By John Grant

The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic and a killer.
- D.H. Lawrence

The realist in murder writes of a world in which gangsters can rule nations … where a judge with a cellar full of bootleg liquor can send a man to jail for having a pint in his pocket … where no man can walk down a dark street in safety because law and order are things we talk about but refrain from practicing.
- Raymond Chandler
 
 
American pop culture is certainly not unique in having a love affair with killers. Since the first cave man cracked his neighbor’s head open to control a water hole, eliminating others has been top on the list of problem-solving techniques.

“I get mad when bloggers accuse me of lying -- of knowing the information was false. I didn’t.” -- Colin Powell.

Can you imagine having an opportunity to address the United Nations Security Council about a matter of great global importance, with all the world's media watching, and using it to… well, to make shit up – to lie with a straight face, and with a CIA director propped up behind you, I mean to spew one world-class, for-the-record-books stream of bull, to utter nary a breath without a couple of whoppers in it, and to look like you really mean it all? What gall. What an insult to the entire world that would be.

Colin Powell doesn't have to imagine such a thing. He has to live with it. He did it on February 5, 2003. It's on videotape.

By Dave Lindorff

As we slog towards another vapid, largely meaningless exercise in pretend democracy with the selection of a new president and Congress this November, it is time to make it clear that the current president, elected four years ago by so many people with such inflated expectations four years ago (myself included, as I had hoped, vainly it turned out, that those who elected him would then press him to act in progressive ways), is not only a betrayer of those hopes, but is a serial violator of his oath of office. He is, in truth, a war criminal easily the equal of his predecessor, George W. Bush, and perhaps even of Bush’s regent, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Let me count the ways:

By John Grant

Whore: (verb) To debase oneself by doing something for unworthy motives, typically to make money.

-The New Oxford American Dictionary

It’s a challenge to make adult sense of the absurdities coming out of Colombia right now.

Surely this must be some kind of a crime on the part of Iran?  Or can the children perhaps be charged with trading with the enemy?

From Information Clearing House:

"The waiting list for treatment in Baghdad is endless and time is never on the side of the patients," says Al- Sailhi from the barracks that host his NGO headquarters next to the hospital.

"Besides, these children's diseases also lead to economic ruin of their families. Those who can afford it pay up to 7,000 dollars in Syria or up to 12,000 dollars in Jordan for treatment. The cheapest option is Iran, with rates at an average of 5,000 dollars. 

"Today, families are flocking to Tehran for their children to be treated. Many of them are sleeping in the streets because they can't afford to pay a hotel room."

By Dave Lindorff

In the militarist society in which we live in these latter days of American Empire, all soldiers are “noble heroes” who have signed up at “great personal sacrifice” to “defend our freedoms,” and we are all expected to pay homage and a great deal of our hard-earned money to support them, both in their brutal efforts to subjugate people in desperately poor parts of the world, and (when they leave the service, either to take jobs in the private sector or to live out broken lives if they were wounded) as veterans.

But let’s be honest about all this.

Iraq Now: Reports from the WarResistersLeague

Blackwater in Iraq (5 of 5) from Harper's Magazine on Vimeo.

Video streaming by Ustream

President Proclaims ‘National Day of Honor’

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2012 – On the ninth anniversary of U.S. forces moving into Iraq, President Barack Obama has proclaimed today to be “A National Day of Honor.”

Here’s is the text of the president’s proclamation:

"Nine years ago, members of the United States Armed Forces crossed the sands of the Iraq-Kuwait border and began one of the most challenging missions our military has ever known. They left the comforts of home and family, volunteering in service to a cause greater than themselves. They braved insurgency and sectarian strife, knowing too well the danger of combat and the cost of conflict. Yet, through the dust and din and the fog of war, they never lost their resolve. Demonstrating unshakable fortitude and unwavering commitment to duty, our men and women in uniform served tour after tour, fighting block by block to help the Iraqi people seize the chance for a better future. And on December 18, 2011, their mission came to an end."

