The Price of War

One of the hidden costs of the war in Iraq is that, a large number of the soldiers involved (mainly US and British) in the war were either sent back or opted out and came back from the war because of mental trauma. A research done by the US Army revealed that 1 out of 5 of US soldiers suffer serious mental health problems associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.

So let's see, roughly 300,000 US troops have been deployed to Iraq since the war started.. that makes it about 60,000 whose suffering mental problems. After some surfing, I found out that it is not uncommon for soldiers to come back from war and become mentally disordered. However, the numbers are more extreme in the case of the war in Iraq compared to the Vietnam war, mainly because more than half the world population do not support the war - they feel ashamed. But personally, I feel that what they did was imperative because they are soldiers and it is their job to serve their government and nation. Nevertheless, going to war exposed them to horrors that will live with them forever.

Most of the soldiers who are affected are too ashamed to seek for help, for they might be deemed as weak (askar2 ni sure macho2 dan tough2 ye tak). But dude, mental problem is detrimental in the long run. How are you going to live a normal life if you suffer from major depression or substance abuse etc... And the side effects? Impairment in social functioning and the ability to work, general distrust etc. Obviously there's more, but hey, I'm no doctor.

Sigh, I never thought of this before. This war in Iraq should not have happened in the first place. The initial purpose of this war is so fucked up. Who's to blame? You know who. Tapi semua yang berlaku ada hikmahnya.

Anyway, here's a link to read regarding the battle for Fallujah. It's news from 5 days ago. Some facts are already more updated. Such as, the number of civilians remaining in Fallujah is between 50,000 - 100,000 people instead of 300,000 sbb ramai dah lari selamatkan diri, and the insurgents are now cornered to the south of Fallujah by the US and Iraqi forces, instead of their initial base at the north of the 'City of Mosques'.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3993809.stm