Another Secret War Underway.!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't agree with anything we've done in response to 9/11. I have cried for all the deal Iraqis that have been killed because of Bush's bloody oil war.Yet, we still can't tell the difference between corrupt American corporate interests and good, ethical, real America people. Ashamed. I am wonder why John McCain said that we will fight for in War for another 100 years.

Deportation of U.S. War Resisters.

On Friday, August 15, 2008, a Canadian supporter of U.S. war resisters challenged Canadian Immigration Minister Diane Finley to explain why she is deporting U.S. war resisters to court martial and military prison.

64% of Canadians want the war resisters to stay here, 82% of Canadians are against the Iraq war, and on June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion calling on the government to halt the deportation of war resisters.

With the recent decision to deport Jeremy Hinzman, the first war resister to come to Canada, the question remains: does the minority Conservative government support democracy in Canada or does it support the Iraq war?

The motion states: "immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations and do not have a criminal record, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals

Several soldiers who have returned from combat zones talk with the American News Project about what they say is the widespread practice of using "drop weapons" to cover up the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. We feature five veterans and current members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, plus retired Lieutenant Colonel Gary Solis, a Vietnam War veteran and legal scholar who taught "Law of War" at West Point

Los Heroes Olvidados por los Medios de Comunicacion. The forgotten Heroes by the News Media.

The transforming experiences of African-Americans and Japanese-Americans during World War II have been well documented on public television. They speak to issues of civil rights, self-determination, and racial integration of the U.S. Armed Forces. And after the war, access to education and fair housing were among the benefits sought and in some measure attained because of their wartime achievements.

For Latinos, and Mexican-Americans in particular, there are few programs that present stories of the heroism and sacrifices made on behalf of the ideals of freedom and valor.

Mexicans Americans Veterans from all branches of our armed forces were interviewed in Texas, Arizona and California. Among them is Silvestre Herrera, a Latino soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for injuries suffered in battle; B-25 bomber pilot Gilbert Orrantia; and D-Day veteran John D. Luna. Women who participated in the war effort also describe their experiences, including Henrietta Lopez Rivas, a Texas woman who used her excellent bilingual skills to work at the local Civil Defense office and later as a mechanic at Kelly Air Base in San Antonio; and Rosa Ramirez Guerrero, who devoted her time as an entertainer for troops stationed in El Paso.


Hardly a day goes by without William Figueroa mentioning his World War II memories. The retired lawyer, who became a naturalized United States citizen after joining the army in 1942, loves to regale his seven children and three grandchildren with World War II stories of "flying a typewriter." Figueroa was a staff sergeant who served as chief clerk at the Air Office of the Africa Middle East Transport Unit in Cairo, Egypt.

Figueroa recalls fondly, "There was no Air Force in those days. We were known as the Army Air Corps. Our main function was to facilitate the transport of cargo and dignitaries. But, we also took every opportunity to explore the rich historical sites of the region."

And, explore he did. "We grew up hearing about my dad's army buddies, and all the things they did overseas. We have pictures of him at the Pyramids, and lots of mementos that he brought back from the Middle East, such as Egyptian scarabs, carved brass candlesticks and filigreed jewelry," notes Figueroa's daughter Mary, a Minneapolis physician

This fall, the Figueroa family will gather in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier to celebrate William's 80th birthday. No doubt, there will be many World War II remembrances at the event, and not just from William. Two of his three sisters, Josephine and Teresa, are married to World War II veterans. Josephine's husband, Albert Peinado, was an infantryman in Italy. Teresa's husband, Stan Santoyo, served in the Pacific and was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese in the Philippines. Between them, the three World War II veterans have 23 children and 37 grandchildren. The entire clan is close, and gets together frequently for parties. "We're so lucky to have so much history right here in our own family. Who else can boast of three World War II veterans, and all of them serving in different parts of the world?" says Figueroa's niece, Liza De La Rosa Walker, who is compiling a family history.

Although the Department of Veterans Affairs does not know the exact number of Hispanics who fought in World War II it estimates that up to 500,000 served. The number includes 53,000 Puerto Ricans in the 65th Infantry Regiment from Puerto Rico.

