A number of reports lately indicate that the strain of guerrilla warfare in Iraq is taking a dangerous toll on the Army. All this has to be seen in the context that the Army is not organized, trained or oriented to fighting this kind of protracted guerrilla war, the result of a deliberate choice in the post-Vietnam era.
USA Today carried a report dated Sunday about soldiers committing suicide in Iraq. Madrid's El Mundo also picked up the story.
Americans are dying in Iraq any number of ways, from AK-47 fire to rocket-propelled grenades, from illness and heat exhaustion to heart attacks and car accidents. Since May 1, 188 U.S. military personnel have died - 94 in combat and 94 in non-combat situations.
Suicide is another category, although the Army appears reluctant to discuss it. Until last week, the Army refused to say how many troops in Iraq have committed suicide, arguing that any release of information would compromise cases under investigation.
But recognizing that there could be a problem, the Army has made public the number of suicides during Operation Iraqi Freedom. It estimates a minimum of 11 suicides since hostilities began. The Marine Corps has confirmed three suicides among its ground forces. The Navy is investigating one possible case. There are inquiries into other questionable deaths.
The USA Today article is about a particular soldier, Corey Small, from East Berlin, PA. A local editor said, "His death really brought the price of this war to a small community. It was front-page news."
El Mundo adds the observation that the Army dispatched a team of psychiatrists to Iraq last month to investigate the causes of suicides. It also notes that the Army's average annual suicide rate worldwide is 10-13 per 100,000 soldiers, but in Iraq it's running at 17, which seems to be significantly higher thanthe average. Most of the suicides have occurred since May 1, when President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.
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