Pentagon Report On 'Real Toll' Of Iraq War: 1 In 5 Vets Affected By 'Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries'

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/20/iraq-brain-trauma

Pentagon Report On ‘Real Toll’ Of Iraq War: 1 In 5 Vets Are Affected By ‘Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries’

On the Chris Matthews Show this morning, Time magazine Managing Editor Richard Stengel discussed a new Pentagon report that says “1 in 5 American servicemen and women who have been in Iraq are coming back with brain injuries.” Stengel called it the “real toll” of the war, adding that “the legacy of that will last all of our lifetimes and it’s incalculable.”

In total, according to Stengel, “more than 250,000 people” are affected by “mild traumatic brain injuries” sustained in Iraq. Watch it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=86407&mesg_id=86407

According to the Pentagon, some of the soldiers who sustained concussions “do not realize they need treatment.” Additionally, they may be sent back to the war zone:


As recently as 2006, the Pentagon was “refusing to release data on how many soldiers have suffered brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan,” arguing that “disclosing the results would put the lives of those fighting at risk.”

was declared by Congress in 1990. The Office of Technology Assessment prepared a report: Neurotoxicity: Identifying and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System.
The report enumerated the risks to the general population from exposures to toxic chemicals. They would become the walking wounded.
Now, add to this the injured vets and the escalating rates of autism and other neurological disorders in children and one must wonder what the future will be. Just how many mentally damaged people can society support?
So far the planning for this future has been limited to shooting the messenger.

How DARE anyone other than the person suffering determine the extent of the suffering.

Mild traumatic. I can't believe that was actually said. It it traumatic? Yes or no.