States, People must commit seriously to the “elimination of nuclear weapons”
Editing, re-reporting, minor comment by Carolyn Bennett
The United States refuses to apologize for the annihilation of innocents by its nuclear bombs dropped on Japan, bombs that left an estimated 140,000 people dead at Hiroshima, 80,000 dead at Nagasaki.
Japan marks the 65th year from the U.S. nuclear attack on Nagasaki, which occurred three days after the attack on Hiroshima. At today’s ceremony, the city’s mayor, Tomihisa Taue, said, “‘Nagasaki together with Hiroshima will continue to make the utmost efforts until the world gets rid of all nuclear weapons.’”
Nagasaki Peace Declaration 2010 [excerpt]
The mayor of Nagasaki spoke boldly today in support of nuclear nonproliferation and elimination and in condolence for the dead and suffering.
“On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., a single atomic bomb dropped by a United States military aircraft devastated Nagasaki instantly. Intense heat rays, blast winds, radiation, and ceaseless fires... claimed the precious lives of 74,000 people, while inflicting deep physical and mental wounds on those who narrowly escaped death.…
“We call upon the leaders of the nuclear weapons states never to trample on humanity’s efforts for ‘a world without nuclear weapons.’
“This May [2010], at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament with specified timelines were proposed by the Chairperson. This proposal was widely supported by non-nuclear weapons states.
“Expectations were raised among non-governmental organizations assembling in New York from around the world and among the people of Nagasaki, a city that has suffered the horror of atomic bombing.
“The Chairperson’s proposal was later rejected by the government representatives of the nuclear weapons states of the United States, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, France and the People’s Republic of China.
“The lack of sincere commitment from the nuclear weapons states toward nuclear disarmament could provoke antipathy and lead to the emergence of more new nuclear weapons states, increasing the threat of nuclear proliferation around the world.…
“We believe that a new treaty is necessary in order to take the steps to eliminate nuclear weapons.…
“I would like to remind everyone around the world that it is we ourselves who have the power to decide which path we should take, ‘a world with nuclear weapons’ filled with distrust and threat, or ‘a world without nuclear weapons’ based on trust and cooperation. For our children, we have responsibility for creating a future without the fear of nuclear weapons. …
“Many people in the world are continuing their peace efforts toward the abolishment of nuclear weapons. In cooperation with them, the city of Nagasaki will establish an extensive global network of peace citizens to unite with a city that has suffered nuclear attack.…
“We offer our sincere condolences on the deaths of the atomic bomb victims, and pledge to continue our utmost efforts together with the city of Hiroshima, until the day when nuclear weapons no longer exist on the earth.…
“[O]n our own, each of us might be small and weak [but] by joining together we can become a force to make governments act, to create a new history. Let us convey our intention fully and clearly to our governments.…” [Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki, August 9, 2010]
Sources and notes
Al Jazeera “Witness” program from Sunday, August 8 – Tuesday August 10:
“Atomic Wounds ─ Dr Hida, a survivor of the 1945 atomic bomb at Hiroshima, continues to care for some of the other quarter of a million survivors. Atomic Wounds retraces his dedicated journey and highlights how the terrible danger of radiation was concealed by successive U.S. administrations in the 50s through the 70s so that nuclear power could be freely developed, with no concern for public health. A powerful documentary examines the extent of U.S. and Japanese suppression of crucial data with the potential to impact on the global nuclear industry.” Atomic Wounds, http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2009/05/2009537181173851.html
“Nagasaki Peace Declaration,” Nagasaki City, Peace Appeals, August 9, 2010, http://www.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/peace/english/appeal/
“Nagasaki marks A-bomb anniversary,” August 9, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/08/20108945819655132.html
“Nagasaki remembers atomic victims,” August 9, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/08/20108913451439239.html
“Eliminating Nuclear weapons,” Riz Khan show aired from Wednesday, August 4, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2010/08/20108463955110993.html
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Divided red/blue still staggers U.S. backward
Excerpted and edited by Carolyn Bennett
International Havana interviewed University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus Nelson Valdés. This is some of what he had to say about a relentless tragedy, “United States: Two Nations.”
“‘[T]here are two nations in the United States, with two foreign policies.’ When there is talk in the United States of BLUE and RED states … this is a reference to two nations; and the nation that is growing is the South.”
“Southerners are conservative and, for that reason, opposed ─ to the point of hatred ─ to progressive political ideas.”
Founders led
“The nationalist and conservative ideology was founded in the South within a tradition of identifying with the past. … [T]he founding fathers acknowledged slavery and did not question it! The original constitution permitted it.”
Religionists pushed
“The ideology of revenge” [and supremacy] has a basis within religion: of Southern Baptists; in Lutheranism transported from Northern Europe, planted in Border States with Canada; in Southerners who ended up in Alaska; in Mormons populating Utah, rising from right-wing traditions of Arizona.
Land split
For the North, the Civil War ended in 1865. For the South, it was just beginning. A Southern nationalism developed against the North. Today the United States of America, in real terms, comprises “TWO NATIONS.”
Sources and notes
“United States: two nations” (Manuel E. Yepe), I N T E R N A T I O N A L, Havana, July 29, 2010, http://www.granma.cu/ingles/international-i/29julio-30eeuu.html
Nelson P. Valdés, a Cuban academic resident in the United States for 40 years, in an email interview.
