AP Photo

WITH its deafening explosions, searing fires, dismembered corpses and stench of death, war pushes everyone it touches to the brink. Most recover naturally. Some, though, suffer psychological injuries that do not heal. The names of these injuries have changed. Once they were known as shell-shock; then as battle fatigue; then as combat stress reaction. Now, the preferred term is post-traumatic stress disorder. But whatever they are called, they are worryingly common. About 17% of American troops returning from Iraq and 11% of those coming back from Afghanistan suffer from them.