Iraqi Military deaths

[manic expression]

Something that gets absolutely no coverage is the fact that more than 60,000 Iraqis were killed during the invasion. The only difference from the 12,000 or so civilian deaths is that these people were part of the military. The very sad truth is that they would have never been killed if it was not for the U.S. and its base actions. Also, many of those killed were murdered wantonly when they posed no threat to the U.S. forces who had no right to be there. I think people need to address these deaths as well.

[mike_c]

1. I agree completely....

Some died defending their country from an invader, others were doubtless killed for simply being in the Iraqi military.

[Zen0]

2. republicans

criticize Iraqis for taking up arms before the invasion... but how many Bush supporters would fight off say the UN if they invaded the US because bush is humanitarian or something. Defending your country, you can never criticize somebody for that.

[manic expression]

3. The saddest thing is...

Those lives are worth just as much as any American soldier. The 60,000 (+) who died all have spouses and parents and children who will never have them back. EVER. So many lives are shattered. It makes me so depressed and angry at the same time.

[lostnfound]

4. And most were VICTIMS of Saddam's brutal regime..

and their families' personal stories were eye-opening.

One in particular has stuck with me from a year ago. A man recalls how his young son -- 16 I think -- had returned from the army briefly, and told his family he did not want to go back. The father ordered him to go back because the family was at risk of being killed or having their house burned to the ground as punishment for having a deserter in the family. The man was in tears and guilty, because he never seen his son alive after that. The heartbreak of parents knowing that they sent their son off to his death, persuading him against his will, is so tragic.

The same rightwingers who believe so deeply that Saddam is the center of evil in the universe probably would hate us for thinking of ANY dead Iraqi soldiers as human beings.

[manic expression]

5. It is heartbreaking...

but the irony here is that the U.S. government is sending people who did not sign up for occupation to their potential deaths and is on the brink of instating a draft, which is completely totalitarian. The U.S. military reserves the right to kill any deserter, and the U.S. government now has broad powers from the Patriot Act, which could easily be used to hold a deserter's family and possessions hostage. The U.S. is just as brutal in this regard.
And they were not victims of Saddam's regime as they were all killed by weapons and people of the U.S. Military and (few) allies thereof. Their blood is on the hands of the U.S. and no one else.
All other arguments aside, I believe we can easily agree upon the fact that the Iraqis who died were and are all victims.

[lostnfound]

6. My point is that many were Saddam's victims NOT his ACCOMPLICES

Almost all talk about Iraqi military treats them purely as the enemy, not human, not a subject worthy of pity.

Yes, dead Iraqi soldiers were victims of an illegal US invasion and yes their blood is on Bush's hands. My point is that the rightwing view of them is inconsistent. On the one hand, the RW echo chamber tells us what an evil-incarnate dictator Saddam was, that we 'had to' save his people..on the other hand, there is NO recognition that the young Iraqi men turned to ash in their jeeps were human beings and in fact, most were out there fighting not because they had chosen to 'side with evil' but because they had no choice.

[manic expression]

7. I misunderstood you

My apologies.
Yes, I definitely agree with what you are saying. I just think we need to try to express these killings and the fact that they were all regular Iraqis MUCH more often as it is tragically overlooked.

[lostnfound]

8. No need to apologize. I'm glad you started this thread.

The subject nags at me often.

[G_j]

9. do you have a link for this?

I've been trying to get information on this for a while. We need to add ALL the deaths and figure out the total death count of the Iraq war. You are right nobody speaks of these deaths. Its very sad.
I read somewhere that 10,000 Iraqi soldiers died on the first day.
There was a lot of napalm type bombs used also, a horror story that may never be told, almost as if it didn't happen.

There is such a shameful blind spot in war. How many times do you hear anyone mention that over 3 million Vietnamese were killed in the Vietnam war. Sort of makes one feel ashamed of being part of the human race.