veterans
GRITtv: The F Word: When Is It Time To Cut Military Spending?
On Tuesday, April 12, people in more than 35 countries, as well as Columbus, Dallas, Kansas City and dozens of other cities throughout the United States will participate in the first Global Day of Action on Military Spending. In DC, they most definitely are sitting this one out. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Email this pageGRITtv: Geoff Millard: Recovery and Reconciliation
"You don't go to war without being changed by it," says Geoff Millard, former Chair of the Board of Iraq Veterans Against the War. From sky-high suicide rates for veterans at home to horrific stories of "kill teams" in Afghanistan, we're hearing stories every day of the traumas that going to war inflicts on our young men and women. Millard and IVAW, though, have been working both at home and back in Iraq to bring about some sort of reconciliation, both for soldiers and for Iraqi civilians. Millard joins Laura in studio to discuss IVAW's Operation Recovery campaign to stop redeploying traumatized soldiers, the ongoing news from the wars, and his upcoming trip back to Iraq on a humanitarian mission.
GRITtv: David Finkel: Leaving Iraq, Moving into America
The war in Iraq is far from over despite Obama's best speeches and journalist David Finkel notes, "This war is leaving Iraq and moving into America." It is our duty, he says, to understand what the soldiers went through at the very worst of their experience there. Finkel was embedded with U.S. soldiers in Iraq and wrote a book about his experience, called The Good Soldiers. Regularly a journalist with the Washington Post, he joins us in studio in New York to discuss the ongoing war in Iraq, the shift to Afghanistan, and why he's still waiting for the book about the war that will be written by an Iraqi.
GRITtv: Jose Vasquez: Keep Fighting for Veterans
Last week, the war in Afghanistan hit a sad milestone: the 1000th American casualty. This Monday will be Memorial Day, when we stop to remember the soldiers who have given their lives in battle in the U.S.'s many wars. But there are many veterans from the wars still alive and struggling with the consequences of active duty every day, both physically and mentally. Jose Vasquez, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, joins us in studio to talk about the ongoing struggles on behalf of veterans, whether they be discharged and fighting for benefits or still on active duty and fighting repeated deployments. GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates.
GRITtv: I Rise Today In Favor of Peace
Alan Grayson, the outspoken representative from Florida, has made a name for himself with his floor speeches in favor of health care reform. He's also against escalation in Afghanistan, and in this video from Brave New Films, he calls on Congress to oppose sending any more troops to an unwinnable war.
GRITtv: Matthew Hoh: I Submit My Resignation
Matthew Hoh was the first US civilian official to resign in protest over the conduct of the war in Afghanistan. The Washington Post called him "exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts." In this video from Brave New Films, Hoh reads his letter of resignation and explains why he decided to make a public statement. "The people that are fighting us there are fighting because they're occupied," he says of Afghanistan.
GRITtv: Veterans Speak Out on Afghanistan
On Tuesday, John Nichols told us that the dire jobs situation in the U.S. has had an effect on the debate surrounding escalation in Afghanistan and that the administration is actually meeting with peace groups for the first time to discuss alternate plans. Brave New Films' Rethink Afghanistan explores the problems there and proposes peaceful and diplomatic solutions and a responsible exit strategy. With this video, they bring together U.S. military veterans, including Matthew Hoh, to ask Obama not to send more troops to continue a war that is on its way to being America's longest in history.
GRITtv: Unemployment, Homelessness Greet Vets
In 2007, a VA survey found that 18 percent of recently discharged veterans were unemployed and that of those who had found a job, 25 percent made less than $22,000 a year. Those numbers have only gotten worse since the recent recession, but with ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more and more servicemembers are returning home and trying to find work. This video from New America Media takes a look at the struggles of veterans to readjust to civilian life.
GRITtv: Micha Kurz: Soldiers and Silence in Israel
Micha Kurz was an Israeli soldier during the second intifada, and when he left the military he co-founded Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects stories from members of the service (which is compulsory in Israel for young men and women) who served in the occupied territories. Breaking the Silence allows soldiers to confidentially speak out about the things they did and saw while in the military. Kurz is now with Grassroots Jerusalem, where he helps bring together grassroots social justice activists from across Israel. Kurz notes that his Jewish upbringing is what caused him to question the way Israel conducts the occupation and to speak out against it, and he talks to Laura about what Americans can do to help bring peace in Israel and Palestine.
GRITtv: Essential Dissent: Syracuse Protests Wealthcare
Protesters in Syracuse, N.Y. protested for single-payer, "Medicare for All" outside of Wellpoint last week. They spoke out against the proposed mandate and subsidies for private insurance companies in the coming health care reform bill. The arrest of one protester and the picket line were captured on video exclusively for GRITtv by Wilton Vought of Essential Dissent, as well as commentary by an Iraq veteran, who points out that more people die from lack of health care each year than died on 9/11.
