It is important to remember that soldiers operate in an environment beyond our comprehension. Our current mission in Iraq is ill defined and the enemy unseen. Daily existence under such circumstances can't help but grind away at one's humanity. Furthermore, immoral leadership from the top condoning torture (Bush's so-called "regrets" notwithstanding) has filtered down to the ranks.

The recent allegations of cold-blooded murder perpetrated upon Iraqi civilians by American soldiers are the direct result of the Bush Administration's moral bankruptcy. Atrocities happen in all wars on all sides but this may be the tip of the iceberg and only what has been exposed to date. Yet while their actions should not be excused the real blame for their crimes truly resides with the political leadership that launched an illegitimate war. Both Iraqi civilians and American soldiers are victims of George Bush's foolish imperialism.

I've been out of it a bit since having the flu last week; have I woken up from its haze in an alternate universe or something?

Tom DeLay shuts his campaign down, Chris Matthews covers posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] on Hardball, and FOX News delivers a great piece of reporting on PTSD -- currently the featured story on their Politics page. As if that weren't enough, FOX News cites and links back to my PTSD Combat blog (taking notes AP?) and the PTSD Timeline at ePluribus Media.

I want to thank reporter Kelley Beaucar Vlahos for her efforts in presenting PTSD to the FOX News audience. She wrote a solid piece any veterans health advocate should be glad to be associated with. And she eased my worries (this was the first time I was approached for an interview on the subject). Now, I can't say my experience with FOX News is anything at all like the deserved crush John Gibson has on Maryscott O'Connor; but, I'm really happy to see that every now and again FOX News surprises us.

More below the fold...

Thank you to ltsply2 over at SoapBlox/Chicago for alerting me to this week's Doonesbury strip.

One of this award-winning strip's returning characters, B.D. (a hard-nosed guy who never needs anyone's help), is an injured Iraq combat vet and amputee.

He's also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau

(Click here or on image to enlarge)

One of the significant obstacles in successful PTSD treatment is the reluctance of those suffering with it to reach out for help. For a variety of reasons (military indoctrination, avoidance, `toughing it out', fear of appearing weak or `crazy'), many vets suffer alone. The decision to get help is one that is often made gradually. Often with a lot of hesitation. And a lot of agony.

Doonesbury is portraying this with aplomb this week.  

Below the fold, get caught up with B.D.'s reconnoitering of his local Vet Center. And take a look at the list of options (in addition to the VA's Vet Centers) you have if you're suffering with PTSD. Know you're not alone. Know that help is out there waiting for you. Please reach out and take it.

[Front-paged at ePluribus Media]

By late 2004, PBS had begun reporting on the affects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on soldiers serving in Iraq. Clear figures on Afghanistan/Iraq War PTSD cases are currently unavailable; however, sensible estimates may be arrived at by examining some of the data which presently does exist.

• In July 2004, researchers at Walter Reed Hospital published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting 11-18% of current WoT vets had PTSD.
• In July 2005, the Army surgeon general asserted that a full 30% of US troops surveyed have developed stress-related mental health problems.
• Since 2001, at least 1 million troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Extrapolating from the above information, 110,000 to 180,000 individuals may be at risk for developing PTSD. Additionally, it's been reported that nearly 90 veterans have committed suicide while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or after returning home.

How does this affect the families, communities, and society these soldiers come back to?

Although incidents of violence at the hands of returning soldiers towards family members and strangers alike are increasing stateside, statistics on these homicides or suicides are not tracked (surprise) by the Pentagon nor the massively under-funded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). To rectify this, 3 months ago I began collecting news reports of PTSD-related incidents.

What follows is the third update to the Returning Vet PTSD Incidents List...

[Front-paged at My Left Wing, cross-posted at Daily Kos.]

This photo was taken on March 25, 2003.

Snapped by AP and published in newspapers and magazines world-wide a week following the invasion, Army medic Pfc. Joseph Dwyer carries an injured Iraqi boy to safety.

Caught in the crossfire in a fierce battle near the village of Al Faysaliyah, the lines of hero and victim appear to be well-defined, not blurred.

October 7, 2005.
Dwyer arrested after a 3 hour standoff with police in which he discharged 'volley after volley' of gunfire in his apartment.

Dwyer (who'd joined the military 2 days after the September 11th terrorist attacks) returned home to accolades -- and to dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had an apparently strong safety net of family, friends, and neighbors. He was well-liked and welcomed home as a hero. Yet, he slid into the horror of PTSD washing over 70,000 of our nation's returning veterans.

Pfc. Joseph Dwyer's family wishes to draw attention to the plight of returning vets dealing with PTSD as a result of the war in Iraq. His story, gravely, is one of far too many.