Counting the War Dead, Daily

As a hobby, he counts the war dead

Michael White says he didn't anticipate casualities continuing at this pace, or the toll his Web site would take on him.

Every day, White, 51, updates a Web site he launched in 2003, icasualties.org, to keep count of the dead: American troops, coalition troops, contractors and Iraqi civilians. He eventually began documenting deaths in Afghanistan as well.

Snip

Nor could White have predicted the toll his task would take on him. As the numbers climbed, the dead came back to life on his screen. They weren't just statistics anymore...>>>>>

American Muslim Veterans

Muslim veterans in Charlotte condemn Fort Hood shooting

The vets said they hope not all Muslims would be blamed for the actions of one man. The suspected shooter who killed 13 people is Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who is said to be a devout Muslim.

"I'm not a terrorist. I love America," said Salahuddin Hasan, a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Hasan and the other vets gathered at the Masjid Ash-Shaheed mosque on West Sugar Creek Road in Charlotte where Khalil Akbar is the Imam...>>>>>Rest Found Here

Commentary: Many Muslims have died in the service of America

Leonard Pitts' latest tackles ugly online comments about Muslims in the military.

I would add to the above commentary by Pitt, the meme's of another group this past decade, So Have Many Hispanics, Citizen and Non Citizen!!

Notice, and it's not hard to, that most of those who are condemning, and have been these past years, a whole group of people, in these times of a religious ideology and the regional countries they live in or are from, because of the acts of a few or in the Ft Hood Extreme Tragedy just one person, have never served this country in any form especially the Military and these aren't only the talking heads of our opinionated, called news? programs, 24hr cable news? channels but also the civilians living in an extremist ideology of hate, racism and fear! Young enough to be serving in these two occupations of choice and the old farts who went out of their way to dodge the draft and service while many of us were sent to our other years long occupation of choice, Vietnam!

Service means No ideology, political and Especially religion, always has and always will, and us older Vets have known and served with many who Honorably Serve then are dumped by a Nation after that service.

Just like a society the Military is no different in it's diversity and those that try and use diversity and condemn should and will be called out for their embedded hatreds and false flag waving!!

'I Have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder'

Full Episode: Veterans cope with the horrors of war

True Life - MTV Shows

Arthur, Kenny and Adam struggle to adjust to civilian life despite having PTSD.

Outside The Wire - Promotional Trailer - In Their Boots

Female Iraq and Afghanistan vets return home to fight a new battle for their healthcare



In Their Boots

In Bleak Afghan Outpost,

Troops Slog On
GIs await reinforcements as Pentagon retools its anti-insurgency efforts

Stalemate

May 14: NYT: The U.S. counter-insurgency in this Taliban stronghold in Kunar Province has been at a bloody draw for years now.

KORANGAL OUTPOST, Afghanistan - The helicopters landed in blackness before the moon rose. The infantry company rushed out and through waist-high vegetation and into forests on an Afghan ridge.

Over the next 40 hours, more than 100 soldiers from the First Battalion, 26th Infantry, swept Sautalu Sar, the mountain where members of the Navy Seals were surrounded in battle in 2005. They were looking for weapons caches and insurgents.>>>>>>

The Extremely Important Presidential Candidate Forum That Wasn't

We have two theaters of occupations of others in destroyed countries, destroyed by us, one in continuing destruction from others before to us now and our broken promises of helping to rebuild as that theater grows more dangerous, the other totally destroyed on the trumped up lies of a twisted ideology of a few, tens of thousands dead and maimed, millions living as refugee's, billions of dollars wasted, stolen, lost in the machine of war profitteering, soldiers serving mutiple tours in both, families of same scraficing as a nation that is not moves along, most not caring what is happening In Their Names.

We call this "The War On Terror" and in the seven years these conflict theaters have been raging all we've created are the hatreds that will feed the ranks of the criminal terrorists leading to damaged National Securities around the globe and more theaters of death, destruction and occupations.

The sub title of this 'War On Terrorism' has been sold to all as a clash of twisted religious ideologies, a 'Religious War', on all sides. Those war hawks supporting and pushing these ideologies, few of them fighting, define everything about these clashes with political and religious labels, those opposed are left to define in same manner.

Tonight, as we approach the 2008 elections, we will have the first face to face forum of the Presidential Candidates, and where will that forum take place, in of all places a mega church presided over, and moderated by a best-selling pastor, Rick Warren.

This in a Country that labels itself as a Christian Nation, comfortably attempting to push all other religious ideologies of it's citizens out of site and mind. A nation where those that individually preach their christian faiths in the teachings of rarely follow those teachings, picking and choosing the teachings each feels comfortable with in their lives while living with intolerance of others and placing political ideologies front and center as the religion they follow.

There was a Presidential Candidate Forum of much more meaning that was to be and should have been the first. It would have brought forth what this Nation and it's Presidential Candidates should be focussed on for in what direction this nation is heading, what are it's moral standards, how it should lead by the examples it says it has but continuingly fails to follow, how it takes care of those who serve it's National Defense and the families of those who serve and much more, but it didn't happen.

Let me introduce the young lady that was spear heading this attempted Presidential Forum:


"Military Spouses Working to Improve Lives of Soldiers"


Carissa is, Carissa Picard, A Blue Star Wife and President/Founder of Military Spouses for Change at P.O. Box 216, Copperas Cove, TX 76522

And these are just some of the Advocacy Groups working with her:

The Town Hall Consortium is made up of:

American Veterans

Brain Injury Association of America

Disabled Veterans of America

Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States

Fleet Reserve Association

Military Officers Association of America

Military Order of the Purple Heart

Military Spouse Corporate Career Network

National Spinal Cord INjury Association

The Sanctuary International

Veterans for Common Sense

Veterans United for Truth

Vietnam Veterans of America

Veterans Village

WELLsville Veterans Project


Carissa tried, along with others, to also get a Candidate Forum for the primary runs of both political parties and all the candidates, that to didn't happen.

This is an article from back than:

War uneasiness could loosen GOP's hold on military votes

This is a Video report from back than:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead.

The one that should have been was the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall to take place on Monday August 11, 2008, 9:00 pm (EST) at the Bell County Expo Center, Belton, Texas and carried live on the CBS Television Network.

Neither of these important forums failed because of a lack of extremely hard work or poor planning, they did so because the Presidential Candidates, in the primary runs, and now approaching the elections didn't want them, nor did the greater majority of this countries voter population. The latter was proven out by posting about these on the political interactive web forums and the replys given and not given.

Breaking the cycle of war making: our country will not find peace until we take responsibility for our wars. from Heal the Warrior, Heal the Country

The forum that was to be this past monday was accepted by one presidential candidates camp, in word only, the other said that previous committments interfeared, with the Town Hall Consortium saying they would work with both to find a suitable date.

As the date was closing in the Consortium suspended the forum. The candidate camp that had accepted, instead of using that suspension as a political point, instead ignored and came out with a series of other attack ads and no mention in the stump speaches, the other camp also hasn't mentioned the forum, meanwhile our soldiers and their families still carry the countries burden of sacrifice. The voting population seems also to have brushed it aside as it wasn't, to them, important enough to stand behind and fight for!

While everyone hangs on to every word of tonights religious? Presidential Candidate Forum, listening to every word and many waiting to write about how each candidate faired, the Occupations go on, the destruction continues, the body counts go up, the billions are spent, the hatreds are increased, and this country continues it's downward spiral away from it's stated beliefs!

This is a pretty good description of what is to come tonight, as shown on MSNBC Countdown last night:



And this is a tiny window on how lives have been changed:

A Thank You to Those Who Care for Our Nation's Wounded




"Military Spouses for Change" is working to improve the lives of soldiers and their families. They want to convince government to improve health care, treatment for PTSD and other issues that soldiers face when they return home.

That 'Government' is You!!

"We want this dialogue, we want this conversation to occur, we want the American public to be watching it as it happens," Military Spouses for Change President Carissa Picard said.

