LTG William Boykin (Ret.) has a history of extremist and hateful views towards Muslims. As TP notes:
Here's what Boykin has said about Muslims in the past: there should be "no mosques in America"; Muslims worship an "idol"; "Islam is a totalitarian way of life, it's not just a religion"; "it should not be protected under the First Amendment"; Muslims operate "under an obligation to destroy our Constitution."
Earlier this week, VoteVets learned that LTG William Boykin (Ret.) had been invited to speak to cadets at the United States Military Academy during West Point's observance of the National Prayer Breakfast. LTG Boykin's comments are incompatible with Army values and our global security strategy. As such, today VoteVets sent a letter to USMA requesting that LTG Boykin's invite be retracted. See below:
VETERANS REITERATE CALL FOR ROMNEY TO RELEASE FULL TAXES
WASHINGTON, DC - Not satisfied with Mitt Romney's lack of complete disclosure on his taxes, the veterans of VoteVets.org, the largest progressive veterans organization in America, are reiterating their call for him to release his full tax records. This week, 7000 Americans, including thousands of veterans and military families, signed a petition to Romney, calling on him to do just that.
"Why won't Mitt Romney release all of his taxes? What's he hiding?" said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org. "Seven thousand Americans, including thousands of veterans and military families have signed our petition asking him to do one simple thing - show us how much or how little you contributed to America, at a time when our troops went to war and paid a higher tax rate than you when they came home. Will he cut veterans benefits to pay to lower his taxes even more? Given Mitt Romney would like to lower taxes for him and other multi-millionaires like him, it's a fair question."
Soltz added, "Particularly disturbing are all of these off-shore accounts. While it seems that he and his accountant decided to pay taxes on those in 2010, what about the years before this campaign? While men and women were putting their lives on the line on the battlefield, and military members and retirees were paying a higher tax rate, was Mitt Romney trying to weasel his way out of paying taxes that care for those troops when they are in the field and come home?"
Founded in 2006, and backed by over 100,000 members, the mission of VoteVets.org is to use public issue campaigns and direct outreach to lawmakers to ensure that troops abroad have what they need to complete their missions, and receive the care they deserve when they get home. VoteVets.org also recognizes veterans as a vital part of the fabric of our country and will work to protect veterans' interests in their day-to-day lives. VoteVets.org is committed to the destruction of terror networks around the world - with force when necessary - to protect America. While non-partisan, the group is the largest progressive organization of veterans in America.
Last night, Iraq War Veteran and VoteVets.org Chairman Jon Soltz appeared on MSNBC's The Ed Show last night to discuss why it is important to Veterans and Military Families that Mitt Romney releases his tax returns. Watch:
As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.
I've never made a secret about how I feel about war criminal Allen West, a disgraced former military commander who supervised and participated in the savage torture of an Iraqi detainee. So when I read a statement like the one above from Allen West, as someone who has been shot at by the Taliban I have to respond.
First, I have to give the Chair of the House War Criminals Caucus Congressman credit. Unlike many of his right wing colleagues, West actually recommends that the Marines be punished, albeit lightly and in a manner that would be a violation of Article 13, UCMJ:
"The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.
Silly, right? Keep in mind, without the ridiculous suggestion about standing in front of a formation to engage in nonsense, that's essentially the same punishment West received from the Army for this incident:
Arriving at the interrogation room, West approached Hamoodi, took out his gun, and chambered a round. He placed it in his lap with the gun barrel facing Hamoodi. "I had drawn out my pistol as a means of conveying a threat to him for the seriousness of wanting the information," West told investigators.
Hamoodi said that after West's arrival, "a soldier pulled his shirt over his head, and numerous others began to punch him in the chest." The beating bruised his ribs, said Hamoodi, but those bruises had healed in the month that passed before he met with investigators.
Said West: "Yes, there had been sporadic body punches and shoving to the individual, which I witnessed but did not allow to get too brutal."
Hamoodi still didn't give West or the soldiers the information they wanted, either because he wasn't part of the assassination plot or because he was being an uncooperative witness.
West ordered Hamoodi out of the interrogation room and took him outside the facility, where Hamoodi says West pointed to six soldiers who were standing in line with their weapons in hand. Through the Egyptian translator, West told Hamoodi: "If you don't talk, they will kill you."
When that didn't work, West admitted to pushing Hamoodi's head into a clearing barrel full of sand, which is typically used for clearing weapons. West then put his gun into the same barrel, near Hamoodi's head and fired.
