1961-65 Vietnam War wounded & deaths nearly same has Iraq2

[protect freedom impeach bush now]

Subject: Iraq is about half of 1965 Vietnam in intensity

I just had this sudden realization about our involvement in Iraq.
The total level is very similar to our 1965 Vietnam numbers.

We have 150,000 troops in Iraq now, we had 184,300 in 1965.
We are sustaining fatalities at a yearly rate of 670, against 1500 for 1965.
We are sustaining wounds at a yearly rate of 2400, against 6000 for 1965.

Statistically it seems that we're about at half the action levels of 1965 Vietnam.
Admittedly, that was the early "easier" part of the war, but still it is far more
than I thought it was!


Fatality Comparison

Iraq, now 300 fatalities since March 19 (5.5 months) 650/year

Vietnam, 1961-1965 1864 fatalities (mostly 1965)
Vietnam, total 58202 (1961-1970) all causes
Vietnam, 1965 est. fatalities (using above assumptions) 1440/year


Refer to this table: http://www.rjsmith.com/kia_tbl.html

Attribution http://members.aol.com/warlibrary/vwatl.htm

I lost the sender's name, sorry...
(from bartcop.com)

[Yupster]

1. Let's hope we're gone

long before 1868 comes along then.

[reachout]

3. Thanks

That is a some really useful number crunching.

I'm participating in the public forum on the occupation in a little less than two weeks, and I will definitely bring this up.

Side note: I was recently reading a piece that calculated the average age of American soldiers killed in Iraq at 27.15. Significantly older than Vietnam.

[newyawker99]

5. Hi reachout!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Bandit]

2. Why is it only American casualties are worth reporting?

How many Iraqi casualties or Vietnamese casualties were there during the same time period? I guess their lives aren't worth mentioning.

[Ilsa]

4. Didn't you hear Sanchez?

When doling out the pitiful reimbursements to Iraqi families of victims, he said their lives jsut aren't worth as much as American lives.

Of course, this completely contradicts the notion that we are there for the sole purpose of liberating those people. It also ocntradicts Wolfowicz's comments late last year (or early this year) that we'd think twice and probably decline to go there and spill American blood for a humanitarian mission.

[Nicholas_J]

6. 1961- 1965

Troops not fully comitted. And this was not an occupation rather, a full scale war in an unoccupied nation.

Comparison between the two wars is totally off base. More apt would be the number of allied troops who were killed in occupied areas of Europe as it was being occupied but the war was still being fought in order to capture the Nazi Leadership and get rid of Hitler himself.