Casualties of War and Peace

Since the beginning of hostilities in Agfghanistan, we have lost 1,582 soldiers (link).  In Iraq, we've lost 4,373 soldiers (link).  That's about 5,955 soldiers killed.  Let's round it to an even 6,000, in case we've missed some.  Six thousand soldiers killed since we began fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.  These are the casualties of war, soldiers who gave their lives for their country.  This is a tragedy.  But we are faced with an even sadder tragedy, the casualties of peace.

In 2005 alone, 6,256 veterans committed suicide (link).  We've lost more soldiers each year to suicide, than we've lost to combat since 9/11.  Many of these deaths were preventable.  We - the American people - are to blame for many of them.

When our soldiers enlist, among the benefits we offer them is health care when they return from service.  We agree to care for them if they sustain injuries, to provide ongoing care if they become disabled, to take care of them or their families if they suffer injury or death.  Unfortunately, we routinely renege on our promises.  The result is that we, the American people, kill more of our soldiers than al Quaeda, Taliban, or other enemy groups.  We are telling them, in effect, "thanks for serving your country.  Now fuck off and die."  And they do.  They die because we refuse to treat their psychological injuries.

A country that treats its soldiers so shabbily doesn't deserve them.  We should be ashamed of ourselves and of our leaders for permitting such treatment.