Iran's January 8 missile attack on Ain Al-Assad's US camp in Iraq "Caused more damage than Trump is willing to admit". In the New york times Wednesday, February 12, Loren DeJonge Schulman, former Obama administration, and Paul Scharre, a soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, warn of a major challenge for the American army: traumatic brain injuries, TBI). On Monday February 10, the Pentagon reported that, ultimately, 109 soldiers on the scene were injured. The number has grown steadily since the attack, fueling heated debate.
"On the battlefield, American forces understand the importance of immediately examining personnel exposed to explosions, but in Washington, we are very far from such an understanding", denounce the two experts from the Center for a New American Security, calling on the Pentagon to better recognize these injuries and to develop research for better management.
TBI, the result of a concussion caused by shock or the blowing effect of ammunition, is a slow-brewing poison. While most affected soldiers return to service after seven to ten days of rest and treatment, many will experience the injury late. Symptoms are headache, sleep disturbance, nausea, balance problems …
In 2019, 15,262 soldiers were diagnosed with TBI by the American defense, affected in combat or not. Since 2000, there have been 414,000 (45% of whom are in the army). The Pentagon has 52,000 casualties in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. "We are not telling the truth to American opinion on the cost of these wars compared to the wounded", conclude the two experts in the New york times.
"I received a violent shock"
After the January 8 attack, 250 soldiers were examined. Donald Trump first assured that he had no injuries, then minimized the alerts by talking about simple "Headache", to the despair of caregivers also working on psychological trauma of war, often described as invisible wounds. In the first days, the American authorities evoked 7 wounded. At the end of January, 64 TBI. So passed to 109, mid-February. "We are still learning" on this wound, conceded, on January 22, the American secretary of defense, Mark Esper, before the press.
