On December 28, 2006, another milestone was reached in the Iraq war when the number American dead reached 3,000. Around 22,000 American soldiers have been wounded in the four years that this war has been fought. I don't mean to minimize the number of casualties, but I want to put them in perspective with some of our nation's other conflicts,
During the four years of our Civil War (1861 - 1865), 140,414 Union soldiers were killed in action and 281,881 were wounded. 74,524 Confederate soldiers were killed and a large number wounded, the total number being unknown.
During the Korean War (1950 - 1953), 36,568 American soldiers were killed and 103,284 were wounded. During the Vietnam War (1964 - 1975), 58,199 American soldiers died and 153,303 were wounded.
During the 36-day (February 19 - March 26, 1045) Battle of Iwo Jima, a small Pacific island 4.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, 6,891 U.S. Marines were killed and 18,070 were wounded. So, during one month on Iwo Jima, more than twice as many American soldiers were killed and almost as many were wounded, as were killed and wounded during the first four years of the war in Iraq.
Every soldier's death is a devastating tragedy to the fallen one's survivors and my heart goes out to the families of soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq. But, when you compare the number of soldiers killled and wounded during four years in Iraq with the number killed and wounded in other conflicts, we are talking about a relatively small number. And when you look at the casualties just in the Battle of Iwo Jima, a month-long fight for only 11 square miles of ground, the number of dead and wounded in Iraq pale by comparison.
With the Vietnam War, Americans developed a pacifist mind set. Wars will be tolerated only if victory is swift and certain with a neglibible number of casualties. We are a nation of wimpy whiners when wars drag on and casualties mount. But, you will only find a few among the families of our fallen heroes joining in opposition to the war in Iraq. Despite their loss and grief, most of these families continue to support the war.
Those who are horrified because we have reached a new milestone of 3,000 American dead in Iraq, completely disregard the fact that our soldiers are all volunteers. Our military exists to fight anywhere anytime there is a threat against the security of the United States or its national interests. Accordingly, its members may be placed in the position of having to kill or be killed. No one forced our soldiers to join up. It is totally irrelevant that their only reason for volunteering may have been to obtain education benefits.
The war in Iraq has become a millstone hanging around the necks of the Bush administration and the Republican party. Because of the war, the Democrats now control both houses of Congress. Their chances of winning the next presidential election improve as the war drags on and the casualties mount. The Bush administration has only itself to blame. It relied on faulty intelligence to get us into the war and it did not have a plan for the occupation of Iraq once the Iraqi army had been defeated.
In trying to cast off its millstone, the administration is left with few options. If it pulls out of Iraq prematurely, the rest of the world will see this as a defeat of the mighty United States and our global influence will be severely diminished. Such a defeat will leave the Mideast in chaos and embolden our enemies. To continue the war until we achieve a stable Middle East, we will have to keep a large number of troops in Iraq for years to come. Our nation of wimpy whiners will never tolerate a seemingly never ending war.
No comments:
Post a Comment