It was five years ago today that President George W. Bush landed on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and, against the backdrop of an enormous “Mission Accomplished” banner, declared major combat operations in Iraq at an end. Lest there be any confusion about what was and wasn’t said and seen that day, here it is in two parts:

Some critics are particularly irked by what White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said during her briefing yesterday: “President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said ‘mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission.’ And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.”

Cue House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller’s head exploding:

“This latest White House comment is reprehensible and should be repudiated. Yet again, the Bush Administration, faced with its own failures in Iraq, is trying to rewrite history rather than write a new policy to end the war and bring our troops home in a timely and responsible manner.

“The assertion yesterday by the White House that the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner was meant simply to describe the mission of the USS Abraham Lincoln and its sailors in 2003 is clearly not believable and should be publicly repudiated by the President. The unjustified and misleading declaration of ‘Mission Accomplished’ by the President was the entire basis for his speech five years ago today, and it is a deep insult to all Americans and our servicemen and servicewomen that the White House is once again deliberately distorting the truth.

“The White House knowingly hung the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner in a public relations effort to convince the world that military operations in Iraq had been completed quickly just as White House and Pentagon officials had repeatedly said would happen before the war began. Well, we all know what happened after that, because so far over 4,000 military personnel have lost their lives in Iraq and nearly 30,000 have been wounded.

“The President’s reckless and shortsighted decision to send America into an unjustified war in Iraq is one of the most costly and devastating foreign policy decision ever made by an American president. What the White House owes Americans is a new policy in Iraq that will bring our troops home, not a new version of history that only deceives Americans further, just as the Administration knowingly deceived Americans and the Congress in the buildup to this tragic war.”

However, the White House has been backing off on this for quite a long time — this is from more than a year ago:

And, lest we forget, the media had a lot to do with how this was spun in the first place.

More from Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey, after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s West Coast dock workers — including those at the ports of Oakland and San Francisco — have voted to stop work tomorrow, Thursday, May 1, to protest the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Joined by other labor organizations and community groups, they’ll be rallying against the war and for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

In Oakland, there’ll be a rally and cultural performances from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Fruitvale BART Plaza; a 4 to 6 p.m. march from there along International Boulevard to City Hall; and then another rally and set of performances at Frank Ogawa Plaza from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Among the confirmed speakers are Green Party presidential candidate and former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; ILWU Local 10 executive board member Clarence Thomas; Alameda County Central Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Sharon Cornu; Oakland Education Association President Betty Olson-Jones; Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition advocacy coordinator Evelyn Sanchez; and Mujeres Unidas y Activas program director Maria Jimenez.

There’ll be major happenings in San Francisco too, including a noontime rally at Justin Herman Plaza with McKinney, Cindy Sheehan, Alexander Cockburn, Danny Glover and other speakers.

Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., today introduced a bill which would provide four consecutive years of funding to strengthen existing programs already underway to foster reconciliation among Iraq’s societal factions.

“So long as Iraq remains divided based along ethnic and sectarian lines the situation on the ground will remain chaotic and violent, giving Iraq little chance of rebuilding itself, or of delivering a better life for the Iraqi people,” Woolsey — a House Foreign Relations Committee member; Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairwoman; and Out of Iraq Caucus co-founder — said in her news release.

“The Iraqi people know this to be true, so we must support their efforts if we are welcome. Reconciliation lies at the heart of this endeavor, and the United States Institute for Peace has a strong track record of effectively creating programs that bring neighbors and one-time adversaries together, with positive results.”

Shays said H.R. 5925, based on a recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, would allocate $20 million annually for four years to the USIP, which since 2004 has been working to prevent sectarian violence at the local level; develop leaders in schools, universities, government, and civil society; promote the rule of law; engage women in public life; and increase regional stability.

And — by various estimates of current spending levels — the entire annual cost of the effort would be equal to about two hours of combat operations in Iraq.

UPDATE @ 2:25 P.M. WEDNESDAY: It seems this post has become part of a debate on partisanship, bi-partisanship and post-partisanship over at Open Left. Is Woolsey wrong to co-sponsor a bill with a vulnerable Republican, even if the bill is something most Democrats can get behind? Personally, I’d say that if a bill is good policy and bi-partisan co-authorship gives it a better chance of passing, then go for the gusto. (And for all you watching for a bias, I’m not talking about this particular bill; I’m speaking generally, and I think this cuts both ways.)

