GI Special:
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1.12.08
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GI SPECIAL 6A9:
Everybody’s Happy! Happy Iraqis #1
(AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) Iraqi women celebrate as U.S. army soldiers from 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment search their home during in the village of Abu Musa on the northern outskirts of Muqdadiyah, in Diyala province Jan. 10, 2008. “I’ve waited so long for some of those wonderful U.S. soldiers to come to my home and make me go outside so I can sit in the dirt in the wintertime. It’s such fun, and makes me love everything about America.” “Me too. Maybe some more will come tomorrow and do it again. Dare we to hope?”
“Yes yes! And you can be sure after this wonderful introduction to their culture, I just can’t wait for a chance to tell them right away if I see anybody planting a bomb to blow them up into little pieces. “Oh, me too, for sure, God willing. Doesn’t it make you feel so good to know they are here protecting you against people who would come to make you afraid and terrorize you? “Yes, yes, I thank George Bush and the U.S. Army every day for all the good things they are doing here. “Well, everybody in the village is so happy. We will plan ways we can give them some special thanks, as soon as possible. We will be sure to make it a very big surprise.”
#2
(AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) A delighted local woman is happy to see a U.S. army soldier from 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment appear at her door, as other soldiers search homes during Operation Phantom Phoenix in the village of Abu Musa on the northern outskirts of Muqdadiyah, Diyala Province, Iraq Jan. 10, 2008. In this photo, she is seen making the traditional rural Iraqi gesture of greeting and welcome as she sheds tears of joy and gratitude that she has been chosen to invite U.S. army soldiers into her humble dwelling to perform an ancient traditional ceremony which will save her from evil ones who may be hiding in her closets, under her bed, or anywhere at all. Although she knows it is hard work for them, she is begging them to completely rearrange every single one of her personal and household belongings and furniture so she and her family may be in peace.
She said it was so special for American soldiers to come and honor her by participating in this ancient ceremony, know as “Ka-leb” meaning in English, “Here come the nice soldiers.” Dating back to the happy days of the Mongol army visits centuries ago, this ceremony consists of welcoming visiting soldiers into the home of the villagers by chanting “Ka-leb Ka-leb Ka-leb”. The soldiers then pretend to be forcing their way into their homes. Next, the soldiers throw all the household belongings up high into the air, in every room, in order to see what shapes they form when they come down, which the woman of the house then uses to foretell the future for the foreign soldiers. If they have any.
#3
(AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) Iraqi children watch as U.S. army soldiers from 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment search their home in the village of Abu Musa on the northern outskirts of Muqdadiyah, Diyala Province, Jan. 10, 2008. Happy Iraqi children are thankful U.S. soldiers have come to protect them and make their lives better. They are deeply moved that the soldiers have come such a long way to visit their house, and look in every corner of every room to see how Iraqis live. The boy above said he is so thrilled he can’t wait until he is old enough to give U.S. army soldiers his own welcome to his village. He added he will never forget this wonderful experience as long as he lives. He said the U.S.A. soldiers have inspired him by their visit and that he wants to be a soldier too when he grows up. He promised to be a good boy, to study hard and to learn more about firearms in order to be ready to make an outstanding impression on the U.S. soldiers if they visit his village again. He promised also that he will get all his friends to help him.
MORE:
U.S. Soldiers Are Happy!! Two Respond To Bush Greeting
(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari) Two soldiers sort-of wave back at the traitor Bush, U.S. Camp Arifjan, Kuwait Jan. 12, 2008. Another takes his picture.
IRAQ WAR REPORTS
Eastern Baghdad Blast Kills 2 U.S. Troops, Wounds 1 Jan 10 (VOI) Two U.S. servicemen were killed and another was wounded in an explosive charge attack in eastern Baghdad, eyewitnesses said on Thursday. “An improvised explosive device detonated on Thursday afternoon near a U.S. patrol vehicle which was traveling from Ur neighborhood to al-Bunouk neighborhood, killing two soldiers and wounding another,” an eyewitness told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). U.S. forces cordoned off the site of the explosion, closed all nearby streets and evacuated the wounded soldier, another eyewitness said.
