8 million in humanitarian crisis in Iraq, one million dead civilians, millions are refugees and there was never WMD. Give "Move On.org" it's due

The Ad (click here)

The entire time Bush and Cheney ran the USA military into a war that was both illegal and immoral causing genocidal status of Iraqis, the Anti-War movement held it's ground. Today it has every right to tout it's 'truth' and make the world recognize an administration bent on war without and beyond reason. I congratulate those that knew the truth and were willing to defend it.

Move.On was organized by a man that believes in the power of peace and ACTS to faciliate humanitarian efforts (click here).

The sign would seem to be correct.

The view from Baghdad: Mounting death toll which makes a mockery of US optimism
By Kim Sengupta
Published: 11 September 2007
By the time General Petraeus had finished speaking yesterday the slaughter in Iraq for the previous 24 hours could be tallied. It was not an exceptionally violent day by the standards of Iraq: seven US soldiers lay dead and 11 injured in the capital; other instances of sectarian violence included a suicide bomb which had killed 10 and wounded scores near Mosul while 10 bodies were found in Baghdad. Three policemen were killed in clashes in Mosul, and a car bomb outside a hospital in the capital had exploded, killing two and wounding six.
In Baghdad, on the surface the overt violence appears to have diminished. There are fewer loud explosions. But, the city is now being partitioned by sectarian hatred and fear; by concrete walls and barbed wire. Claims that the US military strategy is paving the way for a stable society bear little resemblance to the reality on the ground.
The US is accused of manipulating figures relating to violence to fit their case, ignoring evidence which shows that the influx of 30,000 troops has done little to end the continuing bloodshed.
The death of Omar al-Husseini in the Huriya district of Baghdad is one of many which does not even figure in the American reckoning. His killers, masked and carrying guns, dragged him away as his mother wept and his father pleaded for mercy. That was the last time they saw their son alive. Three weeks later they heard that he had been killed.
Omar was 20. His killers were Shia, he was a Sunni, the victim of a spree of murders which has ethnically cleansed neighbourhoods through the city. But both the US military and the Iraqi police have told his parents that as far as they are concerned the abduction and killings were purely criminal acts. This means, statistically, that his death is not included by the US in the calculations for sectarian killings produced yesterday....

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2950298.ece

Sheehan calls for Bush/Cheney impeachment at Baraboo rally (click here)
Wheeler News Service

Published Monday, September 10, 2007

Cindy Sheehan told a cheering crowd in Baraboo this weekend that President Bush and Vice President Cheney must be impeached.
The well-known peace activist spoke to thousands at the annual Fighting Bob Festival. Sheehan called Bush and Cheney war criminals who are against “everything it means to be human.”
Sheehan calls herself an independent progressive, saying Democrats no longer represent progressive values.
Sheehan became famous after her son Casey was killed just five days after he arrived in Iraq and she camped at the president’s ranch in Texas to protest the war.
Sheehan was the main speaker at the annual rally, sponsored by the Madison Capital Times and the progressive fightingbob.com Web site.
The site honors former Gov. Robert LaFollete, who was one of the founders of the Progressive Party early in the last century.

Capitol Hill Police ‘Football Tackled’ Hip Hop Activist Rev. Lennox Yearwood at Petreus Hearing (Video)
UPDATE: I am told that they are planning to charge him with attacking an officer. Please see the video for yourself. He is in the hospital recovering. I will keep you posted on details as they develop.

WASHINGTON - September 10 - Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus, was attacked by six capitol police today, when he was stopped from entering the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, where General Petreaus gave testimony today to a joint hearing for the House Arms Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee on the war in Iraq.
After waiting in line throughout the morning for the hearing that was scheduled to start at 12:30pm, Rev. Yearwood was stopped from entering the room, while others behind him were allowed to enter. He told the officers blocking his ability to enter the room, that he was waiting in line with everyone else and had the right to enter as well. When they threatened him with arrest he responded with “I will not be arrested today.” According to witnesses, six capitol police, without warning, “football tackled” him. He was carried off in a wheel chair by DC Fire and Emergency to George Washington Hospital.
Rev. Yearwood said as he was being released from the hospital to be taken to central booking, “The officers decided I was not going to get in Gen. Petreaus’ hearing when they saw my button, which says ‘I LOVE THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ.’”
Capitol Police are not saying what the charges are, but an inside source has said that the charge is assaulting a police officer. Rev. Yearwood is scheduled to be transferred to Central Processing to be arraigned tomorrow morning.

Cindy Sheehan arrested at Petraeus hearing (click here)

Monday, September 10 2007 @ 12:46 PM PDT

Contributed by: AdminViews: 207
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Monday in or near the hearing room where Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are testifying on the situation in Iraq, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.

Cindy Sheehan arrested at Petraeus hearing

By Klaus Marre

September 10, 2007

The Hill

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Monday in or near the hearing room where Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are testifying on the situation in Iraq, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.

Four anti-war protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct. One of them, who was not named, is being taken to George Washington Hospital “due to complaint of injury” and is also charged with assault on a police officer.

According to the information from the Capitol Police, Sheehan and the other three were shouting in a hallway.

Sheehan was the face of the anti-war movement before saying in May of this year that she would “retire” from the cause. Shortly thereafter, she announced that she would seek the congressional seat of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

The Petraeus testimony was a time for the media to Bash Democrats. That's what it was about. No facts. Just Bashing of Democrats.

I mean who cares if 9 million Iraqis are in a humanitarian crisis, millions are refugees CAUSED BY WAR and estimates WITH NO OFFICIAL count of the dead by the Iraqi government or anyone else for that matter; yielding by now nearly one million men, women and children dead.

YET.

Petraeus believes he is doing better than if he wasn't still occupying Iraq.

Where does that come from?

The USA is in complete disharmony to the objectives of the Iraqis and their constitution and yet according to Petraeus, the Iraqis that are dead are better off than if the USA left.

You know, I really don't believe that point of view. It sounds like a general defending his career rather than a USA four star officer in touch with the reality of Iraq.

Go figure, huh?

I made another entry on a more appropriate blog (click here).

Anti-war Democrats round on Iraq war Generals

Retired generals rising up against Iraq war (click here)
By ERIN SOLAROGUEST COLUMNIST
Alexis de Tocqueville once remarked that in a democracy, the greatest pacifists are the generals. In America, this has often been true but rarely obvious. Our time-honored and intense tradition of civilian supremacy means that senior officers, active or retired, rarely express misgivings or dissenting opinions in public -- certainly not while a war is going on.
And yet, since mid-March, we have witnessed a veritable "Revolt of the Generals," a situation having nothing to do with men on horseback but, potentially, a great deal to do with offering some perspective and restoring some sanity to this increasingly war-weary republic.
Retired generals are speaking out against this war and the civilian leadership that thought it up and messed it up. Retired, yes. But all senior generals are (or at least consider themselves) members of a rather exclusive club, and when they speak out, it's not impossible that they express the opinions of their active peers....


BIOS:(click here)
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. (USA, Ret.): A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1950, Robert Gard earned an MPA in 1956 and a Ph. D. in Political Economy and Government in 1961 - both from Harvard University. He retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant general in 1981, following 31 years of distinguished service. General Gard's military assignments included a three year tour in Germany, and combat service in Korea and Vietnam. Assignments during his military career included executive assistant to the Secretary of Defense, the first Director of Human Resources Development for the U.S. Army, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. General Gard also served as President of the National Defense University and was a fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations.


In 1981/82, General Gard was a visiting professor of international relations at the American University of Paris, and was the director of the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies from 1982 to 1987. From 1987-1998, General Gard served as president of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He has written for well-known periodicals that focus on military and international affairs and lectured widely at U.S. and international universities and colleges, and at academic conferences. He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations. In 1996, General Gard joined Veterans for America as its military advisor. He has been active in VFA's efforts to enact an international and U.S. ban on the production, sale, transfer, and use of antipersonnel landmines.


Brig. General John H. Johns (USA, Ret.): Dr. John H. Johns served as a combat arms officer in the Army for over 26 years, retiring as a brigadier general in 1978. During his career, he served in command assignments up to Assistant Commander of the 1st Infantry Division and Director of Human Resources Development for the Army General Staff. He has taught leadership and ethics at the U.S. Military Academy, the Army War College, the U.S. Military Academy, and the Naval Academy. He served four years as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense before resigning to become a Professor of Political Science at the National Defense University at Ft. McNair. He is an adjunct professor at the Federal Executive Institute, where he lectures on "Values and the U.S. Constitution" and teaches a one-week course in ethics. Dr. Johns has an undergraduate degree in economics and political science from the University of Alabama. He holds Masters? degrees from Vanderbilt (psychology) and George Washington University (international affairs) and a Ph.D. from American University (sociology). He is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, and The National War College.


Senator John Boccieri: State Senator John Boccieri, a New Middletown, OH resident, served three terms as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for District 61 before being elected to the Senate in 2006. A former Air Force officer, Boccieri was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base. In his role as staff officer, he supported Presidential visits to Arkansas and also worked on base-wide support of three treaties- Open Skies, Chemical Weapons Compliance, and START II Treaties. As a commissioned Lieutenant in the military, he worked with base-wide support for the Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, the State Department, the White House Communications Staff, the Secret Service, and Air Force and Marine Advance Agents. While on active duty, Boccieri continued to pursue his interest in government by earning masters degrees in public administration and business from Webster University, St. Louis Missouri. Currently, Boccieri is an Air Force Reserve Major and aircraft commander aboard the C-130 aircraft, stationed at Youngstown Joint Air Reserve Station. He recently deployed in 4 rotations to support our troops in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Boccieri has served our nation in over 40 countries and has eleven years of service in the U.S. Military.

