DOD US Military Casualties in Afghanistan as of 29 June 2012

 With the crisis in Syria, the uncertainty in Egypt and the Middle East overall, Afghanistan has once again been placed on the back burner of the national media.  Add to that the Affordable Health Care Act decision, the decision on the Arizona law and the 2012 election in  general it is easy to put Afghanistan out of mind. Nonetheless, 125 US soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan this year, 37 this month alone. 

Despite the crisis in the Eurozone, European countries have focused on the beautiful game, which has now progressed to a competition between two nations, Spain and Italy, to be decided in Kiev, Ukraine on Sunday.  Sports is s great diversion from the troubles of every day life, but it doesn't change the reality.  While European leaders may have bought themselves a little more time, the Eurozone troubles are far from being solved. 

In the U.S. no major decisions can be expected for the next six months, as both President Obama and Mitt Romney are in full election mode.  With insane amounts being spend on re-election, which should give pause to voters alone, no one is prepared to make the hard decisions that might put the economy on the right track.  A divided country deals with talking points on both sides, which do not reflect reality. 

While it's easy to forget our men and women in Afghanistan, with wildfires in Colorado and every day challenges of a heat wave all along the east coast, take a moment and remember the men and women in Afghanistan, Lest We Forget.


Roll of Casualties

Below are this week’s updated DoD casualty figures:

Op Enduring Freedom                  Total Deaths       KIA   Non Hostile              WIA

Afghanistan Only                                   1900               1577        323                     16584
Other Locations                                        114                   12        102
 DoD Civ Casualties                                     3                     1            2
Worldwide Total                                     2017               1590         427                    16584

Accumulated 2012 Casualties:

KIA            Non Combat Deaths             WIA

  125                            55                              956

Requests for Black Soldiers Arlington Burial Go Unanswered

This story is an updated account of a soldier that was part of Patton's Army.  Theodore Lovejoy passed away in 1993, having suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alzheimer's Disease.   His daughter Joan Flowers, an actress in the Chicago area, was promised a funeral for her father at Arlington National Cemetery, however the promise was never fulfilled.   Today Theodore Lovejoy rests at Mount Glenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave.

After 19 years of begging and pleading with politicians to fulfill the original promise made by the Clinton Administration, unfortunately, Joan Flower is still waiting to get a simple request granted to have her father, Theodore Lovejoy, buried at Arlington cemetery.  To add insult to injury, Joan Flowers, has asked her representatives and Senators from Chicago to approach President Obama, but it hasn't happened.  She has been getting the run around, while others had their request approved by pleading to Speaker John Boehner, who took the request to President Obama and were buried at Arlington within three weeks.

For the past three years Joan Flowers has taken to twitter pleading basically with the world to have her soldier dad buried.  All of it without result to this point.

Joan's e-mail account to me on her discussions with Senator DickDurban's office (Please note that Joan is visually impaired, thus the account in capital letters):

OH YES I DID GET SOMETHING FROM MY SENATOR DICK DURBIN!!!!

APRIL 27TH HIS OFFICE ASSIT "JAKE" HUNG UP PHONE & NEVER CALLED BACK!!!

I CALLED BACK & "CHRISTOPHER" NEVER APOLOGIZED FOR "JAKE"

& HAD ME TELL STORY ALL OVER AGIAN AFTER 1 YEAR & 3 MOS

OF ASKING WHY SEN DICK DURBIN DID NOT GO TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

FOR MY SOLIDER DAD AS SEN JOHN BOEHNER & SEN JAY ROCKERFELLER

DID IN 2011 FOR SOLIDR "COLONEL FRANK BUCKLES" OF WW 1

WHOSE DAUGHTER SAID 'SHE WANTED THE HIGHEST HONOR" FOR HER

SOLDIER DAD & HE WAS BURIED IN 3 WEEKS TIE & OBAMA SPOKE AT HIS

FUNERAL!!!! HE COULD DO THE SAME & I KEEP ASKING HIS TEENAGE

WORKERS & NEVER GOT SEN DURBIN HIMSELF!!! I DID NOT CALL HIS

WASHINGTON OFFICE BACK TO TELL THEM OF BAD TREATMENT ONCE AGAIN

I JUST DID NOT FEEL LIKE IT AGAIN!!!

Joan also found it offensive that she received a request to donate to the Obama for America campaign in an e-mail by Sarah Jessica Parker.  

I WAS ASKED FOR A DONATION SO I COULD WIN A SPOT

AT HER DINNER PARTY!!!! READ AGAIN!!!!

SARA JESSICA PARKER & PRESIDENT OBAMA IS "RESPONSIBLE"

FOR ANYONE "WHO USE THEIR LIKENESS-PERIOD"

The request for donation to the Obama for America campaign was initially published as a blog.  Initially the author believed that the donation was in response to Joan's request, however the timeline was apart by a few minutes and the request for donation was unrelated to the request for a burial.  

The e-mails were 17 minutes apart and it's not difficult to see how this could be misconstrued as being a response to a request, based on e-mail delivery times.  

 Sent: Sunday, June 3, 2012 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: I'm hosting

Hi Sara Jessica Parker

I Am Asking President Obama To Carry Out Arlington Ground Burial

For My Soldier Dad-I Too Need All The Help I Can Get For A Black WWll

Soldier Who Fought For His Country But Lies In Unmarked Grave With No name Or Rank!

Matthew Broderick Understand What My Soldier Dad Went Through In His

Beautiful Portrayal In "Glory" If You Can Get To President Obama & Let Him Know

If Soldiers & Others Around The World See President Obama Fighting For My Soldier

Dad's Arlington Ground Burial Offered By White House June 30,1993 But Never Carried Out

Being Done By The First Black President For A Black Soldier Whose History Was less

Than "Kind" To "Ammunition Handler" With General George S Patton On "D-Day"+

"Battle Of The Bulge" & 3 Mor Wars Never Given Army Upgrade Rank Or A Grave With His Name

& Rank! THE WORLD WILL LOVE & CARE & VOTE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE TOOK THE TIME

TO RESPECT A SOLDIER  OF "THE GREATEST GENERATION" HISTORY FORGOT!

JOAN FLOWERS

From: Sarah Jessica Parker <info@barackobama.com>
To: flowersjoan@yahoo.com
Sent: Sunday, June 3, 2012 3:22 PM
Subject: I'm hosting

Friend -- It's my honor to invite you to take part in an event I'm hosting at my home with the President and First Lady on June 14th. If you can make a donation of any amount today, you'll be automatically entered to win two tickets to New York to join us. Just before Election Day in 2008, I went to an Obama campaign office in New York and called some undecided voters. I believed then, as I do now, that if we all chipped in and did our part, we would not only make history, but create meaningful change that so many Americans needed. For me, this election is even more important than 2008. As a woman, a mother, and an entrepreneur, I need to believe our country can be a place where everyone has a fair shot at success. This November's election will determine whether we get to keep moving forward, or if we're forced to go back to policies that ask people like my middle-class family in Ohio to carry the burden -- while people like me, who don't need tax breaks, get extra help. I'm hosting this event on June 14th because there is so much at stake this year, and I want to keep doing what I can. I hope you'll help me welcome President Obama and the First Lady to New York. It should be fabulous. Donate $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered to win: https://donate.barackobama.com/Night-in-New-York Hope to see you there, Sarah Jessica

Joan's relentless pursuit to get her father buried and this blog then came under attack:

a. in a comment on the blog itself; and 

b. personal attacks on Joan on her facebook page.  

