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Fifth Column

American Leftists Now Openly (Criminally) Inciting The Military To Mutiny

2007-10-06

Country music legend Willie Nelson, literary icon Gore Vidal, Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega, author and radio host Thom Hartmann, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, and dozens of other prominent Americans have signed a letter asking the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. military personnel to refuse orders to launch an aggressive war on Iran. The letter has been posted as a petition for others to sign at http://www.dontattackiran.org The text of the letter follows: ATTENTION: Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. Military Personnel: Do not attack Iran. Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be illegal. Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be criminal. We, the citizens of the United States, respectfully urge you, courageous men and women of our military, to refuse any order to preemptively attack Iran, a nation that represents no serious or immediate threat to the United States. To attack Iran, a sovereign nation of 70-million people, would be a crime of the highest magnitude. Legal basis for our Request – Do not attack Iran: The Nuremberg Principles, which are part of US law, provide that all military personnel have the obligation not to obey illegal orders. The Army Field Manual 27-10, sec. 609 and UCMJ, art. 92, incorporate this principle. Article 92 says: "A general order or regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the law of the United States " Any provision of an international treaty ratified by the United States becomes the law of the United States. The United States is a party and signatory to the United Nations Charter, of which Article II, Section 4 states, "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state " As Iran has not attacked the United States, and as the U.S. is a party and signatory to the Charter, any attack on Iran by the U.S. would be illegal under not only international law but under the U.S. Constitution which recognizes our treaties as the Supreme Law of the Land. When you joined the military, you took an oath to defend our Constitution. Following the orders of your government or superior does not relieve you from responsibility under international law. Under the Principles of International Law recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal, complicity in the commission of war crime is a crime under international law. Background: The Bush Administration's charges against Iran have not been proven. Neither the development of nuclear weapons, nor providing assistance to Iraq would, if proven, constitute justification for an illegal war. An attack on Iran might prompt the formidable Iranian military to attack U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. Thousands of our soldiers might be killed or captured as prisoners of war. A U.S. attack against Iranian nuclear facilities could also mean the deaths, from radiation poisoning, of tens of thousands of innocent Iranian civilians. The people of Iran have little control over their government, yet would suffer tremendously should the U.S. attack. Bombing raids would amount to collective punishment, a violation of the Geneva Convention, and would surely sow the seeds of hatred for generations to come. Children make up a quarter of Iran's population. Above all, we ask you to look at the record of our actions in Iraq, which U.S. intelligence admits is “a cause celebre for jihadists” – a situation that did not exist before we attacked. We must face the fact that our rash use of military solutions has created more enemies, and made American families less safe. Diplomacy, not war, is the answer. Know the Risks Involved in Refusing an Illegal Order or Signing This Statement: We knowingly and willingly make this plea, aware of the risk that, in violation of our First Amendment rights, we could be charged under remaining sections of the unconstitutional Espionage Act or other unconstitutional statute, and that we could be fined, imprisoned, or barred from government employment. We make this plea, also aware that you have no easy options. If you obey an illegal order to participate in an aggressive attack on Iran, you could potentially be charged with war crimes. If you heed our call and disobey an illegal order you could be falsely charged with crimes including treason. You could be falsely court martialed. You could be imprisoned. (To talk to a lawyer or to learn more about possible consequences, contact The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, Courage to Resist, Center on Conscience and War, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild 415-566-3732, or the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487.) ** Final request: Our leaders often say that military