Body of War

[DroppinScience]

This week on the "Bill Moyers Journal," he dedicated his entire hour to the documentary "Body of War" (directed by Phil Donohue and Ellen Spiro) which is about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young who was wounded 5 days into the conflict and is now in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

There was some really moving clips from the film shown and an excellent interview with the filmmakers themselves. It's all viewable in streaming video on the PBS website here:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03212008/watch.html

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03212008/watch2.html

What is also particularly striking is the complete disconnect between the leaders (from both parties and the Bush administration) and the reality of what it's like on the ground for the troops.

This looks like an excellent doc, and I recommend you give this Bill Moyers episode a view.

[yeahwho]

Dick Cheney says, So (http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/19/cheney-poll-iraq/)?

[kaiser soze]

More like "Bodies of War"

Department of Defense releases high casualty numbers

As of April 5, a total of 36,082 members of the U.S. military have been wounded in action and killed in Iraq, since the beginning of the war in March 2003, and in Afghanistan, where the war there began in October 2001. The 36,082 number breaks down to 4,492 deaths and 31,590 wounded. According to the same DoD "casualty" counts, an additional 38,631 U.S. military personnel have also been removed from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan for "non-hostile-related medical air transports."

A January report by the Department of Veterans Affairs showed 299,585 veterans who recently served in the Middle East had been treated by the VA since 2002. Forty percent (120,049) of the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who sought care from the VA did so for mental health disorders.

Support the troops....every piece of them

[yeahwho]

I watched the first half this morning, well worth the time. I don't want to make any political statement about this film/documentary, I was unprepared for how much this film reflects the times and current climate.

I might add that it isn't a cheap shot or hack job sort of film, it is a labor of love which the cast crew both worked very hard on. It'll hook you right from the start.

Thanks for the link.