This story about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who’ve come back from the war only to commit acts of violence at home is a must-read. The NY Times found 121 cases of murders committed by veterans back from these wars, 1/3 of which were domestic murders, and the reporters suspect this is only a percentage of the actual murders committed, because they got that number by scouring newspapers around the country, not from statistics cultivated by the Pentagon, which, surprise surprise, doesn’t collect such data. The numbers are not insignificant.
The Times used the same methods to research homicides involving all active-duty military personnel and new veterans for the six years before and after the present wartime period began with the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
This showed an 89 percent increase during the present wartime period, to 349 cases from 184, about three-quarters of which involved Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The increase occurred even though there have been fewer troops stationed in the United States in the last six years and the American homicide rate has been, on average, lower.
Unlike the majority of civilians who commit murder, the majority of the 121 veterans documented by the Times reporters had no criminal history. The anecdotal evidence points to a trend of PTSD-fueled overreactions that led to the murders. The opening story of the piece is about a man who shot some guys who confronted him on the street in Las Vegas for violating some gang turf boundaries that the veteran appears not to have cared much about. He shot them with an AK-47, and generally seemed to be confusing the incident with events that he witnessed in Iraq.
While the murders themselves are an important story, the larger story here is that war—and wars that are primarily about shutting down civilian resistance like the Iraq War is—leave many more casualties than the ones officially logged by the government. PTSD is rampant. The irony of mental illness is that much of the time it’s the result of being a sane, normal human being in insane circumstances. We have this expectation that healthy people shouldn’t be mentally damaged by trauma, but that makes as much sense as expecting healthy people not to suffer gaping wounds when shot.
There’s not much to say to this. I just recommend reading the entire article. It’s pathetic how this country managed to completely forget the long-term, widespread devastation war brings back home, and now that we’re deep in this shit, it’s too late for take-backs. And we’ll probably forget it again next time someone’s rattling the saber and everyone’s waving flags and right wingers are starting blogs, sure that this war is going to be the one that makes them forget the anxiety that’s plagued them ever since they made the mistake of dropping their pants and pulling out their rulers.
I agree completely with the experts in the article who call for more support for the troops when they come back home, but I can’t avoiding pointing out the elephant in the middle of the room—is there reason to believe that PTSD rates are higher not just when the support system at home is lacking, but also when the wars themselves are fought for bullshit reasons? The trauma itself damages, but there’s also the back-up damage of knowing that it didn’t have to happen this way. I may be off-base, but I feel that for some people, the feeling that the violence you bore witness to was to some greater purpose probably gives some solace, but for veterans of Vietnam and now of Iraq, that solace isn’t going to be part of their future.
24 Responses to “PTSD-fueled murders in the wake of the return home”
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Spot on.
I remember that, fairly early on in this fiasco, a sergeant who was home from Iraq crossed the state line, went into the nearest bank, announced that it was a holdup, fired a shot into the ceiling … and then waited for the cops to arrive and arrest him. All because since he’d crossed the state line to do the “holdup,” he’d get a federal sentence and wouldn’t have to go back to Iraq.
I always wonder what that guy was so afraid he would do — or had done overseas — that he’d rather do 10 years in federal prison than go back to Iraq.
Megan McArdle is looking at this story through the lens of existing stateside murder rates and claiming that the statistics are useless. She makes a good point that after WWII there was not a big spike in murder rates when GIs came home from the war. The missing point is, IMO, this: While the murders themselves are an important story, the larger story here is that war—and wars that are primarily about shutting down civilian resistance like the Iraq War is—leave many more casualties than the ones officially logged by the government.
It’s not just war, it’s the nature of the war. Counterinsurgency is a very different thing from set-piece clashes of army against army. The stress levels are much higher when anyone you see might suddenly blow themselves up in an attempt to kill you. The lack of a well defined front (and consequently the lack of a safe rear area) makes for a continuous high level of stress that has long term consequences.
That’s extremely important.
It’s also extremely important to realize that the military, by the way we’re training them, puts inherent stress on sane individuals. We’re training them out of the usual responses we’ve socialized them into and teaching them to kill efficiently.
That’s OK when the action is brief, focussed and sharply limited. It’s even OK when the troops KNOW their job has to be done even if it takes a while–hunting down Hitler or taking down the Taliban will keep esprit de corps up. And frankly, you don’t want to get rid of that in the military–if you’re going have national defense, you want people to do what military jobs are meant to do–kill other people.
But when you’re using troops trained to kill in counter-insurgency, when you’re using them for jobs they aren’t trained for, you’re asking for trouble. THAT’S insanity. And it’s a national disgrace that we aren’t taking that into effect and supporting our troops as they get out of that situation.
Instead, the clowns at the top are sending back into that untenable situation over and over and over and over again…
“But when you’re using troops trained to kill in counter-insurgency, when you’re using them for jobs they aren’t trained for, you’re asking for trouble. THAT’S insanity. And it’s a national disgrace that we aren’t taking that into effect and supporting our troops as they get out of that situation.”
