Promoting a “Right to Heal” from Ft. Hood to Abu Ghraib
Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are holding the U.S. government accountable for innocent victims on all sides of the fighting.
Digging in on Drones and other Flawed Foreign Policy Strategies
Obama’s declaration that “America must move off a permanent war footing” wasn’t the Wow! moment it should have been during his State of the Union address.
Occupy Wall Street: New Politics and New Milestones
The Occupy Wall Street movement claimed a little scrap of earth in Zuccotti Park on behalf of all of us, and created a live-in soapbox from which to challenge inequality.
WikiLeaks: Decisive Evidence of the Bush Administration’s Criminal Liability
WikiLeaks paves the way for the long-awaited prosecution of Bush & Co.
IPS Book Event: Aaron Glantz’s ‘The War Comes Home’
About the Book
The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle against America’s Veterans is the first book to systematically document the U.S. government’s neglect of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Aaron Glantz, who reported extensively from Iraq during the first three years of this war and has been reporting on the plight of veterans ever since, levels a devastating indictment against the Bush administration for its bald neglect of soldiers and its disingenuous reneging on their benefits. Glantz interviewed more than 100 recent war veterans, and here he intersperses their haunting first-person accounts with investigations into specific concerns, such as the scandal at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This timely book does more than provide us with a personal connection to those whose service has cost them so dearly. It compels us to confront how America treats its veterans and to consider what kind of nation deifies its soldiers and then casts them off as damaged goods.
About The Author
Aaron Glantz, a Foreign Policy In Focus contributor, is an independent journalist whose work has appeared in The Nation and The Progressive and on Democracy Now!. He also wrote How America Lost Iraq.
You can read an excerpt of The War Comes Home here.
FPIF Summer Film Series: Body of War
The Foreign Policy In Focus Annual Summer Film Series presents the fourth film in the series. Body of War won Best Documentary from both the Hampton International Film Festival and the National Board of Review. Please join us and our guest speaker Geoff Millard, from Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Body of War is a documentary following Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran paralyzed from a bullet to the spine, on a physical and emotional journey as he adapts to his new body and begins to question the decision to go to war in Iraq. From soldier to anti-war activist, the film takes an unflinching view of the physical and emotional aftermath of war through the eyes of an American hero. The film unfolds on two parallel tracks. On the one hand, we see Tomas evolving into a powerful voice against the war as he struggles to deal with the complexities of a paralyzed body. And on the other hand, we see the historic debate unfolding in the Congress about going to war in Iraq.
The FPIF film series is co-sponsored by Busboys and Poets Restaurant and the Progressive Intern Network.
Calendar of Films:
Taxi to the Dark Side
Best Documentary – Academy Award
Thursday, July 3
5:30-7:30pm
Speakers: Farrah Hassen, Newman Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
and Andy Shallal, Iraqi Voices for Peace and Owner of Busboys and Poets
Camden 28
Best Documentary – Philadelphia Film Festival
Friday, July 11
5:30-7:30pm
Speaker: Marcus Raskin, Co-Founder and Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Cocalero
Nominated, Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary – Sundance
Friday, July 18
6:00- 8:00pm
Speaker: Sanho Tree, Fellow and Director of Drug Policy Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Body Of War
Best Documentary – Hampton International Film Festival and Best Documentary – National Board of Review
Friday, July 25
8:00-10:00pm
Speaker: Geoff Millard, Iraq Veterans Against the War
Maquilápolis
Outstanding Achievement in Documentary – Tribeca Film Festival and Audience Award for Best Documentary – Barcelona International Women’s Film Festival
Thursday, July 31
5:30-7:30pm
Speakers: Sarah Anderson, Fellow and Director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and Manuel Perez Rocha, Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Foreign Policy In Focus is a network for research, analysis and action that brings together more than 600 scholars, advocates and activists who strive to make the United States a more responsible global partner. It is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington.
For more than four decades, the Institute for Policy Studies has transformed ideas into action for peace, justice, and the environment. It is a progressive multi-issue think tank.
The Way to a Just Foreign Policy
It’s time to leave behind old ideas of superpowers. A changing world brings new opportunities for peace and the chance to join a community of nations.
Winter Soldier: Iraq and Vietnam, Abu Ghraib & My Lai
27 years after the first Winter Soldier, IVAW documents the illegality of the Iraq War, its strategy, and implementation.
Transforming the Jangling Discords of Our World into a Beautiful Symphony
Remarks made at the 2008 Take Back America conference session on strategies to end the Iraq War.
Winter Soldier Hearings
U.S. veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan change the conversation.
The Art of Deconstructing War
Aaron Hughes talks about how he has transformed his experience as a soldier in the Iraq War into art.
Tourist Photograph from Iraq
Here is an example of his artwork, a “tourist photograph from Iraq.”
Lt. Watada-an American Hero
If we all had Lt. Watada’s courage, we could finally facilitate an end to the Iraq War.
Five Reasons Why I’ll March on Jan. 27 (and You Should Too)
Why you should come to the January 27 United for Peace and Justice protest against the Iraq War.