Politics Extra: "Who supports the war?... I do"

Friday, March 02, 2007

"Who supports the war?... I do"

Incoming city hall reporter Jane Prendergast reports:

Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Monzel supports the war in Iraq, and he wants everyone to know it.

In his monthly Monzel Report to constitutents, e-mailed Friday and to be passed out at community council meetings, he reiterates this, printing the speech he gave on the council floor Valentine’s Day, the day council discussed Councilman David Crowley’s resolution opposing President Bush’s plan to increase troop strength. The resolution passed 5-4.

Monzel’s speech that day:

This past Christmas, my daughter received an American Girl Movie about Molly McIntire, one of her American Girl dolls, who grew up in the 1940s during WWII….Molly lived in a small town, thousands of miles away from the war that was raging in Europe. A war waged by Germany, who never attacked the US…a war that took 100,000s of American lives. During the movie it showed how much sacrifice that generation went through to support and fight the war in Europe…they planted victory gardens; they rationed butter, meat; they collected scrap metal and rubber; they practice air raid drills…watching this movie with my children made me realize just how easy we have it today.

Today, there is a war going on…once again thousands of miles away from us, but there seems to be little or no sacrifice on our part. The only people who have made any sacrifice at all are the families of the soldiers. Especially those soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives…soldiers who are fighting for our right to live in a free democracy today.

Mr. Crowley asked the other day, who supports the war and no one responded. Well, just like the Greatest Generation of WWII, I do…I support fighting for freedom and against tyranny…it was Hitler and Mussolini in WWII, today it’s militant Islam, Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who by the way recently hosted a conference about how the Jewish Holocaust did not happen. How can we stand by and say it is okay for other nations to call for wiping the nation of Israel off the face of this earth. Over 6 million Jews lost their lives during WWII…how many more deaths will happen on our watch. We cannot crawl into a shell and forget about it or wish it away.

This war must be won and if we must sacrifice then so be it. If that means less Federal dollars coming to our city, then so be it. I am willing to sacrifice…though in reality it is a very small sacrifice compared to past generations and our current soldiers’ sacrifices. And I see no difference between fighting against Germany in WWII and the war against terrorism that we are fighting today. A war being fought for the sake of those freedoms we all hold so dear. In order to make the world a safer place for everyone…Iraqis, Afghans, Kurds, Israelis, and Americans, we must sacrifice and we must win!

41 Comments:

at 5:28 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Monzel is absolutely right on the money. I will never be able to understand the anti-war movement on the left in this country. War is awful, smelly, degrading, noisy and utterly brutal. I know, because I'm a war veteran. But there are aspects of human existence that are much, much worse--living in fear of terror attack, political oppression, genocide, loss of liberty, etc. The 19th century English philosopher, John Stuart Mill put it very well when he wrote: "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." Frankly, those "better men" (and women) are the members of our armed forces. May God protect and bless all of them, help them accomplish their mission and bring them all home safe and sound after victory is achieved!

at 6:20 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Monzel should get his chicken-hawk ass over to Iraq. He's young eought to join. Then he can follow that up by enrolling his kids in Junior ROTC.

I guess he'll do that once all the enviro-whackos who tell us to conserve energy stop flying private jets and running their super-max ACs to cool their 40,000 square-foot homes.

at 7:07 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Yesterday I was talking to a newspaper "guy" , politically - we agreed, that the general public is woefully uninformed --it's just so scary that so many have been elected to office -- geez -- what will they tell their grandchildren when they learn about this in school

at 8:01 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

This Administration has shown TOTAL INCOMPETENCE in every aspect of their actions.

-9/11....Um anyone remember how Richard Clark and other repeated stressed the importance of al Qaeda warnings prior to the August PDB saying bin Laden Determined to Strike. Guess bush was too busy "clearing brush" to pay much attention.

-Iraq War...it is know known that the administration cherrypicked intel to LIED to get the country into war.

-"Mission Accomplished"-the bravado was short lived wasn't it. They were going to be greeted as liberators, the war would pay for itself-NO CONTINGENCY PLAN NEEDED?

