David H Brooks, just another defense department scammer screwing over our troops and supplying faulty body armor.

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/the-war-logs/

Read the spin then read the data

The investigative journalist’s dream come true, WikiLeaks, a site where whistleblowers can upload their information on government or corporate crimes is under siege by the US. Glenn Greenwald at Salon has written a detailed piece on what is happening to WikiLeaks and why it matters to democracy.

…the same rationale invoked by President Obama and the Democratic Congress when they re-wrote the Freedom of Information Act last year in order to suppress America’s torture photos. It’s the same rationale used by all governments to conceal evidence of their wrongdoing: we need to suppress our activities for your own good. WikiLeaks is devoted to subverting that mentality and, relatively speaking, has been quite successful in doing so.

For that reason, numerous governments and private groups would like to see them destroyed. Corporations have sued to have the site shut down. And in addition to this 2008 Pentagon report, WikiLeaks has acquired, though not yet posted, other U.S. Government classified reports on its activities, including a U.S. Marine Intelligence Report and an analysis prepared by the U.S. military base in Germany, both of which speak of WikiLeaks as a threat. Moreover, the FBI has refused to provide any information about its investigations and other activities aimed at WikiLeaks, citing, in response to FOIA requests, national security and other excuses for concealing it.

For a people to actively participate in their own governance they must have full and accurate information. [This is one of the reasons I rail against local media so much] WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange writes about some of the reasons they may be under attack

* our ongoing work on a classified film revealing civilian casualties occurring under the command of the U.S, general, David Petraeus.
* our release of a classified 32 page US intelligence report on how to fatally marginalize WikiLeaks (expose our sources, destroy our reputation for integrity, hack us).
* our release of a classified cable from the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik reporting on contact between the U.S. and the U.K. over billions of euros in claimed loan guarantees.
* pending releases related to the collapse of the Icelandic banks and Icelandic “oligarchs”.

The US military has loosened regulations, issuing “moral waivers” allowing convicted criminal to join up just as they did during Vietnam. GIs suffering from PTSD and TBI are being called back into combat for third and fourth tours to make up for the 99% of the US that do not care to enlist. Read my essay about drafting war supporters here

Nevertheless, despite Army regulations that prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups the military have hit a new low as to meeting their recruitment needs and are accepting white supremacists.

Following an investigation of white supremacist groups, a 2008 FBI report declared: “Military experience — ranging from failure at basic training to success in special operations forces — is found throughout the white supremacist extremist movement.” In white supremacist incidents from 2001 to 2008, the FBI identified 203 veterans. Most of them were associated with the National Alliance and the National Socialist Movement, which promote anti-Semitism and the overthrow of the U.S. government, and assorted skinhead groups.

Because the FBI focused only on reported cases, its numbers don’t include the many extremist soldiers who have managed to stay off the radar. But its report does pinpoint why the white supremacist movements seek to recruit veterans — they “may exploit their accesses to restricted areas and intelligence or apply specialized training in weapons, tactics, and organizational skills to benefit the extremist movement.”

In fact, since the movement’s inception, its leaders have encouraged members to enlist in the U.S. military as a way to receive state-of-the-art combat training, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer, in preparation for a domestic race war. The concept of a race war is central to extremist groups, whose adherents imagine an eruption of violence that pits races against each other and the government.

Given the military are not focused on winning hearts and minds or nation building it may seem inconsequential to have extremists of this type in the military unless, of course, the guy backing you up or giving you orders is black or Jewish or Hispanic, or heaven forbid, Gay! and the supremacist is depending upon them to survive.

It is sad that people like this exist. It is criminal that people like this should be allowed into the military and taught how to use weapons. It is sickening that people like this live in Coos County.

Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Peter Orszag of Office of Management and Budget speaks with Rachel about this years proposed budget a la Obama.

Iraq repeatedly attempting to assert its sovereignty has been demanding changes and terminating the Blackwater era is one of them.

The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide’s contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May, a senior U.S. official said Friday. The official told The Associated Press that the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government’s decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate.

The Iraqis informed the State Department last week of the denial, which was made amid lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

For in depth information read Jeremy Scahill’s Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army‘.

Pakistani troops that help guard an essential supply convoy to US troops in Afghanistan up through the Khyber Pass may shift position to the India border. Richard Engel reports that our troops will be left in a very precarious position as a consequence.