Veterans
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"No NATO , No War": U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Return War Medals at NATO Summit
We broadcast from Chicago, site of the largest NATO summit in the organization’s six-decade history. On Sunday, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as members of Afghans for Peace, led a peace march of thousands of people. Iraq Veterans Against the War held a ceremony where nearly 50 veterans discarded their...May 21, 2012 | Story -
U.S. Army Vets Join with Afghans for Peace to Lead Antiwar March at Chicago NATO Summit
Sunday’s antiwar march at the NATO summit in Chicago was led by members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Afghans for Peace. "We’re here to protest NATO and call on all NATO representatives to end this inhumane, illegal, barbaric war against our home country and our people," says Suraia Sahar,...May 21, 2012 | Story -
Veterans Say No to NATO
By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan. Veterans of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are now challenging the occupation of Chicago. This week, NATO is holding the largest meeting in its 63-year history there. Protests and rallies will confront the two-day summit, facing off against a massive armed police and military presence.May 17, 2012 | Blog Post -
"What Have We Been Doing?": Decorated Veteran Aaron Hughes to Return War Medals at Anti- NATO Protest
Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will join thousands of protesters this Sunday at the NATO summit in Chicago. We speak to Iraq Veterans Against the War’s Aaron Hughes, who’s among a number of Afghanistan and Iraq war vets planning to return their medals of honor to visiting NATO generals. "[Veterans]...May 16, 2012 | Story -
"Mind Zone": New Film Tracks Therapists Guiding Soldiers Through Traumas of Afghan War
In a new film, psychologist and filmmaker Jan Haaken embeds with military therapists in Afghanistan and at their training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord — where the alleged U.S. shooter of Afghan civilians is from. Lewis-McChord has a controversial record of addressing mental health problems, including high rates of suicides,...March 16, 2012 | Story -
2011 Oscar Nominees Include Docs on Iraq Veteran, Earth Liberation Front and West Memphis 3
Click to watch Democracy Now!’s interviews with directors and people featured in three documentaries just nominated for the 84nd annual Academy Awards.January 24, 2012 | Blog Post -
Death of Private Danny Chen: Military Admits Chen was Target of Race-Based Hazing on Daily Basis
U.S. Army investigators have released explosive new details about the death of Private Danny Chen, who allegedly took his own life just weeks after he was deployed to Afghanistan last October. The family of the 19-year-old Chinese-American soldier says the Army told them Chen had been abused by comrades on an almost daily basis,...January 09, 2012 | Story -
Scott Olsen, U.S. Vet Wounded at Occupy Oakland, on Recovery, Protests, Iraq and Bradley Manning
For our last broadcast of 2011, we turn to someone who became one the faces of the global Occupy movement this year. Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former U.S. Marine who served two tours in the Iraq War, was critically wounded after being shot in the head by a police projectile at Occupy Oakland. In a rare interview, Olsen joins...December 30, 2011 | Story -
Bradley Manning Faces Life Sentence, While Criminals WikiLeaks Exposed Have Suffered No Consequences–Glenn Greenwald
We speak with constitutional lawyer and Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald about the military pretrial hearing now underway for alleged U.S. Army whistleblower Bradley Manning, who has been accused of releasing classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks. Greenwald comments on the possible strategy being put forth by Manning’s...December 19, 2011 | Story -
Occupy Protesters Shut Down Major West Coast Ports, Targeting Goldman Sachs
The Occupy Wall Street movement moved from the streets to the docks on Monday with a series of actions along the West Coast, including San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Portland, Tacoma, Longview, Seattle, Bellingham, Anchorage and Vancouver. Many actions led to confrontations with police, resulting in scores...December 13, 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 -
Occupy Oakland Prepares for General Strike as War Veterans Organize Day of Action at Occupy Camps
Protesters in Oakland, California, are launching a citywide general strike today that will include an attempt to shut down the nation’s fifth-busiest shipping port. The strike is expected to draw thousands of people to downtown Oakland, many responding to police attacks last week on nonviolent protesters with Occupy Oakland,...November 02, 2011 | Story -
Iraq War Vet Hospitalized with Fractured Skull After Being Shot by Police at Occupy Oakland Protest
Thousands of people reclaimed the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall Wednesday after police dispersed them twice on Tuesday — first in a pre-dawn raid on the camp and 12 hours later at night when protesters attempted to retake the park — using beanbag projectiles and tear gas. Many protesters expressed outrage...October 27, 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 -
"Soldier Suicides and the Politics of Presidential Condolences." By Amy Goodman
President Barack Obama just announced a reversal of a long-standing policy that denied presidential condolence letters to the family members of soldiers who commit suicide. Official silence, however, has long stigmatized those who die of self-inflicted wounds. The change marks a long-overdue shift in the recognition of the epidemic of soldier and veteran suicides in this country and the toll of...July 13, 2011 | Blog Post -
Daniel Ellsberg Joins Peace Activists Risking Arrest at Protest Marking Iraq War Anniversary, Nader Calls for Impeachment of Obama
Ralph Nader and Daniel Ellsberg plan to participate in a major protest on Saturday in Washington, D.C., to mark the eight-year anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq. Ellsberg will risk arrest by participating in nonviolent civil disobedience actions by Veterans for Peace, among others, to protest the ongoing military occupations...March 18, 2011 | Story -
War’s Hidden Death Toll: After Service, Veteran Deaths & Suicides Surge
As of this month, over 5,700 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That count does not include those veterans who commit suicide or die from war-related issues after returning home from military service. Well, a new investigation into California veterans and active service members reveals that three times...October 18, 2010 | Story -
Memorial Day Special...Winter Soldier on the Hill: War Vets Testify Before Congress
War veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan came to Capitol Hill this month to testify before Congress and give an eyewitness account about the horrors of war. Like the Winter Soldier hearings in March 2008, when more than 200 service members gathered for four days in Silver Spring, Maryland to give their eyewitness accounts of the injustices occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan, "Winter Soldier on...May 25, 2009 | Story
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.
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]



