Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The cost of war
The cost of the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan has been staggering to the peoples of those countries. But it's also a lot higher to Americans than most people think, or that the government and the politicians and the media would like you to know about:
The Pentagon officially reported 72,043 battlefield casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan through Jan. 5, 2008. In addition, VA hospitals and clinics have treated 263,909 unplanned patients from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. On top of that, VA reported 245,034 disability claims from veterans of the two wars.The 72,043 breaks down like this (valid through Jan. 5, 2008):
| Category | Afghanistan | Iraq | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 471 | 3,901 | 4,372 |
| Wounded, Injured, Ill | 8,264 | 59,407 | 67,671 |
| Total Casualties | 8,735 | 63,308 | 72,043 |
Readers know from my many posts that these numbers don't even include all Americans, only uniformed ones, and also don't include other members of the "coalition" - British, Italians, and so on.
