Veterans - MintPress News

A Badge of Shame: The Government’s War on America’s Military Veterans

The government’s efforts to wage war on veterans, especially those who speak out against government wrongdoing, is downright appalling.

November 06th, 2018

By John Whitehead

A Badge of Shame: The Government’s War on America’s Military Veterans

Not all heroes wear the uniform of war. In the United States, however, we take particular pride in recognizing as heroes those who have served in the military. Yet while we honor our veterans with holidays, parades, discounts at retail stores and restaurants, and endless political rhetoric about their sacrifice and bravery, we do a pitiful job

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John Whitehead

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People (SelectBooks, 2015) is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.

“Is This What We Destroy Lives For?” Iraq, Afghanistan Vets’ Guilt, Unanswered Questions Spike Suicide Rate

While the VA report may call the jump in young veteran suicides an “urgent crisis,” it unfortunately seems to be a crisis with no end in sight until the country is finally forced to reckon with its dark legacy of regime-change wars and military occupations around the world.

September 28th, 2018

By Whitney Webb Whitney Webb @_whitneywebb

“Is This What We Destroy Lives For?” Iraq, Afghanistan Vets’ Guilt, Unanswered Questions Spike Suicide Rate

WASHINGTON -- New data released Wednesday by the Department of Veterans Affairs has shown that the suicide rate among young military veterans continues to climb, despite a decline in the overall suicide rate among U.S. military veterans, amid

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Whitney Webb

Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.

The Connection Between Gun Violence, Suicide Rates and Aggressive US Foreign Policy

While the causes of America’s suicide-driven gun epidemic are complex and myriad, it’s clear that one group contributes to the statistics above all others: military veterans.

June 25th, 2018

By Will Porter @WKPancap

The Connection Between Gun Violence, Suicide Rates and Aggressive US Foreign Policy

In recent months a string of school shootings in the United States has rekindled the debate over gun violence, its causes and what can be done to stop it. But amid endless talk of school shootings and AR-15s, a large piece of the puzzle has been left conspicuously absent from the debate. Contrary to the notion that mass murderers are at the

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Will Porter

Will Porter is a journalist who specializes in U.S. foreign policy and Middle East affairs. He writes for the Libertarian Institute, AntiWar and Consortium News.

Politicians Want You to Think Questioning War Disrespects Veterans Like Me. They’re Wrong.

Questioning War is a Civic Duty. Why Do So Few Do It?

May 23rd, 2018

By Kevin Basl

Politicians Want You to Think Questioning War Disrespects Veterans Like Me. They’re Wrong.

How do you motivate men and women to fight and die for a cause many of them don’t believe in, and whose purpose they can’t articulate? That’s what Phil Klay, author and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, asks in an essay published this month in The Atlantic.

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Kevin Basl

Mass Shooters are Disproportionately US Veterans

Military veterans are more than twice as likely to be mass shooters

November 14th, 2017

By David Swanson David Swanson @davidcnswanson

Mass Shooters are Disproportionately US Veterans

Editorial -- Are veterans of the U.S. military disproportionately likely to be mass killers in the United States? Asking such a question is difficult, first because of concerns of profiling, discrimination, etc., and second, because it’s hard to answer. It’s important to answer because it’s important for us to know whether

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David Swanson

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Dying For The Empire Is Not Heroic

Dying (and killing) for the Empire is not heroic. Allowing yourself to be ordered to intervene in distant conflicts you surely don’t understand is not worthy of admiration. What’s heroic is resisting the Empire.

October 23rd, 2017

By Sheldon Richman

Opinion -- Predictably, the news media spent most of the week examining words Donald Trump may or may not have spoken to the widow of an American Green Beret killed in Niger, in northwest Africa, in early October. Not only was this coverage tedious, it was largely pointless. We know Trump is a clumsy boor, and we also know that

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Thanking Veterans For Their “Service” – But Why?

In a normal sane world, one would think that this is primarily a moral and ethical question.