Labels: elites, endless war, super-rich, Veterans, Veterans Administration
Submit To Propeller
posted by profmarcus at
6/15/2012
Labels: Memorial Day, Veterans, Vietnam
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
5/28/2012
Dozens of anti-war veterans tossed their medals onto a Chicago street Sunday near where NATO began its two-day summit, calling them “representations of hate,” “lies” and “cheap tokens,” and with some making emotional pleas for forgiveness from the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
With many dressed in military fatigues, they had filed through the streets in formation, chanting "N-A-T-O, NATO has got to go," and “No NATO, no war, we don't work for you no more,” leading about 2,000 protesters on a 2.5-mile march.
After “retiring” an American flag they carried through the streets and giving it to a woman whose soldier son committed suicide, they began hurtling their war service medals into the air -- a rare form of protest that was last done on a large scale by 900 Vietnam veterans in 1971.
Labels: Chicago, NATO Summit, Veterans, Veterans Administration, Vietnam, war protestors
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
5/21/2012
The statistics are endlessly grim: From 2005 to 2010, service members have killed themselves approximately once every 36 hours. For veterans, the rate is estimated at once every 80 minutes.
Why do so many current and former service members, including those who are never deployed, kill themselves? How can the U.S. reduce that suicide rate?
Labels: Afghanistan, endless war, NYT, suicides, Veterans, violence
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
11/21/2011
Denying Responsibility for the Wars One Cheers On
David Brooks' column today perfectly illustrates what lies at the core of our political discourse: namely, self-loving tribalistic blindness laced with a pathological refusal to accept responsibility for one's actions. Brooks claims there is a unique evil that one finds in the "fringes of the Muslim world":Most people select stories that lead toward cooperation and goodness. But over the past few decades a malevolent narrative has emerged.
That narrative has emerged on the fringes of the Muslim world. It is a narrative that sees human history as a war between Islam on the one side and Christianity and Judaism on the other. This narrative causes its adherents to shrink their circle of concern. They don't see others as fully human. They come to believe others can be blamelessly murdered and that, in fact, it is admirable to do so.
This narrative is embraced by a small minority. But it has caused incredible amounts of suffering within the Muslim world, in Israel, in the U.S. and elsewhere. With their suicide bombings and terrorist acts, adherents to this narrative have made themselves central to global politics. They are the ones who go into crowded rooms, shout "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," and then start murdering.
But Brooks himself was a vehement, vicious advocate for the attack on Iraq, which caused this:
The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq has resulted in the deaths of many Iraqi civilians . . . Many international organizations, governments and non-governmental organizations have counted excess civilian casualties using such methods; however all have reported different numbers. Reports range from 128,000 to 1,033,000.
That's at least 128,000 innocent human beings -- at least -- whose lives were eradicated by the war Brooks repeatedly cheered on. It also resulted in this: "More than 4 million Iraqis have now been displaced by violence in the country." But Brooks accuses Islamic fanatics -- but not himself -- of "causing incredible amounts of suffering."
Brooks also justified the Israeli attack on Gaza, including its worst excesses -- a war that wiped out the lives of 1,400 Palestinians (including 252 children under the age of 16) and that entailed "the shooting of [Gazan] civilians with white flags, the firing of white phosphorus shells and charges that Israeli soldiers used Palestinian men as human shields," all of which, according to a U.N. investigation, were "the result of deliberate guidance issued to soldiers." He also cheered on the Israeli bombing campaign of Lebanon and derided those calling for a cease-fire, even as the war wiped out more than 1,000 Lebanese people, at least 300 of whom were women and children, during which "Israeli warplanes also targeted many moving vehicles that turned out to be carrying only civilians trying to flee the conflict." And Brooks is now demanding escalation of the war in yet another Muslim country, this one in Afghanistan -- making it the fourth separate war on Muslims he's cheered on in the last six years alone.
