This Obama presidency has been a brilliant move by our ruling class, for this black, personable decoy has managed to pacify vast swaths of an otherwise restless constituency, while enraging others for the wrong reason. Although Obama’s blackness is irrelevant, it has become a fixation to both his detractors and supporters, so that it has become a point of honor to defend or depose this man for his blackness alone, when in truth his race does not factor at all in any of his decisions. One should not care that he is black, because Obama does not care that he is black, and not in a good way either. Obama is not here to rectify whatever ails the black or any other community. He is only here to facilitate the wishes of the Military Banking Complex, and he’s willing to trample on you all, black, white, brown or yellow, to achieve their goals.
In Chicago recently, I was dismayed and disgusted to see an Obama poster as I entered the Heartland CafĂ©, a bastion of progressive politics in that city, but my mood was improved, however, at a Trayvon Martin rally downtown, when I encountered a man with this sign, “OBAMA—IMPERIALIST COMMANDER IN CHIEF.” Of course he was only stating the obvious, because how can a US President be otherwise under this current setup?
That pretty much says it all. I have all these e-mails asking me today if I think Barack can pull it out? Anything is possible but they made a huge mistake (Dems) in strategy. C.I. pointed it out about a month and a half ago and we all said, "Don't repeat it! Don't write about it!"
Dems really stepped in it and helped Mitt while not grasping that that's what they were doing.
Now that Santorum's out, Mitt may rise in the polls. (I'll most likely be voting for Jill Stein.) And I can't tell you more about Mitt because that would really be assy since C.I.'s the one who caught it.
I hope you caught Kat's "Kat's Korner: Why a very good album isn't great" from this morning. I love Kat. And I love what she wrote. She works very, very hard on her reviews and that one was written in the middle of the week. I salute my friend for her skill and talent.
On e-mails. I stepped in it. I have been getting various e-mails and made the mistake of saying, "Sure I'll highlight something."
But that wasn't what they wanted. I didn't do what one wanted. She wanted me to write about her company in a post I'd already written. To go in and write about how great her company was.
And I'm not going to do that. I'd promised her a link and I went and gave her a link. I did not write about her company. I don't want to.
And she and others like her start e-mailing me constantly. I need -- don't you love strangers who tell you what you need to do? -- to write about this and link to that. And they'll give me money!
I have told them I am not seeking suggestions and that I don't take money for my writing.
So if you're e-mailing me and you're someone who usually gets a reply and don't this week, I need a week off from e-mails. I spent last night replying to those people in what I hoped was civil but clear. And I go in this morning and one of them's already written me again. I'm just tired of it.
This is my site. I'll write about what I want. I'm really tired of bossy e-mails from people who want links.
To be clear, I'm talking about people who don't read this site but think they can bully me into doing their bidding.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday,
April 10, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, revisionary history on
the Iraq War has already been launched, Mike Prysner pushes back
against it with facts, Susan Rice and Martin Kobler disgrace themselves
and the White House and the UN today in a Security Council meeting, the
political crisis continues, there are many treatments and therapies for
PTSD, and more.
This week, Omar Ali (Liberation) notes A.N.S.W.E.R.'s
San Francisco chapter held a teach-in the afternoon of March 25th at
the First Unitarian Chuch on Franklin. The topic of the teach-in was
the Iraq War. Speakers included Dr. Jess Ghannam, Nazila Bargshady,
Dr. Henry Clark, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Richard
Becker and Gloria La Riva. Ali notes, "The teach-in was well attended
by progressives from many different movements and communities. The
diversity of the attendees demonstrates the sense of unity of different
strata of the working class of this country in opposition to the war
against the Iraqi masses.
We're going to note a section of Iraq War veteran and March Forward co-founder Mike Prysner's speech.
