Sign at NYC Occupy Wall Street Rally on October 8th, 2011, courtesy of (cc) Flickr user Downtown Traveler

Over two million Americans have fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They return to a nation in economic crisis. A third of those veterans come home to face serious medical conditions. Many veterans now consider themselves the 99 percent, and have joined a second Occupation, Occupy Wall Street. On this edition, a special report on veterans standing in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street movements and an encore presentation about veterans returning home from war and the struggles they endure produced by Aaron Glantz.

Featuring:

Sgt. Shamar Thomas, marine veteran; Kurt Biddle, army veteran; Jeff Paterson, Courage To Resist; Jason Matherne, Iraq Veterans Against War; Joshua Shepherd, navy veteran; Douglass Connor, army veteran; Andrew Berends, The Blood of My Brother filmmaker; Michael Hall, former US Army staff sergeant; Rachel Feldstein, New Directions associate director; Joshua Kors, The Nation magazine correspondent; Zollie Goodman, former naval petty officer; Barack Obama, United States president; Todd Stenhouse, National Veterans Foundation spokesperson; Terry “T.J.” Boyd, former Marine Corps sergeant; Ron Finch, National Business Group on Health; Catherine Morris, Sierra College veterans’ counselor; Paul Sullivan, Veterans for Common Sense executive director.

This documentary was produced with support to Aaron Glantz from the Hechinger Institute for Education and the Media at Columbia University Teachers College and the Rosalynn Carter Journalism Fellowship program at the Carter Center. Thanks also to Mike Siv of New America Media.

For More Information:

Iraq Veterans Against the War
National Veterans Foundation
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
Swords to Plowshares
Veterans for Common Sense
Veterans for Peace
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Oakland

Articles/Blogs/Videos/Audio:

Sgt. Shamar Thomas Defends Occupy Wall Street
The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans
Veterans More Likely to be Homeless
Cost of Treating Veterans Will Rise Long Past Wars
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Not Worth the Cost, many US Veterans Say
Report: Meeting the Needs of Veterans In Today’s Labor Force 

Music:

“Next Bold Move” – Ani DiFranco
“What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye
“Hero’s Song” – Brendan James

US soldier in Tahwilla, Iraq. Credit: U.S. Army

Was mainstream media in cahoots with government forces in the lead up to the Iraq War? In his film, “The War You Don’t See,” Australian journalist John Pilger reveals evidence of American and British journalists failing to scrutinize evidence or dig for hard facts in the days before the 2003 invasion. He argues that embedded news reporters and their outlets simply towed official government lines, and that the public sees only a small portion of what’s really happening in battlefields.

Special thanks to KPFA radio.

Featuring:

John Pilger, journalist; Dan Rather, journalist; Bryan Whitman, US assistant secretary of defense; Melvin Goodman, former CIA analyst: Rageh Omaar, BBC news reporter; Dahr Jamail, independent journalist; David Rose, former Observer journalist; Steve Rendall, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting; Fran Unsworth, BBC head of newsgathering; Scott Ritter, UN weapons inspector; Ethan McCord, former US soldier.

For more information:

John Pilger’s website
“The War You Don’t See” film
Fair and Accuracy in Reporting
Iraq War Logs
Iraq Body Count
Center for American Progress’ Iraq War Ledger
Committee to Protect Journalists

Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:

Committee to Protect Journalists: statistical profile of deaths in Iraq
Frontline’s Coverage on Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror
Council on Foreign Relations’ Interactive Timeline of the Iraq War

Hidden Cost of War a 3-minute infographic movie illustrating a detailed break down of the price tag of the Iraq war conflict, from the current debts to the unseen costs for many years to come. The data is based on the book The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.

Music:

Green Day – 21 Guns
Coldplay – Violet Hill

Graffiti, Worchester Military Recruitment Center. Credit: Mike Benedetti

Stretched to supply the manpower to fight two wars, the US military has stepped up efforts to recruit teenagers and young adults. Videogames, social networks, and the schools themselves are all fertile soil for Pentagon recruiters.

On this edition, guest host Anna Sussman hosts a roundtable discussion about the new face of military recruiting, and counter-recruiting efforts taking place.

******WEB EXCLUSIVE******

Check out the full-length version of this discussion:

***********

Featuring:

Sandra Schwartz, American Friends Service Committee San Francisco Peace Education Coordinator; David Ledesma, One Voice Executive Director; Sokthy Mean, Bay-Peace counter recruiter.

