Wednesday, November 29, 2006

American Casualties in Iraq Undercounted?

Daniel Nichols at Caelum et Terra recounts a conversation with a fellow parishoner, an Army combat medic just back from Iraq:
He confirmed what I had heard, that the official numbers of American dead are far too low, that if someone is wounded in Iraq but dies in a hospital in Germany, he is only counted as wounded and not as a battlefield death.

I hadn't thought about this before, but media reports are careful to specify "combat deaths" when statistics are involved. Nothing about later deaths from wounds, not to mention accidents, other medical deaths, and suicides.

Is there a watchdog group compiling more truthful statistics?

May they rest in peace.

No comments: