None of these recent VA moves to negate or downplay the seriousness of the long-term effects of PTSD have anything to do with creating a better system. The bottom line is that the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress just don't want to support any kind of social welfare program, veteran-related, or otherwise. And let's not forget that virtually the entire Bush administration never served in the military and some of those who did avoided combat. Their current actions are an insult to the young Americans now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, considering that the military is reporting that as many as 30% of them might be suffering from PTSD. The recent moves by the Bush administration and the VA have nothing to do with improving the system for diagnosing, treating and compensating veterans who suffer from PTSD. It has, instead, everything to do with cutting a reprehensible budget deficit to appease the right-wing base of the Republican party.
No veteran with PTSD asked to be afflicted with this debilitating illness. Yet, many of us having voluntarily served in Vietnam, in and around heavy combat, find that our government wants to belittle our experiences and the way they have permeated our lives since returning from war. We deserve better than this, but what else can you expect from a greedy, selfish government that simply does not care. To prove this point, here's what a staff member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee told the Post reporter: "On the one hand, it is good that people are reaching out for help"At the same time, as more people reach out for help, it squeezes the budget further." And, as one anonymous VA official succinctly summed up the real issue in the Post story, there's this: "If we show that PTSD is prevalent and severe, that becomes one more little reason we should stop waging war. If, on the other hand, PTSD rates are low"that is convenient for the Bush administration."
No veteran with PTSD asked to be afflicted with this debilitating illness. Yet, many of us having voluntarily served in Vietnam, in and around heavy combat, find that our government wants to belittle our experiences and the way they have permeated our lives since returning from war. We deserve better than this, but what else can you expect from a greedy, selfish government that simply does not care. To prove this point, here's what a staff member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee told the Post reporter: "On the one hand, it is good that people are reaching out for help"At the same time, as more people reach out for help, it squeezes the budget further." And, as one anonymous VA official succinctly summed up the real issue in the Post story, there's this: "If we show that PTSD is prevalent and severe, that becomes one more little reason we should stop waging war. If, on the other hand, PTSD rates are low"that is convenient for the Bush administration."
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