January 12, 2005
How Many More Will it Take - How Many More Will Have to Die?
By: Jack Dalton
Andreas Raya, a Marine that had been to Iraq once, and was scheduled to go back to Iraq a second time, has committed suicide--by forcing the police to shoot him in front of a convenience store in Ceres, Ca.
According to his family, he was "different" when he came back from Iraq. He had changed. This is something that those of us that have seen war up close and personal know about. Seeing humanity at its worse does things to you, and it does not always go away.
Sgt Kevin Benderman has refused re-deployment to Iraq. 22 others in Kevin's unit have also refused to deploy by either going AWOL, or, as with two, attempt suicide. After recovering from the suicide, "one of the two packed up his entire family and went AWOL"--this information was sent to me by Kevin's wife, Monica earlier today.
Report after report has been telling us that PTSD is affecting 1 in 5 serving in Iraq--and that is expected to go as high as 1 in 3. These are not my numbers, but they come from the Veterans Administration, not a bastion of liberalism.
How many more will have to commit suicide before this madness unleashed by BushCo ends? How many more will force someone else to kill them, as did Andreas Raya? How many more will come back and kill their families as what happened at Ft Brag?
How many more will find themselves in the untenable position as does Sgt Kevin Benderman, his wife Monica, and the other 22 people in his unit, D Co., 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 2-7 Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, that also refuse to go?
How many more young men like Stu, who did 15 months in Iraq, will come home and within hours, drive their cars head first into a tree?
How many more above the 5,500 that have already fled, will also feel compelled to flee the country rather than go to Iraq--to kill or be killed in a war that was of choice, not necessity--a war which was started behind lies, misinformation, disinformation and deception--how many more? A war which BushCo had planned even before 9/11--which was "used" to "sell" what had already been planned by BushCo and the Project for a New American Century.
What is it going to take to wake this nation from its world of illusions, and tackle head on what is being done to this nation, it's citizens, and the people of Iraq due to what the Bush Brigade has unleashed upon the world?
Or, does what is meant by the "support the troops" as articulated by the cheerleaders of the BushCo war of choice, only apply while they are in Iraq?--then it stops when those troops come home mental basket-cases looking to punish themselves--and in some cases kill themselves.
While the Tsunami disaster is horrible, to say the least, there is still a "disaster" taking place in Iraq. People are dying in wholesale numbers there, mostly children, and now, like what happened when so many came back from Vietnam, even more will die when they come back home - and by their own hands.
There is a solution - Bring Them Home Now! If you really want to support the troops, that is the way to do it - just Bring Them Home Now! We do not need, nor do we want any more incidents like with Andreas Raya - dead by their own hands as a result of the horrors of war. And bring them home we must!
War is the cowards' response to the perils of peace, and it is they, the cowards, who always send others to fight, kill and be killed in the wars they start.
As a veteran, as an American citizen, I fully support those who refuse to deploy to this Bush Co war in Iraq. I remember years ago when so many Vietnam veterans came back and then killed themselves - we must not let this happen again!
Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran and coeditor of the web publication, the Project for the Old American Century.
Posted by rowan at January 12, 2005 6:46 AM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |I am of the opinion that everyone who goes to war suffers from PTSD, it just manifests itself differently for each veteran.
As a veteran I am extemely puzzled by the lack of outrage by the American public, it is clear to most anyone with any kind of insight this is another no win siuation. And as you pointed out; insult to injury, its' a war we started !
Posted by: Bill at January 12, 2005 1:09 PMThis post was straight from the heart ... from someone who obviously KNOWS.
Simply stated, it broke my heart. I wish there was something more to be done. Maybe a mass AWOL exodus is what is needed? I mean, can society ignore huge contingents of soldiers saying "enough!"?
Posted by: Pamela at January 12, 2005 1:30 PMIn all that we read and hear, it is still somebody else's problem. Simple awareness tactics have not done much to enliven the mass population. It may take a rude awakening that affects the slumbering population directly before we will get that outraged response.
After hearing the news this morning, that rude awakening might be on its way.
Floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters are hitting people who generally do not deal with such things. I realize natural disaster is not the same as man made disasters, but it is a start in the shocking of the American population. Maybe a shock is what is needed to get the motor turning. Then once the motor runs, changes can be made. My fear, though, is that by this time, it will be too late.
It is time for the U.S. to bring home
our troops. Enough brave soldiers have served and enough have died.
Staying in Iraq will not benefit us
(except maybe the oil companies)
Please write your senators and congressmen asking them to end our
involvement in Iraq.
“War is the cowards' response to the perils of peace, and it is they, the cowards, who always send others to fight, kill and be killed in the wars they start.”
This is a totally ridicules and narrow sighted thing to say.
If this statement were true Hitler would rule Europe and Japan the USA. Read and learn from History, the passive approach was tried and tried again with Hitler and it failed every time. The long delay in doing something cost 50 million people their lives.
They had the opportunity to nip it in the bud a long time before Hitler built up a massive army and started taking over countries.
The passive approach works if the people its used against have morals. It wont work if they don't have morals. Unfortunately we live in a world were there are those who don't have morals or regard for human life.
Now I'm just pointing out that the above statement made is wrong
I'm not saying that you shouldn't end the war with Iraq, or that it is a just war.