Military Resistance 10H10 Army CIDC Targets Civilians

7/31/2019 Military Resistance 10H10 Army CIDC Targets Civilians

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The memorandum just about ends there, however, with the Army refraining from

Assanges

he Army invokes specific subsections of the Freedom of Information Act to brush off

o endanger

anning, a 24-year-old private first class with the US Army, has been behind bars for

ilitary prosecutors have charged PFC Manning with aiding the enemy due to thee if he

is attorneys are in the midst of a heated legal debate to hear the governments

leasing

revealing any more details into the advocacy group that backs the accusedwhistleblower who is alleged to have distributed classified materials to JulianWikiLeaks site.

T

the FOIA request, essentially freeing itself from releasing any details of theirinvestigation on the grounds that the release could reasonably be expected t[the] life or physical safety of those discussed in the militarys files.

Mnearly 800 days without trial.

Malleged leaking of classified materials, a charge that could send him to prison for lifis convicted.

H

accusations, fighting on behalf of the soldier that the materials he is accused of redid not have any detrimental implications for national security.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Sister Remembers Covina Marine Killed

In Afghanistan

Curtis J. Duarte, 22, of Covina. Lance Cpl. Curtis J. Duarte, 22, of Covina died whilely

school. (HAND-IN PHOTO)

conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, last week. The famiwill hold a memorial service for him Aug. 18 at Covina High School, where he attended


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08/07/2012 By Juliette Funes, SGVN

chievous goofball who always liked to makeeople smile and never took life too seriously, his sister says.

anted to do in life, the oneing he was sure about was serving his country as a Marine.

st tour of duty in supportf Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

has been one of the most devastating things in my family and the worsting weve ever gone through, said Duartes sister, Jennifer Johnson, 26. He was kind

n, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marineivision based out of Twentynine Palms.

ombat operations in Helmand province.etails surrounding the circumstances of his death were not made available.

as always joking around,ohnson said. When he was little, he was a big mischievous kid, but when he did

n he everad in his life, Johnson said.

igh School, where he played baseball, Duarte brieflyttended San Diego State University.

s confused of what to do, Johnson said. Curtisidnt always have an idea.

s before following in the footsteps of his father, Joe, andnlisting in the Marines on Aug. 6, 2008.

arine Corps, Johnson said. Curtis decidedat he was willing to give his life to help others and there was no other greater honor

very caring son, and an amazing brother, a great friend, she added.

l., overe weekend. Johnson said that he will be cremated and remain with his immediate

family.

Covina native Curtis Duarte was a misp

And though it was difficult for him to pinpoint what exactly he wthLast week, the Marine lance corporal was killed while on his firoHe was 22.

To lose himthof the glue that held the rest of us together.

Duarte was a rifleman assigned to 1st BattalioDHe was killed on Aug. 1 while conducting cDJohnson on Tuesday remembered Duarte as a great man.

He always went out of his way to make people smile and wJanything wrong you couldnt get mad because he always had a goofy smile.

He loved his hometown of Covina and he said he felt more at home there thahAfter graduating from Covina HaWhen he got out of high school, he wadDuarte only took a few classee

He wanted to honor my family by going Mththan that.

He was a

Duartes remains were transferred from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base, Deth


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Duarte leaves behind his mother, father, one brother and two sisters.

They will hold a memorial service for the Marine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 18 at his

ds to be honored for the sacrifice he made for so manynd I wish so many people would view them for the sacrifice they make and not so much

alma mater Covina High School.

All Ive ever wanted anybody to know, especially in light of this tragedy, is that mybrother died as a Marine and neeathe war, Johnson said.

La Verne Soldier Who Died InAfghanistan Buried In Riverside

(Gabriel Luis Acosta / Staff Photographer)

08/09/2012 By Wes Woods II, Staff Writer; Contra Costa Times

IVERSIDE -- Pfc. Jose Oscar Belmontes, 28, of La Verne was laid to rest Wednesdayhem were the soldiers

idow, Floria, and his mother, Francisca Lopez.

in Afghanistan, was buried at Riverside National Cemetery after aemorial service at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, also in Riverside.

Ras more than 250 friends and family members watched. Among tw

Many of the mourners wore black shirts that displayed his face and birth and death datesunderneath.

Belmontes, an Army construction engineer who died July 28 of wounds from enemysmall-arms firem
http://www.contracostatimes.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=4571954http://www.contracostatimes.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=4571954


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Our brother Jose has gone to his rest in the peace of Christ, said Deacon Michael CWednesday afternoon at the cemetery. May the Lord now welcome him to the tabGods children in heaven. With faith and hope and eternal light let us ass

ruzle of

ist him with ourrayers.

10 riders and later gave family members pieces of the shell casings from a1-gun salute. Its an honor that we were invited. We only attend services when were

s

e helped a lot of people, they said.

Engineer Battalion, said after the service that in Octobere was present for Belmontes deployment from New York to Afghanistan. I shook his

eployment. Im happy to see hes as loved heres he was in his unit.

l in 2002.

rd Wood, Mo.er

e, 10th Mountain Division, which deployed tofghanistan later in July.

n

and the Army Service Ribbon.

pCruz and the Rev. Joseph Felker spoke in a Mass for Belmontes earlier at the church.

Candelario Rodriguez, 60, a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, led the processionwith about2invited, said Rodriguez, who lives in Upland and described Belmontes as a warrior tohis family. The Patriot Guard Riders are a group of motorcyclists who frequentlywelcome servicemen back or attend military funerals.

He was a hero to all of us, said Belmontes cousin Hector Lopez, 24, of Colton after thefuneral. He was an outgoing person. Great heart. He always had a smile. He waalways happy. He was always active.

Uncle Victor Tovar and aunt Sandy Tovar of Hacienda Heights each described

Belmontes as a volunteer.

H1st Lt. Gavin Ellman of the 7thhhand and wished him good luck on his daRep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, noted in a speech on Aug. 1 in the House ofRepresentatives that Belmontes was born in Riverside in 1984 and graduated fromPolytechnic High Schoo

In July 2011, Belmontes arrived at Fort Drum after he trained at Fort LeonaHe served as a construction engineer with the 630th Engineer Company, 7th EngineBattalion, 10th Sustainment BrigadABelmontes awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Afghanistan CampaigMedal with one star, the Army Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Badge, theOverseas Service Ribbon

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THEBLOODSHED

THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THEWAR


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FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh hadI the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream ofbiting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.

For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.

ey

We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom thoppose.

Frederick Douglass, 1852

Rise like Lions after slumberIn unvanquishable number,Shake your chains to earth like dew

Which in sleep had fallen on you-Ye are many they are few-- Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1819, on the occasion of a mass murder of British

workers by the Imperial government at Peterloo.


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Army Increases Combat EffectivenessWith More Reflective Belts, Extremely

Safe Combat Patrols

August 18, 2012 by ArmyJ, The Duffel Blog

****************************************************************** ************

bout The Author: ArmyJ

rmyj is ath the Afghan National Army.

an be

*AA knuckle dragging infantryman who finds time to write when hes notpretending to fight a war wi

He likes clam flavored ice-cream and seal clubbing during the off season. He creached via carrier pigeon or a strategically placed signal fire.

[Armyj up close and personal]

********************************************** ******************************

outhern Afghanistan, Panjwai District

Army Sergeyment with the 82nd Airborne says hes

een worried about maintaining combat effectiveness since casualties have been so

***

S

ant First Class James Hargrove knows the dangers of war. The platoonsergeant currently on a year-long deplobhigh.

His soldiers have seen increasing attacks from small arms, rocket-propelled grenades,and countless improvised explosive devices (IED).


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I was really concerned about whether or not we could keep this up for another fivemonths, says Hargrove.

I mean, how the fuck can you take the fight to the enemy when youre losing guys liwe are?

ke

about it.

going outside the wire.

hen the CO called us all together and told us about the new policy, I was like holy-

s

low light hours were 75% less likely to get hit by cars,otorcyclists, pedestrians, small arms fire, explosions, lightning strikes, or fat wives in

s Hargroves platoon gears up for another combat patrol into the heart of an enemyo

nsure maximum visibility during the dark hours of the night.

nce

g away from the US soldiers in formation.

ts probably just jealousy. I mean, theres only so many reflective belts to go around,

So I brought up the issue to my chain of command, and believe it or not, they didsomethingThe grizzled platoon sergeant smiles and holds up the latest addition to a soldiersprotective gear whenA bright yellow reflective belt.

Wshit, why didnt I think of that?Years of Army research of course has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that soldier

who wore reflective belts duringmbase housing.

The only question soldiers are asking is why wasnt this implemented sooner?

Avillage, the men are all smiles, helping each other adjust the neon-yellow straps teTheres no way were going to take casualties with these babies! exclaims PFC LaDetwiller.

As the Americans exit the compound with their Afghan partners, the ANA seem to hangback, shyinWhen asked about this, SFC Hargrove believes it to be a simple answer.

Iand our guys come first, ya know?

Popular Revolutionary ForcesRemain The Leading Force In TheResistance--And They Have The


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Potential To Shape Post-AssadSyria

Just Because The U.S. Aims ToManipulate The Syrian RevolutionDoesnt Mean It Will Succeed

In The End, Class Conflicts, As Well AsThe Armed Resistance, Will Play TheDecisive Role In The Outcome Of The

Syrian RevolutionAugust 16, 2012 By Lee Sustar, Socialist Worker [Excerpts]

As the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad enters what could be a terminal crisis,imperialist forces are maneuvering to shape the outcome of the revolution.

