Injury count in Iraq disputed

[sabra]

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/116997684835860.xml&coll=2

Injury count in Iraq disputed
Some say Pentagon hides full impact of the war toll
Stephen Koff
Plain Dealer Bureau Chief

Washington- Officially, more than 23,000 U.S. troops have been wounded in combat in Iraq. But more than double that number have fallen ill or been injured in what the Pentagon considers "nonhostile" action, a way of counting that critics say hides the war's full toll.

If the Pentagon also counted soldiers who were hurt in crashes or circumstances not directly involving skirmishes with the enemy, and those so sick that they required air transport, the figure would come to about 50,000, the Pentagon's own figures show.

Either figure represents a historically high injury rate for Americans in any war, although both also are testament to the fact that military medical care is better than ever and saves more lives. Even so, more than 3,000 American troops have died from wounds or injuries in Iraq, fighting a war that has dragged down President Bush's approval ratings, cost Republicans control of Congress and prompted anti-war demonstrations such as the one in Washington on Saturday.

But which figure of the wounded accurately reflects the war's human cost?

The Pentagon keeps records on all wounds, all injuries that require air transport and all cases of disease that likewise require medical transport by helicopter or plane. But when it gives figures on the number of soldiers "wounded in hostile action," it excludes the sick and those whose injuries weren't directly caused by bullets or bombs. That's how it gets the figure of 23,000-plus, a figure cited in most media reports.

To some, that's misleading.

"It doesn't make a difference whether you were hit by enemy fire or injured because your vehicle crashed, or got sick because of serving in a war zone," Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, said in a statement Friday. "The effects on the soldiers and their families are the same."

[williesgirl]

1. This needs to get out beyond Cleveland - recommended

[troubleinwinter]

2. Recommended.

[jelly]

3. The official number of injured always did seem a bit on the light side to me

in proportion to the number of dead. It all makes sense now.

[maddezmom]

4. K&R

:kick:

[leftchick]

5. that 23,000 figure

has not budged in a year. Only a moron would believe the pentagon on anything.

[knitter4democracy]

6. They wouldn't have gotten that sick if they weren't in Iraq.

What about that kid in the Walmart whose Hummer flipped over because of an explosion? He was wounded badly, and they're saying he can't have a purple heart because it was a rollover, not a battle or whatever. If he'd died, would they have counted him in those figures?

This kind of number crunching stinks.