"Arlington officials knew of desecration" by Christian Davenport, Washington Post | June 24, 2010
WASHINGTON — Officials at Arlington National Cemetery said Tuesday that they were aware that discarded tombstones were lining the banks of a small stream on the grounds for more than a decade but left them in the mud....
Actually, that is the way the AmeriKan leaders view and treat the troops.
Otherwise, they would stop telling war-mongering lies.
An Army investigation released this month found a “dysfunctional’’ and chaotic management system that led to the mislabeling of more than 200 graves and the dumping of at least four urns in a dirt pile.
Why not? Living soldiers are treated like dirt anyway.
The cemetery’s top two leaders — superintendent John Metzler and his deputy, Thurman Higginbotham — were reprimanded and replaced.
The Virginia cemetery, home of the Tomb of the Unknowns and the burial site of John F. Kennedy, is a national symbol of sacrifice and a popular tourist destination.
I've seen it in person.
News that tombstones had apparently been used for erosion control outraged family members of the deceased and others....
Well, I think the whole nation on this one.
Where do you put the flowers?
--more--"
WASHINGTON — An investigation by the Army inspector general unveiled last month found 211 discrepancies between burial maps and grave sites, as well as cases in which funeral urns were dug up and dumped in an excess dirt pile.
In addition, the investigation found a dysfunctional management system.They finally looked in the mirror, huh?
That's the entire war machine, btw.
--more--"
Better get some more stones set, America:
"2d shooting clouding Afghan security bid; New concerns over rush to expand army" by Heidi Vogt, Associated Press | July 22, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — The second shooting of Western troops by one of their Afghan counterparts this month has highlighted the potential hazards of a push to speedily expand Afghanistan’s army and police forces in the next few years.
Time to leave.
On Tuesday, an Afghan Army sergeant opened fire at an army base in northern Afghanistan, killing two American civilian trainers before being shot dead....
The shooting started with an argument during a weapons-training exercise at a firing range on an Afghan army base outside Mazar-e-Sharif. The Afghan soldier turned his weapon on the American civilian trainers and shot two before being gunned down, the Afghan Defense Ministry said. Another Afghan soldier was killed in the crossfire.
NATO suspended training throughout the country after the shooting but resumed full operations yesterday, said US Brigadier General Gary Patton, deputy commander of the training mission. It was unclear what the argument was about, and the Afghan government and NATO have launched a joint investigation....Yeah, I'll be waiting with bated breath on the edge of my seat for the results.
That followed an attack in the south on July 13, when a soldier killed three British troopers, including the company commander, with gunfire and a rocket-propelled grenade in the dead of night.
Military commanders have described the two attacks as isolated events, and it is indeed rare for an Afghan soldier to turn on NATO forces. Still, they feed on larger doubts about the ongoing massive recruiting among a largely illiterate population — many of whom are used to holding a gun but not to rigid military discipline.
Sort of like a Zionist Zettler, 'eh, jewsmedia?
The concerns include possible infiltration by the Taliban and the professionalism of the forces at a time when NATO hopes to expand the Afghan army....
NATO has six large training sites across the country....
Colonel Stuart Cowen, a spokesman for the NATO training mission, said that there is a strict program for vetting recruits before enlistment, including drug tests, physical exams, and a check against a database of known insurgents. Potential recruits also have to get their community elders to vouch for them in a written letter....
Even so, there are Afghan soldiers who light up hashish or marijuana during patrols and Afghan police officers who use checkpoints mainly to shake down motorists for bribes.
That is why the TALIBAN is RESURGENT!
Say what you want about them, but they DID ROOT OUT CORRUPTION and they FROWN UPON THIS SORT of THING!!!!
NATO is trying to get troops and police through regular retraining programs, but this process moves slowly....
Whatever, MSM. I've HAD IT with the F***ING EXCUSES, 'kay?
TIME for the troops to COME HOME and for YOU to TELL the TRUTH!
Good luck on both, America.
Also see: Four More Years in Afghanistan
Obama's Open-Ended War
Better start mass-producing them.
