The vote in June came and that left only two New York members of Congress (and 32 members overall) who pledged not to support a war supplemental bill. For New York, those two members of Congress are Congressman Eric Massa and Congressman Jose Serrano.
Massa and Serrano voting against the bill is obviously huge. For Serrano, it was a no brainer. He comes from a district that is the least Republican of any Democrat who voted no. But Massa's is the opposite. His district is the most Republican of any Democrat who voted no. Massa will have to fight in 2010 because the Republicans are gunning for him. They see him as vulnerable solely because of the district enrollment advantage they hold. So for Massa to vote no on this is very important to acknowledge and recognize with support.
To show support for those that kept their word, the No Means No! initiative was started. The goal of the initiative is to start having a serious and progressive conversation on the efforts in Afghanistan. With health care and other issues dominating the scene, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been on the back burner. Afghanistan at one point was referred to as "Forgotistan" because it was hardly, if ever, being talked about.
(For a good video on what has happened in Afghanistan, take a look at the video below.)
At this point, it is a very serious discussion we need to have.
Here is how you can help. Go to the No Means No! ActBlue page and give to Massa and Serrano or any other member of Congress (there are 32 of them) who supports the effort.
We also have a contest going today. IF YOU GIVE TODAY, YOU WILL BE ENTERED IN A DRAWING TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF JONATHAN TASINI'S BOOK, AUDACITY OF GREED.
So make sure you contribute what you can today and make sure we can continue to fight for a progressive policy in Afghanistan.
Today, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake was on C-Span's Washington Journal discussing the war supplemental. I wrote about this last night, but Jane explains the war supplemental vote in great detail and puts it in the proper context.
The fight here is centered on IMF funding ($108 billion) that President Barack Obama first pledged on a trip to Europe. That IMF funding has been included in the war supplemental. This has created an interesting marriage between Republicans, who oppose this, and progressives, who also oppose this.
Call your representative and ask them where they stand on the supplemental. Ask where they stand, while also telling them that we shouldn't be bailing out European banks while nearly 50 million people in this country are living without health insurance.
"Just putting it in self-interest terms, how would I have had the enthusiasm and the fight if I had actually cast a vote I didn't believe in?" he asked. "I couldn't do that." - Paul Wellstone explaining why he was one of 23 members of the U.S. Senate to vote against the Iraq War in 2002.
Five of those votes are relatively safe votes considering those representatives come from downstate districts that are fairly Democratic. But Massa's vote is worth acknowledging. Massa has been targeted by the NRCC for his vote as was given anti-troop and anti-veteran labels for that vote. It's not something that is a safe political move for Massa, but it is something he has done based on principle.
That cannot be said for the other representatives in New York. While three of the remaining 23 representatives who voted for the supplemental are Republicans, 20 of those are Democrats. A few are in similar positions as Massa, but most are in districts where they don't have anything to lose.
Tomorrow is another key vote on the war supplemental. The progressive movement is going all out, as FireDogLake and Brave New Films are advocating for "no" votes on the supplemental.
Here is a video from Robert Greenwald asking you to contact your representative and call on your member of Congress to vote against the supplemental.
It should be noted that the New York representatives who signed the 2007 pledge are the following: Rep. Clarke, Rep. John Hall, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Gregory Meeks, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Charles Rangel, Rep. Louise Slaughter, Rep. Towns, Rep. Velazquez and Rep. Weiner. Hall, Hinchey, Maloney, Meeks, Nadler, Rangel and Slaughter all voted in favor of the war supplemental in May and should all be targeted this time around and reminded that they pledged to not vote for a war supplemental which does not include a timeline for withdrawal.
FireDogLake has a tool to use to record what happens when you call your respective representative. You can use this tool to post the response you get from your representative's office when you ask them where your congressman or congresswoman stands on the supplemental.
Jane Hamsher from FDL believes we are close to having the votes we need. There are plenty of New York representatives on the list of undecideds who should be firmly opposed to this.
If Congressman Massa can stand up on his two feet as a 24 year veteran of the Navy and a member of the House Armed Services Committee and say that he is strongly opposed to this war supplemental, then there should be other representatives willing to do the same. As a reminder, here is what Massa said on May 15 when he explained his vote against the supplemental:
"I will not have my vote held hostage by line items to fund military projects while at the same time funding the UN. These are two very different issues and I will not vote to combine them. While I did support several line items in the bill, there were a few specifics which deeply troubled me. For example, during the recession, I cannot support sending $836 million to fund the United Nations, $109 to train and equip Palestinian security forces and up the to $429.5 million in foreign aid to Pakistan.
"For over four years prior to being elected to Congress, I promised to vote against any additional funding for the Iraq war without a clear and immediate plan of withdrawal," said Congressman Eric Massa. "Regardless of which party is in power, I could not in good conscience vote for any additional Iraq war funding. The Iraqi people want us to leave and I think we should begin redeploying American troops out of Iraq immediately. I've always promised to stand up to my party when I disagree with them, but yesterday I had to stand up to both political parties."
This supplemental needs to be defeated. Let's make sure that those representatives who say they are progressive stay true to their word and vote against this supplemental. Call your representative and get them on the record about this. This will be voted on tomorrow and we need quick action. So when tomorrow morning comes, start making some phone calls.
(I would like to welcome Jon Powers back to the TAP community. Jon wrote this post on national security, a critical issue that has been overshadowed by our plummeting economy. You can also read this post at The Moderate Voice and Huffington Post.)
By Jon Powers
When President Obama announced his decision to send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, he did so with an interesting caveat. He explicitly stated that we cannot solve the problems of Afghanistan by military means alone. He's right, and he deserves credit for saying so. However, it is crucial that we apply that lesson not only to a single issue, but to a broader national security strategy. We live in a world where security has come to mean more than soldiers and submarines, but also development and diplomacy, as well as hearts and minds. Our broader security strategy needs to take that into account.
A recent story from Afghanistan drives home this point with great clarity. A few months ago, several young Afghan girls were attacked with acid by extremists for the "crime" of attending school. One of those girls, Shamsia, will remain physically scarred and partially blind for the rest of her life. Yet these girls made a heroic return to school in January, showing true bravery and rebuffing the extremists' tactics of fear. It is this courage and the courage of millions of other every day citizens around the globe that we must tap to battle extremists. If we are to live in a safer world, we must develop a national security strategy that aims to mobilize men and women in all nations to embrace Shamsia's example.
No one understands this better than Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, he outlines the need for "reprogramming the Pentagon for a new age" and creating a new and balanced strategy because "the United States cannot kill or capture its way to victory." He fully understands that the military must develop more than conventional firepower to win this long war. As a veteran of the Iraq war, I believe Secretary Gates is definitely on the right track.
I saw first hand how the military became overextended in Iraq. My soldiers and I worked regularly with Iraqis to help them improve their economy and refurbish their schools. But as rewarding as that work was, it was not what we were trained to do. We were trained to fire artillery rounds and conduct checkpoint operations, not to design development projects. These are missions traditionally done by the State Department, but the Bush Administration failed to strike the right balance between the job of a soldier and the job of a civilian.
Administration officials say President Barack Obama is planning to announce that most U.S. troops will be out of Iraq in less than 19 months.
The plan would leave a interim force of between 30,000 and 50,000 to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence and surveillance. They would have to be out by 2011. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The withdrawal would fall three months short of one of Obama's central campaign pledges to remove U.S. troops in 16 months.
A senior White House official says Obama is at least a day away from a final decision.
There are currently 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
About 4,250 have died and more than 31,000 wounded since the war began in 2003. It has cost more than $650 billion since 2003.
Who will be the first person to accuse the President of breaking his campaign promise to complete this withdrawal in 16 months?
Building consensus within America's body politic and national security establishment for a new way forward with Muslims worldwide is a formidable challenge. Many Americans still don't appreciate the complex nuances of Muslim society and remain stubbornly Islamophobic almost seven and half years after 9/11. Equally formidable is earning the goodwill of Muslims worldwide following the Iraq War as well as American atrocities perpetrated upon Islamic detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. Hopefully, President Obama's historic election has finally opened a path for constructive conversation about how America can most effectively engage the Muslim world.
