First Strikes: Bombing Civilians

The discussion on the Bill Moyers Journal, last night, shows the problem with War, Wars of Choice, Occupations and especially Guerilla/Insurgent Warfare, of which all conflicts are, and have been, now for many years, and will continue to be!

And why there is Criminal Terrorism and the rise of!

Bill Moyers Journal, January 30, 2009

Bill Moyers sits down with historian Marilyn Young, author of the forthcoming "Bombing Civilians: A Twentieth-century History" and former Pentagon official Pierre Sprey, who developed military planes and helped found the military reform movement.

Watch the Discussion

Sprey says:

Does it kill the person it's intended to kill? Not often. And when it does, it usually kills a bunch of other people around. And that, of course, raises the problem that the Predator and the missiles become a recruiting tool for the opposition and — beyond a shadow of a doubt — recruit more opposition than we get rid of by killing the one person at the table that we wanted to kill.

Read the Transcript, some cuts from:

BILL MOYERS: Marilyn, what did you think last weekend when four days into the Obama administration we read those reports of the strikes in Pakistan?

MARILYN YOUNG: My heart sank. It absolutely sank. It had been very high. I had been, like I think the rest of the country, feeling immensely encouraged and inspired by this new administration and by the energy and vigor with which he began. And then comes this piece of old stuff on approach to a complicated question that in comes in the form of a bomb and a bomb in the most dangerous of all places. And, yeah, my heart sank, literally.

BILL MOYERS: Our military, Pierre, says it's sure that it's striking militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. And that they're not targeting civilians. Can they be sure? From your experience, can they be sure?

PIERRE SPREY: I'm sure that their purpose is to strike militants. I have no doubt of that whatsoever. But with the weapons they use and with the extremely flawed intelligence they have.

MARILYN YOUNG: Yes.

PIERRE SPREY: I'd be astonished if one in five people they kill or wound is in fact, a militant.

BILL MOYERS: What do you mean "flawed intelligence"?

PIERRE SPREY: You can't tell with a camera or an infrared sensor or something whether somebody's a Taliban. In the end, you're relying on either, you know, some form of intercepted communications, which doesn't point at a person. It just, you know, points at a radio or a cell phone or something like that. Or, most likely, you're relying on some Afghani of unknown veracity and unknown motivation and who may, may very well be trying to settle a blood feud rather than give you good information.

Further On:

BILL MOYERS: I don't understand that because George W. Bush defined this as a war on terror. And I think Obama must be using the same invocation, you know?

PIERRE SPREY: Exactly.

BILL MOYERS: This is all part of the war on terror. He said it in his inaugural address.

PIERRE SPREY: Yes, he said that. I was appalled. You talk about our hearts sinking.

PIERRE SPREY: 9/11 was not an act of war.

BILL MOYERS: What was it?

PIERRE SPREY: It was a criminal act. It was a simple.

MARILYN YOUNG: Right.

PIERRE SPREY: Criminal act by a bunch of lunatic fanatic violent people who needed to be tracked down and apprehended and tried exactly as you would with any other lunatic violent person, like we do with our own domestic terrorists, like the guy who bombed the Oklahoma federal building.

BILL MOYERS: Federal building. Right.

PIERRE SPREY: You know? Exactly the same thing we did to him is what we should have launched on a huge basis, of course, on a huge international police basis and not called it.

MARILYN YOUNG: And there would have been totally international support.

PIERRE SPREY: It's not a war.

MARILYN YOUNG: Right.

PIERRE SPREY: We, by calling it a war, we have glorified al Qaeda. We have glorified the cause of violent radical Islam. All that tiny minority have become heroes. And we made them heroes. We made their propaganda. We made their case for them.

For Iraqi Orphans: Artistic, Poetic Justice { UpDated }

Can we ever give them the real justice they deserve?

That of us bringing to accountability those who, like the dictator of their country we once supported, no questions asked, gave the orders {on fixed intelligence} to destroy, kill, and torture their family members and fellow countrypersons!

Or will we once again bury our guilt in our apathy and arrogance and watch as others, hopefully, take that Moral Leadership?

For the war-beaten orphans of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, this big old shoe fits.
A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush in December during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled in a ceremony at the Tikrit Orphanage complex.

The shoe monument, made of fiberglass and coated with copper, consists of the shoe and a concrete base. The entire monument is 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high. The shoe is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long and 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide.

