Democracy for New Mexico

Los Alamos High School Students Organize Peace March

From Steve Fettig, Los Alamos:
The Los Alamos High School Coalition For Peace has organized a rally and march at Ashley Pond starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday, March 17th. They hope to catch people coming from The Empty Bowls Project at the Senior Center. There will be music and an open microphone followed by a march through town.

Please bring your signs and come and support our youth. If you would like an electronic flyers for the event, to print and post around your office, town and on cars, contact Stephen Fettig at osprey@cybermesa.com. Help these young people make a statement to the rest of America! Thanks!

Iraq: Beyond Quagmire

The latest Rolling Stone features a truly frightening story by Tim Dickinson about what's really going on in Iraq and what we can expect in coming weeks and years. Bottom line: no matter what we do, it's going to be a continuing horror show.

The article features the opinions of a long list of diplomatic, counter-terrorism and Iraq experts: Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Carter; Richard Clarke, counterterrorism czar from 1992 to 2003; Nir Rosen, author of In the Belly of the Green Bird, about Iraq's spiral into civil war, speaking from Cairo, where he has been interviewing Iraqi refugees; Gen. Tony McPeak (retired), member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War; Bob Graham, former chair, Senate Intelligence Committee; Chas Freeman, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War; president of the Middle East Policy Council; Paul Pillar, former lead counterterrorism analyst for the CIA; Michael Scheuer, former chief of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit; author of Imperial Hubris; and blogger Juan Cole, professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Michigan.

The panel's best-case scenario: civil war in Iraq and a stronger Al Qaeda. Their most-likely scenario: years of ethnic cleansing and war with Iran. Their worst-case scenario: World War III.

Excerpts:

General Tony McPeak: "Even if we had a million men to go in, it's too late now. Humpty Dumpty can't be put back together again ... We're going to see a full-scale intercommunal war that may not burn out until one side is all dead, all gone. The Kurds would like to sit on the sidelines, but I don't see how they stay out, especially up in the Kirkuk area, where they sit on a lot of oil. This is going to be ethnic cleansing like we had in Kosovo or Bosnia -- but written big, in capital letters. And we can't stop it."

Nir Rosen: "There is no best-case scenario for Iraq. It's complete anarchy now. No family is untouched by kidnappings, murders, ethnic cleansing -- everybody lives in a constant state of terror. Leaving aside Kurdistan, which is very different, there's nobody in Iraq who is safe. You can get killed for being a Sunni, for being a Shia, for being educated, for being part of the former regime, for being part of the current regime. The Americans are still killing Iraqi civilians left and right. There's no government in Iraq; it doesn't exist outside of the Green Zone. That's not only the government's fault, that's our fault: We deliberately created a weak government so that we would have final authority over everything in Iraq."

Bob Graham: "This administration seems to be getting ready to make -- at a much more significant, escalated level -- the same mistake we made in Iran that we made in Iraq. If Iraq has been a disaster, this would be multiple times Iraq. The extent to which this could be the horror of the twenty-first century is hard to exaggerate."

Don't you wish we could somehow force every cowering Democrat in Congress to read this piece? Along with every person who thinks impeachment is a joke? How about those who are going about their lives -- or supposedly representing us in the government -- as if it's business as usual?

Many Democrats had a hand in allowing the madmen in this administration to creat this situation. Can we really afford the luxury of allowing these same madmen to take us through the last years of Bush's second term? And what makes anyone think this bunch will actually give up their hold on the imperial presidency ever IF the Congress passes something with teeth to stop the war, or even IF we impeach, or even IF we wait until 2008 to elect a new team? Sometimes it can seem that every road leads to the same horrific place and that it's too late to stop the inevitable no matter what we do. Still, the only hope we have is to try. And keep on trying. Every damned day. Even when we constantly come across more news like this:

Top House Democrats retreated Monday from an attempt to limit President Bush's authority for taking military action against Iran ... Officials said Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the leadership had decided to strip from a major military spending bill a requirement for Bush to gain approval from Congress before moving against Iran. Conservative Democrats as well as lawmakers concerned about the possible impact on Israel had argued for the change in strategy.

