Military Resistance: thomasfbarton@earthlink.net 7.12.14 Print it out: color best. Pass it on.

Military Resistance 12G2

Death Is Not Peace
From: Dennis Serdel
To: Military Resistance Newsletter
Sent: July 10, 2014
Subject: Death Is Not Peace

Written by Dennis Serdel, Vietnam 1967-68 (one tour) Light Infantry, Americal Div.
11th Brigade; United Auto Workers GM Retiree

****************************************************************

Like the old Jewish man
rescued from the Nazi Concentration Camp,
He says There is No God
because if there was,
he would never have allowed this,
as he lives with ptsd flashbacks
for the rest of his life.
A young 19 year old Jerry,
a replacement Light Infantry Soldier
in Vietnam suddenly sees first time
what dropping Napalm
on a large Village does, everybody
walking wounded with one boy with
his nose gone, other Soldiers laughing
pointing at him as some kind of freak
in the Vietnam Concentration Camp.
Then Jerry sees for the first time what
willie-peter, White Phosphorus does
landing on Vietnamese civilians,
he never gets used of it like the other
Soldiers and isolates himself,
not talking very much, thought to be loner
by the other guys. Then he sees the
other Soldiers die, a machinegunner
gets it in his forehead, another steps
on a landmine and is blown in half.
Another gets caught by the VC and
they find him later, crucified with his
intestines hanging out, his cock cut off
and stuck in his mouth.
Jerry now has no doubt anymore,
there is No God he concludes
because if there is a God,
he would never allowed War.
As an old man Jerry lived his whole life
in post stress and died in his sleep
one night from a heart attack when he
was dreaming that he was on one knee
in the jungle holding his 16
on the ground and a VC is close
aiming his 47 at Jerrys head.
His youngest Sister cremates him,
she hopes that he can rest in peace
now, but death is not peace.

Written by Dennis Serdel for Military Resistance



AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS


Insurgents Kill Four Czech soldiers

July 09, 2014 The News International

KABUL: A Taliban bomber killed four Czech soldiers in an attack in eastern Afghanistan
Tuesday, officials said.

Czech chief of staff Petr Pavel told reporters in Prague that the bomber was in a crowd
of Afghans talking to soldiers who were investigating rocket attacks against Bagram
airbase, a major US military facility nearby.

Waheed Sediqqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan province, told AFP that two
policemen were killed in the attack as well as the four soldiers.


Sprague Soldier Remembered As Gentle
Giant

Justin Clouse

June 11, 2014 by Jim Camden, The Spokesman-Review

Justin Clouse, a soldier from Sprague, Washington, who was among U.S. forces killed in
a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, was remembered Tuesday as a quiet leader with a
big heart.

On the outside, he looked like a big, mean tough guy, said Chad Prewitt, who taught
high school and coached basketball while Clouse attended Sprague High School. When
you got to know him, he was really a gentle giant.

Clouse, 22, was one of five soldiers killed by a U.S. airstrike called in to help a special
operations unit ambushed by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan Monday.

Investigators are looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause. Our
thoughts and prayers are with the families of these fallen, Rear Adm. John Kirby, a
Pentagon spokesman, told the Associated Press.

Tina Clouse said her son enlisted in the Army about a year after he graduated from
Sprague High School in 2010 and was on his second tour in Afghanistan. He loved
fishing and hunting, and he played basketball and football in school, she said.

He planned to get married shortly after he finished his service next May and talked about
using his military benefits to study engineering with the hope of eventually working in the
oil business. He always wanted to serve his country, Tina Clouse said.

Justin was a vehicle gunner, she said. He apparently was part of a joint operation of
NATO and Afghan forces in the Arghandab district of southern Zabul province that came
under attack from the Taliban and called in air support, the AP reported.

One of the other five killed was Aaron Toppen, 19, family spokeswoman Jennie Swartz
told the Associated Press from the familys Mokena, Illinois, home, about 40 miles
southwest of Chicago. Swartz said representatives from the U.S. Army came to the door
of Toppens mother, Pam Toppen, in the middle of the night to deliver the news.

Military representatives also went to the home of Justin Heltons parents in Beaver,
Ohio, early Tuesday to inform them of their sons death, a relative said.

Mindy Helton said her cousin specialized in dealing with explosives and was based out
of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Justin Helton, 25, had been in Afghanistan about two months and was engaged to be
married, she said. He had been in the Army since 2010.

The names of the other two soldiers killed had not been released by the Pentagon
Tuesday because not all families had been notified.

But word of Clouses death spread quickly through Sprague, a town of about 550, where
he was well-known and well-liked, said high school principal Bill Ressel.

Clouse attended the towns small public schools from fifth grade through high school,
said Ressel, who watched him grow from a little, pudgy grade kid in grade school to a
dedicated athlete.

He loved sports, Ressel said. He worked his tail off to get where he was.

For the basketball team fielded jointly by Sprague and Harrington high schools, he kind
of played everything but was probably most effective as the teams 5-foot-11 post
player, Prewitt said. He was the team captain and the most valuable player his senior
year.

He was a quiet leader, he led by example, said Prewitt, who is now principal at
Davenport High School.

In his senior year, Sprague and Harrington districts decided to end their long-standing
cooperative arrangement in sports. Clouse got up in a room full of adults and urged
them not to do it because of the bonds students formed building those teams.

He was very passionate about what he believed in, Prewitt said. This wasnt going to
affect him, he was graduating. It was for the students coming up.

The schools formed new cooperatives with other Eastern Washington schools, taking
new names and mascots, so Clouse was among the last of the Sprague-Harrington
Falcons. He kept in touch with teachers and coaches, and once told Prewitt he was
joining the Army because he thought the military would be a great place and open up
doors. His second tour was to end in September.

He had dinner with Prewitts family a few months ago, before starting his second tour in
Afghanistan. The two communicated as recently as Saturday over the Internet.

He said, How you doing old man? Hows the family? Prewitt recalled. Hes in
Afghanistan and hes more worried about how Im doing. Thats the kind of guy he was.


POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE
BLOODSHED

THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP
THE WAR


Taliban Offensive Overruns Sada District

District falls to Taliban control in Ghor province

Jul 09 2014 By Ghanizada, Khaama Press

The Taliban militants launched another major offensive in north-western Ghor province
of Afghanistan on Wednesday.

According to reports, around 300 Taliban militants have taken part in the offensive which
led to fall of Sada district to Taliban control.

Local officials have confirmed heavy clashes between Taliban militants and Afghan
security forces which erupted early Wednesday.

Provincial governor spokesman, Abdulhai Khatebi confirmed that over 200 Taliban
militants have launched an offensive in Char Sada district.

Khatebi further added that heavy clashes are still going on in the area and said there are
no reports regarding the casualties so far.


Insurgents Kill Afghan General

Jul 10 Ariana News

A General of the Ministry of Interior was killed in what is said to be a magnetic mine
explosion in Dane Bagh area of Kabul. Two others, including a soldier were injured in
the explosion.

Spokesman of the Kabul police commander said that a magnetic mine, which had been
placed in a Ranger Police car earlier this morning, later exploded on the premises of the
second security headquarters of Kabul killing the General.


Insurgents Blow Up 400 U.S. Military
Supply Trucks:
The Government Had Stopped Their
Vehicles In Paghman Because It Failed
To Ensure Security On The Kabul-
Kandahar Highway

Jul 5, 2014 By Khawaja Basir Fitri, Pajhwok


KABUL: Attackers set on fire 400 fuel tankers trucks parked on the outskirts of Kabul in
the Arghandi square in Paghman district overnight, with some drivers and cleaners
missing.

The trucks were set afire at around 10:30pm and continued to burn through Saturday
noon.

Officials said the cause of the fire remained unknown, but the Taliban claimed they
torched the vehicles carrying fuel for U.S. forces.

The drivers also staged a protest demonstration blocking the Kandahar-Kabul road and
demanded reimbursement for their losses.

One of the drivers, Hayatullah, who was present at the scene, told Pajhwok Afghan
News that three consecutive bomb blasts caused fire to the tankers.

He said all the vehicles torched were privately owned and confirmed they supplied fuel
for foreign military forces.

All of us are destroyed. Security forces should pay for the losses because they have
failed to protect the tankers.

The driver said the price of each tanker hovered between $35000 and $40000 and
each carried up to 50 tonnes of oil, all gutted.

The Paghman district police chief, Col. Amarullah, told Pajhwok Afghan News nearly 400
tankers had gutted in the fire. He said there might be some casualties among drivers but
he had no details in this regard.

