VersoBooks.

com

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

VERSO

About

Authors

Blog

Books

Discussions

Events

Subjects

40 years of radical publishing Log In / Register

Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror
by Matt Kennard

Hardback, 288 pages ISBN: 9781844678808 September 2012 $26.95 / 14.99 / $26.50CAN
Purchase

Reveals the US militarys dont ask, dont tell approach to extremists in its ranks.
Since the launch of the Afghanistan and Iraq warsnow the longest wars in American historythe US military has struggled to recruit troops. It has responded, as Matt Kennards 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 groupswho 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 dont ask, dont tell policy pertaining to extremism. Irregular Army connects some of the War on Terrors 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, Kennards book is a stark warning about potential dangers facing Americansfrom their own soldiers.

Reviews
I have been following Matt Kennards 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 Matt Kennard is a fluent, powerful and authoritative writer whose debut book will surely establish him as one of Britains 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

Blog

Interviews

Articles

Matt Kennard featured in Democracy Now's Oak Creek Massacre Special Report
Matt Kennard, author of the forthcoming Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror appeared on Democracy Now this morning in a special segment about Sunday's Oak Creek, Wisconsin Sikh temple massacre, shooter Wade Michael Page and his research on the rise of white supremacist, neo-Nazi and violent extremists in the US military.

Matt Kennard has been researching the impact of the War on Terror on US military recruitment of extremists, gang members, the mentally unstable, and far-right; his book, to be released this September, collects this work, painting a startling picture of the threat posed on domestic soil by the fanatics being armed and trained in high-grade weaponry with American tax-payer dollars.

1 of 3

8/16/12 11:15 AM

VersoBooks.com

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

Visit Democracy Now to watch the segment in full.

By Jessica Turner / 09 August 2012 / post comment

After Oak Creek, Matt Kennard leads the scrutiny of the US military's neo-Nazi elements
In a New York Times Room for Debate segment discussing white hate groups in light of the Oak Creek gurdwara shooting, Matt Kennard, author of the forthcoming Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror, examines the US military's conspicuous license of neo-Nazis, criminals, and gang members that compose the infantry of America's Long War. He writes,
The military ripped up the thin regulations it had on far-right radicals as it struggled to stock its fighting force with sufficient numbers of soldiers for the war on terrorism. The armed forces should have known better after terrorist attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing, which was carried out by its extremist veterans. The significant number of white supremacist veterans now back in the United States, battle hardened and with weapons training gained in Iraq and Afghanistan, should scare every American.

Meanwhile, in Al Jazeera, Beln Fernndez cites Irregular Army to detail the extremist danger at the heart of the US Army, how leaders of the white supremacist movement view enlistment as a means of preparation for a domestic race war...[with] access to a laboratory of Iraqis: According to a 2005 report sponsored by the US Department of Defence itself, the military has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy pertaining to extremism. However, Kennard's investigations suggest that even blatant telling often fails to incur meaningful repercussions. For starters, he reports telephoning five different Army recruitment centres, posing as an aspiring soldier curious as to whether his tattoo of Nazi SS lightning bolts will impede his soldiering aspirations. The upshot: Despite being outlined in Army regulations as a tattoo to look out for, none of the recruiters reacted negatively and, when pressed directly about the tattoo, not one of them said it would be an outright problem. Visit the New York Times and Al Jazeera to read the articles in full.
By Ryan Healey / 16 August 2012 / post comment

2 of 3

8/16/12 11:15 AM

VersoBooks.com

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

How long before the next tragedy? Matt Kennard speaks with John Hockenberry of The Takeaway
Matt Kennard, author of Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror was a guest on Thursday's The Takeaway, discussing his research on the crossover between the US army and hate groups, in the wake of last Sunday's massacre at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.
00:00 13:58

The U.S. Military's History of Recruiting and Retaining Neo-Nazis

In the interview, Kennard set alleged shooter Wade Michael Page's experience in the military and what we've come to learn of his neo-Nazi affiliations in context. As Kennard explained: Continue Reading
By Jessica Turner / 09 August 2012 / post comment

View all related posts

Discussions
Begin a discussion

VERSO

About

Authors

Blog

Books

Discussions

Events

Subjects

40 years of radical publishing Log In / Register

3 of 3

8/16/12 11:15 AM