You can just feel the love, can't ya? Bush gets an excuse to continue with a new everything.

US report calls for Iraq exit in five years (click title of entry, thank you)
8 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States should halve its military presence in Iraq within three years and completely pull out within five years, the latest US report on the war-scarred country said Sunday.
Only then will Iraq's government, which has so far been a "disappointment," take on its own security responsibilities to rebuild the nation, the report by the United States Institute of Peace said.
"The United States faces too many challenges around the world to continue its current level of effort in Iraq, or even the deployment that was in place before the surge," the report said.
A sustainable military presence "is likely no more than half the current level within three years, with a view to removing all units within five years, when all US bases should be turned over to the Iraqi government," it said....

Mr. Robert Gates, Former US-CIA Director and Col. Saeed Bin Bleila, Director for Dubai Naturalization and Resident Department and Mr. Ali Al Kamali, M.D, Datamatix

Dr. Robert M. Gates Bibliography (click here)

Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Before entering his present post, Secretary Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. Prior to assuming the presidency of Texas A&M on August 1, 2002, he served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.

Secretary Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. Secretary Gates is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to Director. He served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989, until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.

Secretary Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional, serving six presidents. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, The White House, serving four presidents of both political parties. Secretary Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

He is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.

Until becoming Secretary of Defense, Dr. Gates served as Chairman of the Independent Trustees of The Fidelity Funds (click here), the nation's largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc. (click here), Brinker International, Inc.(click here) and Parker Drilling Company, Inc.(click here- granted it's not Halliburton) Dr. Gates has also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been President of the National Eagle Scout Association.

A native of Kansas, Secretary Gates received his bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary, his master’s degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. Dr. Gates is 63, and he and his wife Becky have two adult children.

Gates really gets around, won't you say? A real Boy Scout to come to Georgie's aid like this.

So, here we have more sidling up to the Saudis and more aggression in the Middle East in a primarily Shi'ite majority nation. Why do I get the feeling as though Bush's administration just doesn't 'get it.'

When trying to 'calm nerves' in the Middle East it would be better to pursue diplomatic relations and joint efforts with neighboring countries than continue to pursue crony interests under a different venue of cabinet and generals.

Five years is what the Arab League has stated it would take for them to retool to take over the Ameican operations in Iraq. There is no peace coming into Iraq even in five years, just more of the same with higher death tolls. Further occupation by Arabs isn't the best solution for Iraq. There are too many dead and estranged from their own country now.

Five years to instill 'nation building' at the high cost of lives and potential continued occupation that would alter the face of Iraq permanently in it's populous is a form of genocide and I have already been here with that discussion before.

Arab League chief calls for talks with Iran over Iraq's future (click here)

CAIRO, Egypt: Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Sunday called for talks between Arab countries and Iran over Iraq, dismissing suggestions that Tehran would fill a power vacuum in the war-torn nation in case of U.S. troop withdrawal.
"There should be a consensus between the Arabs and Iran over Iraq," Moussa told reporters after a meeting of Arab diplomats. "Iran and the Arabs should be on one side."
Last week, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that a power vacuum is imminent in Iraq and said that Iran was ready to help fill the gap. He suggested cooperation with "regional friends like Saudi Arabia."
Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on how Iran could fill a power gap but his remarks appeared to reflect Iran's eagerness for an increasing role on its neighbor's political scene.
Sunni Arab countries have expressed grave concerns about what they term as Iran's meddling in Iraq especially in backing Baghdad's Shiite-led government....

And I have been here before as well. The only way to descalate the tensions in the region is for Iraq's neighbors to work out differences and peace agreements including the fact Iraq's primarily Shi'ite region will have open relations with Iran regardless of any nation building strategy to prevent it.

Currently, Southern Iraq is receiving humanitarian aid from Iran and that needs to continue. I don't see Iran as anything but a full partner with Southern Iraq. It just has to be and the USA had to have known that if Mr. Gates with all his CIA experience was in the pipeline ready to step in for Rumsfeld at a moments notice.

By the way Steven Hadley ain't all that either (click here). He is primarily a paper pusher with a law degree. In other words, he's a good stenographer as an Undersecretary to any initiative. He has absolutely no understanding of miltiary operations or has any room to criticize generals or be frustrated with outcomes of an illegal war.

I am sure we all remember the Iraq Study Group and the Regrouping of The Bush Strategy for Iraq while dismissing the group's recommendations.