Mike
Prysner: I am happy to see so many people here to talk about the real
history of the Iraq War because now that it is perceived that for the
most part the Iraq War as we knew it from 2003 until just recently has
largely ended, a large number of troops, occupying troops, have gone
and, of course with that, the US government is going to try to write
the history of the war as they want it to be written. And that started
not too long ago, actually started on the ninth anniversary of the war,
the day that the invasion began, March 19th, President Obama made the
day an official holiday to mark the anniversary. That day, March 19th,
was now called The National Day of Honor. President Obama wrote in his
declaration that soldiers fought block-by-block to help the Iraqi
people sieze a chance for a better future, that the soldiers took new
roles as diplomats and development experts to improve the communities
where they served, that their strength toppled a tyrant and their valor
helped build opportunity in oppression's place. Across the nearly nine
years of conflict, the glory of their service always shone through. The
language in this declaration is just gushing over the honor and heroism
of US service members and the righteousness of the mission, the
bravery, the glory, the valor the sacrfice, the success -- this is how
they are writing the history of the war: A just, heoric mission with an
unforseen evil resistance that was defeated only by our soldiers'
determination to serve the United States of America. That's the
history that they want to write. And they want to write the history
that way because the reality is very different. The reality is that
this government sent those soldiers that they are honoring with this
holiday, sent them to a war against the will of the majority of the
people both in the United States and in Iraq, that they lied and we can
say now without any question that they lied about why they were sending
those soldiers, that they ordered them to unleash the full might of the
most powerful military machine in history against a people that had
committed no crime nor posed any threat to our friends or family, that
they gutted our schools, our communities, our healthcare services to
pay for the war, that they laid waste to a beautiful, proud country and
that when the war wasn't going well or going as they planned, they kept
throwing bodies and more bodies and more bodies into the grinder. And
in it's wake, it left every single person who is touched by that war
destroyed and abandoned with no hope while the vultures on Wall Street
cashed in. This is the real history of the war and what will -- for
the time being anyway -- be etched into the calendars in the United
States as a national day of honor, we know that it will be something
very different for Iraq. It will be the day that they'll remember as a
day of fear, as a day of pain, as a day that began a new nightmare --
one that would take the lives of over 1.3 million people, there would
be 5 million homeless, 4 million orphans, a day when a foreign miltary
invaded their soil in a war of aggression and would not leave and
remained there for years to raid their homes, torture their parents and
children, shred their identity and patrol their streets. That day,
March 19, 2003, will forever be ingrained into the conscience of the
Iraqi people not as a day to honor the US military but as the day when
they saw its true face. I was one of those soldiers who marched into
Iraq on the eve of the invasion in March of '03. I was 19-years-old.
I wanted to go. I was willing to die for my country -- whatever that
means, as President Obama has just honored us for. But I didn't know a
lot of things then. I didn't know that when our commander-in-chief, my
top military commanders, civilian advisors, and when they were telling
us why we had to risk our lives, that they were lying and that they
knew that they were lying. I didn't know that they lied because they
couldn't tell the truth because the truth was so sinister. On the eve
of the invasion, I didn't know that we would not be greeted with
flowers and people cheering in the streets. I didn't know that for more
than ten years prior, these people had arleady been dying at the hands
of the US government. As we saw, they spent years bombing the food
supply, water treatment plants, civilian infrastructure, hopsitals,
that they intentionally starved Iraq, that they intentionally denied
medicine so that hundreds of thousands of children would die as a
result, that this was a calculated strategy. This is the government
we're dealing with. I didn't know that I'd be a part of such an
unparalleled loss of innocent life, such an unmatched level of
destruction that it would constitute the greatest atrocity of the
modern era. That's the real history of the Iraq War.
Today W.G. Dunlop (AFP) reports,
"Iraqis thought a better life was at hand when Saddam Hussain's regime
fell in April 2003, but after nine years of violence and suffering,
many are still waiting for their dreams to be realised. Iraq still
faces major shortages in basic services such as electricity and water,
the UN says some 1.3 million Iraqis are internally displaced, and
though violence is down from its peak in 2006-2007, attacks remain
common."
Also today, US Ambassador to the
United Nations Susan Rice called to order a UN Security Council meeting
noting, "The provisional agenda for this meeting is the situation in
Iraq." Martin Kobler is the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's Special
Envoy to Iraq and he offered testimony as did the Iraqi Ambassador to
the UN Hamid al-Bayati.
