Distorted Iraq Numbers

I keep a list of stories that catch my eye but that I don't have time to get to right away. This one has been in my list for way too long. It's from Mudville Gazette back on Veteran's Day.

Greyhawk's post is about the Big Lie that the MSM likes to repeat. He quotes the London Telegraph:

Two and a half years after the fall of Saddam Hussein the Iraq war is proving no exception. While much was made of the US death toll recently reaching 2,000, little has been said of the 15,000 who have returned home mutilated.

And then Greyhawk refutes the two lies: 1) that there have been 15,000 mutilated soldiers, and 2) that they have been ignored.

Over half of the 15,000 wounded in Iraq (8,227 to be exact) returned to duty within 72 hours. That hardly qualifies as "mutilated." Or "returned home."

Greyhawk states:

Since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2,791 soldiers have been wounded in action seriously enough to require evac to Army medical facilities. (Note: this figure does not include other branches of service.)

These would be the "returned home" figures.

The military casualty reports for amputees include this figure: "Total of 280 service member amputees treated in Army hospitals." This count is for all branches of the military treated at Army hospitals.

As for the implication that we have forgotten the wounded, Greyhawk includes a link to the Valor It project at SoldiersAngels, which is helping to get modified computers for the amputees who can't use a normal keyboard anymore. Our soldiers are not forgotten. Feel free to contribute.

The local papers here in Southern California have just reported that Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Expeditionary Force will be deployed in two 7-month stretches soon, replacing Camp Lejeune's 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in the al-Anbar province. Al-Anbar is one of the provinces where most of the hostile action is happening.

As our military forces head over to Iraq, and as other forces return home, they all deserve accuracy in the reporting of what they do. They deserve not to have casualty counts distorted and used as attacks against their mission in Iraq.

The next time people quote casualty figures to you as justification for pulling out of Iraq, ask them for their sources, and if it's the MSM, ask them for the details. Don't expect the MSM to get it right. On Iraq, they rarely do.