Iraq Contractor Death Toll

More than 770 contractors have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war in 2003, the Chicago Tribune reports today. The figures on contractor deaths are tabulated by the Labor Department's Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Division, based on workers' compensation claims. But the statistics don't include contractors killed when on off duty status. And the numbers, as always, don't tell the full story of how harrowing it can be for family members to see the bodies of their loved ones shipped home without the same respect and care with which uniformed service members are treated.