Statistics... and then there are statistics.

[Kip Powick]

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the U.S. involvement in Iraq, here's a sobering statistic. There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths.

That gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers. The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 persons for the same period. That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capital than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.

[deicer]

Hey Kip...

What's the overall stats for the whole U.S.?

Maybe it would be cheaper just to switch countries???

Iceman

[Maverick]

A couple of years ago I looked at the murder stats for the US, and found that on average there were 16,000 Americans killed by Americans each year. 

Bang on Brett

Overview

* An estimated 16,692 persons were murdered nationwide in 2005, an increase of 3.4 percent from the 2004 figure.

* Murder comprised 1.2 percent of the overall estimated number of violent crimes in 2005. (Based on Table 1.)

* There were an estimated 5.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/offenses/vio...r_homicide.html

And Canada:

Canada's crime rate, based on data reported by police services, fell a marginal 1% last year. While the total violent crime rate declined, the national homicide rate increased 12%.

Except for an increase in 2003, the crime rate has generally been falling since 1991 when it peaked. Police reported about 2.6 million offences in 2004, resulting in a crime rate that was 12% lower than a decade ago.

Last year's decline was driven largely by a 5% decrease in Ontario, whose crime rate was the lowest in the country for the second year in a row. Most of this decline was due to large decreases in reported crime in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and St. Catharines–Niagara.

Prince Edward Island was the only other province to report a large decline in crime. Saskatchewan's crime rate, which experienced the largest increase of any province over the past decade, fell slightly in 2004. New Brunswick reported the largest increase, up 3%.

right click the chart to save it.

Violent crime down but homicide rate up

In total, about 300,000 violent crimes were reported to police in 2004, the majority of which were common assault. The violent crime rate fell 2%, continuing a general decline since 1992. The violent crime rate was 10% lower than a decade earlier, but 35% higher than 20 years ago.

Canada's homicide rate rose 12% in 2004 after hitting a 36-year low the year before. Police reported 622 victims of homicide, 73 more than last year. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec accounted for most of this increase. The rate of 1.9 homicides for every 100,000 population was 5% lower than it was 10 years earlier.

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050721/d050721a.htm

[Guest powderfinger]

Yes, very interesting. In fact in comparison to other 'wars' the military casualty rate is quite low in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Canadians killed in Afghanistan since 2002 number 44. Every one is one too many, but in WWII the North Novas lost that many in one day. When the regiment left Halifax in the fall of 1941 it was over 1000 men, yet there were only 12 of the originals in the regiment when it returned in December 1945. My uncle was one of the twelve. Not all were casualties of course, but the majority were. And on a 1000 plane raid when 150 did not return, that was about 1500 men, in one night. So when Duceppe and Jack Layton keep saying we should bring our troops home you have wonder. They are probably safer there than they would be at the corner of Jane and Finch.

[Fido]

160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations

during the last 22 months,

and a total of 2,112 deaths.

That gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers

.

Damn numbers.

That rate is 60 per month...........The Washington D.C. rate is per year.