Hispanics earned 12 Medals of Honor during World War II, distinguishing themselves in the Philippines, North Africa, the Aleutian Islands, the Mediterranean and Europe. In fact, Hispanics have earned more Medals of Honor—39 in all-than any other ethnic group. After World War II, General Douglas Mac Arthur described the 158th Regimental Combat Team, comprised mostly of Mexican-Americans and Native Americans from Arizona, and known as the "Bushmasters," as "the greatest fighting combat team ever deployed for battle."

Yet, the media have largely ignored Hispanic contributions to the World War II effort. The golden anniversary of key World War II events brought a wave of commemorative books and big-budget Hollywood movies, such as Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor. But, how many made mention of Hispanics?

But, Hispanic vets, you can tell the stories yourself. World War II veterans who think their families aren't interested in hearing about their wartime experiences should keep one thing in mind. Decades from now, your grandchildren or great-grandchildren will come across some wartime memorabilia you have long forgotten about. They will regret they didn't hear your recollections first-hand. And, one more thing you should know—America is interested in hearing your story. There are several ongoing projects dedicated to preserving World War II recollections, and they'd like to hear from you!

Two years ago, the U.S. Congress created the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center in Washington, D.C. Citing the "urgent need" to collect stories and experiences from veterans, the Veterans History Project is gathering audio and video tapes of oral histories, as well as other material from veterans. The material will be archived in various museums and educational institutions across the country. Some will even be conserved in a "Digital Library," where it will be accessible to future generations. AARP is a founding corporate sponsor of the Veterans History Project, which is actively seeking Hispanic World War II veterans to share their stories.

At the University of Texas at Austin, Assistant Professor of Journalism Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez is spearheading an ambitious project aimed specifically at Hispanic WWII veterans. Volunteers with the Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project have videotaped interviews with more than 500 veterans. And, she's not just gathering material from soldiers. She wants to hear from factory workers and women who kept the home fires burning during the War years. "We want a complete sociological portrait of Hispanic life during that era," says Rivas-Rodriguez. The completed histories will be archived in two libraries at the University of Texas. "We want people hundreds of years from now to recognize the great contributions of Hispanics during the war," says Rivas-Rodriguez.

Untold stories of Mexican-American WWII veterans.
By San Gabriel Valley Tribue.




Much debate has been raised over whether the Latino contribution to World War II has been overlooked or ignored by modern-day media.

WHITTIER - His mission was to help about two dozen comrades herding 20,000 armed German soldiers who surrendered during World War II.

At first, David Alcala thought it was crazy.
But it wasn't long before he was driving his jeep up and down the massive line of enemy forces as they marched on the banks of the Loire River in September 1944 toward a prisoner camp.

The Whittier resident and his fellow soldiers were ordered to make sure the captive Germans marched without incident.

"I was hoping they wouldn't (turn on us)" the 86-year-old said. "If anything would have started, I wouldn't be here."

Alcala's unit, the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of the Army's 329th Infantry Regiment, assisted in what is widely considered the largest mass surrender during the war. They were featured on an episode of the popular 1950s television show, "This is Your Life," with host Ralph Edwards.

Alcala was the only Mexican-American in the platoon. Continue reading here: http://www.sgvtribune.com/mexicanveterans/ci_7114669

Here: http://www.sgvtribune.com/mexicanveterans/ci_6980821

Here: http://www.sgvtribune.com/mexicanveterans

Another War but not in Iraq instead in Arizona between Joe Arpaio and Mayor Phil Gordon.



Days after Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon mocked his immigration raids as "made-for-TV stunts," Sheriff Joe Arpaio complained to Phoenix officials that the mayor's remarks could lead to civil disobedience or worse.

In a letter to Phoenix City Manager Frank Fairbanks, Arpaio called Gordon's Friday speech "inaccurate" and said that the mayor's call for citizens to "make your voice heard" created "a hostile environment" for his deputies at a protest later that day.

The sheriff's response came three days after Gordon accused Arpaio of racial profiling in his crackdowns on illegal immigrants. Last week, the sheriff deployed deputies and his armed volunteer posse near Cave Creek and Bell roads to conduct sweeps.

During two days, 53 people were arrested, 27 of whom were believed to be in the country illegally.

In his letter, Arpaio alleges that Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris asked federal officials to revoke his immigration-enforcement abilities, as outlined in an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Harris said Monday that he asked Alonzo Peña, former special agent in charge of ICE in Phoenix, whether Arpaio's operations in Phoenix were "appropriate" in adhering to the county's 287 (g) agreement forged with ICE.

