After a decade of two Wars of Choice, Afghanistan became as soon as the first drumbeat pointed at Iraq and the abandoning of the main mission, and Countries promises to the Afghans after years of occupation and wars which we had walked away from then after our participation in arming them against the Soviets, multiple tours in one theater or most doing same in both, war and occupation of others has become their lives. Not a military defending but 24/7, over and over, of continued stress of survival for each and each other.
This Country on the other hand hasn't had any of that stress at all! They even haven't had to Sacrifice, told to go shopping right at the beginning, except for the very few, and the families of, who actually understand and seek to help in many ways and on many issues, which occurs as to all our wars, the very few, for over a decade now adding to the previous decades as the greater majority wave flags of support and patriotism. Or rather they call it that with other words and cheap symbols of same while continuing to under fund, laying blame on as well, their responsibility the Veterans Administration especially with each war they cheer on while ongoing and in the years after. Add in each generation of veterans of our wars, and those very few caring citizens, since Korea, being ignored once they return during and in mass after the official ends of, still no Sacrifice.
March 14, 2012 - The U.S. Army staff sergeant being investigated in the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians was flown out of Afghanistan today.
A military spokesman said the U.S. does not have an appropriate detention facility in that country. It's not known where he was taken.
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Panetta spoke to soldiers at Camp Leatherneck. On the agenda were the massacre of 16 innocent Afghans last weekend, the mistaken burning of the Koran by U.S. troops, and the death of 6 Americans in the riots that followed.
"Each of these incidents is deeply troubling, and we have to learn the lessons from each of those incidents so that we do everything possible to make sure they don't happen again," Panetta said.
Later he spoke with CBS News correspondent Chip Reid about his visit and what he hopes to learn from the recent incidents.
The Pentagon wants to know whether the Afghan rampage shooter "was on the edge, what kind of group counseling he received, really try to understand the kind of stress our troops go through." read more>>>
There's another report out of the Lewis-McCord base, hitting yesterday, on a lieutenant colonel who was planning on bombing a local government building as well as he had put out a $150,000 contract on his ex-wife and another officer. At first, having served in theater and the way the reports of have been written, one might think that he might have snapped because of serving in these. But near the end of the report you find the seeds were already planted long ago. He witnessed his mother shoot and kill his siblings as well as getting shot and surviving himself years ago. Probably misdiagnosed then or not diagnosed at all, lived with that and became successful in the military and in life, yet the trigger was set when sent into theater and the stresses there as well as in his personal life, and apparently not recognizing and seeking help, help that should already have advanced in understanding after these some forty years but was ignored!!
If the country hadn't ignored, after finally understanding what always had been, for some forty years, we would have had the results of our wars of choice right up there with War As A Very Last Resort in our policy making, which I think is finally registering with some we, and others, make leaders, and the past decade would have been completely different for the whole country as well as the planet in relation to our actions 'In Our Names!'!!
PTS takes many directions, as to combat PTS or just serving in war theaters, everyone changes when sent to, even support as they know much of what is going on. I've always felt, after a few I knew who went merc during and after Vietnam that one of the main reasons was the hate they had instilled along with the combat stress, can't live with the nightmares you join them and live them, same for civilians especially kids who've been abused. Like one who starts torturing and learns to really like what they're doing. Many examples, from the reports on this tragic incident this was well planned and carried out, wasn't just snapping and shooting, they even caught him as he was trying to sneak back into the base unlike earlier reports making one think after he just walked up to the perimeter and gave himself up!
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