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Flushing Of Dangerous Petroleum Contaminated Water From Military Housing

Hawai'i - On Friday, December 24, I went to Aliamanu Military Reservation at Red Hill housing area which is located above the entryway into the main tunnel that leads into the  U.S. Navy’s deep, massive, leaking 80-year-old Red Hill underground jet fuel storage tanks complex.  These tanks are only 100 feet above the main aquifer of drinking water for 400,000, half the population of the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. A recent leak of at least 19,000 gallons of jet fuel and water leaked from a fire suppressant pipe into two Navy operated wells that supply drinking water to over 93,000 residents in the Pearl Harbor-Hickam Air Force Base area. Built during World War II, the tank complex has 20 huge tanks, each measuring 100 feet in diameter and 250 feet high — the height of a 20-story building, or Aloha Tower, a famous landmark for tourist ships in Honolulu harbor.

How Awesome Is ‘Awesome’? America’s Underperforming Military

Of course, war is not a game. The stakes on the battlefield are infinitely higher than on the playing field. When wars go wrong, “We’ll show ’em next year — just you wait!” is seldom a satisfactory response. At least, it shouldn’t be. Yet somehow, the American people, our political establishment, and our military have all fallen into the habit of shrugging off or simply ignoring disappointing outcomes. A few years ago, a serving army officer of unusual courage published an essay — in Armed Forces Journal no less — in which he charged that “a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war.”

Iraq Announces End Of US Combat Mission

Iraqi groups expressed dissatisfaction and opposition to the official announcement of the end of the US combat mission in the country on Thursday, December 9, weeks before the deadline of December 31. The groups pointed to the official declaration by the US that no troops will be withdrawn from Iraq immediately but that the remaining troops will shift their mission to assisting and training the Iraqi forces. The groups have reiterated their demand for a complete withdrawal of foreign troops. Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s national security advisor, tweeted, “today we finished the last round of dialogue with the international coalition..to officially announce the end of the combat mission of the coalition forces and their withdrawal from Iraq.”

Governor Orders Operations Of Navy’s Massive Jet Fuel Tanks Suspended

On December 6, after all hell broke loose at each of the five town hall meetings held over several days by the U.S. Navy to try to calm military families who have been drinking and bathing in fuel contaminated water, the Governor of the State of Hawai’i issued an order to the Navy to suspend the operation of the massive jet fuel tanks and within 30 days “defuel” or remove the fuel out of the tanks!  Governor Ige said the public had lost confidence in the Navy. For the past week, rather than providing accurate information about the drinking water contamination, senior military leadership were caught in their own webs of inaccurate information given to the military families affected by fuel in the water…and given to the State of Hawai’i. 

New Study Finds The US Military Is Spreading Disease Around The World

A new study out of York University in Toronto, Canada finds that the US military plays a large role in the spread of diseases globally, including past and present pandemics. Clearing the FOG speaks with one of the lead authors, K J Noh, an expert analyst on the geopolitics of the Asian-Pacific region and health, about the study. Important factors in the spread of disease are Status Agreements that the US military makes with local and national governments that exempt members of the military from being required to follow public health measures and a culture of impunity within the military that leads to members defying all public health restrictions, even those measures imposed by the military. Noh also explains how the weaponization of disease is causing harm to everyone and why the US establishment doesn't want the public to know there are governments designed to serve their populations.

US Navy Families In Hawai’i Find Fuel In Their Home Tap Water

The long citizen protest underscoring the dangers from the U.S. Navy’s 80-year-old leaking 20 jet fuel tanks at Red Hill each tank 20 stories tall and holding a total of 225 million gallons of jet fuel came to a head over the weekend with Navy families around the large Pearl Harbor Naval Base being sickened by fuel in their home tap water.  The Navy’s huge jet fuel tank complex is only 100 feet above Honolulu’s water supply and has been leaking with regularity. The Navy command was slow to alert the community while the State of Hawai’i quickly issued a notice not to drink the water.  Foster Village community members stated that they were  smelling fuel after the November 20, 2021 release of 14,000 gallons of water and fuel from a fire suppression drain line a quarter-mile downhill from the fuel tank farm. 

Can A Singing, Dancing Rebellion Save The World?

COP Twenty-six! That is how many times the UN has assembled world leaders to try to tackle the climate crisis. But the United States is producing more oil and natural gas than ever; the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere and global temperatures are both still rising; and we are already experiencing the extreme weather and climate chaos that scientists have warned us about for forty years, and which will only get worse and worse without serious climate action. And yet, the planet has so far only warmed 1.2° Celsius (2.2° F) since pre-industrial times. We already have the technology we need to convert our energy systems to clean, renewable energy, and doing so would create millions of good jobs for people all over the world. So, in practical terms, the steps we must take are clear, achievable and urgent.

