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Iraqi War Toll: The Wounded and Non-Combat Deaths

Thanks to Atrios, we found this article in The Guardian explaining the numbers of soldiers dead and wounded in Iraq:

US military casualties from the occupation of Iraq have been more than twice the number most Americans have been led to believe because of an extraordinarily high number of accidents, suicides and other non-combat deaths in the ranks that have gone largely unreported in the media.

Since May 1, when President George Bush declared the end of major combat operations, 52 American soldiers have been killed by hostile fire, according to Pentagon figures quoted in almost all the war coverage. But the total number of US deaths from all causes is much higher: 112.

The other unreported cost of the war for the US is the number of American wounded, 827 since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Bush's support for continued presence in Iraq is declining in the face of the increasing casualties. 25% of Americans want the troops home now. An additional 33% want the troops home if casualties continue to rise.

In fact, the total death toll this time is 248 - including accidents and suicides - and as the number of non-combat deaths and serious injuries becomes more widely known, the erosion of public confidence is likely to continue, posing a threat to Mr Bush's prospects of re-election, which at the beginning of May had seemed a foregone conclusion.

Military observers say it is unusual, even in a "low-intensity" guerrilla war such as the situation seen in Iraq, for non-combat deaths to outnumber combat casualties.

What accounts for the non-combat deaths?

23 American soldiers have died in car or helicopter accidents since May 1, while 12 have been killed in accidents with weapons or explosives. Three deaths have been categorised as "possible suicides", three have died from illness, and three from drowning. The rest are unexplained.

Wounded American soldiers continue to be flown back to the US at a relentless rate, in twice-weekly transport flights to Andrews air force base near Washington.

Atrios says that's only half the story. The other half is that Walter Reed Hospital has run out of space for the returning wounded and has had to transfer many to hotels for convalescence.

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