Iraq War Takes Toll on GIs' Mental Health

[leftchick]

Please forgive the source but , (surprise!) there is some good information in there....

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,133490,00.html

<snip>
“The is not geared up and the is not geared up," said Rick Weidman, spokesman for Vietnam Veterans of America (search). "That’s why some of us have been talking, and you are going to see a major front of veterans saying we need this fixed and we need this fixed now.”

According to a study published July 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine (search), 15- 17 percent of combat soldiers surveyed upon their return from Iraq exhibited signs of anxiety, major depression or other mental health problems.

These numbers are significantly higher than in the Persian Gulf War (search), point out mental health and veterans experts. They attribute the lower numbers in 1991 to a shorter war — 42 days — and enemy engagement that came mostly from strategic air assaults, not urban warfare (search).

<snip>
"Because of the nature of this war, there will be more people with mental problems than in the Persian Gulf War – it will be more like the Vietnam War (search),” said Lawrence J. Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under President Reagan and senior fellow for the Center for American Progress (search).

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Imagine the hundreds if not thousands of returning vets

that will have to be medicated for life.... given therapy for life, some may commit suicide, some who may kill others... perhaps many others on American soil... many will carry their ghosts with them to the grave. Some will never be the same person again... the living dead... some who will end up in divorce court because of mental scars, some will never reenlist, some will just cease to be.

Imagine the ones who will end up in prison... ones who will not be able to hold down a regular job... ones who will be dependant on the state for their welfare for the rest of their lives.

What sort of future threat does this place upon our country mr. president... what kind of threat is worth this kind of threat?

The resident has given Osama exactly what he wanted... real damage.. to what was once a real American democracy.

[tblue37]

6. My ex-husband's dad

became an alcoholic after two years overseas in WWII. He deserted the family for five years (from the time my ex was 12 until he was 17) and then came back--still drinking. Alcohol and drug abuse are common responses to the trauma of war.

[benddem]

2. There is a huge problem

no one is talking about. 600 of the troops who've been Evac'd from Iraq are psychotic.

[sr_pacifica]

3. Not to mention the severe wounds

Body armor has saved a lot of soldiers, but many times the resulting wounding is loss of limbs and neurological damage. These casualties are going to need a lot of help from the government for treatment and continued care. This need is going to haunt this government and I dread the neglect these men and women will suffer under Bush's continued rule.

[Karenina]

5. Don't worry

if BFEE gets any kind of pass Nov 2, they and many more will die from neglect quite soon enough. Each death reverberates throughout the community...

[bobthedrummer]

4. Another BFEE gift that keeps on giving. This is solely on The War

President, George W. Bush and the neo-conservative traitors:argh:

They wouldn't listen to professional soldiers, the UN or anyone opposed to PNAC.

Hope is on the way.

[saigon68]

7. Just wait til the bullets start flying

From the "flashbacks"

[KittyWampus]

8. I Fear These Vets Won't Recieve All The Help They'll Need

under Junior & NeoCons.

Or the veteran's families for that matter.