The Bush White House then came out with 'The Surge.' (click here)
The media has been giving Bush's Surge a break. It has pushed the 'idea' every chance possible that 'the surge' would lead to a victory in Iraq when nothing else will. One might note that a full 45% of people in this poll state the Bush strategy makes no difference. It doesn't. The illusion of any stability with 'the surge' is in An Albar province.
Basically, Bush threw out the baby with the bath water after the Iraq Study Group. He literally eroded every general so far into retirement or some oblivious position while Rumsfeld left to make clear a new strategy against the American people: A change in the Cabinet and a change in generals would lead to victory in Iraq.
See, up to now, all the people involved with the Iraq War didn't do it right. After all, Steven Hadley knew what he was talking about. There had to be a way to 'hold' and 'rebuild.' Had to be. So, under Petraeus the USA military took more deaths, injuries but they were holding An Albar.
So, with all new leadership it would be easy to sell the nation on Bush's Real Brain strategy and overcome any and all problems of the past. All new folks, all forgiven. Yep, it wasn't 'the Iraq Surge' Bush was counting on, it was 'The Surge' in ratings of his administration against the USA populous that would be the result which would continue the war and the war funding of course.

That is General Casey. Second from left, next to General Abuzaid. No Casey isn't retired, but, he relinquished the speakers podium to Petraeus.

MOSQUE BOMBING After the February attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra, sectarian violence soared, dealing a blow to U.S. strategy.

Chaos Overran Iraq Plan in ’06, Bush Team Says (click title to entry above. thank you)

...General Casey repeatedly argued that his plan offered the best prospect for reducing the perception that the United States remained an occupier — and it was a path he thought matched Mr. Bush’s wishes. Earlier in the year, it had.
But as Baghdad spun further out of control, some of the president’s advisers now say, Mr. Bush grew concerned that General Casey, among others, had become more fixated on withdrawal than victory.
Now, having ousted Mr. Rumsfeld, Mr. Bush sees a chance to bring in a new commander as he announces a new strategy, senior military officials say. General Casey was scheduled to shift out of Iraq in the summer. But now it appears that it may happen in February or March....

This brings us to today for the most part. We have to get to the 'reasons' behind the continued mess in Iraq, but, Casey is now Chief of Staff at the USA Army. Needless to say, he didn't meet Steven Hadley's expectations either. Poor, Hadley insisted the generals needed to 'clear and hold' so the reconstruction could ensue. But, Mr. Hadley just didn't understand why it was so blastedly tough getting to 'the hold' part.

Then there was this general with this Arab sounding name. What was it? Abu...Abu...Abu Ghraib...no, no...that was under Franks. Hm???...oh, I know.

Newly promoted General John P. Abizaid expresses his thanks to outgoing Commander of United States Central Command General Tommy R. Franks during a private ceremony held in Tampa, Florida. General Abizaid assumed command of The United States Central Command in ceremonies held later in the day. Monday July 7, 2003 - (Central Command photo by Gary P. Bonaccorso) (click here)

...General Abizaid. That's right, the fellow that followed Franks in Iraq. He must be Republican.

..."I've read repeatedly dozens of times that I announced (former Army Chief of Staff) General (Eric) Shinseki's replacement a year-and-a-half in advance," the secretary noted, adding, "That's just false. It's been repeated 50 times. I can't imagine why responsible journalists do it."...(click here)

General Abizaid Smacks Down McCain’s Plan To Send More U.S. Troops To Iraq (click here)
Today at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, CentCom commander Gen. John Abizaid rejected McCain’s calls for increased U.S. troop levels in Iraq, saying that he “met with every divisional commander, Gen. Casey, the core commander, Gen. Dempsey” and asked them if bringing “in more American troops now, [would] add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq and they all said ‘no.’” Watch it: (video)...

That explains this generals retirement and there is this 'thing' the Bush White House is always trying to 'pin on' others. I clearly remember at the very beginnings of the war, commanders under Blair and Bush stated clearly they were under orders to disband the Iraqi military. I remember Bush even stating he wanted to rid Iraq of all their former government and military. So, I don't know why Bush continues to play this game of 'dodge ball' with the responsibility of disbanding the Iraqi military. He was he that wanted it done and it resulted in an insurgency. Just that simple. I remember it very clearly actually.

UPDATED: Questions linger on Iraq army's disbanding (click here)
Web Posted: 09/06/2007 11:49 PM CDT
Sig ChristensonExpress-News Military Writer
It remains one of the biggest questions of the Iraq war: Who decided to disband the Iraqi army?

A book out this week, more than four years after the decision helped spark the Iraqi insurgency, offers an answer that has spawned a controversy of its own. President Bush, the book says, claims to have been unaware of the order.

The White House doesn't take issue with "Dead Certain," but the former administrator of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, and his military counterpart at the time, retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, say Bush is evading responsibility for one of the war's biggest blunders.
"I think there's some distancing that's going on," Sanchez, who led coalition troops in the first year of the occupation, told the San Antonio Express-News. "In very broad terms, there's an effort on the part of politicians to distance themselves from the decisions that created strategic vulnerabilities for the country."

