Does Bush support the troops?
This past Friday, the Pentagon publicly released a report on the mental health of soldiers in Iraq. It describes a high level of combat stress among soldiers stationed in Iraq. From the New York Times article:
... the report suggested that extended tours and multiple deployments, among other policy decisions, could escalate anger and increase the likelihood that soldiers or marines lash out at civilians, or defy military ethics.
Some of the other good news from the report: of the Army soldiers surveyed, 40 percent of them condoned torture in some situations, and only 47 percent of the soldiers agreed that noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect.
According to the article, the report was released five months after it was submitted to General George Casey, who was in command of operations in Iraq at the time. But civilian leaders at the Pentagon - that is, Bush appointees - waited until this past Friday to make the report public.
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