Project Censored: Story #1: Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by U.S. Occupation
2008/12/23
Project Censored: Story #24: Japan Questions 9/11, Global War on Terror
Project Censored: Story #24: Japan Questions 9/11, Global War on Terror
Project Censored: #24 Japan Questions 9/11
Story #24: Japan Questions 9/11, Global War on Terror
While al-Qaeda involvement in the planning of 9/11 attacks has long been widely accepted, not everyone agrees. Prominent among those questioning the actual story is a member of the Japanese Parliament, Yukihisa Fujita.
In testimony broadcast live on Japanese television in January of this year, Yukihisa challenged both the premise and the validity of the Global War on Terror through a debate on the ethics of renewing Japan’s "anti-terror law." That law had committed Japan to providing logistical support for coalition forces operating in Afghanistan.
Many of the points raised by Yukihisa are mirrored by conspiracy theorists:
Claims by a US Air Force official that the plane which hit the Pentagon made a U-turn and avoided the Defense Secretary’s office, a manuever considered impossible for an unskilled, first-time pilot,
Photo’s indicating damage to the World Trade Center was not consistent with being hit by a plane,
Statements from a New York fireman involved in rescue operations stating that a series of explosions resembled a professional demolition,
And records of what appeared to be insider trading of United Airline stock leading up to September 11th.
But Yukihisa laid them out in the Parliamentary hearings and raised sufficient concern among fellow lawmakers that extension of Japan’s anti-terror law was blocked. But only temporarily.
Following the defeat of the bill in the Upper House, the Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda took control and resubmitted the bill to the Lower House. It is there that the ruling conservative party holds the majority. They readily passed the measure and it became law, in effect nullifying the Upper House veto……
It was the first time in half a century that a Japanese government has undertaken such tactics. In a land renowned for respectful and civil discourse, this is considered a drastic measure. And a series of events which has received little press attention.
Our thanks to author Benjamin Fulford who wrote the material from which we culled this report and to student researchers: Kyle Corcoran, Alan Scher, Bill Gibbons, and Elizabeth Rathbun
Source: Rense.com and Rock Creek Free Press, January 14, 2008 Title: “Transcript Of Japanese Parliament’s 911 Testimony” Author: Benjamin Fulford
Student Researchers: Kyle Corcoran, Alan Scher, Bill Gibbons, and Elizabeth Rathbun
Faculty Evaluator: Mickey S. Huff, MA
Testimony in the Japanese parliament, broadcast live on Japanese television in January 2008, challenged the premise and validity of the Global War on Terror. Parliament member Yukihisa Fujita insisted that an investigation be conducted into the war’s origin: the events of 9/11.
In a parliament Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee session held to debate the ethics of renewing Japan’s “anti-terror law,” which commits Japan to providing logistical support for coalition forces operating in Afghanistan, Fujita opened the session by stating, “I would like to talk about the origin of this war on terrorism, which was the attacks of 9/11, . . . When discussing these anti-terror laws we should ask ourselves, what was 9/11? And what is terrorism?”
Fujita pointed out that, “So far the only thing the government has said is that we think it was caused by al-Qaeda because President Bush told us so. We have not seen any real proof that it was al-Qaeda.” He reminded parliament that twenty-four Japanese citizens were killed on 9/11, yet the mandate of a criminal investigation by the Japanese government never followed. “This is a crime so surely an investigation needs to be carried out,” said Fujita (Censored 2008, #16).
Fujita went on extensively to ask “about the suspicious information being uncovered and the doubts people worldwide are having about the events of 9/11.”
