BY ROHAN PEARCE
An investigation by the Washington Post's Vernon Loeb has revealed that the number of US troops in Iraq who are being officially classified "wounded in action" is around 10 per day. The number of soldiers injured by the Iraqi resistance has become so large, reported Loeb's September 2 article, "that US Central Command usually issues news releases listing injuries only when the attacks kill one or more troops". This means a large number of injuries go unreported.
According to Loeb, the number of wounded troops is now double the number in the 1991 Gulf War: "The total increased more than 35 per cent in August — with an average of almost 10 troops a day injured last month."
A September 14 Al Jazeera report explained that the casualties "have remained largely hidden, as it is military policy to announce that a soldier has been injured only if they were hurt in an incident that also involved a death".
An investigation conducted by the British Observer, published on September 14, reported that "more than 6000 American servicemen have been evacuated for medical reasons since the beginning of the war, including more than 1500 American soldiers who have been wounded, many seriously".
This is in addition to the 181 "coalition" troops who have died (as of September 18) since US President George Bush announced the end of "major combat operations" in Iraq at the beginning of May. This brings the total "coalition" deaths since the start of the war to 353 (according to the Iraq Coalition Casualties web site at <http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx>. However, as many as 7849 Iraq civilians have been killed as of September 10, according to the Iraq Body Count web site at <http://www.iraqbodycount.net/bodycount.htm>.)
These revelations are likely to add to the uneasiness of the US population at the growing toll the occupation is taking on US troops. A poll by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes, released on September 12, shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that the process of "rebuilding Iraq" is either "not going very well" (46%) or not going "at all well" (18%).
The public disciplining of soldiers who criticised the Pentagon's continual extensions of their tours of duty in Iraq earlier this year has not prevented troops telling reporters that they want to go home.
A speech to GIs by US war secretary Donald Rumsfeld, scheduled for September 5 in the northern Iraqi town of Tikrit, was cancelled, ostensibly due to a "tight schedule", reported the Reuters wire service. However interviews with troops revealed that the Pentagon may have been more worried about a PR blunder. The wire service reported that the top question on soldiers minds was, "When are we going home?"
"When the Armed Forces Network showed earlier footage of Rumsfeld saying that fresh US troops were unnecessary in Iraq, soldiers at the base threw their hands in the air and shouted 'No way' at the television", reported Reuters. "I ain't happy. No way am I happy seeing that. This tour is hard, real hard. It's too much. It should be six months", explained specialist Devon Pierce. "I don't give a damn about Rumsfeld. All I give a damn about is going home", commented a sergeant.
Back in the US, many military families feel the same. As 13-year-old Robin Ponton, whose father is stationed in Iraq, put it in a letter to members of Congress (available from the web site of Military Families Speak Out — <http://www.mfso.org>): "Many other children like myself, across our great nation, want their parents and family members home. When our forefathers developed this nation, they stated that all people had a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I feel that my right to pursue happiness has been taken away from me, because having my dad in my life and with me brings me happiness. Please send our troops home to their families so they can be happy."
From Green Left Weekly, September 24, 2003.
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