hmmmmmmmmmmmm...... ponder this

An extract from the diary of Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin DSO who was among the first British soldiers to liberate Bergen-Belsen in 1945.

Camp

I can give no adequate description of the Horror Camp in which my men and myself were to spend the next month of our lives. It was just a barren wilderness, as bare as a chicken run. Corpses lay everywhere, some in huge piles, sometimes they lay singly or in pairs where they had fallen. It took a little time to get used to seeing men women and childen collapse as you walked by them and to restrain oneself from going to their assistance. One had to get used early to the idea that the individual just did not count. One knew that five hundred a day were dying and that five hundred a day were going on dying for weeks before anything we could do would have the slightest effect. It was, however, not easy to watch a child choking to death from diptheria when you knew a tracheotomy and nursing would save it, one saw women drowning in their own vomit because they were too weak to turn over, and men eating worms as they clutched a half loaf of bread purely because they had to eat worms to live and now could scarcely tell the difference. Piles of corpses, naked and obscene, with a woman too weak to stand proping herself against them as she cooked the food we had given her over an open fire; men and women crouching down just anywhere in the open relieving themselves of the dysentary which was scouring their bowels, a woman standing stark naked washing herself with some issue soap in water from a tank in which the remains of a child floated. It was shortly after the British Red Cross arrived, though it may have no connection, that a very large quantity of lipstick arrived. This was not at all what we men wanted, we were screaming for hundreds and thousands of other things and I don't know who asked for lipstick. I wish so much that I could discover who did it, it was the action of genius, sheer unadulterated brilliance. I believe nothing did more for these internees than the lipstick. Women lay in bed with no sheets and no nightie but with scarlet red lips, you saw them wandering about with nothing but a blanket over their shoulders, but with scarlet red lips. I saw a woman dead on the post mortem table and clutched in her hand was a piece of lipstick. At last someone had done something to make them individuals again, they were someone, no longer merely the number tatooed on the arm. At last they could take an interest in their appearance. That lipstick started to give them back their humanity

Source: Imperial War museum

Bedtime Stories

For the past year or so, President Bush has firmly opposed all talk of withdrawing troops from Iraq or even of setting a timetable for withdrawal, arguing that such plans would only encourage the insurgents to hold tight and wait for our departure.

Now, all of a sudden, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, are openly speaking of "fairly substantial reductions" in the spring and summer of 2006.

What's happening?

---

First, there are the obvious factors. Domestic opposition to the war is rising; the latest polls show 55 percent of the American public thinks it's a bad idea and, further, has doubts we can win. It's a fair guess that top Republicans have approached the president or his henchmen to say they'd prefer that the war not be an issue in the 2006 congressional elections—and that it be off the table entirely by 2008.

It should also be clear, to all but the most rosy-eyed cheerleaders, that things are not going well in Iraq. When Vice President Dick Cheney harrumphed that the insurgents were in their "last throes," everyone—even his old pal, Rummy—had to cough and backpedal. It's a fair debate whether America's military presence is weakening the insurgency or swelling its ranks. (My own guess is both.)

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld have said repeatedly—as have many critics of the war—that U.S. troops can't leave until the Iraqi security forces are sufficiently trained and equipped to fight off the insurgents and keep order.

This recent talk of withdrawal may have been sparked by the realization that almost no progress has been made in training Iraq's new soldiers—and that this is the case, in part, because the Iraqi government doesn't want them to be trained.

Last February, the Bush administration asked Congress for an $81.9 billion supplemental budget to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Buried deep inside this 97-page document was a request of $5.7 billion for the "Iraq Security Fund." In justifying this sum, the document noted that the Iraqi government had created a security force of 90 battalions, adding:

All but one of these 90 battalions, however, are lightly equipped and armed, and have very limited mobility and sustainment capabilities.

In other words, by the administration's admission, only one Iraqi battalion was able to engage in a prolonged firefight.

Half a year later, the story has barely changed. A report to Congress by Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, concludes that only "a small number" of Iraqi forces are capable of "taking on the insurgents and terrorists by themselves." By some estimates, this "small number" is as little as 5,000—only slightly more than the single battalion that could do the job last February.

For months, the administration has denied and disputed claims by Democratic critics—most notably Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Carl Levin of Michigan—that training was moving too slowly. It could well be that the evidence is now too obvious to ignore.

Lieut. Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. officer in charge of training the Iraqi forces, was transferred this month to take over the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Petraeus, commander of the 101^st Airborne Division during the early phases of the war, is widely viewed as one of the Army's most creative and competent generals. It's not yet clear whether the transfer stems from Petraeus' frustration with the job or from Rumsfeld's dissatisfaction with his handling of it.*

Either way, some of Petraeus' aides, if not the general himself, have recently learned of rumors that Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari doesn't want his army to be well-trained. A leading Shiite, Jaafari reportedly fears that if the U.S. troops leave Iraq, the insurgents will crush all resistance and hoist the Sunnis back to power. Since the Americans have said they will leave once the Iraqi security forces are self-sufficient, Jaafari figures it's best to keep that day at bay. This could explain why many Iraqi units lack such basic materials as reliable weapons, ammunition, and sufficient food and bedding gear.

One of Petraeus' aides hit the roof when he heard this rumor of Jaafari's recalcitrance a few weeks ago. This may be why Rumsfeld seemed more perturbed than usual after his meeting with Jaafari in Baghdad this week. It may be why, for the first time, he brought up the subject of eventually pulling out.

This is, in fact, the best reason for declaring a timetable—to force the Iraqi government to start taking their sovereignty seriously.

The withdrawal clock can't—and shouldn't—start ticking until after this December's election, when the Iraqis vote for a new government. (They voted in January for an interim government, which would draft a constitution. The constitution is supposed to be completed in August and ratified in October. This is another reason for Rumsfeld's agitation: Fundamental differences among Iraq's religious factions are threatening to push back the deadline, which would push back the next elections, which would delay—for who knows how long—the U.S. withdrawal.)

At that point, it may take another 18 months for the Iraqi security forces to be equipped and trained—assuming that, this time, the new government cooperates. So, under this scenario, the United States can start pulling out of Iraq, as Gen. Casey projected, by the spring or summer of 2006—and be out entirely by mid-2007.

This schedule would fit well with Republican election plans—and it's unlikely the Democrats would strenuously oppose the plan. (Do they want to bill themselves as the party in favor of prolonging the war?) It also has the virtue of being a good idea. If the Iraqi assembly hammers out a constitution, if the elections take place, if Sunnis take part and win a proportionate share of seats, then enough citizens may be sufficiently satisfied with the arrangement to undermine the insurgents' base of support and legitimacy—which is the key to all successful insurgencies.

And if none of these things happen, it will be time to ask whether the American troops in Iraq are serving any purpose, whether it makes any difference if they're back here or over there—and, if it makes no difference, to ask why they can't just come home.

*Update, July 29, 2005: A spokesman for Lieut. Gen. Petraeus, calling from Baghdad, made the following statement in response to this story:

"The CG [commanding general] is not at all frustrated with his job. The CG has been saying for a long time now that there's been tremendous progress in the Iraqi security forces, that he realizes there's a long road ahead, but that he has qualified optimism about that way ahead." As for the notion that Secretary Rumsfeld might be displeased, he said, "I've not heard anything about that." He added that the general is leaving Iraq as part of a "normal rotation. … It's just time for him to go."

The spokesman also disputed the claim that the Iraqi forces lack ammunition or other materials. "Sustaining the force in the field is a challenge, but they are getting adequate supplies," he said. There are "contracting issues they have to surmount, but we're committed to making certain that Iraqi soldiers don't go without sufficient life support."

On the allegations about the Iraqi leaders' lack of commitment, he said, "Prime Minister Jaafari, just two days ago, had a full day with Gen. Petraeus and they went out to see both Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior forces. Prime Minister Jaafari was pleased with the progress that he saw." I asked if this was the first time Jaafari had gone out to see the troops. He replied, "Yes, it was."

He acknowledged that, of the 105 Iraqi battalions, "only a handful are operating independently," but he said, "the others are also contributing, whether in the lead and just requiring coalition support or fighting alongside coalition forces."

Something in here stinks .....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay quietly slipped into the energy bill a $1.5 billion fund for oil and natural gas drilling research that will benefit an energy consortium based in his home district, a California Democrat said on Wednesday.

The measure was criticized as a "giveaway to one of the most profitable industries in America," by Rep. Henry Waxman, who demanded that the fund be dropped from the legislation before a House vote on the energy bill on Thursday.

The House is expected to approve the wide-ranging energy bill, which includes some $14.5 billion in tax breaks and incentives mostly for oil, natural gas, coal and electricity companies.

A vote in the Senate is tentatively set for Friday.

Waxman said the $1.5 billion fund for ultra-deepwater drilling was added to the final energy bill this week after House and Senate negotiators called a halt to any more amendments. The 30-page measure appeared in the text of the energy bill after Texas Rep. Joe Barton had officially ended the House and Senate conference committee to combine legislation passed by each chamber, he said.

"Obviously, it would be a serious abuse to secretly slip such a costly and controversial provision into the energy legislation," Waxman said in a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

A spokesman for DeLay defended the fund, saying it was in the energy bill approved by the House in April.

"The project is only new to Mr. Waxman if he failed to read the House bill he had voted on," the spokesman said, adding he could not explain how the item was added to the final version of legislation prepared by the Senate and House negotiators.

Waxman said the fund would steer most of the money to a private consortium based in Sugar Land, DeLay's home district, by directing the Energy Department to "contract with a corporation that is constructed as a consortium."

Members of the consortium, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, include Halliburton Co., Marathon Oil Corp. and several universities, according to the group's web site.

The non-profit group conducts research into designing better technology to explore and produce natural gas in deep water, the web site said.

Waxman said that the measure added to the energy bill provides that members of the consortium -- including Halliburton and Marathon -- can receive money from the fund administered by the consortium.

Funny I dont remember hearing this

The government admitted yesterday that it had failed to foresee the scale of potential insurgency in Iraq and that the invasion had left a "strategic vacuum" in the country.

The admissions were made in the government's official response to a highly critical Commons defence committee report on the handling of post-war operations in Iraq.

However, the Ministry of Defence gave no indication about when British troops might withdraw, restating its commitment to "continue until the job is done". It added: "We will remain in Iraq for as long as the Iraqi government judges that our forces are required to provide security and assist in the development of the Iraqi security forces".

Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said yesterday that his government wanted to see a speedy withdrawal of US troops. Speaking alongside the US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is visiting the country, Mr Jaafari said the time had come to plan a coordinated transition from American to Iraqi military control.

"We do not want to be surprised by a withdrawal that is not in connection with our Iraqi timing," he said.

John Reid, the defence secretary, last month outlined a plan in which Britain would cut the number of its troops in Iraq from 8,500 to 3,000 by the middle of next year.

The Ministry of Defence admitted that "while some planning took place to deal with the likely disaffection following the invasion of Iraq, an insurgency on the scale that subsequently followed was not foreseen."


My comment is this .... if the MoD is caught off guard by the level of insurgency attacks in Iraq, lets extrapolate that idea ..... why would anyone inside the military complex in the US be able to expect anything better?

Read this if you dare

Rene Welch cut “a deal with the devil,” a deal she recently broke when she went public about her two 1987 encounters with Saudi royals, including two of the bin Laden brothers who claimed the U.S. government was actively involved in pre-arranging 9/11.

Welch’s incredible story, first made public in May, has already been verified by one other former NASA scientist. But this week another person present at the meeting also came forward to verify Welch’s story.

The meetings with the Saudis took place in Sedona and Pleasant Valley, Arizona, and lasted more than eight hours each time, the bin Ladens revealing in 1987 detailed plans how the U.S. government was planning to attack the World Trade Center, kicking off a global catastrophe, including a massive war in the Middle East.

Besides being verified by Ronald Logsdon, 49, of Philadelphia, a scientist who worked in a NASA program with Welch and also present at the bin Laden meetings, this week long time Sedona resident, Naomi Niles, also verified the Sedona meeting took place.

“Yes, I was there at one of the meetings back in 1987,” said Niles this week from her Sedona home, adding the details of the story should be left for Logsdon and Welch to describe since she was not a part of the NASA program.

And Welch not only learned about the U.S. government’s pre-planning of 9/11 from the bin Ladens back in 1987, but this week from her Albuquerque home Welch added more, saying when working for NASA as a scientist on brain development research in Phoenix, she obtained a secret computer code and was able to uncover the findings of a government-funded project titled “Global Cleanse 2000,” a study outlining strategies for global war and population reduction.

After learning of the government’s evil intentions almost 20 years ago and being a government target ever since, Welch talked about “the deal she made with the devil,” adding she always had a tacit understanding with FBI and CIA operatives, that if she’d “shut up and lay low,” they’d leave her alone.

But two months ago Welch broke the deal, deciding to tell America what she learned about the U.S. government’s pre-planning of 9/11, saying although the story’s a hard pill to swallow and “may sound unbelievable,” she felt the need to risk public humiliation, government harassment and warn Americans anyway.

“Just like before, they’ll be after me again now that I went public,” said Welch who has been drugged and beaten on several occasions by government operatives.

And since she went public in May the harassment stated again, starting in the similar subtle manner it did after she was unexpectedly approached by the Saudis, including the bin Ladens.

But Welch, instead or running and hiding, is now prepared to fight back hard, making public a 200 page document detailing information obtained about the staging of 9/11, Global Cleanse 2000 and about FBI and CIA civil rights violations.

“I’m naming names and want justice,” added Welch.

She also said she wants to document her story in a book, starting from the time she was a ‘military brat,’ her father being an Air Force B-52 pilot, when at the age of three she displayed exceptional ESP abilities and channeling powers, powers that eventually led her into the NASA program as an adult.

Concerning the 200 page diaries documenting her FBI troubles and knowledge of 9/11, copies of the documents have previously been sent to several members of the former Clinton White House, including Hillary Clinton, as well as to Taos, NM. former district attorney John Paternoster, who Welch approached in 1995 about government death threats.