First check the time stamps on the email thread. Joan first got an automated solicitation from Sarah Jessica Parker then Joan replied back to an automated server informing her on her father's plight. I know this because I personally corresponded with Joan and told her that her pleas are likely not going anywhere because it's a dummy email address. Democrat and GOP politicians use these all the time. Joan then told me that she didn't care and hand nothing to lose. OK, fine. Talk to a server. Whatever makes you happy. But let's not disgrace her father's memory for partisan politics.

The comment was signed by Ricardo. 

Instead of attacking Joan perhaps it would have been prudent to show some sympathy for Joan's plight.  The attack was definitely misdirected.  Ricardo Lori professes to expose the truth.  Perhaps the truth to be exposed should be this:

The truth he needs to expose is that Theodor Lovejoy never received a proper burial, while others did.  He also needs to expose the truth that Joan Flowers pleaded with two Administration to get her dad buried and all she got was Nothing.  Period.  He also needs to expose that she went straight to her Senator for assistance and again nothing.  That is the real truth.  There is a whole bunch of rhetoric coming out of Washington, but very little action. 

Anyone with two eyes can see that Joan Flowers is in pain.  Her plea to have her father buried at Arlington National Cemetery seems like a simple request.  It shouldn't take 19 years to get this resolved.  

This is not about partisan politics, but common decency.  In 2011 this should no longer be an issue of race, even if only perceived on Joan's part.  Perception is reality.

In the big scheme of things, this is a minor request that can be settled by a single signature by President Obama.  Theodore Lovejoy deserves to be honoured. 

Joan Flowers' Full Story

Soldier of Patton's Army in Unmarked Grave in Illiniois

 Where is Theodore Lovejoy's Arlington Burial

Black soldiers played a big part in the liberation of Europe.  Much of their history has gone unnoticed.  France, which had many colonies in Africa had lost 17,000 black soldiers when Paris fell to Adolf Hitler in 1940. 

During the invasion of Normandy many of the black soldiers were left behind in Britain by both American and British Forces, but they joined the fight later, sweeping across Europe with General Patton's Army. 

"Paris was freed from Nazi rule on August 25th 1944 by the 2nd Armoured Division of the Free French army, a few months after D-Day. The strange thing is that all the soldiers seemed to be white – even though the French army at the time was two-thirds black. As it turns out the British and Americans who ran D-Day would only let an all-white division across the Channel. Even the black American soldiers were left behind in Britain and joined the fighting only later. France in those days ruled much of Africa and had black soldiers in its army. In 1940 when Paris fell to Hitler 17,000 black soldiers had lost their lives defending France. In spite of that no black soldiers were allowed to take part in the liberation of Paris four years later. And to this day there is no monument in Paris to honour them."  Read More "Yes there were Black Soldiers

This story is an account of a soldier that was part of Patton's Army.  Theodore Lovejoy passed away in 1993, having suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alzheimer's Disease.   His daughter Joan Flowers, an actress in the Chicago area, was promised a funeral for her father at Arlington National Cemetery, however the promise was never fulfilled.   Today Theodore Lovejoy rests at Mount Glenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave. 

Joan has made pleas to Senator Durbin and Colin Powell to ask President Obama to make the burial happen at Arlington.  Her story, which follows below,  shows an injustice that needs to be corrected.  In 2012 this should no longer be a question that requires much of a decision.  According to Joan, her father never even knew that he had received medals for the campaign, which weren't issued to black soldiers until 1947.  

Three males,  including her uncle and father suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a disease never recognized. The family dealt with those mental scars the best they could.   Her account of her uncle's death when she was just a child is chilling and demonstrates how devastating PTSD can be.   Many of our warriors from the Vietnam and Afghan/Iraq error silently suffer, albeit the situation on treatment has somewhat improved.

What happened to Theodore Lovejoy and the request,  followed by a promise, for his Arlington funeral is an injustice that must be rectified.  Read Joan's account and listen to her interview with Tom Garcia here. 

