Letter From John Edwards

Hat tip to Bob at Mad in the Middle for finding this-

John Edwards Letter to the editor - The New York Times

(reprinted in full):

In “For Wounded Veterans and Their Families, a Journey Without Maps” (Editorial Observer, March 24), Lawrence Downes missed an important opportunity to explain why both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are unprepared to care for the service members who have been hurt in the Iraq war.

The reason is that the frequently reported number of the wounded in action (29,320 as of March 1) does not include everyone who’s been hurt.

The complete number of nonfatal casualties in Iraq is 60,645. Most assume the wounded number includes all, but it does not. It leaves out another 8,273 injured and 23,052 who became ill and required medical air transport from the war zone. The Department of Defense releases two reports: one with the weekly numbers of those wounded and killed, and then another monthly report with the complete numbers. After five years, it is time for respected news organizations to use the complete number.

The public needs this information so that we can better prepare for the care of all of our veterans from this war and others. The struggle for them and their families your article addressed is happening all across this country. Nearly 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have already sought care from the V.A.

The system is broken. That is why so many veterans are still fighting for the care they earned. That is why their families struggle with paperwork and months of delay. And that is why 154,000 veterans sleep on grates or under bridges every night.

We have tens of thousands set to come home, and we aren’t prepared. Every day we should honor the more than 4,000 lives lost: every suicide, bullet or serious accident.

And every day we should honor those who have been hurt. That number is 60,645 and rising.
John EdwardsChapel Hill, N.C., March 31, 2008

also blogged about at: EENR and TPM

Watch this video

Montel Calls out Conservative

"Stop turning this into a political issue while I gotta man sitting there suffering. It's not a political issue"...

"This is not the time to get a soundbite. Tell me what you're gonna do about this man sitting here before you" ...

"Then let's get the President right now to take responsibility. He's the Commander in Chief- Quit turning his back on people who's doing his dirty work. Why not do that? "...

"I want a Republican and a Democrat to go tell that President- listen to me, you were a Reservist, you didn't even put your uniform on and do the real job-Why don't you now support the people who did?"

The truth is, if the President wanted to fix this, he could. And not ONE Democrat would vote against money for the healthcare of the troops.

So, the question is, Why doesn't the Decider do something?

I think we all know the answer.

There's plenty of money to finance Blackwater. But there is not a damn dime for troops that can't fight anymore. Once an American soldier is wounded beyond ability to serve in Iraq, the Republicans don't support them ANY LONGER.

UPDATE: Frederick has more on McCain and Veteran's Healthcare

News

Good Mammal News of the Day

From the Duh Dept -
Sex Ed reduces teen pregnancy, Abstinence does not

What kind of parents let their kid get breast surgery? Death by plastic surgery Anyone who opts for plastic surgery just to make them more attractive is a FOOL. Hell, I'm ugly, it's not that bad, really.

Another Top Notch Arizona Republican speaks: Sen.Kyl blames Democrats, minorities, the poor, and the young for the Sub prime mess. What next? Brittney Spears was behind the Bear Stearns Bailout?

Cheney on 4,000 Dead Americans : They Volunteered.

More on what they volunteered for... Prisoners of War

EXCERPT

What kept him going was the end that was in sight. He just had to hang on till his contract was up, and then he could go home, go back to school, and finally be a 20-year-old kid. Then days before he was scheduled to get out, his unit was locked down, stop-lossed as part of the surge. He was looking at another 18-month deployment.

...

I find it so painfully ironic that as other excuses for the war have been proven false, (weapons of mass destruction, U.N. sanctions, ties to Al-Queda, etc.) the administration has fallen back on the most unbelievable of all: freedom. While George Bush insists that Iraqis accept freedom, American style, one out of every 100 of our own citizens are in prison. Almost twice as many as the runner-up, China. Iraq is 62 on the list, though it is unclear whether that includes those being held by Americans. In this country, there are 2,258,983 in prison. That figure does not include the 723,000 locked up in local jails. Or the 60,000 stop-lossed soldiers.

Pentagon studies have shown that each deployment leaves a soldier 60 percent more likely to suffer serious mental health problems. In support of that, as this president sends soldiers back into combat as many as five times in as many years, the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan acknowledges that suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 were up 20 percent from 2006, their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980. And the number of suicide attempts has increased sixfold since the Iraq war began. There were several in the I-30 Infantry Battalion, and Goldsmith holds his sergeant major responsible. Like Goldsmith, these young soldiers are being told not only that they are prisoners, but that they are disposable. They are our children, and their deaths are on the hands of those who hold their freedom hostage.

Dept of Republican Security - Nuclear Fuses sent to Asia on Accident

"The Defense Department mistakenly shipped secret nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan more than 18 months ago and did not learn that the items were missing until late last week, Pentagon officials acknowledged yesterday, deepening concerns about the security of the U.S. nuclear arsenal."

Ligers ...

And Glenn Greenwald brings us Iraqis thoughts on American Intervention- that you seldom see on American media : Operation: Pay Attention

Can't kill everybody

After reading this account of our soldiers in Afghanistan, I am reminded that the situation there is no less fucked up than in Iraq.

Fixer at Alternate Brain , who like me, is not one to mince words, posts today that we could have already won in Afghanistan if we would've have been more merciless. I understand the sentiment, really I do, and I always felt that Afghanistan was different from Iraq. I believed they deserved it. Why? Because Osama was there right? He was in charge, with the Taliban, right? Well, whatever. But also, I thought Afghanistan deserved what they got because, if nothing else, they seemed to be celebrating the 9-11 attacks. So, fuck em, right? But years past that knee jerk kill em all feeling- the one that also told me that sending our troops there was justified- I don't seem to believe my simple minded revenge horseshit anymore. Alternate Brain is one of my favorite spots- and I respect Fixer and his opinion on this matter, even though I disagree. He certainly isn't some neocon gasbag postulating emptily on this matter. It's understandable to wish "the enemy" was all dead so our soldiers could come home and get some relief from the never-ending hell that the Republican party has inflicted on them.

Here's a brief excerpt from "Wanna go to war?"-

And thinking about it, I think I should explain.

According to the narrative we've heard since 11 September 2001, the nation of Afghanistan harbored Osama bin Laden and facilitated the attacks on the US. Fine. Why did we go in there saying 'we'll take out the Taliban, but we're gonna go over there and win hearts and minds'?

Let me explain something. You don't go to war worrying about winning hearts and minds. You go to war to break the enemy, pound him far enough so he surrenders. War is ugly, dirty, and a last resort but if you're gonna go, you have to go ugly and dirty. Why in Hell do you think they call it 'war'?

We should have blown Afghanistan to shit, period. Fuck the innocents, fuck everything and kill 'em all. Worry about building hearts and minds later. There should have been a horrible price exacted from them for attacking America. Instead, we have the mess we do now. We have guys in Hindu Kush getting killed using the same tactics the Mujaheddin used against the Russians. You don't go in to a war worrying about offending sensibilities. It's war for crying out loud.

full article

My reply in the comments there:

The sentiment that you can "kill them all" is some Neocon John Wayne Bullshit. You can't kill them all. You could send in fire missions til we run out of bombs, you can kill every civvie you see every day for the next year, and you won't Kill them all. The Afghani people didn't do 9-11. Saudis and Bin Ladin did. Going all Rambo/Ace of Spades wouldn't do anything but make America a genuine Nazi nation, and make us a hell of lot more subject to global ridicule and retaliation. As long as we have the benefit of the doubt, even the barest shred of illusion that we are doing the right thing, we won't be held accountable as much as we would if we went in with a true scorched earth policy. So, sorry, but I think that the notion of killing every woman and child in Afghanistan only does one thing: Gives the psychos their jollies. "Do we get to win this time?" It's pure bullshit. And the soldiers who came back from the mass slaughter of truly innocent villagers this would involve- would be forever fucked in the head. Be careful what you wish for.

(Update: To clarify- the reference to 'gives the psychos their jollies' is in no way directed at Fixer, but at the macho neocon chickenhawks that always use the kill 'em all argument)

And I recalled having posting on the Kill em all mindset before, at the Old House. Here is the full post from that day, July 14 2006 (during Israel's assault on Lebanon)

How many times have you heard your neighbor or co-worker say something along the lines of "We ought to kill them all!" ?