-Hurricane Katrina-A national shame that we could not beeter protect and care for our own citizens. TOTAL NEGLIGENT INCOMPETENCE.

-Exposing CIA agent (Valerie Plame) and CIA front company, (Brewster Jennings) that were involved in counter-proliferation in Iraq/Iran.

-Insufficent body armor.

-9 BILLION $ missing from Iraq.

-Corporate Cronies offering bad service (Halliburton served contaminated water to troops in Iraq)

etc.

You suuport a war lead by the most INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT IN HISTORY? then send your kids.

at 8:29 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

CHRIS MONZEL IS A GREAT AMERICAN!

at 8:41 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

I am so glad SOMEONE on City Council finally had the guts to speak out for our fighting men and women. In case you all havent noticed, our Servicemen and women who are the ones actually risking it all are NOT the ones complaining about being sent over there...and are reinlisting to go back. Also keep in mind it is a VOLUNTARY service, not a drafted military. I am proud of each and every one of them and of Monzel for sticking up for them!

at 8:43 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety, IS A MISERABLE CREATURE who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

at 10:06 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Not supporting the war has everything to do WITH SUPPORTING THE TROOPS! It was bush and his neocon cronies who lied our way into this war, which has lead to close to 3,200 troops dead, ~50,000 Americans injured, lead to a huge increase in terrorism, wore out our military by deployment after redeployment, Billions of dollars missing and even more wasted w/o result.

It was the Republican Party who started this war based on lies. It was the Republican Administration who sent our kids into harms way without the proper body armor while they profitted grossly from this war.

The progressive Dems support the troops, we want them home and out of the civil war. It's just the architects of the war bush, cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz, perle etc that we want held responsible for their IMMORAL ACTIONS! Murtha's bill is about making sure they are properly equipt, mentally and physically ready and properly trained so they are not used by this administration like canon fodder.

Do yourself a favor and google Project for a New American Century (PNAC). These are the devils who are USING our troops for personal gain and power. By the way they are trampling our constitution along the way in case you haven't noticed: RIP Habeas Corpus 1215- Oct, 17 2006.

at 10:21 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Theodore Roosevelt:

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. (1918)

Ronald Reagan:

History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

at 10:31 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

FROM THE ARMY TIMES:

Committee subpoenas former Walter Reed chief

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 2, 2007 18:51:46 EST

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was fired as head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after Army officials refused to allow him to testify before the committee Monday.

Read complete coverage of the Walter Reed controversy.

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and subcommittee Chairman John Tierney asked Weightman to testify about an internal memo that showed privatization of services at Walter Reed could put “patient care services… at risk of mission failure.”

But Army officials refused to allow Weightman to appear before the committee after he was relieved of command.

-snip

The committee wants to learn more about a letter written in September by Garrison Commander Peter Garibaldi to Weightman.

The memorandum “describes how the Army’s decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was causing an exodus of ‘highly skilled and experienced personnel,’” the committee’s letter states. “According to multiple sources, the decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed led to a precipitous drop in support personnel at Walter Reed.”

The letter said Walter Reed also awarded a five-year, $120-million contract to IAP Worldwide Services, which is run by Al Neffgen, a former senior Halliburton official.

-snip
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/03/Weightmansubpoena/

GET THAT FOLKS? CHENEY'S FRIENDS AT HALLIBURTON WERE GROSSLY PROFITTING FOR THE NEGLIGENT CARE OUR INJURED TROOPS ARE RECEIVING AT WALTER REED.

NOBODY LIKES TO BE PUNKED, BUT THIS CABAL IN THE WH ARE THE ONLY ONES BENEFITTING FROM THIS WAR. IT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR COUNTRY! IT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE MILITARY. INVESTIGATE FOR YOURSELF. THINK FOR YOURSELF.

at 11:04 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Glad Monzel went on the record re his support for Bush's War. Especially when even many in the ever smaller Republican party are bailing out on this issue. It will be another great reason to not vote for him next election.

at 11:09 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Good News, many Republicans are waking up to the truth:

