News, Analysis and Action on U.S. militarism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Iran

News

In-Depth Analysis

• An analysis which internalizes all of the real costs of assuring oil and gas for consumption, including the costs of US military presence and wars waged in the Persian Gulf as well as government subsidies for the industry and environmental pollution costs of production and use, concludes that the true cost of gas is $15 a gallon. See: Gas Is Really Costing Us about $15 a Gallon


• The primary government-supported jobs program is the military, including 1.4 million active duty, nearly 1 million in reserves, and 1.6 million in the military industrial complex. Congressionals have balked at any cuts in the defense budget of unnecessary/outdated weapons, to protect jobs in their districts. The result, argues Robert Reich, is a "covert" military job employment program with no civil sector counterpart in education, infrastructure, etc. -- the real security of our country. See: Our Only Existing Jobs Program Is the Military - An Insane Way to Keep Americans Employed


• The author poses 5 pointed "What If" scenarios to stem the metastasis of Washington militarism: ceasefire and withdraw in Afghanistan, blue ribbon commission to streamline the intelligence maze, elimination of all secret and private armies, 50% cuts in defense budget, abolition of department of homeland security. See: 5 Radical Ideas to Transcend Washington's War Mentality


• Two years investigation into US programs and private companies working on homeland security, counterterrorism, and intelligence since 9/11 found an "unwieldy enterprise spread over 10,000 locations." The problems uncovered include redundancy; secrecy and turf issues; and so much data that no one can see the big picture or prioritize problems. See: Top Secret America


• In this many layered historical analysis, Noam Chomsky catalogues the scale of the current expanding U.S offensive capacity in the Gulf Region against Iran -- enough to destroy the infrastructure of the country. He concludes that the nature of Iran's threat to the U.S. is that Iran's move to form regional partnerships undermines U.S. power in the region. See: Chomsky: is the U.S. Gearing Up for the Destruction of Iran?


• The longest war in U.S. history is worsening. 2010 has been the most insecure and deadliest year in war in Afghanistan. More than 1000 civilians have died this year, 61 percent in insurgent attacks. June was the worst year for US army suicides, with an average of 1 per day. See: Don't You Know There's a War On?


• After World War II only two liberal democracies kept faith in and pursued war to assure national security: Israel and the United States. For both, wars pursued have sown seeds of national insecurity and provided no concrete political advantage. Not losing wars has replaced winning wars: Victory is chimera. What is the point of waging war if it doesn't work, queries the author? See: The End of (Military) History


• This article, written by a retired lieutenant colonel, presents seven factors that "make constant war an American near certainty" and seven critical recommendations for "capping the wellsprings of war," focused on budget, militarization creep in US society, bringing war dollars home, and banishing myths that sell war. See: Hope and Change Fade, but War Endures  


• The House voted to fund $33 billion more for the war in Afghanistan, with strong but failed attempts to tie the funding to a withdrawal timetable and to spend the $33 billion on redeploying troops out of Afghanistan. See: Losing in Afghanistan


• The illegal US invasion of Iraq is compared to the British denial of sovereignty to American colonies. The Obama administration should stay on track for withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2011, despite pressure to the contrary by the military. See: On Fourth of July, Let Iraq Go and War in Iraq Defies U.S. Timetable for End of Combat


• US use of drones for killing has widened into a drone war with unknown numbers of civilians. The risks involve stimulating the 40 some countries with drone capabilities to follow suit and a "Play Station mentality to killing." See: America Detached from War


• Wars of the future will increasingly include child soldiers, drones, and private military contractors. The low cost of weapons such as drones and AK 47s and their availability on the black market make civil conflict in rogue states, among warlords, etc highly possible. See: Peter Singer on Child Soldiers, Private Soldiers and Robot Soldiers


• The report of the UN Special Investigator on Extrajudicial Killings called on governments to lay out rules for conducting drone attacks, publish figures of civilian casualties, and prove that they attempted to capture suspects without killing them. It's unlikely the report will have any impact on the CIA drone war in the AF/Pak region. See: UN Criticism Not Likely to Stop CIA Drone Killings


• A bipartisan group of legislators and policymakers, The Sustainable Defense Task Force, has formed to make the case that "unrestrained military spending is a danger to the budget." They are lobbying for nearly $1 trillion in military budget cuts, targeting "overpriced, underperforming weapons" which function as boondoggle jobs programs.  See: The Military Money Pit