The book by former Texas Monthly writer Robert Draper says that Bush thought the Iraqi army would be retained until after Bremer announced it had been disbanded. Draper quoted Bush as saying, "Yeah, I can't remember. I'm sure I said, 'This is the policy, what happened?'"
In an interview with the Express-News, Draper said, "I was astonished that he was unable to remember how he felt about so consequential a policy being reversed. You'd think that would be a memorable moment. Apparently it was not."...

Pace contradicts claims by other U.S. military, administration officials

Here is a Memorial Day photo of General Peter Pace, Bush and Rumsfeld in 2006. Yep, Pace was asked to step aside by Gates. Still yet another retired general. Anyone guess by the title of this entry why Pace might not be at the Pentagon any longer? Not much more to say about this. Yet.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A top U.S. general said Tuesday there was no evidence the Iranian government was supplying Iraqi insurgents with highly lethal roadside bombs, apparently contradicting claims by other U.S. military and administration officials.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces hunting down militant networks that produced roadside bombs had arrested Iranians and that some of the material used in the devices were made in Iran.
“That does not translate that the Iranian government per se, for sure, is directly involved in doing this,” Pace told reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. “What it does say is that things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers.”...

VISITING THE TROOPS — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers poses for a picture with deployed U.S. soldiers at the Kabul, Afghanistan, Airport on March 16, 2005. Myers is in Afghanistan to meet with U.S. troops and talk directly with military leaders. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen

March 17, 2005 - Retired General Richard Myers. He's the one in the middle back row wearing the hat with five stars on it. He akinned the Iraq War to the most important military deployment since WWII. You know I just don't 'get it.' But, it could be because I'm an Independant and not a Republican Neocon. But, if we were to akin Hilter to Saddam which he wasn't, then Saddam is already dead and when Myers was with the Joint Chiefs the USA had already put Saddam in prison. So, what about Iraq was exactly like that of WWII. I mean the coalition didn't even remotely resemble the Allied Forces. I'm not being glib here. This is a five star general and leader of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. How can he so casually state there were any similarities between the war in Iraq and WWII. Not even close. He is thinking Bin Laden is Hilter like? You've got to be joking. Bin Laden doesn't even lead a sovereign government with resources and a military. Give me a break here.

At any rate, he is still another retired general under Bush. Adding up, huh? I think Boykin is still around in the military. Could be wrong about that. He isn't leading at Minot is he?

I found this interesting though. While our military was deployed in a Muslim country that was supposed to be accepting each other as equals in the face of ethnic differences, Myers decides to talk to the Saudis about military-military issues. Did he for one minute consider the fact these engagements had an effect on any insurgency in Iraq? These actions by the leader of the Joint Chiefs was no small measure when realizing the opposite border of Iraq was building nuclear capacity to defend Shi'ites, namely Iran. I don't think I appreciate the 'coziness' of USA generals or commander and chiefs with any one particular ethnicity outside Iraq when the miltiary soldiers were trying to build confidence in the people within Iraq, a majority Shi'ite country. Seems a little self defeating to me.

Myers Meets Saudis, Discusses Military Relationships (click here)

By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 17, 2005 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met here with his Saudi counterparts to discuss mutual issues March 16.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said the talks were good and furthered the U.S.-Saudi military-to-military relationship.
Myers met with Defense Ministry officials, including Defense Minister Prince Sultan. They discussed military exercises, U.S. training of Saudi forces, and Iraq. It was the chairman's first trip to Saudi Arabia since 2003.
Myers said in an interview following the meetings that the Saudis generally are pleased with the progress being made in Iraq. "A stable Iraq on their border is an advantage to them," he said.
But there is some Saudi trepidation about foreign terrorists being driven from Iraq and "looking for a home" in Saudi Arabia, the general said. There have been several terrorist attacks launched in the kingdom in the past year, and Osama bin Laden has established al Qaeda cells in the country. Saudi police and National Guard forces have been seeking out the al Qaeda cells and captured four suspected terrorists recently, said embassy officials.
Myers said the Saudis discussed what they could do to tighten their country's long border with Iraq and suggested some things the Americans can help the Iraqis do to control crossings on their side.
But normal military-to-military relations dominated the talks. Since the end of Operation Southern Watch, the relationship has been based on training and exercises, the general said. About 500 U.S. troops are in Saudi Arabia helping to train the Saudi National Guard and the regular Saudi armed forces.
The United States and Saudi Arabia will conduct regular exercises. "We have some air exercises scheduled in Saudi happening soon," the general said. Other exercises will be held in conjunction with other Persian Gulf countries, and still others will happen in the United States.
The exercises run the gamut from command post exercises involving few troops to larger ones featuring military forces. The Saudis said they would like to hold exercises featuring ground forces. Myers said the United States would like to do that also, but noted the Saudis understand U.S. ground forces are committed elsewhere right now.
He said he expects the Saudis will at least send military observers to the Bright Star '05 exercises in Egypt later this year.
The U.S.-Saudi military relationship goes back to a meeting between Saudi's King Abdul Aziz and President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard the USS Quincy in 1944. Since then, thousands of Saudis have trained in the United States.

