At Least 17 U.S. Troops Have Committed Suicide in Iraq; Army Seeks Answers

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAW30SXBND.html

Rebecca Suell wants answers, and not the ones the U.S. Army is giving her.

Why does the Army keep calling the last letter her husband sent to her, the one he mailed from Iraq on June 15, a suicide note? Can taking a bottle of Tylenol really kill you? And how did he get his hands on a bottle of Tylenol in the middle of the desert anyway?

The questions may differ, but experts say the desperate search for answers - and the denial - are usually the same.

Since April, the military says, at least 17 Americans - 15 Army soldiers and two Marines - have taken their own lives in Iraq. The true number is almost certainly higher. At least two dozen non-combat deaths, some of them possible suicides, are under investigation according to an AP review of Army casualty reports.

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[54anickel]

1. What the hell are we doing there?

Whether the suicide rate among the troops should be considered high is impossible to say because there is nothing to compare it with, experts say. What would be considered a "normal" rate for an all-voluntary military force of men and women on extensive deployments to the Middle East, under constant pressure from guerrillas who use terror tactics?

There is nothing "normal" about this war, or this mis-administration.

[leftchick]

2. Well here is one of the reasons...

right from the article:

<"In most previous conflicts you went, you fought, you came home," Rudd said. "In this one they went, they fought, they're still there.">

.......and no doubt will be there for a very long time. :(

[54anickel]

3. Thanks, points again to absolutely nothing "normal" about this "war"

They fought, they "won", according to that Mission Accomplished fiasco. The "war" was declare over. Now they are seeing more death, destruction and combat than during the "war".
Yet it is still broken into Pre/Post bullshit.
Certainly can understand the suicide rate based on your snip. Thanks.

[colorado_ufo]

4. Taking a bottle of Tylenol can definitely kill you.

Tylenol is a great pain reliever but it is highly toxic to the liver. It is never given to patients with liver disease, even in normal doses, and can quickly become toxic combined with alcohol or in overdoses even in people with healthy livers.

It is important to remember that just because a drug is made OTC ("over the counter"), that doesn't mean it can be taken carelessly.

That does not, however, explain whether or not this was a suicide.

[SodoffBush]

5. "Relax. We won!"

Richard Perle

[leesa]

6. Gee, I think I know the answer. They are stuck in an illegal, unethical,

unwinable, bogus war for the enrichment of already rich people like our First Cheerleader and his side-kick Cheney. If THAT is not enough to make you want to kill yourself, how about bullets whizzing by your head and bombs bursting at any time and from any direction.

[NNN0LHI]

7. You know something?

Had I gone off to war thinking I was doing the right thing by fighting and killing to protect my country, and then after I killed a few Iraqis it hit me that all I was really protecting were oil fields and pipelines for corporations like Halliburton I just might blow my own brains out too. Sad but true.

Don

[saskatoon]

8. Had I gone off to war thinking I was doing the right thing by fighting and

If I had seen what surely some of them had, I would have to kill myself to get rid of those images such as these (if a red x in box, Right click and click on "show picture)
http://www.shianews.com/hi/middle_east/news_id/0000758.php The 35th I think is the one that reminds me of my little granddaughter---the little girl in the lavender robe. These are courtesy of "Shock and Awe"

[Raenelle]

9. I read some of these are soldiers wounding themselves to go home,

then the wound is fatal.

[tabasco]

10. Another terrible consequence of war that Bush didn't consider

and probably doesn't care about.

[wryter2000]

11. Seek answers?

You put them in hell and don't tell them when they can come home. What other answer do you need?

[goforit]

12. Need answers?....Ask your satonic leader at 1600 Pennslyvania Ave.

It is the only escape they have.

God bless them!!!

[teryang]

13. "Mow em all down/bring em on"

This macho bullshit from pampered fat ass rich fascist slobs called leaders at home doesn't work for those who have to deal with the dead and maimed.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why soldiers exposed to combat kill themselves. Any soldier with a combat infantry badge who commits suicide is presumed to have post traumatic stress disorder. Any soldier who has handled casualties and kills himself is presumed to have post traumatic stress disorder. No need to study or research anything. It's all been done before.

[Kinkistyle]

14. Compassionate soldiers are getting charged with "cowardice"

Is there any question why some are driven to commit suicide? The pressure and pain of having to kill and maim people despite what their hearts are telling them is wrong is enuff.