PRESS DEMOCRAT– Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, delivered her 400th speech against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the House floor Tuesday.
Woolsey, a former Petaluma city councilwoman who was elected to Congress in 1992, began by noting that her series of anti-war speeches — delivered every day Congress was in session — began in April 2004, a year after the invasion of Iraq.
“And so since that day, I’ve stood here in this spot to say over and over again that these wars are eroding our spiritual core; bankrupting us morally and fiscally; teaching our children that warfare is ‘the new normal,’” she said.
Woolsey noted that the Iraq war and former President Bush were “quite popular” in 2004, but that “gradually, the tide of public opinion turned.”
XINHUA– Up to 100 Iraqi lawmakers on Monday signed a document calling on the Iraqi government to demand departure of U.S. troops from the country as scheduled by the end of 2011, the Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.
“The legislatures have signed 100 signatures, calling on the government to demand the departure of the U.S. occupation forces, in compliance with the security agreement signed between Baghdad and Washington,” the Iraqi independent agency quoted Uday Awad, a member of the Ahrar parliamentary bloc, as saying.
Awad also said that his bloc urges other Iraqi political blocs to take similar step to practice pressure on the Iraqi government to demand a complete pullout of U.S. troops from the country, agency said on its website.
Baghdad and Washington are in debate whether the U.S. troops need to extend the presence of its troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline.
U.S. military forces are to pull out completely from Iraq by the end of 2011, according to the security pact named Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which was signed late in 2008 between Baghdad and Washington.
MEDIA ROOTS- The following contains the full transcript of President Obama’s June 22 speech
regarding the troop pullout in Afghanistan. All additional commentary is italicized.
President Obama on June 22, 2011
***
BARACK OBAMA: Good evening. Nearly 10 years ago, America suffered
the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor. This mass murder was
planned by Osama bin Laden and his alQaeda network in Afghanistan, and
signaled a new threat to our security– one in which the targets were
no longer soldiers on a battlefield, but innocent men, women and
children going about their daily lives.
We can’t actually go to trial to prove Al Qaeda’s involvement because Leon Panettasupposedly had OBL murdered by special operations trained killers. How do you like that for due process?
BO: In the days that followed, our nation was united as we struck at alQaeda
and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Thanks to the dutiful stenographer-like
news-casters and cowardly political elites, the Bush administration was able to
amplify and carry the trauma onto millions of Americans. People whose lives would otherwise have been
unaffected were suddenly subjected to fear, paranoia, anxiety, PTSD, anger,
hate and manipulation.
BO: Then, our focus shifted. A second war was launched in Iraq, and we spent
enormous blood and treasure to support a new government there. By the
time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year.
Let me just gloss over the million or so
deaths in Iraq that were attributable to America’s
invasion and the trillions of
dollars pissed away to private contractors.
BO: But al Qaeda’s leaders had escaped into Pakistan
and were plotting new attacks, while the Taliban had regrouped and gone on the
offensive. Without
a new strategy and decisive action, our military commanders warned that we
could face a resurgent alQaeda, and a Taliban taking over large parts of
Afghanistan. For this reason, in one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve made as
President, I ordered an additional 30,000 American troops into Afghanistan.
When I announced this surge at West Point, we set clear objectives: to refocus
on alQaeda; reverse the Taliban’s momentum; and train Afghan Security Forces
to defend their own country.
Some might say that the
American and Coalition presence
in Afghanistan and Iraq are to strategically control the resources
there: oil, minerals, opium, etc. Well, everyone’s entitled to their
own opinion.
BO: I
also made it clear that our commitment would not be open-ended, and that we
would begin to drawdown our forces this July. [Nothing on the ground has really
changed, but hey, it’s an election year.
I can’t spin my December 2009 escalation of troops in Afghanistan as
having been effective if I don’t declare that we’ll be de-escalating now.] Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment. Thanks to
our men and women in uniform [To whom you should all be grateful — man, it’s easy
to use the troops as props and political human shields — just tell your critics
that they’re not supporting the troops no one will dare disagree with you!] our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners,
we are meeting our goals.
As a result, starting next month, we will be able to
remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we
will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the
surge I announced at West Point.
