posted May 14, 2008 11:31 AM            

quote:

---

It is no wonder former U.S. Attorney General William Ramsey Clark has said that "the greatest crime since World War II has been U.S. foreign policy." And Murray Rothbard, who was at once the twentieth century’s greatest proponent of liberty and opponent of the state, was perfectly justified in saying that "empirically, taking the twentieth century as a whole, the single most warlike, most interventionist, most imperialist government has been the United States."

From a Christian perspective there is only one way to describe U.S. foreign policy: it is evil. It was evil before the United States invaded Iraq, and it would still be evil if the United States withdrew all its forces from Iraq tomorrow. It is because of our foreign policy that the U.S. military has become – through its wars, interventions, and occupations – the greatest force for evil in the world. U.S. foreign policy sows discord among nations, stirs up strife where none existed, intensifies the hatred that many foreigners around the world have for Americans and each other, and creates terrorists faster than we can kill them.

The United States has pressured, destabilized, undermined, manipulated, and overthrown governments, including democracies. We have assassinated or attempted to assassinate foreign leaders. We have destroyed industry, culture, and infrastructure. We have helped install autocrats and dictators. We have sponsored regime changes in countries that no longer favored U.S. corporate interests. We have backed and engineered military coups. We have been involved with torturers, death squads, drug traffickers, and other "unsavory persons." We have allied ourselves with murderous regimes. We have downplayed massive numbers of civilian casualties by dismissing them as collateral damage. We have labeled violence perpetrated by our opponents as terrorism, atrocities, ethnic cleansing, and genocide while minimizing or defending the same actions committed by the United States or its allies. We have engaged in thousands of covert actions. We have undertaken massive propaganda campaigns to deceive foreigners about their own country. We have kidnapped foreign citizens in their own country. We have transported insurgents and detainees to torture-friendly countries. We have looted and confiscated government documents from foreign countries. We have selectively intervened in countries for dubious humanitarian concerns while ignoring real suffering and death in other countries. We have used humanitarian interventions as a guise for imperialism. We have encouraged favored governments to engage in human rights violations. We have supported corrupt and tyrannical governments. We have crushed populist and nationalist movements struggling against tyrannical regimes. We have trained foreign soldiers and police to suppress their own people. We have influenced, sabotaged, financed, and otherwise interfered with elections in other countries. We have taken sides or intervened in civil wars. We have recklessly tested and knowingly used chemical and biological weapons on both U.S. citizens and foreigners in their countries. We have encouraged the use of chemical and biological weapons by other nations, and trained foreign nationals to do the same. We have downplayed the slaughter of civilians killed in civil wars if they were on the side we didn’t agree with. We have provided military hardware to and trained the paramilitary forces of foreign countries. We have engaged in provocative naval actions in international waters under the guise of protecting freedom of navigation. We have bribed, blackmailed, and bullied our way around the world. Say what you will, believe what you will about the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, the fact remains that the United States is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons on people – and we did it twice.

The United States is an overextended, out-of-control, rogue nation. Yet, the mere mention of the evil that the United States has perpetrated throughout the world upsets and angers many Americans because they have the mindset that a terrorist is someone who detonates a bomb but doesn’t wear an air force uniform. But because we live in an imperfect world of nation-states that is not likely to change anytime in the near future, the question of U.S. foreign policy cannot be ignored. Randolph Bourne’s observation almost one hundred years ago that "war is the health of the State" has never been more relevant than right now. Those who disparage the welfare state while turning a blind eye to the warfare state are terribly inconsistent. There is an intimate connection between foreign policy and domestic policy, as I will point out in my conclusion.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance114.html

---

quote:

---

The Arms Industry
“The Georgian soldiers used to give bullets to kids to play with, and if you gave them some vodka or cigarettes, they’d give you anything – a small gun or grenade.” Georgi, aged 14, Georgia

If you find that shocking, try this. From 1998 to 2001, the USA, the UK, and France earned more income from arms sales to developing countries than they gave in aid.

The arms industry is unlike any other. It operates without regulation. It suffers from widespread corruption and bribes. And it makes its profits on the back of machines designed to kill and maim human beings.

So who profits most from this murderous trade? The five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China. Together, they are responsible for eighty eight per cent of reported conventional arms exports.
“We can’t have it both ways. We can’t be both the world’s leading champion of peace and the world’s leading supplier of arms.” Former US President Jimmy Carter, presidential campaign, 1976

http://www.controlarms.org/the_issues/arms_industry.htm

---

"WAKE 'EM UP!"

posted May 14, 2008 11:51 AM              

The signs are everywhere.

