Army Suicide by Cop

By Robert Weller

Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan knew there was no way he was likely to go into Fort Hood and come out alive after he began shooting. He probably didn’t think he had any choice.

Hasan failed in attempts to get discharged and likely was headed to Afghanistan. He did survive but may never be able to talk again as a result of four bullet wounds.

As a psychiatrist he wasn’t likely to go outside the wire, but soldiers would be coming into him to tell him how they felt. Some would be Muslims.

Meanwhile, at Walter Reed, reports say he had already dealt with Muslim soldiers who had killed their Islamic brothers.

Hasan also had been harassed. Rag Head, for example. There are worse. The Koran bans suicide. At the same time it promises martyrs a place in paradise.

How convenient. In Hasan’s convoluted mind he may have thought he was avoiding the suicide part and just being a martyr. Makes you wonder just how bright he was.

Suicide by cop has been around for hundreds of years. This was much more than that. He could have done that with unloaded guns. He wanted to kill people.

All Muslims should be discharged. We have no idea what it would take to make them wish to become a martyr. If your relatives were killed would you blame them? Odd that we don’t want gay or lesbians in our military but we welcome people who may feel drawn to kill their fellow soldiers.

Now these Muslim soldiers could themselves become targets. The Army will do what it can. But what can it do? They still haven’t brought Post-Traumatic Stress under control. Diversity can be a great asset, but to seek it in this situation is risky. Death is always a liability.

OUR SOLDIERS AND MARINES ARE NOT SAFE IN THEIR OWN FORCES

By Robert Weller

Our Army was known for being an effective killing machine, until it was handed guerrilla wars far beyond its numbers. People who just won't come out and fight.

Now, more and more of the dead are self-inflicted _ our own _ suicides, troops killed in America or downrange by other soldiers, and civilians who live near posts.

From what we know already, much like the Columbine killers, Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, had walked around with everything but a megaphone saying our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are unjustified.One retired Army colonel boldly told reporters that he had heard Hassan questioning the wars and told him to shut up. Assuming this colonel was telling the truth why didn’t he inform his superiors. Other reports, not confirmed, said Muslims sometimes were called rag heads or worse.

The Army instituted a buddy chain program two years ago, several years after PTSD cases. Hasan may not have been able to have diagnosed himself but what about the other shrinks around him? Based on recent investigations no one will be punished.

Hasan’s injuries likely will be more effective than any judge can impose. In any case, accountability is no longer a principle in the Army. Other than the killers, no commander was punished for preventing some of them from getting the mental care they should have after returning from downrange to Fort Carson.

Reporters were outraged but the Army said this was not the time to start blaming people. Moments later we reporters were asked to help convince troopers they could get the help they need. That was a non-starter. If their commanders can stop them, and not be punished, why should they care what reporters say.

It has been reported that we have 10,000 Muslims in our Army. Why do we have any? I say that not because I hate them. I don’t see why they should be sent out to fight their religious brothers. I applaud their desire to fight for the United States. But couldn’t we find another role, and I mean one that keeps them away from guns.

Suicides are out of control. Sixteen American soldiers killed themselves in October in the U.S. and on duty overseas, an unusually high monthly toll that is fueling concerns about the mental health of the nation's military personnel after more than eight years of continuous warfare. A total of 134 have killed themselves this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

There is no up-to-date figure on how many soldiers have killed each other, in some cases it involved disputes on robbery schemes.

Eleven soldiers were charged with murders outside Fort Carson, near Colorado.The army brought in the brass for an investigation. They found several factors, previous problems with drugs and minor crime, and PTSD. In some cases soldiers had been blocked from getting the counseling the Army had demanded be given. No one was punished.

This reporter asked why no commander was being punished? Where is the accountability? Nothing happened to a doctor who prescribed methadone and morphine to a soldier and sent him home unsupervised. The next day he was found dead.

Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker said this is not the time to talk about that. I said, “If not now, when?”"It's no surprise that these murders happened at Fort Carson, as opposed to another Army base," says Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq War veteran and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

"The failures of leadership we've seen there border on dereliction of duty,” he told Rolling Stone.

