2,200 casualties: the true cost of UK's war in Iraq

[Snazzy]

2,200 casualties: the true cost of UK's war in Iraq

GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT


THE true scale of British casualties in Iraq is revealed today after the Ministry of Defence confirmed that more than 2,200 injured British military personnel have been flown home from the Gulf since the start of the campaign.

With the security situation in Iraq deteriorating, The Scotsman has learned that British forces are suffering about 50 combat injuries every month, and attacks on troops are taking place daily. Soldiers serving in Iraq say they have been told they cannot all expect to return home alive.

...

Since February last year a total of 2,228 injured British personnel have been flown home for treatment, a figure equivalent to three battalions. To put the figure in context, the entire Black Watch battle group in Iraq during the war amounted to 1,100 soldiers. About 60,000 British military personnel have served in Iraq during Operation Telic, with the death toll currently standing at 59.

But despite the mounting casualties, British forces are under pressure from US commanders to take on tough new roles.


....

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=461122004

[Snazzy]

1. US casualties from earlier AP

Number of U.S. Troops Hurt in Iraq Jumps
Sat Apr 24,12:23 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!


By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - The number of American troops wounded in Iraq soared in the past two weeks as the insurgency flared in south-central Iraq and in the Sunni Triangle north and west of Baghdad.

The Pentagon announced Friday in its weekly casualty report that 3,864 troops have been wounded in action since the war began in March 2003, an increase of 595 from two weeks earlier.

The U.S. military death toll as of Friday stood at 707, according to the Pentagon's count. At least 100 have been killed this month, the highest total for any month since the U.S.-led invasion began. Most deaths were in the early part of April; about 25 have died in the past two weeks.

The Pentagon on Friday announced the identity of the 100th service member to have died so far this month. He was Army Staff Sgt. Edward W. Carmen, 27, of McKeesport, Pa., who died April 17 in Baghdad when the driver of the tank he was in lost control and the tank rolled off a bridge.

....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=533&e=6&u=/ap/20040424/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_us_wounded

[oblivious]

2. There's a fair discrepancy in those numbers.

UK - 59 dead, 2200 injured <1:37>
US - 700 dead, 3864 injured <1:5.5>

Such a difference seems unlikely. Read several reports of 18,000 US troops having been evacuated because of injuries. That would be a 1:26 ratio, more in line with the UK figure. Can anyone enlighten me?

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. I agree, the number don't make sense

Then figure in the fact that the Brits have been stationed mostly around Basra, which has had less trouble then in other areas such as the Sunni Triangle and the US injured numbers should be even higher.

Seems to me, things are a lot worse than the DOD is admitting.


BTW: Welcome to DU.

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. Department of Death tell us the truth? right.

.
.
.

Heck they are so despicable they get a woman and her husband fired for a picture of the TRUTH.

I have definitely NO faith in "facts" coming out of the WH the DOD, the Pentagon or any of the USA administrative offices.

Sorry, but they earned my distrust.

[lapfog_1]

5. Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

I've also heard rumor (here in DU) that if a US soldier is wounded
and evacuated to a field hospital, and later dies of his or her
wounds, the Pentagon does NOT count that as a "killed in action",
so the death toll is likely 10 to 20 percent higher.

Don't trust the numbers.

[Zhade]

10. I'd say because the US is hated even more than the UK.

The UK is not nearly as brutal to Iraqis on a soldier-by-soldier basis.

That's my gut reaction, by the way - I could be wrong, but it's what I suspect.

[0007]

11. ......Wern't we told that after Saddam Hussein was captured we'd

see less attacks, and we could expect to see a peaceful Iraq?

[mulethree]

6. kick

[mulethree]

7. so about 25,000 american injuries?

These brits are about 8% of the coalition, and have about 8% of the casualties. So assuming that their injury rates are also proportional, then the US soldiers would have about 25,000 such injuries?

[truthisfreedom]

8. the laws of probability and statistics are pretty much unavoidable with

numbers this large. you are correct... there are likely 25,000 US casualties.

[mulethree]

9. as opposed to the official number at about 5,000

wounded + injured