Voice of a Veteran

2008-06-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

The Definition of a Commander-in-Chief...

George Bush said the new G.I. bill is too expensive. The money is clearly needed elsewhere, namely in places like Iraq to pay off contractors and maintain several huge military bases and the largest embassy in the world - in addition to paying for military operations. The $3 trillion spent so far on the war continues to bleed our economy at a time when oil cartels and corporations are taking the opportunity to rip off the entire world.

Yet recent reports from Afghanistan show that the troops still don’t have the protection of enough MRAP anti-roadside bomb vehicles, resulting in more deaths and injuries. G.I. & veteran suicide rates continue to climb. A VA hospital in Texas determined that they should reclassify returning troops with PTSD to some other lesser category, like ‘anxiety disorder’ – to save money.

Where is the Commander-in-Chief?

But is the future any better for troops and veterans with John McCain? Hardly. McCain recently said that if we give returning veterans an education, they will want to get out of the military too soon. He is probably the only person anywhere in the public arena or in the Pentagon that really believes this to be true – no one has come forward to support this cockeyed reasoning. In fact, the truth is he could expect much higher enlistment and re-enlistment rates with the incentive of a new G.I. bill. McCain avoided actually voting against the bill by pretending to be busy at a conveniently scheduled fund-raiser. This says something about McCain’s judgment and how he will treat veterans – ironically, as a war hero.

McCain’s attitude is like that of lawyers who pass the bar exam, and then write the new one more difficult so that a smaller percentage of law students pass after them. It's as if he were saying, 'I sacrificed for this country – you are going to have to suck it up and sacrifice a lot more before I consider giving you any more benefits.' And for someone who spent a half dozen years as a prisoner of war, why have we heard virtually nothing out of him about really improving the disgraceful status of veterans health care, housing, homelessness, jobs – and yes education?

Look at the history yourself. Without the post-WW2 G.I. bill, we would not have led the world economically, or otherwise for the three generations that followed. The ‘greatest generation’ came back and built a powerhouse, because we invested significantly in what economists call human capital – a generation that withstood the Cold War and emerged as the only remaining superpower.

Yet neither George Bush nor John McCain has any apparent understanding of these facts.

Real commanders do not abandon their troops in the field – or when they return from the field…period.

2008-05-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

How McCain Will Treat You, Veterans. Not Exactly Subtle...

The Senate yesterday approved $165 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan well into the next presidency, but in a break with President Bush and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, it also approved billions of dollars in domestic spending that includes a generous expansion of veterans' education benefits…In so doing, McCain went against virtually every veterans organization, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion to the more partisan VoteVets.org, which has aired blistering advertisements against him...
"I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country," Obama said. "But I can't understand why he would line up behind the president in opposition to this G.I. Bill. I can't believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans." McCain blasted back, questioning Obama's knowledge of veterans issues and his commitment to national security… "I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," he said in a lengthy statement.

Actions speak louder than words Mr. McCain. Trotting out your self-proclaimed care for veterans, based on your military experience, doesn't wash - especially when you skip the vote for the G.I. Bill (which you were going to vote against anyway) - so that you could attend a fund-raiser for yourself. So, you will be as out of touch with the country as your predecessor. And despite your protestations, you don't give a damn about your fellow veterans, Mr. McCain. If they didn't know it before, they do now.

2008-05-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

"VA Staffer Discourages PTSD Diagnoses"

It's easy to take pot shots at a huge bureaucracy like the VA, and much of their failings have to do with lack of outside support, like inadequate funding. But we can't let laziness, or the sole priority to cut costs, result in disgraceful and and even disgusting purposeful actions on the part of VA decision makers, preventing deserving veterans from getting the care they need...

From Veterans for Common Sense...

Temple, Texas, May 15, 2008 (CBS) - A Department of Veterans Affairs team leader in Texas suggested mental health professionals should diagnose patients with "adjustment disorder" rather than post traumatic stress disorder in order to save time and money treating veterans, according to an internal VA e-mail.