But Samiullah, who lost his tanker to the fire, said a number of drivers and cleaners, who
were asleep inside the vehicles, had been missing.

Without giving further details, he said they had recovered the remains of two persons
from the burning vehicles.

Khan Zaman, whose two tankers were destroyed in the incident, said they had
parked their vehicles in the area 40 days ago waiting for security escort, which did
not come until their vehicles were torched.

He said the government had stopped their vehicles in Paghman because it failed
to ensure security on the Kabul-Kandahar highway.

He said drivers had staged protests thrice over the past one month but they were
not allowed to proceed despite repeated promises by government officials.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said
the militants were targeting fuel tankers belonging to foreign military forces.


More Resistance Action

09 July 2014 TOLOnews.com

In two separate clashes between armed attackers and the Afghan National Security
Forces (ANSF) in Kandahar province five policemen were killed and 12 others were
wounded.

Local officials in Kandahar said that on Wednesday at about 11 a.m. two bombers
entered two buildings located in front of the Kandahar police headquarter and governors
office and started firing at the buildings.

Eyewitness said, These men were in a vehicle transporting pipes when the vehicle
stopped and the attackers got out and started attacking.

Kandahar Police Chief says that of the bombers, three detonated their explosives while
19 other insurgents fought for over an hour.

Taliban have accepted the responsibility of the attack and claim to have harmed security
forces during the attack.

**************************************************

Four Policemen Killed By Three Of Their Colleagues

Jul 10, 2014 Reuters

In southern Zabul province, four policemen were killed by three of their colleagues
overnight. The rogue policemen have since defected to the Taliban with guns and a
police vehicle.

The incident took place in Jaldak district of Zabul. An investigation is under way, Zabul
deputy governor, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, told Reuters.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Zabul attack.

Earlier on Thursday, Taliban militants entered a house in Shahjoi district of Zabul and
killed a woman, accusing her of cooperating with the government, police said.


The Situation Is Bad, Said
Suliman Shah, Sangins District
Governor
The Territory Seized By The
Taliban Hasnt Been Retaken, And
The Government Hasnt Made Any
Steps Forward
The Taliban Will Take Control Of
More Territory.
His Men Had Been Running Out Of
Food And Ammunition

We dont have weapons or ammunition, said Ghulam Ali, the Sangin district
police chief. Our eight outposts were under attack last night; we have only two
Humvees, and one is broken down.

July 6, 2014 By Nathan Hodge and Habib Khan Totakhil, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts]

SANGIN, AfghanistanGovernment forces are stepping up a counterattack against the
Taliban after stumbling in their efforts to retake territory seen as critical to preserving
Kabuls hold in the countrys south.

A resurgent Taliban last month amassed hundreds of fighters in northern parts of
Helmand provincea hotbed in the long-standing insurgency against Afghanistans
central government and the focus of President Barack Obamas troop surge in 2009 and
2010.

After making little headway in an initial bid to wrest back control, the Afghan government
is preparing for a broader offensive in some of the most contested parts of the southwest
province.

The situation is bad, said Suliman Shah, Sangins district governor.

The territory seized by the Taliban hasnt been retaken, and the government
hasnt made any steps forward. The Taliban will take control of more territory.

In Sangin, lightly equipped Afghan police, including village militia outfits known
as Afghan Local Police, say they have borne the brunt of the insurgent onslaught.

Our dead were left on the battlefield for a weeknobody could retrieve them,
said Haji Wali Mohammad, a local police commander in Sarwan Kala, one of the
most populous parts of Sangin.

The road is closed. Nobody could cross into Sarwan Kala. The area is
surrounded.



Mr. Mohammad met on Saturday with Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan
Mohammadi, who held a war council with a top army commander, local officials and
tribal elders to discuss retaking parts of Sangin and other districts of Helmand from
insurgent control.

In the meeting, Mr. Mohammad said his men had been running out of food and
ammunition.

For Gods sake, if you cant help us fight, just take us out of Sarwan Kala and we
will go somewhere else, he said. I would rather die rather than live in this
situation.

The fighting there claimed the lives of more than a hundred government soldiers and
police in recent weeks, said Maj. Gen. Sayed Malook, commander of the Afghan Armys
215th Corps, which is responsible for Helmand.

The village of Sarwan Kala, he said, effectively remained outside of government control.