So here's a person who is constantly advocating and justifying the killing, bombing, and slaughtering of Muslims, including well over 100,000 innocent civilians. And yet today he writes a column saying: Look over there at those radical Muslims; can you believe how degraded and inhumane they are? In fact, he says, "they" -- those Muslims over there -- "don't see others as fully human. They come to believe others can be blamelessly murdered and that, in fact, it is admirable to do so." That's from the same person who cheerleads for the endless deaths of Muslims and destruction of the Muslim world while thinking that it makes him strong, resolute, Churchillian, righteous and noble -- exactly that which he accuses "fringe Muslims" of doing. And even as he blames the U.S. for "absolving" radical Muslims for the "evil" of their choices, Brooks will never make the connection between what he does and its results because he believes he is free from accountability and that his righteousness justifies the killings he desires -- again, exactly that which he says today is the hallmark of Islamic monsters ("They come to believe others can be blamelessly murdered and that, in fact, it is admirable to do so").
The tribalistic narcissism and depraved refusal to accept responsibility for the consequences of one's actions on vivid display here is hardly unique to Brooks. The very same people who express such moral outrage and self-righteous horror over events like the Fort Hood shootings themselves have immense amounts of innocent human blood on their hands, but they simply avert their eyes from what they have caused or believe that they are too inherently Good to be responsible, let alone culpable, for what they unleash.
The most patriotic way to honor future veterans of foreign wars is not to create any unnecessarily.
Labels: David Brooks, Glenn Greenwald, Juan Cole, Veterans, Veterans Day, Vietnam
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
11/10/2009
President Bush drew great applause during his State of the Union address last month when he called on Congress to allow U.S. troops to transfer their unused education benefits to family members. "Our military families serve our nation, they inspire our nation, and tonight our nation honors them," he said.
A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.
Labels: Budget, endless war, George Bush, Iraq, State of the Union, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
2/09/2008
Labels: George Bush, George Casey, Iraq, Karl Rove, Keith Olbermann, military, MSNBC, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
1/18/2008
Labels: Blackwater, corruption, Dick Cheney, Halliburton, KBR, Lockheed, Robert Gates, U.S. troops, Veterans, Veterans Administration
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
12/21/2007
The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.
To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.
Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.
One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills.
He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq. It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.
Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.
A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.
Labels: Iraq, Iraq war veterans, military signing bonuses, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
11/20/2007
[The interrogators] and their commanders wrestled with the morality of bugging prisoners' cells with listening devices. They felt bad about censoring letters. They took prisoners out for steak dinners to soften them up. They played games with them.
"We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture," said Henry Kolm, 90, an MIT physicist who had been assigned to play chess in Germany with Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess.
"We did it with a certain amount of respect and justice," said John Gunther Dean, 81, who became a career Foreign Service officer and ambassador to Denmark.
The interrogators had standards that remain a source of pride and honor.
"During the many interrogations, I never laid hands on anyone," said George Frenkel, 87, of Kensington. "We extracted information in a battle of the wits. I'm proud to say I never compromised my humanity."
[W]hen the time came for them to accept honors from the Army's Freedom Team Salute, one veteran refused, citing his opposition to the war in Iraq and procedures that have been used at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
"I feel like the military is using us to say, 'We did spooky stuff then, so it's okay to do it now,' " said Arno Mayer, 81, a professor of European history at Princeton University.
When Peter Weiss, 82, went up to receive his award, he commandeered the microphone and gave his piece.
"I am deeply honored to be here, but I want to make it clear that my presence here is not in support of the current war," said Weiss, chairman of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy and a human rights and trademark lawyer in New York City.
Labels: Bush Administration, German war criminals, Guantánamo, Iraq, torture, Veterans, Washington Post, WWII
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
10/08/2007
"Why did you join?!"
by David J. Kalbfleisch | Mon, 06/04/2007 - 11:30pm
I participated in Operation First Casualty 2 (NYC) two weekends ago, and it was an amazing experience. The response was overwhelmingly positive, especially in Brooklyn. A Muslim man in a park thanked me for speaking out, and several NYPD members thanked me for my service.
The best disapproving remark anyone could muster was, "Punks! Why did you enlist?!" As usual, this was coming from someone who obviously never served in the military and has only the marketing driven, overly romanticized view of what it was like.