And it's not just Afghanistan:
"Car bomb outside Iraqi mosque kills 15" by Associated Press | July 22, 2010
BAGHDAD — A car bomb outside a Shi’ite mosque in a village north of Baghdad killed 15 people yesterday, the third deadly attack in the region in as many days, and a US soldier was killed in a separate bombing in the same province, Iraqi officials and the US military said.
The blast in a shopping area in the village of Abu Sayda also left 21 wounded, Ghalib al-Karkhi, a police spokesman in Diyala Province, said. Diyala was once an insurgent stronghold, and the three consecutive days of violence there underscores the fragile nature of Iraq’s security as insurgents persist in trying to reignite sectarian bloodshed....
You are just going to have to stay then, AmeriKa.
The US soldier, who was not identified pending notification of next of kin, was killed by a roadside bomb that struck his vehicle as he was traveling through Diyala, the US military said in a statement.
The car bombing was the third attack in and around about 35 miles north of Baghdad, since Monday. On Tuesday, a car bomb near a roadside restaurant north of killed one person. A day earlier, a car bomb exploded near a Baqubah restaurant, killing six people.--more--"
And there have been other attacks:
"48 killed in Iraq suicide bombings; Sunnis targeted; Most victims were guards awaiting pay" by Ernesto Londono, Washington Post | July 19, 2010
MAHMOUDIYAH, Iraq — Two suicide bombings yesterday targeting members of local guard forces left at least 48 people dead and heightened concern about the future of the groups as the number of US troops in the country is reduced.
The deadliest attack occurred at approximately 7 a.m. outside an army base in Radwaniya, a district southwest of Baghdad, where dozens of members of the Sunni groups known as awakening councils were lined up waiting to collect their monthly salaries, officials said. That bombing killed at least 45 people and wounded nearly 50.
Shortly afterward, a militant stormed into a meeting of awakening council leaders in al-Qaim, a town near the Syrian border, and detonated explosives, killing at least three people, Iraqi security officials said.
A third explosion in a village near Radwaniya targeting a house that Iraqi soldiers were using as a temporary base killed two officers and three soldiers, police said.
The attack in Radwaniya, the deadliest in Iraq since the spring, incensed members of the armed groups. Leaders say the groups, once backed and financed by the US military, are withering because of continuing insurgent attacks and the slow pace at which the government is moving them into civilian ministries.
Bush's SURGE FAILED, America -- and the MSM has been telling you it's been a success for three f***ing years!
Related: Obama Says Bush Was Right
Some change.
“The Iraqi government is responsible,’’ Khadum Feiad Mezel, 63, said outside the Mahmoudiyah hospital, where most of the wounded were transported, as he awaited news about a nephew who was at the site. “There is no other side we blame.’’
I CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT!
American officials have sought with mixed results to get the Iraqi government to care for the members of the awakening councils, which were instrumental in turning the tide on a worsening war during the 2007 US troop surge.
Pffft!
Yesterday’s attacks marked one of the deadliest days in Iraq this year, underscoring fears that insurgents are exploiting a period of political impasse. Iraqi lawmakers have bickered since the March 7 parliamentary election over who will form the next government and many worry the stalemate could drag on for months.
Vice President Joe Biden said yesterday that the political dispute will not affect US plans to draw down to 50,000 troops by the end of August. “There is a government in place that is working,’’ Biden said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.’’ “Iraqi security is being provided by the Iraqis, with our assistance.’’
Then why didn't we leave way back when?
I mean, the number of Iraqis killed by the surge alone was around 300 per day, 10,000 per month -- with 1.2 million Iraqis dead since the invasion (must be nearly TWO MILLION by now).
Related: Story Iraq: MSM Lied About Death Tolls
Memory Hole: 600,000 DEAD!
Occupation Iraq: One Million Dead Iraqis
Of course, look what happens to you when you tell the truth.
That is the only time the Lancet's credibility has been called into question.
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Biden Bombs
Yeah, whatever, Joe.
At the Mahmoudiyah hospital yesterday afternoon, electricity from generators was insufficient to power most wings, forcing doctors and nurses to work in sweltering rooms, using flashlights to study charts.
We SHATTERED the place and NEVER BUILT IT BACK UP!
Related: Occupation Iraq: The Reconstruction Rip-Off
And YOU PAID FOR IT ALL, America!!