Poll Shows Bush Is Losing Support of Republicans

By MARJORIE CONNELLY

Published: March 2, 2007

In the months since the Congressional elections, President Bush has lost substantial support among members of his own party, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Mr. Bush’s approval rating dropped 13 percentage points since last fall among Republicans

Over all, Mr. Bush’s job approval remains at one of its lowest points, with 29 percent of all Americans saying they approve of the way he is doing his job, compared with 34 percent at the end of October. Sixty-one percent disapproved, compared with 58 percent in October, within the margin of sampling error.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/washington/02approve.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1172812226-qY4VosM+VlTHI9XhF2Ey1g&oref=slogin

Think for yourself-investigate just who is profitting GROSSLY from this immoral war. Support the troops, INDICT THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF!

at 11:25 PM, March 02, 2007

Anonymous said...

Support the troops - demand competant leadership!

at 12:05 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

Both Monzel and Crowley find the numerous problems facing our city to be very boring. They both find this Irag War stuff to be very fun and inspiring.

at 12:18 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

Anthelios, I can't speak for Rick, but I can assure you that I am deadly serious. You don't seem to understand just how much danger our nation faces. The consequences of losing the Iraq phase of the global war on terror, i.e., withdrawing before our objectives are secured, would be disastrous. And yes, we'll probably have to have a military presence in Iraq and other areas of the Middle East for decades. We've had to maintain strong military forces in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Okinawa, Kosovo, the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the world for decades. So what's new about a Middle East presence? There's a lot at stake here. We will win the victory with or without the support of cut and run types who are not willing to pay the price or even see others pay the price to preserve our liberty.

at 7:30 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

First and foremost, May God protect the lives of every American soldier...

Dear City Councilman Monzel,

I wouldn't bother to respond but part of Cincinnati is in the 2nd Congressional District so here it is...

In the 1920's, the British were the first Western occupants of the country that is today known as Iraq. More than 20 years later, when Hitler's bombs were being dropped on Britain, the British were STILL in Iraq!

The reasons that were clearly stated by the President of the United States for going into Iraq in the first place have since been proven untrue.

The language that is being used to try to justify sending American soldiers into Iran is hauntingly similar to the language that was used to justify going into Iraq.

Osama Bin Laden was in Afghanistan, not Iraq.

More American soldiers have died in Iraq than the number of Americans who lost their lives on September 11th.

The first time I ever stood in front of a group of people and told them that I was going to run for Congress, I stood beside Paul Hackett and Vic Wulsin and Jeff Sinnard and told a room full of people from Warren and Hamilton Counties who I am and what I believe in... Then, I got in my car and drove 115 miles back home to Waverly, Ohio. Later that same night, I checked the headlines only to find that a young man from Butler County had lost his life in the war that day. What I am doing is for him, for his family and for every American soldier and the families that they have left behind. I will not stop until the war in Iraq is over.

When I am your Congressman, I will NEVER vote to send any American soldier into battle unless it is a decision of absolute last resort. And I will NEVER blindly support the decision of any politician without challenging their way of thinking, without working to set a new direction, without fighting for every decent man, woman and child who lives in our beautiful, Southern Ohio Congressional District - from Pike and Scioto Counties all the way to Cincinnati...

The days of the WRONG, RECKLESS and RUBBER STAMP POLITICIANS are over!

Now... I'm going to go out and try to help a few people who live in Southern Ohio today...

Jim PARKER
Future Democratic Candidate for US Congress
Southern Ohio 2nd District - 2005 & 2006... 2010.

PARKERforCongress@msn.com

http://jimparker4ad.blogspot.com/

Jean Schmidt,

You mentioned at your community meeting in Blue Ash that you might consider changing your postion on the war in Iraq.

If you will do that in the next 30 days - and if you do it with honesty and sincerity - I will withdraw my name from the 2008 Congressional race in the 2nd District immediately.

It is more important to me that we end this war than it is to run for Congress. If you don't change your position in the next 30 days, then I will not make the final decision whether or not I am running in 2008 until the 2008 filing deadline. I have already talked with several thousand people who live in our district and would be honored to have the opportunity to represent them in the US House of Representatives.

at 8:11 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the Iraq invasion was to establish strategic military bases. In that respect, it was a success.