I can't speak to why every member of IVAW joined the military. I can tell you that I joined for a few reasons, one of which was the often repeated "money for college." I could spend time expounding upon how the enlistment contract is a bait-and-switch and how the fine print reveals it isn't really a contract at all (the government reserves the right to change everything, and the enlistee has little recourse), but those things aren't even relavent. What the hecklers really need to understand isn't why we joined; they need to understand the oath we took.
The oath of enlistment affirms that the enlistee will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and obey the orders of the President and officers appointed over them. That's the gist of it. But what is one to do when the President is a domestic enemy of the Constitution? Are you supposed to shut up and not say anything? That is what most IVAW members did while they were still in; now most (but not all) of us are out, and we are exercising our first ammendment rights while we still have them. For some history context, check out history.electdave.org.
As an officer, my oath was to defend the Constitution and execute the duties of my office to the best of my ability. It said nothing about blind loyalty to the President, and I don't mind saying that I think he is a war criminal who deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison. While I was in, I stood my watches and juggled the paperwork to the best of my ability. I met my obligation. Now that I'm out, I'm trying to defend the Constitution as an IVAW member and Green Party candidate for Congress.
That's what the hecklers don't get. We all fulfilled our duties, and most of us were honorably discharged. When the people who fought the war are speaking out against it, instead of running your ignorant mouth, maybe you should listen. Having been out less than a year, I can tell you that many people, if not a majority, still in the military, do not agree with this war. They just aren't saying it on television. Yet.
Labels: Iraq civil war, iraq veterans against the war, military, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by jburke6000 at
6/10/2007
She had raised her daughter for six years following the divorce, handled the shuttling to soccer practice and cheerleading, made sure schoolwork was done. Hardly a day went by when the two weren't together. Then Lt. Eva Crouch was mobilized with the Kentucky National Guard, and Sara went to stay with Dad.
A year and a half later, her assignment up, Crouch pulled into her driveway with one thing in mind — bringing home the little girl who shared her smile and blue eyes. She dialed her ex and said she'd be there the next day to pick Sara up, but his response sent her reeling.
"Not without a court order you won't."
Within a month, a judge would decide that Sara should stay with her dad. It was, he said, in "the best interests of the child."
What happened? Crouch was the legal residential caretaker; this was only supposed to be temporary. What had changed? She wasn't a drug addict, or an alcoholic, or an abusive mother.
Her only misstep, it seems, was answering the call to serve her country.
Crouch and an unknown number of others among the 140,000-plus single parents in uniform fight a war on two fronts: For the nation they are sworn to defend, and for the children they are losing because of that duty.
According to the first lady, when it comes to Iraq, "No one suffers more than their president and I do."
what insufferable arrogance... nobody can look at either laura's or george's faces and see a single trace of suffering... no one can hear them speak and hear any anguish whatsoever in their voices... and nobody in hell is going to believe that they are "suffering MORE" than anybody else on iraq... in the lbj/vietnam era, you could SEE pain written all over lbj's face, you could hear it in his speech... vietnam haunted lyndon baines johnson right into an early grave... george himself has said he has no trouble sleeping at night... i doubt seriously that laura does either... what total stinking garbage...
Labels: Eva Crouch, Iraq, Laura Bush, National Guard, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
5/05/2007
"The problems at Walter Reed were caused by bureaucratic and administrative failures," Bush is quoted as telling the hospital's patients and staff. "The system failed you and it failed our troops and we're going to fix it."
"I'm convinced he would honor them more if he would refrain from using soldiers as props in political theater," said Ret. Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton. "I would be very happy to see him do the Walter Reed visit more like the commander and secondarily as an inspector general, rather than as a politician."
Labels: Bush Administration, George Bush, lies, Pentagon, Pentagon Veterans Benefits, Veterans, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
3/31/2007
Gonzales, Mueller admit FBI broke law
The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the
FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.
Pentagon struggles to find fresh troops
Faced with a military buildup in Iraq that could drag into next year,
Pentagon officials are trying to identify enough units to keep up to 20 brigade combat teams in Iraq. A brigade usually has about 3,500 troops.
