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Right Direction? Pentagon Launches Africa Command

CitizenSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:40 -0700

Before September 11th, 2001, American military strategy in Africa was little more than a cursory investment to buffer its interests against those of the Soviet Union, then Russia, China, and the Middle East governments. Now the Pentagon is taking a new approach to the African continent, one that may be especially welcome.

Part of the new strategy is to create a new regional headquarters called “Africa Command” responsible for coordinating American military projects on that continent. The idea is that the Pentagon will forge a “civilian-military partnership” in which the Defense Department will work with the State Department and Agency for International Development and the host nation’s security and development agencies as well. They hope to assign military personnel to train local anti-terrorism forces, dig wells, build sewers, and assist with inoculations of the local citizenry.

Not everyone is excited about the development. To see why,

Front Page: Pentagon Dedicates Memorial, Bush Allows Pakistan Raids, Thailand Renominates PM

CitizenSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:51:15 -0700

Pentagon Dedicates Memorial:
The two-acre memorial to American Airlines Flight 77 will be dedicated today by President Bush at the Pentagon. The memorial's 184 steel and granite benches are engraved with each victim's name and oriented along the plane's flight path the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Unlike the rest of the Pentagon, the memorial will be open to the public all day, every day, starting at 7 p.m. tonight.

Bush Allows Pakistan Raids:
President Bush approved orders in July to allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults into Pakistan without approval by the Pakistani government. Officials say they will notify Pakistan when they carry out missions, but that they will not ask for permission.

Thailand Renominates PM:
Two days after being forced to resign due to constitutional misdeeds, Thailand's prime minister has been renominated by his party. The party claims there is nothing in the constitution to stop them from doing so, but the opposition and the thousands of protesters who called for the prime minister's resignation will likely disagree. After a two-hour meeting, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said, "I am accepting the nomination in order to protect democracy in the country."

Source

Shocking: Bad Electrical Work Killing Troops in Iraq

LibertySugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0700

The death of a Green Beret in Iraq, electrocuted while showering this past January, finally attracted the attention of the Pentagon and US lawmakers to the issue of shoddy and dangerous electrical work on US bases in Iraq. At one building complex, soldiers have complained of electrical shocks in their living quarters daily.

For millions of dollars, private contractors have upgraded Iraqi buildings, including the electrical systems, that house American troops. The New York Times got its hands on internal Army documents that show the electrical work done by private contractors has caused more deaths and injuries than the Pentagon has acknowledged.

Critics accuse these companies of overbiling, failing to protect female employees from sexual assault, and providing unsafe water to soldiers. Electricians working for KBR, a former subsidiary of Haliburton receiving a bulk of the work, say they warned the company about the danger the unsafe work posed to soldiers; but, their complaints fell on deaf ears. While allegations of overbilling and corruption concern me, it's even worse when the subsequent work puts soldiers in harm's way.

Source

What Happened Inside the Pentagon After Being Struck on 9/11

CitizenSugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:55:26 -0700

What Happened Inside the Pentagon After Being Struck on 9/11 When word had first started to circulate about a plane hitting the World Trade Center in New York, Joint Staff officers at the Pentagon grew anxious. When a second plane struck, there was no doubt about it — a terrorist attack was underway. Then came something even more unthinkable: a huge explosion on the western side of the Pentagon, followed by a massive inferno. The nation's military headquarters was under attack, too.

Military Prosecutor Says Justice Became Political at Gitmo

LibertySugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:30:01 -0700

Col. Morris D. Davis, the US military's former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, testified yesterday that top Pentagon officials interfered with his work for political reasons, and told him that there could be no detainee acquittals. The former prosecutor found himself on a peculiar side of a court case: testifying on behalf of a detainee, Osama bin Laden's driver Salim Hamdan, and being cross examined by his prosecutorial successor.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann (pictured), oversaw the military commissions and allegedly told prosecutor-turned-witness Davis: "If we don't get some cases going before the elections, this thing's going to implode." He also told him that charges against well-known detainees “could have real strategic political value” and that there could be no acquittals.

Last night, TV host Keith Olbermann's asserted that the policy Davis described, co-opted the values of the very constitution and sacred freedoms for which the heroes of the military have fought and died. To see that chilling video, and to find out what else went down in the court,

YouTube Video of Fort Bragg Gets Results

CitizenSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:00:18 -0700

We've been focused on the ills of YouTube lately, but here's one story where the website was used for good instead of evil. Army dad Edward Frawley paid a welcome home visit on his 22-year-old son — just returning from a tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division in the mountains of Afghanistan — and he was shocked to see the deplorable conditions of his son's barracks at Fort Bragg, NC.

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In our high-tech age when we want to send a grievance we don't have to wait for a carrier pigeon — and Frawley didn't. He put together this thoughtfully narrated 10 minute video telling the story of his son and showing the conditions, which included moldy walls, a bathroom that looked flooded with sewage, uncapped sewage pipes and peeling paint.

In just a few days, Senator Elizabeth Dole of NC had declared the condition of the barracks “wholly unacceptable and it must be immediately corrected.” She contacted the Army secretary and just three days after the YouTube clip was posted, the Army responded to the claims. Repairs are under way, and the creative response seems to have spurred action.

Is this a happy ending, or a story highlighting a bigger problem? Are you surprised to see this dad had to take matters to the court of YouTube?

Pentagon Pauses Propaganda Program

LibertySugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Since the build-up to Iraq, retired US military generals, presented as independent mediate analysts, were in fact part of an extensive Pentagon program called "Message Force Multipliers."

The New York Times reported last week that the experienced personnel, appearing to want nothing more than to help Americans assess a post-9/11 world, were actually part of a carefully organized Pentagon information apparatus used to disseminate a message favorable to the Bush Administration.

The effort began with the build-up to Iraq, and television stations continued to use these retirees, who also had extensive and current military contracts, until yesterday when the Pentagon suspended the program.

The Pentagon's spokesman said that the media-infiltration operation was being reevaluated due to criticism that the retired officers offered Pentagon talking points as their own.

Who do you think is more to blame for this dishonest representation —the Bush Administration, or the willing television networks ready to use war for ratings? Do you think they collectively and gravely deceived the American public, or should it have been obvious to viewers that the "analysts" were puppets of the Pentagon? Is this fraud? Treason? Or politics as usual?

Source

Pentagon Favors Stem-Cell Research to Help Soldiers

CitizenSugar — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:00:41 -0700

Imagine soldiers returning from battle with missing limbs, burned skin, and damaged organs from a confrontation. Then imagine them days later completely regenerated, healed with their own tissue. According to the Pentagon, this day is not far off.

The Pentagon has joined forces with universities and hospitals in a $250-million research institute to fund an initiative to regenerate soldiers’ torn bodies. Lt. General Eric Schoomaker, the army surgeon general said: “We’ll use the soldier’s own stem cells to repair nerve damage, to regrow muscles and tendons, to repair burn wounds, and to help them heal without scarring.” To see how the plan would work,

Are the Pentagon and Bush Administration to Blame For Torture?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:00:42 -0700

What's being called the Torture Memo (written in 2003 and made public yesterday) sheds a bold light on upper official decrees on the definition of torture at the beginning of the Iraq War. The memo contains language telling Pentagon senior leadership that inflicting pain would not be considered torture unless it caused “death, organ failure or permanent damage.” It is the most fully developed legal justification that has yet come to light for inflicting physical and mental pressure on suspects, and it was declassified in response to a request by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act. Campus Progress has a great breakdown of the quotes and arguments from the memo.While top Pentagon officials, including Donald Rumsfeld, have said they never condoned mistreatment of prisoners, the role played by senior officials at the Pentagon has never been fully explained. Given the way some of the soldiers were held personally accountable for the events at Abu Ghraib, do you think the "culture of abuse" actually came as a directive from the top?Source

Are the Pentagon and Bush Administration to Blame For Torture?

Yes. It's obvious this memo motivated torture and abuse.

No. It's impossible to make a conclusive decision about responsibility based on this.

Other. It's much more complicated; I'll explain in the comments.

Pentagon Denied Gay Rep's Request to Travel with Partner

LibertySugar — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:00:53 -0700

The Pentagon initially denied Representative Tammy Baldwin's request to bring her domestic partner with her on a fact-finding trip to Europe over the Easter recess. As usual, the delegation traveled on a military flight. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi petitioned Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, before the trip was approved.

At the center of the story is the definition of "spouse." According to the House guidelines, members of Congress can travel with spouses so long as there is room, and protocol requires it. The same goes for an adult child; however, Congress must be reimbursed for the second guest. Baldwin and her partner have exchanged vows, but her home state of Wisconsin does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Apparently Secretary Gates told Speaker Pelosi that it was up to her to make an exception. To see what happened,