Tortoise vs. Tank: Military Wars with Endangered Species in Fallujah, USA

L.A. WeeklyCulture

Fort Irwin war games. Tax dollars at work in FallujahFort Irwin war games. Tax dollars at work in Fallujah, USA.; Credit: C.R. Stecyk III

These are C.R. Stecyk III's previously unpublished photographs from the political and environmental battlefield of Fort Irwin (a.k.a Fallujah, USA). In August Joe Donnelly reported on the military's removal of nearly 600 desert tortoises from their critical habitats to make way for the Southern Expansion of Fort Irwin's fake-Fallujah training base. Their existence already threatened, the tortoises are evaluated and fixed with transmitters before being relocated and left to their fate so the military has more room to play war.

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