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Nov 14 2009 Bring back the draft and end the wars!

What follows is an open letter by Wright Salisbury whom we came to know as a members of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. His thoughtful position on the draft is one that we share, and one we hope you will take time to consider.

Wright lost his son-in-law, Edward Hennessy, Jr. in the 9/11 attack. He is also the founder of The Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to building bridges of understanding between people of different faiths.

Bring back the draft and end the wars! by Wright Salisbury

 A brief history of the draft
The United States first employed conscription during the Civil War. Interestingly, since passions in
support of the war were high, only 2% were draftees. Another 6% were paid substitutes. (If a man were drafted, he could pay someone else to take his place.)

After Congress declared war in the World War I, the Conscription Act of 1917 was passed. There
was a lot of resistance to it and almost 300,000 men evaded the draft, mainly through moving and not
leaving a forwarding address.

The Selective Training and Service Act (STSA) of 1940 was passed into law by congress in anticipation of the coming or World War II. 350,000 men evaded the draft in World War II. After that act expired, it was replaced by the Selective Service Act in 1948, requiring all men between 18 and 26 to register for the draft.

After the debacle of the Vietnam War and the passions it aroused in draft-age men, conscription
ended in June, 1973. Since that time, the armed services have relied on enlistees and members of
the National Guard.

Why we should reinstate the draft
Since the end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. has been engaged in many military actions but not until
the Iraq War were National Guard people required to fight on foreign soil. There has been a lot of
discussion about whether the National Guard can be required to fight overseas, and it will be some
time before the legality of sending National Guard troops overseas is resolved. However, the use of
National Guard personnel to fight overseas clearly compromises their main mission, which is to deal
with domestic disasters.

The answer obviously is to reinstate the draft, perhaps under the original terms of the Selective
Training and Service Act of 1940, requiring all men between 18 and 26 to register for the draft. A bill
reinstating the draft under these terms was introduced by Congressman Charles Rangel in 2003 and
was soundly defeated, garnering only two votes. This idea clearly is not popular with congressmen
anxious to keep their seats in Congress. How much more convenient it is for all of us to send other
people to fight our wars.

Reinstatement of the draft, or even a movement to do so, would trigger a necessary national discussion. If a war is worth fighting, it should be the responsibility of all to share in the hardships and
possible deaths involved in the fighting.

I think it is time to begin that discussion in earnest.

Nov 3 2009 USS New York: Commemorating US Crimes in Iraq

Just as we burrow deeper into the maelstrom of Afghanistan we are gifted with one of the ugliest warships ever built by any nation.

It is hard to think of a less fitting way to send "a message of America becoming stronger as a result" of 9/11 [Naval Cmdr. Quentin King]. Secretary of the Navy Gordon England announced the naming as to "honor the victims of Sept. 11."                                          

Tragically neither the U.S. Navy nor President Obama evidently understand the enormity of the insult this warship delivers to those innocent civilians lost on September 11, 2001.

America weakened significantly after 9/11. The response to invade and occupy Iraq was a criminal act based on deliberate deceit. The punitive crushing of the Iraqi populace was nothing to be proud of. Our moral standing in the world was greatly diminished. Our civil liberties at home suffered setbacks that may never be recovered.

President Obama will come to New York to commission the USS New York on Saturday. We wish he would stay in Washington and decommission our failed effort in Iraq, and put an end to the inevitable failure of our mission in Afghanistan. We can no more force cultures to adopt the mythical Democratic model than we can forge peaceful tomorrows from weapons of destruction.

We also wish President Obama would stop the lies. We already have more mercenaries in Afghanistan that we have troops, but that fact is never added to official tallies of troop numbers.

Let us honor the innocent civilians who died on 9/11 by stopping the slaughter of innocent civilians by our own hands. This would be a true tribute to the fallen.

Aug 27 2009 Iraq: from bad to worse? What is the US legacy?

