Pentagon reveals 34 US troops suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile attack
By Ryan Pickrell
Business Insider
January 24, 2020
The Department of Defense told reporters Friday that nearly three dozen US service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries in the aftermath of the Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq earlier this month, according to multiple reports.
The Pentagon, following repeated questions, revealed Friday that a total of 34 US service members have been diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injuries, some of whom were flown to Germany and the US for treatment. (The Pentagon is reportedly using those two terms interchangeably).
The department said that the delays in reporting the TBIs is that these injuries are not always immediately apparent. "Some of these conditions manifest over time, symptoms can get better and get worse. This is a snapshot in time," Pentagon spokesman John Hoffman explained.
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury — damage affecting the brain's normal function caused by a sudden blow to the head or the severe shaking of the head and body.
Immediately following the Jan. 8 ballistic missile attack on US and coalition forces at Al Asad Air Base and in Irbil, President Donald Trump proudly announced that "no Americans were harmed."
A little over a week later, US Central Command revealed that there were, in fact, injuries.
"While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Bill Urban explained in a statement.
He said that a total of 11 US service members had to be transported to facilities in Germany and Kuwait for additional screening and treatment.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, The Washington Post reported that the number was higher, although it did not give a specific number.
When questioned Wednesday about his earlier statement, now known to be inaccurate, Trump downplayed the severity of the injuries, saying they are "not very serious."
"I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say and I can report that it's not very serious," the president told the press in Davos, Switzerland. "I don't consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I've seen."
When an Associated Press reporter asked for more information about these injuries on Jan. 23, a CENTCOM spokesman told him they'll no longer "play this game."
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think Trump is downplaying the seriousness of brain injuries because he does not want to carry out his threat to punish Iran if they cause any harm to Americans. Either that, or he is an ignoramus.
8 comments:
Your conclusions are not mutually exclusive.
In respect to brain injuries it appears that President Trump is ignorant.
H went with the information he had at the time.
Yes, but when he found out there were injuries, Trump made that boneheaded remark about concussions being "not very serious." Stupid is as stupid does.
"Stupid is as stupid does" talking about the President of the United States. The man who has turned our economy around, brought jobs back to this country, and has accomplished so much more, even while defending himself against an attempted coup. Do you have any idea how stupid that makes you look Howie? Do you?
Being stupid does not mean you cannot accomplish great things. You've got your head stuck so far up Trump's ass that you cannot see what a jerk he is.
I'll still vote for Trump in November, but my vote will really be against the Democrats who are far worse than he is.
Trumps intelligence dwarfs yours...and mine...by far, Howie. You refuse to acknowledge that. But at least you finally ARE seeing how corrupt and stupid the democrat candidates are by comparison. Last year at this time you were ranting like a little kid and proclaiming that you would not vote at all because you hated him so much. You're making progress. There's still hope for ya.
The Sky is Falling! Did Howie say he was voting for Trump? Will wonders never cease to amaze me? After the Never Trump blogs and then the Climate Change blog, I was beginning to worry about my dear friend.
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