Gitmo in Disarray
Ross Tuttle
Ethical conflicts and judicial dysfunction cloud the military commissions system at Guantánamo.
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Real Clear Numbers: 101,000 US Casualties a Year
Alexander Cockburn : Iraq War
The psychological wounds of war will be with us for years to come.
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Painful Performance
Robert Scheer : Iraq War
By urging lawmakers to stay the course in Iraq, General David Petraeus remained loyal to his President, but failed the American people.
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Unlawful Influence at Gitmo
Ross Tuttle : Constitutional Questions
Lieut. Cmdr. Brian Mizer has filed a motion to dismiss charges against Salim Hamdan, in light of new evidence documenting the improper involvement of political appointees.
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Winter Soldiers Speak
Laila Al-Arian : Iraq War
In compelling public testimony, US soldiers and Iraqi civilians bear witness to the horrors of combat.
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Pentagon General Counsel Resigns
Ross Tuttle : Constitutional Questions
As criticism over his support for torture and his interference in the Gitmo trials escalates, William J. Haynes steps down.
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Potshots in Space
Tom Engelhardt
From the heaving deck of the USS Lake Erie, the Bush Administration takes shaky aim at a rogue satellite hurtling to Earh, carrying unknown secrets. The missile attack is purely humanitarian, they assure us.
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Bush's Budget Legacy
Robert Scheer : George W. Bush
Curb your enthusiasm. No matter who wins, we can't reverse the damage of Bush's bloated military budget.
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Denial in the Corps
Kathy Dobie : Iraq War
A stressed-out Marine Corps sends its troops on repeated tours to Iraq and then tosses them out when they come back traumatized.
2007
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The Old and New Shapes of Nuclear Danger
Jonathan Schell : Arms Spending & Proliferation
During the cold war, the driving force was the bilateral arms race; now it's proliferation.
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The Soldier and the Student
Aaron Glantz : Higher Education
Today's military members face red tape, false advertising and multiple deployments. What happened to the promises of the original GI Bill?
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Say No to Africom
Danny Glover & Nicole C. Lee : Africa
With little Congressional scrutiny and nary a whimper of protest, the United States will soon establish permanent military bases in sub-Saharan Africa.
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SOA Protest Draws Scant Support From Candidates
Patrick Mulvaney : Activism & Organizing
As the eighteenth annual demonstration against the Army's School of the Americas nears, we quiz Democratic hopefuls on whether they would shut it down. Their answers are not encouraging.
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Listen to the Troops
As Iraq veterans speak out against a war in shambles, leading Democrats are wavering about quickly removing our troops from this deepening quagmire.
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Watada's Double Jeopardy
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Peace Activism
A legal drama is unfolding in Washington State over whether an Army officer who refuses to serve in Iraq has the same Constitutional rights as the rest of us.
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How the Military Can Stop an Iran Attack
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Peace Activism
Peace activists are reaching out to US military officials to dampen the Bush Administration's ardor for attacking Iran.
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Specialist Town Takes His Case to Washington
As a wounded soldier battles to right a wrong, the cavalry arrives.
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Politicize the War
By sending Petraeus to Capitol Hill, the White House tried to smuggle in a radical war agenda under the mantle of an outstanding soldier. And people fell for it.
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The New Counterinsurgency
The Army's updated Field Manual draws on an old, blood-steeped tradition.
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The Money Surge
Nicholas von Hoffman : Iraq War
In an effort to bolster the surge and tamp down violence in Iraq, the US military is buying off insurgents. But what happens if they don't stay bought?
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Why the US Military Loves Ron Paul
The anti-war Texas Republican is pulling more campaign contributions from the military than John McCain. That says a lot about the mindset of the troops.
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The Deadly Occupation
: Iraq War
Veterans of conscience have come forward with evidence that US forces kill Iraqi noncombatants every day. America must bring this deadly occupation to an immediate end.
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The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness
Chris Hedges & Laila Al-Arian : Iraq War
In a special investigation of the impact of the war on Iraqi civilians, interviews with fifty combat veterans reveals disturbing patterns of behavior by US troops in Iraq--brutal acts that often go unreported and almost always go unpunished.
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Bush Blames the Troops
Robert Scheer : George W. Bush Administration
Bush is hiding behind the fiction that officers in the field are calling the shots.
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How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits
Joshua Kors : Health & Disease
Wounded soldiers returning from Iraq are increasingly being wrongly diagnosed by the military, which prevents them from collecting benefits.
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Pentagon Cowers Behind Tillman's Heroism
Robert Scheer : Donald Rumsfeld
Outraged by a Pentagon report on the cover-up of Pat Tillman's friendly fire death, Tillman's parents finger Rumsfeld as the real culprit.
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Looking Out for Veterans
Progressive Congressman Bob Filner is pursuing an ambitious agenda to secure proper care for wounded warriors.
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Walter Reed Scandal: How Mainstream Media Let Us Down
Celia Viggo Wexler : Media Analysis
Cutbacks and a penchant for profits and "happy news" hid the plight of wounded soldiers.
