While not absolutely, technically correct, the thrust of the headline is true.
I'm not going to comment much, here. The article is long, and you'll have enough outrage without my trivial comments.
The following is quoted directly from MSNBC under the Fair Use statute, and with attribution. I did not write a word of it, and quote it in its entirety, without any content modification, except for bolding and blockquoting.
So, without further ado, let's get ready to rumble!
In Iraq, a head wound isn't always a trip home
Military personnel with brain injuries pressured to return quickly to duty
By Robert Bazell
Chief science and health correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 1:33 p.m. CT Feb 27, 2007
When I arrived in Iraq recently I had a question for the leaders of the medical staff.
Last year when I was reporting on the treatment of brain injuries among troops returning from the war, I learned many experts were concerned about low-level brain injuries among the troops. The rehabilitation experts at Veterans Affairs had been shocked to hear that soldiers and Marines who had been exposed to the concussive force of numerous blasts from roadside bombs, but not obviously injured, were routinely returned to duty.
The VA experts worried that this could lead to an epidemic of mental health issues among veterans in the years to come. I asked at the Pentagon if anyone was concerned about the issue and got no answer.
In Iraq, I found that what the VA experts were hearing is certainly true. Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) remain the signature weapon of this war. These bombs have gotten increasingly powerful.
In the military hospitals in Iraq, most of the U.S. wounded had been injured by IEDs. Most surprising to me, it was not the first IED for most of them. In fact, I met several who had survived as many as five IED blasts. One young soldier had been through five in the past six weeks alone.
The explosions often fracture limbs severely. Even with the best body armor the concussive force can smash internal organs. Troops with obvious injuries receive immediate treatment and a fast trip home for rehabilitation.
What if the soldier just passes out for a few minutes or an hour? That often happens when the brain is shaken against the skull, and stops working temporarily.
Detecting 'subtle' damage
Right now, the procedure calls for the soldier to be checked out for a day at most and returned to duty.
"Most of the pressure comes from the soldiers to go back to duty," Dr. Phillip Cuenca, an Army anesthesiologist who is interested in the issue, told me. "The commander has to meet the mission, so if that soldier can still walk and carry out orders and is physically able, it is certainly reasonable for him or her to return to duty."
Col. Alan Bruns, a surgical consultant, told me that the military remains concerned about subtle brain damage from explosions. New practice guidelines were recently issued for doctors in the field to recognize tiny neurological changes in the troops.
"We want safety, not only for our soldiers who have experience with IEDs, but for their peers as well," Bruns said. "It doesn’t help their peers to have a comrade come back who has been sort of dazed by an IED. We want to make sure they’re taken care of properly."
Cuenca and many others point out that more research is necessary to find ways to detect these subtle neurological signs that can be difficult to differentiate from fatigue, stress or headache that you or I might feel.
Any long-term effects on tens of thousands of veterans of this war will, of course, take years to discover. Many experts, including those at the VA, worry they could be widespread.
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive© 2007 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
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We're now 4 years into this war that is going to turn out like Vietnam; we will get our ass kicked out of Iraq, and we will leave with nothing.
Some people think that we'll leave with the oil rights. Not likely. As soon as our military is out, Russia and China will cut new deals with the Iraqi government who will have re-nationalized the oil.
And our kids will have died, like so many of my friends in Vietnam, for nothing.
The differences are:
- The enemy will follow us for decades, and to the ends of the earth.
- There will be dramatically more wounded, with worse wounds, being uncared for by the VA (and by the Rethuglicans who will look on them as parasites).
- Our grandkids will still be paying - in many ways - for this screw-up.
Damn.
As far as the poll, the 3rd choice isn't really consistent with the question, until you consider that the administration that oversees the VA and the military is Rethuglican. I think the military structure cares, but they're not being allowed to do their job, and, technically, Bush is head of the military. I mean no disrespect toward those commanders who want to take care of our kids, but can't.
A commenter remarked about copyright infringement. Let's be clear.
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