Nearly
21,000 US casualties In Iraq
By Aljazeera
26 November 2004
Aljazeera
Nearly
21,000 wounded US troops have been treated at the Landstuhl Regional
Medical Centre, a US military newspaper said.
"As of Tuesday,
20,802 troops have been treated at Landstuhl from injuries received
in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom," writes Ben Murray
for the US military's Stars and Stripes European edition newspaper.
The 26 November
report did not provide information on the number of military fatalities.
Nevertheless, November
has been the second deadliest month for US troops in Iraq since the
March 2003 invasion, says the Pentagon.
At least 109 US
troops have been killed in Iraq this month, about half of whom died
in an offensive that began on 8 November in Falluja, according to Pentagon
figures.
In the 20-month
war, only April 2004, with 135 military deaths, produced a higher monthly
US death toll.
The offensive in
Falluja, a city west of Baghdad, was part of efforts to quell resistance
before January's elections.
But even as the
US military said 1200 to 1600 fighters had been killed in Falluja and
their operations decisively halted, fighters continued their anti-US
attacks in many other cities.
The Pentagon's latest
official count, provided on Wednesday, listed 1230 US military deaths
in the Iraq war. It also listed more than 9300 US troops wounded in
action, more than 5000 of whom were too badly injured to return to duty,
and nearly 11,500 less than the Stars and Stripes report.
More than 850 troops
were reported to have been wounded in action in Falluja alone.
While Pentagon officials
have hinted at the possibility of reducing US troop levels if elections
go well and Iraqi security forces prove capable, officials warned not
to expect any decline in violence soon.
"We are intent
on trying to provide a secure and stable enough situation to be able
to conduct nationwide elections in January.
"Now, I will
not pretend that that's not a challenge at this stage," said air
force Lieutenant-General Lance Smith, the second-most senior officer
at US Central Command, responsible for military operations in the Middle
East and Central Asia.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier said: "No doubt attacks
will continue in the weeks and months ahead, and perhaps intensify as
the Iraqi election approaches. I suppose this has to be expected."
Opinion polls have
shown the US public has been willing to stomach the continuing casualties
in Iraq.
"I think the
greater problem, frankly, is going to be within the ranks of the military
itself, particular the families," said defence analyst Daniel Goure
of the Lexington Institute, citing stress from mounting casualties,
lengthy deployments and units being sent back to Iraq not long after
going home.
"We are in
the process of attempting to reassert control," Goure said, after
the Pentagon initially was ill prepared to fight the resistance that
arose after President Saddam Hussein was swiftly toppled.