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Will the Watada Mistrial Spark an End to the War?
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Iraq War
Now that Lieut. Ehren Watada's court-martial has ended in mistrial, his case could focus America's attention on how we came to fight an illegal war and what we must do to end it.
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The Press and the Watada Trial
Also at stake in the trial of an Army officer who refuses to deploy to Iraq is the independence of the press.
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An Army at Peril
Nicholas von Hoffman : George W. Bush
The surge is Bush's last throw of the dice. If it fails, he may decimate an exhausted Army and leave the nation without reserves.
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Ominous Signs of a Wider War
The naming of Adm. William Fallon to replace Gen. John Abizaid as head of Centcom is an ominous sign that Bush is preparing for a wider war.
2006
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Addicted to War
Obsessed GOP hawks--and some Democrats--want to end the Iraq war by escalating it, and Bush proposes expanding the military: America is hooked on the habit of military might.
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About Face: Soldiers Call for Iraq Withdrawal
For the first time since Vietnam, active-duty military personnel have organized to oppose a war that they are fighting.
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Counting Our Casualities in Iraq
Nicholas von Hoffman : Iraq War
We are fast, too fast, approaching the 3,000th American combat death in Iraq.
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A Soldier's Story
Major Bill Edmonds : Iraq War
"For just a minute or two, step into my life. I am a soldier in the Army Special Forces, just back from Iraq, where I lived and fought beside my Iraqi counterpart as we battled the insurgency. I am a conflicted man."
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Dismay Grows Over US Torture School
As peace activists converge on Fort Benning for the annual demonstration to shut down the School of the Americas, companion protests are taking place across Latin America, as revulsion grows over US policies on torture.
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Senate Vote Advances President's Effort to Kill War Crimes Act
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : George W. Bush Administration
The 109th Congress, led by Republican Senators McCain, Warner, and Graham and with the acquiescence of many Democrats, is poised to legalize torture, trials with secret evidence, and annulment of the right of habeas corpus
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Torture and the Content of our Character
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Guantanamo Bay
The standoff between the Senate and the Bush Administration over military tribunals, torture and war crimes tests core legal and moral issues and will determine the kind of country America wishes to be.
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Troops and Hoops
There's something unnerving about USA Basketball's motivational tactics for the 2006 world championship--encouraging players to spend time with wounded Iraq veterans, in hopes of enhancing teamwork and patriotism.
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The US Military Descends on Paraguay
Benjamin Dangl : War on Terrorism
The US "war on terror" now extends to an unlikely frontier in Paraguay, where farmers are caught in the crossfire and human rights groups are skeptical of the threat posed by Islamic terrorists.
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Watada, the War and the Law
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Peace Activism
Bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling that rebuked the Bush Administration's excessive exercise of power, Lieut. Ehren Watada's pending court-martial could help restore the rule of law and energize a popular movement to end an illegal war.
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Lieutenant Watada's War Against the War
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Iraq War
In a remarkable, media-savvy protest, First Lieut. Ehren Watada has refused orders to go to Iraq, claiming the war and the occupation violate the Constitution, international law and Army regulations.
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Danger in Paradise
It's hard to tell whether the US is conducting a war against terror or against Native Hawaiians, as the military uses parts of the Waianae coast as a live-fire training ground.
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When Soldiers Shoot a War
The War Tapes, a documentary shot by US soldiers and sanctioned by the military, may turn out to be the most powerful statement against the war to date.
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Nightmare Scenario
Nicholas von Hoffman : Iraq War
Exhausted and overused American forces could become so unglued that staying in Iraq may well become impossible. Then what?
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Why Haditha Matters
: Iraq
The Haditha massacre cannot be blamed solely on soldiers gone berserk. The Marine Corps cover-up suggests that moral damage from the Iraq War has affected more than a single debased unit.
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Attack of the Generals
Nicholas von Hoffman : Donald Rumsfeld
It's helpful that six retired generals are calling for Rumsfeld's head. But it would be easier to dislodge him if more Democrats in Congress joined the fray.
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When GI Joe Says No
Christian Parenti : Peace Activism
How can the peace movement draw more Iraq War veterans into its ranks? It can begin by understanding the socioeconomic realities of the all-volunteer military.
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Afghanistan: The Other War
Christian Parenti : Afghanistan
Despite Bush's feel-good rhetoric, the United States has done little to help Afghanistan, leaving the impression of abandonment. Meanwhile, European troops work hard to build bridges to the locals.
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Corvallis Calls the Troops Home
Simon Maxwell Apter : Peace Activism
The Corvallis City Council approved a resolution calling for American troops to come home from Iraq.
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Less Butter, More Guns
: Budget
If the war in Iraq is winding down, why does the Pentagon need so much money? Because the Bush Administration has visions of a permanent war economy.
2005
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The Silence of the Doctors
Jonathan H. Marks : Doctors & Nurses
The overlooked players in the torture scandal are the medical personnel who supervise--and often participate in--acts of torture. Military medical professionals have reportedly tailored torture sessions to the personalities of detainees, at a time when their professional conscience should have told them to take an ethical stand. Though they're not the usual suspects, they should be investigated as well.
