Army insistance on charging Watada only brought this mini-quagmire on themselves.
Mistrial declared in war objector court-martial

By Daisuke Wakabayashi Wed Feb 7, 8:31 PM ET

FORT LEWIS, Washington (Reuters) - A military judge declared a mistrial on Wednesday and set a new trial date for the court-martial of a U.S. Army officer who publicly refused to fight in
Iraq and criticized the war.

First Lt. Ehren Watada had faced up to four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if found guilty on a charge of missing movements for not deploying to Iraq and two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for his criticism of the war.

Lt. Col. John Head, the military judge, declared a mistrial after throwing out a "stipulation of fact" -- an agreement over certain facts of the trial -- that forced the government to request a mistrial instead of immediately arguing its entire case over to prove those facts with new witnesses.

The judge said he could not accept the stipulation, because it amounts to a confession to the missing movements charge when Watada, 28, stated he is not guilty.

At the center of the dispute is the defense's assertion that Watada would not go to Iraq because he considered it an unlawful order that would make him party to war crimes and as result, it was not his duty to obey it.

"There is a material misunderstanding over what this stipulation is," said Head.

It was an unexpected ending to a case that had rallied the anti-war movement in the first known court-martial of a U.S. Army officer for publicly refusing to serve in Iraq.

Army officials said the mistrial was an example of how the military justice system protects the rights of the accused. Watada's lawyer, Eric Seitz, called it "significantly positive."

"The mistrial is very likely to have the consequence of ending this case because double jeopardy may prevent the government from proceeding with a retrial," he said in a statement.

The judge set the new trial to start on the week of March 19, but agreed the timing would be subject to change. Watada will report to duty at Fort Lewis until the new trial begins.

'START FROM SCRATCH'

Watada agreed to the stipulation before the court-martial began in exchange for the government dropping two additional charges of conduct unbecoming an officer.

In the stipulation, Watada said he did not board the plane with the rest of his unit to Iraq and admitted to making public statements criticizing the war and accusing U.S.
President George W. Bush's administration of deceiving the American people to enter into a war of aggression.

Watada does not dispute the facts, but said it was not an admission of guilt because it does not take into account the intent behind his actions.

When asked by the judge if he thought it was his duty to board the aircraft to Iraq, Watada said no. "I felt the order was illegal," he said in the courtroom where he wore his dark-green dress uniform.

The defense had aimed to show that Watada acted on principle and tried to avoid a public confrontation with the Army by offering to resign his commission or fight elsewhere.

In a new trial, the defense will be allowed to again file a motion to argue the legality of the war. A new judge may preside over the case and all the proceedings before and during the first trial will be wiped clean.

"Everything will start from scratch," said Lt. Col. Robert Resnick, chief of administrative law at Ft. Lewis.

Before the trial, the judge had ruled that the defense was not allowed to argue whether the war itself is illegal, asserting the matter could not be settled in military court.

Of all the Officers in this story, Watada is the only one NOT betraying his Men or the Constitution.
Iraq War Refuser Will Appeal if Convicted

Aaron Glantz, OneWorld US Wed Feb 7, 11:41 AM ET

FORT LEWIS, Washington, Feb 7 (OneWorld) - Attorneys for the first commissioned officer to refuse to serve in
Iraq plan to appeal if he's convicted at a court martial this week on a U.S. military base at Fort Lewis, Washington.

"It's an atrocity," Lt. Ehren Watada's civilian attorney Eric Seitz told the court of the judge's rulings.

Watada faces four years in prison if he is convicted on all charges, which include refusing deployment to Iraq and "conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman" for speaking in public forums against the war.

Seitz had hoped to call close to a dozen experts on international law, government intelligence, and the situation in Iraq to testify in Watada's defense, but the judge overseeing the court martial, Lt. Col. John Head, ruled their testimony "irrelevant" and refused to allow them to be called as witnesses.

Demonstrator supports Watada at January's anti-war rally. ? Jeffrey Allen
Among the experts Seitz had hoped to call were Michael Ratner, the president of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents prisoners incarcerated at Guantanamo and
Abu Ghraib; former
United Nations Assistant Secretary General Dennis Halliday, who ran the UN's Oil-for-Food program in Iraq during the 1990s; the chair of the
House Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers (news, bio, voting record); international-law professors Marjorie Cohn and Richard Falk; and former
Central Intelligence Agency analyst Ray McGovern.

"It's becoming clear that there's nothing for us to say in this courtroom," lawyer Seitz complained. "These witnesses have extraordinary credentials and can speak to the political and moral issues at stake."

Head also ruled as "inadmissible" Watada's central defense strategy, based on the so-called Nuremberg Principles, which arose out of trials of Nazi war criminals after World War II.

The fourth of the Nuremberg Principles states that superior orders are not a defense to the commission of an illegal act, meaning soldiers who commit a war crime after "just following orders" are as culpable as their superiors.

With the Nuremberg defense ruled inadmissible, the government prosecutor Capt. Scott Van Sweringin argued Watada "brought shame and disgrace to himself, his unit, the officer corps, and the U.S. Army."

Part of that shame, Van Sweringin argued, derives from Watada's public statements. One of the prosecutions' key pieces of evidence is a speech Watada gave last year to the annual convention of Veterans for Peace, a group of former U.S. military personnel who oppose the war in Iraq.

"It is time for change and the change starts with all of us," Watada told the gathering, a video of which was played as part of the prosecution's case. "Today, I speak with you about a radical idea...that to stop an illegal and unjust war, soldiers can choose to stop fighting it....If soldiers realized this war is contrary to what the constitution extols--if they stood up and threw their weapons down--no president could ever initiate a war of choice again.

"When we say...'against all enemies foreign and domestic'--what if elected leaders became the enemy? Whose orders do we follow? The answer is the conscience that lies in each soldier, each American, and each human being. Our duty to the constitution is an obligation, not a choice."

"I was dismayed and betrayed," Watada's commander, Lt. Col. Bruce Antonia, told the court. Antonia, who is currently stationed in Iraq and working to clear Baghdad neighborhoods of suspected insurgents, was flown back to Ft. Lewis to testify before Watada's court martial.

"The most important aspect of being an officer is to lead by example," Antonia said. "If you don't comply with an order, that's not leading by example."

Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, argued that Watada only spoke out against the war because his efforts to argue his case internally within the military failed. Seitz said Watada offered to be deployed to
Afghanistan instead of Iraq, and tried to resign his commission as an officer rather than speaking out in public.

"As soldiers we don't get to pick and choose which war we go to and which we don't," Antonia said in response to the prosecution's questioning.

Watada is scheduled to testify in his own defense Wednesday.

The judge decided prior to the trial that there are limits to an officer's rights to free speech.
Government says war objector abandoned unit

By Daisuke Wakabayashi Tue Feb 6, 5:48 PM ET

FORT LEWIS, Wash (Reuters) - The U.S. government began its case against an Army officer being court-martialed for refusing to fight in
Iraq by accusing him on Tuesday of making "disgraceful" statements and abandoning his unit.
ADVERTISEMENT

First Lt. Ehren Watada faces up to four years in a military prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted on a charge of missing movements for not deploying to Iraq and two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for his criticism of the war.

Watada, whose supporters say is the first commissioned Army officer to refuse publicly to fight in Iraq, has called the war illegal and immoral. He rejected conscientious objector status, saying he would be willing to fight in
Afghanistan.

Government and defense lawyers laid out their arguments to a seven-member panel of officers, the equivalent of a jury in a civilian trial, who will determine Watada's fate.

"The accused sat comfortably in his office while the soldiers in his unit deployed to Iraq," said Capt. Scott Van Sweringen, the prosecuting attorney. "The manner and content of his statements were disgraceful."

Outside the gates of Fort Lewis, an Army base near Seattle, demonstrators supporting and opposing Watada waved banners and held signs. One anti-Watada demonstrator held a sign that read "Jail Weasel Watada."

Inside the courtroom, Watada, 28, sat quietly wearing his formal dark-green dress uniform and answered most of the judge's questions with either a "Yes sir," or "No sir."

The government called Lt. Col. Bruce Antonia, Watada's commander, as a witness. Antonia, who called Watada "a smart, generally hard-working officer," said he was disappointed that the defendant went public with his comments after promising in private not to create a media frenzy.

Watada does not deny that he refused to go to Iraq, criticized the war and accused U.S.
President George W. Bush's administration of deceiving the American people to enter into a war of aggression.

"There are no real facts in dispute here," said Watada's lawyer, Eric Seitz. "The only real question is why."

DEFENSE STRATEGY

The defense aims to show that Watada acted on principle and tried to avoid a public confrontation with the Army by offering to resign his commission or fight elsewhere.

Seitz told reporters on Monday he would consider a lighter sentence for Watada as a victory after the military judge limited the scope of the defense strategy.

The judge, Lt. Col. John Head, denied the defense's motion to argue the legality of the war, saying it was not a matter for a military court. He also disallowed the defense's entire witness list as irrelevant.

The two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer stem from public comments Watada made encouraging soldiers "to throw down their weapons" to resist an authoritarian government at home.

Defense lawyers had intended to argue that his comments were free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution. The judge decided prior to the trial that there are limits to an officer's rights to free speech.

The military panel will decide whether Watada's criticism amounted to misconduct posing a danger to the loyalty, discipline, mission and morale of the troops.

"He was acting out of his own conscience. He was not compelling anyone to act out," said Seitz. "At most, he engaged in an act of civil disobedience."

The defense was expected to present its case on Wednesday. If a guilty verdict is returned, the trial will enter the sentencing phase.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Big Business as usual...

Reuters
Iranian diplomat snatched in Iraq

By Mariam Karouny 38 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen in Iraqi army uniforms kidnapped a senior Iranian diplomat in Baghdad, Iraqi and Iranian officials said on Tuesday, and Tehran blamed the U.S. military and demanded his immediate release.

"We are dealing with this as a kidnapping," an Iraqi government official told Reuters.

The official said the diplomat, the second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, was snatched in the central Karrada district on Sunday by 30 gunmen wearing the uniforms of a special Iraqi army unit that often works with U.S. military forces in
Iraq.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini blamed U.S. forces for the kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi, saying it was carried out by a group attached to Iraq's Defense Ministry "which works under the supervision of American forces."

The ministry said it had summoned the Swiss and Iraqi ambassadors to
Iran to protest against the abduction. The Swiss embassy handles U.S. affairs in Iran, which has no diplomatic relations with Washington.

U.S. forces in Iraq have arrested a number of Iranians, including diplomats, in the past two months, and are still holding five Iranians. Washington accuses Tehran of aiding militants fighting U.S. forces in Iraq and
President Bush has vowed to disrupt such support.

"It seems that this terrorist act has been committed in the framework of Bush's order and with the goal of escalating the confrontation with Iran," Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, was quoted by Iranian state television as saying.

A U.S. military spokesman denied that U.S. forces had played a role in the incident, which comes amid tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.

"We are not aware of any mission that even resembles this incident," a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Lieutenant- Colonel Christopher Garver, said.

ARRESTS

Hosseini said Sharafi was kidnapped outside a branch of Iran's Bank Melli in the Iraqi capital. The Iraqi official said the gunmen drove in four-wheel-drive vehicles and a BMW and were wearing uniforms of the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion, a special operations unit that works with U.S. forces.

