Military Resistance 9C 11: How It Is
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3.17.11
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Military Resistance 9C11
IRAQ WAR REPORTS
How It Is
Mar 14, 2011 By Michael Hoffman – Army Times Staff writer [Excerpts] Convoys still get hit by IEDs — just a lot less — and protected by the mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles’ armor, most soldiers walk away from the blast with no more than concussions. Lt. Col. Gerald Boston, whose battalion mans patrol bases on the outskirts of Mosul near Kurdistan’s borders, stood in front of a map with a few pins marking IED strikes. “If this was a couple years ago, we wouldn’t have enough room for all (the pins) we’d need,” he said.
Resistance Attack On Kanan Military Base Kills 10 Soldiers; 25 Wounded
Remains of the Kanaan army barracks in Diyala province after an insurgent attack killing at least 11 troops and wounding 14. (AP Photo) March 14, 2011 From Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN [Excerpts] Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- A bombing at an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 25 others Monday, police said. Most of the dead and wounded were Iraqi soldiers, according to Baquba police, who said the truck bomber ran into a barracks. Police combed through the rubble of the building looking for victims. The attack took place in the town of Kanan about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Baquba in Diyala province, which is ethnically mixed.
More Resistance Action
March 13 (Reuters) & March 14 (Reuters) & March 16, 2011 By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN & Reuters MOSUL - A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol and wounded one policeman in western Mosul, police said. MOSUL - A sticky bomb attached to a car killed an off-duty policeman near the city of Mosul, police said.
TAL AFAR - Insurgents using weapons equipped with silencers killed an off-duty policeman near his house in the town of Tal Afar, about 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said. BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three policemen, in Baghdad’s southeastern Ameen district, an Interior Ministry source said. BAGHDAD – Three police were wounded when two roadside bombs went off in succession in the southern Doura district of the capital, a source in the Interior Ministry said. A policeman was shot by insurgents with silenced pistols in the capital’s central Karradah area, a relatively affluent neighborhood. Another policeman was wounded in the attack. KIRKUK - A roadside bomb wounded two off-duty policemen when it exploded near their vehicle, southwest of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad on Monday, police said. FALLUJA - Insurgents detonated three bombs in front of three houses belonging to policemen, and wounded a policeman in southern and central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, on Monday, police said. A car bomb exploded in central oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday morning, police said. The car bomb exploded in a busy road that leads to Kirkuk municipality building and Kirkuk general hospital. Seven police officers were among the wounded people who were in a police patrol parked on the side of the road. MUSSAYAB - A bomb planted near a police station went off and wounded two policemen in the town of Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. MOSUL - Gunmen in a car shot dead Khawla al-Sebawi, the head of the provincial government’s property registry office in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. TUZ KHURMATO - A roadside bomb exploded near the local police chief’s vehicle, wounding him and one of his guards in the town of Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Iraqi Dictatorship Kills BetterGovernment Demonstrators In Kut
Feb 16 (Reuters)
KUT - Three people were killed and dozens wounded when protesters demanding better services clashed with police and set fire to government buildings in the southern city of Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.
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AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Connecticut Sgt. Killed In Afghanistan
March 14, 2011: Sgt. 1st Class Daehan Park, a veteran Special Forces soldier originally from Watertown, Conn., and who lived in Lacey, Wash., was killed March 12, 2011 when his vehicle was struck by an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
California SSG Killed In Kandahar
Staff Sgt. Eric S. Trueblood, 27, of Alameda, Calif., died March 10 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 391st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, Spinelli Barracks, Mannheim, Germany. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
California Soldier Killed In Giyan
Private First Class Arturo Emmanuel Rodriguez of Bellflower, Calif., 19, a 101st Airborne Division Soldier died of wounds after being struck by small-arms fire while on dismounted patrol, March 12, in the Giyan District, Paktika, Afghanistan. Rodriguez is survived by his father, Arturo Rodriguez Segura and mother, Rosa Jimenez Davila, both of Mexico. He is also survived by his aunt, Maria Lopez of Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Fort Campbell Public Affairs)
Foreign Occupation “Servicemember” Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan Tuesday: Nationality Not Announced
March 16, 2010 AP A foreign servicemember died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan yesterday.
Marine Pursued ‘A More Certain Path’
Jordan R. Stanton March 08, 2011 By KRISTY CHU, Orange County Register RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – Since his deployment to Afghanistan in November, Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton was only able to speak to his father twice, most recently a week ago. “I got a satellite call from him Wednesday morning, for just two or three minutes,” Robert Stanton said. “I got to tell him I love him, and it was great. He was happy.” Jordan Stanton shared a few brief moments by phone that day with his father, mother and fiancée. Two days later, on Friday, Jordan Stanton was killed during combat operations in Helmand Province. Stanton, 20, joined the Marine Corps in April 2008. He enrolled early, just before his 2008 graduation from Trabuco Hills High School. Stanton had applied to several different
colleges – and was accepted to all – but his heart was set on joining the military, his father said. Jordan Stanton first expressed interest in the military when he was 15 years old and began researching the different branches. Stanton had looked up to his maternal grandfather Jim Reynolds, a Vietnam veteran, as a hero and an inspiration. And though his parents didn’t know it at the time, their son had also befriended a retired naval captain at the gym whom he viewed as a mentor. “He knew he wanted to do this,” Robert Stanton said. “He wanted to do something special, on his own. He was a little older than his years in high school – he matured a little faster.” Preparation to become a U.S. Marine is physically strenuous, but Jordan Stanton was a natural-born athlete. He played baseball, football and wrestled, and even tried skateboarding and sports in between. Though he was extremely skilled in sports, said his father, he wouldn’t let his athleticism define him, eventually breaking away from sports to pursue “a more certain path.” His athletic strength was but one of the qualities friends and family remember about the Marine. He always had a smile on his face, with a fun-loving personality people couldn’t help but gravitate toward. He was simply an all-American kid full of energy and life. Jordan Stanton was well-liked in school. Childhood friend Zach Vosough said he always enjoyed seeing his buddy because “you couldn’t hang out with Jordan Stanton and not have a good time.” Beyond his easygoing nature, Stanton was incredibly trustworthy and faithful, Vosough said. He was not one to leave commitments unfulfilled.
POLITICIANS CAN’T BE COUNTED ON TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WARS
Georgian Serviceman Killed In Afghanistan; Two More Wounded
March 14 By N. Kirtskhalia, Trend Another Georgian serviceman was killed in Afghanistan and two others were injured.
As a result of a mine explosion, Corporal Valeri Verskiani was killed, and Captain Aluda Seturidze and Corporal Revaz Gorgazde were injured, the Georgian Defense Ministry reported. The injured servicemen are being treated at a hospital. Verskiani’s body will be delivered home soon. All three servicemen were blown up by a mine during their patrolling of the area. They served in the Gelmand province under the command of the U.S. armed forces.
Foreign Military Fuel Trucks Blown Up And Burned In Uruzgan
Mar 16, 2011 By Indo Asian News Service A bomb hidden in a fuel-tanker for foreign military forces exploded and killed the driver and injured another person in southern Uruzgan province Wednesday, Khudai Rahim, the provincial governor said. ‘A few other tankers parked nearby also caught fire due to the explosion,’ the governor said, without giving the exact number of tankers destroyed.
