Monday, September 30, 2013

IRAQ WARS NEWSLETTER #15

OMNI NEWSLETTER ON IRAQ WARS #15, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013.. BUILDING A CULTURE OF PEACE & JUSTICE TO REPLACE THE CULTURE OF WAR and EMPIRE, Dick Bennett, Editor.   (#14 March 19, 2013; #13, Nov. 3, 2012; #12 March 19, 2012; #11 Feb.9, 2012;  #10, October 18, 2011; #9 August 8, 2011; #8 March 19, 2011; #7, April 29, 2010; #6 March 17, 2010, # 5 June 1, 2008; #4 April 3, 2008;  #3 March 24, 2008, #2 Jan. 16, 2008, #1 Nov. 2, 2007.)

MARCH 19, 2013:  10th ANNIVERSARY OF US INVASION OF IRAQ 2003
For a full list of US military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, go to: casualties.usatoday.com.   But where are the Iraq and Afghan lists??  This is nationalism and ethnocentrism devoid of compassion except for our own.

GLOBAL IS LOCAL, LOCAL GLOBAL
“Conflicts in our age have become both local and global, blurring the distinction between the two.  We can no longer speak of local and national conflicts without considering their international implications, nor can we ignore the impact of global trends and relations on local issues.”  Ibrahim Kalin, “Islam and Peace,” in Crescent and Dove, ed. by Qamar-ul Huda (USIP, 2010, p. 30).

My blog:   War Department/Peace Department
My Newsletters:
Index:
See OMNI Patriotism Forum,  Patriot Day

Nos. 10, 11 at end.

Contents #12, March 19, 2012, Invasion Anniversary
Dick Bennett, Harms of Iraq Wars, Embargo, Occupation
Google References

Contents #13
LOOKING BACK
Best Novel about Iraq War? The Yellow Birds
Falluja Massacre
Miller, Blood Money
IVAW Trauma Posters
Wikileaks
Schwartz, War Without End
Powell’s New Book: No Debate by Bush Admin.
New Film on Cheney, War Criminal
Suicides
Photos of Iraq War
Tutu Urges Bush/Blair Prosecution
Iraq and Iran Alliance

Contents #14 , March 19, 2013
Mass Killing in the Two Invasions
Abdul Haq al-Ani, Tarik al-Ani: Genocide, Gulf War, Decade of Sanctions 1990s, 2003     Invasion, Occupation
New Film on Fallujah Massacre
Dick, Cost of the War, Fraudulent Hidden Costs
Al-Ani and Baker:  Book on Uranium Poisoning
Faith Positions  
Episcopal Church
Laufer, US Soldiers Reject Iraq War
Independent Photo-journalists Report War
Breen, the Suffering of Individual Iraqis
Dick:   Reporting Iraq in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 2012
Google Search:  Commemorating Invasion of Iraq March 18-19, 2003

Contents #15
Payne:  Operation Desert Storm, First Iraq War
David Hare’s Play, Stuff Happens
Bennis, Challenging Empire
Tomas Young, Last Letter to Bush, Cheney, March 18, 2013
Young Documentary, “Body of War”
Young, Google Search May 4, 2013
Forthofer, US Leaders Guilty of War Crimes
Khawaja, Failure and Complicity of US Media
Kamber, Photojournalists Tell Untold Stories
The Yellow Birds, Google Search
Davies, CIA and Other War Crimes
2013 Violence Highest Since 2008
WRL, Reparations and Healing



OPERATION DESERT STORM, CHAPTER 4, RICHARD PAYNE, THE CLASH WITH DISTANT CULTURES


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The Clash with Distant Cultures
Values, Interests, and Force in American Foreign Policy
The Clash with Distant Cultures
Click on image to enlarge

Richard J. Payne - Author


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Hardcover - 285 pages
Release Date: September 1995
ISBN10: 0-7914-2647-5
ISBN13: 978-0-7914-2647-0

Out of Print
Price: $31.95
Paperback - 285 pages
Release Date: August 1995
ISBN10: 0-7914-2648-3
ISBN13: 978-0-7914-2648-7

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Summary
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An analysis of the impact of cultural values on the use of force and negotiations in American foreign policy.