An expert on U.S. history, Valdés, until his recent retirement, was a professor at the University of New Mexico. Nelson Valdés is Professor Emeritus at the University of New Mexico.
Selected Biography of Nelson P. Valdés, http://www.freethefive.org/legalFront/amicuscuban-american-scholars.pdf
Nelson P. Valdés’ latest article “More Double Standards on Cuba ─ Gross Media Negligence” (Nelson P. Valdes, Saul Landau), Counterpunch Weekend Edition August 6 - 8, 2010, http://www.counterpunch.org/landau08062010.html
International Havana interviewed University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus Nelson Valdés. This is some of what he had to say about a relentless tragedy, “United States: Two Nations.”
“‘[T]here are two nations in the United States, with two foreign policies.’ When there is talk in the United States of BLUE and RED states … this is a reference to two nations; and the nation that is growing is the South.”
“Southerners are conservative and, for that reason, opposed ─ to the point of hatred ─ to progressive political ideas.”
Founders led
“The nationalist and conservative ideology was founded in the South within a tradition of identifying with the past. … [T]he founding fathers acknowledged slavery and did not question it! The original constitution permitted it.”
Religionists pushed
“The ideology of revenge” [and supremacy] has a basis within religion: of Southern Baptists; in Lutheranism transported from Northern Europe, planted in Border States with Canada; in Southerners who ended up in Alaska; in Mormons populating Utah, rising from right-wing traditions of Arizona.
Land split
For the North, the Civil War ended in 1865. For the South, it was just beginning. A Southern nationalism developed against the North. Today the United States of America, in real terms, comprises “TWO NATIONS.”
Sources and notes
“United States: two nations” (Manuel E. Yepe), I N T E R N A T I O N A L, Havana, July 29, 2010, http://www.granma.cu/ingles/international-i/29julio-30eeuu.html
Nelson P. Valdés, a Cuban academic resident in the United States for 40 years, in an email interview.
An expert on U.S. history, Valdés, until his recent retirement, was a professor at the University of New Mexico. Nelson Valdés is Professor Emeritus at the University of New Mexico.
Selected Biography of Nelson P. Valdés, http://www.freethefive.org/legalFront/amicuscuban-american-scholars.pdf
Nelson P. Valdés’ latest article “More Double Standards on Cuba ─ Gross Media Negligence” (Nelson P. Valdes, Saul Landau), Counterpunch Weekend Edition August 6 - 8, 2010, http://www.counterpunch.org/landau08062010.html
Saturday, August 7, 2010
World changed, America self absorbed
Another side reflects and warns
Re-reporting, editing, compilation by Carolyn Bennett
Western Parochial
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on press day:
Western media helped the U.S., which has amassed thousands of Atomic Bombs, to claim another country might move towards building an A-bomb. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran argues, it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.
Western Incursion
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi:
“The U.S. is without a doubt after gathering intelligence on the region and especially Iran ‘but they must know that anti-aircraft posts and the powerful Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran are prepared to respond to any aggression with full force and prevent such [reconnaissance] missions from taking place.’”
Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Yadollah Javani:
“Iran has threatened to shut down the key oil shipping passage in the event of a military attack from the United States or Israel. ‘If anything happens in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is closed, the possibility of using this route will be lost for decades and this will be a great tragedy for the global economy. … Enemies of Iran had first targeted the Guards Corps with sanctions, as they know it is one of the main bodies safeguarding and protecting the establishment.’” However, “‘31 years of sanctions had taught Iran to be self-reliant and no amount of sanctions could hinder the country’s growth and progress.’”
Maxim Shevchenko, Head of the Strategic Research Center for Modern World Religion and Politics talking to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA):
“Washington will face defeat in its anti-Iran move. Supporting imposition of the U.S. sanctions against Iran will bear no fruit for Moscow … The Islamic Republic of Iran is a major trade partner of Russia.”
East meets West/West meets East
Iran/U.S. Presidential talks: matters of content, respect
Iranian lawmaker, member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh:
“‘[U.S. President Barack] Obama’s recent remarks about only holding talks with Iran on issues involving Afghanistan show that the U.S. wants to use Iran’s historical influence in Afghanistan to remedy its problems… Americans who are moving targets themselves want to place Iran in front of Taliban forces like a fixed target.… Washington's problems with the Taliban do not concern Iran.’
“‘Tehran [must] present the issues it wants in the form of a package that could include the problems of Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran’s nuclear issue and the 30-year dispute between the two countries.’ The White House proposal for negotiation with Iran about Afghanistan comes after the “White House had earlier rejected a call from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face talks with his American counterpart.”
“The Iranians have stated that they will fire 100 rockets against every one of the U.S. and Israeli ships that are blockading Iran, as soon as they inspect any Iranian merchant ship.
“In that way, when Obama gives the order to comply with the Security Council resolution, he will be decreeing the sinking of all the U.S. warships in that area.
“Never before has such a dramatic decision fallen upon a president of the United States. He should have foreseen that.
