Clipmarks | debbyski's 'war' clips

The Imprecise Meaning Of War

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:45:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Unless Congress closes a gaping hole in the law against war profiteering, companies ripping off taxpayers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may never be fully prosecuted. This is because the latest conflicts are not declared wars.

The anti-fraud law dating to World War II allows prosecution of contractors up to three years after a war ends. But this statute of limitations was omitted from the resolutions authorizing military force in Iraq and Afghanistan, which carried no formal war declaration.

Investigators say that current war fraud runs into untold billions, including faulty ammunition and vehicles and not-so-bullet-proof vests. Investigative officials and the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction have testified that they’re hampered by the ongoing conflicts and need more time to catch contract thieves after they end.

Coming Late To The Table

Sat, 31 May 2008 13:25:44 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "The war in Iraq, which has taken 100,000 or more Iraqi lives, and which will cost the U.S. upwards of $3 trillion, and which continues indefinitely, is a scandal and a crime. Scott McClellan is a little late to be blowing the whistle on this outrage.
More important than his belated musings on the war, and his aggrieved take on the leaking of a C.I.A. operative’s identity, is Mr. McClellan’s warning about the “culture of deception” that has poisoned the very atmosphere of national politics and government.
Forget that this is supposed to be a government of, by and for the people, and that the truth is supposed to matter. Mr. McClellan is being denounced as a traitor by those who readily accept the culture of deception, and who believe that a government official’s primary loyalty is not to the people, but to power itself — in this case, to the president."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

I guess it’s official now since we have a Bush administration insider, Scott McClellan, telling us that the war in Iraq was a monumental strategic blunder, and that it was sold cynically and deceitfully to a craven Congress and to a public still traumatized by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Some of us already knew that, Scott. Some of us knew it at the time.

In his new book, “What Happened,” Mr. McClellan even tells us that wars “should only be waged when necessary.”

Gee, Scott, some of us have known that deep in our hearts all of our lives.

Reading Mr. McClellan’s book, I kept thinking of the many ordinary people — the service members, their relatives, and so many others — who have suffered so grievously from this misbegotten and thoroughly unnecessary war.

That is just the tiniest glimpse of the sort of thing that happens when a president refuses to heed the call of reason and instead, immaturely and unforgivably, sends his country’s brave young volunteers into a pointless conflagration.

What Happened?

Fri, 30 May 2008 12:58:04 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

WHATEVER qualities George W. Bush brought to the presidency, the ability to inspire loyalty in others obviously was not among them.

Truth to tell, though, there's never been anything in presidential history quite like the stream of self-justifying memoirs this administration already has generated.

* The president went to war against Iraq to secure his place in history and to spread democracy in the Middle East. Because he and his aides knew the case for war couldn't be sold to the American people on that basis, the president deliberately oversold and misrepresented intelligence on Saddam Hussein's links to international terrorism and his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction in what amounted to a "propaganda campaign."

The White House and its surrogates deny all this, stressing that as the deputy press secretary during the run-up to the war, McClellan wasn't in a position to have firsthand knowledge concerning some of the issues he discusses in this book.

Tags: duh

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

Wed, 28 May 2008 04:10:24 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: by Charles Manson prosecutor and Helter Skelter author Vincent Bugliosi. Click on the video and see how serious he is about a legal case against Bush. His prosecution record is almost flawless too.

Clip Source: www.prosecutionofbush.com

A SEARING INDICTMENT
Famed prosecutor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Vincent Bugliosi has written the most powerful, explosive, and thought-provoking book of his storied career. As a prosecutor dedicated to seeking justice, he delivers a non-partisan argument, free from party lines, based upon hard facts and pure objectivity. More

“SOMEONE HAS TO PAY”
In The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Bugliosi presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting in Iraq. Watch this video interview to learn why he believes we must bring those responsible for the war in Iraq to justice. More

Tags: bush, iraq war, conspiracy, fraud, crime, bugliosi

Don't Fly Me Baby

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:57:23 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Soon after the Gulf War in 1991, a group of military women pressed Congress to allow female pilots to fly combat missions. But a Vietnam War hero in the Senate, John McCain, pushed back hard.

McCain lost that legislative battle, and women pilots started moving into combat roles in the mid-1990s.

And though they remain barred from ground combat units, women -- who make up about 15% of the military -- are playing a bigger fighting role than ever. About 100 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

McCain's aides said only that he stood by his past positions, suggesting that he would resist pressures for change.

In the 1991 debate over women pilots, McCain took a traditionalist stance. "This nation has existed for over 215 years," McCain said. "At no time in the history of our nation have women been in combat roles."

McCain's long-standing opposition to women in combat has raised questions among his critics about his commitment to women's rights.

What I Want to Ask Mary Tillman

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:32:53 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: I want to ask her what she thinks of a president who, armed with the facts, would lie over Pat’s dead body. I want to know if she believes George W. Bush belongs in prison.

