Ask a Vet

Good Morning. I'm glad you found your way here....given all the recent website troubles, I think it may just be easier for me to stay here and link this to other places I've been blogging recently...

In any case, we'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from the warron terra, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03):									3798
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03):									3337
Since Handover (6/29/04):									2939
Since Election (1/31/05):									2361

Other Coalition Troops	299
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan	441

Since I have the running tally of the Cost of War at the top of my blog, I won't be linking to it directly....but please check out the website for some real eye-opening statistics.


Checking in with our friends over at IAVA, we find some news about a petition for better mental health for our soldiers. The sponsor is Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA), who is the first Iraq veteran to serve in Congress.

NEW YORK - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and platinum rock band Drowning Pool are on a mission to get U.S. troops and veterans the mental health care they deserve. IAVA and Drowning Pool teamed up to launch the "This Is For The Soldiers " campaign and asked supporters to sign an online petition urging Congress to pass The Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act of 2007, bipartisan legislation which requires mandatory mental health screening for returning troops. Today, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., they presented Representative Patrick Murphy, the first Iraq veteran to serve in Congress, with a petition containing 25,000 signatures in support of this legislation.

"It's exciting to be on Capitol Hill with a rock band to raise awareness about this urgent issue. Tens of thousands of people from across the country have stepped up to help us support the troops," said Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA Executive Director. "More than 1.5 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and almost a third of them will face a serious mental health issue, ranging from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to depression. It's critical that we get these troops the help they need now and the Lane Evans Bill is a major step in that direction. We are honored to work with Representative Murphy and Drowning Pool to get this important legislation passed."

Representative Murphy is the first Iraq veteran to serve in Congress. He served in Baghdad in 2003-2004 as a paratrooper with the 82^nd Airborne Division. Representative Murphy is a cosponsor of the Lane Evans bill.

Drowning Pool is a longtime supporter of the troops. The band's current single "Soldiers" pays homage to our Armed Forces and their current "This Is For The Soldiers Tour" donates fifty cents of every ticket sold to IAVA and fifty cents to the USO, while encouraging young fans to support the cause. The band is a favorite of U.S. servicemembers, and has performed USO tours in Iraq, Kuwait and South Korea. Drowning Pool's lead vocalist Ryan McCombs said "It's an honor and a privilege to work on something as important as this legislation."

The Lane Evans Bill would help troops and veterans get mental health care in the following ways:

• Require in-person mental health screening for returning combat veterans
• Extend the window of eligibility for mental health treatment from two to five years
• Establish a registry to monitor the health of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and track their benefits use
• Improve the transfer of military records from the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs

Won't you call your own Congressman and ask him to support this bill?

Lastly this morning...you may have heard that the Iranian President is in New York City for a speech at the United Nations. He's already spoken at Columbia University, and he's called the United States the real threat. Like most things we don't want to hear....he's probably right.

President Ahmadinejad said yesterday that talk of American military strikes against Iran threatened world security, as he tried to soften his image in the West.

Greeted in New York by headlines that he was an evil madman, Mr Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran “will not attack any country”. He also ducked a chance to accuse the United States of preparing for war, telling a questioner: “That is not how I see it.” Such talk in America, he said, arose from anger, electoral purposes and “a cover for policy failures over Iraq”.

On the first day of a controversial visit to the US, he refused to give an inch on Iran’s nuclear plans, saying that his country had a right to pursue a civilian programme. In comments guaranteed to enrage a significant part of his audience in New York, he also reasserted his refusal to recognise Israel, saying that the Jewish state was “based on occupation and racism”.

At an appearance at Columbia University yesterday he complained of “insults” as he was on the receiving end of a rousing lecture on freedom, Israel and the Holocaust from Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University.

Mr Bollinger told the Iranian leader: “Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator.” To cheers the Freedom of Speech scholar told Mr Ahmadinejad that his denial of the Holocaust made him look “brazenly provocative or extraordinarily uneducated”.

He also challenged the Iranian President for cracking down on academics and students, calling for the destruction of Israel and aiding terror groups, including insurgents killing American troops in Iraq.

The Iranian leader stunned the audience by denying that homosexuality existed in Iran. Asked about his government’s persecution of gays, Mr Ahmadinejad said: “In Iran we do not have homosexuals like in your country. We do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who told you we have it,” he said.

An annoyed Mr Ahmadinejad complained about Mr Bollinger’s “unfriendly treatment”. He said: “In many parts of his speech there were many insults and claims that were incorrect unfortunately.”

Jewish groups picketed the Iranian leader’s appearance at Columbia University – which had cancelled a similar invitation last year.

Even before he arrived, his visit stirred anger after he sought permission to visit Ground Zero, which was refused. Before his Colombia appearance he answered reporters’ questions from Washington via video link. He brushed off questions about human rights abuses in Iran, saying that people there were “very joyous, happy people” and that the women were “the freest women in the world”.

Asked about comments last week by Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, that the world should prepare for war with Iran if nuclear negotiations fail, he said: “It’s bad whenever logic fails . . . to engage in military threats.” He added: “We think the talk of war is basically a propaganda tool.”

Confronted with an accusation yesterday by the US military that Iranian surface-to-air missiles were being used to attack American troops, he said: “Are you telling me the US military is defeated [in Iraq] as a result of two or three weapons here or there? We think the US military should seek an answer for its defeat elsewhere.”

And so another day goes by...the 1,652nd day we've been in Iraq.