The official said that police close to the scene opened fire on the gunmen and arrested six of them. Later, another security force came to the police station and said they were taking the six to the Serious Crimes building in Baghdad but the police discovered later that they never arrived there.

Non-Arab, Shi'ite Iran resumed diplomatic relations with Iraq following the ouster of
Saddam Hussein and the empowerment of Iraq's Shi'ite majority after U.S.-sponsored elections.

The Iraqi government has been critical of recent raids by American forces in which Iranians working with diplomatic offices in Iraq have been detained.

Tehran denies U.S. charges it is backing militants in Iraq and blames U.S. troops for the violence and for inflaming tensions between Iraq's majority Shi'ite and once dominant Sunni Arabs.

(Additional reporting by Ibon Villelabeitia in Baghdad and Edmund Blair in Tehran)

VA Secretary Jim Nicholson is a Stooge! Surprise!
VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 02-06-2007 #1


WHITE HOUSE PROPOSES INADEQUATE VA BUDGET FOR

2008 AND WANTS HIGHER CO-PAYS AND ENROLLMENT

FEES -- Meager increase will leave VA underfunded and

understaffed for yet another year and take more

money out of veterans' pockets.


Ed: Meanwhile needs among Vets are multiplying and many of the same problems among Iraqi Vets duplicate ours over a quarter of a century ago. In short, the VA is still killing Vets and showing little more than contempt for Families. Other than this, how goes the "game," Mr. President? Care for another Pretzel, Mr. (Deserter) President? Priorities would seem to indicate raising taxes on the rich just as a compromise, whose agenda you facilitate, but Nooooo! You insist like your Father, that the working poor send their children to die in your fiasco and on making them pay for it as well, under the name of "Patriotism!" (I guess so we can all be proud of their "Sacrifice." One of Coward Carl's ideas?) You wouldn't know PATRIOTISM if it bit you on the ass, MR. PRESIDENT, and your judgment of character is even worse than your Father's! Aside from Child Molestation and Rape, is there anything worse than looking a fellow Vet in the eye, telling him you are easing his pain and bettering his life, and that he can relax because he is in good hands, while you are reaching around behind him to relieve him of his wallet? Something similar happened to a friend of mine. A woman he picked up in a bar gleefully came to his car with him to give him a blow job and while his pants were around his ankles, his wallet went missing...all his money, credit cards, Identification, etc. A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Smart Nam Vets trusted these charlatans and wise Iraqi Vets will not! Don't let Nicholson/BUSH into your car!


Smoke and mirrors...plain and simple!

VA Secretary Jim Nicholson is calling this a "landmark budget." An increase of just one dollar would make it a "landmark," so we must ignore everything Nicholson says about this budget.

Once again the White House and the VA are asking for prescription co-pay and enrollment fee increases.

We must remember, this budget is based on the VA being able to collect those increases.

That won't happen! Congress has voted down the increases before and they will, most likely, do it again.

That means this budget will be reduced by the amount of the non-collected increases expected by the VA.

This budget leaves the VA right in the middle of the financial crisis it faces today.

The VA is critically underfunded and understaffed and this budget will only serve to make matters worse...delayed healthcare...denied healthcare...longer waiting lists.

We have three stories. First is a quick look at the VA budget. And, following that are two VA press releases that sing the praises of the budget.

Note the mention of a 77% increase since the beginning of the current administration. It's easy to use a big number to try to make people believe you are doing your job correctly. But, the number means nothing because that 77% hasn't kept up with demand at the VA. It's just more political "spin" that leaves veterans with a VA system that is not doing the job.

Also notice that Nicholson does NOT mention the co-pay and enrollment fee increases in his press releases. Just a slight omission, I'm sure!

First story here... http://www.detnews.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/NATION/
702050421/1020/NATION

Story below:

---------------

Department of Veteran Affairs



Spending: $84.4 billion

Percentage change from 2007: +13.3 percent

Mandatory Spending: $44.9 billion

Highlights:

# Percentage increase in overall spending is the largest for a federal agency.

# Proposes higher health care enrollment fees for veterans whose incomes are above certain levels and who have no illnesses or injuries that resulted from their military service. Congress has previously rejected similar proposals.

# For the same veterans, seeks to increase copayments on prescription drugs. Similar plans have been rejected by Congress.

# Raises spending on medical care from $29.3 billion to $34.2 billion. About $3 billion would go to mental health care as veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan report increased symptoms of stress or other mental disorders.

# Anticipates VA will provide medical care to nearly 263,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in 2008.

# Devotes $1.9 billion to information technology, an increase after last year's budget was cut to $1.1 billion. Of that, $70.1 million would be spent on data security.

Much of the VA's spending increase would meet growing costs of treating combat-injured troops and other health care for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a need that Democrats say repeatedly has not been met by the Bush administration.

The department also is boosting information technology spending, much of it on data security, following last May's theft of a VA data analyst's laptop containing sensitive information on 26.5 million veterans. The laptop was later recovered intact, but VA Secretary Jim Nicholson has since pledged to make the agency a "gold standard" in IT.

"This landmark budget will allow us to expand the three core missions of the VA -- those being to provide world-class health care; broad, fair and timely benefits; and dignified burials in shrine-like settings for our nation's veterans," Nicholson said.

---------------

First VA press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/vap07/vap020507-1.htm

Press release below:

---------------

VA Requests $87 Billion for Veterans in Landmark FY ’08 Budget

February 5, 2007

Nicholson: “Right Resources for Right People” Working for Veterans



WASHINGTON – Continuing to honor the nation’s commitment to meet the needs of America’s veterans, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson announced today that President Bush will seek a landmark budget of nearly $87 billion in fiscal year 2008 for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with health care and disability compensation for veterans receiving the majority of the spending.

The FY '08 proposal represents an increase of $37.8 billion, or 77 percent, from the budget in effect when the President took office.

“This landmark budget will allow us to expand the three core missions of the VA -- those being to provide world-class health care; broad, fair and timely benefits; and dignified burials in shrine-like settings for our nation’s veterans,” Nicholson said. “This budget also allows us to continue our progress toward becoming a national leader in information technology and data security.

“With the right resources in the hands of the right people, anything and everything is possible when it comes to caring for America’s veterans,” Nicholson said. “At VA, we already have the right people -- 235,000 dedicated employees. With the President’s proposed landmark budget, we will have the right resources.”

Under the new budget, VA will begin a new initiative to provide priority in processing claims for disability compensation from veterans of the Global War on Terror. Secretary Nicholson also announced plans to create a special Advisory Committee on OIF/OEF Veterans and Families, which will advise him on the full spectrum of issues affecting VA and the veterans and families of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

The FY ’08 budget proposal calls for $42 billion in discretionary funding -- mostly for health care -- which is the largest amount ever requested by a President. It also would provide $45 billion in mandatory funding, mostly for compensation, pension, educational assistance, home loan guaranties and other benefit programs.

---------------

Second VA press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/vap07/vap020507-2.htm

Press release below:

---------------

FY ’08 Landmark VA Budget Request Highlights

February 5, 2007



The President’s landmark FY ’08 budget request for $86.75 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) honors the nation’s commitment to America’s veterans. Most of the budget is targeted for the Department’s health care system and disability compensation programs.

* This budget proposal represents a 77 percent increase from the overall budget in effect when the President took office in FY ’01 and more than an 83 percent increase in health care spending.

* The budget continues the President's commitment for VA to work closely with the Department of Defense to ensure that service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families receive timely, high-quality services and benefits.

* VA will continue to provide world-class health care to an estimated 5.8 million patients, including 263,000 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

* The FY ’08 budget proposal includes $750 million for capital improvements to its health care facilities, bringing the total to $3.7 billion during the last five years. The FY ’08 proposal includes funding for major construction projects in Denver; Las Vegas; Lee County, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh; and Syracuse, N.Y.

* The FY ’08 budget request calls for nearly $3 billion in mental health services to continue improvements in access to a full continuum of care for veterans with mental health problems, including comprehensive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

* Funding for extended care services will reach $4.6 billion in FY ’08, of which 90 percent will be for institutional long-term care and 10 percent for non-institutional care.

* The FY ’08 budget proposal includes nearly $192 million in construction funding to support VA’s burial program. Resources are included to establish six new national cemeteries in Bakersfield, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbia-Greenville, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.; and southeastern Pennsylvania. This budget also includes funds for a gravesite development project at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio and $32 million in grants for the construction of state veterans cemeteries.

Ensuring a Seamless Transition

The President’s FY ’08 budget request provides the resources necessary to fulfill a commitment making as smooth and seamless as possible the transition of service members from the active duty military to civilian life.

Secretary Nicholson announced plans to create a special Advisory Committee on OIF/OEF Veterans and Families. The panel, with membership including veterans, spouses and parents of the latest generation of combat veterans, will report directly to the VA Secretary. The committee will focus on the concerns of all men and women with active military service in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, but will pay particular attention to severely disabled veterans and their families.

VA has placed workers at key military hospitals where severely injured service members from Iraq and Afghanistan are frequently sent for care. These include counselors who help service members obtain VA benefits as well as social workers who facilitate health care coordination and discharge planning as service members transition from military to VA health care.

World-Class Health Care

The President’s FY ’08 budget proposal requests $36.6 billion for VA’s health care program. This is more than 83 percent higher than the FY '01 budget in place at the beginning of the administration.

With these resources, VA will be able to treat an estimated 5.8 million patients. In 2008, about 75 percent of all veteran patients are expected to be those who count on VA the most (Priority 1-6 veterans).

The President’s budget request also includes $750 million to continue the recommendations of a 2004 report designed to modernize VA's health care system. This historic transformation means that VA will be able to provide greater access to high-quality care well into the future. For example, the FY ’08 budget includes funding to complete construction of a new $600 million VA medical center in Las Vegas.

VA’s health care system continues to be the nation’s leader in delivering safe, accessible, and high-quality care that sets the national benchmark for excellence in health care. Last year, Harvard University recognized VA’s computerized patient records system by awarding the Department the prestigious “Innovations in American Government Award.” VA’s electronic health records have been an important element in making VA health care the benchmark for nearly 300 measures of disease prevention and treatment in the country.

In addition, for the seventh consecutive year, VA has set the public and private sector standard for health care satisfaction on the American Customer Satisfaction Index conducted by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan. Patients included in the study gave VA health care higher marks than those received by private-sector facilities for medical services provided in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Responding Financially to Disabled Veterans

The President’s budget proposal for FY ’08 will enable VA to address the large growth in the number of claims for compensation and pension benefits, while at the same time increasing the processing accuracy of these most challenging and increasingly complex compensation claims. The Department expects to improve the timeliness of processing these claims to 145 days in FY ’08 while raising the accuracy of adjudicated claims to 90 percent.

The budget includes funds for disability payments to more than 3.7 million veterans and surviving family members in FY '08, or more than 5 percent above the number at the end of FY '06.

Key program improvements will affect both the education, and vocational rehabilitation and employment programs. The timeliness of processing original education claims will significantly improve during the next two years, falling from 40 days in FY ’06 to a projected 25 days in FY ’08. In addition, VA expects to increase to 75 percent the share of disabled veterans successfully completing the vocational rehabilitation and employment program.

