The Life and Lonely Death of Iraqi Vet, Noah Pierce

By Susan Lindauer
Covert Report Radio

In graphic, heart-breaking detail, Dale Pierce gives a father’s account of the Post traumatic Stress, war crimes, and urgent need for mental health care for Veterans,leading to the suicide of his 23 year old son, Noah, after 2 tours of duty in Iraq. Listen here.

September is Suicide Prevention Month for Veterans. The Covert Report supports all veterans and their families.

Cancer of the Spirit: On the Bridge review

By Robert C. Koehler

Can we squeeze the glory out of the word “war”?  Can we talk about savage irrationality and lifelong inner hell instead?  Can we talk about the wreckage of two countries?

Can we talk about spiritual cancer?

In the extraordinary documentary On the Bridge — an unstinting look at the reality of war and the terror of PTSD, directed by Olivier Morel — each of the six Iraq vets who opens his or her heart in the course of the film has a moment of deep, almost unbearable silence at the end, staring into the camera and through the camera at the viewer . . . and at the nation they are committed to waking up. In that silence, those are the questions that begin to emerge.

On the Bridge bares the deep psychic wounds of America’s returning vets — “I liken (PTSD) to the comedic scene of opening a closet and stuff keeps falling out,” Jason Moon said at one point — but it does much more than that as well. It puts these wounds into context: We are the aggressor nation, not simply at the geopolitical level, invading and occupying

Used-up Heroes

In association with Suzanne Ross and Adam Erickson of the Raven Foundation, I am part of a blog radio show called “Playing for Keeps.” Here’s a link to our first show.

As you think about giving gifts with meaning this year, please consider my book, Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, which speaks with honesty and humor about the human condition. It’s especially appropriate for anyone who has suffered recent loss and is coping with the grieving process. Be aware also that the sale of the book supports this column and my ability to give a peace journalist’s perspective on current events. The book has been reduced in price through the end of the year. More info below this week’s column:

By Robert C. Koehler

At a sports bar in downtown Minneapolis called Sneaky Pete’s, “Young men fueled with alcohol begged Boogaard to punch them, so they could say they survived a shot from the Boogeyman.”

I’m thinking, wow, we power our society as much on adolescent energy as we do on fossil fuels. And the consequences are probably even more devastating. [Image]