A few hours after Ellen Tauscher’s turn, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, got her crack at Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker this afternoon during the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s hearing. Lee asked some particularly pointed questions about a permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq:

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, as the Bay Area’s only member of the House Armed Services Committee (and chair of its Strategic Forces Subcommittee), got to ask questions today of U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus — our top military officer in Iraq — and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on the status of the war and political developments.

I’m still trying to find a video clip, but the Washington Independent has this account:

Asked by Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat, what he would say to a new president who asked for a withdrawal plan within 60 days of taking office, Petraeus dodged like hell. Wow.

“I would back up,” he said, “and ask what’s the mission, what’s the desired endstate. And then you advise on resources…” Tauscher said the goal would be to keep the security gains of the surge, fix the readiness problems of the military and cut U.S. costs in Iraq.

“My response would be dialogue on what the risks would be. And, again, this is about risk.” Petraeus sounded a lot like he was saying he would not be willing to advise a President Obama or a President Clinton on withdrawal — something that, unless he was willing to resign, is very Constitutionally dubious.

Seemingly aware of that, he added quickly, “Let me state up front that I absolutely support the idea of civilian control of the military. We do not work for ourselves. We take orders, and we follow them. What we want to do is have dialogue about the mission — what the endstate is — and then provide an assessment of a commander on the ground [as to] what the resources provided are … [I have] sworn an oath to the Constitution and the concept of civilian control.”

This is huge. Notice Petraeus still didn’t say he would do what his commander-in-chief asked: submit a plan for withdrawal if ordered, or resign if he was unable to.

And Politico blogger John Bresnahan had it this way:

Petraeus and Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) engaged in an interesting exchange. Tauscher pushed Petraeus and Crocker to tell the committee how they would respond to a new president taking office in January 2009 who wants to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq.

“We are not self-employed,” Petraeus reminded the California Democrat, adding that he has “sworn an oath to uphold” - civilian control of the military, so he cannot make policy, only execute it.

Petraeus added that he would “talk about risk” with the new commander-in-chief and others “in the chain of command,” but in the end, he would carry out his orders.

Petraeus’ answer explains succinctly why Democrats have such a hard time scoring political points in these hearings - Petraeus and Crocker portray themselves as insturments of President Bush’s policy rather than the deciders of that policy. Therefore, if Democrats have problems with those policies, they have to take it up with the White House, not career military and Foreign Service officers.

The answer is a good one politically, and it blunts many lines of attack the Democrats may have, but it is slightly disingenuous. Petraeus has the ear of the president, if media reports (including The Washington Post) are to be believed. Thus, what he says and recommends carries great weight in the Oval Office. Crocker is one of the most experienced and respected diplomats the country has, especially on Middle Eastern issues, so his viewpoint also is much more important than a mere title suggests.

From House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco:

“Today marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

“We honor our fallen men and women, their comrades who have returned home, and those who continue to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and in other parts of the world. They have performed their duties excellently, with bravery, with dignity and with honor. We also thank their families, whose quiet sacrifice for our nation can never be fully repaid.

“With the war in Iraq entering its sixth year, Americans are rightly concerned about how much longer our nation must continue to sacrifice our security for the sake of an Iraqi government that is unwilling or unable to secure its own future.

“The human cost of the war has been enormous, with nearly 4,000 lives lost and tens of thousands injured, many of them permanently. The cost to our national security has been immense — our military is stretched thin and our reputation in the world is damaged. And now, the war in Iraq has become a threat to our economy, with its colossal cost to taxpayers taking us more deeply into debt.

“It is for our military readiness, for the families of our brave men and women in uniform, for our national security, and for our standing in the world that America needs a New Direction in Iraq - not the continuation of the President’s plan for at least a 10-year, $3 trillion dollar war in Iraq. Democrats will continue to push for an end to the war in Iraq and increased oversight of that war.”

From House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio:

“In the five years that have passed since the start of this conflict, our men and women in uniform have heroically ousted a terrorist dictator, freed a nation, and planted the seeds for political reconciliation that will pave the way for the first democracy in a part of the world that needs it most. Today, after countless obstacles to our success over the past five years, Iraq’s fledgling democracy is at long last taking important steps toward the ultimate goal of self-rule. Elections have been held, police and military forces have been trained, legislatures have been assembled, and infrastructure has been built. And most importantly, American troops are beginning to return home after victory, not defeat.

“While our nation rightfully thanks each and every serviceman and woman who returns home from Iraq, it will be our children and grandchildren – and their children and grandchildren – who truly will owe them a debt of gratitude. Their selflessness and courage in the face of a ruthless and soul-less enemy not only has brought increasing security and stability to a breeding ground for terrorists seeking to destroy us, but it has laid the groundwork for a safer and more peaceful world for generations to come. While more work is left ahead of us, the progress made under General Petraeus’ plan gives our troops and their Iraqi security forces counterparts the momentum they need to overcome not only the terrorist enemy they face in Iraq – but also the naysayers at home who claimed victory was never possible.”

From Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo:

“The war has taken the life of nearly 4,000 American soldiers with tens of thousands being permanently injured. Our national security is being compromised by a military stretched to its breaking point and an administration that still lacks a strategy in Iraq and the war on terror, while our reputation as a responsible global power is on a steep decline.

“Right now the war is threatening our economy here at home. With rising oil prices, record home foreclosures and a generally weak economy we are continuing to hemorrhage money in Iraq at tax payer expense while driving the nation deeper into debt. It’s time to start re-investing in America and using our national resources to prevent an economic crisis here at home.

“We must honor the brave men and women who have lost their lives, the ones who have come home safely, and the ones who continue to fight by adopting new policies and a new direction in Iraq that will stop the violence, improve our military readiness, protect our economy and restore our standing in the world.”

From Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma:

“Five years ago today, President Bush took to the oval office to tell the world that the invasion of Iraq was underway. Five years later our country finds itself in an unwinnable quagmire, a failure so great that it will forever overshadow the lengthy list of President Bush’s other disappointments and missed opportunities during his eight years in office.

“The invasion of Iraq has cost us the lives of nearly 4,000 of our nation’s bravest and brightest men and women. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, have been taken from their families and loved ones, which represent the greatest and most horrific sacrifice that any nation could be every be forced to bear.

“But theirs has not been the only sacrifice. So far, over 40,000 Americans have returned from Iraq with the irreparable physical and mental wounds of war - scars that will last for their rest of their lives, and will affect them in ways that we can’t even imagine. And hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been caught in the cross fire of a violent civil war that has further propelled Iraq into darkness and hopelessness.

“And then there is the financial cost of this President’s mistake, which Nobel Laureate Economist Joseph Stiglitz recently projected will cost our nation at least $3 trillion over the next decade. What is most damning about this figure, however, is the lost opportunity costs that it represents. At a time when some children are forced to learn in crumbling schools, when too many seniors are forced to chose between putting food on their table and buying the prescription drugs that they need to survive, when homeowners wonder how they will keep pace with their rising mortgage payments, and most jarring of all, when our veterans, the very people that this President sent to war in the first place, are forced to wait for months to see a doctor, we are spending over $11 billion a month on an unwinnable occupation.

“That’s why so many of us continue to voice our opposition, day in, and day out. We’re fighting on behalf of every family who will lose a loved one while fighting in Iraq, every family who will struggle even though they live in the richest country in the world, and on behalf of the people of Iraq who want to control their own destiny.

“At this hour, at any hour, our nation is better than this. It’s far past time that we help restore America’s reputation in the world, refocus our energy on rebuilding our own country, and return Iraq to the Iraqi people. Our troops have done everything that has been asked of them, it’s time to bring them home.”

UPDATE @ 11:18 A.M. THURSDAY 3/27: Staffers for Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, keep reminding me her comments didn’t make it into the initial post, so…

“Five years ago the Bush administration mislead the American people into believing there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; mislead many to believe Iraq posed an imminent threat, and; mislead the nation about a false connection between the tragic events of 911 and Saddam Hussein. As we enter the sixth year of the U.S. occupation in Iraq, the most important thing Congress can do is to end this disastrous occupation and finally bring our troops and contractors home. The consequences of the continued are too great – We have already lost nearly 4,000 brave U.S. servicemen and women and more than 28,000 others have been wounded.”

Lynndie England — the U.S. soldier depicted with a smile while demeaning and humiliating Iraqi prisoners in some of the notorious Abu Ghraib photos — has given a lengthy interview to a German news magazine in which she vacillates from regret (”Of course it was wrong. I know that now.”) to defiant unrepentance (”To be honest, the whole time I never really felt guilty because I was following orders and I was doing what I was supposed to do. So I’ve never felt guilty about doing anything that I did there.”)

And guess what… she blames the media!

I guess after the picture came out the insurgency picked up and Iraqis attacked the Americans and the British and they attacked in return and they were just killing each other. I felt bad about it, … no, I felt pissed off. If the media hadn’t exposed the pictures to that extent then thousands of lives would have been saved.
[snip]
Yeah, I took the photos but I didn’t make it worldwide. Yes, I was in five or six pictures and I took some pictures, and those pictures were shameful and degrading to the Iraqis and to our government. And I feel sorry and wrong about what I did. But it would not have escalated to what it did all over the world if it wouldn’t have been for someone leaking it to the media. Hell, I was at Fort Bragg when the pictures came out and I had no idea.

