Achilles in Vietnam: combat trauma and the undoing of character by
An original and groundbreaking book that examines the psychological devastation of war by comparing the soldiers of Homer's Iliad with Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
In this strikingly original and groundbreaking book, Dr. Shay examines the psychological devastation of war by comparing the soldiers of Homer's Iliad with Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the Iliad was written twenty-seven centuries ago it has much to teach about combat trauma, as do the more recent, compelling voices and experiences of Vietnam vets.
All Day Permanent Red: the first battle scenes of Homer's Iliad rewritten by
Christopher Logue's work in progress, his Iliad, has been called "the best translation of Homer since Pope's" ( The New York Review of Books ). Here in All Day Permanent Red is doomed Hector, the lion, "slam-scattering the herd" at the height of his powers. Here is the Greek army rising with a sound like a "sky-wide Venetian blind." Here is an arrow's tunnel, "the width of a lipstick," through a neck. Like Homer himself, Logue is quick to mix the ancient and the new, because his Troy exists outside time, and no translator has a more Homeric interest in the truth of battle, or in the absurdity and sublimity of war.
Arguing about War by
Michael Walzer is one of the world’s most eminent philosophers on the subject of war and ethics. Now, for the first time since his classic Just and Unjust Wars was published almost three decades ago, this volume brings together his most provocative arguments about contemporary military conflicts and the ethical issues they raise. The essays in the book are divided into three sections. The first deals with issues such as humanitarian intervention, emergency ethics, and terrorism. The second consists of Walzer’s responses to particular wars, including the first Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. And the third presents an essay in which Walzer imagines a future in which war might play a less significant part in our lives. In his introduction, Walzer reveals how his thinking has changed over time. Written during a period of intense debate over the proper use of armed force, this book gets to the heart of difficult problems and argues persuasively for a moral perspective on war.
Army GI, Pacifist CO: The World War II Letters of Frank and Albert Dietrich by
Frank and Albert Dietrich were identical twins whose lives took very different
directions during World War II. Drafted into the Army Air Corps and trained as
a radio operator, Frank was shipped to the Philippines in 1945, where as a sergeant
in the Fifth Air Force he prepared for the invasion of Japan. Albert, a pacifist,
struggled mightily to become a conscientious objector and spent two years
building dams, saving farmland, and helping the poor at Civilian Service Camps
in South Dakota, Iowa, and Florida.
Raised in a close, religious, Pittsburgh family, Frank and Albert were inseparable as
boys, sharing a strong social conscience. Divided by war, they kept in touch by
writing hundreds of letters to each other. The correspondence concerns everything
from the daily drudgery of service―loneliness, lousy food―to heartfelt debates
about war, peace, and patriotism.
This absorbing selection of letters offers fresh perspectives on the American
experience during World War II. The first published correspondence between
GI and CO brothers, the letters are an uncommonly articulate chronicle of military
service and life on the home front, including GI marriage and parenthood. Back
and forth, Frank and Albert also argued about the uses of armed force and pacifist
nonviolence in the face of fascism and Nazism.
Frank Dietrich’s letters from Manila are vivid descriptions of a liberated city under
an uneasy occupation. Albert provides an insider’s view of the pacifist experience,
especially the protracted efforts pacifists often had to wage to obtain CO status.
Together, the letters bring to life different ways Americans chose to serve their
country during one of its most dangerous and demanding times.
Atrocities and International Accountability: beyond transitional justice by
Rebuilding societies where conflict has occurred is rarely a simple process. Where conflict has been accompanied by gross and systematic violations of human rights, the procedure becomes very controversial. The traditional debate on "transitional justice" sought to balance justice, truth, accountability, peace, and stability. The appearance of impunity for past crimes undermines confidence in new democratic structures and casts doubt upon commitments to human rights. Yet the need to consolidate peace sometimes resulted in reluctance on the part of authorities--both local and international--to confront suspected perpetrators of human rights violations, especially when they are a part of a peace process. Experience in many regions of the world therefore suggested a tradeoff between peace and justice. But that is changing. There is a growing consensus that some forms of justice and accountability are integral to--rather than in tension with--peace and stability. This volume considers whether we are truly going beyond the transitional justice debate. It brings together eminent scholars and practitioners with direct experience in some of the most challenging cases of international justice, and illustrates that justice and accountability remain complex, but not mutually exclusive, ideals.