Security has also deteriorated in Now Zad, Kajaki and Musa Qala, three other
districts in northern Helmand, the Afghan general said.

Afghan officials said 27 Afghan National Army soldiers have been killed and 80 wounded
in the recent fighting, along with 81 police killed and 67 wounded. Local community
leaders said more than 140 civilians have been killed or wounded in the crossfire, with
the bulk of the casualties caused by roadside bombs.

The central government has approved 15 million afghanis ($263,000) to assist
displaced families. But local officials said that assistance has yet to materialize.

The fighting in many respects is a reprise of the combat seen in northern Helmand last
year. Then, the Afghan army recaptured checkpoints and outposts lost to the Taliban
only after a slow and methodical campaign.

Afghan and coalition officials said government forces have done a better job of
coordinating this year, but Afghan Local Police commanders in Sangin complained they
havent always received adequate backup from the better armed and equipped Afghan
National Army.

We dont have weapons or ammunition, said Ghulam Ali, the Sangin district
police chief.

Our eight outposts were under attack last night; we have only two Humvees, and
one is broken down.


Breaking News!
US General Nominee To Lead US
Forces Sees Only Good News In
Afghanistan
[No, This Is Not From The Duffle Blog]

General John Campbell, the armys vice-chief of staff and nominee to lead US forces in
Afghanistan. Photograph: John Milburn/AP

[Thanks to Clancy Sigal, who sent this in.]

10 July 2014 by Spencer Ackerman in New York, Guardian News and Media Limited
[Excerpts]

Afghanistans presidential election may be taking the country to the brink, but the US
army general nominated to helm the terminal phase of Americas longest war sees
nothing but good news.

Everything I see, sir, is good news, and that were on a good road, but we just have to
get through this kind of 50-meter target and get through the election, identify the
president, General John JC Campbell, the armys vice-chief of staff, told the Senate
armed services committee on Thursday.

Campbell, who would be returning to Afghanistan for his third tour since 2003, had high
praise for the Afghan security forces that the US has cultivated, citing great progress
by the Afghan soldiers and police and predicting they will hold firm during the tenuous
presidential transition.

Questioning from incredulous senators prompted Campbell to walk back his comments
significantly.

At one point, Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican on the panel who recently
returned from visiting US forces in Afghanistan, corrected Campbell on the composition
of that Afghan military, gently telling the general that ethnic Tajiks, a minority in
Afghanistan, are overrepresented in the officer corps.


Military Resistance In PDF Format?
If you prefer PDF to Word format, email: contact@militaryproject.org


MILITARY NEWS



[Thanks to SSG N (retd) who sent this in. She writes: Congress gets off Scott free,
they didnt vote Constitutionally for wars since WW II.]


Iraq Insurgents Kill Sixth Division
Commanding General

7/7/2014 Aswat Al Iraq

BAGHDAD: Aswat al-Iraq: Baghdad Operations Command announced the killing of the
commander of the sixth division of the Iraqi army General Najim Abdullah, east of Garma
area, Anbar province.

In a press statement, spokesman General Saad Main reported that the commander was
hit by a mortar shell during his tour among some Anbar families.

MORE IRAQ:

Many New Recruits Are Of
Little Use On The Battlefield
His Own Unit Of Over 700
Fighters Had Come Under Fire
After Rerouting From Anbar To
Samarra Last Month, And More
Than Two Thirds Deserted
Much Of The Ammunition They
Were Given Was Poor Quality, And
Water Was Sometimes So Scarce
Some People Drank From The River,
He Said
The Officers Brought Us To The Point
Where A Soldier Could Either Die Or
Flee

Jul 10, 2014 By Alexander Dziadosz, Reuters [Excerpts]

The Iraqi soldier says he abandoned the army last week in despair. And while he still
plans to fight he will not rejoin the unit he deserted in the western city of Ramadi.

Instead, he wants to sign up as a volunteer, alongside tens of thousands of others, to
help defend Shiite shrines against insurgents who have swept the countrys north and
west and who he believes now threaten his sect.

The officers brought us to the point where a soldier could either die or flee, the 31-year-
old said, asking his name be withheld to avoid punishment.

With the armys northern divisions hard hit by desertions as key Sunni cities fell in June,
Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis government has leaned heavily on Shiite militias and
volunteers motivated by a sense of religious duty.

