Casualties

Synopsis

On February 7, 2011, the ninth anniversary of the day former president George W. Bush decided the Geneva Conventions did not apply to so-called “unlawful combatants,” CCR released a Bush Torture Indictment. The Indictment provides a strong factual and legal basis to hold Bush accountable--in any of the 147 countries which have ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT)--for having authorized torture . Learn about it, tell others, and help us build pressure to secure accountability for torture by top U.S. officials.

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Japan parliament calls for Iraq war inquiry

Feb 4, 2011 - The war on Iraq is still raging in this building, but in a far different manner than it did in Iraqi towns and cities. Some one hundred members of parliament are demanding that the government investigate Japan's support of the war.

They are not happy about the lukewarm reaction to their request and they feel the Japanese people deserve more.
Japan, in 2004 under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, supported the war on Iraq and pledged 5 billion dollars for what it called the reconstruction of the country.

This is born out in the testimony of the Brit Iraq War Inquiry especially in the early testimony!

I used the following, and there were other references, in a post during the early phase of the Inquiry, day nine to be exact:

By Kevin Zeese

Egypt is an alarm that highlights the urgent need for change in U.S. foreign policy. It provides President Obama an opportunity to transform a foreign policy that has often had the opposite effect that was sought and is undermining U.S. economic and national security.

The list of recent policy failures in the Middle East is quite astounding:

In the right sidebar I have a number of links to many of the articles and reports, many also with backlinks, as well as in the archives of posts. My main interest was direct testimony of what was happening here, civilian and military counterparts, in the U.S. and that administration, plenty came out, as well as reading between the lines. The U.S. admin. and pentagon were the lead and the Brits followed in what they did. Have and will do same with any other Inquiries and hopefully those to come!

It all brings up the need, which should already have happened, of much more then an Inquiry here in the U.S.. The World waits while we don't do Accountability for what was done in 'Our Names' and continues!

Timeline - Britain's inquiry into the Iraq War

U.S. Opposition to International Criminal Court in 2004-2005 Held Up Peacekeeping, Slowed Justice for Genocide Perpetrators

New Book Analyzes Disconnects Between Save Darfur Movement, U.S. Policy, the United Nations, and Events on the Ground in Sudan

Rebecca Hamilton's "Fighting For Darfur" draws on 150 Interviews, First-hand reporting, and dozens of Freedom of Information releases

Documents provide blistering assessments of policy failure, humanitarian disaster

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 335

Lisa DeJong, The Plain DealerHeather Morris Bowser: "I know there are other Vietnam War veterans' kids like me in America. We need to find each other. We need to break the silence."

January 31, 2011 - Listen to Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz and Heather Morris Bowser discuss the legacy of Agent Orange {I have a player below to listen or visit this link} with WCPN FM/90.3's "Sound of Ideas" host Mike McIntyre.

Tucson shooting: Undercover agents expose loophole in US gun laws

Just two weeks after the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, private investigators went to a gun show in Phoenix, Arizona -- one of thousands of such shows that occur across the country every year -- to test two basic questions:

 

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By John Grant

It was a dark and stormy night and Scat Horbath was glad to be out of the weather in the Washington DC metro, where he was to meet the sinister Ali Ben al-Masseur in the last car of the Blue Train.

Al-Masseur ran the Brothers Of Islam Charity Center in Arlington, and he held the clue to a two-thousand-year-old secret that had been scratched in code into the bottom of John Hancock’s pewter chamber pot. The fate of the free world hung in the balance.

The doors opened, and Scat entered the nearly empty car. As the car moved off he became aware of the subtle smell of falafal. Then he saw his man, seated at the end of the car chewing as he read from a copy of The Koran.

Al-Masseur looked up and flicked his tongue, projecting little pieces of yogurt sauce into the air.

“So, Scat, we meet again.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer staff , has published a six part series of reports in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the still lasting effects of the defoliants we used in our destruction of Vietnam. Reports from Vietnam as well as about the daughter of a brother Vietnam Veteran.

