Wednesday, March 01, 2006

When the war hits home

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
William Pitt - (1759-1806) British Prime Minister (1783-1801, 1804-06) during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. - Source: Speech, House of Commons, 18 November 1783


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A Letter From The Troops
by John Zogby, TomPaine.com
In a groundbreaking public opinion survey, Americans are finally able to hear what the troops in Iraq think about the war they are fighting.



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Posturing Over Ports
by David Corn, TomPaine.com
In the flap over a Dubai company managing U.S. ports, politicians from both parties are guilty of selective outrage.
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Pass It On: Keep Long War Inc. Profitable!
by Mark Fiore
See the latest Flash animation from cartoonist Mark Fiore.


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TIA'S DIFFERENT NAMES, SAME SPY GAMES
The U.S. Defense Department's Total Information Awareness (TIA) program, "which developed technologies to predict terrorist attacks by mining government databases and the personal records of people in the United States," was not ended, as lawmakers directed in 2003, but merely moved and renamed. While "it is no secret that some parts of TIA lived on," the National Journal reports details of how TIA continued. Two key programs moved to the Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA), at the National Security Agency. One, a $19 million contract given to Hicks & Associates "to build the prototype system," was renamed "Basketball." The other is a $3.7 million contract given to SAIC, "to help analysts and policy makers anticipate and pre-empt terrorist attacks." That work, initially called "Genoa II," was renamed "Topsail." Whether these programs are still active is unclear. ARDA itself is being moved to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte's office and renamed the "Disruptive Technology Office." SOURCE: National Journal, February 23, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: PR Watch

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The foulest damage to our political life comes not from the 'secrets' which they hide from us, but from the little bits of half-truth and disinformation which they do tell us. These are already pre-digested, and then are sicked up as little gobbits of authorised spew. The columns of defence correspondents in the establishment sheets serve as the spittoons.
E.P. Thompson, British historian


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OIL FOR FOOD, LOBBYISTS, AND CORPORATE PROFITS
Prior to the October 2005 release of Paul Volcker's report on violations of the United Nations' Iraq oil-for-food program, the Australian wheat exporter AWB Limited hired the Washington DC lobbying firm The Cohen Group, which is headed by former U.S. defense secretary William S. Cohen. AWB paid approximately $A300 million in trucking fees on its wheat contracts to a Jordanian company, Alia, which owns no trucks. The funds were funnelled to Saddam Hussein's government, according to information given to an Australian government-appointed Royal Commission. Last week, AWB Middle East Marketing Manager Chris Whitwell mentioned The Cohen Group when asked about diary entries related to "develop[ing] a communications strategy." Whitwell said "Chalabi - link to Alia" referred to Ahmed Chalabi, as "he and Alia have some issues." Stanley McDermott, a partner in the law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, which has a "strategic alliance" with The Cohen Group, has also advised AWB. SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald, February 22 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: PR Watch

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Iraq War Increased Terrorism Threat, 35-Nation BBC Poll Shows
Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks around the world and U.S.-led coalition troops should withdraw from the Middle Eastern nation, according to the majority of people polled in 35 countries in a British Broadcasting Corp. survey.


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Katrina Jurn:
When the war hits home

Guest Opinion
February 28, 2006
The least welcome guests at my father's funeral service were two National Honor Guards. These representatives of the United States government came to honor my father's drafted service in the Vietnam War.
The U.S. always remembers its veterans.


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Number Of Iraqi civilians Slaughtered In America's War 100,000 +

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Slaughtered (Officially acknowledged) In Bush's War
2296


The War in Iraq Costs $244,171,613,873 See the cost in your community

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Veterans Report Mental Distress
More than one in three soldiers and Marines who have served in Iraq later sought help for mental health problems, according to a comprehensive snapshot by Army experts of the psyches of men and women returning from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places.
(By Shankar Vedantam, The Washington Post)

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