Don’t Ask, Don’t Count: Pentagon Underreports Discharges

Staff / Truthdig May 20, 2010 Servicemembers United, having just won a Freedom of Information Act request, says the military has not been counting National Guard or Reserve veterans who were discharged under the military's anti-gay policy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

CBS: 2, Rather: 0

Staff / Truthdig Sep 30, 2009 Former CBS anchor Dan Rather has come up short -- $70 million short, in fact -- in his bid to sue his ex-employers at the network for relieving him of his desk duty following a 2004 report he delivered about then-President George W. Bush's National Guard service during the Vietnam War era. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Globalization Goes Bankrupt

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Sep 21, 2009 The rage of the disposed is fracturing the country, dividing it into camps that are unmoored from the political mainstream. Movements are building on the ends of the political spectrum that have lost faith in the mechanisms of democratic change. You can’t blame them. But unless we on the left move quickly, this rage will be captured by a virulent and racist right wing, one that seeks a disturbing proto-fascism. The rage of the disposed is fracturing the country, dividing it into camps that are unmoored from the political mainstream. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Over 300 Arrested at RNC

Staff / Truthdig Sep 3, 2008 Beginning Saturday with a guns-drawn assault on a protester meeting space and continuing through the weekend with raids on houses of known activists in St. Paul, Twin Cities police have arrested over 300 anti-RNC demonstrators. At least 120 of them are accused of felonies, including trumped-up "conspiracy to riot" charges. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Slain Soldier’s Family Wants Answers From Pentagon

Staff / Truthdig Oct 4, 2007 Last Friday, National Guard Spc Ciara Durkin was found dead on her US base in Afghanistan with a single gunshot wound in her head Now, her family is looking for answers and wondering why the U military isn't offering details about the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush: If We Withdraw Now, the Terrorists Win

Staff / Truthdig Jul 6, 2007 President Bush was referring to U.S. troops when he made a comparison to Revolutionary War fighters who resisted a foreign occupation, but he could just as easily have been referring to the Iraqi insurgents. He made the remark during a July 4th address to National Guard members and their families. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

What Safety Net?

Mike Luckovich / Truthdig May 9, 2007 Dig deeper

Keeping Up With the Surge

Staff / Truthdig Apr 6, 2007 In an effort to meet the demands of the administration, Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to send 12,000 National Guard troops to Iraq, according to a report from NBC News. In other news, the Pentagon said Monday that roughly 4,500 troops would soon redeploy without getting their full year off. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

90 Percent of Guard Units ‘Not Ready’

Staff / Truthdig Mar 2, 2007 An independent commission established by Congress has found that the Defense Department is not adequately equipping and funding the National Guard. Roughly 90 percent of U.S. National Guard units are designated "not ready." The commission determined that the Guard is ill-prepared to meet its obligation to defend the homeland and respond rapidly and effectively in a crisis. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Top General Wants Bigger Army

Staff / Truthdig Dec 15, 2006 Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker has testified that his force "will break" without an increase in troops and greater ability to draw on Army National Guard and Reserve units. The general cited the strain of commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he told reporters: "We would not surge [in Iraq] without a purpose. And that purpose should be measurable." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Molly Ivins: Could Lunacy Explain Bush’s Policies?

Molly Ivins / Truthdig May 16, 2006 "Craziness would make a certain amount of sense I mean, you announce you are going to militarize the Mexican border, but you assure the president of Mexico you are not militarizing the border It's quite possible that lunacy and politics are closely related". Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )