Our country does not want war, it wants peace. It has not decreed this memorial season as an honor to war, with its terrible waste and attendant train of suffering and hardship which reaches onward into the years of peace. Yet war is not the worst of evils, and these days have been set apart to do honor to all those, now gone, who made the cause of America their supreme choice.
–President Calvin Coolidge, 1923
To date, there have been over 112,000 documented U.S. troop casualties in the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of these, 6,461 troops have died; 48,253 have been wounded in action; and more than 58,000 medically evacuated due to injury or disease.
…Every day, five U.S. soldiers attempt suicide, and fully 5 percent of the warzone deaths of U.S. troops are the result of suicide. In addition, 18 U.S. veterans attempt suicide every day, more than four times the national average.
…Estimates of civilian deaths from violence in Iraq alone range from a conservative current figure of 116,000 (Iraq Body Count project) to over a million (the 2008 report by Opinion Research Business). The World Heath Organization report in 2008 determined that the casualty figure was double the IBC’s tally, and a 2006 Johns Hopkins report said the total civilian casualties in Iraq numbered 655,000 to date. Certainly, more than 125,000 civilians have been injured in Iraq and 4 million displaced internally. By most estimates, tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed or injured since the 2001 invasion, and over 3 million displaced.
There is no end in sight. Our worldwide war has spread to Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and other countries.
UPDATE: The New York Times delves into President Obama’s secret drone war:
Justly or not, drones have become a provocative symbol of American power, running roughshod over national sovereignty and killing innocents. With China and Russia watching, the United States has set an international precedent for sending drones over borders to kill enemies.
Mr. Blair, the former director of national intelligence, said the strike campaign was dangerously seductive. “It is the politically advantageous thing to do — low cost, no U.S. casualties, gives the appearance of toughness,” he said. “It plays well domestically, and it is unpopular only in other countries. Any damage it does to the national interest only shows up over the long term.”
UPDATE: Andrew J. Bacevich: Obama Expands Secret Wars Across the Globe
As U.S. special ops forces roam the world slaying evildoers, the famous question posed by David Petraeus as the invasion of Iraq began — “Tell me how this ends” — rises to the level of Talmudic conundrum.
#1 by Larry Bergan on May 28, 2012 - 3:51 pm
Richard:
You’re ruining the holiday I don’t have.
#2 by Harrison on May 28, 2012 - 6:13 pm
The second half of Coolidge’s speech:
It is not that principle that leads to conflict but to tranquillity. It is not that principle which is the cause of war but the only foundation for an enduring peace. There can be no peace with the forces of evil. Peace comes only through the establishment of the supremacy of the forces of good. That way lies only through sacrifice. It was that the people of our country might live in a knowledge of the truth that these, our countrymen, are dead. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
There is a phoney peace such as Chamberlain and the real peace such as the WWII armistace.
As the Romanssaid, If you want peace, prepare for war.
#3 by Richard Warnick on May 29, 2012 - 9:04 am
“Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.” – Vegetius
That’s a good motto. It fits in with the American tradition of a strong defense. But tell, me, who are the “forces of evil”? Our politicians are complaining about the killing of civilians by the Syrian government, while they have no comment on similar atrocities perpetrated last week by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
If terrorists blew up a bakery in America, it would be in the headlines don’t you think? Furthermore, don’t you think people would want to take action against whoever did it?
#4 by Harrison on May 29, 2012 - 9:10 am
I’ll side with our troops over Syria any day.
#5 by Richard Warnick on May 29, 2012 - 9:13 am
So you are saying that war crimes by the USA are alright, but Syrian war crimes are evil?
#6 by Harrison on May 29, 2012 - 9:20 am
No but it’s not as simple as that.
#7 by Richard Warnick on May 29, 2012 - 9:37 am
Enlighten us, please.
#8 by Harrison on May 29, 2012 - 9:40 am
Some roads are best taken alone.
Start here though:
http://www.google.com
Good luck!
#9 by Richard Warnick on May 29, 2012 - 10:23 am
Sorry. If you have a point to make, make it. Otherwise…
#10 by Harrison on May 29, 2012 - 10:31 am
I made my point and you made yours:
“Enlighten us, please.”
Have a fantastic day.
#11 by Richard Warnick on May 29, 2012 - 11:06 am
Why is the subject of war crimes not as simple as referring to the Law of Land Warfare? It’s very simple, IMHO.
You can disagree, but you’ll have to be specific if you want to convince anyone.
#12 by Larry Bergan on May 29, 2012 - 11:07 am
Got another great E-Mail from Alan Grayson.
If I had the free speech a corporation could afford me, I’d give this guy a million dollars!
#13 by Richard Warnick on May 29, 2012 - 11:12 am
Larry–
“Feeding sharks to the Kardashians.” You made my day.
I remember when Cardassians were just sci-fi characters.
#14 by Larry Bergan on May 29, 2012 - 1:27 pm
Thanks Richard, but any day making has to be attributed to Alan Grayson, who is one of the funniest guys on earth.
Al Franken must be worried.
#15 by Larry Bergan on May 29, 2012 - 1:28 pm
I love Al Franken!
#16 by Larry Bergan on May 29, 2012 - 1:44 pm
The “Star Trek” phoneme made possible by Lucille Ball was an American triumph!
#17 by Larry Bergan on November 10, 2012 - 9:06 am
It’s hard to find out that Alan Grayson won recently. but he did.
Wonderful!