UN secretary general takes cover at Baghdad press conference

Peace is just days away!

A word from Ron Paul

On the Federal Reserve:

On Iraq:

Military considers recruiting foreignersForeign ci…

Foreign citizens serving in the US military is a highly charged issue, which could expose the Pentagon to criticism that it is essentially using mercenaries to defend the country. Other analysts voice concern that a large contingent of non citizens under arms could jeopardize national security or reflect badly on American’s willingness to serve in uniform.

The idea of signing up foreigners who are seeking US citizenship is gaining traction as a way to address a critical need for the Pentagon, while fully absorbing some of the roughly one million immigrants that enter the United States legally each year.

The proposal to induct more non citizens, which is still largely on the drawing board, has to clear a number of hurdles. So far, the Pentagon has been quiet about specifics — including who would be eligible to join, where the recruiting stations would be, and what the minimum standards might involve, including English proficiency. In the meantime, the Pentagon and immigration authorities have expanded a program that accelerates citizenship for legal residents who volunteer for the military.

And since Sept. 11, 2001, the number of imam igrants in uniform who have become US citizens has increased from 750 in 2001 to almost 4,600 last year, according to military statistics

With severe manpower strains because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and a mandate to expand the overall size of the military — the Pentagon is under pressure to consider a variety of proposals involving foreign recruits, according to a military affairs analyst.

We begin to go to enlist other countries population in exchange for citizenship in America… we will be doing nothing than deluding respect for the military and killing an ancient tradition of men taking up arms to fight for their homes. It is rare in history when you see a man who first steps up to defend a nation and than become a citizen. It is even rarer still to see that nation succeed.

Rome imposed a smiler policy. Join the legions and you will gain citizenship at the end of your service. It was not long after that Rome fell.

Del.icio.us : military immigration

Source: Boston.com 

Bush Illegally Silences Critic of Iran Policy

[Video Removed]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Flynt Leverett — former CIA analyst, NSC member and established foreign policy expert — has written an op-ed for the NYT bashing the Bush admin. for it’s failed policies towards Iran. The WH, in typical ruthless and authoritarian form, has pressured the CIA to heavily redact his draft on the grounds that it would reveal national security secrets — something the CIA disagrees with — and have even threatened him with criminal prosecution. Leverett, visibly distraught at his press conference today, has countered that this claim is a “fraudulent” and deliberate attempt to silence a respected critic by politicizing the CIA review process.

At least him revealing the truth wasn’t censored….. I’m sure it’ll never made the normal newscasts though…

It’s a sick time we live in.

Army battling to save equipment

Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the 15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot — the idle, hulking formations symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt.

The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert sand and used up to nine times the rate in times of peace. The gear is piling up at depots such as Anniston, waiting to be repaired.

 

This gathering of material is just a waste of resources, especially with the massive lack of resources that our troops are suffering.

Across the military, scarce equipment is being shifted from unit to unit for training. For example, a brigade of 3,800 soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division that will deploy to Iraq next month has been passing around a single training set of 44 Humvees, none of which has the added armor of the Humvees they will drive in Iraq.

But the most insane bit of all this is:

Despite the work piling up, the Army’s depots have been operating at about half their capacity because of a lack of funding for repairs. In the spring, a funding gap caused Anniston and other depots to lose about a month’s worth of work, said Brig. Gen. Robert Radin, deputy chief of staff for operations at the Army Materiel Command at Fort Belvoir.

“Last year we spent as much time trying to find available money as managing our program,” he said. “We don’t want to go into the next rotation . . . with equipment that’s at the far end of its expected life.”

Responding to urgent requests from the Army and Marine Corps, Congress approved an extra $23.8 billion in October to replace worn-out equipment in fiscal 2007. With the money, the Army plans to double the workload at its depots, which will repair and upgrade 130,000 pieces in 2007, up from 63,000 last year. This will include a quadrupling of the number of tanks, Bradleys and other tracked vehicles overhauled, from 1,000 to 4,000.

 

Absolutely insane! It was a sin to start this war, but to send young men into battle without the proper training is criminal! At least use the massive military budget to save lives!

In my opinion this is worse than those tanks that Pentagon misplaced.

Source: MSNBC

Disgusting

There is no way that this is at all humorous, the state of this war has degraded past a point that is just …. disgusting and the American people have no idea.

This is a display of how ugly humanity can become… words escape how awful this makes me feel about this war, about the state of our nation, and about the American soldier.

At least he is an honest War Criminal

Bush Administration doctors video

Happy election day, I hope this is the first post of many more to come. I’m about to go out and do my voting routine which consists of:

Step 1: Voting for any specific candidate whom I feel strongly about
Step 2: Vote Libertarian down the line
Step 3: Finish the remaining positions by voting for the lesser evil (normally, Democrat)

I want to wish Ned Lamont great luck and hope that he sends Lieberman packing. I also want to wish luck too the four main Libertarians running in my state: Steven Edelman for Treasurer, Ken Mosher for Secretary of State, Richard Connelly for Comptroller, and Phil Maymin who is running for the House in CT District 4. As well as all of the Libertarian Candidates in the nation. Best of luck!

I want to bring this video to your attention, because it shows that the Bush Administration is trying to change history my erasing one of the greatest mistakes in Bush’s Presidency.

The Mission Accomplished Banner.

The way to win in North Korea!

There were two good stories released today; both containing key elements to the fact that the downfall of North Korea won’t take a nuclear war to achieve. It’ll be quite simple, in fact. A tactic used for thousands of years; a tactic that won the first World War for the allies; and has a dominant effect on almost every war since the beginning of history. That key word is… food.

The North Koreans relay on mostly foreign aid to feed their citizens. If we embargo food to the country; not apply unrealistic UN sanctions on them; the people will rise up and overthrow Kim Jong-Il. I believe the only reason to keep him in power is so that the poor North Koreans won’t starve. But this year their own limited food supply was damaged by floods, and they haven’t reserved their normal amount of aid since the nuclear tests. This is the time to deliver the finishing blow to Kim Jong-Il, and starve him out of power.

 

How do I know the people of North Korea are willing to disobey their leader? A many North Koreans who are smuggling out videos of the horrors going on in that country. There was one case where several soldiers were stabbed by a group of men bringing goods back into North Korea from China, including a camera and phone.

Other North Koreans use their Chinese phones on the boarder to talk to friends and relatives in South Korea, the United States or China.

A demand for a free market, and a group already fighting for their freedoms. Lets give them what they need to win, without getting our men and women in uniform killed for the trouble.

N Korea food shortages ‘critical’
Kim tested by rise of armed resistance