wOrE aNd PiEcE

One is too many.

posted by xi @ 4:12 AM 0 Comments

Anger Rises for Families of Troops in Iraq
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, The New York Times

FORT HOOD, Tex., July 3 — Luisa Leija was in bed the other morning, she recalled, when her 9-year-old daughter bounded in the room, saying, "Mommy, mommy, there's a man in uniform at the door."

Ms. Leija, the wife of a young artillery captain in Iraq, threw on a robe and took a deep breath. She dashed to the door, thinking: "This is not happening to me. This can't be happening to me."

A soldier in full camouflage was on the doorstep. It was a neighbor locked out of his house.

Ms. Leija is still upset. The panic has passed, but not the weariness. Or the anger. Anger that her husband, Capt. Frank Leija, has not come home yet, even though President Bush declared two months ago that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." Anger that the end of that stage has not meant the beginning of peace, that the Army has assigned new duties for her husband and his men that have nothing to do with toppling Saddam Hussein.

And anger that the talk in Washington is not of taking troops out of Iraq, but of sending more in.

"I want my husband home," Ms. Leija, a mother of three children, said. "I am so on edge. When they first left, I thought yeah, this will be bad, but war is what they trained for. But they are not fighting a war. They are not doing what they trained for. They have become police in a place they're not welcome."

Military families, so often the ones to put a cheery face on war, are growing vocal. Since major combat for the 150,000 troops in Iraq was declared over on May 1, more than 60 Americans, including 25 killed in hostile encounters, have died in Iraq, about half the number of deaths in the two months of the initial campaign.

Frustrations became so bad recently at Fort Stewart, Ga., that a colonel, meeting with 800 seething spouses, most of them wives, had to be escorted from the session.

"They were crying, cussing, yelling and screaming for their men to come back," said Lucia Braxton, director of community services at Fort Stewart.

The signs of discomfort seem to be growing beyond the military bases. According to a Gallup poll published on Tuesday, the percentage of the public who think the war is going badly has risen to 42 percent, from 13 percent in May. Likewise, the number of respondents who think the war is going well has dropped, from 86 percent in May to 70 percent a month ago to 56 percent.

The latest poll was based on telephone interviews with 1,003 adults. It has a sampling error of three percentage points.

News this week has not helped. Today, eight American soldiers were hurt in hit-and-run attacks, and an enraged crowd of Iraqis stomped a burned Humvee.

"The soldiers were supposed to be welcomed by waving crowds. Where did those people go?" said Kim Franklin, whose husband is part of an artillery unit, 3-16 Bravo, also known as the Bulldogs, commanded by Ms. Leija's husband.

In the postwar and pre-peace phase, it is not Green Berets or top-gun fighter pilots who are being killed. The casualties have been mostly low-ranking ground troops who are performing mundane activities like buying a video, going out on patrol or guarding a trash pit.

Those are the types of missions that the Bulldogs are on. With major battles over and little use for field cannon that can shoot 15 miles, the unit has been running checkpoints and searching houses north of Baghdad, rarely firing a shell.

The Bulldogs took up their assignment in April along with 20,000 other soldiers from Fort Hood. Yellow ribbons now droop from the trees where they used to meet at dawn and stretch before exercises. The grass is long and dead. The blacktop that once echoed with roll call and the stomp of a thousand combat boots is hot, quiet and empty.

Army bases can be drab places in the best of times. Fort Hood right now is downright depressing. Even on the Fourth of July.

"I tried every trick in the book to get out of this," said Maj. William Geiger, the commander of the rear detachment for the artillery soldiers who has remained here.

There is not much glory in helping single mothers have their cars repaired or overseeing insurance benefits. But that is the work of the officer left behind, and in the last few weeks, that effort has become harder.

"The anxiety is way up there," Major Geiger said.

Seven soldiers from Fort Hood have been killed. More and more people are dreading that knock on the door. But there are other worries, too. War can find the weakest seam of a military marriage and split it open. After the Persian Gulf war, divorce rates at certain Army bases shot up as much as 50 percent, an Army study showed.

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"That's my biggest fear," Valerie Decal, the wife of an artillery sergeant, said. "That my husband will come back different. Even if you're G.I. Joe, if you have to kill someone, that's not something you just forget about."

Ms. Decal is stumped about what to do when the doorbell rings and her 19-month-old son runs to answer, saying, "Dada, dada."

"What do I tell him?" she asked.

