Clipmarks | jklugman's 'iraq' clips

Obama removes surge criticism from his website

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:38:45 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: More change.

Barack Obama's campaign scrubbed his presidential Web site over the weekend to remove criticism of the U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq, the Daily News has learned.

The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a "problem" that had barely reduced violence.

"The surge is not working," Obama's old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province.

... Campaign aide Wendy Morigi said Obama is "not softening his criticism of the surge. We regularly update the Web site to reflect changes in current events."

(... And he thought nobody would notice.)

Not only is this a tacit admission that Obama was wrong about the surge ("judgment" -- not experience -- matters most, right?) -- but this move also shows a more sinister, secretive Obama.

KBR Outlaws Personal Cell Phones

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:50:30 GMT

clipped by: cliffhammond
clipper's remarks: By forbidding the use of private cell phones, KBR can now route all calls through the company exchange and MONITOR them.

Clip Source: rawstory.com

KBR, Inc., formerly a division of Halliburton as Kellogg, Brown & Root, has ordered employees in the Middle East to turn in their personal cell phones, citing "a safety and security concern."

As CNN reported, an e-mail sent to KBR employees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait ordered employees to stop using their phones and turn them in, warning of disciplinary action, including termination, for noncompliance. One employee, refusing to surrender his phone, said that no reason was given for the demand, and that he was "not aware of any security breaches involving the use of cell phones."

Defense contractor orders Iraq employees to surrender cell phones

Tags: fascism, fisa, corporatism, kbr, cell phones

Experts warned Blair of Iraq mess

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:30:53 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks:

Joffe got the impression of "someone with a very shallow mind, who's not interested in issues other than the personalities of the top people, no interest in social forces, political trends, etc".

Clip Source: blogs.cqpolitics.com

Jonathan Steele's Defeat: Why They Lost Iraq, which describes a prewar session that British Prime Minister Tony Blair held with outside-government experts who offered their views on what might occur in Iraq following an invasion:

George Joffe, an Arabist from Cambridge University,

"We all pretty much said the same thing," Joffe recalls. "Iraq is a very complicated country, there are tremendous intercommunal resentments, and don't imagine you'll be welcomed." He remembers how Blair reacted. "He looked at me and said, 'But the man's uniquely evil, isn't he?' I was a bit nonplussed. It didn't seem to be very relevant." Recovering, Joffe went on to argue that Saddam was constrained by various factors, to which Blair merely repeated his first point: "He can make choices, can't he?" As Joffe puts it, "He meant he can choose to be good or evil, I suppose."

Tags: tony blair, iraq, war, uk, incompetence

Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP to Get No-Bid Oil Contracts in Iraq

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:41:49 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Big oil got its baby back, after 36 years of waiting.

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP to Get No-Bid Oil Contracts in Iraq

The New York Times reports four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations on contracts that will return them to Iraq for the first time in thirty-six years. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP—the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company—are among the corporations in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest oil fields. The Times reports it is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts. Americans continue to serve as advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Tags: oil, energy, war

Chancellor of American U-Iraq a "pull-your-dick" kind of guy

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:16:12 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: Via Henry at Crooked Timber

Clip Source: insidehighered.com

the American University of Iraq, a Western-style institution in the war-torn country’s northern region that promises to “lead the transformation of Iraq into a liberal and democratic society.”

The university’s lofty aspirations, as espoused on its Web site, make the selection of its first chancellor all the more puzzling. Owen Cargol, who took the helm at AU-Iraq in 2007 and resigned in late April of this year, had a checkered past

The sexual harassment scandal that brought down Cargol at Northern Arizona University in 2001 was well publicized,

Cargol’s 2001 resignation stemmed from allegations made by a Northern Arizona employee who alleged that Cargol, while naked in a locker room, grabbed the employee’s genitals, the Arizona Republic reported. In a subsequent e-mail to the employee, Cargol described himself as “a rub-your-belly, grab-your-balls, give-you-a-hug, slap-your-back, pull-your-dick, squeeze-your-hand, cheek-your-face, and pat-your-thigh kind of guy.”

Tags: american university, owen cargol, iraq, higher-education

92% of max Bush contributors not giving now; Iraq concern

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:51:55 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "I always considered myself a Republican, primarily because of a belief in smaller government. And if you want a smaller government, you don’t want wars — especially wars that can be avoided."

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

Citing Iraq opposition, former Bush donors are reluctant to donate to McCain.»

A CQ analysis shows that only about 8 percent of the 62,800 donors who gave the maximum contribution of $2,000 to Bush in 2004 had given to McCain as of April 30. Moreover, at least 46 of Bush’s 2004 donors have contributed significantly to both Obama and Clinton but are not listed as McCain donors. One, a lifelong Republican who donated $2,000 to Bush in 2004, said that he will not donate to McCain because of the senator’s fervent support of the Iraq war:

I always considered myself a Republican, primarily because of a belief in smaller government. And if you want a smaller government, you don’t want wars — especially wars that can be avoided.

