Pentagon Reveals 34 Troops Suffered Brain Injuries In Iran Counter-Attack
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
On January 8, the Iranian military fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi airbases where American troops were stationed — an act of retaliation against the United States in response to the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. No fatalities were reported on January 8, but on Friday, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman reported that 34 U.S. service members were diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injuries following Iran’s attack on the Ain al Asad Air Base in Iraq.
Hoffman’s report stands in stark contrast to what President Donald Trump reported following the attack. The U.S. president claimed, “We suffered no casualties. All of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.”
34 US service members have been diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) resulting from Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq earlier this month, Pentagon spokesman Jonathon Hoffman said Friday, @rabrowne75 and @barbarastarrcnn report. 1/
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 24, 2020
On Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland — where Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attended the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum — Trump responded to reports that U.S. troops were being treated for injuries and told reporters, “I heard they had headaches. I can report it is not very serious.”
But CNN’s Jake Tapper, in a Twitter thread, stressed that comparing traumatic brain juries to headaches is wildly misleading.
President Trump said he does not consider potential brain injuries to be as serious as physical combat wounds, downplaying the severity of US service members being treated for concussion symptoms from an Iranian attack as "headaches." https://t.co/RHQVsxvyCZ
— CNN (@CNN) January 22, 2020
“Traumatic Brain Injuries are not mere ‘headaches,’” Tapper tweeted. “According to the @CDCgov, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States.”
He stressed that the injuries suffered at the Ain al Asad Air Base earlier this month —although not fatal — were much worse than Trump said they were. And Tapper laid out the specific injuries suffered, noting, “8 service members were flown to the US from Germany for treatment; 9 are still being treated in Germany; 16 have been treated in Iraq and have returned to duty; 1 was treated in Kuwait and has returned to duty in Iraq.”
Tapper also points out that according to the Pentagon, “Traumatic brain injury is one of the invisible wounds of war and one of the signature injuries of troops wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
2/ Status of service members:
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 24, 2020
8 service members were flown to the US from Germany for treatment;
9 are still being treated in Germany;
16 have been treated in Iraq and have returned to duty;
1 was treated in Kuwait and has returned to duty in Iraq.
4/ Traumatic Brain Injuries are not mere “headaches.” According to the @CDCgov “Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States.”https://t.co/uH8YwsZJQW
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 24, 2020
5/ The Pentagon says “Traumatic brain injury is one of the invisible wounds of war and one of the signature injuries of troops wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.” https://t.co/JIcboAce5G
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 24, 2020