Again I'll say, neither Presidential Candidate Camp wanted this forum, but more Importantly neither did the American Voters, either party!

Brave New Foundation: In Their Boots Episode 5

"Hero's Welcome" - Chapter 1

Originally aired on July 30th, 2008

When Domonicque Tatum returned from Iraq he expected to be treated like a hero,
instead he found himself homeless and suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress.




Domonicque Tatum
US Army Veteran

Mary Tatum Chappell
Domonicque's Mother

Floyd "Shad" Meshad
Founder and President
National Veterans Foundation

Brave New Foundation: In Their Boots Episode 4

"Homecoming: Chapter 2"

Kim Roy has spent the last fifteen months taking care of her two young boys while her husband, Justin, was away in Afghanistan. Now he's coming home.
Justin Roy Captain, US Army

Virginia Ruehrwein
Armed Services YMCA, San Diego



In Their Boots

Over to your right I have some links to Brave New Foundation and In Their Boots

Blackwater Dropping Security

Well, well, Blackwater, after ripping off the United States people with their extremely high priced Mercenary Forces, and getting U.S. troops killed from the blowback of their actions are now dropping their security details, apparently because it's bad for their business bottom line!!

Blackwater Plans Shift From Security Business
AP Interview: Blackwater plans shift from security contracting, blaming its notoriety in Iraq

Blackwater Worldwide said Monday that it planned a shift away from the security contracting business that earned it millions of dollars and made it a flash point in the debate over the use of security contractors in war zones.

"The experience we've had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk," company founder and CEO Erik Prince told The Associated Press during a daylong visit to the company's North Carolina compound.

They're Mercs, and now Prince is Whining, poor baby!!

Nothing worse than a whiny mercenary, hired gun!

The company has made hundreds of millions of dollars defending U.S. diplomats in Iraq, one of several government contracts that earned Blackwater more than $1 billion since 2001.

Overpriced hired guns on No-Bid contracts and more than shady business practices, Prince walks away, still in business, but wealthier by far on our money!

"Our focus is away from security work. We're just not bidding on it," Jackson said.

Watch a fast getaway of some of the questionable mercs, and a cover try by the administration and friends when Iraq starts trying to bring charges on some of these renegades!

Another Reason for Presidential Military Townhall

Witnesses to War



When the separation ends! CNN Video

CNN's Rick Sanchez talks with Dr. Paul Ragan about the effects of war on soldiers and the high price they pay for it.

After the centuries and than finally after 'Nam and still way too many just don't get it, as to combat soldiers and those living in combat theaters!

"It's gonna be a bloodbath," {Updated}

Stars and Stripes


Sgt. Jacob Walker and Spc. Tyler Stafford talk about the attack

Soldiers recount deadly attack on Afghanistan outpost

Everything was on fire. The trucks. The bazaar. The grass.

It looked surreal. It looked like a movie.

That was July 13. That was when Stafford was blown out of a fighting position by an RPG, survived a grenade blast and had the tail of an RPG strike his helmet.

That was the day nine Chosen Company soldiers died.

It was just days before the unit was scheduled to leave the base.

"It was some of the bravest stuff I’ve ever seen in my life, and I will never see it again because those guys," Stafford said, then paused. "Normal humans wouldn’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that — getting up and firing back when everything around you is popping and whizzing and trees, branches coming down and sandbags exploding and RPGs coming in over your head … It was a fistfight then, and those guys held ’ em off."

Stafford offered a guess as to why his fellow soldiers fought so hard.

"Just hardcoreness I guess," he said. "Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don’t want to come in and try to get us."

CNN


"It's gonna be a bloodbath," fallen soldier told father

Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling suspected that his days were numbered last week, while he and his band of brothers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team prepared for a mission near Wanat, Afghanistan.

Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling had a bad feeling about his final mission in Afghanistan, said his father, Kurt.

"It's gonna be a bloodbath," he told his father, Kurt Zwilling, on the phone in what would be their last conversation.

The Defense Department on Wednesday identified the U.S. soldiers killed Sunday when their outpost was overrun in Afghanistan.

• 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Aiea, Hawaii.

• Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, California.

• Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Georgia.

• Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Washington.

• Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee.

• Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Georgia.

• Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina.

• Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Missouri.

• Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Kentucky.



There's nothing I really can add to the above, nor do I feel I should.

The interviews at the links and the video, by the soldiers, are the reality.

RIP Young Brothers

The First From 2days Ago

Military looking at intelligence before deadly Afghan clash

A formal investigation into an attack on a U.S. Army unit by about 200 Taliban insurgents will examine whether the Army had intelligence about a possible assault and whether the troops had access to it.

This one from today:

Misunderstanding leaves 9 dead in Afghan airstrike

A misunderstanding between local police and coalition forces led to an airstrike in southwestern Afghanistan Sunday that left nine police officers dead, a defense ministry official said.

I leave it up to your own thoughts to see the picture of what is and has been going on!

Fort Hood Town Hall Presidential Forum

The country's wartime status has riddled this Presidential election year with added questions.

That's why several non-profit military groups have come together to try to hold a Presidential town hall meeting at Fort Hood.

Sen. Barack Obama is the missing ingredient for a town hall meeting at Fort Hood.

This is a nobrainer for the Obama Campaign, especially as to recent remarks by Senator McCain, and he isn't as great as he and others think as to Town Halls or other formats. The Obama camp have many like Wesley Clark and other knowledgable Veterans of our Military who have more than just his back, as well as the many running on the same ticket for federal offices.

Senator Obama can hold more than his own, and this Country needs this Forum to take Place, more than the ones linked below and any others!

The other day I posted up this on a few sites and sent it out. On two of the sites the post was attacked by a few simple minded bots. I'm using the KOS post as one person replying there really got under not only mine but others skin, no matter what was posted to the many replys used following almost the same line. I would have just blown this person off, as I used above as a political party bot or even troll, except for finding another slam reply in another post about a small, they say their large, purely partison political group of Veterans of the current occupations, refering back to the Consortium trying to get an Up or Down from the Obama Camp. The person replying accused this Consortium of this being a purely political Setup and Poorly Planned refering to how it had setup a couple of political meetings recently sucfcessfully, only in it's mind I'll bet. It showed me how lacking not not only in understanding how to organize but how little there was of Common Sense and Critical Thought within as well as being totally lazy and not following the links before replying.

I'm posting this recent one to further a call for those interested, Especially the Great Majority who have not nor will be Sacrificing Anything, to Help make this Extremely Important Town Hall Forum take place to please get involved! The rest can just move on and continue chatting.

Those interested follow the links etc below. Thank You from a 'Nam Vet!


The Town Hall Consortium is made up of:

American Veterans

Brain Injury Association of America

Disabled Veterans of America

Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States

Fleet Reserve Association

Military Officers Association of America

Military Order of the Purple Heart

Military Spouse Corporate Career Network

National Spinal Cord INjury Association

The Sanctuary International

Veterans for Common Sense

Veterans United for Truth

Vietnam Veterans of America

Veterans Village

WELLsville Veterans Project

"We want this dialogue, we want this conversation to occur, we want the American public to be watching it as it happens," Military Spouses for Change President Carissa Picard said.

John McCain has agreed to come, and CBS is on board to air it live. And, the Bell County Expo Center has been reserved.

Both of these Candidates owe answers to candid questions from more than these groups and this country, at a time we are still in two very dangerous theaters of occupation. They owe those who have died for their service, under the orders of this present administration, the 4122 in Iraq and 556 in Afganistan as of 7-18-08 as well as those tens of thousands injured and maimed physically and mentally. They owe their answers to the tens of thousands of family members of those serving mutiple tours and stop lossed, the very small percentage of this countries citizens actually sacrificing as the country goes about unraveled and seemingly uncaring.

Both candidates are also considering two other proposed joint appearances: one at the LBJ Library at the University of Texas and another at the Reagan Library in California.

