Bush Plans Huge Reserve and Guard Troop Deployment to Iraq War After Election
According to this article, sometimes an "October Surprise" is what someone secretly plans to do in November, after the election. As pointed out by Veterans for Common Sense, the current administration has plans to be able to begin a forced military draft ordering young people to fight in the Iraq War.
Bush Plans Huge Troop Deployment to Iraq After Election
According to this article, sometimes an "October Surprise" is what someone secretly plans to do in November, after the election. As pointed out by Veterans for Common Sense, the current administration has plans to be able to begin a forced military draft ordering young people to fight in the Iraq War.
The corrosive impact of the Iraq crisis in almost all areas of international relations, as well as on Iraq's long-suffering civilians, was dramatically demonstrated yesterday by the UN general secretary Kofi Annan's blunt declaration that last year's war was illegal. The recent spat between the US and Iraq's northern neighbour Turkey is a case in point. Since the war officially ended, Turkey has fretted about Iraq's possible fragmentation, Kurdish separatism, and the safety of Iraq's ethnic Turk minority. When US forces attacked the city of Tal Afar, home to many Turkomen, last week, Ankara finally drew the line.
Quiet Calls for Change Among Iraq War Veterans
Veterans for Common Sense asks reasonable people to listen to our veterans …. Doug Madory, a recently discharged Air Force captain, was the last [to speak]. He spent four months in Iraq, but most of his deployment was spent in Italy. He spoke of the way Italians embraced American servicemen in brotherhood after Sept. 11 and said, "President Bush squandered a good deal of that support all through Europe by rushing headlong into Iraq. George Bush should be held accountable. . . . People around the world are with us, but are not with George Bush."
Remember, President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney have failed to attend a single funeral for a fallen U.S. soldier. Bob Herbert writes, [At Arlington National Cemetery] … "The rows of simple white headstones in the broad expanses of brilliant green lawns are scrupulously arranged, and they seem to go on and on, endlessly, in every direction. It was impossible not to be moved. A soft September wind was the only sound. Beyond that was just the silence of history, and the collective memory of the lives lost in its service."
Politics and intelligence reform are a noxious mix, counsels Ray McGovern, a 27-year veteran of the intelligence business and Army veteran. Last month, McGovern commented on the factors that ensured U.S. Representative Porter Goss (R-FLorida) would get kid-glove treatment during his nomination hearing. Now, McGovern reminds us why Goss is a terrible choice for a job critical to this nation's security.
U.S. Soldiers Shoot First, No Questions Asked
The article below describes, in haunting detail, what often happens in war. As the recent Army study about the adverse psychological impact of combat documents, many U.S. service members report shooting at civilians caught in the crossfire, and many U.S. service members report seeing wounded women and children and not being able to help. These are the unintended consequences of war other veterans live with: images of the free fire zones in Vietnam and the Highway of Death in 1991.
The Shots of War – The High Cost of the Experimental Anthax Vaccine
There is another cost to our Nation's soldiers serving in the Iraq War. As with radiation exposure among Atomic veterans, agent orange exposure among Vietnam War veterans, and the host of toxic exposures among Gulf War veterans, now the experimental anthrax vaccine is causing havoc among the military ranks.
Iraq War Veterans Debate Iraq War
Many U.S. troops who served in Iraq have returned home to join the campaign fight for either President Bush or Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. Here's what one Iraq War veteran said: "I fought for my right to question this president's policies in Iraq. It was a dark day for me when I had to go to the hospital in Germany to see one of my soldiers who was blown up. For the first time in my life, you know, I cried in uniform. I had to look at this guy and I had to say to him, you know, "I hope that this is worth it."
War on Terrorism Looks Like a Loser; Situation Goes from Bad to Worse
In the two articles below, Jim Lobe reports the facts often ignored by the U.S. press. The Iraq war is out of control, with no plan for victory as U.S. casualties continue climbing. According to one retired officer: "The bottom line is, at this moment we are losing the war?›ƒ‚ª?, Col Andrew Bacevich (ret.) of Boston University told USA Today Thursday. "That doesn't mean it is lost, but we are losing, and as an observer it is difficult for me to see that either the civilian leaderhsip or the military leadership has any plausible idea on how to turn this around."
October Surprise #1 – Bullies at Our Voting Booths
One "October Surprise" may be how one group of highly organized people want to intimidate voters. The article below describes specific known examples of how some people don't want other citizens to vote. Remember, the Jim Crow laws were designed to keep a small group of racists and bigots in power. And remember, minority and poor voters don't drive into wealthy areas and launch intimidation campaigns. All citizens should make sure that everyone can vote in a free and fair election where all votes are counted. No factor, especially political party, race, gender, or economic status, should ever be a factor in deciding who gets to vote.
October Surprise #2 – Phony Threats of Terror Attack to Cancel Election
Here's another possible "October Surprise" that could disrupt our right to vote. According to CBS, "The Bush Administration's FBI knows it can expect to be criticized for the strategy [of police sweeps and invasive surveillance] if it goes too far. One element of the plan calls for addressing what some officials fears could be a wave of protests from Arab-Americans and civil libertarians once the so-called 'October Plan' kicks off." Remember, no U.S. elections were canceled during the Civil War or World War II. Doing so now would extend the terms of elected officials and violate of the U.S. Constitution.
Iraq War Causes Major Split in U.S. – Turkey Relations
Turkey claims the U.S. disrupts Turkish control over northern sections of Iraq. Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told reporters, "I told [US Secretary of State Colin Powell] that what is being done there [in northern Iraq] is harming the civilian population, that it is wrong, and that if it continues, Turkey's cooperation on issues regarding Iraq will come to a total stop." This means more nations are breaking ranks with the Bush Administration's failed policy of pre-emptive war.
First Person: For Whom Did My Son Die in Iraq?
The essay below represents a tremendous act of courage by a mother, Diane Davis Santoriello, writing about her son, Army First Lieutenant Neil Anthony Santoriello Jr., who was killed in action in the Iraq War. "Now my son is dead. How did he die? According to the Army, he was killed on Aug. 13 in western Iraq when an IED — an "improvised explosive device" — detonated near his vehicle. According to me, he was killed by the arrogance and ineptitude of George W. Bush aided by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld." Remember, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld have failed more than 1,000 times to attend the funeral of a single soldier killed in Iraq.
VA Fights Against Registering Veterans to Vote
According the the article below, in a barely noticed court ruling issued August 18, 2004, a Federal Judge ruled that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must stop preventing voter registration activities at VA facilities. Imagine this worst-case scenario: A wounded Iraq War combat veteran wants to register and vote, but he can't because he can't leave the VA medical center and because VA is fighting against allowing voter registration activities. VCS doesn't endorse candidates or political parties. However, we strongly believe in every citizen's right to vote in a free and fair election.
In World Wars I and II, gold star mothers were the queens of their neighborhoods, the stars in their windows ensuring that they would be treated with great respect for their sacrifice in sending sons overseas to fight and die against the Germans and Japanese. Instead of a gold star, Sue Niederer, 55, of Hopewell, N.J., got handcuffed, arrested and charged with a crime for daring to challenge the Bush policy in Iraq, where her son, Army First Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, died in February while attempting to disarm a bomb.
New Film: Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire
Michael Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11" stirred up emotions about the war in Iraq, but the new documentary, "Hijacking Catastrophe," arms us with an understanding of how we got there. Former journalist and current journalism professor Robert Jensen writes that the new documentary lays clear the path to war and the media's role in selling the Iraq War to a public made fearful after 9/11.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "It is tempting in a presidential election year to duck hard questions, especially when earlier claims were wrong: Iraqi support for U.S. troops ended quickly; no weapons stockpiles were found; not enough troops were provided to secure the country. But Americans can handle bad news and be patient if leaders explain the goals and how to achieve them. Pretending all is going well when the evidence clearly shows that it isn't erodes confidence in government."
Secret Briefing Warned Blair: No Legal Justification for Iraq War
According to a very detailed article in the Independent newspaper, "A Secret UK Eyes Only briefing paper was warning that there was no legal justification for war. So [Prime Minister Tony] Blair was advised that a strategy would have to be put in place which would provide a legal basis for war." In short, the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair fabricated reasons for starting and continuing a war against Iraq. In another major scoop in the article below, Blair was advised, that the only certain way of ensuring success was to keep large numbers of forces on the ground for "many years."