“Children die from tetanus…”
Kandahar, Afghanistan, October 13, 2010…
The Red Cross reported a “drastic increase” in the number of amputations from war injuries, reflecting the nature of the violence.
Reto Stocker, the Red Cross chief in Kabul, said the casualties being seen at Mirwais hospital were only “the tip of the iceberg.”
This was near the beginning of Obama’s “surge” around Kandahar, and because of intense fighting almost everywhere in the district, many people with treatable injuries and illnesses couldn’t get to clinics or hospitals.
“The result is that children die from tetanus, measles and tuberculosis – easily prevented with vaccines – while women die in childbirth and otherwise strong men succumb to simple infections.”