Kobler's opening
remarks were confusing and not just for their spin. For example, he
claimed, "The United States completed the withdrawal of its armed
forces from Iraq on December 31, 2011." December 18, 2011 is generally
seen as when the US military withdrew most of it troops. (Left
behind? Trainers, Special Ops, Marines to protect the Embassy and
Embassy staff, the CIA and the FBI as well as thousands of contractors
working for the US State Dept.)
Kobler noted
the political crisis, "The continued delays in convening the National
Conference underscores the urgent need for Iraqi leaders to summon the
political will and courage to work together to solve the country's
problems through an inclusive dialogue. In this regard, UNAMI will
continue to remain steadfast in its commitment in assisting the
government and people of Iraq to address the major challenges facing
their nation."
He spoke of "the need for
conducting provincial elections in Kirkuk as soon as possible." The
steps for this were outlined in Iraq's 2005 Constitution -- Article
140. Who refused to implement Article 140 by the end of 2007 as the
Constitution required? Prime Minister and thug Nouri al-Maliki.
Political Stalemate I followed the March 7, 2010 elections and lasted
for 8 months as Nouri refused to allow anyone else to be named prime
minister-designate (despite Nouri's State of Law coming in second to
Iraqiya). He could dig in his heels because he had the backing of US
President Barack Obama. In November 2010, the US-brokered Erbil
Agreement ended Poltiical Stalemate I. The Erbil Agreement called for
Nouri to get a second term as prime minister. In exchange for that, he
had to guarantee certain things in the agreement including that Kirkuk
would be resolved as outlined in the Constitution. Once he became
Prime Minister (end of December 2010), he trashed the Erbil Agreement
and that created Political Stalemate II which has now lasted
approximately 16 months.
UN
Special Envoy Martin Kobler: [. . .] the tensions that have arisen
between the main party blocs in Iraq which have developed into a
political impasse. I have therefore Iraqi political parties and
leaders to work together in the spirit of partnership towards finding
common ground that will resolve their differences. In this regard,
Iraqiya's decision to end its boycott of the Council of Ministers and
Council of Representatives was the right step. President [Jalal]
Talabani suggested holding a National Conference as a way forward to
bring about an end to the stalemate. Unfortunately, until today, there
was no agreement on the agenda. An inclusive forum is needed, however,
as a first step to end the political impasse. I call on all Iraqi
leaders to sit together to address all their differences in a
meaningful way. UNAMI stands ready to continue supporting these
efforts. [. . .] I'm concerned that Iraq's political situation is
heightening communal tensions in the country and leading to an increase
in the number of attacks on civilians. Since my last briefing to the
council, terrorist attacks have continued to target pilgrims and
resulted in the killing and wounding of scores of defenseless people
practicing their religion. Other attacks across the country have
indiscriminately targeted civilians resulting in large numbers of
deaths and injuries including children. In the first three months of
2012, a total of 613 civilians were killed and 1,800 were injured.
This is slightly less than civilian casualties last year; however,
every man, woman and child dying in terrorist attacks in the streets,
markets or mosques of Iraq is one casualty too many. Such horrendous
crimes against the Iraqi people need to stop and violence must end if
Iraq is to achieve the prosperous and secure future its people deserve.
There
is more on violence that we'll get to in a moment. But let's go to
where things stand with the major blocs in Iraq today. Al Mada notes
that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states the political crisis needs
to be addressed and regrets that the national conference was not held
last Thursday as scheduled. (The National Conference is what Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi
have been calling for since December 21st to address the ongoing
political crisis.) Nouri has resisted the conference since it was
suggested. In February, his refusal began to be based on the Arab
League Summit which was scheduled for March 29th. He argued that the
conference would have to wait until then. The weekend before the
conference, Talabani pushed Nouri's hand by announcing that the
conference would take place April 5th. Nouri quickly touted that in
public statements. But then the conference was cancelled at the last
minute, less than 24 hours before it was to be held.
