Here's today's Elephant in the Corner news story.

[ClusterFreak]

It's 205 thousand injured soldiers, not 23 thousand.

I thought this was a huge story.

Apparently not.

I mean, if it were, then we'd be hearing all about it today on all the cable news channels and such.

:sarcasm:

[NV Whino]

1. Got a link for that?

[Ian David]

4. Here you go

Agency Says Higher Casualty Total Was Posted in Error

By DENISE GRADY
Published: January 30, 2007

For the last few months, anyone who consulted the Veterans Affairs Department’s Web site to learn how many American troops had been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan would have found this number: 50,508.

But on Jan. 10, without explanation, the figure plummeted to 21,649.

Which number is correct? The answer depends on a larger question, the definition of wounded. If the term includes combat or “hostile” injuries inflicted by the enemy, the definition the Pentagon uses, the smaller number would be right.

But if it also applies to injuries from accidents like vehicle crashes and to mental and physical illnesses that developed in the war zone, the meaning that veterans’ groups favor, 50,508 would be accurate.

<snip>

About 1.4 million troops have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, and more than 205,000 have sought care from the veterans’ agency, according to the government. Of those, more than 73,000 sought treatment for mental problems like post-traumatic stress disorder.

No one disputes that more 50,000 troops have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan or that nonhostile injuries can be serious. Of the more than 3,000 deaths that have occurred, 600 have been listed as nonhostile.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/us/30wound.html?ex=1172811600&en=59da1549fdfde8cd&ei=5070
http://www.bugmenot.com/view/www.nytimes.com


Thousands of Veterans Are Returning From War With Traumatic Brain Injuries

Feb. 28, 2007 — Jarod Behee was shot in the head in Iraq. He survived, but is still suffering from the aftereffects of a traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that Behee is one of several thousand veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with some kind of mental disorder or brain injury, but veterans advocacy groups place that number even higher.

<snip>

"What you have are two sets of books," said Paul Sullivan, a spokesman for Veterans for America.

"The Department Of Defense saying that there's 23,000 wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Department Of Veterans Affairs is actually treating 205,000 veterans from these two wars," Sullivan said.

The VA contends that the 205,000 is for treating all veterans, including the standard care that returning soldiers are allowed to receive for life.

However, by its estimates, 73,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered from some kind of brain injury or mental disorder.

It is an unforeseen cost of war that has overburdened the VA system, according to recent reports in Newsweek and congressional hearings on the subject. Veterans seeking treatment face red tape, weeks of waiting, and often to have to pay for outside experts in order to have their disability claims processed.

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2910973&page=1

[ClusterFreak]

5. Sure...

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2909129

Click on the above, and then click on "The Human Cost of War" when you get to the page.

[Ian David]

2. The Republickers have a good reason for this.

Out of the 205,000 injured veterans, it's only the 23,000 who still support the Republickkk Party who are considered Real 'Murkians.

The other 182,000 are considered "enemy combatants" who have been "brainwashed by IEDs" to hate 'Murkika, so they're being kept in places like Building 18 in Abu GhReed.

:sarcasm:

[On the Road]

3. 3,000 Fatalities, 200,000 Casualties Does Not Compute

It's generally about a 1-to-10 ratio. If those numbers are accurate, they must be casting a broader net than combat statistics usually do.