The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $5,000 structure -- unveiled Tuesday -- in 15 days, said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri, the orphanage director.

"Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush's war," al-Naseri said. "The shoe monument is a gift to the next generation to remember the heroic action by the journalist."

"When the next generation sees the shoe monument, they will ask their parents about it," al-Naseri said.

"Then their parents will start talking about the hero Muntadhir al-Zaidi, who threw his shoe at George W. Bush during his unannounced farewell visit."

The Kids: Looking at this picture, most were only babies when we invaded, they've known nothing but the destruction and hardships of the occupation around them.

This new statue has been erected in Tikrit Iraq to commemorate the shoe attack on President George Bush when he visited the country last year.

Iraqi Shoe Hurler Inspires Art in Saddam Hometown
Shoe of force: Iraqi sculptor creates work to `honor' man who took aim at Bush

A sofa-sized sculpture — a single copper-coated shoe on a stand carved to resemble flowing cloth — was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Officials and visitors walked around the outdoor sculpture during the brief ceremony, pondering on its eccentricities — such as a tree poking up from the shoe's interior.

Its sculptor called it a fitting tribute to the shoe hurler, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, and his folk hero reputation in parts of the Muslim world and beyond.

The Baghdad-based artist, Laith al-Amari, said the work honors al-Zeidi and "is a source of pride for all Iraqis." He added: "It's not a political work,"

And what do the grownup Iraqi's think of the memorial:

Daily News

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described the fiberglass-and-copper work as a tribute to the pride of the Iraqi people.

The statue is inscribed with a poem honoring Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who stunned the world when he whipped off his loafers and hurled them at Bush during a press conference on Dec. 14.

In the Arab world, even showing someone the sole of a shoe is considered a sign of disrespect.

Back in early '07 I put together a few posts, and photo video's, of what the possible future will look like and what we may have left the next generations to deal with, not just the generations here in this country but anywhere on this planet.

"Child of War"


Iraqi Kids Drawn Into Jihad

Video: ABC News: Children of War

It only takes a few to show their anger and retaliate with criminal terrorism, that which we wrought upon them, anywhere they choose!



UPDATE:

As the iraqi's go to the polls today, 1-31-09, and vote we get the example of what the results of 'Free Speach' and 'Expression' are to their country:

Bush shoe sculpture 'taken down'

A sculpture of a shoe erected in Iraq to honour a journalist who threw his footwear at George W Bush has been dismantled, reports say.

Foreign media say the bronze-coloured fibre-glass shoe was removed from its site in the city of Tikrit on the orders of the local authorities.

It had been erected in the grounds of an orphanage.

The monument was reportedly taken down just a day after being unveiled in the late Saddam Hussein's home town.

The head of the Childhood organisation, which owns the orphanage, said she had been told to remove the monument immediately by the Salaheddin Provincial Joint Coordination Centre.

And: Ahhhh...democracy in place in Iraq...

Iraq Appears Unwilling to Guarantee Detainee Rights

The Iraqi government will make no commitment to ensure rights of due process for tens of thousands of detainees in its jails and prisons, judging from the response this week of the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC, to these questions:

1. Have all detainees, those in US and Iraqi government custody, been charged, either as prisoners of war, on criminal charges or other charges?

2. Do all detainees have the right to access to legal counsel whether they can afford it or not?

3. Do all detainees have the right to access to a private attorney-client relationship?

4. Do all detainees have access to evidence against them?

5. Do all detainees have the right to have their cases heard in a public judicial proceeding that meets international standards?

6. Do Iraqi and international human rights organizations have access to all Iraqi and US prisons and detention facilities on a regular basis and freedom to interview detainees?"

Iraq Honors Hurler With Sofa-Sized Shoe

This new statue has been erected in Tikrit Iraq to commemorate the shoe attack on President George Bush when he visited the country last year.

Iraqi Shoe Hurler Inspires Art in Saddam Hometown
Shoe of force: Iraqi sculptor creates work to `honor' man who took aim at Bush

A sofa-sized sculpture — a single copper-coated shoe on a stand carved to resemble flowing cloth — was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Officials and visitors walked around the outdoor sculpture during the brief ceremony, pondering on its eccentricities — such as a tree poking up from the shoe's interior.

