Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

“Countdown until this is used in an attack ad.”

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he wasn’t concerned about reports of wretched conditions and possible suicide attempts by sailors aboard the USS Lincoln. He said their record-breaking deployment as part of his Iran War is “not nearly long enough.”

Earlier this week, military publications detailed deteriorating mental health aboard the ship, where about 5,000 sailors and Marines have been deployed for more than 260 days and have gone roughly 200 days without returning to port.

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Following earlier reports of food shortages, faulty plumbing, and grueling 12-16 hour workdays, the Military Times reported that multiple sailors have attempted to jump overboard.

The Navy has declined to say whether the incidents were suicide attempts and has said it has “not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship.”

Last week, more than 200 spouses and other family members met with senior Navy leaders in San Diego to raise concerns about conditions aboard the carrier, including sailors’ mental health and risks of suicide and self-harm, according to Stars and Stripes.

The Navy did not fully detail how it was responding to family members’ concerns, though it said the ship had counselors, chaplains, medical professionals, and other support services. Family members also said officials told them additional mental health personnel were being sent.

As Democrats pressed the Pentagon for answers and oversight into conditions on the Lincoln, Trump was asked about the complaints as he prepared to board Air Force One on Friday.

“The family members of US service members are concerned about the conditions on the USS Lincoln,” a reporter said.

“No, they’re not,” Trump interjected.

He noted that the ship was in the process of leaving its current Middle East deployment to be replaced with “a very similar ship,” referring to the USS George Washington.

“Has the deployment gone on too long?” the reporter asked.

“No, no, no,” Trump responded. “Not nearly long enough.”

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee immediately seized on the remark, portraying it as another instance of Trump displaying callous disregard for soldiers “abandoned in a pointless war.”

Trump has previously faced criticism for downplaying the harms Americans face as a result of his war in Iran. For those at home, he’s emphasized that he was not worried “even a little bit” about the war’s economic costs and has said it’s “not possible” to take care of funding for daycare, Medicare, and Medicaid because “we’re fighting wars.”

He’s also been accused of disrespecting those who suffered and died in combat by using a photo of himself attending a fallen soldier’s dignified transfer in a political fundraising email and by claiming that four slain soldiers had endorsed his rationale to attack Iran and that their loved ones had begged him to “finish the job.”

The administration has also been accused of underreporting the casualty numbers from the war, leading to calls for investigation from Democrats.

With midterm elections now less than three months away, Iran continues to be the least popular major war in modern history, with polls consistently showing that only around a third of Americans support it.

Responding to Trump’s remarks about soldiers suffering aboard the Lincoln, Brian Finucane, senior adviser for the International Crisis Group’s US program, said, “Countdown until this is used in an attack ad.”

Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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