COMMENTS: We know people check the BTHN web site www.bringthemhomenow.org for daily updates, for the Sound Off letters from vets, GI's, and military families, for organizing tips from the Take a Stand section, and for organizational links to activists. Some people just check it to reassure themselves that this special community has not been stood down by fatigue or elections. Never fear on the last. One of the things we learned being troops and military families is patience and endurance. We will not stand down until the last US troop is out of Iraq. There will be no compromise, no rest, and no surrender. And we will not be intimidated by the gangsters in Washington DC.
But one thing that is not often recognized about this site is that we have archived by date and in sequence one of the finest collections of news and commentary on the war anywhere, in our News Roundups at the What's Up? section each day. A quick click of the "previous" button will scroll you day-by-day back to July 2003, with multiple sources that track the 'progress' of this criminal enterprise and human catastrophe.
We have also tracked the monotonous regularity of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld claims of victories and advances that are proven false within days
like the perpetual drip, drip, drip of news claiming the pacification of Fallujah, even as Marine intelligence yesterday said thousands of troops must now stay in Fallujah to consolidate that so-called pacification (a word with spooky resonance for us Vietnam vets), and that troop numbers must now be expanded. (Bobby McNamara, you there?)
We encourage journalists, scholars, freelance writers, activists, and people who just give a damn, to scroll through these archives and the accompanying photos (all placed in accordance with Fair Use laws) to gain the kind of perspective needed to see past the daily dust storms of spin originating from the Oval Office, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense. We further encourage you to pass this link along to other journalists, scholars, freelance writers, activists, and people who just give a damn, so they will know we are there. And if you know a military service member, or a veteran, or a military family member, pass this link along to them too.
Also note - Mark you calendars for MARCH 19, 2005.
On March 20 last year, we staged the biggest demonstration Fayetteville, NC has seen in 35 years. Fayetteville is next to Ft. Bragg, NC - ground zero for the 82nd Airborne Division (that is preparing for their third trip to Iraq) and most of the US Special Operations community. Many people feared trouble there, but the demonstration against the war was not only well received, many service members participated along with their families. And the police (!), many of whom privately expressed agreement with us (most are veterans in Fayetteville), kept the thin line of hecklers back and allowed us full use of beautiful Rowan Park.
On MARCH 19 in FAYETTEVILLE this year, we will mark the anniversary of the 2003 ground offensive AGAIN with a far bigger demonstration than the last. If you are tired of pilgrimages to DC and NYC for mass mobilizations, and if you want to send a message from the belly of the beast, this year you need to visit North Carolina. Before and after the action, you can hike through Raven Rock State Park (30 minutes), drive to the beach (2 hours), or explore Fayetteville's Quaker House (an historic center for GI Resistance). But come to NC, come to Rowan Park in Fayetteville, and help us continue to undermine the legitimacy of this gangster-government. We want this to be not only national but international (international press was there last year), and we need every warm body available to come.
The wheels are falling off this war wagon, and we need you in Fayetteville this March to give them another hard kick.
Stan Goff
Information for March 19 at lou.plummer at mac.com or chuckfager at aol.com.
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ANOTHER MARINE BLOWS THE WHISTLE
He trolled for teenagers in North Carolina high schools, barked orders at recruits in boot camp, and pulled charred civilian corpses out of cars in Iraq. Now Jimmy Massey is making good on his promise to tell the whole world what he learned as a Marine. http://www.counterpunch.org/ferner11182004.html
RARE BLOOD DISEASE AFFLICTING GI'S
A total of 102 soldiers were found to be infected with the bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii. The infections occurred among soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and three other sites between Jan. 1, 2002, and Aug. 31, 2004. http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=NW_1-T&oldflok=FF-RTO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0002/20041118/1351115269.htm&photoid=20041114ANS117
GENERALS REPORT US MILITARY AT 'BREAKING POINT'
Continued fighting in Iraq is straining U.S. forces nearly to the breaking point, even as the Pentagon pumps more than $5.8 billion per month into sustaining its forces there, the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines told Congress on Wednesday. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-troops18nov18,0,5365123.story?coll=la-home-headlines
PORTER GOSS - CHENEY-PUPPET SLAMS THE LID ON THE CIA
Acting through new CIA Director Porter Goss, the Bush administration read the riot act to Langley's intelligence professionals that they must get behind Bush's policies or get out. The demands have led to an exodus of senior CIA officials, including deputy CIA chief John E. McLaughlin and deputy director of operations Stephen R. Kappes. http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/111804.html
PORTER GOSS NEEDED
MARINE INTELLIGENCE GIVES VERY GLOOMY REPORT ON FALLUJAH
The US Marine intelligence report warned that any significant troop withdrawal from Fallujah would strengthen the insurgency, The New York Times said. The assessment, distributed to senior Marine and army officers in Iraq, said that despite the heavy fighting, the insurgents would continue to increase in number, carrying out attacks and fomenting unrest. "The enemy will be able to effectively defeat (the Marines') ability to accomplish its primary objectives of developing an effective Iraqi security force and setting the conditions for successful Iraqi elections." http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=54687&d=19&m=11&y=2004
STAND BY
YOU'RE GOING BACK! TROOP LEVELS TO BE BOOSTED
Amid a spike in violence in Iraqi cities coinciding with the Fallujah offensive, the US military is now planning to boost combat forces to secure the country for elections in January. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1119/p03s01-usmi.html
IRAQI MUSLIM LEADERS CALL FOR BOYCOTT OF US 'FIXED' ELECTIONS - LEGITIMACY AND DURABILITY OF ANY ELECTION RESULT IN SERIUS QUESTION NOW
Dozens of political organizations, many with largely Sunni memberships, announced Thursday that they would boycott elections planned for January. http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1039806&l=1&t=Nation+%2F+World&c=26,1039806
UK HAS CITED ABUSE FOR A LONG TIME
AND BEEN IGNORED BY WASHINGTON
Britain has frequently expressed concern to Washington at the highest level about US troops allegedly mistreating victims in Iraq, most recently in October, a British official has told the UN's anti-torture panel. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1247320.htm
KILLING WITNESSES
The global managing editor of news provider Reuters says the US military is entirely to blame for the deaths of three of its employees in Iraq since the start of the war there in March 2003."All of them were killed by the American army," Reuters chief David Schlesinger told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in the southern Portuguese resort of Vilamoura, national news agency Lusa reported. The most recent death occurred in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on November 1. The US military says a cameraman killed there while on assignment for Reuters died in a gun battle between marines and insurgents. But the Iraqi man's colleagues and family have said they believe he was shot by a US sniper. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1247425.htm