Reversing a longstanding policy, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he will begin sending condolence letters to the families of members of the armed services who commit suicide while in combat zones because those troops have “served our nation bravely.”
Obama had been weighing a change in policy since December 2009 and had been urged to make the change by members of Congress and relatives of soldiers who have killed themselves. It goes into effect this week for any military suicides that take place in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat zones.
“This decision was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy, and I did not make it lightly,” Obama said in a statement. “This issue is emotional, painful and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely. They didn’t die because they were weak.”
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