US War Casualties Pass 100,000

US military occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan under Commander-in-Chief Obama suffered 135 combat casualties during the 9 days ending December 2, as the official total rose to at least 100,003 casualties.

The total includes 77,319 casualties since the US invaded Iraq in March, 2003 to December 2, 2010 {Operations "Iraqi Freedom" and "New Dawn") and 22,684 in the Afghanistan theater (Operation "Enduring Freedom') since the US invaded Afghanistan in October, 2001 to Dec 2, 2010.

IRAQ:

US military occupation forces in Iraq suffered eleven combat casualties during the nine days ending Dec.2, and the official total stood at least 77,319 including 35,495 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and more than 41,824 dead and medically evacuated (as of Nov. 10) from "non-hostile" causes.*

AFGHAN THEATER:

US military occupation forces in Afghanistan theater suffered 124 combat casualties during the nine days ending Dec. 2, as the official total rose to 22,684. That includes 10,670 dead and wounded from "hostile" causes and more than 12,014 (as of Nov. 10) dead and medically evaculated from "non-hostile" causes.

The Pentagon chooses not to count as "casualties" veterans whose injuries -- mainly brain trauma from explosions and PTSD -- were diagnosed only after they had left the theaters of combat.**

US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by occasionally reporting only those killed (5,836: 4,432 in Iraq and 1,404 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning the 41,583 wounded in combat (32,000 in Iraq, 9,583 in Afghanistan).

To further minimize public perception of the cost, they cover for the Pentagon by ignoring the 52,156 (40,459 in Iraq, 11,697 in Afghanistan as of Nov 10)*** military victims of accidents and illness serious enough to require medical air evacuation, although the 5,836 reported deaths include 1,254 (937 in Iraq and 317 in Afghanistan) who died from those same causes, including at least 18 from faulty electrical work by KBR in Iraq and 260 suicides (215 in Iraq; 45 in Afghanistan through Nov. 10).

• The number of wounded is usually updated weekly on Tuesday by the Pentagon at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf


• New York Times, Jan 26, 2009


• the number of "non combat" injured is usually reported monthly by the Pentagon at
  http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm

ENDS


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