The 'war' in Iraq has raged for over a year. Not surprising, opponents of the Iraq war attempt to compare the fighting with Southeast Asia during the period from 1965-1973.
The current number of US soldiers killed in action in Iraq to date is 723 (not counting casualties in today's action in Fallujiah). If one were to assume that the fighting in Iraq were to continue for 7 more years, then at the present fatality rate, the total number of US soldiers killed would amount to around 4,670. President Bush has been unwavering in his position that control of Iraq be turned over to Iraqis in June. The likelihood of war continuing on indefinitely is low at best, and certainly not likely to escalate to the level seen in Vietnam.
First, compare action in Iraq and the casualty figures with the ferocity of fighting and the actual number of war dead in Southeast Asia. According to numbers published in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, the total number of US war dead in the Vietnam conflict was 58,000 soldiers dead. Wallechinski puts the number somewhat higher, at 58,159, or according to Kutler, 47,244. Fighting against Viet-Cong forces in 1967-71 accounted for most of the high numbers of US war casualties.
Based on information available, attempts to compare the current situation to Vietnam are striking many as dishonest.