"That was all," Harris said. "He said he was going to look into it."

The 287 (g) agreement allows ICE officials to train local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws. However, Peña since has moved to the agency's Mexico City liaison office and the new special agent in charge starts in June.

Virginia Kice, regional spokeswoman for ICE, would not comment about the Sheriff's Office agreement. She said ICE constantly monitors partnering agencies' activities to make sure the agreements are being properly enforced. Several other Arizona agencies have similar agreements.

Arpaio also disputed Gordon's assertion that the sheriff has not cooperated meaningfully with Phoenix police. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office informed Phoenix police of its current crackdown days in advance, Arpaio said.

"Gordon's claim that officers were put in danger by my operation is directly contrary to the communique received by my office indicating that Phoenix police had no 'special needs which required being addressed,' " Arpaio said in his letter. "Mayor Gordon's remarks were not only patently false; they instilled fear and acrimony in the community he serves."

Gordon said the sheriff's notices did not give the department adequate time to assess the potential effect on undercover operations police officers have going in the area.

"His cursory e-mails to the Phoenix Police Department are not adequate notification of his intentions - and notification is not cooperation," Gordon said in a statement.

"He purposefully sets the stage for confrontation, and then points at everyone else."

Arpaio's letter seemed certain to prolong a war of words between the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and City Hall about how much manpower a law-enforcement agency should devote to investigating illegal immigration.

Gordon said he was not surprised by Arpaio's reaction.

"If you criticize the sheriff, you know what's coming next," he said. "The sheriff's sad and predictable response to criticism is always to retaliate. The issue here is public safety and nothing else."

Gordon, who endorsed Arpaio in his last election, decided to criticize his tactics Friday after the sheriff began blasting Phoenix for not doing more to arrest illegal immigrants living in the city.

In his letter, Arpaio says Gordon's remarks threaten future cooperation between the city and the Sheriff's Office.

"Every day, this sheriff's office voluntarily provides many unique services to the Phoenix Police Department," he said. "What we do saves your officers thousands of man hours and allows them to go back onto the streets to fight crime.

"I am very concerned that this negative and misleading rhetoric by Mayor Gordon and other elected officials is seriously deteriorating our excellent and longstanding relationship."

Phoenix police said they were unprepared to respond to the sheriff's remarks late Monday and would respond today.

Honoring The Green card Soldiers who's died in Iraq.






A young, ambitious immigrant from Guatemala who dreamed of becoming an architect. A Nigerian medic. A soldier from China who boasted he would one day become an American general. An Indian native whose headstone displays the first Khanda, emblem of the Sikh faith, to appear in Arlington National Cemetery.

These were among more than 100 foreign-born members of the U.S. military who earned American citizenship by dying in Iraq.

Jose Gutierrez was one of the first to fall, killed by friendly fire in the dust of Umm Qasr in the opening hours of the invasion.
In death, the young Marine was showered with honors his family could only have dreamed of in life. His sister was flown in from Guatemala for his memorial service, where a Roman Catholic cardinal presided and top military officials saluted his flag-draped coffin.
And yet, his foster mother agonized as she accompanied his body back for burial in Guatemala City: Why did Jose have to die for America in order to truly belong?
Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who oversaw Gutierrez's service, put it differently.

"There is something terribly wrong with our immigration policies if it takes death on the battlefield in order to earn citizenship," Mahony wrote to President Bush in April 2003. He urged the president to grant immediate citizenship to all immigrants who sign up for military service in wartime.

"They should not have to wait until they are brought home in a casket," Mahony said.
But as the war continues, more and more immigrants are becoming citizens in death — and more and more families are grappling with deeply conflicting feelings about exactly what the honor means.

Gutierrez's citizenship certificate — dated to his death on March 21, 2003, — was presented during a memorial service in Lomita, Calif., to Nora Mosquera, who took in the orphaned teen after he had trekked through Central America, hopping freight trains through Mexico before illegally sneaking into the U.S.

"On the one hand I felt that citizenship was too late for him," Mosquera said. "But I also felt grateful and very proud of him. I knew it would open doors for us as a family."