VA Secretary James Peake immediately called the e-mail "inappropriate" and a violation of VA policy. On March 20, Norma J. Perez, a PTSD program coordinator and psychologist at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center in Temple, Texas sent an e-mail with the subject line "Suggestion" to several staffers including psychologists, social workers, and a psychiatrist. In the e-mail, Perez wrote "given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I’d like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out." She then went on to say "consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder. . ."

Read the scandalous VA internal e-mail, obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and VoteVets.org

"This means the veterans will not get disability benefits and health care for PTSD," Paul Sullivan, the executive director of the advocate group Veterans for Common Sense, told CBS News.

Andrew Pogany, an investigator with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, said he thinks "purposely misdiagnosing someone is a serious ethical issue that [could] fall under malpractice."

"VA staff across the country are working their hearts out to get our veterans the care they need and deserve," said U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash), a key member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "But e-mails like these make their jobs far more difficult."
In her e-mail, Perez also told staffers that "we really don’t . . . have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."

Sullivan, whose group has a pending lawsuit against the VA to force the agency to improve the treatment of veterans, said this "shows our suit has merit and that the VA lacks the capacity to provide proper care."

2008-05-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

This Time, Let’s Do It Right For Veterans

This isn’t the first time we have gone to war and then have quickly forgotten our troops when they returned. I saw it for the first time 30 years ago as Vietnam ended. In one respect it was worse then, because many citizens also blamed the troops for the failures in South East Asia.

Our sons and daughters and friends continue to die and be wounded, both physically and mentally in Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet… and yet… once again, our returning veterans, now coming back in our communities, are quickly dropping under the radar – their basic needs for health care, education, jobs, and housing are now being crowded out once again by other priorities.

Now obviously, problems like the economy hit all of us, including veterans. Veterans don’t expect the public to put veterans in front of all these other issues, but they do hope for awareness and advocacy for their needs, given the special trust put in them for what they do for their country and their state.

National Guard, Reserves, and Active Duty troops are being stressed to the limit. They are pulling their fair share and more in deployments, with perhaps the biggest deployments yet to come. Fully 1/3^rd of returning war vets have mental disorders, including Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the percentage with lifetime disabilities is higher than in any previous war – because, thankfully, we are so much better at saving lives. Yet the cost for taking care of them will be with us for 50 years or more with many of them.

Many veterans that I talk to also believe this country is going the wrong way, and they also want this war to end quickly and responsibly.

· They want wisdom in the use of our best-in-the-world military, not arrogance.

· They want our sons and daughters in the military to be taken care of responsibly and responsively.

· They want our National Guard available for the state emergencies that will inevitably come.

· They want pre-emptive warfare considered as a last resort option (as it was during the Cold War), not a first resort.

· They want our country to restore its commitment to the Geneva Conventions and Habeas Corpus.

How about you? If you want the same things, don’t sit back cynically and say ‘they have forgotten us vets before, they will do it again.’ Get involved in the election. Email and phone your representatives. Make your voice known, and this time, let’s do it right for veterans.

2007-08-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

White House Catches Up With the Vietnam Analogy - Well Sort of...

Well, you have to give points for creativity. After ignoring the lessons of Vietnam for years, for fear they might actually apply to Iraq, perhaps Carl Rove, in absentia, may have given the President a way to use Vietnam - an interpretation with which no one has yet voiced agreement, much less understands.

So, because, this blog has previously posted the following Vietnam-Iraq analogy several times (which appeared all over the Internet beginning in mid-2003) , it's worth repeating it again, one more time, in the failing hope that anybody inside the Beltway would have the light come on...

The Vietnam II Preflight Check:

1. Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check.

2. No understanding of ethnicity's of the many locals? Check.

3. National boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.

4. Unshakable faith in our superior technology? Check.

5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

8. Enemy supply lines unknown? Check.

9. Sec of Def pushing a conflict the Joint Chiefs never wanted? Check.

10. Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? Check.

11. Corporate Texan in the White House? Check.

12. Land war in Asia? Check.

13. Right-wing unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check.

14. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check.

15. Soldiers about to be exposed to our own chemicals? Check.

16. Daily guerrilla attacks that cannot be stopped? Check.

17. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check.

18. B-52 bombers? Check.

19. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check.