Natalia Antelava BBC News, Baghdad, wrote: More than 100 people died in bombings across Iraq over the past three days. The attacks, which hit Baghdad and areas outside Mosul in the north on Friday and on Monday, are the biggest and the most serious since the withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities at the end of June. Iraqis complain that widespread corruption prevents security services from protecting ordinary people Along with other, smaller incidents - which often fail to make international headlines - a total of 157 people were killed in Iraq in the first 10 days of August - more than half of all those killed in July. And from what we are hearing from friends in Baghdad the situation has gotten worse in many neighborhoods. We poured billions upon billions of dollars in Iraq in killing, maiming, and destroying the infrastructure. Now it is time to pour a little into the restoration of what we have destroyed. Let you representatives in government know how you feel about the US responsibility toward the innocent civilians of Iraq. We warred on them in a cloud of lies, but the truth is clearer now. We disgraced ourselves in the eyes of the world and only restorative actions, not words, will help us regain our dignity. Reported Security incidents today [Iraq Today]: Baghdad: #1: Separately, two explosive charges planted in two civilian cars detonated late on Wednesday on a thoroughfare in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Adhamiyah, wounding a total of 12 people and damaging several nearby shops, the source added. #2: Another official says three car bombs exploded in northern Baghdad, wounding four police officers and two civilians. #3: Another car bomb also struck a police patrol in eastern Baghdad, wounding seven people. Four people were wounded on Thursday in a roadside bomb blast in eastern Baghdad, a police source said. “A roadside bomb, planted on the public road, near Sahet Beirut in Palestine street, eastern Baghdad, exploded while a police vehicle patrol was passing, injuring two civilians and two policemen and damaging one of the patrol’s vehicles,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. #4: A jeweler on Wednesday was wounded during an exchange of gunfire with a group of gunmen who broke into his shop in Baghdad, according to a police source. “Three gunmen driving a black civilian car attempted to burgle a jeweler’s shop on Falastine St., eastern Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The owner of the shop engaged in a shootout with the gunmen, which left him, along with one of his workers, wounded, the source noted. #5: A roadside bomb wounded two civilians when it blew up in west Baghdad's upscale district of Mansour on Wednesday, police said. #6: One U.S. vehicle was devastated when it was hit by a roadside bomb in western Baghdad, a source from the Iraq police said on Thursday. “The incident took place on Thursday in al-Ghazaliya neighborhood,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The source was unable to report any casualties as U.S. forces cordoned off the area. Taji: #1: A car bomb which parked near a parking lot at the entrance of Baghdad's northern suburb of Taji detonated on Thursday morning, killing a civilian and wounding five others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Kirkuk: #1: Gunmen in a speeding car attacked a police foot patrol in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding another, late on Wednesday, police said. #2: A roadside bomb wounded two civilians when it exploded in central Kirkuk on Wednesday, police said Mosul: #1: A sticky improvised explosive device (IED) on Wednesday went off in front of the house of an employee working for Baiji refinery, a security source in Ninewa said. “The explosion caused damage to the house, located in al-Qayara district (60 km south of Mosul), but no casualties have been reported,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Aug 10 2009 21 Bombs, 21 Dead, and Felafal in Baghdad, Iraq

It was reported that in the last 24 hours bombs killed 21 people,and wounded anther 82. 

In Ahmed's neighborhood the police were attacked by a bicycle bomb and 3 died. Ahmed's brother is a policeman so we were naturally afraid to ask about him, but of course we did anyway. He is fine. He was at home when it happened. Two of the officers were under his supervision, and he had warned them just days before not to congregate at the same spot each day.

A bicycle rider detonated himself near a bakery in the neighborhood. The man went to the policemen and asked them to hold his bicycle while he went to the bakery. They said, "OK."  They died soon after when the bomb, hidden in the pipes of the bicycle, exploded.

The entire neighborhood was shut down, closed tight. Later the police stopped Ahmed when he tried to make a delivery of his home-made goods to a restaurant. "We know you very well, Ahmed, and we eat your food and we like you, but you are not allowed to ride the bicycle. They are all banned.

"But the curfew is over now?"

"Yes. But still...no bicycles are allowed."

...

"Now my family is in great trouble. I have no fuel for the car because the station in the neighborhood no longer opens. I have been delivering my baked goods to the restaurants by car until the station is closed. Then I did this by bicycle, but now I cannot do even that. The rumors on the street say these are Iranian plans to kill more people. But you don't know. We think the Iranians use bicycles this way. But you don't know."

"Each ten hours we have electricity only for one hour. I don't know what to do for money now. We are again afraid in the neighborhood. I tried again with the bicycle and the police stopped me again and told me that if I used it again he would take it and break it on my body. They are afraid...even of me."

July 28 2009 Maliki Government to Censor all Print Material in Iraq

McClatchy reports a  chilling phone call from the Society to Defend Press Freedom in Iraq. They said that the Iraqi Ministry of Culture has decided to censor the importation of books fromoutside the country and restrict printing them inside the country.

Everything that is printed, even posters, will require a permit.

Reuters reports the Iraqi media is dominated by party-backed publications and there is little investigative journalism. More than 100 journalists have been killed since 2003, and self-censorship is more common than government censorship.

And lets not forget the U.S. censorship of the occupation. Remember Zoriah Miller, the photographer banned from covering the Marines because he posted photos of their dead bodies. The New York Times reports that he is not alone in being pressured to avoid showing graphic pictures of the war and occupation of Iraq.

It's been a long time since Iraqis have had unfettered access to information. Ever? I'm not sure, but we can help by pressuring media to tell us the whole truth. I'd love to know the command chain that forced Zoriah Miller out of covering the Marines...

July 27 2009 a cop in Baghdad: a dangerous job as police and civilians become targets.

[This is based on a story we believe to be true. We have known this person for 5 years and have followed his life closely.]

Our friend Sameer is a cop in Baghdad. He wasn't always a policeman. Once upon a time he worked as the manager of a large market, like our supermarkets here in the states.

At first it was hard getting back and forth to work because of curfews, road closings, checkpoints, etc., but he managed. Then entire neighborhoods were closed without warning. He was often stranded at the store overnight. As the violence increased the store had less and less business and finally, in 2007, the owner could no longer afford to keep it open.

Sameer has a wife and two children. They live in what used to be a mixed neighborhood in Baghdad. It is now almost entirely Sunni, and anyone else had better keep a low profile because the neighborhood has many 'militia' in it.

They began to run out of money last year. Sameer thought about becoming a policeman, but his brothers and sisters forbid this because it was too dangerous. And if he died then the burden of his family would fall to them. About 6 months ago the family found it almost impossible to help them out and he decided to enter the police force.

Policemen have one of highest rates of assassination in Baghdad. sometimes their children are murdered as a warning for them to resign. Sometimes they are killed. Sameer felt he had no choice. He joined the force 4 months ago.

Last month he decided to walk home for his break instead of napping in the house across from the command post that the police had appropriated. The house was raided and 6 were killed.

"It is in the hand of Allah, may he be praised."


And while we're on the subject of violence...how come our media fails to tell us the truth about what is going on in Iraq? And why don't Americans admit that we are responsible for unleashing the madness? And why don't we deliver the humanitarian aid we owe these people. We certainly have enough people on the ground to deliver it.

Have you written your representative lately to ask that these things be done?
Have you sent us a gift of cash so we can send it to a Baghdad widow and her family?
What's up with this?
b

Reported Security incidents July 27, 2009 [War News Today]:

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded four others in Palestine street, northeastern Baghdad, police said.
The first bombing Monday came in eastern Baghdad, shortly before noon, when a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol but missed, killing one civilian and injuring four others, said an Iraqi police official.

Diyala Prv:
#1: Sunday Gunmen killed two civilians in Nahar alshiekh area north Baquba around 7 p.m.
#2: According to another police officer, gunmen shot dead the brother of a police major outside Baquba, north of the Iraqi capital.

Abu Ghraib:
#1: Three policemen were killed in an armed attack by unidentified gunmen on a checkpoint in the western Baghdad area of Abu Ghraib on Sunday, an Iraqi police source said. “Unidentified gunmen opened light gun fire at a police checkpoint on al-Amarat street, Abu Ghraib, (20 km) west of Baghdad, leaving three policemen killed,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Hilla:
#1: Unidentified gunmen shot down a child in front of his house in the district of Djerf al-Sakhr, near the city of al-Hilla, a security source in Babel said. “Gunmen in a vehicle opened a volley of fire at a child standing in front of his house in Djerf al-Sakhr, (65 km) northwest of Hilla, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Irbil:
#1: A member of the political bureau of the Kurdistan Islamic Union on Monday said that the union’s headquarters in downtown Arbil city had been attacked by Kurdistan Alliance (KA) supporters. “At 02:00 a.m. today, hundreds of KA supporters attacked the headquarters of the union’s political bureau in al-Iskan al-Jadid area, downtown Arbil, in an attempt to plunder it,” Mohammed Faraj told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Random gunfire in Arbil on Sunday night, after an unofficial announcement of the Kurdistan election results, left one person dead and 10 others wounded, a medic from the city’s hospital said on Monday.

Kirkuk:
#1: An Iraqi soldier on Monday was injured in an explosive charge blast that occurred in downtown Kirkuk city, according to a local police official. “This morning, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near an Iraqi army vehicle behind a gas station in downtown Kirkuk city, wounding a soldier and causing damage to his vehicle,” Brig. Sarhad Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Meanwhile, a source from the Joint Coordination Center in Kirkuk said that a body belonging to a policeman was found near al-Ahnaf village, al-Abbasi district (85 km southwest of Kirkuk) on Sunday (July 26) evening.
#3: Four U.S. soldiers were wounded when their vehicle overturned north of Kirkuk city, an Iraqi police source said Monday. “The four soldiers were inside the vehicle during the traffic accident,” Col. Othman Abdullah told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The accident took place near Charman village, (25 km) north of Kirkuk,” he said.

Mosul:
#1: Unknown gunmen on Sunday broke into a Pepsi factory in Ninewa province and killed one of its staff, according to a local police source. “On Sunday, a group of unknown gunmen broke into a Pepsi factory on Talkeef road (15 km north of Mosul), and killed a Christian worker before they fled to an unknown destination,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Six Iraqi servicemen on Monday were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) hit their patrol vehicle in Mosul city, according to a local police source. “This morning, an explosive charge targeted an Iraqi army patrol in al-Matahin neighborhood, southern Mosul, wounding six patrolmen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#3: A chieftain on Monday was killed in Ninewa and his driver was wounded when a sticky bomb attached to their car went off in central Mosul city, a police source said. “Sheikh Mohammed Fadil al-Hayiali was killed at al-Dowasa neighborhood, central Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The incident took place near a restaurant in the area,” he said.

Al Anbar Prv:
#1: On Sunday evening, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew up himself among civilians who were in the mourning ceremonies of alMirawi in Khaldiyah town killing two policemen as they tried to stop him and injuring 13 people.
#2: The director of the emergency police in Amiriyat al-Falluja district has been killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Ramadi city, according to a local source. “On Monday noon, Captain Ibahim Khayrallah was killed when a sticky IED targeted his vehicle near the residential compound in Amiriyat al-Falluja district, southern Ramadi,” Maj. Yasseen Mohammed told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “One of the director’s companions was wounded as a result of the explosion,” the major pointed out.

July 26 2009 Over 4330 U.S. troops lost in Iraq as refugees fear to return home.

Oh man, oh man, oh man. As the US media turns its head away from the violence in Iraq, dutifully reporting about voting in the North, corruption in the South, and general problems for the Iraqi government, the killing goes on. And it isn't just Iraqis who are being destroyed.

Ken Drevnick, the father of Spc. Daniel P. Drevnick, and his wife Julie, right, attend the burial service Saturday, July 25, 2009 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis for 22-year-old Daniel of Woodbury, Minn., who was among three Minnesota National Guard soldiers who were killed last week in Basra, Iraq. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

We don't read much about US casualties in Iraq these days. 4,330 of our men and women have died and over 21,000 serious injuries have been reported. The papers are beginning to fill with reports of Afghanistan deaths of US forces, and the struggle they face as they come up against a resistance that owes much of its education to experiences in Iraq. All well and good, but where is the reportage about Iraq? How can the media fail to inform the American people about the continuing horror we have unleashed by our decision to use force in Iraq?

And while I'm asking questions, what about the Iraqis? They are still  being killed, mostly by unknown forces that seek to ensure an unstable Iraq. Many think these are remnants of AlQaeda, or Iranian mercenaries, or more and more disgruntled Awakening Council members angry about Maliki not following through on his promise of employment.

Many of those killed these days are Iraqi policemen, and their families. Let's not forget their families. A little child was killed yesterday in front of her house in a drive-by shooting intended as a message for her dad, the District Cheif of Djerf al-Sakhr, near the city of al-Hilla. [more]

And for the internal refugees, now numbering upwards of two million men, women, and children the situation is frustrating and dangerous. Security has generally improved in Iraq over the last few months, but it is far from safe.

Abu Ghraib is a clear example. It was a mixed town before the occupation. Subsequent sectarian violence turned it into a Sunni enclave and Shi'a who have returned to their homes there have been killed.
The Chikouk refugee camp is filled with Shi'a refugees from Abu Ghraib. With no electricity, scant clean water, and not enough flat ground for all to sleep on, Chikouk is far from a comfortable place to live, but it is safer than Abu Ghraib for those who take shelter here. Chikouk lacks a functioning sewage system and has no regular rubbish disposal. There are many poorly constructed shelters and many residents have health problems. [more] Iraqi government officials refuse aid to the largely Sunni camp because it is built on goevrnment land without government permits. This, of course, becomes fuel for sectarian anger, easily exacerbated by those seeking violent revenge.

And it not just Abu Ghraib, nor is it just Shi'a. Many areas that were ethnically cleansed while the US forces failed to stop the mini-genocides, some of Shi'a and some of Sunni, are scattered throughout Iraq. Baghdad itself has many neighborhoods that fall into this category, and returning home to them is dangerous for any family that finds itself in the minority in what once was a mixed environment.

Obama should pressure Maliki's government to pay attention to this serious problem. If not attended to it will foster more sectarian violence and these refugee camps will become fertile recruiting grounds for terrorists. The Palestinian camps provide ample examples of such growth.

And the US government is likely to do nothing if the US public remains uninformed about the truth on the ground in Iraq.

b

July 17 2009 Gitmo closure-Associated Press (AP) misrepresents 9/11 families

In yet another sin by omission the AP released this distorted headline: "Gitmo closure angers families of 9/11 victims". Carried by USA Today and other media outlets, the headline misrepresents the views of 9/11 families by inferring that all who lost loved ones that day feel the same way.

As evidenced in the recent meeting of 9/11 families with President Obama's task force on Guantanamo with Attorney General Holder in attendance, this feeling is far from unanimous. In fact it represented a minority opinion at that important meeting. 

They may just as well have headlined "9/11 Families favor violent revenge", or "9/11 families know of World Trade Center conspiracy", or 9/11 families favor chocolate" since there are some who do believe these things. Thousands of families were directly affected by the events of 9/11 and for you to characterize them as a homogeneous mass of opinion is to dehumanize them and deny their wide-ranging points of view.

The fact that I lost my nephew, Supreme Court Officer Mitch Wallace, in the South tower on 9/11 has not led me to abandon my love of justice and lawful action in the face of terrorism. I am not alone in feeling that Guantanamo represents an unnecessary, immoral, and illegal attempt to deliver justice outside the law. In a recent meeting with top members of President Obama's Task Force on Guantanamo and Attorney General Holder I and other representatives of 9/11 families who are opposed to the continuation of GTMO and opposed to indefinite detention procedures were given ample opportunity to present our case to the government. This meeting, unlike the trip to Guantanamo, was intended to bring opinions to the government. There was a wide range of opinions in the room. Some of the people who feel as I do have also visited Guantanamo but the AP chose to omit our opinions in their slanted article.