Its sculptor called it a fitting tribute to the shoe hurler, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, and his folk hero reputation in parts of the Muslim world and beyond.

The Baghdad-based artist, Laith al-Amari, said the work honors al-Zeidi and "is a source of pride for all Iraqis." He added: "It's not a political work,"

Daily News

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described the fiberglass-and-copper work as a tribute to the pride of the Iraqi people.

The statue is inscribed with a poem honoring Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who stunned the world when he whipped off his loafers and hurled them at Bush during a press conference on Dec. 14.

In the Arab world, even showing someone the sole of a shoe is considered a sign of disrespect.

For the war-beaten orphans of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, this big old shoe fits.
A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush in December during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled in a ceremony at the Tikrit Orphanage complex.

The shoe monument, made of fiberglass and coated with copper, consists of the shoe and a concrete base. The entire monument is 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high. The shoe is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long and 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide.

The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $5,000 structure -- unveiled Tuesday -- in 15 days, said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri, the orphanage director.

"Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush's war," al-Naseri said. "The shoe monument is a gift to the next generation to remember the heroic action by the journalist."

"When the next generation sees the shoe monument, they will ask their parents about it," al-Naseri said.

"Then their parents will start talking about the hero Muntadhir al-Zaidi, who threw his shoe at George W. Bush during his unannounced farewell visit."

Military Suicides Rise

Suicides continue alarming rise in military

Defense conference to tackle troubling persistence of untreated problems

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

Suicide rates among active-duty U.S. military personnel are continuing to rise even as the Defense Department dedicates more resources to identifying troubled service members and getting them the help they need, NBC News has learned.

At least 125 soldiers were confirmed to have killed themselves in 2008, compared with 115 in 2007, 102 in 2006 and 87 in 2005, a senior defense official told NBC News. Last year’s figure is likely to rise even higher, because the Army is investigating at least 17 other deaths as possible suicides.

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Army suicides at record high, passing civilians


Graphic shows active duty Army suicides from 1990 to 2008

Stressed by war and long overseas tours, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians.

Army leaders said they were doing everything they could think of to curb the deaths and appealed for more mental health professionals to join and help out.

At least 128 soldiers committed suicide in 2008, the Army said Thursday. And the final count is likely to be even higher because 15 more suspicious deaths are still being investigated.

"Why do the numbers keep going up? We cannot tell you," said Army Secretary Pete Geren. "We can tell you that across the Army we're committed to doing everything we can to address the problem."

The PBS News Hour had a report on these Military Suicides on tonight. I'm going to try and grab the video report and transcript, probably be up by tomorrow w/video, it was in depth with Paul Sullivan of 'Veterans for Common Sense' on as well.

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And Domestic Violence As Well

The Hidden Casualties Of War
CBS Evening News Investigates Staggering Domestic Violence Numbers When U.S. Soldiers Return From Iraq, Afghanistan


Abused Military Wife Speaks Out
"Only On The Web:" Katie Couric speaks with dometic violence victim Jessacia Patton about the abuse she faced when her soldier husband returned from Iraq.
{There are two other video's at page link}

The Army is cracking down on sexual abuse in the ranks. One-third of service-women and 6 percent of servicemen say they've been victims. This week, the army said it will hire more prosecutors to bring perpetrators to justice. Meanwhile, critics say the military needs to do more about another crime women, being assaulted, beaten, even raped by their military husbands or boyfriends. A CBS News investigation finds more than 25,000 spouses and domestic partners have been attacked over the past decade. Nearly 90 spouses have died. The numbers are growing.
It can be as deadly as combat: Domestic violence in the U.S. military.

Nineteen-year-old Spc. Brandon Bare is accused of killing his own wife.

Jessacia Patton is a survivor.

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Two Wars, 400,000 VA Patients

Iraq, Afghanistan VA Patients Exceed 400,000

As the number of veterans seeking health care continues to rise, the VA is straining to meet demands.

Amid talk of a drawdown of troops in Iraq, new statistics from the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) show that US casualties are still climbing quickly. Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield injuries and deaths number 81,361, up from 72,043 last January, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Veterans for Common Sense (VCS). Veteran patients - including those who didn't seek care until their return home - shot up to 400,304 (from 263,909 in December 2007).

