Afghanistan choice won't make everyone happy

No matter what President Obama does about Afghanistan, he will not be able to make everyone happy since no one agrees now.

Navy wife wants US military out of Afghanistan now


By David Edwards
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 -- 9:47 am
The wife of a Navy fighter pilot is calling for President Barack Obama to pull troops out of Afghanistan now. "I think we should pull out of Afghanistan entirely. I think that after eight years of war it has become quite clear that especially to those of us who are the very few americans who are really suffering in this war that the price is not worth it," Lisa Leitz told CNN's Kiran Chetry Tuesday.

"A number of Americans have lost their lives, many military families have been completely crushed by the burden of these wars and we have very little to show for it," Leitz continued. "We have a corrupt Afghanistan government and we have a number of people who are still trying to attack us, particularly not because they belong to the Taliban or terrorist organizations, but rather because we are occupying them.".

Leitz is a board member of Military Families Speak Out. The group is urging President Obama to bring all the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Not all family members are calling for the war to be ended now. Karen Irwin's son is serving in Afghanistan and she wants the president to send more troops to the war zone. "I would tell the president that our soldiers, our brave young men and women, including my son, have invested a lot of their time in support of that country and our country, putting their lives on the line," she told CNN's Chetry. "Some of them have given the ultimate sacrifice and I think they deserve support of our government and support of our people to give them everything they need to complete this mission and to win, leaving a free afghanistan, leaving the people the opportunities, the personal opportunities that we have here in our country."
read more here
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/navy-wife-afghanistan-withdrawal/

If President Obama increases the number of troops he has no way of really knowing if it will be enough or not. He's being advised by other humans, with differing opinions and just as much experience as well as concern for the lives on the line.

The military families can't agree on what the right move will be either.

It would be wonderful if the Afghan people would finally take full responsibility for their own country since they have proven time after time throughout their history they are perfectly capable of fighting their own battles. The problem is, since most are very poor, they have to decide to fight the Taliban or support them, grow poppies or food. No one really knows what will happen in Afghanistan no matter what he decides to do.

Can we do anything about it and know for sure if we are right or wrong? Not really. Ask a group of Vietnam veterans if it was right to pull out of Vietnam and you will find different answers. Just like what is happening now, no one really knows what the answer is.

The only thing we really can be sure of is for however long this goes on, there will be more casualties. Some will come home to an honor guard at Dover. Others will come home looking as if they were not paying the price of combat, but paying none the less with it embedded deeply inside of them. Some will have to live the rest of their lives missing limbs. The list of wounds is endless and so is our obligation to them.

This we know for sure. The wounded will need to be taken care of for the rest of their lives and the fact they were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of what the nation asked of them should never, ever be diminished by time or budgets.

Let the experts debate what President Obama should do or not do because the next day after he decides, they will come out against him no matter how many experts he has giving him advice. Let the hot heads on TV say how wrong he is but it will not change the lives of a veteran already paying the price for their service when they are waiting for a claim to be approved, praying they don't end up homeless, or save a family falling apart.

We can!

Man, woman, 2 youths dead in apparent shooting in North Carolina

Man, woman, 2 youths dead in apparent shooting in North Carolina
November 3, 2009 10:34 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Chief says police were told there were bodies inside residence Monday night
Police saw body of woman before entering, found bodies of older man and 2 juveniles inside
Police didn't name the four; tax assessor's office, paper say couple, 2 kids live at the home
(CNN) -- Police on Tuesday were investigating the apparent gunshot deaths of four people in a home in the upscale Haymount neighborhood of Fayetteville, North Carolina, authorities said.

Police were called to the residence at 8:08 p.m. Monday by someone who reported there were bodies inside, Police Chief Tom Bergamine said in a news release.

Bergamine said police were able to see the body of a woman in the house before entering. Once inside, officers also found the bodies of an older man and two juveniles -- a male and a female. Police did not name the four.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/north.carolina.deaths/index.html

7th person arrested in Richmond High gang rape

7th person arrested in gang rape
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Police have not identified latest person arrested in the attack
Police say as many as 10 people involved in rape outside northern California high school
Attack occurred during homecoming dance
Ten people watched attack without calling 911, police say
(CNN) -- A seventh person has been arrested in a gang rape on a high school campus in northern California, police said Tuesday.
Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan did not identify the suspect. Of those arrested so far, one was released for lack of evidence.
Police say as many as 10 people were involved in the rape October 24 in a dimly lit alley outside Richmond High School, where a homecoming dance was taking place.
Another 10 people watched the attack without calling 911, police say.
Authorities say the attack lasted for more than two hours. The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and was released Wednesday.
Read local coverage of story from CNN affiliate KTVU
read more from CNN here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/california.gang.rape/index.html

GOP senators voted against rape victims for contractors

This is not about an employment issue but it is about a crime against women and the attitude some men have. These people should be ashamed and the rest of the senators that voted to treat rape like a crime should be honored by all women for this.

GANG RAPE LEGISLATION NIXED BY 30 GOP'ers

DEFENSE CONTRACTORS BUY SENATE VOTES

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor

Is it this plain? Are the facts this clear? Did 30 Republicans vote to allow defense contractors protection if their employees are raped, drugged and imprisoned? Haliburton/KBR, the "Dick" Cheney company did exactly this, locked a rape victim in a box, drugged her and kept her prisoner.