20. Infighting among the branches of the military? Check.

21. Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check.

22. Local experts ignored? Check.

23. Local politicians ignored? Check.

24. Local conflicts since before the USA has been a country? Check.

25. Much confusion over who and where the enemy is? Check.

26. Against advice, Prez won't use taxes to pay for war? Check.

27. Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check.

28. Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? Check.

29. War unpopular at home? Check.

30. No plan in place to end involvement? Check.

Vietnam II, you

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Note that almost all 30 of these were right on target four years later.

2007-08-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Veterans for Common Sense

Another excellent source of advocacy for veterans is Veterans for Common Sense (VCS). Check it out to see what they are doing and to get on their email list. For example:

On Monday, July 23, 2007, VCS filed a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs for the shameful delays our veterans face when trying to see a VA doctor or when seeking VA disability benefits. VCS reluctantly filed suit to force VA leaders to fix their problems now so more of our veterans don't fall through the cracks.

On Wednesday, VCS offered practical solutions to Congress as part of our testimony about how the military and VA are improperly discharging thousands of veterans with a personality disorder diagnosis instead of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.

The same day, VA informed Congress that more than 250,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans were already treated at VA hospitals, a shocking milestone the press failed to report to the public. Based on Harvard University Linda Bilmes report on the human and financial cost of the wars, VA can reasonably expect another 500,000 war veteran patients.

Also on Wednesday, S 1606 passed the full Senate. The Wounded Warrior bill, supported by VCS, offers service members and veterans some real hope of improving the broken transition from soldier to veteran. VCS urges you to call your local Representative and ask that S 1606 be approved by the House of Representatives before they go on vacation at the end of the week.

The next day, Dan Fahey, a member of our VCS board of directors, provided Congressional testimony about depleted uranium research for Gulf War veterans. Dan remains one of the most respected and articulate pro-veteran advocates on the issue of DU.

Finally, on Friday, newspapers reported that VA will consider a recommendation by Professor Bilmes and VCS that veterans' disability claims be approved for a nominal amount for a short period of time, while the claim us under review, so that veterans don't fall through the cracks.

2007-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

What 'Support the Troops' Really Means...

The Bush administration said recently that it "strongly opposes" key military pay and benefit gains tossed into their fiscal 2008 defense bill. The initiatives the administration "strongly oppose" include: (1) a military pay raise for next January of 3.5 percent; (2) lowering the age to 60 to start the reserve retirement annuities for reserve component members by the length of their future mobilizations; and (3) expanding eligibility for Combat-Related Special Compensation to servicemembers forced by combat disabilities to retire short of 20 years.

Our sons and daughters continue to be sent off to confront the quagmire in Iraq. Mr. Bush & Co. not only do not care about veterans (see post below), but they also have a special deal for active duty troops - refusing to go along with a 3.5% pay raise for them. And the irony is that this money would be taken from them while they continue to do their professional best to make the best of a bad situation. That same money would then be available to add to the $1/2 trillion already thrown at Iraq.

So do you really still buy the 'Support the Troops' b.s. coming from the administration, the Repugs, and yes the Democrats, who so far have only made noise?

2007-07-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

Who Will G.I.'s vote for in 2008?

(Yes, I know it's been awhile since I last posted - I plan to do so now again maybe once a week leading up to the elections)

On a recent national radio show, the above question was asked. I just couldn't help myself, so I sent in the following response:

As a 27-year veteran, your discussion about how candidates can get the votes of military people (and veterans) is full of irony. What should candidates think about, in my opinion?

