Aaron Glantz

The U.S. military subpoenaed an independent journalist Thursday, demanding she testify as a witness for the prosecution of First Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to be court-martialed for refusing to serve in Iraq. "This morning at 8:45 someone came to my house and delivered a subpoena," Sarah Olson, an Oakland, California-based journalist, told … Continue reading “Reporter Summoned to Testify Against War Resister”

Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress are likely to drive U.S. military budgets even higher in 2007, experts say. This year’s Pentagon budget is $436 billion. That amount does not include more than $140 billion that’s being spent this year alone on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “If you think a new wind … Continue reading “Experts Expect Democrats to Increase Military Spending”

A Pentagon plan for a massive military buildup on the Pacific island of Guam is meeting with resistance by ethnic Chamorros who live there and the Chamorro diaspora in the United States. According to the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, the Pentagon has already moved attack submarines and cruise missiles to Guam, where it is forming … Continue reading “Natives of Guam Decry US Expansion Plan”

I wish I could say that the Democratic takeover of Congress gives me hope for an end to the war in Iraq. But it doesn’t. Since winning an overwhelming victory at the polls this November, the Democrats have done nothing to engender optimism in the peace camp. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has ruled out … Continue reading “Democrats Let Gates Slide”

A coalition of U.S. peace groups is pressing ahead with plans for what it hopes will be a massive march on Washington Jan. 27, even though newly released documents show the antiwar community is under Pentagon surveillance. “The peace and justice movement helped make ending the war in Iraq the primary issue in this last … Continue reading “Spying Won’t Deter Us,
Peace Groups Say”

Rural communities are experiencing a disproportionate amount of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new study by the Carsey Institute, a think tank at the University of New Hampshire. "The mortality rate for soldiers from rural America is about 60 percent higher than the mortality rate for soldiers from metropolitan areas," … Continue reading “Rural America Suffering High Death Toll in Iraq, Afghanistan”

Four of the U.S. soldiers on trial for the murder of a disabled Iraqi man have reached plea bargains with military prosecutors, drastically minimizing the time they will spend in jail. In June, the Pentagon announced that a group of Marines went to the home of the 52-year-old Iraqi, took him outside, shot him four … Continue reading “Military Plea Bargains Raise Questions of Justice”

Democratic majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary, will not necessarily mean major changes for the war in Iraq, analysts say. That’s primarily because it is the president, and not Congress, that supervises the armed forces and prosecutes war. "The main control Congress … Continue reading “Antiwar Voters May Get Less Than They Bargained For”

For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, active-duty members of the military are asking members of Congress to end the occupation of Iraq and bring U.S. soldiers home. More than 100 soldiers announced Wednesday that they are seeking protection under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act (DOD directive 7050.6) to file … Continue reading “Active-Duty GIs Call for Withdrawal”

A new report in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry finds that while a high percentage of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), many do not show symptoms right away. "We can only speculate about why the rates rise with time," said lead researcher Sgt. Thomas A. Grieger, … Continue reading “Iraq Brings Wounds That Deepen With Time”