Iraq 2004 Looks Like Vietnam 1966?
This Slate article seems a little weird to me:
But a comparative analysis of U.S. casualty statistics from Iraq tells a different story. After factoring in medical, doctrinal, and technological improvements, infantry duty in Iraq circa 2004 comes out just as intense as infantry duty in Vietnam circa 1966-and in some cases more lethal. Even discrete engagements, such as the battle of Hue City in 1968 and the battles for Fallujah in 2004, tell a similar tale: Today’s grunts are patrolling a battlefield every bit as deadly as the crucible their fathers faced in Southeast Asia.
Perhaps I am stupid, but my reading of this is that except for the ways in which this combat is different it is exactly the same. Duh.
The conclusion is puzzling as well:
Critics of the war may use this analysis as one more piece of ammunition to attack the effort; some supporters may continue to refer to casualties as “light,” noting that typically tens of thousands of Americans must die in war before domestic support crumbles. Both miss the point. The casualty statistics make clear that our nation is involved in a war whose intensity on the ground matches that of previous American wars. Indeed, the proportional burden on the infantryman is at its highest level since World War I. With next year’s budget soon to be drafted, it is time for Washington to finally address their needs accordingly.
I am not sure what they are proposing here, except that we should meet the troops needs (again Duh) as to what those needs should be, in light of their supposedly shocking revelations, I remain confused.