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Brass Tacks
"Do what has to be done" is the motto of the investigative arm of the US military. But when the understaffed institution regularly loses evidence and delays autopsies, it does too little. When it attempts to protect evidence by detaining witnesses, it does too much. A look at the inherently flawed investigations of detainees.
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In Praise of John Murtha
Nicholas von Hoffman : Peace Activism
With 457 blunt-spoken words, John Murtha broke the spell that had held the country captive to the misguided adventure in Iraq. It suddenly became respectable to talk of a pullout. It was his finest moment: For the first time, there is hope this war may end.
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SOA Protests to Focus on Torture
Patrick Mulvaney : Peace Activism
As demonstrators gather at Fort Benning, Georgia, this weekend for an annual protest against the School of the Americas, the spotlight will be on increasing dismay in Congress and among the American public over the Bush Administration's policies on torture.
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Revving Up the China Threat
The Bush Administration's stance on China has gone from worry about their economic strength and oil consumption to full-on preparation for a new cold war.
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Gitmo's Hunger Strikers
Clive Stafford Smith : US Wars & Military Action
The US military is keeping the ongoing hunger strike and forced feedings of Guantanamo Bay under wraps. And an apathetic American media is showing no interest in exposing the situation.
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Anywhere But Here
Stuart Klawans : US Wars & Military Action
Tim Burton enlivens the dark and gloomy life of corpses and aristocrats in Corpse Bride; Occupation: Dreamland offers an unsentimental view of Iraqi soldiers.
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The War for Latinos
In the face of unprecedented manpower problems, the Pentagon is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to target young Latinos for military recruitment.
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Katrina and the Coming World Oil Crunch
Michael T. Klare : Saudi Arabia
Beyond the human suffering, Katrina's sucker punch will be felt in America's increasing dependence on foreign petroleum.
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Who's Next?
Military recruiters are targeting the nation's high schools and junior highs, seeking an early harvest of soldiers-to-be. Is your child next?
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The Cindy Factor
Bruce Shapiro : George W. Bush
Will one woman's solitary protest become a turning point for a nation disillusioned with a President and his war?
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Torture and Accountability
Elizabeth Holtzman : Human Rights
Senior government officials can be held responsible for the horrors at Abu Ghraib.
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Pattern of Deception Persists in Tillman's Death
The White House knew more than it let on as it played the Pat Tillman story for political benefit.
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A Cover-Up as Shameful as Tillman's Death
Once again, grieving relatives point out that the Bush Administration will exploit anything for political purposes.
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GIs Against Torture
Low-ranking soldiers are taking the blame in the torture scandal while higher-ups get a pass.
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PNAC's Happy Warriors
Jason Vest : Conservatives & The American Right
The neocon think tank's recent call for an increase in troop strength is myopic.
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Punishing the Wrong People
Patrick Mulvaney : Peace Activism
The sentences handed down to SOA protesters are strikingly harsh and excessive, especially in a year in which the use of torture has generated headlines.
2004
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Thousands Protest SOA
Patrick Mulvaney : Peace Activism
A report from the SOA protests at Ft. Benning.
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Do You Feel a Draft?
The main effect of bringing back the draft would be to further militarize the nation.
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A Deserter Speaks
It is unlikely that Mejia's allegations about the conduct of his superiors will be investigated.
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Press Watch
Scott Sherman : Corporate Media & Consolidation
Why did major news organizations handle the Blade series with tongs, or not at all?
2003
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Against the War but Married to It
Opposition to the war among military families is bubbling beneath the surface.
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Stretched Thin, Lied to and Mistreated
Christian Parenti : Iraqi Reconstruction/ Occupation
On the ground with US troops in Iraq.
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Ride of the Valkyries
To the myth-makers of war, the Americans in Iraq look like the Russians in Chechnya.
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Bringing the War Home
Robert Dreyfuss : War on Terrorism
In the name of fighting terrorism, the Army has established a domestic command.
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The Army's Empire Skeptics
Officers are raising serious questions about manpower, morale and technology.
2002
2001
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New War, Old Weapons
Rarely has so much money been thrown at the Pentagon so quickly, with so little public debate.
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Liberating Vieques
Angelo Falcón : Social & Economic Rights
Besides bringing environmental and health problems to Vieques, the Navy's presence has been an assault on democracy.
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Rogue Nation
There is a growing consensus that the world's most destructive rogue nation is the most powerful country of them all.
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Powell's Secret Coup
Christopher Hitchens : Bill Clinton
Colin Powell's appointment is a worrisome indicator of the militarization of the State Department.
2000
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Questions for Powell
Colin Powell is a national icon. But the retired general does not deserve hands-off hearings.
This week: Political shifts in the U.K.; Roberto Lovato and Jeanvieve Williams talk about "Juan Crow," a matrix of anti-immigration laws; and Ross Tuttle and Scott Horton look at the chaos in Guantanamo, as the first detainees head to trial. (13mb mp3)
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