Why We Care

A touching, inspiring video passed along from my friend Sharilyn, a fellow USAF Veteran and wonderful human being who is becoming a doctor. Let this five minutes move you on this Veterans Day.

A Fighting Chance

60 Minutes did a segment last year, A Fighting Chance, on the field medical hospital at Balad AB, Iraq, its personnel, and the CCATT missions to Landstuhl, Germany. I know some of the people in the segment and as a result of being married to a CCATT doctor for the last several years, I understand the anguish. A fact to keep in mind:

"Many hospitals in the United States treat perhaps three or four trauma patients a month. Balad handles 246 monthly, with 150 evaluated for traumatic brain injuries, from admissions totaling 500."

Please watch it and let yourself feel about the people who show up everyday to save lives and those they care for. These medical personnel make the horror of this misbegotten war/occupation a tiny bit easier to bear because of the care these brave people provide. Watch it here.

Tin Soldiers

A little interruption in what was a perfectly nice day. From VetVoice:

When two deaths in Iraq were announced late Sunday, something didn't sound right. It wasn't combat, there was no mention of a vehicle accident, and with two dead, it clearly wasn't a suicide...

US Soldier in Iraq Kills Superior and Another Soldier

The Uncounted

News Release from Bethesda Naval Hospital: Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths

These deaths are not part of the "official" casualty count, and have not surpassed those of Vietnam veterans, but are near-to-topping the current official combat death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every death connected to the illegal occupation of Iraq and the poorly-directed fight in Afghanistan, is tragic. The Bush administrations 'new math' method of counting which obfuscates the true death and injury toll, is criminal. The American people are far too disconnected from the effects of these conflicts, and the cooked accounting of the true human toll only adds to the lack of attention paid by the 99% of Americans who don't have a dog in this fight.

In all past wars, Americans shared the burdens of war. During the draft, most people had or knew someone serving. During other conflicts, there was rationing, war industry staffed by American women, sacrifices being shared. At the very least, everyone saw the coffins coming home which this administration forbids. BushCo keeps the impact as far away from the public as possible; their idea of support:go shopping.

With the economy being front and center of most American's attention, the chances of this story seeing any light of day or stirring public outcry is negligible.

McBush gets K.O.'d

"No, but that's not too important..." Keith hammers McCain on his comment regarding the troops leaving Iraq. Read full transcript here.

The context of the kaleidoscope of confused rhetoric, and endless non sequitur, and mutually exclusive conclusions—and what they add up to: a veritable tragedy, a microcosm of the American tragedy that is Iraq, a tragedy of a man who himself will never understand… "the context."

Your tragedy, Sen. McCain?

No. I’m sorry.

This tragedy is of Justin Mixon of Bogalusa, Louisiana. And it’s of Christopher McCarthy of Virginia Beach. It’s of Quincy Green of El Paso, and Joshua Waltenbaugh of Ford City, P.A. The tragedy is of Shane Duffy of Taunton Mass, and Jonathan Emard of Mesquite, Texas. It’s of Cody Legg of Escondido in California, and David Hurst of Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The tragedy is of Thomas Duncan the 3rd of Rowlett, Texas, and Tyler Pickett of Saratoga, Wyoming.

And who are they, Senator?

They are ten Americans, who have died in Iraq since the first of this month. There are four more. The Defense Department has not yet identified the others.

Friendly Fire?

"Friendly Fire" is definitely not the term to be used in relation to Pat Tillman's death, and his mother, Mary Tillman now has a book out that addresses the facts as we know them.

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman is the chronicle of truth-seeking by a mother who's son was most likely fragged. It appears to be a must-read for those opposed to the war/occupation, and those who believe the rosy picture painted by the Bushies.

The Arizona Republic, a decidedly right-leaning newspaper, has a good read on Mary Tillman's crusade for the facts leading to her son's death, and an attempt to breach the truth/information divide engineered by BushCo. Mary Tillman will appear tonight on 60 Minutes and hopefully the light bulb of knowledge and the rage that follows such enlightenment, will rouse the American ire to at the very least, a dull roar.

UPDATE: Just watched the Mary Tillman segment on 60 Minutes. I sure do dislike Katie Couric, the MSM has it nose so far up the corporate ass they cannot conduct an interview or make an inquiry that questions the BushCo/Pentagon line. The questions were weak with no follow-up and the biggest question wasn't asked, "Who killed Pat Tillman?" Nor was the the fact revealed that Pat Tillman's autopsy showed he had been shot in the head three times at a range determined to be 10-15 yards. Hardly a distance a fellow unit member would be unable to identify Pat or not see the 'cease fire' signal he and other unit members consistently flashed during the "friendly fire" incident. While Couric questioned the newest ass-kisser in the cabinet, Sec. of the Army Pete Gehren, she barely questioned him past his response that, "there was no purposeful deceit or cover-up." Whatever Katie and 60 Minutes, whatever.

