Buck Naked Politics

Another "Pre-Emptive" War?

The Hill reports:

"Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Sunday said that Yemen could be the ground of America's next overseas war if Washington does not take preemptive action to root out al-Qaeda interests there.

"Lieberman, who helms the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said on 'Fox News Sunday' that the U.S. will have to take an active approach in Yemen after multiple recent terrorist attacks on the U.S. were linked back to the Middle Eastern nation.

"The Connecticut senator said that an administration official told him that 'Iraq was yesterday's war, Afghanistan is today's war. If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war.'"

A pre-emptive war?  Based on some sort of links (I'm not sure of the details) between al Qaeda and a Mid-East nation?  Joe Lieberman chomping at the bit to bomb a nation?

Admittedly, I have not been focusing on political details lately, but doesn't all this ring familiar?

ABC News has an article about the plot to blow up an airplane over Detroit, and Memeorandum has commentary.

Obama's Inspirational Rhetoric Deploring "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"... Meanwhile, White House Alleged to View Gays (& Bloggers! & Gay Bloggers!) as Part of Non-crucial "Internet Left Fringe"

by Damozel |  From the Human Rights Campaign's October 10 banquet:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Oh, that's nice.  That's really nice.  So it is a bit jarring -- in more ways than one -- to read allegations that the White House apparently considers concerned gays part of the "internet left fringe" (as if that were a bad thing).  From John Aravosis:

Lives of Military Families

by Bill Kavanagh:  Over the years, I’ve written frequently about the war in Iraq and, less frequently, about the war in Afghanistan.  The role of our soldiers in these places is often on my mind.  As we sit, nearly eight years since the attacks on the US, it’s been awhile since the blog noted their situation.  Our military personnel are often sent back to war zones they’ve deployed to once or more already.  What’s also occurring is that back home, we all hear less and less about them, even as our soldiers’ lives become more and more synonymous with these endless wars.

Did Shooter of Arkansas Recruiters Have Terrorist Ties?

by Damozel |  Abdulhakim Muhammed, an American convert to Islam, murdered one man and seriously wounded the other.  They were standing in front of a recruiting station as part of a program that uses troops out of basic training to promote recruiting. 

So far, investigations into any terrorists ties have proven inconclusive, according to The New York Times.  The murderer said that he acted alone and that "he was mad at the U.S. military because of what they had done to Muslims in the past," according to the arrest report.(NYT)   But it's emerged that on one occasion the 23 year old was detained in Yemen on a certain occasion "for possessing a fake Somali passport and other counterfeit documents."(NYT)   "[H]is travels to Yemen and possibly Somalia raise questions about whether he met with any of the militant Islamic groups that are active in both countries."(More at NYT)  

TPMtv's "The Day in 100 Seconds" (Memorial Day, 2009 Video)

SOWF: Taking Care of Fallen Soldiers' Families

  by Deb Cupples |  Earlier today, I blogged about the Mile-Long Memorial, a most  impressive tribute to American soldiers that died in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

This post is about a Tampa-based foundation called the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), which has -- for 29 years -- been helping the families of fallen soldiers in very practical ways.

SOWF has a targeted, straight-forward mission:

The Daily Show: "This Time Things Will be Different." Obama Blocks the Release of Detainee Abuse Photos, & Won't Intervene in the Military's Dismissal of Crucial Arabic Translator Who Has Admitted He is Gay

"In the war on terror, it was okay to waterboard a guy over 80 times to get him to talk, but God forbid that we keep the guy around who can understand what he was saying...if he has a boyfriend." After the jump.....

Annnnd Former Gov. (& SEAL) Jesse Ventura Says: "Give Me a Waterboard, Dick Cheney, and One Hour and I'll Have Him Confess to the Sharon Tate Murders"

Teh Nutroots | | Heather at C&L Video Cafe says:

On Larry King Live Jesse Ventura takes on the Bush administration chickenhawks and Rush Limbaugh, and defends Colin Powell. After being waterboarded himself in the SERE program, Ventura makes no bones about it. Waterboarding is torture. I'd like to see Hannity have Ventura on his show to debate the issue.

Ventura says he'd prosecute everyone who was involved in torture, right down the line.  He also points out that if waterboarding isn't done correctly, the recipient could actually drown. 

Finally, he defends Colin Powell against chickenhawk Cheney and calls for legalization of drugs!  Are we more offended by drugs or murder?  he asks.  Awesome.

US Soldier Kills 5 Fellow Soldiers in Iraq, Injures 3 Others

by Teh Nutroots | Here's tragedy:

The killings appeared to be the worst case of lethal non-combat casualties for the American forces in Iraq since the invasion more than six years ago.

The shooting took place at around 2 p.m. local time at Camp Liberty, a sprawling base next to Baghdad airport, the military said in a statement. The names of the dead soldiers were being withheld pending family notification, the statement said….CNN, citing unnamed officials, said that at least three others were wounded in the attack, which it said had taken place at a clinic for soldiers suffering from war stress….

The death toll from the Monday shooting was the highest for American personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near a police headquarters in  Mosul, News agencies reported.  [New York Times]

Army Charity Fails to Help as Many Soldiers as it Could've?

 by Deb Cupples |  Many of our enlisted-rank troops are already underpaid, thanks in part to the Bush Administration.  Many of them need extra money to take care of their families.  Where do some of them turn for help?  The Army Emergency Relief (AER) fund.

Oddly, Army superiors have been known to pressure our already-underpaid troops for donations -- which sounds a bit like asking starving-homeless people to donate food to the poor.

When those already-underpaid soldiers need help, it often comes from the AER in the form of a loan.  Even worse, the AER has reportedly hoarded millions of dollars in funds, despite the neediness of many of our troops.  The Associated Press reports:

Shinseki Selected to Lead Veterans' Affairs

by Damozel | Obama will name Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the first Asian four-star general to head the Department of Veterans' Affairs.  Ambinder:

The general who had the most conspicuous premonition about Iraq, and who lost his job because of it, will now be overseeing the care of those maimed and wounded in the war.

Eric Shinseki will be named tomorrow, Pearl Harbor Day, as Obama's nominee for Veterans Affairs Secretary.

Lawsuit Alleges Halliburton & KBR Made Soldiers Sick Via Tainted Food, Water, and More

by Deb Cupples |   The Army Times reports:

"A Georgia man has filed a lawsuit against contractor KBR and its former parent company, Halliburton, saying the companies exposed everyone at Joint Base Balad in Iraq to unsafe water, food and hazardous fumes from the burn pit there....'”

This is not surprising, given some of the things that Halliburton/KBR allegedly did in the past while under government contract.

Former Interrogator Still Tormented by Recollections of Practices Used in Iraq

by Damozel | "Matthew Alexander"---writing under a nom de guerre for security reasons---led the team of interrogators hunted down the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq (Abu Musab al-Zarqawi) and authored a book called "How to Break a Terrorist." (WaPo)  Despite his success, he continues to be tortured (his word) by recollections of what he saw as an interrogator in Iraq.

Nothing he says in this article is different from what opponents of torture, including military opponents of torture, have been saying all along.   But as it's a powerful statement of the case against torture---or, as I believe they're known, "enhanced interrogation techniques"---I think it should be added to the accumulating evidence that torture is the last refuge of chickenhawks who think real life is well portrayed by what they see in "24."  But Alexander, an interrogator who has served 14 years in the Air Force, says:  "What I saw in Iraq still rattles me---both because it betrays our traditions and because it just doesn't work....." (WaPo)

This is What a Real Democrat Looks Like---Crooks & Liars: "Alan Grayson Shows That Support For Our Vets Means Something More Than Hot Air"

Great piece by Nicole Belle on Alan Grayson, who we pray will be elected so he can set an example for certain spineless Democrats who always cave under pressure.  Somehow, I can't see that ever happening with Grayson.  He's not in my district, but that doesn't matter to me; he's the sort of Democrat I want to see leading the next generation in Congress.

