<p>January 17, 2008 -- Memo to New York Times Public Ed itor Clark Hoyt: Your urgent atten tion is needed on the slanderous 7,000-word front-page article published last Sunday about homicides allegedly committed by US veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.</p>
<p>We say "allegedly," because the article lumped those merely accused of a homicide with those who've already been convicted. But that was the least of the piece's problems.</p>
<p>As our colleague Ralph Peters so adroitly demonstrated on these pages Tuesday, the article embraced the hoariest of overwrought clich</p>
<p>Have no fear. They are being slammed on the internet for their lousy manipulation of statistics. Actual rate for returning veterans is lower than the general population showing that service in the Gulf actually made you less violent. Ex: Move</a> America Forward</p>
<p>If you have not read (and gagged on) the NY Times piece, here is a link. You will probably need to register (free) if you really want to read it.</p>
<p>If this "article" had been written in a way to show that we need to support our vets who suffer from PTSD, I would have no problem with it. But to imply that our Iraq/Afghanistan vets are now suddenly murderers is unconscionable. As of August 2005, we had deployed over 1 million troops, about 35% having served multiple tours. Note that the NY Times numbers were for 121 violent crimes committed by vets nationwide, of which 79 were homicides. To put that into perspective, Louisville, KY, with a metropolitan population of ~700,000, has had 69, 64, and 70 homicides in the past three years. Count me as one planning to write a complaint to the NY Times. It won't change their editorial slant, but it will allow me to let off steam.</p>