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You cannot make this comparison. The 10 year average is for the ENTIRE military (1.3 million). The number of deaths in Iraq is out of 125,000 troops. A person stationed in Grand Forks, ND has zero chance of being a combat fatality.

That's not the point. The media doesn't say 500 troops out of 125,000 have died.....The point is that the number is not high. It is a good comparison in that the number of deaths in Iraq (648) includes accidents and illnesses. The number of people that have died during peace time had the may have been coming from a larger pool of people, but they had the added advantage of not being shot at, or subjected to car bombs. That alone has at least some equalizing effect.

That may be splitting hairs. But combat situations should never be compared to peacetime situations. I also believe comparisons like this trivializes the sacrifices of our people in combat, regardless of the intent.

In my post I wrote, "Before we dive into the issue of casualties, I’d like to say that I don’t wish to trivialize a single military death. All of the men and women that have died during their service to our country, no matter how their deaths came about, are highly respected and honored." I don't know what else to tell you.

This isn't an argument made for rational people, it's an argument made for irrational people. It simply puts things into perspective. Furthermore, the casualties are only one aspect of the argument.