If the Fort Hood event happens, it is tentatively scheduled for 8 p.m., Monday, August 11, at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton.

This is not a new idea nor one done on the quick. Military Spouses for Change, along with others, were trying to get those running for the Presidential Office, from both parties, long before it was down to two Candidates, with very puzzeling results, puzzeling results for myself, a 'Nam Veteran, and many others, those serving in OIF and OEF, the families of, those returned with mental and physical injuries, and more, some of the many candidates OK'd the forum others didn't and it never went on because of a Disinterested Country!

This is an article from back than:

War uneasiness could loosen GOP's hold on military votes

Look anywhere in Killeen, home to the sprawling Fort Hood army base, and there are patriotic signs like the giant banner that greets shoppers entering the local Wal-Mart: "Fort Hood Texas, Home of America's Hammer!"

But beneath the bravado and bluster you find a more volatile mix of emotions – frustration, anxiety and anger – among military families after five years of war in Iraq.

We all know of the extremely poor planning, and lies, that went in to both these theaters of occupation by the administration and the congress that was in office at the time and what little that congress did in their jobs of oversite and investigation as well as funding for the care of the returning Veterans and much more, and under which political ideology that power existed. Leading to investigation, oversite, and much condemnations of what little was done, keeping the present congress more than busy trying to correct the failed policies, failed policies across the board!

This is a Video report from back than:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead.

Military Spouses for Change are trying to lure Democratic and Republican candidates to address the largest military community in the country face-to-face. "These candidates are asking to be the next commander in chief. I feel like our families and service members, if nothing else, deserve an audience," organizer Carissa Picard said.

Soldiers' wives trying to lure presidential candidates to Fort Hood

Spouse group: Action needed for wounded vets

Let a few Veterans speak to the Senator and Country:

WE NEED OBAMA TO COMMIT TO EVENT AT MILITARY BASE

DEAR SENATOR,
MY NAME IS ASHLEY MILLER AND I AM A VETERAN OF THE IRAQ WAR. I LEFT THE U.S. ARMY IN 2006, AND I AM A SUPPORTER OF THE BARACK OBAMA CAMPAIGN. I FEEL THAT YOU ARE A GREAT CANDIDATE, FOR MANY REASONS. I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE A NEW VOICE THAT WE AS AMERICANS NEED IN ORDER TO HELP OUR COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE IN THE YEARS TO COME. I FULLY SUPPORT YOU, SENATOR OBAMA, AND I WANT YOU TO WIN. HOWEVER, AFTER READING THE PRESS RELEASES ON THE EVENT THAT IS SET TO TAKE PLACE ON AUGUST 11TH, AT THE TOWN HALL IN BELTON, TX, I AM DISAPPOINTED TO HEAR THAT YOU HAVE NOT YET COMMITTED TO COMING TO THIS EVENT. THE EVENT WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO SEAT 6,000 SOLDIERS, SPOUSES AND VETERANS CURRENTLY ONLY HAS A COMMITMENT FROM SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN. I BELIEVE THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR SENATOR OBAMA TO ATTEND. IT IS TO MY UNDERSTANDING THAT BOTH PARTIES, MCCAIN AND OBAMA HAVE BEEN INVITED TO ATTEND. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO REALIZE THAT BY NOT ATTENDING THE EVENT HERE AT FORT HOOD YOU ARE RISKING VOTES OF 44 MILLION PEOPLE. ALL OF WHICH ARE SOLDIERS AND VETERANS AS WELL AS THEIR SPOUSES. ALTHOUGH I AM AN OBAMA SUPPORTER, I CAN'T STRESS TO YOU ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR BOTH PARTIES TO ATTEND, SO THAT THE ISSUES OUR MILITARY HAS BEEN FACING CAN BE DISCUSSED. WE AS OBAMA SUPPORTERS NEED YOU TO BE HERE AS A VOICE FOR OUR SOLDIERS AND VETERANS. WE NEED THAT COMMITMENT, AND I THINK IT IS OWED TO ALL OF OUR SOLDIERS AND OUR FAMILIES FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT TO COMMIT TO DISCUSSING THESE ISSUES AND MAKING LIVES BETTER FOR THE MILITARY. WE NEED BOTH CANDIDATES TO HEAR OUR SOLDIERS, THEIR SPOUSES AND OUR VETERANS. AS WE ARE THE LARGEST PART OF AN ELECTION PROCESS.

PLEASE GO TO THIS LINK... THERE IS A PETITION THAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET TOGETHER TO SEND TO SENATOR OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN... THIS PETITION IS FOR EVERYONE WHO AGREES THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR SENATOR OBAMA TO COMMIT TO SPEAKING WITH THE SOLDIERS HERE IN THE FT. HOOD AREA. IT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH PARTIES, AS THEY WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH MEMBERS BOTH OLD AND NEW OF THE MILITARY TO DISCUSS ISSUES, AND TO HELP FIND A WAY TO PROVIDE BETTER BENEFITS AND LIFE FOR OUR HEROES. IF SENATOR OBAMA DOESN'T COMMIT TO COMING TO THIS EVENT IN AUGUST, NEITHER CANDIDATE WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AT THIS CONVENTION. THUS, RESULTING IN OUR SOLDIERS NOT BEING ABLE TO SPEAK WITH OUR FUTURE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THE ISSUES THEY ARE FACING. IF ANYONE BELIEVES THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR BOTH PARTIES TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, AND FOR SENATOR OBAMA TO COMMIT TO THIS EVENT SO OUR MILITARY CAN SPEAK ON THE CURRENT ISSUES THEIR FAMILIES AND THEMSELVES FACE, PLEASE SIGN AT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/senatorobama/index.html
REGARDS,

ASHLEY N. MILLER
OIF VETERAN
KILLEEN, TX 76549

And this:

Open Letter To Barack Obama: Veterans Want To Hear From You

On August 11 of this year the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium is planning to host a non-partisan town hall event and while John McCain has agreed to participate in this televised event, you have not committed to participate.
BigFella :: Open Letter To Barack Obama: Veterans Want To Hear From You
As a committed Barack Obama supporter, and a Viet Nam era veteran, I implore you and your campaign staff and advisers to reconsider your decision to decline to participate in the non-partisan, town hall forum, to be presented by the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium on August 11. I don't know the reasons why you are declining to participate in this event, but I can assure you, that despite the fact that this event would occur in a military community with a majority in-house military audience, politically speaking, the audience will encompass a broad spectrum of political ideologies, however, my understanding is that the primary "mission" of the town hall forum is not political debate, but discussion that would lead to greater awareness of the health and welfare issues facing those who serve in our military forces, and an opportunity for each candidate to outline his strategic plans in this regard.

I know that you, Senator Obama were a sponsor of S.1817 and are concerned about the care and support our country is providing to those who have volunteered to serve our nation, and by participating in this forum you can further demonstrate your commitment to be a future commander-in-chief that will exercise compassion and good judgment in your management of our military forces, and your support of those who have served in the past.

From your speech on July 15, it is apparent that if you are elected president, you will move to end the folly of our engagement in Iraq, but will also reinforce our military presence in Afghanistan, for obvious, and logical reasons. It is only logical then, that Senator Obama, in the short time leading up to the national elections and the sitting of a new administration in 2009, you would be open and amendable to hearing directly from those Americans who will be serving at under your command, on critical, dangerous missions.

If your staff has lost your invitation to this important discussion, you can make contact here for the details: Military Spouses for Change

And this also:

An Open Letter to Senator Barack Obama

Dear Senator Obama,

My name is Ronn Cantu and I'm a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. I'm assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division and stationed at Fort Hood, TX.

I would like to begin this letter by thanking you for your recent vote in favor of updating the GI Bill. Education benefits such as this will ensure that today's members of the Armed Forces become tomorrow's professional and productive members of society.

