Barack Obama showed again today that he is determined to get and keep the Iraq vet vote and the ballots of those who care about them -- despite John McCain's "war hero" image.
While McCain remained silent, Obama quickly responded to the revelations today of Iraq vets used as "guinea pigs" in dangerous drug tests, by stating: "It is outrageous and unacceptable that our government would irresponsibly endanger veterans who have already sacrificed so much for our country. Our veterans -- particularly those suffering from mental health injuries -- should have the very best health care and support in the world, they should never be needlessly exposed to drugs without proper notification of the dangers involved or effective monitoring of the side effects.
"I will immediately be asking for a full and thorough investigation of how our government could yet again let down our veterans and their families who have given so much to their country, and who have paid so much for the failures of civilian leadership in Washington. It is time to demand accountability and to ensure that this kind of breach of trust never takes place again."
As if the "soldier suicide" problem wasn't bad enough already, word emerged today from ABC News and The Washington Times that our government is testing drugs with severe side effects, including promoting suicidal behavior, on hundreds of vets.
In one case, the V.A. took three months to alert the veterans to the severe mental effects caused by one of the drugs, the controversial Chantix, used to halt smoking.
They are even using cash payments to attract patients into medical experiments "that often target distressed soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," the newspaper puts it today.
The Chantix warning did not come "until after one of the veterans taking the drug had suffered a psychotic episode that ended in a near lethal confrontation with police," the Washington Times reports.
ABC aired an inteview today with that man, James Elliott, an Army sharpshooter who suffers from PTSD after serving 15 months in Iraq. "You're a lab rat for $30 a month," Elliott said.
More from the Washington Times report:
One of the nation's premier medical ethicists said the VA's behavior in the anti-smoking study violated basic protections for humans in medical experiments."When you're taking advantage of a very vulnerable population, people who have served the country, and the agency that's responsible for their welfare isn't putting their welfare first, that's a pretty serious breach of ethics," said Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
In all, nearly 1,000 veterans with PTSD were enrolled in the study to test different methods of ending smoking, with 143 using Chantix. Twenty-one veterans reported adverse effects from the drug, including one who suffered suicidal thoughts, the three-month investigation by The Times and ABC News found.
Mr. Caplan, who reviewed the consent and notification forms for the study at the request of The Times and ABC News, said the VA deserved an "F" and that it has an obligation to end the study, given the vulnerability of veterans with PTSD and the known side effects of Chantix. "Continuing it doesn't make any ethical sense," he said.
The VA continues to test Chantix on veterans, even as reported problems with the drug increase and have prompted at least one other federal agency to take action. On May 21, the Federal Aviation Administration banned airline pilots and air traffic control personnel from taking Chantix, citing the adverse side effects.
Check out the ABC News site for the video.
Greg Mitchell's new book includes several chapters on soldier/vet suicides. It is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. He is editor of Editor & Publisher.
The more the republicans talk the more it is revealed that they really don't care about the troops - their support is simply a matter of political expediency.
Why can't we support these veterans like we suppose the new ones??
Do you have ANY idea how many vietnam vets are homeless and STILL suffering from PTSD? More then you probably realize.
Not saying I agree with Wright on this particular matter, but, I think there is enough evidence to suggest that there are people within our government for whom the sanctity of an individuals basic human rights, well-being and very life is a secondary or tertiary consideration - at best.
I'm just sayin'...
larry lynch
It's becoming more than demoralizing to read these headlines each and every night. It's almost as though there are too many ugly stories for our minds to contend with. But then, there are the men and women who THEY speak of so proudly. The price they have paid is something we cannot turn our backs on. Bush and Company cannot get away with just a tarnished reputation. We have to fight on to back Obama when he prosecutes them for their war crimes. I'm counting on him for that.
What Bush & Co. have done to this country is beyond anyone's wildest thoughts. It's up to us to hold them responsible for the nightmares they are causing throughout the world.
The person that knows the VA is left asking; By what other means do we expect the VA to raise the money to meet the limited services it provides"?
If veterans health care is so excellent then require every MEDICARE recipient to get their care there and see how long those phoney care delivery grades hold up.
But forcing our vets to be used as lab rats for the government is pretty disgusting. When I worked for a teaching hospital I made extra money by participating in experiments but the risks were fully laid out and after that, if I still wanted to participate I signed a form acknowledging that I was aware of the risks.
The way these soldiers are being treated is completely against the ethics of human experimentation.
And these are the people who declare on a regular basis how they "support our troops"????
They support putting them in harm's way based on lies.
The support screwing them over, both in theater and when they get home, in order to make a buck.