New York Times Special Report: 121 Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan Charged With Killing Upon Returning Home

New York Times:

Late one night in the summer of 2005, Matthew Sepi, a 20-year-old Iraq combat veteran, headed out to a 7-Eleven in the seedy Las Vegas neighborhood where he had settled after leaving the Army.

This particular 7-Eleven sits in the shadow of the Stratosphere casino-hotel in a section of town called the Naked City. By day, the area, littered with malt liquor cans, looks depressed but not menacing. By night, it becomes, in the words of a local homicide detective, "like Falluja."

Mr. Sepi did not like to venture outside too late. But, plagued by nightmares about an Iraqi civilian killed by his unit, he often needed alcohol to fall asleep. And so it was that night, when, seized by a gut feeling of lurking danger, he slid a trench coat over his slight frame -- and tucked an assault rifle inside it.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[MRb1000]

The military is train to kill. It dose not matter if you are Army, Air Force, Navy or Marines you main objective is to make the enemy die for his country so you may live to serve your country. After these guys go back three and four tours of duty, what do you expect when the come back. Most of them come back with PTSD. Now, there are a shortage of troops they just keep sending them back until they cannot be control any longer. Then they discharge them back to the public. A lot of these veterans end up sleeping under bridges and are homeless because the cannot coup with there inner demons. They are coming to towns near you.

[Rubiconski]

What is the primary means by which a government takes away the freedoms of its citizenry? Our American ancestors gave us the answer: its military forces. That is in fact why many of our Founding Fathers opposed a standing, professional military force in America - they knew not only that such a force would be used to involve the nation in costly, senseless, and destructive wars abroad but also that government officials would inevitably use the troops to ensure a compliant and obedient citizenry at home.

Consider the words of James Madison:

"A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people."

Here's how Patrick Henry put it:

"A standing army we shall have, also, to execute the execrable commands of tyranny; and how are you to punish them? Will you order them to be punished? Who shall obey these orders? Will your mace-bearer be a match for a disciplined regiment?"

Would U.S. troops obey presidential orders to deploy against the American people and take away our freedoms?

There is no doubt about it. Of course they would, especially if the president told them that our "freedom and national security" depended on it, which he would.

[Libsrule]

I'm amazed at these stories. They are heartbreaking, but what is even worse is the unfeeling attitudes of those who think they deserve no sympathy nor understanding nor help.

Some of these replies are embarrassing as well.

"I'm a vet and you're not!"

"No you aren't, I am"

And on and on and on. Such pathetic replies and fighting amongst the children here. Just pathetic.

The military and the Bush/Cheney criminal cabal should be held responsible. And this is probably only the tip of the iceberg.

It's easy to realize that there are probably a great many more killings from PTSD and lord only, knows how much domestic violence there is as a result.

As a country we should be ashamed that our elected representatives talk and talk and talk but when it comes down to it the funding is highly inadequate to great these men and women that we all are supposed to be caring and SUPPORTING so much.

I told a story here several months ago about a neighbor of ours of whom I was nothing more than a passing aquaintence to. I didn't know he had upped until he came home and I noticed a big party across the street for him. Easy to know what they were talking about. A few days later I noticed him sitting on his front porch just staring off.

[SirReal1]

There are many "good" comments that have been made here, but this obviously is an issue that has sent an "emotional charge" through many people.

The article suggests many "possible" causal elements for the phenomena, related to military service. The majority of them appear to be very plausible, but before anyone jumps into this, on either side of the issue, more research, and better data, should be demanded from our leaders.

The authors point out that their numbers are not very reliable as the Pentagon DOES NOT keep records on these events. Why not?

I did not find a solid reference to the total number of Military Personnel who have returned to the United States from "combat" areas. Without solid numbers in these two critical datum it is impossible to determine a ratio. Without that, how can any of us "assume" that this number is significantly out of proportion to the numbers in the civilian population (within the same age demographic)?

This is not to imply that I am in general disagreement with the implication that PTSD, Head Trauma, and exposure to toxins (depleted uranium, chemicals, heavy metals) can alter the behavior of an individual and manifest in violence, but I think it is important to reasonably measure the deviance from the general society. There is, without a doubt, a need for us, as a Society, to do a better job of taking care of our returning Military Service Members, I'm just not sure that identifying them as a "threat to society" is the best way to accomplish this.

