Mental Health and War

Bob Herbert's column, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/opinion/19herbert.html, tells the well known, but under-reported, story of the mental health victims of war. Although the physical wounds and deaths are horrific, the often quiet mental suffering during and after war surely dwarfs this bodily pain. And the impact of the warriors' mental health problems affects their family, friends, and society in profound negative ways. And the mental health suffering of the civilians overwhelms even that of the military.

Having recently watched the twenty-six hour documentary of "The World at War" (British documentary of WW II), the necessity for war in certain cases and the horrors of war are both vividly portrayed. However, if as the United States Declaration of Independence stated, the "inalienable rights" of man include "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", war restricts the inalienable right of happiness.