Why Do Bullets Kill More Soldiers in Iraq?

From The New York Times:

Rifles and machine guns are the most lethal weapons in conventional ground war. Why have their bullets been more lethal against Americans in Iraq than inAfghanistan?

Explosions cause injuries in volume, and so in almost all wars, blasts and shrapnel (whether from shells, bombs, or improvised explosive devices, also known as I.E.D.’s) cause more casualties to the ranks than anything else. But the statistics from more than half a century of medical research into battlefield trauma have consistently shown that a soldier struck by a bullet runs a greater risk of dying than he or she does from any other common war injury.

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My Comment: The comments made for this New York Times article in their comments section are worth reading also.

Combat Deaths In Afghanistan Outpaced Iraq's In May

Suicide Attack In South Afghanistan

From The Houston Chronicle:

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — It's a grim gauge of U.S. wars going in opposite directions: American and allied combat deaths in Afghanistan in May passed the monthly toll in Iraq for the first time.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates used the statistical comparison to dramatize his point to NATO defense ministers that they need to do more to get Afghanistan moving in a better direction.

He wants more allied combat troops, more trainers and more public commitment.

More positively, the May death totals point to security improvements in Iraq that few thought likely a year ago.

But the deterioration in Afghanistan suggests a troubling additional possibility: a widening of the war to Pakistan, where the Taliban and al-Qaida have found haven.

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News From Other Sources:
More US Forces Killed In Afghanistan Last Month Than Iraq -- Donklephant
May's combat deaths in Afghanistan outnumber Iraq -- AP
Coalition toll surpasses Iraq deaths for first time -- Guardian

My Comment: This war is heating up. When I read the blog posts from servicemen serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, it is clear that Afghanistan is the dangerous place for a soldier today.