SAN FRANCISCO, California, Jan 3 (IPS) - On New Year's Eve, the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq passed 3,000. By Tuesday, the death toll had reached 3,004 -- 31 more than died in the Sep. 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
But the number of injured has far outstripped the dead, with the Veterans Administration reporting that more than 150,000 veterans of the Iraq war are receiving disability benefits.
Read that again. "...more than 150,000 veterans of the Iraq war are receiving disability benefits."
And here's one of the answers to those morons who seem to feel 3,000 deaths is no big deal compared to the numbers killed at Antietam or in Normandy or on Iwo. In the Civil War nearly every soldier seriously wounded died. In WWII deaths from wounds were far more common than they are today. Even through the Vietnam era an explosion violent enough to tear off an arm or leg usually, if not always, resulted in death. But since the introduction of body armor - and better medical practices - that's no longer the case. Body armor saves lives. And that's good. But it in no way negates the cost.
"I walk into the operating room and the general surgeons are doing their work and there is the body of this Navy SEAL, which is a physical specimen to behold," he told IPS. "And his abdomen is open, they're exploring both intestines. He's missing both legs below the knee, one arm is blown off, he's got incisions on his thighs to relieve the pressure on the parts of the legs that are hopefully gonna survive and there's genital injuries, and you just want to cry."
Support the troops. Bring them home. Don't send more.
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