I would also like to thank you for voting to increase the funding for health-care-related issues, and for ensuring that said funding takes into account the veteran population and current level of inflation. Despite these bills being rejected, it's good to see some of our elected officials fighting to get our nation's wounded the care that they deserve.

I read an article in the July 12 edition of the New York Times titled "Obama Won't Commit to Event at Military Base." The article confused me, because in a recent Army Times article titled "If Obama Wins," you were quoted as saying "Precisely because I have not served in uniform, I am somebody who strongly believes I have to earn the trust of men and women in uniform."

The NY Times article mentioned, and it bears repeating, that Fort Hood is the largest active-duty military installation in the country. Our post is so large and our commitment to Iraq so great that the Killeen Daily Herald published an article on July 13, 2008 about our sister division titled "4th ID Association Looking to Expand Soldier Memorial."

Since speaking out against the war, I've had to take great precautions to ensure that I'm never perceived to be speaking on behalf of the United States Army nor the Armed Services as a whole, so I hope this letter isn't perceived as such. But I have to say that I think it would be a huge step toward earning the trust of men and women in uniform if you and your campaign work with Carissa Picard and the Presidential Town Hall Consortium, and commit to appearing at this meeting the way Senator McCain has.

In this particular election season, and with the Global War on Terror arguably the most polarizing issue facing our country, it would mean a lot to the veterans of our country if you give us the respect that we deserve and fought dearly to earn.

Thank you for your time.

Ronn Cantu
Iraq Veterans Against The War - IVAW

The first two letters above are linked back to VetVoice Posts, visit them and read some of the comments, for there's more from Spouses and Veterans of these current occupations!

Contact the Obama Campaign, This Is extremely Important, not only for those holding the forum but for this Country and it's direction after such an Incompitent Administration and Previous Congress that led us into a growth of Perpetual Criminal Terrorism that will haunt us and the world for years forward!

Washington:
Phone: (202) 224-2854
Fax: (202) 228-4260

Chicago:
Phone: (312) 886-3506
Fax: (312) 886-3514

Or use any contact information you might have.

From A Member of the Consortium

The Brain Injury Association of America

Alert
Urge Presidential Candidates to Participate In the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall!
Town Hall Would Facilitate Discussion of Issues Facing America’s Military and Veteran Community, Including Traumatic Brain Injury

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) recently joined a consortium of non-profit organizations dedicated to serving active military, veterans, their families and their survivors, in inviting the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to Fort Hood, Texas, for an in-depth discussion of the increasingly complex issues facing America's military and veteran community. The CBS television network has agreed to produce and broadcast the very important Town Hall meeting in prime time on Monday, August 11, 2008.

As of July 17, 2008, the Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has agreed to participate in the Town Hall, but the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has not agreed to attend the event.

BIAA is a non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the lives of all individuals with brain injuries and their families. During this presidential campaign, BIAA strongly advocates for an open, transparent discussion of public policy issues related to traumatic brain injury (TBI) among both returning service members and civilians. BIAA believes the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall represents a tremendous opportunity to facilitate this discussion in regards to returning service members.

Fort Hood is the largest U.S. military installation in the world. As a result, it has deployed, and continues to deploy, the most soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan as part of our continuing global war on terror. Consequently, BIAA cannot imagine a more appropriate audience—or a more compelling location—for such a discussion concerning the health care needs of returning service members, including TBI.

To send a message urging Sen. Obama to participate in 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall, please use the form below - with personal edits to the message if you wish - to make your voice heard.


Take Action

McCain Uses POW Status as Sword & Shield

Brave New Foundation: In Their Boots Episode 3

Originally aired on July 16th, 2008





In Their Boots


"Homecoming: Chapter 1"
Kim Roy has spent the last fifteen months taking care of her two young boys while her husband, Justin, was away in Afghanistan. Now he's coming home.


Special Guests


Kimberly Roy
Army Wife


Desiree Snowden
Family Readiness Group (Formerly)


Kelly Hruska
National Military Family Association





Kim Roy
Kim Roy of Yelm, Washington, is an intrepid Army wife with her hands full. While her husband, Justin, is deployed in Afghanistan, she’s raising two energetic sons by herself: Danny, 2, and Maddox, less than a year old. Justin is on his second deployment. He’s been gone for 15 months and the longer he’s gone, the more Kim lives for those mid-day phone calls and instant messenger sessions with her husband. And though she’s looking forward to Justin coming home, she knows there’ll be some adjustment as he re-learns how to be a father.


Justin Roy
Army Officer Justin Roy is based in Fort Lewis, Washington. Officer Roy has been on his second deployment in Afghanistan for the past fifteen months. He’ll be returning home soon to his wife Kim and his young boys, Danny and Maddox. He's excited to reunite with his family, but also a little nervous about re-acquainting himself with his son and assuming the father role that he's been unable to maintain while serving in Afghanistan for over a year.



These webcasts will air, online, every wednesday at 4pm Pacific/5 Mountain/6 Central/7 Eastern at In Their Boots

Iran? No! Pakistan? Yes! Forgotten Conflict Soon To Expand and Escalate Dangerously!

I was going to post a followup to a recent post I had done referencing some disturbing news, but suspected, out of Afganistan. That post, a few days ago, followed the extremely sad news about the loss of the nine soldiers, fifteen injured, in a battle at a small fire base they held by Afgan insurgents. This U.S. Abandons Site of Afghan Attack is a recent report on that and as the title says the American forces abandoned the base. It was than apparently retaken by the Afgan Insurgents as well as the little town near it, and control of the territory well around the town and base.


Another report came out yesterday, in the Asian Times, but was dated for today, I've already seen that other sources have been picking it up today, that will follow shortly.


Than this morning Sebastian likes to rattle cages has this diary up with news out of The Guardian that may answer a few questions, or more like worries, I had. This could also explain, and make much more clearer the reason for this, American Envoy To Join Iran Talks, which should have happened over 6 years ago, right after the illegal invasion and as many knew an insurgent conflict would result.


The only ones who could have quieted the rising Blowback, from the invasion and coming occupation, were the neighbors of Iraq, All of them, it's their region, their neighbor, their religions, their sects, and many of us were calling for their involvement.


But Iraq never was and still isn't the only huge problem and extremely failed policy of this administration and it's cohorts, The forgotten War, Afganistan, has and is a big part of the picture and the growing Hatreds in the region, towards us, from those policies!



The other day I had this in that post:

Afghan Warlords, Formerly Backed By the CIA, Now Turn Their Guns On U.S. Troops


They defeated the Soviets with Washington’s help, but now they attack Americans as the new occupiers


And these folks don't play games, they're well seasoned guerilla fighters, in their own country and the terrain well known by them!


They also don't need to raise up hatreds or indoctrinate others, we're doing a damn good job across the region, from Iraq, raising the civilian hatreds towards us in Iran by our rethoric and threats, through Pakistan and into Afganistan, making enemies of tens of thousands if not millions, and this has nothing to do with religious ideology, that's used on both sides to embed fear and control the masses not directly involved, pure propaganda!

But amid a well-coordinated assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and large-scale bombings last week in the capitals of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. forces are keenly aware that they are facing an increasingly complex enemy here—what U.S. military officials now call a syndicate—composed not only of Taliban fighters but also powerful warlords who were once on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency. "You could almost describe the insurgency as having two branches," says a senior U.S. military official here. "It's the Taliban in the south and a 'rainbow coalition' in the east."

Indeed, along with a smattering of Afghan tribal groups, Pakistani extremists, and drug kingpins, two of the most dangerous players are violent Afghan Islamists named Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to U.S. officials.

And these two are whom:

were once among America's most valued allies.

I've always thought that bin Laden, and it has been suspected and reported, because of his family thus the connections to possible U.S. officials, was on the CIA payroll and a middle man for the arms dealings for us in the Afgan/Soviet conflict.

Hekmatyar, then widely considered by Washington to be a reliable anti-Soviet rebel, was even flown to the United States by the CIA in 1985.

immortalized in the recent film Charlie Wilson's War

We even made him a cult hero in our movies, now that's the American Way.