Even after being subjected to one of the most publicized courts-martial in U.S. history; being convicted of one count of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating detainees and one count of committing an indecent act; and serving about a year and five months in a military prison, this young woman still doesn’t get it.

So here’s a quick-and-dirty civics lesson for the unduly dense: The job of the free press is to report on the world as it is, what’s really happening, blemishes at all, regardless of politics. It puts the facts out there and so that people can decide for themselves, and it lets the chips fall where they may. And that’s exactly what happened here.

If these photos incited anti-American sentiment (which I agree they almost certainly did), that’s not the media’s fault. It’s the fault of the amoral people who committed, allowed or encouraged these crimes, and who were stupid — mind-bogglingly, epically, evolutionary-dead-endingly stupid — enough to photograph themselves performing what many argue are war crimes.

Make no mistake, former U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Lynndie England of Fort Ashby, W.Va., and her cohorts at Abu Ghraib, and those who allowed or approved what happened there, brought enormous dishonor upon all the upstanding men and women who wear the uniform in defense of the United States of America, and most likely helped incite violence that claimed many of those fine troops’ lives.

England failed at her jobs as a soldier and as a human being; she has a lot of gall, a mountainous heap of hypocrisy, blaming the press for succeeding at its job.

Antiwar groups are organizing events all over the country — including here in the Bay Area — this Wednesday, March 19 to mark the Iraq war’s fifth anniversary.

In San Francisco, protesters organized by Direct Action to Stop the War will gather at 7:30 a.m. at Market and Sansome streets before fanning out to offices of various government officials — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. — and corporations profiting from the war — including Bechtel, Chevron, the Carlyle Group and URS Corp. — for entrance blockades and office sit-ins.

“We want San Franciscans to stop and think about the damage that our government has done to the people of Iraq, and also in Afghanistan,” Direct Action organizer Michael B. Reagan said in a news release. “Five years of war and destruction is far more than any people should have to bear, and we need to hold accountable the government leaders and corporations that have let this go on for way too long – or even want it to continue because they’re making a killing off the war.”

And then the San Francisco A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition plans a 5 to 8 p.m. march and rally in San Francisco’s Civic Center.

Among other Bay Area antiwar events scheduled for Wednesday, in chronological order:

Remember, it’s your job not only to elect ‘em, but to berate or praise them as you see fit.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, has two town halls scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, March 15.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host a town-hall briefing on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Iraq from 9-11 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave. in Oakland. This includes a special screening of War Made Easy, a documentary exploring parallels between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq.

And Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, has two “Congress At Your Corner” meet-and-greets set for the next two weeks.

Grassroots conservative group Move America Forward, which has spearheaded efforts to shame and boycott Berkeley for the city’s hostile stance toward its U.S. Marine Corps recruiting station, will hold a news conference tomorrow morning, Friday, March 14, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to release a report listing acts of civil disobedience or violence at military recruiting stations across the nation in recent years.

From MAF’s news release:

Move America Forward will provide detailed accounts of these attacks, including photographs and documents, to members of the media in attendance.

A new national television ad campaign calling attention to these attacks will also be unveiled.

Attacks on military recruiting centers include shots fired at offices (as happened in Denver, Colorado), bombs planted (a real one in St. Louis, fake ones in Oregon and the detonated explosion at the Times Square recruiting center), windows smashed, manure dumped on recruiting offices, human blood and feces smeared on the offices, recruiters cars have been firebombed (in Alabama and Maryland).

The acts of aggression against military recruiters are part of a broader effort by anti-war activists called “counter-recruitment.” Anti-war/anti-military activists have explained to Move America Forward that the increase in counter-recruitment efforts stems from frustration with Congress for continuing to fund the missions of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Code Pink and others have indicated that if Congress won’t cut off funding for the war, then they will cut off the flow of available bodies to fight in the war.

Move America Forward vehemently opposes this rationale given the all-volunteer nature of today’s U.S. Armed Forces.

In addition, Move America Forward has also documented discussions by anti-military activists coordinating attacks against military recruiting centers and suggesting ways to reduce the chance of facing criminal prosecution. These findings will also be shared at the news conference.

UPDATE @ 12:50 P.M. THURSDAY: Though I’ve not seen the report yet, MAF spokesman Joe Wierzbicki just sent me a list of recruiting station incidents from recent years. See ‘em after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »