This weekend I read a very sobering Time story on the war in Iraq, and how conditions are so deplorable there that our men and women in uniform have no choice but to take mood-altering drugs to cope with them. I wasn’t shocked to learn this, it only fed my outrage over this war.
If Prozac was the military’s “secret weapon,” isn’t any longer; the article goes to great lengths to expose the atrocities of the “theater” of far east combat, and its bone-jarring effects on our brothers and sisters who are starring in this unrated horror flick. Many Sacramentans (myself included), know troops or have loved ones who have served at least one “tour” in Iraq. It doesn’t take a genius to understand how devastating the effects of war can be to one’s psychological welfare.
Antiwar.com recently reported “Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had psychiatric or behavioral health issues,’ according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.”
Antiwar.com also estimates 33,000 (rumored to be way more, but the govt. does not track reliably), men and women who have been WOUNDED (as in had their limbs blown off), in the Afghanistan and Iraqi “theater.” Add the 4,094 body count to the casualty spreadsheet, and you’ve got a mass of U.S. casualties equal to the population of Benecia, CA.
And it gets worse! “Operation Iraqi Freedom” has ripped holes in the very fabric of our country, and its citizens. This war invasion has sucked $500 BILLION dollars out of our federal bank account. From a regional perspective, it is said Sacramento’s share alone could be as much as $500 million. This at a time when we’re laying off teachers and cops, closing schools, and proposing a sales tax increase to fight record high crime in our own streets!
This is an outrage. Bush’s puppets have continually justified this invasion as a stop-gap measure to prevent terrorists from taking their war to America. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is swearing to fight this “war” until we can declare victory (hey didn’t Bush already do that once?).
You don’t need to go overseas to find terrorists, John! Our own citizens are going wild murdering, raping, robbing, and molesting their countrymen right here at home! Dude, I can’t even take my family out to dinner and not worry about some group of kids shooting at each other in the parking lot. Where are the terrorists again John?
I recommend all Sacramentans call for an end to this bloodshed by supporting The Sacramento Coalition to End the War, and/or our congresswoman Doris Matsui, who is also calling for a cease fire.
Enough is enough.
Click here to make a donation directly to US families of soldiers impacted by the war
Tags: Capitol, casualities, congress, deaths, doris matsui, iraq war, KIA, mccain, mia, pow, prozac, Residents, Sacramento, sacramento coalition to end war, soldiers, theater, time magazine, troops
