VA Loans Guidelines

by Sherwood Ross

The U.S. should end all aid to Israel if it attacks Iran, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk says.

It should “tell Israel outright that both American money and American political and military support will end should it decide to drag America into another Middle East war as it did in Iraq,” Abourezk wrote in an article published by the Council for the National Interest.

The former Democratic senator, now practicing law in Sioux Falls, S.D., wrote, “if Israel attacks, America will be blamed for it…because we furnish money and weapons and protection in the U.N.for Israel, such collaboration would be difficult for us to deny.”

“We are talking here about saving American lives, and saving our economy, which will surely go deep into the tank when crude oil prices spike to unheard-of levels as a result of such an attack,” Abourezk wrote in an article distributed on Internet site Information Clearing House.

“It is my view,” he continued, “that (Israeli Prime Minister) Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyanu would drop the question of an Iranian threat once he has to consider the greater threat posed by the U.S. cutting off the gift of billions of dollars each year.”

Abourezk concluded, “It’s a question of whether our elected leaders will protect Americans or Israel. Surely it’s not too much to ask that they put their own country first.” Abourezk was the first Arab-American to serve in the Senate. First elected to the House of Representatives, his term in the Senate spanned the 1973-79 period.

An eloquent argument for terminating aid to Israel even if it does not start a war of aggression against Iran has also been made by American philosopher Todd May of Clemson University, S.C. He argues for an aid cutoff based on Israeli treatment of Palestinians.

“There are several simple, but compelling reasons, for Americans to support such a proposal,” he wrote on the website Mediamediators.net, a decade ago. “First and foremost, by squandering the aid we have given Israel over the years (nearly five billion dollars a year, including incidentals) in the massive violation of the human rights, autonomy, and dignity of another people, Israel has forfeited any claim it might have to that aid.”

“Regardless of the individual acts of desperation and terrorism that some Palestinians commit,” May continued, “the overwhelming destructiveness that Israel has performed on the Palestinian people for the last thirty-five years demonstrates that its goal has always been, and remains, the dominance of another people.”

“The U.S. should not be aiding Israel no more than it should have been aiding South Africa under apartheid, Iran under the Shah, Iraq’s Saddam during his war with Iran, Cambodia under Pol Pot, or Indonesia during its campaign against the East Timorese,” May said.

May concluded, “Given that aid to Israel supports a policy that runs afoul of basic human rights, wastes billions of dollars a year in taxpayer money, and is inimical to U.S. interests, we ought to end it.”

Sherwood Ross is a Miami-based public relations consultant who writes on political and military topics. Reach him at sherwoodross10@gmail.com.

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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=200903

By Sherwood Ross

To what extent, if any, did the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS) participate in the slaughter of scores of Kingston, Jamaica’s, Tivoli Gardens residents on May 24th, 2010?

The community was run by drug lord Christopher (Dudus) Coke, a self-proclaimed “president” wanted in the U.S. for drug and firearms trafficking.

When he would not surrender to authorities, the Army’s Jamaican Defense Force(J.D.F) and the Jamaican Constabulary Force(J.C.F.) breached the barricades Coke’s men had erected and gunfire erupted. Resistance was light and the defenders melted away. Unarmed residents who had not taken the opportunity to leave Tivoli by bus prior to the gunplay were not so lucky.

“No fewer than (73 civilians) were killed (as well as one soldier)” in the operation to get Coke, and three other community residents are missing, writes Mattathias Schwartz in last December 12th’s “The New Yorker.” .

Although Jamaican authorities say many of those slain were armed gunmen allied with Coke, they recovered just six guns during the assault and to this day “the Jamaican government has refused to make public what it knows about how the men and (three) women of Tivoli Gardens died,” Schwartz writes.

So has the U.S. government, even though a Lockheed P-3 Orion surveillance plane with an identifying DHS seal on its tail was flying above Kingston relaying live video of Tivoli to Jamaican forces on the ground, Schwartz notes. “The video could corroborate, or refute, allegations that members of the Jamaican security forces massacred dozens of innocents, and could help identify the alleged killers,” “The New Yorker” article suggests.

Investigators dispatched by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding were told by Tivoli women “of police shooting unarmed young men inside their homes, or dragging them out into the street and killing them,” Schwartz writes.

A DHS official confirmed to reporter Schwartz his agency had aircraft flying above Kingston and that “all scenes were continuously reported” and information turned over to Jamaican authorities. A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) spokesperson said, “We were absolutely not involved on the ground in any of the operations.”  A statement given to Schwartz by the U.S. State Department and DEA stressed U.S. law-enforcement officers at the American Embassy had not made “operational decisions” during the incursion.

But Schwartz writes, “The U.S. knew there was a risk of violence against civilians during the operation” as human-rights activists have long been collecting stories of J.C.F. excesses, “including officers indiscriminately firing on teen-age girls or crowded buses.”

In 2010, Jamaican police killed 320 civilians apart from those slain in the Tivoli attack, a figure 40 times as great as the New York P.D. which covers a population three times as large, and a UN report has noted “the propensity for extrajudicial killings by the J.C.F.”

Once the police gained control of Tivoli, “unarmed men of fighting age were interrogated on the spot, and more than a thousand were sent to detention centers, from which they were released a few days later,” Schwartz wrote, but “dozens allegedly (were) shot to death in custody.” Others, whose protestations of innocence were not believed, were shot to death on the spot in Tivoli by the police.

Meanwhile, Coke was nowhere to be found. Nearly a month after what Schwartz called “A Massacre in Jamaica,” Coke was caught by police at a roadblock and has been held since at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Lower Manhattan. He has pleaded guilty to racketeering and faces up to 23 years in prison, Schwartz writes.

But several scores of civilians are buried in Jamaica’s May Pen Cemetery in consequence of a deadly attack by Jamaican forces in which, for all its denials, the U.S. played a significant role and was perhaps more closely involved than it has let on.

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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=182399

by David Swanson

A 24-member delegation from Japan is in Washington, D.C., this week opposing the presence and new construction of U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Participating are members of the Japanese House of Councilors, of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, and of city governments in Okinawa, as well as leading protest organizers and the heads of several important organizations opposed to the ongoing U.S. military occupation of Okinawa.

The famously stingy U.S. tax payer, frequently seen bitterly protesting outrageously wasteful spending of a few million dollars, is paying billions of dollars to maintain and expand some 90 military bases in Japan (and to make those who profit from such business filthy rich). Thirty-four of those bases, containing 74% of their total land area, are in Okinawa, which itself contains only 0.6% of Japanese land. Okinawa is dominated by U.S. military bases and has been for 67 years since the U.S. forcibly appropriated much of the best land.

The people of Okinawa tell pollsters year after year that they oppose the bases. Year after year they elect government officials who oppose the bases. Year after year they march, sit-in, protest, and demand to be heard. Year after year, the national Japanese government confronts the issue and fails to take any decisive steps to resolve it. Year after year, the people of the United States remain blissfully unaware that, as in so many other places around the world, our military occupation of Okinawa is ruining people’s lives.

Members of the delegation spoke at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., Monday night. Toshio Ikemiyagi thanked people who came to hear them and pointed out that we all looked healthy and alert. That, he said, is because you have all had sleep. You’ve been able to sleep at night without deafening jet noise, he said. Ikemiyagi is the lead attorney on a lawsuit challenging the Kadena Air Base’s noise pollution. He played us a video on Monday of what it is like. For the people who live there, he said, the war that ended 67 years ago has never ended.

Keiko Itokazu, a Member of the Japanese National Diet, depicted in this painting, said the Okinawan people had been heartbroken since having been unable to protect a 12-year-old girl from gang rape by U.S. troops in 1995. The Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and Japan gives U.S. troops immunity from Japanese prosecution. Between 1979 and 2008, U.S. forces in Okinawa caused 1,439 accidents (487 of them airplane related), and 5,584 criminal cases (559 of them involving violent crimes). The list includes fatal driving incidents, residential break-ins, taxi robberies, sexual violence, and other serious crimes against local citizens.

I spoke recently with Maria Allwine who describes herself as “a former Marine Corps spouse.” She said, “It is common practice for military personnel to use Japanese women as ‘mama-sans,’ exchanging house cleaning and sexual favors for money. Nothing new, but it’s given a wink and a nod by military brass. Those who don’t cheat are considered abnormal by their peers.”

The sex police are as absent as the skinflints from their usual place of prominence in U.S. political debate when it comes to occupying other people’s countries. Imagine, however, just for a moment, that even one Japanese military base existed in the United States, and imagine that even one Japanese soldier committed a single crime. Can you imagine some things that U.S. television talking heads might say?

Our military is trying to build yet more bases in Okinawa. Why, you ask? Word around town is that even the Pentagon thinks it serves no purpose, but the Marine Corps likes to hold onto anything it’s got. The Marines have even named one of their bases in Okinawa for Smedley Butler, the author of “War Is A Racket,” and a man whom the Marines once imprisoned at Quantico for having spoken badly of Benito Mussolini. Don’t look for logic. Look for petty rivalry and power, combined with unaccountability and we the people missing in action.

The least popular base in Okinawa is probably Futenma Air Base, which sits in the middle of a city, near schools, a hospital, and houses — houses which military helicopters have been known to crash into. The Marine Corps plans to bring the accident-prone MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to Futenma in 2012. Overwhelmingly, the people of Okinawa want the base closed, and do not want it relocated to a less populated area, and do not want it combined with another existing base. For the past 16 years, residents of Henoko, a location under consideration for relocation of the base, have held a continuous sit-in protest without pause. They have also risked their lives hanging onto a floating platform in the ocean, surrounded by supportive fishing boats, successfully preventing the military from surveying the site for construction.