This painting is merely one of them which I came across. It was created many years before the events on 9/11 took place.

He talks about it here in this short interview:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1848273

posted May 15, 2008 11:34 AM              

We are told by people in the media industry that news bias is unavoidable. Whatever distortions and inaccuracies that are found in the news are caused by deadline pressures, human misjudgment, limited print space, scarce air time, budgetary restraints, and the difficulty of reducing a complex story into a concise report. Furthermore, the argument goes, no communication system can hope to report everything. Selectivity is needed, and some members of the public are bound to be dissatisfied.
I agree that those kinds of difficulties exist. Still, I would argue that the media's misrepresentations are not merely the result of innocent error and everyday production problems. True, the press has to be selective- but what principle of selectivity is involved? Media bias does not occur in random fashion; rather it moves in the same overall direction again and again, favoring management over labor, corporations over corporate critics, affluent whites over inner-city poor, officialdom over protesters, the two-party monopoly over leftist third parties, privatization and free market "reforms" over public sector development, U.S. dominance of the Third World over revolutionary or populist social change, nation-security policy over critics of that policy, and conservative commentators and columnists like Rush Limbaugh and George Will over progressive or populist ones like Jim Hightower and Ralph Nader (not to mention more radical ones).
The built-in biases of the corporate mainstream media faithfully reflect the dominant ideology, seldom straying into territory that might cause discomfort to those who hold political and economic power, including those who own the media or advertise in it. What follows is an incomplete sketch of the methods by which those biases are packaged and presented.

Omission and suppression
Manipulation often lurks in the things left unmentioned. The most common form of media misrepresentation is omission. Sometimes the omission includes not just vital details of a story but the entire story itself, even ones of major import. As just noted, stories that might reflect poorly upon the powers that be are the least likely to see the light of day. Thus the Tylenol poisoning of several people by a deranged individual was treated as big news but the far more sensational story of the industrial brown-lung poisoning of thousands of factory workers by large manufacturing interests (who themselves own or advertise in the major media) has remained suppressed for decades, despite the best efforts of worker safety groups to bring the issue before the public.
We hear plenty about the political repression perpetrated by left-wing governments such as Cuba (though a recent State Department report actually cited only six political prisoners in Cuba), but almost nothing about the far more brutal oppression and mass killings perpetrated by U.S.-supported right-wing client states such as Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, El Salvador, Guatemala, and others too numerous to mention.
Often the media mute or downplay truly sensational (as opposed to sensationalistic) stories. Thus, in 1965 the Indonesian military-advised, equipped, trained, and financed by the U.S. military and the CIA-overthrew President Achmed Sukarno and eradicated the Indonesian Communist Party and its allies, killing half a million people (some estimates are as high as a million) in what was the greatest act of political mass murder since the Nazi Holocaust. The generals also destroyed hundreds of clinics, libraries, schools, and community centers that had been opened by the communists. Here was a sensational story if ever there was one, but it took three months before it received passing mention in Time magazine and yet another month before it was reported in The New York Times (4/5/66), accompanied by an editorial that actually praised the Indonesian military for "rightly playing its part with utmost caution."

Lies, bald and repetitive
When omission proves to be an insufficient form of suppression, the media resort to outright lies. At one time or another over the course of forty years, the CIA involved itself with drug traffickers in Italy, France, Corsica, Indochina, Afghanistan, and Central and South America. Much of this activity was the object of extended congressional investigations and is a matter of public record. But the media seem not to have heard about it.
In August 1996, when the San Jose Mercury News published an in-depth series about the CIA-contra-crack shipments that were flooding East Los Angeles, the major media held true to form and suppressed the story. But after the series was circulated around the world on the Web, the story became too difficult to ignore, and the media began its assault. Articles in the Washington Post and The New York Times and reports on network television and PBS announced that there was "no evidence" of CIA involvement, that the Mercury News series was "bad journalism," and that the public's interest in this subject was the real problem, a matter of gullibility, hysteria, and conspiracy mania. In fact, the Mercury News series, drawing from a year long investigation, cited specific agents and dealers. When placed on the Web, the series was copiously supplemented with pertinent documents and depositions that supported the charge. The mainstream media simply ignored that evidence and repeatedly lied by saying that it did not exist.