First, we send our sons and daughters off to war, and then tie them up in a bureaucratic morass when they seek deserved health care while still on active duty and as veterans. We need the commitment to complete, responsive, and free health care to veterans – no questions asked, no delays in treatment, no disgraceful medical facilities, period. It is time for political leaders to step up to their responsibilities, regardless of their political persuasion. And, it’s time for our civilian leadership in the DoD and VA to remove all obstacles involved.
Our veterans crowd the ranks of the homeless and street people from the Vietnam war onwards. Homelessness and poverty are a national shame. How much more so for those who have fought and served for this country?
For all of my time on active duty, I was required to carry a Geneva Convention Card and I was required to understand and get updated training on the international rules of warfare and prisoner treatment. If we do not accept these agreed upon rules, we become no better than those whom we fight against. Restore the validity of the Geneva conventions, not just because it is morally right to do so, but because it protects OUR service men and women as well.
We must always be prepared to defend our right to exist as a country and to maintain our special place in world affairs as a democratic nation. As we have done for most of our history (especially during the Cold War), we must use warfare as an absolute last resort when all other possibilities have been exhausted, not as a pre-emptive method of carrying out political strategies.
Finally, I will support the candidate who best can find an honorable way to remove our troops from Iraq & Afghanistan as soon as possible. We are now in an almost impossible situation no matter which way we turn. So, many veterans, like myself will be asking ‘Who put us in this kind of position, and who has the best approach to ending our presence in both countries?”, and we will vote accordingly.

2007-02-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

“If You Don’t Support the War, You Play Into the Hands of the Enemy, and you Help Destroy the Morale of the Troops…”

OK, regarding the ’morale of the troops’, let’s put the B.S. above to rest:

First, virtually no member of the administration or in Congress who makes this kind of statement ever served in the Armed Forces, therefore they don’t understand troop morale or anything about its dynamics.

Second, how many senior military officers in the news have made this kind of statement? Not very many – if any.

So, the administration and its remaining backers in Congress are using the troops and their ‘morale’ as pawns in making you feel guilty about your increasing opposition to the war in Iraq – 2/3rds of you in this country.

It’s a shameless tactic, it’s disgusting, it’s despicable – and most of all, it’s wrong.

Why?

- No soldier, airman, sailor, or marine worth his or her salt believes their morale is tied to what any politician or private citizen says or does.

- Many may not agree personally with what is going on, but the overwhelming majority will do their job anyway to the best of their ability. Why? They are professionals who will do their best to achieve the objectives they are given – that’s what they swore an oath to do - and they will do their best to protect each other so that they can come home safely, at some point.

One blogger puts it this way about the morale of soldiers:

...To the extent that they are concerned with political debates in Washington, it is mostly about the small picture: ensuring they get the tools and equipment they need to survive and get the job done. While they may be interested in grand strategy, it seldom motivates them to risk life and limb. They may agree or disagree with establishing a foothold for democracy in the Middle East but they fight for their comrades-in-arms, out of genuine concern for locale villagers whose situations they empathize with, and for hundreds of other reasons unique to each soldier.

That said, there are some things that definitely could and do impact troop morale, for example: failure of leadership (e.g. Abu Ghraib), improper and inadequate equipment to do the job and protect troops (e.g. body armor & helmets, HUMVEE armor), and failure to provide adequate and responsive health care and facilities (e.g. Walter Reed hospital recovery) to returning physically and mentally wounded veterans.

Bottom line: it’s way past time to put up or shut up with ‘supporting the troops’ - and really support them - and most importantly to stop putting the troops in the middle by mouthing a bunch of platitudes about troop morale and using them to threaten political opponents while dumping undeserved guilt on our citizens.

2007-02-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

The War Gets Closer...A Time-Out

An email note from a friend:

"On Sunday a CH-47 Helicopter crashed in Afghanistan after the engine failed. On board was my closest and best friend, a U.S. Army Ranger. In the crash, eight soldiers died, but he survived. However, he is in serious condition with head trauma. He is in a trauma induced coma and has some back fractures. The doctors in Germany where they flew him had to remove some of his skull to stop the hemorrhaging, with the hopes that there will be no or less brain damage. I was with his family yesterday and talked to his wife; they are being flown out to Bethesda Naval hospital which has a head trauma unit today and will meet him there when he is transported.

I ask that prayers be made on his behalf that he would recover and that the family would endure."

...and I would add: also keep the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in your prayers as well...

2007-02-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

New Talking Point Catch Phrase for the Repugs?

'...we didn't lie intentionally...'

No, it wasn't Tony Snow or another administration spokesperson - it was the Jet Blue rep on NPR this morning commenting on their no-news-to-the-customers approach during their Valentine's Day Massacre 9-hour plane entrapment on the ground.