force should be a last resort. We beg you to make that policy a reality, and refuse illegal orders to attack Iran. We promise to support you for protecting the American public and innocent civilians abroad. Our future, the future of our children and their children, rests in your hands. You know the horrors of war. You can stop the next one. Sincerely, Daniel Ellsberg, Thom Hartmann, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Cynthia McKinney, Willie Nelson, Cindy Sheehan, Norman Solomon, Elizabeth de la Vega, Gore Vidal, Ann Wright, James Abourezk, former U.S. Senator, (D) South Dakota Stacy Bannerman, Author, "When the War Came Home", Military Families Speak Out Charter Board member John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney and author of "Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush." Amy Branham, Gold Star Mother of Sgt. Jeremy R. Smith, US Army Reserves, Nov. 1981-Feb. 2004 Blase Bonpane, Ph.d, Director OFFICE OF THE AMERICAS David Clennon, Actor/activist Tim Carpenter, Executive Director, Progressive Democrats of America Daniel Ellsberg, author of "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers." David Cobb, 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate Jeff Cohen, author/media critic Elizabeth de la Vega, former federal prosecutor and author of U.S. v. George W. Bush Karen Dolan, Director, Cities for Progress/Cities for Peace Anne Feeney, activist/folksinger or Local 1000, AFM Mike Ferner, Navy corpsman; Secretary, Veterans for Peace Bob Fertik, President Democrats.com Laura Flanders, Radio Host on Air America Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space Lila Garrett, KPFK Host of “Connect the Dots” Liberty Godshall, writer, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council Hon. Jackie Goldberg, California Assembly Member (AD 45), retired. Kevin Alexander Gray, writer, and organizer with the Harriet Tubman Freedom House Project Representative Betty Hall, Hillsborough District 5, New Hampshire General Court David L. Harris, MD Tom Hayden Thom Hartmann, author and Air America radio host Valerie Heinonen, o.s.u., Ursulines of Tildonk for Justice and Peace Jenny Heinz , member of CodePink, member of Granny Peace Brigade Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Los Angeles Michael Jay, Steering Committee, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles Charles Jenks, co-founder and editor of traprockpeace.org Justice Through Music Antonia Juhasz, author, The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time Jerry Kass, playwright and professor at Columbia University Dr, Nazir Khaja ,Chairman, Islamic Information Service, Los Angeles, CA. Mimi Kennedy, National Chair, Progressive Democrats of America Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor, Tikkun and Chair, the Network of Spiritual Progressives Summer Lipford, Gold Star Mother,NC 28677 David Lindorff, Author, The Case for Impeachment Alice Lynn, Delegate, California Democratic Party (41st AD) Ben Manski, Executive Director, Liberty Tree Ray McGovern, Army infantry/intelligence officer, 1962-64; CIA analyst 1964-90. Cynthia Mckinney, former Congresswoman Barbara Mills-Bria, Be The Change-USA Bill Moyer, Executive Director, Backbone Campaign Willie Nelson, Entertainer, Peace Activist Annie Nelson, Sustainable Biodiesel/Peace Activist Honorable Eric Oemig – Washington State Senator Geov Parrish, Executive Director Peace Action of Washington Jacob Park, Founder, A28. Brad Parker, Officer of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party Bill Perry, Director, Delaware Valley Veterans For America Gareth Porter, investigative journalist and historian Marcus Raskin, member of National Security Council Staff under President Kennedy Dorothy Reik, President, Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains Coleen Rowley, retired FBI Agent and former Chief Division Counsel of Minneapolis Division of the FBI Bill Scheurer, Editor, PeaceMajority Report Randi Scheurer, IL-Dist. 8, Congressional Candidate Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace Alice Slater, Abolition 2000 New York Norman Solomon, Author and syndicated columnist David Swanson, Afterdowningstreet.org John Stauber, Co-author, "Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq" Jonathan Tasini, PDA NY Ethel Tobach, Ph. D., member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility Tina Richards CEO Grassroots Americaredith, Gold Star Mother, Proud Mom of Lt Ken Ballard- KIA 5.30.04 Gore Vidal, Author Marcy Winograd, President, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles Ann Wright, US Army Colonel (Retired) and US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war. Kevin Zeese on behalf of Voters for Peace and Democracy Rising Velvet Revolution ** These resources are publicly available, and our offering them does not indicate that these organizations support this petition.

