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Army Suicides Hit Record and Will Likely Continue to Rise

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Yana Kunichoff - Nov. 19 (News Report) - Suicides among veterans and soldiers have reached a record high this year and are set to continue rising, Pentagon officials said.

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Spending Bill Includes Provision to Block Release of Abuse Photos

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By by: Jason Leopold, - Oct. 10 (News Report) - Conferees on the Senate and House Appropriations Committees released a Homeland Security spending bill summary, which includes a provision that would allow President Obama to authorize "the Secretary of Defense to bar the release of detainee photos," essentially exempting the images from Freedom of Information Act requests.

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Why Is Obama Still Using Blackwater?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Sep. 16 (Investigative Report) - Ridgeway, the Blackwater operative, admitted that he and the other Blackwater operatives "opened fire with automatic weapons and grenade launchers on unarmed civilians." None of the victims that day "was an insurgent," he said, adding that "many were shot while inside of civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee."

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Another Mysterious Electrocution Death in Iraq

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Sep. 09 (News) - Hermanson was not killed by enemy fire or an improvised explosive device or even by "friendly fire." In fact, he died in what is considered to be the safest place in Iraq for Americans--the heavily fortified Green Zone. His body, according to his family, was discovered on the floor of a shower near his quarters at Camp Olympia. It appears that Hermanson was electrocuted.

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US Increasing Personnel in Iraq

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Walter Pincus - Sep. 08 (News) - As the United States withdraws its combat forces from Iraq, the government is hiring more private guards to protect U.S. installations at a cost that could near $1 billion, according to the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

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Art as Resistance

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Dahr Jamail - Sep. 07 (Special Report) - Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have tough truths to tell, and it has been well demonstrated that the establishment media does not want to broadcast these. Given the lack of an outlet for anti-war voices in the corporate media, many contemporary veterans and active-duty soldiers have embraced the arts as a tool for resistance, communication and healing. They have made use of a wide range of visual and performing arts - through theater, poetry, painting, writing, and other creative expression - to affirm their own opposition to the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Flushing Blackwater

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Jeremy Scahill - Sep. 03 (News) - In addition, Blackwater is being investigated by the Justice Department for possible crimes ranging from weapons smuggling to manslaughter and by the IRS for possible tax evasion. It is being sued in federal courts by scores of Iraqi civilians for alleged war crimes and extrajudicial killings. Two of its men have pleaded guilty to weapons-smuggling charges; another pleaded guilty to the unprovoked manslaughter of an Iraqi civilian, and five others have been indicted on similar counts. The US military is investigating Blackwater's killing of civilians in Afghanistan in May, and reports are emerging that the company may be implicated in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program.

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Iraqi Journalist Detained for a Year Without Charge by US Forces Despite Iraqi Court Order to Release Him

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Mohamed Abdel Dayem - Sep. 02 (News) - A year ago today, US and Iraqi forces raided the home of Iraqi journalist Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance photographer working for Reuters. Soldiers seized his computer hard drive and cameras. He was led away, handcuffed and blindfolded. For the past year the US military has held Jassam without charge. Ten months ago, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court ordered his release for lack of evidence, but the US military refused to release him, claiming he was a “high security threat.”

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Flushing Blackwater

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 26 (Investigative Report) - Blackwater, the private mercenary company owned by Erik Prince, has been thrust back into the spotlight by a series of stunning revelations about its role in covert US programs. Since at least 2002, Blackwater has worked for the CIA in Afghanistan and Pakistan on "black" contracts. On August 19, the New York Times revealed that the company was, in fact, a central part of a secret CIA assassination program that Dick Cheney allegedly ordered concealed from Congress. The paper then reported that Blackwater remains a key player in the widening air war in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where it arms drone aircraft. These disclosures follow allegations--made under oath by former Blackwater employees--that Prince murdered or facilitated the murder of potential government informants and that he "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe."

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Iraqi Refugees Find US Life Not What They Expected

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Alexandra Zavis - Aug. 24 (News) - Her husband had disappeared in the war. Her request to settle in Jordan had been denied. Now an advisor from the International Organization for Migration was telling her no U.S. firm would recognize her law degree or her nearly two decades of experience.

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Life After the Death of the Public Option

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FiveThirtyEight - By Nate Silver - Aug. 16 (News Analysis) - From the President on downward, the White House now seems resigned to losing the fight over the "public option", a government-run insurance plan that would complete against private plans. It's time to re-assess the playing field in light of this development.Is the public option really dead?

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McGovern: 'Downing Street' (Part 2)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - By Ray McGovern - Aug. 10 (News Report) - McGovern: 'Downing Street' (Part 2) By TheRealNews.com August 10, 2009 The leak of the Downing Street Minutes – written in July 2002 and disclosed three years later – was an “incredible” public service by a brave British truth-teller exposing how the Bush administration “fixed” the intelligence to justify invading Iraq, says former CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

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Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 04 (News) - Sworn statements filed in Federal Court allege that Blackwater founder Erik Prince launched a "crusade" to eliminate Muslims and Islam and that the company may have been involved in murders to suppress information from federal investigators.

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Blackwater Seeks Gag Order

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 03 (Special Report) - It became common practice during the Iraq occupation for the US State Department to work with private security companies like Blackwater to help facilitate giving what amounted to hush money to the families of Iraqis shot dead by private security contractors. In fact, Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, discussed this practice when he testified in front of Congress in October 2007 and admitted to paying $20,000 to a Blackwater victim's family and $5,000 to another.

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The Cowboys of Kabul

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Daniel Schulman - Jul. 28 (Special Report) - Although their circumstances looked dire, the Spiers were about to become millionaires. By May, Barbara Spier had filed the paperwork to form a new corporation called US Protection and Investigations. Soon, thanks to the contracting sweepstakes that was the war in Afghanistan, she was signing an $8.4 million deal with the Louis Berger Group. The multinational construction and engineering company had landed a $214 million contract to rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure—roads, water and sanitation, power and dams—from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USPI's job was to provide security for contractors repairing a 300-mile road stretching from Kabul to Kandahar.

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Casualties of War, Part II: Warning signs

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

gazette.com - By Dave Philipps - Jul. 28 (Investigative Report) - After coming home from Iraq, 21-year-old medic Bruce Bastien was driving with his Army buddy Louis Bressler, 24, when they spotted a woman walking to work on a Colorado Springs street. Bressler swerved and hit the woman with the car, according to police, then Bastien jumped out and stabbed her over and over.

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Casualties of War, Part I: The hell of war comes home

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

axisoflogic.com - By Dave Philipps - Jul. 26 (Investigative Report) - Before the murders started, Anthony Marquez’s mom dialed his sergeant at Fort Carson to warn that her son was poised to kill. It was February 2006, and the 21-year-old soldier had not been the same since being wounded and coming home from Iraq eight months before. He had violent outbursts and thrashing nightmares. He was devouring pain pills and drinking too much. He always packed a gun.

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Blackwater Seeks Gag Order

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Jeremy Scahill - Jul. 22 (News) - It became common practice during the Iraq occupation for the US State Department to work with private security companies like Blackwater to help facilitate giving what amounted to hush money to the families of Iraqis shot dead by private security contractors. In fact, Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, discussed this practice when he testified in front of Congress in October 2007 and admitted to paying $20,000 to a Blackwater victim's family and $5,000 to another.

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Will Iraq Be a Global Gas Pump?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Michael T. Klare - Jul. 17 (Special Report) - Iraq's great hydrocarbon promise has been continually thwarted by war, foreign intervention, sanctions, internal disorder, corruption, and plain old ineptitude. Saddam Hussein did succeed for a time in elevating oil output, in the process raising national income and creating a well-educated middle class. However, his ill-conceived invasions of Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990 led to devastating attacks on Iraqi oil facilities, as well as trade embargoes and crippling debt, erasing much of his country's previous economic gains. The trade sanctions imposed by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton in the wake of the First Gulf War only further eroded the country's oil-production capacity.

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Afghanistan War Resister to "Put the War on Trial"

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Dahr Jamail - Jul. 14 (News Report) - "What I did there, I know I contributed to death and human suffering," Agosto told Truthout from Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, in May, "It's hard to quantify how much I caused, but I know I contributed to it."

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Soldiers Sue KBR for Chemical Exposure in Iraq

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Kaitlynn Riely - Jul. 12 (News) - Following his yearlong tour of duty that ended in 2004, he coached his son's Little League team, but had to stop because it exhausted him. The 34-year-old, who was able to run two miles in 9:44 before he went to Iraq in 2003, said now he is lucky to finish in 20 minutes.

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Eager to Tap Iraq's Vast Oil Reserves, Industry Execs Suggested Invasion

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Jason Leopold - Jul. 09 (Special Report) - "Saddam Hussein has also demonstrated a willingness to threaten to use the oil weapon and to use his own export program to manipulate oil markets. Therefore the US should conduct an immediate policy review toward Iraq including military, energy, economic and political/diplomatic assessments." The advisory committee that helped prepare the report included Luis Giusti, a Shell Corp. non-executive director; John Manzoni, regional president of British Petroleum; and David O'Reilly, chief executive of ChevronTexaco.

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Most Iraqis Want Quick US Withdrawal

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - By Paul Jay, Mike Tharp - Jul. 06 (News Analysis) - The phased U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq can’t come soon enough for many Iraqis who blame the American-led invasion in 2003 for the massive loss of life and the devastation of their country.

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Selling Confidence in Iraq

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Link TV - Jul. 02 (News Analysis) - Iraq celebrates the withdrawal of American troops from cities and villages. More than 250 people were killed in bombings over the past 10 days. Will the "enemies of Iraq" succeed in igniting sectarian violence? And will democracy survive in Iraq?

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In Iraq, Colbert shaves head, declares victory

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

airforcetimes.com - By By Kim Gamel - The Associated Press - Jun. 08 (News Report) - Celebrities have frequently traveled to Iraq to entertain the troops. But the series of half-hour shows — dubbed “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” — mark the first time anyone has broadcast a taped show from Iraq from a tour intended to entertain U.S. troops.

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