The Japanese parliament viewed several slides from the Pentagon and World Trade Center (WTC) sites as Fujita explained each. The slides showed evidence inconsistent with official explanation: damage in and around the Pentagon was not consistent with the damage a 757 airplane would cause. Fujita noted, “Also, there were more than eighty security cameras at the Pentagon, but officials have refused to release the footage. In any case, as you have just seen, there is no picture of the airplane or of its wreckage in any of these photographs. It is very strange that no such pictures have been shown to us.” A US Air Force official corroborated the fact that the plane executed a U-turn and avoided the Defense Secretary’s office, a feat that would be impossible for an unskilled first-time pilot to maneuver; and no air defense was made in the ninety-minute interval between the initial impact of the planes at the WTC and the Pentagon. Fujita added, “It is baffling that no flight records were found at any of four sites.” On the ground at the WTC sites, both sounds and visual evidence from explosions were verified. Flying debris shot out as far as 150 meters consistent with buildings exploding. A New York fireman during rescue operations confirmed that a series of explosions resembled a professional demolition, and a Japanese survivor heard explosions while fleeing the site. The World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7), forty-seven stories high and located one block away, collapsed into its footprint, seven hours after the main WTC buildings were attacked, in five or six seconds, although no plane struck it and it had minimal fire damage. Not only did the 9/11 Commission fail to mention WTC 7, but the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made no mention of it in their reports.
Fujita went on to detail proof of insider trading from September 6 through 8, when investors executed “put options” to sell stock in United and American Airlines at a fixed price. Finance specialist Keiichiro Asao responded with confirmation that such complex transaction would be the work of insiders rather than al-Qaeda.
Fujita then addressed Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, “I would like to know why the Prime Minister thinks it was the Taliban who was responsible for 9/11.” He continued, “We need to go back to the beginning and not just simply and blindly trust the US government explanation and indirect information provided by them. . . . We need to look at this evidence and ask ourselves what the war on terrorism really is. . . . We need to ask who the real victims of this war on terrorism are. I think the citizens of the world are its victims.”
“Prime Minister,” Fujita continued, “what about the origin of the War on Terror and the idea of whether it is right or wrong to participate in it? Is there really a reason to participate in this War on Terror?”
Fujita received support for concluding that the reason for participating in the US War on Terror needs to be investigated and analyzed. Opposition blocked the extension of Japan’s anti-terror law and colleagues acknowledged his bravery with congratulatory phone calls.
This came to an end in mid-January when, after months of parliamentary debates and the opposition of at least 50 percent of the Japanese public, Fukuda rammed the anti-terror bill through parliament. After the bill was voted down by opposition in the Upper House plenary session on January 12, the government resubmitted it later that same day to the Lower House, where the ruling conservative party holds the majority, and turned a bill into a law. Thus, they overturned a veto in the Upper House.
This is the first time in half a century that a Japanese government has resorted to such tactics—deemed a drastic measure by Japanese standards.1
According to Christopher W. Hughes, professor of politics and international studies at University of Warwick, “Fukuda’s government was under a lot of US pressure to re-deploy ships, and even if he was always somewhat doubtful about the importance of the mission in military terms and the whole US War on Terror, he perceived passing the bill as very important to US-Japan relations. This was also impressed upon him by a personal meeting with US President Bush.”
Citation
1. Axel Berkofsky, “Japan: The Deployment Dilemma,” International Relations and Security Network, January 24, 2008.
UPDATE BY BENJAMIN FULFORD
If you still believe that the English language corporate media is free, take a look behind the scenes at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) and think again.
I was a member of that club for over two decades, but I had no clue about what it really represented until I tried to stage a press conference about 9/11. From that point on all sorts of nasty things started to happen and I suddenly realized the place seemed more like a nest of spies than a club for journalists.
For example, people I did not know tried to have me evicted from the club, e-mails vanished from my inbox before I got to read them, and people started to spread the word that I had mental issues.
The list of insults to press freedom at the club since that initial conference is too long to write about in detail here, so I will merely cite the most recent example.
Yukihisa Fujita, a member of parliament for the opposition Democratic Party, in a parliamentary debate broadcast nationwide on NHK, asked Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda about many of the glaring discrepancies in the official US government explanation of what happened on 9/11. A member of parliament in Japan, a US ally, showed powerful evidence on national TV that the US government murdered 3,000 of its own citizens as well as people from Japan and many other nations. I suggested we call him for a press conference, and nine working journalists—representing a potential audience of billions—agreed. Usually, only three or more yes votes from working journalists is enough for an event to go ahead. Despite this, the Wall Street Journal’s James Sims, head of the Professional Activities Committee (PAC), in confederation with FCCJ President Martyn Williams, vetoed the event even though it was subject matter that they, as technical journalists, do not cover. They vetoed it in violation of Article 3 of the club bylaws that call for press freedom. Not only that, they kicked me off the PAC in a blatant attempt to shut me up.
Fujita has since been invited to speak to the EU parliament and many other venues. Fujita has been given a chance to ask more questions in parliament, and many Japanese news magazines have written about his activities. Books about 9/11 are also selling well in Japan. A growing group of Japanese politicians has become aware of what really happened on that day. The Japanese government itself actually knows the truth and is starting to affect the US–Japan alliance in fundamental ways. The Japanese government’s formal replies to Fujita’s questions show it is becoming increasingly suspicious that the US government murdered over twenty Japanese citizens. The long-term repercussions for US security could be huge.
KBR Accused In Toxic Scandal
VIDEO
KBR Accused In Toxic Scandal
The controversial military contractor firm KBR is being accused of putting U.S. soldiers at risk from inhaling a chemical at their facilities in Iraq. Armen Keteyian reports.
In April of 2003, James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard arrived in Southern Iraq to take command of more than 600 other guardsmen. Their job: protect KBR contractors working at a local water plant.
"We didn't question what we were doing, we just knew we had to provide a security service for the KBR," said Battalion Cmdr. Gentry.
Today James Gentry is dying from rare form of lung cancer. The result, he believes, of months of inhaling hexavalent chromium - an orange dust that's part of a toxic chemical found all over the plant.
At least one other Indiana guardsman has already died from lung cancer, and others are said to be suffering from tumors and rashes consistent with exposure to the deadly toxin.
"I'm a nonsmoker. I believe that I received this cancer from the southern oil fields in Iraq," he said.
Now CBS News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger months before the soldiers were ever informed.
Depositions from KBR employees detailed concerns about the toxin in one part of the plant as early as May of 2003. And KBR minutes, from a later meeting state "that 60 percent of the people … exhibit symptoms of exposure," including bloody noses and rashes.
Gentry says it wasn't until the last day of August in 2003 - after four long months at the facility - that he was told the plant was contaminated.
"We would never have been there if we would have known," Gentry said.
A new internal Army investigation obtained exclusively by CBS News says the Army's medical response was "prompt and effective."
Read the report on the internal Army investigation.But even after a briefing Monday, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh says that KBR has a lot to answer for.
"Look, I think the burden of proof at this point is on the company," Bayh said. "To come forward and very forthrightly explain what happened, why we should trust them, and why the health and well-being of our soldiers should continue to be in their hands."
In a statement, the company told CBS News: "We deny the assertion that KBR harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition."
The company says it notified the Army as soon as it identified the toxin.
Still, some Indiana guardsmen say they only just learned of the risk.
"I didn't know I was exposed to a deadly carcinogen until five years later when I received a letter," said Indiana National Guardsman Jody Aistrop.
This is far from the first time the multi-billion dollar contractor has been accused of questionable conduct at Iraq. In addition to convictions for bribery, it's alleged KBR provided contaminated water to troops. The company denies all charges.
"It's going to cost American lives, I'm afraid," Gentry said. "I love them. I love my men so much."
So much so Gentry says he will urge each and every one of them get tested for the cancer that he fears is taking his life.
If any Indiana National Guardsmen want more information on whether or not they were exposed in Southern Iraq to sodium dichromate, they should call this Indiana National Guard hotline: 1-800-237-2850, ext. 3128.
"Look, I think the burden of proof at this point is on the company," Bayh said. "To come forward and very forthrightly explain what happened, why we should trust them, and why the health and well-being of our soldiers should continue to be in their hands."
In a statement, the company told CBS News: "We deny the assertion that KBR harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition."
The company says it notified the Army as soon as it identified the toxin.
Still, some Indiana guardsmen say they only just learned of the risk.
"I didn't know I was exposed to a deadly carcinogen until five years later when I received a letter," said Indiana National Guardsman Jody Aistrop.
This is far from the first time the multi-billion dollar contractor has been accused of questionable conduct at Iraq. In addition to convictions for bribery, it's alleged KBR provided contaminated water to troops. The company denies all charges.
"It's going to cost American lives, I'm afraid," Gentry said. "I love them. I love my men so much."
So much so Gentry says he will urge each and every one of them get tested for the cancer that he fears is taking his life.
If any Indiana National Guardsmen want more information on whether or not they were exposed in Southern Iraq to sodium dichromate, they should call this Indiana National Guard hotline: 1-800-237-2850, ext. 3128.
Did Mike Connell get Threats from Karl Rove?
VIDEO- DEMOCRACY NOW
Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All Killed In Plane Crash: Non-Profit Demands Full Federal Investigation
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 PRNewswire-USNewswire
Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell's activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how he can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [him] under the bus."
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRel...
Ohio Attorneys Seek Protection for Mike Connell and his Family against Alleged Threats from Karl Rove
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:50:55 EDT Subject: Report of Rove threats against witness Michael Connell
Dear Attorney General Mukasey: We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to "take the fall" for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations.
This appears to be in response to our designation of Rove as the principal perpetrator in the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act/RICO claim with respect to which we issued document hold notices last Thursday to you and to the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. See: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6189 and http://www.archive.org/details/Electi...
I have informed court chambers and am in the process of informing the Ohio Attorney General's and US Attorney's offices in Columbus for the purpose, among other things, of seeking protection for Mr. Connell and his family from this reported attempt to intimidate a witness.
Concurrently herewith, I am informing Mr. Conyers and Mr. Kucinich in connection with their Congressional oversight responsibilities related to these matters. Because of the serious engagement in this matter that began in 2000 of the Ohio Statehouse Press Corps, 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, C-Span and Jim VandeHei, and the public's right to know of gross attempts to subvert the rule of law, I am forwarding this information to them, as well. Cliff Arnebeck, Attorney 614-224-8771 Cell 614-361-9434 cc: Robert Fitrakis, Esq. Henry Eckhart, Esq
http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/nod...
more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republi...
-clip from Democracy Now 11/3/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se_xEj...
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosec...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 PRNewswire-USNewswire
Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell's activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how he can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [him] under the bus."
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRel...
Ohio Attorneys Seek Protection for Mike Connell and his Family against Alleged Threats from Karl Rove
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:50:55 EDT Subject: Report of Rove threats against witness Michael Connell
Dear Attorney General Mukasey: We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to "take the fall" for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations.
This appears to be in response to our designation of Rove as the principal perpetrator in the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act/RICO claim with respect to which we issued document hold notices last Thursday to you and to the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. See: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6189 and http://www.archive.org/details/Electi...
I have informed court chambers and am in the process of informing the Ohio Attorney General's and US Attorney's offices in Columbus for the purpose, among other things, of seeking protection for Mr. Connell and his family from this reported attempt to intimidate a witness.
Concurrently herewith, I am informing Mr. Conyers and Mr. Kucinich in connection with their Congressional oversight responsibilities related to these matters. Because of the serious engagement in this matter that began in 2000 of the Ohio Statehouse Press Corps, 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, C-Span and Jim VandeHei, and the public's right to know of gross attempts to subvert the rule of law, I am forwarding this information to them, as well. Cliff Arnebeck, Attorney 614-224-8771 Cell 614-361-9434 cc: Robert Fitrakis, Esq. Henry Eckhart, Esq
http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/nod...
more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republi...
-clip from Democracy Now 11/3/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se_xEj...
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosec...
Did Mike Connell get Threats from Karl Rove?
Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All Killed In Plane Crash: Non-Profit Demands Full Federal Investigation
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 PRNewswire-USNewswire
Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell's activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how he can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [him] under the bus."
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRel...
Ohio Attorneys Seek Protection for Mike Connell and his Family against Alleged Threats from Karl Rove
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:50:55 EDT Subject: Report of Rove threats against witness Michael Connell
Dear Attorney General Mukasey: We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to "take the fall" for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations.
This appears to be in response to our designation of Rove as the principal perpetrator in the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act/RICO claim with respect to which we issued document hold notices last Thursday to you and to the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. See: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6189 and http://www.archive.org/details/Electi...
I have informed court chambers and am in the process of informing the Ohio Attorney General's and US Attorney's offices in Columbus for the purpose, among other things, of seeking protection for Mr. Connell and his family from this reported attempt to intimidate a witness.
Concurrently herewith, I am informing Mr. Conyers and Mr. Kucinich in connection with their Congressional oversight responsibilities related to these matters. Because of the serious engagement in this matter that began in 2000 of the Ohio Statehouse Press Corps, 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, C-Span and Jim VandeHei, and the public's right to know of gross attempts to subvert the rule of law, I am forwarding this information to them, as well. Cliff Arnebeck, Attorney 614-224-8771 Cell 614-361-9434 cc: Robert Fitrakis, Esq. Henry Eckhart, Esq
http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/nod...
more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republi...
-clip from Democracy Now 11/3/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se_xEj...
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosec...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 PRNewswire-USNewswire
Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell's activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how he can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [him] under the bus."
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRel...
Ohio Attorneys Seek Protection for Mike Connell and his Family against Alleged Threats from Karl Rove
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:50:55 EDT Subject: Report of Rove threats against witness Michael Connell
Dear Attorney General Mukasey: We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to "take the fall" for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations.
This appears to be in response to our designation of Rove as the principal perpetrator in the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act/RICO claim with respect to which we issued document hold notices last Thursday to you and to the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. See: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6189 and http://www.archive.org/details/Electi...
I have informed court chambers and am in the process of informing the Ohio Attorney General's and US Attorney's offices in Columbus for the purpose, among other things, of seeking protection for Mr. Connell and his family from this reported attempt to intimidate a witness.
Concurrently herewith, I am informing Mr. Conyers and Mr. Kucinich in connection with their Congressional oversight responsibilities related to these matters. Because of the serious engagement in this matter that began in 2000 of the Ohio Statehouse Press Corps, 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, C-Span and Jim VandeHei, and the public's right to know of gross attempts to subvert the rule of law, I am forwarding this information to them, as well. Cliff Arnebeck, Attorney 614-224-8771 Cell 614-361-9434 cc: Robert Fitrakis, Esq. Henry Eckhart, Esq
http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/nod...
more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republi...
-clip from Democracy Now 11/3/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se_xEj...
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosec...
Manhattan: New indictments in 2007 death of 2 firefighters.
Deutsche Bank fire investigation concludes with indictments
NEW YORK - Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced Monday the results of the investigation into the August 18, 2007, fire at the Deutsche Bank building, located at 130 Liberty Street, in which Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino lost their lives.
Three individuals and one company have been indicted for manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in the deaths of the firefighters. Those indicted are Jeffrey Melofchik, the Site Safety Manager for the project’s construction manager, Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc.; Mitchel Alvo, the Director of Abatement, for Bovis’ subcontractor, The John Galt Corp., and Salvatore DePaola, foreman. GALT has also been indicted on the same charges.
In addition, the District Attorney’s Office has reached agreements with the City of New York and Bovis, which require the City and Bovis to institute major remedial safety measures.
The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, caused the South Tower of the World Trade Center to collapse onto the Deutsche Bank building, creating a 15-story gash in the building’s north side. The collapse filled the building with debris, asbestos, World Trade Center dust, and other hazardous substances. The building’s sprinkler system was permanently disabled, leaving the building’s dry standpipe system as the only means of bringing water into the building for fire fighting. (A dry standpipe system is “dry” until it is charged with water when firefighters connect a water source (e.g., a hydrant) to a Siamese connection on the outside of the building which connects to risers ascending vertically within the building to each floor.)
Because of the contamination of the building, it had to be demolished. A plan was formulated simultaneously to decontaminate and deconstruct it; such a project had never been done before in New York City. Bovis was selected by the building’s owner, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (“LMDC”), to be the construction manager. Bovis, in turn, selected Galt to do the deconstruction and abatement work.
The simultaneous abatement and deconstruction clearly made the building a fire hazard. Acetylene torches were used to cut the steel and concrete superstructure while abatement was going on floors below. At least seven small fires occurred in the building in the three months before the fatal fire2008/12/22
Chemtrail Aircraft Cabin debunked
Chemtrail Aircraft Cabin debunked
Aircraft is set for Flight Crtification - Not Chemtrails
Continued War Trumps Educationy
Fighting the Greedy Defense Lobbyists: Our Schools vs. Their Worthless Weaponry
By Conn Hallinan, Foreign Policy in Focus
December 22, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/114542/
Over the next several months there will be a battle for hearts and minds, but not in Iraq or Afghanistan. The war will be here at home, waged mostly in the halls of Congress, where grim lobbyists for one of the top 15 economies in the world are digging in to preserve their stake in the massive U.S. military budget. With the country in deep recession and resources dwindling for the new administration's programs on health care, education, and the environment, the outcome of this battle may well end up defining the next four years.
But coming to grips with the issue, as one military analyst noted, is likely to resemble the worst of World War I trench warfare. "It will be like the British Army at the Somme," Winslow Wheeler of the Center for Defense Information (CDI) told the Boston Globe, "you will just get mowed down by the defense industry."
Up Against the Industry
For starters, there are 185,000 corporations behind those metaphorical machine guns, and a few are formidable indeed: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Alliant Techsystems, United Technologies, Textron, Teledyne, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Texas Instruments, just to name a few.
The World Policy Institute found that dozens of high Bush administration officials were former arms company executives, consultants, or shareholders, and that this network of influence reaches deep into Congress. The combination of lobbying and PAC money that pours into election coffers every two years gives the arms industry enormous influence over the actions of the executive and legislative branches.
The reason is simple: the money at stake is staggering, although nailing down exactly what this country spends on the military is extremely difficult. "Figures on defense spending are notoriously unreliable," defense expert Chalmers Johnson points out. "All numbers released by the Pentagon should be regarded as suspect."
While the "official" 2009 U.S. military budget is $516 billion, that figure bears little resemblance to what this country actually spends. According to CDI, if one pulls together all the various threads that make up the defense spending tapestry - including Home Security, secret "black budget" items, military-related programs outside of the Defense Department, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and such outlays as veterans' benefits - the figure is around $862 billion for the current fiscal year. Johnson says spending is closer to $1.1 trillion.
Even these figures are misleading, since it does not project future costs. According to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, when the economic and social costs of the Iraq War are finally added up - including decades of treatment for veterans disabled by traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder - the final bill could reach $5 trillion.
Cuts in the Offing?
Given the current economic crisis, even the defense establishment recognizes that some cuts are inevitable. A recent study by a Pentagon advisory group, the Defense Business Board, says that current defense spending is "not sustainable" and recommends scaling back or eliminating some big-ticket weapon systems.
Canceling Lockheed Martin's F-22 stealth fighter and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Virginia Class submarine, the V-22 Osprey, the Zumwalt Class destroyer, and Boeing and Raytheon's missile defense system, combined with some judicious reductions in other budget items, would save $55 billion annually, according to FPIF's Unified Security Budget.
The problem with U.S. military spending isn't just expensive weapons, but the underlying philosophy that the use of force is a valid policy tool. And on that question, the incoming Obama administration has yet to break from the past.
While Obama has pledged to stress diplomacy over warfare, he has also promised to "maintain the most powerful military on the planet" and to increase the armed forces by some 90,000 soldiers. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that will cost at least $50 billion over five years.
The most disturbing initiative, however, is a recent push to "reshape" the armed forces. A recent Defense Department directive elevates "IW" (irregular warfare) to a level "as strategically important as traditional warfare," arguing that for the "foreseeable future, winning the Long War against violent extremists will the central objective of U.S. policy."
This concept is no different than the "hearts and minds" counterinsurgency strategy that failed so disastrously in Southeast Asia two generations ago. The directive assumes that military disasters result from impatience and poor tactics. If you're willing to fight a "Long War," don't kick in too many doors, lunch with the locals, and hand out lots of candy to the kids, you win.
This concept is no different than the "hearts and minds" counterinsurgency strategy that failed so disastrously in Southeast Asia two generations ago. The directive assumes that military disasters result from impatience and poor tactics. If you're willing to fight a "Long War," don't kick in too many doors, lunch with the locals, and hand out lots of candy to the kids, you win.
Occupational Hazards
But the key to understanding why the U.S. and NATO are losing in Afghanistan and Iraq is the word "occupation."
Writing almost a century ago, T.E. Lawrence laid out what he called the algebra of occupation: "Rebellion must have an unassailable base...it must have a sophisticated alien enemy, in the form of a disciplined army of occupation too small to dominate the whole area. It must have a friendly population...sympathetic to the point of not betraying rebel movements to the enemy. Granted mobility, security...time and doctrine...victory will rest with the insurgents, for the algebraical [sic] factors are in the end decisive."
Lawrence was writing about the British occupation of Iraq, but he might as well have been channeling the future. His conclusion should give the Obama administration pause about its plans for a "surge" of troops into Afghanistan: "Against them [the algebraic factors], perfections of means and spirit struggle quite in vain."
History is replete with examples of Lawrence's formula too numerous to list. Indeed, the few examples of successful counterinsurgency - the Americans in the Philippines and the British in Malaya - were the result of unique historical factors that that have never transferred well.
The occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan has been a financial and diplomatic disaster for the United States, devastated the countries we invaded, and is spreading the war to Pakistan and India. The recent terrorist assault on Mumbai was very similar to the September bombing of the Islamabad Marriott Hotel, both of them almost certainly "blowback" from the growing involvement of Indian forces in southern and eastern Afghanistan, and the Pakistani Army in the northwest frontier and tribal territories.
Won't adding 90,000 troops trained in counterinsurgency warfare create pressure to use those troops in places like the Sudan, Somalia, the Gulf of Guinea, Colombia, or any number of regions where U.S. interests collide with local aspirations?
In an article in the most recent Foreign Affairs, Defense Secretary Robert Gates lays out his roadmap for a new U.S. military: "What is dubbed the war on terror is...a prolonged, worldwide irregular campaign - a struggle between the forces of violent extremism and those of moderation. Direct military force will continue to play a role in the long-term effort against the terrorists and other extremists. But over the long term, the United States cannot kill or capture its way to victory."
Gates' strategy embodies the possibility of both hope and disaster. If the United States chooses to keep the military on its current footing - including adding more troops and focusing on the use of "direct military force" - then future wars and occupations will almost certainly torpedo Obama's plans to deliver a more equal and humane society.
If, however, diplomacy and negotiations takes the place of F-16s and Special Forces, then there is yet hope that the world can take a step back and look for alternatives that avoid Lawrence's grim calculations.
Conn Hallinan is a Foreign Policy In Focus columnist.
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://space4peace.blogspot.com (Blog)
9/11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)