Sunday, November 01, 2009
About 4,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan since the invasion of 2001—but a quarter of those have come just in the last three months of fighting. Expanded military operations coupled with a Taliban offensive and more powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have caused casualties to skyrocket recently, even surpassing the rate American troops experienced during the “surge” in Iraq
two years ago. In mid-2007, 600 soldiers were wounded in Iraq each month out of about 150,000 personnel, whereas monthly casualty figures in Afghanistan have been averaging 350 out of a total force of only 68,000.
IEDs have become a serious problem for American soldiers, even after all that the military learned trying to defend against them in Iraq. More than 1,000 of the roadside bombs either exploded or were found in Afghanistan in August, more than double the total for any other month of the war. IEDs now account for from 70% to 80% of U.S. and coalition casualties, and they are so powerful that even the latest mine-resistant vehicles are unable to protect soldiers from the blasts.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
U.S. Combat Injuries Rise Sharply (by Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post)
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