Wait. Wasn't it more challenging when the U.S. military used to fight wealthy, armed nations?  Isn't sacrificing for a cause a separate question from whether the cause was worthwhile?  Isn't braving insurgency and sectarian strife an inevitable part of occupying someone else's country and using death squads to stir up sectarian strife?  Isn't fighting block by block an atrocity, because people live there?  Isn't helping the Iraqi people against the will of the Iraqi people a bit arrogant?  Didn't the mission come to an end because the Iraqi people compelled the Iraqi government to no longer allow criminal immunity for US troops and mercenaries killing, raping, and pillaging?  Didn't the mission end without finding the mythical weapons, without forcing the Iraqis to accept U.S. domination, and with the country essentially destroyed -- causing a majority of Iraqis to say they'd been better off before the invasion?

"Today, we honor their success, their service, and their sacrifice. In one of our Nation's longest wars, veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn wrote one of the most extraordinary chapters in American military history. When highways became mine fields and uncertainty waited behind every corner, service members rose to meet the task at hand with unmatched courage and determination. They learned languages and cultures, taking on new roles as diplomats and development experts to improve the communities where they served. Their strength toppled a tyrant, and their valor helped build opportunity in oppression's place. Across nearly 9 years of conflict, the glory of their service -- as well as the contributions of other members of the U.S. Government and our coalition partners -- always shone through."

Always? Even in Haditha? Even in Fallujah?  Even in Collateral Murder? Even in Nisour Square? Wait a minute: what does nine years of pointless murderous occupation have to do with overthrowing the former U.S. ally who was overthrown immediately?

"The war left wounds not always seen, but forever felt. The burden of distance and the pain of loss weighed heavily on the hearts of millions at home and overseas. Behind every member of our military stood a parent, a spouse, or a son or daughter who proudly served their community and prayed for their loved one's safe return. For wounded warriors, coming home marked the end of one battle and the beginning of another -- to stand, to walk, to recover, and to serve again. And, in war's most profound cost, there were those who never came home. Separated by time and space but united by their love of country, nearly 4,500 men and women are eternally bound; though we have laid them to rest, they will live on in the soul of our Nation now and forever. To them, to their families, and to all who served, we owe a debt that can never be fully repaid."

There's something sick about mourning the loss of life while erasing 99.5% of the losses, those of the victims, those of the people whose country we destroyed.  There's something repulsive too about mourning the damage done to the U.S. warriors while simultaneously lying about the war in order to send more such men and women into other equally criminal and senseless wars or what Obama himself used to call dumb wars.

"When we returned the colors of United States Forces-Iraq and the last of our troops set foot on American soil, we reflected on the extraordinary service and sacrifice of those who answered our country's call. Their example embodied that fundamental American faith that tells us no mission is too hard, no challenge is too great, and that through tests and through trials, we will always emerge stronger than before. Now, our Nation reaffirms our commitment to serve veterans of Iraq as well as they served us -- to uphold the sacred trust we share with all who have worn the uniform. Our future is brighter for their service, and today, we express our gratitude by saying once more: Welcome home."

Many of our veterans are homeless, as Obama dumps over half of federal discretionary spending into the war machine and lies to us all.  Better off? We destroyed our economy, lost our civil liberties, damaged the natural environment, endangered our country, brought murder and torture into acceptability, enflamed religious bigotry, and made sociocide something our president brags about.  Our future is brighter?

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 19, 2012, as a National Day of Honor. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the return of the United States Armed Forces from Iraq."

Funny how my Constitution never mentions any of the crap Obama finds in his Constitution. I hereby commit myself to getting drunk enough on St Patrick's Day to vommit appropriately on the National Day of Honor.

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

"BARACK OBAMA"

In my 42nd year without a lord or a dictator, I hereby cordially invite you to stick a sock in it.

By Ann Wright

Nine years ago, on March 19, 2003, I resigned from the U.S. Department of State in opposition to President Bush’s war on Iraq.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge in the past nine years, but the concerns I have about our government and its policies have only grown—with the second 4 years of President Bush and now 3 years of President Obama.

U.S. policies continue to elicit concern/hatred around the world

U.S. continues to create and implement policies that invite concern and/or hatred from most of the people of the world while governments/heads of governments continue to be coerced, bribed, and bought off to go along with whatever the United States decides is best for itself.

