The Slaughterhouse Informer

A Compendiium of Various Official Lies, Business Scandals, Small Murders, Frauds, and Other Gross Defects of Our Current Political, Business and Religious Moral Lepers.

Presenting a new magazine that contains material that is not found elsewhere and is very difficult to post on the Internet. The ‘Voice of the White House’ will appear in each issue containing material not found on TBR News for very obvious reasons.This publication will appear once a week, on Wednesday, every week, will be ten pages in length and is available by subscription only. The price is $5.00 a month and can be paid via PayPal or by check. If you don’t like it, and Bush supporters can read the Drudge Report for free, you can cancel at any time.

Civil insurrection in America and government countermeasures: The official papers

By Bradley Moscrip

An in-depth study of official American plans to construct FEMA detention centers in America and specific recent U.S. Army domestic counterinsurgency plans. Here is a sampling of the ebook contents:

Gun Control by Confiscation

As the American general population is known to be the most heavily armed in the world, immediately upon the declaration of Martial Law and the execution by the military of counterinsurgency programs, it has been determined that the BATF, will begin the process of rounding up all rifles, pistols and so-called assault weaponry from the civil population. Lists of gun collectors obtained from firearms dealers, gun magazine subscription lists and other sources will be the basis for these mass confiscations. Gun owners will be supplied documentation by the BATF showing which pieces have been confiscated so that in the future, they will be told, they can recover their weapons when the state of emergency has passed. In actuality, weapons that do not have a high value or are not suitable for arming loyalist police forces, will be destroyed by order

This study is available from tbrnews at $5.00 by PayPal  

The Voice of the White House

            Washington, D.C., December 26, 2009: “The loud rumor of the existence of what might best be called ‘Adult’ tapes of trysts between the Divine Sarah and her daughters’ lover, Levi Johnson, are causing mixed emotions here in the Nation’s all-but-vacant capitol. The tattered, bitter remnants of the Republican Right are livid with barely suppressed rage, while the liberals and Democrats are either chuckling or looking for copies. The two  both look pretty good in the flesh but soon enough, gravity and age will attack both of them. Levi looks good (for an amateur) but a weekly workout in some gym would keep him fine for many years and as far as his frantic and happy partner is concerned, a treadmill and some Midol wouldn’t hurt. Speaking of sour-faced Republican righters, they have lost power and instead of putting on a good face and trying to work their way back into public confidence, they have become bitter and frantic. They lie, scream, lie some more and are, in essence, giving the bird, as the cultured gentleman who runs the GOP likes to say, to the public. The Republicans in Congress are now, officially, the Party of NO!. If a motion were introduced by the Democrats to speak kindly of Jesus, the Republicans would fight furiously against it. The advice of the still sensible here? Chill out dudes and work for a better and brighter dictatorship! I guess they used up the domestic attack ploy on Americans after Bush Senior organized the 9/11 business for his son’s benefit but perhaps a cruise ship, called the “Iranian Princess’ would heave-to off of Miami and boatloads of wild-eyed Muslims would storm ashore and begin killing Jews. My God, what an opportunity to establish permanent martial law and even better, it would give the useless media something new and safe to bray about for the following five years. Interspersed, of course, with fake speeches by that CIA clown down in Texas who has been pretending to be the dead Osama bin Ladin and tape more silly speeches. If the hijacked plane destined to thunder into the Capitol while Congress was in session, kill off legislators and give Bush his big chance to suspend the Constitution, hadn’t crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, we would all be giving the Hitler salute to the huge color poster of Bush the Younger in every classroom in America, after first reciting the Lord’s Prayer. This touching ceremony would be held at the start of the mandatory Creationism class that would replace the science classes in all public schools in America.”

Networks Still Hosting Military Analysts Without Identifying Massive Conflicts Of Interest

digg December 12, 2009

by Laura Bassett

Huffington Post

Major television networks continue to host retired generals as military analysts without alerting viewers to their extensive ties to defense contractors and the Pentagon.

Military strategy is a frequent topic on TV in the wake of President Obama's announcement that he will send more troops to Afghanistan now -- and start bringing them out by mid-2011. But few television viewers have any idea that some of what they're hearing originates from men who are literally profiting from the war.

One of these men in particular -- NBC News military analyst and retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey -- has appeared on MSNBC at least 10 times in the past month to criticize Obama's proposed troop-withdrawal deadline, to lavish praise upon Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, and to underscore the importance of training Afghan security forces.

But neither McCaffrey nor the MSNBC anchors ever mentioned the fact that McCaffrey sits on the board of directors of DynCorp International, a company with a lucrative government contract to train the Afghan National Security Forces. Nor did they mention that McCaffrey recently completed a report about Afghanistan that was commissioned by Petraeus and funded by the Pentagon.

On December 4, McCaffrey appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews, where he was introduced only as "retired General Barry McCaffrey." Upon being asked whether we are creating our own enemy in Afghanistan, McCaffrey said: "The key is, can we create an Afghan security force that in a couple or three years will replace us? That is the real question on the table."

He added, "I think there's some belief, strong belief on the part of General [Stanley] McChrystal and others, to include me, that yes, you can create an Afghan security force. I don't believe it's possible in a year. I see this as a 3- to 10-year effort, at the front end of which we're going to take casualties and spend a lot of money."

According to Forbes magazine, this 3- to 10-year effort in Afghanistan will generate about 53% of DynCorp's $3.1 billion in annual revenue, a fact that McCaffrey failed to mention.

McCaffrey describes the report he authored last week assessing security operations in Afghanistan as an "independent civilian academic contribution to the national security debate." In the report, McCaffrey effusively praises Petraeus and the top military officials in Afghanistan, calling them "brilliant" and the "absolute best leaders in uniform."

McCaffrey continues to be presented as an objective expert despite widespread, public evidence to the contrary. In late 2008, as part of a Pulitzer-Prize winning series about the relationship between retired generals, the Pentagon, and defense contractors, New York Times reporter David Barstow wrote an article that exposed McCaffrey for "consistently advocat[ing] wartime policies and spending priorities that are in line with his corporate interests."