Insurgent Attack On Army Recruiting Center In Kunduz Kills At Least 33; 42 More Wounded
Bodies of Afghans killed at a recruitment center are removed in Kunduz, Afghanistan March 14, 2011. A bomber struck an Afghan army recruitment center in the northern Kunduz province on Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Fulad Hamdard)
3/14/2011 AP KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan officials say a bomber posing as an army volunteer has killed more than 33 people at an Afghan army recruiting center in the northern province of Kunduz. Kunduz Deputy Governor Hamdullah Danishi says the attacker approached on foot and detonated a bomb on Monday afternoon as recruits lined up outside the center. He says at least 42 people were also wounded in the blast. A doctor at Kunduz hospital says ambulances and private vehicles have been bringing the dead and wounded to the hospital.
Taliban Close Down Phone Network In Helmand Province
16 March 2011 AFP The Taliban forced mobile phone companies to switch off their networks across Afghanistan’s Helmand province Wednesday, as security forces conducted an operation, officials said. Deputy provincial governor Abdul Satar Mirzakwal said insurgents had ordered mobile phone coverage to close, as Afghan and foreign security forces tackled a militant stronghold. Mobile phones are the primary means of communication in areas of rural Afghanistan such as southern Helmand province. “The closure of the mobile phones is because of Taliban threats,” Mirzakwal said, adding that the government had given the service providers until midnight Wednesday to reopen connections or “be punished.” MTN, one of Afghanistan’s four mobile phone companies, said that the service disruption was due to insurgent threats. “We do close our operations from time to time. It has been because of threats by antigovernment armed forces,” Mohammad Naser Nasery, a company executive, said. “We do obey for the sake of our personal and facilities security. Today’s closure has been one of those threats.” Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said a “fierce operation” was under way in Dishu, but denied that the insurgents had ordered the phone shutdown. He claimed it had been ordered by the government “to hide their defeat in the operation.”
Other Resistance Action
[Graphic:flickr.com/photos] Mar. 11, 2011 The Associated Press & Mar 15 By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government says a bomber has killed the police chief of northern Kunduz province and two of his bodyguards. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. A government statement on Friday says police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili was killed as he walked through the streets of Kunduz city late on Thursday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in an e-mail. On Tuesday, provincial council member Malang Malik was killed by a remote controlled bomb as he walked near his home in Laghman province in northeast Afghanistan, said government spokesman Kochai Nasery. The blast also injured a relative of Malik, the former head of the provincial council.
Great Moments In U.S. Military History:
Air Attack Kills Two Kids For Watering Fields While Afghan
[Score: 11 Dead Kids In Kunar From Recent Air Attacks]
Mar 15 (Reuters) An air strike by U.S. forces killed two children as they were watering fields in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province late on Monday, an Afghan official and lawmaker said. The deaths occurred after tensions between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers were inflamed by the killing recently of nine children who were collecting firewood in the same province.
Abdul Marjan, district chief of Chawki in Kunar where the two brothers, aged 10 and 15, where killed on Monday, said the boys had been working on irrigation channels before they were hit. “They might have been mistaken for insurgents as they were carrying spades on their shoulders,” Marjan told Reuters. Shahzada Shahid, a lawmaker from Kunar, said the pair were students who had gone out to help work their father’s fields. Irrigation agreements between villagers in the area mean the family’s land gets access to river water only in the evening.
MILITARY NEWS
THIS IS HOW OBAMA BRINGS THEM HOME: ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE
The remains of Army Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt of Rosemount, Minn., upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Feb. 28, 2011. Wilfahrt died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
GI Resistance to Afghanistan War Planned for 2011:
You Can Make It Go
[Printing this again: more timely than ever. T] 12.22.2010 Iraq Veterans Against The War Is it any surprise that last week’s White House progress report on Afghanistan showed little ‘progress’ at all? Sure, there have been a few tactical military ‘successes,’ but these have been overshadowed by significantly larger negative trends: ■A marked increase in civilian casualties, maintaining Afghan resentment of U.S. occupation; ■An overall increase in Taliban strength; ■A continued lack of legitimacy for the Afghan government; and ■A weakening of our military fighting force by a suicide epidemic caused by multiple deployments. The larger story here is that the Afghan war strategy is a complete failure. And those in Washington lack the political will to do anything about it. To IVAW though, this is about more than just politics. As veterans and service members, this is about our lives, our health and well-being, and that of Afghan civilians. We are the ones whose lives are on the line in Afghanistan every day, and we are challenging the political status quo to say enough is enough. Will you stand with us?
Your year-end donation will support our important work to end the stay-thecourse Afghanistan policy that prevails in Washington.
Building GI Resistance Among New Troop Deployments In 2011
IVAW has learned that beginning in January, 23,000 troops from ten different military bases will be dispatched to Afghanistan to replace troops finishing up their deployment cycles. For some of these troops – like the 1st Cavalry Division’s Air Cavalry Brigade and Headquarters Company leaving from Fort Hood, TX – this will be their fourth combat deployment. So this is what the ‘stay the course’ political policy means for us – more deployments for troops who are already suffering from war trauma, more casualties, and more broken families. That is why IVAW will be starting our GI resistance outreach drive to all affected military bases in February. With your help, we will send outreach teams to the ten military bases that are sending troops to Afghanistan and talk to soldiers and military families about: - the problems of multiple deployments, - dialogue about their views on whether the Afghanistan mission is worthwhile, - and bring them into our Operation Recovery campaign to stop the deployment of traumatized troops. Your financial contribution today will help sustain these outreach efforts to those preparing to deploy. Make a donation now at: https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_ item_KEY=3055
New Poll Reveals 60% Of Americans Think Afghanistan War Is Not Worth Fighting
It is heartening to know that many Americans see that this war is not worth us risking our lives and the lives of Afghan civilians. But it is time to translate this belief into action. Join us in building a GI resistance movement that can stop the Pentagon in its tracks and end the occupation of Afghanistan by making a year-end gift right now. Your donation will make all the difference in helping us sustain our work in the New Year. Thank you! Iraq Veterans Against the War Afghanistan Veterans Against the War committee: IVAW’s Afghanistan Veterans Against the War committee was formed in 2010 to provide a platform for our Afghanistan veteran members to speak to their unique experience. Iraq Veterans Against the War is a 501(c)(3) charity, and welcomes your tax deductible contributions.
NEED SOME TRUTH?
CHECK OUT THE NEW TRAVELING SOLDIER
Issue 34
Special Issue: Egypt, Tunisia, Libya Soldiers in Revolt 2011
Click here to download and view a PDF of issue 34:
http://www.traveling-soldier.org/TS34.pdf
Traveling Soldier is the publication of the Military Resistance Organization. Telling the truth - about the occupations or the criminals running the government in Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance to Imperial wars inside the armed forces. Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces. If you like what you’ve read, we hope that you’ll join with us in building a network of active duty organizers. http://www.traveling-soldier.org/ And join with Iraq Veterans Against the War to end the occupations and bring all troops home now! (www.ivaw.org/)
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.
“For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. “We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.” Frederick Douglass, 1852
Hope for change doesn’t cut it when you’re still losing buddies. -- J.D. Englehart, Iraq Veterans Against The War
One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head. The person who fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizen of Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions. Mike Hastie U.S. Army Medic Vietnam 1970-71 December 13, 2004
Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on youYe are many — they are few -- Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1819, on the occasion of a mass murder of British workers by the Imperial government at Peterloo.