Yet the phrase has a certain ring to it - you have to wonder why Snow et al haven't made use of it before the airlines beat them to the punch...

2007-02-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

"I don't read them (newspapers) much, but..."

...from this morning's Presidential news conference...

And if you had read them on last Nov 8th (and since), Mr. President, you would know that 2/3rds of the people no longer support your performance in Iraq (including you, ironically) - although you don't appear to care about that. So what is it that makes you think that this country should continue to give you chances with regard to the lives of our sons and daughters? Have you earned it? Not especially - in fact you've cried the 'sky is falling' so many times since 9/11, that few believe you about ANYTHING anymore. In that sense, your administration has in fact made it more dangerous for us as a country. For example, Iran may well be involved in Iraq and a threat to our troops, but skepticsm is rampant about that report because of two things: Track record in telling us the truth - and past competency with regard to Iraq.

But while the Republican Congressional leadership of our country countinues to use our troops shamelessly as pawns (more on this later this week) by their continued mantras of 'you encourage the terrorists if you are not with us' - and - 'we need to fight them over there or otherwise we will fight them here' - the House at least is saying what it thinks it was recently elected to say.

Please pick up the papers more often Mr. President, although it probably won't do much good.

2007-02-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

If He Can Do This, Appoint Him the Head of Our Homeland Security...

B.S. story of the day:

Lt. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, who was named by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to head the new security crackdown in Baghdad, announced the new campaign, which he said would have the force of law, during a nationally televised speech in which he claimed sweeping emergency powers.

The border crossings to Iran and Syria will be temporarily closed effective immediately, as the Iraqi security forces tried the reassert control in this lawless capital city.

Good luck general - we'd love to know how you are going to do this...

2006-12-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

Hiatus...

For readers, supporters, and critics - have had to take some time off, but plan to be back after the holidays. However, I am going to make one change to the blog in the meantime: delete the Rumsfeld timeclock to the right when he is officially gone. While the clock reads 957 days and counting today, we are really talking about more than 35 years of his ideas and policies, over several administrations, that will now require massive overhaul to restore readiness, equipment, and real support of the troops - and which have also resulted in significant negative impacts on our Reserves, National Guard, and veterans.

Have a great holiday season!

2006-11-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

A Real Veterans Day

It's a simple decision when you think about it vets.

You know what leadership is, probably better than most who never put on a uniform.

You know that we don't have that leadership now and as a result: we are stuck in a quagmire in Iraq where we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

Who put us there?

And you know that we are a nation based on the rule of law and democracy and that the military has been used in the past to maintain that vision - not always perfectly to be sure.

Yet now you know that this administration would strip away your rights as a citizen in the name of fear, abuse the moral framework of this country in the name of righteousness for their cause, and forget its veterans as soon as it's done with them.

Who put us there?

And now you know that this is a depraved and selfish leadership, more interested in tax breaks for themselves than healthcare, education, and housing for us.

Who put us there?

And now you know, if you didn't know it before, that they hope you are swayed by mindless phrases, vicious personal attacks, and repeated talking points, because they themselves lack the ability to think clearly about complex problems, much less know how to begin to solve them.

That's because the bottom line is they care only about themselves and staying in power.

You can begin to change that today. The process of voting out this cancer begins now. Nearly four dozen recent war vets are running as Democrats in Congress - only one is not. That should tell you something.

Get out today and vote, and watch out and report voter fraud at 888-VOTETIP or voting incidents at 866-OURVOTE. 95% of it will come from the Repugs...that should tell you something else about who to vote for.

2006-10-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Habeas Corpus, Part II

The birth of Habeas Corpus:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.

To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

(Articles 39 & 40, Magna Carta, presented to King John, June 17, 1215 at Runnymede, England)

The death of Habeas Corpus:

Moving quickly to implement the bill signed by President Bush this week that authorizes military trials of enemy combatants, the administration has formally notified the U.S. District Court here that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider hundreds of habeas corpus petitions filed by inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

(Deatinee Detention Act, Oct 2006)

2006-10-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Oh, I (and my kids) Feel Safer Now...

