This is amazing. It appears the nearly 4500 deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan to date could, quite literally, be only half of the story. Shortly after the release of a RAND study showing the rate of PTSD and depression in returning veterans, Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the government’s top psychiatric research group said because these veterans are unlikely to seek help, or have access to the appropriate health care, the rate of suidicides could outpace combate fatalities:

Exactly how many vets have taken their lives isn’t known for sure — and that lack of good data is part of the problem.

But CBS News, in a months-long investigation last year, uncovered what it called a “suicide epidemic” among vets: At least 6,256 veterans committed suicide in 2005 alone — an average of 17 a day. Vets overall were more than twice as likely as the general population to take their lives. Among young veterans ages 20 to 24, the rate was nearly four times that of the nonmilitary public.

Another estimate is that 1,000 veterans a month are attempting suicide.

What is the government doing about this? Covering it up:

At heated hearings this week, the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., charged that the Department of Veterans Affairs is either ignoring the extent of the veteran suicide problem or covering it up. Not only news organizations but also members of Congress trying to get data on veteran suicides have encountered bureaucratic resistance.

Support the war, not the troops.