Iraq Toll: 3808 brave U.S. citizens dead

Those who died in Iraq from Sep 23 to 29::

Cpl Anthony Bento 23 San Diego CA

Sgt Kevin Brown 38 Harrah OK

Sgt Zachary Tomczak 24 Huron SD

Sgt Randy Johnson 34 Washington DC

Sgt Donnie Dixon 37 Miami FL

Sgt Robert Ayres III 23 Los Angeles CA

Sgt James Doster 37 Pine Bluff AR

40 were seriously wounded and maimed.

33 were returned to occupation.

362 Iraqi brothers and sisters were killed.

Cf: www.icasualties.org

Iraq Toll

Those who died in Iraq from Sep 16 to 22:

Pvt Brandon Thorsen  22  Trenton FL

Sgt Michael Townes  29  Las Vegas NV

Spc Donald Valentine III  21  Orange Park FL

Spc Nicholas Olson  22  Novato CA

Spc Joseph Landry III  23  Pensacola FL

Spc Matthew Emerason  20  Emerson WA

Spc Aaron Walker  23  Harker Heights TX

Sgt Edmund Jefferson  23  Daleville AL

Pvt Christian Neff  19  Lima OH

Cpl Graham McMahon  22  Corvallis OR

Cap Roselle Hoffmaster  32  Cleveland OH

Pvt Luigi Marciante Jr  25  Elizabeth NJ

Ltn Dumitru Grosaru  35  Romania

Spc John Young  24  Savannah GA

Sgt Mark Stansfield  32  Oxfordshire UK

Sgt Mark Lankford  42  Scottsboro AL

Spc Joshua Reeves  26  Watkinsville GA

Spc David Watson  29  Newport AR

25 were seriously wounded and maimed.

63 wounded were returned to kill fields.
3800 — Cholera spreading in Iraq. 2 million internal refugees in Iraq

301 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed

I write to honor the service of those humans lost to war.

JJ,

I am so glad you brought up my ongoing attention to the human toll we pay for this unjust war.  I thank you for your service and respectfully ask that you not assume you know my feelings.  I am appalled that these women and men have died and no one is giving them proper dedication for their service.  In Viet Nam the remains of soldiers were brought back with the respect and mourning.  Their flag draped coffins reminded us daily of how much we lose to war.  Bush, in a disrespectful shun of their service, chooses to hide their remains from our eyes so we do not know how many people have been lost.  This was a decision he and Cheney made long before the war even began.

If you asked me, each soldier who dies on foreign soil should have a quarter page memorial dedicated to them in the Washington Post, New York Times, and USA Today.  I don’t understand how the lives of the 30 people killed at Virginia Tech, who did receive such dedications, are more important that of our soldiers. So, if you see naming the dead as disrespectful because of our political affiliation, I am sorry but I will not stop.  I have too much respect for their sacrifice not to name them.  I am almost brought to tears when I think of the families of these people; of the thoughts and feelings that went through their heads before they left this earth; of the futures they will never have because they made the ultimate sacrifice for my future under false pretenses. 

I talk to Vets who share my feelings about the war on a daily basis.  Some are upset about the Stop-loss program that forces enlisted people to re-enlist for cash, be sent back to war under duress, or go to the brig.  They describe it as a backdoor draft.  One solider whom I am very close to broke into tears when he told me how sad he has been since returning.  He said he went to war and lost friends because he was told it was necessary.  He trusted in the system of the military and in the wisdom of his commander and chief.  Having returned and heard that commander and chief manipulating the truth and abandoning the original mission of the war (this soldier believed he was going to stop the spread of WMD’s) – he became much disenfranchised.  He is still a successful officer but suffers greatly with emotional issues and alcoholism.  I only wish I could list the number of our soldiers who return from war and we leave alone to self destruct.  They will be the true test of our VA system.

I know I cannot convince many of you the total and raw pain I feel writing about this war.  Not just the loss of soldiers but the loss of Iraqi’s, the loss of a peaceful future for the next generation, the loss of our international reputation that will, for generations, have a negative affect on our stability and prosperity.  But JJ, I feel it.  I feel raw pain because I know there are millions upon millions of people in so much more pain than me resultant of this war.  I cannot have this venue and not use it to expose that pain in its most raw form:  names.

