kat wrote:
> I also wanted to mention that my g-g-grandfather on my mother's side
> of the family was a doctor in a Confederate POW prison and his diary
> is full of anguish at the pain of losing prisoners under his care
> because they didn't have the medical supplies necessary to save them;
> and even if they had had the best surgical facilities, lives still
> would have been lost in agony because of the high risk of infections
> and sickness. Men died on the operating table whilst having a limb
> amputated because of the pain they couldn't endure. (a somewhat
> amusing note about his son -- he ran for governor of Texas on the
> Temperance ticket at the urging of his wife - needless to say, he was
> soundly defeated).
>
> My grandfather was a WWI vet who was gassed.
>
> My dad's family in Polotsk was all killed by the Nazis and my paternal
> grandfather died from the shock and grief - he had an heart attack
> when he got the news. My dad went into the Army as soon as he could
> so he could fly bombing missions over Germany.
>
> So please don't tell me soldiers in Iraq are unique in their exposure
> to violence. Somehow all of these men were able to deal with their
> wartime experiences and got on with their lives and became successful.
>
> Kat
>
> kat wrote:
>> Linda, if your logic were to be applied across the board, there
>> wouldn't be any vets who could go back to civilian lives and get on
>> with them. Remember that we have been in wars since this country was
>> founded and there is nothing new about the traumas of war (well
>> except for our capacity to quickly kill each other). If you think
>> our brutality in Iraq is uniquely horrible, may I refer you to any
>> history of the Spanish Inquisition or the Roman Empire? Violence,
>> alas, is nothing new.
>>
>> Having said that I do agree with you that we don't need to be in
>> Iraq because we need to spend our money where it's better put to use,
>> and I think we have done very little good by invading Iraq.
>>
>> Kat
>>
>> Linda Walker wrote:
>>> Many of the soldiers being deployed are at Schofield next to where I
>>> live. I feel like I live on a military base here. We rent units to
>>> soldiers and to private contractors who are also serving there. I
>>> have been dealing with their problems as they come home. I am sure I
>>> have talked to more of them than most American civilians. I have
>>> often talked to them about whether or not they are going to re
>>> enlist and other things. Believe me when I say these young men and
>>> women are coming back very distraught and destroyed and they cannot
>>> seek any psychological counseling without it negatively impacting
>>> their service record.
>>>
>>> At 01:42 PM 10/29/2007, you wrote:
>>>> Linda, I think your politics are showing. I don't believe this
>>>> fellow=
>>>> was a veteran of any current conflict. The article referred to a
>>>> 'brie=
>>>> f army stint'. I do believe the Guardian was trying to capitalize on=
>>>> his military service and subliminally link his military service to
>>>> his=
>>>> crime without having to outright establish the connection--but
>>>> that's=
>>>> typical of yellow journalism, both liberal and conservative. PTSD
>>>> may=
>>>> tear a mind down, but it doesn't turn whole groups of vets into
>>>> cold-he=
>>>> arted brutes. How many vets do you know? How many have you talked
>>>> to=
>>>> about their experiences--or are you just repeating what you've
>>>> been tol=
>>>> d by the proponents of a particular political agenda?
>>>> =20
>>>> War is brutal to soldier and civilian alike, but you can't make
>>>> sweeping=
>>>> generalizations about post-bellum behavior. If your prediction were=
>>>> based in fact, we would have never recovered from the second World
>>>> War.=
>>>> My father, who served in two conflicts, Korea and Vietnam, would
>>>> have=
>>>> taken out his war-generated angst on his family, right? A retired
>>>> US=
>>>> Marine Lieutenant Colonel, he is the kindest, most gentle man I've
>>>> ever=
>>>> known. =20
>>>> =20
>>>> War is supposed to be brutal, violent. It is such an admission of
>>>> failu=
>>>> re and is testimony to the true nature of humankind. The military is=
>>>> a blunt instrument--a hammer, where everything is a nail. But
>>>> nobody=
>>>> wants war less than the best soldier.
>>>> =20
>>>> Three years is harsh? In most US states this would be conspiracy
>>>> to man=
>>
>>
>>>> slaughter and would have received 10-15 with parole at 7. I highly
>>>> doub=
>>>> t that castigation from his neighbors is going to enhance his
>>>> contrition.
>>>> =20
>>>> Kyle Cleveland
>>>>
>>
>>
>
>
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