California Soldier Killed In Iraq
U.S. Army Pfc. Ivan E. Merlo, 19, of San Marcos, Calif. died Jan. 9, 2008, from wounds suffered in combat north of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
Illinois Soldier Killed In Iraq
Pfc. Phillip Pannier, 20, of Washburn, Ill. died Jan. 9, 2008, from wounds suffered in combat north of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
California Sgt. Killed In Iraq
U.S. Army Sgt. David Hart, 22, of Lake View Terrace, Calif. died Jan. 9, 2008, from wounds suffered in combat north of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
Fort Lewis Soldier Dies In Iraq Jan 11, 2:06 By AMY FORLITI, Associated Press Writer A 30-year-old Fort Lewis, Wash.-based soldier has died in Iraq, his family says. Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Pionk had been in the Army for nine years and began his second tour of duty in Iraq just five months ago, said his father, Duane Pionk. “Matthew was a great American soldier,” Duane Pionk said Thursday, adding that his son always helped those in need. “He was just a wonderful humanitarian in that way. The people in life that always had problems - he was there to help them.” The Duluth News Tribune reported that Matthew Pionk served with the 3rd Cavalry, 2nd Squadron, based at Fort Lewis. “He was a platoon sergeant. He led a squad of five people into a building to clear a building, and the terrorists, they had planted a bomb in there and they remotely detonated it after he was in there,” said Duane Pionk, of Superior, Wis.
Pionk was a native of Oliver, Wis., a small town near Superior, and graduated from high school in Superior in 1996. He had recently moved to Eveleth, on Minnesota's Iron Range, Duane Pionk said. He was married and leaves behind three children, ages 8, 6 and 3. He earned a Bronze Star during his first tour of duty for helping a fellow soldier who was injured, Duane Pionk said. “We're very proud of him,” his father said. “He was a wonderful father. He was a wonderful son. And he was a wonderful soldier.”
Soldier From Chesapeake Dies In Iraq Jan 10, 2008 WTKR Chesapeake native Staff Sergeant Jonathan Kilian Dozier died in Iraq. The 30 year old soldier was killed during ongoing operations in the Baqouba area and Diyala province in central Iraq, his father, Carl Dozier, said this afternoon. Dozier came from a family with a history of service. His relatives fought in the Civil War, both World Wars and Desert Storm. One of Dozier's kin, Thomas Lenwood Dozier, fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War as a private in the North Carolina Regiment. Carl Dozier's maternal grandfather, Kilian Lang, served as an artilleryman in the German army in World War I. His father, Wilbur, enlisted in the Coast Guard in August 1941, just months before the U.S. entered World War II following the sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Dozier said his son e-mailed him a photograph, taken on Christmas Day after his unit had a holiday meal - and just minutes before he was to go on an earlier mission. He said he did all he could to stay in touch with his son.
Washburn Soldier Deployed In October Killed In Iraq January 10, 2008 AP WASHBURN, Ill.: A soldier from central Illinois who was deployed to Iraq in October has been killed. Family members say 20-year-old Private First Class Phillip Pannier of Washburn was an infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division when he was killed. Donald Pannier says his family received word of his son's death earlier this week.
Phillip Pannier was a 2006 graduate of Roanoke-Benson High School, where he played football during his final two years there. His father says he wasn't interested in college and after a great deal of thought, decided upon the Army. He shipped out for basic training in July 2006. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made, his father said.
Bend Soldier Killed In Iraq Bombing January 10, 2008 By Deanne Goodman, KTVZ.COM A Bend soldier was killed in Iraq Wednesday. Zack McBride, 20, died in the explosion. The military said a bomb hidden in a house in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad blew up, killing six soldiers. McBride graduated from Mountain View High School in 2005. He's the fourth Central Oregon service member and second MVHS graduate killed in Iraq in the past year and a half.