Notice how I cleverly don’t mention the amount of troops that would be left on the ground? Even after this fantasy withdrawal,
there will still be 70,000 troops and even more contractors in Afghanistan, just as there are in Iraq.
BO: After this initial reduction, our troops will
continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan Security forces move into the
lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and
the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security. We are starting this drawdown from a position of strength. Al Qaeda is under
more pressure than at any time since 9/11. Together with the Pakistanis, we
have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership.
Nevermind that the global “War on Terror”— yes, the phrase which I retired rhetorically but in all
other ways supported— has created more terrorists worldwide, more threats to
US security, and has even caused the US government to turn on its own people.
BO: And
thanks to our intelligence professionals and Special Forces, we killed Osama
bin Laden, the only leader that alQaeda had ever known. This was a victory for
all who have served since 9/11.
The
killing of one man has been worth spending trillions on the illegal,
immoral US wars that have killed more than a million civilians?
BO: One soldier summed it up well.
“The message,” he said, “is we don’t forget. You will be held accountable, no
matter how long it takes.” [Isn’t that cute?
This anonymous soldier thinks there’s accountability in this world.]
The information that we recovered from bin Laden’s compound shows alQaeda
under enormous strain. Bin Laden expressed concern that
alQaeda has been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that have
been killed, and that alQaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a
nation at war with Islam – thereby draining more widespread support. [I’m
counting on you to not try and verify anything I’m saying by actually talking
with people who might be brown and from other countries.].
BO: Al Qaeda remains dangerous, and we must be
vigilant against attacks. But we have put alQaeda on a path to defeat, and we
will not relent until the job is done. [We will also keep killing, exploiting, torturing and waging war on
people all over the world, and then pretend to express shock and incompetence when these victims
retaliate.] In Afghanistan, we’ve inflicted serious losses on the Taliban [and in
Mcchyrstal’s words, an “amazing number of people” who were not threats] and taken a number of its strongholds.
Along with our surge, our allies also increased their commitments, which helped
[de-] stabilize more of the country. Afghan
Security Forces have grown by over 100,000 troops, and in some provinces and
municipalities we have already begun to transition responsibility for security
to the Afghan people.
In the face of violence and intimidation,
Afghans are fighting and dying for their country [and mainly to kick us out of
their country], establishing local police forces, opening markets and schools,
creating new opportunities for women and girls, and trying to turn the page on
decades of war. Of course, huge challenges remain. This is the beginning – but not the end –
of our effort to wind down this war. We will have to do the hard work of
keeping the gains that we have made[don’t ask for specifics about the “gains” I am referring to], while we
drawdown our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan
government. And next May, in Chicago, we will host a summit with our NATO
allies and partners to shape the next phase of this transition.
We do know that peace cannot come to a land that has known so much war
without a political settlement. So as we strengthen the Afghan government and
Security Forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan
people, including the Taliban. [Is that why we are paying members of the Taliban to “switch” to our side?] Our position on these talks is clear: they
must be led by the Afghan government, and those who want to be a part of a
peaceful Afghanistan must break from alQaeda, abandon violence, and abide by
the Afghan Constitution. But, in part because of our military effort, we have
reason to believe that progress can be made.
The goal that we seek is achievable, and can be expressed simply: no
safe-haven from which alQaeda or its affiliates can launch attacks against our
homeland, or our allies. We will not try to make Afghanistan a perfect place.
We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is
the responsibility of the Afghan government, which must step up its ability to
protect its people; and move from an economy shaped by war [a war that we’ve had a
huge hand in for decades] to one that can sustain a lasting peace. What we can do, and
will do, is build a partnership with the Afghan people that endures – one that
ensures that we will be able to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a
sovereign Afghan government [and as long as energy and mining companies can
extract resources from the soil and seas in and around the country].
Of course, our efforts must also address terrorist safe-havens in Pakistan.
No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is
why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing
a more peaceful future for this war-torn region. [How do we know they’re
violent? We’ve got their calling cards
in our Rolodexes. And they’ve got
receipts from subsidized weapons sales from American dealers.] We will work
with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and
we will insist that it keep its commitments. For there should be no doubt that
so long as I am President, the United States will never tolerate a safe-haven
for those who aim to kill us: they cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they
deserve.