Also Read General Patton's Forgottten Troops

---

After reading Joan's account,  please contact your Congressman, the Obama White House and your State Senators to put pressure on them to rectify this injustice. 
I DID NOT KNOW UNTIL DEC 11, 2011 WHEN I OPENED UP DAD'S VETERAN AFFAIRS HOSPITAL PAPERS THAT "HE TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF" IN 1950!!! 5 YEARS AFTER WAR!!!! LIKE MY UNCLE "WHO DID" INFO BELOW!!!! NO ONE KNEW THESE SOLDIERS HAD 'PTSD"  THE DOCTORS ASKED MY DAD TO "PROMISE" HE WOULD NOT TRY TO "KILL HIMSELF AGAIN" HE "PROMISED" & NEVER TRIED AGAIN!!!!! HE HAD "MALARIA" EACH YEAR FROM WAR WITH "FEVER,CHILLS & SWEATS FROM WAR & "MEGA MIGRAINE HEADACHES AS "AMMUNITION HANDLER"& "WARRANT OFFICER" TOPS IN HIS DAY AS A BLACK "WW ll" SOLDIER  HE DIED OF "ALZHEIMERS" JUNE 30, 1993 & WAS OFFERED"ARLINGTON WHITE HOUSE EXCEPTION BURIAL" BY "LIAISON DEPT""SUSAN" WHO SAID: "JOAN THIS IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO FOR A YOUR SOLDIER DAD & A SOLDIER OF "GENERAL GEORGE S PATTON" & HISTORY THAT WAS "LESS THAN KIND TO A SOLDIER WHO FOUGHTFOR HIS COUNTRY" MY DAD LIES IN "UNMARKED GRAVE TODAY PEOPLEWALK ON!! ASKING PRESIDENT CLINTON ON TWITTER @ CLINTON TWEETS & CLINTON GLOBAL TO "STEP IN" & GO TO PRESIDENT OBAMA & ASK HIM TO"CARRY OUT" "PREVIOUS EXECUTIVE OFFER" CLINTON'S ADMIN OFFERED A SOLDIERTHAT "COULD NOT BUY A HOME" "OR "VOTE" IN 1945 BUT FOUGHT FOR THE WORLD!!  PLEADED WITH SENATOR DICK DURBIN TO ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR DAD'SBURIAL & HE HAS NOT GONE AS REUESTED BY DAUGHTER OF W"FRANK BUCKLES"   I AM A SOLDIERS DAUGHTER! If My "Father & Uncle Were "ARMY SOLDIERS  Of "WW ll" & My Brother A "Marine" Marksman In "Vietnam" Had Counseling After Returning From WAR- "Maybe My Uncle's Suicide Might Have Been Prevented"   My dad is awaiting ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY BURIAL "OFFERED/PROMISED" to him during the CLINTON ADMINISTRATION LIAISON DEPT When "I BECAME PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FIRST WHITE HOUSE HUMAN RIGHTS CASE"   I am Asking SENATOR DICK DURBIN & GENERAL COLIN POWELL to ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA TO "CARRY OUT" OFFER to dad as "SUSAN'' OF LIAISON DEPT PROMISED-   My Uncle "JOSEPH "JR came home from war a handsome yet damaged man- we were told he had CANCER but we never knew for sure-Black Soldiers did not get the care needed & were often used as EXPERIMENTS OR CONSIDERED LESS THAN ACCEPTABLE to fight during the war.   My father "THEODORE LOVEJOY" LOVED GENERAL GEORGE PATTON! & Told how he would give MORAL SUPPORT & PEP TALKS & if he caught those he put in charge of Black Soldiers Disrespecting them- THEY WOULD HAVE GENERAL GEORGE PATTON TO ANSWER TO!   The War left MY DAD + UNCLE+ BROTHER "DAMAGED" not only with Visible War Wounds For Life Physically-But Also Psychological- They Were MOODY,SHORT TEMPERED,CONSTANT NIGHTMARES- AND HAD ANGER ISSUES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL- WE AS A FAMILY could not understand how come our loved one was NOT THE SAME person that left for War- THEY WERE NOT THE SAME! War makes them OLDER and WISER beyond their years-   WE AS A FAMILY could only watch & give our love & try to understand the DEMONS THESE SOLDIERS HAD TO DEAL WITH WHEN THEY CAME HOME! THEY HAD NO SUPPORT OR COUNSELING TO DEAL WITH THE "HORRORS OF WAR"   Our lives were one of not knowing which MOOD our loved one would exhibit or how to deal with it! WHEN THEY COME HOME-WE EXPECT THEM TO "GET ON WITH LIVING" BUT THEIR WORLD HAS STOPPED "ON ALL LEVELS" & CAN LEAD TO "SHATTERED FAMILIES" If not dealt with in COUNSELING.   THESE SOLDIERS "MUST HAVE COUNSELING" & IT MUST BE "MANDATORY" before they leave the bases that have become "THEIR HOME AWAY FROM HOME" COUNSELING TO GET THEM BACK ON THEIR FEET IN ORDER TO "DEAL WITH SOCIETY" If NOT Just as my dad was A KIND & HARDWORKING MAN-HE WAS ALSO "VOLATILE" AT TIMES IN A "QUIET WAY"   My UNCLE JOSEPH "COULD NO LONGER STAND HIS DEMONS" "UNCONFIRMED CANCER" & "LOVE NOT GIVEN TO HIM IN RETURN" "HE PUT A BULLET TO HIS HEAD & DIED "INSTANTLY" IN OUR HALLWAY!   SEPT 27,1957- I WAS "3 YEARS OLD" & SAW MY UNCLE ON FLOOR & "PULLED HIS CLOTHES" ASKING HIM "UNCLE JR" GET UP!" But IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE! We Children were sent to the back porch while my Mother & Great Grandparents cleaned up his blood!