Paternoster, now in private practice in Taos, recently said he couldn’t remember ever meeting Welch or hearing about the bin Laden story.

“He knows me and an investigator named Martinez was even assigned to my case,” said Welch this week in a telephone conversation from her New Mexico home. “I saw him several times and even have kept receipts from his office, given to me regarding the 200 page document I gave him. He just wants the whole thing to go away and is probably afraid to tell the truth.

Regarding possible FBI and CIA further retaliation, she added:

“What’s the difference if they’re planning global war and mass population reduction,” said Welch. “When I worked for NASA Application Technical Center In Phoenix, involved in brain development and mind control projects, I accessed the code for the computers and read a secret project they were working on called “Global Cleanse 2000,” outlining certain strategies like 9/11 to start a global war and how other strategies regarding how to reduce the world’s population.

“Now, again, after I went public, the harassment has started, my phone is tapped and they are starting to mess with my life. This time I am really frightened since they are very serious about keeping people like me, who know too much, quiet since they are getting closer to their objective of destroying this country.

“In the past I noticed when I stayed quiet, they left me alone. But when I started talking, the harassment then followed. That’s how I know they are still watching me and have always been watching me.”

Welch’s claim that two of the outspoken bin Laden brothers, not Osama, told her about the U.S. government’s plans to stage 9/11in 1987 is not an idle fantasy or a story made up by a hyper-sensitive person’s imagination.

Logsdon, the other NASA employed scientist who worked along side Welch, verified her story this way:

"Two of the bin Laden brothers came some 90 miles from Phoenix, Arizona, and stopped at our doorstep unannounced. Their bodyguards set up a surveillance parameter around our property and others came into our house, taped up the windows and set up a film projector. The people in this motorcade seemed very scared, and presented this as a matter of life and death," recalled Logsdon, who said at the time in 1987 the couple had no idea about the eventual 9/11 implications.

"These men told us to be very cautious and to assume that we were under surveillance by our government. For several hours they showed us films of meetings of key Arabs and U.S. government officials discussing the oil issues. The bottom line was that if the Arabs did not do it their way, the U.S. would simply take their oil by force. They also explained that they have been manipulated into setting up bank accounts where oil profits were siphoned off and were no longer under their control.

"They then explained why the World Trade Centers were the ideal target for this purpose. The two bin Ladens showed us this film because they made it very clear how they did not want to be involved with any U.S. plot to manipulate the Arab governments or start a war."

Regarding the ongoing government harassment to keep her quiet, Welch said a two year period in the mid 1990s was most troubling when an agent infiltrated her life, finally using drugs and other types of physical harassment to get information after gaining her trust.

“I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t tell you I was scared again and I know some people have a hard time believing this story, but it’s true,” said Welch, recalling the years when she said the agent who used the name Alfred Hermendorf injected her with several types of different drugs.

“But I am going to release the information and tell my story in a book because these people are evil and want to destroy America. There is a global catastrophe right around the corner and they may even make it look like a natural disaster. But I saw the plans back in the 1980s and after 9/11. I know it is going to happen unless we quickly get Bush out of power.”

Welch and Logsdon became aware of this radical element in our government, trying to create this new world order, when they worked together as scientists at NASA’s Application Technical Center Institute in Phoenix.

Together with over 100 "think tank" participants, Logsdon, an engineer, and Welch, a licensed hypnotism -therapist and head of the Global Elite Scientist’s Club, were developing technology to better understand the brain’s memory and psychic ability capacities.

The pair came up with they called the "light and sound" machine, receiving much praise during the 80s for what was thought then to be ground breaking work. It was this project that eventually brought them in contact with the bin Ladens, creating the backdrop for why they both know 9/11 was a staged U.S. government event.

"They (at NASA) ended up stealing our work and then after the bin Laden incident denied knowing that Rene and I even existed," said Logsdon.

Something to chew on

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing--that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack--but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections.

Are you paying attention yet?

NEW YORK So what is shown on the 87 photographs and four videos from Abu Ghraib prison that the Pentagon, in an eleventh hour move, blocked from release this weekend? One clue: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress last year, after viewing a large cache of unreleased images: "I mean, I looked at them last night, and they're hard to believe.” They show acts "that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane," he added.

A Republican Senator suggested the same day they contained scenes of “rape and murder.” No wonder Rumsfeld commented then, "If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse."

Yesterday, news emerged that lawyers for the Pentagon had refused to cooperate with a federal judge's order to release dozens of unseen photographs and videos from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by Saturday. The photos were among thousands turned over by the key “whistleblower” in the scandal, Specialist Joseph M. Darby. Just a few that were released to the press sparked the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal last year, and the video images are said to be even more shocking.

The Pentagon lawyers said in a letter sent to the federal court in Manhattan that they would file a sealed brief explaining their reasons for not turning over the material. They had been ordered to do so by a federal judge in response to a FOIA lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU accused the government Friday of putting another legal roadblock in the way of its bid to allow the public to see the images of the prisoner abuse scandal.

One Pentagon lawyer has argued that they should not be released because they would only add to the humiliation of the prisoners. But the ACLU has said the faces of the victims can easily be "redacted."

To get a sense of what may be shown in these images, one has to go back to press reports from when the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal was still front page news.

This is how CNN reported it on May 8, 2004, in a typical account that day:

“U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld revealed Friday that videos and ‘a lot more pictures’ exist of the abuse of Iraqis held at Abu Ghraib prison.

"’If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse,’ Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee. ‘I mean, I looked at them last night, and they're hard to believe.’

“The embattled defense secretary fielded sharp and skeptical questions from lawmakers as he testified about the growing prisoner abuse scandal. A military report about that abuse describes detainees being threatened, sodomized with a chemical light and forced into sexually humiliating poses.

“Charges have been brought against seven service members, and investigations into events at the prison continue.

“Military investigators have looked into -- or are continuing to investigate -- 35 cases of alleged abuse or deaths of prisoners in detention facilities in the Central Command theater, according to Army Secretary Les Brownlee. Two of those cases were deemed homicides, he said.

"’The American public needs to understand we're talking about rape and murder here. We're not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience,’ Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters after Rumsfeld testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. ’We're talking about rape and murder -- and some very serious charges.’

“A report by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba on the abuse at the prison outside Baghdad says videotapes and photographs show naked detainees, and that groups of men were forced to masturbate while being photographed and videotaped. Taguba also found evidence of a ‘male MP guard having sex with a female detainee.’

“Rumsfeld told Congress the unrevealed photos and videos contain acts 'that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman.’”

The military later screened some of the images for lawmakers, who said they showed, among other things, attack dogs snarling at cowed prisoners, Iraqi women forced to expose their breasts, and naked prisoners forced to have sex with each other.

In the same period, reporter Seymour Hersh, who helped uncover the scandal, said in a speech before an ACLU convention: “Some of the worse that happened that you don't know about, ok? Videos, there are women there. Some of you may have read they were passing letters, communications out to their men….The women were passing messages saying ‘Please come and kill me, because of what's happened.’

“Basically what happened is that those women who were arrested with young boys/children in cases that have been recorded. The boys were sodomized with the cameras rolling. The worst about all of them is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking that your government has. They are in total terror it's going to come out.”