"What use is a piece of paper?" cried Fredelinda Pena after another emotional naturalization ceremony, this one in New York City where her brother's framed citizenship certificate was handed to his distraught mother. Next to her, the infant daughter he had never met dozed in his fiancee's arms.

Cpl. Juan Alcantara, 22, a native of the Dominican Republic, was killed Aug. 6, 2007, by an explosive in Baqouba. He was buried by a cardinal and eulogized by a congressman but to his sister, those tributes seemed as hollow as citizenship.
"He can't take the oath from a coffin," she sobbed.

There are tens of thousands of foreign-born members in the U.S. armed forces. Many have been naturalized, but more than 20,000 are not U.S. citizens.
"Green card soldiers," they are often called, and early in the war, Bush signed an executive order making them eligible to apply for citizenship as soon as they enlist. Previously, legal residents in the military had to wait three years.
Since Bush's order, nearly 37,000 soldiers have been naturalized. And 109 who lost their lives have been granted posthumous citizenship.

They are buried with purple hearts and other decorations, and their names are engraved on tombstones in Arlington as well as in Mexico and India and Guatemala.

Among them:
• Marine Cpl. Armando Ariel Gonzalez, 25, who fled Cuba on a raft with his father and brother in 1995 and dreamed of becoming an American firefighter. He was crushed by a refueling tank in southern Iraq on April 14, 2003.

• Army Spc. Justin Onwordi, a 28-year-old Nigerian medic whose heart seemed as big as his smiling 6-foot-4 frame and who left behind a wife and baby boy. He died when his vehicle was blown up in Baghdad on Aug. 2, 2004.

• Army Pfc. Ming Sun, 20, of China who loved the U.S. military so much he planned to make a career out of it, boasting that he would rise to the rank of general. He was killed in a firefight in Ramadi on Jan. 9, 2007.

• Army Spc. Uday Singh, 21, of India, killed when his patrol was attacked in Habbaniyah on Dec. 1, 2003. Singh was the first Sikh to die in battle as a U.S. soldier, and it is his headstone at Arlington that displays the Khanda.

• Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick O'Day from Scotland, buried in the California rain as bagpipes played and his 19-year-old pregnant wife told mourners how honored her 20-year-old husband had felt to fight for the country he loved.
"He left us in the most honorable way a man could," Shauna O'Day said at the March 2003 Santa Rosa service. "I'm proud to say my husband is a Marine. I'm proud to say my husband fought for our country. I'm proud to say he is a hero, my hero."

Not all surviving family members feel so sure. Some parents blame themselves for bringing their child to the U.S. in the first place. Others face confusion and resentment when they try to bury their child back home.

At Lance Cpl. Juan Lopez's July 4, 2004, funeral in the central Mexican town of San Luis de la Paz, Mexican soldiers demanded that the U.S. Marine honor guard surrender their arms, even though the rifles were ceremonial. Earlier, the Mexican Defense Department had denied the Marines' request to conduct the traditional 21-gun salute, saying foreign troops were not permitted to bear arms on Mexican soil.

And so mourners, many deeply opposed to the war, witnessed an extraordinary 45-minute standoff that disrupted the funeral even as Lopez's weeping widow was handed his posthumous citizenship by a U.S. embassy official.

The same swirl of conflicting emotions and messages often overshadows the military funerals of posthumous citizens in the U.S.
Smuggled across the Mexican border in his mother's arms when he was 2 months old, Jose Garibay was just 21 when he died in Nasiriyah. The Costa Mesa police department made him an honorary police officer, something he had hoped one day to become. America made him a citizen.
But his mother, Simona Garibay, couldn't conceal her bewilderment and pain. It seemed, she said in interviews after the funeral, that more value was being placed on her son's death than on his life.

Immigrant advocates have similar mixed feelings about military service. Non-citizens cannot become officers or serve in high-security jobs, they note, and yet the benefits of citizenship are regularly pitched by recruiters, and some recruitment programs specifically target colleges and high schools with predominantly Latino students.

"Immigrants are lured into service and then used as political pawns or cannon fodder," said Dan Kesselbrenner, executive director of the National Immigration Project, a program of the National Lawyers Guild. "It is sad thing to see people so desperate to get status in this country that they are prepared to die for it."

Others question whether non-citizens should even be permitted to serve. Mark Krikorian of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, argues that defending America should be the job of Americans, not non-citizens whose loyalty might be suspect. In granting special benefits, including fast-track citizenship, Krikorian says, there is a danger that soldiering will eventually become yet another job that Americans won't do.

And yet, immigrants have always fought — and died — in America's wars.
During the Cvil War, the Union army recruited Irish and German immigrants off the boat. Alfred Rascon, an Undocumented immigrant from Mexico, received the Medal of Honor for acts of bravery during the Vietnam war. In the 1990s, Gen. John Shalikashvili, born in Poland after his family fled the occupied Republic of Georgia, became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After the Iraq invasion, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico fielded hundreds of requests from Mexicans offering to fight in exchange for citizenship. They mistakenly believed that Bush's order also applied to nonresidents.

The right to become an American is not automatic for those who die in combat. Families must formally apply for citizenship within two years of the soldier's death, and not all choose to do so.

"He's Italian, better to leave it like that," Saveria Romeo says of her 23-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Vincenzo Romeo, who was born in Calabria, died in Iraq and is buried in New Jersey. A miniature Italian flag marks his grave, next to an American one."What good would it do?" she says. "It won't bring back my son."

But it would allow her to apply for citizenship for herself, a benefit only recently offered to surviving parents and spouses. Until 2003 posthumous citizenship was granted only through an act of Congress and was purely symbolic. There were no benefits for next of kin.

Romeo says she has no desire to apply. She says she couldn't bear to benefit in any way from her son's death. And besides, she feels Italian, not American.

Fernando Suarez del Solar just feels angry — angry at what he considers the futility of a war that claimed his only son, angry at the military recruiters he says courted young Jesus relentlessly even when the family still lived in Tijuana.
His son was just 13, Suarez del Solar said, when he was first dazzled by Marine recruiters in a California mall. For the next two years Jesus begged the family to emigrate and eventually they did, settling in Escondido, Calif., where the teen signed up for the Marines before he left high school.
Lance Cpl. Jesus Suarez Del Solar was 20 when he was killed by a bomb in the first week of the war. He left behind a wife and baby and parents so bitter about his death that they eventually divorced.
Today, his 52-year-old father has become an outspoken peace activist who travels the country organizing anti-war marches, giving speeches and working with counter-recruitment groups to dissuade young Latinos from joining the U.S. military.
"There is nothing in my life now but saving these young people," he says. "It is just something I feel have to do."

But first he had to journey to Iraq. He had to see for himself the dusty stretch of wasteland where his son became an American. In tears, he planted a small wooden cross. And he prayed for his son — and for all the other immigrants who became citizens in death.

If you are still skeptical that America is on fear and ignorance. Just wait when the see the 140,000 Iraqis applications for Residency in U.S.

They are using anything as scapegoats against others for their constant fear..

DAMASCUS, Syria—Thousands of Iraqi refugees in Syria have applied for resettlement in the United States, a U.N. refugee agency official in the Syrian capital said Wednesday.
Laurens Jolles, head of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office in Damascus, said the office has registered some 140,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, where the bulk of Iraqis fled to escape the violence in their war-ravaged homeland.

Jolles told The Associated Press that 6,700 of them applied this year for resettlement, including 4,662 seeking to resettle in the U.S.

A U.S. State Department spokesman in Washington declined immediate comment.

Syria is home to 1.5 million Iraqi refugees and says the influx has strained its education, health and housing systems, pushing the government to tighten visa requirements and to call for international assistance.

Despite frosty relations with Washington, Damascus recently agreed to allow American interviewers into the country to screen the Iraqis for admission to the United States. The move followed a visit here last month by senior U.S. envoys James Foley and Lori Scialabba, a top immigration official with Homeland Security.

Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and other countries in the region are sheltering more than 2 million Iraqis who have fled since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Already, several hundred refugees from Syria have been given permission to resettle in Finland, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia this year.

The U.S. plans to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees in a year's time. But only 450 were let in last month—less than half the monthly average needed to reach the target.

The Bush administration has conceded a moral obligation to assist Iraqi refugees, but the slow pace of admissions has sparked criticism from refugee advocates and lawmakers.

The blame has been placed on bureaucratic slowdowns—including bickering between the State Department, which is in charge of refugee resettlement, and Homeland Security, which must screen all refugees for admission. Those from Iraq are subjected to additional security checks because of fears of terrorism.