Some 35% of Iraq War veterans returning to the US can be expected to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to a new study, which argues that the Veterans Administration hospitals should devote resources to treating it. Victims of PTSD can experience symptoms such as compulsively reliving the traumatic incident, avoiding persons and places that remind the victim of the traumatizing event, and emotional volatility–anger, irritability, being easily startled, etc. For some people, the condition can interfere in leading a normal life. The intensive character of the Iraq War deployments, often for 18 months at a time and with several rotations for units, made the problem worse.
Another problem veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face is unemployment. In fact, their unemployment rate is 21% above the national average.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of iraqis wounded in bombings and other violence 2004-2008 have received no compensation and have difficulty getting health care.
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