Dar Addustour notes
that State of Law MP Mahmoud Hassan and Kurdish Alliance MP Bir Saz
Shaaban got into a loud argument yesterday. These actions mirror the
conflict between Nouri and the KRG which includes, most recently, the
issue of oil contracts and more long-term the lack of an oil and gas
law and the failure of Nouri to implement the agreed upon Erbil
Agreement. Florian Neuhof (The National) notes:
Baghdad is irked by ExxonMobil's decision late last year to explore six blocks in the Kurdistan region, following the lead of Tony Hayward, the former BP chief executive who is heading the investment company Vallares, along with numerous smaller oil companies.
The central government has an informal policy of blacklisting oil companies active in the autonomous region from licensing rounds in the south of the country. But tough contracts and difficult conditions have made Kurdistan an attractive option for big operators over the rest of Iraq. The French oil major Total has hinted it may set up shop in the north.
Al Mada reports that officials in both the central-government in Baghdad and the KRG government are stating that to prevent ExxonMobil from operating in Iraq would be a blow to Iraq's oil industry. Moqtada al-Sadr has waded into the issue. Al Mada reports his online column this week responds to questions about the dispute and he states that the oil is not the centeral-government's oil or the KRG's oil but Iraqis' oil and belongs to all Iraqis. Asked of speaking with US President Barack Obama, al-Sadr states Barack needs to learn a lesson and floats that option that Barack, on a visit, could meet the same shoe treatment Bully Boy Bush did. He also states that Barack continues occupation and oppression of Muslims.
KRG President Massoud Barzani met with Barack last week as he visited DC. For his speech Thursday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy see Thusday's "Iraq snapshot" for his response to questions on the issue of Kirkuk see Friday's "Iraq snapshot." He also spoke at an event for Kurds in the US and Kani Xulam (Rudaw) covers that event:
There were other tidbits about little Kurdistan, but I am going to be picky for the purposes of this report. In America, he said, he was happy to meet with the likes of President Obama and conveyed to him our people's unswerving commitment to the constitution of Iraq, which recognizes Kurdistan as a federal state. But, he added, there were unmistakable signs of trouble in the city on the Tigris. The source of that concern was Nouri Maliki. He was concentrating power in his hands, he was like five ministers at once, and now, again, Mr. Barzani raised his voice: "He also wants to be head of the Central Bank of Iraq."
The Kurds aren't the only ones in disagreement with Nouri. John Glaser (Antiwar.com) writes of the ongoing political crisis:
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demonstrated an increasingly authoritarian rule as he consolidates power over the country's institutions and security forces. He has marginalized his political opponents through force and coercion, which has stoked sectarian tensions and even threatened a break-up of the nation. And Obama is supporting all of it.
Baghdad is irked by ExxonMobil's decision late last year to explore six blocks in the Kurdistan region, following the lead of Tony Hayward, the former BP chief executive who is heading the investment company Vallares, along with numerous smaller oil companies.
The central government has an informal policy of blacklisting oil companies active in the autonomous region from licensing rounds in the south of the country. But tough contracts and difficult conditions have made Kurdistan an attractive option for big operators over the rest of Iraq. The French oil major Total has hinted it may set up shop in the north.
Al Mada reports that officials in both the central-government in Baghdad and the KRG government are stating that to prevent ExxonMobil from operating in Iraq would be a blow to Iraq's oil industry. Moqtada al-Sadr has waded into the issue. Al Mada reports his online column this week responds to questions about the dispute and he states that the oil is not the centeral-government's oil or the KRG's oil but Iraqis' oil and belongs to all Iraqis. Asked of speaking with US President Barack Obama, al-Sadr states Barack needs to learn a lesson and floats that option that Barack, on a visit, could meet the same shoe treatment Bully Boy Bush did. He also states that Barack continues occupation and oppression of Muslims.
