Since the 1960s the combination of the antiwar and non-serving sectors of academia, the media, the leaders of various peace causes, the "allergic-to-combat" upper income sector of society and the “shrinkocracy” have made various cases with various levels of proof that try to establish that not only was the old Mothers for Peace poster correct that "war not healthy for children and other living things," but that it causes far more casualties than are normally counted.

Veterans have always found war downright hazardous to their health. But now their own lobbying groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and Vietnam Veterans of America, and employees of the Veterans' Administration itself have decided to facilitate a blizzard of dubious veterans' benefit claims worse than the wildest dreams of any welfare queen.

Claims of injuries from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are being used to grossly inflate the casualty rate and establish a whole new class of dubious "victims" out of veterans who served their country and are now being induced to serve themselves by both those who hate the American military while, of course, ritually praising their "service," and veteran lobbyist groups who claim to speak "for veterans" while increasing their ability to sell veterans on the benefits they get by paying for membership.

When Jack Smith returned from Vietnam twenty-five years ago, there was no tidy explanation for the feelings he was having.

In doing so, they [Veterans Groups and psychologists] have helped veterans and in some cases people who simply claimed to be veterans make hundreds of thousands of PTSD injury claims in what military records fraud expert B.G. Burkett calls "by far the largest collection of military disability fraud cases in the history of the United States, all alleging PTSD."

Seventy percent of the disability claims presented to the Veterans Administration come through what is called "a membership representative," who often works for one of the veterans' lobbyist organizations and helps applicants with the difficult paperwork. One of the recent candidates for president of the Vietnam Veterans of America had to disqualify himself when it was revealed that he had admitted drawing up phony claims for disabilities by VVA members to the Veterans' Administration.

Since a 100% disability payment for PTSD can be worth more than $30,000 a year for life, it is not surprising that a high percentage of veterans working for the VA also receive payments for PTSD themselves. It also makes the grantee eligible for a 50% disability payment under Social Security. Together they total over $40,000 a year, tax free and inflation-indexed.

The message, dated March 20 and titled ''Suggestion,'' said: ''Given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that we refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out. Consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder, R/O PTSD.'' R/O stands for ''rule out.''

''Additionally,'' it said, ''we really don't or have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD.''