Lie-berals have been pointing to the suicide statistics of troops returning from Iraq to “show” that Iraq must be a terrible place for a solider because their suicide rate of Iraq War veterans is double that of the general population.

Thanks to a recent investigation by ABC New and the Washington Times we learn that just maybe things aren’t as bad in Iraq as the Dumocrats like to paint them. It seems that “mentally distressed veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are being recruited for government tests on pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side effects.”

It is quite possible that these drug tests are responsible for the higher suicide rate and not conditions the troops were exposed to in the middle east. One large scale test involves the stop smoking drug Chantix.

James Elliot, a decorated Army sharpshooter who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving 15 months in Iraq, was confused and psychotic when he was Tasered by police in February as he reached for a concealed handgun when officers responded to a 911 call at his Maryland home.

Mr. Elliott, a chain smoker, began taking Chantix last fall as part of a VA experiment that specifically targeted veterans with PTSD, opting to collect $30 a month for enrolling in the clinical trial because he needed cash as he returned to school. He soon began suffering hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, unaware that the new drug he was taking could have caused them.

Just two weeks after Mr. Elliott began taking Chantix in November, the VA learned from the FDA that the drug was linked to a large number of hallucinations, suicide attempts and psychotic behavior. But the VA did not alert Mr. Elliott before his own episode in February.

As you can see, it wasn’t anything overseas that caused the problem–but the drug he was taking. I’m not saying Iraq is a great place to be, but it isn’t half as bad as some people make it out to be. Surely, at least some of the high rate of veteran suicides could be because of this program. Now the VA may come off looking a bit negative in this particular article, but as their spokesperson points out, “helping [post-traumatic stress disorder] sufferers to stop smoking would prolong their lives.”

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http://www.thatsrightnate.com

"Finally a journalist is not scared to question the truth--TJ Baker Holm

If I were not dead set against Abortion I would suggest the abortion rights groups could use you as the poster boy for why they think we need abortion on demand.

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The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

-Bertrand Russell

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable

-Laurence J. Peters

I never said that you had no right to have an opinion. I just said that it was, in fact, worth nothing.

-Maineman ( on 12 June 2007)

Always has and always will be.

We have been winning - and making progress - ever since the invasion. Doesn't matter what the media says. Things are getting better there, they always have been getting better, and always will. We will always be winning - but we will never actually "win" because then we won't be winning.

We've been winning all along and have been, are, and will be, close to victory - always.

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George W. Bush willfully LIES to YOU!!!

Yep, because we are "winning" we are bringing home troops ahead of schedule this August.

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Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.
Will Rogers

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel or envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

JFK

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain

Chantix causes hallucinations and suicidal thoughts?

That's very discouraging.

I was about to start a regiment to quit smoking using that stuff.

We'll send them back as soon as we start to "send the wrong message". What's to keep the terrorists from simply hiding out until we reduce our troop numbers to a low enough level they can do damage? Then we will have to increase troops numbers again.

But rest assured, we will be winning all along. Always have, always will be. Cheers to a perpetual state of winning in Iraq.

__________________
George W. Bush willfully LIES to YOU!!!

Hmm....wonder why they haven't started back up as of yet we have had troop reductions already?

__________________
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.
Will Rogers

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel or envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

JFK

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain

You are a moron. The Iraqi army and police are getting better and better, just as we said they would. The reason we do less is because THEY are doing more. Something you dim bulbs claimed would never happen.

__________________
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

-Bertrand Russell

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable

-Laurence J. Peters

I never said that you had no right to have an opinion. I just said that it was, in fact, worth nothing.

-Maineman ( on 12 June 2007)