Category: War Crimes

Rewriting 9/11

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Some gaping holes in Yer Librul Media’s 9/11 coverage. For one, they went right back into propaganda mode by repeating the lie that the reason for the attack was “they hate us for our values.” Bin Laden was always quite clear: We were attacked because of supporting Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, and our presence and support in other countries where Muslims were being oppressed. Doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker, but oh well.

Also, they completely erased the part played by then-Sen. Hillary Clinton in getting New York back on its feet and looking out for first responders. I guess I expected that.

But to allow the odious George W. Bush to make a nice speech and thus erase his administration’s bungling (and possible complicity) of the intelligence leading up to the attacks? Don’t take my word for it. Remember Richard Clarke? He was all over the teevee there for a few years, talking about he couldn’t even get the Bush people to hold a meeting about the imminent threat, and when they finally did?

At the first Deputies Committee meeting on terrorism, held in April 2001, Clarke strongly suggested that the U.S. put pressure on both the Taliban and al-Qaeda by arming the Northern Alliance and other groups in Afghanistan. Simultaneously, he said that the US should target bin Laden and his leadership by restoring flights of the MQ-1 Predators. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz responded, “Well, I just don’t understand why we are beginning by talking about this one man bin Laden.” Clarke replied that he was talking about bin Laden and his network because it posed “an immediate and serious threat to the United States.” According to Clarke, Wolfowitz turned to him and said, “You give bin Laden too much credit. He could not do all these things like the 1993 attack on New York, not without a state sponsor. Just because the FBI and CIA have failed to find the linkages does not mean they don’t exist.”

And here at 15:12, Bruce Reidel, then-senior adviser on the Middle East for four administrations, describes the Bush administration’s stubborn refusal to deal with what all the intelligence described as an imminent threat.

He said there was clear information all summer warning that an attack inside the U.S. was imminent. “The CIA director went ‘door to door’ at the White House warning of an imminent attack. Unfortunately, the Bush administration didn’t do anything about it.

“There was great concern at the White House that an investigation of what had happened would find that the administration had bungled the job very, very badly. So they wanted very much to go on offense, and to take action.”

Remember the Project for the New American Century? We probably won’t know in our lifetimes whether this Bush & Cheney gang simply took advantage of their own catastrophic mistakes to impose their vision on the Middle East (unsuccessfully, I might add), or whether they were directly complicit. Incompetence is a form of complicity, right? And the results were the same.

We know know it was the Saudis all along, just as we Dirty Fucking Hippies always said:

Here’s what it all boils down to: Over a million Iraqis dead because the boys in the Bush administration wanted to remodel the Middle East.

https://twitter.com/ekoskaiphos/status/1437071935511220224

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deja vu, all over again

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

Well, kids, it looks like the Dirty Fucking Hippies band is getting back together! Seems like old times, doesn’t it?

The Very Serious Media People are a tad techy about being called warmongers, and their response to criticism of their warmongering ways is to label the bloggers confronting them on social media as “mindless kneejerk Biden partisans.”

Oh, honey. You think that’s gonna work? You people were in middle school when we earned our stripes. We used to give the media the benefit of the doubt, but this time, we can cut right to the chase. We’ve learned far too much about the corruption of the media establishment to play along with “who, me?”.

You’re professional war cheerleaders. You’re too young to remember when journos were embedded with the troops, but you’ve probably read about it and you’re secretly jealous. What a great way to become a journalism legend! (And get a big hand up the career ladder.)

You love having generals in the pay of defense contractors talk to you, you get a thrill down your leg when you chastise the president for kicking the military industrial complex off the government-contract gravy train. You ask leading questions, you’re dying to MOVE THE NEEDLE and get the public behind your warmongering ways.

And who knows? You might pull it off. But we will hound you every step of the way, and we’re not nice people. You might insist hippies on social media don’t bother you in the least, but we know better. After all, you’re Mean Girls and you can’t believe there is anyone who doesn’t want to be you.

