Psychological Effects of War

I keep reading more and more reports about how the Iraq War affects people that must deal with its gruesome aspects.

Cindy Sheehan is a brave example of how it hits close to home, as she continues to grieve for her son's death in Iraq, and pleads for the insanity of war to end and save other mothers from the grief she feels. It is a rather steep uphill battle for her to beg to a President who sees a vacation more important than planning a strategic blueprint to get our troops home and let Iraq rule itself (which, in all actuality, I don't think President Bush wants).

Yesterday, I read a syndicated column in the Des Moines Register (yes, I read a real newspaper printed on real paper!) about the psychological impact war has on the soldiers. I can't find the column online, but it spoke about how 98 per cent of the soldiers that go to war will come home with psychological issues, and 2 per cent that won't be phased at all by war. Those 2 per cent of soldiers, the article claimed, were psychotic to begin with, have no feelings about other humans, and view murder as just another human activity.

Another article also details the psychological impact of war on soldiers, however it did not detail the 2 per cent psychotics.
http://www.jwv.org/communication/detailart.cfm?ID=286

Today, another article talks about the psychological impact of the war on Iraqi citizens. It looks like this war keeps opening up very old social wounds in this country and it doesn't look like it is going to get better as this war continues to drag on.

http://www.vermontguardian.com/dailies/0904/0816.shtml

As we consider how to do the right thing in Iraq, we really need to consider the psychological impact of the current war's status quo on the citizens of Iraq and what steps we need to take to make sure Iraqis are in the right mindset to get their country back on track. Attitude is everything, and if all the Iraqi people are jittery and on edge, this is no way to begin a new democracy.

Come on, let's be real, what would happen if we pulled out our troops? The Iraqis would have one less death-causing issue to deal with, and hopefully, common people can rebuild their lives again which has been put on hold for the last couple of years. The insurgents would have to find a different target to pursue, or else they would just go back to their ordinary lives. Oh, you are worried about the insurgents targeting the USA? I think if the insurgents had the money, they would... wait. Maybe it would be in President Bush's best interests to pull out the troops. Then, his administration could give the insurgents money to attack the US, and then he could link these Iraqi terrorists with Iran, and be able to declare war with Iran. I can hear Dubya's snicker as he contemplates this with his administration.

If we do get in a war with Iran, don't think that we'd only be fighting Iranians. Russia and China are gearing up as we type... Gulp.

Cindy, you may just get your wish to end this war, after all. Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.

Thoughts and prayers go out to Cindy, and her family, as she has left her post at Camp Casey to be by her mother's side in the hospital. It is a blessing that Cindy continues to put her family first, as a truly loving family is the greatest reward for life.