The Impasse Facing the American Military: Troops Committing Suicide

One out of every six U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers depression, and one out of every 84 takes his own life. The number of troops that have committed suicide in the last 10 years is greater than the number who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Keen to find a solution to this problem, the U.S. is trying various rehabilitation programs. What is really needed, however, is an urgent worldwide spiritual mobilization.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 because of the September 11th attacks. In 2003, it embarked on military operations in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. A harsh approach, a politicial preference particular to that period, and trying to resolve all issues by military means led to many civilian deaths and much devastation. Iraq and Afghanistan literally collapsed from top to bottom, and millions of people are still living as refugees.

When it emerged that the U.N. report concerning the existence of weapons of mass destruction, the supposed legal foundation for the invasion of Iraq, was inaccurate, and later that were no such weapons at all in Iraq, thousands of troops who realized they were being used as pawns in an illegitimate occupation began regarding themselves as people who had committed war crimes and were unable to escape the impact of their responsibilities and memories. The U.S. manufactured powerful weapons, armor and protective shields using advanced technology to protect its troops on the battlefield, but it largely forgot the spiritual foundation it should have built. If a state ensures powerful physical protection for a military unit but leaves its soul empty, if it spends billions of dollars on arms and constant destruction but never invests in people, then many of its troops will experience a spiritual downfall because of their emptiness of soul and will take their own lives. That is what the U.S. Army is experiencing now. The U.S. may have been able to bring its troops home from the Middle Eastern countries by means of its powerful air force, but that will not stop them killing themselves at home. Suicides, a growing danger, have now become the main problem facing the American military.

In fact, suicide is a general problem throughout the world, not just in the U.S. military. Because generations raised with no basis of faith, and with a materialist world view, they fold in the face of any psychological difficulty. September 10th is now commemorated all over the world as Suicide Prevention Day. According to World Health Organization (WHO) figures, someone attempts to commit suicide every three seconds and every 40 seconds, a person takes his life. The WHO also reports a 60% increase in the suicide rate over the last 45 years.

The measures taken against this global scourge are ineffective and inadequate. The U.S. military has set up rehabilitation units that troops can make use of on a voluntary basis, and various charities provide material assistance for soldiers with health problems and such efforts are to be commended. Yet it is not material things or loneliness that lie at the heart of the problem.

Neither the U.S. nor other Western states can prevent serious problems from befalling  their own people so long as they seek a military solution to all the world’s woes. The human soul was not created to withstand cruelty and wickedness. The soul always seeks peace, love and affection, and it suffers a breakdown when it fails to find them. States need to regard their own troops and the civilian population not as robots doing their duty, but as entities possessed of a soul and to build their policies on that foundation. Indeed, history and analysis of the outcomes to date prove that no state gains anything by military means. Wars have brought nothing but destruction and misery to the world. Weapons have no power to create happiness. It is illogical to expect objects intended to inflict destruction, death and suffering to bestow love and peace. Wherever we may be in the world, there is but one reason for these problems, and that is a failure to recognize the Creator and deprivation of the blessings that can only come from spirituality. The world has long been exposed to this disaster, but can be saved through a reawakening of faith.

Adnan Oktar's piece on Weekly Blitz:

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/2014/11/impasse-facing-american-military-troops-committing-suicide/