Perspective On Losses And Liberation

The United States suffered 24,000 casualties in the ninety day battle of the Hurtgen Forest in World War II.

In three weeks of fighting in the Belleau Wood in the First World War we took 9777 casualties including 1811 killed.

In the two week retreat from the Chosin Reservoir ( 'The Frozen Chosin') in Korea US forces had over 6000 killed, wounded, or captured.

In the five day battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam (wonderfully retold by the movie 'We Were Soldiers') US losses were 230 killed and 242 wounded.

And finally in ONE DAY of fighting at Antietam in the Civil War combined Union and Confederate casualties were 3650 killed and 17,300 wounded.

No one wants our forces to suffer any casualties in the Iraqi campaign. But this is war and they are unavoidable. If you consider the progress that we have made so far our casualties are very light. Unlike the Gulf War this time around the Iraqis are fighting to defend their own soil and they know that the survival of the regime is at stake. Many of their soldiers don't support Saddam's regime and have or will surrender. But there are also many, especially outside the regular army, who have tied their future to Saddam's wagon and know that a post-Saddam Iraq will not be to their liking. They will have to be rooted out and destroyed, a dangerous process sure to involve further coalition losses especially as we drive closer to Baghdad.

One of the problems that I have with the talk of "Liberating Iraq" are the expectations it raises. We are bound to be disappointed if we expect our troops to be greeted with flowers and kisses as they were in occupied Europe in World War II. In reality the present situation is more like Germany where we were met by a somber and subdued people, who had been subjected to endless propaganda from the regime, and who feared for their future. In time they would come to understand that we had indeed liberated them but it wasn't their initial reaction. We had to first defeat Germany (and Japan for that matter) in order to liberate their people. Today our main concern should be defeating Iraqi forces who resist us. The liberation of the Iraqi people will follow.