According to Barstow's article, McCaffrey used his close relationship with Gen. Petraeus and his contacts at the Pentagon to secure lucrative contracts for corporations such as Defense Solutions and Veritas Capital. Armed with extensive ties to both the government and the private sector, McCaffrey exercises a third sphere of influence through his media exposure. He did not respond to repeated messages from the Huffington Post, requesting an interview.

McCaffrey is only one of several on-air military analysts with extensive, interconnected Pentagon and corporate relationships. Retired Gen. Richard Myers, who appeared on NBC's Meet the Press on October 11 to discuss Afghanistan strategy, sits on the board of directors of Northrop Grumman, the third largest arms manufacturer in the world. But David Gregory simply introduced him as the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gregory asked Myers whether it was necessary to escalate the Afghanistan war, Myers replied: "I think you probably do [have to escalate]," and later added that he thinks U.S. allies "should pony up as well."

Retired Gen. Robert H. Scales, Jr., an analyst for both Fox News and National Public Radio, is the president of Colgen, Inc., a consulting company specializing in issues relating to land power, war gaming and strategic leadership. Colgen's clients include the U.S. Military, the CIA and Special Operations Command. On December 1, Scales appeared on Fox News with host Bret Baier and disparaged Obama's plan to start troop withdrawals in 2010.

"Well, there's an old saying in the Army, Bret, that an operation must conform to the actions of the enemy and not to the clock or the calendar," Scales said. "My concern is we need to focus on the enemy, defeat the enemy in this region before we start talking about a timeline."

Not surprisingly, these "military analysts" on the boards of defense contractors with large potential for financial gain have consistently used their media appearances to make the case for escalation.

Last year, the Society of Professional Journalists called on NBC to sever ties with military analysts that could personally profit from the shaping of public opinion.

"By failing to be forthright and transparent, these networks -- which are owned by General Electric, a leading defense contractor -- are giving the public powerful reasons to be skeptical about their neutrality and credibility," said Andy Schotz, the chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee.

NBC has ignored the SPJ's call. A spokesperson from NBC said that McCaffrey's biography on the MSNBC website details his involvement with DynCorp and other corporations, but she declined to comment about why anchors do not identify McCaffrey as a Pentagon contractor or defense contracting consultant when he appears on their shows.

"The media are not legally obligated to disclose their connections," said Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "It's obviously a little misleading, though."

America's Secret ICE Castles

December 16, 2009

by Jacqueline Stevens

This article appeared in the January 4, 2010 edition of The Nation.

        "If you don't have enough evidence to charge someone criminally but you think he's illegal, we can make him disappear." Those chilling words were spoken by James Pendergraph, then executive director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of State and Local Coordination, at a conference of police and sheriffs in August 2008. Also present was Amnesty International's Sarnata Reynolds, who wrote about the incident in the 2009 report "Jailed Without Justice" and said in an interview, "It was almost surreal being there, particularly being someone from an organization that has worked on disappearances for decades in other countries. I couldn't believe he would say it so boldly, as though it weren't anything wrong." Pendergraph knew that ICE could disappear people, because he knew that in addition to the publicly listed field offices and detention sites, ICE is also confining people in 186 unlisted and unmarked subfield offices, many in suburban office parks or commercial spaces revealing no information about their ICE tenants--nary a sign, a marked car or even a US flag. (Presumably there is a flag at the Veterans Affairs Complex in Castle Point, New York, but no one would associate it with the Criminal Alien Program ICE is running out of Building 7.) Designed for confining individuals in transit, with no beds or showers, subfield offices are not subject to ICE Detention Standards. The subfield office network was mentioned in an October report by Dora Schriro, then special adviser to Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, but no locations were provided.

I obtained a partial list of the subfield offices from an ICE officer and shared it with immigrant advocates in major human and civil rights organizations, whose reactions ranged from perplexity to outrage. Andrea Black, director of Detention Watch Network (DWN), said she was aware of some of the subfield offices but not that people were held there. ICE never provided DWN a list of their locations. "This points to an overall lack of transparency and even organization on the part of ICE," said Black. ICE says temporary facilities in field or subfield offices are used for 84 percent of all book-ins. There are twenty-four listed field offices. The 186 unlisted subfield offices tend to be where local police and sheriffs have formally or informally reached out to ICE. For instance, in 2007 North Carolina had 629,947 immigrants and at least six subfield offices, compared with Massachusetts, with 913,957 immigrants and one listed field office. Not surprisingly, before joining ICE Pendergraph, a sheriff, was the Joe Arpaio of North Carolina, his official bio stating that he "spearheaded the use of the 287(g) program," legislation that empowers local police to perform immigration law enforcement functions.

A senior attorney at a civil rights organization, speaking on background, saw the list and exclaimed, "You cannot have secret detention! The public has the right to know where detention is happening."

Alison Parker, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, wrote a December comprehensive report on ICE transit policies, "Locked Up Far Away." Even she had never heard of the subfield offices and was concerned that the failure to disclose their locations violates the UN's Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a signatory. She explained that the government must provide "an impartial authority to review the lawfulness of custody. Part and parcel is the ability of somebody to find the person and to make their presence known to a court."

The challenge of being unable to find people in detention centers, documented in the Human Rights Watch report, is worsened when one does not even know where to look. The absence of a real-time database tracking people in ICE custody means ICE has created a network of secret jails. Subfield offices enter the time and date of custody after the fact, a situation ripe for errors, hinted at in the Schriro report, as well as cover-ups.

ICE refused a request for an interview, selectively responded to questions sent by e-mail and refused to identify the person authorizing the reply--another symptom of ICE thwarting transparency and hence accountability. The anonymous official provided no explanation for ICE not posting a list of subfield office locations and phone numbers or for its lack of a real-time locator database.

