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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 10/30/2007 10:49:31

Good Morning.

Today is our 1,686th day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures, courtesy of antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 3839
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 3700
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3378
Since Handover (6/29/04): 2980
Since Election (1/31/05): 2402

Other Coalition Troops: 303
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 451


We find this week's cost of war standing at:

$464, 298, 600, 000.00





Turning to our friends at IAVA, we find that they have yet another way to support the troops. It's called Welcome Back Vets, and you may have seen the PSA's during the recent world series.
IAVA teamed up with Major League Baseball Charities and the Ad Council to launch a national public service advertisement campaign that debuted during Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night. Click here to visit the new website and watch the PSA, featuring voiceover by Oscar Award winner Tom Hanks. You can also read the Press Release here.

Speaking of which, the holidays are fast approaching, and now is the time to seek out those charities that specialize in sending care packages overseas. You might also want to consider seeking out a local base to host a soldier for a holiday dinner...or just write someone a letter.



Moving on, I don't know who said it, but we've all heard the saying that 'truth is the first casualty of war'. It appears that the second casualty of war might be those that report it. There's word today that the editor of another Iraqi newspaper was killed in Baghdad yesterday, bringing the journalist toll to 122.
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi editor was slain in Baghdad, the Committee to Protect Journalists announced Monday, raising to at least 122 the number of journalists killed in Iraq since the war started in March 2003.

Shehab Mohammad al-Hiti was a 27-year-old editor for the fledgling weekly Baghdad al-Youm, which had been publishing for only three weeks.

He disappeared Sunday after he left his home in western Baghdad to go to work, the New York-based advocacy organization reported, citing a source at the newspaper. Iraqi security forces found the journalist's body later that afternoon, it said.

About 85 percent of media deaths in the war have been Iraqis, according to the group.



Naturally, that got me thinking, so I did some digging and found "Journalists in Danger"...and the numbers are truly astonishing. Do visit the link and check the breakdowns. But of course, he's what I was looking for:

CPJ does not have statistics on wars prior to 1981, but other groups have compiled lists of journalists killed. Please note that groups use different criteria in classifying deaths. For example, a group might categorize a death in a plane crash as being killed on duty. Here is a selection of some of the major conflicts.

• Central American conflicts: Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, lists 89 journalists killed for the years 1979-89.
• Argentina: Freedom Forum lists 98 for the years 1976-1983.
• Vietnam: Freedom Forum lists 66 journalists killed covering the conflict in Vietnam from 1955-1975. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, which surveyed the years 1962-75, lists 71 journalists killed.
• Korean War: Freedom Forum lists 17 journalists killed.
• World War II: Freedom Forum lists 68.
• World War I: Freedom Forum lists 2.



So we'll leave it at that today. Don't forget to listen to the Rachel Maddow Show this evening for the "Ask a Vet" segment....where this blog gets it's name!

 

323 comments (Latest Comment: 10/31/2007 04:15:14 by Raine)
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