Another reason to get our troops out of Iraq NOW!

[NightTrain]

Just got an e-mail from my friend Donna and thought this part might interest some of my fellow DUers:

I don't know if I told you this, but my internship this year is at the VA hospital in Newington, where I'm working with vets with PTSD, mostly from Vietnam (yes, they're still suffering after all these years). The ones from Iraq and Afghanistan are just starting to trickle in, and according to the staff who have been there for a while, this group is going to have it at least as bad as the Vietnam guys. It's made me think a lot about what "supporting the troops" means - of course for me it means ending the war so that more don't come home dead or fucked up, but it also means recognizing that the people who are fighting this war are cogs caught up in a machine, much like all of us are in some way, and that given different circumstances, almost any of us could be in their shoes.

[Not_Giving_Up]

1. Nightline covered this issue on Friday

Soldiers are going through psych evals every three months - mandatory.

There was a rash of guys in NC returning home and shortly afterward, killing their wives. Guess that opened some eyes.

[progmom]

2. My uncle is a psychiatrist in a VA hospital in southern California

He's blown away by what he's seeing. Blown away. He says this is going to have a tremendous impact on our entire society for decades.

[meganmonkey]

3. I seldom say (or type) things like this out loud

but I pray for these folks every day.