A Story from Detroit

U.S. study: Insurgents infiltrate Iraq police
Report suggests turning over recruiting to Iraq government

Monday, July 25, 2005

Iraqi police officers are a regular target for insurgents

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Insurgents and other criminals have infiltrated Iraqi police ranks due to poor screening procedures by U.S. forces, according to a joint report released Monday by the U.S. Defense Department and State Department.

"Recruitment and vetting procedures are faulty," said the report from the inspectors general of both departments.

"Despite recent improvements, too many recruits are marginally literate; some show up for training with criminal records or physical handicaps."

The 100-page report went on to say there was "sufficient evidence to conclude" that insurgents were "among the ranks of the Iraq police service."

Insurgents have carried out numerous bombings at Iraqi police and army recruiting centers -- many of the attacks occurring as potential recruits waited in long lines outside.

More than 1,600 police have been killed in attacks in the past year, the report said.

The Bush administration has said getting Iraqi police properly trained is one of the key components in eventually bringing U.S. troops home, although the administration has refused to put a timetable on when that might occur.

To date, there are about 63,000 fully trained Iraqi police, according to Pentagon officials.

But the report acknowledged the difficulty in defining the number of police who are trained and equipped.

The United States has set a goal of training and equipping 135,000 police by the end of 2006.

"This emphasis on numbers overshadows the attention that should be given to the qualitative performance of those trained," the report said.

"There is a perception that training programs have produced 'cannon fodder' -- numbers of nominal policemen incapable of defending themselves, let alone the Iraqi public."

more... http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/07/25/iraq.police/index.html

Muslim groups target youths in anti-terror campaign
Official: 'Condemnation is not enough'
From Paul Courson
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A coalition of U.S.-based Muslim groups launched an intensified anti-terrorism campaign Monday using community groups to persuade young people their religion provides no basis for violence.

The president of the Muslim American Society, Esam Omeish, told reporters at a news conference that his group rejects attacks such as those recently in Britain and Egypt, and will "deny terrorists any religious, ideological or political legitimacy."

He said the attacks bring the spotlight back to prevention, and that such efforts must go beyond surveillance and intelligence by law enforcement.

The Muslim groups said they would intensify an effort among community groups such as religious schools, youth centers and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America programs.

Responding to questions, Omeish and representatives of other organizations said they knew of no al Qaeda or Muslim terror groups in the United States.

"We know of no sleeper cells," Omeish said, attributing that in part to what he called the teaching of moderate, authentic Islam.

"What has protected our community far before 9/11 from extremism and violent ideology is that balanced mainstream advocacy of Islamic principles," Omeish said.

Imam Abu Malik-Johari, president of the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations, condemned any killing motivated by anger or alienation.

"People who would go out and kill anyone, of any religion, from any country, of any age, for no reason other than the fact they are angry, isolated and upset is against God by whatever name you call," Johari said.

Johari, former Muslim chaplain of Howard University in Washington, told reporters he was at a mosque last weekend where he was approached by a young person who said someone had tried to "recruit" him.

He declined to identify the youth and did not say what the recruitment involved. He said he has never learned of any recruitment for al Qaeda in his community.

But using the case as an example of what the Muslim groups plan to do to pre-empt violence, Johari said he told the youth, "You need to alienate yourself from those people."

Johari said he told the young man: "They're saying to you that they're your friend, and that you'll be their confidant, when in reality, they're going to sell you out."

Some of those speaking at the news conference were critical of the Bush administration for not including Muslim leadership in counterterrorism activities, including efforts by law enforcement to keep tabs on Muslim groups in the United States.

"This Justice Department has engaged us from the back door, rather than the front door," said Imam Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American Society.

"Rather than spending all their energies in terms of recruiting spies and snitchers, they need to spend more time and more energy engaging the authentic Muslim leadership" in the United States, Bray said.

more... http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/25/muslims.nonviolence/index.html

p.s. when will churchgoers in the U.S. start challenging their local churches to defend the principal teachings of their savior, the Prince of Peace?

I think we should start publically pressing local churches to declare whether they are a "Pro-Peace" church, or a "Pro-War" church.

