Commonwealth Club Event: "What a Country Owes its Soldiers"

Join the Commonwealth Club of California on Nov. 16, 2026 to a discussion on Sara Mohamed's new book, What a Country Owes Its Soldiers.

HOW TO WATCH:
This event is $10 for online tickets, and you must register at the link below, at which point you'll be emailed a link to the online event - https://commonwealthclub.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/instances/a0FVb00000HSBLJMA5

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
American leaders endlessly profess their admiration for military service members. But according to UC Berkeley law professor Saira Mohamed, these effusive declarations hardly comport with reality. Soldiers receive shoddy equipment and inadequate medical care; they are ordered to commit crimes and deployed to illegal wars. Such treatment, she writes, is rarely recognized for what it is: a violation of the duty owed to soldiers by their government. When American service members are injured or killed during training, for example, they and their families are barred from suing the military for negligence or malfeasance. And when the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib came to light, the subsequent proceedings focused just on low-ranking perpetrators. The psychological harm done to the soldiers themselves by commanders who ordered them to commit torture in the first place went unacknowledged.

Examining statutes, treaties, court cases and congressional hearings, Saira Mohamed shows how the law encourages the treatment of soldiers as mere instruments, to be used and abused however the government wishes. She also unearths overlooked laws that point in the other direction, suggesting the possibility of robust protections for service members. Paradoxically, she argues, these get ignored in part because of the popular adulation of the military―the vision of service members as heroes who selflessly endure unlimited sacrifice. The all-volunteer nature of the force also promotes the misguided notion that soldiers have willingly accepted whatever mistreatment they might endure.

In her new book What a Country Owes Its Soldiers, Mohamed shows how laws and mindsets can change, enabling genuine respect for soldiers’ humanity. Acknowledging their rights can transform our understanding of those who fight America’s wars, and of American warmaking itself.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER & MODERATOR:

• Saira Mohamed is a Professor of Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, as well as the school's Agnes Roddy Robb Chair in Jurisprudence, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
• The Moderator, Aaron Glantz, is the AI Bureau Chief for the Christian Science Monitor and author ofThe War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans (2009)

ABOUT THE EVENT HOST:
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. Every year, they present more than 450 forums on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. Their stated mission is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. To learn more, go to: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/who-we-are
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