I am sorry I have not abbreviated the ranks correctly — please be kind enough to correct my mistake.  Below is the latest Iraq toll:

Those who died in Iraq from Aug 19 to 25:

Cap Michael Fielder  35  Holly Springs NC

Pvt Donovan Witham  20  Malvern AR

Sgt Sandy Britt  30  Apopka FL

Cpl Nathan Hubbard  21  Clovis CA

Cpl Joshua Harmon  20  Mentor OH

Spc Michael Hook  25  Altona PA

Cpl Philip Brodnick  25  New Lenox IL

Spc Jessy Pollard  22  Springfield MO

Sgt Garrett McLead  23  Rockport TX

Sgt Jason Paton  25  Poway CA

Cap Derek Dobogal  26  Fond du Lac WI

Spc Tyler Seideman  20  Lincoln AR

Cpl Jeremy Bouffard  21  Middlefield MA

Spc Rickey Bell  21  Caruthersville MO

Cap Corry Tyler  29  Georgia

CWO Paul Flynn  28  Whitsett NC

Sgt Matthew Tallman  30  Groveland CA

Pvt Omar Torre  20  Chicago IL

Pvt Edgar Cardenas  34  Lilburn GA

Sgt Adrian Elizalde  30  North Bend IN

Sgt Michael Tully  33  Falls Creek PA

Sgt Henry Heringes  36  Tampa FL

Cpl Matthew Medlicott  21  Houston TX

 

43 were seriously wounded and maimed.

54 wounded were returned to occupation.

360 Iraqis brothers and sisters were killed.

Iraq toll

Those who died in Iraq from Aug 5 to 11:

Spc Daniel Reyes 25 SanDiego CA

Sgt Bradley Marshall 37 Little Rock AR

Spc Charles Leonard Jr 29 Monroe LA

Sgt Joey Link 29 Portland TN

Spc Justin Blackwell 27 Paris TN

Pvt Jeremy Bohannon 18 Bon Aqua TN

Spc Kareem Khan 20 Manahawkin NJ

Cpl Juan Alcantara 22 New York

Sgt Nicholas Gummersall 23 Chubbuck ID

Sgt Jacob Thompson 26 No Mankato MN

Spc Christopher Neiberger 22 Gainesville FL

Pvt Craig Barber 20 Ogmore Vale UK

Sgt Jon Bonnell Jr 22 Fort Dodge IA

Air Martin Beard 20 Rainworth UK

Cpl Reynold Armand 21 Rochester NY

Spc Donald Young Helena MT

Sgt Michael Tayaotao 27 Sunnyvale CA

Cpl Chris Casey 27 London UK

Cpl Kirk Redbath 22 Romford UK

Sgt Joan Duran 24 Roxbury MA

Pvt William Edwards 23 Houston TX

Spc Justin Penrod 24 Danville IL

87 were seriously wounded and maimed.

88 wounded were returned to killing fields.

420 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed.

Cf: www.icasualties.org

Iraq Toll

Those who died in Iraq from Jul 29 to Aug 4:

 

Pvt Cody Grater 20 Spring Hill FL

Sgt Wilberto Suliveras 38 Humacao PR

Sgt Jack Richards 39 Oklahoma

Cpl Sean Stokes 24 Auburn CA

Cpl Jason Kessler 29 Vernon WA

Pvt Alfred Jairala 29 Hialeah FL

Pvt Charles Heinlein Jr 23 Hemlock MI

Spc Zachariah Gonzalez 23 Indiana

Sgt Stephen Maddies 41 Elizabethton TN

Cpl Steve Edwards 35 Sutton UK

Sgt Travis Bachman 30 Garden City KS

Sgt Julian Rios 52 Anasco PR

Sgt Eric Salinas 25 Houston TX

Spc Christian Rojas Gallego 24 Loganville GA

Sgt Fernando Santos 29 San Antonio TX

Cpl Christian Vasquez 20 Coalinga CA

Pvt Mtthew Murchison 21 Independence MO

Spc Bradon Long 19 Sherman TX

Pvt Jaron Holliday 21 Tulsa OK

Cpl Jason Lafleur 28 Ignacio CO

Sgt Dustin Wakeman 25 Ft Worth TX

65 were seriously wounded.

86 wounded were returned to occupation.

