Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 3, 2014

Fort Hood Shooting: What's Known About Combat Stress And Violence? -- Brad Knickerbocker, Christian Science Monitor

Fort Hood shooting suspect was being diagnosed for PTSD and claimed other mental health issues. The rates of suicide and domestic violence have increased during the years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, though it is unclear if an Iraq deployment played a role in this case.

War is a violent business, and sometimes soldiers troubled by what they’ve seen or done bring violence home with them, or they turn it on fellow soldiers in the war zone.

But the kind of violence that hit Fort Hood, Texas, Wednesday afternoon – a soldier attacking fellow soldiers before taking his own life – happens only infrequently. More typical are self-inflicted shootings or domestic violence following combat tours.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan lengthened into years, the rising incidence of suicide and attacks on family members increasingly has become tied to those wars’ signature mental-health injuries: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Russia’s big bet on Putinomics -- Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post

Is Vladimir Putin irrational? -- Leonid Volkov, CNN

Crimea: Too small to matter -- Nicholas Wapshott, Reuters

Syrian economy may take 30 years to recover, UN study says -- John Zarocostas, McClatchy

In Iran, age mellows some former captors of U.S. hostages -- Parisa Hafezi, Iran

4 Reasons Elections Won't Fix Afghanistan -- Michael Kugelman, The Diplomat

Afghanistan's election: Who's next after Karzai? -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

What if the Afghan elections actually work? -- Peter Bergen, CNN

The geopolitical pull of the South China Sea -- Robert W. Merry, Washington Times

On Syria, U.S. and U.N. are all talk and no action -- Washington Post editorial

John Kerry, Thwarted by the Middle East -- Jeffrey Goldberg, Bloomberg

ANALYSIS: Venice Activists Seek Independence Citing Huge Fiscal Robbery -- RIA Novosti

It is time to save the EU -- John Lloyd, Reuters

The Most Outrageous Lie in Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's New York Times Op-Ed -- Francisco Toro, New Republic

We’re Not No. 1! We’re Not No. 1! -- Nicholas Kristof, New York Times

Americans, weary of war on drugs, prefer rehab to jail, poll says -- Elizabeth Barber, Christian Science Monitor

Is a 1987-type market crash 37 days away? -- Matt Krantz, USA Today

Sotheby's? The best economic indicator you've never heard of -- Jeff Morganteen, CNBC