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WINTER SOLDIER:

Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations

By Iraq Veterans Against the War and AaronGlantz

with a Foreword by Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead

ccun.org, October 4, 2008

 
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
--Thomas Paine, 1776

"It's high time this nation stopped and listened to those who risked so much and asked for so little." --Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

"As we enter the sixth year of the war in Iraq, more time than the United States was involved in World War II, we should honor the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan--by listening to them." --Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!

"The only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name."
--Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War

"Honor the casualties of this war--the dead, injured, psychologically altered, those who have already managed to heal--by refusing to forget the elements and consequences of combat that our leaders would rather us not know in the first place. Do not turn away from these stories. They are yours, too."
--Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead, from the Foreword
 
IN THE SPRING of 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered outside Washington, D.C., and testified to atrocities they personally committed or witnessed while deployed in the occupations of  Afghanistan and Iraq. In this book are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic event.

The collective testimony of the dozens of veterans present at the hearings showed that well-publicized cases of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal are not isolated incidents perpetrated by "a few bad apples," as many politicians and  military leaders have claimed. As the testimony shows, such injustices are the logical outcome of U.S. foreign policy. Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan preserves and honors the participants' courageous contributions in order to ensure that people around the world remember their stories and struggles.  

Along with the moving testimonies of dozens of veterans and family members of fallen soldiers, Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan
•    Exposes the Department of Veterans Affairs' systematic denial of mental health care and disability benefits to soldiers returning from conflict zones and the devastating results of such policy, including suicide rates among veterans that have risen to as high as eighteen per day
•    Uncovers the U.S. military's continual disregard for the official Rules of Engagement in warfare, resulting in the targeting of schools, hospitals, mosques, and a general disregard for civilian life
•    Explains the culture of racism and dehumanization of the enemy permeating the military occupations
•    Shows the additional battle that women, gays, and lesbians within the ranks are forced to fight, in order to combat the severe discrimination and brutality directed at them during their service

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded by Iraq war veterans in July 2004 at the annual convention of Veterans for Peace (VFP) in Boston to give a voice to active duty service people and veterans who are against the war. Today, IVAW has over 1,200 members in 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada, and on military bases overseas.

Aaron Glantz is an independent journalist whose work has appeared in the Nation, The Progressive, San Francisco Chronicle, the American Prospect, and on Democracy Now!. He is author of How America Lost Iraq (Tarcher/Penguin) and the forthcoming The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans (University of California Press). Glantz reported extensively inside Iraq from 2003 to 2005 and has been covering veterans' issues since his return to the United States.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
The release of Winter Soldier will be accompanied by a series of events featuring
Aaron Glantz and testifiers from Iraq Veterans Against the War, whose members will also be available for interview, live and by phone.

For more information or to request an interview or review copy, contact:

Sarah Macaraeg, Haymarket Books, Publicity
sarah@haymarketbooks.org, 312-315-8476

WINTER SOLDIER: IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations
By Iraq Veterans Against the War and Aaron Glantz
with a Foreword from Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead
Publisher: Haymarket Books / Format: trade paper, 240 pages
Retail Price: $16.00 / ISBN 10: 1931859655 / ISBN 13: 978-1931859653
Publication date: September 22, 2008

 


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