For more information:

Bay-Peace
Oakland, CA

One Voice
San Jose, CA

National Network Opposing Militarism of Youth

American Friends Service Committee Youth and Militarism Program

United For Peace and Justice Counter Military Recruitment Campaign

Code Pink Counter Recruitment

The War Comes Home

Soldiers of Misfortune: Abusive U.S. Military Recruitment and Failure to Protect Child Soldiers

JAMRS -Joint Advertising market Research and Studies

http://counter-recruitment.blogspot.com/

Journalist Anna Sussman’s website:
http://backpackjournalist.org

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Join the Military

Making Contact covered health care reform, Iraq war veterans, and food crises in U.S. breadbaskets.

Two wars continued, the economy remained in freefall, and as hardship ensued, people crafted creative solutions.  On this edition, we look back at some of the most compelling stories we brought you during 2009, and find out where things are headed for 2010.

Featuring portions of the following shows:

Many Voices for a Single-Payer System

Voices: Single-payer protestors at Senate Finance Committee meetings; U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans

Voices: Zollie Goodman, former Naval petty officer

How We Survive: The Deepening Homeless Crisis

Voices: Max Rameau, Take Back The Land founder; Marie Nadine Pierre, Take Back the Land participant.

How We Survive: Sprouting Up in Empty Breadbaskets

Voices: Rachel Klein, Fresno Community Food Bank Worker; Evangelina Zaragoza, Needs Food Aid; Nayamin Martinez, Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities Health Coordinator.

The Greening of America: A New Deal for Everyone?

Voices: Lawrence Martinez, Randy Mason, Keith Rose and Antoine Sawyer, Richmond Build trainees; Zoey Burrows, Solar Richmond Development & Communications staff member; Samuel Charles, Richmond Build lead instructor.

Also featuring: Russ Choma, Investigative journalist with the Investigative Reporting workshop at the American University School of Communication.

For More Information:

Many Voices for a Single-Payer System:

California Nurses Association (CNA)
Oakland, CA

Physicians for a National Health Program
Chicago, IL

Health Care-NOW! New York, NY

Labor Campaign for Single Payer Health Care

Single Payer Action Washington, DC

U.S. Congressman John Conyers

U.S. Senator Max Baucus

The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans

Aaron Glantz, Author
 of “The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans
”

National Veterans Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

New Directions Los Angeles, CA

Sierra College Veteran Student Alliance

Swords to Plowshares
San Francisco, CA

Veterans for Common Sense
Washington, DC

How We Survive: The Deepening Homeless Crisis

Take Back the Land
Miami, FL

US Human Rights Network

Picture the Homeless

How We Survive: Sprouting Up in Empty Breadbaskets:

Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities
Fresno, CA

California Institute for Rural Studies
Davis, CA

California Conservation Corps Foundation
Benecia, CA

California Food and Justice Coalition
Berkeley, CA

Fresno Community Food Bank
Fresno, CA

Fresno Metro Ministry
Fresno, CA

The Greening of America: A New Deal for Everyone?

Ella Baker Center Green Jobs campaign
Oakland, CA

Richmond Build
Richmond, CA

Solar Richmond
Richmond, CA

“Overseas firms collecting most green energy money”

Russ Choma, Investigative Reporting Workshop
Russ Choma

Green Equity Toolkit: Advancing Race, Gender and Economic Equity in the Green Economy

Iraq War Reporter Dahr Jamail

Will the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever end? And when they do, how will we measure victory? For journalist and author Dahr Jamail, who’s reported from Iraq and the middle east extensively since 2003, both wars have already been lost. And it’s only getting worse.

On this edition, we interview Jamail about the stresses on U.S. soldiers, on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the growing refusal to serve among members of the US military. Jamail’s new book is titled: The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Featuring:

Dahr Jamail, Author and Journalist

For More Information:

Dahr Jamail’s Mideast Dispatches

The Will To Resist by Dahr Jamail

Courage to Resist

GI rights hotline

Iraq Veterans Against the War

War Resisters League

wrl[at]warresisters.org

Veterans For Peace

Campus Antiwar Network

Articles, Blogs, Films, Reports, Other

A Call for Clarity on the Afghanistan War by Sonali Kolhatkar
Foreign Policy In Focus

“The Growing Iraqi Refugee Crisis” an audio program by Making Contact

U.S. War Comes Home with Ft. Hood Shootings by Dahr Jamail
Inter Press Service

Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied
info[at]haymarketbooks.org
www.haymarketbooks.org

www.notyoursoldier.org

Music:
“Let the Sunshine” by Mos Def & Kanye West

Top: Author: Nadje Al-Ali. Bottom: An Iraqi woman reads a leaflet given to her by an Iraqi policeman in Rysalah, Baghdad, Iraq. Source: Bottom photo: James Dale

In the run-up to the war in Iraq, a lot of attention was given to the plight of Iraqi women. The constant drumbeat from the Bush administration was that U.S. interest in Iraq was liberation — with women’s rights as a top priority. What went largely unreported is that Iraqi women activists have been organizing – for the last 50 years. So what was life like for women before the invasion? And… what’s it like now? On this edition, we hear from author and activist, Nadje Al-Ali who talks about the reality of women’s lives in Iraq.

