Blaming the Veteran: The Politics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs (DVA) has come a long way since the Bush-Cheney administration when VA-embedded neocons engaged in search-and-destroy missions of Vietnam-era veterans who are suffering from PTSD and receiving small disability benefits.

Now, there are no more administration initiatives to investigate cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as in 2005. But many of the neocons are still there at the VA screwing up the works as Congress plots more give-aways to the health insurance industry.

So, it comes as no shock to read that the DVA and VBA have a long way to go in respecting veterans.

Authors D.E. Ford, M.S.W. Commander Jeff Huber (U.S. Navy (ret)) and I.L. Meagher deserve a lot more than praise for their 2006 work revealing how the American veteran became worthy of blame, not respect. Their work with links is run below, and applies emphatically today as the GOP sets its aim at veterans’ benefits.

In Blaming the Veteran: The Politics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, authors D.E. Ford, M.S.W. Commander Jeff Huber (U.S. Navy (ret)) and I.L. Meagher explore “the impact of politics on the funding, diagnosis and treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. It examines the propaganda used to justify a reduction in benefits to veterans with PTSD and the effort to redirect blame for the ravages of war to the soldiers [and Marines] themselves.” ePluribus Media

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) became part of the American vocabulary after the Vietnam War as its  effects on veterans became widely publicized. Now, a new  generation of American veterans are again victims of PTSD. This series explores the impact of politics on the funding, diagnosis and treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. It examines the propaganda used to justify a reduction in benefits to veterans with PTSD and the effort to redirect blame for the ravages of war to the soldiers themselves.

Part I: Stacking the Deck – With trillion dollar estimates for the Iraq war, the Administration looks to cut costs, eyeing treatment for the returning PTSD wounded veterans.

Part II: Ration & Redefine – Redefining PTSD and substance abuse as moral/spiritual failings opens the door to cheaper unregulated, unlicensed faith-based “treatments.”

Part III: Malign & Slime – Propaganda is used to stigmatize veterans seeking help, reduce benefits to veterans with PTSD and to blame the soldiers for their own illness.

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