30 Great Cheers and Chants for Cheerleaders

 

 

 

 

Goodbye, Don

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

https://twitter.com/scoutprime/status/1410319341254594566

https://twitter.com/AdrienneLaF/status/1410397133354700806

 

Veterans took an especially bad hit during the pandemic

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

<h1 class=”legacy”>Veterans took an especially bad hit during the pandemic</h1>

<figure>
<img src=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/401648/original/file-20210519-13-1x5engy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C5%2C3898%2C2600&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip” />
<figcaption>
Navy veteran Faron Smith Jr. reacts as he receives a COVID-19 vaccination at a Veterans Administration pop-up vaccination site on April 17, 2021, in Gardena, Calif.
<span class=”attribution”><a class=”source” href=”https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/navy-veteran-faron-smith-jr-reacts-as-he-receives-a-dose-of-news-photo/1232364610?adppopup=true”>Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<span><a href=”https://theconversation.com/profiles/jamie-rowen-1010882″>Jamie Rowen</a>, <em><a href=”https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-massachusetts-amherst-1563″>University of Massachusetts Amherst</a></em></span>

<p>As the nation takes a day to memorialize its military dead, living military veterans are facing a deadly risk that has nothing to do with war or conflict: the coronavirus. </p>

<p>Different groups and communities have faced different degrees of danger from the pandemic, exemplified by the humanitarian disaster in India and the inequalities in U.S. health outcomes, vaccine distribution problems and outright rejection of vaccines. Veterans have been among the <a href=”https://bobwoodrufffoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BWF_WhitePaper-COVID19-5.0-Final.pdf”>most hard-hit</a>, with heightened health and economic threats from the pandemic. These veterans face homelessness, lack of health care, delays in receiving financial support and even death.</p>

<p>I have spent the past six years studying veterans with substance use and mental health disorders <a href=”https://www.doi.org/10.1111/lapo.12142″>who are in the criminal justice system</a>. This work revealed gaps in health care and financial support for veterans,
even though they have the <a href=”https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199838509.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199838509-e-003″>best publicly funded</a> <a href=”https://www.rand.org/news/press/2016/07/18.html”>benefits</a> in the country.</p>

<p>Here are eight ways the pandemic continues to threaten veterans.</p>

<h2>1. Age and other vulnerabilities</h2>

<p><a href=”https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/05/the-changing-face-of-americas-veteran-population/”>73% of veterans are over 50, and 89% are male</a>. </p>

<p>The largest group served in the Gulf era, were exposed to dust storms, oil fires and burn pits <a href=”https://www.cbsnews.com/news/burn-pit-military-lung-disease-thousands-of-veterans-fear-burn-pits-exposed-them-to-lethal-disease-2019-08-17/”>with numerous toxins</a>, and perhaps as a consequence have high rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. </p>

<p>The second-largest group served in the Vietnam era, in which <a href=”https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2018/05/28/the-shocking-health-effects-of-agent-orange-now-a-legacy-of-military-death/#31b9dbbc21c6″>2.8 million veterans were exposed to Agent Orange</a>, a chemical defoliant linked to cancer.</p>

<p>Age and respiratory illnesses are both risk factors for COVID-19 mortality. As of <a href=”https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/Healthcare/COVID19NationalSummary”>May 13, 2021</a>, 258,078 people under Veterans Administration care have been diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 11,941 have died.</p>

<p><a href=”https://www.kxxv.com/news/central-texas-living/fewer-number-of-veterans-receiving-second-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine”>Reluctance to be vaccinated</a> <a href=”https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/vaccine-refusal-rate-at-3-among-veterans-slightly-higher-in-rural-areas-1.668100″>continues to hamper</a> full vaccination efforts, particularly in rural areas. The Veterans Administration <a href=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7953856/”>has set up</a> successful vaccine distribution sites that now administer to <a href=”https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/#who-can-now-get-a-covid-19-vac”>veterans, their spouses, caregivers and others receiving VA health care</a>. Approximately 2.5 million of 19 million veterans have been vaccinated through the agency. </p>