This has prompted some on the left to write off the resistance as tools of the U.S. and itsallies.

But a closer look at the Syrian struggle shows that popular revolutionary forces remainthe leading force in the resistance--and they have the potential to shape post-Assad

Syria.

Imperialist intervention in Syria has led many on the international left--mistakenly--towrite off Syrian revolutionary forces as having been hijacked by the U.S. and its regionalproxies, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

According to this logic, the international left and antiwar movement must confinethemselves to opposing imperialist intervention and withhold support for the Syrianrevolutionary movement.

Is it really the case that one of the most inspiring, self-organized revolutionarymovements in recent decades has degenerated into a pliable tool of the West?

Are we looking at a repeat of Libya, where NATO air strikes played the decisive role inturning the tide in the civil war? Are ultra-sectarian Islamist forces--backed by theSaudis and Qataris--becoming a dominant force?

The answer is no.


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While imperialist forces are angling to install a post-Assad leadership to their liking--apreferably a military strongman, as Reuters reported--the revolutionary movement hascontinued to develop in response to the struggle in Syria itself.

Moreover, there are well-documented divisions within the SNC and the FSA--andcriticisms of both from grassroots Syrian revolutionary forces on the ground in the LCCs.

And does it make any sense to equate an SNC leader who calls for a no-fly zone andmeets with State Department officials with a farmer who distributes AK-47s smuggled infrom Turkey in order to defend a village from Syrian army tanks?

In fact, the escalation of the armed resistance has exposed the contradictions ofimperialist strategy in Syria.

The hesitation of the U.S. and European powers to intervene militarily isnt primarily dueto Russian and Chinese opposition in the UN Security Council. If Washington wanted tomount a direct attack on Syria, it would put together a coalition of the willing and do it.

Instead, the U.S. has so far refused to give heavy weapons to the FSA, which meansTurkey has kept a lid on arms flows to the rebels. Thus, fighters can obtain AK-47s androcket-propelled grenades, but not anti-tank or anti-aircraft weapons

Turkey has banned Kurdish parties from participating in SNC meetings in that country,and the SNC has had a terrible position on Kurdish self-determination, insisting on theArab character of Syria.

In the hopes of peeling off Kurdish support for the revolution, Assad granted citizenshipto the 250,000 of Syrian Kurds who had been considered stateless. As the armedresistance mounted, Assad pulled Syrian armed forces out of Kurdish areas and allowedthe PYD--the Syrian arm of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK)--to act as the de facto

regional power.

This move was threatening to Turkey, which feared that Syria would become a base forrenewed Kurdish armed resistance led by the PKK.

A crisis was averted when Masoud Barzani, president of Iraqs Kurdistan RegionalGovernment, intervened to create a political deal between the PYD and other parties,making himself a broker for Syrias Kurds in relation both to Turkey and a post-AssadSyrian government.

Thats another worry for the U.S., which would prefer to keep Syria intact and preventthe emergence of an independent Kurdistan that could destabilize the Kurdish region in

NATO ally Turkey.

Given this risk of a breakup of the Syrian state and the outbreak of a wider civil war in acountry stocked with heavy arms--including chemical weapons--the U.S. has had to bideits time.

Even a limited intervention, such as the creation of a no-fly zone, would require amassive bombardment of Syrian anti-aircraft positions in densely populated areas.


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This would create a backlash against the U.S., as every Syrian knows the devastatingimpact of the U.S. war and occupation in neighboring Iraq.

For these reasons, imperialist forces have so far carefully calibrated their support for therebels to foster a prolonged, low-grade guerilla war to grind down the regime.

One hope is clearly to buy time for the U.S. to encourage the Syrian military brass tomount a coup against Assad, which could then be dressed up as a civilian transitionalgovernment fronted by the most pro-Western elements of the SNC.

By attempting to keep as much of the Syrian state intact as possible, the U.S. andits allies want to pre-empt popular, democratic revolutionary councils modeled onthe LCCs.

The U.S. doesnt want an accountable Syrian government that reflects the opinion of themajority of the population, since this would almost certainly create a crisis on the borderof the U.S.s key ally, Israel.

If the U.S. wanted to channel the revolution into a contained armed struggle, so too didAssad.

The regimes atrocities against Sunnis were designed to provoke counter-atrocitiesagainst Alawites and Christians and drive them further into Assads arms.