In some areas, there are now at least as many Shiite gunmen and civilian volunteers as
there are regular soldiers, volunteers and a militia spokesman said. Some go to the
front, while others man checkpoints, guard bases and carry out raids.

Many new recruits are of little use on the battlefield.

Most volunteers interviewed for this article were unquestionably enthusiastic - one
retired security officer laughingly recalled a narrow escape from a roadside bomb - but
even some Iraqi officials question how effective their deployment will ultimately be.

One 25-year-old fighter in Samarra, near the front line, said many new arrivals were too
young or poorly trained to be useful.

One accidentally shot a comrade while riding behind him in a car, the fighter said.
Another shot himself dead while holding his rifle between his legs without turning the
safety on.

It was a mistake for the government to send them, the man said over the phone from
Samarra, asking not to be named so he could speak openly.

Your fighters need to be ready or you will not be able to confront an organized enemy.

He said his own unit of over 700 fighters had come under fire after rerouting from Anbar
to Samarra last month, and more than two thirds deserted. Much of the ammunition they
were given was poor quality, and water was sometimes so scarce some people drank
from the river, he said.

Iraqi officials were unable to provide a breakdown of the ratio of security forces to militias
and volunteers in the field.

MORE IRAQ:

The Road To Samarra:
The Iraqi Governments Control
Extending Only A Little Beyond The
Side Of The Road, And Sometimes
Not Even There
Insurgents Often Are No More Than A
Mile Or So Away

JULY 9, 2014 By ALISSA J. RUBINJULY, New York Times [Excerpts]

SAMARRA, Iraq About 20 miles beyond the northern gates of Baghdad, on the way to
the embattled city of Samarra, site of one of Shiite Islams holiest shrines, the road
empties out as if some invisible barrier has been passed.

From this point on boundaries are constantly shifting, with the Iraqi governments control
extending only a little beyond the side of the road, and sometimes not even there.

The 75-mile drive from Baghdad to Samarra plunges the traveler into Iraqs precarious
new reality.

It is a world of Shiite militias, where many of the men carrying arms on behalf of the
government have only the most tenuous ties to the Iraqi security forces.

And it is a world where Sunni militants, who advanced to within 50 miles of Baghdad in
their initial burst last month before their drive stalled, often are no more than a mile or so
away.

Travelers must read signs that would be invisible to a newcomer: Flags and uniforms
signal safety or danger.

You are entering a hot zone, said a gunman at a checkpoint near the town of Balad,
about 25 miles south of Samarra.

He was wearing cargo pants, a T-shirt, a federal police hat and an ammunition vest.

There was no way to tell whom he worked for, but a yellow flag with green printing
waved from a pickup truck parked nearby. It was the flag of Kataib Hezbollah, a militia
trained and funded by Iran.

MORE IRAQ:

Insurgents In Iraq Seizing
Advanced Weaponry
Most Are Humvees, But Antiaircraft
Launchers And Mortars Gave Also
Been Spotted
The Iraqi Armys Antiaircraft Cannons,
Which Are Towed Behind Armored
Trucks, Have Become The Most
Effective Weapon That Islamic State Is
Using

July 6, 2014 By Matt Bradley, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts]

BAGHDADAs Iraqi soldiers dug in three weeks ago to defend the northwestern
city of Tel Afar, they were shocked to see waves of Islamist militants coming to
battle in Iraqi military vehicles.

The line of Humvees, along with a number of powerful mortars, appeared to have
been stolen by the insurgents only days earlier when they seized a sprawling base
near the northern city of Mosul, said Ammar Tuma, a member of parliaments
Security and Defense Committee who received regular updates from the battle.

Since the group that calls itself Islamic State began its rapid takeover of large parts of
Iraq on June 10, military officials and other witnesses have seen stolen government-
issued weapons in battles and military parades in Iraq and Syria, where the group
formerly known as Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, also controls stretches of
land.

Most are Humvees, but antiaircraft launchers and mortars gave also been spotted.

After the haul seized from a large military base near Mosul and other smaller
installations, military experts say the militants arsenal could more closely resemble that
of a conventional army than an insurgency.

You lost approximately three divisions worth of equipment and probably at least
three depots in that area, said Anthony Cordesman, a security analyst at the
Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

What they almost certainly do have now is enough ammunition to support a major
campaign and enough small arms and vehicles to move quickly, he added.

