<p>That a consistent majority of Americans do not want to waste additional lives and dollars refereeing a tribal and religious war. Clear enough?</p>
<p>Fundingfather- regarding your analysis of the status of the military-your views of this AP article in today’s paper?</p>
<p>April 10, 2008</p>
<p>Troops’ health under increasing strain</p>
<p>By PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press </p>
<p>U.S. soldiers are committing suicide at record levels, young officers are abandoning their military careers, and the heavy use of forces in Iraq has made it harder for the military to fight conflicts that could arise elsewhere.</p>
<p>Unprecedented strains on the nation’s all-volunteer military are threatening the health and readiness of the troops.</p>
<p>While the spotlight Wednesday was on congressional hearings with the U.S. ambassador and commanding general for Iraq, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody was in another hearing room explaining how troops and their families are being taxed by long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the prospect of future years of conflict in the global war on terror.</p>
<p>“That marathon has become an enduring relay and our soldiers continue to run – and at the double time,” Cody said. “Does this exhaust the body and mind of those in the race, and those who are ever present on the sidelines, cheering their every step? Yes.”</p>
<p>The strain on people has been well-documented:</p>
<p>Thousands of troops struggle with mental health problems because of combat experiences.</p>
<p>Some 27 percent of soldiers on their third or fourth combat tours suffered anxiety, depression, post-combat stress and other problems.</p>
<p>As many as 121 troops committed suicide in 2007, an increase of some 20 percent over 2006, according to preliminary figures released in January.</p>
<p>President Bush is expected to announce today that the length of tours will go back to 12 months for Army units heading to war after Aug. 1, defense officials said Wednesday.</p>
<p>And it’s not just the people that are facing strains.</p>
<p>Military depots have been working in high gear to repair or rebuild hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment – from radios to vehicles to weapons – that are being overused and worn out in harsh battlefield conditions.</p>
<p>The Defense Department has asked for $46.5 billion in this year’s war budget to repair and replace equipment damaged or destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Both the Army and Marine Corps have been forced to take equipment from nondeployed units and from pre-positioned stocks to meet needs of those in combat – meaning troops at home can’t train on the equipment.</p>
<p>National Guard units have an average of 61 percent of the equipment needed to be ready for disasters or attacks on the U.S., Missouri Democrat Ike Skelton lamented at Wednesday’s hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.</p>
<p>Cody and his Marine counterpart, Gen. Robert Magnus, told the committee they’re not sure their forces could handle a new conflict if one came along.</p>
<p>An annual Pentagon report this year found there was a significant risk that the U.S. military could not quickly and fully respond to another outbreak elsewhere in the world. The classified risk assessment concluded that long battlefield tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with persistent terrorist activity and other threats, are to blame.</p>
<p>Fundingfather- You mentioned that the military is meeting recruiting goals.</p>
<p>Here is an update- does this concern you?</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army and Marine Corps let 861 convicted felons join their ranks in 2007, an 88 percent jump over the previous year that helped meet recruiting goals in wartime, according to data released on Monday.</p>
<p>The Army, the largest branch of the U.S. military, gave felony waivers to 511 recruits last year, up from 249 in 2006, according to the figures released by a congressional panel. The Marine Corps granted 350 waivers, up from 208 the year before.</p>
<p>The waivers for convictions ranging from assault and burglary to manslaughter and sex crimes allowed the military to enlist people otherwise precluded by recruitment standards.</p>
<p>Nearly 250 recruits were granted waivers for their burglary convictions – 142 from the Marine Corps and 106 from the Army. Another 87 waivers were granted for recruits convicted of aggravated assault.</p>
<p>Both the Army and Marine Corps also granted waivers to recruits convicted of making terrorist threats, including bomb threats. The Marine Corps granted five such waivers in 2007 while the Army granted two.</p>
<p>The Army gave waivers to eight people convicted of arson, 56 convicted of grand larceny and five convicted of sex crimes.</p>
<p>The Marines gave waivers to 11 people convicted of carrying a weapon on school grounds.</p>
<p>SJChessMom, there was a very sad, and infurating, report on CBS tonight about the epidemic of suicides amongst veterans, which the V.A. has attempted to cover-up. V.A. staff are seeing 1000 suicide attempts per month by veterans, and numbers of suicides are exceeding 6000/year. Just an abominable situation.</p>
<p>“The Marines gave waivers to 11 people convicted of carrying a weapon on school grounds.”</p>
<p>Makes for shorter training required.</p>
<p>Heartbreaking …alwaysamom. Did not see the VA cover-up story.</p>
<p>Mini-so with shorter training they can spend the money to encourage reenlistment- now up to $35,000</p>
<p>Here’s a link to some of the information from the investigative report:</p>