Rumsfeld defends general who commented on war and Satan

I just can't let Don get away with the Boykin 'thing' either.

Friday, October 17, 2003

Posted: 10:22 PM EDT (0222 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are defending a new deputy undersecretary of defense "who has reportedly cast the war on terror" in religious terms.
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, whose promotion and appointment was confirmed by the Senate in June, has said publicly that he sees the war on terrorism as a clash between Judeo-Christian values and Satan, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
Appearing in dress uniform before a religious group in Oregon in June, Boykin said Islamic extremists hate the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christians. ... And the enemy is a guy named Satan."...

Now, I don't know about you, but, that view of the world is mostly indefensible. How, is anyone to believe a mission in Iraq will work when these jerks nearly made the USA out to be every Muslims' enemy? Explain that to me. Leads me to wonder what the heck anyone answering that poll was thinking. I would have hung up on the pollster if given those choices. Jeeze !

And so what's Rummy up to today? I don't know about today, but, yesterday he was off to Hoover Institute. I thought they had a thing against gays. Oh, this isn't J. Edgar. No wonder.

1 day ago Rumsfeld Headed to Hoover Institution (click here)


PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary of defense who resigned under fire after directing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, the research center announced.
Rumsfeld will serve on a task force of scholars and experts who will focus on issues pertaining to "ideology and terror," the conservative think tank announced Friday in a press release.
"I have asked Don to join the distinguished group of scholars that will pursue new insights on the direction of thinking that the United States might consider going forward," said John Raisian, the institution's director.
Rumsfeld resigned in November, a day after congressional elections that cost Republicans control of Congress. Dissatisfaction with his handling of the Iraq war was cited by many as a major element of voter dissatisfaction with Republicans during the last national election. In addition, a number of Republican lawmakers in Congress urged President George W. Bush to dump Rumsfeld.
The Hoover Institution, a well-funded Republican think tank, has a long list of former officials on its roster. Former commander of the U.S. Central Command, Retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, is serving as a fellow. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also stated publicly her desire to return to Stanford in 2009.

Then there was this bizarre Lt. General William Boykin. Very starnge man. Maybe he came up with the poll and it's results. Don't know really.

In June 2004, Stephen A. Cambone, a top Pentagon official, ordered his deputy, Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, to look into allegations of detainee abuse at Camp Nama. (click here)

Strange thing about Boykin. He was linked to the investigation of abuse in Iraq. Strange bunch. Even stranger war. How any general can justify any presence in Iraq considering the hardship suffered and continuing today is beyond me.

The Iraq War did strange things to people. Generals began to minister to the public in churches to explain why God was on their side. Hm. Indeed.

In late 2003, Maj. General William G. Boykin (serving as Deputy Undersecretary for Intelligence under Stephen Cambone) took a lot of heat when the press suddenly noticed a bunch of his wacky statements. Before being placed in charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the former Delta Force commander had recently made several in-uniform appearances at church congregations to explain why Jesus is on America's side.

Article click here

Speaking of Somali militia leader Osman All Otto, captured in 1993: "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol." After this comment started drawing flak, Boykin backpedaled: "Comments to Osman Otto in Mogadishu were not referencing his worship of Allah but his worship of money and power; idolatry."

Regarding the convoluted election of President George W. Bush: "Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. He's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this." On another occasion, Boykin put it this way: "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States. He was appointed by God."

In a slideshow program he presented at various church groups, Boykin showed a photo he had taken from a helicopter over Mogadishu in 1993 depicting black patches in the sky. "Whether you understand it or not, it is a demonic spirit over the city of Mogadishu. Ladies and gentlemen, that's not a fake, that's not a farce."

Another comment from the slideshow: "Well, is he (Osama bin Laden) the enemy? Next slide. Or is this man (Saddam Hussein) the enemy? The enemy is none of these people I have showed you here. The enemy is a spiritual enemy. He's called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan."

Regarding this last point, magician and celebrity atheist Penn Jillette responded thusly:
A guy? A guy? A guy named "Satan." We can't even find a guy named Bin Laden, and now we're looking for an evil tooth fairy? Satan's not a guy, it's just someone else's imaginary friend. How did we end up fighting a war against a sock monkey?

According to Boykin, his religious conversion broke up his marriage: "My wife of 25 years [...] walked in and said, 'I don't love you anymore, you're a religious fanatic, and I'm leaving you.'"

Into the void left by General Shinseki was General Tommy Franks. You'll remember him for his speech at the Republican National Convention 2004

Franks and Rumsfeld

Tommy Franks explains his 2004 RNC comments (click here).

JIM LEHRER: Joining us now is Retired Army General Tommy Franks who just addressed this convention. General, welcome.

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS: Thanks a lot, sir. It's great to be with you.

