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 |  Subject: Celebrate: For every soldier killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, 25 veterans commit suicide  Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:58 am | |
| Why Veterans Kill Themselves
Recent figures indicate that for every soldier killed in Afghanistan
and Iraq, 25 veterans commit suicide upon their return to the U.S. That
is an astonishing statistic! How can this be?
In 1971, Stanford University conducted a prison experiment to
determine what the effects of imprisonment were on a selected group of
students. One half of the students were chosen to act as prison guards
while the other half were to be criminals convicted of serious crimes.
The University had to bring the experiment to an abrupt end when it was
discovered that the “prison guards” were becoming sadistic, violent
oppressors, and the “criminals” were responding to the conditions of
imprisonment in dangerously rebellious ways. The experiment underscored
what happens to average, educated people, when they are treated without
respect, and without protections. More importantly, it demonstrated the
catastrophic effect that unrestrained authority, violence and corruption
had on those entrusted with the roles of caretakers and guards.1
We are witnessing a similar breakdown of morality and judgment among
U.S. troops presently carrying out our imperialist wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Libya, and elsewhere throughout the Middle East. “The
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology” recently issued the
report that for every soldier who was killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and
the Middle East over the last 10 years, 25 more veterans have committed
suicide.2
Whether or not these suicide attempts are a result of PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder), mental health breakdowns, or the natural
consequences of having good “soldiers” turn into murdering monsters
because of the conditions they are placed under (i.e. the Stanford
experiment), is debatable. Yet, what is more at issue here is the fact
that over a ½ million soldiers and mercenaries (i.e. “civilian
contractors”) have returned home to our communities from the Middle
East, and the Pentagon opines that approximately 1/3 of them suffer from
some form of PTSD.
What these statistics highlight, is the moral depravity resulting
from all aspects of our involvement in the Middle East, and the impact
our colonial assaults have, not only on the defenseless populations we
have chosen to destroy, but also on the perpetrators of those assaults
as well. It is impossible for soldiers to participate in unjustified
mass murder, and not be scarred by it. One would have thought that our
experiences in Vietnam would have provided a clue as to the disastrous
results that unjustified wars have on the men and women asked to fight
in them. But no, our Pentagon and “misleaders,” have learned nothing
from Vietnam, the Russian and French failures in Afghanistan, or our
deceitful and shameful attack on Iraq. These “misleaders” are unaffected
by the cruelty and viciousness of their overseas forays, while many
engaged in these wars will spend their days contemplating killing
themselves.
Recent studies conducted by NYU and Stanford have documented the fact
that hundreds more civilians have been killed by the U.S. drone attacks
than the Pentagon acknowledges.3
Yet some bull-headed bureaucrat in the Defense Department, named John
Brennan, has the audacity to explain to Obama that these studies are
inaccurate, and that our “pinpoint” accuracy with drones is only killing
terrorists, and any unwarranted deaths are “extremely rare.” Are these
pathologically absurd comments by Brennan designed to insulate Obama
from his slaughter of hundreds of innocent women and children identified
in the studies, or do we assume that Obama is even more of a scoundrel
than we imagined, for setting up a clown like Brennan to rubber stamp
the illegal use of drones?
A nation that murders civilians indiscriminately, wages wars of
aggression against defenseless nations, and lies to its own people about
our reasons for destroying governments around the world is not only
subjecting its soldiers to resulting suicidal behavior, but destroying
the moral integrity of the entire nation as well. At every sporting
event where we see jet planes and U.S. flags displayed for purposes of
propagandizing the American people to put up with our international war
crimes, most of the people watching hang their heads in shame over the
decline of what was once a great nation.
The Stanford prison experiment was a microcosm of what is happening
to the U.S. worldwide. It demonstrates what happens to citizens who
become international killers and to the nation that pays them to do so.
- The Stanford Prison Experiment – A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment Conducted at Stanford University “The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted at Stanford University from August 14 to August 20 of 1971 by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. It was funded by the US Office of Naval Researchand
was of interest to both the US Navy and Marine Corps as an
investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and
prisoners.
Twenty-four male students out of 75 were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison
situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The
participants adapted to their roles well beyond Zimbardo’s expectations,
as the guards enforced authoritarian measures and ultimately subjected some of the prisoners to psychological torture.
Many of the prisoners passively accepted psychological abuse and, at
the request of the guards, readily harassed other prisoners who
attempted to prevent it. The experiment even affected Zimbardo himself,
who, in his role as the superintendent,
permitted the abuse to continue. Two of the prisoners quit the
experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after
only six days. Certain portions of the experiment were filmed and
excerpts of footage are publicly available.” [↩]
- Press TV“
According to a New York Times article published on April 14, an
American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or
Afghanistan while veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80
minutes.
“The article also said more than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged
every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in
Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.” [↩]
- Zucchino, David, “Drone Strikes in Pakistan have Killed many Civilians, Study Says,” LA Times, latimes.com, 9-24-12 [↩]
Luke Hiken is an attorney who has engaged in the
practice of criminal, military, immigration, and appellate law. Marti
Hiken is the director of Progressive Avenues. She is the former
associate director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and former chair
of the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force. Read other articles by Marti Hiken and Luke Hiken, or visit Marti Hiken and Luke Hiken's website.
By Marti and Luke Hiken
Dissident Voice |
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