MEDIA MISINFORMS: Fewer Soldiers Commit Suicide During Bush Years

USA Today has the latest attempt by the media to try to shape opinion on the War in Iraq:

A record number of soldiers — 109 — have killed themselves this year, according to Army statistics showing confirmed or suspected suicides.

The deaths occur as soldiers serve longer combat deployments and the Army spends $100 million on support programs.

The Army provided suicide statistics to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Her staff shared them with USA TODAY.

The Army updated those statistics Wednesday, confirming 85 suicides, including 27 in Iraq and four in Afghanistan.

Of course, if there is a correlation between suicides and Iraq it is not clear from this article since the vast majority of the Army suicides did not occur in Iraq and no information is shared by Senator Murray on whether these soldiers ever spent time in Iraq.

But, facts don't matter to Senator Murray or the media.
It's all about agenda.

Senator Murray knows better.
A report released to Congress in July of this year showed that military suicides are much lower during the Bush years than the Clinton years.

Here's a closer look at the official numbers:

Click to Enlarge
From page 11 of the CRS Report to Congress (pdf)
-Hat Tip BG

If you look at the numbers you see that the total official number of suicides in the military last year was 155. If you look further you see that there are less suicides in the military today than during the Clinton years!

What do you suppose drove our soldiers to commit suicide when the Clintons were in office?
And, how will the media explain this?

And... US soldiers are also less likely to commit suicide than the general population.
Poynter Online reported:

The 17/100,000 rate is right on track with what the rate is for all males in the United States...

When you consider that most serving in Iraq are young, you might find that the suicide rate among those serving in Iraq could be even less than their peers in the general population. The suicide rate for 20 to 24-year-old males in the United States is 20/100,000 [pdf].

And, this figure (18.4) reported by USA Today is actually lower than the general population for that age group.

WORD TO THE WISE: Don't trust Patty Murray (D-Wash)!

Flopping Aces has more on these suicide numbers.

Previously:
Since Clintons Left Office Fewer Soldiers Kill Themselves