“On this occasion, for the first time in my life, I am addressing United States President Barack Obama:
Sources and notes
“‘U.S. seeks to drag Iran into Afghan war,’” August 7, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137828§ionid=351020101
“Iran relocating defense industry,” August 7, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137793§ionid=351020101
“Ahmadinejad: 9/11 scenario dubious,” August, 7, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137815§ionid=351020101
“Russian political expert said on Saturday that the U.S. sanctions on Iran are against international rules and regulations,” August 7, 2010,
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=1267552&IdLanguage=3
“Enemies adventurism in Persian Gulf to be a big mistake” Tehran, August 7, IRNA, http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=1267466&IdLanguage=3
Fidel Castro Ruz August 3, 2010
Translated by Granma International
Reflections of Fidel, http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/4agost-reflections.html
Re-reporting, editing, compilation by Carolyn Bennett
Western Parochial
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on press day:
Western media helped the U.S., which has amassed thousands of Atomic Bombs, to claim another country might move towards building an A-bomb. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran argues, it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.
Western Incursion
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi:
“The U.S. is without a doubt after gathering intelligence on the region and especially Iran ‘but they must know that anti-aircraft posts and the powerful Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran are prepared to respond to any aggression with full force and prevent such [reconnaissance] missions from taking place.’”
Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Yadollah Javani:
“Iran has threatened to shut down the key oil shipping passage in the event of a military attack from the United States or Israel. ‘If anything happens in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is closed, the possibility of using this route will be lost for decades and this will be a great tragedy for the global economy. … Enemies of Iran had first targeted the Guards Corps with sanctions, as they know it is one of the main bodies safeguarding and protecting the establishment.’” However, “‘31 years of sanctions had taught Iran to be self-reliant and no amount of sanctions could hinder the country’s growth and progress.’”
Maxim Shevchenko, Head of the Strategic Research Center for Modern World Religion and Politics talking to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA):
“Washington will face defeat in its anti-Iran move. Supporting imposition of the U.S. sanctions against Iran will bear no fruit for Moscow … The Islamic Republic of Iran is a major trade partner of Russia.”
East meets West/West meets East
Iran/U.S. Presidential talks: matters of content, respect
Iranian lawmaker, member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh:
“‘[U.S. President Barack] Obama’s recent remarks about only holding talks with Iran on issues involving Afghanistan show that the U.S. wants to use Iran’s historical influence in Afghanistan to remedy its problems… Americans who are moving targets themselves want to place Iran in front of Taliban forces like a fixed target.… Washington's problems with the Taliban do not concern Iran.’
“‘Tehran [must] present the issues it wants in the form of a package that could include the problems of Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran’s nuclear issue and the 30-year dispute between the two countries.’ The White House proposal for negotiation with Iran about Afghanistan comes after the “White House had earlier rejected a call from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face talks with his American counterpart.”
REFLECTIONS OF FIDEL [Castro Ruz]:
A call to the President of the United States
August 4, 2010, Havana
“The Iranians have stated that they will fire 100 rockets against every one of the U.S. and Israeli ships that are blockading Iran, as soon as they inspect any Iranian merchant ship.
“In that way, when Obama gives the order to comply with the Security Council resolution, he will be decreeing the sinking of all the U.S. warships in that area.
“Never before has such a dramatic decision fallen upon a president of the United States. He should have foreseen that.
“On this occasion, for the first time in my life, I am addressing United States President Barack Obama:
- You must know that it is in your hands to offer humanity the only real possibility of peace. Only on one occasion can you make use of your prerogatives by giving the order to fire.
- It is possible that later, on the basis of this traumatic experience, solutions might be found that will not lead us once again to this apocalyptical situation. Everybody in your country, including your worst adversaries of the left or the right, will doubtless be grateful to you, and also the people of the United States, who are not in any way guilty of the situation created.
- I ask you to deign to hear this appeal that I am conveying to you in the name of the Cuban people.
- I understand that a rapid response cannot be expected, nor would you ever give one. Think it through well, consult your specialists, ask your most powerful allies and international adversaries for their opinion on the matter.
- I am not interested in honors or glories. Do it!
- The world really can be liberated from nuclear weapons and also conventional ones.
- The worst of all the variants will be nuclear war, which is already virtually inevitable. PREVENT IT!”
Sources and notes
“‘U.S. seeks to drag Iran into Afghan war,’” August 7, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137828§ionid=351020101
“Iran relocating defense industry,” August 7, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137793§ionid=351020101
“Ahmadinejad: 9/11 scenario dubious,” August, 7, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137815§ionid=351020101
“Russian political expert said on Saturday that the U.S. sanctions on Iran are against international rules and regulations,” August 7, 2010,
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=1267552&IdLanguage=3
“Enemies adventurism in Persian Gulf to be a big mistake” Tehran, August 7, IRNA, http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=1267466&IdLanguage=3
Fidel Castro Ruz August 3, 2010
Translated by Granma International
Reflections of Fidel, http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/4agost-reflections.html
Friday, August 6, 2010
War’s endless consequences ─ suicide, mercenaries, rights abuse
Re-reporting, editing by Carolyn Bennett
“Totally lost”
“I found the dog tags Jeff had worn from the moment he had come home, no doubt beforehand. He took them off only two times: on December 24, 2003, when his younger sister went in to check on him and, with tears in his eyes, he had tossed the dog tags at her and said he was nothing more than a murderer; and when I found them resting on his bed the day he hanged himself, June 22.”
[Soldier Jeffrey Lucey] had identified the dog tags as belonging to “two men that he had killed, two unarmed Iraqi soldiers.” Though the military has never verified the story, “we believe it in our hearts. We know that it is the truth.” [Soldier’s father Kevin Lucey]
Joyce and Kevin Lucey appeared today on the Democracy Now program.
