Category: Iraq

The low-key announcements of several military retrenchment measures suggest to me that the US plutocracy is sufficiently frightened by the negative economic diagnosis to abandon its recreational drug of choice: military spending. Here are the clues:

1. Today brought news of the abandonment of a costly “missile shield” to be deployed in Europe. Not only does this remove an irritant in diplomatic relations with Russia and Europe, but it portends big cutbacks in the development and deployment budgets for all Star Wars missile defense programs.

2. America has suddenly developed a lively interest in free and fair elections in Afghanistan. This is consistent with the need to de-legitimize our puppet government in order to prepare for exiting this costly and futile “war.”

3. Iraq withdrawal plans appear to be picking up speed, with no signs that an upsurge of violence in Iraq will lead to second thoughts.

4. A few bloated defense procurement programs have actually been cancelled, including F22 production and an alternate engine for the F35.

The plutocrats are very afraid that they will not be able to make the bellicose American public go cold turkey when huge defense cuts come. But defense is the only place left to cut, and they know that a hard economic rain is going to fall when the current Fed cash-for-everything bubble pops.

The British and Soviet empires did not give up their military toys until their economies collapsed. We are following a similar course. We should have done so much sooner.

Yeah, I know the news is all about the wonderful guy who threw a shoe at Bush.  He was released early.

And just in time!   Because his release managed to somewhat overshadow the fact that we shot and killed another shoe-thrower, this time in Fallujah.

Only this guy was throwing his shoe at American troops.   How dare he.

US troops kill Fallujah ‘shoe-thrower’

FALLUJAH, Iraq – An Iraqi man who witnesses said shouted abuse before throwing a shoe at a US army vehicle was shot dead on Wednesday in what the American military said was a suspected grenade attack.

Residents told an AFP reporter in Fallujah that Ahmed Latif, 32, whom they said was mentally disturbed, insulted the soldiers as they patrolled in the centre of the city, and then hurled a shoe at them.

The US military told AFP that a convoy in Fallujah had been attacked with a suspected grenade.

“Positive identification of the attacker was made, and US forces fired in self-defence wounding the attacker,” the army said in a statement.

“Local Iraqi police secured the scene and transported the wounded attacker to a local hospital for medical care,” it added.

Dr Ali Hatam of Fallujah hospital confirmed that Latif died of gunshot wounds.

The American people, from left to right, are forced to work for change within a culture of money, power and greed.  In my mid-fifties now, I’ve never seen a higher overall agreement level among the masses concerning the power corporations and special interests have over our politicians, our “representative” government.  The steady transfer of wealth to the elite 1%, the loss of millions of jobs, reduced wages and hours, increased health insurance and health care costs, the hegemonic march through the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the erosion of civil liberties have most of the population in a daze and not liking it.  

We want health care reform so we work within the system to convince our politicians to do the right thing.  The corporations fight back and use their money to convince politicians and gullible citizens to do the right thing for the corporations.  The corporations will most likely win again and health care reform will go the way of torture prosecutions, indefinite detention, and the Patriot Act, absorbed and accepted with tails between legs.  On to the next issue dujour and the next corporate or special interest controlled political process.  All while the politicians continue their 20 day a month fund raising schedules.  

I did a post the other day about Jon Krakauer and his new book: “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” with a video report from ABC’s Good Morning America and from the ABC World News Tonight.

He’s since been on at least two NPR shows one being All Things Considered which is about a seven minute discussion of the book and the Pat Tillman military service story that was propagandized by both the cheney/bush administration, the pentagon and the military!

From democraticunderground.com via msnbc.msn.com

    The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former President George W. Bush said Tuesday that he would do it all again.

~snip~

     “I wouldn’t hesitate to do what I’ve done, even if it means [somebody] killing me,” he said.

~snip~

    At a news conference Tuesday, he said that he was abused immediately after his arrest and the following day. He said he was beaten with iron bars, whipped with cords and was shocked in the backyard of the building in the Green Zone where the news conference was held.

~snip~

    An unrepentant al-Zeidi explained that his actions were motivated by the U.S. occupation: “I want to ask the American people if an Iraqi occupies America and kills one million Americans, displaced 5 million people and demolished and destroyed America, then what would be the reaction of the American people?”

Welcome to the Virtual March on Washington for Veterans

This was just reported on ABC World News and apparently ABC Good Morning America also had a report this morning, video from that below.

EXCERPT: Jon Krakauer’s ‘Where Men Win Glory’

Krakauer Investigates the Life and Death of American Football Hero Pat Tillman

Patrick Tillman, former NFL player, made national headlines when he gave up his lucrative sports career to join the U.S. Army Rangers.

Yesterday, 9.12.09, in Washington, we had this: Tea Party Protesters March on Washington extending their purely political use of the tragedy of 9/11. I’ll guess not one at the podium or with the megaphones, nor any in the crowd, even mentioned this: 5 U.S. troops among 50 killed in Afghan violence Sat Sep 12, nor much was said about all the soldiers who’ve died, or are physically and mentally injured from the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. I’ll guess also nothing was mentioned about the monetary, in billions and billions, cost of these still operational theaters of occupation!

A friend at facebook also asked the same I’ve {many have} wondered these past eight years:

We’ve all heard it, “the military is pro-Republican Party.”  Not so fast.  This gallop poll done from Jan-May, 2009, shows a very different picture.  The Republican’s were 34%, Democrats were 29% and Independents were 33%.  

Confirmed: Cheney’s Role in Approving Torture

Edward M. Gomez; SFGate, Dec 17 2008

“… Dick Cheney isn’t sorry about any of it.” In his ABC News interview he “betrayed no second thoughts – and certainly no remorse – about the policies pursued by the administration that he both served and, according to some, led.

Cheney’s dark side – and ours

Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe Columnist, Sep 1, 2009

But Cheney’s role is an old, if still developing story. After all, he warned us five days after Sept. 11 that our government would work on the “dark side.” He told the late Tim Russert, “We’ve got to spend time in the shadows in the intelligence world. A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done quietly, without any discussion, using sources and methods that are available to our intelligence agencies.” …

Marine killed in Afghanistan served country in many ways

Marine Sgt. Bill Cahir was a public servant his whole life.

He served as a congressional staffer, as a journalist, as a political candidate and, finally, as a Marine reservist in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Snip

“There it was,” Cahir wrote. “My last, best chance to serve.”