US Forces “Volunteer” to Leave Iraq

It’s interesting to live through the times of American occupation of Iraq.  What the Bush Administration sees as a necessary move, not without its faults, that has eventually led to a nascent democracy, is nothing short of tragically comic.  What we see as “giving peace in the Middle East a chance” will in future history [...]

Underground Warblogging

Warblogging died in 2006.  It died when the military and US government decided that ANY servicemember’s content online must be approved through the chain of command, AFTER informing the command that that content MAY exist. (i.e. registering one’s blog even without posting content to it)
The message coming out of Iraq was warped after this decision.  [...]

How Bush and Obama Have Shaped My Last Eight Years

Thankfully, the eight years of Bush rule are almost over.  It has been a dark period for the American soul, spirit, and Dream.  Here is a synopsis of the Bush presidency years as seen through my life, documented through my web site and blog.
Pre-Dubya
In 2000, my mind certainly wasn’t thinking about international terrorism, financial crises, [...]

Bob Baer on “Fresh Air”

My mom and a classmate recommended that I listen to Baer speak on NPR. It’s a long interview, but well worth it. Listen here.
He talks mainly about Iran but it has implications in a lot of different areas. A lot of what Baer said challenged what I thought about what’s going on [...]

Michael Ware on Iraq

Michael Ware, perhaps one of the best journalists covering the Iraq occupation, explains what’s going on right now.  By the way, his US-led Sunni execution squads may be part of what Bob Woodward provocatively suggested when he said the US has new techniques for hunting Al-Qaeda.

Privatization of the Military

I’m reading about Donald Rumsfeld’s declaration of war on the Pentagon that he issued on September 10th, 2001. He basically said he was going to gut the military and outsource everything to contractors.
Now this is interesting because I realize now that all these weird things I witnessed while in the Army were weird precisely [...]

Iraq, December 2005

[old; written in December obviously]
It is now December of 2005, a week before another election of Iraqi officials takes place. The Administration has begun making concessions towards removing troops from Iraq — other countries are planning on withdrawing from the mission soon if they haven’t already. There’s nothing for most other countries to [...]

February Plans

When I get home (soon), I’m going to be over-hauling my web site. A lot will change for the better, offering a more distilled, pure version of benturner.com. I have a lot of new ideas for content. Most significantly, much of what comprises benturner.com will be made private; I’m building a private side and making [...]

Happy Holidays from Iraq

Well, it’s the month of Happy Holidays, so from Iraq (or not-Iraq, where I am, named for the complete lack of evidence in this base that I AM in Iraq), best wishes to you and yours this giving season! I wish I were back home with Julie and my family, enjoying a hot Christmas dinner, [...]