Saturday, May 20, 2017

Changing Stories


changing stories


 


From June 8, 2014, that's "Changing Stories."  C.I. norted:

 Wearing a t-shirt which read "I SURVIVED BENGHAZI TALKING POINTS," Susan Rice declares, "I meant he was honorable to enlist."  Barack declares, "Informing Congress would have put lives at risk."  Valerie Jarrett exclaims, "Change your story and change your story often."   Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.


Susan Rice remains the world's biggest liar.

(And I miss Valerie Jarrett.)

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Friday, May 19, 2017.  Chaos and violence continue, The Mosul Slog continues, AP doesn't think the refugee crisis created by the slog is important for US news consumers (differs on the international scene), and much more.



forces have stormed the last two blocks in 17 Tamouz district NW , just a little more & it will be completely liberated.





Just a little more?


It's day 212 of The Mosul Slog.


Replying to 
Latest map update for west Operations after liberated Al-Qahira (Cairo) village south Qayrawan.






Meanwhile, does AP have a prankster in its midst?

That would explain this headline "Airstrikes fuel Mosul gains as Iraq pushes for quick victory."

It could also be explained by an urge to cover for empire and that motive would also explain the need to pretend that The Mosul Slog has two parts.

It doesn't.


There was not an operation to liberate the eastern half and an operation to liberate the western half.

That's a rewriting of history, revisionary tactics.

The Mosul Slog was not supposed to be a slog, it was supposed to be a quick operation, one expected to last only a few weeks.

That has not been the case.

Instead, AP splits it up into two because 100 days looks a lot more successful than the 212 days the operation has been going on.


How else do they make it look better?


Burying this:

  
Some 500,000 people have fled western Mosul since February and the United Nations warned another 200,000 may be forced to flee as the operation continues.
U.N. humanitarian coordinator Lise Grande called the numbers "overwhelming."

17 paragraphs into the article before you find the above.

The refugee numbers are "overwhelming."

And that's not the lede?

How does that happen?

AP should try to explain that.

Overseas, AP emphasizes the refugee crises and even makes it the headline.  But for US audiences, it's a different story.





's Releases VDO Showing Destroying 3 Humvees By Guided Missiles Near Tal Banat SW Of .






In a blow to the CIA, Nawshirwan Mustafa has died.  Idris Okuducu (ANADOLU AGENCY) reports he was 73-years-old and that he passed away "following a long illness."  Left out of the announcement is that the CIA provided him with seed money for Goran -- a political party that they hoped would make the Kurds easier to control.

Goran had increased in popularity in the last elections; however, this was in part due to the PUK falling out of favor as a result of the deceptions regarding Jalal Talabani's health.

Whether Goran can **retain** its lead over the PUK without Mustafa will be interesting to see.

(The Barzani's KDP remains the dominant political party in the Kurdistan Region.)



In the US, whistle-blower Chelsea Manning has been released.


Monday April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released  military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7, 2010, the US military announced that they had arrested  Chelsea Manning (then known as Bradley Manning) and she stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel (WASHINGTON POST) reported in August 2010 that Manning had been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring classified information to his personal computer between November and May and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud (LOS ANGELES TIMES) reported that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December. At the start of this year, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3rd, it was announced that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial. Chelsea had yet to enter a plea. The court-martial was supposed to begin before the November 2012 election but it was postponed until after the election so that Barack wouldn't have to run on a record of his actual actions.  INDEPENDENT.IE added, "A court martial is set to be held in June at Ford Meade in Maryland, with supporters treating him as a hero, but opponents describing him as a traitor."  February 28, 2013, Chelsea admitted he leaked to WikiLeaks.  And why.


Chelsea:   In attempting to conduct counter-terrorism or CT and counter-insurgency COIN operations we became obsessed with capturing and killing human targets on lists and not being suspicious of and avoiding cooperation with our Host Nation partners, and ignoring the second and third order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A tables this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as [missed word] as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan.
I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of time by different sectors of society might cause society to reevaluate the need or even the desire to even to engage in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the people living in the effected environment everyday.




For truth telling, Chelsea was punished by the man who fears truth: Barack Obama.  A fraud, a fake, a 'brand,' anything but genuine, Barack is all marketing, all facade and, for that reason, must attack each and every whistle-blower.  David Delmar (Digital Journal) points out, "President Obama, while ostensibly a liberal advocate of transparency and openness in government, and of the 'courage' and 'patriotism' of whistleblowers who engage in conscientious leaks of classified information, is in reality something very different: a vindictive opponent of the free press willing to target journalists for doing their job and exposing government secrets to the public."