KRG President Massoud Barzani met with Barack last week as he visited DC. For his speech Thursday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy see Thusday's "Iraq snapshot" for his response to questions on the issue of Kirkuk see Friday's "Iraq snapshot." He also spoke at an event for Kurds in the US and Kani Xulam (Rudaw) covers that event:
There were other tidbits about little Kurdistan, but I am going to be picky for the purposes of this report. In America, he said, he was happy to meet with the likes of President Obama and conveyed to him our people's unswerving commitment to the constitution of Iraq, which recognizes Kurdistan as a federal state. But, he added, there were unmistakable signs of trouble in the city on the Tigris. The source of that concern was Nouri Maliki. He was concentrating power in his hands, he was like five ministers at once, and now, again, Mr. Barzani raised his voice: "He also wants to be head of the Central Bank of Iraq."
The Kurds aren't the only ones in disagreement with Nouri. John Glaser (Antiwar.com) writes of the ongoing political crisis:
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demonstrated an increasingly authoritarian rule as he consolidates power over the country's institutions and security forces. He has marginalized his political opponents through force and coercion, which has stoked sectarian tensions and even threatened a break-up of the nation. And Obama is supporting all of it.
Maliki, a Shiite, ordered the arrest of his Sunni Vice President Hashemi just as the last U.S. troops left Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq expressed approval in January
of this quest to detain Iraq's vice president on trumped up terrorism
charges, despite a virtual consensus that it was a blatant attempt to
eliminate a political rival.
Tareq al-Hashemi is Sunni, he's also a member of Iraqiya which won the most votes in the March 7, 2010 elections. Emre Peker (Bloomberg News) reports
that Tareq al-Hashemi "arrived in Turkey last night". He's on a
diplomatic tour and has already visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia. AFP adds,
"During his visit to the kingdom, Saudi officials said that Al Hashemi
might remain in the kingdom until his political foe, Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki, leaves office. But Hashemi's aides said he
would not live in exile and would return to the autonomous Kurdish
region in Iraq, where he has been sheltering since he was accused late
last year of running a death squad." Today's Zaman notes, "Al-Hashemi's visit to Turkey was his first trip to Turkey since the allegations were leveled against him."
Iraqiya's led by Ayad Allawi who has penned a column for the Washington Times addressing Iraq's political crisis:
Iraqiya's led by Ayad Allawi who has penned a column for the Washington Times addressing Iraq's political crisis:
Of
even greater concern is the increasing number of attempts to quash or
take over institutions that are supposed to be independent, such as the
elections, integrity and communication commissions and, most recently,
the Central Bank. These, among other disturbing acts, are chilling
reminders of the governance pattern established by dictatorship. More
recently, Mr. al-Maliki stepped up his rhetoric against the government of the Kurdistan region. This was partly on the heels of Mr. al-Maliki's unconstitutional moves to target Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq
immediately after he returned from a trip to the United States. This,
in turn, brought Iraqis to make wrongful inferences about Washington's
role in this series of events, in contradiction to the original vision
of the United States to build a democratic state in Iraq
with civil liberties, national reconciliation, an independent and fair
judiciary, and pluralistic political and media systems.
Washington's evident disengagement gave Mr. al-Maliki
the confidence to move even closer to his objective of achieving
absolute power by blatantly avoiding the implementation of the
power-sharing Erbil Agreement sponsored by Masoud Barzani and the White House.
Eventually, the political momentum behind the agreement dissolved,
allowing the country to drift back into sectarianism and autocratic
rule instead of moving forward with reconciliation and reconstruction.
The resulting disastrous state of affairs is fanning increasing
disillusionment among Iraqis about the role of the United States and
its efforts to create a stable democracy in Iraq.
With no obvious effort by Washington as the patron of the Erbil Agreement to break the current deadlock, Iraq surely will plunge into violence among Iraq's sects, ethnic groups and even political parties.
So
that's where things stand in Iraq today. More or less, the same place
they've stood for months now. This is Political Stalemate II -- or to
use Martin Kobler's term "political impasse."
Now
we're going back to Kobler. See if you see what's he's done. It's not
cute and it's pretty damn shameful and there's enough slices of the
shame pie to make sure Susan Rice grabs a slice as well.
UN
Special Envoy Martin Kobler: Statistics indicate that Iraqi women --
and we are just having had the month of the women in March -- that they
continue to face widespread instances of gender-based violence
including domestic violence and the so-called 'honor' killings. Many
of these issues related to the violence of women and girls derives from
entrenched traditional conditiona and social practices. It is the duty
of Iraqi leaders to act responsibaly and in unity to end the ongoing
violence against women and girls. In recent months, I've expanded my
regular consulations with the representatives of all minority
communities around the country including Christians, Shabaqs, Sabean
Madeans, Yazzidis. I would like to emphasize that violence against
minorities is unacceptable and should have no place in Iraq as it moves
forward on the path of consolidating democracy. UNAMI is able to
provide support to the Iraqi authorities in protecting Iraq's ethnic
and religious communities and promoting their rights in accordance with
the Constitution including fair representation in the political system
in Iraq.
He then wanted to praise Iraq for creating a human rights commission.
Really?
Last month, Igor Volsky (Think Progress) noted
(March 7, 2012), "Earlier today, the UN Human Rights Council held the
first hearing 'to discuss discrimination and violence against LGBT
people." UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon issued a special message to
the council, decrying violence against the LGBT community as a
'monumental tragedy' that is a 'stain on our collective conscience' and
a 'violation of international law' [. . .]" and he quotes UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stating, "To those who are gay, lesbian,
bisexual or transgender, let me say -- you are not along. Your struggle
for an end to violence and discrimination is a shared struggle. Any
attack on you is an attack on the universal values the United Nations
and I have sworn to uphold."
Is Kobler not part of the UN? Has he sworn to do the same.
We
got a little talk about women in this presenation. That is new.
Previous presentations to the Security Council by the Special Envoy to
Iraq frequently left women out. But apparently, something more "gross"
and "disgusting" than women has been found by the office of Special
Envoy: Iraq's LGBTs.
It was really disgusting
to hear Kobler prattle on about violence and minorities and never once
note the attacks on Iraq's LGBT community. It was disgusting.
It was disgusting that Susan Rice never bothered to raise the issue. As evidenced by this White House announcement,
the administration is aware that this is LGBT Pride Month. Somehow the
memo didn't reach Susie Rice. If the US LGBT community has any sense of
community with those LGBTs living in other countries where their lives
are threatened for who they are, US LGBTs would insist that the White
House start proving they give a damn about LGBT rights.
These
photo ops and press releases are bull f**king s**t if in hearing after
hearing, the administration refuses to address threats to LGBTs. Susan
Rice presided over the Security Council hearing today. She had it in
her power to set the agenda. She was happy to slam that hammer down
repeatedly announcing "So ordered" after she'd issued an edict. But
she wasn't happy or willing to use that power to address the plight of
Iraq's LGBT community. Since the start of this year, many have been
killed. This isn't a secret, it's well reported, and we've certainly
covered it here.
Martin Kobler and Susan Rice
and the United Nations and the White House enable those killings by
refusing to address the murders in what they call a hearing on the "the
situation in Iraq." There's no excuse for that. Shame on them for
their non-actions and their silence.
Shame on
the White House for allowing Susan Rice to conduct herself in that
manner. Her actions demonstrate that these words in the White House press release yesterday
were nothing but pretty lies, "Across the country, ordinary people are
doing extraordinary things to improve the lives of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. They are parents and
students, neighborhood and business leaders, artists and advocates, all
united in the fight for equality." If you really valued diversity and
really valued LGBTs, you'd damn well address them in a hearing on Iraq
after the non-stop targeting that's taken place since the start of the
year -- which is only the latest wave in the targeting of Iraq's LGBT
community. Repeating, shame on the White House.
There
was more in the hearing, water rights, Camp Ashraf, etc. In addition,
he had a 17 page report that I've still not had time to read all of
(I've skimmed the entire thing, neither Iraq's LGBTs nor the Iraqi Emos
are mentioned). So the plan is to pick up on the UN Security Council
hearing in tomorrow's snapshot. That said, I'm so disgusted by the
silence on Iraq's LGBTs that I'll be looking for any other Iraq issue
to cover to avoid going through the notes I took on today's hearing.
Turning to the United States where veteran Devin Hamilton (KFBB -- link is video) reports on living with PTSD. Excerpt.