JIM LEHRER: You said this was a time for choice--

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS: Right.

JIM LEHRER: --and-- you chose-- made a choice between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Did you -- should your choice be interpreted as you looked at both of them and decided that John Kerry wasn't up to the job or a negative about him or more positive about --

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS: The latter case. I think - I think it's sort of like this discussion - the dots that we've had concerning intelligence and the whole WMD thing and Iraq, what I did was I started with a sheet of paper and I started putting dots on this piece of paper and determined the issues that I thought were important to me and my family and all of that.

And then I used them as metrics, and I measured the performance of both candidates against that. And at the end of the day I decided that the right thing for me to do based on my beliefs was to be vocal in support of the president.

Did any Democrat but me ever feel 'left out' of the loop? Somehow ONLY what the Republican' agenda was mattered to the Fomer General Franks. Why am I concerned about how generals are 'party affiliated' these days?

That brings me right back to the observations I made about 'the poll' that appeared in The New York Times. How can Americans know which general to trust, especially when they obviously are acting in the best interest of a Neocon party/agenda. It's a bizarre poll no matter which way one looks at it. I don't know whom dreamed it up, but, they sure as heck didn't think it through. Very odd.

The thought processes have to be...and whom would you trust? Bush, Congress or the General?

Poll Participant :: Gee, I don't know. I guess the guy with the big guns. Yeah, you know they fly nukes on B52 Bombers overhead so I guess one really shouldn't question them too much or next time it might be you, right? So, of the three, I'd have to say Generals, but, I really don't know why. I think generals are 'party-neutral' right?

At any rate, Tommy Franks had some kind of charges in Brussels pending against him so he felt insulted or something and he retired.

The Only American General that counted, never left his post until his responsiblities got bizarre.

General Eric Shinseki Consoles Brian's Family at Arlington National Cemetery (click here)

General Eric Shinseki retired from his leadership when it was demanded of him to lead a mission into Iraq. General Shinseki has never been proven wrong about his estimation of lacking a sufficient military to secure Iraq. There are precious few after him I respected. General Shinseki was one of few to actually serve in Afghanistan, by the way. The Brits and NATO are there now, they kicked Bush out. The USA troops in Afghanistan are serving under the direction of NATO, not the USA commander and chief.

The war in Afghanistan was going well until he retired. He was mostly victorious when he entered Afghanistan. His military was met with accolades and donkeys to facilitate their movement to victory. Not only that but they were met with welcoming Russian medical outposts by the chance the soldiers found peril. That must have been interesting; having Russian military physicians greet American soldiers to ensure their well being on the battlefield. Bouy, it ain't that way no more !

There is this 'testimony thing' Bush is trying to pull off that is supposed to justify more killing in Iraq...

... while he sets his sites on Iran.

I thought a brief review of generals since Bush took office might be appropriate. See there is a strategy within a strategy. The one in particular I am thinking about is the 'strategy against the American people.' I thought this was an odd poll actually. The 'idea' people would trust generals over the general's commander and chief is just strange. The generals are doing their commander and chief's bidding, otherwise, they may as well pack up and head to the court marshall, because, generals take orders, they have a career and I haven't got the foggiest idea where people polled would put that much credence in a general under orders from a commander and chief with a 95% disapproval rating. It's a bizarre poll and it only leaves Americans with three lousy choices.

...Only 5 percent of Americans — a strikingly low number for a sitting president’s handling of such a dominant issue — said they most trust the Bush administration to resolve the war, the poll found. Asked to choose between the administration, Congress and military commanders, 21 percent said they would most trust Congress and 68 percent expressed the most trust in military commanders....

So...to, the generals.

It's Sunday Night

General

there was a decorated general with
a heart of gold, that likened him to
all the stories he told
of past battles, won and lost, and
legends of old a seasoned veteran in
his own time

on the battlefield, he gaine
drespectful fame with many metals
of bravery and stripes to his name
he grew a beard as soon as he could
to cover the scars on his face
and always urged his men on

but on the eve of a great battle
with the infantry in dream
the old general tossed in his sleep
and wrestled with its meaning
he awoke from the night
just to tell what he had seen
and walked slowly out of his tent

all the men held tall with their
chests in the air, with courage in
their blood and a fire in their stare
it was a grey morning and they all
wondered how they would fare
till the old general told them to go home

I have seen the others
and I have discovered
that this fight is not worth fighting
I have seen their mothers
and I will no other
to follow me where I'm going

Take a shower, shine your shoes
you got no time to lose
you are young men you must be living
go now you are forgiven

but the men stood fast with their
guns on their shoulders not knowing
what to do with the contradicting orders
the general said he would do his own
duty bout would not extend it not further
the men could go as they pleased

not a man moved, their eyes glazed
straight ahead till one by one they
stepped back and not a word was said
and the old general was left with his
own words echoing in his head
he then prepared to fight

I have seen the others
and I have discovered
that this fight is not worth fighting
I have seen their mothers
and I will no other
to follow me where I'm going

go now you are forgiven

General



This band also has another link worth noting. Thank you. (click here)

Gabrielle moving through eastern N.C. without much of an impact

I went out to take a look and the storm wasn't much of a storm. Basically, the way I see this tropical storm is an 'anti-cyclonic' heat transfer system. The clouds, especially at the periphery were dry and the clouds were 'typical' heat transfer clouds. These huge cloud masses packing a lot of heat in a few 'cloud types' but absolutely no rain. Some of the clouds were dark and looked like they could be storm clouds, but, basically it was a heat transfer system with an anti-cyclonic spin.