 Tuesday, July 30, 2013, Chelsea was convicted of all but two counts by Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge in his court-martial.



She deserves praise for what she did.  We do not, however, need to lie about what she did.


Hidden history of the Iraq war is Chelsea Manning leaks were totally decisive in securing a US withdrawal. Saved countless lives.





That's not hidden history, that's made up inventions.

It's also insulting as it implies the favorite western narrative of all time: The natives were too stupid on their own and needed a White savior to rescue them.

The occupation of Iraq was authorized under a UN mandate which was yearly.

Each year, the prime minister of Iraq would renew it.

Nouri al-Maliki came under tremendous pressure near the end of 2006 for renewing it -- pressure within Iraq.  He promised that he would put it before Parliament the next year.

In 2007, he renewed it and did not go before Parliament.

The Status of Forces Agreement was a three year contract for that reason -- he did not want to take the hit each year as the supporter of occupation in his own country.








Chelsea Manning did a heroic thing and the video of the attack on the REUTERS reporters probably woke a few up in the US.

However, this was not news to the Iraqi people.

They saw the foreign military do that (and far worse) in their country on a regular basis.  There was also the issue of Blackwater and other mercenary groups.

Chelsea did a great job and her actions were heroic.

But let's not pretend that the Iraqi people needed Chelsea -- seven years into the Iraq War -- to tell them how they were being treated on a daily basis.  It's insulting.


Also in the US, Carlo Munoz (WASHINGTON TIMES) reports on statements made to a think tank:

The U.S. may need to keep as many as 20,000 troops and other military personnel in Iraq, even after the Islamic State is driven out, to stabilize the country, the former head of the Pentagon’s policy shop said Thursday.
A postwar force of between 4,000 to 8,000 American troops “is probably sufficient” to help local security forces ensure security in Iraq as ISIS faces defeat in its final stronghold in Mosul, Eric Edelman, the Pentagon’s top policy official during the George W. Bush administration, said in an interview.
The U.S. forces would likely be deployed as advisers, not combat troops, to support Iraq’s police and military forces, he said.


We'll note this from South Central Michigan Greens:



South Central Michigan Greens
=============================
Calhoun, Hillsdale, and Jackson Counties Local
People and planet over profit.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 12, 2017
UPDATED:  May 16, 2017


For more information:
--------------------
John Anthony La Pietra, Calhoun County Contact/SCMiGreens
269-781-9478


South Central Michigan Greens to Meet
at Albion Biggby's 5-7pm May 20
===============================


The South Central Michigan Greens will hold their monthly meeting on
Saturday, May 20 from 5 to 7pm in the meeting room at the Albion
Biggby's Coffee, 217 East Michigan Avenue.

The meeting had been scheduled for 2:30 to 4:30pm in the Elsie Munro
Room at the Albion District Library, but the plans changed after
water-main work on Superior Street was announced to begin on Wednesday.

The Green Party of Michigan local group was formed earlier this year. It
covers Calhoun, Jackson, and Hillsdale Counties, and has been meeting in
various places to reach out to the communities.

Planning an ongoing schedule of dates and places for future meetings
will be on the agenda.  So will discussion of issues and activities to
get involved in, materials on how to campaign for office and how to go
door-to-door to find new members and issues, and information about the
state party's opposition to a misleading ballot proposal.

For more information, please visit the South Central Michigan Greens
Facebook page -- or contact Calhoun County organizer John Anthony La
Pietra (269-781-9478; jalp5dai@att.net).

NOTE:  East Michigan Avenue is north of the downtown construction zone;
Biggby's is a block and a half east of Superior Street, on the north
side of Michigan.  Those entering town from the EAST can Exit 124 off
I-94 onto Michigan Avenue and go west until they reach the coffeeshop.
Those entering town from the WEST can take Exit 121 south into town on
Eaton, turn left at the second stoplight to continue on Business Loop
94, turning right and then left again at the next stoplight which is
Michigan Avenue.


#  #  #


The Four Pillars of GPMI:
    Grassroots Democracy
    Social Justice
    Ecological Wisdom
    Non-Violence
For our Ten Key Values, add:
    Community-Based Economics
    Decentralization
    Feminism
    Future Focus/Sustainability
    Personal and Global Responsibility
    Respect for Diversity




The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley and BLACK AGENDA REPORT -- updated:



Read on ...

