I was slacking at work yesterday afternoon and decided I would do a little research on the Iraq war as well as other wars/conflicts since World War 2. As things stand now, we have been in Iraq for about 4 years and the total death toll is about 3100 US troops. Before I go any further, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea here. I am NOT trying to trivialize the deaths of US soldiers in any way and I am NOT trying to be offensive or indicate that lives are not important. I just wanted everyone to know the actual facts and numbers that we are talking about in Iraq.
Here is the LINK where I got the numbers. The summary looks like this:
World War II (5 years) 405,000 total deaths
Korea(3 years) 54,000 total deaths
Vietnam(11 years) 90,000 total deaths
Iraq(4 years) 3,100 total deaths
So..the next time you hear someone out there say how bad Iraq is and how many Americans are dying, remember these numbers. I think these numbers show how good a job the military does in protecting lives. World War 2 averaged 81,000 deaths per year and Iraq averages 775. Deaths in wars are inevitable and nobody likes wars, but to label Iraq "unprecedented" or "the worst war ever" or any of the other crap I keep hearing in the media is just wrong. End of sermon.
1 comment:
We have bought into the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) ever since we took on Russia in the Cold WAR.
Through a combination of public apathy and threats by the MIC we have let the SYSTEM get too large. It is now a SYSTEMIC problem and the SYSTEM is out of control.
I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.
There is no conspiracy. The SYSTEM has gotten so big that those who make it up and run it day to day in industry and government simply are perpetuating their existance.
The politicians rely on them for details and recommendations because they cannot possibly grasp the nuances of the environment and the BIG SYSTEM.
So, the system has to go bust and then be re-scaled, fixed and re-designed to run efficiently and prudently, just like any other big machine that runs poorly or becomes obsolete or dangerous.
This situation will right itself through trauma. I see a government ENRON on the horizon, with an associated house cleaning.
The next president will come and go along with his appointees and politicos. The event to watch is the collapse of the MIC.
For more details see:
http://www.rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com
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