NO STOMACH FOR CASUALTIES

According to the Defense Department, there have been a total of 4,355 U.S. military deaths in Iraq since that war began on March 20, 2003. However, that number includes accidental deaths and other deaths not related to any hostile action. The actual number of American troops killed in action is 3,477.

Let me be perfectly clear: The death or serious injury of a single American soldier is a tragedy not only for the soldier’s loved ones, but also for the country as a whole. However, no American soldier, marine or sailor has been drafted. They are all volunteers. Even if they volunteered just for the educational benefits, everyone of them had to know that when they enlisted, they signed up to shoot at people and get shot at.

I recently talked to a veteran who served in the army eleven years and fought in Desert Storm. He told me that when the First Gulf War broke out a lot of soldiers exclaimed: “Hey, I didn’t sign up for this shit!” [Oh yes you did!] He said they tried everything they could think of to keep from getting sent to Kuwait. What sickened him most though, was that a lot of women soldiers deliberately got themselves pregnant just so they could get discharged from the army.

The Viet Nam War has made us soft. Americans have no stomach for casualties incurred in wars that are not seen as being fought in defense of our security and VITAL interests. We want our wars to be casualty free – no ground combat, just cruise missiles, aerial bombardments and unmanned drones.

Once the media began to keep a weekly tally on the number of Americans killed in action, public support for the Iraq War began to fade quickly. But, lets put those 3,477 battle deaths into proper perspective. Two WWII battles – Tarawa and Iwo Jima – come to mind.

The Battle of Tarawa, a tiny Pacific atoll, was fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. During those four days, 1,677 of our marines and sailors were killed in action. The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought from February 19 to March 26, 1945. During those five weeks, 6,821 of our marines and sailors were killed in action.

3,477 combat deaths in six-and-a-half years of fighting pale by comparison to the number of our troops that were killed in action on the islands of Trarawa and Iwo Jima. I am not belittling the Iraq War deaths. I am merely pointing out that if Americans want to pull out of Iraq because of a comparatively small number of battle deaths, then our pledges to defend other countries seem like empty promises.

The United States has pledged to come to the defense of Israel if that country is attacked again by its enemies. Lets get real! I cannot imagine that Americans, with no stomach for casualties, are willing to shed one drop of blood in defense of a Jewish state, when an attack on that state will not be seen as threatening our security and vital interests.