The military has released figures showing record suicide rates that show more soldiers are dying by their own hand than those of the enemy. In just the Army alone, 24 soldiers are believed to have committed suicide in January. That is six times the number from 2008.
During the same period, all of the branches lost 16 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq in January.
One official has described the findings as “terrifying.”
The Marines are also reporting an increase in suicides: 41 in 2008, up from 33 in 2007 and 25 in 2006, according to a Marines report.
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mmmm….maple syrup
I dont have to prove to you the respect i have for my fellow soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen. I stood beside these men and fought in what i believe was a just war that will eventually provide the country of Iraq with some form of democracy. These men i served with deserve the utmost, unquestioned gratitude, as they not only served their country, but their fellow Americans. They decided to serve their country and try to affect change, rather than blog about it.
mespo,
Thank you. I hold you in equally high esteem.
While we’re discussing disciplining the children, I’m glad I got the IMPORTANT post up before you trolls showed up, btw. This is a thread about suicide rates in our troops. PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP. Not more Neocon trollery. By dragging this shit in HERE, well, I think that sums up your respect for the troops. Thanks for continuing to prove points.
Chris:
“buddah constantly degrades people, simply because they disagree with him.”
**********
I think buddha is passionate and sometimes a little effusive with his criticism but never degrading. I find it no character flaw to refuse to suffer fools quietly lest you let them propagate with their misconceptions and silliness. All in all buddha is a credit to the blog and I find his comments thoughtful and sincere.
Turtle:
That is a good question you raise about the nature of the conflict and the amount of gratitude owed. I think we owe gratitude for sacrifice, but what if that sacrifice was in an “unjust” war or war of aggression? Those are difficult questions to answer, and I think it worthy of more thought and discussion.
“Buddah says these people should be removed from our society like a cancer.”
What I said was Neocons like you should be excised from the body politic like a cancer and socially marginalized.
Let me clarify that for you. I so dislike distortion.
“Excised from the body politic like a cancer” as in “not allowed to vote or participate in governance or hold positions of authority or responsibility in any form”.
“Socially marginalized” as in “ridiculed like simple racists are for being socially unacceptable and primitive”.
Then we’ll educate your kind right out existence. It’ll take a generation or two, but soon you’ll be a social relic just like the Nazis. Yeah, just like Nazis, there might be a few of you zanies left hiding in the corners, but the damage you can do to society and the common good will be minimized. The FBI manages to keep a pretty tight lid on the Nazis and the KKK, I trust they have the skills to keep your lot from starting much trouble too.
Setting up camps is more your style. I’ll use my play book, thanks. And this also means your leaders pay DEARLY in prison time and forfeiture, their corporate masters stripped of their blood money and dissolved to rebuild the America you destroyed and attempt to make whole those whom you have so egregiously harmed – MADE EXAMPLE, a cautionary tale. And I think it should be a case of you can run but you can’t hide. Move your assets? We’ll come get them. Hide in Dubai or Saudi Arabia? We’ll come get you. Treason and war crimes merit more than a spanking.
I stand by that statement too.
If the children are pooping on the dinner table, it’s time to take away their toys and lock them in the closet until they learn to behave. I am a reflection of what happens when you make the adults get up out of the chair.
We the People want our country and Constitution back. That’s the team I’m on. Sleep tight knowing that, since I seem to have inspired some troll fear. It’s good that I think that the only time fear is a useful tool is when it’s used against evil men. Otherwise, I’d be like you Neocons. Instead, I can smell your fear like maple syrup over Manhattan.
It smells like . . . Justice.
It brings a big old smile to this face.
Buddha is truly laughing.
Directly at YOU.
Thanks for the heads up.
Chris:
on this site if you believe as you do you are a presumed idiot until confirmed.
Be careful about mentioning PNAC they will crucify you, and also dont say that waterboarding may not actually be torture, they will go into paroxysms of disbelief.
be carefull little trollette their words may sting but their wit is dull.
Mespo:
that is an interesting question-how much gratitude do you/we owe our men and women in the military?
How much should we help them? Dose it depend on the type of war? If you are fighting for your country’s survival as we were in WWII arent you also fighting for your own benefit and so therefore no gratitude is needed. But say Vietnam where we asked young men to go to war for very undefined reasons isnt a higher level of gratitude required because of what we were asking of them – namely personal sacrifice to no good end?
