Remembering the Wounded ... in Iraq

The current death toll of Americans in Iraq: 1,895.

What doesn't always receive so much scrutiny are the escalating numbers of the wounded, many of whom will be facing life-altering injuries for years and years to come. And there are plenty of wounded. The Pentagon indicates that roughly half of all injured troops require at least three days of hospitalization -- military speak for "serious."

The official toll indicates there are more than 13,000 American troops who have been wounded during the Iraq War, although other accounts say the actual figure is anywhere between 15,000 to 38,000. In the fall of 2004, for example, an UPI report found that 17,000 soldiers who had been evacuated from Iraq for medical reasons had not been included in Pentagon figures.

Over the past few months, the Bush Administration had to scramble to recover from dramatically underestimating the number of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who will need medical treatment in the U.S. Initially, the White House estimated a little more than 23,000. Oops, said the administration, apparently going by figures that had been drawn up way back when it was a "mission accomplished." The White House, needing Congress to help plug a $2.6 billion shortfall for Veterans Affairs, returned to Capitol Hill to clarify that the figure would be more like 103,000 troops.

And then there is the mental anguish of those returning troops. As Okie Funk has pointed out, VA facilities have already dealt with some 70,000 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among American troops.

Amid our nation's ADD-addled media mindset, don't forget Iraq.


UPDATE: The death dance continues. A suicide bomber in Baghdad has killed as estimated 80 people, mostly poor Shiites, and injured 150 others.