1500 dead American soldiers and counting.....

[poltr1]

The latest KIA and WIA counts from CNN. (That is, if they've been keeping it up to date.)

When will this macabre telethon end? When can we bring 'em back home alive?

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be pissed at the body count if this were actually a *just* war--one we could rightly claim to be involved in for reasons of self-defense. But it's not. Unfortunately, now that we're in it, we have to see it through. We have a moral obligation to maintain civil order until the Iraqi people can do that for themselves, and I just don't see how that's gonna happen. The only thing more wrong than invading in the first place would be leaving while the place is still a shambles. Unfortunately I'm not sure what the answer is.

[poltr1]

You're right -- compared to first 24 months of Vietnam, Korea, and WW II, the body count for this war is quite low. I agree with you that this isn't a just war. And I agree with you that it makes no sense to withdraw our forces now, while the job's not done.

This is the price we pay for being the world's police force.

It's worth noting that most of the Americans killed or wounded are from the Army and the Marines. This is a ground war -- not a naval war or air war -- a type of war we didn't think we'd have to fight again. Unfortunately, I suspect the long-range battle planners in the Pentagon years ago were so focused on the Soviets that they didn't consider any other type of threat.