The US military established the armed Sunni groups in 2006 and 2007 in an effort to wean the Sunni insurgency of recruits and local support. The groups, which included thousands of former insurgents, turned on Al Qaeda in Iraq, an insurgent group that had come to control large parts of western Iraq and predominantly Sunni areas of Baghdad and surrounding villages.
Al Qaeda in Iraq has killed scores of awakening council members because they see them as traitors for siding with American forces.
Yeah, well, which "Al-CIA-Duh" would that be, huh?
The made-up "Al-CIA-Duh?"
Related:
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh and the OSI
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh's Greatest Hits
Prop 101: The "Terrorism" Business
New York Times Admits War on Terror is U.S. Creation
Oh, AmeriKa's MSM KNOWS ALL ABOUT and yet STILL PUSHES the CHARADE, huh?Also see: Occupation Iraq: Israel's IEDs
Occupation Iraq: Israelis Killing U.S. Troops
Occupation Iraq: Israeli-Trained Death Squads
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh and the OSI
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh's Greatest Hits
Prop 101: The "Terrorism" Business
Prop 102: Iraq and Government Lies
Al-CIA-Duh
Who Invented "Al-CIA-Duh?"
"Al-CIA-Duhs" Catch-and-Release Program
Asymmetrical Warfare Group
Operation Gladio
Operation Northwoods
Occupation Iraq: British Bombers
Occupation Iraq: America's Roadside Bombs
'The Salvador Option'
Special Police Commandos
Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group
Prop 201 tutorial
FRU
Islam's 9/11
Who is Bombing in Iraq? Are the bombers Al-Qaeda, the CIA or Israel?
How much more evidence do you need?
Israeli Mossad Role in Turkey Coup Plot Revealed
Israel funded "terrorist" groups through BCCI
AMIA was Mossad False-flag Operation
Mossad Agent killing Oz Tourists to steal their identity to use in fake Al-Qaeda operations
‘Mossad capable of US attack’: US Army officials
Iran hangs "terrorist" linked to Mossad
Montreal Averts Israeli Mossad Terrorist Attack
Judiciary starts work on case of Mossad-linked terror group
Assassins caught on video reveals possible Mossad-Fatah link
Mossad funded Abu Nidal through BCCI
Israeli officer sells weapons to terrorists in Iraq
MOSSAD FALSE FLAG TERRORIST ATTACKS
Revealing information on Mossad terrorist acts worries Europeans
Mossad and Moving Companies: Masterminds of Global Terrorism?
Group that took credit for "Bandini Bomber" linked to Mossad.
MARRIOTT BOMB:Mossad pulls off another false-flag operation
Mossad Exposed in Phony`Palestinian Al-Qaeda' Caper
Mossad orchestrated Christmas Day bomb plot
British Broadsheet Links Mossad to 9/11
How Mossad Deceived the U.S. Military on 9/11
A Look at the Mossad's Assassination Squads
Army Captures 'Terrorist Ring' Working for Mossad
Lebanon's Army captures Israeli Mossad 'Terrorist Ring'
A bumbling Mossad hand suspected in Dubai assassination
Mossad stealing passports in Australia and NZ
Mossad supporting "Radical Muslim" groups.
Mossad-Linked Cell Arrested in South Lebanon
Mossad links to 1986 Berlin disco bombing
HUNDREDS OF MOSSAD AGENTS CAUGHT RUNNING WILD IN AMERICA!
Mossad-backed terror network in Lebanon
Mossad was found to be propping up 'Islamic terrorist' groups in mid-east.
Mossad implicated in a coup plot in Turkey, a NATO country
Mumbai Terror Attacks: The Mossad Angle
Mossad linked to "Jundollah" attacks, and kidnapping of Iranian border guards
Mossad behind Hindu terror group
Israeli Mossad Links To World Trade Center Attack
'Terror' group in Iran linked to Mossad, CIA
Attack On US Embassy In Yemen Linked To Mossad
Mossad Black Ops and False Flags
Mossad linked to "Crotch Bomber"
Mossad linked to 9/11 attacks: Report
9-11 Mossad Agents Admit Mission: "Our Purpose Was To Document The Event"
Only people actually arrested on 9-11 were Israelis
Mossad Link Found to One of Key 9-11 Hijackers
Bush Administration Ignores Mossad-Al Qaeda Terrorist Link
Mossad linked to Ergenekon plot
Israel tricked the US into attacking Libya
When Israel attacked the USS Liberty they tried to frame Egypt for it.
