Blog post

NYT Misfires on Veterans Story
Posted by IAVA Staff on January 13

Phil Carter of Intel Dump responds to Sunday'sÂ front-page New York Times story on the link between combat stress and criminality among veterans:

I've got a one-word verdict on this article and its research: bulls***.

To be sure, the article contains many truths about the struggles veterans face when they come home. Combat sears the mind and body in ways we can only begin to understand. An increased propensity to violence has been noted among veterans of previous wars, and by commanders supervising troops coming home from this one. However, there's a long road from those observations to the conclusions in this article, and the evidence simply doesn't add up in this story.

More broadly though, I worry about the larger narrative of this story. It seems like we've been down this road before - casting veterans in the role of crazed, violent, disturbed young men who come home from war to become homeless or criminal (or both). America needs to wrap its arms around its sons and daughters who go to war, not alienate them and push them away with this kind of narrative. We sent these men and women to fight; we have a sacred trust to ensure they're taken care of when they come home. Irresponsible journalism like this impedes that effort by giving people the wrong impression about combat veterans. I'm disappointed in the New York Times for running this story, and for giving it such prominence.