Category Archives: Veterans for Common Sense News

Soldiers: Long Tours Create ‘Lot of Stress’

May 30, 2008, Washington, DC – Three soldiers receiving Purple Hearts today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center spoke about the strains on soldiers in Iraq that contributed to a record number of suicides last year in the Army. The … Continue reading

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VA Denies Money a Factor in PTSD Diagnoses

June 3, 2008, Washington, DC – A Veterans Affairs psychologist denies that she was trying to save money when she suggested that counselors make fewer diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder in injured soldiers. Norma Perez, who helps coordinate a post-traumatic … Continue reading

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Associated Press: Senator Clinton Lost Presidential Election Due to Her Vote for Iraq War Plus Her Failure to Repudiate Her Vote

June 4, 2008, Washington, DC – On her first campaign visit to New Hampshire, in February 2007, Hillary Rodham Clinton was confronted by a voter who demanded she explain her 2002 Senate vote authorizing the U.S. invasion of Iraq. “I … Continue reading

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The War-Hero President and the Pacifist

June 2, 2008 – ‘I may not be able to see you,” the partially blind, stroke-impaired Ted Sorensen told a crowd at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston last week, “but I have more vision than the president of … Continue reading

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June 3 VCS Exclusive: Medication Effects and the Invisible Wounds of War – Why We Need A Blue Ribbon Panel on Soldier Suicide and Iatrogenic Harm

June 3, 2008 – “Is U.S. Health Care Really the Best in the World?”   Such was the title of Dr. Barbara Starfield’s clarion call to fellow medical professionals in a July 2000 issue of JAMA, the prestigious journal of the … Continue reading

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Ft. Stewart’s Commanding General Calls 15-Month Tours ‘Traumatic’

June 3, 2008, Savannah, GA – Returning home from 15 months in Iraq, Fort Stewart’s commanding general said Monday adding three months to Army combat tours has proven “more traumatic” for troops — including himself. “It doesn’t matter if you’re … Continue reading

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Nearby Firing Ranges Complicate Soldiers’ Recovery from PTSD

June 3, 2008, Fort Benning, GA – Army Sgt. Jonathan Strickland sits in his room at noon with the blinds drawn, seeking the sleep that has eluded him since he was knocked out by the blast of a Baghdad car … Continue reading

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Ex-Marine and Family Detail Struggles of Living with PTSD

June 3, 2008 – When Marine Marty Smith, 27, was medically discharged in 2006, military officials said it was because of damage to his hearing. But after returning home, his hearing wasn’t the only dramatic change his wife, Heather Smith, … Continue reading

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Female Soldiers Know: Sexual Assault Can Lead to PTSD

May 26, 2008 – Last month I attended a presentation on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, at the Anchorage Veterans Administration Clinic. PowerPoint slides provided a definition of PTSD and common causes of this disorder: IEDs, seeing the bodies of … Continue reading

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Editorial: Washington Post Editorial Board Declares U.S. Winning Iraq War

June 1, 2008 – There’s been a relative lull in news coverage and debate about Iraq in recent weeks — which is odd, because May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war. … Continue reading

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