But I also want to ask Mary Tillman about the person her son was, and the person her son was becoming: the Pat Tillman moving against the war in Iraq; the Pat Tillman who was a voracious reader, turning his attention to critics of empire like Noam Chomsky; the Pat Tillman whose journal and personal effects were burned and destroyed immediately following his death.

This is a Pat Tillman who deserves to be heard.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

This Friday, I will have the privilege to interview Mary Tillman, the mother of the late Pat Tillman: former NFL player turned Army Ranger, turned casualty of a criminal war.

Mary Tillman has written a book along with Narda Zacchino called Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman. It’s a heart-ripping account of one family’s lonely search for justice, and how, even aided by public outcry and heavy hitters in Congress, the truth about what actually happened to Mary’s son remains at arm’s length.

Mary Tillman and the Tillman family are a very true reflection about where we are as a country and where we are as a people desperate to end this war. They are furious and disillusioned, like so many of us. They are also isolated and dislocated from the kind of movement that could bring the troops home…like so many of us.

I want to ask Mary Tillman about all of this. I also want to ask Mary Tillman why she believes this government chose to smother Tillman’s death in propaganda

John Crusak Goes To War

Fri, 23 May 2008 16:01:22 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

John Cusack is angry. And he thinks you should be too.

He's angry enough to take what might be a suicidal cinematic chance: making a stylized satire of a war in progress.

STORY: Review: 'War, Inc.'

"Everything is outsourced; everything is for profit," the 42-year-old actor-writer-director said recently in an interview at his Venice production office. "I don't think people really understand that. Corporations have privatized the war to the point where the war itself is the cost-plus business. They are hollowing out the very core function of what it means to be a government. They're using the State Department as an ATM."

He scoffs: "They should be sent to prison. They should be convicted. Their ideology should be shamed. We should revolt against them. We should mock them."

Insanity Defined

Wed, 21 May 2008 19:01:21 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.amconmag.com

President Bush deserves to have this anniversary memorably marked. Five years of fighting since he pronounced the end of “major combat operations” attests to a singular capacity for delusion—except that his would-be successor is as least as reality-challenged.

Anyone inclined to think John McCain remotely capable of ending the war—see the letters section of our last issue—might take a look at his predictions. The aircraft-carrier address looks almost sane by comparison:

“I don’t believe it’s going to be nearly the size and scope that it was in 1991.” 9.15.02

“There’s not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shias. So I think they can probably get along.” 4.23.03

“Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war.” 8.04

“Iraq is now the central front in the war against al-Qaeda.” 9.16.07

The Only Woman to Earn the Congressional Medal of Honor

Wed, 07 May 2008 13:30:34 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: The following is a Woman of Courage profile written and produced by the St. Lawrence County, NY Branch of the American Association of University Women. - http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/walker.htm

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (November 26, 1832 – February 21, 1919) was an American feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war, surgeon, and the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

After the war, Walker was recommended for the Medal of Honor by Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas. On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to present her the medal, specifically for her services at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas).

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

In 1917, the U.S. Congress, after revising the standards for award of the medal so that it could only be given to those who had been involved in "actual combat with an enemy", revoked more than 900 previously-awarded medals, including that of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker and William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Although ordered to return the medal, she refused to do so and continued to wear it until her death.

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

President Jimmy Carter restored her medal posthumously in 1977.

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Tags: mary edwards walker, civil war

Lessons in Manliness: Theodore Roosevelt and the Spanish-American War

Fri, 02 May 2008 08:12:24 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: "Theodore Roosevelt, who arguably accomplished more than any other American man, called his experience in the Spanish-American War, “the great day of my life.” It was during his charge up Kettle Hill that Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership and confidence finally crystallized. He passed the test and emerged as a leader capable of ascending to the presidency."

Clip Source: artofmanliness.com

His actions during the war impart crucial lessons on manly leadership:

1. Walk the Walk.

Teddy pestered the Secretary of the Navy for a commission in the army. He then sold his cattle ranch and some of his possessions, and took out life insurance in preparation of receiving it. He was fully prepared to put his money where his mouth (and pen) was.

2. Know your limitations.

Teddy was never short on confidence, but he didn’t let cocksureness slip into arrogance.

3. Pick the best men for your team.

surround yourself with the best men,

be the kind of leader men fall over each to serve under

4. Be one of the men.

When the Rough Riders arrived in Cuba,

Roosevelt walked alongside the men, refusing to ride while they were marching

5. Lead by example.

Don’t ask others to do anything you are afraid of doing yourself.

As bodies piled up all around him, TR stayed on his horse as an example of courage.

6. See it through.

In 2001, Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Tags: history, leadership

Is GW FUCKING Crazy Or Just Finally Telling The Truth?

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:31:55 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

"War critics can no longer credibly argue that we are losing in Iraq, so now they argue the war costs too much."

Read that again. He's saying it today, the fifth anniversary of a war that in his own words means we were losing four out of those five years.

"War critics can no longer credibly argue that we are losing in Iraq..."

WE WERE LOSING.

The President says so...now

For those who, like Bill O'Reilly, who ask for proof that the President had lied, now have it. From his own mouth.

For the first four years, he was LYING.

If the President is not lying now and my math is right, that means he lied for 80% of the war.

But even if he is telling the truth now, it's a truth that is nauseatingly offensive.

Mr. President...Are you saying your wholesale mismanagement of this war makes all the lives and treasures lost still "necessary"?

Tags: you, offensive, son, of, a, bitch

18 Media Flaws & Lies: Do You Remember?

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:20:34 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Could you ever forget?

Clip Source: www.motherjones.com

The Iraq Follies

Commentary: Eighteen things you've already forgotten about the media's flawed coverage of Iraq

Table of Contents

O'Reilly said, "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation; I will not trust the Bush administration again, all right?"

Phil Donahue

"presents a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war.... At the same time our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity."

MSNBC's

"We're all neocons now."

"I'm waiting to hear the words 'I was wrong' from some of the world's most elite journalists, politicians, and Hollywood types."

New York Times

"As far as I am concerned, we do not need to find any weapons of mass destruction to justify this war.... Mr. Bush doesn't owe the world any explanation for missing chemical weapons."

Bush's comedy routine

joked, "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere...Nope, no weapons over there...Maybe under here?"

Petraeus goes out

in an unarmed Humvee

Tags: iraq, invasion, media, lies

March 19 blogswarm against the war

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:44:09 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: 5th anniversary of the debacle's beginning

Clip Source: march19-blogswarm.blogspot.com

This blogswarm will promote blog postings opposing the war in Iraq and calling for a full withdrawal of foreign occupying forces in Iraq.

if you are having difficulty making up your mind:

Attend an anti-war event and report on it.

Interview military families and veterans.

NEW IDEA: Blog reactions to Pacifica's Live Radio Coverage of the Winter Soldier testimony by Iraq Vets would be of great interest. Coverage from the event in Washington, DC would be great too. This event deserves all the coverage it can possibly get.

Examine current plans and the rather shadowy oil laws as well as long term military bases.

Compare and contrast candidates stated intentions on what they claim they will do with their records.

Publicize online action alerts by pro-peace organizations.

Discuss the economic impacts of the war on people in Iraq and/or western countries.

Discuss the casualties on both sides.

Explore issues and impacts often ignored by most media outlets.

Analyze war propaganda.

Tags: iraq, war on terror, politics

What Does Hell Cost?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 04:22:59 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.truthout.org

War is hell - deadly, dangerous, and expensive. But just how expensive is it?

Glad you asked. If we consider the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan together - which we might as well do, since we and our children and grandchildren will be paying for them together into the distant future - a conservative single-week estimate comes to $3.5 billion. Remember, that's per week!

By contrast, the whole international community spends less than $400 million per year on the International Atomic Energy Agency, the primary institution for monitoring and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons; that's less than one day's worth of war costs. The U.S. government spends just $1 billion per year securing and destroying loose nuclear weapons and bomb-making materials, or less than two days' worth of war costs; and Washington spends a total of just $7 billion per year on combating global warming, or a whopping two weeks' worth of war costs.

Tags: feel, safer, now

Collateral Damage

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:58:36 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "But I would be doing Iraqi women and Zangana's "City of Windows" a disservice by solely focusing on suffering and their role as victims. Because despite the web of destruction, violence and repression Iraqi women face on a daily basis, we must not forget their acts of courage and empowerment despite the hardships they are facing"

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

This year we should use the holiday to observe and reflect on the suffering of Iraqi women, who have become invisible "collateral damage" in our country's war in this now defenseless Middle Eastern nation. A good place to start would be by picking up and reading Haifa Zangana's book, "City of Windows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance." Zangana is an Iraqi woman, journalist and activist, who was also a former prisoner of Saddam Hussein's regime. She dedicated her book to A'beer Quassim Hamza al-Janaby.

Who is al-Janaby?

She was a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was gang raped and set on fire by five U.S. soldiers in March 2006 (while her family was murdered as well). This is just one extreme case. But while this horrifying crime received some attention in the media, though not nearly enough (think JonBenet Ramsey), there have been countless others which have gone uncovered.

Clipmarks | debbyski's 'war' clips

The Imprecise Meaning Of War

Coming Late To The Table

What Happened?

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

Don't Fly Me Baby

What I Want to Ask Mary Tillman

John Crusak Goes To War

Related

Insanity Defined

The Only Woman to Earn the Congressional Medal of Honor

Lessons in Manliness: Theodore Roosevelt and the Spanish-American War

Is GW FUCKING Crazy Or Just Finally Telling The Truth?

18 Media Flaws & Lies: Do You Remember?

The Iraq Follies

March 19 blogswarm against the war

What Does Hell Cost?

Collateral Damage