Untitled Page
I broke down and decided to put the facts on the table because I'm tired of seeing people against the war being stomped by this fact that more people died in Vietnam than Iraq so there's no comparison. Obviously more people fought in Vietnam than Iraq so it's no surprise that more died. day in and day out when comparing Iraq to Vietnam.
Talking Point for the next week or so = It's the Rate of Death of Our Soldiers in Iraq that is higher Stupid.
Untitled Page
Don't let the Repugs and Neocons stomp you on this. Yes the number of soldiers deployed into combat in Vietnam was higher in the later years so the percentages of dead would be higher overall. 1.6 million was deployed in combat in Vietnam in Iraq to date 130 000. In a lot of respects it's hard to make comparisons without normalizing the numbers between the two conflicts, don't look at me I'm not a mathematician. But what we can do is look at trends and simple ratios. If there is a mathematician among us please stand up, please stand up ... feel free to indulge.
"A Reuters analysis of Defense Department statistics showed on Thursday that the Vietnam War, which the Army says officially began on Dec. 11, 1961, produced a combined 392 fatal casualties from 1962 through 1964, when American troop levels in Indochina stood at just over 17,000." {Veterans for Peace 11/14/03 |http://www.veteransforpeace.org/US_War_Dead_111403.htm)
Mind you these 392 deaths are with 17000 committed troops committed to the conflict at that point in time. It was not until 1965 that LBJ ratcheted up the stakes (based on the lie that North Vietnam launched an unprovoked attack against the US in the Gulf of Tonkin - it is for this lie that LBJ did not seek re election, but I digress - read more here if your interested http://www.fair.org/media-beat/940727.html). LBJ escalated the conflict by sending in more troops, hence more troops started dying left and right. You should read some of this pretty good analysis at this site (http://www.lies.com/wp/2003/10/20/us-deaths-in-vietnam-and-iraq-by-month/),
So here are the numbers included below. I encourage you to verify them and use them. Debunk the Cons.
----------------------
Here are some graphs
Deaths during the first Year - http://www.lies.com/images/first_year.gif
Deaths during the First Four Years - http://www.lies.com/images/first_four_years.gif
----------------------
Vietnam's troop built up estimated from graph (someone posted these numbers)
Dec 61: 3,200
Dec 62: 11,500
Dec 63: 16,300
Dec 64: 23,300
Dec 65: 184,300
Dec 66: 425,300
Dec 67: 485,600
Dec 68: 536,100
Dec 69: 474,400
Dec 70: 335,800
Jun 71: 250,900
Iraq troop built up
7/03 148 000
10/03 130 000
* the dates of these conflicts are a matter of opinion but are generally close.
Length of conflict
Vietnam (3/15/62 - 3/28/73) 10 yrs
Iraq (3/19/03 - 12/23/04) 21 months
Total in combat
Vietnam (8/5/64 - 5/7/75) approx 1.6 million in combat | 2.6 million served on active duty during the Vietnam era
Iraq to date (12/24/04) 130 000
Deaths
Vietnam (3/15/62 - 3/28/73) 58 202
(3/15/62 - 10/65) 397 deaths reached = 9.2 deaths/ mo
Per centage of 1.6 million = 3.63 %
Iraq (3/19/03 - 12/23/04) 1324
(3/19/03 - 11/12/03) first 8 months 397 dead = 49.6 deaths/ mo
Per Centage of 130 000 = 1.02 %
Wounded
Vietnam 303 704
Iraq 9981 (official #)
15000 - 20 000 (estimated when you included other injuries and
illnesses) - http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
Some Sources
http://www.lies.com/wp/2003/10/20/us-deaths-in-vietnam-and-iraq-by-month/
http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
http://www.landscaper.net/timelin.htm#time%20line