Mental Health Care Failing At-Risk Troops

Related Study Finds Battlefield Ethics Also Suffering

(CBS/AP)  The U.S. military is putting already-strained troops at greater risk of mental health problems because of repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, a Defense Department panel says in warning of an overburdened health system.

The Defense Department's Task Force on Mental Health chaired by Navy Surgeon General Donald Arthur, issued an urgent warning, saying that more than one-third of troops and veterans currently suffer from problems such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. With an escalating Iraq war, those numbers are expected to worsen, and current staffing and money for military health care will not be able to meet the need, the group said in a preliminary report released Thursday.

"The system of care for psychological health that has evolved in recent decades is not sufficient to meet the needs of today's forces and their beneficiaries, and will not be sufficient to meet the needs in the future," the 14-member group says.

The report found that 38 percent of soldiers, more than 30 percent of Marines and nearly 50 percent of National Guard members are returning with signs of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and other disorders after returning from deployment, reports CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick.

Those numbers are expected to grow because of repeated deployments and extended tours of duty.

In a related finding, the Pentagon reports that only 40 percent of Marines and 55 percent of Army soldiers in Iraq would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian. In an internal military study of battlefield ethics in Iraq, officials said they also found that only a third of Marines and roughly half of soldiers said they believed that noncombatants should be treated with dignity.

In addition, the survey found that 10 per cent of soldiers and Marines mistreated civilians by hitting or kicking them and damaged property for no good reason, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.

Martin reports that the Marine Corps works hard to teach ethics to its recruits. On a recent visit to Parris Island, Mike Brown, a drill sergeant asked a recruit, "Who thinks they know what in the Marine Corps we feel about honor?"

"Sir, this recruit believes that honor is doing the right thing when no one is looking, sir," he replied.

And now, for the first time, the military has hard data on how the values taught in boot camp stand up in combat conditions.

"This is the first time that questions of this nature have ever been asked of soldiers or Marines in combat," Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, chief of the Army Nurse Corps, told reporters.

Branding Pentagon policies overly conservative and out-of-date, the mental health task force called for more money and a fundamental shift in treatment to focus on prevention and screening — rather than simply relying on soldiers to come forward on their own.

It cited a significant stigma in which soldiers believe they would be ridiculed or their careers damaged if they were to acknowledge having problems.

The four-page summary of findings, which will be incorporated in a final report to Defense Secretary Robert Gates in June, comes amid renewed attention on troop and veterans care following recent disclosures of shoddy outpatient treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the premier care facility for soldiers in Washington.

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, says the military must do something about the stigma attached to these problems and upgrade its system for psychological care.

"It's going to be expensive. That's the reality that we have to face. If we're going to run our military as hard as we are right now, we've got to allocate the resources to take care of the people who are in it," Rieckhoff told McCormick.

In recent weeks, several U.S. senators have pointed to problems in the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs' mental health care — citing the Army's Fort Carson in Colorado, where some troops have said their pleas for mental health care went unanswered or were met with ridicule.

In its report, the task force — which visited 38 military bases in the four armed services within the past year — underscored many of the lawmakers' fears. Without citing specific examples, it said soldiers too often do not seek the care they need.

Both the VA and the Pentagon in recent weeks have acknowledged a need to improve mental health treatment. Jan Kemp, a VA associate director for education who works on mental health, has estimated there are up to 1,000 suicides a year among veterans within the VA system, and as many as 5,000 a year among all living veterans.

[missmyhubby]

And who does this surprise? Not me...soldiers are expected to do an extremely difficult, often life altering, job without having any problems--and if they are struggling, they are basically told they are worthless and removed from their jobs. My husband stated to me (he has been Iraq since Aug of 06) that he thinks most of his guys have PTSD--but they can't talk to counselors because of the repercussions of saying something is wrong...

Yep--run them into the ground and then leave them hanging out to dry! That is Army policy!

