'More than 120 veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq commit suicide every week'

[Kadie]

Suit claiming shoddy treatment of veterans goes to trial in S.F.
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, April 21, 2008

(04-21) 17:30 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- More than 120 veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq commit suicide every week while the government stalls in granting returning troops the mental health treatment and benefits to which they are entitled, veterans advocates told a federal judge Monday in San Francisco.

The rights of hundreds of thousands of veterans are being violated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, "an agency that is in denial," and by a government health care system and appeals process for patients that is "broken down," Gordon Erspamer, lawyer for two advocacy groups, said in an opening statement at the trial of a nationwide lawsuit.

He said veterans are committing suicide at the rate of 18 a day - a number acknowledged by a VA official in a Dec. 15 e-mail - and the agency's backlog of disability claims now exceeds 650,000, an increase of 200,000 since the Iraq war started in 2003.

Justice Department lawyer Richard Lepley countered that the VA runs a "world-class health care system." He said the changes the plaintiffs seek in their lawsuit - better and faster mental health care, and more rights for veterans appealing denials of benefits - are beyond the judge's authority.

"Of course we're obliged to provide health care," Lepley said, but "the court does not have standards to determine the speed or the scope or the level of that care."


more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/21/BAQK109AA7.DTL

[Mojambo]

1. Whoa. n/t

[Rex]

2. Good God.

:(

[ourbluenation]

3. that is a staggering number. so tragic.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. Total

These deaths should be included in the 4,000+ casualties so far. Imagine what the American public would make of THAT number .....

[OKthatsIT]

5. Suicide, huh? Are you so sure?

Whenever the Bush Admin says "suicide" you can bet it wasn't.

Like I've said since they started this war. The last thing these Globalist want is American fighters to return home, in one piece.

Think about it.

[AlCzervik]

6. jesus christ, please tell me that number is wrong.

this is beyond horrific.

[Kadie]

7. .

:kick:

[RedCappedBandit]

8. Holy shit!

Thats absolutely stunning. Why the hell doesn't EVERYBODY know this? K+R!

[piedmont]

9. That is absolutely stunning. k&r

[FightingIrish]

10. That's more than 6,000 per year

That's more than all the total reported fatalities for both wars. Why isn't this a headline? Does Bush weep for these people too?

[indepat]

11. junior seems to weep for no one and this is not a headline because it might cast some

doubt on the legitimacy and effectiveness of the administration's policies and actions (pre-emptive, illegal(?) war. Does anyone know how the suicide rate of this group compares to the suicide rate of the general population and how the suicide rate in this conflict compares to suicide rate of veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf War I. Should the suicide rate in this conflict be significantly higher than in other conflicts, my bet would be that a strong correlation exist with the number and types of illegal/inhumane acts (in violation of the Geneva Conventions) required of veterans of this conflict. :D

[mopinko]

12. argh. this shit should be

a war crime.

[Selatius]

13. They should be counted as Killed-In-Action so their families are entitled to the same benefits.

They should be given the benefits because the VA didn't help them recover from the war. This is fucking ridiculous.

[reggie the dog]

14. They should count

these into the death totals from the war. These could be some of the high school students I taught back in Chicago or buddies at the university who went to the service for the GI bill and then went back to be officers.....

6570 per year at that rate, holy fucking shit!!!!!!!!!!

[texasleo]

15. awful

[alstephenson]

16. The "120 per week" figure has been out there for awhile....

It seems the MSM doesn't think this is worthy of any significant coverage. WTF???

[knitter4democracy]

17. Well, that must be what Bush wants.

It makes the VA budget cheaper that way. Chew them up, spit them out, step on them when it's over. Sounds like the GOP usual MO.