Egypt Election: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Could Face...
While Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency on an antiwar platform in relation to the Iraq War, his administration has led a major escalation of military operations in Afghanistan. This includes a troop surge, as well as increased drone attacks over the border in Pakistan. While civilian deaths and displacement are rising, public support for the policy in many NATO countries is eroding. Democracy Now! speaks with independent journalists, civilians living in the conflict zones, scholars, and grassroots activists on Obama’s policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the realities on the ground.
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NATO Kills 24 Pakistani Troops in 2-Hour Assault on Pakistani Base, Tensions Flare in Region
NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two remote Pakistani military outposts on Saturday, killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers. The air strike took place along the Afghanistan border in Pakistan’s tribal district of Mohmand. Pakistan has said the attack was unprovoked, but a senior Kabul-based Western official claims...November 28, 2011 | Story -
Drones on Trial: 38 Protesters Face Charges for Disrupting Syracuse Base Used in Overseas Attacks
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the CIA has made a series of secret concessions in its drone campaign after military and diplomatic officials complained large strikes were damaging the fragile U.S. relationship with Pakistan. Meanwhile, a trial is underway in Syracuse, New York, of 38 protesters arrested in April at the...November 04, 2011 | Story -
"Call of Duty: Veterans Join the 99 Percent" By Amy Goodman
11-11-11 is not a variant of Herman Cain’s much-touted 9-9-9 tax plan, but rather the date of this year’s Veterans Day. This is especially relevant, as the U.S. has now entered its second decade of war in Afghanistan, the longest war in the nation’s history. U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are appearing more and more on the front lines—the front lines of the Occupy Wall Street...November 02, 2011 | Blog Post -
Jonathan Steele on Afghanistan: "The War is Unwinnable. It is a Stalemate. There is No Military Victory"
The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, now entering its 11th year, shows no sign of ending. On Saturday, 12 U.S. soldiers died in a suicide bombing in Kabul. It was deadliest single ground attack against NATO forces in the decade of war. To discuss Afghanistan, we speak with Jonathan Steele, a longtime correspondent for The Guardian...November 01, 2011 | Story -
Iraq Veterans at Occupy Wall Street Decry Financial Crisis Soldiers Face Returning Home
Protesters at Occupy Wall Street include veterans of the U.S. military, many of whom are struggling with their multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, mental and physical trauma and illness, and the hardships of pulling their lives back together when returning to civilian life. "It’s no secret that a lot of veterans...October 11, 2011 | Story -
America’s Longest War: New Study Examines Demographics of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan
Nearly 1,800 U.S. military members have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began there 10 years ago — the longest war in U.S. history. A new report examines these deaths, based on information drawn from obituaries and tribute pages for all 1,446 U.S. military casualties since the war began in October 2001 until December...October 10, 2011 | Story -
U.S. Continues to Back Afghan Warlord Linked to 2006 Massacre and Torture of Prisoners
New revelations about a U.S.-backed warlord in Afghanistan are raising questions about whether the United States has violated its own laws in its aim to defeat the Taliban. The Atlantic magazine reports the United States, under both former President George W. Bush and President Obama, has actively supported the police commander...September 27, 2011 | Story -
"Occupy Wall Street": Thousands March in NYC Financial District, Set Up Protest Encampment
Demonstrators are marching on Wall Street today on the third day of a campaign dubbed "Occupy Wall Street," which began on Saturday when thousands gathered in New York City’s Financial District. Inspired by the massive public protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square, hundreds have...September 19, 2011 | Story -
Former Senator Bob Graham Urges Obama to Reopen Investigation into Saudi Role in 9/11 Attacks
Former Florida governor and senator Bob Graham is calling on President Obama to reopen the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks after new information has emerged about the possible role of prominent Saudis in the 9/11 plot. According to recent news reports, a wealthy young Saudi couple fled their home in a gated community...September 15, 2011 | Story -
Noam Chomsky on the 9/11 Decade and the Assassination of Osama bin Laden: Was There an Alternative?