As much as Republicans want to distance themselves from any comparisons to Nazi-like tendencies- GENOCIDE - was a tool used by the Nazis. And to seriously discuss Genocide, as if it were some possibility or tactic- is to court the absolute worst crime of the 20th century and make yourself an easy target for comparisons to the Nazi party.

Since this topic was initiated by my employer, (an Ex Army Officer, veteran of two tours in Viet Nam, a helicopter pilot who was awarded several medals) I will address the genocide solution to Palestinians- whom he was blaming for all terror acts as we watched Israeli shells blowing Lebanon to bits while the Lebanese Army, hopelessly outmatched, stood aside and simply did damage control against the Israeli onslaught.

I noted to him that blowing up innocent civilians, whether you do it with a homemade bomb OR a shell from a tank that America sold Israel- was still an act of terror to the civilian population.

"One of these days, we're going to- have to kill them all, kill all of these ... Palestinians. Don't you think?" He asked, probably a little less forcefully than normal because he knows I have intricate opinions on world politics. Now I suppose the standard Texan's response is "Hell yes. Kill them before they kill us." But that's simplistic propaganda of the lowest common denominator.

I replied that I didn't think we can eradicate a "people". It's just not possible. And if it was, the results would be horrendous and America WOULD be considered the new Nazis around the globe. He quickly changed the subject to the price of oil, spiking during Israel's invasion. It was the end of the day and nothing more was discussed about it.

Later I thought about all the times I have seen some otherwise humane and thoughtful American spouting Genocidal nonsense as if it WERE A SOLUTION. It is not.

But, since this idea is constantly running through the backs of so many Americans' minds- let's take a look at the simple realities of those who supposedly love freedom and democracy to entertain the mass murder of millions:

"They all want to kill us". No. They don't. There are 1.5 billion adherents to Islam on the planet- If they all wanted to kill us, there would be MUCH MUCH More strife than what we see. Those jihadists, like American genocidists, are very much in the minority. And it's a good thing- because it is insanity to believe you can destroy billions of people in their entirety.

If we want to eradicate all the worshippers of Islam- that's a lot of killing. Short of a massive nuclear war that would kill more than two thirds of the people on the planet, it's NOT going to happen. And if you want it to, you belong in a loony bin.

Okay, you say, you're not advocating killing ALL the muslims- that's crazy. You KNOW that- but killing all the terrorists- Yeah, that's the ticket. Well, who are the terrorists? They are NOT Entire nations. We cannot label every Palestinian a jew-hating terrorist just like we can't label every Israeli a Haji-hating terrorist. I know pro-peace movement people on both sides- who have the hardest job of all- convincing their own people that the solution to unending violence is Not More Violence. Sounds like a no-brainer, but the hate stops brains from working properly.

Well, okay- I get it- but still, the Palestinians MAINLY hate us all and so we should kill them all, man,woman, and child. Then there would be no terror.

Okay- well let's examine it. Let's say in a joint Israeli/American operation we do just that. We kill every Palestinian in Israel/Palestine. Well that's 5.3 million. How we are expected to just kill them all, I will leave the details to the vivid imaginations of the Genocidists. Gas chambers perhaps? But after those 5 million are dead, theres another 4 million in other countries. I suppose we can root them out with the aid of the other countries.

Now once we have killed those 9 million "terrorists" we're good, right? That will solve everything? Do you think that the 1,491,000,000 muslims left in the global population would stand by and let America commit genocide? Would Christians stand by as 9 million of their people were systematically slaughtered?

No one would- The world would rise together, aghast, as we did in response to WWII and America would be finished as a world power.

So, please - PLEASE - put away your scorched earth armchair quarterback fantasies- because that mentality can lead to the ruin of America. And more to the point- this type of mentality allows the American people to tacitly approve of other evil useless insanity such as torture and secret prisons. This mindset is THAT OF THE JIHADISTS. Do you hate EVERYTHING the terrorists believe in and what they stand for? Then stop supporting it, in the guise of supporting America. It's wrong.

The only solution is diplomacy, peace and empathy. Oh you damn hippies!
That notion doesn't sit well with the scorched earth crowd who say that No peace-spouter ever solved anything. Is that true? Really?

Ghandi didn't? Jesus didn't? Jesus is a prophet to Muslims as well as christians. Bet the average christian doesn't know that. You might as well throw your bible away if you aren't going to at least attempt to follow Jesus' teachings. Countless others have fought against taking the easy path, to War- and persevered.

So if we can't kill everyone who disagrees with us, can we work to GET ALONG?
It's not as hard as some of the haters want you to believe.

Can't you stop bleeding from your bowels and start bleeding with your heart like some of us who realize the answer is PEACE?

We have seen the alternative in Ireland, in Palestine, In Iraq. In every country on the planet at one time or another. PEACE is the ONLY solution.

UPDATE: Taibbi has more on McCain and America's love of "the good wars"

The Casual casualties

After reading this over at Unruly Mob, I just can't put up my usual Friday goof-off bullshit...

Semper Fi

Blogging your own epitath...

Final Post

Andrew Olmsted, RIP

from an earlier post of his:

Asking the Hard Question

I have been reliably informed that my posting of late has been rather dark. That's probably true, in no small part because it seems that no matter where I turn, I end up reading things like this:

The goal of Democrats -- and their allies -- over the next two years should not and cannot be to stop the war cold turkey. The goal should be to politicize the issue in preparation for 2008.

I may not agree with the assessment of the far left, but at least they're honest. They think we've lost in Iraq and that we should get out now. Contrast that with those who see in Iraq a wonderful opportunity to win more seats for their party, like publius. It pleases me to no end that if I end up getting killed in Iraq, at least my wife can take comfort in knowing my death may help the Democrats win the White House in 2008. Really, that makes it all worthwhile.

Harsh? Absolutely. And I realize that publius' motives are sincere. But while the odds are pretty good I'll live through my trip to Iraq, the fact remains that too many of my comrades will die in Iraq between now and the day a new President takes office in January 2009. If people think that we have lost in Iraq, then they have a duty to say so and do what they can to get us out of Iraq, not position themselves to be in better shape to do so in two years. The idea that Congress cannot stop this war flies in the face of the facts. Congress can quite easily end the war within six months if they so choose. No money equals no war, and while the Democrats aren't strong enough to pass a resolution rescinding the Authorization to Use Military Force, they are certainly strong enough not to pass a budget funding further operations in Iraq. Yes, six months is a long time and more people will die, but that eighteen month window means perhaps 1,000 more dead soldiers and many times more soldiers whose lives will be forever changed by the wounds they receive there.

Of course, doing so would probably be politically devastating to the Democrats. The Republicans would use such a move as ammunition for scurrilous demagoguery, carefully avoiding the questions they've mostly been able to dodge over the past four years about their responsibility for the war. But the war would still end, and while it might hurt the Democrats initially, given that their actions would come roughly a year before the next election, who knows how they might look in the fall of 2008 when American soldiers are no longer coming home in caskets; President George H.W. Bush looked nigh-unbeatable a year before the 1992 election; I assume we all remember how that one turned out.

More to the point, it seems to me that it is the right thing to do, if you believe we should be getting out of Iraq. If you think the surge cannot work and that we've lost, I fail to see how you can justify waiting an additional 18 months because the politics aren't right. John Kerry once asked how you can ask someone to be the last man to die for a mistake. It would appear that for a lot of Democrats, that question is easier to answer than Kerry thought.

Unfortunately, Andrew Olmsted won't be the last good soldier to die for this mistake. Not by a long shot. Political expediency be damned! A Congress that respects our troops and their deaths would have stopped this mistake years ago, may not even have begun it in the first place.

Out of Iraq - NOW. Immediate withdrawal- and if Iraq falls into more chaos, so be it. The deaths belong on the heads of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and every neocon sycophant that profitted off this immoral invasion. It's time for an American presence in Iraq to end. To those of you in Congress, if you don't want more deaths to be on YOUR heads- you will do everything in your power to stop the Republican war profiteering machine.

