Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan was an event at which more than 200 U.S. military veterans and active duty soldiers, as well as Iraqi and Afghan civilians, provided accounts of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

. The event was inspired by the Winter Soldier Investigation

Winter Soldier Investigation

The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War from January 31, 1971 – February 2, 1971. It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War...

 of 1971. It was organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Iraq Veterans Against the War is an advocacy group of active-duty United States military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans, and other veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks who are opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq...

, and held from March 13 to March 16, 2008, timed for the fifth anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

, at the National Labor College

National Labor College

The National Labor College is the only accredited higher education institution in the United States devoted exclusively to educating union members, leaders and staff. It was established as a training center by the AFL-CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizing skills...

 in Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...

.

Media coverage

The event was covered by The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

, The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...

, the Boston Herald

Boston Herald

The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...

, BBC World

BBC World

BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...

, Newsday

Newsday

Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

, Democracy Now!

Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...

, Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes (newspaper)

Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...

, The Real News, Slate

Slate (magazine)

Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...

, and Salon.com

Salon.com

Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

.

The Pacifica Radio network

Pacifica Radio

Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...

 suspended regular programming for three days in order to air a live broadcast of the proceedings from March 14 through March 16, 2008, co-anchored by journalist Aaron Glantz

Aaron Glantz

Aaron Glantz, is an American journalist and author. Glantz works as a reporter for Pacifica Radio, as well as for other media outlets, including the global news agency, Inter Press Service...

, who has reported extensively on the Iraq War and its effects on veterans. Haymarket Books

Haymarket Books

Haymarket Books is a non-profit left-wing book publisher and distributor. It is published by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change...

 published a book of testimony from the event, Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations, co-authored by Glantz.
Aside from alternative media, coverage outside the U.S. was much greater than within the U.S. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting is a progressive media criticism organization based in New York City, founded in 1986.FAIR describes itself on its website as "the national media watch group" and defines its mission as working to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity...

 criticized the U.S. media, particularly the New York Times, for its lack of coverage, writing that, "given the common media rhetoric of 'supporting the troops'... to ignore these same troops when they speak out about the horrors of the war is unconscionable." New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt

Clark Hoyt

- Personal life and Professional career :Clark Hoyt is an American journalist who was the public editor of the New York Times, serving as the "readers' representative." He was the newspaper's third public editor, or ombudsman, after Daniel Okrent and Byron Calame...

 responded that the paper "had not been aware of the group or its meeting", but that even if it had been, it would not have reported on "charges and counter-charges at home by organizations with strongly held political viewpoints about the war".

External links

• Iraq Veterans Against the War "Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan" Official website. Book review of the book Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan by Aaron Glantz
  Aaron Glantz
  Aaron Glantz, is an American journalist and author. Glantz works as a reporter for Pacifica Radio, as well as for other media outlets, including the global news agency, Inter Press Service...
  
   and Iraq Veterans Against the War
  Iraq Veterans Against the War
  Iraq Veterans Against the War is an advocacy group of active-duty United States military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans, and other veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks who are opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq...
  
  
• Bica, Camillo Mac (2008-02-04).Morality Demands Winter Soldiers A moral argument for the Winter Soldier hearings.