This Is Not A Satire; “Small Arms Fire Targets The U.S. Troops” “Do You Know Why We Are Here? To Ensure Your Safety” Jan 10 by Sylvie Briand (AFP) [Excerpt] Four men are lined up along an earthen wall in a Sunni village north of Baghdad as US soldiers quiz them about Al-Qaeda. Captain Mike Stinchfield of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment leads a suspect in his 20s through the courtyard of a house where hens roam freely into a room with bare and dirty walls. “There is no Al-Qaeda here,” says one suspect. “But I can give you the names of Shiite militias” in a neighbouring village. Around 40 US soldiers arrived by helicopter early in the morning in the poor village of Assouad Barzani, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad.
Just then, small arms fire targets the US troops. In angry reply, they send some mortar rounds into the field from where the firing came. “Do you know why we are here? To ensure your safety,” Stinchfield, 37, tells the four suspects.
Just In Case You’re Living In A Delusion [Thanks to Phil G, who sent this in.] January 11, 2008 By Emily Wilson, AlterNet Department of Defense reports found that over 70 percent of the attacks in Iraq from 2004 to 2007 targeted U.S.-led coalition forces…..
The Battle Of Zambraniyah: U.S. Forces Defeat Insurgent Palm Trees
U.S. Army Bradley Fighting Vehicles defeat evildoing palm trees in Zambraniyah, 15 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Baghdad Jan. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Hamza Hendawi)
Massive U.S. Airstrike Near Baghdad:
40,000 Pounds Of Bombs Take Out Two Houses And Date Palm Groves 1.10.08 CBS/AP & Reuters U.S. warplanes unleashed one of the most intense airstrikes of the Iraq war Thursday, dropping 40,000 pounds of explosives in a thunderous 10-minute onslaught on suspected insurgent in Iraq safe havens in Sunni farmlands south of Baghdad. The mighty barrage - recalling the Pentagon's “shock and awe” raids during the 2003 invasion - appeared to mark a significant escalation in a countrywide offensive launched this week to try to cripple remaining insurgent strongholds. The Iraqi army officer, whose unit is in the Arab Jabour area, said the airstrikes began at 8 a.m. and set several date palm groves ablaze and destroyed two houses used by gunmen. He said soldiers confiscated documents and weapons including AK-47s.
REALLY BAD IDEA: NO MISSION; POINTLESS WAR: BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW
U.S. Army soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division run across a street during a patrol in Baiji December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Bob Strong
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Marion Grad In Critical State With Severe Burns After His Humvee Hit A Bomb January 10, 2008 Chronicle-Tribune
Army Staff Sgt. Collin J. Bowen, a 1988 graduate of Marion High School, was critically injured by a roadside bomb while on patrol Jan. 2 in Afghanistan. His family said Wednesday that Bowen is in critical but stable condition at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Bowen's brother, Justin, just returned from Texas after spending a few days with Collin at the hospital. Justin Bowen said his brother joined the Army right after high school and was stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland. After his tour of active duty, he settled in the Baltimore area and began taking classes at the University of Maryland. He also enlisted in the Army Reserve. He has been called to active duty four times since joining the reserves. The first three calls were for noncombat situations, such as doing security work at Baltimore Washington International Airport. On his fourth recall, he was assigned to a one-year tour of duty in Afghanistan. That tour was due to end Jan. 25, Justin Bowen said. Collin Bowen will celebrate his 38th birthday Jan. 18. Bowen e-mailed family and friends around Christmas to announce that he had completed his final mission. He said he felt “tired” and that his remaining weeks in Afghanistan would be used to decompress before returning to the United States. But he later e-mailed his brother Justin that his plans had changed. He had been asked by commanding officers if he would volunteer for one more mission, and Collin agreed. “It speaks to my brother's character,” Justin said, “because he's the bravest person I've ever met and maybe known of.” He was going out with a different group of soldiers than those with whom he usually worked. “This was not the normal people he was out with,” Justin said. Collin's final mission in Afghanistan commenced on Christmas Day and was scheduled to last about 10 days. Jan. 2, four people were riding in a Humvee in Khost, which is a volatile eastern province of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. The party consisted of three U.S. soldiers,