PEACE NOW

Great morning roundup of the criminals and spotlight on the good guys trying to clean up Dodge, monkey! Thanks for all the heads-ups!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Dick is all excited about this item on the New York Times editorial page:

It Depends on What 'Member' Means

Published: July 26, 2005

When news organizations reported last week that Judge John Roberts, the Supreme Court nominee, was a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, the White House forcefully denied it. But it now appears that if he was not a member, he had a status that looked very much like a member's. This apparent contradiction raises questions about how forthcoming Mr. Roberts and the White House have been. But it is also a reminder of a major concern about this nomination: a few Washington insiders seem to know a lot more about him than the Senate or the American people...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/26/opinion/26tue3.html?

Dick was all over this yesterday morning. The country is in deep trouble, and we worry every day about what these guys are up to, but when you can beat the New York Times on an analysis, it does help you to feel you might be on the right track, anyway...

Yep, Dick was all over that issue yesterday.

I can imagine the questions that Roberts will face on this one.

Senator Schumer: Judge Roberts, were you ever a member of the Federalist Society?

Roberts: I don't recall. I may have been, but I don't remember being a formal member.

Senator Schumer: Judge Roberts, if you can't remember if you were a member of the leading conservative legal society, how can the United States Senate trust that your memory will not also betray you when it comes to remembering important Supreme Court precedents?

To help all our memories, the NYT has provided a very nice timeline:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2005/07/21/politics/20050722leak_graphic.html

Can journalism be on the rise???

As Think Progress points out the obvious, its not as if the bu$hcheney gang has never hidden anything before:::

When The White House Has Something To Hide…

Yesterday, White House adviser to the Supreme Court nomination process, former Sen. Fred Thompson, said the White House is likely to refuse requests from the Senate Judiciary Committee to review memoranda that Roberts drafted while he worked in the Reagan and Bush I administrations.

The White House can’t blame critics who think they’re hiding something. The Bush administration chose to hide the following information:

- The PDB from the 9/11 Commission
- Documents related to the leak investigation
- Cheney’s influence in Halliburton deal
- Cheney’s Energy Task Force deliberations
- The true cost of the Medicare bill
- John Bolton’s secret intercepts
- Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse report

Historical experience dictates the lesson to be learned is that when the White House has something they refuse to disclose, there’s bad news to be found:

continue~
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/25/white-house-hide/

Leak Investigation: The Russert Deal—What It Reveals

Newsweek
Aug. 1 issue - A deal that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald cut last year for NBC "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert's testimony may shed light on the emerging White House defense in the Valerie Plame leak case. The agreement between Fitzgerald and NBC avoided a court fight over a subpoena for Russert's testimony about his July 2003 talk with Dick Cheney's top aide, Lewis (Scooter) Libby. The deal was not, as many assumed, for Russert's testimony about what Libby told him: it focused on what Russert told Libby. An NBC statement last year said Russert did not know of Plame, wife of ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson, or that she worked at the CIA, and "he did not provide that information to Libby."

snip~
Fitzgerald may be looking at other laws barring the disclosure of classified info or the possibility that current or former White House aides made false statements or obstructed justice.

continue here~
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8682500/site/newsweek/

Can journalism be on the rise???

Posted by: Karen at July 26, 2005 09:03 AM

Not unless they are getting their information from bloggers who have been aware of the crimes of the Bu$hCo administration since the beginning..... At this point, most journalists can only play catch-up (IMHO). A few op-ed writers are aware and knowledgeable (and we all know who they are because we all post their columns on this blog), and the Brits still seem to have some modicum of a free press (albeit some are quoting Blair who has taken his cue from bandwagon patriotic warmongering rhetoric from Bu$hCo), but "investigative" journalists (reporters) in America have been lazily parroting only WH and Pentagon propaganda for so many years that I suspect their brains have atrophied from lack of use and the synapses that can connect the dots no longer work....

On the other hand, when one set of nerves have deteriorated, the brain develops new ones.... so, if hope springs eternal, *maybe* a select few have begun exercising their atrophied brains recently????? I think that's what happened with the WH press 'corpse' who have been going after Scotty.... How long they'll keep putting pressure on Scotty and the WH for answers remains to be seen..... Their attention span has been remarkably short in the past, but if their brains have new pathways to get information through to start connecting dots...?

NonnyO:

When I say "on the rise" it is always relative! They were flatlining and now a few micro-sparks of cognitive functioning MAY Be appearing!

Pass the jumper cables and stimulants...

Beautiful story, Suz.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/26/opinion/26tue3.html
Posted by: Karen at July 26, 2005 08:02 AM

Note this paragraph (quote):
Mr. Roberts still has no recollection of being a member of the society or on the steering committee, according to the White House. It may be that Mr. Roberts was never formally a member of the society, which keeps its membership secret. But at his confirmation hearings, the Senate should make sure that there was no intent to deceive senators or the public.
~~~~~
"...WHICH KEEPS ITS MEMBERSHIP SECRET."

WHAT?!?!? Oh, no, no, no, no, no.... A SCOTUS nominee or justice should NOT be associated with "SECRET" societies. There is too much secrecy in this administration already, and any judge (or nominee) worth her/his salt has no business dealing with any organization anywhere that has 'secret' anything whatsoever. If they are to be morally and ethically responsible and honorable, they must declare the names of the organizations to which they belong. There is no room for 'secrecy' when it comes to public officials who can decide the fate of millions of people in this nation based on interpreting laws made by our legislators!!! No 'secret' anything, especially 'secret membership' in any society which has a questionable reputation, at best!!!

Pass the jumper cables and stimulants...

Posted by: Karen at July 26, 2005 09:36 AM

:-) I have jumper cables in a box, and coffee in the cupboard (with caffeine!)....!!! :-)

I'll take any spark of life in MSM... however faint, as a small sign of life.... You're right; they've been flatlined too long....

Can journalism be on the rise???

Posted by: Karen at July 26, 2005 09:03 AM

No, it is self-preservation. They are fearful that with a member of the Federalist Society on the Supreme Court, they are more likely to end up in jail themselves.

Posted by: oncall at July 26, 2005 09:45 AM

Good point, OC! 'Freedom of the press' has been a relative condition since 2000.... They've been 'free' to report WH and Pentagon propaganda....

Thank You Madame Defarge.

Lila also told another story that day. It was heart wrenching and she told it beautifully. I'll attempt to tell it now, though there is no way I can give it the justice it deserves.

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

She spoke of an "Eyes Wide Open" which I think was a booth about the Iraq War and the victims of the war at the Ann Arbor Art Fair though I'm not sure. At any rate, this is the story she told:

She was at the Ann Arbor Art Fair Friday evening talking to people about the war. An Iraqi-American citizen was looking at the pictures in the display and become frozen with grief, anger, sorry. This Iraquis woman was in a terrible psychological and emotional state, not knowing who to side with and who to blame. Her heart was torn in two! To see the damage to her countrymen by the same country she loves and lives in.

She was extremely shook up. Someone asked her if she would like to meet Lila Lipscomb from Gold Star Families for Peace, so they went up to Lila and brought her over to this young women.

The two saw each other and the tears rained down their faces as they hugged endlessly!

Then Lila asked this woman if she would like to speak. The woman at first refused, feeling powerless and too hurt. Then she decided to speak. And as she spoke, her words became stronger and stronger.

She spoke of the travesty of what has been done and she spoke with conviction that we MUST stop this from happening.

Then Lila told us that this is what happened to her after she participated in the Michael Moore movie. And she thanked Michael Moore for helping her stand up and find her voice. She said, "Each of us needs help finding our voice and speaking out, but we must do it. We must find the fortitude and courage to speak our mind for what we know is right and wrong. We can not accept being silenced when someone's child is going to die because this evil man has lied."

Follow the monkey, er, money...

Ex- Bush aide turns critic on Iraq
RAW STORY

The Wall Street Journal's first page Tuesday offers a detailed piece enumerating the concerns of a former Bush Administration aide and continued loyalist who has criticized the President's handling of Iraq reconstruction. The article tells of Stuart Bowen, "a Texas lawyer who parlayed a job on George W. Bush's first gubernatorial campaign into senior posts in Austin and Washington. He began the Iraq war lobbying for an American contractor seeking tens of millions of dollars in reconstruction work."

Bowen was so seen as a part of the Bush machine that he was singled out by name in a report by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who worried about the politicization of Iraq inspectors general -- the job to which Bowen was appointed. Bowen also worked on the 2000 Florida recount team and served as associate counsel under Alberto Gonzales. The piece is worth reading in its entirety but is paid-restricted; RAW STORY has excerpted a few graphs below.

#
Stuart Bowen discovered a U.S office in Iraq had paid a contractor twice for the same work. A U.S. official was allowed to handle millions of dollars in cash weeks after he was fired for incompetence. Of the $119.9 million allocated for regional projects, $89.4 million was disbursed without contracts or other documentation. An additional $7.2 million couldn't be found at all.