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The Plan


theplan3

From June 1, 2014, that's "The Plan."  C.I. noted:

As Eric Shinseki walks away, Barack declares, "I address problems like a college student addresses party stains.  I put a piece of furniture over it and hopes no one notices until after I move out."  Valerie Jarrett exclaims, "It's a plan!"  Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.

Barack made so many promises to veterans and he broke them all.

I feel bad for most veterans.

Most.

Not for Iraq Veterans Against The War that were in Colorado for the 2008 DNC Convention.

They got what they deserved.

They let Barack punk them and that's on them.

They were protesting and the media was starting to cover it so Barack sends out a crony to speak to them and the crony makes all these promises.

None of them came true.

IVAW got punked.



Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Tuesday, May 16, 2017.  Chaos and violence continue, The Mosul Slog continues, anybody remember those 2007 benchmarks, and much more.




AFP reports:

Iraqi forces have recaptured nearly 90 percent of west Mosul from ISIS after retaking the city's eastern side earlier this year, a military spokesman said Tuesday.
ISIS still controls "10.5 percent of... the right bank," Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, told a news conference in Baghdad, referring to west Mosul.

Day 209 of The Mosul Slog.

map update. Green= completely liberated. Orange= frontline clashes. White= control.
 
 




Back in October, when it began, it was supposed to take a few weeks.

209 days later, it still continues.

And it's not even the biggest issue in Iraq.


Let's again note Ben Connable, Natash Lander and Kimberly Jackson's "Beating the Islamic State: Selecting a New Strategy for Iraq and Syria" (RAND CORPORATION):



Root Causes Can Be Bypassed or Suppressed, But Doing So Ensures Lasting Instability

  • Failure to address root causes may mean that instability and violence will outlast any individual armed group. Yet there is little appetite for the effort required to address root causes in Iraq and Syria. Current strategy has thus taken a middle-ground approach that does not truly reflect U.S. understanding of irregular war.
  • The research centered on the two prominent theories about root causes in Iraq and Syria, disenfranchisement and the effects of ethnosectarian discord. While the latter does have an influence, but the deeper cause in these two countries is disenfranchisement from the central governments and from the protections they should be providing their entire populations.
  • Debate over what to do about disenfranchisement is growing; this report argues shifting toward political action while maintaining military pressure against IS. 


And among the key findings:


  • The best way to reduce and, eventually, end insurgency and terrorism is to address root causes or, at least, to establish legitimate and capable governance. Stability is most consistent and enduring when it emerges naturally from popular satisfaction with governance and other socioeconomic conditions, rather than from government oppression or military action by external powers.
  • The legitimated stability option acknowledges that the best way to reduce and, eventually, end insurgency and terrorism is to address root causes or, at least, to establish legitimate and capable governance. The aim of this strategy is to establish legitimate governments in Iraq and Syria. Each government would be capable of addressing Sunni disenfranchisement while protecting the rights of all other groups. Ultimately, strong and legitimate central governments — perhaps federated or confederated to address regional challenges within each state — will reduce the current, dangerous emphasis on ethnosectarian identity politics and violence. 




  • Sectarianism is destroying Iraq.

    And has been destroying Iraq.

    And it's the issue that never gets dealt with.

    Remember the 18 benchmarks the White House created in 2007 to measure success in Iraq?

    Most people appear to have forgotten them.


    CNN noted in September 2007, "The benchmarks were created by lawmakers as part of a $120 billion war-spending bill passed in May, which asked the GAO -- the investigative arm of Congress -- to give a definitive answer as to whether each benchmark was met or not, instead of reporting partial progress."


    One of the benchmarks was national reconciliation.

    And ten years later, that's still not happened.

    Ten years later, it's still the biggest threat to security in Iraq.

    Ten years later, ISIS is being fought because of it and ISIS took root in Iraq because of it.

    In the last 2 days US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have killed 35 civilians, including many women and children
     
     






    The US began these rounds of bombings in August of 2014.

    They're daily bombings.

    There was no effort began in August of 2014 (nor an existing one that got intensified) to foster national reconciliation in Iraq.

    Instead, weapons were handed over, money was forked over and US troops were sent into Iraq in larger numbers -- all with no strings attached.

    Because a diplomatic toolbox only works if you have a diplomat running the State Dept and during this period the Secretary of State was John Kerry who preferred playing toy soldiers and pretending he was the Secretary of Defense.