The weather services, no matter the station, did a great job. I am confident there were lives saved especially considering the sea swells and the fact boat services were suspended. I appreciate all the broadcast news considering one never knows these days what exactly we are facing until these storms make landfall. This one was atypical and should be investigated for it's 'dryness' and 'anti-cyclonic' flow. I appreciate all the news coverage and I am confident it gave enough people pause when they might have ventured into a dangerous surf and undertow.

By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer

HATTERAS, N.C. - A mostly punchless Tropical Storm Gabrielle washed ashore Sunday in North Carolina, crawling slowly along the state's famed Outer Banks without chasing vacationers from the shore or surfers from the beach....

...If anything, residents of eastern North Carolina were annoyed that Gabrielle failed to dump much rain inland. All of the state's 100 counties are experiencing drought conditions, 91 in a severe drought or worse, and there was hope the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season to reach the state would prove to be a blessing.

While some spots did get some decent rain - nearly 5 inches in Harlow in rural Carteret County, and about an inch in nearby New Bern and Beaufort - Gabrielle was mostly a tease.

"We're glad we didn't have any flooding or wind damage, but the rain would have been nice," Jarema said. "The coast got some rain, but they were the ones with the least problems from the drought."...

Morning Papers - It's Origins

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

Prayer to End Climate Change

By CARRIE McGOURTY

Sept. 7, 2007

Religious leaders from all over the world met at the mouth of a melting glacier in Greenland today to say a silent prayer for the planet, appealing to mankind to address the impact that humanity is having on life on Earth.

A group of nearly 200 scientists, theologians and government officials sailed into the ice fields of the Illulissat Icefjord, the largest glacier in Greenland that is bearing the brunt of global warming.

Watch a video of Bill Blakemore's tour of the ice wonders of Greenland here.

The pope delivered a message via video from the Vatican while religious leaders of Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths prayed silently.

"We're all in awe of this spectacle," said Neal Ascherson, a spokesperson for Religion, Science and the Environment (RSE), the group coordinating the event....

With little fanfare, war protester reaches goal of nationwide trek

Bill McDannell Walks 3000 miles for Peace! (click here for You Tube statement)

By Michael Stetz / San Diego Union-Tribune
LAKESIDE – Bill McDannell walked from Arlington National Cemetery to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday.
Once he reached the steps, he stopped and shed a few tears.
He had done it.
He had walked 3,185 miles from Lakeside to Washington, D.C. He had walked across the United States.
“I was overcome,” said McDannell, who began his walk in November to protest the war in Iraq.
No reporters met him at the end of his quest. No TV cameras were there. Other than occasional local TV reports and newspaper articles in mostly small-town America, he was unable to attract much media coverage.
At the end, it was just McDannell, his wife, Jonna, and their two dogs. Tourists buzzed around the Capitol, oblivious to his accomplishment, he said.
It was surreal and wonderful at the same time.
“I really wish I could describe it. I can't,” McDannell said.
McDannell had hoped, of course, that his effort would draw more attention, that in some small way a man from Lakeside could have some impact on the national conversation regarding the war.
But the war goes on and shows no sign of ending anytime soon. And that fact is not lost on him.
“Our measure of success was arriving,” said McDannell, 58, a former Methodist minister.
Why didn't national TV crews pick up McDannell's story, the same way they did when Steve Vaught, a San Diego man dubbed “Fat Man Walking,” trekked across the country to lose weight? McDannell thinks it's because he just wasn't gimmicky enough.
He didn't wear a glow-in-the-dark Uncle Sam suit, he said.
“I didn't talk like a freak. I didn't act like a freak,” McDannell said. “I offered no entertainment value.”
Now what?
He and his wife are broke, having sold their double-wide trailer to finance the walk. For now, they're staying with McDannell's son in Alexandria, Va.
McDannell hopes to meet with members of Congress, to call for a quick end to the war.
“The anti-war left is actually the disgusted middle,” he said.
After lobbying Congress, McDannell might walk some more to protest the war. Maybe he'll hike to the state capitals in New England this fall and then do the same in the southeast in the winter.
For now, though, he's just trying to savor this moment.
“I did it for a cause I believe in,” McDannell said. “A country I believe in.”