3

undispatch.com - 1/14/2009

Khalilzad's "Exit Interview"

— undispatch.com — Just returning from and event at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC in which Steve Clemons played host/inquisitor/moderator to a discussion with outgoing United States ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad ... (more) Khalilzad's "Exit Interview"

World

United States

Washington, D.C

United Nations

Comments vote downundo vote up The Washington Note found this 1/14/2009found this

2

nytimes.com - 1/10/2009

Purple Heart Is Ruled Out for Traumatic Stress

— nytimes.com — The Purple Heart will be given for physical wounds only. (more) Purple Heart Is Ruled Out for Traumatic Stress

World

Comments vote downundo vote up Political Animal found this 1/10/2009found this

1

outsidethebeltway.com - 1/9/2009

No Purple Heart for PTSD

— outsidethebeltway.com — The Defense Department has ruled that service members who wish to be awarded the Purple Heart will continue to have to get themselves shot or killed, just like in the old days. The Pentagon has decided that it will not award the Purple Heart, the ... (more) No Purple Heart for PTSD

World

Afghanistan

Iraq

Comments vote downundo vote up The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan found this 1/9/2009found this

Leave a Comment

Purple Hearts And PTSD
Political Animal — ... recurring headaches either. Later in the story, someone tries a different rationale: "There have been recent changes in awarding Purple Hearts. The criteria was expanded in 2008 to include all prisoners of war who died in captivity, including those who were tortured. "There were wounds there," Mr. Bircher said. "You have to had shed blood by an instrument of war at the hands of the enemy of the United States,” he said. "Shedding blood is the objective."" But shedding blood is not a condition of eligibility for a Purple Heart: "A physical lesion is not required". That's a ...

Obsidian Wings — ... But shedding blood is not a condition of eligibility for a Purple Heart: "A physical lesion is not required". That's a good thing: if shedding blood were a necessary condition for being eligible for a Purple Heart, then soldiers would not be eligible if their bones were broken in combat, or if they suffered internal organ damage, or if their lungs were destroyed by chemical weapons, so long as they did not actually bleed. And that would be insane. ...

Mental Wounds, Ctd.
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — ... ...shedding blood is not a condition of eligibility for a Purple Heart: "A physical lesion is not required". That's a good thing: if shedding blood were a necessary condition for being eligible for a Purple Heart, then soldiers would not be eligible if their bones were broken in combat, or if they suffered internal organ damage, or if their lungs were destroyed by chemical weapons, so long as they did not actually bleed. And that would be insane. I really can't see any reason for this decision other than the idea that mental illness somehow isn't real, or isn't a real ...