Yeshica Padilla, wife of an artillery lieutenant, said her toddler daughter threw a tantrum the other day, saying she wanted to eat pizza on the floor "with Daddy."

And Ms. Padilla keeps having the same dream.

"I can see my husband, but he is hiding from me," she said.

No Bulldogs have been killed, but their wives are constantly bracing for it.

" `Names pending release, names pending release' — I hate that expression," Ms. Decal said of the way the military announces casualties and being told who they are.

The women console themselves by making bracelets for their husbands and sending care packages. Ms. Padilla included a Best Buy circular in a recent box at her husband's request. Winter Travis shipped the latest issue of Parents magazine, not at her husband's request.

Ms. Travis is seven months pregnant and married to an artillery sergeant.

"And whether he likes it or not, he's coming back a daddy," she said.

Great efforts are made to stay upbeat. On a recent day, a group of Bulldog wives chatted in Ms. Leija's living room, popping cheese cubes in their mouths and swigging lemonade.

But things are becoming more intense, they said. The widening chaos in Iraq means that their husbands will stay longer, and the women do not need a poll to tell them that public opinion is shifting.

"When my husband first deployed, the people at work were so sweet, giving me days off, saying take whatever time I need," recalled Ms. Franklin, who answers telephones at a financial institution near the fort. "But it's not like that today. Now they look at me kind of funny and say: `Why do you need a day off now? Isn't the war over?' "

© 2003 The New York Times

posted by xi @ 4:03 AM 0 Comments

A CRACK IN BUSH'S FAÇADE
Growing WMD Scandal Could Lead to Impeachment
by Ted Rall, 24 June 2003

"Bush lied about the weapons of mass destruction. He lied to us, the United Nations, and the soldiers he sent to die in Iraq. Bush's apologists defend his attempts to sell this obscene war as mere spin, but claiming certain knowledge of something that doesn't exist is hardly a question of emphasis. It's time to stop wondering where the WMDs are. Even if nukes and gases and anthrax turn up in prodigious quantities, it won't matter. Proof of Bush's perfidy, unlike his accusations that Saddam had something to do with 9/11, is irrefutable."

posted by xi @ 2:45 AM 0 Comments

From Baghdad to Terre Haute: Gulf War Veterans & the American Cycle of Violence (Part I) (Commentary|International)
"John Allen Mohammed is a veteran of the first Gulf War, and qualified as an "expert" marksman during his time in the Army National guard before being arrested for the 20 shootings and 13 deaths of October, 2002, that earned him the label the DC Sniper. Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, and the rapist and murderer of Tracie Joy McBride, Louis Jones Jr., were both decorated soldiers in the same war; both committed their own atrocities on American soil after leaving the military as well; and both were killed by the same State that trained them to kill in Iraq. These American veterans represent the vicious cycle of violence that is perpetuated by the United States and its addiction to war and power."
2003.06.20 Posted by Gabriel Voiles at TheExperiment

From Baghdad to Terre Haute: Gulf War Veterans & the American Cycle of Violence (Part II) (Commentary|International)
"Robert Jensen pointed out that Timothy McVeigh had "killed twice in his life. For one of those acts, he was sentenced to die. For the other he was awarded a Bronze Star.... The United States has yet to come to terms with the fact that the Gulf War and Oklahoma City have one thing in common. Whatever justification for each act, the method was the same: Killing civilians." As Robert Scheer wrote, the government's execution of McVeigh only served to perpetuate the cycle of violence and avoid its "responsibility for his creation.... We too, the uninvolved, needed his presence as an open wound to remind us of the pain that political madness, no matter what its source, induces. In this case, the madness was, in effect, condoned when an unshaped youth was taught by his government to kill.""
2003.06.29 Posted by Gabriel Voiles at TheExperiment

posted by xi @ 1:13 AM 0 Comments

You Gotta Fight for Your Rights
by John Powers, LAWeekly, July 4 - 10, 2003

"... If most Americans don’t yet view the PATRIOT Act as an assault on our common rights, this is largely because its worst provisions have barely touched them or the people they know. ..."

posted by xi @ 1:06 AM 0 Comments

The List
by Christine Pelisek, LAWeekly, July 4 - 10, 2003

"...

"Yearly salary Donald Rumsfeld was making while a board member of ABB, the engineering company that won a $200 million contract to provide the design and key components of two light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea in 2000: $190,000.

