Attrition: Why 4,000 Wasn't 13,747

An excellent analysis of why the US military is kicking so much butt in the combat zones.

Attrition: Why 4,000 Wasn't 13,747: "Why 4,000 Wasn't 13,747
March 31, 2008: Five years of fighting in Iraq has killed 4,000 American troops. The first five years of fighting in Vietnam (1965-69) killed 40,258. There were about three times as many U.S. troops involved in the Vietnam fighting. But even then, the number of Americans killer per thousand troops in Vietnam was three times higher (19, versus 6 in Iraq). If the casualty rates were the same in Iraq, there should have been 13,747 dead so far. However, there were proportionately more wounded in Iraq. While there were 3.4 times more dead in Vietnam (in killed per thousand troops), there were only 3.2 times more wounded. Overall, there were 133 casualties per thousand troops in Vietnam, versus 47 in Iraq. Why the lower casualty rate? There are several reasons, few of which have gotten much coverage in the mass media. But the reasons are important."