For the thousands of soldiers flooding the VA, mental illness tops the list of ailments. Forty-five percent of VA patients have already been diagnosed with mental health conditions, including a startling 105,000 diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These data do not include the incalculable number of mentally ill veterans who have not received a diagnosis or haven't sought treatment at the VA.

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Army Recalls Body Armor

Army recalls body armor amid safety fears

Military takes action as precaution after audit highlights flawed testing

U.S. Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered the recall of more than 16,000 sets of body armor following an audit that concluded the bullet-blocking plates in the vests failed testing and may not provide soldiers with adequate protection.

The audit by the office of the Defense Department inspector general, not yet made public but obtained by The Associated Press, faults the Army for flawed testing procedures before awarding a contract for the armor.

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Iraq Booting Blackwater

Iraq won't allow Blackwater to work in country
U.S. embassy told to find new security after contractors' 'improper conduct'

Iraq will not authorize Blackwater Worldwide, the U.S. Embassy's main security company, to operate in the country anymore, a senior Iraqi official said Thursday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said his ministry's decision was sent last Friday to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and "they have to find a new security company."

Seeking Art Submissions

Women Military/Veterans Art Exhibit



Swords to Plowshares

Recruiting stand-down ordered

Probe of Houston suicides prompts wide-ranging action

Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered a stand-down of the Army’s entire recruiting force and a review of almost every aspect of the job is underway in the wake of a wide-ranging investigation of four suicides in the Houston Recruiting Battalion.

Poor command climate, failing personal relationships and long, stressful work days were factors in the suicides, the investigation found. The investigating officer noted a “threatening” environment in the battalion and that leaders may have tried to influence statements from witnesses.

I'm not going to add to this, they list a few of the problems, already found, in the report.

But a 'Stand Down', across the whole Recruiting Force means this is Big and possibly wider, in other area's, than just what happened in the Houston Battalion!!

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Purple Heart, Purple Haze

On October 22, 1967, General William C. Westmoreland paid a surprise visit to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital near Long Binh, South Vietnam. He had come to distribute Purple Hearts. To his chagrin, he arrived first at a medical ward where soldiers were convalescing from various tropical diseases and infections. "Medical wards!" the General yelled. "I don't want to see medical wards. I don't want to see those fakers." Westmoreland's classless quote is recalled by doctors and nurses at the 93rd who were then treating those "fakers" and was recorded for posterity in David Maraniss's Vietnam epic, They Marched Into Sunlight. The message was simple: When it came to the suffering of US soldiers, bombs and bullets were honorable; mosquitoes and microbes were not.

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"America Supports You"

Investigation Begins

Defense officials have launched a preliminary investigation into how Stars and Stripes and its former parent organization, American Forces Information Service, handled money for the America Supports You program, a Defense Department spokesman said.

Jimmy Carter: Peace in the Holy Land

"We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work"

In this urgent, balanced, and passionate book, Nobel Peace Laureate and former President Jimmy Carter argues that the present moment is a unique time for achieving peace in the Middle East -- and he offers a bold and comprehensive plan to do just that.

President Carter has been a student of the biblical Holy Land all his life. For the last three decades, as president of the United States and as founder of The Carter Center, he has studied the complex and interrelated issues of the region's conflicts and has been actively involved in reconciling them. He knows the leaders of all factions in the region who will need to play key roles, and he sees encouraging signs among them.

Carter describes the history of previous peace efforts and why they fell short. He argues persuasively that the road to a peace agreement is now open and that it has broad international and regional support. Most of all, since there will be no progress without courageous and sustained U.S. leadership, he says the time for progress is now. President Barack Obama is committed to a personal effort to exert that leadership, starting early in his administration.

This is President Carter's call for action, and he lays out a practical and doable path to peace.

VCS Announces Our Four PTSD Priorities for 2009‏

Veterans for Common Sense was formed by Gulf War veterans in 2002 in part to avoid repeating the mistake of failing to adequately address the medical needs of our veterans when they return home from war. VCS has a track record of success when we take on an issue. During 2006 and 2007, we worked extensively with Congress on the "Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act," a bill that became law in 2008 and expanded healthcare and benefits for our returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

On January 26, VCS sent a letter to our new VA Secretary, Erik Shinseki, urging him to use his rule-making authority to promulgate a regulation establishing a presumption of service connection for deployed veterans diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on the recent Institute of Medicine report linking PTSD with deployment to a war zone.

VA reports more than 105,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are already diagnosed with PTSD. Many of the bureaucratic hurdles veterans face for treatment and benefits start in the military. That's why VCS developed four priority items for the military to improve how the military handles PTSD during 2009:

1. VCS urges DoD to implement the 1997 Force Health Protection law, PL 105-85, Section 761-771, that requires the military to provide pre- and post-deployment medical exams to all service members. The Government Accounting Office and the Institute of Medicine found the current system of asking soldiers to self-report mental illness was woefully inadequate. We believe mandatory exams by physicians will reduce stigma against PTSD by normalizing the exam process. When a civilian police officer is involved in a shooting, he or she receives a mandatory exam before returning to duty. This same standard of required exams should apply to all our troops when they return home from combat.

2. VCS urges DoD to implement a strong anti-stigma program as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for 2009. We believe that attitudes toward veterans with PTSD will change with education about the causes, symptoms, and treatments. Education should describe the devastating consequences of untreated PTSD like broken families, unemployment, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness, and suicide. We believe that reducing stigma will encourage more veterans to seek treatment and provide a smoother readjustment for our veterans into colleges, jobs, and communities without fear of discrimination.

3. VCS urges DoD to hire additional mental health professionals to meet the increasing demand for examinations and treatment. In February 2007, the American Psychological Association reported a 40 percent vacancy rate for mental health professionals within the Department of Defense. If DoD plans to perform the mandatory exams in a timely manner, then the military must have a sufficient supply of mental health practitioners to meet the ever-increasing demand. More than 717,000 troops have deployed two or more times to the war zones, and these veterans are now at greater risk for developing PTSD than those who deploy only once. Identification and early treatment for PTSD will save taxpayers' money and help stem the growing suicide epidemic.

4. VCS urges VA to work more closely with DoD implementing the Force Health Protection law so VA has sufficient records to provide medical care and process disability claims. We believe that many of the problems VA faces when dealing with PTSD arise due to inadequate military policies that flow unchecked downstream toward VA. We are concerned that there are 105,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans diagnosed by VA with PTSD, yet only 42,000 veterans receive VA disability compensation for PTSD - an unacceptable 40 percent approval rate that may be caused by a lack of military medical records. VCS also urges VA to grant automatic disability benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans diagnosed with PTSD by VA.

We know these are ambitious goals, but we here at VCS believe they are necessary to reduce the rising tide of PTSD-related violence and suicides among our veterans. Your contribution to VCS will help make this ambitious agenda for 2009 attainable. Please make a commitment to America's veterans today.

Thank you,

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense

Survivor Corps Veterans Community Reintegration Summit

Quick Impressions from: Ilona Meagher who is participating

Monday, January 26, 2009

Great things happening at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., today and into tomorrow as an historic conference has gotten underway. Its aim: Foster synergy among a wide range of stakeholders to better serve the reintegration needs of returning veterans and military families.

To do this, barriers and competition between entities need to be breached and broken down into a laser-focused 'megacommunty' made up of the federal, state, and local government sectors; large and small businesses; national and community-based NGOs and nonprofits; media (national, local and new); healthcare providers; educational institutions; veterans service organizations and veterans/military families.

Today was a full day -- working lunch included.

This is not a conference where panelists talk about the issues, wrap up with a brief Q & A, and then move on to the next thing.

Early this morning, attendees were assigned to their stakeholder category (I'm in the Media/Communications group) and, following a brief but inspiring welcome and introduction, then set out to first nail down what the current reintegration landscape is -- from each group's vantage point -- and then begin to brainstorm what must be done to "scale it up."

From Survivor Corps:

Find The Rest At Ilona's Site, with more to come after today, the final day, and Ilona returns home.

FTA Is Back!!

Premiere Screenings of FTA in Los Angeles and New York
Friday, January 30
7:30 pm at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles
FTA Cast Members Q&A After Screening

Monday, February 2
7:00 pm at the IFC Center in New York
Q&A with Jane Fonda After Screening

Broadcast Premiere February 23
On the Sundance Channel

FTA Trailer


FINALLY, AFTER 35-YEARS IN EXILE
FTA IS BACK! AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 24
EXCLUSIVELY ON DVD
FROM DISPLACED FILMS AND
NEW VIDEO/ DOCURAMA

FTA

Starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Michael Alaimo, Len Chandler, Holly Near And a Cast of Thousands of antiwar soldiers. 1971–two years after Richard Nixon had promised to end the Vietnam War, American troops were still fighting and American warplanes were still bombing North Vietnam relentlessly.

