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enhanced_deficit
08-09-2015, 12:37 PM
This apparently has been going for couple of years but no one talks about transparency on this war cost issue.. not even the "left wingy" uncontrolled US media owners?



VA Stops Releasing Data On Injured Vets As Total Reaches Grim Milestone

By Jamie Reno on November 01 2013 12:43 AM EDT
The United States has likely reached a grim but historic milestone in the war on terror: 1 million veterans injured from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But you haven't heard this reported anywhere else. Why? Because the government is no longer sharing this information with the public.
All that can be said with any certainty is that as of last December more than 900,000 service men and women had been treated at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics since returning from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the monthly rate of new patients to these facilities as of the end of 2012 was around 10,000. Beyond that, the picture gets murky. In March, VA abruptly stopped releasing statistics on non-fatal war casualties to the public. However, experts say that there is no reason to suspect the monthly rate of new patients has changed.

VA ceased to disclose this data despite President Obama’s second-term campaign pledge that his administration would be open and transparent.

http://www.ibtimes.com/va-stops-rele...lusive-1449584 (http://www.ibtimes.com/va-stops-releasing-data-injured-vets-total-reaches-grim-milestone-exclusive-1449584)


Iraq/Afghanistan wars disabled 624,000 US troops , Divorces up 42%, Foreclosures up 217% (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?424803-Iraq-Afghanistan-wars-disabled-624-000-US-troops-Divorces-up-42-Foreclosures-up-217&)


Suicide Rate Among Vets and Active Duty Military Jumps - Now 22 A Day (http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/02/05/22-the-number-of-veterans-who-now-commit-suicide-every-day/)
(http://www.forbes.com/.../22-the-number-of-veterans-who-now-com...%E2%80%8E)www.forbes.com/.../22-the-number-of-veterans-who-now-com...‎
Feb 5, 2013 - Veterans now commit suicide at the rate of 22 a day, or almost one an hour. Almost once an hour – every 65 minutes to be precise – a military veteran commits suicide, says a new investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs.


Fox News Defends Jeb Bush's "Disastrous" Iraq War Answer
May 12, 2015 10:33 PM EDT ››› THOMAS BISHOP
Fox News defended Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush after he said he would still have authorized the invasion of Iraq "given what we know now," claiming that Bush simply misunderstood the question.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush faced criticism from conservatives for comments he made during a May 11 interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly, where he said (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/05/10/jeb-bush-says-he-would-have-invaded-iraq/) that he would have authorized the invasion of Iraq after Kelly asked him if he would have done so "knowing what we know now." Conservative columnist Byron York call (http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/241709-bush-draws-criticism-from-right-on-iraq)ed (http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/241709-bush-draws-criticism-from-right-on-iraq) Bush's response a "disastrous defense of the Iraq War" and radio host Laura Ingraham commented (http://mediamatters.org/video/203601) that "there has to be something wrong" with Bush for his answer.
But Fox News quickly helped Bush whitewash his comments as a misinterpretation. On May 11, soon after the interview aired, Kelly said (http://mediamatters.org/embed/clips/2015/05/12/39966/fnc-kf-20150511-bush-spin) that Bush was trying to answer a different question.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/05...raq-war/203631 (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/05/12/fox-news-defends-jeb-bushs-disastrous-iraq-war/203631)

Zippyjuan
08-09-2015, 12:49 PM
more than 900,000 service men and women had been treated at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics

Note that "hospitals and clinics" is not limited to physical wounds suffered in battle. Clinics can included stress and Post Traumatic Stress. Veterans can also visit clinics and hospitals for injuries they received after their service (and that can include veterans of previous wars like Vietnam). 2.5 million served in Iraq/ Afghanistan. Were forty percent of them wounded (DOD reports about 53,000 wounded in battle http://costsofwar.org/article/us-and-allied-wounded )?

They can even go to VA clinics for birth control. Is that a "war injury" (it counts as patient visit to a VA clinic and one of the "million patients treated")? http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/apply/women_veterans.asp


VA health care for women Veterans includes:

Primary Care
Health Care for Women VeteransGeneral care includes health evaluation and counseling, disease prevention, nutrition counseling, weight control, smoking cessation, and substance abuse counseling and treatment as well as gender-specific primary care, e.g., cervical cancer screens (Pap smears), breast cancer screens (mammograms), birth control, preconception counseling, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, menopausal support (hormone replacement therapy).

Mental health includes evaluation and assistance for issues such as depression, mood, and anxiety disorders; intimate partner and domestic violence; sexual trauma; elder abuse or neglect; parenting and anger management; marital, caregiver, or family-related stress; and post-deployment adjustment or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Women—and men as well—may experience repeated sexual harassment or sexual assault during their military service. Special services are available to women who have experienced MST. VA provides free, confidential counseling and treatment for mental and physical health conditions related to MST

Figure in OP is highly inflated.

Lucille
08-10-2015, 03:21 PM
I truly have no idea how anyone can have a even a modicum of confidence in this government being able to do anything well or right. But Americans agitate for more. A nation of dumbasses.

As for "Juan," there is no govt-made tragedy, crime, failure or lie that hack will not come running to defend. Such a dedicated statist, and worse.

enhanced_deficit
08-11-2015, 10:27 PM
Figure in OP is highly inflated.

Can this be corrected by reducing or increasing transparency?




I truly have no idea how anyone can have a even a modicum of confidence in this government being able to do anything well or right. But Americans agitate for more. A nation of dumbasses.


On the bright side, it is the shinning freedom hill in the world and regularly spreads freedom around.

libertariantexas
08-15-2015, 02:54 AM
I have no doubt the number of people wounded in the "War on Terror" is high.

But looking at the number of bodies looking for treatment at the VA is a ridiculous way of assessing the damage.

People who serve in the military for a relatively small amount of time can get VA care. Even if they suffered no combat related injuries.

More importantly, VA CARE IS AN ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE TO OBAMA CARE. I wouldn't be surprised if lots of folks who wouldn't otherwise have bothered (due to poor quality care or inconvenience) have signed on with the VA TO AVOID PENALTIES UNDER OBAMA CARE.

I'm dodging Obama Care by dusting off my VA eligibility (I had let it lapse for nearly 2 decades)- because having that VA card allows me to say "I'm insured" and avoid the Obamacare penalties.

And no, I was not wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. :)