Those who recite the "support our troops" mantra should keep in mind that those troops are participating in a geopolitical exercise. Those who have died or been wounded did so for that purpose, nothing more.

Mr. Monzel or anyone else who insists that anything resembling glory is present in that equation is either lying, ignorant, or delusional.

at 9:06 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

the truth is this war would never have been waged if our elections had not been compromised. Gore won FL in 2000, but in a 5-4 decision by the SCOTUS the conservatives put the presidency in the hands of Bush.

Then came 2004, and right here in Ohio we witnessed anothe stolen election:

Published on Friday, March 2, 2007 by CommonDreams.org
The Stolen Election of 2004
by Michael Parenti

The 2004 presidential contest between Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry and the Republican incumbent, President Bush Jr., amounted to another stolen election. This has been well documented by such investigators as Rep. John Conyers, Mark Crispin Miller, Bob Fitrakis, Harvey Wasserman, Bev Harris, and others. Here is an overview of what they have reported, along with observations of my own.

Some 105 million citizens voted in 2000, but in 2004 the turnout climbed to at least 122 million. Pre-election surveys indicated that among the record 16.8 million new voters Kerry was a heavy favorite, a fact that went largely unreported by the press. In addition, there were about two million progressives who had voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 who switched to Kerry in 2004.

Yet the official 2004 tallies showed Bush with 62 million votes, about 11.6 million more than he got in 2000. Meanwhile Kerry showed only eight million more votes than Gore received in 2000. To have achieved his remarkable 2004 tally, Bush would needed to have kept all his 50.4 million from 2000, plus a majority of the new voters, plus a large share of the very liberal Nader defectors.

Nothing in the campaign and in the opinion polls suggest such a mass crossover. The numbers simply do not add up.

In key states like Ohio, the Democrats achieved immense success at registering new voters, outdoing the Republicans by as much as five to one. Moreover the Democratic party was unusually united around its candidate—or certainly against the incumbent president. In contrast, prominent elements within the GOP displayed open disaffection, publicly voicing serious misgivings about the Bush administration’s huge budget deficits, reckless foreign policy, theocratic tendencies, and threats to individual liberties. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0302-21.htm

FRAUDULENT ELECTIONS HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES LIKE IMMORAL WARS BASED ON LIES!

at 9:50 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

big deal. one out of nine councilpeople has come forward in support of king george's obscenity. that's consistent with his current level of support.

at 11:13 AM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

TNP is arguing the Orwellian "War is Peace" line. It's amazing that there are still blind followers of this administration like Monzel and right-wing bloggers who seek to diminish reasonable thought by invoking fear. While TNP's service to his country is admirable, and was, I'm sure, noble, that does not make him a military expert, just as Monzel's misleading comparison to World War Two does not make him a student of history.

One must remember, that the fear of living with a terrorist attack--not the act itself--came just as much from the Bush administration as it did from the terrorists. Today, the Department of Homeland Security lists the chances of a terrorist attack as "Elevated," and the chances of an attack on air travel as "High." Why? Based on what evidence? And isn't it reasonable for every American to ask what we have gotten for the hundreds of billions of dollar spent on homeland security, simply to live each and every day in fear of an imminent attack? Americans have been, and continue to be mislead by the Bush administration, as they are the only ones who stand to gain from perpetrating the myth that we are all going to die a horrible, flaming death.

So go ahead Mr. Monzel. Make false claims about the similarities between World War Two and this demented bungle through Iraq. You will be doing nothing except dishonoring the memory of both generations of war dead. The political trivialization of the dead in Iraq is just as insulting to them, as the implication that the nobility of cause for our involvement in World War can be compared to misadventures of a madman concerned more with vanity than what is right for the country and the world.

at 4:49 PM, March 03, 2007

Brah Coon said...

Monzel has ALWAYS been for war. Last time it was a war on the ICE CREAM MEN -- now it's war on (FILL IN THE BLANK.)

I just thank the Holy Mother of Christ that he's taken his sights off us Ice Cream Dudes. Rock on, Monzel. USA USA USA USA USA USA!

What's next, Pitbulls?

at 7:05 PM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

What I find interesting is the fact that the Enquirer, which I do not regard as even a decent newspaper any longer, chose the one thing in Monzel's report that had nothing to do with the city and didn't mention any of the other items in the report.

I would at least like to see some relevant reporting because as long as the Enquirer continues to write about irrelevant items, they encourage councilmembers to make statements for and against the war.

We have national leaders to handle the national problems, can we get our local leaders, for the love of all things sacred, to handle the local problems?

at 10:06 PM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

TNP said "We will win the victory with or without the support of cut and run types who are not willing to pay the price or even see others pay the price to preserve our liberty."

Ah... hello, earth to TNP, Iraq had nothing to do with our liberty. Read their ideas in Project for a New American Century-the neo-con doctrine. Ask yourself if you really believe perpetual war (and who is profitting form it") is the right course for this nation to undertake.

This war has nothing to do with liberty, but is the result of having two oil men fraudulently in office. Who is profitting from this war? Certainly not our military who enlisted with the NOBLEST of intentions. They were told they were enlisting to fight those who perpetrated our country on 9/11. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Ask yourself-where did the hi-jackers come from? Answers: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Ask yourself: who are the countries still backing bush? Saudia Arabia and Pakistan. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE LINKING SADDAM TO 9/11 BUT THERE WAS EVIDENCE LINKING THE BIN LADENS TO THE CARLYLE GROUP.

GOOGLE THE CARLYLE GROUP.

at 10:25 PM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

WHERE DID THE 9/11 HIJACKERS COME FROM? SAUDI ARABIA AND PAKISTAN. WHICH COUNTRIES ARE STILL BUSH'S ALLIES? SAUDI ARABIA + PAKISTAN.

Did Saddam have anything to do with al Qaeda? No but the Carlyle Group sure did:

Former President George H.W. Bush retired from Carlyle in October 2003. George W. Bush served on the Board of Directors of early Carlyle acquisition Caterair. Bush left the board in 1992 to run for Governor of Texas.

The Saudi Arabian relatives of Osama bin Laden were also investors in Carlyle until October 2001 when the family sold its $2.02 million investment back to the firm in light of the public controversy surrounding bin Laden’s family after September 11. The bin Laden family has publicly disowned the al-Qaeda leader, but privately some members of the family have kept in contact with him.[citation needed] Osama bin Laden has no economic interest in Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), whose investments were in part managed by the Carlyle Group until the arrangement was terminated by mutual consent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group

It really sucks that we were all punked by these neo cons, but time to face the truth. Support congressional oversight and investigation. Support our troops by demanding competent leadership. Don't let the neocons trample our constitution. Restore Habeas Corpus-the bedrock of civilized cultures 1215-2006 (Bu$h signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 on Oct 17). Demand recognition of the Geneva Conventions. Are we a land of kings or laws?

at 11:33 PM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 11:13 am, 3/3/07, no, I'm not arguing Orwell's "war is peace" newspeak. And three years on active duty as an Army officer and war vet does not, indeed, make me a "military expert." I never claimed to be one. But it does give me an understanding of the horrors of war that you may never have. And my honorable service to our country taught me exactly what I said--as awful as war is, there are quite a number of aspects of the human experience that are much, much worse. I have a notion that in the next 5 years or so, you will get a clear demonstration of just how important it is for us to vanquish the Islamic Jihadist enemies we face around the world. It may take the loss of one of our cities or ports to wake you and your fellow anti-war compadres. Man, I hope not. I hope you folks wise up before another 9/11-type catastrophic attack occurs. Meanwhile, those of us who know how much real danger our nation is facing will continue to carry on the good fight to protect your right to say we're fools.

at 11:48 PM, March 03, 2007

Anonymous said...

The Army Times printed my editorial written long before it became fashioinable to be against the war. In brief, it said that one of the true andfew virtues we learned from Vietnam was that we could support the soldiers, as individuals, while still criticizing the war.

Monzel lacks the depth to do so.

at 10:46 AM, March 04, 2007

Anonymous said...

You got to hand it to the guy. He's figured out the only way to get elected or to make any political point is to bring his children into the picture. Lucky guy. If it wasn't gor his kids, he'd just be another angry conservative.

at 11:09 AM, March 04, 2007

Anonymous said...

Bush has adopted a perpetual war agenda and used fear to move forward. He was trampled our constitution to allow himself to be above the law. He has made a mess that will take generations to clean up, but heres a start:

EDITORIAL
The Must-Do List

Published: March 4, 2007
The Bush administration’s assault on some of the founding principles of American democracy marches onward despite the Democratic victory in the 2006 elections. The new Democratic majorities in Congress can block the sort of noxious measures that the Republican majority rubber-stamped. But preventing new assaults on civil liberties is not nearly enough.

Five years of presidential overreaching and Congressional collaboration continue to exact a high toll in human lives, America’s global reputation and the architecture of democracy. Brutality toward prisoners, and the denial of their human rights, have been institutionalized; unlawful spying on Americans continues; and the courts are being closed to legal challenges of these practices.

It will require forceful steps by this Congress to undo the damage. A few lawmakers are offering bills intended to do just that, but they are only a start. Taking on this task is a moral imperative that will show the world the United States can be tough on terrorism without sacrificing its humanity and the rule of law.

Today we’re offering a list — which, sadly, is hardly exhaustive — of things that need to be done to reverse the unwise and lawless policies of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Many will require a rewrite of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, an atrocious measure pushed through Congress with the help of three Republican senators, Arlen Specter, Lindsey Graham and John McCain; Senator McCain lent his moral authority to improving one part of the bill and thus obscured its many other problems.

•

Our list starts with three fundamental tasks:

Restore Habeas Corpus

One of the new act’s most indecent provisions denies anyone Mr. Bush labels an “illegal enemy combatant” the ancient right to challenge his imprisonment in court. The arguments for doing this were specious. Habeas corpus is nothing remotely like a get-out-of-jail-free card for terrorists, as supporters would have you believe. It is a way to sort out those justly detained from those unjustly detained. It will not “clog the courts,” as Senator Graham claims. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has a worthy bill that would restore habeas corpus. It is essential to bringing integrity to the detention system and reviving the United States’ credibility.

Stop Illegal Spying

Mr. Bush’s program of intercepting Americans’ international calls and e-mail messages without a warrant has not ceased. The agreement announced recently — under which a secret court supposedly gave its blessing to the program — did nothing to restore judicial process or ensure that Americans’ rights are preserved. Congress needs to pass a measure, like one proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein, to force Mr. Bush to obey the law that requires warrants for electronic surveillance.

Ban Torture, Really

The provisions in the Military Commissions Act that Senator McCain trumpeted as a ban on torture are hardly that. It is still largely up to the president to decide what constitutes torture and abuse for the purpose of prosecuting anyone who breaks the rules. This amounts to rewriting the Geneva Conventions and puts every American soldier at far greater risk if captured. It allows the president to decide in secret what kinds of treatment he will permit at the Central Intelligence Agency’s prisons. The law absolves American intelligence agents and their bosses of any acts of torture and abuse they have already committed.

snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/opinion/04sun1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

at 9:37 PM, March 04, 2007

Anonymous said...

I see the loony-left cut & surrender wing of the democrat party is alive, well, and blogging like there's no tomorrow.

at 8:26 AM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

From the NYT article Things to Do:

Restore habeaus corpus

Stop illegal spying

Ban torture, really

Close the CIA prisons

Account for “ghost prisoners”

Tighten the definition of “illegal enemy combatant”

Screen prisoners fairly and effectively

Ban extraordinary renditions

Ban the use of tainted evidence

Ban secret evidence

Better define “classified” evidence

Respect the right to counsel

LET'S GET OUR COUNTRY BACK ON THE RIGHT PATH! SUPPORT THE TROOPS. IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY!

at 9:45 AM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

WHEN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION CHOSE TO INVADE IRAQ THEY EXPECTED TO BE GREETED WITH FLOWERS AND CHEERS. THERE WAS NO CONTINGENCY PLAN. NOW WE HEAR THIS:

Washington at War Is There a Plan B?
No U.S. Backup Strategy For Iraq
Outside Experts, Not White House, Discuss Options
By Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 5, 2007; Page A01

During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?