We're only a third of the way through October, and the meltdown of this administration continues in high gear:

Revelations of the National Intelligence Estimate saying things are getting steadily worse in Iraq, followed by...
Revelations by Bob Woodward that this administration is in a State of Denial, followed by...
Revelations of child molestation and cover-ups by the Repugs in Congress, led by the Speaker of the House, followed by...
Revelations of a nuclear test by North Korea, followed by...

... by, what can possibly come next? It's hard to the top testing of real WMDs, but the only reason impeachments, jail sentences, and special prosecutors have not started up is because the Repugs are screwing up so fast, even Fox news can't keep up with them. Who now, in their right minds, would vote for anyone associated with ANY of them?

2006-10-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Habeas Corpus - Part I

Habeas corpus ... is Latin for "you may have the body" (subject to examination). It is a writ which requires a person detained by the authorities be brought before a court of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined.

It is important to note that the framers of the Constitution for the United States of America choose to include in the body of the Constitution the Writ of Habeas Corpus while other important individual rights, arguably as an afterthought, were included in the first ten amendments which were popularly called the Bill of Rights.

Habeas Corpus has been suspended at times during our history (Civil War, Japanese-American internments in WWII), but this is the first time it is being suspended indefinitely for any person determined, by the President and his administration, to be a threat in some way to the country.

For any of you with family members and friends in the military (as I do), this is truly frightening. Any other country may now feel free to do the very same thing to our sons and daughters.

The Repugnant Neocons can't stand it when you call them lawless, but there is now no other apt description. The Geneva Conventions are international law - we have been, up to now, signatories of that law for over 50 years - in fact helped write it.

The new 'detainee' law, no matter how they spin it, throws out that law and makes us seen as outlaws in terms of how we detain and try people and how we determine to do so.

More to come on this subject.

2006-09-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

... And 2+2=4, Big Surprise

The war in Iraq has become a primary recruitment vehicle for violent Islamic extremists, motivating a new generation of potential terrorists around the world whose numbers may be increasing faster than the United States and its allies can reduce the threat, U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded.

A 30-page National Intelligence Estimate completed in April cites the "centrality" of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the insurgency that has followed, as the leading inspiration for new Islamic extremist networks and cells that are united by little more than an anti-Western agenda. It concludes that, rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position, according to officials familiar with the classified document.

"It's a very candid assessment," one intelligence official said Saturday of the estimate, the first formal examination of global terrorist trends written by the National Intelligence Council since the March 2003 invasion. "It's stating the obvious."

2006-09-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ex-military Officers Criticize Rumsfeld

Retired military officers on Monday bluntly accused Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld of bungling the war in Iraq, saying U.S. troops were sent to fight without the best equipment and that critical facts were hidden from the public.

"I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," retired Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste said in remarks prepared for a forum conducted by Senate Democrats.

A second military leader, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."

"Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making," Eaton added in a statement prepared for the policy forum, held six weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, in which the war is a central issue.

2006-09-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

October Surprise List

If Sean Hannity says the that the Repugs are in trouble for Nov 7 beacuse he is afraid that they will stay home and not vote, you can bet that the elephant's election war machine is starting to move. Since they won't be capable of doing anything morally or intellectually acceptable (thank you Mr. Rumsfeld for those insightful words) - and nobody will be able stand Mr. Bush's daily speeches on Facism for two months - that still leaves an almost limitless number of possibilities to forestall the end of the neocons.

Let's see, what could a neocon/rove talking points list look like, listing possible alternatives for an October surprise? Your job is to figure out which of these are tongue-in cheek:

1. Force Mr. Cheney to retire for 'health reasons.' Pick John McCain or Condi Rice as the new VP.
2. Bring back John Ashcroft to be in charge of personally issuing daily changes in the Homeland Security alert status (hmm, what color is above 'red'?).
3. Arrest Jimmy Carter and send him to Guantanimo for causing the current crisis in the Middle East.
4. Arrest Bill Clinton for the same thing.
5. Fire Tony Snow and bring in Rush Limbaugh as press secretary.
6. Set off fireworks in several major cities, preferably on the West or East coasts (blue states), and claim we are under attack.
7. Assume presidential powers to jail any Democrat in Congress.
8. Issue a no-bid contract to Diebold to ensure we have a one party election.
9. Go to Pakistan and ask Bin Laden (currently on vacation there) if he would please give himself up - or at least to issue video tapes more often so that there will be enough material to quote for news conferences.