PRESIDENT CLINTON'S ADMIN OFFERED THE BURIAL & I  AM ASKING HIM ON "TWITTER"@ CLINTON TWEETS & CLINTON GLOBAL TO "ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA " TO CARRY OUTEXECUTIVE OFFER FROM CLINTON ADMIN "LIAISON DEPT" "SUSAN" ALONG WITH SENATOR DICK DURBIN & COLIN POWELL & ALL OF "TWIITER FAMILY" WHO ENJOY THE "FRUITS OF WHAT SOLDIERS"FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH=HUMAN RIGHTS=JUSTICE FOR ALL!

UEFA EURO 2012 - Let the Games Begin

Group A

Friday June 8th

Game 1 Poland vs Greece        18:00   Warsaw        1-1
Game 2 Russia vs Czech Rep  20:45    Wroclaw      4-1


Tuesday June 12th

Game 9 - Greece vs  Czech Rep  18:00 Wroclaw    1-2
Game 10 - Poland vs Russia        20:45 Warsaw      1-1
  

Saturday June 16th

Game 17 - Czech Rep vs Poland        20:45 Wroclaw 1-0
Game 18 - Greece vs Russia              20:45 Warsaw   1-0

Group A

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Czech Republic	3	2	0	1	4	5	-1	6
Greece	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Russia	3	1	1	1	5	3	2	4
Poland	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2

Group B

Saturday June 9th

Game 3 - Netherlands vs Denmark 18:00 Kharkiv     0-1
Game 4 - Germany vs Portugal       20:45 Lviv          1-0


Wednesday June 13th

Game 11 - Denmark vs Portugal        18:00 Lviv       2-3
Game 12 - Netherlands vs Germany  20:45 Kharkiv  1-2


Sunday June 17th

Game 19 - Portugal vs Netherlands   20:45 Kharkiv  2-1
Game 20 - Denmark vs Germany      20:45 Lviv       1-2

Group B

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Germany	3	3	0	0	5	2	3	9
Portugal	3	2	0	1	5	4	1	6
Denmark	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
Netherlands	3	0	0	3	2	5	-3	0