Today, the Haqqani network is driving the recent rise in violence in eastern Afghanistan, according to U.S. military officials.

In the course of conducting these operations, insurgents have benefited greatly from the shortage of U.S. and allied troops here, say U.S. officials.

My guess, just like during the Afgan/Soviet conflict, the rise in violence, especially the changing tactics, is drawing fighters from Iraq as well. If that's the case, and violence abates in Iraq, if we still have troops in that country it won't be quiet for long. With quiet comes complacency and if that complacency is seen an felt by the insurgents a very quick rise in insurgent actions will follow for we will still be occupiers in their land, some coming from those we're paying now not to fight us!

U.S. officials had an even higher opinion of Haqqani, who was considered the most effective rebel warlord. "I adored Haqqani. When I was in Afghanistan, Haqqani was the guy who made sure I would get out," says Wilson. "He was a marvelous leader and very beloved in his territory."

The above has been suspected, actually more than suspected because of the lack of ability to get Afganistan under control and not only because the administration just walked away from it and our promises.



This is what I found yesterday at the Asia Times Online:


Militants ready for a war without borders


Hell of a Title that just grabs the attention!


It isn't anything new, that's what Criminal Terrorism, on a World Scale, has been about for years, striking back from the few for the Wests failed policies in their lands and regions and started long before 9/11!



This is how the report starts out:

From thinly disguised insinuations against Pakistan following the suicide attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul this month to outright accusations against Islamabad by the Afghan government over the unrelenting Taliban-led insurgency, the blame game has entered a critical time: a major regional battle could erupt in a matter of days

A matter of days?



The U.S. now wants to, late, send more troops into Afganistan and do what should have been done after we rid it of the Taliban government and al Qaeda, Seek Out Insurgents In Pakistan, in others words expand the conflict into anothers country and not a very stable country at that!



I've been wondering, though haven't heard anything, if some of the insurgents of Iraq have been moving their front, because of the blastwalls that surround the neighborhoods, the employing of others by the U.S. to fight their own countrymen and not our troops, the refugee's all over Iraq and neighboring countries, the ceasefires..................................................., and more.



In Guerilla Warfare everything becomes a weapon to use when the need arises!

Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani was quick to call in senior strategic analysts, who pointed out that the military would only follow the directions of the civilian government. Yet just days earlier, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani had announced that all decisions concerning military operations would be decided by the army chief. This does not bode well for Pakistan's whole-hearted cooperation.

But regardless of how sincerely the Pakistani army fights against the Taliban, the fact is that the Taliban have already staged a virtual coup in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) bordering Afghanistan.

Now if you were in a military of a country that gets invaded What Would You Do!!

As a result, the middle and lower members of the security forces are effectively non-functional and answer to the Taliban's call across NWFP.

Bring together the above about the Afgan Insurgents and Warlords around that country, add the Growing Taliban ranks as well as the original al Qaeda.

On Monday, a high-level al-Qaeda shura (council) concluded in Miramshah in North Waziristan with instructions to all members with families to retreat to safe locations in expectation of the Afghan war spreading into Pakistan's tribal areas.

We have been feeding the growing hatreds, the longer we stayed in Iraq and the dangerous stagnation we've been a part of in Afganistan.

The shura also noted that militant ranks in the region had received their biggest boost since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, including growing numbers from Muslim countries.

If the Guardian report, and apparently others have started reporting same, is correct, though way too late, establishing even minor diplomatic relations might quell actions and arms supply from Iran as well as Iranians joining what possibly could be a full scale conflict with Afgan Warlords, Taliban, al Qaeda, Pakistani Tribesmen, possible Pakistani military forces, irate Afgans, Pakistani's from around the country, and a new Mujahideen, made up of, Once Again, fighters from around that region and elsewhere, including Iraqi's!!

Afganistan=Iraq, Iraq=Afganistan, add Iran, Pakistan and Extreme Failed U.S. Policies

By now most every knows of the sad news, for the U.S. Military, of the 9 Americans Killed in the Afghan Attack, with 15 wounded as well as others at the firebase.


A more recent report can be found here, Afghanistan: 'Hundreds' attacked NATO base with their Story Highlights being:
**Afghanistan: Attack involved 400 to 500 militants. 9 American soldiers killed
**Attack was the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since June 2005
**NATO spokesman: "This was a larger scale attack than normal"
**Bomb kills 6 Afghan guards accompanying vehicle of U.S. private security firm


And many know the deaths of Afgans and Coalition forces occupying Afganistan, especially U.S. forces, has surpassed those in Iraq for several weeks now, even before the above attack.


What does the general American public think when they hear of Afganistan, which is rare:


9/11
bin Laden (now that one is thought of rarely, even by the potus!
Taliban
Poppy i.e. drug trade
Backward People hey if you lived there, and stayed alive, how much would you invest in better living if you could first find a job and second purchase the modern materialistic wants, all while living through decades of others invading and blowing your country up, while you wait for the next invaders who are there now, what's next. If I was Afgan, you'd find me in a cool semi comfortable cave, growing my own food and tending a flock of goats or cows for milk and meat.


I've been saying recently that I'm getting the feeling these theaters are combining, if they weren't before. Remember 'Whack-A-Mole' in Iraq, still going on to a certain extent, in Iraq. Starting before the so called 'surge', i.e. escalation in reality, that was getting under a certain control. Lt. General Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, Ret.) has a post up today, 7-14-08, Here and Here about what was happening prior to the escalation and against the wishes of the administration. It further went to a touchy but controlled condition.


And all along people were not only fleeing the cities and country but were being forced out of their homes if not of a certain sect.


As attacks still occurred but were fewer in number the Iraq definition of the 'Gated Community' started expanding, enclosing the ethnically cleansed neighborhoods and suspected troubled neighborhoods, in the cities, behind huge concrete blast walls.

The vehicles moved through the cratered roads and alleys, looking for a way to leave the neighborhood.


My microbus driver zig-zagged aimlessly, changing course or going straight as other drivers made hand gestures to indicate that the road ahead was closed or open.

After a while we were all moving like a convoy, a convoy of microbuses searching for a way out of the neighborhood.

It was the day after the wall went up. The wall consists of gloomy concrete chunks, 12 feet high, set side by side to enclose my neighborhood.

Seven miles of it went up overnight. We call it "the Black Night."

Let me ask a few questions, would you want to be a Refugee in your own country or forced to move to anothers? Would you want to live in neighborhoods surrounded by huge chunks of concrete with limited entrance/exit capabilities, let alone with bombed out buildings and homes around you and sewage in the streets, as well as limited electricity? Would you want to be burying family members and friends on a regular basis, or have no idea where they may be or even if they were alive?


But it controlled the insurgent parties waging fights and destruction to rid their country of foreign occupiers, somewhat, because the fighting, killing, and destruction goes on.



Now directly above we have the paying of former insurgents to not be insurgents, we have millions of refugee's in and out of their own country, we have neighborhoods under almost total control behind huge blastwalls and we also can add very shaky ceasefires between the sects and government.


Why the growing violence in Afganistan?


With our takedown of the Taliban government while seeking out bin Laden, remember him, and al Qaeda we pushed the remnants to the Afgan Pakistan border region, already a well known.


Then we pretty much left to Invade a Country for Absolutely No Justifiable Reason, pulling out resources and troops there for the coming invasion and occupation of Iraq, again an already well known.


When we left behind a much smaller force in Afganistan, joined by a small coalition of other countries, as well as not putting into that country the monies promised to rebuild and give some semblance of a normal society back, something greatly lacking for years, we started paying that countries warlords to supposedly maintain a very shaky quiet.


Sound familiar, well we're doing the same in Iraq now and word is that program might be coming to an end at least for the payments from us.