Cemeteries are National Shrines

With the resources requested in the FY ’08 budget, VA will expand access to national and state veterans cemeteries. The Department will increase the percentage of veterans served by a burial option in a national or state veterans cemetery within 75 miles of their residence to 84.6 percent.

The FY ’08 budget proposal calls for nearly $167 million in operations and maintenance funding for national cemeteries. These resources will ensure VA continues to meet the burial needs of veterans and maintain its national cemeteries as shrines dedicated to preserving the nation’s history and honoring veterans’ service and sacrifice.

Becoming “Gold Standard” in IT Security

VA’s FY ‘08 request provides $70.1 million for cyber security to support the Department’s objective to become “the gold standard” in IT security. This ongoing initiative involves the development, deployment and maintenance of a set of controls to better secure VA’s IT systems.

In addition, VA’s budget request contains $34.1 million for a new state-of-the-art human resource management system. It will result in an electronic employee record and the capability to produce critical management information in a fraction of the time it now takes using paper-based systems.

---------------

Larry Scott --

Don't forget to read all of today's VA News Flashes (click here)

Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage

Hearst orchestrated a whole war that netted us several strategic naval bases, all with lies...
2/3/2007
Murdoch Confesses To Propaganda On Iraq
Filed under:

* General
* Propaganda

— Mark @ 5:46 pm

Last Friday, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rupert Murdoch sat on a panel where he lamented what he described as a “loss of power” due to the ascension of the Internet and other new media. The notion that this captain of one of the most dominant media conglomerates in the world is trembling in the shadow of bloggers is simply absurd. Especially when you consider the fact that his company is also a dominant player on the Internet with an aggressive acquisitiveness that includes MySpace, the world’s largest online social networking site.

But there was a more shocking exchange that took place that ought to have caused more of a stir amongst professional journalists and all freedom loving people. It was an exchange that revealed something that most conscious beings knew, but which I have never seen explicitly articulated.

Murdoch was asked if News Corp. had managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq. His answer?

“No, I don’t think so. We tried.” Asked by Rose for further comment, he said: “We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East…but we have been very critical of his execution.”

Let me repeat this: “We Tried!”

Rupert Murdoch in DavosSetting aside the nonsense that they had ever been critical of Bush’s adventures in Baghdad, having confessed to being deliberatly deceitful raises some questions. For instance, how can anyone ever again take seriously Fox News or any of Murdoch’s other instruments of bias? How can News Corp. continue to pretend that they are “fair and balanced?” How can any other media company exhibit the slightest expression of respect or patronization?

And speaking of other media companies, where are they now? The Chairman and CEO of a media empire that includes the number one rated cable news network, and numerous newspapers around the world, has just admitted that he tried to use that empire to “shape the agenda” in support of a partisan political goal with consequences of life, death, and global destabilization. Why has the media, who you might think would have some interest in this subject, virtually ignored these remarks? We know they were there because, on the very same day, there was a media tempest over remarks by John Kerry on whether Bush had turned the U. S. into an international pariah. That trumped up commotion was led, of course, by Fox News. Even the Hollywood Reporter downplayed the most startling portion of Murdoch’s presentation by headlining their story: “Big media has less sway on Internet.” They apparently felt that that was a more weighty revelation than the attempted thought-control exposed by Murdoch.

Where is the outrage? Where are the calls to disband this mammoth and unlawful propaganda machine? Murdoch, who was made an American citizen by an act of Congress because, otherwise, he could not own an American television network, should have his citizenship revoked and be deported back to Australia. Think of the precedent this sets for any other wealthy and ambitious ideologue that seeks to manipulate public opinion. There are plenty of wealthy and ambitious ideologues in the Middle East and elsewhere who may view Murdoch as a role model.

At the very least, it needs to be broadcast far and wide that News Corp. and Fox News are nothing but a tool of the neo-con operatives in government. You might say we already knew that, but this is different. We are not merely accusing them of this stance, they have now admitted it. And it can not be tolerated! Not by any standard of journalistic ethics. Not by a nation that values a free press so much that it incorporated that freedom into its Constitution.

Old Johnny Horton song...we're going to sink the "Crimson Assurance" to the bottom of the sea!
Ed:
...placement of ICBMs? Unless intent on remaking an old enemy, who the hell is there in the region? Neo-Cons seem to be revealed for the global conquest and domination/mongers (Businessmen) they truly are...which is NOT US AMERICAN! When we cut them out of the power circles, we might have a chance at becoming something of what we apparently thought we could become ideally in the beginning, but if the best we can accomplish is to strive to be just another self-destructive Empire, we are sunk!


Poland's defense minister resigns

By RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 27 minutes ago

WARSAW, Poland - Polish Defense Minister Radek Sikorski, who has strong ties to the United States, has resigned after the country's prime minister expressed "reservations" about his work, a government spokesman said Monday.

Sikorski's departure deprives Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's weak government of an internationally respected figure, just as Warsaw begins negotiations with Washington over whether to host a missile defense base.

Poland also is in the process of building up its contingent in
Afghanistan from 100 to about 1,000, and is a strong U.S. ally in
Iraq.

Government spokesman Jan Dziedziczak said that Sikorski had resigned after speaking with Kaczynski. The prime minister had "reservations" about Sikorski's work, Dziedziczak said. He did not elaborate.

The United States is hoping to set up missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. The system would combine long-range radar and ballistic rockets, with the aim of detecting and shooting down missiles fired from the Middle East.

Jacek Kucharczyk, the deputy head of a Warsaw think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, said Sikorski's departure was unlikely to affect Warsaw's general stance on missile defense, or its support for U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, support strong ties with Washington.

However, Kucharczyk said the resignation could hurt Warsaw as it opens talks with the U.S. on missile defense.

"Sikorski would have been well-placed to negotiate good conditions for Poland," he said. "I think his resignation may make it easier for the Americans to get what they want without giving so much in exchange."

There was no immediate word on who would succeed Sikorski.

His resignation highlights the weakness of the coalition government led by Kaczynski and his Law and Justice party.

Since taking power in October 2005, the Law and Justice-led government has had two premiers, five finance ministers, two treasury ministers and two foreign ministers.

The Oxford-educated Sikorski, 43, was a deputy defense and deputy foreign minister in previous conservative governments. He worked as a resident fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington immediately before becoming defense minister in October 2005.

Sikorski is married to Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum.

Gosh, sorry if our Humanity screws up your plan to reclaim old dominance...Prick!
French official blasts repentence issue

Mon Feb 5, 3:44 AM ET

PARIS - France's foreign minister warned Monday against a "permanent repentance" for colonialism and said his country should invest more in oil-rich former colony Algeria.

Philippe Douste-Blazy spoke after Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal sent a message to Algeria's president over the weekend saying it was time for France to come to terms with its colonial history.

Douste-Blazy bristled at the message. "We should watch out for a bad conscience and permanent repentance," he said on Europe-1 radio. "We must turn the page, be able to look at Algeria as an equal partner."

Douste-Blazy is a member of the conservative ruling party UMP, whose candidate Nicolas Sarkozy slightly leads Royal in the polls ahead of the April-May presidential vote.

Long a thorny issue, France's colonial history came under the spotlight in 2005 after the UMP-led parliament passed a law citing the positive effects of colonialism. The contentious language was later removed, but many nations remain bitter.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has long demanded that France apologize for colonial-era crimes.

Royal sent an envoy, Jack Lang, to visit Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika over the weekend with a message urging France to look its colonial history "in the face." Algeria was the jewel in France's colonial crown, and won its independence in 1962 after a brutal war.

Douste-Blazy appealed for France to boost investment in Algeria, whose economy is gaining ground after a crippling insurgency in the 1990s.

"There are $95 billion in privatization deals in the next three or four years. The Americans, the British, the Spanish and others are already there, while the French are still battling guilt," he said.

...placement of ICBMs? Unless intent on remaking an old enemy, who the hell is there in the region?
Poland's defense minister resigns

By RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 27 minutes ago

WARSAW, Poland - Polish Defense Minister Radek Sikorski, who has strong ties to the United States, has resigned after the country's prime minister expressed "reservations" about his work, a government spokesman said Monday.

Sikorski's departure deprives Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's weak government of an internationally respected figure, just as Warsaw begins negotiations with Washington over whether to host a missile defense base.

Poland also is in the process of building up its contingent in
Afghanistan from 100 to about 1,000, and is a strong U.S. ally in
Iraq.

Government spokesman Jan Dziedziczak said that Sikorski had resigned after speaking with Kaczynski. The prime minister had "reservations" about Sikorski's work, Dziedziczak said. He did not elaborate.

The United States is hoping to set up missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. The system would combine long-range radar and ballistic rockets, with the aim of detecting and shooting down missiles fired from the Middle East.

Jacek Kucharczyk, the deputy head of a Warsaw think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, said Sikorski's departure was unlikely to affect Warsaw's general stance on missile defense, or its support for U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, support strong ties with Washington.

However, Kucharczyk said the resignation could hurt Warsaw as it opens talks with the U.S. on missile defense.

"Sikorski would have been well-placed to negotiate good conditions for Poland," he said. "I think his resignation may make it easier for the Americans to get what they want without giving so much in exchange."

There was no immediate word on who would succeed Sikorski.

His resignation highlights the weakness of the coalition government led by Kaczynski and his Law and Justice party.

Since taking power in October 2005, the Law and Justice-led government has had two premiers, five finance ministers, two treasury ministers and two foreign ministers.

The Oxford-educated Sikorski, 43, was a deputy defense and deputy foreign minister in previous conservative governments. He worked as a resident fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington immediately before becoming defense minister in October 2005.

Sikorski is married to Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum.

Happens all the time, but Officers like this don't really care unless caught!
U.S. military in Iraq admit airstrike error

Mon Feb 5, 7:14 AM ET

MAHMUDIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. military officers offered their condolences on Monday to an Iraqi family south of Baghdad in a rare admission of error after killing two innocent Iraqis in an airstrike last Tuesday.

A U.S. military statement released on January 31 said two "insurgents" out of a four-man team were killed as they were trying to plant a roadside bomb in the town of Mahmudiya.

Calling the incident a "tragic accident," the officers on Monday handed out $2,500 to the family for each man killed.

A small group of U.S. officers, accompanied by an Iraqi officer and Mahmudiya's mayor, entered a tent with their weapons where mourners gathered to pay respect to the victims, shaking hands with tribesman and drinking hot coffee.

After one of the tribesmen lectured the Americans on their "many mistakes," Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Morschauser apologized to the gathering.

"I wish I could roll the clock back five or six days and start again," he said.

U.S. military admissions of error are rare in
Iraq.

Many Iraqis believe wrongful killings of Iraqis at the hands of Americans are frequent and generally go unnoticed.

Hyper-sensitive local authorities be damned! Give her the Nobel!
AIDS activist stopped from visiting U.S.

By ALEXA OLESEN, Associated Press Writer Sun Feb 4, 11:30 PM ET

BEIJING - A retired Chinese doctor who helped expose blood-buying schemes that infected thousands with
HIV has been put under house arrest to stop her from traveling to Washington to be honored by a charity backed by Sen.
Hillary Clinton, a friend said Monday.

Gao Yaojie is among China's most prominent and tenacious
AIDS activists. She has received numerous awards for her efforts a decade ago to alert people in her home province of Henan in eastern China to an AIDS epidemic that was being spread by tainted blood transfusions. Operators often used dirty needles, and people selling plasma — the liquid in blood — received replenishment from a pooled blood supply.

Gao, who is in her 80s, was warned by Henan authorities not to attend the Vital Voices Global Partnership awards ceremony next month but she refused to comply, said Hu Jia, a Beijing-based AIDS activist and friend of Gao's.

Zhengzhou city authorities put her under house arrest Thursday ahead of a planned trip to Beijing Sunday to apply for a U.S. visa, Hu said.

Friends and family who tried to see Gao at home were being blocked or interrogated before being allowed to visit, he said. Her daughter was under constant police surveillance, he said.

Gao was refused a passport in 2001 to go to Washington to accept an award from a U.N. group.

A man who answered the phone at the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau refused to answer questions about Gao. Like many Chinese officials, he refused to give his name and referred calls to the provincial government.

A duty officer with the Henan government who would give only his surname, Wu, said he was unclear about the case.

Gao's and her daughter's phone numbers both rang unanswered Monday.

Hu said Gao was to be honored for her work promoting women's legal rights in China at a Vital Voices annual awards dinner in Washington on March 14. Clinton, a New York Democrat, is one of the group's honorary chairwomen. Vital Voices could not be immediately reached for comment.

In the late 1990s, when the government was tightlipped about its AIDS problem, Gao spoke openly to the press and distributed brochures about the spread of AIDS among poor farmers because of the blood-buying industry. Health officials then accused her of helping "anti-China forces."

Chinese leaders have since confronted the disease more openly, promising anonymous testing and free treatment for the poor. The government has banned blood sales and discrimination against people with the virus.

But AIDS workers still face frequent harassment by local authorities who fear their activism will reflect badly on them.

Gao has also distributed medicine, cared for AIDS orphans, written a book about China's AIDS epidemic and hosted AIDS sufferers in her modest apartment. Funding comes from her own earnings and occasional donations.

___

On the Net:

Vital Voices http://www.vitalvoices.org

Only a Dumbass sees such uniformity in a positive light. A Fascist dumbass!
States challenge nat'l driver's license

By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer Sun Feb 4, 10:36 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A revolt against a national driver's license, begun in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states.

The Maine Legislature on Jan. 26 overwhelmingly passed a resolution objecting to the Real ID Act of 2005. The federal law sets a national standard for driver's licenses and requires states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases.

Within a week of Maine's action, lawmakers in Georgia, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington state also balked at Real ID. They are expected soon to pass laws or adopt resolutions declining to participate in the federal identification network.

"It's the whole privacy thing," said Matt Sundeen, a transportation analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "A lot of legislators are concerned about privacy issues and the cost. It's an estimated $11 billion implementation cost."

The law's supporters say it is needed to prevent terrorists and illegal immigrants from getting fake identification cards.

States will have to comply by May 2008. If they do not, driver's licenses that fall short of Real ID's standards cannot be used to board an airplane or enter a federal building or open some bank accounts.

About a dozen states have active legislation against Real ID, including Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Missouri state Rep. James Guest, a Republican, formed a coalition of lawmakers from 34 states to file bills that oppose or protest Real ID.

"This is almost a frontal assault on the freedoms of America when they require us to carry a national ID to monitor where we are," Guest said in an interview Saturday. "That's going too far."

Guest filed a resolution last week opposing Real ID and said he expects it quickly to pass the Legislature. "This does nothing to stop terrorism," he said. "Don't burden the American people with this requirement to carry this ID."

Though most states oppose the law, some such as Indiana and Maryland are looking to comply with Real ID, Sundeen said.

The issue may be moot for states if Congress takes action.

Republican Sen. John Sununu (news, bio, voting record) of New Hampshire, along with Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka (news, bio, voting record) of Hawaii, filed a bill last year to repeal the law. Sununu expects similar legislation will be introduced soon.

"The federal government should not be in charge of defining and issuing drivers' licenses," Sununu said in a statement.

Privacy advocates say a national driver's license will promote identity theft.

Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer with the
American Civil Liberties Union, said the Real ID ordered by Congress would require a digital photo and probably a fingerprint on each driver's license or state-issued ID card. That, he said, will make it more valuable to identity thieves because the ID card will be accepted as much more than a driving credential.

"It's going to be a honey pot out there that's going to be irresistible to identity thieves," Steinhardt said.

An identity thief, he said, could buy a Real ID from a rogue motor vehicle department employee with is own photo and fingerprint on it.

"The victim is never going to be able to undo this," Steinhardt said.

Other criticisms include:

_Some states will have to invest millions in new computer systems that can communicate with federal databases. That is something they probably will not accomplish by the deadline.

_It will be difficult to comply with the requirement that license applicants prove they are in the country legally. There are more than 100 different immigration statutes, Steinhardt said, which will pose problems for motor vehicle clerks unfamiliar with immigration law.

_It does not solve the problem of terrorism. Oklahoma City bomber
Timothy McVeigh and some of the hijackers from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, had legitimate driver's licenses.

_Even the requirement that applicants' full legal names appear on licenses will pose problems because some states limit the number of characters on the face of the card.

___

On the Net:

Background on Real ID Act: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/realidsummary05.htm

Maybe if our Peresident wasn't an eleven year old, the World would be more at ease and enabled to do business together...!
Report: Russian calls U.S. 'difficult'

By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer Sun Feb 4, 7:16 PM ET

MOSCOW - Russia's foreign minister said the United States was perhaps Moscow's "most difficult" partner and urged Washington to learn from its mistakes on the world stage, according to a news report on Sunday.

Sergey Lavrov also blamed Washington for impasses in the Middle East, suggesting the U.S. approach there was too confrontational, Interfax news agency reported.

"Like any other country, we are interested in having good, smooth, clear relations with the United States" but it is "not easy," Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying in an interview on state-run television.

While Moscow and Washington have been able to "achieve mutually acceptable results" on many issues, the United States "is not an easy partner at all — probably the most difficult partner," he said.

The remarks reflected the troubled ties between the former Cold War foes, despite avowals of common aims on matters such as terrorism and weapons proliferation. Relations have been strained by disagreements over an array of international issues as well as Russia's record on democracy under President
Vladimir Putin.

Russia sharply criticized the U.S. invasion of
Iraq and has sought to counter what it has suggested are Washington's uncompromising positions on the nuclear programs of
Iran and
North Korea.

Lavrov repeated criticism he made in Washington last week, when he rebuked the Bush administration for its resistance to diplomacy with certain Middle East governments. He suggested the U.S. was being shortsighted by not engaging countries that could help resolve problems in Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The Middle East settlement has been suspended because, despite our position and the position of the
European Union, Washington has conducted policy based on the principle, 'He who is not with us is against us,'" Lavrov said.

He said the United States was isolating Iran,
Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah even though they were "key actors in solving the Middle East puzzle."

The U.S. State Department said it had not seen Lavrov's remarks and declined to comment.

Lavrov said Moscow has been frank with Washington when it questions U.S. foreign policy, and that the United States should learn from its experiences.

"Too much potential for crisis has built up in addition to Iraq and
Afghanistan," he said.

The foreign minister also said relations were far less positive at lower levels than between Putin and
President Bush.

"In spite of the mutual respect of the presidents and their readiness to accept the sovereign decisions of the other side, the situation looks entirely different at other levels of the executive branch," he said.

Call it anything you want, but don't call it Justice! Whose "Hero" he is, will be determined in the future!
Court-martial looms for war objector

By MELANTHIA MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer Sun Feb 4, 5:58 PM ET

SEATTLE - Denied a chance to debate the legality of the
Iraq war in court, an Army officer who refused to go to Iraq now goes to trial hoping to at least minimize the amount of time he could serve if convicted.

Anti-war activists consider 1st Lt. Ehren Watada a hero, but the Army accuses him of betraying his fellow soldiers.

The 28-year-old faces four years in prison if convicted on one count of missing movement and two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer for refusing to ship out with his unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. His court-martial is set to begin Monday at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle.

Watada has spoken out against U.S. military involvement in Iraq, calling it morally wrong and a breach of American law.

"As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse that order," Watada said in a video statement released at a June 7 news conference.

Despite having already been charged, he spoke out again in August, at a Veterans for Peace rally in Seattle.

"Though the American soldier wants to do right, the illegitimacy of the occupation itself, the policies of this administration, and the rules of engagement of desperate field commanders will ultimately force them to be party to war crime," Watada said then.

Watada and his Honolulu attorney, Eric Seitz, contend his comments are protected speech, but Army prosecutors argued his behavior was dangerous to the mission and morale of other soldiers.

"He betrayed his fellow soldiers who are now serving in Iraq," Capt. Dan Kuecker said at one hearing. Kuecker has not commented on the case outside of court.

Seitz unsuccessfully sought an opportunity to argue the legality of the war, saying it violated Army regulations that specify wars are to be waged in accordance with the
United Nations charter. His final attempt was quashed last month when the military judge, Lt. Col. John Head, ruled Watada cannot base his defense on the war's legality. Head also rejected claims that Watada's statements were protected by the First Amendment.

The Army had subpoenaed two journalists who interviewed Watada, drawing criticism from free-press advocates, but that fell by the wayside as prosecutors dropped two of the four counts of misconduct in exchange for Watada admitting he made statements to freelance journalist Sarah Olson and Greg Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

"This should be seen as a victory for the rights of journalists in the U.S. to gather and disseminate news free from government intervention, and for the rights of individuals to express personal, political opinions to journalists without fear of retribution or censure," Olson said in an e-mail message.

Military law experts said that, by confining themselves to the missing movement charge, prosecutors might have saved themselves from arguing some of the legal issues relating to free speech.

"It's desirable that they're abandoning the path of using reporters as witnesses," said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, D.C. "It's a very toxic strategy."

Fidell wasn't surprised, however, that the government rejected a deal offered by Seitz that would have had Watada serve only three months confinement with a dishonorable discharge.

"Why should they? He missed a movement of his unit," he said. "No army can tolerate officers refusing to move with their unit."

___

On the Net:

Watada supporters: http://www.thankyoult.com/

Pope Benedict is an out of touch, nineteenth century, dogmatic dork, interested mostly in holding power, screw God!
Pope says compassion no excuse for euthanasia

Sun Feb 4, 10:23 AM ET

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -
Pope Benedict on Sunday renewed his appeal to Catholics to reject abortion and euthanasia, saying life was God-given and could not be cut short under "the guise of human compassion."

His appeal came days after an Italian doctor who switched off the life support of a paralyzed man at the center of a euthanasia battle was cleared of wrongdoing by a medical panel.

"Life, which is the work of God, cannot be negated by anyone, neither at the very young and indefensible unborn stage, nor when grave disabilities are present," he said in his weekly address to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square.

Speaking on the Italian Catholic Church's "Day for Life," he said humanity could not legitimize euthanasia or be "fooled" into justifying it "under the guise of human compassion."

Euthanasia is a deeply divisive issue in overwhelmingly Catholic Italy, where it is illegal and carries a jail term of up to 15 years.

The issue was back in the spotlight last month when Italian doctor Mario Riccio disconnected the life support of Piergiorgio Welby, who was paralyzed for many years by muscular dystrophy and had asked to die.