Jeffrey Lucey turned 22 the day before the U.S. began its full bore assault on the people of Iraq. His unit was activated and he was part of the first wave of troops to head into the combat zone, according to an entry on the Gold Star Families Speak Out website. By the time he came home, Jeffrey Lucey was a mess. He told gruesome stories and though all could not be verified, there was no doubt that this once healthy young man had been shattered by his experiences. He had nightmares. He drank furiously. He withdrew from his friends. He wrecked his parents’ car. He began to hallucinate. On the afternoon of June 22, 2004, surrounded by photographs of his platoon, his sisters, his parents, the family dog, and himself (the dog tags nearby), 23-year-old Jeffrey Lucey ended his life.
Suicide with another root
During the first six months of this year, 65 members of the Guard and Reserve took their lives compared with 42 in the same period last year. Thirty-two soldiers among them 11 Guard and Reservists killed themselves this past June. Seven of the suicides took place in Iraq or Afghanistan.
A few days ago U.S. president Barack Obama said in a speech before an audience of veterans that the U.S. ‘combat mission’ in Iraq is ending but with 50,000 soldiers remaining purportedly “supporting and training Iraqi forces, partnering with Iraqis in counterterrorism missions, and protecting our civilian and military efforts,” this seems doubtful. An occupying soldier is a combatant and Iraqis know it. Some believe “they never will see the end of America’s military presence in their country.”
The American justice and political activist Dahlia Wasfi (Wilmington, Delaware) told Press TV today that the al-Qaeda the U.S. is leaving force against whom to defend the U.S. embassy, the “al-Qaeda in Iraq,” was not in Iraq until we showed up. “If you have to use the most powerful military in the world to defend an embassy, then that might be an indication that people living there [the Iraqi people] do not want us there.” The cycle of violence and occupation will not end, only the faces will change. Private contractors and mercenaries [unregulated soldiers] will replace redeployed official U.S. troops and continue raking in millions upon millions of U.S. tax payer dollars to subjugate the Iraqi people.
Wasfi asked, “Who am I as an American to condemn any other country for exporting terror, when my country has over 700 bases in more than 120 countries around the world, and their objective there is to control and subjugate.
“The greatest threat to global security, if you ask people around the world, they tell you they are the United States and Israel. That is why I advocate for the immediate unconditional withdrawal of forces and mercenaries from Iraq and Afghanistan. I advocate cutting military aid to Israel in compliance with our domestic and international law.”
Government’s Mercenaries: impunity, human rights be damned
Despite or because of the United States’ wide use of unchecked “soldiers,” the world at large is concerned. A five-year- old UN working group on the use of mercenaries will brief permanent missions at the UN, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academics on a proposal resulting from its monitoring activities of mercenaries and private military and security companies (PMSC), their impact on human rights, and such activities’ lack of accountability. The independent experts reportedly are “calling for more stringent regulations, oversight and monitoring of mercenaries and PMSC at both national and international levels.”
Sources and notes
“With Military Suicides on the Rise, Parents of Two Soldiers Who Took Their Own Lives Say Obama’s Words Ring Hollow,” August 6, 2010, http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/6/with_military_suicides_on_the_rise
Gold Star Families Speak Out, a chapter of Military Families Speak Out, is comprised of members whose loved ones served in the military during the period including the build-up to the war in Iraq (fall, 2002) to the present, and have been killed or have died. The group believes “the best way to support our troops is to BRING THEM HOME NOW and to take good care of them when they get here.” http://www.gsfso.org/FailedbytheVA.html; http://www.gsfso.org/
“Army Suicides Reach One a Day; Epidemic Spreads to National Guard and Reserves,” July 29, 2010,
http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Army_Suicides_Reach_One_a_Day_Epidemic_Spreads_to_National_Guard_and_Reserves_100729;
“Obama Keeps Combat Troops in Iraq…and They will Still Engage in Combat,” August 5, 2010,
http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Obama_Keeps_Combat_Troops_in_Iraq_and_They_will_Still_Engage_in_Combat_100805
“‘U.S. greatest threat to global security,’” August 5, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137557
“UN experts on mercenaries seek stronger regulation of private security companies, Mercenary soldiers,” July 26, 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35421&Cr=human+rights&Cr1=
“Totally lost”
“The best way to support our troops is to BRING THEM HOME NOW and to take good care of them when they get here.” [Gold Star Families Speak Out]“I remember sitting there [thinking], ‘Who is this person? This isn’t my son.’ I didn’t understand what he was saying. It seemed like it was my son’s body but the person was no longer my child. He was totally changed … he was lost. He was in his own world of everything going through his head, not really looking at me, just staring out and reliving things … saying things in fragments, so that you never really got the whole story; but you knew whatever he had gone through was horrific to him.” [Soldier’s mother Joyce Lucey]
“I found the dog tags Jeff had worn from the moment he had come home, no doubt beforehand. He took them off only two times: on December 24, 2003, when his younger sister went in to check on him and, with tears in his eyes, he had tossed the dog tags at her and said he was nothing more than a murderer; and when I found them resting on his bed the day he hanged himself, June 22.”
[Soldier Jeffrey Lucey] had identified the dog tags as belonging to “two men that he had killed, two unarmed Iraqi soldiers.” Though the military has never verified the story, “we believe it in our hearts. We know that it is the truth.” [Soldier’s father Kevin Lucey]
Joyce and Kevin Lucey appeared today on the Democracy Now program.
