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Stressed US Troops
In Iraq 'Turning
To Drugs'
By Thomas Harding in Baghdad
The Telegraph -
UK
7-23-5
- Two years into the occupation of Iraq the menace of
drug abuse appears to be afflicting American troops.
-
- Aware of the debilitating effect drugs had on the
morale and effectiveness of GIs in the Vietnam War, the authorities are
attempting to stifle a repeat in Iraq.
-
- Aside from random urine tests and barrack room
searches, commanders have asked their troops to inform on
colleagues.
-
- In the past month a soldier has been arrested for
selling cocaine and two per cent of the troops from one brigade have
been charged with drug and alcohol abuse.
-
- According to US army figures, out of the 4,000 men of
the 256th Brigade Combat Team, 53 faced alcohol-related charges and 48
were charged with drug offences.
-
- Since the overthrow of Saddam's regime the borders
that have been so porous for insurgents have been equally open for
heroin and hash smugglers from Afghanistan and Iran providing a cheap
market for troops. With colleagues being killed or wounded on a daily
basis, some US soldiers have turned to drugs to escape the horrors of
fighting insurgents.
-
- In one case, according to Stars and Stripes, the
in-house US forces newspaper, Sgt Michael Boudreaux was found with
drugs, four bottles of whiskey and 22 videos of Iraqi pornography. He
received a seven month confinement, was demoted to private and given a
bad conduct discharge.
-
- In another case, Pte Emily Hamilton told a court
martial that she used a hashish pipe belonging to a colleague because
"it helped me go right to sleep". She was given a year's confinement and
a bad conduct discharge.
-
- "Some of these young soldiers just can't handle the
stress," said Capt Christopher Krafchek, a military defence
lawyer.
-
- The majority of drug-users are in their teens or early
20s, and sometimes get their drugs from local Iraqis while on patrol in
Baghdad.
- Troops caught in possession of illegal substances are
either jailed, demoted or discharged from the forces.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/0
7/23/wirq23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/23/ixworld.html
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Groupe de communication Mulindwas
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