We still don't know exactly how Patt Tillman, a hero if there ever was one, died.There are two issues here. We don’t have enough troops. That can be solved by pulling back, but we seem more likely to be preparing to order more coffins.
Or we could resume the draft.

A second solution would be to create an independent review board to investigate every none combat death both here and downrange. It would be easier for doctors. They could simply be sent before civilian medical boards.

Wake Up America, We Are Destroying Our Military Forces

By ROBERT WELLER

Time, after time, after time, the Army tells us not to worry about suicides, murders, drug use.

An Army major _ a psychiatrist named Nidal Malik Hasan _ about to be deployed downrange, lingo for Iraq or Afghanistan, fatally shot 13 soldiers and wounded 31 others.

Others may have been involved in the assault at Fort Hood, the nation's biggest military base with a population of 34,000 including soldiers and families.Hasan was killed.

The Army says it was an isolated case. Others might say SSDD. There have been several, probably more than we know of. We still don’t know how Pat Tillman died.
Many previous cases involving deaths, or killings of civilians outside the forts, have involved soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Order.

Most simply put it means soldiers are being sent into combat too often. The Army has stated that never before in its history have soldiers been in sustained combat so long.

Even in World War II they would be taken off the front line.These heroes are spending up to 1,500 months behind the wire, with only about 20 or so days off.

Now they being pressed not to kill anyone who might seem to be a threat because they could make a mistake.They have held many seminars, met with reporters, tried to get soldiers to watch their buddies.

When a rash of killings of civilians occurred at Fort Carson, and it was clear some of the killers should have been getting counseling but weren’t, no one was held accountable. This reporter pressed and was told this is not the time for that. My retort, “If not now then when,” was brushed off.

No one in the command can say they couldn’t see this coming. Less than a year after we sent soldiers into Afghanistan, four wives were killed at Fort Bragg. Two of their husbands committed suicide.

Although it has been known under many names, it was first officially identified in World War I.Military doctors knew it was there but it was largely ignored. In World War II the Army Surgeon General said it was severely limiting the time our soldiers and Marines could stay on the front line.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF SYMPTOMS OF PTSD (MedicineNet.com)

The three groups of symptoms that are required to assign the diagnosis of PTSD are recurrent re-experiencing of the trauma (for example, troublesome memories, flashbacks that are usually caused by reminders of the traumatic events, recurring nightmares about the trauma and/or dissociative reliving of the trauma),avoidance to the point of having a phobia of places, people, and experiences that remind the sufferer of the trauma and a general numbing of emotional responsiveness, and chronic physical signs of hyperarousal, including sleep problems, trouble concentrating, irritability, anger, poor concentration, blackouts or difficulty remembering things, increased tendency and reaction to being startled, and hypervigilance to threat. The emotional numbing of PTSD may present as a lack of interest in activities that used to be enjoyed (anhedonia), emotional deadness, distancing oneself from people, and/or a sense of a foreshortened future (for example, not being able to think about the future or make future plans, not believing one will live much longer). At least one re-experiencing symptom, three avoidance/numbing symptoms, and two hyperarousal symptoms must be present for at least one month and must cause significant distress or functional impairment in order for the diagnosis of PTSD to be assigned. PTSD is considered of chronic duration if it persists for three months or more. A similar disorder in terms of symptom repertoire is acute stress disorder. The major differences between the two disorders are that acute stress disorder symptoms persist from two days to four weeks, and a fewer number of traumatic symptoms are required to make the diagnosis as compared to PTSD. In children, re-experiencing the trauma may occur through repeated play that has trauma-related themes instead of through memories, and distressing dreams may have more general content rather than of the traumatic event itself. As in adults, at least one re-experiencing symptom, three avoidance/numbing symptoms, and two hyperarousal symptoms must be present for at least one month and must cause significant distress or functional impairment in order for the diagnosis of PTSD to be assigned. When symptoms have been present for less than one month, a diagnosis of acute stress disorder (ASD) can be made. Symptoms of PTSD that tend to be associated with C-PTSD include: problems regulating feelings, which can result in suicidal thoughts, explosive anger, or passive aggressive behaviors; a tendency to forget the trauma or feel detached from one's life (dissociation) or body (depersonalization); persistent feelings of helplessness, shame, guilt, or being completely different from others; feeling the perpetrator of trauma is all-powerful and preoccupation with either revenge against or allegiance with the perpetrator; and severe change in those things that give the sufferer meaning, like a loss of spiritual faith.W

WHAT CAUSES IT: (MedicineNet.com):Virtually any trauma, defined as an event that is life-threatening or that severely compromises the emotional well-being of an individual or causes intense fear, may cause PTSD. Such events often include either experiencing or witnessing a severe accident or physical injury, receiving a life-threatening medical diagnosis, being the victim of kidnapping or torture, exposure to war combat or to a natural disaster, exposure to other disaster (for example, plane crash) or terrorist attack, being the victim of rape, mugging, robbery, or assault, enduring physical, sexual, emotional, or other forms of abuse, as well as involvement in civil conflict. Although the diagnosis of PTSD currently requires that the sufferer has a history of experiencing a traumatic event as defined here, people may develop PTSD in reaction to events that may not qualify as traumatic but can be devastating life events like divorce or unemployment.

CIA SPENDS BILLIONS, PERHAPS TRILLIONS ON KIDNAPPINGS

CIA Spents Billions, Perhaps Trillions On Rendition

By ROBERT WELLER

Many Americans were curious how much it cost for the rescue attempt for Balloon Boy.

Sheriff Jim Alderden, who while he was still playing the fool, said no money was spent that wouldn’t have been. Deputies work, Guard choppers need practice hours, etc.

When he realized how badly he had been fooled, suddenly he was talking about millions in reparations.

The cost of rendition _ the kidnapping of terrorist suspects or people who are their friends _ could have been enough to provide the nation respectable health care. No one knows, and may never know. In addition to travel costs bribes were required to get victims into a friendly country without the U.S. State Department knowing, because in general they followed our laws.

It is known that the feds seem to have a fetish for expensive hotels, airline charters, fancy meals. One hotel bill costs CIA agents $150,000, according to Italian agents.

I was never a spy, but I did travel on assignments where I had to keep my identity a secret. In those days I didn’t rent cars, didn’t stay in fancy hotels, and kept my mouth shut.

Traveling in top-of-the line hotels would make you much more visible. Frequent flyer miles galore were earned when chartered planes weren’t used.

Yesterday, an Italian court convicted 23 CIA agents for their role in the kidnapping and torture of an Egyptian who had been allowed to seek sanctuary in Italy. He had never done anything that criminal. The idea was to get him off the street.

People need to know that getting information is often not the goal. Getting a possible problem off the street is.

Michael Schueuer, who created the program for President Clinton, believes it was a great success even without gaining information. “I would like to add interrogation was never a goal under President Clinton. One reason information was not collected was that if torture was used “it might be simply what an individual thought we wanted to hear,” he told a congressional hearing.

It is difficult to assess Schueuer’s claim about the results of these actions. Since they weren’t known to be planning crimes. On the other hand, even more hatred was spread.

Israel Wins American Republican Of One Of World's Most Respected Judges

By Robert Weller

It’s not likely that a lopsided U.S. House of Representatives vote repudiating his findings on violent acts committed in Gaza by Israel will send Justice Richard Goldstone running for cover.

This life-time supporter of Israel, himself an observant Jew, faced personal danger as an anti-apartheid judge in South Africa.

In 1992 he raided military intelligence to get files he needed to investigate a massacre of blacks by a black party that often sided with the white government.

He chaired the commission in South Africa which investigated apartheid atrocities of security agencies.

From Aug. 15, 1994 to Sept. 1, 1996 he presided as the chief prosecution of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

This year he agreed to lead an investigation of Israeli actions in Gaza, but only after the mandate was broadened to include actions by all parties, not just Israel. Hamas did fire rockets into populated Israeli areas, causing deaths.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning Goldstone’s report 344-36.

Goldstone’s report is more than 500 pages, and includes numerous detailed accounts of alleged violations of international law. It alleges white phosphorus, willie pete, was repeatedly used. Those unfortunate enough to having seen its results have called them “crispy critters.”

