U.S. Troops Dying at Rate of Over 1 a Day

Star-Telegram ^ | Tue, Feb. 03, 2004 | ROBERT BURNS

[Numbers Guy]

Note the selective change by the liberal media from "were killed" to "died", thus allowing accidental drownings and car accidents to be included in the toll.

[xrp]

About 2,000 Americans die a day from heart disease.

[cripplecreek]

Sad news to be sure, but what is the alternative for iraq? i suspect that they were dying at a much higher rate before the war.

We should never lose our perspective in regaurds to wars and why we fight them.

[FreedomCalls]

What's the daily homocide rate for Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit, Philadelphia, and NYC?

[kittymyrib]

54 people died in last week's cold spell. Many more than that will die this spring, as they do every spring, in tornadoes. We just couldn't take losses like those suffered at Iwo Jima in WWII or the battle of Pork Chop Hill in Korea. We are too soft to defend freedom when it gets bloody, I'm afraid. It all began with TV coverage of Viet Nam.

[oceanview]

every death is tragic, and devasting to the families.

but most americans have lost their perspective. how many men were killed off the first few landing craft at normandy? probably more then the 500+ we have lost in iraq, if you've seen Saving Private Ryan, those men coming off the landing craft were mowed down.

[Mr. Mojo]

American soldiers are dying at a rate of more than one a day in Iraq, despite some commanders' recent claims to have broken the back of the insurgency.

If we were fighting a traditional enemy its back would be broken by now. But when fanatical suicide/homicide bombers are part of the equation, all bets are off.

[breakem]

Wasn't the old hole dweller killing 100,000+ per year. When will our military get the recognition for saving innocent Iraqis from rape, torture, and murder

[cripplecreek]

That is exactly my point. My grandad was twice wounded on that beach that day, yet he pushed on. It was hard to understand why he did continue as so many around him were dying. All he ever said about it was "it had to be done".

One thing grandad said was that america used to face war as a nation, i dont think we do that anymore.

[Dr. Frank fan]

Um, U.S. troops having been dying at a rate of over 1 a day since the war began. This writer is acting like it is a new development.

He also counters statements like "we've turned the corner" by pointing to individual attacks - a general says we've turned the corner, the writers says "but some attacks occurred in that area". Um, so what. The fact that this, that, and the other attack occurred doesn't mean they haven't "turned the corner". "Turned the corner" does not mean "zeroed out all attacks from now until posterity".

Finally he states something flat-out wrong which is that a predicted less violent period "has not happened". It has happened and this is clear if you look at the statistics. The rate of death went way up in November and since then has been slowly but steadily falling. What jumps out even more from the graphs (I keep track of this stuff with graphs) is that the gap-between-deadly-attacks (in days) is climbing. A falling death rate - and longer gaps between attacks - certainly sounds to me like a "less violent period".

[Lucas McCain]

We all regret the loss of life, but any nation that cannot bear to take such casualties does not deserve to endure.

[cripplecreek]

Evidently the writer hasnt noticed that the UN has decided to return. If i recall correctly the UN wasnt going to return till the security situation had improved.

[dts32041]

Nothing new

Now I am dangerous I have found out how to post graphics.

[Snickersnee]

Average daily death toll among US forces during period 7 Dec 41 - 14 Aug 45: 143 per day. You can look it up.

[FreedomCalls]

We lost 2700 men just on June 4th, 1944 all by itself. That's from 100 to much more than 200 an hour during daylight or about 2 every minute all ... damn ... day ... long. And that's real confirmed KIA, not "casualties" (which includes wounded and MIA). The preceding April and May claimed 12,000 men and 2000 aircraft as losses as the USAAF and RAF were softening up the German defenses.

[Flyer]

American soldiers are dying at a rate of more than one a day in Iraq

Compare that to the 3,000 that died on one day in September, 2001 in America.

[Dr. Frank fan]

Since George Bush couldn't find the real bully (Osama Bin-Ladin),

One thing to keep in mind (which may or may not be relevant) is that it's highly difficult to find someone who has been blown to bits, and not really worth spending much time trying.

he had to pick on the crippled kid down the street.

If Saddam was a "crippled kid down the street" why did we have troops in Saudi Arabia protecting that regime, and why did we spent tons of time and resources patrolling his airspace and occasionally bombing his country?

Contrary to popular belief the war against Iraq never actually ended and it was about damn time to finish it. We can't blockade some country halfway around the world for decades and decades and it was a bizarre thing to even try, when the alternative (ousting Saddam) was so obviously the right thing to do. I will never understand why people think "just blockade the country for decades on end" was a preferable and more moral solution than invade-and-oust.

[SandRat]

Oh yes, in the battle for Sicily in WWII US and British dead totaled 5,532 between July 10th and August 18th or 145+ a day.

If these weak kneed sob sisters and PM Chamberlain appeasers had been around then; everyone still barely living east of the Rockies would be speaking German and everyone west of the Rockies would be speaking Japanese.