Casualties of War by
Editor Susan Hunnicutt presents articles discussing the issues regarding casualties of war, including civilian deaths in Afghanistan, the policy of media coverage of fallen soldiers, and the cost of caring for Americans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Readers learn both sides to every debate, to allow a challenge to their critical thinking skills.
Chomsky and Dershowitz: on endless war and the end of civil liberties by
Through the lens of a careful assessment of the political views of MIT's Noam Chomsky and Harvard's Alan Dershowitz-the two protagonists of a Cambridge-based feud over the past forty years-author Howard Friel chronicles an American intellectual history from the US war in Vietnam in the 1960s to the contemporary debate about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Major findings reveal the consistency of Chomsky's principled support of international law, human rights, and civil liberties, and a reversal by Dershowitz from support in the 1960s to the opposition of those legal standards today. Friel's volume argues that a Chomskyan adherence by the United States to international law and human rights would reduce the threat of terrorism and preserve civil liberties, that the Dershowitz-backed war on terrorism increases the threat of terrorism and undermines civil liberties, and that the incremental but steady transition toward a preventive state threatens the permanent suspension of civil liberties in the United States.
Cyberwar: law and ethics for virtual conflicts by
Cyber weapons and cyber warfare have become one of the most dangerous innovations of recent years, and a significant threat to national security. Cyber weapons can imperil economic, political, and military systems by a single act, or by multifaceted orders of effect, with wide-rangingpotential consequences. Unlike past forms of warfare circumscribed by centuries of just war tradition and Law of Armed Conflict prohibitions, cyber warfare occupies a particularly ambiguous status in the conventions of the laws of war. Furthermore, cyber attacks put immense pressure on conventionalnotions of sovereignty, and the moral and legal doctrines that were developed to regulate them. This book, written by an unrivalled set of experts, assists in proactively addressing the ethical and legal issues that surround cyber warfare by considering, first, whether the Laws of Armed Conflictapply to cyberspace just as they do to traditional warfare, and second, the ethical position of cyber warfare against the background of our generally recognized moral traditions in armed conflict.The book explores these moral and legal issues in three categories. First, it addresses foundational questions regarding cyber attacks. What are they and what does it mean to talk about a cyber war? The book presents alternative views concerning whether the laws of war should apply, or whethertransnational criminal law or some other peacetime framework is more appropriate, or if there is a tipping point that enables the laws of war to be used. Secondly, it examines the key principles of jus in bello to determine how they might be applied to cyber-conflicts, in particular those ofproportionality and necessity. It also investigates the distinction between civilian and combatant in this context, and studies the level of causation necessary to elicit a response, looking at the notion of a "proximate cause". Finally, it analyses the specific operational realities implicated byparticular regulatory regimes. This book is unmissable reading for anyone interested in the impact of cyber warfare on international law and the laws of war.
Down in My Heart by
From 1942 to 1945, William Stafford was interned in camps for conscientious objectors in Arkansas and California for his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. Army. Down in My Heart is an account of the relationships among the men in the camps and their day-to-day activities - fighting forest fires, building trails and roads, restoring eroded lands - and their earnest pursuit of a social morality rooted in religious and secular pacifist ideals. In his new introduction to the book, Kim Stafford calls them a "generation of seekers" working full time "to envision a way to avoid the next war". First published in 1947, this "peace relic", as William Stafford later called his first book, offers a rich glimpse into a little-known aspect of the war and a fascinating look at the formative years of a major American poet.
Economics of War and Peace : Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives by
"Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives" brings together recent, cutting-edge research on economic factors affecting peace and war. This important area of continuing research was the focus of an international conference held at the University of Sydney in June 2009 and these chapters are partly drawn from among the best contributions to that meeting. The book weaves together threads from a number of themes in current research including new theoretical perspectives on the economic foundations of peace, violence and war within countries, connections between international trade and inter-state conflict, and the role of legal/institutional factors in international and internal conflict. Through a focused exploration of these related topics emerge areas of scholarly consensus as well as areas of continued debate. International in scope, it is the only book to explicitly bring together economic, legal and political scholarship to focus on the problem of conflict. It employs a range of modern social science analytical methods, including qualitative cases, econometrics, and game-theoretic models, to rigorously advance understanding of conflict within and between countries.
Ethics and War in the Twenty-First Century by
This book explores the ethical implications of war in the contemporary world. The author, a leading theorist of warfare, explains why it is of crucial importance that Western countries should continue to apply traditional ethical rules and practices in war, even when engaging with international terrorist groups. The book uses the work of the late American philosopher Richard Rorty to explain the need to make ethical rules central to the conduct of military operations. Arguing that the question of ethics was re-opened by the ‘War on Terror', the book then examines America's post-9/11 redefinition of its own prevailing discourse of war. It ends with a discussion of other key challenges to the ethics of war, such as the rise of private security companies and the use of robots in war. In exploring these issues, this book seeks to place ethics at the centre of debates about the conduct of future warfare. This book will be of great interest to all students of military ethics, war studies, military history and strategic studies in general, and to military colleges in particular.
An Encyclopedia of War and Ethics by
This is the first encyclopedia that critically surveys the ethics of warmaking from a variety of perspectives. Noted experts raise basic questions about what is just in war, describe the views of historic and contemporary thinkers on ethical matters, survey practices at different periods, and discuss key issues. The over 250 entries arranged in alphabetical order cover efforts to curb the havoc of war from medieval to modern times, from accidental war to Zagreb Resolution, different religious perspectives, genocide, UN peacekeeping, and much more. Sources for further reading accompany the entries, and internal cross-references and an index make this major reference easily accessible for students and teachers in military, peace, and world affairs studies.
This is the first encyclopedia that critically surveys the ethics of warmaking from a variety of perspectives. Historically, efforts to curb the havoc of war have confronted three military maxims: military necessity, the right of reprisal, and the obligation of soldiers to obey superior orders. The medieval efforts of just war theorists to protect the innocent, avoid needless havoc, and prohibit excessive weapons rarely affected military practice. Modern congresses have pointed out the inconsistency in concerns about war crimes or crimes against humanity and the weapons and strategies of modern war. The pressures of the military/industrial complex, the profits to be gained by war production, and the demands of sovereign nationalism contradict such alternative concerns as those raised by the United Nations and the International Red Cross.
Noted experts raise basic questions about what is just in war, describe the views of historic and contemporary thinkers on ethical matters, survey practices at different periods, and discuss key issues. The over 250 entries arranged in alphabetical order cover efforts to curb the havoc of war from medieval to modern times, from accidental war to Zagreb Resolution, different religious perspectives, genocide, UN peacekeeping, and much more. Sources for further reading accompany the entries, and internal cross-references and an index make this major reference easily accessible to students and teachers in military, peace, and world affairs studies.
Fields of Combat: understanding PTSD among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan by
"If you consider Iraq-like I do, probably twenty-nine out of thirty days-to be the pinnacle of your life, then where do you go from there? And I'm sure that a lot of veterans feel that way. To them, that was it. That was everything. So now what? They have to find something meaningful and purposeful. "When I got back from Afghanistan, there was not even so much as a briefing that said, 'Let us know if you're having problems.' There wasn't so much as a phone number. There was literally nothing." "I knew it was crazy. I was thinking, the guy on the roof's either a sniper or he's going to radio ahead. And then I thought, this is San Antonio. There's not snipers on the roof, nobody's going to blow me up here. "Whenever I look at people back here at home, I know what they're going to look like dead. I know what they look like with their brains blown out or jaws blown off or eyes pulled out. When I look at somebody I see that, to this day." -Voices of veterans interviewed in Fields of Combat For many of the 1.6 million U.S. service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, the trip home is only the beginning of a longer journey. Many undergo an awkward period of readjustment to civilian life after long deployments. Some veterans may find themselves drinking too much, unable to sleep or waking from unspeakable dreams, lashing out at friends and loved ones. Over time, some will struggle so profoundly that they eventually are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD). Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Fields of Combat tells the story of how American veterans and their families navigate the return home. Following a group of veterans and their their personal stories of war, trauma, and recovery, Erin P. Finley illustrates the devastating impact PTSD can have on veterans and their families. Finley sensitively explores issues of substance abuse, failed relationships, domestic violence, and even suicide and also challenges popular ideas of PTSD as incurable and permanently debilitating. Drawing on rich, often searing ethnographic material, Finley examines the cultural, political, and historical influences that shape individual experiences of PTSD and how its sufferers are perceived by the military, medical personnel, and society at large. Despite widespread media coverage and public controversy over the military's response to wounded and traumatized service members, debate continues over how best to provide treatment and compensation for service-related disabilities. Meanwhile, new and highly effective treatments are revolutionizing how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides trauma care, redefining the way PTSD itself is understood in the process. Carefully and compassionately untangling each of these conflicts, Fields of Combat reveals the very real implications they have for veterans living with PTSD and offers recommendations to improve how we care for this vulnerable but resilient population.
The Iraq War by
The reasoning for the Iraq War has been a hotly debated, contentious issue since the Bush administration began pressing for military intervention in Iraq in 2001. The U.S. is still embroiled in complicated international politics with Iraq, including Donald Trump naming Iraq as one of the countries placed under a travel ban. While facts and figures can be compiled to paint an informative picture, this book does something more meaningful; it shares personal first-hand stories of people involved in all sides of the Iraq War and its impact thereafter. Thura al-Windawi describes how civilians prepared for war. Hannah Allam describes visiting a friend in war-torn Iraq. Colby Buzzell shared details of everyday life of Iraq war veterans. George W. Bush explains his reasons for war. Robert Greenwald explains the madness of war profiteering. These and other compelling essays will leave an unforgettable impression on your readers.
Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World by
Jean Bethke Elshtain advocates "just war" in times of crisis and mounts a reasoned attack against the anti-war contingent in American intellectual life. Advocating an ethic of responsibility, Elshtain forces us to ask tough questions not only about the nature of terrorism, but about ourselves. This paperback edition features a new introduction by the author, addressing the Iraq war and other events in the Middle East.
Killing in War by
The dominant view throughout history has been that mere participation in an unjust war is not wrong. Soldiers are not to blame for the unjustness of the military actions into which their leaders throw them. The principles governing what is permissible in war apply equally to any combatants.Jeff McMahan argues powerfully that this dominant view must be overturned. Combatants who fight for an unjust cause are acting wrongly and are themselves morally responsible for their own wrongdoings. If a soldier fighting for an unjust cause kills an opposing soldier, he is killing an innocentperson and is morally responsible for that killing.This is a highly controversial view, which threatens to undermine the moral standing of military personnel in many contexts around the world today. McMahan shows that the view is nevertheless one which common sense can see to be demanded by our basic moral intuitions. We must rethink our attitudesto the moral role of the individual in war.
