Tag Archives: supporting our troops

Five videos show American soldiers at their worst

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From Valleywag

The Digg story "U.S. Soldier throws puppy off cliff" had, at last count, 5,527 votes. Digg commenters, never a demure crowd, aren't holding back their rage. One comment, itself voted for 540 times, reads "Wow. I hope he got shot in the face later that day." This video exposes something about the dehumanization of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan that most of us don't want to think about. Here are five more videos that show just how far gone our troops are. A warning: These videos are explicit and -- with the known correlation between violence toward animals and violence toward other humans in mind -- savagely disheartening.

You might need to go to the Valleywag link to see the first video, as Google has taken many copies of it off of their site. The others may soon follow.

If there was ever a case for ending or at least reining this war in, here it is. This is almost worse than Abu Ghraib. At least that could be seen as angry troops taking their frustrations out on “enemy combatants.” But puppies, farm animals and random motorists? Come on!

Update: Apparently the case is being investigated by a Hawaii Marine base. Good.

Senate Republicans block funding for U.S. troops

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I find it really amazing how every time either Bush vetoes or Republicans block funding for the war, the Democrats get labeled as “not supporting the troops.” So, trying to give them $50 billion that was requested is “not supporting” them? Simply because the bill had stipulations on troops coming home, Republicans voted against it.

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a $50 billion bill by Democrats that would have paid for several months of combat but also would have ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 30 days. The measure, narrowly passed this week by the House, also would have set a goal of ending combat in December 2008.

The 53-45 vote was seven votes short of the 60 needed to advance. It came minutes after the Senate rejected a Republican proposal to pay for the Iraq war with no strings attached.

Now, Democratic leaders say they won't send President Bush a war spending bill this year. They calculate the military has enough money to run through mid-February.

Their logic would send Spock into a fit.

“This is highly ridiculous Captain.”

CBS News investigates veteran suicides…

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…and the results are startling.


PART 1


PART 2

The raw numbers:

Results for 2004

Overall Rates
Veterans: 17.5 to 21.8 per 100,000
Non-Veterans: 9.4 per 100,000

Male Rates
Veterans: 30.6 to 38.3 per 100,000
Non-Veterans: 18.3 per 100,000

Female Rates
Veterans: 10.0 to 12.5 per 100,000
Non-Veterans: 4.8 per 100,000

Results for 2005

Overall Rates
Veterans: 18.7 to 20.8 per 100,000
Non-Veterans: 8.9 per 100,000

Male Rates
Veterans: 31.5 to 35.3 per 100,000
Non-Veterans: 17.6 per 100,000

Female Rates
Veterans: 11.1 to 12.3 per 100,000
Non-Veterans: 4.5 per 100,000

Wow, this is really ridiculous. Think about that, for every 100,000 male troops, 30 are statistically likely to kill themselves. That is unacceptable!

Whether you support the war or not, President Bush or not, this should be a concern. It is a non-partisan issue. Hell, war supporters should be more concerned. If the military starts getting a bad (or worse) reputation, who in the hell is going to want to sign up? Recruiters will be casing more high schools and colleges being forced to spin their lies about military service. Guys on their third and fourth tours will be forced to go back because there is no one to replace them and our military will be less effective. So, taking care of veterans is in their best interest.

For more:

CBS Investigates story

VA Watchdog dot Org

Veterans for Common Sense

Hat tip: Crooks & Liars

The Tale of the Marlboro Marine

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Via Crooks & Liars:

...gut wrenching story of Lance Corporal James Blake Miller– better known as the Marlboro Marine–who is now jobless, divorced and near suicidal since being discharged from the military after being diagnosed with PTSD. With little aid from his government, Miller received help from an unlikely source — Luis Sinco, the LA Times photographer who snapped the famous picture of him during the battle of Fallujah in 2004.

You can read the full LA Times story here.

The gist of the story is that Lance Corporal James Blake Miller was “Saving Private Ryan’ed” after this photo shot by Luis Sinco “connected” with the American people. Not wanting to hear of a soldier getting killed, no doubt in order to avoid the realities of this war with America, he was sent home. Miller even received care packages and cigars from President George W. Bush.

After a violent episode caused by PTSD, he was medically discharged with a “personality disorder” on Nov. 10, 2005 — exactly one year after his picture made worldwide news. He was given a superficial award from the National Mental Health Association, yet oddly no military mental health treatment.

He has since become divorced and suicidal with few places left to turn.

Is this how we support our troops? By turning scared, scarred and traumatized young men and women loose on a world that has no idea what they’ve gone through. You know why we need news and movies that show the horrors of war and the atrocities that happen in the name of peace? So that when these men and women come home and tell their loved ones that they are fine, their loved ones will have reason to question that and get them help.