Army probes soldier suicides
Most of the suicides have occurred since May 1, after major combat operations were declared ended. Experts say harsh and dangerous living conditions combined with a long deployment can worsen existing depression. And the accessibility of weapons in a war zone can quickly turn a passing thought into action. "It just takes a second to pull it out and put it to your head and pull the trigger," Ritchie said.The last episode of Band of Brothers deals with this phenomenon. Easy Company, along with other soldiers, was stuck in Austria after V-E Day with no chance of going home. The demoralization was palpable. And then there's the Astroturf letters...
Are the deaths of cooperating Iraqis being targeted by the resistance being calculated by anyone?
To those fighting the U.S. presence in Iraq -- loyalists of former president Saddam Hussein, religious extremists, foreign terrorists -- Iraqis cooperating with the U.S.-led occupation have become the new target of choice. From police officers to Governing Council members, they are regarded by opponents of the occupation as collaborators -- and as much easier prey than U.S. soldiers and civilian reconstruction workers, whose compounds are now encircled with tall concrete barricades, dirt-filled barriers and miles of razor wire.They're the latest victims in Bush's "Bring it on" bravado. But then who cares about a few dead Iraqis? Right? Yeesh.
"They are targeting the new leadership of Iraq because they can't get to the Americans, because the Americans are very well protected," Rubaie said an hour after the explosion, as he sat in a windowless room, his arm in a sling.
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