Tags: bush, republicans, politics

Iraq Family Health Survey Study Group_NEJM

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:07:39 GMT

clipped by: cduck19802002
clipper's remarks: Violence-Related Mortality in Iraq from 2002 to 2006

Clip Source: content.nejm.org

Background Estimates of the death toll in Iraq from the timeof the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 until June 2006 haveranged from 47,668

to 601,027

Results Interviewers visited 89.4% of 1086 household clustersduring the study period; the household response rate was 96.2%.From January 2002 through June 2006, there were 1325 reporteddeaths. After adjustment for missing clusters, the overall rateof death per 1000 person-years was 5.31 (95% confidence interval[CI], 4.89 to 5.77); the estimated rate of violence-relateddeath was 1.09 (95% CI, 0.81 to 1.50). When underreporting wastaken into account, the rate of violence-related death was estimatedto be 1.67 (95% uncertainty range, 1.24 to 2.30). This ratetranslates into an estimated number of violent deaths of 151,000(95% uncertainty range, 104,000 to 223,000) from March 2003through June 2006.

Say no to AP's shoddy work

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:37:42 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: news.bostonherald.com

When a company defrauds its customers, or delivers shoddy goods, the customers sooner or later are going to take their business elsewhere. But if that company has a virtual monopoly, and offers something its customers must have, they may have no choice but to keep taking it.

That’s when the customers, en masse, need to raise a stink. That’s when someone else with the resources needs to seriously consider whether the time is ripe to compete.

The Associated Press is embroiled in a scandal. Conservative bloggers, the new media watchdogs, lifted a rock at the AP.

Curt at Floppingaces, www.floppingaces2.blogspot.com, led the charge. He thought there was something strange about an AP report, and took a second look at it, then a third look. He and others blew the lid off it. The AP is making up war crimes. But the resulting stink in the blogosphere has barely wrinkled a nose in the mainstream press. The ethics-obsessed Poynter Institute seems to be oblivious to it.

It has to do with the AP’s Iraqi stringers and an oft-quoted Iraqi police captain named Jamil Hussein. Problem is, the Iraqi police say Capt. Hussein does not exist. The Iraqi police and U.S. military say an incident described in an AP report - Iraqi soldiers standing by as people were burned alive in a mosque - didn’t happen. Another AP-reported incident, U.S. soldiers shooting 11 civilians, also never happened, the military says.

When the AP was forced to acknowledge this situation, it did so in a story about a new Interior Ministry policy regarding false reports. The AP buried the fact that its own false report prompted this new policy.

Tags: media, press, iraq, iraq war, fraud, ap, associated press

VA Conceals Vet Suicide Figures to Downplay Epidemic

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:37:59 GMT

clipped by: AcesLucky
clipper's remarks: What do the constant lies from this administration tell you?

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

VA Conceals Vet Suicide Figures From CBS To Downplay ‘Epidemic In Suicide’»

Yesterday marked the opening day of a class action lawsuit brought by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), arguing “that failure to provide care is manifesting itself in an epidemic of suicides” among veterans. The VA denies the charges, pointing to increased resources devoted to mental health.

Today, CBS News reports that the VA apparently concealed veteran suicide statistics, and fed the news organization faulty data for a story on the issue. The VA told CBS that there were 790 attempted suicides in all of 2007. Yet shortly after, the VA’s head of Mental Health, Dr. Ira Katz, wrote in an e-mail to the VA’s top media adviser that there were “about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities.”

Tags: war, suicide, bush, iraq

The Volunteer Army: Who Fights and Why?

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:10:53 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: Michael Massing went to Ft. Drum in New York to interview soldiers about why they joined the army.

("these books" he refers to in this clip are recently-published soldier memoirs; "Bradley's" is a military supply store)

Overall, the average bonus paid to Army enlistees jumped from $11,100 in 2005 to $16,500 in 2007. This is one of the main reasons why the Army has been able to meet its recruiting goals in spite of the ongoing specter of serving in Iraq.

Another is the relaxation of admission standards. In 2007, 11 percent of all new recruits received "moral waivers" for being in trouble with the law—double the proportion in 2003. Over that same period, the proportion of enlistees who had finished high school fell from 90 to 71 percent—the lowest level in twenty-five years. Due largely to the Iraq war, the Army now includes far more recruits from the troubled, truant, tattooed ranks of the population.

Clip Source: www.nybooks.com

In these books, the idea of joining the military to defend America or uphold its values is largely absent. Rather, these soldiers signed up to escape dead-end jobs, failed relationships, broken families, bills, toothaches, and boredom. The armed forces offered a haven from the struggles and strains of life in modern-day America, a place to gain security and skills, discipline and self-esteem.

That initial group of interviews at Bradley's would mirror those I had throughout my stay. In all, I would speak with about thirty soldiers, and roughly one of every four would tell me that he had joined the military mainly for idealistic reasons, for some larger cause. Often, in describing those reasons, these soldiers would sound vague—"I've wanted to be a soldier since I was young," they would say, or "my family has always served in the Army." (A family history in the military features strongly in the decision of many enlistees.)