• The military of Somalia, of which an estimated 20% are children as young as 9, is substantially armed, trained and financed by the United States as part of its war on terror in the Horn of Africa. See: Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally


• In what appears to be the war model of the future, the Air Force us stepping up its drone capabilities with plans to increase substantially the number of drone analysts. See: Military Taps Social Networking Skills


• Skepticism is mounting among the US public, foreign policy specialists and top military officials about the US-NATO war in Afghanistan, with the rate of military casualties climbing and the failure of the "clear, hold, build" strategy in the recent assault on Marja. See: Obama's Afghanistan Strategy: The News Is Bad


• Two complementary analyses reveal the secret expansion of U.S. Special Operations forces into 75 countries (up from 60) in the regions of South Asia, Horn of Africa, Middle East and South America. Their goal is to "take the fight to al-Qaeda" using unilateral pre-emptive and retaliatory strikes, as well training and fighting with military in many countries. President Obama is committed and more involved than the previous administration in this "secret war" with the "world as battlefield." He has requested an increase in Special Operatives' budget, citing the Congressional authorization in 2001 after September 11 as the legal basis for expanding the war against al-Qaeda. The military anticipates no State Department interference and is gaining more freedom of movement in countries, without consultation with ambassadors. According to some critics, including the UN, US authority under both international law and the 2001 Congressional authorization, is highly questionable. See:
  • US 'Secret War' Expands Globally as Special Operations Forces Take Larger Role
  • Obama Is Secretly Deploying Elite U.S. Forces to Countries Across the Globe


• Mid- and low-level CIA employees oppose the agency's drone program in Pakistan and expect that it will cause "blowback" for the following reasons: 1.) imprecise criteria for drone targets and resultant deaths of civilians fuel anger and function to serve as a recruiting tool for Pakistan Taliban and al Qaeda; and 2.) perception of Americans who used unmanned weapons as cowards.   See: CIA Drone Operators Oppose Strikes as Helping al Qaeda


• At least 1/2 million displaced Iraqis are living in squatter camps around cities there, without water, electricity or health services -- a direct result of poverty and joblessness caused by the Iraq war and war-exacerbated ethnic and fundamentalist violence.  The U.S. has grave responsibility to address "the greatest humanitarian problem facing Iraq." See: Half a Million Displaced Iraqis Face Grim Future in Squalid Squatter Camps 


• This article on US use of drones in Pakistan concludes that it's time "to stop bombing and start talking."  The effectiveness of drones is highly debated; the CIA use of them in Pakistan is against international law; and they threaten to cause "blowback" from greatly increased Pakistani hostility. See: Of Drone Wars and Buffalo Urine


• This penetrating analysis of US wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan uncovers the desperate flip-flops in US policy toward each country and the vision-less escalation of the wars in the face of no other considered options. The author compares the conduct of the wars to British Petroleum's series of failed technical fixes for the oil hemorrhage in the Gulf of Mexico. See: Obama's Flailing Wars: A Study in BP-Style Pragmatism


• The peace process conference organized by the the Afghan Government and set for May 20 in Afghanistan, will include 200 women among the 1200 delegates - a result of much pressure from Afghan women.  The peace process requires the commitment of every involved party, including the United States.   Nonetheless, the U. S. is planning a major military offensive against Kandahar.  The majority of Kandahar citizens and leaders oppose the U.S. military offensive. See: Afghanistan: Talk About Offensive


• An assessment of the Obama administration's recent reports, pronouncements and actions indicates that the US government feels a) threatened by the potential of attack from al-Qaeda to China, and b) the need to invest in greater military defense for national security.    In particular, there is administration concern about China's growing economic prowess which is perceived as more of a threat than Russia's nuclear weapons.  U.S. military planning is focused on surrounding China with an anti-ballistic missile system, despite the fact that China has a military budget which is 5-10% that of the U.S.  See: Look Out, Obama Seems to be Planning for a Lot More War


• Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, demanding an exit strategy and timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.  The 9-year war has killed tens of thousands of Afghanis; and more than 1000 U.S. soldiers, military contractors, and aid workers.  It has no clear mission nor basis in US national security, given that Al Qaida has left Afghanistan.  See: Demand an Afghanistan Exit Strategy


• President Obama has authorized scores of assassinations by drones, most notably in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Critics cite the practice as violating the US constitution and international law. See: Kucinich: White House Assassination Policy Is Extrajudicial


• Despite US rhetoric at the Nuclear Security Summit, the US is continuing to invest billions in nuclear weapons research and development and to support the current policy of limited but essential role for nuclear weapons as well as "first use" of nuclear weapons.  April 30-May 2, activists from all parts of the world will meet in New York City for a conference and march dedicated to a nuclear-free world, including no nuclear power plants.  They will advocate support for the Nuclear Weapons Convention submitted by Costa Rica to the UN in 2007 which calls for abolition of all nuclear weapons. See: The New Anti-Nuclear Movement


• Interviews with U.S.soldiers who were stationed in Iraq reveal that killing of Iraqis was often random and sadistic.  Rules of Engagement (ROE) from commanders changed "as frequently as underwear." Soldiers reacted out of fear and with total destruction in a situation charged with "profound ideological distortions," a situation that was "prone to sustained atrocity."    See: Iraq War Vet: "We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us."


• Using US national defense policy and analysis, this article argues that the US will conduct "ritual" drawdown of combat forces in Iraq while leaving in place US troops, mercenaries, and 5 sprawling military bases.  This post-war occupation will assure a controlling military presence in that region of the world. See: Operation Enduring Operation


• There is a gap between the US military rhetoric of winning over Afghan civilians and the reality of night raids by Special Op forces, which have increased 4-fold from May to December 2009 and have caused a spike in civilian deaths.  The night raids violate the privacy of the home and provoke singular anger and resentment among Afghan civilians. See: McCrystal's Support for Raids Belies New Image 


• Thirty years of war in Afghanistan have resulted in the country becoming the world's first economy fully dependent on production of and trade in a single illicit drug.   Opium production, catalyzed by the CIA's covert war in the late 1970s, has funded Afghan militants in every war since. Today Afghanistan produces 93% of the world supply which accounts for 53% of GDP.  The solution to turning around the narco-state is not continued war; rather it is serious rural re-development through small-scale farming project. See: The Opium Wars in Afghanistan 


• The Pentagon operates like the Vatican, this piece argues, in secrecy regarding budget; and it is ruled by a "well-insulated church of like-minded believers administered by tightly-wound powerbrokers."  It's in need of a secular Vatican II.  See: The Pentagon Church Militant and Us: The Top Five Questions We Should Ask the Pentagon 


• With no public or Congressional debate, some in the Pentagon are propounding a 'Long War' doctrine, which will engage the US in a 50-80 year war against insurgents in an "arc of instability" reaching from Europe to South Asia. See: The 'Long War' Quagmire


• The winners in the 7-year Iraq war are the military-industrial-complex and the intrusive national security regime in the US. Up to 1 million Iraqis died, 4 to 5 million are refugees, damage to vital infrastructure such as water supply and wastewater treatment facilities is lasting, and Iran has gained a foothold in the southern part of the country. See: Vanity of Vanities: The Iraq War Seven Years Later


• Women bear a double burden from the the 7-year US-led war and occupation in Iraq. They suffer personally from lack of security which has heightened for women with the surge of conservative Islam in law and society and from the structural insecurity and destroyed infrastructure which afflict the war-torn country. See: Why the US Occupation Makes Iraqi Women Miss Saddam


• News accounts about the US military surge in Marja in southern Afghanistan, which were fed to newspapers by the Pentagon, distorted the size and significance of Marja, Not a city or even a town, Marja is an agriculture district with a series of famers' markets. The disinformation was straight out of the Army's counterinsurgency manual intended to portray a dramatic picture of a strategic offensive that would represent a historic turning point in the 8-year old war. Waging a war of perception, in other. words. See: Fiction of Marjah Was US Information War


• In a vote forced by Representative Kucinich's war powers resolution, an overwhelming majority of the House including a majority of Democrats, voted to authorize the war in Afghanistan. See: Congress Votes for War, 65 dissent.


