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IPFS News Link • Military

The US Military Lied to Thousands of Soldiers -- and Now Veterans Are Paying for It

• DC Clothesline

Part of the firm's job included producing "fake al Qaeda propaganda films," the Bureau of Investigative Journalism recently reported.

Despite the PR operation's hefty price tag, the Pentagon seemed to have no issue allocating taxpayer resources to have these videos produced. But over ten years after the Iraq invasion, the Pentagon is now concerned about its past appropriations — at least part of them, anyway.

Ten years after promising $15,000 bonuses to soldiers willing to re-enlist in 2006 and 2007, the Pentagon is now forcing California veterans to pay the bonuses back.

In California, the Los Angeles Times reports, "officials signed up soldiers in assembly-line fashion" in 2006 and 2007, outlining the "generous terms available for six-year reenlistments" to those willing to sacrifice their safety, leaving their homes, once again, to fight abroad in exchange for a large bonus. Now, the Pentagon wants their money back.

To Get Soldiers to Re-enlist, the National Guard Lied

In 2008, the movie "Stop-Loss" highlighted a reality few members of the public were informed about.

With the growing involvement of U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers who had already served in Iraq and Afghanistan for several tours were being asked to reenlist. Sometimes, these soldiers' term duties were extended forcefully via the government's controversial stop-loss policy, which allows the government to extend the period a soldier must spend on active duty involuntarily.


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