Jeffrey Lucey turned 22 the day before the U.S. began its full bore assault on the people of Iraq. His unit was activated and he was part of the first wave of troops to head into the combat zone, according to an entry on the Gold Star Families Speak Out website. By the time he came home, Jeffrey Lucey was a mess. He told gruesome stories and though all could not be verified, there was no doubt that this once healthy young man had been shattered by his experiences. He had nightmares. He drank furiously. He withdrew from his friends. He wrecked his parents’ car. He began to hallucinate. On the afternoon of June 22, 2004, surrounded by photographs of his platoon, his sisters, his parents, the family dog, and himself (the dog tags nearby), 23-year-old Jeffrey Lucey ended his life.
Suicide with another root
During the first six months of this year, 65 members of the Guard and Reserve took their lives compared with 42 in the same period last year. Thirty-two soldiers among them 11 Guard and Reservists killed themselves this past June. Seven of the suicides took place in Iraq or Afghanistan.
A few days ago U.S. president Barack Obama said in a speech before an audience of veterans that the U.S. ‘combat mission’ in Iraq is ending but with 50,000 soldiers remaining purportedly “supporting and training Iraqi forces, partnering with Iraqis in counterterrorism missions, and protecting our civilian and military efforts,” this seems doubtful. An occupying soldier is a combatant and Iraqis know it. Some believe “they never will see the end of America’s military presence in their country.”
The American justice and political activist Dahlia Wasfi (Wilmington, Delaware) told Press TV today that the al-Qaeda the U.S. is leaving force against whom to defend the U.S. embassy, the “al-Qaeda in Iraq,” was not in Iraq until we showed up. “If you have to use the most powerful military in the world to defend an embassy, then that might be an indication that people living there [the Iraqi people] do not want us there.” The cycle of violence and occupation will not end, only the faces will change. Private contractors and mercenaries [unregulated soldiers] will replace redeployed official U.S. troops and continue raking in millions upon millions of U.S. tax payer dollars to subjugate the Iraqi people.
Wasfi asked, “Who am I as an American to condemn any other country for exporting terror, when my country has over 700 bases in more than 120 countries around the world, and their objective there is to control and subjugate.
“The greatest threat to global security, if you ask people around the world, they tell you they are the United States and Israel. That is why I advocate for the immediate unconditional withdrawal of forces and mercenaries from Iraq and Afghanistan. I advocate cutting military aid to Israel in compliance with our domestic and international law.”
Government’s Mercenaries: impunity, human rights be damned
Despite or because of the United States’ wide use of unchecked “soldiers,” the world at large is concerned. A five-year- old UN working group on the use of mercenaries will brief permanent missions at the UN, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academics on a proposal resulting from its monitoring activities of mercenaries and private military and security companies (PMSC), their impact on human rights, and such activities’ lack of accountability. The independent experts reportedly are “calling for more stringent regulations, oversight and monitoring of mercenaries and PMSC at both national and international levels.”
How many (est.) in two-theater
U.S.-led
WAR DEAD?
Casualty sites reporting
August 6, 2010 (accurate totals unknown)
• Anti-war dot com Casualties in Iraq since March 19, 2003
[U.S. war dead since the Obama inauguration January 20, 2009: 185]
Wounded 31,888-100,000
U.S. veterans with brain injuries 320,000
Suicides [estimated] 18 a day
Latest update on this site July 23
• Iraq Body Count figures
97,172 – 106,047
• ICasualties IRAQ: 4,515 U.S., 4,733 Coalition
AFGHANISTAN: 1,216 U.S., 1,984 Coalition
Sources and notes
“With Military Suicides on the Rise, Parents of Two Soldiers Who Took Their Own Lives Say Obama’s Words Ring Hollow,” August 6, 2010, http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/6/with_military_suicides_on_the_rise
Gold Star Families Speak Out, a chapter of Military Families Speak Out, is comprised of members whose loved ones served in the military during the period including the build-up to the war in Iraq (fall, 2002) to the present, and have been killed or have died. The group believes “the best way to support our troops is to BRING THEM HOME NOW and to take good care of them when they get here.” http://www.gsfso.org/FailedbytheVA.html; http://www.gsfso.org/
“Army Suicides Reach One a Day; Epidemic Spreads to National Guard and Reserves,” July 29, 2010,
http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Army_Suicides_Reach_One_a_Day_Epidemic_Spreads_to_National_Guard_and_Reserves_100729;
“Obama Keeps Combat Troops in Iraq…and They will Still Engage in Combat,” August 5, 2010,
http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Obama_Keeps_Combat_Troops_in_Iraq_and_They_will_Still_Engage_in_Combat_100805
“‘U.S. greatest threat to global security,’” August 5, 2010, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137557
“UN experts on mercenaries seek stronger regulation of private security companies, Mercenary soldiers,” July 26, 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35421&Cr=human+rights&Cr1=
Monday, August 2, 2010
Prosecuting selective “high crimes"
Re-reporting, editing by Carolyn Bennett
In prosecuting Bradley Manning, “‘[U.S. President] Barack Obama has now indicted as many people for whistle blowing or leaks as all previous presidents put together,’” said Nixon-era whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg. “‘[He] has now prosecuted three people two of whom are being prosecuted for acts carried out under [President] George W. Bush and for which Bush chose not to prosecute — Thomas Drake, who is under indictment, and Shamai Leibowitz, who pleaded guilty…
“‘Obama’s position of not looking backward seems to apply only to crimes like torture or illegal warrantless surveillance: he’s given absolute amnesty to the officials of the Bush administration.
