also debunked with stats here:
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1200191106.shtml
What is so much incredibly worse about this story, however, is not the bias and not the predetermined outcome. Its the blatant disregard for the facts, which fly in the face of this story and destroy the myth of US soldier as war-haunted homicidal maniac.
From the October 1, 2001 start of the Afghanistan war, thats about 26,000 troops/month. To date (Jan 2008) that would give about 1.99 million.
That means that the NY Times 121 murders represent about a 7.08/100,000 rate.
Now the numbers on deployed troops are probably high - fewer troops from 2001 - 2003; Id love a better number if someone has it.
But for initial purposes, lets call the rate 10/100,000, about 40% higher than the calculated one.
Now, how does that compare with the population as a whole?
Turning to the DoJ statistics, we see that the US offender rate for homicide in the 18 - 24 yo range is 26.5/100,000.For 25 - 34, its 13.5/100,000.
In other words, the homicide rate for returning military personnel is dramatically lower one-half to less than one-third as much as the general population. The entire thesis of the story is not only false but portrays the exact opposite of the truth!
Look for more of the blatant disregard of the facts should a liberal, Democrat or Republican, win the Presidency. We see the lack of common sense so much, it is becoming the norm.