A hard look at the news, media, and the people who are talking about them. Today's Stories in News and Media Blog...
A hard look at the news, media, and the people who are talking about them. Today's Stories in News and Media Blog...
When the vice president of the United States is told by a disabled veterans group that he can’t speak at their meetings because his policies are draconian, that’s news. Particularly when that vice president is one of the chief architects of the war that caused many of the disabilities those veterans have. He wants them sequestered while he speaks? Why?
It’s just more of the reasons this administration has got to go. The sooner the better.
Interestingly, all three of these countries rank the highest (a 10) for the category of External Intervention. Can you guess who that external intervention power is? Yep. The U.S. of A.
Somalia was a huge disaster for the U.S. in the early 1990s. After pulling out of Somalia due to the disaster that led the international embarrassment of the United States as the one superpower in the world, the U.S. decided to put its monetary power into the Ethiopian army. The results haven’t been any better.
And of course, we know what’s happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, two more U.S. failures.
America was founded on the principle of peace and befriending every nation on earth. Now we are the most despised nation due to our overbearing policies that bully weaker states into submission and our so-called “humanitarian” efforts to save them from themselves. This is not the America that Thomas Jefferson, et. al. would be proud to. Can’t we get back to doing what it is we do best, namely, protecting our citizens’ freedoms?
Online, women aren’t as “skilled” as men.
It’s all in the perception.
Brings new meaning to “witch hunt.”
AWOL, in a pregnant, permanent sort of way.
Despondent over sex.
Spent & Approved War-Spending:
Approximately $600 Billion
Another $200 Billion For 2008
U.S. Monthly Spending in Iraq: $12 Billion in 2008
Cost of Deploying One U.S. Soldier for One Year In Iraq: $390,000
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq:
$9 Billion of U.S. Taxpayers’ Money
$549.7 Milion in Spare Parts Shipped in 2004 to U.S. Contractors.
Weapons: 190,000 Guns (including 110,000 AK-47 rifles)
Missing: $1 billion in Tractor Trailers, Tank Recovery Vehicles, Machine Guns, Rocket-Propelled Grenades and Other Equipment and Services Provided to the Iraqi Security Forces.
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq: $10 Billion
Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported: $1.4 Billion
Amount Paid to KBR (a former Halliburton division) to Supply U.S. Military in Iraq with Food, Fuel, Housing and Other Items: $20 Billion
Portion of the $20 Billion Paid to KBR that Pentagon Auditors Deem “questionable or supportable”: $3.2 Billion
Number of Major U.S. Bases in Iraq: 75
Iraqi Troops Trained and Able to Function Independent of U.S. Forces: 6,000
Troops in Iraq: Total 164,970
U.S.: 155,000
U.K.: 4,500
Georgia: 2,000
Poland: 900
South Korea: 650
Other Nations Combined: 1,920
U.S. Troop Casualities: 4,021
98% Male
90% Non-Officers
80% Active Duty
12% National Guard
74% Caucasian
10% African-American
11% Latino
18% Killed by Non-Hostile Causes
51% of US casualties were under 25 years old
70% were from the US Army
Non-U.S. Troop Casualties: 309
U.K.: 176
U.S. Troops Wounded: 29,628
20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)
U.S. Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems: 30% develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
U.S. Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq: 68
36 by Enemy Fire
Private Contractors Working in Support of US Army Troops:
180,000 +
Journalists Killed: 127
84 by Murder
43 by Acts of War
Journalists Killed by U.S. Forces: 14
Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed: 8,145
Estimated Iraqi Civilians Killed: Approximately 500,000 +
Estimated Iraqi Insurgents Killed: 55,000
Estimated Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed: 550
Non-Iraqi Kidnapped: 305
147 Released
94 Status Unknown
54 Killed
6 Rescued
4 Escaped
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004: 14
Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005: 70
Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007: 163
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003: 15,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006: 20,000 - 30,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007: 70,000
Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007: 2,255,000
Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan: 2.1 million to 2.25 million
Iraqi Unemployment Rate: 27% to 60% (where curfew not in effect)
Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 : 50%
Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition: 28%
Percent of Professionals Who Have Left Iraq Since 2003: 40%
Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion : 34,000
Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion: 12,000
Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion: 2,000
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Had Electricity: 10.9 hrs
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity: 1 - 2 hrs
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Had Electricity: 16 to 24
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity: 5.6
Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems: 37%
Iraqis Without Access to Adequate Water Supplies: 70%
Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated: 22%
Iraqis “strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops”: 82%
Iraqis Who Believe Coalition Forces Are Responsible For Any Improvement In Security: Less than 1%
Iraqis Who Feel Less Secure Because of the Occupation: 67%
Iraqis Who Do Not Have Confidence In Multi-National Forces: 72%
Many of these figures are estimates and from mid-2007. Be sure that most estimates will increase when the new statistics report is released.
Five years ago, when the Iraq war had just started to heat up, an event took place which sparked the rally cry of the United States. It was the story that would set the tone of the war for years to come.
Jessica Lynch, a U.S. Army PFC whose Humvee was ambushed near Nasiriyah and had been taken by her captors to a nearby hospital, freed herself, emerged from her hellhole and with guns blazing managed to escape, killing many Iraqi’s in the process while sustaining several wounds of her own.