Featuring:

Nadje Al-Ali is the co-author of a new book entitled, “What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq.” She is also the director at the University of London, Department of Gender Studies Center at SOAS.

Executive Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Producer: Andrew Stelzer
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman
Associate Director: Khanh Pham
Production Coordinator: Elena Botkin-Levy
Interns: Asma Mohseni and Patti Restaino

Special thanks to the Middle East Children’s Alliance, UC Press – and to Simin Yahaghi for producing this Women’s Desk program and to Preeti Sheekar for production assistance.

For more information:

What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq
By Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt
UC Press

Additional information:

Act Together: Women’s Action for Iraq – London

Dahr Jamail’s Mideast Dispatches

Independent Iraqi Woman Organization – Baghdad, Iraq

Middle East Children’s Alliance - Berkeley, CA

Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OFWI) – Baghdad, Iraq

Women Empowerment Organization – Erbil, Iraq

Women in Black – for Justice Against War

Related articles:

US Invasion of Iraq Set Women’s Rights Back 70 Years, by Nadje Al-Ali
The Huffington Post, January 27, 2009

Hidden victims of a brutal conflict: Iraq’s women, by Peter Beaumont
The Observer, October 8, 2006

An Empty Sort of Freedom by Houzan Mahmoud,
The Guardian March 8, 2004

Iraqi women find election a cruel joke, by Houzan Mahmoud
Seattlepi.com, January 30, 2005

Iraq must reject a constitution that enslaves women, by Houzan Mahmoud
The Independent, August 15, 2005

We Have Not been Liberated, by Haifa Zangana
The Guardian, March 6, 2007

Related Audio:

Short-Term Marriages Gain Popularity in Iraq, by Anne Garrels

Music:

Excerpt from Maqam Hwaizawi, by Safaafir
Horses, by Rahim AlHaj
Dervish Prayer Music by Maqams of Syria

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) marching in Boston. Source: Jonathan McIntosh

In March 2008, hundreds of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans gathered outside Washington, DC to talk about what they saw and did in combat. Their personal stories showed how the military occupation of a foreign country inevitably leads to war crimes, an increase in racism, dehumanization, and sexism. They also spoke of the difficulties veterans are having obtaining proper medical care, and the methods they’re using to fight back.

On this edition, Aaron Glantz and Esther Manilla bring us “Veterans Speak Out: Winter Soldier.”

Featuring:

Sergeant Adam Kokesh, United States Marine Corps; Sergeant Kristofer Goldsmith, United States Army; Lance Corporal Jon Michael Turner, United States Marine Corps; Sergeant Aaron Hughes, Illinois National Guard; Specialist Michael Totten, United States Army; Sergeant Kelly Dougherty, Colorado National Guard, Executive Director, Iraq Veterans Against the War; Specialist Garett Reppenhagen, United States Army; Specialist Jeffrey Smith, Florida Army National Guard; Specialist Hart Viges, United States Army; Private First Class, Vincent Emanule, United States Marine Corps; Specialist Steve Mortillo, United States Army; Corporal Michael Prysner, United States Army Reserve; Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, Florida Army National Guard, Chair of the Board of Directors, Iraq Veterans Against the War; Sergeant Logan Laituri, United States Army; Sergeant Daniel Fanning, Wisconsin Army National Guard.

Music:

“Instrumental,” Ben Harper
“Society,” Eddie Vedder
“No More,” Eddie Vedder
“Hero’s Song,” Brendan James

Executive Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Producer: Andrew Stelzer
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman
Associate Director: Kahnh Pham
Interns: Elena Botkin-Levy and Aubrey Green

For more information:

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) – Philadelphia, PA

Military Families Speak Out

Appeal for Redress

Additional information:

Complete video archives of Winter Soldier are available at Iraq Veterans Against the War’s website, www.ivaw.org.

For complete audio archives of Winter Soldier: www.warcomeshome.org.

In September 2008, Haymarket Books (www.haymarketbooks.org) will publish Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations by Iraq Veterans Against the War and Aaron Glantz, with a forward by Anthony Swofford.

Also in September 2008, Displaced Films and Northern Light Productions will release a documentary film version of Winter Soldier. More information at www.sirnosir.com.