68 Senators, every single Democrat and some Republicans, voted to allow defense contractors whose employees are sexually assaulted be taken to court. Robert Kennedy Jr. and Mike Papantonio describe their take on opposition to the Rape Protection bill.
"I checked to make sure that the 30 Republican Senators who voted against Jamie Leigh Jones' anti-rape bill two weeks ago had wives and daughters. Most of them did. But their love for defense contractor PAC money is obviously greater than their love even for their own daughters. The Senate bill was simple to follow: if a contractor like KBR has an employee who is sexually assaulted on the job, that employee has a right to have a jury hear and decide the facts of the case. If the contractor denies the victim that right, then the U.S. government won't do business with that contractor. In 2005, Jones, a KBR employee, was gang-raped in Iraq by KBR workers. After she was gang-raped, KBR security held her prisoner inside a 5' x 6' shipping container to make sure she kept her mouth shut.
The vote to enact the bill was 68 to 30. Go to the website Republicans For Rape, and you can see the list of those 30 GOP leaders who voted against offering justice to victims like Jamie. They argued that it is too harsh to force a valued defense contractor like KBR or Haliburton to appear in front of a civil jury to face outraged and repulsed fathers, mothers, and sisters when stories like Jamie's are told. What those 30 all-male, all-Republican Senators would prefer is that Jamie and victims like her would be raped again by KBR by appearing in a closed door, secretive, arbitration hearing where no one would hear the details of the assault.
read more here
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9224

Secretary Shinseki Details Plan to End Homelessness for Veterans

Preventing veterans from becoming homeless is something that can happen and needs to happen. For many, it is not as complicated as you may think it is. Just as education is important for the future of our kids, education is important to the future of our veterans. Too many do not know what PTSD is or what causes it. Families don't know and have an impossible task trying to cope with it in their veteran when they do not know what caused the changes in them. It also leads to many other issues that are preventable.

When we do not know what PTSD is it can lead to domestic violence. When we are unaware of what is happening to the veteran in the middle of a nightmare, we make mistakes in how we wake them up. This has lead to bloody noses and black eyes because a wife tried to shake them awake or yelled at them. When they are startled awake, in those few seconds, they are not in their bed or on the couch. They are right back in Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam, in danger, and their wife, she is not there in their mind but the enemy is. They have no clue they are safe in their own home. This also happens with flashbacks when they are not consciously there but someplace terrifying to them.

Dealing with all that comes with PTSD, from mood swings, to angry outbursts, irrational decisions, detachment, avoidance all the way down the list to self-medicating, it makes it hard to want to be able to have them stay in the home. That is unless you know where it is all coming from, why it's happening and what you can do about it to help them heal. This is the families job.

* VA will spend $3.2 billion next year to prevent and reduce
homelessness among Veterans. That includes $2.7 billion on medical
services and more than $500 million on specific homeless programs.



* VA aggressively diagnoses and treats the unseen wounds of war
that often lead to homelessness - severe isolation, dysfunctional
behaviors, depression and substance abuse. Last week, VA and the
Defense Department cosponsored a national summit on mental health that
will help both agencies better coordinate mental health efforts.

This is what can happen when there is clear, common sense, information available to them so they overcome the stigma and the needless shame they feel. Once they understand it comes after traumatic events and not because of them, they will overcome the fear they have inside about seeking help. They think that everything they do is odd until they find out how normal most of it is when they are dealing with PTSD. Once they know they can heal and learn how to cope with what will remain, they can live lives filled with hope and yes, even happy lives. The problem is, so far, the only thing they've heard is only part of the story because most of the people telling them about it only found it in books instead of life.

It's all possible but above all, it is all something they have been waiting for.

Secretary Shinseki Details Plan to End Homelessness for Veterans

Five-Year Plan Unveiled at Homeless Summit



WASHINGTON (Nov. 3, 2009) - Today, at the "VA National Summit Ending
Homelessness Among Veterans" Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki unveiled the department's comprehensive plan to end
homelessness among Veterans by marshalling the resources of government,
business and the private sector.



"President Obama and I are personally committed to ending homelessness
among Veterans within the next five years," said Shinseki. "Those who
have served this nation as Veterans should never find themselves on the
streets, living without care and without hope."



Shinseki's comprehensive plan to end homelessness includes preventive
measures like discharge planning for incarcerated Veterans re-entering
society, supportive services for low-income Veterans and their families
and a national referral center to link Veterans to local service
providers. Additionally, the plan calls for expanded efforts for
education, jobs, health care and housing.



"Our plan enlarges the scope of VA's efforts to combat homelessness,"
said Shinseki. "In the past, VA focused largely on getting homeless
Veterans off the streets. Our five-year plan aims also at preventing
them from ever ending up homeless."



Other features of the plan outlined by Shinseki include:



* The new Post-9/11 GI Bill provides a powerful option for
qualified Veterans to pursue a fully funded degree program at a state
college or university. It is a major component of the fight against
Veteran homelessness.



* VA is collaborating with the Small Business Administration and
the General Services Administration to certify Veteran-owned small
businesses and service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses for
listing on the Federal Supply Register, which enhances their visibility
and competitiveness - creating jobs for Veterans.



* VA will spend $3.2 billion next year to prevent and reduce
homelessness among Veterans. That includes $2.7 billion on medical
services and more than $500 million on specific homeless programs.



* VA aggressively diagnoses and treats the unseen wounds of war
that often lead to homelessness - severe isolation, dysfunctional
behaviors, depression and substance abuse. Last week, VA and the
Defense Department cosponsored a national summit on mental health that
will help both agencies better coordinate mental health efforts.



* VA partners with more than 600 community organizations to
provide transitional housing to 20,000 Veterans. It also works with 240
public housing authorities to provide permanent housing to homeless
Veterans and their families under a partnership with the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. The VA/HUD partnership will provide
permanent housing to more than 20,000 Veterans and their families.



Over the duration of the conference it is expected that over 1,200
homeless service providers from federal and state agencies, the business
community, and faith-based and community providers will attend and
participate in the summit.



"This is not a summit on homelessness among Veterans," added Shinseki
"It's a summit on ending homelessness among Veterans."