Guardian: America's Hidden Battlefield Toll (new figures)

[kskiska]

New figures reveal the true number of GIs wounded in Iraq


The true scale of American casualties in Iraq is revealed today by new figures obtained by The Observer, which show that more than 6,000 American servicemen have been evacuated for medical reasons since the beginning of the war, including more than 1,500 American soldiers who have been wounded, many seriously.

The figures will shock many Americans, who believe that casualties in the war in Iraq have been relatively light. Recent polls show that support for President George Bush and his administration's policy in Iraq has been slipping.

The number of casualties will also increase pressure on Bush to share the burden of occupying Iraq with more nations. Attempts to broker an international alliance to pour more men and money into Iraq foundered yesterday when Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, brusquely rejected a French proposal as 'totally unrealistic'.

Three US soldiers were killed last week, bringing the number of combat dead since hostilities in Iraq were declared officially over on 1 May to 68. A similar number have died in accidents. It is military police policy to announce that a soldier has been wounded only if they were involved in an incident that involved a death.

Critics of the policy say it hides the true extent of the casualties. The new figures reveal that 1,178 American soldiers have been wounded in combat operations since the war began on 20 March.

more…
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1041722,00.html

[SharonAnn]

1. Hmnm, they bring home to Andrews "every night"

not "every day". Very interesting timing, isn't it.

Do they think no one will notice?

[NNN0LHI]

2. Wouldn't make no difference if a Dem were president right now

Fox news would have a camera crew stationed at Andrews staffed round the clock 24/7 and we would see every single one of them. They would be making damn sure we noticed. That is the truth.

Don

[sfwriter]

10. I remember them doing this...

Around our actions in Hati.

I also remember Bush saying he would avoid this sort of nation building and running against just this sort of thing.

-Sandy

[E_Zapata]

6. What time of day would they have to leave the ME to arrive in the night?

That is the telling thing.

It is about 22 hours flying time from the Gulf to the US East coast.

So, they must be leaving in the middle of the night from the ME. Now, how good is that for a bunch of wounded men? Let them rest all day and then when they should be sleeping, they are hauled onto a plane for a long flight.

Every single aspect of this presidency, this war, everything is just really disgustingly corrupt and evil.

[JCMach1]

11. Flights from the ME typically arrive at night

Sorry, just a fact.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

18. these flights are from germany

which normally arrive in daylight on the east coast. these planes are loaded at night in germany and arrive at night here so no one can see what's happening.

[Rollins]

3. When is this liberal press going to back off and stop aiding the enemy?

Oh wait, me bad, they already have. :(

Much of the mainstream press live in the same fragile beltway as the politicians in DC, patting each other on the back and ignoring the information that is out of their safe zone such as the high number of people who have gotten hurt in the Iraq invasion.

[kayell]

22. It is wise to remember what the bushies innocuous word "hurt" means

lost legs, lost feet, hands, arms, eyes, paraplegics, wheelchairs and colonoscopy bags, a lifetime of pain and disability, marraiges gone, girlfriends gone, plans for the future often gone.

[saigon68]

4. THIS IS TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS

What the fuck is going on here?

Why is this secret?

Is there no one with any courage to leak and expose this crime to the public?

[BeHereNow]

5. Now, now...

THAT would be unpatriotic.
I am being sarcastic of course...
God help us all.
BHN

[saigon68]

16. I Know

I am E-Mailing every outrage I see to my closest friends, most thought I was crazy in the beginning.

Almost all now, are starting to get outraged.

Especially with the Chimpanzee's call for $87 Billion more for this Cluster Fuck.


(edited to correct the spelling of CHIMPANZEE)

[dutchdemocrat]

8. There are lots of secrets.

http://smokingcannon.blogspot.com/

You know only what you can find.

[Zo Zig]

7. Need a GDI to get pictures of this at Andrews

God Dam Independent to take some film and get it on a local channel in the country somewhere. Maybe than a national will pick it up.

[Voltaire99]

9. Many of the amputees ask for Andrew Sullivan and Ann Coulter tattoos.

It's a way of thanking the big neocon sponsors of the war.

"Just put it on the underside of the stump."

[Newsjock]

12. Very similar to recent Washington Post story

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12096-2003Sep1.html

By Vernon Loeb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 2, 2003; Page A01

U.S. battlefield casualties in Iraq are increasing dramatically in the face of continued attacks by remnants of Saddam Hussein's military and other forces, with almost 10 American troops a day now being officially declared "wounded in action."

The number of those wounded in action, which totals 1,124 since the war began in March, has grown so large, and attacks have become so commonplace, that U.S. Central Command usually issues news releases listing injuries only when the attacks kill one or more troops. The result is that many injuries go unreported.

The rising number and quickening pace of soldiers being wounded on the battlefield have been overshadowed by the number of troops killed since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations May 1. But alongside those Americans killed in action, an even greater toll of battlefield wounded continues unabated, with an increasing number being injured through small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, remote-controlled mines and what the Pentagon refers to as "improvised explosive devices."

Indeed, the number of troops wounded in action in Iraq is now more than twice that of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. The total increased more than 35 percent in August -- with an average of almost 10 troops a day injured last month.

more

Now, the REAL question to ask -- even with this getting A1 treatment in the WashPost -- why aren't more people getting angry about this? And where's the rest of the media on this?

[screembloodymurder]

13. Bush may be on TV soon

UN won't help, we're tired of carrying the ball, US pulling out.

[Zech Marquis]

14. a friend of mine

just happens to be an Air Force nurse who was training for medeevac flight missions back in March or so. To show you how serious the situation is, she hasn't been home since late March...:( And you KNOW she's seeing all of the terrible wounded GIs coming back...I can only hope she's doing ok, being a witness to all that suffering.

[LizW]

15. What are the medical reasons for the other 4,500?

For every soldier wounded and sent home, there are three evacuated home for other medical reasons. That should tell us something about the horrible conditions our soldiers are experiencing.

[Gin]

17. Our bodies can't handle being on "High Alert" for an extended period of

time withour breaking down....the toll takes on the form of illness....and when they come home.(if they come home) ..mental illness. I fear for the families too. God help all of us.

[alfredo]

19. PTSD will ensure more disgruntled employees

shooting up homes and businesses. Many of those reservist will come home only to find their jobs gone.

I was in MI for my hitch, high alert 24/7 does wear on you. Scotch, bourbon, and weed helped. Doing it before work helped more.

[donsu]

20. "over 6,000" - 6,000!!!! that's a lot of sick people

how can we find out the breakdown of the "over 6,000" woundings (of mind and or body). somebody must know.

I understand from other articles that the ones that don't need immediate treatment are sent to their home base area.

If the reporters won't touch this story we will have to investigate and report ourselves. be our own reporters. the families of these wounded surely know what happened.

(edited spelling)

[catmandu57]

21. Add one more kia and three wia

that was reported today, 293 kia, plus over 6000 wia and every one of these people will have ptsd to some degree.

[VolcanoJen]

23. Kick

:dem:

[papau]

24. Last US Media was Wash Post Sept 3 on wounded - WHY?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12096-2003Sep1.html

Number of Wounded in Action on Rise Iraq Toll Reflects Medical Advances, Resistance Troops Face By Vernon Loeb
Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, September 2, 2003; Page A01


U.S. battlefield casualties in Iraq are increasing dramatically in the face of continued attacks by remnants of Saddam Hussein's military and other forces, with almost 10 American troops a day now being officially declared "wounded in action." The number of those wounded in action, which totals 1,124 since the war began in March, has grown so large, and attacks have become so commonplace, that U.S. Central Command usually issues news releases listing injuries only when the attacks kill one or more troops. The result is that many injuries go unreported.The rising number and quickening pace of soldiers being wounded on the battlefield have been overshadowed by the number of troops killed since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations May 1. But alongside those Americans killed in action, an even greater toll of battlefield wounded continues unabated, with an increasing number being injured through small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, remote-controlled mines and what the Pentagon refers to as "improvised explosive devices."Indeed, the number of troops wounded in action in Iraq is now more than twice that of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. The total increased more than 35 percent in August -- with an average of almost 10 troops a day injured last month.



Fifty-five Americans were wounded in action last week alone, pushing the number of troops wounded in action since May 1 beyond the number wounded during peak fighting. From March 19 to April 30, 550 U.S. troops were wounded in action in Iraq. Since May 1, the number totals 574. The number of troops killed in Iraq since the beginning of May already has surpassed the total killed during the height of the war. <snip>

Although Central Command keeps a running total of the wounded, it releases the number only when asked -- making the combat injuries of U.S. troops in Iraq one of the untold stories of the war.With no fanfare and almost no public notice, giant C-17 transport jets arrive virtually every night at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, on medical evacuation missions. Since the war began, more than 6,000 service members have been flown back to the United States. The number includes the 1,124 wounded in action, 301 who received non-hostile injuries in vehicle accidents and other mishaps, and thousands who became physically or mentally ill."Our nation doesn't know that," said Susan Brewer, president and founder of America's Heroes of Freedom, a nonprofit organization that collects clothing and other personal items for the returning troops. "Sort of out of sight and out of mind." <snip>

[Laughing Mirror]

25. i'm standing by here, waiting to see Americans "shocked"

by these numbers of wounded and dead, not only of our own people but of the people we attacked

until these figures are pounded into peoples' heads with the same regularity as the constant hammering of lyrical lies about weapons of mass destruction and Sadaam Hussein and terrorists and wars on terrrorism, then most people will just see these numbers as abstractions, and not give them much thought

others have the ready response that those lives and deaths are the cost of freedom

and when are we going to stop going along with "war" on Iraq, when it was an attack on Iraq