Underreported causalities
Isn't it interesting how quickly West Point graduates seem to forget "Duty, Honor, Country" and the rule "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do." They apparently blow all that off upon graduation.
And interesting how all this sounds like our soldiers are working for a really bad greedy corporation...and they're getting jerked around by really bad greedy private health insurance companies...
From USA Today: At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY.
The data, provided by the Army, Navy and Department of Veterans Affairs, show that about five times as many troops sustained brain trauma as the 4,471 officially listed by the Pentagon through Sept. 30. These cases also are not reflected in the Pentagon's official tally of wounded, which stands at 30,327.[..]"
You know, the people in the Pentagon who are in charge of reporting these statistics also suffer from certain type of brain trauma injury called "Bush Supporter"....
Seriously, to be fair, it's hard to get a handle on this. Studies show that even when there are no outward signs of injury from the blast, cells deep within the brain can be altered, their metabolism changed, causing these cells to die.
This cellular death leads to symptoms that may not show up for months or years-- memory deficit, headaches, vertigo, anxiety and apathy or lethargy. To make matters worse, the damage is so microscopic that it can't be found with imaging tests.
The Republicans have no problem accusing Democrats of treason even when Democrats are trying to help soldiers by fighting to extend their leave time, or provide more funds for VA hospitals...and yet they can't seem to get political traction to actually stick the blame on the GOP for the endless lists of administration/GOP scandals involving the troops:
The backdoor draft.
The lack of body and vehicle armor.
Discharging guardsmen a day short of when they would get their pensions.
Demanding repayment of signing bonuses for soldiers who are incapacitated by their wounds.
And now, hiding casualty figures.
These returning troops, and their families, will be struggling with these hidden injuries for decades to come ...I shudder to think just how inadequate our VA system might prove to be.
And while the Democrats fight to take the troops out of harm's way and bring them home, the Republicans are all over the news accusing Democrats of hating the troops.
You'd think the Democrats would be able to get SOME kind of traction from all the scandals involving treatment of our wounded troops.
You'd think. But it doesn't even look like they're really trying.
Sometimes Pelosi and Reid are as much a part of the problem as Bush and the GOP. You know the country is screwed when even the people who are supposed to be on your side aren't.
I guess the Democrats are suffering from their own brain trauma... Stockholm Syndrome.
