Thomas Paine's version of "you didn't build that":
"Separate an individual from society,and give him an island or a continent to possess,and he cannot acquire personal property. He cannot be rich. So inseparably are the means connected with the end,in all cases,that where the former do not exist the latter cannot be obtained. All accumulation, therefore,of personal property,beyond what a man's own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice,of gratitude,and of civilization,a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came"
Submitted by Leah
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In the Vietnam era, stories like this and television reporting on the war contributed to the end of the Vietnam War in a time frame of much less than 17 years.
As deployment of the last 17 years only came to a sub set of young people, and TV and news rarely covered the searing violence of war, eschewing such content for minor content (Kardashians, Tweets, outrageous behavior), the daily violence and futility went “off stage”.
One is invited to read the daily post, “United States Wars, News and Casualties” and then watch the daily news on the U.S. TV Media.
The absence of U.S. War News is atrocious.
We need this daily report of our wars in our face………..Daily.
The McGlynn
Damn The War Criminals,Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Powell and Blair from England.
How many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago? Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again.
The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in our country as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime.
Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of a mostly amnesiac citizenry.
We condemned children to death, some after many days of writhing in pain on bloodstained mats, without pain relievers. Some died quickly, wasted by missing arms and legs, crushed heads. As the fluids ran out of their bodies, they appeared like withered, spoiled fruits. They could have lived, certainly should have lived – and laughed and danced, and run and played- but instead they were brutally murdered. Yes, murdered!
The war ended for those children, but it has never ended for survivors who carry memories of them. Likewise, the effects of the U.S. bombings continue, immeasurably and indefensibly.
The McGlynn
War News
An Unfinished Miracle
American soldiers helped save her life. But what happened to Baby Noor when she was sent back to Iraq? Moni Basu reports
“You’re doing exactly the same thing we did in the case of Iraq. We don’t want another war in the Middle East.”
After senior State Department official and head of the Trump administration’s so-called “Iran Action Group” Brian Hook delivered a hawkish speech on Wednesday trashing the Iran nuclear accord and praising the White House’s deeply harmful sanctions, CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin interrupted the event and condemned Hook for “making the case for war with Iran.”
“Are we going to allow another administration to take us into another war in the Middle East? Have we learned nothing?” —Medea Benjamin, CodePink
“That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen. The world community wants to keep the Iran nuclear deal,” Benjamin declared as she walked on stage at the small gathering, which was hosted by the right-wing Hudson Institute.
Responding to Hook’s remark that Iran must begin acting like a “normal” country, Benjamin said: “Let’s talk about ‘normal countries.’ Let’s talk about Saudi Arabia. Is that who our allies are?”
“Do you think the sanctions are hurting the regime or are they hurting the Iranian people? They are hurting the Iranian people,” Benjamin added. “You are making a case for war with Iran. How did the war with Iraq turn out? You’re doing exactly the same thing we did in the case of Iraq. We don’t want another war in the Middle East.”
BERLIN (Reuters) – Turkey has played a positive role in Syria’s Idlib province, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday after Turkey and Russia announced on Monday that their troops would enforce a new demilitarized zone in Idlib.
FILE PHOTO: Newly displaced Syrian children arrive to a refugee camp in Atimah village, Idlib province, Syria September 11, 2018. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
“We have also seen that Turkey has played an extraordinarily positive role regarding discussions in Syria and Idlib – ultimately Turkey managed to agree with Russia on a demilitarized zone and that’s extremely important,” Maas said at a news conference in Berlin.
He also stressed that it was in Germany’s interests for Turkey to be stable economically but added that he thought Turkey was able to make the necessary decisions to restore that stability.
QAMISHLI, northeast Syria (Reuters) – Kurdish-led authorities controlling northeastern Syria will not be able to hold foreign Islamic State fighters indefinitely, and their home countries should take them back, a senior official there said on Thursday.
Abdulkarim Omar, joint head of foreign relations in the Kurdish-led area, told journalists its administration was holding around 500 foreign fighters and 500 family members from around 40 countries, following last year’s defeat of Islamic State in nearly all territory it once held in Syria and Iraq.
“For us it is a very large number because these Daeshis are dangerous and they committed massacres, and their presence in our detention is an opportunity for the international community to put them on trial,” Omar said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State members.
Backed by the United States and its allies, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia alliance captured swathes of northern and eastern Syria from Islamic State over the past two years, including the jihadists’ one-time capital Raqqa.
The SDF is now fighting to take the last few villages Islamic State holds along the Euphrates River in Syria, close to the border with Iraq, and has detained more foreign fighters, Omar said.
WASHINGTON — Taking a page from Vietnam War propaganda, the American military in Afghanistan has been widely publicizing body counts of Taliban and Islamic State fighters killed in battle. Officials described the practice, which began in January, as part of an apparent strategy to rally White House support for remaining in the conflict.
In roughly three dozen statements, the military announced the deaths or wounding of more than 2,500 enemy fighters. The media releases were posted online, where they could have been seen by at least hundreds of thousands of internet followers, including on Facebook and Twitter.
On Thursday morning, in response to questions from The New York Times, the practice abruptly stopped.
The body counts served as a grisly contrast to other metrics that paint a grimmer reality of the war effort — including high attrition rates in the Afghan military and the loss of territory to Taliban militants……….Top Pentagon officials have flatly said they oppose using body counts as a way to drum up public — and political — backing for the 17-year war that President Trump has repeatedly threatened to leave.
As recently as last year, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis openly disagreed with using body counts as propaganda………………
There are roughly 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan — including 4,000 that were added under Mr. Trump’s strategy. Most of the forces are restricted to advising roles behind the front lines. As a result, estimates of dead militants are difficult to verify, according to three military officers familiar with the process.
When not accompanied by American forces, Afghan troops have in the past overestimated the number of enemy combatants killed in firefights.
A military document obtained by The Times concluded that airstrikes carried out by the Afghan Air Force in September 2017 resulted in enemy casualty estimates that “appear to be inflated.” It noted that two of the six strikes purported to have killed 135 militants — an unusually high amount.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy A. Bolyard, 42, from Thornton, West Virginia, died Sept. 3, 2018, of wounds sustained from small arms fire in Logar Province, Afghanistan. The incident is under investigation.
Bolyard was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, Fort Benning, Georgia.
All VA Medical Centers provide PTSD care, as well as many VA clinics.Some VA’s have programs specializing in PTSD treatment. Use the VA PTSD Program Locator to find a PTSD program.
If you are a war Veteran, find a Vet Center to help with the transition from military to civilian life.
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