All right, y'all, coming up next is Aaron Glantz.
This is KPFK Radio, 90.7 FM, 98.7 in Santa Barbara, streaming around the world on www.kpfk.
I'm Alan Minsky, sitting here with Scott Horton, and we are both filling in for Susie Weissman, who will be back from her assignment next week, Friday at 5 p.m.
Now, Scott Horton, we're going to be joined by Aaron Glantz.
Thanks, Alan.
Aaron Glantz is a real unembedded reporter.
He covered the Iraq War from 03 to 05, and then ever since then he came home and has been covering veterans' issues.
His website is aaronglantz.com.
His books are How America Lost Iraq.
He's the author of that and editor of Winter Soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the author of War Comes Home, Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans.
Welcome to the show, Aaron.
How are you?
Good to be back with you, Scott.
It's been a long time.
Yeah, indeed.
I'm happy to have you on the phone.
In fact, I'm happy to remind people as well that if they go to original.antiwar.com slash glantz, that's G-L-A-N-T-Z, they can find at least dozens and dozens and dozens of articles going back over the years there, and we're proud to feature them there at antiwar.com.
Now, tell me, let's just start with the title of this book, The War Comes Home, Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans.
Tell me, that title must be hyperbole.
You don't really think that Washington is waging a war against their own troops, Aaron.
Well, the reason I called the book The War Comes Home, Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans is because when our young men and women come home after seeing their buddies get killed and after killing other people in Iraq and Afghanistan, they're forced to fight a new battle with their own government to get the benefits that they were promised when they signed up.
And this week we're finding out that even after you die, the battle's not over, because it was revealed by Bloomberg News on Wednesday that Prudential and other large corporations have been stealing the death benefits from the families of the soldiers that die in combat and the soldiers who die of suicide and other causes after they come home.
And yesterday in Massachusetts, a lawsuit was filed by two families whose loved ones committed suicide after coming home from the war, accusing Prudential of stealing $100 million in interest payments due to soldiers of families who have died.
So in my book, The War Comes Home, Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans, about all the fights veterans have to fight to get their benefits, and this week we find out that even after you're dead, the fight's not over.
Wow, that really is something else.
It really seems like the image of war and the actual war are entirely different things.
I mean, you think of a Marine Corps, you think of a guy, a sharp-dressed man with a shiny sword, and he's standing around and he's all honorable.
A lot of good for you in Iraq, right, Scott?
Right.
But it looks like a lot of fun, if that's what war's like, to stand around looking all sharp.
Hey, they say that if you're born brown, the only way you could ever be a professional for a living, if you wanted to be a firefighter or a helicopter mechanic or something, the TV commercials make it clear.
There's only one path to a professional life in America if you're brown, and that is you have to kill people for the government first.
Well, you know, it's getting harder and harder for the government to make that case because we can see clearly that every year since this war in Iraq and Afghanistan started, the military is having to spend more and more money to meet its recruiting goals.
And, you know, they'll put out a press release every year saying that they met their recruiting goals, but the dirty little secret is the only reason they've been able to do that is because they've lowered their recruiting goals.
So they're spending more and more money to recruit fewer and fewer people because it's easy to make that sell that joining the Marine Corps is all about standing there in a sharp uniform with a sword if there's no war going on.
But here we are, seven years into the war in Iraq, nine years into the war in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan is now the longest war in American history.
You know, increasingly people know what they're getting into when they sign up.
You know, money for college sounds good, but if money for college is balanced against maybe getting shot and killed, on the other hand, it doesn't sound quite as good.
Well, you know, it kind of seems like on one hand you could be completely critical of American foreign policy and be against the wars, and then on the other hand turn right around and advise your own son to go and join up the military.
They'll make a man out of you and you'll have money for college and it'll be great.
It's still 100%, 110% acceptable to, you know, have this as, you know, some big stepping stone in your life on the way forward here.
But at the same time, that we all know that this is the era of the phony wars.
Yeah, although, again, I think that we're seeing that less and less.
I really do.
And, you know, the word is out.
The word is out.
I mean, I'm not the only one talking about how stingy the government is with the promises it makes to our troops.
You know, CBS News has reported that there are 6,000 veterans.
Now we're talking about veterans of all wars.
6,000 veterans who kill themselves every year.
About eight months after my book came out, 60 Minutes did a big spread about the fact that there are a million veterans waiting to find out if they're eligible for disability.
We've all seen the veterans that are sleeping underneath bridges and freeway overpasses because the government doesn't come through and help people when they're down after they've served their country.
You know, people know Vietnam veterans who've been fighting for decades to be compensated for being poisoned with Agent Orange.
People know Gulf War veterans who served in 1990 and 1991 and are battling a myriad of illnesses called Gulf War Syndrome and the government is not compensating them despite a congressional mandate.
Well, you know, it seems like we always...
People know these things.
It seems like we convince ourselves, Aaron, in this society that it'll be different this time.
We've all grown up and seen Vietnam veterans on the side of the road our whole lives, but, you know, this will be...
You know, we're past that or something.
That was just one really bad example of a war, and yet here we are seeing it all again.
So I'm sorry we're really short on time, but I was wondering if you could just spend the last minute and a half or so talking about where veterans actually can get help if not from the VA.
Well, you know, I don't want to discourage people from going to the VA.
Your tax dollars are paying for the VA.
You served your country.
You should go to the VA.
They have some of the best doctors in the country, especially to treat things like PTSD and traumatic brain injury at the VA.
But when you're dealing with a bureaucratic system, it's important to work with others who can help you break through that bureaucracy and get to that doctor you need to see.
So if you live in Southern California, I think I'd suggest that people check out the National Veterans Foundation, which is located in West L.A.
They have a great hotline.
If you Google the National Veterans Foundation, they'll give you the number.
And it's a hotline staffed almost 24 hours a day, staffed almost entirely by veterans.
And I would recommend give them a call, and they'll help you out in terms of navigating this maze.
Right on.
Well, that has got to be very sound advice, and Lord knows they make it difficult.
There are stories all over the place of people who ended up committing suicide just driven to despair because they couldn't even get an appointment.
Exactly.
But the key thing is that don't give up.
That doctor is there behind that bureaucracy.
So just find the person who can help you unlock the key, and the National Veterans Foundation is a good place to start.
Right on.
And again, give us that web address or phone number.
Yeah, if you just go to the National Veterans Foundation, they're in L.A.
They have an 800 number.
I don't know it off the top of my head, but I think that's a good place to start.
Okay, great.
Hey, thanks a lot for your time on the show.
I really appreciate it, Aaron.
Okay, God bless you, Scott.
Everybody, that's Aaron Glantz, a real unembedded reporter.
He's the author of How America Lost Iraq and the War Comes Home, Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans, and he's editor of Winter Soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan.
And this is Alan Minsky, and Scott Horton and I have been sitting in for Susie Weissman, who will be back next week, Friday at 5 p.m.
Do you want to let people know that Scott Horton here from Antiwar.com.
Let people know how people can find your work off of KPFK.
All of the radio interview archives are available at Antiwar.com slash radio, about 1,300 of them or so.
And I want to thank all of our guests we had today, Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Assange, two people giving the news cycle of last week.
I don't think many people out there need us to say much more about them.
And then we had the gentleman from Bradley Manning.com.
Michael Gosti.
And, of course, Aaron Glantz, a friend to all of us here at KPFK Radio.
I want to thank Tamika in Master Control, Melissa Figueroa for her assistance.
Of course, Scott Horton, who will be a regular voice here on KPFK moving forward.
I'm Alan Minsky.
Up next, the community calendar and the California report.