This is not the first time that erroneous information put out by one media outlet was picked up and transmitted to the public by other irresponsible editors. I think it was back in 2005 when Ahmadinejad was misquoted as saying, "Israel would be eradicated from the Middle East map." A more correct translation would have shown him referring to the Zionist government, and not the nation of Israel. This story, too, was picked up and widely disseminated, adding to the Arab/Muslim-paranoia that so easily takes hold of the American public. And it's not a surprise. Americans are constantly and sadly misinformed about Arabs, Muslims, the Middle East, and other matters critical to our survival.

Yes, I am insulted, but I have not given up. The truth will out, and sometime soon there will be a media outlet respected for its veracity and even-handedness. NPR anyone?

 

July 9 2009 Obama, Guantanamo, and Indefinite Detention without a trial

President Obama,
I implore you to reject using the process of indefinite detention without charge or trial. It is an immoral choice.

One, even a President, may know in one's heart that an individual is guilty but that does not excuse ignoring justice under the law. That consideration is an important part of American culture as well as an established and fundamental element in our legal system.

We are indivisible as long as we are with liberty and justice for all. The moment we break this faith we splinter. Some of us will become the enemy; driven by fear and self-righteousness into justifying lawlessness. We have seen the price that innocent civilians pay for such activity.

People such as Timothy McVeigh and James Kopp will grow in numbers, believing that the principles upon which we base our law are malleable at the whim of individuals. This jural mentality, as seen in groups such as “the sovereign,”  and “the freemen,” will be seen as justified by the President's own willingness to step outside of the law. The result will be a more violent America.

Reject those who seek to steer you into a path which leads away from more peaceful tomorrows.

In hope that you choose the moral path,
Bruce Wallace
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July 2 2009 Justice at last? 'unprovoked civilian shootings by Xe-Blackwater personnel in Iraq'

As Iraq moves slowly to its new reality, and no one really knows what that will be, some Blackwater personnel will sit in court to defend themselves. The memory of these roaming bands of extra-legal, accused murderers haunt many Iraqis.

A spate of unprovoked civilian shootings by Xe-Blackwater personnel in Iraq between 2005 and 2008 are detailed in an amended lawsuit filed late Tuesday in Virginia federal court.

[The Blackwater personnel in this photo are not implicated in this story, but the image brings chills to Iraqis who remember the brutality and mindless shooting of the mercenaries. Iraqi authorities accused Blackwater guards of killing 17 civilians and wounding nearly 30 in the September 2007 shootings in Nusoor Square in western Baghdad.]

The new allegations against several Blackwater-related defendants - now operating as Xe and other names under the control of chairman  Erik Prince include:

• the shooting of three Iraqi families in a mini-van that killed nine-year-old Akram Khalid Sa'ed Jasim and wounded his three-month-old sister, who was shot in the face, his mother, his father, and uncle in July 2007;
• the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Suhad Shakir Fadhil as she was driving home from work in the so-called Green Zone in February 2007;
• the shooting of Maulood Mohammed Shathir Husein, a 31-year-old married professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Baghdad in August 2005;
• the fatal shooting of 65-year-old Khalis Kareem Ali Al Qaysi, who was killed while he was being driven in Baghdad in March 2005;
• the severe beating of 35-year-old Iraqi photographer Safeen Hameed Ahmed Qadir in April 2008 as he took photographs at a Ford automobile branch in the Arbil province that was visited by a U.S. diplomat, and;
• the shooting of Husam Hasan Jaber, who was driving three passengers in Baghdad in a taxi cab he owns and operates.

[The full story]

Ali, 9, was one of 17 civilians killed when Blackwater security guards, escorting a diplomatic convoy, opened fire at Baghdad's Nisour square Sept. 16, 2008.