You’re right, but I’m sure the Cheney/Bush administration will get right on it.
Right after the next round of tax cuts for rich folk.
And right after granting the Telcos immunity from all prosecution in perpetuity.
And a demand for more off-budget money for Iraq.
And another round of tax cuts for rich folk.
And a federal bailout of all financial institutions who were harmed by the defaults of sub-prime borrowers.
And sending federal troops to kill the rest of the squatters still ruining the property values around New Orleans.
And funding an invasion of Iran using mercenaries.
And yet another round tax cuts for rich people.
Looks like those soldiers coming back from Iraq are going to have to wait a while to get any help.
But remember: We Support The Troops!!!…
i hope no-one starts rambling about how these people are using their PTSD as an excuse to kill people when they come back home.
i have PTSD from being raped, and i don’t really dissociate as much anymore when i have episodes.. i have still sometimes injured my boyfriend (scratching up his arms) because even though i’m lucid enough to know that in some way, my boyfriend is present with me, it doesn’t particularly occur to me that it’s also him, not the guy that raped me, who is holding onto me to make sure i don’t start flailing and flipping out. it’s a very strange thing, to be both present and not-there.
in any case, yeah, i injure people sometimes when i’m not even totally dissociated. i really could see killing people when you have completely dissociated and your trauma has to do with weapons and wartime, and it would be really cruel for someone to say, ‘NOOOOOO IT’S JUST AN EXCUUUUUUUUSE’ (you know like when andrea yates’ delusions were an ‘excuse’ to kill her kids), which i’m sure someone (probably not here) will say and it’ll piss me off a lot, friends. :
This phenomenon also casts the Bushian doctrine of “fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here” in an ominous light. The bitter irony of sending our troops to die abroad, thinking that they will save us from an influx of foreign murderers, and to have the survivors return having been turned into murderers themselves… this is a theme that will surely be played with in dramatic portrayals of this war and its consequences. There’s a kind of vampiric quality to the story, a suggestion of contagious evil, an echo of Nietzsche’s “Whomever goes to fight monsters should take care not to become a monster himself”. Indeed, it mirrors what has happened to the entire country as a result of the “War on Terror”, as we have turned into a violent, totalitarian, sadistic police state out of the fear that our peace and freedom were being threatened.
Exactly. Ending a human life is the worst thing you can do. . .unless you have to! Then, by all means, receive medals for it. The death games we play for the ultra-rich are sick.
This is yet another example of the terrible costs of this senseless war to our country. When will politicians in both major parties accept their responsibility to stop the war?
Well, veterans get treated like shit when they ask for help, often by other soldiers and certainly by the VA. The VA often takes a skeptical approach to any soldier who presents with mental health problems, and the younger the soldier, the more they are trained to respect authority. Other soldiers and higher ups may jeer at them and tell them to ‘get over it.’ They have to fight for their benefits from the VA. They may face going back to war.
Whether or not these guys have previous criminal records is kind of doubtful, at least in the DV cases. I bet they had problems before they went; some commanders are eager to overlook that kind of thing.
Some soldiers there take refuge in the notion that they’re not really killing human beings. The alternative is to come to grips with the unimagineable: that you killed another human being just like yourself.
People slap yellow ribbons on their cars, meanwhile, and post signs on their yards, but the people who volunteer at the DAV and the VA are the Korean and Viet Nam vets. The war doesn’t affect ordinary civvies at all. People don’t care. Vets are totally invisible. And finally, the military downplays all these statistics and says these guys have ‘personal problems.’
Thank you.
“It is not a sign of good health to be well adjusted to a sick society.”
Given a census-estimated population of the United States of 300,000,000 persons in this country as of October 2006, and FBI-compiled statistics of 17,399 homicide offenders for 2006, the murder rate of the general population was 5.80 offenders per 100,000 on average – and a rate of approximately 7.67 per 100,000 for men.
Women make up about 20% of all military personnel but less than 7% of combat involved troops, making about 93% of those returning from active duty overseas male. If there were 121 murders over the course of 6 years of engagement in these conflicts, that’s 20/year. Does anyone know how many soldiers have returned from these conflicts over those 6 years - because comparing the 20/year over that number to the 7.67 is the only way to figure out if this is actually an issue. The military contains murderers just like IBM, the Carolina Panthers, the Post Office, and Virginia Tech contained murderers. If their is a higher percentage of murders coming from the returned vets than the general population, this is indeed an issue - but I don’t see any proof of this in the NYT story. Did I miss it?
I may be off-base, but I feel that for some people, the feeling that the violence you bore witness to was to some greater purpose probably gives some solace
This plays out at funerals, when a family member says a variation on “It’s important to us to know that s/he didn’t die in vain”. Well, in this war, it *is* all in vain.
Fuckers that started this shit, fuckers all.
Unsurprisingly, our conservative troll denies that there’s a human cost to war. It’s all a video game! Really!
I’m really surprised to find that only seven percent of women in the military in combat. So would be the other women in my company, too. Where did you get those figures from, Dr. T?
The whole of Iraq is a combat zone and I’ve yet to meet a woman who served there who didn’t have at least some engagement with the enemy. Your figures are seriously off.
And shockingly he denies that women are combat. Probably because all those male soldiers protect them, you know.
Amanda, where is the troll? i don’t see one. or did you mod their comment?
Have you heard about the Pentagon’s plan to use drugs to eliminate PTSD (the so called Psychological Kevlar Act)
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/29990
I will go on record and agree with Ginmar on a number of the points she has raised. With a Volunteer Military rather than a Drafted one. It appears to the US Citizens that all those who go are happy about being there.
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines have always been disposable. That is the nature of War. Those who see it as a glorious exercise have not lost family members in war. We lost three in WW2 in our Family. One a decorated Paratrooper with the 507th Regiment died an early death due to his injuries.
The American Citizenry and Politicians pay lip service to the mental health issues of our Military folks. And sadly it is easier to learn to kill than to turn off the killing instinct and violence once it is required of you to survive.
Many of our Veterans can never fully reintegrate into society and cannot relate to civilian life again. Those who are the biggest cheerleaders for war are often very far from the fighting and its horrors.
We will be dealing with the fall out from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for many decades. War should be the last resort, the very last resort.
The War in Iraq and Afghanistan have no front. By now that should be obvious. So anybody over there is subject to hostile fire, including the Women. The DOD has not been honest about Women being subject to hostile fire.
Sadly the Troops who are doing the bleeding and dying are being ignored mostly by their Countrymen. Who on the Left see them as Sub Human Killers and Monsters. And on the Right as dutiful Drones who are not very bright doing their Patriotic Duty. Who should just serve and not complain about the rotten Medical and mental Health treatment they do not get.
Benefits denied them from an uncaring Veterans system. Hospitals and clinics underfunded. And few advocates who care about their problems. We sent them after all into this Firestorm. This nation owes those who faced death with better treatment. Regardless of their Gender.
Whenever this Nation truly feels threatened we ignore the Sexual Preferences of those who serve. When not it becomes an issue of Unit Cohesion, or a discipline problem or other excuse to Kick Gays and Lesbians to the curb.
Their lives are equally threatened by Islamic Radicalism. Gays are being tortured and murdered in Iraq. If Sharia comes to the US, gays and lesbians will be among those first targeted. Iran is hanging Teenagers who are Gay. I agree we are hypocrites in how we treat Gays and Lesbians on this issue.
Two of my Family members have served in both Wars.
Sorry, bulgar, but you’re wrong about the left regarding soldiers as killers and so forth. It’s the conservobots who are truly horrible to soldiers, dismissing them as if they were defective once they’re broken. I can count on the fingers of one hand the leftists who’ve been extreme enough to have the attitude you describe. Meanwhile, conservatives jeer at any soldier who doesn’t kiss their ass.
Sorry Ginmar. It was Leftist Groups who promoted the Liess of Jesse McBeth the Poser or Phony Army Ranger. And had his web cast put on until legit members of the 75th Ranger Regiment noted the way he wore his uniform. And all the other lies unraveled. He was later denounced by the Iraqi Veterans Against the War. Who initially accepted him without checking him out.
It was Anti Iraq War leftists who sent hate mail to a US Soldier a Paratrooper. Again the same playbook from VietNam blame the Troops, call them Baby Killers. An Anti War Democratic Friend of mine in the Bay Area. Who served in Viet Nam was spit on when he came home. Is opposed to the War in Iraq. But he draws the distinction which many on the left cannot between those who serve and the Politicians who send them off to War.
You served yourself. My Son and Step Son have been in Ground Combat. Most Americans have been respectful but all are not. I have seen No Conservatives who have impugned the Service of our Military in either AO.
You don’t get out much then, dude. You have what? Three anecdotes and bullshit. Try reading “The Spitting Image” about what actually happened during the Viet Nam war. Many veterans were anti-war themselves and the people spitting on them were conservative white males. None of your vague anecdotes stands up against this well-researched book, or against my own experience. Oh, yeah, and I was in combat myself. Conservative males are the worst possible creatures for a female soldier to deal with and until you have a sex change and join up you’re out of line telling me what it’s like.
Maybe then you can ask Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty who had his car keyed by Liberal Lawyer Jay R. Grodner about his Anti Military comments. Who laughed he would get away with it. Because McNulty was shipping out to Iraq. His license plate fees go to a scholarship fund for the Children of Marines killed in Action. Yet this was the reason that Lawyer Grodner keyed the auto. He was late twice to court.
And just sentenced for his crime. He pled guilty in a plea agreement. And like the Coward he is he ran to France on Vacation rather than own up to his actions. He should have offered to Fix the Marine’s car.
Don’t lecture me you pompous ass. I have two family members in the Military. One who fought in Fallujah. With the Third Fifth Regiment. You are certainly entitlted to your opinion. I am calling you on your attitude.