including Bowen, and an Afghan translator. Bowen's family believes he was driving the vehicle. A homemade roadside bomb exploded. According to an Associated Press report of a coalition statement, the bomb was “similar to those used by the Taliban.” One U.S. soldier, Sgt. Shawn Hill, 37, Wellford, S.C., was killed in the attack. The translator also lost his life, The Associated Press reported. The other two soldiers were injured in the attack. Collin Bowen's injuries were quite serious, Justin Bowen said. He suffered what doctors described to his family as full thickness burns, which is the equivalent of third-degree burn wounds, on about 50 percent of his body. He immediately underwent multiple surgeries in Afghanistan to save his life. By Friday, Bowen's injuries were still considered critical, but he was stable enough to transport. He was flown to a U.S. air base in Germany. After several hours of medical attention, he was flown to the Brooke Army Medical Center, just outside of San Antonio, where he arrived Saturday. Bowen's family - his parents, Mike Bowen and Carolyn Smith, who still live in Marion; his brothers Justin and Shelby; and his wife, Ursula, who had to leave the couple's three daughters, Erin, Katelyn and Gabriela, in Maryland - arrived Sunday in Fort Sam Houston. As for Collin, he underwent skin-graft surgery Sunday to replace skin on his extremities, according to his brother. He underwent another surgery Wednesday to address burn wounds on his face and head. The latter surgery lasted between seven and eight hours. Bowen also suffered burns to his lungs from inhaling the fumes from the explosion. He has been breathing through a ventilator. According to Justin Bowen, Collin's breathing is getting stronger, and his doctors have begun to wean him off of the breathing aid. He still has not regained consciousness, although he has been heavily sedated since the attack. Over the next week, the doctors' goals are to get him awake and responding, Justin said. The doctors seem optimistic that Collin will recover from the attack. Although his condition still is considered critical, he is stable. As for his family, they continue to hope for the best. “We're encouraged that we're going to get some responses from him in the very near future,” Justin said. “When he wakes up, there's going to be several of us waiting for him, and we're confident that's going to happen soon.” Justin Bowen and his family have been “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support Collin has received.
Collin's aunt, Cynthia Patton, has started a tribute page at the Web site www.CaringBridge.org. The site contains Collin's story and a journal to provide updates on his condition. There is also a guestbook where friends can leave messages. Justin hopes that regardless of individual opinions on the war, people will remember to support the troops. “It takes an incredible amount of bravery and courage for these men and women to put themselves in harm's way every day,” he said. “We honestly couldn't be more proud of my brother. He never backed down.”
U.S. Military Dictatorship Runs A Secret Prison At Bagram: “Some Detainees Have Been Held Without Charge For More Than Five Years, Officials Said” “Prisoners Have No Access To Lawyers” “The Red Cross Said The Prisoners Were Kept From Its Inspectors And Sometimes Subjected To Cruel Treatment” “The problem at Bagram hasn't gone away,” said Tina Foster, a New York human rights lawyer who has filed federal lawsuits on behalf of the detainees at Bagram. “The government has just done a better job of keeping it secret.” Jan 7, 2008 By TIM GOLDEN, NEW YORK TIMES [Excerpts] WASHINGTON – The American detention center, established at the Bagram military base as a temporary screening site after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, is now teeming with some 630 prisoners -- more than twice the 275 being held at Guantanamo. Meanwhile, the treatment of some prisoners on the Bagram base has prompted a strong complaint to the Pentagon from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the only outside group allowed inside the detention center.