“‘In the case of Thomas Drake, who told a reporter about a billion-and-half-dollar waste at the NSA; and in the case of Shamai Leibowitz, who says he exposed acts to a blogger that he regarded as illegal, [President Obama] was willing to look backward and prosecute. With Manning, he has shown more eagerness to [prosecute].’”
Bradley Manning is (or was) a top-secret credentialed U.S. Army intelligence analyst (PFC formerly SPC) accused of leaking classified documents. The United States Army Criminal Investigation Command in May 2010 arrested and detained Manning without charge for more than a month in a military jail at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. In early July, the U. S. government brought two misconduct charges against Manning for “‘transferring classified data onto his personal computer and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system’ and ‘communicating, transmitting and delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source.’”
A leaked film appeared to show a U.S. Apache helicopter crew killing civilians in Baghdad. Manning is also “suspected as being the source of the 90,000 sensitive documents about the war in Afghanistan also published by WikiLeaks. Edited by Australian Julian Assange, WikiLeaks has not confirmed Manning as the source but the Swedish site is said to be prepared to defend Manning. Computer hacker Adrian Lamo is believed to have informed on Manning.
Bradley Manning was reportedly born to English parents in the United States in 1987 then moved to Wales at the age of 13 and moved back to the States halfway through his sixth form [secondary school] studies and joined the U.S. army.
Sources
“Daniel Ellsberg: Obama tougher on leaks than any other U.S. president” (by News Source on August 2, 2010, “The Economist interviewed Daniel Ellsberg who pointed out President Obama’s hypocrisy”), War in context, http://warincontext.org/2010/08/02/daniel-ellsberg-obama-tougher-on-leaks-than-any-other-us-president/
Wikipedia
“WikiLeaks soldier grew up in Wales” (Simon Gaskell), July 29, 2010, Wales online, http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/07/29/wikileaks-soldier-grew-up-in-wales-91466-26954831/]
In prosecuting Bradley Manning, “‘[U.S. President] Barack Obama has now indicted as many people for whistle blowing or leaks as all previous presidents put together,’” said Nixon-era whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg. “‘[He] has now prosecuted three people two of whom are being prosecuted for acts carried out under [President] George W. Bush and for which Bush chose not to prosecute — Thomas Drake, who is under indictment, and Shamai Leibowitz, who pleaded guilty…
“‘Obama’s position of not looking backward seems to apply only to crimes like torture or illegal warrantless surveillance: he’s given absolute amnesty to the officials of the Bush administration.
“‘In the case of Thomas Drake, who told a reporter about a billion-and-half-dollar waste at the NSA; and in the case of Shamai Leibowitz, who says he exposed acts to a blogger that he regarded as illegal, [President Obama] was willing to look backward and prosecute. With Manning, he has shown more eagerness to [prosecute].’”
Bradley Manning is (or was) a top-secret credentialed U.S. Army intelligence analyst (PFC formerly SPC) accused of leaking classified documents. The United States Army Criminal Investigation Command in May 2010 arrested and detained Manning without charge for more than a month in a military jail at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. In early July, the U. S. government brought two misconduct charges against Manning for “‘transferring classified data onto his personal computer and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system’ and ‘communicating, transmitting and delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source.’”
A leaked film appeared to show a U.S. Apache helicopter crew killing civilians in Baghdad. Manning is also “suspected as being the source of the 90,000 sensitive documents about the war in Afghanistan also published by WikiLeaks. Edited by Australian Julian Assange, WikiLeaks has not confirmed Manning as the source but the Swedish site is said to be prepared to defend Manning. Computer hacker Adrian Lamo is believed to have informed on Manning.
Bradley Manning was reportedly born to English parents in the United States in 1987 then moved to Wales at the age of 13 and moved back to the States halfway through his sixth form [secondary school] studies and joined the U.S. army.
Sources
“Daniel Ellsberg: Obama tougher on leaks than any other U.S. president” (by News Source on August 2, 2010, “The Economist interviewed Daniel Ellsberg who pointed out President Obama’s hypocrisy”), War in context, http://warincontext.org/2010/08/02/daniel-ellsberg-obama-tougher-on-leaks-than-any-other-us-president/
Wikipedia
“WikiLeaks soldier grew up in Wales” (Simon Gaskell), July 29, 2010, Wales online, http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/07/29/wikileaks-soldier-grew-up-in-wales-91466-26954831/]
Saturday, July 31, 2010
West values pillage, plunder, war: “Barbarism” - Petras
Excerpt from Petras article at People's Voice
“Western societies and states are moving inexorably toward conditions resembling barbarism; structural changes are reversing decades of social welfare and subjecting labor, natural resources and the wealth of nations to raw exploitation, pillage and plunder, driving living standards downward and provoking unprecedented levels of discontent.…
“[B]arbarism has emerged as a defining reality, product of the ascendancy of a militarist and parasitic financial ruling class. The barbarians are here and now, present within the frontiers of Western societies and states. They are dominant and aggressively pursuing an agenda which is continually reducing living standards, transferring public wealth to their private coffers, pillaging public resources, savaging constitutional rights in their pursuit of imperial wars, segregating and persecuting millions of immigrant workers and promoting the disintegration and diminution of the stable working and middle class. More than at any time in recent history, the top 1 percent of the population controls an increasing share of national wealth and income.”
Source: “Trends to Barbarism and Prospects for Socialism” (James Petras), July 31st, 2010, http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2010/07/31/trends-to-barbarism-and-prospects-for-so#more12754. James Petras is a former professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, author of more than 62 books, his latest Global Depression and Regional Wars: The United States, Latin America and the Middle East (Clarity Press, September 2009), published in 29 languages; and hundreds of journal articles [jpetras@binghamton.edu; http://petras.lahaine.org/index.phps].
Friday July 30 protests of U.S./Mexico militarization
The Border Network for Human Rights says militarization of the U.S./Mexico border is not without consequences. Increasing the number of armed agents and soldiers on the border does not enhance national security.
The rights group is protesting the deployment of National Guard troops on the U.S./Mexico border and has delivered a letter to U.S. Representative Silvestre Reyes urging him to lead congressional opposition to further militarization of the border.
The U.S. National Guard ordered by the Obama administration in further militarizing the border ─ tantamount to yet another act of war ─ is due to arrive Sunday [from a July 30, 2010, report from El Paso, Texas, KTSM, http://www.ktsm.com/news/border-network-protests-troop-deployment]. Congressman Silvestre Reyes represents Texas' 16th congressional district.
“Western societies and states are moving inexorably toward conditions resembling barbarism; structural changes are reversing decades of social welfare and subjecting labor, natural resources and the wealth of nations to raw exploitation, pillage and plunder, driving living standards downward and provoking unprecedented levels of discontent.…
“[B]arbarism has emerged as a defining reality, product of the ascendancy of a militarist and parasitic financial ruling class. The barbarians are here and now, present within the frontiers of Western societies and states. They are dominant and aggressively pursuing an agenda which is continually reducing living standards, transferring public wealth to their private coffers, pillaging public resources, savaging constitutional rights in their pursuit of imperial wars, segregating and persecuting millions of immigrant workers and promoting the disintegration and diminution of the stable working and middle class. More than at any time in recent history, the top 1 percent of the population controls an increasing share of national wealth and income.”
Source: “Trends to Barbarism and Prospects for Socialism” (James Petras), July 31st, 2010, http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2010/07/31/trends-to-barbarism-and-prospects-for-so#more12754. James Petras is a former professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, author of more than 62 books, his latest Global Depression and Regional Wars: The United States, Latin America and the Middle East (Clarity Press, September 2009), published in 29 languages; and hundreds of journal articles [jpetras@binghamton.edu; http://petras.lahaine.org/index.phps].
Friday July 30 protests of U.S./Mexico militarization
The Border Network for Human Rights says militarization of the U.S./Mexico border is not without consequences. Increasing the number of armed agents and soldiers on the border does not enhance national security.
The rights group is protesting the deployment of National Guard troops on the U.S./Mexico border and has delivered a letter to U.S. Representative Silvestre Reyes urging him to lead congressional opposition to further militarization of the border.
The U.S. National Guard ordered by the Obama administration in further militarizing the border ─ tantamount to yet another act of war ─ is due to arrive Sunday [from a July 30, 2010, report from El Paso, Texas, KTSM, http://www.ktsm.com/news/border-network-protests-troop-deployment]. Congressman Silvestre Reyes represents Texas' 16th congressional district.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Lasting consequences
There is no escaping the protracted fallout of invasion and occupation. There is no cure apart from stopping invasion, ending occupation.
Re-reporting, editing, brief comment by Carolyn Bennett
DOMESTIC DESERTION
9-11, 9-11! Call to war abandons U.S. victims
House Rejects Bill to Help Sick Ground Zero Workers
Soldier suicides ignored
The U.S. government has approved and sealed legislation hemorrhaging more deficit spending including $37 billion [pushing past a $ trillion] for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the U.S. House of Representatives “failed to pass a $7.4 billion bill to provide free healthcare and compensation payments to U.S. rescue and cleanup workers who were exposed to dangerous toxic chemicals at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 attacks.”
Soldier suicide has risen above the rate among civilians since the Vietnam War. Between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009, 160 active-duty Army personnel committed suicide. A third of soldiers take at least one prescription drug. Fourteen percent of them take powerful painkillers. The U.S. Army report citing the figures “faulted commanders for ignoring rising mental health, drug and crime issues among soldiers.”
INVASION, OCCUPATION
THEFT, DISRUPTION
DISEASE, DEATH
RESISTANCE, RETALIATION
Afghanistan
As the month ends, July goes on record as the deadliest (63 troop deaths) for the U. S.’s nearly nine-year invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The missing bodies of Navy sailor Jarod Newlove (Renton, Washington) and sailor Justin McNeley (Wheat Ridge, Colorado) were found earlier in the week.
KABUL: A NATO vehicle crash into a civilian car killing occupants of that car has led today to rioting outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Witnesses reported four passengers died when one of two military vehicles moving in convoy hit the civilian car. In 2006, a similar traffic incident led to massive riots that shook the capital and left at least 14 people dead. Young Afghan men responded by throwing stones and shouting ‘death to foreigners’ and “‘death to [Afghan president Hamid] Karzai.’”