It is not surprising to find that, with no detention rules and being off the map spatially and otherwise, ICE agents at these locations are acting in ways that are unconscionable and unlawful. According to Ahilan Arulanantham, director of Immigrant Rights for the ACLU of Southern California, the Los Angeles subfield office called B-18 is a barely converted storage space tucked away in a large downtown federal building. "You actually walk down the sidewalk and into an underground parking lot. Then you turn right, open a big door and voilà, you're in a detention center," Arulanantham explained. Without knowing where you were going, he said, "it's not clear to me how anyone would find it. What this breeds, not surprisingly, is a whole host of problems concerning access to phones, relatives and counsel."

It's also not surprising that if you're putting people in a warehouse, the occupants become inventory. Inventory does not need showers, beds, drinking water, soap, toothbrushes, sanitary napkins, mail, attorneys or legal information, and can withstand the constant blast of cold air. The US residents held in B-18, as many as 100 on any given day, were treated likewise. B-18, it turned out, was not a transfer area from point A to point B but rather an irrationally revolving stockroom that would shuttle the same people briefly to the local jails, sometimes from 1 to 5 am, and then bring them back, shackled to one another, stooped and crouching in overpacked vans. These transfers made it impossible for anyone to know their location, as there would be no notice to attorneys or relatives when people moved. At times the B-18 occupants were left overnight, the frigid onslaught of forced air and lack of mattresses or bedding defeating sleep. The hours of sitting in packed cells on benches or the concrete floor meant further physical and mental duress.

Alla Suvorova, 26, a Mission Hills, California, resident for almost six years, ended up in B-18 after she was snared in an ICE raid targeting others at a Sherman Oaks apartment building. For her, the worst part was not the dirt, the bugs flying everywhere or the clogged, stinking toilet in their common cell but the panic when ICE agents laughed at her requests to understand how long she would be held. "No one could visit; they couldn't find me. I was thinking these people are going to put me and the other people in a grinder and make sausages and sell them in the local market."

Sleep deprivation and extreme cold were among the "enhanced interrogation" techniques promoted by the Bush White House and later set aside by the Justice Department because of concerns that they amounted to torture. Although without the intent to elicit information, ICE under the Obama administration was holding people charged with a civil infraction in conditions approaching those no longer authorized for accused terrorists.

According to Aaron Tarin, an immigration attorney in Salt Lake City, "Whenever I have a client in a subfield office, it makes me nervous. Their procedures are lax. You've got these senior agents who have all the authority in the world because they're out in the middle of nowhere. You've got rogue agents doing whatever they want. Most of the buildings are unmarked; the vehicles they drive are unmarked." Like other attorneys, Tarin was extremely frustrated by ICE not releasing its phone numbers. He gave as an example a US citizen in Salt Lake City who hired him because her husband, in the process of applying for a green card, was being held at a subfield office in Colorado. By the time Tarin tracked down the location of the facility that was holding the husband when he had called his wife, the man had been moved to another subfield office. "I had to become a little sleuth," Tarin said, describing the hours he and a paralegal spent on the phone, the numerous false leads, unanswered phones and unreturned messages until the husband, who had been picked up for driving without a license or insurance, was found in Grand Junction, Colorado, held on a $20,000 bond, $10,000 for each infraction. "I argued with the guy, 'This is absurd! Whose policy is this?'" Tarin said the agent's response was, "That's just our policy here."

Rafael Galvez, an attorney in Maine, explained why he would like ICE to release its entire list of subfield office addresses and phone numbers. "If they're detaining someone, I will need to contact the people on the list. If I can advocate on a person's behalf and provide documents, a lot of complications could be avoided."

Cary, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, has a typical subfield office at the rear of CentreWest Commons, an office park adjacent to gated communities, large artificial ponds and an Oxford University Press production plant. ICE's low-lying brick building with a bright blue awning has darkened windows, no sign and no US flag. People in shackles and handcuffs are shuffled in from the rear. The office complex has perhaps twenty other businesses, all of which do have signs. The agents, who are armed, might not wear uniforms and drive their passengers in unmarked, often windowless white vans. Even Dani Martinez-Moore, who lives nearby and coordinates the North Carolina Network of Immigrant Advocates, did not know people were being held there until she read about it on my blog. In late October 2008, Mark Lyttle, then 31, was held in the Cary office for several hours. Lyttle was born in North Carolina, and the FBI file ICE had obtained on him indicated he was a US citizen. Lyttle used his time in the holding tank attempting to persuade the agents who had plucked him out of the medical misdemeanor section of a nearby prison, where he had been held for seventy-three days, not to follow through on the Cary office's earlier decision to ship him to Mexico. Lyttle is cognitively disabled, has bipolar disorder, speaks no Spanish and has no Mexican relatives. In response to his entreaties, a Cary agent "told me to tell it to the judge," Lyttle said. But Lyttle's charging document from the Cary office includes a box checked next to the boilerplate prohibition: "You may not request a review of this determination by an immigration judge."

Lyttle made enough of a fuss at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, that the agents there arranged for him to appear before a judge. But the checked box in the Cary paperwork meant he never heard from the nonprofit Legal Orientation Program attorneys who might have picked up on his situation. William Cassidy, a former ICE prosecutor working for the Executive Office of Immigration Review, ignored Lyttle's pleas and in his capacity as immigration judge signed Lyttle's removal order. According to Lyttle, Cassidy said he had to go by the sworn statements of the ICE officers.

Meanwhile, Lyttle's mother, Jeanne, and his brothers, including two in the Army, were frantically searching for him, even checking the obituaries. They were trying to find Lyttle in the North Carolina prison system, but the trail went cold after he was transferred to ICE custody. Jeanne said, "David showed me the Manila envelope [he sent to the prison]--'Refused'--and we thought Mark had refused it." Jeanne was crying. "We kept trying to find out where he was." It never crossed their minds that Mark might be spending Christmas in a shelter for los deportados on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

ICE spokesman Temple Black first told me the list was "not releasable" and that it was "law enforcement sensitive," but coordinator for community outreach Andrew Lorenzen-Strait e-mailed me a partial list of addresses and no phone numbers. I then obtained a more complete list, including telephone numbers, in response to a FOIA request. That list, received in November and dated September 2009, is about forty locations shy of the 186 subfield offices mentioned in the Schriro report and omits thirty-nine locations listed in an August ICE job announcement seeking applicants for immigration enforcement agents. These include ICE postings in Champlain, New York; Alamosa, Colorado; Pembroke Pines, Florida; and Livermore, California. The anonymous ICE official neither answered questions about why I was sent an incomplete list nor accounted for the disparity in official explanations of the list's confidentiality.

ICE obscures its presence in other ways as well. Everyone knows that detention centers are in sparsely populated areas, but according to Amnesty International's Reynolds, policy director of migrant and refugee rights, "Quite a lot of communities don't know they're detaining thousands of people, because the signs say Service Processing Center," not Detention Center, although the latter designation is used for privately contracted facilities. The ICE e-mail stated that the "service processing" term was first used when the centers were run by the predecessor agency Immigration and Naturalization Service, "because these facilities were used to process aliens for deportation," ignoring the fact that these structures were and are distinctive for confining people and not the Orwellian "processing."

Even the largest complexes, which are usually off side roads from small highways, are visible only if you drive right up to the entrance. Unlike federal prisons, detention centers post no road signs to guide travelers. The anonymous ICE official would not provide a reason for this disparity.

ICE agents are also working in hidden offices in one of the grooviest buildings in one of the hottest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Tommy Kilbride, an ICE detention and removal officer and a star of A&E's reality show Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force, is part of the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force, housed on the third floor of the Chelsea Market, above Fat Witch Bakery and alongside Rachael Ray and the Food Network. Across the street are Craftsteak and Del Posto, both fancy venues for two other Food Network stars, Tom Colicchio and Mario Batali. Above their restaurants are agents working for the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Someone who had been working in that building for about a year said he had heard rumors of FBI agents, though he didn't see one until nine months later when a guy was openly carrying a gun through the lobby. In November, at midday, he saw two men in plain clothes walk a third man in handcuffs through a side-street door behind Craftsteak. "It was weird, creepy," he said, adding that the whole arrangement made him uncomfortable. "I don't like it. It makes you wonder, what are they hiding? Is it for good reasons or bad reasons?"

Natalie Jeremijenko, who lives nearby and is a professor of visual arts at New York University, pointed out the "twisted genius" of hiding federal agents in the "worldwide center of visuality and public space," referring to the galleries and High Line park among these buildings. Jeremijenko was incensed. "For a participatory democracy to work, you need to have real-time visual evidence of what is going on" and not just knowledge by professors who file a FOIA request or even readers of a Nation article.

In response to a question about the absence of signs at subfield offices, the ICE e-mail stated, "ICE attempts to place signs wherever possible, however there are many variables to consider such as shared buildings, law enforcement activities, zoning laws, etc." Except for "law enforcement activities," the reasons did not apply to the facilities listed here, as evidenced by signs on adjacent businesses.

The Obama administration continued to ignore complaints about the LA subfield office known as B-18 until April 1, when Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder, as well as ICE officials, were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center. In September, the parties reached a settlement. The ACLU's Arulanantham said, "I never understood what [ICE] had to gain. The fact that after we filed the suit they completely fixed it makes it more mysterious" as to why their months of earlier negotiation brought few results. At the time of the lawsuit, he said, the nearby Mira Loma Detention Center had space. When I asked if ICE was trying to punish people by bringing them to B-18, Arulanantham said, "No, no one was targeted," adding, "If it were punitive, it would be less disturbing."

Arulanantham's response is, alas, more than fodder for a law school hypothetical about whether intentional or unintentional rights violations are more egregious. In 2006 ICE punished several Iraqi hunger strikers in Virginia--they were protesting being unlawfully held for more than six months after agreeing to deportation--by shuffling them between a variety of different facilities, ensuring that they would not encounter lawyers or be found by loved ones. This went on from weeks to months, according to Brittney Nystrom, senior legal adviser for the National Immigration Forum. "The message was, We're going to make you disappear."

As an alternative to the system of unmarked subfield offices and unaccountable agents, consider the approach of neighborhood police precincts, where dangerous criminals are held every day and police carry out their work in full view of their neighbors. Not only can citizens watch out for strange police actions, and know where to look if a family member is missing; local accountability helps discourage misconduct. ICE agents' persistent flouting of rules and laws is abetted by their ability to scurry back to secret dens, avoiding the scrutiny and resulting inhibitions that arise when law enforcement officers develop relationships with the communities they serve.

Indeed, the jacket Kilbride wears during arrests says POLICE in large letters. Working out of a heretofore secret location--Manhunters has no exterior shots--one that his supervisor had requested I not reveal, gives their operation the trappings of a secret police. An attorney who had a client held in a subfield office said on background, "The president released in January a memorandum about transparency, but that's not happening. He says one thing, but we have these clandestine operations, akin to extraordinary renditions within the United States. They're misguided as to what their true mission is, and they are doing things contrary to the best interests of the country."

The following have been identified as being involved in CIA rendition.

             Aviation Worldwide Services, LLC, sister company to Presidential (see below), both owned by Blackwater, USA Melbourne, FL, mercenaries. 1371 General Aviation Drive, Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida 32935-6310

             Aviation Worldwide Services LLC (AWS) is a sister company to Presidential Airways, Inc., both of which are owned by Blackwater USA, Melbourne, FL. AWS owns the planes, and Presidential Airways operates them. The company appears to provide air services to the CIA - flight records show that its N964BW has made at least two trips to the agency's Camp Peary training facility and N962BW went there in May 2006 Another plane it owns, N968BW, flew from Washington Dulles International Airport to Camp Peary on March 13, 2007.

            Bayard Foreign Marketing LLC is is alleged to have been involved in extraordinary rendition. Bayard is a "phantom company registered in Oregon State since August 2003. 755 Pittock Block, 921 SW Washington Street ,Portland, OR 97205 Located in Multnomah County, OR Plane Registered to Bayard. The following plane was formerly owned by Bayard and was registered to Premier Executive Transport Services, Inc. after December 2004: r-N8068V (now N44982; ex N379P, N581GA) - Gulfstream V - s/n 581 r-N44982 (ex N379P, N8068V, N581GA) - Gulfstream V - s/n 581

            Keeler and Tate Management LLC (AVSPEC) Legal counsel for Keeler and Tate is Streven F. Petersen who is involved in political public relations. Petersen shares an office with Paul D.Laxalt and Frank R. Petersen  The following are identified according to Number, Maker Model, and Serial Number (as of January 2006). r-N313P (now N4476S) - Boeing 737-7ET - s/n 33010 (ex- Premier Executive Transport Services, Inc. r-N4476S (N313P) - Boeing 737-7ET - s/n 33010 (ex-Premier N313P)

            Path Corporation Path's address is that of Barbara-Cherix O’Leay a real estate lawyer. 413 Rehoboth Avenue / PO Box 305, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971, Located in Sussex County, DEThe following planes are registered to Path: N120JM - Fairchild SA227-AT - s/n AT-577 N212CP - Cessna 208B - s/n 208B0531 r-N221SG - Gates Learjet 35A - s/n 182

             Premier Executive Transport Services, Inc. is an aviation contractor. the company had originally been incorporated in Delaware on Jan. 10, 1994. "On Jan. 23, 1996, Dean Plakias, a lawyer with Hill & Plakias in Dedham, Mass., filed incorporation papers with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts listing the company's president as Bryan P. Dyess. According to public documents, Premier Executive ordered a new Gulfstream V in 1998. It was delivered in November 1999 with tail number N581GA, and re-registered in March 2000 with a new tail number, N379P. It began flights in June 2000, and changed the tail number again in December 2003."

             Presidential Airways, Inc. is a sister company to  Aviation Worldwide Services, LLC  (AWS), both of which are owned by Blackwater, USA  Melbourne, FL.

            S&K Aviation, LLC is involved in Extraodrinary Rendition S&K was "first registered in Florida in December 2003 and is an active company with a registered agent."

            Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA, a subsidiary of  Wells Fargo & Company, is Trustee for the aircraft N168BF, a Raytheon Hawker 800XP with Serial # 258373.

            Rapid Air Transportation, Inc. Planes Registered to Rapid Air 10606 Baltimore Avenue ,Suite 300 , Beltsville, Prince George's County,  MD 20705-2131Rapid is the registered owner of the following planes. However, they are operated by Tepper Aviation, Inc. N2189MLockheed 382G-44K-30 - s/n 4582, N4557C Lockheed 382G-44K-30 - s/n 5027, N8193J Lockheed 382G-44K-30 - s/n 4796

             Stevens Leasing, Inc. Stevens was incorporated by Mark E. Klass (see Devon Holding & Leasing, Inc.), who is now a judge in Lexington, NC. 8130 Country Village Drive, Suite 101 Cordova, TN 38016  Located in Shelby County, TN.Planes Registered to Stevens N173S - Beech B300 - s/n FM-4 N845S - Douglas DC3 - s/n 25509 (43-48248)  N4009L - Raytheon B300C - s/n FM-9 N4042J - Beech B200 - s/n BB-874

            Tepper Aviation, Inc. is based at the Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview, Florida. The company has a long association with the CIA. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was widely reported to be flying weapons into Angola to arm the UNITA rebels. More recently, it has been linked with the practice of extraordinary rendition.  Tepper is closely connected  with Crestview Aerospace Corporation: it shares the same address, and Charles R. Shanklin is a director of both companies. Additionally, Tepper director Jack E. Owen was President of Crestview Aerospace until 2001. Tepper uses a Hercules aircraft, with the registration N3867X.

Biggest Losers: Where Americans Aren't Moving

December 24, 2009

by Les Christie

CNNMoney.com

             Through most of the decade Florida was one of the fastest growing states. But the sunny clime -- and 6 others -- lost more residents than they gained in the year ended July 1.

1. California

Net loss: 98,798 residents

            For years more people have fled the Golden State than have arrived. In the year ended July 1, California was the country's biggest loser, with nearly 100,000 more residents leaving than moving in. Still, that was an improvement over earlier losses: In 2006 the net decline was 313,081.

            Much of that improvement came from the housing bubble bursting. Homes became harder to sell as thousands of foreclosures sat on the market. As a result, many Californians stayed on rather than sell their homes at a loss.

             Mobility in the weak economy has declined in general, according to demographer Greg Harper of the Census Bureau. There's no point in moving to find work if few jobs are available in most parts of the country.

2. New York

Net loss: 98,178 residents

            Like California, New York is, historically, a major exporter of it citizens. The state depends upon foreign migration for its population growth. But also like California, New York's out-migration eased in the year ended July 1.

            In 2006, nearly a quarter million more people left the state than moved in, two and a half times the 2009 total.

            The state has not gone through the same housing crisis that engulfed bubble states. The unemployment rate is lower than the nation as a whole and foreclosure problems have been relatively minor.

            Still, New York is the decade's biggest loser: The state a total of 1,686,583 residents, more than anywhere else.

3. Michigan

Net loss: 87,339 residents

            Not only is Michigan third highest in the nation for net migration losses, it also has this dubious distinction: 0.88% of the Great Lakes State's nearly 10 million residents left last year, the highest ratio in the nation.

            The big problem, of course, is the ailing auto industry. Michigan's unemployment rate was the highest in the county in November, at 14.7%.

4. Illinois

Net loss: 48,249 residents

            Illinois has a more diversified economy than Michigan, but it still is a major industrial producer and many of its factories, especially those serving the auto industry, have gone idle recently.

             Residents leaving to seek work elsewhere and other migrants out-totaled those who moved in by nearly 50,000. That represents a steady, continuing pattern for Illinois: Net losses have prevailed throughout the decade. The difference between in-migrants and out peaked in 2006 at near 85,000.

5. Ohio

Net loss: 36,278 residents

            Ohio is another Rust Belt state going through economic turmoil, much of it tied to the auto industry. More than 368,000 have left the state than moved in during the last decade.

            The Buckeye State's worst year was also 2006, when 45,000 more people left than arrived. Since that year unemployment has worsened -- it stood at about 10.6% in November, just over the national average -- but residents were forced to stay put. With unemployment up all over the country, out-of-work Ohioans have had to hunker down and wait for a rebound.

Senate bill could hurt insurers at least initially

December 25, 2009

by Tom Murphy 

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Health insurers get some big presents in the Senate's health overhaul bill — about 20 million new customers and no competition from a new government plan.

Taking advantage of those boons might take some time, though.

The bill imposes hefty new taxes and coverage rules that will pinch insurers by forcing them to cover more sick people without gaining enough healthy, lower-cost customers, industry insiders say. The industry is also worried the bill doesn't do enough to control health care costs.

It's a matter of figuring out how to make those new customers profitable, analysts say.

"There's opportunity," Miller Tabak analyst Les Funtleyder said. "Where the rubber meets the road is can you access that opportunity? At least some of them will figure out how to do it."

The Senate bill is much more favorable to insurers than a similar bill passed in the House that contains a government-run option for consumers seeking individual insurance, something insurers have fought hard. They worry that a government-run plan that sets rates below market prices would pose unfair competition.

Though the Senate bill still has to be reconciled with the House bill, most observers believe the government-run plan, often called a "public option," will disappear because it lacks Senate support.

Both bills call for the creation of insurance exchanges that help people buy coverage. Insurers likely will lose money on business from those exchanges, said Robert Laszewski, a former insurance executive and president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, a Virginia-based health care consultant.

It's a tradeoff: People without insurance would be required to buy it — in some cases, subsidies will help them pay for it — or face fines if they don't. Insurers, in turn, would no longer be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or cancer.

But the proposed fines are too weak and the subsidies too meager to truly motivate people to buy insurance, Laszewski said. This means the people most motivated to buy coverage through these exchanges will be those who already have health problems — who are money losers for insurers.

Insurers need a mix of healthy people enrolled in their coverage to help balance out claims they pay for patients who use more insurance.

The Senate bill calls for fines for people who do not purchase coverage and are not exempt from a mandate to buy it. They start at $95 in 2014 and rise to $750 by 2016.

That's a lot more affordable than what some people would pay for insurance. A sliding scale of subsidies will help people or families with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or $88,200 for a family of four this year. But a family of four with income of $65,000 would still have to pay nearly 10 percent of that income, or $6,500, toward coverage.

"There aren't a lot of families with an extra $6,500 in their checking account," Laszewski said. "The problem with this bill is the subsidies are really quite modest, and there really aren't any penalties."

An ideal bill for insurers, he said, would pair better subsidies for the uninsured with higher penalties that motivate people to buy coverage and get more healthy people into the risk pools.

The Senate bill hurts managed care companies in other ways. Insurers use a person's age and other variables to figure out the price of an individual insurance policy. Older people often have to pay more because they tend to generate more claims. But the Senate bill limits how much more insurers can charge for older customers.

That means people under age 30 likely will see a "substantial increase" in the cost of a policy — making them less inclined to buy insurance — while older people will see a smaller decrease, said Brad Fluegel, chief strategy and external affairs officer for WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest health insurer based on membership.

The Senate bill also calls for the industry to pay annual fees for the plan that start at $2 billion in 2011 and increase to $10 billion by 2017. Analysts say costs like these will be passed to consumers because insurers want to protect profit margins, which are generally thinner than other health care companies like drugmakers.

"I think we're going to be discussing health care reform continuously for the next several years as we try to fix all the things that are broken with this existing bill," Fluegel said.

Added up, insurers say the bill would mean higher premiums for consumers and likely for employers who buy coverage. And that's on top of hikes spurred by rising medical care.

The stock market no longer seems worried. Shares of the five largest managed care companies have risen more than 120 percent, on average, since they bottomed out in early March. In contrast, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased about 63 percent over the same span.

Investors had big worries when the debate picked up steam last spring, but stocks started climbing as they realized "doomsday scenarios" such as a government takeover would not happen, Funtleyder said.

He thinks insurers will learn to live with the overhaul and eventually benefit from it. They should be able to adjust their prices to accommodate taxes, fees and the new regulations once they understand the claims their exchange customers will generate.

"It's kind of tricky, at least in the beginning."

The US Military is 'Exhausted'

December 26, 2009

by Sarah Lazare

Al-Jazeera

The call for over 30,000 more troops to be sent to Afghanistan is a travesty for the people of that country who have already suffered eight brutal years of occupation.

It is also a harsh blow to the US soldiers facing imminent deployment.

As Barack Obama, the US president, gears up for a further escalation that will bring the total number of troops in Afghanistan to over 100,000, he faces a military force that has been exhausted and overextended by fighting two wars.

Many from within the ranks are openly declaring that they have had enough, allying with anti-war veterans and activists in calling for an end to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with some active duty soldiers publicly refusing to deploy.

This growing movement of military refusers is a voice of sanity in a country slipping deeper into unending war.

"They shifted me from one war to the next": Eddie Falcon, Iraq and Afghanistan veteran

The architects of this war would be well-advised to listen to the concerns of the soldiers and veterans tasked with carrying out their war policies on the ground.

Many of those being deployed have already faced multiple deployments to combat zones: the 101st Airborne Division, which will be deployed to Afghanistan in early 2010, faces its fifth combat tour since 2002.

"They are just going to start moving the soldiers who already served in Iraq to Afghanistan, just like they shifted me from one war to the next," said Eddie Falcon, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Soldiers are going to start coming back with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), missing limbs, problems with alcohol, and depression."

Many of these troops are still suffering the mental and physical fallout from previous deployments.

Rates of PTSD and traumatic brain injury among troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have been disproportionately high, with a third of returning troops reporting mental problems and 18.5 per cent of all returning service members battling either PTSD or depression, according to a study by the Rand Corporation.

Marine suicides doubled between 2006 and 2007, and army suicides are at the highest rate since records were kept in 1980.

Resistance in the ranks

US army soldiers are refusing to serve at the highest rate since 1980, with an 80 per cent increase in desertions since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to the Associated Press.

These troops refuse deployment for a variety of reasons: some because they ethically oppose the wars, some because they have had a negative experience with the military, and some because they cannot psychologically survive another deployment, having fallen victim to what has been termed "Broken Joe" syndrome.

Over 150 GIs have publicly refused service and spoken out against the wars, all risking prison and some serving long sentences, and an estimated 250 US war resisters are currently taking refuge in Canada.

This resistance includes two Fort Hood, Texas, soldiers, Victor Agosto and Travis Bishop, who publicly resisted deployment to Afghanistan this year, facing prison sentences as a result, with Bishop still currently detained.

"There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan," wrote Agosto, upon refusing his service last May. "The occupation is immoral and unjust."

Within the US military, GI resisters and anti-war veterans have organised through broad networks of veteran and civilian alliances, as well as through IVAW, comprised of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

This organisation, which is over 1,700 strong, with members across the world, including active-duty members on military bases, is opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and openly supports GI resistance.

"Iraq Veterans Against the War calls on Obama to end the war in Afghanistan (and Iraq) by withdrawing troops immediately and unconditionally," wrote Jose Vasquez, the executive director of IVAW, in a December 2 open letter.

"It's not time for our brothers and sisters in arms to go to Afghanistan. It's time for them to come home."

No clear progress

GI coffee houses have sprung up at several military bases around the country. In the tradition of the GI coffee houses of the Vietnam war era, these cafes provide a space where active duty troops can speak freely and access resources about military refusal, PTSD, and veteran and GI movements against the war.

"Here at Fort Lewis, we've lost 20 soldiers from the most recent round of deployments," said Seth Menzel, an Iraq combat veteran and founding organiser of Coffee Strong, a GI coffee house at the sprawling Washington army base.

"We've seen resistance to deployment, mainly based on the fact that soldiers have been deployed so many times they don't have the patience to do it again."

As the occupation of Afghanistan passes its eighth year, with no clear progress, goals that remain elusive, and a high civilian death count, this war is coming to resemble the Iraq war that has been roundly condemned by world and US public opinion.

The never-ending nature of this conflict belies the real project of establishing US dominance in the Middle East and control of the region's resources, at the expense of the Afghan civilians and US soldiers being placed in harm's way.

The voices of refusal coming from within the US military send a powerful message that soldiers will not be fodder for an unjust and unnecessary war. By withdrawing their labour from a war that depends on their consent, these soldiers have the power to help bring this war to an end, as did their predecessors in the GI resistance movement against the Vietnam war.

And the longer the war in Afghanistan drags on - the more lives that are lost and destroyed - the more resistance we will see coming from within the ranks.

Sarah Lazare is an anti-militarist and GI resistance organiser with Dialogues Against Militarism and Courage to Resist. She is interested in connecting struggles for justice at home with global movements against war and empire.

Obama's troubles are at their most desperate in Afghanistan

Lacklustre deals on health and climate will soon be eclipsed by the absurdity of his promise to bring troops home by July 2011

December 27, 2009

by Michael Crowley

New Republic

            On a mild mid-December morning, the chairman of US joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, strolled through a humble market in Nawa. Mullen was in the heart of Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold where US marines have spent months fighting – and dying – to pacify. Just a few months earlier, Nawa's market was nearly abandoned. But this past summer, a marine operation cleared the area. Now the place is safe enough that even America's top-ranking military officer was able to sample its market wares – everything from soda pop and candy to shampoo and bananas – without wearing a flak jacket.

Admittedly, that was possible only because Mullen was flanked by a fearsome contingent of rifle-bearing combat troops. But, speaking to reporters, he said the American presence in the area was focused on building up Afghan security forces so they can handle security for themselves. "The plan for all of us is to transition security to the local forces," Mullen said. "I am confident the Afghan national security forces will be able to do this job."

This was in keeping with the vision Barack Obama offered in his 1 December speech announcing 30,000 more troops for Afghanistan. Along with those troops – and another 7,000 from Nato – came a pledge to start transferring security duties to the Afghans and begin withdrawing US forces by July 2011. That raised the hope that an end to America's eight-year entanglement with Afghanistan might be in view. For Europe, where doubts about the war run even higher than in the States, that day can't come soon enough, a point underscored when Mullen visited French troops stationed near Kabul. "I'm reminded in particular of the 10 [French] soldiers that were lost out here about a year ago," he said.

But a few days of travel in the country offers a different view. Consider the perspective of Brigadier General Maharuddin Ghori, commander of Afghan forces around Nawa. He told reporters it may be five years before Afghan troops can assume security duties from the Americans. (An off-message Afghan President Hamid Karzai said much the same earlier this month, standing alongside an unhappy US defence secretary Robert Gates in Kabul.) If he's right – and there is ample reason to think so – then Obama has to make a choice. He can mount a quick surge in Afghanistan and leave. Or he can commit America to staying until the Afghans can defend themselves from the Taliban. But he can't do both. And neither option will make his difficult presidency any easier.

After nearly a year in office, Obama is a bruised figure. His once luminous approval ratings have dimmed. Unemployment is stuck above 10%. A kind of psychosis grips segments of the US polity, fuelled by demagogues such as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. And 2010 may be no easier. Obama won a vague international commitment on climate change in Copenhagen this month, but passing substantive cap-and-trade legislation through Congress next year will be politically treacherous, if it can be done at all. Yes, he won his healthcare reform vote last week, but dissent on both left and right has turned public opinion against the measure, possibly granting him a pyrrhic victory. (The bill's passage is still not guaranteed, moreover.) With Obama's party poised for severe losses in next year's midterm elections, it's little wonder several vulnerable House Democrats have announced their retirements this year rather than face an angry electorate.

And now comes the Afghanistan escalation. Obama can look forward to spending much of 2010 explaining bad news to an already sceptical America. More troops and a harder fight against the Taliban will surely bring more casualties. "I think 2010 will be a pretty violent year," Mullen said earlier this month. An expensive one, too. To fund continued operations in Afghanistan, Obama may ask Congress for close to $100bn in spending. Simply getting that money will be a political struggle; even the Democratic speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has said Obama will have to lobby House members himself, because she refuses to do it.

But for Obama's surge to succeed, the money will be needed. As Mullen crisscrossed Afghanistan to survey the war effort, the sheer scale of the place became astoundingly clear. On Tuesday he was flying by Black Hawk helicopter east from Kabul across snow-covered peaks into the eastern province of Paktika. On Thursday, he was hundreds of miles away, choppering across the Mars-like red desert of southern Kandahar province en route to Nawa. Larger than Iraq, Afghanistan presents a new array of logistical as well as tactical challenges.

It is also a place in extreme need. Everywhere Mullen went, Afghans asked for more US help. In the Mata Khan district of Paktika, a tribal elder complained to the grave-faced general about the lack of jobs for young men and said he needed help with education and improving production of onions and potatoes. Mullen wasn't making specific promises but said: "I would just re-emphasise the commitment that we have." His message: America would not abandon places like Mata Khan.

Talk of America's long-term commitment may not be what antiwar liberals want to hear. But in the days after Obama's speech, his senior cabinet officials made it clear that the notion of major withdrawals in July 2011 was more rhetoric than reality. "I do not believe we have locked ourselves into leaving," secretary of state Hillary Clinton testified just a couple of days later. Gates went further, suggesting that Obama could reconsider the deadline altogether. "We're not just going to throw these guys into the swimming pool and walk away," explained the influential secretary of defence.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen struck the same note in Kabul last week: "I know some are wondering how long international forces will stay; they are worried we will leave too soon," he said. "Let there be no doubt – the international community will stand with you and help in rebuilding your country until you are ready to stand on your own and ensure that terrorism will never take root again."

The July 2011 deadline grew all the more dubious after David Rodriguez, the second-ranking US commander in Afghanistan, told reporters it would likely take nine to 11 months for the entire contingent of 30,000 new troops to be in place. (The White House had suggested that the surge could nearly be completed within six months.)

If that timeline is correct, the top US commander in Iraq, Stanley McChrystal, won't be operating at maximum capacity until August at the earliest and possibly as late as October 2010. That leaves him less than a year to break the Taliban's momentum and train up Afghan forces before July 2011 – almost surely not enough time to make the Afghans self-sufficient.

Strategic thinkers in Washington, like Clinton and Gates, understand this. But US public patience with this war is wearing thin. And given the difficulties Obama has faced on healthcare, the economy and global warming, this is not a president with capital to burn.

Come 2011, Obama may have to concede that his timeline was optimistic, that no significant drawdown can begin without "throwing these guys into the swimming pool". That will mean asking more money and lives of a fatigued public. Or, he may conclude that the gains of a long investment in Afghanistan are outweighed by the cost and the threat to his prospects of a second term in the White House. That may require admitting a measure of failure in Afghanistan.

Perhaps that's what Mullen was thinking when a reporter asked what worries him most about the war effort. "It's just the clock," Mullen replied. "Can we move as fast as we need to?" Or, he might have said, as fast as his embattled president requires.

Michael Crowley is a senior editor at New Republic

The Afghan/Iraq Death Toll: December 13

December 22, 2009

by Brian Harring

December 2, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Pfc. Derrick D. Gwaltney, 21, of Cape Coral, Fla., died Nov. 29 south of Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.

            The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Lance Cpl. Jonathan A. Taylor, 22, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Dec. 1 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

December 4, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Sgt. Kenneth R. Nichols Jr., 28, of Chrisman, Ill., died Dec. 1 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires.  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

            DOD Announces Afghanistan Force Deployment

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13167

            The Department of Defense today announced the deployment of approximately 16,000 additional forces to Afghanistan, the initial elements of the 30,000 troops authorized by President Obama on Nov. 30. An infantry battalion task force, with approximately 1,500 Marines, from Camp Lejeune, N.C., will deploy later this month. Regimental Combat Team-2, headquartered at Camp Lejuene, N.C., will deploy approximately 6,200 Marines in early spring 2010. A Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) headquarters from I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif., will deploy approximately 800 Marines in spring 2010.

A Brigade Combat Team (BCT), with approximately 3,400 soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. will deploy in early spring 2010 to conduct a training mission.

             Secretary Gates also approved the deployment of approximately 4,100 support forces, which will deploy at various times into spring 2010.

            DoD will continue to announce major unit deployments as they are approved

December 9, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Sgt. Elijah J. Rao, 26, of Lake Oswego, Ore., died Dec. 5 in Nuristan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

December 10, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

             Cpl. Xhacob Latorre, 21, of Waterbury, Conn., died Dec. 8 of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen, 31, of Panama City, Fla., died Dec. 7 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit Dec. 3 with an improvised explosive device in Logar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

December 11, 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Ralph Anthony Webb Frietas, 23, of Detroit, Mich., died Dec 8. as a result of unknown causes in Baghdad. He was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

The incident is under investigation.

December 14, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Pfc. Jaiciae L. Pauley, 29, of Austell, Ga., died Dec. 11 in Kirkuk, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

            The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Pvt. Jhanner A. Tello, 29, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Dec. 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 3rd Aviation Support Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

            The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

December 16, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Tech. Sgt. Anthony C. Campbell Jr., 35, of Florence, Ky., died Dec. 15 of wounds suffered from the detonation of an improvised explosive device in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.  Campbell was assigned to the 932nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

December 22, 2990

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Serge Kropov, 21, of Hawley, Pa., died Dec. 20 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.

This incident is under investigation.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Albert D. Ware, 27, of Chicago, Ill., died Dec. 18 in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 782^nd Combat Support Battalion, 4^th Brigade Combat Team, 82^nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

December 24, 2009

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Lance Cpl. Omar G. Roebuck, 23, of Moreno Valley, Calif., died Dec. 22, as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.