They survived the hell that's Iraq and then they come home only to lose their life.
There is a major problem with making that comparison, of course. Male suicide rates are about 4 times the female rate and the veteran population is about 13 times more male than female. So the actual rate of veteran suicide is probably only a bit above our civilian rate.
And to put it in greater perspective, the suicide-inducing trauma of fighting our wars is apparently a lot less than the trauma of being a civilian in Estonia, Finland, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Japan, Latvia, Hungary, Slovenia, Khazakstan, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania. And this leaves out a lot of countries with no reliable data. Sri Lanka, the home of the suicide bomber, is understandable. But the rest aren't exactly shooting galleries (I'll let slide a chance for a cheap shot at Belgians). Some of the countries with higher suicide rates than our veterans are downright Scandanavian. Our so-called survivors of hell are more balanced than the citizens of these countries.
Look, these veteran suicides are tragedies for the individuals and their families. We should take steps to address the impact of combat on our veterans and help them deal with life after their military service.
But the story is a hit piece. The data doesn't even distinguish between combat veterans and noncombat veterans. If the argument is that combat in Iraq is causing the problem, then the data simply does not appear to demonstrate that connection.
But still, nice try, CBS. Fake but accurate, I'm sure.
