Author: Erik Edstrom

Erik Edstrom speaks about cutting the military budget at a Tax Day event on May 17th in Boston.

The Patriotic Case for Cutting Our Bloated Military Budget

May 21, 2021 Erik Edstrom

by Erik Edstrom Remarks delivered at the People & Planet, not Profits Tax Day in Boston, MA on May 17th 2021. My name is Erik Edstrom. I am 35 years old. I am a veteran of the Afghan War. And like the rest of my […]

Arlington National Cemetery. Photo: Dudva/Wikimedia

How American Politics Got Troops Stuck—and Killed—in Afghanistan

May 7, 2021 Erik Edstrom

by Erik Edstrom Originally published in Politico Magazine As a combat officer, I watched people die in a dysfunctional war. Then I returned to a country unable to end it. Maybe it was the ketamine talking. Or maybe A.J. Nelson, an 18-year-old private, possessed a […]