Afghanistan on Life Support Afghanistan on Life Support
The American war and Afghanistan’s civilians.
Sep 13, 2010 / Nick Turse
Congress to Hold Hearings on Nation Investigation Into Discharges of Veterans Congress to Hold Hearings on Nation Investigation Into Discharges of Veterans
The House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold hearings Wednesday morning into the impact of "personality disorder discharges," and allegations raised in The Nation in April that the Department of Defense is cheating veterans of health benefits through faulty "personality disorder" diagnoses. The Committee, chaired by Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) will call both reporter Joshua Kors and the subject of his investigation, former Army Sgt. Chuck Luther, as witnesses. Information about the hearing is here. You can read Joshua Kors's "Disposable Soldiers" here. For media inquiries, contact ben [at] thenation [dot] com. In "Disposable Soldiers," Kors provides an overview of the investigation and the issue at stake: For three years The Nation has been reporting on military doctors' fraudulent use of personality disorder to discharge wounded soldiers [see Kors, "How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits," April 9, 2007]. PD is a severe mental illness that emerges during childhood and is listed in military regulations as a pre-existing condition, not a result of combat. Thus those who are discharged with PD are denied a lifetime of disability benefits, which the military is required to provide to soldiers wounded during service. Soldiers discharged with PD are also denied long-term medical care. And they have to give back a slice of their re-enlistment bonus. That amount is often larger than the soldier's final paycheck. As a result, on the day of their discharge, many injured vets learn that they owe the Army several thousand dollars. According to figures from the Pentagon and a Harvard University study, the military is saving billions by discharging soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan with personality disorder.
Sep 13, 2010 / Press Room
GAO: Iraq’s Government, Requesting Billions, Has Billions in Surplus GAO: Iraq’s Government, Requesting Billions, Has Billions in Surplus
A GAO report suggests that Iraq is not broke. Instead, Iraq’s rulers have been sitting on a vast pile of cash while begging for billions of dollars from the US and the i...
Sep 10, 2010 / Aram Roston
The Afghanistan Study Group Challenges US Strategy, With Flawed but Useful Report The Afghanistan Study Group Challenges US Strategy, With Flawed but Useful Report
Will the "Team B"–style approach open the debate over the Afghan war, in which the establishment has largely closed ranks in support of a failing strategy?
Sep 10, 2010 / Blog / Bob Dreyfuss
A New UN Voice Calls for Criminalizing Conflict Rape A New UN Voice Calls for Criminalizing Conflict Rape
Rape is not an inevitable consequence of war, says new UN special representative Margot Wallström. And there's far more UN peacekeeping troops could do to prevent it...
Sep 10, 2010 / Barbara Crossette
Conversation: Barbara Crossette and Anja Rudiger on Human Rights in the US Conversation: Barbara Crossette and Anja Rudiger on Human Rights in the US
The Obama administration recently submitted a report on its own human rights record to the United Nations, becoming the first time US administration to do so. Barbara Crossette ...
Sep 9, 2010 / Video / The Nation on Grit TV
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child… Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child…
Newest pieces, women complaining about the attention given to Jonathan Franzen, some book and DVD recommendations and the latest mail.
Sep 9, 2010 / Blog / Eric Alterman
Against Counterinsurgency Against Counterinsurgency
The recently released report of the Afghanistan Study Group affirms The Nation's long-held belief that American military disengagement in Afghanistan, combined with a new diplomati...
Sep 9, 2010 / Editorial / The Editors
The Great Pakistan Deluge Never Happened The Great Pakistan Deluge Never Happened
Don't tune in; it's not important.
Sep 9, 2010 / Juan Cole
It Was Heaven That They Burned It Was Heaven That They Burned
Who is Rigoberta Menchú?
Sep 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Greg Grandin