AltWeeklies Wire
Andrew and Freddy Velez, the First Brothers to Die in America's War on Terrornew
Carmen and Roy Velez lost two sons to the War on Terror -- one to the invasion of Fallujah and the other to suicide, which is on the rise in the Army.
Dallas Observer |
Megan Feldman |
10-06-2008 |
War
Tags: Iraq, War on terror, Army, PTSD, death, soldiers, war & peace, Andrew Velez, Freddy Velez, soldier suicide
Project Censored: The Top 10 Stories the US Media Missednew

The mainstream media regularly covers terrorism, but rarely discusses how the fear of attacks is used to manipulate the public and set policy. That's the common thread of many unreported stories last year.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
10-01-2008 |
Media
Go to War, Get Traumatized, Get the Bootnew

Like many Iraq combat vets, Mark Siegel had trouble coping back home. So the Army kicked him out.
Seattle Weekly |
Nina Shapiro |
09-29-2008 |
War
DIY Therapy for US War Vetsnew
It's scars and stripes forever as a cathartic art project helps vets discover that their military uniforms -- like their service -- look better on paper.
Boston Phoenix |
Julia Rappaport |
09-25-2008 |
War
Iraqi Journalist Ahmed Fadaam Talks American Occupation and Sectarian Violencenew
"We're going to have an anti-American generation being built, and prepared, to hate all the Americans. The Iraqis right now know that all Americans are the people wearing uniforms, helmets and sunglasses, and carrying fatal weapons. They don't know that there are people who are family people just like them, people who are trying to live their days, raise their kids and go to their jobs."
Canada's Afghan Pullout Bluesnew

The prime minister's promised 2011 exit is in jeopardy from a shifting U.S. geo-strategy.
NOW Magazine |
Paul Weinberg |
09-08-2008 |
War
Retired Russian Army Colonel Criticizes U.S. Actions in Iraq Even as Tanks Roll in Georgianew
Yuri Yuryevich, also a former journalist, says the idea of Russian censorship was concocted by the West -- investigative journalism no problem as long as president isn't criticized.
L.A. Weekly |
Steven Leigh Morris |
08-18-2008 |
International
Can the Boston Globe Really be to Blame for Rakan Hassan's Death?new
Two years ago, the Boston Globe profiled an orphaned Iraqi boy spirited to Boston for medical care. Earlier this summer, he was killed -- apparently targeted by insurgents. Could local coverage really be to blame?
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
08-07-2008 |
Media
Are We at a Turning Point, or Another Stalemate, on Iraq?new
Five-plus years after the invasion of Iraq and two years after Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold first called for a troop-withdrawal timetable, the U.S. may be shifting its military and diplomatic strategy in the Middle East -- maybe. "We could have been out of there a long time ago," Feingold told the Shepherd Express last week. "And in a much better position as a nation, both in terms of our economy and national security, if we had done this earlier."
Shepherd Express |
Lisa Kaiser |
08-01-2008 |
War
Contract Killers: A Public/Private Partnership Goes Horribly Wrong in Iraqnew
Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Maseth was electrocuted while taking a shower in Iraq. His death, along with at least a dozen other soldiers who have met the same fate, is a tragic, and chillingly literal, symbol of what writer Naomi Klein calls "the Shock Doctrine." In her book of the same title, Klein argues that for modern corporations, wars and other disasters are just part of the business model.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Chris Potter |
07-29-2008 |
War
Tags: Iraq, KBR, Naomi Klein, death, privitization, corporate power, war & peace, The Shock Doctrine
Activists Want Portland to be a Sanctuary for AWOL Soldiersnew
A coalition of activists called PDX Peace is gathering signatures to make Portland America's third "Sanctuary City" for military deserters, along with San Francisco and Berkeley. And they want the City Council to adopt an ordinance that would protect war resisters by blocking Portland police from acting on federal orders to arrest AWOL soldiers.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
07-23-2008 |
War
Tags: Iraq, AWOL, Afghanistan, soldiers, Portland, deportation, war & peace, Sanctuary City, PDX Peace
Students Connect with Those Touched by the Horrors of Warnew
UCSB Students who sign up for RS-155 find that it’s neither a history class nor a religion class, but an emotional journey through the psyche and experiences of real live veterans.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Ben Preston |
07-08-2008 |
War
What's Being Done, or Left Undone, When Soldiers Come Home with Problems?new
Hundreds of local soldiers are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them on extended tours and second or third deployments. The longer the wars continue, the higher the probability of more cases like Matthew Sepi's.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Damon Hodge |
07-07-2008 |
War
Tags: Iraq, PTSD, veterans, Afghanistan, murder, mental illness, war & peace, combat trauma, Matthew Sepi
Your Friendly Neighborhood War Profiteernew
Across Minnesota, from the Twin Cities to the smallest rural towns, are often-scrappy companies with a handful of employees who work contracts from the low thousands to the low millions. Some estimate the number of companies doing defense-related business in the state at numbers as high as 2,000.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Jeff Severns Guntzel |
07-02-2008 |
Business & Labor
Combat Exposure for Women Soldiers Complicates an Old Problemnew
On the front lines, equality means exposure to more danger for women soldiers. Whether that's progress or not depends on whom you ask.
Arkansas Times |
Jennifer Barnett Reed |
06-27-2008 |
War