[condumism]

GOPigs will spin this as someonelse's fault, certainly not the fault of the "no-bid contract" White House that these fascist goons support. SAme as when the troops where in Iraq without the correct armor, not once did the fascist Reicht Wing question anything. Thank the Gods American's finally began to pay attention by firing the worst 12 years of Congress this country has ever seen.

[rafterman1]

Fighting in war and being away from family is hard enough. But when you are a soldier in Iraq, kicking down the same doors day after day looking for insurgents, praying before each door that you don't get hit with an AK round in the face, and doing that day after day, the toll is shocking. Imagine always having to look over your shoulder - even in "safe" areas - because you never know, and having to live with that for months at a time. Also imagine buddies get blown up around you, dying, or, if they're "lucky", only maimed. Plus, let's not forget all the killing you have to do too. It's horrible to have to kill, even an enemy. You can feel your soul slipping away.

Now imagine all that, but also you are asked multiple times to do a tour. Then, when you are expecting to go home, you find you've been extended. And when you have to go back again, the new tours will be 15 months now instead of 12.

Start the door kicking all over again.

It's a wonder any soldiers of today's military can stay sane.

[cathaleen]

It's shame that our young boys and girls were thrust into the chaos of Iraq and Afghanistan.
They saw horrible things that no one should witness. Just ask any Viet Nam vet how they were treated when they returned. It wasn't good.

[jn122736]

missmyhubby, that is not just army policy, it is rampant through this administration and the modern republican party.

They use military authority for suppression of enlistees, "wift-boating" for any and all after-service vets who dare oppose them,and egregious neglect for the medical care of injured soldiers.

Nothing is as important as bottom line profits and dictatorial power.

[luciamia1]

I agree with "missmyhubby" and "Rafterman1", this is an evil untenable situation for our troops and their families. I am facing my boyfriend being deployed next year. We're both overwhelmed by the news and so angry. Neither of us support this war and despise Bush. And now we feel abandoned by the Democrats we worked to elect and who promised us so much. Our friends who have been in Iraq will never be the same and neither will their relationships with their friends and families. God help us all at this dark time.

[lars008-2009]

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Infamy Speech
December 8, 1941/September 12, 2001
The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

[feelfree1]

Fortunately, more and more of our wisest and bravest soldiers are resisting participation in the illegal and disgraceful Bush regime war of choice. These men and women are the only real American military heroes of the criminal U.S.-led war against Iraq, in my opinion.

"Just because we volunteered, doesn't mean we volunteered to throw our lives away for nothing. You can only push human beings so far," says Marc Train, a 19-year old soldier from America's heartland. "Soldiers are going to Iraq multiple times. The reasons we're there are obviously lies. We're reaching a breaking point, and I believe you're going see a lot more resistance inside the military."

"Darrell Anderson was deployed to Iraq with the Army's 1st Armoured Division in the spring of 2004. Darrell served most of his time in Baghdad where he was wounded by a roadside bomb after serving for 7 months. Facing the possibility of a second deployment to Iraq, Darrell%u2019s conscience kept him from returning to the military. After witnessing the abuse and killing of Iraqi civilians and being ordered to fire on an automobile containing Iraqi civilians, Anderson concluded that the war is wrong...."I believed it was my human right to choose not to kill innocent people" Darrell was released from the Army three days later and is now organizing support for other (military) resisters as member of Iraq Veterans Against the War."

www.couragetoresist.org/x/

[mudrose-2009]

It's shame that our young boys and girls were thrust into the chaos of Iraq and Afghanistan.
They saw horrible things that no one should witness. Just ask any Viet Nam vet how they were treated when they returned. It wasn't good.
Posted by cathaleen

For sure. However, while the maladies that are befalling our troops are not to be ignored, you simply don't see that these fine people volunteered their service. Now don't jump all over me because it doesn't negate the fact that if these people are coming back with PTSD and other ailments as well, our system has to be treating them. Oftentimes, if physical trauma is missing the psychological trauma is often missed and that has very bad consequences.

