4-20-09 Least You Forget

Least you Forget! Behind the Green Door James L Bradley April 21st, 2009 Now I realize that about 5 minutes into this piece you’ll have drifted off into Never-Never-Land or found a piece of raw fish to enclose in this paper (if you even printed it), so in order to grab your attention I think I’ll being with the hue and cry being ladled against our sitting President and his push towards putting us in the trillion dollar debt bucket. Lets began with our financial boondoggle in Iraq – first a little history concerning our spending! Pentagon cannot account for $1 trillion in spending! April 2003, one month after our invasion and continuing for a little more than a year, the U.S. Federal Reserve shipped (literally not a wire transfer) $12 billion in U.S. Currency to Iraq.

The U.S. Military delivered the “bank notes” to the

“Coalition Provisional Authority”12 (“CPA”), from the beginning at least $9 billion went “unaccounted for”, talk about oversight! Initially $20 million (not billion) came exclusively from Iraqi assets that had been frozen in U.S. banks, since the 1st Gulf War – additional airlifts of “cold hard cash” included billions from Iraqi oil revenues, which were formally controlled by the United Nations.

After the creation of the “Developmental Fund for Iraq”

(holding pit so to speak), the UN turned control of the billions of dollars in Iraqi oil revenue to George Bush and his bandits. On May 9th, 2003 Bush appointed L. Paul Bremer III 3 as the CPA administrator; whereas after replacing Army Lieutenant General Jay Garner, Bremer III was paid by Congress $1.6 billion to administer the CPA, over and above the $12 billion in cash that the CPA had been given to disburse from Iraqi oil revenues and unfrozen Iraqi assets.

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The Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) was established on January 20, 2003 by the United States Government two months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was intended to act as a caretaker administration in Iraq until the creation of a democratically elected civilian government 2 The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States, United Kingdom and the other members of the coalition of the willing which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Citing UN Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003), and the laws of war, the CPA vested itself with executive, legislative, and judicial authority over the Iraqi government from the period of the CPA's inception on April 21, 2003, until its dissolution on June 28, 2004. 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Paul_Bremer Least you Forget! Page 1

Congressional’s were confused were some believed that the CPA was a U.S. Government agency (it was not), or at the very least being authorized by the United Nations (it was not). Now I know you can believe this, it was a rogue operations established by “edict” (Bush and his bandits) outside of the traditional framework of American government – and in truth because of its status, there was “no one” responsible for what happened to the money. Accountable to no one and its finances off-the-books for U.S. government purposes, CPA was then a wagon for fraud, waste, and corruption involving American government officials, American contractors, renegade Iraqis, and you name it! In CPA’s short life (4-21-2003 to 6-28-2004 – 434 days) more than $23 billion would slip through its hands, and that didn’t include the potential billions of dollars more in oil shipments – which the CPA did not monitor. Overall $20,737,327 ($20.7 million) went missing per day, most were flagrant abuses showing items that included the issuance of checks to 8,206 CPA guards, where in reality there were only 602 guards.

Halliburton charged the CPA for

42,000 meals daily for soldiers while in fact serving only 14,000 and it was seen and noted that Contractors were playing football with “bricks” of $100,000 shrink-wrapped $100 bills. As the misconduct emerged, the Bush administration fought the accusations tooth and nail, one defense was the contractors drawing money down from CPA could not be found guilty of defrauding the U.S. government because CPA was NOT a part of the U.S. Government.

In the case of the corporation “Custer

Battles” where this defense fell flat and the case went on, the corporations’ defense was it could not be found guilty of theft since it was done with the government’s approval. And then there was the supreme accounting and auditing firm which was awarded the core responsibility of monitoring the government-sanctioned freefor-all, NorthStar! NorthStar was awarded a CPA contract to provide an oversight for the CPA books, an award issued to a company operated out of La Jolla, California with no certified public accountants (CPA’s) on its staff, a shadow company (paper only) incorporated in the Bahamas as an IBC (International Business Company).

They have no chief executive or board of directions and

they DON’T publish financial statements and their books can be kept “anywhere” Least you Forget! Page 2

in the world, but no one can inspect them. IBC’s are not required to file annual reports or disclose the identity of their owners, in other words they are “shells”, operating in total secrecy. A certain Thomas Howell ran NorthStar. 4

Vanity Fair ran an article on this

operation, it is the footnote noted as number 4 – check it out. NorthStar was to keep everyone honest - ?? L. Paul Bremer III issued as one of his last acts before leaving Baghdad and order prepared by the United States Pentagon that said, “all coalition-force members shall be immune from any form of arrest or detention other than by persons acting on behalf of their Sending States.” Contracts also receive the same, “get-out-of-jail-free” card, where Bremer’s order included, “contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a contract or any sub-contract thereto.”