The Assembly Line of Death

Will Americans notice? Dave Lindorff chimes in:

Well, the toll of wasted American lives in Iraq has hit 4000. But hey, who’s counting? Certainly not the folks in the White House and the Pentagon, and certainly not John McCain, the prospective Republican nominee for president, who thinks the war is going just dandy.

But it’s worth noting that about a year ago, around the time that Bush’s “surge” plan got implemented with the addition of some 30,000 additional troops to the Iraq theater, the number of dead was about 3000. So it’s fair to say that Bush’s “surge” policy—his “escalation of the war in order to end it” plan—has directly led to the deaths of 1000 more young American men and women.

While looking on my own blogroll of news websites, finding a link on passing the 4000 dead soldier mark, was a relatively disappointing experience. I found few articles in the left blogosphere.

This "milestone" it's worth mentioning, DOES NOT INCLUDE the more than 4000 deaths that have occurred out-of-theater since the invasion of Iraq. These deaths are not part of the official DoD death toll because Dubya says so, and he's The Decider. Just more of the subterfuge to keep the Natives quiet.

As I've mentioned before, even the left is asleep to the loss of life and sacrifices being made by the military. Way to support the troops America.

Antiwar carries the AP story of the death toll.

"Not us, we're not going."

A quote from the article at Army Times describing a troop "mutiny" in Iraq. After a staggering number of losses in the same company, soldiers speak out and refuse to return to 'Old Mod.'

“You never really get over the anger,” said Staff Sgt. Robin Johnson, a member of Charlie’s scout platoon who had been especially close to Agami. “It just kind of becomes everything you are. You become pissed off at everything. We wanted to destroy everything in our paths, but they wanted us to keep building sewer systems and handing out teddy bears.”

Read Greg Mitchell's piece and the complete Army Times article here.

The Real Iraq

As seen through the eyes and experiences of 12 Army Captains who served in Iraq. WaPo posts an OpEd in the vein of the seven enlisted members of the 82nd Airborne's, The War As We Saw It.

As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we've seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it's like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it's time to get out.

America, it has been five years. It's time to make a choice.

Read the rest...

Join Veterans in Writing President to Come Clean on Tillman

Please sign this petition.

For the good of our military, our troops, the Tillmans, and our nation, I respectfully call on you to comply with all past and future requests of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the matter of the death of Corporal Tillman.

I don't believe the evil bastards in office will care, but to document our dismay at what appears to be not only the assassination of Pat Tillman, but the cover-up and refusal by ANYONE to take ANY responsibility for war crimes. Listening to the hearing conducted by Henry Waxman today, it felt like old footage of Nuremberg. Please sign.

Why are We in Iraq?

Listen to the interview Thom Hartman does with Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington state. Rep. McDermott has many insights into the situation in Iraq and how our continued occupation only exacerbates the the danger to Iraqis and American soldiers.

Memorial Day

Today is the day of Remembrance for those fallen and those whom have served. Please take a moment in spite of the department store sales, sporting events and BBQ's, to remember the dead and the injured of the less than one percent of Americans making actual sacrifices for the failed policies of the criminal Bush administration, because they have to. The men and women that serve in our military are committed out of contractual obligation and personal integrity to complete the jobs they signed on for. Today's military support for the failed war/occupation strategy closely mirrors that of the American public.

Slate has compiled the timely and important Doonesbury strips that speak to the bush shit of this ongoing Iraqi and American massacre that fuels such unrest in the Middle East.

As of noon today, four thousand, four hundred and fifty five members of the American military have died. Please remember and honor their service today. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Take a moment to remember.

Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman puts it like this: Trust and Betrayal

“In this place where valor sleeps, we are reminded why America has always gone to war reluctantly, because we know the costs of war.” That’s what President Bush said last year, in a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Those were fine words, spoken by a man with less right to say them than any president in our nation’s history. For Mr. Bush took us to war not with reluctance, but with unseemly eagerness.

Now that war has turned into an epic disaster, in part because the war’s architects, whom we now know were warned about the risks, didn’t want to hear about them. Yet Congress seems powerless to stop it. How did it all go so wrong? read the rest...

The NYT photo essay of the day.

“Troops don’t need bigger pay raises."

So says White House budget officials, Wednesday in a statement of administration policy laying out objections to the House version of the 2008 defense authorization bill. … Bush budget officials said the administration ’strongly opposes’ both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases ‘unnecessary.’

Kiss my ass Bush supporters. This is how your president "supports the troops."

