2,000 U. S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As you’ve surely heard by now, there have now been more than 2,000 U. S. military deaths in Iraq:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Some Iraqis sympathized with U.S. forces on Wednesday after hearing the American death toll in the Iraq war had reached 2,000. But others noted that many more Iraqis had died in the conflict and said they hope the U.S. “occupiers” will soon go home.

A day after the somber milestone was reached, the U.S. military announced that another American solider had died, in a vehicle accident near Camp Bucca, the U.S. detention center in southern Iraq. The death, which occurred at noon EDT on Tuesday, brought the death toll among U.S. servicemembers to 2,001.

Perhaps this would be a good time to reflect on statistics I’ve published here before:

War Military deaths Duration (days) Deaths/day
Revolutionary War   4,435 3,060 1.45
War of 1812 2,260 976 2.32
World War I 116,516 585 199.17
World War II 405,339 1,366 296.73
Viet Nam War 58,199 5,233 11.12
Gulf War 529 210 2.52
Iraq (as of September 28, 2004) 1,049 570 1.84
Iraq (today) 1,049 966 2.07 *

Note the trend*.

* CORRECTED per comment.

There is no question that, as I heard someone say on the news this morning, the 2,000th death is no more tragic than the first and no less tragic than the last. And I also don’t consider U. S. military deaths the entire story. Innocent Iraqi civilians have suffered terribly and continue to suffer. But any notion that immediate U. S. military withdrawal from Iraq would stop the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians is a fantasy. According to this fantasy the insurgency is fighting solely to cause the withdrawal of Coalition forces.

Is this one of the motivations for the Iraqi insurgency? Sure. But that it’s the only motivation for the insurgency is nonsense. I think the motivations of the insurgents are pretty clear. Some want the Coalition to withdraw. Some want to restore the status quo ante. Some want to establish a Taliban-like state in Iraq. This last is evident from what the insurgents have done whereever they’ve had control (and even in places where their control was quite short-lived as in Mosul) as in Fallujah.

And let’s not forget the reprisals against “collaborators” that would occur.

I opposed the invasion of Iraq; I think the period after “major combat operations” could have been handled a lot better. But that was then and this is now. And now we have legal, moral, and strategic obligations to establish a stable, democratic state in Iraq.

As I travel through the blogosphere this morning I’ll update this post with whatever sense and nonsense I find.

Marc Schulman of American Future notes that MoveOn.org is using the occasion as a fund-raising device.

Armchair Generalist reflects somberly.

TBogg apparently believes that the correct statistic to consider is the number killed in the month of October (which is trending upward).

Billmon posts a graphic of 2,000 flag-draped coffins.

Cori Dauber of Rantingprofs fisks the Washington Post story.

Smash has plans of his own for commemorating the “grim milestone”.

Cox & Forkum comment (in their own unique way).

Ex-Pat Yank characterizes it as a “media milestone”.

From Harry’s Place:

Every one of those deaths is a terrible tragedy and every one of those who gave their lives deserves the greatest respect and honor. They have died for the liberation of an oppressed people. We on the pro-liberation Left must help ensure they didn’t die in vain.

and follows up with an exhortation to those on the pro-liberation Left to demand greater competence and accountability in the prosecution of the of the war.

Michelle Malkin has her own round-up.

Scott Ott observes the occasion Scrappleface-ishly.

MY VRWC: “they not just numbers”.

Oliver Willis comments:

According to the right, 2000 soldiers dead in Iraq isn’t news, while Michelle Malkin claims that 2,000 dead is of no significance.

Yellow Dog Blog has a round-up of statements from Democratic Congressmen and Senators.

Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice doesn’t believe some of the critics of the media:

But it is a FACT 2,000 people have died and news organizations doing their traditional watermark stories — also typified by one-year-after-911, two-years-after-911, five-years-after-911 stories — don’t have any “agenda” or “ulterior motive” by noting deaths have hit the 2000 mark.

Andrew Sullivan considers the casualty figure with what, I think, is considerable wisdom.

6 comments… add one
  • Yahoo now has an actual headline: “Accident Brings US Casualties to 2001”

  • Ron Link

    How many of these 2001 service members volunteered for duty and how many were drafted? How many were serving their second or third tour in Iraq? For some odd reason many members re-enlist after their tour is up.

    It would be nice to see some interviews with service members, or other first hand accounts of their actual experiences in Iraq. I doubt that I’m the only reader who tires of endless academic and journalistic discussions of “the Iraq experience,” totally divorced from the on-the-ground reality.

  • Phillip J. Birmingham Link

    Note the trend.

    Actually, I think you have the last number wrong. 2001 / 966 != 1.09. It’s more like 2.07.

  • You’re absolutely right, Phillip. I’ll make the necessary corrections.

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