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| Iraq: US Casualties and Some Comparisons |
| Thursday, October 12, 2006 |
It is a challenge to get a satisfactory picture of what is happening in the nation of Iraq since the US-led invasion (Operation Iraqi Freedom), which began March 20, 2003 and, although an end to major combat operations was declared on May 1, 2003. I am not a Bush-basher and in no way am I part of some purely anti-Bush lobby. I am only attempting to look at the data and to find what conclusions it naturally leads me to accept.
First, here's a link to some data on the US Casualty and Death Toll:
As of October 5, 2006 the number US sevicemen and women dead is nearly 2,800 and the number of wounded is nearly 21,000. That's alot of people, however, we have been there a long time, right? Prior to the declaration of the end of major combat operations (Mission Accomplished - May 1, 2003) the figures were: 138 dead, 542 wounded.
It seems that the Iraqi military organized under the Hussein regime was a relatively easy obstacle to surmount, however, the people are hell to police.
So, I am performing a crude security, safety, and stability test. Let's look at some population data for Iraq for comparitive purposes.
- Population of Iraq: 26,783,383
- Population of Texas: 22,859,968
- Population of U.S.: 298,444,215
This rate of death would be akin to losing the following if the US security situationwas similar to that of Iraq - we would be experienced the following casualty rate a monk our law enforcement officers. And, keep in mind no consideration has been given to the number of Iraqi law enforcement officers and security forces killed or wounded over the same span of time.
Location Iraq (inclusive of casualties associated with establishing presence in the regions):
Dead servicemen performing policing duties, including support activities = 2,800
Wounded servicemen performing policing duties, including support activities = 21,000
Location United States: Nation as a Whole
Dead police officers performing policing duties, including support activities = 31,201
Wounded police officers performing policing duties, including support activities = 234,001
Imagine that. Imagine 34,201 police officers being killed in the US within a 3 and 1/2 year period. And, now imagine that in addition to the dead there are 234,001 wounded police officers. This is a loose way to characterize the level of security in Iraq. The number is staggering - under figures such as those would indicate a total lack of security or possibly ineffective security strategy. There is a great deal of ongoing violence in Iraq. I believe that many would agree that this would be an intolerable rate of attrition among security forces in a secure environment. That said: Iraq is not a secure nation.
It is apparent that the whole Mission Accomplished presentation was one of numerous many possible things. It could have been:
- A presentation misinterpeted by the audience to mean that combat in Iraq was completed.
- A presentation that was made at an immature stage of assessment of actual conditions.
- A presentation that was accurate, becuase the scale of operations conducted in Iraq diminished significantly following the capture of Baghdad.
- A presentation designed to mislead the audience.
- A presentation designed to bolster support.
- A presentation designed to re-create of a march through an arch of triumph.
- A presentation .... It could have been anything... It was a bunch of words, many scripted in advance that were spoken on a boat - the USS Abraham Lincoln - a boat named after the US president that signed the emancipation-proclamation and freed the slaves held within the confederacy - which, is curious since he freed the slaves in, what at that point, technically speaking was someone else's country.
Regardless of what happened then there are still military operations being conducted as the Coalition Forces attempt to secure Iraq and there is still much bloodshed resulting from the fallout - and most of these deaths are not among the Coalition Forces.
It is hard to accpet any notion as valid that asserts that the death and casualty rate among US forces is acceptable for the purpose of securing US interests in the region. Is there any business or group of businesses that would be allowed by OSHA to remain in business if the security personnell of that business was experiencing a loss and injury raqte as high as what is seen in Iraq. I doubt it. And, to go a step further, the manager of any such business or business group would be exposed to an endless amount of litigation.
This rate of attrition has continued and shows all indications of continuing to continue into the near future. There are still other facts that come to mind when considering this rate of attrition. The US forces represent only a portion of a complete security team. There is a substantial contigent of Iraqi security forces and police officers - not to mention civilians whose lives are being consumed by a climate of death.
At this point, let me assert, that I am not a pacifist. War and violence happen and we can choose to participate or abstain. In review of history, it is and will most likely be impossible to abstain from armed conflict as inevitably the need will arise where force is necessary to subdue an enemy or secure resources for the purpose of survival. I am inclined to believe that there is something in Iraq that has deemed of high enough value to offer up life after life to acquire.
I would just like to know what there is in Iraq that I need so desperately that I would usher into office any representative who would represent to the world that I decided that it was important enough to kill someone in order to acquire it. In the absence of a direct threat from the nation of Iraq our mission is complete. We removed Saddam Hussein from power, we have been able to search the nation for WMD, and we have discovered that, in the absence of a totalitarian regime, Iraq is just about impossible to effectively police. |
posted by Domesticated Dog @ 2:10 PM   |
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