Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Iraq, the Real Cost of War

For all of the supporters of unmitigated war out there -
According to The Department of Veterans Affairs, as of May 2007, reports in the Gulf War Veterans Information System reveal these startling numbers:

Total U.S. Military Gulf War Deaths: 73,846
* Deaths amongst Deployed: 17,847
* Deaths amongst Non-Deployed: 55,999

The stastics for non-lethal injuries are likewise staggering:

Total “Undiagnosed Illness” (UDX) claims: 14,874
Total number of disability claims filed: 1,620,906
* Disability Claims amongst Deployed: 407,911
* Disability Claims amongst Non-Deployed: 1,212,995

Percentage of combat troops that filed Disability Claims 36%
The Real Effect
This is the persistent, lasting effect of trying to carry out our foreign policy in a foreign land. Trillions of dollars spent, hundreds of thousands of our men and women either hurt or killed, diminished international respect and a depletion of any sort of moral authority we may have had.

And yet, here we are in 2011 illegally fighting in Libya -
 Britain is poised to deploy Apache helicopters against Colonel Gaddafi's forces, as Nato warplanes battered Tripoli this morning with some of the heaviest air strikes yet.

Apaches stationed onboard HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean will be sent in alongside French Tiger helicopter gunships, in a sharp escalation of the conflict that could soon see Nato troops on the ground.

The announcement follows months of heavy bombing by RAF Tornado jets, which has crippled Libya's air defences. Now the Apache helicopters will be used for pinpoint strikes in an attempt to break the stalemate in the ground war.
Not to mention Iran.

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