No US Soldiers Dead in Falllujah???

IRAQ: Journalist Charges Censorship by
U.S. Military in Fallujah
Sunday, 13 July 2008
by Dahr Jamail
(IPS) - U.S. journalist Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing. On Jun. 26, a suicide bomber attacked a city council meeting in Fallujah, 69 kms west of Baghdad, between local tribal sheikhs and military officials. [...] Miller ran with the Marines he was with to the scene of the attack. "As I ran I saw human pieces...a skull cap with hair, bone shards," he told IPS during a telephone interview from the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. "When we arrived at the building it was chaotic. [...] "I went in and there were over 20 people's remains all over the place," Miller continued, Of the Marines I jogged in with, someone started to vomit. Others were standing around, not knowing what to do. It was completely surreal." [...] "I thought, 'Nobody in the U.S. has any idea what it means when they hear that 20 people died in a suicide bombing.' I want people to be able to associate those numbers with the scene and the actual loss of human life. And to show why soldiers are suffering from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]," Miller told IPS.
[...] In an Iraqi Police station in Karmah, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was brought in to investigate the bombing. Millers' photos were the only ones of the scene, so the NCIS team asked for them. "I made them copies, but then one of the Marines came in and told me to delete my memory card after I give them the photos, and I refused," Miller told IPS, "I told the NCIS that if they forced me to delete them, I would stop sharing them. So they stopped pressing that issue." [...] Miller explained to IPS that he meticulously showed his photos to the Marines he was with to make sure he was not going to show any photos that would upset the family members of the deceased Marines. "They were all okay with them, so then about 96 hours after the bombing I published the photos on my blog." [...] "Tuesday [Jul. 1] I awoke to a call in their combat operations centre, and the person on the phone told me they were a PAO (Public Affairs Officer) at Camp Fallujah, and he wanted me to take my blog down right away," Miller told IPS. "I asked them why, and was told then called back after five minutes by a higher ranking PAO who claimed I had broken my contract by showing photos of dead Americans with U.S. uniforms and boots." [my bold] Miller said the PAO claimed he was not allowed, by the embed contract, to show dead or wounded U.S. citizens or soldiers in the field. "I never signed any contract for that," Miller said. He was called back after another five minutes and told his embed was terminated and they would send him back to Baghdad on the next flight. He was then taken back to Camp Fallujah where he said, "Everyone was extremely angry and fired up at me."
[...] Miller explained that he grew nervous when the flight was cancelled due to a sandstorm, and then a security guard was assigned to him.
"I started to feel uncomfortable with this," Miller explained. "The next day, Gen. Kelly, [Major General John Kelly, who is the Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force] wanted to have some words with me. I was to meet with him at 3 pm, and we sat outside in the sun for two hours and he never showed."
Miller was told he would be flown out that night, but he was deleted from the flight and told that General Kelly wanted to see him, so he waited again until Thursday, Jul. 3. Again the general did not appear, so Miller was given an official letter about the grounds for the termination of his embed, signed by Gen. Kelly, and flown to Baghdad.
"Now, as I think about it, I think they needed the extra time to figure out what they were going to say about my dismissal," Miller said. "Their original reason ended up being bogus, so they had to figure something else out." [...] Miller was given an official letter about the grounds for the termination of his embed, signed by Gen. Kelly, and flown to Baghdad.
[...] The letter he was given stated reasons for his dismissal as "you photographed the remains of U.S. soldiers", "you posted these images along with detailed commentary", and "by posting the images and your commentary you violated 14 H and O of the news media agreement you signed".
In addition, the letter, which Miller read to IPS, stated, "By providing detailed information of the effectiveness of the attack and the response of U.S. forces to it, you have put all U.S. forces in Iraq at greater risk for harm." [my bold] [...] The Pentagon would not comment on the story when contacted by IPS, saying they had no information on Miller's case beyond what Central Command had already posted.
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4280&Itemid=81

See his work here: http://www.zoriah.com/

Berkeley Anti-Recruitment Report

Sent in by World Can't Wait:
Demonstration to Shut Down Marine Recruiting, February 12 2008
Tuesday night, February 12, the Berkeley City Council voted not to send a letter to the Marine Corps telling them their new recruiters, near Berkeley High School, "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders." The Council had received 24,000 messages, reportedly mostly favorable to their stand, but also a great storm of protest on right-wing blogs. Republican politicians in California, and US Senators threatened to take away funds for education and transportation projects in Berkeley, and vilified the Council for being against the war. The Council refused to apologize to the Marines, however, and reaffirmed its stand against the Iraq war and occupation.
Protest started Monday in Berkeley with an overnight vigil supporting the Council's stand in front of City Hall. World Can't Wait activists described the scene as "cool. Activists from Code Pink and World Can't Wait, were singing, making banners, talking all night." There was some good controversy about how to talk about the troops over a banner that the Revolution Club made, saying, "What are they recruiting for? Murder? Rape? Torture?" A theme all day was whether the US military is committing war crimes, while World Can't Wait held photos showing atrocities at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
At 5am Tuesday, pro-war protesters called Move America Forward began arriving. They were pushing and shoving, and the police separated the anti and pro-war sides with MLK Drive. The pro-war group, numbering in the dozens during the day, covered a location that skateboarders regularly use. Media reports that the kids were harassing the pro-war group only because they were pushed out are contradicted by World Can't Wait activists who say the skateboarders argued with them over politics.
A 10:30 am press conference organized by Code Pink featured Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, Giovanni Jackson from World Can't Wait, Ann Wright, and an Army veteran recently released from active duty.
A core of Berkeley High School students were involved in the anti-war protests all day. They texted friends inside the school, and at lunch, a "wave" of 700 students poured out of the school and flowed in a noisy wave over to the anti-war group. There they got signs, t shirts and, because someone made a donation on the spot, hundreds of orange bandanas were given out.
A high school administrator told the students they were being "used" by the protesters, which led the students to get on the bullhorn and speak with great intensity about why they were joining the protest. An immoral war and torture are in their future if it's not stopped. But organizers also heard from Berkeley HS teachers who supported the antiwar protest, who had already led discussions with their students. Teachers from an art school nearby sent their students to sketch the scene.
The students went over to the pro-war group, and there was a political confrontation between the red/white/blue flag waving, medal-wearing older crowd, and the high school kids who asked how they could defend the war. Arguments broke out all over. The Berkeley police came out in riot gear, their backs to the pro-war crowd, telling the students to back off. The police used their batons to move the students back, and they slowly stepped backward, but did not turn and leave or scatter. Suddenly, they "died" to represent the million+ Iraqis killed in the occupation.
World Can't Wait activists report the police were rough. One person got a broken rib; another a broken finger. Kids were dragged out of larger groups by police. Many students stayed out of school for the afternoon. Two boys aged 13 and 15 were arrested, and by late afternoon a group of 300 gathered in front on the police station to demand the kids' release. More riot police fronted the building and violently cleared the steps with batons, arresting an 18 year old woman who was arguing for the release of her brother. As older antiwar activists arrived after the work day, a rally formed in front of the police station. They chanted "This is what a police state looks like!"
The students were released on Tuesday.
For Move America Forward’s interpretation of today’s events, go here:
Berkeley Code Pink Out-Gunned By Move America Forward Pro-Troop Supportershttp://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=berkeley2.12.08.htm

Arcata, CA Protects It's Youth from Lying Recruiters

Berkeley, CA has been under siege since the right wingnuts decided they’d be “true patriots” by intimidating, shouting, generally abusing anyone who disagrees with their point of view. The right of the people of Berkeley to self-determination is fiercely being fought. It makes me proud!

Can Your Town Ban the Military from Recruiting Anyone Under 18?
By David Swanson
February 05, 2008
Of course, Americans must be 18 to serve in the military, but much of the military's recruiting work is directed at those who have not yet turned 18.
According to Dave Meserve in Arcata, Calif., localities can avoid the consequences of the No Child Left Behind law (which turns students' names and contact information over to recruiters) not only by helping students and parents to opt out of recruitment lists or by challenging the ability of recruiters to be on school campuses, but also by prohibiting any recruiting activities that involve kids under 18.
Meserve has drafted an ordinance and submitted it to the city clerk and the city attorney in Arcata. They will have 15 days to review it and provide a title and ballot summary for the November 2008 ballot. Then Meserve can begin gathering signatures to get it on the ballot.
Why not do the same thing in your town or major city? Here's the draft ordinance:

ARCATA YOUTH PROTECTION ACT
AN ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THE MILITARY RECRUITMENT OF

ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN

To protect the welfare of our youth, the People of Arcata Ordain as Follows:
No person who is employed by or an agent of the United States government shall, within the City of Arcata, in the execution of his or her job duties, recruit, initiate contact with for the purpose of recruiting, or promote the future enlistment of any person under the age of eighteen into any branch of the United States Armed Forces.

Keep Americans Terrorized

More fuel to the fire on the controversy of the growing military presence in our communities, but at least they had the courtesy to leave, unlike Berkeley where the controversy continues to be fueled by the right wing noise machine:
VACATE THE PREMISES
Mayor to Marines: Leave downtown
He says urban exercises scare people [Ya think?]
By JC REINDL, BLADE STAFF WRITER, 2/9/08
A company of Marine Corps Reservists received a cold send-off from downtown Toledo yesterday by order of Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.
The 200 members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., planned to spend their weekend engaged in urban patrol exercises on the streets of downtown as well as inside the mostly vacant Madison Building, 607 Madison Ave.
Toledo police knew days in advance about their plans for a three-day exercise. Yet somehow the memo never made it to Mayor Finkbeiner, who ordered the Marines out yesterday afternoon just minutes before their buses were to arrive.
"The mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people," said Brian Schwartz, the mayor's spokesman.
[...] Mr. Schwartz said the Marines declined Mayor Finkbeiner's alternative offer for them to practice their urban patrol tactics inside the former Jones Junior High School, 550 Walbridge Ave.
Major O'Neill said he was not aware of such an offer. [Marines lie? Incredible!]
A pair of Marines spent the better part of yesterday setting up the Madison Building with generators, heaters, radios, and food to become the unit's overnight headquarters.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080209/NEWS16/802090394