So, you don't agree with any of these? What would you add to the list?

2006-09-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Moral & Intellectual Confusion Reign at the Top, Not In the Critics of the Administration

Edward R. Murrow Revisited

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty” (Murrow) said in 1954, “We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who fear to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular. And so, goodnight and good luck.”

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Copy: Content and programming copyright 2006 MSNBC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2006 Voxant, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Read Keith Olbermann's comments from last Wednesday night here - scroll to the bottom of the transcript.

2006-08-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Disgusting Beyond Belief...

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned yesterday that "moral and intellectual confusion" over the Iraq war and the broader anti-terrorism effort could sap American willpower and divide the country, and he urged renewed resolve to confront extremists waging "a new type of fascism."

Drawing parallels to efforts by some nations to appease Adolf Hitler before World War II, Rumsfeld said it would be "folly" for the United States to ignore the rising dangers posed by a new enemy that he called "serious, lethal and relentless."

In a pointed attack on the news media and critics of President Bush's war and national security policies, Rumsfeld declared: "Any kind of moral and intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can severely weaken the ability of free societies to persevere."

So, my fellow readers, Mr. Rumsfeld says that if you oppose him and his continuing fiasco in Iraq, you are both Facist lovers as well as morally and intellectually confused.

I'm unable to get a hold of Mr. Rumsfeld's college transcripts, but even if he never took Psych 101, he has heard of 'projection' - that is,vehemently accusing others of what you are yourself

The problem is not us, Mr. Morality Rumsfeld - alias Mr. Abu Ghraib & Mr. Guantanimo - it's you and your ilk. And 2/3rds of our country are smarter than you are and now realize that, in addition to those who would harm us from the outside, there are very real threats to our republic and to our liberty (read the Federalist papers) who spout crap like the statements above, from those who would rob us of that liberty and attempt to highjack the Constitution - and waste our sons and daughters while they are doing it.

2006-08-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Four-Stars Admit to Possibility of Civil War in Iraq

...but not our Secretary of Offense who continues to use the its-the-size-of-California defense to perpetuate the myth from his boss that we are turning a corner. Bottom line - there is still no exit strategy. And don't look for one anytime before 2009.

We are now so impotent because of our maniacal focus on Iraq, that we have no flexibility or influence in the Middle East, and must resort to a carnvial game approach (John McCain's analogy) to rob Peter and pay Paul, moving insufficient numbers of troops around Iraq so that they can become targets elsewhere.

All this while our critical equipment is breaking down and wearing out.

All this while a significant chunk of our National Guard forces are not available in our own country (oh, but we are 'safer' here now, aren't we?).

And, as a result of the fact that we refused to even attempt to help broker an end to the Lebanon debacle, Condi Rice basically got told to take a hike and get out of Dodge.

What a disgrace of a foreign policy.

Maybe the far-right neocon high priests of fundamental Christianity are right - maybe Armageddon is upon us. It's just that they've got the location wrong. It's not in the Middle East - it's in Washington D.C. We can do something about it: work hard to ensure that those responsible will be 'raptured' out of leadership in the elections of 2006 & 2008.

2006-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Your Votes Are Not Being Counted (Continued)

The fight is on in several states to decertify Diebold and other voting machine makers who are trying to usurp our democracy - or it least make it a one-party country.

But a major obstacle is that Democrats are always fighting the last war. Yes, vigilance is required in Ohio and Florida again, but a whole host of other states can't be ignored.

Especially California.

If you were to look into the brains of the Neocons (Rove etc), you would see that California will be the next obvious battleground. Because if you steal California, you could lose a bunch of other states and still win.

I hope you vets in California are watching those who would steal your state and the country - again. Don't let 'em do it - get involved.