War-Wounded Unsuitable as Image

The war in Iraq caused the death of many U.S. soldiers, but some 9,000 more have been seriously wounded. In order not to waken support for the military action, authorities are trying to suppress news coverage. Christoph Grabenheinrich reports

US soldiers carry a wounded comrade in Iraq (photo: AP)
"Showing wounded soldiers, or interviewing their families, would be disastrous for Bush's war," says media critic Norman Solmon

​​The huge C-17 transport planes receive little attention when they land, mostly in the middle of the night. Several times a week, they fly to Andrews Air Force Base, a military airport near Washington, D.C. They are nearly always full. Their cargo: Wounded and ailing US soldiers returning from Iraq. They are greeted with, "Welcome home!" when they are carried off the plane on metal cots. Those who are seriously wounded receive immediate medical treatment; others are sent on to military hospitals around the country. For a long time, every available bed in every intensive care unit was occupied, medical personnel were working around the clock, and for a while some of the wounded even had to be put up in hotels.

Even experienced doctors like Dr. Rummond found it difficult to cope with the stories told by the wounded. He tells of fighting back tears, and of having to learn to deal with so much suffering: "Many of them will be crippled for life. They will never be able to lead a normal life again."

The wounded are hardly noticed by the press

The American public is hardly aware of the situation. While the increasing number of military deaths is reported regularly by the media, the wounded hardly receive any attention. And when they do, it's usually just a brief mention in connection with the number of casualties. Interviews from hospital beds, the suffering in the faces of wounded soldiers, the pain of their family members, long painful weeks in rehabilitation clinics, fittings for prostheses or glass eyes – these are the pictures no one is seeing on television.

"Showing wounded soldiers, or interviewing their families, would be disastrous for Bush's war," says media critic Norman Solmon. "The wounded are being blacked out because their existence would be too depressing to the American people. They are simply too real. Their stories would be very difficult for viewers to bear."

Solmon has just written a book on the subject. "Target Iraq. What the News Media Didn't Tell You" places a finger on a national wound.

Skepticism about the freedom and independence of the American press

Todd Ensign, director of "Citizen Soldier", an advocacy group for US soldiers, judges the situation even more drastically: "The wounded leave a bad taste on one's mouth. The fact that there are so many of them clearly shows that our policy on Iraq has failed completely. But the media are not interested in stories like that. They are largely controlled and dominated by huge conglomerates that are in agreement with the policies of the Bush administration."

Ask people on the streets of the nation's capitol and you will quickly and clearly see how little Americans know about the human cost of the military campaign. Three dozen questions invoked three dozen responses, all of which were far from the truth. A few hundred wounded and seriously ill, maybe 2,000 at the most – these were typical estimates.

The truth is that more than 9,000 wounded and ailing solders have already been flown home from Iraq. Attacks on American troops are still a daily, bloody reality in post-war Iraq, and the consequences are devastating. "Amputations are an everyday occurrence," says Sergeant DeLaune. He organizes the return flights for wounded soldiers, and the task has taken a toll on him.

Too often has he seen his comrades return from duty ripped to shreds. "They come over here, they're 19 or 20 years old, and when they head home, they're often missing limbs. I've seen soldiers with three amputations. Our generation hasn't experienced that kind of thing yet, such immense damage done to young people."

Only the worst cases are flown home; all others are treated in Iraq.

photo: AP
US-soldiers secure Saddam Hussein's palace

​​Deceptive tactics by authorities

The quest for official confirmation of the 9,000 figure requires a great deal of patience. Obviously, the military doesn't like to talk about it. There is no gag order, but there are diversionary tactics. Telephone calls were shuffled from one office to another for weeks. From the Pentagon to the Central Authority and back again – no one seems to want to take responsibility.

Pentagon spokesman Turner says the command task force is responsible for handling such details. Its spokesperson Mitchell, on the other hand, explains that the numbers are reported to the defense department on a daily basis. In the end, it was the army that released the information. The numbers they provide are high, but there is no information as to how to interpret them.

Research into the number of soldiers who have been crippled for life, how many have suffered brain damage or have been blinded, how many arms or legs have been amputated, turns into a dead end. The U.S. Medical Command is responsible for such information, but the official response is that the numbers are still being evaluated.

Peter Feaver chuckles cynically when he hears that. A political science professor at Duke University, he says about the military action in Iraq, "I'm positive that detailed information exists. Somewhere in the enormous database of the Pentagon. Obviously, that information has not yet been released."

Political allies complain of a "lack of credibility"

Even Republican senator Chuck Hagel is fishing in muddy water. He sent a comprehensive questionnaire to the Pentagon, but had to wait six weeks for a response. The ultimate result was completely unsatisfactory to him: The requested information was not yet available. "Amazing," in Hagel's view. "Especially in the army, which has the best technology and which is completely networked via computer. I don't want to accuse anyone of lying, but I do see a large credibility gap here."

Hagel is angry: "After all, the taxpayers are paying for all this, and soldiers are giving their all. People have a right to learn the details. Otherwise, we can never assess the true costs of the war." Bush's party colleague is convinced that support for the military action will continue to wane unless the public is informed about the true scope of the dangers and ongoing complications associated with the mission in Iraq.

Out of sight, out of mind

Some days, dozens of wounded soldiers arrive, yet hardly anyone takes notice. It's is a forgotten story of the war, according to an editorial in the Washington Post. Out of sight, out of mind – critics of the war say that seems to be the attitude of the media and the populace.

Meanwhile, the wounded themselves must learn to cope with their new reality. It's hard to get used to life after war. Also there are so many bureaucratic obstacles. Some have to fight hard just to be recognized as battle casualties, or to obtain funds for ongoing medical treatment. "I don't want special treatment or a medal," says a soldier who wished to remain anonymous, "but totally ignoring us doesn't help us or society."

Senator Hagel comes to a similar conclusion: "There was enough lying during the Vietnam War."

Christoph Grabenheinrich

© Qantara.de 2004

Translated from the German by Mark Rossmann