America's Hidden Battlefield Toll

Guardian/Observer ^ | 9-14-03 | Jason Burke and Paul Harris

[Cathryn Crawford]

The first few paragraphs are tough to get through, but if you continue reading, the meat of the article is interesting.

[af_vet_rr]

I see how the Observer might be using it for liberal purposes, but the subject matter is valid. It does need to be discussed.

There are really two issues here.

1)It's not some big secret, like the media portrays it. The info is out there, both through Pentagon briefings and other sources - however being wounded is not as "glamorous" as being killed or captured, and so the media doesn't pay it any attention, except to report the overall number.

2)If people actually knew how many were wounded everyday, it may shut them up about Iraq being easy or that the war is over.

There are still people, even today, who think our troops have it easy in Iraq (and Afghanistan) - they don't realize that everyday, our troops are attacked somewhere in Iraq.

If you keep up on the news about the war, you'll see that 5-10 American soldiers are wounded every day, give or take half a dozen. We have patrols being attacked every single day, and one grenade can easily wound three or four of our troops alone.

The thing is, everytime we have troops attacked and wounded, our troops are giving more than they are getting. The Iraqi/outside terrorist bodycounts our troops are running up, while not publicized, is quite high.

[PatrioticCowboy]

I hope that we win soon in Iraq, cuz I fear the Rats wil win in 04

[Consort]

It does need to be discussed.

Then they will become political footballs and we will have contributed. They don't deserve that.

[Brian Allen]

<< .... the weapons of choice of the "Iraqi resistance fighters .... "

God forbid any one of the psychopathologically-hesperophobic and un-and-anti-American EURO-peon Neo-Soviet's squalidly-socialist-satellite-state's scribes should ever call a bloody terrorist a "bloody terrorist."

[PatrioticCowboy]

ping

[Alberta's Child]

I have no idea -- you might be right.

[atomic conspiracy]

"I want to know how many soldiers have been injured, personally. I don't know why we don't talk about them."

I don't either, but there is nothing hidden about these figures at all. They have been public knowledge right from the beginning. Al Guardian's own attributions do not justify their headline, which implies a cover-up, or their conclusions. Can anyone say "strawman"?

The statement "most Americans will be shocked by..." is another strawman, and clairvoyant authoritarianism as well, since Al Guardian has no rational basis for presuming to speak for "most Americans."

[SedVictaCatoni]

Note that they lie in the very first paragraph. "6000 evacuated for medical reasons," yet only "1500" actually hurt. The other 4500 could be anything from Section 8s to guys that got sunburns or dehydration, were given a day off and then sent right back.

Pregnancy.

[PatrioticCowboy]

They done the same thing in Rhodesia and Namibia and South Africa.

They called Mrxist terrorists "freedom fighters".

Even the main-line churches here in America gave agitprop help to them

[PatrioticCowboy]

Mrxist= Marxist

[Licensed-To-Carry]

And more Americans were killed in the 3 day battle of Gettysburg than were killed during the entire Vietnam war.

War is hell.

[I got the rope]

It may very well be leftist drivel, but it still needs discussed

Very well. War is terrible. Lots of people die fighting for us. But, soldiers know that they are saving countless others. We should be thankful, and all Brits should be thankful that they can go to bed tonight not speaking German.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I don't understand how this is liberal drivel.

I'll tell you why. They try to make this sound like we are being beaten and need to rethink the policy. At the rate of 44 a day, 5,874 Americans have been murdered since May 1, 2003. Like it or not, our losses in Iraq are low.

[PatrioticCowboy]

I hope you are right

[PatrioticCowboy]

The British press must be retarded

[bart99]

"A local volunteer group, called America's Heroes of Freedom, has set up on the base to provide them with fresh clothes, food packages and toiletries. 'This is our way of saying, "We have not forgotten you,"' said group founder Susan Brewer."

---

If I weren't in my 50s, I'd somehow be over there. I'm in the DC area. I guess the best I can do is volunteer with this group. Anyone have any email addys for Susan Brewer or the group??

[Prodigal Son]

It does need to be discussed.

Discuss away. Nobody's stopping you. What exactly would you like to discuss about it?