"Payne's exposition of the profound influence of cultural factors on state behavior offers a needed corrective to the 'realist' school that still dominates academic writing on international relations (in which military and economic factors are emphasized to the virtual exclusion of ideational considerations); it can also help policymakers become more self-aware of the cultural biases implicit in their actions and statements. The book's hard-hitting exposition of American cultural myths and prejudices and their reflection on U.S. foreign policy, plus its accessible style, should make it useful in a variety of courses--from American Civilization to International Relations to Peace Studies--and to laypersons attentive to public affairs." -- Seyom Brown, Brandeis University

"The author addresses a foreign policy problem of major significance, that of the complex relationship between a nation's culture and its international behavior. Payne establishes a sound basis for his assertion that (1) American foreign policy has been heavily dependent on the use of culturally reinforced violence, and (2) the future cost of resolving conflicts through violence will probably become vastly more burdensome. The time is right for a book that suggests constructive new directions for American foreign policy. This is a much-needed book." -- Henry T. Nash, Wheaton College

Whereas foreign policymaking is generally viewed as a rational, unemotional, and sophisticated process, this analysis of American policies toward the Persian Gulf, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the Bosnian conflict suggests that the underlying and largely unexamined cultural values of most ordinary Americans play a major role in determining the United States' choice of force or negotiation in dealing with international problems. Payne examines the linkage between the United States' tendency to use force in foreign policy and the culture of violence in America. He argues that the costs of resolving conflicts militarily are likely to become more burdensome as economic competitors seek to take advantage of the U.S. tendency to demonstrate resolve primarily through the application of force. Post-Cold War challenges, Payne argues, call for a more nuanced combination of force and diplomacy. He finds hope in the fact that a strong component of American culture favors nonviolence, embraces humanitarianism, and if cultivated can contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Richard J. Payne is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at Illinois State University. He is the author of Opportunities and Dangers of Soviet-Cuban Expansion: Toward a Pragmatic U.S. Policy, also published by SUNY Press; The Nonsuperpowers and South Africa; The West European Allies, the Third World, and U.S. Foreign Policy; and The Third World and South Africa: Post-Apartheid Challenges.


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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Foreign Policy Begins at Home: Cultural Influences on U.S. Bad Behavior Abroad
Culture and Foreign Policy
Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Ideology, Myth, and American Foregin Policy
American Exceptionalism and Foreign Policy
A Religious Nation: Church and State Inseparable
Race, Culture, and American Foreign Policy
2. Cultural Roots of Force in American Foreign Policy
The Link Between Internal and External Violence
America's Historical Experiences and Its Use of Force
America's Historical Experiences and the Rule of Law
A Culture of Violence
Television and the Culture of Violence
Sports, Violence, and Foreign Policy
The Government: Reinforcing the Culture of Violence
Flight from Responsibility
Americans' Quest for Absolute Security
Foreign Policymaking by Analogy
3. Cultural Barriers to International Negotiations
The Negotiation Process
American Perceptions of Diplomacy and American Exceptionalism
Isolationism, Interdependence, and Negotiations
Impatience as a Barrier to Negotiation
4. Operation Desert Storm: No Negotiations, No Compromise
American Perceptions of Arabs
Perception of the Threat
Demonizing the Enemy: Hussein as Hitler
Foreign Policy by Analogy: World War II and Vietnam
Barriers to a Negotiated Settlement
America's Impatience and Sanctions
Bush's March to War
War and Religion
The Enemy Must Be Destroyed
Avoiding Responsibility
A New World Order: America as a Redeemer Nation
5. The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: Negotiating Peace Patiently
American Perceptions of and Cultural Links with Israel
American Perceptions of Palestinians
Ignoring UN Resolutions and the Rule of Law
Israel's Violations of Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories
Negotiating with Friends
War Brings Peace
6. Bosnia: Cultural Distance and U.S. Military Inaction
The Collision of Distant Cultures
Perception of the Threat
Ethnic Cleansing: Downplaying the World War II Analogy
Ignoring the Rule of Law
Reluctance to Use Force: Stressing the Vietnam Analogy
Arming the Bosnian Muslims
Ineffective Negotiations: Rewarding Agression?
7. Resolving Conflicts Peacefully
Notes
Bibliography
Index