Despite horrific massacres by Syrian armed forces and the gangs known as shabiha,sectarian violence hasnt taken place on a large scale, though the dangers of suchdegeneration are serious.

Even so, the support of religious minorities for the regime is cracking. Walid Jumblatt,the Druze Lebanese politician who is seen as the leader of his co-religionists in Syria,

came out against Assad months ago.

One key headache for imperialism is the potential for jihadist and al-Qaeda forces to geta foothold in Syria, as they did in Iraq. The U.S. decision to rely on Saudi Arabia andQatar to run guns and money to rebel forces has created an opening for those elements.So there are jihadist and sectarian elements in the field that reportedly are attractingyoung fighters because of their superior discipline and armaments.

Rather than unleashing a Libyan-style intervention, the U.S. and its allies havewaited for the revolutionary upsurge to weaken the regime enough to force outAssad without becoming strong enough to carry out a democratic transformationof Syrian society.

The issue isnt whether Syrian revolutionaries obtain some weapons from theWest, but whether imperialism has been able to assert control over the movement.

Just because the U.S. aims to manipulate the Syrian revolution doesnt mean itwill succeed.

This is an old question for the left.


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The CIA, for example, did its best to influence Solidarnosc mass workers movement thatshook the Stalinist regime in Poland in 1980 and the democratic revolutions that sweptthe old Eastern European bloc a decade later.

But that didnt stop supporters of workers rights and genuine socialism around the worldfrom supporting those struggles.

To be sure, the militarization of the resistance--something the Assad regime did itsutmost to force with its massive repression--carries great political dangers for the fate ofthe revolution. The risk is that elite groups of fighters come to make the revolution,substituting themselves for the self-activity of the mass movement.

The problem is compounded by the fact that the Syrian working class movement isweak.

Independent unions were banned, and much of the Syrian left has acted as an apologistfor, if not a satellite of, the Baath Party regime for decades. So while the popularmovement did mount what it called general strikes in some cities in the early months of

the revolution, these were, in fact, civil strikes, in which business owners andshopkeepers voluntarily shut down operations to support mass protests.

But given the ferocious repression by Syrian forces, it isnt possible to simplycounterpose civil resistance to armed struggle.

It would be absurd to expect the Syrian people to refuse to use guns from any sourcesas they defend themselves against Assads barbarism.

Nevertheless, members of the LCCs have been frustrated by their lack of political controlover FSA militias.

Some LCCs coexist with armed fighters. In some areas, where the Syrian state hasessentially withdrawn, LCCs administer towns devastated by attacks and dole out foodand charity. In other areas, the FSA--which, again, is comprised of disparate elements--operate autonomously.

Now, after more than a year of mass civil resistance against repression, the armedstruggle has taken center stage. But if the rebels win, it wont be because theyveachieved superior military firepower, but because the social base of the regimecollapses.

Even if Assad retains the loyalty of most members of religious minorities, he will fall if thepopular support for the revolution compels the Syrian bourgeoisie to abandon him.

Long tied to the regime through patronage from state-owned enterprises and,more recently, benefits from market-type reforms, Syrian capitalists are beingforced to choose between a state that can no longer protect their interests and aworking class, poor and peasant uprising that threatens their wealth and power.

Imperialist forces will do their best to contain that movement from below. But inthe end, class conflicts, as well as the armed resistance, will play the decisive rolein the outcome of the Syrian revolution.


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DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

Opponent Of Police BrutalityAnd Racial Profiling In NewYork City Threatened With

Years In Prison

New York Police Retaliating ForHis Years Of Videotaping Police

Stops In Harlem In Order ToExpose Racism And Misconduct


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Charged With Two Counts Of FelonyPossession Of A Dangerous

WeaponThe Dangerous Weapons Were APenknife And A Commemorative Mini-

Replica Baseball Bat

August 13, 2012 By Yoni Golijov, Socialist Worker [Excerpts]

SOME 100 people rallied July 31 at the Manhattan Criminal Court Building to supportJoseph Jazz Hayden, an opponent of police brutality and racial profiling in New York

City, during his court appearance on charges stemming from the NYPDs campaign ofharassment against him.

More than double the number of people came out compared to Jazzs last hearing. Theystood right in front of the entrance to the court building, and speakers used the peoplesmic to denounce police racism, stop-and-frisk and retaliatory charges.

Activists believe the New York Police Department (NYPD) is retaliating against Jazz forhis years of videotaping police stops in Harlem in order to expose racism andmisconduct.

In December 2011, two police officers recognized Jazz, illegally searched his car, andarrested him--he was charged with two counts of felony possession of a dangerousweapon.

The dangerous weapons were a penknife and a commemorative mini-replica baseballbat. Jazz faces two to seven years in prison for each charge.

