Peace NO War Network (http://www.peacenowar.net/) _http://www.PeaceNOWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) e-mail: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) Tel: (213)403-0131
Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ============================================================================ == UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE _www.unitedforpeace.org_ (http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8C1rUlUkLkJzvoTMI6TQyvs7TVStbq+Y) | 212-868-5545 PO Box 607; Times Square Station; New York, NY 10108 National Anti-War Coalition Calls for A Complete Withdrawal from Iraq Contact: Michael McPhearson, UFPJ Co-Convenor - 973-666-4605, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) Phyllis Bennis, UFPJ Steering Committee - 202-234-9382 ext 5206, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) [August 31, 2010] Any reduction in the number of US troops occupying Iraq is a good thing. But the occupation is continuing, even if on a somewhat smaller scale, with 50,000 troops. Despite a commitment to withdraw "combat brigades," these 50,000 are indeed combat troops, "re-missioned" by the Pentagon and assigned to "training and assistance." But even Secretary of Defense Gates admits they will have continuing combat capability and will continue active counter-terrorism operations. The 4500 Special Forces among them will continue their "capture or kill" raids while building up the Iraqi Special Operations Forces like we saw with El Salvador-style death squads in the 80's. The real transition underway is not from US to Iraqi control, but from Pentagon to State Department deployment. Military resources are being shifted from Pentagon to State Dept control, thus remaining within the terms of the US-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement that calls for all US troops and Pentagon-controlled mercenaries to leave by the end of 2011. It is very likely that the still US-dependent Iraqi government (whatever government is in place by December 31, 2011) may well "request" an extension of US troop deployments in Iraq. But even if it doesn't, the creation of the world's largest embassy in Iraq, the size of Vatican City, with plans for thousands of new military contractors, armored transport, planes, "rapid response" forces and other trappings of an army mean that plans are underway to turn the US presence in Iraq into a State Dept-run paramilitary operation. Instead of transforming a military occupation into a diplomatic mission, we will see the full militarization of US diplomacy and US diplomats turned into soldiers without uniforms. President Obama's speech will likely avoid any terms remotely close to "mission accomplished." He knows too well that with violence rising, sectarian divisions as strong as ever, the parliament unable to create a new government, corruption sky-high and rising and linked to CIA-paid assets, oil contracts creating more violence instead of national wealth, there is no victory to claim. And the costs of the Iraq war continue. Even beyond the hundreds of billions that caring for injured veterans will cost, plus the huge debt of reparations and reconstruction we owe to the people of Iraq, the current continuing war is stripping our treasury. The 50,000 troop deployment between now and the end of 2011 will cost more than 12 billion dollars. That could be used instead to fund 240,000 new green union jobs. What makes our country safer? United for Peace and Justice continues to hold this Administration accountable to their commitment to end the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to redirect war dollars to meet underfunded needs at home. On October 2, peace activists will again march on Washington, DC, joining thousands of civil rights, labor, immigrant rights, environmental and other progressive organizations in a unified call for jobs, peace, and justice. Visit _www.onenationforpeace.org_ (http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=WqTldeSuEZMN++TcQOO/1/s7TVStbq+Y) for details. ============================================================================ == Obama Marks End of U.S. Combat Mission in Iraq, Salutes Bush Citizens for Legitimate Government 31 Aug 2010 _http://www.legitgov.org_ (http://www.legitgov.org/) _Obama Marks End of U.S. Combat Mission in Iraq, Salutes Bush_ (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/31/obama-combat-mission-iraq-ended/) 31 Aug 2010 President Obama praised President [sic] Bush's commitment to U.S. troops Tuesday as he announced a close to combat operations in Iraq that he said cost America a "huge price." While not explicitly crediting Bush for shepherding the 2007 troop surge... Obama highlighted Bush's commitment to U.S. security. "It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset," Obama said. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security [except when Dick Cheney ordered NORAD to stand down on 9/11 and had anthrax sent from Fort Detrick so the Patriot Act would sail through Congress]. As I have said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it..." [As a member of the 'professional left,' my sincere hope is that the Birthers find or fabricate evidence that Obama wasn't born in the US so that he can't run for re-election in 2012. --LRP] _Obama addresses nation, declares 'Operation Iraqi Freedom is over'_ (http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/iraq/obama-addresses-nation-declares-oper ation-iraqi-freedom-is-over-1.116612) [No sh*t. It ended the day the US invaded.] 31 Aug 2010 President Barack Obama declared the official end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq on Tuesday night, despite plans to leave 50,000 U.S. troops stationed there for now and questions surrounding the stability in the years to come. "Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," he said. The Oval Office address -- only the second one Obama has delivered from that chamber -- followed a day of ceremonies and speeches designed to mark the official end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. 'I think having 20,000 or 10,000 security personnel on the Iraqi ground is a serious violation of the Iraqi sovereignty.' _US embassy shadow govt. in Iraq?_ (http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140790.html) --The most infamous among contractors is private security contractor Blackwater, currently known as Xe Services, LLC. 01 Sep 2010 US plans to fortify its embassy in Iraq have raised new suspicion about the diplomatic outpost's purpose in the politically-gridlocked country. The White House has reduced the number of its troops in Iraq to around 50,000 and said it would take all its forces out of the country by the next year. But Washington has also announced plans to increase the number of American security contractors, tasked with securing American diplomats and diplomatic facilities. _CBO: US war in Iraq costs $709bn_ (http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140723.html) 31 Aug 2010 Figures released by the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show the cost of the US-led war stands at $709 billion in the past 8 years. The cost, published in the CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook, comprises of military expenditure, including training of Iraqi forces and diplomatic operations. According to the CBO, 2008 was the most expensive year for the war in Iraq, with $140 billion spent that year alone. _Oregon veterans suit against KBR can continue_ (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hnmSaO7RipcZi7JoFgw79f93XFdQD9HUBQ501) 31 Aug 2010 A federal magistrate has ruled that a lawsuit by Oregon Army National Guard veterans against contractor [terrorist group] Kellogg Brown & Root can continue. U.S. District Magistrate Paul Papak denied KBR's second motion to dismiss the suit on Monday. In 2009, 26 Oregon Guard veterans sued KBR, saying its managers downplayed or dismissed the presence of a toxic chemical. _Afghanistan bomb attacks kill twenty-one US soldiers in 48 hours_ (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7972863/Afghanistan-bomb -attacks-kill-twenty-one-US-soldiers-in-48-hours.html) 31 Aug 2010 Twenty-one American troops have been killed in Afghanistan since Friday in one of the bloodiest periods of the summer. A series of bomb attacks have badly hit US troops in eastern and southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours. The death toll among in the Nato-led coalition has reached 484 this year and is predicted to far surpass 2009's total of 521. _NATO reports 8th casualty in a day_ (http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140674.html) 31 Aug 2010 NATO has announced the death of an eighth soldier in a day of concentrated violence in war-torn Afghanistan. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement on Tuesday that an eighth soldier was killed on Monday in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was killed in a day that seven US troops lost their lives in two separate bomb attacks in the south. _More US-led troops die in Afghan war_ (http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140757.html) --Deaths bring number of American troops killed in Afghanistan since Friday to 22 31 Aug 2010 At least six more US-led soldiers have lost their lives in separate incidents in the troubled eastern and southern areas of Afghanistan. NATO issued a statement on Tuesday, announcing that four American soldiers were killed in a bombing attack in eastern parts of Afghanistan. In a separate incident, a fifth US soldier died in a militant attack in southern Afghanistan. _7 foreign troops killed by IED in S. Afghanistan_ (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-08/30/c_13470010.htm) 30 Aug 2010 Seven International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) servicemembers were killed in two separate improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in southern Afghanistan Monday. A press release issued by the ISAF confirmed the casualties, noting that five of the victims died in the first attack and two others in another. ============================================================================ == Peace NO War Network (http://www.peacenowar.net/) _http://www.PeaceNOWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate Not in our Name! And another world is possible! Information for antiwar movements, news across the World, please visit:_ http://www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) e-mail: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) Tel: (213)403-0131 Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) Please Donate to Peace No War Network! Send check pay to: ActionLA/AFGJ ActionLA P.O. Box 751 South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751 (All donations are tax deductible) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
