The Iraq death toll just marked a saddening 4,000, but perhaps more disturbing is that as far as the mainstream media goes, this is the only figure that counts.

This cartoon below deals with “The Numbers Game” - an oversimplifying of U.S. casualty reports seen too frequently. “Only” 4,000 dead may be low compared to past wars, but nearly 30,000 more have been wounded in Iraq as of this post.

Better body armor and faster, superior medical care keep troops alive at much higher rates than in the past. But many of these brave men and women still must dealing with severe, life-long injuries such as loss of limbs, brain damage and blindness. The toll of the five-year war is far greater than we usually think.

NOTE: This political cartoon was created by and is property of journalist and cartoonist Andrew Wahl. Visit his blog, Off the Wahl, for more of his work.