Germany declared war on us. Iraq didn't/ Not that I oppose the invasion of Iraq, but a lot of your points are faulty. Also, don't downplay the 3000 American dead. They don't deserve to be downplayed. 3000 people died on 9-11 and nobody tries to belittle that number, so don't belittle the number of American dead in Iraq. Their sacrifice served a noble cause - but that's a lot of American dead and I for one won't hear anyone say it isn't/
I agree. 3,000 American deaths is a lot.
And 30,000 deaths under Truman in 30 months in Korea is 10 times that lot
Did Korea declare war on us before we fought for South Korea's freedom from the dictator Kim Il-sung?
1. He isn't downplaying, he's pointing out that the hysteria is unjustified.
2. You won't hear anyone saying it's not a lot of Americans? Tough.
The roughly 4 year total of men lost in Iraq is....
... still smaller than the death toll from the battle of the Kasserine Pass in WWII--6 days, 6,000 men.
... still smaller than the single day total from the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War--3,654 men.
...still less than twice the number lost by the Union at Cold Harbor.
...1/136 of the number of men we lost in WWII.
...is about 3,600 less than the number of men lost on Guadalcanal.
...far less than half the number we lost at Iwo Jima.
...less than a third the number of men lost at Okinawa.
...is less than the number of sailors alone who were killed at Okinawa in Kamikaze attacks.
Were all of those lost in Iraq valuable? Was their sacrifice meaningful? Are their families devastated? Yes to all those questions, but the same can be said of every American fighting man we've lost. Therefore, 3,000 is not a lot of Americans lost in a noble cause by any measure.
I will be called callous for saying that, but it's the truth, and it's time for Americans to man up and get this job done, or those 3,000 lives were poured down a hole.
Umm, Glenn retired from the Senate in 1999, Metzenbaum in 1995.