This turned up in my daily e-mail newsletter crop this morning: Military Medical Care, an article from the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 10 percent of those injured have died. At least as many U.S. soldiers have been injured in combat in this war as in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, or the first five years of the Vietnam conflict, from 1961 through 1965 (see table). This can no longer be described as a small or contained conflict. But a far larger proportion of soldiers are surviving their injuries.
As you might expect from the NEJM, the article is replete with tables and photos, all of which are duly sourced. The kicker is that it's accompanied by a photo essay of injured soldiers undergoing various forms of treatment. I suppose a doctor would find these academically interesting; to a layman, the pictures are heart-wrenching. This should be required viewing for all Americans, but particularly those gung ho Congresspeople and their supporters.
Posted by Linkmeister at December 9, 2004 11:12 AMThe photo essay makes Rumsfeld's remarks yesterday sound even more cavalier. Such horrible, horrible photos. These are photographs we should all see.
Posted by: Kate at December 9, 2004 02:28 PMThis is so sad and wrong.
Posted by: Sue at December 9, 2004 05:56 PMThat's the carnage soldiers see. Images should be used as a draft poster.
Posted by: RON at December 9, 2004 09:26 PMI daresay its a matter of time before "military regulations" prevent dissemination of even photos like these ("must protect the privacy of the service personnel, you know").
While these people don't look all that healthy, I must say, war being the health of the state, our state is in damned good health.
Lookit: there is a South African version of the Humvee that is DESIGNED to withstand the kind of road-side bombs that our killing our people. We won't but if, of course, because no one in the Pentagon is interested in a revolving door job in Johannesburg.
Posted by: the talking dog at December 10, 2004 05:30 AMThis makes me sad.
Posted by: shelley at December 10, 2004 08:51 AMLike Leno said, after Rumsfield had that meeting with the solders, he left in his armoured car...
14-17% of the solders come back in depression, and add that to the amount that have DU (depleted uranium) in their bodies...( great article about this in Vanity Fair).
I'm waiting for the Bush twins to don camouflage...
I hate to say it again, as I've said about all the photos that come out of the casualties of war...
It wouldn't change most people's minds.
It's so easy to just say "yes, war is awful, how awful that those people make it necessary for us to war with them". You know?
Yes. War is terrible. War should always be the very last resort, after exhausting every possibility to avert armed conflict. But even after 55 million Americans, the U.N. and most of the war condemned the war, our president has the very uncool idea of going before the U.N. recently and repeating that when the U.N. and others promise serious consequences, serious consequences must follow. He still thinks he can ram the validity of his invasion down our throats.
Posted by: Lester Estremera at December 25, 2004 04:40 AM