"..."

posted by xi @ 1:02 AM 0 Comments

Is the Cost Rising on CPA Bungling?
Playing With Soldiers
by Kareem Fahim, The Village Voice, July 2 - 8, 2003

It is hard to determine how much goodwill the Americans squandered in the weeks that the nearly 400,000 Iraqi soldiers sat unemployed, without a hint of America's plans for them. June was the bloodiest period of the post-war for the coalition, a month in which attacks on American forces left 16 soldiers dead. As the coalition searches for reasons for the bloodshed, it might well look to the disenfranchised officers, who threatened attacks if their demands were not met.

posted by xi @ 12:58 AM 0 Comments

"Bring 'Em On?"
By Stan Goff, Counterpunch, Thursday 03 July 2003

A Former Special Forces Soldier Responds to Bush's Invitation for Iraqis to Attack US Troops

posted by xi @ 12:53 AM 0 Comments

THE SELLING OF THE IRAQ WAR.
The First Casualty
by John B. Judis & Spencer Ackerman | The New Republic | Post date: 06.19.03 | Issue date: 06.30.03

"...

"Three months after the invasion, the United States may yet discover the chemical and biological weapons that various governments and the United Nations have long believed Iraq possessed. But it is unlikely to find, as the Bush administration had repeatedly predicted, a reconstituted nuclear weapons program or evidence of joint exercises with Al Qaeda--the two most compelling security arguments for war. Whatever is found, what matters as far as American democracy is concerned is whether the administration gave Americans an honest and accurate account of what it knew. The evidence to date is that it did not, and the cost to U.S. democracy could be felt for years to come.

"..."

posted by xi @ 3:38 AM 0 Comments

US shooting in the dark in Afghanistan
By Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times, June 28, 2003

KARACHI - Despite the best efforts of its military and intelligence apparatus and political manipulation in Pakistan, in the year and a half since the demise of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the United States and its allies have failed to break the Taliban and al-Qaeda in that country. Indeed, the resistance movement in Afghanistan has fully re-organized itself, even setting up offices, and official claims to the contrary, US forces are fighting in the dark.

posted by xi @ 3:32 AM 0 Comments

Bush Says Attacks on U.S. Forces Won't Deter Him From the Rebuilding of Iraq
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and ERIC SCHMITT, The New York Times, July 2, 2003

WASHINGTON, July 1 — President Bush vowed today to stay with the job of stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq, saying continued attacks on United States forces there would not deter him from what he cast as a lengthy mission to reduce threats from the Middle East.

"The rise of Iraq as an example of moderation and democracy and prosperity is a massive and long-term undertaking," Mr. Bush said in a speech to military personnel at the White House. "And the restoration of that country is critical to the defeat of terror and radicalism throughout the Middle East."

Mr. Bush's comments came on another day of violence in Iraq, including attacks that left at least six American soldiers injured. His speech appeared intended both to raise military morale in the face of difficult conditions and to address questions from Congress and other nations about how the United States will deal with the persistent violence and lawlessness that have marred the battlefield victory over Saddam Hussein's forces.

Mr. Bush did not say how long he expected American forces to remain in Iraq, or in what numbers, and he did not mention his administration's efforts to persuade other nations to send troops to Iraq. He said his goal remained "a swift transition to Iraqi control of their own affairs," and he cited progress in rebuilding the country and moving toward the establishment of an Iraqi government.

But he also sent a clear signal that the attacks, which he attributed to Saddam Hussein loyalists and terrorist groups, would not lead him to cut and run.

"The looting and random violence that began in the immediate aftermath of the war remains a challenge in some places," Mr. Bush said in his address, delivered in the East Room to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the all-volunteer armed forces.

"A greater challenge comes from former Baath Party and security officials who will stop at nothing to regain their power and their privilege," he said. "But there will be no return to tyranny in Iraq. And those who threaten the order and stability of that country will face ruin, just as surely as the regime they once served."

Without providing new evidence, the president also reiterated that terrorist groups continued to operate in Iraq. He pointed in particular to Ansar al-Islam, which he said was "now active in the Sunni heartland of the country," and to terrorists associated with Abu Masab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian identified by the United States as a lieutenant of Osama bin Laden.

"These groups believe they have found an opportunity to harm America, to shake our resolve in the war on terror and to cause us to leave Iraq before freedom is fully established," Mr. Bush said. "They are wrong, and they will not succeed."

Mr. Bush also used the speech to lay out the progress of the broader war against terrorists. He said 65 percent of Al Qaeda's leaders and operational managers had been killed or captured since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and he cited recent successes by Saudi Arabia in hunting down terrorists on its soil.

