War On Terror @ MindSay

Palin: Abortion Clinic Bombers Not Terrorists

Source: Democracy Now!

I was thinking about John McCain's rhetoric for staying in Iraq. He says that we should stay in there as long as we need to, until the job is done. He hasn't spoken one word about exit strategy.  He says that if we leave Iraq, it will be a strategic and political victory for the terrorists.

Now there are a lot of critics from the left saying that that's not our main problem, Afghanistan is.  Many are also saying that Osama bin Laden is in the politically unstable country of Pakistan.

Both are valid points.  Senator McCain has addressed these issues, saying that he would implement the surge strategy that was used in Iraq, and that we must work with the Pakistani military to hunt down bin Laden.

(Interestingly enough, our military is engaging in border skirmishes against the Pakistani army trying to fend off terrorists that are coming from Pakistan into Afghanistan.)

But nobody has really addressed the issue we have with the Iraqi government: They've given us a little over a year to leave Iraq. 

Yes, it's quite amusing that the mouse is telling the lion what to do; nevertheless, they're telling us to get out soon, whether or not "the job" is done.

So what's going to happen if we don't finish the job in that time frame (they gave us a timetable!!!)?  Are we going to just overthrow the Iraqi government again?  A fellow democracy?  A country we vowed to free from  a dictator and give them a country that they control, without any strings?

What will that make us? 

Wouldn't that just prove that the terrorists, Ahmadinejād,  Morales, and Chávez correct?

Would we be just a big bully that gets what it wants by knocking over anyone that stands in its way?

By Kristen Noel

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Aug. 22, 2008 - The U.S. Labor Department launched a Web site called "America's Heroes at Work" this week to help veterans afflicted with traumatic-brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder succeed in the workplace.  "America's Heroes at Work really focuses on the employment challenges of our returning veterans from the war on terror, if they are living with a brain injury or living with a stress disorder," Charles S. Ciccolella, the Labor Department's assistant secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training Service, told bloggers in a Aug. 22 teleconference to discuss the new Web site.

 

Ciccolella said the Labor Department collaborated with the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments to build the site. The three agencies are working together to make veterans' transition back into the civilian workplace and their communities as smooth as possible, he added.

 

"We know that a number of our servicemembers are coming back with some level of brain injury, as a result of blast injuries or successive-blast injuries, or may be coming back with stress," he said.

 

While not visibly debilitating, Ciccolella explained, these "silent injuries" can cause minor health problems such as headaches, vertigo, anxiety or sleep disturbances. They also can trigger cognitive issues such as memory loss or concentration problems, he said.

 

"We know it's a significant enough issue that we want to pay some serious attention to it," he said.

 

America's Heroes at Work provides numerous resources to help employers integrate veterans who have suffered traumatic-brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder into the workplace. There are many "very simple accommodations" employers can make for servicemembers with these minor ailments, Ciccolella said.

 

The resources offered on the Web site include fact sheets, reference guides, training tools, and real-life success stories.

 

"Employment plays absolutely a major role in the rehabilitation of our servicemembers, regardless of the kind of injuries that they may have," Ciccolella said.

 

(Kristen Noel works for the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)

By Sharon Foster

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Aug. 21, 2008 - The United Warrior Survivors Foundation will host its fifth annual West Coast Survivors Conference Aug. 22-25 in San Diego.  "These conferences were established with the unique needs of Special Forces widows in mind, affording them a healing experience and sense of camaraderie and support," Kelly Chott, foundation administrator, said.

 

The conference brings together Special Forces widows at various stages of bereavement and includes an array of speakers and experts in the fields of military widowhood, bereavement, financial planning, benefits and entitlements, as well as practical classes in self-defense and coping with their children's grieving process, Chott explained.

 

Conference organizers encourage all surviving spouses of U.S. Special Operations personnel who have died in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001, to attend. The conference also is open to surviving spouses of those who died while on volunteer support or re-supply missions to Special Operations teams.

 

The overall goal of the conference is to provide a safe and fun setting for sharing stories and challenges and forging bonds with others who have suffered similar tragedies, Chott said.

 

"The 'survivor reunions' bring all of us together, and we form this amazing bond," said Jackie Syverson, widow of Army Maj. Paul Syverson of the 5th Special Forces Group. "Before my first reunion, I would wake up in the morning and wonder how I was going to make it through another day, feeling all alone in what I was facing.

 

"I left the reunion renewed," she continued, "and with a new group of friends that are walking this path along with me. United Warrior Survivors Foundation gives us the chance to come together, share experiences and help one another through the grieving process. That is priceless, and has truly changed my life."

 

Because of the overwhelming response to the West Coast Conference, United Warrior Survivors Foundation had its first East Coast conference several years ago.

 

"These reunions are lifelines for all surviving spouses," said Emily Munoz, widow of Army Capt. Gil Munoz of the 7th Special Forces Group.

 

United Warrior Survivors Foundation, a home-front group of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, was founded in 2002 in direct response to the loss of life in the global war on terror. Through counseling, emergency financial aid and financial planning, the group has extended help to more than 150 widows. Annually, it offers scholarships to college-bound Special Operations surviving spouses.

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

 

June 9, 2008 - America's war on terror would grind to a halt without the contributions of the Air Force, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. "Every day, amazing airmen are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," Gates said. "Beyond that, you support all the services worldwide."

 

Gates praised the airmen for their mostly unsung combat role and support of deployed servicemembers. He noted that on average, 25,000 airmen serve in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. Last year, the Air Force flew about 1,300 air strikes in Iraq, a three-fold increase from 2006 that represented 90 percent of all coalition air strikes.

 

The number of unmanned Predator sorties has more than doubled in the past year, and ground commanders continue to ask for more, he said.

 

"The timely, precise and persistent surveillance and close-air support provided by the Air Force over the battlefield has saved countless American lives, the lives of innocent civilians, and left terrorists and insurgents little room to operate," the secretary said.

 

Airmen also are on the ground in the combat theater. More than 6,000 are performing in place of soldiers or Marines on the ground in Iraq, covering everything from detainee security to explosive ordnance disposal to convoy security. And Air Force trainers are working to build the Iraqi and Afghan air forces.

 

Air Force officers and enlisted airmen are working on provincial reconstruction teams in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and Air Force personnel make up large parts of the personnel assigned to Joint Task Force Horn or Africa and the Joint Special Operations Task Force in Zamboanga, Philippines.

 

"Little of that is widely known or appreciated," Gates told Air Combat Command airmen here. "But I can assure you that I value everything you are doing in support of our nation. And every soldier and Marine on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan is profoundly grateful you are overhead watching out for them," Gates said.

 

Gates said that while most Americans are aware of the stresses and strains on soldiers and Marines, airmen, too, are affected. Since the Persian Gulf War, Air Force personnel have deployed to Central Command flying missions over the "no-fly zones."

 

"In fact, you have been forward-deployed, and at war for 17 years," Gates said. "Your families have also borne this burden, and the Air Force has its own fallen heroes – often struck down while serving alongside our soldiers and Marines. We know this, and are working to ease the burden. For example, I intend immediately to stop further reductions in Air Force personnel."

 

The Air Force has steadily reduced in size since the Gulf War, and current reductions were slated to result in an end-strength of 328,600 airmen by October 2009.