Tony Blair is today accused of “disgraceful hand-washing” in Iraq by a former British Army chief, the latest attack on the Government by an increasingly outspoken military.

General Sir Michael Rose, the former commander of British troops in Bosnia, accuses the Prime Minister of putting British soldiers at “considerable and quite unnecessary risk” in Iraq, in an article for today’s Independent on Sunday.

His remarks follow those of the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, and of the Army’s commander in Iraq, Major General Richard Shirreff.

Maj-Gen Shirreff said on Wednesday that a “generation of underfunding and neglect in political terms” was undermining soldiers’ capacity to protect themselves. His remarks follow those of General Dannatt’s pledge to “stand up for what is right” for the troops.

In his article, Sir Michael says it is “tremendously heartening” for soldiers to see their “present bosses standing up for them”. (more…)

The Bush administration is considering an increase in troop levels in Iraq of 17,000 to 20,000, which would be accomplished in part by delaying the departure of two Marine regiments now deployed in Anbar Province, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

The option was among those discussed in Crawford, Tex., on Thursday as President Bush met there with his national security team, and it has emerged as a likely course as he considers a strategy shift in Iraq, the officials said.

Most of the additional troops would probably be employed in and around Baghdad, the officials said.

With the continuing high levels of violence there, senior officials increasingly say additional American forces will be needed as soon as possible to clear neighborhoods and to conduct other combat operations to regain control of the capital, rather than primarily to train Iraqi forces. (more…)

China said Friday it will strengthen its military to thwart any attempt by Taiwan to push for independence, but vowed that it was committed to the peaceful development of the world’s largest army.

A report issued by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, also said the country’s defense policy will focus on protecting its borders and sea space, cracking down on terrorism and modernizing its weapons.

“China will not engage in any arms race or pose a military threat to any other country,” the 91-page white paper said. “China is determined to remain a staunch force for global peace, security and stability.”

The communist nation’s 2.3 million-strong military is the world’s largest but has been criticized for its lack of transparency about its buildup.

Its reported 2006 budget is $35 billion, but analysts believe the true figure, which doesn’t include weapons purchases and other key items, is several times higher. By comparison, President Bush has signed a bill authorizing $532 billion in defense spending for the 2007 fiscal year that began Oct. 1. (more…)

BEIJING — Chinese president and commander-in-chief Hu Jintao urged the building of a powerful navy that is prepared “at any time” for military struggle, state media reported on Thursday.

At a meeting of delegates to a Communist Party meeting of the navy on Wednesday, Hu said China, whose military build-up has been a source of friction with the United States, was a major maritime country whose naval capability must be improved.

“We should strive to build a powerful navy that adapts to the needs of our military’s historical mission in this new century and at this new stage,” he said in comments splashed on the front pages of the party mouthpiece People’s Daily and the People’s Liberation Army Daily. “We should make sound preparations for military struggles and ensure that the forces can effectively carry out missions at any time,” said Hu, pictured in green military garb for the occasion.

China’s naval expansion includes a growing submarine fleet and new ships with “blue water” capability, fuelling fears in the United States that its military could alter the balance of power in Asia with consequences for Taiwan. (more…)

WASHINGTON — En route home from the Persian Gulf on a military supply ship in 2003, merchant seaman James Francis and his mates got an ultimatum: Take anthrax and smallpox vaccinations or lose your jobs.

Francis’ Seattle attorney, Russell Williams, described the shipboard scene the next day off the isle of Crete as: “Wham, bam. ‘Get in line. Take your shots.’”

Within days of taking the two shots, Francis’ feet began to tingle and burn. When he later took the second in a series of six anthrax shots, his health slid downhill. Since then, the 45-year-old messmate from Las Vegas has fought a rare nervous system disease known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, along with chronic pain, pneumonia and a life-threatening blood clot. (more…)

WASHINGTON — The Selective Service System is making plans to test its draft machinery in case Congress and President Bush need it, even though the White House says it doesn’t want to bring back the draft.

The agency is planning a comprehensive test - not run since 1998 - of its military draft systems, a Selective Service official said. The test itself would not likely occur until 2009.

Scott Campbell, the service’s director for operations and chief information officer, cautioned that the “readiness exercise” does not mean the agency is gearing up to resume the draft.

“We’re kind of like a fire extinguisher. We sit on a shelf,” Campbell told The Associated Press. “Unless the president and Congress get together and say, ‘Turn the machine on’ … we’re still on the shelf.” (more…)

The United States and Britain will begin moving additional warships and strike aircraft into the Persian Gulf region in a display of military resolve toward Iran that will come as the United Nations continues to debate possible sanctions against the country, Pentagon and military officials said Wednesday.

The officials said that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was expected this week to approve a request by commanders for a second aircraft carrier and its supporting ships to be stationed within quick sailing distance of Iran by early next year.

