The killer soldier myth

Fayetteville Observer:

Combat stress has not created a spike in murders by soldiers in the Fayetteville area, according to a search of records by The Fayetteville Observer.

Tracking killings reported in the newspaper before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks showed that more soldiers were accused of murder in the six years before the attacks than in the six years since.

Twelve Fort Bragg soldiers have been accused of killing 13 people in the six-plus years since Sept. 11, 2001, according to Observer records. In the six years before the terrorist attacks, 16 Fort Bragg soldiers were accused of killing 18 people.

Those numbers came from a search of the Observer’s archives and may not be conclusive. Law enforcement agencies do not track killings by whether the accused was a soldier. The Observer examined its own records after a New York Times story published Jan. 13 indicated that homicides involving active-duty service members and new veterans rose 89 percent during the past six years.

...

On Thursday night, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly said that a Fox News analysis found that only seven of every 100,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan had committed a killing. Among civilians in the 18 to 34 age group, roughly consistent with the years of military service, the rate was 40 killings per 100,000 people.

And while there is no doubt that combat causes stress, that stress does not necessarily mean veterans will become violent upon their return, said Col. Ed Crandell, chief of the Department of Behavioral Health at Womack Army Medical Center.

“Everyone who deploys does not get PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder),” he said. “And everyone who has PTSD will not kill someone.”

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There is much more. Hat tip to Winds of Change.

The Times has continued its assault on the military without even acknowledging the contra evidence. Journalistic integrity apparently is on holiday at the New York Times when it comes to this story. If they get an award for this mess it will only compound the travesty.