[lars008-2009]

USA's PLEDGE 2 THE WORLD GIVEN BY JFK!!

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
--John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961 "

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." --John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961 "

One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.

[infidel_us]

I just got finished reading an article where Iraqis "stoned" a Kurdish woman TO DEATH for dating a boy of another religion......while the Iraqi security force stood and watched. You hearing this....they threw rocks at her while she writhed on the ground in agony.

These people are SAVAGES. They have no place in the modern world let alone a "democracy" in which to live in freedom. They don't deserve the gift of freedom or one more American life to try and achieve it.

I have a new Iraqi strategery: Withdraw to the borders of the country....keep out the influences of other countries.....let them annialate each other.....come back in a clean up.

[ne_patriot7]

This article is a perfect example of the hypocritical Radical right Republican "support the troops" agenda..

Bush/Cheney have discovered something that goes along with everything else in this world today... disposable troops..

Use and discard... thanks for serving chump... now that you're used up, you're on your own...

Medical services cost money and in the eyes of the reich wing, is a handout that affects their bottom line... so to them, it's f*ck you soldier... grin and bear it..

[lars008-2009]

IT IS TIME TO DEFEAT FASCIST NAZI ISLAM ONCE AND FOR ALL%u2026

In 1786, Thomas Jefferson, then U.S. ambassador to France, and John Adams, then American Ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the Dey%u2019s ambassador to Britain, in an attempt to negotiate a peace treaty based on Congress%u2019 vote of funding. To Congress, these two future presidents later reported the reasons for the Muslims%u2019 hostility towards America, a nation with which they had no previous contacts.

%u2026that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.

Sound familiar?

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison defeated the fascist nazi muslims 200 years ago
And again 100 years ago with Theodore Roosevelt
Tunisia in 1881 by France and Libya in 1911 by Italy. By then most of the Islamic world was under Christian domination. With the Ottoman Empire defeated in WW1, secularist Turkish rebels in 1923 overthrew the last Islamic Caliphate,
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7

[rsoxfan1123]

I have a new Iraqi strategery: Withdraw to the borders of the country....keep out the influences of other countries.....let them annialate each other.....come back in a clean up.
Posted by Infidel_US at 02:13 PM : May 04, 2007

I'm telling you, there's hope for you yet. You need to come over from the dark side.

[feelfree1]

While CBS and the Western media were focused on the peeling paint and rodent droppings at Walter Reed, they glossed over the more important fact that our returning soldiers with brain injuries are being neglected at these hospitals.

These soldiers often must wade through a sea of red tape in order to get any help, which is difficult for them because they have BRAIN INJURIES! As a result, they are not getting the help that they need and deserve.

This is the more pronounced systematic problem in our veterans health care system, and it will take far more than a bucket of paint and a mop to correct it.

[rsoxfan1123]

As long as Bush and the oil barons that helped him in his rise to power are making money out of this they don't care about these troops-they're disposable to them. They figure it's their own fault for joining the military; no one forced them. After all, a dollar is a dollar.

[andrew_693]

What good fortune for governments that the people do not think.
Adolf Hitler
The great masses of the people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.
Adolf Hitler
Mein Kampf
There must be no majority decisions, but only responsible persons, and the word 'council' must be restored to its original meaning. Surely every man will have advisers by his side, but the decision will be made by one man.
Adolf Hitler
Mein Kampf

Joseph Paul Goebbels,nazi leader:
During a war, news should be given out for instruction rather than information.
Joseph Paul Goebbels,:
Not every item of news should be published. Rather must those who control news policies endeavor to make every item of news serve a certain purpose.

[lars008-2009]

And Iraq's big oil contracts go to ...
Companies from China, India and other Asian nations are seen getting the first contracts. But don't write off Big Oil just yet.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/05/news/international/iraq_oil/index.htm

[feelfree1]

The Bush Butchers' bill is already far more than we can afford.

We need to get our troops out of Iraq, so that we can concentrate on holding the mebers of the Bush regime accountable.