The Social-Democrats ideal should not be the trade union secretary, but the tribune of the people who is able to react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression no matter where it appears no matter what stratum or class of the people it affects; who is able to generalize all these manifestations and produce a single picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation; who is able to take advantage of every event, however small, in order to set forth before all his socialist convictions and his democratic demands, in order to clarify for all and everyone the world-historic significance of the struggle for the emancipation of the proletariat.” -- V. I. Lenin; What Is To Be Done
A revolution is always distinguished by impoliteness, probably because the ruling classes did not take the trouble in good season to teach the people fine manners. -- Leon Trotsky, History Of The Russian Revolution
It is a two class world and the wrong class is running it. -- Larry Christensen, Soldiers Of Solidarity & United Auto Workers
“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” -- Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787
I say that when troops cannot be counted on to follow orders because they see the futility and immorality of them THAT is the real key to ending a war. -- Al Jaccoma, Veterans For Peace
“The Nixon administration claimed and received great credit for withdrawing the Army from Vietnam, but it was the rebellion of low-ranking GIs that forced the government to abandon a hopeless suicidal policy” -- David Cortright; Soldiers In Revolt
These Are The Royal Dictatorships The U.S. Imperial Government Loves And Supports:
“Four Leading Sources Of Support For Global Terrorism On The Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar”
“Top Four US Allies On The Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar”
8 December 2010 By Eamonn McCann, Belfast Telegraph [Excerpts] “Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al Qaida, the Taliban, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and other terrorist groups,” said Hillary Clinton in a memo issued last December.
Other WikiLeaks documents show that Lashkar-e-Taiba - the Pakistan-based Sunni group behind the 2008 Mumbai attack - is funded virtually entirely from Saudi Arabia. And yet, according to Clinton 12 months ago, “It (remains) a challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat (terrorist funding) as a strategic priority.” Let us imagine for a moment that Iran rather than Saudi Arabia had been revealed as the main source of funding for Al Qaida, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba etc. Does anyone doubt that Clinton would be thumping the lectern at a State Department Press conference, explaining that America’s patience had run out and announcing that the bombers were winging their way even now towards Tehran to eliminate the threat to world peace? And anybody who voiced protest would be ridiculed as hopelessly naive or denounced as an outrider of evil? The State Department documents tell that another close US ally in the region, the United Arab Emirates, is a source of substantial funds to the Afghan Taliban and the terrorist Haqqanmi Network. Two senior Taliban officials are said to travel regularly to the UAE to launder money through front companies. Then there’s Kuwait. Kuwait owes the US big-time. The first Gulf War was undertaken in 1991 to expel Saddam’s armies from the statelet and put the al-Sabah family back in power. This was achieved at some cost in blood as well as treasure. Now, however, according to documents from Clinton’s department, Kuwait is a “source of funds and a key transit point” for Al Qaida and similar groups. The al-Sabahs crack down hard on any attacks on its own soil, but are “less inclined to take action against Kuwait-based financiers and facilitators plotting attacks outside of Kuwait”. The Kuwait regime has airily dismissed State Department pleas to ban the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society which masquerades as a charity but has been denounced by the US as a terrorist organisation channelling money and material to Al Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, the Gulf country singled out by the State Department as “the worst in the region” when it comes to combating terrorism is 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar. Four leading sources of support for global terrorism on the Arabian peninsula: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar. Top four US allies on the Arabian peninsula: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar. The public, and particularly the American public, have been given a glimpse of the relationship between the Washington administration and the Arab States, a real insight into how the US chooses its allies, its enemies and its targets for attack.
They don’t bear scrutiny. They bear no relationship to the guff about national security, peace in the world and such palaver as comes from Obama - just as it came from Bush and the other Clinton before him and the other Bush before that - as they whip up support for their wars. Hence their demented, near-comical efforts to prevent Americans laying eyes on the WikiLeaks material.
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
CLASS WAR REPORTS
[Thanks to Phil G, who sent this in.]
Troops Invited:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or send email to [email protected]: Name, I.D., withheld unless you request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
“Thousands Of Demonstrators On Sunday Cut Off Bahrain’s Financial Centre And Drove Back Police”
Bahraini anti-government protesters react Monday, March 14, 2011, at Pearl roundabout in Manama, Bahrain, when opposition leader Sheik Habib al-Muqdad advised them Saudi forces were believed to be coming to the roundabout and that there were buses waiting to take them home. The women, many with masks ready for tear gas, refused to go. The barrier in the foreground reads: ‘Down with Hamad.’ (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) 14 March 2011 By Ben Quinn, The Guardian [Excerpts] Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday cut off Bahrain’s financial centre and drove back police trying to eject them from the capital’s central roundabout, while protesters also clashed with government supporters on the campus of the main university. Earlier on Sunday, police moved in on Pearl roundabout, a site of occupation by members of Bahrain’s Shia majority, who are calling for an elected government. Witnesses said security forces surrounded the protesters’ tent compound, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the activists in the largest effort to clear the field in the middle of the roundabout since a crackdown last month that left four dead after live ammunition was fired. Activists tried to stand their ground yesterday and chanted “Peaceful, peaceful” as the crowd swelled into thousands, with protesters streaming to the roundabout to reinforce the activists’ lines, forcing the police to pull back by the early afternoon. At Bahrain University, demonstrators and government supporters held competing protests that descended into violence when plainclothes pro-government backers and
security forces forced students blocking the campus main gate to seek refuge in classrooms and lecture halls, the Associated Press reported.
MORE:
Saudi King Orders His Army To Occupy Bahrain In Defense Of The Royal Dictatorship:
“It Is A Repressive Regime Supported By Another Repressive Regime”
Saudi Arabian Royal troops cross the causeway to invade Bahrain March 14, 2011. REUTERS/Bahrain state TV via Reuters TV 14 Mar 2011 Al Jazeera and agencies & By Brian Murphy and Reem Khalifa - The Associated Press Hundreds of Saudi troops have entered Bahrain to help protect government facilities there amid escalating protests against the government. Bahrain television on Monday broadcast images of troops in armoured cars entering the Gulf state via the 26km causeway that connects the kingdom to Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates has also sent about 500 police to Bahrain, according to Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister. But opposition groups, including Wefaq, the country’s largest Shia movement, have spoken out against the use of foreign troops. “We consider the entry of any soldier or military machinery into the Kingdom of Bahrain’s air, sea or land territories a blatant occupation,” Wefaq said in a statement. Nabeel Rajab, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that the Saudi troops would be opposed by the protesters.
“This is an internal issue and we will consider it as an occupation,” he said. “This step is not welcomed by Bahrainis. This move is not acceptable at all. It is a repressive regime supported by another repressive regime.” “We consider that any military force or military equipment crossing the boundaries of Bahrain — from air, sea or land — an occupation and a conspiracy against the people of Bahrain,” said a statement from the opposition groups. Already, as reports circulated about the Saudi force’s arrival, hundreds of protesters had gathered behind makeshift checkpoints around the Pearl Roundabout, the scene of much of the protest in Bahrain. Even some government supporters fear the economic impact of a Saudi intervention. “Who would want to do business here if there are Saudi tanks rolling across the causeway?” asked Abdullah Salaheddin, a Bahraini banker, last week. Shiites, who account for 70 percent of the population, have long complained of systematic discrimination by the Sunni dynasty that has ruled for more than two centuries. The grievances include allegations of being blackballed from key government and security posts. They also strongly object to government policies that give citizenship and jobs to Sunnis from other Arab countries and South Asia as a way to offset the Shiites’ demographic edge. Bahrain’s leadership is under intense pressure from other Gulf neighbors, particularly powerful Saudi Arabia, not to give ground. The Gulf Sunni dynasties are fearful for their own fate as the Arab push for change rumbles through the oil-rich region.