Hiroshi Ashitomi has been a leader of the nonviolent resistance in Henoko for 16 years. “We use our own bodies,” he said on Monday, “to resist aggressive actions by the Japanese government.” Pointing to the picture of Gandhi in the collage on the wall at Busboys, Ashitomi said, “We follow the example of Gandhi. It is not easy. We receive threats from the police. But we are determined to use nonviolent resistance, and we get a lot of support from all over Japan. We are trying to protect the environment, so many young people from all over Japan come to our tent and participate in our resistance.”

In fact, the environment and the rights of certain endangered species have come to dominate the anti-base movement in Okinawa. Apparently the rights of humans are far less interesting than the rights of the black naped tern, the blue coral, or above all the dugong. The dugong is the manatee-like creature in this photo. Osamu Makishi of the Citizens’ Network for Okinawan Biodiversity spoke movingly about these species and their ecosystem on Monday, which he said are protected by treaty.

The Japanese delegation is meeting with Congress Members, including Senator Jim Webb on Wednesday, urging them to close and consolidate bases. I once accompanied a group of Italians on almost identical visits to Congress. The people of Vicenza, Italy, oppose the bases the U.S. military and the national Italian government impose on them, just as the people of Okinawa do. The congress members and staffers we met with at that time gave not the slightest damn for human rights or the environment or popular opinion. I don’t think any of the Japanese delegates expect to encounter such humanity this week either. Their hope is to highlight the financial costs to the United States of the occupation of Japan. My hope is that we can help them by telling our misrepresentatives that we agree with the members of the delegation. If you’re inclined to help, please call your rep and two senators with that message.

Specifically, the delegation is asking for the closure of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station; cancellation of plans to construct a new Marine Corps air base at Cape Henoko; reduction of unbearable noise caused by air operations at Kadena Air Base; withdrawal of any proposal to integrate Futenma’s helicopter squadrons into Kadena’s operations; an end to the construction of six new helipads in the Yanbaru forest in northern Okinawa; and revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement to allow fair prosecutions of crimes.

Ultimately, however, the members of the delegation want the bases all to be closed. And they do not want them relocated to Guam or Australia or anywhere else, except perhaps to the United States. Itokazu suggested that the U.S. government could save money and produce jobs by bringing bases home. But, of course, we don’t want a military occupation any more than Japan does, and the same money would produce more jobs if spent on a non-military industry.

Base opponents in Okinawa work with others in Korea, Guam, and Hawaii, and with former residents of Diego Garcia, as well as others around the world. An international conference called “Dialogue Under Occupation” was held in Okinawa last summer. In fact, people are working extremely hard in cities around the world to shut down or prevent the construction of giant military bases that we in the United States pay for and are endangered by but have very little awareness of.

John Feffer of the Institute for Policy Studies (see closethebase.org ) believes Futenma can be closed and can serve as a model for closing more. It is very difficult, however, Feffer says, to accomplish base closings cleanly without some sort of asterisk attached. When a base was closed in Seoul, Korea, a new one was opened outside it. When bases were closed in the Philippines, a Visiting Forces Agreement was drawn up. Yet, the Navy left Vieques, and the President of Ecuador seems to have found the magic formula in his proposal that any U.S. base in Ecuador be matched by an Ecuadorean base in Florida.

Here is another proposal: bring in the IAEA for inspections. No independent organization has verified U.S. claims to no longer be storing nuclear weapons in Japan. On the model of Iran, if full inspections are not permitted by, say, Thursday, or even if they are, we should seriously consider launching preemptive strikes against ourselves. The Constitution that the United States imposed on Japan 65 years ago forbids war preparation, yet the United States trains its forces in Japan to fight wars elsewhere in the world. Are we spreading democracy or hypocrisy? Are we building trust or animosity?

Ikemiyagi says democracy requires U.S. withdrawal from Okinawa. As with the location of nuclear power plants in Japan, he says, the Japanese government wants the military bases out of sight. If Tokyo wants bases, he says, then put them in Tokyo. The people of Okinawa have had enough.

Haven’t we all?

David Swanson is the author of “When the World Outlawed War,” “War Is A Lie” and “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union.” He blogs at http://davidswanson.org and http://warisacrime.org and works for the online activist organization http://rootsaction.org

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Actions speak louder than words. The actions of U.S. politicians let us know their number one concern is not their constituents. And it’s not America. Their number one concern is pleasing the very powerful Israel lobby.

A good example of this is the U.S. Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio. Within days of being elected to the United States Senate he went to the Jewish state of Israel! You would think that with the United States being in an economic depression, and with Rubio’s home state of Florida having an unemployment rate higher than the national average, his priority would be to immediately start working to bring jobs in to his state and to strengthen the U.S. economy, not visit a foreign country.

