Saturday, April 22, 2006
US Army Suicides Up, Says MSNBC.com - But Implies it is the War in Iraq at Fault
When the MSM shows statistics regarding the US military, or anything connected to President Bush, it shows part of the story - the part that backs up its assertions. Usually, however, it leaves out the important part of the story - the part which does not back up its assertions - and minimizes this part of the story.
This is proven once again in a story on MSNBC.com, calling attention to a rise in suicides in the ranks of the US Army.
A rise in suicides is bad, of course - but MSNBC tries to make it appear that it is the war in Iraq which is at fault.
Army suicides hit highest level since 1993
How does MSNBC make you think Iraq has something to do with this? For starters, the picture at the top of the story is of soldiers in Iraq. Makes that point, no?
The main assertion of the story, however, is blown away by this small paragraph, tucked neatly inside the story where most people miss it:
Hmmm...25 US Army soldiers took their own lives who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan - out of 83 total who killed themselves.
That means that 58 of the 83 DID NOT serve in Iraq or Afghanistan...meaning that more than 2/3rds of the suicides had nothing to do with the war.
In short, MSNBC proves their point by demonstrating that 2/3rds of Army suicides had nothing to do with wars we are currently fighting. The rise is just an unfortunate spike.
But don't tell the media that, or they will be angry that you thought for yourself.
When the MSM shows statistics regarding the US military, or anything connected to President Bush, it shows part of the story - the part that backs up its assertions. Usually, however, it leaves out the important part of the story - the part which does not back up its assertions - and minimizes this part of the story.
This is proven once again in a story on MSNBC.com, calling attention to a rise in suicides in the ranks of the US Army.
A rise in suicides is bad, of course - but MSNBC tries to make it appear that it is the war in Iraq which is at fault.
Army suicides hit highest level since 1993
WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. Army soldiers who took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993, despite a growing effort by the Army to detect and prevent suicides.
In 2005, a total of 83 soldiers committed suicide, compared with 67 in 2004, and 60 in 2003 — the year U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq. Four other deaths in 2005 are being investigated as possible suicides but have not yet been confirmed. The totals include active duty Army soldiers and deployed National Guard and Reserve troops.
“Although we are not alarmed by the slight increase, we do take suicide prevention very seriously,” said Army spokesman Col. Joseph Curtin.
How does MSNBC make you think Iraq has something to do with this? For starters, the picture at the top of the story is of soldiers in Iraq. Makes that point, no?
The main assertion of the story, however, is blown away by this small paragraph, tucked neatly inside the story where most people miss it:
Of the confirmed suicides last year, 25 were soldiers deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — which amounts to 40 percent of the 64 suicides by Army soldiers in Iraq since the conflict began in March 2003.
Hmmm...25 US Army soldiers took their own lives who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan - out of 83 total who killed themselves.
That means that 58 of the 83 DID NOT serve in Iraq or Afghanistan...meaning that more than 2/3rds of the suicides had nothing to do with the war.
In short, MSNBC proves their point by demonstrating that 2/3rds of Army suicides had nothing to do with wars we are currently fighting. The rise is just an unfortunate spike.
But don't tell the media that, or they will be angry that you thought for yourself.
