Recession-hit U.S. 'a little sick' of Iraq after 6 years

Reading this headline you'd think that the occupation of Iraq is over and done with but then you would have to be able to forget what this really cost in terms of lives lost and suffering going on.

Recession-hit U.S. 'a little sick' of Iraq after 6 years
More than 4,200 Americans have been killed in the Iraq war since the U.S. invasion in March 2003, and 142,000 U.S. troops still serve there. But it's the economic crisis that dominates the headlines as the war's sixth anniversary nears. And even with the costs piling up and President Obama announcing a pullout timeline, polls show the public's interest in the war has waned. full story

This will give you some idea anyway.

Veterans' stories show cost of military service
Story Highlights
Savannah police officer lives with physical, mental injuries from Iraq war

Veteran is skeptical about plans to pull out of Iraq

50-year-old colleague on force is being called back into service

He's not complaining -- "Once a soldier, always a soldier," he says

By John King
CNN Chief National Correspondent

On CNN's "State of the Union," host and chief national correspondent John King goes outside the Beltway to report on the issues affecting communities across the country. This week, King traveled to Georgia to learn about the toll military service is taking on two veterans.

SAVANNAH, Georgia (CNN) -- As his tank rolled into Baghdad in April 2003, Chris Tucker mounted his camera to capture the moment.

"It's history; we made history," he told CNN back then. "It's my first war, hopefully my last war."

He could not have imagined then that six years later, Iraq would still be a combat zone.

"I thought we would get there quick and handle our business and we'd be out," Tucker told us this week. "At least, that's what we were told anyway."

Tucker received a medical discharge from the Army last year and he now is Officer Chris Tucker of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.

"You still get to serve your community and your country in other ways," he said.
go here for more of this
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/12/sou.ga.iraq/index.html

These are some of the best people we have in this country and at the very least should make sure that when they come home with combat wounds, no matter what type they are, we take care of them. You'd think that when people decide to start wars and send men and women into them, they would take the same time to plan for what happens when they come home ahead of time. Nothing about this was the way we were told it would be and none of the words said about taking care of the troops really happened.