Jazz spelled out the situation clearly and simply:

If the NYPD was providing courtesy, professionalism and respect, as they claim is theirmission, they would have no objection to Jazz Hayden filming them. However, becauseweve had over 700,000 stop-and-frisks, and only 6 percent of them resulted in anythingresembling a crime, they need to be scrutinized. And thats what Jazz Hayden does.

At the protest last week, David Galarza of the Justice Committee explained theimportance of videotaping police.

He did this in mid-July and caught a police officer on tape abusing and then body-slamming--twice--a young man of color. Because of his video, more than 150,000people have seen this brutality.


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This is what Jazz has been doing for four years, and this is what the NYPD wants tostop.

This is the pushback, Jazz said. Retaliation--silence the people who stand up. Well,we want to send a message to the NYPD, to (Police Commissioner Ray) Kelly, andBloomberg. We arent having it.

We packed Jazzs court hearing on July 31, too.

To show our solidarity, when the judge called Jazzs name, we all stood up. We satdown when asked, but the point was made: an injury to one is an injury to all. We will notlet the NYPD and the district attorney lock Jazz up for his work under anycircumstances. The hearing ended quickly. The judge simply set another court date forOctober 11.

Outside, we reassembled and Jazzs lawyer, Sarah Kunstler, updated the crowd on thelegal proceedings. The DA intends to indict Jazz before the October 11 date and willmost likely convene a grand jury in September to do so. We have to come out in full

force on both days.

Then she added:

I talked about the legal, and now I want to talk about the extra-legal. They took notice ofus there. The judge saw you, the DA saw you, everyone in that courtroom saw you, andit makes a difference. All the advocacy that everyone has done outside the courtroom forJazz makes a difference.

Jazzs supporters have collected over 1,600 signatures, sent dozens of personal lettersto DA Cyrus Vance, and garnered support and letters from elected officials.

It has also kept the DAs office in the spotlight for its role in this injustice--if Jazz isindicted, it will completely disprove Vances claim that when it comes to us, we are notmaking charges that are biased in any way.

Sarah Kunstler explained the real motivation behind the charges, This is the way thesystem derails movements--by putting people on trial to distract from the work that wereall doing. So we have to spin this on its head, and make these prosecutions part of thework were all doing.

Thats what Jazzs defense campaign has done. Because its not just Jazz beingtargeted by biased charges. Its a whole generation of people of color who the courtsare calling criminals and locking up in cages.

Even as he faces these charges, Jazz is organizing.

The Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, of which Jazz is a founding member, drafted aflyer to distribute to the people waiting in line at the court. In a call for an August 11public meeting, the group said: The lines going into every courthouse in America lookexactly like this one you are standing in: black, brown and beige people being processedby this criminal in-justice system.


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Jazz ended the rally by saying:

Once again, I want to thank yall. Im telling you Ive never felt so much love and somuch warmth. Its just mind-boggling, for someone who was brought up in the streets ofHarlem and has gone through this system all my life, starting with kindergarten, to beable to stand here and be surrounded by all this love and support is a wonderful thing. I

want you all to know that I do not take any of it lightly. I will do this job as long as I haveyour support.

DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN THEMILITARY?

U.S. soldier in Beijia village Iraq, Feb. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the email address if youwish and well send it regularly with your best wishes. Whether inAfghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important for your servicefriend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growingresistance to the war, inside the armed services and at home. Send emailrequests to address up top or write to: Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657.

The Only Thing That Can Save MyWife And Daughter Is A

Revolution


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Cries Of Shame! And This Is NotFair! Erupted In The Packed

Courtroom And Were Echoed By TheCrowd OutsideThe Defendants, Who Had Mocked

Much Of The Proceedings, Greeted TheSentence With Giggles; One Rolled Her

Eyes

Members of the punk group Pussy Riot sit in a glass cage at a court room in Moscow onFriday. Associated Press

August 17, 2012 By RICHARD BOUDREAUX and ALEXANDER KOLYANDR, WallStreet Journal [Excerpts]

MOSCOWThree members of a feminist-performance group whose anti-Kremlin punkprayer inside Russias main Orthodox cathedral led to one of the most politicallycharged trials of the countrys post-Soviet era were convicted of hooliganism Friday andsentenced to two years in prison.


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Cries of Shame! and This is not fair! erupted in the packed courtroom and wereechoed by the crowd outside. The defendants, who had mocked much of theproceedings, greeted the sentence with giggles; one rolled her eyes.

Their families reacted somberly. What they did is not right, but what the court did ismuch worse, said Vladimir Zhiyanov, Ms. Alyokhinas father.

Pyotr Verzilov, Ms. Tolokonnikovas husband and father of her child, said, The onlything that can save my wife and daughter is a revolution.

