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The Straight Story

(48,121 posts)
Fri Jan 6, 2012, 11:28 AM Jan 2012

Number of Americans Wounded in Iraq is Obscured by Fog of War…and Peace

Number of Americans Wounded in Iraq is Obscured by Fog of War…and Peace

Most Americans simply don’t want to think about the Iraq War anymore. But that is not an option for hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families.

Exactly how many U.S. troops died in Iraq is pretty well established: 4,487 dead. But determining how many U.S. personnel were wounded in the war and during the prolonged occupation that followed is much more uncertain.

The Department of Defense says 32,226 were hurt. But this total only includes soldiers who sustained combat-related wounds from an “external agent or cause” (i.e. getting shot or hit with shrapnel).

...

For instance, a RAND study three years ago estimated that 14% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans tested positive for PTSD, 14% for major depression and 19% for possible traumatic brain injury. Using those percentages against the 1.5 million who served in Iraq, Froomkin estimated that 200,000 could have PTSD or major depression and 285,000 may suffer from serious brain injuries.

http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Number_of_Americans_Wounded_in_Iraq_is_Obscured_by_Fog_of_War__and_Peace

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Number of Americans Wounded in Iraq is Obscured by Fog of War…and Peace (Original Post) The Straight Story Jan 2012 OP
they will be little blips in the news riverwalker Jan 2012 #1

riverwalker

(8,694 posts)
1. they will be little blips in the news
Fri Jan 6, 2012, 12:16 PM
Jan 2012

and soon forgotten. Like vet Ben Barnes, frozen to death alone in a creek in a T shirt and one shoe, chased by hounds after his delusion and psychosis led him to murder an innocent ranger.
If you allow yourself to think too much about it, it is the perfect metaphor for Bush's war and all it's victims.

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