    May 15, forces conducted 28 strikes consisting of 91 engagements against in & . MORE:
     
     



    These bombing missions have cost the US taxpayers billions.

    But no one in government took the time to ponder how things could be improved with diplomacy or how giving Iraq F-16s with no strings attached was deeply foolish.

    | More than 16,000 members killed since start of operations
     
     



    Have they all been killed?

    Of course not.

    That's not how a rebellion works.

    ISIS is a terrorist group and it has connected with so many because of the persecution of Sunnis that ISIS is a response to.

    So national reconciliation could destroy ISIS for good.

    National reconciliation efforts also wouldn't have harmed or threatened children -- unlike the ongoing bombings.


    Message From Children In and to US Pilots Dropping Munitons On Them:...
     
     




    Imagine what Iraq might be like today if, back in August of 2014, the White House had decided to foster national reconciliation instead of bombing.


    Imagine what it might look like if the forgotten benchmarks of 2007 had ever been enforced.




    The following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan, PACIFICA EVENING NEWS and Jody Watley -- updated:















  • Read on ...

    Saturday, April 29, 2017

    Barack's VA response


    ."



     

    From May 25, 2014, that's "Barack's VA response."  C.I. noted:

    Barack declares, "I'm madder than heck.  Madder than hell even!"  Valerie Jarrett offers, "Ladies and gentlemen, his mad as hell face."  Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.


    Barack did nothing to help veterans.

    That's reality.

    What a joke he was.

    Remember that promise to end veterans homelessness?

    Remember how he didn't?


    Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


    Friday, April 28, 2017.  Chaos and violence continue, The Mosul Slog continues, bickering continues between the governments of Qatar and Iraq, national reconciliation is declared doomed by State Of Law, and more.



    Not hyperbole: Many in the media have a bigger problem with Obama being paid for a speech than they had with Bush invading Iraq.
     
     



    And what of those hypocrites who have a problem with Bully Boy Bush starting the Iraq War and Barack Obama refusing to end it?

    Cat got your mouse and keyboard, Bruce P. Knight?


    Iraqis aren't as lucky as Bruce, they are silenced but not by hypocrisy.


    THE REGISTER reports that the Iraqi government is again shutting down the internet, most recently yesterday morning

    It's amazing how little outcry there is over this attack on freedoms or over the US arming and aiding a government so clearly corrupt and unable to reform.

    On that, the Iraqi government has refused to pursue reconciliation.

    This despite the 2007 'benchmarks' for continued US funding devised by Bully Boy Bush and signed off on by both the US Congress and the then-Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.

    Ten years later and there's still no reconciliation.

    Yet, somehow, US funds, arms and troops still go over to Iraq.

    To fight ISIS?

    What will it be tomorrow?

    ISIS only rose to prominence in Iraq because Nouri al-Maliki refused reconciliation and persecuted the Sunni people.

    What's changed?

    In 2014, Hayder al-Abadi became prime minister.

    That's about it.


    THE BAGHDAD POST reports that MP Mohamed al-Ja'fari has said that the reconciliation is "doomed to failure."

    This is just one opinion, right?

    Wrong.

    He's a member of State Of Law.

    State Of Law is the political coalition created by Nouri al-Maliki to avoid running with his political party (Dawa).  So State Of Law is making clear that they remain opposed to reconciliation.

    And Hayder al-Abadi, the current prime minister?

    He's also a member of Nouri's State Of Law coalition.

    Which explains why he does nothing to bring about reconciliation either.


    So get ready because the never-ending Iraq War is never going to end.

    As long as the government persecutes a group, some organization will rise up -- it's the basic reaction to persecution.


    : has killed the |i Colonel and commander of the 18th Brigade Khader Tal Morshedi in Western .
     
     


    It's day 191 of The Mosul Slog.

    This week, Doctors Without Borders noted:

    The hospital opened by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Qayyarah, Iraq, last December is around 35 miles (60 km) south of Mosul. Distant enough not to hear the sounds of airstrikes and rocket fire, but sufficiently close for the wounded to be brought in when medical facilities nearer the front line are no longer able to cope.
    On February 18, the Iraqi army launched an offensive with the support of the U.S.-led coalition to retake west Mosul, the part of the city still under control of the so-called Islamic State.

    The fighting has claimed many victims, and large numbers of people continue to flee from neighborhoods being gradually recaptured by the army. Some of those displaced by the fighting have ended up in camps in Qayyarah. The MSF team is now caring for patients from west Mosul, displaced persons camps, Qayyarah town, and the region.

    Hospital for medical and surgical emergencies


    The MSF team treats medical and surgical emergencies as the hospital in Qayyarah has an emergency room, operating theater and inpatient departments. The level of activity is intense—between January and March, more than 3,750 patients were admitted to the emergency room.
    A four-bed intensive care unit was recently opened to provide care for burn victims, patients in shock and other critical conditions.
    The team in the emergency room sees patients wounded by airstrikes, explosions, mortar fire and land mines. Away from major roads, there are still mines that occasionally injure children, farm workers and shepherds. In west Mosul, whole families sometimes fall victim to the fighting. 
    Below, MSF emergency doctor Ana Leticia recalls the story of a family caught in an explosion while trying to escape west Mosul.

    The mother was in a state of shock when she arrived. Her 12-year old daughter looked after her younger brothers and sisters while waiting for her mother to be cared for by the MSF psychiatrist and get better. 

    Medical and psychological care

    MSF has set up mental health consultations in Qayyarah for patients from the hospital and displaced persons’ camps. The team—a psychiatrist, two psychologists and a counsellor—treat adults and children alike.
    Psychiatrist Joëlle Vernet set up the provision of mental health care in the hospital. "People have endured extremely tough situations," says Vernet. "And they still don’t feel at all safe, particularly as the bombing hasn’t stopped and there are soldiers and the sound of gunfire everywhere. They live in fear, they’re scared of reprisals. They don’t know what they can say or who they can say it to."
    Many child patients are suffering from intense distress and displaying behavioral issues as a result, she says. "It was even harder for the parents—in reality mostly mothers, as the fathers were no longer with them. They didn’t have the strength to cope with their children’s pain and emotions. So our work was not just treating the child, but also treating the mother too, and child and mother together.
    MSF hospital in Qayyarah is currently the only hospital structure properly set up to receive children in the area of Ninewa. Around half of all patients receiving treatment in the emergency room are under the age of 15.
    Of the 192 patients who attended a mental health consultation from the beginning of February to mid-April, 30 were children under the age of 13.

    8-year-old Duha and her family lived in west Mosul. Last month, their home was hit in an airstrike. Her mother, father and 16 other people in the house at the time were all killed in the bombing.
    Duha was the sole survivor. A neighbor dug her out of the rubble, but her head, hands and one leg were severely burned. She now lives in east Mosul with her uncle who brings her to the hospital regularly to have her dressings changed.

    Malnourished children from west Mosul

    As the Iraqi army advanced into west Mosul, many families were able to escape. The MSF team has been seeing children with acute malnutrition, affected by food shortages in besieged West Mosul.

    To treat malnourished children, MSF has set up a 12-bed therapeutic feeding center in Qayyarah hospital. Most of the children are under six months old, explains Ana Leticia, MSF emergency doctor.

    Since the start of the military offensive to recapture Mosul in October 2016, MSF teams have increased medical and humanitarian assistance in Ninewa governorate. Across the country, MSF is working alongside Iraqi health staff in 10 governorates to ensure that the population has access to emergency medical care, including mother and child care.







    Over 18 months ago, 26 citizens of Qatar were kidnapped while on a hunting trip in Iraq.  Last week, they were freed.

    What should have been good news has instaed resulted in a back and forth of claims.

    Who paid the ransom, where did it go, who is responsible . . .


    AL ARABY notes:

    The deal to secure the recent release of a Qatari hunting party kidnapped in southern Iraq went ahead with the "full knowledge" of Baghdad, officials in Doha claimed on Thursday, after Baghdad accused the Gulf emirate of paying ransom money without its approval.
    Qatar regularly consulted with Iraqi officials during the tense negotiations with kidnappers, it claimed, in the first official statement made by the normally secretive government in Doha since the release last week.


    REUTERS adds:

    Qatar’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, told Doha-based Al Jazeera late on Wednesday that Baghdad had been consulted about the money he said was sent “to support the authorities in the release of Qatari abductees.”
    “Qatar has provided funds to Iraq in an official, clear and public manner,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “Qatar did not deal with armed groups outside the authority of the (Iraqi) state.”





    Governments have longed made deal with designated terrorist groups in Iraq (this includes the US government, see 2009's deal, for example, with The League of Righteousness) but then they try to deny any such deal was made.

    The following community sites updated:











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