Tags: iraq, war, military, recruitment

Iraqi Feel-Good Stories Prove Elusive

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:24:06 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: Garrett Therolf, LAT reporter, talks about his efforts to report on good news in Iraq when he was there earlier this year.

The military prevented Therolf from following-up on the army's efforts to establish a local bank branch in a Sunni Arab neighborhood. The neighborhood was too dangerous for him to enter without military guard.

Therolf also pursued a story about a restaurant in Baghdad started by some Chinese nationals. They declined to be interviewed because they were scared, and they may even go back to China because of the danger.

For those of you who criticize the media for focusing on the negative in Iraq, this is something you should consider.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

During a tour of Iraq a year earlier, I encountered mostly pessimism among the Iraqis I interviewed. A reader wrote me to say that I was an "Al Qaeda cheerleader" for a story that included quotes from U.S. soldiers troubled about the difficulties of fighting insurgents. Many more asked, "Isn't there some good news to report?"

Because of such fears and the inefficiency that pervades the capital, these "good news" stories evaporated before I could tell them. After only a month in Iraq, I once again left having filed mostly "bad news" stories.

Tags: iraq, journalism, media

Water Makes US Troops in Iraq Sick

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:42:54 GMT

clipped by: nebby12
clipper's remarks: Someone needs to be accountable for this & prosecuted to the highest degree. Unbelievable.

Clip Source: apnews1.iwon.com

WASHINGTON (AP) - Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says.

A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.

The Pentagon's inspector general found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc. (KBR), and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.

KBR is a former subsidiary of Halliburton Co. (HAL), the oil services conglomerate that Cheney once led.

US made deal with devil to stabilize Iraq

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:03:55 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: Chris Hedges is the author of this editorial.

...those who support the continuation of the war insist that "the surge" has been successful. But the surge...did little to thwart attacks.

"The big news of the past year, the smashing up of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the stabilization of a lot of Sunni Arab areas, has virtually nothing to do with the surge," said Wayne White, former deputy director of the State Department's Middle East Intelligence unit. "What we have done, in effect, is we have made a deal with the devil in order to get rid of al-Qaeda. We have allowed nearly 100,000 tough Sunni Arab fighters to organize and arm themselves as they never could before when they had to operate underground. We have destroyed a nasty insurgency and replaced it with a more deeply rooted and broad-based potential insurgency."

Clip Source: www.philly.com

In selling the American public on the "surge" strategy in Iraq, the White House and the military have praised the funding and support of Sunni Arab militias in Iraq. We are being told this strategy is yet another proof of "success" in Iraq - when in fact it is a short-term tactic that could result in horrific blowback.

These Sunnis, many of whom once belonged to extremist organizations that attacked U.S. troops, currently receive salaries (each fighter gets $300 a month) from the U.S. military. In return, they have been asked for support to control parts of the country where there is a Sunni Arab majority; target jihadists; and end assaults on U.S. troops. These militias have replaced local government officials, including police, and taken over local administration and security in many pockets of Iraq. They have carved out, with our assistance, independent fiefdoms.

Tags: iraq, chris hedges, surge, al-qaeda, sunni, civil war, war

Rebuilding Iraq: Congress Told of Failures

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 13:34:12 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: select.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 — In a sweeping new assessment of reconstruction failures in Iraq, a federal inspector told Congress on Thursday that 13 of 14 major projects built by the American contractor Parsons that were examined by his agency were substandard, with construction deficiencies and other serious problems.

The final project, a prison near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, was terminated for other reasons, said the inspector, Stuart Bowen, who heads the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Delays and cost overruns led to its cancellation.

Work by two of the other largest contractors in Iraq — Bechtel and KBR, which was formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root and is a subsidiary of Halliburton — also came in for severe criticism during the lengthy hearing.

Democrats and Republicans on the panel posed some of the most scathing questions yet to executives from Parsons, a company that has received little but criticism in the last year for projects including prisons, border forts, clinics and hospitals.

“This debacle is not just a waste of taxpayers’ funds, and it doesn’t just impact the reconstruction,” Representative Henry A. Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said of one of the failed projects. “It impedes the entire effort in Iraq. This is the lens in which the Iraqis will view America.”

Tags: iraq, kbr, halliburton

Marine Recruiters Busted in Exam Fraud

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:51:23 GMT

clipped by: jklugman

Clip Source: www.chron.com

Nine Marine Corps recruiters who worked in the Houston area were punished for using fraudulent stand-ins to take military-entrance exams for prospective recruits who might not otherwise measure up, the military confirmed Wednesday.

Eight of the recruiters were reassigned and given non-judicial punishment, which could include fines and reduction in rank. Another, considered the worst offender, was discharged from the service.

Harold Hyman, a Rice University professor emeritus of history and a Marine in World War II, said he felt pity for recruiters who broke the law in a desperate race to meet quotas because of the Iraq war. He noted that recruiters have been known for generations to go to great lengths to sign anyone up.

Tags: marines, military, iraq