Labeling
Like all propagandists, media people seek to prefigure our perception of a subject with a positive or negative label. Some positive ones are: "stability," "the president's firm leadership," "a strong defense," and "a healthy economy." Indeed, who would want instability, weak presidential leader ship, a vulnerable defense, and a sick economy? The label defines the subject, and does it without having to deal with actual particulars that might lead us to a different conclusion.
Some common negative labels are: "leftist guerrillas," "Islamic terrorists", "conspiracy theories," "inner-city gangs," and "civil disturbances." These, too, are seldom treated within a larger context of social relations and issues. The press itself is facilely and falsely labeled "the liberal media" by the hundreds of conservative columnists, commentators, and talk-show hosts who crowd the communication universe while claiming to be shut out from it.

Face value transmission
One way to lie is to accept at face value what are known to be official lies, uncritically passing them on to the public without adequate confirmation. For the better part of four years, in the early 1950s, the press performed this function for Senator Joseph McCarthy, who went largely unchallenged as he brought charge after charge of treason and communist subversion against people whom he could not have victimized without the complicity of the national media.
Face-value transmission has characterized the press's performance in almost every area of domestic and foreign policy, so much so that journalists have been referred to as "stenographers of power." (Perhaps some labels are well deserved.) When challenged on this, reporters respond that they cannot inject their own personal ideology into their reports. Actually, no one is asking them to. My criticism is that they already do. Their conventional ideological perceptions usually coincide with those of their bosses and with officialdom in general, making them faithful purveyors of the prevailing orthodoxy. This confluence of bias is perceived as "objectivity."

False balancing
In accordance with the canons of good journalism, the press is supposed to tap competing sources to get both sides of an issue. In fact, both sides are seldom accorded equal prominence. One study found that on NPR, supposedly the most liberal of the mainstream media, right-wing spokespeople are often interviewed alone, while liberals-on the less frequent occasions they appear-are almost always offset by conservatives. Furthermore, both sides of a story are not necessarily all sides. Left-progressive and radical views are almost completely shut out.
During the 1980s, television panel discussions on defense policy pitted "experts" who wanted to maintain the existing high levels of military spending against other "experts" who wanted to increase the military budget even more. Seldom if ever heard were those who advocated drastic reductions in the defense budget.

Framing
The most effective propaganda is that which relies on framing rather than on falsehood. By bending the truth rather than breaking it, using emphasis and other auxiliary embellishments, communicators can create a desired impression without resorting to explicit advocacy and without departing too far from the appearance of objectivity. Framing is achieved in the way the news is packaged, the amount of exposure, the placement (front page or buried within, lead story or last), the tone of presentation (sympathetic or slighting), the headlines and photographs, and, in the case of broadcast media, the accompanying visual and auditory effects.
Newscasters use themselves as auxiliary embellishments. They cultivate a smooth delivery and try to convey an impression of detachment that places them above the rough and tumble of their subject matter. Television commentators and newspaper editorialists and columnists affect a knowing style and tone designed to foster credibility and an aura of certitude or what might be called authoritative ignorance, as expressed in remarks like "How will the situation end? Only time will tell." Or, "No one can say for sure." (Better translated as, "I don't know and if I don't know then nobody does.") Sometimes the aura of authoritative credibility is preserved by palming off trite truisms as penetrating truths. So newscasters learn to fashion sentences like "Unless the strike is settled soon, the two sides will be in for a long and bitter struggle." And "The space launching will take place as scheduled if no unexpected problems arise." And "Because of heightened voter interest, election-day turnout is expected to be heavy." And "Unless Congress acts soon, this bill is not likely to go anywhere."
We are not likely to go anywhere as a people and a democracy unless we alert ourselves to the methods of media manipulation that are ingrained in the daily production of news and commentary. The news media regularly fail to provide a range of information and commentary that might help citizens in a democracy develop their own critical perceptions. The job of the corporate media is to make the universe of discourse safe for corporate America, telling us what to think about the world before we have a chance to think about it for ourselves. When we understand that news selectivity is likely to favor those who have power, position, and wealth, we move from a liberal complaint about the press's sloppy performance to a radical analysis of how the media serve the ruling circles all too well with much skill and craft.

