U.S. Soldiers' Suicide Rate Is Up in Iraq

[Danieljay]

Another casualty of War... Peace is the answer.

WASHINGTON - U.S. soldiers in Iraq (news - web sites) are killing themselves at an unusually high rate, despite the work of special teams sent to help troops deal with combat stress, the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s top doctor said Wednesday.

snip

Meanwhile, about 2,500 soldiers who have returned from the war on terrorism are having to wait for medical care at bases in the United States, said Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. The problem of troops on "medical extension" is likely to get worse as the Pentagon rotates hundreds of thousands of troops into and out of Iraq this spring, he said.

snip

Suicide has become such a pressing issue that the Army sent an assessment team to Iraq late last year to see if anything more could be done to prevent troops from killing themselves. The Army also began offering more counseling to returning troops after several soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives and themselves after returning home from the war.

snip

Another source of the problem has been a large number of National Guard and reserve troops activated for duty in Iraq who have to be treated for underlying health problems, Winkenwerder said. The Army is working to solve that problem by screening those reservists at their home bases, rather than later.

[underpants]

1. Link?

Thanks

[loudnclear]

2. The solution to the problem is to bring the troops home.

Then there would be no more suicides of military in Iraq.

[Bucky]

3. This is so heart breaking

Soldiers give everything, give a peice of themselves really, in the service of their country. What sort of bastard just throws all these lives into this chaos and gives hardly a damn about the human costs. I think to this day all he cares about is political costs to him and the economic savings for his his puppetyankers. And what do we have to show for it? Some ten year old shells that we bought, some fifteen year old corpses that we didn't give a damn about when they were alive, and a small army of future Osamas whose family members we have killed. Yeh, but "We got 'im!"

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Link

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-01-14-military-suicide_x.htm

Welcome to DU, Danieljay! :hi:

[Danieljay]

7. thank you, Angel! n/t

[0007]

5. Americans will take only so much! Just a matter of time now.

I think we have more to absorb and perhaps a little more have to suffer before the big change will come. Then can't go on!

[Danieljay]

6. here is a link

sorry guys...my bad.

I can't find the original yahoo link...but I did locate this from msnbc.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3956787/