480 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed

THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA

If you follow the Bush administration’s line of thinking (at least the line they have used in their talking points) we have been having trouble with Iran for decades. In fact, it was highly publicized that the recent talks with Iran were the first since a 20 year diplomatic freeze between the two states. According to James Dobbins, who was the Bush administration’s first envoy for Afghanistan after September 11^th, that is hardly the case. His insights in a July 22^nd Washington Post column shed light on how we have and can continue to engage Iran as a partner for stabilizing the Middle East and fighting al-Qaeda.

“Many believe that in the wake of Sept. 11, the United States formed an international coalition and toppled the Taliban. It would be more accurate to say that the U.S. joined a coalition that had been battling the Taliban for nearly a decade. This coalition – made up of Iran, India, Russia and the Northern Alliance, and aided by massive American airpower – drove the Taliban from power.”

This was not an anxious alliance, Dobbins goes on to emphasize the openness of the talks in 2001 during the U.N. conference in Bonn, Germany. “The Iranian representatives were particularly helpful…then-Secretary of State Colin Powell authorized me to meet anywhere, anytime, on any matter with any Iranian official, as long as our discussions related to Afghanistan.”

Contrast this attitude toward Iran with that of the Bush administration in 2007 when talks on Iraq went into their second, most recent, session. “U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said he also challenged Iran over its suspected support for other radical groups in the Middle East such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran rejected all of the accusations, he said…. Crocker said there had been several “heated exchanges” in the seven hours of talks, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari described them as ‘very challenging.’” (Associated Press)

So what happened to our coalition against terrorists? “Only weeks after Hamid Karzai was sworn in as interim leader in Afghanistan, President Bush listed Iran among the ‘axis of evil’ – surprising payback for Tehran’s help in Bonn.” I can’t speculate on the reasoning for this change – I can only condemn it.

If we truly seek a democratic and stable Middle East region we cannot continue on this path. Iraq is a central place to bring our diplomatic relations back into reality. “None of Iraq’s neighbors was eager for the invasion four years ago ….All are now worried that the civil war in Iraq will serve as a breeding ground for terror and violence that will be increasingly exported to their own countries.” (Brookings)

“Iran has the most capability to be a decisive force given its intimate ties to virtually every Shia and Kurdish politician, its geography and its economic connections.” Iran’s influence in Iraq is more than apparent. Their cooperation in the stabilization and re-building of Iraq is essential to creating a workable plan.

The Bush administration would have us believe that staying in Iraq is the only option. Samuel Berger and Bruce Riedel would vehemently disagree. These Brookings scholars believe that Iraq’s neighbors cannot engage with the U.S. diplomatically before we end our occupation. Most notably, Iran fears Iraq becoming a base for the U.S to launch an attack against their country. Why would they cooperate if the feel threatened?

Creating a peaceful region without a permanent U.S. presence should be the number one priority of all involved. The first step toward this end is a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops and cooperation with Iran akin to that of 2001.

Dying to Get Paid in Iraq

The issue of Iraq is not one that is only debated in our halls of government. Corporate interests have a heavy say in the war through private contracts vetted by the U.S. military. A recently Los Angeles Times Article (one heavily quoted in this blog) said, “The number of U.S. paid, private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government’s capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns.” The contracts given for the missions in Iraq were given to private companies with links to the Bush administration in 2003 without a proper bidding process required by law.

Government officials claim that some duties are contracted out because they provide necessary services giving military personal time to engage in combat operations. The problem, of course, is that private contractors, unlike military personal, are not subject to the same rules of engagement and code of conduct the U.S. military is said to enforce. “At one point in 2004, for example, U.S. forces were put on food rations when (contracted) drivers balked at taking supplies into a combat zone.” These logistical contracts are primarily owned by Kellog Brown & Root (a Houston-based oil services company) and its parent company Halliburton Co.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the security contracts held by Blackwater, Triple Canopy and Erinys. “We don’t have control of all the coalition guns in Iraq. That’s dangerous for our country,” said William Nash, a retired Army general and reconstruction expert. Military policy experts report that on several occasions “heavily armed private contractors have engaged in firefights when attacked by Iraqi insurgents.”

This brings to light the question, why are civilians engaging in activities mandated to the military? The answer is, as always, money. Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar said, “This is not the coalition of the willing. It’s a coalition of the billing.”