Senior American officers said the increase in naval power should not be viewed as preparations for any offensive strike against Iran. But they acknowledged that the ability to hit Iran would be increased and that Iranian leaders might well call the growing presence provocative. One purpose of the deployment, they said, is to make clear that the focus on ground troops in Iraq has not made it impossible for the United States and its allies to maintain a military watch on Iran. That would also reassure Washington’s allies in the region who are concerned about Iran’s intentions. (more…)

I’ll give you a hint - it won’t be at The Ritz.

[T]he administration is preparing plans to bolster the nation’s permanent active-duty military with as many as 70,000 additional troops.

But, WHERE will they come from???

The government doesn’t have very many options.

Support for the war, especially in Iraq, is at an all time low, they can’t reinstitute the draft, or they might have a domestic revolution on their hands, and there are only so many desperate young men who are willing to risk their lives for a few bucks and a college education.

But, thanks to persistent inflation, relentless job cuts, and other benefits and perks of globalization, there ARE increasing numbers of desperate young single mothers, who will do anything to support their children. (more…)

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon wants the White House to seek an additional $99.7 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to information provided to The Associated Press.

The military’s request, if embraced by President Bush and approved by Congress, would boost this year’s budget for those wars to about $170 billion.

Military planners assembled the proposal at a time when Bush is developing new strategies for Iraq, such as sending thousands of more U.S. troops there, although it was put together before the president said the troop surge was under consideration.

Overall, the war in Iraq has cost about $350 billion. Combined with the conflict in Afghanistan and operations against terrorism elsewhere, the cost has topped $500 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. (more…)

Some support coach of Saint John Sea Dogs; others defend young Quebecer’s freedom of expression

A junior hockey player has been ousted from the Saint John Sea Dogs after he did not sign a Canadian flag that the team was sending to troops in Afghanistan.

Dave Bouchard — a 20-year-old from Jonquière, Que., who played left wing on the Quebec Major Junior team — said he thought someone else had already signed his name.

But Sea Dogs coach Jacques Beaulieu said he did not accept that explanation and cut him from the team after Saturday’s game.

“Morally, we have standards with this hockey team and that’s a standard that we believe in,” Beaulieu told CBC News Monday. (more…)

WASHINGTON — President Bush said on Tuesday he plans to expand the size of the U.S. military to deal with the long-term fight against terrorism, days after the Army said it needed to grow, The Washington Post reported on its Web site.

Bush, who gave an interview to the newspaper on Tuesday, said he had instructed new Defense Secretary Robert Gates to report back to him with a plan to increase ground forces, the Post said.

“I’m inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops — the Army, the Marines,” Bush said according to the Post. “And I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea.” (more…)

The U.S. military is “planning a major buildup” of its naval forces in the Persian Gulf region “as a warning to Iran,” reports CBS News, as quoted by Reuters.

A senior official in the Department of Defense said “the report was ‘premature’ and appeared to be drawing ‘conclusions from assumptions,’” according to Reuters. The Pentagon declined comment, but an additional Defense official described the report as “speculative.”

CBS said that “the buildup … was not aimed at an attack on Iran but to discourage what U.S. officials view as increasingly provocative acts by Tehran.” (more…)

WASHINGTON — Suicides among U.S. soldiers in Iraq doubled last year over the previous year to return to a level seen in 2003, U.S. Army medical experts said on Tuesday.

Twenty-two U.S. soldiers in Iraq took their own lives in 2005, a rate of 19.9 per 100,000 soldiers. In 2004, the rate was 10.5 per 100,000 and in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the figure was 18.8 per 100,000.

The figures cover U.S. Army soldiers only. They do not include members of other U.S. military services in Iraq such as the Marine Corps. (more…)

Video Shows McVeigh was in military receiving instruction in “explosives and demolition” over a year after official story says he was discharged, whistleblower harassed for years while unknowingly in possession of bombshell tape

NEW COMPARISON PHOTOS

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A video that shows Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh at a U.S. military base that specializes in explosives and demolition training over a year after he supposedly left the army puts the official story of the April 19 1995 federal building bombing under serious doubt and mandates a re-opening of an investigation into the terror attack that killed 168 people. (more…)

Some kept visiting schools for 3 years after FBI caught them on tape

A Midtown strip mall that should have housed the best of the best served as Corruption Central in Tucson.

Two military recruiting stations sit side-by-side there, one run by the Army, the other by the Marines. Between them, a total of seven recruiters were on the take, secretly accepting bribes to transport cocaine, even as most spent their days visiting local high schools.

They had help from several more recruiters at an Army National Guard office, where one recruiter was said to be selling cocaine from the trunk of his recruiting vehicle.

Together, these dozen or so recruiters formed the nucleus of one of the FBI’s biggest public corruption cases, the sting known as Operation Lively Green, which unfolded in Southern Arizona from 2002-2004 and was made public last year. (more…)