Michael Parenti received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University in 1962, and has taught at a number of colleges and universities. He is the author of thirteen books, including Democracy for a Few (6th edition); Power and the Powerless; Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media (2nd edition); The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution and the Arms Race; Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment; Land of Idols, Political Mythology in America; Against Empire: Dirty Truths; and Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism. Dr. Parenti's articles have appeared in a wide range of scholarly journals and political periodicals. He lives in Berkeley, California, and devotes him self full-time to writing and lecturing around the country.

posted May 15, 2008 03:12 PM            

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=673709774343 4902428&q=outfoxed&total=291&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news.
This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know.

FOX News Whistle blowers. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=trWcqxrQgcc&feature=related

Reporters fired for doing their jobs
Stories nixed and distorted
Reporters told to lie, threatened, and offerred bribes.

The 9/11 Whistle-Blowers Part I

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JcRAxnsay58&feature=related

Dr. Graham, Chief Judiciary for Clinton Impeachment David Schippers, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer & Able Danger, FBI Operative Randy Glass,

Part II

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FjEddVpRj7o&feature=related

FBI Translator Sibel Edmonds, Indira Singh & P-Tech
All of these people were fired, threatened, or killed as a consequence of doing their jobs.

posted May 15, 2008 03:54 PM            

Oh you two crack me up. Do you call each other and plan these little "tee hees" together? Do you also ask what the other is going to wear to the next protest to make sure you match?

posted May 16, 2008 08:04 AM            

MARCH 20, 2005

I thought we weren’t going out today, but as usual, we got called to do something at the last minute. We’re going to visit the mayor’s office, which means we’ll see the demon spawn again. Today I thought I’d bring a little surprise for him. I figure if he gets out of hand, my super turbo-charged battery operated squirt machine gun will be ready and loaded with a fully stocked supply of ammunition, water bottles. Let’s see how the little s#$% likes that. I say this with much love and affection because I love “problem children” and this one takes the cake. Plus, he annoys the hell out of School Boy, bonus!

Speaking of School Boy, I gave him a little taste of his own medicine. He kept yelling my name while I was asleep this morning, so while he was “resting his eyes” I grabbed a few of his Nerf toys and proceeded to volley them right into his side. He was so tired when he retaliated that he couldn’t hit me.

We got all geared up and ready to make our trip, only to wait for more than an hour before the trip was cancelled. No one was sure why, but then word came that someone was killed in an IED (improvised explosive device) exploded and the commander had to deal with that instead. Two incidents were called in over the radio. The first one reported that no one was hurt, but a vehicle was down. The other one, which I didn’t hear, reported that someone was killed.

The soldier was from here, so the Internet and phones were down. Luckily, I have friends now with resources. I wandered next door to the ODA (operation detachment alpha, aka special forces) Bunker to check e-mail. Theirs is always up.

All American was complaining that they have to be here for seven-month deployments now rather than four months. I looked around the room at the nice living conditions: American television, Internet, and a refrigerator full of beer; not to mention, two soldiers in inhabiting an entire building. In comparison, we have five people in one room. He caught on to my expression and said, “Well, I guess compared to you guys we have it pretty good.” Mmmm hmmm, got that right!

I had my late night smoke and started pondering the most recent of deaths, a soldier on his way back from leave. F@#$, that sucks! School Boy pointed out that at least he got to see his family. I bet they’re saying, “but we just saw him!”

I admit I do get complacent. Times like today remind me that people do want to kill me. I heard a quote somewhere, “One person dies and it’s a tragedy; hundreds die and it’s a statistic.” It’s true, on the news, all I see are numbers. What happened to “so and so, a soldier from someplace, died today while serving his country. Our hearts go out to his friends and family. If you would like to support the family in any way, please contact so and so.” Not “The deaths in Iraq total more than 1,000.”

The year before I came here, one of the things I did was look up each person who died. I started out doing it as research to learn how soldiers died and what possibly could have been done better. I looked at each face and each name and I read about each one. At that time, it was just more than 300. It was heart wrenching, especially reading about the young ones. It was even more painful to hear that a lot of the deaths were from accidents. I started out with a research mission and ended up learning about each person. I think more people should read about the soldiers who die. People get so wrapped up in their lives. I was one of those people. It’s easier said than done. And you can’t dwell on it … that’s not exactly “living” either, is it?

I get angry when people don’t support the war effort. I understand people have a right to their opinions, but the typical anti-war person nowadays claims “I do support the troops!”

How can you? By telling them that they die for nothing? By demoralizing them and forcing them to think they are wasting their lives here? The time to voice opinions is before the final decision, not after.

We’re here and it’s not changing, no matter how many celebrities complain. Plus, how do they know what’s going on? From the news? The media rarely leaves Baghdad. I’ve moved several times and only saw a reporter once. I see the people. I see the kids. They live in fear because bad guys come threaten them at their place of work. Sure, not everyone likes us, but most are just trying to get by. It’s not so different from everywhere else. They just want to provide for their families.

It’s a lot different than what I read about. I expected to see people praying six times a day, expected them to hate us and think we’re infidels. First of all, most of the people don’t pray six times a day. I drive through downtown in the middle of prayer and there are hundreds of people walking around. In Samarra, I did see a few people do it, but for the most part, people don’t. Even during Ramadan, I watched people eat and drink during the day. What does that mean to me? Well, just like Americans, they can slack off in their religion. It doesn’t mean they love Allah less; they are just normal human beings. And they don’t all think we’re infidels. On the contrary, they watch American movies and listen to American music. Wouldn’t they be going straight to hell if they really thought we were infidels?

Sometimes I think I’m fighting more for the Iraqis rather than America. I guess I’m okay with that. I have been a little sister to Iraqi men, a daughter to Iraqi women, a role model to little girls, and a future wife to the little boys (at least that’s what they think!). I don’t have a problem fighting for them. I’m not saying there aren’t some rotten apples, hell, we are still here right? But they’re an exception to the majority, and majority rules here too.

I have seen amazing acts of kindness from the poorest of people, whether they offer their last chicken or slaughter a cow to feed us, or help us dig out a Humvee that’s stuck in the mud. They’ve done all this before ever knowing what we’re about. The ones who do have the opportunity to get to know us better go to even greater lengths with gifts and gestures. So yeah, it’s easy to say “they’re not our people; we’re wasting American lives!” Yeah, it’s pretty easy when you’re not here to see in person one Iraqi child’s face, one woman’s smile, or one man’s gratitude.

posted May 16, 2008 08:40 AM            

by Tech. Sgt. D. Clare
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

12/17/2007 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- When Army Cpl. Joseph Barzeski invited Staff Sgt. Tracy Davidson to tour the Convoy Support Center's burn clinic in Scania, Iraq, he didn't think she would be back. But she did come back, again and again.

"I didn't think she was going to want to stay, but she wanted to help," said the corporal. "She just fell right into it."

Since that day in mid-July, Sergeant Davidson has assisted nearly every day the clinic has been open. She's become a fixture at the facility as a care provider for families, and a resource for combat medics who endure stress.

Corporal Barzeski, a combat medic for the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and NCO in charge of the clinic, said the sergeant's contributions are invaluable. As a female, she is a comfort to the parents and girls whose burns often cover most of their bodies.

Likewise, as a mental health technician in an "in-lieu-of" tasking in support of the Army, she's there to listen and support the medics and Soldiers who rely on her for emotional support.

Sergeant Davidson has logged more than 850 hours treating children at the clinic. Based on the impact she has had on patients, her command developed a Personnel Asset Sharing agreement that allows her to officially assist all three days the clinic is open plus volunteering after duty hours.

Burns are prolific among Iraqi children. The majority are caused by household hazards like children pulling hot tea kettles or pans from stoves onto themselves and gas explosions, said Corporal Barzeski, who is deployed from Fort Bragg, N.C.,

Though they are not able to provide the level of care that a patient might receive in the U.S., the treatment they provide exceed the level of care that children might receive at an Iraqi hospital.

Sergeant Davidson pointed to a case where a female patient came in with trash bags on her hands and burns covering her from chest to ankles.

"When we saw her, we didn't think she was going to live. (Iraqi doctors) were going to cut her hands off," she said. "I saw her last week and she can grab my hands. She has good use of one of her hands and the other is coming along," she said.

As the clinic reaches milestones treating patients, word has spread among communities near and far -- despite the dangers and intimidation families encounter enroute to the American outpost.

They have limited options and are referred to the clinic by Iraqi hospitals, especially in instances where they can not afford to pay for care, Corporal Barzeski said.

Despite the cries and struggles of the children in their care, Sergeant Davidson and Corporal Barzeski are motivated by the results their efforts yield, and the relationships they build over time with Iraqi families, they said.

