In Steven Spielberg’s haunting film, Saving Private Ryan, we see a mortally wounded soldier reference his own demise by beseeching the man whose life he just saved to “earn this....”

We are quickly approaching Memorial Day weekend. Let’s ask ourselves what we have done in return for those who give up their lives, limbs and emotional well being so that we can enjoy, not only a most cherished day off from work, but more importantly, the comforts that living in the United States provides.

One thing I think we can all do is continue our vigilant watch upon our own government; and if this is not being done, to begin. We need, indeed, to question authority.

By doing so, we can hope to save our troops from unnecessarily heading into danger.

We have troops fighting daily in Afghanistan and Iraq with no end to the conflicts in sight. Our troops are stretched thin; enlistment has plummeted. During a recent press conference, the President provided glowing reports about success in Iraq while a few days later General Richard Myers Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff contradicted the President’s glowing review. And yet, the Bush administration continues its threats towards other countries.

The following represents a few things I have learned about Iraq.

See Dick Go. Go Dick Go.

It appears that Vice President Dick Cheney is single-mindedly zealous in his pursuit for Iraqi oil and his been since 2001 and earlier. In July 2003 Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, issued a media advisory stating “documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under court order as a result of Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information act lawsuits concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, contain a map of Iraqi oil fields, pipelines, refineries and terminals as well as two charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects and “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.” The documents which are dated March 2001 are available on the following link: http://www.judicialwatch.org/071703.b_pr.shtml.

British Memo Indicates Bush Made Intelligence Fit Iraq Policy

On May 5^th, Knight Ridder Newspapers wrote: “A highly classified British memo, leaked in the midst of Britain’s just concluded election campaign, indicates that President Bush decided to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by summer 2002 and was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supports his policy.” Read the complete story at: http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/11574296.htm

On May 5^th, 88 Members of the Congress sent a letter to President Bush asking hard questions about this memo. The next day, the House Judiciary Committee issued a press release about their actions. Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee issued the following statement: “These allegations strike at the heart of our democracy and present the most troubling constitutional questions. Did the Administration lie to the American people about its intentions with respect to Iraq? Did the Administration engineer a confrontation with Saddam Hussein to justify the war? Did the Administration deliberately manipulate intelligence to deceive the American people about the strength of its case for war?” Read this in complete detail: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/releases/iraqltrpotuspr5605.pdf

The Sound of Silence

Yesterday I contacted the Judiciary Committee and asked if the White House had responded to the letter. The staffer I spoke with answered that the White House responded by saying that it “ would not comment on matters which effect so few people.”

Eighty-eight House members represent millions of Americans; thousands of U.S. troops are battling for their lives daily; tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, including children have been killed. Yet the White House completely dismisses it.

This incident has been kept so quiet that the Judiciary Committee convened a forum today to raise awareness about the media’s silence and bias. Called “From the Newsweek Controversy to the Downing Street Memo: Democratic Forum on Media Bias and the Future of Freedom of Press,” statements made there today are a MUST to review:

http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/mediabias.html

According to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), “the Los Angeles Times published a page 3 story on the memo on May 12, and the Washington Post ran a page 18 story the following day. More than two weeks after the story broke in the Sunday Times of London (5/1/05), it finally made the front page of a major U.S. newspaper, the Chicago Tribune (5/17/05)… But that coverage has been downplayed in general and is still completely absent from the nightly news.” http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2520

Executive Order

I’ve shared this recently but it’s worth sharing again. Note the date it was issued was approximately two weeks after President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq. Yet the order explicitly states that the “threats” against the Development Fund for Iraq, Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests therein …constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat….”

Executive Order: Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain

 Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/print/20030522-15.html

This Executive order is a neat tie in to a statement made by one of the world’s most renown linguists and political writer, George Lakoff: “…the Bush administration make the war look like much more like a self-interested enterprise than mere self-defense and a selfless war of liberation. If the real rationale for the Iraq War has been self-interested control-over oil resources, the regional economy, political influence, and military bases-if it was not self-defense and not selfless liberation, then President Bush betrayed the trust of our soldiers, the Congress, and the American people. Mere lying is a minor matter when betrayal is the issue.” – George Lakoff, Don’t Think of An Elephant

Also, just a reminder to read the statement of principles in www.newamericancentury.org. Written far in advance of 9/11, this 1997 policy outlines the Bush Administration’s plan for pre-emptive wars.

“Earn This”

A must read book for those of us who truly want to protect our troops and country, is the New York Times bestseller, Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency by Senator Robert C. Byrd. Senator Byrd is currently the longest serving United States senator and has served under 11 presidents. He opens a chapter entitled “Selling the War” with the following quote:

“Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor n England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship…. {v}oice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

--Hermann Goering, quoted in the Nuremberg Diary (1947) by G.M. Gilbert

Think of the troops always. Thanks for paying attention.

Julie