<p>[VA</a> Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-Mails Show, Follow-Up Reporting On Exclusive Investigation Reveals Officials Hid Numbers - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/21/cbsnews_investigates/main4032921.shtml]VA”>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/21/cbsnews_investigates/main4032921.shtml)</p>
<p>This was several posts back (by 1of42), but I couldn’t let it go unanswered:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m not sure I follow this reasoning - you think LIBERATING them from DEATH CAMPS was… “unfortunate” ??</p>
<p>My uncle by marriage was a Jew in Berlin during WWII - hid out in a basement for the duration. He admired the Americans so much after the war that he moved to the U.S. (leaving his whole family behind) and joined the U.S. Air Force and became a U.S. citizen. He still remembers very well how well they were treated by the Americans.</p>
<p>I guess some people just love to think of Americans & America as evil - now THAT is unfortunate. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>NY Times articles about the refugees…
April 22, 2008
Op-Ed Contributors
A ‘Surge’ for Refugees
By MORTON ABRAMOWITZ, GEORGE RUPP, JOHN WHITEHEAD and JAMES WOLFENSOHN
IT is a grave humanitarian crisis: 1.5 million Iraqi refugees living in deplorable and declining conditions in Syria and Jordan. </p>
<p>They are clustered not in camps but in overcrowded urban neighborhoods, crammed into dark, squalid apartments. Many have been traumatized by extreme violence. Their savings are dwindling; many cannot afford to pay for rent, heat and food; few have proper medical care.</p>
<p>After meeting with refugees, leaders in both Syria and Jordan and United Nations experts, we came to the inescapable conclusion that this crisis could endure for years and that much more help is needed now.</p>
<p>There is absolutely no denying that the United States has a special responsibility to help. The sectarian violence these Iraqi refugees have fled is a byproduct of the invasion and its chaotic aftermath — yet America has paradoxically done far less than its traditionally generous response.</p>
<p>But while the United States must lead, the scale of this humanitarian emergency and its uncertain duration require international contributions, including the active participation of European and Gulf Arab states. </p>
<p>The refugees face three alternatives: return, remain or resettle. None is a good option. It is too dangerous to go back, they will become increasingly destitute if they remain where they are, and yet only a few will be resettled in other countries. </p>
<p>The United States and the international community must therefore take three actions to ease the plight of displaced Iraqis until the day comes when they can safely return home.</p>
<p>First, these refugees simply need more aid. We estimate that to serve this population a minimum of $2 billion is needed annually for at least the next two to four years and it is fitting that the United States cover at least half of this cost. </p>
<p>Contributions from the international community have been woefully inadequate. So far this year the United States has given only $208 million in direct humanitarian assistance for displaced Iraqis. The gulf states have given $11 million since last October. And with its significant oil funds, the Iraqi government must do better in assisting its own uprooted citizens: the $25 million it has allocated in this year’s budget is grossly insufficient. Host countries must also allow nongovernmental organizations better access to Iraqi refugees and affected local communities.</p>
<p>Second, because a sizable population of Iraqis will not return home under any circumstances, more refugees must be resettled in more third countries. Unfortunately, many doors have closed or are being closed. Again, the United States must lead, and it is failing: our government has resettled fewer than 5,000 Iraqi refugees since the war began.</p>
<p>This year America should at a minimum meet its target of resettling 12,000 Iraqi refugees and fulfilling its commitment to admit 5,000 Iraqis (and their dependents) who have worked for the United States and are eligible for special immigrant visas. </p>
<p>In the years ahead, the United States can realistically admit at least 30,000 Iraqis annually. European countries — especially Britain, which, like America, bears a particular responsibility — should be taking in larger numbers of vulnerable Iraqis like single women with children and those who worked for the coalition.</p>
<p>Third, it is important to bring attention to the Iraq refugee problem. To this end, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, should organize a high-level conference of regional countries and interested donors. </p>
<p>The conference should examine the plight of Iraqi refugees and pledge concrete help. Because there is also an urgent need for actions that can improve conditions in Iraq and facilitate the safe, voluntary return of many refugees, the conference must include foreign ministers who can grapple with the diplomatic and political aspects of the crisis, not simply the humanitarian ones. </p>
<p>Discussions about Iraq both here and abroad inevitably focus on the surge and on timelines for troop withdrawal. Missing is any realistic assessment of the fate of Iraqi refugees, 1.5 million people who have a crucial role to play in ensuring the long-term stability of the region.</p>
<p>Morton Abramowitz is a former president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. George Rupp is a former president of Columbia. John Whitehead is a former deputy secretary of state. James Wolfensohn is a former president of the World Bank. They are members of the International Rescue Committee’s board.</p>