In a confidential memorandum last summer, the Red Cross said dozens of prisoners had been held incommunicado for weeks or even months in a previously undisclosed warren of isolation cells at Bagram, two American officials said. The Red Cross said the prisoners were kept from its inspectors and sometimes subjected to cruel treatment in apparent violation of the Geneva Conventions, one of the officials said. Yet even as Bagram has expanded over the last three years, it has received a fraction of the attention that policymakers, Congress and human rights groups have devoted to Guantanamo. “The problem at Bagram hasn't gone away,” said Tina Foster, a New York human rights lawyer who has filed federal lawsuits on behalf of the detainees at Bagram. “The government has just done a better job of keeping it secret.” A push by some Defense Department officials to have Kabul authorize the indefinite military detention of “enemy combatants” -- adopting a legal framework like that of Guantanamo -- foundered in 2006 when aides to President Hamid Karzai persuaded him not to sign a decree that had been written with American help. Despite some expansion and renovation, the detention center remains a crude place where most prisoners are fenced into large metal pens, military officers and former detainees have said. Military personnel who know both Bagram and Guantanamo describe the Afghan site, on an American-controlled military base 40 miles north of Kabul, as far more spartan. Bagram prisoners have fewer privileges, less ability to contest their detention and no access to lawyers. Some detainees have been held without charge for more than five years, officials said. A Red Cross spokesman in Washington, Simon Schorno, said the organization would not comment on its discussions with the Defense Department. But in remarks about the organization's work in Afghanistan, its director of operations, Pierre Kraehenbuehl, emphasized on Dec. 13 that “not all places of detention and detainees” are made available to the group's inspectors. The two U.S. officials, who insisted on anonymity because of the confidentiality of Red Cross communications, suggested that the organization had been more forceful in private. They said the group had complained that detainees in the isolation area were sometimes subjected to harsh interrogations and were not reported to Red Cross inspectors until after they were moved into the main Bagram detention center and
formally registered -- after being held incommunicado for as long as several months. One former Bush administration official said the Pentagon told congressional leaders in September 2006 that a small number of prisoners held by Special Operations forces might not be registered within the 14-day period cited in a Defense Department directive issued that month. The exceptions were to be “approved at the highest levels,” the former official said. Hundreds of Bagram detainees have been released outright as part of an Afghan national reconciliation program. But by early 2006, internal Defense Department statistics showed that the average internment at Bagram was 14.5 months, and one Pentagon official said that figure has since risen. Afghan officials rejected pressure from Washington to adopt a detention system modeled on the Bush administration's “enemy combatant” legal framework, American officials said. Some Defense Department officials even urged the Afghan military to set up military commissions like those at Guantanamo, the officials said. But some U.S. officials say they have also had to reassess the Afghans' ability to hold more dangerous detainees. They said the detention center at Bagram would probably continue to hold hundreds of prisoners indefinitely. “The idea is that over time, some of our detainees at Bagram -- especially those at the lower end of the threat scale -- will be passed on to Afghanistan,” one senior military official said last year. “But not all. Bagram will remain an intelligence asset and a screening area.” And even now, the legal basis under which prisoners are being held at the Afghan detention center remains unclear. Another Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity because she was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue, said the detentions had been authorized “in a note from the attorney general stating that he recognizes that they have the legal authority under the law of war to hold enemy combatants as security threats if they choose to do so.” Afghan officials said they were still expecting virtually all of the Afghan prisoners held by the United States -- with the possible exception of a few especially dangerous detainees at Guantanamo -- to be handed over to them. A spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, Gen. Zaher Azimi, said, “What is agreed is that all the detainees should be transferred.”
TROOP NEWS
“Attempt Within The Pentagon To Politicize Promotions For Military Judge Advocates General Was Blocked Dec. 17 After Protests From Military Lawyers” White House Move Was Attempted Payback For Not Sucking Up To Bush Regime Rats December 31, 2007 By Rick Maze, Army Times [Excerpts] An attempt within the Pentagon to politicize promotions for military judge advocates general was blocked Dec. 17 after protests from military lawyers and threats from key lawmakers.
The plan, which called for “coordination” with the civilian general counsels of the services and the Department of Defense for the promotion of any JAG officers, was part of what appeared to be a routine revision of Pentagon policy and procedures for officer promotions. But on the last page of the 20-page main section of the document, dated Nov. 28, was a provision that several current and former JAGs say was intended to rein in JAGs who have been critical of Bush administration policies on torture and the rights of detainees, among other issues. “This is yet another attempt on the part of some people who would like to take control of judge advocates so they are no longer in a position to give their independent, apolitical, unbiased advice to senior leaders,” said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Edward F. Rodriguez, former president of the Judge Advocates Association. Cynthia Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the office of Defense Department General Counsel William Haynes decided Dec. 17 to withdraw the provision based on feedback from top JAGs. The JAG community viewed the proposed changes as retribution for their independent stance on some Bush administration policies, said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice. “It’s hard to see this as anything other than payback for the independence of the JAG corps,” Fidell said.
Court Overturns Iraq War Protester's Conviction Jan 11, 2008 (Reuters) WASHINGTON A U.S. appeals court on Friday overturned Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan's conviction for demonstrating without a permit on the White House sidewalk in 2005 and ordered a new trial. The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that Sheehan's conviction had been based on errors of law by the magistrate judge that eliminated the prosecutor's burden to show her criminal intent. Sheehan had been assessed a $50 fine and $25 administrative fee following the trial and conviction.
On September 26, 2005, Sheehan and four other members of an anti-war group approached the northwest gate of the White House and requested a meeting with President George W. Bush to discuss the Iraq war. After they were turned down, they walked a short distance and sat down on the White House sidewalk. By this time, more than 200 other people had assembled to protest the Iraq war. U.S. Park Police officers then instructed them to leave or face arrest. Sheehan was among those remaining on the sidewalk who were arrested and later convicted. Sheehan also argued that the National Park Service's regulations governing demonstrations near the White House are unconstitutional under the First Amendment right protecting freedom of speech and expression. The appeals court rejected that argument.
DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN THE SERVICE? Forward GI Special along, or send us the address if you wish and we’ll send it regularly. Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the war, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: The Military Project, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657
IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP
(Graphic: London Financial Times)
Resistance Action 01/10/08 Reuters & (KUNA) & Jan 11, 2008 (Reuters) MAHMUDIYA - A roadside bomb wounded three policemen when it hit their patrol in Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
Two Iraqis were killed and 10 wounded, all from the police and army, when a roadside bomb detonated after they arrived at a small road in central Baghdad where an earlier bomb had blown up inside an abandoned car, police said. The earlier explosion did not harm anyone. Two Iraqi soldiers were killed while another was injured when an IED exploded near their military convey patrolling areas in southern Kirkuk, a city in northern Iraq, said a security source Thursday. A source at Kirkuk's police told KUNA that the bombing occurred in Al-Rashad area south of Kirkuk.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. Frederick Douglas, 1852
“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787.
“When someone says my son died fighting for his country, I say, “No, the suicide bomber who killed my son died fighting for his country.” -- Father of American Soldier Chase Beattie, KIA in Iraq
One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head. The person who fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizen of Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions. Mike Hastie U.S. Army Medic Vietnam 1970-71 December 13, 2004
Get The Message?
Bahraini protestors hold up a picture of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah as others hold anti-US military base banners and Iraqi, Palestinian, Hezbollah, Lebanese and Bahraini flags during a demonstration against Bush's visit to Bahrain, outside the US embassy in Manama, Jan. 12, 2008. (AP Photo / Hasan Jamali)
NEED SOME TRUTH? CHECK OUT TRAVELING SOLDIER Telling the truth - about the occupation or the criminals running the government in Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance - whether it's in the streets of Baghdad, New York, or inside the armed forces. Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces. If you like what you've read, we hope that you'll join with us in building a network of active duty organizers. http://www.traveling-soldier.org/ And join with Iraq War vets in the call to end the occupation and bring our troops home now! (www.ivaw.org/)
OCCUPATION REPORT
Good News For The Iraqi Resistance!!