"I can't imagine the pain these kids go through. But if we didn't do it, nobody else is going to," said Sergeant Davidson, who is deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. "The two-year-old in pain isn't going to be grateful for what we're doing, but the parents have seen what happens to kids who don't get the care.

"It helps a lot as far as what the opinions are of the Americans. Word is out all over the place about how we have treated people with burns," she said.

For help building these relationships, Sergeant Davidson and the Soldiers here turn to their supporters at home. She's received donations of clothes and toys for the children from her family and a church in her hometown in Lincoln, Neb.

"We're receiving tons of help from all over, people want to support this mission,' said Corporal Barzeski. "It makes us feel good that we're really doing something to help these people. Even just to take a little tiny chunk of the population and make a difference, to make it so that people can come back and say the Americans helped us. That makes it all worthwhile."

posted May 16, 2008 09:17 AM            

Posted on Saturday, May 03, 2008 9:52:09 AM by SandRat

BAGHDAD, May 2, 2008 – Several years ago, the diagnosis of baby Noor’s rare congenital condition would have been equal to a death sentence. Today, she is on her way to leading a happy and healthy life, thanks to the soldiers of Multinational Division Center.

Born with some of her organs outside her body, Noor depended on advanced medical procedures the Iraqi medical system could not provide. Determined to get her the care she needed, doctors from 948th Forward Surgical Team performed an operation that saved her life. Soldiers are making arrangements to send her to the United States for two follow-up surgeries.

Stories like Noor’s are increasingly common throughout Multinational Division Center’s area of operations. Throughout the region, soldiers are coming to the aid of the often-neglected victims of this conflict: Iraq’s children.

From building schools to distributing toys to buying wheelchairs, Task Force Marne soldiers are working to improve the quality of life for Iraqi youth. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, came to the aid of Abdul Razik Raad Mutter al-Jabouri. In November, the boy was doing chores along the Tigris River when he stepped on a makeshift bomb planted by insurgents. Abdul lost his right arm and leg in the blast, but the soldiers responded to the scene quickly and managed to save his life.

Company A has continued to play a role in his recovery. They transport Abdul and his family to and from the hospital for his many appointments, helping him through each step of his grueling recovery. Now Abdul is able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg the soldiers had fitted for him.

Often, for injuries as serious as Abdul’s, a medical evacuation by helicopter presents the best chance of saving a patient’s life. The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade evacuates an average of 60 Iraqi civilians every month. This figure does not include evacuations of those serving in the Iraqi security forces.

Aside from individual assistance, Task Force Marne soldiers routinely conduct large-scale medical engagements. These initiatives give local residents an opportunity to receive free care, from treating small injuries to serious ailments.

About seven coordinated medical engagements take place in the Multinational Division Center area of operations every month, reaching thousands of people in need, many of them children.

But not all humanitarian engagements focus on caring for the sick and injured. The soldiers contribute to multiple aspects of the Iraqi school system. Their efforts have helped facilitate an environment in which children can learn and thrive.

Since their deployment, Task Force Marne soldiers have helped renovate 87 Iraqi schools, at a cost of nearly $20 million.

In one such project, soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, coordinated refurbishment of two schools in Mahmudiyah. The Iraqi Education Ministry and the town’s mayor identified the Uthman school and the Omah al-Mukhtar girls school as most in need for improvements.

The Commander’s Emergency Response Program funded the renovations, which included fresh paint, new classrooms, desks, windows and exterior walls. Changes like these help eliminate overcrowding and unsanitary conditions that make learning difficult.

The soldiers also have addressed the problem of Iraqi students lacking resources such as school supplies, textbooks and areas for recreational activities. To date, $2.25 million has been spent on parks, school supplies and youth centers.

In one case, soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team delivered backpacks filled with supplies and notebooks to the Raqhaa and the Abu Shear schools. The 1,600 students attending the two schools now have the materials they need to pursue their education.

In an effort to modernize Iraq’s education system, the 214th Fires Brigade worked with the Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team to equip the Al-Kut girls secondary school with an Internet center.

The girls have taken advantage of the new furniture and 10 machines to learn computing skills, do research, work on projects and complete exams they would otherwise need to travel to Baghdad to take.

Growing up in a war zone, many young Iraqis miss out on basic pleasures often taken for granted, such as playing sports or receiving a new toy. Certain humanitarian projects aim simply to bring joy into the lives of Iraqi children.

In Khidr, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, bought soccer balls and goals for the town. Local residents worked with the soldiers to clear a field and set up the goals. Now the children of Khidr have a safe venue to take part in their favorite pastime.

Various other Task Force Marne initiatives organized classes and provided uniforms and equipment to young Iraqi athletes. For example, 101st Airborne Division soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, recently ran a three-day basketball camp for children in Radwaniyah.

Projects and initiatives like these help to build ties of friendship and understanding among the country’s future generations, U.S. officials said.

posted May 16, 2008 09:18 AM            

Multi-National Force - Iraq ^

Posted on Saturday, May 03, 2008 11:28:51 PM by SandRat

Staff Sgt. Joseph Marcy, of the 511th Military Police Co., shares a moment with Iraqi children after a food distribution mission in the Zuwerijat district of Al Kut, Iraq, April 30. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West.

FOB DELTA — Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and American Soldiers recently gave humanitarian assistance to more than 200 families in the Zuwarijat district of al-Kut, 163 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, as part of Operation Thunder II.
The humanitarian mission furthered the operation’s goal of establishing a permanent ISF presence in the area.

During Operation Thunder II, ISF occupied three buildings to serve as temporary joint security stations until a permanent facility is built, said Col. Peter Baker, commander of the 214th Fires Brigade.

“This is the first time since I came to al-Kut that ISF has come into and stayed in an area with no permanent ISF presence,” Baker said.

Zuwarijat, like the Sadr area of Baghdad, was used by Saddam Hussein as a place for people he considered undesirable, said Capt. Hayder Ali Adnan, of the Iraqi Police (IP). The standard of living is very low.

The ISF moved into the area to show residents of Zuwarijat the strength of the security forces and give them the opportunity to support ISF in finding criminals, Adnan said.

The Iraqi Army led the mission, with the support of IP and assistance in planning from American forces, Baker said.

“I think the joint security mission and the assistance mission was very effective and successful,” Adnan said. “The distribution mission was good.”

Baker said the missions were a good example of ISF growth.

“They are more skilled and better with planning. It’s a tremendous growth in capacity in a short time,” he said.

Baker said he was pleased with the results of the operation, but warned that the future stability of the area is far from assured.

“It’s only been a week, but it’s been a good week,” he said.

(Story by Sgt. Daniel T. West, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office)

posted May 16, 2008 09:48 AM              

The soldiers aren't the bad ones.

posted May 16, 2008 12:16 PM              

quote:

---

Warning, this is a no thought zone. No rational thinking permitted.

---

The intuitive mind and the rational mind, in any case, must be brought together as ONE.

posted May 16, 2008 01:36 PM            

This part really stuck out in the first article

"I have seen amazing acts of kindness from the poorest of people, whether they offer their last chicken or slaughter a cow to feed us, or help us dig out a Humvee that’s stuck in the mud. They’ve done all this before ever knowing what we’re about. The ones who do have the opportunity to get to know us better go to even greater lengths with gifts and gestures. So yeah, it’s easy to say “they’re not our people; we’re wasting American lives!” Yeah, it’s pretty easy when you’re not here to see in person one Iraqi child’s face, one woman’s smile, or one man’s gratitude.

I know one thing for sure. I have to make it out of here safely, if for nothing else than to spread this message. I want people to know it’s not for nothing. The soldier who died today, died so that hundreds of Iraqi kids have a future free from gun battles in their damn front yard. It might take a long time, but everything worthwhile takes time. I want all the families who lost someone, mine included if I don’t make it out of here, to know that it was not for nothing!""

So beautifully put.

LTT... I feel for you.. I really do.

posted May 16, 2008 05:28 PM            

Those articles are pretty much the sentiments of about 98% of the troops that spent time there. About 90% of my Company wants to go back there and do their part to help the country get on their feet and be free without fear.

Yes, there are a quite of few bad apples in that part of the world. Thanks for supporting them LTT, keep up the hard work and live in peace and freedom to speak your mind unlike them.

Bear

posted May 16, 2008 10:19 PM            

I'm also glad you're here, Bear, to share your perspectives as you have actually been there and know how distorted the messages we get from the MSM really are.

I wonder, how is it that these stories aren't headlines? How is it that all the good our forces have done over there goes unreported on the large networks? Even what does get reported ... the wording, the slant! It's almost unbelievable. But then that makes for good conspiracy fodder and lies. "Must be there is no good news. Blah Blah Blah. The MSM is actually controlled by Neo Cons. Blah Blah Blah."