A 2003 decision by the Board of Veterans Affairs found that SERE mock torture techniques had caused PTSD in a serviceman. This directly contradicts the Bush-era OLC claims that there were no reports of “prolonged mental harm” from exposure to the SERE program. SERE techniques were reverse-engineered for torture purposes by both the CIA and the Department of Defense.

The military is trying to tell us something. Ignore the propaganda from their leaders, our soldiers and their families have some very real questions about the war.

The reported suicide of a Gulf charter skipper begs comparison. There is no exact number, but many suspect at least 30 people in Alaska or who worked on or were ruined by the Exxon Valdez oil spill killed themselves over the succeeding 20 years, one as recently as last year. I knew three of the victims, one very well.

On this Memorial Day, I hope and wish that all our soldiers now at home and those who’ll come home soon can expect the same. Remember them, and remember that they need you now and for a very long time to come.

Answer: Zero. The military shouldn’t even be involved in Afghanistan. If we want to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan, we need sustainable, civilian-only solutions.

Often times, people see as a cause for terrible events whatever it is that annoys, angers, or frightens them, regardless of the facts. The reaction to the recent shootings at Ft. Hood are a case in point.

it is one thing to argue for a continued presence in Afghanistan, it is quite another to do so when we do not have the tools needed to have success (however that is defined). Given the mental cost our wars have inflicted on our troops, and the long time lines is seems it is less likely we can actually do anything effective there.

This week President Obama surprised some of his supporters in the reproductive rights and women’s health communities by publicly asking House Democrats to strike a provision in the stimulus package that would have expanded birth control coverage for low-income women. As you might expect, Media Consortium writers are abuzz.

TheraP speaks out