In other words, the Iraqi people would

have NO SAY over illegal conduct by Americans in their new Democracy! And you thought water-boarding was bad! So here you have it, the “Bush administration created in Iraq a sort of paradise of perverted capitalism, where revenues are ‘forcibly’ extracted from the customer (Iraq oil) by the state and ‘obscene’ profits are handed out NOT by the market but by an ‘unaccountable’ government bureaucracy. When you look at it, what happened in Iraq went beyond “inefficiency”, beyond even fraud. It was the business of government being corrupted by the profit motive to such an extraordinary degree that now we all have to wonder how we will be able to depend on the state to do its job in the future.

If

catastrophic failure is worth billions, where is the incentive to deliver success? Since Vanity Fair published “Billions over Baghdad” in October 2007, our sitting government at the time and our “Give Them Hell Harry” media did nothing! Well that isn’t exactly all true – but remember I was addressing the $1 Trillion bill that President Obama ran through the maul in D.C. While the then government went wild in a push to capture the “evil doers” stealing our hard-earned taxpayer’s money, only a few low-level military people and civilians have been prosecuted.

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http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/10/iraq_billions200710?currentPage=5 Least you Forget! Page 3

Some even today, on the conservative side, believe that such investigations are “un-warranted”, saying “in the heat of war it isn’t possible to abide by the niceties of generally accepted accounting principles.” Think about it, how do they explain why the Pentagon cut checks for millions of dollars mailing them to anonymous post office boxes in Tax Havens, and it doesn’t explain the secrecy given to its contractors – but in the end it does provide a true light on why the Pentagon cannot explain or reconcile more than $1 Trillion in Spending. As for our journalists and their investigative reporting, forget it, their budgets (if they have one) are so low and unreliable, that there commitment for informative press goes no further than the next weekly poll.

How many

newspapers got a part of the stimulus package? 1 million civilians killed since 2003 Since I’m going on an on about Iraq, lets take a short trip down the lane and examine how many Iraqi’s we managed to send on to the 100s of virgins in their heaven. According to a prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business 5 (“ORB”) one in four (26%) Iraqi adults have had a family relative murdered in the last three years, while 23% of those living in Baghdad have had a family/relative kidnapped in the same time period. Over one-million Iraqis have met violent deaths as a result of the 2003 invasion, number (collateral damage) that suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq rivals the mass killings of the last century, a toll that exceeds the 800,000 to 900,000 killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and is creeping up on the 1.7 million who lost their lives in Cambodia’s “Killing Fields” during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s. Albeit the story that most of us hear in the West is that most of the violence is perpetrated by the Iraqis themselves and is NOT our responsibility, is not true. The poll shows that over 56% were directly attributable to United States Forces or their Allies. In the end, it is noted that half of deaths that demonstrates an Iraqi involvement over 80% are directly U.S. perpetrated.

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http://www.opinion.co.uk/Newsroom_details.aspx?NewsId=67 Least you Forget! Page 4

By the end of 2006, an average of 5,000 Iraq’s had been killed “every month” by U.S. Forces since the beginning of the occupation, however, the rate of fatalities in 2006 was twice as high (bringing the average to 5,000) meaning that the American average in 2006 alone was well over 10,000 per month, or over 300 Iraqis per day. According to data available at the Brookings Institute, for the first four years of occupation the American military sent over 1,000 patrols into hostile neighborhoods, looking to kill “insurgents” and “terrorists”. Since February 2007 that number increased to 5,000 per day, when you include the Iraqi troops. Each patrol (5000) invades on average thirty (30) Iraqi homes per day (5000 times 30), with their mission to interrogate, arrest or kill suspects.

Keep in mind “guilty

until proven innocent” is the rule of day, whereas any fighting age man is not just a suspect, but a potentially lethal adversary.

