New from Verso: 'Irregular Army - How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror'

IRREGULAR ARMY:

HOW THE US MILITARY RECRUITED NEO-NAZIS, GANG MEMBERS, AND CRIMINALS TO FIGHT THE WAR ON TERROR

By MATT KENNARD

Published 20^th September 2012

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PRAISE:

“I have been following Matt Kennard’s work for years, with much appreciation. He is a fine journalist and political analyst, acute and perceptive, and his work is based on real insight and understanding over a broad range.”
– NOAM CHOMSKY

Read an extract in the GUARDIAN: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/31/us-army-racism-iraq-afghanistan?newsfeed=true

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EVENTS: 

13 September, 7pm: MOSAIC ROOMS, A.M. Qattan Foundation, Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road. London, SW5 0SW

 MATT KENNARD in conversation with DANIEL TRILLING, author of BLOODY NASTY PEOPLE: THE RISE OF BRITAIN’S FAR RIGHThttp://www.versobooks.com/books/1163-bloody-nasty-people

 For more information and to book: http://www.versobooks.com/events/499-irregular-army-and-bloody-nasty-people

 18 September, 6.30pm: BOOKMARKS BOOKSHOP, 1 Bloomsbury Street London, WC1B 3QE

  £2 (redeemable against any book purchase on the night)

For more information and to book: Contact Bookmarks on 020 7637 1846 or events@bookmarks.uk.com

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 Since the launch of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars—now the longest wars in American history—the US military has struggled to recruit troops. It has responded, as Matt Kennard’s explosive investigative report makes clear, by opening its doors to neo-Nazis, white supremacists, gang members, criminals of all stripes, the overweight, and the mentally ill. Based on several years of reporting, IRREGULAR ARMY includes extensive interviews with extremist veterans and leaders of far-right hate groups—who spoke openly of their eagerness to have their followers acquire military training for a coming domestic race war. As a report commissioned by the Department of Defense itself put it, “Effectively, the military has a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy pertaining to extremism.”

IRREGULAR ARMY connects some of the War on Terror’s worst crimes to this opening-up of the US military. With millions of veterans now back in the US and domestic extremism on the rise, Kennard’s book is a stark warning about potential dangers facing Americans—from their own soldiers.

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 Praise for IRREGULAR ARMY:

 “Matt Kennard is a fluent, powerful and authoritative writer whose debut book will surely establish him as one of Britain’s best-known investigative journalists.”
– David Crouch, FINANCIAL TIMES

 “Matt Kennard's new book expertly exposes the effect of the American colonial capitalist war machine on poor American soldiers as well as the stricken peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan living under them. I hope it is read by many people.”
– Nawal El-Saadawi

 “An exceptional author. Matt Kennard never tries to paint a pig pretty. Thanks, Matt, for keeping it ugly.”
– Hunter Glass, FORMER GANG INVESTIGATOR FOR THE US MILITARY

 “Matt Kennard is a creative and dogged investigative reporter whose probe of hidden realities inside the U.S. military promises to be a revelation.”
– Esther Kaplan, editor of THE INVESTIGATIVE FUND AT THE NATION INSTITUTE

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 MATT KENNARD is a journalist based in London. He has worked for the Financial Times in Washington, New York, and London, and has written for Salon, the Chicago Tribune, and the Guardian. He graduated as a Stabile Investigative Fellow from the Columbia Journalism School.

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 ISBN: 9781844678808/ US $26.95 / £14.99 / 288 pages

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 For more information or to buy the book visit:

http://www.versobooks.com/books/1111-irregular-army

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 Academics can request an inspection copy. For further information please go to: http://www.versobooks.com/pg/desk-copies

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