Delivering the 17th Robert W. Kastenmeier lecture at the University of Wisconsin’s Law School Thursday, a New York Times columnist said the physical and emotional effects of war have impacted Americans more than they realize.
Bob Herbert told an audience of about 80 people that the United States’ disregard surrounding the conflict only causes more harm to Afghanistan War veterans and their families.
Over 1,000 soldiers have been killed in the 10 years since the invasion of Afghanistan, now the longest American war since Vietnam, Herbert said, with 4,500 soldiers killed in the Iraq war.
But Herbert added while the fighting has ceased for veterans, most are caught in a continuous battle with the memories and trauma of their tours.
According to the New York Times, 125 soldiers committed suicide this year by the month of August, a pace set to exceed last year’s number of 162. Many more have reported signs of depression, anxiety, post traumatic-stress disorder and other mental health problems.
Though the military has taken steps to treat these conditions, Herbert said the increased suicide rate of soldiers is evidence their efforts are not making a difference.
Herbert, an award winning columnist and former journalism professor at Columbia University, said he interviewed wounded soldiers and families of soldiers who committed suicide after their tours of duty.
He said some of these soldiers served multiple tours of duty, a fact he said he found appalling.
Herbert suggested the current failure to protect our troops and end the war could be directly linked to the detachment most Americans feel toward the conflict.
Unlike wars of America’s past, no taxes have been raised to fund the wars in the Middle East, no rationing has taken place, and no one is required to fight in the conflict, Herbert said, adding most Americans tend to ignore the conflict exists.
Herbert said he approved of a draft during wartime, but said the ease with which the United States now enters conflicts eliminated the possibility of a draft. War, he said, should only be undertaken if no other options exist, and the American people deserve to know all other possible options had been eliminated.
“If we’re going to send our young people into that kind of hell, there better be a damn good reason for it,” Herbert said.
In addition to the $3 trillion cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Herbert said there is a domestic cost as well, predominately the problems facing the economy.
After the attacks on Sept. 11, Herbert said like most Americans he supported the invasion of Afghanistan. However, he said he is disappointed in how the war has since been conducted, the invasion of Iraq and the hesitation of both Democrats and Republicans to end the war in Afghanistan and abandon civil issues.
UW freshman Flora Katz, who attended the lecture for a class requirement, said she agreed mostly with what Herbert had to say, but was against his support for the draft.
“He talked about the problems of sending young people to war, so it seems even worse to send all of your young people,” Katz said.
The Kastenmeier lecture honors UW Law School graduate Robert W. Kastenmeier, who served as a United States Congressman from 1958-1990.