Hundreds protested Friday outside the courthouse as the women, held without bail sincetheir March arrest, were driven away in a police van.

Police detained more than 50 demonstrators.

MORE:

Comment Unnecessary

In support of Pussy Riot, Times Square, New York City, August 17. By Mickey Z. withJenna Pope


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CLASS WAR REPORTS

Troops Invited:Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service menand women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or [email protected]: Name, I.D., withheld unless yourequest publication. Same address to unsubscribe.

Wives Rage At South AfricanPolice Brutality After Massacre

Of Striking Platinum Miners:


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We Are Feeling Bad Because TheChildren Now Are Crying. The

Wives Have No Husbands Now.Their Husbands Are Lying Dead In

The ForestThere Is Clear Evidence That

Policemen Randomly Shot Into TheCrowd

There Is Also Evidence Of TheirContinuing To Shoot After A Number

Of Bodies Can Be Seen DroppingAnd Others Turning To Run

A woman cries as she confronts police during a protest over the killing of 34 miners atthe Lonmin platinum mine. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

There is clear evidence that policemen randomly shot into the crowd with riflesand handguns. There is also evidence of their continuing to shoot after a numberof bodies can be seen dropping and others turning to run.


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17 August 2012 By David Smith in Marikana, Guardian News and Media Limited[Excerpts]

Nosisieko Jalis husband is missing.

She has heard a rumour that a bullet hit him in the head, yet he survived.

One witness said all his clothes were torn.

I dont know where he is, said Jali, numb with anxiety. The hospital wouldnt let mecome inside. I am hurting.

Jali is among scores of wives at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana still waiting todiscover if their husband is in a jail, hospital or mortuary after one of the bloodiest daysin South Africa since apartheid.

Thirty-four people were killed and 78 injured on Thursday when police with automatic

rifles, pistols and shotguns opened fire on the strikers, many of whom were armed withspears, machetes and clubs as they demonstrated for higher wages.

The shocking images, beamed to TV viewers around the world, provoked comparisonswith massacres by the white minority regime of the countrys past.

On Friday, next to the killing field, wives took the place of their dead and woundedhusbands to stage an angry, emotionally charged demonstration.

The women raged against police brutality, mine exploitation and a lack of officialinformation that has left them agonisingly in the dark.

How can we know whether people are dead or missing? demanded NowelcimeBosanathi, 35.

My husband went to the protest with a stick. I worried he might be dead. Then hecalled last night to say hes in a police van and he doesnt know where hes going. Nowhis phone is on voicemail.

Waving sticks, whistling and ululating, the women performed the apartheid-eratoyi-toyi dance up and down a dirt road.

They sang songs, some mournful, some defiant, warning: When you strike awoman, you strike a rock and invoking the memory of heroes of the anti-

apartheid struggle such as Oliver Tambo.

They joined hands in a circle for a soulful rendition of Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika, thenational anthem and originally a hymn. They kneeled before police armed withshotguns and sang What have we done? in the Xhosa language.

The group of about 100 women also brandished homemade cardboard placardswith handwritten slogans condemning the police.


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Police stop shooting our husbands and sons, one said. Another, referring to thenew national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega, read: Piega you celebratingyour position by blood of our families.

Primrose South, 51, was still waiting for news about Mishack Mzilikazi, 35, who lives onher property and is considered part of the family. I last saw him at 8am on Thursday. He

was going to work with his phone but now its off. He also had a stick and he was quiet.

I dont know where he is now. He could be in prison or he could be dead. I dont know.

She added: We are feeling bad because the children now are crying, are hungry, areafraid even to sleep at night.

The wives have no husbands now. Their husbands are lying dead in the forest.

Whatever did happen here there is no shortage of blame and competing accounts. Thewomen point at the police and the Lonmin mine management.

South, who works as a mine store manager, said: The management sent the police tokill our husbands, brothers and sons. But we will fight for our rights like them.

Many of these women followed their husbands from Eastern Cape province orneighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Swaziland or Zimbabwe.

They live in the nearby Nkanini settlement in cramped shacks with pit toilets and anintermittent water supply.

Above one of one of the worlds richest platinum deposits, goats wander in adjacentscrubland strewn with discarded plastic bags and rubbish.

They denied that the workers had opened fire first and said a turf war between rivalunions was a sideshow to the dispute over pay.

The unions are scrapping for members. The National Union of Mineworkers, a supporterof the ANC, had signed up to a pay deal with Lonmin.

But the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) rejectedthis and pushed for wages to be trebled. This comes amid a wider debate on whetherthe governing African National Congress (ANC) should curb mine owners power.