Keith
Gattis: Daily my main issue is sleep. I was at work and doing
something very normal, very every day, taking out the garbage. One of
the very first things I noticed was a box, a medium sized box, with a
type of liquid or stains coming from the box. Really the only thing
that crossed my mind was not "What is that?" or why is this here, it
was: Bomb. You know, a lot of people will think that's completely out
of the norm but for us, it's survival.
Devin
Hamilton: And Keith pointed out that the survival mentality soldiers
live with makes them seem too strong to be depressed or unaffected by
war.
Keith
Gattis: They're not supposed to cry, they're not supposed to be weak.
But, you know, I mean we are. We're human. We have our flaws, we have
our doubts, we have our fears. We seem to find ourselves on this
pedestal as the bravest, the toughest, you know. Men of action, if you
will. But everyone has seen the movie where the soldier cries for his
buddy. But no one has seen the part [long pause] where he still cries for his buddy.
PTSD
can span from mild to severe. Some self-medicate due to lack of VA
resources (sadly, this includes those who actively seek help and are
denied or delayed due to various budget and staffing issues), some are
unaware of the resources that are out there. (Click here for the VA's National Center for PTSD page.)
There is also the military culture stigma towards seeking help that
undercuts treatment of PTSD. For those who seek and receive treatment,
PTSD is something that can be managed. I'm sure there are a number who
have PTSD and never seek treatment and never self-medicate or self-harm
that do just fine. There are always exceptions to the rule. Most
people, however, will need treatment whether it's clinical, medical,
holistic or whatever. There are a variety of treatments and ways to
address PTSD.)
2nd Lt Marie Denson writes at the US Air Force website,
"There are many treatments for PTSD, according to the U.S. Department
of Veteran Affairs' National Center for PTSD, but at this time there
are two types of treatments that appear to be the most effective,
medicines and cognitive-behavioral therapy counseling. Different
treatment options are often tried to see what will work most
effectively for the individual." Yeah, right. That works for some, it
doesn't work for all and the military's done damn little in terms of
treatment, they're really not in the place to say what treatment works
and doesn't.
Different people will respond
to different treatments. I know a veteran who suffered from PTSD and
learned to manage it in therapy by treating it (a severe outbreak) like
a panic attack via a claming technique that involved cupping his left
wrist with his right hand and repeatedly (and lightly squeezing) as a
calming technique. I know three other veterans who deal with it via
guided journaling. I can sit here and list 60 different therapies
being used by veterans I know. Different things work for different
people. Some people will respond, for example, very well to
medication. But medication isn't a cure-all for everyone.
And too often medication is resorted to just to move someone on down the line and be done with them.
Considering what happened to Iraq War veteran Anthony Mena, you'd think the government would be a little more careful. As Charles D. Brunt (Albuquerque Journal) reported in
March 2011, "Five months after being medically discharged, the former
member of Kirkland Air Force Base's 377th Security Forces Squadron died
in his sleep -- the result of a lethal mix of nine prescribed
medications, including antidepressants, pain killers, tranquilizers and
muscle relaxers."
Madison's Channel3000.com reports
the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a program for Iraq War and
Afghanistan War veterans with PTSD in which they utilize yoga to
address mental stimulation, "Only 50 percent of the vets who undergo
the traditional therapies are cured. [Dr. Emma] Seppala said she
thought there had to be a bettr way." Ashley Korslien (KREM2 News -- link is text and video) reports
that Spokane veterans can utilize a treatment called "Operation Dog
Tag" which Vietnam veteran, PTSD sufferer and dog trainer Joe Sheffer
has created based on his and his friends experiences.
Ashley Korslien: The program will pair veterans up with dogs trained to meet their needs.
When
they're going through Post-Traumatic stress, they [the dog] can put
their heads on their lap or something and they can begin to show some
kind of affection.
Iraq
War veteran Chrisina Holt: They're not required to understand your
experiences. They're not going to ask you inappropriate questions.
They're just going to always going to be there for whatever you need.