Reminder: March 17 Antiwar Protests and Related Events

Check out the Albuquerque March 17 website for everything related to the Albuquerque protest events commemorating the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq occupation. There's also info on additional related events before/after March 17:

• March 14, 6-8 PM, Wednesday, World Social Forum Report Back, SWOP, 820 Broadway Blvd. SE, St. Francis Xavier church. Details
• March 15, 7 PM, Code Pink coffeehouse event: Peace, Protest and Political Poems. Details
• March 17, 1 PM, Sante Fe rally and march, The Roundhouse, NM State Capitol. Details
• March 18, 10 AM - 4 PM, Eyes Wide Open Exhibition of the Human Cost of War, Old Town Plaza, 200 Romero NW. Overview and details
• March 19, 9 AM - 5 PM, Eyes Wide Open Exhibition of the Human Cost of War, Smith Plaza, UNM. Overview and details

BushWorld: Another Day in the Life

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Tuesday in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala, killing 93 people in one of several attacks targeting the faithful ahead of a weekend holiday.

The attack came a day after U.S. forces suffered their deadliest day in nearly a month — nine American soldiers were killed in explosions north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday. -- Yahoo News 3.6.07

March 17 in Santa Fe: 4th Anniversary of Iraq War

From Peace Action New Mexico:

• Rally and March to Commemorate 4th Anniversary of Iraq War
• Saturday, March 17th, 1:00 PM
• The Roundhouse, NM State Capitol (corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe)
• Invited Keynotes: Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Rep. Tom Udall, Mayor David Coss, Tim Reynolds of the Dave Matthews Band

Peace Action New Mexico, part of the coalition, United for Peace and Justice, who are sponsoring the nationwide commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the start of the war and occupation of Iraq, is hosting the New Mexico commemoration. We invite all groups and organizations in New Mexico to join this event on the final day of the State Legislature at the Roundhouse.

There will be music by a ten piece marimba band, speakers, costumes, dancers and a march to the Plaza. This is a family-friendly peaceful event. Bring your kids, pets, placards, musical instruments and drums to this important occasion. Tell the Bush administration of your strong opposition to this illegal and immoral war and occupation and the continuing troop buildup. Bring our troops home now! Click to RSVP.

For more information and to help organize, call Peace Action New Mexico at 505.989.4812.

March 17 ABQ Anti-War Protest (and Website)

Troops Home Now!

Join the March 17, 2007 Anti-War Rally in Albuquerque, NM. More than 1,000 protesters made their voices heard in Albuquerque on January 27, 2007! Global protest on the fourth year of war on Iraq.

Bring our troops home NOW: 26 New Mexicans have died. March 17th protests to occur in 150 American cities. Click to visit the new Albuquerque March Website, where you can get more information on both the local and national marches, learn how to you can help with the planning, sign up for email updates, download a flyer and more.

Iraq Occupation Quotes of the Day

From an article by Michael Hirsch, Newsweek:

Under Petraeus’s plan, a U.S. military force of 160,000 or more is setting up hundreds of “mini-forts” all over Baghdad and the rest of the country, right in the middle of the action. The U.S. Army has also stopped pretending that Iraqis—who have failed to build a credible government, military or police force on their own—are in the lead when it comes to kicking down doors and keeping the peace. And that means the future of Iraq depends on the long-term presence of U.S. forces in a way it did not just a few months ago. -- [emphasis mine]

Meanwhile, Politico.com lays out the new strategy planned by Senate Dems to call for a U.S. troop exit by the end of March 2008 and limit Bush in other ways. The proposal by Biden and Levin would also:

... restrict U.S. military efforts in Iraq to training and logistical support for the Iraqi army, counterterrorism operations and securing the Iraqi borders, especially with Iran and Syria, said the Democratic insiders, who would speak only on the condition of anonymity as the drafting proceeds.

Senate Democratic leaders have not decided when to formally introduce the new measure, which, if enacted, would restrict the president's authority to conduct military operations inside Iraq.

... The Biden-Levin resolution would supersede the use-of-force resolution for Iraq passed by Congress in October 2002. And it would require Bush to seek new authorization from Congress to send more combat troops to Iraq, or make any other dramatic changes in the nature of the U.S. military mission there.

It's seems clear that Bush will try to get as much of the escalation in place before Congress can act to stop him. Let's hope Dems in Washington start acting decisively more than talking endlessly ....

(Updated) Call Their Bluff on "Supporting the Troops"

UPDATE 2/20/07: The Army Times also covers this story, based on their investigation of Walter Reed's treatment of outpatients and others. They cite understaffing and undertraining of staff as the major causes of problems. Click here.

Every time we hear or read about some Bushwar promoter saying we can only "support the troops" by continuing the Iraq occupation into infinity, and how anyone against that is jeopardizing the troops and ruining their morale, we should make sure they get a copy of this Washington Post article by Dana Priest and Anne Hull. "Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army's Top Medical Facility" describes in gritty detail the horrific degenerating conditions in certain "outpatient holding" areas of Walter Reed Army Hospital in DC, the place seriously wounded or suffering troops are sent when they return to the USA from Iraq and Afghanistan and are released from acute care hospital beds.

I would quote some of this distrubing report but I want to encourage you, instead, to read the entire thing, to get the true flavor of what is happening at a now over-run institution long considered to be one of our best. Imagine what's going on in other, less scrutinized and honored corners of the war time machine.

Every time we hear or read about some Republican lying and promoting the myth that Democrats against the escalation in Iraq "want to cut the funds that support our troops," we should send them this article. It is the BUSH ADMINISTRATION and the REPUBLICAN-RUN CONGRESS that has been shortchanging funding for our wounded, our services for veterans and our troops in the field, not us. It is Bush and his compliant rubberstamps in Congress who have been content to send the same members of the military into Iraq over and over and over again to act out their dreams of glory and "victory" in a winless confrontation, and who then cut corners on dealing with those struck down in the process.

I can't imagine anyone reading the WaPo article and not wanting to rush the White House and Congress to make them listen, make them wake up, make them admit responsibility and accountability for the underfunded, bureaucratic chaos of Walter Reed's outpatient facilities and the other horrors being perpetrated in our names. Then again, some of these people have been so oblivious to facts for so long that I doubt they even know what reality is anymore.

But we know. And we have to keep trying, from any angle we can devise, to go at these problems and demand solutions, force an end to the madness, clean up the mess and start the healing. There is nothing down Bush's prescribed path but a worsening nightmare of catastrophic proportions. The holding areas of Walter Reed comprise just one aspect of that horror. And if Bush gets his way, those areas will be filled with even more casualties suffering needlessly from neglect, snafus and a lack of adequate resources.

Part II of the Washington Post series on the treatment of casualties upon their release to "outpatient" areas of Walter Reed can be found here.

U.S. House Passes Iraq Resolution

More good news today: The two paragraph, nonbinding resolution disapproving of Bush's escalation in the Iraq occupation was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon, by a vote of 246-182. There were 17 Republicans brave and honest enough to vote yes on the measure and two Dems who voted no according to the roll call.

Republicans voting Aye:

Castle
Coble
Tom Davis
Duncan
English (PA)
Gilcrest
Englis (SC)
Johnson (IL)
Jones (NC)
Keller
Kirk
La Tourette
Paul (TX)
Petri
Ramstad
Upton
Walsh (NY)

Democrats voting Nay:

Marshall (GA)
Taylor (MS)

Iraq Escalation: Heather Wilson Tries to Have It Both Ways

Surprise. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM-01), has been critical of the Iraq occupation ever since she won her latest two-year term by a margin of only a few hundred votes. However, her criticism only goes so far. Yesterday she took to the House floor to comment about the pending resolution expressing disapproval for Bush's latest transparent band-aid of a solution to the chaotic fiasco. Instead of voting in line with her previous negative responses to Bush's plans, she claimed she couldn't vote for the resolution because it was too "vague." Oh, and did you know the Dems really want to take the bullets and body armor away from troops on the ground? Since the resolution doesn't say they DON'T want to do that, Heather can't support it. Quote:

"The resolution intentionally leaves unanswered the question of whether we will fund the bullets and body armor for troops who are not there yet but are going. I believe a majority of this House would vote to equip and support the men and women being sent there, even if they question the President's strategy ... The language in this resolution is clever. But this isn’t a time for clever.

Read the text of the resolution. Seems mighty clear and direct to me. I'd like to think Wilson was teary-eyed and quivering in her statement yesterday because she has a guilty conscience. Given her serious criticisms of the escalation tactics, she has to be aware of just how meaningless and dangerous it will be to shove 21,000+ more troops in the middle of a raging, bloody civil war and insurgency. Yet she can't bring herself to do the right thing and vote for the resolution, despite its nonbinding nature. I wonder how the Bush team "convinced" her to refrain from a true expression of her views in the vote. Campaign fundraising for her next election comes to mind, but that's just me.

MoveOn and others are urging folks in Wilson's district to call her NOW to urge her to change her mind. Here are the numbers: in Washington DC (202) 225-6316; in Albuquerque (505) 346-6781.

By the way, you can see video clips of a number of House Dems making statements about the Iraq resolution, plus lots of other stuff, at House Speaker Pelosi's new blog, The Gavel.

Also, Sen. Harry Reid just announced that the U.S. Senate will vote on the U.S. House resolution about the Iraq escalation this coming Saturday. Straight up or down vote on the simple resolution. Period. The House vote is expected to happen on Friday.