Wiring warning came months before soldier electrocuted

WASHINGTON (CNN) — An Army sergeant complained about faulty wiring in Iraq months before another soldier was fatally electrocuted in a shower in the same quarters, according to documents released Wednesday by a congressional committee. [...]

“I think that the Army has some responsibility in this,” [KBR executive Tom] Bruni said.

“Well, if they have some, who would have the rest?” the Virginia representative [Tom Davis] asked. “Just conceivably, who else could have it, if the Army just has some responsibility? Would KBR have some then?”

“The responsibility lies with the Army,” Bruni replied.

Video via Maine Owl blog Transcript there.

North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan’s presentations on waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq contracting. The U.S. taxpayers and the Iraqi people all have been taken to the cleaners by the criminal Republican administration in Washington DC. From Monday, March 31, 2008.

From Juan Cole:

The Aljazeera English discussion of the current situation in Iraq, below, is excellent. It includes Imad Khadduri, a former nuclear physicist from Iraq; Najeeb Nuaimi; my teacher Saad Eddin Ibrahim; and a US embassy spokesperson. The two Iraqis are very well informed and recite horrifying statistics. Saad Eddin (who was imprisoned by Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak for his human rights work) reveals that he advised Paul Wolfowitz and other Bush administration officials about the reality in Iraq but was not listened to. He said he met Wolfowitz a year later, and the deputy secretary of defense admitted he wished they had listened to Saad Eddin.

Click on image for article at McClatchy

When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in March 2003, the Bush administration predicted that the war would be self-financing and that rebuilding the nation would cost less than $2 billion.

Coming up on the fifth anniversary of the invasion, a Nobel laureate now estimates that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing America more than $3 trillion.

That estimate from Noble Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz also serves as the title of his new book, “The Three Trillion Dollar War,” which hits store shelves Friday.

The book, co-authored with Harvard University professor Linda Bilmes, builds on previous research that was published in January 2006. The two argued then and now that the cost to America of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is wildly underestimated.

More at McClatchy

From handing over control of Iraqi oil fields to his big oil buddies, to gutting our nation’s coffers, to dismantling many of our civil rights, Bush knew invading Iraq would reap many rewards.

I bet he smiled when this occurred too:

Five members of the London-based Caribbean Steel International band were aboard a flight waiting to fly from the island of Sardinia to London on Dec. 31, 2006, when a passenger alerted the crew of “suspicious” behavior.
[...]

The men were removed from the plane by Italian police with guns drawn, though they were later cleared by airport security. The pilot refused to let them back onboard, citing the “anxiety” of the other passengers.
[...]

In the judgment, [District Judge Roger] Southcombe said the damages awarded reflected the band members’ “embarrassment at being the only black persons removed from the aircraft at gunpoint for no just reason, their inability to be with their families and friends on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (and) the overnight stay in the cold in Liverpool.”

The men were flown to Liverpool and spent the night of Jan. 1 outside the bus station after missing the last bus to London.

Ah, fear. The Bush gift that keeps on giving.

We examine the controversy surrounding civilian casualty figures in Iraq. Iraq Body Count claims there were 1100 Iraqis killed in November.

Or rather, $20,000.00!

That’s what each of us now owe for the war on terror. Much of this arrives from “hidden costs”, nearly double the $804 billion the White House has spent. The study also suggests that this amount will more than double over the next decade.
Cost of war Iraq Bush
Oh, in case you’re wondering, “Members of the panel’s Republican staff could not be reached for comment.“

More useless blather. Probably one of the dumbest comments I have ever read. And this from a “fiscally responsible” republican! Mr. Diaz, the majority of Americans want us out of Iraq. What do you know about what Americans want?

More Democrats need to get behind this proposal. I see it as being on par with reinstating the draft. Forcing the populace to have a closer relationship with this war, whether it be by sending their kids off to fight or having to dig even deeper into their purses and wallets, will guarantee a quicker end to it!

Democrats propose tax surcharge to fund war

3 senior House members behind plan acknowledge measure unlikely to pass

WASHINGTON - Three senior House Democrats proposed an income tax surcharge Tuesday to finance the approximately $150 billion annual cost of operations in Iraq, saying it is unfair to pass the cost of the war on to future generations.

The plan, unveiled by Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would require low- and middle-income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill. Wealthier people would add a 12 to 15 percent surcharge, Obey said.

The plan’s sponsors acknowledged the tax measure is unlikely to pass, and admitted they lacked support from top Democrats, a fact immediately reinforced by the No. 2 Democrat in the House.

“This is not a policy which the Speaker or I have signed off on,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Associated Press

Full article here

The Center for American Progress

State-by-State Cost Breakdowns

The Bush administration submit a request for an additional $42.3 billion in war-related funding to Congress today. This is on top of the extra funding already allocated to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, which means that they are, in effect, requesting a supplemental for the supplemental.

The additional funds will bring the total amount of 2008 supplemental funding to $189.3 billion-a nearly 30 percent increase over the $142 billion that was requested in February of this year. The overwhelming majority-approximately $158 billion-will go to funding the war in Iraq. If approved, the total spending for the Iraq war would total $617 billion.

The National Priorities Project today released new calculations showing just what effect this surge in spending has had on taxpayers in each state. The interactive map below displays this data and shows state-by’state how much taxpayers have already spent, how much more they will likely spend this year, and what their total cost will be.

It is time to end this misadventure in Iraq and begin a phased redeployment of our forces over the next 10 to 12 months, while implementing a Strategic Reset in the entire Middle East. Until we do so, our troops and our national security will remain hostage to events on the ground.

read more and see interactive map HERE