Saddam was hung, yet Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Wurmser, Feith, Hadley, Rice, Ashcroft, and GONZO remain at large.

It makes no sense.

We need to get our own house in order! Demand and exit of our troops from Iraq, NOW!

www.ipetitions.com/petition/OutNow

[rsoxfan1123]

Follow the Iraq money trail a bit more closely. You're misleading people lars.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/30/iraq/main580998.shtml

[lars008-2009]

It is convenient for liberals and fascist nazi Islamic muslims to forget that the "Grand Mufti of Jerusalem" went to Germany as a guest of Hitler during WWII...and begged Hitler to find the "final solution" to the jewish problem. This same Grand mufti used his influence to raise Two Muslim SS Divisions in Yugoslavia (Kosovo) and Albaina. These divisions were responsible for the murder of almost 1 Million jews, Serbs and Gypsies.

This same Grand Mufti was the maternal uncle of Yassir Arafat! The Mufti's war continues today worldwide.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/nazi_arab.htm
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id4/mufti.htm
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=grand+mufti of jerusalem

[rsoxfan1123]

Here's a part if you don't feel like link chasing:

(CBS/AP) Companies awarded $8 billion in contracts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan have been major campaign donors to President Bush, and their executives have had important political and military connections, according to a study released Thursday...

...The top contract recipient was the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, with more than $2.3 billion awarded to support the U.S. military and restore Iraq's oil industry.

The study of more than 70 U.S. companies and individual contractors turned up more than $500,000 in donations to the president's 2000 campaign, more than they gave collectively to any other politician over the past dozen years.

[vietvet73]

We sign a contract to support the Constitution. We swear allegiance to our Commander in Chief and we hope to be able to do our best. We give up a lot of our rights as citizens of this country to defend it and become proud men and women that have supported it.

Don't any of you DARE defend your politics at the expense of veterans and current members of the Armed Forces that defend your right to run off at the mouth.

And when it comes time to pay your taxes, remember your unspoken part of that contract to support those who are damaged in defense of your rights and safety.

No matter what you think of the war, its reason, or those in Washington, support those who have sacrificed their futures for yours and your children.

PS: I'm basically a pacifist.

[lars008-2009]

Appeal for Redress
Sign this Appeal.
This site is an Appeal For Redress in support of our mission in Iraq.
An Appeal For Redress is an authorized means for active duty military to submit a grievance to Congress. It can be signed by Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard military personnel.
It is authorized by DoD Directive 1325.6 and DoD Directive 7050.6.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.
If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal.
Most service members fully support the war in Iraq and feel calls to retreat by Congress and attacks by our media on our conduct and mission act to motivate our enemy while demoralizing our support at home, directly increasing the threat we face and resulting in greater American casualties. This Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to Congress to fully support us and actively oppose media attacks on our mission and our morale.
This Appeal will be delivered to members of Congress.
http://www.appealforcourage.org/

[rsoxfan1123]

support those who have sacrificed their futures for yours and your children
Posted by VietVet73 at 02:35 PM : May 04, 2007

Supporting them is not sending them to die so some oil barons can get rich. Read my copy/paste below.

[infidel_us]

I'm telling you, there's hope for you yet. You need to come over from the dark side.
Posted by rsoxfan1123 at 02:20 PM : May 04, 2007

NEVER, Obi Wan!!! :) But I am rethinking our need to stay and fight the good fight. I don't believe they (Iraqis) are deserving our our soldiers sacrifices.

[andrew_693]

Hermann Goering, quotes about Nazi:
Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.


Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

~George Washington



Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

~Benjamin Franklin

The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders...tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.

~Herman Goering

[rsoxfan1123]

This is a damning article:

(CBS/AP) Companies awarded $8 billion in contracts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan have been major campaign donors to President Bush, and their executives have had important political and military connections, according to a study released Thursday...

...The top contract recipient was the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, with more than $2.3 billion awarded to support the U.S. military and restore Iraq's oil industry.

