Noteboom The Law Firm

One-Third Of Veterans Think The Middle East Wars are a Waste

Of the thousands of veterans who have been and still are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately one-third do not believe the those wars are "worth fighting," according to an article from MSNBC News. Further, most of those veterans believe the 10 years we have spent there are enough and America needs to change its focus and start working on its own, internal issues and put less focus on foreign affairs.

The government has spent more than $1 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 1, 2011. Almost 6,300 U.S. soldiers have died and countless thousands have been injured, many with lifetime disabilities.

There were two polls used to collect this information. In the first, more than 1,800 veterans were surveyed, of which, 712 had served post-9/11 but were no longer active. Those 712 included 336 who had served either in Afghanistan or Iraq. The second poll was of 2,003 adults with no record of military service. The veterans were asked for one word they felt described their "experiences," and gave a mixed response, including the following words:

 

·      hot;

·      lousy;

·      life-changing;

·      nightmare;

·      eye-opening;

·      rewarding; and

·      interesting.

 

Although about 60% of the veterans stated their families "benefitted financially from having served abroad in a combat zone," just under 50% said being deployed "strained their relationship with their spouses" and children.

Less than 50% of the veterans on the poll stated they served with someone who was killed. Just about one-third of the veterans do believe we should be fighting these wars, but more veterans believe we should be fighting in Afghanistan than Iraq. There is one unifying belief in all of this and that is veterans do not believe civilians have any idea of what problems they face on a daily basis and a vast majority of the public agrees with that opinion.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.