Common Sense Democracy

New movie about the Iraq war. Watch the trailer:

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Upcoming interview with Bob Woodward. Via CBS News:

Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq. He also reveals key intelligence that predicts the insurgency will grow worse next year.

In Wallace’s interview with Woodward, to be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. ET/PT

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/28/60minutes/main2047607.shtml.

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This video clip is a must see… Olbermann does a brilliant job of concisely summarizing what a lot of us have been thinking for a long time.

Tags: President+Clinton, Clinton, sandbagging, President+Bush, Olbermann+Commentary, Olbermann

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Anyone seen this before?

It was first introduced as the Universal National Service Act of 2006 (H.R. 4752) by Rep. Charles Randel (D-NY).

To provide for the common defense by requiring all persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.

It seems to be hugely unpopular among members of both the House and Senate and many critics are calling it simply an Anti-War maneuver. Bringing back the draft would be certain death for the Iraq campaign among the general public.

Call it what you want, but it sounds like a draft to me.

Read more at:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-4752
http://www.globalresearch.ca

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President Clinton gave a powerful interview on Fox News. He went on the offensive and blasted away at the reporter and the right-wing propaganda machine. I thought it was a great interview and it’s refreshing to see someone finally articulate so well without some prepared speech. Watching Clinton really makes you appreciate his public speaking talent and also really makes you realize what a bumbling idiot George Bush is.

I’m glad Clinton went on the offensive. This country needs more heated debate, more INFORMED debate, on what the hell is going on. Clinton believes in what he’s saying. Bush just says what he wants people to believe.

At one point, Clinton said to the reporter:

“And you’ve got that little smirk on your face and you think you’re so clever. But I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it. But I did try. And I did everything I thought I responsibly could. …

You can click here to view a clip of the Fox News interview at Google Video –>

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NationalPriorities.org has a running total of the U.S. taxpayer cost of the Iraq War. The number is based on Congressional appropriations.

It also breaks down some comparisons for what we could have spent the money on to better our own country.

View the current cost and other comparisons at NationalPriorities.org.

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This issue just really fires me up. Let’s take it piece by piece.

Three leading high-profile Republican senators and former Secretary of State Colin Powell broke from the party loyalists and voted against the Bush administration’s proposal on the rules for interrogating wartime prisoners.

Bush held a news conference to discuss.

Questioning of suspected terrorists “won’t go forward” unless Congress clarifies a U.S. standard for the treatment and interrogation of wartime prisoners, President Bush warned on Friday.

Can you say…  bunch of crap?! This sounds like some spoiled kid on the playground who refuses to play on the swings until the other kids go away. Why can’t the intelligence officers, military personnel and other law enforcement officials play by the rules, just like they have for the last 50 years, and do their job as professionals. He makes it sound like everything will just come to a screeching halt if the new rules are passed. One of the things that differentiated American forces from other countries during World War II is that captured prisoners knew they would be treated fairly and humanely, even in most cases, better then their own governments. Often times the only way for enemy soldiers to live was to surrender to US forces, rather then face returning to their commands defeated.

“You cannot ask a young intelligence officer to violate the law,” Bush said. “If Congress passes a law that does not clarify the rules … the program is not going forward.”

So basically he’s saying, we want conduct interrogations in a certain way, which is currently against the law so please change the law so we can continue to do it without doing anything wrong. Just ingnore the fact that what they are doing is morally wrong.

“My job and the job of the people here in Washington, D.C., is to protect this country,” Bush said.

Um… yeah, but your job is also to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States. When did we, as a society, decide crimes against humanity was ok as long as we are protecting ourselves?

“I believe Americans want us to protect the country, to have clear standards for our law enforcement, intelligence officers, and give them the tools necessary to protect us within the law.”

There ARE clear standards. The President just doesn’t like the standards. He wants unobstructed power to interrogate prisoners any way our government sees fit. What is this “V for Vendetta”???

In spite of how terrible the terrorists are and how much vengence we want, we can’t allow ourselves to collectively sink to their levels, to levels of indecency where moral values and personal rights and liberties, even for prisoners, are cast aside in the blind pursuit of justice.

Article 3 prohibits nations engaged in combat not of “an international character” from, among other things, “violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture” and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment.”

Link to CNN.com - Bush: Without my plan, detainee questioning won’t continue - Sep 15, 2006

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We are spending $8 billion a month in Iraq. That’s $2 billion each week, $267 million each day, or $11 million each hour. For what we spend in three weeks in Iraq, we could make needed improvements in order to properly secure our public transportation systems. For what we spend in five days, we could put radiation detectors in all of our ports. And for two days in Iraq, we could screen all air cargo.

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I ran across a good commentary by Lou Dobbs. Very well put.

Sometimes I get annoyed that while it’s easy to criticize the President for failing to have a plan to succeed, we must not forget that our government is made up of several branches and 2 opposing parties. In this election season, the leaders can’t simply say the other side is wrong; the leaders must propose a solution and lead us out of the fight. Soldiers are dying while we sit around and point fingers.

The American people cannot be reasonably asked by this president or this secretary of defense to “stay the course” without evidence of a strategy to successfully prosecute the war and defeat the radical Islamist enemy. Otherwise, why are we there? The loyal opposition on Capitol Hill cannot reasonably ask the American people to elect them without articulating a clear new direction and offering a concrete plan for victory. Otherwise, why do we even have a loyal opposition?

Read the full commentary. Source: CNN.com - Dobbs: Patience favors the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan - Sep 13, 2006

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 There are almost too many ludacris stories going around about G.W. and his lack of anything even closely resembling presidential stature, but regardless, here’s another one. The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, Dolores Kesterson, along with other families of fallen soldiers, were invited to meet with President Bush. Each one was given 10 minutes. Her account is their short meeting is maddening. Each time I hear about stories such as this, I am saddened that american sons and daughters are giving their life in the name of this administration. This mother gave her son and Bush can barely give 10 minutes of respect and gratitude. This isn’t a student debate, he’s the President of the United States and people are dying because of his inability to lead and be Presidential.

Read the full article at the link below.

Link to U.S. Tour of Duty

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So… one question… If we don’t negotiate with terrorists and Hizbollah is in effect a terrorist organization… why is there a cease fire starting on Monday? Don’t get me wrong, I understand the people at the table are actually Israel and Lebanon… but what’s the point of agreeing to a cease fire if the other group fighting isn’t at the negotiating table? Where and what is Hizbollah doing after the “so called” cease fire happens? Lebanon may agree to the halting of hostilities, but will the terrorists and are we just going to be right back at the beginning all over again? Is there anyone trying to mediate a cease fire between the world and Al-Qaeda or are we just eliminating them at all cost.

I say again… do we negotiate with terrorists?

My 2 cents worths for the night. We’ll have to wait and see.

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A new book has just been published by Stephen Kinzer. If anyone has read it and has a review or a comment to share, please post a comment to this post below.

Overthrow : America\’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq

From Publishers Weekly
The recent ouster of Saddam Hussein may have turned “regime change” into a contemporary buzzword, but it’s been a tactic of American foreign policy for more than 110 years. Beginning with the ouster of Hawaii’s monarchy in 1893, Kinzer runs through the foreign governments the U.S. has had a hand in toppling, some of which he has written about at length before (in All the Shah’s Men, etc.). Recent invasions of countries such as Grenada and Panama may be more familiar to readers than earlier interventions in Iran and Nicaragua, but Kinzer, a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, brings a rich narrative immediacy to all of his stories. Although some of his assertions overreach themselves—as when he proposes that better conduct by the American government in the Spanish-American War might have prevented the rise of Castro a half-century later—he makes a persuasive case that U.S. intervention destabilizes world politics and often leaves countries worse off than they were before. Kinzer’s argument isn’t new, but it’s delivered in unusually moderate tones, which may earn him an audience larger than the usual crew of die-hard leftists. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Just passing on a new post by Kevin at The Washington Monthly, Political Animal, on “How To Win In Iraq”.

So why is it that large foreign occupiers practically never win counterinsurgencies? The British in Malaysia are the only large-scale example of success since WWII, and while they may provide lessons for success, it’s also the case that some of the tactics they used are simply not available to us. So what should we do?

“How To Win In Iraq”

Technorati Tags: Army, Iraq, military+objectives

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Via CNN.com.

Just in case you were starting to forget about the WMD intelligence meltdown, here is a little tidbit of a story coming out of CNN. A former top aide to Colin Powel has said that his involvement in Powell’s presentation to the UN on the weapons of mass destruction was “the lowest point” in his life.

“I wish I had not been involved in it,” says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a longtime Powell adviser who served as his chief of staff from 2002 through 2005. “I look back on it, and I still say it was the lowest point in my life.”

CNN Presents is working on a new documentary called, “Dead Wrong — Inside an Intelligence Meltdown.”

The article goes on to say that, “Powell’s presentation initially came from a document he described as “sort of a Chinese menu” that was provided by the White House.”

It’s sickening that we went to war over this. There may have been many valid reasons for removing Saddam Hussein from power and we all agree the world is probably a better place without his regime, but lying to the American people to achieve the results is just disturbing. When will this administration be held accountable for the damage caused to this country and our reputation around the world, not to mention the thousands of dead military men and women who lost their lives for these lies.

Technorati Tags: Colin+Powell, WMD, weapons+of+mass+destruction, United+Nations, CNN, Secretary+of+State, Saddam+Hussein, The+White+House

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The Political Animal at The Washington Monthly has posted an update on life at Camp Casey, the encampment of Cindy Sheehan and other supporters outside the Texas ranch of President Bush.

a lot of the guys there were Vietnam vets, while the rest were pretty middle-aged and wholesome, middle-class and earnest.

Read more at Political Animal.

Technorati Tags: Cindy+Sheehan, Camp+Casey, Anti-war+Protests

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I’ve been following along with the Cindy Sheehan story for a few weeks now. Cindy Sheehan is the mother of a solider killed in Iraq and she is camped outside President Bush’s Texas ranch waiting for a chance to speak with the President about the war and about what her son died for. She just wants to sit down and talk about it; to understand the cause and the mission. Wednesday night 1,627 vigils were held nationwide to support Cindy Sheehan and to protest the Iraq war. The events were organized by MoveOn.org.

One such event took place in Market Square, Exeter, New Hampshire. Today when I woke up, my email contained a link to the front page of The Portsmouth Herald where low-and-behold the main photograph was of my mother, sister and her two daughers carrying signs at the Exeter, NH vigil.

My mother is very passionate and outspoken about politics and appeared on the front page of the NH newspapers once before this past year when she was out sign-waving in support for Howard Dean.

You just gotta love New Hampshire politics!

Read the full story at Portsmouth Herald Local News: 140 gather in Market Square, Exeter to speak out against war.

Technorati Tags: NH, Cindy+Sheehan, Anti-war, protests, Exeter, New+Hampshire, Portsmouth+Herald, Crawford+Texas

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Via CNN.com.

President Bush’s motorcade passed by the group of protestors outside his Texas ranch on his way to a political fund-raiser. Cindy Sheehan, who started the protest, has been joined by more then 100 people.

Sheehan — whose son, Casey, was killed five days after he arrived in Iraq last year at age 24 — held a sign that read: “Why do you make time for donors and not for me?”

She’s right. The President owe’s her a visit. It’s the least he could do after sending her son off to die. He represents America and if he is too ashamed to meet with her or has nothing to say then he shouldn’t be sending our troops off to war in the first place. If he truly believes in his decision to invade Iraq then he should have no problem facing the music, standing proud as the Command-in-Chief, and listening to what Cindy has to say, while at the same time having sympathy and pride for those who have fallen. Of course he can’t meet with every American who wants to say something to him, but her son paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country and he is our President. For his cause and his decision, Casey Sheehan went off to war. No decision is greater for a President and he should be prepared to face it’s bloody aftermath.

Read the full article at Via CNN.com.

Technorati Tags: President+Bush, Crawford+Texas, Presidential+motorcade, anti-war+protestors, Casey+Sheehan, Cindy+Sheehan, political+fundraisers

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Via Moveon.org.

On April 4th last year, 24-year-old Army Specialist Casey Sheehan died in Iraq. This week, while President Bush vacations in Texas, Casey’s mother, Cindy Sheehan, sits vigil outside the president’s ranch. Cindy says that she won’t leave until President Bush meets with her to discuss the war—even if it means spending all of August there.

Cindy Sheehan was not an anti-war activist, but the loss of her son and the mounting evidence of deception by the Bush administration pushed her to speak out. While Cindy camps roadside in Texas, dozens of other military moms are flying to Texas to join her. Her story is starting to grab national attention, but Cindy needs our support.

Cindy simply wants to meet with the president to ask him to tell the truth about why her son died—and to stop using Casey’s and other soldiers’ deaths to justify continuing the war. But Cindy’s reflections on the war are also a reminder to all of us about the importance of getting involved:

“I shamefully and regretfully admit that before Casey was killed in Iraq I didn’t publicly speak out against the war. I didn’t shout out and say, “Stop. Stop this insane rush to an invasion that has no basis in reality. Don’t invade a country based on cherry-picked intelligence and despicable scare tactics. You don’t use our country’s precious lifeblood unless its absolutely necessary to defend America.” If I had broken the bonds of my slavery to silence sooner, would Casey still be alive? I don’t know.”

Cindy’s story is starting to grab national and international attention, creating a public relations problem for the White House. If we can help Cindy capture the focus of the country for even a couple of days we will sear into the memory of the public the image of the grieving mother—a morally pure reminder of the ultimate reason to end the war: the lost sons and daughters of moms everywhere.

Cindy has appeared on ABC, CNN, and FOX, and yesterday the lead editorial in The New York Times entitled “One Mother in Crawford” noted that “many Americans are with her, at least figuratively, at that dusty roadside in Crawford, expecting better answers.” With the White House press corps camped just a short distance away at Bush’s ranch, our newspaper ad will help prod them to pay attention to her.

Read more at:
Moveon.org

“One Mother in Crawford” Editorial, The New York Times, August 9, 2005.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/opinion/09tue1.html

Video Testimonial by Cindy Sheehan from our friends at TrueMajority.
http://www.truemajority.org/GoldStar_web.mov

Technorati Tags: Moveon.org, President+Bush, Crawford+Texas, Army, Anti-war, protests, activists, peace+activists, white+house

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A friend of mine posted a comment in one of my previous posts (We Have Failed Our Veterans) with a link to an interesting article on the troop strength and composition of our Army. It breaks down the percentages of combat troops versus support troops and the split between the active duty force and the reserves.

Can we sustain our force committments around the world with an all-volunteer military or is a draft inevitable? About a decade ago Congress moved certain logistical components from the active duty side of the Army to the Reserve side. The possible reasoning behind it was that if the President was to take the country to war he wouldn’t be able to do it without those logistics units and so he would have to activate the Reserves. Activating the reserve components also means messing with the civilian and corporate sectors by pulling out all of the weekend-warriors. When you do that you automatically create oversight by the American people and you had better have a good reason for going to war. That’s how it works in theory anyway, although these days it seems the President can pretty much deploy whatever forces he feels like whether that pulls on the Reserves or not.

So it works the same way with a draft. If you begin to drag all of the sons and daughters into the fight, the American people are going to have something to say about it. With an all-volunteer military, it’s mostly out-of-site out-of-mind for most busy American families.

Read the full article at The Slate - Who’s in the Army Now? - Why we can’t send more troops to Iraq. By Fred Kaplan

Technorati Tags: President+Bush, military+draft, draft, active+duty, Army, reserves, Army+Reserves, National+Guard, combat

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