Exposure of suppressed UK war casualty figures

[dipsydoodle]

Channel 4 UK tonight - program still running. Ministry of Defence have suppressed the true figiures.

With thousands of British troops now being sent to Afghanistan, Dispatches investigates whether the British army is losing the battle at home. Andrew Gilligan discovers disturbing new evidence of how wounded Iraq veterans are being abandoned, how army recruitment has collapsed and the lengths to which the Ministry of Defence has gone to prevent the full story emerging. Badly injured Iraq veterans recount shocking stories of neglect and the parents of a soldier killed earlier this year explain how their son’s death has prompted his friends to sign out of the Army. In his first ever interview, the Chairman of the British Armed Forces Federation, tells Gilligan how his new, grass-roots organisation was formed in response to servicemen’s escalating woes.

cont.

http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/D/dispatches2006/index.html

Program details how the general constant of fatalies : wounded which should be c. 6:1
is suppressed by exclusion of British troops treated at US field hospitals etc. Pentagon equivalent figures for US troups are regarded as being accurates

[Benbow]

1. Am watching the webchat - MOD complained 10 minutes into the programme

"Andrew Gilligan: Hi everyone, it's Andrew Gilligan here. I hope you enjoyed the programme the MOD has complained about it already. In fact they complained about it within 10 minutes of it starting."

http://www.channel4.com/community/c4chat/

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. I watched it - it made me so angry

They send the volunteer soldiers (who volunteered to defend the UK, not invade other countries) to war, and then they can't be bothered to arrange proper medical care after it, lie about the figures (did Hoon lie to Parliament in his written answer? In former times, he might have to resign. Balir won't give a shit, though), and threaten the soldiers who are speaking out about it. The government is trying to have a war on the cheap - with soldiers' lives devastated as a result.