Questions Raised

I feel like the Associated Press will pursue any angle to cast the war effort in a bad light or promote discouragement here at home. This story is a fine example. Three men in 10th Special Forces Group commit suicide in fairly rapid succession. The story seems to emphasize that this was an SF unit. But one of the three suicides was an accountant, another was an electronics repairer. They don't mention Mr. Howell's specialty. Lots of organizations in Iraq and Afghanistan have accountants and electronics repairers. I'm not sure people doing those duties for 10th SF are necessarily under extra stress. They also mention that an anti-malarial drug may have been involved in these cases. The story sets the Army and manufacturer against Howell's widow, but they may both be right. A drug might be generally safe, but have bad side effects for you or me. The story on this drug is actually kind of interesting to me, but this story doesn't bother to pursue it. Speculation about how brutal the war is and how screwed up some units are as a result apparently better serves the AP worldview.