There is nothing more horrible than trying scoot away from a bomb because you don't have legs, but that is the situation thousands of Iraqis are facing today. The country is in the middle of a prosthetic leg shortage shortage and a huge amputated leg fad. The combination of the two has resulted in a lot of people who are hopping mad.
It certainly does not help that bombs are exploding in the streets every day. The Iraq war has a higher incidence of blast injuries from bombs. Injuries from US airstrikes are also a problem, especially because they have increased fivefold since early 2006.
Eighty per cent of the injuries that we see here are to the extremities, says Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Mosley, an orthopedic surgeon at the military hospital in Mosul that treats US soldiers, Iraqi civilians and members of the Iraqi security forces, and runs a clinic for recent Iraqi amputees. We see a lot of open long bone injuries or vascular injuries that require amputation. We do a lot of amputations below the knee. It is difficult to know how many amputees there are in Iraq, but I would say it is probably the number one operation performed.
US troops are experiencing twice the number of amputations than in any previous war. The amputations are the result of better body armor and the many bombings. In the past, many soldiers would have died from the same type of attacks but modern body armor protects the torso, while leaving the extremities exposed. Thankfully, US soldiers get the newest in prosthetic technology. Iraqis do not.
A charity is considering building a prosthetics factory to keep up with the pace of legless people. Currently Iraqis get those really weird looking 70s style fake arms and legs. Hopefully no one blows up the prosthetics factory. That would be really fucked up, especially considering the bombs will not be stopping anytime soon.
Oh, for Christ's sake, the man wrote an article regarding his personal experience in Iraq. Heaven forbid it not be full of maimed children and frightened Iraqi grandmothers.
We all know that Iraq is a fucking clusterfucked mess. Anyone with a half a brain knows that. But what in the fuck is wrong with reporting on the actions of a unit in a part of Baghdad that isn't wall to wall in the blood of innocent children and our troops? Want your gore fix, your body count? Go to any other news source out there and you will get plenty of it.
I can see it now... 2008, the U.S bombs a facility marked "Prosthetic Leg Factory" because it is allegedly being used to manufacture IEDs. Military intelligence reports a likely increase in wheelchair based suicide attacks following the destruction of the factory, so all wheelchairs are to be confiscated and destroyed. Troops are then told to shoot anyone that moves suspiciously, especially people limping, hopping or crawling since they are suspected "insurgents". (They're obviously insurgents because otherwise they wouldn't be missing any limbs since the U.S. does not target civilians.)
DhD_PillowPants said:
Oh, for Christ's sake, the man wrote an article regarding his personal experience in Iraq. Heaven forbid it not be full of maimed children and frightened Iraqi grandmothers.
We all know that Iraq is a fucking clusterfucked mess. Anyone with a half a brain knows that. But what in the fuck is wrong with reporting on the actions of a unit in a part of Baghdad that isn't wall to wall in the blood of innocent children and our troops? Want your gore fix, your body count? Go to any other news source out there and you will get plenty of it.
What is this, HappyNews? I think there's room enough for both articles to exist on the site. Perspective is important, and I think this article underscores some of what Totten was saying when he mentioned that certain areas were still incredibly violent and dangerous, regardless of how well things were going right where he was.
DhD_PillowPants said:
Oh, for Christ's sake, the man wrote an article regarding his personal experience in Iraq. Heaven forbid it not be full of maimed children and frightened Iraqi grandmothers.
We all know that Iraq is a fucking clusterfucked mess. Anyone with a half a brain knows that. But what in the fuck is wrong with reporting on the actions of a unit in a part of Baghdad that isn't wall to wall in the blood of innocent children and our troops? Want your gore fix, your body count? Go to any other news source out there and you will get plenty of it.
Because all of his articles on Iraq make it seem like everything is fucking hunky-dory (if only bu really subtle hints here and there [note: his article on Kurdistan]). Sorry, it's nothing personal but more of a dislike of Totten's work.
DhD_PillowPants said:
Oh, for Christ's sake, the man wrote an article regarding his personal experience in Iraq. Heaven forbid it not be full of maimed children and frightened Iraqi grandmothers.
We all know that Iraq is a fucking clusterfucked mess. Anyone with a half a brain knows that. But what in the fuck is wrong with reporting on the actions of a unit in a part of Baghdad that isn't wall to wall in the blood of innocent children and our troops? Want your gore fix, your body count? Go to any other news source out there and you will get plenty of it.
Because all of his articles on Iraq make it seem like everything is fucking hunky-dory (if only bu really subtle hints here and there [note: his article on Kurdistan]). Sorry, it's nothing personal but more of a dislike of Totten's work.
His articles are totally different now. It used to be that Totten's was a Pollyanna blogging from the Pacific Northwest. Now he's a Pollyanna blogging from Baghdad, embedded with government minders.
smithers_jones said:
His articles are totally different now. It used to be that Totten's was a Pollyanna blogging from the Pacific Northwest. Now he's a Pollyanna blogging from Baghdad, embedded with government minders.
US troops are experiencing twice the number of amputations than in any previous war. The amputations are the result of better body armor and the many bombings. In the past, many soldiers would have died from the same type of attacks but modern body armor protects the torso, while leaving the extremities exposed. Thankfully, US soldiers get the newest in prosthetic technology. Iraqis do not.
Also, wounding soldiers rather than attempting to kill is an amazing demoralizing technique, and gives you a shot at corpsmen who rush to aid, and any medevac logistics.
For this reason, weapons designed to maim instead of kill are also banned by geneva conventions (which we are bound to, but insurgents/terrorists/guerrillas are not)
Iraq has 26 million people and is larger than California, Japan, or Germany. There is plenty of room for clusterfucks, Totten's quiet towns, and everything in between.
For this reason, weapons designed to maim instead of kill are also banned by geneva conventions (which we are bound to, but insurgents/terrorists/guerrillas are not)
Not according to the Bush administration.
Didn't you get Gonzo's memo?
FearTheReaper
NEWSWIRE
I'm lost
JUL 29, 2007 10:39 PM