Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
I can't believe you went there. More Americans were killed that month in Detroit than in all of Iraq where this terrible insurgency that is completely out of hand is supposed to exist.
|
That would be nice if it were true, but that's not what your numbers said. You compared "combat-related" deaths in that month to murders in Detroit.
Quote:
|
Are gang related killings considered combat?
|
You can be sure that no one in Iraq is in a position to try to count gang-related killings, so it's a pretty moot point. The police there are too busy not being killed.
For that matter, I have a hard time believing that anyone is getting an accurate count of the insurgent death toll.
Quote:
|
In the first four hours of D-Day there were three thousand deaths.
|
Look, if that's the context you want to put this in, we can all agree that the fighting in Iraq is less bloody than any major war the U.S. has been involved in. Our tactics, our armor, and our field medicine are all vastly improved.
Quote:
|
If you put the numbers in perspective you realize that Iraq is far from being an out of control or being a quagmire.
|
Well, you're playing games with the numbers for the reasons I've said above. But the key thing is, the numbers are not the reason the situation is so fucked up. There's an active and effective insurgency that we can't put down. (And it can't beat us in military terms.) The insurgents have been very effective at preventing life from getting back to normal. Journalists cannot travel freely, electricity is limited, etc. This impairs the legitimacy and presence of the Iraqi government.