Don’t bother asking
about justice for American politicians. I believe in the double standards
afforded by American exceptionalism. We
are an empire– laws and
justice are for other people.
BO: My fellow Americans, this has been a difficult decade for our country. We
have learned anew the profound cost of war — a cost that has been paid by the
nearly 4500 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq, and the over 1500 who
have done so in Afghanistan – men and women who will not live to enjoy the
freedom that they defended. Thousands more have been wounded. Some have lost
limbs on the field of battle, and others still battle the demons that have
followed them home.
Yet tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding. [Let
me frame that in a way that makes war a phenomena that is caused by the pull of
celestial bodies and gravity, rather than the design and greed of men.] Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving
in harm’s way. [Don’t ask who put them there.]
We have ended our combat mission in
Iraq, with 100,000 American troops already out of that country. [Don’t
ask how many tens of thousands of troops remain, and how many contractors are
still cashing nice checks in the name of freedom and democracy and liberation. Did I mention that June was the deadliest month for the US Army in Iraq since 2009?]
And even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure
peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible
end.
As they do, we must learn their lessons. [Let me ignore the lessons of
Vietnam and from every other war in history. That
way, I can choose lessons that won’t preclude future military
interventions.] Already this decade of
war has caused many to question the nature of America’s engagement around the
world. Some would have America retreat from our responsibility as an anchor of
global security, and embrace an
isolation that ignores the very real threats that we face. Others would have
America over-extend ourselves, confronting every evil that can be found abroad.
That thing in Libya that I’ve done—yeah,
don’t think about that…
BO: We must chart a more centered course. Like generations before, we must
embrace America’s singular role in the course of human events. But we must be
as pragmatic as we are passionate; as strategic as we are resolute. When
threatened, we must respond with force – but when that force can be targeted,
we need not deploy large armies overseas. When innocents are being slaughtered
and global security endangered, we don’t have to choose between standing idly
by or acting on our own. Instead, we must rally international action, [by
pressuring the UN and then broadly interpreting UN resolutions, such as UNSCR
1970] which we are doing in Libya, where we do not have a single soldier on the
ground, but are supporting allies in protecting the Libyan people and giving
them the chance to determine their destiny.
When we’re attacked by Libyans in years to come, remember, act
surprised!
BO: In all that we do, we must remember that what sets America apart is not
solely our power – it is the principles upon which our union was founded. We
are a nation that brings our enemies to justice while adhering to the rule of
law [don’t mention torture, don’t mention torture], and respecting the rights
of all our citizens. [Never mind that privacy is completely eradicated in this country and that big brother is watching your every move.] We protect
our own freedom and prosperity by extending it to others.
That nut-grab at the
airport is just a friendly freedom
fondle!
BO: We stand not for empire, but
for self-determination. That is why we have a stake in the democratic
aspirations that are now washing across the Arab World. [Even though,
admittedly, we propped up and befriended those very dictators that are now
getting overthrown… see, it’s useful to American politicians to have an
American public so ignorant of history.]
We will support those revolutions with fidelity to our ideals, with the
power of our example, and with an unwavering belief that all human beings
deserve to live with freedom and dignity.
Actually, it’s not so much that we care about congruence of ideals—I
mean, look at China. Where it suits the
interests of the economic elites and warprofiteers, we’ll turn a blind eye to
human rights. Though sometimes I wish we could
censor the internet like China does, so we could prevent ugly reports pointing out American hypocrisy from being accessed.
BO: Above all, we are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in
opportunity for our citizens at home. Over the last decade, we have spent a
trillion dollars on war [actually close to three or five], at a time of rising
debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest
resource – our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and
industry, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and
find new and clean sources of energy. And most of all, after a decade of
passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that we shared at the
beginning of this time of war. For our nation draws strength from our
differences, and when our union is strong no hill is too steep and no horizon
is beyond our reach.
Let’s not talk about 800 military bases, or the fact that US military spending costs more than 2
billion dollars a day. I hope no one
looks up the employment effects of military spending either.