<p>But <a href=”https://covid19militarysupport.org/2021/04/va-making-the-case-for-vaccines-as-demand-starts-to-drop/”>demand is dipping</a> from 75,000 appointments a day to 30,000, and President Joe Biden recently decided <a href=”https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/30/biden-making-covid-vaccine-mandatory-troops-im-going-leave-it-military.html”>not to mandate</a> vaccinations in the armed services, where <a href=”https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/22/navy-pulls-way-ahead-of-other-military-services-race-100-vaccination.html”>vaccine rates</a> remain low.</p>

<figure class=”align-center zoomable”>
<a href=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip”><img alt=”An employee of a VA hospital in Brooklyn who is outside the building at a staff protest for more protective equipment and staff assistance during the pandemic.” src=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip” srcset=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=382&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=382&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=382&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=480&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=480&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401749/original/file-20210519-19-5l6db6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=480&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w” sizes=”(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px”></a>
<figcaption>
<span class=”caption”>VA Hospital employee Wayne Malone joins staff outside the Brooklyn Veterans Administration Medical Center, Monday, April 6, 2020, in New York, where they called for more personal protective equipment and staffing assistance to care for COVID-19 patients.</span>
<span class=”attribution”><a class=”source” href=”https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakNewYork/9eb665f138794b739bd79103d3ed54a8/photo?Query=Veterans%20Administration%20hospital%20COVID%20short%20staff&amp;mediaType=photo&amp;sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&amp;dateRange=Anytime&amp;totalCount=1&amp;currentItemNo=0″>AP Photo/Kathy Willens</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<h2>2. Benefits unfairly denied or delayed</h2>

<p>When a person transitions from active military service to become a veteran, they receive a <a href=”https://www.va.gov/records/discharge-documents”>Certificate of Discharge or Release</a>. This certificate provides information about the circumstances of the discharge or release. It includes characterizations such as “honorable,” “other than honorable,” “bad conduct” or “dishonorable.” These are crucial distinctions because that status <a href=”https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/docs/COD_Factsheet.pdf”>determines whether the Veterans Administration will give them benefits</a>. </p>

<p>Research shows that some veterans with discharges that limit their benefits have PTSD symptoms, military sexual trauma or other behaviors related to military stress. Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have <a href=”https://www.swords-to-plowshares.org/wp-content/uploads/Underserved.pdf”>disproportionately more</a> of these negative discharges than <a href=”http://www.legalservicescenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Turn-Away-Report.pdf”>veterans from other eras</a>.</p>

<p>The Veterans Administration frequently <a href=”https://today.law.harvard.edu/new-report-from-harvard-law-schools-veterans-legal-clinic-documents-the-vas-systemic-denial-of-health-care-to-veterans-with-bad-paper-discharges/”>and perhaps unlawfully</a> denies benefits to veterans with “other than honorable” discharges.</p>

<p>Many veterans have requested upgrades to their discharge status. There is a <a href=”https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-16-01750-79.pdf”>significant backlog of these upgrade requests</a>, and the pandemic added to it, further delaying access to health care and other benefits. </p>

<h2>3. Diminished access to health care</h2>

<p>Dental surgery, routine visits and elective surgeries at Veterans Administration medical centers have been postponed as individuals await the full reopening of offices. <a href=”https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/press-releases/VAOIG-VHAOccupationalStaffingNewsRelease.pdf”>Veterans Administration hospitals are notoriously understaffed</a> – just before the pandemic, the agency reported 43,000 vacancies out of more than 400,000 health care staff positions. </p>

<p>The pandemic added to these problems. An Inspector General <a href=”https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-20-01249-259.pdf”>report</a> from fall 2020 found that 95% of Veterans Administration health centers are missing a key staff member, most commonly medical providers such as psychiatrists, primary care physicians and nurses, but also custodial staff necessary to keep facilities clean and sanitary. </p>

<h2>4. Mental health may get worse</h2>

<p>An average of 20 veterans die by suicide every day. A <a href=”https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/03/08/2019-04437/national-roadmap-to-empower-veterans-and-end-suicide”>national task force</a> is currently addressing this scourge. </p>

<p>The effects of the pandemic on veteran mental health are not yet clear. The VA continues to <a href=”https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/03/20/san-antonio-va-moves-away-from-in-person-mental-health-appointments-for-vets-amid-covid-19-crisis/”>encourage digital mental health treatment</a> since office visits remain limited. Suicide hotline calls by veterans were up <a href=”https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/veteran-crisis-line-calls-rise-over-coronavirus-wilkie-says”>by 12% on March 22, 2020, just a few weeks into the crisis</a>. Recent <a href=”https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/va-tracks-suicides-among-its-patients-during-pandemic-finds-no-increase-1.651889″>information from the Department of Defense</a> suggests the already troubling suicide rates have not changed, with Black and Hispanic veterans at higher risk.</p>

<h2>5. Complications for homeless veterans and those in the justice system</h2>

<p>The latest available data, from prior to the pandemic, documented <a href=”https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&amp;iid=7308″>107,400 veterans</a> in state or federal prisons, and <a href=”https://healthandjusticejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40352-019-0086-9″>181,500 were incarcerated</a> if we also include jails. While many facilities responded to the pandemic by releasing eligible veterans, there is a <a href=”https://healthandjusticejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40352-019-0086-9#ref-CR208″>revolving door</a> between time served and homelessness. </p>

<p>After years of declining rates of homelessness, there was a <a href=”https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/6292/2020-pit-estimate-of-veteran-homelessness-in-the-us/”>0.5% rise</a> in homelessness from 2019 to 2020. Before the pandemic, in January 2020, an estimated <a href=”https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/veteran-homelessness-increased-from-2019-to-2020-according-to-new-hud-report-1.666387″>37,252 veterans</a> were homeless on any given night.</p>

<p>Thousands more veterans are under court-supervised substance use and mental health treatment in <a href=”https://justiceforvets.org/what-is-a-veterans-treatment-court/”>veterans treatment courts</a>. <a href=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25767963″>More than half</a> of veterans involved with the justice system have either mental health problems or substance use disorders. </p>

<p>Courts quickly <a href=”https://www.nadcp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Treatment-Courts-COVID-19-Examples-3-26-20.pdf”>moved online</a> after state shutdowns, and many continue in this new mode. While often useful to meet treatment court obligations, online justice administration can be an obstacle for individuals looking for the camaraderie that came with meeting in person. <a href=”https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09553-1″>Other challenges</a> relate to access to technology and due process.</p>

<figure class=”align-center zoomable”>
<a href=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip”><img alt=”A homeless Navy veteran in Los Angeles, on a sidewalk with a blanket and some possessions.” src=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip” srcset=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=485&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=485&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328196/original/file-20200415-153330-o2nyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=485&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w” sizes=”(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px”></a>
<figcaption>
<span class=”caption”>As veterans’ facilities close to new participants, many veterans eligible to leave prison or jail have nowhere to go and may become homeless, like this Navy veteran in Los Angeles.</span>
<span class=”attribution”><a class=”source” href=”https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/travis-stanley-who-said-he-has-been-homeless-for-three-news-photo/1153992307?adppopup=true”>Mario Tama/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<h2>6. Disability benefits delayed</h2>

<p>Veterans Administration office closures have exacerbated the <a href=”https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-veterans-appeals-backlog-20151123-story.html”>longstanding backlog</a> of disability claims, which <a href=”https://federalnewsnetwork.com/veterans-affairs/2021/03/vba-says-it-will-reduce-the-disability-claims-backlog-by-fall-but-congress-isnt-so-sure/”>more than doubled</a> over the course of the pandemic. Approximately <a href=”https://www.benefits.va.gov/reports/mmwr_va_claims_backlog.asp”>200,000 veterans</a> wait more than 125 days for a decision. Anything less than 125 days is not considered a delay in benefit claims. </p>

<p>There is a long delay for medical exams to determine disability benefits. As of March 2021, there was a backlog of <a href=”https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2021/05/17/499517/challenges-facing-department-veterans-affairs-2021/#fn-499517-17″>357,000 medical exams</a>, nearly three times the backlog from February 2020. </p>