Belle writes:

Alan Grayson, the progressive Democrat running... in Orlando [against] Ric Keller, has had some of the best press of anyone running for Congress this year. The Vanity Fair feature about his work fighting for taxpayers against Iraq war profiteers is powerful and the article Harper's did on Keller...probably has had a great deal to do with why Grayson is ahead of Keller in all the polling-- ahead and widening the gap.

Bush Admin. Doctors Photos of Dead Soldiers

by Deb Cupples | Since the new millennium, the Bush Administration has seemed to be all public-relations, all the time -- like those Madison Avenue ad agencies that craftily convince TV viewers that fast-food "meat" is highly nutritive and deserves to be called meat.

Our nation would be so much stronger today if President Bush's team had spent the last 7+ years creating truly positive realities instead of falsely positive images.

I'm reminded of this, because our military has reportedly doctored photos of deceased soldiers before sending them to the media.  The Associated Press reports:

Agreement with Iraq Stalls Over Disputes About Troop/Military Contractor Immunity from Prosecution?

by Damozel | A month ago, the agreement for extending the American mandate in Iraq seemed to be nearing completion after Bush made a number of concessions to Iraqis (including an end-of-2011 troop withdrawal deadline). (NYT)   It's now at risk over a remaining point of contention:  immunity of American troops and military contractors from prosecution by the Iraqi government. (NYT)

Funny: I thought the Bush agreement had conceded the point as regards military contractors and were just fighting over military contractors?  Here's a quote from an August 21 article in The Wall Street Journal:

Ukrainian Government Collapses; President Expresses Defiance Toward Russia

by Damozel | In a development apparently triggered in part by the Georgian conflict (BBC News2 9-16) , the Ukrainian Ruling Coalition has now officially collapsed. (BBC News 9-16)  In August, President Yushchenko accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of working in Russia's interests in a bid to become president (BBC News 8-18)).  Now, apparently, "[a]ny notion of co-operation, or even civility between the two rivals, has long since vanished." (BBC News 9-16)

Together, the two led the "Orange Revolution," displacing "the fraudulent presidential election victory of a pro-Moscow candidate, Viktor Yanukovych."(BBC News2 9-16)  Since then they've been locked in a power struggle, which has now come to a head.

Palin: is it Ignorance or Dishonest Spinning?

by Deb Cupples |   Oh, my, and God were the first three words out of my mouth as I watched the video clip below.  And my tone was not  unlike that of Higgins when Magnum inspired intense outrage.

It seems that someone has carefully crafted some phrases and fed them to John McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin.  This does not reflect well on Sen. McCain -- and neither does the fact that Gov. Palin seems to have been programmed to moronically repeat said phrases even when they bear little or no relation to the conversation at hand. 

Huffpo has commentary (via Memeorandum).  And you can see Gov. Palin repeat more absurd-sounding platitudes and talking points (e.g., about the economy) by watching the whole ABC interview.

Bush's Pakistan Plan

by Damozel | Bush's recent raids in Pakistan are "part of a three-phase plan, approved by President Bush, to strike at Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaida leadership."  (NPR)  I suppose that before leaving office, Bush would like to finish at least one thing he started.

"Definitely, the gloves have come off," said a source who has been briefed on the plan. (NPR)

There's heavy irony in that statement, considering everything that Bush's administration has wished on us in the name of 911.  Why have they kept the gloves on all this time? 

Is War with Pakistan Next? U.S. Kills 10 in Missile Attack

by Deb Cupples |  Our nation has been at war for 5+ years in two Mid-East countries: Iraq and Afghanistan.  Last week, U.S. forces carried out a ground raid in Pakistan, killing dozens of people including civilians -- and the Bush Administration, it turns out, has been ordering secret raids in that nation for some time.  Today, U.S. forces killed 10 people in Pakistan via missile attack. 

The International Herald Tribune reports: