[Marxism] Forwarded from Stan Goff

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

COMMENTS:  We know people check the BTHN web site
www.bringthemhomenow.org for daily updates, for the Sound Off letters
from vets, GI's, and military families, for organizing tips from the
Take a Stand section, and for organizational links to activists.  Some
people just check it to reassure themselves that this special community
has not been stood down by fatigue or elections.  Never fear on the
last.  One of the things we learned being troops and military families
is patience and endurance.  We will not stand down until the last US
troop is out of Iraq.  There will be no compromise, no rest, and no
surrender.  And we will not be intimidated by the gangsters in
Washington DC.

But one thing that is not often recognized about this site is that we
have archived by date and in sequence one of the finest collections of
news and commentary on the war anywhere, in our News Roundups at the
What's Up? section each day.  A quick click of the "previous" button
will scroll you day-by-day back to July 2003, with multiple sources that
track the 'progress' of this criminal enterprise and human catastrophe.

We have also tracked the monotonous regularity of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld
claims of victories and advances that are proven false within days? like
the perpetual drip, drip, drip of news claiming the pacification of
Fallujah, even as Marine intelligence yesterday said thousands of troops
must now stay in Fallujah to consolidate that so-called pacification (a
word with spooky resonance for us Vietnam vets), and that troop numbers
must now be expanded.  (Bobby McNamara, you there?)

We encourage journalists, scholars, freelance writers, activists, and
people who just give a damn, to scroll through these archives and the
accompanying photos (all placed in accordance with Fair Use laws) to
gain the kind of perspective needed to see past the daily dust storms of
spin originating from the Oval Office, the Department of State, and the
Department of Defense.  We further encourage you to pass this link along
to other journalists, scholars, freelance writers, activists, and people
who just give a damn, so they will know we are there.  And if you know a
military service member, or a veteran, or a military family member, pass
this link along to them too.

Also note - Mark you calendars for MARCH 19, 2005.

On March 20 last year, we staged the biggest demonstration Fayetteville,
NC has seen in 35 years.  Fayetteville is next to Ft. Bragg, NC - ground
zero for the 82nd Airborne Division (that is preparing for their third
trip to Iraq) and most of the US Special Operations community.  Many
people feared trouble there, but the demonstration against the war was
not only well received, many service members participated along with
their families.  And the police (!), many of whom privately expressed
agreement with us (most are veterans in Fayetteville), kept the thin
line of hecklers back and allowed us full use of beautiful Rowan Park.

On MARCH 19 in FAYETTEVILLE this year, we will mark the anniversary of
the 2003 ground offensive AGAIN with a far bigger demonstration than the
last.  If you are tired of pilgrimages to DC and NYC for mass
mobilizations, and if you want to send a message from the belly of the
beast, this year you need to visit North Carolina.  Before and after the
action, you can hike through Raven Rock State Park (30 minutes), drive
to the beach (2 hours), or explore Fayetteville's Quaker House (an
historic center for GI Resistance).  But come to NC, come to Rowan Park
in Fayetteville, and help us continue to undermine the legitimacy of
this gangster-government.  We want this to be not only national but
international (international press was there last year), and we need
every warm body available to come.

The wheels are falling off this war wagon, and we need you in
Fayetteville this March to give them another hard kick.

Stan Goff

Information for March 19 at lou.plummer@xxxxxxx or chuckfager@xxxxxxxx 

****************

ANOTHER MARINE BLOWS THE WHISTLE

He trolled for teenagers in North Carolina high schools, barked orders
at recruits in boot camp, and pulled charred civilian corpses out of
cars in Iraq. Now Jimmy Massey is making good on his promise to tell the
whole world what he learned as a Marine. 
http://www.counterpunch.org/ferner11182004.html

RARE BLOOD DISEASE AFFLICTING GI'S

A total of 102 soldiers were found to be infected with the bacteria
Acinetobacter baumannii. The infections occurred among soldiers at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Landstuhl Regional
Medical Center in Germany and three other sites between Jan. 1, 2002,
and Aug. 31, 2004. 
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=NW_1-T&oldflok=FF-RTO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0002/20041118/1351115269.htm&photoid=20041114ANS117

GENERALS REPORT US MILITARY AT 'BREAKING POINT'

Continued fighting in Iraq is straining U.S. forces nearly to the
breaking point, even as the Pentagon pumps more than $5.8 billion per
month into sustaining its forces there, the chiefs of the Army, Navy,
Air Force and Marines told Congress on Wednesday. 
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-troops18nov18,0,5365123.story?coll=la-home-headlines

PORTER GOSS - CHENEY-PUPPET SLAMS THE LID ON THE CIA

Acting through new CIA Director Porter Goss, the Bush administration
read the riot act to Langley's intelligence professionals that they must
get behind Bush's policies or get out. The demands have led to an exodus
of senior CIA officials, including deputy CIA chief John E. McLaughlin
and deputy director of operations Stephen R. Kappes. 
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/111804.html 

PORTER GOSS NEEDED? MARINE INTELLIGENCE GIVES VERY GLOOMY REPORT ON
FALLUJAH

The US Marine intelligence report warned that any significant troop
withdrawal from Fallujah would strengthen the insurgency, The New York
Times said. The assessment, distributed to senior Marine and army
officers in Iraq, said that despite the heavy fighting, the insurgents
would continue to increase in number, carrying out attacks and fomenting
unrest. "The enemy will be able to effectively defeat (the Marines')
ability to accomplish its primary objectives of developing an effective
Iraqi security force and setting the conditions for successful Iraqi
elections."
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=54687&d=19&m=11&y=2004

STAND BY? YOU'RE GOING BACK!  TROOP LEVELS TO BE BOOSTED

Amid a spike in violence in Iraqi cities coinciding with the Fallujah
offensive, the US military is now planning to boost combat forces to
secure the country for elections in January.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1119/p03s01-usmi.html

IRAQI MUSLIM LEADERS CALL FOR BOYCOTT OF US 'FIXED' ELECTIONS -
LEGITIMACY AND DURABILITY OF ANY ELECTION RESULT IN SERIUS QUESTION NOW

Dozens of political organizations, many with largely Sunni memberships,
announced Thursday that they would boycott elections planned for
January.
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1039806&l=1&t=Nation+%2F+World&c=26,1039806

 

UK HAS CITED ABUSE FOR A LONG TIME? AND BEEN IGNORED BY WASHINGTON

Britain has frequently expressed concern to Washington at the highest
level about US troops allegedly mistreating victims in Iraq, most
recently in October, a British official has told the UN's anti-torture
panel.  http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1247320.htm

KILLING WITNESSES

The global managing editor of news provider Reuters says the US military
is entirely to blame for the deaths of three of its employees in Iraq
since the start of the war there in March 2003."All of them were killed
by the American army," Reuters chief David Schlesinger told reporters on
the sidelines of a conference in the southern Portuguese resort of
Vilamoura, national news agency Lusa reported. The most recent death
occurred in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on November 1. The US military says
a cameraman killed there while on assignment for Reuters died in a gun
battle between marines and insurgents. But the Iraqi man's colleagues
and family have said they believe he was shot by a US sniper.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1247425.htm


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