dos mercenários já foi longe demais, não sei como pode acabar.

“Mister, mister shokalata! Shokalata!”shout exuberant children from a crowded neighborhood as Marines and Iraqi police pass out candy.

Marines with Company B, Police Transition Team 8, Regimental Combat Team 1, have been working diligently over the past few months to help train Iraqi police to take over their respective areas and become self-supportive in day-to-day operations in the city.

Read more here:mnf-iraq.com

FALLUJAH, Jun 12 (IPS) - Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say.

The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after "special weaponry" was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004.

After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used a year earlier in Fallujah.

In addition, depleted uranium (DU) munitions, which contain low-level radioactive waste, were used heavily in Fallujah. The Pentagon admits to having used 1,200 tonnes of DU in Iraq thus far.

Many doctors believe DU to be the cause of a severe increase in the incidence of cancer in Iraq, as well as among U.S. veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War and through the current occupation.

"We saw all the colours of the rainbow coming out of the exploding American shells and missiles," Ali Sarhan, a 50-year-old teacher who lived through the two U.S. sieges of 2004 told IPS. "I saw bodies that turned into bones and coal right after they were exposed to bombs that we learned later to be phosphorus.

Read more

‘Special Weapons’ Have a Fallout on Babies

by Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail

FALLUJAH - Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say.

The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after “special weaponry” was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004.

After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used a year earlier in Fallujah.

In addition, depleted uranium (DU) munitions, which contain low-level radioactive waste, were used heavily in Fallujah. The Pentagon admits to having used 1,200 tonnes of DU in Iraq thus far.

Many doctors believe DU to be the cause of a severe increase in the incidence of cancer in Iraq, as well as among U.S. veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War and through the current occupation.

“We saw all the colours of the rainbow coming out of the exploding American shells and missiles,” Ali Sarhan, a 50-year-old teacher who lived through the two U.S. sieges of 2004 told IPS. “I saw bodies that turned into bones and coal right after they were exposed to bombs that we learned later to be phosphorus.

“The most worrying is that many of our women have suffered loss of their babies, and some had babies born with deformations.”

“I had two children who had brain damage from birth,” 28-year-old Hayfa’ Shukur told IPS. “My husband has been detained by the Americans since November 2004 and so I had to take the children around by myself to hospitals and private clinics. They died. I spent all our savings and borrowed a considerable amount of money.”

Shukur said doctors told her that it was use of the restricted weapons that caused her children’s brain damage and subsequent deaths, “but none of them had the courage to give me a written report.”

“Many babies were born with major congenital malformations,” a paediatric doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS. “These infants include many with heart defects, cleft lip or palate, Down’s syndrome, and limb defects.”

The doctor added, “I can say all kinds of problems related to toxic pollution took place in Fallujah after the November 2004 massacre.”

Many doctors speak of similar cases and a similar pattern. The indications remain anecdotal, in the absence of either a study, or any available official records.

The Fallujah General Hospital administration was unwilling to give any statistics on deformed babies, but one doctor volunteered to speak on condition of anonymity — for fear of reprisals if seen to be critical of the administration.

“Maternal exposure to toxins and radioactive material can lead to miscarriage and frequent abortions, still birth, and congenital malformation,” the doctor told IPS. There have been many such cases, and the government “did not move to contain the damage, or present any assistance to the hospital whatsoever.

“These cases need intensive international efforts that provide the highest and most recent technologies that we will not have here in a hundred years,” he added.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed concern Mar. 31 about the lack of medical supplies in hospitals in Baghdad and Basra.

“Hospitals have used up stocks of vital medical items, and require further supplies to cope with the influx of wounded patients. Access to water remains a matter of concern in certain areas,” the ICRC said in a statement.

A senior Iraqi health ministry official was quoted as saying Feb. 26 that the health sector is under “great pressure”, with scores of doctors killed, an exodus of medical personnel, poor medical infrastructure, and shortage of medicines.

“We are experiencing a big shortage of everything,” said the official, “We don’t have enough specialist doctors and medicines, and most of the medical equipment is outdated.

“We used to get many spinal and head injures, but were unable to do anything as we didn’t have enough specialists and medicines,” he added. “Intravenous fluid, which is a simple thing, is not available all the time.” He said no new hospitals had been built since 1986.