Ten years ago, at a time when lawmakers from both sides of the aisle joined together to authorize endless war, Noam Chomsky’s was the leading voice to call for the United States to rethink its actions in the Middle East and across the globe. His 2001 book, simply titled "9-11," became a surprise bestseller. The...September 13, 2011 | Story -
9/11’s Footprint on America: Democracy Now on Pacifica Radio’s Memorial Broadcast
Democracy Now! kicked off Pacifica Radio’s 9/11 anniversary special on Sunday with an hour of voices from our coverage in the past decade. The memorial broadcast began the way Sept. 11, 2001, began for many Pacifica listeners, with Amy Goodman reporting ‘live’ from New York, just a few blocks away from where the planes...September 12, 2011 | Blog Post -
From One Ground Zero to Another: Sister of 9/11 Victim Meets Afghan Who Lost Family in U.S. Bombing
As the world marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we go back 10 years and revisit a remarkable conversation between two New Yorkers: Rita Lasar and Masuda Sultan. Rita Lasar lost her brother, Abe Zelmanowitz, on the 27th floor of the World Trade Center. He worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield. He refused to leave...September 12, 2011 | Story -
The 9/11 Decade: Voices of Dissent on Democracy Now!
In this Democracy Now! web exclusive, you can look back through a decade of our coverage of the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath, the voices of peace and dissent as President George W. Bush led the nation into war, the attack on civil liberties and more.September 09, 2011 | Blog Post -
U.S. Wasting Billions While Tripling No-Bid Contracts After Decade of War in Iraq, Afghanistan
As the war in Afghanistan approaches its 10th anniversary, a pair of new reports reveal how the Pentagon has squandered tens of billions of dollars while tripling the amount of no-bid contracts. The bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting concludes that between $31 billion and $60 billion spent on projects in Iraq and Afghanistan...September 02, 2011 | Story -
Army Widow Calls for Recognition of Husband’s Service After He Commits Suicide Ahead of Redeployment
We continue our interview with Ashley Joppa-Hagemann, the widow of a U.S. Army Ranger who confronted former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about her husband’s suicide ahead of his eighth deployment overseas. She calls for a military memorial, and notes she has not received a condolence letter from President Obama. We...September 01, 2011 | Blog Post -
"Cheney, Rumsfeld and the Dark Art of Propaganda." By Amy Goodman
“When one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it,” wrote Joseph Goebbels, Germany’s Reich minister of propaganda, in 1941. Former Vice President Dick Cheney seems to have taken the famous Nazi’s advice in his new book, “In My Time.”August 31, 2011 | Blog Post -
Ex-Bush Official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: "I am Willing to Testify" If Dick Cheney is Put on Trial
As former Vice President Dick Cheney publishes his long-awaited memoir, we speak to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. "This is a book written out of fear, fear that one day someone will 'Pinochet' Dick Cheney," says Wilkerson, alluding to the former Chilean dictator...August 30, 2011 | Story -
Army Ranger Widow Confronts Rumsfeld over His Lies that Convinced Her Husband to Join the Military
We speak with the widow of a U.S. Army Ranger who confronted former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about her husband’s suicide on Saturday. Ashley Joppa-Hagemann introduced herself to Rumsfeld during a book signing by handing him a copy of her husband’s funeral program at a base south of Tacoma, Washington. She...August 30, 2011 | Story -
Rep. Donna Edwards on Why She Voted Against Debt Deal: “A Bad Framework for the Future”
President Obama has signed legislation to increase the U.S. debt ceiling in time to avoid a national default. The $2.1 trillion deficit-reduction plan cleared its final hurdle in the Senate yesterday, passing with a 74-to-26 vote. Six Democrats and 19 Republicans opposed the measure. Members of the Progressive Caucus and the...August 03, 2011 | Story -
Economist Dean Baker Predicts A "Really Bad Deal or No Deal" from Deficit "Super Committee"
President Barack Obama welcomed the deficit deal as "an important first step" and urged both parties to work together on a larger plan to cut the deficit. The deal includes no new tax revenue from wealthy Americans and no additional stimulus for the lagging economy. It has a provision to create a joint committee of...August 03, 2011 | Story
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By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan
Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, spoke Wednesday at the Pentagon, four stars on each shoulder, his chest bedecked with medals. Unlike Allen, many decorated U.S. military veterans left the streets of Chicago after the NATO summit without their medals.
Web Exclusives
In an extended interview, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, discusses the history of the company, why they put sustainability and social justice ahead of profits, the organic and GMO labeling movements, the U.S. war on hemp, and why they refuse to sell out. [includes rush transcript]
Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth examines why the U.S. has not pressured Bahrain to release pro-democracy activists. He also discusses Syria and the conditions in Israeli jails and courts that prompted 1,550 Palestinian prisoners to go on a hunger strike. [includes rush transcript]