GOOGLE SEARCH, STUFF HAPPENS, September 30, 2013, page one

1.                             Stuff Happens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuff_Happens
David Hare's Stuff Happens is a play about the events that led up to the 2003 Iraq War, beginning at about the time of George W. Bush's election in America in ...

2.                             David Hare's 'Stuff Happens': All the President's Men in 'On the Road ...

www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/theater/reviews/14stuf.html
Apr 14, 2006 - This invigorating new production of David Hare's drama about the road to war in Iraq is conducted on the scale of a town-hall meeting.

3.                             David Hare Enters the Theater of War - New York Times

theater.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/theater/26mcki.html?pagewanted=all
Mar 26, 2006 - ASK David Hare to describe his play "Stuff Happens," and he gives you a synopsis that could have dropped from any number of television ...

4.                             Stuff Happens: A Play: David Hare: 9780571226061: Amazon.com ...

www.amazon.com › ... › Americas  United States  21st Century
Stuff Happens: A Play [David Hare] on Amazon.com. *FREE* super saver shipping on qualifying offers. Stuff happens . . . And it's untidy, and freedom's untidy, ...

5.                             Stuff Happens, Olivier Theatre, London | Stage | The Guardian

www.guardian.co.uk › Culture  Stage  Theatre
Sep 11, 2004 - David Hare's Stuff Happens has already become a chewed-over public... This last point is crucial because Hare avoids the trap of agitprop by ...

6.                             The problem with David Hare's Iraq play. - Slate Magazine

www.slate.com/articles/news_and.../bad_theater_happens.html
Apr 14, 2006 - That's the conclusion I reached at David Hare's Stuff Happens, which opened April 13 at New York's Public Theater. The play tells the story of ...

7.                             Theater Talk: Playwright David Hare on "Stuff Happens"; and "The ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFXJ9yu5hdc
May 11, 2011 - Uploaded by cunytv75
British playwright DAVID HARE discusses his provocative play,STUFF HAPPENS, about the American ...
8.                              More videos for David Hare, Stuff Happens »

9.                             Stuff Happens by David Hare - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

www.goodreads.com/book/show/422945.Stuff_Happens
 Rating: 3.6 - 131 votes
Oct 1, 2005 - Stuff Happens has 131 ratings and 13 reviews. Phil said: I thought this was an ok play. I mean, its approach was interesting and the ...

10.                         Images for David Hare, Stuff Happens

o                                                       

11.                        'Stuff Happens': The Iraq War as History Play : NPR

www.npr.org › Arts & Life  Performing Arts
Jun 30, 2005 - The dark comedy by David Hare chronicles the tangle of diplomatic ...Stuff Happens, the controversial British play about the lead-up to the Iraq ...

12.                         Stuff Happens - David Hare - Complete Review

www.complete-review.com/reviews/hared/stuff.htm
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Stuff Happens by David Hare.
Searches related to David Hare, Stuff Happens


CHALLENGING EMPIRE BY PHYLLIS BENNIS

1.                             Bennis, Phyllis. Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and ...

bookreviews.bbcf.ca/.../bennis-phyllis-challenging-empire-how-people-g...
Sep 16, 2012 - However flawed the UN of the 21st century may still be, it remains a crucial part of any potentially successful effort to mount a serious challenge ...

 

On Third Anniversary of Global Protest Against Iraq War, A Look at "Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy U.S. Power"

May 27, 2013 | STORY
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Today marks the third anniversary of the February 15th global anti-war protest, the day tens of millions of people took to the streets in some 600 cities around the world to protest the Bush Administration’s plans to invade Iraq. Author Phyllis Bennis talks about how the anti-war movement has evolved into a major force for global change. [includes rush transcript]
Hundreds of marches and rallies took place in up to 60 countries. In Rome, over two million people marched. London, Madrid and Barcelona each saw over a million people take to the streets. In New York City, half a million rallied. In San Francisco, a quarter of a million people marched. And hundreds of other protests were held across every continent in the world. Sites included Australia, Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Syria, Tokyo, Bangladesh, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Brazil, East Timor, India, and even the South Pole.
·                 Phyllis Bennis, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, specializing in Middle East and United Nations issues. She is the author of several books. Her newest book is "Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy U.S. Power.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Phyllis Bennis has a new book, arguing the anti-war movement has evolved into a major force for global change. The book is called Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and the U.N. Defy U.S. Power. She joins us from Washington D.C. Welcome to Democracy Now!
PHYLLIS BENNIS: Thanks, Amy. Good to be with you.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us, Phyllis. Talk about the significance of this movement. The subtitle of your book is How People, Governments, and the UN Defy U.S. Power. But it’s three years later, and the U.S. is deeply involved in the occupation and war in Iraq still.
SHOW FULL TRANSCRIPT ›


Tomas Young, Dying Iraq War Veteran, Pens 'Last Letter' To Bush, Cheney On War's 10th Anniversary, and Film Body of War

The Huffington Post  |  By Nick Wing Posted: 03/19/2013 1:31 pm EDT  |  Updated: 03/19/2013 10:59 pm EDT
[A friend, Gil S, sent me this article with Young’s statement after the March 19 posting of my 2013 anniversary newsletter.  But the excellent statement is just as relevant today and deserves a wide readership.   Perhaps it will arouse the public to demand trial of Bush and Cheney for war crimes.   –Dick]
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Tomas Young Letter Iraq
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Days after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Tomas Young, then a 22-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., made a decision repeated by many other Americans around the country: He was going to enlist in the military in hopes of getting even with the enemies who had helped coordinate the deaths of nearly 3,000 men, women and children.
Less than three years later, Young's Army service placed him not in Afghanistan -- where then-President George W. Bush had told the nation the terrorist plot had originated -- but in Iraq. On April 4, 2004, just five days into his first tour, Young's convoy was attacked by insurgents. A bullet from an AK-47 severed his spine. Another struck his knee. Young would never walk again, and in fact, for the next nearly nine years, he would suffer a number of medical setbacks that allowed him to survive only with the help of extensive medical procedures and the care of his wife, Claudia.
The incident turned Young into one of the most vocal veteran critics of the Iraq War. He has, however, saved his most powerful criticism for what he claims will be his last. Young says he'll die soon, but not before writing a letter to Bush and former Vice President Cheney on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War.
From Young's letter, published on TruthDig:

I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.
Young goes on to attack the "cowardice" of Bush and Cheney for avoiding military service themselves, and to encourage them to "stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness."
Young was the subject of the 2007 documentary "Body of War," which was about his recovery process and the Iraq War. At a February screening of the film, Young told the audience that he planned to end his life in April.
According to the Ridgefield Press, Young announced that he would stop taking all nourishment and life-extending medications at that time. He's since said that the deterioration to his body from the injury and ensuing complications would make it physically impossible for him to commit suicide in any other way.
"It's time," he told the audience over Skype, while seated beside his wife. "When I go I want be alert and aware."
Young spoke more about his decision in a recent interview with journalist and Iraq War critic Chris Hedges.
“I made the decision to go on hospice care, to stop feeding and fade away," he said. "This way, instead of committing the conventional suicide and I am out of the picture, people have a way to stop by or call and say their goodbyes. I felt this was a fairer way to treat people than to just go out with a note."
For the rest of Hedges' interview with Young, click here. For the rest of The Huffington Post's coverage on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, click here.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

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A.                        Body of War

Body of WarBody of War is an intimate and transformational feature documentary about the true face of war today. Meet Tomas Young, 25 years old, paralyzed from a bullet to his spine – wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week.
Body of War is Tomas’ coming home story as he evolves into a new person, coming to terms with his disability and finding his own unique and passionate voice against the war. The film is produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, and features two original songs by Eddie Vedder. Body of War is a naked and honest portrayal of what it’s like inside the body, heart and soul of this extraordinary and heroic young man.
Body of War unfolds on two parallel tracks. On the one hand, we see Tomas evolving into a powerful voice against the war as he struggles to deal with the complexities of a paralyzed body. And on the other, we see the historic debate unfolding in the Congress about going to war in Iraq.
The film opens as Tomas and his fiancé Brie prepare for their wedding. However, because of his disability, we see how the simple everyday activities for Tomas are involved and challenging. War is personal and the film takes us into the skin and bones of what it means to have no control over basic bodily functions. In many remarkable scenes, we directly experience how vulnerable and open Tomas is as he interacts with his wife, family, and friends.
Watch the full documentary now (playlist – 1 hour, 28 minutes)


Tomas Young GOOGLE SEARCH 5-4-2013 first page

1.                             In his last act, Iraq veteran's mission turns deeply personal - CNN.com

www.cnn.com/2013/04/14/us/anti-war-vet-suicide
Apr 15, 2013 Tomas Young returned severely injured from Iraq and emerged as a voice against the war. Now he ... Crisis hotline saves suicidal war veterans ...

2.                             John Bruhns: A Pledge to Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young

www.huffingtonpost.com/sgt.../tomas-young-pledge_b_2953369.html
Mar 29, 2013 – It is a sad time in our history when an American combat veteran must resort to such an ... A Pledge to Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young ... of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of ...

3.                             Wounded Iraq Veteran, Thomas Young, to Commit Suicide by ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nf8e8hKCG4
Apr 6, 2013 - Uploaded by Dprippa
Wounded Iraq Veteran, Thomas Young, to Commit Suicide by Starvation ... He says that battle — and the ...

4.                             Exclusive: Dying Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young Explains Decision ...

www.democracynow.org/.../exclusive_dying_iraq_war...
Mar 21, 2013
Tomas Young, Iraq War veteran and the main subject of the ...form of liquid through a feeding tube — a ...
5.                              More videos for Tomas Young Iraq War Vet suicide »

6.                             Tomas Young - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomas_Young
Tomas Young (born November 30, 1979) is an American military veteran of the Iraq War. ... complications and he is currently on hospice care, awaiting his death. ... to Kansas City, Missouri and joined the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).

7.                             Exclusive: Dying Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young Reads "Last Letter ...

www.democracynow.org/.../exclusive_dying_iraq_war_veteran_tomas_...
Mar 21, 2013 – Iraq War veteran Tomas Young was left paralyzed in a 2004 attack in Iraq. ... through a feeding tube — a decision which will hasten his death.

8.                             'I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney ...

www.nydailynews.com/.../dying-veteran-tomas-young-writes-letter-bush-c...
Mar 28, 2013 – Tomas Young, a paralyzed Iraq vet who became an outspoken critic against the ... A few months ago I saw a documentary called “Body of War” made by Phil ... endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the ...

9.                             BBC News - Tomas Young: Suicidal veteran takes parting shot at Bush

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21952852
Mar 30, 2013 – An Iraq war veteran who has decided to end his life takes ex-President George W ... Tomas Young: Suicidal veteran takes parting shot at Bush ...

10.                         Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young Signs Off With 'Last Letter' | KCUR

kcur.org/post/iraq-war-veteran-tomas-young-signs-last-letter
Mar 28, 2013 – Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young Signs Off With 'Last Letter' .... Kim Ruocco, who lost her husband, an Iraq War veteran, to suicide, fears others ...

11.                         After Years Of Struggle, Veteran Chooses To End His Life : NPR

www.npr.org › News  US
Apr 7, 2013 Paralyzed by a bullet in Iraq, Tomas Young has only seen his health deteriorate since ... But this Iraq War veteran, who says his physical and emotional pain is ... suicide eight years ago, three months after returning from Iraq.


The pundits and most of the politicians who were involved in spreading the lies that led to the colossal disaster in Iraq were not held accountable. None of the political leaders from either major political party were put on trial for their roles in the war crimes against Iraq. In addition, most of the media 'experts' escaped accountability for abetting these war crimes.


“Lies of the Iraq War” the 10th anniversary of the Iraq 's genocide approximately 3 million human beings massacred and human habitats destroyed under the false pretext of WMD. This week, the global news media hurriedly doing the damage control of its complacent image and showing the belated facts of the bogus “War on Terror.” The facts were facts in March 2003, when George Bush, the Congress and Tony Blair planned aggression against the innocent people of Iraq , the Western news media served as a weapon to launch the cruel war. Now it wants to distance itself and perhaps repair the self-inflicted and well sponsored atrocities carried out against the mankind


Photojournalists on War

B.  Photojournalists on War

The Untold Stories from Iraq

By Michael Kamber

Introduction by Dexter Filkins

With visceral, previously unpublished photographs and eyewitness accounts from the front lines, three dozen of the world’s leading photojournalists reveal the inside and untold stories of the Iraq war in this groundbreaking oral history.

May 2013

Not yet published; available for pre-order
$65.00$43.55
33% website discount price
HARDCOVER
10 x 12 | 300 pp. | 164 b&w and color illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-292-74408-0

Look Inside

·                                 DESCRIPTION|
·                                 AUTHOR|
·                                 REVIEWS|
With previously unpublished photographs by an incredibly diverse group of the world’s top news photographers, Photojournalists on Warpresents a groundbreaking new visual and oral history of America’s nine-year conflict in the Middle East. Michael Kamber interviewed photojournalists from many leading news organizations, including Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, Magnum, Newsweek, the New York Times, Paris Match, Reuters, Time, the Times of London, VII Photo Agency, and the Washington Post, to create the most comprehensive collection of eyewitness accounts of the Iraq War yet published. These in-depth interviews offer first-person, frontline reports of the war as it unfolded, including key moments such as the battle for Fallujah, the toppling of Saddam’s statue, and the Haditha massacre. The photographers also vividly describe the often shocking and sometimes heroic actions that journalists undertook in trying to cover the war, as they discuss the role of the media and issues of censorship. These hard-hitting accounts and photographs, rare in the annals of any war, reveal the inside and untold stories behind the headlines in Iraq.
                     [The excerpt from the book’s Introduction published in Columbia Journalism Review (May/June 2013) emphasizes censorship as “the starting point for this book,” both official (dead troops, Iraqi prisoners, et al., off limits) and professional (editors of media as censors).  –Dick]


KEVIN POWERS’ THE YELLOW BIRDS, GOOGLE SEARCH 9-25-13

1.                             The Yellow Birds: A Novel: Kevin Powers: 9780316219341: Amazon ...

www.amazon.com › Books  Literature & Fiction  Genre Fiction  War
o                                                       
The Yellow Birds: A Novel [Kevin Powers] on Amazon.com. *FREE* super saver shipping on qualifying offers. A novel written by a veteran of the war in Iraq, The ...

2.                             Book review: 'The Yellow Birds' by Kevin Powers - Los Angeles Times

articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/.../la-ca-jc-kevin-powers-201211...
Nov 10, 2012 - Author Kevin Powers and the cover of his novel, 'The Yellow Birds. ... Powers, an Iraq war veteran, has said he wrote "The Yellow Birds" as an ...

3.                             In 'The Yellow Birds,' veteran highlights emotional hardships of Iraq ...

minnesota.publicradio.org/.../daily-circuit-kevin-powe...
May 22, 2013
Iraq war veteran Kevin Powers' new novel, "The Yellow Birds," follows two young American soldiers as ...

4.                             The Yellow Birds - Kevin Powers

www.kevincpowers.com/the_yellow_birds_114142.htm
“Beautiful, haunting, heart-wrenching. The Yellow Birds is one of the finest novels to emerge from the Iraq war. Mr. Powers has an extraordinary ability to show ...

5.                             The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers - Reviews, Discussion ...

www.goodreads.com › War  Military
 Rating: 3.8 - ‎9,364 votes
Sep 6, 2012 - Richard said: The Yellow Birds wins the 2012 Guardian First BookAward! ... In Al Tafar, Iraq, twenty-one-year old Private Bartle and ... THE YELLOW BIRDS is a groundbreaking novel about the costs of war that is destined to ...

6.                             The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers | 9780316219341 | Paperback ...

www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-yellow-birds-kevin.../1108616399?ean...
 Rating: 4 - ‎73 votes - ‎$9.99 to $11.19
A novel written by a veteran of the war in Iraq, The Yellow Birds is the harrowing story of two young soldiers trying to stay alive.The war tried to kill us in the ...

7.                             Ain't Them Bodies Saints Director Set To Adapt Iraq War Novel The ...

www.cinemablend.com/.../Ain-t-Them-Bodies-Saints-Director-S...
Sep 9, 2013 - Like most excellent novels of this sort, The Yellow Birds is psychologically harrowing in its depiction of soldiers getting used to the stress-filled ...

8.                             'Yellow Birds' author Kevin Powers picks his favorite books

www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/05/13/...books/2151147/
May 13, 2013 - Out now in paperback, Kevin Powers' debut novel of the Iraq War, TheYellow Birds, was one of the most celebrated books of 2012: It won the ...

9.                             Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds - National Book Foundation

www.nationalbook.org/nba2012_f_powers.html
Poetic, precise, and moving, The Yellow Birds is a work of fiercest principle, ... and the nightmare landscape of the Iraq war, through days of waiting, through the ...

10.                         'The Yellow Birds' by Kevin Powers - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2012/09/.../books/the-yellow-birds-by-kevin-powers.ht...
Review by MICHIKO KAKUTANI
Sep 6, 2012 - "The Yellow Birds," a brilliantly observed novel by a veteran of the war inIraq, stands with Tim O'Brien's enduring Vietnam book, "The Things ...



War Crimes as Policy

The CIA: Keepers of the Hit Lists
by DOUGLAS VALENTINE and NICOLAS J.S. DAVIES
In February the Guardian and BBC Arabic unveiled a documentary exploring the role of retired Colonel James Steele in the recruitment, training and initial deployments of the CIA advised and funded Special Police Commandos in Iraq.
The documentary tells how the Commandos tortured and murdered tens of thousands of Iraqi men and boys.  But the Commandos were only one of America’s many weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.   Along with US military forces – which murdered indiscriminately – and various CIA funded death squads – which murdered selectively – and the CIA’s rampaging palace guard – the 5,000 man strong Iraq Special Operations Forces – the Commandos were part of a genocidal campaign that killed about 10% of the Sunni Arabs of Iraq by 2008, and drove about half of all Sunnis from their homes.
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2013 VIOLENCE HIGHEST SINCE 2008
“July Deaths Most Since 2008 in Iraq.”  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (8-2, 13).    “More than 1,000 people were killed in Iraq in July, the highest monthly death toll in five years, the United Nations said.. . . .Violence has been on the rise all year.”  Cause?  “sectarian tensions” soaring.


Take Action! Support People's Right to Heal
War Resisters League [wrl@warresisters.org]
To: James R. Bennett 

Monday, March 25, 2013 8:24 AM
Sign the Right to Heal Petition and Support Reparations for Iraqis 
"Iraqis have been building alternatives to militarism and domination for a long time, and one of the goals of the US occupation was to undermine that organizing." -Ali Issa, WRL National Field Organizer, March 19, 2013
"I can't demand reparations fom the US government for my rape while in the military without being in solidarity with Iraqis who were raped during the occupation." -Joyce Wagner, Iraq Veterans Against the War 
"You can't bring anything good by bombing and killing. It's an arsenal of killing that was sent to the other side of the world" -Yanar Mohammed, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq 
These are all quotes from the past few days since the Right to Heal project was launched by the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), the Center for Constitutional Rights, War Resisters League, and other supporting organizations. 
On Tuesday, we held a press conference in Washington DC, demanding the right to heal for Iraqis and US military veterans and reparations for the Iraqi people for the devastation that the US war left in its wake. The US government has been ignoring the needs of those people most deeply impacted by the nearly 9-year US occupation of Iraq. In response, this strong coalition effort has been formed to bring the questions of healing and reparations before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a part of the Organization of American States whose mission it is to promote and protect human rights. 
We have have received much media coverage, including interviews with Yanar Mohammed of OWFI and Maggie Martin of IVAW on Democracy Now!, France24, andCurrentTV, among others. 
On Wednesday, with the help of the Brecht Forum in NYC,WRL organized an event with Mohammed, Martin, and Eve Ensler, with WRL's own field organizer, Ali Issa, moderating: "Iraq Now: Reparations, the Right to Heal and Possibilities for International Solidarity." The next Right to Heal event is this Tuesday, March 26th at Harvard University in Boston
What can you do? 
Please sign the petition to ask for a hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that willrespond to Iraqi and US veteran demands for a right to heal. You can also donate directly to the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq through the Right to Heal website. The funds raised will go directly to buying what OWFI’s clinic in Haweeja needs the most, including ­medicine, wheelchairs, and physical therapy equipment. Your donation will go towards building a vision of mutual aid and solidarity beyond governments and large institutions. Make your contribution today. 
Also, please join WRL organizer Ali Issa as well as author and oil analyst Antonia Juhasz tomorrow, March 26th at 8:30PM (Eastern) for a phone briefing hosted by United for Peace and Justice addressing these questions: What is the state of Iraq today? What is the condition of Iraqi society, infrastructure and economy? What is the United States doing in Iraq today and what role does the peace movement have in helping the people of Iraq heal their nation? Connect by calling:
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 632-0550
Participant Access Code: 468455#
WRL News
Check out these photos from the March 19th no drones action, targeting prominent drones manufacturer L3, which was organized by the NYC chapter of WRL. We want to hear from you! Send any of photos or video from local actions for the March 19th Iraq War anniversary to wrl@warresisters.org. 


Contents of #10
Support the Lee Bill
Occupation and Resistance in Iraq and Afghanistan
Pew Poll of US Troops: War Not Worth It
Kucinich Steadfast
Bennis: Iraq War Continues
100 Poets Against the War
Violence Follows Withdrawal?
Leave Iraq When Promised
Van Buren: We Meant Well?



Contents of #11 Feb. 9, 2012
Haditha Films
IVAW Winter Soldier Film
Four Articles from HAW
Engelhardt: US Weakness
USA Today versus Invasion of Iraq
Cindy Sheehan on Leaving Iraq
WRL on Iraq’s Future
Cockburn, Lost Battle Against IEDs
Hedges and Al-Arian on Killing Innocents
Van Buren, on US Aid
Shear, Novel About Returned Marine
Zunes, Those Responsible
Hayden, Sectarian Future
Vets for Peace: Obama Declares End of War
Casualties and Deaths


END IRAQ NEWSLETTER #15


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