Chain of Command?

Saw this in the news today.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (IPS) - CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21.

But Obama informed Gates, Petraeus and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that he wasn't convinced and that he wanted Gates and the military leaders to come back quickly with a detailed 16-month plan, according to two sources who have talked with participants in the meeting.

Obama's decision to override Petraeus's recommendation has not ended the conflict between the president and senior military officers over troop withdrawal, however. There are indications that Petraeus and his allies in the military and the Pentagon, including Gen. Ray Odierno, now the top commander in Iraq, have already begun to try to pressure Obama to change his withdrawal policy.

A network of senior military officers is also reported to be preparing to support Petraeus and Odierno by mobilising public opinion against Obama's decision.

I really hope that this article is blowing things out of proportion. If this is what's really going on, then General Petraeus needs someone to send him a copy of the Constitution, and he should lock-step behind his Commander in Chief. Personally, based on the election Iraq just had, and the fact that the US military wasn't the entity providing security, I say it's time to declare victory and get out. Enough American mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughter soldiers have sacrificed an incredible amount to give this country a chance to rise from the ashes.

BTW, just so you know. IF Iraq maintains and strengthens this fragile, secular democracy over the next couple of years, then Bush deserves all the credit for pushing the surge to help get the peace when no one else thought it was a good idea. And the Democrats and critics should loudly acknowledge that. I hope to be one of them.

Army Pfc. Joseph Dwyer

You remember this photo from 2003? It became one of the iconic images of the war in Iraq. Hard to believe that this picture was taken five years ago, and yet we are still there.

Beyond the politics of this war is the tragic toll it continues to take on our soldiers, their families, and the people of Iraq. Pfc. Joseph Dwyer was a medic with 3rd Infantry Division. He signed up for duty after 9/11 and was in a company that was the very tip of the tip of the spear.

Dwyer physically left the war zone sometime in 2004, but the war followed him back. He was diagnosed with PTSD and received spotty treatment from Veterens Administration. At age 31 Pfc. Dwyer died due to inhaleing the computer cleaner Dust Off in an effort to help him sleep.

Dwyer is a hero who put himself in danger to rescue the life of a little boy in a war zone. It's is a tragedy of epic proportions that his government couldn't (or wouldn't) do the same for him. Dwyer is just one of the TENS OF THOUSANDS of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afgahanistan who have PTSD but are not recieving the treatment they need or were promised from our government.

Read the full account of what happened to Dwyer upon his return from Iraq here.

My hope is that this picture taken in 2003 which filled this country with pride at the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers will now fill us with anger and shame at our Country's lack of services and care for these soldiers.

Catch-Up Post!

If you are a fan of the Daily Show, then you will love this podcast I recently discovered. It's called, The Bugle - Audio Newspaper for a Visual World. Here's the description from their iTunes page:

Based respectively in a penthouse turret in metropolitan New York and a small lair in South London, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, with their combined height of 3.59 meters, will together canoe through the murky swamp of big stories, small stories and assorted hogwash that inundates our daily world. Comprising news, sport, comment, analysis, other stuff, and our unique audio crossword, The Bugle is the newspaper of the future, before the future actually happens.

Here's the link to the most recent episode (episodes come out once a week).

*****

I hope Hillary looses both Indiana and North Carolina tonight, AND that Jason Castro gets booted off American Idol. Politics and pop culture all on a Tuesday night! I happen to be partial to MSNBC (Tim Russert is the best analyst on TV). Will you watch the primary results tonight or are you lame or I mean busy.

*****

Saw this incredible headline (sorry no t-shirt available):
Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says

The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington.

My jaw dropped when I read that. According to the WHO the suicides per 100,000 males are 17.1 (source). According the article 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. If suicide rates were consistent with national rates for those 1.6 million soldiers then approximately 273 males would be likely to commit suicide.

There have been 4,560 soldiers killed in combat since 2001. If soldiers and veteran suicides do in fact outpace the death total from these two wars that would represent a 1,670% increase over the standard national suicide rate. Here's the damning part. A big part of the reason why there are so many suicides is because money isn't being spent to make sure the 53% of returning combat veterans who have PTSD get the help they need.

This from a country that spends over 700 billion every year on it's defense department (China is upping their spending to 53 billion). This injustice is sickening. We ask our young people to go to war for us, and then leave them hanging out to dry once they have done our dirty work for us. This will have ramifications for years and shows how insincere our Commander in Chief and congress is about supporting our troops.

Playing Catch Up

Sorry it's been a little slow at the J-Wild blog this week. I have been swamped so here is a brain dump.

1. American Idol - Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones are so much better than everyone else on this season it's amazing. The boys are terrible, save the beat box guy, and the curly hair dude.

2. LOST - Whew, finally a show to sink our teeth into!

3. The Four Unspeakable Truths about the Iraq war according to Jacob Weisberg are: The War was a mistake. The soldiers are victims as much as they are heros. The lives lost in Iraq are lives that have been wasted. America is going to, or already has lost this war. Even if you don't agree with his assessment it's worth reading. He also apologizes for his qualified support for the war.

4. On Joe's blog he explored what people meant when they said they were "supporting our troops". Great stuff was written in the comments, but what I keep coming back to is how much our government doesn't seem to be supporting our troops. They were sent to battle without proper armor, asked to return for tours again and again, and now it is appalling clear that the government is at best unprepared and worst negligent in taking care of the tens of thousands of wounded coming back to the United States.

5. I keep reflecting on this line from our staff devotional earlier this week. "Help me move from being created in your image, to living in your likeness."

The Cost of War

*links fixed*

Here are the dimensions of a dollar bill. It's about 6 inches long, and 2½ inches wide, and as thick as a regular piece of paper.

This is what a stack of dollar bills totalling $360,000 looks like (which would get you this apartment on the UWS of Manhattan). If you made a single stack, it would be 120 feet high.

You should see how big the stack of money is for the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as of July 21, 2006. It's incredible.

Last night Allison and I resisted the pull to watch the mindless Oprah Oscar Special and instead watched the hour long report "Bob Woodruff: To Iraq and Back." We watched with tears in our eyes the stories of people who have paid a price for this war that illustrative graphics about money could never convey. If you have a few minutes watch this video segment of the report.

I Apologize

I really regrett supporting the idea of going to war in Iraq. I feel ashamed about contributing to the fervor of going to war in early 2003 and where that's led our country and especially what it's done to our service men and women and their families. I am sorry.

Iraq

All I wanted to say about Iraq is that if the sentiment continues to grow that the situation in Iraq is the Iraqis fault then I will be even more disappointed in our leaders. I hold to the Powell doctrine that "If you break it you own it." I fear that the troop increase the President appears to be seriously considering will just be a smokescreen for giving it one more try...and then we can back out blaming Iraqis all the way out the door.

I have no idea what we should do all the options seem poor, but adding more troops seems to have only a downside.

Who ever put this together at the New York Times should be commended. It is a powerful reminder of just how many people are paying the ultimate price for the US excursion into Iraq.