In related news, Abby Weingarten (Herald Tribune) reports
on the Southwest Florida branch of the Purple Heart Program where
trained greyhounds are used to help those with PTSD. Ken Wuelfing
explains, "We have many veterans returning from war who are unable to
cope with life due to PTSD and they could really do well with dogs like
Nickel or Sox. PTSD is one of the biggest problems facing our veterans
returning fromw ar, and we owe it to our veterans to assist in any way
we can."
In an ideal VA, veterans with PTSD would be exposed to range of treatment (including acupuncture)
and be able to choose the one that worked best for them. PTSD is a
coping mechanism in many ways -- your mind telling your body -- due to
trauma, violence, etc. -- to be hyper-aware and hyper-vigilant. It
originally kicks in as a response to a crisis. It's a survival
mechanism. Once it has kicked in, there's not a natural 'off switch'
-- at least none discovered thus far. And that's why people need the
skills various treatments and therapies can supply to manage
PTSD. Since the mind is responding to an event with a protection
technique and since the mind is a universe of possibilities, there is
no one treatment or one therapy that will help everyone. The government
would do well to stop attempting to steer everyone into one of two
programs -- especially when government doctors are so guilty of
over-medicating. For more on that, see this June 2011 report by Charley Keyes (CNN).
Leo Shane III (Stars and Stripes) reports
on a new federal government program announced today in which over "3
million nurses in the coming years" will be trained on recognizing and
responding to PTSD, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and other so-called
invisible wounds of war and "Amy Gracia, chief nursing officer of the
American Nurses Association, said the new initiative should have a more
immediate impact on veterans care, because officials can introduce the
lessons into professional development courses, medical journals and
other nursing resources in a matter of weeks, not years."
Musical Tuesday. Today various new releases are out. Bonnie Raitt releases Slipstream, her first album in seven years (download the album for $7.99 at Amazon currently, that's a sale price, regular price will be over $14.00). Mike noted the release last night in "Bonnie Raitt." Bonnie was an established and talented artist admired by many before she finally found huge commercial success with Nick of Time in 1989. On the same day that classic was released, Carole King's City Streets
was released -- by the same label which did not do a good job of
working both albums. But today Bonnie and Carole both issue new
releases again. While Bonnie's releasing her first album in seven
years, Carole's releasing her first book ever, the autobiography A Natural Woman: A Memoir (on sale for $17.04 in hardcover at Amazon right now). Renee Montagne speaks with Carole King on today's Morning Edition (NPR -- link is audio and will be transcript later today). Kat noted the book in her reviews of the reissues of "Carole King's Touch the Sky" and "Carole King's Welcome Home"
last month. (I've only read three chapters but I love it and hope to
read more whenever time is created with a magic wand. Seriously, we
will be covering it in some form at Third -- so I'll probably be
flipping through the book furiously on the plane ride home Saturday
morning.) This month, Kat's reviewed "M. Ward's A Wasteland Companion" which is released today and Renee Montagne also speaks with M. Ward on today's Morning Edition (link is audio -- transcript will be posted by this afternoon). We're not done with musical Tuesday. This morning, Kat's latest album review will be up "Kat's Korner: Why a very good album isn't great" (Wilson Phillips' Dedicated).
Again, it's musical Tuesday. And for those who don't know -- Bonnie's
hits include "Have A Heart," "Something To Talk About," "Thing Called
Love," "I Can't Make You Love Me" and many more while Carole's hits as
a singer-songwriter include "It's Too Late," "I Feel The Earth Move,"
"Only Love Is Real," "So Far Away" and more. Her hits as a songwriter
are far too numerous to mention.
iraq
the guardian
hayder al-khoei
deborah amos
al sabaah
the national
florian neuhof
rudaw
kani xulam
al mada
antiwar.com
john glaser
bloomberg news
emre peker
todays zaman
the washington times
jasim al-sabawi
gulf news
mohammad akef jamal
the guardian
hayder al-khoei
deborah amos
al sabaah
the national
florian neuhof
rudaw
kani xulam
al mada
antiwar.com
john glaser
bloomberg news
emre peker
todays zaman
the washington times
jasim al-sabawi
gulf news
mohammad akef jamal
