The wire services yesterday carried a report that Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko of the Army Corps of Engineers had been wounded in a roadside bombing attack. (See the CNN version of the story here, but I haven't seen any with greater information of detail). As CNN put it
Dorko is believed to be the highest-ranking U.S. military officer injured in the war. He suffered shrapnel wounds and has been evacuated to Germany, the sources said.
It turns out Dorko just assumed his position on October 10 (via CNN). According to the WaPo's wire story he
was injured when a bomb blew up near his convoy, operated by the private security contractor Erinys International, the Army said.
The private security team evacuated Dorko and another soldier to a U.S. military hospital in the Green Zone. Dorko, in stable condition, was later evacuated to the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
Tinfoil on the flip...
Now, all the reports agree that Dorko's injuries are not "life-threatening" and that he is in "stable" condition. He's also, however, in Landstuhl. I'm not expert in this, and maybe somebody can set me straight if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding soldiers are taken out of theater when their injuries are serious.
How badly injured was Dorko?
If we're talking flesh wounds and an overly cautious military, maybe there's nothing to be concerned about. I worry, however, that Dorko may have suffered serious injury. In that case, we have to ask whether it was just chance that IED exploded next to the general's vehicle in the convoy? Or did some insurgents have inside information about the movements of a relatively high-ranking officer?
If it's the latter, then we do have something to worry about.
Why aren't any paid reporters asking these questions? Why is the Dorko story not being covered in any significant detail?