Casualties of War - At Least 128 American Soldiers Committed Suicide

"At least 128 American soldiers committed suicide last year, bringing the rate up to the highest level in nearly three decades. About a third killed themselves during deployment, a third after, and a third not having been deployed. The rate of military suicides is higher than civilian for the first time since Vietnam.

The endless wars abroad in Afghanistan and Iraq and the advent of 15-month deployments would seem to be the best explanation. Many servicemen and women face major life problems after coming back.

Some proponents of staying the course suggest that dissenting civilians here at home will lose the war, just as they allegedly lost Vietnam. Yet we are at peace now with Vietnam. Yes, horrors were unleashed when the U.S. withdrew, but much of that was exacerbated in its ferocity by U.S. intervention in the first place (such as with U.S. bombing in Cambodia warming the people up to the Khmer Rouge).

These interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq have lasted longer than World War II, at a tremendous cost with no end in sight. Some close to Obama suggest the new administration might see the Afghanistan engagement lasting as long as Vietnam. The objective is very unclear.

Some conservatives seem to see the futility in trying to nation build in Afghanistan, now that Obama wants to do it. Some liberals saw the futility in the Iraq war. But nothing can be gained by continuing the occupations of either one."

Continued: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=9592