U.S. Occupation Commands’ Stupid Terror Tactics Recruit Even More Fighters To Kill U.S. Troops
A foreign occupation soldier from the U.S. army grabs an Iraqi citizen in the village of Sinsil on the northern outskirts of Muqdadiyah, Diyala province, Jan. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) [Fair is fair. Let’s bring 150,000 Iraqi troops over here to the USA. They can kill people at checkpoints, bust into their houses with force and violence, butcher their families, overthrow the government, put a new one in office they like better and call it “sovereign,” and “detain” anybody who doesn’t like it in some prison without any charges being filed against them, or any trial.] [Those Iraqis are sure a bunch of backward primitives. They actually resent this help, have the absurd notion that it’s bad their country is occupied by a foreign military dictatorship, and consider it their patriotic duty to fight and kill the soldiers sent to grab their country. What a bunch of silly people. How fortunate they are to live under a military dictatorship run by George Bush. Why, how could anybody not love that? You’d want that in your home town, right?]
OCCUPATION ISN’T LIBERATION BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
Welcome To The Family Wedding: See, Everything’s Just Lovely In Baghdad: “They Occupied Us And Destroyed Our Country For Five Years” “They Killed My Brother. I Hate Them” “Mohamed Joined The Iraqi Army 7 Months Ago And Has Yet To See A Single Paycheck” “A Few Shots Are Fired Beyond The Patrol” “We Don't Feel Safer,” Says Zainab. “If They Are Attacked, They Will Shoot Everyone” Jan 8 By Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor Son Mahmoud, at 13 the youngest in the family, was run off the road by a turning bus while riding his bicycle a month ago; parts of the bike were smashed and need repair. The second-oldest son, Mohamed, joined the Iraqi Army seven months ago, has been deployed to the dangerous Sunni city of Ramadi, and has yet to see a single paycheck. Indeed, amid the wedding preparations, emotions flare as lives changed by war are revealed. “They occupied us and destroyed our country for five years,” says a hairdresser brought in to do the girls' hair before the wedding. She is bitter, as she blow-dries daughter Amal: “They killed my brother. I hate them. No photos!” “It's not him!” interjects Methboub, in defense of an American visitor who has asked to photograph the preparations. On the second day of the wedding, the preparty preening is briefly interrupted as an American foot patrol comes into view outside, stepping along the broken pavement, then stopping for a time past the gate, prompting a quip that the wedding convoy won't be able to get through. A few shots are fired beyond the patrol.
“They come every day,” says Amal, as several relatives cluster around the second-story window for a look, careful to keep hidden behind the curtain. “We don't feel safer,” says Zainab. “If they are attacked, they will shoot everyone.” What does Amal think, when she sees the Americans? “Nothing. Fifteen more years. It's like the Iraqi Army.”
A Classic Example Of Imperial Arrogance: “We Try To Come Up With Iraqi Solutions For Iraqi Problems,” Said Stephen Fakan, The Leader Of A Provincial Reconstruction Team With U.S. Troops In Fallujah The U.S. military has praised the Maliki government for acknowledging it is not ready to handle security in much of Iraq, January 10, 2008 By Thomas E. Ricks and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post Staff Writers [Excerpts] In the year since President Bush announced he was changing course in Iraq with a troop “surge” and a new strategy, U.S. military and diplomatic officials have begun their own quiet policy shift. After countless unsuccessful efforts to push Iraqis toward various political, economic and security goals, they have decided to let the Iraqis figure some things out themselves. From Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker to Army privates and aid workers, officials are expressing their willingness to stand back and help Iraqis develop their own answers. \ “We try to come up with Iraqi solutions for Iraqi problems,” said Stephen Fakan, the leader of a provincial reconstruction team with U.S. troops in Fallujah. In many cases -- particularly on the political front -- Iraqi solutions bear little resemblance to the ambitious goals for 2007 that Bush laid out in his speech to the nation last Jan. 10.