Iraqi Health Minister Salih al-Hassnawi highlighted the shortage of medicines at a press conference in Arbil in the Kurdistan region in the north Feb. 22. “The Iraqi Health Ministry is suffering from an acute shortage of medicines…We have decided to import medicines immediately to meet the needs.”

He said the 2008 health budget meant that total expenditure on medicines, medical equipment and ambulances would amount to an average of 22 dollars per citizen.

But this is too late for the unknown number of babies and their families who bore the consequences of the earlier devastation. And it is too little to cover the special needs of babies who survived with deformations.

Ali, our correspondent in Baghdad, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, our U.S.-based specialist writer on Iraq who has reported extensively from Iraq and the Middle East

© 2008 Inter Press Service

a video about the 3rd marines in fallujah. Music from Korn - dead bodies everywhere.

NOBODIES GUNNA' STAND IN MY WAY: 3rd Bn 1st Marines Fallujah Seige video footage from operations in Iraq. The brutal reality son

June 3, 2008

A proposed Iraqi-American security agreement will include permanent American bases in the country, and the right for the United States to strike, from within Iraqi territory, any country it considers a threat to its national security, Gulf News has learned.

Senior Iraqi military sources have told Gulf News that the long-term controversial agreement is likely to include three major items.

Under the agreement, Iraqi security institutions such as Defence, Interior and National Security ministries, as well as armament contracts, will be under American supervision for ten years.

The agreement is also likely to give American forces permanent military bases in the country, as well as the right to move against any country considered to be a threat against world stability or acting against Iraqi or American interests.

The military source added, "According to this agreement, the American forces will keep permanent military bases on Iraqi territory, and these will include Al Asad Military base in the Baghdadi area close to the Syrian border, Balad military base in northern Baghdad close to Iran, Habbaniyah base close to the town of Fallujah and the Ali Bin Abi Talib military base in the southern province of Nasiriyah close to the Iranian border."

The sources confirmed that the American army is in the process of completing the building of the military facilities and runways for the permanent bases.

He added that the American air bases in Kirkuk and Mosul will be kept for no longer than three years. However, he said there were efforts by the Americans to include the Kirkuk base in the list of permanent bases.

The sources also said that a British brigade was expected to remain at the international airport in Basra for ten years as long as the American troops stayed in the permanent bases in Iraq.

Iraqi analysts said that the second item of the controversial agreement which permits American forces on Iraqi territories to launch military attacks against any country it considers a threat is addressed primarily to Iran and Syria.

Iran has raised serious concerns in the past few days over the Iraqi-American security agreement and followed it with issuing religious fatwas and called for demonstrations, mainly by the powerful Shiite leader Moqtada Al Sadr movement, who is close to Iran, against the agreement.

Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control
Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors

Randall Mikkelsen
London Independent
June 5, 2008

The deal also risks exacerbating the proxy war being fought between Iran and the United States over who should be more influential in Iraq.

US issues threat to Iraq’s $50bn foreign reserves in military deal

Patrick Cockburn
London Independent
June 6, 2008

Read Full Article Here

Recent News:

From Coffee Stained News:

Sad to say, but this is a part of having America come into your home.... they are going to tell you that Christianity is right and your religion and faith is all wrong, but the real plight is about your conversion.

A U.S. Marine is handing out this coin, imprinted with a Gospel verse, to Fallujah residents.

Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.

Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked.

He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16."

From Kim Gamel, Associated Press:

A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.The distribution of the coins was the second perceived insult to Islam by American service members this month. A U.S. sniper was sent out of the country after using a Quran, Islam's holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad.

Photographs of the coins, which were inscribed with phrases in Arabic, were widely distributed via cell phones in Fallujah and were seen by an Associated Press employee.Such actions by American service members threaten to alienate Sunni Arabs who have become key allies in the fight against insurgents, a movement that started in Anbar province, which includes Fallujah.

Distribution of the coins in Fallujah was particularly sensitive because the city, 40 miles west of Baghdad, is known for its large number of mosques. It was the center of the Sunni-led insurgency before a massive U.S. offensive in November 2004.

Sheik Abdul-Rahman al-Zubaie, an influential tribal leader in the city, spoke of his outrage over perceived proselytizing by American forces and warned patience was running thin.

"This event did not happen by chance, but it was planned and done intentionally," al-Zubaie said. "The Sunni population cannot accept and endure such a thing. I might not be able to control people's reactions if such incidents keep happening.