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Fifth Column

Infighting splits US war protesters

2007-06-03

The American peace movement has been plunged into disarray after failing to persuade the new-look Congress to stop the war, amid mounting warnings of a summer bloodbath in Iraq. When its most high-profile controversial figurehead - bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan - quit the anti-war campaign and the Democratic party in disgust last week, her resignation statement revealed the deep divisions. Now opponents of President Bush are warning that the anti-war movement and the Democrats have little time to salvage their credibility if they want to end the war - and take the credit for it. . . . But while some believe that Sheehan may return to the peace movement after a spell out of the limelight, she seems unlikely to kiss and make up with the Democrats - or one of their most famous support groups, MoveOn.org - which has become the other high-profile face of the US anti-war movement. She called MoveOn's reputation as a big player in the anti-war left 'hilarious', accusing it of being so tied in to the Democrats and their electoral cause that they clammed up when the party failed to protest about the war. Military Families Speak Out admitted that the anti-war movement was 'fragmenting' - a view endorsed by the Crawford Peace House, a campaign based near Bush's ranch, which is calling for the anti-war movement to 'regroup'. 'The peace movement is in disarray. It's run by the Democrats and they are scrambling to try to show that they are anti-war, but no one is fooled any more, and Cindy Sheehan just added an exclamation mark to that,' said John Walsh, a commentator for the leftwing online newsletter Counterpunch. It seems we have an antiwar movement composed of three distinct factions: 1. Principled pacifists who believe all use of force is immoral. (Example: Quakers.) These people are sincere, honorable, well-intentioned, disconnected from reality, and damned lucky to live in a country where men with guns keep reality at a safe distance from them. 2. People who aren't against the war so much as they are rooting for the other side. (Examples: Mother Sheehan; CAIR.) 3. People who are out for their own short-term political gain, and are amoral enough to not mind a few thousand of their fellow citizens getting killed if they think it'll juice their poll numbers. (Example: MoveOn.org and its wholly-owned subsidiary, the Democrat Party.) As they are not above losing a war to get elected ("I was for it before I was against it."), they are certainly not above using groups #1 and 2 and then discarding them when their utility runs out. Groups #1 and 2 are just now figuring this out.

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Home Front: WoT

Anti-War Soldier Site is an Astroturf

2006-10-29

from Greyhawk. Excerpts: But first, a look at the activist career of Jonathan Hutto, the "front man" of this organization. In the initial media coverage of this story he was described as "a Navy seaman based in Norfolk, Va., who set up the Web site a month ago." But that's a humble description of a well-traveled man. The full truth - while easy to discover - is a bit more complex ... 1999-2004: Hutto works for "non-profit organizations", including Amnesty International 2001: In his capacity as an Amnesty International spokesperson he appears as a speaker in an event touted as a "Militant Labor Forum" by the "socialist newsweekly" The Militant. 2002: Hutto has risen to the position of Amnesty International's Membership Program Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Region (seen here - with megaphone - "rallying the troops"). 2003: The United States invades Iraq 2004: Hutto joins the Navy, and serves as a Mass Communications Specialist and Photographer aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. Summer, 2006: He is recognized as the Theodore Roosevelt's outstanding "Blue Jacket of the Quarter (BJOQ)" Hutto, a native of Atlanta, joined the Navy two years and six months ago, and has been a member of TR’s Photo Lab for two years. “Being selected as BJOQ gives me a strong sense of accomplishment,” Hutto said. “It feels good to have the vote of confidence in my abilities from my chain of command.” As assistant 3M coordinator for Admin Department, Hutto spends a lot of his time performing maintenance and making sure Admin Department’s spaces are in top shape. Hutto hopes to make third class petty officer off of this past advancement exam, and wants to earn his surface warfare qualification. September 26, 2006: Hutto contributes an article in a socialist newsletter aimed at "the troops" detailing the racism and discrimination he suffered at the hands of the Navy. October 26, 2006: Fenton Communications holds a media teleconference to announce the launch of the "Appeal for Redress" web site. News stories that follow describe Hutto simply as "a Navy seaman based in Norfolk, Va., who set up the Web site a month ago." It would appear that among his other accomplishments, Hutto is very skilled at web page design. dry humor here - it's a professionally done site. By whom, you ask? Well, by ... Fenton Communications, a "public relations" group whose lengthy client list includes Fourth Freedom, Military Families Speak Out, and MoveOn.org. They are also the group that coordinated the instant media buzz over Cindy Sheehan. Right. That's where I remember the Fenton name. TrueMajority -- an antiwar group founded by Ben Cohen, one of the creators of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream -- hired Fenton Communications, a Washington public relations firm that has worked intermittently with Sheehan over the past year to coordinate media coverage. TrueMajority and Ben and Jerry's are also Fenton clients, by the way. 2. Fourth Freedom Forum, (another of Fenton's clients), is the actual "owner" of the Appeal for Redress web site. According to the NY Sun, it was David Cortright, president of the Fourth Freedom Forum (and author), who approached Fenton to represent Appeal for Redress. 3, 4, 5 - The groups actually listed as sponsoring organizations on the web page: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Veterans For Peace. Of those, only Military Families Speak out is a listed Fenton client.)

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Home Front: Politix

Harvard Rantfest: Stop this War John (Kerry), Grow Some Balls

2006-03-13

Anti-war protesters amassed at the Kennedy School of Government on Friday, when 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass) spoke with former Senator Max Cleland and a group of veterans to a packed John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum. While Kerry came to Harvard for the premiere of “Hidden Wounds,” a documentary on veterans of the war in Iraq suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the event took a political turn as several dozen protesters gathered together at 79 JFK Street. “Bush Lied. Kerry Complied. Bring the troops home now,” they chanted outside the Kennedy School. The protest was sponsored by the organizations Not One More (NOM) and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) as part of their continued effort to provoke a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. One man, who was sitting inside the forum, called out to Kerry after the documentary. “Stop this war, John, grow some balls” the man said. “You can do something, John.” The man was taken out of the forum, but his message did not fall on deaf ears. “I wish that young man who stood up was still here because those of you who know me, know that I don’t shy away from any conversation on any subject,” Kerry said. “I understand the anxiety and the frustration people feel here in this country.” But Kerry emphasized that the purpose of the forum was for the discussion of the documentary and PTSD. Which afflicts half of the Democratic Party. The documentary, which was made by New England Cable Network (NECN), follows three soldiers through their experience in Iraq and their return to life at home. “The first definition of patriotism back here at home for all of us is to keep faith to those who wore the uniform for our country,” Kerry said. At the event, Kerry introduced a new funding push he is making in Congress to allocate $100 million to Veteran Centers for the screening and treatment of PTSD. Cleland, who lost both legs and half an arm in 1968 when he was serving in the Vietnam War, took the stage with Kerry before the screening.

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Fifth Column

Cindy Sheehan Called 'Desperate' For Media Attention

2005-10-26

(CNSNews.com) - Like many other anti-war demonstrators, Cindy Sheehan has been waiting for the 2,000th American to be killed in Iraq. When that happened on Tuesday, Sheehan, the mother of one of those slain soldiers, resumed her protest in front of the White House -- a tactic that one of her critics called "desperate." "She will do anything to get publicity. Cindy Sheehan has been blown off the public map by [Hurricane] Katrina and [Hurricane] Wilma. She is desperate," said David Horowitz, the co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of the Popular Culture and a former 1960s radical turned conservative. "Cindy Sheehan has gone from disgracing her son's memory to becoming a caricature of someone who exploits a tragedy for her own self aggrandizement, to someone who is on her way to becoming a rich and famous harridan," Horowitz told Cybercast News Service. Horowitz added that Sheehan has "nothing interesting to say, except to parrot lines written by [left-wing filmmaker] Michael Moore and [former U.S. Attorney General] Ramsey Clarke. "Who cares what Cindy Sheehan thinks? The only thing she has done in her life is given birth to a heroic young man who she has, in word and deed, disowned," Horowitz added, referring to Sheehan's son Casey, who was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004. On Tuesday, a moment the anti-war movement had been anticipating for weeks, the 2,000th U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq, according to media reports. A coalition of groups, including Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out and the American Friends Service Committee were planning nationwide "events" to claim that "the country's pro-peace majority wants Congress to stop the deaths by stopping the dollars that are funding the war." But Horowitz dismissed the anti-war left as a movement to help the terrorists win the battle for Iraq. "[Two thousand military deaths is] a small price to pay for the freedom of 50 million people [in Iraq], not to mention the safety of 300 million [in the U.S.]," Horowitz said. "We have not been attacked since 9/11. There is only one reason for that and that is young men and women like Casey Sheehan were willing to give their lives for the rest of us, which makes even more disgusting the lack of gratitude of his own mother and all the people gathered with her for that sacrifice," he added. Sheehan's fading media star has been noted by other media outlets. An Oct. 17 article in the San Francisco Tri Valley Herald newspaper was titled, "Peace Mom Slips From Public Stage" and noted that Sheehan's "name is fading from headlines." The article quoted Columbia University professor and former 1960s anti-war activist Todd Gitlin, as noting that Sheehan lacked the "star status and historical staying power of some 1960s activists ..." Sheehan's decision to move to Berkeley, Calif., following the breakup of her marriage, might also accelerate the dimming of her celebrity as a grieving mom from Middle America. Instead, she will increasingly be seen as a promoter for the radical left, according to Horrowitz. "I needed a place to stay and some friends got me an apartment," Sheehan said, according to the Berkeley Daily Planet. But Horowitz noted that Berkeley is a bastion of left-wing politics and said the relocation was "the perfect place for Sheehan." Sheehan also recently signed a contract with the speaker's bureau Speaking Matters LLC. Representatives from the group have not returned repeated requests from Cybercast News Service to discuss Sheehan's schedule and speaking fees.

