On 11/30/05, Alex Gogan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > ... up to 80 per cent of Iraq veterans are suffering from severe > postâ€_traumatic stress symptoms and levels of drug and alcohol abuse are > soaring.
That number sounds awfully high... but the figures I've seen show twice the rate of PTSD as any other war, including Afghanistan, and they're rising with the multiple deployments. And for women, the rates are twice as high as for me. Seems to me the numbers I've seen are more like 30 percent -- still an enormous number of people, considering that more than 1 million have been deployed to Iraq over the course of the war. > But despite such pain and suffering endured by military families, Deborah > discovers that the Commanderâ€_inâ€_Chief, George Bush has not attended a > single funeral or memorial for the dead . The government also tried to ban > photos of flagâ€_draped coffins being flown back into America from Iraq. Tell me about it. It feels to me as though they're sending the message that the loss of these troops is only for their families to feel, not the whole nation. As a member of one of those families, let me say that I'm unhappy about that. I don't like it a bit, so I'm trying to change it. One of the ways I've chosen to respond to Wes' death is to try to encourage and lead appropriate public memorials. As tempting as it is to resent, blame, etc., with each day I more firmly reject that path. I don't think peace lies in that direction. Nick -- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages: 408-904-7198
_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