He accused the Marines of trying to do missionary work in Fallujah and said Sunni leaders had met with U.S. military officials and demanded "the harshest punishment" for those responsible to make sure it doesn't happen again.

...

The U.S. military - still smarting from the Quran shooting - said a Marine was removed from duty Friday "amid concerns from Fallujah's citizens regarding reports of inappropriate conduct."

A statement said the reports about the coin's distribution were being investigated and promised "appropriate action" if the allegations are confirmed.

Lt. Col. Chris Hughes, a spokesman for U.S. forces in western Iraq, said it didn't appear to be a widespread problem, stressing that the military forbids "proselytizing any religion, faith or practices."

"Indications are this was an isolated incident - an individual Marine acting on his own accord passing out coins," Hughes said in an e-mailed statement. The issue was first reported by McClatchy Newspapers.

Al-Zubaie said U.S. military officials met with tribal leaders on Thursday and expressed "astonishment about (the) behavior of this Marine, saying that they have already settled the matter of the violation of the Quran and suddenly a new problem has emerged."

Dr. Muhsin al-Jumaili, a professor of law and religious studies in Fallujah, said the act was especially provocative in Fallujah and risked alienating residents who recently have joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq. "As Muslims, we cannot accept this," he told The Associated Press. "The Americans should concentrate on maintaining security and not doing missionary work."

"Such deeds will not make Muslims trust American troops any more and might create a feeling of hatred among Muslims and Christians" at a time when they're finally living in peace, he added.

...

By the way...who's behind the minting of this coin? Please tell me this story won't get buried behind the one bad apple analogy.

Hundreds of Afghans demonstrated Monday in two different provinces against a U.S. sniper in Iraq who used a Quran, the Muslim holy book, for target practice.

Then right when people might have been ready to calm down (via McClatchy):*

The U.S. military confirmed Thursday that a Marine in Fallujah passed out coins with a Gospel verse on them to Sunni Muslims, a military spokesman in the Iraqi city said. The man was immediately removed from the checkpoint and reassigned.

The coins angered residents who said they felt that the American troops, whom they consider occupiers, were also acting as Christian missionaries in a predominantly Muslim nation.

*H/t Wilfred, denizen of Balloon Juice.

There could be two things going on here and I don't know what would be worse.

1. The military is sending people to other countries without telling them jackshit about the place they'll be living for the next few years.

2. The military is training complete asshats to use weapons.

I know it's #2 and it doesn't make me feel any better.

One Marine making a mistake shouldn't brand the work of hundreds of Marines, said Sgt. Maj. Neil O'Connell in western Anbar province. He went on to tell the story of two young Marines who were killed to protect Iraqi police.

True. One fuck up shouldn't fuck things up for everyone else. Unfortunately, what Sgt. Maj. O'Connell overlooks is this isn't a case of one random member of a group being a dick. This is a military occupation and the people of the occupied country have already have lots and lots and lots of other reasons to dislike every member of the group and that isn't counting the fact that some members of the group have done far worse things than hand out gospel coins.

Plus, you all look alike.

I once was recruited by a sect/denomination known as the Christian Alliance Church. These were some hardcore believers, not your garden variety churchgoer who deep down knows heaven is bullshit but prefers not to think rationally. The Alliance Church saw missionary work as part of their duty as good Christians, and our youth leaders had been all over the word spreading the good word of our good Lord.

From their perspective, there was nothing immoral about prosthelytizing. Why should there be? As I said, these were no fakers; they genuinely believed the official story the bible feeds us. That means death marks a fork in the road, two paths to two very different eternities. Believers spend forever in paradise; non-believers go to hell.

So if that's what you believe, you see yourself as doing someone a big favor if you attempt to convert them. You are "saving" them.

Recently a Marine in Fallujah gave out Christian coins to Iraqi residents. On one side, the coins asked "Where will you spend eternity?" and on the flip side displayed the beloved New Testament verse, John 3:16. He wasn't trying to disrespect anybody; he was trying to "save" them. A selfless act of caring, redirecting what he saw as a hellbound peoples.

To many of the Muslim natives, however, the soldier's actions, coupled with last week's Qu'ran target-shooting episode, represents a blatant and willful attempt on the part of Americans to spread Christianity across the world.

