1,286 Accidental US Military Deaths Per Year Twice Iraq Combat Deaths

Hat tip Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal Political Diary August 24, 2005

"We are trying to fight a war under the auspices of an establishment that is determined—to put the most charitable face on it—to emphasize American casualties over all other information about the war... The media’s breathless tabulation of casualties in Iraq—now, over 1,800 deaths—is generally devoid of context. Here’s some context: between 1983 and 1996, 18,006 American military personnel died accidentally in the service of their country. That death rate of 1,286 per year exceeds the rate of combat deaths in Iraq by a ratio of nearly two to one. I don’t recall any great outcry, or gleeful reporting, or erecting of crosses in the President’s hometown. In fact, I’ll offer a free six-pack to the first person who can find evidence that any liberal expressed concern—any concern—about the 18,006 American service members who died accidentally in service of their country from 1983 to 1996"—John Hinderaker of PowerLineBlog.com