October 22, 2006: Operations in Iraq have, so far, caused 45,000 American casualties. Some 2,700 were fatal, another 21,000 were combat injuries, and the remainder were non-combat injuries and illness severe enough to require evacuation from the country. There's a lot of disease in the Persian Gulf, and this causes more losses than combat. That's because many more local illnesses put troops out of action for a day or two, and that does require evacuation from the country.