A massive GI Movement to end the war was sweeping through the troops, wreaking havoc on the U.S. military. Into that mix came The FTA (F*** the Army) Show, a caustic, electrifying, sharply antiwar comedy review led by Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. As they toured outside military bases from Guam to the Philippines, over 60,000 soldiers cheered and joined the show’s call to end the war. It was an explosive, historical moment never seen before or since.

FTA, Francine Parker’s powerful documentary of the tour, opened in U.S. theaters in 1972, as the Nixon administration was still escalating the war and fighting for its political life at home. After only one week, the film mysteriously disappeared–never to be seen again. Until now.

Perfect timing.

Rita Martinson singing "Soldier, We Love You." Check out the film "Sir! No Sir!"

Soldier, We Love You


Sir! No Sir! Web Trailer


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And Back To The Present

The People vs. Dick Cheney
Will Obama bring the Bushies to account? Will Congress? Some local DA? A judge in Europe? Anyone...?

If Congress won't, these folks might.
Who Will Throw the Book at the Bushies?

Attention ALL Gulf War I Veterans

Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans

In April 2008, the Secretary of U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs established the Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans. The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice to the Secretary on the full spectrum of health care and benefits issues that confront veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the 1990-1991 period of the Gulf War. To carry out these duties, the Committee is expected to assess both the effectiveness of existing benefits and services and to determine the need for new initiatives and/or policies that relate exclusively to this population of veterans.

Upcoming Meetings

* January 14 - 15, 2009 - VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA
* February 18 - 19, 2009 - VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA
* March 18 - 19, 2009 - Waco, TX (venue TBD)
* April 7 - 9, 2009 - Washington, DC (venue TBD)

Committee Members, if you visit this link they give backlinks for each member

Chairman Charles Cragin

Members Martha Douthit, Daniel Ortiz, Henry Falk, M.D., M.P.H., Daniel Pinedo, Mark Garner,
Thomas Plewes, Lynn Goldman, M.D., M.P.H., Valerie Randall, John Hart, M.D., Edward R. Reese (Randy)
William Jones (Rusty), Steve Robertson, Kirt Love


Group Photo


DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Advisory committees are used extensively by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide advice and guidance on a wide variety of programs that deliver benefits and services to our Nation’s veterans. Advisory committees operate as another component of the “people’s voice” in our democratic form of government. Some of VA’s advisory committees have been mandated by Congress to ensure that federal laws, as carried out by the executive branch, are meeting their intended goals. Other VA committees have been created by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assess specific VA policies or programs.

Advisory committee members are generally acknowledged, by VA’s leadership and members of the veterans affairs committees in Congress, as “consumer representatives” of those millions of beneficiaries whose lives are affected each year by VA programs. Advisory committees must operate in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Advisory committee meetings at VA are generally open to the public, and notices of those meetings are published in the Federal Register.

One of VA’s principal objectives in managing its advisory committees is to ensure that committee members appropriately reflect the diversity of American society and the veterans’ population. Committee members are expected to have the technical, scientific and programmatic expertise demanded by the committees’ areas of interest and emphasis. Committee members are also expected to offer unbiased advice and to comply with all federal ethics standards.

Please send your comments on this page to VA Advisory Cmte

Follow this link for a list of Committees I assume are still in operation or setting up public hearings etc..

Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans

To provide advice to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the full spectrum of health care and benefits issues that confronts veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the 1990 - 1991 period of the Gulf War.

Solidarity, Iraqi 9yr old singer's Gaza tribute

Jan 26 - Nine-year-old Kajal Asaad has become a singing sensation in her hometown Arbil in northern Iraq by singing a song for Palestinians in Gaza.

The song is called "Gaza al-Samida" (Gaza the Steadfast) and is the Kurdish girl's debut song. She says it was inspired by images of wounded children on television from the Gaza conflict.



