How many US Troops have been killed and injured in the Iraq War?I'm betting that you're wrong. Way, way wrong.

The Figures Don't Lie, But Liars Figure.

NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reports on the number of wounded in Iraq. It's a number that is much higher than many think and also extremely difficult to come by. And of the close to 9,000 "wounded", few details are available concerning their injuries. Download a low-fi mp3 (5.2MB) or listen to the NPR archive (1GB+)

Is this just a commie-pinko-fag-junkie-left-wing-liberal-Ted Kennedy-kissing conspiracy to try to discredit our honest, hard-working, patriotic government? Maybe. But Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) found out that getting a real answer is hard to do. After weeks of research, Zwerdling and Hagel uncovered what is basically a wide-spread stonewalling effort.

Note: I first heard about this a few months ago, but no one seemed to be willing or able to put together the pieces of the puzzle. News cameras are never allowed to film or photograph the incoming caskets (OK, "transfer cases") at Dover AFB. Reporters and patients are carefully selected at Andrews AFB and at Walter Reed and other military hospitals. As a result, we get a very sanitized version of the dark side of the war news. Hmmmmm. Sound familiar? Ask any high school student who studied world literature or contemporary English literature.

Definition [for purposes of this discussion] - wounded (adj):
Injured or ill enough to require evacuation from Iraq.
If the soldier's wounds did not require evacuation from the country, then the soldier's injuries are not counted here. If a soldier's cough or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder did not require evacuation from the country, then the soldier's illness is not counted here. In other words, we're trying to count only the most serious casualties.

As of the date the report was filed (1st week of January 2004), the number of wounded was "over 8800". Add in the acknowledged combat deaths, and you're closing in on 10,000. Add in serious injuries that did not require evacuation... well, you get the idea.

Ask most people and you'll get a number far, far lower. That's not surprising. Consider this:

"There have been 589 confirmed coalition deaths, 497 Americans, 56 Britons, five Bulgarian, one Dane, 17 Italians, two Poles, eight Spaniards, two Thai and one Ukrainian, in the war as of January 8, 2004. The casualty list below reflects the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors whose families have been notified of their deaths. There also have been 2,815 Americans wounded in the war, according to the Pentagon. This list is updated regularly." -- CNN, 1/8/2004

Why is there such a discrepancy between the "official" numbers and the real numbers? If the Bush administration won't come clean, why won't the press dig harder?

I have a theory:
"A frog stuck in a well cannot know the ocean."
-- Japanese Proverb
"Some frogs are just more comfortable in the well; others want to be on the beach."
-- Damphyno©®


"What we're talking about is trust."
-- GW Bush, October 29, 2003