And I sincerely believe that every one of you in Congress who would continue this "war" at this time, knowing what we all know now- deserves to be imprisoned for the rest of your life as a war criminal and a traitor to our military and our country by squandering them so needlessly.

Military "Mutiny" against White House treason

The only ones who can stop the war now are the troops and their officers. The weak-willed servants of the almighty dollar in congress won't do it. Here are several articles and organizations that concern the military's growing rebellion against George Bush's occupation of Iraq...

Troops refuse to patrol

Courage to Resist

Winter Soldier

Generals Speak out against Iraq War

Appeal for Redress

Military Families Speak out

And here's a Mother Jones article that elaborates on the current situation in Iraq :
Awakening-Nightmare

Officers and Gentlemen..

Bill Moyers makes an impassioned speech in his lecture at the United States Military Academy to a group of our future military officers.

(from Common Dreams): The Entire speech is, like all of Moyer's lectures, inspiring, thoughtful and poetic.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1129-21.htm

An Excerpt:

We were warned of this by our founders. They had put themselves in jeopardy by signing the Declaration of Independence; if they had lost, that parchment could have been their death warrant, for they were traitors to the Crown and likely to be hanged. In the fight for freedom they had put themselves on the line—not just their fortunes and sacred honor but their very persons, their lives. After the war, forming a government and understanding both the nature of war and human nature, they determined to make it hard to go to war except to defend freedom; war for reasons save preserving the lives and liberty of your citizens should be made difficult to achieve, they argued. Here is John Jay’s passage in Federalist No. 4:

It is too true, however disgraceful it may be to human nature, that nations in general will make war whenever they have a prospect of getting anything by it; nay, absolute monarchs will often make war when their nations are to get nothing by it, but for the purposes and objects merely personal, such as thirst for military glory, revenge for personal affronts, ambition, or private compacts to aggrandize or support their particular families or partisans. These and a variety of other motives, which affect only the mind of the sovereign, often lead him to engage in wars not sanctified by justice or the voice and interests of his people.

And here, a few years later, is James Madison, perhaps the most deliberative mind of that generation in assaying the dangers of an unfettered executive prone to war:

In war, a physical force is to be created, and it is the executive will which is to direct it. In war, the public treasures are to be unlocked, and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them. In war, the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under which they are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be gathered; and it is the executive brow they are to encircle. The strongest passions and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace.

I want to be clear on this: Vietnam did not make me a dove. Nor has Iraq; I am no pacifist. But they have made me study the Constitution more rigorously, both as journalist and citizen. Again, James Madison:

In no part of the Constitution is more wisdom to be found, than in the clause which confides the question of war and peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department. Beside the objection to such a mixture to heterogeneous powers, the trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man.

Twice in 40 years we have now gone to war paying only lip service to those warnings; the first war we lost, the second is a bloody debacle, and both rank among the great blunders in our history. It is impossible for soldiers to sustain in the field what cannot be justified in the Constitution; asking them to do so puts America at war with itself. So when the Vice President of the United States says it doesn’t matter what the people think, he and the President intend to prosecute the war anyway, he is committing heresy against the fundamental tenets of the American political order.

The full article is an amazing trip through the history of our American military and the inherent duties of each officer. He concludes with this statement:

I know the final rule of the military Code of Conduct is already written in your hearts: “I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free...” The meaning of freedom begins with the still, small voice of conscience, when each of us decides what we will live, or die, for.

MCCS1977

Yo-
I am joining the Military Group-Blog MCCS1977 - Making Conservatives Cringe since 1977 headed by Frederick Bieling. That means my posts may be fewer and far between right here... I don't know yet. There's a great group of people over there that I am joining - Navyswan, Bacchus, and of course Fred, himself.

My weird mix of Ultra-Liberal, Extreme TRUE Conservative, Redneck Blue-Collar, Elite intellectualism will be tempered by their worthy perspectives.

So Check it out - Put it on your blogroll and comment away. I will probably still be posting my own fiery brand of West Texas tinged Political Turmoil here from time to time too...

http://www.mccs1977.com/

Here's my first post on MCCS- Where is RFK when you need him?

Explosives Found Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Is this the beginning of the End?

From Americablog, two U.S. troopers taunt Iraqi children with a bottle of water...

And some comments from Americablog...

That kid will remember Americans for the rest of his life. He'll remember running through dirty streets with sewer puddles, in the heat and the dust, for a plastic bottle of designer water from the laughing Americans. If he survives our destruction of his country, could you blame him if he grew up to be another Bin Laden?What you sow, so shall you reap. Webster

There are 1000 actions like this happening every day in Iraq. Why DOES ANYONE think having our troops in Iraq is HELPING A damn thing? Our troops HATE the Iraqi people more and more day by day and the Iraqi people grow to hate the American presence every day as well. What happens when the Iraqis finally consolidate their power enough to make real strikes against U.S. troops?This is FREEING Iraq? THIS is giving them hope? THIS is helping the Iraqi people?I don't fucking think so.And when it all goes to hell and there's a mad rush back to the green zones and out- Will every damn one of these Pro-War fools say that they couldn't have foreseen it coming? Fade

War is Hell.
MC Haiku

"War is Hell" makes it alright? This isn't a War! This is systematically destroying an entire country so the military industrial complex can't make billions. This is most inept plan to steal Iraq's oil ever dreamed up in the mind of shallow millionaire pundit assholes like Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer. In the end, we are getting less oil now that we got from Saddam.No ONE can say Iraq is in better shape now than when Saddam was in charge. Anyone who defends and supports US Presence in Iraq at this point is a complete and utter fool who is SUPPORTING our troops being killed EVERY DAMN DAY.The mission was a farce if the goal was liberating Iraqis, controlling the oil or instituting Democracy. The mission was a complete success if the goal was destabilizing the Middle East, killing a million Iraqis, increasing terrorism and anti-american sentiment among muslims and making RICHER men out of the Cheney's, the Rumsfelds, the CEOs of Bechtel and Halliburton, AND - not to mention, bankrupting the U.S.treasury.How many dead American troops will the Pro-War types balk at? How many more Americans will have to die before you bastards see that you've been had?
Fade

Ah the magic of democracy and the beauty of taunting impoverished children for a mere laugh.George W. Bush's America ladies and gentlemen.-
GSD

How valuable or scarce is fresh water in Iraq that a kid would run that far just for one bottle? There's a underlying story about living conditions that would lead to the desperation shown by these kids. Once dropped, the kids on the street swarmed the lone bottle. WTF is going on with the reconstruction? Turk, Meister

How many more people, on both sides, will die before the Pro-War crowd PULLS THEIR FUCKING HEADS OUT OF THEIR ASSES?!?!

Time to end the illegal occupation. This IS NOT A WAR. There is no Winning. It's just a matter of HOW MUCH We WILL Lose in the end.

Our Overtaxed Military, Our undertaxed Millionaires

Some news headlines today show how bad our military and their families are suffering under this administration. They have been asked to take a backseat financially to mercenaries and private contractors in Iraq while doing all the dangerous work in Iraq, stymied in Afghanistan by Rumsfeld's failure to provide enough resources to do their job. President Bush is more concerned with alleviating the stress of the poor put-upon millinaires sitting on their fat asses at home than he is with addressiong our troops' failure to make enough money to even feed their families while they are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Military families relying on donated goods:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061013/news_7m13bread.html

Our Troops in debt:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15337932/

And then there's the rising healthcare costs in order to keep up with all the darn wounded people that just don't seem to stop coming in from Iraq.

Our government doesn't have the money to support our military AND a War in Iraq. So what does it want to do? Cut more Taxes for its millionaire supporters and the war profiteers who are drenched with the blood, sweat and tears of our troops.

We have GOT to get our military out of Iraq before the whole military is broken irreparably.
And before the whole country is broke.

Or do you believe that all these millionaires will happily give up their money in order to bail out America? Are you laughing? Or crying?

They will break every soldier in this country just to make a buck. THAT's what THIS Republican leadership is doing.

Get the U.S. out of Iraq- And get every Republican OUT OF OFFICE!
And then, we can start salvaging our military and paying our brave soldiers what they deserve!
And if you elitist rich bastards don't like it, As Dick Cheney likes to say: You can go fuck yourselves.