{Click on link if player doesn't load, it's a Reuters report and player}

History of Iraq War

Layers of graffiti on walls tell history of Iraq war

BAGHDAD — Iraq is a nation of walls: Tall concrete blast walls built during the past six years, ancient mud-brick barricades that date to antiquity and walls built of various materials from the centuries in between. The newest walls protect Iraqis from one another, but they also divide families. They separate the government from the people, and foreigners from Iraqis.

The walls don't just stand there; they're a constantly changing record of recent history.

Idyllic murals of flowers and scenic canoe rides mask bullet holes and graffiti, and campaign posters for the candidates who are running in provincial elections Jan. 31 paper many of the remaining free surfaces.

Peel away the layers, however, and you'll find Iraq's recent history: the U.S.-led invasion nearly six years ago, the Sunni Muslim insurgency, a sectarian war and now low-level but steady violence in a year of elections.

In two neighborhoods, one that surrounds a water-purification plant in the Sunni city of Fallujah, the other in Baghdad's poor Shiite Muslim district of Amil, once controlled by the Mahdi Army militia of radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr, two walls tell two histories of the last six years.

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Kerry on Torture

Torture weakened America's national security

However, I and many others believe that the use of torture and indefinite detention have not only tarnished our honor but also diminished our security.

In this global counterinsurgency effort against al Qaeda and its allies, too often our means have undercut our efforts by wasting one of our best weapons: the legitimacy that comes from our moral authority.

Torture plays directly into a central tenet of al Qaeda's recruiting pitch: that everyday Muslims across the world have something to fear from the United States of America.

An OIF and OEF Vet needs a few Signatures........

I wouldn't normally pass on a petition link in this fashion. But a young lady from the area has taken this request on and I'd not only like to give her a hand but the Vet who's requesting the help.

With this 'stimulus package' being worked up, that 'stimulus' is what should already have been being spent on infrastructure and needs from our tax dollars all along, there is already some billions going towards military and veterans needs. But more is needed and should be allocated. Most, if not all, of those serving in these theaters will be doing so not just one tour but many tours and some in both theaters. Many more clinics are needed around the country, especially in the rural area's, closer to these Veterans and as to the populations of same, both for physical and mental care needs!

This is what Dana sent me:

I came across this mans myspace yesterday his name is Rey Leal and he has to go 5 hours out of his way to get to his VA hospital he lives in South Texas. He wants to put a VA hospital closer to him. He is trying to get veterans in his area to stand togehter for their rights so that they will get a VA hospital within a reasonable distance in his area. I thought you might want to check it out here is his myspace: OIF & OEF Veterans of the RGV
And this is where you can sign the petition: Petition for VA Hospital in South Texas
I signed it and am donating to his cause also I am trying to write his local congressman
I think that its ridiculous that someone would have to go 5 HOURS out of there way at their own expense that is extremely cruel and especially someone who has done so much for our country. He has to go all the way into San Antonio Texas if he wanted to get surgery done or see a specialist. I am writing to his local congressman and I really want to help him.

Dana is heading into college to study psychology and especially leading towards understanding, research and care of those with PTSD. Give her and this vet a hand and sign his petition,

Thanks

Broken Military Marriages:

Another Casualty of War

If politicians want to protect marriage, they should work to support veterans and military families.

More than 13,000 military marriages ended last year, and mine came dangerously close to becoming one of them, but it wasn’t because of some gays getting hitched. Military marriages are at increasingly high risk of failure, and combat is the cause.

Most of the boots on the ground in Iraq are worn by Marines, active duty Army, or Army National Guard. They have served the most and longest deployments, seen the most combat, and suffered the most injuries, both physical and psychological. In 2008, the active-duty Army and Marines also had a higher percentage of failed marriages than the Navy or Air Force, whose rates held steady or decreased slightly.

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National Conference on Reintegration

Of Service Members and Veterans

Community Reintegration Summit on Service Members and Veterans Returning to Civilian Life
Washington, D.C.
Carnegie Institution
January 26-27, 2009

Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Veterans' Coalition are co-hosting a Summit to convene a community of leaders from the public, private, and civil sectors. Together we can collaboratively address the reintegration of service members and veterans as they return home to their families, communities, schools, and jobs.

The Challenge

Over one and a half million service members have deployed in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Over thirty thousand have been physically wounded, with many more experiencing less visible, psychological wounds. Many returning veterans are facing family, employment, and other community reintegration issues. Recent reports suggest an increase in rates of suicide [1], alcohol and drug abuse [2], homelessness [3], and domestic violence [4]. These traumatic effects of war, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, and our nation.

