"Troops, Ah'm Sorry, But Mah Tax Cuts Come B'fore Yer Safety" - Our "Elected" Chimp


 Religions > Atheism > "Troops, Ah'm Sorry, But Mah Tax Cuts Come B'fore Yer Safety" - Our "Elected" Chimp

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Topic: Religions > Atheism
User: ""
Date: 08 Jan 2006 02:45:32 AM
Object: "Troops, Ah'm Sorry, But Mah Tax Cuts Come B'fore Yer Safety" - Our "Elected" Chimp
Tell that to the relatives of those 2,200 U.S. dead and 13,400 maimed
in Iraq, "fighting the war on terror," so we can bring those terrorists
to "justice." (Like the justice for 500 prisoners - give or take a
hundred or so - at Gitmo?)
Never mind the 31,000+ Iraqi civilians dead, and maybe 100,000 injured,
plus casualties in "coalition" forces!
When will the nation summon the guts to inpeach our "elected" war
criminals?
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
"Body-Armor Gaps Are Shown to Endanger Troops"
Pentagon Studies Call Deaths Preventable
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 7, 2006; A05
The Marine Corps and Army are working to upgrade body armor to prevent
fatalities caused by torso wounds from gunshots and explosions, after
classified Pentagon forensic studies highlighted how gaps in current
armor are leaving troops vulnerable.
A recent military study of a random sample of scores of Marine deaths
from torso wounds between the start of the Iraq war in March 2003 and
mid-2005 found that more protection on the chest, back, sides and
shoulder areas could have prevented up to 80 percent of the fatalities.
It was the first time military forensic experts have reported on torso
injuries to the Pentagon, according to a statement from the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington.
U=2ES. troops in Iraq often complain that insurgents -- especially
snipers -- have demonstrated they know how to exploit the gaps in the
current armor. For example, enemy snipers have killed U.S. forces with
single shots to the neck or upper torso.
The Pentagon has faced a steady stream of criticism from Republicans
and Democrats in Congress who assert that the military has not moved
quickly enough to provide the most advanced armor to U.S. troops --
from more heavily armored Humvees and trucks to bulletproof vests.
But Army and Marine Corps officials say developing, producing and
fielding better armor is a constant effort as the military faces
ever-changing and more lethal insurgent tactics in Iraq. An important
consideration, they say, is the trade-off between heavier armor and
troops' ability to move quickly and return fire.
"As we find the battlefield has changed, we constantly are trying to
enhance the survivability and mobility of the American soldier," said
Army spokesman Paul Boyce. "Throughout the fielding of body armor to
our soldiers, improvements have been made and continue to be made." He
cited five different upgrades to protective vests, as well as enhanced
ceramic plate
s=2E
The Army avoids detailing the ballistic capabilities of body armor so
as not to give an advantage to enemy forces, he said. "What we don't do
is talk about what we're going to do next to change the body armor or
the composites in it."
Currently U.S. soldiers and Marines use the Interceptor Body Armor
System, issued beginning in 1999 and widely fielded since the Iraq war
as an upgrade to an earlier bulletproof vest. So far, the Army has
fielded more than 500,000 sets.
The medical examiner study analyzed a random sample of 93 Marine deaths
from torso wounds and found that 60 percent of the fatalities were
caused by gunshots. "As many as 42 percent of the Marine casualties who
died from isolated torso injuries could have been prevented with
improved protection in the areas surrounding the plated areas of the
vest. Nearly 23 percent might have benefited from protection along the
mid-axillary line of the lateral chest. Another 15 percent died from
impacts through the unprotected shoulder and upper arm."
Findings from the study, conducted by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner
for the Marine Corps, were published earlier this week on the Web site
of Soldiers for the Truth, an advocacy group for U.S. troops, and two
versions of the study were confirmed by the medical examiner. An
article on the study appeared Friday evening on the New York Times Web
site.
The medical examiner received $107,000 in funding from the Marine Corps
in December 2004 to conduct the study, which marks "the first time
information on torso injuries was disseminated" to the Defense
Department, said a statement from the Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology. The report evaluating body armor was based on full
autopsies, which are conducted on all U.S. troops killed in Iraq and
Afghanistan, regardless of the cause, said Christopher Kelly, public
affairs director for the institute. "Information regarding the
effectiveness of body armor has been shared with those who design and
field personal protective gear," he said.
The Army and Marine Corps have recalled thousands of protective vests
in recent months because they failed some ballistic requirements when
they were manufactured, although an Army spokesman described the vests'
departure from required standards as extremely small and said many are
no longer in use.
=A9 2006 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/07/AR200601070=
0005.html
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