The CIA's former point man on Islam, Emile Nakahleh, has vigorously entered this conversation with his new book, A Necessary Engagement: Reinventing America's Relations With the Muslim World (Princeton University Press). From 1991 to 2006, Nakahleh served as the director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program in the Directorate of Intelligence at the CIA. He holds a PhD in international relations and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wants to send an additional 4,500 American troops to Afghanistan to supplement the 30,000 already there. The problem is that 30,000 isn't enough to get the job done, especially since our NATO "allies" aren't sending as many as they said they would. Meanwhile, Secretary Gates is being told that we don't have 4,500 additional troops to send, so Americans are dying in Afghanistan, the American-backed "government" is corrupt and ineffective, and the Taliban is getting stronger.
Jon Powers issued a statement today regarding the news that a deal is in the works that will allow U.S. troops to stay in Iraq beyond 2008. The Iraqis want more:
Iraqi officials have said they would like to see U.S. forces cease routine patrols on Iraqi streets by the middle of next year and withdraw all combat troops by 2010 or 2011. But it is not clear how explicit such language would be in the agreement.
Iraq's chief negotiator Mohammed al-Haj Hamoud told Reuters on Wednesday a draft of the agreement was complete and would be presented to Iraqi political leaders to approve and send to parliament. He said the draft did not include withdrawal dates.
Other issues to be tackled include immunity for U.S. troops from Iraqi law and the status of the 21,000 prisoners held in Iraq by American forces.
This is what Powers had to say about this news today:
"I applaud the Iraqis for wanting to take greater control of their country and security. Our soldiers continue to serve honorably completing missions even in the shadow of Washington's failures. We must begin a strategic redeployment and bring them home safely, securely and soon.
"As a nation, we must refocus on the looming national security threats in Afghanistan and Pakistan. With the forced resignation of President Musharraf in a destabilizing nuclear Pakistan and increasing violence as the radical elements surge in Afghanistan, our mission there faces real challenges. America must reengage its efforts to bring real security to what is becoming one of the most dangerous situations on the planet.
"It will be up to the next president and the next Congress to enforce any agreements put together during the Bush administration. It will be necessary to send voices to Washington that have a firm understanding of what it takes to end the war in Iraq and reform our national security policies."
Powers also mentioned Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is a necessary topic if we want to talk about a war on terror. This is still an important issue and Powers will certainly be at the center of this debate when he gets to Washington D.C.
This is an opinion piece in today's Buffalo News written by documentary filmmaker Michael Tucker, who directed the film "Gunner Palace" about the war in Iraq. The piece is so good I'm reprinting it in its entirety here:
Humanitarian efforts in Iraq needed more security
By Michael Tucker
In the Aug. 5 story about congressional candidate Jon Powers' work with War Kids Relief in Baghdad, Powers' efforts in Iraq are incorrectly painted by his opponents as an "undisclosed" failure. If I didn't know Jon, if I didn't know the place he served in Iraq and if I didn't know some of the guys who didn't come home, I might just shake my head in disgust as Jon's opponents try to "Swift Boat" him. But knowing him, I refuse to see his humanitarian efforts slandered as "inflation" of his resume.
For Jon and dozens of other Iraq vets of all political persuasions, Iraq is not just an issue, it's a place where they invested sweat and blood and continue to be engaged despite many obstacles.
I've known Jon since 2003, when I filmed his unit in the volatile Adhamiya neighborhood of Baghdad. The first time I saw Jon he was at an orphanage where his unit brought not only toys and clothing donated by folks at home (including, I believe, Clarence) but also much-needed fuel for generators.
After Jon got out of the Army in 2004, I asked him to travel with me around the country to talk about the war with the press and audiences. Jon quickly found his voice and soon was compelled to work to support veterans and to provide programs for Iraqi orphans and youth.
War Kids Relief was born in the spring of 2005. When Jon went to Baghdad in 2005, getting around as a civilian wasn't easy and the city was tense. It was impossible to move without your own security detail or a military escort, but Jon managed to secure meetings with key officials and commanders who were keen to see his program succeed.
Which brings us back to the article and the claim that War Kids "fell far short of its goal" and the assertion from a spokesman for rival Democratic candidate Jack Davis that "the bottom line is that Powers ran War Kids Relief off a cliff."
Who ran what off a cliff? We are six years into a war where even with the recent improvements in security in Baghdad, there are still 2 million refugees, little if any substantial aid is getting to the people and most international groups are sitting on their hands in Amman and Erbil waiting for the green light to come back. Simply, the humanitarian situation ran off a cliff a long time ago.
In my estimation, the major reason federal funds were not secured was because it was impossible for the military to provide security in Iraq for humanitarian efforts after 2006.
The Jon Powers I know today is the same guy I met in Baghdad, who, like thousands of other service members, saw people in need and figured out ways to help them, often in the face of bureaucratic indifference.
In a country where $9 billion in U. S. reconstruction money can't be accounted for, it doesn't take much imagination to see what these troops and people like Powers have been up against. For them, Iraq isn't a place on a map, it's the place that defined them.
Michael Tucker is a New York-based producer of three Iraq-themed films.
Tucker makes the right points, points that Republicans are trying to distract voters from. Jon Powers' service in Iraq, both as an Army Captain and later as a private citizen, is honorable.
Robert Harding and I trekked out to North Tonawanda last night to attend a meet and greet for Jon Powers, the second in a series of meet and greets planned by the campaign, the first of which started in Lockport (posted on the Powers website). These are all part of the ongoing conversation with the district Powers started a year ago with 30 house parties in 30 days aimed at getting as many people as possible to join the conversation. While there we were able to secure an interview with the grassroots candidate and Harding will upload video of that today.
On the way to the cafe we came upon a sign in a store front that said "Jack's Back!" along with an old sign that read "Jack Davis for Congress." It was a reminder that Davis has had his chance---twice---and the voters did not choose him either time. Harding and I were walking toward the future, and that future is Jon Powers.
There were about 50 supporters in attendance, including a few who found out about Jon Powers from his Facebook page. I chatted with one of them, Mike Martino, a young man who was very enthusiastic about Powers' candidacy. I asked him why he was here and he said "I think it's nice to see him [Powers] out here, doing the small things, the grassroots." I asked Martino if he had ever volunteered for a campaign before and he said "No." I asked him if, after having just heard Powers speak, he was going to volunteer for Powers' campaign and he said "Yes."
For TAP's exclusive interview with Jon Powers, come over the fold...
He reminded us of Engel's passive-aggressive snubbing of Net Neutrality, his active role in creating corporate media mergers and monopolies, his blind saber rattling that lead us into a war with Iraq, his unflinching stance against impeachment, and his cheerleading for a Columbian Free Trade Agreement. Even worse, Engel wants to write George W. Bush a blank check to invade Iran, even going so far as to chastise Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for trying to insert language in a House appropriations package to keep the President for using funding for our current wars to subsidize military action against Iran.
Ms. Pelosi removed the clause after a group of conservative and pro-Israel Democrats threatened to vote against the appropriations package if it included the provision tying the president's hands.
One of those members, Rep. Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, said yesterday he counted between 20 and 27 members who would have voted against the funding measure if it included the Iran language. Rep. Gary Ackerman, another Democrat of New York, said he thinks the dissenters had even more votes.
But what's most unforgivable is Engel's past and continuing support of Rev. John Hagee and his minions, people who want to "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" because it plays to their cultish, fatalistic, Armageddon/end-of-the-world scenario.
There are summaries given for each of these videos. The first featuring Sen. Dorgan reads, "The Betrayal of Judge al-Radhi: Senator Dorgan discusses how Judge al-Radhi, the former Director of the Iraqi Commission of Public Integrity, fought corruption in Iraq at the direction of the U.S. and how the State Department turned against him in remarks at a DPC hearing." Yes, you read correctly. This judge was combating corruption and we turned against him.
The next one is Sen. Klobuchar: "To Attack a Problem is to Admit a Problem: Senator Klobuchar asks Major General William Nash (Ret.) why he thinks the Bush Administration has ignored corruption in Iraq at a DPC hearing."
The "to attack a problem is to admit a problem" line is a very smart one and convenient for this situation. It seems that any problem we wish to attack in Iraq is to admit a problem. That is a problem.
The third video featuring Sen. Whitehouse focuses on the "Iraqi Government Ministries Won't Allow Investigations into Corruption: Senator Whitehouse asks Judge Arthur Brennan to talk about the extent of corruption in Iraq at a DPC hearing."
The final video is Sen. Claire McCaskill discussing corruption in Iraq and questioning one of the key witnesses at Monday's hearing.
This was a very interesting hearing and necessary, considering the cost of this war and the corruption that has been widespread throughout. It's time we start to address these issues and the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, with leaders like Senators Dorgan, Klobuchar and Whitehouse, is the right committee to talk about these problems.
It is projected that New York's share of the Iraq War costs is about $47.2 billion. So this definitely is worthy of our attention on a state level (and of course, on a national level).
The committee will hear testimony from the following witnesses (from the DPC press release):
Judge Arthur Brennan, former Director of the Department of State's Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT). He served in that post in Iraq in 2007. James Mattil, former Chief of Staff of OAT in Iraq. He served in that post for two years; Major General William Nash (Ret.), a former U.S. Army commander in Bosnia-Herzegovina and a former civilian administrator for the United Nations in Kosovo.
The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. today. Sen. Dorgan previewed the hearing in the video below:
The body of Western New York native and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Jonathon Cote was found in Iraq and today, Cote's family addressed the media.
My thanks to WNYMedia for the videos. (See the videos below.)
Cote had been missing in Iraq for 17 months before a body was recently discovered in Iraq. That body, upon being returned to the United States, was identified as Cote. At the time, Cote was working for the apparently defunct Crescent Security Group, a private security contractor that operated in Iraq. Cote and four co-workers (including three Americans) were captured in November 2006. The bodies of the other captives were found in Iraq prior to Cote's.
The Cote family has been keeping Jonathon's cause alive through FreeCote.com.
There is a lot to say about this issue, including some choice words for Crescent Security Group. But this is not the time. My thoughts are with the Cote family at this time.
Jonathon is an American hero. He served his country in Afghanistan and Iraq and chose to return to Iraq with Crescent. Jonathon's loyalty was obvious: Service to his country was of the utmost importance. He epitomizes everything that is good with this country.
You have to watch this video first. There is a questioner in the audience who brings up the last election involving Jack Davis and Jack's platform.
In case you can't hear it at the end, the three issues are: Iraq war, illegal immigration and trade.
Yes, that's right. Jack just admitted to having a three issue platform.
His stance on the Iraq war is the stance of many. He believes we were duped into the war and believes it has been a waste of money. No surprises there.
Free trade is Jack's issue. If he wants to debate Iraq with Jon Powers, he will lose. But free trade is Jack's main issue. It is the reason why he wants to go to Washington D.C. and why he wants to run for Congress.
But his stance on illegal immigration is not only xenophobic, it is scary. He has proposed building a double wall along our southern border. His theory about why Mexicans come to the United States is a conspiracy theory, at best.
Speaking of Powers, his campaign has issued this press release regarding Davis's decision to enter the race for a third time.
It is time for a serious leader who can bring the kind of change that will help middle class families who are economically squeezed and bring a responsible end to the Iraq War. Money can buy you a lot, but the voters of Western New York are not for sale. That is why I have earned the support of the Democratic leaders and grassroots activists across the district.
I agree with Powers. We need a serious leader. And I think this line sums it up best: "Money can buy you a lot, but the voters of Western New York are not for sale."
This is VERY true. Money can buy you a lot. It can buy flat screen televisions, fancy cars, vacation homes, etc. But it can't buy you votes and a grassroots campaign. Davis will try and buy this election even though that has not worked for him twice already. But one thing is clear: Davis does not plan on running based on his "deep" knowledge of the issues. He only has three. That will get him nowhere.
Veterans For America has released a new report stating that Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division is the most deployed Army division to Iraq and Afghanistan and the Second Brigade Combat Team was the Army's most deployed unit.
A group that advocates for wounded soldiers says in a new report that Fort Drum soldiers are bearing a disproportionate share of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Veterans for America released a compilation of brigade combat-team and National Guard deployments ahead of General David Petraeus's testimony before Congress this week on the state of the war in Iraq.
The group's figures show that Fort Drum's 10th Mountain division was the most deployed Army division to Iraq and Afghanistan, while the 10th's 2nd Brigade Combat Team was the Army's most deployed unit and 1 of only four brigades that have been on four tours in the past six years.
The report by VFA is a state-by-state look, but obviously Fort Drum gets a hard look because of another report by VFA detailing the mental health situation at Fort Drum.
The soldiers at Fort Drum have served their country valiantly and heroically. But it's time that they receive a break. Being the most deployed division certainly says they are qualified, but it also says that they are worn down. They need a reprieve. Let's make sure that if we are going to deploy units abroad, that those units receive the proper time off between deployments and that one unit isn't going four times when one unit hasn't gone at all.
Massa and Powers have issued press releases about the event today. First, from Massa's campaign:
On Wednesday, March 19th 2008 at 9:00 am, NY-29 Congressional challenger and retired Navy Commander Eric Massa joined with fellow Congressional Candidates Dan Maffei (NY-25) and Iraq Veteran Jon Powers (NY-26) for a major press conference at the Rochester Veterans Outreach Center. On this five year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the message was clear: It is time for a new direction and new leadership.
"I've been talking for three years about the importance of learning from the lessons of Bosnia," said retired Navy Commander Eric Massa. "During that conflict, we went in and stopped a three way ethnic civil war, and that is the exact same situation we face today. The Bush administration and their rubber stamps in Congress have failed the American public by starting a war without a plan for victory. They then failed our returning Veterans by slashing funds for Veteran services. Today, on this five year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, we call on President Bush and Randy Kuhl to listen to the families of Western New York and change course. It is time for new ideas and a new direction."
Here is what Powers had to say:
The candidates discussed veterans' issues and the lack of access that veterans have to health care through the VA system. "Today marks the 5 year anniversary of the Iraq War. We still are without a comprehensive strategy to care for our troops returning from battle. This is care they deserve and desperately need," said Jon Powers. "I am running for Congress because the America I grew up believing in, takes care of its soldiers after they return from war, and that America is no longer being represented in Washington, DC."
Maffei, Massa and Powers are very concerned about the state of veterans affairs in this country and how the Iraq War impacts that. While the seat Maffei is running for is now open, Massa and Powers are taking on two Republicans with poor voting records regarding our troops and the war.
3 men in a room, each with veto power over any and all legislative doings? Check.
Is this Albany? Well, yes. But this also describes Iraq. And even worse, Iraq's 3 men are codified in their national constitution:
Legislation and decisions enacted by the Council of representatives shall be forwarded to the Presidency Council to approve it unanimously
(snip)
In the event the Presidency Council does not approve, legislation and decisions shall be sent back to the Council of Representatives to re-examine the disputed issues and to vote on by the majority of its members and then shall be sent for the second time to the Presidency Council for approval.
Okay, this doesn't really have anything directly to do with politics here in the Empire State, but it's a sobering reminder of the huge issue that's most been shoved off the front pages the past few months.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Mar. 10 in Balad Ruz, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.
Killed were:
Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson, 28, of Everett, Wash.
Spc. Donald A. Burkett, 24, of Comanche, Texas.
Capt. Torre R. Mallard, 27, of Oklahoma.
Even though this was not our Phillip, the death of this young man and his colleagues is still a tragedy of almost incomprehensible magnitude. Let us all hope that within a year, we will have begun the process of extricating our nation from this continuing nightmare.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the fallen soldiers.
