Lynn C. Woolsey: “the Joint Economic Committee of Congress reported yesterday on the hidden costs of the occupation of Iraq. We learned…”

“the Joint Economic Committee of Congress reported yesterday on the hidden costs of the occupation of Iraq. We learned that the true cost so far is $1.3 trillion, or nearly double the amount the administration has been talking and has requested. And the price tag could soar to nearly $3.5 trillion if we continue on the administration's reckless course in Iraq. The hidden financial costs of our involvement in Iraq are staggering, but yesterday we also learned that there are hidden human costs as well that are truly, truly heartbreaking. CBS News reported last night that the suicide rate among veterans is over twice as great as the suicide rate for the general population. In 2005 alone, there were at least 6,256 suicides among veterans in the 45 States that provided data to CBS. That is an astonishing 17 suicides per day for just that one year. Those statistics are for veterans of all wars, and they are shocking. But the statistics for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are even more devastating. Veterans aged 20 to 24 have the highest suicide rate of all. For these young men and women, the suicide rate is two to four times higher than the suicide rate for the general population. And yet another report published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the mental health problems of Iraq veterans are much greater than previously thought.”