>>At some time, someone must have run the statistics on casualties resulting from accidental discharges vs. casualties from the bad guys.
That would seem a pretty big assumption. You know what they say about assumptions . . .
I doubt very seriously if there have been 9 casualties due to accidental discharge since the Afghan war began. OTOH we have 9 killed in one day due to deliberate discharge by a supposedly friendly terrorist. Add to that the 13 killed at Fort Hood, and I think you have a serious argument for giving our troops the right to bear arms.