Why did Bush refuse to release a full and truthful report on a real hero.


(AP) Two influential lawmakers investigating how and when the Bush administration learned the circumstances of Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death and how those details were disclosed accused the White House and Pentagon on Friday of withholding key documents and renewed their demand for the material.

The White House and Defense Department have turned over nearly 10,000 pages of papers — mostly press clippings — but the White House cited "executive branch confidentiality interests" in refusing to provide other documents.

Tillman, a San Jose native, turned down a lucrative contract with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals to join the Army following the Sept. 11 attacks. He was killed April 22, 2004, by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

Although Pentagon investigators determined quickly that he was killed by his own troops, five weeks passed before the circumstances of his death were made public. During that time, the Army claimed he was killed by enemy fire.

Tillman's family and others have said they believe the erroneous information peddled by the Pentagon was part of a deliberate cover-up that reached all the way to President Bush and then-Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.

The White House has turned over nearly 1,100 pages of documents and the Defense Department nearly 8,500 pages since the committee requested information from them in April, part of an inquiry into why Tillman's family and the public were misled.

The committee made public a letter last month in which Fielding said the White House was holding back certain papers "because they implicate executive branch confidentiality interests."

And you're not the least bit partisan? How can anyone take what you say seriously?

Charles Figley holds an endowed professorship in disaster mental health and trauma at Tulane University. He is founding president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, founding editor of the “Journal of Traumatic Stress” and editor of “Traumatology.”

Exposure to case after case of combat-related stress injuries often has negative effects for the caregivers who handle these cases. Yet in many instances, those professionals (not to mention family members) do not get proper attention and care for their emotional needs.

Service branches are recognizing the extraordinary problems of secondary trauma on caregivers.

My research on secondary traumatic stress — defined as the consequent stress and emotions caused by helping a traumatized and suffering person — has found that the negative effects can be similar to those of primary exposure.

Military caregivers are especially vulnerable because (a) the high concentration of trauma patients they see; (b) inability to change jobs; (c) their focus is on readiness and keeping the troops sufficiently healthy to be re-deployed; (d) the expectation of being deployed (often multiple times), and; (e) the complexity of providing treatment while fighting the fear, stigma and embarrassment of active duty personnel who are forced to seek such treatment.

All branches of service recognize the extraordinary problems of secondary trauma and have implemented programs to help. The Army, for example, has the formed the Provider Resilience Training Program for this very purpose.

In many cases, the caregivers can suffer from intrusive imagery, avoidance of reminders and cues, hyperarousal, distressing emotions, and functional impairment including anxiety disorders.

In the most extreme cases, secondary stress may warrant a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. There are other names for this effect, including “compassion fatigue” and “vicarious trauma.” This is more than “burnout” or even anxiety caused by poor social support at a difficult workplace ...

Laurie Anne Pearlman, a clinical psychologist, is a member of the complex trauma task force of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Trauma treatment experts are increasingly aware of the potential negative effects of providing assistance to traumatized persons.

Even seasoned clinicians can, at times, need clinical help.

These effects can take any or all of the following forms: vicarious trauma (a personal transformation in the caregiver that results from engaging with and feeling a sense of responsibility for a traumatized patient or client), compassion fatigue (an exhaustion of the helper’s ability to respond compassionately), burnout (a gap between what the caregiver can give and what s/he is expected to give), and countertransference (an activation of the helper’s personal issues in response to a particular client or patient).

Peter P. Vitaliano is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, psychology and health services at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Given the horrific events that took place on Thursday at Fort Hood, many are asking why and how this could have happened and if it could have been prevented.

Caregivers all bring their own vulnerabilities to their work.

There is no question that there is extensive research to suggest that full time caregivers, whether they are paid or not paid, are at risk for problems of their own ...

We don’t yet know all the facts about the Fort Hood gunman or his motives. News reports have indicated that he told relatives that other soldiers harassed. Many organizations that employ mental health workers have venues for them to express their feelings and to receive feedback. It is unclear if Dr. Hasan had ever articulated his beliefs to colleagues who could have helped him.

If he had been isolated, he may not have been able to express his beliefs and receive constructive feedback about their validity.

What we do know is that his situation was not unique. But his reported anxiety about deploying to a war for which he had counseled returning soldiers may have been a factor that made him snap.

His horrific action can’t be explained rationally. Still, the fact is, professional caregivers who have been trained to spot trouble in others are not necessarily able, when under stress and isolation, to see that they themselves need help.

When you create a topic that isn't so full of bs that it turned the background on my screen brown.

Thanks for the clips. I was listening to NPR yesterday and they were saying similar things. I think what blows people's minds the most is when Psychiatrist go nuts. We almost view that as an impossibility.