Anyone giving odds on what Americans will consider prime to this autumn’s mid-term election?
The trends in U.S. casualties suffered in Iraq through August continued into September. The rate at which U.S. troops were being killed continued to slowly fall, but the rate at which injuries were suffered, including serious ones, continued to rise. And since the beginning of this month, U.S. casualties in the war have passed another grim benchmark: More than 20,000 U.S. troops have now been wounded while serving in Iraq.
The total number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq through Tuesday, Sep 18, since the start of operations to topple Saddam Hussein on March 19, 2003, was 2,678, according to official figures issued by the U.S. Department of Defense. Therefore, 33 U.S. soldiers were killed during the 18-day period from Sept, 1 through Sep 18 at an average rate of 1.77 per day.
As of Sep 18, 20,113 U.S. soldiers have been injured in Iraq since the start of hostilities.
Should we blame the education system — since we don’t do math any better than we do politics? And no one in government seems to be accountable.
If we don’t take things personally, then 2, 678 dead in 2.5 years is just 1071 per year. In terms of accidents this falls in between poisining by gas (700 per year) and firearms (1,500 per year). Of course the car is by far the most dangerous terrorist at 43,200 deaths per year.
Source: Top Ten Causes of Accidental Death:
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/toptens/accidents/accidentsFULL.html
You are much safer driving a Humvee in Iraq than you are driving your Toyota down the freeway.
20,000 injured? You’re right, we can’t do math. We lost more of that in three days at Gettysburg. We lost more than that in any three year span of war we’ve ever had in this country.
But I forget…..in Iraq it’s a hideously huge ammount of casualties…..the likes of which we have never seen from war. At least that’s what they keep telling us.
It is not the number of injured that are hideous it is the reason for the numbers that is hideous. What exactly is our goal in Iraq again? I have lost track.
Safer in Iraq than in Toyota? On what basis? Miles driven or what? Gee why isn’t everyone flocking to Iraq? It’s the rate of death. What is it per person who has served there? Let’s say that it’s been 1M servicemen have served in Iraq in the past 2.5 years. Of those 2% were injured — and injured there means you likely lost a limb and .27% died. Use 300M for a round figure for the US poulation and you would expect 6M injuries and 800k deaths. Iraq doesn’t sound quite as peaceful, does it?
I find it illuminating that the Bush dittoheads are starting to admit that the death and injury in Iraq, American or otherwise, really doesn’t concern them at all.
I love the idea that we dont add in to this the number Or Iraqi’s killed and injured, including civilians…
WHICh make our numbers look abit Puny..
The reason we’re in Iraq now is we left a power vacuum. Regardless of what they say publicly the moderate Muslims desire a US presence in Iraq until some sort of internal stability can be achieved. You can believe they don’t want their troops in the mess. Iraq needs to be partitioned because the different factions will never agree. Hussein only managed the country by mass murder.
What’s an injury?
Few quotes from Wiki:
“Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau.
Peleliu has a total area of 13 km² (5 mi²) As of 2004, its population was about 700,”
“Iraq has a total area of 438,317 km² As of 2005, its population was about 28,807,000,”
“Battle for Peleliu in WWII, lasts 2 months, US casualties 2,336 killed and 8,450 wounded…”
Add above article, think how much each area is important to the world and make your own conclusions… BTW person who ran Peleliu battle is remembered as war hero in history…
What is the regular peacetime casualty rate?
#9 the battle of Peleliu was a stepping stone tp bring the war to Japan. So Iraq is a stepping stone to bring the battle to whom?
The battle to Iran of course. Frankly, the more injuries and deaths the better, as long as they get plenty of the enemy to go with it, which they are. THe alternative is letting them think they can dictate everything, as we’re seeing in response to cartoons or any other comments that offend them. Bugging out of Somalia led to the mindset of more terrorist attacks to get what you want.
Its all well and good to say oh, well only 2700 deaths, that far fewer than cars blaha blah blah. The point is these are un-needed deaths. Trust me you will see it from a far different perspective when the deaths cease to become just a number, and suddenly become someone you know. Someone I knew was killed in iraq two weeks ago. Puts a whole new perspective on the situation.
This has my attention today.
I found out today that my stepson, an Army MP stationed in Iraq got hit by what was called an IED by the VA 1AM Baghdad time. He suffered a concussion, but was released back to duty. Other than the concussion he is fine, not even a scratch on him. He was the driver. His gunner lost a leg, and his commander got hit in the back with shrapnel. The commander will make a full recovery, but he won’t be coming back to Iraq, at least for the rest of this rotation.
I got a call from him after the VA call. Three devices hit his fully armored Humvee. Nobody would have survived if it hadn’t been armored. The commander’s personal armor prevented him from getting killed by the blast, and protected my stepson.
Add up three more to that total (although I bet that the concussion won’t count as being injured…)
AB CD
“Frankly, the more injuries and deaths the better, as long as they get plenty of the enemy to go with it”
You like all cowards have obviously never:
1) served
2) listened during you Vietnam history class.
3) Taken any Russian WWII history.
Why do you hate American soldiers so much?
The point is these are un-needed deaths.
And the automobile deaths were needed?
Bryan Price,
My prayers and best wishes go to you, your family & stepson.
This is not a bad time for those inclined to keep those who are serving in our thoughts and prayers.
Buddy, you’re right I’ve never done any of those things. Please explain.
I don’t hate American soldiers, and have no problem saying the same thing in their presence, namely that part of the mission in Iraq in my mind is to reverse the idea that if you hit America with a few losses, they’ll surrender and run away.
12 Frankly, the more injuries and deaths the better, as long as they get plenty of the enemy to go with it, which they are.
I prefer Patton’s view, that the object of war was not to die for your beliefs, but to make the other, poor bastard die for his.
AB CD
Your comments were callus and thoughtless to the extreme.
Just to take hits so you can say “hey we’re tough” does nothing when your enemy is just as willing to do the same back to you and then some. An intelligently fought campaign does so much more that just killing the enemy – it demoralizes them to the point that they want to quit. Fighting stupidly does the opposite. Read some history.
Every causality is someone’s husband, son, brother or someone’s wife, daughter or sister. Their loss is devastating and is felt forever.
I did EOD in the last Gulf war & nothing big happened to me. But I was there. If you believe what you say. If you believe in this war is being fought so well then ante up and signup. Or if you can’t have your son or daughter, maybe a nephew, sign up.
Put your money where your mouth is – because a lot of pro-war Americans sure aren’t willing to put up their own kids, or money for that matter.
Every death since the the start of the unprovoked war was entirely avoidable. Any comparison to accidents is ludicrous.
Each passing day further convinces me the seemingly inept execution of this fiascoe is all happening by design. Billions of dollars are simply being transfered into the accounts of the profiteers pulling the strings of the puppets in Washington.Wasted lives and limbs are irrelevant to the chairmen at the heads of Hell-a-hurtin’ et al.
WE WON THE WAR! WE WON THE WAR!
What did we win exactly?
Mid east stability? Nope
Got rid of someone connected to 9-11? nope
Making money hand over fist? Nope
A free ticket to an infinite time in the desert knowing that no matter when you pull out Iraq is going to hell in a hand basket.
DING DING DING
AB CD,
Why do you hate America?
I wasn’t suggesting a poorly fought campaign. Again it is Bin Laden in tapes to Al Qaeda that has talked about how the US is a ‘paper tiger’ that runs if hit. Staying in the wake of large losses reverses that thinking. I agree that it’s good to demoralize them with heavy losses on their end, and wish the media would report those numbers more often. The only places that report how bad things are going for them is Al Qaeda internal communications.
AB CD
Don’t you think that keeping Bin Laden alive serves the administration better than if he was captured or killed? You see, this way Bushco, Inc. can wage war on whoever they like, inflict more death and destruction, while inciting fear in Americans everywhere.
Most casualties are head and limb wounds, due to the armor that some of our troops have been issued. (Have they all been issued armor, or did they have to buy their own) A lot more brain injuries than in previous conflicts, and this is a huge problem.
and AB CD, are you from Saudi Arabia or something like that? Is that why you hate America. It should be Sauteed Arabia, perfect place if you like being boiled in oil!
#18 – I don’t hate American soldiers, and have no problem saying the same thing in their presence, namely that part of the mission in Iraq in my mind is to reverse the idea that if you hit America with a few losses, they’ll surrender and run away.
Comment by AB CD — 9/19/2006 @ 3:29 pm
You are a flaming jack ass.
Do you read any news? Ever seen CNN? Is there someone in your family who can tell what is going on over there.
We attacked a soveriegn nation with no ties to 9/11. Guess what? They fought back. Ain’t that a shocker? Now there are people who I know… Who I hang with… Who I care about… in harms way AND the son’s of bitches who actually are connected to 9/11 are having a massive hooka party underneath the mountains of Afganistan.
Keeping Bin Laden alive only helps the Bush Administration if he keeps making tapes endorsing the Democrats.
Last I checked there are US troops in Afghanistan. Leaving Iraq because of some losses or casualties does in fact reinforce the idea that America will retreat when hit, which only encourages more hits. It’s the same message they get when people apologize over cartoons or what the Pope said.
Here’s a book on the subject.
Here’s what I do claim. All wars are ultimately wars for honor. It’s just that some of those who fight them know this and some don’t. The point of my book was to show that we Americans (or most of us) don’t know this anymore, because we have lost our own honor culture — which, when we had one, was very different from the one we now confront in the Islamic world. That’s why, on the official level we have to make up impressive sounding moral (ending tyranny, establishing democracy) or prudential (WMDs) reasons for fighting while at an unofficial level we are always tending to slide back down into the same kind of primitive, street-level honor culture that the enemy inhabits, as at Abu Ghraib
http://spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10383
I keep reading about this war in iraq and as I served for 12 years I tend to keep track of these things. For the life of me I don’t know what all the fuss is about I mean the man in the white house (who I didn’t vote for by the way) came on national television and told us that we had won the war and Iraq. That use to mean the war was over when I was in school. As for those who died I mean no disrespect as it was through no fault of their own that they had to die in such a far away place. May God Bless their famiies and hold them over the holidays.