I totally agree with you. The great thing about our country is that we are free to disagree. I come on this site quite often and see how buddah constantly degrades people, simply because they disagree with him. He just made a comment on my character in his last post, when the truth is he knows nothing about me. He uses this article about soldiers comiting suicide to somehow proves his point about “neo-cons”. I am pretty knew to this site, and enjoy the discourse. I know there are people who dont agree with many of my views, but i dont think that makes them an idiot.
chris:
“These people who you refer to as “Neo-cons” serve their country so that you can hold the beliefs that you do.”
************
I have no idea what this has to do with anything, but people you refer to as “liberals” also served their country so you could hold your “beliefs.” Ideology has little to do with courage or fitness to serve, and service to your country does not immunize your arguments from criticism. Gratitude has its limits.
A great majority of the people that i served with hold the same values as our former president. Republican, Christians who would very much disagree with many of the things that are said on this website. Who also enjoy watching “Faux News” as I believe you call it. These people who you refer to as “Neo-cons” serve their country so that you can hold the beliefs that you do. Buddah says these people should be removed from our society like a cancer.
Mas:
I agree with you on that, we should have kicked ass and then been done. There were a lot of lives wasted by trying to build a democracy in Iraq that will most probably end up not very democratic at all and an ally of Iran.
Its really quite a shame (thats probably not harsh enough)that young men would be asked to fight and then not being allowed to fight to win.
I think this just war theory that Bush believes in ends up not being very just to our soldiers.
chris (like you’re fooling anyone),
I said nothing about conscription. I said “Get help if you’re suicidal, there are people willing to help.” If you have a problem with that, well, that about sums you up, sport.
CEJ,
You are most welcome. One lives to be of service.
Buddha & Maskeptic thank-you for your posts.
Please Bring Them Home. Amen!
“the military is all volunteer”
And as such the government has a compelling responsibility to treat them as volunteers instead of treating them like second class citizens. Wanting to defend this country from the threats that face it is not agreeing to be sacrificed like a pawn in a politically and monetarily motivated war.
“they werent forced to do anything”
There have been several stories about recruitment officers using pressure tactics and threats to ‘encourage’ young men and women to enlist. No they didnt’ have their arm twisted or a gun put to their head but when you are fresh out of high school and an authority figure tells you that you HAVE to do something or else…
“A large portion of the military believes what we are doing in Iraq is a good thing.”
Agreed, and further they would also say that we’ve done a piss poor job of handling the followup or the political aspects of the war. Our troops kicked ass over there but we left them hanging in the breeze after the dust settled.
Thats a load of bs. I dont know if you knew this or not buddah but the military is all volunteer. Since 9/11 everyone who joined the military did it knowing there was a good possibility they would be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. So they VOLUNTEERED for this service, they werent forced to do anything. A large portion of the military believes what we are doing in Iraq is a good thing.
This is a real victory for the terrorists.
Politicians need to stop using ‘the troops’ as a political prop and pissing away their lives on meaningless gestures. If a military solution is required it should be prosecuted quickly, violently, and with a clear plan off attack and withdrawal. Anyone who cares about this country should be disgusted with how poorly our soldiers are being treated by the government. The Feres Doctrine, shoddy workmanship done by contractors, unsanitary and overcrowded conditions in VA hospitals, refusing healthcare to wounded vets, rapes and assaults being brushed under the rug, private MERCENARIES making more money and being held above the law, lying to the families of the dead to make a PR coup, unending deployments that are extended again and again and again.
Finish it.
Then bring them Home.
Thanks, Neocons.
To all our brave soldiers: Hang in there! If you are stressed and need help that the military isn’t providing, find someone, ANYONE to talk to about it. Suicide isn’t the answer. There are plenty of us who would willingly lend an ear or other assistance if needed. The horrors of war that may have brought you to this point were not your fault, but caused by being put into an untenable situation by evil men who hijacked the government and the military to make personal profit. We the People are not them. We the People understand and appreciate your sacrifice as much as We despise those who abused your sacrifices. Let Us help bring you back from the edge. We’ll walk back together. You joined the services to help We the People, not We the Corporate. Let We the People help you in your time of need. We are willing and indeed grateful to honor your duty and your lives by keeping you from becoming a collateral damage of an illegal and immoral war. But please don’t harm yourselves. There are those of us who love and respect you despite what you may have been forced to do by evil men. Don’t let THEM win. We the People don’t want your harm, but especially by your own hand. You are us. To seek your harm is to harm ourselves. If your mind is troubled, let us help you, brothers and sisters. Let us help you walk back into light to live free. But most importantly, let us help you live. If you are having problems finding someone to talk to locally, these people will help you.
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Or call 800-273-8255