Another story spoke of a joint operation directed by the Bush Administration. The mission reportedly included Marine Corps artillery distracting enemy soldiers as Army Rangers secured the hospital grounds while Navy Seals extracted Private Lynch while being fired upon going in and coming back out.
Although the stories were completely false, it wasn’t until about a month following the incident that the truth surfaced thanks to a Toronto Star reporter, whose sources told him that Lynch had been well cared for at the hospital, that her captors had left up to two days before the raid and that fire from U.S. forces had prevented hospital staffers from loading her in an ambulance.
It just goes to show you, you can’t believe everything you see or hear, especially when someone else has an agenda.
A lot of people joined the Army or Navy so they could go to college. I was one of them. At 18, though I could have won a scholarship, I knew nothing about them. My parents were not rich enough to afford sending me to college and couldn’t go themselves. They weren’t a lot of help in guiding my steps then. I don’t hold it against them. That’s just the way it was.
But the Army gave me a chance to develop some self-confidence, learn how to manage money, earn money for college, and get a leg up. It’s done that for so many others as well, including Kos:
I’ve often talked about my story — how my Army service served as a springboard for my life. It gave me discipline, pride in myself and my country, strength, and self-confidence. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, it allowed me to go to college despite coming from a family who never could’ve afforded that expense.
But I’ve drawn the same conclusion that he has. While the military is a great experience for those who want to better themselves, if it is used correctly the young man who joins can benefit as much as his country does when in need. But the way the military has been run by Bush and Co., I would caution any young man (or woman) to join today. I would tell my son, if I had one, “Don’t do it. There are other ways to achieve your goals and dreams.” I truly believe that.
This is the great casualty of the war in Iraq. The death toll is, obviously, nothing to sneeze at. My heartfelt condolences go out to all the families that have lost a loved one in this unjust war. I was one of the fortunate ones who went and returned home. Upon my immediate return, I turned in my resignation and I never looked back. You’ll never catch me in uniform again. It isn’t because I disdain the military, rather it is because I disdain those in positions of power who have the authority to misuse and abuse its tools. The Iraq War is just one of many times in our nation’s history when we acted in ways that we should not have. It likely will not be the last. But anyone who joins the military today should know what they are fighting for:
When I left active duty in 1987, I went to college. It was the Army that made that possible. In 1997, after 10 years of civilian life, I decided to join the National Guard. I didn’t want to be an active duty soldier because I did not want to participate in the types of missions the military was getting then - Bosnia, Kosovo, etc. I believed then, and believe now, that a non-interventionist foreign policy is the historical imperative. That’s what our Founders believed in and what so many others have advocated throughout U.S. history. I have since become a libertarian in the classical liberal sense.
I was in officer candidate school the first time I heard the expression “national interests” and the context was that’s what we are fighting for - “freedom and national interests.” I’ve thought about that a lot since then. National interests is a euphemism for the interests of the wealthy. Whatever the wealthiest 1% want, that’s our national interest. I’ve decided I don’t want my life to stand for that. I’d rather live my life according to the values that this nation was founded upon, not the values that the majority of Americans today claim to deny: The love of money, thirst for power, and imperial hubris. That’s not what I’m about and if you’re not about that then you shouldn’t join the military either.
I’d encourage anyone interested in joining today’s military to read (non-affiliate link) “War is a Racket,” by General Smedley Butler. General Butler was a highly decorated Marine who served in World War I. After retiring, he was an outspoken critic of U.S. war policies. Read this book and you’ll see that things have not changed.
Allen Taylor
CPT, AR
Texas Army National Guard (Resigned)
News and Media Blog
Writing in the report, Gen Zinni, a former commander of US Central Command, says: “It’s not hard to make the connection between climate change and instability, or climate change and terrorism.”
He adds: “We will pay for this one way or another. We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we’ll have to take an economic hit of some kind.
“Or we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives. There will be a human toll.”
Well, now, that takes the cake. The U.S. military is now saying global warning is a serious terror threat. In essence, we either take the money out of our pockets today or we take it out of our asses later. Uh, translation for the Bush Administration: Cut your tax cuts for the rich or the poorest kids of your children’s generation will end up at Walter Reed.
Question for the generals: Do you really think the president cares what you think? He hasn’t yet.
“I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts,” Pace said in the interview. “I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.”
Such comments make me wonder if General Pace would support a policy that doesn’t condone unjust wars. If, say, a current or future president were to commit troops to an unjust mission, would the general support a coup to overthrow that president on the basis of his immoral decision-making? Judging from the above statement, it seems that Pace may very well believe that the United States would be well served by a policy that says it is not OK for commanders in chief to commit troops for involvement in immoral and unjust action in any way. Perhaps he should be running the country.
The Air Force Academy is investigating allegations of cheating by 28 freshmen and has restricted all 4,300 cadets to campus over the weekend, asking them to meet in small groups to consider “their self-image and the image of the institution,” Air Force officials said yesterday.
Maybe we should just issue them all an intern, a cigar and a country to bomb so they can fly off into the wild blue yonder and they can compete for the Nobel Peace Prize.
From the Seattle Times:
The court martial of Lt. Ehren Watada ended unexpectedly today with the judge declaring a mistrial due to his misgivings about a pretrial agreement.
Later on in the story:
Instead, the prosecution moved for a mistrial which the judge then granted and tentatively scheduled a trial for mid-March.
In a new trial, Watada, 28, could face up to six years in prison if convicted of all the charges against him.
