AltWeeklies Wire
What If They Gave a War and Nobody Knew Why?
Eight years after invading Afghanistan, the U.S. government is still struggling to explain why. If you can't figure out if you're winning or losing, you're losing.
Robin Long, War Resister or Deserter?new
In 2008, Long made international headlines when he became the first Iraq War deserter to be deported from Canada. He was prosecuted by the US Army and served 12 months of a 15-month sentence. Long, who first spoke to BW in 2006 about his life as a war resister in Canada, was recently released from the naval brig at Miramar. During a recent visit to Boise, Long sat down with BW.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
08-12-2009 |
War
On Hiroshima's Anniversary, It May be the Bomb That Will Bring Us Togethernew
Even if world leaders don't want to talk seriously about the nuclear threat, the mayors of cities that are potential targets would. In fact, mayors from around the world are coming together in a way not seen before, as part of "Vision 2020." This campaign has as its goal the elimination of the world's nuclear weapons by the year 2020, and mayors of 2,963 cities in 134 countries have already signed up.
New Haven Advocate |
Alan Bisbort |
08-11-2009 |
War
Obama Covers Up a Dozen My Lais
Obama sort of announces kind of an investigation of Bush's biggest single war crime. It's more of the same for a story the media has ignored for six or seven years.
Numbers Suggest New Vets Court in Colorado Will Be Busynew

No one knows how many veterans will find space in the specialized court -- which will try to identify current and former soldiers whose criminal activity is tied to combat experiences -- when it starts up Aug. 1 in Colorado Springs. But advocates say the aim is to find an alternative to stuffing vets behind bars.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
07-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
War Resister Brad McCall Has Gone into Hidingnew

Fearing arrest by the Mounties and deportation to the United States, former American soldier Brad McCall fled his East Vancouver home and is living on the lam.
The Georgia Straight |
Charlie Smith |
07-10-2009 |
War
Why Can't Obama See He's the New Robert McNamara?
Like McNamara, Obama doesn't understand a basic truth: you can't successfully manage an inherently doomed premise. Colonialism is dead. Occupiers will never enjoy peace. Neither the Afghans nor the Iraqis nor the Pakistanis will rest until we withdraw our forces.
Meet the People Who Fought (and Continue to Fight) Our Wars in the Middle Eastnew
More than 1.5 million Americans have fought in this country's two ongoing wars. While public interest and news coverage in Iraq and Afghanistan have waxed and waned, these volunteers have continued to stream to and from the battlefield. Here are 12 such people from the Philadelphia area.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Charles Cieri |
07-07-2009 |
War
Peace, What is it Good For? Coming to Terms With War in the Obama Eranew
"Peace" does not automatically exist when war stops. Peace is not just an absence of war. At least, this is not how those who work for peace in the world feel about it.
New Haven Advocate |
Alan Bisbort |
07-07-2009 |
War
JROTC Is Under Fire in S.F. Schoolsnew

It has been a quintessential only-in-San Francisco battle -- the military ambassadors playing the rogues, and the lefty progressives as the establishment -- and one that will not die.
Military Deserters Again Flocking to Canada to Avoid Warnew

Of the estimated several hundred deserters living in Canada, just around 40 have come forward to file asylum claims. The others, living under the radar without legal status and likely waiting to see how their peers' cases pan out, have little to stoke their hopes.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Megan Feldman |
03-13-2009 |
War
Soldiers Committing Suicidenew

The US military is experiencing a troubling uptick in suicides -- both with active-duty troops overseas and with returned vets. The culprit is post-traumatic stress disorder, and the Pentagon has neither the money, the know-how, or the will to stop it.
Boston Phoenix |
Jason Notte |
03-12-2009 |
War
Sending Troubled Soldiers Back into Battle: A Recipe for Suicide?new

More than 717,000 soldiers have deployed at least twice to the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some, like John Fish, have been ordered deployed for a second tour even after telling military doctors they're thinking about committing suicide.
San Luis Obispo New Times |
Aaron Glantz |
02-23-2009 |
War
Obama Gets it Wrong on Afghanistan
The president's recent interview with Canada's CBC television network demonstrates that he doesn't know much about Afghanistan. But that isn't stopping him from talking about it -- even while he escalates America's war there.
West Bank: Welcome to the Occupationnew

With the eyes of the world focused on the carnage in the Gaza Strip, the challenges of life under occupation in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank continue.
VUE Weekly |
Scott Harris |
01-22-2009 |
War