The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. "I'm a Marine," Pace told them, "and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory."

Pace had a simple way of summarizing the administration's position, Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tenn.) recalled. "Plan B was to make Plan A work."

In the weeks since Bush announced the new plan for Iraq -- including an increase of 21,500 U.S. combat troops, additional reconstruction assistance and stepped-up pressure on the Iraqi government -- senior officials have rebuffed questions about other options in the event of failure. Eager to appear resolute and reluctant to provide fodder for skeptics, they have responded with a mix of optimism and evasion.

-snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030401321.html

STILL NO CONTINGENCY PLAN. SUPPORT THE TROOPS-DEMAND COMPETENT LEADERSHIP!

at 10:19 AM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

Rick, your words of encouragement are much appreciated.

at 12:13 PM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

I hope Monzel is watching the Congressional hearing regarding conditions at Walter Reed facilities. He and those who backed Bush in 2000 and 2004 are complicit in this American disgrace.

at 4:18 PM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

at 9:37 PM, March 04, 2007 Anonymous said...
I see the loony-left cut & surrender wing of the democrat party is alive, well, and blogging like there's no tomorrow.

unfortuneatly they need to work overtime to get their message heard over the flatulence of tnp and the rest of the right wing whackos

if only this generation had a jane fonda they could look up to.

at 6:08 PM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

Raking It In
By Tom Shoop
tshoop@govexec.com

Agencies are spending at historic levels - none more than Defense - but a downturn looms.

What happens when a nation fights a war overseas, battles the threat of terrorism around the globe and addresses the unprecedented effects of major natural disasters at home?

It writes checks to contractors for hundreds of billions of dollars, for one thing.

Federal agencies issued $388 billion in contracts in fiscal 2005, up more than 18 percent from the year before. Defense contracts topped $278 billion, a healthy increase from $229 billion in 2004.

The Army alone spent more than $103 billion on procurement in 2005. That's almost as much as the contracts issued by all civilian federal agencies combined ($109 billion). Much of the Army's spending came straight out of emergency appropriations for Iraq operations. Not only has Halli- burton Co. remained among the nation's top 10 contractors due to its logistics work on behalf of U.S. forces in the Middle East, but companies such as Bahrain National Oil Co. and Kuwait National Petroleum Co. have made their way onto the Top 200 list in recent years. Each had more than $300 million in contracts in fiscal 2005.

-snip
http://www.govexec.com/features/0806-15/0806-15s2.htm

Check out the top 200 Contractors:

http://www.govexec.com/features/0806-15/0806-15s2s1.htm

THE GOP AND THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX HAVE MERGED WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS!

Walter Reed was privatized by Halliburton subsidiary
Committee subpoenas former Walter Reed chief

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 2, 2007 18:51:46 EST

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was fired as head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after Army officials refused to allow him to testify before the committee Monday.

Read complete coverage of the Walter Reed controversy.

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and subcommittee Chairman John Tierney asked Weightman to testify about an internal memo that showed privatization of services at Walter Reed could put “patient care services… at risk of mission failure.”

But Army officials refused to allow Weightman to appear before the committee after he was relieved of command.

“The Army was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the decision to prevent General Weightman from testifying,” committee members said in a statement today.

The committee wants to learn more about a letter written in September by Garrison Commander Peter Garibaldi to Weightman.

The memorandum “describes how the Army’s decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was causing an exodus of ‘highly skilled and experienced personnel,’” the committee’s letter states. “According to multiple sources, the decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed led to a precipitous drop in support personnel at Walter Reed.”

The letter said Walter Reed also awarded a five-year, $120-million contract to IAP Worldwide Services, which is run by Al Neffgen, a former senior Halliburton official.

They also found that more than 300 federal employees providing facilities management services at Walter Reed had drooped to fewer than 60 by Feb. 3, 2007, the day before IAP took over facilities management. IAP replaced the remaining 60 employees with only 50 private workers.

