Saturday, December 30, 2006

Casualties in Afghanistan

A revealing statistic from this website, icasualties.org: since the US went into Afghanistan, the Americans have endured more than twice as many fatalities as all other Coalition forces combined: 357 vs. 159. Even in 2006, while Canadians reeled over their losses, the US forces sustained 5 more deaths than all other forces combined. The number of fatalities per year since 2001 has increased by more than 10 times.

If you pay any attention at all to the news, it seems as if the Canadian/Coalition forces keep going back into the same general area, fighting hard for awhile, announcing success, and then going back again shortly after, fighting hard, announcing success, and then going back again not long after, fighting hard, announcing success, and then going back again...

Sisyphus would have been proud.

Meanwhile, if you go to this website, the National Priorities Project, you can see how much the US is spending on the war in Iraq...more than 350 Billion dollars so far, and judging by the counter, adding up at about $2,000/second.

Wouldn't we all love to have a peace dividend?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

People, most of them, it seems,like fights. Watched a discussion on Hocky on final round.
The majority on the panel was for the fighting. It peps up the game, they play better after a fight. The public loves it.The arguments that hocky, for youngsters to play it, (the equipment needed, is out of financial reach for many You loose a lot of talent that way,) fell flat. Also what do you teach the little ones.

Hocky is not Afghanistan. But maybe we deal with the same mentality. What the money is spent on is not what is important in life.

I know that Sadam was a cruel one, that people suffered major under his regime. But a public hanging? A man worn out? The people that are laughing, celebrating, how can they? Maybe he deserved being put to death. Although know one can convince me that violence against violence has any healing qualities.
What is the mentality of people that come, like in barbaric times, to public hangings and rejoice in them. Give those people power and what would they do?

Well before I get going more on this, let's see if it publishes under anonymous.

Anonymous said...

Wow,it actually did!!!

Is it that same mentality that takes pride in war, militairy interferance, allowing to spend money on killing and destroying, rather than use it for feeding people, protecting animals and environment,the real peace effords?

Can we ever turn around that mentality? Without it war will repeat and repeat itself. And the killing will go on and increase.

Larry Keiler said...

Yay! W.T. succeeded in posting Anonymously. Next step, Other!

(If we can't get that going, don't forget to initial at the end of comment, so we all know who's who. [As if we can't tell, anyway, but just to be certain...])

Anonymous said...

Not a specialty of a country like the States. It's letting power and capital run the world and decide, no matter where.

wild thing is now going to try if Url went on vacation or died? and see if she can publish under other again?

Nope. No way. Url is still blocking her way.

Anonymous said...

Ah! ild Thing see now that if she publishes as herself and gets rejected, that she cannot go back to anonimous in the same frame. She has to start over with a clean page to be accepted as anonymous. Soon as Url is on a page, no getting rid of him. that's why I couldn't repeat it at first. Sighhhhhh. So complicated. I had to cut and paste into ord and save w2aht I had allready written to get it published. Getting confused? Join the club!

Anonymous said...

Oops forgot to check my w2 problem. sorry!

w.t.

Anonymous said...

I still get the frame about secure and insecure matters, but it lets me ignore it, w2hen I keep my name secret.

Anonymous said...

I'm a nobody

w.t.

Anonymous said...

She Who Will Remain Unknown?

Anonymous said...

little known is Pakistan's War on Terror along the Border with Afganistan. In efforts to stop border raids into Afghanistan they have lost 800 troops.

Larry Keiler said...

That's pretty horrifying too. I think that means that Pakistan has suffered more casualties than everybody combined over the whole length of the war.

Anonymous said...

yeah..they are bit perplexed when they are constantly being told by the west and by NATO they are not doing enough..

Help! I've written and I can't get up!