MORE:
“Rogue Militias , Covered Faces, And Guns, With Checkpoints”
“(These Are Pro-Govt Supporters Or Mercenaries, Saudi National Guard, Who Were Here Even Before The Troops Came, And Regular Armed Thugs”
[Update This Morning From An American In Bahrain]
From: CC Via H, [email protected] Subject: Update on the situation in Bahrain Date: Mar 15, 2011 Below is one of the latest updates I’ve received this morning from an American in Bahrain. I’ve removed some information to protect the security of the sender. ---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 4:30 AM Subject: Fwd: PLEASE READ: Travel Warning Bahrain We are waiting to hear whether we will be evacuated in the next few hours and have been advised to pack. I’ve heard guns and tear gas employed in my neighborhood of [redacted], where supposedly most of the 2,000 Saudis are to guard palaces and other vips’ homes (we’re interspersed with poorer villages though). [redacted] had to go out a little bit for water today, even though [redacted] bans it, and saw a lot of the rogue militias , covered faces, and guns, with checkpoints (these are pro-govt supporters or mercenaries, Saudi national guard, who were here even before the troops came, and regular armed thugs). We’re not scared of the protesters at all, though we haven’t seen as many of them around today as yesterday (they’re armed now, in self-defense, finally). [redacted] Al-Jazeera’s GCC reportage.. it’s been pretty shameful, even with obvious allowances for Japan and Libya considered. They clearly have an agreement (and they’ve sent 500 troops). We’ve had to watch Iran’s Press TV. We were planning on going to the [redacted] on our own volition, tonight, but were advised to stay off the roads, plus [redacted] to stay in our homes. So, we might just be waiting for [redacted]. Really not sure whether [redacted] to clear out or not; it could go either way. But, one of the [redacted] is being told [redacted] probably won’t be able to get back in the country for a while. Oh, also: it sounds like Manama’s a lot more normal , right now, though friends have seen the same miles-long rushes on ATMs, Petrol Stations, and supplystores. Also, we are waiting to hear from [redacted] on whether or not they will be sending home all dependents and non-essential staff. They’re currently having [redacted] meeting. I sincerely do not feel unsafe, but, this is being called a foreign occupation, there are denouncements, and a lot of students are writing about martyrdom. As always, it’s hard to separate the rhetoric from the likely future consequences.
We’ll stick with the [redacted] plan, but even aside from that, we have many, many offers for help from well-connected Bahrainis, Saudis, and Kuwaitis on all sides of this--will wait to hear [redacted] and will let you know [redacted].. [redacted]
Yemeni Anti-Government Protesters Call For The Ouster Of President Saleh
Yemeni anti-government protesters call for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a demonstration in the northern restive city of Saada. At least 44 protesters were wounded when police opened fire on Monday to disperse demonstrations in Yemen. (AFP) 14 March 2011 Tom Finn, Sana’a; Guardian UK [Excerpts] Fresh violence erupted on Monday when the governor of Marib, an eastern desert province, was stabbed in the neck while trying to disperse anti-government protesters, a local official said. Governor Ahmed Naji al-Zaid was stabbed by a group of armed men who attacked his convoy. He is said to be in a critical condition. In Jowf, north-east of Sana’a, 40 protesters trying to storm the government headquarters were wounded when security forces and pro-regime loyalists guarding the building opened fire. Monday’s fighting followed a dramatic weekend in the capital. Seven people were killed when riot police with water cannon, teargas, and rubber bullets fired on anti-government protesters near Sana’a University.
Sami Zaid, a doctor from Islamic Relief, said plain-clothes civilians were also involved in the shooting. There have also been reports of Yemeni security forces abducting injured protesters from hospital for interrogation. “Two wounded individuals at the Saudi German hospital were arrested on Saturday by national security men who arrived in civilian clothing,” said Abdulrahman Barman, a Yemeni human rights activist and a legal representative of the protesters. “The hospital is morally and professionally responsible for their arrest. They shouldn’t allow any patient to be removed from the premises illegally,” he said.
RECEIVED:
“GI Café Kaiserslautern”
Group description: This is a facebook group to publicize and raise support for the creation of (and hopefully soon to update people on events at) a GI Café in Kaiserslautern/Germany. The US military currently has dozens of bases and tens of thousands of soldiers throughout Germany which are essential to continuing its current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and which will serve as launching pads for wars that may come in the future in eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Kaiserslautern is a heavily militarized city in the heart of Rhineland-Pfalz. It is a centerpiece of both the US military´s presence here in Germany, as well as their disastrous War on Terror. It is home to Ramstein Airbase which is an essential transportation hub to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center where many soldiers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan are sent for immediate treatment. Kaiserslautern is currently the largest US military community outside the continental United States with around 50,000 US citizens living in and around the Kaiserslautern area and a German population of around 100,000. Having an anti-war café in Kaiserslautern will unavoidably draw attention from the US military personnel, and is a very direct confrontation to the militarism prevalent within the community itself. It will provide an excellent headquarters for anti-militaristic work (a base against the bases!). It will serve as an embassy to effortlessly get in direct contact with military personnel, to share alternative points of view and information and provide a safe space for soldiers, veterans, and their families away from the bases. The café will also serve as a counseling node for the GI Rights network, which is currently represented here in Germany by the Military Counseling Network. The concept of the GI Rights network is to have a team of free counselors available to soldiers who
can help them learn military regulations, pursue discharges, and reaffirm their rights in a military environment that preaches conformity and obedience. It will also serve as a place to help veterans reintegrate into German and American society. With all of this there is great promise and hope it that it could attract several soldiers and act as an incubator for a movement of people who dissent within the US military. We are asking you to help us make this GI Café a reality. We are planning a sustainable project, and that will mean donations on an ongoing basis. The benefits of supporting such a Café are as worthwhile as any in the peace movement, and the project itself has a promising outlook for concrete results. For further information please CONTACT us at: [email protected] http://www.facebook.com/l/70d1cC4RWi63kMqGBXnab1TqAHA;www.mc-network.de/ Go to GI Café Kaiserslautern: http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=164691500240976&mid=380232eG28c559 4aG5c398d3G7a&bcode=n6-_b&n_m=thomasfbarton%40earthlink.net Edit email settings for GI Café Kaiserslautern: http://www.facebook.com/n/?home.php&sk=group_164691500240976&view=notification s&mid=380232eG28c5594aG5c398d3G7a&bcode=n6_b&n_m=thomasfbarton%40earthlink.net
Vietnam GI: Reprints Available
Vietnam: They Stopped An Imperial War
Not available from anybody else, anywhere
Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaper rocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremely hostile attention from the chain of command. The pages and pages of letters in the paper from troops in Vietnam condemning the war are lost to history, but you can find them here. Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were a bit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size. Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces. Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5 for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5 pounds to wherever you are. Checks, money orders payable to: The Military Project Orders to: Military Resistance Box 126 2576 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 All proceeds are used for projects giving aid and comfort to members of the armed forces organizing to resist today’s Imperial wars.
“The single largest failure of the anti-war movement at this point is the lack of outreach to the troops.” Tim Goodrich, Iraq Veterans Against The War
Military Resistance Looks Even Better Printed Out
Military Resistance/GI Special are archived at website http://www.militaryproject.org . The following have chosen to post issues; there may be others: http://williambowles.info/wordpress/category/military-resistance/ ; [email protected]; http://www.traprockpeace.org/gi_special/; http://www.albasrah.net/pages/mod.php?header=res1&mod=gis&rep=gis
Military Resistance distributes and posts to our website copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of the invasion and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law since it is being distributed without charge or profit for educational purposes to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. Military Resistance has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor is Military Resistance endorsed or sponsored by the originators. This attributed work is provided a non-profit basis to facilitate understanding, research, education, and the advancement of human rights and social justice. Go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml for more information. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
If printed out, a copy of this newsletter is your personal property and cannot legally be confiscated from you. “Possession of unauthorized material may not be prohibited.” DoD Directive 1325.6 Section 3.5.1.2.
[email protected]
3.17.11
Print it out: color best. Pass it on.
Military Resistance 9C11
IRAQ WAR REPORTS
How It Is
Mar 14, 2011 By Michael Hoffman – Army Times Staff writer [Excerpts] Convoys still get hit by IEDs — just a lot less — and protected by the mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles’ armor, most soldiers walk away from the blast with no more than concussions. Lt. Col. Gerald Boston, whose battalion mans patrol bases on the outskirts of Mosul near Kurdistan’s borders, stood in front of a map with a few pins marking IED strikes. “If this was a couple years ago, we wouldn’t have enough room for all (the pins) we’d need,” he said.
Resistance Attack On Kanan Military Base Kills 10 Soldiers; 25 Wounded
Remains of the Kanaan army barracks in Diyala province after an insurgent attack killing at least 11 troops and wounding 14. (AP Photo) March 14, 2011 From Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN [Excerpts] Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- A bombing at an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 25 others Monday, police said. Most of the dead and wounded were Iraqi soldiers, according to Baquba police, who said the truck bomber ran into a barracks. Police combed through the rubble of the building looking for victims. The attack took place in the town of Kanan about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Baquba in Diyala province, which is ethnically mixed.
More Resistance Action
March 13 (Reuters) & March 14 (Reuters) & March 16, 2011 By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN & Reuters MOSUL - A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol and wounded one policeman in western Mosul, police said. MOSUL - A sticky bomb attached to a car killed an off-duty policeman near the city of Mosul, police said.
TAL AFAR - Insurgents using weapons equipped with silencers killed an off-duty policeman near his house in the town of Tal Afar, about 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said. BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three policemen, in Baghdad’s southeastern Ameen district, an Interior Ministry source said. BAGHDAD – Three police were wounded when two roadside bombs went off in succession in the southern Doura district of the capital, a source in the Interior Ministry said. A policeman was shot by insurgents with silenced pistols in the capital’s central Karradah area, a relatively affluent neighborhood. Another policeman was wounded in the attack. KIRKUK - A roadside bomb wounded two off-duty policemen when it exploded near their vehicle, southwest of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad on Monday, police said. FALLUJA - Insurgents detonated three bombs in front of three houses belonging to policemen, and wounded a policeman in southern and central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, on Monday, police said. A car bomb exploded in central oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday morning, police said. The car bomb exploded in a busy road that leads to Kirkuk municipality building and Kirkuk general hospital. Seven police officers were among the wounded people who were in a police patrol parked on the side of the road. MUSSAYAB - A bomb planted near a police station went off and wounded two policemen in the town of Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. MOSUL - Gunmen in a car shot dead Khawla al-Sebawi, the head of the provincial government’s property registry office in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. TUZ KHURMATO - A roadside bomb exploded near the local police chief’s vehicle, wounding him and one of his guards in the town of Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Iraqi Dictatorship Kills BetterGovernment Demonstrators In Kut
Feb 16 (Reuters)
KUT - Three people were killed and dozens wounded when protesters demanding better services clashed with police and set fire to government buildings in the southern city of Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.
DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN THE MILITARY?
Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the address if you wish and we’ll send it regularly. Whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the wars, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: The Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657. Phone: 888.711.2550
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Connecticut Sgt. Killed In Afghanistan
March 14, 2011: Sgt. 1st Class Daehan Park, a veteran Special Forces soldier originally from Watertown, Conn., and who lived in Lacey, Wash., was killed March 12, 2011 when his vehicle was struck by an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
California SSG Killed In Kandahar
Staff Sgt. Eric S. Trueblood, 27, of Alameda, Calif., died March 10 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 391st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, Spinelli Barracks, Mannheim, Germany. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
California Soldier Killed In Giyan
Private First Class Arturo Emmanuel Rodriguez of Bellflower, Calif., 19, a 101st Airborne Division Soldier died of wounds after being struck by small-arms fire while on dismounted patrol, March 12, in the Giyan District, Paktika, Afghanistan. Rodriguez is survived by his father, Arturo Rodriguez Segura and mother, Rosa Jimenez Davila, both of Mexico. He is also survived by his aunt, Maria Lopez of Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Fort Campbell Public Affairs)
Foreign Occupation “Servicemember” Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan Tuesday: Nationality Not Announced
March 16, 2010 AP A foreign servicemember died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan yesterday.
Marine Pursued ‘A More Certain Path’
Jordan R. Stanton March 08, 2011 By KRISTY CHU, Orange County Register RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – Since his deployment to Afghanistan in November, Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton was only able to speak to his father twice, most recently a week ago. “I got a satellite call from him Wednesday morning, for just two or three minutes,” Robert Stanton said. “I got to tell him I love him, and it was great. He was happy.” Jordan Stanton shared a few brief moments by phone that day with his father, mother and fiancée. Two days later, on Friday, Jordan Stanton was killed during combat operations in Helmand Province. Stanton, 20, joined the Marine Corps in April 2008. He enrolled early, just before his 2008 graduation from Trabuco Hills High School. Stanton had applied to several different
colleges – and was accepted to all – but his heart was set on joining the military, his father said. Jordan Stanton first expressed interest in the military when he was 15 years old and began researching the different branches. Stanton had looked up to his maternal grandfather Jim Reynolds, a Vietnam veteran, as a hero and an inspiration. And though his parents didn’t know it at the time, their son had also befriended a retired naval captain at the gym whom he viewed as a mentor. “He knew he wanted to do this,” Robert Stanton said. “He wanted to do something special, on his own. He was a little older than his years in high school – he matured a little faster.” Preparation to become a U.S. Marine is physically strenuous, but Jordan Stanton was a natural-born athlete. He played baseball, football and wrestled, and even tried skateboarding and sports in between. Though he was extremely skilled in sports, said his father, he wouldn’t let his athleticism define him, eventually breaking away from sports to pursue “a more certain path.” His athletic strength was but one of the qualities friends and family remember about the Marine. He always had a smile on his face, with a fun-loving personality people couldn’t help but gravitate toward. He was simply an all-American kid full of energy and life. Jordan Stanton was well-liked in school. Childhood friend Zach Vosough said he always enjoyed seeing his buddy because “you couldn’t hang out with Jordan Stanton and not have a good time.” Beyond his easygoing nature, Stanton was incredibly trustworthy and faithful, Vosough said. He was not one to leave commitments unfulfilled.
POLITICIANS CAN’T BE COUNTED ON TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WARS
Georgian Serviceman Killed In Afghanistan; Two More Wounded
March 14 By N. Kirtskhalia, Trend Another Georgian serviceman was killed in Afghanistan and two others were injured.
As a result of a mine explosion, Corporal Valeri Verskiani was killed, and Captain Aluda Seturidze and Corporal Revaz Gorgazde were injured, the Georgian Defense Ministry reported. The injured servicemen are being treated at a hospital. Verskiani’s body will be delivered home soon. All three servicemen were blown up by a mine during their patrolling of the area. They served in the Gelmand province under the command of the U.S. armed forces.
