Joust The Facts: Another Misleading Headline

The USA Today headline on the article by Bill Nichols says 8000 desert during Iraq War.

Reading that, you could almost think there was some kind of unprecedented rout going on, yes? If you didn't know better?

Or, for that matter, if you didn't read the article itself, which carefully puts the numbers into perspective.

Giacomo over at the Joust the Facts blog read the article and worked up some alternate headlines:

Military Desertions Down Since 9/11

Rate of Military Desertion Much Lower Than In Vietnam Era

Desertion Among Active Iraq Military Very Rare

Military Desertion Rarely Due To War Opposition

Read the Joust the Facts post.

The USA Today article also notes that the vast majority of desertions occur inside the United States and that most deserters return within months. There is also, according to this article, only one known case of desertion in Iraq.