veterans

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Limbaugh Letter Brings Record $2.1M on eBay

Critical letter from Dems auctioned to benefit charity

(Newser) - A letter to conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh from 41 Democratic Senators sold yesterday on eBay for $2.1M, a record for an eBay item sold to benefit charity. The Dems who wrote the letter objected to Limbaugh labeling Iraq veterans critical of the war as "phony soldiers,...

Veteran Stress Cases Surge
Veteran Stress Cases Surge

Veteran Stress Cases Surge

VA took on 20,000 new cases—up 70% —in one year

(Newser) - The Department of Veterans Affairs reported treating 20,000 new cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a 12-month period ending in June, up an astounding 70% from the same time the previous year, reports USA Today. The VA counts a total of nearly 50,000 PTSD cases, and expects the...

WWII Vets Slam US 'Torture' Techniques

Vet says chess, ping-pong were old grilling tricks

(Newser) - Silent for 60 years, a handful of WWII vets are admitting their old interrogation tricks — and slamming alleged torture techniques used by the US today. Almost two dozen ex-fighters met for a ceremony by the Potomac yesterday, the Washington Post reports, but one refused the award, protesting the Iraq...

189 Busted in Anti-War Protest
189 Busted in Anti-War Protest

189 Busted in Anti-War Protest

Police move In after Capitol Hill 'die-in'

(Newser) - Police arrested 189 demonstrators yesterday as thousands converged on Capitol Hill to protest the war in Iraq. Hundreds staged a "die-in" in what was generally a trouble-free protest until police used chemical spray on some demonstrators attempting to scale fences in front of the Capitol, reports the Washington Post....

'Elah' Bares Iraq Rage, Sorrow
'Elah' Bares Iraq Rage, Sorrow

'Elah' Bares Iraq Rage, Sorrow

Critics hail 'lacerating' murder probe that lays bare social scars

(Newser) - "In The Valley of Elah," a murder mystery with an Iraq war vet veteran as the victim, is “a raw, angry, earnest attempt to grasp the moral consequences of the war,” writes A.O. Scott of the Times. He's one of several critics who hail the...

Bureaucracy Played Role in Veteran's Death

Man, called up despite stress diagnosis, killed in standoff with police

(Newser) - Deployment to Afghanistan markedly changed Sgt. Jamie Dean, and the news that the Army was calling him out of reserve and sending him to Iraq—despite a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder—helped send him into a fatal standoff with Maryland police in December 2006. As his family prepares lawsuits,...

Giuliani Tops McCain With Vets
Giuliani Tops McCain With Vets

Giuliani Tops McCain With Vets

Vets favor Rudy over McCain; Obama

(Newser) - In a new poll, military veterans like Rudy Giuliani best of the top-tier presidential hopefuls. Rudy beats ex-POW John McCain's favorable rating 64% to 52%, the Post reports. Surprisingly, the third place candidate is Barack Obama, at 44%, edging out Edwards (43%) and Thompson (40%). Clinton (37%) and Romney (33%)...

Congress' Only Iraq War Vet Backs Obama

Ex-paratrooper's endorsement seen as blow to Clinton

(Newser) - The only Iraq War combat vet in Congress endorsed Barack Obama yesterday, saying, "I'm inspired by his call to action to change how business is done in Washington." Pennsylvania's Patrick Murphy, who served as a paratrooper in Baghdad in 2003 and 2004, has worked with Hillary Clinton...

Bush to Cite Vietnam as Lesson for Iraq

Speech asserts war succeeded in helping transform area

(Newser) - President Bush will tell a convention of veterans today that the Vietnam War was, in the long view, a success that has lessons for Iraq, the Los Angeles Times reports. In excerpts released by the White House, Bush argues that the war contributed to bringing peace and prosperity to the...

Marine Gets 15 Years for Killing Iraqi

Sergeant was instigator of kidnap, killing to intimidate insurgents

(Newser) - A jury of Iraq veterans sentenced a Marine sergeant to 15 years in prison and dishonorable discharge today for conspiracy to commit murder and unpremeditated murder, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins offered no apology for leading a mission of Marines to kidnap and murder an Iraqi man...

Injured Veterans Sue US
Injured Veterans Sue US

Injured Veterans Sue US

Class action suit targets VA for 'shameful failures' in treatment

(Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action...

Head of Veterans Affairs Quits
Head of Veterans Affairs Quits

Head of Veterans Affairs Quits

Secretary's short tenure long on scandals and other woes

(Newser) - The secretary of Veterans Affairs, the head of the second-biggest federal department, is stepping down and will be replaced by October 1, reports the Washington Post. For 2½ turbulent years, Jim Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam vet and former RNC chair, presided over a department beset by criticism and overwhelmed by...

Army Hospital MIA on Stress Disorders

Walter Reed lacks resources to cope with growing problem

(Newser) - Though 20 to 40 soldiers are sent home from Iraq each month with severe mental problems, the Army's largest hospital has no post-traumatic stress disorder center, reports the Washington Post. There is also a severe shortage of doctors qualified to treat these patients. Not long ago, the head of psychiatry...

Protesting Vet Faces General Discharge

Marine board acts after antiwar rally; corporal vows to appeal

(Newser) - In a decision that may hold implications for veterans' free-speech rights, a disciplinary panel has recommended that a decorated Marine who appeared at an antiwar protest in desert fatigues receive a general discharge. Adam Kokesh, who had been honorably discharged from active duty, says the military is using "tactics...

Retired Generals Mount Antiwar Media Blitz

Ad campaign targets moderate Republicans up for re-election

(Newser) - Three retired generals are the faces of an ad campaign launched yesterday warning moderate Republican legislators that if they follow President Bush's policies in Iraq, they shouldn't expect to be re-elected. "It's past time for change," retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste said in an interview. "Our strategy...

Report Uncovered Walter Reed Problems in 2004

(Newser) - The mess at Walter Reed was detailed in a damning task force report in 2004, obtained by Salon, in which soldiers described their frustrations with outpatient care and bureaucratic nightmares. Not only was the report ignored, but the official who sat on it for three years is now up for...

Disabled Vets Get Unequal Treatment

Some wounded soldiers face long waits—the longest in states that sent the most troops

(Newser) - The V.A. is treating some disabled veterans like second-class soldiers, making them wait twice as long for benefits that are, when they finally come, less generous than others get. It all depends on where a soldier lives and how he served—active duty or National Guard. Worst: The more...

Walter Reed Exposes Weakened Top Brass

Retired general blames military for acquiescing to misguided civilian moves

(Newser) - Blame the Walter Reed scandal on "the silence of our top officers," writes a retired Army general. Paul Eaton, who spent a year in Baghdad rebuilding the Iraqi army, says the administration and Congress "pointedly failed to provide the money and resources for our returned troops,"...

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