I have spoken to this many times. In fact, I am one of the casualties referred to in this piece. And frankly, it is getting more difficult for me to discuss. Everyone NEEDS to read this article, no matter how you feel about the military. Soldiers are victims, too, whether they realize it or not.
The Truth About Veteran Suicides - CommonDreams.org
I, for one, don't think that American's really care.
The commenter to this article from which I extracted the title of this post also verbalized something that I have been stating as clearly as I can for a very long, long time.
I would like to thank that person for stating the truth so succinctly. Too bad that no one gets it.
The Truth About Veteran Suicides - CommonDreams.org
Eighteen American war veterans kill themselves every day. One thousand former soldiers receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs attempt suicide every month. More veterans are committing suicide than are dying in combat overseas.
These are statistics that most Americans don't know, because the Bush administration has refused to tell them. Since the start of the Iraq War, the government has tried to present it as a war without casualties.
In fact, they never would have come to light were it not for a class action lawsuit brought by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth on behalf of the 1.7 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two groups allege the Department of Veterans Affairs has systematically denied mental health care and disability benefits to veterans returning from the conflict zones.
The case, officially known as Veterans for Common Sense vs. Peake, went to trial last month at a Federal Courthouse in San Francisco. The two sides are still filing briefs until May 19 and waiting for a ruling from Judge Samuel Conti, but the case is already having an impact.
...Why all the secrecy? Why is it so hard to get accurate casualty figures out of our government? Because the Bush Administration knows if Americans woke up to the real, human costs of this war they would fight harder to oppose it.
I, for one, don't think that American's really care.
The commenter to this article from which I extracted the title of this post also verbalized something that I have been stating as clearly as I can for a very long, long time.
I think that once a soldier has finished his tour of duty, then the government would just as soon see him dead. Isn’t the war cheaper that way?
I would like to thank that person for stating the truth so succinctly. Too bad that no one gets it.