• A large number of babies with birth defects have been seen in the Fallajah Hospital in Iraq over the past few years. Although the cause is speculative, most of the babies were born to mothers living in the neighborhood of Falluja most intensely hit by American bombs and shells during the US offensive there in 2004. The rubble from the bombing was bulldozed into the nearby bank of a river used for local drinking water. See: The Cost of War: Disturbing Story of Falluja's Birth Defects


• One of every 3 killed by US drones in Pakistan is a civilian. See: One in Three Killed by US Drones in Pakistan Is a Civilian, Report Claims


• The 2011 budget of $3.8 trillion is extremely vulnerable due to: high, untouchable spending on defense and militarized national security (23%); low domestic spending (11%) on education, environment, science research, housing, transportation, and so on. which is subject to future cuts; and overly optimistic projections about unemployment rates. See: Jo Comerford: A Titanic Budget in an Ocean of Icebergs: Will the USS Budget Go Down?


• Twenty percent of the war budget in Afghanistan goes to aid (training police and army, agriculture, schools), distributed by 3 government agencies: DOD, State, and USAID. No one agency has a central list of war aid contractors and aid projects; nor is there central oversight of the contracts - easily leading to waste, duplication of effort and fraud on the part of the private war aid contractors. See: As Afghanistan Contracting Surges, Who's Following the Money?


• The U.S. military is drawing up a contingency plan to delay the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, because of political instability and increased violence there. This contradicts President Obama's public statement that the combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010. Iraqi sovereignty not U.S. military security should be the governing principle for the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. See: Iraqi Withdrawal in Danger


• The Pentagon is re-branding the US role in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan as something other than war in an attempt to create the illusion that we are not engaged in war. Yet, the largest defense budget in history, which is making its way through Congress, suggests otherwise. See: Obama's Pentagon Rebrands Iraq War, Rolls out PR Offensive in Afghanistan


• We are more likely to die by driving to the store or being struck by lightning than by a terrorist attack. Yet the carefully constructed "fear of terrorism" has resulted in excessive presidential power, a media addicted to the bizarre and sensational, and the Democratic Party defending its reputation by asserting that it handles terrorist threats as effectively as Republicans. See: Cars, Riptides, Lightning -- All More Likely to Kill You Than Terrorists.


• A recent Weapons of Mass Destruction commission report drew wrongful and misleading conclusions, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The commission exaggerated the likelihood of and capacity for a bioterrorist attack. The solutions proposed by the commission are to invest greater resources in research on bioterrorism agents, whereas the primary public health security needs --including infectious disease, animal diseases, national disasters and the capacity to handle them - are left to trickle down benefits. See: Biological Threats: A Matter of Balance.


• The authoritarian structure of the US military trumps the democratic civil system of justice when it comes to trying soldiers for illegal killing or torturing of civilians or detainees of war. Senior officers or high-level civilians in government give the illegal orders to kill/torture, yet the "little people" are prosecuted (in trials shrouded in secrecy) while the high-ranking are protected. Moreover, soldiers are selected "at random" for prosecution in order to manage the image of the US military as "better than the enemy"; often the worse crimes and atrocities never see the light of day in court records. See: The US Military: A Mindset of Barbarism Part 1 and Part 2


• In 1990, the U.S. accounted for 37% of the global arms trade By 2008 the U.S. had a "global monopoly on exporting tools of force and destruction" - accounting for nearly 70% of the market in weapons. The DOD and weapons lobbyists are seeking to revise the minimal bans on weapons export to gain even more market share in arming the world. See: America's Global Weapons Monopoly: Don't Call It "the Global Arms Trade"


• President Obama's 2010 defense budget is good news for the military industrial complex. Further, the president has called for a 3-year freeze on domestic program spending, but the Pentagon is "exempt from the proposal." See: Obama's Budget Calls for Billions in New Spending for Drones


• Peace talks between the Karzai administration and ex-Taliban increasingly reveal that ex-Taliban want a government based on Islamic Sharia law in which religious scholars exercise ultimate power. (See: Peace Talks May Follow Ex-Taliban Mediators' Plan ) Afghani women, however, state forcefully (and with endangerment) that women are being abandoned and "sacrificed" at the altar of "national reconciliation." See: Complicities


• The Obama administration has adopted the Bush/Cheney policy with respect to suspected terrorists: They can be targeted for assassination, and the whole world is our battlefield. The U.S. is involved in joint military operations with Yemeni troops and has killed dozens of people, with 1.) no declaration of war; 2.) no public debate; and 3.) arguably no Congressional authorization. See: Presidential Assassinations of US Citizens 1/27/2010


• The new defense strategy on which the White House's new defense budget ($708 billion) is based includes increased numbers of special operatives, drones, and helicopters for future multiple and diffuse threats - suggesting unlimited possibilities for military engagement. Pentagon spending has grown by 70% since 2001. See: New Defense Strategy Envisions Multiple Conflicts


• In a study entitled "Quick Impact, Quick Collapse: The Dangers of Militarized Aid in Afghanistan" published by Oxfam and 7 other aid agencies, the NGOs describe western military development aid in Afghanistan as often producing shoddy, "feel good" projects which have no community input. The report also heavily critiqued the use of military aid to offer food and other resources in exchange for information from hungry and impoverished Afghani civilians.


