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Paralyzed Iraq War Veteran Who Joined Army Because of 9/11 Writes Last Words to Bush & Cheney

 

Posted on November 16, 2014November 16, 2014 by George Orwell's Ghost Posted in Other News

Paralyzed Iraq War Veteran Who Joined Army Because of 9/11 Writes Last Words to Bush & Cheney

Submitted to Zero Hedge by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

Last March, I came across a letter written to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney from a paralyzed and dying Iraq war vet named Tomas Young. It touched me to such an extent, that I highlighted it on Liberty Blitzkrieg at the time. He died on Monday, the day before Veterans Day. If you really want to honor our nation’s soldiers, you should read the following and share it.

RIP Tomas Young.

Full letter below from Counterpunch.

My Last Words to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney

by TOMAS YOUNG

I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been wounded and on behalf of those whose wounds, physical and psychological, have destroyed their lives. I am one of those gravely wounded. I was paralyzed in an insurgent ambush in 2004 in Sadr City. My life is coming to an end. I am living under hospice care.

I write this letter on behalf of husbands and wives who have lost spouses, on behalf of children who have lost a parent, on behalf of the fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters and on behalf of those who care for the many thousands of my fellow veterans who have brain injuries. I write this letter on behalf of those veterans whose trauma and self-revulsion for what they have witnessed, endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the active-duty soldiers and Marines who commit, on average, a suicide a day. I write this letter on behalf of the some 1 million Iraqi dead and on behalf of the countless Iraqi wounded. I write this letter on behalf of us all—the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.

I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.

Your positions of authority, your millions of dollars of personal wealth, your public relations consultants, your privilege and your power cannot mask the hollowness of your character. You sent us to fight and die in Iraq after you, Mr. Cheney, dodged the draft in Vietnam, and you, Mr. Bush, went AWOL from your National Guard unit. Your cowardice and selfishness were established decades ago. You were not willing to risk yourselves for our nation but you sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to be sacrificed in a senseless war with no more thought than it takes to put out the garbage.

I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had killed some 3,000 of my fellow citizens. I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States. I did not join the Army to “liberate” Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called “democracy” in Baghdad and the Middle East. I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq’s oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion. I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes. The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level—moral, strategic, military and economic—Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences.

I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire.

I have, like many other disabled veterans, suffered from the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration. I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned. You, Mr. Bush, make much pretense of being a Christian. But isn’t lying a sin? Isn’t murder a sin? Aren’t theft and selfish ambition sins? I am not a Christian. But I believe in the Christian ideal. I believe that what you do to the least of your brothers you finally do to yourself, to your own soul.

My day of reckoning is upon me. Yours will come. I hope you will be put on trial. But mostly I hope, for your sakes, that you find the moral courage to face what you have done to me and to many, many others who deserved to live. I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness.

-Thomas Young

What’s so impressive about this letter, beyond the incredible emotion and pain behind it, is the fact that Mr. Young was so prescient about so many issues. He highlighted the debacle that became the Veterans Administration scandal before it broke, and he also pointed to the dangerous power vacuum created in Baghdad before the emergence of ISIS. We lost a special soul on Monday.

Paralyzed Iraq War Veteran Who Joined Army Because of 9/11 Writes Last Words to Bush & Cheney
George Orwell's Ghost
Sun, 16 Nov 2014 17:04:26 GMT

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture: Obama Administration Must Release Senate Torture Report

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture: Obama Administration Must Release Senate Torture Report

• Politics
• International
• Interviews

By: Derrick Broze Nov 14, 2014

2

Houston, Texas November 14, 2014 – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture claims the United States use of torture techniques has contributed to a breakdown of international order, stating that “We no longer have a universal moral condemnation of torture.”

Special Rapporteur Juan Méndez spoke at the Rothko Chapel in Houston on Thursday night as part of an event called “Mainstreaming Torture”. Méndez is a lawyer and a human rights activist who experienced torture at the hands of the Argentinean military. He also wrote the book Taking a Stand: The Evolution of Human Rights.

Méndez moderated a discussion between Dr. Rebecca Gordon, lecturer at University of San Francisco and author of Mainstreaming Torture: Ethical Approaches in the Post-9/11 United States, and Dr. Sarah Sentilles, Assistant Professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

During the discussion Special Rapporteur Méndez stated that the Obama Administration’s use of torture was “a violation of obligations and international law”. He challenged Americans to hold elected officials accountable.

“We must hold the U.S. accountable, to do that we need to release the unredacted Senate report on CIA torture.”

Dr. Gordon gave an empowered breakdown of how torture breaks a persons physical, social, and psychological worlds. “The purpose of torture is not to get information but to destroy those organizations that threaten the state.” She said governments use torture to harm and create fear among the enemy, worry that someone may be giving up valuable information. Dr. Sentilles discussed the various forms of torture including rape, solitary confinement, prisons, slavery, and other forms of mental torture.

After the discussion Special Rapporteur Méndez spoke with me about how the United States looks from an international perspective and as a victim of torture himself. He believes a sense of isolationism and American Exceptionalism are some of the reasons why some Americans support the actions.

The Special Rapporteur also said the United States governments refusal to work with international authorities on the issue has made it easier for other nations to shirk their responsibilities when it comes to international human rights laws. He said the United States seems to think “these rules are all okay, but they do not apply to us.” However, he did say he believes there are portions of the American public who do not support these methods.

“We had a sense of moral condemnation that was truly universal. The nations that tortured denied that they did. Now, after 9/11, we have lost a little bit of the moral high ground. But it can be regained and it should be.”

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture: Obama Administration Must Release Senate Torture Report
Derrick Broze
Sat, 15 Nov 2014 02:17:43 GMT

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Give me liberty or give me death!

St. John's Church Richmond, Virginia March 23, 1775 No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth -- to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation -- the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! Patrick Henry From "Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry", 1817 by William Wirt

(U//FOUO) Central Florida Information Exchange Brief: Ebola Guidance for Law Enforcement

 

The following document was obtained from the website of the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Guidance for Law Enforcement, First Responders and Corrections: Identification and Risk Reduction of Ebola Exposure

• 8 pages
• For Official Use Only
• October 29, 2014

(U//FOUO) The purpose of this brief is to provide law enforcement, first responders, corrections officers, and other personnel who interact with the general public, with guidance and protective measures when coming in contact with individuals demonstrating symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Personnel who become familiar with the identification of possible exposure, proper response protocols and protective measures will be better prepared to respond, secure, transport and decontaminate to prevent further spread of this deadly disease.

(U) BACKGROUND

(U) According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa. The CDC is working with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other domestic and international partners to prevent further spread of the Ebola virus within the United States.

(U) KEY POINTS

(U) Law enforcement, first responders, corrections officers, health care providers and personnel who are in close contact with the general public should be familiar with Ebola signs and symptoms, methods of contamination and guidance on handling claims of illness during routine encounters.

(U) The likelihood of contracting Ebola in the United States is low unless a person has direct unprotected contact with the blood or bodily fluids (like urine, saliva, feces, vomit, sweat, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola Virus Disease.

(U) Law enforcement, first responders, corrections officers, health care providers and personnel who interact with the general public are at higher risk of coming in contact with an infected individual due to the unique challenges and uncontrolled nature of their work environment. These factors may increase the risk of exposure to blood and bodily fluid during an encounter with a combative subject, or from an ambulatory or custodial transport.

(U) SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

(U) Symptoms of Ebola may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure, although the average is 8 to 10 days. Ebola can only be spread to others after symptoms begin.

(U) Ebola can be spread by direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with a sick person’s blood, bodily fluids. The virus also can be spread through contact with objects (like clothes, bedding, needles, syringes/sharps or medical equipment) that have been contaminated with the virus.

(U) Immediate identification of symptoms is critical for personnel who are exposed or come in direct contact with a potentially infectious person.

(U//FOUO) Central Florida Information Exchange Brief: Ebola Guidance for Law Enforcement
Public Intelligence
Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:46:55 GMT