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Fifth Column

Liberals drop public Sheehan role

2005-08-31

Powerful liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn.org are taking a less active role in Cindy Sheehan's anti-war activities in the wake of criticism that they may have muddied her message. Or, they realize she's becoming a liability for them. The groups, which played a major role in Mrs. Sheehan's monthlong vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, are scaling back their involvement as Mrs. Sheehan prepares to leave Texas today on a bus tour to Washington. Critics had said it appeared that Mrs. Sheehan had morphed from a mother grieving the loss of her son in Iraq into a pawn of liberal advocacy groups. "The vigil started as the blubbering of an obnoxious moonbat a very grass-roots thing and then grew because groups like MoveOn were drawn to what Cindy was doing and wanted to offer their support," said Wade Fletcher of Mintwood Media Collective, a Washington-based public-relations group advising the Sheehan demonstrators. "Now we're kind of bringing it back to the original grass roots," he added. For example, the protesters will no longer receive strategic and political advice from Fenton Communications, a large, left-wing public-relations firm. Fenton has obtained 100% of what it wanted, so it's time to 'move on'. That role reverts to Mintwood, a small operation that helped Mrs. Sheehan early on. Also taking a lesser role will be MoveOn.org, which spent August running anti-Bush TV and newspaper ads featuring Mrs. Sheehan. The group, which posted images on its Web site likening the president to Adolf Hitler, once pledged to raise $2 million to keep Sheehan ads on the air. Mr. Soros won't be pledging any money to the New Orleans relief, so they should still get their moola. Organizers of the bus tour expressed hope that they might continue to receive financial donations from powerful liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn and TrueMajority, which was founded by Ben & Jerry's ice cream magnate Ben Cohen. But they are focused on soliciting contributions from people who oppose the Iraq war. "We're renting the buses; we're collecting the funding to make it all possible, so this is a grass-roots effort," said organizer Nancy Lessin of Military Families Speak Out, one of four groups paying for the bus tour. The other groups sponsoring the trip are Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. Organizers said they would continue to receive support from high-profile communist groups such as Code Pink, a women's group that holds weekly war protests outside Walter Reed Army Hospital. Code Pink protesters brandish signs with such messages as "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton." Despite the effort to return Mrs. Sheehan's cause to a grass-roots movement, she has made no attempt to ratchet down her raving rhetoric. Yesterday, for example, she railed against "the reckless commander in chief" for waging a "cowardly and ignoble war." White House spokeswoman Dana Perino declined to criticize Mrs. Sheehan, noting that "the president has said that the right to free speech is one of the most treasured freedoms in America." I'd say Cindy's 15 minutes are about up. Expect her words will resurface in September, 2006, in various campaign ads.

