I noticed that wordpad is also not on the affected software list... It might be a way to view Word documents without Word (or downloading additional word processors).
Anyone know if it is also affected?
That is why the Powell Doctrine specifies that you should only start a war if the objectives are clearly and you have a clear exit strategy. Otherwise you end up in a meat grinder, where the casualties just keep mounting and you can't find a good way to leave. Too bad the Bush Administration refused to learn from history -- now we are condemned to repeat it.
I was very careful not to say whether the war or the way we are operating it is right or wrong. I was clarifying the statistics from the original post and adding that this war is going a lot better than most people make it out to be.
I do agree with you in that this could turn into a meat grinder since the Bush Administration (Rumsfeld particularly) ignored the advice of much of the military's top brass and the Powell Doctrine. If the Secretary of Defense had just allowed the generals to do their jobs rather than micromanaging, I believe things would be a lot different. He has consistently went against their opinions since the planning stages of the war and came down on them hard when they disagreed. Army Chief of Staff, General Shinseki, is a prime example of this.
I just don't want to see a backlash that results in us pulling out so rapidly that we allow the Iraqi government to come crashing down completely and creating even more of a power vacuum. A power vacuum existing in the middle of an incredibly volatile region. I think it has come down to damage control and we owe it to the Iraqi people to help them stay stabilized enough to form a capable, working government before we just up and leave.
The forces in Iraq are stretched thin. There is no way we can wrap up every group of insurgents even if they are carrying no weapons at the time.
US Forces are also very strict about the ROE. Sure, there have been incidents. But those are a miniority that even loves to scream about. I've heard stories from soldiers that have been over there having to watch a mortar crew setup and fire off a shell before taking them out. All to make sure that they were following the ROE.
I've seen the video of the gunship firing on those people. What do you want the gun crew to say? Do you want them to start crying? They are doing a job that many have been training at for years. The joking is a way of coping with it.
BTW those gunships are typically packing cannons that can shoot well out of the range of small arms. If the insurgents picked up weapons, they would only be wasting valuable time for running.
From Air Force Magazine, July 06 issue: "By June 12, a total of 2,493 Americans had died in Operation Iraqi Freedom... Of those fatalities, 1,965 were killed in action by enemy attack, and 528 died in noncombat incidents.
There have been 18,356 troops wounded in action during OIF. This includes 9,920 who returned to duty with 72 hours and 8,436 who were unable to quickly return to action."
21% of the fatalities were not combat related. 54% of those wounded returned in 72 hours. I assume that their injuries were light if they went back in 72 hours.
It is a war... deaths and injuries are part of it. There will be a lot of blood. I would say we are faring pretty well compared to Vietnam, Korea, and any other past war. There are fewer casualties in this entire war than at many of the battles America has faced in the past. At the Battle of the Marne, there were 12,000 causalities. Iwo Jima resulted in 26,000 causalities.
I am just tired of hearing the casualty and wounded statistics being misconstrued. Most of the sources that try to broadcast this data don't bother differentiating if the wounded was actually seriously wounded because it suits their purpose of making the US sound like its doing a lot worse than it is. Half of the "wounded" were back at work in 3 days...
The war in Afghanistan has a better record. American forces have suffered only 292 casualties and 750 wounded (296 were back in 3 days) in OEF since the operation started.
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I noticed that wordpad is also not on the affected software list... It might be a way to view Word documents without Word (or downloading additional word processors). Anyone know if it is also affected?
I was very careful not to say whether the war or the way we are operating it is right or wrong. I was clarifying the statistics from the original post and adding that this war is going a lot better than most people make it out to be.
I do agree with you in that this could turn into a meat grinder since the Bush Administration (Rumsfeld particularly) ignored the advice of much of the military's top brass and the Powell Doctrine. If the Secretary of Defense had just allowed the generals to do their jobs rather than micromanaging, I believe things would be a lot different. He has consistently went against their opinions since the planning stages of the war and came down on them hard when they disagreed. Army Chief of Staff, General Shinseki, is a prime example of this.
I just don't want to see a backlash that results in us pulling out so rapidly that we allow the Iraqi government to come crashing down completely and creating even more of a power vacuum. A power vacuum existing in the middle of an incredibly volatile region. I think it has come down to damage control and we owe it to the Iraqi people to help them stay stabilized enough to form a capable, working government before we just up and leave.
The forces in Iraq are stretched thin. There is no way we can wrap up every group of insurgents even if they are carrying no weapons at the time. US Forces are also very strict about the ROE. Sure, there have been incidents. But those are a miniority that even loves to scream about. I've heard stories from soldiers that have been over there having to watch a mortar crew setup and fire off a shell before taking them out. All to make sure that they were following the ROE. I've seen the video of the gunship firing on those people. What do you want the gun crew to say? Do you want them to start crying? They are doing a job that many have been training at for years. The joking is a way of coping with it. BTW those gunships are typically packing cannons that can shoot well out of the range of small arms. If the insurgents picked up weapons, they would only be wasting valuable time for running.
From Air Force Magazine, July 06 issue:
"By June 12, a total of 2,493 Americans had died in Operation Iraqi Freedom... Of those fatalities, 1,965 were killed in action by enemy attack, and 528 died in noncombat incidents.
There have been 18,356 troops wounded in action during OIF. This includes 9,920 who returned to duty with 72 hours and 8,436 who were unable to quickly return to action."
21% of the fatalities were not combat related. 54% of those wounded returned in 72 hours. I assume that their injuries were light if they went back in 72 hours.
It is a war... deaths and injuries are part of it. There will be a lot of blood. I would say we are faring pretty well compared to Vietnam, Korea, and any other past war. There are fewer casualties in this entire war than at many of the battles America has faced in the past. At the Battle of the Marne, there were 12,000 causalities. Iwo Jima resulted in 26,000 causalities.
I am just tired of hearing the casualty and wounded statistics being misconstrued. Most of the sources that try to broadcast this data don't bother differentiating if the wounded was actually seriously wounded because it suits their purpose of making the US sound like its doing a lot worse than it is. Half of the "wounded" were back at work in 3 days...
The war in Afghanistan has a better record. American forces have suffered only 292 casualties and 750 wounded (296 were back in 3 days) in OEF since the operation started.