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<div class="entry-date"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/28/an-epidemic-of-military-suicides/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/28/an-epidemic-of-military-suicides/</a><br>
<br>
<big>Weekend Edition June 28-30, 2013</big></div>
<div class="subheadlinestyle"><big>The Latest Victim of America’s War
Crimes</big></div>
<h1 class="article-title">An Epidemic of Military Suicides</h1>
<div class="mainauthorstyle"><big><big>by TOM McNAMARA</big></big></div>
<div class="main-text"><big><big> </big></big>
<blockquote>
<p><big><big>Box me up and ship me home</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>Pin my medals upon my chest</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>Tell my mom I’ve done my best</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>- Marine Corps Cadence</big></big></p>
</blockquote>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big><em>Rennes, France.</em></big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>On June 10th of this year, Daniel Somers, a veteran of
more than 400 combat missions in Iraq, killed himself. One more name to
be added to the list of US veterans who have committed suicide.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>It’s a very long list. And it is growing at an
astonishing rate. Just about every single hour, of every single day,
another name gets added to it. What America’s enemies could not
accomplish in hostile zones, American society appears to be able to do
with complete abandon; facilitate the death of US soldiers.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>It’s quite an impressive accomplishment when one thinks
about it, really. In 2012, the number of active duty soldiers who
killed themselves was greater than the number killed in combat (about
every other day a US soldier committed suicide). The same was true for
2011.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>The family of Daniel Somers agreed to make his suicide
note public. It can be found <a
href="http://gawker.com/i-am-sorry-that-it-has-come-to-this-a-soldiers-last-534538357"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://gawker.com']);">here</a>.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>In his final letter Mr. Somers says that he “was made to
participate in things, the enormity of which is hard to describe. War
crimes, crimes against humanity.” He says that to return to society and
to “move on in life after being part of such a thing would be the mark
of a sociopath” in his mind.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>He goes on to talk of being sick and injured, and of
having been abandoned by his government in his time of need.
Furthermore, he tells us that he is fully aware of the crisis currently
going on in the US with regards to veteran suicides, citing the
statistic that the number of veterans who kill themselves per day is
greater than the number of children killed at Sandy Hook in Connecticut.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>Think about that for a minute. The suicide epidemic among
US soldiers and veterans is the equivalent of one Sandy Hook massacre
every single day.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>Finally, Mr. Somers talks of the freedom and peace that
suicide will bring him, no longer having to be subjected to the pain,
nightmares, flashbacks or hallucinations caused by what he saw and took
part in Iraq.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>It has been estimated that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a
direct result of the US led invasion of 2003. According to the
principles put forth at the Nüremberg War Crimes Tribunal and the
founding charter of the United Nations this is clearly a war crime that
borders on being a crime against humanity. The war in Afghanistan and
America’s use of targeted drone strikes (in what can only be described
as a terror campaign) can also be considered as war crimes.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>One lowly US soldier found it impossible to live with
himself due to his perceived complicity in America’s war crimes.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>How President George Bush and President Barack Obama can
unapologetically live their lives knowing the deeds they have
engineered, committed and are responsible for is unconscionable.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>Tonight President Bush and President Obama will sleep
quietly in their beds. If we lived in a correct and just society they
would be on trial.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big>For murder.</big></big></p>
<big><big></big></big>
<p><big><big><strong>Tom McNamara</strong> is an Assistant Professor at
the ESC Rennes School of Business, France, and a former Visiting
Lecturer at the French National Military Academy at Saint-Cyr
Coëtquidan, France.</big></big></p>
</div>
</font>
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