The likely result will be extending the deployments of brigades scheduled to come home at the end of the summer, and sending others earlier than scheduled.
Afghanistan's 'Hard Mission' Slips Away
A Canadian parliamentary panel has taken an unvarnished look at the war in Afghanistan and concluded that it is a "hard mission" that is slipping out of control. The legislators fault heavy-handed U.S. tactics for alienating the population and an inadequate NATO commitment to pacify the country.
Is the Bush surge already failing?
The president just gave a rosy assessment of his plan, but insurgents have adapted and Iraqis continue to be slaughtered.
Killing U.S. Troops Slowly
Some Bush administration officials have expressed shock at the mistreatment of Iraq War veterans at Walter Reed and other medical centers. But this scandal has many antecedents, including the neglect shown to many veterans who served in Vietnam and in the first U.S. war with Iraq.
Bush deflects Chavez's verbal attacks
President Bush refuses to be goaded into a war of words with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who is answering the president's five-country trek through Latin America with taunts of "Gringo go home."
Bush is trying to spread a message of U.S. compassion for the region and ignore Chavez, who blames U.S.-style capitalism for poverty and inequality in Latin America.
Labels: Afghanistan, Alberto Gonzales, Canada, FBI, George Bush, Hugo Chávez, Iraq, Iraq Escalation, Latin America, NATO, Pentagon, Robert Mueller, Veterans, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
3/10/2007
I want our soldiers to stop dying, I want...after four years of war....an actual CHANGE in Iraq. I want the Taliban defeated in Afghanistan. I want war with Iran "OFF THE TABLE." I want Torture to stop now. I want our frikkin Troops and our frikkin Vets to get what they need. I want the Constitution to be Restored, I want Gitmo closed, the MCA abolished, The Patriot Act abolished or severely rolled back. I want my President to stop opening my mail, listening to my calls and reading my e-mail. I want Diplomacy back and Reason back. But mainly Nancy...I want our soldiers to stop dying.....for No. Freaking. Reason.
[...]
So I want to support you, I don't want to get frustrated and mad and start writing nasty things about you or threatening you....I WANT TO HELP! I DON'T want to believe that you don't have a plan, that you are flying by the seat of your pants. I want to be sure that you are not still just playing defense, just reacting to every thrust and feint that Bushco throws out. I want to support you and get behind you and your PLAN and have the Dems be effective and pass legislation and show America and the world that the Dems really ARE the adults, are the good guys. I want to help and support and work with you to accomplish all of the things listed above and more. I really, really do.
Labels: Afghanistan, Democrats, George Bush, Impeachment, Iran, Iraq, Military Commissions Act, Nancy Pelosi, Patriot Act, Taliban, U.S. Constitution, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
3/02/2007
It should be the mission of a lifetime and Democrats and Republicans should call on President Bush to do it:
Make Max Cleland Secretary of Veterans Affairs and it will send a powerful message of support to our troops and vets.
If Max Cleland is named, within hours the treatment of every wounded soldier will improve because every official will know
that the new sheriff is in town.
Max Cleland is the most qualified person in America for the job. Never again will wounded troops be punished by early morning inspections that are represensible and sick. Never again will wounded troops be threatened with retribution if they take their case to Congress or the press.
Labels: Brent Budowsky, Max Cleland, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
3/01/2007
Labels: Americablog, Iraq, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
2/18/2007
[T]he $100,000 "death gratuity" ... goes first to a spouse or a child.
The death gratuity, more than many other benefits, adheres to a strict next-of-kin rule, which Pentagon officials say makes it possible to pay out the $100,000 within a few days. They say that, in the "vast majority of cases," spo, uses are most in need when paychecks stop.
But there have been thousands of single parents deployed into combat zones since 2001. How many have died at war is unclear, but the Jaenke case shows that, in those cases, the benefit may be at odds with its original intent: to help the grieving family stay afloat when a service member's income suddenly stops.
Labels: Iraq, Iraq death toll, Pentagon Veterans Benefits, Veterans
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
2/16/2007
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