This ‘billed coalition’ is counter productive to keeping troops safe and getting them home faster. Because they are not subject to any law, they help to create dangerous situations for themselves and U.S. troops. Democracy Now has been following a case against Blackwater whose contractors were brutally killed in Iraq. Jeremy Scahill, author of the New York Times bestseller, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, said, “We have to remember that when those four men were killed in Fallujah, dragged through the streets, strung up from a bridge, the Bush administration responded by laying siege to the Iraqi city of Fallujah, carrying out some incredible 37,000 air strikes. Hundreds of people were killed. Thousands were displaced from their homes. In many ways, it was the week that the war turned and that the anti-occupation resistance exploded.”

So, as our Representatives on both sides proclaim their disdain for the war and refuse to take substantial action to end it, let us be reminded of the links between corporate and government interests. We cannot allow our leaders to maintain the status quo while people are dying by the thousands, money is wasted, and our reputation as a country is flushed down a million dollar toilet. Find out who paid for you Reps re-election campaign and you just may have some insight into why they consistently vote against the will of the American people. As activists, we are derelict in our mission if we don’t engage this topic in our work.

Oil Will Keep the U.S. in Iraq

This is a re-publication of a published letter to the editor from the Washington Post
Sunday, June 17, 2007; Page B06

The June 10 front-page article “Military Envisions Longer Stay in Iraq” provided much useful information regarding a planned long-term U.S. military occupation in Iraq, but it failed to give a reason why 40,000 or more U.S. troops might be there for decades.

The answer is surely oil interests. Last month Congress passed a bill continuing funding for the Iraq war with a “benchmark” provision threatening suspension of reconstruction funds if Iraq’s government fails to enact a law opening up its oil industry to privatization, something no other oil-rich Middle Eastern country has done. Predictably, this idea is vigorously opposed by many in the Iraqi parliament and the oil workers union.

No one should be shocked to learn that U.S. elites plan a long military presence in Iraq on behalf of oil interests; even less surprising will be the American and Iraqi peoples’ resounding rejection of such a project. People in Iraq and the region already think the United States is there because of oil. Is there any logical reason to think this will change, and that four years of fierce resistance to our occupation will magically dissolve, especially as our long-term plans become clear?

KEVIN MARTIN
Executive Director
Peace Action Education Fund
Silver Spring

Iraqi: Are we looking for sustainable reconstruction or a $1.50 a gallon?

The latest piece of brilliant military strategy from the White House is a smaller more long term U.S. occupying force in Iraq. I, like many citizens who were opposed to this war in the first place, am constantly concerned with how the U.S. will clean up the mess we’ve left in Iraq. According to the Washington Post our Commander and Chief and the U.S. military are concerned with similar issues. “A reduction of troops, some officials argue, would demonstrate to anti-American factions that the occupation will not last forever while reassuring Iraqi allies that the United States does not intend to abandon the country” (Military Envisions Longer Stay in Iraq June 10, 2007). The article goes on to impress upon us: the inability to withdraw U.S. troops in a timely manner, the importance of training Iraqi troops, and protecting the fledgling Iraqi government.

These all seem like important, viable goals. But, it is important to realize that we are not dealing with an administration that is primarily concerned with the welfare of humanity. We cannot fall into a trap of negligence of our own, most recent, history. On Thursday, May 24, the US Congress voted to continue the war in Iraq. Among the numerous points meted out in this piece of legislation is the privatization of Iraqi oil.

“If the Iraqi Parliament refuses to pass the privatization legislation, Congress will withhold US reconstruction funds that were promised to the Iraqis to rebuild what the United States has destroyed there. The privatization law, written by American oil company consultants hired by the Bush administration, would leave control with the Iraq National Oil Company for only 17 of the 80 known oil fields. The remainder (two-thirds)of known oil fields, and all yet undiscovered ones, would be up for grabs by the private oil companies of the world (but guess how many would go to United States firms - given to them by the compliant Iraqi government.)” Anne Wright, TruthOut Editorial, May 26, 2007.

Ms. Wright goes on to explain these private contracts are slated to last up to 30 years. Our extended occupation may very well extend for another 30 years so our troops can protect the vital interests of the oil companies.

I, personally, would like to see a longer term international presence in Iraq; but, my goal is not oil. I am concerned about the long term needs of Iraqi refugees. I am concerned about rebuilding roads and schools. I am concerned about bringing sectarian rivals to the table to discuss the future of democracy in Iraq. I am especially concerned that revenue from Iraqi oil be distributed equally among the Iraqi people. I fear this will never happen because the Bush administration is leading the way for neo-colonialism in the Middle East. I am concerned that we, as citizens of this world, remain complacent.