US Militarism’s Toxic Impact On Climate Policy

President Biden addressed the UN General on September 21 with a warning that the climate crisis is fast approaching a “point of no return,” and a promise that the United States would rally the world to action. “We will lead not just with the example of our power but, God willing, with the power of our example,” he said. But the U.S. is not a leader when it comes to saving our planet. Yahoo News recently published a report titled “Why the U.S. Lags Behind Europe on Climate Goals by 10 or 15 years.” The article was a rare acknowledgment in the U.S. corporate media that the United States has not only failed to lead the world on the climate crisis, but has actually been the main culprit blocking timely collective action to head off a global existential crisis.

The Second Afghan War And US Retreat From Central Asia

There were actually two Afghan wars. The first began within a few weeks of the 9-11 tragedy, when the US was attacked by Al Qaeda with the assistance of elements of the Saudi Arabia ruling elite. In the first war US forces invaded Afghanistan behind the excuse its mission and goal was to capture Bin Laden and deny Al Qaeda a base in that country, even though there is ample evidence the Taliban had offered to kick Bin Laden out in exchange for no US invasion. The Bush administration rejected the Taliban offer because its actual mission and objective was always greater than just capturing Bin Laden, or even occupying Afghanistan. The first Afghan war was over in a matter of a few months, when US forces drove the Taliban out of government in Afghanistan and into the countryside while sending forces of Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda retreating into the mountains bordering Pakistan

The Return Of The Marines

A battalion of U.S. Marines from North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune left for Haiti on Wednesday, August 18 under the pretext of aiding the victims of the disasters that struck the departments of Sud, Nippes and Grand’Anse: a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, August 14, and heavy rains, winds, and floods from tropical storm Grace which swept through the country, particularly the Grand-Sud, on August 16 and 17, 2021. The provisional death toll provided by the Civil Protection Agency currently stands at 2,189 and more than 12,000 people have been injured. According to the Agency, the earthquake destroyed more than 7,000 homes and damaged more than 12,000, leaving around 30,000 families homeless. Schools, offices and churches had also been demolished or severely damaged.

The Peace Movement Must Press For Diplomacy, Not More War, In Afghanistan

Col. Ann Wright was in Afghanistan to open the US Embassy in 2001. She recounts how the recommendation then was to get the US military out as quickly as possible. Instead, the Pentagon spent 20 years lying to the public and causing great suffering to the Afghan people. Wright exposes the truth about why the US stayed in for so long and explains the politics of the country. She has started a campaign to push for maintaining diplomatic relations with the new Taliban government and is calling for the CIA to cease involvement with local militias that could evolve into a civil war. Despite withdrawing the military, the US will continue to cause damage to Afghanistan if it doesn't change course. That is unlikely to happen though unless the peace movement takes action to demand diplomacy, not war.

Calling Out The Greatest Culprit Behind The Climate Crisis

Abby Martin and Mike Prysner of The Empire Files are producing a new feature-length documentary that exposes the US military as "Earth's Greatest Enemy." Left out of the conversation about the climate crisis is the fact that even if every person, vehicle and factory stopped emitting carbon, as long as the US military continues on as it is, the earth will still be headed for disaster. Clearing the FOG speaks with war and climate journalist Dahr Jamail and Mike Prysner about the state of the climate crisis, the extent of environmental destruction caused by the military both in the United States and abroad and the new film project. You can learn more at earthsgreatestenemy.com. 

Opening And Closing US Embassies-From Sierra Leone To Afghanistan

While the people of Afghanistan are in a state of fear of the Taliban who now control Afghanistan, its capital, major cities and countryside after the U.S. and NATO occupation of twenty years, please pardon my personal observances of some of my experiences during sixteen years in the U.S. diplomatic corps and opening and closing U.S. Embassies in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan and the effects on the civilian populations of the countries involved. In December 2001, I was a part of a very small team from the U.S. Department of State that was sent to Kabul, Afghanistan to reopen the U.S. Embassy.  The Embassy had been closed for 12 years following the Soviet exodus from Afghanistan and the subsequent civil war between the warlord militias that fought to gain land and influence. 

Military Should Return Hawaii Lands

The 65-year leases of 30,000 acres of Hawaii state land by the U.S. military are ending in 2029. The state of Hawaii should not re-lease these lands no matter what the amount the U.S. military offers. The leases on 23,000 acres at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, 4,370 acres at the Kawailoa/ Poamoho Training Area, 1,170 acres at the Kahuku Training Area and 760 acres at the Makua Military Reservation were given away essentially for free, with the state charging only $1 for each parcel for 65 years! The three areas on Oahu are onethird of the 18,060 federal and state lands used for military training on the island, while the 23,000 acres at Pohakuloa are 17% of the 133,000 acres that comprise the largest military training area in the state and in the Pacific region.

Pentagon Undercounts And Ignores Military Sexual Assault In Africa

All of these incidents, whether the alleged victim was a civilian or a member of the military, are supposed to be included in the Pentagon’s Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database and listed in the annual SAPRO reports to Congress. But it’s not clear whether they are. The annual reports do not tell the whole story.
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