A Soldier’s Promise and an Iraqi Family’s Journey to the US
The Iraqi man known as “Roy,” an interpreter for US troops. In 2008, he was killed, along with six US soldiers, by a bomb in Iraq. His family recently arrived to California after receiving threats for Roy’s work with the US. I’m sitting in a San Diego café with former US Army captain Blake Hall. In just an hour, we’ll head to the airport to greet the p…
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U.S. military veteran suicides rise
The most extensive study yet by the U.S. government on suicide among military veterans shows more veterans are killing themselves than previously thought, with 22 deaths a day - or one every 65 minutes, on average. The study by the Department of Veterans Affairs covered suicides from 1999 to 2010 and compared with a previous, less precise VA estimat…
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Suicide bomber kills in northern Iraq
At least three people were killed and 15 wounded on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a barber's shop popular with police in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police and hospital sources said. The attack is the latest and a wave of bombings across the country in recent weeks which have raised fears that Iraq could slip back into secta…
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Patriots & Peacemakers
Arab Americans have been an integral part of the United States of America since its inception, contributing in a myriad of ways, including public service. Patriots & Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country is an exhibition, which tells true stories of heroism and self-sacrifice, that reaffirms the important role which Arab Americans ha…
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Killing is the talk of US Iraqis'
This day's English lessons for Iraqi immigrants at Cuyamaca College involved learning how to talk about bad news. From their text, "Day by Day: English for Employment Communication," the 25 students repeated dialogue wrapped around common occurrences: "I lost my wallet" and "My husband got fired from his job." But the stud…
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Iraqi-American woman slain buried
An Iraqi-American woman found bludgeoned to death in her California home last week with a threatening note left beside her body has been buried in her native Iraq. Family members wept uncontrollably by her graveside and her father asked God to exact revenge on those responsible for her death. A relative called on Iraq's government to take quick action …
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'Military friendly' college concerns
In press releases and ads, colleges love boasting they're "military friendly" and "veterans friendly" — and that isn't just because veterans are usually good students and campus leaders. It's also because the newly expanded Post 9/11 G.I. Bill will pay colleges of all types around $9 billion this year to educate nearly 600…
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G.I. Bill Benefits and Your Education
With last year’s update to the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, there were a lot of questions about how the education benefits worked for current and former service members. There are strict policies that regulate who can use these benefits and how they are to be used. If you are eligible, you can receive full tuition and living expenses paid for going to college. That…
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Bombs give lie to Iraq security
A series of co-ordinated explosions killed at least 74 people and wounded 250 more across Iraq on Monday, shattering the calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and showing that extremists remain a threat more than eight years after the fall of Baghdad.The bombs were detonated in largely Shia Muslim areas of the country and casualties were mostly Shia-…
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