• This article traces the U.S. pre-war schemes to control Iraqi oil, the resistance on the part of the Iraqi government, the recent Iraqi oil development contracts with many other countries, and the hostility to U.S. presence which resulting in many insurgent attacks on pipelines: In other words the complex web of events in Iraq generated by the U.S.-led war and continued military presence. See: Whatever Happened to the Neocons' Grand Schemes to Control Iraq's Oil?


• The White House has submitted a defense budget request for $708 billion for fiscal year 2011. It is the highest defense budget in history and represents an increase of 3.4% in the Pentagon's 2010 base budget. See: 'Peace Prize' President Submits Largest War Budget Ever.


• The same military who lobby US lawmakers also escort and help fund Congressional trips abroad. This positions the military to influence the Congressionals on defense appropriations and appointments. See: Military Helps Fund Congressional Trips 1/19/2010
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  Over the past 5 years, the US Air Force and CIA have dramatically increased the number of drone flights and attacks. A 40-year Pentagon plan forsees a surge in increasingly armed, autonomous, supersonic drones that will rule the skies. See: Robots Will Soon Do All Our Killing for Us 1/25/2010
  
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  Thousands of Iraqi children are being born with deformities and cancer in cities which were heavily-bombed with DU-contaminated British and American weapons. See: Cancer -- the Deadly Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq 1/6/2010
  
  
• Defense spending for weapons, supplies and military results in job loss over time, an issue ignored by the media.  The current rate of defense spending is estimated to result in a 1.8 percentage point reduction in GDP spending over 20 years, costing 2 million jobs.  See: Massive Defense Spending Leads to Job Loss
  
  
• "What happens to women is not merely 'a women's issue,' it is the central issue of stability, development and durable peace" in Afghanistan, writes activist journalist Ann Jones.  The condition and rights of Afghani women have worsened due to the public violence of the war and worsened domestic oppression, condoned by the Marital Rape Law recently signed by President Karzai.  Military aid for development is "delivered from men to men"; and "to send more troops is to send more violence."  Back home, as the Obama administration debates the request for more troops and extending the war, the worsened plight of women is off the table. See: There's No Hope for Afghanistan If Women Aren't Involved


• This condensed history of insurgencies and political conflicts in Vietnam, Pakistan, and Kashmir concludes that what brings insurgencies "to a halt [is] the withdrawal of the foreigners."  History's lesson for the United States, the author argues, is to: 1.) get the boots on the ground out of Afghanistan; 2.) support Pakistan in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table; and 3.) demonstrate by our actions that the US is willing to live with Muslims in a multicultural world.  See: Obama, If You Get Afghanistan Wrong, It Could Derail Your Presidency -- Here's How to Get It Right  
• The "unintended consequences" of focusing the war against terrorism in Pakistan are potentially lethal: nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists, surge in terrorist organizations, new "9/11s", weakening of Pakistani government, and heightened tension between Pakistan and India.  See: Why Obama Has No Business Trying War in the Nuclear-Armed Powder Keg of Pakistan 
• New signs emerge of a growing U.S. presence -- some say "occupation" -- and expansion of the counterinsurgency war in Pakistan.  The evidence includes more aid to Pakistan; a huge new U.S. embassy being planned; and growing numbers of private military contractors, including DynCorp, hired to set up a security network that parallels Pakistan's intelligence agency.  See: US Push to Expand in Pakistan Meets Resistance.

• Co-founder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Jodie Evans, recently interviewed Afghani women members of Parliament and activists.  This article conveys their passionate conviction that Afghanistan needs women's education and economic development not more US soldiers and not more protracted war. See: Afghanistan: Will Obama Listen to the Women

• The debate in Washington over increasing US troops in Afghanistan vs. increasing the number of trained Afghan soldiers and police misses the point.  The Afghan people want peace, and foreign troops "bring death and destruction wherever they go." See: There's Virtually Zero Percent Chance of There Ever Being a Real Afghan Army -- So What's the Pentagon Talking About? 

• The Monsanto Company, which manufactured Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War and which sells the herbicide Roundup for spraying in Colombia, is war profiteering in Iraq and Afghanistan, this time with GMO seeds. See: Monsanto in Iraq and Afghanistan 9/4/09

• Why would senators and congressionals continue to support an unpopular in Afghanistan?  About 80% of their campaign funds come from outside their districts, from industries such as defense.  See: Why the Wars Roll On: Ban Campaign Money from the Outside District  
  
  Despite lower arms sales worldwide due to the global recession, the United States has increased its sales and market share of weapons and dominates, by far, the global market with 68.4% of all arms sales.  See: Despite Slump, U.S. Role of Top Arms Supplier Grows 
  
  The War in Afghanistan suffers the same problems as the failed war in Vietnam and then some: local corruption, unpopularity (there and here), elusive enemy, and approximately 1/6 the number of military personnel needed. See:   Afghanistan: What Are These People Thinking? 09/10/2009
  
  The projected costs of ongoing military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan could pay for the estimated costs of health care reform.  This article describes the nonviolent campaigns being planned to pressure the government to choose the Common Good over Common Destruction.  See: Health Care vs. Warfare: The Future Costs of the Afghanistan War

• There is no plan in place, nor exit strategy for the US war in Afghanistan.  Nor is our purpose in being there clear, given the mission creep from neutralizing al Queda to nation-building. See: Holbrooke Projects Long Occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan

• Suicide bombers are not unique to the East. The West has its own tradition, with "suicide missions" throughout the history of warfare.  Only our acts are called "heroic" and theirs "barbarous"; Hiroshima was a " legitimate military traget" for the US atomic bomb whereas September 11th was a horrific "crime against humanity"'; a vest of explosives is heinous while Predator missiles are clean, accurate and focused.  See: Western Jihad: Yes, We Have Suicide Bombers, Too, We Just Call Them Heroes

• Rethink Afghanistan is an incisive 5-part documentary released in 2009 by Brave New Foundation on the key issues involved in this war.  The series addresses: the folly of US military escalation; the war's risk of de-stabilizing Pakistan, a country with nuclear weapons; the staggering costs of the war; the faulty assumption that the war can liberate Afghani women. 

• The vaunted U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, also named "National Sovereignty Day," is far from the end of U.S. military and economic presence in that country.  Up to 50,000 U.S. troops and thousands of military contractors remain in Iraq; and Iraqi oil and gas fields are opened to foreign firms. See articles: A Withdrawal in Name Only, and Iraq's 'National Sovereignty Day' is U.S.-Style Hallmark Hype

• Rules of Disengagement: What You Can Do to End Illegal Wars.   June 13, 2009. The new book, Rules of Disengagement, examines the reasons military men and women have resisted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a scale of resistance within the military not seen since the Vietnam War.  It analyzes legal and constitutional rights issues of dissent against war for civilians and military and also exposes the ways in which military training is dehumanizing and promotes racial and sexual violence.

• Ann Jones, the Afghan Reconstruction Boondoogle  01/112009. In the long run Afghanistan needs services not soldiers. During the past 7 years, the US has built a network of military bases and prisons in Afghanistan while the reconstruction aid system is corrupted with virtually no economic and social development results.
  
  The Cost of the War in Afghanistan An overview of the human and economic costs of the war in Afghanistan, with a table displaying the tradeoff of war in Afghanistan for social and environmental services in the US.
  
  
• "My Son Is a Murderer" -- The Gut-Wrenching Realities Facing Military Moms    Military mother and author Susan Galleymore interviewed mothers in Iraq and the Middle East as well as U.S. military mothers to reveal the devastation and despair of war from the perspective of mothers. 5/20/2009
  
  
• The Disease of Permanent War The decline into "permanent war" degrades democracy; fills the coffers of military industries; and drains the domestic economy of investment in health, education, infrastructure, and environment. 5/18/09
  
  
• The articles by Tom Hayden (Understanding the Long War) and Howard Zinn ( Changing Obama’s Military Mindset) provide critical historical and political analysis of the Obama administration’s involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

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