After Iraq, the guilt of killing tears a life apart

[mandyky]

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.soldier26oct26,0,2285991.story

War: 'A very different man' returns from the battlefield, only to disappear from his base, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.

This article brought me to tears, since my ex-husband war a Marine sniper in Vietnam, and I know how much psychic damage all this up close killing can be for our troops.

This is an especially alarming paragraph -
<snip>
The Army has sent 478 soldiers home from the Iraq region for psychiatric reasons, said Medical Command spokesman Jaime Cavazos. And the Army is investigating the deaths of at least 11 soldiers as possible suicides, said Maj. Steve Stover, an Army spokesman.
</snip>

[Dudley_DUright]

1. I read this article earlier today

and it shows how this war is claiming casualties, even when there is no apparent physical injury. Too bad shrub does not have a conscience like this solider. I am sure he sleeps like a baby every night.

[Old and In the Way]

2. I think this is a hidden barometer of this war's percieved "justness"

If the troops cannot find moral justification for fighting this war, their role becomes reduced to paid mercernaries. Many will have problems squaring their conscience if the underlining justification for fighting in Iraq are lies. Some will struggle with this their entire lives, others will simply end theirs to stop the pain.

[killbotfactory]

3. That's why it's important for the Commander in Chief...

To tell the fucking truth about why he's sending our citizens to die for his miserable ass.

[mandyky]

4. Kick

for the night crew.