[Peace-discuss] IVAW meeting / planning a panel for early December / 412 W. Illinois, Urbana

[Karen Medina]

Below are some thoughts Conrad had about the panel:

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From: Conrad Wetzel <mc-wetzel at hotmail.com>
To: Scott Kimball kimball6 at illinois.edu

Scott,

I delight in reading that IVAW is organizing a panel discussion in
mid-December on military PTSD and suicides and the cycles of trauma in
Iraq and Afghanistan. I certainly affirm your holding this panel and
will be looking forward to hear about the final plans. Please keep me
informed.

I do have one suggestion for a panelist for you to consider. Robert
Naiman, who is policy director of Just Foriegn Policy, is a well-known
and very vocal critic of the wars in Iraq and Pakistan. I think he
would contribute an excellent perspective to the discussion. Here are
the links to three articles of his that appeared lately:


http://co108w.col108.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/robin-hood-taxes-to-pay-f_b_768171.html

http://co108w.col108.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

Some time back, the News Gazette Sunday edition carried a lenghty
article on suicides amon the military, including an account of a local
family that experienced the suicide of their son. NG staff could point
you to that article, and that family may be willing for one of their
members to be on your panel. There may be other families in our area
affected by a military suicide. And there are local veterans affected
by PTSD, who may be willing to serve on the panel.

I certainly wish you well in your planning and am eager to attend the
panel on this urgent and timely topic when it is announced.

Sincerely,
Conrad Wetzel
217-390-9246
mc-wetzel at hotmail.com