Amid the haul are expensive, powerful weapons such as helicopters and tanks.

Mr. Tuma said he believed the Iraqi armys antiaircraft cannons, which are towed behind
armored trucks, have become the most effective weapon that Islamic State is using.

Militants have also already made extensive use of mortars, which are easy to maintain,
simple to use and highly effective even in untrained hands, said Col. Mansoor.

While defending Iraqs largest oil refinery at Beiji, Iraqi forces reported spotting dozens of
their own Humvees deployed against them, Mr. Tuma said.

MORE IRAQ:

A New FISH Cheer
[Thanks to SSG N (retd) who sent this in with the headline]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWUi8UXYQfQ


FORWARD OBSERVATIONS




At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had
I the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of
biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.

For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.

We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they
oppose.

Frederick Douglass, 1852


Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you-
Ye are many they are few
-- Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1819, on the occasion of a mass murder of British
workers by the Imperial government at Peterloo.


Home Of The Brave--
Land Of Make Believe

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Portland, Oregon. Photograph by Mike Hastie

From: Mike Hastie
To: Military Resistance Newsletter
Sent: July 02, 2014
Subject: Home Of The Brave--Land Of Make Believe

Home Of The Brave--Land Of Make Believe

Americans go in the military thinking that
America is the greatest country in the world.
They come back from war with a mind injury
where their make believe use to be.
I was lied to!
I was lied to!
I was lied to!
I was betrayed!
I was betrayed!
I was betrayed!
No you werent...
The birth canal you road in on
was paved with milk and honey.

Mike Hastie
Army Medic Vietnam
July 2, 2014

This is when the truth comes home to the first day you were born...

Photo and caption from the portfolio of Mike Hastie, US Army Medic, Vietnam
1970-71. (For more of his outstanding work, contact at:
(hastiemike@earthlink.net) T)

One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head.
The person who fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a
so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizen
of Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions.

Mike Hastie
U.S. Army Medic
Vietnam 1970-71
December 13, 2004


Iraq Veteran:
This Is Not What We Tortured Detainees
For!

Pvt. Charles A. Graner Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.)

June 19, 2014 G-Had, The Duffle Blog

By Pvt. Charles A. Graner Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.)

Like many veterans of the Iraq War, Ive been glued to the TV lately, and like many of
my brothers and sisters-in-arms Ive been extremely saddened to see pictures of
terrorists swarming all over Iraqs cities, stealing equipment and routing security units.

This isnt the Iraq I or my fellow veterans from the 372nd Military Police Company
remember: the Iraq we remember was an orderly place one of dark cellars full of
naked screaming men.

Now I have to wonder: was our sacrifice worth it just to ensure that thousands of
prisoners were properly threatened with rape or terrorized by working dogs?

I dont know if anyone can answer that question.

I first came to Iraq in May of 2003 and left one year later and even today I remember it
like it was yesterday.

The smell of a prisoner who just shit himself in fear, the feel of a brand-new leash as we
buckled it around his neck, the tender touch on my wifes shoulder as we forced two
grown men to masturbate each other at gunpoint. hese are memories that even time
and age cant fade.

When I left, I felt that I had done everything that I could do: beaten every detainee until
my fists were raw, sodomized as many as I could before the broomstick broke, and of
course documented it all to help the soldiers who would follow us continue the good
work.

At the end of the mission, we could truthfully say that conditions in our little corner of Iraq
were probably better than anywhere else.

We definitely made an impact on the lives of many Iraqis. ver the years Ive gotten
plenty of thank-you messages from my former inmates, like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
saying they wouldnt be where they are now if not for me.

I still remember one of those fat little goat fuckers, tears in his eyes, as he begged me to
uncuff him from his bars of his cell window where Id left him hanging. Its the little
moments or in his case, hours like that that even Al Qaeda cant take away, the joy
of watching Iraqis crawling across the floor to freedom with the bags of democracy over
their heads.

But ultimately I dont think Iraq was about the mission.

It was about the man or woman next to you, the one helping you slam someones head
into a wall, beating a prisoner with a chair, or photographing you posing with dead
bodies. Thats what its all about.

Non, as the French would say, je ne regrette rien. No matter what happens, I will
always fondly look back on my time in Iraq, and one day tell my children and
grandchildren about the pride I took in a properly-constructed naked pyramid.

