The Political Chase

Washington Monthly on Kos

Washington Monthly has a big spread on Kos (Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of the Daily Kos).

[J]ust after the 2004 elections, in the ornate Lyndon B. Johnson room of the capitol where he’d been invited to give Senate Democrats a post mortem on what went wrong. The party had just lost its third election in a row, and his audience, a self-flagellatory group at the best of times, was feeling glum and a little bit desperate. Moulitsas told the assembled crowd that they, the establishment, had mismanaged party strategy for too long and that he, Markos, had a better plan. He can be so intense and high-strung, so full of kinetic energy, that the sheer performance of his speeches—he never writes them out, just talks off-the-cuff—can be distracting, like watching snakes fighting in a bag.

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PTSD or a Cover Up for Budget Cuts

The article, “A Political Debate on Stress Disorder,” in today’s edition of The Washington Post highlights the significant rise of veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the related increase in medical expense to the Veterans Affairs, and the VA raising concerns about fraudulent claims. While much of the article is factual and brings to the forefront a significant problem that statistically has been under the radar of the government and society in general, it does not adequately address the core issue. According to a source familiar with the matter, the economic issue is actual budget cuts ordered by the Bush administration rather than the ambiguous excuse of “facing a budget crunch”.

The Post reports a budget crunch as a significant problem the VA faces due to the increase of disability claims related to PTSD. That is ambiguous and misleading. It is presumed this is information and statements provided to the Post by the Veterans Affairs. A budget crunch is frequently interpreted as having to spend more than was budgeted, for whatever reason, as opposed to a reduction in funding. This is the prevailing theme in the Post’s article, especially when considering the following passage.

“On the one hand, it is good that people are reaching out for help,” said Jeff Schrade, communications director for the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “At the same time, as more people reach out for help, it squeezes the budget further.”

PTSD is unequivocally a by-product of war that has significant effects on veterans’ general health and day-to-day productivity. For reasons not illuminated in the Post’s article, it has not always been reported and is more widespread than previously thought. The Post’s article implies the issue begins with the Vietnam era and progresses to current day. This issue goes beyond Vietnam. Recently diagnosed cases and claims (less than five years) extend to World War II. The presentation of PTSD in veterans and associated disability claims would be notable beyond World War II if natural mortality was not a factor.

According to the source familiar with the matter, “the Bush administration is cutting the budget for VA benefits.” Furthermore according to the source, this summer, VA officials told a group of World War II POW veterans, many that were at least 80 years old, the Bush administration was reducing the VA budget overall; medications previously available to them may no longer be available, and their disability may be reduced or eliminated entirely. All veterans in the group were receiving disability benefits for PTSD directly attributable to military service and being prisoners of war. Many of the veterans were considered disabled to varying degrees for other conditions in addition to PTSD.

American culture and sociological considerations are different today than in other periods of military conflicts, especially World War II. Two major factors for delayed presentation of PTSD cases are stigma and some individuals’ not requiring financial assistance to maintain a subsistence level. Many veterans would endure the illness because it was psychiatric related and thereby shunned by society. Fortunately, stigma is not the problem it was years ago, but it is still an unjustifiable issue in society today. Moreover, many veterans that were financially secure did not pursue military related disability. They simply did not want to be viewed, personally or by others, as receiving a “hand out.”

One veteran from the POW group mentioned above, refusing to be identified due to fear of retribution and loss of benefits, provided a brief, partial description of his POW experience. He was unable to provide additional details because, “they were too gruesome to tell” and he could not bear to “re-live the experience by talking about it.” (ed. note: the following is quite graphic and some may find it offensive – you may not want to read the quoted passages.)

After the interrogation, there were only long faces. There was no doubt what was about to happen to us. Being heavily guarded, escape seemed impossible, but [name redacted] kept us looking for an opportunity to do that.

They marched us across crisp frozen snow to a dirt-floored stockade without heat, where they had kept animals. When you are shocked, depressed and scared you don’t notice being hungry or cold. We knew from briefing what they did with prisoners and we knew from General Bobon’s ruling what was about to happen to us.

About daybreak on our second day, a bunch of hardcore Ustaše marched us off to jail. There were eight or ten small cells down one side, and in front of those a small yard that was enclosed with an eight foot tall fence on three sides. It was easy to tell this was where they executed their prisoners. They put 11 of us in one cell which was no larger than 8’x10’. At best, there was standing room only. We were elbow to elbow, not a chance to sit, let alone lie down.

After a few days there, we saw no evidence of other prisoners and they had been at war for four years. On three occasions, they got the gallows ready for us. They had the wooden frame cross bars and heavily knotted rope, but a Catholic priest was able to interrupt the hanging each time. Up until this time, we were prisoners of the dreaded Ustaše. They patterned themselves after the German SS troops. They kept no prisoners, tortured and killed everybody they captured.

[…We had not had a meal in four days. We were discussing possible escape plans] when we saw a truck coming across the field. They had our supper; a bowl of soup for each of us. We were not knocking it; at last, they were feeding us something. To me it was grass soup, but it did have some seasoning in it - maybe barley. This would be our daily diet for approximately three months, with the exception that sometimes the seasoning would be identifiable. On one occasion when I dipped the ladle to fill my bowl, I came up with a horse’s jaw. On another day we couldn’t stomach it at all when someone spotted a horse’s penis floating in it. It was consistent, every day, and it was mostly grass soup.

For sixty years, this veteran has had nightmares about his POW experience. Every night, a frightening experience in his dreams about his military experience results in him literally screaming out loudly, which wakes him up in a cold sweat. This veteran did not apply for full VA benefits until approximately four years ago. Two years later, he was approved.

I was unable to get a comment from the Veteran Affairs regarding the benefits to veterans.

Technorati Tags : veteran+affairs, va, benefits, ptsd, military, post+traumatic+stress+disorder

Back to Normal

After a few days off for Christmas, I will resume posting today. For the first time in many years, excepting a few vacations in places like the Caribbean, I have benn virtually void of news sources. This morning, the alarm clock put the world back in motion for me - it’s nice to know the globe continues to spin and remains properly situated on its axis. My first priority this morning is to do a quick scan of the past couple days to insure I have not missed anything significant.

More later… 

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