Now, I've been assured time and time again by such reliable sources as Bob Novak, FOX News, and the Wall Street Journal that Iraq is
not a 'quagmire' and is just
nothing like Vietnam. I think Ann Coulter even suggested that the only reason people like me might think Iraq is a quagmire is that I missed the Vietnam era and therefore I'm just dying for something to protest.
Still, I wasn't satisfied, so I did a little research. And based on the numbers, I'd say we have a bona fide quagmire on our hands, folks.
There are about 134,000 US troops in Iraq, and there have been 622 deaths since the war started, 313 of those since Bush declared an end to "major combat operations" on May 1, 2003.
Now, in terms of total numbers, we're certainly not at Vietnam levels; about 500 servicemen died per month in Vietnam at the height of that conflict. Over 58,000 (and we're still counting) died altogether.
What's interesting, though, is the relative number of deaths per 100,000 troops in the theater. I'd argue that figure is a better indicator of the relative quagmire-ness of a given war. Especially with our new Rumsfeldian fewer troops, more technology theory, we'll never see a 500,000 troop deployment like we did in Vietnam.
And the results are:
Vietnam: 58.9 deaths per 100,000 troops
Iraq: 434.1 deaths per 100,000 troops
Unfortunately, unlike Vietnam, it's not just a matter of leaving when we want to. We broke it, and continue to break it day by day, and cannot just cut and run. But we need a President who has some idea about the fastest possible exit strategy to get US troops the hell out of there, where they never should have been sent in the first place.
I know religion isn't something many people here care for, but God bless our troops; my prayers are with them and I hope (perhaps against reality) that we won't see any more days like today in Iraq.