News Analysis: May 20, 2009

How much longer will the troops who serve us all be allowed to suffer? Post-traumatic stress, family strife, traumatic brain injuries — it’s long past time to save our troops, who are already often heavily medicated. “And remember: we still have as many soldiers in Iraq as we did before the surge — and are sending thousands more to Afghanistan.” Without a doubt, the nation’s highest quality of medical and psychological care must be provided to our troops. 

The pain felt by our troops, deployment after deployment after deployment, is shared by their families. Vice President Biden announces some help for military families struggling in the down real estate market.

One sign of how long the slog in Afghanistan will continue: the Taliban are fighting with ammunition procured by the Pentagon for Afghanistan forces. That’s not the only corruption in Afghanistan to worry about. It will get worse before it gets better in Pakistan. And Iran says it tested a new long-range missile. And it looks like a lot of faulty wiring by a US contractor continues to endanger our troops in Iraq. To meet the June deadline, US and Iraqi officials are redrawing city borders rather than withdrawing US troops from Iraqi cities.

The House passed three bills this week for veterans. The legislation calls for more complete job protections for Reservists who work in the federal government; providing for faster job placement and training; and grants to help severely disabled veterans confined to their homes. 

A new Navy secretary…

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