Roger That: Report indicates Russia and NATO are preparing to go to war

A British think tank is warning that Russia and the members nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including the United States, are actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build-up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War, according to a story Tuesday in The Telegraph newspaper.

The report by the European Leadership Network, based in London, contends that exercises by the Russian armed forces and NATO have led to several near-miss incidents that could result in confrontation between the two sides, and leaders need to consider a new arms control treaty to avert the possibility of heightened tensions spilling into war, according to the article.

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Sebastian Junger is one of the best journalists writing today. Junger wrote the huge best-seller The Perfect Storm (1997) and co-directed and produced the award-winning Afghanistan war documentary Restrepo (2010). Now, in a riveting and powerful story in Vanity Fair, Junger tackles the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder. Aside from the BND, this article will be the best thing you read today.

In particular, Junger looks at the question of why PTSD is so difficult to treat among military combat veterans.

“Combat is generally less traumatic than rape but harder to recover from,” Junger writes. “The reason, strangely, is that the trauma of combat is interwoven with other, positive experiences that become difficult to separate from the harm.” Junger quotes a neuroscientist who has spent many years studying PTSD’s impact upon the brain. She observes: “Treating combat veterans is different from treating rape victims, because rape victims don’t have this idea that some aspects of their experience are worth retaining.”

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Here’s some news veterans can use: Want to go to a game, race or concert, but it's already sold out or you lack the money to go?

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The group has already scored free tickets for more than 1.5 million troops, veterans and their family members. Signing up is easy. Go to VetTix.org to create a free account and request events you're interested in.

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Three dozen retired generals and admirals released an open letter Tuesday supporting the Iran nuclear deal and urging Congress to do the same, the Washington Post has reported.

Calling the agreement “the most effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” the letter said that gaining international support for military action against Iran, should that ever become necessary, “would only be possible if we have first given the diplomatic path a chance.”

The release came as Secretary of State John F. Kerry said U.S. allies were “going to look at us and laugh” if the United States were to abandon the deal and then ask them to back a more aggressive posture against Iran.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Roger That: Report indicates Russia and NATO are preparing to go to war."