Anti-war Iraq vets reenact occupation at Washington DC landmarks. March, 2007. Source: Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist

March 19th 2008, marks the 5 year anniversary of the day the US officially invaded Iraq. Since that day in 2003, more than 80,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, along with around 4,000 US members of the US military.

Whether one considers it a war, an occupation, an act of pre-emptive self defense, or an act of imperialist aggression, the undeniable fact is that along with September 11th, the conflict in Iraq has become the defining event of our time.

This week, we hear from people on many sides of the conflict; military, civilian, and academic. Iraqis who’ve lost family members, a leading expert on what role oil really plays in US policy towards Iraq, and Americans who want to “stay the course until the job is done.”

Featuring:

Huda Jabbar Mohammed Ali and Omar, Iraqi civilians; Antonia Juhasz, author of The Bush Agenda, and The Tyranny of Oil: The Worlds Most Powerful Industry and What We Must Do To Stop It; Berkeley High School students Lauren Barkin and Matt Rothstark; Beverly Harris, former US Navy Corpsman; Wendy Kenin, Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission; Daniel Nordstrom, former Marine; Protesters outside Berkeley City Hall: Elaine Green, Julie Dickenson, Bill Raskin, Kristen Robrock; Betsy Rose, Code Pink member; Charles Smith, US Army veteran.

Executive Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Producer: Andrew Stelzer
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Interns: Elena Botkin-Levy
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman

Voiceovers: Paul Beiber, Beniquez Cross, Samson Reiny, Lisa Rudman

For more information:

Alive in Baghdad – Philadelphia, PA

Antonia Juhasz

Code Pink

Move America Forward

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

Music:

Maqams Of Syria

Victims of US air strike, Balad, March 2006. Source: www.dahrjamailiraq.com

A severe lack of unembedded reporting on the Iraq war has resulted in a corresponding lack of information about the realities of this war. What truths go unreported? Will the Bush administration attack Iran? What will the increased militarization in Pakistan mean for the Middle East? How will the United States government and the people respond?

On this edition, independent journalists David Barsamian and Dahr Jamail tackle Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and our relationship to each of these countries. Hear their provocative conversation from a live-audience recording event in San Francisco; a benefit for Making Contact.

Featuring:

David Barsamian and Dahr Jamail, book authors and independent journalists.

Music: “Fly Away” Omar Faruk Tekbilek, “Long Wait” Omar Faruk Tekbilek

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Interns: Samson Reiny, Joaquin Palomino and Elena Botkin-Levy

This show was produced by Elena Botkin-Levy as part of Making Contact’s internship program.

For More Information:

Targeting Iran with Noam Chomsky, Ervand Abrahamian, Nahid Mozaffari

Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in

Occupied Iraq – Chicago, IL

Dahr Jamail’s Mideast Dispatches

Alternative Radi0 – Boulder, CO

“The Growing Iraqi Refugee Crisis,” Making Contact  audio program

“The Iran Agenda,” Making Contact  audio program

Reporters without Borders -Washington DC

Iraqi refugees flee the burning city of Basra. Source: Scotsman.com

This re-release marks the 75th anniversary of Britain “granting independence” to Iraq while keeping bases and oil holdings in the country.

Since 9/11, the U.S. Congress has appropriated $610 billion dollars in war-related money. With inflation figured in, that’s roughly the same amount spent over the full 16 years of the Vietnam War. The Iraq War alone has cost the U.S. $450 billion dollars.

And what about the cost to the Iraqi people? In addition to civilian casualties, since 2003 hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been forced to flee their war-torn country to nearby neighboring countries–countries that either don’t want them or can’t take care of them.

On this edition, correspondent Dahr Jamail takes us to the streets of Damascus, Syria where we hear from the Iraqi refugees themselves and the organizations trying to assist them.

Featuring:

Eman Abdul Rahid, Iraqi woman whose arm was broken in a car bomb; Adhem Mardini, UNHCR public information officer, Damascus office; Abu Noor, teacher; Omar Jassim, laborer; Rathman Shakr, former detainee and torture survivor; Adnan, ex-Army officer; Dr. Omar Al-Khattab, young Iraqi doctor; Sarrah, student of dentistry; Hummam al-Mukhtar, 17 year old Iraqi student; Hussam, 22 year old Iraqi student; Adel Al-Jabbah, Amir Alaby and Abdel Aziz, Syrian shop owners.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Contributing Freelance Producer: Dahr Jamail
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Interns: Samson Reiny and Puck Lo

For more information:

Refugee International – Washington, DC

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – Geneva, Switzerland

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – Geneva, Switzerland

New York Delegation to the U.N. International Federation – New York, NY

IRIN

Dahr Jamail’s MidEast Dispatches