One Percent Increase In Disabled In Iraq Over Last 33 Years

The headline blares Up To 10 Percent of Iraqis Disabled by War, Sanctions.

Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Feeds into that anti-American imperialism mantra, too. The author of the piece goes on to make his case with the first paragraph.

Amputee Hamza Hameed is a living reminder of the U.S. "shock and awe" bombardment during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, one of up to three million Iraqis disabled after years of war, sanctions and economic deprivation.

Oh, how horrible. See, we told you the Americans bring nothing but death and destruction with them. They ravage the countryside and leave the people broken and downtrodden. Those evil Crusaders are a curse upon the land.

Well, yeah, except for this little nugget contained way down in the middle of the story.

"If you take into account that Iraq has been at war since 1977, the Iran-Iraq war, the American bombings, sanctions, all of which have contributed to more people becoming disabled, 2.7 million or 10 percent of the population is a conservative estimate," Mercy Corps spokeswoman Tiana Tozer said.

What is missing from their little piece also is how many of these disabled or crippled Iraqis owe their condition to torture endured at the hands of Sadaam Hussein and his goons. The Iraq-Iran war claimed about 1 million on each side and I do find it curious that the primary tool in the liberal toolbox for dealing with despotic regimes, that being sanctions, is also being blamed for causing the injuries or lack of medical treatment that may have led to some of these crippling injuries.

The other point missing is how many of the injured are the result of jihadist bombs and not coalition military forces.

Reuters isn't writing this to be informative. They know most won't get beyond the headline and first paragraph or two so they paint the mental image that they want the reader to walk away with and pat themselves on the back for upholding their journalistic standards.

Oh, by the way, the percentage of Iraqis disabled in 1977, according to figures supplied in the story, was 9 percent.

Here in America, according to the CDC, the percentage of disabled is 31.4%