Warmonger

Every morning 120 trucks line up at the Kuwait-Iraq border to deliver gasoline from Kuwaiti refineries. The drivers, mostly poor South Asian men from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, must cross at dawn because if they wait too long, the managers from Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Texas-based Halliburton, who operate the border post during the day, will subject them to rigorous checks that effectively shut down the deliveries.

"The only way we can cross the border is to arrive before KBR," says Alan Waller, the chief executive officer of Lloyd Owens International (LOI), a British company which manages 700 trucks from five different sub-contractors.

"For the last eleven months we provided fuel to all of southern Iraq. We have only lost one truck to theft and not one driver has been killed in hostile action. We have responded to civil uprisings in Najaf, Hilla, Karbala, Kut and Nasariya within 24 hours to provide fuel to the public. Our role has become instrumental in normalizing relationships between Iraqi authorities, the population and coalition forces."

All that changed on June 9th, 2005, when a convoy of LOI trucks, on its way to deliver construction materials for a Halliburton dining facility to a United States army base near Fallujah, Iraq, came under attack. Three drivers, two Egyptians and one Turk, were presumed killed and six trucks were abandoned.

When the survivors limped into the Al Taqaddum military base, they were expected to receive support from the Halliburton staff. Instead they got the cold shoulder. When the drivers tried to leave the country, they hit a roadside bomb and another Bosnian staff member was killed.

Reading from an email, apparently sent by a Halliburton manager, Waller said that the company staff were ordered not to help them: "Many people volunteered to help but were told no by management." He also noted that Halliburton had failed to inform them that two other convoys had been attacked in the same area in the previous week.

Waller and his business partner, Gary Butters, a former London police detective, were speaking at an oversight hearing on "Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in U.S. Government Contracting in Iraq" conducted by Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee in the United States Senate on June 27th. The two men flew to the United States to testify after they were twice refused an audience with the United States embassy in Iraq to resolve the situation.

When asked by CorpWatch why Halliburton throws roadblocks in their way at every step, Waller refused to speculate. He simply stated that Halliburton managers say that his company does not have a contract with the United States military and thus they do not qualify for preferential treatment at the border.

He did mention that that his company is now doing work for a seventh of the price that Halliburton did one year ago, when the circumstances were much less dangerous.

Via a sub-contractor called Altanmia Commercial Marketing Company, Halliburton delivered gasoline in late 2003 at an average price of $2.65 per gallon. In spring 2004, shortly before the country was handed over to the Iraqis, the contract was canceled by the US military. The new Iraqi government then awarded an identical gasoline supply contract to LOI and their partners, Geotech Environmental Services of Kuwait, who charged just 18 cents per gallon to supply the same sites.

Waller also told the hearing that he had encountered only one Halliburton worker in the last year of his work in southern Iraq (the Texas company still holds contracts to repair oil field infratructure in Iraq). Meanwhile, he said that every fuel distribution station set up provide gasoline to the Iraqi public -- even those that Halliburton was supposed to have fixed -- was in disrepair.

"As Lloyd-Owen delivers fuel to nearly every refinery or depot in southern Iraq, we find ourselves frequently encountering examples of poor equipment, no equipment or complaints from Iraqi staff," said Waller.

Asked to respond to the LOI testimony by CorpWatch, Cathy Gist-Mann, a Halliburton spokesperson, emailed this brief statement: "KBR does not control ANY borders in the Middle East or any other country."

Billion Dollar Overcharges

The LOI testimony was not the only new evidence offered against Halliburton workmanship in Iraq. Henry Waxman, a California member of the House of Representatives, kicked off the proceedings by presenting a new study gleaned mostly from confidential reports done by the Defence Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).

The study estimates that Halliburton has received roughly 52 percent of the $25.4 billion that the Pentagon has paid out to so far to 77 private contractors in Iraq.

This is divided into two major kinds of contracts. Under the first, known as LOGCAP, logistical support like cooking and cleaning are outsourced to civilian workers, Halliburton has so far received $8.6 billion. The company is reimbursed for its actual costs and then paid a premium of 1 percent to 3 percent, depending on performance.

The second contract, known as RIO, was for the repair of Iraqi oil fields in the immediate aftermath of the 2003 invasion and for imports of consumer fuels. This project is now complete and cost the Pentagon $2.5 billion. A second RIO contract is now underway.

The new evidence, released Monday afternoon, shows that Hallliburton:

* overcharged or presented questionable bills for close on $1.5 billion, almost four times the previous amount disclosed.
* lost 12 giant pre-fabricated bases worth over $75 million destined for the troops. The bases could have housed as many as 6,600 soldiers.
* billed $152,000 to provide a movie library for 2,500 soldiers
* billed inconsistently across the board. Video cassette players, for example, were said to cost $300.00 in some instances, and $1000 in others. Likewise, the company charged $2.31 for towels on one occasion and $5 for the same units on another.

Gist-Mann dismissed the Waxman report. "The only thing that's been inflated is the political rhetoric which is mostly a rehash of last year's elections," she said.

"It's DCAA's job to ask questions and it's our job to provide the answers which we have done,” she continued. “Audits are part of the normal contracting process and it is important to note that the auditors' role in the process is advisory only."

"Many of these questions have already been resolved. The figure represented in today's hearing stems from an aggregation of many reviews over a three-year period and the amount is a gross mischaracterization of the true facts," she added.

Spoiled Food and Leftovers

A third witness at the hearing was Rory Maryberry, a former Halliburton contractor who worked at the dining facilities in Camp Anaconda. Located just north of Baghdad, near the town of Balad, Anaconda is the largest United States military base in Iraq.

Mayberry worked for Halliburton in Iraq from February to April 2004. He claims the company charged the Army for 20,000 meals a day when it was only serving 10,000 during his tenure. Subsequenttly he says he was punished for speaking to auditors by being banished to the more dangerous outpost of Falluja.

In a video-taped deposition shown during the packed hearing, Mayberry explained how the company would sometimes supply food that was over a year past the expiration date or had spoiled due to inconsistent refrigeration. When the United States military occasionally refused the spoiled food, Halliburton truckers were instructed to take them to the next base in the hope that they would escape scrutiny.

Worst affected were the non-American workers. Mayberry says that Halliburton was supposed to feed 600 Turkish and Filipino meals. "Although KBR charged for this service, it didn't prepare the meals. Instead, these workers were given leftover food in boxes and garbage bags after the troops ate. Sometimes there were not leftovers to give them," said Mayberry.

"Iraqi drivers of food convoys that arrived on the base were not fed. They were given Meals Ready to Eat (U.S. military prepackaged rations), with pork, which they couldn'teat for religious reasons. As a result, the drivers would raid the trucks for food," he added.

"KBR's priority has always been providing the troops the best possible food, shelter and living conditions while they serve in Iraq," said Gist-Mann, in response to Mayberry's allegations.

"KBR is not responsible for purchasing food to serve at its dining facilities throughout Iraq. KBR's dining facilities are thoroughly inspected every month by the Army's Preventive Medicine Services division, and one of the main things they check is the expiration dates on various food products. If at any point food is deemed unfit to serve, KBR follows the government-approved processes and procedures to destroy it," she added.

