How troops wounded in Iraq conflict don’t count with the MoD.

 

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Daily Mail

Tuesday, January 17-2006

 

by

 

Matthew Hickley

Defence Correspondent

 

 

MINISTERS were last night accused of a cover-up over the number of British servicemen and women wounded in Iraq.

 

While 98 UK personnel have lost their lives since the invasion began almost three years ago, the Ministry of Defence [Ministry of Deception] claims it has no clear figures available on how many are injured.

 

[Well! This for a start shows how much interest they have in the numbers of the killed and wounded in Iraq. We had the same reply about the missing flack jackets and whatever else. So they haven’t learnt much since then and they don’t have Geoffrey Hoon to blame.]

In the U.S., the Pentagon publishes detailed weekly breakdowns of casualties, showing that to date 7,608 of its personnel have been seriously wounded, 8,812 less seriously hurt and 456 have lost limbs - in addition to 2,211 killed.

 

The MoD [The Ministry of Deception] said last night its lack of similar data was partly due to ‘medical confidentiality’ [usual Gobbledegook and Double-talk] a claim dismissed as nonsensical by critics who claim the public has a right to know the human cost of war.

 

[Maybe Tony’s buddy across the Atlantic good old George will help his chum and would be pleased to help set-up a proper system for the MoD after all he was the one who started the war. And we shall only be asking for something, which is indeed above board, and NOT for intelligence information-thankfully!]

 

Relatives of injured UK soldiers claim they are the ‘forgotten victims’ of the war, and are urging the MoD to follow America’s

lead in being more open.

 

They suspect the Government is unwilling to publish the figures in case they increase anti-war sentiment

 

The only figures available from the MoD make no distinction between illness and injuries suffered by troops. At the start of this month 4,017 men and women had been medically evacuated from Iraq for treatment in British or UK military hospitals in Germany - more than a thousand of then in the past year.

 

Between March 24, 2003 and July 2005, a total of 5,644 men and women were admitted to the Army’s field hospital outside Basra, but again that includes both illnesses and injuries.

 

In the same period the MoD claims 189 troops were wounded in action, but that excludes the first few days of the invasion, does not count UK forces operating outside southern Iraq and the definition of ‘action’ is unclear.

 

Roadside bombs, shootings and riots are known to have caused significant numbers of injuries, but it remains unclear how many. Sue Norton, whose husband Peter is an Army Captain and Explosives Expert who lost an arm and a leg in a bomb blast in Iraq, said she had no way of knowing how many other families faced similar situations.

 

Captain Norton, 43, is still in hospital in Birmingham five months after he was injured.

 

His wife, who told her story in yesterday’s Daily Mail, said:

 

The Government here should be more open. As a former civil servant I don’t believe they can’t gather the information.

 

‘How many others are there like Pete? Our serviceman and women don’t question their orders, they can’t go on strike, and it doesn’t make news when they get hurt. They are the forgotten ones. The Government probably thinks there are enough people already who are anti-war, but that’s not the point. This is the hidden human cost and we should have more information about what is done in our name.

 

‘If they can give the figures for fatalities, they should also say how many are wounded and injured.

 

In America the U.S. Congress has insisted on a culture of openness from the Pentagon, whereas Britain’s Parliament has left the MoD to set its own policy on publishing figures.

 

Tory defence spokesman Dr Liam Fox, said:

‘The MoD cannot hide behind patient confidentiality as a breakdown of figures would not reveal personal details.

‘If the American public has a right to know the extent of injuries suffered in Iraq, then so does the British public.’

 

Liberal Democratic defence spokesman Michael Moore said:

 

‘There is a legitimate public interest in understanding the nature of the injuries suffered by our brave servicemen and women in Iraq.’

 

The MoD [Ministry of Deception] said officials were now looking into ways to release more information on injuries and casualties. A spokesman said:

 

‘It isn’t a question of secrecy. We have simply never pulled the figures together in this way before. We recognise this is an issue.’

 

 

 

Were you or your relatives seriously wounded in Iraq? If so, please email your story to us at:

 

Iraq@dailymail.co.uk.

 

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JAN17/06

 

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MoD - obtains almost half the COST of the Iraq War and Afghanistan  selling Army land - barracks-hospitals.July 2007

 

 

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www.eutruth.org.uk

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www.thewestminsternews.co.uk

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www.speakout.co.uk

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Daniel Hannan - Forming an OPPOSITION to the EU

www.telegraph.co.uk.blogs

 

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VOTE

MAY -2007

 

TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION

WITH THE ONLY PARTY WITH A MANDATE

TO SET YOU

 FREE

 

THE

UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY

www.ukip.org

 

TO RECLAIM YOUR DEMOCRACY DON'T VOTE FOR THE TRIPARTITE PARTIES IN WESTMINSTER

BUT

SMALL PARTIES THAT SPEAK THEIR MINDS WITHOUT SPIN AND LIES.

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ONLY

PRO-PORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

WILL BRING DEMOCRACY BACK TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE

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Home Rule for Scotland

WHY NOT

HOME RULE for ENGLAND

 

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MAY/07

 

[All underlined words have a separate bulletin

THE QUESTION THAT THE VOTER MUST ANSWER

 

‘DO YOU WISH TO BE GOVERNED BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE, LAW AND CUSTOM OR BY THE CORRUPT ,EXPENSIVE UNACCOUNTABLE AND ALIEN BUSYBODY BRUSSELS’

 

-SIMPLE IS IT NOT?