There's a new report out in US News and World Report about some old friends, from another occupation, not ours, and possibly some of the new friends after our invasion, and well seem to have gotten tired of our friendship, which prompted me to try and put a few things together for hopefully abit of a better picture of our Forgotten War and equally Forgotten Troops untill attacked and killed or maimed, than back to quiet.


Afghan Warlords, Formerly Backed By the CIA, Now Turn Their Guns On U.S. Troops


They defeated the Soviets with Washington’s help, but now they attack Americans as the new occupiers


And these folks don't play games, they're well seasoned guerilla fighters, in their own country and the terrain well known by them!


They also don't need to raise up hatreds or indoctrinate others, we're doing a damn good job across the region, from Iraq, raising the civilian hatreds towards us in Iran by our rethoric and threats, through Pakistan and into Afganistan, making enemies of tens of thousands if not millions, and this has nothing to do with religious ideology, that's used on both sides to embed fear and control the masses not directly involved, pure propaganda!

But amid a well-coordinated assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and large-scale bombings last week in the capitals of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. forces are keenly aware that they are facing an increasingly complex enemy here—what U.S. military officials now call a syndicate—composed not only of Taliban fighters but also powerful warlords who were once on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency. "You could almost describe the insurgency as having two branches," says a senior U.S. military official here. "It's the Taliban in the south and a 'rainbow coalition' in the east."

Indeed, along with a smattering of Afghan tribal groups, Pakistani extremists, and drug kingpins, two of the most dangerous players are violent Afghan Islamists named Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to U.S. officials.

And these two are whom:

were once among America's most valued allies.

I've always thought that bin Laden, and it has been suspected and reported, because of his family thus the connections to possible U.S. officials, was on the CIA payroll and a middle man for the arms dealings for us in the Afgan/Soviet conflict.

Hekmatyar, then widely considered by Washington to be a reliable anti-Soviet rebel, was even flown to the United States by the CIA in 1985.

immortalized in the recent film Charlie Wilson's War

We even made him a cult hero in our movies, now that's the American Way.

Today, the Haqqani network is driving the recent rise in violence in eastern Afghanistan, according to U.S. military officials.

In the course of conducting these operations, insurgents have benefited greatly from the shortage of U.S. and allied troops here, say U.S. officials.

My guess, just like during the Afgan/Soviet conflict, the rise in violence, especially the changing tactics, is drawing fighters from Iraq as well. If that's the case, and violence abates in Iraq, if we still have troops in that country it won't be quiet for long. With quiet comes complacency and if that complacency is seen an felt by the insurgents a very quick rise in insurgent actions will follow for we will still be occupiers in their land, some coming from those we're paying now not to fight us!

U.S. officials had an even higher opinion of Haqqani, who was considered the most effective rebel warlord. "I adored Haqqani. When I was in Afghanistan, Haqqani was the guy who made sure I would get out," says Wilson. "He was a marvelous leader and very beloved in his territory."

In Guerilla Warfare everything becomes a weapon to use when the need arises!


Now we know where some of the funding is coming from for the new mujahideen in Afganistan, the drug trade from the wealth of the poppy. And we know about the want for the oil in Iraq and possibly Iran, Huge Markets for both, but really there is more, especially in and around Afganistan.


Minerals and such used daily in our societies and especially the things the wealthy and wanna-be wealthy want around them like:

The mountain of white marble shines with such brilliance in the sun it looks like snow. For four years, the quarry beneath it lay dormant, its riches captive to tribal squabbles and government ineptitude in this corner of Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Now in the construction professions and one of the many things people want around them is that Beautiful Marble you see in our buildings and on a smaller, but still expensive, scale in our homes, well more the homes of those who can afford it, some who can't will at least try for a marble countertop.

But in April, the Taliban appeared and imposed a firm hand. They settled the feud between the tribes, demanded a fat fee up front and a tax on every truck that ferried the treasure from the quarry. Since then, Mir Zaman, a contractor from the Masaud subtribe, which was picked by the Taliban to run the quarry, has watched contentedly as his trucks roll out of the quarry with colossal boulders bound for refining in nearby towns.

And there's even more:


Another recent article caught my eye and clicked these tired memory cells from a few years back:

Afghan Minister for Mines Ibrahim Adil has said that his ministry had discovered varieties of mines worth of 300 billion U.S. dollars in Afghanistan's central high lands, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

Daily Outlook quoted the minister, who had recently visited the above provinces, as saying the coal mine reservoir discovered in Yakawlang district of Bamyan province could be more than 200 million tons.

He said that the iron mine discovered in the same district could have some 1 billion tons of the metal.

That reminded me, also mentioned in above report, about something I had read awhile back:

Chinese state-owned mining group China Metallurgical Group Corp. and Jiangxi Copper Co. have won the right to develop a copper deposit in Afghanistan after agreeing to invest $3.7 billion in the project, according to statements by the companies.

Now guess what the Chinesse are going to have to do to work these contracts with the Afgan Government, well they'll need to pay off the Warlords of the regions there in as long as that country stays Unstable!


And though I doubt the Chinesse will play our game of arming the new mujahideen, the money will support and supply and the Chinesse can claim no knowledge, just as we would!


Here's a PDF of Afgan Minerals


Here's a document site with a number of links about Afghanistan on the Aynak Copper Deposit


Now need I say how valuable copper is to everyday living?


Here's a Wikipedia page of Afghanistan's natural resources



Now just to add to the mix to what we've caused Pakistan militants focus on Afghanistan

In early June, about 300 fighters from jihadist groups came together for a secret gathering here, in the same city that serves as headquarters to the Pakistani army.

The groups were launched long ago with the army's clandestine support to fight against India in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. But at the meeting, they agreed to resolve their differences and commit more fighters to another front instead: Afghanistan.

"The message was that the jihad in Kashmir is still continuing but it is not the most important right now. Afghanistan is the fighting ground, against the Americans there," said Toor Gul, a leader of the militant group Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.

Now, and this is just speculation, if we had stayed in Afganistan, after taking down the Taliban, and desimating al Qaeda, forcing both towards the mountains and the boder region.


And looked at Terrorism for what it is, a Criminal Act.


With the help of the Military and other Militaries if needed, and the Overwelming World Support after 9/11.


Both groups would have been boxed in, and wether Pakistan wanted to help or not it would have faced World Preasure to do so, than chances would have been good to eliminate al Qaeda and stop the growth of the Taliban.


Would it have eliminated Criminal Terrorism, probably not, but it would have been a much smaller and scattered group, easier, with the Intelligence and Criminal Organizations from all over to find and route out the Criminals thus shutting down their organization abilities and contained much of it, it would have disappeared on it's own.


We could have, along with the rest of the World, all pitched in and Helped Afganistan Rebuild It's Country and It's Society and Helped them Develope their own Contries Resources, non Drug.


Millions of Iraqi's and Afgans would still be alive and not maimed.


Thousands of ours and others Military Troops would still be alive and not maimed.


Millions of Iraqi's and Afgans would not be Refugee's in and outside of their country.


Saddams government was already well contained and the Iraqi's would have eventually taken him down.


Other dictators, some we supported like Saddam, would have seen a New World rising in the 21st century and so would their people, changes would have come.


But that wasn't what was to be, now We and We alone have Created possibly Tens Of Thousands who look at us in Hatred and niow are Enemies of All we Say We Stand For, for they have seen and lived the Reality!

Obama Supporters, ACTION NEEDED

I've come alot closer to my full support of Obama, I just don't ever make total decisions when elections are months away, I also don't just look at the single person trying to give their resume, I look at how they present themselves, smear and slam are big no no's, and I look at who they bring close to them in their campaigns and try and figure out, if they win, who will they surround themselves with while in office ( and I hit the nail on the head, which I do for a living, as to the bush crowd, not exactly reading the future but seeing alot of what was to come do so! ), especially as to Federal Representation and the Presidential Office, more towards my Representation on who I would Hire.