U.S. soldiers are told not to take

any chances. Iraqis’ attempts to escape the violence have resulted in a “refugee crisis” of mammoth proportions, where according to the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, in 2007 almost 5 million Iraqis have been displaced by violence in their country, and a “vast majority” has fled since 2003. 1.5 million to Syria, and over 1 million running to Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and the Gulf States – the refugee number is increasing to a tune of about 100,000 per month. And the numbers are still out of balance, where more flee than return to their homes, despite what the government is telling us. The one's fleeing tell us that security is as bad as ever, and the other say, “Return to Iraq? There is no Iraq to return to, Iraq only exists in our dreams and memories.” One family that return gives the following report, “We took our family back home in January. The first night we arrive, Americans raided our house and kept us all in one room while their snipers used our rooftop to shoot at people. We decided to go back to Damascus the next morning after a horrifying night what we will never forget.” US Vets bring home stories you cannot believe -

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And then we have the troops that are coming home, whereas in July 2007 a few brave war veterans skirted under the covenant they had agreed to under the administration and told of their experiences in Iraq. For four days, March 13th through March 16th, 2007 over 300 war veterans gave testimony at the “Winter Soldier” hearings6 about what they “really did” while they were serving their country in Iraq – testimony of experiences that are a little hard to swallow – yet true! For four days they told of the atrocities they witnessed or “participated in” directly that go-a-long-way spotlighting the structural problem we have in our U.S. Military, problems that clearly demonstrate the environment of lawlessness of the Military. International law experts at the hearings and reading through the subsequent documentation call for investigations in potential violations if International Law by the high-ranking officials in the Bush administration and their counter-parts in the Pentagon – interestingly enough it was predicted by the British BBC that the report would garner World Headlines the following week. It was not to be! They had seen or participated in international crimes such as targeting innocent Iraqis, unarmed civilians for murder and detention, destroying property, desecrating corpses, severely abusing detainees (even to death) an using corpses for medical practice. The testifying soldiers did this to show that the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family in the town of Haditha, were NOT isolated incidents brought on by a few rotten apples, as indicated by many Politicians and Military leaders. They are part of a pattern, this fact support the picture of “an increasingly bloody occupation.” The war veterans stressed the similarities between Iraq and Afghanistan, pointing out the fact that the units are receiving the same rules of engagement. Their testimonies show the lack of communications between the troops and the residents, and the lack of training on how to even begin to understand the Iraqi civilians, along with no or very little cultural or historical education about the country they control. The stereotypes about Islam and Arabs that soldiers and marine arrive with tend to “solidify” rapidly in the close confines of the bases, and the risky streets, moving the troops toward a solidification of racism. 6

http://www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier Least you Forget! Page 6

The war culture leads to a troop culture whereas most Iraqi civilians are assumed to be hostile, this condition making it equally difficult to communicate and sympathize with their victims. US Army Sergeant Logan Laituri states, “The problem that we face in Iraq is that policymakers in leadership have set a precedent of ‘Lawlessness’ where we don’t abide by the rule of law, we do not respect International Treaties, so when that atmosphere exist it lends itself to ‘criminal activity’.” International law expert Benjamin Ferencz, who served as chief prosecutor of Nazi War Crimes in Nuremberg after WWII, says that none of the veterans who testified at “Winter Soldier” should be prosecuted for war crimes. Instead, he said, President Bush should be sent to the dock for starting an “aggressive war.” He went on, “Nuremberg declared that aggressive war is the supreme international crime.”

He pointed out, “The United Nations charter, which was

written after the carnage of WWII, contains a provision that no nation can use armed force without the permission of the UN Security Council.” The veterans who return home are deeply disturbed by the “disparity” between the reality of the occupation and the “way” they are portrayed by the US Government and the American media. The occupation the Vets describe is a “dark” and even “depraved” enterprise, one that bears a “powerful resemblance” to other misguided and brutal “colonial wars” and occupations, from the French occupations of Algeria to the American war in Vietnam and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territory. Main stream media did not cover this event!7 Japan PM Yukihisa Fujita challenges, Premise, Validity of War on Terror Broadcast live on Japanese TV in January 2008, the PM insisted that an investigation be conducted into the Iraqi war’s origins, and the 9/11 events leading up to the justification. Now this is NOT Michael Moore here, this is a sitting parliamentary member of a foreign government who committed to providing logistical support to President George Bush’s war on terrorism (Iraq and Afghanistan), or as it is now fully understood by about 99.99% of the global population, his quest for oil and the control of that oil…plus a few bucks for his cronies and fellow Arabian Knights. 7

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3318 Least you Forget! Page 7

He opened the session that day by saying, “I would like to talk about the origin of this war on terrorism, which was the attacks on 9/11…When discussing these anti-terror laws we should ask ourselves, what was 9/11?

