Civilians the forgotten victims of Iraq stress disorder

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060611/wl_mideast_afp/usiraqhealthstress_060611123110

WASHINGTON (AFP) - David Meredith was one of tens of thousands of American civilians who believed the high salary to be earned as a contractor in Iraq outweighed the risks.

"Before, I was a cool, laid-back, easygoing guy," said the 37-year-old truck driver and father of four. "Since I came back from Iraq, I have suicidal thoughts, angry outbursts, insomnia, flashbacks."

Meredith, who spent one year in Iraq from 2004-2005, is among thousands of military and civilian veterans of the Iraq conflict to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

US soldiers get psychological treatment. Meredith says he gets no help from his former employer, Halliburton, which had major contracts in Iraq.

<snip>

A local doctor diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but Halliburton's insurer refuses to pay for treatment. He can no longer work as a driver because of the drugs he takes. "I feel betrayed," he said.



.... imagine the trauma Iraqi civilians endure daily and can not escape! :grr:

Everyone who sets foot there is cursed by a spell woven by the dead and living,
cursed to never leave, even if they leave, accessories to a crime.. no peace.

I thought this headline might refer, not to opportunists scrabbling for big bucks in an illegal occupation, but to Iraqi civilians.

Who?

It bothered me so much I returned to this thread to say... Oh, never mind.

http://nobravery.cf.huffingtonpost.com
haunting video of some of the suffering of iraqi civilians...
:cry: