For What It’s Worth

Jordanian-American-Muslim Malik Nadal Hasan, the nasty fellow who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded at least 30 more never served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Why is that important? Because the Washington Post has already started to spin the story the way it wants it and that does not leave room for an angry muslim perpetrator:

Fort Hood deployments stir suicide, depression

By Ann Scott Tyson

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 2009

Fort Hood, the Texas military base that was the scene of a mass shooting Thursday, has been hard hit by the growing strain on the Army from multiple combat deployments — with its personnel suffering the highest number of suicides among Army installations since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to official data.

After many years of lengthy war zone rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army personnel are experiencing record rates of suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental health problems, as well as worsening alcohol and drug abuse.

The psychological toll on the all-volunteer force today is unprecedented, Army officials say, acknowledging that they do not know how much the Army can sustain before it breaks — making the health of the force a major consideration in President Obama’s current deliberations over sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

It’s unclear what motivated the Army psychiatrist who is thought to have opened fire on fellow soldiers Thursday, although it’s clear he had worked in settings where the effects of combat stress were pervasive.

A small but increasing number of soldiers undergoing the mental strain of repeated combat deployments are taking lives — often their own.

This year, 117 active-duty Army soldiers were reported to have committed suicide, with 81 of those cases confirmed — up from 103 suicides during the same period last year. Ten suicides have been reported at Fort Hood this year; more than 75 of its personnel have committed suicide since 2003. Fort Hood’s high number of suicides is also linked to the fact that it is the Army’s largest base, with more than 53,000 soldiers.

An estimated 30 percent of those returning from combat suffer mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Such problems grow worse with repeated deployments and the constant exposure to danger and the sights, smells and emotions of seeing others killed or wounded, according to Army mental health surveys.

In the future, when I read stories of newspapers cutting staff and throwing reporters out on the street to seek honest employment I will stop worrying about my friends at those papers and instead think of Miss Ann Scott Tyson and I will be comforted. And if her editor joins her on the sidewalk, my joy will be complete.