(iCasualties chart of troop injuries by state. Click to enlarge.)
In his address on the close of combat in the Iraq War tonight, President Obama is expected to "celebrate" the "tremendous sacrifice" -- press secretary Robert Gibbs' words -- made by American troops. Today at Fort Bliss, in Texas, the president told them:
The country appreciates you. I appreciate you. The most pride i take in my job is being your commander-in-chief. It also means that as we transition in Iraq, that the one thing I will insist upon for however long I remain president of the United States is that we serve you and your families as well as you serve us.
The president said his administration will devote special services for mental health needs and for traumatic brain injuries, wounds that have become hallmarks of the war in Iraq. The chart by iCasualities, above, shows the totals for troops wounded by state. iCasualties counts 4,416 deaths among U.S. service members. The worst year for American troops was 2007, with 961 Americans lost. Considering that President Bush bulled his way into seven years of war on the basis of false intelligence, theirs has been a tremendous sacrifice indeed.
We'll bring you President Obama's speech at 8 p.m. Eastern, followed by special coverage from Rachel Maddow at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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The world is better off without Saddam and his sons. Was it worth it? Not "no," but "hell no!" Colin Powell was right on when he wrote that we should never go to war unless 1) we have a clear objective, 2) we can bring overwhelming force to bear on that objective, and 3) we have a clear exit strategy. Bush took us into Iraq without a single one of these.
On the bright side, as long as we march out backwards, it won't look like we're retreating. www.newsprism.com
Bush invaded Iraq for one reason...to get his cronies wealthy thru corrupt military contracts. Haliburton, for one, was paid billions of dollars for work they never performed.
Anymore, war is just old men getting wealthy.
That's all it has EVER been.
I still think it was daddy issues. Had Bush the Elder never ordered war in Iraq, we wouldn't have been there. If his daddy had taken out Saddam Hussein, we wouldn't have been there. What the map shows is the price in lives and injury caused by one man's failure to get counselling. That he could make his friends rich was a fringe benefit, a confirmation that it was the right thing to do.
Its very important to recognize those who willingly give their lives for their country, even though one might not agree with the issue it self. But there is a place that is missing from the chart. I believe that its insulting to all those American soldiers from Puerto Rico that had participated in Iraq and given their lives for this country and they are not even being included here. I think that it shows that they are second class citizens, thus they aren't even being accounted for when they bravely die for their country.
Thanks for pointing that out.
I don't know why Puerto Rico's not included on the iCasualties chart. The site gives figures for P.R.: 36 troops lost and another 200 injured.
In addition to Puerto Rico, the site also gives casualty figures for American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Virgin Islands.
Note there is only one 'i' in 'casualties.'
Thanks for the correction Mrs. Conaway!!
Greatly appreciate it.
Hi Laura. I think it would be helpful to see the numbers as a percentage of population. Though measuring people by percentage is indelicate, it helps to offset the impression that the Plains somehow 'give less.' Many thanks for your reporting, especially in AZ!
One way that could be rememdied would be to show the losses as % of population...showing both the relative and per capita of each state.
Why was color threshold on chart set at 1,100 vs. 1,000? Looks like effect was to make Michigan green instead of red. Chartmaker wants to downplay Michigan role?
Seems odd. Seems fishy.
Color thresholds are same for all three charts on website - total casualties, wounded and fatalities. I agree that it is an odd place to set a threshold but does not seem to be singling Michigan out.
Rachel, Let's see an expose of the Unreported Cost of the war and the actual federal deficit! Is there truth to rumors Bush's admin hid a second set of numbers tallying the cost of the war?
http://www.shadowstats.com/article/gaap-based-federal-deficit
Is there simply missing data, or has the state of chickenhawk Joe Lieberman really had no casualties?
George the Invader went to "war" with Iraq to impress his daddy.
The blood of every dead soldier and civilian will forever remain on his hands.
Thank you to President Obama for ending this farce.
The map above is US Wounded. If you go to iCasualities and click on US Wounded you will find the map. You can then select All Casualities, which includes fatalities. You will see that Connecticut has had 279 casualities, including 30 fatalities.
Seems like "all casualties" would be a more accurate chart than only "wounded".
Thank you for the clarification, Becky. I really didn't think that there was any way for an entire state to escape without suffering even one casualty.
Why shouldn't Bush and Cheney be prosecuted as war criminals? If not then what moral authority do we have to try Slobodan Milosevic and others. Basically, we are nullifying the legal validity of Nürnberg trials!
Why shouldn't Bush and Cheney be prosecuted as war criminals? If not then what moral authority do we have to try Slobodan Milosevic and others. Basically, we are nullifying the legal validity of Nürnberg trials by NOT holding them (Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld, et al) responsible for war crimes!
"Comin' on upon the end of August the end of August...another summer's promise, almost gone.... You know, I heard a wise man say....that every dog will have his day....he never mentioned that these dog days take so long..."
Don Henley came up with that insight, and began a very memorable track from their last album "Long Road Out Of Eden" in '07...
So let's thanks all the folks who've made this last war possible...since the GOP isn't going to give any credit to President Obama for bringing it to an and...let's spin a few tunes out to a few folks who brought us this shock and awe, and say,... there's some great writing on this double CD! Let's send out "Frail Grasp On The Big Picture" to George Bush, for that great shot of him on the Aircraft Carrier with that great banner in the background...wasn't that nice? And of course let's spin "Somebody" to Dick Cheney...perfect! The title track has to go to the leadership at the Pentagon who must have not been paying attention in history class at West Point, and failed to recognize why it's a "Long Road Out Of Eden".
There are too many songs that make the point, Just happen to like the Eagles, our national bird and band. I'll keep this short, everyone has something to say on the demise of War, as a problem solving tool that won't work anymore. Let's let it die, we have work to do in saving the infrastructure of our own country, and the safety of our air and water, let's not be diverted by the professional right, and their media, from seeing how late it's become. Let's have some suggestions on how to find employment and education opportunities for our returning troops.
Can I have one more dedication? I can?! Good....here's one for Glen Beck and Sarah P. from that same great Eagles CD, side one, cut three....
(that should read)...so let's give thanks to all the folks who made this war possible..
" Commin' on upon the end of August..."
“Remember how we racked up huge deficits during the Bush years, gave billions to the wealthy and let the middle class fall behind? Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R- Ohio) said. “We’re going to drive those unemployment and deficit numbers up so high that the American people will be voting Republican until they realize we screwed them over once again.”
http://www.thechicagodope.com/2010/08/16/republicans-introduce-%E2%80%9Ckill-the-economy-plan%E2%80%9D/
"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die"
Thanks for the correction Mrs. Conaway !!!
Greatly appreciate it
"The one thing history teaches, is that man learns nothing from history..!"
Fredrick Hegel
"No nation has ever benefited from prolonged war..!"
Sun Tzu
The President declares no victory after several years of bloodshed.Sadam Husseim is gone.Was it worth it?The war over nothing...
Thank you, Rachel - for your voice that speaks my thoughts so much better than I could; for your passion for the truth; for continuing to make us all think and remember. I am grateful my son came home from this war based on lies and I grieve for those mothers not as fortunate as me. Blessings on you.
Thank you TRMS. Thank you for the link to casualties. There were days I wondered whose names should be spoken aloud.
What FOOLS wanted credit for the war? If there is any credit to be dished out, it is in the names of the above for their unquestioned loyalty and service to the United States of America and all her citizenry.
What about the Deaths & Injuries of Journalist or are they Just not Reality... ///Pags...
The chart would be more interesting -- as well as more fair and balanced :-] -- if the numbers were scaled to the respective state's population (i.e., per capita). Sure, California's toll is huge compared to most states', but so is CA's population. That number, 3,321, horrific as it is in absolute terms, tells me nothing useful without a useful context.