November 10, 2009

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan by Ethnicity

You used to hear all the time about how minorities are more likely to die fighting America's wars than whites are, but the ethnic distribution of military deaths no longer interests the mainstream media. This Pentagon document lists military deaths in Operation Enduring Freedom (i.e., Afghanistan) from October 7, 2001 through February 28, 2009.

Leaving out the five ambiguous cases (mixed or unknown), minorities have suffered only 20 percent of the military deaths in Operation Enduring Freedom, despite making up 38 percent of the 20 to 24 year olds in 2008. Per capita, Non-Hispanic whites have been 2.47 times as likely as minorities to die in Afghanistan.

How could this statistic be spun so it's "appropriate" for the mainstream media? Here's a feasible headline:
Minorities Discriminated Against at VA Cemeteries
Whites Get More Free Burials

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

18 comments:

JeremiahJohnbalaya said...

I've long heard that whites volunteer for, and die in, combat positions at a higher rate than non-whites.

colins said...

The story in Canada is very similar.

http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=2197081

Lost Pilgrim said...

It's our heritage of clinging to guns and bibles that deludes us into volunteering for the sharp end of the spear.

Anonymous said...

am NOT holding my breath for any media expose' on the "disproportionate" amount of white deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan anytime soon, even though the numbers support such an inquiry......

rob said...

Thirty eight percent! How employable are they? What fraction have real degrees or skills and no criminal record? Are they mostly net recipients or contributors?

Maybe we have a couple more decades, but the train is wrecking faster than I thought. Unless these minorities are way better than their parents and co-ethnics in their native lands.

DYork said...

"Non-Hispanic whites"? Unbelievable. Who the hell came up with that one?

How about Non-Korean blacks?

DYork said...

Well, White Americans made up a greater percentage of people who voted for Bush.

White Americans gave McCain 53%? of their vote.

sabril said...

Maybe the angle is to argue discrimination on the ground that whites get a disproportionate share of medals for valor and/or bravery.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what a...umm...religious breakdown would look like.....

Billo said...

I bet a lot of "Scotch-Irish" have perished in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anonymous said...

Whites serve in combat units, like the Rangers, at a higher rate than others. So the racial casualty breakdown in Afghanistan reflects this. Whites make up about 79.4% of the OEF deaths.

However, I was surprised the racial casualty breakdown in Iraq was almost the same. Whites make up about 75% of the OIF deaths.

The war in Iraq involves a lot more troops who are not in the combat arms branches, i.e. infantry and armor. In Iraq transportation people like drivers have been hit hard by IEDs. Yet, the racial death rate in Iraq is almost the same as in Afghanistan.

http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf

Jimmy Crackedcorn said...

Steve, just wanted to know if it was my mention of the sparse number of Muslim deaths (7) in Iraq & Afghanistan that caused you to ask this question?

Anonymous said...

Steve, I'm afraid you've got one more secret reader.

douchbag said...

Is this more proof of evolution and adaptation?

Fair skinned soldiers not faring as well as darker skinned soldiers in warzones such as Iraq and Afghanistan makes sense. The hot climate and stresses it places on the body of a fair skinned solider are higher than a darker skinned person. The stresses probably tire out a fair skinned person faster, leading him to make poorer decision, and causing him to have worse survival instincts.

Maybe the army should start using soldiers best acclimated to the climate? So, like a war in kosovo should be manned by fair skinned people, but a war in nigeria should be manned by darker skinned people.

Mr. Anon said...

" Anonymous said...

Steve, I'm afraid you've got one more secret reader."

Did you notice the title and sub-title of that Op-Ed piece:

"Opinion
Sometimes, an extremist really is an extremist

Jonah Goldberg

If we act as if 'Islam is the problem,' we will guarantee that Islam will become the problem."

The editors threw in a sub-title, taken out of context from the editorial, which was anti-thetical to the main thrust of the piece.

The Los Angeles Times - they can't even be trusted to report accurately on on the content of their own newspaper.

Bill said...

Yeah Steve, this is the rock that "citizenism" founders upon. And you know it.

You, me (I know, it should be "I", but it just doesn't sound right) and all sorts of guys in the blue counties ought to spend more time in the red ones observing the real and profound cultural differences.

Levi Johnston said...

Perhaps you could crunch some numbers and give us the relative underrepresentation of each group relative to their proportion of the population (and their propensity to 'pass' the ASVAB). I imagine in that regard, blacks look 'good' while hispanics and asians, do not.

Anonymous said...

Its Memorial Day 2014 and I reading tbis wondering if you are aware of how ridiculous your statement is. Obama visited Afg. to shore uo his drooping polls. He was sure to stuff the background with back soldiers. What a joke...pandering skunks...cowards!