IRAQ: Amid a deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the UN this week announced it is withdrawing further personnel from the area. The failure of US forces to provide a secure environment for the UN and other agencies in the field will be of serious concern to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Of even more concern to US commanders is their continued inability to halt attacks on American military personnel operating throughout Iraq.
According to CENTCOM, US military personnel are coming under attack from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), rocket- propelled grenades (RPGs) and small arms fire on average between 12 and 15 times daily - approximately every 90 minutes.
As a result of such attacks, the Pentagon has confirmed that 757 US troops have been wounded in action since the 1st of May. Many of these troops suffered serious gunshot, shrapnel and blast injuries sustained during these assaults.
Those injured in such attacks are evacuated by air and sent to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre in Germany. From there, they are airlifted to military hospitals in the United States, including the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington DC and the National Naval Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland. A spokeswoman for Walter Reed said there are currently 27 US soldiers in intensive care at the hospital. She also confirmed that they had treated more than 1,400 troops wounded in Iraq since the 18th of March.
This figure is at variance with CENTCOM's official figure of 1,276 troops wounded in Iraq during the same period. The National Naval Medical Centre at Bethesda has been less forthcoming than its Army colleagues in Maryland in providing figures for numbers of wounded treated, making it difficult to ascertain the actual figure for US troops wounded in Iraq.
The numbers of US troops killed in Iraq have been widely documented. US troops killed in action or in non-combat situations are dealt with by the US military's Mortuary Affairs unit located outside Baghdad. There they are processed and flown to the US Military Morgue at Dover Air Force Base in the United States. So far, 312 US troops have been repatriated from Iraq in this manner. One hundred and ninety three have been killed in action and a further 119 listed as non-combat fatalities.
As a result of the increased casualty rate, the US military have adapted their standard operating procedures to help protect soldiers on the ground from Iraqi attack. Troops are no longer deployed on patrol in soft-skinned Humvees (high mobility, multi-purpose, wheeled vehicle, HMMWV). Instead, they are conducting patrols in what they term "up-armoured" Humvees. At a cost of approximately $140,000 each, the armoured Humvee is capable of withstanding the blast from 6kg of plastic explosives underneath the vehicle. The armoured version also provides some protection from high- velocity rifle rounds and shrapnel.
However, the armoured Humvee is not sufficient to counter the threat from large, improvised explosive devices or from well-aimed shots from shoulder-launched RPGs. Resistance groups within Iraq are using old Soviet RPG-7s against US patrols with increasing frequency and accuracy.
The RPG-7 fires an 85mm high-explosive anti-tank round and has a range of up to 950 metres. Fired at close quarters at US Humvees in crowded city streets, it has a devastating effect, capable of penetrating up to 330 mm of armour. The fin-stabilised projectiles are very accurate and are used to pinpoint US troops manning heavy machine-guns and Stinger Missile units mounted on armoured Humvees. Iraqi attackers have also attempted to fire missiles through the doors and hatches of vehicles left open in the intense heat of summer.
When one adds up the official CENTCOM tally of dead, missing and wounded US troops in Iraq, the total approaches 1,600. In light of such figures, many families in the US will be anxious about the return of loved ones deployed to the region for almost a year now. Their return home seems to be dependent on the UN's willingness to send troops to relieve the beleaguered occupation.
With the Americans unable to maintain security within Iraq, it remains to be seen if other countries will risk sending troops into the maelstrom.
Dr Tom Clonan is a retired army officer who lectures in the School of Media, DIT