David Wood's story "The War Within," the centerpiece of this week's double issue of Huffington, contains many striking sentences, but this one stood out to me: "While the Greek historian Herodotus mentioned the trauma of war 25 centuries ago in his account of the battle of Marathon, it wasn't until 1980 that American psychiatry formally recognized and named the condition, describing PTSD as an injury caused by an outside stimulus rather than by an internal human weakness."
Bringing such depth and context to the effort of understanding the true costs of war goes some way toward demonstrating why David, HuffPost's senior military correspondent, won a Pulitzer Prize in April for national reporting. His series "Beyond the Battlefield" was a ten-part multimedia plunge into the struggles and sacrifices of severely wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. David, who has logged more than four decades as a reporter in combat zones across the globe, brought extraordinary experience and empathy to his project, speaking not only to wounded veterans but to the vast constellation of people whose lives they touch, from family, friends and fellow soldiers to the surgeons, rehabilitation therapists, and prosthetic engineers who ease the transition from war to civilian life.
"The War Within" comes at a crucial time: with major combat operations in Iraq ended and scaling back in Afghanistan -- not to mention the approaching spectacle of a presidential election -- the ongoing struggles of America's soldiers are something less than a national priority. Today's wounded veterans re-enter a civilian society that has, as David puts it, "largely disconnected itself from military service and now, according to polls, tired of war."
That is why we are lucky to have David on the story. In this issue, he once again puts the spotlight on veterans, including Natasha Young, who found purpose and stability in the Marines after a troubled childhood, and served two tours in Iraq. There, she witnessed horrors that led to thoughts of suicide: roadside bomb blasts that killed and maimed her fellow Marines, and later, a job that required her to gather the belongings of fallen soldiers. And she is hardly alone. About 14 percent of post-9/11 veterans suffer from PTSD, serving out what one combat medic calls a "lifetime sentence."
More than anything else, the power of David's writing lies in his ability to empathize as he delves into an important, if little-discussed, part of our country's history. (His background as a Quaker and a conscientious objector is a quiet undercurrent in his work.) The British historian Simon Schama, also glancing back to the ancients, has noted that "the Greek word historia meant, and was used from the very beginning by Herodotus as, 'inquiry.'" "The War Within" is the latest installment of David's own inquiry into the costs of America's wars, told in the voices of those who will continue to fight them for decades to come. I am so grateful that Huffington is showcasing his work, especially as we celebrate, and reflect on, the Fourth of July.
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Not true. It is a condition that has existed for centuries and it has been recognized and named various things. In WWI - it was "Shell Shock", in WWII it was "Battle Fatigue", In Korea, it was "combat disorder, combat fatigue, combat neurosis" and in Vietnam it was "delayed-stress disorder, delayed-stress syndrome".
"Today's wounded veterans re-enter a civilian society that has, as David puts it, "largely disconnected itself from military service and now, according to polls, tired of war.""
That is only a part of the problem. The country is disconnected because the government wants them so. In my day, service people came home to hatred, being spit upon, cursed and physically assaulted for being in uniform. Today, people are lauded to "support the troops" while being asked to sacrifice nothing all while government cuts military benefits, veterans benefits and veterans healthcare. In short, support the troops means support the wars and to hell with the troops.
Want to have a war? PAY FOR IT! Raise EVERYONE'S taxes. Have all Americans shoulder the burden! Pass a law that ALL wars must be financed by increased taxes, specifically called a WAR TAX! Include full benefits for returning veterans in all financing! Then, see how quickly we give up fighting unnecessary wars of choice!
Direct your comments about "occupying foreign nations in which we have no business," "useless wars being waged for political motives," "thousands of innocent people killed annually," and "the whole world hates us," to the leaders (presidents and congress) who took/take us to war. Blaming people serving in the military for this, is like blaming the guy repairing potholes in the road because the highway doesn't have enough lanes and cost too much.
Regarding "our poor darlings getting PTSD" and "our wounded warriors" -- you think they are paid well compared to many other Americans. Reallly? What is fair compensation for being a triple amputee; or having your chest ripped open and filled with dirt and debris; or having your genitals ripped off, burned away or crushed in the fiery blast of an improvised explosive device; or having a brain injury that make it hard to think clearly, to recall words, to do small problems. If you have a military or veteran's hospital in your area, go visit. Maybe you would find some comprehension and compassion for what these people have been through. I try hard to be polite to other posters, to not attack, to not name call. But I have to say, that your post disgusts me, sickens me, and appalls me. You should be ashamed. Do not reply; I don't want any contact with someone like you -- the last time I felt this sickened was after visiting Dachau.
And of course as long as the military can hire mercenaries to do much of the work soldiers used to do to avoid having a draft little if any protests from Americans.
The war machine in America is a huge jobs program.
I think the most ironic aspect in all of this is that America is considered a Christian nation. This aspect of American society amazes me. It is close to insane. Future generations will look at these times in America and shake their heads in disbelief.
Assuring them it's for the good.
There's so much bad, we must send more,
The never ending soldierhood.
We bring the dead back coffin draped
In Ol' Glory for which they died.
In death, these soldiers have escaped
The war still raging from inside
Of soldiers coming back, not dead,
But living with the hell torn soul.
We say it's only in your head.
A little rest and you'll be whole.
Reminders of war, we like not.
Wounded children be best forgot.
pretending it's a chore to ship us off to war
Walking In Space, we find the purpose of peace
The beauty of life, you can no longer hide
Our eyes are open, our eyes are open
Wide! Wide! Wide!
"Walking In Space" from the love rock musical HAIR
The volunteer military has been a failure and the draft should be re-activated with a lottery like the last one before it expired in 1971. No deferments allowed, except for medical/psychiatric reasons and Conscientious Objection. It is the only fair way. I am an anti-war person but I think I am a realist as well. Wars should only be fought for truly defensive reasons. A great, highly decorated Marine Major General made a speech in 1933 which I concur with - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3_EXqJ8f-0
We live in a state of nearly endless war; perhaps we are stuck in an era where wars will go on for decades and even beyond that. All young, physically and mentally able men and women should be eligible. This may bring back a period of anti-war domestic turmoil but it should also act as a deterrent to politicians and the elite whose offspring would be no less immune to a random call to service than anyone of the other "99%".
The United States is the most war oriented country on the planet and a good part of that has to do with the fact that people of better means know they have a "get out of service free card". Our military expenditures dwarf those of all other nations in the world as well: http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/12/defence-spending
Only a very small portion of our population have any understanding of the role of the military and many of them went in because they are economic inductees of a de facto draft. I want the children of chickenhawks and crooked WS banksters to perform military service without any preferential treatment whatsoever when they are called upon.
I don't want to see a "pull out" like Nixon did in Viet Nam -- we abandoned our allies, and left the third largest air force in the world on the ground for the North to seize when they invaded South Viet Nam in our absence. Then Laos and Cambodia fell and Thailand was threatened. The blood from the "Killing Fields" is on the hands of Nixon, because he had no "plan". Burma is only now starting to recover.
The people of the middle east are brave and hoping for peace. We are all lucky to have a President who is widely respected throughout the region and in the Forces.
I agree with your hatred of war, as only one who has seen it firsthand can, but don't allow that to color your facts or your compassion for those who served.
If the human race can't learn how to live with itself as to dog predator on itself we will bring on another full system collapse soon.
"WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes."
-Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Major General Smedley D. Butler
USMC, Retired - 1936
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm
http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechartFY2009.pdf