No Bid Contracts

The witness who invited the most attention at the hearing, however, was Bunnatine Greenhouse, a former mathematics teacher from Louisiana, who rose to become the highest ranked civilian in the Army Corps of Engineers. As the person responsible for signing contracts, she spoke out repeatedly against superiors who she says forced her to sign no-bid contracts with Halliburton on the eve of the invasion of Iraq.

Greenhouse blew the whistle on the non-bid contracts in October 2004 when the Army tried to demote her. She filed a complaint for harassment on racial and gender grounds (she is African-American) but the harassment has not stopped. On June 24th, three days before the hearing, Pentagon lawyers met with her to try to persuade her not to testify.

"I have agreed to voluntarily appear at this hearing in my personal capacity because I have exhausted all internal avenues to correct contracting abuse I observed while serving this great nation as the United States Army Corps of Engineers senior procurement executive. In order to remain true to my oath of office, I must disclose to appropriate members of Congress serious and ongoing contract abuse I cannot address internally," said Greenhouse.

"I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) represents the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career."

Members of Congress, who attended the hearing, called for a bipartisan commission to review the Halliburton contracts. "This testimony doesn't just call for Congressional oversight -- it screams for it," said Senator Dorgan

American workers Revolt NOW

To all but the most critically astute American minds, a precious few it must be said, the USA is the most dynamic country to appear in recorded history. In the American mind, all problems, foreign or domestic, are, the faithful say, solvable with another election cycle, a court decision, a high profile resignation or, perhaps, another war on something (drugs), someone/some country (North Korea), or some mythical army of millions (terrorists). America's bounty is endless, they say, the US Constitution unchangeable, and the US military, led by archangels and their legions of fighting angels, undefeatable. There are infinite sums of money and limitless ingenuity to throw at whatever difficulty may come the American way and, besides, Americans trust in an omnipresent God, so how in God's name could God abandon those who trust so blindly? All of this propaganda is peddled to Americans, beginning in utero and ending on a slab in the morgue, by America's myth making machinery in religious institutions and the media. The engine for that machinery is the individual and collective ideological and monetary wealth of Wall Street.

The powerful of the country run a minimum security, open air labor camp called the United States of America in which the wardens are the Republicans and Democrats located in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the US government, along with their governments-in-waiting at think tanks around the country. The hideous and anticompetitive one-party system with two faces is an abomination, a monster disguised as an American politician, or maybe even a General or CEO, who claims to be the leader of the free world. The fact is that 21st Century Americans are little more than laborers, captives and, like all prisoners throughout recorded history, are fearful, afraid to challenge the system in any serious way, anxiously waiting on the next meal and a decent night's sleep before the alarm signals another wretched day in the hive. But the routine is safe and predictable but results in a form of imprisonment for the vast majority of Americans. Oh, the bloggers and and other journalists get excited about a Karl Rove, or a Supreme Court nomination, or the actions of insurgents justified by stupid American policy, or even a ham-handed spy operation. But these are busy-body issues that keep the faithful followers occupied while the foundation of the country rots away beneath them. The American masters have created a system based on the necessity to accumulate material goods, the necessity to believe in lies and myths, and the necessity of believing fantastical hyper-threats to justify internal security and repression, and world domination To date, the American people have bought the goods since they believe no alternative exists. Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote about such a society, prior to George Orwell, in his classic work WE.

In the American system of life, the dollar value of an individual, of a group of people is what matters. It's easily calculated. "People are fungible," said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It's all about the return-on-investment, the metrics and the data whether you are a military or civilian American. You're just another number. In this system, platitudes like "freedom is not free," "military service is the highest calling," "freedom to buy and sell," are little more than the equivalent of a cosmetic makeup base designed to disguise the hard face of reality that Americans are taught and encouraged to ignore. For example, it costs roughly $30,000 to train a regular US soldier and, perhaps, $40,000 to train a special operations soldier or military academy graduate. Multiply those figures by approximately 2,000 US KIA, and 16,000 US maimed in action or non-operative and returned stateside. Do the math. Using the $30,000 figure and 2,000 US dead equals $60,000,000. Taking the 16,000 maimed and multiplying by $30,000 equals $480,000,000.

So those American lives -- men and women -- mostly youngsters, were worth $540 million dollars (have the insurgents spent this much?). What kind of people can tolerate being fungible, can live with the lies of their "leaders", and be happy being a number in a balance sheet? These calculations take place every day in every organization large and small. It all makes a mockery of the mythical American way of life. Of course, it's not a way of life, it's a cold, calculating system.

Will people ever confront the silent horror that is the American system of life?

Can one seriously argue that the 9am to 5pm work cycle (more likely 7am to 7pm including commute, shower, dress) is dissimilar to the daily life in a labor camp? Ridiculous, you say. I'm free! Are you really? For at least five days a week you are owned by your company/organization. The boss/master says, "Oh, Mr./Ms. ABC, you are 10 minutes late. I expect you not to be tardy." "I'm sorry, it will not happen again," you say. What can you do? Nothing because you are afraid. These days, your job slot is imperiled by the availability of overseas labor that is as good as you are, maybe even better at satisfying the job requirements. Fear drives your performance. Fear of losing your food, shelter and clothing, your reputation, or the gadgets that define you. Who or what really owns your home or condo and the other 95% of residences in the USA? Mortgage companies and banks. In reality, there is no difference between renter and owner. As an owner, you have the right to sell your home and take interest deductions, but that's it. How about the automobile you drive? More than likely it's owned by a bank or finance company. Have credit cards? The bank owns them and you. Even the water you drink is most likely owned by a company whose stock is traded on Wall Street. On that note, your 401K is not yours until you retire and is dependent on the whims of Wall Street investors. The corporate pension plan and government social security--that social compact between corporation-government and the people--has disappeared. Americans simply do not take care of each other any longer.

And so at the end of the day, you bury yourself in "intellectual" pursuits. Read the New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune or Houston Chronicle? You are reading day old news from home and abroad reviewed and approved by corporate legal counsel. Of course, your favorite news sources are produced by organizations traded on Wall Street. Five days a week, you are given PowerPoint-type news in print and electronic format and it is conveniently designed just like fast food: limited choices and doesn't take a lot of time or thought to digest. On the weekends -- usually Sunday -- your newspaper of choice provides you with a supplemental "magazine" of essays and longer op-ed pieces that just happen to coincide with the issues appearing on the Sunday propaganda talkies aired by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and FOX. The networks, maybe even CSPAN, carry "news making" press conferences/speeches from the Pentagon, the US Congress, the White House -- sometimes in prime time -- or a corporate boardroom. You think these might be spontaneous, maybe even improvised. But, of course, it's all rehearsed and staged and hardly convincing. The questions are as empty as the answers given. It's pathetic.