The study of more than 70 U.S. companies and individual contractors turned up more than $500,000 in donations to the president's 2000 campaign, more than they gave collectively to any other politician over the past dozen years.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/ 2003/10/30/iraq/main580998.shtml

[iceman_1960]

"Being a Queen myself I think this is wonderful!!! =() "
Posted by Iceman_196O at 08:27 AM : May 04, 2007

didntinhale also posts as Iceman_196O (ends in O, not 0)

didntinhale is a s*exual pervert and he just admitted it.

didntinhale is in love with Bill Clinton's mouth.

[rsoxfan1123]

I don't believe they (Iraqis) are deserving our our soldiers sacrifices.
Posted by Infidel_US at 02:42 PM : May 04, 2007

That's what I like about you, Infidel. You are one of those republicans that can think for themselves withotu spouting party lines liek they were quoting from a Bible. Now, you just need to realize that our only hope of getting rid of the NCLB (or at least turning it into something palatable)is getting the republicans out...

[vietvet73]

Supporting them is not sending them to die so some oil barons can get rich. Read my copy/paste below.
Posted by rsoxfan1123

No it's not. It makes them a pawn in YOUR game. Sure we should get out, but in the mean time, they deserve our respect. Now and after they've returned.

I never said anything about the intelligence or lack thereof of having someone in the oil industry as president waging a war to win over an oil rich area of the world.

But this article is about injured service men and women that will for the most part appear normal. Who need the help of a Mental Health caregiver that nobody wants to pay for.

[rsoxfan1123]

VietVet73-I have no game to make them pawns in nor would I want to. I have nothing but respect for our service people and is pisses me off to see them used as weapons to make money for corrupt oil barons. Supporting them is bringing them home and treating them with dignity and respect when they arrive instead of leaving them in Iraq like disposable dishrags so politicians can get rich.

[infidel_us]

The study of more than 70 U.S. companies and individual contractors turned up more than $500,000 in donations to the president's 2000 campaign, more than they gave collectively to any other politician over the past dozen years.
Posted by rsoxfan1123 at 02:46 PM : May 04, 2007

FYI - there are very few companies who do this kind of work....US or otherwise. Does it make sense to give "no bid" contracts to companies who can go in and get the job done - thereby saving money over the long haul? I think it does.

If you are trying to make a case that Bush, Chaney, et al are getting rich off the war, you can forget about it. You are wasting your time.

[rsoxfan1123]

If you are trying to make a case that Bush, Chaney, et al are getting rich off the war, you can forget about it. You are wasting your time.
Posted by Infidel_US at 02:53 PM : May 04, 2007

Cheney has $8 million stock in Halliburton Oil. It is a FACT that he did make a tremendous amount of money off of this. At the very least, it presents a conflict of interest. At the worst it is unimaginable corruption. Come on, Infidel, think. I know you can do it. Shake off those last bits of republican brainwashing...Use common sense.

[rafterman1]

===simply don't see that these fine people volunteered their service.===

But there are reasonable expectations that go with it. The possibility of going to war is one of those reasonable expectations. Three or four harsh, year long tours is not reasonable to ask of these young people.

[rsoxfan1123]

Infidel-don't stay loyal to these peolpe just because you are a republican. It comes to a point where you have to see them for who they really are regardless of party affiliation. It's like if you're kid becomes a criminal. You'll still see your little boy when you look at him but you have to accept what he has become and make him face the consequences instead of defending his actions.

[obiwan234]

As a Vietnam Vet, I find what is going on in the health care system to be an embrassment and it hasn't gotten any better since I was in a VA hospital in 1971 & 72.

[rafterman1]

===If you are trying to make a case that Bush, Chaney, et al are getting rich off the war, you can forget about it. You are wasting your time.===

Cheney still has his stock options in Haliburton. Guess when they are eligible for paying out?

2009.

What a coincidence.

[feelfree1]

To our troops:

"Do not fight for a dying regime. It is not worth your life." GWB

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxKpeKQA6B4

Our troops are ultimately sworn to defend and protect our Constitution, and have an obligation to resist the illegal Bush regime war of choice. Vietnam showed us how the troops can help to end the war.

There is an excellent movie on this topic called "Sir, No Sir". A trailer is available at:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDk6Qal2DCI

[booyaw_77]

Just don't worry. Thats all mental illness is. Worry worry worry. Don't worry, everything's gonna be ok.

[rsoxfan1123]

Cheney still has his stock options in Haliburton. Guess when they are eligible for paying out?
2009.
What a coincidence.

Posted by Rafterman1 at 03:04 PM : May 04, 2007

The republican faithful have to be able to see it. Some of them seem intelligent enough. It's like they're in denial. It amazes me.

[baathsheba]

When has any admninistration in this country ever taken care of it's veterans of war?

Answer: out of sight out of mind--NEVER

As soon as the administration is through using human lives to win a really really big important war--it cannot remember who went to fight it or how they might be afterward. That's why Walter Reed Hospital, run by service members remains in decrepid conditions as all VA hospitals are.

Anyone trying to deny this should have their lying mouths wired shut.

[feelfree1]

The Bush regime has recently escalated their 'war on folk music'.

"The Army has denied legendary folk singer and antiwar activist Joan Baez permission to sing at a concert for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center."

www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/04/1419207

[micma-2009]

So this is what Bush means by "support the troops".

[sevenveils]

Oh Yea, don't let an opinionated singer get near US troops. Free will might rub off

[samthetvcat]

Bush and Cheney don't care a flying flip about the troops - giving them rooms with mould on the wall at Walter Reed, sending them into a war they can't win, taxing them beyond the limits of what's humane and then not providing adequate mental health services...

You know what else they've just done too is severely restrict the troops' blogging rights... they claim it's for security reasons but the troops use their judgment and there's no indication any operations have ever been put in danger. Troops were using blogs to stay in touch with family and also to express themselves which is theraputic and now their 1A right is being severely restricted for no clear reason. And it frustrates them even more because they feel like their voices aren't being heard in the first place.

PS Everybody thought the Virginia governor's move to expand the law of who can no longer get guns was great after the VT shooting, but troops who seek treatment might actually have to be reported under this new law in which case they would lose their right to bear arms. How ironic and tragic would that be for professional soldiers to come home and then be told because they got stressed out during combat that if they get treated they might lose their right to carry a gun???

[rsoxfan1123]

SamTheTVCat-and they probably are more likely to flip out with a gun because I am sure that this is really damaging their psyches. Imagine the things they are seeing.

[feelfree1]

From DemocracyNow! article:

"John Mellencamp had asked (Joan Baez) to perform with him last Friday and that she accepted his invitation."

"Mellencamp told RollingStone.com that when they asked why, the reply they got was, "She can't fit here.""

I am hoping that Mr. Mellencamp will keep the engagement, but perform only Joan Baez songs.

[sevenveils]

During world war two the average time spent in combat by US soldiers was less than three months. Viet Nam war saw this expanded in that anyone during their time of duty could be killed by an unseen enemy.

Why today the enemy remains unseen is beyond technological reasoning.

[bluestardad]

MORE OF THAT OUTSTANDING REPUBLICAN TROOPS SUPPORT WE HAVE BEEN HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT!

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted in June, 52 percent of Americans now believe the President deliberately distorted intelligence to make a case for war. In an Ipsos Public Affairs poll, commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org and completed October 9, 50 percent said that if Bush lied about his reasons for going to war Congress should consider impeaching him. The President's deceit is not only an abuse of power; it is a federal crime. Specifically, it is a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, which prohibits conspiracies to defraud the United States.

http://www.democrats.com/node/12313

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051114/delavega

If you think Americas sacrifice is worth it contact your ELECTED OFFICIAL and tell them http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

The House Speakers email address: [e-mail]

[e-mail] Here is the Republican Party email address too!