The youth league of the ANC argues that nationalisation of the countrys mines andfarms is the only way to redress the injustices of the past. The youth league said: South

Africas exploitative mining regime, capitalist greed and the poverty of our people is thecause.

For its part, Lonmin announced that it would provide support to all the families that havesuffered loss this week. Simon Scott, its chief financial officer, said: We haveestablished a help desk at Lonmins Andrew Saffy Hospital, which will help families withthe identification of bodies, assist with all the burial arrangements and offer bereavementcounselling.


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Lonmin commits to provide funding for the education of all the children of employeeswho lost their lives. This funding will cover education costs from primary school touniversity.

The companys London-listed share price slumped 9% early yesterday, though it ended1.3% down at 639.5p. It plunged to a nine-year low on the Johannesburg exchange,

where it is also listed.

The South African Institute of Race Relations called for the immediate suspensionof all police officers involved in the shootings.

It said: There is clear evidence that policemen randomly shot into the crowd withrifles and handguns. There is also evidence of their continuing to shoot after anumber of bodies can be seen dropping and others turning to run.

This is reminiscent of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, it said.

MORE:

A Policeman Fires At ProtestingMiners

A policeman (right) fires at protesting miners outside a South African mine inRustenburg, 100 km (62 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, August 16, 2012. A Reuterscameraman said he saw bodies after the shooting, which occurred when police layingout barricades of barbed wire were outflanked by some of an estimated 3,000 minersmassed on a rocky outcrop near the mine, 100 km (60 miles) northwest ofJohannesburg. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko


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Village Life Inside The Syrian

Revolution:Makeshift Governments AreSpringing Up In Villages AcrossAleppo Provinces Countryside,

Providing Interim Courts, KeepingBasic Services Running, Managing

Finances And Distributing AidShipments

Men Every Village, It Seems, Can ReciteThe Names Of Men Who Were Killed, Or

Disappeared Into Regime Prisons OrWere Forced Into Exile During That

CrackdownAugust 17, 2012 By CHARLES LEVINSON, Wall Street Journal

QOBTAN JEBEL, SyriaOne morning this week, Sheik Tawfeeq Shehab Eddinreplaced his AK-47 with a Bic pen and took up his post behind a metal desk.

Mr. Shehab Eddin is one of the four rural commanders of the Tawheed Division, anIslamist-dominated umbrella force that is leading Syrian rebels fight around thecountrys largest city, Aleppo, against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Their division has driven pro-Assad forces from much of the Aleppan countryside andsome of Aleppo. On Friday, division fighters fought regime tanks near the citys airport.

The regimes pullout from much of the countryside last month has left the TawheedDivision as the areas army, government and police.

That is why on Wednesday, Mr. Shehab Eddin and his aides spent some 14 hourshashing out questions about their next deployment to the front line in Aleppo, scrambling


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to defuse a flare-up with a neighboring Kurdish village and mediating petty disputesbetween villagers.

We commanders have been forced to take on all the problems confronting our villages,he said, adding that elected leaders should eventually take that over. The role I amplaying now is bigger than myself.

Similar makeshift governments are springing up in villages across Aleppo provincescountryside, providing interim courts, keeping basic services running, managing financesand distributing aid shipments.

Many of the rebel courts have taken on an Islamic bent. Tawheed Division commandersforbid the torture of detainees. But that ban doesnt include whipping the soles ofdetainees feet, Tawheed commander Abdel Aziz Salama told several people, includinga Human Rights Watch team.

Another group of Tawheed fighters executed four members of an Aleppan familyaccused of funding and running a hated pro-Assad militia accused of keeping iron-fisted

control over restive areas. The divisions field commander, Abdel Qader Saleh, told TheWall Street Journal that the four men were given a battlefield trial before they were killed.

Here in Qobtan Jebel, a pinprick village of century-old stone walled homes in the hillswest of Aleppo, Mr. Shehab Eddins word is law, at least for now. Before the uprising,the self-taught sheikalso known by his nom du guerre, Abu Soleimanpreachedcovertly to a small following in an adjacent village about the Syrian regimes ills.

The sheiks morning began when two of his fighters brought in a young man they hadstopped at a checkpoint with seven jerry cans of gasoline in his car. The commodity isin short supply. The fighters suspected the man might be a smuggler. A couple quickquestions satisfied the sheik, who ordered him freed with his fuel.

The next visitor pleaded for the release of a detainee accused of working as a regimeinformant in the village. The sheik was unmoved. We have two witnesses andevidence against him, he said, drawing Xs, Os and spiral doodles on a blank sheet ofpaper as he listened.

Next came a stringy youth who said he had just defected from the Syrian army.

He was brusquely questioned by the sheiks aide, Ali al-Haji, a 28-year-old formertank commander with a degree in Islamic law.