"Sen. Warner: Protect America, Not George Bush"

So says General Wes Clark. Watch his latest from Vote Vets:

Over The Line: 3,400 deaths in Iraq and it's only 3 PM

How many more Americans, how many more Iraqis, how many more military families must lose a loved one? Today we stand at three thousand, four hundred American military deaths.The politicians in Washington continue to posture as more die and suffer. From the point of view of a soldier that's been there, I've linked the blog "From My Position" Our politics are not in concurrence but there's very little tangling with the facts this war-injured soldier provides. Take a look and then, please contact your representatives in congress and the senate and DEMAND they cut off funding and bring the troops home. Enough is enough.

UPDATE: 3401 Dead, 5:51PM

Captured Americans?

Times of London is reporting that the “Islamic State in Iraq,” an insurgent group linked to an al-Qaeda group in Iraq has captured 3 US soldiers outside of Bagdad.

An insurgent group linked to al-Qaeda yesterday claimed to be holding three American soldiers in Iraq who went missing after a dawn attack on their patrol south of Baghdad.

read the rest...

A Matter of Conscience

This is the first war I know of in our history where you don't just serve your deployment. You serve it knowing you will have to go back, and the whole time you are "home" you are training for more combat for your next deployment, and then you have to go back.

And then you have to go back.

From Deanie Jones blog at TPM cafe

Commentary on the Sniper Shootings

Photo Courtesy of Eli @ MultiMedium
I watched the video below several times. It is obviously disturbing on many levels, but what warranted my repeat viewing was my incredulity, not of the ghoulishness of the sniper, but the slow and clumsy reaction by the American soldiers. Why didn't they hit the deck after someone was shot? Why didn't they suppress fire? Why did they continue to cross again and again in the line of fire? Why did it take so long to take cover? Why do the soldiers trying to get the downed man move at a trot while staying nearly erect, making themselves better targets?

There have been a number of news articles about extended deployments, not enough down time between deployments, soldiers being sent without adequate training and equipment, soldiers being sent on return deployment who were deemed not combat-ready, injured soldiers being sent back, soldiers with PTSD being redeployed, and now we see in real time the effects. One look at this video and the inexperience of the soldiers and the inadequacy of training becomes apparent. Maybe they're shell-shocked and exhausted, but clearly this is not a situation that can be handled militarily as so many military authorities have repeated.

If you've read any one of the articles above, it's easy to be detached from the tragedy of it. But when you SEE, see with your own eyes, the stunning consequences on real life described by the stories, it's harder to be indifferent about the impact.

And still, I do not understand the haunting silence from the American public.

I understand about denial and about people not actually knowing anyone in Iraq, but these are pointless murders of Americans and Iraqis alike. This isn't a movie about a bygone war or a fight for goodness, truth, freedom, "the American Way", all the ideals we were taught to believe in. These are our people in another pointless Hamburger Hill scenario. But this is not Vietnam. It's Bagdad, Mosul, Fallujah and Ramadi, Tikrit and Sadr City. Our people in a meat grinder that spins ever out of control so BushCo can have it's bloody oil money and Chimpy can secure his 'legacy' and a bloody, broken country with his name on it. Sometimes you get the legacy you have and not the legacy you want Mr. Bush.

There is a reason you don't see this stuff on the news or read it in American newspapers. They don't want you to feel anything but the desire to shop and watch Dancing With The Stars. Hey, is Sanjaya still safe on American Idol?

Sniper Shoots American Soldiers

I found this at Larry Johnson's No Quarter. He has a disturbing but vital post and the following video of an insurgent sniper preying on American soldiers. After the video, read Larry's post. Caution: Graphic

Now I want you to imagine that the soldier who was shot is your best friend or brother. Imagine that is your unit. Are you going to be in a "positive" frame of mind, eager to win hearts and minds when you go out on "routine" patrol tomorrow? I doubt it. If our units keep taking casualties like this they will eventually overreact and kill some Iraqi civilians. This will further inflame the situation and make it more difficult to pacify Baghdad. This is not a path to victory, at least for us.

Army Chief Bids Farewell

None to soon for my liking I must add. Military.Com writes:

Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, will hand over leadership of the nation's largest service today in a ceremony at Fort Myer, Va., to Gen. George Casey, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq.

Schoomaker took the reigns as Army chief after being called out of retirement by former Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld four years ago - a controversial move that sent shock waves through Army leadership.

The "shock waves" emanating out of the Dept. of the Army are sure to render more resignations as the utter failure of leadership becomes more apparent. The slimy commanders that made choices of CYA over soldiers lives need to be in prison, but their resignations are a good beginning.

In a related story, the Pentagon is considering extending the tours of duty for 15,000 soldiers in spite of the already long deployments, because of a shortage of combat-ready units. HuffPo has it here.