Reality Bites

Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division 

Afghanistan War Casualties

US Military:

Total Deaths 2,103

Hostile Action 1,744

Total Wounded 18,734

Allied Fatalities (Britain, Canada + 20 other nations) 1,098

US civilian deaths - not counted by the Pentagon

Afghan military and civilian deaths - uncountable due to wide discrepancies in estimates.  Also not counted by the Pentagon.

Sources:  Total US military fatalities and wounded provided by the Associated Press.

Allied fatalities provided by icasualties.org

Reality Bites

The Wars continue...

See here for the casualties and deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan

Reality Bites

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Stacey Blackburn-Hoelscher, of Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan's Female Engagement Team, gives a beverage to an elderly Afghan man during a patrol in the Helmand province of Afghanistan Nov. 18, 2009. (DoD photo by Sgt. Evan Barragan, U.S. Marine Corps/Released) 


As of Saturday, at least 4367 members of the US military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 852 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations, according to the Associated Press.

Reality Bites

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division go on an early morning patrol in the Pech Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar province Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

A U.S. Army vehicle fires on Taliban positions on a mountain side, outside a base held by the Army's 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in the Pech River Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar province, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

I screwed up and lost the caption for this image, and I can't find the image anymore...though I remember its a picture of Afghan Army troops taken October 27, 2009 by David Guttenfelder of the Associated Press.  

CEREMONIAL FIRST - U.S. troops, civilian agencies, Afghan officials and locals attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the first high school for females in the Shajoy region in Zabul province, Afghanistan, Oct. 22, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Angelita Lawrence

As of Saturday, at least 4,354 members of the US Military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 831 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations, according to the Associated Press.


More information from Defenselink (the Department of Defense website):

In Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), 31,545 military personnel and Department of Defense civilians have been wounded.  Of those, 17,671 were returned to duty within 72 hours.

In Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan), 4,399 military personnel and Department of Defense civilians have been wounded, Of those, 1,799 were returned to duty within 72 hours.

Reality Bites

As of Saturday, at least 4351 members of the US Military have died since the start of the Iraq War and at least 807 have died as a result of the Afghan War and related operations, according to the Associated Press.

Reality Bites

As of Satuday, at least 4344 members of the US military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 764 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations, according to the Associated Press. 

Reality Bites

As of Monday, at least 4330 members of the US military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 684 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations, according to The Associated Press.

And countless injuries.

Reality Bites

According to Democracy Now's news report this morning, 1045 Palestinians have been killed, and 4860 Palestinians injured since the war began. There have been 13 Israelis killed, including 4 soldiers by friendly fire.

As of Tuesday January 13, 2009, at least 4226 members of the US military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 566 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations according to the Associated Press

Reality Bites

As of Saturday, at least 4,200 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action.
At least 3,390 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is four hgher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Saturday at 7 am PST.

As of Saturday at least 555 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the US Invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Friday at 7 am PST
Of those, the military reports 403 were killed by hostile action.

Reality Bites

As of Tuesday at least 4140 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to The Associated Press. The figure includes 8 military civilians killed in action. At least 3366 service members have died as a result of hostile action, according to the military. The AP count is two fewer than the Defense Departments tally, last updated Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, at least 496 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the US invasiion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the military. Of those, 352 were killed by hostile action.

Reality Bites

As of Wednesday August 6, 2008 at least 4134 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to a count by The Associated Press.
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3362 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's umbers.
The AP count is one more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Wednesday at 10am

As of Wednesday at least 496 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, accoording to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Saturday.
Of those, the military reports 352 were killed by hostile action.

*****

Iraqi lawmakers, after weeks of late-night negotiations and intense US pressure, failed to pass a much-debated provincial elections law Wednesday before adjourning for the month.
...
The bill failed because Kurds, Arabs, and Turkomen were unable to come to terms on a power-sharing deal for the multiethnic region around the city of Kirkuk, the center of Iraq's northern oil fields. Kurds consider Kirkuk their ancestral capital and want to incorporate it into their self-ruled region in the north. Most Arabs and Turkomen want Kirkuk to remain under central government control.
After a Kurdish walkout, parliament approved an elections bill last month that would have established an ethnic quota system on the 41-member Kirkuk area provincial council and reduced the role of Kurdish security forces there.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, vetoed the measure as unconstitutional and sent it back to parliament, which convened a special session Sunday.
When compromise appeared impossible, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani announced Wednesday that lawmakers would break for summer recess and then resume sessions Sept. 9.
A committee will continue negotiations over the bill during the recess, he added.

...
Parliament also has yet to pass a law to share oil revenue or to amend the constitution on such issues as the role of Islam and the nature of federalism in the government.
...
Parliament did sign off on a $21 billion supplemental budget, a move the Iraqis hope will ease US congressional criticism that they aren't paying their fair share of Iraq's reconstruction at a time of economic hardship in the United States.

Material from McClatchy News Service and the Associated Press used in this report.

Reality Bites - The Economy

In 1982, the average CEO made 42 times more than the average production worker.
In 1990, the average CEO made 107 times more than the average production worker.
In 2004, the average CEP made 431 times more than the average production worker.

Source: United for a Fair Economy & The Institute for Policy Studies.

http://www.ips-dc.org/
http://www.faireconomy.org/


The annual compensation of S&P 500 CEO's is eating up more and more of company profits.
4.8% 1993-1995
10.3% 2001-2003

At Whole Foods, executives can only make 14 times the average worker.

Source: Harvard/Cornell study of Top Executive compensation as referenced on NOW in January of 2006

http://www.pbs.org/now/index.html
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcriptNOW203_full.html

Reality Bites

As of Friday (07/11/2008) at least 4118 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003 according to the AP. 8 million civilians have been killed in action.
At least 3355 died as a result of hostile action according to the military.

There are 553 US military killed in Afghanistan. That number comes from http://www.icasualty.org/

Reality Bites

As of Monday, at least 4,114 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,353 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military numbers.

As of Monday, at least 468 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures June 28. Of those, the military reports 331 were killed by hostile action.