I really wish I could somehow go back and finish what I started. Im off parole in
December, so dont be surprised if you somehow see me on the TV back in the sandbox
after that.

Dont worry though, Ive learned my lesson.

Next time Im not taking prisoners.



DANGER: CAPITALISTS AT WORK





The Governments Water Woes
Are The Latest Inconvenience
For Venezuelans Already Tired
Of Consumer-Item Shortages,
High Crime And Inflation And A
Slowing Economy
Its Us, The Poor People Of This
Slum, Who Are Suffering And Who
Will Suffer
The Government Has No Solutions
For Us
The Countrys Decay Has Caused Mr.
Maduros Popularity To Fall From 51%
Shortly After He Took Office In April,
2013, To 39% In June

July 8, 2014 By Kejal Vyas, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts]

CARACAS, VenezuelaShortages of shampoo and cooking oil are bad enough for
residents of this teeming capital, but what they miss most now is water.

A droughtand what President Nicols Maduros critics say is bad planninghas
prompted the government to ration water across this capital.

Nowhere has the shortage been as bad as in Petare, a hillside shantytown that was
once a bastion of Socialist support but is now run by the opposition. Petares half-million
residents say theyve had little or no running water for nearly three months.

Everyones really tired of this, said Jos Medina, whose seven-story Petare building is
particularly water-starved because of low pipeline pressure. We all feel like were being
punished.

The governments water woes are the latest inconvenience for Venezuelans already
tired of consumer-item shortages, high crime and inflation and a slowing economy,
issues that helped spark widespread antigovernment protests earlier this year.

Venezuelas ruling United Socialist Party championed the cause of slum dwellers,
showering them with social programs for 15 yearsfirst under the late President Hugo
Chvez and now under Mr. Madurothat the government says has lifted millions out of
poverty.

But the countrys decay has caused Mr. Maduros popularity to fall from 51% shortly after
he took office in April, 2013, to 39% in June, according to polling firm Datanalisis, which
also found four out of five Venezuelans are pessimistic about the countrys direction.

Hidrocapital, which is part of the Environment Ministry, didnt respond to calls seeking
comment. Neither did the Communications Ministry nor Mr. Maduros office.

Mr. Maduros administration has blamed the water shortages on global warming.
Climate change is a reality and we have to prepare ourselves, Mr. Maduro said during
a recent speech, also attributing the problems to El Nio, the Pacific weather
phenomenon.

Critics say the government should have began rationing water earlier rather than allow
the Lagartijo reservoir, one of six supplying this city, to turn bone dry in recent weeks.

Caracas residents have come to rely on water trucks as a partial savior.

Residents say the IMAS provides them with 400 gallons every few weeks, but say
delivery schedules are inconsistent and uncertain since the utilitys small truck fleet
struggles to navigate the sprawling slums narrow and crumbling roads.

People and businesses in well-to-do districts such as Altamira say they buy their water
from private services. This is probably the only business in Venezuela thats growing,
said Jorge Trujillo, a water-truck driver serving Altamira.

Water delivery has also become a risky business in Petare. Some residents have
pulled guns on IMAS employees to demand more water, said an inspector, Johnny
Castillo. On one occasion, pistol-waiving youths scared off an IMAS worker who
was deployed to turn off water in one zone for rationing purposes.

Luis Vidal, director of Caracas polling company More Consulting, said water has joined
crime and inflation as among the top concerns in Petare.

Its us, the poor people of this slum, who are suffering and who will suffer, said lvaro
Pez, a bricklayer in Petare who displayed a 650-foot garden hose that he and his
neighbors bought to collect water from a street-side tap. The government has no
solutions for us.



OCCUPATION PALESTINE


The Bodies Of Eight Members Of The Al
Haj Family, Killed In An Israeli Missile
Strike

Palestinian mourners carry the bodies of eight members of the Al Haj family, who were
killed in an Israeli missile strike early morning, during their funeral in Khan Younis
refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip July 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Nothing New Here

Mother of three-year-old Saher Abu Namous mourns during his funeral after he was
killed by an Israeli attack in the east of Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza strip,
11 July 2014. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli attacks by air have so far left 98
people dead in the Gaza Strip. (EPA/MOHAMMED SABER)

To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded
by foreign terrorists, check out:
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/
The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves Israeli.


DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK





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