Once again, the West and East demonstrate their complete ignorance about each other's cultures.

These repeated cultural misunderstandings are just further evidence that no God exists (or, at best, that the God who created man is completely disconnected from the Gods that man created). Either that, or He wants to see us suffer. An all-knowing, all-powerful entity would have the good sense to teach his science project not to self-destruct. If He loved us.

]]> http://fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com/?p=332 Tue, 27 May 2008 12:00:58 +0000 Fabius Maximus http://fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com/?p=332 The media seldom discusses the cost of the Iraq War.  The cost was great, is still being paid, and mostly paid by the Iraq people.  Here is a brief accounting.  This is a only an excerpt; the full article provides one of the best summaries of the war I have seen -- from their perspective -- and is very much worth reading.

"River of Resistance", Michael Schwartz, TomDispatch (22 May 2008) -- "How the American Imperial Dream Foundered in Iraq."

... It's hard now even to recall the original vision George W. Bush and his top officials had of how the conquest of Iraq would unfold as an episode in the President's Global War on Terror. In their minds, the invasion was sure to yield a quick victory, to be followed by the creation of a client state that would house crucial "enduring" U.S. military bases from which Washington would project power throughout what they liked to term "the Greater Middle East."

In addition, Iraq was quickly going to become a free-market paradise, replete with privatized oil flowing at record rates onto the world market. Like falling dominos, Syria and Iran, cowed by such a demonstration of American might, would follow suit, either from additional military thrusts or because their regimes -- and those of up to 60 countries worldwide -- would appreciate the futility of resisting Washington's demands. Eventually, the "unipolar moment" of U.S. global hegemony that the collapse of the Soviet Union had initiated would be extended into a "New American Century"(along with a generational Pax Republicana at home).

This vision is now, of course, long gone, largely thanks to unexpected and tenacious resistance of every sort within Iraq.

... The largely Sunni city of Falluja, like most other communities around the country, spontaneously formed a new government based on local clerical and tribal structures. Like many of these cities, it avoided the worst of the post-invasion looting by encouraging the formation of local militias to police the community. Ironically, the orgy of looting that took place in Baghdad was, at least in part, a consequence of the U.S. military presence, which delayed the creation of such militias there.  ... Falluja itself was, of course, {eventually}  destroyed, with 70% of its buildings turned to rubble, and tens of thousands of its residents permanently displaced -- an extreme sacrifice that had the unexpected effect of taking pressure off other Iraqi cities for a while.

... In Washington, for Democratic as well as Republican politicians, the outpost idea remains at the heart of the policy agenda for Iraq in this election year, along with a neoliberal economy featuring a modernized oil sector in which multinational firms are to use state-of-the-art technology to maximize the country's lagging oil production.  Iraqi resistance of every kind and on every level has, however, prevented this vision from becoming reality. Because of the Iraqis, the glorious sounding Global War on Terror has been transformed into an endless, hopeless actual war.

But the Iraqis have paid a terrible price for resisting. The invasion and the social and economic policies that accompanied it have destroyed Iraq, leaving its people essentially destitute. In the first five years of this endless war, Iraqis have suffered more for resisting than if they had accepted and endured American military and economic dominance. Whether consciously or not, they have sacrificed themselves to halt Washington's projected military and economic march through the oil-rich Middle East on the path to a new American Century that now will never be.

Copyright 2008 Michael Schwartz 

Michael Schwartz, Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University has written extensively on popular protest and insurgency. His analyses of America's Iraq have appeared regularly at Tomdispatch.com, as well as Asia Times, Mother Jones, and Contexts. His forthcoming Tomdispatch book, War Without End: The Iraq Debacle in Context(Haymarket, June 2008) explores how the militarized geopolitics of oil led the U.S. to dismantle the Iraqi state and economy while fueling a sectarian civil war.

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Let's really remember those we are supposed to remember on Memorial Day, and not "celebrate" it like we do happy holidays. We are to remember the fallen, and their families. That's not a happy thing. We can be grateful yet somber as we reflect on those who gave their all, so that we might remain free.

Uploaded by Bosphotoman's

A Memorial Day Post Lest we Forget.... "Same as it Ever Was"

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Memorial Day Tribute
Uploaded By TiffanyJoAllen

Simply Beautiful.

This is the Patriot Special on HRR. Today at 3PM Eastern / Noon Pacific.