Iraq
Billions of U.S. deficit dollars pumped into Iraq’s reconstruction have failed to rebuild the country’s ravaged infrastructure. “Money was just spent,” British journalist Patrick Cockburn said today on Democracy Now. “Nobody quite knew where it went. This was happening well after we knew that fraud had been occurring everywhere... Up to quite recently, there seems to have been a free-for-all with Iraqi funds.…”
Moreover, Iraq’s children are sick and dying as Japan’s children suffered and died in the fallout of World War II. “A new medical study has found dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukemia among people in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, a city bombarded by U.S. Marines in 2004.
Infant mortality is more than four times higher than in neighboring Jordan, eight times higher than in Kuwait. Cancer rates exceed those reported by survivors of the U.S. atomic bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Iraqi cases are “‘similar to the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to ionizing radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout.”
FALLUJAH west: One soldier died and five people suffered wounds when a bomb exploded on a parked motorcycle near an army checkpoint.
MOSUL north: One police officer died and another two suffered wounds near the convoy of a police chief
BAGHDAD north: Sixteen people died (among them nine security personnel) and 14 suffered wounds Thursday when several bombs hit Baghdad’s Sunni district of Al-Adhamiyah. Three soldiers died and 12 suffered wounds Thursday when a car bomb exploded near an army base in Al-Sharqat, north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province. On different routes to the scene of the attacks, 13 people died among them three soldiers and three police officers. Among the wounded were seven police officers and two civil members of civil defense.
Sources and links
Democracy Now headlines July 30, 2010, http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/30/headlines
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/29/patrick_cockburn_on_missing_billions_in
“Afghans riot in Kabul after deadly NATO crash Module body,” July 30, 2010,
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100730/world/afghanistan_unrest_accident_riot_1
“16 dead, 14 wounded in Baghdad attacks,” AFP July 30, 2010, http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100730/twl-iraq-unrest-575b600.html
Re-reporting, editing, brief comment by Carolyn Bennett
DOMESTIC DESERTION
9-11, 9-11! Call to war abandons U.S. victims
House Rejects Bill to Help Sick Ground Zero Workers
Soldier suicides ignored
The U.S. government has approved and sealed legislation hemorrhaging more deficit spending including $37 billion [pushing past a $ trillion] for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the U.S. House of Representatives “failed to pass a $7.4 billion bill to provide free healthcare and compensation payments to U.S. rescue and cleanup workers who were exposed to dangerous toxic chemicals at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 attacks.”
Soldier suicide has risen above the rate among civilians since the Vietnam War. Between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009, 160 active-duty Army personnel committed suicide. A third of soldiers take at least one prescription drug. Fourteen percent of them take powerful painkillers. The U.S. Army report citing the figures “faulted commanders for ignoring rising mental health, drug and crime issues among soldiers.”
INVASION, OCCUPATION
THEFT, DISRUPTION
DISEASE, DEATH
RESISTANCE, RETALIATION
Afghanistan
As the month ends, July goes on record as the deadliest (63 troop deaths) for the U. S.’s nearly nine-year invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The missing bodies of Navy sailor Jarod Newlove (Renton, Washington) and sailor Justin McNeley (Wheat Ridge, Colorado) were found earlier in the week.
KABUL: A NATO vehicle crash into a civilian car killing occupants of that car has led today to rioting outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Witnesses reported four passengers died when one of two military vehicles moving in convoy hit the civilian car. In 2006, a similar traffic incident led to massive riots that shook the capital and left at least 14 people dead. Young Afghan men responded by throwing stones and shouting ‘death to foreigners’ and “‘death to [Afghan president Hamid] Karzai.’”
Iraq
Billions of U.S. deficit dollars pumped into Iraq’s reconstruction have failed to rebuild the country’s ravaged infrastructure. “Money was just spent,” British journalist Patrick Cockburn said today on Democracy Now. “Nobody quite knew where it went. This was happening well after we knew that fraud had been occurring everywhere... Up to quite recently, there seems to have been a free-for-all with Iraqi funds.…”
Moreover, Iraq’s children are sick and dying as Japan’s children suffered and died in the fallout of World War II. “A new medical study has found dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukemia among people in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, a city bombarded by U.S. Marines in 2004.
Infant mortality is more than four times higher than in neighboring Jordan, eight times higher than in Kuwait. Cancer rates exceed those reported by survivors of the U.S. atomic bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Iraqi cases are “‘similar to the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to ionizing radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout.”
FALLUJAH west: One soldier died and five people suffered wounds when a bomb exploded on a parked motorcycle near an army checkpoint.
MOSUL north: One police officer died and another two suffered wounds near the convoy of a police chief
BAGHDAD north: Sixteen people died (among them nine security personnel) and 14 suffered wounds Thursday when several bombs hit Baghdad’s Sunni district of Al-Adhamiyah. Three soldiers died and 12 suffered wounds Thursday when a car bomb exploded near an army base in Al-Sharqat, north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province. On different routes to the scene of the attacks, 13 people died among them three soldiers and three police officers. Among the wounded were seven police officers and two civil members of civil defense.
Sources and links
Democracy Now headlines July 30, 2010, http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/30/headlines
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/29/patrick_cockburn_on_missing_billions_in
“Afghans riot in Kabul after deadly NATO crash Module body,” July 30, 2010,
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100730/world/afghanistan_unrest_accident_riot_1
“16 dead, 14 wounded in Baghdad attacks,” AFP July 30, 2010, http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100730/twl-iraq-unrest-575b600.html
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