The New Gulf War Syndrome | Vets Say Stop the War | Dems Silent on Bush's Syria Attacks

War on Iraq Newsletter November 14th, 2008 More from War on Iraq »

U.S. Still Losing a Brigade's Worth of Vets Every Year to Suicide By Penny Coleman, AlterNet Obviously, the most immediate and reliable way to prevent soldier suicides is to get troops out of harm's way -- bring them home. Read more »   Earlier this week, Kelly Dougherty, Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, sent out a Veterans Day message. "While it is fitting that our nation reserves a special day to honor the sacrifice and commitment of our warriors," she wrote, "it also serves to highlight how we, as a country, have fallen short of caring for our veterans, reintegrating them back into our communities, and demanding that our military be used responsibly and only as a last resort." Over 1.7 million men and women of the U.S. military have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many of them now struggle to cope with physical and emotional injuries, with family relationships strained because of prolonged separation, and with finding employment during an economic recession. Driving this home is a sobering article this week by AlterNet author Penny Coleman, who reports on the staggering suicide rates among returning soldiers, numbers that would shake the American people awake if they were more widely reported. "Every year we lose about a rifle platoon worth of Marines to suicide," a Navy chaplain recently told a gathering of recruits, according to Coleman. "There is no tomorrow. Tomorrow will be too late. Intervene now. Don't waste time. Are you up for that challenge?" Read more writing by and about veterans in AlterNet's War on Iraq section. And thanks for reading. Liliana Segura Editor, War on Iraq Special Coverage     This Veterans Day, U.S. Soldiers Say 'Stop the War' By Benjamin Lewis, Brandon Neely, AlterNet An open letter from war resisters calls for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more »   The New Gulf War Syndrome By Nora Eisenberg, The Guardian Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are in danger from toxic chemicals, yet most don't know what they've been exposed to or where to get help. Read more »   Could an Obama Presidency Dampen Enthusiasm for Jihad? By Bramantyo Prijosusilo, New America Media If Obama upholds democratic values abroad without double standards, jihadi ideologues will have a much harder time recruiting. Read more »   Bush's Unauthorized Attack on Syria Killed Civilians; Dems Silent By Stephen Zunes, AlterNet By the time it was over, eight people had been killed, at least seven of whom were civilians, including three children. Read more »   Iraq's Tribes Critical to Future Security By Basel Abdulmajeed, Azzaman With a new minister for tribal affairs, the Iraqi government is increasingly relying on different tribes to maintain law and order. Read more »   College Life in Baghdad: How Much Has it Improved? By Naseer Al-Ily, Asharq Al-Awsat As safety returns to some Baghdad universities, political and religious influences are still pervasive. Read more »   Iraq Insurgents to Obama: "Withdraw Your Forces" Middle East Online In a taped message yet to be verified, insurgents called "unjust" wars the "principal cause of the collapse of the economic giant." Read more »   PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web     We Must Listen to Veterans Not Just Today, But on the Other 364 Days Too By Kelly Dougherty, Iraq Veterans Against the War It is fitting that our nation reserves a day to honor the sacrifice of our soldiers, but we have fallen short of caring for our veterans. Read more »   Faux New York Times Issue Inspires Hope, Declares Iraq War Over By Justin Krebs, Open Left Unlike the Onion which pokes at the truth with absurd headlines, this clever parody wasn't so far-fetched. Read more »   On Iran and Obama, Battle Lines Being Drawn By Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation Everyone has an opinion on how Obama should respond to Ahmadinejad's post-election overture. Read more »   Al Qaida Wants the U.S. to Escalate in Afghanistan By Derrick Crowe, Brave New Films Will the new president play into their hands? Read more »

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