From the Frontlines: May 10th, 2010
Untrue statements about the BP spill, what progressives are saying about Elena Kagan, and Greek protesters’ latest target.
Do the Military and Development Mix?
Measuring economic development in Afghanistan by the same yardstick as a Pentagon mission is a recipe for disaster.
Sliding Backwards on Iraq?
The military brass once again floats the idea of indefinite occupation in Iraq.
Sunrise or Sunset for Iraq?
The Pentagon is now calling its operation in Iraq “New Dawn.” But for Iraqis, as columnist Frida Berrigan points out, it just means same occupiers, different day.
Failed Wars
Step one: Withdraw right foot from failed war No. 1. Step two: Transfer foot into failed war No. 2. Step three: Jump with both feet into Pakistan.
Nebraska’s Annual Peace Conference: ‘What a Just U.S. Policy in the Muslim World Would Look Like’
Our Middle East fellow Phyllis Bennis will be speaking on U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current state of U.S.-UN relations. She’ll also lead a workshop, “Responding to the Afghan Quagmire & Obama’s Vietnam.”
This event is sponsored by Nebraskans for Peace and the UNO School of Social Work. Registration information and a full schedule of conference workshops can be found here.
Their Martyrs and Our Heroes
Powerful, developed countries have suicide bombers too.
Iraq: Nightmare or New Democracy?
While Iraq could easily become Obama’s nightmare with a policy that emphasizes sectarian divisions, a national unity framework will help Iraq become a new democracy in the Middle East.
A Withdrawal in Name Only
U.S. troops are moving out of Iraqi cities — or are they?
Obama in Egypt: Changing the Discourse
Obama’s approach toward the Muslim world may be diplomatic but there needs to be more action.
Martyrdom’s Strategy: Suicide Bombers Target Obama’s Withdrawal Plan
The latest surge in violence isn’t because the United States is leaving, but because the timeframe and terms of withdrawal are unclear.
The Cost of Empire: Military Spending, Military Bases, and Empire-Building
A forum and discussion on the costs of empire. IPS Research Fellows Miriam Pemberton and Erik Leaver will lead a discussion on military spending, military bases, and empire-building in Iraq and Afghanistan and will offer a set of policy alternatives for the new administration.
Art Event: ‘It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq’
Busboys 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.
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.