Archive Analyst Kate Doyle Featured in Granito: How to Nail a Dictator

New Film Showcases Spanish Genocide Case, Documents 20 Years of Struggle Against Impunity

January 28, 2011 - A new documentary film about human rights in Guatemala featuring National Security Archive senior analyst Kate Doyle will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, will be screened tonight at the Sundance Resort where Kate Doyle, Almudena Bernabeu of the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), and film makers Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís, will attend the screening and speak to the audience after the film.

 

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2011) — For troubled war veterans, a friendly bartender can be the source of more than just drinks and a sympathetic ear.

A pilot study suggests that some bartenders may be in a good position to identify veterans in need of mental health services and help connect them to the appropriate agency.

Researchers at Ohio State University surveyed 71 bartenders employed at Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in Ohio.

The results showed that bartenders felt very close to their customers and that these customers shared their problems freely with them, said Keith Anderson, lead author of the study and assistant professor of social work at Ohio State.

By Edward S. Herman and David Peterson

By an historical coincidence, both Julian Assange and Luis Posada Carriles were brought before Western courts around the same time in late 2010 and early 2011—Assange in Britain and Posada in the United States. The contrast in their treatment by the U.S.-Anglo system of justice and in their handling by the Western establishment media is enlightening.

Posada, now 82, is a self-confessed terrorist, Bay of Pigs veteran, School of the Americas graduate, and CIA operative who has been credibly placed at two meetings where the plan was hatched for the October 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed all 73 civilians aboard. He also has been implicated in numerous other terrorist acts in which people were killed or injured and property destroyed, and he played a role in the United States' arms-smuggling network in Central America that eventually came to light in the Iran-Contra investigations.

Retired Capt USAF, Myles Spicer, USAF 1954-57 retired from reserves, lays out the long over due 'Support' for those we send into occupations theaters and then forget about. The so called (T)'s {oh the fun with the 'purple heart bandages' as the wars raged}, once long ago (R)'s and even conservative, won't like this, they want but don't want to pay for, and not just war, as most of them were the ones that remained silent for over a decade, still ongoing silence, as to Real Support but very loud as to support of the failed policies and related lies and costs.

The impelling case to impose a "war tax"

Day of regret, Day of reckoning

The Chilcot Inquiry will help write history's verdict on Tony Blair - and he may not like it

Return to the fray: Tony Blair giving evidence Photo: REUTERS

23rd January 2011 - His government did not, in Alastair Campbell’s words, “do God”. But on Friday the gods, yet again, seemed to do Tony Blair a favour.

The QE2 Conference Centre, venue of the Chilcot Inquiry, was patrolled on three sides by hungry TV crews. The police presence was high. Under no illusions about his public, Mr Blair arrived at dawn, nearly two hours before he was due to testify.

There's a large element within this Country that seems bound and determined to tear apart what this Country is suppose to stand for on the World stage as well as within. They also seem to want to stoke their fears by creating as much hatred towards us, thus enemies of, for a perpetual state of conflict outside of and within our borders. This is our legacy to the coming generations!

In January 2009, President Obama promised a clean break with Bush era detentions. Two years on, only continuity is visible

January 22, 2011 - A leading QC tells Channel 4 there is enough evidence for the International Criminal Court to mount a case against Tony Blair.

Furious families spurn Tony Blair's apology for Iraq War deaths

22/01/2011 - TONY Blair finally apologised for the Iraq War yesterday – and was jeered by furious relatives of British soldiers who lost their lives.

After facing an official inquiry for the second time, the strained-looking ex-PM offered his “deep regrets” for the 179 troops killed in the conflict.

But his remarks sparked emotional scenes in the witness room.

One woman broke down in tears, then stood up and spent the rest of the session with her back turned to Mr Blair.

January 22, 2011 - Tony Blair called for a "gung-ho" approach toward Saddam Hussein's regime, it was revealed yesterday.

The former British prime minister's approach during the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq was revealed in a previously unseen 2002 memo from him to his chief of staff, published by a war inquiry as he made a second appearance before the panel to clarify evidence he gave to it a year ago.

Critics of the war hope the inquiry will conclude Blair had been determined to back the US invasion, whether or not it was supported by the public, parliament or legal opinion.