By David Swanson, Remarks at the Left Forum

When I lived in New York 20 years ago, the United States was beginning a 20-year war on Iraq. We protested at the United Nations. The Miami Herald depicted Saddam Hussein as a giant fanged spider attacking the United States. Hussein was frequently compared to Adolf Hitler. On October 9, 1990, a 15-year-old Kuwaiti girl told a U.S. congressional committee that she’d seen Iraqi soldiers take 15 babies out of an incubator in a Kuwaiti hospital and leave them on the cold floor to die. Some congress members, including the late Tom Lantos (D., Calif.), knew but did not tell the U.S. public that the girl was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States, that she’d been coached by a major U.S. public relations company paid by the Kuwaiti government, and that there was no other evidence for the story. President George H. W. Bush used the dead babies story 10 times in the next 40 days, and seven senators used it in the Senate debate on whether to approve military action. The Kuwaiti disinformation campaign for the Gulf War would be successfully reprised by Iraqi groups favoring the overthrow of the Iraqi government twelve years later.

Virginia's Fifth Congressional District had been long disgraced by the racist buffoon Democrat turned Republican Virgil Goode when Tom Perriello was elected as a non-racist buffoon Democrat in 2008.  For partisans, just getting elected and doing what President Obama told him was all Perriello needed to do.  For national "progressives" he was a star, which was usually explained to me in terms of how awful his district was relative to how limitedly awful he was. 

By John Grant

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (or AIPAC) is having its three-day annual meeting in Washington DC beginning Sunday March 4th. AIPAC is arriving in an atmosphere of beating war drums and rattling sabers against Iran.

Israel preemptively starting a war with Iran would be bad enough, but the assumption that the United States will be part of that war should be very disturbing to Americans -- who are just getting over one misguided, costly war in Iraq and are still involved in another in Afghanistan.

Iraq: 9 Years of War and Activism.  Is It Over?

On the 9th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, join us for an evening of reflection and looking forward.  

We’ll hear stories from big and small actors in the anti-Iraq occupation movement about how the past nine years impacted them and their lives, and the lasting lessons for us as a movement. 

See photos and videos from Feb 15, 2003, the largest mobilization that the world had ever seen, and other historic protests against the continued occupation.

 Also hear short panels discussing:

-          Is the occupation truly over?  What are we leaving behind?

-          What do Iraqis and US veterans want from us?

-          How is the current posturing around Iran similar and different from the buildup to Iraq?

-          What has the impact of 9 years of organizing been on the movement, the individuals who were a part of it and our ongoing collective struggles?

Date: Monday, March 19, 6:30-8:30

Location: Busboys and Poets, 14th and V St NW.

RSVP via Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/194107337360924/

Sponsored by: Washington Peace Center, Military Families Speak Out, United for Peace and Justice, Civilian-Soldier Alliance, CODEPINK, Veterans For Peace-DC Area Chapter, Peace Action, Peace Action Montgomery, DC Labor for Peace and Justice and US Labor Against the War.

“Ultimately, the failure of diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran came down to insufficient political will and the atmosphere of mis­trust that granted neither side any margin for error. The proposals put on the table may have been flawed; at different points either side may have played for time or sought to delay talks and goodwill measures may not have been reciprocated. But these phenomena do not make U.S.-Iran talks unique; they are common features in almost all negotiations. Talks that succeed do not do so because the pro­posals are flawless and because both sides play fair. Rather, they succeed because the many flaws associated with the talks are over­come by the political will to reach a solution.”

###

By John Grant

I could have been a vicious raving monster who killed and killed and left towers of rotting flesh in my wake. Instead, here I was on the side of truth, justice and the American way. Still a monster, of course, but I cleaned up nicely afterward, and I was OUR monster, dressed in red, white and blue 100 percent synthetic virtue.
 
-Jeff Lindsay
Dearly Devoted Dexter

I teach creative writing in a maximum security prison in Philadelphia. During the week I scour two thrift shops for 35-cent paperbacks that I haul in to stock a small lending library I created for inmates. Amazingly, the prison had no library.

This move will leave this nonetheless the world's biggest embassy, just as cutting the world's biggest military in half would leave it the world's biggest military -- if only that were done.