Liberty and Conscience: A Documentary History of the Experiences of Conscientious Objectors in America through the Civil War by
Although the act of conscientious objection entered modern consciousness most strikingly as a result of the Vietnam War, Americans have long struggled to reconcile their politics, pacifist beliefs, and compulsory military service. While conscientious objection in the twentieth century has been well documented, there has been surprisingly little study of its long history in America's early conflicts, defined as these have been by accounts of patriotism and nation-building. In fact, during the period of conscription from the late 1650s to the end of the Civil War, many North Americans refused military service on grounds of conscience. In this volume, Peter Brock, one of the foremost historians of American pacifism, seeks to remedy this oversight by presenting a rich and varied collection of documents, many drawn from obscure sources, that shed new light on American religious and military history. These include legal findings, church and meeting proceedings, appeals by nonconformists to government authorities, and illuminating excerpts from personal journals. These accounts contain many poignant, often painful, and sometimes even humorous episodes that offer glimpses into the lives of conscientious objectors of the era. One of the most striking features to emerge from these documents is the critical role of religion in the history of American pacifism. Brock finds that virtually all who refused military service in this period were inspired by religious convictions, with Quakers frequently the most ardent dissenters. In the antebellum period, however, the pacifist spectrum expanded to include nonsectarians such as the famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, founder of the New England Non-Resistance Society. A dramatic, powerful portrait of early American pacifism, Liberty and Conscience presents not only the thought and practice of the objectors themselves, but also the response of the authorities and the general public.
Literary Themes for Students by
Presents a myriad of viewpoints, so that modern readers can begin to grasp the complexities of war and its impact. Such stories give voice to the individuals who fight and are fought against, who are injured, who suffer on the battlefield and at home, and who, inevitably, can no longer speak for themselves. Examines dominant and recurring subthemes in the literature of war; including survival, terrorism, leadership, and genocide.
Men at War: What Fiction Tells Us About Conflict, From the Iliad to Catch-22 by
Since Achilles first stormed into our imagination, literature has introduced its readers to truly unforgettable martial characters. In Men at War, Christopher Coker discusses some of the most famous of these fictional creations and their impact on our understanding of war and masculinity. Grouped into five archetypes-warriors, heroes, villains, survivors and victims-these characters range across 3000 years of history, through epic poems, the modern novel and one of the twentieth century's most famous film scripts. Great authors like Homer and Tolstoy show us aspects of reality invisible except through a literary lens, while fictional characters such as Achilles and Falstaff, Robert Jordan and Jack Aubrey, are not just larger than life; they are life's largeness-and this is why we seek them out. Although the Greeks knew that the lovers, wives and mothers of soldiers are the chief victims of battle, for the combatants, war is a masculine pursuit. Each of Coker's chapters explores what fiction tells us about war's appeal to young men and the way it makes- and breaks-them. The existential appeal of war too is perhaps best conveyed in fictional accounts, and these too are scrutinized by the author.
The Middle East Peace Process by
This collection of for-or-against essays examines the issues contributing to the current crisis in the Middle East and the future of the peace process. Essays discuss whether or not human rights violations took place in Gaza, including reactions to the Goldstone Report. Readers will also examine the potential for a two-state solution, and concerns about the possibility of nuclear war in the region.
Misfortunes of War: Press and Public Reactions to Civilian Deaths in Wartime by
This monograph, part of a larger study of ways to reduce collateral damage undertaken for the U.S. Air Force, analyzes media and public reactions to civilian casualty incidents, whether these incidents affect media reporting or public support for military operations, and, if so, how. It analyzes case studies of incidents of civilian deaths in the February 1991 bombing of the Al Firdos bunker in the Gulf War, the April and May 1999 attacks on the Djakovica convoy and Chinese embassy during the war in Kosovo, the June 2002 attack involving an Afghan wedding party during operations in Afghanistan, and the March 2003 incident involving a large explosion in a crowded Baghdad marketplace to describe and explain how the U.S. and foreign media and publics have responded. For each case study, the study team examined press, public, and leadership responses to these incidents and found the following. First, while avoiding civilian casualties is important to the American public, it has realistic expectations about the actual possibilities for avoiding casualties. Second, the press reports heavily on civilian casualty incidents. Third, adversaries understand the publicÂ's sensitivities to civilian deaths and have sought to exploit them. Fourth, during armed conflict, the belief that the United States and its allies are trying to avoid casualties most affects support for U.S. military operations, both at home and abroad. Fifth, while strong majorities of Americans typically give U.S. military and political leaders the benefit of the doubt when civilian casualty incidents occur, this does not necessarily extend to foreign audiences. Sixth, when civilian casualty incidents occur, it is at least as important to get the story right as to get the story out. Finally, attention to and concern about civilian casualties both at home and abroad have increased in recent years and may continue to do so.
A New Era of Nonviolence: the power of civil society over war by
A New Age of Nonviolence is the first exploration of nonviolent strategies and tactics that have been used to prevent and end civil wars, invasions, and occupations. Keeping with the theoretical core objective of the field of Peace and Conflict Studies, the problem of war is examined with the goal to transform destructive conflict to constructive conflict. Research into alternatives has produced a growing corpus of knowledge that can enable civil society to increasingly expect success when it engages decision-makers in these controversies. This book asks the reader to consider the questions of social conflict using a cost-benefit analysis that reveals the advisability of strategic nonviolence. Causes and correlates to war research is robust and examined as a series of common set of motivators to conflict, and when that research is filtered against the results of research into comparisons of conflict management methods, conclusions about potential strategies for ending war emerge and indeed are examined both in aggregate and in select case studies that show growing success.
Pacifism by
This volume explores the topics relating to pacifism by presenting varied expert opinions that examine many of the different aspects that comprise these issues. The selected articles discuss many aspects relating to people who do not think war or violence is a good way to stop a fight or to get ahead of someone, especially in terms of war and the military. The viewpoints are selected from a wide range of highly respected sources and publications. This allows your reader to attain the higher-level critical thinking and reading skills that are essential in a culture of diverse and contradictory opinions.
Peace First : A New Model to End War by
Uri Savir has an ambitious, indispensable goal: to bring peacemaking into the 21st century. "Little in today's world," writes Savir, "is more progressive than modern warfare. Yet little is more archaic than peacemaking." We remain trapped in a centuries-old mindset, with leaders bargaining warily for concessions and signing treaties that collapse because no one on the ground has any real stake in them. Drawing on his experiences negotiating the Oslo Peace Accords as well as on trenchant examples from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and the former Yugoslavia, Savir argues that an enduring peace is built from the bottom up, not from the top down. He describes a new model based on establishing and nurturing mutually beneficial forms of cooperation beginning on the local level, city-to-city and organization-to-organization. This process of "glocalization"--involving local actors in global issues--is the first step toward constructing a peace ecology: a comprehensive transnational culture dedicated to breaking down the psychological and social barriers between former enemies. These efforts are furthered through the establishment of joint ventures that give each side a tangible stake in maintaining peace. Diplomacy still has a role, but it must reject maneuvering for gain and instead emphasize the advantages both sides will gain with the cultivation of lasting peace. Throughout, Savir provides concrete examples of how these concepts have been put into practice. And he ends with a detailed vision of how this model could bring an enduring peace in one of the world's most war-torn areas: the Mediterranean Basin. Peace First offers a pragmatic yet revolutionary new approach that promises to end our most intractable conflicts.
Peaceful neighbor : discovering the countercultural Mister Rogers by
Fred Rogers was one of the most radical pacifists of contemporary history. We do not usually think of him as radical, partly because he wore colorful, soft sweaters made by his mother. Nor do we usually imagine him as a pacifist; that adjective seems way too political to describe the host of a children's program known for its focus on feelings. We have restricted Fred Rogers to the realm of entertainment, children, and feelings, and we've ripped him out of his political and religious context. Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, and although he rarely shared his religious convictions on his program, he fervently believed in a God who accepts us as we are and who desires a world marked by peace and wholeness. With this progressive spirituality as his inspiration, Rogers used his children's program as a platform for sharing countercultural beliefs about caring nonviolently for one another, animals, and the earth.
To critics who dared call him "namby-pamby," Rogers said, "Only people who take the time to see our work can begin to understand the depth of it." This is the invitation of Peaceful Neighbor, to see and understand Rogers's convictions and their expression through his program. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, it turns out, is far from sappy, sentimental, and shallow; it's a sharp political response to a civil and political society poised to kill.
Public War, Private Conscience: The Ethics of Political Violence by
Public War, Private Conscience offers a philosophical reflection on the moral demands made upon us by war, providing a clear and accessible overview of the different ways of thinking about war. Engaging both with contemporary examples and historical ideas about war, the book offers unique analysis of issues relating to terrorism, conscience objection, just war theory and pacifism. Andrew Fiala examines the conflict between utilitarian and deontological points of view. On the one hand, wars are part of the project of public welfare, subject to utilitarian evaluation. On the other hand, war is also subject to deontological judgment that takes seriously the importance of private conscience and human rights. This book argues that the conflict between these divergent approaches is unavoidable. We are continually caught in the tragic conflict between these two values: public happiness and private morality. And it is in war that we find the conflict at its most obvious and most disturbing.
Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan : Preliminary Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families by
Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.
Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent by
Rules of Disengagement examines the reasons men and women in the military have disobeyed orders and resisted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It takes readers into the courtroom where sailors, soldiers, and Marines have argued that these wars are illegal under international law and unconstitutional under U.S. law. Through the voices of active duty service members and veterans, it explores the growing conviction among our troops that the wars are wrong. While the Obama Administration’s pledge to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 is encouraging – and in no small way likely attributable to resistance by our armed forces – it continues to fight in Afghanistan, and the military may soon have a heightened presence elsewhere in the Middle East and in Africa. As such, Rules of Disengagement provides inspiration and lessons for anyone who opposes an interventionist U.S. military policy.
Taking a Stand by
The next step for activists ready to go beyond petitions and demonstrations to work for peace.
Vietnam by
Eddie Adams' 1968 Pultizer Prize-winning photo cemented his reputation as a photo-journalist of extreme talent and courage. His images stand forever as an icon of the brutality of war. By capturing the police chief of Saigon firing a bullet at the head of a Vietcong prisoner, Adams' image fuelled anti-war sentiment that ultimately changed the course of history. The collection comprises never before seen pictures alongside articles written by Adams, pages from journals and other artifacts telling, in gripping detail, this great journalist's experience of war.
War by
Authors in this newly updated anthology debate controversies surrounding the causes and conduct of war, including under what circumstances war is justified, how prisoners and civilians should be treated, and what measures, if any, will prevent wars. Ages 16+
War Crimes by
This volume explores the topics relating to war crimes by presenting varied expert opinions that examine many of the different aspects that comprise these issues. The viewpoints are selected from a wide range of highly respected and often hard-to-find sources and publications. This collection on war crimes allows the reader to attain the higher-level critical thinking and reading skills that are essential in a culture of diverse and contradictory opinions. Readers will evaluate who can be considered war criminals, how the U.S. should address war crimes, the I.C.C, and what governments and individuals should be tried for war crimes.
War Music: an account of books 1-4 and 16-19 of Homer's Illiad by
In his brilliant rendering of eight books of Homer's Iliad , Logue here retells some of the most evocative episodes of the war classic, including the death of Patroclus and Achilles's fateful return to battle, that sealed the doom of Troy. Compulsively readable, Logue's poetry flies off the page, and his compelling descriptions of the horrors of war have a surreal, dreamlike quality that has been compared to the films of Kurosawa. Retaining the great poem's story line but rewriting every incident, Logue brings the Trojan War to life for modern audiences.
War No More: Three Centuries of American Antiwar and Peace Writing by
A first-of-its-kind gathering of the essential texts of the American antiwar tradition, from the Revolution to the war on terror: over 150 eloquent, provocative voices for peace.
Library of America presents an unprecedented tribute to a great American literary tradition. War has been a reality of the American experience from the founding of the nation and in every generation there have been dedicated and passionate visionaries who have responded to this reality with vital calls for peace. Spanning from the Revolution to the war on terror, War No More gathers the essential texts of this uniquely American antiwar tradition in one volume for the first time. Classic expressions of conscience like Thoreau's seminal "Civil Disobedience" lay the groundwork for such influential modern theorists of nonviolence as David Dellinger, Thomas Merton, and Barbara Deming. The long arc of the American antiwar movement is vividly traced in the urgent appeals of activists, made in soaring oratory and galvanizing song, and in dramatic dispatches from the front lines of antiwar protests. The voices of veterans, from the Civil War to the Iraq War, are prominently represented, as is the firsthand testimony of conscientious objectors. Contemporary writers, including Barbara Kingsolver, Jonathan Schell, Nicholson Baker, and Jane Hirshfield, demonstrate the ongoing richness of this literature in the years since September 11, 2001. Featuring more than 150 eloquent and provocative writers in all, War No More is a bible for activists, a go-to resource for scholars and students, and an inspiring and fascinating story for every reader interested in the crosscurrents of war and peace in American history.
We Have Just Begun to Not Fight: an oral history of conscientious objectors in civilian public service during World war II by
Using the method of oral history, this work presents a sample of the insights and reflections of the diverse group of Americans who entered the Civilian Public Service.
The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan by
Dahr Jamail, author of Beyond the Green Zone, brings us inside the movement of military resistance to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2006, a majority in the United States have opposed the continued occupation of Iraq, and increasing skepticism surrounds the escalation in Afghanistan. But how do the soldiers who carry out the American occupations see their missions? Fragmented reports of battalions refusing orders, of individual soldiers refusing redeployment and taking a public stand against the occupations have trickled into the mainstream reportage over the last five years. But how deep does the current of resistance run? What makes soldiers decide to go AWOL, file for conscientious objector status, and even serve sentences in military prison for their acts of refusal? Dahr Jamail's comprehensive study of the today's military resisters sheds new light on the contours of dissent within the ranks of the world's most powerful military. Praise for Dahr Jamail and The Will to Resist “Dahr Jamail’s human portrait of the men and women who turned away from the project of empire should serve as a beacon. These returning veterans know the essence of war, which is death, and have been maimed by the trauma of industrial warfare. They have found, despite their pain, the moral courage to recover their conscience. The truth they tell demands that we find the courage to make our nation accountable for the crimes committed in our name.” —From the Foreword by Chris Hedges “Dahr Jamail is one of very few journalists who have displayed the courage—physical, intellectual, and moral courage—to tell the truth about the invasion of Iraq. In this outstanding book, he describes the often secret resistance within the U.S. military as soldiers reclaim their humanity and, with searing honesty, offer a glimpse of how America’s wars on the world might end.” —John Pilger, award-winning independent journalist and author of Freedom Next Time: Resisting the Empire “Based on his experiences as an investigative reporter in Iraq and in his frequent conversations with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Jamail vividly portrays issues of conscience for military personnel during wartime. As a woman veteran, I thank him for exposing sexual assault and rape in the military—including the warning that of women seeking help from the Veteran’s Affairs, one in three has been sexually assaulted while in the military. Jamail’s work provides indispensible help in our understanding of the costs of war to our own military as well as to countries the United States occupies.” —Ann Wright, Retired U.S. Army Reserves Colonel and U.S. diplomat who resigned in opposition to the Iraq wa Dahr Jamail is author of the book Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq. Jamail’s work has been featured on National Public Radio, the Guardian, The Nation, and The Progressive. He has received many awards for his reportage, including the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.
Wounds of War by
Presents ten country profiles along with information on eleven key topics related to the impacts of war, including the economy of war, small arms, landmines, violence against women and girls, and missing persons.