The Iraq War Is a Cake-Walk

Me

[Dominic Harr]

In a month of fighting on Iwo Jima, we had over 6,000 dead, 25,000 wounded.

And that was a victory.

And now, many Americans consider 2,500 dead/20,000 wounded over several years to be a loss!?

The only hope for victory the enemy has is American public opinion. We've won all the battles. We kill more of them than they kill of us. We hold most of the territory.

Yet I even see Rs calling this a 'failed' war, and suggesting we can't win.

[Dominic Harr]

Have you been in combat?

No.

But I know several people who were in Nam, and I know several people who are, and have been, in Iraq.

Telling the Iraq folks, "Good job, it's tough and dangerous but you are winning in a cake walk" is exactly what they want to hear.

What they *don't* want to hear is, "Oh, some of our boys have died, time to run!"

[Stone Mountain]

If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

So this death rate is actually 60 per 100,000 soldiers per month, right?

The firearm death rate in Washington, D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.

Waitasec. You are saying for the last 22 months, every month, 80 out of 100,000 citizens died in Washington DC? DC has over 500,000 citizens - you are trying to say that EVERY MONTH, OVER 400 residents of Washington DC are being killed by firearms? 4800+ per year? If I'm not mistaken, the total number of firearm deaths in the entire country is somewhere around 30,000/year. We're supposed to believe that over 15% of the firearm deaths in ALL of the USA occurs just in the confines of Washington DC? Sorry, I don't buy it. Got a source for this?

[edsheppa]

No, it's not a cake walk. Our enemy this time has several powerful weapons on their side not available to the Germans and Japanese, weapons of proven effectiveness. We can lose Iraq and, if we do, the repercussions will be severe.

[Dominic Harr]

this is nonsense. no war is a cakewalk.

War is hell.

But do you agree that compared to Verdun, or to Okinawa, this has been a cake-walk?

19 of our soldiers died in Grenada. Yet that was a cake-walk.

It's all a matter of perspective. If we lose perspective . . . we don't understand what is going on in front of us.

[NYleatherneck]

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here because you're probably a pretty decent guy. The problem that people are having with you, is that you have taken all of the pain, loss, fear, chaos, death, noise, smell, loneliness, and any number of other things that occur in combat, and called it a cake walk.

I'm not saying that you don't have some valid points, I'm just saying that it wasn't a cake walk.

Semper Fi,
NYleatherneck

[Chief_Joe]

Militarily, success is defined as:

• We win all the battles.
• We hold the vast majority of the territory.
• We kill more of them than they kill of us.
• The battle is taking place on *their* soil, not ours. You're mistaken, friend. This is a big win.

There are many different ways of measuring success. Since you've brought those previous wars up for comparative purposes, how much have we spent on the current Iraq "Cake Walk" compared to those previous wars, and what do we have to show for it now and for the long term?

[SAR_Bill]

Life is like a box of chocolates, Forrest.

[Plutarch]

We are about to exceed the number of combat deaths in the Iraq war that during WWII were lost in the U.S. in training accidents in one plane, the B-24.

[citizenmike]

Sorry for the duplication, I sent my first comment to the wrong person.

I agree with you; the military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq have had the lowest body count (percentagewise) of any war. This represents a new level of strategy, tactics, technology and training. I believe future military historians will look back on this as a turning point in the strategy of war.

Sometimes it is useful to look at wars objectively and disspassionately in order to evaluate them. It seems to me that most of the negative commenters are more focused on the emotional aspect of our lost soldiers rather than trying to understand the point you are making.

[Dominic Harr]

We can lose Iraq and, if we do, the repercussions will be severe.

The only way we can lose in Iraq is by American public opinion.

Militarily, it's a huge victory.

We hold the vast majority of the territory.

We kill more of them than they kill of us.

We win every battle.

The *only* victory the enemy has is folks like on here saying, "Oh, this is so hard we can't even say we're winning".

[ArrogantBustard]

Our enemy this time has several powerful weapons on their side not available to the Germans and Japanese, weapons of proven effectiveness.

They sure do: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Washington Post, New York Times ...

[Dominic Harr]

The problem that people are having with you, is that you have taken all of the pain, loss, fear, chaos, death, noise, smell, loneliness, and any number of other things that occur in combat, and called it a cake walk.

Right -- they don't understand the first thing about war, or about warriors.

The soldiers and their families *want* to hear it's been a cakewalk. They *want* to hear we've been winning big.

But the "politically correct" movement has so taken over people's minds that we can't even understand what 'victory' is all about, or why it's a good thing.

[ArrogantBustard]

You finally get to the point.

If you want to do something really constructive, you might suggest a different term than "cakewalk" that doesn't offend you.

[Experiment 6-2-6]

It's a bridgehead against the terrorists. A 'target of opportunity'. We picked the time and place for the battle, chose ground we want to fight on.

We took the battle *to* the enemy, and have now not been attacked on our soil in years.

The Iraq war is a cause celeb for the terrorists. They all want to go fight there. This is a *brilliant* and successful strategy.

This I agree with.. Cake walk is a bit much. But in principle I agree that we are not "losing"..

[Dominic Harr]

There are many different ways of measuring success.

Not militarily, no.

Success means killing the enemy, holding territory, winning battles.

The rest is all politics.

[nicko]

thanks for having the candor to reply honestly......I think you might want to consider rucking up and seeing for yourself whether or not Iraq is a cake walk...

[rlmorel]

I know what you are saying, but to use the term "Cake Walk" is a mistake.

I think it is clearly true to say that the duration, letahlity,intensity and ferocity of combat action in other major wars is a "generally" greater in many cases, but...that doesn't mean combat in Iraq is a "Cake Walk".

I think the warfare in Fallujah is proof of that.

I don't think many would argue that your basic premise is false, but your rhetoric is flawed. My advice is to cut your losses to make your point, change the phrase to reflect it. Whatever it is in the Middle East, for everyone, "Cake Walk" it ain't...loaded for bear with complete body armor in 120 degrees, even to the point of wearing gloves, patrolling down a street of concrete and rammed earth dwellings that might erupt any second can't be a "Cake Walk" even to the troops who served in Bougainville, The Hurtgen Forest, Iwo Jima or Bastogne, even if those guys would have traded places in an instant if they could.

[Dominic Harr]

Cake walk is a bit much.

So I gather, but that amazes me.

"Ma'am, your son died fighting the enemy. But we defeated the enemy in a cake-walk."

How, in God's name, is that in any way an insult???

[NYleatherneck]

Sometimes I just take a while to get there. U no us Marines rnt thet smrt...

Semper Fi,
NYleatherneck

[Plutarch]

We are about to exceed the number of combat deaths in the Iraq war that during WWII were lost in the U.S. in training accidents in one plane, the B-24.