… the problem with the theorem is that we then are unable to take the moral high ground and that moral high ground is what our founding fathers were all about (give or take a little). In this interview they mention suicides, like it is something that is unprecedented. Again this is the norm.For example: In Chuck Deans’ book, Nam Vet., printed in 1990 by Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon, the author states that “Fifty-eight thousand plus died in the Vietnam War. Over 150,000 have committed suicide since the war ended”.What is that? People trying to understand what they have done? Getting back into the real world and thinking for themselves again? Perhaps the VA was failing them? This is something that has been ongoing for as long as I know in American history and what little I know of the rest of the world that doesn’t even come close to having things set up like a “VA.” As a history major with a passion, I would say “look closer” to anyone reading this stuff. America is a not perfect by any means, but when you look at the rest of it we are not too shabby. I had the privilege of living in Europe for ten years and I think right now we are going through those same growing pains as any nation does. I believe that Europe has gone through many of these growing pains, (two world wars) and they sort come up with a more liberal view point and steady tiller approach.I have worked under Peter W. Chiarelli when he was a full bird back in Ft Lewis (1998,) and now, if you look him up he is well, up there, I have also worked as a civilian at “SHAPE” supreme headquarters allied powers Europe (NATO), under Wesley Clark. Throughout all of my tours and all of my working environments I believed the sky was falling until I myself looked closer through a great curiosity…Shit happens, rock and roll deal with it!
by the way, I loved the interview… keep up the good work, you sure kept me up tonight.

Did you hear the part about all of the soldier suicides? I think he said more soldiers had committed suicide than had died in combat. And perhaps more surprising was the way he explained the suicide motivation which he claimed was simply the soldiers not being able to deal with how many people they had killed and more specifically that the people they killed were quite often civilians, women, children, and general population. The cold hard reality of the discussion (of course it might not be the reality but just antiwar propaganda…) was quite sickening.

Congratulations to Chris for maximizing his time on earth and “getting out there”… the decision to actually do it was probably harder than the actual task. The commitment I mean.