“The conditions that have been described at Walter Reed are disgraceful,” the letter states. “Part of our mission on the Oversight Committee is to investigate what led to the breakdown in services. It would be reprehensible if the deplorable conditions were caused or aggravated by an ideological commitment to privatize government services regardless of the costs to taxpayers and the consequences for wounded soldiers.”

-snip
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/03/Weightmansubpoena/

ACCORDING TO THE TOP 200 CONTRACTORS (LINK ABOVE) IAP-WHO MANAGED THE FACILITIES AT WALTER REED:

IAP Worldwide Services Inc.
$918,122,851

BUSH CRONIES GROSSLY PROFITTING FROM THE WAR!

at 8:14 PM, March 05, 2007

Anonymous said...

BUSH CRONIES GROSSLY PROFITTING FROM THE WAR!

Check out the documentary "Iraq For Sale (The War Profiteers) at:
http://tinyurl.com/285xl4

at 9:27 AM, March 06, 2007

Anonymous said...

WHY DO WE ACCEPT INCOMPETENT LEADERSHIP? OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS DESERVE BETTER.

Sen. Mark Dayton: FAA & NORAD lied about 9/11
Run time: 03:56
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD6we9L-e74

at 1:30 PM, March 07, 2007

Anonymous said...

Comparing the Iraq War to WWII is ludicrous. Germany sunk many of our ships before we entered the war. Germany also attacked all of our allies, had overrun Western Europe, and had invaded the USSR before we entered the war.

anthelios ---- Iraq is not west of Israel. It lies east of Israel, just beyond Jordan. Look at the map yourself before directing others to do so.

Supporting our troops is one thing. Supporting a flailing president in his futile effort to justify an ill-conceived, ill-planned, and ill-executed war is another. Get your head out of the emotional sand and have some backbone!

Oh, yeah, I'm a Desert Storm vet.

at 5:25 PM, March 07, 2007

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 1:30 pm, 3/7/07, thanks for your service to our country. I, too, am a vet--I Corps, South Vietnam, 1966-67, and I disagree with your assessment of the Iraq phase of the global war on terror. The planning for the period following our lightning invasion of Iraq and the successful toppling of Saddam was lacking in forethought, no doubt about it. But we cannot simply leave Iraq open to the Islamic Jihadists. We cannot "re-deploy," as that senile dip, Murtha, wants. You can't win a war, any war, by withdrawing in the middle of it. We must persist in Iraq (and Afghanistan) until our objectives are accomplished--a viable democratic republic is established and working, Iraqi military and police units are able to restore and reasonably maintain order and the terrorists are unable to use Iraq as a training ground and a jumping-off point for global terror attacks. You and I hate war as only war veterans can. But despite our keen desire for world peace, we won't achieve that desired end until the Osamas, the al-Zawahiris and the Nasrallas of the world are either dead or incapacitated or permanently imprisoned. There's no negotiating with them, no appeasing them, no accommodating them. Our only choice is to defeat them, and right now that includes killing people and breaking things in Iraq. I'm sorry we don't agree on that important point.

at 6:00 PM, March 07, 2007

Brah Coon said...

Oh here's an idea. Those of you who think we (USA) can bring peace to the middle east through military action (and I don't), why don't we invade, occupy and disarm the state of Israel?

It is the only state in the middle east that we KNOW does have WMD's. Israel has been nothing but a giant pain in the arse of the world since 1948.

Israel has no oil. We give them billions of $ each year and get nothing back but hell.

You warmongers need to start using your heads. If you insist that war will solve all our problems -- it seems to me that war on the state of Israel is certainly more logical than war on the entire Muslim world.

Think about it.

at 7:09 PM, March 07, 2007

Anonymous said...

To: "Oh, yeah, I'm a Desert Storm vet."

I'm curious. Were you or your company exposed to any DU while in Iraq? I have a friend out in Oregon organizing a DU seminar for Desert Storm Vets and current Iraq and Afghanistan vets who were exposed. This guy (a vet) has been organizing this seminar with Major Doug Rokke,phd.

website: http://www.traprockpeace.org/depleteduranium.html

Previous Posts

Friday, March 02, 2007

"Who supports the war?... I do"

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