Leaders of the public, private, and civil sectors have been doing substantial work to address the issues around reintegration-individually and through partnerships or coalitions. Clearly, the hard work of these organizations has improved the lives of returning service members and veterans, yet many challenges remain. Reintegration issues are complex, and the responsibility for dealing with them is shared among many organizations. Successful solutions to the issues may require a shift in leadership approach and a significant increase in collaborative action.

The Reintegration Summit

To continue the work accomplished at the Initiators Conference, Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Veterans' Coalition will host the Community Reintegration Summit on January 26-27, 2009, at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC. The goal is to convene a broader community of leaders from the public, private, and civil sectors to collaboratively address the issues of reintegration that affect how service members return to family, work, school, and community following their war time service.
There are four key objectives for the Summit:

* Review themes, issues, and challenges faced by service members and veterans returning to civilian life
* Develop a definition of successful community reintegration
* Develop action plans to address specific issues of community reintegration that reach across sectors
* Launch megacommunity workgroups to address specific issues of community reintegration

At the Summit, attendees will confront the toughest issues of community reintegration by participating in a dynamic simulation. Participants will be divided into various teams, whose assumptions, actions, and agreements will drive the simulation. Teams will work together, share information, and develop coordinated decisions and actions. As the simulation advances in time, participants will see the consequences and long-term impacts of their decisions on service members and veterans.

The issues of community reintegration are complex and will likely take years to solve. Participants will leave the Summit with a greater understanding of these issues as informed by the perspectives of leaders from all sectors. They will also have the opportunity to engage in action-oriented workgroups to facilitate leader-to-leader collaboration between organizations moving beyond the Summit. We believe that by gaining commitments to action, developing measurable goals, and routinely checking our progress against them, together we can sustain progress toward helping service members make a healthy return to their families and communities.

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An Army of Homeless

The Nation's Hardest to House

According to reports, it took an average of nine years postdeployment for Vietnam vets to fall into homelessness. There’s concern that it’s happening much sooner for the recent vets, says Blecker.

That Feeling of 'Aliveness' Combat Veterans Miss Most:

Ilona Meagher, of PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within, shares with us, from her Blogspot, the writings of another blogger, a Combat Veteran, Scott Lee, a Gulf War I Veteran , who writes about his experiences with PTS and returning to civilian life after the military and combat experiences and more.

Can it Be Recaptured in Ho-Hum Civilian Life?

A powerful post by Scott Lee, a Gulf War veteran who blogs over at PTSD, A Soldier's Perspective, arrived on Friday. We Cannot Make it Through the Confines of Our Minds Without the Help of Others is so full and rich and speaks entirely to my current research that I hope he doesn't mind my reprinting it here to share with you:

I am a Gulf War I vet, I felt the same as you when I returned home from combat. For me it was the total sense of feeling alive and being a part of my squad that I missed, although I did not figure this out until after 15 years of insanity.

Ilona commented at his blog on the post, just above, by Scott, the one in the blockquotes, and it seems they are both sharing their thoughts on each others blogs for all. Ilona's is above and Scott has this Some Insights From Ilona Meagher on Presence of Mind posted at his.

The more I write here, the more blessings God gives me. Lately I have been talking with people on the national scene, some of the leading PTSD advocates. A high profile PTSD lawyer, some of the leading proponents in the veterans court movement, and authors. Such as the veteran blogger of PTSD: Winning the War Within, Ilona Meagher, who had commented on one of my latest articles. Additionally, Ilona has authored Moving A Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops. I do not think that she will mind me dropping her name (I hope).

You will find both writings informative and open.

As Ilona points out you really should read what other thoughts Scott has put out for all to read and learn from, especially for those who've never experienced the Military and especially engaging in what you train for actual Conflicts and Occupations. But it, as any writings and research about PTS, will also inform and bring to light the suffering many go through after their own traumatic experiences in their lives, PTS is not only related to Combat, War and Occupations, for the soldiers or the civilians of!

Here's a few links to Scott's recent writings:

Structural Dissociation of the Personality

Not One, But Two Stars Died to Make You

Dissociation, Fructose, Insomnia & Escape

Visit and read more of Scott's writings and thoughts at PTSD, A Soldiers Perspective