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Fifth Column

Anti-War protests today

2003-10-25

Communists and other malcontents Anti-war protesters gathering in Washington, San Francisco Protesters began converging on the nation’s capital Friday for what they hope will be the largest anti-war demonstration since the fall of Baghdad. (Since Saddam was deposed) Organizers predicted tens of thousands of people would turn out Saturday in Washington for a march and speeches calling for the removal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Thousands of demonstrators also were expected to flock to San Francisco at the same time for the largest protests there since April, when more than 10,000 people filled the streets. ’’The U.S. government has no right to try and recolonize Iraq,’’ said Peta Lindsay, national youth and student coordinator for International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which organized the protests with another group, United for Peace and Justice. (Two notorious communists organizations) To counter the anti-war demonstrations, the Washington chapter of Free Republic, an independent grassroots conservative group, also planned a rally for Saturday at the U.S. Capitol, where organizers expect about 1,000 people. (Go Freepers!) ’’We support our troops and the commander in chief and their mission,’’ said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group. Organizers of the anti-war protest in Washington said they expected most of the protesters to be high school and college students from 140 cities in the United States and Canada. They planned to gather at the Washington Monument before marching to the White House and Justice Department. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Martin Luther King III were among those expected to speak. (Clark and king....YUCK) ANSWER coordinator Brian Becker said Muslim groups, veterans, and families who have loved ones in Iraq or in the military also plan to attend. (No matter how REMOTELY connected) ’’We feel compelled to take part in this because we think this war is wrong,’’ said Charley Richardson, one of the co-founders of the group Military Families Speak Out. ’’It never should have been fought in the first place.’’ Richardson’s 25-year-old son, Joe, returned from Iraq over the summer. Richardson said his son supports ’’very strongly’’ his parents’ right to speak out. (So Joe supports FREE SPEECH, go figure) Wonder if Joe actually supports what Pop's saying? Vietnam veteran David Cline said he will attend the protest because he sees a lot of ’’eerie parallels to what we went through 30 years ago.’’ Cline is the national president of the 3,500-member Veterans for Peace. So the other millions of vets are for war? Most of these members have some VERY loose claims to the title ’veteran’. For the San Francisco protest, ANSWER and several other groups Bay Area United Against War, Not in Our Name, United for Peace and Justice, and the Vanguard Foundation arranged transportation so that protesters from Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and 27 California cities could attend. These guys really don’t get the U.S. or our values. They wanted Saddam to stay in power and they claim we trying to ‘colonize’ Iraq? I think some drug company could make a fortune on supplying these people some anti-depressants. If you want to view some candid talk from these people try www.protestwarrior.com.

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Fifth Column

Our Troops Are Now Oppressors, US Military Families Tell Bush

2003-08-16

Agence France Presse, Arab News The families of more than 600 US troops in Iraq have launched a campaign for their return, bitterly criticizing President George W. Bush’s reasons for going to war and what they see as his belittlement of the risks. “George Bush said, ‘Bring them on,’” said Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, referring to the president’s response to post-war attacks on US troops occupying post-war Iraq. “Those three words galvanized Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace and other veterans’ organizations to initiate the campaign we are launching today,” she said. Looks like the antiwar, anti-Bush machine has found some more fodder... “We say, ‘Bring them home now.’ Bring them home because our troops should not have been in Iraq in the first place. Bring them home because there was no imminent danger to the United States. Bring them home because there were no weapons of mass destruction. Bring them home because there was no link between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein,” said Lessin. Is there an echo in here? Seems we've heard this before... “We are here today to say it was wrong for the US to invade Iraq, it is wrong for the US to be occupying Iraq, and there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” It's a wrong thing to hate your country and try and subvert it... Members of her group rallied in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home of the 82nd Airborne Infantry. They stressed that most of them were Republicans, had voted for Bush and had supported the war based on intelligence presented early this year. I'd guess that's a flat-out lie. Not many Republicans were at the WTO protests in Seattle. Nancy's an AFL-CIO hack... “From proud liberators in the great American tradition, our troops have become oppressors and occupiers in a hostile nation,” said Susan Shuman, whose son is in the Massachusetts National Guard serving in Iraq. “Our troops are stuck in a quagmire of urban desert guerrilla warfare for which they are not prepared or equipped,” she said. Not sure if Susan is the animal rights activist Susan or the Penn State professor Susan, or if they're both the same person... “My question to Mr. Bush is, ‘How many more of our sons do you need to bring our children home?’” said Fernando Suarez de Solar, whose son, Jesus Alberto, was killed in action in Iraq. “How many American lives are worth one gallon of oil?,” he mused. What's the going price for 3000 American lives? Stan Goff of Raleigh, North Carolina, a 26-year career soldier and retired Special Forces master Sergeant, was bitter about the war. “You know, in all the administration’s fictions of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear programs and ... the phony Al-Qaeda connections that are being exposed as fabrications, this is not the rule of law,” he said. “This is the rule of bombs and bullets. These are rich men in very expensive suits conducting statecraft like gangsters." Stan was also one of the chorus saying that Afghanistan was all about oil. He seems to be associated with the Centre for Research on Globalisation... "The US does have a responsibility to Iraq and to the people of Iraq to clean up the mess that we have made,” said Charlie Richardson, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out. But, he added, “It can’t be done with US troops. In launching the ‘Bring Them Home Now’ campaign, we are calling on military families and others in the military and veterans communities to speak out against the use of our troops as cannon fodder ... against the reckless occupation of Iraq.”

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Iraq

Troops in Iraq to Serve Up to a Year

2003-08-13

All troops in Iraq should expect to serve for at least a year, with brief rest breaks in the region and possibly a few days at home, the commander of U.S. forces said Tuesday. That came as news to some soldiers. "It’s a one-year rotation," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told The Associated Press in an interview. "Every soldier has been told that they’ll be deployed for a year, and then at the end of the year we’ll be working to send them home." But some of the 148,000 soldiers in Iraq said nobody told them how long they would remain in the country, where guerrillas attack Americans daily and high temperatures often top 120 degrees. Pfc. Deacon Finkle, 20, of Dallas, screwed up his face — red from the heat — when asked how long he would be in Iraq. "Don’t know. No idea," he said. Willie. Spc. Jeff Ross, perched atop a bridge overlooking Baghdad’s dangerous Airport Highway, knew he was scheduled to be in Iraq for a year, saying: "We really don’t have a choice." "A year’s going to be rough. It’s going to be a long haul," said Ross, 22, of Hillsboro, Ore. "But I think we can do it. If it cools off a little bit, it’ll be all right." Joe. The issue of soldiers’ tours has been contentious, with troops and their families posting missives on the Internet criticizing their government for keeping U.S. forces in Iraq. Some express concern about "mission creep," in which what begins as a swift war turns into a long-term occupation that could cause heavy American casualties as Iraqis become more and more skeptical of U.S. promises to let them govern themselves. "They need to come home!" Kimberly, the wife of a reservist deployed in February, wrote on the Web site of the support organization Military Families Speak Out. "Our unit has no redeployment date in sight, and we are constantly told that they may even be extended." Things like that do happen in wartime... Sanchez said commanders were working hard to make soldiers’ lives more bearable, and many soldiers said they were getting new creature comforts such as better food, more air conditioning and access to television and the Internet. "We’ve been doing a tremendous amount for them," Sanchez said in his office in Saddam Hussein’s former palace, a copy of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s "Leadership" displayed on the bookshelf. He said soldiers were starting to get "outs" to rest camps inside Iraq to improve morale. "They get pulled off-line for two or three days and they get to rest in an environment that is essentially stress-free, as much as you can be inside of Iraq," he said. "They’ve got Internet, they’ll get TV, they’ll have air-conditioned space, they’ll get hot meals. In some places they have swimming pools, so we kind of get them to relax." Kind of like Vung Tau used to be in Vietnam... Sanchez also said 150 soldiers a day were being flown to the Persian Gulf state of Qatar for breaks, and that other R&R bases were planned for Jordan and Turkey. But on the Internet, some soldiers’ families criticized the vacations, saying commanders should instead work on getting the soldiers home for good. "My son-in-law has been in Iraq since March. ... He has been given orders that extend his stay until JULY 2004," reads a message signed "Bette" on the Web site of Military Families Speak Out. "His company just had a two-day vacation(?!) in Qatar. President Bush has just left for his MONTH-LONG vacation on his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Let’s send all of the troops to President Bush’s ranch and send the President to Iraq." Gosh, Bette. Maybe would should just make Iraq an accompanied tour and ship you over there to keep your old man company. Then you can take your chances with him. Sanchez also spoke of a proposal to give soldiers a "mid-tour break" to see their families. "The intent would be that between your fifth and 10th month of deployment you’d get 14 days of leave and be able to go home," Sanchez said, adding that he hoped the plan would be approved "within a couple of weeks." Good idea if we can’t get them home for a while. In Baghdad, some soldiers said life was slowly getting better. Sgt. 1st Class Charles Ragsdale, 34, of Atlanta, was guarding the Baghdad International Airport, which he said was becoming more livable. "The Army is doing a lot of things every day, every week, to improve the morale of the soldiers out here," he said. "They’re trying to get air conditioning. ... The chow’s getting better. There’s TV and movies. They’re doing the best they can." Okay, Rantburg service vets: tell me, a non-mil person, if this works for you.

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