You may remember a few days ago I mentioned that Khalid, the brother of the Iraqi blogger Raed in the middle, and himself a blogger, had been taken away by the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi Secret Police that seemed to have survived the invasion and are thriving under American control. Well he’s been freed now [...]
This is an image of Kevin being led away from his kangaroo court martial and off to the County Jail (which is quite a little scam on its own, see Monica’s entry below). Applying for Conscientious Objector status is not supposed to be a crime, they can accept it or deny it, but in [...]
posted by Monica Benderman in TheWar.
Tonight was difficult. We had to check in - the bag I brought to
Kevin had to be checked. He asked for shower shoes - so I brought
him some. He couldn’t have them. He has to buy them from the jail
commissary. Kevin says that is [...]
I wanted to bring this issue back up top here because I think it is an important one.
Yesterday, Kevin Benderman was sentenced to 15 months in prison, a dishonorable discharge and loss of rank for following military procedure to request a status of conscientious objector. It is interesting, and important, to note [...]
Talk Nation Radio Interview Produced in New England at WHUS Storrs.
Gareth Porter is author of the book “Perils of Dominance” “Imbalance of Power and the road to war in Vietnam,” California University Press in 2005.
How To Start The Negotiated Withdrawal of US Forces from Iraq
Gareth Porter is an expert on negotiated settlements [...]
From Dori, at Talk Nation Radio
Our dysfunctional leaders have ended their “War on Terror” and started “a war on extremism” while policy experts Like Gareth Porter craft real exit strategies; Here is an overview of what the White House is doing in their war on words followed by a transcript (next post above) of my [...]
posted by sandy47 in TheWar. You can register to participate.
Bochco’s “Over There” is simply a call to ’support the troops’ and will do so by making the population intimate with a few chosen characters. Some; once they become loved, will die, probably in some underhanded, conniving manner at the hands of an evil terrorist/suicide [...]
Monica Benderman has posted in our forums (she is a regular contributor) on the initial decision in Kevin’s trial. What I find most interesting is the fact that Kevin cannot appeal his sentence until the Convening Authority signs off on it and it is entirely possible that won’t happen. So Kevin could serve [...]
posted by edandbunkie in TheWar.
Soldier sentenced for refusing return to Iraq
Court-martial acquits on desertion but convicts on lesser charge
FORT STEWART, Ga. - An Army mechanic who refused to go to Iraq while he sought conscientious objector status was acquitted of desertion but found guilty of a lesser charge during a court-martial Thursday.
Sgt. [...]
There was a remarkable op-ed piece by Peter Crane in the Washington Post on Tuesday.
Here’s a sample.
The family soon returned to Iraq, and we lost all contact with them. Maj. Ammash’s career prospered; he rose to be defense minister. In 1981, however, Saddam Hussein convened a meeting of party leaders and tearfully read out the [...]
posted by Cristina in TheWar
Every little effort does give us hope but somehow, I think that we have to focus that more needs to be done to institute meaningful change. Ending the occupation in Iraq is a noble short-term goal but really doesn’t address the destruction already committed and the plans laid in place [...]
posted by Monica Benderman in TheWar.
Good Morning -
There is a film documentary crew here - making a film about conscientious objection, and following the events of this week. It is interesting — and it is helping us to think.
Yesterday we spent the day in Savannah, and spent a lot of time at a [...]
In the midst of all of this Rove scrutiny out comes this interesting tidbit from TheDailyKos.
For years, political insiders in the Lone Star State have whispered about Rove’s close friendship with lobbyist Karen Johnson, a never-married, forty-something GOP loyalist from Austin, Texas. The two first became close when Johnson sat on the board of then-Governor [...]
An interesting list of those politicians who serve their country and those who send others to die in their place.
The List
Democrats:
* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army [...]
Frank Rich has an insightful column in today’s NYTimes concerning the Valerie (Plame) Wilson story. I have wondered through all of this why the various players are reacting the way they are. The sudden disappearance of Bolton from public view, the odd jailing of Judith Miller who never actually wrote anything about Ms. [...]
Word comes today from Raed in the Middle that his brother Khalid has been released by the Iraqi Secret Police. This is good news. Khalid hasn’t posted yet, I’m betting he’s a bit paranoid right now, and I wouldn’t blame him.
Let’s not forget this lesson. The Mukhabarat in Iraq, the Secret Police [...]
Hunter, over at DailyKos, says it better than I could.
I think it’s time to invent some new swearing, because there isn’t anything currently in the language that fully encompasses the White House’s unapologetic attempts to ensure the Bush administration’s own crafted and approved “interrogation” policies be allowed to continue unhindered. Yes, according to the Bush [...]
Dori Smith of Talk Nation Radio interviews Jay Rosen, journalist and author of the book, What Are Journalists For? See also Jay’s Blog.
Will the Force of a Prosecutor be Greater than Rove’s “Rollback” of the Press?
Smith: Jay Rosen teaches journalism at New York University. He has been on the faculty there since 1986, and [...]
posted by Dori in TheWar.
World Tribunal? What World Tribunal?
Media Lens has detected a recent shift in media reporting. It is hard to quantify, but there is a palpable uneasiness amongst media professionals at the increasing rise of the *blogosphere* and internet-based *alternative* media sites. Joe and Jo Public are increasingly aware that the news [...]
As tempting as it is to focus in on the Karl Rove situation and use it as an example of adminstration arrogance and incompetence, to say nothing of outright treason, the bigger picture is even more sobering.
The invasion/occupation of Iraq continues apace with things inarguably worse now than under Saddam. Saddam did a lot [...]