Another example of a political whore sucking up to Israel and its too powerful lobby is Newt Gingrich. What is Newt’s top priority if he becomes President?

Newt and the other political whores know who to pray to – the Israel lobby!

Is it to stop the loss of American jobs due to corporate greed and outsourcing? Is it to bring the banksters and their Wall Street cohorts who’ve plundered the savings and 401k retirement accounts of countless Americans to justice? Or is it to help the homeless veterans and children and families living in their cars or on the streets of America? NO! Newt’s top priority is to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem!!!

The Yeshiva World reports that the first thing Newt says he’ll do on the very first day he is President is to move the U.S. embassy to the international city of Jerusalem. Newt’s pro-Israel priority is crystal clear. The article reads, “The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) today praised Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich for his pledge to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in the event that he becomes President of the United States.  If elected President, Gingrich committed that he would issue an executive order on his first day in office directing that the U.S. embassy in Israel be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

Newt says that Israel has the “right to choose its own capital.” What Newt seems to forget, or ignore, is Jerusalem is NOT a part of Israel. Israel choosing Jerusalem as its capital is like Mexico choosing Austin, Texas as its capital. Israel is the occupier of Jerusalem. And as the occupier of Jerusalem, the Jewish state is in violation of United Nations Resolution 478. In fact, Israel is in violation of more U.N. resolutions than all other countries combined!

Starting with George H.W. Bush through Obama, U.S. politicians have used violations of U.N. resolutions as excuses to start wars. This was done in the first Gulf war and it was done to start the unnecessary deadly and expensive war in Iraq. Obama will probably use it to start a war with Israel’s remaining two regional enemies of Syria and Iran. Since violation of U.N. resolutions are what wars are started over, isn’t it past time for America to invade Israel???

Remember back in 1982 when Israel withheld information that could have saved the lives of 241 U.S. Marines who were unnecessarily killed in Lebanon

A cartoon about USMC Captain Charles Johnson forcing three Israeli thanks to retreat.

(read the important book about the Mossad by a Mossad insider, By Way of Deception)? In that same time period and during that same Israeli invasion of Lebanon, one United States Marine Captain, Charles Johnson, forced three Israeli tanks to retreat while only using his 45! American forces could neutralize Israeli forces in a matter of weeks. (Here is a link to a more in-depth look at how Israel harassed our Marines and put their lives in danger for their own selfish reasons.)

All the pain and suffering the politicians cause America and the world by starting wars for Israel’s benefit, which is done to benefit their own selfish political careers, would be avoided if America followed the advice of the American founder and Deist George Washington. On several occasions Washington warned America against showing favoritism towards other nations as the U.S. now does towards Israel. Washington said, “My policy has been, and will continue to be, while I have the honor to remain in the administration of the government, to be upon friendly terms with, but independent of, all the nations of the earth. To share in the broils of none. To fulfill our own engagements. To supply the wants, and be carriers for them all: Being thoroughly convinced that it is our policy and interest to do so.”

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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=168921

by Zabi Rashidi

Balkh Governor, Ata Mohammad Noor Monday in a joint news conference with ‎U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told reporters that he would undertake the ‎responsibility for Jamia-e-Islami leadership if required.‎

He said the leadership for previously late Prof. Rabbani’s led party would be ‎handed over to his son in the next couple of months, but the congress of Jamiat ‎would be held in the near future to appoint the leadership for another long term ‎future.‎

He said also said about Ahmad Zia Masoud and Hajj Mohammad Mohaqqeq his ‎stubborn rivals that they had formed a new coalition, but give not details. ‎

Meanwhile, U.S. ambassador, Ryan Crocker also reported his country’s pledge to ‎continue peace talks with the Afghan government armed oppositions, but didn’t ‎reject military pressure on the rebels.‎

He also confirmed the recent Afghan president’s remarks on holding negotiation ‎with the Pakistan instead of Taliban militants—an assertion highly stimulated Pak ‎leadership anger.‎

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai had summoned a conference of Jehadi figures, ‎politicians, both houses speakers and ulema council members discussing peace ‎talks and insisting to hold it with the Pakistani leadership. ‎

‎“We made ample efforts to specify the hideouts of key Taliban leader, Mullah ‎Omar, but couldn’t succeed. Now we are planned to hold negotiation with ‎Pakistan”, he said blaming the armed Taliban for having no authority to take ‎decision and the Pakistani ISI to back the Afghan government armed circles.‎

The decision by the Afghan leadership comes after High Peace Council (HPC) ‎Chief and Ex-Afghan President, Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a suicide ‎attempt in his residence in Kabul—an incident for which the Haqqani network ‎was charged to be involved.

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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=147101