			Group C

Sunday June 10th

Game 5 - Spain vs Italy           18:00 Gdansk           1-1
Game 6 - Ireland vs Croatia    20:45 Poznan            1-3

 Thursday June 14th

Game 13 - Italy vs Croatia                 18:00 Poznan  1-1
Game 14 - Spain vs Ireland                20:45 Gdansk 4-0


Monday June 18th

Game 21 - Croatia vs Spain               20:45 Gdansk  0-1
Game 22 - Italy vs Rep Ireland          20:45 Poznan  2-0

Group C

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Spain	3	2	1	0	6	1	5	7
Italy	3	1	2	0	4	2	2	5
Croatia	3	1	1	1	4	3	1	4
Republic of Ireland	3	0	0	3	1	9	-8	0

Group D

Monday June 11th

Game 7 - France vs England    18:00  Donetsk      1-1
Game 8 - Ukraine vs Sweden   20:45  Kiev           2-1


Friday June 15th

Game 15 - Sweden vs England            20:45 Kiev        2-3
Game 16 - Ukraine vs France             18:00 Donetsk    0-2


Tuesday June 19th

Game 23 - England vs Ukraine          20:45 Donetsk  0-1
Game 24 - Sweden vs France             20:45 Kiev       2-0

Group D

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
England	3	2	1	0	5	3	2	7
France	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Ukraine	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3
Sweden	3	1	0	2	5	5	0	3

 Quarter Final:

Thursday June 21st

Game 25 -Czech Republic vs Portugal     20:45  Warsaw         1-0

Friday June 22nd

Game 26 - Germany vs Greece    20:45  Gdansk                       4-2


Saturday June 23rd

Game 27 -Spain vs France     20:45 Donetsk                              2-0

Sunday June 24th

Game 28 - England vs Italy      20:45 Kiev                                2-4 (Penalty Kicks)


Semi- Finals:

Wednesday June 27th

Game 29 -Portugal vs Spain  20:45 Donetsk                            3-4 (Penalty Kicks)

Thursday June 28th

Game 30 - Germany vs Italy  - 20:45 Warsaw                         1-2

 Final

Sunday July 1st

Game 31 - Spain vs Italy  20:45 Kiev                                      4-0

U.S. - Macedonia Relations - US State Department

U.S.-MACEDONIA RELATIONS
Macedonia and the United States enjoy a cooperative relationship across a broad range of political, economic, cultural, military, and social issues. The two have had good bilateral relations since Macedonia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The United States formally recognized Macedonia in 1994, and the countries established full diplomatic relations in 1995. The United States strongly supports Macedonia's aspirations for full integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions and is committed to helping Macedonia strengthen rule of law; improve education; promote media freedom; and build greater democratic foundations in a full, inclusive multi-ethnic society.
The United States and its European allies strongly condemned the initiators of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, which grew from ethnic tensions, and closely supported the government and major parties' successful efforts to forge a peaceful, political solution to the crisis through the Ohrid Framework Agreement. In partnership with the European Union and other international organizations active in Macedonia, the United States continues to facilitate the Macedonian Government's implementation of the Framework Agreement and fostering long-term peace and stability in the country.
For the text of the 2008 bilateral Declaration of Strategic Partnership and Cooperation, please see http://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/or/104441.htm.
U.S. Assistance to Macedonia
U.S. Government assistance to Macedonia focuses on facilitating Macedonia’s continued development on the path toward full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community and assisting the Macedonian Government’s efforts to sustain economic and democratic reforms to build stability and prosperity. A fact sheet on U.S. assistance to Macedonia can be found here.
Bilateral Economic Relations
The United States supports Macedonia's transition to a market-oriented economy. Macedonia is a member of the World Trade Organization seeks to join the European Union (EU); a starting date for accession negotiations has been deferred by the EU.
In 2010, total trade between Macedonia and the United States was $116.6 million, and in the first 8 months of 2011 it was $65 million. U.S. electrical machinery and equipment have been particularly attractive to Macedonian importers. Principal Macedonian exports to the United States are tobacco, apparel, iron, and steel.
Macedonia's Membership in International Organizations
Macedonia and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Adriatic Charter, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.
Macedonia seeks to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).In 2008, NATO Allies noted that Macedonia met NATO membership criteria and in2012 reconfirmed the commitment to invite Macedonia to join NATO as soon as a solution is reached in Macedonia's dispute with NATO member Greece over Macedonia's name. Macedonia continues to make an important contribution to regional stability by supporting the logistical supply of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (including U.S.) peacekeepers in Kosovo. Macedonia participated in OIF and currently participates in ISAF, the EU Althea Mission in Bosnia and Herzgovina, and the UN’s observer mission in Lebanon.
Bilateral Representation
The U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia is Paul Wohlers; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.
Macedonia maintains an embassy in the United States at 2129 Wyoming Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: (202) 667-0501).
More information about Macedonia is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:
Department of State Macedonia Country Page
Department of State Key Officers List
CIA World Factbook Macedonia Page
U.S. Embassy Macedonia
USAID Macedonia Mission Page
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Trafficking in Persons Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics
Export.gov International Offices Page
Library of Congress Country Studies (see Yugoslavia (Former))
Travel and Business Information

DOD US Military Casualties in Afghanistan as of 01 Jun 2012

 "The war in Afghanistan, as we know it, is over."  Those were the words of President Obama after the NATO summit last month.  Yet another 12 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action (KIA) and three died of presumably accidents, while at least 120 were wounded in action (WIA).  At least two UK soldiers and one other NATO soldier were also killed.

The relationship with Pakistan couldn't be worse after the arrest of Shakeel Afridi  on May 24th and sentencing to 33 years in jail under Pakistan's archaic system of tribal justice.  Publicly the United States has not placed much pressure on Pakistan other than Congress punishing Pakistan with a $33 Million cut to aid.  The punishment is a drop in the bucket.

The US continues with drone attacks into Pakistan, with everyone killed called a militant.  With the election campaign in the US in full swing, the media has concentrated on the trivial, like the so-called war on women by the GOP, Bain Capital performance to discredit Mitt Romney, who is now officially the GOP nominee to challenge President Obama.  Afghanistan, after the NATO summit in Chicago is off the radar again. 

Yesterday's job figures were again dismal, with only 69,000 jobs created, while 150,000 were expected.  The unemployment figure rose to 8.2%.  Many of those unemployed are veterans.  While last weekend, Memorial weekend, paid homage to those killed in America's wars, the reality is that they are out of sight and mind for the remainder of the year.

The situation in Syria has reached a critical point, with little agreement in the UN on how to deal with it.  Russia and China are at odds with Western powers on how to deal with the Assad regime.  Iran continues to be a thorn in the eye of the United States, with little chance of reaching an agreement to stop Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

France will have its combat troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, Australia will leave a year earlier, while Canada will not make any further commitments past March 2014.  The ten year war has been costly.  Whether or not the Karzai government can take over responsibility of Afghanistan remains to be seen.

While the war in Afghanistan, as we know it, is over, let's remember that it is not over for the thousands of NATO soldiers serving in the war torn nation.  Even one more dead soldier or civilian is too many.  Take a moment this week and remember that young soldiers are still dieing.  Lest We Forget.

Roll of Casualties

Below are this week’s updated DoD casualty figures:

Op Enduring Freedom                  Total Deaths       KIA   Non Hostile              WIA

Afghanistan Only                                   1872               1552        320                     16144
Other Locations                                        112                   12        100
 DoD Civ Casualties                                     3                     1            2
Worldwide Total                                     1987                1565        422                    16144

Accumulated 2012 Casualties:

KIA            Non Combat Deaths             WIA

 100                           52                               916