<p>The closure of the National Personnel Records Center, which houses the physical records frequently required to obtain benefits, led to an estimated <a href=”https://www.rollcall.com/2021/04/20/veterans-hit-by-huge-pandemic-related-records-backlog/”>18- to 24-month backlog</a> of 499,000 document requests. These documents are often necessary to receive medical benefits as well as military honors upon death. </p>

<h2>7. Dangerous residential facilities</h2>

<p>Veterans needing end-of-life care, those with cognitive disabilities or those needing substance use treatment often live in crowded Veterans Administration or state-funded residential facilities. </p>

<p>State-funded “soldiers’ homes” are notoriously starved for money and staff. The <a href=”https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/06/us/holyoke-soldiers-home-coronavirus/index.html”>horrific situation</a> at the soldiers’ home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where <a href=”https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/the-latest-state-reports-89-resident-deaths-at-holyoke-soldiers-home/article_88b3a4d8-791d-11ea-b3b7-f37420fe3e63.html”>76 veteran residents died from a COVID-19 outbreak</a>, leading to <a href=”https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/25/916977736/leaders-indicted-at-soldiers-home-where-at-least-76-people-died-in-covid-19-outb”>criminal charges</a>, and the deaths of <a href=”https://www.wsj.com/articles/among-nursing-homes-hit-by-covid-veterans-homes-struggled-the-most-11607977327″>46 veterans at an Alabama facility</a> illustrate the risk that veterans in residential homes faced early in the pandemic. </p>

<h2>8. Economic catastrophe</h2>

From The Conversation.

<p>There are <a href=”https://bobwoodrufffoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BWF_WhitePaper-COVID19-5.0-Final.pdf”>1.2 million veteran employees in the five industries most severely affected</a> – mining, oil and gas extraction; transportation and warehousing; employment services; travel arrangements; leisure and hospitality – by the economic fallout of the coronavirus. Veteran unemployment was at 3.5% before the pandemic and rose to <a href=”https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/10/25/understanding-the-economic-impacts-of-covid-19-on-veterans-and-military-families/”>6.4%</a> by September 2020.</p>

<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href=”https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=deepknowledge”>Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>

<p>A disproportionately high number of post-9/11 veterans live in some of the hardest-hit communities that depend on these industries and had even <a href=”https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/article/the-employment-situation-of-veterans-september-2020/”>higher rates</a> of unemployment than their nonveteran peers as well as other veteran cohorts. Many veterans may face evictions when the national <a href=”https://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/251825/va-extends-its-ban-evictions-and-foreclosures-june-30″>moratorium on evictions lifts</a> on June 30, 2021. </p>

<p><a href=”https://bluestarfam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/200501_PPP_Most_Acute_Pain_Pts_wk6.pdf”>Military spouses</a> are suffering from the economic fallout, as are children affected by school closures.</p>

<p>With veterans, many of the problems they face now existed long before the coronavirus arrived on U.S. shores.</p>

<p>But with the problems posed by the situation today, veterans who were already lacking adequate benefits and resources are now in deeper trouble, and it will be harder to answer their needs.</p>

<p><em>Editor’s note: This is an updated version of <a href=”https://theconversation.com/8-ways-veterans-are-particularly-at-risk-from-the-coronavirus-pandemic-135619″>a story</a> that originally ran on April 16, 2020.</em><!– Below is The Conversation’s page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. –><img src=”https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160900/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic” alt=”The Conversation” width=”1″ height=”1″ style=”border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important” /><!– End of code. If you don’t see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines –></p>

<p><span><a href=”https://theconversation.com/profiles/jamie-rowen-1010882″>Jamie Rowen</a>, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, <em><a href=”https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-massachusetts-amherst-1563″>University of Massachusetts Amherst</a></em></span></p>

<p>This article is republished from <a href=”https://theconversation.com”>The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=”https://theconversation.com/veterans-took-an-especially-bad-hit-during-the-pandemic-160900″>original article</a>.</p>

Fingers crossed

~ susie ~ 2 Comments