Staggering Statistics

Military officials said Thursday substantial progress has been made in armoring United States military vehicles in Iraq — but given the increasing number and sophistication of those enemy roadside bombs, that is clearly not good enough.

It's a staggering new statistic. The Pentagon announced Thursday that 70 percent of American soldiers and Marines killed in Iraq today are victims of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

At a House Armed Services committee hearing Thursday angry lawmakers were demanding to know why the Pentagon has not done more to protect U.S. forces in Iraq.

"And I come to this hearing with a sense of outrage,” said Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. “I can’t tell you the number of homes I've sat in with soldier's families who've come home in body bags."

The rest of the story can be linked here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7752483/

With that said, as of today the deaths of 1116 American soldiers could have been prevented in Iraq. I wonder how many devestating injuries could have been prevented. If the statistics hold true, the numbers could be astounding. But then, war was never about ending human suffering.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/24/2476