As Blair addressed the five-member panel scrutinising Britain's role in the unpopular war, activists staged demonstrations against him - holding up signs saying 'Bliar' and 'Blair lied - thousands died'.

Tony Blair dug his own hole at the Chilcot inquiry

In his final opportunity to present his case against the mounting evidence, Tony Blair put his foot firmly in his mouth

Tony Blair leaves after giving evidence for the second time to the Chilcot inquiry. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

21 January 2011 - Tony Blair came to the Iraq inquiry with last year's game plan. Answer questions on his terms. Talk about the big picture, keep it subjective and off the specifics. He may think he did this well. Until he put his foot in his mouth.

Relatives of Pakistani Drone Victims to Sue CIA

{dpa} A Jan. 5 demonstration in Peshawar against US drone attacks: A group of victims' relatives is suing the US government and the CIA.

01/21/2011 - Almost every day, people in the Pakistani region of Waziristan are killed or seriously injured by drone attacks carried out by the CIA. Now a group of victims' relatives is standing up to Washington -- by suing the US government.

Military Families’ Emotional State Showing Signs of Strain

Research highlights opportunities for improved and targeted support

Tony Blair returns to Chilcot inquiry amid protests

Demonstrators protest against the former prime minster at his second appearance before the Iraq inquiry

21 January 2011 - A month before the Iraq war began a million people marched through London. This morning, almost eight years later, barely 100 activists mustered outside the conference centre opposite Westminster Abbey as Tony Blair returned to the Chilcot inquiry for perhaps his last official involvement in the conflict's aftermath.

Islamic scholar's experience sheds light on counterterrorism efforts in wake of 9/11 attacks

 

18 January 2011 - Saad Iqbal Madni looks decades older than his 33 years when he shuffles into the room, head down and eyes averted.

There won't be even a whimper out of the press here. Just as there hasn't been for these 20yrs., about "Gulf War Syndrome" or much about the Gulf War, oh wait NBC said they were going to have daddy bush and company on their broadcasts, again though silence on the Veterans of, the Country doesn't want to hear!

Two decades on, battle goes on over 'Gulf War Syndrome'

Veteran Kerry Fuller: "It would have been far better to be killed in action"

Since his deployment to the Gulf ahead of the war, Kerry has suffered recurring ill health

16 January 2011 - Every week, Kerry Fuller counts out his medication into a plastic pill box.

The Pentagon sank to a new low this week in their attempt to sell the Afghanistan War to the American people. At their Martin Luther King, Jr., Day observance, a Pentagon official actually claimed that if King were alive today, he might support the war.

This is simply not true. As shown in our new video, Dr. King could not have been more clear in his 1967 speech denouncing the Vietnam War:

 

Chilcot to grill Blair on how he 'misled' Iraq war inquiry

Panel recalls former PM to answer 'grave doubts' about the veracity of his original evidence

AFP/Getty Images: An Iraq inquiry source said of Blair: 'There is a feeling... he wilfully misrepresented the facts'

16 January 2011 - Tony Blair will face allegations that he has "misled" members of the Iraq inquiry when he returns to give evidence to the panel this week.

On Saturday, January 8, 2011, a Tucson Safeway became harm’s way.

For many. Someone’s wife. Someone’s mother. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Someone’s husband. Someone’s father. Son. Someone.

Witnesses to the rampage forever will be changed.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords remains in critical condition, a bullet to the head, fired by a 22-year-old gunman with a Glock. Six people were killed, including nine-year-young Christina Green.

The day after the massacre, members of the House participated in a conference call to discuss vigilance and informing local police of their whereabouts. Both Republicans and Democrats are calling for civility and have put on hold repeal of the healthcare law while they craft a resolution to commemorate the victims.

And discuss how to protect THEMSELVES.

This from Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee:

We ought to cool it, tone it down, treat each other
with respect, respect each other’s ideas and even

This report was aired on the PBS News Hour last night.

AIR DATE: Jan. 14, 2011

Giffords' Staff Keeps Office Open While Coping With Shooting's Aftermath

SUMMARY Members of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' staff have kept her office open, even as the Congresswoman fights to recover from a gunman's attack. Tom Bearden reports from Tucson. Transcript

A couple of cuts from the shows transcript: