Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.—Gustav Mahler

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Devastating Military Death Figures and the Media

I've been had. You've been had. We've all been had.

I'm about to share some numbers that will make you wonder why the MSM has been playing up military casualties in Iraq. These are official figures:

George W. Bush . . . . . 5187 (2001-2004)
Bill Clinton . . . . . . . . . 4302 (1993-1996)
George H.W. Bush . . . . 6223 (1989-1992)
Ronald Reagan . . . . . . 9163 (1981-1984)

Thanks to Redstate for pointing this out.

Given the extent of our involvement in two nations where we instituted regime change, it looks like W's team hasn't bungled things as badly as is widely believed.

3 comments:

Tom Van Dyke said...

I'm afraid we'll never see the reality-based community get real. Not only are US troop deaths not significantly higher during "Bush's war," the civilian Iraqi deaths are lower than the "peaceful" sanctions' carnage or the days of Saddam's mass graves.

According to John Merline at TCS, mining deaths are down under Bush too, contrary to popular blather:

"Mining fatalities have dropped every year President Bush has been in the White House, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Since 2001, mining deaths averaged 63 a year, which is 30% lower than during the Clinton administration. The fatality rate has dropped as well -- it was 31% lower in 2004 than it was in the last year of the Clinton administration. "

BDS not only disrupts any possibility of putting things into any perspective, it also adversely affects people's abilities at math.

Hunter Baker said...

For the uninitiated, Tom Van Dyke's "BDS" stands for "Bush Derangement Syndrome."

James F. Elliott said...

"What treaty? Are you talking about the formation of the UN? No treaty, no "international law" (whatever that is) supersedes the U.S. Constitution."

It doesn't supersede the Constitution, but treaties are, under it, binding law. The formation of international organizations - WTO, UN, NATO, are treaties, and therefore binding law with the full weight of anything drafted and passed by Congress once ratified.