Agent Orange in Korea
Whistleblowers have unearthed the widespread use of Agent Orange by the U.S. military in Korea.
“Blasted and Blasted and Blasted”: The Military Traumatic Brain Injury Epidemic
Even mild traumatic brain injuries among the military can have devastating consequences.
World War II’s Invisible Wounds
Mythologizing and romanticizing World War II ignores its complex legacy.
War Is Hell, Even if You Survive
Do you really think that hundreds of thousands of men and women can return from repeated blood-curdling scenes of death and suffering without mental damage?
Civil War and the Safety Net
A young nation, ravaged by war, invented new ways of creating economic opportunities and protections–at least for one segment of its citizens.
The Glory of War
Without the hype, presidents and generals wouldn’t be able to lure sane young men and women into the voracious maw of deathly chaos and unimaginable horror.
Downplaying the Mess of War
All presidents are too eager to “move forward” into exciting new wars, which someone else will later have to clean up.
Lethal Force on the Border
Two Border Patrol killings in two weeks have thrown U.S.-Mexican relations into a tailspin.
Veterans and Poetry
Dayl Wise is a Vietnam veteran, a poet, and editor of two collections of veteran poetry. Kathryn Zickuhr asks him his views on war and literature.
Poem: ‘Walking my Dog While at War’
The poet lets loose the dogs of war.
Art Event: ‘It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq’
Veterans for Peace Poetry Reading
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.
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.
A Moral Burden on U.S. Soldiers
The Iraq War is morally troublesome and many of our soldiers are suffering the consequences.