Category Archives: Veterans for Common Sense News

Justice, of a Sort, for Blackwater

December 8, 2008 – For more than five years, the Bush administration’s mercenary force of choice, Blackwater Worldwide, has operated on a US government contract in Iraq in a climate that has wed immunity with impunity. Today the Justice Department … Continue reading

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The Count: The War in Iraq to Date

December 11, 2008 – As of Tuesday, day 2,091 of the war in Iraq – 5 Blackwater guards were named Monday in a federal indictment for what a sixth guard, who pled guilty to manslaughter, described as the unprovoked shooting … Continue reading

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U.S. Joins Effort to Bar Claims on Iraqi Coffers

December 10, 2008 –  George Charchalis says he has never really recovered from the ordeal he endured after Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. He hid for more than a month in Kuwait City but was ultimately arrested, … Continue reading

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Military Leaders Knew of Deadly Roadside Bomb Threat in Iraq But Did Nothing

December 8, 2008 – The Marine Corps left troops in Iraq vulnerable to deadly roadside bombs by failing to answer an urgent request from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles, according to an internal Pentagon investigation obtained by The Associated Press. … Continue reading

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U.S. Special Forces Mistakenly Kill 6 Afghan Police

December 10, 2008, Kabul, Afghanistan – U.S. Special Forces killed six Afghan police and wounded 13 early Wednesday in a case of mistaken identity by both sides after the police fired on the Americans during an operation against an insurgent … Continue reading

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New Military Programs Aim to Curb Divorce Rates Among Service Members

December 5, 2008 – Servicemembers and their spouses are flocking to a broad array of programs to help them strengthen their family relationships as the services step up efforts to curb divorce rates. Military divorce rates rose by .1 percent … Continue reading

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Shh! – – Infamous Ira Katz VA E-Mail About Veteran Suicides Featured Among Top Public Relations Blunders for 2008

December 9, 2008, San Francisco – The 14th Annual Top 10 PR Blunders List, compiled by San Francisco’s Fineman PR, features bailed out big shots, political snafus and a clueless Dept. of Veterans Affairs. 1. AIG All-Expense-Paid Retreats … Paid … Continue reading

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Editorial Column: An Action Memo for VA

December 9, 2008 – Action Memo to: President-elect Barack Obama & Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Gen. Eric Shinseki. RE: Why We Need to Re-Name the VA — to the Department of Veterans Advocacy. America’s military veterans have every reason to be … Continue reading

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Editorial Column: A Truth-Teller for VA

December 9, 2008 – In the Bush administration, General Eric K. Shinseki committed the crime of truth-telling: He told the Senate in early 2003 that maintaining order in Iraq would take far more US troops than Donald Rumsfeld planned for. … Continue reading

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Making Amends with GI Joe

December 8, 2008 – Almost from the day he took office, George W. Bush has sold himself as a tough commander in chief, resolute in the war on terrorism. “Dead or alive,” he responded when asked about capturing Osama bin … Continue reading

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