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Benchmark: US Casualties Stay High
Post Chronicle ^ | mar 23, 2006 | Martin Sieff

Posted on 03/23/2006 9:16:51 AM PST by centurion316

Over the past month, the average rate at which U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq has significantly fallen, the but the rates at which they are being wounded have dramatically increased.

U.S. mainstream media reports have focused only on the numbers being killed. But over the past eight months, we have repeatedly emphasized in this column that the far larger numbers of U.S. troops wounded, especially those wounded too seriously to return to active duty, represent a far broader and more statistically significant figure of the scale of insurgent activity and the degree to which it is succeeding or failing to inflict significant casualties on U.S. forces.

(Excerpt) Read more at postchronicle.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: casualities; gwot; iraq; media
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Don't ever say that being a loyal media zealot isn't a tough job. As of today, the death rate for US Forces in Iraq for the month of March is .096, the lowest rate since February, 2004. 22 have died this month, 19 due to hostile action. This fact was the subject of a front page story in USA Today this week.

However, when you are a dedicated member of the MSM, determined to bring defeat to the United States and its military, you have to dig deep. Your day is never done. You are required to gather data and information. Twist it in clever and unique ways. Distort, lie, deceive. Whatever it takes, after all the stakes are high and the danger that the United States might succeed is very real.

Thank goodness there are men such as Martin Sieff willing to go the extra mile to help mold public opinion and influence weak-kneed politicians. He will certainly go down in history along with his comrades of an earlier era who did so much to bring Communist victory in Southeast Asia.

/Sarcasm Off/

1 posted on 03/23/2006 9:16:55 AM PST by centurion316
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To: centurion316

We don't talk about wounded here on FR.


2 posted on 03/23/2006 9:19:18 AM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: stuartcr
We don't talk about wounded here on FR.

Would you care to revise and extend your remarks, sir?
3 posted on 03/23/2006 9:21:19 AM PST by A Balrog of Morgoth (With fire, sword, and stinging whip I drive the RINOs in terror before me.)
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To: centurion316
As of today, the death rate for US Forces in Iraq for the month of March is .096, the lowest rate since February, 2004. 22 have died this month, 19 due to hostile action.

I hate to see any of our service men and women injured or killed.

But more Americans are killed in a typical month in Chicago.

4 posted on 03/23/2006 9:22:09 AM PST by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: stuartcr

"We don't talk about wounded here on FR."

Who says, Orwell?


5 posted on 03/23/2006 9:24:54 AM PST by Tulsa Ramjet ("If not now, when?")
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To: centurion316

Of course, when the number of wounded drop, the MSM can always turn to the polls - they can ask soldiers if they'd rather be home or in Iraq - followed by selected stories of the hardships that their families face at home while their loved one is fighting in Iraq.


6 posted on 03/23/2006 9:24:56 AM PST by kidd
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To: A Balrog of Morgoth

Nope, suffice it to say, that we do not say much about the seriously wounded that cannot return to duty, here on FR. This is a subject, that has very little reliable data available on the number of seriously wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. There have been few threads that discuss this.


7 posted on 03/23/2006 9:29:44 AM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

There have not been many threads here on FR, that talk about the number of seriously wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, compared to other discussions about the WOT.


8 posted on 03/23/2006 9:31:34 AM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: centurion316

US Wounded by Week

Period

Wnd-RTD

Wounded

2003

115

426

2004

4565

4875

2005

3946

2228

01-01-2006 thru 04-Jan-06

121

53

05-Jan-06 thru 11-Jan-06

65

26

12-Jan-06 thru 18-Jan-06

35

17

19-Jan-06 thru 25-Jan-06

42

34

26-Jan-06 thru 01-Feb-06

34

24

02-Feb-06 thru 08-Feb-06

24

23

09-Feb-06 thru 15-Feb-06

60

29

16-Feb-06 thru 23-Feb-06

40

42

24-Feb-06 thru 01-Mar-06

54

28

02-Mar-06 thru 08-Mar-06

44

54

09-Mar-06 thru 15-Mar-06

67

53

16-Mar-06 thru 22-Mar-06

96

49

Total

9308

7961

Wnd-RTD: Wounded in Action Return to Duty within 72 hours

 

Wnd: Wounded in Action Not Return to Duty within 72 hours

 

Totals updated weekly by the DoD

 

From: here
9 posted on 03/23/2006 9:39:17 AM PST by bnelson44 (Proud parent of a tanker! (Charlie Mike, son))
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To: stuartcr

"There have not been many threads here on FR, that talk about the number of seriously wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, compared to other discussions about the WOT."

In that light, I think your post could have been taken in the wrong way. As a vet myself, I WANT to know how many wounded there are, and what problems they are having in getting appropriate care. There is a tendency to make our young go to war, and then leave an inadequate safety net to handle the issues, once all the parades are done, and the streets are swept. I've heard some incidences of bureacratic foul-ups, but not symptomatic problems. The conservatives need the disabled vets on their side when duty calls again.


10 posted on 03/23/2006 9:41:22 AM PST by Tulsa Ramjet ("If not now, when?")
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To: stuartcr
"This is a subject, that has very little reliable data available on the number of seriously wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan."

I'm not really sure what your point is here, but check out post 9. There is in fact, reliable information regarding the number of injured, and I've read many articles discussing wounded US troops in Iraq on FreeRepublic. If you are trying to imply the subject is swept under the rug, you are wrong.

11 posted on 03/23/2006 9:44:31 AM PST by Rokke
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To: bnelson44

Thanks, track it every day, mostly on the classified side - its part of my job.


12 posted on 03/23/2006 9:46:04 AM PST by centurion316 (Democrats - Al Qaida's Best Friends)
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To: bnelson44
Actually, there have been several discussions here on FR about the wounded in Iraq. One I recall is from discussion about the Ted Rall cartoon featuring a quadruple amputee.

I learned a statistic there that I found rather surprising -
The number of Americans who have lost arms or legs has been pretty low....

"Among the more than 16,653 Americans wounded in Iraq are 387 amputees, including 62 who, like Corporal Beyers, have lost more than one limb".


This quote comes from a NYT article dated 12th February 2006. As usual, it appears that the Times statistics are a bit out of date as they're about 600 short of the total shown by the DoD (16,653 vs. 17,269). However using their numbers Injuries causing lost limbs are only 2.3% of the wounded.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/national/12WOUNDED.html?ex=1297400400&en=476fb31d9ac9e01e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
13 posted on 03/23/2006 9:51:51 AM PST by lOKKI (You can ignore reality until it bites you in the ass.)
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To: stuartcr

If, as you write, there is very little reliable data available on the number of seriously wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, then why would expect anything more then a few threads?

As you are obviously concerned about this, what effort have you made to find reliable numbers and present them for discussion here?


14 posted on 03/23/2006 9:56:36 AM PST by A Balrog of Morgoth (With fire, sword, and stinging whip I drive the RINOs in terror before me.)
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To: centurion316

Is it Chronic or Chronicle?


15 posted on 03/23/2006 9:57:21 AM PST by Cenobite (Can't spell unethical without the U.N.)
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

I too am concerned for those returning. I think this is an important subject. The death rate has dropped, and is low, I think, due to our excellent medical teams and facilities. When someone is wounded, and cannot return to duty, the enemy has effectively killed that person, as far as taking them out the action goes.


16 posted on 03/23/2006 9:57:31 AM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: stuartcr

Apparently, very little effort was expended on your part.

See Post #9.


17 posted on 03/23/2006 9:58:44 AM PST by A Balrog of Morgoth (With fire, sword, and stinging whip I drive the RINOs in terror before me.)
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To: Rokke

Today, yes, but I haven't read many articles about the wounded, compared to the number about KIA, and other WOT topics.


18 posted on 03/23/2006 10:02:31 AM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: centurion316
The results are very low for this month.

However, I am somewhat confused over your count of 22 KIAs.

When I went over to CENTCOM and did my count I did not get 22 KIA in Iraq.

I believe I counted only 14. And 13 of the 14 were KIA while 1 was due to non hostile fire.

There were 4 other KIAs but they were KIA in Afganistan on March 12, 2006.

Here's my source

19 posted on 03/23/2006 10:02:49 AM PST by hawkaw
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To: centurion316

It is likely the number of casualties will become the second lowest month since the beginning of Iraq War, if the rate for this month is at this pace. This writer ignores the causalties of US service members for March.


20 posted on 03/23/2006 10:03:52 AM PST by Wiz (Nightmare of the Information Warfare)
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