This CNN story is a roundup about the latest carnage in Iraq – a car bomb killed 10 near a police academy, and a variety of other incidents that make it clear there’s no control over the situation. However, buried in there is a terrible stat about the toll this war is taking.

Department of Defense officials said 10,252 U.S. troops had suffered combat-related injuries since the Iraqi war began on March 19, 2003. Of those, 5,396 have been wounded seriously enough that they were unable to return to the battlefield, and 4,856 U.S. troops have been wounded and were able to return to duty in Iraq, according to the statistics

I had an earlier post that highlighted how medical needs are not being met because of budget cuts, and that these troops are returning home from Iraq after surviving hellish wounds (that in earlier times would have not been survivable), left to pick up the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, you’ve got our dear leader talking about the ultimate sacrifice he’s made — dealing with politics, as he welcomes incoming members of Congress. Damn him — perhaps he’d like an encounter with an RPG to get a real sense of sacrifice.

I particularly want to say a thanks to your spouse for having supported your run for the Congress or the Senate. Laura and I know how hard it is on a family to be in the political arena. It’s the ultimate sacrifice, really: sacrifice your privacy; it’s a sacrifice of time with your kids. But you’re going to find it’s worthwhile — serving this great country is an unbelievable honor, and both the elected official and the spouse are serving our great country.

(Thanks to AmericaBlog for the pointer to the quote)

Bush also can’t even open his personal f*cking wallet for tsunami relief.