"In my anger I do not know if I fired two shots in to the barrel or one into the air and another into the barrel," said West in his sworn statement.
The day anyone should listen to Allen West about how service members should be punished for the things shown in that video is the day we should start taking pet care advice from Michael Vick.
Even while West acknowledges the Marines should be punished, he seems to accuse the media of blowing the incident out of proportion:
I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.
"All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?
First, there was a public sentiment of indignation after those incidents, but that's neither here nor their. What is important is that America is an exceptional nation. Yes, despite what you've heard about liberals, I believe this. But American Exceptionalism does not mean that we get to do whatever we want because we are better. It means that because we are better, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard. People expect terrorists in Somalia and Iraq to treat the enemy in an inhumane manner. As awful as it is for their victims, it is their SOP.
That is not, however, how Americans operate. Well, with the exception of war criminals like Allen West. The Congressman seems to think that we are no better than the Taliban, the Madhi Army or Somali terrorists.
I have been shot at by the Taliban, Congressman West. And it doesn't mean I'm okay with what these Marines did or that they should get just a slap on wrist. How about this for a new rule:
Unless you haven't been charged with abusing detainees, shut your mouth. War is hell, but that doesn't give anyone the excuse to act like the enemy.
A new study is out showing that non-citizen enlistees have a significantly lower wash-out rate than American citizens:
Within three months of entering active service, 8.2 percent of citizen enlistees have been discharged. That is more than double the 4 percent attrition rate of non-citizens who volunteer to serve in America's military.
At the three-year mark, 28 percent of citizens have left before completing initial service obligations while the washout rate for non-citizens remains significantly lower, at 16 percent. And the disparity widens by the four-year mark, with 32 percent of citizen recruits having been discharged versus only 18 percent of non-citizen accessions.
It isn't surprising that people who have come to America for a better life have a greater desire for military success than a large portion of citizen recruits who can look back to the days of sitting at home on the Xbox. Similarly, this study is yet another indicator that we have an urgent need to pass the DREAM Act, a proposal that would allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to America as children, having no choice in the matter, to become citizens through military service. The legislation, held up in Congress by anti-immigration zealots, would allow a population to serve that now has empirical evidence showing they have a greater propensity for success than their citizen counterparts.
There is no good reason to not pass the legislation. You can't help but wonder why a portion of our elected leaders are against letting qualified individuals serve their country. Oddly enough, those opposed are the same leaders that fought the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Anyone else notice a pattern?
The United States Marine Corps is launching an investigation into a video which appears to show Marines in full combat gear urinating on several dead bodies ... TMZ has learned.
In the extremely graphic video, which appeared on various websites this morning, at least 4 male Marines expose their genitals and urinate on the bodies.
The mystery person who posted the video included a caption that reads, "scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans."
This is #FAIL on so many levels. First, these actions violate the General Order 1 ban on corpse desecration. So these Marines are looking at the possibility of a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 2 years under Article 92, UCMJ. Secondly, that provision of General Order 1 exists for a reason. Aside from basic human decency, corpse desecration harms our mission by disrespecting the culture of Afghanistan and the families of the dead. Think this video isn't circulating in Afghanistan already? You think some young Afghan male who was on the fence about the insurgency won't be knocked off it?
Additionally, these Marines have dishonored the image of the American Service Member stateside. The media already portrays us as a monolithic group of living time bombs, rocking ourselves in a corner or beating our families. Reports like this, as well as stories like the Army death squad from last year, will only reinforce that image and give unknowing civilians an image of uniformed Americans wondering the desert and mountains of Afghanistan looking for atrocities to commit. I, for one, don't want to have to ever tell people "yeah, I served. But I didn't piss on corpses."
Lastly, this goes back to a theme I've been discussing here for several months: the effects of a decade of incessant war on a military. This is clearly a leadership failure. I don't mean to argue a conspiracy where these Marines were instructed to urinate on dead insurgents by higher headquarters. But what is clear is that these Marines' leaders did not instill in them the regulations they were to follow, the importance of those regulations to the mission and how doing something like this can adversely affect the mission and fuel the insurgency. Endless war causes a degradation of leadership. It becomes more clear with each new scandal that this is undoubtedly happening to our military.
For the second time in one week, U.S. ships rescued a group of Iranian mariners. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter picked up the Iranians after their vessel broke down in the Persian Gulf. Coast Guard spokesman George Little told reporters that one of the Iranians suffered burns and was receiving treatment
I'm wondering how the conversations about closing the Straight of Hormuz are going in Tehran. It can't be looking good for Team Closure.
Just days after Iran threatened the U.S. Navy and bloviated about closing off the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy saved 13 Iranian commercial sailors from pirates. Anytime you want to express your gratitude, Tehran, the Pentagon will take your call.
The incident occurred Thursday in the northern Arabian Sea, the Navy said, after the aircraft carrier U.S.S. John C. Stennis' battle group left the strait. The Stennis received a distress call from a ship warning of a pirate assault.
Compliments of the United States Navy, a global force for good.
In spite of his latest attempts to kamikaze the GOP primary field if he isn't going to win it, Newt Gingrich is taking a page out of the Mitt Romney playbook. You'll remember that back in November, Mitt Romney revealed his plan to privatize and cut VA health care:
"Sometimes you wonder, would there be someway to introduce some private sector competition, somebody else that could come in and say, you know, each soldier gets X thousand dollars attributed to them and then they can choose whether they want to go on the government system or the private system and then it follows them, like what happens with schools in Florida where they have a voucher that follows them. Who knows."
As we discussed then, privatizing VA through a voucher system is a terrible idea. Voucher systems rarely cover the cost of care and would force Vets to pay out of pocket for wounds they encountered in their military service so that private companies can make a buck. Additionally, private medical practices do not have the same expertise in treating the unique wounds of combat.
Mitt got slammed for his statement, and claimed he never held that opinion (shocking, right?). But that hasn't stopped his primary rival Newt Gingrich from adopting the plan in a speech where he revealed his shocking ignorance of the programs that support Veterans.
At a Veterans town hall in New Hampshire yesterday, Gingrich told Veterans that "we should find ways to create satellite clinics that are local so people don't have to travel and we should also find a way to have a voucherized system for those who want it."
As previously stated, Gingrich is dead wrong on privatizing VA. Vets are owed the best quality care in America, and "voucherizing" the system would fall critically short of that. Second, Gingrich is shockingly ignorant on how the VA operates. VA already has "satellite clinics" as he describes them. Around the United States there are 807 Community Based Outpatient Clinics that provide exactly the services that Gingrich describes. For a man who wants to be the Commander-in-Chief of our military, his lack of awareness of their post-service care is highly disturbing.
Now of course, the system isn't perfect. Even with 807 CBOPs, there is room for improvement in access to care. But rather than resourcing a perpetually underfunded agency in a way that will put Vets care first, Gingrich is more concerned with developing a system that will cut benefits and quality of care so private business can make a buck exploiting Veterans injuries. We don't need a President that will put profits ahead of care. We need a leader who will make sure Vets get the best care our nation can provide.
Since early this morning, the United States and the Pentagon have been engaged in a war of words over use of the Persian Gulf by American naval vessels. First, Iran:
(CNN) -- Iran warned the United States Tuesday not to return a U.S. aircraft carrier "to the Persian Gulf region."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not repeat its warning," said Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi, commander of Iran's Army, according to the state-run news agency IRNA.
Salehi "said the country will not adopt any irrational move but it is ready to severely react against any threat," the report added.
"The deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades.
These are regularly scheduled movements in accordance with our longstanding commitments to the security and stability of the region and in support of ongoing operations.
These carrier strike group deployments are necessary to maintain the continuity and operational support to ongoing missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
The U.S. Navy operates under international maritime conventions to maintain a constant state of high vigilance in order to ensure the continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global commerce.
Our transits of the Strait of Hormuz continue to be in compliance with international law, which guarantees our vessels the right of transit passage. We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity; this is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."
Stability in the region is increasingly stained as a result of threatened sanctions on Iranian oil exports. In response to the possibility of sanctions, Iran has threatened to close the shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz.
Clearly, its high stress in the strategically important Persian Gulf region. But in the face of increasing diplomatic measures designed to prevent an increased threat to American security and regional stability, Republican candidates have been warmongering over Iran throughout out this entire campaign.
Hearing nearly all of those who look to be President within of the US within a year repeatedly and enthusiastically champion the idea of a war with Iran isn't going to make them act any less erratically. It only encourages actions like the threat to close the straight of Hormuz and making overt threats against US service members and their vessels. Such rhetoric is irresponsible, shows a lack of understanding of foreign policy and a disregard for the lives of those serving in the region.
We're back after a holiday break. It's a New Year. It's a Presidential election year. Today is the Iowa Caucus, the first election's first contest of the year. Let's hit the ground running!
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military ceremonially ended its nearly nine-year mission in Iraq on Thursday, leaving a nation that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta called "sovereign, secure and self-reliant," but which still faces imminent threats to its security.
Panetta and other senior leaders spoke in front of about 100 of the fewer than 4,000 servicemembers remaining in Iraq at the former Sather Air Base, which has been rechristened as the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center to reflect its new State Department-led role.
I never went to Iraq. Maybe some of you can provide some perspective on that in the comments. But this war has been one of the defining facets of my adult life.
In March of 2003, I was a High School senior. I had enlisted in the Army's Delayed Entry Program the previous December, just a few days after my eighteenth birthday. Even then, the Iraq war seemed horribly wrong and unjustified to me. In that final summer before I left for basic training, I drove my '78 Ford Fairmont around Northwest Florida and South Alabama with a "Stop Iraq War" sign in the back window.
When you are in the military, you don't always have the luxury of fighting for a just cause. But you do have the honor of fighting along side your comrades. I hated the war in Iraq from the night it kicked off while I was working a low paying high school job on the beach. But if my brothers and sisters were going to be in harms way, I wanted to be with them. So I fought to get to Iraq. At my first duty station in Korea, when a Brigade of 2nd ID was deployed the rumor was our Brigade would follow in the Spring. So I extended for another year for a deployment that never happened.
After two years on the RoK, I went to Fort Bragg. I still wanted to go to Iraq. I wanted to be there with my comrades. I wanted to see it for myself. I got tired of waiting. I told my branch chief NCO at Division that I wanted to deploy. I needed to deploy. I would move to any unit to deploy as soon as possible.
I got my wish that Summer and was transferred to the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who would deploy to Afghanistan the following spring. Ironically, in the mean time the surge was announced in Iraq and the unit I left ended up leaving for that war before I ever got on a plane and headed into a combat zone.
No American service member ever dies in vain. Even when a conflict is unjust, we fight for those on our left and right. When a service member falls, if for nothing else, he or she falls for their comrades.
But the Iraq war was a pointless one. It made widows, widowers and orphans of Americans for no good reason. It killed thousands of brave men and women and made no one in America any safer. It was a product of the hubris and lies of a few powerful men who will never know the true extent of the pain it caused.
But today, it is over. For the first time in my adult life, we are not at war in Iraq.
The mission begins anew. We must endeavor to care for those who served in that war. After the things we asked of them with no justification, the least we can do is give them our best.
Last night, VoteVets Chairman Jon Soltz, who just returned with his Army reserve unit from his second tour in Iraq over the weekend, appeared on MSNBC's The Ed Show to discuss the end of the Iraq War:
As you know, the final troops are coming home from Iraq this week. A few days ago I returned from Iraq and yesterday finished my year long active duty mobilization. Today, I am returning to my role as Chairman of VoteVets.org, and ready for an incredibly active 2012!
First, I want to thank all of you, personally. The road to ending the war in Iraq has been long. When I first helped form VoteVets.org in 2006, it was for a simple reason - many troops and veterans felt the war was wrong, and that it had to be wrapped up so we could focus on al Qaeda and the real threats to America. Together through the years, we've spoken out, run ads, held petition drives, written letters to Congress and newspapers. In election years, we've supported veterans running for office who were committed to ending the war in Iraq, and defeated many politicians who wanted war without end. That all of our remaining troops are coming home this week, and we have indeed taken the fight to al Qaeda by killing Osama bin Laden and other top terrorist leaders is a testament to you. Never doubt that together we have had a huge impact.
I want to thank Ashwin Madia, a fellow Iraq veteran, and the rest of the staff at VoteVets.org and Vet Voice Foundation who worked tirelessly on our mission while I was gone. I also want to thank you for all of your support while I was overseas. Your messages, Facebook posts, emails and tweets helped keep me going. Being away from my family and friends for so long, on my second tour in Iraq was not easy. Your support, though, gave me something to look forward to.
On that note, if you want to send me a message about anything, send a tweet to @votevets. Be sure to put my name in it, so I can catch it and read it.
While the end of the war is a joyous occasion, we also need to take a moment to remember the thousands who did not return home, and their families who lost a loved one, as well as the tens of thousands who were wounded in service to America in this war. Their sacrifice was great, and must never, ever be forgotten.
