The War and the Veterans: Ron Paul is so right.
.
Anyone with a brain or a heart knows that the war in the MidEast has been a catastrophic mistake.
Ron Paul frequently cites the thousands who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere - not just our soldiers, but also the civilians of the country the U.S. military is occupying.
What is little know, however, is the staggering number suicides by Veterans who have returned home - an average of 120 per week, or 17 per day. This adds an extra measure of horror to an already horrific situation.
So, for those republicans (and democrats) who think the war should continue, you might relay some of the facts of the story from AlterNet. It is grim and serious and bad; but should be required reading for us all. Lest we forget our Veterans, their bravery and how much they have suffered.
Ron Paul is right again: it's time to end this insanity.
U.S. checking possibility of pumping oil -
from northern Iraq to Haifa, via Jordan
By Amiram Cohen
The United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The request came in a telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram.
The new pipeline would take oil from the Kirkuk area, where some 40 percent of Iraqi oil is produced, and transport it via Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel. The U.S. telegram included a request for a cost estimate for repairing the Mosul-Haifa pipeline that was in use prior to 1948. During the War of Independence, the Iraqis stopped the flow of oil to Haifa and the pipeline fell into disrepair over the years.
The National Infrastructure Ministry has recently conducted research indicating that construction of a 42-inch diameter pipeline between Kirkuk and Haifa would cost about $400,000 per kilometer. The old Mosul-Haifa pipeline was only 8 inches in diameter.
National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky said yesterday that the port of Haifa is an attractive destination for Iraqi oil and that he plans to discuss this matter with the U.S. secretary of energy during his planned visit to Washington next month. Paritzky added that the plan depends on Jordan's consent and that Jordan would receive a transit fee for allowing the oil to piped through its territory. The minister noted, however, that "due to pan-Arab concerns, it will be hard for the Jordanians to agree to the flow of Iraqi oil via Jordan and Israel."
Sources in Jerusalem confirmed yesterday that the Americans are looking into the possibility of laying a new pipeline via Jordan and Israel. (There is also a pipeline running via Syria that has not been used in some three decades.)
Iraqi oil is now being transported via Turkey to a small Mediterranean port near the Syrian border. The transit fee collected by Turkey is an important source of revenue for the country. This line has been damaged by sabotage twice in recent weeks and is presently out of service.
In response to rumors about the possible Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline, Turkey has warned Israel that it would regard this development as a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli relations.
Sources in Jerusalem suggest that the American hints about the alternative pipeline are part of an attempt to apply pressure on Turkey.
Iraq is one of the world's largest oil producers, with the potential of reaching about 2.5 million barrels a day. Oil exports were halted after the Gulf War in 1991 and then were allowed again on a limited basis (1.5 million barrels per day) to finance the import of food and medicines. Iraq is currently exporting several hundred thousand barrels of oil per day.
During his visit to Washington in about two weeks, Paritzky also plans to discuss the possibility of U.S. and international assistance for joint Israeli-Palestinian projects in the areas of energy and infrastructure, natural gas, desalination and electricity
The War on Iraq... Bush keeps making plans...
cw
Here is the White House link to the 27 November announcement
"Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America"
It reads like Iraq is just became like a little brother to the United States.
Bush doesn't miss a beat.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071126-11....
cw
Illegal War
Impeachment is on the way. The reason to go to war was not for security reasons. The executive lied and used 911 to get public support. This war is illegal, and the military should not be in war for Bush&Co. to make immense profits, while young soldiers are dying for an illegal war. JAG should have immediately acted, unless they are part the conspirators. Their Commander-in-Chief lied to you. The only candidate to want to get the troops out immediately is Ron Paul. You know who you have to vote for. Punishment for those who made this deception in order to go to war, are going to be put on trial, punished and I hope that the people who vote for a war candidate, is certainly not a Christian, and should ask the Lord for forgiveness for allowing so many people to die, FOR OIL!!! Is that a Military job? Another "Tonkin war". Total disregard for human lives! I'm mad as hell! Think before you vote, don't believe those that belong to CFR who have a different agenda, and if an elected official refuses to say what was said at those meetings, there is a conflict of interest. The civil servants are working for the people who have elected them, not any other secretive organization.
Taomaster
Pat Buchanan--Ron Paul's running mate?
Did anyone catch the interview on Hannity and Colmes 11-26-07-with Mr. Buchanan marketing his new book?
Wow...he sounded like Ron Paul's running mate.
Hannity really respects Buchannan and didn't attack him like he does to Ron Paul...but 99% of everything that Pat B. said was right from the gospel of Ron Paul.
Buchanan deserves alot of the credit re: Border issues back whenever he ran for president.
I wish you all could see the interview for yourselves...you'd think Pat B. was Ron Paul's running mate or Chief of Staff.
That would be a
That would be a disaster.
www.ronpaul2008.com
www.teaparty07.com
www.ronpaul2008.com
Supporting the Troops of the 3rd Squadron 73rd Cavalry Airborne
Douglas, thanks for telling your story and for doing what you're doing to support the troops. I've donated $50 and hope that small contribution helps you achieve your goals.
We won the war. Time to bring the troops home so that they can be available when they are needed to protect our country.
I would agree we won the war - I am for RP for other reasons
I think OIF was a success as I believe it did "drain the swamp" of a significant amount of idiots in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Europe who wanted to die for their insane belief that they could control Europe (which was their plan - it was a non sequitur for anyone to imply that they were fighting us because we were free and prosperous).
I live in Europe and I saw a lot of riff-raff disappear from around the train stations of Germany and France: they went off to die in Iraq and never returned. Before 3/03, I felt very uncomfortable around these people who glowered at people in European city centers. Now I see nothing but friendly Muslims in Paris or Munich.
The peaceful or pro-American Muslims stayed in Europe and did not fight. :-)
Having said that, I now believe the greater WOT is now more about supporting American feminist hatred of Islamic male chauvinism.
Hillary Clinton will wage relentless ideological and physical war against Islam if she is elected.
I don't believe we have any business asking young males to die in the service of American-style feminism and I especially do not believe that we should ever force western "journalism" on any society.
When you fight a war, there comes a time (very soon) when you have to let the men on the other side save face and salvage their own culture,
I am in Russia right now. Putin just accused the US of meddling in their election process and we all know that this is true.
We need to mind our own business and seek real democracy inside the USA.
The real enemies are within. We need to peaceably influence them as we are fighting an uphill battle with our 2 party system to get many of our type in Congress.
Neo-Cons Say NO to Supporting the Troops! How about you?
Hello my name is Douglas Hostetler and I live in Indianapolis, Indiana where I sell real estate. Selling real estate is a tough business nowadays but not nearly as tough as living and working in the combat zone called Iraq. You see I wasn’t always a realtor in my younger days during the cold war I felt a need to join the U.S. Armed Forces so I talked to some recruiters, The Air Force, The Navy, My dad was a Marine in Vietnam so I skipped that recruiter (no offense leather necks) and finally ended up signing with the Army. They offered me a chance to go to Airborne School after basic training and AIT and maybe become a paratrooper. Well as a 19 year old kid how could I pass? So off to FT. Knox I go to be trained as an armor crewman.
About five months later it’s time to go to FT. Benning, Georgia. I could write pages on that three week experience. It was a fantastic time and I was honored to join the brotherhood of the Airborne. After graduating jump school the DOD sends me orders to report to the 82nd Airborne Division at FT. Bragg, North Carolina. Ok if you have been paying attention I was trained to operate tanks, so why am I going to a unit that jumps out of perfectly good airplanes?
Ft. Bragg was the home of the free world’s only Airborne Armor Unit, the 3rd Airborne BN, 73rd Armor Regiment. This is basically a forward recon unit with really big guns. Our unit would l.a.p.e.s. 17 ton Sheridan tanks from C-130’s ten feet from the dz at over 130 mph. In case you are curious no one was in the tank at the time. But this is a deadly serious business even in peace time. There is a video on my YT channel about the unit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ji5... (This was one of my first vids so production quality is a little loose.)
As a paratrooper in this type of unit your entire life is about the unit and the mission. The people you serve with become your best friends and family. These are the people you trust with your life and they each work very hard to earn that respect. I still value those relationships eighteen years later.
Last June the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry, the same unit but without the tanks, (Graham Rudman Act) deployed to Iraq. The Command Sergeant Major of this unit is my former platoon buddy from eighteen years ago. His name is Tim Davis and if you have never been in the military he is the mother and father of these young paratroopers. He is the one responsible for their lives. For the past few months I have been sending care packages of beef jerky, candy, DVD’s etc. My personal commitment was one 25lbs box per month, these items are for the entire unit so it does not go far but they really appreciate this type of genuine support. So much so CSM Tim Davis called me from Iraq to tell me how much it boosts the moral of these young troopers to know people back home have not forgotten them.
Recently however I have not been able to keep up with the costs. So I have sent nothing for the last 60 days and they still have over 10 months left in Iraq. I thought it would be easy to get help to send care packages to the troops, right! Not so. I thought I could keep my personal feelings about the war to myself and ask pro-war civilians for donations and they would jump at the chance to do something so personal. I was wrong, apparently “supporting the troops” for these people extends only to putting magnetic stickers on their SUV’s.
So I am asking Ron Paul supporters to please donate. Please give what you can at the Chip In I have set up at: http://ronpaulsupportsourtroops.chi...
I will be posting videos about this project at my YT channel if you would like to follow this effort please subscribe.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user...
Thank you for reading.
Airborne, All The Way!
Join PyraBang the peoples search engine.
links broke
I'd loved to have checked out some of your links, but none of them worked for me.
Sorry About The Broken Links - Try These
Unit video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ji5Y6b_lIs
Chip In Page:
http://ronpaulsupportsourtroops.chipin.com/mypages/view/id/f...
My YT channel:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=airborne373
Join PyraBang the peoples search engine.
There must be some way
To get information about RP to returning veterans and their families. It might save a life. I know Dr. Paul's example in life and action has given me a new hope in mankind. He allowed me to forgive myself and pulled me out of the darkness.
Why hasn't this been picked
Why hasn't this been picked up more?
CBS did a recent story: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/cbsnews_investigat...
www.ronpaul2008.com
www.teaparty07.com
www.ronpaul2008.com
Source
I was curious what your source was for your statistic on suicides?
http://Mellomike.com
http://Mellomike.com
MSM just tells people surge is working
and everybody's fine and goes about their biz, never knowing that they ain't taking care of the wounded soldiers back home, or giving them the run around just to get care.
Well good if surge is working get our boys home, make Iraq take care of it's own, like we should be doing here with our soldiers.
It's bad enough we shouldn't have been in Iraq at all, spent trillions foolishly on the War on Terror so far, and Bin Laden is still at large, the supposed culprit of 9/11.
IMO, were not any safer than before 9/11.
Davy C Rockett
http://liberty-central.blogspot.com
http://screamfreedom.blogspot.com
http://cystic-fibrosis-symptom.com
http://medical-definitions.com
Support the Troops
This is the way I look at it. If someone thinks we should "stay the course" with our current foreign policy, there is a way that I can respect their opinion. My suggestion for them would be to go straight down to their local recruiter and enlist in the military. Now once they finish their basic training, they then can volunteer themselves to fight for our policies abroad!
However, I for one don’t care to go there, and I am a member of our reserve forces. Needless to say I have a little more at stake in this argument then 99%+ of my fellow citizens. If you are not going to put YOUR life on the line to support YOUR failed foreign policy, then please do us all a favor; shut your mouth. While you are at it, skip voting in the next election as well. Don’t worry, after all it is my duty to protect you, and I will do just that, by placing my vote for the candidate who is in the citizens of our countries best interest, Ron Paul.
There is a reason Dr Paul has the most donations of any candidate from individual members of the military. It is due to the fact that he truly supports their interests. We enlisted to protect THIS country; not some foreign country, and certainly not some elitist's personal interests. My life and those of my fellow members of our armed forces is not worth sacrificing over some corporation's interests nor for the interests of some foreign citizen.
Veterans deserve our support
I can definitly relate to your post, and this thread in particular. I am a Vet, having served during the miserable days of Jimmy Carter and the mess he helped create in the Middle East. During the late 70's, I witnessed the dismal state of the VA(Veterans Administration) and the COMPLETE disregard for Veterans of the Vietnam War by fedgov. Over the next few years, conditions improved to a certain extent during President Reagan's term. But we are now in the midst of a complete meltdown of concern for both active duty and discharged Veterans.
It seems as if every few days a new scandal is mentioned in MSM in regards to the abuses to our military personel by jorge Bush and fedgov. From the decision last year not to give them a pay raise, while politicians stole hugh increases in salary, to VA hospital overcrowding to the latest news that fedgov wants these fine patriots to give back their signing bonuses when they are wounded in action and are dismissed from service "because they cannot complete their contract." I work for the Postal Service and see average Americans everyday showing more respect for our troops by sending 'care packages' to them than by our own government.
I can not imagine the repercusions years from now that we will be suffering due to the neglect to these warriors for "peace".
a few days ago, on CNN's "Broken Government" series
I saw how our government is treating these heros. It almost made me sick to my stomach, the BS they put these good people through. No matter how you feel about this expensive war, this is NOT the place to skimp. They deserve FIRST CLASS care for the rest of their lives, instead of bureaucratic BS like "those fragments of metal in you aren't 'service related' injuries." It's disgusting. And it's only part of why we need change in this country.
JMR