BO: America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home. In this effort, we draw inspiration from our fellow Americans who have
sacrificed so much on our behalf. To our troops, our veterans and their
families, I speak for all Americans when I say that we will keep our sacred
trust with you, and provide you with the care, and benefits, and opportunity
that you deserve.
I met some of those patriotic Americans at Fort Campbell. A while back, I
spoke to the 101st Airborne that has fought to turn the tide in Afghanistan,
and to the team that took out Osama bin Laden. Standing in front of a model of
bin Laden’s compound, the Navy SEAL who led that effort paid tribute to those
who had been lost – brothers and sisters in arms whose names are now written on
bases where our troops stand guard overseas, and on headstones in quiet corners
of our country where their memory will never be forgotten. This officer – like
so many others I have met with on bases, in Baghdad and Bagram, at Walter Reed
and Bethesda Naval Hospital – spoke with humility about how his unit worked
together as one – depending on each other, and trusting one another, as a
family might do in a time of peril.
That’s a lesson worth remembering – that we are all a part of one American
family. Though we have known disagreement and division, we are bound together
by the creed that is written into our founding documents, and a conviction that
the United States of America is a country that can achieve whatever it sets out
to accomplish. Now, let us finish the work at hand. Let us responsibly end
these wars, and reclaim the American Dream that is at the center of our story.
With confidence in our cause; with faith in our fellow citizens; and with hope
in our hearts, let us go about the work of extending the promise of America –
for this generation, and the next. May God bless our troops. And may God bless
the United States of America.
Transcript of Obama’s Speech, Commentary written by Smedley Butler’s ghost
TEHRAN TIMES– June marks the deadliest month in combat related fatalities for U.S. forces in Iraq since 2009 amid fears of a rise in attacks against the U.S. military.
The most recent killing of two American soldiers in northern Iraq on Sunday raised the U.S. forces’ death toll to 11 in June. Sunday’s casualties raised the total death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq to 4,463 since March 2003, according to icasualties.org.
U.S. military commanders warn that there could be a rise in attacks against U.S. troops as they prepare to withdraw from war-torn Iraq. Many of the remaining U.S. military bases in southern Iraq have faced a surge in rocket and mortar attacks, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday.
Analysts believe that the prolonged presence of U.S. troops in the war-ravaged country and the U.S. military officials’ efforts to keep the troops in Iraq beyond December 2011 are the root causes of armed attacks on American soldiers.
“There are stories that the U.S. has been telling Iraqi officials that they would like to stay there a little bit longer and that they think they would need to keep the troops there a bit longer and that is I think why some of these violences are happening in Iraq,” Director of Peace Action Paul Martin said.
According to a security agreement between Baghdad and Washington, known as the Status of Forces Agreement, all U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011.
“We hear a lot about Afghanistan, but we still have 50,000 troops in Iraq and probably double that in contractors and I don’t think the American people know about that,” Martin added.
NPR– The amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion.
That’s
more than NASA’s budget. It’s more than BP has paid so far for damage
during the Gulf oil spill. It’s what the G-8 has pledged to help foster
new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia.
“When
you consider the cost to deliver the fuel to some of the most isolated
places in the world — escorting, command and control, medevac support —
when you throw all that infrastructure in, we’re talking over $20
billion,” Steven Anderson tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin. Anderson is a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. David Patreaus’ chief logistician in Iraq.
Why does it cost so much?
To
power an air conditioner at a remote outpost in land-locked
Afghanistan, a gallon of fuel has to be shipped into Karachi, Pakistan,
then driven 800 miles over 18 days to Afghanistan on roads that are
sometimes little more than “improved goat trails,” Anderson says. “And
you’ve got risks that are associated with moving the fuel almost every
mile of the way.”
Anderson calculates more than 1,000 troops have died in fuel convoys,
which remain prime targets for attack. Free-standing tents equipped with
air conditioners in 125 degree heat require a lot of fuel. Anderson
says by making those structures more efficient, the military could save
lives and dollars.
PRESS DEMOCRAT– Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, delivered her 400th speech against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the House floor Tuesday.
BO: Then, our focus shifted. A second war was launched in Iraq, and we spent
enormous blood and treasure to support a new government there. By the
time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year. 
TEHRAN TIMES