As Mr. Bush and his top advisers voice assurances that the difficult postwar mission is on track, Defense and State Department officials are pressing to increase allied contributions to the overwhelmingly American occupation force.

There are practical, diplomatic and political reasons for changing the complexion of that force, which now consists of 146,000 Americans and about 12,000 allied troops.

A more international force in Iraq would allow increasingly weary American troops to go home and slash the expense of an operation that is costing the Pentagon $3 billion a month. Some soldiers in the Army's Third Infantry Division have been deployed for more than a year, and are publicly criticizing their mission.

Additional allied forces would allow Washington to claim broader international support, and would bring in lighter forces that in some cases would be better suited for urban peacekeeping.

"It would put a more international flavor on what's going on, and those forces are generally lighter than our mechanized and armor units," Jay Garner, a retired Army lieutenant general who initially led the reconstruction effort in Iraq, said in an interview.

Under the Pentagon's current plans, there would be at least two and possibly three divisions of allied forces, each made up of 10,000 to 14,000 troops.

Britain would lead one division, which would include troops from countries like Denmark and the Netherlands. Poland, with logistical and training help from NATO, would lead a second division. The Pentagon is also negotiating with India to send several thousand troops and lead a third division.

Senators Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, and Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, have urged the administration to settle their differences with allies like France, Germany and Turkey, which opposed the Iraq war, and seek their help. So far, however, only the Turks have been contacted, diplomats said.

The administration is also coming under growing pressure from Republicans and Democrats in Congress to share the burdens of the complex mission, and to acknowledge that rebuilding Iraq will require a lengthy commitment of American troops, treasure and political will.

"We need to involve the world, the globe, because we're talking about freedom," Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, said Sunday on the ABC News program "This Week."

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, offered a grim assessment after visiting Basra and Baghdad this week.

"It's a race against time," Mr. Reed said in a telephone interview today from Kuwait. "We have to re-establish security and reinvigorate the economy before this insurgent, irregular force gets more organized and taps into regular Iraqis' discontent."

Pentagon officials say 24 countries, including Italy, Ukraine, Honduras and Denmark, have promised to provide ground troops in Iraq. American officials are negotiating with 12 other countries, including India and Pakistan, for their support.

"I don't know how anyone can internationalize it more than that," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters on Monday.

But translating promises into troops on the ground who fit the needs of a complex and dangerous operation is difficult, military officials said.

"People are queuing up, and it's not a simple thing to do," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "They've got to figure out what it is they've got to contribute, what it is we need, how they might fit in, what kinds of equipment they need, when they might be able to do it, how long they might be able to stay. It's a very complicated thing."

© 2003 The New York Times

posted by xi @ 3:30 AM 0 Comments

'Bring Them On,' Bush Says to Iraq Attacks
Reuters, Wednesday, July 2, 2003; 11:33 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Wednesday challenged militants who have been killing and injuring U.S. forces in Iraq, saying "bring them on" because American forces were tough enough to deal with their attacks.

"There are some who feel like that conditions are such that they can attack us there," Bush told reporters at the White House. "My answer is bring them on. We have the force necessary to deal with the situation."

© 2003 Reuters

posted by xi @ 3:27 AM 0 Comments

Rights Group Says U.S. Detentions Of Iraqis May Violate International Law
By Jim Krane, Associated Press, 6/30/2003 06:52
"Amnesty International said Monday it has gathered evidence that points to U.S. violations of international law by subjecting Iraqi prisoners to ''cruel, inhuman or degrading'' conditions at its detention centers here."

posted by xi @ 1:41 AM 0 Comments

Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq
By Christopher Scheer, AlterNet, June 27, 2003

"... Today, more than three months after Bush's stirring declaration of war and nearly two months since he declared victory, no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons have been found, nor any documentation of their existence, nor any sign they were deployed in the field.

"The mainstream press, after an astonishing two years of cowardice, is belatedly drawing attention to the unconscionable level of administrative deception. They seem surprised to find that when it comes to Iraq, the Bush administration isn't prone to the occasional lie of expediency but, in fact, almost never told the truth.

"What follows are just the most outrageous and significant of the dozens of outright lies uttered by Bush and his top officials over the past year in what amounts to a systematic campaign to scare the bejeezus out of everybody: ..."

posted by xi @ 5:27 AM 0 Comments