The Lavon Affair: Israel has a history of faking terror attacks.
Israel creates and aids terror groups.
If HAMAS is so bad why did Israel create it? To demonize Palestinians?
Israel stages all these "terror" attacks to trick America into hating Israel's enemies.
That enough for you?
In 2008, the US military stopped paying Sons of Iraq after Iraqi officials agreed to give them salaries and gradually put guards into civilian ministry jobs.
The government has not made good on its promise to move at least 20 percent to police and army jobs. Among those who have been put into civilian ministries, former fighters complain they are often paid late — if at all.
Hey, it IS an AmeriKan-created government!!!
“I haven’t been paid in four months,’’ said Ayed Mohammed Bahar, 38, a former awakening council member in Radwaniya who was offered a job at the Health Ministry in Baghdad. “Right now we are consumed by worry. We are relying on these salaries. We have nothing else but these jobs.’’
Can you say seven years of failure, America?
While violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq over the past two years, security forces remain a favorite target for insurgents trying to destabilize the country and its Shi’ite-led government.
Yeah, who is trying to do that?
Also yesterday, the former Iraqi foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, and several other members of Saddam Hussein’s regime appeared in court just days after their handover from the United States to Iraqi custody, an Iraqi official said....
See: Occupation Iraq: U.S. Shuffles the Deck of Cards
Looks like Iraq got a bad hand.
--more--"
Uncle Obama is going to fix things -- if you make it home.
"Obama eases rules for veterans seeking PTSD aid; US promises faster diagnosis, access to benefits" by Roger Runningen, Bloomberg News | July 11, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Obama said the government this week will make it easier for thousands of US veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to obtain benefits.
“This is a long-overdue step that will help veterans, not just of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, but generations of their brave predecessors who proudly served and sacrificed in all our wars,’’ Obama said yesterday in his weekly radio and Internet address.
The disorder, known as PTSD, is brought on by wartime trauma. The hidden and emotional scars may leave victims battling intense fear, helplessness, and feelings of horror years after their combat roles have ended....
One reason our soldiers are killing themselves at a record rate-- the other being the fact that we are the Nazis of the 21st-century.
Related: Denying the Troops
Of course, if you are still in the field:
"In turnaround, Pentagon seeks less money for service members; Fears spending amid two wars is not sustainable" by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post | May 8, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon, not usually known for its frugality, is pleading with Congress to stop spending so much money on the troops.
Through nine years of war, service members have seen a healthy rise in pay and benefits, leaving most of them better compensated than their peers in the private sector.
What a LOAD of HORSE SHIT!
Sorry, but CONTRACTORS PAY WAY MORE than the military!
That is why SERVICE MEMBERS LEAVE and JOIN CONTRACTORS!
"Each full-time KBR employee earns about $8,425 a month in pay and benefits"
Wow, about $2,100/week!
What do our soldiers get paid? $500?
Actually, it comes out to about $350/week.
Also watch: Iraq for SaleHow does it feel to be LIED TO by the Washington Post, America!!?
Congress has been so determined to take care of troops and their families that for several years running it has overruled the Pentagon and mandated more generous pay raises than requested by the Bush and Obama administrations. It has also rejected attempts by the Pentagon to slow soaring health care costs — which Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said are “eating us alive’’ — by hiking co-pays or raising premiums.
Yeah, you service folk are really making out great!
Now, Pentagon officials see fiscal calamity.
Related: 9-11 Research: Missing Trillions
Following Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11
Not too worried about that are they, soldiers?
In the midst of two long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense officials are increasingly worried that the government’s generosity is unsustainable and that it will leave them with less money to buy weapons and take care of equipment.
Yeah, this government is so generous.
That's why you have trouble getting any benefits once you are no longer useful on the battlefield and why they ignore the health effects of depleted uranium munitions and the chemical poisoning of contractors.