Now we move on to 2012. One of things I've seen upon my return is just how tough things are for veterans coming home. It's always been tough for veterans, but given the state of the economy and our politics, now is even tougher for veterans and military families. The good news is that now more than ever, veterans are ready to get out front and speak loudly in the election year. This could very well be the year of the veteran. From jobs and the economy, to budget cuts that hurt veterans, to keeping America secure, veterans and VoteVets.org will be leading the conversation. There are over 100,000 of you on our email list, and we have state captains in states across America. So I know we're going to do big things.
We are ready to go. I hope you are too. Happy Holidays to all of you and your loved ones.
Records show the Air Force dumped the ashes of partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill - far more than the military has previously acknowledged, according to The Washington Post.
The Air Force did not report the landfill dumping to families of the deceased troops, according to the Post, and the service has no intention of alerting families now that the information has become public.
While I was offline for a few days recently, I watched Battle: Los Angeles. I also arrived at a new theory about that famous look on Obama's face in the photo of the Situation Room during OP Geronimo.
Taken shortly after the helicopter crash, it is a study in reaction. Later, with everyone home safe and the body of Osama bin Laden at sea, the president will report to the American people with a different expression. But right now, he has just lost many options in dealing with Pakistan -- and a hot meeting with the Pakistani ambassador will happen very shortly. More to the point, the cover for a piece of top secret technology has just been blown and all our tech are belong to them (sub. req):
Pakistan allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter that US special forces left behind when they killed Osama bin Laden, the Financial Times has learnt.
First, let's address the ancillary problems with the ad. Nothing prevents children from praying or celebrating any religious holiday openly in public schools. And the idea that the President has a "war on religion" is a laughable dog-whistle smear that is meant to reinforce an idea that Obama is a secret Kenyan born Muslim terrorist and not the Christian that he has publicly acknowledged that he is.
But the most disgusting statement of that ad is Perry's assertion that "There is something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military." Its been a while since Perry's peacetime service in the Air Force, so maybe he doesn't get that there is no such thing as a gay service member. There aren't gay Soldiers, gay Airmen, gay Sailors or gay Marines. We repealed that distinction earlier this year.
Now, after a long fight, we simply have all Soldiers, all Airmen, all Sailors, and all Marines. All capable, qualified, patriotic men and women can swear to defend their country and the Constitution. And a smear against any of these qualified, capable individuals is a smear against all troops. So why does Rick Perry think the service of some service members is less valuable than others. Why does Rick Perry think that patriotic Americans serving their nation is an indication that "there is something wrong in this country"?
I'd like see Rick Perry make that statement to the faces of the men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and are serving to this day, who Perry finds as less valuable as a result of a sexual preference that is different from his.
They'd probably tell him a few things. They'd probably tell him he's dead wrong and they love their country as much anyone else who wears the uniform. They'd probably tell him that they are capable and competent warfighters who are defending their country and the right of Perry to make such asinine statements. And they'd probably tell him.. wait, I forgot the third one. Oops.
"The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the savvy of Brandon Friedman . . . Friedman's take is vivid, frank, precise and dramatic."--Military Times
"Add Brandon Friedman's The War I Always Wanted to the ranks of outstanding non-fiction produced by officers from elite combat units in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Always truthful, often excruciatingly so, The War I Always Wanted rises at numerous points to the level of literature."--Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire
"A Time To Lead confirms the rewarding benefits of military service at a time when such service is experiencing considerable strain. It also includes a comprehensive description of America's current national imperatives, which deserve serious consideration."--General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former Secretary of State
"This is a primer on leadership forged in battle and by decades of experience. . .This isn't just a book; it's a manual for leading people and living a good life."--Barry McCaffrey, General, USA (ret.)
"Whip smart, sassy, with a mouth as foul as a sailor's, 28-year-old Sergeant Kayla Williams. . .tells what it's like to be a female soldier in Iraq."--Booklist
". . .echoes military memoirists from Julius Caesar to Ernie Pyle."--Publishers Weekly
". . .a shocking, on-the-ground view of one military woman's experience in Iraq."--Bookmarks Magazine
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I've never made a secret about how I feel about war criminal Allen West, a disgraced former military commander who supervised and participated in the savage torture of an Iraqi detainee. So when I read a statement 
While I was offline for a few days recently, I watched Battle: Los Angeles. I also arrived at a new theory about that famous look on Obama's face in the photo of the Situation Room during OP Geronimo.
