Aaron Glantz

Last year, the United States woke up to the reality of hundreds of thousands of soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan – and began to grapple with what to do about it. On Feb. 18, 2007, the headline "Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army’s Top Medical Facility" splashed across the front page of one of … Continue reading “Wounded Vets Trade One Hell for Another”

Congress’ approval Wednesday of $70 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mean the twin conflicts are now more costly to American taxpayers than the war in Vietnam. According to a study by the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Congress has now approved nearly $700 billion for the wars in Iraq … Continue reading “Iraq, Afghanistan War Costs Top Vietnam”

US war veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have announced they’re planning to descend on Washington, DC this March to testify about war crimes they committed or personally witnessed in Iraq. "The war in Iraq is not covered to its potential because of how dangerous it is for reporters to cover it," said Liam Madden, a … Continue reading “US War Vets to Speak Publicly About War Crimes”

Two US Army deserters who fled to Canada and sought refugee status on grounds of their opposition to the war in Iraq have lost their bids to have the Supreme Court of Canada hear their cases. The court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey Thursday, who were rejected two years … Continue reading “Canada Shuts Doors to US War Resisters”

Unlike most U.S. journalists who went to Iraq to cover a war, Dahr Jamail went to try to stop it. In his new book, Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq, Jamail writes of volunteering as a rescue ranger at Denali National Park in Alaska while news of the invasion … Continue reading “Outrage in a Time of Apathy”

First Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, won what his backers are calling a "huge victory" in court Thursday. US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle ruled the military cannot put Watada on trial a second time unless it can prove such a trial would not violate the US Constitution’s … Continue reading “Case Crumbles Against Officer Who Refused Iraq”

The U.S. military has expelled the son of a leading peace activist for going AWOL after returning from a year tour in Iraq. Specialist Shaun Manuel, whose father Michael McPhearson directs the organization Veterans for Peace, was given a bad-conduct discharge last month after failing to report for training for a second tour. When Manuel … Continue reading “Peace Activist’s Son Discovers Pain of War”

SAN FRANCISCO – Cody Miranda joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was 17 years old. He loved the military and hoped to spend his entire career in the service. Miranda has served more than 16 years in the Marine Corps. Over the years, he’s been deployed to the Middle East six times, including stints … Continue reading “Troubled Soldier Gets Demoted, Not Treated”

The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to take what advocates are calling a historic vote this week to close the largest U.S. military training ground for soldiers from Central and South America. The vote comes on the initiative of Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), who has offered an amendment to the Foreign Operations and Appropriations … Continue reading “US Vote Could Close ‘School of the Americas’”

The U.S. Vets Westside Residence Hall is a hulking eight-story structure a few blocks from Los Angeles International Airport. It’s the largest transitional housing and employment center for homeless veterans in the country, hosting 700 veterans annually. Michael Hall is one of its residents. The 31-year-old Army staff sergeant enlisted shortly after high school and … Continue reading “Homeless Vets Struggle Long After War’s End”