The Israeli Defense Force has admitted 1,004 Palestianians died in the invasion, but insists 704 were combatants.

Others give much higher figures. Amnesty says 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the 22-day Israeli offensive between Dec. 27, 2008, and Jan. 17, 2009. It says 900 were civilians, including 300 children.

Obama Administration Welcomes Election Of Afghan Vote Thief

By Robert Weller

President Obama promised voters he would work to end the war in Afghanistan. So far he has approved a new term for President Karzai, who would have been disqualified in many countries for rigging the first round of the presidential vote.

Under pressure from some generals and right-wing talk show hosts, he appears likely to send thousands more American troops to Afghanistan.

In the U.S., vote fraud is a felony, and international election observers found hundreds of thousands of examples in the Aug. 20 election that Karzai initially was believed to have won 54 or 55 percent.

Why more troops? We already have a 12-1 manpower advantage over the Taliban. Can you imagine what George S. Patton would have done with that kind of an edge, made up of professional troops?

“The U.S. And its allies already have ample numers to annihilate the Taliban if only the Taliban would cooperate and stand still and allow us to bomb them to smithereens,” said Andrew Bacevich, online in Xomba in a chapter entitled “The Battle Against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Who’s Winning. He served as a captain in Vietnam and is a professor of international relations and history at Boston University.

Ljubomir Stojadinovic, a Serbian guerrilla warfare expert, also quoted in Xomba, said, “It is impossible to regain the initiative by introducing more foreign forces, which will only breed more resentment and more recruits for the enemy.”

In “The Art of War,” Sun Tzu wrote:

“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.”

The North Vietnamese used his tactics in book, especially the urging to take advantage of numerical superiority, to beat the better-armed French at Dien Bien Phu.

There are so many sides in this conflict we are lucky if we know our own.

And what does Gen. Stanley McChrystal plan to do with this latest surge? His strategy is to abandon the countryside and make people love us by making them safe in the city.

Such a strategy would allow the Taliban and their cohorts to make rural areas, including critical roads, their own. It also could make it easier for them to deal Pakistani efforts to control them.
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The lives of our military members’ lives are worth more than defending a despot. Both he and his brother have been on the CIA payroll.

If war is indeed just another, extreme, form of diplomacy. Perhaps we should try to bring the Taliban to the table.

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who was to contest a runoff election against Karzai on , said he hasn’t met directly with Karzai in recent days. He told National Public Radio this morning that Karzai was the prime person responsible for the cancellation of the runoff election scheduled for Sunday.

Should We Prepare for Afghan Refugees

By Robert Weller

In the first year after Vietnam, 130,000 refugees fled to the United States for sanctuary.

Many feared, and rightly, that they would be killed for siding with the imperialists. One million were imprisoned in re-educate camps.

About 165,000 are estimated to have died.In many cases it was “Madama Butterfly,” child and all, all over again.Refugees in the past had mostly voted with their feet. In many cases that wasn’t possible in an area surrounded by water. Often families would break up and send one member at a time as they could afford it, never to meet again.

Remember “the boat people.”Long, perilous voyages, hiding from Thai pirates left hundreds of thousands, enslaved, raped, murdered or sent back. Much worse than the Somali pirates.

The United States took in 823,000, Australia 137,000, Canada 137,000, France 96,000, Germany 40,000 and Britain 19000.

By the year 2000, 1.2 million Vietnamese lived with us.

During the war photographers and writers time after time witnessed deadly protests. Some they could have stopped, but they knew the victims wanted to burn themselves for their country.When the war ended they became active in helping refugees through organizations like the Tolstoy Foundation.

My family, then in New York City, took in a young Vietnamese woman, Thanh Ti Ho, and her small daughter. We had two little girls of our own but plenty of room.This story has a happy ending. The soldier who had fathered the girl tracked them down and they got married. We’d do it again if we had to, and we may.

We aren’t going to end the violence in Afghanistan. These are proud people just like the Vietnamese, and us. And what if the chaos expands even more than it already has into Pakistan. Lou Dobbs will have a field day.