As Herbert Marcuse once said, the system is administered and managed. Your freedom, your thoughts, your actions are not your own. You are the property of organizations and institutions far beyond your control. You "do the time" as the convicts say. After all, you owe the system a lot of money. The psyche of America is created by and belongs to the ideological and monetary powerhouses of Wall Street. It is easy not to think, to accept the way the system works. But that is not in concert with the spirit of the American Revolution of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Franklin and the many others for whom the break away from the United Kingdom was as much intellectual and spiritual exercise as anything else. Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence lost everything for their cause. Jefferson would ultimately die penniless.

Change must come. The spirit and intellectual caliber of the American Revolution must be rekindled.

So what to do? A few suggestions.

1. Creation of the New Party Development Organization. The NPDO would initiate development of The New Party, one alternative to the status quo. The NPDO would encourage peaceful street revolt and ballot box action throughout the country. The goal would be to purge the White House and US Congress of Democrats and Republicans--the One Party with Two Faces--starting with the most banal and corrupt. New Party members would act aggressively throughout the country using the Net, home-based newsletters and word of mouth to create alternatives to Democrats and Republicans control. "Watcher" groups would be established to monitor those attempt to infiltrate the NPDO.

2. Nationwide boycotts must be initiated and sustained against corporations who destroy pension plans and defend mining companies that pollute communities in the US and abroad.

3. Red-White-Blue mini-Revolutions must be initiated against an American electoral system that ensures the safety of the status quo. NPDO members would study CIA tactics used in Georgia and the Ukraine and apply them during election cycles.

4. Cities and townships are currently rebelling against the mandates of the federal government in matters of the environment and security. NPDO members must ally themselves with these groups and encourage them to change party affiliation.

5. The NPDO Manifesto must address the need for nationalization of US defense contractors and US airlines. Taxpayers pay for the former and have bailed out the latter. Corporations must be forced to shed the status of individual.

6. The NPDO Manifesto must address the need for national, one stop health insurance.

7. The NPDO Manifesto must address the need to eliminate child poverty, hunger and homelessness.

8. The NPDO Manifesto must address the need to establish national work projects to repair infrastructure. Tax cut repeals, including "death tax" will pay for the programs.

9. The compact between government and its people must be reestablished. Outsourcing of military functions, government agency functions and the corporate sale of American jobs overseas must cease.

10. The US must engage the world. Resources must be shared with emerging nations. Grievances of peoples long harmed by US government action must be addressed. The War on Terror would be terminated and civilian control would be restored to capture terrorists.

11. Homeland Security Department would be dissolved along with the National Director for Intelligence organization.

You May Be Brainwashed if .....

You May be Brainwashed by Corporate Media if You:

... believe the 5 corporations who own almost all of the media in the U.S. are liberal.

... believe $300 billion of U.S. tax money, allocated for the war and reconstruction in Iraq is actually going to Iraq .

... are unaware Iraq had 650 million barrels of oil in reserve just before the war in Iraq .

... are unaware at least $8.8 billion is known to be missing in Iraqi oil revenue from the period the U.S. was in control of Iraq .

... are unaware 198 million in Iraqi dollars is missing from the Iraq treasury from the period the U.S. was in control of Iraq .

... are unaware that war is exceptionally profitable for a small number of investors.

... believe Halliburton's no-bid contracts have nothing to do with former CEO, now Vice President Dick Cheney.

... are unaware that the Iraq war is the biggest case of war profiteering in human history.

... believe Saddam Hussein or Iraq had anything to do with 9/11, Al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden.

... are unaware the U.S. has killed more than 10,000 innocent women and children in Iraq with cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions.

... believe depleted uranium weapons are not radioactive or deadly weapons of mass destruction (they are 12% less radioactive than nuclear weapons grade uranium and very deadly).

... believe wealthy, warmongers can also be true Christians.

... are unaware stem cell research threatens the pharmaceutical industry by curing and preventing diseases which drug companies profit from by treating with drugs.

... are unaware the pharmaceutical industry is based entirely on treatment and is threatened by cures and prevention.

... are unaware the Food and Drug Administration does NO testing of food or drugs. They only set guidelines and review the testing corporations do of their own products.

... are unaware the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act has been 're- estimated' to cost U.S. taxpayers $1.3 Trillion (not the original $243 billion or the 'adjusted' $400 billion), and only pharmaceutical corporations and HMOs benefit from the increase.

... are unaware the Boston Tea party was a protest against corporate corruption (East India Company).

... are unaware our founding fathers intentionally made sure that corporations had no power over people or our government.

... are unaware corporations have fought aggressively and systematically over the past 200 years to increase their power and influence over our government.

... are unaware U.S. corporations are now protected under the 14th amendment as a legal 'person.'

... are unaware the definition of fascism is: 'The marriage of corporation and state' -- Benito Mussolini.

... are unaware well known U.S. corporate interests attempted a military coup against Franklin Roosevelt in 1933.

... are unaware most corrupt and wasteful government projects are run primarily by corporate contractors.

... are unaware 'less government' means paying corporate contractors three times what we pay government workers to do the same work.

... are unaware American corporations behave very differently in other countries.

... are unaware Enron and others were NOT investigated until they collapsed under the weight of their own greed.

... are unaware Bush's massive tax cuts were invested overseas to build sweat shops, factories and other facilities, where our jobs have been outsourced.

... are unaware outsourcing American jobs weakens labor unions and keeps wages low and corporate profits high .

... are unaware weak enforcement of immigration laws lowers wages in the U.S. and increases corporate profits.

... are unaware 'Free Trade' means 'Slave Wages' to poor people in Honduras, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, El Salvador, Guatemala, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and others.

... believe America is hated all over the world because of our freedom.

... believe the massive U.S. national debt (now $7,786,000,000,000) created by Republican presidents Reagan, Bush and Bush does not seriously threaten the future of our children and grandchildren.

... are unaware massive national debt ensures the expansion of poverty, which keeps wages low, which increases corporate profits.

... are unaware widespread poverty keeps wages low and corporate profits high.

... are unaware weak gun control laws perpetuate violence in poor neighborhoods which expands poverty, reduces wages and increases corporate profits.

... are unaware abortions go down only when we reduce poverty, expand healthcare and improve education.

... are unaware that making abortion illegal expands poverty which reduces wages and increases corporate profits.

... believe the Michael Jackson trial deserved more news coverage than the genocide of 400,000 people in Darfur , Sudan.

... believe Social Security is the biggest priority in America .

... are unaware privatizing Social Security would be a massive give away to experienced Wall Street investors that would also destabilize Social Security.

... are unaware that NOT funding 'No Child Left Behind' is dismantling funding for schools in poor neighborhoods, which expands poverty, lowers wages and increases corporate profits.

... are unaware the Healthy Forests Initiative has led to massive clear cutting of prime lumber and almost none of the forest fire prevention that it was sold on.

... are unaware the Clear Skies Initiative has increased pollution.

... are unaware Tort Reform will absolve corporations of massive negligent liabilities for things like asbestos exposure, pollution, mercury poisoning, hazardous waste, mad cow disease and all sorts of dangerous products and practices.

... are unaware mercury pollution (mostly from coal fired power plants and medical vaccines) has caused an epidemic of Autism, ADD and ADHD in the U.S.

... are unaware the Bush administration is dismantling three decades of US environmental protection.

... believe global warming is a rumor or conspiracy.

