Five More Americans Dead

Iraq has become an unaffordable, as well as an overextension of American effort. Less than 2000 Dead, and One can claim only hundreds, but after that; it becomes talk of thousands. This Author has not studied the Statistics, but immediate losses for dead American soldiers must exceed $130k per Individual, without consideration of the Death benefits to Survivors. This would include loss of Training Costs, Transportation Costs, Replacement Costs, and Burial Costs. The provisional estimate of Death benefits could more than double this initial Cost, including Welfare benefits for Survivors and higher premiums paid for Insurance of Soldiers.

The existence of Casualties perforce must be aa even higher Cost per Individual, as Medical Costs for simple and major surgeries rise. Rehabilition also skyrockets in Cost, and invariably there must be extensive rehabilition before any Individual can return to Service or to civilian labor. The Welfare Costs extended to Survivors must extend through the recovery period, and mayhaps longer, due to degree of Injury. This Author estimated normal average Cost must be around $280k when all Costs are included. Wounded are even more expensive than Dead as the current Economy operates, and these Costs do not include Cost of lost Labor resources.

There is no gainsaying that Iraq is more violent Today, than it even was during the War, if American Bombing and Shelling is excluded from the matrix. American aims and goals in Iraq may have always been altruristic and dellusionary. There are completely so at this Point, if they were ever anything more. We started out to make the World safer from Terrorism, and may have only helped spread it through propagandist ranting against it; not effectively conducting an effective response. The American military must once again admit they lack the resources or training to constrain Civilian populations; something which they not only had to admit in Vietnam, but in the Latin America and the Island nations south of Us.

The Author repeats: We must have an Exit strategy from Our current military commitments. lgl