I have been more than impressed with Obama's stance on Veterans, me being one but not needing the much needed enhancements across the board, I fight for my brothers and sisters who do.


But recently something very disturbing has given rise to the huge question of Why?!


I can't figure out why he, and his campaign folks, are seemingly dodging a call by Military Families, Military Personal, Veterans and Veterans Groups as well as other groups coming under the same umbrella of help for those serving and veterans!


This Obama Won’t Commit to Event at Military Base is what's got me not only puzzled, but asking questions and wondering why he would need a nudge in the right direction.

A coalition of military groups is planning a nationally televised town-hall-style meeting with the presidential candidates near Fort Hood, Tex., the largest active-duty military installation in the country. But so far, only Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has agreed to attend.

His actions and statements, compared to McCain's, a Veteran, have been showing he understands better than most, including McCain, exactly what is needed as to the Veterans but also should have been well in place before we sent troops into occupations of choice and not playing catchup, like we did during and after 'Nam, as these years have passed. Playing the political games that shouldn't even be involved when it comes to those who serve the Country not the Political Parties!


Carissa Pichard, of Military Spouces For Change, and who's husband, a blackhawk pilot who just left for a tour in Iraq, is the Managing Director of the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium, which includes:

Organizers include American Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans for Common Sense and Military Spouse Corporate Career Network.

And many others.


I've placed a few replys, in mine and others posts, after Carissa first sent out the Press Release about this Townhall Forum. Everything is set up including CBS saying they will host it, a tentative date has been given but as Carissa says:

"I'm having extreme difficulty getting the Obama campaign to commit to this event, and we do not understand why," said Ms. Picard, whose husband is deployed in Iraq. "We made it very clear to them that if they would commit to the event, we would work with them on dates."

Which seems to be the Obama Campaigns main reason, right now, for the dodge, the tentative date first given.



A recent, today the 13th, article about the Townhall gathering:


Bell vets want Q&A with Obama & McCain

If you had access to the bookings calendar of the Bell County Expo Center and turned the pages to Aug. 11, you might read something like this: McCain and Obama need seating for about 6,000. In reality, the booking has been penciled in, with staff awaiting confirmation of a town hall forum put on by a consortium of military groups.


The consortium's managing director and spokeswoman, Carissa Picard, is excited that Sen. John McCain has accepted the invitation to speak at the forum, and holds out hope Sen. Barack Obama will do the same.

The gathering would give military men and women, their families and their communities the chance to get some questions answered, Picard said.

"CBS has agreed to broadcast the meeting live to the nation on Monday, Aug. 11," she said.

Carissa adds, in a recent e-mail:

If there is one more debate or town hall before the general election, it should be before an audience composed of the men and women whose service and sacrifice ensure that these events continue through their defense of our country and of our Constitution; particularly after six years of war.

This is the Press Release Carissa sent on the 10th:

MEDIA ADVISORY

Military and veteran advocates Invite senators McCain and Obama to Fort Hood Texas

Presidential Town Hall to Focus on Military and Veterans


For Immediate Release:

Contact: Carissa Picard, Managing Director, 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium, 254.554.1513, hoodtownhall@gmail.com.


2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall

Monday August 11, 2008, 9:00 pm (EST)

Bell County Expo Center

301 West Loop 121

Belton, Texas 76513

Hosted by the 2008 Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium

To be carried live on the CBS Television Network.

A diverse group of non-profit organizations dedicated to serving active military, veterans, their families and their survivors has come together to invite the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to Fort Hood, Texas, for an in-depth discussion of the increasingly complex issues facing America's military and veteran community. The CBS television network has agreed to produce and broadcast the town hall meeting in prime time that evening.

Fort Hood is the largest U.S. military installation in the world and deploys the most soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan as part of our continuing Global War on Terror. Consequently, the Consortium cannot imagine a more appropriate audience—or a more compelling location—for this event.

This Consortium represents organizations that provide services and support to our service members, veterans, wounded warriors, and their families. "We believe if there is one more debate or town hall before the general election, it should be before an audience comprised of the men and women whose service and sacrifice ensure that these events continue through their defense of our country and of our Constitution," said Carissa Picard, lead organizer and military spouse.

"This forum is NOT about being for the war in Iraq or against the war in Iraq. This is about the fact that there is a war in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, and there are consequences to that war—consequences for our service members, for their families, for our country. These candidates are asking to be elected the next Commander-in-Chief and we believe that our audience, as well as the American public, will be extremely interested in knowing what they have to say about these issues."

In November 2004, the President was elected by a majority of 126 million votes. Today, approximately 27 million American adults are veterans. If we assume half are married, then there are approximately 40 million voters intimately aware of the issues affecting veterans and their families. Meanwhile, there are approximately 2.6 million Americans currently serving in our Armed Forces, either full or part-time. If you include their spouses, then we will have an additional 4 million voters sensitive to the needs of our veterans, wounded warriors, and military families.

In all, the veteran and military communities total approximately 44 million Americans—almost a quarter of the overall voting population and more than one- third of the total voting participation in 2004.

"The sacrifices these families endure are not abstract; they are borne out in illness, injury, post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, economic hardship, the daily agony of separation from family and friends; and finally, the ultimate sacrifice of our Gold Star families. Furthermore, those citizens who are not themselves members of the military and veteran community are eager to see that those who shoulder the enormous strain of wartime service are afforded the meaningful thanks of a grateful nation." adds Amy Fairweather, director of the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, a group of organizations dedicated to improving services for military, veterans, families and survivors, many of whom have joined to invite the candidates to this historic forum.

The Consortium includes a diverse group of veteran and military service organizations including Disabled Veterans of America, the Brain Injury Association of America, and Sentinels of Freedom. These groups are working in partnership with the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, state and local governments, and faith and community based organizations to deliver services and support to our military, veterans and families.

Picard adds that, "We sincerely hope the candidates will accept our invitation. We hope this event will remind American voters in November that his or her choice will have a significant impact on the lives and well-being of millions of service members, veterans, wounded warriors, and military families—including children."

Look around you, much of what you see and hear about what has been going on in this country is a Direct Result of our Occupations, mostly of Choice, of especially Iraq but also Afganistan.


But I will add my thoughts here, if 9/11 had never happened, and the power that really is still managed to get this Cabal into place, much of that which is happening in the economy, education, health, gas prices, you name it, probably would still have happened. These Corrupt People were out for One Thing, Wealth off the Backs of the Entire Country, Anyway They Could Get It, entrenced power was a big side want but not the leading want!


Just look at our Foreign Policy and the decimated State Department thus leading to a Total Lack of any Coherant Foreign Policy as people around the World see this and are Shunning any Attempts to even make it look like we have any policy!


I'm putting out a Shout Out to Any and All Obama Supporters to make contact, in the form you choose, with their Campaign and Request, actually more than request, that the Senator Agree To This Important Townhall Gathering, with all the false, or lack of, rethoric these last years, and continuing recently in the press and campaigns.


The Military Personal and Their Families, as well as the Veterans of this Country, Need Direct Face To Face Answers to the Many Questions on Exactly where these two Candidates stand on a number of issues concerning them, Especially as these Occupations are showing No End and ramping up, as to Afganistan and not much better as to potential in Iraq!


Others have brought up either a Debate or a Townhall in New Orleans, I Agree Wholeheartedly with that Call as well!


But the Military Townhall is the Most Important to me, and if there is one in New Orleans another Townhall Format should be the way it should take place, to much can be played with in these so called Modern Debate Forums as we've seen over and over!!

Brave New Foundation: "In Their Boots" Episode 2- Webcasts

The first episode of the groundbreaking new live webcast "In Their Boots" aired on Wednesday, 2 July 2008, with host Jan Bender as he explored the lives of the Babin family as they care for their wounded veteran son Alan. That premeir show was Part 1 on Alan and the Babin family, Part 2 aired this past wednesday, 7-9-08.

These webcasts will air, online, every wednesday at 4pm Pacific/5 Mountain/6 Central/7 Eastern at In Their Boots, also can be viewed at UStream TV.

You will have the opportunity to hear the stories from these servicemembers, learn about organizations that are helping, and find out how you can help as well.

These webcasts bring us into the lives of those, and their families, who have served this Nation and have been wounded in the occupations and the changes that has brought about for them. As well as introduce us, and the many returning Veterans, and their families, to some of the help that exists for them by bringing representatives of these existing groups into the conversation, Live.

Visit the "In Their Boots" main site to view, find out more about the episodes to come, you can also interact live with each episode, and to find out much more, as well as signing up for their newsletter as a reminder for the next show.

"Beating the Odds - Chapter 2"

Alan Babin
Cpl. Alan Babin Jr., a combat medic in Iraq, was running to the aid of a fellow soldier when he was hit by hostile fire. Alan took a bullet in his stomach in the midst of firefight so severe that it prevented Alan’s fellow soldiers from coming to his aid, so he lay there for three hours before help could arrive. Alan’s prognosis was grim. Army medics didn’t think he would live. Then doctors said, at best, he’d be paralyzed from the neck down. Alan underwent more than 70 surgeries, including five brain surgeries, and suffered a stroke. Since that time, with his mother, Rosie, by his side, Alan has made incredible progress, far surpassing his doctors’ expectations. Now, Alan can use his arms, he can stand, and he’s starting to move his legs—he’s even rock climbed. And with his mother’s help, he could soon be walking again some day soon.


Rosie Babin
Rosie Babin wears a lot of hats. As her daughter Christy says, "My mom's our everything--she's our cheerleader, our mom, our organizer." She's also a wife, and for many years managed an accounting firm near their home in Round Rock, Texas. Five years ago, Rosie also became her son Alan's full-time caretaker after he was hit in the stomach by hostile fire in Iraq and became paralyzed. At that point, Rosie's life was completely derailed. She quit her job, packed up her life, and moved near Walter Reed Medical Center where Alan was being treated. Rosie's been by Alan’s side every since as his cheerleader, his mom, and his organizer. She's been his everything, and because of it, Alan has far surpassed his doctor's expectations. Rosie's gotten him to rock climb, scuba dive, and ski. Now she's determined to help him walk again.

Special Guests
Alan Babin
Disabled Veteran

Christy Babin
Alan's Sister

Sandy Trombetta
National Director and Founder
VA National Winter Sports Clinic

Adrian Atizado
Assistant National Legislative Director
Disabled American Veterans

If you missed the premeir show on July 2nd:

Premeir: "Beating the Odds" - Chapter 1

Or View Here

We are proud of what we have put together and we hope that you all tune in to see this. Please let us know what you think of it as well. And if you miss any part of the episode, be sure to check it out on our site: In Their Boots. We plan on producing a new episode every Wednesday, live at 4pm Pacific.

This coming wednesday, 7-16-08, they will be airing a show called "Home Coming"

Kim Roy has spent the last fifteen months taking care of her two young boys while her husband,
Justin, was away in Afghanistan. Now he's coming home.

Kim Roy
Kim Roy of Yelm, Washington, is an intrepid Army wife with her hands full. While her husband, Justin, is deployed in Afghanistan, she’s raising two energetic sons by herself: Danny, 2, and Maddox, less than a year old. Justin is on his second deployment. He’s been gone for 15 months and the longer he’s gone, the more Kim lives for those mid-day phone calls and instant messenger sessions with her husband. And though she’s looking forward to Justin coming home, she knows there’ll be some adjustment as he re-learns how to be a father.

Justin Roy
Army Officer Justin Roy is based in Fort Lewis, Washington. Officer Roy has been on his second deployment in Afghanistan for the past fifteen months. He’ll be returning home soon to his wife Kim and his young boys, Danny and Maddox. He's excited to reunite with his family, but also a little nervous about re-acquainting himself with his son and assuming the father role that he's been unable to maintain while serving in Afghanistan for over a year.

Here is a primer video of the upcoming show:

You can find a few more clips at the link directly above.

You can find a page at their site called Solutions, this gives a list of the organizations their guest are from and others as well, that the returning Veterans and their Families can contact and for others to find out and explore what they do in helping those who serve this country and need further help because of their disabilities garnered by that service.

For those of you who might produce film and documentaries, or are students and amateurs of same visit Brave New Theaters a website that brings together a global network of screening hosts and filmmakers by providing services to both so they can reach more people. This site emphasizes films with a political message. Also their affiliate sites Brave New Foundation.

For the rest of us their Brave New Theaters allows us to view the trailers and sign up to host a viewing of these Documentaries and Films, as well as to Purchasing them, where you'll find Over 180 Films for screenings.

On Veterans Health
Diane Rehm 7-10-08

Martin Schram: "Vets Under Siege" (Thomas Dunne Books)

An award-winning journalist and author exposes mistreatment of American servicemen and women by the Department of Veteran's Affairs.
Guests

Martin Schram, author of five books, and former national affairs correspondent for the Washington Post. His nationally syndicated column appears in more than 400 newspapers

You can Listen with Windows Media Player

Or

With Real Media Player

His Book

Vets Under Siege: How America Deceives and Dishonors Those Who Fight Our Battles

Final Salute

Last night, on the PBS Newshour, they had an appropriate July 4th interview, especially in these times of two occupations:

Marine, Author Reflect on Honoring Fallen Comrades You can read the transcript and more at that link.

Author Jim Sheeler and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Steve Beck talk about Sheeler's book, "Final Salute," which chronicles the Marines who notify families about the death of their loved ones during war and provide support as families cope with their loss.

You can listen with this link or link at site page above.

There is also a Slide Show: Beck Discusses the Photos that Have Become Icons of the Cost of War, with a non-flash version.

You can visit this interview from March 21, 2006
NewsHour Poetry Series: The Returning Dead with links to view or listen.



As Of July 2 2008, There Are 87 Pages w/5 'Silent Honor Rolls' Each, Number Of KIA's Varies With Each 'Silent Honor Roll';
Many now have numbers in the teens and twenties
In Honor - In Memory

"In Their Boots"-Premiere-Episode 1- Video

The first episode of the groundbreaking new live webcast "In Their Boots" aired on Wednesday, 2 July 2008, with host Jan Bender as he explored the lives of the Babin family as they care for their wounded veteran son Alan. That first show "Beating the Odds" was part 1, the second part to be aired next wednesday, 9 July 2008.

It is to air, online, every wednesday at 4pm Pacific/5 Mountain/6 Central/7 Eastern at In Their Boots, also can be viewed at UStream TV, at least it was this past wednesday.

The stories are riveting and the show will be broadcast LIVE. You will have the opportunity to hear the stories from these servicemembers, learn about organizations that are helping, and find out how you can help as well.

The above came from an annoucement E prior to that first show. And outside of some startup jitters and a few problems with the stream, Riveting it was, and promises to be as riveting by bringing us into the lives of those, and their families, who have served this Nation and have been wounded in the occupations and the changes that has brought about for them. As well as introduce us, and the many returning Veterans, and their families, to some of the help that exists for them by bringing representatives of these existing groups into the conversation, Live.

This is Part 1 "Beating the Odds"


Or View Here

You can also view The Brave New Foundation above video at the "In Their Boots" site, and sign up for the newsletter to remind you to view the coming shows, Part 2 of "Beating the Odds" to air this coming wednesday the 9th of July.

Since it is LIVE, we invite you all to join the discussion and become part of webcast history by asking our interview guest a question, live, "on the air."

We are proud of what we have put together and we hope that you all tune in to see this. Please let us know what you think of it as well. And if you miss any part of the episode, be sure to check it out on our site: In Their Boots. We plan on producing a new episode every Wednesday, live at 4pm Pacific.

Again the show can also be seen, Live, at UStream TV but visit the "In Their Boots" main site to view, find out more about the episodes to come, interact live with each episode, and to find out much more.