"Take [Twenty] Tablets..."

A big part of the tragedy of U.S. soldiers who are deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq is what happens to them when they come back sick in body and mind. Many of them are over-prescribed with all sorts of medications that, ultimately, either kill or render them permanently damaged. There are cases in which patients receive more that two dozen pills at the same time. So, these soldiers are doubly victimized, first by being sent repeatedly to the front in a savage war, and then by being "treated" medically in a totally irresponsible way.

While the U.S. government pays them lip service by calling them heroes, the truth is that many of those who get sick overseas or develop their symptoms back home are not taken care of properly. Their patriotism -- as misguided as it may be -- means very little to the powers that be, who will always find more idealistic or ignorant young men to take advantage of and discard, when they are no longer of any use.

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