To Die For?

Just another reason to end the occupation in Iraq as soon as possible:

Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time of the Persian Gulf War.

Granted, it is not the fighting itself, but the fighting does add to an already heavy load:

Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to commit suicide, according to the report.

"In addition, there was a significant relationship between suicide attempts and number of days deployed" in Iraq, Afghanistan or nearby countries where troops are participating in the war effort, it said. The same pattern seemed to hold true for those who not only attempted, but succeeded in killing themselves.

And then there's also the method of suicide to consider:

Firearms were the most common method of suicide. Those who attempted suicide but didn't succeed tended more often to take overdoses and cut themselves.

So here's a question: with so many troops dying, being injured to the point that they can no longer fight and committing suicide at such a high rate, how long can an all-volunteer army last before there's a serious discussion about re-instituting the draft? Or is that something the next president has to worry about?