Foreign Military Fuel Trucks Blown Up And Burned In Uruzgan
Mar 16, 2011 By Indo Asian News Service A bomb hidden in a fuel-tanker for foreign military forces exploded and killed the driver and injured another person in southern Uruzgan province Wednesday, Khudai Rahim, the provincial governor said. ‘A few other tankers parked nearby also caught fire due to the explosion,’ the governor said, without giving the exact number of tankers destroyed.
Insurgent Attack On Army Recruiting Center In Kunduz Kills At Least 33; 42 More Wounded
Bodies of Afghans killed at a recruitment center are removed in Kunduz, Afghanistan March 14, 2011. A bomber struck an Afghan army recruitment center in the northern Kunduz province on Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Fulad Hamdard)
3/14/2011 AP KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan officials say a bomber posing as an army volunteer has killed more than 33 people at an Afghan army recruiting center in the northern province of Kunduz. Kunduz Deputy Governor Hamdullah Danishi says the attacker approached on foot and detonated a bomb on Monday afternoon as recruits lined up outside the center. He says at least 42 people were also wounded in the blast. A doctor at Kunduz hospital says ambulances and private vehicles have been bringing the dead and wounded to the hospital.
Taliban Close Down Phone Network In Helmand Province
16 March 2011 AFP The Taliban forced mobile phone companies to switch off their networks across Afghanistan’s Helmand province Wednesday, as security forces conducted an operation, officials said. Deputy provincial governor Abdul Satar Mirzakwal said insurgents had ordered mobile phone coverage to close, as Afghan and foreign security forces tackled a militant stronghold. Mobile phones are the primary means of communication in areas of rural Afghanistan such as southern Helmand province. “The closure of the mobile phones is because of Taliban threats,” Mirzakwal said, adding that the government had given the service providers until midnight Wednesday to reopen connections or “be punished.” MTN, one of Afghanistan’s four mobile phone companies, said that the service disruption was due to insurgent threats. “We do close our operations from time to time. It has been because of threats by antigovernment armed forces,” Mohammad Naser Nasery, a company executive, said. “We do obey for the sake of our personal and facilities security. Today’s closure has been one of those threats.” Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said a “fierce operation” was under way in Dishu, but denied that the insurgents had ordered the phone shutdown. He claimed it had been ordered by the government “to hide their defeat in the operation.”
Other Resistance Action
[Graphic:flickr.com/photos] Mar. 11, 2011 The Associated Press & Mar 15 By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government says a bomber has killed the police chief of northern Kunduz province and two of his bodyguards. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. A government statement on Friday says police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili was killed as he walked through the streets of Kunduz city late on Thursday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in an e-mail. On Tuesday, provincial council member Malang Malik was killed by a remote controlled bomb as he walked near his home in Laghman province in northeast Afghanistan, said government spokesman Kochai Nasery. The blast also injured a relative of Malik, the former head of the provincial council.
Great Moments In U.S. Military History:
Air Attack Kills Two Kids For Watering Fields While Afghan
[Score: 11 Dead Kids In Kunar From Recent Air Attacks]
Mar 15 (Reuters) An air strike by U.S. forces killed two children as they were watering fields in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province late on Monday, an Afghan official and lawmaker said. The deaths occurred after tensions between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers were inflamed by the killing recently of nine children who were collecting firewood in the same province.
Abdul Marjan, district chief of Chawki in Kunar where the two brothers, aged 10 and 15, where killed on Monday, said the boys had been working on irrigation channels before they were hit. “They might have been mistaken for insurgents as they were carrying spades on their shoulders,” Marjan told Reuters. Shahzada Shahid, a lawmaker from Kunar, said the pair were students who had gone out to help work their father’s fields. Irrigation agreements between villagers in the area mean the family’s land gets access to river water only in the evening.
MILITARY NEWS
THIS IS HOW OBAMA BRINGS THEM HOME: ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE
The remains of Army Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt of Rosemount, Minn., upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Feb. 28, 2011. Wilfahrt died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
GI Resistance to Afghanistan War Planned for 2011:
You Can Make It Go
[Printing this again: more timely than ever. T] 12.22.2010 Iraq Veterans Against The War Is it any surprise that last week’s White House progress report on Afghanistan showed little ‘progress’ at all? Sure, there have been a few tactical military ‘successes,’ but these have been overshadowed by significantly larger negative trends: ■A marked increase in civilian casualties, maintaining Afghan resentment of U.S. occupation; ■An overall increase in Taliban strength; ■A continued lack of legitimacy for the Afghan government; and ■A weakening of our military fighting force by a suicide epidemic caused by multiple deployments. The larger story here is that the Afghan war strategy is a complete failure. And those in Washington lack the political will to do anything about it. To IVAW though, this is about more than just politics. As veterans and service members, this is about our lives, our health and well-being, and that of Afghan civilians. We are the ones whose lives are on the line in Afghanistan every day, and we are challenging the political status quo to say enough is enough. Will you stand with us?
Your year-end donation will support our important work to end the stay-thecourse Afghanistan policy that prevails in Washington.
Building GI Resistance Among New Troop Deployments In 2011
IVAW has learned that beginning in January, 23,000 troops from ten different military bases will be dispatched to Afghanistan to replace troops finishing up their deployment cycles. For some of these troops – like the 1st Cavalry Division’s Air Cavalry Brigade and Headquarters Company leaving from Fort Hood, TX – this will be their fourth combat deployment. So this is what the ‘stay the course’ political policy means for us – more deployments for troops who are already suffering from war trauma, more casualties, and more broken families. That is why IVAW will be starting our GI resistance outreach drive to all affected military bases in February. With your help, we will send outreach teams to the ten military bases that are sending troops to Afghanistan and talk to soldiers and military families about: - the problems of multiple deployments, - dialogue about their views on whether the Afghanistan mission is worthwhile, - and bring them into our Operation Recovery campaign to stop the deployment of traumatized troops. Your financial contribution today will help sustain these outreach efforts to those preparing to deploy. Make a donation now at: https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_ item_KEY=3055
New Poll Reveals 60% Of Americans Think Afghanistan War Is Not Worth Fighting
It is heartening to know that many Americans see that this war is not worth us risking our lives and the lives of Afghan civilians. But it is time to translate this belief into action. Join us in building a GI resistance movement that can stop the Pentagon in its tracks and end the occupation of Afghanistan by making a year-end gift right now. Your donation will make all the difference in helping us sustain our work in the New Year. Thank you! Iraq Veterans Against the War Afghanistan Veterans Against the War committee: IVAW’s Afghanistan Veterans Against the War committee was formed in 2010 to provide a platform for our Afghanistan veteran members to speak to their unique experience. Iraq Veterans Against the War is a 501(c)(3) charity, and welcomes your tax deductible contributions.
NEED SOME TRUTH?
CHECK OUT THE NEW TRAVELING SOLDIER
Issue 34
Special Issue: Egypt, Tunisia, Libya Soldiers in Revolt 2011
Click here to download and view a PDF of issue 34:
http://www.traveling-soldier.org/TS34.pdf
Traveling Soldier is the publication of the Military Resistance Organization. Telling the truth - about the occupations or the criminals running the government in Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance to Imperial wars inside the armed forces. Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces. If you like what you’ve read, we hope that you’ll join with us in building a network of active duty organizers. http://www.traveling-soldier.org/ And join with Iraq Veterans Against the War to end the occupations and bring all troops home now! (www.ivaw.org/)
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.
“For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. “We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.” Frederick Douglass, 1852
Hope for change doesn’t cut it when you’re still losing buddies. -- J.D. Englehart, Iraq Veterans Against The War
One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head. The person who fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizen of Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions. Mike Hastie U.S. Army Medic Vietnam 1970-71 December 13, 2004
Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on youYe are many — they are few -- Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1819, on the occasion of a mass murder of British workers by the Imperial government at Peterloo.
