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Marinesí families discuss Haditha fallout

Two Marines were told to photograph corpses, family members say

Updated: 52 minutes ago

HANFORD, Calif. – Two Marines were severely traumatized after following orders to photograph corpses of unarmed Iraqi civilians that members of their unit are suspected of killing, their families said Monday.

The parents of Lance Cpl. Andrew Wright, 20, and Lance Cpl. Roel Ryan Briones, 21, both members of a Marine unit based at Camp Pendleton, said their sons were sent into the western Iraqi city of Haditha to help remove the bodies of as many as two dozen men, women and children who were shot.

While there, the two were ordered to photograph the scene with personal cameras they happened to be carrying the day of the attack, the families told The Associated Press in separate interviews. Brionesí mother, Susie, said her son told her mother he saw the bodies of 23 dead Iraqis that day.

ìIt was horrific. It was a terrible scene,î Susie Briones said in a tearful interview Monday at her home in Californiaís San Joaquin Valley.

Navy investigators confiscated Brionesí camera, his mother said. Wrightís parents, Patty and Frederick Wright of Novato, declined to comment on what might have happened to the photos their son took, but they said he had turned over all of his information to the Navy.

ìHe is the Forrest Gump of the military,î Frederick Wright said. ìHe ended up in the spotlight through no fault of his own.î

Ryan Briones told the Los Angeles Times that Navy investigators had interrogated him twice in Iraq and that they wanted to know whether bodies had been tampered with. He turned over his digital camera but did not know what happened to it after that.

Susie Briones called the Nov. 19 incident a ìmassacreî and said the military had done little to help her son, who goes by his middle name, deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder.

ìI know Ryan is going through some major trauma right now,î said Susie Briones, 40, an academic adviser at a community college. ìIt was very traumatic for all of the soldiers involved with this thing.î

The details of what happened in Haditha are still murky. What is known is that a bomb rocked a military convoy and left one Marine dead. Marines then shot and killed unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and shot other people, according to Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated war veteran who has been briefed by military officials.

The incident has sparked two investigations ó one into the deadly encounter itself and another into whether it was the subject of a cover-up. The Marine Corps had initially attributed 15 civilian deaths to the car bombing and a firefight with insurgents, eight of whom the Marines reported had been killed.

…

Brionesí best friend, Lance Cpl. Miguel ìT.J.î Terrazas, had been killed the day of the attack by the roadside bomb, his mother said. He was still grieving when he was sent in to clean up the bodies of the Iraqi civilians.

One was a little girl who had been shot in the head, Susie Briones said.

ìHe had to carry that little girlís body,î she said, ìand her head was blown off and her brain splattered on his boots.î

He was under so much pressure because of the investigation that he had consulted with an attorney, they said. He has also experienced psychological trauma.

Wright and Briones are both recipients of the Purple Heart, given to soldiers wounded in battle.

Wright was injured during an assault on Fallujah in January 2005. He voluntarily rejoined his unit at Camp Pendleton the next month.

Briones was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He received a Purple Heart during his first tour.

On Monday, both Marines were back at Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside, where base officials said several members of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division were being confined during the investigations.

Lt. Lawton King, a Camp Pendleton spokesman, declined to comment Monday, but another Marine there reflected on the damage the reports have done.

Nicholas Grey, a second lieutenant in the Marine Reserves based at Camp Pendleton, said the case will result in a loss of credibility for the Marines and increase Iraqi anger.

ìIt will make it a lot harder for the Marines who want to go through the streets,î he said.

Independent, Published: 29 May 2006

Bush ‘planted fake news stories on American TV’
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington

Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies’ products.

Investigators from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are seeking information about stations across the country after a report produced by a campaign group detailed the extraordinary extent of the use of such items.

The report, by the non-profit group Centre for Media and Democracy, found that over a 10-month period at least 77 television stations were making use of the faux news broadcasts, known as Video News Releases (VNRs). Not one told viewers who had produced the items.

“We know we only had partial access to these VNRs and yet we found 77 stations using them,” said Diana Farsetta, one of the group’s researchers. “I would say it’s pretty extraordinary. The picture we found was much worse than we expected going into the investigation in terms of just how widely these get played and how frequently these pre-packaged segments are put on the air.”

Ms Farsetta said the public relations companies commissioned to produce these segments by corporations had become increasingly sophisticated in their techniques in order to get the VNRs broadcast. “They have got very good at mimicking what a real, independently produced television report would look like,” she said.

The FCC has declined to comment on the investigation but investigators from the commission’s enforcement unit recently approached Ms Farsetta for a copy of her group’s report.

The range of VNR is wide. Among items provided by the Bush administration to news stations was one in which an Iraqi-American in Kansas City was seen saying “Thank you Bush. Thank you USA” in response to the 2003 fall of Baghdad. The footage was actually produced by the State Department, one of 20 federal agencies that have produced and distributed such items.

Many of the corporate reports, produced by drugs manufacturers such as Pfizer, focus on health issues and promote the manufacturer’s product. One example cited by the report was a Hallowe’en segment produced by the confectionery giant Mars, which featured Snickers, M&Ms and other company brands. While the original VNR disclosed that it was produced by Mars, such information was removed when it was broadcast by the television channel – in this case a Fox-owned station in St Louis, Missouri.

Bloomberg news service said that other companies that sponsored the promotions included General Motors, the world’s largest car maker, and Intel, the biggest maker of semi-conductors. All of the companies said they included full disclosure of their involvement in the VNRs. “We in no way attempt to hide that we are providing the video,” said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel. “In fact, we bend over backward to make this disclosure.”

The FCC was urged to act by a lobbying campaign organised by Free Press, another non-profit group that focuses on media policy. Spokesman Craig Aaron said more than 25,000 people had written to the FCC about the VNRs. “Essentially it’s corporate advertising or propaganda masquerading as news,” he said. “The public obviously expects their news reports are going to be based on real reporting and real information. If they are watching an advertisement for a company or a government policy, they need to be told.”

The controversy over the use of VNRs by television stations first erupted last spring. At the time the FCC issued a public notice warning broadcasters that they were obliged to inform viewers if items were sponsored. The maximum fine for each violation is $32,500 (£17,500).

Anti-choice legislators deny improved health services for rape victims in the military, even as attacks against servicewomen rose 40 % since 2004

Washington, DC- Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called it shameful that anti-choice congressional leaders blocked votes on two amendments to the Defense Authorization Act that would improve health services for military women – including those who are survivors of sexual violence.

The Rules Committee blocked the House from considering the two following amendments:

1) Reps. Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Tim Ryan (D-OH), both of whom oppose legal abortion, asked to offer an amendment to ensure that emergency contraception – also known as the “morning-after” pill – is stocked and made available on every military base. This medication, if taken within days of unprotected sex Ôø? including a sexual attack, can prevent pregnancy by up to 89 percent.

2) Reps. Chris Shays (R-CT) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) wanted to offer an amendment allowing federally funded abortion care for military women who are rape or incest survivors.

“It’s outrageous that the anti-choice House leadership would continue to deny lawmakers a chance to vote on these commonsense, common-ground proposals that would improve our servicewomen’s access to health care on military facilities. Women serving our country should never have to face the tragedy of a sexual assault, but if they do, they should Ôø? at a minimum Ôø? be able to receive timely care and support,” Keenan said. “Voters will remember that this anti-choice Congress caves in to the far-right at the expense of women’s health. The only way to secure better treatment for women in the military is ending the anti-choice groups’ grip on Congress.”

This is the second consecutive year that the House Rules Committee denied their fellow lawmakers the opportunity to consider these two amendments, despite the alarming statistics of sexual assault in the military.

Last year, there were 2,374 reported cases of sexual assault among servicemembers Ôø? a 40 percent increase from 2004. In the Army alone, the number of reported rape cases rose from 356 in 1999 to 469 in 2003.

The committee agreed to allow an amendment by Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA) and Jane Harman (D-CA) to repeal the current-law ban that forbids servicewomen and female military dependents from using their own funds for abortion care at overseas military hospitals. NARAL Pro-Choice America strongly supported the Davis-Harman amendment, which failed yesterday by a vote of 191 to 237.

May 10, 2006
House Denies Health Care Service to Military Women

Davis-Harman amendment would have lifted ban that forbids servicewomen and military spouses from using personal funds for abortion care

Washington, DC- Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the House’s refusal to repeal a discriminatory ban that prevents military women overseas from using their own money to pay for abortion care violates the core American principles of freedom and personal responsibility. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 191-237.

Reps. Susan Davis and Jane Harman (both D-CA) offered the amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. It would have repealed the current ban that forbids servicewomen and female military dependents from using their own funds for abortion care at overseas military hospitals.

“For the 12th consecutive year, anti-choice members have bowed to the political pressure of their extremist supporters in the anti-choice movement. It is a disgrace that Congress continues to deny women, who are making such enormous sacrifices in defense of their country overseas, their constitutional right to choose,” said Keenan. “I applaud Representatives Davis and Harman for their unwavering support of our servicewomen overseas. We will stand with them until Congress acts to improve military women’s health care and adopts policies that reflect our pro-choice values of freedom and responsibility for all women.”

Below is more information on the Davis-Harman amendment:

Ending geographic discrimination. Under current law, women who have volunteered to serve their country, and female military dependents, are discriminated against and cannot exercise their legally guaranteed right to choose, simply because they are stationed overseas.
Lifting the ban on privately funded health services. If the Davis-Harman amendment were enacted into law, the Department of Defense would not be required to pay for abortions – it would simply lift the current ban on privately funded abortion care at U.S. military facilities overseas.
Equalizing services for military women. Military women should be able to depend on their base hospitals for all their health-care services. Repealing the current-law ban on privately funded abortion services would have allowed women access to the same range and quality of medical care available in the United States.
Preserving personal refusal clause. If the ban is lifted, no medical providers would be forced to provide abortions. All branches of the military have provisions that permit medical personnel who have personal objections to abortion not to participate in the procedure. These provisions will be preserved if the ban is lifted.

COURTESY MOLLY F.!

[007332] Morea, Benn & Hahne, Ron (Eds.). Black Mask #07. New York: 1967. First Edition. 25.5 x 33 Cm.. Magazine. Good. Political underground magazine. Black Mask evolved out of the New York Surrealist Group and the American Anarchist Group, initiated a number of politico-artistic demonstrations, and eventually transformed themselves into the underground revolutionary group, Up Against The Wall Motherfuckers. Linked to Heatwave/King Mob in England, Rebel Worker in Chicago, and the Situationists in Paris. Revolution and dada, futurism and surrealism; The sexual revolution; Black America. 4 pp. Small tear at the fold. Writing on the cover in red. Ex-collection Steef Davidson. Language: English.