10% of those evacuated from Iraq had mental problems

[JoFerret]

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_mental_021904,00.html
<<That number excludes soldiers who arrived at Landstuhl for physical injuries who also suffer from mental problems. It also excludes soldiers who do not realize they suffer from mental trauma until they returned to the United States.

A veterans' advocate called the data an "alarming" barometer of the psychological toll from the war in Iraq.

"It is an incredible sum and an alarming number," said Wayne Smith, an adviser to the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. Smith said the number reflects only a fraction of the mental toll from Iraq. He said soldiers need better help in Iraq and when they return. "This is a wake-up call," Smith said. >>



<<more>>

[HEyHEY]

1. And so did 100 per cent of those invading Iraq

EDIT: That is a knock intended to Bush and CO

[prolesunited]

2. I wonder how many new

McVeighs and Muhammads that we just created. Men are not designed to be killing machines. You just can't flip a switch on and off and not expect a few "malfunctions."

[kalian]

3. Makes sense...although I believe that numbers are much higher...

Imagine, most of these soldiers were told one thing, which they
believed, and then they found an alternate reality. How did they
cope? What was going on in their minds?
Lets not forget that they also received vaccinations that I'm sure
had indirect consequences as well.

"Support our troops. Bring them home now!"

[havocmom]

4. tip of the iceberg. There will be plenty more problems for these troops

as time passes and they process what went on. Their immediate concerns probably are trying to stay alive.

When they have been home a few years, there will be time for their minds/souls to work through and realize the horrors of war more closely. We must be there for them at those times. Sure seems like the VA won't be funded to take care of them as they should be. And knowing they were used, then thrown aside will only add to their pain.

[proud patriot]

5. The invisible suffering

:-(

[sadiesworld]

6. Also, the temperture in Iraq will be rising soon.

[JailForBush]

7. Wow, what's their secret?!

I figure at least 90% of Americans are fruitcakes. If Iraq can reduce that figure to 10%, we neeed to start shipping lots of voting-age citizens over there ASAP!

[JoFerret]

8. Not to mention the hidden victims

This is an alarming but all too believable story of the Iraqi people -- 30 per cent of whom - it says - are suffering mental illness as a result of decades of trauma.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0C4E500E-495F-412F-9102-3C8822F6769B.htm

[lebkuchen]

9. Hospital Commander's comments interesting (and honest)

Cornum would not say how many soldiers from Iraq have required hospitalization in Landstuhl's 22-bed in-patient psychiatric facility. Twelve of those beds were occupied one day last week. Hospital data show that 2,489 of the soldiers who have arrived from Iraq have required some kind of in-patient medical care.

Cornum said no soldiers have committed suicide at Landstuhl, but said the hospital has treated soldiers after suicide attempts. She would not say how many and referred questions to the Pentagon.

"That is a sensitive thing that some people might not want you to know, I guess," Cornum said.

Yep, it's a very controlling, secretive WH. Just ask Paul O'Neill, who said WH staff meetings were scripted.

[9215]

10. Now what about drug addiction?

That is a problem that will come home to roost in a big way. During Vietnam, for every drug addict coming home there would be four more created as the infrastructure to supply the drugs increased in size.

Talk about trickledown effects.

[Fovea]

11. four more created as the infrastructure to supply the drugs increased

Damn man! How much bigger can the CIA get?

[Mari333]

12. This terrifies me.

.

[Karenina]

13. TERROR, American style ,woo-ooo...

bloody up the red, white and blu-u-u-ue...
Mari, I hold your son in my heart every single moment. HE is NOT the droid they seek and he RETURNS TO YOU SAFE and a bit smarter. So say I.

This situation is DIGUSTING, STUPID, OUT OF CONTROL, ABOUT TO RAIN DESTRUCTION WORLDWIDE and MUST BE STOPPED IN ITS TRACKS. American citizens are the ones who MUST and CAN do it.

Mari, YOU are a true PATRIOT.

[nolabels]

14. I used to think that way, now I know it was them all along

To defend my fellow crazies that think they need that white albatross fastened to their necks I offer up this freak.

http://www.military.com/NewContent1/0,14361,FreedomAlliance_021904,00.htm
Oliver North: Kerry's Unanswered Questions



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About the Author

LtCol Oliver L. North is a nationally syndicated columnist and the honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance. An educational and charitable foundation, the Alliance was founded in 1990 by LtCol North, who now serves as the organization's honorary chairman. The committee works to promote freedom and liberty, support the American military and educate American youth on the military.

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Election 2004

History Special: Vietnam War

February 19, 2004

Washington, D.C. - Even though I'm one of the few Americans, besides President George W. Bush, to be personally attacked by Senator John Kerry on a regular basis, it just hasn't seemed right to respond. After all, President Bush has been virtually silent as Mr. Kerry used four letter expletives to describe his policies. The commander-in-chief turned the other cheek when Democrats said he was "AWOL" and a "deserter." The President was too polite to return fire when Mr. Kerry denigrated National Guard service by equating it with draft dodgers who "went to Canada." Given this model of even-tempered presidential propriety, who am I to stoop to throwing mud back at Mr. Kerry just because he has slung it at me?

I have been holding steadfastly to this noble position for several months -- through interminable debates and trumped up reporting from hyperventilated reporters. But this week, one of the young computer wizards who works down the hall informed me, "You're all over the Kerry campaign website!"
(snip)
(snip)
Set aside the horrific and defamatory nature of these accusations and ask this: Did he witness these atrocities? Did he try to stop them? If not, was he held accountable for dereliction of duty? If he knows the perpetrators, did he ever see that they were brought to justice? If not, why?

Mr. Kerry and his cronies in the Democrat party have made Vietnam an issue in this campaign. They have slandered Mr. Bush for his service during the war. Until Mr. Kerry truthfully answers the questions above -- and a whole lot more about his actions during the war, many of us are going to wonder what the middle initial "F" in John F. Kerry stands for -- is it "Fiction?" Or is it simply "False?"
(snip)