And what is

terrorism?” He went on to point out, “So far the only thing the government has said is that we think it was caused by al-Qaeda because President Bush told us so. We have not seen any real proof that it was al-Qaeda.” He reminded parliament that 24 Japanese citizens were killed on 9/11, yet the mandate of criminal investigation by the Japanese government was never followed. “This is a crime so surely an investigation needs to be carried out!”

Supply to the parliament that I’m sure you have seen and read about on the Internet and other publications, he venture forth with the same questions “about the suspicious information being uncovered and the doubts people worldwide are having about the events of 9/11!” He brought up the suspicion behind the destruction of WTC-7, 47-stories high and located oneblock away that collapsed into its footprint, seven-hours after the main WTC building were attacked, in five or six seconds and having minimal fire damage - - a fact that was not mentioned in the 9/11 commission report of in any FEMA and National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) reports. A surprise to me was his mention of some detailed proof of “insider trading” that occurred between Sept 6th and the 8th where investors executed “put options” to sell stock in United and American Airlines at a fixed price. Which in a round-about indication shows me that it is true airplanes were used in the attack – you think? Addressing the Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, “I would like to know why the Prime Minister thinks it was the Taliban who was responsible for 9/11? We need to go back to the beginning and not just simply and blindly trust the U.S. Government explanation and indirect information provided by them…We need to look at this evidence and ask ourselves what the War on Terrorism really is…We need to ask who the real victims of this War on Terrorism are. I think the citizens of the world are its victims.” After months of parliamentary debates and with an opposition of at least 50% of the Japanese public, the PM Fukuda rammed the anti-terror bill through Parliament, where it was voted down in the Upper House plenary session on Jan 12th, the government (Fukuda) resubmitted it later that same day to the Lower House, where the ruling “conservative” party holds the majority and the bill became law. Least you Forget! Page 8

This political manipulation in a country such as Japan was considered a drastic measure but consider this, the relationship between George and his bandits would have suffered if the PM had not gone along with George. Yukihisa Fujita has since been invited to speak to the EU parliament and overall in Japan he has not been censored asking many more questions, being closely followed by the Japanese Press…it is said (reported) that a growing number of Japanese politicians have become aware of what really happened on that day with a serious repercussion being, “are we going to let the U.S. Government get away with

murdering 20 of our citizens?” We’ve gone to war

with them over less! In my backyard! In Sept 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted the “Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” A resolution that called for the recognition of the world’s 370 million plus indigenous people giving them the right to selfdetermination and the control over their own lands and resources. After 22-years of debate it passed overwhelming with a majority vote of 1434, the four countries voting NO – you got it! United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the four countries that originated from the same belly of freedom across the world – England! Their reason for voting no! They felt that a “strong” emphasis on rights to indigenous self-determination and control over land and resources would “hinder” economic development and undermined “established democratic norms”. In other words, their mega-companies would have to stay out of “some” forests. As an example, three-months following the passage of the UN Resolution and indigenous group that had been invited to participate in convention in Bali, the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (“UNFCCC”8), they were forcibly barred from attending. I guess it is because they leaked it out that they were against the practice of “carbon trading”, a practice allows major corporations to buy their way out of cutting down trees using carbon offsetting schemes.

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http://unfccc.int/2860.php Least you Forget! Page 9

At the convention, a World Bank initiative, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (“FCPF”) was approved; it allowed tropical forests to be included in the carbon offsetting schemes – who would have guessed? Sandy Gauntlett of the Global Forest Coalition and chairman of the Pacific Indigenous Peoples Environment Coalition (boy there is a mouthful) said, “With this proposal, the World Bank is violating the principle of ‘Prior Informed Consent’, which is enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous peoples should not just be consulted on this facility.

Without their full and prior informed consent this facility should be disbanded.” As a member of a true minority race (Native American) in the United States, I am not in the least surprised – the indigenous members of the United States have seen this type of action more times than they can count, and just like other events dealing with us in this “democratic” country we get the short end of the stick. I marvel, our people are terrific at playing “stick games”, yet the white warrior from over the waters can spin a lie faster and with more detail than any other race I’ve encountered. Money and more money is the answer – screw the trees.

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