... are unaware 'Global Warming' is causing colder weather because the melting ice caps are cooling the gulf stream.

... believe the science of evolution is less valid than literal fundamentalist interpretation of creationism.

... believe the UN scandals could have taken place without the largest, most influential member and host nation being involved.

... believe making a war monger ambassador to the UN will help prevent more wars.

... are unaware that expanding equal rights to any segment of the population (including gay people) also expands economic opportunity and puts pressure on wages, which would reduce corporate profits.

If you believe Fox News is fair and balanced, you have been brainwashed by corporate owned media

Lets start a war

WASHINGTON - New investigations by the Saudi Arabian government and an Israeli think tank — both of which painstakingly analyzed the backgrounds and motivations of hundreds of foreigners entering Iraq to fight the United States — have found that the vast majority of them are not former terrorists and became radicalized by the war.

The studies cast serious doubt on President Bush's claim that those responsible for some of the worst violence are terrorists who seized on the opportunity to make Iraq the "central front" in a battle against the United States.

"The terrorists know that the outcome in Iraq will leave them emboldened or defeated," Bush said in a nationally televised address last month. "So they are waging a campaign of murder and destruction."

However, interrogations of nearly 300 Saudis captured trying to sneak into Iraq and case studies of more than three dozen others who blew themselves up in suicide attacks show that most were heeding calls to drive infidels out of Arab land, according to a study by Saudi investigator Nawaf Obaid.

An analysis of 154 foreign fighters compiled by a leading terrorism researcher found that despite the presence of some senior al-Qaida operatives, "the vast majority of non-Iraqi Arabs killed in Iraq have never taken part in any terrorist activity prior to their arrival in Iraq."

The Israel study says: "Only a few were involved in past Islamic insurgencies in Afghanistan, Bosnia, or Chechnya.

Getting off Scott free

NEW YORK Some of the denials and other comments made by White House spokesman Scott McClellan when asked by reporters whether President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was involved in the leak of a CIA officer's identity:

Sept. 29, 2003

Q: You said this morning, quote, "The president knows that Karl Rove wasn't involved." How does he know that?

A: Well, I've made it very clear that it was a ridiculous suggestion in the first place. ... I've said that it's not true. ... And I have spoken with Karl Rove.

Q: It doesn't take much for the president to ask a senior official working for him, to just lay the question out for a few people and end this controversy today.

A: Do you have specific information to bring to our attention? ... Are we supposed to chase down every anonymous report in the newspaper? We'd spend all our time doing that."

Q: When you talked to Mr. Rove, did you discuss, "Did you ever have this information?"

A: I've made it very clear, he was not involved, that there's no truth to the suggestion that he was.

___

Oct. 7, 2003

Q: You have said that you personally went to Scooter Libby (Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff), Karl Rove and Elliott Abrams (National Security Council official) to ask them if they were the leakers. Is that what happened? Why did you do that? And can you describe the conversations you had with them? What was the question you asked?

A: Unfortunately, in Washington, D.C., at a time like this there are a lot of rumors and innuendo. There are unsubstantiated accusations that are made. And that's exactly what happened in the case of these three individuals. They are good individuals. They are important members of our White House team. And that's why I spoke with them, so that I could come back to you and say that they were not involved. I had no doubt with that in the beginning, but I like to check my information to make sure it's accurate before I report back to you, and that's exactly what I did.

___

Oct. 10, 2003

Q: Earlier this week you told us that neither Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams nor Lewis Libby disclosed any classified information with regard to the leak. I wondered if you could tell us more specifically whether any of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA?

A: I spoke with those individuals, as I pointed out, and those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. And that's where it stands.

Q: So none of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA?

A: They assured me that they were not involved in this.

Q: They were not involved in what?

A: The leaking of classified information.

___

July 11, 2005:

Q: Do you want to retract your statement that Rove, Karl Rove, was not involved in the Valerie Plame expose?

A: I appreciate the question. This is an ongoing investigation at this point. The president directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation, and as part of cooperating fully with the investigation, that means we're not going to be commenting on it while it is ongoing.

Q: But Rove has apparently commented, through his lawyer, that he was definitely involved.

A: You're asking me to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Q: I'm saying, why did you stand there and say he was not involved?

A: Again, while there is an ongoing investigation, I'm not going to be commenting on it nor is ... .

Q: Any remorse?

A: Nor is the White House, because the president wanted us to cooperate fully with the investigation, and that's what we're doing.

from a web site

Two years ago I was a neocon. I supported Bush’s war on Iraq and I called everyone who didn’t a liberal Kool-aid drinker. I voted for Bush in 2000 and I listened to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and just about any right-winger on the radio that I could get a four-word talking point from to use against liberals. I would say things such as "liberals won’t defend America," "shut up and sing," "freedom is on the march," and "you’re a great American." I supported the war at first because I bought into the lies and propaganda.

I no longer do. I’m a recovering neocon.

The fact is, the neocon movement is a lot like a cult. I don’t remember how I got so involved and the details are hazy on how I got out. I just woke up one day and said "WTF!" and then ran outside to rip the "bring it on" sticker off of my car bumper. What pulled me in to the neocon cult however was a combination of American nationalism and group mentality. It was a time when questioning the government’s response to Iraq divided you between being with your country and government at a time of need, or against them. I wanted to be with them.

So this cult took me in and I watched Fox News, I bought Factor Gear and I was brainwashed into common reflexes for liberals and dissenters. When I heard dissent in the media over Iraq I’d call it liberal bias. If someone presented me any website that mentioned a "war for oil" or the phrase "illegal war" I would blow the site off as conspiracy hogwash. When someone would talk ill of the President and his march to war, I would call them a liberal and anti-American. When someone would say that Saddam was not a threat after I was done calling them part of the liberal "hate America" crowd, I would launch into a diatribe that Saddam was Hitler-like and hell bent on world domination. If someone persisted I would take out my wild card:

"Saddam believes he’s the reincarnation of King Nebuchadnezzar, and he’s harboring Al Queda!"

I couldn’t believe these liberals. I was outraged. The audacity of them to question our President during a time of war! I listened to similar sentiments on right wing radio while driving to work to reinforce my belief.

Little did I know at the time, but I was an important part of the neocon movement. I was but a tiny wheel in the machine of neoconservatism, but the survival of the neocon agenda depends on millions of us tiny wheels, or it cannot go anywhere. Most of all the neocon agenda depends on a much bigger wheel, the media. For the neocon machine to roll, the big wheel of the media must pull the millions of tiny wheels without the tiny wheels knowing they are being pulled.

This is a difficult trick that requires the media to be an active participant in government deception. To imply that they do so knowingly would be too conspiratorial, and it would be too grand an operation to be plausible. In truth, the mainstream media doesn’t believe they are participating in lies.

During the build-up to the war they were being pulled without knowing it, by the engine of the U. S. government. This swarm of nationalism begat a pro-American media, a complacent media, a lapdog media and a corporate media that to this day will not inform the American public.

When the Bush Administration was found to be creating fake news propaganda for public consumption the media did not inform the public. When the Bush administration marched towards pre-emptive war with Iraq the media was a lapdog instead of a watchdog. When the Bush administration described the assault on the Iraqi public as Shock and Awe, the media used that phrase to scroll alongside the words "War on Terror" without questioning if the assault on Iraq had anything to do with terrorism. When the Bush Administration tore into the U. S. Constitution with the Patriot Act, causing the illegal imprisonment of American citizens while denying them counsel, the media acted more like a timid cocker spaniel than an aggressive Doberman pincher, and failed to defend a sacred American document. When the UK’s Downing Street memo implicated the Bush Administration as being hell bent on a pre-emptive invasion on Iraq before even going to the UN, the American media was silent and once again failed to inform the public.

But the tiny wheels still want to call the media liberal. The tiny wheels still want to say the media isn’t reporting the good things happening in Iraq. Most of all the tiny wheels do not know about the big wheel that’s pulling them. But now I do. That’s why I am an ex-neocon and I am in recovery. It’s more clear to me now than ever that the most American thing one can do is speak out against the actions of their country because it means you love your country.

And in the end it doesn’t matter if we are liberals or conservatives because all that matters is that we are on the side of the U.S. Constitution and of international law. Both of which have been thrown into the toilet by this administration. At least the Qur’an has company.

Walmart SUCKS

If you hate Walmart nearly as much as I do .... go sign this:

http://www.changeamerica.com/walmart/pledge.html

Fuck Natalee Holloway

Does the name "Natalee Holloway" ring a bell? If you follow the news media in the United States, particular the 24-hour cable stations, it certainly ought to. On the other hand, if you've been living in a cave for the past month or so, here are the highlights: Natalee Holloway is an 18 year-old girl from Alabama who vanished on May 30th from the island of Aruba, where she was vacationing with some of her classmates to celebrate their high school graduation. Based on the amount of coverage that this story has received from the national media (Fox News in particular), one must draw the conclusion that this is a Very Important Issue, and that all Americans should care very deeply and personally about it. I must confess that I do not.

Now, before I get called a heartless bastard, let me hasten to point out that I agree that this story is tragic. Natalee's family and friends have doubtless been going through hell during this past month. I do hope that she can be recovered safe and sound, though that possibility seems very remote at this point. If I were the King of the World, I would snap my fingers and instantly transport every missing person back to the safety of their families.

But what makes Natalee Holloway more important than, say, Reyna Alvarado-Carerra?

In the United States alone, more than a million people are reported missing each year. The majority of these cases involve minors. The majority of those cases are runaways, but there are also significant numbers of abductions at the hands of both relatives and strangers. This brings us to the case of Reyna Gabriella Alvarado-Carerra.

Have you ever heard of her?

I certainly hadn't until I started doing research for this story. Reyna is a 13 year-old Hispanic girl who is believed to have been abducted by a stranger in Norcross, Georgia. She was abducted just a few weeks before Holloway. A Google search on her name yields a grand total of 6 results.

The same search for "Natalee Holloway" turns up 276,000 results.

But Natalee doesn't just get more Google search results. She's getting airtime, baby. As I mentioned in the intro, American news outlets are awash with a veritable cornucopia of Natalee fever. She also gets assistance from the Dutch Marines and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who apparently already have enough resources at work battling mundane things like terrorism.

Here's the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, and the reason I am writing this treatise: CNN is now reporting that Holland is sending three F-16 warplanes to assist in the search for Natalee. I was given pause by thinking about the sheer cost of this endeavor. My brother-in-law is a recruiter for the Air National Guard, and I have a rough idea of how much money it costs to even get one of those things off of the ground. How much do you suppose is being spent to equip these planes with the special search equipment and then actually get them to Aruba?

The disproportionate response of Aruban, Dutch, and American authorities to the disappearance of this girl can only be attributed to the disproportionate amount of media coverage. CNN, MSNBC, and (especially) Fox News feature hourly updates on the status of the investigation. They interview family members, law enforcement personnel, and representatives of the Aruban government. The case even features prominently on right-wing talk radio shows, such as the Sean Hannity Show and Bill O'Reilly's Radio Factor. This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the coverage: What could possibly be political about this case? Why would Hannity and O'Reilly be interested in taking away airtime from discussions about the immorality of Democrats and spend it on Natalee Holloway instead?

I can guess, and will spend the next couple of paragraphs doing so. This is mere speculation on my part; you have been warned.

The initial Fox News coverage of the story was pretty transparent, particularly on O'Reilly's show. The incident was portrayed as a lesson: "See, this is what happens when you vacation outside of America in nations with swarthy peoples." Initially, two former security guards were arrested in connection with the disappearance. O'Reilly called these two men "slugs" and lamented the fact that Aruba does not have a death penalty that they could be threatened with. Of course, it later turned out that the two had nothing to do with the abduction, and they were released. (As far as I've seen, there was no retraction or apology from O'Reilly, a man who constantly reminds us that he does not "engage in speculation" on his show.)

Things changed when the focus of the investigation shifted to 17 year-old Dutch boy Joran van der Sloot. Since the new culprit was now Whitey, the initial political spin was invalidated. Fox briefly attempted to make the story into an argument for the juvenile death penalty (even going so far as referring to van der Sloot as a "17 year-old Dutch man.") This fizzled, however, and the current focus of the coverage, at least on Fox, is the supposed ineptitude of Aruban law enforcement. O'Reilly's new favorite pastime is lambasting the Aruban authorities for not giving the media enough information about the case and for not having recovered her body yet. This despite the fact that it took over a year to find the body of Chandra Levy (and Washington, D.C. is smaller than Aruba.)

But I digress; I would be doing a grave disservice to suggest that the other news networks have been handling this story responsibly. The coverage at places like CNN and MSNBC has been less political but certainly no less pervasive. Stories of actual importance to the daily lives of Americans are routinely ignored in favor of the latest non-updates in the Holloway case. (To be fair, however, the Holloway case is far from the only non-news that is being reported; my life is not particularly affected by shark bites to Austrians who are vacationing in Florida.)

Here are some things that you may have missed over the past couple of weeks if you rely on American television news for your daily dose of information:

• The Chinese government is looking to buy Unocal, an American oil company
• NASA has fired a "robotic bullet" at a comet to help study cometary makeup and origins
• Kurdish guerillas bombed two trains in Turkey, increasing tensions between that nation and northern Iraq
• Spain has legalized gay marriage

These are just a few examples. But hey, we're getting our Natalee fix, right?

It would probably be impossible to figure out how many millions of dollars are being spent on the effort to find Natalee Holloway. But I'll wager it would be relatively trivial to determine how much money and effort is expended on a typical abducted person case. So if you've reserved a few moments out of your day to send your thoughts or prayers to the family of Natalee Holloway, you might want to do the same to the family of Reyna Alvarado-Carerra.

Does it make me a bad American if I just don't care about Natalee Holloway (above and beyond the general concern expressed at the beginning of this story?) Is the life and death of one teenager worth more than another on the basis of her socioeconomic status? Is America, as a nation, well-served by a news media that is more concerned with infotainment than it is with information? And if you think that the Natalee Holloway case is something that in any shape or form deserves my hourly attention, could you explain why?

I wish I could say that I care, but I just can't.