See: Occupation Iraq: KBR and the West Virginia Guard
War Looter's Wednesday: Electrifying Bonus
Occupation Iraq: KBR Keeping On
Occupation Iraq: War Looters Still Working
Occupation Iraq: Congress Confused About Contractors Continuing
Yup, if they PAY YOU TOO MUCH they won't have enough for the WAR-PROFITEERING WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS after having LIED YOU INTO these MASS-MURDERING, MEAT-GRINDER EXERCISES and OCCUPATIONS!!
Clifford Stanley, the undersecretary of defense for personnel, told a Senate committee in March that rising personnel costs could “dramatically affect the readiness of the department’’ by leaving less money to pay for operations and maintenance. Overall, personnel expenses constitute about one-quarter of defense spending.
Then NO WAR with IRAN or ANYONE ELSE, right?
And we can COME HOME, right?
With Washington confronting record deficits, the Pentagon is bracing for an end to the huge increases in defense spending over the past decade.
Related:
"Obama has proposed a freeze on most domestic agency budgets, though he exempts homeland security and veterans programs. But he is calling for an $18 billion, 3 percent increase for the Pentagon."
Senate Spends $1.5 Trillion on Wars and Bank Bailout
Don't you JUST LOVE WaPo LIES?
Today, Gates is scheduled to give a “hard-hitting’’ speech in Kansas on fiscal discipline, in which he will warn military leaders that “we’ll have to take some dramatic measures ourselves to sustain the force we have,’’ his press secretary, Geoff Morrell, told reporters.
Health care alone is projected to cost the military $51 billion next year, nearly one-tenth of the Pentagon’s budget, excluding the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Yeah, CARING for the WOUNDED after telling them LIES to get them there is a REAL BUMMER, man!!!!
Since 2002, wages have risen 42 percent, compared with about 32 percent for the private sector. Housing and subsistence allowances, which troops receive tax free, have gone up even more.
Yeah, the POOR, POOR, Pentagon, America!!!!
But Congress has made clear that it considers military pay and benefits sacrosanct, especially when service members and their families are struggling to cope with repeated deployments to faraway conflicts.
You know, the SAME as AID to ISRAEL!
“Both sides of the aisle are trying to send a very clear message to our military that we appreciate their service,’’ said Democratic Representative Susan Davis of California, chairwoman of the House Armed Services’ subcommittee on personnel. She said the Pentagon needed to do a better job of setting priorities.
“We end up with a false choice — are we going to fund weapons or are we going to fund people? The reality is, we need both.’’
May this empire please collapse of its own weight as soon as possible, sig heil.
Yeah, ORDER UP some MORE GRAVESTONES!
The Pentagon’s attempts to rein in personnel costs have also run into opposition from powerful lobby groups....
Pffffft!
Yeah, the outmaneuvered Pentagon, right!
Military officials said generous compensation packages were a primary reason why they were able to meet all of their annual recruiting goals last year for the first time since the all-volunteer force was established in 1973. Although the recession also played a major role, military leaders said surveys show service members are generally happy with their pay scales....
Yeah, the GOVERNMENT and INDUSTRY MOVE OVERSEAS and ALLOW ILLEGALS so that NOTHING IS LEFT for YOU, American, but to FIGHT ISRAEL'S ENEMIES for her!!!
And IF YOU GUYS are HAPPY I will QUIT SCREAMING for an END to the LYING, LOOTING WARS, 'kay?!!!
I mean, IT MUST BE TRUE!
I saw it in the WASHINGTON POST!!!
Other well-meaning programs to support service members and their families have turned into budgetary Frankensteins.
In February, the Pentagon abruptly shut down a new tuition-assistance program for military spouses after it was overwhelmed with applicants. Defense officials had set aside $61 million for the program, which reimburses tuition costs of up to $6,000 per person, but discovered they might need as much as $2 billion to satisfy unexpected demand.
And HOW MANY TRILLIONS have the WARS COST?
--more--"
Also see: The Costs of Empire
Obama Goes Ballistic With Budget
Already OVER a TRILLION and the BILLIONS MORE keep ADDING UP!!!
Has it ALL BEEN WORTH IT, America?