The fidgety defector, 20-year-old Ahmed al-Latouf, said he had served as an army

mortar man.

Theres no mobiles phones, no television, he said. No one knows anything andthey believe what their officers tell them that we are fighting criminal gangs andterrorists.

The sheik concurred. We know our brothers in the army have been lied to andbrainwashed, he said, admitting the youth into the ranks of rebel fighters, who


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elsewhere could be seen doing calisthenics and training with rocket-propelledgrenades.

A fighter rushed in. A resident of Qobtan Jebel, he said, had that morning kidnapped aresident of a nearby Kurdish village and was demanding ransom. In retaliation, theKurds kidnapped four village men.

Kurdish villages dot the local countryside, and relations have cooled since Syrias civilwar took a sectarian turn. With police gone, crime is a growing concern.

Rebel commanders say a flare-up now in Kurd relations would play into regime hands.

Well call the Kurdish leaders, set up a meeting and solve the problem, said Mr. Haji.

Next in line was a man from Aleppo who had raised funds for Mr. Shehab Eddinsbrigade, which fought in Aleppos Salaheddin neighborhood for 14 days but withdrewlast week after supplies wore thin.

The fundraiser demanded an explanation for the withdrawal. We couldnt stand itanymore. We werent getting enough help, the aide, Mr. Haji, explained, eager not toalienate a supporter.

A group of villagers stormed in waving handguns and assault rifles. A fighter hadcommandeered their car to ferry supplies to the front, but sold it instead. They vowedrevenge.

Dont do a thing until I have a chance to look into this, Mr. Haji said.

Are you really going to kill someone over a car?

We spend a lot of time dealing with petty issues while fighting a war at the same time,Mr. Haji said after they left.

But if you dont listen to everyone, well lose the people and then the revolution.

As the sun set, Mr. Haji retired to his commanders walled residence where he lives withhis three wives and 15 children. They broke the Ramadan fast, silently using flatbread toscoop lentil soup, hummus and tuna fish out of metal bowls.

Well set an ambush for the guy who kidnapped the Kurd, and well turn him over to theKurds, in exchange for our men back, he said, reclining on a pillow on the cement floor,scrubbing his teeth with a twig.

He dispatched a patrol to find the suspected kidnapper. The regime wants us to fightamong ourselves. We cant allow this to happen, he said.

A village elder with a long graying beard and a handgun strapped to his side dropped byto pay his respects. He said he was arrested in 1977 as part of the regimes crackdownon suspected Muslim Brothers and served 15 years in prison.


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In Aleppos countryside, the rebellion is fueled by memories of that crackdown. Menevery village, it seems, can recite the names of men who were killed, or disappeared intoregime prisons or were forced into exile during that crackdown.

Before midnight, a messenger arrived to say the kidnapped Kurd had been released.The captorwho said he was on orders from a different rebel leaderpanicked when

he realized he was being hunted down by both Kurdish and rebel militias.

Mr. Haji characterized the other rebel commander as a roguea criminal with a gangposing as a brigade in the name of the Free Army, he said with a sigh.

We have enough problems, the sheik told the messenger. We dont need problemswith the Kurds. This is not in our interests. This is something that can never happenagain.

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No Doubt When He Returned Not More Than AYear Later, The Funeral Home Was Not Too Many

Blocks Away

From: Sharlet, RobertTo: Military Resistance NewsletterSubject: RE: Fatal attractionDate: Aug 18, 2012 12:31 AM

Sad, sad for the Sgt and so many like him, and especially for those who went over thereonly to be murdered by their Afghan comrades.

I wish there was a way to raise the consciousness of the men who line up to fill thosebattalions of death, but for many of them from a certain background, often militaryfamilies, there seems to be a fatal attraction to the forces.

I remember reading an obit, probably in GI Special [the original name for MilitaryResistance newsletter in 2003] a ways back, of a boy from Lake George Village, a tinytown about 50 miles north in the Adirondacks.


28/29

He was eager to be a soldier, in particular an infantryman.

I vividly recall that on the June day of his high school graduation, he went directly to therecruiting station which happened to be down the street on the same main drag.

No doubt when he returned not more than a year later, the funeral home was not toomany blocks away.

Comment: T

Robert Sharlets younger brother, Jeff Sharlet, created and edited Vietnam GInewspaper, after returning from military service in Vietnam.

Concerning Vietnam GI:

Vietnam GI: Reprints Available

Vietnam: They Stopped An Imperial War

Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaperrocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremelyhostile attention from the chain of command.

The pages and pages of letters in the paper from troops in Vietnam condemningthe war are lost to history, but you can find them here.

Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were abit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size.

Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces.


29/29

Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5pounds to wherever you are.

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