“To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis,” he pledged. “Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year . . . the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution.” Although some progress has been made and legislation in some cases has begun to slowly work its way through the parliament, none of these benchmarks has been achieved. Nor has the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki taken over security responsibility for all 18 provinces, as Bush forecast it would. Last month's transfer of Basra province by British forces brought to nine the number of provinces under Iraqi control. The U.S. military has praised the Maliki government for acknowledging it is not ready to handle security in much of Iraq, and at the same time has dismissed the ongoing violence in Basra and much of the rest of the south as an Iraqi problem. “The new phrasing is both the dawning of reality, and the cynical use of language and common sense to camouflage past errors, hoping to avoid the audit of flawed logic that got us to this point,” said a retired British general familiar with the U.S. experience in Iraq, and who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of his current position.
New U.S. Embassy Building A $736 Million Useless Piece Of Shit “This Is Serious Enough To Get Someone Killed” Lying Maj. Gen. Charles E. Williams Runs Away January 12, 2008 By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Staff Writer [Excerpts] The firefighting system in the massive $736 million embassy complex in Baghdad has potential safety problems that top U.S. officials dismissed in their rush to declare construction largely completed by the end of last year, according to internal State Department documents, e-mails and interviews. Some officials assert that in the push to complete the long-delayed project, potentially life-threatening problems have been left untouched. “This is serious enough to get someone killed,” said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation.
“The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg. That is the most visible. But no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant” and other parts of the embassy complex, which will house more than 1,000 people and is vulnerable to mortar attacks. The finger-pointing over fire safety is a microcosm of the suspicion that hangs over the troubled project, which is built on acreage almost four times the size of the Pentagon. Originally expected to be completed by July 1, 2007, at a cost of $592 million, the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world has been plagued by poor planning, shoddy workmanship and design changes that have added to the cost. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of the contract and related subcontracts, sources said. Some of the problems became apparent when plastic pipes burst during an underground water-pressure test last fall. The pipes had been installed by First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting, the firm in charge of building the embassy compound. State Department fire-safety experts said the failure highlighted a cascade of problems in the embassy's fire-suppression system that would take months to fix, including replacing the plastic pipes with cast-iron ones. Just days before he resigned from the State Department, retired Maj. Gen. Charles E. Williams, the head of State's Overseas Building Operations, initialed a key document on Dec. 12 certifying that the water system was working properly. As early as October 2006, State Department fire inspectors raised concerns about the embassy's alarm and sprinkler systems. Then, in September 2007, the pipes burst during a pressure test, and the inspectors discovered that many of the problems they had identified had been ignored. The inspectors documented hundreds of violations of the contract specifications and of fire codes and regulations, according to portions of the report made public by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in October. On Dec. 12, Williams initialed a statement saying that the underground piping for the fire system met requirements. On Dec. 28, project officials in Baghdad notified him that construction of the compound “has been substantially completed in accordance with the contract plans.” Williams left the State Department three days later.
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DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
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Cleveland Homeless Taking Over Empty Foreclosed Houses Jan. 9, 2008 (LPAC) Cleveland's homeless people, disappearing from the city's streets but not flocking to homeless shelters, are instead taking refuge in some of the city's 10,000 abandoned foreclosed houses. That's the conclusion of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, which estimates that on any given night there are about 4,000 homeless people in Cuyahoga County.
A spokesman for the police department, which is meeting with the homeless coalition, said squatting is better than people freezing to death on a street corner. “Why not let them be?” Lt. Thomas Stacho told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“The single largest failure of the anti-war movement at this point is the lack of outreach to the troops.” Tim Goodrich, Iraq Veterans Against The War “The military are the final, essential weak point of Bush and Cheney.” David McReynolds 9.29.07 GI Special Looks Even Better Printed Out GI Special issues are archived at website http://www.militaryproject.org . The following have chosen to post issues; there may be others: http://williambowles.info/gispecial/2007/index.html; http://www.uruknet.info/?p=6&l=e; http://www.traprockpeace.org/gi_special/; http://www.albasrah.net/pages/mod.php?header=res1&mod=gis&rep=gis GI Special distributes and posts to our website copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law since it is being distributed without charge or profit for educational purposes to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. GI Special has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor is GI Special endorsed or sponsored by the originators. This attributed work is provided a non-profit basis to facilitate understanding, research, education, and the advancement of human rights and social justice. Go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml for more information. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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