Last week, a 41-year-old U.S. Army sergeant from Hinesville, Ga., was released from prison after serving 13 months of a 15-month sentence for refusing to board a plane bound for Iraq. Born in Alabama and raised in rural Tennessee, Sgt. Kevin Benderman first joined the...
An Army Minus One
On Thursday, 22-year-old Army Specialist Mark Wilkerson turned himself in to Fort Hood in Texas, after being AWOL (absent without leave) for more than 18 months. Wilkerson, who served in the 720th Military Police Battalion in Iraq from March 2003 to March 2004, made...
Former Generals: Bush Must Negotiate to Make America Safer
Twenty-one former generals and high ranking national security officials have called on United States President George W. Bush to reverse course and embrace a new area of negotiation with Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. In a letter released Thursday, the group told...
Government Fights Militia in Southern Iraq
With Salam Talib Southern Iraq saw the biggest outbreak of government violence against Shi'ite groups this week as Iraqi government troops attacked followers of Ayatollah Mahmoud Hassani al-Sarkhi. "The government raided the religious school of the followers of...
Iraqi Health Ministry Severs Ties With US Over Raid
The Iraqi Health Ministry is threatening to sever all ties with the U.S. military after American forces attacked the Ministry, arresting its security guards. According to the Health Ministry, the U.S. military also took money meant for employees' salaries. The raid...
Two Months After Zarqawi
It's been two months since George Bush announced the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Bush administration said Zarqawi was a terrorist mastermind, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, a man who organized attacks on innocent civilians, American troops, and the Iraqi...
Kurdish ‘Thank You’ a Republican Stunt?
Kurdish officials toured the United States last week to launch a massive advertising and public relations campaign thanking the United States for overthrowing Saddam Hussein and urging U.S. companies to invest in the region. The campaign looks suspicious to some...
Israeli Offensive Targeting Relief Efforts?
Ambulances appear to be have become a target of the Israeli military in its quest to oust Hezbollah from southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Red Crescent Society has reported five "security incidents" since the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah earlier this...
Karzai’s Cabinet Proposes Return of Religious Police
An Afghan government proposal to reestablish the notorious Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has raised concerns among U.S. human rights advocates. Under the Taliban, the virtue and vice department enforced restrictions on women and men...
Normal Life Impossible in Iraq
Living in Iraq is becoming absolutely impossible. The numbers tell part of the story. The United Nations announced Tuesday that, on average, 100 Iraqi civilians died every day in May and June. According to the report, about 2,700 civilians were killed in May and 3,100...