The Social-Democrats ideal should not be the trade union secretary, but the tribune of the people who is able to react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression no matter where it appears no matter what stratum or class of the people it affects; who is able to generalize all these manifestations and produce a single picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation; who is able to take advantage of every event, however small, in order to set forth before all his socialist convictions and his democratic demands, in order to clarify for all and everyone the world-historic significance of the struggle for the emancipation of the proletariat.” -- V. I. Lenin; What Is To Be Done
A revolution is always distinguished by impoliteness, probably because the ruling classes did not take the trouble in good season to teach the people fine manners. -- Leon Trotsky, History Of The Russian Revolution
It is a two class world and the wrong class is running it. -- Larry Christensen, Soldiers Of Solidarity & United Auto Workers
“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” -- Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787
I say that when troops cannot be counted on to follow orders because they see the futility and immorality of them THAT is the real key to ending a war. -- Al Jaccoma, Veterans For Peace
“The Nixon administration claimed and received great credit for withdrawing the Army from Vietnam, but it was the rebellion of low-ranking GIs that forced the government to abandon a hopeless suicidal policy” -- David Cortright; Soldiers In Revolt
These Are The Royal Dictatorships The U.S. Imperial Government Loves And Supports:
“Four Leading Sources Of Support For Global Terrorism On The Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar”
“Top Four US Allies On The Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar”
8 December 2010 By Eamonn McCann, Belfast Telegraph [Excerpts] “Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al Qaida, the Taliban, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and other terrorist groups,” said Hillary Clinton in a memo issued last December.
Other WikiLeaks documents show that Lashkar-e-Taiba - the Pakistan-based Sunni group behind the 2008 Mumbai attack - is funded virtually entirely from Saudi Arabia. And yet, according to Clinton 12 months ago, “It (remains) a challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat (terrorist funding) as a strategic priority.” Let us imagine for a moment that Iran rather than Saudi Arabia had been revealed as the main source of funding for Al Qaida, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba etc. Does anyone doubt that Clinton would be thumping the lectern at a State Department Press conference, explaining that America’s patience had run out and announcing that the bombers were winging their way even now towards Tehran to eliminate the threat to world peace? And anybody who voiced protest would be ridiculed as hopelessly naive or denounced as an outrider of evil? The State Department documents tell that another close US ally in the region, the United Arab Emirates, is a source of substantial funds to the Afghan Taliban and the terrorist Haqqanmi Network. Two senior Taliban officials are said to travel regularly to the UAE to launder money through front companies. Then there’s Kuwait. Kuwait owes the US big-time. The first Gulf War was undertaken in 1991 to expel Saddam’s armies from the statelet and put the al-Sabah family back in power. This was achieved at some cost in blood as well as treasure. Now, however, according to documents from Clinton’s department, Kuwait is a “source of funds and a key transit point” for Al Qaida and similar groups. The al-Sabahs crack down hard on any attacks on its own soil, but are “less inclined to take action against Kuwait-based financiers and facilitators plotting attacks outside of Kuwait”. The Kuwait regime has airily dismissed State Department pleas to ban the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society which masquerades as a charity but has been denounced by the US as a terrorist organisation channelling money and material to Al Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, the Gulf country singled out by the State Department as “the worst in the region” when it comes to combating terrorism is 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar. Four leading sources of support for global terrorism on the Arabian peninsula: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar. Top four US allies on the Arabian peninsula: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar. The public, and particularly the American public, have been given a glimpse of the relationship between the Washington administration and the Arab States, a real insight into how the US chooses its allies, its enemies and its targets for attack.
They don’t bear scrutiny. They bear no relationship to the guff about national security, peace in the world and such palaver as comes from Obama - just as it came from Bush and the other Clinton before him and the other Bush before that - as they whip up support for their wars. Hence their demented, near-comical efforts to prevent Americans laying eyes on the WikiLeaks material.
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
CLASS WAR REPORTS
[Thanks to Phil G, who sent this in.]
Troops Invited:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or send email to [email protected]: Name, I.D., withheld unless you request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
“Thousands Of Demonstrators On Sunday Cut Off Bahrain’s Financial Centre And Drove Back Police”
Bahraini anti-government protesters react Monday, March 14, 2011, at Pearl roundabout in Manama, Bahrain, when opposition leader Sheik Habib al-Muqdad advised them Saudi forces were believed to be coming to the roundabout and that there were buses waiting to take them home. The women, many with masks ready for tear gas, refused to go. The barrier in the foreground reads: ‘Down with Hamad.’ (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) 14 March 2011 By Ben Quinn, The Guardian [Excerpts] Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday cut off Bahrain’s financial centre and drove back police trying to eject them from the capital’s central roundabout, while protesters also clashed with government supporters on the campus of the main university. Earlier on Sunday, police moved in on Pearl roundabout, a site of occupation by members of Bahrain’s Shia majority, who are calling for an elected government. Witnesses said security forces surrounded the protesters’ tent compound, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the activists in the largest effort to clear the field in the middle of the roundabout since a crackdown last month that left four dead after live ammunition was fired. Activists tried to stand their ground yesterday and chanted “Peaceful, peaceful” as the crowd swelled into thousands, with protesters streaming to the roundabout to reinforce the activists’ lines, forcing the police to pull back by the early afternoon. At Bahrain University, demonstrators and government supporters held competing protests that descended into violence when plainclothes pro-government backers and
security forces forced students blocking the campus main gate to seek refuge in classrooms and lecture halls, the Associated Press reported.
MORE:
Saudi King Orders His Army To Occupy Bahrain In Defense Of The Royal Dictatorship:
“It Is A Repressive Regime Supported By Another Repressive Regime”
Saudi Arabian Royal troops cross the causeway to invade Bahrain March 14, 2011. REUTERS/Bahrain state TV via Reuters TV 14 Mar 2011 Al Jazeera and agencies & By Brian Murphy and Reem Khalifa - The Associated Press Hundreds of Saudi troops have entered Bahrain to help protect government facilities there amid escalating protests against the government. Bahrain television on Monday broadcast images of troops in armoured cars entering the Gulf state via the 26km causeway that connects the kingdom to Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates has also sent about 500 police to Bahrain, according to Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister. But opposition groups, including Wefaq, the country’s largest Shia movement, have spoken out against the use of foreign troops. “We consider the entry of any soldier or military machinery into the Kingdom of Bahrain’s air, sea or land territories a blatant occupation,” Wefaq said in a statement. Nabeel Rajab, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that the Saudi troops would be opposed by the protesters.
“This is an internal issue and we will consider it as an occupation,” he said. “This step is not welcomed by Bahrainis. This move is not acceptable at all. It is a repressive regime supported by another repressive regime.” “We consider that any military force or military equipment crossing the boundaries of Bahrain — from air, sea or land — an occupation and a conspiracy against the people of Bahrain,” said a statement from the opposition groups. Already, as reports circulated about the Saudi force’s arrival, hundreds of protesters had gathered behind makeshift checkpoints around the Pearl Roundabout, the scene of much of the protest in Bahrain. Even some government supporters fear the economic impact of a Saudi intervention. “Who would want to do business here if there are Saudi tanks rolling across the causeway?” asked Abdullah Salaheddin, a Bahraini banker, last week. Shiites, who account for 70 percent of the population, have long complained of systematic discrimination by the Sunni dynasty that has ruled for more than two centuries. The grievances include allegations of being blackballed from key government and security posts. They also strongly object to government policies that give citizenship and jobs to Sunnis from other Arab countries and South Asia as a way to offset the Shiites’ demographic edge. Bahrain’s leadership is under intense pressure from other Gulf neighbors, particularly powerful Saudi Arabia, not to give ground. The Gulf Sunni dynasties are fearful for their own fate as the Arab push for change rumbles through the oil-rich region.
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“Rogue Militias , Covered Faces, And Guns, With Checkpoints”
“(These Are Pro-Govt Supporters Or Mercenaries, Saudi National Guard, Who Were Here Even Before The Troops Came, And Regular Armed Thugs”
[Update This Morning From An American In Bahrain]
From: CC Via H, [email protected] Subject: Update on the situation in Bahrain Date: Mar 15, 2011 Below is one of the latest updates I’ve received this morning from an American in Bahrain. I’ve removed some information to protect the security of the sender. ---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 4:30 AM Subject: Fwd: PLEASE READ: Travel Warning Bahrain We are waiting to hear whether we will be evacuated in the next few hours and have been advised to pack. I’ve heard guns and tear gas employed in my neighborhood of [redacted], where supposedly most of the 2,000 Saudis are to guard palaces and other vips’ homes (we’re interspersed with poorer villages though). [redacted] had to go out a little bit for water today, even though [redacted] bans it, and saw a lot of the rogue militias , covered faces, and guns, with checkpoints (these are pro-govt supporters or mercenaries, Saudi national guard, who were here even before the troops came, and regular armed thugs). We’re not scared of the protesters at all, though we haven’t seen as many of them around today as yesterday (they’re armed now, in self-defense, finally). [redacted] Al-Jazeera’s GCC reportage.. it’s been pretty shameful, even with obvious allowances for Japan and Libya considered. They clearly have an agreement (and they’ve sent 500 troops). We’ve had to watch Iran’s Press TV. We were planning on going to the [redacted] on our own volition, tonight, but were advised to stay off the roads, plus [redacted] to stay in our homes. So, we might just be waiting for [redacted]. Really not sure whether [redacted] to clear out or not; it could go either way. But, one of the [redacted] is being told [redacted] probably won’t be able to get back in the country for a while. Oh, also: it sounds like Manama’s a lot more normal , right now, though friends have seen the same miles-long rushes on ATMs, Petrol Stations, and supplystores. Also, we are waiting to hear from [redacted] on whether or not they will be sending home all dependents and non-essential staff. They’re currently having [redacted] meeting. I sincerely do not feel unsafe, but, this is being called a foreign occupation, there are denouncements, and a lot of students are writing about martyrdom. As always, it’s hard to separate the rhetoric from the likely future consequences.
We’ll stick with the [redacted] plan, but even aside from that, we have many, many offers for help from well-connected Bahrainis, Saudis, and Kuwaitis on all sides of this--will wait to hear [redacted] and will let you know [redacted].. [redacted]
Yemeni Anti-Government Protesters Call For The Ouster Of President Saleh
Yemeni anti-government protesters call for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a demonstration in the northern restive city of Saada. At least 44 protesters were wounded when police opened fire on Monday to disperse demonstrations in Yemen. (AFP) 14 March 2011 Tom Finn, Sana’a; Guardian UK [Excerpts] Fresh violence erupted on Monday when the governor of Marib, an eastern desert province, was stabbed in the neck while trying to disperse anti-government protesters, a local official said. Governor Ahmed Naji al-Zaid was stabbed by a group of armed men who attacked his convoy. He is said to be in a critical condition. In Jowf, north-east of Sana’a, 40 protesters trying to storm the government headquarters were wounded when security forces and pro-regime loyalists guarding the building opened fire. Monday’s fighting followed a dramatic weekend in the capital. Seven people were killed when riot police with water cannon, teargas, and rubber bullets fired on anti-government protesters near Sana’a University.
Sami Zaid, a doctor from Islamic Relief, said plain-clothes civilians were also involved in the shooting. There have also been reports of Yemeni security forces abducting injured protesters from hospital for interrogation. “Two wounded individuals at the Saudi German hospital were arrested on Saturday by national security men who arrived in civilian clothing,” said Abdulrahman Barman, a Yemeni human rights activist and a legal representative of the protesters. “The hospital is morally and professionally responsible for their arrest. They shouldn’t allow any patient to be removed from the premises illegally,” he said.
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“GI Café Kaiserslautern”
Group description: This is a facebook group to publicize and raise support for the creation of (and hopefully soon to update people on events at) a GI Café in Kaiserslautern/Germany. The US military currently has dozens of bases and tens of thousands of soldiers throughout Germany which are essential to continuing its current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and which will serve as launching pads for wars that may come in the future in eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Kaiserslautern is a heavily militarized city in the heart of Rhineland-Pfalz. It is a centerpiece of both the US military´s presence here in Germany, as well as their disastrous War on Terror. It is home to Ramstein Airbase which is an essential transportation hub to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center where many soldiers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan are sent for immediate treatment. Kaiserslautern is currently the largest US military community outside the continental United States with around 50,000 US citizens living in and around the Kaiserslautern area and a German population of around 100,000. Having an anti-war café in Kaiserslautern will unavoidably draw attention from the US military personnel, and is a very direct confrontation to the militarism prevalent within the community itself. It will provide an excellent headquarters for anti-militaristic work (a base against the bases!). It will serve as an embassy to effortlessly get in direct contact with military personnel, to share alternative points of view and information and provide a safe space for soldiers, veterans, and their families away from the bases. The café will also serve as a counseling node for the GI Rights network, which is currently represented here in Germany by the Military Counseling Network. The concept of the GI Rights network is to have a team of free counselors available to soldiers who
can help them learn military regulations, pursue discharges, and reaffirm their rights in a military environment that preaches conformity and obedience. It will also serve as a place to help veterans reintegrate into German and American society. With all of this there is great promise and hope it that it could attract several soldiers and act as an incubator for a movement of people who dissent within the US military. We are asking you to help us make this GI Café a reality. We are planning a sustainable project, and that will mean donations on an ongoing basis. The benefits of supporting such a Café are as worthwhile as any in the peace movement, and the project itself has a promising outlook for concrete results. For further information please CONTACT us at: [email protected] http://www.facebook.com/l/70d1cC4RWi63kMqGBXnab1TqAHA;www.mc-network.de/ Go to GI Café Kaiserslautern: http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=164691500240976&mid=380232eG28c559 4aG5c398d3G7a&bcode=n6-_b&n_m=thomasfbarton%40earthlink.net Edit email settings for GI Café Kaiserslautern: http://www.facebook.com/n/?home.php&sk=group_164691500240976&view=notification s&mid=380232eG28c5594aG5c398d3G7a&bcode=n6_b&n_m=thomasfbarton%40earthlink.net
Vietnam GI: Reprints Available
Vietnam: They Stopped An Imperial War
Not available from anybody else, anywhere
Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaper rocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremely hostile attention from the chain of command. The pages and pages of letters in the paper from troops in Vietnam condemning the war are lost to history, but you can find them here. Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were a bit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size. Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces. Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5 for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5 pounds to wherever you are. Checks, money orders payable to: The Military Project Orders to: Military Resistance Box 126 2576 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 All proceeds are used for projects giving aid and comfort to members of the armed forces organizing to resist today’s Imperial wars.
“The single largest failure of the anti-war movement at this point is the lack of outreach to the troops.” Tim Goodrich, Iraq Veterans Against The War
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