... has become par for the course at the Old Gray Lady's place:
by Bob Owens
The media is at it again, using questionable statistics and broad strokes to paint the U.S. military as a band of unstable brutes. Case in point: the January 13 New York Times story “Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles,” which collates deaths at the hands of veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A total of nine Times reporters were involved in the one-page story, co-authored by Deborah Sontag and Lizette Alvarez, which is the first in a series of articles encapsulated under the title “War Torn: A series of articles and multimedia about veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have committed killings, or been charged with them, after coming home.”
The Times found, “121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one, after their return from war.”
Bruce Kesler of the Democracy Project was among the first to note that despite finding the time to pen 6,253 words in this first article of the series, “the New York Times could not find words to put the 121 cases of physical violence by vets in full perspective,” by providing the context of how these deaths measure up against the number of deaths attributed to similar civilian demographics.
In an article in the Weekly Standard, John J. DiIulio Jr. offered the much-needed context that the Times failed to provide.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and other veterans’ advocacy groups are absolutely correct that not merely “many” but the vast majority of veterans not only remain completely law-abiding but go on to lead stable and productive personal, professional, and civic lives. Assuming 121 homicide cases in relation to 749,932 total discharges through 2007, 99.98 percent of all discharged Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have not committed or been charged with homicide.
And assuming 121 cases and 749,932 total discharges, the homicide offending rate for the discharged veterans would be 16.1 per 100,000. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has demographic data aplenty on homicide offending rates. For instance, in 2005, for white males aged 18-24, the rate was about 20 per 100,000. The Times opined that 121 was the “minimum” number, even as it counted veterans charged but not convicted with veterans tried and found guilty. Doubling the number to 242 would double the rate to 32.2 per 100,000.
Far from being an indictment against veterans, the actual homicide rate among civilians is higher in similar demographic groups.
Writing at Winds of Change and admittedly using back-of-the-envelope math, Marc Danziger comes up with an estimate of the 121 homicides mentioned in the Times as representing a 7.1/100,000 homicide rate by veterans, while citing Department of Justice statistics that show a US offender rate for homicide in the 18-24-year-old range of 26.5/100,000; for 25-34, it’s 13.5/100,000.
There's much more... go and get your fill...
Just more support for the troops from some true patriots. I’m sure these people have done so much for the war veterans.
Effing a$$holes aren't worth the sacrifice these fine people make on their behalf.
Posted by: tim | Friday, January 18, 2008 at 12:45 PM