Reply #17: And yet, the numbers we see belie such speculation. . .

[Journeyman]

Army rate down first by three-quarters, then to a half of pre-attack rates. Air Force numbers neglible no matter which year you look. Navy unavailable. And Marines seem to hold steady in the first three years of Bush mis-use. To have a "sense" that the numbers are rising based on how you see the war progressing is hardly an objective assessment of potential conduct by men under arms in a volunteer force. I imagine they very well are rising, but its all idle speculation without better data. What we can see are numbers that put the 9000 figure in a less alarming light.

You are of course aware that government statistics for a preceding year will be slow to be released, no matter the political agenda or ultimate picture they'll paint. Nature of a bureaucracy.