Bob Herbert: War's Psychic Toll

War’s Psychic Toll

By BOB HERBERT
Published: May 18, 2009


I couldn’t have been less surprised to read last week that an American G.I. had been charged with gunning down five of his fellow service members in Iraq. The fact that this occurred at a mental health counseling center in the war zone just served to add an extra layer of poignancy and a chilling ironic element to the fundamental tragedy.

The psychic toll of this foolish and apparently endless war has been profound since day one. And the nation’s willful denial of that toll has been just as profound.

According to authorities, John Russell, a 44-year-old Army sergeant who had been recognized as deeply troubled and was on his third tour in Iraq, went into the counseling center on the afternoon of May 11 and opened fire — killing an Army officer, a Navy officer and three enlisted soldiers. The three enlistees were 19, 20 and 25 years old.

This is what happens in wars. Wars are about killing, and once the killing is unleashed it takes many, many forms. Which is why it’s so sick to fight unnecessary wars, and so immoral to send other people’s children off to wars — psychic as well as physical — from which one’s own children are carefully protected.

The fallout from the psychic stress of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been vast, but there was no reason for its destructive effects to have surprised anyone. There was plenty of evidence that this would be an enormous problem. Speaking of Iraq back in 2004, Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, who had been an assistant secretary of defense during the Clinton administration, said, “I have a very strong sense that the mental health consequences are going to be the medical story of this war.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/opinion/19herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

I am in the mental health field and I have posted many info-articles in my office over the past years. Also an upside-down flag in the window. Initially out here in a rural area, the VFW protested me! Then they read the articles. Noe people actually thank me, when/if they say anything.

Back home the mental health system is run by an HMO company and as expected they have a pressure to NOT treat. I think fewer citizens know about that part of the problem.

I have always treated vets, for free if necessary.