[TRichards]

Killers are made, not born. We're making them wholesale from people who, otherwise, might have been able to take the idealism that brought them to the military and do something great with it.

Just more of the price of war -- and the seeming endless cowardice of a nation that passively accepts the squandering of its very principles, wealth, and youth to tamp down its fears.

We could be a lot better. 9/11 had the potential to bring this country together, to attack both the radicals that attacked us AND the situations that created those killers, to move toward energy independence, and to turn a tragedy into a fresh start. Instead, we were told to shop -- and to ignore what would be done to the Constitution. Yea, Bush!

Fear, like hope, perpetuates itself and makes its visions materialize.

[Subj2Chng]

So let me get this straight. An Iraq war veteran gets accosted by two armed gang bangers in an alley, and he blows them away, but only because he's suffering from some sort of post traumatic war disorder? Yup, that makes sense to me.

[Marichu]

The lives of these men and women are the responsibility of this country. After asking them to serve and paying them less than the security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is their due to be treated for any aliment and/or injury (physical, emotional, mental) incurred while serving. The way the system is set up has allowed for too many service personnel to be overlooked and possible treatment never offered. The current questionnaire needs to be reformatted for the returning soldiers to help indicate for PTSD or better yet, a trained professional who can interview the individual soldier, whether they're here or abroad, for signs of the disorder.

[SupremeIdiot]

An article in the Dallas Morning News talked about a Iraq vet who is also a Dallas Police officer. He said similar things to this kid. When confronted with a stressful situation he reverted to military behavior and used his weapon inappropriately. It's almost a flashback type thing for these guys.

I have several friends at the fire station that are Viet Nam vets. They talk little about it and most have some pretty bad nightmares.
I know paramedics that have PTSD from riding the ambulance, especially the late 80's and early 90's during the gang crisis and the worst of the AIDS epidemic.

You lose conscious control and instinct takes over.

[mrcontinental]

What do you expect when you train people to devalue life?

Contrary to popular belief not everyone is equipped for combat. You need to be EXTREMELY secure with your own identity to survive and come back a fully functional individual. Many cannot deal with killing, no matter the justification and others have no problem reconciling it.

It takes a strong mind and the ability to forgive yourself to kill another human being in war time but you have to believe that just because you have killed doesn't necessarily make you a killer. Killers derive pleasure and enjoyment from the act while a soldier feels regret and remorse. Killers will find an excuse to kill again but and former soldier will find every reason not to. With the massive rotation of soldiers through Iraq and Afghanistan there was bound to be some "natural born killers" in the bunch and the fact that screening for PSTD has been virtually non existent it's no wonder we've had such an alarming high number so far.

This link may interest some of you; a bit of food for thought if you will:

http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2008/01/02/02073.html

My wars are done and I'm thankful for that. I'm still ME for the most part and weep for the lives that are being lost simply to fill corporate pockets. Peace.

[bushmocker]

Anybody that has grown up in an area that's described as seedy in Las Vegas is aware of quite a bit of this same behavior but has to hide it and can't blame the "war".Can you imagine if all that money that has been wasted in Iraq could have been funneled to schools and job training for Americans.That seedy neighborhood in Las Vegas might not have been seedy and possibly no murder would have occurred.

[BlueStateMan]

You think THIS is bad?

....just WAIT until all those stellar Blackwater-Boys come back.

[cdnnewsjunky]

Another prediction; made a long time ago by the progressives on this site; about the downside of invading Iraq, seems to be panning out.

There used to be a time, when America's foreign policy misadventures, didn't result in the deaths of American citizens at home.

[johnpherson]

An excellent pentagon proposal-let the eventual undefeated Boston Patriots settle the score in Occupied Iraq. 90% of America wouldn't mind if they fail, probably...Seriously though most folks don't have a identifiable face to place in the midst of the Occupation, American nor Iraqi.

[johnpherson]

Search the news as it is reported anywhere other than the world class us reporting, you see images that will turn your stomach, our soldiers see this stuff up close. They are no immune to suffering but over time the mind softens the shock. The experience though never disappears, they are scared for life.

[johnpherson]

We've created monsters maybe? Understand i do not blame the monsters.