Mr. Bowen has become one of the most prominent and credible critics of how the administration has handled the occupation of Iraq. In a series of blistering public reports, he has detailed systemic management failings, lax or nonexistent oversight, and apparent fraud and embezzlement on the part of the U.S. officials charged with administering the rebuilding efforts.

Mr. Bowen's audits later found evidence that a public relations push to use captured Iraqi money to build many small-scale rebuilding projects by the handover date led contracting officials to take shortcuts that made it difficult to determine where the money actually went. In Hillah, for instance, a contracting officer told Mr. Bowen's investigators that he had been given $6.75 million in cash on June 21 with the expectation that he would spend the entire amount before the handover, which ultimately took place two days earlier than planned on June 28.

more... http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Bush_aide_turns_critic_on__0726.html

Suz,

Very inspirational opening thread. Living in the red suburbs I find myself longing for progressive events. Your post made me feel like I just attended one. Thank-you. It is posts like yours that motivate us to move our neighbors and this country to a higher plane.

Ok...and as I'm going down memory lane...

Lila also spoke of the soldiers in Iraq who have adopted her and who she has adopted. Since her son was killed, she has made repeated visits to Iraq.

The soldiers there speak to her about their fears and concerns. They speak to her about their duty, their love of their country, and their anger to be in Iraq who didn't attack us instead of Afghanistan.

In her, they found someone to talk to who understands them and their fears.

I'm glad she's there for them and that they are there for her.

They are the reason to we need to work so hard.

Connecting the dots....

I have never been able to get through to Washington Journal, all these years of getting up very early and I have never been able to get through.(In Seattle I had to get up at 4:am now in Hawaii make it 1:am.)

Sen. Sam Brownback was on today talking about "his" stem cell bills.

When he was asked about the moral issues of 'taking' of lives by war
and then by capital punishment,
(yet he so disagrees with cast-off embryo use.)

He discussed the difference between
an "innocent" life and a "guilty" life
and those who are "old enough to choose" (war).
And how the argument had been clearly defined.

(I'm fit to be tied, a nice way of saying, hold me back gentleman, I want to beat him with a stick!)

These 'men' who run our country will twist 'the turn' any way they want to achieve their final goals.

I submit that if 'men-of-todays politics' had reproductive abilities there would be a drive-thru on every corner providing stem cells, embryos, abortions and adoptions. All in one stop, for a 'nice' price.

I have been fighting to 'own' my body since the sixties and now we are on shaky ground.. again!

(Suz's sad story just flipped the switch!)
~*~

I leave you today with the famous words of our current president (not mine either), perhaps you remember...

This is a short poem made up entirely of actual quotations from George W. Bush.

These have been arranged, only for aesthetic purposes, by Washington Post writer, Richard Thompson. (Back before reporters lived in fear.)

MAKE THE PIE HIGHER!
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
And potential mental losses.

Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet
Become more few?

How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.

I know that the human being
And the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope,
Where our wings take dream.

Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
Make the pie higher!
------------------------------

I'll put some coffee on and see if tutter wanders in :)

Posted really at 4:15AM Hawaii time

Hi folks -

Good to be back after a few weeks of vacation! Interesting stuff here for the last few days! This is off topic, but...

My husband's high school friend Jason Altmire is making a run for congress in Pennsylvania. He is hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Melissa Hart in the Pittsburgh area. She is a Bush rubber-stamper. Jason is a democrat who has been gaining recognition in the Pittsburgh area as an up-and-comer for the past few years.

He is on Rick Santorum's radar, and has already been given some trouble by that jerk. You can check out Jason's website at www.jasonaltmire.com, and support him if you can.

Thanks all, and keep up the good work!

He is on Rick Santorum's radar, and has already been given some trouble by that jerk.

Posted by: Carol at July 26, 2005 10:15 AM

I'd expect nothing less from Sick Rectorum.

Posted by: Carol at July 26, 2005 10:15 AM

Being on Santorums radar is a badge of honor to me.

Oncall;

I think Jason sees it that way as well, although, with his Washington experience, he is acutely aware of the trouble Santorum could cause.

It may be a very expensive race!

Can journalism be on the rise???

Posted by: Karen at July 26, 2005 09:03 AM

Hope springs eternal.